My Gabba Gabba Girl

For those of you who have never seen Yo Gabba Gabba, it's a children's show (created by the singer from the Aquabats) about a group of toys who are brought to life by a skinny, dancing (and apparently magic) DJ, and who sing lots of songs about proper childhood etiquette (ie. don't bite your friends, being different is ok, eat your green beans and carrots, try new things-you might like it, etc.) 

Admittedly, it's a weird show, but Evie is OBSESSED, haha! We first saw it, kind of by accident, not long after she turned one, and she's been hooked ever since! I personally think it has some of the best music in a kid show that I've ever heard, so it's definitely grown on me ;)

Evie's magic robot boyfriend ;)

Evie has a valentine with her favorite character on it that she keeps in her purse (Plex, the magic robot). Karl calls him her boyfriend ;) The other day we were at target buying a wedding gift for one of my friends, and we happened to find a size 24 month Yo Gabba Gabba Jacket in the clearance section, and Evie just loved it. I let her put it on (it's pretty big on her) and she wouldn't take it off. The cashier had to scan the tag while it was attached to Evie! She got up this morning and one of the first things she asked for was her "gabba gabba shirt", and then she ran around the house looking for it, found it, and had to wear it over her sleeper. It was super cute. She also likes to look at it kind of like a poster and point out all the characters. She's so funny!

Anyway, tonight we went to Evie's (well... technically MY) cousin's 1st birthday party, and much to our collective delight, it was a Yo Gabba Gabba party!!! Best night ever! Evie just happened to have her Gabba Gabba jacket (since she always has it, lol) and she even got a cute "Foofa" hat to wear (another thing we couldn't get her to take off all night!) They also had an awesome homemade pinata that had Brobee and Plex on it (Evie's two favorite characters) and she could not stop looking at it. She kept running over and saying "Brobee! Pex!! Brobee! Pex!" over and over again.

Evie's Foofa hat and Gabba Gabba jacket!

On top of it all, they had cupcakes with delicious frosting that mommy let her smear all over her face... I mean, eat. haha! All in all, it's been an exciting day for my little Gabba Gabba Girl! Oh, and I should mention,  happy 1st birthday to Rudy! Your momma throws a rockin' party ;) I can't believe it's already been a year, he's growing up quick!!

So, I'm a College Graduate!

Today I finished a 6 and a half year journey that has been both long and difficult; I graduated magna cum laude with my bachelor's degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Community Health Education! 

I started out fall semester of 2006 at Brigham Young University, working incredibly hard to get into the nursing program there. That same semester I met the love of my life (which definitely made the academics a little tougher, haha). While I was at BYU I also had the opportunity to do ballet and be a part of the ballroom dance company, which was an amazing experience! If there is one thing I'm going to miss about my life as an undergrad, it's dancing! 

After 3 semesters at BYU I took a semester off--due to some life events & just the feeling that I was supposed to--and I transferred to the newly re-named Utah Valley University! It was a pretty tough choice to switch schools; around here BYU is the place to be if you're smart and Mormon and I had worked hard to get in. However, UVU was where I was supposed to be. 

So, fall semester of 2008 (a few weeks after marrying my freshman sweetheart), I began the newest leg of my journey at UVU. I still was planning on going into nursing at this point, I had hoped it would be easier to get in there (BYU's program is RIDICULOUS and you could only apply twice at the time), however, one pre-requisite away from applying to the program at UVU, I had new inspiration to switch my major to community health. This was another VERY hard decision. Starting out as a college freshman, I'd had a plan. While everyone else was clueless about what they wanted to do or changing their majors, I knew I was going to be a nurse and I knew what I had to do to get my degree. It was a little unsettling to have this HUGE change to my plan! Then, there was the whole pride thing... Nursing just sounds very, respectable, haha, and I didn't want to give that up. I am so happy that I changed my major though, I have enjoyed my coursework so much more and I am much more comfortable with my chosen profession than I would have been as a nurse. I discovered that I had enough credits for it, so December 2010, I graduated with an associate degree in Community Health Education! 

At the end of Spring semester 2011, I found out I was pregnant with Evie! Evie was a little bit of a surprise to my academic plans, but things have honestly worked out in what I can only describe as an inspired manner. I didn't really want to, but I ended up going to school for fall 2011. Evie was due the week before finals, which was stressful, but I decided I needed to go full-time that semester. It was definitely a hard one! I had pregnancy brain, pain in my back and ribs every time I sat through class, and a severe lack of motivation. 

Evie was born on a Thursday, two days late and on the very last day of classes (about the same time I was supposed to be turning in a final paper/doing a final group presentation, actually). Monday, I had to start taking my finals. Somehow, through the grace of God, hard work, the support of my hubby, and understanding teachers, I managed to get A's in all my classes that semester, despite all the complications!

After having Evie, I decided I need to take spring semester off to give her my full attention for a bit, and to get in the groove of this whole new "motherhood" thing.

I did my internship with Welcome Baby for United Way the summer and fall of 2012 (I started when Evie was 5 months old and finished the day before her 1st birthday!). It was a really awesome and enriching experience, I'm so glad I got to do it!

And that brings us up to the present... Good 'ol spring semester 2013. I just had two classes this semester, a health ethics class and my capstone class, but it's been another tough one :/ I honestly didn't realize how good I had it as a childless student! Evie was still waking up several times a night and crying leaving me fairly sleep deprived for the last year+, and I wasn't able to get much of anything done during her waking hours, but we've muddled through it anyway! I just got my grades back, and I managed to get A's in both my classes!!

Now, I am officially a college graduate, and I just want to take this moment to be proud of myself. I don't mean to be prideful, but I generally don't give myself enough credit, and looking back over this journey, I feel like I need a little pat on the back. I have worked hard, stressed myself to death, and kept going even when I felt like quitting, and I feel that I've done a good job. 

I am so grateful for my parents and for everything that they have done for me my whole life to get me to this point. I'm very thankful that my wonderful mother was willing to baby-sit my little one so that I could finish my degree (I don't think I could have left her for so long it if I hadn't been leaving her with family!). I'm grateful for all of Karl's support through this whole process; for supporting me and sticking with me through all my "this-project/homework-is-due-tomorrow-and-I'm-not-even-close-to-done" meltdowns, and helping me through all my self-inflicted, superly intense, school-stress. I love you!! I am also grateful for the many blessings and for the direction I have received from my Heavenly Father. I know that I could not have made it here with out His help.

To answer the question that I have already been asked several times, and will surely be asked again: I am still working out what I'm going to do now. I feel like I need to give Evie some much deserved undivided attention for a little while, since I have been working and schooling for the majority of her life. Right now we are trying to work out details on whether or not I am going to work at some point in the near future or possibly even begin a masters degree. We haven't received any precise inspiration so far, and frankly, I'm just glad to take a little break and enjoy my family for a bit!

I am just so happy to have this section of my life completed and to move on to the next challenge!

Rear-View Mirror Moments

 That awesome moment when you notice that the girl driving the car behind you is singing very passionately along to the radio station you're listening to... And suddenly you feel like you're in a music video.

That even awesome-ER moment, when the very large, tough looking gentleman driving the car behind you appears to be rocking out to the Meow-Mix jingle (one of Evie's favorites...) that you've got blasting in your car.

Gotta love rush hour traffic.

Total Relaxation...

 Evie is so busy. She just goes, and goes, and goes, and GOES.  I always see pictures of other people's kids falling asleep in random places, but I have never had Evie just fall asleep like that because there is just too much she is determined to do!  No matter how tired she gets, she just keeps going!  That's why this picture is so unique and special to my heart ;)

We'd had a very busy day that started very early, Evie hadn't been able to take a nap, and she was EXHAUSTED.  Finally we were able to start her bedtime routine, which generally begins with a bath.  I got in the tub with her and she immediately crawled onto my lap and laid down in my arms... and fell asleep.  She was so completely and totally relaxed, which is not a state I see her in too often; I didn't want to move her because she looked so incredibly peaceful! 

 Just one of those sweet moments that makes the late nights and early mornings worth it; I really don't think there is anything better than a sleeping baby face!

Why?

Why do I return? 

Over and over and over again...

Why search for something that never existed here to begin with?

Most of the time I don’t even realize what I’m doing.   

My consciousness can't admit to it.  

Yet a part of me knows...   

Some small piece of me watches as I compulsively beg for connection, approval, acceptance... anything.  

The only honest bit of me is the one I can't bear to face.


 

The Joys of Sharing a Room with your Toddler

1:00 A.M.

Evie: Dad....

           Dad....

                Dad....

Karl: Evie.

Evie: Dad?

Karl: What?

Evie: ...Night night.

Evie Words

Evie seems like she is saying new words every day, so I thought I would start a record of them ;)  Here's what she's got so far (there may be more, I just can't think of them all at once, haha):

1. Dad/Dada
2. Mom/Mama
3. Dog
4. Down
5. Up
6. Puppy
7. Ow (when she falls down and it doesn't make her cry she says: "Ow!"
8. Banana
9. Snow
10. Snowman
11. Night night
12. Doll
13. Chi chi
14. Uh-oh
15. No
16. Mmmm! (ok, not a real word, but that's what she calls all food and drink)
17. Shoes
18. Toy 
19. Yeah/yes 
20. Help!

Christmas Evie!!!

Okay, I'm sure everyone is tired of this by now, buuuuut, I'm obsessed!  Look at how much of a difference one measly year can make:

Evie, Christmas 2011....

Evie, Christmas 2012...

Anyway, to get on to the good stuff!  Christmas this year really was awesome.  It has made such a difference to have an Evie in our house for the holidays!

Christmas Eve we spent at my Aunt Bethany's house with all our Moore relatives.  It was loud and crazy with too many people to fit into one house, but that's just how we roll ;)  By the time we got home it was so late we just had to put Evie's jammies on and put her right in bed.  Karl and I cleaned the apartment and got things all ready for Santa, and then stayed up WAY too late playing Minecraft and eating cheese ball and Christmas treats!  Evie woke up about 8 o' clock and we rushed to get the lights all turned on in the living room so we could video her seeing the presents.  It was pretty funny, we had moved her Nativity scene so there would be room under the tree for presents, and she got so distracted by it that she didn't even notice the gifts!

Evie LOVED opening presents.  We had a little bit of a hard time convincing her it was okay to rip paper (since we usually tell her not to do that, haha!) at her birthday party, but luckily she had so much practice at the beginning of the month, she was a pro by Christmas ;)  She even helped mommy and daddy open all our presents

Evie got a lot of presents (mostly clothes, since we're getting to the end of her baby shower gifts), but I think her favorite was the puppy!  Evie is obsessed with kitties and puppies, but especially puppies, so this was a special present. She was unsure when I helped her open the bag, but as soon as she realized what it was she made this disbelieving little laugh and wouldn't stop cuddling the little doggie she called "puhpuh".  It was the first time she's said puppy (she usually says "dogdog") so it was super cute!

 

Karl and I had a pretty good Christmas too, we actually ended up getting each other kind of the same thing!  When Karl opened his present from me, he started chuckling, and I couldn't figure out why, until I opened my present!  Apparently we both had the idea to give each other special homemade coupons and and fashionable jeans, lol!

 

I love my family! I'm so thankful I have an awesome hubby and a superly cute baby to share my holidays with, they really do make my life a million times better!

Evie's 1st B-day Party

For Evie's first birthday we had a "Tangled" party (or two!).  For her first party we were lucky enough to have some friends come over to celebrate!  Andrew, Erica, and Emma Lord were there and also Jon, Emily, Iley, and Mae Schwarzmann (about all our little apartment could hold!)  It was so much fun having some friends to play with on her birthday (and getting some fun presents was awesome too!) 

For Evie's second party, we had my family come over (my parents and siblings and Evie's one and only cousin).  It was pretty rowdy and crowded, but super fun to see everyone!!

Here are the pictures from her special day:

My Tangled themed sign; I was so proud of it!  It looked awesome, I wish I had gotten a better picture of it!

Tangled Flowers and Flower Cupcakes ;)

Evie REALLY wanted to get into it all!

Paper lantern! We had a bunch of these hanging from the ceiling, like the lanterns in the movie :)

Evie and Emma were totally transfixed by the movie, it was super cute!

Evie's big present from mom and dad... a princess tent!

Rapunzel Doll!

Begging Grandmama for water, she had to sign "more" to get any, haha

Birthday Cupcake

Not so sure about this cupcake thing...

Hmmm... This tastes like SUGAR!!!

EAT THE CUPCAKE!!!

And it fell out onto her tray...

One Year Old!

Wow, I honestly can't believe that it has been an entire year since I held that tiny little newborn in my arms... It feels like it was just yesterday!  And yet, SO much has happened in this past year, I can't believe it's ONLY been a year!  I've decided that the first year is the best EVER.  It is so incredibly challenging, with so many obstacles and huge changes to get used to, but it is the most amazing journey I could possibly imagine.

Evie is so much different from that cuddly little bundle we brought home from the hospital, but it's not so much that she's changed, it's more like she's grown (yes, you may call me captain obvious).  She still has that same personality that she did even in the womb, but there's just so much more of it now, haha!  It's like we've spent the last year getting to know her better.  She is just so determined, she loves a challenge!  She will do things just because they are difficult, a trait I greatly admire, since I do the exact opposite ;P

Evie loves to carry things that are big and heavy, and if there is ever anything that she has a hard time doing, she will do it again and again until it is easy for her.  A couple of weeks ago I had her at my office and there is a little sloped ramp in one of the hallways.  The first time she walked up it she almost tipped over because she wasn't used to walking on a slanted floor.  We moved on, took her to another part of the office and went about our business trying to distract her with other things, but Evie kept running back to that ramp.  She walked up and down and up and down until she could do it with ease.  I really love this about my baby.  She has such great ambition and determination; she knows what she wants and she is willing to fight to get it.  I hope she never changes!

Another thing I love about her is how happy she always is!  She is a very smiley little girl :)  She's been a little shy in new situations and with new people lately, but if you give her a bit to warm up, she is more than happy to share some smiles and giggles!  She is just full of energy and curiosity.

I love that she loves her babies too; she's such a good little mommy!  She discovered babies at around 9 months, and has been obsessed ever since.  Anything we do for her, she will do for her baby. 

On the First Day of Christmas...

It's finally December!!!! I can't possibly tell you how excited I am!  So, to celebrate, Karl, Evie, and I went to Riverwoods to check out the Christmas lights :)

I've driven by and seen the lights, so I wanted to go check it out, but I didn't realize how much they have going on over there!  Of course it's much more of a commercial experience than seeing the lights at Temple Square, but I think it's a great alternitive for us, since we can't drive very far with Evie (plus she has an 8 o'clock bed time!!).  They have lots of pretty lights, carriage rides, entertainment at the gazebo, and even Santa in a cute little house (who we did NOT go see because we knew Evie would have a fit, haha).

It was a really nice night, a little chilly, but honestly not bad at all.  We walked around with Evie, who was pretty overwhelmed by the whole experience, but seemed to enjoy seeing all the people and lights :)  We shared a belgian waffle with whipped cream and strawberries as a treat to top off our night (which was very delicious, but totally over-priced!).

It was a really nice, relaxing experience for us.  Things have been so busy, crazy, and stressful with me working, Karl going to school full time, and also working two jobs, we really needed this break!  It was just so nice to get out of the house, break out of our regular routine, and get into the holiday spirit just a little bit :)  I am so grateful for my family!!

Tantrums...

And the toddler tantrums have begun!!  The last few days Evie has decided that it's not fair that I won't let her do what she wants, that I'm the meanest mom in the world, and that I'm totally ruining her life (am I really going to have to do this again in 12 years or so??).  She's only 11 months old and we're already doing the screaming fits... My child is just so advanced... *sigh*

This is a cute picture to remind me how sweet she can be, haha!

All this new independence she's gained by mastering the whole walking thing has really pushed us forward into a whole new stage of life, and I'm not sure that I'm happy about it!!  I know that this is totally developmentally normal, but I've got to say, I'm not really prepared for it.  I think I'm grieving a little bit; I'm just so sad that I've lost my sweet little baby who was completely dependent on me and trusted my every decision!  I feel like this year of baby-hood has gone by way too fast!

Wish me luck on as I embark on the next year (or two or three), I think I'm going to need it!!!!

Top 3 things I've learned to do in a hurry...

The top three things I've learned to do in record time since becoming a mother:

1. Eating

2. Bathing

3. Peeing

This list could actually be about a million times longer, but these are just my personal top 3, haha!

Seriously though... You know how girls are notorious for taking forever in the bathroom?  Well, a while back I was out having a "girl's day" with a couple of other moms while the hubbies had the kids.  Seeing as one of us mommies was pregnant, we made the inevitable stop at mall restrooms... and I was ASTOUNDED at how quickly we were all in and out.  It was crazy!  This may sound like an incredibly odd observation, but having made group excursions to the bathroom all my life, and yet never with my fellow moms, I didn't realize what a difference there is!

Also, I've always been a faster eater than Karl, but even now I can beat him to the end of the meal while feeding/holding a squirming, crawling, kicking baby... And I think that deserves a little respect!

I guess this is just another one of those talents born of necessity when a little-one comes along ;)

I Am Thankful For...The Lord's Timing

Everyone has been doing the whole "thankful" thing on FB for November, so I thought I'd get into the spirit ;)

One thing that I have been extremely grateful for in the past year is the Lord's timing.  It's something that I've not really been so excited about in the past, and I'm trying to keep that gratitude fresh on my mind so I don't forget!

I am a planner... I need to have things planned out in advance and I like to know how I'm going to get there, so sometimes it's really hard for me to let the details be up to the Lord.  For example:

I've wanted a baby since well... not incredibly long after we were married.  I knew it wasn't a great idea at the time (we had no jobs, were not very far along in our degrees, and were barely married), but I really couldn't help it, I'm pretty sure it's biology ;)  Finally, after a couple of years of being married, I had a baby down on our plan (yes, I actually have a written plan for our lives), and Karl had semi agreed to it.  Our first child was perfectly planned, he/she was going to be born in May 2012 a month after I graduated with my bachelors degree... And if it was a girl we were going to have her middle name be May, after her great-grandma, AND because she was born in May (isn't that so cute??).  And then, after I had finally come to terms with waiting and had my perfect plan in place, the answer came that we were supposed to have a baby...  My mind was blown.  I had a PLAN!  It was going to be great, I KNEW this was the way it was supposed to be!  Luckily I really wanted that baby so it wasn't TOO hard to convince me, haha!!

Anyway, I accepted that answer and started trying to work this baby into a new plan, but baby didn't come.  I took a few months before we finally got the news I had been waiting for.  So THAT was pretty confusing... I was assured that it was time, and yet I had more waiting to do.  I didn't know what to think about that!  If I had gotten pregnant as soon as we had gotten that answer, I would probably not have gone to school that fall (since baby would have been due right at the beginning/middle of the semester).  Instead, our baby was due right before finals... which didn't seem much better, but I felt like I should go to school that semester.  So I went to school.  It wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but it actually went pretty well, and was DEFINITELY easier than doing school with a baby!

Then we got to the end of the semester, and to Evie's due date, and she didn't come.  I was getting pretty nervous because I really needed to be able to take my finals, but I tried really hard to trust in the Lord's timing.  Finally Evie came, on Thursday, during one of my final presentations, and I had finals on Monday.  Turns out, that was probably the best day she could have come.  If she had come a day earlier, I wouldn't have gotten my final projects done in time, and if she had come a day later I wouldn't have had enough time to study for my finals.  And luckily, the teacher whose final presentation I missed liked me and his wife had a baby the semester before, so he was very nice about it :)  I studied and got through my finals just fine (Evie was sleepy enough that it wasn't a big deal to leave her to take them), and I managed to get all A's that semester!

Because I had a baby that December, I was on an online "birth board" and I actually met someone, who randomly was outgoing at told me she was an intern with this program for new moms in Utah County and was wondering if I wanted to be a part of it.  I talked to her more, and I found out that she was doing the same major as I was and they were looking for interns for the summer (right when I needed an internship!) and that the deadline was coming in up really quick.  I was kind of scared, but I REALLY needed an internship in order to graduate, and this seemed like it was right up my ally.  So I applied, interviewed, and I got it!

I started the internship, and I really liked it, but about half way through, I realized there was no way I could possibly get all 325 hours (bleh!) that I needed to graduate, so I had to ask if they would be willing to keep me on.  My supervisor was very excited to have me stay actually, so I was pretty happy with that.  I was disappointed that it was taking me so long though, I had planned to graduate this fall semester, and I just couldn't do as much as I wanted because I had a baby (who was not part of my plan!). Then, just before the end of the semester, my supervisor let me know that they would be able to pay me during fall, which was a complete lifesaver!  We weren't sure how Karl was going to work full time and go to school full time this semester, but this way he was able to drop a couple of his shifts at Chrysalis and it has been much easier for him.

I really don't think I'm explaining this well, but since we had Evie in December of 2011 (both much later and much earlier than I had planned) things have really been falling into place for us.  I have been so incredibly grateful, because through most of this year I haven't been able to see what the next step was, but we have trusted in the Lord and his timing, and it has worked out much better than I could ever have planned.  It's been an amazing learning experience for me!

I am especially trying to remember this lesson, because I'm having some major timing issues suddenly popping up in my life.  I was actually offered a position with the program I was interning with, and I really wanted to take it.  I said that I was most likely going to take it when I was first asked about it, I wasn't even going to ponder and pray about this decision because this just seemed to perfect!!  But then I had my doubts, and sure enough, I had to turn the position down.  I'm still a little sad about that, but I'm trying my best to be trusting.  This will give me the most time to work on my final 2 classes I need to graduate and to spend focusing on Evie (who really needs me).

My second timing issue is our next baby.  No, we're not already working on the next one, but surprisingly enough, I did have the next one on the schedule already.  I've been trying to logically plan out when the best time to get pregnant would be considering all the factors.  Like I didn't learn my lesson the first time around...  Anyway, now the idea of me getting my masters degree has come up, and that completely throws a wrench in the baby plan.  I don't know how this one will pan out (we're still working out the details), but I am determined to let the Lord guide my future.

So... the point of ALL that rambling is that I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in my life, and I am dead-set and determined to let him guide my life more in the future.

Evie's 1st Halloween!!

I'm so incredibly excited for this holiday season, since it will be our first with Evie being old enough to enjoy it (last year we got to do Christmas/New Years, but she was just a sleepy newborn)!!  The holidays just haven't been the same the past several years; I think I'm getting too old, too "mature", and too busy to really enjoy them the way I used to.  I'm really hoping that having a kid in the house will revitalize our holiday spirit!!

That being said, I was worried about this Halloween; Karl had to work all night, Evie had been sick and miserable all week before, and it always snows on October 31st (it's basically a Utah tradition).  I was pretty sure everything was ruined, but we actually ended up having a pretty good experience!  The weather was absolutely fantastic; like record highs!  Evie didn't even need the blanket I brought for her.  *Completely sidetracked train of thought here, but I'm pretty sure Evie has THE best luck with weather.  I was worried about having her in the winter with blizzards and such, but last winter was superly warm.  The day we took her home from the hospital it was so warm we didn't even need to cover her up, she was fine with just her sleeper!*  Anyway, back on topic, Evie was feeling a little bit better by Halloween, and she made THE cutest lady bug I've ever seen :)

We went trick-or-treating with my mom and my two youngest sisters, Mary (9) and Maia (4) around my old neighborhood.  It was good to see some of the people from my stake again and show off my bebe :)

Evie wasn't quite sure what we were doing at first, but after about the second or third house (when the guy let her reach into the big bowl of candy and take one) she was hooked.  She pulled out this little box of Milk Duds, which was the perfect size for her hand and made a great sound when she shook it!  She thought it was the coolest thing that we were going house to house and people were just handing her awesome toys!  Then she got her hands on some chocolatey/cream thing wrapped in foil (I couldn't really see what it was in the dark), and the next time we came to a porch light I realized that it had completely disintegrated into a sugary goo all over her hands and was dripping out of her mouth!  It had melted in her warm little baby hand and she managed to chew her way into the wrapper, haha!  After THAT she was totally and completely sold on this whole "Halloween" thing. ;)  By the end she was marching up to doors and doing her "gimme" hand, and was thoroughly disappointed when people didn't offer her any, it was seriously cute.

All in all, it was a pretty good Halloween :)  There were a lot of things I wanted to do that we didn't get to, and I'm hoping next year Karl will be able to trick-or-treat with us, but with a baby this adorable, how could we not have the best Halloween ever, regardless of all that stuff??