Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year was a good one.  It started out with a lovely breakfast in bed.  I lay in my bed listening to Mike and Evan rumble around in the kitchen making me toast and eggs and a breakfast smoothie. I laughed a little when the fire alarm went off and there was a scramble downstairs to fan the alarm to turn it off.  My family loves me.  :)  I got some pretty earrings and a matching necklace and a super cute note and card from Mike and the boys. 

When we got home from church and Grandma and Grandpa Jensen came over for dinner.  That's when the real excitement began.  Mike set the grill to preheat so he could cook our steaks.  When he went back to actually put the steaks on the grill, the grill was on fire.  He started yelling at me to bring the fire extinguisher (we don't have one) and then said to get out of the house because the tank was going to explode.  Grandma took Evan outside and I ran upstairs to get Noah, who was sleeping in our room.  We all made it out and I couldn't find Mike.  I thought he was trying to hero with a tank that was about to explode but he was down on the side of the house trying to keep the flames from reaching the house.  I called 911 and it took FOREVER for the fire truck to arrive.  (Kind of disppointing when the fire house is just down the street.) Everything worked out, Mike got the fire out and we grilled the steaks on the Foreman instead.  :)  It was so scary!!  The fathers cooking for the mothers is a good thought in theory but I think mom and I will handle it next year.

Healthy living and the Ballard family 5K

After I had Noah, I was feeling pretty crummy, as most new moms do, about the weight I had gained and how I felt in my clothes.  So I'm doing something about it.  I'm also grateful that Mike has started working with me.  In fact, he's kicking my tush in the weight loss department.  We started out by organizing a "Biggest Loser" competition with the Wilson/Jensen family.  It was pretty good race and VERY motivating.  Accountability has been huge.  Kim won the competition, Mike came in 2nd (20 lbs lost!) and I came in 3rd (10 lbs lost).  We're feeling great, eating healthier and we just started running 5K's.  Part of my weight loss plan has been drinking green smoothies.  I love them!  They actually taste really good and it gets me to drink a ton of fruits and veggies all in one shot.  I even crave them.  This is the "Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie".  Strawberries, carrot, beet, coconut water, cashews, dates and vanilla.  Soooooo gooooood!

We also bought me a bike a few weeks ago.  I'm still kind of shaky on it but I love the cross training.  How did I get so old and out of shape that bike riding is a real work out and not the recreation/fun activity I remember it being when I was a kid??  So one of these days there maybe a duathlon or triathlon in my future.

Kevin and Diana have also been doing a lot of running lately so they organized the first annual Ballard Family 5K fun run.  I was bad at taking pics so the only one I have is a pic of the cake I made for it.

We've still got a long ways to go with our goals but so far it has been so rewarding and something I hope we can all stick to.  We just have to keep remembering how good we feel right now!

Noah 4 months

Noah is now 4 months old! I can't believe how fast time is going. Noah is such a smiley baby! I love his bright blue eyes and how he opens his mouth wide to smile. He's so easy going. On his 4 month birthday, he rolled for the first time (but hasn't since then, go figure). He would rather lay on the floor looking up and talk and smile rather than roll. He live to socialize. Sometimes he doesn't even want to eat because he would rather smile and talk.

Evan is changing so much, too. He talks more and more. He gets into trouble more and more too. A few days ago, Noah was playing in his bouncer chair when I suddenly heard him scream. I turned around and he was soaking wet and Evan was standing next to him with an empty cup of water.  I probably didn't handle the situation as well as I should have. Soon everybody was screaming. :). My favorite part about Evan getting into trouble is making up afterward. I went to check on him in time out and I found him siting so forlorn looking on his bed. I calmly told him he could not pour water on his brother. He apologized to Noah and gave me a hug. Tender moments I hope to never forget.  

Evan has a lot if favorites. He loves the TV show "Little Einsteins". He pats to the beat and yells blast off. He loves to sing "Popcorn Popping" and "If you're happy and you know it". 

Baptisms

We had such a great opportunity to see two baptisms in the past few months. First, we went to Montana to see Jeff and Maria Powell be baptized. This was a particularly joyous occasion because of their previous involvement in the polygamist church. Their baptism was such a beautiful experience and the support shown to them was unbelievable! When we got to the church that morning there were so many cars in the parking lot I thought maybe they were doing stake baptisms. But no, they were all there just for Jeff and Maria.

The second baptisms were Josh and Madison's. I got to make a cake for theirs. We had a nice party afterward.

Cake decorating

I have some very fond memories of my Grandma, the cake decorator. She used to let us look through her cake books and choose what cake we wanted for our birthdays. She also made me, and many others, my wedding cake. I've always thought it might be fun to try so when Grandma called and said she wasn't doing cakes anymore and do I want her stuff, the obvious answer was "Ummm...yeah!" I'm taking some Wilton classes over the summer and after just one class I got antsy and wanted to try it out. Tomorrow we're having a going away party for our friends DJ and Michelle who are going to London to live for the next 8 months so I'm taking advantage of the excuse to make a cake! Here's the final product. I really had fun. I'm glad my mom is a cake decorator too. She helped me put it all together. Here's to many more!

Minivan!

We are spoiled! After weeks, I finally twisted Mikey's arm and got him to buy me a minivan. I feel like I can breathe in my car again! It was super stressful to find somebody to buy the Camry at the right price while hoping to not miss out on the van we had a deposit on. It all finally worked out and here she is! Evan helped us pick it out. Whenever we would go to test drive a car he would throw a fit and cry like he was scared until we found this one. He jumped right in it and couldn't wait to go for a "ride". We couldn't believe it. I think he made a great choice. :)

Easter

Evan is finally starting to get into the holidays. It's so fun! He helped color eggs this year. He's not the most gentile creature with the eggs but they survived and looked great. Both sets of grandparents came over and we had dinner and an Easter egg hunt. We had to show him where most of them were but he thought it was so fun to race back to his basket with them.

No, No, No Your Boat

The new year is always a time to reflect on the past and plan improvements and make changes for the future.  We ushered in the new year this year with a new baby boy to  know and love.  It has definitely been a pleasant change in our little Ballard world.  Noah James Ballard was born on January 3, 2013.  This was after a lot of debate over when he should come. 2013? 2012? New Years Eve? In the end he came when he wanted.  So if he ever doesn't like his birthday it's his own fault.  :)  January 2nd I worked a very long night shift.  By then I was so miserable, sitting down was uncomfortable but standing and doing my job just made my uterus get tied up in knots.  After I was finished with my shift I went home and got to sleep for an hour before my 10 AM Dr.'s appointment.  Shocker, I was 5 cm dilated. My doctor's partner stripped my membranes and promised I would be in labor by the end of the day.  I had my doubts but sure enough the contractions got pretty nasty and I was debating whether or not I should go to the hospital.  Soon after, I got a phone call from Dr. Hutchison's nurse asking if I'd like to just go in that afternoon and have my water broken at the hospital.  I thought that sounded great so we went in.  Dr Hutchison laughed at me for getting my epidural before he broke my water but I wasn't taking any chances...and I'm glad I didn't.  He broke my water at about 3 PM and Noah was born close to 5:30 PM and he couldn't come soon enough.  What a complete joy!  What a moment.  I love the moment after a baby's born when you finally have that realization that he's real and he has really become a new part of your world.  He was a big part of my world too.  A whole 9 lbs. 1 oz. part of my world.  I love my little chunk.  :)  My favorite was when Dr. Hutchison asked what his name is.  "Noah," I replied.  "Well, I think that's an appropriate name," he said, refering to the large amount of fluid that was also involved in his birth.  After that it was time to meet everybody!  It was getting a little late but I couldn't wait for Evan to meet Noah.  

Evan of course was a little apprehensive about it all but he loved his gift from his brother. He got a toy camera that takes real pictures so while everyone else was taking pictures of the new baby Evan got to take pictures too. Best gift ever. Evan loves his little brother. He helps by getting him diapers and his binkie, and he refuses to leave the house without him. After I fell in love with Evan, I had a hard time imagining loving another baby the same way but Noah has made that so easy. He is so happy and good natured. We love him dearly.