scissor hands

I was cutting out something and Corban watched me the whole time. I finally turned over the scissors and let him try his hand out at cutting paper. He was so focused and was concentrating so hard! I love this little man.

diaper pals

Yep. We still have 2 kids in diapers. We tried again today but Corban is super okay with wearing a diaper. I think he's gonna be the only kid in high school still wearing a diaper!

How did you potty train your kids?

merry christmas

thanksgiving 2011

This year we went to Green River and spent it with Joe's parents and grandma. Scott, Bri and their family was there too. This was the first year we actually wanted to do some Black Friday shopping to get a killer deal on a Nintendo Wii. Scott and Bri wanted to go to, so we sat with their sleeping kids while they went to Wal Mart, braved the crowds, and bought 2 of everything! All the while, Joe and I napped on the couch and watched "Pysch" (if you haven't watched this show go watch it right now!). All-in-all, it was the easiest shopping day ever!

This is my Thanksgiving project I got through my relief society. We're going to start a new tradition next year: the pumpkin is full of strips of paper. All through the month of November all of us are going to write what we're grateful for and put the slips into the pumpkin. On Thanksgiving we're going to read all the things we're thankful for before we gorge ourselves on delicious food!

christmas cactus

About 3 years ago I got a cutoff from my parents Christmas cactus. It was snapped off from the original plant, we stuck it in some water for the roots to grow, and then planted it into this pot. It would grow blossoms but they would pop out and then pop off. It was all very sad. Then, the other day I looked at my plant and I had this blossom on it! Isn't it gorgeous? I love this finicky, stubborn plant.

m.i.a.

The past 4 months have been kind of hard. I started watching my grandma again after I had Jovi. Two weeks ago, she died. She looked so at peace and better than she has in a long time. These are all my relatives at the cemetery in Richmond, Utah.

Also, me and Jovi have been having tooth pain. I had one of my molars taken out right after I had Jovi and had an implant surgically put into my jaw. It hasn't felt good since. Jovi is almost 4 months old and is teething. She sucks on her hands, doesn't eat very well, is a bit fussy, wakes up at night, has diarrhea, and has a rash on her face and bum.

Hopefully, things will settle down a bit and I'll update my blog a little better (i.e. Halloween, family pics, etc.)

family happenings

Corban LOVES pbskids.org! He would play on the computer all day long if I let him. Here he is playing Fire Boy and Water Girl. He also LOVES his USU, "football" shirt. Once he wears it one day, it is a chore trying to get it off the boy. He would wear it every day and every night. He still loves his cars and will play with them everyday all the while making a motor-boat noise as he moves the cars from one place to another.

Jovi is now 3 months old! She smiles at anyone and is SO close to belly-laughing. I almost had her full on laughing in church today. I guess just a little inappropriate. Corban loves his sister and has to be right next to her when she's on the floor or anywhere close to him. We're talking centimeters away from her. Jovi can't decide if she wants to sleep through the night yet or not. She usually will wake up once during the night, but lately has been waking up 2-3 times. Yikes. Doesn't make any of us happy at home. She did, however, sleep from 8:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. one day last week. Now, I'm hoping she'll make that a habit.

Joe hasn't quite made it to mid-term exams yet and is ready for the semester to be over. Me too. He complains that both Corban and I are uber-hyper and clingy when he's home that it kind of bugs him. Well, he's not home a lot. So when he is home we have to make up for lost time! He is also still working at Smith's Marketplace Pharmacy and loves it! I have to admit that the people who work there are pretty cool peeps.

I chopped my hair. I got 8 inches cut off and I love it! It literally takes 2 minutes to do my hair. And that's including using my straight iron. I'm also getting an implant for one of my molars. I got my tooth pulled in July and the post put in a couple of weeks ago. Boy, does my jaw hurt! I now have about 3 months of recovery time and then the implant can be put on. The only positive thing out of this is that it has been an INCREDIBLE weight loss plan! Ten more pounds and I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

about 2 months old

This was her first smile. She's starting to coo a little. She'll smile really big, but doesn't laugh. She's only waking up once during the night. She gets her first shots on Friday.

apple days

We went to River Height's Apple Days. We were right next to the parade. There was no cushion like at parades in Logan and no police to enforce that the kids stay back. They didn't need to. Anyhoo .. the fire truck was a little too close and a little too loud. Corban ran into our friend's house and didn't come back until the truck and it's siren was gone.

corban is 3

This year we celebrated only Corban and my mom's birthday. I made cupcakes and put stop signs and cars on top. On his actual birthday, I took Corban is first movie at the movie theater. He got scared while we waited for the movie to start and I thought I was going to have to get our money back. I played a game with him with our popcorn. He sat on my lap until the movie started and then was pretty well set. Sadly, this is the only picture I got from his birthday.

beck family reunion

We went to the Beck family reunion over Labor Day weekend. There are 8 brothers and sisters in Joe's family. Six out of the 8 siblings were able to make it this year, meaning it was a little crowded when we got together in place.

This was Corban's spot to eat. Like his lunch? Dorito's, soda, and olives=lunch of champions!

We played games at the park, including: three-legged races, kick ball, wheelbarrow races, and water-balloon volleyball. We also played a game that included nylons, oranges, and a lot of laughs.

As part of a fundraiser for future family reunions, we had a family auction. Joe was the auctioneer and did an AWESOME job! He has already been selected to be next year's auctioneer!

We got home and Corban crashed.

We're finally getting back to our new normal. Thanks Steve and Anna for a great reunion!

jovi's blessing

We blessed Jovi while we were in Green River, WY over Labor Day weekend. Most of Joe's family was there and my parent's drove from Logan to be apart of the blessing. Jovi is 7 weeks. My mom made her blessing dress, which I thought was going to be too big, but it was just the right size.

The grandparents.

The flower was made by a co-worker of Joe's. I made the bracelet from beads from both of my grandma's necklaces.
Joe and I were both afraid of how Jovi was going to act during the blessing. I fed her right before the meeting. When I handed her off for Joe to give the blessing, she let out one loud squawk and quieted down. Joe forgot to do a few thing in the blessing, but it was wonderful and he did a good job. Joe walked to the front with Jovi when I started to cry. Remember how she was only 7 weeks old? Yep. My pregnancy hormones were still flying.

guess who's ...

six weeks already?

happy anniversary

Joe and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We left Corban with my sister Vickie and took Jovi with us to the Bear Lake condo. We ate, played golf, watched movies, played with spiders, and slept as much as we could.

cache county fair

We went to the Cache County Fair last Thursday. We saw the animals, walked around the booths, threw rocks in the canal, and went to the carnival. Corban loves slides and went to the biggest slide they had. He got to this point and wouldn't go on because he got scared. Joe went up and they finished together. Of course, on our way out of the park, he wanted to go again.

happy birthday

Isn't this the cutest birthday wreath? One wreath and five bags of balloons later ... viola! Cute cute cute.

3 weeks old

My sleep deprived self is having a hard time recalling fun, interesting facts about this sweet girl. She is 3 weeks old. She is starting to focus on us and follow us around with her eyes. She sneezes in bouts of 3 or 4, never just one. She is a gagger. If she doesn't like something in her mouth she will make a face and gag until that thing is out. She wakes up every 3 hours so I get about a 1.5-2 hour nap every 3 hours during the night. She's gained 2 pounds more than her birth weight. She seems to be just as mellow as her brother was when he was a baby.

Corban loves Jovi; maybe a little too much. He helps me pat her back to burp her. He wants to constantly touch her. If she cries, he'll grab a binkie and put it in her mouth. He will scream at her, sometimes, if she cries too loud. He thinks that she has to fly when she's in her swing. He says her name so clearly and so sweetly.

welcome

labor story

Welcome Jovi Grace Beck! She wasn't due for another 5 days, but I guess she wanted to make her grand appearance on July 19, 2011 instead.

I woke up around 4 o'clock with some pretty intense contractions. I then woke Joe up at 4:30 and wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I guess I had labored awhile while I slept because my contractions were coming fast and hard! We got our bags pack, loaded Corban into the car, and left our house around 5 o'clock. I had a couple contractions while in the car and Corban had woken up by then. He was nice enough to help me through a couple contractions by helping me breathe!

They got my epidural in just in the nick of time. That and ice chips (not only ice chips, but the fun ice) saved me!

Joe was a great labor coach this time. I don't think I would have handled the contractions have as well as I did had he not been there to help me calm down.

He even pointed out funny things on the bed in between contractions!

Jovi Grace Beck was born at 8:34 a.m. on July 19, 2011. She weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. I literally pushed 4 times and she was out! Joe and the nurses joked that with a labor that easy I should have 50 kids. Um. No. Jovi had quite a bit of meconium in the placenta with her, so they whisked her to the warming table right away to suction her out. She was covered in her green mess. Her hair and fingernails were green making her look like a little witch! She also had the cord wrapped around her body a couple of times so Joe didn't get to cut it this time around. She was a little blue when she came out but perked right up after a few minutes on oxygen.

We're so happy that everything turned out well and that we have a new addition to our family. Even Corban thinks she's pretty cute. Hopefully that won't change.

wilson!

We recently had our Griffin family reunion. Joe and I brought our outdoor volleyball, horseshoes, and frisbee. Joe (of course it had to be Joe) tossed the volleyball to a nephew, throwing it over his head. The ball bounced over the fence, rolled down a hill, and settled quite peacefully in the gushing, rushing, Cub River. Joe then watched the ball bob down the river and around a bend.

Wilson! Come back!
Fast forward two days. Joe and I are about to go back to Logan when he decides, "What the heck. I'm gonna see if that ball is anywhere close to us still." I see him, an expert climber brother-in-law, and a couple nephews heading toward the river. A little while later they all three return with our volleyball in hand! As luck would have it, the ball had gone around the bend like Joe saw, but it had got stuck behind some branches.

Wilson is safely home again. A little water logged and a little dirty, but it sill works great.

glitter toes

Part of the reunion included glitter toes! Corban watched me and the other girls paint and glitter our toes and fingers. He reluctantly let me paint 5 toenails the same color. He then really got into it and wanted 3 different colors for the other 5! Here he is showing Peggy his pretty toes.

family reunion

We had the Griffin family reunion this year at the Cub River Ranch Guest Lodge. We swam, ate, played, ate, crafted, ate, painted glitter toes, ate, did skits, and ate some more. I thought for sure I was going to gain 10 pounds that week (I only gained 3). Everyone was able to make it this year and nobody drowned!

letter to school

Dear summer school:

Please be kind to my husband. He is working 27+/- hours a week, studying for the PCAT, and his wife is expecting a baby. Please let us have some semblance of a fun summer without all the studying and books and grades that come with school. And, if it's not too much trouble, please let him get a good grade in his class and a REALLY good score on the PCAT.

Sincerely,

me

thank you, and goodnight

I'm at my parent's house and this was the only picture I could find on their computer. They look extra good because this was taken 10+ years ago at my sister's wedding luncheon. Anyhoo, I digress.

These past couple ofweeks have been pretty hard with all the aches and pains that pregnancy brings. A lot of the days that Joe is working and going to school, I'll go to my parent's house and stay there for the day just to have someone to chat with. Thanks, mom and dad, for letting us eat with you, use your washer and dryer, and chatting with us.

she hulk

Lately, I've been feeling like ...

I'm almost to my 35th week but I am MISERABLE! Do you wanna hear all about my aches and pains? My feet, legs, and hands look like little Vienna sausages, I've got a tearing sensation on my mid-abdomen that won't go away, I'm having braxton hicks contractions, I get headaches off and on all day long, I can only sleep in 3 hour increments on either my right or left side, I get heart burn every night around 8 o'clock, I have allergies and swollen nasal passages, my pelvis feels like its being pulled on both sides in opposite directions, I'm sleep deprived already and have a needy toddler, and summer school officially started this week so I see my husband for a few minutes here and there during the week.

The way things are going, my baby will come out looking like this ...

Could you still love a face like this?

Those ladies who say that they love being pregnant are full of crap. Please give me another 3 months or so to get back to normal before you judge anything I say. If not I might turn into a giant, green monster. "Amber so mad! Amber crush you!"

high flyer

Some family came up for Memorial Day. It was cold, wet, and rainy, but that didn't stop Corban from jumping on the trampoline.

33 weeks

**WARNING** pregnancy rant

For the past month, at least, I've been having braxton hicks contractions. They started out annoying but now ... THEY HURT! I literally have to stop whatever I'm doing, sit down, and breath. She's sitting so low that my stomach looks like a torpedo is trying to hone in on a target and explode, which creates a whole new batch of those glorious purpley stretch marks. Heart burn. This is a new symptom for me. I was sitting up reading a book. I innocently burped and almost threw up all over my mom's sitting room!

Summer school starts for Joe next week. He'll be working part-time, taking Genetics, and studying for the PCAT which is on July 20. Yep, 4 days before my due date.

Seven more weeks. I can handle this. Hopefully.

mother's day

I don't have any photos of Mother's Day because I'm pregnant and still sick. That's my excuse and sticking to it. Corban/Joe bought me work out clothes (because I asked them to) and the CUTEST card. It was one of those recordable cards where Corban did all the talking. So now I have Corban at age 2 saying my name, where we live, his name, and a sweet message. This card is definitely a keeper!

easter

I'm 7 months pregnant and starting to feel sick again! I've kind of been awful at all the holidays that have passed so far, so I decided that Easter was gonna be different even if I threw up every where we went.

We went to the North Logan Easter Egg Hunt. Corban didn't particularly love the Easter Bunny. Funny thing though, right after we snapped some photos, he couldn't keep his eyes off the bunny and thought he was SO funny.

Yes, I made the piñata. Nothing says Easter like a piñata and hot dogs. Some friends and family went to my parent's house where we roasted hot dogs and broke a piñata. I only put one layer of paper mache on the egg so only two kids got to hit it. Oops! Next year it'll be better.

My only Easter decorations, but at least I decorated right? The garland is made out of old plastic eggs that I strung on a piece of twine and then tied pastel fabrics in between each egg. The hardest part was hammer holes into the top and bottom of the eggs.

We also went to the Wildlife Animal Easter Egg Hunt at USU. They advertised animals would be present. I guess they didn't lie because they did have a fish in an aquarium there. Note to self for next year: do not show up on time for this egg hunt if at all. They spread the eggs out an hour before they had the hunt. Corban kept running out to get some eggs and cried and cried when we had to haul him back to the sidewalk. We eventually just let him have three eggs and we left.

We tried to keep telling Corban that Easter is about our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. Hopefully he understood a little. It was a fun Easter and he got a lot of candy that I thought we'd give away but I'm doing a pretty good job of eating.

geocaching

A couple of weeks ago we piled in the car and did a little geocaching. We went down by the poo-poo ponds and the dump. Here's a photo of the Wellsville's by the ponds.

We decided to clean things up a bit and went to a local car wash to find another cache. We had to wait for a bit for the muggles to clear out and we saw this:


Yep. She's washing her dogs at the car wash. Ouch!