Three Months Old

Today my little Magnolia turned three months old! My little Littles is the sweetest thing and she's made our little family about a bajillion times better.

These days, Nolie is really into standing, sitting up, flying (you know, superman style, held by someone of course), drooling (we go through several bibs a day), and talking. She likes holding on to things, including Mommy's hair, which is not my favorite thing. Today when I fed her she reached up and grabbed my lip and wouldn't let go. It kind of hurt a lot.

She still goes to bed late every night, but she's been sleeping through the night for a whole month now, with the exception of a day or two here and there. She usually goes to sleep around midnight or later and then wakes up around 7:30. Then she'll eat and go back to sleep for a few more hours. She's so sweet when she wakes up. She's always so happy to see me and gives me lots of sleepy smiles.

She likes her little toys; she can grab things and of course most things go right into her mouth. Her favorite chew toys are her own hands, or mama's hands.

She was yelling at me in this picture; it's the cutest thing. Happy three months to our sweet baby girl; we love you so muches!

A December to Remember

What a wonderful (and busy) Christmas time we've had! We were quite spoiled by both families this year (including Magnolia) and we've loved being with family. Here are some highlights of this year's festivities:

Nolie and me on my 24th birthday, December 21. Having a birthday four days before Christmas was super fun as a kid, but it's gotten kind of lame as an adult as it just gets swept up in all the holiday excitement. Nevertheless, it was a great day this year with family and I was able to reflect on how good 23 was to me. Here's hoping 24 is just as wonderful!


This picture is just for fun, showcasing Magnolia's adorable baby mohawk. This is how my mom always did my hair when I was a baby and I love doing Nolie's like this now that her hair is a little longer. I can't decide what color it's going to be; sometimes it looks like it's coming in super blond and others I think she might be a brown-haired little lady, taking after her Daddy. We'll see....

Again, Miss Nolie with Santy. My kind father-in-law took all of his grand kids to see the man of the hour. We went to Trolley Square, where Santa is free for all girls and boys and you can take as many pictures as you want.


A lovely sleigh ride, sans any actual bob-tailed horses or snow, but fun nevertheless.

Christmas Eve!!! We got together at Grandpa Goates's annual Christmas Eve extravaganza. Following tradition, Magnolia opened her Christmas Eve jammies from her grandma and grandpa, and below she's showing them off:


A bunch of the grand kids and great grand kids in their Christmas pjs.

Rob with his oldest brother Rick, who's family was here for Christmas from Texas. They haven't come for Christmas since Rob was on his mission, and they have four cute kiddos, so it was really fun to have the whole Goates family together.

Rob and I have a Christmas Eve tradition of making strawberry daiquiris that dates back to our honeymoon. We love doing it and I hope it's something that our kids will look forward to every year.

Our Christmas stockings! I'm going to have to make some before our next child arrives but I'm having a hard time committing to what I want to make, so until then these Hobby Lobby cheapies that I embroidered with our initials will have to do.

Miss Magnolia bright and early Christmas morning. You can see that she wouldn't even interrupt her beauty sleep to see what Santa brought.

The Goates home was full of babies this Christmas! Here is Magnolia sandwiched between Kyle who is about two months older, and little Molly who is five weeks younger. Baby Dylan is set to join the group any day now...

This picture is hilarious because it makes the size differences way more noticeable. It's a baby pyramid.

Here is Nolie at her Papa and Gee Gee's house in her other Christmas jammies, showing off what Santa brought her: the Bumbo and Sophie the Giraffe.

As you can see, she already loves her.

Playing with her new fancy play mat. She loves this thing. I don't even think she knows what to begin with, there's so much fun stuff going on here. (Pardon her drool. It's like a hurricane of drool for us these days.)

Magnolia was able to meet her uncle Jared via Skype! This was a really special Christmas moment for us. My brother loves babies and he has been really sad to miss out on Nolie's arrival. She will be almost a year old when he gets home and he can't wait to see her in person, but it was so fun for him to see her on Skype and it was great to talk to him about his adventures as a missionary in the Bible Belt.

I got kind of pictured out in those few days, so I haven't taken any pictures since Christmas really but we've had an enjoyable couple of days relaxing after the hustle and bustle of the holiday. We'll probably stick around for New Year's and then it'll be back to Logan and back to school for Rob. We've had a wonderful time with family, and can't believe how blessed we are.

Happy Christmas to all of you out there; I hope you had a wonderful day and were filled with Christmas cheer!

Christmas wishes do come true...

Three Years

On 12/19, Rob and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. It was a quiet day but we had a great time together. We went to lunch and then our good friends Natalie and Adam watched Magnolia (thanks guys!) so we could go see Sherlock Holmes 2, which Rob has been anxiously awaiting for months. (Seriously, he's been dying to see it. When we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 there was a preview for Sherlock and Rob screamed out with joy. Really loudly. In a packed theater. And he was the only one who had that particular reaction. So everybody heard him.)

Anyway, the movie was great but the company was even better. Happy anniversary Rob; I love you so much and each year just keeps getting better and better!

Oh For Shame, Santa Claus

So I hadn't really gotten out of the house all week and it was starting to get me down. Rob noticed this (wasn't hard to notice) and suggested we drive down to Ogden today and do some Christmas shopping, get lunch, and have a nice day together. I was so excited. It may seem silly for us to drive all the way to Ogden, but they have Target down that way, and Target is a magical place where all of Vienna's dreams come true.

That's just what we did. We drove down, went to Target, had lunch, and were having a grand old time. We decided to go to Newgate Mall to do a bit more shopping. As we walked in, we saw the area designated for the Santa, where boys and girls of all ages could line up and get their pictures taken as they tell the jolly old fellow the Christmas wishes of their sweet little hearts. Santa wasn't there at the time, but I saw his empty red-and-white striped wingback chair and my heart was filled with its own little Christmas wish: to take my baby girl's picture with Santa Claus on this, her first Christmas. There was a sign that said when Santa would be back, and we agreed that if we were still shopping we'd come back and check it out.

The time came so we got in the small line that had already formed and what to our wondering eyes should appear but Santa Claus himself. He cried out "HO HO HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!" and waved to all of the children in line. When I saw him I was so excited; he was such a cute Santa; the appropriate age, real white beard, the whole shebang. Not one of those fake-looking creeps who are far too common at malls. We continued to wait for a bit while Santa visited with the kids in front of us. Finally when there was only one family left in front of us, one of Santa's elves asked us if we were planning on buying pictures.

We told her no, as the cheapest picture package was $22. The elf glanced down at my wrist at my camera hanging there by its strap and she said "Just so you know, no personal cameras are allowed."

WHAT?! I told her that was okay because I'm not the type to get confrontational or make a scene. Then I looked at Rob and said, "Should we go?" and he nodded and we stepped awkardly over the gate to the "North Pole." The North Pole of greed and commercialism, that is.

Seriously? Seriously. I was in shock. We got in the car to go home and I started to cry. I know that was probably an overreaction and I'm sure you guys are all judging me right now, but I was really, really disappointed.

All I wanted was a cute picture of my baby with Santa for her first Christmas. I just wanted that photo so I could show it to Nolie and say, "This is the first time you met Santa Claus. Look how sweet and little you were." Next year she'll probably be afraid of him and she'll be sobbing hysterically or something, but this year would have been perfect. She was being so smiley and cute, she's not afraid of strangers yet, and she was even wearing the Christmas hat I made her. And come on. Red-and-white striped wingback chair. REAL BEARD.

I know I overreacted. I know it's probably silly to want to take a baby as little as mine is to see Santa. She won't remember. But it was a little thing that was important to me. And I know it's a business and they need to make money, but I'm sorry, I think it's criminal and ridiculous to charge people $22 for a 5x7 photo with a tacky candy cane border, and to prohibit them from using their own cameras. And if this is gonna be the rule, then they should advertise that fact BEFORE you wait 20 minutes in line. They probably omit this detail deliberately because they think that when you finally get to the front and find out you can't take your own pictures, you'll just pay them their dumb money because you won't want to have waited in line for nothing, and of course you'd look so cheap and stupid if you actually got out of line at that point. Well, cheap and stupid we may be, but not stupid enough to pay them an outrageous sum for their crappy pictures. And the thing that upsets me most is that I think that's totally against the spirit of Christmas and proof of the immortal words of Charlie Brown that Christmas is too commercial.

I'm still really sad about it. Our ward doesn't have enough kids to warrent a Santa at the Christmas party, St. Nick does not make an appearance at any of our family gatherings, and heaven knows I won't let another mall make a fool out of me, so I don't think Nolie will get to meet Santa this year, and my Christmas wish will be unfulfilled.

But after all is said and done, I did get to take this picture, of my sweet baby girl at her first Christmas time, in a magical place, with a jolly fellow with a real beard who loves her more than all of the Santas in all the malls in all the world. And I got all of this for free.

These are a few of my favorite things...

...for babies. So everyone knows that there a bajillion baby products and things out there and when you're expecting your first baby there's a lot of confusion about what you really need, what you don't, what to register for, blah blah blah. Since I have a few friends out there who are expecting and may be getting baby stuff for Christmas (I'm jealous; I would have loved to be pregnant over Christmas since you have to get baby stuff eventually anyway so might as well get it for Christmas!), here are five of my favorite baby things.

Of course these are all just my opinions and you are free to take them or leave them, but after using this stuff for the last couple months I've come to really love and rely on my favorite baby items. Also, none of these brands are paying me to say any of this. Although if they'd like to give me free stuff I would not turn them away.

Item 1: Swaddle Blankets

I have the Aden + Anais bamboo swaddles and I use them ALL THE TIME. They're kind of spendy but I'm glad I got them. They are a really good size for swaddling; much bigger than some other ones that I have. And they're great for just laying over the top of the baby in the car seat or snuggling with in general, and they are so soft. Nolie likes to grab onto them and it's the cutest thing. In general I use a TON of blankets, swaddle or other. We generally keep several in every room, and take a few with us everywhere we go. So blankets (and lots of them) are a must.

Item 2: Changing table
I know this is a controversial item. Many people advocate against changing tables because they think they take up space and are useless pieces of furniture one your baby is potty-trained. I wanted to heed this advice at first, but after a series of events I ended up getting one and I am definitely pro-changing table. I always change her on it, and it's not inconvenient at all. All of the baby essentials and diapers are in baskets on the shelves and I think it's much easier (for me) to keep organized than if everything were in drawers, and much more easily accessible. Plus it will be at least two years (maybe even three, eek) before she is potty trained and by then we *might* just be getting ready for Baby G #2 anyway, so I think this changing table will get a lot of use.

Item 3: The Boppy

I think this is a pretty universally-loved baby item. I've hardly heard of anyone say they never really used their Boppy. We certainly use ours every day. In addition to helping with nursing, it's great for tummy time, and for just having the baby chill in it, as you see Nolie doing above. And hello, they're just so darn cute, those Boppy covers. Turtles, birdies, and bunny rabbits.

Item 4: Baby Bath Tub

I never planned on getting one of these because I thought it would be a big space hog. Enter Ikea. I saw this one there and it was only $6. I'd seen other ones for something like $30-$40. So I thought for that cheap I could at least try it out. I'm glad we got it. I wouldn't have felt comfortable bathing her in our tub when she was tiny and our sinks are too small. It is indeed a space hog, but we just put it in our bathtub when we're not using it. And even if I end up throwing it away after she outgrows it, it was super cheap. I bought that little turtle-shaped sponge for cushioning at Babies-R-Us for like $6 or something, and it's the perfect little bath-time combo.

Item 5: Moby Wrap
This is probably my very favorite baby item (other than like clothes and stuff). A lot of people think these are hard to use and complicated and at first they are, but I just kept practicing putting it on by myself and after getting the hang of it I LOVE this thing. I use it almost everywhere we go, especially if Rob is not with me. I agree it's a bit of a hassle to use the wrap when you go out, but I also HATE dealing with and carrying the car seat, so to me when weighing the options I prefer the Moby. If I know I'm going to use it I will put it on before I leave the house (I look like a ninja when I do this but whatever) and then I can just slip her into it when we get where we're going. It's not uncomfortable at all and my shoulders and back never hurt or get tired because of the way the weight is distributed. She likes being in it most of the time too, and it's nice and snuggly.

As a final note, I will say that of course all of these are my opinions, and you can definitely be just fine without any or probably all of these things. I think the most important thing I wish I would have remembered more often when I was pregnant is that every single person and baby is different, and just because Babies-R-Us says you need a huge list of stuff doesn't mean you do, and at the same time you shouldn't listen to people who tell you you don't need anything either, because the right baby gear for your lifestyle makes taking care of a baby easier and more fun. Basically everyone has their opinion, and you shouldn't let those opinions overwhelm you. Lots of people told me not to get a changing table, and lots of people told me lots of other things about pregnancy and childbirth that are not true for me or were irrelevant (won't go into detail, don't want to start a mommy brawl or anything. Those are all-too common on the internet it seems.). Some reviews and advice are helpful, others are not, and you just have to ultimately decide what you want based on what you like and what you think you will use or need. Every situation is so different.

After saying all of that, you're probably thinking, "What the heck Vienna, if you're telling me not to listen to people's opinions, then why did you write this super long post of stuff you like?" The reason I did it is because I DO think it is helpful to consider the advice of people who have a similar lifestyle, situation, or income as you do. I did this when I was deciding what I needed, and it helped a lot. So if you're in similar shoes to me, you might like some of these things that I do. Happy baby shopping!

Magnolia's Blessing Day

Last Sunday we blessed our sweet Magnolia. It was a wonderful snowy day; Rob gave her a beautiful blessing and I was filled with such gratitude to be her mommy. When I was younger I used to always try to picture my future babies, wondering what they'd be like and honestly my little daughter is so much more perfect than I could ever have imagined. What a precious thing it was to hear her daddy give her such a sweet blessing. We just love her so much and can't believe how blessed we are.

My lovely grandmother (who we named Nolie's middle name after) made this gorgeous dress by hand; it's all really delicate crochet. She started making it before we even found out we were having a girl (good thing she was one, right?)! She even had to start over after doing quite a bit of work on it because she wanted it to be just perfect. I love this dress and Magnolia looked so beautiful in it. I bought the little shoes before she was born and they matched the dress perfectly. I was a little nervous because Nolie is growing so fast I thought she might not fit into everything, but it worked out splendidly.

This pink blanket is the one I was blessed in, and my mom was blessed in it too when she was a baby. Magnolia was not blessed in it; my grandma made a blanket that matched the dress that she was blessed in (I didn't get any pictures of her with it so I hope someone else did!) but we wanted to take some pictures of her with this one.

We pulled up her dress so you could see her little shoesies.



By this point the poor girl had had it with that long day, and frankly so had I! I was a little bummed because I didn't get a chance to get more pictures of her in her dress with the blanket she was blessed in, but she was so tired and hungry and just wanted to get into her nice comfy jammies after a long day.

We had everyone over after to our little home for soup and salad and I had been up late the night before getting everything ready, so I was pretty exhausted. I think everything turned out really great though and we were happy to have everyone. Thanks to all our great friends and family for making the drive up to be with us on Nolie's special day!

Dear Santa...

It's time for my annual "What I want for Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary" post. I didn't really want to do one of these this year because I had a really hard time thinking of things I want. I feel like I'm too tired to care these days, ha ha. Anyway, my mom asked me to think of things, and I know a certain mister who probably needs some ideas, so here it goes:
This is a lovery boyfriend cardi from Target. My friend Karissa got me one in black for Christmas last year and I wear that thing all the time. So I'd like this one; and it also comes in red which I wouldn't mind having as well. Here's the link to this teal one:

http://www.target.com/p/Mossimo-Women-s-Ultrasoft-Boyfriend-Cardigan-Sweater-Assorted-Colors/-/A-13372756#?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=%7C13372756&CPNG=women&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=13372756

Speaking of Target, I'd also really enjoy getting a gift card there. I really love everything about that place so I could easily find plenty of things I need and want within its gleaming aisles of awesomeness.
Also, what I really NEED for Christmas is clothes. Before I was pregnant the state of my wardrobe was rather poor, but I didn't want to buy anything because I was planning on having a baby so I decided it would be dumb to get a bunch of new clothes and then not be able to fit into them. So flash forward to now, when I have no clothes. I packed away almost all of my maternity clothes, and most of my clothes from before were either in really crappy condition (because you know, I was hoarding stuff I'd worn in high school) or they don't fit super great on account of the fact that your body transforms like crazy when you have a baby. So I got rid of a ton of things in one huge, fell swoop. And now, I have no clothes, specifically shirts. Aaaand my feet grew about half a size, so I need some new shoes too. But it's always tricky to have people get clothes for you, so in this case I definitely think gift cards are a swell option. So, I would love to get some new things at Target, and also at the following lovely place:

Sorry for this enormous image. Weird. Anyway, I have always been very public about my love for H&M, and now that it's finally here in the Beehive State I would love to go shopping. I've only been once so far, but it was super crowded and I had Nolie with me in the Moby Wrap so I couldn't really try anything on, and of course the only things I ended up buying were onesies for her...because it's way more enjoyable to buy clothes for your baby than for yourself, am I right? So yeah, I'd like a gift card for H&M so I can have Rob watch the babe while I go find something cute for myself.

I also wouldn't turn down a gift card to Cafe Rio, which is widely known as Vienna's most favorite place to eat in all the world. Normally I'd never ask for a gift card to a restaurant, but here's the deal. Staying home with my adorable baby is a wonderful blessing, and I really love it. But some days I just have to get out of the house. Do I have anywhere to go? Most of the time, not really. Do I have any money to idly roam around, window shopping or getting a nice sweet treat or lunch? Most definitely not. So if I had said gift card to Cafe Rio, I would have a lovely excuse to take Miss Magnolia on a little drive (very little drive, seeing as Cafe Rio is like two minutes from my house) to get us some lunch on a day when I am bored and need a little ray of sunshine in my day.

Okay, I've been wanting this ever since I was working on Nolie's nursery. Remember her little blue owl print in the wall of frames? Well this is the same artist and I love all of her work. I really want an 8x10 print of either the above painting, or the one below to hang in my bedroom or another part of my house. Heck, I would even be thrilled to have both, and hang one in my bedroom AND the other in another part of my house. Below you will find the link to her etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/unitedthread?ref=seller_info

And I'd also like some pretty new nail polishes. I love this grey one above. It's OPI, called "A French Quarter for Your Thoughts." Oh those OPI peeps. So clever. Where can I get that job, coming up with names for nail polishes? I'm pretty sure I'd be way good at it.

I love this one too. It's by NYX and the color is called "Algae." Hmmm. Me thinks their color-naming person over there is a little less creative...

How rad is this print, right? I know I will never get this, because there aren't really any rich people who typically buy me gifts, but I thought I'd post it just the same because it's just so cool. I really love Harry Potter, as I'm sure most of you know, and I'd love to have something like this. It's cool and Harry Potter-y, but not cheesy or immature. It's subtle, and I really love the colors and overall design.

http://www.hadilaksono.bigcartel.com/product/travel-with-the-hogwarts-express

So there you have it, my wish list for the year. I'd also like a couple of 12x12 scrapbook albums too, but I'm tired and I don't want to google any images and try to find ones I like. I'm not huge into scrap booking, but I did our wedding album a couple years ago and I'd like to start one for Magnolia. I'm not into all of the scrap booking accessories and stuff, I just like putting the photos on pretty paper in a nice album. And that's all I could really think of this year. Hope it helps those (two) of you who are in search of things to get me for my birthday/Christmas/anniversary.

Fancy Photos

When Magnolia was just three weeks old, my lovely and talented friend Ashley took her newborn photos. I was going to wait to post them on my blog because these pictures may or may not be involved in Christmas presents for certain grandparents, but I decided I didn't want to wait anymore because I am too excited to share them.

Ashley did a beautiful job and I love these photos. I already can't believe how much Nolie has grown and changed since these were taken, and I'm so happy with how they turned out. Here are just a few (okay, maybe more than a few) of my favorites.