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Sunday, October 11, 2015

Hanging with Ms. Marlo

We've gotten in a looooot of family time the last few weeks with us all being home and it's been so nice! That won't last much longer so we are trying to take advantage of hanging out with Ms. Marlo.


Marlo LOVES the Dada book. She brings it up to us 20x a day to read and it's the only book she won't flip fast through the pages. The other day she ran to Nephi with another book and he said, "No, go get the Dada book!" Sure enough, she ran into the other room and came back with the Dada book! 


She has been the BEST eater lately! (knock on wood) She will eat just about anything and sometimes double fists her food to get it into her mouth faster. When she is done, she pulls her bib towards me and sometimes says, "Done?!" We are trying to get her to say, "all done" but her pulling her bib is good enough! 


Finally loves the bath again. She went through a phase where she hated the bath and now when we say, "Bath-time!?" she squeals and runs to our room. We have a big bath in there and just just walks around and plays with toys. I can't get her to sit down anymore. And she loves the water being dumped on her head! I have Nephi to thank for that - hopefully she with love swim lessons next year!


We have always counted out loud with Marlo to distract her and it's finally paying off! Last week she starting mimicking our counting! We were in the tub and I was showing her the 1, 2, 3 foam numbers and then suddenly she was mimicking my tone! She loves it and will sometimes use her fingers. When she is falling asleep for a nap or when she wakes up from a nap we just listen to her in her crib saying it over and over again. Next up, ABC's!






Her first piggys! 


My Costco Clan. Bless their hearts for dealing with me in that place! 

Wrapping Up Summer

We wrapped up our summer by dragging it out as long as we could. While everyone started busting out the pumpkin spice, we took a trip to the pool, hit up a Rockies game, and have been on walks every day to soak up the beautiful weather! Long live summer!





I had the opportunity to work an event in the Bahamas through a company that a friend of mine started. They needed some event planning experience and I am glad I could help out! I mean, fiiiiiine, I will go to the Bahamas if you make me ;) 

It was crazy (read: expensive) to get my passport in order and then book flights. I was a little hesitant to leave Marlo with Nephi, but his schooling is such that he does most of it online and had to put Marlo in daycare only 2 times for him to go to campus. Also, there was no question in Nephi's mind that I should go. A little of it was networking, a little was to earn some money, and then a lot was just for me to get back in the event planning game considering that I have taken some time off to do other work. I LOVE it and hope I will have future opportunities to keep doing so. It keeps me sharp. 







These 2 did just fine without me! In fact, Marlo had a rough 2 weeks after I got back with all the transitioning but turns out she is teething (still is). So grateful for a supportive hubby like Nephi. There is no one else like him! 

ONE!

Marlo is ONE! 

We celebrated in AZ a few weeks early so we could be with family. The theme was kind of polkadot, but not to structured. We had flatbreads, salad, desserts, and of course Marlo had her smash cake! She was giddy all night until we put her to bed. She loved all the attention and love!




I just made a simple smash cake - a banana bread cake so it didn't have a lot of sugar - with can frosting. She kind of got into it but mostly just liked playing with the frosting on her fingers! 


Please. She is the cutest. We had to do a little modeling for some bloggers that sent us that bib and headband. I have to resist the urge to buy her all the cute stuff so it's nice to get a few things for free from our favorite shops! 


Did a fun photo-shoot at Kendall's new house with her nice camera and I loved how it turned out! We got a ton of great pictures. She was being so smiley and cooperative! 


The day of her birthday in Colorado we woke her up by putting balloons in her crib! She was so confused, like, "Hey guys, this is not suppose to be in here," and she started throwing the balloons out cautiously. So funny!





Made her favorite pancakes and added some sprinkles. 


We headed out to IKEA and then to lunch. Such a happy baby!


How did we get so lucky to get this sweet girl? I hate to say that our life started once we had Marlo (like many people say) because I personally don't feel like it did. I felt that more at marriage, but with Marlo's birth I felt a bigger change within myself and a major enhancement to our already beautiful life. I remember wondering what she would look like and now I feel like we've always known her and what she looks like. No doubt she is our baby - everyone says she's a 50/50! I would say it's the same personality-wise; she's outgoing and social like me, and curious and kind like Nephi. And then there is a little of Marlo - the cautious but daring, sweet but sour, fragile but strong, little girl that we adore. Every phase gets more fun and we can't wait to grow up with her! 

And of course, it was my "Mommy Birthday", too. I get the chills when people use the phrase, "my baby that made me a mommy," because I know that feeling now! I know why my Mom has a special little affinity towards her first-born - I will always have that for Marlo. And although I am very hard on myself, I feel proud of my accomplishments as a mother. My skills and talents have been exercised just as much as my weaknesses have, and I have Heavenly Father to thank for that. 

August in AZ

A week after we got to Colorado we jumped on a plane and went to Arizona to spend a few weeks with my family. Nephi was able to join us for 2 of the 4 weeks because he had a break after his first week of orientation and we soaked it all in!

We basically never stopped sweating. We spent a lot of time indoors and just playing with family. Marlo had just started walking so she was all over the place loving all the open space. She got SO much love during her time there that at moments I thought she would explode from happiness. Her grandparents and aunts and uncles love her unconditionally and she loves them back! It was a good taste of what it would be like to live near my family and if it wasn't for being separated from Nephi for 2 weeks, we wouldn't have had the urge to come back to CO! Luckily, the flights to PHX from DEN are fairly inexpensive so I am sure we will squeeze in a few trips a year.








Kendall had her little baby boy (Colt Steven) while we were there and we got lots of snuggles! He is growing so fast and I can't wait to see him again! 



We took a trip with my parents to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. It was so beautiful and I forgot how breathtaking the views are. I had more of an appreciation than I did when I was last there (6th grade) and I want to plan a trip next summer to hike Havasupi! 



Marlo took lots of baths in Namas sink. 


Any chance she could, my Mom would rock Marlo to sleep. They had such a sweet little routine and I know Marlo misses her. Every time we get on FaceTime Marlo starts blowing kisses to her! She doesn't do that with anyone else. She loves her Nams! 


Nephi left and then my parents, me and Marlo went to California for a few days to visit friends in Pasadena and family in Southern California. It was also SO hot there and so we didn't escape the heat much but went to the beach and did some exploring in LA. 


Marlo fell in LOVE with my cousin Hannah. She is so wonderful with kids. If I had the money, I would make her our live-in nanny. She is so darling. 


I celebrated the big 2-8 while we were there. Shopping and food - it was SO great (just wish Nephi could have been there with us!). 


I am so glad we took the time to make the trip. My parents are so gracious with their time and just making it a fun trip for us before we started our life in Colorado. I don't know if they realize how much it meant to us (especially me) but we had the best time and counting down the days till we go back to visit! 

Welcome to Denver

We made it to Denver!

Loading up and leaving Idaho Falls was a cinch, but unloading was another story. Unfortunately, the ward we moved into didn't show to help us move even though we asked for help. I had major anxiety over this happening so thanks to that - I hired movers. The best $250 we spent the whole trip! We had 3 big guys all to ourselves for 2 hours. We live on the 3rd floor so it was a task but they were so nice and helpful and we couldn't have done it without their help.

We also couldn't have done it without my Mom. My brain was so fogged the last week before we moved with handling all the logistics of the move, wrapping up things at work, trying to manage Marlo, and fitting in all the family activities. My Mom literally picked me up and carried me through this move. We left our place sparkling clean thanks to her and Caitlin and Zach. And of course my sweetest sister-in-law Angie who was so helpful and always willing and able to watch Marlo. She has a good intuition for service and she can read me really well so she knew when to step in at the most perfect times. So grateful for Angie!

Finding a place to live in Denver was HARD but I think we found the perfect place for us. Through divine intervention, we found someone through a friend of a friend and took over their contract. We didn't have to pay the deposit, we were grandfathered in at a lower price (for now), and it's in a great location and ward. It's in a gated community with pools, a gym with fitness classes, a park, a 1.5 mile walking path AROUND a lake - it's a beautiful neighborhood! With all of these amenities included the rent doesn't feel like the biggest blow but it's definitely higher than we ever planned to pay. Also - it doesn't hurt that there is a Costco, Target, and Sprouts within 1 mile of us. ;)

EXHAUSTED.

IKEA trip! Such a good baby through this whole move. 



Here are a few "before" pictures of our place. "After" pictures will eventually be posted.

Love the living room and the vaulted ceilings. One of the perks (maybe only perk?) of living on the 3rd floor. 

This kitchen is much smaller than our other one, but a little more cabinet space which is nice. It's really easy to make it dirty and really easy to make it clean. Also, our last kitchen was tucked behind a wall so I didn't have to have the dishes done and now I kinda do. It's a good thing because I have been pretty good at making sure the kitchen is clean each night. 

We were debating on whether to get a kitchen table or not and we ended up getting one. I don't love it, but I was so panicked to have one because Marlo was struggling with her eating routine and I thought it would help (it has). We paid $10 for a tall one at the Goodwill and we will probably end up getting a different one eventually but it works for now! 

PS - Look at all those windows - the natural light in here is so amazing! It's one of my favorite things. 

I didn't get a picture of Marlo's room but in the picture, on the right, is a den which is Marlo's room. We put up a curtain to go across the entry way (thank you IKEA) and I got creative in how to store her clothes and such. It's not ideal, but it's cheaper than getting a 2 bedroom!


Nephi had his white coat ceremony and it was so fun to be part of it. His class is so fun - all girls except for him and 1 other guy. The professors and everyone have been so warm and welcoming. Since Creighton is a Catholic school, referencing God is natural and I love that. I even spoke to the lady that interviewed him and said, "Oh, you're the lady we were praying for!" and she smiled and said, "thank you - I needed the prayers!" Nephi is the only member of the LDS church in his class, no surprise, so it's kind of a cool opportunity for us to share some of what we believe. Like I said, his class is so wonderful and they all get along really well.




So far, we LOVE Denver. The people here are so nice. And I truly mean that. Everywhere we go people are ooo'ing and awe'ing over Marlo. In Idaho Falls you don't get that because everyone is just so concerned with their own babies. I think people here are shocked that we go out with a baby because we always get stares!

Although the ward didn't help us move in (pretty transient area) everyone has been very welcoming. We went to the zoo with some mommy's this week and did a craft day. In my 3 years in Idaho Falls, I never had any women invite me to do anything like this with them. It is different in demographics a little though - there are a lot of students in our area and then a lot of old people. So far, I feel like we are going to make some great friends here and that is a huge blessing and something I have been praying for daily.

Heavenly Father is so good to us. Although I struggled the first few weeks here, I am feeling all the blessings of this move including Nephi being SO happy with his schooling. The load is starting to get heavier but he is being so good and disciplined and we are so proud of him! Marlo is also settling in well after having a little relapse in eating and naps - I think we are back on track, knock on wood!