A New Year, A New Project

I keep getting this nagging feeling I need to come back and blog.

It's going to be a new year in a couple weeks, so what better time to take on a new project, right?

Except I know I can't go back to blogging how I used to. Reading through the past posts on here feel like another lifetime ago. So much has changed. Externally, for one, but also internally. I am not the same person I was when I posted last on here.

Which is part of  life, right? We all go through crappy times, good times, weird times, etc., and usually come out stronger. Sometimes we see the difference right away. Sometimes it takes a while. Sometimes it takes a really long time.

I want to blog somewhat consistently again, but I think it's going to be a little bit different. I don't see it being the whole "here's some pictures and a summary of the fun stuff we did" kind of blog anymore.

I think it's going to be a place where I lay out some things that I've learned, that are bubbling up inside of me and that are nudging me to share.

A place where I may get really personal, and that might make some people uncomfortable. No worries, I get it. I've been learning in a really raw, hard way that being vulnerable is one of the most uncomfortable things to do.

But I'm also learning the more I work at being authentic and real, the easier it gets, and the more rewarding it gets. The more real I am, the deeper my connection is with those I'm real with.

So, little blog world, I think it is time I get real with you.

How often I will post is still to be determined, but my goal is at least monthly. That's doable, right? That's twelve posts I'm committing to write this year. Twelve isn't overwhelming. I can do that.

And maybe no one will read this. Or maybe, one other person besides my mom will, and that's cool. I'm committing to doing this no matter what the outcome will be, which that in and of itself is a challenge for me. I HATE not knowing the outcome of something. I've never been the kind to have unwavering faith. (Which, hey, is probably a topic I am going to talk about in one of these posts.)

So there you have it, Tara's plan to blog it out this year. You can read if you want, or you can roll your eyes and keep scrolling, no biggie.

Here's to an interesting year!

A Jumble of Stuff

Oh hey. . yeah, I used to blog. Often. Somehow that has just slipped by the wayside. One of my new year's resolutions is to get back into blogging! (Not really, I actually hadn't thought about it until right now. But maybe I will try and stick to it. We'll see.)

So, it's obviously been months, so I'm just going to throw down a bunch of pictures and give you, dear reader, a little update as this goes along. If you continue to read this through to the very end you are either my mom, sister, or someone who is very bored and needs something to do.

Alright, let's get this going!

Back in October we decided to take a little hike during one of the last really nice days of the year. We went up some trail in the mountains that I can't remember, but it was fun. And Lauren loves being in that backpack carrier thing. And look at her gorgeous big brown eyes.

Looks like I'm jumping around a bit with these pictures. . my apologies.

We also went to Temple Square the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was PACKED but once again a pretty warm evening. Lauren did like it, but didn't like being strapped into her stroller. Pretty sure her cry echoed all around the square. She seriously has such a loud cry. Maybe this means she'll be some amazing singer. . or just continue to be a loud crier.

Right before Christmas break my high school bestie Rachel stopped by for a few minutes on her way to family. I haven't seen her in over a year and so even 5 minutes was heaven! Luckily she and her family just moved back to Utah and are a lot closer to us! Yippee! Best news ever.

And now these are pictures from my phone. . I believe this was when we did an awesome surprise party for my Mom's birthday back in the beginning of December. She really had no idea! My dad "stole her away" Friday night and stayed at a hotel nearby so that we could all arrive and set up for a little party the next day. We made her a music video to her favorite song "Allstar" that you all should go check out and give us more views on Youtube. It's called "AW Birthday video". Ha ha.

I'm trying to document when Lauren actually lets other people hold her. It's getting more and more common so that's a good thing. She is actually pretty chill with other people if she isn't tired or hungry. Plus I love Tonya's face in this picture. A classic for sure.

And blogger is being stupid and won't let me center this picture. But just more proof of her liking other people besides us now. She's letting Grandpa read to her. So cute.

 This above picture is of Broc from our ward! This was his little mission farewell party. We miss him! He was great entertainment for Lauren during sacrament meeting.


This was from one of those days we desperately needed to get out, so I took her to the mall to walk around. We ended up in Sears looking at all the Christmas trees. Great free entertainment! By the way, she totally won't wear that hat anymore. :( She's figured out out to take things off her head. So when I do put something like a headband on her, I have to distract her so that she forgets it's on her head. . it works about 40% of the time.

This is from Thanksgiving. We celebrated with Paul's family this year. It was a lot of fun. Lauren is playing with her Grandma Siddoway in this picture and I love it.

Here she is letting Uncle David and Allie entertain her at Thanksgiving. This was one of the last weeks with that walker. :( She became too tall for it and almost started tipping over as she would reach for things. I still miss that thing sometimes. . it was great entertainment for her, and for me to watch her cruise around our house in it.

This was either over the Mom birthday weekend or Christmas. . I can't remember! Lauren with her cousin Addy. They are already becoming good friends! And Addy's hair is the bomb in this picture. Lauren kept trying to grab it, I remember.

One thing Paul got me for Christmas was an eblisceiver (SP!) pan! That was our Christmas dinner growing up, and I'm glad I now have one so that my kids can have these. I made a batch New Year's Day and they turned out great!

Last one: This I snapped a few weeks ago when I was doing dishes and she was really quiet, so I went to check on her and found her "reading". So so cute.

And so there was my feeble attempt to catch up. This little lady is already 10 months old, which is insane but also SO awesome. She is in such a fun stage. She jabbers at me all day, can mimick some words we say, like "uh-oh", 'ho-ho-ho", "all gone" "night night", and "bye-bye". She waves at the door every time we get ready to go somewhere. She does Pat-a-cake and loves to "Throw it in the oven!" And keeps her hands up forever afterwards. She LOVES Baby Einstein and when she watched the Old McDonald one and they sing the song she sings "e-i-e-i-o" in her own little language, it's hilarious.

I'm trying to wean her off of baby food mostly for my sanity because she's still so picky with being spoon fed. Some days she's all for it, and others she just swats it away and it goes flying all over me and the floor. Boo. But she's really picky about textures of table food. I think it's just going to take her some getting used to for some things. She already loves most carbs and fruit and cheeses and stuff like cottage cheese and yogurt, but veggies she's not super interested in. She finally ate some peas by themselves last night and didn't just chuck them on the floor. I've been disguising her veggies in her cottage cheese, which is super GROSS but she doesn't seem to notice so I guess what works I'll do! For now. . tomorrow could be a completely different story!

Let's see. . as for a me and Paul update. . .we're right now doing a little "fitness" challenge to help us stay healthy. We made a sticker chart and the goal is to each get 60 stickers. You can earn a sticker for exercising, drinking 64 oz of water, and staying within your calorie goal on My Fitness Pal. If you do all three of those in one day, then you get a bonus sticker. The prize is a one hour massage! Right now I'm winning, but barely.

Also, I made a new resolution to get back into my hobbies this year, even if it's just for a little bit each week. I set weekly reminders to focus on one thing that week, like crocheting, painting, etc. So far I've done ok, but this is just the first week I've started. Ha.

Also, Paul and I decided to make some nights a "screen free" night, like 4 nights a week after we put Lauren to bed at 7 ish, no more screens. We have to do other stuff. So we've gotten back into puzzling and doing a lot of reading. It's really been great and I hope we can keep it up!


And that's that. Thanks Mom and Tonya for reading this to the very end. Ha ha.

Seven

This little nugget is seven months. HOLY COW.

Visiting with Great Grandma Whittier over Labor Day.

Tuna came to visit! I realize Lauren's head looks super weird in this, but she actually was pretty good with Tuna. We had fun shopping at City Creek baby free for the day. And watching the classic movie "Clue"!

This was at Paul's work party at Bookdocks. She did really well, even though she missed a nap. I think there was plenty to see so she was distracted. This is the ONE time she actually tried to hold her sippy cup and drink from it. She hasn't shown any interest since.

Me and two of my coworkers had babies within 3 months of each other, so we try and get together once a month for a play date. It's getting more fun now that our babies can actually do stuff!

International Talk Like a Pirate Day. If you dressed up and went to Krispy Creme, you got a free dozen donuts! It was awesome. Lauren didn't really care for the donuts though! Oh well, she will in years to come.

She is fascinated with rain. She'll scoot over and watch it. Or if the sprinklers are on. Free entertainment!

Same with the washing machine. It's so exciting.

Another visitor- Grandma Whittier! She brought toys and clothes and Lauren did pretty good with her too. It was so fun having her here for a few days. I loved having an adult to talk to during the day!

 Yes, she gets cuter and cuter every day. And can also throw bigger and better tantrums almost every day too. Lately she's got this thing going on where she completely arches her back when she doesn't want to do something, like go in her high chair. Poor Paul, he took an early lunch yesterday so I could go to an eye doctor appointment, and he told me as he was trying to put her in her high chair for lunch she arched her back and smacker her head against the wall. Needless to say, lunch was traumatic for him.

-She can roll anywhere she wants to go and can scoot around in a circle pretty good. Close to army crawling. I'm not worried. I'm trying to take advantage of these last days of her not being able to get into everything really quickly.
-At her 6 month appointment she was in the 90th for everything, which I'm not surprised about. Apparently she's roughly the size of a 10 month old. Because of that, she doesn't need to have as much formula, and now we are focusing more on solids. She likes pretty much all baby food but MAN, the novelty of eating from a spoon has worn off with her so she swats it away and a lot of times. It got to the point where I would have to turn on Baby Einstein so that she would let me feed her. I bought some reusable baby food pouches (because the ones at the store are way more expensive than jarred baby food). So now I just put her baby food in those and it is so much better! She loves it. . for now. I guess when that wears off too I'll go back to the spoon because maybe it will seem like a new thing for her? I don't know.
-She's getting a lot better at self feeding, but she's kind of picky with that stuff. I think it's a texture thing. But so far she's a fan of pancakes, bread, american cheese, hash browns, Nutrigrain bars, Ritz Crackers, Mandarin oranges, and probably some other stuff I can't think of. If you have any suggestions on other good starter finger foods, I'm all ears. I get bored feeding her this stuff sometimes. She's not a fan of eggs or avacados, or canned green beans.
-She can scoot around pretty good in her walker too. She still can't go straight forward, but pretty much every other angle she can, so she gets to where she wants to be. It's pretty hilarious.
-She goes to bed around 7 each night and sleeps for a good 12 hours without us really hearing a peep from her. This is awesome and I try to remember to be thankful each day for that! She also take a good hour ish morning nap, and an early afternoon nap and a late afternoon nap(though I really think I'm going to have to cut that one soon. . . it's getting very inconvenient.)
-No teeth yet, but there are bumps. The bumps have been there for months though so we'll see. Her hair is starting to come in, it's looking a little fluffy on top finally! I don't think she'll be a blondie. It's already looking light brown to me. Her eyes are still a darker brownish color so we'll see if that stays too.
- We're working on teaching her how to wave. I think she's getting it. . .every time I get her up from her crib she turns and waves at it! It's so cute. I don't know if she really understands what she's doing though.

She's our little munchkin, and we love her guts, even when she is grumpy and clingy.