"Momma and Brock's Summer of Fun!"

K - So I stole the title from a Friends episode featuring "Janice and Chandler's Day of Fun!" But it is the new theme for our summer. Last week we went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point with the Bells.

Brock loves animals (except for big dogs that bark). The animals here are really friendly - they let you pet them and they lick your hands. He thought that was so funny, every time they tried to lick him he would just laugh. He had the most fun watching Payton though - Payton Bell (Karli's little boy) is just around the clock entertainment for Brock - He thinks everything Payton does is funny.

Other trips last week included: (but I broke my camera - so no pics)

• Hanging out on the beach at Deer Creek
• Going to the Library - including the Friday night movie (not very kid friendly)
• Duck Pond (Like 3 times - he loves chasing the ducks - and since little kids are constantly there the ducks will let you get VERY close)
• Provo River Trail
• Several Park trips

Hopefully I get a new camera soon and can continue to document.

5 year High School Reunion

I have my 5 year high school reunion in a few weeks and I have some mixed feelings about it. Below are some thoughts.

I am excited to see some people - However I feel like I have seen most of the people I care to see at weddings, showers, parties etc. And those I don't see that often - I look at their blogs - so I feel like I see them every day. I think that is the down side to blogging - you feel close to a lot of people that you, in reality, aren't very close with.

Things that have not changed since Senior year

I am still dating the same guy

Same haircut

Same hair color

With the exception of maternity clothes - I have only bought like 3 new pieces of clothing

(arg - this is kind of depressing)

Things that have changed

I am married

I have a child and am pregnant

I have learned a lot about myself and am much more mature :)

***

To all of you who are BHS class of 2003 I hope to see you in a few weeks - this way we can be more than just a blog on a glowing computer screen to each other.

Play Group Network

I just wanted to say that last summer I did a lot of fun things with Brock - but he just sat in his car seat and did not do much- I don't think he had any fun. I would watch the other boys with their mom's throwing rocks into the river or chasing a bird and thinking - I am so excited for next summer when Brock can enjoy it too.

So here it is... next summer... and I am determined to keep my promise. This morning I decided to go one step further and start a play group network with the other mothers in my neighborhood. This afternoon it turned into a blog. I am way excited and hope that it works out. Most of our activities will take place in Provo/Utah County because that is where we live, but I plan on doing somethings up in Salt Lake County because there is more to do... and that is where I hope to live soon.

The blog is private because we will be giving detailed information about where we are going to be with our children at a specific time. So if you are interested in being apart of the play group - let me know and I will invite you to the blog. Once you are invited you are also an author - so you can invite people to your activities as well.

*Note - for privacy reasons please only ask to join the blog if you live in Utah/Salt Lake county (sorry out of town friends - I still love you)

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

That's what little boys are made of!

This is my favorite saying - and I think about it every time Brock wants to eat a rock or play in the mud or some other boyish thing. I LOVE having a boy...

and am SO EXCITED TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE!!!

That is right! We are having a boy! We could not be more thrilled! I love boys!

Ward Split - Goodbye 169th Ward

On Sunday our ward got spilt and we were one of the families that got put in a new ward. We are way sad. We have been in the ward for over 3 years and are planning on leaving this summer anyways, but it is hard to get pushed out early. Plus we have to go to another married student ward for just a few months. But I just wanted to say that we have LOVED our time in the ward and have made a lot of good friends and made memories we will never forget. This was our first ward after we got married and when we had Brock. We have learned a lot of great lessons from a lot of great people. Thank you for everything!

Random Things

Brock loves to stack things - anything that he can find - he stacks. If it won't stack (like balls) or keeps falling over (like rocks) he just pushes them together harder and longer - it is so cute. He makes this face like "If I just push harder they will stick". It breaks my heart a little when he takes his hand off and they still fall over. I wish I could make everything in his life turn out the way he wants. - Oh the joys of parenting!
Jason has been getting some new "toys" lately for graduation and getting a job. I think Brock has enjoyed it as much as Jason. Everytime he brings home a new box Brock crawls up on his lap and goes through the box with him. It is so cute!
Brock's goal in life the last few weeks has been to see what he can crawl under and what he can't. If something looks like he might fit - he must try. He got stuck one day under the kitchen chairs. It was pretty funny!
I was making an omelet one morning and sat Brock next to me on the counter. Next thing I knew - he was doing this!
Check out those bite marks!

PS - The scrape on his forehead is from playing outside.

Brock's Second Party

This is Brock's birthday party at Jason's parents house. Debbie made him some strawberry short cake. She tried to show him how to blow out a candle - did not work.

He was not to crazy about the cake - so we had to whip out some banana's to keep him interested. We had a great time. Thanks Debbie and Randy!

Brock's Birthday - FINALLY

Brock's birthday was over a month ago - but I have just now got around to blogging about it. I have recommitted myself to blogging!

Anyways - we had 2 parties for Brock - one with the Hanna's and one with the Herbert's (we could not get both families together on one night - so we had to spilt it up). Brock's favorite thing right now is cars - so of coarse I had to make a car cake. (Thanks Jess for the idea and help!) I am pretty proud of it - the round one was for Brock and the Car one was for everyone else.

We tried to get him to blow out the candle - but it was unsuccessful. (However - now he knows how to blow)
Brock was SO FUNNY about his cake. He just started at one end of the cake and slowly ate a little out of the corner and then was done. He never grabbed a handful or shoved it in his mouth. It was pretty clean and organized (I would not expect anything less from the son of Jason). The piece you see taken out in the front was cut for my mom (she is allergic to chocolate).
Family picture. I swear Brock is a happy baby - he is just very serious. In the background you can see a colleague I made for his birthday. I loved having it up for a few weeks! It had all my favorite pictures of Brock!

Looking for a new doctor

I am on the search for a new doctor ASAP (OB-GYN). We figure/hope we will live in Salt Lake when the baby is born, so I want a Salt Lake doctor. If any of you have recommendations PLEASE send them my way. I am 20 weeks along and want to switch NOW - so my real doctor can do my ultrasound. He/she would need to deliver at either Alta View, Intermountain (the new hospital), or LDS.

On a side note - I would really like a doctor that is supportive of natural birth. PLEASE SEND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS!!

Another St. George Trip!

It has been like a month since we went, but Brock and I went with Karli, Payton, and Brooklyn to St. George. Karli's ward friend came with us with her two kids. It was a lot of fun. We did most the same things, it was amazing to see how much difference a month can make in the development of a baby. Brock just seemed to be so much older this time and actually enjoy himself. Here are some highlights.

Hiking at Snow Canyon. (Obviously it was an intense hike - see the shoes :)
Swimming

My sweet little boy got sick when we were just packing up to leave. He threw up three times at the condo, twice on the car ride home, once in the middle of the night once we got home, and three more times in the next 2 days. It was SO SAD! On the third time he threw up at the condo, I had run out of clean pajamas to wear home, so Karli's friend, Michelle, let me borrow her little girls pajama's. I could not take him seriously wearing purple pj's - he is such a boy, even though he was sick - I was like, "Brock what are you wearing?" Isn't that the most pathetic face? It is like he is embarrassed.

Quick update

So I have been anticipating this post for a while... but now that I am finally able to post about it, I haven't. I just haven't had the words, and it was so anti-climactic that it just did not seem worth it. But here it goes.

For those of you who don't really know what has been going on the past few months - here are the main points.

• Jason graduated in December
• He applied to medical school but did not get in
• He has decided to not reapply
• He has been looking for a job since December (huge family trial)
• He got a job and started last Monday (huge family blessing)

• I had my graduation exit interview on Thursday and as soon as I finish my independent study math class I am graduated!
• I am still working from home (HUGE family blessing)
• I was released from my RS calling (second counselor in the RS presidency)

• Brock loved having BOTH his parents home ALL day for 4 months
• Brock is having a hard time adjusting to just mom being at home and not getting whatever he needs/wants whenever he needs/wants it.
• Brock turned 1 last week

• We have been incredibly blessed by the Lord these last few months - and strongly feel like we are doing what we should be doing (despite it wasn't what we THOUGHT we should be doing)
• We are here in Provo for a few more months (arg), hopefully until we save enough for a down payment on a house (maybe August?!?)

I know many of these points deserve much more detail/feelings/pictures, many of them I will do posts on later. I just wanted to get all that info out there.

Getting excited for baby #2

I know I am a few months away, but I am getting so excited for baby #2. I have been having dreams about my two kids and it is wonderful. In my dreams it is a boy (I don't feel it is spiritually motivated though (I did with Brock), I just think it is a boy), but I would be excited for a girl.

I just wanted to express my anticipation. To be honest, the thing I am most excited about is the delivery. I am just so excited to labor and deliver - I know that sounds crazy to most people - but I felt like it was the most spiritual and emotional thing in the whole world - and the moment they lay that baby in your arms... there is NOTHING in the whole world better than that moment. I am just so excited thinking about it. I can't really describe why I am so excited about the delivery, I was so excited for Brock's delivery, and although it was definitely hard (I pushed for 4 hours and then ended up using forecepts), I loved working hard to bring my baby into the world. I can't describe it. I have had a glimpse into what Luke meant when he said, "Mary kept these things and pondered them in her heart." I just loved the whole childbirth process, the pregnancy, the birth, and of coarse the best part - the baby!

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was definitely nervous about having them so close. But now it doesn't even cross my mind, and just can't wait. I found myself thinking, why don't I already have another baby - do I really have to wait 5 more months.

Another good thing about your second baby - is that pregnancy is more real. I mean sure, when you are pregnant with your first, you know there is a baby in there, but you don't REALLY KNOW what the means - you don't REALLY know how much you are going to love it. But now I know that my baby is really in there, and what it will feel like when I see him (or her) and how much I will love him (or her). So to sum up this post - I am so excited!

Brock's One Year Old Pictures

My cousin gave me a $100 gift card to Kiddie Kandids at one of my showers before Brock was born. I decided to use it for his 1 year pictures. I did not really have a good experience there, I got some cute pictures, but I told the photographer what I wanted, and I did not really get that. But they are cute.

If we say "Brock give ____ a hug", this is what he does - super cute! He gives GREAT HUGS!

I hated that his hand and finger are up in this picture - but then I realized it is like he is holding up the number "1" - for 1 years old - so i guess it is ok. (Thanks Grandma for the outfit)
Darling!
His pensive face

(Thanks Ashley for the outfit!)

This is not really my style - a little cheesy - But his expression is just so darn cute!

The cycles of clothing...Is it worth it?

Last January (6 months pregnant with Brock)
Before

After

(repeat)

(these are models - obviously)

So I pose a question to all women (especially those who have had a child or two), is it worth it to re-do your wardrobe every pregnancy cycle?

Today during the conference break I got out all my maternity clothes, and packed away all my "normal" clothes, and I felt like, "Didn't I just pack these away?" and "I am just going to pack them away again in a few months." The most prominent example of the frustrations are my "under clothing". I wore maternity last year, and than for the past year I have been wearing nursing, and then last Tuesday I stopped nursing and FINALLY got to wear "normal" ones again, and then today I got out my maternity again because I can't keep them tucked in! And this cycle will just repeat for the next 5 or more years! Is it worth it? And the same with Bra's, between nursing, pregnancy, and non pregnancy my size fluctuates about 2 or 3 cups, how many different size bra's does a girl need to buy??

And when I ask, is it worth it? I am not asking is pregnancy and children worth it? Because the answer is obviously yes, I am asking is the constant switching worth it? I don't have dresser space or closet space to keep both out, but I think I might as well purchase an extra dresser and just keep nursing/maternity clothes in it year round, and that way I am always ready, and don't have to spend 1 day a year packing maternity clothes away, and another whole day a few months later getting them all out again.

Many of you might be thinking, easy solution..."Don't get pregnant a few months later!" And my answer to that is... ?? "I don't need to explain my life :)" Plus I love being pregnant, I love my maternity clothes, and I love being a mom, so I don't see a down side. (except for the above rant)

Thoughts from a mother's heart

I have just put Brock to bed, and have a very strong desire to express the feelings of my heart. I love being Brock's mother, I love my role as a mother. Sometimes I just feel like I can't hug him enough, or kiss him enough, and I definitely don't have the words to describe what I feel inside my heart every time he looks up at me and smiles. I almost feel like his smile, his laugh, could just heal any part of me that is sad, or lacking, or incomplete. I am reminded of a scripture in Alma where he (Ammon) says that his joy was so great it consumed his soul and made him weak. I have felt that joy and am blessed to feel it on a daily basis, and feel it every time I have the sense to put down my to-do list and just play with Brock. I love just being on the ground with him playing - nothing makes me so happy.

I know this is cheesy, but once I put Brock to bed, I felt the way that you feel in Fast and Testimony meeting when you know you need to bear your testimony, I just had to tell someone (and in this case - everyone) that I love my son and I love being a mother. I am more grateful than I can express for Heavenly Father giving me the chance to feel this kind of love, and I am grateful for this child inside of me (and others to come), because now I know what special spirits they really are, and I love them already. Thank you for humoring me and reading this.

We are "egg"cited to announce Baby Herbert #2

We gave each of our family members a plastic egg for their Easter present - and this is what was inside, a little baby, some plastic binkies, jellybeans, and a note that said, "we are "egg"cited to announce Baby Herbert #2 on September 30th! Everyone was so excited and shocked (except for my mom and Katie, they had suspected for a while). We are so excited and can't wait! I am 14 weeks along, for those of you doing the math, it means they will be 17 months apart, which is close, but I am not worried. My mom had all of hers close (Katie and I are 15 months apart), so I always wanted mine close together.
*
PS - For those of you who don't know, My sister Katie is pregnant as well and due 3 weeks after me.

Easter

Dying our eggs

So we dyed eggs, got Brock an Easter basket (just toys, no candy), and hid the eggs for Brock to find. During his bath Jason hid the eggs and put the basket in the middle of the floor. Obviously I figured we were doing this mostly for us, and Brock would care less about the basket, what was in the basket, and not try to find the Easter eggs. How wrong I was. Brock crawled straight to the Easter basket, and one by one pulled each toy out, played with it for just a minute (to find out what it did), then set the toy down, and pulled out the next toy until the basket was empty. We have it all on video, and you can see, as soon as his last toy is out, he spotted an egg hid under the couch, he put down the toy and crawled over to the hidden egg, he then crawled around the room finding 3 or 4 more eggs. It was so cool to watch - I thought for sure he wouldn't get it, he so did. Every time he found an egg he would hold it out in front of him, to show us, then he would smile and clap. It was so cute.

As you can see he is still in the "put everything in your mouth" stage, so I did not do Easter grass in the basket, I just put some green fabric.

Then we went to my grandma's house for another, outside, Easter egg hunt with all the grand kids and great grand kids. My mom also got Brock an easter basket with the cutest little Easter outfit - I LOVE little boy summer clothes. Here is Brock with his cousins. We are so sad Emma will be leaving us in a month. James and Vivian are going to Brazil for 2 months and then flying straight to Washington DC for dental school. Brock will miss his friend.

Park Days

This will be my last post about the trip.

Here are some cute pictures of Brock's first trips to the park for this summer. He mostly just likes to stand on the equipment and hit the bars and plastic to hear the different noises. For those of you who have watched Brock play, it is pretty interesting (if I do say so myself). He is very curious about how things work, he examines all of his toys, to find out how they make that noise, or why the lights are blinking; he likes to watch wheels turn on his cars or watch the hinges on cabinets. You can tell he is thinking deeply about them. His eyebrows scrunch into his nose and he pucks his lips like a ducks beak. He never throws his toys or bangs things unintentionally, he plays with one toy at a time and does it very purposefully and then moves onto the next one. He is definitely a thinker. He gets these characteristics from his dad.

Now that I have bragged about my child, and you are all thinking I'm just the mom, of coarse I think my child is a genius, just look at some cute pictures, and you don't have to believe me about the genius thing.

Swimming Time

Another addition to the St. George trip...

We went swimming every day. The first day Brock just held on to me and acted scared, by the last day he was kicking his legs and wanted to "swim by himself", this pool had a really shallow end where he could crawl around, he loved that, but he kept trying to crawl into the deep end. The water kept getting higher and higher, but he didn't care, he just dept going until it covered his whole face and mom needed to rescue him, but then he always looked mad at me, like I was ruining his fun. Mom's are so mean!

St George

So I have been back from Saint George for over a week and have not "blogged" about it. I intended to do it the very day we got back - but between math and work and Brock, I haven't seemed to get around to it. Plus I have been overwhelmed by all the fun things and cute pictures. So I am going to just do one post at a time - rather than do the whole trip in one sitting.

We had SO MUCH FUN! But it was CRAZY! We had 5 kids under the age of 2. We did 2 activities a day - which does not sound like much, but if there was an hour where all 5 were fed, awake, happy, and in a clean diaper - I felt like we had succeeded! I have to give a shout out to Karli for all of the hard work she did. She really kept the whole group running, she could have handled all 5 by herself I am sure.

One day we went to Snow Canyon and played in the sand dunes. It took Brock a while to warm up to the sand idea, but soon he was climbing all over - and much to my surprise he did not try to eat it!