Love Life and Life Will Love You Back

Valentine's Day in the Shurtleff Home

2012-02-14T15:54:00.007-05:00

We have had so much fun with Valentine's day this year. First my friend Jenni had on her blog this awesome idea. Target had 1 dollar mailboxes. So we got one and decorated it. Then everyday in February Kaiya has received a letter in her mailbox. Both of her grandparents had sent her some, along with some cousins and an aunt and uncle. Mom and Dad also did a few. She has had so much fun asking us everyday if the mail man had come yet.

Brett has to work tonight so he and I went out last night. Brett gave me a GORGEOUS boutique of roses and Kaiya got her own rose that she has kept in her room since she got it. If she had it her way she would carry it around with her everywhere. Brett and I then got a baby sitter and had a Night out! It was awesome. I ran extra that morning (70min) so that I could afford the extra calories for dinner at on the boarder :D. Then we went and saw The Vow.

This morning Kaiya got red heart shaped pancakes before she was off to school for a Valentine party. I thought about adding red dye to Alaina's milk but decided against it. I made Brett sausage omelette, homemade hashbrowns and a red pancake. Then we went and bought us some weights as our valentine gift to ourselves :D. After school we picked up Kaiya and her friend Stella came over. The girls each got to decorate their own Heat Shaped cookie. While Mommy decorated a bunch to take to Daddy's work later tonight. We have had such a fun Valentines day! It's so fun to be able to show the people you love how much they mean to you. But shouldn't we do that everyday?

Advice from Kaiya

2012-02-10T11:54:00.001-05:00

So I was just talking to Brett and how I was frustrated with not losing weight lately while I have been pushing so hard and dieting. I finally just said well I just hope this works. Well Kaiya turned and said "Mom, don't say hope it works, say it Will work. That's what you need to say". I love that at 3 she is so wise :D

6 Months

2012-02-09T17:40:00.002-05:00

Well Alaina had her 6 month Check up. She weighed 13.8 pounds and was 24 inches long. They said her Height was in the 3rd percentile and her weight in the 10th. Looks like we are going to have another little girl. I love it, helps me to feel like they are babies just a little bit longer. I hate when they have to get shots though. Alaina did really good. But she had this cry like her feelings were really hurt. The poor nurse even got all teary eyed looking at her. Luckly she recovered quickly and took a good long nap when we got home.

Catching Up

2012-02-07T22:51:00.005-05:00

Oh I feel like such an awful Mom. I feel like life took off there for awhile and left me in the dust always playing catch up. I feel awful that I haven't shared much about my sweet little Alaina and the joy that she has brought to our life. Where to even begin....

Well Alaina is 6 months now, wow that went fast. She has just the sweetest personality. She is such a HAPPY baby. If she isn't laughing, she is usually quiet. Except when she starts to get really tired, then she just babbles. We have started Alaina on solid foods, and man does she love them. It's so different from the constant fight I am use to to get Kaiya to eat. Alaina has been sleeping through the night now since about two months. Although she hasn't quiet gotten the memo that this family is not one of early risers.

Now for a quick update on Kaiya. OH MY GOODNESS!! this girl just keeps me on my feet. She is actually a really good girl. She just loves to reason with you for everything. The other night I put her to bed at 8am. She didn't go to sleep until after midnight. She had every excuse in the book for why she just couldn't sleep. Too much on her mind, she needed to watch 3 shows because she is 3. You name it. Man I love this girl! Kaiya does Joy school, a home preschool that me and some Mom's rotate teaching.

As for me I finally graduated from something. I got two associates, one in general education and the other in Pre Psychology. I am still sewing but other wise taking a break and trying to just be Mom, I love it. I have also started really focusing on my Health. After shedding all of the baby weight from Alaina I decided it was time to start working on the rest. Currently I am down 33 pounds from my pre Alaina weight and I have 41 to go to reach my goal. Along the way I have learned to LOVE to run. I try and get out about 3 times a week running any where from 3.4 to 5 miles. I have also found ways to eat healthy and enjoy it too. I am feel so much more energized and good about myself and I love it!

Brett has been working hard to help out our family. He is such an Awesome Father and Husband! He has applied to a few different Nursing Programs and we should be hearing back soon. School won't start until Next fall. We are actually getting ready to pack up all of our stuff put it in storage and head out on an adventure. We are going to Utah for 3 weeks to visit. then stay with Brett's parents for 2 before we head to Nashville TN for the summer. Brett is going to be selling Pest Control while me and the girls explore a new city, hang out at a pool and Miss Daddy a lot. Hopefully this will bring a lot of oppertunities to our family.

Well that is a quick update on life. I am going to try hard to be better and posting. I want my girls to have a record of our life and our little family.

Here are a few pictures..

Family Time

Kaiya and I

Alaina Loves her food

Sew Divine.. Giveaway

2011-09-04T21:33:00.001-04:00

Check out the giveaway over at www.sewdivineboutique.blogspot.com

We ship to Canada too ;)

Alaina's First Photo Shoot

2011-08-24T12:19:00.007-04:00

So a friend from Church asked if she could take some pictures of Alaina for her portfolio. So I said SURE. She did such a great job on them. Here are a few of my favorites

Bili Blanket

2011-08-24T12:16:00.002-04:00

Poor Alaina was a little Jaundice and had to be put on a bili blanket for a whole week. It was really hard on us to not hold her, especially for that first week of her life. Kind of a funny story though. When we took Alaina for her first blood draw to test her levels, The tech poked the heel of her foot to collect the blood. Kaiya was with us and just got this sad look on her face. Then she turned to the lady and said " you just put a whole in my sister" She was so worried. We explained it was okay and Kaiya calmed down a bit about it. But after it was over they gave Kaiya a stuffed animal for being brave haha. Here is Alaina on her little tanning bed.

Kaiya meeting Alaina

2011-08-24T12:09:00.004-04:00

Later in the day after we had Alaina, Brett's mom brought Kaiya to meet her sister. She was really excited to see her, but didn't really want to hold her. I think she was a bit taken back by how small she was. But she fell in love. She kept telling us how small she is and pretty. She would say " Mom she is just so beautiful" "Mom she is so tiny". I asked her if we could keep her and she said YES! But she didn't want to hold her. Well it took us almost a week to figure out why. She thought Alaina's umbilical cord was poop LOL. Once we explained it was not she wanted to hold her a lot more often.

Alaina Rose Shurtleff

2011-08-24T12:06:00.003-04:00

Here is Alaina's really long Birth Story.... Finally

Well On Thursday July 28th Brett, Kaiya and I all went to the hospital around 8 am. We were going in for an Amnio test to check to see if Alaina’s longs were developed enough for us to induce her. An hour after being there and prepped Brett’s Mom came and picked up Kaiya to take her to the beach for the day with her cousins. SO for those of you who don’t know I have a major fear of needles. I just don’t like the idea of it being inside me. So an amnio was a very scary thought to me. But a little back ground on why it was needed….
I don’t do pregnancy well. Throughout Alaina’s pregnancy I was on bedrest since 18 weeks because they were concerned with her size. I kept trying to tell them “I make small babies” but they still wanted to watch it. From 25 weeks on I had to go in 2 times a week for NST testing (hear monitoring) and for Ultrasounds to check her fulids. I also had to go to a specialist every 3 weeks to check on her growth. Alaina always stayed in the 5th -7th percentile. To add to all of this, I get EXTREME itching when I am pregnant. I got it with Kaiya as well, it’s called Cholostasis. So we wanted to induce at 37 weeks, but we also wanted to make sure Alaina’s lungs were ready to enter the world.
So at 37 weeks 4 days Pregnant here we are ready to do our Amnio. I had the day before made 135 cookies for our Dr’s and nurses. I let the Dr know that he could only have cookies if the amnio came back positive for her lungs and we got to stay. Otherwise the cookies were going home with me! For my amnio I ended up with 2 nurses, 1 was new and asked if she could watch the procedure, so I said sure. Well then my Dr told me they had 3 new residence that wanted to watch an amnio and asked if it was okay if they came in as well. So I ended up with 2 Dr’s doing the procedure 3 watching, and 2 nurses. It was a small crowded room. With Brett smashed in the corner by my head. They had to numb two different spots because I got light headed and had to move to my side which made my fluid shift. I got really light headed for it, and had to have wet towels and ice chips to get me through it. I told you I am a needle wuss. But it didn’t really hurt. Just the needle that did the numbing. The Dr told me when he was done, after looking at my placenta he would bet me 6 cookies she would come back ready to go. Haha We waited around for about an hour for the results. One of the residence came in the results that her lungs were developed and asked where his cookie was .

On to the induction: Well they started my induction around 3pm that afternoon. They started out with some meds to try and get things going since I wasn’t close to being dilated or effaced. After 4 hours of that they checked me and no progress had been made. So at 7 they put in some more. Around 9:30 I asked if I could get up to walk around. We were making laps around the delivery floor and every time I passed this one nurses station I would have a contraction. YAY finally something was happening. At 11 I got back in bed and they checked me again, fully prepared to just insert another dose. Well to every ones surprise I was at a 3 YAY, now on to the potocin .

So we started potocin around 11:30. Because I tested positive for GBS I had to have 2 bags of antibiotics before I delivered. So they got those going. Around 12:30 I got my epidural, yup another needle. By this point my contractions were getting kind of strong. So when I was sitting up for the epidural I got a contraction and it was so hard to sit still for it. Also I was going faint from the needle in my back. Dang needle fears. They asked me to hold still just a bit longer and then moved me to my side. After a little bit it kicked in and was AMAZING. It worked so good through the rest of my labor. So much better then my last one, although it was pretty good too.
So not much happened between then and 5 am. Well except at some point, I don’t know the time, my blood pressure dropped. I started freaking out, saying I needed to throw up and couldn’t breathe. I kept coughing and she kept telling me to calm down. Which wasn’t happening. It didn’t last long and they got my blood pressure under control and I was back to sleep. I woke up around 4 am was joking around with my nurse again. She said that made her feel much better that I was back to normal haha. They came in at 5 and broke my water.
So throughout my whole labor process I had nurses checking out the clothes I had made for Alaina. So My nurse asked if she could see some of my other clothes I have done. So around 5:30am I pulled my lap top and we were looking through my stuff. At this point I could feel my contractions getting a little bit more intense but I could breathe through them. Around 6 I told my nurse I needed to put the lap top down cause I was feeling a ton of pressure. I said I even thought I needed to push. So Brett who had been sleeping on the couch came over to see what was going on. She checked me and said Alaina was right there and it was push time, she said try not to push while I get the dr. Yeah TRY not to haha. Well the Dr came in and it was the most interesting experience.
I felt so calm and totally in control. I could feel my contractions enough to know when to push and they left it all up to me. As contractions came I pushed about 3 times per contraction. After 3 contractions, our little Alaina was born at 6:22am, She was 5 pounds 11 ounces and 17 ½ inches long. Everyone in the room was saying how much she looked like Kaiya. But I could tell she was Alaina, her own special person.
With Kaiya I had, had a ton of post partum bleeding and rushed to the operating room. They were ready for it this time but it never happened. The Dr even complemented me on my great control while pushing. I told her I had been “pushing” since I was a baby. Lots of practice haha. I was lucky not to have any tares and by later that day I was already feeling really good.
We had a few scares in the hospital. They said they heard a heart murmur in Alaina’s heart and made us stay extra for her to have an Echo. They said if we didn’t get the results back by 6pm on Sunday we had to stay another night. Well at 5:45pm they came in and said she was clear to go. That her heart would be fine and everything should close up. After such a long pregnancy we are so happy to have our family of 4.

Kaiya's Easter Dress

2011-04-23T15:06:00.005-04:00

So here is Kaiya in her Easter Dress. I had gotten a pattern but then didn't really like it so I decided to just wing this one. It' turned out longer then I wanted but I just loved the bring colors of this fabric.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T14:51:00.009-04:00

So we did our "commercial" Easter today. Brett has to work this weekend :( so we had to do it all this morning but it was so much fun. Kaiya was so excited when she heard she got a basket from the Easter Bunny. When she ran in to the kitchen and first saw her basket she said "Wow it's just beautiful" and kept saying that with everything she looked at. I guess we did good. Then Daddy hid the eggs in the yard and Kaiya got to go out and find them. It was so fun to see her actually hunting for her eggs on her own. She was so excited with each one she found. Oh and she had to wear her sunglasses for the hunt cause she said it was to sunny to see the eggs. Tomorrow We will celebrate the true meaning of Easter. Just wish Daddy didn't have to go to work and could spend it home with us :(

waiting to head into the kitchen to check out her Easter Basket.

Checking things out. When she saw her basket she said "wow it's just Beautiful"

I think I see one!

She needed her sunglasses cause she said it was to bright to see the eggs

Decorating Easter Eggs

2011-04-23T14:43:00.005-04:00

So excited to decorate some eggs.

Our colorful eggs

She just can't contain how much fun she is having.

Dipping in the yellow

So yesterday before Brett went to work we decorated our Easter Eggs. Kaiya had so much fun. I am so excited she is getting to the age that she can actually do a lot of these things, makes the holidays so much more fun living it through the eyes of a child.

My new Favorite

2011-03-30T23:28:00.006-04:00

So I just have to post about this out fit cause I just LOVE the way it turned out. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Hats

2011-03-30T23:24:00.005-04:00

So my friend Melanie makes the CUTEST hats every. I was lucky enough to get one for Kaiya to model and a surprise one for little Alaina :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sosoftandcuddly

Ruffle Butt

2011-03-30T23:20:00.002-04:00

I am so excited about this new pattern. I am hoping to do a lot more of these for my little Alaina to dress up that butt of hers haha.

Strawberry Crib Set

2011-03-13T16:48:00.003-04:00

So I made my crib set this weekend. Because we have the mattress on the highest setting you can't really see it with the railing on so I had to take it off to get a better picture. Now I just need to make a quilt to match. I wish I had known so much earlier how easy it is to make a crib fitted sheet.

Letters

2011-03-10T21:24:00.005-05:00

I finished today Kaiya and Alaina's names for their room.

Photo Shoot

2011-02-27T21:56:00.006-05:00

So I had a couple in my ward that just had a new baby ask if I would take their family pictures. I was flattered but pretty nervous about doing it. I am NOT a photographer. The only photos I have really done is of Kaiya in my dresses, haha. Anyways here are a few of my favorites.

Were having a ....

2011-02-21T18:07:00.008-05:00

So today we got to go in for a ultrasound. It wasn't at a medical place so they couldn't give me any updates on the complications I have been having. BUT we didn't get to take a look at our sweet little one. The tech was AWESOME and took so much time with us. In the end she had printed 13 pictures for us and even gave Kaiya a copy of the last one I posted. It was cute the tech told Kaiya look that's your baby sister and Kaiya said "oh that's great!" She was so excited about her. She keeps asking me now if she can hold a picture of her little sister Alaina. Which by the way is going to be her name Alaina Rose Shurtleff. We were so happy she was a girl. Of course I would take any healthy baby, but we really wanted a little sister for Kaiya. We also had NO boy names that we liked haha. So here are the pictures, make sure you check out the last one it's my favorite.

Still sucking on that thumb!

Sitting down shot, She is all girl!

Profile shot

Throw your hands up :)

Her back

At the end of our ultrasound she said she was going to try and see if she could get her to waive by to Kaiya. When she did she got this awesome picture of Alaina's Hand.

checking in with baby # 2

2011-02-07T17:26:00.003-05:00

So I had my first appointment today at the specialist. It was actually a pretty quick appointment full of ups and downs.

So they did an ultrasound and baby was sooo cute. Great Heart beat 154 and was moving around kept rubbing it's nose with it's hand and then settled on sucking on its thumb. They measured the back of the neck. We didn't want to do any of the genetic testing but she said its standard for them to measure it either way. Said it measured at 1.6 which was perfect. She said my placenta wasn't as low as the other tech had made it sound and that has my uterus grows it would be even further from my cervix.

Now to the bad news She said that I have a spot on my placenta that is bleeding. She said that is what my spotting was from last month and that they will have to keep an eye on it. She said to not google it, and to pretty much not google while pregnant. She said it can cause preterm labor. But it can be a common problem and they would watch it. Also she said they found a cyst on one of my ovaries. That it is small but another thing for them to keep their eye on. She also said I have a pretty good chance of getting Cholostasis again and they will watch for that. Oh and she isn't sure what caused my hemorrhaging after I had Kaiya so they will be watching for that. Why can't I just have a normal uneventful pregnancy.

I asked about finding out the sex. She said It was too early, by my last period date I am 13 weeks 1 day ultrasound measured 12 weeks 5 days. She said the earliest they check is 14 weeks. So I just barely missed it But I have an ultrasound at another place on the 21st so 2 weeks. Then I have a normal ob appointment on march 3rd and then my anatomy scan on the 14th of March.

My Silly Kaiya

2011-02-04T19:40:00.003-05:00

I just can't get over how much my sweet little girl is growing up. She talks NON STOP, I have no idea where she gets that from...haha. Here are a few funny things she has said lately.

One day we were laying on the couch and I said "Kaiya did you know Mommy has a baby in her tummy" Kaiya's response " A baby in your tummy, man that's tricky" Then she proceeded to lift up shirt and said " I just have a belly button"

another time she asked me for a drink, I told her to give me a minute her response " Mom remember Parents kind and dear" Its a line from a church song she LOVES to sing.

Today Kaiya went to the Dr to get her Flu vaccine. They did a spray up her nose. So I told her we were going to go get her boogers checked. Once we got to the Dr's office and realized where we were she said she didn't need her boogers checked anymore. After they gave her the spray, she turned and said " Hey mom my boogers are all better now" She was such a sweetie about it all.

Oh and she started calling people dude ( thanks to the turtles on Nemo) She says see ya later Mom dude and then just giggles. She is such a sweet little girl.

But she has hit those good ole Terrible Two's. She is constantly try to push her limits.

She is also gotten into a baby phase. She just Loves playing with her dolls and has to take them every where. It is so cute to see and gets me even more excited to see what a cute big sister she will be.

There is so much more I can say but on to the pictures.

Kaiya said she needed her Jacket on and Rain boots. I guess Pants just aren't that important.

Finger Painting Naked.. She had panties on but said that she didn't want to get paint on them :)

Intelligender

2011-01-22T13:59:00.006-05:00

Update: I sent a picture to the company to see what my results were and they sent this in response. "From your photo, this would be a girl result! The only thing that should be read as your result is the color of the urine. The sediment is not uncommon and can be disregarded. Congratulations! Please let us know if you have any other questions and when you confirm."

So looks like they are saying girl, and I think it's a girl. Maybe we will find out for sure on Feb 21st.

So Last time I was pregnant I took this Intelligender test. You can take it at 10 weeks to find out what you are having. They say it's about 80 percent accurate. Well last time I couldn't quite tell what my results were so I emailed a picture to the company and they mailed me a new test. Before we got the test I found out that we had lost the baby. So this extra test as just been laying around until today. I decided to take it just for fun. I am not quite sure again what our results are but I am leaning more towards boy. Which is funny cause my gut feeling is that we are having a girl. I have an Ultrasound on Feb 21st, which I will be 15 weeks so they MIGHT be able to tell us then what we are having so we can so who is right. Anyways here is my test results you tell me what you think?

baby on the way

2011-01-10T14:11:00.004-05:00

So I have major mixed feeling about making this post. But we have another baby on the way. I have worried about really announcing it because of our last two losses. But this is also my journal and this is a major part of my life. I was talking to my good friend and neighbor about what to do and she said it's better not to have to down play my excitement because of what might happen. So I am going forward with positive thinking that all will be okay. I have had two Ultrasounds so far, one last Wednesday and one today. Both shows everything okay! I am about 9 weeks at this point and we should be having a baby around August 14th. Oh the thought of really believing it scares me. We just have been wanting this for so long. So I ask for all your prayers that everything continues to go well. For now here is a picture of our little one. Brett has already named it inch worm....for now.

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!

2010-12-25T11:38:00.014-05:00

I wanted to hurry and make this post before I forget all the sweet little things about Kaiya from the last night and this morning.

Last Night poor Brett had to work. But Kaiya and I were invited for dinner at a friends house. She made us such a great dinner and it was nice to enjoy time with friends. Afterward Kaiya and I took cookies, brownies and peanut butter popcorn to Brett'"s work along with some drinks. I thought it was so cute on the way out the door Kaiya turned and told the security guard "Merry Christmas" She also made sure to put many smiles on the elderly (Brett works in a nursing home) telling them all she needed to go to bed cause Santa was coming. When we got home Kaiya got on her Christmas PJ's and posed for some pictures. When she went to bed she told me "Mom Santa is coming to town" When Brett got home we turned on a Christmas Story and started putting together Kaiya's Tinker Bell Cafe and setting everything up.

Christmas Morning

Man Kaiya was sooo funny. This morning I went in her room when she woke up and she said good morning Mom Santa came. I took her to the bathroom and then we went back in her room to wait for Daddy. We had a family prayer Wishing Jesus a Happy Birthday and to thank him for all that his life is to us. Then I went into the family room with the camera to get ready for Kaiya. We told her to come in that Santa had been here. Well the way our family room is set up is that she would have to walk around a couch before she could see anything. But instead of just walking around out Kaiya peeked her head up over it.

Once she saw the toys she came running around.

She ran up to the kitchen but then she did the funniest thing. She must have been a little overwhelmed because she backed up stood and stared and then made a run for it.

I heard a door slam and went to check. Kaiya had shut her self up in the bathroom with the light off. She wouldn't come out again until I came and got her. It didn't take long for her to warm up though. We all enjoyed the rest of the morning opening presents. After we were done I made Breakfast and now Kaiya and Daddy are playing on the floor while I update this blog.

We truly have been blessed this year. We had our trials but as usual we have come out stronger. I am so grateful for Mary and her courage to be the Mother to our Savior. I am so grateful to Jesus and his life and the example he is to. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

Jingle Bells

2010-12-23T21:28:00.001-05:00

Kaiya has LOVED this song this year. Anytime she hears a bell ring she burst into song singing Jingle Bells. You may have to turn you volume up to hear it. She got shy when I started videoing

The stockings are Hung.....

2010-12-18T14:26:00.006-05:00

This has been such a busy time of year, but oh how much I LOVE this time of year. I wish I could leave up the christmas decorations all year long. This year has been such a time to reflect on life and all that God has truly blessed me with. I am most grateful for the Savior and what he's life and sacrifice did for me. I have had a few people I know lose love ones lately. My heart just aches for them. I haven't always been able to stay in the greatest contact with friends, but I am so grateful for the examples and the friendships that they haven given me in my life that it just make so sad to see them go through such hard times. But I have faith and hope for them because of the Savior I know that their families will all get to be together again for eternity!

I am also grateful for family. I love my little family ( Brett and Kaiya) and for all of our extended family. We have truly been blessed to have such great love and support in our lives. Last weekend my parents got the chance to come out and visit us. It was so nice to be able to show them where we live and just be able to sit around and watch them interact with Kaiya. Also the day after Christmas through the 2nd of January we get to spend a week in TN with Brett's entire family. I am so happy we get the chance to still be part of each others lives.

I am so grateful for the chance I have to stay home with Kaiya. She teaches me knew things everyday. I am grateful for my talent of sewing that helps me to get to stay home and my husband who goes to work, even though he doesn't enjoy it currently, to help take care of our family. I truly am blessed!

40 Skirts in 3 Days

2010-11-19T00:30:00.002-05:00

What was I thinking! I had actually planned on doing 20 and some home tricked myself into 40. But I am so excited to say I got it done, and with a day to spare. But no fear I have found plenty of other things to fill that day up with. It seems like lately I stay plenty busy. Also Brett got a job! This is a good/bad thing. Obviously it's good cause we need the money and it's great that he was able to find work. He is going to be working as a CNA. What is bad is that I will SOOO miss having him home. It has been great and has really helped me to get my little store going. I will really miss him while I try to juggle being Mom, student and Business woman. But some how I know it will all just work out!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T23:41:00.007-04:00

We love halloween, who couldn't. Our neighbors really get into it with a very haunted yard and it just is so contagious. I will have to post pictures tomorrow of the yards. But I thought I would post about our halloween festivities so far. We had a Really Fun halloween party on Friday night with tons of friends and their kids. We BBQ and had lots of fun scary snacks. I made eyeballs. They were suppose to be covered in white chocolate but I couldn't get it to melt right. Oh well I thought they still turned out pretty cool. Kaiya was tinker bell. How could she not be with her littleness and her blonde hair. She loved it and told everyone that she was tinker bell. Tonight we went to the church where we had our annual Chilli Cook off and trunk or treat. It was so much fun. We have really enjoyed being part of such a wonderful ward here in Wilmington. Well enough with the chatting and on to the pictures.

My Cute little Tinkerbell!

Love my Tinkerbell just wish her eyes were open :)

There is a new Sheriff in town

Our scary trunk, Thanks to the neighbors for letting us use their props.

Brett did such a good job on his Pumpkin this year!

Yummy Eyeballs

She caught on so well this year to saying "trick or treat" She even said "Thank You" when she got her candy.

Give Away

2010-10-27T01:40:00.000-04:00

So my Friend Melanie is doing an AWESOME giveaway! She makes the cutest hats and arm warmers. Kaiya actually has one of each and LOVES them. She always is telling me how cute she is when she is wearing them. She also has a store on etsy, so ya'll should check out her blog to enter the giveaway and her etsy store to shop shop shop cause we all know christmas is coming and these will make great christmas presents.

teaniebabybeanie.blogspot.com

www.etsy.com/shop/sosoftandcuddly.

catch Up

2010-10-18T23:35:00.005-04:00

I feel like I am always playing catch up on my blog. So so so much has happened. First off beginning of September Brett lost his job, he was laid off. That is what started everything in motion. He decided to go to CNA training and also decided to change his major to RN. It has been nice having him home, but I also feel more busy with him home. Speaking of busy, my etsy shop has been getting more busy and I LOVE it. But it keeps me so busy. On top of all of that we are still both in school full time. 16 credits this semester. If that wasn't enough to keep us busy there is always Kaiya too. She is growing up so fast. Now for the phone part Pictures. Here are some pictures I took of a new outfit, but I just loved them of Kaiya.

Free Dress

2010-09-19T15:41:00.002-04:00

2 days left to enter my giveaway, DON'T Miss out. I am also going to do a Free skirt too. Check it out at www.sewdivineboutique.blogspot.com

I have also added new stuff to my etsy store

www.sewdivineboutique1.etsy.com

Free Give Away

2010-09-07T21:01:00.003-04:00

Check it out I am doing a free Give away on my Sew Divine Boutique Blog. Got to

www.sewDivineBoutique.blogspot.com for all the details.

Open for business

2010-08-26T16:05:00.002-04:00

AHHH so I finally decided to listen to the advice of friends and start up a etsy store for my little girl clothes. I am nervous about it, it's like putting your heart on the line. Anyways I am going to be start a blog for my store. But in the mean time here is my etsy store address

www.etsy.com/shop/SewDivineBoutique1

So if you know of anyone with little girls, or you have one or two or three ;) check it out. Also I do custom orders so just let me know.

Thanks for all the support!

Heather and Brian

2010-08-26T15:57:00.003-04:00

Oh where to start, where to start. So Brett, Kaiya and I have been sooo lucky to have the most amazing neighbors anyone could ever ask for. They have become some of our best friends, and it is so fun to be able to have the right across the street from us. We can call them for anything. We get together for dinner quite often and play games. Its nice to be able to randomly text someone to come out and enjoy a heat lightning storm with you. We actually did that last week. All got our beach chairs sat out on the lawn and just hung out and talked and enjoyed the night. They LOVE Kaiya so much and have been so good to her. They are always there for us. They take us out on their jetski, bought me a bike, they even came over last night to watch kaiya so Brett and I could sneak out to the beach for a night together. But its not these things that make them the best neighbors ever, its that you know they are just the most kind people. They don't do it to get anything in return, they just sincerly care and with me not having any of my family living within a days drive its nice to feel like I have family across the street. So THANK YOU Heather and Brian for all you do

The ups and downs of summer.

2010-08-26T15:14:00.016-04:00

Wow life has been BUSY lately, but to be honest I LOVE IT. This summer went soo fast. It started off with our 2 week vacation to Utah which was so needed and so much fun. We got to visit with a lot of friends and went to bear lake for about 4 days with my family. It was so nice for us to get to just relax and hang out with everyone. Brett and I LOVED watching Kaiya get to play with her Cousins. Kaiya in turned 2 while we were out there. Such a big girl! Brett was able to go horse back riding with my family ( I was prego at the time so I didn't get to :( ) We went exploring a cave and even though it was sooo cold even went to a water park where Brett, my brother in law Mark and my two brothers did a lot of platform diving. We got to visit the zoo while we were out there with our friends Celena and Travis and their cute little girl Reagan. We got to stay with our good friends the Calusons. I could go on and on about all the friends we saw and places we went, but needless to say it was nice.

Good times

Everyone in my family except my oldest Brother Travis his wife and their 3 kids.

I LOVE this picture of Kaiya, she is growing up so fast!

My Crazy brave husband...He's pretty rad!

We got to celebrate Father's day out in Utah too. It was a pretty relaxing day. After Church we went to the park. My Mom and Dad came with us. I love these pictures of Brett and Brett and Kaiya.

Once we got home from Utah life stayed pretty busy. As I posted before we found out the week after we got home that I had lost the baby. But that didn't seem to slow anything down. That weekend we Had Brett's sister Cathi and her husband Scott with their 4 kids down to go to the beach

Then we all went up to Bretts parents house for the 4th of July. I wish I had taken better pictures but none of them turned out all that great. But it was a ton of fun. Then we came home Monday Night and I had my surgery on Tuesday Morning. Then Brett's sister Rachel and her friend Catherine came down to help and and hit up the beach. It was a lot of fun, and great to have a distraction. The next weekend our plumbing went out, hey you got to have some bad mixed in with all that fun. The weekend after that Brett's sister Becky came down with her 3 kids and Rachel his other sister came again. Sadly Becky's husband couldn't make it, but well it didn't stop us from having a ton of fun. our AWESOME neighbors, which I will dedicate an entire entry to later, took us all out on their jetski for the day. We all had a good time, but after 6 hours we came home pretty burnt. What made it even worse was that our AC was out when we got home and didn't get fixed for a week lately.

The next weekend we house sat for some friends of ours at church. The weekend after that Brett's other sister ( yes another one, actually he has 7) came down with her husband and 3 girls. I didn't get any pictures :( but we had another great day at the beack, and once again our amazing neighbor showed up with her jetski allowing everyone to make some pretty great memories.

Oh and I had a birthday I forgot, but it was awesome. I made myself a raspberry cheesecake that was sooo good. We went out with our neighbors for Mexican food and then I went to the church to help out with our Youth Group. When I got home those same awesome neighbors were waiting for me with a Bike. Yes people that is right they worked it all out with my husband and they got me a Bike for my birthday. I am sooo lucky to have them in my life, and not just for the jet ski rides and the bike.

I keep waiting for everything to slow down but it hasn't yet. School started and that is keeping me just as busy as every. I also started a store on etsy and signed up to sell mary Kay. Yes I know I am crazy. Oh and I joined the book club. Brett is always trying to get me to slow down, I think he just might need to try a little harder :D

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2010-07-22T14:51:00.006-04:00

I feel so domestic! I have been meaning to make this post for awhile now and I kept forgetting. We finally ran out of our last batch of homemade laundry detergent so I decided today would be the day to make more and post about it.

Okay so here is what you will need:
Water
Zote soap ( but I hear any bar of soap will do)
Borax
Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
5 gallon bucket

So to start you take a pan and boil 4 cups of water in it. While you are waiting for the water to boil you grade your bar of soap.

Then you turn down the stove to medium after the water has come to a boil and slowly start to add a little bit of your grated soap at a time. Continue to stir it until it all melts and turns into hot soapy water. By the way its way hot, I burnt my finger when it splashed on me so watch out!

This next step I think is easiest done in the bathtub. You take you 5 gallon bucket of water and fill it up half way with hot tap water. Then you are going to add 1 cup of Arm and Hammer washing soda, stir until it has dissolved. Next you will add 1/2 a cup of Borax and do the same. Last you will add your soapy water mixture to the bucket and stir. Fill the bucket the rest of the way and stir. Then you cover and let it sit for 24 hours. When you are done you will have a more solidified mixture.

Be sure to stir the mixture before every use. What I do is take my old laundry detergent bottle and just fill it with my mixture so I don't have a 5 gallon bucket next to my washing machine. Now if you want your laundry detergent to be extra strong you can leave the mixture just like this and use 1 cup per load. Another option is to fill your old laundry detergent bottle half way with water and then the rest with your mixture. This works just as well. Just make sure to shake the bottle before each use either way.

This works out to be about 2 dollars per 5/10 gallons depending on how you use it. Saves TONS of money and works awesome too!!

Those of you that try it let me know how it goes :)

Cooking with Mommy

2010-07-11T23:06:00.007-04:00

I LOVE this little girl. She is at such a fun stage in her life. Not that I don't love every stage, but this one is extra fun. She is talking so much more, or should I say is making sense so much more. Recently my mom sent her an apron so tonight I let her help me make dinner. Here are a few pictures of our fun.

My Love Hate relationship with Life!

2010-07-05T23:33:00.003-04:00

I love life, I have said it many times but I have such an amazing husband. I don't know where I would be with out his constant love and support. I also have an amazing Daughter who everyday gives me reason after reason to laugh and smile. But life isn't always easy. Last week I got a call from a local clinic saying that they were slow and wanted to know if I wanted to come in for a Ultrasound. They had a couple of girls that came to work with their Mom that wanted to see one. So I jumped at the chance. I had been a little nervous since I got pregnant because of the last one ending in a miscarriage. I started worrying a little extra after our trip to Utah because I wasn't feeling sick anymore. So I was very happy to finally get some piece of mind at this ultrasound. Unfortunately that isn't what I got, right away I knew something was wrong, our little baby no longer had a heartbeat. Instead of dwelling on all the details of it again in this post I will just say that we are doing okay. Brett and I are of course sad, but I know my Heavenly Father has a plan for me and my family. I really feel his comfort and know that it will all work out. That doesn't mean I don't have my moment of tears, but I have good friends and family and I am not alone. Tomorrow morning is my D&C, It will be nice to put this behind me and just focus on the family that I have for awhile. Thanks again to everyone for your love and support!

Baby # 2

2010-05-23T20:07:00.002-04:00

So baby number two is on the way. I am so excited, but nervous. Last Monday I went to the doctor and got my first Ultrasound. The baby was soo tiny and I got to see it's cute little heartbeat. So far I haven't been nearly as sick as I was with Kaiya, but with that said, I have been nauseated. Its just a little reminder everything is still going okay in there I guess.

Mother's Day

2010-05-23T20:01:00.004-04:00

Brett is so good to me. This mother's day we were up at his parents house so Brett could help his Dad out. But he still bought me a dozen roses. On Mother's day morning Kaiya and him gave me their presents. They must shop together because Kaiya gave me a beautiful Ring and Brett the matching necklace.

Happy Birthday Brett.....I am waaay late posting this.

2010-05-23T19:46:00.006-04:00

Happy Birthday Brett! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Broadway at the Beach. They have lots of Shopping and just a fun place to be.

We went and played Mini Golf. It was a lot of fun. Myrtle Beach has some of the best mini Golf around.

The view from our Condo. So pretty!

So Brett turned 29. I told him this year we weren't doing anything big since next year is 30 and I we would do something big then. Well With Brett's birthday they never end up small. We got a deal on a Time Share for his Birthday weekend in Myrtle Beach. Along with that they gave us a 125 Dollars to Bass Pro Shop that Brett got to spend for his Birthday present. It was a nice weekend and Brett deserved it all. He is such an Amazing Husband! Kaiya and I are so lucky to have him in our life.

Easter weekend

2010-04-06T15:24:00.018-04:00

Loving Easter!

Swinging with Grandpa Shurtleff

Counting her Eggs

Can't Reach

Looking for her next egg

Getting good at finding the eggs

Catching on

My awesome husband trying to keep his eyes open for the picture. He was way excited about his hyper ball that bounces 75 feet he got from his Ma.

Kaiya's easter basket, she was so excited about the tinkerbell and the ducky pez

I love this picture, and I love this little girl!

Daddy Daughter Time enjoying the nice warm day (mid 80's)

All the bright colorful eggs, Brett did the Kaiya loves Daddy one. But I am sure Kaiya would have if she could write.

Kaiya's cousins Alexis, Shelbi, Preston and Kayli

Kaiya's Cousin Savannah who is a year older and her Mommy Cathi.

Kaiya was so excited about dropping eggs in the dye.

I Love her Bright Blue Eyes!

We had a really fun Easter weekend. We went to Brett's parents house and it was so nice just to relax for a little bit. A couple of Brett's sisters were there so it was fun to visit and for Kaiya to get to play with her cousins. I was wondering how Kaiya would do with dying eggs and the Easter egg hunt. But I worried for no reason. She caught on really quickly and seemed to have so much fun. Of course Brett and I just loved watching her run around an enjoy the festivities. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Finally...my little bird.

2010-03-23T15:17:00.007-04:00

So I have been meaning to make Kaiya a dress to match her cousin's dresses I made. I finally got to it today. I am so sad that they don't sell this fabric anymore because it has to be one of my favorite dresses I have made. Oh well, so is life. It was a little windy when we went out so the photo shoot was short lived. Oh and she finally got her fruit snacks, so she cared more about those then anything else.

Fruit Snack Addiction

2010-03-23T10:02:00.007-04:00

Kaiya is addicted to fruit snacks. Everytime she comes in the kitchen its "nack nack" We have such a hard time getting her to eat, except fruit snacks. That's all she would eat if we would let her. So this is my typical morning. Kaiya coming in, getting into the pantry getting a "nack" me putting it back her crying, begging "nack nack"

Family walk on the beach

2010-03-23T09:50:00.006-04:00

The weather was pretty good this weekend, so we decided to take a family walk on the beach. Kaiya was pretty tired so she wanted to be held the whole time, but I got some pretty cute pictures.

Aw life has been busy

2010-03-01T22:15:00.006-05:00

So between school, Kaiya, sewing and Brett I have been staying pretty busy. But I love it all. Life is good!!

I need to start updating my blog more regularly. This post will be mainly pictures. Oh and I also started selling clothes. Just by word of mouth for now. BUt I started a sewing blog so pass it along, or just check out what I am up to. WWW.madebymommie.blogspot.com

Okay now that is out of the way. First I am so proud of Brett. He is taking 5 classes this semester while going to work full time. One of his classes, Psychology, was a block schedule class so much faster, But he still managed to get an A. YAY Brett. He seriously is amazing. He still finds time to play with Kaiya and I and help around the house. Man I am a lucky girl.

Kaiya Kaiya Kaiya, oh what a fun fun fun girl. She has been a little bit more cranky lately but man is she funny. She is talking more and more and always has us laughing. She loves books. I am constantly finding her sitting on a cushion or in a chair reading a book. She also loves the park, especially the slide. So on to the pictures!

Sew Sew and more sew

2010-02-03T23:57:00.004-05:00

I have had a few friends ask me about selling clothes I have made. I figured I would try it out just by a word of mouth bases. So if anyone wants to order something let me know. I was thinking with the cost of fabric I would charge 25 for 1 dress, 20 each for 3 or more. Skirts 15, unless you buy it with something else then 10. Let me know if you think these prices seem fair. I am working on some cute patterns to call my own so stayed tune. Here are a few things I have made this week. Poor Kaiya I think is tired of me taking her picture haha. Oh the outfit with the matching skirt and shirt. I decided it was a little much. I was excited because I made up both patterns all by myself :) I think they are both cute, but not together.

oh I made a new gum drop pillow but I don't have a picture of that. Also I helped my friend make 3 dresses Yup 3. Wow busy week. All that on top of my 4 classes. Busy Busy Girl, But I LOVE It!

Back at it Again

2010-01-26T09:27:00.008-05:00

I have been sewing a lot these last few days. Things got busy with school starting and adjusting our schedules but this last weekend I decided to pull out the good ole sewing maching. I found this shop on Etsy taht has the CUTEST patterns ever and it inspired me to get to going. Here is her site http://www.etsy.com/shop/kustomkidsboutique.

Kaiya's new Favorite Thing

2009-12-29T22:10:00.002-05:00

Walking in Circles, she does it until she falls over, then gets up and does it again haha.

Christmas

2009-12-29T20:34:00.006-05:00

So Christmas was spread out over a few days for us. First when Brett's sister Karie and her husband came in town from Utah we openeded some of our presents with them and let Kaiya open some too. You can tell Kaiya really liked what she got because later that night at 11pm I thought she was sleeping, heard a noise and went in their to find her sitting in bed with her sit and spin and blocks. Silly Girl. Then the night before we left for Brett's parents house He and I opened the rest of our presents to eachother. That way we didn't have to load them up in our already over packed car. I got lots of nice stuff from Brett, shirts, hat, purse lots of fun stuff. I think the best present I got Brett though was his Red Ryder BB gun. The look on his face when he opened it was priceless. Then we spent the rest of the time with Brett's family, which is always a lot of fun and a lot of noise :). Kaiya has been so moody lately so the pictures show many different sides to her. You can also check out the cute pj's made her for Christmas eve. Christmas morning was fun to see her open presents. But we woke her up early to open with her cousins so she was in a pretty bad mood. Anyways I will let the pictures tell the rest.

Kaiya telling Aunt Karie everything she got for Christmas

Kaiya's first Bubble Bath

2009-12-29T20:31:00.002-05:00

and she was scared of the bubbles. At one point she was standing in a circle surrounded by bubbles and wouldn't move. Sad to laugh at your kids fears, but it was pretty funny.

What a good dog!

2009-12-01T16:30:00.001-05:00

That's all I need to say about this video.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-11-28T20:56:00.002-05:00

Today we went and got our tree...YAY! There is a place called Lewis's Farm right by our house. We went and picked out our tree. After finding an awesome tree we went in and had homemade ice cream while they wrapped our tree up and tied it to our car. How awesome is that. Brett also picked out some Apple Butter. So we got home and put up the Tree and decorated it. kaiya loves to smack the branches and I just love the smell. Now the house truely is looking a lot like Christmas. I have homemade Bread in the oven to go with the apple butter. I love this time of the year!!

SOOO THANKFUL

2009-11-28T20:48:00.002-05:00

I am soo thankful for so many things. I am thankful for Brett and the hard work he does for our family. Not only is he working full time but he is also in school full time right now pulling straight A's. If that wasn't enough he still makes time to help me out with Kaiya and play with us. He is truely an amazing man. I am also very thankful for Kaiya is always has us laughing. I will post a video of a good example of that. I can't mention the video with out being thankful for such an awesome dog that puts up with all of us, especially Kaiya. I am thank ful for my family and my in-laws who are awesome!. I am thankful for a place to live and always finding a way to get by. I love my Heavenly Father and I am so grateful for all that he gave. I am thankful for Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving this year was a lot of fun. Brett's parents went to Hawaii, so we didn't get to see them. But we still went to their house and ment up with some of Brett's sisters to eat. Kaiya had fun with her cousins. I had fun baking/cooking for 3 days. All of the food tasted soo good. Life is GOOD!!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T15:18:00.008-05:00

We had such a fun Halloween! It was so cute to see Kaiya catch on to trick or treating. First we went to the church for trunk or treat. After a few cars she caught on quickly and would run up and look for the basket of candy. Then after we came back to our street and trick or treated with some friends. Kaiya would run up to the doors and work her way to the bowl. She would take FOREVER to figure out what she wanted. It's funny whenever there were smarties she would always end up with those. Afterwards we came back to our house where we had a bunch of friends over to play games and just hang out. My friend brought over a fog bubble machine and the kids had hours of fun with it. Especially Kaiya. It was such a fun night.

still sewing

2009-10-21T10:50:00.006-04:00

Gum drop Pillow, That kaiya loves to stand on top of while watching cartoons.

Brett being an awesome husband modeling my new apron.

The first thing I have made with out a pattern

Fall Skirt

Sewing Maniac

2009-10-08T21:20:00.007-04:00

So I have been a sewing maniac lately. I LOVE IT!! I have made kaiya tons of new cute clothes. But I decided I am going to try and make me an apron. But here are somethings I have made for Kaiya. I also fixed Brett's blanket that he has been asking me to fix FOREVER. But I didn't take a picture of that haha.

Scentsy Kick Off

2009-10-08T21:12:00.004-04:00

So I had my scentsy Kick off party to start out my new business. We had lots of yummy food (HOMEMADE: raspberry cheesecake, german chocolate cake, banana bread,fruit skewers, sasage balls, apples and carmal sauce, salsa and salmon dip). I had lots of things to smell, but best of all us girls got to hang out and just be girls. For those of you who don't know what scentsy is check it out. www.scentsy.com/emilyshurtleff. They make great christmas presents :).

Sewing

2009-09-26T12:30:00.005-04:00

So I decided the other day I need a new hobby. So I got a sewing machine..YAY I got a pattern for some pj's and decided just to see if I could make something. Well I think they turned out pretty good. I did mess up a few things and my lines aren't the straightest but oh well. Guess I will just keep trying :)

These other two pictures I just thought were cute so I figured I would put them on here.

Looks like her Dad, Talks like her Ma

2009-09-26T12:29:00.000-04:00

Scentsy

2009-09-21T15:32:00.002-04:00

So I signed up to start selling Scentsy. They are awesome. Check out my site, and you know can even order stuff from there ;)
www.Scentsy.com/EmilyShurtleff

Happy kaiya Hour

2009-09-17T19:39:00.011-04:00

Loving the Beach!!

Family FUn!

We took Kaiya to the beach. She went running straight for the water. I hurried and took her clothes off. We didn't plan on getting wet so we didn't come prepared with swimsuits. Lucky for us Grandma had a towel in her car. Kaiya would go running for the waves. Thank goodness it's the Atlantic ocean and the water is warmer. I forgot my Camera so the pictures are from my phone.

Kaiya hanging out with Simon...Who by the way isn't suppose to be on the couch...bad dog.

Kaiya's new Chair from Grandma Shurtleff. She LOVES it!!!

We have been going through a lot of teeting lately. But we still manage to have a happy girl.....well most of the time.

Love my little Family

2009-09-02T21:22:00.006-04:00

Man do the trials make you appreciate all that you have. I am so greatful for such an amazing husband and fun happy daughter. Life is getting back to normal now. I am so happy to have them in it.

Trip To Utah

2009-09-02T21:00:00.005-04:00

Kaiya's First Lolly Pop

Brett and Kaiya up in the mountains.

Dancing to Grandpa playing the Guitar.

Our trip to Utah was a lot of fun, and just what we needed. Our first day was a little busy with my little sisters wedding. But the rest was pretty relaxating visiting a ton of friends. Here are a few pictures, I really forgot to take a lot while we were there. But it was nice to see a lot of old friends, and meet some new ones (Celena). It was sad to leave, but good to get back to our new house and finally start putting it together.

2009-08-17T23:34:00.002-04:00

My Angel Baby

To the baby that I carried
But never seen your eyes
Or tell you how much I loved you
Or ever to hear your cries.

You will never be forgotten
The excitement we had for your coming.
When I realized I'd never hold you,
The feeling I had was numbing.
My angel baby is who you are.
My angel baby you'll always be.
Your loving memory will live in my heart
So you will always be right here with me.

Brett and I went to the hospital tonight. I had been spotting all day and decided to just go to the ER tonight. I could have waited for tomorrow but Brett wouldn't have been able to go with me. After doing another Ultrasound they told me that the pregnancy wasn't a vital pregnancy. They would have my Dr. follow up with me on the best way to proceed from here. Although I was extrememly sad, it was also nice to finally have an answer. Now the healing can begin. I am sad, but not angry. I know that if something was wrong that this is my bodies natural way of dealing. Hopefully we will get another chance. Until then, I am sure Kaiya will keep us pretty busy. Thanks for all the love and support. For you Utah folk, we'll see ya soon.

Tough Week

2009-08-17T15:23:00.003-04:00

Well, I have been trying to decide if I was going to post about this. Then I decided, since this is also like my journal I decided I should. Last week I went in to have my first Ultrasound. When I was there the tech was awful. She didn't talk to me the entire time. At the end she told me she would send the pictures to my Dr. I was soo confused. I never got to see my baby. I called my Dr freaking out a bit and when they called me back they explained that I was showing 4 weeks behind what I should be. I was showing 5 weeks and 4 days, and I should have been 8 weeks 4 days. So the Dr said I either miscarried and got pregnant again right away or I miscarried and my body just hadn't let go yet. I called Brett and let him know, and he came straight home from work to be with me. I have been doing pretty good. I will admit I have cried off and on, but thanks to Kaiya, our move and painting our new house I have been able to stay pretty busy. The last couple days I have been spotting a little which makes me think more that I am not pregnant and my body is catching up. I have a Ultrasound appointment tomorrow to see if the baby has grown at all. If not they will know for sure that I have miscarried, if it has then it looks like I am pregnant again. I am just so frustrated with not knowing one way or another. But I know I have been through worse and that God wouldn't give me anything I can't handle. I will keep everyone updated when I know. Friday we are off to Utah for my little sisters wedding. After all this stress it will be nice to get away. Oh yeah and Brett and I started school last Friday. AHHHH the joys of life. On a better note, we are in our new house. YAY!! I will post pictures as soon as we get everything put together.

Quick Update

2009-08-10T12:01:00.003-04:00

We are moving, and I should be packing right now. Why do we always move on such short notice. We found a house for rent that was within our budget and we move in Friday. Someone is taking over our apartment on Saturday. So it's a rush rush rush move. On top of that, this house needed a whole new paint job on the inside. So Brett and some friends spent all day Saturday painting. Brett went back yesterday and still only have a first coat. So the next few nights after he gets off work will be filled with painting. we are trying to get it all painted before they put all new carpet through the whole house toward the end of the week. But the house is so cute. It has 3 bedrooms.. YAY a room for the new baby.. 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dinning room (which we will use for an office) a gas fire place :) a big deck that is fenced in a yard and a garage. We are also excited to finally have enough room to get our dog back. He has been staying at Brett's parents house since they have a big yard. Kaiya loves dogs so I am excited to watch the two of them play. I am sure you can all look forward to some fun videos of the two of them to come. Well I better go back. I posted a picture of the outside of the house. It's from google earth so it was taken I think at Christmas time. Oh Yeah after all this moving we head to Utah on the 21st for my little sisters wedding on the 22nd. We will be in need of a vacation by then. OH yeah and one more thing, school starts for both of us this Friday. We are both goingn full time, but all of our classes are online. BUSY BUSY BUSY Family

Daddy Daughter Fun

2009-08-05T19:56:00.001-04:00

27

2009-08-04T16:38:00.004-04:00

OH my gosh, I am 27. It's so weird when birthdays come around because I still think of myself as 21. I guess it helps that I don't look my age, nor does my husband. Anyways, although my life is not where I thought it would be at 27. I couldn't have imagined how great it is. I have an awesome loving husband, an amazing daughter a baby on the way, a roof over my head, money in the bank, and friends and family that love and support me. What more could I ask for?

Silly Little Kaiya

2009-08-03T10:32:00.006-04:00

Here are some random silly pictures of Kaiya from the last few days. She always keeps us laughing.

Sharks

2009-07-26T18:51:00.001-04:00

So Brett's sister can down for the weekend with her 3 girls to go to the beach. well once we got there we noticed nobody swimming. It didn't take us longer to hear why. There were SHARKS. Crazy crazy, I didn't realize sharks came so close in land. Anyways, I will try to give a better update soon. We have had a lot of company lately and not much down time. Oh and It's my last few days of school. YAY!! But Brett and I both start back at school Aug 14th. Than off to Utah from My little sisters wedding aug 22nd to the 29. It will be nice when things calm down for a bit.

and then there were 4

2009-07-08T14:08:00.003-04:00

That's right baby number 2 is on the way. Well I actually just found out yesterday I was pregnant. Brett and I have never been good at not sharing good news. Hey we even end up doing Christmas early since we can't wait. So it didn't surprise me at all that we would start telling people right away. Anyways I wrote this on one of Kaiya's plain white onsies so when Brett got home she walked right up to him. He seemed pretty happy. I should be due sometime in March. I know Kaiya and this one will be close, but with how social Kaiya is we figured she would love to have a playmate close to her age.

Family and Kaiya's 1 year photo shoot

2009-07-04T12:17:00.003-04:00

We finally got a family picture YAY! Also Kaiya's one year photo's. My friend Tam Farris took them and she does such an awesome job. Enjoy!!

Shurtleff Family Camping 2009

2009-07-01T11:52:00.002-04:00

So once a year Brett's whole family gets together to go camping. We went to Badin Lake in NC. It was a very pretty area and was nice to get away for a few days. But I think for future trips we have all decided to go late summer early fall. It was just too hot. In the 90's with major humidity. Kaiya had a hard time with naps and just wouldn't eat much in that heat. The Second night we were there, there was a huge severe thunderstorm that came through. After getting everything covered up we got in our tents. I have never heard thunder so loud and so close. Something hit our tent and shock Brett and I up pretty bad. But right after we heard a huge crack and his Mom screaming for help. I have never seen Brett jump up so fast and through on shorts. A limb had fallen from a tree and had them trapped in their tent and Brett's Dad pinned down. After Brett, Becky ( who is 8 months Pregnant) and his brother in law Darren got them limbs off they got in their car. Brett came back and Got Kaiya and I decided we would be waiting the storm out in the car. Needless to say the next day we packed up and headed home. But it was good to hang out with family for a few days at least.

Kaiya Rocks out to Nursery Rhymes

2009-06-23T21:24:00.000-04:00

Kaiya's Friend Birthday Party

2009-06-23T08:32:00.002-04:00

Last night we had Kaiya's friend party. It was soooo much fun!!. She had a lot of friends to play with in the pool. We took our BBQ and Bar down to the pool and had a cook out. Kaiya enjoyed every minute of it. Kaiya, Brett and I are all so lucky to have such great friends out here. I made a slide show of pictures and a second one just for her cake. Kaiya got a big chunk of frosting on her arm and was dipping pieces of cake in it haha. I also have to give a Thanks to Mary Helen for coming and decorating my cake. I baked it...Long story with that, but then since she does such an awesome job frosting I had her come do it before the party started. I think it turned out Waaaay Cute!! I still can't believe Kaiya is already 1 ahhh!

Father's Day

2009-06-22T07:53:00.002-04:00

So for Father's day we first went to church where I had to give a talk...which always makes me soooo nervous. Then we came home ate lunch and just hung out. Later that evening we all went to the park. It was fun to watch the kids get so excited over all the turtles and watch Sadie Chase the ducks everywhere. I got some cute pictures of Brett and Kaiya. Brett is such an amazing Dad. I couldn't ask for a better Dad for Kaiya. He is always willing to help out with diapers, feeding and wouldn't miss out on a minute of getting down and playing with her. You can see every time Brett walks in the room Kaiya's face light up. I know she loves her Daddy and thinks the world of him. No matter who is holding her, Including me, if Brett walks in the room she will fuss until he comes and gets her. which is nice, it gives Mommy a Break :) We Love You Brett!!

Beach Day

2009-06-22T07:49:00.002-04:00

Saturday we went to the beach with Brett's sister Becky and her two kids Logan and Sadie. We went later in the evening when it cooled down from the over 100 temperature and people started to clear out. It was so much fun. Becky's little girl Sadie ran around chasing all of the seagulls, Logan swam, and Kaiya well she sat and dug like a dog haha. We all had a great time.

Happy 1st Birthday Kaiya!!

2009-06-18T20:19:00.002-04:00

Today was Kaiya's first birthday...YAY. I can't believe it's been a whole year since she was born. It has been one amazing year and I couldn't ask for a more sweeter, happier good baby. To start the day out I woke up and was making Brett lunch and I heard Kaiya wake up. Then I heard her start to cry, so I went to her room and couldn't get the door open. Something was in the way...It was kaiya. Yup she had climbed or fallen out of her crib this morning and was crying at the door because she couldn't get out. Once I picked her up she stopped crying and started to laugh. So she obviously wasn't hurt. I took a few videos of her opening presents and eating cake. Today was a pretty simple party with Just Brett and I, her actual birthday party is this up coming Monday so expect more pictures and video's to come.

I can't help but Laugh

2009-06-16T16:17:00.003-04:00

Kaiya is always sooo giggly and making us all laugh.

What a Saturday

2009-06-16T14:59:00.007-04:00

For our anniversary Brett took me to the Melting Pot. We had only been there once before a long time ago just for dessert with friends. It was so fun to have the whole dinning experience. But with the cost of it we won't be doing it again for a long time :( After wards we went to the beach and walked around for a bit. we had a lightning storm coming from one side of the beach and fireworks from the other end, It was a really fun night.

Earlier in the day we had taken Kaiya down to the aquarium again. They got their new Albino Alligator that Brett was dying to see. It's so fun to watch how much she just loves that aquarium. Their a section you can put your hands and pet the different fish. All these little kids were too scared and their Mom's were trying to convince them by pointing out that "the baby is even doing it" Kaiya just dives right in. She also again decided to smash her face at us through the stroller so we got it on video this time ENJOY!

This picture I had to do separate because I think it's so cute how they are checking each other out.

Look Who's walking

2009-06-11T19:21:00.001-04:00

I can't believe she will be 1, in one week. AHHHHH! Every time we turned on the camera she wouldn't walk for us. But today for some reason she really wanted the inserts to my swim suit top. So we were able to get her on camera... I knew those things were good for something.

Our Silly Girl Update

2009-06-11T19:04:00.005-04:00

Her new crazy tongue face!

One of the many times I found her naked at nap time

Playing with her Monkey, she takes that thing every where

Karate Girl

Anniversary

2009-06-09T16:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Was Brett and I's 2nd Anniversary. Man do I love that man. He got me a bouquet of roses last cause he said he just couldn't wait haha. Well they didn't make it to our Anniversary so I got another bouquet of flowers yesterday along with an amazing piece of cheesecake. I have such an amazing husband, I love him more then I knew was possible. The other day we were listening to the radio and a Brad Paisley song came on that we hadn't heard before. In the end Brett turned to me and said can that please be our song. So here is the song.

Park

2009-06-03T15:29:00.006-04:00

We took Kaiya for a walk in the park last night. I forgot my camera so I had to use my cell phone. Some of the shots are delayed. Either way she LOVED it. She climbed up all the slides. She wasn't a fan of going down them. But if you put her at the bottom of any slide she would climb all the way to the top. One of the pictures because of the delay looks like Kaiya is sad but she was just trying to be funny. We were walking pushing her in the stroller and when we looked down she had stuck her face up against the screen and was making faces at us. She kept laughing and then would smash her face again. She thought she was just a crack up...well and so did we. Kaiya has such a fun personality I LOVE IT!!

Hilton Head Island

2009-05-24T15:36:00.004-04:00

So this weekend Brett and I, and our friends Jason and Ashley all went down to Hilton Head Island. Brett's Mom was headed to Florida for Brett's Sister Karie's open house so she met up with us on the road and took Kaiya with us. Yes that's right Kaiya has been to Florida before I have. But that's okay. We had a fun weekend. We went shopping at the outlets, followed with BBQing at the pool and swimming all afternoon. Then we played some games, showed up and headed up for a late night dinner. Before leaving town we went by and saw the Light house on the island. It was a quick trip but well worth the break from the everyday norm. We met up on our way home and got Kaiya back. Poor girl spent 9 hours in the car yesterday, but was still her happy self. Thanks to my Mother in law and sister in law she was well taken care of, and even came back with new shoes :).

Karie Got Married

2009-05-20T09:07:00.003-04:00

The Temple they got married in

So Brett's sister Karie got married last weekend. It was so fun to be able to go. She got married Friday Morning in the Washington DC LDS Temple. We drove up Thursday night. Then Friday after the weeding and luncheon we drove back down to Fayetteville to get rested up for the Reception. I helped out getting all of the food ready. We had a Chocolate Fountain, Cheese Fondue, Spinach Dip, Fruits, Vegetables, Bread (for dipping), Chicken wings, meatballs and Potato Salad. So it took some preparing. The Reception brought back a ton of memories from Brett and I's wedding since the yard was set up the same way. It had the typical end to a Shurtleff Wedding Reception. The bride got pushed in the pool. That's right dress and all. Karie's new husband Ryan got word that she was going to push him in. So he grabbed her clothes and all ran and jumped in. All would have been fine if he hadn't had her cell phone in his pocket :). Well within a few minutes all the brides maids and groomsman were all in the pool. So Brett's Mom and Ryan's Mom decided they should join and ran and jumped in Clothes and all. HAHA It was a great night. After cleaning up a bit we drove home getting us home about 12:30. Lots of driving, but a good weekend. So Tomorrow we are off again. Karie and Ryan couldn't take their whole Honeymoon since they needed to get to a Open House. So Brett and I decided to be nice (haha) and help them out by finishing up their time for them. We are taking down a couple of friends with us too so it should be a good time. I will be sure to post about that next week.

Karie with all the grandkids

I can't help but laugh..

2009-05-13T14:17:00.005-04:00

Kaiya since the day she arrived hasn't stopped making us laugh. She has such a sweet spirit about here. I don't think there is a single time I have gone to the store that I Haven't been stopped by at least to strangers telling what a great smile and eyes she has. She just has away about making others smile too. Well here are a few pictures just to let you know some of the fun around our house.

Kaiya Hiding a Banana behind her head. That was fun to clean up :)

Always standing up in the bath tub. When she sits she just splashes and splashes. But she loves to stand up and splash her feet as well.

Hiding in the Hamper. She kept crawling in it so Brett finally stood it up and let it shut. Then she just kept popping her head out and laughing and then going back down again.

The last one I don't have a picture for. But just about an hour ago I heard some chatter coming from Kaiya's room ( who was suppose to be asleep). Well When I walked in I found a naked baby. It is a warm day so I let her play in just her diaper. Well she had decided even that wasn't needed and took it off. But no that's not all. When she saw me she got all excited and crawled to the edge of the crib. Pulled her self up. Leaned her torso forward and began to pee. All this with a HUGE smile on her face. I yelled out her name and the peeing stopped. I couldn't help but just start laughing. Maybe because she still just seemed so excited. Well we got a new diaper on her and a onesie to hold it on. I cleaned up the mess and we had to call Daddy. He said that it was the best story he had heard yet and you could hear how proud he was. That is right she is very much a Daddy's girl.

Time Out for Women

2009-05-11T21:23:00.002-04:00

So this last weekend Brett's Mom took me and all 7 of his sisters to a Women's Time Out! It was very spiritually enlightening and was a good break away. It was my first time being away from Kaiya over night. But Brett did an awesome job. The two of them were both in one piece when I got back. Check out the link above to see what the conference was about.

One of the speakers was Mark Mabry who is a Photographer. His recent project was Reflection of Christ. I think this is something all Christians of all faiths will love!

Weekend Update

2009-04-29T08:43:00.002-04:00

well Last Friday we had some friends come in from Utah, and stay until yesterday morning. It was so much fun to show them where our new home is. Friday we just hung out around town and kinda caught up with them. Saturday the guys went to hit golf balls while us girls went to a birthday party for one of Kaiya's friends. Then we all met up for samples and a hot dog at Costco. After that we took them down town to check out the river. Followed by a paddle boat in greenfield lake to hunt for swimming turtles and alligators. We found a ton of turtles but only one alligator. Then we grabbed some dinner, to eat at home so Kaiya could get a much needed nap. Had some friends over and played games. Well then Sunday we got up and headed down to Myrtle Beach south Carolina which is only an hour drive from here. We took them to all the awesome shops on there lakes (which to me look like big ponds). Fed the fish and the turtles. Went to the strip and beach down there and hit up the Tanger outlets on our way out. Oh and ate at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. Monday Brett had to go to work :( but I took them down to the Aquarium at fort fisher and then spent the afternoon at them beach. This was Kaiya's first real time to actually play at the beach. Of course she ate a lot of sand (yuck) and then miss Independent didn't want her Mommy to hold her. So finally I just set her down and she went crawling right into the waves. After being hit a few times and needed a nap really bad I went and sat with her at the tent. Needless to say next time I take her I am going to make sure she is well rested first. Yesterday they went home, and I tried to start putting the house back in order. It was a very fun weekend. So if anyone wants to come visit....now you know what is in store.

Only My Husband

2009-04-20T08:17:00.002-04:00

Only Brett could be surprised at a backwards surprise party. So because of something going on over at the church everyone wasn't going to be able to be at the party before we got there. Actually we were the first ones there. So slowly people just started showing up. But Brett didn't seem to really catch on at all. He told me later he just wondered why I hadn't mentioned so many people were gonna be hanging out at our friends house. It wasn't until we all started singing happy birthday and Mary Helen came out with his cake, oh and it was right in front of his face that he caught on. He said when we started singing he thought it was someone else birthday haha. The look on his face was priceless. He really was surprised, even with everyone already there.

Brett's Amazing Birthday weekend

2009-04-19T17:24:00.005-04:00

So on Brett's birthday we just had a couple friends over and I attempted at making him a cake that looked like a fish in water.
I don't think it turned out so great, oh well. Then On Friday we woke up kinda early and headed to Columbia South Carolina and went to the Zoo.

Brett by the way LOVES Zoo's. When we first got there we watched the Bears Play Fight. It was so fun to see them so lively. Then there was a huge turtle that let Kaiya get up close. Who she tried to feed her food to. But I think her favorite was the Cow. She kept trying to smack it and bite it's ear haha. It was a lot of fun. Then we Drove to Charlotte North Carolina and stayed with Brett's awesome sister Cathi's family. Had dinner and watched a movie.

Then in the morning we woke up and Brett and I went to Carowinds while Cathi Watched Kaiya for us ( I told you she is awesome). Carowinds for those of you who don't know is a six flags amusement park. It was sooo much fun. We have been wanting to go forever. We went on a tub ride and of course my seat went under the waterfall and I was soaked. It was only in the mid 70's so I never really dried off. But oh well it was still a lot of fun. Now it's sunday and we are off to a Surprise Party for Brett with Friends, so I will have to post about that tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT

2009-04-16T11:25:00.004-04:00

This was like two nights after we met in person

Such an awesome Dad!

I am sooo excited that it's Brett's birthday. Today is Brett's 28th Birthday! So I will give you 28 reason I love him sooo much.

1. Man can he make me laugh, even when I don't feel like it.
2. He is an AMAZING Dad!
3. He lets me sleep in on the weekends, ( but secretly I think its so he can watch cartoons with Kaiya) no matter what I love him for it.
4. That he'll Play the same games over and over with me even when he doesn't want to because he knows it makes me happy.
5. How much he loves and cares about his family. Especially each one of his 7 sisters.
6. How much he loves his Savior
7. His love for my family
8. His Testimony
9. That he truly cares about me.
10. His eyes
11. His smile
12. His Patience with me.
13. That he puts up with my pile of clothes on the chair in our room haha
14. His love for our Country. The guy loves America!!
15. His desire to keep improving himself and his life.
16. That he lets me talk, and those of you reading this know me and know that is a big chore.
17. His willingness to serve others
18. He is sooo easy going, and willing to just go with the flow
19. That he hates staying inside all the time and makes us get out and do fun things.
20. That he is willing to try new things
21. How spontaneous he can be and is always ready for an adventure.
22. That he drove all the way across the country to meet me
23. That he stuck with me through pregnancy haha, which was rough
24. That he gives a great massage, for me its free the rest of you its 60 dollars an hour ;)
25. That he loves road trips
26. This one may sound dumb, but that he does play a lot of video games haha
27. His Cup is always half full. The guy always is looking on the bright side
28. That he is my best friend!!!!

Man do I love this man. For those of you that know some of the trials I have been through in my past know just how lucky I am to have found Brett.

Easter

2009-04-13T19:42:00.007-04:00

Easter was a lot of fun. Dinner went awesome. The cheesecake I made ( thanks shari for the recipe) was amazing. Kaiya finally got to wear the Easter dress that Brett bought her last year for Easter while I was still pregnant haha. We decided this year just to get Kaiya a couple things for Easter. She didn't seem to show any interest in Easter Eggs. So she got a cute Preschool size backpack with her name on it. and a Giant Stuffed Caterpillar. She seemed to love it all! oh and the other picture is just a random one. Kaiya loves to eat Paper haha. Just thought I would throw that in there.

Girls with Giggles

2009-04-10T22:02:00.001-04:00

So I keep forgetting to post this. But the little girl I baby sit and Kaiya have been doing this everyday for the last week. They crawl back and forth across the apartment and just giggle at each other. It's so cute to watch them play together.

Head butting

2009-04-10T21:57:00.001-04:00

So Kaiya is going through this I need to head butt all my toys phase. You'll get the idea from her video.

Easter

2009-04-09T10:35:00.002-04:00

So I found this cute idea for Easter. We are having Brett's Dad for dinner since his Mom will be in Utah. We are also going to have the missionaries over and maybe some investigators. I thought this would be a cute idea to remind us of the real meaning of Easter. I thought I would post it on here in case anyone else wanted to do it.

If your family is Christian, and you want a unique way to share the Easter story, try this Easter Story Egg Hunt. I love this activity because it combines the spiritual message of Easter along with the fun of a traditional egg hunt.

What you do is get twelve plastic easter eggs (the kind you can fill with candy) and number them 1 - 12. A permanent marker works well for this, or you can get fancy and use squeeze-tube fabric paints. In each egg, put the corresponding numbered scripture and item. You can write out the scriptures or just put the reference and look them up in the Bible as you go.

You can have a separate egg hunt with just these eggs, or do what I like to do, and mix the numbered eggs in with all the candy, boiled eggs and other surprises for a traditional Easter Egg hunt. Give the kids instructions not to open up the special numbered eggs until you say so. After all the eggs are found, let the kids settle down and eat some candy, and then gather everyone around. Open the eggs in order and read and discuss what is inside.

You might be surprised that the kids will enjoy these special eggs the best!

If you have older kids or don't want to do an egg hunt, you can place these eggs in a basket and take turns opening them after Easter dinner.

1. Item: Small cup or sacrament cup. Scripture: Matthew 26: 39-44 Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray. He asked Heavenly Father to bless Him. He did not want to suffer. He said to Heavenly Father "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." But Jesus wanted to obey Heavenly Father. He would suffer for all people who repent of their sins.

2. Item: 3 dimes. Scripture: Matthew 26: 14 - 49 One of Jesus's twelve apostles, Judas, made a deal with some wicked men. He would show them where Jesus was in exchange for thirty pieces of silver.

3. Item: Knotted twine. Scripture: Matthew 27: 1-2 When morning came, the chief priests and elders of the people decided to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and delivered Him to the governor, Pontius Pilate.

4. Item: Piece of soap. Scripture: Luke 23: 13-24 and John 19:6. Pilate asked Jesus many questions and then told the Pharisees that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Pilate wanted to release Jesus, but the Pharisees wanted to crucify Him instead. Pilate washed his hands in front of all the people, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then he let them crucify Jesus.

5. Item: Square of purple cloth. Scripture: Matthew 27: 28-30 and Mark 15: 15-19. The people stripped Jesus, put a purple robe and a crown of thorns on Him. They mocked Him, saying "Hail, King of the Jews!" The spit on Him and whipped him with a reed.

6. Item: Nails. Scripture: Mark 15: 15-19 and Luke 23: 26-27, 33. After they mocked Jesus, they took the robe off Him and led Him away to be crucified. The soldiers nailed His hands and feet to a cross.

7. Item: Dice. Scripture: Luke 23: 24-34. When Jesus was on the cross, he asked Heavenly Father to forgive the people who crucified Him because they didn't know He was the Savior. The soldiers took Jesus' clothes and cast lots for them.

8. Item: Small rocks. Scripture: Matthew 27: 57-60. When Jesus finally died, His spirit left His body and the sky was dark. There was a big earthquake, and the ground and rocks broke into pieces.

9. Item: Strip of white cloth. Scripture: Matthew 27: 57-60. One of Jesus' disciples, Joseph, took His body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb.

10. Item: Stone. Scripture: Matthew 27:60, 65-66. After Joseph had laid Jesus' body in the tomb, he rolled a big stone in front of the tomb so Jesus' body would be safe.

11. Item: Spices tied in a small piece of cloth. Scripture: Matthew 28:2 and Mark 16: 1-9. Jesus' body was in the tomb for three days. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome had brought spices to use to anoint Jesus' body.

12. Item: Leave egg empty. Scripture: Matthew 28:6. When the women got to the tomb, the stone was rolled away from the door and it was empty. They saw an angel there, who said to them, "Jesus is not here, for He is risen." Jesus was resurrected.

My Husband

2009-04-05T22:54:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness, I love my Husband. Brett has always got me laughing. Tonight was the AMC awards. I was in cooking a late dinner and turn around and there is Brett. He got out his cowboy hat, belt buckle and tucked in his shirt for the occasion. I could go on more about why Brett is sooo awesome, but I will save that for his Birthday post :)

Kaiya's new Puppy

2009-04-05T22:42:00.005-04:00

Kaiya loves dogs. When we go to our friends house she follows there dog around and when the dog licks her face she gets all giggly. So we got her this little dog that when you pat its head it barks. Needless to say she loves it.

Kaiya Tries Lemon!

2009-04-04T21:44:00.004-04:00

At dinner we decided to let Kaiya try Lemon for her first time. He first few faces were pretty funny. But she took the lemon from us and just kept sucking on it.