Desoto

While spring has been on its way here our other "child" has been having some Alaska experiences as well as our precious babe. Now I have to be honest, sometimes I've really needed to take a deep breath before I get mad at him, but for the most part we've had a great spring and I love having him around.

Watching the geese and enjoying the sun in the backyard 

My attempt to get him to wipe his feet...yep, you read that right.  With practically white carpet and a muddy backyard I've ended up with more paw prints on the carpet than I prefer, like any are preferable. Notice his paws aren't all ON the rug...it's a work in progress but he's getting the hang of it in his own way.

He also has to sit on the rug until his paws are dry, so he's getting good at the "stay" command. I'm such an ornery mom. :) 

Walks through all the great parks up here are a must! With and without friends Jocelynn, Desoto and I (and sometimes Justin) have hit the paths. He loves it as always and is quickly making friends, though they may be complete opposites. 

Every day around 4:45ish Desoto takes his position by the window waiting for his best friend to get off work. I have no idea how he knows what time it is, but I do know he's one smart dog! It makes me feel so bad when Justin doesn't get home right after 5!

Sleeping next to his favorite person.  Desoto takes the opportunity to cuddle anytime Justin lays on the floor. If only we let him sleep in our bed, ha!

Pure Joy

After a pretty long day for Joce and I she gave me a moment of pure joy, because she was experiencing it herself. (Realize that what happened in this video was all her and no prompts from me).  To those moments when we crack ourselves up or find something that make us so happy that we can't help but giggle...

I had to post the video on Facebook because it was too big to load on here, so check it out here.  

(If you get this in an email then I guess the videos don't work very well. Either check out the video directly on my facebook page or go to my blog and click on the link. smitty2hay.blogspot.com )

The Breakup

What is referred to as "The Breakup" here in Alaska is the process with the snow melting and everything drying up. It has its own name because it can be such a big deal when everything turns into a huge lake/marsh. But, here we are it's Cinco de Mayo! And today it was 52 degrees!  haha, I know that sounds silly, but that's doing good for us and we went without jackets! 

Anyway, we've been trying to stay busy and keep ourselves sane while we're waiting for the ground to thaw and in the process we've been doing whatever to keep ourselves busy.

On Kids Day we went to the Alaska Air Museum and had a nice taste of the history of flight up here, which is a big deal since there are still many areas you can only get to by plane. 

Joce has been growing and getting stronger and stronger. She's also been needing to do better with naps and sleeping longer through the nights (for all of our sakes). During one of our "sleep training" days where she didn't want to sleep I left her sitting up in her crib and found her like this....hahahaha!  I fixed her, don't worry, but had to laugh and not before I took this picture, of course. 

Bundling up to go on one of our walks with Desoto. 

One day we planned to go on a walk but didn't have a leash so basked in the sunshine from the backyard.  

We have made some great friends up here, who all have kids as well. Jocelynn has been around them for a while now but until lately hasn't really shown much interest in them. Now she's fascinated by them and getting so excited to be around them. Our little girl is growing up!

 

This is probably one of my favorite times of the day...snuggling, playing and laughing in the morning.  

First time in a high chair! All she wanted to do was eat the edge of the table :) 

Hanging out in the sunshine! She hasn't really known the warmth of the sun from outside her whole life, but we're getting there! 

While hanging out the other night one of our friends had the idea of re-creating the Rugrats scene...remember that show?! The kids didn't really know what to do with it at first but had a lot of fun in there after a little bit. Maybe they were on to something...nah, they're too much fun outside the cage :)

 

Jocelynn's first swimming experience outside the bathtub was in our friend's hot tub after the kids were "Rugrats."  She just laid back, floated and kicked her feet. She loved it and looked so cute in her swimsuit too! We'll definitely be swimming more often!

Life is good!

Loving 6 Months

Jocelynn joined our little family 6 months ago! It's crazy how fast time is flying and at the same time it feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital. I'm sure I'll say that in 20 years too (:

She's our little sweetheart and I want to remember everything about her right at this moment.

How her smiles melt my heart.

How her piercing eyes are always watching and ready to give you a smile at the first chance she gets.

How peacefully she sleeps

How she loves to laugh and squeal

And eat

How she holds my face in her hands anytime I hold her and snuggling her in the morning. 

How I love being her Mom.

This relationship...and how her feet constantly move and/or rub together when she's hanging out or going to sleep, just like her Dad.

How she has no fear, even with a giant dog in the house and how we make them be friends.

How excited she is to see me in the morning, no matter how we both slept.

How she shrieks and kicks her legs so hard when she's excited, with or without anyone around.

 Her chipmunk cheeks...LOVE them

 

 How she's starting to "cheese" when the camera is on her

Sorry if that's picture overload, but I just can't get enough of our sweet little one. We are so blessed and are quite the little happy family.

It's Over!!

Two feet WAY way up for making it through tax season!!

Now, it's okay to cry a little because it was so rough, especially this year. 

But as soon as you get that out go and eat something, whatever makes you happy :)

Remember that we love you!!

Inside fun

Since the weather has been snowing or clear and freezing all week we've had fun inside. 

Jocelynn tried some new foods and though plain rice cereal is her favorite, she tried peas and prunes this week too. Check out that smile during those prunes! Can't say that'd be me. 

Desoto has been pretty scared of Joce and has tried to avoid her at all costs this past week. So this is what we did to break the barrier. He wasn't much a fan of it but he's been better since.

I love this naked baby and with the cold weather we don't get to see those chubby legs often enough. This day we played in her room and I just laughed at this. She's such a big girl!

She's always played with her feet but became obsessed with eating her toes this week. I guess her hands and food wasn't enough!

This little one just makes my day with every smile. She's into cheesy smiles right now practically every time you smile or come near her. A lot of the time those cheesy grins have her tongue as well. 

It's hard to escape those piercing eyes that seem to never miss a thing.  

We're still hoping for spring to come soon but we're still enjoying life with the weather we do have!

Grateful

I got my hair cut the other day and my conversation with the man cutting my hair left me thinking. Long story short, the conversation left me grateful for my life, my husband and child, my beliefs, the beautiful place I live, my life experiences and spiritual as well as vocational training. Life gets you down sometimes, if you let it, and it can be really easy to focus on the negative. But if you open your eyes you can easily find things to be grateful for, just look.

I'm grateful for...
The sun! Even if I need to sit in a car or by a window to feel its warmth.
Cooking! And secretly glory in my ability to cook halfway decent food for my husband every night since, for the first time in our marriage I've been home before 6 so i have the time to cook.
Temples! Even though I'm far from home there is still the House of the Lord close and my precious little family is sealed for all eternity.
Alaska Friends! Who, without question, opened their arms and lives to us when we moved here, helping it to feel more like home.
Friends everywhere else! Who, no matter how long between when you see and talk to them, it seems like no time has past.
Crafts! Getting in touch with my crafty side, though I can get in way over my head. Love the outlet it provides.
Missions! That stretch you in ways you never thought possible and open your eyes to who not only others truly are, but yourself and your potential as well.
Homesickness! I know that sounds crazy but I'm grateful that I get homesick because it reminds me of the love of family.
Family! (Didn't see that one coming, did ya?!) Siblings, parents, nieces and now nephew too...I'm grateful for their examples, love, support and passions for life.
Jocelynn! Whose smiles and piercing eyes melt my heart no matter how fussy she's been. Who is growing like crazy but is still her mom's little baby. She makes me feel needed and wanted. Who loves food and laughing but spends a lot of time observing as well, nothing gets by her and her hands are getting quick enough to grab what she wants too. She is my comic relief a lot of the time too, keeping me young.
Justin! Who understands me on every level, pulls me out of my shell, makes me laugh and feel like there's no one else in the world. Who takes presiding over our home in righteousness seriously, adores our child and takes care of both of us without a question. Who gets up while the rest of the house sleeps and goes to work. I can't say enough about what I am grateful for when it comes to this man of mine.
New beginnings! Whether it be spring, moving, marriage, babies, friends, tv shows, hobbies or whatever, new things are good and are the best when they change you to be a better you.
The Son! Who understands, empathises and provides opportunities for me to repent, grow stronger, feel comforted, overcome weaknesses and be eternal. Who knows and loves me and who went through the unimaginable so that I don't have to. I'm grateful to be fighting, personally and with my family, to be on his side every day.