Funny Ivy

My sweet and sassy Ivy keeps me on my toes!  Here are a few things I want to remember about this stage in her life (21 months)

• I have to put locks on the fridge otherwise she gets in and breaks eggs, spreads shredded cheese around the house, and takes a bite of whatever she sees
• She loves to dress up and calls dresses and skirts "Elsas"!  She wears dress up heels whenever she finds them.
• She has a cute little strut she does whenever she is happy or sassy!
• Our next door neighbor, Mia, is her best friend and she calls her "Mine-a".  She always asks to play with her!
• She loves to paint her toenails and will do it herself with surprising accuracy if that drawer is ever unlocked.
• She is the best little talker!  We have full on conversations with her about what she wants and does not want.
• She recently learned to climb out of her crib with great skill!  Now she won't go to sleep in her crib unless we lay down on the floor next to her.
• She loves watching TV (unfortunately) and her favorite show is called "Little Baby Bum" which just has nursery rhymes and songs.  She always asks to watch "Baby Bum!"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Perfection

Sometime I feel like I can't do anything right, but then I do something nice for someone and I remember that I am a good person with good intentions and despite my shortcomings, that's the thing that really matters.

Expectations, "Shoulds", Guilt, Comparison.  These are the things that steal my joy and distract me from the blessings in my life, my family.  How do I rid myself of these shackles? These reminders of my imperfection in temporal things?  Honestly, social media has a lot to do with it.  As a stay at home mom, it can feel so nice to feel connected and relevant, but then the comparison starts creeping in.  I wonder if I'll ever conquer anxiety.

Well, I missed a few things

So, it's been 3 and a half years.  Just a few things have changed, right?  Today I started compiling a birthday baby book for Parker and this blog did a pretty good job capturing the moments of our lives and I do regret not keeping some sort of journal to document memories. So here we go again!!! What has changed in the last 3.5 years? Let me count the ways.

• We added Marissa, Jamin, Myla, Hailee and Jack to our extended family
• We vacationed in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Escalante, Bryce Canyon, Ogden Canyon, Heber, Idaho, Yellowstone, and more
• We had a miscarriage and that was a difficult time in Ashley's life
• We got pet rats!  Kinda gross, kinda cute.  Its a special balance.
• Ella & Ivy were hospitalized with RSV
• Parker was Baptized
• Ashley ran the American Fork Canyon Half Marathon
• Matt probably changed jobs 2 or 3 times...I'm having a hard time keeping track.  He currently works for Brightpoint Consulting and gets to work from home with a bit of travel
• We moved to a new home in Lehi and we love this neighborhood and house so much
• Miss Ivy Viola was born and completely captured our attention with her spunky personality