Family Time

Last week, I went to Arizona with the kids to spend a week with my family and for an extended family Girl's Retreat in St. George. We had great time. We spent two days at my parents cabin enjoying the cool weather, roasting marshmallows and shooting. Natalie was the life of the party with all the friends that came. Above is Natalie and Curtis wearing their protective head gear while we used the shotguns. Notice Curtis all ready to go in his camo sweats.


Then my mom, Curtis and I spent the weekend with her sisters and their daughters for a Girl's Retreat in St. George. We had a great time talking, crafting, eating and shopping. I loved seeing my sisters and catching up with everyone. I already can't wait for next year.

What You Do Daddy?

Last week Natalie checked out a book called "Machines At Work" by Byron Barton. It's about knocking down a building with big machines and building a new one. We have read it to her several times and now she has started to ask questions about Jon's work. Each morning she gets up and asks, "What you do Daddy?" He replies, "I work on the computer and go to meetings." With a somewhat dejected look on her face she says, "oh." We think she wishes he drove a dump truck, wore a hard hat, and carried a lunch box to work everyday. I guess computers and meetings are not very exciting to a two-year old.

Chatter Box

Forget Matt Lauer and Chris Cuomo- we have our our own in-house talk show every morning. Curtis loves to exercise his voice every morning after he eats breakfast. It's like he's telling us what he wants to do for the day and how his night was .There is nothing better to wake up to than a chatty baby.

Two Months

Last week we reached the two month mark for Curtis. Things are starting to normalize and get back into a routine. I forgot how much fun it is to have a new little baby at home. They are so cute and fun and cuddly. Curtis loves to smile and is a very content baby. He is still well-loved by Natalie as she is very attentive to his need for lots of hugs and kisses. We love our little buddy and the fun moments he brings to our family.

I'm Hiding

The other night for Family Night, Natalie wanted to play Hide-and-Seek for our game. Usually Jon or I will hide with her, but this time we decided to let Natalie hide on her own. She thought she was so sneaky to hide behind the clear shower curtain. She would peek around the side to see if we were coming, not knowing we could see her through the curtain. We had to snap a picture to remember the moment. I think she can hide on her own anytime.

It's Over

After a few weeks of fighting it, I think I am finally realizing that Natalie no longer wants to take naps. No matter what I say or how I bribe her, thirty minutes after I put her down, she comes back to me saying she "woke up". The down side is that I lose my time to do things like read blogs, read a book, or do something by myself. The upside is an early bedtime for her because she can get pretty grouchy by dinner sometimes. I guess my dream of two sleeping children at the same time was only that- a dream.

Breakfast at the Park

Natalie loves to go to the new "rocket park" by our house, so we decided to endulge her and make a morning of it. For breakfast, we picked up some chocolate milk and donuts on the way. We had a great time and went early enough we even beat the heat.

The Best Part of My Day

"Mommy, I love you very much," said Natalie as we sat down to read stories.

Family Time

We were in Utah last weekend for a few family events. On Saturday, Jon's sister Haley was married in the Provo Temple. She was a beautiful bride and Natalie and her cousins loved the party. It was fun to see family we hadn't seen in a while and wish Todd and Haley the best.

Then on Sunday, we blessed Curtis at his parent's home. We were surrounded by family on both sides. It was a wonderful day to have so much support from family and Jon gave a beautiful blessing.

We always miss being in Utah and love it when we are there. Of course we made the annual pilgrimage back to BYU for memories and some Creamery ice cream. Natalie's favorite part of the trip was seeing her cousins and jumping on the trampoline with Grandpa and Grandma. We can't wait to get back again for more family time together.

All Smiles

It's hard to believe Curtis will be one month tomorrow. The time has gone so fast. Curtis is such a great baby and Natalie is a good big sister. He is definitely gaining weight and is getting close to sleeping through the night. He has started smiling more often when we talk to him and will follow our faces when we move. I am so excited to go to Utah next week for my sister-in-law's wedding and for Curtis' blessing. I will post more pictures when we get back.

Proud Big Sister

Baby Boy Curtis Amundson Has Arrived!

We are excited to announce our new arrival! Curtis Jon Amundson was born, today, June 26th at 7:35 a.m., weighing 8 lbs 2 oz, and stretching 20 1/4 inches long. He made his entry into this world in record time. Sarah was admitted to the hospital at 7:00 a.m. and he was in our arms by 7:35 a.m. No time for epidurals, but mom did just fine. Just for the record, Sarah emphatically stated she won't be trying the drug-free method again.

Waiting...

Today is supposed to be the big day, but I am still at home waiting. I am ready for this baby to be born. The house is clean, laundry done and my bags are packed, so where is the baby? Tomorrow I have another doctor's appointment and I intentionally set it after I was due in hopes I wouldn't have to go, but I have waited for 40 weeks, so I guess a few days more won't hurt. We'll keep you updated and let everyone know when the baby comes.

Summer Harvest

I found some great deals last week on summer fruit, so we spent the weekend making raspberry and peach melba jam. It was delicious! There is nothing like homemade freezer jam. On Sunday, we added some homemade bread and nearly ate an entire loaf and a small container of jam it was so good. I love summer!

Fun Website

I recently found this website called Make and Takes. It has some fun crafty, kid-friendly ideas as well as recipes and more. I love seeing what is posted every day. With summer coming and kids being home, there are some fun activities to keep them entertained and learning all summer.

Dreaming

A few weeks ago, my car was hit on the freeway by a flying windshield from a glass company truck. We were okay, just a little startled, but the car wasn't in great shape. Last week I took it in to get repaired and this 2008 Toyota Tundra was all they had available for a rental. When I told Jon this was the only car they had, he was in heaven. I even told the guy at the rental place to not worry about putting the car seat in correctly because I would be trading the truck with my husband anyways. I let Jon drive the truck because of my paranoia of driving new vehicles and because I felt like I was overtaking the road when I drove. I know he loved every minute of it. Maybe this truck will become a reality someday. But for now, we will only dream and enjoy the ride for a while.

My Husband's Music

Some of you may have noticed the addition of music when you read the few and far between posts to my blog. What happens when it's late at night, your husband can't sleep and knows the password to your blog? He adds a playlist with some of his personal favorites like 'Your Personal Penguin', 'La Barca' and an Anne Murray song. Oh, and don't forget 'Popcorn Popping'. Don't worry, I have added a few, but if a song comes up you wonder about, remember it was really late at night when this was created.

Murder, Mystery and Dinner for One Low Price

For my birthday, Sarah gave me tickets to see a Lone Star Murder Mystery at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. We had a great time. The food was marvelous and the actors were fantastic. For all of you who live in the DFW area and are looking for a fun adult's night out, I highly recommend it. The only negative to the night was our lack of crime sleuthing abilities. Neither of us guessed the right character that was guilty of murder.

Conversation

Last night Natalie was in her bed talking when she should of been sleeping. This is the conversation Jon had with her when he told her to be quiet.

Jon: Natalie, it's time to stop talking and go to bed.

Natalie: Not talking, Moomoos talking. (her stuffed cow)

Jon: Well, what is Moomoos saying?

Natalie: Yes, no, yes, no (she is holding him up to look like he is talking)

Jon: Well, you tell him to be quiet because it's time to go to bed.

Worth 1000 Words

Melon colored shirt: 5.00

Princess Shirt: free from hand-me-downs

Maori Skirt: 6.00

Jeans: 8.00

Taking 20 minutes to find the perfect outfit to color with chalk on the balcony for 5 minutes: priceless

I'm a Big Girl Now

We have success! After more than one attempt, and a few weeks of giving it our all, Natalie is successfully potty-trained. She is learning to go by herself, and is very proud of her accomplishment. Here she is with her sticker chart. She loves to see all the stickers accumulate on her chart. Hooray Natalie! We are so proud of you.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

Of course we all know the last two minutes of a basketball game are the most exciting and this game was no exception. I thought the Jayhawks were going to lose their chance at the national championship, but with some missed free throws by Memphis and an amazing three point shot with ten seconds left in the game, KU tied the score and took the game into overtime. They rallied together and won the game75-68. It was an exciting moment in basketball. Classes are canceled today and we wish we could be there to participate in the celebration. Go Jayhawks!

Easter Weekend

The Easter Bunny did make it to our house last weekend, just after Natalie woke up. I think he was running a little behind. Natalie was so excited about the candy that she dove right in without a second glance at anything else in her basket. Peeps were definitely her favorite as she had two half-eaten ones in one hand and a third filling her mouth within 10 seconds. She looked so cute in her Easter dress and curls. maybe next year the Easter Bunny will be on time!

"Daddy?"

About a week ago, Natalie learned how to climb out of her crib. It is great because she gets up in the morning from her naps when she is ready. Jon and I were saying that we didn't think Natalie would climb out in the middle of the night because it was dark and she wouldn't be very sure of her self. That very night about 2am, Jon woke up to this little face and voice, "Daddy? Daddy?" It was a little startling to see her standing there at his bedside. Now we have a visitor who joins us a few nights a week between 2-6am. The bed gets a little crowded sometimes with sideways sleeping and extra stuffed guests, but there's nothing like a little snuggler.

Stealthy

Maybe being pregnant for 24 weeks is the magic number for me. In the last two weeks I have had more than five people come up to me and say they never knew I was pregnant nor did I ever look pregnant before this time. They are shocked when I tell them we are due in June. What? That soon? A few have even said my face is finally starting to fill out and finally attained the 'pregnancy glow'. I certainly feel pregnant and think I look pregnant. Jon says I am just a stealthy pregnant lady. I pop out when you least expect it. So here's to being pregnant on the sly for a long time.

Are You Sure This is Texas?

It has snowed twice this week and we are expecting snow again tomorrow. Snow in March is something I never expected in Texas, but is fun change for spring. The news said the last time it snowed in March was in the early 1900's, so we are definitely taking it in. Natalie loves standing outside to watch the snow fall and through the window once we are sufficiently cold. We love the snow, but are ready for some warmer weather.

Party Central

This month has been quite a party at our house between two birthdays, Valentines, a trip to the zoo and a visit to Arizona, we haven't sat still.

At the beginning of the month it was my birthday. I had a great day with going out to dinner with Jon and yummy Sprinkles cupcakes.

The following week was Natalie's birthday. With her birthday so close to Valentines, we started the day with our playgroups Valentine's Day party. We had a great time handing out Valentine's , listening to a cute book and decorating cookies. I made a caterpillar cake for Natalie's cake and it turned out pretty cute. She loved all the different colors. She was showered with spring clothes and doll house accessories from grandparents and a new tricycle from us. As soon as she opened the tricycle, she tore off her pajamas and hopped right on. I guess riding a tricycle requires no clothes.

As part of Natalie's birthday, we took her to the Fort Worth Zoo. We heard from several people you have to visit the zoo before you leave Texas. We loved it. It was the perfect day with few families and beautiful weather. All the animals were out and eating. Even the lion gave us quite a show with his roaring you could hear throughout the park. Our favorite part was the monkeys and how close all the animals were. I felt like you could almost reach out and touch the animals.

Finally, this last week Natalie and I took a trip to Arizona. My grandpa passed away on Valentines and we went to the funeral. I loved seeing all of my cousins again and catching up since we haven't seen each other for a long time. It was also a lot of fun to spend time with all my siblings. Natalie's favorite place was definitely the trampoline and would beg anyone available to jump with her.

Hopefully this next month will calm down a little, but it has been a fun and busy time for our family.

Bobble-Head Dancing

Natalie loves listening to music and will usually clap to the beat when she hears music. The other night at dinner, we had some music playing and she started head bobbing her head to the music. It is something she picked up on her own and was so funny to see.

Full of Surprises

We had our ultrasound today and found out we are having a BOY. Yes, Natalie is having a brother. We were both shocked and absolutely excited. Both of our parents are thrilled as well. It still seems a little unreal that we will have a boy. I guess I should start buying Hot Wheels and trucks to even out the dolls and purses. Our other exciting news from the sonographer is that she said he will be tall. Jon and I are not tall so anything that brings a little height will be great. We are now off to buy some blue!

Attention All Scrapbookers

When you sit down to scrapbook, are you stumped for a layout idea or a new way to show your pictures? A friend introduced me to this great site called Page Maps. It is a great place for a bunch of layout ideas. Each month there is a new set of layouts with examples. You can also search the archives for past ideas and she has some great card layouts too. It has given me a lot of inspiration and relieved my stumped brain sometimes.

Reaching a Milestone

As many of you know, I am an avid reader. A little over four years ago, I started keeping a journal of every book I read. I would briefly write down what the book was about, my thoughts and impressions of the book and sometimes favorite parts or quotes. Last month I reached a milestone. I read my 100th book. This averages out to around 25 books a year. I couldn't believe it! It has been a lot of fun to look back on all that I have read, many I have enjoyed and some not so much. Below are a few of my favorites. I look forward to another four years of reading enjoyment and adventures from my couch.

• My Antonia by Willa Cather
• Stolen Lives: 20 Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir
• Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
• The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
• No Doubt About It by Sheri Dew
• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
• The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
• Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh
• Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
• Two from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes
• Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks
• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
  

New Addition

I have added a new addition to the sidebar of my blog. We are already looking forward to the summer. Natalie will be a great big sister!

Happy New Year!

We had a great New Year's Eve in Texas with several friends from the ward. We played games, ate tons of food and completed the night tooting horns and throwing confetti. Our friends just moved to a new house and had no TV service yet, so we did our own celebrating at midnight with a soccer ball creatively decorated with tin foil hung from the second floor. It worked out perfect and brought the year in with a bang.

Our Christmas Holiday

We had a great Christmas in Utah with Jon's family. Every night there was a family function or party going on. We loved being together with family again. Jon and I took his parents to a great concert in Salt Lake by Paul Cardall based on Richard Paul Evan's book The Christmas Box. It was an incredible concert. Natalie especially loved spending time with her cousins, Jentrie and Avree. She couldn't wait for them to come over each day and play or get into mishchief. I see some trouble brewing in the future when these girls are a little older. Natalie loved Christmas morning. After opening 5 presents, she was ready to call it quits and play with everything she got. Her favorite has been her doll house, cow flashlight, and Little People school bus.

We were lucky to see it snow every day we were in Utah. I forget how much I miss seeing it snow when we only get it one day a year. Unfortunately, Natalie is not a big snow fan and is glad to be in sunny Texas. Every time we would take her in the snow, she would complain and want her hands wiped off after touching the snow.

We loved spending time with family and already miss them. We can't wait for the next holiday to come so we can see them again.

Santiago Klar

Today is St. Lucia Day. It is a holiday Jon's family always celebrates and a tradition we have continued with our family. St. Lucia Day is celebrated in many Scandanavian countries that marks the beginning of the Christmas season. Jon's dad served his mission in Norway and Jon's grandpa served in Sweden, so it has become a favorite in the Amundson household. Traditionally, the oldest daughter wears a white dress with a wreath of candles on her head. She wakes her family at dawn bringing saffron buns and singing the St. Lucia song. Lucia means light, and she symbolizes bringing new life in winter. As you can see, I don't get up early to bring my family breakfast in bed, but we celebrated in similar ways. In Jon's family, they get an ornament each year. Jon's mom was in Sweden last March visiting her parents, so we each received a Swedish ornament for our tree. It's a favorite family tradition we look forward to every year.

Best Cookies Ever

Our Relief Society President sent this recipe around a few months back and I can't get enough of these cookies. They are so yummy! I have probably made them four or five times in the last few months. My favorite part is the tangy lemon icing. Enjoy!

Lemon Iced Sugar Cookies

2 1/4c flour
1t baking powder
1/2t salt
1/4t baking soda

8T butter (1 stick)
1 1/2c sugar
1 large egg
1t vanilla
1/4c sour cream or whole milk plain yogurt

Oven to 350. Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, 2-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well to combine. With mixer on low, add half flour mixture, followed by sour cream, then remaining flour mixture. Mix just until smooth.

Drop medium to large size scoops of dough on cookie sheet and bake until edges of cookies are just firm and slightly brown, about 12 minutes, or longer for larger cookies.
** These cookies are great by themselves, or sprinkled with sugar before baking, or rolled in cinnamon-sugar before baking...but the icing makes them downright delicious


Lemon Icing

2T melted butter
Juice of half a lemon (I usually use a little more)
1-2T whole milk
lemon zest to taste
1/2t vanilla
sifted powdered sugar to desired consistency

Whisk together and adjust amounts to taste. Cookies can be frosted slightly warm. Once frosted and set, then can be frozen and are awesome eaten right out of the freezer!

Bringing in the Holidays

We started off our holiday season with the annual City of Allen Christmas Tree Lighting. We had a great time watching the performers and helping count down the tree lighting. Our favorite part was the fireworks. There was quite a display and Natalie was enthraled. The next morning, Jon participated in the Rudolph Run. He did great! Natalie and I were there to see him start and finish the race. Jon is finishing the race in the red hat. Now we are ready for decorating, shopping and fun for December.

Thanksgiving Vacation Through My Eyes (Guest Post by Jon)

How to Have Fun on Thanksgiving Vacation

• Ultimate Frisbee
• Golf
• Pie
  
• Visiting Family
  
• Temple Christmas Lights
• Raquetball
• Toone Turkey Trot Fun Run
• More Pie
  
• Ping Pong
• Thanksgiving Dinner
• MMM, Pie
• Hot Tubbing
• BYU Football
• Flag Football
• Dodgeball
  
• Did I mention pie?
  

Hooray!

My new blog design is back. I got this design from Matie Kay Creations and she designs them herself. There are only a few because she does the html on her own, but I'm sure more will be coming. I love feeling festive for the holidays.

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween this year. We carved a pumpkin for Natalie and she loved looking at the candle inside more than helping or taking a picture. On Halloween Day, we made the rounds at each of our work's then headed off to our playgroup Halloween party. There was so many fun activities and we had a great time. We went trick-or-treating with some friends and Natalie got quite the candy haul. She loved going to each house and looking at the candy in her bag since we wouldn't let her eat it until she got home. It's perfect this year because Natalie likes eating all the Smarties and suckers which leaves the good stuff for us. We are already looking forward to Halloween next year.

For Stephenie Meyer Fans

I found this quiz about which Twilight character you were from a friend of mine. I was Esme. It said, "Your maternal instinct to take care of people and be kind draw people towards you. You're compassionate and loving, yet firm when you need to be. You appreciate hard work and value the beautiful results of your dedication to any project." Which Twilight character are you?

Pumpkin Patch

Last week our playgroup went to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time. At this patch, you feed some animals, go on a hayride, then pick your pumpkin out in the field. Natalie wasn't shy or scared about feeding the animals.It was a lot of fun to watch her feed them and she enjoyed it herself. Natalie's favorite was picking out her pumpkin. She would go from pumpkin to pumpkin and carry it until she found a different one she liked. We had a great time together and look forward to carving our pumpkin we picked.

Bummed

I am totally bummed about my blogging template. I found a cute one through my friend Nora. Then last week I read that she had to stop using the templates for copyright reasons. I am back to my old template, but still looking for a new one.

Book Club is Back!

After several months of no book club, it is back again. Hopefully it will last this time. This month we read "The Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale. I really enjoyed it. Of course the ending is predictable, but I didn't really think about the end result, so it was exciting the whole way through. I liked how the author stayed true to the original Grimm's Brother tale, but expanded on it. Next month we are reading "North To the Orient" by Anne Lindbergh. It is about her and Charles travels to Japan and China in the early 1930's. I am excited to read the next book.

Winter Breakfast

With winter coming, I thought I would share a new favorite hot breakfast of ours. Last week I bought this new Simple Harvest oatmeal. It is a multi-grain cereal made with oats, wheat and barley. I was a little hesitant at first, but it's really quite good. It comes in yummy flavors too, like Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans, Apple Cinnamon and Vanilla Honey with Almonds. It filled us up and I almost like it better than other instant oatmeal.