Beautiful Bella

Look at that hair! Isabella has been waking up looking like Doc from Back to the Future. A bird could live on the back of her head. I think it is quite adorable especially the way the side curls up. We have decided we are in denial that we have moved. I know one day we will have to grieve but we are planning on it being after Christmas. I have been so busy unpacking, decorating, and exploring it hasn't had a chance to sink in. 

Isabella has been extra happy, cuddly and fun lately and I love it! She is becoming such a kid. She has such spunk and personality. She reminds me so much of the little girl from Remember the Titans. No one will back this baby in a corner! When I am trying to teach her something I point my finger at her like such a mom. The other day I said no isabella don't do that! and she just pointed right pack at me put a hand on her hip and said No! my little fireball ayayayayay.

Here are some of her latest quirks:

-the obsessions with dogs is only increasing. Someone up in heaven is having a good laugh. Darn you netflix dog movies that promise kids little cute puppies and happily ever afters with them!!!

-loves to cuddle with mom and watch any movie that has a dog, music, or any animal that resembles a dog. Brother Bear is our current favorite. That movie is hilarious!  

-has learned to make the most adorable little face and say "mama" as she holds her hands up. She knows this will get me to do anything so I will get this about 20 times a day

-kisses kisses and kisses. We are getting tons and you won't hear any complaining about that;)

-loves nursery at church and story time at the library. we don't even get a goodbye when we drop her off. Not complaining about that either.

-Loves cheddar cheese

-Dance parties are a must everyday especially with her dad or a stuffed animal as her partner. Her dance moves are getting weird and I blame Stephen since he has been her partner lately

-LOVES to put shoes on. sometimes she will be walking around the house with only her fancy church shoes and diapers. This one is such a weird little quirk but it really helps when I'm getting her ready for the day...

-fruit snacks will get her to do anything. Fruit snacks=bribes (can I do your hair? fruit snacks, sacrament is almost over I promise! fruit snack)

-has like a million adorable faces she does. Seriously. My current favorite is the pout. She has learned that we love them so she does them to get our attention and then claps for herself when we laugh. Definitely my child.

-calls everyone she loves Mama. 

-understands English and Spanish great but speaks pure babble except for bye, hola, agua and Mama

-folds her little arms and bows her head when we pray. 

-her current favorite songs are Shake it Off by Taylor Swift and Vivir mi Vida by Marc Anthony. 

I have an amazing kid and everyday I grow to love her more. Life can be so tough sometimes and trials can seem to never go away but Isabella makes it all seem lighter and makes me forget. Isabella's middle name is Luz and lately I have been thinking how happy I am we named her that because that is exactly what she is: a little light not only in my life but in everyone's life she touches. 

West Plains

Did I ever mention we moved here on a facebook message Stephen got from an old buddy from college? When you think about it that way it seems pretty insane. So as we are leaving Kansas after dropping off Stephen's dad from the airport, it finally sinks in that this isn't just a long road trip or vacation. We actually have moved away from Utah to this random small town in the middle of Missouri, where we know no one and have no clue what awaits us there. I kind of start losing my cool. Did I also mention we didn't really have an official home yet? We had talked to a ton of landlords, found one that seemed to work but didn't want to pay for anything without seeing it so we were driving straight to the place and hoping it would be home. Well it all sounded well planned in Utah, but as we are driving into West Plains, it's pitch dark, we are exhausted from 5 hours of driving and have a stomach bug, oh yeah and a i'vereachedmylimit toddler, it seemed pretty stupid. So we start freaking out. What if we hate this place? Our GPS can't find it how in the world are we gonna get there? Isabella just pooped her pants, Crap! Literally. We say a prayer and regroup. Stephen calls the landlord, I change Bella and we come up with a code phrase. We love code phrases. We agree that if we don't like the place we will say "hey we need to run to Walmart and buy peanut butter" give us a break we were exhausted and our bowls were about to explode so it seemed sensible at the time. 

By a miracle of life we find this place. And the nicest man I have ever met greets us. As soon as the door opens and I see the place I look at Stephen and say "I never want to buy peanut butter again in my life." What a place! It was built only 2 years ago and looks like no one has ever lived in it. It is by far the best place we have ever lived at, heck I've never lived in such a nice place my whole life! 

West Plains is pretty cool in some ways and not so cool in other ways. Walmart is pretty much our shopping place for everything. I mean EVERYTHING. I'm still not sure how everyone makes a living out here since there are like 3 stores including Walmart. Drug dealers? let's hope not. Well you know at least we will save ALOT of money cause there is nowhere to spend it? half laugh half cry

On the other hand it is refreshing how chill and slow paced life is here. No one is worried about fashion or having the latest technology or upgrades. One of the reason's I hadn't blogged yet is I wanted to take a break and just relax for a bit. It remind me a ton of Tatumbla (where I grew up). Everyone is extremely nice and friendly. The cashier at Walmart almost hugged us after we paid. As you are driving it looks like people are flipping you off but they are actually waving. 

During the weekend Stephen's friend, A. Jones was here for the holidays and we had a chance to hang out with him. We ended up going to a ranch his dad and a friend own and had a blast. Isabella got to ride a horse with me and loved it. Being the not animal lover that I am you would be surprised to know that I've ridden horses quit a few times before. Not a ton but sometimes my mom would rent horses from local farmers and we would spend a few hours riding. The ranch was amazing and got me really excited to live here. 

I'm not gonna lie it's gonna take some getting used to after living in Salt Lake and having so many options of stuff to do and everything was conveniently close, especially the temple (the closest one here is 3 hours away) but it just feels right, like we are supposed to be here for a reason. 

our backyard view (i can't believe i have a backyard!) 

this is our house, we live in a duplex so we have neighbors but I have never seen them so it feels like it's just us here. It's a pretty chil neighborhood with four houses about 2 miles of town. 

From the Ranch we went to with A. Jones, such a cool place. 

And finally my little Bells. She is growing so fast and I kind of love it. 

Kansas

The drive to Missouri was a long long roller coaster. Let's just say I am sooooo happy we have arrived and plan on flying anytime we go back to Utah. Stephen's dad came to help us drive and before making the drive I thought we didn't really need him but afterwards I was so grateful he came. Isabella behaved pretty well for her age but we had a huge melt down once and many stops to let her run around. Thank goodness we planned to go visit grandma Wells in Kansas and not only got a good break from driving but had a blast with Stephen's dad's family.

Grandma Wells is NOT what I imagined. All I had heard before of her was that she had 10 kids, is 84 years old and lives in Kansas. I imagined a tall, stocky lady who was very strict and serious. Instead I met this wonderful tiny lady who loves to crack jokes and is insanely patient with crazy active and mischievous 1 year old. She loves to sow and knit and is insanely talented. We visited the farm she grew up in and heard stories of her childhood and family. During Thanksgiving I gathered all the gran kids to play UNO and she showed up to play with us. At one point she put red on green and being ridiculously competitive I called her on it. She looked at me and said, "Im the grandma forget about it!" and winked. What an awesome lady. Did I mention she loves watching Dancing with the Stars? We all have guilty pleasures I guess. 

haha Isabella and I definitely didn't pose for this pic but isn't Grandma Wells cute?!

I forgot to mention Isabella is pretty dog crazy. I mean she is going through a serious dog phase. She calls them wowows (spanish nickname for them) and anytime she sees one she freaks out. Butch is Grandma wells companion of the last 7 years and Isabella's whole obsession during our stay in Kansas. Where Butch went she went, she would mostly hang out in his house with him and just play and talk with him. Oh man I can't believe I am saying this but I think we are going to have to buy her a dog someday. Maybe. 

Seriously how cute is this?

This is the farm grandma Wells grew up in. It has such a peaceful, slow paced kind of feeling to it. I felt like I was in a scene of Gone with the Wind.

VIDEO

This is a video Raquel and I put together of Isabella's first year as a Christmas present for everyone in the family. Creating this was so meaningful and fun.  I will admit the toilet paper climbing part is too long just fast forward. In my defense at the time it seemed so cool! Just press on the link and it will take you to the video. 

Isabella's First Year

UTAH

As our move approaches, I have been looking back at my life in Utah and how much it has changed since I got here. I met the hubs here. I gave birth to my sweet Isabella here. I ate s'mores, salmon, and sinful nutella for the first time here.  When I think of home, I think of Utah. I want to dedicate a post to the places that made this place awesome for me and will always hold a special place in my heart.

BYU

 I was never a fan of all the homework tests, or stress school put on my life but at the same time I miss the feeling of sitting down in a classroom for the first time eager and at the same time dreading the start of a new semester. I miss lectures that made me think and question my ideas and opinions. Oh I miss miss miss the rush of all the students walking in between the buildings and the feeling of belonging to a huge group of people.

KING HENRY

I remember being 17 and walking in for the first time into my apartment at king henry. I was terrified and had no clue what lay ahead of me. Little did I know I would meet the love of my life there and some of the best friends I will ever have. It was the only place I lived at before being married and I created some amazing memories there. Just looking at this picture brings back some memories  and all sort of feelings I haven't thought about in a long time.

THE PROVO LIBRARY

When I look back to our last year in Provo, I think of the Provo Library as my oasis/home. When we had Isabella, to save money we decided to live in this tiny, old one bedroom apartment. As a student I had never cared where we lived since I usually only slept and ate there. But never had it crossed my mind that as a stay at home mom I would be home A LOT more. So the tiny old apartment started feeling very very tiny soon after my transition to a mom. I just could not feel comfortable there. So I strapped Isabella in one of those wrap things and went outside in search of a refuge. And that is when I stumbled upon the library. It was across the street, about a 2 min walk. The children's section became our to  go place. Everyday, in the mornings we would attend story time and would usually go back in the afternoons. Isabella learned to walk there holding on to the edge of bookshelves. Her love for reading was found there and also her love for tossing books. I remember walking around the place telling her stories and describing the stuffed animals and other decorations they had and her little eyes soaking everything in. Whenever I drive by that place now, my eyes get misty, my heart swells up a little, and I give a silent thankful prayer for all those rich people who donated money to create the children's section and saved my sanity for a year.

 LITTLE AND BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON

this place made living in salt lake worth it.  I will forever remember all our hikes, picnics and animal encounters we had here.  I saw a moose for the first time here! With all the technology we are bombarded with daily, it is so nice to disconnect and just enjoy nature and see the wonderful world God has created for us.

WHEELER FARM

This farm taught Isabella to love animals. She can moo like a cow and knows how to call rabbits now. She learned how to kick a ball and run around here. We saw sheeps get haircuts and learned how to feed goats. We will miss it dearly.

Utah you were good to us, we hope Missouri has as much to offer.

DANCE PARTIES

I should be in bed right now but like always I am enjoying the time by myself too much. so here I am and will be regretting this tomorrow right around 6am when my energetic toddler is ready to start the day bright and early like always. Funny how consistent she can be about some things but not others...

  Isabella and I have been enjoying the beauties of cold season and I swear Isabella has had a cough/runny nose for a month. Being the party animals that we are this has not stopped us from going out. It can get awkward at times with healthy kid parents but oh well the kid will turn green if I keep her inside (that's what my mom always said to me). The other day at church Stephen was watching Isabella play with other kids and she coughed. Stephen swears a mom gave him THE LOOK (whatever that means) so he pretended Isabella was choking on something and reassured everyone she was ok as he patted her on the back. Aside from the lying, I give him credit for coming up with that on the spot....All kidding aside being sick sucks and having a sick kid sucks too. 

 Last night after a pretty crappy weekend of sick sick sick, we threw down the towel and just danced it off. It was pretty awesome. I forgot how many awesome dance moves I know and how ridiculously entertaining it is to watch Stephen attempt to shake it. But like always the star of the party was my Bella. Man I swear, Isabella is going to be the next Shakira or at least the next Shakira backup dancer or whatever they are called. Everyday she has new dance moves and will start dancing to anything that sounds like music. Which reminds me of something I read the other day. it's not just my day, it's her day too and dance parties are something she looooves to do. Well I think that we need to have more dance parties around here and less crabby moods. Take life less seriously and go with the flow. 

OCTOBERFEST

Have I mentioned I looooove October? The excitement of all the holidays starts creeping in. I love the festivities of Halloween, the pumpkin patches, the corn mazes, the costumes, the CANDY, the fall festivals, the parties, all the decorations, did I mention the candy? I love that on Halloween adults can be dressed incredibly ridiculous but no one thinks twice about it. A lady around the corner hanged like a hundred plastic pumpkins from a huge tree in her yard and every time I drove by it, it made me smile.I have clear memories as a child wearing costumes my mom had made through the years from zebras to cows to gypsies.  I think I enjoy this stuff so much more now because it's something out of our usual routine and I love seeing Isabella enjoy it all. With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner we have a lot to look foward too!

HALLOWEEN

Last year for Halloween I had to work so we didn't really do anything, so this year I decided to go all out. I had been thinking about our costumes for months. We didn't want to spend too much money so I decided to make them (except Bella's that one I found at a thrift store.) When I was making Stephen's there was hot glue everywhere and I thought it was going to be one of those Pinterest fiasco's but I actually love how it turned out. I planned the party for the kids at our church so I was insanely busy most of the party but we all had a blast and it was worth it. At first Isabella was terrified of all the kids in their costumes but towards the end was fluttering around laughing. She even managed to steal some chocolate bars when we weren't looking and we found her eating away. Oh well she was meant to love sweets she is my child right? 

FALL

    Alot of this has been happening around here lately:

We are transitioning from baby to toddler and I have struggled to find things at home that we both enjoy to do. So I try and be out and about most of the time. We love going out and finding cool parks, and places to play but that only covers half of our day or it's sometimes too cold now so when we get home Barney has become our go to. I've noticed though that she is becoming more and more addicted to it. So I'm trying to shift to tv being more of a special treat or for extra hard days. It's been tough cause tv is so easy but we are trying. I'm finding activities online and plan on hitting some thrift stores this week. Yesterday I was out of indoor ideas so we just grabbed a bucket and went outside for a walk. Once outside we decided to find treasures and put them in our bucket. Then I noticed all the fall leaves and thought we could gather those. She loved it! She would grab leaves and try and throw them at me and crack up. We ran around, laid on the grass and looked at the sky and just chatted about nonsense. I sometimes forget that Isabella doesn't need big elaborate plans but enjoys the small and simple things.

LIFE AIN'T NO PICNIC

It's hard to keep it real when sharing stuff on social media. At least it is for me. I'd much rather share that I ran 5 miles the other day than confess I was so hungry after I ate 8 chocolate chip cookies and felt bloated and fat the rest of the day. 

"When using social media, we tend to broadcast the smiling details of our lives but not the hard times at school or work.We portray an incomplete life—sometimes in a self-aggrandizing or fake way. We share this life, and then we consume the “almost exclusively … fake lives of [our] social media ‘friends.’ “How could it not make you feel worse to spend part of your time pretending to be happier than you are, and the other part of your time seeing how much happier others seem to be than you?” (LDS General Conference, 9/14 Elder Cook)
   When I read this it made me think of this blog. The last thing I want is that when Isabella is a new young mom and is struggling and wishing kids had a return policy (and feeling horribly guilty of course) and goes to her mom's blog posts for reassurance, she comes out feeling worse and even more incompetent because her perfect mom only had perfect happy moments, and was always in control (hahahahahha). That would definitely earn me a nice bunk bed next to the Kardashians in you know where. So basically my point is I want to work on keeping it real. Sharing my WHOLE life not just those picture perfect moments. 

    A young mother got on a bus with seven children. The bus driver asked, “Are these all yours, lady? Or is it a picnic?” “They’re all mine,” she replied. “And it’s no picnic!”
This is what I hope Isabella, any of my kids, or any interested party reads here:

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank God for letting you have the ride.” Gordon B Hinckley

*I need pictures like the one on the left to remind the version of me on the right to put some kind of make up on and do my hair once in a while. I could have done much better on getting an ugly picture but weirdly I had very few of those on my phone...but believe me my hair and face have had worse moments. I like doing my hair and dressing up, but most of the time my hair is in a braid or bun and I am wearing some kind of loose comfy shirt. Funny story of the picture on the right, I tend to be thinking of 5 things at a time and the other day when I was plucking my eyebrows I accidentally plucked half of my left one. 

I love both of these pictures. Dresses and bows are fun and cute and just plain adorable but definitely not practical or part of most of our daily life. Most of the time a headband will last enough for a picture and a bow will fly off as Isabella tries to do a somersault or just janks it off along with some hair. Isabella would rather be down to her undies surrounded by messy food and running wild. 

I love a clean house and the smell of cleaning supplies. My favorites are Lime Lysol and Orange Pynesol. But my life is full of smells of poopie diapers (sooooo gross), old dirty dishes, and well Stephen knows what else if you know what I mean... I try really hard to keep the house clean but I've learned that sometimes I need to let it be and just be happy. Did I mention I HATE doing dishes? 

*rest assured I have better taste than to use skull bowls for cooking, I am planning a Halloween party at church. The rest of the mess is mine I have no excuse for that....

*yes that is maple syrup among Isabella's toys. She loves to go to my kitchen cabinets and grab food she finds there. I have found her covered in flour from head to toe smearing it all over the floor, eating brown sugar straight from the bag or rolling cans of beans around the house. yes i should baby proof the cabinets i know. 

NEW STOMPING GROUNDS

Life is a funny thing. There are curve balls and hidden ditches all along the way. Stephen and I planned our life pretty well (or so we thought). College, internship, baby, PA school, picket fence, more kids, you get the picture. Perfectly planned. Well life is not meant to be perfectly planned.
We have struggled finding the experience and curriculum necessary to get into his physician assistant masters program.  Because I'm the kind of person who plans everything ten years in advanced, I have had a hard time with the uncertainty of our future. I know things will work out because Stephen is the most hardworking person I know but I'm still a girl so I can't help but worry and plan.
          But like anything in life, without trials and struggles, there is no growth. No pain no gain right? And let me tell you there has been a TON of growth this past year.
         Long story short the day before Stephen went into an office to find out more about joining the Air Force to get more in depth medical experience (not my favorite option to say the least), he got an interesting phone call from a college buddy who is currently in med school. How would he like to work for his father, an eye surgeon who owns a surgical center, and work for him as a MA/PA? yes please.
   This is an experience most medical students dream of. It suffices to say he is by far under qualified for the job they have offered him. His friend's dad is an amazing man who lets grad students work for him to help them get into their medical programs. We have prayed and talked and dreamed and well basically everything you can do and have decided this is basically mana from heaven.
         Some minor details I forgot to mention: It's in Missouri and we have to be there Dec 1st. WHAT?! It's in a small town called West Plains. Just to paint you a picture of how small, the high school band will play as the mayor holds a banner as our car enters the town. Maybe a bit much, but really when we called around for housing, all the landlords knew the doctor Stephen will be working with, some even guessed we were LDS (Mormon) and one had no housing available but sent me a calender of all the events happening in the town for the next 2 months along with some tips of where to have fun with a 15 month old (a little weird but helpful).
       To say the least, we are extremely excited and scared for this huge change in our lives. Living in Utah has been amazing and I will miss it here but can't wait to see what awaits for us in West Plains. Did I mention winters only last 3-4 months there?

TIME FLIES BY

 The other day Isabella and I were just hanging out and she went to her room and grabbed her old breastfeeding pillow, sat down on it and grabbed one of her miniature books grandma gave her that she loves to read. I found myself staring at her and feeling very very nostalgic. I remembered breastfeeding her in that pillow.  How her tiny body could easily lay in my arms, nestled in that huge pillow. Staring at her now, it seemed as if the pillow had shrunk in half! As I watched her read I realized time was flying by. Almost a year and half has passed since my little fireball entered our lives. I can't really remember my life before Isabella. It seems so long ago. Motherhood has taken over and its here to stay. My hope is that a year and a half from now I have many more recorded memories than I have now. Which is an easy goal because I have about two pages...Well lets hope I'm more consistent at this than my half-a-day long no sweets diet....

FAMILY PICTURES

My friend Mildred took these pictures and they are priceless to me. She was able to capture so much personality and realness.