Have I ever mentioned how Devan is the luckiest girl in the world? While I often wish Devan was like every other LDS kid and had dozens of cousins to grow up with, I often find myself getting a little emotional when I think about her losing her "only grandchild" status so soon. Either way, she definitely had no shortage of love (and gifts!) on her birthday.

Birthday Photos

Every time I see this photo I want to kiss her cheeks! (And since she's mine I can, and do, all the time!)

Playing with the new sandbox/table toys that my mom got for her.



Kitty, who apparently partied a little too hard.

The best and biggest cupcakes from Costco!

Devan showing off her new cupcake bandaids.

Quite possibly Dev's favorite gift- her jelly sandals.

And, trying out her new scooter from Q & Grandma.

These are only a few of the many gifts she received. See what I mean about being lucky? Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who helped maker her birthday the best!

Here's our brand new three year old getting ready to make her cake!


Here she is posing with her cake/blowing out the candles.
Getting excited for presents. (She LOVES making weird faces for the camera, these days).


Modeling her apron and showing off her princess shoes.
And the dress John got her. She loves it. She's worn the dress with her princess shoes for the past two days.


And yes, she's already asked me several times when she gets to start preschool and her dance class! Happy Birthday Devan! Thanks for the best three years ever!!

I window shop online sometimes. And I say sometimes because sometimes it's window shopping and sometimes it turns into real shopping. Well, tonight I surfed over to one of my favorite stores and found something so cute I'm debating whether or not to get it.


Baby Bojangles (our temporary name until we find a more permanent one...) seriously does not need any clothing but this has a giant strawberry on it! And I'm not sure whether or not I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE strawberries. I was born and raised in strawberry country and my Dad used to buy flats at a time and I would eat those berries until they were gone. Every last one. This month alone I've bought strawberries three different times with the intent to make jam, and every single time I've eaten them all before I could even think about getting the jars out!
So, baby bojangles doesn't need a suit. In fact, she has one that my Mother in law bought for Devan with a giant pineapple on it:


I don't know what it is about fruity swimsuits, but I love them! And I love how chubby Devan was. Chubby and bald.

I think I've been able to talk myself out of buying the strawberry suit. At least until I find it on the clearance rack, marked down about three times!

Like most almost three year olds, Devan loves to do everything all by herself. This is good when she wants to do things that she actually can do by herself, and bad when she wants to do things that she could never do herself (Please please please let me use the drill to hang the curtain rod in my room! I can do it all by myself!!)

One of the things she can do is pick out clothes and dress herself (almost). The problem I've found is that she has a hard time remembering what clothes are in what drawers. I came up with a little labeling system that seems to have worked so far.

I printed this free packing list and cut out the pictures I wanted.
I made them into little labels, tied them on with bakers twine and voila!


They are so cute I almost want to make some for my drawers, but I think John might think I've really lost it if I did.

Now I just need to train Devan to put her clothes away as well as take them out!
Happy St. Patty's Day!

Unless this is your first time visiting our blog, you are well aware of the fact that John and I are having a baby. In less than 5 weeks!

Naturally, I am full of many emotions. Some days I find myself getting so irritated with Devan that I want to pull my hair out-(I do not usually feel this way and I totally blame the pregnancy for it!) and some days I find myself holding on to her so tightly and wondering: Is it actually possible that I'll love my new baby as much as I love her?

On the baby front we have almost everything ready. Devan is finally potty trained and I am thrilled that I will not be buying diapers times two. Devan is seriously looking forward to being a big sister. She can't wait to teach the baby how to do everything.

On the home front- just as the condo that we've been waiting on for oh, six months or so was ready to finally enter escrow we changed our minds. This is a little discouraging for many reasons, but the good news is we found one we like better. It's actually a little smaller but almost completely remodeled and looks beautiful! Now I won't have to worry about moving and having a baby at the same time. If all goes to plan, we will be proud first time home owners in six months or less! ( Can you sense my sarcasm?)

Questions:

The girls bedroom in the new condo is SMALL. The dilemma: Should we buy bunk beds? Bunk beds tend to scare me. I'm leaning more towards a trundle bed. This would obviously be for when the baby is out of a crib. Any thoughts?

Crown molding. Have you put it in yourself? Is it easy? I am convinced that John could easily do it but he is in denial. I think he secretly just doesn't want to.

Hospital bags. What do you pack in yours? I tend to totally over pack or totally under pack and even though I've had a baby before I don't remember what I used or didn't use. Should I bring anything different for a planned cesarean?

I thought I had more but I guess that's it. Thanks for the advice!!

Devan has a birthday coming up. She is SO excited about it because when she turns three she gets to do all the things she's been begging me to do for the past six months. Mainly go to preschool and start a dance class. I've yet to explain to her that these things don't happen immediately when she turns three- I don't know what will happen when I tell her that she can't start school until the fall. In the meantime, I've been working on a birthday present for her. Seeing as she has more toys than she will ever be able to play with, not to mention we are absolutely out of room for anything that's bigger than a DVD- I decided a nice handmade gift would be best. I found an easy apron tutorial and got to sewing this morning. I have to say, it came out so stinking cute I want to make one for myself.




Last time we were at Target Devan spotted these sandals and insisted that I put them on her birthday list.
I thought they were pretty cute, and now that I've made the cupcake apron I figure she's got to have them. It's only fair, right? Happy Tuesday!

She's growing up. Way too fast.

A few weeks ago right after she woke up I asked her if she had any dreams. "Yes" she said. "What did you dream about?" I asked. "Boys" she said.

I asked her the same question today and she answered with crocodiles.

I recently became tired of waiting (and waiting!) to hear about our short sale and decided to go ahead and set up baby camp. I've spent quite a bit of time these last few days trying to make things like beds, furniture and clothes fit. (It's not easy getting a family of almost four to fit into 1,000 sq feet). The other night I stood in the middle of the girls room and looked around to see if there was any other furniture arrangement I hadn't tried, hoping to come up with some miraculous idea that would somehow double the size of their room. Devan was sitting on the bed and noticed me in deep thought. This was her response:

"Mom. Think about ME, not the baby!"

Of course I lovingly reassured her that I am in fact ALWAYS thinking about her, whether or not she believes it. But really, can you believe that? And since when does a 2 year old call their mother Mom? I thought I'd get at least a few more years of "Mama" or "Mommy"!

On a side note, here's Devan, a few moments after they pulled all 8lbs 9oz of her from my guts. Notice the big frownie face. I should have known from the beginning she'd be a stubborn one!

Here's to hoping the next one is born with a smile!

I don't know who you are. Really. I recently got a new phone and was unable to save all my old contacts that I've had since before I was married. It seems that lately I've been getting a lot of calls from both my old area code and new that I just don't recognize. This can be a controversial topic, but I do NOT answer calls if I don't know who it is. So, unless you are my Mom or my Husband, chances are I'm not answering your call.
My point is that if you keep calling and I keep not answering it's not because I don't want to talk to you. I do. Please leave me a message and I will promptly program you into my phone. Thanks!

Dear All Natural Dish Soap,

I regret to inform you that your services are no longer needed in our household. I was truly optimistic and looking forward to having a long working relationship with you, however after your trial work period I have come to the decision that you are not right for me or my family. You stand no chance against the pile of greasy, oily, buttery dishes in my sink. You are just not strong enough and I don't think I can live with dishes that are still greasy after being washed several times. Perhaps you'd be better off in a family that doesn't cook with butter or oil. Or perhaps you'd be better off in a family that only eats bread and drinks water. Either way, I wish you the best of luck in the future and hope you find a home more fitting. Thanks (kind of) for the many times you (attempted to) clean my dishes.

Sincerely,

Morgan

Devan, (aka the luckiest girl in the world) got a new dress today! I absolutely love it, and so does she. She wanted to put it on right away and start dancing/twirling in it. I'm going to have to post more pictures of her in it because the dress is so beautiful. Thanks Grandma!!


In this photo I was experimenting with some vintage photoshop tutorials. I like the look, but still have a lot to figure out.

Just about everything about this pregnancy/baby has been the complete opposite of Devan. To name a few...

Devan: I found out I was expecting when I was already two months along.
Baby: I found out when I was three weeks along. This makes for a very long 10 month gestation.

Devan: Easy, smooth pregnancy.
Baby: I have asthma, need I say more?

Devan: I had all the blood work/tests done possible.
Baby: Blood work?

Devan: FINALLY went into labor at 41 weeks which resulted in a large baby/emergency c-section/uterus tear/blood transfusion.
Baby: Cesarean at 39. Hallelujah!

What I'm hoping all this means is this:

Devan: One word: COLIC.
Baby: Perfectly angelic?

Is it possible? Everyone tells me that colic doesn't usually repeat itself. I'm really hoping this is true. Also, one more thing.

Devan: Had a name picked out/nursery set up when I was probably six months along.
Baby: No name, no nursery.

Which leads me to the point of this post. I would love to hear your name suggestions. I'm open to anything because I've spent HOURS online and reading a baby name book and have come up with next to nothing. PLEASE give us some suggestions! Thanks.

P.S. We are having a girl, in case you don't stop by our blog often.

I need one. I've tried several I've found online and have not been that impressed. I do not want to buy pizza dough. Please let me know if you have a good pizza dough recipe! Thanks!

I'm afraid to admit this, but Devan has become quite the shopper. She knows exactly what to expect from the stores we shop at frequently. For instance, she knows we are going to Target about 2 blocks before we get there, and she knows that they have toys and popcorn. She knows which grocery stores have "car" shopping carts and which grocery stores have miniture carts that she can push ( and subsequently ram into everything in sight, including me!).

She's also made a new discovery about shopping: If you can't find what your looking for, ask the lady! I have no idea where she learned it, but she seems to be outwitting me very quickly these days. The other day she wanted rain boots. I told her we could look but that the store might not have them. ( I didn't mention that I didn't want to buy them because it doesn't rain that often and it's nearing the end of the season anyway). I think we were at Walmart and I took her down one aisle of shoes and told her they didn't have rain boots. "You have to ask the lady" she said. "Ask the lady what?" I said. "Ask the lady if they have rain boots here!!" she said. She actually sounded irritated with me! Can you believe it!

Now everywhere we go she tells me what she wants before we get there and always makes sure to include "Mom, FIRST we ask the lady, then we can go look". I guess my "this store doesn't have that" trick is not going to work anymore. And the "I don't have enough money" trick doesn't either because she always comes back with "But my Daddy has lots of money". She has an answer/solution to everything! What am I going to do with her?

Hello blog. It's been a while. Apparently I broke our (3 month old) laptop last week and Dell had to send us a new hard drive. John said this is the last time he's buying a PC, and the next computer we get will be a Mac. We'll see.

Here's the latest. I'm having a baby in less than 10 weeks and I have nothing ready. I'd really prefer it the other way around but the problem is we STILL don't know where we will be living. We are supposed to be hearing about the condo we made an offer on "any day". Of course any day could mean two months from now. So as of right now all I have for the baby is clothes. No crib, changing table, car seat, etc. It's all still packed away in the garage. It's making me a little crazy, to say the least.

Since I don't have a baby room to be getting ready I figured I could spend a little more time looking at things I want on the internet. (Productive, right? Wasting time and money!) I've found something I don't think my baby can live without. Baby Legs. Old news, I know. They've been around, I've seen countless other people blog about them and make them, but I never paid too much attention because my baby was already too big for them when they started showing up. But now that I am having another baby, I need baby legs. Here are some favorites:

Strawberry Shortcake

Lime Drop

Cinnamon

You should all feel free to send some my way. Also, I am looking for a new baby carrier. The last one I had was really strappy and I couldn't seem to get Devan in it without help. I have a sling, but I'd also like a front/back carrier so if anyone has any that they can recommend, let me know!

A whole bag full. Courtesy of my brother. Thanks Mom/brother! (I don't even know if my brother reads the blog, but I figure I better give him a shout out since they did come from his house). Can you guess what I did with (some) of the lemons?

Dear Gwen Stefani,

I recently heard through the grapevine (or on the cover of every magazine) that you had your second child. I'd like to congratulate you and also take a moment to discuss your name choice. I see you have named him Zuma. And while I get that celebrities like to give their kids wacky names, I think we might have a problem with Zuma. Let me explain.

Many, many years ago I walked on a beach in Malibu and expressed to my best friends that I would one day name my son Zuma, after the very beach whose sand we had between our toes. I believe I was probably in middle school. Jackie can vouche for me. You see, I have been going to that same beach my entire life. Since I was a baby! I've spent countless hours laying on the sand, throwing a frisbee, playing volleyball, roller blading and swimming in the water at my favorite beach. I've spent holidays there, gone on dates and created many inside jokes there. And I even vowed, years ago, to name my first born son after the beach that gave so much to me.

You might be thinking, "What's the big deal? We can both name our kids Zuma". But that is where you are wrong. Now if I name my son Zuma, the responses will be "Oh, like Gwen Stefani's son", and not "Wow, what an interesting name!"

So you see, you simply must change your babies name. Unless you have a reason as good as mine to name him Zuma, which I highly doubt. You are, after all, an Orange County girl. Which reminds me- I have a name suggestion for you. Perhaps Laguna might be more fitting.

Thank You, and please take what I have said into consideration.

I've noticed that I've been pretty irritable lately, for which I completely blame the pregnancy. Usually when asked what my pet peeves are I have a hard time coming up with anything, but these past few weeks it seems like my list is getting long. I'll share a few, cause I know your dying to know.

1. People who speed in parking lots. This seriously drives me insane. Parking lots are for PARKING, they are NOT freeways! It seems like every time I'm backing out of a spot I almost get hit by some crazy driver who is flying through the parking lot and not paying attention. And I am always very slow when I reverse.

2. Retail stores that require too much work at checkout. Let me explain. I never have cash. I pay for almost everything with a debit card. At most stores, you can swipe your card, punch in your code and be done. However, not all stores are this easy. Some stores require you to swipe your card, then punch in your code, then use the pen to accept the charge, then use the keypad to select whether or not you want cash back, etc. That is way too much work for me. I need everything to be by pen or by keypad. I can't stand having to do both. I can't swipe my card, find the dangling pen (which are inevitably always positioned for right handers!) punch in some numbers, use the pen again for something, keep my 2 year old quiet, be kind and curteous to the cashier, remember to put my card back in my wallet and remember to pick up my bag of merchandise! And don't even think about asking me to open an account with your store!

3. Customers who are not prepared to check out at grocery stores. This includes people who don't have their coupons in order, can't remember what phone number is used for their club card, ask the checker to find them the items they couldn't, and people who don't understand the sale. The other day I was stuck behind a woman in line for over 10 minutes who didnd't get the sale. The checker had to explain to her over and over again that the sale was buy one pack of bottled water and get one pack free. The lady took two whole cases of bottled water-probably had 10 six packs of bottled water and she wanted half of them for free. (Am I making sense?) And after that the lady had the checker running back and forth trying to find her the right Lean Cuisine meals. Come on, people! I would have switched lines but I already had my stuff unloaded and there were people behind me, too. Is it that hard to think ahead and be prepared?

I just realized that all of these pet peeves could be eliminated if I just stopped shopping! Which would also eliminate a pet peeve of John's, I'm sure. What are your pet peeves?

Because of my asthma, my doctor wanted me to get an ultra sound every 4 weeks to make sure they baby is growing properly. Yesterday I went and they assured me everything was good and normal. According to their calculations she weighs just over 2 lbs and is the cutest, smartest baby they've ever seen!

I love any 3 day weekend, but this one was especially fun. John's Mom came down to visit. She brought Devan gifts, took us out to breakfast and hung out with us at the beach.


Devan had a blast! She was sad to see Grandma go but is looking forward to her next visit. Thanks Grandma!!
(And our beach day was just in time- I hear it's supposed to be getting cold again. How could you, California?!)

Devan has always been a good problem solver. I think it's in her blood, because John is the same way. This can be good and bad. Good when they are finding ways to solve every day problems. Bad when they really really want something that there is absolutely no room for in our budget. For John this is usually something like a mountain bike, paintball gun, new snowboard or whatever newest technology is out. And I usually end up telling him that no, he cannot sell both our cars for a new xbox game, no matter how important it is!

Yesterday Devan woke up from her nap and wanted to go to the mall. I told her we could not because our van is not running well and we had to get it fixed before we drove it again. This is how it went.

Devan: Oh. We need a new car.
Me: Yeah.
Devan: One with more lights.
Me: Okay.
Devan: And more buttons.
Me: alright
Devan: And one with a triangle on it.
Me: Okay.
Devan: But where can we find one?
Me: I don't know.
Devan: Oh, I know! The car store! Lets go!

I was afraid to hear what she had to say when I told her that we needed a car to get to "the car store" and even more afraid of what she's going to come up with when she's 16 and we tell her that she can't have a car!