That Moment

We all day dream about how our lives are going to turn out, what is going to happen in them and about specific moments we hope we'll have. As a little girl one of mine was meeting and marrying Prince Charming and living Happily Ever After. Another was to be the nicest School Bus Driver around (maybe because my kindergarten bus driver was AWESOME). Eventually my dreams included college, dream jobs, places to live or visit and... babies, my own babies.

I watched my older siblings start having and raising kids, with the big momentous occasions and small memorable moments that come with it. In watching them my dreams about my own kiddos started being more specific. Now I can't tell you I picked out hair and eye color and everything about my kids in dreams. I definitely didn't even do what most girls do in choosing their kids names before they're even married. But I DID dream about the special moments I'd have with them. Moments like holding them for the first time, being the one they came to for comfort, watching their Dad play with them, hearing them laugh, watching them meet milestones and do or say the littlest things kids say or do that are always so cute, and everything in between and forever.
 
Jocelynn is now 11 months old (so crazy!) and we have had a lot of those moments I dreamed about. I've known I've been living my dreams since I got married and we had Jocelynn. But I'm writing this now because the other night we were all in perfect bliss together and I realized DURING the moment that I had dreamed of that moment, and it was a reality. Maybe that doesn't sound so momentous, but it was a sweet thing for me and a time I'll always remember and smile about. So let me tell you about THAT MOMENT.

Justin had been gone for the last 7 of 10 weeks and was leaving again the next week. We were soaking up all the time together that we all had.
Jocelynn has been growing like crazy and is trying to be even more mobile by attempting to crawl on the furniture, standing for longer on her own and walking all over the place while holding onto our fingers or her walking toy.
Since we were finally together we could assume the classic position across from each other for her to try walking from one parent to the other. Jocelynn was SO excited to go from one of us to the other and she took her first steps!! She fell a lot, always with us right there of course. But she did walk!! And it was the cutest thing. As soon as she'd get to Justin she'd giggle and spin around ready to come back to me. And then she'd giggle and spin around when she got to me, excited to go back to her Dad.
We were so excited that she was taking steps on her own that we were clapping and cheering her on (there's never a better cheerleader than a parent). One time she had just made it to me and we started clapping. She looked at her clapping Dad, crawled really fast to him and then sat at his feet and clapped too as if to say, "Look Dad! I can do that too!" It was the cutest thing.
From then on she stepped and fell and walked and laughed and clapped any chance she could, even while walking. And we were doing the same thing.
It was a good moment. It was a family moment. I'm grateful for my little eternal family and many more moments of bliss with them.

Jocelynn in June & July

We have some great friends here and get to see them quite often. Since Jocelynn is becoming more and more mobile she's trying to play more with the "big" kids. And not just that, but trying to do more on her own and is a lot more happier, if that is possible! :) She changes so much so quickly (and I take so many pictures) that this in just her in June and July.

Red Robin for a friend's birthday. This wasn't even all of the babies there but was just funny to see them all lines up together. 

She crawling and climbing all over everything and everyone she can. 

Since the weather has been so warm we've been going swimming at the lake! Love babies in swimsuits! And how hard they crash for their naps after playing in the sun, sand and water. 

While in Idaho Jocelynn's cousins introduced her to dolls. She LOVED Leah's Bell doll so much so I decided we'd see what she thought of a baby. Ya, I'm glad I got it. She loves it!

We have some friends from our group who're also in our ward. Every once in a while we sit by them during Sacrament meeting and this is what happens. See, she's getting in there with the big kids. 

Jocelynn even gets to share her trailer on bike rides with friends, though her friends don't love it as much as she does. 

Joce loves water and taking baths. She also loves to make a huge mess when she eats so she ends up in the sink half of the time after meals. I don't think she's complaining. 

Jocelynn started crawling in the end of June, just after we got back from Idaho. With the crawling came pulling herself to a stand and stepping along furniture too. I couldn't believe she was doing it all at once and all of a sudden felt this rush of emotion like I wanted her to slow down, though that emotion isn't new to me. Though she seemed like she was going to walk at any time, she didn't, and I'm grateful. I wanted to enjoy the crawling stage for a bit and we are! She's not a toddler just yet and we're grateful! 

In the second picture we're playing chase, which she absolutely loves and laughs the whole time. She doesn't quite get the whole concept because sometimes she'll crawl right at you really fast when you start crawling to get her, but either way it's fun and we all end up laughing. 

Jocelynn LOVES Desoto! He's still not so keen on her, especially now that she can get to him practically wherever he is, but he's getting better. A lot of the time they play "chase" around the island in our kitchen. He'll walk around the corner to get away from her while she crawls after him laughing. The he watches her go around the corner from the other side until she realizes he's now behind her, laughs and turns to go after him the other way. And on and on.  

 Jocelynn is so curious about everything and I love how fascinated she gets with things. This was a flower that had broken off my birthday bouquet from my parents. She doesn't know how to smell the flowers yet, but they sure looks cool and tasted good! 

Oh how I love this face! This picture was taken in July and she doesn't poke her cheeks out like that anymore. It cracks me up though! Just love this girl!

She is so precious and I love being her mom! 

June & July Fun!

 Just to warn you, there's probably going to be an overload of pictures and posts here in the next little bit. Busy days + Justin traveling + Summer fun + Computer cords crashing = No Blogging. So let me show you about what we've been up to! This time in the end of June and July.

The weather was incredible with sunny and warm days and very very little darkness. We took advantage of it. 

Taking a break from running around in the field and woods. 

The 4th of July!! This day was rainy and cold, not like the typical 4th we're used to. We still went to the parade and carnival, had some great food and even saw a couple of fireworks, though it wasn't really dark enough for them. 

Short hair! As most already probably know, I cut my hair! I've been thinking of going short for years but never had the guts and was too attached to my long hair. Well, I cut 10 inches off in March and then another 8 in July and it's now official! I was in mourning for a few days but now I love it!

Bike rides! We have LOVED getting on our bikes, strapping Jocelynn in her trailer and taking to the many paths throughout the parks in the city. They run for miles and miles through beautiful woods or along the coast. Justin has also really gotten into mountain biking along the awesome trails through the woods. 

 

Watching the planes! Lake Hood is the world's largest float plane lake, and it's 5 minutes from our house! There are a ton coming in and out all day and are pretty cool to watch take off and land, especially on a warm, sunny day!

 

Company picnic! I should've taken more pictures because of the fun friends we have who's husbands work with Justin. But it was a great night and Joce got her face painted for the first time! Justin's company merged with BDO in July so this was a picnic with both old and new.  

Walk and Hiking! Biking isn't the only way we've been getting around :) 

Oh Desoto... he's been enjoying the outdoors too whether in our backyard or the woods, which sometimes is close to the same thing if we let him outside the gate. However, he can't go everywhere with us so one of the times we left this is what I saw peeking from the garage...watch out neighbor kids! 

Missing Sunsets. People really are so right when they say the summers in Alaska are incredible. This summer we hit a record for the most consecutive days over 75 degrees, which started late after the record for the longest winter, but we'll take it! I know, 75 degrees isn't all that hot, but it was still GREAT! And with the sun not going down at all or not until the wee hours of the morning, there was a lot to do and no missing out on the beautiful skies and landscapes. These pictures were both taken after midnight from our upstairs window. The tall building you can see is Justin's work. 

 

Birthday! It was my turn for a birthday this month and though Justin was traveling that week I was blessed with no shortage of love from family and friends. 

 Justin home! It's the busy season so Justin has been traveling a bunch, but when he is home he doesn't miss a beat in getting into the fun of it all. These are Jocelynn's sunglasses haha! 

Picture overload! I know we're already way past picture overload, but I have so many that I want to share and have for keepsakes so bare with me! 

Fun at Home! These pictures I just thought were so cute and funny. While we've had a bunch of fun outside doing all sorts of things, some of the best times are also playing around at home. 

 

 

 

All By Herself

The other night I gave Jocelynn some oranges to eat while I had my dinner. I looked up after a minute to see this...

Well now! She apparently can reach farther than I thought and discovered some food nearby while I wasn't looking. 

And she loved it!

So since she was already such a mess I gave her some pasta that I was having for dinner

And she loved that too!

This was the first meal she'd eaten all by herself and it shows! 

But what an accomplishment! Our baby's all grown up and feeding herself!