Friday, March 18, 2011

A Letter To Spring

Dear Spring,





I could really use you right now. Could you please decide that you're here? I long for warm sunny afternoons to play outside and go for walks. I long to soak in your warmth while looking out my window at all the beautiful flowers budding in my yard. I yearn to plant seeds and see them grow.


But alas, winter keeps blowing back in with a ferocity I don't recall in years past. Could you please help it to release its icy grip on the wind and the rain? My spirit would be forever grateful as I'm beginning to lose hope that you are coming sometime soon. You've almost broken me, winter. But I've still got hope. And it looks like this:





Saturday, March 5, 2011

Happy Birthday, Reed!

Dear Reed,

We're so glad that you were able to make it home in time for us to celebrate your birthday!
You are a wonderful reason to celebrate today.
Thank you for being the glue to hold our family together.
Thank you for making the time to play with Aftyn every day, to make her giggle and laugh, to lift her way up high to do "jump jumps". I love to hear her having so much fun with you and when you're done, to hear her say "more". She loves her daddy so much and life without you is not nearly as much fun.
Thank you for being such an equal partner in our home. Thank you for appreciating me and for all the work and effort you go to to help me when I am really needing it. Thank you for being patient, being calm, and being a good influence on our home. We love you Reed and we want you to have a very happy birthday!!

Lots of loves,

Alysa, Aftyn and Baby B

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Update I've Been Trying Not To Write

Here's some of the fun stuff we've been enjoyiong lately in our lives:



Bronchitis
Teething
Pregnancy
Stomach Aches
Doctors Visits
Dinner Brought To Us
People Offering To Watch Aftyn
Reed Gone For 5 Days
Sewing
Cleaning
Laundry




That list pretty much sums up our lives for the last 2 weeks. Sounds busy and exciting, hmm? Other than the bronchitis, it was just life as normal. I'm glad to say with the aid of antibiotics, the bronchitis is just a thing of the past.



We're starting in on birthday season for our family - it's Reed's turn first here in a couple of days. And one of the last birthdays we'll be celebrating this birthday season will be this baby's birth day. So strange to think it's that close, but if you look at my ticker, it's counting 82 days left.
82 days!



I've been trying not to go on and on and about being pregnant because I know with Aftyn it was probably overdone and maybe you all were pretty sick of hearing about it. This time around, it's coming fast and we're not trying to rush through it out of total anticipation. I'm appreciating the buildup of excitement this time around and not so impatient to have her here. I can't wait to see who she will look most like, and if she has hair and if she looks more like Reed and what her little personality will be like. But in the meantime while we wait, it's fun to enjoy her kicks and all the loves Aftyn gives to her while she's in my belly. It's neat to see Aftyn already showing some affinity for her.

I've been trying an experiment with this pregnancy as well. Thanks to Aftyn's birth, I went into this pregnancy a little worried about having a LARGE baby. (Aftyn was 8lbs 2 oz, which is pretty small in my family). In talking to my midwife, she suggested watching my weight gain to help control the size of this baby. Since I was already wanting to gain as little weight as was healthfully possible, I took on that challenge.


I'm proud to say that so far I have done GREAT with that, and I am hoping in the end to prove that large babies are just part of my family legacy not tied to our weight gain in pregnancy because in spite of my small weight gain, this baby seems just as large if not a smidge bigger than Aftyn at this point, from my point of view. (I know this sentence is a total run-on sentence, but I'm tired and can't think how to fix it. Please overlook it.)


Here I am at 28 weeks, 2 days:


So sad, but these are the first pictures I've put on here from this pregnancy. Oh well. Thanks to my photographer sister, I will have some pictures to remember this pregnancy by taken in a few weeks.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Highs and Lows of Today

My high: yummy breakfast burrito made by my sweet husband


My low: Just finished loading the dishwasher tonight,
and suddenly the faucet begins spraying me wildly in the face.

Awesome.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Aftyn's Favorite Song

This is her song of choice right now - she was singing it in Sacrament Meeting today.

I thought I better record it for posterity.

Inside Out, Primary Colors album, Once There Were Some Snowmen