Happy Holidays

Oh hey there, blog. Nice to see you again. No, I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been putting off writing for way too long. Last time I wrote was November. We've had Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, New Years, and three months of Paige growing up in the time between the last post. I could write full blog posts on each subject, but I don't want to, so I won't. I will, however, devote a paragraph to each.

Thanksgiving was fun this year because I hosted my family at my house. I wasn't very nervous because I had made every component at some point before, so I knew what I was doing, though the stressful part was planning the correct amount and figuring out the timing of everything to have so many dishes ready to go at once. I was grateful for the help my family gave, and it was a delicious dinner. We had a fun weekend playing games and spending time together. Paige enjoyed having so many aunts and uncles to play with, and I was grateful to not be her only source of entertainment. It was nice not needing to travel, and I'm grateful I have a house large enough to host my family.

Stephen spoiled me for my birthday. He was very thoughtful beforehand to come up with gifts I would appreciate and honestly kept most of them a surprise from me. We went out to eat at Red Robin for our first time, and then he took me to see Moana. It is such a cute movie, by the way. It was fun to look at where I am in life now that I'm 25 (is that how old I really am?). I feel like I've achieved way more than I thought I would by this point, but I'm super grateful for how my life is now for the most part.

Christmas break was spent in Idaho with Stephen's family. We had almost two weeks with them, which was great for celebrating so many things, including Christmas, New Years, and a wedding for my brother-in-law Nicholas and my new sister-in-law McKenzie. It was very snowy the whole time we were there, and it turned out to be the most snow for Boise ever recorded. But white Christmases are pretty, so it all works out. Paige loved spending time with family and would play for hours with Elise, her cousin, and Jacob, her 4-year-old uncle. Again, I loved her having playmates and new-to-her toys to play with.

Paige enjoyed Christmas this year much more enthusiastically than last year. She caught on quick to the idea of unwrapping presents, and she was excited about a lot of her gifts. She got a baby doll from Santa, doll accessories (stroller, car seat, high chair, and crib) from Grandma and Grandpa Hutchins, Frozen themed cups from Grandma and Grandpa Rollins (she's obsessed with Frozen), and a small indoor slide from Stephen and me. She got some other small gifts too, but those were her big ones. She has loved all of them since she got them, and we felt like it was a success. Stephen and I also got some nice gifts from each other and from family, and we are very appreciative of them.

A few days after Christmas, Nicholas and McKenzie got married. Their Boise Temple sealing was beautiful and reminded me of the day I married Stephen (best day ever). It was fun for our family to dress in the wedding colors of navy and silver, though I stressed too much finding a navy dress for Paige. I found a perfect one for her though, so it payed off, and she looked really cute. Their reception that evening was beautiful, and it was nice that we took a lot of pictures indoors due to the weather. I'm so happy for Nicholas to find a great girl, and McKenzie already felt like a sister to me, even before they were married.

New Years Eve was fun with the Rollins family. Paige and Elise were cute as they dressed up in party gear at 7:30 and celebrated hours before midnight. She didn't know the difference, and still got all the sleep she needed, so I felt like it was a win-win. When it was actually midnight, Stephen kissed me, marking another year of him making my dreams come true. We drank some sparkling cider too, but my stomach didn't like that, and almost immediately rejected it. Oh well. Though the best part of the new year is probably switching from 9:00 church to 11:00 church.

After we returned home from our vacation, Paige and I got sick. It's hard to be a mom to a sick toddler who doesn't understand what's happening and why she feels the way she does. It's also hard to be sick as a mom trying to take care of a sick child. It is even worse being pregnant and sick and taking care of a sick child. It wasn't the best week in our home. Paige threw some really bad tantrums (banging her head on the wall and floor, thrashing, scratching Stephen and me, and crying/screaming uncontrollably). I was worried it was the beginning of the terrible twos, but as she got healthy, her tantrums went away, so that was a blessing. We did a lot of gentle home remedies to overcome our sicknesses, but they finally went away, and we both are just fine now.

My pregnancy with baby number two has gone by both fast and slow. We found out just before Christmas that we're having a boy! We shared the news with everyone Christmas Eve, so that was fun. I'm intimidated by the idea of having and raising a son, but I'm sure things will be fine. It's probably be just like having Paige, but with less bows, ruffles, lace, and pink, right? Stephen and I are not sure on a name. We've gone back and forth on a lot of them, but hopefully will have the perfect one chosen by the time we leave the birth center.

I've been considerably more sick this pregnancy. I am currently 25 weeks along and still haven't gone more than three days without vomiting. It's pretty much a daily occurrence. I've become so use to it, I'm not phased anymore, which is both a good and bad thing. I have strong heartburn often, and my body aches as it stretches. I definitely feel him moving a lot, and the other day, Stephen felt and saw my stomach move for the first time, though I've been feeling him for months now. Paige doesn't have much concept for a baby being in mommy's tummy, but I feel like she'll adjust alright.

Paige is growing up so much. She communicates a lot better and has become a chatterbox. She likes to repeat words until I say them back to her. She also repeats me now, but luckily, I don't have any really bad habits in my language for her to copy. She is really cute most of the time. She has this little prancing walk she does when she's happy and it's adorable. She absolutely loves watching Frozen, and I'm pretty sure her best friends are Elsa and Anna. We transitioned her to a toddler bed a few weeks ago, and it's been better than I expected, though she doesn't nap nearly as well as she use to. But baby brother is going to need her crib soon enough. She is showing interest in the potty, though I'm intimidated to cross that bridge and attempt to potty train her. We'll see when that happens. She very smart and social for her age and loves going to nursery and playing with kids of all ages. Her birthday is in a week, though it feels like we've had a two-year-old for a while now with all of her advanced skills.

I can't promise I'll be better at writing blog posts, but I'll try not to get so behind again. A lot has happened in our lives, though our day-to-day routine is pretty simple. We have our ups and downs like everyone, but overall, we're doing really well!