Three Columns!!!

Ok so I found this blog that tells you how to add a third column to your blog as well as to size your columns so they look evenly spaced. I love knowing how to size them because I always hated how you would add a new tool to your sidebars and they would look like they were falling off of the page. So go there and learn and have fun! Now I just need to learn how to make a header and I am golden!

Pumpkin Patch Mania!

So I am so excited to say that we went to our very first pumpkin patch! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to a pumpkin patch! It wasn't at all what I expected and in some ways it was a small let down but we still had a great time! We asked our new friends Amy and Gary Hanson to come along. They have an adorable little girl named Hannah. She just learned the word Pumpkin and every time she saw one she would say "Pumpkin!" Since, this was a momentous occasion we had to dress up our little baby girl! She has a very cute pumpkin outfit my mom bought her, so I couldn't think of a better occasion for her to wear it. You can't see a whole lot of what she is wearing because she was wrapped up tight in Jon's jacket but you can she how cute she was!
If you look closely, you can see her orange and black striped socks!
I love going to places that have been there for generations! There is just something so amazing about that to me.

The pumpkin patch did have a lot to do. They had a corn maze, straw maze (for the little ones), little games for the kids to play, as well as a haunted "road", and a hay ride.
Here we are in the corn maze. It wasn't your typical corn maze, mainly because the entrance was also the exit and the paths weren't clearly marked but we had a good time stomping around.
Time out from the maze for a cute picture!

It really got interesting when the corn got really tall! It's huge!
After the corn maze we took a ride on the wild side and took a spin around the field of pumpkins!
It was actually really nice because by the time we got there it was really slow and we were the only ones on the hay ride.
What a cute family! Thanks Gary for taking pictures!
I was going for one of those professional, amazing shots but a blurry one will have to do until I get a better camera. If you look closely, you can see the albino pumpkin!

After the hayride, Hannah got to ride on the tractor and Gary played a few games.


Then as worried first time parents go, we pulled out the UND hat. I wanted to keep her bow on but Jon wouldn't have any of it!
I failed to take pictures of the haunted road but it was mainly a stroll through some trees where they had skeleton's lying around. I'm sure it's really scary when it's dark. We finally made it over to the Pumpkin "Patch." This is the only part where I was really disappointed. I thought we would run out to a field with our wagons in town and pick out our pumpkins and bring them back to be purchased. However, they have barn that you walk into where the pumpkins are all lying on the floor and you pick out the ones you want. Well, we got there a little late and there wasn't much of a selection left. Amy, being the smart thinker, went to ask if there were any others to choose from. They directed us to three shack buildings and said that we could take a look. It was getting dark so it was hard to see but I think we all picked out some great looking pumpkins.
It was really kind of creepy. All I could think of were spiders. Although, we don't have the creepy, nasty kind of spiders like they do in Texas.
These were all of the pumpkins they had left. The last shack of pumpkins.

Her Very Own Walker

I have been looking on-line for the "best" walker. Actually the best walker for our price range. There isn't much of a selection here in Grand Forks but with a little bit of luck, I found one! Some would call me picky, but I just hate getting toys (or clothes) with characters all over them. For example, Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street, etc. especially for toys that I will keep for many years to come. That being said, it was really hard to find a walker that was inexpensive but that didn't contain any characters on it. Wal-Mart and Target only carry Pooh or Sesame Street walkers, however, we in a last ditch effort I stopped by Kmart to see if I could find one to my liking and I did! The box had been opened but nothing was missing so it was discounted. Plus, I had a coupon where if you spent $50 or more you got $5 off, add a pack of diapers to the mix and I was golden! I got the walker, a huge pack of diapers and 2 packs of gum for less than $50! Just in case you aren't up to date on the latest walker trends, most of them are between $40 and $50. I was so excited! We had to wait a few hours before we got home to put it together. We stopped by the mall and saved even more money and JCPenney's! Gotta love their sales!

Anywho, here is Melissa in her very own walker! I just love this little girl!
In this walker, she sits more forward so she pushes it forward even on the rug. She really loves the spinny thing on the left. It has a mirror on it, which I found she really loves those. I came around the corner and she was actually spinning it! She is just getting too big!

I really love this picture! She just looks so excited that she can spin it herself!

Back & Tummy Time

Since Melissa was 2 months old she LOVES being able to see EVERYTHING! She is one of the most alert babies I have ever been around. She loves to sit up and see the world. That being said, I have been horrible about giving her back and tummy time. I am just so worried that she will miss that vital step of learning to roll over and then go straight to walking, instead of crawling first. Who knew that those steps were so important. Anywho, since we got home she has found a new love of being on her back. It also helps to turn on Noggin (thanks Mom for those dvds!) while she lays there, but she has also become more interactive with her toys. She loves to grab on to them and make them make nows. She also scootches around so that she is almost completely turned around.
She was straight on with the butterfly but she just can't stop wriggling around.
I just can't believe how much she is really smiling, with a real smile! She is so dang cute! I just love her so much!
I LOVE this picture. Melissa and Maggie are having a staring contest. She loves to watch Maggie. Maggie is really good with her too. She sniffs her but keeps her distance.
Tummy time is here! She is doing so well with keeping her head up and she even kicks her legs while doing it. She doesn't last too long, mainly because she starts to spit up but little by little she will get better.

Mmmm...Toys

Well we finally made it home. I never thought I would say that but HOME is where my heart is and that would be in North Dakota. It was wonderful being back in Texas and seeing our friends and family, not to mention eating yummy food! Oh how I miss Braums! But it was even better to walk off the plane and see my amazing husband standing there in the terminal. Oh, I missed him so much. It was even better when we got home, our home. North Dakota's not so bad, it's growing on me.

So, we started getting back in the groove of things and Melissa absolutely loves her new toys. As you can clearly see in these pictures I took on Tuesday.
And can you believe the cheese I was able to get from this little girl? She is just getting too big!

Moments Between a Baby Girl and Her Grandpa

While I was in Texas, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time out with my in-laws. They were able to get a few pics of Melissa and I was able to capture a few moments between her and her Grandpa. She had nothing but smiles for her Grandpa Eldredge. It was so fun to see them together!

Blog Lift

Ok so I found this really cute background that was super easy to install, however, I am not sure how to put in a third column or make a really cool blog title.  Maybe someday I will figure all of that out, but until then this is what you all get to look at.  I have been really jealous lately since everyone has been giving their blogs a cute lift so I finally followed in your foot steps.  

I will post more pics of our trip to Texas as soon as I get them loaded onto the computer.  As weird as it sounds I am super excited to get back to North Dakota!  I miss being a family with my hubby and I miss him terribly!  Monday I go home and I just can't wait!

Happy Anniversary My Love

I can not believe it has been three years!  How time flies!  I remember when we were first married and how I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be married a year and now it's been three.  I have loved every minute being married to you.  I have loved getting to know you.  You are an amazing person and I had no idea how lucky I was when I said yes.  I can now say that I am truly the most blessed woman on the earth to be married to you.  I love knowing that I get to spend eternity with you!  I look forward to growing old with you and raising our babies together.  Words can't describe how much I love you and how my love grows for you everyday.  Thank you for the last three years and here's to an eternity of pure happiness with you.  I love you babe!

Sunday Sleeper

Ok, so last post and I think I will finally be up to date.  The fair went well.  I think that had the world not been in such an upheaval about the economy and other such nonsense that it would have been better but all in all it has gone well so far.  We still have 20 days left but I only had to supervise 3.  I honestly don't know how people do that for a living!  I am just so exhausted!  But we sold product and got our info out to the people, so hopefully in the long run my exhaustion will pay off!  Since it's General Conference weekend I had the ability to sleep in that is at least until Melissa woke up.  My mom gave her a bath and got her dressed.  She was in desperate need of tummy time, which she hates, but we made her do it anyways and she fell asleep.  She is just the cutest baby ever, not that I am biased in anyway.

Talk, Talk, Talkin'

I was gone all day Thursday and I was truly exhausted when I came home, especially knowing that the next two days would be even longer and more exhausting, but my reward when I came home that night was so great!  So great in fact that I couldn't even stay awake to enjoy it!  Melissa did very well for my mom while I was gone but she was fairly quiet, that is until I got home.  We were on the couch and I and she just started chattering away, telling me how her day went.  It was so hard to stay awake but she went on for over 10 minutes.   My mom said that she hadn't talked all day until then.  It was such a great feeling knowing that she still wanted to talk to me.  

Time with Grandpa

My dad usually isn't the baby type but recently he has had a great interest in his grandbaby.  I think that it as to do with the fact that she doesn't really cry so it's easy to make her happy.  Wednesday night I was busy trying to get ready for the fair on Thursday and my mom was trying to get my brothers and sisters in bed which put Grandpa on baby duty.  She was all ready for bed and they just hung out together until she fell asleep.  

It was so precious!  She would just stare at him while he talked to her.  They did this for about 30 minutes until he came out and they sat in the rocker.

Then she just dozed off.  At one point, both her and Grandpa were asleep.  
I just love the the position she fell asleep in.  My hand tucked under her chin and we arm swingin' out.  How cute is she?!  

My Big Girl!

On Monday, my mom was going to get out her old bouncy chair but instead she found the walker first.  Since Melissa love's to sit up and look around we figured she would love this, however, we didn't realize how much she would love it!  She stands up in it and if we put her in the kitchen she will push herself around!  She is getting too big too fast!  What happened to my little baby?  But she is just too dang cute!

It's a Dance Party!

Sunday, I went to church with my family.  It was so wonderful to see everyone again!  It's amazing how the ward has changed since I left for college.  So many new faces to meet but it's so wonderful to see everyone that I have known since we have moved here.  There was a girl who bore her testimony during Sacrament meeting and she sat by my and my mom during Relief Society.  She was a recent convert who had just moved out to Commerce to go to A&M.  We invited her over for lunch and we ended up getting the Wii DDR out!  WOW is that fun or what!?  It took some getting used to but I LOVE IT!!  Hey Santa...a Wii for Christmas...pretty, pretty, please?

Back In the Saddle Again...

Well I haven't posted since we got to Texas because I have been so super busy with the state fair but my time is over and I have a little extra time this morning...so get ready for update blog mania!!

So we landed in Texas at about 1:30pm on Saturday.  After a few mishaps and embarrassing moments between Fargo to Denver and Denver to DFW we made it safe and sound.  It was so great to walk out that scary rotating door and see my mom's smiling face!  We didn't make it home to Greenville until 10pm.  I had a few Scentsy errands to run and we did a little bit of shopping while we were out and about in Dallas.  However, when we finally made it home we drove up to see this wonderful sign my sister Jenny made.