Way TOO Long...

It makes me laugh coming on to my blog. I wonder if anyone even comes here anymore??

No, I'm not pregnant still. We welcomed Cy (the munchkin in my belly in the post below) over a year ago. A few things have changed since then. A lot is still the same. Maybe it's time to update. Just for journaling sake. Poor Cy is going to have no documentation of his life...and I have the worst memory. :)

Well until I get my act together and do a little update. Here's a picture of our darling growing family (taken by my amazing mom) for your viewing pleasure:

Oh and I've decided to start updating my recipe blog again...just so I had one "go to" place for all of our favorite recipes. There's a tab up above that will take you there, if you want something delicious to cook/bake. :)

Until next time,

me - the perma-pregnant woman

This picture was taken just shy of 34 weeks.

I’ve been crunching a lot of numbers in my head during this pregnancy. For instance, it took us 34 months to finally get pregnant with Harper. And since getting pregnant with Harper, I’ve been pregnant for 26 out of 38 months. That means out of 3 years and 2 months, I’ve only NOT been pregnant for 1 year of that total. Holy Moly Batman! The good thing is I really do LOVE being pregnant. Watching my body change and feeling the baby…it’s all just so miraculous.

I’m now 35 weeks. I’m almost to the “any time is go time” stage. Now that freaks me out a little. Not because I’m afraid of labor. I really do love that part as well. Mostly because I’m wondering how in my sleep deprived state I’m going to simultaneously manage a constantly nursing newborn and a curious/mischievous 1 year old {along with all of the other responsibilities I have}. I’m not overly worried about Harper. She’s so independent and a great helper. But I keep going back to faith and trusting that the Lord will help me.

I really am excited to have my 3 little munchkins to snuggle and love and raise. My children are my pride and joy. Although we have moments of craziness around here {weird, right?}, they are always a shining example and reminder to me of the things that matter most with their sweet innocence. And thankfully I have an amazingly helpful supportive husband.

I’m just hoping my incessant desire to be pregnant again isn’t quite so strong after this baby. It MIGHT be time for a short break for this old body of mine…

Ray’s 1st Birthday

On Sunday, we celebrated Ray’s birthday with all of our nearby family. It was the first time officially having people over at our new house so it was super fun…and exhausting :).  It’s so hard to believe that Ray is already 1. Time really goes way too quickly these days.

Our menu for the bday party consisted of bbq beef sandwiches with a variety of Sweet Baby Ray’s bbq sauce {of course!}, coleslaw, chips, fruit with fruit dip, and chocolate sheet cake with ice cream. I’m not going to lie, it was all very tasty. We’ve been thoroughly enjoying the leftovers this week!

Ray was stone face and wasn’t quite sure about us singing Happy Birthday to him.

But after sticking a burning candle in his face for a minute…he became very interested in sticking his hand in the fire. Harper tried to help him blow it out; however, I think I ended up being the successful one :).

It really didn’t take him long to make a ginormous mess with his cake. He must’ve liked it…

Harper was our big helper when it came time for gifts. Ray really wasn’t all that interested so it was mostly Harper and I opening them. Boys!

Grandma took some time to read the kids Ray’s new book. I just love this picture.

And I especially love this picture…

And these, of course…

Happy Birthday Ray Ray!

Duke

Do you remember this post from almost 2 years ago?

Well check this out…

That, my friends, is the same horse. He has come a long way and Ryan has done a great job with him.

I’m not going to lie…I was a little bit nervous when Ry brought Duke home the other day to let Harper ride him. I kept having flashbacks of him bucking and charging through the corral. But he did great! Harper and Daddy are the only ones who have ridden Duke. I’d say that’s pretty special :).

General Conference Weekend

We tried to make General Conference a fun weekend for the kiddos. I want to make it a tradition of doing fun things so it’s something they look forward to twice a year. I was a little slow in the preparations however, so we slapped this together really fast and saved the fun for Sunday {although we did listen to the Saturday sessions}. 

Sunday morning we had a yummy breakfast of omelets and cinnamon rolls while listening to The Spoken Word. Harper and Daddy also made a fort which they hung out in most of the day. Harper thought it was great. Ray wasn’t so sure about it however. I also put together a little word recognition activity. Every time Harper heard ‘scriptures’, ‘family’ or ‘temple’ she got a corresponding treat. She enjoyed listening to the Prophet and recognizing him on TV. I mostly enjoyed going to church in my pj’s…not gonna lie :)

Honestly though I love conference. It’s such a rejuvenating weekend for me. I love hearing of the growth of the church and listening to the inspired messages from our church leaders.

The Haircut

Monday April 15 - Ray got a haircut.

It was bittersweet. He has the cutest little curls. However it was starting to get really long. Long as in he would’ve looked really sweet if we put a cute little flower in his hair. And you never really want it to get to that point with your son. So we bit the bullet.

BEFORE {so sweet}:

 

DURING {so MAD}:

AFTER {a snotty, tearful, hairy mess}:

We didn’t plan on cutting it all so short. We started to do the top a little longer but this screaming wiggling mess of a child made it a little difficult. So we decided one length would be less painful for all of us.

THE HAIR {he had so much!}:

 

And after he had finally calmed down and thought it was all over, I started vacuuming his hairy ape looking back.

Poor kid. I think he’s probably traumatized from haircuts for the rest of his life.

But he looks so cute. And more mischievous…

Easter 2013

On Saturday, we enjoyed Easter festivities with all of the Bedke clan again. Harper loved dyeing Easter eggs this year. I think Ray just wanted to eat them…

The Xtreme Easter Egg Hunt was a hit as always. Harper did a little hunting with her cousin Jaden. She held his hand and walked around with him for a while. I don’t know how impressed Jaden was but Harper was sure loving being best buds. :)

Ray hung out with {or attacked} Grandpa most of the time. He loved being outside and watching all of the crazy egg hunting action.

 

A little snapshot with Grandpa, Grandma & Great Grandma.

Speak no evil; See no evil. Harper just looked at this picture and said “Harper and Daddy being silly”. That’s a good description!

Sunday morning the kids woke up to a little treat from the Easter Bunny and eggs hidden around the living room. Ray grabbed one and then sat with daddy and ate its contents. Harper happily filled her basket up with the rest of them.

After church, I had choir practice so Ryan thoughtfully tried to take a picture of the kids in all of their Easter cuteness {I had completely forgotten!} These were the 5 pictures he got:

Awesome, right?!? They pretty much tell a story. When I looked at them it reminded me of Harper’s pictures from last year’s Easter:

Do you notice a trend? I’m thinking I have a grumpy Easter girl on my hands. We need to remedy this…next year!

In an attempt to get one last cute shot of the kiddos, I tried to take a picture of them in their new shirts from the Easter Bunny.

Not quite what I was hoping for. Harper needed more than 30 min. to get over her Easter grumps I guess. And it’s a little blurry because Ray would not sit still. But hey, they’re still adorable!

HAPPY EASTER!

us.

{written 3.22.13}

Ryan is still busy being a cowboy. I’m pretty sure the best part of his job {for me at least} is that he runs around looking sexy in his cowboy hat and wranglers. He has been working hard feeding cattle and doing other little projects at the ranch all winter. It’s about this time of year however, that he is very ready to not be loading and feeding around 300 75lb bales of hay everyday. He is very eager for green grass so the cattle can be pushed out to graze for the summer. He is also very excited to start this year’s garden. It’s a bonus for me that he loves to do it and knows so much about it. Ryan was recently put in as the Teacher’s Quorum Advisor in YM. He is enjoying getting to know the boys.

 

 

I have been busy taking care of 2 adorable children, growing a 3rd in my innards, taking care of the hubby, cooking 3 meals a day, cleaning when I feel like it and napping here and there. Also, throw in a few meetings, activities, projects and visits due to my calling as Second Counselor in Relief Society {seriously, who knew I could ever have a calling like that? Not me!}. Not to mention the going back and forth to the ranch a couple times a week {which is very tiresome}. Needless to say, things are always exciting around here. Maybe that’s why my blogging activity has decreased so substantially? ;)

 

Harper is our little entertainer. She sings and dances and plays the piano. She is constantly talking and telling stories. She has an astounding memory. There are several landmarks on the way to the ranch and she knows what they are and who’s cattle are who’s. She learned it faster than I did!  She loves to go to work with daddy to feed bulls/horses on the tractor, check cows on the 4wheeler, or any other little thing she can help him with. She loves to bake/cook and often says “let’s make something”. Just this week, she started telling us when she needed to go potty {with no prodding from us}. And she’s had only a couple of accidents all week. She can say prayers all by herself and knows several primary songs. Harper is such a sweet bundle of energy {and a little drama queen} and is always keeping us on our toes. She is one amazing little girl and we are so lucky to be her parents!

 

Ray is our happy little guy. He always has a smile on his face {except for when he’s caught being naughty}. He is very ticklish and has the cutest laugh. He can wave hi/bye and crawl up on the couch. He loves his baths and loves to dance when he hears music {which consists of rocking back and forth or a little head banging}. He took his first steps at almost 10 months and just this week has started using walking as his primary mode of transportation {although he’s still a little unsteady}. Funny story about his first steps -

Feb 20 - I was standing by the stove and Ray was holding onto me. Harper was near our bedroom door pushing her stroller toward Ray and then backing up. I had to move so I peeled Ray’s hand off my leg. He stood there for a minute and then started walking toward Harper as she was backing up with her stroller. After he fell, she ran him over. It was pretty funny. I sent this text to Ry and grandparents “Ray just took his first 4 steps to Harper. Altho I dunno if he’ll ever try it again cuz when he fell Harper ran him over with her stroller. :)”

Ray loves to rearrange the dining room chairs at the ranch. He’s a mischievous little stinker tho. He constantly gravitates to things he knows he can’t have/do and then gets such a sad pouty face {or straight up bawls} when you tell him no or take it away. He loves to play rough. You always have to be on guard when you’re holding him because you never know when he’ll bite, pinch, scratch or head butt you. He thinks he’s being playful…ya, not so much.  But he is such a joy to have around and is always making us smile! We love our Ray Ray!

the love month

We kicked off the month of February with a little birthday celebration. No I did not turn 7, 8 or 17…they were just the only candles at the ranch. When you don’t bring up everything you need, you make do with what you have. Daddy and Harper made this delicious pineapple upside down cake complete with cherries. It was scrumptious!

And I may or may not have hung out in my pajamas all day at the ranch. Think what you want! ;)

For a little birthday/valentine’s day celebration, Ryan and I took a little romantic getaway to Twin Falls (yes, it’s only an hour away – don’t judge!) It was the first time I had ever been away from Harper for a night minus when I had Ray. It was so hard to leave the kids but such a much needed break for both Ryan and I. We went to the temple, ate sushi, went shopping and went to the Alex Boye concert. We stopped at Deseret Book to pick up a couple things after the temple and happened to run into Mr.Boye. Who knew! It was so random. We had a great time and are so grateful for everyone who made it possible!

We kicked off Valentine’s Day with heart-shaped pancakes. Yes, we are very festive around here. Daddy bought Harper and Mommy Valentine’s treats. Harper loved hers, if you can’t tell…

Harper finger painted for the first time. She did about 3 pictures and wanted to keep going. She loved it and was remarkably clean by the end!

In a 12 hr period, we busted Ray reading a book (which he was very pleased with himself over), playing hitler (compliments of his first oreo), and practicing being a cowboy (foreshadowing the near future?!?). Not to mention his wildly long, flowy hair.

And Ray may or may not have spent this day in his pajamas. Let’s be honest here – would you ever get dressed if you lived in a secluded place and never left your house or saw anybody besides your family?

No?!? That’s what I thought!!

Hope your love month was filled with as much awesomeness as ours!