Baby Girl

We found out a couple weeks ago that the little being growing inside me is a GIRL!!!  I figured it was time for a baby update!

 We were ecstatic to find out we had a little girl on the way, and the next day we went out and bought a couple outfits that are pink and frilly and adorable!!  Dallin doesn't quite understand what's going on.  Though if you ask him where baby sister is, he will point to my belly.  It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to being a big brother...but he still has 4 months of ruling the roost as he pleases. 

Baby girl is very active!  I feel her kicking and moving around ALL the time, especially when Dallin is sitting on my lap.  She likes to have her space. :)  And she is carrying really low, so I have to pee all the time and my lower back is already all cramped up.  

Jared has felt her a couple of times, which is fun, but I am ready for her to kick hard enough that he can feel her every day...it's more fun to be able to share those experiences! I'll be 23 weeks on wednesday so that is exciting.  I'm glad I still have the summer to get ready for her arrival, but we can't wait to see her sweet little face in person. 

But for now he gets to look at this beautiful face whenever he wants.  And isn't she precious!!!

Easter

March 31, 2013

Easter weekend was a lot of fun for us.  We headed to Logan to spend time with our cousins and go to Grandma and Grandpa Mahoney's 70th Wedding Anniversary party.  Saturday morning was sunny and warm and we played all day out there with our cousin friends.  

Dallin especially enjoyed pushing a soccer ball around in a doll stroller.  

And cute Ellen played alongside him.

And William, Mandy, Kelsie, and Max biked and played baseball.

And the not-so-little-anymore Mont sat with Tiffany.  And Amy was there too!

Friday was Amy's birthday so we celebrated with cake and everyone helped blow out the candles!

It was a weekend full of fun, and the anniversary party was really neat.  It's not very often you hear about a couple celebrating 70 years of marriage!!  I admire my grandparents so much.  Their love and dedication to each other and their family is so inspiring.  It was special to be able to see them and give them hugs and kisses.  They will be turning 91 years old this year!!  

Sunday was Easter.  Dallin and I woke up sick.  So the morning was spent cleaning up throw up (Dallins contribution), and running numerous loads of laundry, and laying on the couch watching Little Einsteins.  Jared went to church and held down the fort for the primary class that we teach, and Dallin and I slept until afternoon.

But then we started feeling a little better.  I hid the easter baskets and we celebrated the Easter Bunny around 4:00 PM. :)  

Dallin's was under the sink (his current favorite hiding place for nearly anything he gets his hands on)

He got bubbles and Hot Wheels!!  And a couple eggs full of candy. :)

After that we were all feeling up for a stroll through the park to soak up another beautiful day of sunshine.  Overall a pretty exciting Easter Day for the Hughes Family.  

A Day with the Ducks

  

March 25, 2013

Another nice day has dawned in Rexburg, ID and we headed to the local nature park to feed the ducks!  It was a breezy day, 30 degrees, so we had to dress warm but it was great to get some fresh air in our lungs.  Our friends Denae and Hyrum were there too.  We love them!  Hyrum and Dallin even have the same birthday. And the ducks were a hit!  These ducks are obviously accustomed to being fed copious amounts of bread (thanks to the many college students and small families that inhabit Rexburg) so they were quite friendly.  

Dallin didn't quite get the idea of feeding the ducks.

I helped him throw his first piece of bread, which only led to tears...because he was more interested in eating the bread himself!!  He did enjoy pointing at them and talking in his own little language to them.

And chasing them.  I'm not sure how the ducks felt about this, but Dallin thought it was hilarious. :)

And there were airplanes going by, which meant squatting and searching the sky.  

Dallin is a squatter.

And then we got to play at the park.  Dallin is getting so much bigger.  He runs through on the playset and takes the stairs like a 'big boy.'  And I think I lost 2 years of my life watching from the ground.

And he loves the slide.

I love this little boy.  

St. Patricks Day

Growing up, St. Patrick's day was one of the biggest holidays celebrated.  Because of my Irish history (as well as the fact that my grandparents served a mission in Ireland), there was always an excitement surrounding the 17th of March.  Green outfits were put on the night before in order to avoid merciless pinching when woken up for scripture study early the next morning, and the leprechauns always mischievously died our milk green, and left candy for munching.  

And so the traditions continue in the Hughes household!  Sure enough, when we awoke we found green milk in the fridge, and we dressed appropriately in our greenest sunday best!

Here are my handsome fellas!

And dinner was fettuccine alfredo, with a charming green sauce. :)

And no good St. Patties day afternoon is complete without a cozy nap!

Life Lately

The last month of our lives has done anything BUT fly by.  My optimism flew out the door and vacationed somewhere in Hawaii while we were stuck here in the trenches of an eastern idaho winter, greatly affecting my desire to write on the blog, or do anything other than run away and join my optimism on the beaches of Hawaii and consume as many fresh strawberries and fruity drinks as my pregnant body could handle. But alas, spring has poked it's head briefly over the horizon, and my optimism is slowly cruising back to Rexburg where it belongs.  Although, Jared and I have decided that our 'Summer Family Vacation' will now take place in February each year because otherwise the idea of living in Eastern Idaho for potentially the rest of our lives resembles a dark torture. :)

Nevertheless, life has continued and there have been plenty of wonderful little moments.  With a one year old scampering around, there is always something exciting going on. And his life has come with its bumps and bruises. (This was a particularly bad day, (a face plant on the the cement path at the park and another face plant on the kitchen floor later that night) but not too unlike many others)

Dallin loves getting his quality time with daddy. When Jared gets home, he knows that it is his DAD TIME.  I think he even understands that Saturdays and Sundays are dad days too because he clings to him as much as possible. Last week in church, Jared gave the opening prayer and I had to walk out with Dallin because of the screams!

They will play games and read books together

Or my favorite is when I look over and Dallin is just snuggling up with him.

As for what goes on in our days.  We play and read and sing songs and run around.  I try to get him out everyday for SOMETHING, and he loves going or just going for a walk (though he prefers to be out of the stroller nowadays.)

Dallin has recently become fascinated with his little "seats" around the house.  He will sit on a platform of legos, or a shoe or a box--whatever is just his size.  And lately anytime I open the fridge he will sprint to the kitchen and steal a seat in there.  He is well entertained by organizing the condiments, and it always makes me giggle. 

Another pastime (usually when I am trying to put dinner together) is to tear apart cupboards.  He will pull out all the tupperwares from the drawer, or all the shoes from the shoe basket.  One day, after zoning out while cutting up veggies for dinner, I turned around to find this. He had pulled everything he could grab out of our makeshift storage shelf!  :)

He had a blast exploring all the different tools and sitting/jumping on each and every one of them. 

And sometimes I let him help me make dinner.  He loves making bread--he is obsessed with our Bosch!  Every time I open the closet we keep it in, he freaks out wanting me to get it down, and there is no way I can run it during his naptime or bedtime--he wakes up in a snap and screams until I come get him and let him 'help' me 

There is no doubt that he brings a spirit of excitement and discovery into our home every day, and we can't imagine our lives without it.

A Lovely Week

Valentines Day lasted all week for the Hughes Family.  On Tuesday, thanks to Amy, Jared and I got to get out and do a Temple Date and Ice Cream. It was wonderful to get out together.  He also surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet of flowers!! We did sealings in the temple, which we haven't done in over a year, so it was really nice. 

Tuesday Night, we had a special box come to our door, via the UPS cupids.  In that box was a KINDLE FIRE HD!!  Our definite splurge of the year. :)  (After putting 97% of our Tax Return into various savings and debts, or potential debts such as our little child on the way, we decided we could invest in something fun!)  Jared was sweet to suggest getting me a tablet that I could play with…but Dallin and Daddy got comfortable playing fruit ninja pretty quick!  :)

Our ACTUAL Valentines Day began with some heart-shaped pancakes!  Delicious!

And Dallin made valentines!!

The sun popped out of the clouds again, so I couldn't resist the outdoors. 

And Dallin couldn't resist the puddles…

or the swings….

...or not smiling for a picture with momma. lovely.  

He was happy.  I promise.  He just doesn't like to brag.

That night, we made a heart-shaped pizza.  Delicious and Adorable!

All in all a great day full of love and happiness for our little family.  

We're Blessed.  No Doubt About It.

Monday Musings

The sun is up earlier than usual this morning, and it is so bright that I don't even need a light on!  It's amazing what that can do for a soul on a Monday.  There is a lot on my mind this morning, and I am filled with a motivation to begin again.  Breakfast has been served AND cleaned up, Laundry has been sorted AND put in the washer, Scriptures AND prayers have been read, and both me and my boy are DRESSED (granted my idea of an outfit today is yoga pants and a hoodie...but still. :).  It's freezing outside, but the air is crisp and friendly, and I am grateful for the illusion that spring is just around the corner. (T-4 months.)

Anyway, here's an update on what's been happening:

Yesterday, when getting ready for church, I looked in the mirror and thought--"oh my gosh this shirt makes me look pregnant!"  then I realized..I AM pregnant.  It's amazing to me how this fact is still sinking in.  With Dallin, it seemed like every day, I was examining my belly, willing it to get bigger!  But with this baby, I have yet to have this realization that another child is on the way.  Don't get me wrong, I am excited, but I think I am also having apprehensions about mothering 2 children. I don't know if it's a good thing, bad thing, or just normal, but I am still getting used to the idea.
Maybe its the fact that anytime I sit down to research my new little one, a little child comes and pounds on my keyboard-- Or it could be that any time I try to sit down and read 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' a little boy somehow manages to rip a page out, or bust his lip on a door frame, or run out of the cheerios that he's eating, or have a diaper that needs to be changed or I will throw up, or find a story that HAS to be read RIGHT NOW, or just do something so adorable that I can't help but put down the book/laptop, and kiss every inch of his face.  Anyway, we didn't take a picture (again, so different than Dallin's pregnancy...lol.) but we sure did smile when we looked at that little belly popping out, thinking of our little naval orange wiggling and kicking around in there.  We love you little orange. :)

The weather was nice enough (a balmy 33 degrees) that we got out this weekend.  I didn't many pictures, but I think this one sums it up.

 Dallin was so happy to be outside he refused to even look at me.  But we ran and played until we couldn't feel our noses, toes, or fingers anymore.

Life is good.  We are blessed.

Extraordinarily Average

I used to be great at journaling...all they way from when I was in elementary school through high school.  Even in college I did a pretty good job...until I got married. :)  I don't know if it's because my husband has just become my living, breathing journal, or just the fact that my life has been busy- but I have almost nothing to count up my last 4 years of life.  Recently I have gotten interested in my family history.  I have even been able to read a couple self-written histories of my ancestors.  It has been so inspiring reading about the power of a well-lived life!  I have supped strength from their day-to-day stories and been re-inspired to record the not-so-luxurious happenings in the life of our family.

And I have to admit blogging my journal is a little intimidating.  I am not a 'bells and whistles' kind of girl.  I don't take breathtaking photos, create fabulous decor, or have any outstanding skills that I can share with anyone.  Instead, I haven't got a smiling picture of my little boy for the last three months (he is much more interested in touching the camera buttons), I have yet to take a picture of my baby belly (14 weeks already), and my dinners as of late have left us enjoying a bowl of cereal instead. But, who doesn't want to know about that??  I find it refreshing when I see someone else's child tantrum in the store, or when I eat another person's partially-burnt rolls. I find it equally uplifting when I see another mother beam at her child's excitement/milestone, or confide that they too just changed out of their pajamas for the first time in the last two days.   There is nothing more inspiring to me than to know that someone else understands me, and what I am going through.

So I am writing this from a selfish position.  I believe that my life needs to be recorded, if not for the sake of my sanity, then for the sake of my great great grandchild who may find relief in reading that I too lock myself in the bathroom for 5 minutes while my child runs amuck in my 700 square foot apartment. My life is extraordinarily average.  There are spurts of above average and below average--and I choose to (try to) relish every second of it.  I love this quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley:

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

And that sums it up for me...for today.