In the Market

Not for a house (I wish), but for a new camera.

In less than two weeks, John and I (and Makenna) are going to be heading to Florida with my side of the family. We are going to be staying in this big house right on the beach.



I am super excited for the trip, but have decided that we need to upgrade our camera before we go. Our current camera still works, but doesn't take the best pictures (only 4MP). We aren't looking for anything too extravagant, but something that is small and easy to use, and most importantly, takes great pictures. If you have a camera that you love, and would recommend, I would love to hear about it. Thanks!

(I'm also looking for a few good books to take along with me...any recommendations?)

More, More, More, More

John and I were feeding Makenna some treats in the car the other day, and she just kept saying "more, more, more, more..." over and over again. John joked that she sounded like the seagulls from Finding Nemo who just say "Mine, Mine, Mine" over and over. I hated to, but I couldn't help but agree. Most of the time she uses the word singularly like she should, but if there is some sort of sweet treat involved, that's when the seagull in her comes out. She also uses the word "more" in some really sweet ways. My favorite is when I am feeding her a bottle before bed and singing to her. She will take the bottle out and say "more" after each song that I finish, wanting me to sing another song. It is really sweet!

Makenna's vocabulary has expanded the last few weeks, and now includes: ball, juice, ice, shoes, bubbles, duck, hi, bye, night-night, keys, and my favorite new word no, no, no, no, which she says way more than I would like. She has also learned the signs for: baby, milk, eat, drink, ball, and all done. Just in the last couple of days, she has started to repeat words that we use, but hasn't really incorporated them into her everyday vocab.

Makenna may hate me someday for doing this, but I just had to post some pictures of her from a recent bath. She wanted to wear her sunglasses in the tub, and put them on herself.

Favorite Shoes

If you are looking for the perfect pair of baby shoes, I have a recommendation.

Last August, I ordered Makenna the shoes shown above, and I have ABSOLUTELY LOVED them. They are Pediped shoes, and I probably never would have bought them ($30 seemed a little expensive for a pair of baby shoes), but I had a coupon for an online boutique, and I am so glad that I ordered them. They are made of soft leather, and were perfect for Makenna when she was learning how to walk. They never fall off, and have matched almost everything. I receive compliments on them almost everytime Makenna wears them. Makenna also loves them. Whenever I tell her to get her shoes, she always brings me this pair (even though she has several others).

I have loved them so much, that I decided that they were worth the money even if I didn't have another coupon, so I just ordered Makenna another pair for the Spring/Summer. I can't wait for them to get here!

Happy Valentine's Day!

John came home from working out this morning with a dozen roses. (We had decided that we weren't going to exchange gifts this year after our pricey date last weekend, but I'm not going to complain; I love fresh flowers.) He gave a rose to Makenna, and she loved it...and then promptly destroyed it.




Makenna is finally learning to smile for the camera. Here is my cheese-ball in action:




And finally, a picture of Makenna's excited face, or "oooohhhh" face as we like to call it. She makes this face all of the time, and it is SO funny.

An Early Valentine's Date

On Saturday John and I went on a fabulous date on a Murder Mystery Dinner Train. It was my brother and sister-in-law's Wedding Anniversary, so we went with them to celebrate along with my parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and sister-in-law's parents. We had such a great time. It was fun to get dressed up (and wear a bridesmaid dress I thought I would never be able to wear again), and enjoy the five-course meal that was served.

However, the best part of the night was definitely the entertainment. The Murder Myster was Hilarious!! They asked for a volunteer actor from each table to participate in the Murder Mystery, so of course John was our actor. He played the disgruntled ex-boyfriend, Tyrone Powers. He was absolutely hilarious, and got a round of applause after he delivered his first line. Everyone on the train was laughing so hard at John after every line that he had. The lines weren't all that funny, but John was just so hilarious in the way that he delivered them (any of you who know John, will know that he does not get embarrased, and therefore doesn't hold back). John ended up winning best actor at the end of the night. He also had the director of the train come up to him and thank him, saying that they prayed for people like him to be on the train. It was such a fun night, and one that I am not likely to forget anytime soon.

Our table with my aunt and uncle




My award-winning husband

A Muddy Afternoon

On Saturday, we had a nice break from the winter weather, and took advantage of the sunny afternoon by spending some time with Makenna outside. Of course with the sun and warmer weather comes the mud from the melting snow. Makenna didn't seem to mind though, so we let her get as muddy as she wanted.




In school news, the decision keeps getting harder. We found out that John was accepted to two more schools, which is great, but now we have two more schools to consider in making our decision. Right now the decision seems to be between the University of Texas, BYU, and Indiana University. I'll definitely post as soon as the decision is made.

It's Official

We're heading back to school in the fall. And although we are not exactly sure where we will end up yet, we are sure that we will be going somewhere.

John applied to 6 different schools, and so far we have heard back from 3 of them, and he has been accepted to all of them! A few weeks ago, we found out that John had been accepted to the business school (McCombs) at the University of Texas in Austin (go Longhorns!), and today we found out that he was accepted to BYU's b school (Marriott) as well. (He was also accepted to the University of Nebraska, and although it would be nice to be able to stay close to my family, it was more of a backup school, so is out of the picture.)

I am torn on where I want to go. On the one hand, I absolutely loved my experience at BYU, and I think I would like to go back. It is familiar to me, and way cheaper than Texas. Plus, I know there would be lots of other young moms to hang out with. But, most of my fond memories of BYU are tied with my experiences of being on Folk dance, and meeting and falling in love with John. Would it ruin my perfect memories to go back and not officially be a part of BYU, just be on the sideline?? The jury is still out on that one.

On the other hand, I think it would be really fun to live in Austin, and explore a new city. I also think that I would enjoy the warmer weather. But, unlike BYU, I'm sure that I will be one of only a select group of moms, and John and I would be further in debt than we would be if we went to BYU.

Luckily since we are still waiting to hear back from 3 more schools, we don't have to make any decisions right now. I guess I should just be grateful that he has been accepted to multiple schools, and we will have a choice to make.