In the life...

I finally got all the pictures off my camera...long story they almost didn't make it. Thank goodness for smart family who can fix computer problems from miles and miles away! :) So this is just a random post of pictures so consider yourselves warned...

I just thought that this was a cute picture. She rarely smiles for pictures, so I was happy.


I bought this little blow up car for $2 at our grocery store and she loves it, I was so sick of blowing it up that I finally hid it....does that make me a bad mom?


As most of you know Jeff is a BYU football fanatic. So we had to have a family picture in our BYU attire.


I came in the room to check on Morgan during a nap and this is what I found. So cute!


Morgan is just like her daddy. She loves to dip everything in ranch. This is her after she LICKED her plate that had ranch on it. Nice huh...


But who couldn't love this face?


Honestly look at this. Jeff has SOOOOO many hats. After I saw this I told him no more.


I jumped in the shower one day and wrapped Morgan up in a blanket and when I was done this is what I found. She must have been awfully tired because she RARELY and I mean rarely falls asleep unless I put her down in her bed.



Does anyone else hate meal time? She gets SOOO messy that finally I just started taking her shirt off because it wasn't worth the hassle. She is doing a little better now, but my goodness.


Jeff decided to buzz his head. The sad thing is that when he was done he came out and said, "Well?" and I didn't even notice! haha He has now grown it back out again.

My little two year old

I keep meaning to post but somehow life gets away from me. Does that happen to anyone else? Here are pictures from Morgans birthday. We just had my brother and his family over for cake and presents. I think she was just more excited to see them than the cake OR the presents.




I think she was a little confused why everyone was singing to her even though we have been to a lot of birthdays lately.



Enjoying the singing a little more.


She got four princess dresses, a princess tea set, and a goofy doll. I think she was in heaven. (she tore her hair out as fast as she could, while her cousin helped her get dressed up)


Enjoying her tea set. She LOVES it.


My little niece Kennadi was enjoying the tea set as well. So fun, thanks guys for coming over!

Happy Birthday Morgan!!!

Holy sam! I still can't believe it has been two years since Morgan was born! It is so weird, I am sure all of you moms out there have had very similar feelings. It is a bittersweet day. I am sad she isn't our baby anymore, but at the same time it is so fun to be able to really talk to her and interact with her. She is one funny girl...well, most of the time, lately it has been terrible two's and I am not to in love with this stage, I just keep hoping she gets it all out now before baby number two comes...otherwise, I am afraid there will only be two! haha

Well, this post is going to be all about Morgan, more for her sake and mine than for anyone else. I haven't ever written this down, so don't feel obligated to read! :)

When I was pregnant with Morgan I went to the Dr. three weeks before I was due and I was dilated to a three and 80% effaced. The Dr. told me there is no way I would make it to my due date. I was so excited! I went to back to work and told some of my students who worked next to me that they may have to take me to the hospital so be ready. Yeah right. Three weeks later ON my due date I was back at the Drs. office and they had to strip my membranes....OUCH and we scheduled an inducement date. I wasn't too excited about this because I was worried that #1 I knew exactly the day I would have the baby...that is nerve wracking...I think I would rather have a surprise. #2 What if she was supposed to come on a different day. Oh well. I went on a walk every day that week trying to get her out...no luck. So the night before we were supposed to go in I was a mess. I was SO nervous!!! So Jeff being the good husband he is saw the need for me to get some ICE CREAM! mmm We went to Cold Stone, I just remember people asking me when I was due and just freaking out in my head as I said I am going in tomorrow!!!

Well, that night I couldn't sleep very well and not just because I was pregnant! I don't know how you ladies do it who have these things planned!!! I was supposed to call the hospital at 6 to let them know we were coming in and to see if there was enough room. I woke up at 4 with an awful cramp. I hadn't had any the whole time I was pregnant so I was a little nervous, but I tried going back to bed. Three minutes later another.....and so it went for about an hour. I woke Jeff up and told him that I thought I was in labor, he just said no your not we don't go in until 6. Silly boy. So I tried walking around the house...yeah, that didn't help, so I tried taking a hot bath..it helped a little but finally I got Jeff up and said we had to go. I think at this point he was in a little more shock than I was. We got loaded in the car and were on our way! I just kept saying, "what are we doing? What are we doing? We can't do this!!!" haha I was FREAKING out in between contractions that were still coming every three minutes. It was a constant thing from that first contraction and they were painful RIGHT from the beginning. We finally get to the hospital and into our room and sweet Jeff called his brother at 6 in the morning to come give me a blessing and the good brother in law that he is he showed up as fast as he could. At this point I was in my bed, a little more calm and I just looked at Jeff and asked if it was to early for an epidural. I was sure I was going to last much longer than that! (It was 8 so I did last for four hours) I thought I had a higher pain tolerance, oh well, such is life. The epidural was heaven. After that I was just anxious. My goal was to have her by the time Price is Right was on. (We love that show and were planning on going one day but that is a WHOLE other post) At this point my Mom was there and we were all just sitting in my room waiting. My mom was a little annoyed she just kept saying it wasn't fair, she was supposed to be helping me, but all she was doing was reading a book! That is the beauty of epidurals!!! Anyway, she wasn't out by the time the Price is Right was on, but by 12:32 p.m. Morgan Annine Sucher was here! She was 7 Ilbs 14 oz and 20 inches long. I only pushed for about 20 minutes. She had gunk in her lungs so they had to suction her out and we were only able to hold her for a few minutes, then they whisked her away and Jeff went too. I didn't know where they were going at this point I think maybe I was a little too drugged. Overall it was a great pregnancy and good delivery, only eight hours from start to finish. Morgan was very jaundiced so we were able to take her home but the next day she had to go back to the hospital and stay another night under the lights. This is not very fun for a new emotional mother...not my favorite day but we are just glad she is healthy now. After she was born the Dr. said she was one of the most feisty babies he had delivered. She is still a feisty one!

*She can sing her ABC's and a few other songs. She likes to play her piano and sing twinkle twinkle little star.

*She can count to 15 then after that she makes it to 20 with a few mistakes.

*She can tell me most of the letters of her alphabet.

*Jeff affectionately refers to her as the parrot. She likes to repeat everything we say, and vice versa, we have to repeat what she says or else she keeps saying it until we do. (My favorite is when she calls Jeff 'hun'.)

*She tries to do handstands with her Daddy which end up turning into a somersault.

*She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

*She is very good about saying please and thank you. She even says bless you and excuse me after sneezing.

She is such a blessing in our family and we are so grateful for her. Happy birthday Morgan, we love you!

Happenings...

Well, this is just going to be a random post of things that have happened lately. I was just going to put Morgan in a princess outfit for Halloween but then my Sister-in-law said I should have her be Minnie Mouse since Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is currently her favorite thing. I thought that it would be fun but I could find a costume I loved....well, there were some but they were like $30, I just think that is crazy to spend on a Halloween costume. SO I got a brilliant idea I would make one. haha, it has been quite the adventure but here is how it has turned out so far, I am pretty darn proud of myself, seeings how I have only made one pattern before...just don't look to close.


My friend Meggin and I went to get ice cream at Dairy Queen this last week...mmm....I got a pumpkin pie blizzard which was SOOO yummy...anyway, I got Morgan a star kiss thinking it is a kids ice cream and it would be ok....no, not so much. She was a mess, I got her home and cleaned her up and she still looked like this.


Ok, not a great shot but can you see the red and blue on her face and fingers?


Look at those fingers!!! Look at her arm!


I had to hold her arm down to get a picture but look at that! Do not get the star kisses from Dairy Queen....not a good idea.

This is not a very good picture either...our batteries are dead to our good camera, but you get the idea. Gala apples were on sale this week for $.59 a pound and they are my favorite! So I thought I would buy a whole bunch and dry some! So I looked up how to dry them in the oven and they turned out so good! I was excited. I thought Morgan would like them more but I don't think she is to impressed. But it was fun and I felt so domestic, and my house smelled so good.
Good times.


I also cut my hair this week, I didn't change it a whole lot except I cut bangs....they aren't quite what I expected...a little short. I took some pictures but well they didn't turn out so well so maybe I will try and get another shot later. Something for you to look forward to. :)

p.s. We are still looking for baby girl names keep the ideas coming.

Recipes

So I finally found a roll recipe and a cinnamon roll recipe I LOVE. Ok, I have only made the rolls once, BUT they turned out. That is saying a lot for me, I have been trying since we have been married to make a roll that works out and these did and I didn't even use an egg because we were out! I am so impressed, so I am going to share the recipes with you. I also have a sugar cookie recipe that turns out for me....no cookie ever works for me so when I get a picture of those I will post it too.

These are supposedly the Golden Corral Rolls but I didn't think they were THAT good, here is where I got the recipe: http://www.recipegoldmine.com/ccg/golden-corral-rolls.html


ROLLS

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup scalding hot milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp melted butter or margarine, for brushing rolls

Sprinkle the yeast over very warm water in a large bowl. (Very warm water should feel comfortably warm when dropped on wrist.) Stir until yeast dissolves.

Add sugar, the 1/4 cup butter or margarine and salt to hot milk and stir until the sugar dissolves and butter or margarine is melted. Cool mixture to 105 to 115 degrees F.

Add milk mixture to yeast, then beat in egg. Beat in 4 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. Use some of the remaining 1/2 cup of the flour to dust a pastry cloth. I didn't use a pastry cloth I just kneaded it for a long time so it wasn't sticky.

Knead the dough lightly for 5 minutes, working in the remaining flour (use it for flouring the pastry cloth and your hands).

Place dough in a warm buttered bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and knead 4 to 5 minutes on a lightly floured pastry cloth. Dough will be sticky, but use as little flour as possible for flouring your hands and the pastry cloth, otherwise the rolls will not be as feathery light as they should be.

Pinch off small chunks of dough and shape into round rolls about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inches in diameter. Place in neat rows, not quite touching, in a well-buttered 13- x 9- x 2-inch pan.

Cover rolls and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter or margarine, then bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees F) 18 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Serve warm with plenty of butter.

This recipe yields about 2 dozen rolls.
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This is where I got the cinnamon roll recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/76864


CINNAMON ROLLS

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast (2.5 tsp)
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour

FILLING

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened

ICING

• 8 tablespoons margarine
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.

Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well.

Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.

Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.

It should be approx 1/4 thick.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.

Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.

Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.

Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.

Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.

When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

So domestic

For the last month or two I feel like I have been very domestic. :) (Ok, when I say domestic I am by no means a Martha, but maybe more like the lady that walks Martha's dog...maybe) I think am starting to realize the free time I have now is quickly coming to a close. Anyway, here are a few things I have done lately:

Jeff has been wanting a BYU fleece blanket for a long time now. So when he was in Utah he went ahead and bought some, I finally took the hint and put it together.

I was so proud of this stich. I had a friend teach it to me a couple of years ago but hadn't tried it out since. So I thought it would be perfect to sew the two pieces of fleece together.

I made this tutu for Morgan a while ago but I just think it is so fun I had to post it.

These are the hair clips we made with Jeff's Aunt Melissa when we were in Utah, isn't it so cute!!! I wish I had a better picture but I couldn't get Morgan to sit still.

So, I made this skirt a while ago with high hopes because my friend made one and it was so cute! It is ok, not my favorite but such is life. :)

I bought this flannel when I was thinking I might be having a boy, but alas it will have to wait a few years....that or I have it posted on my Etsy shop. I LOVE it though and hopefully I can find more of this baseball flannel one day.

Jeff's sweet Grandma taught me how to crochet around the edge of flannel blankets and I think it is so fun! I think I received four of these kind of blankets for Morgan and I used them ALL the time. So when I watch t.v. I will pull out one of these blankets to work on so I don't feel like I am just wasting time.

I bought a bunch of these crocheted headbands online and have had lots of fun putting them together. I also put these on my Etsy shop...just because I would have WAY to many if I kept them all!

Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

Sunday was a very important day in our house. It was Jeff's 30th birthday!!! I am SURE he is going to love that I posted his age!!! I was hoping to do something really fun for this big day but plans didn't really work out for what I had in mind (I will just have to do that for another big day) but I think overall it was a good weekend.

Friday Jeff and I went to dinner...by ourselves! That was a first in a long time. It was so nice, we went to Macaroni Grill and got two appetizers so by the time we needed to order our entree we were already stuffed so we decided to split one, but by the time it got there we asked for it to be boxed. We did order a slice of their amazing lemon cake to go as well!!! mmm What a good night! Too bad Morgan cried almost the whole time she was as the baby sitters :( Sorry guys!

Saturday we were pretty much bums all day. I decided to give Jeff his gift early so he could decide if it is what he really wanted. Here are some pictures of him opening his gift, see if you can tell if he liked it:

Fake smile. I think he was worried because lets be honest he is the hardest guy to shop for so my last few presents to him have been pretty lame.

Hmm, what could it be...

All right! Another printer! Wahoo!!! I love his fake expression here.

Look at him, he looks giddy like a school boy!

Theres a real smile!

I think I did a good job, considering I am totally anti xbox. :)

I figured for the next few years he is going to be to busy to use it much. He starts his online MBA on Thursday, plus work, plus his calling, plus time with us....maybe it will give him an hour a week. :) haha

On Sunday we had some friends and family over to celebrate the real birthday with cake. I was so busy getting everything ready that I totally forgot to take pictures :( Our house was CROWDED, but it was lots of fun to get together with everyone. I made his favorite cake:

Ok, this is one I made a while ago, and instead of doing a double layer I did it on a sheet cake so we could feed everyone, otherwise I would have had to have made a few of these. This is what it is supposed to look like, much prettier than on a sheet cake.

Anyway, Morgan and I would just like to give a shout out to the best Husband/Father out there and let him know how much we appreciate all that he does for us!!! We LOVE YOU!!!