Only 83 days left to go??

I know I should post about out cruise we went on, it was so much fun, but it was 3 months ago...old news isn't that much fun to post about! Here are some pics i've been meaning to put up though. Nia talks about "baby Mae" all the time and will touch my tummy and say hello. She talks about how shes going to play with her and share her toys with her. Her favorite thing to do these days is color. She will color most anywhere, sprawled on the kitchen floor with her coloring books, in her room on her bed, on the coffee table, and she even lets me color with her sometimes. (it really is so fun, i forgot how much I liked it!) The other day she was finishing up eating a breakfast of waffles with maple syrup, and she sighs and says "best dinner ever"...Thanks Nia!



Mike has been super busy with work, they are doing office match-ups which pretty much determine the sort of year he'll have, so that has been stressful, and with his calling and ward basketball he stays pretty busy. We enjoy every minute we get to spend together though, and Nia lately has been telling people, "he's my dude". He is definitely our "dude".
It's been nice having my little bro Leland in town the last few months. He comes over occasionally for laundry, and is nice enough to babysit for us on occasion. Awesome!
As for me, I've been feeling great, besides bemoaning the fact that I'm already outgrowing clothes I wore right to the end with Nia's pregnancy, (unfortunately not just because of a bulging belly) But hey, more motivation to get to work after Mae is here. 'Some things i've been trying to work on the last few weeks:

*Getting ready before 11 a.m. each day. Showering the night before has been helping.(i know, this sounds so lazy!)
*Exercising daily. This is so hard when it is yucky outside! Exercise videos just get old...
*Getting to bed before 11. Why is it so hard?
*Making time for Family History once a week.
*Reading essential books, not just "fun" ones.
(the last two are new goals. )
Anyways, this is sounding somewhat like a Christmas newsletter, but I wanted to catch up a bit.

In Mexico, gorgeous!


Mike and Nia dancing at our adopted family's daughters wedding, (they are the BEST!) It was such a beautiful wedding and reception, Nia Loved dancing in her Princess dress as she called it and loved Ang's dress. I was tearing up during this dance because I was just thinking about someday she will be old enough to be getting married, and it was just a sweet moment. I am such a cryer, seriously.



I have successfully gotten my orchid plant to bloom! Orchids are very tricky, but they last a long time. These were blooming when we got back from Christmas, and are still going! I may have the seasons mixed up, but they require cold nights to bloom, so for Rexburg its just the way it is! I prefer a splash of sunshine right now anyways! If you look closely they resemble a lady with a dress on. They make me so happy sitting on my kitchen window.



One more thing that makes me happy...in our smallish condo we are running out of room, and both Mike and I can't stand clutter, so we came up with this toy storage solution for our front room. We keep Nia's toys in the corner between couches in our living room, and it was just a bookshelf and toys before. It was getting out of control! Those toy racks are so expensive and are just plastic junk anyways, so we were looking for those, and found the shelf and baskets for sell. When shes playing we leave the open, and when visitors come we just put the baskets upright. Problem solved and I love the way it looks!