Just One Year...

I love looking back at older pictures and I love the memories they bring back. This picture is exactly a year ago from today. It makes me laugh. It was when Rex still hadn't figured out how to crawl, his crazy hair wouldn't lay flat in the back, and he would only say "mama!" when he was mad. Now he's running around everywhere with lots of things to say, wiping off my kisses when he's thinks it's excessive, and telling me what he wants to wear in the morning.

What a difference one year can make. Makes me excited to see what next year will bring.

The Post You've Been Waiting For...

THE HAIR...

Yes, I chopped it all off. It's a choppy a-line. So far I really like it. I can style it a few different ways - more spunky or more smooth.

Here's the profile. It's really tapered in the back.
There you have it! It takes like 10 seconds to wash and I love that.

THE BELLY...
I'm past 30 weeks now. Here's the straight-on look...

....and here's the profile. Two months to go!

Sorry to hold you in suspense so long. Rex doesn't know how to take a picture yet, so I had to convince Jeff to snap a few after work today.

The Zoo

Jeff and I took Rex to the zoo for our date night yesterday. I had never been to the zoo here. It's not huge, but it's pretty good. Rex loved it. The only other time he's been to the zoo he was in a carrier and not old enough to really get it.

They have an indoor area with giraffes and you get really close to them. It was really cool.
These snuggly bears look so friendly.

They have a cute little train to ride, which Rex really liked.

By the end of it, he was pretty warn out. (His prego mommy was, too. The zoo here isn't exactly flat.)

Stay tuned for the blog post you've all been waiting for.....the belly blog and I might have chopped off all my hair today.

Piano with Pocahontas

These are two of the cute girls I teach piano to. Mariah (left) has been learning a song from Pocahontas and I had teased her that she wouldn't be able to pass it off until she came dressed like Pocahontas. Yesterday during her lesson she surprised me by whipping out this homemade indian headband and putting it on. It was so funny. I love these girls.

Keeping Up With Cam

Rex had Cam over to play today. It is so fun to see them play together. Cam is such a sweet big cousin. He was the one who got Rex to smile for this picture.

Rex tries so hard to keep up with him and do everything he does.
Cam wasn't in the posing mood, so I told him to give me his best angry face....still pretty cute.

While most of us can't wait for spring, Rex was pretty upset that there wasn't enough snow to give him a ride today.

Bublicious

We had some warm weather this afternoon, so Rex and I headed out to test the new bubblemaker I got him. He thought it was one of the coolest things he'd ever seen.

He wanted to sit right where the bubbles come out. He even thought they were pretty tasty.
Then he realized he could dip his hands is the suds.

I think we're going to be seeing a lot of bubbles this summer. He can't get enough of them.

The Nursery Unveiled...

So this is what I've been working on over the last month. It's mostly done now, so here's a little tour. Welcome to the new nest. Come on in.

On the painting I copied a quote I saw in a store. It says, "Let him rest, for when he wakes he will move mountains." You'll have to click and enlarge it to see the tree and the little birds. The curtains are white table clothes I found on sale and then sewed on some edging above and below to bring in the nursery colors. They have black-out fabric behind them so I can make the nursery super dark for nap time.
After buying a few different bumper pads that didn't match, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I sewed them myself. I still have one panel to go, but I used ribbons that are actually long enough to tie them on right. (When I had store-bought ones, they never tied all the way around.) I made a matching crib skirt with a little blue edging.

I'm still trying to figure out what to put up abover the little frame and lamp. Maybe his name in wood letters, but I'd like to think of something different. We'll see.

I stuck with the blue and green from Rex's nursery so I wouldn't have to change the chair. I just added chocolate to update it.

There's a little basket Malinda gave Rex that I filled with the baby blankets. I found a little brown shag rug on sale and thought it would be a nice addition.

It all looks a bit cuter in person, but some things are hard to see in these pictures. Anyhow, thanks for coming on the tour. Soon to come...belly shots.

Innocent and Guilty

I snapped a few pictures of Rex after church today. I loved how innocent and pure he looked in this photo. We are lucky to have such a sweet son.

However, this is his guilty look. I see this fairly often during the day as well. This is the daddy-gave-me-a-cookie-after-you-said-no-to-me look. Still very cute.
Once again, when I got my camera out he ran to get his little chair. I guess he thinks he has to have it in every photo shoot. I only made him sit on it once. Honestly.

Even Cookie Monster Gets Hungry...

Today I caught Rex doing something that I thought was pretty cute. He was sharing his Berry Berry Kix with his Cookie Monster. I love my little boy.

The New Nest

I've been working on the new nursery lately. I'm not quite ready for the unveiling, but almost. Here's a peek at the before. It's hard to tell, but the walls were yellow and you can see there were little clusters of butterflies painted everywhere. It wasn't my favorite, so I was pretty excited to get my hands on it.

Here's another floating butterfly. You get the picture.
Here's a tiny hint of what's to come.

I need a little advice on a couple things:

1) I painted a large canvas that goes over the crib. It has little birds and a tree painted on it and I want to paint a little quote on it. I've read a couple that I thought were cute, but if any of you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

2) I want to display one more thing in the nursery. Have you seen anything super cute in nurseries lately? I've seen their names on the wall, but I'm looking for something different.

Tagged!

My friend Audrey tagged me and it looked like a pretty fun one, so here we go.

THE 8 ITEM TAG

8 favorite TV shows.....I started off thinking I could never get to 8, but I guess I watch a little more than I thought.
1) Lost
2) The Bachelor (I can't wait to see who Jason picks tomorrow!)
3) Battlestar Galatica (never thought I'd like a science fiction show, but Jeff and I got hooked)
4) The Hills (I know it's ridiculously stupid. I'm aware, but I can't stop.)
Those are my addictions. Here are a few I catch sometimes.
5) What Not To Wear
6) King of Queens (seriously funny)
7) Jack's Big Music Show (of course, that's just for Rex :)
8) Blue's Clues (this one actually is just for Rex - Steve gets annoying)

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1) Cleaned the bathroom
2) Made curtains for the new baby's room
3) Went swimming with Jeff and Rex
4) Procrastinated grocery shopping
5) Watched "Cars" with Rex
6) Vacuumed
7) Took a mini-nap
8) Made pancakes as a family (Rex's favorite)

8 Things I'm looking forward to
1) Going to bed
2) Finishing the nursery
3) Birthing baby#2
4) Spring
5) Watermelon season
6) A hot date with my husband on Friday (It was our anniversary this week, but we're celebrating next weekend with a couple's massage and dinner...woohoo!)
7) My parents returning in 17 months
8) Serving a mission with my husband someday

8 Favorite Restaurants
1) Maggiano's (not in SL, but in other big cities)
2) Benihana's
3) Paradise Bakery (when they have the soup I like)
4) Kneader's (in Utah)
5) Carver's (in Sandy for a great stake)
6) Kopp's (in Milwaukee for the best burgers ever)
7) Jamba Juice (not really a restaurant, but so yummy)
8) Rusted Sun Pizzeria (in SL for the most amazing calzones ever)

8 Things on my wish list
1) Happiness and health for all my fam
2) More energy (this baby has been sucking it out of me and I know it'll get worse when he comes out)
3) A live-in chef (how fun would that be?)
4) A trip to Portugal with my husband (not going to happen for a long time, but I can wish)
5) A nice tan (also not likely to happen for a long time....or ever, to be honest :)
6) The chance to record another album
7) A hair-cut that makes me look fabulous and requires almost no maintenance (I know it doesn't exist, but this is a wish list)
8) A baby that sleeps through the night from day one (humor me here)

I am tagging Jodi, Aleca, Cassie, Malinda, Nancy J, Kate O, Kassy, Nancy E. Come ladies, this one is fun and easy.

If Men Had It Their Way...

I'm pretty sure that if men lived the way they truly wanted to, this is how they'd all be dressed. Yup, no clothes...maybe just slippers. Rex thinks this is pretty great. We let him run around like this for a little while today.

I got out my camera to snap a quick picture of him and not only did he say, "cheese," but he also got out his little chair and posed himself. I've made him take pictures on it before and he's seen me take pics of Cam on it, too. I know, poor kid with a picture hungry mom.
Thanks for the slippers Cass. He loves them.