Oooooklahoma where the wind blows . . .

Move # 23499238 to the windy state of OK! We're headed off to another wind project that Clay will work on - with 140 turbines (it will produce up to 235 mw). We'll actually live in a place for more than 4 months! Woo hoo! I don't know if I'm more excited to get out of this hotel or to move to a new place. I'm pretty excited though. 

The city we'll live in is Enid, about 90 miles north of Oklahoma City. I've done a lot of research as to what there is in the city and I think it will be good enough for me :) Sadly though, there is no Target :( It has about 50,000 people. Lots of splash parks for the summer time. A Ross Store. Hobby Lobby (that could get me in trouble). I think the main grocery store people go to is the Walmart Supercenter, which is fine by me. Overall, there will be enough resources for what I need.

I think the biggest concern for me is that we'll be in tornado alley. Especially with what's been happening just east of the state with all the F4 tornadoes, it kind of makes me nervous as to what might happen while we're there. I think that will be one of the first questions I have when we move there and talk to our landlord - safety drills, etc. Ha ha

So, if any of you have ever had the desire to visit OK . . . here's your chance at it to come visit me :)

Jason's wedding

Back during the weekend of Valentine's day, my oldest brother got married in Boise. I flew out early Friday with Kort while Clay stayed in MN for his work annual meeting. He flew in late that night.
It was so nice to finally see my family again! It had been almost a year since I had seen any of them. Janelle's boy, Wade, is almost a year and last we saw him he was 2 weeks old! It had been too long.
Janelle picked me up from the airport and we headed to the mall.

We met up with Daisy and her family to catch up. Then mom, dad, jake and jordan showed up. Later that night, we went to the rehearsal dinner at Barbacoa. YUMMY! This is one of the coolest places I've eaten. It's on the pricey side though, but it was spanish like, with like white antler chandeliers, paintings on the ceiling, etc. They had these super yummy mini bite tacos that were to die for! It was a fun night. Too bad Clay wasn't there for that.

Saturday Clay and us just went shopping and ate at Red Robin - we've missed that place :) Then we headed off for the wedding. You'd have to know my brother to understand the decorations of his wedding, etc. Him and Violet are perfect for each other. It was a fun night. So nice to be able to joke and laugh with my brothers and all my family. Everyone was there except Jared. The last time we were all together was when Janelle just barely got home from her mission. And even then, a ton has changed in our family with subtractions and additions. We're hoping we can all celebrate Christmas together!

We stayed at Janelle and Tom's house in Parma that weekend. Sunday, the two of them got to speak in Stake Conference and they did awesome! Tom is the only Seminary teacher in the area and teaches in Parma, ID and then across the border in Nyssa, OR. They're the bomb {dot} com family.

We did a late celebration of Kort's birthday and a month early one for Wade. They were so cute playing with each other over the weekend. I already miss them :(

chocolate

I am going at least until the end of March with NO.CHOCOLATE. If any of you know me, I love, love, love me some chocolate and any type of sweets. This is going to be hard for me. Family is doing a weight loss challenge. Don't think I'll win, but I could lose some ell-bees (lbs). Nursing definitely kept my weight down and now it's been creeping back up. Ahhh! I'm going to try and do a couple of 5ks here within the next few months so I better kick my butt into gear. I'll let you know how I deal with this terrible loss.

Caught in the moment

This week, I found myself living a little more "in the moment". Most days I just try and get through it, hoping Kort will be happy, take good naps, that I can get dinner cooked, and Clay will get home early enough for us to have time together before going to sleep. I'll admit, I probably waste too much time on the computer throughout the day. Really, that's about all there is to do in this hotel room, other than the tv and maybe, just maybe, a small craft project that can easily be packed when we move next. With that being said, I don't give Kort enough one on one time. He really is growing up too fast. He jabbers constantly, especially when we go places. I don't care if people give weird looks or if they're annoyed. I love hearing him "talk" to me. I love this little guy. These past couple of days, I've dedicated myself to him and just sat on the ground playing with him. We've gone shopping, swimming with a new friend, and played in the hallways where he has forever to walk! 

Clay and I had the opportunity of speaking in church last week. I haven't given a talk for at least three years. I wasn't nervous or anything. I was happy that I got to dive in and really study to prepare. That really got me thinking what I've been neglecting in my life. I've just been going through the motions. With moving so often, this is my time in life that I have the chance to be a better person, to be a good example, and to really find out who I am. I am beginning to really understand how the "newbie" feels, the girl sitting by herself, no friends, yet faithfully still attends church because she knows it's true. I couldn't do this all without the knowledge that I have, the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It makes me want to try harder. To do better. So this is me, challenging myself, to do just that. I need to get out of my bubble. I have become much more of a reserved person than I was in High School. Maybe reserved is an understatement. I think Clay and I have switched personalities. He was the quiet guy vs. me the outgoing girl in high school. Now it's just the opposite. I don't know if being a mom will do that to you, but regardless, I guess it's something I need to accept, yet work on to continue staying active and somewhat social. 

This is just me rambling on, once again. I'm hoping to print my blog out sometime this year, so I guess I'm glad that I write all my feelings since I haven't kept up on my journal since I got married. I'm just so grateful for the men in my life. I couldn't do { life } without them. 

shiny and slippery

I was on the computer this morning, thinking Kort was having fun playing in his room, opening and closing the door. UNTIL...he came walking out to me only to have BAG BALM all over his face, hands, and clothes. I knew instantly that the damage would be great. He got gobs all over the carpet, toys, the door and handle, and boxes. I threw off his clothes and hopped in the shower. Then off for his nap. Good thing. Hopefully I got it all cleaned up, but man, is it a pain! Lesson learned. Even when you think something is out of his reach, it never is unless it's only in my reach.

1 year

I wanted to document this before Kort got any older. 

Here's his 1 year stats:

Weight: 21 lbs. 4 oz. = 25th percentile

Height: 30 inches = 75th percentile

Head circumference: 18.5 inches = 75th percentile

Still LONG and LEAN!

Here's what most of our days look like.

6:30-7:00 wake up cranky for us to come get him 

7:00  8 oz. bottle of whole milk!

8:00  usually yogurt, cream of wheat, kix, pancakes, or just whatever we have

9:00 to 9:30  down for nap

half hour later...(still takes those darn 30 minute naps)

10:00 - 12:00  run errands, play, exercise, whatever I need to do

12:00 to 12:30 lunch composing of 8 oz. whole milk, bananas, applesauce, mixed veggies, 

mac n cheese, leftover dinner, whatever we have :) 

1:00 another 30 minute nap

1:30 - 4:00 run errands, laundry, play, keep Kort happy (really, there's only so much you can do in a hotel room)

4:00 or 4:30ish - 30 minute nap - sometimes he won't go down so I hold him to fall asleep and just watch The Ellen Show :)

5:30 dinner - once again, whatever we have - mostly veggies, some sort of meat, dairy, 

8 oz. whole milk

7:00ish get him ready for bed - change diaper, jammies, finish bottle, read stories, 

lay him in bed

...and it all starts over the next day :)

Kort has come a long way on his sleeping. Up until about 7 months, we were still holding/rocking/bouncing him to sleep. As mentioned in previous posts, we learned about the book Good Night, Sleep Tight. Miracle worker. Ever since that started working, Kort has been sleeping through the night! His loves...

Biting

Any type of food

Sticking his tongue out

Cords

Laundry Basket

Dishwasher

Looking at himself in a mirror or pictures

Graham crackers

Playing on the bed

New big boy car seat

Remote control

Drawers

Opening/Closing the fridge or any type of door

Jabbering

Walking
Climbing stairs
The vacuum
Clapping on demand

I still can't tell if he knows certain words or not, but it sounds like he's always saying dada, sometimes mama, yes and hi. I'm sure his words will start to become more pronounced eventually.

I can't wait to see him grow this year! Can't believe our baby is now a toddler. 

Where does time go?!

We love you, Kort!

kort's 1st birthday

i can't believe i have a one year old. it was so weird new year's eve this year, not being in a hospital. celebrating the holidays with family and not stuck at home. i recently have become addicted to looking for huge party ideas. i love the feeling of going all out with food, decorations, everything you can think of. i tried my best with what resources i had - most was in storage or back in MN. but i loved planning kort's party. here's some pics to show how it turned out!

The Cake!

Kort's first haircut!!!

The Guests

It was a great day to celebrate!