Oh how time flies...

A thought occurred to me a couple of days ago that I haven't written a blog post in a while. I was dismayed when I realized how long it has been.  I have an awful lot to catch up on...

July

Well I went to Ohio and it was a fantastic trip. I was able to go to my cousins wedding and spend some much needed time with my parents and my two sisters. Rosalie had a blast with her cousins and loved playing in the water everyday. She is such a water baby! She did not however like the grass. We don't even try to set her on the grass here in Texas because it's so poky and the whole worry of fire ants. But Ohio grass is SO soft and plush. She really didn't care for it. haha It was also fun being able to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hazen. Connie and Vince (who were also visiting) invited me to join them on their dinner date with Tim and Rebecca to the Pine Club down town. It was my first time there and it was SOOO delicious. One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting the house I grew up on before my parents sold it. It was weird walking through the empty house. So many memories happened there. It was nice to say a final goodbye. It was good for my soul. It also happened to be the weekend of the Brookville Picnic, so for perhaps the last time, I was able to attend and walk around the booths and reminisce on my childhood. Brookville will always have a piece of my heart.

See? Not a fan.

water baby

Rosalie loved visiting Grandma and Grandpa Hazen

Theif!

Whenever I go to a fair, I always crave these Lemon Shake-ups that I always got at the Brookville Picnic

Doing what Grandparents do best...filling children with sugar,

Rosie really enjoyed slow dancing

When I  got back to Texas, Sam had a few days off before starting his new job so we decided to visit Mary and Colton. We had such a great time playing games and visiting the beach. We were only at the beach for about 20-30 minutes because of rain but it was the perfect amount of time with babies.

August

Sam started his new job as a staff auditor at Haynie & Company and he absolutely loves it. He gets along with his coworkers so well and is FINALLY treated like a valued employee. Two days after starting work, they had a company party that we were able to attend. They rented a theater so we could bring our families to watch Christopher Robin and then they payed for everyone to eat at Chama Gaucha, the Brazilian Steakhouse. SO YUMMY! It was my first time at a Brazilian steakhouse and it was delicious! Sam's uncle Jeff and aunt Elaine babysat Rosalie since she is too young for movies. Or steak. haha


For our anniversary this year, it was on a week day. So we decided to  go out for dinner someplace fancy. The Tower of the Americas was on our "San Antonio bucket list" so we decided to try that out. It was so fun sitting 600 feet in the air overlooking the entire city in the revolving restaurant. Because we told them it was our anniversary when we made our reservation, they gave us special anniversary menus and gave us a cozy L-shaped booth by the window so we could sit next to each other and enjoy the view. It was romantic. It was pricey. But worth it.

Sam had to go to Dallas for orientation for graduate school in Dallas so we decided to make a trip of it and visit Neils and Kelly who just recently moved there. It was so much fun getting to see their new fancy/trendy apartment. When Sam wasn't in orientation, we played games, went to the arboretum, went to this cool kids park, and got kicked out of an art museum. haha Well not really, but we were trying to feed a fussy Rosalie some puffs and they told us we couldn't have food. So since Rosalie was fussy, we left. Fun memories. haha

We really enjoyed getting too talk and play games and watch you tube videos as well. We wish we lived closer to Neils and Kelly but it makes us value our time with them all the more.

So with Sam starting graduate school online AND early morning seminary starting again, he has been quite the busy man these days. Luckily, with his classes being online, Rosalie and I still get to spend time with him during dinner and before we put Rosalie down for bed at 7. Then Sam starts doing schoolwork. Also, with his work place being so close to home, we get to see him in the morning for breakfast after seminary AND most days he comes home for lunch. We feel blessed.

One of the cool things about Sam's new job is that during the "not busy season" they get Fridays off. So Sam and I took advantage of the Zoo passes his parents bought me for my birthday. We have taken Rosalie 3-4 times and we all have a great time. Because we have seasons passes, we don't feel pressured to stay a long time so we can enjoy the park more I think.

September

With my husband being the football lover that he is, I was surprised when he said that this is the first year he is playing fantasy football. Ever. He and his coworkers have a league or something like that... I don't know the football lingo. haha. But Sam really enjoys it and I can tell he feels a lot closer to his coworkers because they can talk about sports and games.

The highlight of September was Rosalie's first birthday. We celebrated with family a few days before her actual birthday. I made her a rose pink cake and we held a party at our little apartment. We had Meme and Pappy, Neils, Kelly, Naomi, uncle Jeff and aunt Elaine, and uncle David and aunt Elaine with a few of my cousins. It was quite the crowd and Rosalie was surrounded by so many loved ones. We bought her a cozy coupe car which she loves to push around the apartment. Her meme and pappy bought her a kitchen set which she plays with every day.

These toys came just in time because the following week, a few families in my ward that moved into the apartment complex within three months of each other and we decided to all get together for a weekly play group. We all have one child at the moment and its fun to get together and chat with each other while our children play. I look forward to it SO much. Being a stay at home mom can be lonely and these women are just so sweet. We all got along immediately. It really was a godsend of many answered prayers.

Toward the end of September, Sam's work payed for us to attend a Hootenanny. It was my first Hootenany. For those like me who had to look up what "hootenany" means, it means a party. This one was specifically a charity type party. A ticket to attend costs $200!!! Each! We felt so fancy dressing up and attending the dinner with a silent auction and then real auction with some really cool auction items. We went around to all the silent auction items and wrote our names down pretending that we were rich and could actually afford anything. We then went around later to double check that people outbid us. Thankfully they did. Although Sam would have really like to have won the "Free Whataburger for a year".  haha  We did however pay to participate in the heads and tails game. I actually got pretty far in the game which was fun. All the proceeds of the nights went to Kinetic Kids. A group that provides extracurricular activities to physically and mentally handicapped children. Such a good cause.

The following day, we flew to Utah. Sam had a business training and I begged him to bring me and Rosalie along. We left a few days before the training so we could visit friends and family. The first thing we did when we got off the plane was meet up with Samantha, Brendon and Ryan. Samantha watched Rosalie while Ryan, Brendon, Sam and I did a live session at the temple. It was all of their first time and it was so fun to be there with Sam. I remember living in Salt Lake and dreaming about being there with my husband.

We then drove up to Logan so I could introduce Sam to one of my favorite places. We ate at Firehouse and got Aggie Icecream. I gave him a quick tour of the Utah State campus and then we drove to Providence to meet up with some old friends to have a bonfire and catch up. I got to see Julie and Kim, Skye and Dean, Mike and Jessica. So many of the names that I wrote about when I first started this blog years ago.We sure missed Liz though!  I absolutely LOVE that we can all get together and it feels like nothing has changed. Even though so much has. Skye and Dean were so generous to host the bonfire and I loved getting to meet all of their little ones and hold their sweet precious baby girl. We all witnessed a miracle after one of the boys accidentally stepped into the fire and came out completely unharmed. I am KICKING myself for not getting a picture with my friends!!

We then drove to Ogden to stay at Sarah's home. Sarah so graciously made space for all 6 of us. She and Jordan cooked us a BIG breakfast the next morning and then went to their church for the primary program, one of my favorite Sundays of the year! Samantha, Brendon, and Ryan made their journey back to Rexburg after church and Sam, Rosalie and I were invited to have dinner with Sarah and Jordan at Jordans parents home. It was delicious and Rosalie enjoyed the attention.

We spent the next few days in Orem while Sam hiked Mount Timpanogas with his coworkers (a rigorous 12 hour hike that had gorgeous autumn time views and I visited our cousin Lochsley and her family for the first time. We then stayed our last few days at the Little America in downtown Salt Lake City while Sam had his business conference. Rosalie and I enjoyed meeting up with some of my old friends during lunches and other free time. For dinner, we joined Sam and his coworkers and his company paid for us! I wasn't expecting that. It saved us a LOT of money considering the places we ate. Tocanos (Brazilian steak place) Brio (Italian) and even The Red Iguana (Mexican food).
Sam's company also paid for all of us to take the tram at Snowbird Canyon, which i was excited about because that was on my list of things I wanted to do. Well not the tram specifically but I REALLY wanted to drive up a canyon and take in all the fresh air and nature.

Sam and some of his coworkers hiking Mount Timp.

Rosalie wanted to be close to nature while her Daddy was hiking. This was the rock she carried around during our walk.

Believe it or not, our matching was unintentional.

Rosalie and I got to meet our cousin Lochsley and her boys for the first time. She graciously let us borrow her pack n play during our trip which I was SOOO grateful for.

Sam reading his "Dont Procrastinate" book at the Last minute... haha

When I first moved to Salt Lake City for graduate school, I lived on Texas Street. 

Dog!

The gateway had these cool light up chairs/ play area.

Taking the tram at Snowbird

Rosalies first time at an Aquarium.

Emma and Rosalie

Im so happy Katherine drove down from Ogden to spend the day with us. We had a great time catching up.

What real life picture taking is like...

Graduate School friends. The only thing that would make this more perfect is if Kassi was with us.

bonding over goldfish

Kara was a friend of mine from high school!! I loved catching up with her over lunch and meeting her two boys. Unfortunately it was during Rosalies nap time (the time difference was difficult on her) so she was pretty cranky. But it was still so fun getting  together.

Even though we only got to see each other for like 30 minutes, I was so grateful to catch up with Wendi! She was such a close friend while I lived in SLC and we bonded over the stresses of graduate school.

KELSEY! One of my college roommates from BYUI! I loves this girlie!

And of course we had to meet up with uncle Jack while we were in Utah!!

The flight home from Utah was...interesting. Sam had to fly to Dallas to take a test so I had to fly home with Rosalie alone. It was a late flight and Rosalie pretty much cried most of the 3 hour trip home. I may have shed a tear or two as well out of frustration. Luckily I was able to take all of the luggage and a crying baby back home safely and we all had a safe nights sleep. The next day, Sam's parents offered to take Rosalie over night so Sam and I could go to see Wicked. Sam had bought me tickets for the musical for my birthday. Because they took Rosalie over night, we made the most of our free Friday night and went on a date to dinner and THEN we we played a round of putt-putt. We haven't had a date like that in ages. The next day we went to see Wicked and then drive to Austin to pick up our daughter at Hatties Roller Derby finals.

Date night!

After all of the fun that weekend, we were bound to encounter some drama. Rosalie had cut a toenail at some point during our trip in Utah. I noticed some redness in the toe but I thought it was just bruising. Right before I dropped Rosalie off with Connie and Vince, I asked them to keep an eye on it. Well it got worse and aunt Hattie suggested they take her to the doctor. The toe had become infected so she was put on some antibiotics. When we went to pick her up that night, I noticed that she started getting a rash and within the hour that we were with her, it spread all across her body. I got pretty  scared and so we left Hatties bout early to take Rosalie to the Emergency room. They said the allergic reaction wasn't from the medication but from the infection. They had to drain her little toe. I was a mess. My poor baby wasn't feeling well and was fussy. I was relieved when Sam's parents showed up to keep us company. I held my baby as they gave her the anesthetic. It made her loopy and she babbles and giggled like a drunk person. Looking back now it was so funny but at the time I was a bundle of nerves. The anesthetic worked like a charm and Rosalie only cried a little while they drained her toe. She became easily distracted from pain due to her loopy behavior.
With the medication and sleep she soon recovered. Thank goodness.


October

We spent General Conference weekend in Austin with Connie and Vince. I felt such a special spirit with all of the changes that were announced. I completed the 10 day social media fast which was more difficult then I thought it would be, and I've been working on the Book of Mormon challenge which has been much easier than I thought it would be. I feel a change in myself and I think it is amazing. Watching conference at Sam's parents home was actually a really nice set up because Rosalie could safely roam and play while we watched conference in the kitchen and living room.

Rosalie figured eating mini M&Ms off the floor was easier then getting them out of the container.

yummm

We tried to fit in as many Halloween activities as we could. I worked for weeks to put together our Halloween costumes with items from our closet, goodwill and a few crafts. We also went to the Zoo for the Zoo Boo. Rosalie got to go through her first maze (with daddy) and we finally got to see the Lion because it was cooler that day.

We ended up going to 3 different Trunk or Treats. We were invited to another wards Trunk or Treat by Sam's Seminary co-teacher. Sam was asked to be the chili cook off judge. Rosalie had a bit of a fall where she bit her tongue while I was getting food for the three of us. Sam came over frantically with a bleeding and crying Rosalie. I had him hand her to me and take care of our plates.  She quickly stopped crying and I realized that she was fine. I took her to the kitchen, cleaned her up and came back to reassure my husband that all was well. It was the first time Sam had been around during that kind of situation and it warmed my heart at his great concern for our daughter.

We also attempted to surprise our in-laws by going to their trunk or treat in Austin.  Connie and Vince had been working hard at the ranch that weekend and were running behind and were planning on going home to freshen up and relax. Luckily, my friend Alison let me know that they may not make it to the trunk or treat  while we were driving to Austin, so we called them and let them know that we were attempting to surprise them. haha So much for a surprise. But we got to spend time with them so I guess that counts.

We then attended our ward Trunk of Treat. I was surprised by how many people came. We had an amazing turn out. And Vince and Connie drove down to join us. Which worked out because Rosalie became tired before we were finished handing out candy, so Meme and Pappy took her home while Sam and I finished handing out the rest of our candy. Meme brought us decorations for our trunk and they enjoyed taking Rosalie around to all the trunks. They even taught her how to put the candy in the bucket. The previous trunk or treats Rosalie was too focused on walking around and ignored the candy. haha

This year, continuing with our Disney themes, we were Aurora, Prince Philip and Merryweather the blue fairy.

November

My friend Sarah, invited me to go to a girls night with some other women from my previous ward. The plan was to go to dinner at The Jerusalem Grill and see The Nutcracker movie . I jumped at the chance. It had been so long since I had a girls night AND I had missed the women in my last ward. I'm so grateful Sam was able to watch Rosalie so I could go. I hadn't felt so "free" in a while. It was nice to get some "me" time.

 Sam and I joined the families in our playgroup to visit Boerne. Its so close to us and yet I had never been to the charming town. It was so fun going in shops, walking down main street, and eating lunch at a new place with our ward friends. Unfortunately, Rosalie was getting tired and cranky so we left early.

I did however enjoy spending the rest of the day with Sam. Sam is going on more audits recently due to this being their "busy season", so we really enjoy our weekends together. On the week nights when he is in town, we study together. Sam already has so much going on, I want to help wherever I can.

Last Monday, a friend of mine invited my to go to the Bastille concert with her. It was super last minute and since Sam was on an audit, he wasn't home to watch Rosalie. Luckily my friend Natalie was willing to babysit. I hadn't been to a concert in a while! I worried about what to wear and whether I would be too hot or too cold. I remembered thinking, am I too old for concerts. Sometimes I just feel old. But I am SO SO glad I went. It was such a fun concert and Ali is such fun company.

This past week Sam has been gone for an audit. It's the first time he has had to leave us for an over night trip. Connie and Vince invited us to stay with them in Austin for part of the week to make the week go by faster. Rosalie loves all the attention and getting to play with Enzo (their dog). It was also nice getting some one on one time with Hattie.

On Saturday, after Sam returned from his audit, we drove up to Austin to spend some time with his family and to get family pictures taken. Jack, Neils, Kelly and Naomi had all flown in and it was nice to get time to spend all together. I cant wait for Christmas!
Last year when we had taken our family photo, I had just recently had Rosalie and had terrible self esteem when it came to my body. I still cringe when I look at myself in that picture. I was so excited for this year. I had lost weight. I had planned all of the outfits for Sam, Rosalie and I. AND I made sure to give Rosalie a nap before the photographer arrived. Unfortunately, having a toddler can be unpredictable because she was pretty uncooperative for pictures. Usually she is SO sweet and smiley after her nap. But on Saturday she wanted nothing to do with sitting still and smiling. It took everything inside me to paste on a smile while my daughter wiggled in my arms saying "no no no" and tearing off her bow. I may or may not have shed a few tears. *sigh* Maybe she will be cooperative next year...

And of course as I'm writing this she is just being the sweetest angel. Toddlers! Am I right?

After we took our pictures, we drove back to San Antonio to meet up with an old friend of mine. Andrew!  Andrew was such a close friend to Katrina and I from back in our young single adult days in Ohio. He was such a support to me during a lot of my single days and he introduced Katrina to her husband Casey. He is now married with two children and lives in California and I havent seen him in years! So when he contacted me a few weeks ago telling me he would be driving past San Antonio and would love to stop by and meet my family, I was so happy. It was nice to catch up on our lives and reminisce on old memories. So much has changed since those days.  I really enjoyed introducing him to Sam. I love sharing my memories and people from my past with Sam. It makes me feel even closer to him.

On Sunday, following church, the Hazens, Uncle Jeff and Sams cousins Stephen and Brian came to our apartment for lunch before the special devotional where the prophet came to speak. I was pleasantly surprised how many people we could accomodate. It was great food and great company.  We Hazens then made our way downtown to hear the prophet, President Russel M Nelson and Elder David A Bednar speak at the Alamodome. We got super nice parking thanks to Vince and were basically parked in front of the doors which made it nice for Neils and Kelly who had to leave a bit early to make it to the airport in time. Rosalie was surprisingly really well behaved during the 2 hour devotional  (we got there an hour early too!). We only had a few close calls of a meltdown when she saw the stairs and wanted to climb them, and then right before we left since it was an hour past her bed time.

The devotional was amazing. Things that really stuck with me were when Elder Bednar spoke about being willing to LIVE for the gospel rather than die for it. I also really liked how Wendy Nelson spoke about the process of her husband becoming prophet and how he recieves revelation. President Nelson spoke with such love. You could feel it in the entire room. I'm so grateful we were able to have such an opportunity.

Rosalie update: She is now walking/climbing/running. When she runs she sticks her belly out and it makes me giggle every time. She loves to push things around (cars and strollers) and STILL loves food more than pretty much anything. She is also a little chatterbox. She babbles with such intonation that you know she is trying to have a conversation or tell you something. Her little voice warms my heart!
She enjoys television and football. (Daddy's girl) She also enjoys reading and DANCING. Like me! haha
It's so cute, whenever there is anything even resembling a beat, she starts bouncing up and down and occasionally waves her hands in the air. It's my favorite when she does it in public without a care in the world. She has just gotta dance! It reminds me of years ago when I was grocery shopping with my sister and nephew Carson. He had climbed out of the cart and when Katrina called him back he said "I can't mom. I just gotta dance" and started breaking it down to the elevator music playing in the background. haha I always hoped my kids would be like that. :)

Now that she can walk and climb, she occasionally has more of an attitude. She knows how to say "no. She ususally says "no no no" rather than just a simple no. She also has "opinions" on things and I occasionally have to remind her that I am the boss. But honestly, most of the time she is good natured. More days than not she is smiley, sweet, and curious. We feel blessed to have such a sweet natured daughter.

As for me, I am doing well. I know my last blog post was pretty emotional. I am so surprised by the support I received and the stories that have been shared. I realized that for me, talking about my miscarriage has helped me heal and bond with others. I would never wish that experience on ANYONE! But it was nice to know that I wasn't alone. I struggled at first with trying to "move on" and feeling like I needed to forget what happened. But listening to others experiences made me realize I could remember and still feel at peace. Heavenly Father truly loves me. I am blessed.




Other Pictures:

Rosalie NEVER falls asleep in my arms. So when she fell asleep for 30 minutes during the plane ride to Ohio, I had to soak it in.

Mary and Colton let us borrow this music table and Rosalie LOVED it! We will have to buy one for our next child for sure.

Eating food of course

Eating again. haha

My first attempt to shoot a wild pig. I missed my shot. But I tried!

Rosalie playing in the turf play area at the ranch. She doesn't life the feeling of the turf either so Meme put down a blanket.

This lady loves socks. I don't know why...but she always seems to be carrying someones sock around the apartment.

My little book lover

<3

Someone is curious and gets into ALL the cupboards. When I walked into my bedroom and saw this I just laughed! One day those wont be so mysterious Rosalie,

We put up some shelves in our apartment. That was a learning experience for both Sam and I who aren't very handy. haha

My daughter got this dress and it reminded me of a dress my sisters daughters wore in the picture below

With all the rain we were getting in September and October, there were a couple days of mosquito's. I bought this stroller net so I could continue our morning walks. Rosalie didn't love it but I liked that she was bug bite free.

This girl needs her morning milk.