In case you haven't heard...

....we are going to be having a little BOY!! I had an ultrasound about a month ago (Sept. 6) and everything is looking great. Everything was measuring right on, and he is a healthy boy, so that's all that matters! We saw he doctor a couple days before the ultrasound (hoping we would get an ultrasound that day) so we thought we would take Gracie with us so she could see. Well, that was a bad idea lol. She started screaming the minute I went into the bathroom for a urine sample. The nurse came in to take my vitals, and Gracie was not having it!! She clearly didn't want anyone touching her momma :) She is very protective of her Mom and Dad lol. Of course when the doctor came in to listen to the heartbeat, the hysterics continued!! So she will not be going back to anymore appointments.

At 23 weeks....I have definitely been feeling him move for over a month now. He is a very busy little dude.
Haven't had any crazy cravings, just anything spicy :) I was the same way with Gracie, and was lucky enough to rarely get heartburn! I'm already up at least 3 or 4 times a night to go to the bathroom, this kid is laying right on my bladder, all day and night lol. Gracie definitely loves my belly. She is always wanting to lay on it, and loves giving little brother kisses :) Let's hope the love continues when he makes his arrival!!

And....we finally got everything moved into our house today!!!! Talk about waiting forever. The central air is all done, the electrician has come and done his thing, now we are just waiting on the woodwork in the living room. But I don't care, I was ready to move everything in anyways! Of course I couldn't have done it without my mom, Kacee, and Catherine! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! But it feels so good to have everything in, and most of the stuff put away. We still want to paint the kid's rooms, and we will start there for now. Tyler is already enjoying doing all the minor repairs, and finding more and more that needs repaired :) Oh the joys of home ownership!!

Tyler and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this week. Crazy how time flies when your having fun lol! We celebrated by taking a trip to Billings, while Gr. Grandma Sheri, and Grandma Jennie took Gracie.  We ate lunch at Cafe Rio (we both LOVE it!!), shopped for a few thing for the house, and went clothes shopping for this growing momma lol. Of course it was a good day. But we will really celebrate by going to St. Louis for the Rams vs. Packers game in a couple weeks!! We are pretty excited :) But I am so thankful for Tyler in my life. He is always working so hard to provide for our family, and to make sure we are always taken care of. He's the best husband/dad a person could ask for. I'm definitely one lucky girl to have!! I LOVE YOU TY!!

                                          ....here is our little guy :)

                                         ....23 weeks

Starting up again...

I figured it was probably about time to start this up again. We've had so much going on lately, so now would be a good time. So where to begin?? We've had all sorts of exciting news lately. Gracie is going to be a big sister...yikes lol. We are so excited, and Gracie thinks she's excited, but I get nervous thinking about how she will really react to a new little one. I am due January 27, so I'm almost 19 weeks along, and it's already going by so fast. Hopefully we will get to see the gender next week at our appointment, I'm crossing my fingers :) But I already have a pretty good feeling it's a boy. I've felt awesome throughout this pregnancy. As long as I have food in my belly, I'm good to go :) We did have a little speed bump last week that I could have done without. I was having horrible side pain all week long, and I just figured it was baby growing and the muscles were pulling. But Saturday came around and I started feeling nauseous, and had the worst chills of my life. So Ty took me to the Powell ER to have things checked out. Turned out I had kidney stones and a kidney infection on top of that...UGH. Needless to say I could go the rest of my life without having to do that again. But thanks to my awesome nurse TY, and everyone helping out with Gracie bug, and everyone who brought meals!!! I have such an awesome family!

For our other big news...we bought a house!!! We started the process around the first part of July, closed July 31st, and just barely got all our stuff moved out of the apartment (once again with the help of our awesome family...thank you all!!!) All of our crap is sitting in our garage, while we wait for the cooling guy to finish the central air system. Hopefully he will be done by the end of next week, and we will be ready to move everything in and get settled...finally!!! I am seriously so excited to have a place of our own, with room for the little stinkers to run. It's an older house, but has been remodeled, and added on to. I think I'm most excited about my KITCHEN!! Compared to the apartment, there is sooo much more storage, and counter space! There are three bedrooms, two downstairs and the master is the whole upstairs. Two living rooms, two bathrooms, dining room, and a two-car garage with a storage room built onto it! As soon as we get all moved in and settled, I will post pics for all to see! (Because I promise I'm going to keep this thing going :) )
So that's our exciting news!

Other than that, we have just been enjoying summer. Gracie is getting so big. She turned two in July, the minute her birthday came, the terrible twos were right behind!! This little girl has some big attitude, and is so smart. Not a good combination if you ask me lol. She talks so well, and has for quite sometime. I think she knows every animal and what it says. She is definitely going to be a farm girl, but at the same time a little girly girl. It won't be long before she'll be out at the farm with her dad and all the animals :) Ty has been working out there again this summer. He graduated from NWC this spring with his Associates in Range Management. He hopes to get into the office this coming winter/spring, and learn the ropes of running his own business. But for now, it's just farming, and hunting of course. Today is opening day, and the beginning of single parenthood for me, lol just kidding. I love being able to stay at home with Gracie everyday. Even though she is constantly testing my patience, I wouldn't trade what I do for the world. And before you know it my hands will be full with two :) We can hardly wait!!!

8 months, broken bones, and other happenings...

Well our little G is growing up so fast. She is 8, almost 9 months already. It seriously seems like we just brought her home a couple months ago! It makes me sad how fast time goes. But at the same time I love watching how she grows and changes everyday, good or bad. Boy does she know how to throw a fit. Can someone say attitude?! How did we get so lucky :) She is growing like a weed. At her 8 month appointment she was almost 18 lbs (17 lbs 14 oz) and 27 1/4 in, but she can't seem to keep up with her feet. Poor girl looks like a clown if I put shoes on her :) We're still waiting for her to take off crawling. She turn in circles and scoot backwards, just hasn't figured out how to work the forward gear! But that's okay with me. I'm not ready to start chasing her around yet!!! She still loves to eat her veggies, and is finally starting to eat her fruits. When we would give them to her before, she would take a few bites, make faces or gag, and be done. This girls thinks she needs to eat/drink whatever everyone else is eating. She actually drinks out of a cup pretty well! And the best yet...she started sleeping through the night again!!! That makes her mom VERY happy :) She had never slept in her crib, other than naps. So one night we decided we would try it. Sure enough, she slept. All. Night. Long :)

She's not a fan of lemons :)

At the beginning of the month (Mar. 1) Ty was playing basketball with his city league team. He called me on his way home saying he had hurt his arm and wrist. I didn't think much of it, told him he was fine and that I would see him at home. He got there and we went about our nightly routine getting ready for bed. He told me he couldn't bend his elbow at all. I took a look. It looked a little swollen, but not serious, so I told him to man up :) A few minutes later his step-mom calls telling him his Grma Angell collapsed and they were taking her to the E.R. So he hurried out the door to go see her. While he was there they told him that he might as well let the doctor look at his arm. They took and xray and found a fracture in his radial head (elbow), and recommended he see a specialist the next day. So we went to Cody to Dr. Winzenried's office and met with Dr. Clark. He took a look at the xray, and said there was a possibility that it might need surgery. He sent us to get a ct-scan, and said he would call in a couple days to let us know what it showed. The next day they called and sure enough, a surgery was scheduled. Once again, how do we get so lucky?! So on the 8th, he went in for surgery. They ended up putting two screws in and everything went well! He started therapy a few days after, and had been going three times a week. They expected it to be 10 weeks before he has full motion again. I think it will be a lot faster, but I'm sure he will drag it out as long as possible. He's enjoying not having to change any diapers :)

So other than that we haven't had much happening. Ty has been busy with school and checking cows. He can't do much else. We can't wait for warm weather! I think we are all going a little stir-crazy. And G loves going outside!!! So let's all pray the warm weather is here to stay :) No more snow!!!

Vacation!!!

We were able to take a short little vacation this last week, which was Gracie's first real vacation :) We went to Dallas for the Dallas Safari Club Expo with Grpa and Grma Rael and Ty's step-brother Phil and his wife Becca. We went to Billings on Wednesday (Jan. 5) to do some shopping and stayed the night up there. I was so nervous to fly with little G. She decided that she wasn't going to take a bottle (she usually takes a bottle if it's breast milk) but it was a no-go. So I breast-fed her as we were taking off, and she crashed shortly after :) She slept the whole time until we started descending, but she was still good...just noisy! Such a relief. It was the same story on the flight from Denver to Dallas, except she decided to have a minor blowout. No problem, we were in the front row and had a little extra room, so I just changed her on my lap.

The majority of our time in Dallas was spent at the Expo. It was held at the Dallas Convention Center, which is HUGE!!! There were approximately 780 different booths. Here's a picture that shows about half of the booths. Just an idea of how big this place is...

We spent almost two days at the Expo and didn't make it through everything! It was mostly hunting/fishing outfitters, guns/ammo, and stuff like that. I only wish I were as into it as the guys were :) There were a few things that I enjoyed. There was a lot of artwork, and some home decor that were fun to look at. However most of my entertainment came from watching all different people. Yes I know Lovell has it's share of crazies, but there was a whole different kind of crazy there :) Gracie was such an angel through the whole thing. I think she loved ALL the attention she got from strangers :) I decided next time she goes somewhere, where no one knows her, she is going to have a bow on her head no matter how much she hates it :) We got told "oh HE'S so cute" so many times!!! (She looked exactly how I felt...TIRED)

On Saturday night, we went to the Dallas Mavs/Orlando Magic basketball game. Once again I was worried that G wasn't going to like it. She usually hates anything that's too loud, but she was intrigued by all the lights, music, and especially by the people sitting behind us lol. She did great up until the last few minutes. She was so tired and started to get hungry. Now was one of the times I wished she wanted to take a bottle.

Over all we had a great time!! We ate some really good food, and had enjoyed spending time with everyone! The weather was great (compared to here :)) until we left on Sunday. It rained all morning, and then started snowing as we were leaving to go to the airport. We were told they had already cancelled a bunch of flights out of Dallas that morning, so we were worried we were going to be stuck there another day. Dave and Jennie were going flying to Cancun from Dallas, and they were able to fly out, and luckily they didn't cancel ours either. So we got all checked in and through security and had a half hour or so to wait. So we got a little lunch and walked around to keep Gracie occupied. A few minutes before we were supposed to board, she started getting hungry, so I started feeding her some veggies. Then they call to start boarding, and instead of doing it by section (we were in the last section) they decided to board everyone at once. So I kept feeding her as long as I could. Well she decided she wasn't done, and started screaming as we are trying to board! Anyone who has heard my child scream knows she has a good set of lungs, so I'm sure everyone in the airport was able to hear her. To make matters worse, as we gave the lady our boarding pass, she told us we couldn't sit on the side of the plane that we were assigned to. So since we were one of the last people to board, it took what seemed like forever to figure out where we were gonna sit, all the while Gracie is still screaming. I wanted to die I was so frustrated. Finally I got sat down and got a boob in her mouth (haha yes in times like these this is the only thing that will calm this child down).

After sitting in the plane for an hour and a half (waiting in line to get de-iced) we finally took off for Salt Lake. As I look at our itinerary, I realize we are going to miss our connecting flight to Billings. Awesome, so then I was stressed about that the whole flight. Then to add to my embarrassment and stress, Gracie has a MAJOR blowout as we were descending into Salt Lake. I'm talking up the back and the front!! There was no way I was going to be able to change her in our seats without getting it all over us lol. So we waited till we landed so we could change her in the bathroom. Well, we landed, but sat there for 15 minutes waiting to be taxied into the jet way. So my poor child had to sit there forever with poop all over her before we could finally get up to change her. Poor girl was not happy! To wrap things up, we get off the plane, find out that the next flight to Billings wasn't till 10, and that we were going to be on standby for that flight. The next flight wasn't till the next day. We weren't about to stay there another night, so we try the flights to Cody and were lucky enough to get seats on that flight. Right before they start boarding for that flight, they announce that they need 6 volunteers to stay, because of bad weather?! And that there was a possibility we would have to take a detour to Bozeman. We chanced it and went ahead and got on and made it to Cody!! I won't even get started on our luggage dilemma :) Grma Marla and Grpa Jim, bless their hearts, came and picked us up in the middle of the night, and let us crash at her place!

I was never so glad to get back home! Despite the trip home, it was a fun vacation :) Thank you Grpa and Grma Rael for the fun trip, Grpa and Grma Isbell for rescuing us, Kristin for the ride home from Cody, and Grpa Angell for taking Ty back to Billings so he could get the truck!!! Have I ever mentioned we have the best family ever? :)

At our hotel...

Dallas Mavs game...

Gracie with Aunt Becca...

View from our hotel room...

Place where Pres. Kennedy was assassinated.

Christmas/New Years

The Holidays always seem to be a busy time for us. So many places to go and people to see! And of course I always wait until the last possible minute to do my Christmas shopping. I told Tyler that I was going to get my shopping done before November next year :) We will see if that really happens. We started Christmas early that week. Gr. Grandma Sheri had dinner at her house, and we opened her presents there. Christmas Eve is Gr. Grandpa and Grandma Angell's night for dinner and presents. After we were done there, and after I helped my dad wrap presents, I still needed to wrap all of our presents. And to add to that, my daughter decided she didn't want to sleep :) So after what seemed like only an hour of sleep, we were up to enjoy our first Christmas as a little family! Gracie wasn't real excited about being up early, so we quickly opened our presents, fed the hungry girl, and headed to Grandpa and Grandma Angell's to open presents with Aunt Sable and Aunt Sage! Next, we were off to Grandpa Leithead's for crepes and more presents! After that we were off to Grandpa and Grandma Rael's for lunch and to open presents with everyone up there. It was a full house with everyone! After a long day we went back to Grandpa Leithead's to watch The Other Guys (funny movie:)) and munch some more! The day after Christmas it was up early again to go eat breakfast and spend the day in Cody with Grandpa and Grandma Isbell! Yes it was a long weekend, but we survived :) We are so blessed to have so much family to spend the Holidays with. Gracie is indeed a lucky girl, and was quite spoiled!! We can't wait till she is old enough to know what is going on!

Our New Years was spent at Grandpa Leithead's. We enjoyed some yummy super nachos and appetizers while we played games. We must be old because we barely made it to midnight :) But Gracie decided she would stay up and ring in the New Year with us...since she missed her evening nap, she was up till 2 in the morning wanting to play. Little stinker :)

Catching Up...

So I've noticed that most of my posts begin with "It's been awhile..." or something to the affect of slacking when it comes to my blog lol. I really will try and get better :) Now that miss Gracie has joined us I actually have stuff to blog about, but I never seem to be in the mood. So I will start with her blessing day.

We finally got around to blessing her on December 9. Her cousin BrookLynn was baptized the same night, so it was a special day for our family! Gracie's Grandpa Leithead gave her a beautiful blessing!! She was fussy before and after, but during the blessing she quieted right down. Grandpa Rael said he peeked at her a couple times and she was staring intently at everyone in the circle. Whatever keeps her quiet :) And she quickly got fussy again afterwards. Especially for pictures. And me being a terrible mother, I didn't even get a picture with her by herself in her dress :(

I can't believe how quickly time has gone these past few months. In a few weeks, Gracie will be 6 months old!!! I know I've said this many times lol, but she is at such a fun stage. She always doing something to make us laugh! She is such a happy girl (most of the time). Even though she won't giggle for us anymore :( But she always has a smile for us!! At 5 months she...

~rolls over front to back, and recently back to front.

~tries scooting across the floor.

~LOVES her rice cereal and vegetables (she is going to be a good eater. Anytime anyone eats in front of her she can't take her eyes off of them)

~stopped sleeping through the night (ever since she got sick, she gets up once or twice every night.)

~getting closer to sitting up.

~gets so excited when her cousins play with her, although Ava makes her a little nervous still :)

~likes to talk, especially if she's by herself.

~makes the best faces :)

It's been too long...

I think it's about time I try and catch up on the last few months!! We have been so busy with little Gracie, wedding plans, and everyday life. I can't believe Gracie will be 3 months this Thursday! She has been such a good girl this past month. We had lots of late nights and a few trips to Billings. She was definitely a trooper through the whole thing!

At her 2-month appointment she was 11 pounds and 23 inches long. She is growing so fast :( She is such a happy girl, and is always giving smiles away :) She giggled for the first time a few days ago. (Oct. 1) But sadly, I missed it! We were decorating the gym for the reception, and her aunties Kristin and Kacee had her in the kitchen. They came out and informed me that I missed her first giggle! I wanted to cry. And she still has yet to share a giggle since then :( She has been sleeping completely through the night for almost two months now. That has been heavenly :) She is just an all-around good baby!! Here are a couple pics that Kristin took when she was a month old...

I'm so glad (along with everyone else :)) that all the wedding planning is finally over!!! We tied the knot last Saturday (Oct. 2) It was the perfect day!! We had the ceremony in Cowley, in Dave and Jennie's backyard. We weren't going to bother with the weather, so we decided to have a tent from the get go. Pretty sure we didn't need it though :) It was plenty warm. Thank goodness the ceremony didn't last too long. Bishop Steve McArthur performed the ceremony (we were his first marriage) and he did a wonderful job! After the ceremony we had a short break for some pictures, then it was over to the Cowley Log Gym for the reception! We enjoyed visiting with lots of friends and family, dancing, and some good food :) Everything turned out perfect!!! We can't thank everyone enough for all the hard work that was put into our special! We are truly blessed with such awesome families and friends who are willing to do ANYTHING for us!!!

Don't mind my mushiness, but I'm so glad I can finally call Tyler my husband! I can't even begin to tell you how much I love him. He is such a hard worker and will do whatever it takes to provide for our family! I couldn't ask for a better hubby/father for me and Gracie! I look forward to spending the rest of my life with him!!! I love you sooo much babe :)

Here are a few engagements and bridals (also taken by Kristin :)) THANK YOU KRISTIN!!!