Deja 8 Months!

This cute girl is now 8 months old. She makes us so happy. Here are some things Deja's been up to!

• She is officially "army crawling" and loves being more mobile.  She's still trying to figure out placement of the knees and moving her arms in time, but its coming along.  It's so fun to watch her progress.  
• I can't remember if I've mentioned this before or not, but she still LOVES kids!! She enjoys watching her baby cousins, friends, pictures, or anything resembling a child (like dolls or baby animals).  In relief society there is a little 11-month old boy who is Deja's best friend at church.  I'm not sure who loves who more, but the other week when they noticed each other they just kept cooing and laughing back and forth.  It was pretty distracting from the lesson, but ultimately adorable for all who witnessed it.  We received lots of fun comments about it after church, haha.
• She has started to give big, slobbery, open-mouth kisses.  I'm glad she loves us as much as we love her.
• She has started waiving!  The action doesn't hold any meaning yet, but John and I try to reinforce the behavior by waiving back to her when she waives at us.
• I think she actually recognizes herself in the mirror now.  She has always loved watching the little baby who looks back at her, but yesterday her laughing reaction sounded way different than usual and she just kept doing it.... then again maybe she just thought the baby on the other side looked extra funny that day ;)

Here are some pics from Easter Sunday!  We sang in the choir during Sacrament Meeting and ate dinner at my parents house.  Deja loved shaking the eggs with jelly beans inside of them.

We're all about the cheese... at least I am anyway

Deja made a new friend in the kitchen.  She laughed and laughed at the picture of George Foreman.
It was pretty hilarious for John and I to witness the event.

Apparently I didn't put her down for her nap in time...  She's been sleeping on her tummy more these days.

Last week we spent a lot of time with the Southwick side because of various family events.  First off John's youngest brother received his mission call and is going to HAWAII!!!  John and I really want to pick him up when he's done, but who wouldn't!  Later that week we went to the same brothers last home soccer game of the year.  They won their game and conquered those pesky Beetdiggers ;)

 Other exciting things we did that week were going to our nephews baptism and John's cousin's Eagle Court of Honr.  Something awesome about John's family is that every single one of his Male cousins on both sides of his family have their Eagle.  What an awesome legacy to belong to!!  We'll have to help keep it up...when we have a boy...someday....don't worry I'm not pregnant.
 

Thomas and Deja cousin fun!
(Danny and Sarah Jr. haha)

John's almost done with the semester and will finish his finals this week!  

We can't wait for his summer break :)

Birthdays and Arizona!

     April is one of my favorite months because not only is it my birthday, but it's John's too!!  For my birthday John and I are going to go see the musical Wicked... in July.  So since I don't get my big present till then my requests for my birthday were Waffles and a Love Letter from John.  What can I say I'm a romantic ;)  We also went to dinner at Wingers while John's sister watched Deja.  OH and I almost forgot. John surprised me with some of my favorite treats like Cadbury Eggs, Doritoes, Ice cream, etc. that he hid around the kitchen before he left for school!  It was like a junk-food scavenger hunt of sorts and it was beautiful haha.  It was also fun to have some special treats for conference weekend!
     A couple weeks ago John realized that he got a short spring break from school and it just so happened to be the same weekend as his birthday.  So we got to thinking, why not really take advantage of this time off to do something fun.  We joked about going on a cruise, but then we decided that it might be fun to go down to Arizona to visit my sister Meri and her family!!  So with less than a week of planning we made it happen :)

     So we drove, that's right Drove nearly 12 hours to Mesa and 12 hours back.  We took our time and spent the night in Vegas for both the way there and the way back.  Deja did pretty well in the car considering her age and the circumstances.  The worst day was definitely the first one because I was feeling awful with some sort of stomach bug, but that was the worst of it and luckily John and Deja didn't catch whatever it was I had.  

     While we were in AZ some of the highlights included playing games, going to the park, watching movies, watching golf, eating Meri's delicious home cooked meals, shopping, and just hanging out.  We didn't really have anything specific we wanted to do while we were down there except hang out with the fam and see Meri and Shane's beautiful brand new home, so it was a successful trip ;)  

     Deja had so much fun playing with her cousin, Molly.  Molly was a great helper and always made sure there were plenty of toys on hand to play with.  One night I caught Molly scratching Deja's back with the back scratcher.  It was super cute and funny.  

     For John's birthday the main event was definitely bowling!!!  It was so fun and I wish I would have taken a picture :(  We all bowled 2 games together, and then John bowled another 3 by himself because we were paying by the hour.  His top score was 199!!  That a boy John :)  For dinner Shane grilled up some delicious ribs and Meri made special birthday cookies!!  We were so spoiled by our hosts.

   
     John's main birthday present was the 8 season collection of the TV show Monk.  I also got him some of his favorite treats for the car ride down and surprised him with a new razor and his favorite girl scout cookies while we were there!  Sounds pretty boring now that I'm writing this out, but hopefully he enjoyed them, haha.

This is my favorite sweater on her right now, but the camera never does it justice!

Updates on Deja include:

• She loves squishing people's skin with her little, tiny fingers.  Aka pinching.  I try to stop her from doing it, but she obviously doesn't realize it hurts us.
• She has pretty much mastered sitting up and can usually stop herself from falling over with her hands.  
• For a while her favorite thing to do was shake her head back and forth like she was saying "no."  My visiting teacher was convinced Deja was communicating, but I knew it was just a phase.
• She hasn't started crawling yet, but can pretty much roll to where she wants to go.
• She can transfer a toy from one hand to another with ease :)

We start 'em young around here

We love her to pieces!

Deja 6-Months!

Well it's official, this girl is 6 months old.  I can't believe she's reached this milestone!  She did awesome at her appointments with shots and everything because she's such a strong girl ;)

Her stats where as follows. Head Circumference:16.6 in (43%), Length: 26.02 in (62%), Weight: 18.1 lbs (87%).  I guess it's fair to say she's growing like a weed.  

We gave her banana's for her first "real food" (besides rice cereal).  I thought there would be more gagging on her part, but she actually took it pretty well!

She's also sitting up pretty well.  She doesn't quite have it down 100% but everyday is a little better!

• Deja is now a Pro at rolling over back to front and front to back.  
• She LOVES paper, wrappers, paper towels, etc.  They inevitably end up in her mouth so it's pretty short lived, but during the first couple seconds there is nothing but joy emanating from her soul.  
• She has discovered my earrings when I wear them... Not such a great thing for me.
• She enjoys being with other children.  Whenever we are with kids, or are even looking at pictures/video of kids she always has a smile on her face and giggle's at whatever they're doing :)

In other news my little sister Becca had her baby!  He was 8lbs, 14 oz and 21.5 inches long! Becca went into labor on Ash Wednesday which was funny because they decided to name him Ash when they found out it was going to be a boy.  He is a Blondy and is super cute.  I drove up with my parents to Logan to visit them in the hospital the day he was born, but am planning on going up for a lengthier stay soon.  

February Fun!

I can't believe John and I have been married for 3 years.  In my mind it feels longer because we've known each other about 7 years now!!!  Wow when did that happen?  Crazy!  Anyway, although our anniversary was on the 5th, we celebrated on the 31st of January because John had an open schedule that day.  My parents watched Deja while we went and saw "Saving Mr. Banks" and ate dinner at TGIF.  It was fun having a date night :)

On the day of our anniversary John had his first test for school, so he was pretty stressed about it.  Luckily he passed and I made a special dinner for us before he left for work.  For dessert we ate our favorite "Love Potion #31" ice cream (another reason to love February)!  We decided this year that I would be in charge of dinner on our Anniversary, and John could be in charge of dinner for Valentines day and whoever was in charge of dinner would also receive a small gift.  So for our anniversary John gave me the Lion King game for the Super Nintendo.  Why yes, we do own a Super Nintendo, but the game was more of a sentimental gift because the first time we held hands we were playing this game at his apartment.  Ha, that sounds super nerdy, but I don't care :)  I'm grateful we held hands that day and that we also got sealed in the temple for time and all eternity.

For Valentines day John had a short day at school and then we were able to spend the day together.  It was so nice just having him home!  We were invited to go to his parents for dinner, but John fulfilled his "dinner duty" by surprising me with Cafe Rio for lunch.  Can't go wrong with Rio :)  For my present to John I gave him the expansion pack to "Settlers of Catan."  We got the game for Christmas, but it's rare for us to play it with less than 4 people, so the expansion pack is a must!  After dinner with Grandpa, we went to my parents house to visit my Sister and her family. They are visiting from Canada for a week, so we talked and ate ice cream.  It was a perfect Valentine's Day!

Love that goofy smile :)

These last couple weeks I've been working on putting together the letters John and I wrote back and forth during his mission!  It's been so fun reading the letters and is basically a journal for that time in our lives.  It's definitely my new favorite thing.  Now to start on the e-mails... :)

My little sister is pregnant and due March 1st, so we through her a big family baby shower a couple weeks ago.  It was fun having lots of friends and family over to celebrate.  We did soups, salads, and desserts and everything was gluten free!!   

Deja and her cousin Lyla

 My cousin brought her daughter who was born 10 days after Deja, so it was fun comparing the two!  Deja seems so much bigger to me, but my cousin insisted they were pretty close, haha.

Majken and Deja

 My mom thinks Deja is already as heavy as Thomas, Deja's Cousin, who is 3 months older than her!  I love my big baby girl :)

Deja, Grandma, and Thomas

We also finally got Deja a crib (from her Grandpa Southwick).  We put off getting it because we didn't want to deal with moving it from Sandy to Taylorsville, but we probably should have done it sooner.  Deja probably should have been out of this tiny bassinet a month or two ago, haha.  

Last time in the Bassinet!

First night in the crib!

I was so nervous to let her sleep in the crib that first night.  At one point I heard her rustling and waited a minute to see if she would fall back asleep on her own.  After 5 min or so she started to cry so I got up to help her out.  As I looked into the crib she was on her stomach, but when she saw me she flipped right over to her back again and started smiling.  I think she thought it was play time or something, haha.  Other than that, she hasn't really had any issues in transitioning. 

Other new things with Deja include:

• She finally gave us a real life Giggle!!!  It actually happened on our anniversary while we were both home, so that was pretty special :)
• She used to do this throaty, moan when she started to cry.  It kind of sounded like a baby Chewbacca and was hilarious.  I wanted to get it on video, but every time she did it, I was too busy laughing at the noise coming out!!  Now her sounds are more like squeaks, which is cute, just not as funny.
• She loves playing with her toes or socks when she lays on her back.
• She has definitely started having "Stranger Danger."  This actually started in Mid-January, which I thought was surprising because she was still pretty young.  
• When she wakes up from naps she's a quiet one.  When I notice she's awake she's usually busy playing with her toes, or examining the edge of her blankets inquisitively.   
• She's very interested in whatever we're holding.  
• She's not a fan of loud noises and will usually start crying if she gets startled by something too loud. Ex: Blenders, Vacuums, Shredders, you get the idea :)
• She likes sitting up with the help of pillows :)

Our little Princess!

Ch-ch-changes!

This month has been full of changes for us! To start off, I officially quit working for America First on January 3rd.  My branch was really nice and understanding about everything and even gave me a Pizza Party on my last day!  I definitely had a lot of mixed emotions about quitting so that was interesting.  It was weird because ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a Homemaker just like my mom was!  However, I kept having these feelings of guilt about quitting, like I was letting people down/the world expectations of being a working mom.  (I blame Satan, haha)  Luckily that's over and done with and I know I've made the right decision and am doing what I'm supposed to :)  

John started school at MATC in their LPN program and so far it's been good!  His schedule is pretty busy with him being on campus Tuesday-Friday and then working some nights and all day Monday and Saturday.  Needless to say it's been quite the adjustment not seeing him as much as I used to.   So far he likes his classes, with the exception being his lab where he has a first-year-professor. I guess there have been a couple miscommunications between the teacher and the students, but hopefully it'll get better as the semester progresses.   

First Ponytail!!

Deja had her 4-month appointment on the 13th! She was so excited that she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time ever at the check up! (She had to show off for the Doctor of course) Her stats where as follows: Head:16" (49%), Length:24" (53%), and Weight:15.37 lbs (83%).  She also had more shots, but I take it that'll be the norm from here on out.

Deer in the Headlights...

Last but not least, we moved back to T-Ville!  I hate moving so much.  That's probably another reason we stayed at my parents through December :(  I honestly can't wait till John is done with school and we can afford a house!! I'm crossing my fingers that the next time we move it'll be into our own place.  Guess I need to learn some patience till then, haha.  Luckily we had a lot of help from both families with moving and I am eternally grateful!!!  I also can't complain about our living conditions in the slightest!  For those who don't know it's a basement apartment in John's Aunt's house.  We have our own kitchen, living room, bathroom, laundry room and bedroom.  If we didn't have so much STUFF and a baby we would fit a little better, but I guess that's our own fault :)

She loves this new stander toy!!
For about 10 minutes anyway :)

Deja has always had great head/neck support (probably because of her short neck, haha).  So the Pediatrician said we could start her on rice cereal when we thought she was ready!  I was shocked when he said that.  She's growing up too fast!!!!  At the time all I was thinking was, "Yeah, that's not going to happen anytime soon, maybe we'll try in 2 months."  But then I was talking to a friend who told me that for the first couple weeks they basically just spit the food right back out because their still learning to move it around to swallow.  So I thought it would be fun just to start trying rice cereal a couple times a week just for fun.  Our first try was last night :)  We took video too, but it doesn't want to load...

The first bite was actually pretty good!

"I'm not sure about this..."

Dad was a trooper!  I just played camera girl ;)

As always, thanks for reading.  We are excited about these changes and the adventures of 2014!! Peace out!

MATC

So I decided I should give some background on John and school since most of the time I talk about myself or Deja.  So back at the end of November John's co-worker, Josh, informed him about this LPN program at a school called Mountainland Applied Technology College.  An LPN certification would basically be the first year of Nursing school, and there are a couple LPN to RN programs in Utah that he could do afterwards.  John had heard about the program before, but decided against it because he wanted to focus on going to the U AND one of the prerequisites was he needed a specific grade in Anatomy (which he had received one letter grade below).

Now fast forward back to November.  So Josh started the program in the fall and found out from one of the professors that they we extremely low on applicants for the upcoming Spring Semester. To give you an idea, the program accepts 26 students and only around 12 or so had applied).  Because of this, MATC decided to extend the due date for applications till December.  Now at first John was hesitant because of the previous reasons, but then he opened up the application packet and noticed that Anatomy was no longer a required course, but rather a suggested one.  What are the odds?!?  Since that was one of the biggest things holding him back we thought and prayed that this might be a better option for him.  Plus if he didn't make it in, he could just re-apply for the U again in January.

 So this was about 2 weeks before the application due date.  Some of the things we needed for his application included transcripts, proof of his CNA certification, filling out the application itself, taking a test on campus, etc.  To add to the craziness I was going back to work within the same time so that just added to the fun.  

Anyway, December came and I checked and re-checked to make sure we had copies of everything we needed for the application and that we hadn't forgotten anything (because I'm paranoid like that). The day came for John to turn it in and get everything checked by the department's secretary.  As she was going through all the paperwork she said he was missing his CPR card.  WHAT?!?!??  I kid you not, I read and re-read that application a dozen times and it said nothing about a CPR card.  Luckily the lord was watching over us and John just happened to have said-card in his wallet.  The secretary was able to take a copy of it to be included  :)  John told me later that he almost took that card out of his wallet a few weeks earlier, but decided against it for some reason.  That reason: the spirit.  I'm sure of it :)  A couple days later he went down to take the test on campus.  The testing center was PACKED with potential students all taking the same test. (probably people who had heard that they were short on applicants and in the same shoes as John).  After taking the test, he felt pretty good about it and actually scored in the 99th percentile for the math section!!

 About 2 weeks later we received a letter showing us that John was ACCEPTED to the program.  I think I was a little more excited than he was, but that's the norm.  There is no doubt in my mind that we had a lot of tender mercies and that God's hand was in our lives throughout all of this.  Maybe John wasn't supposed to go to the U last fall so that he could spend time with Deja and I.  To sum it up, I like to think we're on the right track and that the lord is guiding us daily :)