Thanksgiving Adventures

So Thanksgiving was with Brock's family this year. We went down to St. George and hung out with Talia, Wes, Dylan, Trey, Heidi, and Max. That week was definitely an adventure...

Tuesday is was going to go down with Linda and Blakley, but the night before I stayed up really late packing (like 4AM). I had some new medication I was prescribed so of course I'm an idiot and decide it's ok to take one at 1AM without any food in me. I woke up around 7AM feeling SUPER yucky. I went to the bathroom and I felt hot and tingly all over, and I was definitely panicking from the pain. I called out for Brock and said, "something is wrong". The next thing I know I woke up on the floor and my toe was killing me. Apparently just as Brock had gotten to the door of the bathroom I feel forward, hit my head, and had passed out. It scared him pretty bad.

I remember saying "get off me, get off me" when I came too. Apparently I only said it once. Brock was behind me. He told me I passed out and asked how I felt. After a colorful explanation of my pain... (I didn't even curse while in labor so that gives you an idea of how crappy I felt)... I started throwing up.

LET ME JUST SAY that I had make it all year, being pregnant and all, and I hadn't thrown up. So I was a bit disappointed I couldn't keep that streak going.

It took the rest of the day for me to feel better. I needed to eat but didn't want to, but when I finally forced myself too I started to feel better. Blakely had her two month appointment that day too... so Brock took her. He is the best. She had to get her vaccines and I guess it was pretty tough to hear her scream.

Brock and I went down to St. George on Wednesday. Can I just say I freaking love my nephews. I basically played with them all weekend. Basketball, jenga dominoes, big foot hunting, hide and seek, spray the stray cat with the hose, ping point, football, you name it. Trey danced for us, and did his "old man" impression (grabbed Grandma Great's walking cane saying "hey sonnys, hey sonnys"). When we had to leave on Sunday Trey wanted a kiss on the lips... I told him that was just for mommy but I wanted a kiss on the check.

I loved hanging out with Dylan too. I introduced him to the game called "Flow", it was so fun to see him figure it out. We watched top 10 dunks on YouTube, played on the trampoline, and had a blast.

Thanksgiving day was great. Yummy food, so relaxing, and great weather. During our trip we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Oh dear, very delicious. I made Brock take me again the next day!

I love our family, it was so nice to spend time with them.

Milestone: Rolling Over

Blakley rolled over on Monday (Dec 3) for the first time! She was one day shy of 11 weeks old. We were at Brock's grandmas, Great Grandma Roberts, and we were watching football. Blakely was on her tummy and wanted to see what was going on and she just rolled over. We were all like, "Whoa, wait, did she just... did you just see that?!?" She did it a handful of times, it was so cute!

We took her up to Brock's parents and my parents to see if she would do it again but I think she was a little hungry/tired/overwhelmed but we'll get her to do it again. Here's a video I got of her at Grandma Great's house! I am one proud mama. Can't believe she's growing up so fast!

Note To Self

Next time read the entire bottle of saline solution, including the instructions that say:

Upright: produces a spray
Horizontal: stream
Upside down: drops

So you avoid squirting HALF THE BOTTLE of saline drops into your not-quite-two-month-old's nose by holding it horizontally. Okay not really half, but I felt horrible. All of the sudden saline suds are coming out both sides of her nose and she gives me this look like, "Nice one, jerk" and then she snorts out the excess and saline drops go flying everywhere.

Next time I'll know.

P.S. Thanks Daddy for running to get the drops for me.

Blakely's Baby Blessing

Yesterday we blessed Blakely in church. The day was perfect. I may have stayed up till 2am making muddy buddies and perfecting the house, but it was great.

The blessing was so beautiful. Blakely wore the dress I was blessed in as well as the blanket that my mom's great Aunt Velda made (I think it was Aunt Velda). I meant a lot to my mom, and to me to have Blakely wear that dress. Brock did a wonderful job. My mom, and both Brock and I bore our testimonies. My mom did a great job, and so did Brock. A few people told me they appreciated mine too so it must have not been too bad.

Afterwords we invited everyone over to our house. I bet we had nearly 40 people over. A few people even had to leave after the blessing/sacrament meeting and didn't come over. We're so grateful to all our friends and family that came to support us.

I know looking at pictures is a lot more fun than reading so here are some photos from yesterday.

Yeah I look cross eyed, don't ask why. There was like four people taking pictures of us at this time and there basically zero pictures of Brock and eye looking at the same camera... I was a little bugged haha. 

Brock's family. (Dang it- why didn't my family do a picture like this? :( boo)

Grandma Cara and "Papa" love cuddling with Blakely!!

Also I made a photo book of Blakely and had all of our guests sign it. I think it will be so fun to give to Blakely when she's older. 

Pinterest Pays Off

How has it been almost 6 weeks. This is crazy. I think the more I keep up with blogging/journaling the easier it will be to see "where time went" because I'll be able to see that I do something other than nurse Blakely in PJ's while watching the latest episode of Modern Family.

So I've been "pinning" on Pinterest a lot lately... but I've actually been trying out the stuff I pin. For example:

Monday- I made Chicken Tacos. Ok I can't actually remember if I made them Monday or not but I DID make them this week.

Tuesday- Can't really remember... but I think we went to the grocery store.

Wednesday- Brock and walked to the Grocery Store to get milk. (It's $1.88 on Wednesdays... it's basically a ritual for us).

Thursday- I made Orange Chicken and Bowtie and Spinach Pasta, Brock's parents had dinner with us. It was quite delicious.

Friday- I made "Man Pleasing Chicken". I don't think I'd make it again, but it was a fun surprise for Brock. (Too much mustard for my taste).

Saturday- Went to dinner with Adam and Maria. We always have such good conversation with them, and it's always hilarious. When I think of them I can't think of too many times when we aren't laughing.

I also made Sausage and Cheese Muffins for Breakfast, as well as tried out this Polar Express Hot Chocolate Recipe. Both were delicious except I'd probably make a few changes on the chocolate.

Well, all is well and Blakely is still so stinkin' cute!

5 Weeks Old

Update...

Blakely is 5 weeks old today. 

Her nickname is "sapo" which means "tree frog" in Portuguese. Max coined the nickname when he said she looked like a tree frog while cuddling with Uncle Chad.

She is definitely the cutest baby ever.

We think she has a nose like Trey Ryder Vaughn, her cousin. 

She's getting stronger at holding her head up.

She makes the cutest noise and it almost seems like she's trying to "coo" and "talk" to us. 

She still fits her newborn clothing... in face some newborn sizes are still too big for her. 

The longest she has slept at night is over 5 hours. 

Now for the boring updates. Yesterday our furnace went out, it was a cold night (it had snowed for the first time yesterday) but Blakely had a warm room because we got a space heater for her. Fortunately it was an easy fix. 

I cooked dinner yesterday and today. A new personal record!! Yesterday was fiesta/salsa chicken tacos, today was orange chicken with bowtie spinach pasta salad. Pinterest = my new best friend.

We watched conference and it was awesome. 

I parted my hair down the middle today. I haven't done that for literally a dozen years. 

It's been a good month. I'm loving my time with Blakely Rio. I know, I know... I need to post pictures. 

Christmas Wish List

So I thought I'd keep a Christmas Wish list for things I'd like for Christmas, and also things Blakely wants for Christmas (yes, we already have our own secret language so she can tell me stuff like this). Don't think I'm in any way trying to get you to buy me a gift... this is just helpful for me to track the stuff I'd like somewhere and if someone happens to need an idea for something to get me then... they've got a resource.

Also I've got a confession... sometimes I'm totally lame and I like to get "practical" gifts. But that's ok with me. (Perhaps I'll leave my birthday open for non-practical gifts hee hee).

NATALEE'S WISHES

GIFTS OVER $100

• Ju Ju Be Be Prepared Diaper Bag in the color "Licorice Twirl". Available at Amazon and Diapers.com (and other places but those are the most convenient in my opinion).

• CHI Flat Iron (size: 1 inch) I'd love black or even pink. These can be very expensive but I've seen some on Amazon.com for like 70% off.. not sure if they're knock-off's or what though.
• Flat Screen TV for our bedroom (32" or bigger)
• Covers for our Love Sactionals... which I won't even link because it is basically just as expensive as buying new furniture. But one day that would be so awesome. 
• A vanity... not sure exactly what, but I'd like it to be white

GIFTS OVER $30

• Luxury Deluxe Wood Cosmetic Box w/Mirror by Lori Greiner in WHITE  UPDATE: Ok so this used to be available on QVC but now it's not!!! AHH :( But i've seen it on eBay, maybe it's on Amazon?

• Fireproof box for family documents (I don't know what kind I'd like, I just know it would be a good thing to have one or a family safe. Problem is I'm sure I'd lose the keys to it, but I'm guessing the kind with a key code are kind of expensive).

GIFTS UNDER $30

• Subcription to DIY magazine
• Maxi skirts 
• Small cosmetic bag
• Cute wet bag (for my diaper bag)
• Tri pod for camera
• Ergo Baby (Grey or Black... or the super cute Petunia Pickle Bottom styles)
• Large Crockpot... mine is a decent size but i'm starting to cook more and in larger quantities
• Small scentsy for Blakely's room
• Bowls that fit within each other... you know the cute mixing bowls that are each a different color and fit nicely within each other... you can use them for popcorn, or baking... those :)
• Enjoy Shaping Lotion (hair product) I think it's around $20-$25
• Body Wash, I like sweet/citrusy/clean smells... nothing to musky (Bath and Body Works is great!)
• Non-Alcoholic Hand Sanitizer... now that I have Blakely I use this a lot. The kind with alcohol drys out my hands, I'd love to have some to throw in my purse when I need clean hands!
• Bare Minerals Concealer in "light". Can be found at Sephora or Ulta (new store in Logan). 
• A game called "Sedarahc" oir Reverse Charades... I can't find it in stores, but it is online at Amazon.com 

BLAKELY'S WISHES

• A new camera so mom and dad can take high definition picture and video of me all day long :)
• A Macbook Pro so Daddy can edit videos of me all day long
• An iPod Touch, so I can have music in my room and download fun games to help me learn 
• Rockabye Baby CD's : These are fun because they take modern songs and make them into lullabyes. They can be found locally at Stork Landing, or online. Also an iTunes card would be great to be able to download the songs. 
• Coldplay is favorite...

• A humidifier
• Diapers and wipes are always great, Blakely says she likes a clean bum :)
• A gift card to Diapers.com... because there is always good stuff on there for babies

More ideas to come... I just wanted to get this started!