Big Fat Update

It's currently 1:23 AM and I can't sleep. So as Nate lays beside me snoring, yes Nate - snoring, I thought it was high time for an update.

So many things have been going on in our little family. As most of them are all good, I feel very blessed. I have so much to be grateful for. And heck, I'm even grateful for the bad because If it weren't for the not-so-good times, we wouldn't know when to appreciate the good!

Therefore, I feel I need to document some of the everyday (possibly boring) happenings in our lives. It will be very long but I like to look back at the journal posts and remember the "little things" later on.

First up: Baby Buttars #2 and the pregnancy

It's crazy how I feel like I've been pregnant forever, and also how this pregnancy has flown by. I guess I can't speak too soon because the long haul is definitely ahead of me. Sleeping is already a joke. My left side goes numb in minutes if I lay on it too long, and I have a muscle in my leg/crotch area that has been killing me for the past month or so. (TMI? ehh..) The fun part is, it's continued to get worse. I'm worried for the weeks ahead if there is any possible way it can get even more worse...other than that though, I've had a smooth pregnancy and I have no reason to complain.

As for Baby Girl, she's very active all the time. I think it's safe to say she is more active than Navi. However, (knock on wood) I haven't felt her kicking/pushing/living against my ribs like Navi was by this time, and that has been marvelous. Sometimes I feel like she is laying horizontally across my belly and stretching out with all her might. It feels like my stomach is going to rip open! However, my Dr. assures me her head is down where it is supposed to be. She is also measuring a bit big, so maybe there's hope she'll come sooner? (optimistic thoughts at least) I'm just hoping I don't have to be induced. My Dr. said he would start me a week early if I want to (which would be Nate's birthday and he's all for it!) but I'm not sure I want to go through that process again. I guess it will depend on if I'm dilated and effaced this time. (starting from zeroes last time was not pleasant)

As for Miss Navi, she is now 21 months and the terrible twos have hit! The classic characteristics are here in full force. (and friends tell me they only get worse at 3, yikes) She is Miss Independent and has to do everything herself, she FREAKS out if she is told "no" and one of her new phrases is, "Go away Mom!"

Aside from all the sass, she's also full of laughs and love. One of the all time best moments as a parent has to be when your child tells you they love you. There have been many times when I tell her I love her and I'll ask her to say it back, but the first time she randomly told me herself made me choke up a bit! "I lolve you Momma!" = priceless!

Things I want to remember about Navi right now:

- her love of singing (Jingle Bells...yes still in January; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; the Barney "I Love You" song; the E-I-E-I-O song, aka Old MacDonald Had A Farm; Once There Was a Snowman; Hello, Hello; ABCs...in her own way; Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (and a few others I can't think of right now)

- her morning greetings

- her cheesey smile, the goofy one she pulls when you say, "CHEESE!"

- her love of books. Her favorite right now is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" and she is getting pretty good at repeating the pattern

- her happy disposition. If you walk by us at the store, prepare for a big "Hi!"

- her love for all her relatives. We make about two or three phone calls a day per her request. Thanks Bampa, Bekka, Allie, Tade, Lala (Grandma), and Ashley for being so patient an pretending to understand her jibber-jabber.

- her one liners. I swear there is a new one everyday and I always think I'll never forget them but I do, so here's a few:
-- After I had been trying to teach her to ask for help or say, "I'm stuck!" when she constantly climbed up on one of our barstools, I didn't think it was getting through because usually she'd just scream, "Mom!" Then one night when I picked her up and started carrying her upstairs to bed, she exclaimed, "Mommy! Help me! I'm stuck!"
-- Apparently I say the same thing whenever I change her poopy diapers because the other day as she was "changing" her baby doll's she said, "P-U! Yous stinky stinky!"
-- I didn't think she ever paid that much attention to where we were driving in the car but one day as we were taking Nate to work, (his office is in the shopping center by Cafe Rio) we passed Kohl's and Al's and she began her goodbyes from there. "Bye-bye Daddy! Lolve you!"

And some of Navi's favorite things right now:
- string cheese (she even asks to eat it for breakfast)
- "Buzz and Woody" aka Toy Story, the "fishy show" aka The Little Mermaid, and "Baby Baby" aka Baby Signing Time
- bananas
- Aunt Ash-ley. Every time we go to get in the car she asks "Ash-ley's house?"
- as mentioned above, books. Any and all types but currently "Brown Bear, Brown Bear"
-tubby time
- Go-Go (Dora), Diego, and Team Umizoomi
- "ries" aka french fries
- playing with cousins and her friends Chayse and "Lecksla" (Alexa)

Nate and I are so blessed to had such a happy, sweet, and hilarious little girl, and I can't comprehend loving another baby as much as we love her. I'm sure once the new little one is born we'll feel just as we did with Navi, wondering how we ever lived without her!

And because I dislike reading a picture-less post:


Christmas Dress


and curls! :)





Temple Square




And a funny picture of her holding cousin Harper. No big deal, one- handed football hold.

Family Pictures 2010

These pictures were quite the ordeal. Mostly for Nate and my good friend Nicole who took them. Nate had almost hit his ultimate frustration level with me by the time we made it to the shoot because I was running about a half hour behind, (getting myself ready is stressful enough, let alone a sassy baby that had to be awoken from her nap!) and because of my tardiness Nicole had to squeeze in as many pictures as she could before it got too dark. Not to mention that this was about the 2nd or 3rd reschedule we had due to weather!

BUT, they're done and considering we got all these in about 20 minutes with an ornery toddler, I'm very pleased! Thanks again Nicole, you are the best!

IT'S A...

GIRL!!

This poor little girl is already suffering from 2nd child syndrome. She is barely getting an update on the blog and we've known for more than a month. Shame on her mother!

Even with the lack of blog posts, we still are so excited to get another little sassy girl. I'm also very releaved that I will get to use all of Navi's clothes again. (perfect seasons and sizes!) Don't get me wrong, we would have been thrilled to get a boy, but I think it will be fun for Navi to have a little sister so close in age...ok, maybe fun for her for the first 2-3 years, then again when they're both over 18.

This was the day of the ultrasound. I look half asleep, but for memory's sake, I'll put vanity aside and post it anyways.

I have partly been holding out to post because I wanted to share some of her first ultrasound pictures, but seeing as how we have no internet, and my Dad's computer's disk drive is broken...you get no pictures. Our favorite one was when she was literally bent in half. The ultrasound tech was trying with all his might (yes it hurt) to get her to "un-fold" but she was as content as can be. Her feet were above her head!

As far as this pregnancy goes, I was a little worried at 16 weeks when the gosh-awful morning sickness didn't end like it did when I was pregnant with Navi. But finally at around 18-19 weeks I started to feel "normal" again. As normal as you ever feel while pregnant. Since then, things have been great! I get an occasional bad day when I feel pretty nauseous or plain exhausted, but overall, I'm trying to live it up in the 2nd trimester when I'm not puking and not feeling too gigantic like I will in the 3rd.

I was scheduled for my 23 week appointment last week, but due to the "worst blizzard in a decade" that we experienced, I rescheduled for the end of this next week. We'll see how I'm measuring. I feel huge, but last time my Dr. said I was right on track.

Navi is starting to grasp the idea that I have a baby in my belly. (as much as a 19 month old does) The other night we laughed so hard when Nate asked her where her baby sister was and she promptly lifted up her shirt and patted her belly. He said, "No, she's in mommy's belly." So then she ran right over to me and lifted up my shirt and patted my belly. Since then, when you ask her, she usually rubs my belly and will sometimes even kiss it.

Everything else seems to be going well. I feel like all the preganancy milestones are coming on a lot sooner this time around. I'm constantly out of breath and I feel the pressure down below so much more! My Dr. said this was normal, which made me feel a bit better! (How do people have lots of kids???)

A Few Firsts

Last weekend was a weekend of firsts. It was the first time Grandma and Grandpa Buttars had moved in 20+ years. Yes, they're officially "Laytonites" now. We drove down on Saturday to help them unpack and put things away in their beautiful new house. It's crazy to think they'll no longer be just a couple miles away, and we won't be able to stop by whenever we want. And that doesn't include the other perks we will all be missing, like the frequent Sunday dinners! I guess I'll actually have to cook now!

Even though I've only been in the family for 6 years, I made lots of memories at their Smithfield home. When Nate and I first started dating we spent many nights there watching movies together or playing games with his family. It was also the first "home" we brought Navi too. I think I showed more emotions about them leaving that house than Nate did. :) But it's probably more so because I'm pregnant and even the littlest things make me bawl! But we are happy for them and we're excited to start making new memories as a family in their new house.

Another exciting "first" occured last Sunday when Navi went to nursery for the first time! Again, my hormones took over and I had to walk out of the room before the tears started rolling down my face. Don't ask me what I'm going to do on her first day of Kindergarten, I'm already worried.

Navi, on the other hand, had a ball. She walked right in, didn't hesitate a bit, and loved the chance to play with toys, eat snacks, and color at church! (not that her church bag isn't filled with those exact things, but of course it's so much better at nursery!) I peeked in at her a couple times and it was so fun to see her join right in with the other kids. Now let's just hope every week is that easy!

I did get some pictures of her first day, but unfortunately I'm still internet limited. Lame.

And the last exciting first from last weekend was feeling Baby B #2 move! (17 weeks) I love that feeling! (until I'm 8 months that is, and then getting kicked in the ribs isn't so swell...) I was sure I didn't feel Navi this early on, so I checked my journal, and sure enough, I didn't write down feeling her move until 21 weeks. It's crazy how much more aware I am this time compared to last.

We go in on October 25 for the exciting ultrasound! Bets are currently being taken....

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There's Something in the Water...

I know 15 women right now who are pregnant.

I guess I just wanted to join the club?

If you're surprised, you aren't alone. We were too. :) But we couldn't be more thrilled!

We've been in to hear the heartbeat and everything looks great. So it looks like Navi will have a little brother or sister sometime around March 18! (I'm 12 weeks)


(kinda crappy picture of a picture but the scanner wasn't working)

Can't wait to meet Baby Buttars #2!

Summer Updates...Better Late than Never!

I know...you're all probably suffering heart attacks right now due to shock of an update. We're still alive and well, I promise! Here's what we've been up to and it might explain the lack of blog updates.
(and in case you were wondering, I temporarily changed the blog to un-private so people could see we updated...I'll change it back soon)

Summer:

School ended in April, and we closed on our house on the 28th. We started painting and moving as soon as finals were over. In early May, I took a long weekend break and went to visit my best friend who lives in Pittsburgh. She has been one of my best friends since 3rd grade and she had a baby in March. I took the long and chaotic plane ride with Navi and another good friend, and besides the awful rides to and from Pittsburgh, we had a great time just visiting, meeting cute baby Trey, and laughing a lot!

May and June were a blur at our house. We finally settled into our new place and we both started summer school. I felt like a bad mom during the first part of the summer, but we made it through. I’ll even pat myself on the back a little, and brag up my grades from spring and summer semesters...I got 5 A’s and 1 A-. But the A- was in Physics so I  kind of count it as a full A, and was mainly thrilled to have made it out alive!

I also spent much of the summer jumping through all the hoops needed to get into the Elementary Ed program at USU. I don’t know if any other majors require as much work, but after all background checks, written exams, and interviews, (just to name a few)...I got in! I was told I could start the Level II program this fall, but after thinking about it for ALONG time, I decided to take the last 3 classes needed (besides all the student teaching semesters) to graduate, and then I will focus on the Level II, III, and IV after.

July:
We celebrated the 4th of July for a week, or so it felt. I’m never good at taking as many pictures as I would like, but here are just a few:

Watching the fireworks with Daddy

and with Aunt Tif

On the 30th I turned 24 and it was a pretty low key birthday. (I tell you, we’ve been SO busy, it was nice to just relax for the day) My family had a little celebration because it’s also my little sister’s birthday too. She turned 18 this year. The day after my birthday, Nate took my to my most favorite restaurant, Maddox!, and then we went to see Inception.

We were also able to squeeze in a day at Lagoon as well. Nate and I hadn’t been for 5+ years, so we made it a priority to go this summer. Navi did pretty good considering she had to stay in her stroller for most of the rides and the fact that she didn’t have a nap.

And here are some cute pictures of Navi at one of our friend’s little girl’s birthday party. She LOVED pool and had a great time with the other little kids.

Baby Jane and Navi

Cute Cache and Navi

It took a lot of coaxing, but she finally let Dad help her down the slide.

We also spent a Saturday at Bear Lake. It didn't last too long though. Navi did not like us telling her "no" when she tried to steal all the other kids' toys. The lame parents we are, we figured going to the lake would be enough fun. We learned our lesson though...next time, we will be fully prepared with beach balls, sand toys, etc.

Sweet farmer's tan Nate! ;)

August:
If you know my family, you know the Cache County Fair is one of the biggest and most important events of the summer. This year was no exception. Both my sisters did a very good job showing their animals and all their hard work over the past few months paid off.

Nice stance Al!

 (sorry Bekka, I guess all the shots I got of you were videos...whoops)

Four days after the fair ended, my family went to Salt Lake to pick up my little brother from his mission! Everyone told us that when we saw him, we’d start crying, and they were right! As soon as we saw him come around the corner, the tears started flowing! It was also really fun to introduce him to Navi. I made her a shirt that had a Chilean flag on it and wrote, “Hi Uncle Cade, I’m your niece Navi!” (but it was in Spanish) She was a little hesitant of him at first, but by the time we got home and he was unpacking his suitcases, she closed the door to his room and spent a good 10 or 15 minutes in there with him alone. He’s only been home a couple days and he is already her new best friend.

The shirt I made for Navi to wear. ("Hello Uncle Cade, I'm your niece Navi!")

Haha, the first time he tried to hold her. She warmed up quick.

Here's the proof:

And speaking of Navi, she has turned into a full-blown toddler! She is full of spunk, sass, lots of personality, and we love every bit of her. I still can’t believe how much she has learned and accomplished since she was born! She rules the house and my schedule revolves around her. (which is just fine most of the time)

Some of my favorite things about Navi:
(16 months)

Words she says:

- Da-ad! and yes, usually in that tone. My favorite is when he comes home and she runs for the door yelling, “Hi Dad!!”
- Momma – very rare however, the little stinker! It’s usually at times when she’s desperate, like wanting to get out of her crib or wants a drink.
- Bampa (grandpa) We’re trying to get Bamma for Grandma, but usually she is too stubborn to even try.
- Bekka – very clear and very often, like when she opens a cell phone she says, “Hi Bekka!”
- Al – for Allie
- Tade – I put of picture of Cade on the fridge a few months before he came home and we practiced saying his name all the time
- baby – she still LOVES babies whether it’s a doll, on TV, or a real baby (or even a little kid older than her, it’s still baby)
- Ayda – her cousin’s name. Ayda lives close to us and so anytime we go outside Navi starts yelling, “Ayda, Ayda!” because she wants to go see her.
- Breckss – for Brexton her cousin
- Ash – her aunt
- pease – please, she is very good at saying (and signing) please with anything she wants or thinks she needs. (and, let’s be honest, it’s pretty much everything)
- coke – yep, we start young around here! I blame this one on my sister though. She thought it would be funny to teach Navi to say coke. She gets a little confused sometimes and says coke for any drink, but if you try to give her water when you have a glass of coke, she definitely knows the difference! When she combines it with “pease” (and the sign language for please) it’s, “pease, coke, pease!” and it’s pretty much impossible to resist.
- cracker
- cookie
- duice - juice
- book
- Go-Go – which is really Dora, as in Dora the Explorer. Somewhere along the way she decided Dora was Go-Go, and it’s stuck.
- bye!
- cheese – as in the smile cheese. Whenever she finds a camera she holds it up in front of her and says, “Cheese!”
- shoes
- socks
- binks – binky
- banks – blanket, for her little comfort blanket she sleeps with and also loves to smell. It’s very funny because Nate has determined that smelling a specific blanket for comfort is genetic in my family. I do it with my blanket (yep, I’ll admit I still have it!) :) my siblings do it with theirs, and my mom had a little knotted ball of a blanket that she had and always smelled too. Ha! Too funny.
- Jesus – one of her favorite things is to point at pictures of Jesus whether it’s at home or at church. It is a nice distraction when she’s not being the best at church, we take her out and walk all around the halls finding pictures of Jesus.
- no – which is obviously my least favorite. I think we held out for a good amount of time, but now that she knows it, she isn’t afraid to sass it to you when she doesn’t want to do something. Of course my dad just laughs in my face and tries to get her to say it as much as possible.

Things she says because of Dora:
- backpack
- check! (what they say when they have accomplished something)
- “ooh-ooh aah-ahh!” – what Boots the monkey says
- Go-Go

Other things:
She knows the animal names and sounds for:
- lamb – she usually calls sheep “baas” and begs anyone who is at my dad’s to take her out to see the “baas”. (pulls them to the back door saying, “baa, baa!)
- duck
- cow
- horse - only sometimes

She also:
- blows kisses and gives great kisses and hugs
- loves coming up to you from behind and “tickling” you. She runs up and says, “kickle, kickle, kickle!”
- wastes baby wipes all day long and finds them no matter how hard I try and hide them. When she takes one out of the case, she’ll go to the nearest piece of furniture and say, “ceanin’ ceanin’” which is really, “cleaning, cleaning”
- one of the funniest things to me is when I go to get her out of her crib and she points at anything and everything as if to distract me and hope I won’t leave her in there. “Oh...baby! Baby! Oh...Jesus!” She exclaims as she points to every picture in her room.
- LOVES the "Baby Signing Time" DVDs and asks to watch them all day by saying, “ba-by, ba-by!” (which is how the theme song is sung)
- thanks to the DVDs she can sign:
    - please
    - thank you
    - more
    - water
    - cracker
    - baby
    - hat
    -hot
    - and a few others sporadically, usually when I try and show her a sign she just says something close to the word. I can’t complain about that I guess...?

She has a good routine for naps and sleeps through the night great. The only bad thing is she will ONLY take naps in her own crib. This isn’t too big of a deal unless I’m at my family’s helping or hanging out and want her to take a nap there. It won’t happen.

She eats pretty much anything but her favorite and most requested snacks lately are crackers (the goldfish kind) and cookies (oreoes – she is her father’s daughter for sure). She also loves mandarin oranges and olives.

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Summer? Is this summer? So far, crazy schedules in our little Buttars family haven't allowed much time for summer. Well ok, or the weather either. Maybe it will get warm in July...
The other day, I was struck by the thought that if we were out doing the summer sales stuff, we would have already be gone a whole month + some. That is how fast May went, and then to think it will be the MIDDLE of June next week....I'm baffled.

It all started with our move. We officially got our keys during the last week of April. So amidst finals, we began our 27th move. Or so it felt. But seriously, I lost count at five or six moves.

Painting was my first priority. For one, because I was so excited to finally be able to do it (!) pick our own colors, etc. and two, because I knew that if we didn't paint before we moved one box in, we'd just get used to it, and it wouldn't seem like a big deal. So paint we did! I would try and get as much done during the days while Nate was at work. Navi would either nap (in a well-ventelated room upstairs) or she would be rescued by one of my sisters or my very helpful sis-in-law. Then when Nate got done around 9 pm, we'd take Navi back to his parents' house (where we were still living) and put her down for the night. They would take her baby monitor and listen for her while we went back and painted until at least 1 or 2 in the morning. This fun process went on for about a week. Keep in mind, that when we bought our place, the kitchen was a deep red color, and I wanted it to be a light tan. Just 3 or 4 coats, around all the cabinents, no big deal.

But hey, as much as it might sound like I'm complaining, I'm not! It has been so awesome to have our own place. And it wouldn't have been possible without EXTREME amounts of help from my dad and other willing parties.
Speaking of dads, both of our dads have been troopers in the moving department. When I say five or six (or more) moves, both have them have been right there (mostly) willing :) to help each time. Not to mention all of our friends! We have worn out everyone of Nate's friends with every move we've made. I know that whenever they hear we're packing boxes; they probably cringe and want to disconnect their phones. But we are so appreciative of all their help and I personally sign Nate up for any upcoming moves on their behalves. I'll even help too!

So after a month and a half, we're finally feeling a bit settled, and although I'm still holding Nate to one last bathroom to paint, our house is beginning to feel like home. Navi has made the adjustment like a champ. Her sleeping schedule has even gotten better if that's possible. {knock on wood} She will go down around 9:30 or 10:00, sleep until 6:00 or 7:00 ish, take a bottle, and go back to sleep until 9:00 and sometimes even 10! The other day I let her stay in her crib until she was absolutely crying (not just the whiny babbles) and before she ever cried too hard, she fell back alseep until 11!! Love that girl. Now, that's not by any means an everyday occurance, but let's just say she appreciates a good "morning sleep-in" like her parents. :)

In other less exciting parts of life, I un-luckily ended up taking 11 credits this summer. I foolishly thought I was going to get away with 3....HA. Mostly because I had precious grant money and and didn't want it to go to waste! And well, it is enabling me to FINALLY get into the Elementary Ed program this fall (just one more group interview until I'll know for sure) and then it's 3 semesters in the program, and possibly one semester of a few random classes I need for graduation. That sounds like forever, but seeing as how time is flying by, I'm hoping these semesters will as well. Now if only I would have been doing this 3 majors ago...

Nate is also taking a few summer classes. (How old are we again? Does this ever end?) And if all goes well, he'll be getting into the MBA program this fall. The only catch will be his work schedule compared to the strict class schedule the MBA students have to be in. It's looking like he'll take the "night and weekend" route, but only time will tell. I'm so proud of him and his motivation to keep going. His goals always take our family into account, and what will benefit us most.

I'm still holding out for our schedule to normalize. I've been a slacker on a lot of things lately, including my Zumba schedule. (I'm sorry Alisha!) It's just been very hard to juggle with the move, Nate's switch in work schedule, and that we're still balancing on one car...someday I will feel normal again!

Anyways, we're still waiting on internet companies to quit standing us up for installation, and when I finally have wireless at home, I'll have more time to upload pics of the new place!

Until then...