Sprained by Pumpkin!

Well, last night Kris and I carved pumpkins! There is nothing more fun than carving pumpkins, it's so great. While we were carving them, we uh, kind of got into a pumpkin gut fight. I don't really know who won, but I'm still peeling pumpkin guts off of the wall :) And finding seeds too. When we went to pick out our pumpkins, we went to a cute little place across the street from wal-mart. Some independent little pumpkin place with rides and cotton candy. So, we were trying to find out how much the pumpkins were. . . 12$ ! I couldn't believe how expensive they were! Whatever! I was not about to pay 12$ for a pumpkin that wasn't gi-normous! So. . . we went to Food-4-Less and paid 3$ each for 2 pumpkins, that's a little more my style :)

And as for the title? I think I sprained my wrist carving pumpkins. I guess I must have been carving a little to vigorously! That night my right wrist was a little sore and the next morning it looked slightly swollen, so I wrapped it up and I think it's healing now.

I put Marin in bed last night at 6:30, she was soooo fussy, all day long she was being a real pill, she ddn't want to take a bottle for her dad, just being a pill. I put her to bed and she fussed for an hour and then made intermittent noises for another half an hour before she finally drifted off. She was crazy tired. Kris actually made dinner lst night! I love it when my hunny cooks for me. He made spaghetti, garlic bread and peas. Such a good guy!

I tried making homemade chocolate pudding last night, and I took the recipe from a chocolate cookbook Kris got for me last year, from the Sharfen-berger chocolate makers, very swanky recipes. This is probably the 4th recipe I've tried from the book, and it didn't turn out. It was more like really thick chocolate milk than pudding. It's too bad because I try a lot of recipes, and 98% of them turn out great, but none have turned out well from this swanky cookbook. Strange.

Picture time!

I was browsing through some photos and thought I'd post a couple. This one is from our honeymoon. We were in the Bahamas for this pic, in a limo on our way to Paradise Island, the HUGE hotel on the island. Good times! We both had a little color in our cheeks, and look healthy :)



This one is just a few days before Kris and I got married, I was doing a few dishes before I headed off to work. Look how skinny I used to be! Working on it. I have about 16 more pounds until I'm almost as skinny as this pic.

This is a spooky picture of our pumpkins all lit up last night. Mine is on the left, Kris's is on the right.

A daylight pic. Marin's pumpkin is in the front.

The aftermath of our pumpkin gut fight last night. You can't really see just how gross we were, but we were gross. We needed to hop in the shower after we took this pic.

We put Marin in her little scooter thingy yesterday, even though her feet don't touch the floor. She was totally reaching for that little toy in the front. Soon she'll be abl to grab at it!

So much to look at!

Studying. . . Studying. . . Studying!

And, hopefully this loaded, this is a video I shot of Marin this afternoon. She was making noises, and I caught some on the camera. Enjoy! Ok, well, it didn't load, I'll try agan later :)

Another trip!

My goodness, time flies! I'm not sure where I left off! Friday Kris and I left for Zion's National Park, we got there around 5 or so and had a hard time finding a campsite! The place was booked! Well, amost, we found one large enough to hold three tents, but it was by the road. Ugh. Ahh well. We set up our tent and got a fire going and waited for the rest of the family to arrive. They got to the site around 8:00 and we set up the whole she-bang, we practically had a kitchen right outside, it was great! We sat around and chatted for a while, and Kris's dad Duane brought a heater for our tent, so baby wouldn't get cold, so we took that in our tent before we went to bed. I think the heater was having some trouble, it would go out after about 4 hours, which also happened to be the coldest part of the night, and it was COLD! I think it got into the 30's! Brrr! Poor little Marin was just not used to the chilly weather. We pulled her into bed with us both nights because she was getting chilly. She was a little fussy on the trip, but I think it was the weather. On Saturday we went on a little hike through one of the canyons, it was sooo pretty. Then that night we had some chicken and dutch oven potatos (Oh, My, Goodness. DELICIOUS) and sat around the campfire with a guitar and sang songs and chatted and laughed. GREAT Therapy. Sunday we went through a ghost town in grafton Utah before we came home. Wonderful trip, but today yielded a lot smokey laundry to be done.

Marin is going to bed earlier, and I think she is enjoying it, or rather, she does not enjoy staying up late. She gets crazy fussy if it's getting too late, and she doesn't hear the sound of running water. Tonight was a little rough, but the little sweetie sleeps.

Here is the link to the pictures on the site, enjoy!


http://picasaweb.google.com/Ahtnamas33/ZionsCamping#

Picasa Web Albums - Samantha

Picasa Web Albums - Marin Lyman. If you want to see a bunch of pics from the Bellagio's Atrium, click on the the above title and then choose "baby1". Those are the pics, there were just too many to post.

So, Kris and Marin and I went to the Ballagio the other night for some gelato the other night, and to check out the atrium there. They change it every few months or so, with the seasons, and it was their autumn display. Just beautiful. If anyone wants to come and visit us, we'll show you all the sights! And you can stay in our spare bedroom!

We went to the doctors today for Marin's 2 month well visit. I can't belive how fast she is growing, I know I say it every time, but it just makes me so sad! Anyway, she is growing up! Measuring 23 inches (birth:20") and 11lbs 6oz (birth:7lbs 4 oz). Her head is in the 95th percentile, that poor child has a very large noggin, but her body is in the 85th percentile, which the doc said is perfect for her noggin size. She's just big I guess, but she couldn't get away from having a melon head, her parents have pretty big heads :) I told the doc I thought she had some yeast-i-ness in her diaper area, and he concurred. She had some circular red splotches that aren't going away with diaper rash cream, so we now have some stuff to kick out that yucky yeast! Poor girl had 3 shots today! It hurts my heart as a mama to have my baby girl be hurt :( I can poke babies all day long at work, but it's a little different shen it's MY baby. I had given her some tylenol before we left the house this morning, in anticipation, and after her shots she snuggled (didn't want to nurse though) and mama swaddled her and put her in her carseat, she slept for a while.

This Friday and Saturday night, we're going camping! Again! It's ok, because I like to camp! And this time, we'll be with Kris's dad and sister and brother in law. I'm so excited! We're going to Zion's National Park, I've never been there, but Kris tells me it's beautiful. So, I should have some pics for you!

Last night I tried putting Marin to bed a little earlier, just because she was starting to get pretty fussy. I started at 8:00 and gave her a bath and fed her, swaddled her and put her into her own crib (awake) by 8:45. I thought for sure I would be setting myself up for a 45 minute cry before I had to go get her, but she was asleep within 5 minutes! I fed her at 11:30, and she was up to eat at 2:30 and 5:30, but both times, even if she was awake, I would swaddle her and she would go righ back to sleep. We're getting there I think. The earlier bedtime is nice. It will give Kris and I some time together :)

Diapers Away!

Welcome to Monday! It is absolutely CRAZY how quickly the weeks are going by now that I have a baby. She will be 9 weeks on Thursday! UN-believable! My little girl is growing up so fast! I know now why my father used to tell me he was going to put a brick on my head, I'm debating doing the same to Marin, to keep her from growing!

She really is becoming so fun to interact with, cooing and gooing and squeeling with her precious little smiles. Just adorable :) Kris weighed her last week (did I mention this already?) and she weighed 11 pounds 4 ounces. Goodness sakes, sheis getting so big! This wednesday is her doctors appt., so we'll see just how much she weighs and how long she is, I'm pretty excited. I keep thinking her hair is growing, because it looks like it is, but then I look at her head and I'm not sure. Oh well.

Last night was a little frustrating. She did fine after I first put her down at midnight, she slept until almost 5, and then after I fed her, she laid there and tried to poop for a good 2 hours. grunting and grunting and grunting. I kept thinking she was going to wake up, so I just laid there and listened to her grunt for 2 hours. Kris finally took her into the other room and put her in the crib around 7:30, I slept for a little while, and then went to get her. Ahh the joys of mommyhood.

On another note, I only have about 16 more pounds to lose until I am at my "comfortable weight". The weight I am comfortable being at for being a nursing mom, and it's how much I weighed at my first pregnancy checkup at 10 weeks. If I really want to be ambitious, I'll lose an additional 10 pounds after I'm done nursing Marin. One step at a time. But HEY! Progress is progress right? I'm proud of myself though. The stroller walking/jogging at the Y, and the pilates (when I can, which isn't often I might add) and eating good food, it really makes a difference. I feel sooo much better when I'm eating veggies and getting enough to eat. I still have to push myself to eat (I still lose my appetite when I nurse baby), and if I don't feel like eating, I tend to snack on sugary stuff because my body is hungry, but my stomach feels gross, so instead, I got a BIG can of Planter nuts to snack on when I'm needing something to munch on, it has protein and good fats, a good way to fill you up without empty calories.

Today is Kris's Friday. I always like his day's off, I miss him when he goes to work. Speaking of work, It's only a few more weeks until I have to go back to work, the week of the 16th in November. I won't be full time, maybe 1 or 2 das a week, but I'm sad right now thinking about leaving my daughter. It will be good for me though. I have to keep telling myself that!

Here are some fun pics, hope everyone has a good start to their week!

Here is Marin this morning, just about to drift off to sleep for her nap. She is in her bouncy seat, which she really does like. She's a thrill seeker like her daddy, and she likes a good vigorous bounce every so often :)

Last night during dinner in her swing, such a cutie!

Haha! This still makes me laugh. Kris has a habit of doing the "dad-throw" when he puts Marin over his shoulder, I think this one put a little too much pressure on her full belly. She spilled her lunch all over the back of Kris, and you can only see the mess on his shirt! It went all down his shirt, his pantleg and onto the back heel of his shoe, PLUS a big splat all over the kitchen floor! CRAZY! Needless to say, little girl needed a snack after this barf-fest.

Playing under her jungle gym.

A day away :)

Well, not a lot of commotion here at the Lyman house. I've had my stroller class on Tuesday and today, and my pilates class on Wednesday. It's been good. I can see a difference, and Kris looked at me yesterday and said "Honey, your thighs are getting thinner!". Yay! That's great news! He's such a good husband :)

Yesterday we went to Green Valley, it's not like how it sounds, it's just a little shopping area. We looked at some cool three wheeled strollers and went into my all time favorite store, my "candy store", Williams-Sonoma. I cannot express how much I love that store. All the kitchen gadgets and culinary extravaganza. It's a technical feast for the food-making junkies of the world. The cookware just glistens in the light , sitting on the shelf to be admired and lusted after. I know exactly what set I want. The All-Clad stainless steel 27 piece set. No coating on the inside, no nonstick surface, no copper, no bendy handles. I want the plain jane I-know-what-I'm-doing-in-the-kitchen set of cookware. Of course, it's a bit pricey, so no cookware for Samantha any time soon, but a girl can dream :)

We took some pictures in the outside walking area between the shops, it was a beautiful day, here they are!

Well, this one was actually today. I just wanted to show everyone just how much Marin LOVES her carseat. It is her best bud, and they get along JUST GREAT! (are you sensing the sarcasm?)

A little nap on her chaning pad while mama chatted on the phone. And no, we were not on the ground, it was a brick bench.

Standing up, with a little help from mom.

Snuggling with mom.

L:her little feet. I put some shoes on her, they were soooo cute, but she kept kicking them off.

That's it! Have a good one everybody!

Ask me why I'm smiling!

Go ahead, ask me why this mama is smiling! I am smiling, because tonight, my husband is staying downstairs with my pretty little daughter, while mommy gets to sleep. ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Hooray! I am so happy! Lately, I've been freezing all the milk I pump for when I go back to work, and there is quite a bit in the freezer I might add. So I have been hesitant to let Kris stay up with the baby and use the milk, because I want to keep up a good stock in the freezer. But, however, I am quite satisfied with my stockpile, and tonight, Marin gets to hang out with dad :)

Today was good! Kris has today and tomorrow off, so we've been washing my shamefully dirty car. It was pretty gross. I am so embarrassed. Now, however, it is quite clean and shiny, and I don't feel like a trashy person driving around the pretty cars in Vegas, and there are some pretty cars out here.

Not much on the menu for tomorrow. Just hang out. I've been thinking about doing legal nurse consulting, a job you can do from home, so I need to do some research on that before I delve in, so I'll be doing that tomorrow. Maybe I'll hve some pics to post.

Postcard Baby :)

Here is Sunday, again. It's amazing how quickly the weeks go by! Pretty soon I'll have to go back to work! :( Even though it won't be full time, the thought of leaving my little girl is very difficult to swallow. I've only been away from her for a few hours here and there, and she'll spend the day with her papa when I do go back to work, but even still. I miss her when she takes a nap (although that's not to say I don't appreciate the break). I must say, even though I said so last night, the weather is WONDERFUL out here now! I am so happy now! Kris thinks I'm silly. We went to Wal-Mart last night and he was muttering aout how cold it was. I, on the other hand, am happy as a clam to have nice cool breezes and chilly nights. I feel much more at home with the autumn weather here.

Church was nice. Marin was awake for most of it, so I had a hard time paying attention. I see now why parents spend more time studying their scriptures at home (besides setting an example for their kids), they don't get to pay attention in church, no wonder!

Tonight is our friend Josh's birthday, he and his wife had their baby 8 days ago, and we're getting together around 5 tonight. So, when Kris gets done with work, we'll be headed out. I need to mak something to take, not sure what, but I'll think of something.

Not much this week, here are some pics from today, her little outfit is SOOO cute!


This is from last night actually, Marin was hungry and looking for food. Not much on daddy's chest though!

And the cat, she was trying to get the camera strap while I was taking the picture.

L:Marin standing up with her dress on

Below: I tried propping her up on a pillow, but she kind of flopped to one side. She stands up great though! And supports her head too!

L:This on is my favorite. Her hat on and a cute little smirk on her face, she really is such a doll!

Below: A full shot of her outfit, and a smile too!

My day? Ask me later.

Today has been, well, long. I think it started last night. I let her sleep a little too late, just because I was enjoying havaing a quiet evening with my husband (that never happens anymore), and so I had a little trouble getting her to sleep. We went to bed at midnight (with some diffculty as I said) and she woke up at 3:45, 5,6, and 7:30 AM. The day started off with 2 sleepy girls. Marin usually takes a nice long nap in the morning, around 3 hours, so I can get stuff done. Not today. She ate and fell asleep on me, but only for 20 minutes, right arond the time I needed to get ready and dressed. She cried the whole time I got ready and I fed her, and she stayed awake. I put her in her bouncy chair and bounced her and she slept for 15 minutes, so we tried the swing with no luck. I fed her again and ate something myself while she bounced (awake). Then she just couldn't be consoled. Just an irritated, bored cry. I put her in the jeep carrier, and we went for a walk. It was beautiful outside by the way, in the upper 60's and windy, so Marin needed to snuggle into me to keep her little face warm. We walked around our little housing complex 4 times, about a mile or so total, and she slept, until I put my key in the lock to get into the house. Awake ALL day long. I'm tired.

So, we are keeping her awake now, soon to get into the shower. Tomorrow I'm going out to look for a cheap halloween costume for Marin. I want her to be a little pea! A sweet pea of course!

Ok, baby is crying and SUPER ready for bed. Here are some pics from this morning, isn't she getting SOOOO big?! I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Sore muscles

So, Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a stroller class at the YMCA Kris and I have memberships at. It's nice because it's a class that Marin comes with me to work out (well, she stays in the stroller), and I can get a workout! I think I had mentioned that it's actually qute rigorous, and Tuesday was no exception. We went through a park that has a little ampitheater with a hill people can sit on and very steep paths on either side. We did a few rounds around on the hill, then quite a few lunges and plie (like the ballerina, but I can't make the little accent with my computer, it sounds like plee-yay, you know what I mean!) squats, and regular squats, then worked out with some exercise bands with our arms. Oh-my-gosh. I woke up yesterday SOOOOO sore, my legs were wobbly, I couldn't bend down halfway, or I would collapse! What a great workout! I love that sore feeling, knowing my muscles are strong, and my jiggly fat is going away. I seem to be having a hard time getting past this little weight plateau, yuck. Marin seems to be getting chubbier though, so that means at least some of my fat is going away right?

Not much on the menu today. Maybe a nap for me if Marin will permit, we'll see. and I HAVE to clean up the bedroom, it's a nightmare. It's the one place no one else see's, so it's last on the list to clean, and by the time I get done with the kitchen, the living room and downstairs, the bathrooms and carpets, I'm tired! I don't want to clean anymore! But, tonight, I going to make dinner for my friend Jody and her husband Josh, they had their baby on Saturday, so I figured that dinner would be nice. Not sure what I'll make, but cooking is always a fun distraction for me anyway.

Marin is napping, so I need to do a few crunches on this still flabby belly and steal a quick shower to rinse off the sweat from this morning's workout. Have a good Thursday, and smile, for us at least, tomorrow is payday! Yay!

A camping we will. . . went!

Ok, camping. We actually went last night instead of the night before, and it was. . . an experience? I guess? We ended up leaving the house yesterday around 4, and went to Valley of Fire state park, up north about 45 minutes. A wonderful drive once we got off the freeway. The road was curvy and went all over the place, up and down, very reminiscent of what my family calls the "whee road" in NY. Our campsite was tucked away in it's own little open face cave almost. Very cool rock formations on 3 sides (mostly chosen so that other campsites wouldn't be able to hear a crying baby as much).

We set up our tent and had tin foil dinners. I was soooo excited for them, and they were wonderful! I ate almost my whole dinner! Not usual for me now that I have lost my appetite thanks to, having a baby I think, I still don't know. But anyway, VERY tasty. Then we made s'mores. Yay! I love s'mores, and haven't had them in so long. I only had 3, but I felt sick afterwards, I think it was just too much food.

And how did Marin do, you ask? Well, OK, maybe. We went to bed early, and I listened to her grunt, all. . . night. . . long. She is a noisy sleeper anyway, but myabe i was just ultra sensitive being in a tent, because I didn't get much sleep. Then she started waking up every hour, and then at 4 am, I finally layed her (crying) on Kris and rolled over. The dutiful guy he is took her into the car to sleep so mama could get some sleep. Then he made breakfast! Pancakes and eggs :)

Camping was great, but I think we need to wait until Marin isn't so high maintenance. Ok, so LOTS of pics for you. I know some people like looking at rocks, so here you go!:


Oh, this is a scary hole up in the way back
of our campsite. Something lives in there
I think, ready to chew off one of your
body parts.



This morning Marin taking a quick snooze
on daddy's shoulder:)

Left: This has become on of Marin's favorite spots to hang out, belly down on mama's left arm.

Below: A birds eye view of our little campsite.

Left: Kris standing waaay up on the rocks in our campsite, where I took the above picture from.

Below: The back of our campsite. These rocks were CRAZY funky, all hole-y and cool.

The above pic, I think the very top rock looks like a dinosaur head!

This is the campsite across from ours. luckily empty, because Marin did some crying.

This is the last one! I think that's plenty of rock pictures for a few months at least, right?

Away we go?

Today is Monday, and it's Kris's Friday, so, last night I was just thinking to myself that we should go camping or something like that. And this morning, before Kris left for work, he actually suggested that we go camping. It's so funny how much Kris and I are on the same wavelength. So, I think today I'll look up someplace to go and pack some stuff so we can get out of here by the time Kris gets home. Everytime Kris and I go camping, we always make tin foil dinners. I LOVE tin foil dinners! Ever since I made them at girls camp waaaay back when, I just love getting any opportunity to make them (which is camping). If you've never made them, you have to try them, and the only way to make them is in an open fire. Some people claim you can make them in the oven, but they just aren't the same. They don't have that smokey flavor. Anyway, here's what you do:

Tin Foil Dinners:
You need: Ground Beef
Carrots
Potato or 2
Onion slices
Package of Lipton Onion soup mix (dry stuff)
a little sliver of butter
a tablespoon of water

To Do: Make a patty out of the ground beef (or balls if you wish!)
Top with some onion slices (they need to be in the middle so they don't burn)
Put your potato and carrot chunks on top
Sprinkle on the soup mix, place butter on and pour in water
I should have mentioned that all of this is going onto at least a double layer of tin foil.
Wrap up your package securely and place meat side down in the hot coals, turn and flip until done, usually around 20 minutes or so.
ENJOY!


So, I should have some pics when we get back:)

Sunday, Conference Sunday!

I am so glad for conference! I remember I used to hate conference weekened when I was younger. The only thing that was good was getting to sit in a dark chapel and chatter with my friends, and the dish-to-pass in between sessions. Now it's much different, I love listenting to all of the great advice our general authorities have to offer. They really do care about the members of the church, and the people of the world. The words they speak are meant to uplift and bring peace to everyone's mind. They are not meant to belittle or persecute or judge. I think things change so much when you have a child. I look at my daughter and want her to make such good choices. I want to be with my family forever. I couldn't imagine being without her in the eternities. I can't be with her if any of us don't live up to our potential. That makes my responsiblity so much greater, to teach her the things she should know to make those choices. Before, it was just me, and then it was Kris and I. Now, it's our family too. I know how much it irritates me when other people try to give me advice on what's wrong with my baby if she's crying, or how I can fix it. I can only imagine how frustrated our father in heaven gets when we try to tell HIM what the best way is to teach His children. Our children are just in our care, they are really HIS children. This is why I have grown to love conference more and more. It helps put things into perspective, and make me a better person, a better wife for my husband, and a better mother for my little girl.



Since Thursday, the weekend has been pretty quiet. A little bit of grocery shopping on Friday. I am sick of going to Smith's and spending crazy amounts of money for food (no offense, they are a wonderful store). When we lived closer to the city, I would buy my bulk items at Sam's club, and everything else at Food-4-Less, a store in the same company as Smith'. but MUCH cheaper. Mostly I think because a lot of the store items are packaged in Spanish. I don't care about that. Kris speaks spanish, problem solved. So sonce we've been way up in the NorthWest side of town, we don't have a Food-4-Less right down the street. I went to one anyway on Friday, and was very happy to have purchased a bunch of produce and other items for about 30$. That's my kind of shopping:) I can spend money like everyone else, but at heart, I'm a penny pincher! Well, maybe it's the other way around.



Today I edited some pictures for a frame I bought for Kris, to put on his desk at work. They look really nice, and he needs some family pics at work to make hime smile. I think he likes us! ;).



Lots of photos for you today!:



Here is Marin taking a snooze in her bouncy seat today, in her little dress. So cute! The only problem is the top part, it flips up in her face.

Sitting on the futon watching conference. It's a no-makeup day, yikes!

Taking another snooze, this time with mama.

Marin's first nap in the swing. She usually hates the swing, but she slept for 3 hours in it! Sunday's are usually sleepy day's for her anyway. I think she just goes home to visit Heavenly Father when she sleeps.

Last night, Sadie was under the coffee table, playing. The pictures are a little blurry though, she's pretty quick.

She loves hiding and then pouncing (what cat doesn't like that?!). So I played with her last night.

Marin last night under her jungle gym. Kris was playing with her, and here he's maiking the little duck squeek.

She loves looking at the colors and hearing the noises.

I kept moving from one side of her to the other to get a pic of her face, and she kept turning the opposite way, little stinker!

Here's Marin still playing with daddy!

The weather has FINALLY cooled off enough to my satisfaction, I am SOOO happy. It's probably in the mid 80's right now. Very nice and cool for Las Vegas. this morning it was in te low 70's, brrrr! Isn't that sad, at least for a north-eastern girl!

Last night we went to see our friends, they just had a baby (and can you believe, she was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 20" long too! Just like Marin!). Coming out of the hospital, it was CRAZY windy and much cooler than the day. That evening, we had a pleasant surprise. RAIN! We never get rain, so I was sitting by the window and heard water hitting the window. I thought it was the broken sprinkler (it's a total ferrell sprinkler, shoots like a garden hose!), so I told Kris to go look at it, and he opened the door, and it was really, honest to goodness raining. Not the sad little sprinkles we always get, but real, hard rain. And it rained for about half an hour! It was wonderful. Ahh well, enough of that, Enjoy Conference everyone!