California 2017

We took our first vacation as a family of three this past week! Last fall, Amanda and I started talking about taking a Disneyland trip and it quickly turned into a whole family trip! It was so fun to take a trip with Brian's whole family before we take off for the other side of the country for the next few years. We started out on Tuesday, May 2 and headed to Las Vegas. Tatum did so good in the car and we only stopped once on the way there to feed her and change her diaper. We grabbed some food also and were on our way again! Once we got to Vegas we hung out and swam in Kevin and Amanda's pool, had a yummy dinner, and relaxed before the bigger part of the trip!

Wednesday morning, we got up early and headed to LA to hit Universal Studios. It was so much fun finally getting to ride all the rides now that I'm not pregnant (I was last time we went and wasn't able to go on much). I'm definitely getting to be more of a pansy the older I get because those virtual reality and 3D rides totally made me sick if I wasn't careful and took a break in between. We rode both Harry Potter rides (Dylan insisted I ride the Hippogriff ride with him), Transformers, Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park, and Minion Mayhem to name the best ones. We grabbed dinner at Universal's City Walk and then headed to Anaheim to check into the hotel. We stayed at Kevin & Amanda's timeshare at Worldmark by Wyndham and it was so nice. We were right off Katella so we were close enough that Brian and I walked to the park one evening. 

Thursday, we spent the whole day in Disneyland and it was probably my favorite day. Coincidentally it was May the 4th (Star Wars Day) and it was a little busier but not too bad. This was totally the best time to go because it wasn't peak season yet pre-summer and the wait times weren't bad at all either day. We got fast passes for Hyperspace Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain. We also hit up Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Star Tours, and some of the smaller rides for the kids. Tatum rode her first rides, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It's A Small World. We were going to take her on Jungle Cruise but she and I went to get dole whip while everyone else went on that. I basically ate my way through the park being sure to grab my faves: dole whip, churros, jalapeno and cheese stuffed pretzels, and frozen lemonade. The best part about going with all the nieces and nephews was the leftover cotton candy, slushies, and treats! (Ok not the best part but a definite perk haha).

Friday, we spent most of the day in California Adventure and wisely used our fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers and Soarin' Around the World. We had a great system of sending one person to grab FastPasses while the rest of us ran to another ride. When we first got in, Kevin went straight to Radiator Springs Racers to grab the passes while the rest of us basically walked on to California Screamin'. We worked our way around the park riding pretty much everything. It was fun being in Disneyland and California Adventure because there was a lot more rides for Ella and Dylan to ride, so we spent a lot of time in A Bug's Life Land for them. Cars Land was a big hit with Luigi's and Mater's rides, but Toy Story Midway Mania was probably a bigger hit. That one is always fun and Brian and I were in close competition with that! But Amanda kicked both our butts haha. The kids were getting tired so we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hotel to swim in the pool and hot tub. Brian, Kirk, Lindy, Tatum and I went back that evening to see the World of Color show and I'm so glad we did because Brian had never seen it. Also, we got to see the fireworks in Disneyland which was great since they weren't able to have them Saturday night because of the windy conditions.

Saturday, we headed to Huntington Beach for a bit and the US Volleyball Open was going on so that was fun to see. It was really windy and a little chilly so we didn't stay long with Tatum. That evening we went out to the Cheesecake Factory which was right next to our hotel and then Brian and I went back to Disneyland to see the Main Street Electrical Parade and grab some more dole whip (you can never get enough!). It was nice to have some time just the two of us and it was nice of Kirk and Lindy to watch Tatum so we could bob and weave throughout the park and to rides without a stroller! It was a great end to a great trip.

Sunday, we made the long trip back to Utah. With Tatum, we had to stop a few times but for the most part it lined up with either meal times or a need to stop for gas and she did so good. Overall travel time with the stops wound up being about 12 hours so it was a great trial run for the looming Florida trip!

We are so lucky to have such a happy little girl that's so easy to please! I sat in the back with her for a little bit of the drive home Sunday but she was so happy most of the ride and either slept or just looked around. I'm happy we have a baby that likes her carseat and doesn't just scream for 12 hours hahaha. Anyway, it was a fabulous trip, and I'm adding some photos below! 

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Tatum's Blessing Day & Easter

Brian gave Tatum the most beautiful blessing on Easter Sunday, April 16. Baby girl wore a blessing dress that my mom had made for me for my baby baptism. However, I never got to wear it because it wasn't done when they had my baptism. I was so happy to hear my mom had saved it all these years and with a teeny bit of altering, it fit Tatum's big noggin! 

We had a rather large group, comprised of Brian, his dad, his grandpa Baldwin, Kevin, Randy, Glen Garner, George Black, Braden Lott, Tom Nielsen, Matt Haggard, and Bishop Ian Russell. 

We are so blessed to be surrounded by the wonderful family and friends that we are who are there to help us celebrate these special occasions.

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Tatum: The First Two Months

How is it possible that my baby girl is already over 2 months old?!?

For the first few weeks, not only did I cry every time I even THOUGHT about leaving her but I also cried because I swore I could see her change every day, which to be honest was probably realistic because of how much they change daily in the first few months.

I spent every day of maternity leave soaking up every second with her. I was determined to make the most of my time and although we spent a lot of time at home, we also did a lot of shopping and mini trips out until I felt less like a first time mom who was terrified to leave the house alone with my baby! I have so many pictures of her, so I'll post some (not all) on here. 

It's crazy how smart she already is and how her personality is showing through. She is the best cuddler, she smiles all the time, she loves to talk, loves being held, and already loves toys. She smiled for the first time (intentionally) on March 27, just over a month old, and started rolling from her belly to her back at 7 weeks to the day!

Whoever said your life ends when you have kids was totally wrong, because we haven't let having a baby stop us from doing anything. It's definitely more difficult at times, but it's so much more fun! For instance, last weekend we took Tatum to her first baseball game. She only made it through half the game but it was funny to see pretend to watch the game and smile at the people around us. 

She is so particular and only lets me hold her certain ways. Those ways are different than the ways Brian is allowed to hold her and she loves when he sings to her and bounces her. She definitely frequently gives us arm workouts as a result. It's probably bad but she loves sleeping with us. So much for no co-sleeping. Especially when Brian leaves for work at 5 am, I can't resist grabbing her and cuddling her when he's gone. 

She has so many funny quirks. For instance, she will sit in a poopy diaper for an hour, but if there's a single drop of pee in her diaper, she will scream her little face off, and boy does she have a voice!! She loves the sound of my mom's voice and will instantly stop crying when she hears it on speaker phone. As of last week (around 2 months) she started sucking on her fist, just the right one. She loves her binky. She's a big eater! She's been eating 4-5 ounces since she was 3 weeks old and it's only getting to be more. She's been eating every 2 hours lately and I can barely keep up with her. We had her 2 month check up at 9 1/2 weeks (oops) and she's 22.5 inches long and weighs 10 lbs 5 oz! I cried longer than she did when she got her shots. She seriously only cried for like 10 seconds and then cuddled with me and was fine. Good thing Brian always comes with me because I'm a bigger baby than she is and sob whenever she starts crying.

She's been sleeping through the night for weeks now and she loves her carseat, especially when it's in the stroller. We're hoping she still likes it after a 36 hour drive to Florida at the end of the month! Luckily (or unluckily) we have a test run starting tomorrow when we go to Disneyland! We're breaking it up and staying at Kevin and Amanda's in Vegas so hopefully that will help make it a little easier.

Kevin and Amanda and the kids were here the week before Easter and Tatum and I went to the Hogle Zoo with them one day. It wasn't the DC zoo or San Diego, but it's not bad for Utah haha. Brian blessed Tatum on Easter Sunday (April 16) in a dress my mom made for me for my Catholic baby baptism when I was little. She didn't get it finished in time though so she's held onto it all these years and Tatum got to wear it! It made me so happy to see her in it and have a piece of my parents there, since they couldn't make it for the blessing day. I'll post a separate post with baby blessing day photos!

In non-Tatum news, Brian graduated on Friday!! FINALLY. I keep picking on him since I graduated 3 years ago, but I guess that's what happens when you serve a mission! It's been so nice to have him around to do literally whatever we want and not have to compete with homework! He's also been playing a lot more Xbox and finally making use of that Xbox One I got him for Christmas ;) We went out to a yummy dinner at Tucano's to celebrate and it was so good! Definitely one of our favorite places. I'm so glad I've showed Brian some of the more upscale places in Salt Lake City and that he's more willing to try a new fancy restaurant for every occasion. We've been to Tucano's before but he loved it so we did it again for this.

Because we're renting out our house while we're in Florida, we moved into Kirk and Lindy's until the end of May and are bumming it. We feel like such freeloaders hahaha. However, the people renting our house had to be out of their current place by the end of April so it worked out. I'm actually glad we decided to do that because we had so much stuff to go through and now that we've gotten rid of so much already it'll be easier to pack the remainder when it's time. 

I was released from my calling at church as the Beehive Advisor and it was so hard to leave the girls! I successfully finished my goal of getting my young women's medallion in a year before we moved and was awarded that on our last Sunday in the ward. Leaving our ward has been so hard, we have so many incredible friends there!! And it's so weird being in Brian's home ward that he grew up in. Luckily he thinks so too haha. 

I've gone back to work part-time until we move, and I only work Monday-Wednesday so it's great having long weekends every week while still feeling productive. It was so hard to leave Tatum the first week but I know she's in good hands. Brian's mom watches Tatum while I work so now it's even easier because she's already "home" and waiting for me when I'm off work and I don't have to drive her over every morning. 

Lindy is going to make the drive with us when we head to Florida and we already have our route planned out. I'm pretty excited! I can't wait to live by the beautiful beach all the time again and show Brian all over the east coast, not just close to home like we have on our trips back to see my family. 

Brian's cousin Randy and his wife, Sabra, had a baby (Zoey) exactly 6 weeks after Tatum. It's so fun that one of my best friends had a little girl so close in age to Tatum. I know they will be best friends growing up, regardless of where we end up living. They're already planning to come visit us in Florida and it will be so fun!

Being a mom is the hardest, yet most rewarding, thing I have ever done in my life. I look forward to waking up every day to spend time with her and the time is flying by. I hate that I feel like she's getting bigger by the second, but I guess she can't stay little forever and life will only get better! I will try to be better at updating this again. After I'm not working I may have more time. I'll have more updates after our family vacation this week though! I think that's all for now! :)

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