Day 03 - Your Parents

Day 03 - Your Parents

John Eddie Keene and Melanie Bee Willden.

Our family 1985.



My dad. 

My dad, Ayla, and I November 2009.

I think I am a lot like my dad.  A lot of my defining characteristics are things that I got from my dad.  My love for music (Especially The Beatles.)  My love for animals.  My compassion.  My emotions.  My temper.  My dad is a great person and I am lucky to have so many traits/qualities that reflect him.  Here's a little bit of an email that my dad sent me this year on my birthday, "You know that one of my favorite memories of you is dancing in the living room to The Beatles, "Long and Winding Road"…………one of my other find memories is when you and I were sitting on the couch watching cartoons………I snuck a bite of chocolate, you smelled it and so you sniffed my lips and said, "give me some too!!" :) You were always and still are a good girl."  I love my dad and I feel bad that I don't get to see him and Syl more often.

My dad and Syl.  2003.

My mom. 

My mom and I, August 2010.

I don't even know where to start.  My mom is my role model.  She is the person I look up to the most.  She is strong and brave and smart.  She is the most caring/busy person I know.  I am more and more like her every day with the things I say and do.  Sometimes it makes me laugh sometimes I say, "ARE YOU SERIOUS, I'M TURNING INTO MY MOTHER!"  If there is anyone that I could turn into it would be her.  There's a line in the movie Spanglish that makes me cry every time... "My identity rests firmly and happily on one fact: I am my mother's daughter."

My mom and Kurtis 2003.

The past week...

My mom has officially gone back to Washington. It's strange not having her around. Definitely a lot more boring. Joseph and I had a lot of fun having her here. We ate way too much and we spent a lot of money (mainly my mom spent a lot of money) and we got out of town more than usual! That was really nice. We definitely get stuck in our little bubble here a lot more than we would like.

It was fun to spend time with my mom and go out to Tooele and visit the Shepherd family out there as well as spend some time with Joseph's grandma Clara and his dad Gene. It's nice being close to family, even if we don't see them very much. I'm glad that Joseph actually likes my family, it's very refreshing to have someone who actually enjoys going to visit them and is sad when they are gone. He's asked me when we're going to Washington to visit my family on numerous occasions. I wish we could get up there more! And it's also nice that I like his family. They live a little closer than my extended family so we get to drop in on them a little more often. His grandma Clara is so sweet and always nice to visit with. And Joseph loves getting to visit his dad, even if the visits are short it is always nice to see him. He took Joseph, my mom, and myself out to dinner this past weekend and spoiled us with a delicious meal at Iggy's. Earlier in the week my mom and I went out to dinner with Clara at Applebee's, that was also a fun visit and a good meal.




The top photo is my mom, me, and Clara. The bottom photo is Clara and I.

I hate these pictures because I look AWFUL in them, but they are the only ones we have!

While my mom was here we also got to see my Grandma Gloria (my mom's mom) and my Grandma Ruby (my dad's mom). I haven't seen my grandma's in way too long, even though they both live here in Utah. Like I said, I get stuck in the little bubble here in Provo/Orem.

Overall my mom's trip was really fun. She always spoils us and takes very good care of us when she comes to visit. We'll miss her a ton and we're excited for her visit when the baby comes.

As far as my pregnancy goes I am feeling pretty good. I'm starting to get tired more often again, but I have a feeling the heat has a lot to do with that. I have been taking a lot of naps recently! My stomach is still getting a little bigger every day. And Ayla seems to get more active each day as well. She's definitely taking advantage of all that extra space she has in there to move around. Joseph and I registered at Babies'R'Us the other night and had a lot of fun doing it. It's funny how much we actually enjoy looking at all the baby stuff! I want to buy everything NOW and start setting up her room NOW, but I guess I need to be patient! I'll wait to see what I get at my baby shower and then go from there I suppose. I just get anxious and feel like if I don't do it now I won't have enough time to get everything prepared, which I know is a little ridiculous. I know I still have time! Patience has never been my strong point...

Baby crazy!

This past weekend has been a little crazy and a lot of fun. My mom is in town so we have a lot to do. We're always running around doing something! This weekend we got to visit my grandma Durrant (my mom's mom) and my grandma Ruby (my dad's mom), as well as Marilyn, Roger, Scotti, and Haylee. It's always fun to see family. I don't see them enough even though I live in the same state as them. Believe it or not, driving 45 minutes out of Orem is actually a difficult thing for me! We go so wrapped up in our little bubble here that we hardly leave it! I have to say the funniest part about visiting family was watching Nana (My mom's mom) see a laptop for the first time. My mom sat in on her lap to show her a picture and she said, "What is this?" My mom started describing the picture and Nana was like, "But what is this?" Turns out she had no idea what a laptop was. She looked like I would probably look if a UFO landed in front of me and an alien emerged. Joseph and I had to try really hard not to laugh. It was very cute.

This weekend we finally started collecting stuff for the baby. My mom brought me about 5 cute outfits, some bibs, and a blanket. I got my FIRST baby girl gift from Aaron and Megan! It is an adorable pink and white striped polo dress. I can't wait for her to wear it next summer. :)

We also got a crib! I work with a guy who's son has outgrown it and he had it in storage. We got a great deal on a really nice crib. It was really exciting to bring it home and get it all set up. Now I just want to get bedding so that it can look complete! I keep having to remind myself that I'm only 6 months pregnant and I still have time... it's just so much fun!

My mom and I also went shopping on Saturday and I went a little crazy with baby clothes. I probably bought about 8 or 9 onesies, 5 or 6 sleepers, a couple pairs of pants, 2 dresses, and a really cute puffy winter suit. I also got 2 more outfits from Nana as well as a sweet baby blanket. Joseph and I are going to register at Babies-R-Us sometime this week and I cannot wait! My friend Carissa is also starting to plan my baby shower for August. All this baby stuff is so fun!

Ayla's crib: