My 6 month muffin

I know I say this every month... but I can't believe my baby is 6 months! I can't believe that it has been half a year since i held this little miracle in my arms for the first time. I can't believe how much of a little person she has turned into. I can't believe that I get to feel this joy every day for the rest of my life. These past 6 months have truly been the best! 

Her stats: 

Weight 15.10 pounds (40th)

Height 27 inches (90th)

Rayni has continued on the track of "over achiever" so far in everything that she is doing. She no longer can be left alone for no more than 2 seconds because you may find her behind the T.V like I did the other morning. She is trying so so hard to crawl but hasn't quite figured out how to get her hands to move forward with her knees. She first started out doing a headstand with feet on the floor, then a plank, then she learned to drop her knees, now she is trying to figure out the hand part. It is like her feet and her legs are having a battle. So she has givin' up on moving her hands now she moves like an inch worm. Tucks her knees up under her then falls forward on her chest then tucks and falls along the floor. She totally gets around like a pro and is getting into EVERYTHING! We are constantly moving things that she can't get into. Baby proofing the house here we come! 

Her vocab consists of mama and dada, and some gibberish/singing. She squeals, has started to giggle a bit. Before she would just open her mouth really wide but no laughing would come out. Now she is getting the giggle in there. I love the baby giggles and can't wait till she is really laughing. I think I have mentioned before that we can already tell that she is going to be a little spit fire... well it has become even more evident that this is going to be the case. She has a little attitude and is a little bit of a drama queen. She is so stubborn and sassy. I recently was chatting with my mom over email after being frustrated over Rayni not wanting to eat and saying how stubborn she was. My mom commented back, "Hmmm I wonder who she takes after?" NOT ME;) the truth is that if she is anything like her stubborn mom or her stubborn dad we are in for a ride! 

She has figured out a scream that she does when trying to get our attention or getting frustrated. If she bups something with her head or any part of her body it is a full blown cry, she coughs in the middle and looks and you with big crocodile tear filled eyes. She knows how to work her audience!

My family is all saying that they think she is going to be our little dancer. She is always pointing her toes, gracefully lifting her legs in the air, stands on her toes, and on occasion when rolling over goes into the splits. As a parent you oftentimes think about what your child is going to be when they grow up. Of course I say she is going to be a singer/actress. Zach says she is going to be a golfer or a tennis player. But I think she has plans of her own to be a dancer. She will be great at whatever she does. 

We have been doing cereal but recently added peaches: she did ok with them seems to like them ok, bananas: doesn't want anything to do with them, and applesauce: seems to like ok. We tried bananas after a week or so break and she seemed a little better with them. I still have to hide her food in cereal. My email that I talked about above was the day that I tried bananas for the first time. She took one bite then after that she clamped her mouth shut. She loves to sing so I tried to get her  to sing with me but she discovered that as soon as she opened her mouth the spoon would go in. So singing wouldn't work. Then she started singing and talking to me with her mouth shut. Little smarty stubborn pants! 

I was cleaning the house the other day and was loving that all over my house was a mess of girly things! there were dresses on the floor, little shoes, lotion, bracelets and necklaces (She loves to chew on them) frilly jammies, headbands, pink teddy bear, and many more pink/glittery/girly stuff. It makes me so happy that I get to be a mommy to a little girl. I of course would love to have a boy one day but right now being a mommy to a girl is the best! 

My other love is that when she is having her last bottle for the night, towards the end I have to sing a little ditty that my Grammy sings to all her grandkids in order for her to finish. While I sing she hums along with me while she eats. If I stop she stops eating, as soon as I start singing again she starts eating. So silly but I love that she loves that!

She is such a joy and we couldn't imagine our life without her!

Enjoy some pics of the past month:

Rayni and her best friend (he doesn't know it yet)

oh snuggles

The many faces of Lou Lou

headstand (sorta)

she loves her daddy

This little chica is a CRAZY sleeper. She is always trying to get out of her jamajams.

Arm out and twisted all the way around 

Arm almost out, foot out of feeted jamajams. My little Houdini. 

Gave up on the jamajams and just tried a diaper but she managed to get half way out of that too. Good thing I checked on her before i went to bed or we could have had a serious mess. 

One of her dancing moves

Plank

The end...

no butts about it I love this girl!

She will love this when she is older;)

Our Friday Adventure

It is always fun to have daddy stay home from work so that we can have some fun time! After a morning of Rayni and I getting our picture taken with Rayni's Grammy Lou and great Grammy for 4 generations (pictures coming soon) We decided that we were going to go on an adventure.

(Side note)

I love just randomly deciding to go places last minute. I am WAY too much of a planner and get stuck with needing to know everything so that I can plan every detail. I recently saw an episode of "Pregnant in Heels" where there was a couple that was scared to have a baby because they are very spontaneous and are worried that having a baby will make it so they can't do that anymore. They wanted a flexible baby...HA! The main girl on the show said that if you get your baby on a schedule then you can anticipate their needs and make it so you can be spontaneous but still be able to provide for your baby. Because I am such a scheduler and a planner I have had Rayni on a schedule from 6 weeks. It works like a charm and does make it easy for use to be spontaneous because I know what she will need while we are out. 

Even though I am a control freak and like to plan every detail I love days like this because it gives my brain a break, I don't have to think... and I don't have to plan, I just get to go with the flow.

Anyway back to what I was saying.  

Those of you that know me well know my obsession with the Food Network channel. Zach said to me once...or twice, "every time I turn the TV on it is always on the Feed Network" What can I say I L.O.V.E it!

Well among my favorites is: 

I Love all the fun places he goes and all the AMAZING food he tries. I love it when he goes to ones in or around Utah, because I try to make it a point to go. We have been to the Red Iguana in SLC, Rick's in Boise ID, and the one we added to our list today:

Ruth's Diner! (up Emigration Canyon) 

OH MY LANTA! 

This place was yummy! 

It lived up to the episode. 

The main reason why I wanted to go was for a specific meal that it showed on the show: Biscuits and Gravy.

This is defiantly not a meal to help with my "trying to get rid of my baby flub" but a cheat is acceptable every once in a while...right?  

 When I was little I would go to breakfast with my Grandpa Syd and he always got the Biscuits and Gravy no matter where we went. It turned out to be one of my favorite meals for breakfast as well. 

I don't think my grandpa ever went to Ruth's Diner but if he did I think he would agree with me... 

THE BEST BISCUITS AND GRAVY I HAVE EVER HAD!

There are 2 very important things that have to "be" in order to have good biscuits and gravy:

#1 The gravy needs to have a lot of flavor and needs to be thick

#2 The biscuits need to be able to stand up to the gravy and not get soggy 

Ruth's Diner is Famous for their Biscuits. They are called the mile high biscuits. This was for sure a carb over load. 

First they send out a mile high biscuit for the entire table when you first get there. 

Then if you get the biscuits and gravy you get 2 more biscuits. Phew... it was a little much but SO tasty and totally worth it! 

This pic doesn't do it justice of just how big this puppy was!

After we ate we continued up Emigration Canyon for a little drive and saw a beautiful lake then headed home. It was totally one for the books of great days! 

 Sleepy head

Full, Fat, and Happy after Ruth's 

And to end...

This is our friend Ruth... we wouldn't be complete without her!

Daddy

Today was such a fun day with my daddy! I can not say enough great things about him. He is my hero, my best friend, my rock, my goof ball, and the one that puts a smile on my face. 

We began our day by waking daddy up and having some fun play time in the sheets! I was full of giggles and stories to tell him. We sang, read some books, kicked, and laughed. 

Then Mommy and I surprised daddy with a breakfast. This is what he saw when he walked out of his bedroom:

Mommy and I made blueberry pancakes, cut some roses from our garden and made a cute sign that doesn't show up on the camera very well. I couldn't quite say surprise... but when he walked out I wiggled and giggled in excitement to show him what we had been up to all morning. 

On Friday when Daddy was at work my mommy made him a sports wall in our basement for his Father's day gift. She wanted him to come home from work surprised. And oh he was:) My mommy has taken over all the other rooms in our house so she thought that it would be fun to let him have a room to himself. 

My Daddy is a big Yankees fan so that is what she based most of the wall on. To the left is a picture of my daddy's best friends after their softball game. The picture on the right is a picture of me watching him play softball. And it says, "Daddy's biggest fan" which I am. The shoes are my poppy's shoes when he used to play ball. 

So much manly fun in a girly house.

We ended the day at a duck pond by our house. I LOVED the ducks. I was so mesmerized by them. My mommy and I sang "5little ducks" one of my favorite songs. 

this is me talking to the ducks. They understand my jabbers.

me and mommy singing

My hero and I

P.s. I no longer just say mama... Dada is now in my vocabulary. Mommy will need to catch in on the camera, but I'm sneaky;)

The Sweetest Word

This brings such joy to my heart and a smile on my face!

 

"Mother is the name of for God on the lips and hearts of all children" 

Eric Dravin 

Not to say that I am comparing myself to God in no way shape or form... in-fact I feel very unworthy of the word at times. But given the opportunity to be a mother and to be called one is the greatest blessing. In a recent letter from my brother that I got on Mother's Day while in the Phillippines on a mission he said: 

'Sis you have been blessed with one of the greatest blessing, being a mom. But remember, "With great power comes great responsibility!"'(Spider Man) 

It is a huge responsibility to be a mom and to be held responsible for my little Rayni's life. At times it can be a little overwhelming! But to hear that sweet word come out of her mouth makes it all seem just a bit easier! 

These two quotes I found makes me want to do a little more every day to to serve my Heavenly Father's very special daughter:

"Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels."

--The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

God trusts women so much that He lets them bear and care for His spirit children.

--Elder Neal A. Maxwell.

5 month little lady

5 months? 5 MONTHS!?! I can not believe that my baby is 5 months old! She is out of control thinking that she can grow up as fast as she is. I am a couple of weeks late getting this post up because our lives are going a hundred miles an hour. But I needed to get this up before she is 6 months old. Lou is just continuing to get the funnest personality. She is all smiles and giggles. She has not gotten anymore teeth since her bottom two but she acts like she is going to get some any day. She shoves everything and anything she can in her mouth. She eats cereal from a spoon and has done such a great job from the beginning. Since we have started cereal she has chunked right up. The legs are rolling around the diaper and I joke that she has a gorilla bumb... The cutest bumb around! she no longer gets mad when she is on her belly. She truly has been so much fun to get to know. 

Here are some fun movies and photos of the past month:

Rayni covering her face. And talking to her audience

smiles!

She loves to eat her kiwi stuffed animal

Mama and Rayni on mother's day

Little miss independent

My First mother's day gift from Rayni with the help of her sweet babysitter

she LOVES tags. If there is a tag she will find it!

What do you think? Do we look like twins??? (Sorry my pic is blurry)

Poppy and uncle ray ray playing on the floor

BOO!

Mother's Day and The Women in My Life

I could not be more excited to do this post. Sunday was a very special day for me! it was my very first Mother's day being a Mama! last year on mother's day it was right in the middle of us trying to get pregnant. I remember sitting in sacrament meeting and it was towards the end when my tears started flowing after holding them in all day. I felt silly and was trying to hide my emotions but my Hubbie knows me best. He gave me his shoulder to cry on and wrapped his arm around me. I felt silly when the young women handed me a flower because I didn't feel 'worthy' of one. I wasn't a mommy yet. Well to my surprise I found out just a few days after mother's day that I was pregnant. So on mother's day I truly was a mom:) of course we were still hesitant because of our record in the past with getting pregnant. But it was still the best feeling to know that maybe... Just maybe I get to be a mom this time around!

Well our day began and my hubbie and I were getting ready in our bedroom while Rayni was laying on the floor watching us ever so intently. I was starring at her at one point and was thinking about my Mother's day experience last year. Right at that same moment Zach asked me, "Do you remember last year?" I looked up at him and shook my head yes. I then told him that it was funny he said that right at that moment because I was just thinking about it. "I can't believe that we have come so far from that day! Look at what we have!!!" Couldn't have been more grateful than I was at that moment.
Our day was full of fun with the Family. Breakfast at the in-laws and sacrament meeting. Lunch at Grandma Wangsgaard's, and then off to my Parent's to wait to Skype with Uncle Bubba! First time ever that he got to see Rayni (besides pics) Her face was the first thing that he saw when we appeared on his screen. It was so fun for her and him to be able to see each other. Can't wait till it is in person!

I also had the not so fun experience of feeling so helpless for my Rayni. She was exhausted from the day and is starting to get her bottom fang teeth. By the time we were heading home after a long day she was SCREAMING in the back seat. On the way to my parent's house she was also very upset and it made it more difficult to see her face so I decided that on the way home I wasn't going to sit back there because her face killed me. But instead I sat in the front seat with tears pouring down my face because I wanted so badly to take her pain away from her. It was killing me!!! All I could do was hold my hand back there and let her squeeze it for dear life like she was. I wanted so badly to hold her but knew that if we stopped and I got her out it would make it worse putting her back in. So we just held each other's hand and cried together. As soon as we got home it was out of the carseat as quick as a blink and in my arms. She laid her head on my shoulder with her little whimpers and it felt so good to comfort her! This made me think about how our Heavenly father must feel when we are in pain. I'm sure he wishes so badly that he could take it from us but sometimes there are things that we just need to go through to come out stronger on the other side. And what a blessing it is to have our brother and Savior know how we feel when we are going through pain and trials.

There have been times that I have gotten frustrated with trying to balance and juggle all that life has handed to us, not sure if I am doing a good job, doing what I am supposed to be doing,or doing enough of what I should be doing. My hands at times shake with unsurity and doubt. raising one of Heavenly Father's children and being held responsible for her life is a scary thought. And that is when I find myself praying for my Heavenly Father's help!

 I read this quote on my friend's page who is a mother of 4 sweet babies... 3 of which are triplets. I often think of her and think that if she can do it then I can too. Jess you are an inspiration to me!

 Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: “Ye have not come thus far save it were by the   word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.” Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.” You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” And it will make your children whole as well". ~Jeffery R. Holland

After getting Rayni comforted, in her PJs, fed, and all swaddled up for bed I sat there with her in my arms while rocking her, singing to her, and kissing her as many times as I could while she looked up at me with her big blue eyes with the biggest smile on her face. The tears once again came pouring down my face like they had a year ago. But this time it was with more joy that I thought was impossible to feel. We sat there and just looked at eachother for the longest time... I couldn't put her down. I just was loving that feeling and loving her so much!!! I am truly blessed to be given the opportunity to be a mom! There is no greater calling for me than to be given the chance to raise this precious angel. She truly is the light of my life!!!

Now I can't talk about Mother's day without mentioning my angel mother! My mama is such an example to me. She has taught me how to love, forgive, be a mom, be a homemaker, be happy, and to have a testimony. Without my mom my family would not be... not only for her sacrifice of having/raising my brother's and I but for her willingness to forgive when no one expected her to. She has been the glue and the example to not only my family but to everyone around her. She truly is an angel sent from above and without her I don't know where I would be today! I know that up in Heaven there was not a second thought or an ounce of hesitation when I chose her to be my mother. I'm sure she was my best friend in Heaven and I couldn't bare the thought of being without her. I am blessed to be in her presence! Thank you mom for being the AMAZING WOMAN and MOTHER that you are!

There are so many other amazing Mother examples in my life. Thank you all for your love and support! Under 'mother' in the dictionary you would all be there!

My Beautiful Grammy! This woman is amazing! She is always there for me when I need to talk to someone! She is everyone's best friend!!!

This is my Grandma Wangsgaard... the mom of 9! She is one strong and amazing person!

This amazing woman helped raise me and taught me so much! She babysat me since I was 6 weeks old and is still apart of my life! I love my Helen!

Can not say enough good things about this lady here! She has been to Hell in a hand basket several times and has always com back on top! Such an inspiration to me. She makes me want to be a better person. My sweet sister Amy

This is my sweet mother in law. She is always so kind and makes sure that everyone is taken care of before she even starts thinking of herself.

These two girls (the one above and the one below) Are my connected at the hip best friends/cousins/sisters! I love these girls. Kenna (above) Is a mother and is such an inspiration of a loving and compassionate mom. Mal (below) is not a mother yet. But She will be an amazing one one day:)

My sister Andee. This woman has also been through a lot but is still always mindful of others. Made a long last minute trip down to see my Rayni be born. 

As you can see I am surrounded by wonderful women. I have truley been blessed! So many great examples, love and support! Thanks to all of you for being who you are!