Our new addition

Being a mom has brought a whole new meaning to life. Towards the end of my pregnancy I was so worried about the what if's...Having children was something that I had always wanted but as time drew near the reality began to set in. My emotions started running and I began to do things assuming that everything was going to be my "last time". Every dollar movie with Josh, every adventure, you name it... I was convinced would be the last time. It scared me that it was never just going to be the two of us anymore. How would being home all day be when I've been in the workforce for the last 4 years? How would my life change? Could I do without sleep? Would I be a good mom?

All of these questions ran through my head and what scared me the most was knowing I was soon going to be responsible for another human being. She would look to me for guidance, advice, and watch my every move. I didn't want to mess anything up and hoped that she could look back one day and view me as her role model.

My sweet husband reminded me that it wouldn't do any good to worry about the future. I just needed to take everything day by day. He was right; I knew that all I could do was rely on the Lord for help. I had to accept that I would make mistakes along the way and at the very least my love for her would be enough.

It was time...October 15th came and that was the day that forever changed our life! We went into the hospital at 8:30am. My contractions started and then all of a sudden I heard a woman screaming bloody murder. I looked at Josh with horror on my face and we both began to laugh. I was tempted to run out of the room. We turned on the tv to drown out the noise. The screaming lasted quite a while and then came silence..shortly after we heard a crying baby. I told Josh that she better have been doing it natural or I was going to walk right on outta there. Luckily the nurse told us that what we heard was a natural birth. Im sorry but...WHY! After hearing that, I will never consider going natural.

Anyways, My contractions started and a couple of hours later I was at a 9. The nurse couldn't believe how fast I was dilating. She told me to quickly call my mom and mother in law; we were having this baby soon! Once they arrived we began the process and 30 minutes later I heard my sweet little miracle cry. The feeling is one in which you can't explain.

Josh and I are so grateful for all of the love and support we had from friends and family. We are so lucky to have our loved ones close by. Our hospital stay was filled with visitors.

Bringing home our little one was so much fun. She is such a good baby and typically only cries when she is hungry. We put her in her crib after 3 days because nobody was getting any sleep. I felt so bad staring at this tiny helpless body in what appeared to be a huge cage. We did it anyways and she slept great; everyone was happy.

I try to embrace every moment with her and talk to her constantly even though she has no idea what I am saying. It is amazing how simply serving someone allows you to love them more and more each day. My heart already doesn't feel like it could love anything more but continues to do so.

My favorite moments are during our nightly feeds. Instead of flipping through instagram or facebook to kill time, I leave my phone off and just stare at her. I can't believe she is mine. This time allows me sit in silence and soak in each moment with her because I know she will grow up all too fast. Feeding her at night is the one time I don't feel like I'm going a million miles an hour. There really is something cool about the quietness of it all. Even though I am exhausted it is pretty surreal to look out and think about all the other women that are out there doing the same in that moment.

I LOVE being a mother and watching Josh become a dad has been so special.

Our family of 3...4 including Rufus ;-) is the best blessing. You are reminded that family is all that matters. I am looking forward to each stage of being a mom and the trials/joy that come with it.

She is so precious...

Walking into Fall

 So excited to have been able to celebrate my cousin Grace's wedding! Her and Timmy are definitely one hot couple. They are both so much fun to be around and compliment one another. They are a perfect match.

Meet Joyce/Nana Ball. You will never meet anyone like her in your life. She is always the life of the party and her jokes kill me. She danced the entire night in heels and didn't miss a beat.  

This is what Josh looks forward to when he gets home

 Josh and I decided to white trash it up and go to a demolition derby. It was pretty entertaining. Everyone there had their e-cigarette. We must have missed the memo ;-)

Note to self: Don't let Rufus play with his doggie friends unsupervised. I guess he drank unlimited amounts of water. We came home to him in his kennel soaking wet. Nothing like a dog wet from head to toe in his own urine. This all happened at 1am and Josh and I were both exhausted. Josh was a trooper and carried Rufus up to the shower. Its a good thing Rufus loves it in there.

Some people call it the "nesting" phase. Feels pretty good. 

What didn't feel good was when Rufus decided to pee for the first time ever on our carpet. Its like he knows change is coming and is purposefully being a pill. We could not get the smell out to save our life. Everytime I walked by it I wanted to strangle him. I hired carpet cleaners to come do our house. Josh thought I was being dramatic but it made perfect sense to me. Anyways, a miracle happened and the smell was gone. Fast forward 2 days and its 5:20am when I hear a knock on the door. Its Rufus letting us know he needs to go to the bathroom. Josh didn't hear it and my pregnant self didn't make it down in time. Once I got down the stairs I turned the corner to find dog crap all over the carpet. 

2 seconds pass and the tears begin to flow. I had finally LOST it. Josh ran down and said, "Hey pregnant woman (with a smile on his face), its going to be ok. Go back to sleep and I will clean it up." I could tell he was doing everything he could to not laugh. 

We attended Hazyl's baby blessing Sunday which was so special. I am so excited this baby is going to have so many girl cousins close in age. This picture was taken around 35 weeks. 

36 weeks. Pretty sure this was the last day I went to the gym. I spend more time in the bathroom then I do actually working out. She definitely likes sitting on my bladder. 

Josh and Rufus both sporting their mustaches. "best friends"

The girls at work through me a cute shower at Olive garden. I love working with so many fun girls. They are all so talented. 

Josh and I decided to take a "baby moon" aka we were looking for a reason to get out of town for the weekend. We went to St. George and did whatever the heck we wanted. It was heaven. Laid out by the pool, ate at all of our favorite places, shopped, and watched movies every night. We also did something crazy and slept in...that never happens. Not because of the kids we don't have but because we choose to wake up early. I guess its our own fault. 

This is a recipe that my friend Ash gave me. It was so good. I obviously took a picture of it because it looked like a gourmet meal and thats rare. 

Thank you Chris Wintermeyer for reading my mind and bringing Ashley and I shakes. Nothing like an afternoon hangover of ice cream. 

And because I haven't shown enough pictures of food I thought I would share this beauty below. Josh and I went to Flemings to celebrate what we/I thought would be our last NICE meal before the baby comes. Josh got the ribeye and I got crab. It was heaven. My mom warned Josh when we were getting married that nobody loves food more than I do. She told him "full wife, happy life". 

Thank you Domo for giving every employee 100 dollars to take their spouse to dinner. 

Another wedding! Josh's cousin Trent was sealed with his darling wife Chelsea. We feel so lucky to be close to family on both sides. 

This was Domo's tailgate party for the BYU vs. UTAH STATE game. Lets just forget about the score of that game and talk about how sweet this party was. The dunk team came and there were a ton of food trucks. Free food, games, and entertainment. 

yes i ate both of those bags and went to each food truck twice....yikes

So glad we could end the week right with conference weekend. Its tradition to make homemade cinnamon rolls. I need to find an easier recipe that tastes as good because Im sick of waking up at the crack of dawn to make them. I guess its all worth it because Josh loves these more than anything. He talks about it for a week prior. I made 2 batches and he ate all but 2 of them.

Now its time to wait and see when this baby gets here. I have my bag and hers packed and ready to go. I am not due for another week but hey you never know. I have all of her clothes washed and it is was so fun to fold such tiny clothes. Getting our home ready has been overwhelming and exciting. Its hard to believe that soon we will have a little angel living with us. 

Wedding Festivities

We woke up early Saturday morning to help set up for the reception. Isabelle was so worried that the Art City Donuts truck would not be able to fit through the terrace leading in our driveway. We all held our breathe and witnessed a miracle. It skimmed the top and when it did we were all able to sigh relief.

I love these 2 sisters of mine. We are all pretty different and yet similar in certain ways. After working hard we ate some doughnuts and ran home to get ready for the big day. 

Liv and I are both thrilled to have Isabelle joining the club. Im just glad all of our husbands get along and we are one big happy family. 

Her ceremony was really special. Elder Oaks was able to seal them in the temple. It was so neat to be apart of it and witness the special spirit that filled the room. 

Waiting outside the temple for the bride and groom...

does this couple get any hotter…

Cute Mitch is helping Josh tie his bow tie. Josh looked it up on youtube but Mitch claimed to be a professional.

It was time for pictures before the party arrived.

I don't know how i got so lucky. My family is pretty amazing. 

these two studs taking a break...

as was the bride…nothing like a Diet Coke to quench your thirst. Classic Isabelle 

My dad held it together pretty well. Its weird to think this was the last daughter he will have to marry off. I am sure he is thrilled he doesn't have to have anyone else ask for his daughters hand in marriage. Listening to all of our husbands stories of the time they asked my dad is quite comical. There is nobody in this world that cares more about his daughters than my dad. 

 Even though I hate the Utes this was pretty clever. Every guy that was ever in sigma chi sang a romantic song to Isabelle then handed her the rose. I think this was her favorite part of the night. 

I'd say it was a perfect night for the perfect couple. Congrats MR. and MRS. BAKER!