Just Stuff

I just wanted to post what we've been up to. Tyson is gone right now to a career fair in the northeast. Before the fair he applied to all of the jobs that were hiring graduating law students (there were only 5 or 6). He figured he probably wouldn't get an interview. He got an email about a week ago saying he got an interview with the Social Security department in Portland, Oregon. Supposedly, you can't turn it down, so we booked a flight and a week later, he's gone. His interview is tomorrow but he's been up there for 2 days. It's coming down to the line (graduation is April) and we're getting anxious to get employment. He's really interested in public interest stuff and government jobs as well as immigration law among many other areas of the law. Hopefully, something will come along soon!

I am 24 weeks pregnant now! I was thinking the other day that I haven't taken a single picture of my belly this time around. I guess the newness wears off the third time around. :) He's been moving around a lot lately. This pregnancy seems to be easier than the other 2. I'm still able to do aerobics (even though I go only once or twice a week!). I've learned not to overdo it when exercising. With Makayla, I would go but I must have been working too hard because I was exhausted the rest of the day. I feel good when I take it easy when working out. I take the glucose test at my next appointment- where you drink the really sugary drink and then have your blood taken an hour later to make sure your body is processing it correctly. I can't believe it's to that point already! I think I only have 2 more appointments and then it's every 2 weeks instead of 4! Crazy!

Lawson has been doing a computer preschool that he has loved! It's held in our church building in a computer lab we have (there's also a family history center). I've been told the company that provides the software is testing it out on kids to be able to use in schools. It's free and it's really helped Lawson progress with numbers and letters as well as using the computer. They don't use the keyboard, just the mouse. He's loving it.

Makayla is walking more. She can get up on her own from a seated position and walk a few steps. She still can't quite walk across the room by herself but she wants to! She's so cute when she walks around. She's doing a little bit of sign language-- more, food, cracker, drink. She's really picking up on things we teach her. She loves her belly button and thinks Lawson's is hilarious. If his is showing she will point her little finger, touch it and giggle.

That's all for now. We've got more going on but Lawson is yelling at me to make him lunch-- ahhhh, motherhood!

My Big Girl!

Makayla has been "close" to walking for about 4 months now. She's been standing for quite some time. We've tried to get her to walk but she just couldn't steady herself. Today she was walking all over the place!! Tyson got her to take 3 steps by herself and then she went to town! She is 11 months now.

Just Bored

I decided to post mostly because I'm bored. Why you ask? Because there's a basketball game on and watching sports gets really old (especially when it's not BYU). I do get the occasional, "Whoa, check this out" or "You gotta see this play," which really does nothing for me. :) I look forward to when Lawson can enjoy watching games with his dad to get me off the hook. :)


Anyway, Tyson has started his last semester EVER! It's great, but a little worrisome with no job yet for after graduation. Most students have something lined up well before Christmas but this year is bad because not many are hiring because of the economy. Quite a few of Tyson's classmates are in our same situation. He had an interview a week ago and should hear back from them soon (fingers crossed for good news!) He's also thrown around the idea of starting his own law firm. He's doing an externship (unpaid internship) for a firm in Orem this semester for school credit. They specialize in immigration and criminal cases- right up Tyson's alley. He's had great experiences already and is really enjoying it.


For me, I've had a great pregnancy! I was mentioning to Tyson about a week ago that I haven't thrown up at all this pregnancy. I should have knocked on wood because that night I threw up!! I'm 21 weeks- I shouldn't be throwing up! I'm not sure if it was something I ate or what but I was disappointed that I broke my streak. I think I have more energy with this pregnancy than I did with Makayla. It's hard to remember though. Today I went through all of Lawson's clothes that I've been putting in big rubbermaid containers. I got rid of some and then put them in containers according to size. I feel a little more organized now! He has a huge rubbermaid, a medium-sized one and 2 small ones of all the clothes he's had in his life. The med-sized one is just 0-3 months! I think this baby is all set. (Just typing that sentence reminded me that I'm still in shock that I'm pregnant!) I've been feeling him move around more and more. The first time was about 19 weeks. I think I may have felt random kicks here and there before then but it was hard to tell because it was just a little flutter- could have been gas for all I know. :) I am just over 21 weeks now and can't believe I'm past the 1/2 way point.


Makayla and Lawson have been keeping me busy, like normal. Lawson has been sooooooo grumpy this entire week. Most of the time he'll have a bad day and then snap out of it but it's been this entire week. He won't talk to me and tell me what's going on so I have no idea. He gets mad about everything. I bought him a little Y shirt (for BYU) and he got mad and said it was "yucky." The drawer I keep his clothes in in his room has been the top one his whole life. He has to climb up on the changing table to reach his socks and underwear so we talked about moving his stuff down so he can reach better. I did so one morning and he was so upset! I can understand that a little more- me moving all his stuff but it seems like it's just one thing after another! Not quite sure what's going on his little head. I hope this week is better.


Makayla has figured out that if she screams, Lawson will get in trouble and she will get picked up and hugged and kissed. She has been screaming if Lawson touches her and it's getting a little out of hand. If she doesn't get picked up, she will lay her head on the ground and cry and cry. It's actually kind of funny. :) I'm trying to be a little more choosy when picking her up to nip this in the butt. She's going to be a tough little girl with a big brother and now a younger one! She has a little dolly that she gives hugs to and rocks. It is sooo sweet. The other day at aerobics at our church building, she was crawling around and she would pause for a little bit and dance and rock back and forth and then continue to crawl around. I think she crawled up to each person who was there and would do a little dance. It was hilarious.

Well, that's what we've been up to and now I'm getting bored of blogging. :) I'm going to go eat some cereal now.

Ultrasound Results...

We got our ultrasound yesterday and found out...

With both Lawson and Makayla I had a gut feeling with what they were going to be. I felt this one was going to be a boy and my gut didn't disappoint me again! I was happy with either a boy or girl and Tyson told the doctor he was secretly hoping for a boy. We've talked about names briefly but usually don't get serious with it until it's down to the wire. We both like Cooper but we have nothing set in stone yet. Tyson mentioned Jimmer (BYU basketball player) but I vetoed that right away!

Everything looked great in the ultrasound. The baby is growing right on time- to the day- so my due date has been kept the same- May 26th. I've felt him moving around every now and then. I love that feeling and miss it after my babies are born (except when it's about the 8th and 9th month and the baby thinks you're a trampoline or a punching bag). I'm soooo grateful to be having another healthy baby (as far as we know) and can't wait to see what he looks like.

Lawson's 3-year check-up

Lawson is a big kid!

He's the size of some 5-year-olds!

Here are his stats from his 3-year check-up:

Height: 42 inches (100th)

Weight: 38 lbs. (93rd)

He is talking really well now and has a great memory. His Grandma Oblad got him a map of the US that has buttons on each state with a voice that says the name of the state. He has about 10 memorized and can point to them and say which state they are.

The other day at Joy School the kids learned about the letter "D." They painted dinosaurs and had D-shaped cookies. They talked about words that began with "D." When Lawson got home he was telling me they learned "D" words so we were listing things that started with "D." We came up with dinosaur, dragon, door, dad, and a few others. Lawson was excited that "dad" started with "D." The rest of the day he was asking me what different words started with. When Tyson got home I told Lawson to tell dad what he had learned at school that day. Lawson thought for a minute and said, "Dad, you're a "B" word!" He was so proud of himself even though he had mixed up "B" with "D". It was HILARIOUS. Tyson just looked at me with a super confused look and I just laughed and then explained.

Lawson is a very friendly and outgoing kid. When he enters a room of people, he enters with the attitude that he's there and the party can now begin! He loves meeting new people and loves the friends he has. He's still learning to share, which most 2 and 3 year olds are still learning and has done a lot better over the last year. We love him and are grateful for him and his great personality!

Makayla's 10-month check-up

We got Makayla's 9 month well-child check-up a little late (a month late to be exact). She's growing great!

Here are her stats at 10 months:

Height: 28 1/2 inches (75th)

Weight: 19 lbs. 1 oz. (70th)

Head Circumference: 46 1/2 cm (95th)

My kids both have ginormous heads! She is a silly girl and I think she will have a silly personality like Lawson does. If you look closely in the picture you can see a teeny tiny ponytail ontop of her head. It's her first one! She is a little baldy. We love Makayla and are glad she's in our family!

Christmas 2009

We spent Christmas in Idaho again this year. We've spent every year, since we've been married, up there. I'm grateful to Tyson for letting us! My mom and I took Lawson and Makayla to the mall to see Santa.

Waiting in line to see Santa. Lawson posed himself. He's such a silly kid!

Lawson LOVED Santa and just kept talking and talking to him. He told Santa he wanted a candy cane for Christmas- that's all. Turns out "Santa" forgot to get him a candy cane on Christmas Day. He didn't notice. :) Makayla was mesmorized by the bearded man.

My good friend, Sam, bought Lawson a coat for Christmas. He'd been wearing the coat my mom bought him when he was one. It was a size 2T and Lawson is now 4-5T so it was a bit snug. He LOVES his coat and I'm so grateful to Sam for her generosity! He went out and played in the snow a few times while in Idaho. There wasn't very much snow this year for Christmas. Idaho Falls doesn't have a very good plowing system so the roads in the neighborhoods stay white from about November to February or March but this year we could see the road most of the time we were there! There was also grass poking up from under the shallow snow.

My mom and dad made their wonderful Christmas Eve brunch. It was delicious! Lawson was most excited about the candy cane in the hot chocolate. I'm not quite sure what his obsession with candy canes was this year.

Every year the "Elves" ring the doorbell and leave a cute little sleigh on the porch filled with wrapped pajamas for everyone. Lawson was so excited that the sleigh was his size. I forgot to get a picture of him sitting in it.

Christmas morning. We were spoiled again this year. I got a long-awaited Kitchenaid and Tyson got a GPS for our car along with some other things. Lawson and Makayla got clothes and toys.

We had a great Christmas. It was wonderful to spend it with family and enjoy the time off of school. This is our last Christmas break. I'm really sad about that but look forward to stepping into "real life" soon when Tyson graduates in April from Law School.

Happy Anniversary

On December 17th, Tyson and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary! My parents watched the kids overnight and we stayed in a hotel in Salt Lake. We went to dinner at The Melting Pot (my first time) and went to a movie afterwards. We stayed up late and went out about 1 am to get food just because we could! ha ha!

This was our engagement picture. I had only been off my mission for about 2 months so I'm sporting the sister missionary hair (which Tyson wants me to grow back!) and forgot to take my tacky watch off. haha!

Five years, 6 jobs, an undergrad and almost graduate degree, 2 1/2 kids, and lots of fun later- here we are.........

At The Melting Pot.

It was really good and a really fun change from your typical restaurant. I didn't care too much for the main entree but loved the cheese and chocolate fondues. Yum! It was a great Anniversary and very relaxing. I love you, Tyson.

Quick Post

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I've got a few pics I will get on here eventually. I just wanted to do a quick update on what Makayla has been up to. It seems like just within a short time she is becoming a little person who responds to us. :) She can say a few words now: ma-ma, da-da, ut-oh, and ta-da. If we tell her to say "no" she quickly shakes her head. We're starting with sign language like we did with Lawson. So far she can do the sign for "more," which looks more like her clapping. She can stand by herself for a few seconds at a time. She is so wiggly that it's hard for her to steady herself to walk. She walks when we hold her hand though. She has 8 teeth now (4 on top, 4 on bottom). She LOVES to scream. If Lawson screams, it gets her started and they scream back and forth to each other. Not just yelling, but actual blood-curdling screams! Not so cute! She is so happy and content most of the time. Lawson loves to use her as his wrestling partner and she is learning to take it (he gets a lot of time-outs)! My favorite thing she does is tilts her head back and gives us a big crooked toothy smile. It's hilarious. I can tell she has her brother's silly personality (which is inherited from Tyson, of course!). I think I'm the only normal one in this family! haha. Anyway, more later.

Nothing Much

I haven't posted for awhile. I always feel like I need to post pictures in order to do a post. I've got pictures but they are still on my camera. I'm too lazy to put them onto the computer. Anyway, we had a good Thanksgiving at Tyson's dad's house in Salt Lake. We had all the usual goodness and of course ate a ton! We stayed the night the night before, which we haven't done since we've had kids, so that was fun. Tyson and his brothers spent most of their time playing video games. It was a nice change for Tyson to unwind a little from school. He has his last week of school coming up and then it's finals! I can't believe how fast this semester has gone. Only one more left!

Lawson had his 3rd birthday (pictures to come). We had a fun little party with a couple of his best friends at Jump On It, which is a big warehouse place with a bunch of trampolines and bouncy castles. They had a blast! It was fun to watch. My mom was able to come down for a couple of days also. We went and saw New Moon and really enjoyed it. I thought it was a lot better quality than Twilight.

Makayla and Lawson have been keeping me busy. I was thinking today how much easier it was to take care of one kid while pregnant and how I thought it was hard at the time. Now with 2 kids and being pregnant it's harder and then I thought about being pregnant with the 4th and having 3 kids to take care of!! It makes me appreciate my mom more and more (she has 6)! I'm grateful to be a mom even though it's the hardest thing I've done. :) Tyson has been amazing with helping me on Saturdays. He lets me sleep-in and then does dishes and laundry (in return for letting him watch football all day!:)) Then if BYU wins their game (like they did last night-suck it Utah--from Tyson), he gives me Sunday off too. He gets to sleep-in but does a lot for me during the day. What a great husband!

Lawson has been doing some really funny things lately and I can't remember all of them. When he gets a timeout he sits for 3 minutes and then I tell him what he's done wrong and give him a hug and then have him appologize to the person he hurt or whatever. Lately after his timeout he asks, "What did I do?" It's actually really cute. We've been reading the scriptures with him lately. We have a Book of Mormon with pictures that we use. He has a great memory and one Monday night we were going to go get ice cream for Family Home Evening after we read from the scriptures. Lawson wanted to go right then so Tyson opened the book to the picture of the Liahona and said, "If you can tell me what this is, we will go get ice cream right now." Lawson thought for a few seconds and then said, "Liahona." He was so proud of himself and we left right then and got ice cream. :) He got some tinker toys from Tyson's grandma last year for Christmas and he's been playing with them a lot. One day I went into his room and there was a pile of the sticks with a round piece on each end. I asked what he was doing and he said, "I'm making bones. These are for dad." I had no idea he knew what bones looked like. haha.

I've been called in our ward to be the Family History teacher, which, at the time, I knew nothing about. The course is 7 weeks and I've been giving the lessons to the Family History Consultants in our ward and then offering it to the ward members once the course if over. It's really been a great calling so far. The church has a new website for family history (http://www.new.familyhistory.org/), which I am addicted to! I've found about 40 people the past couple of weeks who need ordinaces done and I have submitted their names to the temple or are saving a few of the ordinances to do with Tyson. It's really been neat to learn a little more about my ancestors. I found one ancestor who came during the Pilgrim times in the 1620s over to Massachusetts and he was the governor for Massachusetts. I feel the Spirit of Elijah is starting to burn within me. :)

Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll post pictures soon (hopefully!)

Baby Update

We went to our first prenatal appointment for baby #3! We were able to hear the heartbeat. That always makes things seem more real. I jokingly asked her if she could only hear one heartbeat and she laughed and said sometimes the other one hides behind the one so you can't hear its heartbeat. She said I won't know for sure until my ultrasound in 9 weeks! Freak me out! My due date got moved up a day from what I thought it was, so it's May 26th. I've been feeling pretty good. I feel sick if I start to get hungry so I just keep my stomach full and that seems to help. I usually feel more sick at night for some reason. I haven't thrown up yet and I'm shocked! I'm at 11 weeks right now and you usually start to feel better about 12 weeks so I might go through this pregnancy without barfing! When we first found out we were pregnant, I was trying to explain to Lawson there was a baby in my tummy. He then said, "You eat it?" He was so confused! It was hilarious. Anyway, things are great. We're happy to be adding to our family and still can't believe it's happening!