The Rosenlof Family

Catching up...always catching up!

2009-07-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Very long. I use this as a means to document experiences, etc.

Ok so I am a horrible blogger. We all know that. Really a big problem is that I can only upload one picture at a time! I used to be able to upload 5 at a time and I can't figure out how to fix it. I have so much to catch up on that I didn't know where to start so I just shut down and didn't do anything! I have had a few people bugging me (mostly Grandmas :) ) to update since we are ALL the way out in northeastern Pennsylvania now. We are here and yes we are alive and well. The move out here was really rough. Reagan did fantastic though. I was so proud and grateful. On our way from Idaho to Iowa, I had a lovely experience that I never thought would happen in a million years! I was driving the Stratus with Sarah in the backseat and Erik was ahead of me with Reagan. We were in central Nebraska when a semi passed me and the driver window literally exploded into a million pieces. It scared me to death! Fortunately neither Sarah and I were hurt. My skin was a little irritated from the glass shards that covered my legs and arms. I drove about 20 miles with no window until we made it to North Platte. We had a hotel reservation in Omaha which was still a good 4 1/2 hours away. We had to make it there since it was nonrefundable. We were able to get someone to cover the window with the plastic. Once we got back on the highway, it didn't last too long. I proceeded to hold the plastic closed as much as I could with my left hand for 4 1/2 miserable hours. I thought I was going to have permanent hearing damage.

While in Omaha Erik had an experience he will never forget. Our hotel was in downtown Omaha and there were basically only parking garages for parking. We had our van with a trailer hitched to it. Erik attempted to park it in a parking garage. He never would have tried to take the trailer into a parking garage, but this is where the hotel staff said to park. Erik was told the trailer would fit, but the people had no idea what they were talking about. There Poor guy had the worst experience trying to get out of a REALLY bad situation. Fortunately his many prayers were answered and a miracle happened- no other vehicle was damaged, our car and the trailer were also undamaged. We were so grateful.

The trip from Iowa to Pennsylvania was painfully long and the girls had had enough. It took us 2 full, long days. Sarah is my worst sleeper. She maybe slept a total of 2 1/2 hours the entire 4 day trip from Idaho to Pennsylvania. Isn't that nuts? Lots of crying and screaming. Thank heavens for portable DVD players though. Poor thing ended up getting pretty sick the last day of our trip. It made for an interesting move-in day and week getting settled.

Erik started his residency program on July 1st and has been a VERY busy man. He started off with a bang as he was on call over the 4th of July weekend. Apparently that is by far the busiest holiday because well, people do stupid things! So I just wanted to document his weekend- not that either one of us but, especially him will forget anytime soon. Since the 4th fell on a Saturday this year, the hospital gave a lot of its employees Friday off but Erik was on call. He worked a 16 hour shift on Friday, was paged several times in the night and headed in early on Saturday the 4th. He worked 10 hours on Saturday and came home. He was home for 5 minutes before he got paged to go back to the hospital for an emergency. He didn't come home the rest of the night. He was there all day Sunday and finally came home around 2:30. Showered then slept for 2 hours before going back to work Monday morning for a 12 hour shift. So it ended up being 56 hours of working with a 2 hour break in between. We counted all of the hours he worked from his first day, July 1st to Tuesday the 7th was 108 hours. Crazy! And it's really sad that they only pay residents for 40 hours of labor. Thats 68 long hours he worked essentially unpaid. Man can we both not wait for residency to be over with but especially this first year! I'm so proud of him and the way he has plugged along. I couldn't do what he does every day. We're both looking forward to next month when he'll only be on call for one weekend. We all have missed him terribly!

As far as the girls and I, we're trying our best to keep entertained. It has rained a lot since we've been here so we have to make the best of the days that are sunny and dry. It is a lot different here out East. I've had a hard time making friends. Thankfully one of Erik's co-residents is a member and I'm excited to get to know his wife and their cute kids. It's always nice to have a friend who knows what you're going through. We're already looking into moving again. The hospital didn't notify us that Erik had to live within 15 minutes of the hospital until he started work...we live 25 minutes away. It has been hard on Erik driving back and forth, especially when he's on call and gets paged to go in right when he gets home! We're hoping to get out of our lease and move into a house really close to the hospital. Time is so precious these days!

Our ward here has been putting us to work. We got callings only our 2nd week here. We both teach the Gospel Doctrine class. I was and still am totally intimidated but I am very grateful for the opportunity to spend a lot more time in the scriptures. Its been a pretty good experience so far.

In other big news, Erik graduated from medical school on May 23rd! He is officially Dr. Rosenlof and I couldn't be more proud! What an amazing accomplishment. Erik's parents were able to be in Des Moines to celebrate with us which was wonderful. I was very emotional during the ceremony. A lot of sacrifices have been made to get where we are. Now to get through residency! But at least we have a little bit of income :)

Our family following graduation. I am so proud!

Erik and his parents following graduation. Both of our parents have been such a wonderful support in our journey. They were definitely a great help with the kids as we had a lot going on with packing up and moving our stuff out of Iowa. We couldn't have done it without them!

Here are a few recent pictures of the girls. During Erik's month off in June we were spoiled having him around all of the time! He is such a great dad. He made a very impressive fort with a secret tunnel entrance. The kids loved it and we even watched a movie inside it on the portable DVD player.

Here's Sarah stopping to pose for a picture on her way inside the fort.

Reagan havign fun inside the fort- I can never get enough of her cheesy grin!

The girls cheesing it up while watching a movie and eating popcorn.

The month prior to graduation we spent in Idaho with my family while Erik finished up his last rotation. For some crazy reason I got the itch to try out canning. Man is that a lot of work! But kind of addicting at the same time. I did and didn't enjoy it if that makes sense. I wanted to shoot myself while I was peeling, slicing, and dicing, and mashing and stirring over an incredibly hot stove. But the sense of accomplishment and pride over my work was worth it. I ended up canning homemade strawberry jam and salsa. Lets just say I learned that it is really dumb to chop a bunch of jalapenos without gloves on. My hands were on fire for hours and hours and it was awful! I tried everything and pretty much nothing worked. Once I can save up enough money, I want to get my own canning supplies and can homemade spaghetti sauce as my next project. I ended up canning 20 pints of jam and 30 pints of salsa. I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of the finished products:

Homemade strawberry jam.

Mostly medium and a few mild jars of salsa. This one was definitely the most labor intensive. It involved boiling, cooling, and peeling lots of tomatoes. Chopping and dicing by hand: bell peppers, jalapenos (ouch!), cilantro, garlic, and onions. Fortunately my mom helped me out with the cilantro before she left for work and I could chop the garlic in my electric chopper. I foolishly thought that I could chop up the other ingredients minus the tomatoes in the food processor. I learned quickly that wouldn't work- it mushed it and chopped it up too finely. We like it chunky! Anyways, it is good stuff!

Coming up soon: Reagan's 3rd birthday!

Family Visits- Part I of the Great Exodus to Pennsylvania

2009-05-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Since we are moving all the way out to Northeastern Pennsylvania, we decided to spend our last month before graduation visiting my family. Before we left California we wanted to visit Erik's grandparents in Los Angeles. Sarah is named after Erik's grandmother, Elaine. I sure do love both of them. It is hard to see them struggle through the difficulties of old age. They are definitely some of the kindest, most loving people I have ever met. Here are just a few pictures.

Sarah was not cooperating in the least bit. It made it difficult to get a decent picture! Oh well, we tried.

Fortunately, Reagan was in the mood to be photographed. I just love her sweet smile!

It was hard for Erik to say goodbye to his grandparents. We kept the visit a little on the short side because the kids were a tad bit out of control.

After we said our goodbyes to his grandparents, we headed to Malibu beach. I really wanted to hit the beach before we left California. The temperature was nice but the breeze combined with being wet from the water made it a little hard. Reagan was freezing and shivering the whole time. Sarah couldn't get enough of the experience. She was all over the place and particularly enjoyed getting in the waves. I could tell she was cold but she didn't seem phased by it at all.

Notice the lack of pictures? Erik and I were both really busy trying to keep up with these two. I thought I'd include a picture of Sarah in motion. I didn't get any of Reagan because that kid is the squirreliest (made up that word) kid you've ever seen. We had fun but were all chilled and tired by the time we left.

The next stop was to visit Erik's grandmother, Grandma Rosenlof in St. George. The girls loved seeing her and exploring around her house. This was only the 2nd time she had seen the girls so she was really excited that we stopped by. Once again, kids not cooperating very well with the picture taking.

We also stopped at my Grandma Cannon's house in Circleville, UT but I was a dummy and didn't take any pictures. We stayed overnight and loved visiting with her. She's a lot of fun to be around and very full of life at her age!

Our last stop was in Provo which we were all very excited about. Erik's sister Tara just had her baby Lydia in March. Hooray! My girls finally have a cousin in the family! We loved seeing Tara, her husband Dustin, and sweet Lydia. She is such a sweet little thing and so beautiful. Erik really enjoyed holding her. Maybe there is hope that someday I can convince him to have more kiddos!

Tara is such a great aunt. My girls sure feel loved when she is around! She cuddled them and read stories. They loved the extra attention.

Erik's younger brother Trevor is also going to school in Provo. Sarah felt right at home in his lap while he read books to her. My kids are so lucky that they have such great aunts and uncles!

Reagan had been anticipating visiting baby cousin Lydia for a long time. She was so excited to see her and she did really well holding her. She gave lots and lots of kisses. We really enjoyed our visit but sadly it went by too fast. We can't wait to see everyone again- hopefully sooner rather than later.

Easter

2009-05-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

I guess it's about time that I blogged about Easter. I have a lot to catch up on. My excuse is always that I'm a bad picture taker and usually Erik is the one that takes them. So, in short, I'm too lazy to take pictures and to hunt down his camera and upload the pictures. We had fun this Easter, which was spent in California. We did an easter egg hunt on Saturday so that we could focus on the true meaning of Easter on Sunday.

I decided it would be fun to have Reagan do a little treasure hunt to find hers and Sarah's easter baskets. So, I used a clip art program and printed off pictures for clues since she can't read yet. She had a blast running around the house to find the easter eggs with clues in them. We eventually ended up in the backyard where the baskets were hidden and they could start finding eggs right away. It is so much fun because Reagan is finally old enough to grasp the concept of things and gets excited about things. She went to town and gathered quite a bit more than Sarah, even though daddy and mommy were helping Sarah out. It was funny to notice the difference between the two girls. The girls are only 18 months apart and even though Sarah is younger than Reagan was last year at Easter, she knew right away that there was candy inside the eggs. She is 100% addicted to sweets, just like her mommy! Feeling bad for her! I seriously need to get myself under control. Erik tried to take pictures but the girls weren't cooperating very well. Here are the few that we got:

Reagan figuring out where to find the next clue.

Pretty excited about the candy inside the eggs! This is the only picture we got of her once we started the hunt. If you know Reagan, she doesn't hold still for anything, especially when candy is involved.

Sarah discovering the goods inside the egg.

Shoving the candy in her mouth. I swear I've never seen a child who loved candy so much. But, she is related to me...poor poor girl. Hahaha!

We had a great Easter this year. Such a beautiful day!

The Many Faces of Sarah

2009-04-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

As has been mentioned numerous times, Sarah is just brimming with personality. She is the most expressive child I have seen (not that that means very much, but to me, she is very expressive). The other day Erik took a series of pictures of Sarah and we got a wide variety of expressions. She can be happy, serious, surprised, angry, silly, frustrated, you name it, all within a matter of a few minutes. We often joke that we don't know where she came from. When I was a little girl I could be quite goofy and liked to entertain my friends. I guess as I've gotten older I'm not this way as much. I hope she keeps it with her for a long time (besides the near constant grumpies).
What are you looking at?

Laughing one minute...

Furious the next.

Her surprised expression- one of her favorites.

One of the 5 or 6 different scowls. We know where the scowl came from...me. I am notorious for having a scowl on my face. Not necessarily because I'm angry- I tend to scowl when I concentrate. And I appear to concentrate a lot...hahaha! This is a frequent of hers as she tends to be grouchy a lot.

What word describes this expression...?

What up?

This is what she pulled when we asked her for a pretty smile. She does a pretty good stare down.

There are many more but these were captured in succession over a period of 2 minutes or so.

Fortunately, she's getting to be a little less irritable and grouchy. She's showing a little less frustration and is communicating more every day. It has been a challenge to keep her happy.

She's really starting to love books and is currently obsessed with bugs. We have several books with a bug here and there in them and she will obsess over each one for approximately 30 minutes a piece. I'm trying my darndest to share her enthusiasm. It gets hard after the 1000th time of her screaming buh (bug) over and over.

We sure do love her and I can't believe my baby is already 16 months. Where does the time go?

Match Day

2009-03-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we will be spending the next 3 years in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Erik is very excited about the program there and so I am too. Not excited about the winters but we'll try to make the best of it!

Congrats to all our fellow 4th years at DMU :)

Potty Update and Sarah's sayings and stats

2009-03-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

She actually pooped on the potty just a few hours after my post. Yay! I never thought I would be so excited to have my child poop. It was stressing me out! Since she's been watching Cinderella A TON (we've been on house arrest since Monday), she wants to wear a dress all of the time. I didn't want her ruining her church dress and Wal-Mart has them for sale for $6 and they are super cute. I had been telling her all week as soon as she pooped on the potty we could go to the store together and she could pick out a dress. So you better believe we went as soon as we could after she went. It was so cute how excited she was. She already has great bladder control/capacity and stayed dry during our outing. She only goes every 3-4 hours. I decided that I am not doing pull ups at all. They're way expensive and I feel like it'd only prolong her being fully trained. We do a diaper for naps and at bedtime but she stayed completely dry during her nap today. So, I'm happy to report that she has had no accidents yesterday or today. It's going much better than I thought. I didn't even bother reading any books because Reagan is such a unique child, I figured I just had to go with my instincts on what was going to work. I know we still have a long ways to go, seeing as she hasn't told me when she needs to go. I just put her on the potty if she's dancing around like she needs to go or if it has been awhile since she last went. Anyways, just rambling but I'm thrilled with her progress! Thanks again everyone for your advice :)

I've been feeling awful on how I've neglected my 2nd child a little bit more while immersing myself in this potty training business. She has surprisingly done very well, the little sweetie :) I took her in 2 months late for her 1 year well child visit. She was 31 inches long (I think?) which was the 80th percentile and 23 lbs. 12 oz. which was the 75th percentile. She has the biggest little gut ever (if that makes any sense). It is so stinkin cute! Here's a list of some of the words she is saying:
Mommy
Dadda
Bye bye
Hi
Lovey (her blankie)
binky (bee dee)
what's that?
flower
moo
bottle (ba ba)
thank you (day doo)- my favorite!
Uh oh
Owie (when she gets hurt)

I'm thinking Reagan had more of a vocabulary at this age and I blame myself. It's harder for me to find uninterrupted time because Reagan requires a lot of attention and is very jealous of Sarah. It really is sad how much they don't get along.

Anyways, back to Sarah. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She says a slew of other things that are completely unintelligible. Oh what I would give to know what she means. She truly is animated and expressive. What a fun personality she has :)

So Frazzled...4th day of potty training. Help!

2009-03-05T09:43:00.001-08:00

So I'm on the 4th day of potty training Reagan. Wow is this tough stuff! The first two days were pretty rough. She pooped in her underwear the first day but hasn't pooped since. We're going on three days here. Any suggestions?!?! I know this is a common problem when potty training but I'm desperate here. I know the longer she keeps it in, the more it is going to hurt when it does come. Which isn't going to help my plan, you know? She's peeing on the potty pretty good I guess. She never actually says "mommy, I need to go pee pee." I just put her on there now and then but for the last two days, she hasn't full out peed in her panties. Anyways, I could really use some tips or suggestions if any of you have run into a similar problem. Thanks! Oh and some prayers wouldn't hurt ;)

Reagan's sayings, family update, and Christmas pictures!

2009-02-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

I just can't seem to get into blogging regularly. I wish I did. Erik has been bugging me (for a good reason) to write down a few things that Reagan has been saying lately. It's really funny to see what's going on in that little head of hers.

Around Christmas, Erik asked Reagan a few questions and here were her responses:
Erik: "Reagan, what are your ears for?"
Reagan: Listen to the vacuum and to Grandpa (Garner) say no, no.

Erik: "What is your nose for?
Reagan: "Um...to smell ice creams, nummy ice creams."

Erik: "What is your mouth for?
Reagan: "I don't know daddy, mine's broken."

One night after we had put the girls to bed, Reagan started crying about something. When Erik went to check on her, he asked her what was wrong. With visible tears in her eyes and her lip in full pout she said "I just need candy." She truly felt like she needed it. She is turning out just like my brothers and I were. Severe candy/sweets addicts.

One day Erik was out in the backyard lifting weights and Reagan was out playing. There was a ladder and Erik specifically told Reagan not to climb on it. When Reagan thought Erik wasn't looking, she got on the ladder. When Erik asked her if she had gotten on it, she paused and thought for a minute and said: "Daddy, I just don't know."

Today Reagan watched Cinderella for the first time and loved it. During the part where Cinderella goes to the castle for the ball, Reagan excitedly said "Look! She's going to the temple, daddy!"

I know there's a bazillion more that I'm forgetting and I really need to be better about writing them down. She makes me smile and laugh on a daily basis.

In other news, we're anxiously waiting for Match day, which is March 9th. I've been obsessed about looking at houses online and getting totally excited about entering this phase. It will be nice to have our own space again and to not feel like we're burdening family with our constant presence.

Erik has been studying for his part 2 board examination, which he takes on the 4th. To celebrate, we are taking the girls to Disneyland the next day. I can't wait! We haven't really done much as a family entertainment wise since we've been married so it should be fun :) I hope it goes over well!

Reagan and Sarah continue to fight the majority of the time. It is constant DRAMA around here. I can't take it! I just don't understand it. I didn't have a sister so this is completely new to me. The few times they get along it's because they're causing trouble and getting into mischief together. Hahahaha, I can't win :)

Sarah is now 14 months and is hating her lack of communication skills. This girl loves to be heard and understood. Man what a temper she has. She continues to demand near constant attention and still loves to be held a lot. She's very attached to me and VERY attached to her aunt Elizabeth. Elizabeth is good at spoiling her by carrying her around a lot :) I am also amazed at how expressive she is. She has quite an impressive array of facial expressions, including 5 or 6 different scowls. Anyone who knows me very well is familiar with my scowl. I don't do it on purpose, it just happens. Especially when I'm concentrating. It's fun to see things that she takes after me on.

I'm continuing to TRY to exercise although I've been very frustrated with the results. I worked my butt off all of January and didn't lose much weight. Then my appetite soared pretty much all of February. I couldn't(still can't) get enough to eat. I hate that I love to eat so much and am so addicted to sweets. I just don't have the self control I did 5 years ago.

Here are a few pictures from Christmast that I'm finally getting around to posting.

Reagan and her big blue eyes.

Our Happy Girl!

Checking out a new toy from Grandma and Grandpa Rosenlof.

Sarah was really excited about all of the presents.

Reagan concentrating really hard while she opens a present.

Reagan enjoying a warm cinnamon roll after opening her presents.

Having fun taking real pictures with her very own digital camera. I bought this on Black Friday for $20!

Reagan thrilled with the surprise and lots of presents to open Christmas morning. I loved that she's finally getting into it.

Sarah on her 1st birthday, December 23rd.

Who do you think she looks like? Sometimes I think I know but I really don't :)

I Conquered My Ridiculous Craving

2009-01-30T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hello perfection...blissful perfection.

You can't have warm straight from the oven cookies without a cold class of milk. It's a sin.

I've been craving these bad boys for weeks on end. I finally gave in. Oh how I love you chocolate chip cookies. And yes, they tasted just as good as they look, if I may say so myself.

Now off to my second hour workout of the day...If only I had some self control!

Current Obsession: Exercise

2009-01-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

When January of every year rolls around, I become a little obsessive about exercise. All of the food from the holidays has made its way through my mouth to my lovehandles (first place I gain), then to my thighs, and my gut. Why can't I EVER gain weight in my chest? I'd gladly eat a couple slices of pie or some homemade cookies for that. But no, weight gain is non existent there for me unless I'm pregnant. But I'm not about to go there again anytime soon. Oh and by the way, it's the first place I lose weight. Seriously, how depressing is that? Ok enough with the boob talk. I figure only females read my blog so I'm safe :) Well, I got off on a little tangent there. Anyways, I'm really enjoying my workout routine this time around. Here's what I've got going:

1. I try to do 45-60 minutes on the treadmill alternating between walking fast on an incline and running. I've been trying to take it easy with the running since I'm walking a very thin line there. Erik says I need surgery again on my foot and I'm in denial about that. Even though it hurts when I run too much. It's definitely holding me back and is very frustrating and depressing for me because I absolutely love to run.

2. I've also been doing Winsor Pilates, which I highly recommend. Each DVD is only 20 minutes and they go by really quickly. I seriously notice results really fast when I start these workouts. I alternated every other day with the Bun and Thigh workout and Abs. It doesn't really get me sweating at all but it really tones and strengthens those areas.

3. I've been doing Kathy Smith's kickboxing workout since high school. It's a really good workout and a lot of fun. I'm definitely sweating when I finish.

4. Since I liked the 30 Day Shred so much, I decided to buy the Biggest Loser's Cardio Max dvd. What I love about it is that its a really intense workout that keeps you working hard the whole time. There are three different cardio workouts each done by one of the trainers plus a warm up and cool down. It's also customizeable. You can do just workout 1, or 1 and 2, or 2 and 3, or 1 and 3.

5. I've been incorporating strength training into my daily workout more seriously than I ever have before. One of the things I'm doing is Jillian Michael's 30 day shred dvd. It has three different levels with level one being the easiest. But it's not so easy at first. Each workout has 3 six minute series of 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, and 1 minute abs. I've been doing it for the last 2 weeks and I've been sore the entire time. Really sore actually. Today was the first day I tried level 2 and let me tell you it was a super intense 2o minute workout that left me sweating like a pig. I love that I can get a kick butt workout in 20 minutes. Since doing this my muscles have exploded! I was actually really not excited about this at first because I'm a little obsessed about the number on the scale going down. It was actually going up at first, even with eating super healthy and reducing my portions. But, I'm glad I have stuck with it because I feel so good! I seriously feel so much stronger.

I'm wishing I would have taken some before pictures. I've almost been doing this for 3 weeks straight and although I've only lost 2 pounds I've noticed a HUGE change in my body. My love handles have shrunk considerably and I'm a lot stronger and more toned. I'm still frustrated my weight hasn't dropped much but I'm hoping that changes soon if I keep sticking with it.

Oh and one last thing. Is it just me or does anyone else whose had kids think it's a bunch of crock that you can completely get rid of and tighten that post baby pooch? It's much smaller but still very much there! Those movie starts have to be getting all sorts of plastic surgery. That's all I've got to say about that.

Sunny California

2009-01-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

I have really not been motivated to blog the last few months. But you already knew that :) We have been sick a lot since the fall and I've just not been motivated. This 4th year of medical school has really run me down. Lets just say that I couldn't be more thrilled that we have less than a week until Erik is with us FOR GOOD! 8 long months without him was way more than I ever want to be away from him again. My poor girls, especially Reagan, have had a really hard time with daddy being gone.

Well, we're now in California. We left Rexburg on December 29th. I cried like a baby leaving my family. It was the last time I'd see my brother until he gets back from his mission. He's leaving for Johannesburg South Africa on February 17th. Let me just tell you how much I am enjoying sunny California. It is fantastical! Oh how joyful it is to be able to play outside with my girls in January in 60 degree weather. Sorry to all of you who are surrounded by snow and below zero temps.

What's new with our family...

Reagan is 2 1/2 and talking like crazy. It's so fun to have a full conversation with her. Lately she's been saying how much she doesn't want a baby sister. I don't know if that means Sarah or a future baby. Good thing I'm not even close to being ready to have another one. Although, it's nuts how often I get baby hungry. I don't understand that one at all. She still doesn't care for her sister at all. There is constant drama. Any suggestions there? It makes me so sad (not to mention frustrated) that they're constantly at each other's throats. They're only 2 and 1 for crying out loud! But when she's sweet, she's the sweetest thing in the world. She loves to pretend play and I love her cute little imagination. She loves making me black pie. It's her original recipe. We also love to exchange recipes :) I'm hoping she'll share my love of cooking when she's older!

Sarah turned 1 last month and boy is her personality coming out like crazy! She loves to go bye-bye and constantly tells me she wants to go. She loves to play with her sister but is starting to fight back now when Reagan isn't so nice. She has the craziest temper! I think she's very frustrated because she can't communicate very much and wants to talk so very badly so she can feel a part of everything. She is so social at heart! Her facial expressions crack me up! Everyone says she looks so much like me with all of her expressions. Especially the furrowed brow. I'm always doing that...can't help it.

I've just been trying to keep up with the girls and I'm in a major exercise mode. I have been sore (really sore) for the last 2 weeks. I can't do exercise half way. It's all or nothing for me. I'm hoping to drop 20 pounds but it isn't coming off as easy as I'd like! Other than that just trying to adjust to being in a new place and can't wait for Erik to be here!

Erik is finishing up his last week in Detroit. He's very anxious and stressed about getting a good residency program although I'm not worried a bit. I wish he would realize how capable he is. I always get those "I told you so" moments so I like to rub that in! We're both anxious for him to get here on Monday next week. I'm so so proud of him for all that he's sacrificed the last 8 months. You're the best sweetie!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I am so bad at taking them. Erik has most of them on his camera so I need to do a major update when he gets here.

Soooo Excited!! 27 hours and counting...

2008-11-24T12:05:00.001-08:00

Erik is flying in tomorrow to visit 8 days for Thanksgiving! It's going to be the best spending time with him and the girls :)

In other news, for the last several weeks, Sarah has been acting like this:

Will the nightmare of teething ever end? Only one, repeat ONE of the 6 teeth she has been trying to cut has come through. Is this some kind of sick joke my kids like to play on me? Erik has been joking that he's going to bring a scalpel with him to help her out. Some kind of sick sense of humor eh? Hahaha. Here's to hoping that the others cut through very soon. Her teeth seem to be cutting her a little slack so I'm thrilled that now she's acting a little like this:

What's going on with our little Sarah bear...

2008-11-15T20:54:00.001-08:00

Sarah is now 10 1/2 months and is changing oh so fast! She started walking about 2 weeks ago and gets better at it every day! She has such a personality. She's very social. She hates feeling left out and wants to be right in the middle of things...preferrably in mommy's arms. She's very attached to me right now and has a hard time going to anyone else if I'm within sight.

She has said a few words: baby, hieee (hi with emphasis at the end), bee (for binky), beeyah (for bottle), and mommma (emphasis on mm)

She's currently trying to cut 6 teeth at once for the last 6 weeks. Can you say nightmare?! Needless to say, I'm getting in and out of bed constantly all night long most nights. I think two finally cut through though so she's been doing a bit better.

She LOVES food! She's always crawling around on the floor in search of crumbs or morsels that Reagan may have dropped. She also hangs out near Reagan while she eats and steals her food. Reagan doesn't care because she's not much of an eater these days. I think Sarah's probably 22 lbs. and Reagan's probably 28...yeah :)

She also loves to dance when there's a little tune and she even has her own style of breakdancing which is quite entertaining.

Proudly stealing Reagan's lunch.

Taking a big bite!

Playing with Reagan and doing what they do best...making messes!

So tired!

Striking a pose in her sunday dress :)

Here's a video of her walking but it's already outdated. She's walking everywhere now!

Here's a video of Sarah stealing Reagan's lunch :)

Here's a video of Sarah break dancing:

Best Birthday Surprise Ever and Halloween!

2008-11-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

My birthday was on October 22nd and all I wanted was to see Erik. He told me he was sending me a package for my birthday. I told him all I wanted for my birthday was to fly out to Detroit to visit him! Little did I know he had other plans. So, Erik's sister Elizabeth is going to school here at BYU-Idaho. She called me up on the 29th saying she had cut herself really bad making dinner and wondered if I could take her to the hospital. So I halted dinner preparations and threw a few things together before rushing out the door with the kids. While I'm rushing around, Erik called me to chat (so I thought). I talked to him while I drove to Elizabeth's but said goodbye when I got to her apartment. I called Elizabeth to tell her I was there and then all of a sudden I heard a knock on my car window. I turned over and there Erik was! I was totally shocked. I had just talked to him on the phone seconds earlier, totally thinking he was thousands of miles away in Detroit. My jaw literally dropped and I had all sorts of emotions going on at the same time: shock, disbelief, pure joy, excitement, confusion, and just plain emotional. Erik said the look on my face was priceless and wished he had gotten a picture of it. It was the best surprise ever and the best birthday gift ever. It has been really hard on us being apart so much and it just seems to get harder. We had a great weekend while he was here (even though I was really sick the whole time).
Sarah desperately trying to grab the candy out of the bowl. This kid loves any and all things that she can stick in her mouth, especially when it's edible and delicious. She sure enjoyed her sucker :)

Here's our little family right before we took the girls trick or treating.

Reagan's super cheesy "pretty smile" mingled with a yawn I think :) Don't mind my bug eyed look. I was feeling really crappy that night.

Sarah was our little chunky monkey. The pictures just don't do justice how cute she was!

Reagan was a little princess and loved that mommy put real makeup on her.

Reagan relaxing with her daddy while watching Care Bears or one of her regular favorites. She absolutely adores him and has had a hard time being away from him. We had a great time together and are counting down the days until he visits for Thanksgiving!

Huntington Beach! (From July)

2008-10-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

Oh how I LOVE the beach! I'm trying to convince Erik that we need to live in California so we can be near the beach. Not going over very well :) The week of Dave and Laura's wedding we went to Huntington beach twice. The first time was great for me because I didn't have my kids with me so I was free to get smashed amongst the waves trying to body surf with my brothers, Laura, and her brother Chris. SO much fun! A few days later we went back so that I could take Reagan to the beach for the first time. She had a blast. Here are some pictures and a video.

I spent a lot of the time with Sarah in the Ergo carrier. She had gotten sand in her eyes and wore herself out crying while I desperately tried to wash it out. A 7 month old at the beach isn't the greatest idea :)

For some reason the pictures uploaded backwards but my mom and my brothers George and Garrett buried her legs in the sand. She loved it, especially all of the attention.

Here they all are working on the burial. I'm amazed she actually stood still long enough for them to do this. Anyone that knows Reagan very well would be amazed too! Hahaha.

Reagan's signature "pretty smile."

Having fun with Grandma Garner.

Dragging water from the ocean to our sandcastle.

Sarah chilling on the towels before the sand invaded her eyes. I just love that chubby body of hers!

Having fun in the sand.

Here's a video of Reagan and I "jumping" the waves.

Catching up July 2008: Dave and Laura's wedding & Cannon Family Reunion

2008-10-21T08:24:00.001-07:00

My older brother Dave and his bride Laura were married in the Newport Beach temple on July 25th. It was such a beautiful sealing and I started crying even before they entered the sealing room together. The spirit was very strong and I was very emotional. I love my family very much and my brothers hold a special place in my heart. They make such a beautiful couple. Laura comes from a wonderful family. I was seriously so sad that it would likely be the only time I'd be around them. They're so much fun and such great people.
The whole group minus Reagan and Sarah. They were staying with Grandma Rosenlof and would join the wedding festivities for the reception the next day.
I love this shot of Reagan. Their photographer did an amazing job. I actually know him from when he was roomates with my brothers during college. I'm hoping to get him to take a family picture of us when we move out to California in February. I love this one of Sarah too :)
Gotta love action wedding photos!

Coming out of the temple following the sealing.
Don't they look excited and happy!
Laura's bridesmaids. The other two are her older sisters Alicia and Kerri.
The Groom's family and bride.
It was a fantastic day, besides the fact that I got really burned. Congrats Dave and Laura!

After the wedding we left California and headed to Utah to one of my absolute favorite places. This was pretty much the only vacation destination we had as kids but I didn't care. It was the best. Isn't it beautiful? My mom's family owns a bunch of acres on the top of Cove Mountain in Utah. I was so excited to take the girls there for the Cannon family reunion because I love it up there so much.
Here's Reagan visibly thrilled while wading through a mountain stream. She had so much fun splashing around and getting wet. There are tons of fish in this stream and as a kid we'd make our own fishing poles with a wood stick and some fishing line with a hook. We'd then catch our own bait-there's tons of grasshoppers everywhere up there. You were pretty much guaranteed to catch about 7 fish in 30 minutes. We'd always release them though.
This is my Grandma Cannon's cabin. Lots of fun memories there.
Just gorgeous. I love to go hiking up here. The view is breathtaking.
The favorite activity for the kids on the mountain is to go riding on the 4 wheeler. I took Reagan out twice. She wounldn't take a nap in the cabin and she actually fell asleep on the ride! I couldn't believe it! With all of the bumps and jumps on the trail she still fell asleep. We only stayed one day as opposed to 3 or 4 because there were too many people in the cabin and it would have been extremely rough going to get them to sleep very well. We had such a good time and can't wait to go back again!

July Catch Up Week One: Yellowstone Bear World

2008-10-05T16:24:00.001-07:00

This is way back on the 3rd of July. I know I have taken forever to catch up. This month was filled with a lot of traveling and lots of fun. Erik was visiting us this week and we decided to head to Yellowstone Bear World with the kids. It turned out a lot better than I expected which is always nice :) Here's Reagan feeding a very friendly and hungry goat at the petting zoo. It was funny to watch her chase all of the animals around. At first she just chased them and then chucked the food at them. We finally got her to feel comfortable feeding them from her hand.
The baby deer were very shy but after some persistence on Reagan's part, she was finally able to pet it for half a second.
They had a 5 or 6 little kiddie rides that we went on before we left. They were absolutely perfect for a two year old. Reagan had so much fun!
Except this ride gave her some serious butterflies in her tummy. I'm sorry, but I love this expression even though she's a little scared. So glad I caught it on camera.
The mini roller coaster was her favorite I think. It turned out to be a really fun trip for our family, especially with Erik there!

Reagan's 2 Year and Sarah's 8 Month Stats

2008-09-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

I'm posting these just so I can remember for future reference. I was 2 months late taking both girls in. Sarah was 20 lbs. and 28 1/2 inches long. That put her in the 85th percentile for her weight and the 90th for her height. A big girl! Reagan was 37 1/2 inches and 29 lbs. That put her off the charts for her height and the 75th percentile for her weight. So, it looks as if my girls are taking after me on the height. (I said that just to rile Erik up a bit).

Do I Dare To Try?

2008-09-03T15:05:00.001-07:00

Reagan turned 2 at the end of June and I've been considering all summer potty training her. Now that we're stable in one location for awhile, I'm thinking about trying. I feel like she shows a lot of the signs of readiness but I don't know...Everything I've heard about potty training just seems like it'd be a nightmare and very frustrating. I don't want to start if she's just not ready. She actually peed on the potty for the first time a few days ago but seemed pretty freaked out about it even though I was super excited and told her how proud I was of her, etc. For all you potty training pros out there, is that normal? She seems to want to sit on the potty now and then but won't stay there for very long. Any suggestions? Tips? What worked for you? Any books you recommend? I need help!

Thank You Jeff, You Saved My Life- REALLy LONG

2008-08-31T21:28:00.001-07:00

So, I thought I'd blog about my lovely experience flying from Indiana to Utah on Thursday while it's still painfully fresh in my memory. The flight from Evansville to Cincinatti was on time and was less than an hour. Of course actually getting all of my crap plus my kids onto the plain and situated was a lot of fun. By the time we got seated (we were the last to get on the plane), I was sweating like a hog and everyone was staring at me. That seems to be a common thing when I fly by myself with the girls. I wonder why...

Anyways, I arrived at the Cincinnati airport and bought us a scrumptious dinner at McDonalds... right. I changed the girls' diapers and got more hot water for Sarah's bottles. Then we sat and sat while we waited for the plane to arrive from SLC. In the meantime I asked the airline worker at the desk if he could switch our seats to the 2 seater side as opposed to the 3 seater side. I really wanted to avoid irritating the poor unfortunate soul who was assigned to sit by us the 3 1/2 hour flight to SLC. Why is it every flight these days is delayed? Mind you, the time was rapidly approaching 9 pm. My kids go to bed around 8:30.

Time continued to drag on and I thought the airline worker had completely forgotten about my plea to have our seats reassigned. By some miracle (which it really turned out to be), he hadn't forgotten about me and had seated us in the front of the plane right behind first class. When the plane arrive and the passengers were getting off, a stranger approached me and asked if he could help me in any way. Even though I'm a very independent person, I have learned to never refuse help from anyone who offers when I'm flying by myself with the kids. So, I graciously accepted and said he could carry in Reagan's carseat for me. I also had two loaded backpacks, Sarah strapped in the Ergo carrier, with Reagan buckled in the double stroller.

Fortunately, I was allowed to board the plane immediately after first class. Hallelujah! We got situated and then Reagan started grunting like she was pooping. I thought "Oh fantastic! We still have a ton of passengers to board so I can't change her and everyone that passes by will smell it and glare at me." I couldn't smell anything but I was so anxious as people loaded the plane. Since we were behind they immediately started taxiing and so I couldn't change her until after we had taken off. Once we were in the air, the seatbelt sign was illuminated for at least 45 minutes! When it finally turned off I grabbed Reagan and headed quickly to the bathroom. I left Sarah strapped in the carseat with her binky, blanket, and some toys. I was ticked/relieved that Reagan hadn't actually pooped since there was no changing table in the bathroom. When we got back to our seats, Sarah was screaming her eyes out in the arms of the flight attendant who was looking at me like I was the most negligent awful mother. Thanks lady.

Throughout the flight the kind gentleman who carried in the carseat held Sarah now and then for me while I worked with Reagan or fixed a bottle. At first things were going ok but they quickly went downhill. Reagan proceeded to scream and hit and throw things the entire flight. I kept trying to calm her down and get her to go to sleep since it was so late. No luck. At the same time Sarah was exhausted and so I was trying to put her to sleep but as soon as she started to dose, Reagan's screams woke her up. I was so frazzled. It was the longest 3 1/2 hours of my life. Wasn't it so nice that Reagan finally fell asleep for the last 15 minutes of the flight. Needless to say she was not happy when I woke her up shortly after we landed.

We finally arrived to SLC. The name of the kind man sitting behind me was Jeff. I overheard the conversation between him and the guy sitting next to him. Jeff turned out to be a member of the church and somehow they had started talking about the gospel. The other guy was very curious and it was neat to witness someone else having a missionary experience. Jeff helped me get my things out of the plane. It took them about 15 minutes to bring out my double stroller. Reagan was falling apart because it was now 11 pm Utah time and 12 am Indiana time. Jeff stayed with me even though I told him I would be fine. I'm so glad he stayed. We got down to baggage claim and I reached into my pocket for my phone so I could call the shuttle of the hotel we were staying at that night. Nothing was in my pocket. Oh crap! Just what I needed...my phone had fallen out of my pocket. I explained this to Jeff and he said he'd wait with Reagan and my things while I took Sarah to go see if I could get through security back up to the plane.

Turns out I had to get a special pass to go through security. It took them about 30 minutes to get that for me. Are you kidding me? So I go back to Jeff to tell him I have to head up. Reagan starts crying once she sees me. So, I switch and hand him Sarah and take Reagan with me. I start sprinting with Reagan (who weighs 30 lbs) on my hip. The gate wasn't close and I was huffing and puffing running with Reagan in my arms. I finally get my phone and sprint back. Jeff is still standing there waiting for me. Seriously, this guy was incredible. So so so so nice. He helps me out to the curb while I call for a shuttle. No answer. I thought hotels always had someone at the front desk 24/7. So I call again. And again...about 15 times total. No answer. Not even an answering machine. I had been assured the previous day that a shuttle would be available. I just needed to call. So, what does Jeff do? He offers to drive me over to my hotel. It's about midnight at this point. I have already thanked him about 100 times and it doesn't seem adequate. So, he loads all my crap into his car and drives us over. He helps me unload and waits while I check in. He then helps me all the way up to the 4th floor to my door. He wouldn't leave until I got to my room no matter how many times I told him I could handle it. I wanted to get his last name or contact information so I could send him some huge gift basket or something but I thought that wouldn't be right since we were both married. I just wish I could have done something more than just say thank you over and over again to show him how much I appreciated his selflessness and goodness.

So, my burdensome trip was made much lighter by Jeff. Thank you Jeff for saving my life. I probably would still be on the curb at the SLC airport sobbing my eyes out if it wasn't for you.

Oh and one last thing. The entire carpet in my room was soaking wet. They must have cleaned it 10 minutes before we checked in. I was way too tired to say anything about it. And I was so excited about my super hot priceline deal to stay at the Marriott Residence Inn.

Sorry Erik but I think you'll need to come visit us next time! I can't handle another trip for awhile :)

Farewell Evansville

2008-08-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

The girls and I flew out last minute to Evansville, Indiana to be with Erik for 3 weeks. I got a great deal on tickets a day and a half before we flew out! Woo hoo :) We were very blessed that the hospital allowed us to stay with Erik in the 2 bedroom apartment they furnished for him for free. We also had access to 2 non coin operated washers and dryers. So nice. We are so grateful everything worked out so well.

Flying out here by myself with the girls was another story though. I had already done it before in July (which I need to catch up on) and although that was rough it was nowhere near the nightmare this trip was. Reagan was behaving like a monster! I thought what has happened to my child?!?! She was screaming on and off the entire 4 hour flight from SLC to Atlanta, constantly kicking the chair of the person in front of her, yelling at and hitting Sarah whenever she came within a 2 inch distance of her personal space, chucking snacks, books, and toys on the floor and then screaming until I picked them up for her. I could go on and on but I will spare you the rest of my sad story. Needless to say I was ragged and frazzled by the time we met up with Erik.

I'm flying back to Idaho in a few hours and I'm trying my hardest to be optimistic that my children will be perfect angels despite the fact that Sarah's gums are swollen and bulging, waiting for her bottom two teeth to erupt after months of teething (I swear).
We love spending time with daddy although it wasn't a frequent thing. I spent a lot of time by myself with the girls walking everywhere. I still managed to lose weight here while still stuffing my face with this:
Oh how I've missed you Blue Bell ice cream. I first tasted this stuff when we moved to Texas in 1996. It's only sold in a few select states in the south. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it at Wal-Mart here. I didn't eat all of that but I did eat lots of Strawberries & Homemade Vanilla and a new flavor, Candy Jar. Oh it is heavenly...caramel ice cream with peanut butter cups, chocolate and caramel chunks, peanut brittle and chocolate crisp pieces. Oh yeah.

Besides walking everywhere with the kids in tow in my wonderful double stroller, we fed the ducks across the street regularly, played at the park of course, rode the carousel at the mall, and played in indoor mall play area.

A very few ocassions Erik joined us. We went to a water park one day but didn't get pictures. Both the girls love the water so it was a total hit. Reagan couldn't get enough. We also went to the Mesker Park Zoo and it had a brand new Amazon rainforest exhibit that was amazing. Unfortunately Reagan was in a bad mood so it wasn't as fun as we had hoped. We bribed her to smile for the few pictures we got. Hahaha!

Absolutely love my Ergo baby carrier. It has saved me and made me a much happier mommy. Sarah is blissfully happy in this thing. It allows me to go anywhere with the girls and she'll fall asleep in it when she gets tired. (I promise I'm not getting paid or anything to advertise for Ergo but I just love it so much I can't say it enough)
Reagan checking out a turtle and a weird looking lizard that can detach it's tail to escape from predators. Crazy huh?
Flashing her signature cheesy grin.
Mommy trying to keep Reagan happy even though she's soooo grumpy.

Admiring the giraffe who was eating.

Checking out the Zebra and her baby.
Pretending to be bats
Feeding the goats crackers at the petting zoo.

We loved being out here with Erik and hope we get to see him again soon!

Happy Four and Twenty Seven!

2008-08-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

Last week Erik and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! We were married on August 14th, 2004 in the Dallas, Texas temple. It was a beautiful sealing ceremony and day. Since then we have added 2 beautiful girls to our family. We have struggled through 3+ years of medical school and are currently trying to survive our 4th year rotations, much of which will be spend apart from each other. Erik has put up with my whining and complaining during the pregnancies and has been my greatest support. I'm so proud of him for all that he has accomplished and so grateful that he continues to work so hard for our family. The road has definitely had some major bumps but I'm so glad that he's the one who has been by my side. I love you sweetie!

Here's to many more happy years to come :)

Happy 27th birthday to Erik! His birthday was August 16th and I'm glad that the girls and I were out here to be with him. We went out to dinner at Old Chigago's pizza which wasn't anything special but Erik didn't want us to make a big fuss over his birthday. That's very him :)

Here are 27 things you may or probably do not know about Erik:

1.He loves to watch football, preferrably the NFL.

2. His favorite dessert is donuts- any and all donuts.

3. He prefers pie over cake.

4. He loves meat. I'm amazed at the amount of steak this boy can consume. Eating meat acutally makes him hungrier.

5. He's a great soccer player. I love to watch him play. I haven't seen him play since we've had kids because his intramural games were always at a bad time.

6. He loves to watch movies which is something we do together a lot. He's a sucker for action movies. He always says if there's a couple of good explosions, etc. then he usually likes it :)

7. He's an incredibly fast runner. It's amazing to watch him run at full speed.

8. This guy can sleep anytime, anywhere. He has narcolepsy and even on the highest does of medication he is still drowsy and can fall asleep no problem. I'm amazed that he continues to do so well with his schooling despite this challenge.

9. Erik became a diabetic when he was 19. They should have caught it prior to him leaving on his mission. He had to come home a month out in the mission field and was so sick- he should have been dead.

10. He loves to lift weights and keep in shape. It's been hard for him to find time the past few years but especially now that he's on rotations. He works really hard at it.

11. He's often quiet around people he's just met or doesn't know very well. But, once you get to know him he's a lot of fun. He likes to joke around a lot.

12. He gets a lot of enjoyment out of riling me up. I can get worked up (not really) over some things and he thinks its fun.

13. He grew up in the mojave dessert in California.

14. He's very stubborn. I never thought I would marry someone who could be even more stubborn than me.

15. His dream is to live in Alaska after residency...I'm definitely not so keen on the idea.

16. Erik gets hot very very easily. As long as the sun is shining on him, he's hot even if it's 30 degrees out. When we were first married, he kept the window open at night in the middle of the winter. I was being a very nice wife at the time. Hahaha!

17. He loves loves to fish, especially for trout.

18. He loves the outdoors- hiking, camping, etc.

19. He loves his little girls so much and is so good at playing with them. Reagan gets so excited when he comes home. Mommy just isn't as much fun.

20. He has a great singing voice but unfortunately doesn't think so.

21. He's the oldest of 5 kids.

22. He used to want 8 kids and now he says we're done at 2. Hahaha! Little does he know but I will get my way with 4 :)

23. He wants to teach at a podiatry school later on in his career. He's a fantastic teacher- a very natural gift to him.

24. He loves the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory.

25. His nickname for me is Pooky. I love it.

26. He has the most infectious laugh when he REALLY laughs. I absolutely love it. It's the best sound ever.

27. He's the best husband! I love you!!!!

Sleep Deprivation..Yawn

2008-08-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

WARNING- post may contain a bit of whining/venting...

I was blaming my sleep deprivation on the fact that I have been addicted to the Olympics in Beijing this year! I couldn't turn off the tv and go to bed. As a result I've been a zombie the entire time I've been in Indiana. I love the Olympics! I don't think I've ever watched the Olympics as much as I did this year. My favorites were swimming (Go Michael Phelps!), gymnastics, and track. I also enjoyed watching volleyball. Wasn't Clay Stanley amazing?

I'm sad that it's over but glad that I should be getting more sleep, especially since I'm flying back to Idaho by myself with both girls on Thursday. Can I say NIGHTMARE?!? I flew for the first time by myself with both of them last month and it was awful. It's a good thing I love my husband or else I would never do it again. A few weeks ago was beyond horrific. I don't think that Reagan has ever been that onery and misbehaved so much. Please, please pray for me.

Oh and my kids have both been sick the past few days and have tag teamed in the middle of the night, causing me to get out of bed oh...every 20 minutes or so. Nice. Too bad I don't drink coffee.

Let's Not Forget About Sarah

2008-08-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

A lot of my posts have been focused on Reagan but Sarah has definitely been busy this summer. She's now 8 months old and a little firecracker in her own way. It's really funny to watch her get fired up and try to fight for mommy's attention with her older sister. She'll sit there and yell and her face will get all red then she'll be perfectly calm afterwards. She's just ticked when she feels left out. She'll definitely let everyone know. She's also my little cuddlebug. Reagan was never one to cuddle so I'm loving this.

A few things Sarah's accomplished this summer:
1. Started sitting up by herself pretty much exactly at 6 months old which was the same as Reagan.
2. I started trying to feed her solids at 5 1/2 months and she refused them until just recently (about 7 1/2 months). She loves bread and gerber puffs though. I'm thinking she may be even pickier than Reagan, ugh!
3. She started army crawling on August 12th at 7 1/2 months. She's now trying to get up on her knees and will ocassionally rock back and forth. She's super cute army crawling though!
4. Just yesterday she completely surprised me. I went into the kitchen to wash bottles and left her sitting in the living room. I came out maybe 2 minutes later and Sarah had pulled herself up to standing next to a chair. She was grunting because she wasn't fully upright but was determined. It was so cute because her facial expression was like "How in the world did I get up here and what the heck is going on?" It was priceless! I thought for sure she wouldn't walk anywhere near as soon as Reagan but the fact that she pulled herself up out of nowhere has me nervous. I don't want her to be walking anytime soon.
Here are some random pictures from over the summer of Sarah. She's a little more photogenic than she used to be, hahaha!

Spending time with daddy when he came to visit.
With mommy in the Ergo baby carrier. I so HEART the Ergo carrier. Best thing I have ever bought for my kids. AMAZING!
Sarah with Aunt Elizabeth sporting daddy's sunglasses.
Meeting her Great Grandma Elaine Haroldsen, who she is named after.
Showing off her beautiful smile. She loves her big sister Reagan so much!

Unusually happy on her tummy.

Look at her already waving to the crowd! She really does wave to people already. So cute!

I think she looks a lot like some of my mom's baby pictures. We love you "Little Bunny!"

Lastly, here's a short video clip of her crawling:

Reagans 2nd birthday party

2008-08-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

Reagan was super excited about all the people at the party, the balloons, the swimming pool in the backyard, and all of the attention.
I had plans to make a homemade cake but my mom convinced me to just buy one. I had enough going on with the rest of the food and everything else. I'm glad I gave in :) I went with the Elmo theme because she loves Elmo and hasn't gotten into the princess thing yet. Somehow I don't think she ever really will...she seems more of a tomboy that likes to do boy things instead.
Reagan was all business about the cake. She scarfed it down good- shoveling it in pretty fast! Too bad she took after me and loves sweets.
Here she is unwrapping and admiring her gifts. Her main gift was early and was a pink and purple tricycle. She loves riding on her "bikeacycle" as she calls it. She also got a fingerpainting kit with different textured paint roller brushes, a bubble gun, a playdoh kit with textured stamps and textured rolling pins, and other various gifts. She had a blast playing with her second cousin Cassidy, eating junk, and playing in the pool. We also had water balloon volleyball in the backyard and she had a blast helping load the balloons on the towel and getting in the way. It was so much fun to actually have family around to celebrate.

Here's a video of us singing and Reagan blowing out the candle.

Reagan turns 2!

2008-08-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Birthday pictures to follow. I just can't believe my baby is 2 years old. She has grown up so much this last year especially. She was born on Sunday June 25th, 2006 at 2:06 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. and was 20 inches long. Reagan is such a joy in our family. She has SO much energy, is so bright and curious about everything, super sensitive, intense, sweet,, observant, and loving. Here are a few pictures of the first 2 years of her life:

Sorry that the above picture is sideways. I couldn't figure out how to flip it. This was the first picture taken of Reagan after she was born. Not too happy eh? That seemed to be the theme for the first three and a half months of her life.
This is Reagan at 3 months old

Reagan is about 7-8 months here
This is Reagan on her 1st birthday
This is Reagan with her daddy when he came to visit us at the end of June

We're looking forward to many more years with our little Skunk. We love you Reagan!

We're still alive...crazy summer! June recap...

2008-08-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone probably gave up on me getting up a new blog post but I am still alive. It's been a crazy and event filled summer for the girls and I. I have SOOOOOO much blogging/journaling to catch up on. I feel like I've been around the world a couple times. I guess I have to start somewhere so I'll start where I left off...

Erik came out to Idaho the last week of June through the 4th of July. We had Reagan's birthday party the night he flew in, which will be in the following post. That following Monday he surprised me with an overnight trip to the Black Swan Inn in Pocatello, Idaho. It was AMAZING! We went out to Texas Roadhouse (one of our favorite restaurants), bought a ridiculous amount of junk and candy and watched movies and relaxed. It was fantastic to spend time with just the two of us. Thanks mom!! Here's a link to the fabulous room we stayed in. If you're ever around Pocatello and you and your hubby need to get away and relax, I totally recommend! Go HERE and click on virtual tour. We stayed in the Mayan Rain Forest suite. By the time we left I was sooooooooo relaxed which is so not like me these days :)

Here's a brief recap on what life was like in June:
1. Trips to nearby park- Reagan loves to swing and slide
2. Reagan unleashes the REAL terrible two's, (which I might add, has continued to intensify since) as shown in the picture below:

3. Sarah continues to demand for you to be in her face at all times and/or holding her or she's screaming and crying, as shown in the picture below:
4. Reagan decides that she doesn't want her picture scriptures anymore. She loves when we sit down and read before bed and she can hold her own copy. She loves to read the scriptures (with our help of course).
5. Both Reagan and Sarah LOVE being in the water, whether it's the bath or the pool. Sarah gets sooo excited and flaps her arms and totally drenches her face with water. Reagan just can't get enough. I had to end on a sweet picture of the two of them together. Such cute girls I must say so myself :) Sarah is 6 months here and this is 2 days before Reagan's birthday.

Livin' it up in Idaho

2008-06-22T11:46:00.002-07:00

I feel like I have an ok excuse why I haven't blogged in ages. The last few weeks in Des Moines were insane. I really don't know how we managed to get out of there on time. Erik and I parted ways on Friday, May 30th and I met my mom later that afternoon in Omaha at the airport. About a bazillion pit stops later, 30 movies later (thank heavens for portable DVD players), 2 very horrendous nights in hotels, 2 bags of animal crackers, and some real bad food- we staggered into Rexburg on Sunday afternoon. I was so incredibly exhausted emotionally, mentally, and physically that I proceeded to crash for the next week and a half. Ridiculous I tell you....just ridiculous.

We've been having a lot of fun here at Grandma and Grandpa Garner's the past three weeks. It has been more than lovely to be living in a home with a backyard and a family friendly community. I will NEVER EVER EVER go back to apartment living. If we don't buy a home during residency we will surely rent. Enough said. Reagan has absolutely been livin' it up here. We've been spending lots of time outdoors watering Grandma's garden, strawberry patch, and gorgeous flowers. We've been grilling yummy food and playing in Reagan's new sandbox and making frequent trips to the park just a few blocks away. I've also been trying to teach Reagan how to ride her new tricycle but it's just not clicking for her yet. Oh well, she still likes it. It has been so nice to be out here with family so close. Two of my brothers are here, along with Erik's sister Elizabeth and a lot of my dad's family. Reagan has loved all of the attention. We also had a visit from Erik's mom Kathy, her parents and brothers, and Erik's youngest sister Rebecca. So spoiled are we.

I have no pictures to post because I somehow managed to forget to pack my USB cable. So, we'll have to wait until Erik gets here in a week. Yes, a WEEK! I am beyond excited to see my husband!!! It will have been 4 weeks since I last saw him. I have been dreading the 4th year for quite some time and to be honest, it just plain sucks. I think we're both actually dealing with the separation a lot better than we thought. My family has been a huge support and Erik is such a trooper and is soooo busy. He barely has time to sleep and eat every day. I can't say enough how proud I am of him! I am so so thankful to him for all that he's doing for our family. He'll be here for a week and it is going to be so fabulous. Thankfully we've been able to chat on the webcam almost every night. What would we do without modern technology?

Erik is surprising me with an overnight get-a-way while he's here. We haven't been on a trip just the two of us since our honeymoon. Those who know us know we rarely ever go out without kids so this will be a real treat. I can't handle surprises- I just get so anxious and impatient so this is really bugging me that I have no idea where we're going but I just can't wait!

So, that is a little update on what we're up to. To all of my dear friends in Iowa who I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to, I am so sad and so sorry. I was so overwhelmed and Reagan was sick the last Sunday we were there. I miss you all terribly and I hope all is well. Best of luck to you guys who are leaving soon for rotations.

Pictures to come soon and Reagan's 2nd birthday is next week :)

Reagan Update

2008-05-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted and tried to update the blog but my kiddos have been a wee bit challenging lately on top of getting ready to move in two weeks. Here's a little update on what Reagan's up to...
Reagan's new obsession is movies. We were sick last month and as a result, spent days lounging around watching movies. Reagan loves sitting in her chair with her very own bowl of popcorn to eat. Her favorite movies lately are: Anastasia and Toy Story 1 and 2.

I can't believe what a big girl Reagan is becoming. She talks constantly and is such a joy in our family. Her mullet is now long enough to put in little pigtails which I LOVE to do! This is a picture of her hair done for the first time. Unfortunately the hairdo doesn't last all day.
Reagan is also paying more attention to Sarah these days. If Sarah is crying (which is pretty much any time she's not being held), Reagan will say "What's wrong Sarah?" or she'll inform me that Sarah is crying. The other day she was pointing out the different colors on one of Sarah's toys to her. I just melt when I see Reagan playing and interacting with her sister. These are the moments that make it all worth it.

Other things Reagan is doing:

Loves to run fast, especially with daddy
Throwing tremendous tantrums- they've reached a much higher level lately (the terrible twos are REALLY here)
Playing with her dolls more and being a little mommy
Loves to make mommy and daddy food in her play kitchen
Wants us to kiss her owies all better
Loves to play at the park on the swing and slide

What Reagan is saying:

Oh wow!
Ohhh-kay! (response to most questions we ask her)
I want some of dat.
Suh-wing (swing at the park)
Mmmmm, nummy yuckies!
Hi momma (says hi to me constantly all day long, just to make sure I know she's there) :)
One of my favorites: I want some of dat yuckie.

Lastly, I have to tell a cute little story when Erik took Reagan to the park one evening recently. She's been obsessed with the swing at the park lately and won't play on anything else. After pushing Reagan in the swing for 40 minutes or so, Erik was getting a little bored so he tried to see if not pushing Reagan would encourage her to play and run off some energy. It took Reagan awhile to notice that she wasn't moving. Then Erik decided to say to Reagan that the swing was broken. She replied with "No, daddy broken!" Not much gets past this kid :)

Sarah is 4 months old and is finally...

2008-04-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

laughing!!! My girls seem to start laughing a little later than most babies. Not sure what that tells about Erik and I. Haha, jk! You want to know how I got both Reagan and Sarah to laugh for the first time? I scare them. Don't ask me how I came about doing that with Reagan. But I had tried EVERYTHING- to no avail. I think it must have just been a fluke but that's how I finally got Reagan to laugh. So when I had tried everything else to get Sarah to laugh with no success, I decided to try the scare tactics. It worked like a charm! Here's a video for your viewing pleasure. I just love a baby's laugh :)

In other news, Sarah is now a little roller. She's rolling from her belly to her back and from her back to her belly. I can't believe how much she's changed the past few weeks!

Overwhelmed

2008-04-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

I'm moving...in one month. Erik and I are both moving next month but we're going in opposite directions. As most of you know, Erik is starting his 4th year rotations on June 2nd in Pennsylvania. We thought it would be best if the girls and I moved out to Idaho to live with my parents until the end of January. That's 8 LONG months without my hubby. Just a little overwhelmed.

I've started packing but I HATE HATE moving. The whole process is just so miserable. There's so many little odds and ends that you've got to find a place for, trying to figure out what not to pack yet and what to pack ahead of time, and of course the cleaning (pure misery)...you get the idea. You've all been there before. I've never had to move since having kids so that has been interesting as well. Reagan think she's helping me by digging into opened boxes that I'm in the process of packing and chucking its contents around the house. To top it off Sarah has decided that she's only happy when my face is in front of hers talking and making baby noises.

I'll just be glad when this move is over. However, we're just going to have to move several more times in the next few years. Ugh. Tell me again why medical school was such a great idea? Thanks for letting me vent!

Counting to 10...kind of

2008-04-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Reagan counting to 10...with a little help. She's cabable of doing it but doesn't always like to do what mom and dad want or ask her to :) I hope you enjoy. If you couldn't tell- 7 is her favorite number.

Scared Stiff

2008-04-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, there are even more horrified looks from Sarah. But I thought that would have been overkill. See what I told you when I said that our little Sarah bear isnt't too photogenic? I decided to try her out in the exersaucer but I don't think she's quite ready for it, haha. She really wasn't as scared as she looks. I'm not sure why 99% of her pictures show up with this horrified expression. I think it's pretty funny though :)

Confessions: A window into my twisted mind

2008-04-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hello. My name is Jenny. I'm a germaphobe. Ever since becoming a mother, I've become a little OCD when it comes to germs. Fact: it just isn't fun when your kids are sick. You lose sleep..lots of it. You can only do so much to make them feel better, which isn't enough. Plus, I have terrible anxiety when it comes to puke. I always have.

Warning: read at your own risk. The stomach flu scares the bejubudeez out of me. Just the mere thought of the possibility of becoming nauseated and throwing up will physically make me ill. Instantly. It's one thing to be nauseated and puking your guts out with someone taking care of you or even when you're on your own. But being sick and taking care of one child or multiple children...yikes! Someone out there, please assure me that your family rarely or even better never falls ill with the flu. That would give me great hope. Don't ask me why I dwell on something as stupid and trivial as the stomach flu. I'm not sure there's anyone out there who has as much anxiety about throwing up as I do.

I guess this has been on my mind because we've been sick this week. I also woke up the other night completely nauseated out of my mind at 12:30. I proceeded to spend the rest of the night in the bathroom...slightly reminiscent of the good ol' morning sickness days. And NO I'm not pregnant, thank you. I seem to have a very strong stomach- meaning I do not throw up easily at all. This makes me very happy most of the time, except when you're so sick that you think throwing up would actually make you feel better. I thought to myself. Oh great. You've got the stomach flu and you're going to pass it on to Reagan, then Sarah, and then Erik is going to get it. By the way- it wasn't the stomach flu. Just some nasty bug that gave me a fever and nausea.
Here's a little tidbit from a Seinfeld episode, The Dinner Party, that I can relate to:

JERRY: Uh, I don't feel so good.
ELAINE: What's wrong?
JERRY: My stomach, I , I think it was that cookie.
ELAINE: The black and white?
JERRY: Yeah.
ELAINE: Not getting along?
JERRY: I think I got David Duke and Fahrikan down there.
ELAINE: Well if we can't look to the cookie where can we look?
JERRY: I feel like I'm going to throw up.
ELAINE: Hey, what about your vomit streak?
JERRY: I know, I haven't thrown up since June 29th, 1980.
[Man with cane puts cane on Elaine's foot]
ELAINE: Oh, oh!
MAN3: Sooory.
ELAINE: Sorry? You almost took my toe off. Why don't you watch what you're doing you, LUNATIC!… uh, I think he broke my toe. [Jerry gets up] Where're you going?
JERRY: Fourteen years down the drain.

Haha, I used to have a vomit streak. It went back to 6th grade before I became violently ill the day following our wedding, August 15th, 2004. 3 1/2 years and counting...

Just thought I'd let you all know how weird I am :) Erik is already aware, haha.

Sick as Dogs

2008-04-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, we're all sick as dogs here in the Rosenlof household. I guess we were probably due for some illness around here. Fortunately we've been pretty healthy since Thanksgiving. Our daily activities the past few days have consisted of lounging around in our pajamas, laying on the couch, watching lots of tv and movies (WAY too much Elmo), overdosing on Tylenol, Motrin, and Dimetapp (not really though), and sleeping whenever possible. Oh and how could I forget that I've been washing my hands literally every 2 minutes all day long followed with rubbing every surface of my hands with hand sanitizer before and after touching Reagan or Sarah. I tried so hard to keep little Sarah from contracting this evil bug but she started getting sick last night. One good thing that has come from all of this- I haven't had an appetite. Woo hoo! Way to jumpstart my weight loss :)

I took these pictures of Reagan and Sarah a few days ago- right before we all got sick. I had realized I really didn't have any pictures of them together. Probably because Reagan really doesn't care for Sarah much still. You may not be able to tell, but Reagan was laughing a little here and there. She thought it was hilarious how Sarah kept falling over. She kept saying "Silly Sayah (Sarah)!" I really hope they do become good friends someday.

Don't you just love how Sarah always has this terrified "deer in the headlights" look about her? Those eyes always seem to just bug out whenever we take pictures. Poor kid isn't too photogenic :) The last picture was right after Reagan gave Sarah a kiss on her head while saying "Muah!" I just love my girls!!

This is getting ridiculous

2008-04-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm more than disgusted with myself. Things have gotten out of hand around here. Since mid pregnancy in August (once the morning sickness went away), I have been stuffing my face with anything and everything that is sweet and delicious. I thought these overwhelming and unrestrainable cravings would disappear after Sarah was born. Wrong...oh so very wrong! I think *GASP* that they have intensified. For the past few weeks I have been gorging myself on these delightfully evil gems:

Seriously, these little eggs are ridiculous. We bought four of thse bad boys...the family size bags. What has happened to me? I used to be the master of self control back in college. It's a good thing they only sell them at Easter time.

I decided that it is long overdue for me to get back into a serious work out routine. Exercising has always helped me have more self control because I work so hard to burn the calories that I can't bear to throw it all away by eating one cadbury mini egg (which turns into 15...or more) because restraint is impossible.

I plan on doing pilates 3-4 days a week and running 3 days a week to start out with. Sometime in the not too distant future, I'd love to be able to train for a marathon. I don't know if my poor joints could hack it though.

I've done Winsor pilates before a few times with a friend and noticed results really fast. I can't wait to see what a long term routine will do to my sad excuse of a body. Has anyone tried Winsor pilates? Any other suggestions on how I can kick this all consuming sweets addiction I have??? Anyone out there share my sad misfortune?

Oh and one last thing. Somehow I managed to discover this hidden treasure: http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/ As if I didn't have enough problems already! I dare you to browse her cooking section. She'll convince you that you have to make everything she's posted on her site. With her staple ingredients being butter, butter, and more butter....how do I have a fighting chance?

Playground Fun

2008-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday last week it was SO nice outside for once! We headed over to Fairmeadows park (one of my favorites here in WDM) for some fun.
Let me just say that Reagan was unusually cautious on the playground equipment. We haven't been to the playground since the fall when Reagan was 15-17 months old. She's now 21 months old and is so much more grown up. It was definitely a lot more fun for me. I didn't feel like I needed to follow her around everywhere. I only had to get up on the equipment when she climbed the stairs to the big kids part of the playground (as you can see in the background in the above picture).

Here's Reagan flashing her signature smile. She was soooo cautious walking over the bridge. I think it must be because she's hit her head about 900,000 times at least in her short life.

She really likes the swings a lot. We spent a good portion of our time there. She had fun watching 2 older boys swing next to her. She was laughing at one of them because they would kick up dirt now and then. I love how she is starting to see humor in things. She has the best laugh! I'm really excited that spring is almost here. I can't wait to get out every day!

Fortunately Sarah was pretty good just chilling out in the stroller. It was definitely a different experience trying to keep my eye on 2 kiddos!

I'd like you all to take notice on how I've posted several entries in a row. Pretty exciting, huh?

Easter

2008-03-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

I actually bought these bunny ears last year when Reagan was 9 months old. She had fun trying them on.
We did a small easter egg hunt in our apartment the day before Easter (boring, I know) but the weather wasn't the greatest. It took Reagan awhile to fill her basket. She wasn't too sure about the whole thing.Once she figured it out, she was totally into it!

Here's a video of Reagan trying to figure out the whole easter egg hunt. We think she's pretty cute. As you can tell, she's pretty obsessed with identifying colors these days.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and were able to reflect on The Savior and His Atonement. I am definitely humbled and filled with grattitude for His gift and sacrifice.

Congratulations Dave and Laura!

2008-03-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to congratulate my older brother Dave and his new fiance Laura on getting engaged a few weeks ago! They'll be getting married in the San Diego temple on July 25th this summer. I've honestly never seen my brother happier. I'll probably be the last person to meet her since I won't meet her until they get married. I'm excited to have another sister :)

Oh how they grow up so fast!

2008-03-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this picture was taken around a month ago but I just think this look is priceless! We get a lot of interesting looks like this from our little Sarah bear.
Now this is more like it! I just can't believe Sarah is already 3 months old! She is such a joy in our family. Always, always smiling :) At her 2 month appointment she was 12 lbs 6 oz. and 22 1/2 inches long. A pound heavier ans an inch shorter than Reagan was at the same age.
Now Reagan has been growing like a weed- she is taller than a lot of kids older than her but she's just plain growing up into a little girl. She just recently moved into a toddler bed and loves her new "big girl bed." In fact, today she shooed me out of her bedroom, shut the door, and got into her bed all by herself and took a 2 hour nap. I couldn't believe it! She's already acting like a teenager- closing herself into her room all of the time. I'm worried.
One of Reagan's favorite things to do every day is paint. At first she was relly sloppy and didn't have much of an attention span. Now she tries to carefully blot the brush in the paint. I just love watching her little face full of concentration. I can see a look of pure satisfaction on her face.
Other things Reagan is up to:
1. Copying everything Erik or I say. Example: Erik was changing one of Reagan's dirty diapers. As usual he was grossed out and said :"Oh sick!" a few times. Now Reagan says that frequently and it sounds really cute, especiaaly when she says it while I change Sarah's messy diapers. We better be careful what we say around here!
2. She started calling Erik and I by our first names: Denny and Eggik. Funny thing is, Erik did the same thing when he was Reagan's age.
3. For months Reagan hasn't been able to count past two. Out of nowhere yesterday she proceeded to count to ten as she ate her grapes at lunch!
4. Lastly, Reagan loves dessert. Except she doesn't call it that. Apparently dessert sounds like the s word to her. Erik gets a kick out of her saying it.

I just can't believe how big she is getting! She definitely keeps us entertained around here.

Last of all- I would like to apologize again for the lack of blog posts. Not that I've ever posted regularly but that's besides the point. After a series of unfortunate events in the Rosenlof household, I think I'm back on my feet (sort of) and hope to post more regularly. That's if my little rugrats allow me the pleasure :)

An Easter post with pictures and a video to come soon.

A Little Perspective

2008-02-19T06:17:00.000-08:00

Looking at wedding photos yesterday while I was working on my blog entry, I got seriously depressed. What has happened to me?!?!? The picture above is me in my glory days- 4 months after we were married and I was at my all time low weight- 118 lbs. Ah, to be that thin again... Long gone are the days when I didn't have massive red stretch marks all over my belly, thighs, and who even wants to know where else. Gone are the days when I had the freedom to exercise like a maniac for 3 hours a day burning 2500 calories (yes, I was that psycho but it felt good). Heck, gone are the days I have even a relaxing few minutes to enjoy taking a shower. I'm packing around a good 15 extra pounds these days and only yesterday fit into a pair of non maternity jeans. For some reason I've got serious hormonal imbalances and my face is covered in hideous, painful zits. It's finally starting to get a little better but c'mon, I'm 24 years old already. I'm ready to move past the acne.

As I was wallowing in self pity, I realized that these unpleasant changes and sacrifices I've made were for a great cause. What have I gained in all this? I have two beautiful, precious, and perfect daughters to show for it. They are everything to me. I may not be in shape and thin anymore (I'm definitely going to try to get there again) but for now, my time is focused on my sweet babies. They really do bring so much joy into my life. Being a young mom with young kids is so hard but so rewarding. Some day I'll have time again to do some of the things I once did before I became a mom.

I'm in Love...

2008-02-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

with my sweet hubby and two precious daughters! This entry is in honor of Valentine's Day. A little late, I know but my V-day was not so wonderful. Reagan woke up that morning burning up with a fever. She was miserable most of the day and as a result, so was I. I vowed that day that I wasn't going to have any more kids. Kids get sick...A LOT and I just don't deal well when my babies aren't feeling well. It just breaks my heart to see her miserable and not be able to instantly make it better. I'm sure it will be a lot easier when she's older and can actually communicate what she needs.

Erik and I met just over 4 years ago on January 7th, 2004. For those of you who know me, I'm a freak when it comes to dates. Any date my brain deems important is stored permanently and recalled very easily. For some reason my brain thought it was important to remember random birthdays of kids in my elementary school classes, etc. Erik thought I actually tried to memorize dates ( I guess he thought maybe I didn't have anything else to do?) but I don't. It's just a freakish talent (maybe not?) that I have. Anyways, we got engaged on May 15th and were married on August 14th, 2004 in the Dallas temple. Here are 10 things I love about Erik:
1. He has worked so hard the past 3 years in medical school to do well, despite some difficult setbacks
2. He loves to joke around and make me laugh
3. He totally accepts me for who I am and still loves me
4. He is always encouraging and positive with me (so wonderful!)
5. He appreciates all that I do at home and with the girls
6. He raves about my cooking all of the time (which I secretly love to hear, even though I tell him it's not anything special)
7. He's an amazing father to our girls- he is so good at playing with Reagan (some day Sarah too)
8. He has put up with me and my whining during my 2 long, VERY LONG pregnancies :)
9. He has an amazing testimony
10. He's very thoughtful and generous
Thank you so much for all you do--I love you!!

Here are 10 things I love about my Reagan:

1. She's sensitive- so many times she gets upset and sad if she sees mommy crying

2. She's incredibly driven. I love that she has an agenda every day. She keeps herself busy doing the most adorable little tasks. I love to watch her organize things in her own little way.

3. She loves to help me out. Lately she's been helping me unload the dishwasher and put away groceries.

4. She's such a sweetheart. She often gives me hugs and while she's hugging me, she'll pat and/or rub my back.

5. She's so dang smart! She knows all but 5-6 letters of the alphabet. I found out that she knew her letters when she spelled the word "two" to me without me even asking her to. She talks a lot for a 20 month old and is so eager to learn. She knows a lot of her colors and shapes as well. I'm so proud of her :)

6. I love it when she says "I love you momma"

7. She is so curious about the world and incredibly observant. It's so wonderful to see the world through a child's eyes. They think everything is amazing. She loves the moon (used to be obsessed with it) and gets incredibly giddy when she sees it or airplanes.

8. She always makes me laugh...especially now that she's more verbal.

9. She's very driven and motivated. I think this will help her to be very successful in life.

10. She loves to dance and climb and jump...she's so full of energy and life and it makes me happy (unless she's getting into too much trouble or hurting herself, which happens frequently)

I love you Reagan!

10 things I love about Sarah:

1. Her sweet smile...oh how I melt when her face lights up. She smiles at everything. She's such a happy baby!
2. She's so peaceful and calm. It has created a nice balance in our home. Reagan is anything but calm most of the time! It's nice to have a little of both worlds :)
3. She's made the transition to 2 kids a piece of cake (well, not quite) but I couldn't have asked or dreamed that it could be any easier
4. She's been sleeping 10 hours a night since she was 4 weeks old. All you moms of new babies, please don't send me hate mail. I promise I paid my dues with Reagan as she screamed her head off for the first 3 1/2 months of her life and never slept.
5. She's easy to please. She rarely cries unless she's hungry, tired, or lonely. Not even all the time then.
6. She's a great eater.
7. She's sweet
8. She's easy!
9. She sleeps all through the night and then some :)
10. She has brought so much happiness to our family.

I can't wait to get to know her better as her personality emerges as she gets older. I love you Sarah!!

I feel so blessed to have Erik and my 2 girls in my life.

Sarah is 4 weeks old...growing like crazy

2008-01-22T08:06:00.000-08:00

Sarah just turned 4 weeks old yesterday. I think this picture really captures her temperament well. She is so calm and mellow the majority of the time unless she is hungry, tired, or needs to burp. She's very easy to please :) It's amazing to me how different two siblings can be!
Ok, so I'm amazed at this child of mine. For the first few weeks, Sarah went quite awhile in between feedings. Of course being the paranoid mother that I am, I had to take her into the doctor's office to have her weighed to make sure she was gaining ok. At 3 weeks old, Sarah weighed 10 lbs 2 oz! She was 7 lbs 5 oz at birth so she had gained nearly 3 lbs! I couldn't believe it. But, check out those cheeks! She weighs what Reagan weighed at 10 weeks old. Looks like we're going to have a little chunk in our family :) Reagan ate every 2 hours until 8 months and was always thin as a rail. Again, so many differences!
I just can't believe how fast she's growing!

In other news, Reagan went to nursery for the first time yesterday. I've been paranoid about sending her earlier because we're in the middle of sick season and I just hate when she gets sick. But, it's going to happen so oh well. Erik and I (especially Erik) have been looking forward to this day for a really long time! Now Erik can actually get something out of the rest of the church meetings. Hopefully Sarah decides to take her time in walking. Reagan walking at 9 months old made for a very long 9 months until she was ready for nursery.

Erik stayed with Reagan in nursery just to make sure she did ok, especially since she usually naps around 11:30 and church starts at 11:00 now. She did really well. When it was time for snacks, Reagan happened to be 4th out of 7 kids. As soon as Jordan Hansen started handing out the fruit snacks to the first kid, Reagan went nuts. She started yelling "Num, num, numinee, num num" (Num is for yummy and I WANT some) then she started chanting a series of "Pea, pea, pea, pea, pea!" (Please), "Go, Down, Go, pea, pea, go, down!" Basically she was saying any and all words, hoping that one of them would get her a fruit snack. By the time she got to Natalie Fluhman, who was right before her, she was desperate. Before the last fruit snack hit the napkin, Reagan had swiped one of hers and popped it into her mouth so fast that Natalie didn't even notice! Anyways, it turned out well and she was so tired that she passed out cold in the car before we left the church parking lot.

Visits from Grandmas and Grandpa

2008-01-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm officially on my own now. My mom came to help for a week and a half and then Erik's mom flew out for the same amount of time. Erik's dad flew out last weekend for the blessing of Sarah. We had to bless her in the bishop's office since it was ward conference that Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing. Reagan enjoyed having lots of attention from Grandma Garner and Grandma and Grandpa Rosenlof. We were all spoiled tremendously by their service. This is a picture of Reagan and Sarah with my mom the night before she left. Thanks mom for everything- you're the best!
Reagan immediately took a liking to Grandpa Rosenlof. She didn't leave his lap much soon after he got here which is very uncharacteristic of her, as most of you that know her can understand :) She's typically on the move constantly so this was a welcome change.
A big thanks goes out to Erik's mom Kathy, who was a huge help. We had a lot of fun with you around.

Well, I'd say that things are going pretty well with the transition from 1-2 kids. A lot easier than the transition from 0-1. It helps a lot when the baby isn't colicky! Sarah continues to be such an easy baby. Reagan is still trying to adjust but is doing much better.

Sarah Elaine has arrived!

2008-01-02T11:28:00.001-08:00

After not having internet for nearly a month and computer problems, I'mfinally getting around to annoumce the birth of our 2nd daughter Sarah Elaine. She was born on Sunday, December 23rd at 6:35 pm. She was 19 inches long and 7 lbs 5.5 oz. After 2 weeks of false labor,Jenny was thrilled that she came a little early. Her labor was fast and furious and Sarah arrived only 2 hours after being admitted! She's beautiful,precious,and a super easy baby so far :)
Here's Reagan meeting her baby sister for the first time- 2 hrs later.
First family picture.
She loves to suck on her fingers!

Random Reagan Updates

2007-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

Nothing super eventful has been happening with us, but I thought it was about time to post an update on the blog. A couple of weeks ago after FHE we had yummy brownie bars and took a few pictures of Reagan enjoying it to the fullest. Life is just so much fun with these sweet little ones around who really just love and enjoy the simplest things!
Here she is a little more serious about getting to work on the brownie :)
Reagan loves to get into the groceries before I have time to put away the non refrigerated items. I have to say I was quite impressed with her stacking abilities. It amazes me how much she grows and develops even from day to day. This wasn't even as high as she stacked them! She loves to keep herself busy with little tasks such as these. It's hilarious to watch her facial expressions-- you can just see how important the most random tasks are to her! I sure do love her :)
While I was out doing a little bit of Black Friday shopping, Erik took a few snapshots of Reagan with her new princess chair. She has always loved climbing into and sitting in her own special seat. I recently pulled out her old infant car seat to get ready for the new baby and she was always climbing in and out of it. A couple of her "friends" have their own chairs and everytime we go to play with them, she always takes over their chairs. We figured it was time for her to have her own chair. She loves it, of course! Erik was lucky enough to capture one of Reagan's "pretty" smiles. This is her smile when we ask her to. We haven't been able to get a picture of it until now. I just love it! I think she looks A LOT like Erik in this pic.
Another thing Reagan has been really big into is trying on mommy and daddy's shoes. She is just so proud of herself when she manages to get both on and slowly scoots around the house. It can also turn it to a very frustrating process for her too.

I just can't believe how much she is growing up. She is so verbal already at her age. Her recent obsession is the moon. Everytime we go out side she points excitedly to the sky, chanting "the moon, the moon!" It's hilarious how nuts she goes over it, especially when she can see it. It's become a part of her bedtime routine to go out on the balcony with Erik and talk to the moon. She also started saying I love you, which has melted both of our hearts. We sure do love you Reagan!

Fourth Year Rotations

2007-11-07T08:15:00.001-08:00

We just wanted to let our friends and family know where Erik will be doing his rotations during his 4th year. We were blessed to have gotten all of his top choices and Erik feels really good about all of them. Here we go:

June 2008- Community Medical Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania (home to the show, The Office, of which we are big fans) I'm not entirely sure what the girls and I are going to do this month. It all depends on where we end up with housing. We'll probably be out in Idaho towards the end of June though.

July 2008- Millcreek Community Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. The girls and I will be in Idaho for the first part of the month for a family reunion. I know I'm going to be aching to see Erik so I'll probably make a trip out to see him.

August 2008- St. Mary's Health Care Services in Evansville, Indiana. It's a 9 hour drive from Des Moines to Evansville. If the girls and I are stationed here in Des Moines, we'll probably make a trip out to see him this month.

September 2008- Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Woo hoo! Fort Dodge is about 1 hour and 45 minutes away from Des Moines, which means we'll be able to see Erik on weekends.

October-Feb 2009- 4 month core spent at Detroit Medical Center in Warren, Michigan. We'll all be together for the core and will be staying in a furnished apartment there during the lovely cold winter months :)

Feb-April 2009- Still undecided on where he will do the rest of his fourth year. At least one month will be private practice. If we stay in Iowa he'll be doing it here in Des Moines. If not, then we'll be in Idaho or California.

May 2009- 1 month break before residency!

So, we're likely looking at doing residency in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, or Michigan. Erik is really hoping to do his residency in Fort Dodge, IA based on what he knows about the program. Of course, he could change his mind once he goes to some of the other programs. I'm not looking forward to next year but at least it means we're getting closer to being done!

Beggar's Night and Trunk or Treat

2007-11-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

For Beggar's night, Reagan and I went with my friend Olivia and her two kids to Valley West mall to do some trick or treating. It was pretty packed there. They had a lot of activities for the kids along with inflatable slides and to Reagan's delight, a giant Elmo and Cookie Monster, her two favorite Sesame Street characters. Once she caught sight of Elmo, she frantically made her way to the front of the crowd and just stared at him in awe while chanting "Elmo!, Elmo!" over and over again (quite passionately I might add).
When we came across Cookie Monster, she enthusiastically chanted "Nummy nummy nummy!" while holding out her arms for him to pick her up and hold her. She associates nummy with Cookie Monster because he eats nummy cookies of course!

By the end of the 30-40 minutes we were there, I was paralyzed with pain from constantly bending down and trying to keep her from grabbing all of the candy out of her pumpkin. I definitely won't be trick or treating with a little one without Erik when I'm 31 weeks pregnant. But, we had fun. Before I continue on, a little history for those who don't know, on why I chose to dress her up as a skunk. From Reagan's first week of life, Erik nicknamed her Skunk and it has stuck ever since. It just fits her. So a few months back when I saw the skunk costume at Old Navy, I couldn't resist. The pictures really don't do justice just how adorable she looked.
The following night, Halloween, was Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot. We arrived quite late, but just in time to show Reagan off and for her to get some goodies. Actually, we really are the ones eating the candy but whatever :) This time I made Erik take her around while I sat my whale of a body on our trunk to pass out candy. Apparently, I really missed out by not going around with Reagan. Erik said that everyone was just oohing and aahing over what a cute skunk she was. She actually kept her skunk hood on while she went around, which makes the costume so much cuter. We were quite proud and please as she said "Pea" (please) and "Tay Tou" (thank you) before and after she received a treat for most of the people she visited. Of course, that really won even more admiration from the members. I'm just sad I didn't get to witness it all. We can't believe how much she's grown up, especially lately.
For the ride home, we unwrapped a sucker for her to enjoy. Before Erik gave it to her she really wasn't too sure about it. Of course as soon as she took a lick she was sold. She had a meltdown when I tried to take the sucker away from her mouth for half a second while I strapped her in the carseat.

Baby Names

2007-10-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Well, nothing very interesting has happened since my last post. I really need to get a life! Haha. Since Halloween is in a few days, we'll have some adorable pictures of Reagan in her costume. I just can't wait to dress her up!

On other news. I'm 31 weeks pregnant. Just 2 months to go before this little bundle arrives. At my last appointment (@ 30 wks), I was only measuring 27 weeks. I measured a little small with Reagan but not that small. So, I was a little concerned. The doctor says as long as I measure larger at the next appt. everything should be fine. I sure am eating more than enough for this little girl to be HUGE. Of course it looks as though it is finding residence on my thighs, butt, and hips. Oh joy!

Anyways, Erik and I have not been able to agree on a name for girl # 2. Erik is very much in love with the name Chloe. I also like the name quite a bit but I can't settle on it. We're also considering Lauren and Sarah. So, I'm just going to shout out and see what everyone else thinks. What's your favorite?? Hope you're all doing well :)

Rexburg Trip (aka. Spoiled by Mom and Grandma)

2007-10-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Let's try this whole blog thing again. After 2 months of not posting anything, I'm hoping to make posts a bit more regular :) Which means, I need to get my butt out of the house and actually do some fun things, especially before baby #2 arrives!

Reagan and I just got back last night from our 2 week vacation in Idaho. My parents spoiled us rotten while we were there :) It was so nice to be close to family, with all of my brothers living nearby. My mom and I did a few projects while I was there. We made 2 hefty receiving blankets that are actually big enough to swaddle a baby in, and a quilt for Reagan when she moves up to a toddler bed. It was a lot of fun and got me motivated to do some new projects.

Reagan got very attached to my mom while we were there. She highly preferred her over me most of the time. Probably because my mother is amazing and wonderful in every way. Plus, she's just so much more nicer than mommy. Also, I've never seen her adore someone so much as she does my younger brother Garrett. She just gets so giddy around him. It's really cute.

However, we're both elated to be back home with Erik. He survived somehow, although he does look a bit thinner to me. He promised me he would cook a few meals and take care of himself instead of surviving on nachos and salsa, starbursts, and rolos (as he did the last time we were apart). He didn't do a very good job with the one request I gave him. He managed to cook one casserole the whole time I was gone. So, I've got my work cut out for me to fatten him up a little more so that I don't feel so bad about the absolute glutton I was while I was gone. It's a good thing I like cooking, especially for my hubby.

Baby #2 is a....

2007-08-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Girl! This past Thursday (Aug. 16th), we found out that we're expecting another little girl. Once again, I've proven to Erik that I know everything. I just knew it was another girl. We're both very excited for her to join our family sometime in December, most likely. From the ultrasound, it appears that she is healthy and right on target. We feel so blessed. Now...if we could only agree on names :)

I've been sucked in...to the world of blogs

2007-08-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I figure this is a great way for family and friends to feel a little more part of our lives, although I still can't believe I set up a family blog! Shhhh- I haven't told Erik yet. We'll see if I get addicted to the blog world :) Now I know most everyone who has a blog writes very intelligent, witty, and clever posts but just to forewarn you, don't expect that from me!

The Rosenlof Family

Catching up...always catching up!

Family Visits- Part I of the Great Exodus to Pennsylvania

Easter

The Many Faces of Sarah

Match Day

Potty Update and Sarah's sayings and stats

So Frazzled...4th day of potty training. Help!

Reagan's sayings, family update, and Christmas pictures!

I Conquered My Ridiculous Craving

Current Obsession: Exercise

Sunny California

Soooo Excited!! 27 hours and counting...

What's going on with our little Sarah bear...

Best Birthday Surprise Ever and Halloween!

Huntington Beach! (From July)

Catching up July 2008: Dave and Laura's wedding & Cannon Family Reunion

July Catch Up Week One: Yellowstone Bear World

Reagan's 2 Year and Sarah's 8 Month Stats

Do I Dare To Try?

Thank You Jeff, You Saved My Life- REALLy LONG

Farewell Evansville

Happy Four and Twenty Seven!

Sleep Deprivation..*Yawn*

Let's Not Forget About Sarah

Reagans 2nd birthday party

Reagan turns 2!

We're still alive...crazy summer! June recap...

Livin' it up in Idaho

Reagan Update

Sarah is 4 months old and is finally...

Overwhelmed

Counting to 10...kind of

Scared Stiff

Confessions: A window into my twisted mind

Sick as Dogs

This is getting ridiculous

Playground Fun

Easter

Congratulations Dave and Laura!

Oh how they grow up so fast!

A Little Perspective

I'm in Love...

Sarah is 4 weeks old...growing like crazy

Visits from Grandmas and Grandpa

Sarah Elaine has arrived!

Random Reagan Updates

Fourth Year Rotations

Beggar's Night and Trunk or Treat

Baby Names

Rexburg Trip (aka. Spoiled by Mom and Grandma)

Baby #2 is a....

I've been sucked in...to the world of blogs

Sleep Deprivation..Yawn