Reconnecting again

Today was a bad and good day. It left off on a great note though. I love those days that end better than they started. I'm not sure why but we were all a little grumpy again. We had a pretty busy week and missed many naps. It was worth it though. We got to spend all morning with dad. He came to they gym with us and tumbled in the foam pit with Jacquelyn. She loved it. So did Brayden. Actually, I don't know who loved it more. We finished the afternoon gathering with all the Moore clan at Grandma Moore's house. We ate, visited, planted a garden, and had the chance to visit Grandpa Moore's grave.

Today we spent the majority of the time running errands. Needless to say I was a little less patient with Jacquelyn than I should have been. Tonight, as I was laying in bed next to her I told her I was sorry for getting mad at her. I told her," You are teaching me how to be a mom." She looked me in the eye and said, " You are a good mom."

Sweet. Sweet girl.

Ok. So I am slowly trying to transition myself from Facebook to updating people through a blog.Today I have had the most thought provoking morning. Jacquelyn and I both woke up fairly grumpy. She is starting to want to exert her independence and while I am happy to oblige her most of the time, sometimes I have to intervene when her decisions may harm her or others. Today, she decided to throw an half an hour tantrum. Strollers were thrown, cupboards were slammed, body parts were being hurled at furniture (this was all her by the way, even though somedays I want to slam drawers too). Then suddenly, it ended. I am not even sure why it begun but I guess Jacquelyn had felt like her point was driven home. I hope I don't disappoint when she realizes I missed the memo.

After this escapade, I decided today was the day to try going back to the gym. Previous, I had felt bad dropping her off in the day care because I would leave her crying and pick her up crying (she completely hates it). Today, I was feeling a little less sympathetic and maybe we just both needed some time to distract ourselves with other things. I was so impressed with myself as I was driving into the gym parking lot. I have been meaning to get back there now that I am expecting again. I want to be as healthy as possible. As soon as Jacquelyn looked at the building, she lost it. Ok. Plan B. We are just getting her to the point where she likes nursery so I didn't want to destroy it with traumatic trip to the day care. We went and ran some errands instead. 

We arrived home with a grumpy baby again. I think it stemmed once she saw cookies and wanted them. I wouldn't let her have one for lunch. Cookies just don't make completely nutritious lunches, right? So finally I put her down for her nap and what did I do? Ate a cookie for lunch. Yup. Maybe I am not so different from my toddler after all. 

We have decided that we are going to have to get creative in these cold, rainy Oregon days. If Jacquelyn had her way, she would be at the park in the middle of a downpour. I guess maybe I am the wimp. We have been getting a little stir crazy. Today we went out for a walk and it was the first time that Jacquelyn wore her rain boots. I think she liked it too. Success!  Other than that. I realized today, that I need new hobbies that don't involve a whole lot of physical exertion since I am starting to have more back pain and feeling a little more exhausted. 

                                            Before our attempt in the rain

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. I am trying to switch from posting on Facebook to posting on my blog. Instead of trying to catch everything back up, I am just going to job into our recent adventures.

We had a last minute visit from Mom and Dad Whiting. I absolutely love spontaneous adventures and was excited to have them come visit for a week. We took a trip to the Oregon Coast and had absolutely lovely weather. It almost felt like summer. Almost. Here are some of the top highlights:

• Taking my dad to the local Tea Shop for some great herbal tea. Too bad we didn't think to take a picture of my dad pouring his herbal tea into a floral, dainty tea cup. Needless to say, he felt like the odd man out with my mom and Jacquelyn.
• Staying on Cannon Beach and going for morning walks to find seashells. 
• Watching Jacquelyn giggle over the birds, animals and beach decor in our hotel room.
• We had a blast crabbing together and ended up catching one crab that was almost close enough in size to keep and eat. However, Mom had pity on us and ended up buying live crab they had there for us to eat. We ate it there right by the water with the local cat keeping us company.
• Swimming together, Jacquelyn actual seemed to like it a little bit more. Needless to say, she really enjoyed the warm water after swimming.

It's Been Awhile

How do you catch up after so much time has passed? Since February we have celebrated birthday, holidays and SUMMER! We went camping along the Oregon coast. The weather was wonderful and we felt rugged as we biked, kayaked and crabbed. Unfortunately we did not catch a crab that we could eat. We decided next time we want crab, we will go to the store, it is cheaper. We had so much fun getting out in nature. We were also able to catch a Scandinavian Festival and I tried to feel closer to my roots. We decided that we could eat Swedish meatballs anytime. A highlight was going to the Maritime Museum in Astoria. It was amazing to learn how about ships and the culture of Astoria. It was a wonderful trip.


Also we were visited by a dear friend from Utah, VIM! It was so wonderful to have her here.

We celebrated the fourth with family from Arizona as well as took in classic car show. Brayden and I decided ( mostly me ) that I will bring the Woody back in to style. Couldn't you see this driving down the road with kids piled in back? I think so.
Finally, Brayden celebrated his birthday. It was fun to make him feel so special. It started with waffles in the morning and cake at night. Brayden's theme for gifts entailed many recipes and food supplies. He now has a tortilla press, bread book and waffle maker to supply us with many goodies!

Valentine's Day

We had a very very nice Valentine's weekend. It all started Friday night when we decided we were very hungry and did not want to cook. We ended up celebrating our Valentine's dinner at Evergreen, an Indian food restaurant. It hit the spot.

I decided to do a repeat of last Valentine's day and made breakfast for Brayden. This was a gift from me because 1.) I do not like breakfast food in the morning, 2.) Because we both have different tastes, I do not make breakfast for Brayden in the morning normally and 3.) We normally do not eat breakfast in the morning together. I actually pulled off a meal and we had a lot of fun talking and starting our day off together. I made a yummy recipe of German pancakes with Sweet Syrup and died the scrambled eggs pink! I also coated our water glasses with sugar died pink. I also scattered little hearts with reasons I loved Brayden all over the house and in his things. It was fun to hear his reaction to when he would find another one.

I thought I was going to be in charge of our lesson for FHE and in charge of dinner because that was my other gift to Brayden. However, he "kidnapped" me after work and we went to pick up a lovely heart shaped pizza that he ordered (in all reality it was more like a triangle shape) and we ended up doing my favorite thing, eating pizza, drinking root beer and watching a movie. It was so fun and relaxing. Brayden even surprised me with an adorable card and drawing set. I had decided a while ago that a new talent I wanted to have was to take up drawing, I am trying to find new hobbies. He was so perceptive and remembered that comment. He wrapped it in a cute package. Needless to say after that exciting weekend, we ended up falling asleep at 8:30 after the movie. However, we had a wonderful weekend! We didn't want the fun to end so we have designated everyday day as Valentine's day. I guess we are still newlyweds..

February 8

Today was a great day. Brayden fixed a Ford truck all by himself. It was a victory for our small family since now we can add mechanics to Brayden's list of growing talents. It was fun to celebrate with him. Over the weekend we were able to go to Living Legends. They are a Polynesian/Native American/South American group who sing and dance. It was so fun to have them in Portland. It was exciting to feel the BYU spirit again. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
We decided to snag a picture with one of the Polynesians. We really enjoyed their dances. I was not quite sure where to put my hand though (hopefully you can not read that on my face!)