Memorial Day Hike

I LOVE memorial day.  Such a special time to visit graves and be with family.  Unfortunately we didn't get to do either of these things this weekend because we stayed home in Idaho yesterday.  June is PACKED with fun things so one weekend off was good. 

So instead of visiting family and graves we decided to go for a hike and explore the beautiful mountains here in Idaho with some friends. 

My friend, Heidi and I were talking on Saturday at Zumba about our weekend plans and we discovered that we were both going hiking on Monday so we decided to combine our plans and go together.  She has a 15 month old baby boy so we knew we would be doing about the same type of hike since we both have kids.

It worked out great and we had a lot of fun getting to know her, her husband, and son a little better.  The kids enjoyed the view from their respective pouches on us and McKay and I enjoyed the mountain views.  We hiked about 6 miles round trip on a trail called the Alaska Basin (it is right by the trail to Table Rock for you Idaho people).  We also took another little detour up the side of the mountain to a water fall.  BEAUTIFUL view from up there.  Even the bear spotting didn't stop us. :) 

McKay and I were very excited that it all worked out so well and plan to do a few more hikes this summer.  Anyone want to go?  McKay is totally in his element when we go (like me with shopping) and I love seeing how excited he gets, especially when he gets to be there with his family.

We were practically giddy when we got home and can't wait to do it again (On the drive home from the hike McKay asked me if I wanted to go again today.  haha)  Idaho mountains are beautiful.

Family picture.  Don't get very many of these.  I was glad someone else was there to snap the picture. 

P.S. That is not blood on Adalyn it was part of a fruit filled treat that she had. :)

Also if anyone is going hiking with a baby anytime soon I HIGHLY recommend the Mobi wrap.  SUPER comfortable and you can switch the baby to be in it multiple ways depending on what they like best.  I moved Jensen around in it a lot depending on if he was tired or wanted to watch what was going on. 

Our only mistake was that we should have brought a warmer jacket for Adalyn.  She never complained but I could tell she was a little cold.  Yes that was snow that we were hiking through.

 

The girls: minus Addie

 

 

All done:

 

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Overshare

Sometimes I want to write a blog post, but then I worry that I will just be sharing too much information and I question whether anyone else REALLY wanted to read that about me.  But honestly those are the kinds of blog posts that I enjoy reading on other people's blogs.  The random, fun, and honest posts where you get to really know the person behind the blog instead of just what they did that weekend.  Although we know that I do plenty of those.  I actually just posted one on my private blog today.  Click here to read it.  But today I thought I would give you a glimpse into my mind. 

What is on Kajsa's mind these days.... 

*Summer.  Summer is short here in Idaho, but beautiful.  I am learning to love that it doesn't get too hot around hear for awhile.  I don't handle the REALLY hot heat very well so these cool spring days are lovely to me.  Our calendar has been open every day during in our nightly discussions as we plan and strategize our summer weekends and trips.   

*I have been researching quite a few new things that will be happening in the Pace household in the near future.  Sometimes lots of options are overwhelming and I wish someone could just tell me what the right thing is (or even if there was one right thing).  Some of these "things" are...
             -Potty Training.  Adalyn is ready.  I am not. So we are going to wait a month or two.  But I have been trying to decide which method I want to use.  I think I am going to do the 7 day one.  My only concern is Adalyn doesn't drink a lot (we try I promise.  Juices and milk don't even tempt her) so she doesn't wet her diaper very often and there for it might take her longer to catch on. 
             -Gardens.  I was resentful of our garden last year.  I didn't really want to plant one (I was too overwhelmed with putting in our yard) and didn't really water it very often.  It produced minimal veggies and none of them were that great.  But this year I am excited and ready to put in the effort that a garden requires.  It will still be small, but hopefully better than last years.  I will at least water it faithly... so that should help.   
             -Cloth Diapers.  Young House Love and Wellness Mama pretty much have me convinced that this is the way to go, and that it is even easy (especially if you get the sprayer that attaches to the toilet and have a good method down).  So we will be making the switch someday.  (possibly not till another baby comes along though)
            -Baby Food.  I promised awhile ago that I was going to make my own baby food for Jensen.  And I still plan to.  We have some veggies all ready to go in the freezer that we made last year when I was pregnant.  He is now 5 months old and getting closer to being ready to start adding in some food to his nursing schedule.  But I have been reading about it some and am starting to question what I should give him first.  Oatmeal/ rice cereal... Vegetables?  Some say grains aren't so good on baby's stomachs and to not do the traditional rice cereal first.  Also I read about a method where you don't feed a baby baby food.  You let them pick up the food and feed themselves.  Read about it here (it is more towards the bottom of the post).  Interesting yes.  I haven't decided completely about what I am going to do.  :P
             -Decorating.  Guys I have NO idea what to do with the space above my piano.  I realize that this is a very trivial decision in the grand scheme of things so it usually gets put on the back burner. For awhile I was decorating for each holiday/ season.  But now I want something that can be there all year long so that I can keep things simple.  I just can not decide what that ONE thing will be.  I have been trying to decide for months grrr...
Anyone seen something cool on pinterest for this spot...

 

wow it looks worse in these pictures then I thought.  Definitely needs more color. 

 

            -Water Filters.  Trying to find a way to have healthier drinking water on a daily basis and also for a way to have clean drinking water in an emergency.  I researched a few different kinds of filters and we have decided on this one.  I think we are going to get the biggest (The Crown size) one so that we don't have to fill it up a lot.  We have a perfect shelf in our Laundry room that is connected to our kitchen for it to sit on so hopefully it won't be too big of a pain and will be out of the way.  We are about half way there on saving for it so hopefully we can get it by the end of the year.

 

*Laundry.  Hats off to those of you with lots of children.  It is exhausting keeping up with the stains, spit up and dirt filled clothes (our backyard is still dirt).  I only have two kids.  I can't imagine the amount of laundry with many children.

 

*McKay's birthday.  McKay's birthday is next week.  He wants a pie.  I am going to try, but it will be my first time making pie crust and I am afraid that I might mess up.  I was hoping he was going to choose a spice cake like last year because I had already picked out a recipe that I was going to do, but he chose pie.  He also wants lasagna, and guess what I have never made one of those either.  Before we changed how we were eating I always just bought Stouffers Lasagna and since last June we just haven't had Lasagna.  I am not too worried about making the lasagna it doesn't seem that hard, it will just be a busy day in the kitchen. 

 

*Chicago.  We are headed to Chicago next month.  It will just be McKay, Jensen and I.  We are starting to plan what we are going to do while we are there.  So far we are visiting some family, going to a White Sox game and seeing the Navy Pier.  Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. :)

 

 

 

So there you have.  A small sampling of what is in my brain these days.  Hope life is going well for all.  Have a good day!  Can you believe it is almost June?!    

 

 

  

  

Jensen's First Haircut

This past weekend we took the plunge and cut Jensen's hair.  I was shocked at how fast it grew in and realized that boys just need hair cuts more often than girls.  But cutting a little boys hair is also a lot easier than cutting a little girls hair so I guess it evens out in the end.   Adalyn's hair has only been cut a few times and it makes me so nervous each time I do because cutting with scissors is a lot easier to mess up on than using the trimmers. 

P.S. remember Adalyn's poof of hair that she had at the crown of her head for the first few months of her life?  Yeah I mostly covered it up with headbands, but looking back at some pictures it sure does look funny.  :)  But no worries, she was our first baby and we thought she was the cutest thing in the world. 
Here is a quick flashback to when Adalyn was 4 months old...

Anyways.  Jensen loved the feeling of the trimmers so he just laughed his way through the hair cut.  Of course he wasn't so good at keeping his head still so I held it still for him while McKay trimmed.  I told McKay that we should use a #3 on the trimmers and McKay was surprised that I wanted to do it that long.  But I held to it and told him that we could always cut it shorter later.  Well I am SO glad that we didn't go shorter because already the #3 is a little shorter than I wanted it.  I miss his cute baby hair, but am happy that everything is more evened out. 

Before:

 

(by the way don't mind my hair that also looks like it needs a cut.  I am at that weird stage after having a baby when all your hair falls out.  Nothing seems to work these days grrr... )

 

Also earlier in the day when I knew we were going to cut his hair I tried out a little comb over on him.  So cute!

 

 

After- That's a lot of hair...

Yeah the after photos aren't so good.  When I asked McKay (our photographer that night) where the other after photos were he said that he didn't take any.  And I have been a slacker and haven't taken anymore pictures so that is all you get.  Just keepin it real ;)

 

Have a great day!

Dinosaur

Isn't this just the cutest little outfit on Jensen! 

 

Seriously can't believe I JUST found this outfit in the bottom of his drawer (right as spring is upon us).  But Saturday ended up being a slightly chilly day so I pulled it out and had him wear it on our walk around the Snake River.  Melted my heart!  Love the little claws on his socks.  I always loved dressing Adalyn up with all of the little accessories, tights, dresses, and shoes that all come with being a little girl so this little "dress up" moment with my little man was way too fun for me! 

 

Oh and I officially decided that 4-5 months is my favorite 'baby' stage.  Smiles, giggles, sleeping, eating, and can't run away!  :)  (this was the stage with Adalyn that tricked us into thinking we could handle another child.  hehe I am not going to be fooled twice...)

 

Have a great day!

Weddings + Work Parties = Weekend Fun

The past few weeks have been packed with family activities (this is including the trip to Draper that was in one of my previous posts).  This weekend was also suppose to be a trip to Provo, but a few things changed and we ended up not needing to go down there.  It was sad to not see family, but we were definitely ok with laying low and getting a few things done around home. 

The first weekend of May was McKay's dads 60th birthday.  His family planned a temple trip that Friday afternoon to the Salt Lake Temple followed by a family dinner at Chuck a Rama.  Unfortunately because it was during the day, no babysitters were available, and Jensen refuses to take a bottle I decided to stay at my grandma's house with the kids while McKay went to the Temple and dinner with his family.  We had a lot of fun visiting with Grandma and  She enjoyed seeing her garnd kids.  Fun time was had by all and she fed us so much yummy food and cookies.  We spent Friday at her house and then headed to Logan the next day. 

In Logan we went to Jesse and Natalie's new house and the men folk worked on a few house projects.  The house is a fixer upper and they are doing a lot of the work themselves, so it was fun for all of McKay's brothers to work together on it for a day.  While the men worked the women tended babies, chatted, and went to the park.  It was the first really nice day of the year for us.  Such a nice blessing since we were hanging out outside all day.  It was so warm that Adalyn actually ended up throwing up towards the end of the day (outside thank heavens!) and we realized that she was probably dehydrated.  The girl does not drink much on her own and we forgot to remind her.  Bad parent moment I know!  Luckily it only happened once and she was acting normal soon after getting a few cups of water. 

P.S. I don't have any pictures of our Logan adventures.  I will let Natalie post her own pictures of the house. :) 



Last weekend we made another trip to Logan (Last one for a awhile since most of our family members who live there have now moved... or are about to.  Melanie and John seriously Idaho is great. jk) We went to Jared and Lauren's wedding.  Jared is McKay's cousin.  It was a beautiful day.  Here are a few pictures from the wedding.  The bride's twin sister took all of her pictures.  I am sure she got pretty dizzy running back and forth from the camera to be in the pictures. 

They got married in the Logan temple and I stayed out in the waiting room and watched a few of the kids while McKay went to the sealing.  Apparently all the teenage cousins were busy that day.  I am sure that McKay's family is starting to wonder if I am avoiding all these temple trips for some reason or another.  But I promise, it was just for the kids... Oh the life of a nursing mother.  :)

Outside the temple the tulips were in bloom and it was so pretty.  Here is Adalyn's pose with the flowers...    

 

Then she refused to look when I wanted a picture of her with Grandma. 

 

 

After temple we went to the luncheon.  Adalyn loved just cruising around on the stairs that they had there and for the most part we were able to just let her.  Jensen was also very happy camper all day so dare I say the day was nice and relaxing... Yes. Yes I Do.  I always love visiting with McKay's cousins and family.  After the luncheon we ran out of steam and headed back to Idaho.  That Saturday was going to be a day full of yard work so we wanted to get all rested and prepped for that.  

 

That saturday moring we woke up bright and early and finally got a good chunk of work done on our back yard.  We are/were hoping to have the seed for the grass planted by next weekend, but that is starting to feel to hopeful since progress has been slowed by one thing after another so we will see.  McKay worked till 11:00 pm that night, but we still have a good ways to go.  More pictures and posts about our backyard will come in the future. 

 

 

This weekend.  Well this weekend we just kind of ignored life.  It was raining, we were recovering from being sick, and honestly we were all a little tired from life.  So we took a couple nights to watch some movies, went on a family walk, did some garage sales, and talked.  Adalyn was super cranky and moody, but we tag teamed her and at least got a little bit of sleep.  Oh, I don't think either of us know what we have gotten ourselves into.  The terrible two's is going to be interesting... 

 

Watching a movie while sick this past week

You can tell she is sick by her little red nose

 

 

 

 

 

     Weekends come and go so fast, but we are grateful for the sweet family memories that we are able to make together. 

 

Have a great Sunday!          

2 Tips

So... I have lost some weight. 

I have been working on being healthier for almost a year now.  Mostly it really has been fun, but it is always nice when your hard work starts to pay off.  In my case payment has been in losing pounds and having more energy. 

I have finally reached the point where other people are starting to notice the changes.  You know the old weight loss cycle.  You notice after 5 lbs, family notices after 10-15 lbs, and then friends notice after 20 lbs.  I am starting to have a lot of conversations about how great I look and how lucky it is that I have been able to lose the weight so fast after having Jensen.  They often ask how I did it and what my "secret" is.  (Honestly I haven't done anything extra since having Jensen.  I am still just following my same guidelines that I set last summer.)  So I will quickly explain to people the basic changes in food that I made.  I tell them that I have been researching food a lot and I just try and eat the healthiest food out there (at least most of the time). 

Many times they get curious and ask this final question.  "So what would be one tip that you would give to others who are trying to eat healthier/lose weight?" 

I have thought about this question a lot recently and what I would say.  And today on my way home from the grocery store (after Addie had thrown up all over the cart and I only had half of my shopping done.  Oh well there is always late tonight to finish it...) I decided on what my answer would be.  Oh and I just couldn't decide on one answer so I have two tips.

1.  Shop around the edges of the grocery store.  The fresh real food is mostly along the outside of the aisles of the grocery store.  Besides a few things on the baking aisle the outside edges is where you want to spend the majority of your time and money while at the store.  Pay attention to the things that you are buying that aren't in these areas and see if you can cut them out.

2. Get the junk food out of your house.  If it isn't there you wont eat it.  Don't wait till the last Oreo is gone before you start making changes, just throw it out.  Trust me your health will thank you for it later.  I can't even have chocolate chips in my house.  Because trust me... I will find them and eat them.  Yes getting rid of all of the junk food in the whole house, kind of makes this healthy eating stuff a family affair, and that is a good thing.  The more support you have the more likely you will be able to stick to your goals.       

So there you have it.  Short and sweet. 

Have a great day!   
  

Mother's Day 2013

This is my second Mothers Day as a mother. 

 

All week I have been wanting to write something.  Something that would explain all that I have learned from being a mother.  But there just isn't words.  The more I learn the more I realize I really know so little.  So I will just continue to pondering things in my heart and maybe someday I will have something profound to say that will show just how much being a mother has changed me. 

 

I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who is forever forgiving me of my pride and ignorance when I think that I know what is best in many situations.  But then he lovingly reminds that he is in charge and things will not always go according to "my" plans.

 

 

 

  I am also grateful that children come to us very forgiving and loving.  I am growing and learning right along with them.  So hopefully by the time they are older and can remember things I will be a little better at all of this parenting stuff. :) 

 

 

 

I am so grateful for the beauty that women bring to the world.  Let us all try and protect our sacred role just a little bit more.  Less immodesty, more purity.  Less gossip, more love.  Less comparison, more forgiveness.  This world needs more beauty. 

 

 

Today I have had a different attitude towards Mothers Day.  Instead of insisting that I do nothing I have just tried to enjoy the little things with my husband and children. Changing diapers, giving baths, and cuddling with a sick little girl (Adalyn came home from church with a fever).  Although tomorrow I will probably want a break :)

 

 

I love my family.  I love my mothers (all 3 of them), I love my grandmothers, I love my sisters, I love my daughter. 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!     

Larissa's BYU Graduation

A couple weekends ago we headed down to Provo for my older sister's graduation from BYU.  College graduations are pretty cool experiences to attend.  Many years of hard work and dedication.  She graduated in Mechanical Engineering (same as McKay) and was one of about 5 women is her graduating class.

On a quick side note... we played a game while waiting for the graduation to start.  It was called spot the pregnant lady.  We counted at least 30.  Crazy!  Provo you have been busy!  hehe  That didn't even count the 15-20 newborns that we saw.

Anyways, moving on... the graduation was very enjoyable.  We all found the main speaker to be very interesting.  He talked a lot about careers, goals, and keeping your values in the work place.  One point that McKay and I took to heart among other things, was to not let your religion be an excuse for why you are not reaching your career goals.

Right now McKay is very focused on what he wants out of his career and we are making decisions now that will hopefully put us on the right path for his future "dream job/position" so we found this advice to be a good reminder to stay focused.  The speaker said don't let excuses like needing to stay in Utah/close to family, not working on Sunday, saying I need to stay home more, etc. stop you from reaching your full potential.  Invest in yourself and stretch a little bit to get where you want to be.  Obviously it is all a balance but a little pep talk here and there can't hurt.  :) 

After the ceremony we took pictures and met the 'boyfriend'  His name is Rusty and is super nice.  Hoepfully we will get to know him more in the next few months. ;)

 

We love her!

 

And having sisters is the best these days. Made ALL of the cat fights worth it ;)

 

Later in the day we went to Tucanos and ate yummy food to celebrate.  As great as the graduation was I am kinda wishing that BYU could use her a little bit longer so that she didn't have to move SO far away.  But alas the time has come.  Larissa has accepted a great job in Connecticut with Pratt and Whitney (they build jet engines).  So in June she will be off... sigh...  We will miss you terribly auntie Larissa.

 

And if Connecticut wasn't enough she headed off to Peru the day after graduation to help build some solar ovens for them.  So we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with the rest of my family and helped them do a few projects around their house (painting shutters, hanging lights, and fixing broken sprinkler pipes).  The kids loved the extra attention and the beautiful spring weather. 

 

 

That is all.  Hopefully I will get caught up soon.  Have a great day!

4 Months- Jensen

Um, my cutie is 4 months!  yay!

Crazy how fast time passes. Crazy. 

People give me some funny looks when I tell them that I have a 20 month old and a 4 month old.  I have to admit those two ages together sounds pretty crazy.  But they are both fairly well behaved and life really doesn't feel that crazy (only gets crazy when you throw in a 10 month old into the mix a few times a week) 

 

I will have to add his stats later.  His 4 month appointment isn't for a few weeks. 

 

New things he is doing-

Reaching for toys

playing with his feet

loves sucking on his fingers

drools lots (almost thought he was cutting teeth already)

rolls over tummy to back

eats 5-6 times a day

naps about 4 times a day (amazing!)

fussy time is from about 6-9

recognizes faces

wears 3-6 month clothes

 

His personality is really mild.  Not too cranky and not too smiley.  Just likes to be held and watch all the action.  Adalyn is still doing really well with him.  She has started hitting at times, but rarely aims at Jensen.  Hopefully they continue to get along.

 

 

Adalyn really likes to let Jensen play with her dolls.  I find scenes like the ones below all the time

 

Rolling over...

 

Jensen has a fairly flat head on the back.  It wasn't misshaped or lopsided.  Just flat.  I was starting to get worried and really wanted to avoid having to wear/buying one of those helmets so we decided to use a wedge and have him sleep on his side.  At first I thought he wasn't going to like it, but he has done great.  He will now sleep on either side or his back, and I am happy to report that his head is slowly shaping correctly.

 

 

Loved this little brown and white outfit on him... oh and always sucking on his hands

 

Also loves his feet

 

 

he has rolls!  It was one proud moment for this nursing mama.  He has been pretty tall and skinny up to this point. 

 

Well that is all.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great day!