Updates

So a few updates for our growing family!

Aubrey is doing awesome! She is talking so much more, which is great. Her back molars have been coming in, so that's not too pleasant, but we'll get through it! She used to sleep well through the night, but either something happened or her tooth really bothered her and she has recently been waking up a lot. To help, Jared had the great idea to get her a nightlight. He was able to find a TinkerBell one, which seems to be helping. The past few nights have been better than others. I take that as an improvement!

Jared is doing well and is liking his job. Which is great! 

My pregnancy has been going well. I've been truly blessed and I know not everyone has good pregnancies like I do. I keep waiting for my luck to run out and I'll end up really sick right before the baby comes. 

We're having another girl, which is so much fun! Aubrey still doesn't grasp the concept that there is a baby growing in my tummy. That's just fine. I'm starting my 7 month and I'm about 28 weeks right now. I have a baby belly, but most people just say it looks like I had a huge meal.

My brother, sister-in-law and nephew are coming in a couple weeks and I am so excited. I can get a quick glimpse at how Aubrey might respond to having a baby in the house. My nephew, William, is about 4 months (I think) and Aubrey has never had a baby stay with us. I've babysat other kids, but not a baby. We'll see how it goes!

Our house is lots of fun to decorate! I have lots of places to put my Halloween and fall decorations. Christmas will be awesome. We may even have enough space for all of Jared's nutcrackers. We somehow lost all his ornaments during all of our moves the past 4 years, but his contribution to Christmas are his nutcrackers.

We went to Jared's cousin's wedding in Ohio this past weekend. Aubrey was so great, considering how much time she has to spend in the car! She was good with all the strangers and being in new places. She got a little antsy during the ceremony and the reception. But once the dancing started, she had a great time! We have some really fun videos I'll try and post in the next few weeks. I'm tired a lot and like to be lazy, so I'm not going to commit to getting the videos up sooner than next month. 

Aubrey was amazing with the traveling. I can't believe she put up with all the hours in the car. I lucked out and when it was my turn to take care of her in the car, she took a nap! Poor Jared had to take care of her while I drove, but he was a good sport about it. 

We also have fun videos of Aubrey playing in the leaves! Again, I don't make any promises to have them uploaded any time soon. But I have a great picture of Aubrey in a pile of leaves! This is at Grandma and Grandpa Call's house. So many leaves to play in!!

That's the end of my update. I'm sure I left some things out that I can't think of. And I'm sure I could post more pictures. Maybe I'll put up a few pictures of the Halloween decorations so everyone can see. 

I'll also get lots of cute pictures of Aubrey at the Ward Halloween party and actual Halloween. She has several costume options and I'm excited to see what she picks.

Quick Family Update

Here are the big highlights over the past couple months:

Jared is really enjoying working for Simplx! He's helped with the Web site and other marketing tools. He's also doing sales (and rocking it) and learning about installing the systems. 

I've been doing little projects. Lately I've been using soup/ravioli cans to help organize my counters. I have a can for wooden spoons, random silverware and scissors. I got tired of just looking at the silver cans. So I painted them! It adds color to the kitchen, which I love, and it was a fun little craft. 

I'm also turning a few old t-shirts into pillows. They can be used for throw pillows, added comfort on the couch, or Aubrey can jump into the pile. No matter what, it'll be fun to put my t-shirts to use! 

Jared was super sweet and bought me flowers this morning!

It was a fun surprise! Picked them up after seminary this morning! I love him. He loves me!

I'm becoming more daring in the kitchen. I see recipes on Pinterest, but I've never really thought about trying them. Well, the other day I realized I had a copycat Olive Garden breadsticks and alfredo sauce recipe! I could make my own Olive Garden food!

So I did! I got everything the recipes asked for, followed the directions exactly and it was a huge success! There are a few things I can tweak and make better next time. And the meal passed the microwave test! If foods aren't good microwaved the next day, then I won't make it again unless it can be eaten that night. Jared doesn't really care for alfredo sauce, but even he liked this recipe! This will be made again!

Aubrey and I will be working on potty training again. I have realistic expectations and if she doesn't want to do it, no harm done! I can just as easily put her little potty away. I got her cute little panties to help her get excited. We'll see how it goes!

Chocolate

I have an intense relationship with chocolate. 

I LOVE it, but LOATHE it at the same time. 

Does anyone else experience this emotion?

Jared's Mom sent us an awesome Valentine's Day box with fun treats for everyone. Jared and Aubrey got some gummy treats. I got 2 bags of Hershey kisses. Yes, I claimed both bags as mine. Jared, my wonderfully sweet husband agreed. He understands that I will eat the majority of the kisses.

I put them in a cute vase for decoration. I hoped that having them on display would stop me from eating them so quickly. But, I forgot how Laura's knowledge of my addiction to Hershey kisses happened. 

We were at Jared's parents' house over Christmas one year. Laura has all these cute decorations and one of them is a snowman jar that she filled with kisses. I thought, "Hey! There is chocolate in this snowman!" And I began eating them. 

Laura soon realized I was the one eating them. She caught me red-handed about 15 times...

Now, as a tradition, she sends me Hershey kisses in pretty much every holiday box.

Back to most recently. Having them in the vase just seems to make them more accessible. It would have been better just to keep them in their respective bags and have Jared hide them somewhere in the apartment.

I can't just eat one every now and then. I go for rather generous handfuls. 

It's pretty obvious that after a week, the 2 bags are pretty much gone. I can't explain it, but it's just impossible to walk into the kitchen and NOT walk out with about 5 in my hand (after eating 2 while standing in the kitchen).

Chocolate is so yummy! But I really shouldn't eat as much as I do! I understand that the treats Jared gets for his seminary class is off-limits. Those aren't a temptation. But knowing that there is chocolate in our home that I am allowed to eat just makes me go crazy! If I know it's here, I have to find it and eat it. 

The day after Valentine's Day will be a special day. Candy will be on sale and I can stock up for the next few days. 

I do have standards though. I don't eat chocolate if it's mixed or covered in coconut, mint or marshmellow. But if it has chocolate or cherries, it's doomed to be eaten immediately!

One day, my metabolism will shut down. And all this chocolate consumption will be my downfall. Chocolate will be near me when death comes. If I can manage it, I will eat a Death by Chocolate cupcake on the day I die. Then I can legitimately say I was killed by chocolate.

Christmas Vacation Part 6

The morning was filled with packing and saying goodbyes. Or rather, saying goodbyes without actually using the word "bye." 

Aubrey seems to have abandonment issues and gets really upset when Jared or I say goodbye around her. 

Somehow, we got everything packed up and loaded stuff into the car. Aubrey woke up and people played with her for the last time (at least for the year 2013). 

Tim and Laura drove us to the airport and things went a lot smoother than the trip coming to Utah. 

Except for the fact I completely forgot my backpack at the house! It had the second computer in it and several of Aubrey's favorite movies. We called Laura and asked if anyone at the house could bring it to the airport. Ashley and Nicole were rockstars and offered to bring it up for us.

Jared waited for them while Aubrey and I made our way through security and getting to the right terminal. Things went pretty well! Jared got the backpack in time, the flight had no delays. Things were good! And it worked out that on the plane, we had an empty seat by us, so Aubrey had plenty of space in her own seat, rather than sitting on our laps the whole time. 

Plane took off, no problems. She was well-behaved on the plane. Aubrey was even good when I had to change her diaper on the plane. Those bathrooms are tiny and rather uncomfortable for one person, let alone someone and a toddler!

But we made it to Chicago. That's where things got a little rough. It was cold and snowing. Our gate was taken by a flight that was delayed so we had to wait an hour on the plane before we could get off. 

Our luggage came in good time and we made our way to the shuttle to get our car in a park, ride & fly. It was snowing, but everything seemed fine. The car started, which was a miracle. 

The drive home was pretty great. I had accidently left two unopened Dr Peppers in the car, and they totally had exploded while we were gone. Oops. 

Jared sat in back and put on a movie for Aubrey. She fell asleep and he hopped up front with me. Driving from Chicago to Fort Wayne was pretty stressful sometimes. The windshield got dirty and I could hardly see out of it. Jared was also inspired that we stop somewhere to eat and it happened to be right before midnight. I totally forgot most places are closed New Years Eve! 

We stopped at a Burger King, which thankfully had still been open. We were that store's last customer of the year :)

We made it home and got ready for bed. Poor Aubrey didn't appreciate being woken up and was rather upset to be woken up and then put to bed. But she was fine after a while and we all slept in. 

That was our Christmas vacation!

We miss them all very much. Tim and Laura were so great  for letting us stay with them so long. Brandon, Ashley, Nicole, Megan and Spencer were also great for playing with Aubrey and letting us invade their space for a while. 

Everyone was so patient with Aubrey and we had such a great holiday!

Christmas Vacation Part 5

Saturday, Dec 28 (the day we are currently on in the story) was Tim's birthday. 

Aubrey got up her usual time, but had a stuffy nose. Poor baby!

We had another relaxing morning. Aubrey had a great time playing with everyone and anyone willing to play with and watch her. 

After her nap, we had a late lunch/early dinner at The Red Iguana. This is a family favorite mexican place. The food is really good and it's a fun hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Aubrey was as good as always in the restaurant! Up until she threw a toy on the floor and I took it away. A young man who worked there told Aubrey to not get upset when she started to whine. 

She has a problem with be spoken to by strangers. She immediately put her head down on the table and started to cry and let these huge crocodile tears fall! It was so funny! Poor young man was so embarrassed and didn't mean to upset her! 

We put her in the car and everything worked out. Everyone went home with full bellies and a few take-home boxes. 

Later that night, Tim opened his presents and it was a fun day. I really hope he had a fun birthday. 

The next day was an adventure. We had given Aubrey something new for her cold that was developing. Too bad we didn't know it would make her wired for the whole night! She would cry and cry and cry until one of us went in and held her. I was up pretty much all night. Jared was a super sweet husband and father and took her for a few hours so I could rest. 

But I couldn't really sleep until the morning when everyone went to church. I was a bad person and didn't go to church. Jared came back after the first hour to put Aubrey down for a nap. I was feeling much better after being able to sleep for a few hours. 

And we began getting ready for another family dinner. We invited family already in Utah on Jared's side and they came over for dinner. Laura was so great and hosted it all for us. Aubrey was a little nervous with people invading the space she claimed for herself (the whole house). But she did well overall. 

It was so fun seeing everyone. Karli is about to have her baby and it was fun talking baby with her.

Aubrey had another rough night with coughing, but she slept through most if it, which was a huge improvement!

Monday was our last full day and it was kinda sad. 

I had made a playdate with a former roommate Krisy and it was so fun seeing her! She has a little baby bump now and a little boy that just turned 1 that weekend. 

Aubrey had fun playing with Aiden's toys and Aiden was having a difficult time with her taking over his space. But I had a great time visiting with Krisy!!

It was naptime again so we went home and made plans for another late lunch. Tim had to return to work, so we would meet him somewhere near his work. 

We went to a chinese place and Aubrey had some fun. Everyone always enjoys the silly things she does while at restaurants. 

It was a pretty chill day. I helped with dinner that night. Laura and I both made our enchiladas. She makes hers with red sauce and mine are more creamy/cheesy. It was really fun helping out. And I always enjoy cooking! 

We were pretty sad thinking about how we would leave the next day. Traveling is always an adventure and we would really miss everyone.

Christmas Vacation Part 4

Our big gift from Jared's parents was a night out!

And it was much needed. 

But that morning we went and got our family photos taken! This Christmas was the first time in a while that all the family was together and they wanted an updated family picture. 

Everyone looked great and Aubrey was fantastic! We got a look at one of the pictures and Aubrey was so cute and smiling! The photographer was so good with her and knew a few tricks to get her attention! I'll have to keep them in mind if we get pictures taken of her in the future. 

We put Aubrey down for a nap and headed to check in to our hotel in downtown Salt Lake and head to our movie. 

Finally, we got to see the second Hunger Games movie! Hooray! And it was so good! But we were late and got awful seats. The ones in the very front. I started to feel very sick, so Jared was amazing and stood by me while I sat in the entrance way against the wall. He was so sweet and stayed next to me the whole time. From now on, I plan to get to movies SUPER early just so I can get a good seat. 

Our special dinner was Sonic! We've had a gift card for Sonic for months, but there isn't one near us. So we saw there was one in Salt Lake and ate there! Because I was still feeling a little sick, we went back to the hotel and just relaxed. It was wonderful! 

We ordered breakfast to come in the morning and it was pretty good. 

Probably the best part of our night and half-day away was going to the Salt Lake Temple. We hadn't been since the one time we went to get married and sealed together forever. I'm still very happy with my choice of eternal companion and it was awesome going back to the temple with him. 

We did a live endowment session, which was so amazing. I can't even describe how great it was! And sitting in the celestial room was so special for us. We had a mix-up with our wedding time so we spent A LOT of time in that room on our wedding day. It was wonderful being able to sit in that same room again. 

It was time to go home and prepare to see my extended family. 

Because we were spending most of the time with Jared's family, I thought it would be nice to have one night with my family already out there. We decided to do a dinner and visit with everyone. 

They made my favorite dinner of chicken wrapped in bacon and it tasted delicious! Aubrey had so much fun playing with my baby cousins, Sydney and Nora. Sydney is 4 and Aubrey had so much fun chasing her around, not really understanding the rules of tag or hide-in-seek. 

Everything was so much fun, but it was time to head back home for Aubrey's bed time. We like to be pretty consistent when putting her to bed, and it was a half hour drive back to Jared's family. 

I love my family very much and it was fun seeing them. 

Aubrey wasn't happy to go to bed. She missed running around. I broke our biggest rule and went in to get her out of bed to let her run around some more. Her grandparents, aunts and uncles didn't mind her being up late! The second time we put her down, she was down for good. 

But this is about when her cold began to really kick in. Made the next few nights pretty rough. 

Christmas Vacation Part 1

We had so much fun the past week and a half! For Christmas, we went to Draper, UT to spend time with Jared's family. 

It was the first time in years that everyone has been there! It was a special event for all of us. 

Because so much happened, I will document the trip in parts. Aubrey is currently awake and trying to get used to the time change and getting back to the regular schedule, so I don't have much time to go through everything at once. It happens :)

I had most everything packed a couple days before our flight. There are always a few things we have to wait for the day-of to pack, so I left plenty of space. 

We flew out of the Chicago Midway airport, which is a good 3 hour drive for us. We planned to leave with extra time in case there was traffic or weather or crazy lines at the airport. Aubrey was so good in the car! I sat in back and held up the computer for her as it played movies to keep her entertained. Jared was so great and drove the whole way.

The airport was another story though. While I changed Aubrey's diaper, Jared was stuck in a long line trying to check in 3 large bags. Poor Jared. I was going to get a headstart through security, but realized I left Aubrey's birth certificate in Jared's backpack. So we waited and met up with Jared when he was done and went to the security line together. 

Thank goodness for the family line! Aubrey was NOT happy to be stuck in her stroller after being so good in the car for 3 hours. A man directed us to the line for families and people who needed extra assistance. We got through it quickly. I planned my outfit ahead so I wouldn't get stuck in the metal detector. I wore slip on shoes, no belt, no jewelry except my rings. Went through smoothly :)

I always forget about the no liquid thing. But they tested my water bottle to make sure it was water and let me through. Aubrey's stuff was fine. I was SO happy I didn't have to dump out her watery juice. 

We still had time to waste at the airport, which was great. Jared took her on the moving walkways and she  loved it!! Finally time to start boarding and Aubrey was getting cranky. It was her bedtime and we were all ready for her to sleep. Plus, the plane was delayed about half an hour. 

But of course, things never go perfectly. We took off, everything was good. I got Aubrey to sleep in my arms. Getting comfortable was a difficult for me though. She is kinda heavy now and the seats in the plane are kinda awkward. Aubrey woke up after about an hour and totally freaked out when she realized we were somewhere other than home. 

Jared tried to comfort her in the back on the plane where people couldn't hear her too much. But she would not be comforted. So I went back and worked my magic. Got her calmed down and sat back in our seats. We put on a movie and just wanted to survive the rest of the trip. 

Landed, got our luggage and met Chris and Alicia in the pick-up section. 

It was so fun seeing them, even if just for a few minutes! They took us to Jared's family's house. 

Funny story: the driveway at the Roush home was pretty slippery. There was ice and my boots had no traction. I tried walking from the car to the door and my feet kept slipping! So there I was, stranded in the middle of the driveway, unable to get to the door. Luckily, Chris hasn't started the car yet and Alicia had the door open. I started calling for help, either to get Chris's attention or try and get Jared even though he was already in the house with Aubrey. Alicia realized I was calling for help and told Chris to help me. He came out, laughed at me when I explained the situation. But he helped me to the house by letting me grip his arm. 

Thanks Chris!

Aubrey was so good with the family! Let people hold her. Had a good time. Spencer was wonderful and gave up his room to Aubrey so she'd be across the hall from us. Everything was set up and we successfully put her to bed. 

She slept great and woke up happy the next morning. Aubrey loved all the new places to explore and really enjoyed the stairs!!

Thus concludes Part 1: Getting to Utah

Lazy mornings

Aubrey and I have had a CRAZY past couple days, so today, it's just going to be LAZY!

Laundry is done, most of the cleaning is done. We're just hanging out in our PAJAMAS!

I had EVERY intention to go to exercise group this morning, but I've had a stuffy nose and it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to sleep with one.

I woke up tired and a little sore from moving around. 

Jared was really awesome and did ALL the grocery shopping last night, so I don't have to do that tonight either!

I'll END the lazy day by going to a little party a friend is putting on for other friends with birthdays in November. After being home ALL day, I should probably get out and be social!

And it's Jared's turn to put Aubrey to bed tonight, so I don't feel TOO bad for leaving him on his own tonight for just a half hour!

Laundry Days

Aubrey is HYSTERICAL when I need to do laundry! 

She's become my own personal helper when I load things in to the washing machine. She'll pull out socks and small things from the basket and NICELY put it in the machine. 

When it's time to switch to the dryer, she'll pull things out FOR me. And she LOVES when I lift her up to toss the dryer sheet in.

FOLDING is another matter, but even then, she's not TOO terrible. Just just likes to climb in the basket and get in the way. Sometimes she'll knock over piles, but that's easy to fix. 

Jared was SUPER sweet this morning and while I stayed in bed for an extra few minutes, he started a load. By the time Aubrey and I were home from dropping him off at work, the first wash load was DONE.

Today is a BIG laundry day. I'm doing whites, darks, towels and Aubrey's clothes. On good days I can SQUEEZE Aubrey's tiny clothes in to our load of whites. Not today. She has towels and blankets I need to wash. 

Maybe someday I'll add ironing to my list of tasks on laundry day. But I burn myself ALL THE TIME when I iron. So if Jared wants his shirts to look good, HE has to do it! Things like that take me a small notch below being a perfect wife.