New year and new schedule!

January is practically over! I truly do feel like this last month has lasted about 60 days haha. It already feels like Jake has been in school for forever, but maybe that's just because we both have a lot on our plates right now! But in a good way. We are definitely staying busy and happy.

We started out the year in Cincinnati and came home a few days after school had started. We were definitely ready to get back into the swing of things and find a groove that fit our family. Jake has been working night shifts at the local behavioral hospital and is enjoying it! He has already come home with a lot of crazy stories. I am really proud of him because working full time night shifts has got to be one of the most exhausting things. On top of that, he's a full-time student, teaching anatomy, and doing research with a professor! It's been interesting trying to find a rhythm that works for us where we don't all three feel drained and we are finally getting there.

I have been working at Jake's aunt's business M-F from 8-12. It's been the perfect amount of hours and it's nice making some extra money on the side! Most of the time June comes with me and plays with Emma, her little cousin that is about the same age, or I have a family member watch her. Luckily I never work more than a few hours so I don't feel like I am spending too much time away from June.

It's been nice to work and have something else to do besides be a mom and wife. Although I truly feel like those roles are my "calling" in life, I'm not quite busy enough to not go crazy with that being the only thing on my plate. So having a part-time job and one class to finish online before I graduate, I am feeling like this is my sweet spot!

June is growing bigger and smarter every day. This is definitely the best age yet. She's still cuddly, loves being with me (maybe a little too much sometimes), but I also see her gaining some independence. She has been taking more solo steps lately and I can seriously see it in her eyes when she realizes she can do it and feels confident. She doesn't take more than 4 steps in a row usually, but she truly does get better and more confident every day! On top of that, she learned the word "DOG"! We have two my little pet shop dogs and she loves them. They are the most random toys but she holds them and will just crawl around the house with at least one of them in her hand. Anyway, for weeks I would tell her it was a dog. Or I would point our a dog if we saw one outside and I always point them out in her books telling her they say "woof woof". One day I was asking her if she could say dog and she just said it! Now every time she sees her little toy dog or any kind of animal (like the cat on the bag of cat food at Trader Joe's) she says "dog"!

One activity that Jake and I have been doing together lately is working on redoing the entire Seven Brothers Farm website! It's been a really fun late night activity for us to do together while June sleeps, although we have definitely learned that we would probably not work well together ALL DAY haha but we do good work as a team. It's been really fun to learn a new skill with WordPress and gets me excited about vamping up this blog one day (probably switching to WordPress one day!). We have seriously learned how to make a very simple pretty website. It has taken us HOURS AND HOURS hahaha but it's been super fun.

That's about it on an update for us. We're trying to budget better and make more homemade meals this year so we can both be a little healthier. Jake started crossfit for the month with his brother Aaron. I've been doing at least 20 minutes of yoga daily. It's been great and I'm hoping we both keep it up with a little bit of a "healthier" life style (I still love my daily coke from McDonald's. I will probably never give that up lol)

More Halloween photos

Because obviously more pictures of June in her Halloween costume! I've been trying to get my "nice camera" out more regularly because the pictures really are so much better, but it's hard to lug that thing around. But it's definitely one of my goals - and I want to be better at printing them and putting them into some kind of album. One of my favorite things to do is look through old photos albums - physical, turn the page kind of thing.

Other things we have been up to lately are staying up way too late playing Splendor on the iPad haha. Our cousins showed us the game a few weeks ago and we have been addicted ever since. You can get it for $5 on the app store so we are loving it.

June has been eating more and more solids which is so fun to watch. She has gotten significantly better at chewing in the past couple weeks, and I've gotten more confident with actually letting her eat anything besides applesauce and yogurt. She hardly gags anymore which is so helpful for my sanity. When she does gag, she's generally able to work it out. I am so proud of her!

Jake had a job interview this morning and it sounded like it went really well! It was at a behavioral hospital nearby and we are really hoping he gets it! He sounded so excited about it when he walked out of the interview. I know he would do great and learn so many things! The only thing that would stink is the night shifts . . . I would just have to cuddle June extra hard while he was gone!

June is a dada QUEEN. She says dada all. day. long. It's so cute. I'm not sure she knows that Jake is her dad. It kind of seems like she just interprets dada to mean any happy or fun thing. Whenever she's happy she's just saying dadadada the whole time. It's so, so cute. But when she's sad or tired she still says Mama. I can't believe she'll be 8 months in one week. Time really does go by so fast!

I did yoga and went on a "run" for the first time in a while this morning (like a few months). I truly am already feeling it in my legs, which tells you how much I've done since getting cleared to workout lol. I'm trying to be just a little bit better and a little bit healthier, and hoping to make some real improvements by the time we want to have our next baby. I'm on a mission to help my body deliver my next baby naturally and I think working out will really help that come to pass. Haha we'll see; I'm going to be my own experiment.

Other than that, life is good. I'm trying to journal regularly, cook more often, snuggle June & not get so frustrated that she doesn't sleep. We are really on the tail end of school finishing (kind of), so we are trying to stay positive and happy as we finish our last assignments, papers, and tests. I'm so glad it's almost over and I'm going to be able to just hang out with June full time next semester (besides the one class I'm taking online).

We are all really looking forward to next year, but I'm also okay with this next 6-8 months to go by slowly. I'm not quite ready for June to turn 1 and to move out of our little house into the next chapter of our life. We both are trying to be better about enjoying the present and things we are doing right now.

LIFE LATELY: pumpkin patch & halloween!

Aahhhh... Fall with my sweet pumpkin pie is the best ever. I'm glad we got to experience all the pumpkin patches and Halloween before she hit leap 6 which starts tomorrow!

We went to the pumpkin patch with our cousin Jessica and her husband Fabricio and their cute daughter Emma! It was so fun seeing them together and catching up with them. We ate donuts and pizza and took a bunch of cute pictures of the girls and even took them down the slide. Truly everything is so much more fun with babies!

And Halloween!! We didn't go out with other kids or families, but we did dress her up in a chicken costume, OF COURSE. Anyone could've guessed that. She looked so cute in it and wasn't even trying to pull the hood off! We took a ton of pics of her of course but no proof of mom pics haha (i was looking rough). But we also got one of our chickens out and put her next to June and June tried to grab her beak and I screamed!! Haha I didn't want her to get pecked and when I screamed, June wasn't even fazed. #tough

I love this little sweetness. She's been such a trooper as we go through school, as we made applesauce for HOURS two weeks ago at Amanda's house, as we put her in a huge pile of leaves, during church while we teach the 9 year olds. Oh I also painted her toes a cute little purple color while she was sleeping the other day. They look SO CUTE! She really is the best baby. . . even if she doesn't really sleep at night unless she's snuggled up close!

Fall family pictures + food poisoning

Olivia took our family pictures this Sunday and I LOVE how they turned out!! I was going for the fall feeling, but not TOO fall-y if that makes sense... Anyway, I LOVE them. June was so happy and I'm so grateful we got some pictures of her smiling!!

On our way up to squaw peak, I ate a bowl of chili that we had made the night before as we drove up. Haha well, I had left the chili out all night and I didn't even think about it at the time... but at about 2 am, I was feeling SO nauseous. I jumped out of bed and turned on the shower, hoping to escape the nausea, but it was too late and I started puking in the toilet. SO SICK. I hate throwing up.

When I finished I was like whew, okay, done. I went back to bed. Then at  5 am it happened again and I threw up even MORE. Oh my gosh I felt so sick. And I was kicking myself for eating the chili! The rest of the day, I mostly laid down on the bed or on the floor, sipping sprite and trying to eat as little as possible but enough to try and maintain my milk supply. Holy cow it is difficult trying to care for a baby when you're feeling so sick! I definitely had a look at what my life will be like next time we're pregnant . . . I can confidently say I'm glad it's just me and June for right now.

Of course Jake was begging me to take a pregnancy test hahahaha. I knew for sure I wasn't pregnant, but I appeased him and took a test anyway ... of course it was negative, but it was funny taking one again and waiting to see if there was a second line. I would've freaked if there was!

I'm feeling 100% today and went to school and went to the pumpkin patch and have had a great day. I'm so glad that food just got out of my body as quick as possible. We are all hoping for a healthy winter, escaping the flu and food poisoning!!

Recent happenings

This week has been full of crazy surprises! June officially started crawling and is exploring more each day around the house. Tonight she wandered into the kitchen as we were making dinner and started putting her little arm around my ankle. With her new found mobility, she's also started to show how much of a mama's girl she is. She'll crawl to me wherever I am and whine the whole way over until I pick her up. And tonight, for the first time, she said MAMA! At first I thought, no, that's not what she said. But then she did it over and over again! I'm not sure she knows what it means, but I can't stop playing back the videos I have of her saying it. So far, it's only been when she's whining, but I'll take it!

We took these photos this past weekend when we were "location scouting" for our next family photos, haha. This is a little campground up Squaw Peak. The weather is quickly turning fall appropriate and we are loving it. For some reason it's so fun to dress babies in leggings and long sleeves. I'm just not ready for the snow - I'm hoping it goes easy on us again this year!

School is going well, but it's also stressful at times trying to get things done. Usually I have to wait until she's asleep at night or scramble to get things finished during naps, and I'm already ready for that to be over and be 100% mom, but I'm excited that I'll be graduating and finishing college. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

We're excited for fall because that means homemade apple juice AND homemade grape juice!!! Plus soup galore, pumpkin pie, and my Grandma's chex mix! As sad as I am to say bye to this amazing summer we had, I'm excited to experience June's first fall. Almost everything is better with a baby on your hip.

SILVER LAKE HIKE

We took June on a hike for the first time in the new Ergo carrier I got . . . and it was amazing!!

The weather cooled down a little bit and we decided to go up in American Fork Canyon and do the Silver Lake hike. We were tossing around the idea of camping before I headed to Texas, but we decided this was a better idea for now. It's about 4.5 miles round trip anD MAN DOES IT FEEL LIKE IT.

Haha you gain about 1,400 feet elevation over the 2 miles up, but I was seriously dying for a second there. . . I had to take a few breaks to get water and we ended up switching June over to Jake because I was sooo sweaty! June was loving it though, just napping as we walked and talked.

At one point on the way up, I could've sworn we were nearly there . . . Like turn the corner, boom you're there kinda thing. We passed a guy and we asked him, "Are we close?!" And he goes, "Ummm.... I would say you're about halfway..." We just laughed. Haha we felt so weak! We were joking with June about how lame her parents were.

When we finally got to the top, it was immediately worth it! One, we could stop hiking, and two, the lake was beautiful! The water was pretty clear at the beachy parts of the lake, so we saw little fish swimming around and jumping up to catch mosquitos. We ate our packed sandwiches, veggies, and chips and enjoyed the view. Jake dunked his head in because he was pretty hot but the water was FREEZING. I only splashed a little on my face, but we cooled down pretty quickly just sitting and hanging out there.

June was loving it. She just watched the movement of the water, looked around at all the trees and sucked on a bell pepper. She is the best little go with the flow baby!

It was also really nice because it was the middle of a workday so it wasn't very busy. There were a few other people there but we were all spread out so it sort of felt like we were up there alone.

It was such a great day, spending alone time with our little family and not worrying about the MCAT at all. It was a much needed break for me and for Jake! And we can't believe that's one of our last hoorahs for school comes.

DIAMOND FORK HOT SPRINGS!

After the family reunion, Jake's brothers stayed in town for a couple more days which was awesome! On Monday, we wanted to do something fun with them and we decided to go to the hot springs in Spanish Fork Canyon! Jake and I have been wanting to go for a while, but when we think about it, it's always too late. The spot is about 40 minutes from our house and then a 2.5 mile hike up, so you have to go at a good time before it gets dark (unless you're into that kinda thing).

We packed up in the car and the Bruces were coming along too! When we got to the spot, I got out of the car and realized that I forgot to bring June's carrier. So Aaron and Jake's were champs and carried her the whole way. That girl gets heavy after carrying for a while so I'm grateful all the boys were willing to hold her!

We got to the top and it was SO pretty! The water really is so blue. Although it smells like rotten eggs, it's so pretty. The sun went down just enough behind the mountain that it was shady and we felt pretty good getting into certain pools. The pools near the top were literally 120 degrees - SO, SO HOT. I don't even know how Jake, Aaron, and Brent got in there!

The water is seriously so pretty but the area is pretty sketchy because it's SO slippery but you can still get around. We got June in one of the less hot parts of it (probably the temperature of a normal hot tub) but I didn't want to keep her in there for too long because their little bodies can't handle heat that well!

We hung out at the springs probably for like 45 minutes and we were all so surprised there was no one there. Jake said that it's usually super crowded, but I guess the time of day we decided to go, it wasn't that bad! I would definitely go again, but probably when it's a little bit colder outside. When we finished the hike, we were all dripping sweat because it's been so hot outside.

We had so much fun spending some time with Jake's brothers and the Bruce girls. Grateful for family and the things we do together! I also should mention that June is such a trooper and didn't cry or whine at all. She nursed when we got there, and then on the way down she fell asleep and snuggled up to me and then Brent and then Aaron... I know she was loving life with all the snuggles she was getting!

WEEKEND HAPPENINGS - THE RODEO

This weekend was so fun! Friday night we went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo! We went last year and it was a BLAST, so we were super excited to go this year and bring June! Amazingly, she stayed awake for the WHOLE THING. She probably slept for like 5 minutes. There were just so many noises and people clapping and yelling and men being bucked off broncos and bulls... I'm sure she was too excited to sleep.

The Strawberry Days rodeo is extra exciting because all the men are competing for serious money. How they perform at this rodeo helps them move up in the rankings and perform at higher level rodeos (I think), so they're giving it their ALL. It's all so entertaining - especially the bull riding. Although it is kind of scary... One guy, who had just gotten off the injured reserved list, got his hand stuck in the tape and was being bucked around by the bull until they could get him out. I don't even understand how that still happens but it was terrible to watch!

And the strawberries and cream... Y U M. It's seriously delicious!! It's worth going to the rodeo just for the strawberries and cream... Oh and the people watching.

On Saturday, we (and by we I mean Jake) helped the Mauldin's start demolition on their house! They are moving along with their renovation project and I'm super excited for them. Jake was excited to knock down some walls and do some serious damage... and they did. They worked for about 4 or 5 hours and June slept the whole time in the carrier with me. It was awesome, they got a TON of work done. That night we just relaxed and watched 27 Dresses. Haha, I love my husband.

Sunday we went to church and then in the evening we met some of Jake's aunts and uncles and their kids at a park up in Provo Canyon. It was SO nice out. We passed the volleyball, ate some tacos, and enjoyed the weather. It's always nice to catch up with cousins we don't see that often! In one of the pictures above, June is with one of her little cousins and they are SO cute together! Emma was trying to latch onto her arm and it was so freaking cute haha. I love babies, but I especially love babies when they're together! They are only a week apart, so it's fun seeing the differences in them.

Summer is what Jake and I are living for right now. I'm not really looking forward to the fall semester because of all the credits I'll be taking with June as my little class buddy, so we're soaking up our "free" time right now!

Swimming with Monica and Ammon

I have been trying to get together with Monica and Celeste for a few weeks now, and we all finally made it happen! Ammon's parents are headed on a mission so Monica and Ammon are able to live at their house which means SWIMMING! Monica and I set a date for all of us to go swimming together and it was so fun to see June and Celeste interact with each other and be all cute in swimsuits. I can't wait until June can move around a little more and start to play with us like Celeste!

Monica and I get along really well because we agree on pretty much everything regarding parenting and birth. Usually we only see each other at big family functions when we're trying to converse with each other AND everyone else so it was nice to spend some one on one time together hahaha. It was also fun for Ammon and Jake to get to know each other a little better.

June fell asleep as I stood in the shade of the umbrella. She hasn't fallen asleep without nursing with me in a few weeks so it was really sweet to just rock back and forth with her and then get to sit down and cuddle her on the pool chair. She slept for about an hour while Celeste watched a show, Monica and I chatted in the sun, and Jake and Ammon did some tricks into the pool.

We all eventually got hungry and decided to go to Cubby's for lunch. Every time I go there, it's mainly for the fries so I got chicken poblano soup and then two types of fries. I should probably branch out and get a sandwich or burger from there, but the fries are too good to pass up! Especially with the fry sauce. We sat outside for probably another hour and a half. Celeste had her parents take her to the bathroom 4 times which was hilarious, while June had a dirty diaper and we changed her right there on the table.

Saturdays are nice when we all get to spend the day together. I know one day soon, Saturdays will be filled with just me and June while Jake studies so I'm really soaking it up!

In the evening, we went to Babies R Us to check if they had anything really good on sale (they didn't except sunscreen and Honest diapers). Then we picked up a to go order of skillet queso and flatbread pizza from Chili's and watched Miracle together while June was an angel baby and went right to sleep.

I love our life together!

YUBA LAKE

This weekend was Jake's cousin Nica's wedding so a bunch of family was in town which was super fun (and also a little stressful). Most of the family hadn't met baby June yet, so that was fun for them... but on the other hand, it was stressful because so many babies wanted to hold her and kiss her and my mama bear was like full rage. Haha it stresses me out when she gets over stimulated but I'm working on it!

The wedding and the reception was super fun! Anna and Ruth's dad Thomas was there to hold June which was great, because no one's gonna take the baby from him! He was great with her too, of course. Near the end of the night on Friday we were all playing cards downstairs and she finally fell asleep in his arms and they laid on the couch for about 2 hours! It was THE BEST!

On Saturday, Jake and I went to go play volleyball with the Bruces. That was really fun for the both of us to play with Thomas, and everyone at least won one game. We all got a lot of sun, though... We need to invest in some sunscreen! After we played, we went to this street taco place Ruth told us about and it was seriously so good and CHEAP! We'll for sure be going back there.

Later, everyone wanted to get together again and we all decided to go to Yuba lake which is about an hour and 15 minutes south of Provo. The drive was super boring, but we were excited to get there and hang out with everyone. The shallow water was cold but manageable, and all the little girls were having fun while the men were playing spike ball. June got to wear her swimsuit from Jennifer Overland for the first time and her cute hat I just got her from Amazon! She did pretty great, actually. She nursed a couple times, but she was super happy with Jordan and then in the backpack with me. :)

Jake took her in the water for the first time too!!! At first, he took her in the deep water where it was colder and she screamed hahaha. But then when he took her closer to the shore and just got her little legs in, she didn't seem to mind too much!

Another funny thing from Saturday was June was LOVING the green grapes we had. I don't know how we even found that out, but Heidi was holding her and biting the grape and then just letting her suck the juice out. It was sooo stinking cute how much she was loving it! I don't think she's teething or anything, but she's been sucking on her hands so much recently and our fingers if we put them in her mouth so I'm sure she was loving getting some sweet tasting juice from the grape!

And spending time with her great grandpa!!! He would always try to hold her when she was crying and finally later in the day, she wasn't crying and got to play with him a little bit. He was doing his "Shopping" bit and then "bus driver". It's basically where she is trying to catch the bus but she misses it, and so he makes her do the cute little walk. It was so cute and everyone was giggling. It was fun spending time with them and taking videos that I hope June will cherish!!!