Balloons

Loralye got to go to her first birthday party for a friend her own age last night! Our good friends Chris and Shae threw a party for their daughter, Lucy, for her 1st birthday and we all had a fabulous time. I hope that Lucy and Loralye will become good friends as they grow up. For now I'll have to be happy with Lucy tolerating Loralye's constant poking, patting, and general lack of gentleness. At the end of the night, Loralye was given a couple balloons to go home with and she was thrilled. EVERY time we go to a store with balloons, she wants to go see them, but when I bring them down to her level, she freaks out. Last night though, she held them like this all the way home and again on the way to work this morning...

In other news, my parents were in town a bit last week. Their schedules were a bit crazy (mom flew in Wed. night, dad drove in later that night, they both flew to SLC for a reunion Thurs. night and flew back here on Sun. morning, dad drove home shortly after arriving here on Sun., and mom flew back home Mon. night... phew), but we were able to go window shopping at the Venetian and they also stayed home with Loralye on Thursday while I went to work. It's always strange to be at work without her. It's MUCH nicer, but still strange to have such a quiet office. Here's the one picture I got from the time with my parents. We were at the Venetian food court getting sandwiches for dinner and I'm guessing she had a question for the teacher?

Life is going pretty well right now. Not that things were terrible before, but they are just better now. We are kinda drowning in our debt, but had never sat down and had a serious discussion about how to get ourselves back on dry land again until a couple of nights ago. We have three credit cards, a dirt bike, a car, and a student loan that need to be paid off. We will probably just stick with the current schedule of the student loan and have it paid off by 2025 (stupid WyoTech), but we will have EVERYTHING else paid off by the middle of 2013! I can't wait. I know it's a ways off, but I can't even begin to describe how happy it makes me to have a plan in place. I always feel more at peace when I have a plan or a list or an agenda to follow. Without it I feel like my life is in chaos. Anyways, with this plan in motion I can now start counting down to retirement and Baby Green #2! Just 3 more years. Aaron and I would both love to have more kids asap, but I can't work with 2 kids and I can't quit until our debt is paid off. Plus I think Loralye will LOVE being an only child for another 3ish years. She freaks out when I even hold another baby, so I can only imagine how crazy she would go if she became a big sister any time soon :)

I love my COUNTDOWNS...

2 hours until our 3 day weekend.

15 days until we go to St. George for Jake and Courtney's wedding & baby shower.

17 days until Aaron and Allen leave for UT, WY, and CO for a week of dirtbikes.

17 days until Loralye and I get a week's worth of girl nights.

29 days until I get to throw a baby shower for Tara and Jaxson.

34 days until Loralye and I go to Clovis.

69 days until my 25th birthday.

90 days until Disneyland with my whole family (minus Elder Call).

Ahh.. A list of plans. I am so at peace right now :)

19 Months

My goodness. Where has the time gone? Loralye is officially closer to her 2nd birthday than she is to her 1st. It's so exciting. She learns something new every day. Here is a bit of what she's up to right now:

-She knows what a lion says (arrr... said in her most raspy voice), what a doggie says (woof woof), what a cow says (moooooo), and occasionally what a kitty (oww) and an owl (ooo ooo) say.

-She knows where her hair, ears, eyes, nose, lips, tongue, chin, hands, fingers, belly button, and toes are. We are working on her knees and buns right now :)

-She follows direction pretty well and likes to mimic people's actions. Aaron was coughing the other night and was patting his chest, so Loralye started patting her chest too. So cute!

-She loves all of her "babies" and likes to sleep with them, ride in the car with them, and take them to work. Her current favorite babies are Pooh Bear, her dollies (Molly, Lucy, Hazel, and Jemima - yes, I named them all), her little bunny, and Elmo. If she could she would hold all 7 of them at once.

-She also likes anything with a baby or baby doll on it. She was kissing, hugging, and rocking a memory game card all morning because there was a baby doll on it.

-She loves little kids. She giggles uncontrollably when she sees kids running around or rough housing and tries to join in too if she can (She definitely got that from her father... when I was a little girl I cried when my dad and brothers would wrestle).

I tried to get some pictures of her on her 19 month birthday, but she was being a little difficult. This is one of the ones I managed to get... She's got my work phone wedged under her jaw and is talking with her hands. She has been watching me on the phone a little too much I think!

Quick family update: We got the keys to our rental townhouse last night! We are so happy! Loralye immediately started trying to walk up the stairs, so we also bought a baby gate last night :) Aaron moved a ton of boxes over last night and will be moving more tonight and we have some guys coming over on Saturday morning to help us (help Aaron, I should say) move all the furniture and a few big boxes! I'm so happy to be out of our overpriced garage-less apartment! Yay!

Under 100!

The high for today in Las Vegas... 98 degrees! Could the summer heat be winding down? I hope so. I am so sick of the heat. I'm tired of being roasted when I get into my car. I tired of all of the cockroaches that swarm the apartment walkways. I'm tired of hearing about everyone's beach trips. I'm tired of wind that feels like a giant blow dryer in my face. I am just done with summer and so ready for fall and winter! I love getting all bundled up in a blanket and drinking hot cider. I love wearing scarves and fuzzy socks. I love making pumpkin bars and wrapping gifts. I love going to Disneyland.

Counting down...

5 days until Aaron's birthday!

9 days until we get our townhouse keys!

12 days until moving day! YAY :D

Ice Cream Cone

Her first of many to come, I'm sure...

"You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

-Adrian Rogers, 1931

The Secret of Happiness

We often fall into the trap of thinking a new car, job promotion, beauty makeover, or some level of fame will make us happy. And often they do—for a time. But it never lasts because wealth, power, beauty and fame simply don’t bring lasting happiness, as much as we wish they would. Rather, true happiness comes from following Christ’s example and developing Godlike attributes such as goodness, love, justice and mercy. It comes from serving others and helping them to follow the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. It comes from overcoming the appetites of our human bodies and instead following the promptings of the Spirit. It comes from working hard and having a healthy lifestyle, friends, family, and personal achievements.

Regardless of what you do or don’t have in this life, your deepest, most lasting happiness will come from knowing God’s plan and following it.

I love the church's websites. They always have just what I need. Do you need some inspiration, guidance, or cheer? You'll find it at mormon.org

California

Thursday: drove to Clovis after work, arriving around midnight

Friday: shopping, CB&T, Farmer's Market, Inception

Saturday: Millerton Lake (MAJOR sunburns for everyone but baby), BBQ

Sunday: church (Loralye's first time alone in nursery!), dessert with family

Monday: drove back home with a pit stop in Bakersfield

Our trip to Clovis was a little jam packed. I went to bed late every night and still managed to get up at 7am to get ready for the day before the baby woke up. It was so much fun even with half my parent's house being A/C-less. With all of the activities, I had little time to take pictures. And during the moments where I should have had time (ie. a few hours on the boat), Loralye was attached to my hip. She was such a mama's girl all weekend. So other than a few pictures of my mom and Loralye on the boat while we were waiting for my dad to jump the dead battery, the only pictures I got were on my cell phone:

Going over roller coaster-ish bumps on the way there.

Piling toys on Uncle Philly.
Playing "Fee" (aka. One... Two... Three!) with mom and Philly at the Farmer's Market.

Watching Papa's phone with cousin Kenna.

Sleeping on the way back with her new neck pillow.

Honey Nut Cherrios on the way home.

Loralye update: She had her 18 month check up yesterday. She is 29lbs 4oz, and 33 3/4inches tall which puts her in the 95-100 percentile for both. I think its funny that I have had countless people tell me how chunky she is, but she is the exact weight she should be for her height. She didn't have to have any shots at her check up. I thought she was going to have several because some of my friend's babies got lots of shots at their 18 month appointment, but Loralye didn't need any! And she won't need any until her next well check up at 2 years old :) Woo!

Gramma's "Pearls"

After my Gramma passed away her belongings were divided up amongst her children and grandchildren. My Papa, bless his heart, is no longer of a sound mind and his body is going, so he moved in with my aunt and did not take much with him. It's amazing how much stuff a family can build up in their home after living in it for a few decades. One of the items I was lucky enough to receive was a costume necklace made of fake pearls. It probably isn't worth more than a dollar, but it means a lot to me to have something that she used to wear.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday morning and I decided to put the necklace on Loralye and take her and my camera outside for a walk while Aaron was at work. She isn't the most cooperative model, but I was able to snap a few cute ones worth sharing anyways.

Not a great picture, but I had to share.
Her belly rolls are just so cute!

Because this blog is the only way I really journal, I wanted to type up a few things that I'm super excited about and thus counting down to...

3 days until we drive to Clovis!!
4 days until Loli will be old enough for nursery :)
12 days until the Pioneer Day Celebration in North Las Vegas... complete with fireworks!
27 days until we speak in Las Vegas 8th ward for the last time!
33 days until Aaron's 29th birthday!!
37 days until we get the keys to our rental townhouse!!!
40 days until we move into said townhouse :D

xoxo