Outdoor Concert and Red Mango

One of our young women Angela planned a great activity tonight to a concert at the Music Art Center at Indiana University (Summer Band on the MAC Lawn).  They played music from Wagner, Puccini, Sullivan, Tucci, Grainger, Johann Strauss, Barker, Wright, Goldman, and Gershwin. Liv loved it! After each piece, she would clap and say, "Like it! Another song! More, more more!"  I am so glad we went!  This will definitely become a tradition for our family.  We love that Bloomington has so much to do.  Here are some pictures from tonight:

 Liv listening to the band (I couldn't quite get them in the shot)

 Hanging out on the grass

 Enjoying the concert together

Katie, Baby Olivia, and Liv

3 AM Wake-up Call

Liv woke up at 3am, and Tyler brought her in as usual.  She was so excited to talk to us!  She was talking about wanting to go downstairs and play.  She was jumping up and down on the bed saying, "Jump!"  I wish I could remember all the things she was saying.  She was talking even more than usual and stringing more words together.  It was fun to see her so excited over everything.  Fortunately, she went back to bed shortly after that.

Also, as we were reading a book tonight, she said, "I'm a artist."  We were reading, "The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse."  We read it several times, and each time she would say, "I'm a artist." I tried to get in on video, but she got distracted and wanted to hold the camera.  It was so fun, though!  She would also repeat the things the artist painted.  It's fun that she is starting to repeat things even more in books, and often, she knows what is coming next before we even read it! I swear she has the first half of Brown Bear memorized.  So happy she loves talking and reading.  Kind of sounds like her mom...

Our Little Sweetheart

As we were leaving Jo's today, she fell out of the bumbo and was still stuck halfway in it as we walked out the door.  Liv was so concerned because she didn't see her get up.  She kept saying, "Friend Jo.  Fall down.  Hurt.  Bonk.  Okay?"  She repeated a variation of this over and over.  She seemed so upset. Her little face looked so sad as she thought that her friend might be hurt and stuck.  It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.  She loves her friend!

Liv Loves Lipstick

On our way out of the house, Liv saw my lipstick and wanted to hold it.  She ended up talking me into opening it for her, and this is what I saw when we got to Kayleen's house.  I'd say she got it in the general location :)

Goodbyes

Some of Liv's friends are moving away.  We are so sad to see them go, but we are glad that they could come over and play tonight.  Rachel and Lauren are moving to California tomorrow.  Their mom, Hannah, watched Liv both semesters for us this last year, and Liv loved getting to play with them.  We will miss our dear friends!  It has been so fun living close to them and having our girls spend so much time together (and I was with Ryan in the MTC and in Russia, where we served in Ulyanovsk together).  Liv asked for them about every day while we were in Utah.  Here are some pictures from the last get together.  They had fun taking turns on Liv's horse, reading books, and even jumping on the bed.  We hope we will get to see them again when we are all visiting Utah.

 Pretty sweet picture of the basket flying at me.  We're still trying to teach Liv to not throw things.

 These girls move way too fast for our camera!

The best picture I could get of the three of them.  I'm hoping Hannah got a better one :)

Getting lots and lots and lots of color samples

We are trying to buy a house, and we are getting really excited about the thought of remodeling (you should check out my pinterest--it's insane).  We went to Lowe's and Menards and came home with just about every sample booklet they had.

 Liv's not sure if she's ready for this trip

 Driving through Menards, looking for a deal

A small sample of the hundreds of samples that are now littering our floor

Crazy Monday

Apparently there are repercussions to speaking Russian.  I'm pretty sure I forgot all of my Croatian today lol Luckily, I think it has now come back after four hours of class and a much needed nap!  We started out the day with Liv waking up earlier than normal and Tyler missing his bus.  We got ourselves dressed and out the door to take Tyler to school, and then headed home.  We saw some deer on the way home, and Liv was determined we needed to find some more.  We didn't see any on the way home, but she did get to watch a clip about tigers, which kept her happy.  I had packed a lunch for her the night before, so I threw that in a bag, grabbed some yogurt for me and ran upstairs to finish getting ready.  For some reason, I was determined I needed to wax my eyebrows, so I did that, put on some makeup and looked over a few words for my quiz.

It was about this time that I realized I had not managed my morning as well as I should have (meaning I left at the time that is usually fine, but I perhaps should have anticipated the drop off not going so smoothly).  And then the real fun started.  Russian words and some fog were swirling around my brain as we loaded up the car to head to the babysitter's and get me off to school.  We left our street and I remembered I didn't exactly know HOW to get to our babysitter's.  I called them, and Kaylene was gracious enough to talk me to her house.  Liv wasn't feeling well (I think she's teething), so we had kind of a rough start.  I stayed a bit longer than I should have (about ten minutes too long) because I felt so bad that I was leaving her when she was sad and not feeling well.  Jo was so sweet, though, and was showing her toys to Liv, and then sat on the bed to watch Signing Time with her.  I finally left with Liv in tears asking to go home with me.  The bright spot in all of this was knowing I was leaving her with great people, and that she would have fun once she recovered from my leaving (it turns out she only cried for a minute, and then she and Jo had a lot of fun playing together).  I was a little frazzled as I tried to find the fastest way to school without getting lost.

I was a bit late, and our class had already started on our quiz.  Our professor was very understanding (I love her!), and I finished the same time as everyone else.  I had studied the wrong thing and was thinking in Russian all through class, but I guess that's just how Mondays go sometimes!

Tyler let me sleep, and I already feel much better and up for a new week of Croatian class (which is good considering I have a presentation and a midterm this week).

All in all, I think I might need to swear off speaking Russian for a few weeks!  Or at least not interpret the day before a quiz :)

Russian, Croatian, Ukrainian...

As some of you know, I am taking an accelerated Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian course (I came in never having spoken any of them and should be at a third year proficiency by the end of the eight weeks).  We are three weeks in, and I absolutely love it!  I have been worried that I will forget my Russian, though.  Luckily, I had a chance to use it today!  A woman has moved into our ward from Russia, so I was able to interpret for her for the last two hours of church.  Admittedly, I slipped in at least two Croatian words and was battling off the Ukrainian, but it was so fun!  I love learning languages, and I love getting to use them :)

New Goal: A Picture a Day

We're going for it!  One picture every day, with hopefully at least one sentence about what is going on in A Day in the Life of the Madsens (gotta start somewhere, and yes, that was a play on a title of a Russian novel).  Liv is growing up so fast, and so much happens in one day.  This is our attempt to document life for ourselves, and to keep all of our loved ones in the loop.  We hope you enjoy! 

As you can see, Liv is already skeptical about this goal :)

Taste of Bloomington

We went out with our friends the Wheatleys to Taste of Bloomington.  Over 30 restaurants were there, and they had fun live music.  We tried some yummy BBQ and a smoothie from Kilroy's and toquitos from what we're calling cinco de cinco.  We followed it up with some vegan chocolate and regular vanilla ice cream from Chocolate Moose (a great local ice cream shop here in Bloomington).  We'd heard that Bloomington has so much to offer by way of local food, so we had a great time finding out how true that is!

Liv was about ready for bed at this point, but she was a good sport through it all (especially the ice cream part).

Check-ups

We took Liv for her 15 month check-up last Friday (even though she turned 16 months yesterday). She is at 28 months according to the development test! She is really strong verbally, so that is a lot of what pushed her so far ahead. She is 21 lbs (25th %) and 30" tall (50th %). She still hates being at the Dr.'s because she knows they will give her shots. Can't wait until we're caught up and don't need them every time we go!

Another Show

Liv loves saying that. We let her watch an educational Russian show for toddlers, and she loves it! She has started saying the Russian word for triangle, and it's so sweet! She also says the Russian word for peek-a-boo now instead of the English. In Russian it's ku-ku. She also likes to watch a Russian cartoon called Masha and Bear, which is a cute cartoon about a little girl and a bear, as you may have guessed. She just laughs and laughs. She doesn't watch signing time as much, but still really likes it and occasionally uses signs still.

Today Liv came up and asked to watch something, but I couldn't tell what it was she wanted. She kept repeating it over and over, but I had expected ku-ku or Masha. Turns out she wanted Cinderella! She watched part of it at her friend's yesterday and remembered it. It was pretty cute :) She calls it Cin-rella.

Still Our Little Reader

Now for the exciting stuff: Liv! She is such a smart little girl and learns so fast! She still loves to have us read to her, and just this week she has started pretending to read the books to us or to herself. It is so sweet! She has these little Disney board books that she likes to carry around and read. Her favorite books, though, are "I Love You Through and Through," "The Artist Who Painted the Blue Horse," "I Love You Mommy," and "Where is Baby's Pumpkin?" Really, there are many more she likes to read, like the ones with googly eyes and a host of others, but I thought I'd at least put those ones down.

Tyler and Kimberly School Updates.

So I've decided it's time to start blogging again. It has been so long and so much has happened since I last wrote. An update on school:

Tyler will be teaching 2nd-year Russian this summer at Indiana University's SWSEEL. And I will be taking Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian there. I found out today that I got Title VIII funding, which is such a blessing! Tuition is covered, and I get a stipend. I also have a FLAS for Russian for Fall-Spring 2012-2013 which is very exciting! Things couldn't be going better as far as school and funding goes :)

My little reader

I love that she loves books!

Beads!

Checking out the camera

Looking for the beads under the bear

She loves her beads!

She kept holding them up like this and laughing

I wore pearls to church Sunday, and Liv just loved them! So I took out some plastic beads I have and let her play with them. She loved it! This one's all girl :)

Balancing tricks +

She's got this move down!

I just love this face :)

Balancing tricks

Tyler put a toy ring on Liv's head, and it was so cute, because she would just put her arms up in the air like she was balancing, then she'd knock it off. I finally got a couple of pictures with it on, some with it falling off, and others with it on the floor after being knocked off. Then there's the ever famous scrunchy face while balancing!

Liv crawled!

Well, it's official, we have a little crawler on our hands! Liv got the coordination down and loves crawling around! Pretty soon we'll see just how un-baby-proofed our house is!

Liv gets playdates while mommy and daddy get to go to class

Our amazingly wonderful neighbor watches Liv while Tyler and I are in class. After this year, we'll set up our schedules so one of us can be with Liv while the other is in class, but there were two classes we both needed to take this semester. So Tyler and I dropped Liv off with Hannah and her two cute girls for a couple hours this afternoon. We were hoping Liv would be good for them, and we were so happy to hear that they'd had a great time together.

When we got to Hannah's to pick Liv up, she said that Lauren had so much fun with Liv. Lauren is two, and is such a sweet and hilarious girl. She kept saying to Hannah, "That baby named Liv wants to play with the trains," or "That baby named Liv wants to read this book," etc. and then would go get out whatever "Liv" wanted to play with. I thought that was so adorable! And cutest of all was when Hannah told us that when Lauren got up from her nap, she saw that Liv was there and was really concerned. She said to Hannah, "That little baby doesn't have a mommy and daddy!!" Hannah explained she had just come over to play, and that Liv indeed does have parents, and Lauren was happy again.

Lauren says the cutest things. She was jumping and spinning and told her mom she was teaching us how to do it. Another time, she told her mom she wanted to do a "salt and pepper." Well Hannah didn't know what she meant, then started thinking about the things they had been doing that week. She finally realized she meant a sommersault! So funny! My favorite, though, was when she was mixed up with "me" and "you." She came up to her mom and said, "Help you!" And when Hannah said she didn't need any help, Lauren got really sad and kept saying, "Help you, help you." Hannah realized she meant "help me." She thought Hannah was "me" and that Lauren was "you." It totally makes sense--Hannah would have referred to herself as "me" and Lauren as "you." It made it all the cuter when Lauren went up to Hannah and held out something to her and said, "For me." Imagine this in a cute little girl voice :) It really is adorable!

So happy to see mommy!

I started working mornings on campus in the School for Public and Environmental Affairs. While I'm away, Liv stays home with Daddy. They have been having lots of fun together, and she's been taking great naps for him. Today Tyler took me to school because he had some errands to run, and then came and picked me up because he needed to go to the bookstore before our class. I met him in the parking lot, and as I was walking up to the car, Liv saw me and let out a big, happy squeal and gave me a huge smile! I just love her so much! I was so happy she was excited to see me. I love my job, but I miss getting to be with her. I'm glad Tyler gets to be with her in the mornings, and that she sleeps for a lot of the time that I'm gone, so I don't miss out on as much!

Snuggles with Daddy

So for the last few weeks, Liv has been wanting me to hold her and not leave her with anyone else, not even Tyler. He was feeling a little bit sad, or at least left out. But then Saturday I had just finished feeding her, and she turned out of my arms towards Tyler and gave him a big hug! It was so cute!

A bit later, she would come to me, give me a hug, then turn and go to Tyler, give him a hug, then come back to me. She went back and forth about 15 times. It was so funny! She is so sweet to give me and Tyler attention now :)

Ice cream!

Liv caught with her hand in the cookie jar! Or in this case, face in the Oreo shake...What can I say, she loves ice cream!

Crib time

Gotta love that mischievous look!

Another scrunchy face while standing all by herself in her crib!



Liv realized she didn't know how to let go from standing up. She took the topple well.

Happy baby :)

Bedtime

Tummy time!

Checking out the camera up-close.

Looking for more stuff to play with.

I finally got a good one of her scrunchy face!

Liv hanging out in her jammies.

Liv likes to hold her lotion bottle after we put her lotion on. I didn't get a picture of it, but she also really likes to suck on the cap. I guess lotion tastes good?

Stuffed Animals

Livvy was so excited to play with her stuffed animals today! She was sitting in front of me and kept trying to pull the basket with them in it over. She finally got it!

Sharing pears with daddy

Pull ups

Liv also tries to pull herself up to standing. Poor thing got caught on the chair the other day--too close to sit down, too close to stand the rest of the way up!

Push up time!

Liv now goes from crawling to push-up position. It's so funny! I think she's stronger than I am...

One more messy face

Messy face!

So, we basically strip Liv down when it's time to eat, because as you can see, it gets everywhere! But it's pretty cute, so we'll allow it :) She started doing monkey face, which meant her favorite sweet potatoes ended up in her hair, on the back of the chair, and smeared all around her face (she moved just as I went to put the spoon in her mouth). We have a fun time at meal times!

Cuddling up on a Sunday

After church, I was laying on the floor after Liv finished eating. She rolled over and cuddled up to me. So cute! She's also been giving me her binky lately, which makes me love her even more. I had held it in my mouth a couple of times (backwards) when I'd be doing something else before giving it to her, and she would take it, put it in her mouth, and then try and put it back in mine. Now she just randomly will give it to me sometimes, and I think it's so sweet she's willing to share her binky with me.

To crawl or not to crawl...

So Liv really wants to crawl. She spends all day practicing. And she's so close! She is so good at getting her knees under her and supporting herself. She rocks back and forth, lunges...and then dives on her tummy. She can really scoot around sideways and backwards, but what she really wants is to be able to go forward. I'm expecting any day now. She'd probably have it by now if it weren't for all of those days in the car lol

Monkey face!

So Liv has started doing this thing where she covers both her ears with her hands, and it is so adorable! I call it her monkey face, and it makes her laugh. Every time she does it, I say, "Monkey face!" in an excited voice, and she just cracks up. Sometimes, I make the face back. Yes, even at the grocery store. But hey, I even do little dances and songs for her at the grocery store, so that can't come as much of a surprise. But back to the monkey face. She was doing it the other day over and over at the grocery store. We were having a great time! While daddy was shopping for produce, Liv and I were playing the monkey face game. A college-age girl near us said, "That's so cute she does that!" And it really is. I'm trying to get a good picture of it, and of course erased the one that ended up being the best because I thought it was blurry at the time. Here's one that turned out okay, too, though.

Vroom-vroom

So Tyler is taking Liv on an imaginary car ride in hopes that she'll fall asleep. He buckles her, then puts down the cover. As he walks around the house taking fake turns, he makes fun car noises *vroom-vroom*. It's actually really endearing.

Love my friends, love my life

I got together with some of my favorite people tonight. Ammon, Jen, Liz, Mama, and Shane. It was so fun talking about old times and remembering just how much I love these people and that time of my life. We laughed and told stories, and Katie mistook Liv for Mama's baby (mostly cuz of her name ;) ). We even realized that Shane and I had gone out three times, and I remembered a fourth after he left lol There was a scandal as I mistakenly thought Ammon had been de-friended on facebook. Turns out it was only in real life. Phew ;)

As everyone was leaving, I was thinking how great it is to have such good friends and to be able to keep in touch. I was thinking how sad I was that I don't get to see them as often as I used to. Then I walked upstairs and went to crawl into bed and there was Liv, sleeping peacefully. All the love I have for Liv and Tyler just hit me so hard. I thought, how lucky am I to love my old life, and to love the life I have now? How I got so lucky to have such great friends and a great husband and daughter I'll never know. What I do know is that I am so blessed. Looking at Liv's cute little face while she slept filled me with so much peace. I love what I have, I love where I've been, and I'm so excited for a future filled with family, friends, and new experiences yet to come.

Starting out strong...until we give up

So Tyler and I decided we're going to try to eat better (yes I realize this is ridiculous, given that I'm making a chocolate chip cookie pie). We've been talking about doing the Zone diet and were saying we were going to miss carbs, especially cereal. So I said that we didn't necessarily need to be strict, we could just do our own version. In response, Tyler said, "We should start out strong and then slowly give up." So here's to starting out (somewhat--again, the cookie pie) strong, and give up from there!

And we're back...

So for months I've said I'm going to start blogging again. Every time something funny happens, I say, "I'm totally blogging about this." But then I never do. So I'm in the middle of making a delicious chocolate chip cookie pie (from ourbestbites.com) and thought, oh I'm going to blog later. Instead of waiting and never doing it, I'm blogging now. Here is the pie I'm making. It looks so delicious!!

Nephews' and nieces' thoughts on pregnancy

I really should have written a lot of this when I was at home, because I know I won't remember all of the great things the grandkids said about the baby. A couple of my favorites, though:

Annalee--"How does your baby get out?"
Me--"Anna, your kids have a question for you!" I then went on to explain the doctor makes a little cut so the baby can get out (their mom had c-sections with them), and then feeling like this might be traumatizing, I threw in, "And there are other ways..." before quickly changing the subject.

As Anna was driving away with her kids, there was a chorus of, "Bye Kimmie!" "We love you!" "Bye" "See you soon!" and then my favorite..."We love you! And we love your baby, too!"

Leslie and her kids came to visit, too and had some great oneliners. Jared was dying that I was married and pregnant (he's 14) and thinks I should have stayed single forever so I could be the fun aunt and hang out with him instead of talking to Tyler. After he met Tyler he really liked him though, so I think he's torn on that point.

Janie, one of Leslie's girls, went shopping with me for baby clothes. We walked into Carter's and she saw the sleeper pajamas and said, "Oh, I hope they have those in a 6T! Oh, I hope they have my size! I wish I was a baby!!" She would then bring me all these cute clothes to look at, and would say, "I'm gonna die! These are so cute, I'm gonna die!" This soon changed into, "We have to leave--I don't want to die!" Seriously so fun to shop with.

So many fun things were said, I wish I could remember them all. A post for a different day, I guess :)

Is your baby comin' out??

For the sake of just posting again, I thought I'd write about my cute niece Taryn and her thoughts on my being pregnant.

At first Taryn was a bit confused by this whole "baby in my tummy" thing. She's about 2 1/2 I think. Maybe 3. I'll fix this later lol So she gets it now that I have a baby that is growing in my tummy, but not so much this whole 9 month thing. I tried to explain that the baby wouldn't come until about Christmas time. Still, every time I saw her while I was in Utah she would ask (in the cutest Taryn voice), "Did your baby come out yet?" or "Is your baby comin' out?" I think she gets it, but we may still need to work on this one.

Another time Taryn says to me, "I'm gonna tickle your baby, put her in the stroller, and rock-a-bye baby!" She's way excited to have a new cousin.

My mom told me that now Taryn comes up to her and says, "We don't do this with Kimmie's baby" then punches her own arm before saying, "we go like this--so soft!" and starts petting her arm. The other day while I was talking to Taryn on the phone, grandma asked her, "Are we going to be rough with Kimmie's baby?" Shocked face from Taryn: "Oh, no! We be so soft and so nice!" and then starts petting her arm again.

It was really cute a couple of days ago. We were talking and Taryn said, "How's your baby?" I told her she was doing well and that she kicks all the time now and that if Taryn was here she'd be able to feel her kicking and even see my stomach move when the baby does. So later that day my mom asked if she talked to me and Taryn says, "Yes, and the baby was KICKING the whole time!" My mom said that at the same time Taryn was kicking her little feet back and forth. Taryn had also talked to Tyler that day (as they were talking she said, "How is your day?"--she's learning to talk like a grown-up :) ), and my mom asked who else she got to talk to. She got all excited/shy and said, "Tyler." She has a little crush on him I think. When she first met him she went home and was talking about "cute baby Tyler" and always asks where he is when I'm around.

These stories may not be as cute to you, but that's just cuz you can't hear her little voice and see her cute curly blonde hair and funny faces :)

Falls Lake

June 26, 2010--Tyler and I took the day to spend some time at the lake. Katrina had recommended Falls Lake, and seeing that it was only 25 minutes away, we thought we'd check it out. There is a section for swimmers only, so boats and fishermen don't cast in there. We staked out a spot on the beach, put out our blanket and cooler that Tyler had packed and took off for the water.

It was such a fun day, and we loved getting to just hang out in the water. The area was sectioned off by a plastic tube, so we would swim out and sit on it. The water was pretty shallow and the deepest it got was maybe seven feet at the roped off part. Tyler tried to teach me how to swim and breathe at the same time--I never quite got those strokes down... We also attempted some amazing flips over one another. I think we had one or two successful ones at the end.

We headed back for the shore to get some sun, and when it became too hot, headed back to the water. This time I put my sunglasses on so Tyler couldn't push my head under (I don't know when it started, but I hate putting my face in water--Tyler tries to help me get over this some times lol). We went out to the roped off portion and were just talking when a 60-something guy behind us said, "Nice glasses." We struck up a conversation and he turned out to be really nice. We told them we had gotten married earlier that year and he gave us some great marriage advice--he told Tyler that I was always right :) He said it had taken him 40 or so years to realize it, and along the way he thought he'd been right, but he realized those were just the ones his wife was willing to let him win. We laughed. He told Tyler it was not 50/50 but 80/20--and I'd decide which 20 he got. He was really funny.

We got to talking about where he and his wife were from and what had brought us to the South. After telling him we'd moved from Wyoming and Utah, he asked if we were mormons and we said yes. He told us he really respected us. At first he had thought Mormons were weird, but then realized after meeting some members that we are just regular people. He said he realized that he had given into the same thing that happens to him--he's Catholic and doesn't appreciate when people listen to rumors or make assumptions about his faith, and he realized he didn't want to do that about us. We also talked about how sad it is that some people are so quick to judge other religions, especially Islam. It was really nice to talk with him, and I really appreciated his views on accepting all people, regardless of their religion. It was such a random way to meet, but we really enjoyed talking to him. He and his wife welcomed us to Durham and then headed back to the beach.

Tyler and I spent our last little bit of time doing gymnastics on the rope/plastic barrier. We tried flips around it and standing up on it from a frog position and balancing as it sunk in the water. I'm sure every one else thought we were crazy, but we had a great time.

After about 2-3 hours, we'd had our fill of the water and beach. We're not really huge into the water (except boating), so we'd spent the perfect amount of time there. We got back to town, grabbed some ice cream, and still had the rest of the day to spend together. We love weekends!!

Dinner at the Smiths

June 25, 2010--Had a great time with friends at Abe and Kristie's. It is Abe's birthday this week, so they invited a few of the couples over for a get-together. We stayed til a little past 11 pm and had such a great time getting to know everyone better. We've all decided a karaoke night is in order, so hopefully we'll be organizing that soon! Tyler and I have committed to do an Air Supply number, so we're pretty excited for that ;)

Katrina and I were able to catch up more, and we've decided we need to get together and do some projects. We have really loved getting to know her and Ethan better--they are really amazing people and so much fun to get together with. Tyler and I had decided we were going to explore the next day, and Katrina recommended falls lake, which ended up being great.

We met a new couple, Tati and Justin, who are so much fun! It was really great to get to know them. I'm pretty sure they got dubbed "Honorary Mormons" for the evening and were probably a little surprised at the short amount of time (relatively) that the couples had dated before getting married. Tyler and I usually win this contest lol

Tyler held Breianna's three week old and it was so cute!! Gets me way excited to see him become a dad! I'm afraid he's going to be better than I am at this baby stuff :) He is really sweet and it's so fun to see how a little baby looks in his arms--so tiny next to him!!

Abe and Kristie were great hosts and we look forward to more get togethers in the future!

Lunch and scriptures

June 23, 2010--I met Tyler on campus for lunch because I knew I would be gone in the evening, and he didn't know if he was going to a bowling night or not with the law students. It was fun to get together and actually see him in the middle of the day! We went to the cafe and I couldn't decide what I wanted (again, this pregnancy thing really throws my ability to know what I can/want to eat). After letting a bunch of people go ahead of us, I finally apologized to the guy behind the counter with, "I'm sorry--I'm pregnant and I'm confused." He laughed and said, "Becaues it all looks so good!" Tyler ended up getting pasta and fries and I decided it would just be best to share. I always cause such a scene lol Lunch went much too quickly and it was all too soon before Tyler had to go back to class. Even though it seemed too short, it was great to see him.

Tyler came home pretty early, so we had time to hang out before I went to scripture study. I got there about 20 minutes early cuz I thought it started at 7 and not 7:30. It worked out though, because I was able to help set up chairs and get to know Valerie better. We had a great scripture study with some women from the ward. It was great to get to know them better and to talk about the scriptures and our testimonies. Each month we get together on the last Wednesday and study a couple of chapters together. This week was out of the book of Mosiah. We talked a lot about service and how we can better keep the commandments. There were delicious monster cookies after, and I even took one home to Tyler :)

One of the girls there is getting induced today, and another is due in October. So fun how many babies are being born! One of the girls and I decided we're going to get together and sew burp cloths to give as gifts, which was funny because I had already been planning on doing this when she came up and was like, this is way random, but would you want to get together and sew blankets and burp cloths?? Crazy how things work out!!

Tyler didn't end up going bowling, so we got to spend some time together before my early bedtime came around.

Law wives Tuesday

June 22, 2010--After the pool, Breiana picked me up to head over to Lindsay's where some of the law school wives were getting together. We were going to watch a movie, but ended up talking instead. It was fun to get everyone together and I think we're going to make a weekly get together out of it. Breianna had her one year old Seth and her newborn Kaitlyn with her, and Lindsay has a 15 month old son named Charlie. Charlie and I spent most of our time putting together puzzles. We became pretty fast friends looking for puzzle pieces and even put together a Mr. Potato Head. He surprised me by shoving a piece of pineapple (one of his snacks) into my mouth. Now that's friendship ;)

Fun at the pool

June 22, 2010--Crystal, Spencer, and I met up at our pool for some summer fun on Tuesday. It was so nice to escape the heat and humidity in the cool water. Spencer was so cute with his toys--he would toss them out and Crystal would help him swim to them. He has decided he doesn't like getting water around his eyes, so he won't put his head under and doesn't like it when his mom and dad do either. I guess he brings a towel over to wipe off their eyes, then he thinks they're okay. I think it's so cute how he "takes care" of them :)

My favorite was when Crystal had Spencer recite the articles of faith. He started out by saying, I'll go slow. Then he excitedly said, "Number one!" and proceeded to tell me the first article of faith. I was so impressed!! He is two turning three soon. Little did I know this was not all. He finished the first and said (again in a really excited voice), "Number two! We believe..." Crystal helped him through the third one and he finished it all by himself. He is so adorable!!! I can't believe how smart he is!!

He would also go over and get my water bottle and say "Kimberly's" and then come hand it to me. We shared some graham crackers and had more pool time. On the way out he chased some geese from our pond up a hill. It was such a fun day and I look forward to having them over to swim again!

Father's Day

June 20, 2010-- Father's Day was so much fun! I woke up to all the great things Tyler had done, and then I gave him his presents, a book called I love my daddy, and a what to expect for fathers' book. His big present STILL hasn't come, over a week since Father's Day, so I'm hoping it gets here before I get to Utah so I can see him open it. My sewing machine came, and at first I thought it was his gift...then we realized it was mine. He was a good sport about it, though! I also wrote him a four page letter on many of the reasons I love him.

It was then off to church where the men were given Sprees. We forgot how much we love them!! It was really cute, because my friend Crystal's son came running up to her after church, reached into her bag and grabbed hers out. Even through nursery he had remembered where they were.

Tyler and I went home and I made calzone dough for our dinner. I had Tyler put on his own toppings and just made a loaf of bread out of mine (this whole pregnancy thing still throws me about what I like to eat). He braided them up into cute little loaves and we threw them in the oven. We had a fun little dinner together and have decided that calzones are a favorite for us!!

Father's Day Eve

June 19, 2010--Obviously, I got a little behind in my blogging, so I'll try to catch up. So the night before Father's Day, Tyler and I spent most of the day cleaning out our second bedroom and getting the last of the unpacking done!! By the end of the night, I was pretty tired, so Tyler offered to let me rest while he went and picked up groceries. I got pretty sick after he left--gave myself a black eye from throwing up and then went to bed. A couple of hours later, he wasn't home yet, so I called him and he was on his way home. Turns out he'd picked up some "father's day" gifts (turns out I benefitted more from father's day than he did)--he stayed up til one putting the finishing touches on our apartment: stands for our dishes, a new dish set, lamps and bedtables for the bedroom, cute shelves to put our nick-knacks on, etc. I am one lucky girl!!

Anniversary Date Night

Tyler and I met one year ago yesterday! We've been having anniversary weekend leading up to father's day :) We went to Robin Hood Thursday and enjoyed that, and decided to go out to dinner Friday. I had just finished reading Life of Pi about a boy from India, so we decided to try out a new Indian place called "Curry and Spice." We got the plain naan bread (I love this bread!) and tika masala chicken with rice. So yummy!

After dinner we decided to go to the Sarah P. Duke gardens and ended up walking around campus before going to the gardens. They are really beautiful! Fireflies were out and there are lots of ponds with cute little bridges and ducks swimming around. We walked around a few of the paths and then headed home.

It was a fun way to spend our evening, since our first real date was one year ago today, and we went walking around the mall and Red Square. Going for walks was and still is one of our favorite dates.

Hollywood spoils diplomacy with Russia

Found a fairly funny article on how Hollywood has not helped our diplomacy with the Russians, entitled "8 movies that have made Russia even madder at us." It lists 8 movies that would not have made the Kremlin any more friendly towards the US. One of my personal favorites is number 8--Goldeneye. The explanation reads:

Yes, we know this wasn't the first time 007 came out on top of some of the KGB's top agents, but this wasn't your ordinary Bond. Pierce Brosnan's resume includes roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Mama Mia. Doesn't sound like England's deadliest weapon.

I have to post a disclaimer here: I loved Pierce Brosnan in Mama Mia--all the more because he sang in it!

Strange pregnancy dream, perhaps?

Bizarre dreams are not new to me. I tell Tyler about them all the time. But I think pregnancy has some new twists for me. People say that pregnancy affects your dreams, and until last night they had mostly been that either someone was trying to attack/kill me, or that all of my friends and family (Tyler included) were upset with me over something. But last night was one of the first pregnancy dreams that made it almost impossible to sleep.

I woke up yesterday with a really stuffy nose, and I was thinking I must have allergies. It was like that almost all day long with frequent (like every 10 minutes) trips to the bathroom to blow my nose. By evening, my head was kind of hurting and as Tyler felt sick, we both crawled into bed around 8:30 pm.

It was then I realized I couldn't breathe through my nose while laying on my side, and I'm just not a back sleeper. Or a mouth breather. Believe me, Tyler suggested it several times after my continued moaning about not being able to breathe.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I had taken a unisom (part of my anti-morning sickness routine) just before going to bed. Well, that must have knocked me out because I was fine until about midnight.

I woke up and started ranting about how I was suffocating and couldn't breathe. I was thrashing my arms and legs in frustration over not being asleep and it only being midnight (a whole night of this ahead??). Poor Tyler kept trying to calm me down by saying, "You just need to settle down." Well intentioned, but I get kind of upset when I get woken up and I'm in and out of dreams. I found I could sleep only if I kept my head in a certain position and laid on my back.

So I would kind of fall in and out of asleep, and in my dreams, I dreamed that I had to say "air" to keep the breathing hole opened, which then progressed to having to find the right kind of bread. If only I could remember which bread it was, I would be able to breathe! I went through all the different recipes I could think of, wondering which would be the lightest and fluffiest to allow the most air through so I wouldn't suffocate. This then moved on to thinking, oh if only our oven worked I could make some bread and figure this all out!! (Our oven doesn't bake evenly and I've been wanting to make homemade bread for weeks).

So in between these strange recurring dreams, I would wake up angry about not being able to sleep and thrashing around. I think I mentioned bread once or twice, and Tyler told me I'd been saying some weird stuff in my sleep.

I have yet to find out what dreaming about bread and suffocation means during pregnancy, but it was enough for me to hope that a different theme makes an appearance in the future.

Mormon profiles

Really excited about this new Mormon profile idea on mormon.org. I hadn't heard about it until Tyler sent me an email this morning. The idea behind it is that Mormons come from very different backgrounds, but share a deep commitment to Jesus Christ and the gospel. This new site will let people find out more about what Mormons believe from everyday members from around the world. In mind, this is great public diplomacy for the Church! We are often misunderstood in our beliefs and this is a great way to overcome that for people really wanting to know what Mormons are all about. So, for all of my Mormon friends, I would really encourage you to post a profile. For all of my friends of other faiths, feel free to check it out :) The profile contains things like interests, why you are a Mormon, a place to give your own answer to frequently asked questions about our faith, and offers a chance to explain why we do the things we do. Obviously I'm really excited about this! Hope you are, too :)

Temple weekend

Tyler and I were asked to speak on temples at Sacrament meeting. I spoke on the blessings of the temple and the importance of the temple to LDS people, and Tyler spoke on the blessings of having a current temple recommend. To help us prepare, we went to the temple together Saturday. It was great to go together.

Our talks went well Sunday--it was nice to be able to share my experiences and research more about the temple. It was great to be able to bear my testimony of the peace I have felt there, how I have been able to draw closer to my Savior, and how I have come to understand better my place in our Heavenly Father's plan. I was also sustained and set apart as the Relief Society secretary. I am really excited to be able to serve in the Relief Society. Everyone has been so kind, and I look forward to getting to know the sisters even better.

We had the missionaries over for dinner yesterday (Sunday). We made salmon, baked potatoes, and green beans. This turned out to be great, because one of the Elders was from Washington, and the other from Idaho. Seems like we had our bases covered :) It was really fun to get to know them better and hear about how the work is going in Durham. They shared a thought with us about trials and how we can either grown stronger through trials, or allow them to weaken our faith. We also talked about gaining more knowledge of truth. We appreciated having them in our home.

Afterwards, we met up with Jaren and Mindy from the ward for a game of Ticket to Ride and Boggle. I did much better at the first lol Tyler, of course dominated Boggle, with Mindy not too far behind. Jaryn and I were satisfied coming in much further behind...

This morning I was able to go and help clean the temple. I met some really nice people there, and it was nice to get out and serve.

3rd anniversary

Three month anniversary that is :) Friday, June 11 was three months that we've been married! Tyler got me Life of Pi (a book the Blevins recommended) and even did some of my prenatal yoga with me--he's the best :) I had done yoga earlier in the day, then went walking on the treadmill, only to find I was still pretty stiff. So when Tyler got home I was doing yoga, and he finished up with me.

We then went out for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen by the mall. The spring rolls we ordered as an appetizer were oh so yummy (at least the mediterranean ones), but I'm afraid that was all I could eat. I'm still figuring out what my body likes while being pregnant. The white sauce pizza with ricotta had a really strong cheese (not ricotta, but some other kind as a base layer) that I just couldn't handle. I got about a 1/2 piece down before calling it quits. Despite my picky stomache, it was a really fun evening. We walked around the outdoor mall, going in some shops and picking out furniture and housewares we would some day possibly own. This mysterious "some day" has been coming up lately for some reason haha

Walking around and sitting by the fountain and on a bench was really fun. It reminded us of being in Moscow. A frequent date for us was going for walks. We would go to parks, to Red Square, or really any where in town. It was fun to reminisce about it. We also stopped by Barnes and Nobles to look at more books. I'm so spoiled :)

S/he's a mover and a shaker!

We saw our baby tonight!!! I know I'm biased, but he is so cute! Really, it looks like an alien, but he (I switch off calling the baby he and she depending on what I feel like s/he is that day) was wriggling around and moving its little arms and legs and looked so cute! So crazy! We found out we're actually 12 weeks, not 13, so that should be a relief to those of you who had done the math lol Our three month anniversary is tomorrow! Can't believe how fast the time goes, and yet in some ways, it seems like we've been married forever :) I'll post the pictures once we get them scanned in...

Missing Lake Powell again!

I just wanted to make note that my family is yet again at Lake Powell without me. I somehow always manage to be gone at the wrong time. First Russia, now Durham. Definitely motivated to find a good deal on airfare for the August trip...

Pregnancy updates

So I started searching for a doctor out here and found out that no one really wants to take a woman who is 13 weeks pregnant. I was quite surprised by this, and then started wondering if there is some rule that says once you're 3 months pregnant you should just consider learning how to deliver a baby yourself. I suppose a tub, bed, or backseat of the car could be just as comfortable as a hospital...Luckily, before it came to that, I was able to find a clinic that will admit me. I officially have an appointment for June 30!

One of our friends ran into the same, yet more urgent problem. She and her husband moved out here two weeks before she was due, so no one would take her. Finally they found someone (again, what do these people expect you to do? Deliver yourself?) and had a healthy baby girl on Saturday. So excited for them!

In the meantime, I found a pregnancy services clinic that is much like Planned Parenthood minus the abortions and it's Christian. How alike are can those two be?? I have no idea. All I know is that they were willing to give me a free positive pregnancy diagnosis that we needed for insurance reasons. They also provide for first trimester ultrasounds (I'm just barely into the second trimester and scheduled it a couple of weeks ago) so you can hear the baby's heartbeat. We're going in tonight at 6:15! I'm getting pretty excited! It almost makes all the nausea and pain seem worth it...

Southern socializing

Well, we're pretty much settled in and loving North Carolina! So far we've been able to unpack, go to the Outerbanks to the beach, hit up a farmer's market with some law school friends, attend a Duke law school reception, a Durham Bulls baseball game with the law school, grill out with the neighbors, invite some friends from law school over for pizza, Origins, and Wise and Otherwise (both excellent games if you like words or phrases), and meet up with a girl I met in the MTC 5-ish years ago to play Pit with her husband and another couple. Lots of socializing!! We've even had house guests :) Our friends have been trying to close on their townhouse all week (thanks to Wells Fargo not getting things in order on time)--they are way excited at the prospect of moving in today!

Grilling out (we found out that BBQ is much more than we make it out to be in the west) with the neighbors was really fun! We had the four apartments nearest us all together. We made Dean's beans (my dad's recipe) and corn on the cob. The neighbors provided drinks, grilled meat, and some cherry cobbler and ice cream. It was so nice to just sit out on the lawn and get to know everyone better. The weather couldn't have been more perfect!! I really think we're gonna like it here :)

A Capitol Proposal

"Utah's Capitol building, located on a hill overlooking downtown Salt Lake City, is an elegant architectural masterpiece. The building is set on over 40 acres, with beautifully maintained and sculpted lawns, trees, flowerbeds, and shrubs. From the south steps, Kiwanzar trees can be viewed circling the drive. From the front steps you see a spectacular view of the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains, and Salt Lake City below."

Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? So it makes sense that while waiting for Kelsy and friends to call we'd drive around Salt Lake and end up there. Despite the cold of a chilly January evening, we decided to walk up to the building. After ascending the stairs, we looked out at the breathtaking view. Tyler had his arms around me and told me to make a wish. I turned to him and said, "Oh, you can do that on pretty views?" It's amazing how much he puts up with me. "Sure, I guess," he replied. I thought and thought for a second, part of me thinking, "I wish he'd propose and we'd get married," but then I thought a) I don't want him to ask me what my wish is, that'd be embarassing, and b) we finally mentioned marriage today, so it's gonna happen anyway. Should I waste a wish on something that's going to happen? Yes, I'm that crazy.

So I finally asked if I had to tell him what it was, and he said no, so I made my crazy wish. All of a sudden I realized his arms were no longer around me, and I felt like he wasn't standing behind me anymore. My mind raced through the different possibilities--was it possible he was down on one knee?? I slowly turned around to find him down on one knee with a ring box open. It caught the light so radiantly I could hardly make out the shape of the ring. I was dumbfounded.

The first thing I could think to say was, "Are you serious?" I'm such a romantic. He didn't quite know what to say to that, so he looked down at the ring, looked back up at me, asked me to marry him, and told me that he loved me. I figured that even if this was a joke, I'd better answer and ask questions later, just in case it was for real.

So I looked at him and said, "Yes!...but are you serious?" I think he was a little taken aback that I still wasn't catching on, but he put the ring on my finger and kissed me. He told me that he had wanted to ask my dad's permission, but dad had been gone all day, so he hoped he wouldn't be too upset about it.

We stayed up by the Capitol for a few more minutes talking and letting it all sink in. As we headed back down the stairs, I said, "If this is some kind of elaborate practical joke, it isn't funny." He gave me a what's wrong with you look (not really, but he should have), and laughed and said that of course it was real and that that would be a horrible joke.

Despite my shock, it was the perfect proposal--a huge surprise, just like I'd always wanted. And he picked out the ring on his own (also something I've wanted since I was a little girl) and did an amazing job. It is absolutely gorgeous!!

We never did end up meeting with our friends, but it was a great excuse to go to Salt Lake.

When Tyler came...

...on Thursday, I was getting my hair done by Amy. Tyler met us at the salon where Tracey decided to grill him on his intentions with me. Were we getting married? Before or after law school? He obviously intended to marry me, right, or he wouldn't be dating me, she said. We had talked about marriage hadn't we? (The answer to this one was no...) I was feeling a little awkward because Tyler looked quite uncomfortable. I secretly was thinking that there might be some positive outcomes from this--after all, maybe this would get him thinking about marriage. Little did I know what was to come...

The next day we went to go see the Harrisons. Before we went over, Tyler asked me what he thought they'd say. I jokingly repeated Traceys questions of "So, before or after law school?" To which he replied, "Well, what do you think: before or after?" I wasn't crazy, I wasn't about to put myself out there, so I shrugged and blushed and said, "hmm, what do you think?" "Before, I think before." Emboldened and thinking he must be thinking marriage too, I replied, "Yah, me too...so how much before do you think?" I was then shot down with, "Aren't you putting the cart before the horse?" A little stunned, I let it drop and we started talking about horses before carts or carts before horses.

We had a great meeting with the Harrisons where we didn't reveal too much, but told them we were dating again. Then we went back home to decide what to do with our Friday night. I got a call from my friend Kelsy, saying some people were getting together and we should come up and that they'd call with details. Instead of waiting for them to call, Tyler suggested we head up to Salt Lake City.