Getting Ready for Baby

After Christmas was over is was time to get ready for baby.  This meant that I went into planning and project mode, Brent indulged all my projects, expenses and craziness.  Harper also wanted to help so she started her preparation.

She practiced getting up in the middle of the night and naps.  Here she is telling us how we need to wake up as happy as she is!

 She is making sure we have all the correct supplies.  She wanted to make sure that all the pieces went together.

 Shopping is important with a new baby.  It is a hard job but someone has to do it!

 The most important preparation Harper did was giving Brent and I enough time to complete the projects we had, like completing her new dresser.  I think it turned out really cute.

Harper was finally ready to welcome little baby into the world, and honestly, so was I!

Christmas Morning

We spent all of Christmas eve with Toren, Audrey, Austin and Jack Jack.  We had a delicious meal, talked about the meaning of Christmas, watched a video of the nativity, and opened one present.  Austin was TOTALLY bummed when it was Pajamas.  After he watched the rest of us open ours and got the same thing he felt a little bit better.  PJ's to a four year old do seem like a pretty devastating gift.  To me, they were heaven!

After a busy month, the day had finally come, CHRISTMAS!  I love Christmas because mostly I love getting people presents they didn't think of getting themselves.  This year was the first year we hoped Harper would get excited about toys, she did not disappoint.

She did not get out of the car for most of the morning.

She was so upset about the stroller not fitting we had to collapse it and put it in the car with her.

She really only opened about two of her presents and instead of forcing the rest we just let her enjoy what she had.  

Brent and Harper go on walks all the time.  We found this stroller for a great deal and although she is a little young we thought it was a good investment.  Her feet are just barely starting to reach but she loves riding it, and steering it.

Thank you Grandma Huntley for the tent!  Harper uses it for two reasons.  1. to read books in (Brent, being an awesome dad, will sit in there for an hour reading the same 7 books to her over and over again) and 2. To do something she knows she isn't suppose to, like dripping water out of her water bottle.

The only thing about Christmas I am not a big fan of is the typical 8 hours of cooking for a 30 minute meal, so until I start to entertain the idea to give my kids the traditional experience I prefer take out.  This year we got Buca's during Harpers nap time.  Good food and no interruption.  It is pretty much my heaven.

That evening we had some friends over to play Christmas Bingo.  Some were skeptical about it but were quickly converted that a white elephant bingo game infused with desserts and junk is the perfect way to end christmas day.

As I mentioned, Harper didn't open all her presents.  In fact, we saved Grandma Forsberg's present for a few days.  She really enjoyed the opening.

and enjoyed the playing.

Harper was spoiled for sure, as was I.  Brent is a great present giver.  I do miss hanging out with my family but to be honest it is nice to do our own things and create some fun memories with our Vegas family.  

Ethel M's Chocolate Factory

Okay, I know I just ripped on the neighborhood lights in my last post, but they deserved it.  Ethel M's Chocolate Factory, however, does not.  Every year they decorate their cactus garden (yup, garden full of cacti) with a ton of Christmas lights and it is AWESOME!

Harper enjoyed herself immensley.  She kept saying "OOOHHHH" to everything.

It was a little hard for her to not touch some of the sharp plants but there was enough none sticky things around that fit the bill.

I really have to give a kudos to Brent.  He is always more than willing to track Harper down and since she has the energy of a Tasmanian devil, it is no small feat. 

This is one of her best "OOOHHH" moments.  

We could not figure out how to get a cute family shot.  This is getting harder and harder, especially since we have a fourth member now.  I laughed when people pulled out those selfie stick, but I think they probably have the right idea.

I really do love Christmas lights. It is something about crisp weather at night that makes the whole experience magical.  I am so glad there are places that take the time to put this together to help give people that experience.

Christmas Lights

Their are a ton of lights in Las Vegas, as long as you stay on the strip but if you are hoping to celebrate a little Christmas joy, there really isn't that many places to go.  We went to a neighborhood that is suppose to be covered with lights... it wasn't.  It wasn't bad but from growing up in Oregon it wasn't them same.

We did have some fun being outside together (note the light jackets we are wearing)

Harper enjoyed walking everywhere more than looking at the lights.  

I think every year will get more fun and if we need to escape to see some really good Christmas cheer I am sure we can hit up some good stops in the future (looking at you New York)

Meeting Santa

The Christmas season is a wonderful time.  Unless you are in your ninth month of pregnancy and just want to get through the last four weeks as fast as humanly possible, then the Christmas season is absolutely necessary.  With parties, activities and celebrations Christmas was a perfect time to keep busy.  One of our first stops this year was our old wards Christmas party.

Our old ward does this Christmas party right.  They had food, fun, music, and at the very end SANTA! Here is Harper waiting in line.  She looks a little nervous.

She finally meets Santa.  Well the first ten pictures were her hating Santa, crying, refusing to let him hold her where we finally decided that Harper giving him the evil eye is as close as we are going to get.  

Next year she might be more willing to tell him hello, or at least give him a smile, but for the most part we doubt it.

Thanksgiving: Portland Aquarium

Thanksgiving was filled with a ton of family.  My mom ended up hosting a dinner with 30 people and I LOVED IT!  It was so nice to see everyone and catch up. The day after was filled with shopping but black friday doesn't really do it for me, I feel like I am a bargain shopper all year so a few bucks off something that I already consider overpriced isn't really worth my time.

On Saturday, it was just my parents and us.  We decided to do another Portland attraction and hit up the aquarium.  This is a smaller place but is really interactive.  I was interested to see what Harper thought.  

This is her petting and sea sponge.  They had this in an old boat and a black lit room.  Pretty cool.  She was really excited but after it closed around her fingers she wasn't sure what to think.

In another room she got to pet the sting ray.  I bought some food to feed them (which only cost my last born child).  She was a little to nervous to let them get that close but all the adults enjoyed getting that personal.

The Koi fish were probably her favorite.  They would all hid in the corner and I would coax them out with a trail of food.  Harper would try and grab all the food and try to feed them, but most ended up on the floor.  My dad, knowing that the food was overpriced, actually got down and started picking it up.  I had to convince him we could afford the loss and that Harper would just drop it again.

The final stop was the bird room (no idea how they get to birds in an aquarium). Please understand that when I am pregnant I avoid cameras like the plague.  I don't need reminders of how big I got, but here it was unavoidable.  Harper started out LOVING the birds.  

Until right after this moment, when a bird got to close and Harper didn't feel safe anymore. She broke out crying and the employee had to come remove the bird before she hit it.

This was our second attempt, and honestly I felt less comfortable. I had one baby in me, one in my arms and three birds on me.  This is when I started having flashbacks to Alfred Hitchcocks movie "The Birds".  Needless to say, I was happy when we left. 

It was a fun trip to the aquarium.  I wish Las Vegas had more places like this.  In Vegas there are only wildlife preserves but most the animals are cockroaches and birds (which are normally non-existent). Overall, it was a really fun trip home.  Half of the fun is just getting to relax and watch judge shows with the people you like.  

Thanksgiving: Portland Zoo

This year Thanksgiving took us back to Oregon.  We were lucky enough to overlap with Toren and Audrey and have some true Portland fun!

One of our first stops was at the Oregon Zoo.  They had the whole park decorated for Zoo Lights but none of them were turned on.

Harper had a lot of fun pointing out the Starfish.

We thought she would really like riding on top of the lion statues but she couldn't wait to get off and run around.

The lions were really majestic.  The dad lion was just sitting on his rock overlooking his little pack.

Oh, how did I know he was a dad?  Because he had his three little cubs running around him.  They were so adorable.  One kept getting up on the rock with him and pretended to be the big man on campus. 

Harper really enjoyed seeing the cubs, well if she even saw them.  At this age who knows what she is looking at.

This was in the bird enclosure.  Austin was really fascinated by him but after he left I figured out how to get the bird to give kisses.  Since I am a good Aunt I tracked Austin down and took him back to get some bird kisses of his own. (side note: who can spot my outtie belly button?!) 

When Harper got bored of looking at the animals she made a point to push the stroller through the park.

It was a a perfect day for the zoo.  A little chilly normally but because you are walking all over it felt really delightful!  I was never a fan of the zoo as a kid but as I get older I enjoy watching the animals more and more. This in no way means I ever plan to own animals, I am not a fan of the responsibility.  I might consider it if I get to have one of those lion cubs for a few years.

Halloween

My sister Maren moved into a beautiful new house... A long time ago, and Brent and I still hadn't visited.  In early October, Brent and I were missing the northwest and remembered how overdue we were for a visit. Halloween weekend seemed perfect because then we could spend Halloween with our favorite Pullman nephews!

Harper was the only girl in the bunch but she pulled her weight as the cutest little strawberry.

Thank you Aunt Julie and Uncle Ryan for picking out this cute cute outfit.  

The boys were so fun.  Maren is such a good mom and went the full nine yards with make up and everything.  These boys are seriously so much fun.

It took Harper about 5 houses until she understood the concept.  She doesn't eat candy a lot, not because we are great parents but because I can't keep it in the house without eating it myself!

We thought Harper would only make it to a few house but she stayed out just as long as the older boys.

She was so happy and just looking at her little smile makes me happy all over again!

These are some of her favorite houses.

She might have gotten stuck in a pumpkin or two, but mom and London were always willing to help her out.

Love that face

Grandma was more than patient to go door to door.  This is Harper trying to figure out how to get the people to open the door. Slapping the door was her first try!

She loved being swung by Grandma and Dad.

WEEE!  This is the game she has missed the most since I haven't been able to lift her.

Hunter, who is a little older than Harper, could only make it through his neighborhood but Harper still had a smile on her face almost and hour and a half later!

The final trick she figured out?  Instead of one candy per house she could get most of the candy one house was offering as long as she smiled really cute at them!

End of the night stash.

Her final reward, one lollipop.

We gave Harper one piece of candy each day we were in Pullman but because she is so little I didn't feel the need try and take any of the candy home.  So we left it Pullman so that Maren had three crazy little boys to manage.  

Her house was gorgeous and it was so nice to be in the northwest.  Blake, Brent, Dad and Braden went to watch a  football game and after three hours in the rain and a losing score they decided to call it a game and head home.  It was mainly nice to be around fun family and commiserate with Maren about how miserable being pregnant is.  Fortunately, we both were able to have our gorgeous babies so next visit we will have two more to track during Halloween.

Pumpkin Days

Brent represents the police union out in Nye County, which consists of the outlying areas around Las Vegas.  This means he spends quite a bit of time working out in Pahrump.  One of the officers he works closely with also works with a charity and hosts an annual Halloween carnival.  We decided to make the hour long trek and it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

There were so many awesome things from an exotic petting zoo, horse back rides, tractor ride, mini carriage rides, play grounds, pumpkin patch, haunted house, and so so much more all for the low cost of $5.00 a person. 

Harper loved petting this goat.  It turns out she was pregnant, so I think Harper felt at home.

Even though she liked the goat she still wanted mom and dad to be close.

For how much Harper likes to climb on things she didn't enjoy the hay as much as I thought she would. 

This was a little wooden fire engine.  Harper was in heaven being around all the big kids.  She would put on hats and be right in the middle of the action.  It is fun and weird as a mom to get to step back and just watch Harper play instead of being right by her side.

Discovering the joy of dress up.

This was a little ride pulled by a lawn mower.  Harper laughed the entire five minute ride.  Next year I think she'll be old enough to go by herself.

Oh, your Halloween carnival didn't have a baby lemur who tried to climb in your mouth?  Ours did!

And a giant tortoise.  I have to admit, I LOVE petting zoos.  I should never own a pet but that doesn't mean I don't love being exposed to animals.

I believe this is a Capybara.  It is a huge rodent.  Harper was looking at a smaller animal in the distance and had no idea this little guy was behind her.  Good thing, because I am not sure how she would have reacted.

Playing with the baby lemur.

It took a while but Harper started to warm up pretty quickly.  I am pretty sure I am about 27 weeks pregnant here.  I felt HUGE and like I was ready to pop but in retrospect I wasn't even close.

This was the haunted house.  Brent took Harper through but I passed.  I don't really like haunted houses.  Why? Because they are scary and I still tend to sleep with a night light.

I love this girl.

It was seriously a perfect morning.  If you live in Las Vegas this is totally worth the hour drive.  The lack of crowds and hometown feel made me thinking living in Pahrump wouldn't be the end of the world, at least for that one weekend a year!