Baby Shower!

Yes, I'm so spoiled! I'm pregnant with my second child (another girl) and I had a baby shower thrown for me. (I didn't feel too bad since I pretty much missed my baby shower when I was pregnant with Cecily because my water broke 1/2 hour into it)! I have to thank Ivy and Shar for putting together such a fun evening with our friends here in Farmington. One of the fun things we did was everyone gave me a "picture" of my baby and named it. They created the "picture" from images found in magazines. I got such a kick out of this. Hopefully these pictures show up well enough for you to see how funny they turned out.
Look at all of these fun baby gifts I received. I am always so blown away by how generous people are. (But I agree, how can you not have fun buying baby girl things??!!!?)

What do YOU think?

Derrick and I are battling it out over what we are going to name this precious baby girl who's on her way, so we decided to enlist your help. We definitely like Ainsley, and we definitely like Earis (pronounced "Air"-iss). Here's the dilemma: Earis is Derrick's Great-Grandma's name, so we want to spell it the way she did. However, I am having issues with the fact that it looks like you would pronounce it "Ear"-iss. So I would much rather it be a middle name. Ainsley Earis Tornow. Fantastic, right? But Derrick prefers Earis Ainsley Tornow (BE SURE TO PRONOUNCE IT RIGHT!). We really do like both names, but I am just having this little issue. So how about you all let us know what you think? Would you go with Earis or Ainsley for the first name? Do you hate both names? Do you have any other suggestions? Who knows, this baby could come out looking like a Laquisha, so nothing is set in stone. But we'd like to at least have an idea of what we might call this kid!

Is this a "Black Tie" Event?

I was just showing Cecily the pictures of her baby sister's ultrasound and I asked her what she thought. She answered: "Cute Dress."

SHOCKER!!

Um, so I was totally planning on this baby being a boy...

...but as you can see, that isn't the case. Yep! WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!

Hooray!!!! I have to admit, I'm really excited! For the last couple of weeks when I have thought about this baby as a boy, I have gotten a little sad. Well, duh! That's because it's totally a girl! We had a hard time getting very good pictures because she kept putting her hand to her face. I am so curious what she will look like!! I guess we'll see around March 8th!

Recipes Just Don't Do It...Or So Says My Husband

Derrick told me that I need to update the blog because "recipes just don't do it." So I guess I'll give an update on what's going on with us.

The Restaurant:

The signs are going up! Progress is being made! The fire sprinklers went in last week, and the drywall is going up. Our head chef and Manager finished their training in Utah, so now we've got to get the rest of our crew hired and get this place open! We have been working on our plans for the grand opening, and are getting excited! Good Job Derrick for getting all of the many tasks on your list completed.

Our American Fork House:

A few of you may remember me writing about the home we were building in Utah before we decided to move down to NM. It's pretty close to being completed. Here are a few updated pictures. I'll get some better ones of the inside of the home the next time I go up there. It should be complete in about a week or so.

Cecily:

What can I say about my favorite girl? I took her on her first official "Play Date" today, and she had a great time. She loves being around little kids, and she actually shared when I told her she needed to share! (I was so proud!)

Cecily has started sleeping in a big bed. We had started having her sleep in our guest bedroom bed, because she was getting so crowded in her crib with all of the toys she brings to bed with her (as well as the fact that she is just getting so big!). So when Grandpa Tornow came to stay with us a few nights ago, she was a little bugged that she didn't get to sleep in "her" bed!

She loves to play with her big legos.

She loves bean burritos.

My favorite thing she says: "Oh, thank you, mommy!"

She has these miniature Disney princess dolls, and Belle is her ABSOLUTE favorite! She takes her with her EVERYWHERE! To bed, on walks, to her cousins house, to church, to the grocery store, everywhere! She is a total mommy to her Belle doll. We had dinner at Mike and Ivy's house (Derrick's brother & sister-in-law who live here in Farmington), and as we were leaving Cecily absolutely went to pieces when we put her in the car. It wasn't until we were almost home that we realized that she was saying "Belle" (not ball, like we thought). I had forgotten that she had taken Belle to their house, so we felt REALLY bad that we caused Cecily's baby to be left. And that's exactly how Cecily felt about it! Bebe Numero Dos:

We went to our appointment earlier this week to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Dr. V couldn't find the baby's heartbeat, so he sent us over to the hospital for an ultrasound. Everything is fine, but the baby is just measuring smaller than the 13 weeks they thought I was at (which is why my due date has changed on my counter. The new estimated due date is March 8th). It was really fun to see the baby. He was moving his arms and legs like crazy. It's so amazing that something so small can be so developed! I'm in love with this kid already!

I Scored!

Look at the fun surprise I had sitting at my door when I got home this afternoon! Yep, that's right! I scored! I was having a frustrating day today, and my darling husband made it all better! I love him! And not just because he sends me flowers. He really is just such a great guy! I am so lucky to have found such a sweetie. I kind of feel bad, because he is working so hard up in Utah and he STILL does nice things for me. And what have I done for him? MMM...well, I've complained a lot, cried a lot, not called him as much as I should, done nothing to make his time away from us any fun...the list goes on and on. Poor guy. But I want him to know that I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to have met and married my best friend. It's so cool to know that I get to spend eternity with the funnest guy I know! Derrick, I promise I will try to be a better wife so that you will enjoy me as much as I enjoy you!



Anyway, I have received a few e-mails and comments from a few of you who have noticed the new addition to my blog. Yep, that ticker is counting down the days until Cecily's new baby brother (or sister) is going to join our crazy family. The baby's due date is February 25th. But from the looks of me, you would think it was sooner, as I am already getting pretty dang fat! I was frustrated a couple of months ago because I had suddenly, out of nowhere, gained about 8 pounds. Now, I know I was in the middle of moving, so my eating habits were not fabulous, but I could not believe that I could have gained that much weight so fast! Well, come to find out, I was pregnant! I gained several pounds as soon as I got pregnant with Cecily, as well, so this now makes sense to me. But I was shocked that I was already pregnant, because I had just barely stopped birth control. I think Heavenly Father knew that I had better get pregnant fast, or else I would change my mind about the whole thing!

I have really struggled with the idea of having another baby. In fact, I am still very anxious about it. Not that I didn't want another baby...I wouldn't mind having a few! But I'm one of those women who has had a hard time adjusting to motherhood. I see how wonderful my own mother, sisters and friends are as mothers, and I feel so bad for my children. No, I am not trying to have a pity party and have you guys comment on how "great" I am as a mother. I am just writing about how I truly feel. My feelings are that being a good mother is something I am going to have to work a lot harder at than most mothers. You know, one of those "trials" we get to have here on earth! I know so many women who are just naturally great mothers (not that they don't work at it, because I know they do), and that's something I want to be, and I'm glad I get to learn from them and hopefully get to the point that I feel confident in my own "mothering!" So thank you to all of you wonderful moms out there who don't realize that you are serving as an example to me!

So that's our exciting news! Derrick's ecstatic, since he has wanted another baby ever since Cec was born. His first comment when we got home from the hospital with her was "Where's mine?"

I don't think Cecily quite gets what's going on. Whenever I point to my belly and say "baby," she just looks at me weird. Baby to her is referring to her dolls. She has actually brought one of her "babies" to me and pressed it against my stomach!

Me, well, I'm just tired and nauseated most of the time. I've got it good, though, because it doesn't get any worse for me. Smells really get to me, though. I can't stand the thought of meat when I am pregnant, and usually the only thing that DOES sound good is cold cereal. This baby is going to come out covered in Cinnamon Life Cereal! Okay, I'm totally kidding. That was just gross!