Tagged... how does this work again? ;)

I don't know that I have ever done one of these before, but here goes! :)

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Getting a restful nights sleep. Little E sleeps so well all through the night now, but since I have been pregnant my wacko prego dreams have made sleep very exhausting. Which means I am very very happy when I wake up in the morning and think, "Man I feel good" instead of "Just 5 more hours please!"

2. Eating Little E's neck. I have started a little game where I tell her that her neck is nummy and I am going to eat it. She instantly tries to cover her neck up with her chin and giggles and giggles as I nudge my way under it and give her neck all kinds of kisses and raspberries. Seriously the cutest kid ever!

3. A clean kitchen. I usually only see it once a day and only for a few minutes at that, but it makes me very very happy.

4. I am stealing this one from my friend Carly who tagged me, but I agree 100%! A long hot shower with no interruption! Shaving my legs, scrubbing my hair, and not hearing a screaming child who wants into the tub with me. BLISS! (I don't understand why she screams at me so much. I even bought a clear sower curtain so she would be able to see me through it, but it didn't help at all!)

5. Lilacs. I love lilacs! One of the reasons I was so excited about the house we bought was that it had lilacs for me to enjoy every spring! They are the best smelling flower ever and I can't wait until its finally warm enough here for me to enjoy them. :)

6. Getting something done that has been on my list for forever! I know you all get what I am talking about. Maybe its just writing a letter or getting a load of laundry done, but if its been on my to do list for over a week I feel pretty darn good getting it off of there!

7. Little E's new words. I can't get over how well she is starting to communicate! She isn't a little baby anymore and carry's on short little conversations with me all the time. She even used a 5 word sentence the other day. It went about like this, "Daddy! Coming? Outside! Nana's House!" Which translated is. Daddy are you comming we are going outside to Nana's house. She also likes to tell me about things she has done, like "Papa horses apples!" Or Papa helped me feed the horses some apples. It is so fun! I love every minute of it!

8. Really getting into exercising. I love when summer time comes and I can train for a 5K or Sprint Triathalon or something. Anything really to get me out of the house and in shape. Its one reason that I am a little bummed to be preganant all summer. I was hopeing that I would get at least 1 month of crazy workout fun. But that's ok because the town just to the north of us (where the collage is) is getting an aquatic center soon! So I will be able to work out even in the winter time after this baby comes. That helps me think of another thing that makes me happy!

9. Swimming! I never really liked swimming until I took a collage course on it! Now it is one of my loves! I love the way you glide through the water and come out feeling refreshed instead of hot and sweaty. I love just floating in the cool water watching the light reflecting off of the surface and dancing on the ceiling. I love the way that the world is quiet under water so you can just think and be yourself for a few short minutes without any interruptions. It really is a wonderful escape! I highly recommend everyone take a swimming class so they can enjoy it too!

10. My family! I love all of my family!!! My husband and child. My parents and siblings. And everyone on my dear husbands side of the family too! They are all so wonderful and I can never get enough time with them. I really wished more of them lived closer (hint hint! jk) I really do enjoy all of the laughs and fun that family brings into my life and am so grateful that I get to enjoy it as often as I do!

5 Pieces of Trivia About Me

1. I love to cook deserts! I don't really like making dinner or any other meal for that matter but if its got chocolate in it I am all over that action! Saddly I haven't been able to bake too much lately because I A. have no energy and B. don't want to gain to much weight, but man do I LOVE making and eating a good desert!

2. I really enjoy creating things. That is why I am so into sewing and crocheting. I think I enjoy the fact that I have finished a task that will actually stay finished, unlike laundry or dishes or changing a diaper. It means that I have something tangible to show for all the effort I put into it. That is a really nice feeling.

3. I can't get enough of outside stuff in the summer time! Its so fun to go hiking or bike riding as a family! I really enjoy looking at all of the wonderful plants and animals and realizing that God created it all for me to enjoy! It really helps me to feel the love He has for me. Plus it means that I get to be out spending time with my husband usually doing something he loves too. Double bonus! :)

4. I got to go to the south pacific when I was in the 4th grade. It was one of the best experiences of my life and someday I am going back there with my children so they can see all of the amazing things the world holds for them to enjoy! I can't wait to go scuba diving at a warm tropical reef! I really enjoyed scuba diving in CA with my sister a few years ago, but it was dang cold! I think it would be really fun to do it somewhere that you don't need and inch of neoprene on to not freeze off your little tushie!

5. I like bugs. Most people who know me are well aware of this, but it is a thing that makes me me. lol I don't even mind spiders so long as they aren't hobo's! (nasty little buggers!) My role in the house growing up was the spider saver. Some of my sisters were not so enlightened in the ways of the insect/arachnid and it was my duty to save the poor things from an untimely squishy demise. But I like I said, spiders are good in my book. My dear husband recently got a turantula for free as a class pet and I have to tell you, he is really cool to hold! It is so weird to feel something with that much weight that isn't a mamel or reptile.

So there you go Carly! That was actually really hard to do. I hate writing about myself! lol Its really hard to do. Now I guess I am supposed to tag a couple other people right? Ok, I tag all my blogging sistas! You know who you are! (A.T., L.C., M.E., and K.C.) I don't know if you wanted yoru names up so initials will have to do. I will be watching your blogs... j/k you don't have to do it if you don't wanna.

Baby #2

So I don't know who I have and haven't told this too yet. But the time has come to announce it for everyone to hear! We are expecting baby #2! We are very very excited for our family to grow and for Little E to get a baby brother or sister. She already is playing the part! She loves to "kiss the baby" by kissing my belly. Then she tends to hit or kick my stomach on accident as she goes off to her next activity. She's already trying to beat up her younger sibling. j/k
So, here are some stats for those of you who want them.

Due Date: Sept 27th
Weeks along: 15
What baby is like right now: From Baby Center

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl!
As for how I am feeling, I am doing pretty well. Morning sickness has been bad but not nearly as bad as the first time around. So I am just counting my blessings and enjoying the fact that its already slowing down. (With Little E I was sick until at least 6 months along). My energy is starting to come back now that I am through the first trimester. I no longer need a nap everyday to feel like a person vs. a walking corpse. Now its down to every other day. ;)

Little E has been such a good girl through this whole thing. She even changed her sleeping schedule for me. She now sleeps in a little longer in the morning (waking up at 8-9 instead of 7-8.) I think its mostly just because I couldn't go get her even if she was awake so she learned to just sleep in.

My Mom has been such an angel during the first trimester. She would come play with little E or help me clean my house when I just couldn't do it anymore. I am so grateful to live close to family so that I am never really alone. Thank you so much Mom! :D

My loving husband has also been a real trooper. He puts little E to bed every night because I usually have to lie down after making diner. He has also put up with a messy house for months without complaint. I am so grateful that he is as excited as I am for this new little baby and that he supports me in any way he can. He is such a wonderful man!

Thanks again to all my family and friends for sharing in this special time with us! We love you all!

I did it!!! Little E's Movie for 2008 is FINALLY HERE!!!

So today I was watching all of the amazing movies my sister makes for her kids (and crying a little at how fast they grew up!) and I decided the day had come! I was going to figure out how the heck to make one of these, what pictures and song to use, and just get it done today! So I did! :) I am very pleased with myself. Now if I could just knuckle down and do my laundry...

Just a quick update.

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't blogged for so long. I have plenty of cute pictures and videos that I want to upload and share with you all but my dearest daughter put my camera cord away somewhere safe and I can't seem to find it. :)

So for now I thought I would at least get on and tell you a few fun stories from our life.

Today I made egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Little E loves to help right now. If I ask her do you want to help she runs up saying "help help!" and signing it at the same time. Today she helped me to hit the eggs on the counter to break the shell, then peeled the shells into the garbage can with me. She thought that was the coolest thing ever and kept laughing as I peeled more shell off of the eggs. Then she helped me to cut them in half with a butter knife and really got into the chopping bit of the preparation. I couldn't beleive how much she enjoyed cutting the whites into little pieces. She also enjoyed adding in the spices and eating it. Its activities like this that remind me that my little baby is growing up into a little girl. She wants to do things that I didn't think she could do, and she enjoys every minute of proving me wrong.

Little E has recently discovered blues clues on netflix. She used to run up to the computer and ask for a "moome" but yesterday she figured out how to say blues clues " coos coos" and then she puts her arms up in the air and says "Mawl!" (mail!) Just to be extra sure that I understand what she wants. She would watch it all day long if I let her. Which I don't. :)

She also enjoys "Nana and Papa Moome!" or video chatting with grandma and grandpa. We talked with them on Sunday night and she asked for the nana papa moome all day on Monday. I think she really enjoys getting to see them even though they live far away.

The other thing that she really enjoys right now is outside. She has figured out that if I put on her shoes and coat we are going to go outside somewhere. So now she wakes up first thing in the morning and says "Shoes! Outside!" and tries to put on her shoes and coat and leave. I think she might be getting a little spring fever... and she isn't the only one!

Well, it sounds like she has woken up from her nap early so I better go play with her. Maybe we will even go for a walk outside. I hope this little update lets you all know that I am ok and just haven't been on here for a while. :) I hope to get a new camera cord soon and will post all those videos and pictures for you then!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know I know it has been WAY to long since I last really blogged. We have just been so busy first getting ready for Christmas and then playing with family that I am now totally wiped out and haven't gotten anything done!

We finally made a Christmas Card this year and sent it out. For those of you who might not have gotten one I am sorry, we could only afford to send a few out. But here is the picture and newsletter we sent out. So its basically the same thing. :)


Dear Friends and Family,
What a fun and busy year we have had. 2009 has been a year filled with firsts! Probably the biggest first of all is the purchase of our FIRST HOME! We moved in during August and have been enjoying making it our own ever since.
Michael has had his first year of participating in the before and after school programs. That includes bowling with kids, teaching guitar lessons, playing with thousands of dollars worth of legos, and pelting kids with balls during dodgeball. I personally think that dodgeball has proven to be very therapeutic for him. :)
Lilly has had so many firsts I can’t even think of them all! She took her first steps at the dinner we had the night before my younger sister Kara got married. The dinner was held at Rexburg’s airport. I think both of her grandpas would be very proud of her motivation to take those steps. A helicopter would prepare to take off and she was trying her very hardest to reach it, taking over five steps in a row to do so. She apparently didn’t have sufficient motivation for a few months afterwards and really got the whole walking thing down at around 16 months.
Other firsts have included her first word, which was Dog (no surprise there. Her first laugh, and sign were also due to the dog). She has really started to talk lately and enjoys telling us all about her books, kitty, silky, and anything else she can think of to talk about. She also enjoys decorating the Christmas tree with anything she can find. This has included anything from toilet paper rolls to tennis balls.
I have been very busy trying to keep our new home clean, keep up with Lilly, and work on my small business selling baby leg warmers, hair bows, and fabric baby carriers. It seems like this year has gone by in a whirlwind and I can’t wait to see what fun things will fly by in 2010.
Please feel free to see in more detail what the McCullough clan is up to on our blog at http://www.lovecatandcaterpillargirl.blogspot.com/
We love you all and hope you have a wonderful Holiday season.
Love,
Michael, Jennifer, Lilly, and Trek

Christmas eve was a very special night. We went to dinner at my parents with our whole family and opened presents from my Grandma and my father. They gave us this beautiful quilt that was hand quilted by one of my ancestors and matches Little E's room. She was really excited about the butterflies.
I also gave Grandma our present, it was a potted violet that I crochet. It was really cute. She looked so beautiful in her black outfit and was so fun to visit with. I really need to go and visit her more often. Little E really enjoys playing in her little apartment and bringing her every stuffed animal she owns from off the couch.

Christmas was really fun! We were like little kids and couldn't wait for Little E to open her gifts from Santa so we woke her up (We let her sleep in until almost 9:30 and needed to go to breakfast at my parents anyways so its not like we got her up at the crack of dawn.)
Little E got some really fun presents for Christmas. Santa gave her a little couch that folds out to sleep on. Its just her size and she immediately started rolling around on it and jumping up and down on it.
We gave her a set of baby doll items including a crib, stroller, and highchair. She has taken to being a little mommy so well. :) The other day I found her feeding her baby doll in the high chair (one of her new favorite passtimes) and she began to imitate me when I try to feed her. I was rolling with laughter as she would hold out her spoon to the baby and say "Some?" (I ask her all the time "do you want some?" when I'm trying to get her to eat) then she replies for the baby "NO!" (just like she says to me.) She went on for 5 minutes, "Some?, NO! Some? NO!" One of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Probably my favorite gift was the note that Daddy helped Little E to make for on the gift he gave me (a larger griddle so I can make more than three pancakes at a time). It was so sweet I cried a little.

Here is a really fun picture of Little E after her aunt K did her hair to look like Cindy Loo Who. I can't beleive how much hair she has now! It surprises me every time I do it.
For New Years we had Grandma and Grandpa M come up for a visit. We had a lot of fun running through the streets blowing our horns and throwing poppers and generally making pains of ourselves as the clock struck midnight. I am sure that our neighbors wanted throw rotting fruit out the windows at us, but luckily it was too cold to open their windows. ;)


We really enjoyed all of the snow (half a foot in two days!) and went cross country skiing across the street and the school and down at the lake. Little E enjoyed her new sled, although half the time she looked dead as she dragged one of her arms in the snow behind her wouldn't move. I had to continually uncover her eyes because she couldn't see through the slid in her had.

That's as much as I can do tonight but I have some very cute videos from Christmas that I will try to put up as soon as possible. I will try my best this year to blog more frequently and in smaller sections so you don't get overwhelmed with my usual drought and flood technique. :)
Happy New Year!

I Won!!!!!!!!!!!

So we have been looking for a high chair for about a week now because Little E is so tall that her travel high chair is no longer comfortable. Her little legs can't rest on the chair when you put her tray on unless she has them all slanted. I really wanted to get a high chair like my Moms that folds up so I could keep it around for visitors without it being a huge inconvenience to store. I looked all over on Craigslist and found one that I liked in Boise. But the bum sold it to someone else after telling me I could have it. Grrr

Then I looked online and found a new one I really liked but it was $89 and i just couldn't justify that price when I could buy a used High chair for $15. So I kept searching and found an ebay bidding on the same kind of high chair, just an in-box returned one. I just WON IT! I only paid $40 including shipping and I couldn't be happier! :) Isn't if funny how getting something for less money can make you feel like such a super hero?
So here is a picture of my new purchase. I can't wait for it to get here!

Happy Halloween and a Cool New Toy!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

We had a great time this year going out trick or treating as a family. We decided to do a family costume of the Fairy Tale Little Red Riding Hood. Michael dressed up in his hunting gear and became the woodsman, I made a pair of ears and wore my coat inside out and became the Big Bad Wolf, and Little E... well, her costume took a little bit more effort. I found a really cute pattern at walmart for a Little Red Riding Hood costume and decided it didn't look too hard. Time passed and I suddenly realized I only had a week left to get started on her outfit! I asked my Mom to save me and help me figure out how to sew the thing. It literally took me an entire week of sewing all day long to get everything done, but in the end I am happy that I did it! The dress is so cute and the hood is reversible and they both will fit for a long time to come. So they will be fun dress up clothes. But next time I am going to give myself at least a month to finish a sewing project so that I can avoid the tears. :)

The white on her arms are just some leg warmers I put there to keep her warm. Its not actually part of her dress.

Little E really liked trick or treating this year. She was so cute with her little Wicker basket. I would put her down to walk up to a door and she would giggle and run for the door. Knock on it (I had to knock louder so they would actually know we were there) and then take as much candy as the person (or mommy) would let her and put each piece carefully into her basket! It was so cute to watch her get this whole concept. At first she didn't understand at all, but it really didn't take long for her to figure it out. Knock on door, grab candy. Pretty easy stuff right? :)


There was one house where they had a spooky ghost on the front door, when the door opened its eyes lit up and it would scream. She didn't like it... She just kept staring at it, on the verge of tears, and didn't even notice the candy the neighbor was trying to give her. But once we left she quickly became her giggling, sugar filled self again.


Another really fun thing that she figured out is how to slide all by herself! We bought a slide from someone in Nampa, ID. My sister picked it up for us and my Mom and Dad brought it back on their trailer after visiting her. (Thanks so much Amber! I know that was not fun! And thanks Mom and Dad for bringing it to us).

We set it up the next evening right before bed, and Little E got SOOO excited! She just kept running around it saying "Side! Side!" and signing slide too. It took her a few minutes to figure out how to climb up the thing, but she quickly got it down and started trying to slide in all kinds of crazy ways. Head first, on her side... lets just say she has way too much of her daddy in her! So far she hasn't really hurt herself on it. So I think it was a really good purchase. :) She will play on it for 15 whole minutes without even realizing that I am not paying attention and am actually getting something done. What a blessing!

Her first time down the slide.


Cut to five minutes later...


Here are some photos of additional proof that Little E is a lot like her daddy! Can anyone say Lightsaber?

Here is a little Video just to make you smile. Little E really likes dancing now. She has even figured out how to twirl and thinks it is the greatest. She is such a little Girl! :)