Movin' and Groovin'

I can't believe it has been so long since the last time I blogged. I know, I know Melissa, for YOU it seems forever, but to me the time is flying by so quickly. Ian's mom, Paula, came to Utah to help us with the last minute packing, cleaning and watching Niev. We rented a 17-foot truck and filled it to the brim (literally, when you opened the back door a mattress would fall on top of you!). I don't know how we ever managed to live in such a tiny apartment. Paula rode with me in the car and help tend to Niev's every desire. Niev actually was a great travel buddy and she was very happy for the majority of the way. We stopped in at my mom and dad's house in Parma, Idaho (YEA!). We were graced with great beds and fabulous meals. Did I really expect anything different? It is always great to see Mom and Dad; they are the best! We were pleasantly surprised to also find my grandmother at the house. If you haven't met my grandmother Thora yet you are missing one of the sassiest, hilarious people this world has ever laid eyes upon. We played games and had a gay ol' time. The next morning, we went to Craig and Maria's to drop off a painting that they had commissioned Ian to paint. Ian had worked tirelessly and was very stressed as he had NEVER done Christ before and felt that He needed to be perfect. I was very impressed with his skill and dedication. He can't really include it on his website so here it is (please excuse the horrible picture) :

To zoom in on the picture, just click on it.

Finally, we were off to Washington! We made it here just in time to meet our 15-20 "moving crew" from our church's elder's quorum. It was great to get such a warm welcome of happy helping hands! Ian was very cute and carried me over the threshold. We quickly got the truck unpacked and Ian's sister, Kelley, shows up from Portland to help us out.

That night, Paula and Kelley gave Niev her first bath in her new bathtub. Reader, please note that she had been taking a bath in a TINY tub in the middle of the kitchen floor at our old apartment. Niev went WILD in the bath! She flailed around until all of us were worried that she would hurt herself. I was too busy unpacking/cleaning to grab the camcorder, but let it be known: She loves her new house! Here is a pic a few days later of her in the bath:
For the first week or so, she just wandered around the house excitedly yelling and rolling around on our carpet. She loves exploring all the new cupboards and drawers. It is so fun to watch her.

We love our new house and are so grateful for this time in our lives. It has been an adventure and I'm so glad that I did this with Ian. He is a very calm and collected guy most the time. We were very patient with each other and talked through any stresses or tenseness between us. I truly love my husband. What a good father and buddy he is to Niev.

Construction Zone

Ian worked endlessly on his garage. When I say endlessly, I mean endlessly. He worked non-stop starting Monday at 7:30 a.m. and didn't rest until the garage was done the following Monday at about 6:00 at night. Each day he would work from 7:30/8:00 until almost midnight, only taking a short lunch and dinner break. What is he doing to a GARAGE, you may ask? Ian's new art studio is the garage. In order for him to work in the garage, come wind, snow or rain, he had to insulate and board up the garage. With the help of his dad (directing by phone) he decided to not drywall, but to put up particle board so that he will be able to hang anything anywhere. This was a very exhausting project, but the garage looks amazing now that it is finished!These are different sides of the garage, but oh well!

Before:

After:

After the garage was all done and beautified, I was a bit bugged because the inside of the house, the place where I go to work every day, was exactly the same. (I can be such a selfish brat sometimes.) I was complaining to Ian and so I told him the list of small changes that I would like done. He helped me with these and one of the items on the list was the knobs on our cupboards.

They remind me of Arizona for some reason. Ian let me replace them with this knob. Much better!


As you can tell, our cupboards are old, but they look much better with the knobs on them.

Niev is still very happy in her home and loves being outside. Her face is changing so much because her teeth are rapidly coming in.

We have moved!

Finally, we have moved in to our new home in Kennewick, WA. Ian's mom was kind enough to fly in to Salt Lake and drive with us all the way to Washington. As we crossed the Washington border, I couldn't help but get a little choked up thinking that this will be the first home that Niev remembers. We are excited about our new house and it is just as good as we remembered it being. More will be written later, but I must go clean, unpack, feed Niev and Ian, run errands.....

Niev with Melissa at our "going away" party. I will miss my best friend!

Teaching RS

In our ward, Ian and I each have three callings. I teach Relief Society on the 4th Sunday while Ian teaches Priesthood on the 2nd Sunday. We are both on the activities committee and are Sunday School teachers for the 15-16 year-olds. It keeps us very busy and sometimes we wish there were a Sunday we wouldn't have to teach something, but it works out.

This last Sunday was my last Sunday teaching RS in this ward. I am really going to miss that calling. I have felt very appreciated by the sisters and always get great compliments on my lessons, but more importantly I have gained a fervent testimony and excitement for the modern-day prophets, leaders and Lord's chosen. This last lesson was reviewing the talk "Mothers Who Know" by Sister Beck. If you have not read it lately, I would strongly suggest reading it again and trying to understand what she was trying to say, not what you might have heard during conference. I gained great insight to my own mom and how she came to be the selfless and charitable woman that she is to me and my family. I also learned some of my own strengths and found a thing or two that I can do better. I cannot express how this lesson has effected my outlook on motherhood. I now believe that mothers have just as much influence and power as fathers; we are to work as a joint unit to raise our children. I know Sister Beck didn't say anything jaw-dropping, but I really did gain a testimony of the sanctity of motherhood. I also realized how much I am going to miss this calling. In a way, it was filling a little of that hole that I feel from not teaching 6th grade anymore. This gave me that same excitement and love of learning and teaching others what I have learned! Now it's gone...but hopefully in my new ward, I can serve as a teacher of the YW or RS again.

Once again, a blog is not a real blog without pictures:

Our little reader and destructivator:

Introducing our walker!

While we were at my parents' house after Christmas, Niev took her first steps, but only two. A couple days later, she repeated the two-step, but then we didn't see anything from her for a while.

Finally after having to listen to all of our friends brag about their children walking, Niev has finally gotten up the courage to begin taking steps on her own. Yesterday, I think she overheard my disappointed voice when the doctor asked if Niev was walking because as soon as she took her nap, she started experimenting with taking small steps on her own. She would pull herself up on the couch and then turn towards the middle of the room and began taking steps towards the opposite wall. She wasn't attempting to get a toy and reach some other destination and as soon as she would fall (about two steps) she would try it again. If Ian and I were trying to provoke her at all, she would go limp or slowly lower herself to the floor. She wanted to do it all by herself and at her own time. She definitely has her own thoughts and ideas about things. Very independent, which has its plus and minuses. It is kind of fun to watch her walk because her steps are very deliberate and cautious. She is prepared to fall at any moment.

Niev's year check-up

I just got back from the doctor for Niev's one-year check-up. I forgot to list our pediatrician under some of the things we are going to miss when we move. He has been so great and kind. He truly loves Niev and recognized us while shopping at Costco (even called us by name!). He has always been very complimentary of Niev's progress and our parenting skills which is nice to hear.

She weighed in at a whopping 23.5 pounds (I keep thinking that at her last appointment she weighed 25 pounds, but I was wrong) which is in the 93 percentile. Her head circumference is 47.5 cm which was 97% and her height was 31.25 inches which is off the chart. She is very tall for her age, but everything is very close in percentiles so the doctor was happy about that. She officially has eczema, but no surprise there because Ian and I both have it. She had only one shot this go around, but for the first time since she was a newborn, she cried! Normally, she will just grimace and then move on, but this time, she puckered her lip and let out a wail! She would only be comforted by me holding her and would not even look at the nurse. Every time the nurse talked, she would whimper. She is a funny girl.

But the best news is...that Niev can sit in her carseat face forward rather than rear-facing! She has been okay with facing backwards, but I know she will love the car so much more if she is facing us. It will make going in the car that much easier and more enjoyable.

When we got home, she got her bum changed and a bottle and within five minutes, this was her:
She was sound asleep, not even batting an eye when the flash was going off. Sweet baby girl!

Things we will miss!

A lot of people keep talking about how we must be so excited to be moving and we are (especially Ian!). We can't wait to have room to move, an entire yard to ourselves, and for Niev to have her own room, not a makeshift bed in the corner. We are also excited to be able to change anything about our house that we want. I have found that I am really getting excited about the potential in our house and what it could be...don't get me wrong. I love it the way that it is, but it will be nice to picture Ian and myself there. Right now, it looks a bit grandma.

While I am anxious, there are some things in Utah that I will miss dearly. We have a lot of great friends that are very close, especially my sister, Melissa. Any time that Ian is working a bit longer of a day, I pass the time by going to Melissa's house. We cook, clean, talk and watch our babies enjoy each other. It is something that I don't think I will ever find anywhere else. Melissa and I have become true sisters and best friends. We have always been close, but there is nothing like being at the same stage in life at the same time. We seem to help each other out in all aspects of our lives. I really do love her and her family. I see what a great mom she is and that inspires me to be a better mother. I recognize those weaknesses I need to correct by her example. She will be missed as well as all our other friends. We have finally found another couple that I get along with the wife and Ian gets along with the husband. Now that is a modern-day miracle. We will sincerely feel a loss when we move.

We will also miss our ward. They have been so kind and welcoming. Ian and I feel like we belong in this ward and it will be a transition that we will have to adjust to at first. Hopefully, our new ward will also feel like home.

I know Ian will say that I am being negative about our new house, but today I just started thinking about all the positives in my life and how some of those things will change because of our move. That is not to say I won't find other positives, but they will just be different. Count your blessings!