Williams Family

14 Months

2012-01-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Our little Molly turned 14 months today!

She is getting so BIG. In her 13th month, Molly has become very independent. Isn't it a little young for her to not want to hold Mama's hand walking around, or help eating? She's learned how to say, "NO!" and "OH NO!" and they've become her favorite words.

We love all the funny facial expressions she makes.

She's been a little cranky lately, but we think it's because she's finally teething. She got her first two teeth in on bottom ( at 11 and 12 months) and we just noticed Molly's two top teeth are coming in.

She's learned how to color... on paper, on the fridge, on her face with a Sharpie.

Molly goes bananas for bananas! She'll eat 2 whole ones in one sitting and she'd probably eat more if we let her. She's learned how to sign for them and we can't keep enough around.

She knows how to use a baby fork and she's good and feeding herself. She's pretty much stopped nursing and is drinking cows milk fairly well.

She gets creative playing around the house. I found her trying on all our shoes the other day.

Her favorite past time is going for walks outside. Thank goodness this winter has been pretty mild. We like to get out at least once a day and she complains when it's time to go inside.

I just can't believe how far she's come and how quickly she's growing. It's hard knowing she'll never go back to doing the things of the past, but it's so exciting seeing all the new things she learns and does.

Baby, Ruth's, and a Side of...

2012-01-14T22:13:00.001-07:00

Have you ever seen Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network? Well Rob and I have been really into it lately. The meals always look amazing and knowing us we love good food. So we decided to try a couple places that were featured on the show and located in SLC.

Our first stop was Pat's Barbecue (thank you Steve for the Groupon). We tried the meatloaf Guy Fieri raved about and it was pretty delicious. (We also ran into Rob's older brother there, who was visiting from NYC. Totally random, yet so fun to bump into him.)

Our next stop was Ruth's diner. Triple D really talked up the biscuits, and since I'm not really a biscuit kind of gal, I wasn't expecting much. To my surprise they were warm, soft, fluffy, and fabulous. Rob had the biscuits and gravy, which he loved, and I had the corn beef hash, which I loved. We also loved that the diner was converted from an old trolley cart. It was fun and hip.

This past week my sister Tiffany came into town to hang out with Molly and me. It's always so fun to have Tiff in town. Her stay came and went way too fast. We spent most of our time shopping, eating, working out (to compensate for all the eating), and watching movies.

I picked up a pair of gray skinny jeans (I'd been really wanting some for quite some time), a hot pink belt, a pair of $70 dress pants from the Loft that I only paid $5.95 for, a chunky, braided, brown belt, also from the Loft that I only paid $2.44 (I scored big there), these super cute pillows,

and a pair of baby sweat pants and this little top for Molly.

Molly tried her first ice cream cone at Ikea the other day. At first I was just letting her lick it while I held it safely in my hand, but soon enough she had her little paws all over it, spreading it all over her coat and face.

Even though Molly doesn't have too much hair yet, what she does have is finally long enough to do into a 'doo.' She sported her first pigtails, and nowadays can often be seen with a little ponytail on top.

Now that all the cupboards and drawers are baby proofed, Molly's been getting pretty creative with her play time. She likes to babble on our old ipod, like it's a phone, all day long. She loves the dishwasher...

and the other day Molly went into my closet, pulled out a sneeker, took it to the front room and started putting all her blocks into it. I was completely oblivious to what she was up to until I came into the room to find this. It was so cute and I couldn't help but laugh at her cleverness.

Molly's been getting pretty independant these days. She loves to go for walks outside and refuses to hold Mama's hand. She's also been a little stinker at meal time. She doesn't want any help and refuses the food unless she can do it herself. I'm proud of her, but it makes feeding her a whole lot harder and much more messy.

Bath time is always a favorite with Molly. She has a little Elmo book she loves to read over and over again.

Rob was getting a kick out of squirting Molly with her bath toys. It was pretty funny seeing all her facial expressions.

Oooh boy! I just can't get enough of this little girl.

Just the Three of Us

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Although we weren't expecting to be spend the Christmas holiday with just the 3 of us, we still managed to make it memorable and it was nice and relaxing to just be together as a family.

Christmas Eve evening was rough, (thanks for all the support, thoughts, and prayers for us!) but we did manage to have a delicious dinner. While I was preoccupied, Rob managed to pull everything together and it was yummy.

Christmas morning Rob made a nice German pancake breakfast, and we headed off to church. When we returned home, Molly went down for a nap and Rob and I just relaxed until Molly woke up. We then divided and started opening gifts.

Molly did a surprisingly good job unwrapping her gifts. She enjoyed seeing what was inside.

We had to get Molly a toy phone since she puts everything up to her ear like a telephone and throws tantrums when we won't share our phones with her (you might have received a phone call from Molly, especially those of you on our speed dials.)

Rob was happy with his Christmas,

and so was I.

Molly was happy to get into all the stocking stuffers and enjoy some new treats.

Not Now

2011-12-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

On November 5th Rob and I found out we were pregnant! It was planned, so we were very excited.

At week 10 I went in for my first prenatal appointment. They did all the usual things, checked my weight, took my blood pressure, took a urine sample, and asked me a long list of questions. At the end my doctor checked the baby's heart beat. She spent quite a while looking for it, which I remember it taking a long time to find Molly's heartbeat at my first check-up with her and I was past 12 weeks then. So when she wasn't able to hear the heartbeat I wasn't too worried. She wasn't too worried either and said it wasn't unusual for her not to hear it then. She did ask that I scheduled an early ultrasound, which did concern me a bit.

So I scheduled the ultrasound for my next visit and decided that if I was going to need an early ultrasound I wasn't going to tell people I was pregnant until after... just to be sure everything was alright.

On Wednesday, the 21st of Dec (11 1/2 weeks), I noticed I was spotting just a bit. I thought that was unusual for me since I never spotted with Molly and never in between a monthly cycle. Still I wasn't too concerned since I'd read it's totally normal for pregnant people to spot in their first trimester. So I decided to just call and let my doctor know.

The assistants at my doctor's office reassured me several times that spotting was completely normal, but that I should stop by that day and they'd just check the heartbeat. So at noon I headed down to Provo for a little check up. The first assistance tried for several minutes to find a heartbeat and couldn't so she had another assistant try. When she had no luck either they decided to send me to the hospital for an ultrasound.

I walked around the mall with Molly for a couple hours while I waited for my appointment at the hospital and drank the 32 oz of water I was instructed to an hour before. As I headed for the hospital, I was excited to see our little baby on an ultrasound and hoped they give me pictures to take home. I checked in and was called back.

The technician began doing a normal ultrasound, but about a minute into the ultrasound she said she needed a better look. She had me empty my bladder, which I was glad since I was about to burst from drinking all that water, and did a vaginal ultrasound. The technician was very quiet. I couldn't tell if that was just her personality or if she'd found something wrong. I really wanted to ask her about what she was seeing, but stopped myself several times, mostly because she was so quiet. When she finished she said she was going to call my doctor and my doctor would talk to me.

Once the doctor was on the phone she told me that the baby had stopped growing and I was going to have a MISCARRIAGE in the next few days. I was shocked! I really hadn't had many concerns until the day before. I was having all the pregnancy symptoms and even threw up right before I left the house that day. I was extremely sad to get the news and by the end of the call I was in tears.

The doctor wanted to send me over to the lab to get some blood work done before I left. As I left radiology and asked how to get to the lab, I was surprised at how unfriendly the staff was to me. Obviously I had been crying and each person I talked to was cold and unfriendly. I felt terrible. I then had to wait in the lobby with Molly for over an hour before they took me back to the lab. And even when I got back to the lab I waited another 30 minutes before I could have a tiny vile of blood drawn. It was hard having received such sad news to wait for so long by myself taking care of Molly.

We'd planned on spending time with my family over Christmas, but knowing I would have a miscarriage at anytime we decided it would be better for us to stay home so I could be somewhat comfortable. On Christmas Eve around 4 pm I started cramping. It just so happened that I'd planned to eat dinner at 5:30 so I was trying to prepare the food when I started to get uncomfortable. I was grateful for the distraction though, since the pain of cramping just kept getting more and more intense. I even remember thinking, "Okay, I want and epidural now." The pain was that intense. About 5 pm the miscarriage started. It was awful. I passed quite a bit of blood and tissue and spent most of the night in the bathroom, which I was okay with since I just wanted the whole experience to be over with. I did get to eat our Christmas Eve dinner of ham, cheesy potatos, hot rolls and pistachio salad, but only in short bouts.

At 11 pm we decided to head to bed. I went to the kitchen to do a couple of things and remember I felt a little weird, like I might faint, so I started to go down to my knees. The next thing I remember was Rob trying to pull me up off the floor. I looked at him... he looked terrified... and I kept asking him, "What's going on?" over and over again until he told me I'd fainted, hit my head on the floor, and convulsed a bit. He helped me to the bed and that was our night. I had a hard time falling asleep since the fainting episode scared me and I wondered if I'd lost too much blood. I eventually fell asleep and I'm feeling a lot better today!

Emotionally we're very sad to loose our baby, but we know it was the Lord's will. We can accept that. I felt like having another child was a righteous desire of ours and remember telling my sister that if it wasn't right then we'd have a miscarriage. Although we wanted another child, Heavenly Father had other plans for us. We even feel like in hindsight there are several reasons why the timing might not have been right for us. So we'll trust in the Lord now and know that someday we'll have another baby, just not a baby that would be born on July 8th 2012.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

Christmas Memories

2011-12-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Christmas memories flood my mind this time of year. Sometimes these floods drown me with the tired thoughts of a lazy youth. I always thought Black Friday had such a ominous name because of the work that our Mom put us through in putting up the Christmas decorations. Second, it was one of few days I got off from school that I didn't get to sit around in my underwear playing video games. Every year I dreaded the thought of holding heavy green garlands for hours above my head, with sweat-shop like fingers pulling on the trigger of the staple gun, only to misfire because you didn't get enough of the garland spine to pin it above the fireplace.

Then there were the outside lights. To save us from the frustration of garland draping with my Mom, the boys would collectively drag their feet and hang lights on the outside roof all day to save us from wrath of Mom's seemingly innocent question of, "Could you help me for a sec?" The outside lights were the lesser of two evils, but it did allow us to climb on the roof and break broken light bulbs.

This year and every year since we've been married, Heather has put up the Christmas decorations with little, if any help from me. It is so nice to come home from work and have a beautiful tree completely set up with presents beneath it and not one garland hanging in our apartment reminding me of ghosts of Christmases past.

One Christmas memory that Heather had with her Mom is making chocolates in the wee hours of the morning. I've always wondered why they call it the "wee hours" of the morning because at 4 a.m. I don't think there are too many saying WWWEEEEEEEEE!!! Heather continues this tradition of making chocolates but she sticks to her favorites like haystacks, which are crushed toasted coconut mixed with bittersweet dark chocolate.

As we start our own family, we are looking to pick up new traditions to do each year so that our kids will remember how weird we were. Neither of us took a picture with Santa regularly when we were growing up, but from how giddy Heather is, maybe we should have. This is about a split second before Molly burst out in tears after Santa told her she's getting coal. (Heather's terribly embarrassed by this photo, but I thought we could all use a good laugh and included it.)

Another tradition we could take up is seeing the lights at Temple Square. The lights were beautiful, but with Molly crying the whole drive there, the temperature being in the mid teens and tons of people with no parking, we might reserve the right to veto this one next year.

Christmas parties have always been a holiday staple at the Williams home. But luckily we were fortunate enough to have great friends invite us over for treats and games.

As I mentioned earlier, when I was a kid on days off we sometimes would sit around in our underwear playing video games. Maybe we'll just keep the video game part of that tradition, although you can see a little bit of my underwear when we were playing Dance Central on XBox Kinect.

On a different night, we had a progressive dinner where each dinner guest hosted a course of the meal, moving from one apartment to the next. The food was delish but the company was better.

Snowbirds Go South

2011-12-10T21:54:00.001-07:00

If you were to look at Heather's and my vacation schedules over the years, you would see a common trend that correlates with the changing weather patterns in Utah. This climatic occurrence drives us to pack up the car every December and cruise to Arizona like a couple of geriatric grandparents. This year we decided December was a little too late and Arizona was a little too close. So we decided to cruise to Cabo San Lucas instead of Arizona. We were led by the Carnival Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which we should do. (1 Nephi 4:6) Although we didn't have to build the boat, like Nephi, it took forever to get on it with the security, check-ins and delays we went through.

Four years ago, we went on a cruise for our honeymoon, but we didn't do many excursions while we were there. We promised ourselves we would do a lot more when we made it to port on our next one. It took about a day and a half to get to Cabo and the ride there was pretty uneventful, except for the hairiest back contest (sorry, no pics). We laid out, read a little, and ate some really great food. One of the tastiest dishes I ate was a steak salad that I had for lunch. Heather enjoyed the fruit cocktail, which she ordered as an starter for almost every meal.

When we got to Cabo, I wanted to visit an old glass factory, but it had closed down. We decided to visit Los Arcos, which is the southern most point of the Baja Peninsula, and the most scenic part of Cabo. It is also where Lover's Beach is. On the cruise, they warn you not to take the water taxis because people have died trying to get off the boats, since there is no dock at Lover's Beach. But I really think it was a ploy from Carnival because the water taxis will charge you $10 a person, while booking through the cruise will cost you as much as $50 a pop. I guess we figured to risk losing our lives was better than losing an arm and a leg.

Whoa...I think Heather's hand is a little too high on that leg. She blamed it on the waves. I think it was because I was cheating death by not fully fastening my life preserver. Although, that was probably a result of too much chocolate melting cake.

Below is Divorce Beach, which is on the other side of Lover's Beach. It's colder, rockier, and more than fifty percent of tourists ended up on this beach rather than Lover's.

This is me laughing in the face of danger and Heather, who told me to stay out of the dangerous water. There were signs everywhere warning of riptides, undercurrents, and dangerous whirlpools, like some general conference talk. And believe me when I say, the sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. But, I didn't get too stupid and I know that when you don't listen to your wife that usually leads to divorce.

A beautiful sunset. A pirate ship. Waves crashing. Deserted beach. Enough said.

Our last day at Cabo, we went para-sailing and snorkeling. Para-sailing gave me the biggest wedgie of my life since I wasn't in the harness correctly (again, I'm sorry but no pics). In this picture, I look a little girlie with my legs crossed like Molly, although I do appear twice the size of Heather. We would have taken some snorkeling pictures, but we didn't have a waterproof camera.

This was only the first half of our cruise, but to tell you the truth, the second half we kind of got sick of it. Literally. While everyone in Utah was experiencing blowing chunks of debris, we just got the part about blowing chunks. Heather and I both got sea sick from the rough seas. But a least when we're tasting it twice it was high quality food.

Birthday Girls

2011-12-09T21:37:00.010-07:00

We celebrated Molly's 1st birthday out in Roosevelt with family.

We had some yummy lasagna soup and bread sticks for dinner.

Then Molly opened her gifts.

Since Molly and her Grandma Powell have birthdays one day apart, we surprised her Grandma for her birthday as well.

Molly was so careful eating her cake. I think she was trying to pick off and eat the sprinkles. It wasn't until her cousin begged to help her grab a chunk of the cake that she got a little messy. She loved it so much she cried when we took it away.

You can see a video of Molly eating her cake here (I couldn't upload it to the post directly. I love how she opens her mouth really wide way before she's ready to put cake in it.)

Giving Thanks

2011-12-06T09:21:00.001-07:00

We're a bit behind with the blogging. We've been out of town since Thanksgiving... and Molly and I are still not home yet. We've had a major holiday, a first birthday (with party), a 69th surprise birthday party, a couple of photo shoots, a vacation to Mexico, and a chance to watch my nieces and nephews for a few days.

We'll get to each of these events, but for now lets talk about Thanksgiving.

Rob, Molly and I headed out to Roosevelt to spend the holiday with my two sisters, their families, and some of my sister's friends.

It's always fun to be with family and dinner was so yummy!

We were all pretty full when it was time for pie, but that certainly didn't stop me from testing 4 of the 7 delicious pies.

Molly sure loved being around all her cousins. They make her laugh like crazy and she thinks they're so entertaining.

The next morning I had a photo shoot with my sister Kimberly's Family. It was really foggy, with frost everywhere. Beautiful, but cold!

Then that same afternoon I took Tiffany's family photos. The sun had come out, the fog disappeared, and the wind started blowing.

Look who's

2011-11-18T14:43:00.001-07:00

...and this is what Molly thinks about it.

2011-11-15T13:09:00.001-07:00

I finally got around to uploading our videos from the camera to our computer. We had videos all the way from August waiting to get uploaded.

This video was filmed in September. It cracks us up hearing Molly growl.

In this one, Rob is tricking Molly into kisses... since she's very stingy about giving out kisses.

Here Molly is using the laundry basket to get around.

Nursery

2011-11-05T19:00:00.001-06:00

I just finished sewing Molly's crib bumper. I did the skirt over a month ago, but I just didn't have the motivation back then to do it all. So one day last week I decided to tackle it. It wasn't as bad as I thought, although it took some thought and three times longer than planned. Doesn't every project do that? I must really overestimate my abilities.

Sleeping Beauty

2011-11-04T17:40:00.000-06:00

Molly fell asleep while nursing. I pulled out the camera to capture some of the ways she sleeps. I didn't move her an inch when I took these photos.

11 months

2011-11-02T16:26:00.000-06:00

Molly is now 11 months. She's learned some new tricks during month 10.

She can stand for several seconds by herself and is cruising (walking while holding on to something or someone). On Sunday, during our primary class, she grabbed onto a child's chair and started using it like a walker. It was so funny and very distracting.

She has even taken a few steps all by herself.

She likes to pretend things are a telephone, which I don't know how she picked up considering how little I talk on the phone.

Speaking of talking, she has her own language and has quite a bit to say.

Molly is obsessed with pushing anything with buttons... the remote, calculators, the computer, the one button on the Ipad.

It's not enough to just get a snack, but she wants to get the snack herself from the container without help. She's learned to drink independently. And still loves to get into cupboards and make messes.

She's started playing peekaboo and will fake laugh when she hears others laughing.

(Rob thought her skirt looked cuter on her head. Look at that flowing pink, lacy hair)

She arches her back when she's mad... especially when it's time for a diaper change, but she thinks reading a book during the dreaded deed is actually quite entertaining.

Halloween

2011-11-01T20:46:00.000-06:00

Saturday we went to our ward trunk or treat party, dressed as a farmer, his wife, and a their little bunny rabbit.

We ate chilli and cornbread and there were all sorts of activities. We didn't see many other activities since I was in charge of taking all the photos and Rob was in charge of making sure the bunny didn't eat the garden.

On Monday, Rob dressed up for work. Can you guess what he was?

That's right... a 'Moving Target'. Or as he says... slow movin'.

Molly and I visited Rob at work on Monday. He loves showing her off to all his co-workers. We went out to lunch. When Molly got a hold of a plastic knife we started laughing. As a combo Molly looked more like a killer bunny.

Funny Bunny Tale

2011-10-31T17:00:00.000-06:00

Being a bunny is lots of things...

it's intriguing,

lame,

stupid,

exhausting,

famishing,

depressing,

awful,

cruel,

not so bad,

but mostly, being a bunny is great.

Can I take this off yet?

Crafts That Will Blow You Away

2011-10-30T22:23:00.001-06:00

A few things we've been up to...

Super Saturday.

I'm on the R.S. committee, so I got to help out by making the poster, among other things. At the activity we made crochet flower hair bows (I didn't finish mine, as you can see below, since Molly was with me) and Temple blocks.

Regional Conference.

Our meetings were held in the Salt Lake Conference Center. I hadn't been to the conference center since 2000 when President Hinckley gave his talk on the 6 Be's. We were able to bring Molly, which was nice since you usually can't take children during conference. The talks were fantastic and it was fun to hear from Elder Bednar.

Shooting.

Work can be rough!...especially Rob's work. They took a few employees to a shooting range last Thursday. Rob loved it.

Next of (Pump)Kin

2011-10-23T13:35:00.000-06:00

Our

of kin

Likes to grin

She is round, Crawlsthe ground.

Orange hair color, Like Grandmother.

Eyes aglow, Little toes. Missing teeth,

Where's the Beef?

From our seed, Growslike weeds. Sometimes whines

On the vine. Candlelit, Throws a fit. Cries at Pa,

His last straw. Stems from mess,

Molly's best. Patching up,

Broken cup.

Oh my, my

Sweetie Pie! -Rob

Last week we went to a pumpkin patch with our friends.

They also have a little girl just older than Molly.

The kids loved the pumpkins.

Although, they probably loved playing with each other more.

It was very cute when Eliza put her arm around Molly.

After the pumpkin patch, we headed over to our cousins to visit Brent, Rob's brother, who was in town. His cousins just moved into a beautiful house nearby us.

Molly was up past her bedtime and fell asleep on the way home. I had to take a picture of her sleeping on Rob's shoulder since the only time she cuddles is when she's sleeping.

Whichcraft

2011-10-09T22:48:00.000-06:00

My friend took off work to spend the day crafting it up with her stay-at-home-mom friends. We all met up and got down to business. It was fun... slightly hard getting everything done with little Molly not wanting to nap much.

I had way too many craft ideas, but narrowed it down to just 4.

On my adgenda was to make this wreath,

this faux needlepoint,

this bow tie,

(Molly was nice enough to model it off for me. One day I'll get this bow on a boy and rock his outfit.)

and a really cute advent calander that we just couldn't finish. I guess we'll have to get together again (wink wink) to finish.

Cake Batter Blondies and a Bowl

2011-10-09T21:50:00.003-06:00

I saw these bars of yummy-ness here and really couldn't help myself.

Do you blame me?

(P.S. You really only need to make half the frosting. The full amount is a bit too much... and that's coming from a sugarholic)

I saw these bowls here and love them!

They Say it's Your Birthday

2011-10-04T08:02:00.001-06:00

I turned 29 last Friday. Conveniently it was Rob's rotation to work the Saturday shift, which meant we got to spend the whole day together. We decided to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a little hike around Silver Lake.

We decided that we'd also try to hike to Twin Falls. It was a pretty steep hike, I won't lie. But we didn't quite make it there. Carrying a 20 lb baby in a shoulder sling isn't super easy while your husband is suffering from altitude sickness and your baby is tired and hungry. So we did the hard part without reaping the benefit of enjoying the destination. But the exercise was good and it was beautiful.

We grabbed some lunch on the way home before I opened my gifts. I gave Rob a list of three things I wouldn't have minded getting for my B-day. I didn't expect that he would get me two things from my list!

I'd been eyeing this ring for the past 9 months...

and wanting some cute Toms. Both of these gifts I couldn't justify spending the money for so I was excited to get them for my B-day. Although, I do feel rather guilty that Rob spent the money for them. I haven't worn either yet, just in case I feel Rob was a little too generous. The fact that our Renter decided to up our rent by $50 a month isn't helping either.

My sister gave me this super cute dress. I LOVE IT!

One day I'll stop nursing and be able to wear it.

She also threw in my favorite candy growing up, a Mamba. Rob topped off his gifts with a card to Best Buy and some ear phones for my iPod.

And Molly gave me a little laugh...

and just makes me oh so happy!

A Perfect 10

2011-10-01T14:03:00.001-06:00

Molly and I celebrated on Friday. Molly turned 10 months while I turned 29 (more on that to come).

Here are 10 things Molly's been up to in month 9.

1. Crawling.

2. Relaxing.

Molly likes to kick back and put her feet up. We see people whispering, "look at that baby with her feet up!" all the time when passing Molly in her stroller.

I also love how she crosses her ankles all the time.

3. Reading... is one of her favorite past times these days. She loves the baby touch and feel books...

and checking out all the pictures.

4. Pounding on the piano.

She finds the keyboard amazing and pushes every button she can reach. We bob our heads to the saxophone and drum sound and might even bust a move to the demo songs.

5. Eating.

Molly loves to eat and sure has no problem letting us know when she's hungry. She's really good about opening her mouth as wide as possible insuring a mouthful of yummy-ness

Molly's makeshift Bumbo-on-the-swiveling-computer chair. Has now been socked away. It only took her wiggling out and falling to the ground once for us to upgrade to a real high chair with a built-in seat belt. Molly may not be able to push off the table and spin round and round while eating her turkey and vegetable dinner, but dropping puffs and cheerios off the side of the highchair tray can be just as entertaining.

6. Babbling.

Molly's really verbal these days. Her favorite word is Dada and says it 80 % of the time. She's started to say Mama, but only when she's mad or hungry. It's no fair that Dad only sees Molly about 20 % of her day and is in her thoughts and words 80 % of the time... while Mom's always with Molly and she very stingy with her mama sounds.

7. Exploring.

Molly sure loves to get into everything these days. You might find her opening the desk drawers, the oven drawer, and the bathroom cabinets. She loves pulling out books from the bookshelf and if she can sneak away from Mama long enough the trashcans are a gold mine.

8. Standing.

Molly goes from sitting to standing quite often. We're in no rush for her to start walking, but she did stand by herself for 10 seconds straight the other day. I'm told my mom walked across the room at 8 1/2 months. I'm sure glad Molly's taking her time. I hear walking is a whole different ball game.

9. Brushing.

No teeth yet, but Molly loves brushing her gums. It's fun to watch her as she tries to brush like her mom. She can't get the hand motion down but she shakes her head back and forth instead. She hasn't been able to keep from slobbering and has a little waterfall flowing from the end of the brush.

10. Bathing.

Does this ever get old?

Molly's working on her wave. She waves to all her pictures around the house. And I even caught her waving to the people in the pew across from ours in church last Sunday.

She is getting more and more giggly. Baby laughs are the best! I can't get enough of hers.

Molly's current favorite song is Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. She gets the biggest gummy grin when we sing it and she's working on the hand gestures as well.

I can't wait to see what month 10 brings!

Viva Las Vegas

2011-09-29T22:44:00.000-06:00

I work for CLEARLINK, a sales and marketing company, which focuses on home products like TV, phone, Internet and home security. I've learned a lot about business and about managing people. I love the people that I work with, even though they are a different mix of personalities. We have a professional video gamer that got to go to Japan and compete in a international Street Fighter competition. There several ex-football players, both pro and college and an ex-basketball player. We have introverts, egos and headcases. But most of them are pretty talented. It is extremely rewarding to accomplish team and individual goals - to teach someone about sales and see their improvement. CLEARLINK shows their appreciation for their employees really well. Last year and this year they took several of their employees, including me, to Vegas as a token of that appreciation. I don't especially love Vegas, but we were able to do a lot of really fun things that were once in a lifetime opportunities.

And no, if you are looking at the itinerary - I didn't go to the Lavo Night Club.

This was my shopping experience with Andy Casey, my roommate. We were sure to keep each other in check.

CLEARLINK put us up at the Palazzo which is connected to the Venetian. This is a shot of the restaurant that we ate at. Just below this is the Grand Canal. Above the ceiling is painted to look like it is daytime. We had a four course meal at Zefferinos, which overlooks the Grand Canal.

This is the main lobby at the Palazzo. One of the reps on our team could order anything he wanted for room service because he was the top performer on the team. He said that I could order anything I wanted as well. So I ordered crab legs and shrimp for $40. I have to admit, it was kind of fun.

The Bellagio was pretty incredible. So many cool rooms and vibrant colors. In Las Vegas there is a lot of sleaze, smoke, and spirits. But there are some pretty cool photo ops as well.

This piece of art is made up completely of flowers. It is really amazing what someone can do with a little creativity.

The picture to the left is just outside the Tao nightclub. Jayzee was supposed to be there the same night I took this. Don't worry, I didn't do any clubbin'.

There were two highlights of the trip. The first was Sushi Samba. This was the best place I've ever eaten. Period. Incredible! I love sushi, but this sushi was decadent. I've never tasted anything so good in my life. Who would have thought raw fish could be soooooo delicious.

The second highlight was the O Show by Cirque Du Soleil. That curtain was ginormous. When the show started it was pulled to the back of the stage like it had a life of its own and at the end of the show, it fit nicely into a small wicker basket about the size of hot air balloon cart. It then magically comes back onto the stage like nothing happened. The whole show is built on water and there is a huge pool in the middle of the stage where synchronized swimming, daredevil diving and harrowing high wire acts were performed. If I could use one word to describe the O Show - I would say it was magical.

Making hay while the sun shines

2011-09-27T11:44:00.000-06:00

Since Rob decided that 'working' in Las Vegas sounded like a nice break from the office and Doug (my Bro-in-law) liked the sound of 'working' in Chicago for a good half week, my sister Tiff, Molly, and I decided to make hay while the sun shined.

Molly and I hitched a ride from Tiffany, after she dropped her hubby off at the airport, and made the 2 1/2 hour trek back to Roosevelt. You'd think that spending 4 days and 5 nights would be enough time to do all the things we wanted to do, but realistically we needed about 2 weeks or longer.

So while Rob was quote-unquote 'working' we had a lot of fun ourselves. Molly couldn't get enough of her cousins and all the attention she was getting. She couldn't get much more exercise crawling around a much bigger house than our little apartment.

I couldn't get enough of Tiffany, or all the yummy food we ate... strawberry milkshakes minus the milk, stove-top popcorn, french toast, Texas caviar, grilled chicken salad, pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, Cafe Rio style burritos, pancakes, turkey wraps, sugar cookies, peppermint white hot chocolate with whipped cream on the top... Hungry? I certianly am!

I might have also went a little haywire with my SLR. I had a photo shoot with Tyler and Zach while they hit the hay.

Molly didn't mind tagging along.

Molly + hay bales + haystacks = one big hay day!

I got a little hay fever and ended up sniffling the next 3 days. Annoying! But I was not in the least bit annoyed with Keith's photo shoot. Would you believe Keith's a senior... in high school? I'm thinking he looks more like 25 years old and dang good looking too.

I can say that since he's my nephew.

Fairly Good

2011-09-19T22:37:00.001-06:00

Heather loves fairs. Fairs depress me. Don't get me wrong. The Utah State Fair exceeded my expectations. With that said, my expectations weren't very high. They remind me of pubescent days in high school, where my friends and I had grandiose ideas of getting some girls phone number, with no intention of ever calling her. State Fairs are the In-and-Out Burger of Amusement Parks. Not as bad as some of the nearest strip mall carnivals, but not as well-kept and expensive as Disneyland. Cheap - Good - Fun. Heather disagrees with the "Cheap" part because we paid way too much for a cold gyro, a warm Reuben, and a sticky scone. We did get the tickets for free from Heather's parents, which meant I had no excuse not to go. I found it funny that people paid $10 for parking when we parked closer than most of them for free in a fairly vacant neighborhood, just southeast of the fairgrounds. Another reason fairs depress me is that I find myself realizing I am getting old. I complain about young rascals getting in my way, I enjoy the displays of fine art, common farm animals and photography, and I don't even think about going on any gunny sack rides because of my aching back. I even caught myself saying, "Look at the size of that pumpkin." Here are a couple pictures of not-so-common farm animals.

Heather used to raise pigs yearly and sell them at the county fair. She couldn't pass up reminiscing on her childhood chores and taking a couple pics of these beauties.

For those who might find Heather's childhood chores hard to believe here's proof.

"Wow. Look at the size of that pumpkin."

Nappy Carpet

2011-09-11T16:00:00.000-06:00

Usually when I'm tired I like to nap on the bed with a pillow and a blanket. Rob prefers to nap anywhere but the bed with anything nearby to rest his head.

Would you believe this is the 3rd napping spot I found him in during his nap? (He was suppose to be watching Molly, but he thought that by following me and Molly around it might look like he was attempting to watch her.)

Rob's nap started next to the kitchen, it then moved to just outside the bathroom, and finally to the doorway of closet.

Where's your favorite place to nap?

Father's Day Bites

2011-09-11T12:00:00.000-06:00

Rob celebrated Father's Day last Thursday. Or rather he finally enjoyed his father's day's gift.

4 buckets of golf balls.

We even celebrated! We had some friends over to help us eat some Tomato Basil Pasta and hit all those balls.

I even helped a bit.

(I'm pretty sure that pony tail is not very pretty!)

I may or may not have wimped out when the mosquitoes came out. I counted 11 bites...

I'll let you be the judge.

September Issue

2011-09-10T21:20:00.002-06:00

Summer is turning in to fall, the sunflowers are out, and so are we.

Molly and I have been enjoying the cooler weather.

We've been on lots of runs/walks lately. (Working on trimming down those hips)

We have a really nice trail nearby and have been up, down, and all over it.

Speaking of fall. Molly's been learning how to fall... gently. She's pulling herself up to stand anywhere she can. I put on a Baby Einstein DVD the other day and this is how I caught her watching... standing up.

10 things to do on Labor Day weekend

2011-09-05T21:44:00.001-06:00

1. Eat at Quiznos and walk around Falcon Park

2. Attend the Temple (Don't worry if your recommend expired 3 days earlier, it,only takes 4 phone calls and a babysitter to make it happen)

3. Watch the BYU football game with friends

4. Eat fish tacos, corn on the cob, watermelon and chocolate trifle with said friends

5. Go swimming with friends, talk about the craziest things you've ever done, and realize you'll never be able to top any of them.

6. Go to church and teach primary. (You'll surely fall in love with the kids!)

7. Visit your parents who are serving a mission in Park City

8. Hike to Donut Falls

9. Pick some wild flowers

10. Eat at Smashburger and only pay $0.44 at the register

Paradigm of Mine

2011-09-01T22:13:00.000-06:00

I told Rob the other day that there were 3 things I could live without...

1. making dinner

2. going to the bathroom, and

3. visiting teaching (Shh...I'll explain later)

So although I'd like them to go away I'm pretty sure none of them will. I had a small 'ah ha' moment while I was walking to the mail box the other day. I decided that I could dislike these 'activities' or I could just learn to like them. Well I'm still learning, but tonight's dinner wasn't so bad.

We had homemade garlic Naan bread with Yellow Chicken Curry and Jasmine rice.

Since I thought this was a big accomplishment, I was sure to document it with pictures.

We all loved dinner especially Molly. She was very impatient and kept screaming for more.

2. Bathroom? Hmmm... I discovered taking a magazine to the bathroom sure relieves boredom or just leaving the door open to see what Molly's up to is pretty entertaining as well.

3. Now about visiting teaching... yes I am a faithful visiting teacher, but I get all stressed out about it. Doesn't a month roll around too quick or is it just me. And since I go faithfully I tend to get partners that don't go and girls that don't really want me to come so I feel like I shoulder most of the load and that makes it hard. I would actually love love it if my partner wanted to go and the girls wanted to be visited and we could all be great friends. I know it can work that way I've experienced it before. But although it isn't perfect I'll continue to do my best and hope that I will in someway touch someone else's life... and grow myself in the process.

What are three things you could live without?

P.S. Thanks Maranda for having been a great partner! I'm sad you moved to CO. I think my new partner will be great too.

Trouble is a Friend of Mine

2011-08-30T16:08:00.000-06:00

Molly just got her first speeding ticket!

That's right, she was going way too fast for 8 months and learned to sit up, pull herself up, and crawl all within a week of each other. She was then put behind bars for disorderly conduct. She was caught shaking her head no, clapping her hands, and calling the officer 'Dada'.

Once behind bars she didn't like the janitors vacuuming much and decided to hum really loud, play with the cord, and follow the vacuum around. She was given a restraining order and sentenced to 1 hour nap. She decided to skip the nap, loose herself of the swaddle-like blanket grip...

and whine until she fell asleep.

She did make it out of the slammer with only a few bumps, bruises, and some finger impressions.

If you think she looks bad you should have seen the other baby!

Molly decided she'd rather be doing other things than be behind bars. Like playing with her toys in her room. Opening and shutting her door. Flinging the doorstop and listening to its funny sound.

But as time wore on Molly became restless and trouble wasn't far behind. She was found pinning her Daddy down and pulling at his beard hairs,

pulling out all the DVDs in the entertainment center and

wrestling with Papa. Takedown, locked, and pinned.

We decided it was time she get some help and took her to the Doctor for a 9 month check up.

The Doctor did all sorts of things.

Weight: 18.5 lbs (50th %)

Length: 27.3 in (50th %)

Head: 16.9in (20ish %)

He gave her 1 Hib shot and flu shot too.

Since treatment, Molly's decided that trouble is no friend of hers.

She said her sorrys and is one haaaappppy baby!

Trash or Treasure

2011-08-30T13:25:00.000-06:00

We hit up the Park City Yard Sales last Saturday morning. We took some friends and meet up with family. It's always fun to look at other peoples junk. Here are our little treasures. $5.10 spent.

Fore Sausage Links, Scrambled Legs and a Big Slice of Humble Pie

2011-08-29T22:39:00.001-06:00

When we decided to go out to Roosevelt to spend some time playing golf with Heather's family, I thought it would be a fun day of showing off how much I've improved my game to Heather. In the past couple of months, I've played a couple rounds of golf and hit balls on the driving range a couple times as well. My game was improving, but I still had a big slice (for those who don't know, a slice is where you hit the ball and it veers way right). When we hit the links, my big bad slicing habits returned. The first hole, I hit the ball into the neighbors backyard. We were in a scramble, which is where, on every hit, you take the best ball of your foursome. Heather got up there after some helpful tips from her Uncle Max and hit the ball straight down the fairway. This would be a long day of Heather taking me to school on the golf course. I would hit the ball a lot farther, but with the slice, they ended up out of bounds most of the time, while her ball would be in the middle of the fairway. I chipped and putted better than I normally do, but for the most part she was the yolk of our scramble.

This hole was really picturesque. It was an island green and one of the few tee shots that I hit straight. Too bad it was straight into the water. Heather hit the green, but her ball rolled off the back of the green into the water as well.

We spent the weekend at Doug and Tiffany's house where Heather savored every bite of food her sister made, Molly had some cousins who played with her while her Dad played Plants vs. Zombies on the IPad (Don't play it. It's addicting.)

Another Year

2011-08-26T23:29:00.001-06:00

By the title of my post, you might think that our marriage was getting drab and monotonous, that each year was just another one that Heather and I check off the list to get onto the next, like we were enduring to the end. Nothing could be further from the truth. Last Wednesday we celebrated our 4th anniversary together and our four years together have been wonderful. I think President Hinckley was describing married life when he said that life was like a train ride that has a lot delays, and some rolling fields, with a few thrilling bursts of speed and some great views. We need to thank the Lord for the ride. So far it has been a great ride.
We started our night with a little Curry and Stir Fry at Thai Siam.

Heather made me trifle, which is my favorite dessert. Heather thought it was a trifle less than the quality of trifle that my mom makes but it was delicious nonetheless.

Above is one of those thrilling bursts of speed.

We ended the night watching Another Year, which was kind of appropriate considering the day. The movie was a little depressing, but well-acted. It was about a couple who always had a positive attitude, yet their friends and family kept dumping their emotional baggage on their doorstep. This is not to say that our friends and family have been dumping their emotional baggage, but I think a positive attitude goes a long way in life.

The Fantastic 4

2011-08-24T09:58:00.002-06:00

Rob,

The longer we're married the more I realize that I got the good end of the deal,

and I thought I got a steal when we got married.

Oh.... how I ♥ you!

4 years down... and many, many more to go.

LOT'S of ♥
- Heather

Splish Splash, I was Takin' a Bath

2011-08-15T15:13:00.001-06:00

Rub-a-dub, Molly just relaxin' in the tub

Thinkin' everything was alright

There was a-splishin' and a-splashin'

Yeah, a-movin' and a-groovin'

Well, Mollly stepped out the tub, put her feet on the floor,
I wrapped the towel around her
And opened the door,

Splish Splash, Molly just loves takin' a bath

Lets Lay It All On The Table

2011-08-05T23:01:00.000-06:00

Our $2 yard sale table just got a new makeover

It went from this ugly brown to a soft heirloom white.

I knew I wanted to do something funky to it, so after a lot of consideration I decided to add a little spunk with a chevron design on top.

After taping it off, which took longer than I'd like to admit, I painted the chevron stripes a soft sea green.

I put the bottom shelf back on and viola.

Cute huh?

8 Ball of Joy

2011-08-02T18:37:00.001-06:00

Molly turned 8 months last Saturday

Some of the things she's doing these days are:

Spits when she's upset

Crosses her ankles

Loves to play with and rip paper
She recognizes her name. And turns when you call her

Loves to grab her Daddy's beard and glasses

Rolls all over the place... in and out of rooms...under chairs and tables...from wall to wall

Loves to take baths and go swimming

Loves to scratch at everything

Loves to eat fruit more than veggies. She's really interested in eating what ever her mom and dad are eating

She scrunches her lips up to her nose when she's eating sometimes (like a bitter beer face)... it's pretty cute

She drinks from a straw

She spits out her pacifier when she knows she's about to nurse

Molly has graduated from her cradle to a crib

She takes 3-4 naps a day. Her bedtime is 7:30-8pm and she's been sleeping a lot longer at night... that is, if she gets all of her naps in during the day

She likes to fall asleep on her side then roll onto her back

At bedtime Mama sings 'Nu Tändas Tusen Juleljus' (a Swedish Christmas song), gives her a pacifier, and swaddles her. As soon as she hears the song she rubs her eyes and protests a little. Once swaddled she calms down, but always breaks her arms free of the blanket.

Busytown

2011-08-01T11:41:00.000-06:00

We had a busy weekend. We bought a nice '01 Buick Regal from my Grandma. We went golfing.

My sister and her family stayed with us over the weekend which meant Rob was super happy. He says having family in town is a good excuse to eat out a lot. So we wet our appetites with some Santa Monica Pizza, Buca Di Beppo, and Cold Stone.

We watched a couple of movies... my favorite being Valentin. (If you like foreign films, like me, you'll love this one.)

I didn't do well with getting any photos of our weekend events, but I did have a photo shoot Saturday afternoon with this little 6 week old cutie.

Headbands

2011-07-28T22:03:00.000-06:00

I just got another package of some really cute headbands from BlossomChic Boutique to photograph.

Here are just a few of my favorite shots of Molly modeling the headbands. You can see more photos of Molly on HP Photography.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

2011-07-25T20:48:00.000-06:00

The mirror we paid $5 for at a yard sale a couple weeks ago has a whole new look.

It went antique white with hand-painted bird and branch.

We hung it above the couch and just love it.

Spanish Fork in the Road

2011-07-24T22:32:00.000-06:00

We didn't go up to Park City this week, but we still had the urge to go garage saleing. So we saw a few when we were out and about. I am worried that we just buy other peoples' stuff at a discounted rate and we end up selling it at our own garage sale later on down the road. Here is some of the stuff we picked up. Not the greatest week for finds.

Molly's latest cuteness update - She crosses her ankles. It sounds so corny, but every time she does something new, we have to post it. Parenthood makes you get excited about funny things - a big poop, clapping hands, rolling over, waving goodbye. And just when you think she understands you when you say, "Kisses," and she leans in for one - you realize, after saying, "Kisses" again and again, that maybe it was just a coincidence.

On Saturday, we went down to Spanish Fork for the Williams' (Extended) Family Reunion. It was fun to see a few of our close cousins and meet some new ones as well. Our common ancestor's name was William Williams - how tragic.

After the reunion, we went down to the Spanish Fork Pioneer Day Celebration. We walked around the different booths of mother's-looking-to-earn-an-extra-buck. The car show highlighted the celebration with VW retro vans and redneck 4X4 vehicles.

We ended the day enjoying a BBQ with some friends.

One of the benefits of the new fireworks law that they passed in Utah, is that we got to enjoy really impressive fireworks from the backyard while roasting marshmallows and eating smores.

Deck the walls with boughs of Molly

2011-07-18T09:00:00.002-06:00

Update on the decor!

Two and a 1/2 months after our move, we finally started decorating the walls in this place. It's all starting to come together. We're not quite done, but were getting closer to a finished look. (Note: I'm sure you'll recognize most the photos on the wall. All but 3 were taken by Moi. I just can't decorate with anything that doesn't have personal meaning to us.)

Entry way

Living Room

Bathroom

Bedroom

Molly's Room

Molly only has a little time left in her cradle. She's getting to the point that she's rolling on her tummy and doesn't have enough room to roll on her back again. I'm also getting worried she's going to pull herself up and fall out... so look out Molly, here comes the crib.

I'm planning on painting this shelf white sometime soon. I went to get the paint Saturday, but the store had closed 10 minutes earlier. (Booooo Ace Hardware!)

Molly's been rolling all around the room. The other day we watched her roll right into the closet. We're okay with her playing in the closet, but hope we never see her 'coming out of the closet'. Ha ha ha.

Trash or Treasure?

2011-07-17T17:37:00.000-06:00

Here are our yard sale finds for the week.

We can now play racquetball, lift weights, change Molly's diaper... spill-free, relax with a book or 6 books, checkout our outfits in the mirror and store a CD or two.

I've got an idea for that mirror...

You Can Go With This Or... You Can Go With That

2011-07-13T10:44:00.000-06:00

Remember these bar stool we picked up at a yard sale?

Well, I'd been on a hunt for bar stools. These were not quite what I was looking for in the begining, but when you can get both for $5 you really can't go wrong. They were decent enough and I knew I could make them a whole lot cuter.

It was really hard picking out fabric for the seats. Since the fabric was so inexpensive, I picked a few prints I liked and tested each one out.

Do you notice which fabric's missing?

That's right, we went with the brown zebra print. I'm not typically an animal print kind of gal, I really wanted to use the blue fabrics, but the blues just didn't look as good in the space.

Cost break down:

Stools: $5

Fabric: $1.50

Total: $6.50 and two new good lookin' stools.

'week' ness

2011-07-12T09:32:00.003-06:00

Let's talk about last week. Oh, what a week!

Sunday: We substitute taught primary two weeks ago and two days ago. They must have really liked us since they called us to be new primary teachers on Sunday.

Monday:We celebrated the 4th, just the three of us. (Has it only been a week?)

Tuesday: My sister Tiffany came into town. I was hanging all my decorations (Yep it's only taken me two months to do it) that day so she pitched in a hand. We then went to Nordstroms where I got these buties. I can't wait for fall so I can start wearing them.

Wednesday: I finished up hanging more decorations, since I needed to run to the store that day to buy some picture hanging hardware. Don't worry, I've got a post in the works to show you the new look to our home.

My brother Logan and his family also stopped by. Logan just finished up his MBA at Kelly in Indiana. They're moving to Delaware and were in town before the big move. We did a quick photo shoot with my niece and nephews. These kids are so stinking cute!

Go see the rest of their photos here.

Thursday: Molly hung out with her friends at the ward playgroup. She thought the splash-pad in Herriman was pretty fun.

After playing in the sun, we drove to Lehi to visit Molly's Great Grandma Powell.

Rob and I were asked to speak about Pioneers last Sunday so I went to get some info on my own Pioneer ancestors.

We came home to see Rob for dinner and a few minutes before he left for his GMAT prep class. Next it was off to shoot these lovely people. Molly did so good hanging out in her stroller while we were busy setting off an alarm to the building we were at.

Friday: Molly had another playdate... which we forgot to take photos of. She meet some new peeps and we all swam in the pool. It totally wore Molly out and she took a long nap. Long enough for me to write my Sunday talk.

When Rob came home from work we went downtown on a date. Just the three of us. We ate at The Blue Iguana (I keep wanting to like that place, but I'm always disappointed) and headed over to the Church Museum across from Temple Square (no disappointment there).

Saturday: We headed up to Park City with some friends. We meet my parents and yard saled (is that a word?) all morning long. We came home with these treasures. Total out of pocket was less that $9.

(I re-upholstered the stools above. Can't wait to show you all.)

That evening we went to some other friends house for dinner. It was super yummy and fun to hang out with good company.

Rob spent the rest of the night writing his talk for the next day. I prepared the primary lesson we were asked to teach.

Both went well. My parents came up to listen and watch Molly while we spoke.

This week truly wore us out... as you can see.

You'd be surprised how comfortable our dining room floor is.

Headress

2011-07-09T20:21:00.000-06:00

I know Rob loves to where hats. I didn't realize how much he loves to wear Molly's things. Every time I walk into a room where he and Molly are, this is typically what I find.

Hmmm. I wonder where Rob got the idea?

It must be a Williams' thing?

Oh My It's July

2011-07-06T22:41:00.000-06:00

Unlike last year, we spent the 4th of July with just the three of us.

Have I mentioned that I'm not a big holiday person? Well, for not being a fan of holidays, the 4th is my favorite. This year our holiday was pretty low key. No family, no rodeo, only one piece of candy at the parade, eaten alive by the mosquito's watching the fireworks. Still it was fun to spend time with Rob and Molly.

Here we are at the West Jordan parade.

Molly was feeling very patriotic and spent most of her time waving her grand ol' flag.

We stopped by a carnival in the evening and Rob told me carnivals make him feel depressed. What? I think he's seen 'In America' too many times. Although, I have to admit this carnival was a little depressing. We took off and went to Spaghetti Mama's for dinner instead.

Heads Up 7 Up

2011-07-02T22:05:00.000-06:00

Molly's seven months. Here is 7 things Molly is into these days:

She flaps her arms like a bird when she wants to be picked up

She likes to clap her hands and scratch at all textures

She shakes her head, 'No,' like a crazy person

She says ba ba ba, da da da, and other gibberish

She loves to play with paper

She sucks on her toes

She likes to roll around the room

Some like it hot hot hot

2011-07-01T13:41:00.001-06:00

All year long I've been complaining about the cold weather. Just as the weather in Utah was a perfect 80 degrees, we leave town for Arizona and the sultry 115 degrees. Anyone who knows me well understands what weather means to me, but we made the sacrifice, even though it was fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk hot, it was well worth it to see these two tie the knot.

During the wedding ceremony, I experienced a bit of a miracle. As the sealer began the ceremony, I felt a coughing spell coming on. Of course I wasn't coughing before hand, but just when it could have been the most embarrassing, it started taking over my throat. I said a quick little prayer and it pretty much subsided. I was very grateful I didn't have to steal the show by coughing up a lung right there on the temple floor.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle after the sealing. I rushed out to get my camera to capture the day for Jen and Forrest. Rob and I picked up the cupcakes for the reception, helped cut up toppings for the ice cream bar, transported lanterns, and helped get the reception hall set up by stringing lights and setting up the cupcake tower. It all came together at the last minute and turned out beautifully.

Friday, we couldn't pass up a chance to hang out with a few of Rob's brothers. Of course we chose to do one of our favorite things... eat. We carefully selected a place in Scottsdale, and when I say carefully, I meant we bought a groupon for The Cove. We were not about to leave Arizona without tasting some of the best salmon ever grilled. I swear the salmon swam way downstream, jumped billions of falls and carefully made its way to my plate for me to savor and think about it for days.

With our tummies full, we headed over to Rob's aunt's house for a family photo shoot. It was very carefully color coordinated and we were Team Green. You'd never guess how hard it was to find something green for a 6 month old. (We ended up getting a size 2T and altering it to fit.) 3 pm in the Arizona summer is just about as hot as Molly looks in this photo.

I guess you could say we either looked like a bag of skittles or a picture out of The Friend magazine. Here all the grandkids are preparing to strike a pose.

We found quite a relief from the heat after the photo shoot in the backyard pool.

Then it was down to Mesa for some fish tacos and killer burritos at Mangos. We went for a little stroll after dinner in search of a dessert place. We didn't find what we were looking for, but did find Dairy Queen and couldn't turn down a cool treat.

Saturday was filled with more swimming and dinner with friends. We wish we lived closer to hang out with all these cool people.

Molly made a new friend too.

We decided Arizona was too hot and went in search of cooler weather... Utah felt just perfect.

June Bug Bites

2011-06-21T22:38:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'll admit that we have slacked a ~~little~~ lot on the blog as of late.

So here's a little catch up in no particular order (since I really can't remember the order of when everything happened anyway.)

Wanna turn heads? Make waves..or splashes like Molly. That's right Molly's took a dip... actually two dips in the pool in the past couple weeks. She's a brave soul and even tried going completely under.

I recently went to a relief society activity where we talked about gardening. I'm no green thumb. Actually, I've killed every plant I've owned. But I've always liked the idea of pot gardening so I'm starting with herbs. Let's see if I can get the cilantro, basil, and green onions above dirt. It's not looking promising since my friend, who is growing the same herbs, already has sprouts in her garden.

What's stressful, time consuming and hard all over? The GMAT prep course Rob just started. It's keeping him pretty busy, which is giving Molly and me a taste of what grad school is going to be like. Not sure I'm ready to loose my husband to homework just yet.

A couple Saturdays ago Maceys was doing a free pancake breakfast. Since it's not in my nature to pass up something free, and not in Rob's nature to pass up food, we decided to let nature take its course. We showed up 2 hours late and skipped the wait in line. I distinctively remember thinking how fun it was to go as a little family. I love spending time with my two sweeties.

Speaking of food, our ward also threw a BBQ that evening. We traded some S'more bars (remember these) for hamburgers, hot dogs, and some yummy sides.

I did just get my hair cut, but this mess was not from getting my hair done. This is the amount of hair I've been losing just taking a shower. Actually, I've lost more since I can't catch every hair before it's on the way to clog the drain. It's been steady since month 3 postpartum. I'm hoping the hair loss slows down soon. Molly and I are sick of finding Mama's hair between our toes and everywhere else we go. (I hope nobody loses their lunch from this picture; and if you do, sorry in advance.)

Last Saturday, Molly did her first 5K fun ~~run~~ walk with us and our stake on the Jordan River walkway. And of course there was another free pancake breakfast to follow. And you all know how we feel about free food. Wink wink.

BTW the Jordan River walkway is preddy pretty. We enjoyed seeing all the blooming trees, the yellow-headed birds, the swaying reeds and the frogs croaking. We may or may not have liked the mosquito swarms. I'm looking forward to more ~~runs~~ walks along this path.

This past weekend Tiffany and Doug came into town to run some errands. Since I can't pass up spending time with my sis, and Rob can't pass up food, we had some delicious food at Lugano's. Molly came with and sat in a high chair for the first time.

This is the way I've been finding Molly just about every time she wakes up. She thinks those balls are so fun and has found a way to get under the bumper to them. She was a little confused (can't you tell?) as to why I thought it was so funny! Who knew yarn balls could be so fun.

Okay, if were talking about getting into things... Molly got to this today. I swear I left for one second and somehow those arms grew longer and she was able to get her hands on this.

The other night you might have found us cuddling on the couch watching this little ditty. I told Rob earlier that day I was in the mood for an old movie and this is what we saw.

Molly begged me to paint her cute little toes. And since I'm a mom now, I have to match my little girl right? It was so much fun to match her I almost went out and bought us matching dresses, bows, and maybe thought about going into Target's portrait studio for a matchy match photo shoot. Oh wait we're not in the '80's any longer. I think we'll just stick with the toes.

Molly is quite the social butterfly. Her favorite people these days are the other little girls in the ward. She can't get enough of them.

Last but not least. Tomorrow we're heading down to Arizona for Rob's sister's wedding. We are so excited for her and of course we love weddings!

Crap... It's Father's Day - And Sometimes that Stinks

2011-06-19T17:53:00.002-06:00

Molly sent her dad the cutest card for Father's Day

Molly sure had a LOT of love for Dad today with 3 poops (2 1/2 more poops than usual)!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, especially our own.

Can't get enough

2011-06-04T11:23:00.000-06:00

We got a few more photos of Molly with Blossom Chic Boutique's headbands.

Molly's still working on sitting up alone, but she's getting there.

I made these balls of yarn not too long ago. I think they'll look great in Molly's room...if I ever get it decorated. They make for a good photo prop too.

Elizadophoto

2011-06-03T10:43:00.000-06:00

I had a fun photoshoot with Molly's little friend Eliza. Click here... you have to see the rest of her photos. So cute!

Happy Half Birthday!

2011-06-01T22:58:00.001-06:00

Molly is 6 months! Whoa baby. She's growing up too fast. We went to the doctor today for a wellness visit and her stats are as follows...

Weight: 16 lbs. 8 ounces (65%)

Height: 25.5 in. (50%)

Head Circumference: 16.5 in. (50%)

Molly has been nursing and within the past month has been given a few bowls of rice cereal. She has mastered passing toys from one hand to the other and loves shaking her head back and forth. She's learning how to make her parents laugh. The other day, while nursing, she latched on funny and it made Rob and I laugh. This caught Molly off guard and she quickly pulled away to watch our reactions. She did the same thing again and pulled away to watch us laugh. Then she full on teased us doing the same thing for over a minute and we just couldn't stop laughing. She thought she was pretty clever... and so did we.

I love that you can see my sister laughing in those sunglasses

Memorable Memorial Weekend

2011-06-01T22:35:00.001-06:00

This past weekend we went out to Roosevelt to celebrate the graduation of Sara, my niece. We all got together at my sister's house before the ceremony for dinner .

I must be getting old, because I now have two nieces who have graduated from High School. We gave Sara some cute bowls, plates and glasses which Rob later asked who gave her those. It wasn't long ago that I took Sara's senior pictures. I can't believe how fast her senior year went. She'll be off to Utah State soon studying music.

While we were with family we took advantage of eager babysitters and went to the Temple in Vernal.

Later that day we headed out in Doug and Tiffany's boat.

Doug was the only one getting wet. Maybe we'll get in next time... as long at the water warms up. I'm done with this cold weather.

I thought this view in black and white was pretty.

Sunday we headed to my parent's ward to hear their farewell talks. My Mom and Dad have been called to serve at the Family Tree Center in Park City. They'll live at home and take my brother Jon (who has special needs) with them everyday. They've been trying to turn in mission papers for some time, but things just didn't seem to work out for them. Well, it finally did. They both did an excellent job on their talks!

Oh and we can't forget to mention that my 11 year old niece, Kennedy, crocheted this cute little top for Molly. She didn't even use a pattern. Pretty amazing wouldn't you say?

Hats Off to Yellowstone

2011-05-21T20:56:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had someone show you a slide show of their vacation? Kind of boring, no one wants to hear about it, but you kind of feel obligated to sit through it. That's kind of how I feel about this post. A lot of pictures, and me telling about each hot pot and fumarole that we visited. But don't feel obligated to read my drivel. If you just want to see the awesome pictures that Heather took, go right ahead.

I've been to Yellowstone a few times with my family, but it seems that every time we go, we only see one thing - Old Faithful. I have to say, for all the talk of the grandest of the geysers seems a bit overrated. One of the sites I wanted to see before we left this time was the Grand Prismatic Spring, and it didn't disappoint.

We decided to go to Yellowstone because Heather's parents won a stay at a West Yellowstone lodge courtesy of Columbus Travel. They are preparing to go on a mission and weren't able to fit it into their busy schedule, so they gave us the chance to go. Heather had never been. We also invited along some friends from our old ward, Brandice and Solon. We had a ton of fun with them.

This is where all the pictures come in.

You can just keep scrolling down. I'm not saying anything important.

Home - home on the range. The buffalo were just a few feet from us as they no longer use the range to roam, but instead the middle of the road.

This was our view as we waited for Old Faithful.

Old was as faithful as a Utah snow storm in February, or even May like we have been getting.

This one reminds me of a melted orange creamsicle. MMMMMMM!

I think this is the one picture I took, so don't judge too harshly the overall portfolio with this one included.

The picture below is my favorite one of the lot.

This picture is my least favorite. I bought this hat probably a year ago at Urban Outfitters for a couple bucks. I didn't wear it too much but I decided to bring it because I didn't want to dirty up my other ones. During the trip, I started to really get attached to it. When we got to the Grand Prismatic Spring, it was super windy. The steam from the spring blew in your face and it felt like I put my head in the dishwasher right after it finished. I kept having to pull my hat down in order to not lose it in the geyser. Well, hold on to your hats, because I didn't. And there was no way of getting it back unless we had a fifteen foot pole, but we didn't. As an Eagle Scout, I was taught to never leave a place worse off than when you came. But in the case of the Grand Prismatic Spring, we didn't.

You can tell Solon and Brandice have only been married for about a year, because they're still holding hands.

This one is called Castle Geyser. Supposedly, when it goes off, it sounds like a locomotive. When we visited, it was set to go off between 1 am and 3 am. We thought about going, but then we realized that we're not loco.

There is no way I would be caught on this trip without a hat. But since it was in a geyser back in Yellowstone, I had no choice and here is the proof in Jackson Hole. I have to take my hat off to Yellowstone and that vacation. Although, it was only a few days, the sites, the company, the memories will never be forgotten.

Love at First Bite

2011-05-18T22:52:00.000-06:00

Molly tasted her first real food last week, although the jury's still out on whether rice cereal is classified as real food.

Heather bought a couple frames at Pier One on clearance. She wanted a scuffed up look so she enlisted the help of some neighbor kids. The frames were originally brown, but she decided to paint them white. The neighbor kids helped by kicking and stepping on the frames after Heather primed and set them out to dry. We didn't catch them so we could "thank" them, but Heather re-primed the frames and they turned out great.

Here you can see the details of the faux-antique look and a cute baby if I do say so myself (pay no attention to the ghost in the glass).

Home Sweet Home

2011-05-13T17:35:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are some pictures of our new place. I know some of these photos have horrible lighting! I apologize. It drives me crazy, but the lighting in this place isn't the greatest.

We still have almost all our decorations in a box, I hope we get to them someday soon, but you'll get a pretty good idea about our space.

Here's Molly's Room. It's pretty blank. I'm excited to decorate (wish I could paint).

I just love the cradle my uncle made for her.

We had to put our desk in the dining room, which I hate, but at least we have a place to work. And all you have to do is swivel that chair around and voila...dinner.

If you noticed the unattractive folding chairs... we're still looking for the right dining chairs.

Saturday is a special day

2011-05-08T21:24:00.001-06:00

We headed to Temple Square yesterday. It was such a beautiful day. The weather was amazing and the flowers were gorgeous, as usual. I had a photo shoot for the cutest family. They adopted both their little boys, and were recently sealed in the Temple as a family to their youngest son.

You really need to see some of their other photos on my photography blog!

Aren't they just adorable!

Here's Little Miss Molly enjoying the stroll.

I couldn't help capturing these little chubby chubs.

Bustin' a Move

2011-05-08T13:41:00.000-06:00

Yep it happened. We moved.

Last Saturday was the big day. We spent hours packing boxes, rented a 16 footer, and hauled everything out. Good thing we decided to move in Spring and not the middle of winter... oh wait... it couldn't be that nice on a day when the Williams departed. We woke up to a blanket of pearly white snow. April 30th was a day right out of February.
Molly kept herself entertained with Baby Einstein while we, our neighbors, some ward members, and family cleared the place out and cleaned it up. We couldn't have appreciated the help more. Thanks goes out to those who helped. You know who you are.
I went to my BYU aerobics class for the last time (the Wednesday before the move). I was so so sad to say goodbye. I've been a TA there for about 2 yrs and attending since the fall of 2007. Becky, my instructor, is amazing and tiny too. I look and feel like a giant next to her.

I'll post some pictures of our new place soon. We're still unpacking and getting settled in. It's taken a little more time than we thought with Little Miss Molly as a cute distraction.

Top Model

2011-05-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

Molly's started her modeling career.

A friend from our old ward makes these super cute bows! She recently moved to the land down under, but she sent me a few of her bows for Molly to show off. They're really cute and nicely put together.

On another note. Molly is 5 months old. She's starting to sit up by herself, but only for short bouts of time before she takes a dive. She's very happy and just got moved into her own room.

Movin' On Up to the West Side

2011-04-25T09:43:00.000-06:00

With gas prices going up, and the number of lanes on I-15 going down, we've decided to move to West Jordan. That's right. We're movin' on up... but only in direction and rent. We've really loved our apartment in Orem and more so, the friends that we've made. To tie a bow on our time in Orem, the ward realized that they couldn't function without us. So they are dissolving our ward next week. They said it was because they wanted to consolidate the married student wards, but we know the truth. Here's a picture of the BYU 98th ward Relief Society presidency in their final days. Heather is really going to miss these girls!

Glad Påsk

2011-04-24T20:34:00.003-06:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

If I were in Sweden right now, I'd be eating Semlor, drinking Påskmust, and wishing you a Glad Påsk.

We took a quick picture at church today to show off our "cutie pie" dressed in his white shirt and green tie. Molly looked pretty cute too.

Mobile Me

2011-04-21T14:34:00.001-06:00

I've been wanting to make Molly a mobile for a while now. During General Conference I started the project and finished a week ago. Here it is all done and hung. Molly's been lovin' it.
I also made her a few pacifier clips. (It only took me 6 tries to get the snap on there right. Ha ha. I'm a pro now.)

Laugh it up

2011-04-20T15:06:00.000-06:00

Molly just starting to giggle. It's super cute!

Dressed to impress

2011-04-19T14:16:00.002-06:00

Having a baby really changes your body... and your confidence in what you wear. I been alternating between the same two skirts for church since I had Molly. Last week I went out and found something new. I picked up a striped Maxi dress. Threw on a black cardigan and a belt around my hips. I added a chunky gold necklace to match the gold sandals. And waaalaaa. I loved the combo. It's so much better shopping for a look and not for a piece. I got everything at Forever 21 so the most expensive piece was $13.50. Super affordable. Super cute.

How can I have S'more if I haven't had any yet

2011-04-19T11:55:00.004-06:00

Why is it that I often have to remind myself to eat breakfast and lunch, but never dessert? I made these recently and they were so delicious. I thought I'd share.

1/2 c butter, softened

3/4 c sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 1/3 c flour

3/4 c graham cracker crumbs

1 t baking powder

1/8 t salt

5 milk chocolate candy bars (or chocolate chips)

1 c marshmallow creme

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Set aside 1/2 c for topping. Press the rest into a 9 in pan. Place chocolate on crust; spread marshmallow creme. Sprinkle with remaining graham cracker mixture. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min or until golden brown.

What I Like About You

2011-04-09T23:40:00.009-06:00

Molly is just past 4 months now! We can't believe how fast she's grown. She's super smiley... especially with her mom... and we just can't get enough of her. She's developed an iron grip and loves to get a hold of Mom's hair. She also likes the feeling of Mom's hair and likes to play with it when she's nursing. She's starting to giggle when she's tickled. She loves to stand and is always stretching out her legs. She likes to babble, really loud. She likes to go out in her stroller and loves having Mom carry her on her hip... everywhere. Molly used to sleep through the night, but she's decided she wants chunky legs so she likes a 3 a.m. snack. She doesn't like when Mom leaves and has decided to develop her lungs with Dad. She likes to trill her lips/spit like Mr. Ed and she loves to cover her eyes with her hands when she sleeps.

La Mesa

2011-03-27T00:15:00.004-06:00

I made a table! I really did. I went to the hardware store and picked out wood. I wanted it to look a bit chunky so I got the wood two inches thick. I sanded it. Screwed it together and stained it.

It didn't quite turn out the way I was thinking in my head. Especially the stain. The wood was supposed to look more like driftwood, but hey I figure I can enjoy this for a bit and then I'll just sand it down again and try out a different color later. We're still working on finding chairs for the table. Any suggestions? I'm thinking black wooden ones...?

For those who want to see where I got my inspiration go here. I really love this blog.

Shells

2011-03-26T23:58:00.005-06:00

How do you like this beauty? It didn't always look this way... It looked more like this. I was getting tired of the way it looked in our apartment, but I love the shells so I decided to cut off of length and add them back on for bulk. I love it so much more! And it looks so much better. Don't you think? I've got more ideas and projects I've been working on. I'll post them eventually.

Rolly Polly

2011-03-21T15:50:00.001-06:00

If You Want to Destroy My Sweater

2011-03-18T11:17:00.000-06:00

I took this old sweater from my closet, that I was about to give to the DI, and made.... this cute pillow.

The beautiful chair belongs to my sister Tiffany. She reupholstered it herself. You've got to check out the before and after photos on her blog!
P.S. Happy Birthday Tiffany

2011-03-17T13:10:00.003-06:00

Look who found her toes!

(Geez... I can never post just one picture. I weeded out several others I wanted to post.

I think 5 should do it!)

Cirque Du Clearlink

2011-03-06T13:42:00.007-07:00

On Saturday, Heather and I had a fun night of cotton candy, caramel apples and circus escapades at my company party for Clearlink. One of the requirements for entrance into the party was either a mask or face painting of some sort. We decided to paint our faces. I went as Batman with a silver mask and Heather's mask was even more impressive. At the party there were clowns, jugglers and fabric dancers (the performers that twirl in fabric hanging from the ceiling). They even brought in a hypnotist who let eight coworkers make complete fools out of themselves. After the great food and the hypnotist, they had a dance off, which was quite entertaining. We had a great night celebrating a great year at my work.

Molly 3 Months

2011-02-24T16:17:00.005-07:00

Molly is already 3 months old! She's growing way too fast. I keep putting her in her newborn onsies (my favorite is the pink with white polka dots) because I just hate the thought that she'll never be small enough to fit into them. Just yesterday I decided that were going to completely skip 0-3 month clothes if she doesn't start wearing them really soon... as in today.

Molly brings us such happiness. I love being with her everyday! She's such a great baby. She only fusses when she's really hungry and really tired. I hope all my babies will be as good.

Molly is always happy and full of smiles. She's been holding her head up and steady for quite sometime now. From week 1 she wanted to look around and started building those neck muscles. She's found her hands and loves to suck on her index fingers. She's also getting really verbal with her coos. Molly loves to look at herself in the mirror. She could be crying and we'll hold her up to a mirror and suddenly her cry stops and she gets a big smile on her face. One of my favorite things she's been doing recently is smacking her little lips. Soooo so cute!

We love our little Molly and are so proud to be her parents.

Once Upon a Time, They Lived Happily Ever After

2011-02-24T15:36:00.013-07:00

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a beautiful prince and a handsome princess. For the prince's thirtieth birthday, the princess wanted to throw a huge ball ---- really hard at the prince, but instead she whipped up a little riddle. The prince normally likes to open his booty early, and the princess normally likes him to open up his booty on the appointed day of birth. So the prince predicted precarious underpinnings when the princess presented the present precisely a period predating his appointed party. The prince opened the box of treasure a fortnight early, only to find a card with said riddle. The princess obliged him with a quill to solve the letter labyrinth in order to obtain his birthday booty. Through his 30 years of battling wits in contests of intellect, the prince conquered the puzzle easily and found that the fair dame had given him entrance to the Land of Disney.
The prince and the princess picked up a fairy child on the way to the magical kingdom. The fairy child promised them a new carriage if they showed her to the magical kingdom. As shown below, not all "fairy tails" have a happy ending. Here are two young squires with the bad fairy tail, dressed to the nines, actually more like dressed to the fives and sevens. The prince and princess got their carriage for showing the fairy child how to get to the magic kingdom, but the carriage was built for fairies.

Here is the prince with an impostor who was trying to beguile the princess into thinking he was her husband. Although the two look alike, the princess foiled the plot by discerning that her true love had a lot more forehead and a lot less muscles than the impostor. To get back the fairy child for deceiving them, the prince and princess gave the fairy a magical elixir and binky. The fairy child would sleep as long as she wasn't waken by a kiss from the prince's sandpaper beard. The prince and the princess ended their magical journey to the Land of Disney by seeing a magician's show called World of Color. It was a perfect way end a magical trip and they lived happily ever after.

BE MINE

2011-02-24T15:24:00.002-07:00

Rob got to wake up on Valentines Day and find little notes all over the house. And he got a jar full of Swedish fish. Yum. I'm so lucky to have Rob in my life. I love love love him

2011-02-14T10:24:00.002-07:00

I had a photo shoot last Saturday with a really cute family. I meet Inna while on my mission in Sweden. She's from Ukraine, but was a nanny in Sweden... and I served in her ward. While there, Inna decided to go on a mission and left Sweden. Several years later I randomly ran into Inna at my aerobics class at BYU! Crazy wouldn't you say? During those years I hadn't seen her she's served a mission, married her husband Aurthur, and had 2 cute children. Take a look at their photos here.

It's About ..... Time

2011-02-08T09:22:00.005-07:00

Some highlights of my week last week...

Spending everyday and night with Molly
Aching muscles from Zumba and Power Pump (Rob says "Don't worry, it's not her new breast pump").
Visiting my sister in Roosevelt Thurs and Fri
Making a pillow from an old sweater. (Can't wait to show you all, but I'm still putting the finishing touches on it).
My Dad's 70th Birthday Party. We gave him a list of 70+ things we love about him. It was fun to read the list with the family.
Texas Roadhouse. I think I had the best steak ever there and I love their rolls!
A long nap with Molly
A movie with Rob and Tiffany
Pizzeria 7-12
I picked up 3 cartons of Dryers ice cream and 3 12-packs of soda, which I got $5 back after using coupons. I love getting paid to shop.
Painting my fingernails metallic grey. (I only paint my toenails. This is the first time I've seen color on my fingernails since I was a child).
Sacrament. Sunday School and Relief Society were cancelled on Sunday... they said it was because another Stake Center flooded, but somehow it meant we wouldn't miss any of the Superbowl. Hmmmm?
Eating dinner and watching the Superbowl with friends

The Lion Queen

2011-01-24T15:39:00.004-07:00

NNNAAANNNTTS IINGONYAMA BAGITTTHHHI BABA!!!! In case your wondering what that jibberish is, those are the first words of the Circle of Life in the beginning scene of the Lion King. I couldn't help but think of those words as I was presenting Molly to the pride in our ward last Sunday. Don't you think it's a little strange how we hold her up in front of the ward after the blessing? We thought she would roar during the blessing, not because of the "pray" in the church, but manely she was only fed a little before her big moment. But she did great. She was blessed with desires to share the gospel, a testimony of the Savior, and a sense of humor. I guess she has a little laughing hyena in her.

After the blessing we chowed down on great food in our little cave with the rest of the herd.

Although, you can't tell from the pictures, our apartment was pretty packed. I'm not lion. (There were about 30 people in our front room.)

Guinness Has Some Company

2011-01-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman - once there was a snowman, four feet tall. Last week, Heather, Molly, and I went up to Mountain Dell Golf Course for a chance to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Clearlink, the company I work for, wanted to break a record for the most snowmen built in an hour. We were going for a thousand, which would get us in the record book. The one snowman I had built up to this point was at my Grandpa Williams' house in Spanish Fork when I was a young buck, and what we created was something more like a mudman. We used hoar frost for snow. A twig for the typical carrot nose. For eyes, gray rocks instead of black coal. Although not experienced with building snowman, I had a little experience with improvisation. In order to break the record, the snowmen had to be four-feet-tall, have a carrot nose, and black eyes. At our record-breaking attempt we improvised again by using Oreo cookies instead of coal. When we started, I got a little frustrated because I saw all these thirteen-year-old girls building bigger and better snowmen. At least I learned one thing about snowman building from these teenage girls - roll and pack, roll and pack. We ended up getting the hang of it, and by the end of the hour we helped build 1,279 snowmen. Molly is unofficially the youngest member of Guinness' elite club.

2011-01-17T13:18:00.002-07:00

Having a little baby is very exhausting. Rob's so exhausted that he actually fell asleep singing the intermediate hymn in church yesterday. Seriously? I'll admit I've fallen asleep saying my prayers... that we're silent. It made me laugh a little too hard though.

On another note. I'm having a hard time concentrating on just one thing. I have a long list of things I need to do. The problem I'm having is that I have a lot of ambition to start a project, but get distracted so easily that I'll start a new project before I finish the one I'm working on. It's getting a bit frustrating and messy. The projects I've started but haven't finished are: Re-adjust Molly's blessing dress, patch up Rob's jeans, completely reorganized and clean our 2nd room (big project... I'm getting a little burnt out), laundry, going through my closet to get clothes for a clothing swap, and ordering a book of our blog (another huge project). I really need to stop blogging and start focusing so I can check these off on my to-do list.

Molly 1 month

2011-01-09T22:45:00.002-07:00

I took these photos of Molly a few days ago. Really how did we get such a cute little girl. I've found myself clenching my teeth lately to satisfy my desire of squeezing her too tight.
Today Molly started cooing. It was sooooo cute.... just about brought tears to my eyes. I love seeing her smile and interact with us.

Undercover

2011-01-03T20:14:00.006-07:00

I just finished making this car seat canopy last week. It took awhile since I didn't start until after Molly was born and that meant broken sewing sessions. Also, I didn't have a pattern and had to figure it out myself. I made it reversible so if I don't want to knock people out with the bright yellow flowers I can sooth them with the blue and green leaves.

Daddy's Little Girl

2011-01-03T19:21:00.006-07:00

Molly and her dad are so cute together!

I just love them both so much.

Suffering From Bad Gas

2011-01-03T19:00:00.012-07:00

When we left for Arizona, I made a list and checked it twice to make sure we had everything for a week of fun in the sun. Shorts, check. Presents, check. Toiletries, check. Molly, check. We left the greatest snow on earth for 75 degree weather, although according to Heather, you should never include great and snow in the same sentence. Heather thought it best to wait a day until the weather had returned to semi-horrible, instead of shut-down-the-freeway horrendous, which it was at the time we left. I decided to press forward saints like the pioneers and ignore her counsel. We started our trek at 10:30 am with the foreboding signs of slushy roads, thick snow clouds and the skid marks of cars sliding off the road. Between Orem and Cedar City, we saw 15-20 cars that had created some of these tire tracks that were waiting for a tow truck. My eyes were fixed on the road due to the warning signs all around of leaving a day too soon. About an hour into our journey, I saw a light out of the corner of my eye. I looked down for a brief second to see what the light was, but I didn't want to look for too long because of the road conditions. In some cars, it is an 'E,' in others it's a gas tank. In ours, it was a round light near our gas gage. They all mean the same thing- get some gas. Heather said a quick prayer that we would make it to a gas station. The scary part of the story is not that we had a newborn in the car, nor that we slid all over the road in the terrible road conditions, but that we didn't know how long the light had been on. We drove for about fifteen minutes on thin ice literally and figuratively hoping for a gas station on the next exit we approached. Finally, we pulled up to the Scipio exit, but the off ramp was blocked with several semis. We waited for another thirty minutes on the exit ramp, for the trucks to clear out so we could get some gas. The trucks finally started moving and we pulled into the gas station knowing that our prayer had been answered. Side note-when you pray, pray specifically. For example, if you happen to be low on gas, pray that you will be able to fill up on gas, not that you will make it to the gas station. Lesson learned the hard way. When we pulled up our car, which had been running on fumes for the last couple of miles, we began to notice that none of the lights were on at the station. No lights means no electricity. No electricity means no power. No power means no gas. Scipio's power shut off at three a.m. the night before due to downed power lines. We were stranded in a town I had never heard of, in weather we didn't want to be in, with a baby who shouldn't be in it. And the worst part is, it was my fault. Well, I had to fix this quick. I said the prayer this time and I wasn't going to leave the details out. Of course, Heavenly Father had to teach me a lesson so he put me in time out. When your putting your kids in time out, the amount of time should be equivalent to their age. If their 3, it should be 3 minutes. 4-years-old - four minutes. When your putting a 30-year-old in time out, the amount is 3 hours. So we waited. Our answered prayer came in the form of a 40-something mechanic, who filled up a small gas can in the next town up to help someone out. We paid him in Heather's homemade chocolates since he wouldn't take cash. So we got out of Scipio at 2:30 p.m. and made our way to the Valley of the Sun, which was instead the Valley of the Moon when we got there at 2 in the morning. Below are some of the things we did in AZ.

A day at the park, which turned out to be a little warmer than I expected. I should have worn shorts.

We had a great time at Danny and Beka's house with Rob's high school friends, even though Molly wanted to go home when we started taking pictures.

We got a ton of awesome presents. Rob's favorite was his new Nixon watch, Heather's was the Magellan GPS, and Molly's was the paper that her presents were wrapped in. Molly was really mad when Dad didn't fill up the car with gas.

Overall it was a great Christmas, even with the lessons learned.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T20:45:00.002-07:00

Dear friends and family,

My dad wanted me to tell you about our last year since he was tired of writing it every year and Mom is still tired after giving birth to me. I complained that I just got here, but to no avail. He said, "You've got to pull your weight, even if you are just 7 pounds 12 ounces." How can you argue with that? For those of you that don't know me yet, my name is Molly Xarissa Williams. I know, kind of a weird middle name. Who has an X for one of their initials? I guess it was the name of Dad's Grandma.

I came into this world on November 30, 2010 after clinging on for dear life to Mom's placenta because I didn't want to share my birthday with another holiday. But Mom and Dad really wanted to see me, so they had me induced 5 days after my due date. I guess Thanksgiving in 2017, we'll just have to have birthday cake instead of pie.

One of the highlights of this year included going to see a comedy act by Brian Regen. I was really young and very small in Mom's tummy, but I heard a lot of people laughing and there was one joke that was particularly funny. He said that when you are an adult there are sentences that come out of your mouth that will only be said whey you have children. He told his son, "Don't try to balance the fruit juice between the table and you chest." I can't wait till I start drinking juice.

For the Forth of July, we went out to Roosevelt for the McEvers Family Reunion. Mom and Dad got to help out planning the Amazing Race McEvers style. They were in charge of a couple legs of the race including one where the contestants had to catch rubber chickens flung form a sling shot with large clown pants. The pants were about the size of Mom's maternity jeans during our last trimester. The next leg of the race they were in charge of, involved putting a bunch of ping pong balls in an empty Kleenex box tied to the player's waist, and shaking like crazy till they all came out. I really like this one cuz I got my shake on with Mom when she tried to beat Dad. I also loved Uncle Doug's secret BBQ sauce. I kept trying to tell Mom to keep sending it down the cord, but they ran out too quickly to get seconds.

One thing Mom and Dad wanted to do before I officially made my entrance into this mortal coil is to go to New York. I wish I could have seen the sights, but at least the food was delish. I got Mom and Dad premium seating at the David Letterman Show and we even got to see Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra warm up. Okay, maybe I didn't get them in, but we did get premium seating because Mom was prego with me. It wouldn't be the first time I was used as an excuse for swag in the Big Apple. Every time Dad was thirsty, he would ask anyone, from the guy at the cafe to the woman at the pie shop, for an ice water fill up, in his water bottle, for Mom's baby bump (that would be me). What it comes down to is New York was a lot of fun, although Mom and I were really tired when we got home.

In New York, I got my first taste of Broadway when we went to West Side Story with Uncle Brent, who hosted our stay. There were some great costumes which inspired me to come up with our family Halloween costume. Of course, I had to be the star so I kicked Mom constantly until she agreed to be Juno. Although I wanted to be the star, I think Dads portrayal of Paulie Bleeker, with his John Stockton shorts and white legs out shined us all.

From all the Williams' we wish you a very merry Christmas and I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.

Happy Holidays,

Molly Xarissa Williams

Molly's Glam Shots

2010-12-02T18:02:00.007-07:00

I couldn't help taking a few more photos. Here's Molly at 5 days old.

I couldn't wait to get home from the hospital and take a few photos of Molly. Here she is 2 days old. She's so precious. I want to hold and snuggle her every second!

Good Golly Miss Molly

2010-12-02T11:35:00.007-07:00

Molly Xarissa Williams was born on November 30, 2010 at 2:12 pm weighing 7 pounds 12 ounces, measuring 20 and 1/2 inches at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. Nurse Deb induced Heather at 7 am. An hour later, Dr. Shelly Savage broke Heather's water, after which Heather had very strong and painful contractions. Since Molly was five days late (a pattern of tardiness that hopefully ends there), Dr. Savage said Heather could have the epidural whenever she wanted it. After a couple hours of contractions and Molly kicking and punching Heather's uterus like a speed bag, Heather had enough. The epidural was a welcome relief and for all those thinking of getting one when their child is born, Heather definitely recommends it. When Heather was induced, she was dilated to 3 cm. An hour after the epidural, she was at 5 1/2 cm. Molly really wanted to see Mom and Dad, so after another hour Heather measured at 10 cm and Molly started coming. Nurse Deb called Dr. Savage, who didn't expect to deliver her till later that night. After the call to the doctor, Molly's heart rate dropped suddenly, and we had about five nurses looking at monitors and turning over Heather from side to side. Molly's heartrate returned to normal and one of the nurses thought that she was lying directly on the umbilical cord, which caused the murmur. At 1:12 pm, Heather started pushing. Dr. Savage said that during your first delivery, it takes about two to three hours of pushing to get baby out. But due to Heather's strong abdominals and buttocks from her biweekly aerobics class (she even went this last Monday four days after her due date), she popped out Molly in an hour flat. Amniotic fluid hit Nurse Deb in the face as Molly came into the world and some of the other nurses laughed. Luckily, Dad had a strong stomach and didn't get queasy at all. He even snipped the umbilical cord. After Heather held Molly for a couple seconds, the nurses whisked Molly and Dad away to do some additional evaluations because of a slight problem with her breathing. When she was born, she didn't cry like a banshee, which was a little bit of concern for the doctor. Evidenced by this video, she cried more like a lamb.

After her breathing became normal and her temperature came up, Molly got to spend some quality time with Mom, who had to wait a couple hours to see her baby. Both Mom and Dad were a little worried she wasn't going to be a cute newborn, but our fears were assuaged when we saw her. We are so happy that she's here and really excited about our little family.

2010-11-28T14:09:00.002-07:00

Still waiting for our little one to come. She's 4 days late now. Can I tell you how disappointing it is when your due date comes and goes! In her defense, I don't think I'd want to come on such a cold, snowy week either. ( Photos taken back in October. I promise I'm a lot bigger now than I was then)

39 Weeks

2010-11-19T18:24:00.002-07:00

Here's the belly with 1 week to go. I went to the doctor yesterday and I'm getting closer. I've dilated a bit more... almost 3cm. She also said I have a really favorable cervix... what ever that means, but although that's a good thing she mentioned that my pelvic bone sits really low and that could be a problem. A C-section might be necessary if she can get her head out. I really hope we don't have to resort to that, but whatever we need to do to get her here we'll do.

We're so excited and can hardly wait for her to come. And once she's here I won't be pregnant anymore! Yay. After 9 months it's hard to remember what it was like not to be with child. I'm looking forward to seeing the scale go down, breathing normal, regular sized ankles and feet, no more heartburn, acne, waddling around... you know... every unfortunate side effect that comes with pregnancy. But I know that the end result is very worth 9 months of pregnancy.

Week 37

2010-11-05T22:21:00.005-06:00

I went to the doctor today. Our stats are as follows:

Baby's heartbeat- 135 beats per minute

Abdomen measured at 36cm

Weight gain 37 lbs

Baby is head down
Dilation 1.5 cm

Effacement 90%

Ju No What We Were For Halloween?

2010-11-02T07:34:00.009-06:00

Coming up with a clever idea for Halloween is always a little tricky. It can't be too cliche or too corny. It needs to be a little edgy, but not scandalous. Heather found the right balance when she saw what one of her friends suggested on her blog for a pregnant couple. Since Heather is 8 months along, we knew we had to do something with pregnancy as the theme. Hence, Juno and her short-shorted, quasi boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker. Perfect match of edge and humor. I was a little worried that people wouldn't get what we were dressed up as, but everyone that saw the movie knew who we were. We even won the funniest costume at our ward Halloween party (See our awesome trophy below).

We also got to strut our stuff Saturday night with our friends, Frankenstein and his bride at their big Halloween party. Nothing beats dressing up in short shorts and having a little hair up there. And no, I haven't taken any Rogaine lately to get a new mop on top. It is a wig.

Borderline Hoarders

2010-11-02T07:24:00.010-06:00

Heather and I have been watching a show on Netflix called Hoarders, where people have addictions of hoarding everything from beer bottles to scrap metal. Our apartment over the years, has become smaller and smaller because of our borderline hoarding addiction. The remedy to overcome this addiction is getting rid of it. So late Friday night, Heather came up with the idea of having a garage sale to make way for the baby (she must be "nesting"). When ideas like that happen, somehow I get pulled into it. So we made a bunch of signs and woke up early in the morning on my only day to sleep in to plaster them all over Orem. We had a bunch of people come so the signs must have worked. It was sad to see our glass table get sold since it was one of the big furniture items that we bought together before we were even married. But it needed to go. Luckily, the expected rain didn't come till the late afternoon so we sold about half of the things we put out. DI got the rest.

Killer Thriller

2010-10-28T20:10:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday night, Heather and I went to Thriller for the second year in a row. I enjoyed it more this year than last, probably because it is 30 minutes too long and I was 30 minutes late. We took Jordan and Noel Trebas, who are friends in our current ward. My favorites were the Three Jason's and the Dancing Skeletons. Heather liked when the scarecrows killed the cheerleaders and when it ended. She was a little too hot, a little too uncomfortable and a lot too pregnant. But she had fun, at least until she saw two inches of snow on the ground and a blizzard in the sky.