Just Because

Lately, when I take a picture of Zoie, she makes this face and says "cheese"

I don't have many pictures of Zoie and I.

Here is one we took a couple weeks ago.

You can't even tell I am 6 1/2 months pregnant :)

This is girl is my world and I can't wait to have two little girls.

Staying STRONG in the STORMS of Life

I thought a lot about this post and what it should be about. Which is why it is a day late. It wasn't until late last night during my scripture study in Alma 50, that I knew what this post needed to be about. I learned a little about what it takes for me to have or better yet, allow the Lord and his power to help me through my challenges and trials. So please bare with me as I try to put my thoughts into words for you to understand.

"Thus Moroni, with his armies, which did increase daily because of the assurance of protection which his works did bring forth unto them, did seek to cut off the strength and the power of the Lamanites from off the lands of their possessions, that they should have no power upon the lands of their possession." (Alma 50:12)

This verse taught me that when I am following the Lord's will and keeping his commandments I feel His assurance, peace, and protection over me. Isn't that a great thought to know. As long as I am doing my best and my heart has the right intentions, I know the Lord is going to be with me and do all that he can for me.

Not only is that great, check this out:

"And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times..." (Alma 50:22)

Plain and simple as that! It is very important to be faithful. It is through my faithfulness that the Lord will be able to help me accomplish and overcome ALL my challenges and trials that Satan places on my path. No wonder FAITH is the first principle of the gospel. Everything revolves, acts, and depends upon our faith in the Lord. It is our faith in Jesus Christ that Satan tries to destroy.

I know it can be hard sometimes to have that unwavering faith in the Lord when something bad or difficult is happening in your life, but as you continue to do your best to strengthen that faith and stay STRONG you will be delivered from your STORMS at all times.

"Daddy...Daddy..."

Last night Zoie woke up in the middle of the night. She didn't cry or anything, just woke up and started saying "daddy...daddy...daddy...daddy" over and over again, until he came in to see her.

Daddy: "What's the matter?"
Zoie: makes a noise and reaches her arms up towards him
Daddy: "Do you want to cuddle?"
Zoie: "Cu-lle."

They cuddled for a bit and then went back to sleep. It was really cute and made Ryan feel really special. She loves her daddy!!!

This morning she wanted to be just like daddy. They sat at the table together eating cereal. Zoie was eating hers without milk and when daddy was done, he poured his milk in Zoie's bowl and she got excited. Ryan told her, "just like daddy." She responds, "ju li daddy." She loves her daddy!!!

I love these two. They make me so happy and bring so much meaning to my life.

(old pictures, but she didn't want to take a picture this morning)

Binky Free

When Zoie was born, Binky's were my best friend, my life saver, so to speak. A week after she was born, we went grocery shopping at Walmart and she just started to cry. She was fed, had a clean diaper, didn't want to be held or cuddle or anything. So we went to the baby section, opened up a pack of Binky's stuck one in her mouth and the response was silence. AMAZING!!!! I didn't have to have my freak out mom moments, because I didn't know what to do to calm my crying baby anymore. Ever since then, we all have loved them.

We decided that once she started to ask for her Binky's it would be time to get rid of them and with a new baby coming in a couple months. We figured if she could do that then she understood why she was using it and needed to learn on her own how to fall asleep and comfort herself without one.

We prolonged this process for long time. It was so nice for me to give her Binky to her, stick her in bed and she goes right to sleep. I could relax, get things done, and when she woke up she was as happy as can be. It was a good system. I didn't want to mess with it, especially out in public. Ryan and I decided to start at the beginning of this month. I was so nervous. I heard a mom saying she just finished weaning her son of his Binky's and it took them 3 weeks. THREE WEEKS!!! I didn't know if I could handle three weeks.

All in all it took Zoie a day in a half to be Binky free. It was great. The first day was rough, she only had a 30 minute nap, compared to her 2-3 hour nap. The next day she was back into her routine. Here is what I did. I found all of her Binky's and hid them. I took one of them and clipped the end off a bit. Every time she would ask for her Binky I would give that one to her. She didn't like it all and kept saying "oh no! oh no! oh no!" and ended up throwing it on the ground. She quickly understood what was going on and decided to make due without. Mission Accomplished!!! She continues to sleep her 2-3 hour nap everyday and wakes up as happy as can be. I love my little girlie.

We have been Binky free for 2 1/2 weeks.

Strawberries!

I have been craving strawberries like it is nobody's business. This last month we have always had 4 cartons full of strawberries in the fridge. It's the most amazing thing ever! :) This baby, Zoie, and I are definitely full of Vitamin C.

Zoie has learned many new words this last month and one of them is "strawberries." Lately when she wakes up from her nap and wants a snack she'll run to the fridge and say strawberries. She loves them. She has also been in the no shirt phase, and only the skirt phase. It's really frustrating, sometimes, but it's kind of cute.

I'm so glad that Zoie loves to eat fruit. I can't believe she is 19 months. She is so friendly and the most independent little girl I know. She is a very good helper around the house and I'm so excited to have another little girl in the house. I think Zoie will absolutely love her and be very helpful.

I sat on the pillows one time during a project and

ever since then she has to sit on a pillow too. :)

Movie Fort

Today has been a gloomy, rainy day. Zoie and I have spent most of the day watching Disney movies; Little Mermaid, The Aristocats, The Lion King, and The Emperors New Groove.

She wanted to go outside and play a lot today and I told her it was all rainy and yucky and we couldn't. So to make it up to her we bulit a fort. She loves it and has been watching her shows and eating her snacks in it.

I just used three of our kitchen table chairs, a sheet and two blankets. Nothing fancy, just simple enough to make her life more interesting and fun. I'm glad she is enjoying it and is spending a lot of time in there, I can now get the kitchen clean before Ryan comes home from work without distractions :)

Gauzey Swaddle Blankets

This summer is going to be one eventful summer for both sides of my family. My sister is expecting her first child, a boy in June and I am expecting nine days later with our second little girl. Not only on my side but also my sister-in-law is expecting their fourth sweet girl in August. A lot of new little ones will be joining our families this year. It's so exciting.

I wanted to make something for each new little baby. I LOVE pinterest and most of my projects, ideas, meals, etc all come from that site. It's amazing :) Anyway I found this tutorial on how to make simple swaddle blankets. I decided that this would be the perfect gift for them and for my new little girl.

The past couple weeks have been rainy, so I haven't been able to work much on my dresser (bummer!). Being couped up inside a lot, I order some fabric from one of my favorite fabric sites fabric.com and bought some fun, pretty color gauzey fabrics. They all finally arrived the beginning of this week. I buckled down and started sewing!! Zoie even helped me pin some of the edges over, she enjoyed it a lot. Still have to finish mine, but made sure to get theirs done first. What do you think? Simple, right?!

These are for my Sister Shelby's little boy

These are for my Sister-in-law Sarah's little girl