"Go!"

I forgot to mention one very important part of the birthday. Lydia was being held by Grandpa Sullivan and was not too happy about it, so not happy about it that she took her first steps in order to get away from him! (This is not to say that my Dad's grandpa skills are lacking, she is just easily frightened by men.) It was a wonderful moment, one that I'm so glad I got to be part of since I see so little of my niece. Well that got us thinking, if Lydia can do it, is Rebekah ready? So we tried, and that girl took her first steps minutes after Lydia! These girls are going to be best friends, reaching every milestone together, having joint birthday parties, and everything else a girl could want in a cousin with such a small age gap as 6 days! I'm so lucky to have been able to share something so wonderful as pregnancy with my sister. We are 6 years apart so it has been really good for our relationship to be able to talk about our babies together and to finally understand the other's situation a little better. It's like we're on the same level now, and I'm loving the friendship we are forming.


Anyway, walking baby. So tonight, less than a month later, she's still been taking only about 3 steps on her own, but she does enjoy her little walker-toy-thing. Not sure what they're called, but Bekah calls it "go", so that's what I call it! Tonight we went over to Chelsey and Cody's new apartment (which is so beautiful and amazing! I'm so happy for them!) and we all got Bekah excited and had her walking back and forth till she sat down and cried from exhaustion. But before that, we had fun. And man was she walking! I don't know how many steps she took without assistance, but it was tons! I am so proud of how smart and healthy my little girl is, but it's a tiny bit hard to look at her and see that she's leaving baby-hood and entering toddlerhood.

Birthday for the Baby

We had an awesome time celebrating Rebekah's first birthday. I hung up a birthday banner on Monday and sang every version of birthday tidings I know at least 3 times each, each day. That equals at least 12 times of us pointing to the banner while I sang and Bekah bounced to the beat. Yeah, I'm a good birthday singer. Friday afternoon my sister Heather came up with her husband and two kids, then my parents showed up and the party really started. We went to dinner then came back to have some dessert and open presents. The Logan Family was present (Brett, Jess, Cody, and Chelsey) which made for a cozy living room and tons of fun.

Brett being hilarious, as usual.

Wrapping paper was a big hit!

So was the ball from Heather

And the horse from Chelsey and Cody. Look at her ride!

Sweet Lydia who is six days older than Rebekah and has lots and lots of curly hair.
She enjoyed the wrapping paper, too.

Did I mention the horse was a favorite? She says "Nay" all the time and kisses him.

And she calls the ball "Maaal" and likes to "k" (kick) it.

We stripped the girls down so they could enjoy some birthday cupcakes

I have a video of the girls enjoying their cupcakes but I can't get it to load, so I'll put it on Facebook and just tell about it here. Basically, Rebekah thought the icing was awesome and got it all over her face and hands. Lydia had already eaten a large dinner and some of her mom's cupcake, so she was not interested in her own cupcake at all. In fact. Heather tried feeding some icing to her but it was rejected very emphatically! So Bekah demolished Lydia's cupcake as well!

She decided to come climb on me after her feast.

Then both girls got put in the bath. And James later joined them!

"Remember When...?"

Anyone who knows me often hears the phrase, "Remember when...?" Garrett and I spent the winter saying, "Remember this time last year when I was pregnant and we went sledding down the street after the blizzard, and I ran into a parked car?", "Remember this time last year when you were pregnant and we ate Carl's JR at the park 3 times in one week because we got coupons, and now you associate that restaurant with pregnancy and hate it?", "Remember this time last year when I first felt the baby kick and a month or so later you felt her too?" Well now I'm remembering this time last year and I'm about to cry because it's my last day saying I was pregnant this time last year. April 12 was the last night I went to bed as a childless woman. Within the next 24 hours my identity changed and I became a mother. I was suddenly in charge of someone else's every single need. That tiny baby needed me to survive. This last year has been more fulfilling than I ever would have guessed it last April 12. I have grown and changed so much since then. I am so grateful for every moment I have spent being a mom for a year.

Jeans and a T-Shirt

According to my Dad, who wears only jeans and a t-shirt with the occasional flannel button-up, "Jeans and a t-shirt were never in style, so they'll never go out of style." I always though that was pretty weird logic, but didn't see the point in telling him to dress fancy when he's a truck driver, so I let it slide. I never thought I would turn to those words for comfort. I never thought those words would finally help me accept myself for who I am.

I've always been a little shy. I've also always been a little out of touch with fashion. My sister-in-law Chelsey was shopping with me once and said, "Girl, where's your sense of style?" Yeah, I never had one. Combine the two (shyness and lack of style) and I am terrified of accessories, flashy jewelry, colorful shoes or pants, and mix-matched clothes of any type. My horror boils down to one question: "What if I match something that doesn't actually match?" I realize that half of having style is making your own by wearing a yellow shirt with red pants (maybe?) but I've never had the guts to actually wear those or purple sneakers or a floral scarf. What if the red is a shade too dark or the shirt a shade too mustard?

Well the other day, I solved my style issues. I was at Wal-Mart and saw another t-shirt sale. $4.88 for a shirt that looked like it could be from Old Navy. In the cart it goes. The next time, I saw a purple shirt and thought, Chelsey would tell me that if I want it, it's purple, and it's less than $5, I should get it. In the cart it goes. I felt so comfortable wearing my two new shirts. I got compliments, I walked tall, and I felt good. I realized that I felt so much better in my jeans and t-shirt than I usually do in a more dressy outfit. I realized that my horror for fashion and style are really my aversion to trying to be something I'm not. I am in no way saying that people who dress up and use awesome accessories or wear colorful jeans are pretending to be something they're not, I'm just saying that for me, fancy pants are out. Red shoes are out. Jeans and a t-shirt are in! I'm also not saying I'll never wear anything stylish. I do have awesome family to shop with and to give me presents (hint, hint!) and help me find cute stuff, but I am saying that I will no longer reject the me that I am. I am going to be happy wearing plain old clothes and just enjoy the more important things in life!

Thanks, Dad, for teaching me that jeans and a t-shirt are okay, and for teaching me that I'm much more than okay. I love you.

Spring has Sprung!

We are loving the wonderful spring weather! Bekah and I have gone on a few walks and we had a wonderful spring break in St George with Brett and Jess. Dynelle's family came to St George on Saturday and spent the day with us. We hiked in Snow Canyon and Rebekah got to play in the sand dunes for the first time! She loved it and I handled it pretty well. That night we soaked in the amazing hot tub at the Howcroft's hotel before going back to our not so fancy hotel. Sunday we went to church with Jim and Julie and they fed us lunch and dinner. We were so spoiled by them! Monday we hung out with Uncle Jim's family again and played lots of ping pong. Tuesday we spent the day in Zions and mostly just basked in the warmth at a beautiful but little-known waterfall. I would post more pictures but Garrett had an accident where he fell into the waterfall with the camera so...we don't have very many pictures. Anyway. We went to dinner at Olive Garden and ate like crazy from hiking then went back to the hotel to bed. Wednesday we came home and felt the temperature drop with every mile. But we're back, well rested, and ready for more school! (K that last part is an exaggeration.)

Bundled up to go for a walk. This was actually a couple weeks ago when it was a bit more chilly.

She had so much fun rolling the football around, giggling while she chased.

Bekah loves to pull all the DVD's out and suck on the cases. 

Hiking in Snow Canyon

This is the view at the top of the hike we did. Little sleepy Bekah was drooping by the halfway point. 

We're such a cute little family!

AWWWW!

Garrett loved telling us all about the Geology

We hiked to the top of this Volcano and Garrett went down in with Brett and two of their cousins.

The Cindercone (Volcano)

Bekah and Garrett at an overlook in Zions. She didn't really enjoy hiking but was a really good sport about it.

Brett and pregnant-glow-Jess at the overlook

I apologize for the blogging drought.

But life is crazy. Thanksgiving was fun, Christmas was awesome, and New Years was a blast. Family makes everything beautiful and we owe so much gratitude to all of our sweet, sweet relatives! There, now I'm caught up!
I am taking 8 credits (3 classes) and it's really fun but a challenge. Classes started last Monday and I've only had one minor melt-down. Okay, maybe 3, but no major ones yet. And Bekah doesn't feel neglected yet. So far, sort of doable. I am taking Speech, Language, and Hearing Development, and Education of Exceptional Individuals, and Statistics. I am so lucky to have Chelsey in my stats class! We have had a good time so far and our Professor is awesome. He looks like Aladin, making it easier to pay attention, and he has a sense of humor. We feel like we're going to do okay in the class but tomorrow is the first quiz so ask me again after that. My other two classes are online which can make it more difficult to actually get to them. And easier for  Rebekah to get my attention.
Garrett has a full load with Physics, Calculus, and Geology. Go babe!! He is such a hard worker and such a good example of perseverance and smartness. K it's super late. And I'm kind of feeling the effects of waking up for work at 5:30 am so I think I will simply click "publish" before I say something to embarrass myself.

SNOW!!

Bekah is all geared up for the cold in her cow hat!

Friday it was snowing when we woke up at 8:30 and then it kept snowing for 12 hours! It was pretty intense! Rebekah and I went outside to stand in it and watch the flakes piling up but we soon decided it was much better to watch from inside.

This is what it looked like out our front window

The railings looked so delicate!