Virgin Party of 3

My dear dear cousin reminded me the other day that I haven't updated my blog in awhile! How true that is! My last post was about Everest's prom date, and now he is 5 months old!! Somehow I neglected to blog about our 3 year anniversary which was extra special because there were three of us to celebrate! We kept it very simple and enjoyed spending time together.

We were putting together hanging plants for our porch.

Carl made my favorite meal: steak fajitas!

A flattering shot of both of us, I know ;)

3 candles, 3 years, 3 Virgins!

We all made a "family birthday" wish!

We had a summer Virgin gathering in Maryland in June, so we had our first airplane trip with Little Man! It could've gone a lot smoother expect I stressed out too much the on the flight to Maryland. My life would be a lot easier if I just took more deep breathes. We have discovered Everest is a very aware baby (he's constantly looking this way and that) so imagine his constant head turning to look at everything in an airport. By the time we got on the plane we was worn out, but, again, was in a new situation and couldn't calm himself enough to sleep. Thankfully he didn't cry, but it took Dad (AKA Carl) to settle him down.
Unfortunately, I lost our camera a week after the trip so I have no visual documentation of our trip. We went to the DC Zoo, hiked Sugarloaf Mountain, arm wrestled cousins, and got to catch up with all the Virgin family.We had such a good time!

The Virgin clan! (Photo compliments of Anna)

The Virgin cousins (with one more due this fall!)

Close to the time Everest turned 4 months old, he developed a cold (I know, a cold in the summer??) and just recently got over it. We've been having to deal with sleep training all over again; I guess because the sickness messed with his system. It's been far too long since I've had a lengthy amount of sleep. I think the longest stretch to date is 2 1/2 hours. I'm starting to crave 8 hours of sleep!! One day, one day.
Everest is now 5 months old and has a few tricks up his sleeve! He can push up onto his hands on his tummy, can sit up unattended for longer than a minute, push things away he does not want, smile at lovely ladies, and is an expert at peek-a-boo with Dad. We love him dearly!!

We can't get over his sweet smile!

He is definitely a talker! Well, baby talk that is!

Rice cereal beard!

Sitting by himself!!

Ev's first 4th of July!

Love my sweet boy!

Everest's First Date

When you have an attractive father (like Everest does), you will naturally get his dashing good looks. So of course Everest has already attempted to go on his first date! Angela went to prom this year, and Everest wanted to step in as her date. Unfortunately nobody gave him the memo that Stephen had already asked her to prom. Um, awkward. Here's how the night went down:

Everest knocked on the door, but Angela wasn't ready yet. He was invited in.

He brought a beautiful arrangement of fake flowers. (Yeah, we'll tell him to go with the real thing next time!)

He quickly learned the art that all men must learn: how to wait on a woman.

And then she arrived!! And she was as beautiful as an angel!

Then Everest squared off with his competition, Stephen, who also decided to go with a spiffy bow tie.

Looks like Angela chose to go with Stephen!

Everest did what any baby would do after rejection: sit on the couch with his dad.

Little did Angela know, Everest was Prince Charming in disguise!

We're not quite ready for Everest to go after the ladies yet, but we do hope he is a lady's man! ;) Until next time!

Month by month

I've been an official mom for one month today! One month! If you can believe it or not, I still don't feel like a mom. It's like I'm subconsciously waiting for his real mom to come take him away. I know, weird! I have learned SO much about being a parent, but I have also learned so much about the gospel. As I sing him Primary songs and tell him scriptures stories, I am gaining a greater understanding of the basic principles of the gospel. For example, I sing "I Am a Child of God" to him almost every time I put him to sleep, and every time different parts of the song resonant within me. I know there will be many more days, months, and years of learning both spiritually and as a mom.

Today I dressed Everest in a little pirate outfit. I love it :) Carl gave him the pirate name of "Black Duder." He's fierce, no? ;)

2 + 1 = 3

I still can't believe I'm a parent. It seemed to happen so quickly! One moment I'm complaining about indigestion and lack of clothes to fit over my belly, and the next moment I am waking up in the middle of the night to feed my little man. After one week it's beginning to feel normal ;)

Everest was born January 29 weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz and measuring 21 inches. He is a tall, skinny boy! He has Carl's nose and chin and has my undeniably long toes. He seems to change every day, and Carl and I love to notice his changes. We are so blessed to have this sweet boy in our lives! There are adventures aplenty to come and I look forward to learning and growing from them.

The Pregnancy Woes

Week 38. I have been growing a little baby boy inside of me for 38 weeks now. Can you believe it?? Carl and I still can't wrap our heads around the fact that we will be bringing home our baby in the flesh in 2 weeks time. (Well, I hope it won't be exactly 2 weeks!) He's super excited, but I'm getting way antsy. Lately I've been thinking of all the things I will be able to do that I haven't for 9 months or less. It's consuming my mind so much that I decided a list was in order. So I present to you my "Top 6 List of Things I'm Excited for After Baby's Birth." (That was kind of a lengthy title...)

I know, I'm huge!!

6. Zantac will no longer be my best friend. I have never had an issue with indigestion. It was a foreign word to me. When I approached my twenty weeks, I needed to take Zantac about 3 times a week. Now I take it every day. It's no fun relying on meds for physical happiness!

5. I won't waddle. Carl and I (finally) registered at Target a couple weeks ago, and as I was coming back from the bathroom he watched me with this silly smile on his face. I--thinking he was having sweet thoughts about me--asked what was up. He stated, "I think you're waddling now." Oy vey.

4. I will be able to eat raw dough. I love to bake, and pregnancy hasn't stopped me from baking too much. But when I bake, I am a habitual bowl-licker. I can't tell you how many times in the beginning weeks of pregnancy I was seriously mid-lick before I realized I probably shouldn't subject my baby to raw eggs.
**And there is no way I am making egg-less cookie dough just so I can pig out!

3. Getting dressed won't be such an emotional issue. Okay, let's be honest, even after Everest is born I'm going to have weekly fights with my closet. But seriously, it is way hard to look through your clothes the last month of pregnancy and realize that absolutely nothing fits but the same sweatshirt you've been wearing for the past week. (And even that sweatshirt is starting to show off my mid-drift! Did you see that picture of me above?)

2. Laying on my stomach won't be a burden. I know you're thinking, "Hey, you have a baby in your stomach. There is no way you would think to lay on your stomach." Let me tell you, my friends, up until the 30 weeks I would seriously forget I had this baby belly and start lying down on my stomach! (Pregnancy brain!!) I have no idea why I like to do things while laying on my stomach, but it has seriously been a sacrifice not to. You know exactly what I want to do when Everest comes out ;)

1. I can work out as hard as I want. Up until a few weeks, I was still do mild work outs every morning. Nothing crazy, but enough to get my blood flowing and my endorphins going. When my blood pressure started acting up, I had to stop. I think it's been a month or so since I've last worked out, and I am dying to put on my tennis shoes and break into a huge sweat. There is something satisfying about working out! (I know some of you are saying, "Mmmm hm!" right about now :) As soon as I'm cleared, Everest and I are going to be on the go!

This post was more to vent out some emotional frustrations, but I am honestly SO grateful to have this baby inside of me. I realize that it is such a blessing to bring a life into this world, and I would not trade this ability for anything. Carl and I are excited expectant parents, though we do realize we're blissfully ignorant of many baby issues to come ;) Hopefully my next post will include baby pictures! Here's to surviving 2 more weeks!! :)

Christmas Catch Up

I just realized I neglected to blog about our Day family Christmas! This was mine and Carl's third Christmas together :) and our second Christmas with my family. We switch every year which family we celebrate with, and I'm pretty sure I'll grow to love both experiences equally. They both have their own members, traditions, and celebrations that make them unique. You might remember last year's post A Virgin Christmas which included a delightful night of talents. I totally missed that this year!

I forgot we took this silly picture December 1!

Our family always spends Christmas Eve night with as many relatives in the area. We play games, act out the nativity story, and eat lots of food! I'm not sure what this game pictured is called, but you have to use gloves to open all the presents to get to the prize! Only those who roll doubles get a turn :)

Aaron's attempts to open.

Go Carl!

I'm not going to lie, I got pretty vicious trying to open it!

My grandma won!! And cousin Josh is trying to nab the prize...

Mary & Joseph

Madilyn is the director of this nativity ;)

The angel Gaberial comes to the shepherds...? Or sheep dog! ;)

The wise men!

The whole scene :)

Jingle bells!

Mads loves dogs!

This year Carl and I were able to have Christmas morning all to ourselves! It was a delight :) Although we didn't get too much sleep... Carl was up all night with a baby flashlight and his tools putting together my present: a rocking chair!!! (CARL'S NOTE: Assembly not as easy as described!) Poor guy only got about three hours of sleep putting it together quietly, so I wouldn't hear! We went over to my parent's for traditional Christmas morning crepes, skyped with Carl's parents, and headed to Becca's for Christmas dinner.

Our lovely Christmas tree!

My beautiful present from Carl!!

He always takes pictures with a head tilt now! It's super cute.

Excited to open presents!

Toms from Santa!

She didn't quite get into the unwrapping spirit like we thought!

Oogling and talking to her new baby doll!

My dad loves his present from my mom!

As you can tell, we are very tired!

Aaron's favorite present!

Playing Bezzer Wizzer--my dad's present!

No caption needed haha!

Allan's family joined us later at Becca's!

I am looking forward to the new year especially since next Christmas we get to spend it with our little Everest!! We're so excited for 2013 and all the twists and turns we know it will bring.

Lessons from 4-year olds

Today was our last day as Sunbeam teachers! It was very bitter sweet. Although we're excited about not having to be super prepared with dynamite lessons every week, we will miss our little group of 4-year olds. Well, little group might not be the right adjective... We bounced from ten kids to five to seven in about a eight month span. Needless to say, we have learned a lot from all of them! Here is an accumulated list of what Carl and I learned from our little ones:

1. CARL: Always bring enough pink hand outs. Crying will ensue if a female does not get a pink one.
          Accordingly, never try to give a pink hand out to a boy. More crying
          will ensue.
          Better yet, don't do anything in color. White is your best option.
2. ALISA: Regardless of what children's books say, there is somehow always enough room on your lap for a child. Even if you are with child.
3. CARL: Anticipate the answer, "And be nice." This is a more common answer than your standard seminary responses.
          Oh, and each child must have their turn to say it.
4. ALISA: Coloring pages are an essential part of your lesson.
5. CARL: If a boy says he's a lion, he's a lion. No questions. Just tell them lions have to behave in church too.
6. ALISA: Teach them to raise their hands. (We didn't enforce this soon enough!)
7. CARL: All the girls love Kasen (the only boy in the glass), but "Broder Birgin" is handsome too.
8. ALISA: Every home-drawn picture you receive is a treasure :) We loved when they brought us their art work!
9. CARL: When parents say, "They are potty trained" they mean, "When they are with me, they are potty trained." Bring a change of pants for yourself. Your lap is more cozy than porcelain. 
10. ALISA: Show them all the love in the world :)

What will our next Primary adventure be?? And will it be in the near future or when we are old and grey? One thing is for sure, we learned from those simple lessons just as much as our little ones did. It was inspiring to recognize how a simple an idea can be so powerful.