Happy Valentine's Day

Today I'm kind of lucky. I have 2 valentines! Since Ashley is at school/work all day today, I'm glad I got to spend some time with my other valentine, Elsie! I love them both so much! Now you must see this disastrous attempt at a photoshoot. Haha. I think most moms will relate...

Oh, and my sweetheart surprised me with a beautiful necklace!

Sick Day?

So, this morning at about 3 am, I woke up feeling really sick. It must be Monday... I thought to myself, "Do moms get sick days? No. Great, I can't even hold my baby without keeling over. How am I going to do this?" Just so you all know, I'm not usually this babyish when I'm sick. It's extra bad this time. Like, I actually wish I had the flu shot this year.

Lucky for me, I am married to Ashley, who, being the amazing husband he is, took work off just so he can take care of me (and Elsie). And boy did I need his help! I told him I feel a lot like a toddler today. I can barely walk, I can barely eat one slice of toast, and I was struggling to drink out of a regular cup. He joked around that he was going to get me one of Elsie's sippy cups. I sort of secretly hoped he would.

Well, enough feeling sorry for myself. Because, do moms get sick days? This one does! :)

A Family Outing

I sit in my PJs while my baby plays in her cute outfits :)

I think I must have the best husband ever. This morning, as I sat in the living room wearing sweats and no makeup, Ashley spontaneously announced that we were going out. He packed up everything for Elsie and we left the house. Sometimes that's all a girl needs to get out of the emotional rut (you know, the one where you sit around wearing frumpy clothing and don't bother to do your hair or makeup because you're not going anywhere) that sometimes happens from being in the same place all the time.

So, just like that, my boring Saturday turned into an exciting family outing!

We rediscovered an awesome place to go on dates OR to bring your kids when it's miserable outside. Where is this magical place, you ask? *drumroll, please* The amazing... IKEA! (is anyone else thinking about the movie 500 days of Summer right now?)

This is the toy!

Seriously. Elsie even had fun because we found this toy for her early on that she chewed on the whole time. Don't worry, we didn't leave it for someone else to buy, all covered in drool. She loved it SO much that we just had to buy it. Also it was only like 2 bucks.

The verdict: We had a blast! I highly recommend going to IKEA for a date, or for a family outing with the kid(s). The only problem with that place is that I want to buy just about everything! This time we only got 4 small things. But we will have to see what happens next time! MWAHAHAHA! (just kidding) 

Elsie's First Christmas

Today's post is more of a picture collection from Christmas day than anything. Hope you enjoy! :)

Elsie opening her stocking and a gift from Ash's mom and dad.

My mom was taking pictures, and so was I... :)

Elsie awaits the siblings' arrival...

Good Morning!

My dashing prince.... I love you. Silly face and all.

My dad

The siblings with their stockings.

Elsie examining the contents of her stocking. 

Ashleigh and Brandon sent gifts for each of us. Elsie got 3 teddy bears. Perfect for this blog! Haha!

We had a wonderful Christmas, although I've been missing my sister lately. She didn't get to spend the holidays with us. I can only imagine how much my Ashley must miss his family. They are all the way on the other side of the world. My favorite part about this Christmas is that we had Elsie with us. She brings us so much joy.

The Very Cranky Mom

See this sour face? This is how yesterday felt... haha.

Don't worry, I'm not cranky right now. It was yesterday. I am convinced this happens to every mom at least a few times in their life! Maybe it was because Elsie was a little tired and grumpy, or the fact that I had only slept about 4 hours (but really, what else is new...), or because my skin is looking particularly awful lately... I don't know. Anyway, it turned into a bad day kind of early on.

Before you start chanting "Negative Nancy!", allow me to share just a couple of stories.... But beware, they are a little bit gruesome...
Okay, that "Negative Nancy" comment is WAY lame. But it made me laugh, so I'm leaving it there.

First off, while we were at church, Elsie was really hungry, but she wouldn't eat. I don't know if anyone else has this happen to them, but it was SO frustrating! I missed most of Sacrament Meeting because of it.

Then, I changed her diaper in the mother's room (this is the gruesome part...), and when I threw it in the garbage, the whole room instantly filled with the stench of a toddler's diaper that had probably been sitting in there since the previous Sunday. Yuck! And I still had to put Elsie's new diaper on, so we both endured that for one whole minute...

and THEN, as we were driving home (a 30 minute drive because we were visiting another ward), Elsie was crying nonstop! This is where my sweet husband stepped in. He offered to sit in the back seat with Elsie while I drove because he could see how frustrated I was getting. Somehow, he managed to keep her calm for about 15 minutes! Hurray! You know, now that I think of it, maybe she was just so disturbed by the diaper incident that she just had to cry. I kind of felt the same way... haha.

We tried to take a nap before dinner time, but my mind was racing and I couldn't sleep. But then I looked next to me, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world! There was my little baby girl, actually snuggling with me, which doesn't happen all that much anymore. And next to her was my wonderful husband, sound asleep. This is my life. This is what it's all about. I love these two SO much! And just like that, my bad day turned into a good day. And I just had to take a picture of them because they were both laying the same way. :)

Want to know the coolest part of all this? Today is totally different already. Today I woke up feeling like life is perfect. I didn't mind that Elsie was about to wake up at 5 am. I was just happy. And that's how it goes sometimes. Sometimes I completely ruin a day with my bad attitude, but it's okay. Life goes on.

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" -Anne of Green Gables