Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

Tops of 2013 in no particular order. 

Michael's List

1. Had Olivia
2. Went to Hawaii
3. Ran Ragnar
4. Graduated from BYU
5. Got a Nexus5
6. Worked at Vineyard 
7. Frequented Oh Mai and Pho Plus more often than not
8. Bought a Harley
9. Learned a lot of mechanical things on the Mazda
10. Became more financially responsible

Catie's List

1. Expanded our family by welcoming our darling Olivia. I pushed a human out of me and lived to tell the tale. That is pretty cool.
2. Went through a lot of emotional roller coasters with defining our future, but grew closer together as a family because of it, and closer to our Heavenly Father in the process.
3. Loving my husband more than I thought possible. Homeboy is the best.
4. Still rocking the job at iCentris, being a mom, and wife and being happy with the balance.
5. Learning to not worry so much about what others think. Its a work in progress, but I am getting better at it.
6.  Finally made it to Hawaii with my huuusband and daughter. It was magical. 
7. Grew closer to my extended family on both sides. 
8. Went camping in Zion's 35 weeks pregnant, also celebrated our 3 year anniversary at the Ponderosa there. 
9. Discovered Cubby's, Sweeto Burrito, and the Sweet Tooth Fairy.
10. Took a bajillion pictures of Olivia

Olivia's List

1. Was borned and stuffs
2. Got really fat
3. Kept my parents on a pretty strict survive-on-less-than-three-hours-of-sleep-at-a-time-for-five-months schedule
4. Was the happiest baby ever
5. Grew two teeth
6. Became a master army crawler
7. Created a secret language that only Dad and I can do
8. Mastered sleep training in basically one night and sleep 10+ hours regularly
9. Blown out at least 80 times in my short six months
10. Was an excellent flyer on my first airplane ride

Not gonna lie, besides Olivia being born, this year was kind of poopy. How funny that this was both the best and worst year of our life.  I have to admit though, looking back at the poopyness, I know one day we will be grateful for it, but right now, it is still just poopy. We are excited to start a new year with new hopes and dreams. Bring it on 2014, you best be a good one.

Vineyard Family Goals for 2014

1. Get into Grad School OR find a super, awesome, amazing career for Michael
2. Move
3. Grow a garden
4. Get a puppy
5. Take a few road trips
6. Take a off a huge chunk of our debt
7. Not get pregnant
8. Be more active
9. Grow closer as a Michael, Catie, and Olivia family unit through serving each other
10. Be less judgmental and more forgiving

Round 2

Welp, our opportunity fell through. BUT, we were offered a different position for the near future and Michael has some other potential GeoTech jobs as well. 

I'll admit, I was sad. I was annoyed. I was emotional. THIS was the thing that was supposed to work, at least that is what I prepped myself for. After a few good therapy sessions, I was reminded of a few things. 

1. I need to pray for peace. For true peace of heart and mind as we go through this phase. Instead of praying for what I think is what we want and crossing my fingers tight that we get that, I just need to go with the flow. Heavenly Father does know what is best for us and He is teaching us along our journey to get there. 
2. Just because I formulate a plan in my head that should give me certain results, I am learning that that is definitely not how it works. I need to stop stressing that my A+B=C does not work. There is going to be more like a A-B+PxQ+Z-A+W/G= Something better than my little C would have ever been thing going on. 
3. My husband is amazing. I am lucky to have him and be loved by him.
4. Sometimes you just need to cry.
5. I need to stop trying to figure out what it is we are "supposed" to be doing. I just need to start enjoying and loving my life day to day. Yes, we need goals to work towards, but I don't need to let those future goals negate the wonderful life I have with Michael and Olivia.
6. Speaking of Olivia, she is so dang cute it kills me sometimes. 
7. Life is good. Pray and read your scriptures. Develop your personal relationship with the Lord. 

The End. 

For My Peeps

Yesterday in church there was a discussion about keeping a journal, specifically a daily journal, and how our posterity is not going to care about what I ate that day and other things along those lines. What they will care about are lessons we learned and experiences that helped our testimonies grow and become stronger. That prompted me to write down about what is going on in our life right now, glamorous or not. 

So, we did not get into grad school for fall 2013 like we were originally planning. We did not know that grad school applications were different from college applications, where you send it your admission stuff and get accepted. We learned the annoying way that Michael needs to have a professor "sponsor" him so to speak so he can do their research. We are now taking this approach and contacting various professors at Texas Tech and Montana Tech and keeping our fingers crossed. 

In the meantime, we have been trying to figure out what the heck it is we are "supposed" to be doing for our little family. We have considered options that I swore I would never do, i.e. have Michael join the Air Force and I would raise his Military brats. (Not that I call our child/future children brats, I would never do that. That hurt my heart just typing it!) The point is, we both at different times felt that was something we should look into AND we were both okay with it. After following up, we did not feel right about it anymore, so it became a dead end. 

The highs and lows of trying to figure out our future have been exhausting and motivating, scary and exciting, super awesome and lame all at the same time. We act upon a prompting and get excited that we may actually be getting some traction towards our future, and it fizzles out. We are really up for anything! I just want to fast forward a few years and see what the crap it is. 

Last week, a new opportunity came up that seems almost too good to be true. We would be moving out of Orem, which is bitter sweet, we would be saving a butt load of money, and we would be prepping for grad school. We still have yet to determine if this is the right thing for us, we still have to find out if Michael got the job and if I would still be able to work with my company. It kind of sucks having our life be in control of everyone but us at the moment. BUT, we are excited.

Hopefully we will hear in the next few days if this new option will work out. Through out this whole process, I have learned that Heavenly Father knows much more than I do what is best for me and my little family. He has our best interest at heart and is allowing us to grow and become refined in this process we call life. I have also learned that praying, like really praying and having a conversation with the Lord is one of the best things you can do. Same goes for reading your scriptures. The days we don't do this as a family are significantly not as great as days that we do do these things together. 

I am learning that as a mother and a wife, I have a vital role in setting the tone and atmosphere in our home. I don't care if it is old fashioned, but I love being able to try and fulfill this role to the best that I can by incorporating that love and happiness that comes from following Heavenly Father's plan for us. 

The End. 

The Haps

 This girl. I love her. We were able to listen to conference, some of us naked at times. The older I get, the more sappy I get I guess, but I am just SO grateful for my little family and for our potential. Michael and I are learning and growing during what we have been calling our transition phase. We are learning that though our life right now is not what it will always be, it is still our life! We need to enjoy and love it. Living life just focusing on the next big thing is no way to live and we are learning to enjoy this time we have now. Our life is really great; not that it is super easy or glamorous, because lets be honest, no ones life is like that and if someone says it is, they are lying. My point is that I am grateful for my life with Michael and Olivia by my side and that we are evolving into who we are becoming.... if that makes sense.

 Olivia had her 4 month appointment today and is 95th percentile in head circumference. Baby girls gots to have a big head for her smart brain for when she goes to BYU.

 Again, naked babies are the best. 

 Michael taking his girls out on a hot date to Wingers. One of us was not as entertaining as the other. 

 Michael's grandfather passed away October 4th, 2013. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's for several years and was living at the VA hospital in Salt Lake. He really was such a great man and a wonderful role model for Michael while growing up. I got to know Grandpa Lambson a little and my memories of him include him being grateful for many a woman figure. That sounds a lot more perverted than it is, I promise.  

 Homegirl melts me.

 And has some really yummy thighs.

 And giggles. Pardon my lack of hair. I was trying to look like Padre. 

 Sometimes I put really, really big bows on my daughter. And I like it. 

This is my absolute favorite way to work. We are so grateful and lucky for how our work schedule evens out and that I get to work from home most of the time and play with this cutie. 

Speaking of work, it is almost 2 am and I am still working. LAME. 

The End

3 Month Pictures

3 Months Yo

3 months. That is a quarter of a year. That means in 3 months, I will have a 6 month old! That is CRAZY to me. I feel like it was just yesterday we brought her home. At the same time, I feel like she has always been in our life. I can't imagine not being the three of us. 

Growing up, we were not allowed to have sugar cereal. I remember thinking that when I grew up, I would eat all of the sugar cereal I wanted, because I was a grown up and could make my own choices. That may be a dumb example, but it is refreshing to be evolving into the grown ups Michael and I have become.  It has been fun to watch and experience my little family determine those little things in life that when added up, make us who we are. 

I went back to work 2 weeks ago. I cut my hours back the the minimum to keep our health insurance and other benefits. I get to work from home except on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On those days, Michael and Olivia get to have some quality Daddy Daughter time. The adjustment has gone pretty well and even though  I cried the first day back in the office, I wouldn't change a thing. 

Enough about the grown ups, here are some fun facts about Olivia. 

• She is a seasoned traveler now. She drove all the way to St. George, followed by Vegas a few days later, and then on a 6 hour flight to Hawaii. She did so well on the plane and probably cried a total of 30 minutes between the two flights. Not too bad if you ask me. 
• Peek-a-Boo is one of her favorites
• She has started to teeth and now is constantly drenched in her own drool. 
• She can roll over! She started on Monday and there is no stopping her now!
• She loves her reflection in mirrors around he 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• Oh, did you notice my use of the letters o and f? Pretty sure I fell asleep while doing this post originally....... I am a tired lady.
• As I was saying, Olivia loves mirrors and interacting with herself. If I were as cute as she is, I would do the same
• She loves tummy time now. She is quite the bird necker
• She LOVES people. Seriously, we can be hanging out with anyone, and she smiles and coos, unless she is tired. 
• She actually has conversations with you if you talk back to her. It is SO CUTE
• She is almost out of her 0-3 month clothes. Time to go shopping
• She is the best baby ever. We are so blessed to have such a happy and healthy little girl to call ours. 

I will post pictures later, if I stay up any longer you might get a repeat of o's and f's

2 Months

We now have a 2 month old on our hands and we are more in love than ever. We are getting better at learning her routine and working in the normal day to day stuff around it. Some days I am just content to hold and nap with her all day long, but if I have too many days like that, it is no bueno for me, Michael, or Olivia.

Michael and I try to plan our days out to make sure we have enough family time and one on one time. Sue has been a dear and has baby sat so we could run and spend time together and it is very much appreciated. Courting Michael after we have been married for 3 plus years is fun. He is my number one cheerleader and pushes me in a good way. Learning how to be parents together has been a learning curve, but it is bringing us closer together and strengthening our marriage.

Here are some things about Olivia, because we know that she is way more interesting than Michael or I.

• She is a talker. The sweet littles noises she makes are the CUTEST.
• Her really alert times are early in the morning and in the evening. The rest of the time she moves from eating, sleeping, and pooping and though she is awake, she interacts a lot more during those times.
• She is ginormous. I swear she grew over night. We have her 2 month appointment on Wednesday, so I will have her stats then. 
• She loves Michael. They are like best buds. 
• As she has become more vocal, she has become louder in her crying. It breaks my heart to hear her cry, but I can only get my shirt off so fast some times to feed her, you know?
• Michael thinks her cry is adorable, so there is a bit of a delay in getting her what she needs. We are working on that one.......
• She officially no longer fits in new born clothes. We stretched them as long as we could. 
• She isn't spitting up as often which is greatly appreciated. 
• Her feeding time has doubled. I was lucky if I could get her to eat for 10 minutes at a time, but now the norm is 18+
• Her nighttime schedule has changed, but not for the better. We used to be able to get her down around 8 and then feed again at 11. She would not wake until 3 or 4 to eat. Now she eats at 9ish and wakes at 1 or 2 to feed, then again at 4, then 6. I think she is just going through a growth spurt and hope we can get to a better 3-4 hour eating schedule at night. I really can't complain though, it is not that bad to get up with her at night and we both usually fall asleep during those feedings anyway. 
• Everyone is still obsessed with her. I think Sue is her biggest fan. 
• Lexi, Addi, Olivia, and I go on walks a few times a week. She use to sleep through them but now is wide awake and loves making faces at her Auntie Butt. 
• Just today she started to like Peek-a-Boo.
• Her smile melts me. 
• She is an excellent cuddler. 
• She likes having a routine. If I stray too far from it, we have an unhappy baby which means an unhappy and stressed mama. 
• She loves the Moby. During the day, we can't really put her down for a nap or she will wake up or not sleep for more than an hour. We put the Moby on, walk around for 5 minutes, and she is out for a couple of hours. It is like a constant hug and I can't  recommend one more to parents. 
• Michael bought a little black lamb for our babies after we had been married a year or so. It is her favorite toy which is adorable. 
• She likes her carseat more so now than she did. 
• She is adorable and the love of our lives. 

 Happy Baby

Long Happy Baby

Count those neck rolls on the Happy Baby

Happy Baby who winks like mom

Cousins, Cousins, and More Cousins

 The Judds came to visit and their girls LOVED Olivia. We also caught her first smile on camera while they were here. 

Henry, Jonathan, and Nicki were kind enough to come out for the baby blessing, so we got to spend a lot of fun cousin time with them. Not to toot my own horn, but I was Henry's favorite person the whole time they were here. I am looking forward to teasing him when he is older about how I was his first crush.

  There is nothing wrong with a little cousin action at this age, right?

 Westie is adorable and sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over facetime. 

Nigel and Bradley LOVE their Olivia. Nigel once said that she was so pretty, he would marry her. If Olivia makes a noise, Bradley quickly says, "He needs a burp!" and then proceeds to burp her back.

Olivia and Addi are going to be best friends. They seem to like each other so far, so that's a start. 

Nadya, Lyn, and Rhett came out for a wedding and it was SO FUN to catch up with them. I was thinking about it, and Lyn and I have known each other for over 20 years and we still like each other! That is CRAZY to me that I have someone I can say that about. I am glad our kiddos can be 'cousins' to each other. 

All of these guys are just too cute! We are so blessed to have so many people in our lives who love us and we love them. The End. 

Olivia's Baby Blessing

July 13th we did Olivia's blessing with our friends and family. We ended up having over 60 people there! She sure is one very loved little girl. The blessing was beautiful; Michael did such a great job. Afterwards we had a BBQ at Nelsons Grove with Jdawgs and burgers. It was such a fun day.