Daily Manndates

Taming the mess!

2012-01-28T22:25:00.011-07:00

I'm literally embarrassed to blog this and I pray you don't judge me for the before pictures. It's no secret that our place could use some organizational help. Frankly, when I get home from work I would much rather do something I enjoy than clean and organize my house. That being said... it is definitely time. I found this 52 weeks to an organized home challenge and have accepted. I've decided to hold myself accountable by showing you all our progress with before and after shots. The first challenge was kitchen organization: counter tops and sinks. We basically had to decide what we use often and what we could put somewhere else. In the end... who needs 3 timers?

Here are the before and after pictures... Don't judge.

Another update

2011-07-16T21:44:00.006-06:00

Jude:

7 months old. 16.4 lbs. 25% for height and weight and 85% for head circumference.

Jude is doing much better lately. He's pretty much done taking his prevacid and only has an occasional barf (usually on other people's couches and more than you can imagine...) His impetigo is pretty much under control with the occasional use of an antibiotic cream and his rash is under control with the use of zyrtec. He is still the happiest baby on the block and is so funny. He is starting to learn to sit up and scooting around getting ready to crawl. He is in the process of transitioning out of the swaddler for sleeping. He is starting to get more RED hair and his favorite food is sweet potatoes.

Carter:

3 years 3 months old. 28 lbs. 37.5 inches tall. On the chart for weight and that's all that matters.

Carter is so stinking funny lately. After our trip to California last week he seems to have really come out of his shell. Now he will play on a playground if he knows we can see him and actually wander a little. He tells jokes and makes up lyrics to songs (my favorite is "Hey Carter" which he thinks is a Beatles song.) He loves He-man, his cousins, waffles, taking baths, writing words and reading. The biggest and best Carter news is that he is POTTY TRAINING!!! We've had 2 days without any accidents!! Yahoo! He enjoyed seeing all his family in California but the highlight of the trip for his was Charlie Brown. Any time we had an hour to spend we pulled out our Peanuts map and found as many as we could. He loved it and we enjoyed looking like tourists.

Dave:

31 years old on Tuesday. 215 lbs (that's 35 less than the beginning of the year!)

Dave has made some big changes to his future plans. He is now pursuing a bachelors degree in City Planning and then will enter the accelerated masters program in Architecture. It should take him about 4 years to finish school but this will make him more marketable and actually speed up the process considerably. We recently took a financial greatness class offered through my work and are now feeling much better about our future. The picture of Dave up above was the first step we took towards getting out of debt. We are both very excited to make this happen and control our money rather than the other way around. Dave has also been called to teach Elder's Quorum at church and he loves it. He also enjoys the challenge of being a stay at home Dad and has been great with the first days of potty training. He has recently been doing most of the cooking and is realizing how good he is at it and how much he enjoys it.

Brook:

27 years old next Saturday. 129.5 lbs (UNDER 130 BABY!!! 35.5 lbs down!)

I've obviously been doing stuff since our blog has pretty much been abandoned. I spend a lot of my time doing our food blog and planning our meals. I know I do more than that these days but I just can't remember. Ok, let's see... I work. I exercise. I blog about food. I spend time with my boys. I watch the Bachelorette. Oh, here's something. I have recently decided to change my educational goals as well. I usually come up with one crazy future career after another and most of the time I end up returning to my goal to be a special ed teacher but I think I may have actually found one that will stick. I want to go to school to become a Nutritionist. It's something I am really interested in, have some basic knowledge in and could still be helping people. Sadly I have to wait until Dave is done and both boys are in school to even start but I am determined to complete more than just "some college" for those times when my children are asked about their mother's level of education.

That's us right now. It seems like in the previous months we had a bit of a dark cloud looming over our house but now things seem to be looking up. Everyone is mostly in a good place and we are all hoping to stay healthy for at least a little while. All in all things are good and happy over here in the Mann house.

Before and After

2011-06-18T22:33:00.002-06:00

Putting the weight back on challenge

2011-05-27T13:15:00.001-06:00

30 pounds lost 27.8 pounds "gained"

Might as well eat healthy

2011-05-25T12:56:00.001-06:00

Dave and I started a food blog to share some of the best recipes we've tried on our journey to a healthy life. Please check it out and let us know what you think!

www.mightaswelleathealthy.blogspot.com

Wrestle Mania!

2011-05-22T16:52:00.000-06:00

This is why I became a Mom.

2011-05-21T17:29:00.001-06:00

Love the cousins!

2011-05-20T20:45:00.001-06:00

The Dynamic Duo

2011-05-20T20:37:00.002-06:00

While looking at Ethan and Jude the other day I noticed something...

All that's missing are the capes...

Falling, yes I am falling

2011-05-01T12:45:00.004-06:00

I've just seen a face

I can't forget the time or place

Where we just met

She's just the girl for me

and I want all the world to see

we've met, Mmm mmm mmmm mmm mmm

Had it been another day

I might have looked the other way

and I'd have never been aware

but as it is I'll dream of her

tonight, di-di-di-di'n'di

Falling, yes I am falling

and she keeps calling

me back again

Jude and Scarlett

April 30th, 2011

Both 4 1/2 months old

(and in love)

Easter!

2011-04-25T19:14:00.005-06:00

This Easter was tons of fun! We made bunny pancakes with the Philpotts, went to church and saw Daddy "sing songs about Jesus", had a bi-level Easter egg hunt and then went to my Uncle Jim's for dinner. Of course... PICTURES!!!

The boys' baskets

Big boys

Isaiah and Jude

Cousins!

Easter bunny

A choco-holic!!!

Finding those eggs!

My handsomes

Keeping up with the Manns

2011-04-15T21:56:00.005-06:00

Since I'm no longer the greatest blogger in the world I think I should give everyone an update on what our family is up to lately.

Jude:

Stats: 4 months old, 13 lbs, estimated at 24 inches long.

Jude has had his struggles lately with weekly trips to Dr Omura. He is on 3 different medications. Prevacid for his reflux, Zyrtec for his rash and his 3rd round of antibiotics for his impetigo. Even though we cut his nails almost daily he manages to scratch his head bloody so we try to keep socks on his hands constantly. He is mostly a happy little baby and talks all the time. He has started eating rice cereal in some of his bottles and is sleeping in his crib. He loves holding hands and watching brother. He is working on rolling over and will most likely accomplish this soon. His favorite activities include standing while holding Daddy's hands, being held so he can watch everything that's going on and playing on his activity mat or laying on a blanket on the floor.

Carter:

Stats: 3 years old, 27 lbs, 37 inches tall.

Carter has become quite the little helper. He loves to cook, sort laundry and put it in the "sheen", start the dishwasher, put away clothes and help take care of brother. He talks a lot and has quite the vocabulary. He seems to always say things that make us laugh and surprises us daily with his understanding. He still loves letters and numbers and can spell roughly 15 words with ease. He got a Leap Frog "Tag" for his birthday and loves to read his "cool books" with it. His favorite books right now are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (the tag version) and Anamalia. He no longer naps but is getting used to having an hour of quiet time a day in his room. He no longer uses the binky (see previous post) and is becoming such a big boy. We've started swimming lessons and he seems to pick it up quickly. His favorite activities include cooking, playing with his cousins, eating goldfish, taking a bath, watching Super Why, Peter Pan and Power Puff Girls, wrestling and reading books.

Brook:

Stats: 26 years old, 24 lbs lost.

Brook has been working hard to get healthy and has finally hit a huge weight loss milestone by becoming a NORMAL (no longer overweight) BMI after losing 24 lbs. She has been dealing with some stress at work as she is covering 2 desks at the moment but deals with it by working out and reading at lunch. She has discovered a love of healthy cooking and enjoys finding new healthy recipes that actually taste good. She decided to try making baby food for Jude and has enjoyed it so far. Her favorite activities include cooking with Dave and Carter, playing dominos with Noelle, chatting with her girlfriends, taking pictures, watching movies/TV with Dave and just spending time with her boys.

Dave:

Stats: 30 years old, 25 lbs lost

Dave has been doing a fantastic job of being a student and a stay at home Dad. He is working on his portfolio for the Architecture program at the U and hopes to start the program this coming fall. He has been doing whatever he can to pad his portfolio from doodling to building with legos and I know it will be amazing. His favorite activities include playing with the boys, attending various classical concerts for his opera class, discovering new music, doodling and sleeping when he gets a chance.

Hopefully this will get everyone caught up on our lives. We love that we are "boring" but know that it doesn't always make for the greatest blog posts!

Carter's birthday

2011-04-15T20:58:00.008-06:00

Carter not only had a fun Birthday party but we tried to make the actual day all about him as well. Here is his special day in pictures:

Someone (Dave) couldn't wait until Saturday to give Carter his leapfrog so he had a few days of opening presents which he enjoyed.

The night before Carter's Birthday he and I made coconut dark chocolate chunk cookies. We had cake for his party and I found these in my cooking light magazine so we thought we tried them out and they were great. Not to mention fun to make!

Carter knows how to use the Kitchenaid...

His first time "licking the beater"

Presents!!!

He made the best faces while opening them this year!

Since Carter is a big boy now we decided we would go and put his binky inside of a Build a Bear on his birthday. Here we are feeling the binky in his dog's leg.

Saying his goodbyes to the blue binky as his doggy gets stitched up

Typing his own name on the birth certificate

Carrying his creation through the mall

Birthday lunch

Having lunch with his new friend

Next we went to the library and read some books

For his birthday dinner Carter chose edamame and asked if we could invite his friend Kaden. I thought that was so sweet and we were so glad they could come!

Carter and his chopsticks and edamame

Eating and ENJOYING his first ever piece of sushi!

Fast forward a few days. We've had some struggles and overall regrets about putting Carter's binky in an animal. TANTRUMS like you've never seen them!! But after a few days it's gotten MUCH better. He doesn't nap anymore all the sudden but he only asks for it once in a while and not as "enthusiastically" as at first. Now he enjoys his binky doggy but it doesn't take the place of the binky.

My little boy is growing up so much! I can't believe it. He's a great kid and so fun to have around!!!

My big little Mann

2011-04-07T12:04:00.002-06:00

I can't believe that tomorrow that ticker at the top of our blog will say Carter Pierce is 3 years old. It seems like just yesterday he was my little baby. Now he is an independent and funny little boy. He is so full of personality and shows it when he laughs, cries or gives eskimo kisses. Carter is so smart and I know he will do great things when he grows up. We love our big little Mann and cannot believe the time has gone so fast!!

Mamma Mia Carter's Three-a!

2011-04-05T21:52:00.007-06:00

This past Saturday was Carter's 3rd birthday party. We did a make your own pizza party since Carter is very into cooking lately. I made each of the kids a little apron and a mustache (which none of them really used) and got pizza boxes and chef's hats. It was very fun and very chaotic and I can't believe my big little Mann is going to be 3 in a few days. Enjoy these pictures of his fun day!

The favor for each of the kids

All set up for the pizza party

So excited for his party

Waiting for his friends

Cute Cassidy

Asking Kamai to use your camera to take pictures yields interesting results. Lesson learned.

Yummy sauce!

Emery

My little cook!

Kaden

Kennedy

10 minutes is a long time to wait for pizza!!

The kid's creations

Itsa me, Mario!

Yummy!

Liz and Max. Liz was wearing Max's apron in hopes that he would want to wear it.

I made a cake

Blowing out his candles

Big boy with his pizza cake

Jude with his new best bud Kolten

We finished the day off reading Carter's new favorite book

Fun with food!

2011-03-29T21:35:00.003-06:00

Carter pulled out the old apron tonight to help me make dinner. Dave was making steak so Carter and I made roasted red potatoes and roasted asparagus to go along with it. He actually did help a lot! AND we had lots of fun!

My asparagus alien

Take a sad song and make it better

2011-03-27T18:45:00.002-06:00

Poor Jude. In the past month or so he has been diagnosed with RSV, a sinus infection, infected cradle cap, eczema, a possible milk allergy and the latest: infant impetigo. He's seen his doctor 3 times, a different doctor once and been to the ER once. I called the advice nurse more than 15 times and spoke to an on call doctor in the middle of the night 3 times. His entire head has been covered in puss and scabs, he's had trouble sleeping, breathing and everything in between and his whole body is covered in rashes and what does he have to say about it? Mostly smiles. This kid is the happiest kid I have EVER seen in my life! Yes, you can tell he is not feeling well and in some pain but for the most part he endures with a smile and a brave face. He used to sleep 8 hours a night and now we are down to 3 or 4 hour chunks but we know he will eventually get better. I love this little guy so much that all I do is worry about him and his big brother but I trust that if we do all we can to take care of them they will eventually get better. Countless prayers and blessings have been a comfort but I think the worry will eventually kill me. Another reason why 2 kids is it for me. I am just so grateful to have these sweet little boys! So as of right now Jude is on his second antibiotic and I am not eating any dairy. Thank you everyone for your help, prayers and counsel as we have been having a rough month or so. We hope everything will even out for us and we will be able to return the favor.

What a difference 3 months make

2011-03-27T14:42:00.002-06:00

Me 3 months and 1 week ago

Me now.

I've lost 20 lbs since Jude was born and am 3 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant with him. Any time I start to think of how far I have left to go I will look at this post and see how far I've come in 3 months.

A good day together

2011-03-13T22:35:00.002-06:00

Thumbs up!

Brothers!!

Cousins!!!

We had such a great day together! Carter has started playing with Jude a little bit more which is fun and he LOVES spending time with his cousins. It's cute to see him and Isaiah play better now that he is a little older. I love days together with my family!!!

Jude Costa Mann; a name and a blessing

2011-03-06T16:47:00.004-07:00

This post will be editted once the internet is working but Jude has his blessing today and it was great. It was nice to see those that could be there and we missed those that weren't but we love you anyway and know you would if you could. Enjoy the pictures and there will be more coming.

The circle minus Jeff Mann and Bishop Sterzer. L to R Gary Swenson, Kamai Chang, Dave, Jude, John Philpott, King Udall, Jim Allison, Jonathan Pierce and Zach Skabelund.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2011-03-02T19:02:00.002-07:00

Abby is reading Fox in Socks!!!

Lately in the Mann house

2011-03-01T20:45:00.005-07:00

Alright Blogspot. I give. This post contains only about a 5th of the pictures I wanted to post but we'll go with it. We've been busy here the past few weeks:

3 weeks ago Dave and I decided to change our lives and get healthy by eating right and exercising. I'm happy to say that the eating right has been great and we are trying to get with the exercising. After 3 weeks Dave has lost 13 lbs and I have lost 10 1/2. I am officially a pound lighter than when I got pregnant with Carter and have only 6 lbs until my pre Jude weight. We've been having fun trying new recipes and have found tons that we really like. I will try to post some of the good ones on here.

This past week/weekend we had a rough time. Wednesday night we had to take Jude to the ER since he was having trouble breathing (a big thank you to Noelle for driving me while Dave was in class and to Abby for watching all 5 sleeping kids while she took me.) Turns out he had RSV but his oxygen level was 99% so after some nasal swabs and chest x-rays they sent us home. I went to work the following day while Dave was home with the boys and I got call at about 10:45 saying that Carter had a seizure and had a fever of 102.8. I raced home and we spent the entire weekend on lockdown (minus a trip to the pediatrician) with barfing from Carter and coughing and boogers from Jude but I'm happy to report the boys are doing better. Dave and I, however, have caught the bugs. Blah. The boys will go back to daycare tomorrow. *Side note: both boys had blessings during their sickness and yesterday while I was at work Carter asked Dave to "say a prayer on his head." Thought that was cute.

We are getting ready for Jude's blessing this Sunday and a luncheon to follow. I am excited to see our friends and family and give this little cutie name and a blessing. Noelle has agreed to take family pictures of us this weekend for the blessing so I'm sure I will be posting them on here soon.

Since my mom was here visiting Carter has been VERY involved in the kitchen. He loves to help us cook and we always try to find him little jobs like putting cheese on top of these or putting veggies in a bowl or even helping me press garlic. It's been very fun and I hope he keeps cooking so he won't have to eat ramen on his mission or at college. *Another side note: At dinner I asked him if he was going to be a cook when he grows up and he said "No. I'm going to be a Mommy and Daddy." Funny kid.

I'm sure there have been lots of other things but mostly we've just been enjoying our funny kids. Jude talks and smiles all the time and loves looking at himself in the mirror and Carter is learning how to read and spell words. Some of his favorite words right now: Crib, frog, Carter, Mommy, red, drink, van, go and several others. Unfortunately he still won't write them on his own even though he knows how. He can form all the letters out of other things but won't pick up a pen and write them.

well enjoy a few pictures of the boys with more to come.

My morning serenade

2011-02-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

A big thank you to the Changs for giving Carter Beiber fever...

Valentines

2011-02-14T20:03:00.004-07:00

I love my 2 little Valentines!!

Lots of cute

2011-02-14T19:46:00.002-07:00

Just a little randomness.

Love this.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

Our Vday project.

2011-02-11T19:59:00.001-07:00

Getting SO big!!!

2011-02-10T16:43:00.001-07:00

The start of a great friendship

2011-01-30T22:42:00.004-07:00

Dave found a set of Beatles beanie babies that didn't cost an arm and a leg so he got them for Jude. Carter, of course, immediately wanted them but after I showed him this one he never took it again.

The other 3... fair game.

Best. Gift. Ever.

2011-01-29T23:17:00.003-07:00

Since Dave didn't get me a birthday or Christmas gift last year I received a very unexpected surprise:

AN ORANGE KITCHENAID!!!!

I'm thinking of naming her Daphne....

Need Mommy advice...

2011-01-26T21:10:00.003-07:00

As of right now I probably have about 5 gallons of breast milk in my freezer. I know this is excessive but after having to give Carter formula and feeling like I wasn't producing enough to meet his needs when he was nursing I just can't stop pumping and storing milk. I've been told by several people to just stop pumping after I nurse him and Dave tells me I'm pretty much producing for twins but I just can't bring myself to stop. I worry that one day I will run out and have to use formula which is rougher on my poor baby's already refluxy tummy and also stains much worse. I guess I want opinions. Does anyone out there agree with me? Or should I stop?

Add a lasagna sized pan stuffed full of milk with bags stacked on top and 11 bags I have stored at my friend Erin's and you get the picture...

Announcing!!!

2011-01-24T17:08:00.001-07:00

A big thank you to Emily Mann for creating our awesome announcement!!

Lately.

2011-01-23T23:36:00.004-07:00

This is us lately:

Carter was sick and discovered the wonder of the portable DVD player

Jude sticking his tounge out in his room

My rock star

Carter colored on our couch with a ball point pen and after trying every method google had to offer we went with a slipcover.

Jude's room in panorama

The crib (thank you to cousin Amy for making the bumper, Annette for making the quilt and Laurie for making the crib skirt)

The changing table (Thank you Amanda for the changing pad cover)

Mostly just a bunch of redecorating and a little barf.

Lesson learned

2011-01-17T18:06:00.001-07:00

Don't let the kid play with stickers for quiet time.

Why it's good to be a grandparent

2011-01-16T15:29:00.001-07:00

You can give them back at moments like these!

Classic!

Making cookies with Mommy

2011-01-12T23:02:00.005-07:00

Since Grandma has been here Carter has been very excited to help in the kitchen. Grandma lets him help make salads, quesadillas, you name it. So I thought I would try. We decided to make cookies tonight and we had TONS of fun! Grandma and Daddy were grateful for the yummy treats!

waiting patiently...

Yummy!!!

"I made these!"

I think we will cook together more often!

Cooking with Grandma

2011-01-11T22:11:00.001-07:00

Carter's new favorite thing:

Close up!

2011-01-09T20:47:00.001-07:00

Apples and Oranges

2011-01-06T22:05:00.005-07:00

I hear that comparing your children is a no no but I think it's acceptable when you are trying to show how much they don't look alike. Here are some photos of Carter and Jude that are comparable so you can see for yourselves.

Carter:

Jude:

Carter (flipping off the camera):

Jude:

Carter:

Jude:

There you have Carter=miniature Dave and Jude=miniature Brook. Your thoughts welcome.

Good morning world!

2011-01-03T11:02:00.001-07:00

A brand new start

2011-01-01T17:27:00.004-07:00

Ok so this is a great way to start off 2011, with my 1000th post!!! Hooray!!! So here's what this post includes: Top 10 of 2010 and 11 predictions for 2011. Here goes...

TOP 10 of 2010:

#10- Carter has been learning to write letters

#9- Dave and I saw Wicked in San Francisco

#8- Carter got a big boy bed and a new cool bedroom

#7- Dave took a painting class and did lots of awesome paintings

#6- We celebrated our 5th anniversary

#5- Dave turned 30 (he does not consider this as a top event of the year but I do)

#4- Both of my siblings got married prompting 2 trips to California to spend time with family

#3- Carter started daycare with my friend Erin and has been better at making friends and playing with other kids

#2-Dave quit his job at Blockbuster giving him more time to spend with the family

#1- I bet you couldn't guess... JUDE COSTA MANN!!!!! Jude being born was the icing on the cake of a great year!

Predictions for 2011:

Carter will be potty trained
Dave will pass second semester physics with flying colors
Dave and I will get back in shape (once my doctor gives US the ok to workout again)
Our little family will make a trip to California so Jude can meet the family
Brook will finish *fingers crossed* typing up all our mission letters and get a book made (something she's been working on for 5+ years)
Carter and Jude will have at least 1 new cousin born this year
Dave will get in to the Architecture program (and do great!!!)
Carter will go to preschool and learn to write at least his name
Jude will do all the normal baby stuff (sit up, crawl, babble, etc) and get even cuter than he already is
We will sell a lot of baby stuff and make lots of room in our storage
Life will be great and we will enjoy being together as a happy little family

We hope 2011 is a great year for everyone. We have high hopes for this one and expect great things. Here's to another fantastic year and another 1000 posts!

Hey Jude (here comes the "son")

2010-12-29T21:06:00.007-07:00

Hello everybody! Dave here to tell the tale of Jude's arrival into our family. The date for the induction was set for December 16th, after my finals and with enough time before Christmas. We became a little nervous when Brook began to have contractions, albeit irregular and pretty spaced out, a few days before my finals. Lucky for me, the contractions didn't become regular until the day after my finals, December 15th. Brook and I began to write down the times of her contractions, waiting to see if they would begin to get closer together, thus requiring an earlier trip to the hospital. Finally, around 10:30 pm, we decided to go to the hospital to see if Brook was progressing enough for her to stay the night since she was scheduled for induction the next morning. Side note: the room was huge and had a pretty comfortable fold-out bed. Brook was checked by the nurse and was told she was only at a 1+ and would probably be sent back home. We waited around for an hour, watching old tv shows, and then the nurse came back to see how Brook was doing. She said she had been experiencing stronger contractions, prompting the nurse to check her again. The result: 3+ and a reservation to stay the night.

Brook had decided a week before to go through labor without an epidural. Many thought she was crazy and would eventually get one when labor became more painful. Brook's reasoning was that the epidural didn't work for her when Carter was born and was one of the more stressful parts of labor, due to her fear of needles. She also didn't want to pay for a procedure that didn't work. Brook's water was broken at 8:00 am, as planned, and we knew that the fun was about to begin. As the day progressed, so did her contractions. They still weren't close together, but they were still effective. By the late morning Brook was at a 7 but no further. Enter the evil PITOCIN!! Labor then went from tolerable to overpowering in a matter of minutes. Even with the increased pain, Brook still refused to get the epidural. After what seemed like an hour, the nurse said the time was drawing close and she would call the doctor. The doctor came, checked, and disappointed us with her findings: still a 7! Dr. Robinson predicted another 30-45 min before pushing could commence, but Brook wasn't having that. After a few more contractions she was at a 9 and then, without waiting for permission, Brook pushed Jude out and that was that. I was so proud of Brook and the courage and strength she showed during the whole ordeal. The stats: 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 20" long, healthy and completely adorable. Now begins our journey down the long and winding road.

Busy, busy!

2010-12-28T11:19:00.004-07:00

I've been working hard to get caught up on my scrapbooking lately and just ordered 10 pages! Now that I have 2 to work on it gets a bit confusing and I actually had to make the same page twice so I could have it in both albums. Here are some of my recent pages. You can always click on the links to the left to see each boy's full album.

For Carter's album

For both boy's albums

For Jude's album

Complete.

2010-12-26T20:16:00.002-07:00

Dave and I have had many discussions about the size of our family. We started out wanting 4 kids but we've hit a few road blocks, had some health concerns and been told "no" so many times by doctors that we've been forced to sit down and have even more discussions about it. While we were pregnant with Jude we had a scare that basically made us decide what our plans were for kids in the future and we decided that we were grateful for what we have been given and we are a happy complete family. We know it is ultimately up to Heavenly Father and if we are supposed to have another one he will find a way but we are so happy knowing that we are done with the stress of "trying" for another. No more hormones. No more wanting, praying and hoping for something that seems impossible. No more spending loads of money on procedures that don't work or doctor's visits that just give us bad news. We are so happy with our 2 boys and are excited to see what is in store for our little family of 4 in the future. I know this means I won't get the little dresses or ballet classes or any of the fun, cute things that come along with having a little girl but I am completely ok with that. I have nieces and friends with little girls. I get baseball games and mama's boys. Missions and video games. Honestly the only thing that makes me sad about not having a girl is that I won't get to use the totally perfect girl's names I picked out years ago. Other than that I am happy with my fellas. I am happy having only 2 kids. I am happy with my complete family of 4 and wouldn't want it any other way. We are excited to be done with that phase of life and move on to raising our boys. And we will be empty nesters at about 46 and 50 years old. Not bad at all. We are grateful for what we have been blessed with and know we have been given 2 miracles. Who could ask for more than that.

Christmas fun!

2010-12-26T18:19:00.007-07:00

As I near my 1000th post (I know... Yikes!) I realize my blogging has slowed down a ton in the past few months. Now that I am on maternity leave I have decided to get back into the blogging habit. Here are some pictures from Christmas and I apologize for them being out of order.

One of our favorite presents this year is a toy called Crazy Forts. It is so much fun for Daddy and Carter to build them together!!!

The igloo

Carter's secret igloo fort

Carter, Uncle Dustin and all his new toys in the fort

Carter reading to Jude and Daddy

Tia and Jude

Stocking time

In their Chritmas PJs

Merry Christmas from the Manns!

2010-12-24T23:08:00.002-07:00

Stinkin' cute.

2010-12-21T08:53:00.001-07:00

Pictures!

2010-12-19T22:00:00.004-07:00

They are completely out of order and I left a bunch out (see facebook for more) but here are some pictures of little Jude. Enjoy!

Holding his Grover

Going home from the hospital

My favorite!!!

"Carter, where is Jude's nose?"

The nurse gave Dave a tatoo! (Don't worry it's almost washed off)

Jude Costa Mann

2010-12-16T23:14:00.003-07:00

Jude Costa Mann born today, 12/16/2010, at 1:47PM. 7 lbs 11 oz and 20 inches long. More pictures to come or check facebook. We are all doing well and trying to catch up on sleep. Thank you everyone for all your love and support!

Carter's day!

2010-12-12T15:03:00.004-07:00

Since we are being induced this Thursday this was Carter's last weekend as an only child. We decided to spend yesterday doing a bunch of fun things with Carter. Since I am lazy below is the scrapbook page so you can read all about it and see the best pictures from the day! Hopefully our next post will be from the hospital with picture's of little Jude! He'll be here before we know it.

Just a little fun...

2010-12-11T19:42:00.001-07:00

Jude in Utero

2010-11-20T19:58:00.002-07:00

Since he could come at any time I finally had to bite the bullet and have pictures taken of me to prove that I actually was pregnant. A big thank you to Noelle who not only took my pictures super short notice but also supplied the blocks and did my hair. I think she did a great job!

35 weeks

2010-11-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

Our family

2010-11-15T18:30:00.001-07:00

Daddy's red, Mommy's orange, Carter is black and Jude is green and has 2 heads. He even traced his name.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Carter drew a face all by himself!

2010-11-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin patch

2010-10-17T22:42:00.003-06:00

Yes, I'm still too lazy to upload all the pictures more than once. Please enjoy them in scrapbook form...

A short lived tradition

2010-10-15T21:12:00.002-06:00

2008

2009

2010

We went to Cornbelly's today and expected to take our annual kissing shot in front of the same building as always but the building was gone. Sad. It didn't stop us but it was a little disappointing.

Having a yummy family dinner

2010-10-14T17:23:00.001-06:00

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Go Utes!!!!

2010-10-08T10:43:00.001-06:00

Buy me last pape?

2010-10-03T21:19:00.001-06:00

Alright, too many cute pictures to upload them all so check out this scrapbook page or my album on facebook and enjoy my cute little Newsie!!!

Large and in charge

2010-09-29T19:25:00.003-06:00

These pictures were taken today at 7 months (and 1 day). He's getting pretty big...

Full of hot air!

2010-09-21T19:15:00.001-06:00

Carter is learning to write his name!

2010-09-16T14:34:00.001-06:00

With no help from Mommy and Daddy!

Learning to write letters!!!

2010-09-15T19:00:00.001-06:00

Here he is!!

2010-09-09T22:20:00.000-06:00

A picture of Jude

A fun family day!!!

2010-09-07T11:56:00.003-06:00

Since Dave and I both had Labor day off we teamed up with Noelle and the kids (unfortunately John had to work) and had a super fun family day.

My friend Liz took me to this park a few weeks ago so we all went to check it out again.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned that Abigail is our new favorite babysitter. If you wonder why look at this.

After naptime we went to the Aviary. Below is a picture of everyone following directions and not going in front of Uncle Dave.

It was Isaiah's day to be copied.

Our family at the Aviary. Please excuse my largeness.

We had dinner with our friends the Adams. Carter and Cassidy were being SO funny but every time I pulled out my camera they would stop.

All in all a good day!

Our babies

2010-09-01T21:21:00.001-06:00

Silver Lake

2010-08-29T20:40:00.003-06:00

Since John was out of town and Dave was at work Noelle invited me and Carter to join her and the kids at Silver Lake up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The weather was perfect and we had a lot of fun!

Looking for fish

Abby, Michael and Carter

The crew

Not cute of me but Carter looks adorable

Carter and Jenna

Enjoying nature

Exhausted.

Vote for Carter!!!

2010-08-27T11:42:00.002-06:00

You guessed it! Another one of my scrapbook pages has been entered in to a contest on Facebook. This time if I win not only do I get $100 gift card but so does Carter's amazing daycare "teacher" Erin! If you have Facebook please follow this link and like the picture to vote. If you are not already a fan of How Fast Time Flies you may have to click here and become a fan first and then follow the other link and like the picture. Thanks everyone!!! It pays to have a cute kid!!!

Best husband EVER!!!

2010-08-24T11:55:00.003-06:00

Alright, I know girls always say they have the best husband ever but I really do. I'll prove it. I've decided to start a new "segment" on my blog where I randomly list things that make my husband the best ever and I encourage all my friends to do the same. Putting it down on "paper" seems to make you think of all the fantastic things he does! Even though he probably won't read it ever, here goes.

He gives me pedicures
He is going to school to make a better life for our family
He gets up with Carter EVERY morning so I can sleep (sometimes as early as 4am)
He works at night so he can be home with Carter while I work
He lets me skip his shows if there are 2 things I want to record at the same time
He makes dinner on nights he has to work so it will be ready when I get home and we can eat together as a family
He wears t shirts he got for free at ceramic tile center rather than complaining that he needs new clothes
He runs me a bath anytime I am sick or have any ache or pain
He sits in the bathroom while I take a bath so I don't fall asleep in the tub (it's happened...)
He uses some of his free rentals to get me girly movies like the back-up plan, leap year and when in Rome and then watches them with me
He doesn't complain when he has to rent the same girly movie over and over because I am too lazy to put a movie in the DVD player and would just rather watch TV
He watches I Carly
He pretends to be interested in my recap of the previous night's episode of the bachelorette
He NEVER tells me when he thinks other girls are hot
He doesn't get jealous when I drool over Gene Kelley or Hugh Jackman
He does the dishes
He does the laundry
He deep cleans the entire house before my family arrives from out of town
He sings
He doesn't tell me if the food I make tastes bad
He puts up with my compulsive planning
He's a great dad
He immediately jumps up to get me water if he hears me hiccup
He doesn't get mad at me for waking him up when I have a bad dream
He is filling our house with beautiful art
He realizes that I only argue if I know I'm right
He makes the world's best mac and cheese (from the box)
He sends me pictures of Carter throughout the day to cheer me up
He changes most of the poopy diapers
He tells me he loves me before we hang up the phone every time
He gets the CDs I want from the library
He has been known to sing along with David Bowie
He's smart and very enthusiastic about school
He is always willing to babysit for friends and family
He takes Carter to the library and helps him pick out fun books
He reminds me to take it easy even when there is so much to get done
He prints pictures for me when I ask him to
He put 2 grey undershirts in my suitcase for California because I mentioned that I needed to find one (even though I meant that I was wearing it on the plane)
He takes Carter's temperature 20 times a day if I think he might be getting sick
He talks to Jude
He gets so proud every time he gets the car washed
He can clasp my favorite necklace even with his big man hands
He cuts Carter's nails
He smells good (when he wants to)
He likes So You Think You Can Dance
He sneaks a peek at sport scores on his I pod rather than asking me to change the channel
He is sensitive to my worrying gene
He glues the heads back on my willow tree statues when one of us knocks one over
He checks his pockets before putting his pants in the washer
He wants to make me happy and he really does

Ok, so that is just a few for today. Hopefully I have inspired others to do this too and hopefully I remember to do this every so often. Like I said I don't think he'll even read it but that's ok.

Carter's first real day of daycare!!!

2010-08-23T11:53:00.001-06:00

He was SO excited to wear his backpack!

Another upload.

2010-08-22T21:35:00.007-06:00

As I blog Dave is doing what he does best. He's been working on painting one of the canvases I got him for Christmas and is frequently seen in this view.

Alright. So I used to be a good blogger. Not so much anymore. In fact I don't know if I've even made the official announcement of "It's a boy!!!" We found out on my birthday that we will be having another boy. His name will be Jude Costa Mann. If you don't like it, too bad.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way below are some pictures I found when I did another upload today.

Carter and Mommy at Gardner Village

Carter and Tia from our recent trip to California

Hugs for Snoopy

Carter playing with Uncle Dustin's I-pad or as he calls it the big Hi-pod.

A glimpse into my future

Yes, he can get a fantastic score at bowling all by himself. And before you judge me, I had to cook all morning and needed my child to stay occupied. I don't let him play with toys like this ALL the time.

Vanilla ice cream and blue berries at Fauxma's house!

Napping in Tia and Uncle Dustin's bed with 30+ people talking right outside the open door. That's my good little sleeper.

He likes to put on his own glasses

Eating a picnic at the ward party

Playing with sticks at the park with Max

Swimming with Kennedy and Cassidy!

In other news: tomorrow is the first day of the semester for Dave who is taking 1st semester physics (even though he passed it in California) and a Monday night painting class. This means that tomorrow is also Carter's first official day of day care!!! My friend Erin (the mother of Kennedy and Cassidy pictured above) just started an in home daycare and Carter will be going there for 3 hours every morning. I think it will be good for him to play with some kids close to his age and hopefully learn to share.

I think that is it for right now. I'm planning another post in the near future so stay tuned.

The Iguana Brothers

2010-07-30T22:36:00.001-06:00

A fun game for Carter

2010-07-29T09:22:00.001-06:00

The kiddos!

2010-07-28T12:31:00.001-06:00

Let's play ball!

2010-07-06T21:56:00.005-06:00

On the 3rd of July we had a BBQ with Uncle John, Uncle George, Uncle Jeff, Auntie Chelle and Lucas so we went out back and played a little ball.

The sky was AMAZING!

Monday I had the day off work so we went out back and played with the sprinkler ball (not such a hit) and tee ball. It was a nice warm day.

Help from Daddy

Nice hit!

Let's go fly a kite!

2010-07-02T13:21:00.004-06:00

First off, I found this cool ribbon by the yard at JoAnn's so I made Carter this Lightning McQueen belt.

Ok, now the real post. We haven't had any plans this weekend so we thought we would try out the super cool kite I found for like $1. It is the perfect kite for Carter. Enjoy pictures with very little commentary.

It did fly a lot but I was more concerned with getting pictures of the boys handling the kite than the actual kite flying.

Here goes nothing...

2010-06-30T12:00:00.002-06:00

Our little Mann is growing up and potty training has resumed, but this time we're serious. Carter got his very own underwear!!! He LOVES them and will hopefully learn quickly not to "go" in them.

I'm glad these are clean...

Pictures, pictures and more pictures!

2010-06-27T20:19:00.005-06:00

Our lives have been busy so it's taken me a while to upload some pictures. Here's what I found on my cameras, probably all out of order but oh well.

When we do get time together as a family we like to try out frozen yogurt places and share a frozen yogurt between the 3 of us.

Potty training is going slow and is on hold for right now. He is willing to sit but not quite understanding the concept. We'll start again very soon hopefully.

Playing with Daddy...

These were not shot from a gun. Don't worry.

Carter had his 2 year appointment (a little late) and the doctor was very impressed. He told us he is probably as smart as a 4 year old and he couldn't believe he was talking to a 26 month old. Hooray!

A trip to the doctor with no shots? Hooray! AND the doctor gave him a tongue depressor to which he replied "Thank you doctor."

At the library on the miniature version of our couch

We've had a few visits from Hailey lately and Carter loves it! He also really enjoyed seeing Aden and has found a new best friend!

Carter loves to dip now. He says "dip, dip dip"

A quick trip to the planetarium

Carter has gone almost 27 months without needing band aids for anything besides shots but the other day we went grocery shopping and as I was holding his hand Carter fell. I didn't notice so I kept walking and dragged him on his knees a little bit. I felt so bad but Carter was a trooper. When I told him he was a resilient kid he echoed it right back to me. He wouldn't wear his Curious George band aids. He's a real man.

Gotta wear shades!

Carter brought a "G" over and put it on my tummy so we told him which other letters to find and he spelled Grover.

Carter went swimming with his cousins and he LOVED it! he wouldn't get out of the "cool" and played with the diving rings which he called circles.

Carter loves the circles!

The ward ice cream social was fun with the cousins!! Carter wants to be just like Michael!

Love Auntie!

Uncle John does the best "pony boy" and Carter just can't get enough!

Carter is super in to playdo now. Here is one of his creations.

14 weeks. Still huge. I actually got asked at work straight out if I was pregnant. The woman said she shouldn't ask but she knows I just lost a bunch of weight. Translation: You got skinny but now you look really fat!

I love to see the temple

2010-06-18T14:57:00.001-06:00

Pictures!

2010-06-05T13:22:00.003-06:00

First off Happy anniversary to my hubby of 5 years yesterday! Love him! So, we had a very busy day yesterday which started out with a friend of mine taking some pictures of our family at Wheeler Farm. Alicia is starting a photography business and wanted some photos for her portfolio so she was offering free shoots. How could I turn that down? Here are a few of her favorites that I stole from her blog. I will post more when I get them all.

Since it was our anniversary we wanted a few of just us.

Carter singing "do as I'm doing"

The boys look cute. I kept putting myself in awkward positions which made for awkward faces...

The guys

I was standing on a picnic bench 2 ish feet away and leaning against this tree.

Handsome!

Carter's new thing is honking noses. His own... or anyone else that will let him! I'm so glad she caught that.

I cannot believe how grown up and good looking my little Mann is. I am so grateful to Alicia for the free photos and think she did a great job capturing Carter's fun personality and rugged good looks.

Thank you Alicia! You are amazing!!

Because I'm too lazy to upload the pictures twice...

2010-05-28T11:39:00.003-06:00

This is what we've been up to lately (in scrapbook form):

We had a great Mother's Day and I don't think I stepped foot in the kitchen once! I woke up to the smell of blueberry muffins (yum!) and the treats continued throughout the day. The page below was made by Dave and the painting that they are holding was done by both of them. Dave did the paint and the white part has crayon drawings by Carter.

We decided to have a family day so we went out for frozen yogurt and to Wheeler Farm. Carter is really into farm animals right now and the farm is free so we've been a few times and he loves it. The page below actually won me $100 gift certificate for How Fast Time Flies in their Mother's Day page contest.

Since the weather has been decent (some days) and since Elmo got a tricycle in a recent episode of Sesame Street Carter has been obsessed with riding his "ficycle". He is getting better every day and knows that he can't ride it without his "hat".

I don't have a scrapbook page for this but Grover (baby #2) is doing great. We had a doctor's appointment last Friday and going into it I was a bit nervous about the possibility of twins. I've been getting very big VERY fast and been really sick all the time which didn't happen with Carter. Everyone around me kept planting the twin seeds in my mind and I just wanted confirmation that they were wrong. When I went in and she checked me she was able to find a heartbeat (which is great for only 9 weeks which is what I was at the time) but she said I was measuring 2 weeks ahead and that I would need an ultrasound to make sure of dates and number of babies. Fantastic.

We went in yesterday for the sonogram and I am happy to report there will be only 1 Christmas miracle joining our family this year. It was fun to see little Grover, who is measuring exactly at my due date, although it still doesn't feel real to me. Dave says Grover "looks like a girl" and that he "just got a feeling" it was a girl when we were looking at "her". We'll see I guess.

And that's the update. Below is a picture of me at only 9 weeks. In case you thought I was exaggerating.

Same old Same old...

2010-05-27T17:59:00.001-06:00

Pretty much our life right now...

2010-05-24T13:31:00.001-06:00

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

I love my new bike!!!!

2010-05-18T18:51:00.001-06:00

Dear Santa...

2010-05-18T16:19:00.001-06:00

I know Daddy took me to Toys R Us to get me a brand new super cool big boy tricycle, but this 'My-saur' is definitely on my Christmas list!

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

The California playlist for our theme date

2010-05-13T15:31:00.002-06:00

I was going to post this a while ago but I figured now is as good as any time. I made a play list of songs for our California date night, some being obvious and others being songs reminding us of the golden state. Here is what i chose:

-Welcome to Paradise by Greenday

-California Girls by the Beach Boys

-Heads Carolina, Tails California by Jo Dee Messina

-California English by Vampire Weekend

-Some Beach by Blake Shelton

-Seaside by the Kooks

-I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Storm Door (an old school barbershop group)

-My Paper Heart by All American Rejects (It reminds me of the times Brook and I would go to the beach after returning home from my mission)

-Hotel California by the Eagles

-Surf Wax America by Weezer

-Vegetable Car by Joshua Radin (for all the environmental-friendly cars in CA)

-Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

-West Coast Friendship by Owl City

-California by Rufus Wainwright

-Good Day Sunshine by the Beatles

-San Francisco by Brett Dennen

-It Happened in Monterey by Frank Sinatra (told by Brook after putting it on the list that the song is actually about Mexico but I left it on anyway)

-I Heard It Through The Grape Vine by Marvin Gaye (Wine Country Baby!)

-I'm Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves

We were planning on doing this every week but have been unsuccessful since the trial run. Hopefully we can start it up again as it was different and fun.

In case the baby with the Christmas lights didn't give it away...

2010-05-05T12:58:00.002-06:00

WE'RE PREGNANT! Baby Grover (temporary name courtesy of Carter) is due to join our family on or around December 21st. We are so grateful to have received another miracle and know that we are truly blessed. Thanks to all that have supported us in this journey thus far.

I got Daddy's fashion sense!

2010-04-27T07:41:00.001-06:00

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-22T22:12:00.004-06:00

For Earth Day Mommy and Daddy let me paint the lid of our new recycling box

My mean Mommy made me dress silly so I wouldn't mess up my clothes with paint.

Me and Daddy made this!

Sporting the super cool Earth shirt Mom and Dad made

Happy Earth Day everyone! I think this is my favorite holiday!

72 and kinda sunny

2010-04-16T20:18:00.001-06:00

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

2010-04-12T21:54:00.003-06:00

Carter had a lot of fun with his friends at his party... especially Emery.

Eating strawberries together

Reading Emery a story

Being silly

Jumping on the bed with Max and Emery

A good time was had by all!

Saturn shirts!

2010-04-12T20:38:00.004-06:00

For Carter's party I decided to be creative (and cheap... only $3 a shirt) and make the kids shirts instead of doing gift bags. I think they turned out really cute and I will probably do this again.

Carter

Kaden

Max

Asher

Emery

The crew

Carter's shirt post-cupcake

So glad I worked so hard to make him a shirt....

"What season is it do you know?"

2010-04-12T20:14:00.002-06:00

This is Dave's least favorite song on Seasame Street but apparently Carter's favorite...

subtitles: "tick tock, tick tock, it's WINTER!"

The birthday boy learned the robot!

2010-04-08T21:11:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday CartMann!

2010-04-08T12:11:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe my little one is 2 years old. He seems so grown up now.

Sorry for all the nekkedness... I promise this year he will wear clothes!

Happy Birthday Carter! I hope your day is great!!!

The solar system cupcakes!!!!

2010-04-07T23:10:00.002-06:00

This party is going to be awesome!

Thanks Caitlin!

2010-04-02T20:21:00.003-06:00

While we were in California my good friend Caitlin took some family pictures of us at Santa Rosa High School. Even though Carter was sad and wouldn't smile for most of it they turned out cute!

Welcome to the family!

2010-03-26T23:22:00.003-06:00

Congratulations Derek and Nikee!

Howarth Park

2010-03-24T23:32:00.003-06:00