Welcome!

Haven't officially announced to you all on here yet, been a little busy :)

Eleanor Rebekah Rigby was born September 11th, 2011 at 4:28 AM. At home, just like I wanted. She weighed 7 lbs .8 oz and measured 21 inches long.

We love our new little girl and have all been adapting well to the new change. Mommy and baby are doing well and recovering. Jonah loves his baby sister.

My wonderful friend and amazing photographer, Sharon Johnson, took photos of the incredible experience. Photos here.

Family photos

Almost 2 months ago, one of our good friends who just graduated from Weber Art Department volunteered to take our family photos. She has so much talent and is so amazing and did such an incredible job! There's a little preview in the header, but to get a look at all my favorites go to my Flikr. And to get a look at her other work, check out her Facebook page. Thanks so much, Ruth!

Scripture

My husband and I teach Sunday School for the youth in our ward and in today's lesson was a verse from the New Testament. And it just made me so happy to read and feel so right in my decision to have a baby naturally.

St. John 16:21: A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

And of course this doesn't only apply to having a boy, but just the joy she feels to have this child and the immediate love you feel for this little miracle. I mean, there has been so much research and study done that shows that having a baby naturally increases your bonding and your success at breastfeeding, which also increases the bonding with your baby. It's just such a wonderful thing to know that I made the choice to do it the right way.

Simple days

I love days like today. Just easy, relaxing days. Days where you get things done, but you still make time to enjoy yourself. I've been feeling in need of social interaction and got a nice little dose today. Started off easy. This morning I baked cheesecake bars for Derek's brothers Boy Scout court of honor tomorrow, then Jonah took a nap, and after that we just enjoyed ourselves outside. Got out of the house on a non-rainy day this week. Played at the park in our backyard and just as we were walking home, daddy woke up and joined us. We finally used our $25 Outback Giftcard from christmas and did dinner and then spent the rest of the evening on a walk, visiting with our friends and neighbors from the ward. I love spontaneous visits. I'm so excited for the warmer weather to allow for them again!

So really, nothing new to post, but I just really enjoyed the simple enjoyment of our day. Not much was done, but it doesn't feel wasted.

P.S. Excited for cousin's homecoming tomorrow to taste the new cheesecake recipe I used!

Baby boy!

Daddy took Jonah to breakfast this morning with grandpa and I'm supposed to be sleeping in, but I couldn't. So here's a birthday tribute post.

Happy Birthday, Jonah! You are 2 years old today! Here you are on the day you were born.

I can't believe how long ago that feels. You had the most beautiful dark hair. And your daddy documented everything they did in the hospital. And you can just hear the love in his voice whenever he speaks. And not too long after you turned into the toe-headed little boy you are today.

Here you are at just a year



And this is you today


We love you always and forever. I hope you have a good birthday! Love you sweet boy.

Christmas and the like

We had a wonderful christmas. Pretty much spent the entire weekend with family. I think we only went home to sleep for most of it. We opened our presents as a family on christmas eve and went over christmas morning so Jonah could help the kids open their presents.




Got this Frog from my parents. He loves giving his stuffed animals kisses.


Ball pit from Grandma & Grandpa (dad's side). Sharing it with Rocky. We had to put it away once all the kids wanted to climb in and Jonah threw a tantrum. It wasn't charming. But atleast we know he likes it.


Beka and Nathan came to visit and Jonah loves his little cousin Issac.


This is what happens when I go to sleep with wet hair.


Looks like he's camwhoring with the position of his arm and his expression. So cute!

With the New Year here, I have no resolutions. I'm just taking it easy, just in general trying to eat healthier and exercise better. Trying to take better care of myself.

Bieber (#18, 19, 20)

Today I was Justin Bieber. My hair, my outfit. But I tried something different. That's what counts, right?

Day 20: Saturday December 4th, 2010

Button-up: Thrifted 2010 (Mens AE); Top: Gap 2006; Pants: ON 2010; Shoes: Blowfish 2010

Day 19: Friday December 3rd 2010

Top: Thrifted 2010 (DKNY); Tank: Downeast 2009; Pants: ON 2010; Shoes: Vintage

Day 18: Saturday November 27th, 2010

Cardigan: Wet Seal 2009; Top: 99 Luftballoons, Threadless 2010; Pants: ON 2010; Shoes: Toms 2010
Ok, thats from last week. But I didn't get a chance to take a picture at the time, so Derek's cousin took it. It was at a family Thanksgiving we had. So, I did dress up. It's just late now.

So, 20 down. 10 to go. At this rate I'll hopefully be done by the 14th. I have 2 more bigger things to dress up for in that time, so yay!

When it rains it pours. Derek went to the dentist and found out he has to have a root canal. And our insurance won't cover it. And I have an appointment on January 7th and I'm afraid it's going to be the same thing for me. It's going to cost thousands. And now our car is having electrical problems. Our headlights won't work even after we replaced them. So now we have to take it into the shop Monday. It seems like every time we get on track, paying off our debts, something always comes up that puts us back to the beginning. What's the point of paying your insurance monthly if when you need it they won't pay up? Money grubbers.

It's not all bad though. Big news is Jonah's now been sleeping through the night for the last week! All by himself. Not asleep when I lay him down and he just goes to sleep and then wakes up in the morning. It's been a blessing and relief. Do you know what this means? He's no longer kicking me in the back in the middle of the night. I have time to myself at night and don't have to worry about him waking up and having to get him back to sleep. I can get a babysitter and Derek and I can go on actual dates, late into the night.

Bonus Pictures




P.S. Smith's is having their coupon roundup Sunday(tomorrow)-Wednesday. Get the details here

Being put to use

I made this hat for baby Quincy for Cara's baby shower and since she was born 2 days ago she can now wear it.



I didn't get a picture of it before I gave it to her, but now you get a picture of a cute baby in a cute hat.

Tri-City Trip

Just a montage of pictures from my trip. Enjoy.










I crocheted this hat for Isaac while watching TV one night.




He's my little model!






He was always finding Grandma's glasses and putting them on and walking around the house.






Bella Italia is amazing! I always try and make it a point to go when I'm in town. And it's always incredible! And it's always fun to go with Charlotte because she introduced me to it Valentine's Day 2007 or so. We had no boyfriends, no dates, so we went out with each other. And it's one of the best Valentine's days of my life.


This is actually a screen shot from a video I took. And I didn't notice it until I was showing Derek all the pictures and things and he's the one who pointed it out.

Updates!

This is from my mom's camera when she visited in August. I'm just getting these pictures up now! So sorry!



I've been crocheting a lot! And giving them as presents. A lot of baby showers. The blanket is for my sister's new baby. I'm so proud of it! The nicest thing I've ever made yet. She doesn't look at my blog, so I'm safe until I see her in 2 weeks!



Food! For some reason whenever I put text into Picasa it doesn't save it in the collage. So we got a whole bunch of tomatoes from Mom and Dad's garden while they were out of town for 2 weeks, so I was able to make Bruschetta (the sourdough I got from my visiting teacher who works at Great Harvest. Thanks!) and then pizza the next night. Both were delicious! I've never made anything as fancy as Bruschetta before. And I'm excited about the results.

Yay for updates!

Ok, Surprise is...

I knew I would get some curiousness about my "surprise" and I did get a text from Becky asking if I was pregnant. But no, I'm not. My sister, Beka, had her baby!!! I wasn't allowed to say anything until she did, but I'm so excited! Mostly because she had a little boy. She kept telling people she was having a girl and how she could just tell, but she had a boy. Which makes me laugh. He is so cute! 8 lbs 21 inches and born at home in 3 hours! Lucky girl. So, congrats Beka and Nathan. Good luck choosing a name (they're thinking of Isaiah). You guys are amazing.

And here's some pictures for you