Where do I even begin?

I'm bringing blogging back...(sung like JT's Sexy Back. haha)

What in the world happened to the excitement that was once blogging? I think Instagram is the culprit. It's faster, easier and more convenient. I do love me some Instagram, and I recently found out that you can have your Instagram printed into a book, so it can be like a mini journal/album. That will definitely make me Instagram more. Just another easy way to keep a record of my life and more importantly, my little family. So be prepared for more Instagramming from yours truly.

Anyway, back to blogging.

I really kind of hate that it's not as much of a "thing" as it used to be. Like I said, I think Instagram is to blame. I mean who doesn't want the fastest, easiest way to share pictures and updates of your life? But what I do love about blogging is that it can be an even bigger, more detailed documentation of my life. I think the last time I wrote in my actual journal was the night before I got married. 4.5 years ago. Oops.

I started this blog when Josh and I got engaged and it's so fun looking back on the posts and the memories. I am kicking myself for not doing it more. I am definitely going to start doing it on a regular basis (and I mean it this time!). I would feel so sad if I left this earth without a good record of my little family. I don't know if anyone still checks blogs anymore, and that's fine if you don't. This is mainly for me and my family and anyone else that wants to read it.

So here's too a new year and more blogging! (and Instagramming!)

There are a few new posts below that I have been working on for several months in my little bits of spare time. Since I haven't blogged in so long, I am definitely a little rusty, so please be patient with me. There are probably typos, weird spacing, etc. I try to catch that the best I can. And I think I'm due for a new layout....but I don't remember how to do that. Also, if anyone could show me the easiest way to do the pictures side by side or in a collage so my posts don't get so long, I would greatly appreciate it!

xoxo

Oh, and if the rest of  you could jump back on the blogging bandwagon so I could get back to some fun blogstalking, that would be great! ;)

January - June 2013

Wow. Where do I even begin with catching up on my blog.

Let's see if my mom brain can give a half decent recap of 2013...

January:

In January I was in my second month of maternity leave. Maternity leave is the best thing ever. I've never felt so relaxed, content and happy in my whole life. I loved that I got 8 weeks to just enjoy my new baby and not have to worry about 40 hours of work each week as well. I had all these plans to do projects around the house and get stuff done while I was on my leave, but none of that happened. I was too busy enjoying brand new baby Reese. I am so glad I spent that time holding her, napping with her and just savoring every second. I know that the next time I am on maternity leave, it will be a whole new ball game because I will have a new baby and a toddler to take care of. (No, this is not an announcement!) Also the fact that it was winter made it easy to just stay home all nice and cozy with my baby girl.

 One dumb thing I did in January was schedule Reese's 2 month appointment the same day I went back to work. Not a good combo. I think I cried more over her shots than she did. Seeing giant needles go into tiny baby legs is so sad. BUT-I know it's for the better. Luckily Josh took that day off so he could be with Reese while I was working in my office.

February:

February seems like a blur...I was just back to work and while I was gone, they had switched some of the deadlines, policies and the programs we use to keep track of our students. I felt like I was starting a whole new job! It was very overwhelming to say the least. I am so grateful for a wonderful mom and mother in law who have so willingly helped with Reese while I work. It made it a little easier knowing she was in good hands and with people who love her almost as much as I do.

On Sunday, February 3, 2013, sweet little Reese was blessed. Josh gave her an amazing blessing and she was on her best behavior during the blessing. I loved her blessing dress! I bought it at Swiss Days while I was pregnant and it was long and white with beautiful smocking across the front, with just a touch of pink. Perfect for my daughter!

We celebrated Valentine's Day with our cutest little Valentine. Reese also started laughing a lot on a regular basis in February. It doesn't get any better than baby laughs!

Our little Valentine...With spit-up down her shirt. 

In February we also said goodbye to my cute Grandma Bringhurst. She was such a sweet woman and I miss her. My dad lost his mom when he was 23 and my grandpa remarried shortly thereafter. She always treated me like one of her own grandchildren, even though I was technically her step-granddaughter. She was amazing at sewing and quilting and made me several dresses when I was young and would make a matching dress for my doll. I remember talking to her on the phone on Mother's Day last year and she told me several times how much she loved me and how proud she was of me. It made my day. She was a wonderful lady.

Reese also hit her 3 month mark at the end of February. Her pictures from her 3 month photo shoot turned out so dang cute!

I love them all, but these next two are probably my favorite!

March: 

I always love when March hits. Mostly because it means the cold, yucky months of winter are behind us and we are getting closer to spring and summer. (even though it can still be cold and snowy in May and June sometimes!) There's just something about making it to March that makes me feel relieved. I am not a winter person. March is also my birthday month, so that is probably part of the reason why I enjoy it. 

In early March I applied and interviewed for a new position at my work. I was fine in my current position, but knew there were other opportunities within the university that would give me more flexibility with my schedule. More flexibility would mean more time with Reese! I applied to be a transcript specialist, which is basically a transcript evaluator. At my interview, the manager said he would let me know by the end of the next week...well the end of the next week rolls around and I never heard back from the manager. I figured I didn't get the job. 

Also in March, I turned 29. My birthday fell on a Saturday, which was nice. I went and got a pedicure and then Josh and I went to my favorite restaurant, Baja Cantina, up in Park City. His mom offered to watch Reese, so we had fun just the two of us, even though we spent most of the dinner talking about her and stopped at the outlets to shop for her! It was a perfect day and so fun to have my baby girl to celebrate with. She was exactly what I had wished for my past two birthdays, and really what I have wished for my whole life. 

I promise she loves me 

April:

At the beginning of April, I finally heard back on the job that I had applied and interviewed for at the beginning of March. I got an IM from the manager letting me know he was just working on my paperwork with HR to get me moved over to the transcripts department. I was so excited!! I really feel so blessed with the timing of this job. In my previous position, I was an enrollment counselor for some of the teaching programs and I was going to be transcript evaluation for the teachers college. It definitely made my transition to the new position easier. 

In April we also said goodbye to my sweet grandpa. He passed away just three days shy of his 93rd birthday. We were able to have his funeral on his birthday and it was a good day to remember and honor him. I miss him so dang much, but I am glad he is happy, healthy and with my cute grandma again.  

The last week of April I finally started my new position at work. I had to train in the office for three months, but luckily those three months flew by. I am forever grateful for my mom, mother in law and Josh's sweet cousin Ashley for helping out with Reese during that time. It was hard being away from her so much, but I was so relieved knowing that she was in good hands everyday. Moving to this new department and new position has totally been worth those three months of working and pumping in the office everyday!

What I took out the door with me everyday for 3 months...

laptop, diaper bag, breast pump, purse, lunch and the cutest baby ever. 

We also started Reese on baby cereal in April. It definitely took a few weeks for her to adjust, but watching her eat it was very entertaining. And messy!

May:

May was pretty uneventful. My training was in full swing and it was going very well. I also got to celebrate my first official Mother's Day! I guess you could say the year before was my first since I was around 12 weeks pregnant, but this was my first Mother's Day with my baby girl. Josh got me a jogging stroller and that whole day I felt so grateful for my precious baby. I always knew I would love being a mother, but it has exceeded my expectations. It is the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced.

She wasn't sure what to think of our first run!

At the end of May, Reese hit her 6 month mark. Everyone always says how fast time goes when you have a baby, but I never realized just how true that statement was until I experienced it for myself. Every stage is so fun and every stage has it's challenges. I love it all!

 A few of my favorites from her 6 month photo shoot

June: 

June was pretty low key for us. I was in my second month of training, and Josh was busy working full time during the week and mowing lawns all day every Saturday. I have such a love/hate relationship with his little yardcare business. The extra money sure is nice, but I hate that he is gone on Saturdays since it is our only day off of the week together to play, do projects in the yard/house and spend time together.

Anyway, in June we celebrated Josh's birthday and also his first official Father's Day. It really is the best thing in the world seeing him melt over our baby girl. He is such an alpha male, and doesn't show much emotion or his sensitive side very often, but Reese sure can bring that out in him. Having a baby girl first is the best thing that could happen for our family.

For Father's Day, I surprised Josh with a Peyton Manning shirt (his man crush) and informed him that in the fall, he would be attending a Broncos game in Denver with my uncle and cousin. He was so excited! Unfortunately, he had to go out of town for work the same week as the game he was going to go to, so our trip was canceled. We've got to make it happen this year before Peyton retires. He's getting up there!

Stay tuned for the rest of the year!

Grandpa Wonnacott

I started this post just a few days after my grandpa passed away. I had to finish it and post it. He was the best!

On Wednesday, April 10th 2013, just three days shy of his 93rd birthday, my dear sweet grandpa was reunited with my cute grandma.

 The night before my grandpa passed away, I went with my brother and his wife to visit my grandpa in the hospital and to say goodbye, because we knew he didn't have much time left. He had been diagnosed with cancer shortly before his passing and it had spread throughout most of his body. Because of this, he was pretty sedated with medication to help ease the pain. I don't even know if he knew we were all there. My cousins brought Maggie in to see him, but he could not stay awake enough to realize she was there either. Before we left, I kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him. He very quietly whispered back, "Love you too." I am so grateful for that experience and that those were the last words exchanged between me and him.

{Photo by Heather George Photography}

I've been so full of mixed emotions since his passing. Even still, almost 10 months later I still tear up sometimes when I remember he is gone. I no longer have any grandparents here on this earth and that is a very weird feeling.

I grew up only five minutes away from my grandma and grandpa Wonnacott and have so many fun memories with them. I spent a lot of time with them and at their home. Whether it was sleepovers when I was young, visiting for holidays, playing with cousins or playing with the puppies, I have nothing but the best memories a girl could have of her grandparents. It's still weird to think that I will never visit their cute home again. There was always such a happy, peaceful feeling there. My grandparents were the epitome of the perfect grandparents and true examples of love, kindness and generosity.

So many fun memories on that patio and in that yard.

I miss them terribly, and have moments where I am so sad about losing them, but I feel so happy every time I think about them being together again. I'm sure my grandma was ready for my grandpa to join her and I think he was ready to be with her again as well.

I think their story could be a Nicholas Sparks romance novel/movie.

They grew up across the street from each other and attended the same schools and ward and graduated high school together. When my grandpa was 21, he was drafted to serve in World War II. He was gone for four years, and during that time, he and my grandma would write and he would send money home whenever he could. My grandpa's mother took my grandma to go ring shopping and they used the money my grandpa had sent to pay for the ring and that is how they got engaged. They were married soon after his return in the Salt Lake Temple. They raised four wonderful kids and many, many animals.

I am so grateful for their decision to be sealed in the temple. Because of that choice, I know they are together again. It is such a blessing to have the knowledge of eternal families. When I find myself feeling so sad that my grandpa is gone, I am comforted when I look at the big picture and remember that death is not the end.

{Photo by Heather George Photography}

When I blogged about my grandma's passing, I made a list of my favorite memories of her and I would like to do the same with my grandpa.

-His favorite drink was Dr. Pepper. For the past several years, I would give him a case of Dr. Pepper for Christmas. As I walked into Target this past December and saw the displays of soda, for a brief moment I thought, "I should get grandpa's Dr. Pepper while I'm here." I quickly got a lump in my throat and remembered he is enjoying his Dr. Pepper in heaven now.

-He loved to whistle. He also loved to sing "Younger Than Springtime" from the movie South Pacific, but he only knew a few lines so he would just sing them over and over. I have memories of hearing him whistle and singing outside my bedroom window when he would come plant flowers in our yard when I was young.

-Pigeons....where do I begin. My grandpa had a fondness for pretty much all animals (except for cats!), but he especially loved birds. He raised homing pigeons and had a pigeon coop above his garage. He entered his pigeons in races and could sell his best pigeons for good money. Whenever I hear the cooing sound that pigeons make, it reminds me of being at my grandparent's house, as that was a constant sound in their yard. When we were young, he would bring pigeons down from the coop and let us grab them by the wings and let them fly out of our hands. Pigeons will forever remind me of him.

-Speaking of animals, I will never forget the Christmas that my grandparents got Maggie. We were all at my grandparent's home visiting with family on Christmas day and my cousin's wife was telling us about how her sister was looking for a home for her 7 month old toy pomeranian. She was hoping to sell it for $100 because she had paid several hundred dollars for it. My grandparents had pomeranians for several years while my mom was growing up, so they always had a love for that type of dog. After hearing about Maggie needing a new home, my grandpa said, without consulting my grandma, (haha) "Tell your sister I'll give her $200 for the dog." A few days later, cute little Maggie joined their family. She was the perfect companion for my grandma while my grandpa was busy tending to his yard and his pigeons and she was a perfect companion for my grandpa after my grandma passed away. And of course, without Maggie, we would not have our naughty little Elle Woods. 

-My grandpa was an avid Utah Jazz fan. He would watch just about every game and knew all of the player's names. After my grandma passed away, Josh and I went and watched a few Jazz games with him. He was definitely one of the team's biggest fans.

-He would always say "I've seen better heads on cabbages" when a new baby was born or when one of the grandkids was dressed up for something. He was joking of course, but that was one of his signature sayings.

-He could be gruff and stern about some things, but he had the biggest heart. He was always so generous to everyone.

-He loved flowers. He always had the best yard on the street. He had a greenhouse attached to his home and he would take care of his flowers and plants all winter long. Since Josh and I moved into our home almost 3 years ago, he was nice enough to share some of his extra flowers with us to plant in our yard. This year will be our first year without grandpa's flowers.

I could go on and on about my dear sweet grandpa. He was truly a remarkable man. I am so grateful for my amazing memories of my grandparents. I miss them terribly, but find so much comfort knowing that they are together once again. I hope I can make them proud. I hope and pray that Reese will have the kind of  experiences and relationships with her grandparents that I had with mine.

{Photo by Heather George Photography}

I love you, grandpa!!