Welcome Home

Welcome home from Korea, Elder Udall!!

Just in time for Christmas!

We are glad your back because it's always fun when your around:)

The Man in Red

Santa Claus came to town a little early and visited our ward in California! What luck! :)
Ruthie had her first encounter with the man himself and she didn't even cry. We were so proud! Craig & I had a bet - I thought she wouldn't and he thought she would, I guess mother knows best. She just gave him a good analyzing. Made for some cute photos even though she didn't really smile! My favorite is the first one - having a little one during the holidays just makes it even more fun.
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! We are just excited & grateful we get to spend it with all our family this year!

October....just kidding it's November!

Well it's NOVEMBER now but it was October when I first started trying to get a post started. Ha! I guess I just don't have as much motivation lately to keep up on this when I have other things to keep up on. So I guess you could say that life is busy & fun over here. Busy for the fact that I have been home visiting family, entertaining lovely guests, trying to get my house in order, fulfilling my callings as a mom & YW Leader and working one day a week.
Fun because it was wonderful to have my family see our darling Ruthie & to play with Matt, Michelle, Doug, Sarah, kids at the beach and just relaxing!

So here's a little about what we are doing:

Craig - Let me just say that he is doing awesome in school! I'm so proud of him. He works so so hard and never complains! I really don't know how he does it because I, on the other hand, have to voice how I feel, especially when I am feeling overwhelmed:) They are doing a new way of teaching all the med students this year at his school and although everyone was a little worried, it has worked out really well for him. We sure love when he comes home & Ruthie sure lights up! I love their little relationship, he can always get some giggles out of her.

Ruthie - She is now 9 1/2 months old! CRAZY. It is weird when they have been with you as long as you had them inside of you. Definitely way more fun to have them outside:) Ruthie really is such a joy. She is ms. happy - she is always gibbering, smiling, laughing, it's very entertaining.
Fun Facts about Ruthie:
- She only army crawls everywhere but does pretty well at standing by things. I was worried about it for a while but then the Doc told me that army crawling is a form of crawling and to not worry, ok! It works for her?!
-She goes to bed at 6:30pm! So nice - she still wakes up one time which I am currently trying to break her of but she'll go right back to sleep and then won't wake up until 7:30am. Can't complain too much but she did pretty good last night of going back to sleep on her own without a feeding. There's hope-
- She rolls her arms, loves it when we clap and sing songs. Her favorite right now is "Popcorn Popping", she just loves that popcorn when it pops.
-She can say Dada, although I don't think she knows she is really saying it. Sometimes it sounds like "Hey Dada!" when she is babbling, it's really funny & Craig just plays along with it and goes into a full conversation with her. I think she will be a chatty one when she gets older.
-She loved peek-a-boo, when Craig gets home we peak around the corner to try and surprise him and she just loves it. After a bath she will also pull the towel over her face and when I say "Where's Ruthie?" She'll pull it down for the big "Peek-a-boo" and then she'll pull it back up over and over. So fun.
-She is ALWAYS happy! She really only gets crabby when she's tired & hungry but all the other times she is just so sweet & cheerful.
Oh we love her so & don't know how we could live without her!

Me- Well I am doing pretty good! Some days are better than others and the other days are usually when it is right before a big test for Craig and I am alone a lot. It kind of makes me feel like a single parent & it is tough. I was thinking just the other day how much more I respect mothers that are single moms and have to do it all on their own. I can't imagine hard how it would be to raise kids, work every day, run the house & stay sane. Seriously! But I think motherhood can be hard period, no matter your situation. I am just so grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father that we can always turn to for help & support. I try to stay positive and remember to rely on Him & look for the good! I'm not perfect at it but it sure helps to just laugh & to enjoy the good in life.
Even though it can be tough, motherhood is 100% worth it though & amazing at the same time! There is NOTHING in this life I would rather do and just love every minute of being with our Ruthie! She is so much fun & bring so much joy in our life. I actually loathe the days I have to go into work, I like what I do once I get there, but it is always a rough night before knowing I have to leave her. I am contemplating not working anymore but I really feel like I need to get at least a year of experience under my belt so we'll see.
Oh & please know that Craig is a huge help though when he is here and wants to help out but it just isn't always possible with all that he has to do & because he needs to do well. Very understandable! The other day I just needed someone and my house was a wreck & he could sense my stress & flew to my aid - cleaned house, helped me get ready for work & got up with Ruthie so I could get good sleep before work. What an amazing guy I got:)

Some pictures of me & Ruthie's visit home from the beginning of October :

Love these ones of Mom & Dad U & beautiful Sarah below-

Ruthie's 2nd mother, I mean Aunt Em, who wishes she was mother to such a cute girl...ha someday Em-

Girls night out at Cheesecake factory celebrating Jen's Bday

Swimming with Grandpa Freeman - so nice that you can still swim in Az even in October

My baby sis is engaged! To a wonderful Jared, they are just perfect for each other.
We are so excited for them:)

Jeff is also engaged! To beautiful Brianna - we love her! Their date is 2 weeks after Jen's - it sure is going to be busy in the Freeman household!

Our cutie pie

She is so beautiful & just getting so big, can't believe it. I LOVE these little boots on her:)

FYI: I think I am going to post less pictures on our blog from now on, if for some reason you want to check out more pictures of my cute family & our adventures in Cali, they will be on facebook:)

Rescued

So it has been quite the transition with Craig starting back up with Med school and to be honest is has been kind of hard on me. He dove right back into studies since his school decided to graciously give the students 3 tests in 3 weeks....let me just say that the week before a test is a hard one because I see him even less and to have 3 in a row!! Tough. I guess that is how it goes the 2nd year but it was hard not seeing so much after I got to have him around all the time! I just have to go back into "Independent Mode" which is a mode I find myself in often over here but not necessarily one that I always enjoy. (Warning: there may be some complaining) It is hard to run the whole house by myself & I mean everything, keep everyone fed, spend time with our Ruthie babe, do a calling, work, etc. I just feel run down but you have to keep a chin up, do the best you can and find enjoyment in the every day adventures:) I realize everyone lives in "their own tornado" as my mother in law would say, and I totally agree with her! Everyone has challenges & I know that I am so blessed with the life I have. I am very grateful for so so many things! But as for right now, I just feel like admitting that I am not always enjoying my tornado & that I just need a bit of good weather to refresh my spirits:)

LUCKILY - I was rescued for a bit when my mother decided to come out! I am so so grateful for her and cannot say it enough! She was here just 4 days but it will go down forever as one of my favorite times/memories with her. I was so glad that she got to spend time with us & see Ruthie. I just see our cute girl every day & growing so much but can't help but feel sad that my loved ones don't get to see it! So it was nice that someone else was able to enjoy her as well. It was just the perfect week. She got in, we talked, ate & she supported me at a RS thing where I talked at about Nutrition (which I love to do by the way). Then she watched Ruthie for me while I worked, which was probably one of the biggest stress relievers! The rest of the week, we shopped, ate, made good food for each other, napped, watched Anne of Green Gables, visited Craig & enjoyed Ruthie!

Bottom line is I think my mom is amazing, loving, funny & the most Christlike person I know. I am so grateful for her help this past week & I feel recharged to keep on going:) I think that is what mom's do best, don't you? They are there to listen, give support & help when we are in need, love & help us remember that we can do it:) Thanks again mom!

Happy little thing!

Beautiful ladies

A visit to Daddy! Cute little family shot in front of school- oh how I love these 2 people.

One day we made lunch for each other! I made soup, Mom made rolls & we finished it all off with pzookie & ice cream. Yum:)

We love daddy! Craig is so sweet with Ruthie & the biggest help when he is home! I am so grateful for how hard he studies & I don't know how he does it all. Ruthie just lights up when he comes home - love it.

Roofie

When me & Craig first decided to give our little girl the name Ruthie, we considered how children or even she, might say her name as a child: "Roofie Jane Udall". Now that she's here even adults call her this...and I have to admit, I don't particularly like it when they do, I don't know why? Probably because I think it makes her sound dumb in a way, like the guy on Peter Pan: Roofio (sp?) I won't call them out on it because it is kind of cute & funny, even Craig does it sometimes but most the time I correct him. It's just because I love her name, I think it is so beautiful & perfect for her little perfect self:) BUT it was SUPER CUTE a couple months ago when my dear friend's little boy Emerson said her name.
So all in all, I guess it is sometimes ok when adults say her name wrong but it is always ok when little kids do:)

This little guy is adorable by the way...I just love how he giggles about Ruthie.

Summer Summary

Everyone has been getting on me for not posting lately but I seriously haven't uploaded pictures and had a chance to blog in forever! We have literally been on vacation for the past 2 months it feels like & now I have TOO many pictures I want to post! Here is the run down of our Summer: We went to Newport with the Freemans 1 week, 1/2 a week home(Arizona), 1/2 a week back to Newport for a Nutrition Conference(Ya, I am certified in Adult Weight Management!), 2+ weeks to AZ, then 1 week in Oceanside with Udalls...phew! So fun but I am very happy to see my own bed, fridge, bathroom, living area and just not having to live out of a suitcase! But I owe a BIG thanks to all my family/friends for the wonderful time spent with them and fun vacation sites. Me & Craig were just talking about how blessed we feel to have the family that we do:)

Now we have just been enjoyed the last little bit of our summer at home together and it has been so much fun. I love just being with Craig, I know I won't have this again for a long time which makes me sad but I have really enjoyed just spending time with him & Ruthie. He is always such a big help to me & is always so sweet about it. He really is just plain wonderful and wonderful for me. I feel SO blessed to be married to him & Ruthie is so lucky to have him as a Dad because he loves being with her and always makes her laugh!

On a sad note, we have had some really amazing friends move away which makes me feel teary just thinking about it. I am going to miss my Brittany Anderson & Kasee Thomas playdates! I feel so blessed to have them around last year - they are amazing ladies. On a happy note, it has been fun because Craig's best friend from highschool & his wife (Kreig & Brittany Lewis) are going to the same school as Craig! They live .2 seconds away from us in our apt complex which makes it fun & easy to get together to play. Of course it changes now as Craig & Kreig start podiatry school & Brittany starts PA School - They are like the power med school couple, what smarties! There have also been several other fun families that have moved in which I'm excited about & I know our ward is too! And we can't forget about the other fun people in our ward that have stayed here - thank goodness for them!

So tomorrow starts a new school year - Ding, ding, ding - ROUND 2! Let the adventures begin! It is back to being a "Med Wife Widow" as I call it or "Miss Independent" in the words of Kelly Clarkson - ha. I can do it though & so can Craig, I know he has a tough year ahead of him - as long as we depend on the Lord & put him first, everything else will be ok! And I also just have to think, "hey, we made it last year with having a baby, so we can do anything:)

Oceanside with the Udall's

The Dance Routine


Newport with the Freemans

My Girl

I'm joining the ranks of mothers who blog a lot about their kids...I have to admit, it is so fun to show off how they are growing & how cute they are!

Ruthie got her 3 month pictures the other day! (Technically 3 1/2 months) My cousin Leah ALWAYS does and amazing job. See her website here.
Here are a some that she has edited so far and I am completely in love with them! I can't wait to see the rest of them. Some of you might have already seen them on Facebook but I had to show them off again...

So Ruthie is getting so big! Too big too fast that is, but I am enjoying every stage though. She is becoming such a big girl and it is such a joy to be her mom. I think she really is such a good girl, she rarely cries unless I miss her nap-time, she doesn't want to nap or is overly hungry. All of which are usually my fault if they occur! She is all smiles these days too - she sure keeps us entertained!

Her 4 month stats:
79% weight: 14lbs 12oz
79% head circumference
69% height: 24 1/2 inches

This doll crib was Craig's great grandmother's, cool huh? Matches those big blue eyes:)

Cute face.


I LOVE LOVE this tutu picture....

gotta have a mother/daughter shot



One last thought since I am on the topic of daughters which reminds me of being a mother:
So I gave a talk on Mother's Day in our ward a couple weeks ago based on Elder Ballard's awesome talk during Saturday Morning of General Conference titled "Mothers & Daughters".
So I have to admit, I actually enjoy giving talks. It really helps me to grow and I think it is a good way for people to get to know you as well. And here are some quotes I loved about Mothers:

"We shall prosper and build up Zion upon the earth; for this is our mission, and the work of your mothers and daughters of Zion—the mothers now, and by and by the daughters, who will, in turn, be mothers in Israel. Great responsibility rests upon you. Upon you depend the training and the direction of the thoughts and the inspiration of the hearts of your children, for they drink into the spirit of their mothers, and the influence of the mother over the children is the most enduring impression that can be made. There is nothing so imperishable as the influence of the mother; that is when she is good and has the spirit of the Gospel in her heart, and she has brought up her children in the way they should go. "
- President Joseph F. Smith

"No other person on earth loves you in the same way or is willing to sacrifice as much to encourage you and help you find happiness—in this life and forever."

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

"Amen to the above quotes" - Melissa:)

Auntie Em, Auntie Em

So my dear sister, Emily, came to visit a couple weeks ago and it was SO much fun! We had been planning and looking forward for her visit for months and the moment finally arrived:) It was just nice to hang out and spend some quality time with her and for her to see Ruthie babe.

I just love Emily so much, she really is my best friend and I am so grateful to have such a talented & amazing sister like her. She is such a great example to me even though I'm older;)

She just graduated from BYU in Family Life with an emphasis in Interior Design - I'm so proud of her! It was fun while she was here because she gave me some good ideas on how to decorate Ruthie's room. I will have to post pictures after I make more progress!

What would a run by Costco be like without a yummy Churro??

One night Craig was sweet enough to let me & Em run off to do some serious shopping and we celebrated us spending money by enjoy some yummy yogurt at Yogurtland. I love this place - Sorry Em I put a lot of pictures of you eating....I ate too of course:)

Ruthie loves her Aunt Emily! Cute little thing -

Sportin' her new bathing suit for the first time, I think it's already too small even though it is 3-6 months:)

Thanks for coming to visit Emily & to Cory for letting her come! Please come again:)

Swim Suit Season

So I will be the first to admit that my "momma bod" is not quite ready for this years swim suit season... I am afraid to even try mine on! Not that I have to have a perfect body to be in a swim suit but I still have a little ways to go until I am back to my pre-prego weight/bod (not sure I'll ever get back to the same body even if I lose the weight...) and putting my swim suit on just won't help me feel any better. BUT it IS fun to still look around at swim suits! And not just any swim suit, a modest one! I sure do enjoy a good swim suit that is modest, cute AND AFFORDABLE (can't forget that).
I always buy my swim suits online - so if you enjoy online shopping like I do, here are a couple sites of cute ones I have found or heard of. Who knows, maybe you will find something good!?

Lime Ricki

Their swim suits are a little bright for me, but I like some of them- even some of the whole pieces aren't too shabby...

This one is pretty cute to me, it might be flattering? But I don't know if it is too "Sailor-ish"?
This one could be flattering as well, can't go wrong with black!

DownEast Basics
Then of course there is always DownEast Basics, they have pretty cute swim suits each year. This one probably will look good for people who have a short torso, like me:) It might look a little busy though on.

Hapari
This is a website my sister Emily found, the swim suits are a little too flowery for me but again, some of them are decent!

Divine Modestee
I just found this website on my search for more modest swim suits, I am impressed, even though I think it has a lame name.... I think many of them are cute. Their swim suits are a little more expensive than I would like to spend but still cute. I like the one shown there but the only thing is I found it hard to navigate through their website at first. (They also have some cute dresses on there!)

Lands End

Now don't judge this website just because some of the swim suits are a little "old mom-ish" - I actually found a good one on here one year. It looks a lot like the one below and it one of my favorites because it was black, simple but really cute on. It even worked for me when I was prego! An added bonus:)

So there you have it! Good luck swim suit shopping! Hopefully I can continue to get in better shape before I go to the beach with my family in June...

OH, one more thing- a AWESOME friend of mine who also had a baby not too long ago suggested a great work out video to me. I really am not one for work out videos, even though I found a good pregnant one, I just would rather jog or work out on my own. But I was finding it hard to jog or go on walks because it took so much work & time to get the baby fed & out the door, me ready, the stroller ready to go, water, etc. and by the time I make it out of the apartment complex and back for a shower it is an hour or more later...bleh, it was so much work with a new baby - So I have enjoyed this work out video:

"Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred" -
It is perfect because it is a 20 minute work out and it is INTENSE!! There are 3 levels on there of cardio, strength training and ab workouts, which means 3 different work outs and I am still on Level 1. I am serious, it is hard and effective... It was only like 10 bucks on Amazon? It has been so worth it for me with a new baby and all until I am able to get outside easier when Ruthie is older. So give it a shot if you need something to give you a boost to get ready for one of these cute swim suits!!

Thank you

Thanks for all the comments for the napping issue! There were lots of great suggestions, a lot of which were along the same lines as I as thinking and I have been trying to catch her when she is sending out the tired signals and it has been really pretty successful! I sing her a song, she gets a little drowsy and into bed she goes and she will close her eyes and seems to know its time to sleep. Of course she fusses a little now and then but I think she is understanding:) She's not even 4 months yet so I think we're on the right track! But it's always nice to hear what works for others, so thanks again!