I just want to say that I am really the luckiest gal.  I have such an incredible husband.  He is constantly amazing me with his talent, determination, and accomplishments.  This man can do it all people.  I have been gone from home for almost a month, and as we drove into Vernal last night, I was so excited to get into my own house, my own bed, and my routine.  As I pulled into the garage, my jaw dropped.  Once again, Mike amazed me.  He built - by himself I might add - storage and a work area for all of my crafting.  He also built a shoe rack, which I didn't get a picture of, but which is equally as awesome.  The work table for the craft area rolls out.  My husband is incredible.  Thank you Mike!

We also purchased our "family" car yesterday.  As an odd side-note, the salesman knew my family back in North Carolina.  In fact he worked with my brother!  Small world. Anyway, we bought a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder.  It's so nice and roomie, and I absolutley love it.  It had so much more power than my little Yaris did going up the canyons on the way home from Salt Lake, and Mike warned me that I best slow down or I might get pulled over.

Crafting Area

 Floor to Ceiling Storage

 The New Car

 While in North Carolina, I got to spend some quality time with my family.  It was so nice to be there and to laugh and play with everyone.  Thanksgiving was delicious.  Our good friends, the Harts, came over with their little sweetheart, Georgia, for the meal.  Kids were running around crazy and I loved basking in the atmosphere.  We had family pictures taken by a great photographer, and here are some of my favorite pictures.  Sam hardly ever gives kisses these days when you ask for one - he's a spontaneous little kisser.  But this day he cooperated.  I also love the candid shot of him and Mike.  Oh man do I love my little family! 

Bottom line people - I love my family and my life.

Chim Chiminy

I love fall. I love snuggling up and eating warm food and waiting in anticipation for all the holidays that settle into this time of year. We had such a fun Halloween. Once again, we had awesome costumes. It's always a trick trying to figure out what we are going to be. Only because Mike is so picky! I usually suggest about 20 ideas or so, and he has to think them over and pick just the right one. Oh, how I love that man. This year, he got really excited about the idea of Mary Poppins and Bert the chimneysweep. I was too, at first. Then we were just a week away from Halloween with no costumes, and I started to not be so excited. I started looking for ideas of "easy" costumes to throw together - but Mike won. And we looked awesome. The costumes weren't as hard to put together as I thought they would be. I was mostly worried about my ever expanding belly and how I would find anything to fit. It all worked out in the end. We went to Salt Lake for my sister-in-law's annual Halloween party. Everyone looked great. Then, Sam and I went to our ward Halloween party on Monday night. Sam won the costume contest for his age group, and showed off some made dance skills as he slithered backwards across the gym floor. Seriously. I had no idea what he was doing, but he entertained himself and everyone around him for a good 15 minutes sliding across the floor, jumping up, clapping, and then doing it again. My crazy little man.

I am now officially halfway through this pregnancy.  Today marks my 20th week.  I got to see some really good images of our baby girl last Wednesday as I went in for her fetal growth ultrasound.  She is measuring right on target - 5 1/2 inches long and 10 1/2 oz.  I was so relieved.  It was at this point that Sam's growth started slowing down - and according to his gestational size, his due date kept getting pushed further and further back.  I'm hoping this little lady has a little bit more room to grow than her brother did.  Things are still going really well, still not one complication.  I say a prayer of gratitude everyday for that miracle.  I've also had quite a different experience with my personal growth this pregnancy.  By this point with Sam I had already gained around 20 lbs.  I'm ashamed to admit it was mostly because of my nightly ice cream addictions.  This pregnancy I'm trying to be more moderate and healthy and I've only gained about 6 lbs.  I feel more comfortable this time around.  It's sinking in more and more everyday that we are having another kid!  It's hard not to have it sink in as she kicks and squirms.  I'm also wrapping my mind around the fact that we are having a girl.  I can't wait to meet her.

Pumpkin Patches and other fall treats

A few weeks ago, my dear friend, Kirsti, came out to the boondocks for a visit. We met in Bluebell at a cornmaze/pumpkin patch. Kir had never been to a corn maze before so I was glad that I got to share in that with her. I also love that whenever Kir and I get together it turns into a photo shoot. Our Boston roommates and Mike and all attest to this. Kir and I are awesome. Enough said. We did the cornmaze, drank some hot chocolate, shot a pumpkin blaster (think potato gun only better), and picked our own pumpkins. Then it was back to Vernal for a movie and catching up. I love Kir so much, and am so happy and feel so blessed that she is still such a good friend. Thank you for coming to see me!

Last weekend, Mike and I took a little roadtrip down to Phoenix to visit both his family and mine. His great aunt passed away so we went to support the family, and a lot of my extended family lives in the area. We had such a great time catching up with family. I'm so grateful that we had the chance! It was therapeutic in a way. Sam quickly made friends with his second cousins.  They are all about the same age, and it was funny to see them all congregate toward one another. 

At the end of our trip and on the drive back, Sam developed a really bad cough. He was wheezing to the point that I was getting panicked. I didn't know what to do and we were seriously in the middle of nowhere on our drive home. We took him in to the doctor when we got back. The morning we took him, he was all out of sorts. He was so tired and listless. He just let us hold him and snuggle him, which he never does. I secretly loved it, but at the same time knew it was a sign of how sick my little man was feeling. At the doctor, they tested him for RSV again. Thankfully the results were negative. But he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and a double ear infection. Poor kid has been on breathing treatments and antiobiotics as well as a steroid for the past few days. He's not the biggest fan of the breathing treatment, but he's at least letting us give it to him and not acting as though we were trying to kill him (which is how he acted at the doctor's office when we gave him his first treatment. I've never seen the kid put up such a fight. So dramatic.)

Almost halfway there

It seems like every time I want to share pictures, Mike decides to take the camera with him to work. So this will have to be yet another "informational" type post.

We found out on Wednesday that we will be evening out the numbers in our little family by adding a girl. I would have been happy either way- a boy would have been fun for us as well as a buddy for Sam. Plus we already have all the clothes. But, I cannot lie, I am so excited to have a girl! I can't wait to see how she resembles her brother. If she gets the Sorenson blonde hair and blue eyes or if she'll be a brown eyed girl like her mama. I love that I can now refer to the baby not as "it" but as "she". I love that I can feel her flipping around inside. These are the things that make pregnancy enjoyable. That and the increased appetite. Can't complain as I've always loved a good meal.

This pregnancy is almost halfway done and there have been so many differences. I don't know if it has anything to do with the baby being a girl or that my body seems to know the drill. But, we haven't had one complication. Not one! I'm still taking some precautions- such as progesterone shots to help decrease the likelihood of preterm labor. I'll take that over the anxiety and worry that seemed such a permanent part of my pregnancy with Sam. I am so grateful.

Sam is getting so big these days. No longer my sweet baby boy, but my crazy little toddler man. He can now wave hello and goodbye, blow kisses, give kisses, sign all done and more, say "uh oh", " papa", "mama", "dada", "ball", and "ow". He is such a social little bug. He loves to "talk" to other kids and likes to get up in their face as he does so. He loves dogs, which is funny because his dad hates them! Whenever he sees one his face lights up and his voice gets all high as he lunges at the dog saying, "tickle tickle!" It's pretty cute. We need to teach him boundaries maybe. He's still a two finger sucker. One day that habit will be a tough one to break but right now we aren't too worried. It's instant soothing when he's upset. I wonder if he has any idea how much things are going to change around here. Until then I'm trying to make sure he gets all the love he can handle.

Calling all moms!

Each day brings new surprises and adventures for our little family. We spent the last weekend in St. George cheering Mike and his brother on as they ran a marathon. The forecast said it would be overcast and at the most 78 degrees at the finish. Liars. Fatty liars, is all I have to say. I'm pretty sure it was pushing 90 at the finish line which made me even more proud of my man and his brother! Sam is such a trooper. Seriously the kid has spent a pretty good chunk of his life in a carseat and he'll let us know when he's had enough, but even then- he's so good. He's at a point now where he's very vocal about what he wants. Not vocal in his vocabulary, which is slowly expanding, but in his little gibberish and big screams. Lately, he's been super clingy and I'm trying to figure out the best way to navigate this. Tonight he screamed the whole time I made dinner- big tears and a broken heart written all over his precious face. I would stop every once in a while to give him a love and then try to direct him back to his toys- but nothing seemed to distract him. Moms out there- how does one sanely make it through this stage? I'll take any advice.

Finally, a post!

I've been meaning to sit down and blog - and then - I forget.  Life gets busy.  But tonight I have a minute. 

For those of you who follow my husband's blog, you might already know that we are having another baby.  We are so excited, and to be honest, the reality of it all is sinking in and I'm a little overwhelmed just thinking about it.  My babes will be 19.5 months apart.  It's hard to think of Sam as the older sibling right now.  But then again, he won't be where he is right now in 6 months.  He's growing and developing so fast these days.   He's no longer a little baby, but a busy, busy toddler. 

I'm 14 weeks along, and everything is going great.  In fact, things are going much better than they did in my last pregnancy.  I count my blessings and have said many prayers of gratitude for this blessing.  The absence of constant worry has allowed me to focus more on Sam and enjoy the stage he is in.  I think it's also allowed me to be a more emotionally stable wife and mother:)

Speaking of being a mom - I had one of those days today that really pushed my limits of what I thought I was capable of.  Sam woke up at 6.  This is not an uncommon thing.  The little stinker often wakes up early, chats to himself for a bit, and then goes back to bed.  But this morning, he woke up whining and crying.  My selfish self just lay there hoping he would go back to sleep.  Mike woke up and decided something was wrong because Sam never wakes up crying.  He went to check on him, and brought him back to our room - covered in vomit.  I held him while Mike stripped the crib and ran a bath.  We gave the little man a bath, and he threw up again.  I started to cry because he was hurting so badly and clearly hated throwing up.  Then, we got back in bed and Sam threw up 3 more times.  At this point Mike had to go to work and I started to panic.  He reacted so naturally and so calmly.  He needed to stay home and help with Sam!  I couldn't do it by myself! But as badly as I wanted him to stay home, he had to go to work, and I was on my own.  I hate throw up.  I hate the smell, I hate the thought, I hate the way it makes me feel and watching the look on my little boy's face, I hated the way it made him feel.  But tough luck.  I'm a mom.  There is no magical button I could push to make it all go away, I was going to have to deal with this situation.  So I did, and something incredible happened.  Somewhere inside me I found the strength I needed to be a mom.  To hold my little boy and not jump out of my skin as he puked all over me numerous times.  To find what he could keep down.  To go without my nap so I could check on him during his and make sure he was ok.  By the end of the day, I felt different.  I pray he doesn't have to go through that again, but I know he will.  And I know I can handle it. 

1 year...

Dear Sam,

I sit here writing this to you while you nap upstairs.  I look around the room and see toys scattered, handprints on the wooden furniture, and your sippy cup tipped over on the floor.  All reminders of what a busy little man you are.  You turned one last Friday.  As I sit here thinking about how much you've grown and how different our life is with you in it, I can't help but smile and whisper a prayer of gratitude.  You have changed so much!  A year ago we were trying to figure out what in the world we do with a little baby.  We didn't get much sleep and we had never been happier.  You were such a content little boy, and you still are.  You are our joy, little man. We love everything about you - the way you wake up so happy, talking to yourself as you patiently wait for us to drag ourselves out of bed to come and get you.  The way you throw yourself at us to give us the quickest of hugs before you quickly turn yourself around and crawl away to play.  The way you are so extremely ticklish, wiggling and giggling at the slightest touch.  The way you are being brave and trying to be such a big boy, taking steps and trying out sounds to make words.  The way you feed yourself and smile with such satisfaction as you stuff your cheeks and look like a little chipmunk.  I could go on and on and on.  You have grown so much, and become so much a part of who we are.  We love you little man, Happy Birthday.

Love, Mom

Such a mess!

Sam has been feeding himself more and more, which equals more and more mess.  We have found a new tactic for cleaning him off...

Kitchen sink.  Sam didn't seem to mind.  Not one bit.

Playing with the Cheney Jr.'s

My brother, TJ, and his family come out to Utah every summer to visit my sister-in-law's family.  I love this because I get a chance to see them!  Last summer they were here when I had Sam and they were some of the first in my family to meet the little man.  This year, I got to spend a few days with them when we got back from Lake Powell.  We went up American Fork Canyon to Cascade Springs.  Cascade Springs is one of my favorite spots.  I remember going there when I was little and visiting Utah.  On the drive up the canyon is another one of my favorite places.  It's a look out off the side of the road and I would often drive there when I was at BYU.  It was a place I could go and just take in the grandeur of Heavenly Father's creations.  Many stressful or overwhelming days found me in this spot, and I always drove away feeling at peace. This first picture is of that very spot.  The rest are of our trip to Cascade Springs and then to Heritage Park in American Fork the next day.  I love my brother's family and I'm so happy that I was able to see them.

Lake Powell 2011

We got a chance to spend 7 days on a house boat on Lake Powell.  This is one of Mike's favorite vacations and it is quickly becoming one of mine as well. I love playing in the water all day and sleeping out under the stars at night.  Sam loved it as well.  He was perfect up until the last day. At which point he decided to let us know he was done - by screaming his face off.  Silly boy.  He loved splashing in the kiddie pool and getting in the lake. He took naps like a champ and slept really well at night.  The only downside was when the sun would come up at 5 in the morning and Sam would wake right up and start talking really loudly, waking up the other kids and starting a chain reaction. 

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Sam decided he wanted to start walking while on the houseboat.  He took about 5 steps and then decided for the rest of the trip that crawling was by far the faster method of getting places.  Since we've been home, I've been encouraging him to try his hand at walking.  He's getting so close!

We have an almost 1 year old in our house!

It's true people, Sam is 11 months!  It's insane to think how much this little stinker has changed even in just the past few weeks.  I absolutely love hanging out with him all day. He just oozes personality and is still the happiest kid I know.  We get comments all the time on how smiley and giggley, and just generally happy he is.  I'll post pictures next time, but I'll leave you with what is going on with Sambo these days:

• He crawls like a nascar driver - fast and furious.  He even changes direction super fast.  He gets so intent on getting to the object or place that he wants to go, especially if he knows that I will snatch him up before he gets there - like when he's making a break for the stairs or the toilet or the bathtub full of water.
• He pulls himself up on to everything and everyone.  I took him to a Relief Society activity and the little man was making friends with all the ladies.  He would crawl from one person to the next and pull himself up using their legs then he would bounce and laugh at them until they picked him up.
• He is getting REALLY good at feeding himself.  He'll clean up his tray and leave very little food behind.
• He has absolutely destroyed his crib.  It looks like some crazy animal was trying to claw it's way out.  For those of you first time mom's reading my blog - get something to put on your crib railings before your kid gets teeth.  Someone told me you could by rubber protector strips from Ikea for your crib.  We definitley should have done this, but alas his crib is his new chew toy.
• He's down to just nursing at night time, and I can't even tell you how nice it is to not have to worry about finding somewhere quiet to nurse him during the day.  I'm experiencing a whole new sense of freedom.
• He'll stand on his own for about 5 seconds before realizing it - at which point he slowly sits himself on down.  He took two steps to me the other day. We're getting close to walking!
• He talks incessentley - not real talk, at least not talk we can understand.  But he's so animated and I swear he's trying to tell me big ole stories!  He'll say mamamama and dadadada, but I'm sure he's not quite at a point that he's associating it with us. 
• He likes to help around the house.  If I'm vaccuming, he'll chase the vaccum cleaner - he loves it.  If I'm doing dishes, he'll grab his spoons out of the dishwasher and then try to put them back.  If I'm folding laundry, he'll crawl right through the piles of folded clothes or start pulling clothes out of my drawers and throw them on the floor.  Such a helper!

This little boy is my sunshine, really.  His face lights up whenever he sees me or Mike.  He knows his mommy and daddy and loves us just as much as we love him.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be his mother!

Ragnar

Last weekend was Ragnar, and it was crazy amounts of fun.  I was really nervous about my first leg, but it turned out to be incredible.  I felt like I was running through the Swiss Alps.  There were snow capped mountains and wildflower meadows.  It was absolutley breath taking.  My second leg ended up being at 9:30-10:30 at night, and I loved running along the rolling hills of Morgan in the dark with my reflective gear and head lamp.  I made great time, and I think it was because I couldn't really see the hills and therefore couldn't mentally psych myself into thinking the run was hard. It was actually so peaceful and serene.  My last leg, the easiest one (or so the site said), was definitley my hardest.  I was physically exhausted and my legs were jell-o.  But, I did it!  Mike did amazing, everyone in our van kept saying how awesome he was and how inspiring he was and so on.  He just keeps such a great pace and makes it look so easy.  We got to know our neighbors really well and made some great memories, including camping out on a highschool gym floor with hundreds of other runners - trying our best to soak up what sleep we could.  I think I got maybe 3 hours.  It was definitley exhausting and we felt it after the race was over. We are already registered for next year, and we already have nearly a full team committed! 

 The pass off.  This was probably the most nerve wracking part for me!  The baton was actually an orange slap bracelet.  I thought it was pretty fun and quite a throw back to my elementary school days.

This was my 7.4 mile "very hard" leg.  Beautiful scenery, sucky dirt getting kicked up by all the vans as they drove by to support the runners.  This leg was also crazy because a van got stuck in the mud, causing a traffic jam.  I was about 1/4 mile away from the exchange as I ran past my team.  I was nervous that I would be waiting at the exchange since they were stuck in traffic, but Mike was smart and had already gotten out of the car and ran ahead so he could be there at the exchange for the pass off.  Quick thinking, babe!

Just a sample of the scenery, this is right after we came out of Avon Pass.  So pretty.

I loved this leg. All alone on the country roads on a clear night.  Plus I looked pretty awesome with my head lamp, tail lamp, and black mesh reflective vest.

Running across the finish line.  I thought it would be fun to carry Sam across.  Not as easy as I thought.  His little head was bobbing all over the place.  I ended up walking across.

My sister-in-law, Shannon, was kind enough to watch Sam for us while we did this.  She is awesome.  Then Mike's mom came to cheer us on at the finish line and brought the little booger with her.  I was so excited to see my little man.  I have never left him somewhere over night and I really missed him. 

This is just a really cute picture, not of Ragnar, but of Sam and his friend Bridger.  Both little boys are so cute.  The moment Sam saw the camera, his face lit up in a smile.  Little cheese ball.