Twenty-one minus two

Thirty-three months plus 2 days ago, James and I were married. It was a beautiful summer day.

Three months, two weeks, and five days later, we found out-- for sure-- that we were expecting our first little one. We were so happy to be starting our family, even though we weren't sure how it would be going to school with a baby... but we knew it was right. Little did I know that the toughest times for me in school actually were probably before the little one arrived.

Fourteen weeks and four days later, we found out that we'd be having a little girl.

Four months, three weeks, and five days later, (four days before our first anniversary) our little Kiely Joy joined our family. She was a beautiful newborn. I don't think I've seen a more precious, truly beautiful baby.

Three weeks and one day later, fall semester started-- James' last first day of undergrad school and the start of my last fall semester. That was a TOUGH day and made me wonder how we'd get through it. But I still knew it was the right thing to do.

Three months, one week, and two day later, James graduated from Brigham Young University - Idaho with his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. We were proud of him and his accomplishment.

Three weeks and three days later, James started his first "real" job at Spudnik. (If you didn't know, that was also the day Haiti had the big earthquake!) I was SO nervous to have him working an hour away, and to not have him with me throughout the school week (during the day while he was at work)... but of course with the help of friends, family, and ward members, it was okay. James was also a big support to me when he could be, and I was so grateful that he had a job to support our family. That semester, I actually got some of my best grades!

Six months, one week, and four days later, I graduated with my bachelors degree from Brigham Young University - Idaho in Art with an emphasis in Photography. I know that Heavenly Father helped me through that time because it was important to me, and we had made the choice to follow His plan for us to bring our little Kiely Joy into the world.

Three and four days later, with the help of my mom and some people in our ward, I packed up and cleaned our little one bedroom Rexburg apartment so that we could make the move to Blackfoot. No more hour-long drives for James! :)

Three weeks and two days later, Kiely had her first birthday. (She learned to crawl and walk early-- at around five months for crawling and nine and a half months for walking.) Kiely is such a smart girl, and I can't believe how much she still learns every day! (This is on her birthday with her gifts.)

Four days later was our second anniversary... I've been told that the first two years of marriage are supposedly the hardest. Well, I don't remember them being too difficult, so forever will be perfect! :)

Three months, one week, and two days later, I turned twenty-three. I'm not sure why, but that birthday I felt older than I had felt for previous birthdays. Maybe it's because of the transition I had made (and am still trying to somewhat figure out) of being a stay-at-home mom instead of a full time student and a mom. I love being able to be at home with our little Bug, though!

Three weeks and two days later was Kiely's second Christmas. It was so fun with her... even if it took her a while to open some presents because she wanted to throw each piece of paper in the garbage before she ripped another piece off!

Oh wow this is getting long, and you're probably wondering what the point is of me writing these different events down... You're probably saying, "Seriously, Crissa! Get on with your point!" Well, I didn't mean for it to be this long, but oh well I guess... moving on...

One month, two weeks and two days later, we found out that we were expecting our second little one! :)

Three months, one week, and six days later, an ultrasound was done, and we found out that another girl will be joining our family! It will be so much fun for Kiely to have a sister to play with, and we are happy that she is healthy and things are going well.

What does this have to do with twenty-one minus two one you may ask? Well, that is how far along I am right now. Twenty-one weeks minus two days. (Twenty weeks and five days,) We are expecting the arrival of our baby girl on October 7th. Things have been a little tough this pregnancy with morning sickness, but I think I've learned some things, and it has been quite a bit better than my pregnancy was with Kiely. We are so happy to have our family growing and for all the blessings we are given! (Sorry no belly pics... maybe someday... but it is getting big!)

My "Crafts"

It has only taken me like forever, but I'm finally posting about this. A few weeks ago, we took a little "trip" up to visit my friend Danyel and her husband Jordan. Our plan was that Danyel and I would work on crafts, while James and Jordan played outside. (Kiely ended up hanging out a lot with Jordan's little sister, Macie a lot that day, which was kind of a nice break for me!) Danyel had the idea for one project, and I also told her that I would teach her how to make fabric flowers. Although I'm not a super crafty person, that is one thing I've learned how to do... haven't done a lot of it, but I've made a few for Kiely's hair. Danyel helped me get my project most of the way done, and all I had to do was get some foam and grass stuff to put in with to make it look good. So... DUM DA DA DAAA! Here's how it turned out:

Sorry it's so dark, but I thought it looked better than just sitting on my counter ... you get the idea, though! I was pretty proud of myself, and apparently got myself a little motivated, so I made a little bow for Kiely's Easter dress (which I also made... well did the sewing, by myself!) Here's what it looks like. I know. Bad lighting, but I think it was night or something... I thought it turned out really cute!

And just for the fun of it, since I haven't posted any pictures from Easter (ours was pretty simple... nothing too fancy.) here's Kiely's Easter dress! My mom helped me with reading the pattern and cutting it out, and James' mom helped me do the gathering of the skirt and the zipper. I think I could maybe make one on my own now!

They were looking at a lady bug. Kiely was a little scared of it. :) It was right after church, so she was ready for her nap!

And here is Kiely modeling her dress. I didn't make it so it's that poofy. There's a little tutu underneath helping it out, but we thought it was so cute, and also helps keep the dress away from her feet so she can walk better.

I haven't worked on anything else real recently, but I have some things in mind that I'd like to do. We'll see when I get to them... I have lots going on in the next month and a half!

Not So Bad... Almost done!

I just have to laugh about my post last week, now. I seriously was almost to the point of wanting to quit this potty training stuff. I was pretty much beyond sick of the whole thing because she wouldn't tell me "potty" till after she went. Well...two days later, on Friday, I was still hoping things would get better. They did. While Kiely was down for her nap, I was reading all sorts of articles about potty training, and almost wanted to buy the eBook "3 Day Potty Training" by Lora Jensen. It seemed legit, and I knew that although Kiely isn't older than 22 months, she seemed ready. (She had done well that morning before her nap, too.) Kiely didn't stay dry through her nap. However, she DID tell me EVERY time she needed to go potty and only had one tiny little accident, only because we didn't get her to the bathroom quite quick enough. I was one proud mama! We even went to the bank and Wal Mart that day with no accidents! The next day, she was in a diaper most of the day, because we went to the temple, and James' younger siblings were watching her (I didn't want them to have to deal with taking her to the potty, and cleaning out panties if she did have an accident). While we were at home, and she was in panties, she did great. I wasn't sure if she was going to continue to do well with the whole going potty thing, but she's done GREAT! We had her in a diaper during church, because we weren't sure how that would go, but the rest of the day, she did well on Sunday! So, I would pretty much say she's potty trained during the day! WAHOO!!! (She only goes on her potty chair, so we may either have to take her potty with us when we go places, or we might have some interesting experiences...) It's actually getting to the point now where it's almost like a game for her or something when she's bored... She'll tell us she needs to go potty and only go like a teaspoon or so. But hey! At least she definitely knows how to do it, and tells me! Now I just have to get the courage up to let her try to sleep through the night... that's the tough part, because I know there will probably be some accidents, but I think she'll get over it pretty quickly! I am SOO happy about it being so close for Kiely! She is growing up and getting to be such a smart little Bug! :)

Calling all Moms!

Ugh! I've been trying to potty train Kiely for a while now... She's 20.5 months, so many people would say she's too young, but I really think she's ready, and want to get this done! I can't say I've been super serious about it for a long time, but the past few days, I've been trying to get more into it. She even went without peeing the bed during her nap yesterday (almost 3 hours!) HOORAY! However... I feel like it's starting to go downhill somewhat. I know she knows what pee and poop are, as well as the potty, but she forgets to tell me BEFORE, instead, after she pees she says, "Potty!" (I have been trying to take her about every hour, and if she sits on the potty for 5-10 min without doing anything, I let her off.) We also sometimes have a hard time figuring out how to handle it when she pees (or poops... usually it's pee, though) in her panties. We don't want going potty to be a negative thing, but at the same time, want her to know that it's not right and not good to go potty in her panties. Not really sure how to approach that one. Sometimes she just starts crying when she pees her pants. haha. Anyways, if anyone has advice on this subject (positive if you can, I've heard all about the digression, stages when potty training is good, etc...) PLEASE HELP!!!