My wallet is missing.

So the other day I couldn't find my hairbrush. I mean, it's ALWAYS in the same drawer in the bathroom, but hey, I am pregnant. I am guilty of finding a book in the refridgerator because I put it there... I figured I just misplaced it. Until I looked everywhere I could think of that it might be. Then I realized that it would be much easier to blame the loss on Brooklyn's hiding/stashing skills.

Yes, I was right. I found my hairbrush, after a very bad hair day, under a cupboard in the kitchen, in a glass 9x13 pan. It was found along with a contact case, and several magnetic letters that mysteriously disappeared from the refridgerator door.

Today we are having a similar mishap. I got both of us ready to go to the park and grocery store, only to realize that my wallet is missing. Now this would normally scare me-- that someone might have stolen my wallet and my identity is being stolen as we speak... However, before you recommend that I call my bank to put a hold on my credit card... I know that my wallet was on the coffee table this morning because I saw it, and because Tim looked at my drivers license last night. Now, it's gone. Brooklyn doesn't seem to recall where she put the wallet, and I've checked everywhere I can think of-- including the stash under the cupboard in the kitchen.

Any suggestions on where to look now? I don't know how long I can go without fruit, and my link to the outside world.

I'm due to pop on July 3, 2010

Oooh, don't hate me for this. I probably should have posted a while ago about it, but I wanted to catch up on other things first!

If you're a facebook friend, you already heard the news, and if not, SURPRISE! I'm pregnant again, and am expecting to pop around July 3. We'll find out if it's a boy or a girl on February 5, though according to the Chinese calender (which Tim is a firm believer in :) ...), it is going to be a boy. I'm guessing that it's a boy as well because I've been a lot more sick this time. However, on the bright side, I'm now 17 1/2 weeks, which means that if the pattern holds true with this one like it did with Brooklyn, I should stop throwing up in about 4 weeks. YAY!

This could make moving in June/July interesting, but hey, apparently I only make big moves when I'm humongously pregnant.

The great news is that there is a new birthing center here, scheduled to open in May, so I'll be reveling in the newest rooms and maternity ward. Unfortunately, the hospital will be about 90 minutes away from where we're moving to. This should make the drive to the hospital much more memorable than when I went to have Brooklyn. Good luck Tim!

We are very excited, and even Brooklyn likes to talk to the baby and pass on her kisses through the belly. We think she's going to be a great big sister.



Tim felt the baby kick about a week ago, so that was pretty exciting. I hope to be feeling more kicks, even if it means waking me up in the middle of the night, because that is my favorite part of being pregnant. That, and giving birth I guess. (I'm not going to lie, I really am excited to be in the hospital and have the nurses wait on me- hand and foot-.)

Finally, GRADUATION!!!

Well, a second graduation I guess. Tim finally completed the first half of his training as a wildlife manager for the Game and Fish when he graduated from the police academy in December. The 17 weeks of training were a rollercoaster for Tim personally, and for our family, but he made it through it, and arguably, as the best graduate in his class.

With a rigorous inspection each morning, during which time the sergeant and deputy looked for stray strings inside pockets, double creases in shirts, a stray whisker that was overlooked during shaving, boots that you couldn't see your reflection in, and the hint of a smirk on someone's face, it was CRITICAL that Tim be the image of perfection each day.

So what did I learn through this? Stain-removing skills, efficient ironing, and patience.
I have never seen Tim more dedicated to a lint roller, shaving cream, and shoe polish.
*Side note: did you know that to have shiny shoes you have to-- 1.coat with polish, 2.rub with water, 3.use a lighter, 4.repeat 5,000 times until shiny*

Really, I am serious when I say that Tim was probably the best recruit in his class. Except for minor strings, etc. that amounted to a few hundred situps and pushups as punishment, Tim's worst day was when he forgot to shave before going to work (in my opinion, an honest mistake when you are getting up before the sun. he's lucky if I shave once a week!) His punishment was 600 pushups and 600 situps. He was VERY sore afterwards, but was grateful not to receive a punishment of 1000 pushups and 1000 situps, as some recruits did. And did I mention that he graduated as the most physically fit in the class? I was so proud...

Graduation was fun to go to, with the best part being the video that highlighted the 17 weeks. For some reason, Tim wasn't given a lot of screen time (probably because he was so pro to start out with), but it was fun to see what he had been going through the past 4 months.

No story here...

We went shooting with some friends a few months ago and I thought I should post this picture. No story really, Brooklyn just makes me laugh...

Another funny video... OK, not AS funny as the last one...

Don't you just love video cameras? And don't you love it when kids fall asleep in funny places, or doing funny things? I don't know why I thought this video was so funny, but it was. I know I feel this tired sometimes, so why don't I ever fall asleep at the table? Don't worry, her face doesn't fall into her food...

Our little ducky isn't so little anymore

Lest we forget that Brooklyn's first word was duck, her favorite animal is a duck, she likes watching Barney because it shows ducks, she can't bathe without a duck, and she has received rubber ducks for every holiday imaginable, we decided that Brooklyn should be a duck for Halloween.

Actually, I decided on a duck because I got the great idea from someone else...

Anyways, Brooklyn HATED her costume because of the feathers. Atleast, she hated it until we distracted her with a monstrous bag of candy, and she saw herself in the mirror. Then she was ok with it. Of course, this didn't happen until we were about to take the costume off at the end of the night, but atleast we got a smile for one picture! She really was cute walking around at the trunk-or-treat. Most people thought she was Big Bird or a little chick, but I'm sure that's only because they couldn't see the very conspicuous duck-like feet that I made her. Oh well, it was cute!

Pumpkin Carving

Brooklyn was SO EXCITED about picking out a pumpkin, and the idea of sitting on the table to play with it and try to hug and pick it up. But as soon as we took off the top and started pulling out the innards, she changed her mind. It took a little convincing that carving a pumpkin wasn't so bad after all, (though she still wanted NOTHING to do with the inside of the pumpkin). After we got over the initial fear, she LOVED the idea of poking holes in the pumpkin, and actually, was pretty good at it. And of course, she was thrilled with the final product, especially when we put the candle in to light it up.

The rains came down and the floods went up

Brooklyn and I have been so blessed, (and so spoiled), to be able to travel back to Georgia to visit so often. So at the end of September, we made another trip to the sunny (ha!) south. It still took some time to get used to everyone, but we had been practicing names with a family picture, so before long, Brooklyn knew who everyone was. This made a HUGE difference for everyone-- it was so much more fun!
Unfortunately, our visit also brought on the flooding, not the sunshine we thought we would enjoy. The day after we arrived, the rains came down and the floods came up. We felt very trapped, and thoroughly soaked. Thankfully, my parent's home wasn't in the worst hit area, though there were plenty of people that needed lots of help cleaning out flooded houses. We made it through the rain and had lots of fun with family.

asking for a little attention

meeting her new Heaton cousin- Baby Joshua

Grandma and Grandpa-Great

Grandma (her favorite)

kisses for Uncle Matthew

playing in the fort with Aunt Anna

cozying up to Grandpa

We all scream for icecream!

Just a cute picture... and the beginning days of a new hairstyle (the alien antennae are a personal favorite). So much to post, so little time. Pictures will have to do!

I DID try to warn her...

You are going to think I'm horrible after watching this video of Brooklyn, but it's just so funny, I HAVE to share it. This was taken at the beginning of September, so Brooklyn was about 14 months old. She LOVES helping me fold laundry-- mainly because her version of "helping" involved (and still does), putting everything on her head. She still thinks it's funny to put things on her head and try to walk around even though she can't see a thing. I DID try to warn her about running into things...

Our Pet Squash

When Mom and Dad Shurtliff stopped to visit while passing through our neck of the woods this summer, they brought some of the long-awaited produce from their garden. While we were living in Enterprise with them, we (meaning mostly Tim) helped prepare and plant the garden, but unfortunately, we moved right before most of the produce was ready for picking. Thankfully, the garden was explosive and they had much more than they needed, and they were nice enough to bring us some. We enjoyed spaghetti squash, carrots, green beans, etc... but our favorite was the banana squash. It was more of a second child really. So we had a little fun with it and took some family pictures for home evening one night. This was the night before it was sacrificed to feed the masses (note: we do not typically sacrifice our children to feed the masses). And when I say it could feed the masses, IT COULD. I mean, check out the size of that thing. We were pretty sure it would go bad before we could even make a dent in it, so we dispersed chunks of it to everyone we could think of. (I think we fed half of the ward...)




I wasn't sure how to cook it so we tried a couple of different toppings: butter with salt and pepper, butter with cinnamon-sugar, and butter with... I can't remember the last. Clearly, it is good with butter, but I think my favorite was the salt and pepper. Surprising huh...
Now if you're wondering how to produce squash the size of the one you see here... I can tell you. When preparing your garden in a desert with dirt as rocky and hard as you can imagine, plow by hand.

Bathing-Suit Beauty

Wow, you know, I just realized that the last "real" post I put on here was from the 4th of July. The rest were all just my ramblings. Looks like I'll have to start back farther than I thought...

From our summer-swimming fun, here is Brooklyn in all her glory... the bathing-suit beauty. Oh that we all had such confidence and thought so highly of our own well-defined abs and legs... Take a lesson from the young.

New Years Resolution

So one of my new year's resolutions is to catch up and blog more. I also vow to do better at looking at all of your blogs and commenting on them... Though I will do my best, there are no promises on either account. Hey, nobody's perfect right?
So now let me look back and see where I left off. Keep checking because there are going to be lots of posts soon!