I made it through my parents first year!

 

The title says it all :) This year has been chock full of firsts for all 3 of us! First bath, first smile, first steps, first time worrying out of your mind, first time feeling so much joy, love and pride over her accomplishments you think you might burst! first words, first giggles :) It has been an amazing experience! But, i will be honest. It has had it's challenges too, trying to adjust, get back to normal, and into a routine. But overall it has been way fun!

SO! We have had so much fun with our little Katie that Im just going to share some fun facts about her!

 

1. Katie hates cuddles. she will let me comfort her for a minute if she falls or something but then she's like ok im going now. Shes always been like that, ive only held and rocked her to sleep a handful of times, so i soaked it in ;)

 

2. Katie LOVES her bff toby. If i ask her where toby is, she looks until she finds him. Doggie is her favorite word to say.

 

3. When katie is mad, she brushes her hands together and makes an adorable scrunched up face :)

 

4. Katie had always been a boss at eating. she will try anything and loves most of it!

 

5. Katie is sooo happy anytime she wakes up. when i come in she jumpes up and waves and squeals! makes my heart happy.

 

6. Katie is a smart cookie. If i ask Katie To go "find Nemo" or where flounder is,(her two fav toys) she looks for them, points them out and gets them. She does the same with daddy, uncle nathan, toby, grandma, grandpa, uncle jonathon... you name it.

 

7. Katie is a light sleeper. if i go check on her while she is asleep, i have to be very careful about even turning the knob. haha takes after her mom :)

 

8. Katie is in love with her daddy. He basically did everything for her for the first month because darn it mom had a hard recovery. she can definetly spot him in a crowd.

 

9. Katie loves people. she will let anyone hold her. she especially loves kids! she could watch and play with the kids at play group all day long!

 

10. Katie is expressive. everyone knows if she is excited, sad, tired, hungry :) she is a chatterbox and kinda loud when shes excited :)

 

 

We love our little girl and cannot believe she is one this week! It doesnt feel like a year ago i had a hunch we should stay in brigham for a day or two and then spend a week in the hospital loving on my cute little one :) She has enriched my life and taught me so much in such a short time. We love you Katie Em!

 

 

Why cant we be friends?

Little Disclosure. this is not aimed at any person, circumstance, group, or whatever. I dont think its nice or worthwhile to make an entire blog because i hope to change anyone to my way of thinking, so theres that :) This is just some things ive been thinking alot about.

So, recently i have been seeing alot of hatred lately between all kinds of friends, families, aquaintences, and complete strangers. It makes me very sad. I wrote a previous post on how hurtful words can be. And i meant every word. Dont use words (or anything) to hurt people. (especially the ones you like ;) In this post i will be talking mostly about three things. Regret, Conflict, and The power of kindness and love.

First, regret. i dont have alot to say about it, but i do want to say how HORRIBLE i think regret feels. there are alot of dumb decisions/mistakes ive made. And alot of times i think long and hard before the decsion, thinking "oh, im going to make the best choice for me this time and not regret it". but often times its not what i expect and it turns out i could have chosen better. And thats frustrating at times. And i have to remeber that my judgement isnt perfect and that mistakes happen. But there are definetly some we can avoid. One in particular is choosing to hold on to anger. I will just come out and say it. THAT IS A VERY STUPID THING TO DO. Not only is it harmful to you and the others, it is like struggling in quicksand, you think you may be accomplishing something while in actuality, your are sinking deeper and deeper. Life is waaay to short to hold on to hurt. Love. Express love. Laugh. Forgive. Let Go.

 

 

I recently found a book that i think is my most favorite ever! It really picks through what goes on during dissagreement/conflict. Its called:When we dont see eye to eye.

This guy knows his stuff. .And this book has kind of helped me better understand how to have succesful dissagreements whithout being dissagreeable. Something that bothers me today about society is that no one is really allowed to think differently or disagree with one another without being name called, (like hateful, intolerant, hypocrite) or have some kind of offense taken. It is totally ok to disagree on things. In fact, it's great! can you just imagine how boring this world would be if everyone thought the exact same?! Ew! Something he says in this book that i just love is this: (Contention, is not simply a difference of opinion, but rather dissagreement with anger.) There is definetly a difference. I hear all the time, "oh thats just how we dissagree, or we are just discussing" If you are angry and it is evident in the conversation, it is contention. And contention is of the devil. And its just not nice. so dont do it promise?

 

I am a huge disney fan! One of my favorties is The Sword in the Stone. Merlin and Arthur have a conversation that goes like this. Merlin: Ah, you know, lad, that love business is a powerful thing. Arthur: Greater than Gravity? Merlin:Well, yes, boy. In its way, I'd, uh... Yes, I'd say it's the greatest force on earth. Couldnt agree more.  Anyone that knows me will tell you i am extremely uncomfortable in situations that involve anger and contention, I dont think i will ever understand why people get so angy. You dont get anything faster, better, or anyhting by being angry. (excpet maybe high blood pressure) The next time the store cant price match your milk or whatever, take a breath. leave it alone. Its not the end of the world and certainly not worth ruining someones day. Have you ever heard of the sun and the wind having a contest to see who could get a guys coat off? the more the wind blew, the tighter the man pulled his coat, then the sun came out and warmed him and he took it off. We can apply this to every situation of life. The very best thing to show is Love and Kindness. Both of those really can change attitudes and behaviors. Another quote from this book goes: (Once we try assertive love,our capacity to resist aggression and constuctively transform conflicts will increase.We will begin to elevate all our relationships, from families, to neighborhoods, to our workplaces, and to the broader world.)  You would never want to hurt feelings of people you love. Extend that to everyone. We should all love one another. That requires being unselfish. I firmly beleive that being a peacemaker is the very best thing to be. It really is ok to not be right all the time. It really is ok to be wrong. In fact its good. Thats where improvement can begin.

 

Thanks for listening :) Go spread some sunshine!