They grow up so fast!

Malea's "Big Girl" Bed!
(Yes, she has "Cars" sheets lol)

Yesterday we set up Malea's new toddler bed, and we tried it out for the first time last night! She looked so grown up sleeping in a bed instead of her crib. I had heard from someone once that it helps if you keep the crib in their room for the first few days too, and if they try to climb out of the bed you just say "I guess you aren't ready for a bed" and put them back in the crib. Well last night we put her in bed, did our usual bedtime routine, and that was the last we heard of her! She stayed in it all night and didn't try to climb out. I was also a little worried about her falling out in the night (even though there is a rail) since she wasn't used to it. We put a thick blanket folded up on the floor underneath where the opening is just in case she did fall out. I went and checked on her a couple of times in the night, and she did great! She did wake up an hour earlier than she usually does, I think because she wasn't used to waking up where she was. I'm hoping that she will get back to her usual 7:30 am as opposed to 6:30 am. I am anxious to see how she does at naptime today though, since it won't be so dark in her room.

She looks so big!

Ironically, the same day that we set up her crib for the first time, Malea decided she wanted to go pee in the potty for the first time!

(Sorry for the nakedness, this particular day she was in the tub and told me "I pooping" so I hurried and put her on the potty so that I didn't have to deal with poop in the tub....she didn't end up going, but I snatched this picture of her. She likes to read when she does her business lol).

We have tried to put on her on the potty a few times (by her desire, of course) and each time she has never been able to complete a #1 or #2. Well yesterday she decided that she wanted to sit on the potty, so we put her on it and walked in the other room to give her some privacy. I knew it would take a while, so the last few times I have put her on the potty I give her a stack of books that she can look at while she goes. We did that this time and maybe it was just a good book but she peed a little bit in the potty! We were so excited!

I had this cute potty training chart I've been waiting to use, so we put a sticker on it and told her that every time she peed or pooped on the potty she could put a sticker on it. At this point I just want to take it slow, she has the type of personality that you cannot force her to do anything she doesn't want, so we will just do it at her pace! Hopefully she will be completely potty trained by the time the baby comes in September, but if not, oh well.

I took this video the same day as the picture on the potty above....it is so dang funny, it just goes to show that even 2 year-old's want privacy when they "go"

We're moving!.....in July.....

Home Sweet Home

We have been planning to move out of our apartment when our contract ended on August 1st, and once we found out we were expecting baby #2 in September, it became even more essential. We have just outgrown our current apartment, even though we have enjoyed living here (for the most part) for what will be 2 years when our contract ends. We have had our eye on a nice townhome in Provo (under the same management as we have now), and there were a couple of units sitting open for the last few months. We tried selling our contract, but didn't have much luck. Then after a month or two of trying to sell our contract, we found out that both of the units were taken, and I was really bummed. They told us that there was a unit that was going to be opening up in the same complex at the end of July, which is when our contract was ending anyway. We looked around at some other places, but we just had this other place in the back of our minds. We kind of compared everything else we looked at to this place. Even though we could have moved in to the complex when our contract ended August 1st, I really didn't want to be moving just a month before I'm due. I felt like it was going to be really stressful to get everything settled in time, and I just didn't feel like a month was going to be enough time. I also didn't want to cause such a big change for Malea so close to when the baby was going to be born. When we found out that the two open spots got filled, we decided that we would just go ahead and wait to move in when the next unit opened at the end of July (even though I didn't want to). I was talking to Keith today about how I wished we could at least move at the beginning of July, because that extra month would give us more time to get settled, and I wouldn't be as big (7 months along as opposed to 8 months along....not a huge difference, but a little bit better).

So the point of this story is.....

The management called us today and told us that the people who were moving out at the end of July decided that they wanted to move out a month early! They would be moving out at the end of June, which means we could move in July 1st! It was so exciting, and felt like it was meant to be. It was just so funny how I had just told Keith today how I wished that we could move in July instead of August, just because one extra month would make a big difference. And then we got that phone call! And because we would be moving in within a month of when our contract was going to end anyway, they aren't going to make us find someone to take over our contract (and since we are moving in to another one of their properties). So we are going in tomorrow to sign the contract for our new place!

Here are some pics of the inside that I took from the management's website:

I am excited that we have a plan, and that we know where we will be moving. I'm also excited to have a dishwasher again! :) We are going to miss our neighbors and especially our ward, but it will be great to have a little more space for our ever-growing family :)

2 year-olds are so funny

(Her onesie is completely full of blocks lol)

This post is mostly for me to remember all the funny things Malea has been saying and doing as a 2 year-old. I'm afraid if I don't write them down, I will forget!

Cute things Malea has been saying/doing lately:

-Its not "I'm hungry", its "I'm kungry"

-She really likes to stall whenever we have to leave somewhere she doesn't want to leave (i.e., Grandma or Grandpa's house, McDonald's, etc). I will say "Okay Malea, go down the slide one more time and then we have to go" or "Okay Malea, 5 more minutes" and she will take her sweeeeeet time. Its really funny!

-She loves to play in the sink with allllll of the measuring cups....it gets old washing them every time, but at least it keeps her happy for a while! She also loves to help with the dishes, and we even had to buy her her own scrubber so that she could help (otherwise she hogs it lol)

-If we are going down the stairs in front of her or trying to get her to hurry up at the store, she will say "I'm comin'!"

-If she has a poopy diaper, she blames it on our fish Timmy (Us: "Did you poop Malea?" Malea: "Timmy pooped")

-She is obsessed with bubbles. We bought one of those bubble guns that she can use because we would go outside to do bubbles and she would want to hold the container all by herself, so it would inevitably spill everywhere each time.

-A couple of times we have asked Malea where the baby is, and instead of pointing to mommy's tummy she has pointed to her own tummy (it was so adorable)....one time we asked her if it is a boy baby or a girl baby, and all she said was "Timmy" (our fish)....I was a little worried about that one lol

-She loves to read books. She will just sit there and "read" books to herself forever. I will sometimes hear her just whispering to herself, I'm guessing she is pretending to read it or just making up her own story.

-She loves Play Doh. We play with it almost every day. One time when we were playing with pink Play Doh, I made 3 pigs out of play doh, a daddy, mommy, and baby one. Now anytime we play with pink Play Doh, she asks me to make pigs. It is so funny.

-She loves to line things up, like her "Cars" cars, chalk, crayons, or the dinosaurs at Grandma Vicki's house.

-She loves to play with her baby dolls. She will pretend to feed them, change their diapers, and she has even put them in "time out" (this cracks me up....I didn't think I put her in time out that much....I think I threaten it more than I actually have to do it lol). She is going to be a big help when the baby comes. :)

-Keith and I take turns sleeping in every other day, and every day when she can hear one of us waking up and getting ready to come downstairs, she yells "hide!" and wants us to hide her under a blanket. She is usually so wiggly and loud and half her body is sticking out under the blanket, but we always act coy ("Where's Malea?"). She absolutely LOVES it.

Even though Malea can really frustrate me sometimes, there are so many fun things about having a 2 year-old. I just try to remind myself that when we are having a rough day :)

Big News

To quote one of my favorite movies of all time ("Juno"):

"My eggo is preggo!"

Yep, that's right, we are expecting our second child and we are so excited! I am due September 13th.

Malea has been so cute about the whole thing. We tell her that there is a baby in mommy's tummy, and she will kiss my tummy and when we ask her where the baby is she will point to my tummy. I know she is going to be a big help. She already loves playing with her baby dolls and pretends to be their "mommy". It is going to be fun to have her as my little helper.

Malea's face is so funny in this picture....

I am so excited, but I am also nervous, anxious, and a little scared! I can't believe I'm going to have 2 kids! It's funny because I remember feeling that way when I was pregnant with Malea, and then once I had her and got used to it, now 2 kids just seems like so much. I'm sure it will be an adjustment, and I especially worry about Malea and making sure that she still feels loved and gets enough attention. But I feel like it will be good for her to be the "Big Sister" and be mommy's helper.

I have been sooooo sick, I was pretty much confined to the couch for most of January and February....but thank goodness to my doctor, I got some medication that is helping with the nausea. I definitely don't feel 100%, but it takes the edge off which is wonderful. I am 11 weeks and hoping that in the next couple of weeks once I am out of the first trimester I will start feeling better (hopefully!). I was pretty sick with Malea too, and maybe I just don't remember but I feel a lot sicker with this one. Maybe it will be a boy?....lol

Happy 2nd Birthday Malea!

My baby turned 2 today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Malea is so much fun and I'm so grateful to have her as my daughter.

Here is a little year-in-review of pictures:

1 year old!

13 months old
(first trip to the zoo)

14 months old
(first Easter egg hunt...she wasn't very happy!)

15 months old
(family trip to Seattle)

16 months old
(watching the parade at Art City Days)

17 months old
(4th of July)

18 months old
(lounging by the pool!)

19 months old
(our little cougar!)

20 months old
(Happy Halloween!)

21 months old
(wearing mommy's boots)

22 months old
(Merry Christmas!)

23 months old
(watching "Cars")

2 years old!

Here are some of my favorite things about Malea:

-She loves to pretend to be a mommy, and she will take care of her "babies" (dolls, stuffed animals, etc). If she sees a baby she says "awww, cute"

-She likes to "hide" under blankets whenever we walk in to a room....she totally laughs and wiggles around while she is hiding but she thinks you can't see her! It's so cute.

-She is starting to talk so much....she repeats a lot of what we say (we have to watch ourselves!)

-One of her favorite things to do is go play at the "toys" (McDonald's)

-She loves our fish Timmy, and every night when she goes to bed she says "bye Timmy"

-She loves Cars, Dory (aka Nemo), Elmo, and Thomas

-She loves to rough-house and loves to be chased around, especially by her uncles

-She could live off of popsicles and cheese if we let her!

-She loves to be outside, which has been really hard this winter! We've had to think of other things to do (like McDonald's)

-Even though she is still learning to share and not hit, she has a tender side, and when anyone is crying or upset she says "awww" and will go give them a hug

I could go on and on but I just want Malea to know how much I love her and I'm so proud of her! I'm excited to see what the next year brings!

Happy Birthday sweetie pie! We love you!

Malea {Hearts} "Cars"

"My name is Malea, and I'm a 'Cars'-aholic."

Well, at least that's what she would say if she could speak in sentences. Or even words with more than 2 syllables for that matter.

My child is obsessed with the movie "Cars" right now, and pretty much anything that has to do with it. Every morning when she wakes up, the first thing she says is, "Cars"? If she sees anything when we are out with "Cars" or Lightning McQueen or Mater or whoever on it, she points and says "Cars"!! She has a "Cars" toothbrush, sippie cup, books, etc. We saw some "Cars" pajamas at the store the other day (that were intended for boys) but I thought that was a little too much. Maybe if they were pink.....

Anyway, we have even started to slowly get her some of the "Cars" cars. So far we have Lightning McQueen, Mater, King (her favorite, which is kind of odd), Sally, Doc, Ramone, and I can't remember the rest. She just loves to play with them and line them up all OCD-like. She will hug and kiss them too, which is ADORABLE.


I love my little girl!

"Thanta" Found Our House!

Christmas Morning!

This was the only picture I could get where she was actually looking at the camera smiling...the rest of the pictures were of her focusing on the presents! lol She looks so cute with her hair all disheveled. She is really into Thomas the train and anything "Cars" related right now.....you would think I had a little boy!

Malea was so funny this year. She was all about unwrapping the presents, whether they were for her or not! We didn't really get to open our own presents, but we didn't mind. The tree before we were unleashed

Our cute stockings :)

My dad and step-mom gave us a Kitchen Aid Mixer! We were so excited, it was such a fun surprise!

Malea got a lot of fun things. The best reaction we got was when she opened this toy shopping cart....she let out a little squeal when she opened it! It was really cute.

We had a really great Christmas and were able to spend a lot of time with family and friends at various parties and events. We are so incredibly blessed and grateful for all that we have. I can't believe another year is starting! It seems like we just had Malea and now she is almost 2! Where does the time go?