Halloween and Turkey Day!

Little Lucy girl was an adorable strawberry for Halloween.  Johnny and I had high hopes of being a family of fruit, but in the end I was a gypsy and John was his typical skier:)  We had a ward 'trunk or treat.'  Lucy was still too small to enjoy the ward carnival, but Johnny and I had a lot of fun decorating and eating sugar cookies.

 On Halloween, we had about five trick or treaters come to our apartment.  Then off to a Halloween party where Lucy did a little trick or treating of her own.

We were so happy to hear that John was going to have Thanksgiving day off and Friday.  John began the day by playing football in the turkey bowl.  I baked a pumpkin pie and fudge for our Thanksgiving feast with friends.  John made a delicious apple pie as well.  We went on a family run to make sure we had plenty of room for our Thanksgiving feast.  Then, off to a good family in our ward, the Mahr's for dinner. 
Friday I did a little shopping and found a couple good deals.  We spent the afternoon decorating the Christmas tree and listening to Josh Grobin's Christmas album.  Saturday we took a day trip to Canaan Valley and hiked to Blackwater Falls.  It was cold and snowy, but luckily Johnny had purchased an incredible warm snowsuit for Lulu.  We ended the day by stopping off at the 'Purple Violin,' a listening to some incredible live bluegrass music while eating cranberry cheesecake.

Lucy's travels

I have been extremely bad at keeping up our blog the last few months.  I will try to re-cap what has been going on.

University of Virginia football stadium

Labor Day weekend, we took Lucy on her first road trip to Charlottsville, Virginia.  It was a four hour drive and she slept the whole way like a champ.  The game was extremely hot and muggy and Lucy was very uncomfortable so we walked around the stadium a couple of times. Then, a lightening warning was issued and the game was delayed about 2 hours.
After the rain, the weather was perfect.  Lucy was snuggled in the Baby Bjourn and was very content.  After seven hours of BYU football (due to the delay) the Cougars ended up losing a game which should have been easily won.

Monticello

The next day, Sunday, was spent touring the home of Thomas Jefferson.  John Hill, one of Johnny's good friends, accompanied us.  Monticello is comprised of lush green gardens and a very intriguing home.  Besides the intense humidity, it was a great day for sight-seeing.  Later in the afternoon, we attended church and ran into a good friend of mine, Jenni.  All in all, a successful trip.


In September I had the opportunity to go home for about 2 1/2 weeks to visit my family in Utah.  Johnny had to stay in West Virginia and keep doing rotations at the hospital.  It was Lucy's first time flying and she did wonderfully.  She mostly slept, but cried a little with the air pressure change.  We had a three hour lay-over in Chicago, which made our travel time almost 7 hours.  Upon arriving to Salt Lake, Lizzy, my sis, picked us up.  Traveling is really hard on children.  There is a two hour time difference between West Virginia so Lucy fell asleep about 6pm and woke up the next morning with a terrible cold. 
Besides her little cold, everyone was excited to meet Ms. Lucy.  My mom was the only one in my family to have met her, so needless to say everyone wanted to hold her. 
We were able to attend my cousins wedding dinner and ceremony the following day.  It was wonderful seeing all my extended family.  Lucy had the chance to meet several of my friends with quite a few lunch dates.
I had made a list of the delicious restaurants I wanted to visit while in Utah.  Zupas was on the list, so I ate there with my Murray girlfriends.  I also had to get Nielson's Frozen yogurt with Aubri.  And of course Cafe Rio was a stop that I needed to make.  Sarah, my sister was recently spin certified, so I had a private spin class with her and Lizzy.

One weekend we headed up to the cabin.  Lucy had her first encounter with snow.  We took she and Esther on a little hike, it was pretty cold, but very beautiful.  Lucy and Esther were bundled and warm.  I miss seeing the beauty of the Rocky Mountains and the fresh, dry, air. 

Lucy and Esther are 10 weeks apart.  It was the first time they met and I think are going to be best friends.  Luckily, for me, I have a sister I adore so our girls with hopefully be just as close.

Lucy, Esther, Sarah, mom, dad and I arrived at the cabin first and played cards.  Once, the rest of the family arrived we ate delicious shish-ca-bobs (spelling), played more games, told stories and laughed a lot.  The cabin was a little chilly, but I had Lucy in about 13 layers of clothing to the point she woke up sweating.  I have been told the paranoia of being a parent wears off with each child.  Poor Lucy has been my little guinea pig. 





Lucy got to meet her great-grandparents in Ogden.  It was a delightful afternoon of just talking and watching our little girls play.

The last weekend in Utah was spend down in St. George.  Lucy and I were so excited to see John because it had been two whole weeks without him.  He rode down with Taylor and Lizzie.  My sister Sarah drove me down.  The following morning at 4am, we caught the buses up Snow Canyon.  The wind at the top of the canyon was biting.  We stood around bonfires waiting for the beginning of the race to happen.  John and Ben took off running about 7 minute miles.  I just wanted to finish the race (since my training was not the best due to just having had a baby). 

I started running 10 minute miles and gradually increased to a 9 minute pace.  Lucy was about 11 weeks old when I ran the race.  Overall, the weather could not have been better, my body cooperated, and it was pretty fun.  My favorite part of running is the race atmosphere.  Runners are so positive and enthusiastic and motivational to other runners.  The idea of seeing Lucy at the finish line kept me going.  I ran it in 4:05 and Johnny did it almost an hour faster with a pace of 3:15.  One day we will qualify for the Boston Marathon, but it felt good just to complete another marathon.  Another great thing about running marathons is the amount of delicious food awaiting you at the finish line.  Also, food is much more satisfying after running such a long and exhausting race.  Cafe Rio had never tasted so good.

Babies are a blessing!

Well, so much has happened since my last post.  The little baby girl in my belly arrived, about a week late.  I had to be induced. 

Sunday morning I went into Ruby Memorial Hospital and by 4:56 am on June 10th our sweet Lucy Snow was born!

It was about 20 hours of labor.  Johnny and I got to watch several matches of the French Open and I ate A LOT of Jell-O.   Our little Lucy was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long.  It took a while to come up with the name, but in the end John let me choose.  He is still very determined to name one of our daughters Alaska.

John was there the whole way and is actually on OB/GYN rotation now. 

I was overwhelmed with relief and joy and see our precious girl, especially because I was on oxygen right at the very end when her heart rate kept dropping.  Labor is a very tiring process as most mothers know, but definitely worth the end result.                                                                                             

   

John's parents arrived June 3rd, thinking Lucy would have already arrived.  Luckily, they were able to see her before heading off to L'viv, Ukraine to head up a new mission. 

She looked so much like John as a newborn.  Marmee said several people made the mistake of thinking Johnny was a girl.  She has grown so fast, now at two months she is looking more and more like a Squires (at least to me)

newborn photo

8 weeks

The first couple weeks of being a mother were challenging.  But, once Lucy and I got on a schedule life got a whole lot easier.  I love how each little body is sent to earth with a unique Spirit and everyday I discover a little bit more about Lucy's personality.

We had the wonderful opportunity to bless Lucy this past weekend on August 11th.  Johnny's four best friends traveled to Morgantown for the blessing.  Saturday was full of running, playing tennis, the driving range and floating at Cheat lake.  We topped off the day with a large meal at Morgantown Brewing Company.

Sunday was perfect.  I dressed Lucy in the same blessing dress I was blessed in 27 years earlier.  Marmee gave her perfect blessing shoes and Gena gave her a blessing bracelet.  Lucy was all dolled up for her big day.  It was a very special moment.

Mike Lemon, John Hill, Johnny, Taylor Jones, Mike Barber

I am excited to start this new chapter of our life as parents.  So far Johnny and I have been paranoid

just about every little thing.  Lucy is a very adventurous little girl and goes with us just about everywhere.  From hiking to running to camping to the Mon County Fair.  Johnny is just starting his third year of med school so we have two years left in Morgantown and so many more places to take Lulu!

The last few months...

Where to start....sorry it has been a while.  I am almost 34 weeks pregnant.  Johnny and I can't believe we are so close to becoming parents.  We are feeling very excited and slightly nervous.  Currently, we are having a difficult time deciding on names, but we do have six weeks to figure it out:)
To pass the time while Johnny is diligently studying, I have been taking a cake decorating class.

We started with decorating cookies and slowly moved up to cakes.  I chose to put a hamburger on one of my cakes which my teacher thought funny.  I can't wait until our little girl is here to make her birthday cakes.

Our ward here in Morgantown is extremely fun!  We get together quite often because few of us has family out east.  Our last event was an 80's dance party.  We all learned the 'Footloose' dance and performed it.  And of course dressed up 80's!  I had most of my attire except for the crimper, I had to borrow that from a co-worker.  John successfully cut off a pair of jeans and wore his favorite hooded shirt.

Lastly, my amazing husband is finishing up his second year of medical school.
At the end of second year WVU does a 'white coat ceremony.'   It entails several professional speakers, robing the med students in their white coats, and a delicious luncheon.  It is a ceremony to celebrate moving on from class to the clinical portion of becoming a doctor.  Johnny has a couple more tests during his second year, but will be moving onto rotations in the hospital. 

I am so glad to be married to my Johnny!  He is going to be an excellent doctor.  He has really good med school friends as well.

Danny and John

Brock and John

Rita's Water Ice and more...

Well if you didn't already know I have a big love of ice cream.  There is a new ice cream place which has recently opened here in Morgantown called Rita's.  They make a delicious concoction called a gelati.  It is composed of three layers-custard, smoothie, custard.  It is honestly one of the most satisfying tastes to my taste buds.  With the grand opening they gave away one free Rita's, a week, for an entire year.  Therefore, my friend Summer and I arrived at Rita's, located inside a gas station, at 7am to wait for the 10am opening.   Around 9am we were joined by our friends Mollie and Havalah.  They were numbers 9 and 10 in line.  Summer and I realized quit quickly we didn't need to arrive quite so early, but had a great time talking and entertaining ourselves.

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A much more exciting note, John's parents were called as mission Presidents for a brand new mission in L'viv, Ukraine.  It is located on the western part of Ukraine right next to Poland and the language is Ukrainian.  We are so excited for their upcoming adventure. 
I am about 28 weeks into my pregnancy!  Johnny and I are so excited to meet this little girl and are still having a very difficult time picking out a name, but luckily we still have a little time to decide.

Snow, snow, snow

We made our semi-annual trip out to Utah.  I had the good fortune of getting about 2 weeks off of work and Johnny had a good three weeks off of school, so we were able to have a lovely visit with the family. 
John was overwhelmingly excited because of the large amounts of snow falling in the Salt Lake Valley.  The day after we arrived he was doing some back-country skiing with his brothers.  I spent the day with the Squires girls-making cookies and shopping for maternity clothes.  Saturday, I had breakfast with high school friends then headed down with Pete and Gena to our old stomping grounds in Provo.  Gena had planned a night of fun snow-shoeing, eating good food, playing the Christmas chimes and ping-pong at Aspen Grove.  Sadly, that same day Grammy Lattin passed away.  We had the good fortune to be able to attend a lovely funeral for her while in Utah.  I must admit, I have only ever attended two funerals in my lifetime.  The first one was of my Grandma Mack (my mothers mom).  Grammy's funeral was just how I pictured a funeral being.  It was full of family, full of love, and full of sweet memories regarding a wonderful person.  It is amazing the legacy she is leaving behind full of son's, a daughter, grandson's, granddaughter's, and many more to come, mostly named Dave, Dan or John:)

Marmee and I

James and Lindsey

Baby Jackson and I

Christmas Eve day was spent with my family.  We played tennis, ate a large breakfast and spent quality time together.  That evening we enjoyed a scrumptious Christmas Eve dinner and talked about the meaning Christ birth.  Christmas morning was spent with James, Lindsey, Mary, Aubrey, David, Gena, Pete, Aiden, Jackson, Marmee and Papa.  That afternoon we took a quick cross-country ski trip to a park close to Marmee and Papa's.  The weather was a sunny winter wonderland.  The baby kept fluttering about, so I am convinced the baby is going to love to ski.

Christmas afternoon, John and I made our way over to the Squires home.  Mom had prepared a flurry of food from delicious Honey-baked turkey to her famous candied carrots.  Dad was the Christmas elf and handed out all sorts of good gifts.  Dave gave me a new climbing harness and Sarah gave Johnny some new ski bindings.  I had been sewing a baby quilt for Sarah.  It will be perfect for the arrival of baby Ester in March.

 I had some quality time with my little nephew Kent, who is obsessed with balls and trains at the moment.

Kent and I

Pregnant sisters

I received plenty of useful
pregnancy advice from my sister Sarah.  She is about 11 weeks ahead of me and always trying to help.

After the gifts and a delicious lunch, games were next on the agenda. 




It is so great to live in wild and wonderful West Virginia because when I come home to Utah and get to see family, they really mean so much more to me.  Each time I come home, I just realize how much quality time and uplifting conversations matter to me. 

John and I had a lovely visit with friends as well.  And of course things were not complete without a family snowshoe day up Guardsman Pass.  Again, I think the baby loves the snow.  Each time I skied, walked, or played in the snow, the baby became very excited.

A highlight of my trip was a surprise baby shower by the Lattin ladies.  I was anticipating an afternoon of crafts, headed by Gena, but when I arrived at the clubhouse balloons and baby gifts greeted me.  I received several useful items and advice on what it is going to be like as a mother.  I am excited to meet this little one.  The connection I have felt to his/her sweet Spirit is overwhelming.  Johnny and I can't wait to find out the sex on Wednesday!  Anyways, Utah was a needed break from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives in West Virginia.  I am so grateful for the my beautiful family and the many memorable experiences we had to end the year 2012.