Hello Birthday Party

We can hardly believe it's true,

Our little girl is turning two!

Come celebrate with us and Pooh.

Saturday, May 15th

11:00 am-1:00 pm

At the McCulloch's Howse deep in the Hundred Acre Wood

Come share the fun and food with us as we celebrate Emma Jane's birthday

4 down.. 18,687,263 to go.

Here are some of the things I've been up to..

Re-fashioning my purse. I have a love for dark brown, which is the color of my usual purse, but I have been wanting to pull out another purse that is such a nice spring color- ivory. After using for an hour I remembered why I put it away in my closet. It has these metal rings on the handles that are too loud and heavy and .. not me. I hate how they clank around and because the straps are too short, it falls off my shoulder.. so I decided to change the straps to my liking!

Before:

Mid-Way: (The purse is leather.. I could only find vinyl that I sewed to canvas for reinforcement)

After:

(The straps may still be a little too short. If it bugs me enough I will have a re-fashion part two.)

Yard Work. I re-seeded our lawn with some Tall Fescue so I've been dilligently keeping it wet. We have had success and have some cute little baby grass blades coming up.. meanwhile the older grass was getting VERY tall. Emma loves to play in our back yard and on her swing. "wing" I had her in there while I was mowing the lawn with our OLD- at least 20 years and LOUD LOUD electric lawn mower and would push her in the swing when she needed another push. I looked up to see if she needed a push.. but she really needed a NAP! (She has been on a growth spurt. She took a 4 hour 15 minute nap on Friday!)

Baking these yummy (and low-fat/calorie) chocolate cupcakes.Eating Avacados.. and now I will watch the pits grow some avacado trees!

Growing a baby. I will be 25 weeks tomorrow.. John and I had these great Wild Things shirts made at Christmas and the size I picked for mine was just way too big and wierd.. but I altered it at the neck and took in the sleeves and then did this ruching technique that took about two minutes... and now I have a really fun, custom-made maternity shirt!

Making to-do lists.

1. Finish my apron. I haven't worked on it in months.. I will finish it this week!

2. Plant the garden in our square foot gargen boxes we planted last year.

3. Buy a sander, and supplies to paint and repair our big swing-set we got from the neighbor.

4. Peruse Craiglist for a decent proprane grill and an arm's reach co-sleeper.

5. Build a modern farmhouse table

6. Hang the curtains in the office/Emma's sleeping room.

7. Take down the wallpaper in the bathroom and re-paint.

8. Take down the old ugly mirrors on the dining room wall and re-paint.

9. Plan a two-year old birthday party for Emma Jane.

10. Start making baby announcements and baby boy projects.. car seat cover, blankets..

11. Make Emma's Crayon holder craft and work on her quiet book.

12. Clean and organize and PURGE my house.

Pregnancy Update/ Ultrasound #4

Yesterday morning I had 3 OB appointments in a row.. (from 7-10). I always have my regular check-ups with Dr. Stuart at 7:15 on Fridays. I like to get in and out. Emma and John were able to come with me to these appointments because the ban of children has finally been lifted in the hospital. We talked to Dr Stuart about the Echogenic Focus, and like us she was not worried about it.. easy appointment.. my next one is five weeks away.
Next we went down a floor to the Perinatal Associate's office and met first with the genetic couseler. This was an appointment they told us we should make and honestly we didn't really learn anything new regarding our case but it was still a good idea. It was a good time to ask questions and be put even more at ease that we really don't need to be worried about anything. We ended up asking a lot of other questions about genetics in general and had a little fun picking her brain.. she did tell us that at their office there are a couple of doctors who wish patients would not even be told it exists because it means nothing to them.. and a couple of doctors who say.. well, we should talk to them about it because sometimes it is correlated with other problems.
Finally we went back for another ultrasound- the tech did the general biophysical profile and our baby got 8 out of 8 (meaning he's growing and moving and the blood flow is still good and the amniotic fluid level is within nornal limits).. Then Dr Albright came in and took a little closer look at the heart and other organs and said we are good to go and we'd only need to come back if we start having any other complications. When I started to ask a little about the echogenic focus we quickly learned that he is one of the doctors that doesn't like it and wish they wouldn't have to talk about it. He said there are a lot of other hard or stronger markers for genetic anomolies that they look for and this baby has none.
So, it seems like we really didn't learn anything new.. and that's why we wanted to do these appointments- to make sure we wouldn't learn anything new. Our little baby is growing healthy and strong and we are excited to meet him. It was fun to have Emma see him on the ultrasound.. but I still don't think she really knows why my belly is growing so big. (and it is! I'm huge!!!)
I think we have his name all picked out. I love it. We'll let you all know what it is in a little less than four months when he is born!

boo

I am 23 weeks and three days pregnant... so why did I throw up this morning? I am only 4 weeks away from the third trimester!! Sheesh!!

Remembering Dudley Lee Proctor

Emma loves The Little Mermaid.. however she is simply called "Fish" not Ariel, Mermaid, Princess of even Barbie. I love it. She has to bring it with her everywhere. Here she is watching The Little Mermaid movie and laid down next to Fish and said it was time for a nap. So, I put the blanket over them and she thanked me. :)
You may wonder why this picture is fuzzy.. it is because Nina and I had to run and chase them around the aquarium the whole time... it's amazing the picture even turned out this good. Thanks for the workout girls!
Emma and I were able to make it to Panguitch for Great-Grandma Proctor's (Dudley Lee) funeral services. John needed to stay home for work and school. I was a little worried about the ten hour drive but bought a portable DVD player Monday night. What a miracle worker that little thing is! We made it all the way to Flagstaff without stopping. We were able to eat lunch at Niki's house and spend a little time with her and her sons. It was really good to see them. Part of the reason why I was willing to do the long drive was as long as someone road with me from Flagstaff. Luckily both Amber and Megan were able to get out of school and work so they rode from Flagstaff to Panguitch with me. We did that part of the trip without stopping also! Of course my butt was killing me.. but it was nice to get there at a decent hour. The funeral was on Wednesday the 14th. We had a two-hour viewing first. A lot of friends and family made it for that. Grandma looked SO beautiful and peaceful. Ann Proctor did her hair and make-up.. her real hair. Grandma always wore these big wigs until the last couple of years, but her natural hair was so beautiful and we were all so happy to see her looking so peaceful and happy. I also love that she was dressed in her temple clothes. I am so grateful for our eternal knowledge of thing. The funeral immediately followed the viewing. Grandpa (Clark) and Grandma (Gwen)Frandsen, her brother Jay, his wife Ann and my mom all spoke. It was great to see more what a positive and happy person she was. Several of her poems were read and we could really tell that the world through her eyes was such a beautiful place. Ben Proctor dedicated the grave. It was a beautiful prayer and blessing. Josh was a pall bearer. He did great. He is really growing up. Bob and John were both listed as honorary pall bearers. All of our cousins were able to make it except Bob, David and Dennis and J.C.. Here the pall bearers are placing their flowers on Grandma's beautiful casket. All of us, especially the girls took a flower or a few from the casket arrangement to press or dry.

It was a fast, quick trip but I am really glad I was able to go. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. It was also so good to see Grandpa Proctor. He is doing very well. Really the hardest part was watching him cry at her side before they closed the casket. How wonderful to be so in love for so long! (They will have been married 74 years this June).

It was so good to come home last night and spend time again with my loving and wonderful husband (of 4.5 years). We'll reach that 74 year mark as well someday! :)

This is a few weeks old... but it's a cute video of Emma doing the dishes.

A few days without John.. and a little white spot.

John is in Michigan at the annual American Nuclear Society student conference. He gave a presentation on some research he did (and had published) and did really well.. They give awards for good presentations and he'll find out tonight if he won. He did however recieve a "man purse" for place 3rd in a golf tournament...
lucky guy...
Meanwhile, Emma and I have been busy here at the house. I did a lot of work on the yard including overseeding our back lawn.. soon we'll have beautiful little green blades of grass poking through the black compost.. i LOVE Spring.
A couple of somewhat sad things have happened this week too. My great-grandmother Dudley Proctor passed away. She was 96 I think. She has had dementia and my great grandfather Jay and my grandmother Gwen have been taking care of her for months. She is such a sweet lady and was deeply loved. Her and Grandpa Proctor have been married for over 75 years! Can you imagine!?! My poor Grandpa Proctor stayed by her side to cry for several minutes. I hope John and I are still so in love and devoted to each other after so many years. I'm sure we will be. Hopefully I will be able to make it to the funeral in Panguitch on Wednesday..
Also I had a follow up ultrasound friday morning to get a better look at our baby's anatomy and they found a ECHOGENIC CARDIC FOCUS on his left ventrical. It is a little bright white spot on his heart. I was feeling pretty worried.. but am doing so much better today. It is one of the "soft markers" for Down Syndrome. I really think that he is fine however. He has no other signs that I know of yet. I did not do the blood test for genetic problems and will not do an amniocentosis. The uncertainty is the hardest part and I'm sure I will have a little worry spot tucked away in the back of my mind for the next four months... I have an appointment with a genetic counselor and the Perinatologist in two weeks. (Honestly I wasn't too worried until the told me I need an appointment with the genetic counselor.. but I would rather be overcautious than undercautious.) But honestly.. I'm not too worried.. so neither should any of you be!
Good news.. so far my blood pressure and protein leaking has all been within normal limits this pregnancy. Horray!
Has anyone else had a baby with the Echo Focus on their heart? One of my best friends who actually has a Downs baby just told me that he did NOT have the spot.. so who knows?

coming out of hibernation (welcome back, spring!)

This may look like she is rejoicing over the warmer weather.. however Emma Jane really loves her daddy and was a little worried when he dissappeared into the gas station.. "where'd daddy go?"... as soon as she saw him waking back to the car, she yelled "daddy!" So sweet is a daddy and his little girl.

I have finally done it! I have made some beautiful loaves of bread using my own freshly ground wheat and by kneading it by hand. (The blackstrap molasses I added gave it this lovely color). I loved it. I never had a very good bread making lesson, and though I love to cook and bake (and aren't too bad at it), yeast breads have always been a little intimidating (even though I make cinnamon rolls just fine.. ) we loved the bread and gobbled it up. I'm going to make some more today! (with bananas!!)

I found this great/interesting and different DVD via a recommendation on Netflix called "How to Cook Your LIfe" about a breadmaker in a Buddhist Monistary and he is great and wrote this awesome book :
I HIGHLY recommend it if you are like me and afraid of making homemade bread. It is foolproof! One of my favorite purchases of the year so far.

We had a wonderful Conference and Easter weekend, and I hope you all did too! We watched three of the sessions at the McCraken's home... of course we missed alot of the talks because of the girls.. but it was great none the less. This is Easter morning after Emma found some stickers... she helped Lana get over her fear and hatred of stickers too..haha.. Also, notice the Ariel Barbie in Emma's hand. This is one of her favorite toys lately. She is "Fish."


I set up an Easter Egg hunt in our back yard for the girls. Emma found one egg, noticed something was in it, started eating the candy inside and then could care less about the remaining 30 eggs hidden in the back yard. I persisted though so I could at least get one picture of the hunt. (notice the open egg in her left hand and that she is gripping candy with her right fist.. all she really cares about)...

This is Emma saying "cheese" with all the goods... and just a few remaining stickers..

We got this great set of "Resurection Eggs" from John's Aunt Marie. They really helped us tell the Easter story to Emma along with the Gospel Art Picture book we got from the Bishop a few months ago. This will be our Easter tradition for years to come I am sure.. next year I will add some of those Easter cookies that become hollow when you bake them. I love Easter. Another fun tradition my family did a couple of times was that we had a birthday party for Jesus on April 6th. We would have a great family testimony meeting and I would even make a cake.. Happy Easter everyone!!

Here are some of our hikes we've been doing lately :
Emma ran for about 15 minutes after when we got to this hiking spot (near cuba) about a month ago. She was so ready to get out of the car so we didn't put her in the back pack until we had to.

I found this great stick that made me feel very much like Gandolf. For some reason most of the hikes we do make me feel like I am in "The Hobbit" on a grand adventure- that is one of the reasons I love to hike so much!....

...especially when there are cool rocks that look like marble and crumble in your hands..

This is the on the Albuquerque river walk nature trail. Emma had a great time, especially looking at all the geese and ducks on the water. She loves ducks and birds! (most birds are called ducks..)

Here we are at the Red Rocks just West of Las Vegas, NV. I really loved this area and highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Vegas. . I'm sure it is hot and miserable in the summer though.. It was a somewhat challenging hike for a pregnant one though, but defenitly do-able. . I only felt a couple contractions..

We also did the Hoover Dam tour, which was great.. What was not great though was chasing after a toddler and having visions of her jumping over ledges and falling to her death. She actually wedged through an opening in a wall that would have led to sudden death had we not seen her dissapear into the wall and then SPRINT over to her. Goodness, child!! Notice her body language saying, let me down.. to run around and give you heart-attacks!

This was two Saturdays ago.. we walked for a just a few minutes and then decided that because John had already done a 6 mile hike with the scouts that morning, we would rather do a nice drive and look for the dinosaur bone quarry in the area (this was near Mount Taylor). We didn't find it but John got a sample of some green dirt we found and he had in analysed and found out it has some radioactive minerals in it.. so we are actually going to look into getting the mineral rights for that area..

Here is that great vintage fabric I got at that rare store in Peralta. I am hesitant to cut it all up until I find the perfect project for them.. any suggestions?

Here are some projects I have completed (really easy and quick ones.. but better than nothing). I love this fabric I found for Nina's nursing cover. Click on it to see the little blue hearts.

Another nursing cover for Tiffany's baby shower. She is one of the few having a girl.

Emma fell in love with this "Pooh -Igger" fabric so I bought the rest of it.. it makes a big blanket. All I did was sew satin ribbon around the edges. She loves it.

While I have been sewing, One of Emma's new hobbies is to clean and do dishes! She loves to spill her milk after her cereal is gone and then wipe it all up..

Here she is wiping down her new kitchen we got from the Shaw's. Thank you! She loves it!! Notice her cute apron the neighbor gave her for Christmas. It has tinker-bell on it. Doing the dishes at my mom's in Kingman. (I am 5 months pregnant..)Dishes need washing in Las Vegas too..

and at home..

What have all of you been up to?