The Unveiling...and Post-RS Broadcast :)

HEre is my new hair cut! I really do like it. I like the "bang" look. Again, Amber Thank you!
And Saturday night was the Relief Society Broadcast. It was really fun! Our stake had a dinner and then we listened to the broadcast since the satellite was broken. But it was still good and inspiring. I rode up with Jami, Jazmin and Marcie. It was so fun to be with just the girls, no kids!! I have to say that I greatly appreciate Joe watching both kids last night so I could have a break. Especially after hearing how the night went. Both kids screaming, hungry, crying...Kate initially refused to drink from the bottle because she was sooo tired and didn't ever take a nap when she was supposed to. But luckily he calmed her down and she ate. But he did a great job though and love him to pieces :) Here are some pics of the night!

Here is our HOT drivier
Here is Jazmin. If she looks all giddy, she was. Actually we were all giddy. We ALL had cameras out and taking random pictures just so we'd have funny pictures to post....we are so obsessed with blogging!
And here's me trying to pose all seductive but then everyone made fun so I started laughing. It turned out to be a funny picture and my dimples look huge! Love that!

Getting some ice cream at Marble Slab,
Amber, Jazmin and Jami
Jill, JoEllen and Stephanie
Jazmin and Me! Love this picture...
Ok we got Chelsea, Stephanie, Amber, Jazmin, JoEllen, Jill, Dani, Marcie, Me and Deserae...phew!
Me and Jami!
Had such a fun time guys! Thanks to all who made it out for ice cream, good times!

It's been a good Week!!

it's been a better week than usual.

For one reason...The Office.
I was so excited about watching the premiere yesterday! I loved that it was a full hour and that my "office" time was back in my routine. The show is justs hilarious and the fact that Jim and Pam are together makes it so much better. For all you office lovers out there, I was at Target the other day and they were selling Office parafanalia in their $1 section. They had sticky notes, magnet lists etc etc. I got a list note pad with the magnet on the back, to write my grocery list on. it says "I Love Jim" all over it and has a picture of him. It's a classico!

Another reason?
Tonight, I was home alone and solely responsible in feeding and putting the kids to bed. (Joe is off camping with the YM tonight) I have found that doing that alone is not hard or scary. I find it easier. I am in total control of the situation and I just get it down. So tonight, both kids were in bed by 7:45. The house was silent by 8 pm...cough cough..yes I said 8 pm...
Thanks to Baby Whisperer and her great bedtime routine for infants, Kate has been quiet and asleep by 8:30 this whole week. It's such a joy to be sitting down, with the kitchen and living room clean, floor vacuumed and beautiful silence. I got a glimpse of how it will be when this is constant and that i'll have my evenings back. It's been a rough 2 months getting here but I think it will be a permanent situation. So i'm pleased about that.

Another reason?

My kids are healthy and growing. I took them both to the doctors for their 2 year and 2 month appts. Emma is doing well as she's now advanced from the 10% to the 25% in weight and height. Kate is growing like a weed, being in the 75%-90% in both height and weight. She had a strong neck and does quite well keeping her head up and looking around. She smiles and laughs, coos and squeals constantly. Me just looking at her will get her into a giggling frenzy. She's just so freaking cute, I can't stand it!! I even started crying one time while I was holding her! She was just smiling and was laughing from just looking at me...I just couldn't hold it in, it was just so precious...

Another reason?

I cut my hair! AHH! no jk it actually turned out really cute. Amber Martin, our fav fab hair stylist in the LV ward cut it this morning. As you can see, I don't have pictures because well, I tried to take pictures of myself but those are just so unflattering. And then I wasn't able to have anyone else take one of my hair so you're just going to have to wait!! That's all i'm saying but it's nice to have a change in looks. Don't worry, i'll get the new "me" pictures posted as soon as I can :) But I do recommend have someone watch your kids while you get your hair cut. I had to take mine with me to Amber's apartment so she could cut them. I brought with me Emma's favorite movie to watch while I cut my hair. Well that didnt distract Emma enough. She was all over the place and trying to grab clips and water bottles, walking in and out of hair on the floor...and to top it all off, she exploded out of her diaper...(she's had a slight case of the runs...) so that pretty much reeked and let's just say Emma had to walk out of there with no clothes...And then Kate was just chillin' on the floor and was good for the most part but by the end she was bored and grew very tired so she was hysterical by the end. So ya, it got a bit stressful but it was worth it. The cut looks so cute and THANK YOU AMBER!! You did a heck of a job!

So it's been a fun, crazy, fulfilling week. Don't you just love those?

Some Form of Motivation

Well, it's that time of my life again....Post baby time. And with that comes the "get rid of that baby fat" phase. So how will I do it? Well i'm not going to eat crap like I tend to, like eat ice cream for desert every night. As tempting as it is, I have decided to disipline myself to not even go there. And second, work out as much as I can. My method? Core Secrets!!
This is what saved me back with Emma. When I got pregnant with Emma, I wasn't really in shape at all. Then during the pregnancy, i gained 45 lbs!! So afterwards, I ended up being 15 lbs heavier than when I started. So I was determined to lose the weight and get into shape. So then began the Core Secrets workouts. I think I was blessed with extra "umph" to work out every day that I could. I started January 06 at 140 lbs and by Sept. 06, I was down to 117!! Talk about losing weight. I was so proud of myself!! I really enjoyed working out, doing Core Secrets and I hope to do that again! Here's what it's all about:
As you can see by the chart, you work out with an exercise ball and hand weights. You work on 4 different areas throughout the workout, alternating them so it gives a nice balance.
When I got pregnant with Kate, I weighed less than when I began with Emma but the end result was the same. I am at 140 again. It probably didnt' help that Emma was 5 days early and Kate was a week late!
So I started working out Sept. 21, 2007 and hopefully sooner than later, there will be some progress. So i guess that's why i'm posting this on my blog, to kind of give me an extra push to losing the weight. But I highly recomment Core Secrets to anyone who is looking to lose weight. It's a great product and deal. Check out their website!!: www.coresecrets.com

Emma's Refusal to Eat

This is after a long day of no naps. She's been doing this thing where she won't eat in her chair so this night, we kept her in her chair till she ate something...but this is what happened!

Zimmerman Zoo!

Well we prolonged Emma's real birthday fun till Saturday. We went to the zoo hoping she'd love it since she loves animals. Well I was right! She had so much fun!

This is her all excited looking at the Bears...
I think the monkey was her favorite.
It would make the loudest noise and she'd just start laughing.
Loved the "cats" as well.
The petting zoo was a lot of fun for her too. She loved to brush their fur.THis is her feeding the goat dirt.
OH the Elephant. Right when she saw it, she went frrrrrrr just like an elephant..she loves to make that noise.
She was just very excited to see all the animals in person. We saw lots more but these were the highlights!

Happy Birthday Emma!!

Emma is officially 2 years old today! To be honest, I didn't even realize that her birthday was coming up till like Sunday so I didn't really prepare her or myself for today. But I just made the day a big deal and fun for her. Here's the 411 on what we did today:Good Morning Emma and Happy birthday!! She woke up nice and early this morning, around 7:30.
Today was playgroup so we bought doughnuts and chocolate milk for everyone. It was a lot of fun, as it is every week, for both moms and the kids. Here is Emma sitting in "Bradley's" chair. She went and sat in that seat and looked over at Linsay Jarvis and said "HI!"...it was really funny and cute!
Here is Emma and I at Playgroup. Just a couple of hotties if you ask me ;)
Home from playgroup, Emma actually took a nap! (thank goodness!!!) and is now watching her Favorite show, Charlotte's Web. I just love how she's sprawled across the floor. But her lovely Aunt Jenny gave Emma this movie as a "you got a new little sister" gift and she watches it like twice a day...she loves it!
Later this evening, after Joe got home, we decided to hit the park since that is Emma's favorite pasttime. Raymond Rimkus Park just remodeled their playgroup so we headed over there and I love what they did to the place! I have to mention this to all you who've moved...look how awesome it is! PS anyone who wants to do Park Days, let's go in the morning here. I jsut can't get past how great the park is now. So here are some pics of Emma playing in the park.
She loves to swing!!






Hello up there!
Here's Kate chillin' in my arms, enjoying the outdoors
Give me my DOGGIE!

Is this a huge slide or what!?
And of course, as always, Kate just sits back, smiling. I LOVE her smile and giggles that she does! She's become an expert at it since she seriously is the most expressive, happiest baby ever. She'll smile at my voice when i'm across the room! This is how content this child is...it's got to be all the fat...

Here's the birthday girl's cake. I have a mini pan that I used...

I love her look in this one...she's like, What is daddy doing!?

Hmmm what is this?

Well it was a very productive day! I feel accomplished when I have days like this!

Just one other funny story that happened today. I was on the couch holding Kate when she decided to poop a huge poop. It leaked onto my pants and all over the place. So I had to strip down, clean off Kate and get her changed then go and try to get poop stain out of my pants. Minutes later, when I come back into the living room, Emma is sitting in front of Kate. She has taken Kate's diaper off, has taken a few wipes out and "used" them and was now attempting to put the Balmex that's on her finger onto Kate's Bum. Trying not to laugh, I was like, Emma, what are you doing?! She looks at me and says, Kate diaper change. It was the funniest, cutest thing ever! I have no idea how long she's been observing me when I change Kate's diapers but she had it down to a T! I love my Emma Beth so much! What would life be with out her! I am truly blessed to have her apart of my family. What a special, beautiful girl I have! Happy Birthday Honey Bunches of Oats :)