Ammon Cortney and Baby Brooklyn

birth story

2012-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

click here

7 days

2012-02-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

38 weeks pregnant. click here

worries

2012-01-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

my worries about having another kid.. postpartum and breastfeeding. please give input. click here

recipe disaster

2012-01-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

leads to emotional breakdown.. click here

catch up

2012-01-19T12:07:00.001-08:00

very short version of christmas, ammon's bday, and being 36 weeks pregnant. read here

swimming and 30 weeks

2011-12-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

we went to aquatic center today. click here to read about it..

the race!

2011-12-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn ran in a race on thanskgiving! click here to read all about it

all about

2011-10-25T09:14:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn

name, nursery, plans, stress

2011-10-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

click here

baby

2011-10-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

name

pumpkin cake

2011-09-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

AMAZING.. try it. make it tonight :) click here

what's been goin on

2011-03-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

if you wanna read it click here

private blog and link

2011-03-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

so i decided to do a private blog but i'm copying my friend kelli's idea to keep this one open with a link to the private blog so you can know when i update it:) so hopefully this works because it took me way too long to try to figure out. the private blog isn't all cute and everything yet- i'll get to that when i have time. anyways hopefully it works and if it doesn't please let me know!!!! thanks! so do get transferred to our private blog click here.

Going Private

2011-02-28T11:03:00.001-08:00

I'm going private with the blog. It's long overdue! so! if you want to keep reading about our life than send me your email! :) thanks!

home alone

2011-02-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

My mom called last week and said she wanted to steal brooklyn for the weekend. She missed brooklyn and brooklyn was excited to go! my grandparents picked her up on their way home from st george. my mom said brooklyn had a blast and was so good the whole time.
me on the other time-not so much. well friday was great. ammon and i went to st george and went to the temple with our friends amber and tyler. then we met up with vanessa and dana and went to cafe rio, played the bean game, and went to nielsen's frozen custard. if you havent been there YOU NEED TO GO! its so delicious!!! Friday was so much fun. Sat ammon worked from 10 until 6 so i was home alone. i had nothing to do and was bored out of my mind. the house was clean because i wasn't chasing and cleaning after brooklyn so all i did was homework. it was the longest day of my life and i was missing her so much. i wanted to read books and color and dance and all that fun stuff you do with kids. i have no idea what people do when they don't have kids and i dont know what i would do without her. i was so excited to get her back home! yes it was a nice relaxing weekend of sleeping in, going on a date with ammon, and staying in bed all day but i would rather have brooklyn home making a mess then being home alone. SO GLAD SHE IS BACK! but thank you mom for taking her for a couple days. I'm glad she was so good for you and you guys had a lot of fun :)

potty

2011-01-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

BROOKLYN PEED ALL BY HERSELF IN HER POTTY!!! i'm kinda freaking out right now because this is so so so exciting. I never thought I would be so excited about PEE! haha So we have had this little sit down potty for a while that she has used a few times. It's a princess potty and it plays songs when you pee haha but we decided to get one for the actual toilet too since that is what she is going to be using eventually. Anyways today she took a bath and we put the cushion thing on the toilet and she loved it. She sat for like 15 min and she NEVER sits still for any period of time so that was super exciting. After 15 min she decided she was done but i decided to put panties on her for some reason? I dunno... anyways I brought out the princess potty in our living room and figured she could get used to both of them and if she ever used it then great!!! After about a half hour of asking her if she needed to go and her saying no constantly I decided to do some dishes- i figured if she went then I could explain where she needed to go. I gave her some milk and started doing the dishes. I heard her opening and closing the potty seat and the music going off but it some times does it if she's playing with it so I didn't even go check. A couple minutes later she brought me her sipi cup lid and said mess. So she took me to show me she had spilt milk on the floor she pointed and said mess , uh oh. I said its Ok and THEN I SAW IT! there was PEE IN THE POTTY!!! i said BROOKLYN DID YOU GO PEE PEE IN THE POTTY! and she looked and said uh oh mess. and i had to tell her good job like 30 times before she realized what she did was good!! haha then she got excited!! I took a picture and sent it to ammon and then called my parents to tell them. I'm just impressed that she went and sat down by herself to go to the bathroom!! YAY!! so maybe its time to start potty training?!?!? who knows but that was pretty much awesome and made my day! Sorry this is so long about pee but i'm sure parents that have kids potty trained understand how amazing this is :) and she's only 18 months!!!

chicken pillows

2011-01-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

A new favorite at my house! and SO SO Easy!!!!! if you are the worst cook in the world you can make these :)
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped up, 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1-2 cans Pillsbury Croissants, 1 cup bread crumbs, 3 TBS melted butter

in a bowl combine cream cheese and cooked chicken and beat with a mixer until mixed up. unroll croissants and spoon some into it and roll it up.. dip in butter on one side and then dip in the bread crumbs and face that up on a cookie sheet. bake at 350 for 13-16 min or until golden brown

pour gravy over top! we use a can of cream of chicken with a little milk. SO SO SO good!

Better than Sex Cake

2011-01-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOSH this recipe is amazing! My friend Amber and her husband Tyler made this for us a few weeks ago and it was my first time trying it and it became a favorite after the first bite. I made it a little different last night and its amazing! So.. if you have never tried better than sex cake please try this! Its SOO Good! you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients: 1 pkg Devils food cake
1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces of caramel ice cream topping
skor bars or heath bars crushed up
frozen whipped cream thawed

Directions: make the cake according to directions. when finished poke holes or slits into the cake but not all the way through.. in a medium sauce pan combine condensed milk and caramel until its mixed and warm. pour over cake and into slits or holes. pour candy all over top and right before eating put whipped cream on. Its amazing and so so easy!!! let me know how you like it!!!

.

2010-12-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

We went down to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun and nice to get out of the snow!

We went black friday shopping and got some stuff for brooklyn and some clothes for me. I desperately needed them!

we also bought a bedding set and a camera! yay :)

Nursery

2010-11-15T11:36:00.001-08:00

Brooklyn went to nursery yesterday!! No, she isn't 18 months yet but she is a super hyper crazy girl who wants to run run run and I am sick of playing musical chairs and chasing her all throughout church so we got permission to let her in nursery so we didn't end up going home after sacrament meeting.
Brooklyn can't hold still for 2 seconds. she can't sit still when she eats, or drinks out of a sippy. she has to be walking around or moving in some sort of form. Getting through sacrament meeting is still hard and i'm just ready to leave by the end of it.
I look around at all of the other kids and they all sit calm and quietly and color or read books and brooklyn is jumping up and down and talking to everyone and climbing up and down on everything and its so embarassing. it makes me feel like i'm a bad mom cuz i can't control my own kid. i dont know why she is so hyper but when ever she is around lots of people she gets so excited and jsut runs and screams and its exhausting.
Our relief society president told me that brooklyn can stay in nursery and i wanted to cry and tell her thankyou. she has no idea how much i appreciate it. Our ward is awesome and they know brooklyn is a good girl. she just needs space to run around and play with toys.- thats all she wants to do.
So we opened the door to nursery and she just walks in and starts playing with the toys. she is very independent and could care less if we were there.. as long as she has someone to play with and feed her she doesn't care who it is.
I went and checked on her a couple times and she was doing so good! no crying, no beating up other kids. just playing and talking to everyone. When we went and picked her up she was sitting at the table eating a snack. she said thank you and said bye to everyone in there.
She is all grown up and is so cute. I love nursery. its the best thing ever! it was so nice to be able to sit and actually listen to a lesson- its been about a year since i've been able to do that.
So brooklyn is happy in nursery and ammon and i are happy to have a short break and to be able to pay attention in church.
I love nursery. So thank you everyone who has that calling in their ward- it means alot to us parents :)

Salsa

2010-11-11T09:25:00.001-08:00

Alot of People have been asking me for this recipe! I"ve made it a few times when I've had people come over and its been a huge hit! My sister actually got the recipe at Lakeridge Junior High when she was in 7th grade foods class haha. we make it quite often when ever we have alot of people come over. Its amazing and SOO easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 can white beans (rinsed)
1 can sweet corn (drained)
3-4 medium tomatoes
1 large onion
1 bunch of cilantro
BIG squirt of Italian dressing
salt and pepper

just dump everything in a bowl and thats its. super easy. super amazing. super healthy. let me know if you like it!

Halloween

2010-11-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not huge into halloween. Its never been a favorite holiday.. but I do enjoy it. We went up to Orem for the weekend. We left Thursday and skipped classes on friday to go spend more time with our family.

Thursday night we went to the nightmare express in Lindon. It was free and it was AWESOME! i was So impressed! if its still light outside it is kid friendly and then once its dark it gets haunted.. we arrived when it was light outside but by the time it was our turn it was dark so it was haunted. Brooklyn wasn't scared at all. She just kept saying hi to everything that wasdressed up scary. My sister Amy was more scared than her haha

Friday we went trick or treating at my dads work. It was nice to just walk around inside and gets lots of candy. Brookyln caught on really quick that she needed to take some of their candy and put it in her bucket. she woudln't let ANYONE touch it or the candy. It was hilarious.

That night we went to my families ward halloween party. They had alot of games for kids and a haunted bus. Brooykln was OBSESSED with the bus. She would stay in there forever and just say hi and stare at everyone in masks. she would scream when we woul pull her out.

That night we also went to Nightmare on 13th. Last year we went to a haunted houses in vegas and it was terrible so i really wanted to take ammon to a good one this year. It was SO Fun and SO GOOD! it took almost an hour to get through the whole thing. we got free fast pases for buying online so we didn't wait at all! it was great

Sat we went to the pumpkin patch in orem and then trick or treating a little around the block and then to my grandmas for chile, timales, and lots more food. It was so fun to see family!

family night and smoothie

2010-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm combining two posts into one. First, Monday night we went down to st geoge to staheli family farm. If you havn't been you should go! It's so fun! Monday night is family night so its only 5 bucks a person. You do a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, they a petting zoo, they do horse rides, and they have tons of fun activities for kids. Everything is made out of stuff on the farm. They have a playground, a trampoline, this fun water thing to play in, these swing things that are pretty cool, and a bunch more. They have someone singing songs so the kids can dance and they have really yummy food and snacks you can buy. It was a really fun much needed family night. Brooklyn loved the corn maze because we just let her run and we followed her. She loved seeing all the animals and just playing with tons of kids. I'm so glad we went! so if you havn't gone then you should check it out! they also do a haunted corn maze on the weekends i believe. Its pretty cheap!

Second, I have started trying to eat healthier and exercising alot more. I want to lose 10 pounds before my family goes on the cruise. I started making a spinich smoothie and eat it before or after i get home from the gym. it sounds nasty but its AMAZING! trust me! now i hate spinich. with a passion. its disgusting to me. But a few months ago we were in vegas and ammon's brother and his wife made a spinich smoothie and i was surprised at how good it tasted. So i looked up more recipes that would be easier and I found one that tastes EXACTLy like a strawberry banana smoothie. You can't taste the spinich AT ALL! So if you trying to be healthier or are just looking for a spinich recipe try this one! all you need is spinich, a banana, straberrries, and juice of your choice and a blender.

Put a big handful of spinich in the blender

add a whole banana, a bunch of strawberries (i use about 7 frozen strawberries)

and a little bit of juice. I usually use apple but you can do whatever

and thats it! blend until its smooth and taste it! its amazing. you can always add more strawberries or banana if you want

its delicoius! and it tastes so good after a good workout!!!!

sign language

2010-09-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would teach my kids sign language but when Brooklyn started babbling I wanted her to communicate a little more so I wanted her to learn how to say please and more at least so. I would do the signs and she would just look at me and then one day she caught on so quick. She knows please, more, baby, all done, milk, and thank you. I absolutely love that she can communicate to me. I was trying to get video of her doing it and having her do everything else she knows but for some reason whenever she sees a camera she gets shy and just wants to grab it.. So here is a little video of her doing some sign language :)

she also folds her arms, knows where her hair, eyes, nose, and mouth is. can say hi, bye, mom, dada, yucky, poopy, hot, yum, dog, ball, nigh nigh, thank you and she can count to three.. she says un, two, WEEE!! haha its so cute. she knows some more but i can't remember all of them.. I know i have already said that she can do this but its mosty so i remember how old she was and stuff lol. i love this girl. isn't she beautiful.?

decisions decisions.. i need help

2010-09-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

My whole family is going on a cruise in December and I can't wait! But of course, I have no clothes or anything that fits or is cute! I'm debating on these swimsuits..Please tell me which one you like more.. I just can't decide?

wisdom teeth aftermath

2010-09-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

So i was watching the Ellen show the other day- she's hilarious. I don't watch it that much but every time I do I laugh the whole time. This time she showed some videos of these two siblings who got their wisdom teeth taken out and this is them on the ride home. there are two videos so make sure you watch both of them! they are pretty dang funny.. i guess the whole video is 10 minutes long but on the show they just showed the funny parts. anyways! enjoy!
Video 1
Video 2

A Great Day

2010-09-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a Great Day! One of my really good friend's Courtney was sealed to her husband and their two kids in the St George Temple. It was a beautiful day. It was so nice for ammon and i to go do a session and to a sealing together. With a baby its really hard to go to the temple as much as we would like so we really enjoyed having the opportunity to go. I haven't done a session in a while so i was really nervous to do it by myself. We were running late and i thought that we were to miss it so i was super stressed out. But of course we made it and the second we walked into the temple we were calm and just excited to see them go through the temple and be sealed together.

They had a very big group go with them and it was just neat to see all the friends and family that were there to support them. It was an emotional day for their family and everyone was so happy. My favorite part is when we all are in the Celestial Room waiting for them to come in together. It reminded me of my experience of going through the temple for the first time. Ammon took me through and my family was there waiting for me. I imagine that it will be alot like that.

The sealing was very special. He did a wonderful job and when they brought the kids in-everyone got emotional. They looked so beautiful and it was such an amazing day. I'm so grateful that I know about the promises and blessings that you get when you go through the temple. I love going to sealings because it reminds me of my wedding day and what ammon and i promised each other. It's such an amazing and wonderful experience to know that we will be together for eternity. Congratulations Courtney, Steve, Brooklyn, and Bridger. We love you!

ideas

2010-09-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Alright all you moms! I am officially done working! I told them i would be late today and they just said they got me covered from now on so I am SOO Excited!! I feel like a new person! i'm so excited and have all this energy and motivation to get everything done while i stay at home! i can't wait! However, i need ideas from everyone. I need to know lots of activities to do while i am at home. I don't want to go crazy just staying inside all day and i'm not the kind of parent that just lets their kid play by themself all day. Also, its going to be getting cold soon so I need tons of activities to do with a one year old inside to keep us both entertained! PLEASE HELP me! also- look at how big my baby girl is getting! makes me want to cry....

FINALLY!

2010-08-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

I feel like I don't have anything too excited to blog about- which is why i havn't blogged in a while. However lots of things are changing and its kind of exciting! Ammon and I both started school this week. I am taking one class at the school and 4 online. When registering for school I try my absolute hardest to make sure that either ammon or i could be at home with brooklyn so we didn't have to send her to the day care or get a babysitter. This semester there is only one hour a week that our schedules overlap so its not too bad!
Since changing my major I think that i am going to be able to take alot i can relate to in my personal life rather than just what i want to do. I have switched to family services and this semester i am taking Marriage and Family Relations and Fundamentals of Effective Parenting. So far I love these classes. Its only been a week but I already believe that everyone should take these classes. I'm very excited for them.
Ammon is going to be super busy this semester.. He gets done school at around 5 on most days, is planning on volunteering at the hospital on some nights, and will work a double every sat and one shift every sunday. I know its going to be super hard because i wont be able to see him as much as i would like but I know this has to happen for him to get the volunteer hours both at the hospital and at work that he gets to help him get into PA school. He's taking alot of hard science classes so he'll be busy busy busy.
On the up side of things! I quit my job!!!!!!!!! Ammon and I have been wanting me to be able to quit for a LONG time! I work at day care and take care of all the babies, which is nice because i could take brooklyn with me. However, by the time i got home i was so tired and sometimes really stressed and frustrated with the day that I would be in a bad mood and not want to do homework and anything. Since school started that was not working well because I have so much homework and don't want brooklyn to feel neglected. So, I will be staying at home and focusing on getting through school faster and being able to focus on being a better mom and teaching Brooklyn alot more things. I feel SOOO good about this and about cried with excitment when we realized that i would be able to quit. I strongly believe that being a stay at home mom is one of the best jobs a mom can do. Of course it is almost impossible with some people for financial reasons and alot of people get bored or can't handle being at home but I LOVE IT! I highly recommend it. I love being here for everything that brooklyn is learning. I dont get how some parents are ok with sending there kid everyday to a day care or babysitter for 8 hours a day. I would die!!! I miss brooklyn after like 30 min.. Thats probably why we never get a babysitter to go out becuase i would miss her way too much.
Well this post is very long but Brooklyn is now getting to be a little genius. She can say hi, bye, mom, dad,no, nana (banana), she can say please, more, and baby in sign language. She says dog, and knows what a dog, lion, and snake says. We have realized that whenever she goes to the bathroom she runs to a corner and squats... almost every time.. So we bought her a little potty just for fun and she is OBSESSED! she sits on it for like two seconds then runs away then goes back and sits for 2 seconds.. she thinks its the coolest toy ever made.. She has started giving fish kisses.. and gives me one then ammon then me then ammon..she is so soft and gentle with babies.. she dances EVERY time we put any sort of music on. (including at church in sacrament) she shrugs her shoulders and does this hilarious hip action that i am obsessed with. She always will grab her blankie and a book and run over to you, turn around, and sit on your lap. she can say WOW, woah, and the other day said ok and amen... there are a few other things but i can't think of them right now. She is sleeping about 11 hours straight every night and sometimes takes one or two naps in the day. Whenever we go get her from her room she says HI!!! and whn you pick her up she gives you the best hug ever. Its so hard to see her grow up. She is definitly not a baby anymore. It makes me so depressed to see how big she's getting. I can't believe how much she has taught me. I honestly can't even imagine how my life would be right now if she wasn't in it. I love everything about being a mom and right now i feel like our littl family is complete. :)

Fun in the Sun

2010-07-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

I think I'm retarded because I dont know how to put the pics at the bottom.... So.. pics first and then post is at the bottom. Sorry :)

Well, Tons has happened since I last blogged. Brooklyn turned one, we went up to stadium of fire, we went to lake powell, we went to vegas, and i turned 21. woot woot!!! I can't believe my little girl in one year old. I remember every little detail of finding out we were pregnant, being pregnant, labor, and every other detail perfectly and its crazy to think that over a year has gone by since I got to grab her and pull her up on my chest to see her for the first time. She has grown so much and I love her more than anything. I look at her in awe and feel so blessed for everything she has taught me.

We celebrated her birthday twice. Once in Cedar, and then again when we went up to orem. In Cedar we just went to the park and had a BBQ and let the little kids swim. I'm so grateful for all the friends we have in cedar. I feel so blessed to have met such wonderful people who support me and were able to come. I love you all so much. I was so glad that ammon's family and my family were able to make the drive to come to the party as well.. Brooklyn was spoiled of course and loved every minute of it.

The next week we went up to Orem for the Stadium of fire. We saw friends and family as we celebrated Brooklyn's birthday once again. I love how close all my family is and how lots of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins were able to come. I absoultely love seeing everyone and miss them so much.

It was especially fun to see my girlfriends. I got to see Talia, Heather, Krystal, Heather, and Jessa. It was so fun to catch up with everyone and i am SO glad that we have stayed in touch since high school. I love those girls and they are amazing. They've always been there for me and its always nice to have girls to talk to.

Stadium of fire was really fun. Carrie Underwood is amazing of course but the Stadium of fire was kinda disappointing.. but still fun. Brooklyn LOVED the fireworks! I'm so glad that she wasn't scared!!!

This last week we went to lake powell!! My all time favorite place in the world. It was so relaxing and fun to just not stress and just swim, cliff jump, ski, tube, lay out, and explore all the amazing and beautiful canyons. The weather was perfect, the water was 80 degrees. The only scary part was the thunder and lightning...but made it a memorable experience. I love spending time with my family and had so much fun.

After lake powell we had to come down to vegas to pick up brooklyn so we decided to just stay here the rest of the week. We swam alot more, played games, and just hung out with Ammon's Family. My birthday was on friday and we went to dinner and then went to Margarittaville down on the strip with Josh, Stac, and Tana. It was so fun to listen to the band and to dance and just have fun. I"m so grateful for Ammon's family that they could watch brooklyn and spend time with her. Its hard when you live far away from family.

Well thats a brief story of whats happened these last few weeks. I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow or back to reality. I like vacations way too much!

One Year

2010-06-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

My little girl is turning one year in two weeks. Its crazy to think that this time last year I was at home on bedrest just waiting for her to be ready so I could meet her. We went to the Dr. today for her check up and her stats are:

21 Pounds 10 ounces - 66 % she actually thinned out! haha

30 inches tall-82%- stayed the same

Some fun things about Brooklyn

-she eats every meal like its her last. She acts like we starve her and eats and drinks without a breath.. If your too slow she throws a fit.

-she loves her blankie. She has to have it to sleep and will pick it up and walk in her room when its time for bed.

-loves daddy! loves chasing him and having him chase her. She'll run into her room and shut the door and then open it and shut it and open it.. she loves teasing him.

-is a people person. says hi and waves to EVERYONE. if you leave the room and come back 5 seconds later she sitll says hi like she hasn't seen you in a week.

-is OBSESSED with dogs. just screams and says DOG DOg DOg the whole time she's playing or pointing at them.

-she can now say hi, dog, mom, dada, na na (banana), and her new word is stop. I take her to the daycare and this kid hit her and she pointed her finger and yelled STOP! i was so surprised but she does it all the time now. its pretty dang cute.

-loves to dance and twirl in circles

-loves to read books. especially by herself in the car. she'll just talk and point at pictures

-can drink out of a straw

-can drink out of a cup

-points at what she wants

-heads to door when we say lets go or pick up our keys.

-gives wonderful open mouth kisses

-baby talks constantly

- arches her back when we put her in carseat or change her clothes

-laughs at herself. (she thinks she is hilarious)

-when we laugh at her she makes a fake laugh

-loves showing off and being the center of attention

-does patty cake all by herself

-kicks like crazy in the bath. she loves water!

-has a new obsession with rocks! has to have one in each hand

-eats dirt

-loves being naked! the second you take her diaper of she is up and running away

-HATES shoes!!! can take them off and won't move unless she can get them off first.

-can say uh-oh and will throw things just to say it

-understands the word Ball and nose

Foods she likes:

peas ( eats them like candy)

oranges

grapes

strawberries

bananas

saltine crackers

chicken nuggets

noodles

This stage has definitly been my favorite. She's getting so good at communicating what she wants and needs and loves to explore and play by herself. She's Exremely smart and is constantly catching me off guard at all the new things she's learning. She's very independent and happy ALL THE TIME. I love my baby girl

cute video of brooklyn

2010-06-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

lately...

2010-06-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

I have alot to catch up on again! We went to orem this past week. I left on Friday and Ammon came up the next wednesday. The reason I went early was because my parents bought me a ticket to the Celtic Women concert. Also my dad was leaving for Hong Kong so I wanted to see him before he left. The concert was AMAZING! IT was really long but they have amazing voices. My mom, me, emily, spencer, my grandma and grandpa cahoon, and my grandma and grandpa conrad all went. It was alot of fun and i'm so glad i was able to go. For the next couple days I just hung out with family and hung out with a few friends. I got to see Anne Spencer Davis and Aly livingston (soon to be davis) I love these girls and i miss them so much. Both of their lives are changing and I couldn't be happier for them!

Ammon picked up extra hours while i was gone but came up Tuesday night at midnight. I got a call from him at about 2 A.M saying he had a blowout tire on the freeway. So i got to drive 45 min to pick him up and bring him home and then the next morning go out and get his truck. My uncle told us we needed 4 new tires because the ones on the truck were cracking and so old.. He also saw that ammon had zero brakes on the truck and that it was metal on metal. So we had to get it fixed and got to drain all of our savings. Fun huh :) i love when this stuff happens. haha i'm just glad ammon is ok.. its just money right?

well the main reason we went up to orem was to run the 5k with the Cahoon family. we didn't really train at all but we were excited. Everyone went up to Ephraim and we had a big dinner and hung out together and woke up bright and early to run. I never thought in my life i would run in a race. I HATE running! and I did it!!! i'm so proud of myself! i was slow but i only stopped once for like ten seconds and finished strong. IT was alot of fun to have everyone do it together. There were 12 of us that did the 5k and my amazing aunt kim won first place in the 10k. we pretty much rock.. especially my husband.. he didn't train and did it in like 23 min or something! amazing!

Well we also went to the zoo..brooklyn is OBSESSEd with animals. she kicks and screams and wants to grab them and loves when dogs lick her face. so we thought the zoo would be perfect. WRONG! there were like NO animals there! whats up with that?!?!? and the ones that were there were asleep.. SO lame! she liked the water fountain more than anything.. So since it was lame we went to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. WAY BETTER! she got to touch all of them and then go on a FREE ride on the horse! she kept pointing and clapping her hands. she loved it!

Also while we were in orem we got family picture done. I havn't got the CD yet but brooklyn was not in the best mood which was really frustrating.. i hope we got some good ones. I love going to orem because not only is my immediate family there but all my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, etc are there. There seems to be always something going on and everytime we go up there our schedule is full. I love it! I love being able to see everyone at once. I miss being close to everyone. Especially my cousin BRITT!

Here's some pictures!

walking girl

2010-05-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

so alot has happened since i last blogged and I'm a little lazy so I don't want to write all about everything..so to summarize everything. school is over! we had a great mothers day.. we are just working and ammon is getting ready for summer school.. we're going up to orem for a whole week! i'm leaving on friday and ammon is coming wed.. we have alot planned so i'm extremely excited! But the highlight of our life right now is brooklyn walking!!!!!!!! yay! she took her first step before she turned 10 months and now she is trying to walk all the time. her record is 12 steps but she's always trying and doing better and better everyday! she says hi to everyone everytime she sees them and its the sweetest cutest sound i've ever heard i love her!

make it stop!!!

2010-04-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn is growing up way too fast and I hate it!! she's 9 months old now and already trying to walk... she can stand up by herself for about 30 seconds and if you hold her hand she'll walk around with you. I just want her to stay at the crawling phase for a few more years... oh well, guess we'll have to just have another one :) haha well brooklyn is now on table food and she LOVES it! she is obsessed with saltine crackers, chicken nuggets, cucumbers, potatoes, peas, spaghetti, lasagna, and pretty much everything in between.

well the past couple weeks have been pretty stressful for me. I am trying to get all my school work done and with work i'm just a total mess. BUt i can do it :) Brooklyn just makes it impossible to get anything done. She is all over the place!!! she is such a good baby and doesn't really like to be held so she can sit and play by herself for hours.. its great :) however, she is getting into everything and putting everything in her mouth so i have to watch her like crazy.

For easter we went down to Las Vegas. Ammon and I went to Circus Circus because I have never been. It was pretty fun and we even saw P Diddy! we walked right past him but i didn't realize who he was until it was too late. I have never seen a celebrity before so it was kind of excited! We also went to the rainforest cafe.. pretty cool place, not so great food. Brooklyn liked all the decorations though.

She is now pointing at everything!!!!!!! it is so dang cute! she can say dog, mom, dada, ya, baba, and hi. she can wave hi and bye and claps her hands to everything. She loves to read books!!! she loves to turn the pages and point at everything. She is my beautiful baby girl and she makes me so happy. i love her so much.

Ammon and I are also training for a 5 k. HA! good luck to me! i haven't ran or worked out in years.. I'm not even joking. So we went running and i didn't even last 10 min and couldn't even run a mile. My whole mom's side of the family is trying to get into shape and eat healthier so its nice that we are al doing it together. I just have alot of work to do! and never have time to go running because its too cold for brooklyn still... So.. anyone in cedar who can watch brooklyn for like 15-30 min a day so i can go running i woud really appreciate it :)

Yeah I lucked out!!!

2010-04-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

So I happened to be the luckiest guy in the world!!! Cortney and I have been married almost two years now and have a little bottle rocket of a daughter that has an amazing uptempo personality that loves this new adventure she's undertaking. So why am I the luckiest guy? It's been a bumpy road that Cortney and I have been traveling along for the short time that we've actually been together, but it's been worth more to me than anything else I've ever been exposed too. I'm incredibly fortunate to have found such a wonderful wife and friend! Yes, she pretty close to perfection and mature far beyond her years... My Sweetheart still gives me chills throughout my whole body and it's the best adrenaline rush I've ever had, she has sacrificed so much for me and I can't even imagine life without her. The way she makes me smile when i walk through the door when i get home, how she kisses me, the way her hips sway when she walks( I love it!!), her funny laugh when she's trying to be serious, how she cuddles up next to me and tryies to warm her hands by putting her freezing hands under my shirt...I just can't get enough of her!! But nothing can compare to the way my spirit radiates when she's next to me, i think I'm beginning to understand better what love is because of her. Cortney I love you and like I've said before no matter what I'll always love you and strive to become a better man for you. I can't wait to see how our children turn out as a result of the amazing mother and wife you are.

Sick Girl and Spring Break

2010-03-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Lots has happened in the past few weeks. Brooklyn got really really sick. As you know I work at a daycare and Brooklyn is there with me all the time. This one kid seems to always be sick and they didn't send him home so Brooklyn got really sick. She had a 103.8 fever for two days, had a really bad cough, and super congested. She had a hard time breathing and was just miserable and couldn't sleep. On Sat we took her to Insta Care and they pretty much said she had a cold and sent us home with an antibiotic.. well things got alot worse that day and night. fever got up to 104 with motrin so sunday we took her to the ER and they did all these mean tests like took an xray of her chest, drained her nose, tested for RSV etc... she had bronchitis and pnemonia developing in her lungs... on top of an ear infection and teething.. POOR GIRL!
However, this last week was Spring Break and I got the whole week off so we went to Orem. I was starting to get sick because I hadn't slept in weeks and ammon and i really needed a break. My parents are amazing especially my mom. THey helped so much with taking care of brooklyn. They took her for 3 nights so ammon and i could get some sleep. THey spoil her so much and she just loves my family. Especially Spencer and Emily! Its so funny and they are so cute with her. Well we had lots of plans for Spring Break. Ammon and I went and stayed where we stayed the night we got married. Its called Caste Creek Inn and its in Sandy Ut. It was really nice and relaxing. Ammon got a special package with rose petals and candles and sparkling cidar and chocolate so that was there when we got there and they have lots of games and movies and snakes and stuff you can also take. It was nice just to watch a movie together and relax and actually get seep without worrying about Brooklyn. I knew my mom would take good care of her so I wasn't worried at all.
The next day we went to the Aquarium. I wanted to go to the zoo but it was too cold and Brooklyn was still a little sick. The Aquarium was kind of small but it was still pretty fun and Brookyln loved it. We got to watch people feed sting rays and got to touch them so that was kinda fun.
I also went with my amazing grandma conrad and cousins ashley and alexi and sister amy to a place called Color Me Mine. It was alot of fun to hang out with them because I never see them anymore. And my pot turned out SO cute for Brooklyn's room.
Brooklyn is now over 20 pounds! and her bottom two teeth came through FINALLY! we're starting to look for front facing Car Seats so if you have any recommendations let me know. She can now say momma dada baba yaya point with her finger and wave bye bye and clap her hands. SHE IS SO FREAKIN CUTE!
Oh also! The Cahoon Family is going to do this ECO challenge thing. So i have 2 months to train for a 5 k and on July 4 my goal is to run a 10 k. Now that might sound easy but I went running for the first time in two years and couldn't even do a half a mile so I have alot of work to do but it will be good for me :)
Well its not letting me post pictures so I'll try to later! SOrry!

Swimmin!

2010-02-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

So today I didn't have work! I love those days! And Ammon got done at 12 with everything so we decided to drive down and go to the pool in St. George!! IT was a last minute thing and was SOOOOOO much fun oh my goodness it was a blast. My mom bought Brooklyn a swimsuit when she was down here two weeks ago and it is so cute.

Anyways, the pool has a kiddie area and slides and i little whirl pool thing and it was just so fun! Brooklyn was just kicking like crazy-anyone who knows her knows her feet go at like 100 mph whenever she is excited... So she was kicking and squealing and clapping her hands constantly. SHe loved the water and just splashed and laughed and just loved watching people and was just a joy to watch. I tried taking some pictures but she didn't want to look at me- she wanted to look at everthing and everyone else. So these were the best we got!

Isn't she so cute! and ammon is just the best dad ever!!!!!

growing up too fast

2010-02-22T10:21:00.001-08:00

So i don't really have anything too excited to post about. Ammon and I are both just busy with working and school. He just got a new job at a place called Chrysalis and works friday sat and sunday from 11 at night to 730 in the morning. Its hard and he gets about 3 hours of sleep in the day if he's lucky. I am working at the day care still and hate it. I wish i didn't have too but Brooklyn likes playing with the other kids and we need the money

Brooklyn turns 8 months next week. 8 months!! i can't even believe it!!! she's crawling so fast and getting into eveything.. she can stand up in her crib and stand up holding onto furniture or the wall or pretty much everything. she's starting to walk alongside furniture and hold on with one hand. its crazy! we've been talking about when we should try to have another one and it freaks me out because i feel like i was just pregnant and don't think i'm ready for that again because it was so awful with brooklyn. there is no way i could take care of her if i'm that sick again.

Another thing I did recently was host a slumber party :) I've never been to one before but it was SO Much fun! and i got SOOO much free stuff. if you havn't had one or been to one i highly recommend it.. seriously i got a ton of stuff..

I also got a new calling in the ward so now i have two :) we are assistant ward missionaries and i am the chorister in R.S.

Brooklyn is also teething way bad.. she's getting the two on the bottom at the same time.. They haven't broke through yet but should any time. I had no idea that they come up and go back down and come up again a few times before they break through.. must be painful.. someone also told me the pain is equivelent to a split bone.. OUCH!! poor girl. She's in alot of pain and I can tell. She's waking up about two times a night and just cries... it's so sad..

Oh also! for Valentines Day we went to a stake valentines dance! it Was SOO Much fun! brooklyn loved it!! we took her to the nursery for a bit and kept going to check on her. Lots of other babies were crying and she could care less if we were there or not.. I love that she loves people and is so happy and doesn't scream when we leave her. it makes it alot less stressful for me. We took her in to dance a couple times and she would just kick like crazy and squeal and laugh and clap her hands and it was so much fun. I love my little family :)

crawling!

2010-01-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn is finally crawling!!! yay! she started like 2 weeks ago but was kind of akward at it and now she's becoming a pro. its so fun and she is so proud and i'm lucky she's still kind of slow cuz i can catch her before she gets too far. :) she's doing so good and i am loving every min of it! She's now eating pretty much everything. well, all of the baby foods and stuff she LOVES oatmeal! and green peans, sweet potatoes, squash, applesauce and lots of other stuff. we've started giving her mashed potatoes and some bread and pancakes and stuff and she loves it! But her favorites are those little yogurt meltables and the little puff things that melt in your mouth! she can grab them with her fingers and feed her self and she loves it! its nice cuz i can sit her in her high chair while i do dishes and she'll just eat. its so cute! she's saying da da CONSTANTLY and when she's in a bad mood she says mama.. she is clapping her hands and it is so dang cute!!!!

I am super busy with work, and school, and being a mom. It's hard and stressful but i'm hangin in there.. Ammon just got offered a new job and he only works three days a week and they are graveyard shifts but it actually works out best because he has the whole week to focus on school and then works friday sat and sunday and he gets patient exposure hours for PA school. He has the hours guaranteed rather then the car wash-if it snows or weather is bad-he doesn't work. it sucks. So hopefully he'll enjoy this.

I hope this video works.. this was the 2nd day she started and she does this weird little hop thing but its so cute! she LOVES keys, phones, and remotes... if she sees one she goes after it and doesn't even care about her toys.

6 months

2010-01-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn had her six month checkup today. Stats are
height 27 1/2 inches she's in the 94 percentile
weight 18 pounds 10 ounces 88th percentile
She got 4 shots and an oral medication. HATED IT
such a big girl. She's teething majorly, saying ma ma, trying to pull herself up to a standing position and eating like crazy. she is such a good sweet heart but can be so stubborn sometimes. I love how excited she gets when i go get her in the morning from her crib.
She can go from sitting position to hands and knees back to sitting position, she loves beeing on her knees and goes directly to pulling herslef on her knees in the crib, or bath. If she can get ahold of your leg or anything she tries to pull herself up. She is talking like crazy all the time and is such a joy! i love her! :)

update

2010-01-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I blogged...even though i dont think anyone reads it but thats ok. Well a few weeks ago I went up to Orem with Brooklyn just me and her for a few days to take some presents up and to bring a ton back to cedar. I loved going to up to orem. I love seeing family! The Conrad's had the Christmas party at the ranch this year so Brooklyn got to sit on Santa's Lap! (if anyone has those pics please send them to me). The party was fun and of course i loved seeing everyone.

For Christmas we went down to Vegas. It was different but very fun. It was my first Christmas away from home and Brooklyns first Christmas. I dont know if it was just me but this year didn't really feel like Christmas... I missed going up to temple square and listening to the Mormon Tab sing and going and looking at christmas lights and singing songs by the piano, reading chirstmas stories, caroling and everything else. I definitly need to start doing traditions in our home.

Vegas was really fun. We did a white elephant game christmas eve and read the book A christmas Dress for Ellen. One of my favorites. We just hung out with the family and played lots of games. Ammon's brother and his wife took us out for Ammon's birthday and we went to dinner and had a blast with them. Ammon's other brother Seth and his wife blessed there little baby while we were there. SHE IS TINY! i think she's 5 pounds now. Crazy.

When we got back we had all our presents to open here. It was fun and we got spoiled rotton. Ammon got a nice electric razor and aqcua di gio cologne, snow boots, a few games, shirts, the bean game, and fruit snake. i got a gingerbread house, a glider FINALLY!! i've been wanting once since i was pregnant and I LOVE IT!, lots of clothes, the book The Hunger games which i already read and LOVED! and my favorite present of all was what my dad gave me. He gave us DVD's of all our families home videos. I love watching our family home videos and the memories are so special to me. The present meant alot to me and I watch them all the time.

So ammon turned 26 and Brooklyn is now 6 months old. She is growing and growing and can now sit up then get to her tummy and almost get back to sitting up again. She is no where near crawling but if i put her on her knees she starts rocking :) she is such a sweetheart but is getting a little attitude. She is very demanding. But i love her :)

Well our new years sucked... like i have said before we have no life or friends in cedar so we watched a movie and went to bed at like 11. i know we are super lame. oh well.

Oh we also took family pictures so here are some of those! Oh and i know this is kinda lame but can you post a comment on this one if I dont have you already on my friends and family contact list.. thanks!

big week

2009-11-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

So lots has happened since i last blogged... I am back at work at the daycare. It sucks i'm not going to lie but we need the money and Brooklyn doesn't leave my site so its ok. BUT i do have to pay to bring her there.. which is super lame since i'm the one watching her.. So its a love hate thing but she really enjoys interacting with other kids and it gives me something to do so its not too bad.
Last week my cousin Brandon came home from his mission!! yay! i wasn't able to go to the airport but i did get to go to his homecoming yesterday and he looks so good! it was like he never left! he gave an amazing talk and seems to have adjusted back to life just fine. It was so great to see family since I never do anymore it seems like because i live so freakin far away from everyone. It was really fu

The sad part is that Brooklyn went with my mom back to Orem last night and is staying with her for three days!!!!! I CANT BELIEVE I LET HER GO! 3 days is a long time! we'll be in orem late wed night but what am i going to do with myself!! i dont even remember what its like to have free time.. maybe i'll take a nap :) but i didn't cry saying goodbye surprisingly. it just kind of happened so fast and now i miss her like crazy! but... i got to sleep in, ammon and i are going to the temple tomorrow, we actually have alone time and i can actually get stuff done. So i guess thats a good thing. I keep calling my mom like every hour asking how she is doing and if she is happy and to send me a picture. She seems to be doing great and is happy and slept 8 hours so that makes me happy.

I can't wait for this weekend. I get to get my daughter back, spend MORE time with family, see friends, and its THANKSGIVING! i love it! and then when we get back i will put the christmas tree up! Hopefully we will be able to go to Temple Square to see the lights and see everyone :) we really just need to move up there!

2009-11-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

So brooklyn is now four months old! she finally is rolling over from her back to her tummy-but then she gets stuck. She is sitting like a pro. Eating Cereal. Laughing. Holding her bottle and just being amazing. Tomorrow she has to get shots and i'm not excited about that. I hate being there and hearing her scream.

She looked so cute in her halloween costume. Everyone kept saying she was the cutest pumpkin they had seen :) except some people were like oh he's so cute.. Really guys? MY KID DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A BOY!! kind of made me upset. But for halloween we went to the trunk or treat at the institute it was really fun. We went to wingers where whitney works with her husband kurt. We absolutely love hanging out with them. They are hilarious and we always have a blast. If it wasn't for them I would hate Cedar more then I already do now.

I need to get out of cedar soon! all i do is sit at home all day by myself. it SUCKS. its too cold to take brooklyn outside for a walk and all the girls i like to hang out with work and go to school so i dont do anything. I know i shouldn't complain but i feel like a loser sometimes.

Anyways I'm trying to decide if i should go back to schol next semester. That was the plan but i kind of like not going... haha i guess we'll see if ammon and i can arrange our schedules so we dont have to take her to a day care. but its going to be hard because ammon is going to school full tme and working and getting hours at the hospital too so maybe i'll just do a few online classes.

I'm really excited for this coming up month. My cousin Brandon comes home from his mission and its Thanksgiving! which means we get to go up to Orem! I love going up and seeing my friends and family!! Alot of my family still hasn't seen Brooklyn so it will be fun. I love my family. They are the best. We are going to the ranch this year and spending the holiday with my dad's side of the family. I cant wait to see all of them!

Amazing Dessert

2009-10-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

So one night at institute our teacher made us this delicious dessert and gave us the recipe and I loved it so I finally made it last night and can i say AMAZING. :) its now one of my favorites so I want to share it with everyone! its so easy and so delicious i promise!

Sour Cream Banana Bars
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup butter softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 large)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

heat oven to 375-butter your jelly roll pan or cake pan or whatever you want to use
mix sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs in one bowl
beat in bananas and vanilla
beat in flour, salt, and bakng soda.
spread in pan until light brown (about 20 min)

Frosting for top (A MUST!)
heat 1/4 c butter over med heat until delicate brown
remove from heat
mix in 2 c powdered sugar
beat in 1 tsp vanilla and 3 Tbs milk until smooth
pour over top.

This is So easy to make and is so delicious and I want all of you to make it and tell me what you think! ENJOY!

Update

2009-10-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty fun. We went down to Vegas to visit Ammon's Family. It was a quick trip. We left sat night and came back monday morning but Brooklyn got to play with her cousins and it was nice to have other people there to watch her so ammon and i could just relax. We were able to get away for the 2nd time since she's been born and we went to a haunted house.. I LOVE HAUNTED HOUSES. I love amusement parks and roller coasters and anything that gets your heart pumping and adrenelin running. I havn't been to a haunted house in 3 years so we went and it was so disappointing. Way overpriced and not scary at all. It was just really small and not that great; but it was good to get out for a little. Next year tho he promised we're going to a better one in salt lake or something.

Our sister in law took some pictures of us on sunday which was nice because we have practically no pictures of us as a family.

Brooklyn is getting huge! I want to put her on a diet. She drinks 5 ounces every 2 1/2 hours.. She weighs 15 pounds is 24 inches long and is size two diapers. WOW. That puts her in the 90% for her weight adn 75%for her length. But she's cute so its ok. haha here are some pics from the weekend. :)

3 months!

2009-09-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today brooklyn is 3 months old!!!!!! So crazy! This picture was taken on Sunday right before church. She is so cute and so happy. if she isn't smiling she's most likely asleep or eating. She is such a joy and blessing in our lives and we love her so much. I can't believe how fast the time goes and how fast she grows. She is holding her own bottle and sits up really good-not quite by herself but she is so strong and stands up with us only holding onto one hand. She is sleeping 6-7 hours straight at night wakes up eats and goes back to bed for 3 hours.. I LOVE IT!!!! I bought a little doorway jumper for her that should be here in a couple weeks which will be great to have because she is always wanting to sit up or stand up so i can put her in that while i do housework or something. I can not even imagine life without her. You think you love someone so much but once you have a baby of your own you have this love so strong for someone who all they do is cry poop and eat and its crazy but I would do anything for her and I just stare at her all the time and she just makes me so incredibly happy and I get emotional sometimes thinking how much she blesses me and ammon and the sweet spirit she brings into our home. She has brought us closer together and we want the best for her. Being married is amazing but having a family is the most rewarding thing ever.

our wedding video

2009-09-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

So I guess i'm just terrible with computers because i've been trying to get our wedding video saved to the computer so I can put it on facebook and this blog and I could never figure it out.. Somehow I was able to put it on youtube.. and put a link on this blog.. I have no idea how i did that.. and its still not saved to the computer but I absolutely love our wedding video its beautiful and ammon and I love to watch it together to remind us of the best day we've ever experienced.. Its crazy to watch and be see how much has changed in one year! but anyways! you should watch our growing up video and the short clip of us at the temple... its on the right under video bar. I couldn't figure out how to do the other parts of the reception and stuff.. so i apologize. ENJOY :)

i think she's pretty cute

2009-09-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

i love this pic.. Brooklyn is learning how to mimic our faces and sounds we do with our voice. She is very smart!! isnt she so cute? she's getting so big!

baby blessing

2009-09-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

This week has been absolutely fantastic. On Sat was the Iron County Fair and we all went and rode on the carnival rides, ate funnel cakes, and alot of yummy food. it was a blast. we made my parents go on a ride and now i regret it. my mom and dad got really sick. especially my mom. she had to go lay down and they ended up leaving really early because she was so nauseous. :( Emily and spencer loved all the rides and so did all of ammon's family. it was alot of fun to all be there together. But the highlight of the week was today at brooklyns blessing. we had alot of friends and family that came to support her and we are so greatful for them. We had great grandparents and her great great grandpa. We were able to take a 5 generation picture-how cool is that?

Ammon did such a good job doing the blessing and the testimony meeting after was beautiful and the spirit was so strong. I was so greatful for my friends that came down from orem. Heather, Talia, Jessa, and Vanessa. They are amazing girls and I love them so much. They are all wonderful examples to me and they are just the best friends I could ever ask for. After the blessing we were able to go to the park and have a really nice luncheon. The food was amazing and everyone had a great time! It was so much fun but i was exhausted after. I love when friends and family come to visit but its so nice to just go home with our little family and relax.

Brooklyn is getting so big. She had her 2 month checkup last week. She now weighs almost 12 pounds! She is getting so strong too-holding her head up really straight and if you hold her hands she stands up. She's getting control of her hands and its hilarious to watch her put her fist up and just stare at it. She concentrates so hard to try to move it but doesn't quite get how too.. She's smiling and talking all day long and sleeping alot better during the night. She still loves baths and falls asleep almost every time. She'sstill a daddy's girl by far and Ammon is the best dad in the world. Brooklyn had to get shots last week and I was not excited for it. She was so happy at the doctors and smiling and then all of a sudden started screaming. It broke my heart. but once ammon picked her up she calmed right down. We gave her some grape flavored tylenol when we got home and she really enjoyed that! :) She is such a blessing in our lives and brings such a sweet spirit in our home. She has brought Ammon and I closer together and I love her more then she will ever know.

2009-08-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

So its been awhile since i've posted anything. Its kind of hard because we don't have internet at our place so if i want to get on the computer I have to go clear to the library which is now a pain and isn't just me jumping in the car. i have to make sure brooklyn is fed and changed and diaper bag is packed, put her in car seat, etc etc.. She is getting SOOO big i can't believe it but she is so fun. Last night she slept great and I woke up feeling like a new person. She usually wakes up and eats every 3 hours at 12 3 6 and 9 but last night she slept from 1130 to 430. I was so happy and she was just smiling like crazy when she woke up and i couldn't help but laugh. you can't be mad at a smling baby even if they do wake you up all the time.

Brooklyn is getting so strong its crazy she holds her head up like its no big deal and last week she rolled over! yup thats right. she was not even 5 weeks old and we were at my parents house and she just rolled over and Ammon was the only one that saw so we put her back on her tummy and she did it again and we got it on video camera!! she's only done it a few times since then but i dont care.. she rolled over for the first time and i can prove it! haha

Last week was crazy busy. we went up to orem for my friend krystal's wedding and our friends elyse and brandon were also married. Last week (well aug 1) was our one year anniversary! i never would've thought that we would have a baby by our one year anniversary but hey i wouldn't change anything. Ammon and I went and got a couples massage which was very much needed it was great. Emily stayed home with brooklyn and i feel so bad because she just screamed the whole time and poor emily didn't know what to do. Good thing my mom got home in time to help.

Well nothing else is really new. Brooklyn will be 6 weeks tomorrow which is crazy. Time goes by so much faster now that she is here and I am loving every min of it.

brooklyn

2009-07-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

so today baby brooklyn is 3 weeks old! wow time sure flies. anyways i wanted to tell a few stories about having her here. i forgot to mention before that during labor i got a fever so she had to be in the icu for 3 days to make sure nothing was passed on to her. She also got jaundice pretty bad and had to be under lights at home for almost a week. poor girl. we had to take her every morning to get blood drawn from her heel and i wouldn't go back because i didn't want to hear her screaming.. surprisingly she didn't make a sound any time. ammon said she would just look around and it was no big deal.. she handles pain better then i do.

She is such a good baby she never even cries! lucky us! she's on a really good schedule and eats about every 3hours. the only thing that i complain about is breastfeeding. it can be very painful-especially if you have mastitis :(. But she is doing awesome and growing like crazy! she was 7 11 and 19 1/2 inches long when she was born and at her 2 week appt she was 8 2 and 21 inches long!! She is also so so strong. she lifts her head up no problem for like 30 seconds and has huge thunder thighs!! when she gets mad she kicks and if she's laying on my chest or on the floor she pushes her butt up in the air..she pushes on the floor and scoots herself forward...pretty sure thats not normal for a 3 week old..

Brooklyn loves loves loves baths. she just kicks and coos and smiles and doesn't throw a fit at all and is so incredibly cute! however one time i took a loratab for pain and it knocked her out for like 2 days. i couldn't wake her up for anything.. i would give her a bath, wash her hair, put a washcloth on her face, rub her feet touch her face, change her diaper, and do everything i could think of to wake her up and nothing.. i drugged my baby. i felt so bad but it was pretty funny.

Another funny story that happened was she pooped on me. Every time she gets her diaper changed she either pees or poops during the process or right after. This one particular time i didnt put a clean diaper underneath and it was like rocket! she pooped so much and it got all over my legs my feet and the carpet. it was disgusting and ammon was rolling on the floor laughing. Anyways i still love being a mom she's absolutely perfect and beautiful. she loves to be sung to and talked to and will just sit and stare at you. she's so fun and such a daddy's girl. :)

SHE'S HERE!!

2009-07-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

well its been a while since i've written and so i have alot to catch up on.. two weeks ago i went in for my checkup and had really high blood pressure so i was put on strict bed rest beause we found out that I had pre-eclampsia.. pretty scary stuff. the next week i went in again and it was still high so they decided to induce me. My doctor stripped my membranes which was not fun to hopefully move things along. I was scheduled to come at 12:01 a.m. on june 30. But at 7 p.m. i started getting contractions every 4 min apart. We arried at the hospital at midnight and I was still only dialated to a 2+. So I got induced and it was just a matter of time. Ammon went to bed and i just sat there through the contractions. They didn't get bad until about 3:30 a.m. I woke Ammon up at 5 and got in the bath they have there. Then they were not so much fun. The nurse came in to check me and i was at a 3+. So almost 12 hours of contractions every 4 min and it was barely doing anything. I was so exhausted! At 8 in the morning the nurse said I could have the epidural now or in a few hours. I decided to get it and it wasn't that bad! thank goodness. I felt great. My mom and sister emily were there and so were Ammon's parents to help distract me. At about 12 I got checked and was at a 5+ and I was thinking it was going to be a long day however i started getting some intense pressure and asked to be checked again and hurray! i was ready!!! so at 1 p.m. i started pushing. my doctor was great and did alot of massage so i didn't have to get cut and at 1:43 p.m she was here! it was the most amazing experience ever and the coolest part was I got to grab her and pull her up on my chest. I was able to see her head come out and hold on to her and lift her up. i was so emotional and couldn't believe she was here. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long with a full head of hair! Brooklyn Mae is the most amazing perfect baby. She never cries and is on a really good schedule of feedig every 3 hours. She makes me exhausted but is so much fun to have. I was so lucky to have so many people here to support me. Ammons parents, my parents, my sisters amy and emily, and one of my best friends talia and her husband were all outside the door waiting for Brooklyn's arrival. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family and husband to help me and support me in being a mother.

p.s. there are aton of pictures on my facebook!

baby crib!

2009-06-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

so i finally have some pictures to show! i still can't find my camera connector thing so these are lame phone pictures but hey better than nothing right! so i have about 3 1/2 weeks left and i'm getting so anxious! and incredibly nervous. I'm scared somethings going to go wrong because i'm one of those people that have to know exactly whats going to happen.. which can be really annoying but thats just how i am. i can't wait to see her!!! we're almost all moved in which is really exciting. my dad and brother spencer came down this last weekend which was really fun.. my dad did another triathalon down in st george! he's crazy! but we got the crib set up which is beautiful! i love it so much. we got our piano tunned finally so i can play again.. and ammon and i spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday. i hate speaking.. with a passion!!! but we actually did a pretty good job. well thats all the news i have for now.. hopefully in the next couple weeks we'll have our little girl here and then i'll be posting about 20 pictures a day :)

crazy fun weekend

2009-06-08T12:52:00.001-07:00

So. Of course I dont have any pictures to put. I really am terrible. I used to take pictures of everyone and everything but i've taken like 5 since i've been married. Anyways, two weeks ago was an amazing weekend! I got to go up to Orem and see my family. My beautiful sister Amy graduated from highschool. I am so proud of her. Even tho I absolutely hate sitting through graduations it was exciting to see my lil sis all grown up. Weird... That night we had a graduation barbeque with friends and family which was a blast! i love seeing family that i havn't seen in a long time. We ate alot of food and just had a blast. That weekend I also had two baby showers! I am def a lucky girl and Brooklyn is already so spoiled. Friday night my really good friend Talia did one for me and all of my friends. It was really fun! we played games ate talked and opened presents and I got some really really cute outfits and it just gets me so excited to have her here! The next day my dad participated in a triathalon! He did amazing and I was so proud!!! He swam 1/2 mile biked 13 miles and ran 3. It was so much fun to cheer him on and he did so well! That day my hubby and his family came up for the family baby shower which was also amazing. My family is awesome and got me some pretty sweet stuff. I got the crib that I wanted which is beautiful and is really neat because it converts all the way to a twin bed. I also got a stroller and car seat that I love!!! and the most beautiful bed set for baby brooklyn! I had it picked out and my aunt kristy and cousin britt got it for me! I got so much stuff and cute things and I couldn't wait to set it all up and decorate her room! Once its all done I will post some pictures. Ammon and I have gotten really good at spending money on a baby thats not even bored. :) Every time we go to walmart we always go past the baby section and I can't help but buy something. She's so spoiled its ridiculous but I'd rather spend money on her then me and she deserves the very best.. Except diapers suck to buy. They are expensive.. we've been trying to stock up but we added it all up and have like 3 months worth lol .. crap.. haha oh well! anyways I have about 4 weeks left until she gets here and I still have so much to do! I promise i'll get better at posting pictures!

33 weeks

2009-05-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

So I am terrible at updating my blog and I apologize.. We just moved into our cute little apartment and love it! Its really small but we know its a great change for us.. Its crazy saying oh that goes in the baby room.. SO WEIRD. haha anyways I'm 33 weeks pregnant! WOW time has gone by so fast and I hope the next 7 weeks go by faster. Its starting to get quite uncomfortable and I feel like I'm in my first trimester again. I get like 5 hours of sleep a night.. I'm always wanting a nap but I work every day at 1.. so that never happens so i'm always grumpy and tired when i get home. Good thing I have an amazing husband who takes care of me. Brooklyn is getting a lot bigger and so am I. I can feel her wiggle very easily now and sometimes she hurts! I can't wait to see her and be able to hold her in my arms. SInce we moved into the new apartment we get cable! WOOT WOOT haha so I watch a baby story every morning and cry every time the baby is born. Its ridiculous.. I'm going to be a wreck when its my turn. Anyways here are some pregnancy pictures that I promised.. Sorry they aren't great.. I'll have to put some better ones later on.

Update!

2009-04-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

So I havn't really had anything to write about until now. Finals are over which means school is done! I'm so happy and not as stressed out anymore. I passed all my classes except for one because I had a stupid teacher FAIL me because I missed too many days from being sick. Even with a doctors note and turning every assignment on time- he didn't care. F. I was really upset. He's stupid.
Lately I've been feeling very very pregnant. I'll be 30 weeks on sat! crazy!!!! only 10 weeks left to go and Brooklyn will be here. We've been attending the classes every week and i'll admit I'm SCARED TO DEATH FOR LABOR! we learned all about epidurals, episiotomies, the foreceps and vacuum thing they use and all of that fun scary stuff. If any of you know me-my biggest fear is needles. I want to cry when I get poked in the arm so watching someone get an epidural made me want to pass out. I started feeling so sick and it was kind of pathetic. I just hope that before I get an epidural I'm not freaking out because I can't handle the pain. The hospital doesn't want to give the epidural until your dialated to a 5 and i've heard its extremely painful before you get to that point. So if I am in pain I hope its not for like 30 hours or something. Anyways on a happier note about being pregnant. Brooklyn is driving me crazy!!!!! She keeps me up at night and wont stop kicking my side when i'm trying to sleep cuz she's trying to get me to move. She's so funny though, the other day she stuck her head out a little so i pushed it back in and then she pushed it out so i pushed it in.. she pushed it out so i started rubbing her head in a circular motion and then would go to the other side and i could feel her flip and go over there and stick her head out! SHE LOVED IT! ammon tried and the same thing happened. We couldn't stop laughing. Also, she loves otter pops. I start eating one and immediately she starts kickin and spinning or doing jumping jacks or whatever she does.. :) i love her and can't wait to meet her.
Another exciting thing that is happening is that the apartment place called!!! We've been living in this 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house since we got married and its been great but the apartment we are moving into only requires you to pay 30% of your income... So I dont have to work and I wont stress about Ammon making enough to pay for rent and all the bills. Its such a blessing that we get to move in next month right before the baby comes. Its perfect timing and we are so happy!
I have more prego pictures to post but forgot my camera so I will do that later! Anyways thats an update on us!

Birth classes and Brooklyn!

2009-04-02T16:12:00.001-07:00

So yesterday was an exciting day! we got to go to our first child birth class.. i had no idea what to expect but now i'm super excited to go everyweek! our teacher is hilarious which always makes things fun. we learned about kick counts, the schedule, we took a tour of the labor and delivery room and stuff, we watched a video about different relaxation techniques to do during labor.. i will probably try all of them.. it was kind of sad cuz all the guys in the class were laughing at all the girls in the video cuz they were moaning, and sweating, and crying, and all that stuff...but it does not look like fun. we learned about pain.. and how to not focus on it and a bunch of other things. it was really helpful .. i just hope i dont forget all the stuff when its time for the real thing.. but I probably will.

Also today was very exciting! We got to go do a 3-d ultrasound to see our little baby! I'll be honest. I was kind of disappointed. The lady doing it seemed like she was in a hurry and she only had us scheduled for like 20 min. Brooklyn was moving a ton so a lot of the shots were really blury. I was kind of sad but on the plus side we did get to see a little bit of her. We saw her scratchin her face and sticking out her tongue and crossing her legs.. she was even in a position with her foot over her hand right by her head.. i was impressed.. she also yawned, and blinked! it was exciting! When she was being stubborn and not moving we would push on her butt like 5 times to get her to move and she looked like she was glaring haha she's a cutie. It is so crazy knowing that the next time we see her she'll be in our arms. only 100 days to go!!!

Us

2009-03-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

What is your husband's name? Ammon Gutierrez
How long have you been married? 8 months!
How long did you date? 3 1/2 months long distant and then two in Cedar before we got engaged
How old is he? 25
Who eats more sweets? Def Me :)
Who said I love you first? Ammon :) It was amazing!
Who is smarter? We both have our places lol
Who does the laundry? We both do.
Who pays the bills? We both do.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Usually him
Who cooks dinner? We switch off.
Who drives? Both of us.
Who kissed who first? Ammon:)
Who asked who out first? Ammon :)
What are your middle names? mine is dianne
How long have you been together? 1 1/2 years or something
Do you have any children together?One on the way!
What about pets? zero
Who is the most sensitive? Me
Where do you eat out most as a couple? oo many different places. we love olive garden
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Mexico
Who has the worst temper? Me.. but we're both pretty mild..and stubborn
Who is the neat Freak? Him
Who is the more stubborn? depends on the day..and topic lol
Who hogs the bed? AMMON!
Who wakes up earlier? ammon.. and then he wakes me up and gets me mad
Where was your first date? IHOP and then BYU UNLV football game
Do you get flowers often? Yes yes! he's great at giving me all sorts of surprises
Who snores louder? Ammon does for sure :)
How long did it take to get serious? Not long at all. Like a month maybe..

Marriage and Pregnancy

2009-03-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to finally update my blog. SO many people told me to get one and i havn't done a thing with it. So a little update on our life... Ammon and I have been married for 8 months and I'm six months pregnant! Crazy i know. We weren't planning on starting our family so soon but now that we are going to have a baby, I can't even imagine not being pregnant right now. I'm 25 weeks along and we are having a baby girl whose name will be Brooklyn Mae Gutierrez. This pregnancy has been hard, exciting, fun,spiritual, emotional and a whole bunch of other things. Ive never been so sick in my life and it seems like its one thing after another but I have such an amazing husband who takes care of me and i know I couldn't do it with out him. Brooklyn is moving so much and everytime I feel like I hate being pregnant or dont want to do it anymore she reminds me she's there and how worth it its going to be. Of course I know being a mom wont be easy but I can not wait until she's here! Only three more months! Ammon and I are so excited and it seems like its taking forever! My baby bump isn't so little anymore and its still crazy to me that we're going to have a baby. She's due only july 11 but I secretely am hoping she's here at the end of june :) Our doctor that we have is absolutely amazing and has made me comfortable with this whole experience. So i'm excited for that part. We start birth classes tomorrow which will be fun I hope. We have some friends Sammy and Landon that are in the class too so that will be fun.

My Family

2008-09-17T18:09:00.001-07:00

Create your own bubble graphics at pYzam.com

2008-09-17T12:05:00.001-07:00

We got married on Aug 1, 2008 and can't believe how fast time is flying by! We are living in Cedar City and are both attending school at Southern Utah University.I am an Elementary Education major and Ammon is a Finance major. We are both loving the marriage life and couldn't be happier!