family pictures

Do you need your family picture taken? I can't speak highly enough of Jon Canlas. He's the best in the state, bar none. Jon shoots 100% film, which really sets his work apart. But seriously, even if his pictures weren't phenomenal, I'd have him shoot your family pictures or wedding just because of who he is. He makes you feel totally comfortable and you will want him to be your best friend by the end of the shoot.

Last November, Jayson attended a workshop taught by Jonathan Canlas. We were so honored and flattered when he asked us to come model for his workshop in Park City in October. We knew I was going to be gigantic, but that just kind of added to the fun. Besides, all of the attendies and Jon made me feel like I was beautiful and not a tank (THANK YOU!).

Here are all of Jon's pictures. The other attendies shot beautiful photos too, but Jon's pictures are the best (duh).















Jayson and I both commented about what a wonderful experience it was to have our pictures taken by Jon. We walked away feeling more love, more commitment, more peace. And here I thought we were just going to walk away with photos.

Call Jon. He's totally worth your money.

happy halloween

halloween wasn't a big deal this year--we had too much going on. so we put mae in her costume from last year. she couldn't have cared less that she wore the same thing two years, and tinkerbell fit much better this year anyway.

mae was really excited because i let her wear lots of makeup. and i told her she could take some "pixie dust" (glitter powder) to the trunk or treat.


penny and i stayed home and handed out candy to the five trick or treaters we had. i found penny's shirt, hat, and monster socks for $0.97 each at the gymboree outlet in march. i love those monster socks.


happy halloween everyone!

photos

here are a few pictures of miss penelope:

penny has reddish hair. copper color, actually. it's pretty fitting, don't you think? i don't think it will stay--i think it will fall out and go blond like mae's hair, but i hope it stays reddish.


big sister mae loves penny. she loves her a little too much sometimes. but i'd rather have it that way than any other way.


here is a rare picture of penny awake. i swear she sleeps 21 hours a day.


here is penny with one of her new friends, claire. penny has many many friends born these last few weeks. we're so glad to have so many new friends!

welcome, penny.

i haven't blogged much since penny made her appearance, so i thought i'd share a bit about her arrival. 

i was pretty worn out and tired of being pregnant at my 40 week check up. my doctor told me that i would most likely be overdue. that didn't sound too fantastic to me, but when he offered to induce me, i froze up. thankfully jayson was there to remind me that i had said that morning that i would jump at the chance to be induced. i had wanted to let things go naturally, but by that point i was so miserable that i was ready to get this show on the road.

i checked into the hospital two days later at 5 a.m. i was so lucky--my neighbor and good friend was my nurse and saved me the "suite." my room was gigantic, and the best part of the hospital where i delivered is that you labor, deliver and recover in the same room.

they started my pitocin at 6 a.m. the anesthesiologist, who happened to be jayson's former bishop came in next and started my epidural. my epidural with mae was terrible, but this epidural was fantastic. dr. taylor is a saint. as he walked out, dr. judd walked in and broke my water (about 7 a.m.).  i labored very comfortably, but penny wasn't very comfortable--her heart rate was all over the place. luckily, things progressed quickly and i was complete and ready to go by 9:15. dr. judd came in at 9:30 and penny was born at 9:59 a.m. and, i watched the whole thing (a first for me!). 

this delivery was a completely different experience than mae's birth. it was incredibly comfortable and quick. i loved my nurse, my anesthesiologist, and my doctor. my epidural wore off quickly and i was up and walking around 2 hours later. i even got to take a trip to the nursery and watch penny have her first bath. i've heard a lot of people complain about the nurses checking them constantly--but i think the nurses came in twice the rest of the day. i felt so great, that we went home the next morning. really, it was one of the most amazing experiences i've ever had. 

we're so grateful everything went so beautifully. she's amazing.

Penelope Kay

Penelope Kay

October 21, 2009

7 pounds, 3 ounces

20 inches

We're all so thrilled.

baby horsie

Mae has been insisting for a couple months that she has a baby in her tummy. She was very sure of herself--always telling me that "baby horsie" was kicking, or asleep, or crying. We indulged her for awhile, because...why not? But as my delivery date approached, we figured we had to address it somehow.

I had a conversation with her where I told her it had been really fun to pretend, but that there really was no baby in her tummy. We assured her that she would get a baby to take care of now, and that someday she would probably have a baby in there. The next thing I knew she was curled up under the table whimpering. She was so sad. So we decided to make a big deal about baby horsie's birth.

Off to build-a-bear...


...where baby horsie came to be. She adores this horse. She takes great care of her.


Oh boy, she's growing up. She's amazing.

Mae is so excited for her little sister to get here too. She tells her everyday that she's ready for her to come out so they can play. Now if only this sweet baby would listen!

summer recap

in between the chaos that was this summer, i did the following things on my list:

*not cut my hair (okay, i trimmed it a couple times and once was a pretty major trim...but i didn't substantially cut it, which is a success for me)

*rode the heber creeper



*went fishing (THREE times!)




*attended my third wasatch county demolition derby. and don't be jealous, but jayson got to be a judge. ok, be really jealous.


*made a new summer playlist. we danced to it a lot.

*made lemonade out of lemons (literally), thanks to my very talented sister kendra and her appearance on the aol holiday blog.

*rode a chair lift (this was beautiful)






*canned peaches

*outdoor movie (thank you ward activity, even if it did rain)



i did not:

*walk a 5k, but i played some tennis.


*watch hot air balloons, although i did see some fly.
*sit on my new flagstone patio (no $$)
*play kickball
*paint my toenails every week. i can't see my toenails, so i had to rely on others. katy did it for me twice. thank you katy.
*outdoor concert
*go to cove fort (jayson really wants to do this)
*drive alpine loop in the BMW. maybe this week? it's perfect right now.
*go to moab. really, we still haven't been? i can't believe i haven't taken jayson here yet.
*golfing with jayson. he's catered more on golf courses this summer than actually played.
*ride bike from bridal vail to utah lake (next summer).
*batting cages. there is still time.
*go on lots of walks. this one is hopeless. my walks are 4 blocks at best.
*make ice cream in a hand crank bucket. i did get a hand crank bucket, but it's broken and i'm not sure i can fix it. but peach ice cream sounds delightful, and peaches are amazing right now. this week?!?!?!?!

the highlight of the summer was having my parents come home, and having all my family in town. it was crazy, but so much fun. this summer was chaotic, but that's how we roll. yeehaw!