300 Days!!!

300 days (almost 10 months)

~ walks along furniture

~ hates the textures of hard solid foods

~ is starting to like the pool

~ loves peek a boo

~ likes watching Daniel Tiger

~ still loves to squeal as loud as possible

~ gives kisses 

~ loves to dance

~ waves bye bye

~ 5 teeth

~ hates the sound of fireworks but likes looking at them

~ loves playing with her daddy

~ prefers hardwood floors more than the carpet

~ gets excited over all animals

Our baby girl only has 65 days until she's a one year old! I'm not quite ready for that.

"Enjoy this . . . "

This past holiday weekend had its ups and downs. On a positive note Danny didn't have work or school so he was able to spend some well needed quality time with us. We set the alarm for 7:30am Friday morning (the 24th) so that we could get up for the Mapleton parade but Addie had other plans for us. We didn't get to sleep until 3am so when the alarm went off four hours later my desire for the parade was gone and my bed was too comfy to leave it. It was weird because the whole time that I was up with the baby not once did I get impatient or frustrated that I wasn't in bed. Instead I felt oddly calm and I had this thought come over me "enjoy this because others would wish that an unsleeping baby was their only struggle right now". 

I had no clue the huge trial that my sister was struggling with. My brother in law Shawn was involved in an accident Thursday morning and by Thursday night was put on life support with 1% chance to live. If I had known I would like to believe that I would've been there in person to support Kari during this ordeal. Ever since I changed my phone plan I haven't been receiving all my messages and unfortunately all my messages came through the next afternoon two hours after Shawn had already passed away. It hasn't even been a month since my other sister Camila unexpectedly lost her husband Eddie. I ended up calling Kari and offered to help with her little five week old daughter anytime she may need extra hands. 

After that phone call Danny said he wanted to take me out of the house. We decided to check out the 24th of July pioneer celebration at the Mapleton park. They had several food trucks there and were setting up concerts but it was unbearably hot! We walked around for a bit and almost bought some Hawaiian food they had there but then we decided to leave and eat at an actual Hawaiian barbecue restaurant in Provo. It was a smart choice because we got more food for the same price and got to sit in a very air conditioned place. Later that night we watched fireworks up at our secret spot. At least I thought it was "our" secret spot but apparently half of Mapleton knows about it. Addie likes looking at fireworks but hates the noises they make.

We spent most of Saturday at the Spanish Fork swimming pool with Jill, Jaina, Jon and the kids. It took Addie a minute to warm up to the pool but by the end she started loving it. We stayed there almost four hours and Danny and I were the last to leave because Addie was enjoying it too much.

Leaving the pool :)

We made it back to the house for a BBQ and then ended the night with more fireworks. The fireworks were too close for Addie's comfort but once she got to watch them from behind the window inside the house she loved it. That night she had no trouble sleeping at all and slept for twelve hours before we had to wake her up ourselves for church yesterday morning.

I know that not every day will be filled with fun activities and not every night will be full of sleep and I'll have to remember this thought "enjoy this because others would wish that an unsleeping baby was their only struggle right now". 

My Biggest Fear

My biggest fear is that something could happen to Danny leaving me alone here. Life just wouldn't be life if I had to live it without my best friend.

In the last thirty days two of my sisters became widows, both with young kids. I hope that if I'm ever put in a similar situation that I could be just as strong. 

I know that because of the gospel families can be together forever. I know that one day we will all resurrect with glorified bodies. I know that God's plan is a plan of happiness. 

With the passing away of both Eddie and Shawn I've become more determined to live life more fully with Danny and Addisyn. Life is to short not to. 

Yellowstone Fun

(Disclaimer: Picture Overload)

Last Saturday was the 4th of July (one of my favorite holidays) and it was also the last night Danny and I spent together before Addie and I went on vacation with some of my family. I kept going back and forth on my decision to go because I was nervous to leave without Danny (he had school) but now I'm so glad I went. It was such a blast! My parents planned this trip around Christmas long before they moved to Europe so it was nice to have them come back from Germany for this vacation. Not everyone was able to go but those who did were Pollyanna, Rick, Beckie, Jason, Jared, Melanie, my grandma, my parents, my nephews Caide and Kaleb and my nieces Aria, Kenzie, Abbie, Ellie and Olivia. Every night after Addie was in bed I wrote down just a little bit about that day.

July 5/6

Danny dropped us off at my parents place which was bittersweet. I started to miss him before we were even apart from each other. Addie was super tired so I made her a bed on the floor. During the night she would wake up confused but then I would lay by her or just place my hand on her and she'd fall back asleep. Around 5 I brought her in bed and she snuggled with me til morning.

July 6

Did great for the first four hours! Two of those hours she slept and then drank 6 oz of formula in one sitting. Miracle! After three months of refusing bottles she's accepting them! She played a lot with my grandma in the back seat and then was off and on grumpy for the last hour. The best thing is that she had no trouble with stranger danger today! I think she was just glad to not be in her car seat that she didn't care who was holding her once we got to the cabins.  We could have entered Yellowstone park today but everyone was fine with just hanging around the cabins. 

Highlight of the day: Addie did much better than I thought she would for the car ride to Montana.

July 7 

She slept amazing in the pack and play that Beckie brought! It was so much better than the night before at my parents. She was also the last one to wake up in our cabin. We entered the park and the first thing we saw was a wild bison. Such a cool animal. It caused quite the traffic jam and walked right past our car. Caide was with us and started freaking out by how big it was. It was so funny how terrified he was. Addie wasn't too impressed with Old Faithful. After watching Old Faithful Jared, Melanie and their two girls went their own way and Beckie, Jason and their kids went a separate way as well. Pollyanna, Rick, Caide and I stuck with Dad, Debbie and our grandma. We saw a lot of geysers today and did a lot of walking.  Addie didn't like the baby carrier at first until she realized she could take naps while I carried her. She also loved being pushed around in her umbrella stroller. I have been so amazed with how great she has been on this trip. For her schedule being upside down she has seldom been fussy and has been okay with being passed around from different people. I was pretty nervous that she would have stranger danger but thankfully that hasn't been the case.  :). Everyone today got a little sunburned. Sadly Addie did too. I felt horrible for forgetting her hat at the cabin. Tonight makes two nights in a row where she has been in bed by 9:30pm. Hopefully this continues once we're home. 

Today we saw a bald eagle, several elk and deer and drove alongside two bison. Fingers crossed we see a bear tomorrow. 

Highlight of the day: the sapphire pool was breathtaking.

July 8

Another great day! My wish was granted and we saw bears! A mama black bear playing with her cub. At first the cub was high up in a tree but then it came down and started rolling around with its mama before they continued on their way. About an hour or two later we saw what we think was a grizzly bear which was awesome. Pollyanna, Rick and Caide described seeing the same thing from their car. Jared and Melanie spent the day with our group today while Beckie and Jason went and did their own thing. We did a lot of hiking to several waterfalls, and it was cool how impressed Addie was with them. She was so fascinated and wouldn't take her eyes off the water. Personally I was preparing for her to be terrified by the water and loud noise but it was the opposite.  Once again Addie fell asleep in her carrier and I was 100% better with applying sunscreen and having her covered up to prevent any more sunburns. I still feel horrible that her little nose and both arms are pink. She's been such a sport on this trip! She did get a little fussy today in her car seat but then took a two and a half hour nap. She's instantly happier whenever I take her out of the car seat.  I hope her stranger danger doesn't come back anytime soon because I am loving how she is going to everyone here on this vacation. 

Highlight of the day: seeing a wild bear with her cub in the wild was pretty awesome. 

Baby bear in the tree. The mama was on the ground. :)

July 9

I wanted a head start on packing today so as soon as Addie woke up I gathered all of our things together. Jared and Melanie were the first ones to leave the cabins so we hurried and took a group photo before they left.

Pollyanna and I weren't quite ready for our trip to end so we convinced both of our groups to stop at Bear World on the way home. It was the perfect ending to a near perfect trip (it would've been completely perfect if Danny had been able to go). Right before Bear World my dad wanted to stop in front of the Rexburg temple. I don't think Debbie was too impressed with the petting zoo or the rides at Bear World but everyone else completely loved it! They had a lot more bears than I imagined they would and Aria and Caide were so cute riding the rides they had. I can't wait to take Addie back there one day when she'd be able to remember it but even she was loving it and was clapping and squealing over the baby cubs and other animals. I felt like a kid there myself which was fun. I could've stayed there all day but I think some of my group was anxious to head home so I was sad to leave but oh well, I will for sure go back. On our way home we made a quick stop at the Twin Falls temple for my dad. One thing that I love about him is that he loves temples. If there is a temple around my dad will go out of his way to visit it. It makes me proud that Addie and my future kids will know this about their grandpa. I'm glad that my parents and family were able to spend more time with Addie during this trip. Family is important to me and I'm all about traditions and creating memories. I'm grateful that Danny knows this about me and that he was understanding about us going on this vacation even though he wasn't able to come. He picked us up tonight at my parents condo wearing his softball shirt which is my most absolute favorite shirt of his. I enjoy the little things he does. Boy I love that man of mine. 

Highlight of the day: Bear World! Fun fact I learned today that Danny's relatives own that place. Small world. :)

Today

It's good to be with Danny again. Addie must have been exhausted from this week because her day didn't start until 10:45am. I was okay with that. Today is a great day to have a great day. :)