The Thing About Snow.

It's snowing. Finally. Maybe I'm in the minority, maybe not... but regardless - I am so happy it's snowing!

My relationship with snow and winter is a little hard to understand. While I may not be the biggest fan of long winters, bad driving conditions, inversions, and freezing temperatures - that doesn't really mean I don't like winter, snow, or cold conditions.

Confused yet?

Basically it comes down to snow. There is something very... romantic? beautiful? nostalgic? ... maybe just more easily put as magical about Winter time and snow. When those big fluffly flakes start to float down from the sky I can't help but be excited and calm all at the same time. I mean think about it - snow is perfect for an excuse to stay inside, bundled, warm, and just relax and do nothing (or blog). It is also a great excuse to get out in the cold and be a little kid again.

This year especially I've been excited for our first real snow more then ever because of Rose. She is in love with all things "snow". Snowflakes, snowmen, etc. This morning was a perfect example - even though we just had a small dusting of snow on our deck Rose still looked out in wonder and amazement. She then quickly ran up to me shouting "Bucket! Outside!" and wouldn't stop asking until we finally gave her a bucket and shovel, put on her hat and coat, and let her explore outside.

I am in love with her adventurous and fun spirit and can't wait for us to have a real snow fall so I can show her how fun playing in the snow really can be.

And because of the magicalness that is snow it somehow always can put me in the perfect spirit for Christmas. I still can't believe that it's basically mid-December already and Christmas is just around the corner. Rose has already made this season so much more fun and I can't wait for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with her. :)

I'm not really sure where this blog was going or if it has made any sense... but in anycase I hope this snowy day finds you safe and warm inside - or outside, playing and having fun - whichever you prefer. :)

In other un-snow related news:

- Rosealynn is getting so big. I seriously feel like there are days she looks so old and it really hits me that she isn't a baby anymore. I have a toddler. That is complete craziness to me. I love her more and more every day.

Love how long her hair is getting, love that face, lover her smile. Love everything about her.

- I'm officially 31 weeks pregnant. I can't believe how close we are getting to having this second little girl. I still can't believe we are having our second child. I feel so blessed, honored, and sometimes stunned. I mean... some days it seems just like yesterday I was still struggling with our first miscarriage and trying to get pregnant with Rose. Seeing her now so grown-up, and feeling our baby Haevin's hiccups and movements inside my belly is the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for. I really am blessed and can't wait to meet this second baby girl.

Nothing else too exciting is going on in the Goudie household. Just counting down the days to Christmas and then the days to Baby Haevin. We are happy and life is good. :)

Till next time - loves and hugs!

Thanksgiving and December.

I've got quite a few things running through my mind lately... here are a few:

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I feel bad I didn't do a special "I'm Thankful" post... but let's just sum things up by saying I'm so thankful for my life right now. I have a beautiful, loving, and amazing family that is close to expanding again, a wonderful home, a great job that allows me to be home with my beautiful and energetic daughter, and more. I have days where I am stunned with my life... I don't know what I did to be so lucky and loved but I am not complaining. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving with our families and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Rose sitting on her great grandma's chair at my parents. :)

Playing in the leaves at Braedon's parents.

How can you NOT feel joy and love looking at this picture?

And now... I can't believe it's December. I know it's been December for a few days now so I probably should be used to the idea... but I'm not. With that said I couldn't be more excited about the fact that it's December. I love this time of year for all the reasons basically everyone loves this time of year. Beautiful decorations, family time, Christmas, and more. We of course put up all our decorations the day after Thanksgiving. Putting up our decorations this year was a little more work as it included re-organizing our house because we finally finished our basement!

It took us a while but I am so glad it's finally done and to have the extra space. I now have my little office downstairs and am able to watch Rose a bit better while she plays. It makes things a lot more easy and more enjoyable for both of us. Plus I love having all of Roses toys away from our upstairs main room... and Rose loves having her slide inside. She plays on it constantly. All in all it's been a great and much needed change. 

Plus our upstairs now looks so good! It looks like an actual home rather then a place taken over by a two year olds toys... who loves being able to shut the door on all her mess and toys when we are in a rush and don't have time to clean? This mom! I also love having the TV away from the kitchen... it makes meal times a lot more easy and more meaningful as we aren't tempted to turn on a show or let Rose watch a show while eating. 

Once we got the basement all organized and set up we then put up our Christmas decorations and I'm in love. I love putting up decorations. For as long as I can remember every morning the day after Thanksgiving I'd get up and help my mom put up all the decorations in the house while listening to Christmas music. Last year we only got to enjoy our decorations for about a week since we didn't move into the house until December 19th... so this year I was even more excited to put them up and be able to enjoy them for a full month. And the best part? My mom was over (helping finish the electrical for the basement) so she was there putting up decorations with me... just like we used to. I loved it. :)

And take a look at how it all turned out:

Moving the TV and such downstairs left the room feeling a bit TOO empty, so we bought that little couch table and I love it! Also - Rose picked out her stocking and I'm kinda jealous of it.  

Close up of the new table and tree. :)

A shelf to organize all her toys is on the way.

The slide corner. This is where she spends most of her time playing and it's right outside my little office. I love watching her play all day!

Basically we are loving December so far - and Rose is at an age where she is starting to understand that there is something to look forward to and is loving the magic that is Christmas. She get's so excited any time she see's ANYthing Christmasy. Kids really do make holidays so much fun and a lot better. We went to the Festival of Tree's last night and I loved just looking at her eyes taking in all the pretty sights and lights. She has such an amazing spirit about her it makes me even more excited for Christmas. :)

Rose and Cousin Ari at the Festival of Trees

All in all Thanksgiving and the start of December have started out in a great way. I'm glad we are finishing up all these big projects before Haevin comes. This weekend my project is to finish organizing her room so we can enjoy the holidays with out stressing about that in the back of our minds. :)

Speaking of Haevin! She is a MOVER! I'm sure she probably isn't moving more then Rose... but let's just say she makes me very aware of when my abs are sore. Girl likes to push her boundary's! I'm officially 30 weeks tomorrow which seems crazy to me. 

Me at 29 weeks.

Things are going good so far, everything checks out at my appointments, she is growing and so am I (in all the right ways thankfully).  I'm still going to Crossfit and still enjoying it. I for sure have to take an extra rest day here and there but I feel blessed that I am able to still move and exercise at 7 and a half months pregnant. With that said the only downfall of pregnancy right now is of course not sleeping great (but I always figure it's good prep for time with a newborn) annnnd my ribs are officially popping out basically on a daily basis - just like they did with Rose. They started popping out a lot sooner in my pregnancy with Rose though so I'm glad I made it this far without having to deal with that pain. I am also glad for chiropractic medicine that helps pop those suckers back into place now and again so I can get some relief from the pain. All in all I'm getting pretty excited and anxious to meet this adorable little girl. :)

Life is good. I know this month will fly by with all the family time, parties, and the like... I just hope that January flies by as well. Cause let's face it... no one really loves January. 

And now to leave you with a few random pictures of Rose. Cause I can. :)

To bad her head is huge. Love you Rose and your huge head. ;) 

Love her smiles. :)

Love her!

Love and Hugs all! :)

All About Rosealynn

For some reason I'm feeling all sorts of nostalgic today. Maybe it's the cold and flurries outside, maybe it's the coming of the holidays, or maybe it's this sweet baby girl kicking inside of me making me think of Rose's younger years... Whatever the reason I am so scared I will forget this special little moments that are happening hear and now with Rose, and since my journal writing is basically non-existent, blogging is as close as I can get to documenting them.

So be prepared for a bunch of stories about Rose that probably wont seem to you nearly as cute and endearing as they are to me.

- Rose and her blanket. I think if I let her, Rose would be just like Linus from Charlie Brown. She absolutely loves her blanket. Well technically blankets. She has two in particular, one is her big one we got on her first Disney Land trip that we always put on her while she sleeps, the other is a small baby blanket with a little owl on it. She will always ask to have one of her blankets go with her when we leave the house, but I don't ever let her because I get scared she will be that 4 year old that shows up to kindergarten with blanket in tow and get made fun of by the other kids. I do let her take them around the house though and it's pretty adorable how excited she gets when she finds them right where she left them. It's like coming home to a friend and she will rub it against her cheek going "Awwwww. My Bay-ket. It's waaaaaarm". It makes me want to appreciate the little things in life more.

Blanket #1.

Blanket #2. :)

- Rose and Sharing. You guys. I will be the first to say that Rose totally blows at the whole sharing thing. Everyone says it's just the age she is at, but man it can be frustrating. With that said... just recently she seems to be getting better. At least with her cousin Ari! The other day they both wanted to play with the same toy and Rose was being... Rose... until I asked her if she could let Ari have a turn. Then amazingly with out a fuss she handed the toy to Ari and from then on out they played with the toy together. She's learning. #proudmommoment.

Ari and Rose playing together. :)

- Rose Saying "Thank You". Rose has actually always been pretty good at saying thank you. Sometimes she would need a reminder of "what do you say?" but saying 'thank you' hasn't ever been a big problem for us. Lately she is getting better and better and not just saying 'thank you' but she'll add in the name of who ever she is saying thank you to: "Thank you mommy!" or "Thank you papa!" and I don't know why this little change makes my heart swell so much, but it does. She says it with such love and for any tiny little thing from giving her some food or helping her pick up a toy. It's adorable.

- Rose and Hide and Seek. Braedon taught Rose the game of hide and seek and Rose is hooked. She this it is so fun to hide or walking around looking for the person hiding. When she is the seeker she will keep saying "Geeetchoooo" (Get you) and it's adorable. Sometimes she likes to play "scary" hide and seek and will put her cute little hands up by her face like she is getting ready to tickle someone. When she hides she will quietly go "Psssssst" because I did it once to help her find me when she couldn't. Then of course when you do find her she giggles like crazy. It's fun to see her learn the rules and cover her eyes to count.

Hiding under the kitchen table.

- Rose Bossing Spook Around. Rose is already showing signs of being an "older sister". She fully takes on the responsibility to disacpline and tell Spook what he should and shouldn't do. When we are getting ready to leave the house I'll have her put her toys away... to her this means Spooks toys need to be put away. Sometimes when you try to put Spooks toys away he thinks you are playing and will run after you and take it out of the bucket as soon as you put it in. This drives Rose absolutely bonkers as she is trying to clean up. She will end up telling him something along these lines: "Spook! No! Stay. No toys. Put it away. Stop. Stay, stay, stay." and I just sit back and watch because it's pretty entertaining.

Telling Spook he needs to go outside and go potty.

Trying to take his toys and put them away.

- Rose and her OCD. I feel like I have no one to blame but myself for the little outburts of OCD Rose shows. She likes to line things up nice and perfect. Every single little toy has to be put away before we leave the house. Every single door has to be shut and shut all the way. If you have a door that gets stuck a little and doesn't shut flush she will sit and push on that thing grunting away until someone else comes and helps her close it. If water or something spills on her tray in her high chair she will sit there trying to wipe it up with her hands or demand someone cleans it up before eating another bite. Sometimes I just can't help but laugh as she get's frustrated over the littlest thing.

Lining up her rocks on my leg.

- Rose's Attitude. You guys. We are in trouble. Rose has so much sass and 'tude' at two years old that I can't even imagine what she'll be like when she is a teenager. Her personality is very black and white. She is so so sweet, easy to get along with, loving, giving hugs and kisses like no ones business... and then it's like you flip a switch and girl turns full diva. She even showed Braedon her hand in full "talk to the hand" fashion while yelling "No. Daddy." She has these little scowls that totally just mean "don't mess with me" without saying a word. The scrunched eyebrows, the puckered lips, the roll of the eyes. She's already got it down packed. Most of the time it just makes us laugh as this tiny little person tries to show off such a huge big personality. Other times it can be quite exhausting and frustrating. Let's just say we have the whole "let's count to 10" deal down packed as sometimes given a good tantrum that is the only thing that will calm her down. Yay numbers.

Uhhh mom. No pictures at church. Duh.

So not amused of me taking a picture of her meatball face.

- Rose's Love. On the opposite of the above I have never met a kid so loving. She constantly will ask for hugs and kisses or just give a hug or kiss without warning. She will sit next to you, hold your hand, or lean her head against you and just go "awwwwww". She loves people and loves showing her love for them. When I stressed with work or cleaning the house or who knows what her little voice will usually chime in with a "Mommy! Mommy!" until I finally say "what Rosie?" and then I almost always get a "Love you mommy." followed by a hug. It's like she can feel others stress and knows just what will help it calm down.  I need to take from her example and show love to others more.

Always smiling.

Loves to snuggle

:)

I can't get enough of her smiles. :)

Giving daddy hugs.

- Rose and Talking. She obviously can say just about anything she wants to at this point but what gets me are the phrases she picks up. Her latest one is "I'll be right back", obviously I must say this a lot to her through out the day because now if she wants to go get a toy or run upstairs for her blanket she will look at my seriously and say "I'll be right back mommy" and then takes off. It's sort of scary how much she picks up and really reminds me that I need to be careful with what I say around her because who knows what she will repeat to others.

- Rose and Nightly Prayer. Our nightly prayers started out with Braedon or I saying the prayer while the other tried to keep Rose quite. One night I decided to see if she wanted to say the prayer instead. I asked her and she immediately closed her eyes and said "Hevly Fader (Heavely Father)". So I continued to help her say her own little prayer all the way to the end. It was adorable so now most nights we take turns helping her say the nightly prayer. I'm not gonna lie. Most nights prayers are a bit of a stretch for us. Rose doesn't like folding her arms and instead does the whole "shove your face into the pillow or ground with your butt in the air"... she also has the attention span of a fly which can be interesting to deal with, but every once in a while she will surprise us and completely take over the prayer. This usually happens when we are saying what we are grateful for... she will pause then go "hmmmm thank you mommy, hmmmmm thank you daddy, hmm thank you spook-dog", etc etc. Some nights we will go quite some time just listening to her say what she is thankful for and it is pretty amazing to see what makes the list. For example some of the latest things she is thankful for have included: blankets (of course), kitties, lights, bones, boats, grandma, grandpa, ponies, fishies, new bed, and eyebrows. Her kind little heart is constantly surprising me and I can't believe how much I'm already learning from her.

I know there are other things I have never documented that I have already forgotten... but hopefully this will help me remember all the special times I get to share with my beautiful daughter. I am constantly feeling blessed and amazed that I am a mother and soon to be mother of two.

Life is pretty good folks. :)

Loves and hugs.

Loving October!

You guys. I love October. It's a great month. I'm a bit sad that it's almost over.

This Fall has been a great Fall in my opinion. A good mixture of warm and cool days, rain and sun, beautiful leaves changing colors, sigh. I love it.

We have been having a lot of fun this past month! Let's take a look at some of the recent Fall activities of the Goudie clan:

- Oktoberfest. Our lovely friend Katie (I mean she has to be lovely with a name like that, right?) invited us up to enjoy Oktoberfest for her Birthday. Braedon and I decided to splurge, get Grandma Lori to watch Rose basically all day, buy a day pass, and enjoy a lovely day date. It was a beautiful Fall day to spend up at Snowbird with the beautiful mountains. We enjoyed the atmosphere, some brats and some sweet potato fries, great company, alpine slides, trams, hiking, and more. It really was a great day and we ended it with some yummy dinner before we picked up Rose. It was nice to not be chasing a 2 year old around for awhile, but I was happy to pick her up at the end of it. Yes I am one of those moms that sits and texts the sitter and get's excited to see her little one after being away for some time. :)

Getting ready for the new mountain coaster.

At the top of the Tram.

Brats. Mmmmm.

Alpine slide.

Love him more and more every day.

- Cornbelly's. Last year when we knew we were moving to Lehi and gonna be neighbors with Thanksgiving Point, we jumped on a special for season passes to Cornbelly's for this year. I'm glad we did as it's been fun to be able to go over for as long or as short as we like and have some fun. Rose tends to get a bit hesitant when there are huge crowds, but once we get going she has a lot of fun! She loves the slides and the cornbox the most. We've been lucky enough to have friends and family come a long a few times with us too!

Slides!

Rose loves having Ari come and play!

She loves this slide. She covers her mouth with her hands like she is scared and then ends up laughing and asking for more.

Injury waiting to happen. ;)

:)

Cornbox with Savanna and Ari!

Cow train!

Such a cheeser.

I love her so much. :)

Cow train with daddy!

These two. :)

- St. George. Last weekend Braedon's family invited us along to go to St. George with them. They were bringing the boat and gonna camp for the weekend. While excited for the idea of a St. George trip I was a bit hesitant to camp with a freshly potty trained 2 year old and a growing pregnant belly. Basically I played the pregnancy card... and Lori was nice enough to phone and friend to see if they'd let us stay at their house and they did! It was a great and relaxing trip filled with boating, hiking, relaxing, and fun times with family. Rose loves going on the boat and all week before we left just kept asking me about Papa and his boat. I've decided that one day I will be rich and own a winter home right at the base of Snow Canyon. So beautiful. The trip was great... besides possibly breaking my toe on a hike (only I can find the one rock in the middle of a flat path).

This girl took the long drive like a champ. Made it to Beaver before a potty break, and didn't need any potty break on the way home!

This is how we do road trips. ;)

Couldn't pass up the chance to get in the water when we arrived. 

Best bathing suit ever. ;)

The lake was beautiful and majority of the time we only had to share it with one or two other boats!

Seriously look at this smile... she loves water!

Pulling a "King of the World" moment and a "Marilyn Monroe" moment at the same time.

Love these two. :)

Rose is into "scarying" people with her cute little hands up like this.

Snuggles.

Fun times at a Park waiting to meet up with the rest of the party.

Hike in Snow Canyon. 

The toe.

Sunset. :)

Last boat day. 

So beautiful.

Braedon attempting a 360 on the knee board!

Rose likes to scare people. :)

- Misc Items. Besides big events we have been able to go to other fun stuff that doesn't really deserve their own bullet points. For example: We went to the Gardens to feed the fish, enjoyed time in the yard playing with Spook, put up Halloween decorations, and more:

Girl struggles with poop sometimes and a weekend of potty training sorta backed her up. Poor thing. Don't worry we are all good now. :)

She passed out with her butt in the air. So sad.

Anytime it's even a bit windy Rose pats her head and states "Hat" and then you have to wear a hat too.

She saw her life jacket in the garage and ran to use saying she needed to put her jacket on because it was cold.

So excited for Halloween! She loves to wear my witches hat. :)

Her smiles are getting pretty cheesey.

She loves to ride on his shoulders.

Feeding the fish at the Gardens.

:)

She loves the fishies.

Love all the changing leaves!

In other non-Fall related news we officially have a potty trained two year old. Rose took potty training like a champ and understood what was going on from the first day, and even better she was physically ready this time and is able to hold it when needed! We have, of course, had some accidents but they are getting farther and father between. I'm happy I wont have to do two different diapers at the same time. :)

Annnd of course as Rose is able to go longer and longer with out potty visits, I seem to be able to go less and less time between visits. But besides that pregnancy is treating me well! I'll be 24 weeks along in just a couple of days (since the Doctor decided not to change my date because I was only measuring 9 days ahead rather then 10... womp womp) which seems really odd to me. I feel like just yesterday I was only 10 months pregnant. In other happy baby news, we officially have selected the name for this little girl and will be calling her Haevin! As soon as we heard the name we fell in love with it and it feels perfect for this little girl.

All in all life is good and this past month has been really good to us! Hoping Fall sticks around and lingers a loooooong time. :)

Love and hugs.