Life Is Too Mysterious To Be Serious

Taitym is ONE!

2011-09-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

I just have to start out by saying I am the worlds biggest slacker when it comes to blogging!

On August 13th 2011 my baby girl turned ONE ): I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It feels like just last month I was blogging about finding out I was pregnant and that I was having a girl. I can't even begin to tell you how much this little girl has changed my life. I can't even imagine my life without her. She has such a funny personality. When I come home from work, I just sit and play with her all night. By the time we go to bed my cheeks are literally hurting from laughing so much. Taitym and I have so much fun together and I LOVE always having my little buddy by my side!

I have ALSO been the world's biggest slacker when it comes to getting Taitym's pictures taken SO I finally scheduled a session with the famous Jen Herem Photography. Taitym had the flu the day before we were scheduled to get our pictures taken. I hesitated to cancel our session but I wanted her pictures taken before her 1st birthday! So the day of our session with Jen, Taitym was still a little fussy but seemed to be feeling a lot better. So I let Taitym lay around most of the day and just tried to keep giving her liquids and eating whatever she could keep down. About an hour before our session I put Taitym in the bath and she started to get worse and worse. She was crying and I could tell she had a fever but by now it was too late to cancel on Jen. So I got Taitym out of the bath and did her hair and we went to meet Jen. Taitym was NOT happy about getting her pictures taken and was not easy to work with. Poor Jen not only had to deal with us being late but had to try to make my poor sick baby smile and be playful. Jen actually got a few pictures of Taitym smiling but the rest were here just wanting me to hold her and wanting to lay down on my shoulder or her crying. Jen captured amazing pictures for me and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out

So after we had pictures taken, my mom and I took Taitym to InstaCare. She had a fever of 104 and was so so sick. Within the first 10 minutes of being at InstaCare, Taitym threw up all over me. We spent the next 5 hours at InstaCare with the nurses coming in every half hour making us giving Taitym Pedialyte and they gave her a small dose of Zofran to help with the nausea!!!

Something New

2011-05-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting and waiting to pierce Taitym's ears. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I just kept think I would be a horrible mom if I caused pain to my baby that didn't need to be caused. Every time we go to her check ups I end up crying every time they give her shots. I always have to leave the room and as soon as I hear her cry I run in and grab her and we just cry together (: haha I know I am a baby!! SO my mom and I went to lunch one day and I asked my mom if she would come with me to pierce Taitym's ears. She said she would but she didn't want to take her to one of those piercing places in the mall, she wanted to take her somewhere nice. So we went up to the Gem Smith in Bountiful. I made my mom hold her while I walked outside of the store! I heard her scream and figured that had to have been the first ear so I waited a second and then went inside. My mom said she didn't really cry when he did the first one. I think she was in shock that this nice man would hurt hurt but a few seconds later they did the other ear and then she started crying. It was so sad... She couldn't catch her breath and just kept gasping for air. I only felt bad for a second and then realized how freaking cute she looked with her new earrings! She glared at my the whole way home but go over the pain after that. She hasn't messed with them or pulled on them. I honestly didn't think my baby could be any cuter but I defiantly think she looks even cuter with her little diamond earrings!!

The New AND Improved.....

2011-05-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

My friend Whitlee found a girl that would do our extensions for $35 a bag. I have always wanted LONG hair but I have thin thin hair and it would take me years and years to grow it out SO I figured I would give the extensions a try! I think the girl did a pretty good job considering how much she charged me. I went to the girl who normally does my hair and had her add a few more extensions in and trim it up! I defiantly feel more girly with long hair and I am LOVING it! I will post another picture tonight of the front. I haven't washed my hair since I got the extensions put in so I will wash it tonight and take a picture! If you want the girls contact information who did my hair, let me know! She lives out in Roy and was a really nice girl! She just does them out of her house and charges $35 a bag. She used 8 bags of hair on me and she used 9 bags of hair on my friend Whitlee. If you tell her I refereed you, she will give you 25 dollars off!!

Giveaway!!!

2011-04-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

My old neighborhood friend is doing a giveaway! Go to her page here http://malwalkerphotography.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveaway.html and enter her giveaway!!!!!

GIVEAWAY

I said as soon as i got 100 likes on Facebook, that i would do a giveaway!
So, here it is!

to enter the contest:
- comment on this blog and tell me you already like me on Facebook, or go and 'LIKE' me on Facebook -- then tell me that you did!

additional entries:
- leave a comment telling me that you linked my Facebook page on your Facebook for your friends to go and 'LIKE' me too, mention the giveaway to your friends as well! {you can tag me in the link by pushing the @ key then typing Mal Walker Photography so i can see the link to count your entry} or just copy and paste your Facebook page url in your comment on this blog, so i can count your entry.

- if you have a blog, leave a blog post about my contest with a link to this blog. make sure to provide the link to your blog in your comment on this blog, so i can count your entry!

- leave a comment on this blog telling me how you found me, and who you found me through. if you know me personally.... tell me the first time you met me!

rules:
you have to have a minimum of 1 comment on this blog post, and can only have a maximum of 4 comments on this blog post.
contest will end May 3 at 11:59pm -- EASTERN time!
if you have already booked a session with me, you can use this free session in its place.
florida residents, this will be available to redeem before May 22. Then not again until June 24 - August 13.
utah residents, this will be available to redeem anytime between May 25 and June 18. Then again until September. session must be done before November 1.

winner:

- the winner will receive a free portrait session, up to 6 people, and will also get a free 11x14 print, OR two 8x10 prints.

*winner will be chosen on May 4, using random.org*

thank you, and good luck!

Wordish Wednesday!!

2011-02-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

I have been going through a lot these past couple of months. I don't want to get in to too much detail because things are still crazy for me right now BUT I do have to say that the one thing that has kept me going and that keeps a smile on my face is Taitym. I still have her sleep with me and one of the reasons is that every morning when I wake up I love looking over and seeing her just smile at me and reach for me to pick her up. I love coming home from work and seeing how excited she gets to see me. She is such a girly girl (just like her mom) and loves putting my makeup brushes on her face while I am putting my makeup on. She LOVES wearing bows and hats (she always has a hat or bow in her hair) and she smiles at herself in the mirror every time she sees that she has one on. I love that I can act crazy and sing and dance in front of her and I am sure all she is thinking is "my mom is a crazy dancer and she defiantly can't sing but she makes me laugh so keep on going." I can't imagine my life without Taitym. I think about her all day every day. I love going to the mall and buying her stuff. It use to be all about me but now I have someone else to look after and I couldn't be more happy about it. I love always having a little buddy to run around town with, to eat lunch at home with and have dinner dates with. She is now eating solids so when I make dinner she just has bites of whatever I am having and it's so much fun to spend my nights with her. We have so much fun being together, just us two. I wish time would just stop, she gets bigger and bigger every day and I just want her to stay little so I can snuggle her and have her love on me forever.
Taitym, I know you can't read this yet but I hope you know you are my world, you are my everything. I have never been so happy in my entire life and I love you more than I can put into word! LOVE YOU... MOMMY!!!

Taitym's baby blessing

2011-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

On October 24th, 2010 we blessed baby Taitym! My brother, Kyle holds the priesthood, so he was able to bless Taitym. I have not been to my new ward since I moved to Riverton and I haven't gone to my parents ward in a couple of years, so I just decided to bless Taitym in my brothers home. We just had to have his bishop present to confirm it happened. I cried the whole time Kyle was talking, actually I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. My brother is very spiritual and was worried about blessing Taitym, he didn't want it to be too much about the Church because Steve is Greek Orthodox and I haven't gone to church in a while but he said all the right things and it meant the world to me to have him bless Taitym. My brother and I haven't always seen eye to eye but he is someone I will always look up to. He treats his wife, Kelli like she is the most amazing person in this world and the most important person in this world. This sounds cheesy but he is honestly like the ideal husband type. Everytime I see him and Kelli together you can just tell how much he loves her and adores her. He wasn't the older protective brother, he was more like the secret protective brother. He acted like he didn't like me while we were growing up, but I know he secretly loved me. When he left on his mission, I thought it would be the best 2 years of my life, I would have the basement all to myself, I wouldn't be woken up by him and his loud friends and 2 in the morning, I would be able to have my own bathroom and not have to share it with him (he is like a girl and takes like an hour to get ready) but when he left, it was so much harder than I could have ever imagined. As soon as we dropped him off at the MTC I cried that whole day. I cried everytime I wrote him a letter, I cried everytime I recieved a letter. He is honestly the best brother in the world and I love him so much!!

Merry Christmas

2011-01-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve my whole family always gets together.. We went up to Steve's parents house first so I could open my presents from them and their presents to Taitym. We jsut hung out with his family for a little bit and then went to my Grandma and Grandpas house. We usually have all the small grandkids act out the Mary and Joseph scene with Baby Jesus, they get all dressed up and my grandpa reads the story. This year my little cousins were at their mom's parents house so it was just the older kids this Christmas Eve. We had amazing food and a lot of fun just spending time together!!
It was SO fun spending Christmas morning with my little family of 3. Taitym got up around 6:00 AM so I made her a bottle, changed her diaper and layed her back in bed. I was so tired and excited to sleep in BUT the little kid in Steve and I defiantly came out. At about 7:30 Steve said "Can we go open presents now?" I had been waiting 2 hours for him to get up. I was so excited to open presents. I ran downstairs and sat infront of the tree. Steve and I took turns opening our presents. It was so nice to only have to wait for one person to open their present before I could open my next one. In my family, my parents would make me wait for Kyle my mom and dad to open a present and then it was my turn again. I swear they all would take their time taking off the wrapping paper and opening the dang box just to make me mad. I swear it took each of them 5 minutes to open 1 present. Steve defiantly surprised me with the cutest white Michael Kors watch, a new jewelry box, a iPod plugin for my car and new iPod (I have had 3 other ones, one of them I smashed in my car door, the other I lost and the other one was an iTouch and I hated it.) I bought Steve a Kinect for his XBOX and 3 games to go with it, a Lakers hoodie with Bryant on the back and Kobe's # and some sweat pants to wear with his hoodie. Steve and I didn't really buy Taitym much this year, just because she is so little. I did buy her a bunch of outfits the day after Thanksgiving but she is growing so fast that she had already worn them all before Christmas. I talked Steve into buying her a Tickle Me Elmo and she absolutly loves it. We also bought her a little play cell phone and a couple of other little toys. After we were done opening presents, Steve went to his parents house and Taitym and I went to my parents house. We opened up our presents with Kyle, Kelli and Camden. My mom and dad spoiled Taitym and Camden. They bought them both a pair of True Religion jeans. They are seriously the best dressed kids in the world. After we opened presents, we ate breakfast and took a nap. Then we headed up to my grandma and grandpas house. We opened up presents from Grandma and Grandpa and just hung out with my family. I honestly have the coolest family in the world. We always have so much fun together and I love hanging out with them. My mom has 1 brother and 2 sisters, with all of their kids included we have 24 of us. It's a big group but we all act like best friends!!
I can't wait until next Christmas... Taitym will be old enough to know how to open her own presents and actually want to play with her toys. I have always wanted to be the mom that bakes cookies with her kids Christmas Eve night and puts out milk and cookies for Santa. I can't wait to do that next year.

4 MONTHS OLD!!

2010-12-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little baby girl is 4 months old! I have a love/hate feeling about how big she is getting. I wish she would still let me snuggle her on my chest after she is done eating, I miss her sleeping all day so I could take naps too, I miss our mommy & daughter feedings, I miss just holding her all day every day! What I love about how big she is getting is that she smiles, talks and laughs whenever anyone looks at her or talks to her, she is such a happy baby and has so much energy and personality, she has one BIG dimple on her left cheek and I love it, she is sleeping through the night now (well getting up at like 6 or 7 wanting a bottle and her diaper changed) but once she gets all of that, she goes right back to bed. I seriously can't believe how much I love this little girl. I had to come back to work about 3 weeks ago and I cry every day on my way to work. I am only working part time right now, which I don't mind but I hate leaving her. She is my other half... I don't feel complete unless I have her right by my side. She is my best friend, my little buddy... she knows how to make me happy when I am sad. When I am having a bad day she always seems to want me to cuddle her and hold her more which makes my day SO much better. I can't imagine my life without her. I am SO blessed to have her in my life.

Taitym's 1 month old pictures

2010-12-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

So, I know I am the worst mom... I didn't end up getting newborn pictures of Taitym. I was so overwhelmed with having a new baby and I was such a crazy person about people holding Taitym that I was nervous about pictures. So FINALLY I decided to have my best friend Staci's sister (Megan Fisher) take her pictures. She did so great with Taitym. Because Taitym wasn't a newborn, every time we would move her or make to much noise, she would wake up and cry. So we didn't get very many different shots of her, but the ones we did get turned out amazing. I love every single picture Megan took of her. Megan had such cute ideas too. Here is her website, go and take a look at some of her other photo shoots! http://www.megsphotographyanddesign.com/

Here are just a few pictures of Taitym from her shoot with Megan

My Life My Everything

2010-10-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

I am the worst at blogging now that I have a baby! I don't know how you all you moms out there have time to blog AND be a mom! Taitym takes up all of my time and I am absolutly LOVING it! I have promised a few of my friends that I would blog my birth experience! So here I go.....

Wednesday, August 11th.... I woke up and headed to my normal weekly doctors appointment. I peed in the cup and waited for Dr. Gemmell. In walked her nurse practicioner. "Dr. Gemmell is out of town this week, so I will be checking you." The nurse practioner checked everything and said I was dialated to a two and everything look perfect!! I got dressed and headed to work. Throughout the day I had noticed my pee was a little bit orangish redish. I didn't think anything of it because it wasn't straight blood so I just figured it had to have been from something I had ate yesterday! I came home from work and made dinner and went to bed!

Thursday, August 12th... I woke up and went to work as usual. As soon as I got to work I had to go to the bathroom... I went to the bathroom and noticed my pee was really pink so being a first time pregnant girl I kind of paniced and called my doctor. They told me to just come into the office and to bring my hospital bag just incase. Well just my luck, I had not packed my hospital bag yet because I had asked for new pajamas and all the stuff I wanted to take to the hospital for my birthday... my Birthday was on August 8th and I had just got gift certificates to buy myself stuff. I ordered all of my stuff online at VS and it wasn't going to arrive until August 17th. I called Steve just freaking out that I didn't have anything packed and they made it sound like I was going into labor. SO I went and picked Steve up from work and we headed to the doctors office. They had me pee in a cup and then they had me lay down and they hooked me up to the monitor so they could check the baby heart beat and monitor my contractions. The oncall doctor came in and checked me and said I am still dialated to a two and I was having contractions but the pinkish color in my pee was just from the nurse practioner checking me the day before.... FALSE ALARM! I was mad in a way but relieved in a way because I didn't have any of my hospital stuff packed! So that night I went home and just packed a few things of Steve's and a few things of mine and put them in my cute new hospital bag and went to bed!

Friday, August 13th.... I woke up and rolled out of bed. As soon and I started to walk I peed my pants. I hurry and ran in the bathroom and started yelling to Steve. Did I really pee my pants? This had never happened?? I sat there for a minute and thought that maybe my water broke. So I called my doctors office and told the nurse I didn't know if I peed my pants or if my water broke. I told her I felt way stupid for even calling but I just wasn't sure. She told me to come in just to make sure. So I grabbed my hospital bag and told Steve to just go to work because I was sure I had just peed my pants. I got to the doctors office and they hooked me back up to the monitor and had the on call doctor come in and check me. Sure enough my water had broke. She told me to head straight to the hospital and she would meet me there in a little bit. I hurry and got dressed and ran out to my car and called Steve. I was so upset that he wasn't with me and that I was driving myself to the hospital (I am a baby like that.) Steve hurry and left work and I called my mom and asked her to bring me all her bathroom stuff becuase I hadn't packed stuff like that. I wanted to shave and wash my hair and do all that stuff so I looked some what cute when I had my baby. I got to the hospital around 11:00 AM and checked in. They took me into the delievery room and hooked me up to some medicine that was going to help speed up the delivery process and hooked me up to a machine that was monitoring the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. About 10 minutes later, Steve walked into the hospital room. I was so scared and was so glad to finally have him there. My mom got to the hospital about an hour later with all of my stuff. I asked the nurse if I could shower real quick and just my luck she said NO. I hadn't showered before I had gone to the doctors and I felt all gross... I hadn't washed my hair in 3 days so you can imagine how I looked. I was so mad... this was not how I expected to look when I had pictures of me and Taitym. But I was so glad that I was going to be able to meet my little girl soon enough. The nurse kept coming in and checking me, I was dialated to a 2 when I got to the hospital. About an hour later I was dialated to a three! Steve asked the nurse how long it would take for me to get to a ten... She told him it would take anywhere from 10-12 hours. I was glad to hear that I had time to prepare myself for what was about to happen. I was having contractions but couldn't feel them so at about 2:00 PM the doctor came in to check me. She told me my water had not broken all the way so she needed to break it and move the mucus cells away from the placenta so there were not problems with that when the baby came out. As soon as she broke my water, I started having HORRIBLE contractions. I was in so so much pain and they were coming every minute. Just my luck the anethesiologist wasn't at the hospital at that time. He was at home, so they had to call him and have him come up to the hospital. It took him about 15 minutes to get to the hospital. I was in so much pain that the epidural didn't hurt at all. I couldn't even feel it when he put the needle in. As soon as he was done I was feeling so much better. I was just numb and shaking, but no more pain (: The nurses still were coming in and checking me. At about 4:00 I was finally dialated to a 4. I started to feel contractions again so I pushed the button to get some pain medicine. At about 5:00 another nurse came in to check me... GUESS WHAT BRANDI?? You are dialated to a 10 so it's time to start pushing. I went from a 4 to a 10 in an hour. I couldn't believe it was already time. I thought I would have a couple of more hours before I had to start pushing but nope... Taitym was ready to come and meet her new family. So the nurses got the room all ready and we had our family leave the room. I just wanted it to be Steve and I in the room when I had the baby. So the doctor came in and told me that the nurse would show me what to do and she would come back into the room when it was time to have the baby. So Steve held one leg and the nurse held the other leg and I began to push (sorry if all of this is too much info but I want to remember everything that happened HAHA) so I began to push and about a half hour later the nurse called the front desk and told them to have the doctor come in because I was ready to deliever. The nurse told me that if I pushed once more I was going to have the baby. So about a half hour later we were just sitting in the room STILL waiting for the doctor. You could tell the nurse was getting nervous because I was ready to have this baby a half hour ago. The nurse kept calling up to the front desk and they kept telling her the doctor would be in in about 5 minutes. FINALLY the doctor came in... I pushed once more and I heard Taitym just scream, she was born at 7:04 PM weighing 7 pounds and 13 ounces and was 19 inches long. I started crying and Steve was trying to hurry and take pictures. I couldn't believe this beautiful baby that I had been carrying for 9 months, and been waiting and waiting to meet for 9 months was finally here. I couldn't believe I was a mom... I couldn't believe this beautiful baby girl was my daughter. I have never been more happy in my life. The nurses took Taitym and did some things to her (I can't remember I was out of it at this point) and the doctor began to clean things up and she started to panic. I wasn't having contractions anymore and she couldn't get the bleeding to stop. So they had to hook me back up to a bunch of IV's to give me medicine to see if they could get me to start having contractions again. The doctor had the nurse come and push on my stomach and I thought I was going to die. That hurt WORSE than having a baby. They made me stay in the delivery room until they could get the bleeding under control. At about 11 they let me go into my room. As soon as we got into the room, the nurse came in and took Taitym to get a bath. Steve, my mom and Steve's parents went to watch her get a bath (my dad felt sick that night so after I had the baby he went home to get some rest) I was sad my dad couldn't be there but we had a video camera so Steve recorded her first bath. Every hour a nurse had to come into my room and push on my stomach and I had to stay hooked up to a machine that was monitoring my contractions. I was in so much pain and just miserable. Taitym was doing great though... She was as healthy as can be and was even more beautiful than I had ever imagined. Steve and I finally took Taitym home on Sunday. I didn't want to go home until Monday but Steve was ready to leave and the doctor said I was good to go! From the first night I had Taitym she was spoiled. She didn't like to sleep alone.. We would put her in the bed the hospital had for her and she would just scream. As soon as Steve would pick her up she would stop crying, so Steve and I took turns sleeping with her the first night. The second night we decided to have her sleep in the nursery. I was so upset that she wasn't going to be sleeping with us but the nurse told me we shouldn't have her sleeping with us and with her not sleeping by herself we needed to get some sleep before we went home. The nurses brought her back to me about every 3 hours to eat and then took her back. At about 4 AM I told them I just wanted to keep her with me. So she wasn't away from us for very long!

Well that is my story about my delivery! Taitym is now 2 1/2 months old and is as healthy as ever! She is so much fun... I honestly LOVE being a mom and I am so in love with her. She is starting to laugh and smile ALL the time. She has the biggest, prettiest BLUE eyes ever. Steve and I both have brown eyes so I am not sure where these blue eyes came from. She has her daddy's big eyes and her mom's little nose and chin. She isn't sleeping through the night yet, she is waking up about every four hours. I know this is horrible but she is still sleeping in bed with us. I just can't put her in her crib yet. She is already so spoiled. She doesn't like you to sit down and hold her, she always wants you to stand up and hold her. She likes her swing for about 5 minutes and then wants you to pick her up. Steve thinks I have made her this way but she has been like this since the day we brought her home from the hospital. I am guilty of wanting to hold her 24/7 for the first couple of days we had her but what mom isn't that way?? I had really bad seperation anxiety when I came home from the hospital. Anytime someone would come over to visit us and would be holding Taitym I would get all upset and have like a panic attack so we were only letting family come over to see her for the first week or so. Even our family holding her, I would still get upset. It's getting easier now but I still have a hard time with some people and in big groups of people!

I have a lot more things to blog about so keep checking back everyday and seeing what Taitym and I are up too!! Here are a couple of pictures I have taken of Taitym.....

4th of July weekend & Trip to the hospital!!

2010-07-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

First off... I have to let everyone know that I have the cutest nephew ever! Meet my nephew Camden Brown

Isn't he adorable???

Steve and I had a fun 4th of July weekend EXCEPT the trip to the labor and delivery room. On Friday, July 2nd we met Kyle, Kelli, Camden, My mom and dad and Kelli's older sister Allison and her cute baby boy Grayson at Muller Park canyon for a BBQ. We had YUMMY hot dogs and delicious smores. Ever since I was little we have always had BBQ's and celebrated birthdays up Muller Park Canyon, but last year I had an incident with a big black spider going down my shirt and I have refused to go back since. I figured I would give the canyon one more try and luckily I had no run-ins with big black spiders this time!

Steve had to work on the 3rd so I went out to my parents house and went to the Centerville Park (my favorite thing to do every year) with Kyle, Kelli, Camden and my parents! We had a lot of fun seeing all our neighbors and eating delicious food! Here is a picture of me and Cam on the 3rd of July at the park (this one is for you Laynie) (:

Well on Saturday morning I had really bad cramps and was just feeling awful. I called my doctor and she told me to just take some Tylenol and drink lots of water and lay down. So I did what she said to and it worked. Well Monday was considered a Holiday at my work so I had the day off. Steve decided to go boating but I wasn't feeling very good so I didn't go. Throughout the day I started to get really bad contractions so when Steve came home I called my doctor and she told me to go to Labor and Delivery. So we headed to the hospital and they hooked me up to a machine so they could time the contractions and check the babies heart beat. They gave me some pain medicine to help with the contractions and sent me home. They saw some white and red blood cells in my urine so they gave me an antibiotic to take for 10 days thinking that the medicine would kill the infection. They didn't really know what had caused me to have contractions but they had stopped so they thought I was okay! Well all week I just was in pain and didn't feel good and was having other problems (I won't mention over the internet.) So Friday I called my doctor again and she had me come into her office and do a urine sample and just told me they would have results back by Monday. I was in so much pain and uncomfortable that there was no way I could wait until Monday but my doctor said that was the soonest they could have results. So I went through hell all day Friday and Saturday. Well Saturday night I was in so much pain, so Steve told me to call the on call doctor. I told her my symptoms and she told me to head back to the hospital. Long story short, we spent the night in the hospital because I had kidney stones AGAIN and a bladder infection. After many, many, many doses of pain medicine and getting antibiotics through and IV they finally sent us home on Sunday night! The baby is fine and I am feeling much better! It was a stressful week and weekend for Steve and I but we are doing good now.

I just have to say how amazing Steve has been to me... He was so sweet to me in the hospital and did everything he could to make me feel better. He slept on a tiny uncomfortable bed and got up in the middle of the night with me every time I needed help! I love him so much and I don't know what I would do without him!!!

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

I am sure my dad doesn't check my blog or even know what a blog is, but I just thought I would let everyone who does read my blog know how special my dad is to me!!

Ever since I can remember, my girlfriends have always LOVED my dad... Not only because he is such an amazing person but because of his looks. When I was in beauty school, every time my dad would come into the salon to get his hair done all the girls would always say how HOT he was. I have had to deal with my friends calling my dad "HOT" probably since Jr. High. When my dad and I work out at the gym together, everyone would always ask if he was my boyfriend. I know he looks young, but young enough to be my boyfriend? I don't think so!!

My dad is such an amazing person. If you know my dad, you know he looks like a tough guy but deep down inside he is a big softy. He has such a funny personality and a pretty great sense of humor if you ask me. I am like him in so many ways. He is such a family guy, you can just tell he loves his family and would do anything for anyone of us! He has always worked his butt off just so my family could have a boat or snowmobiles or nice cars. He is my best friend, and I love that I can tell him anything. He treats my mom SO amazing... Whenever they are together, you can just see the love my dad has for my mom. I have defiantly put my dad through some rough times when I was a teenager but he always stuck by my side and ALWAYS let me know he was there for me no matter what. My dad is my best friend and I could ask for a better dad! I hope he knows how much I love him and I hope he had the best Fathers Day!!

Did I mention my dad is a pro at surfing??

My dad on his new Harley (:

Lookin good dad!!!

Our new home

2010-06-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

We have FINALLY finished decorating our kitchen and living room. I didn't realize how hard it would be to decorate a house. I am not creative, and I am defiantly not the decorating type BUT I think I did a pretty good job on decorating my very first house (: We FINALLY got our shutters put in a couple of weeks ago, and I think it made our house look ten times better! I am so glad we ended up getting shutters instead of blinds.

We painted Taitym's room last night and I LOVE the color we picked. Steve and his dad are going to do one more coat of paint this weekend, then we can start decorating her room! We also bought a brand new KING SIZE bed set for our room. I am so excited to have some space in our bed and not sleep so close to Steve (he snores and it's literally HELL trying to get sleep at night.) We always end up hitting and kicking each other at night because we are so use to having our own big bed to ourselves.

Here are some pictures of our house... ENJOY!!

11 weeks and 6 days to go!!

2010-06-03T12:41:00.001-07:00

I finally made it to my 3^rd trimester. I hope these next 3 months go by fast. At my last doctor’s appointment my iron levels were way low and my doctor told me I am Anemic and I will need to start taking Iron pills. I had never take iron pills before so I had NO idea what I was getting into. Let me just tell you, I have been miserably sick and I hate every minute of these damn pills. Steve and I are going to San Diego in a couple of weeks and my doctor told me I won’t be able to go on vacation if my iron levels drop anymore. So I am just fighting through this hell so I can go on our MUCH NEEDED VACATION!!! The last time I went to California I was probably 8 years old so I am so excited to go. I just wish I could go on all the fun rides at Disney Land. But I think I have convinced Steve to take me to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. I wouldn’t mind a few days just laying out on the beach and relaxing. I am in desperate need of a tan.

I honestly can’t believe how fast these past 6 months have gone by! Baby Taitym will be here before we know it. Taitym is always moving and kicking. She never sits still (which is a good thing but could also be a bad thing.) I have a feeling she is going to a handful just like her mama (: I can’t wait for our little girl to be here with us. I can’t wait to run errands with her and just have my little buddy with me all the time. My brother and sister in law just had a baby in February so I have been around my nephew a ton since he has been born. He is so dang cute and is at such a fun stage. He is always smiling and laughing and just loves my brother. Just being around him makes me even more excited to be a mommy.

Steve and I just bought our first house about a month ago (I will post pictures soon.) We have been so busy trying to make the house feel like “Our Home” that we haven’t even started on the nursery. I finally picked out the colors of her room though so hopefully I can get Steve to start painting. I still need to find a crib and changing table, so if you have any suggestions on where to get a nice crib let me know!! I have found a few that we like but I want Steve to come with me to pick it out! I am hoping since Steve has this Saturday off (which happens like once a month) we can go and buy a crib. It still hasn’t hit me that we are going to be parents, so I am hoping once we get her room done all of this will seem more real!!

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

I was blessed with the most amazing mom in the world! Not only is she my mom, but she is my best friend. I defiantly have put my mom through hell and back but she always stuck by my side! She is someone I have always looked up to and always will. She is the most generous person I know... She always looks out for her family and friends. When I found out I was pregnant, she was the first person I called. She made me feel SO much better about the whole situation and promised me that she would be by my side and help me no matter what. She has defiantly kept her promise. When I had morning sickness, she would sometimes bring me breakfast in bed. Every morning before she would leave for work, she would cut up fruit for me to take to work. I love going shopping on Saturdays and getting pedicures! I lived at home up until about 3 weeks ago and I honestly miss her so much. I didn't think it would be that hard moving out but it was. I think it's because I had it made when I was living at home... I had a home cooked meal almost every night and didn't pay for a thing. My mom defiantly spoiled me.

Thanks to my mom AND Steve I had the best first (soon to be) mothers day! My mom gave me the cutest Betsey Johnson sunglasses that I had picked a couple of weeks ago from my aunts store but then realized I didn't have the money to buy them (and I have about 5 other pair of sunglasses) so I decided to take them back! Steve bought me a gift certificate to the Garden Day Spa to get an hour massage and a pedicure. I have been getting really bad pains in my legs and feet at night and I have always had back problems since I had kidney stones, so I can't wait to use my gift certificate!! I didn't deserve a thing this year (because I have been so mean and moody and emotional) but thank goodness they both love me and know me well enough to know Mothers Day would be a living hell if I didn't get something (:

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM AND I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE AND APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR ME!!

Cravings...

2010-04-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right... I am finally getting to the point where I am having cravings for one certain food! I crave cucumbers in vinegar. Cucumbers are not in season right now and don't taste that good, so I have to let them sit in vinegar, 2 ice cubes, a teaspoon of sugar, a couple of slices of onions and salt and pepper. After a day or two of soaking in all that yummy stuff they are perfect. I crave cucumbers as soon as I wake up and pretty much all day at work. I can't wait to get home from work and have my cucumbers. I would bring them to work, but they stink up my parents fridge so bad I am afraid the people that work with me would be mad if I left cucumbers and vinegar in our fridge for the whole week, so I will just have them when I get home!!

Wendover Trip

2010-03-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Steve and I FINALLY got a night away from all the stress and everything that has been going on in our life! It was our friend Zack's birthday so a bunch of us decided to go to Wendover for the night. We had SO much fun just hanging out with our friends and gambling with everyone. Steve and I defiantly lost, but at least we had fun doing it. I was SO exhausted by 1:00 AM & since we were loosing we decided to call it a night. We actually woke up the next morning and went and played Roulette. We were winning and had almost won back everything we lost the night before BUT Steve has a problem walking away when we are winning. I convinced him to walk away while we were ahead... So we went and got some breakfast and as we were leaving the casino Steve decided to bet what we had won on Roulette. I told him it was going to hit black and his friend JJ told him it would hit red. Well he went with black and it ended up going red. So in the end we LOST!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I was a Wendover REGULAR... Before I met Steve, I would go down at least 2 times a month. Wendover is actually the place that brought Steve and I together (: I had such a fun time getting out of the house and just away for the night. Ever since Steve and I found out I was pregnant we haven't gone out with any of our friends. We always do our Friday night date nights together... we usually go to dinner and a movie (which I love) it gives us time to just be together and I defiantly think it's made our relationship so much better, but we haven't had friend time. So it was a lot of fun being with everyone!

JJ, Steve, Kurt and Brandon

Brianne, Me and Jesse

Brandon and Kurt were wrestling (that is JJ in the back trying to find his toothrush)

Steve and JJ

Steve and Me (don't worry, I will post some pictures of my pregnant belly soon)

Brianne, Me and Jesse

And the winner is.......

2010-03-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

TAITYM LEE MILLS!!

That's right... Steve and I finally agreed on a name for our baby! Her name will be Taitym Lee Mills (my middle name is Lee) so she will be named after me! I have loved the name Taitym for years now! As soon as I found out I was pregnant I started to tell all my baby names to Steve. He hated every single one of them. We did agree on a boys name BUT after we found out we were having a girl, Steve started to be more open with my girl names! I really loved the name Harley, I know everyone thinks it's a dogs name but I have always loved that name. After we found out we were having a girl, Steve told me to pick 3 of my favorite girl names and he would choose out of the three names, so I told him the names were Taitym, Harley or Kaya. At first he hated all three names but after he told his mom and sister the three names, they both LOVED Taitym so I think they convinced Steve to go with that name! The more he hears it, the more he likes it!!

BOY OR GIRL???

2010-03-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

YES... That's right... We are having a girl!

We went to Fetal Fotos today and found out the sex of our baby! I had a feeling it was a girl but Steve defiantly thought it was a boy! It took a minute for the nurse to get a good shot of her "girl parts" because she was sitting with her legs crossed but she pushed on my belly where he legs were and uncrossed her legs, so we got a good shot!! She was moving around so much! The nurse got a lot of good pictures for us. We were able to count all ten fingers & ten toes!

Now we just need to agree on the babies name... I have a couple of names picked out but not any that Steve is loving. I told him if he let's me pick the girls name then I would let him pick out our boys name!! So hopefully he gives in to my names! I really am so excited to be a mommy and our little girl is going to have Steve wrapped around her finger.. I just know it!!

Baby Mills!!

2010-03-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

So, I am sure everyone has heard by now that Steve and I are expecting a baby on August 25th!! This was a TOTAL surprise to us but we can't wait to be parents. Here is a little info on how we found out we were having a baby!

The day after Christmas, Steve and I went to the Jazz game with my friend Jena & her boyfriend. I hadn't been feeling good all day, but didn't think much of it. It was kind of a sick feeling and kind of flu feeling. So went went to dinner before the game and I didn't have much of an appetite. Well, the next day was Steve's family Christmas party. I had felt sick all day & tried to get out of bed to go but I started throwing up around 1:00 so I ended up not going. I just felt like I had the flu and was throwing up for about 3 days after that. My mom finally convinced me to go to InstaCare on Wednesday just to make sure it wasn't something worse than the flu. So I went to InstaCare and they asked me all the regular questions... "Are you on Birth Control?" I answered "Yes." the nurse then asked me what my symptoms were, I answered "Pretty much just throwing up like 10 times a day and that's about it." So the doctor came in and decided to have me pee in a cup and wanted to take some blood. So about 10 minutes later, the doctor came in and said "I have good news, and bad news." He said "I know why you are sick and I have a medicine I am going to prescribe you to help with the nausea." He then said "Now here is the bad new, it might not be bad news but it's going to be shocking news.. You are pregnant and that is why you have been throwing up." I just sat there and stared at him for literally 2 minutes and then said "SHUT UP... ARE YOU LYING?" and he said "I am sorry Brandi, unfortunately that is not something I lie about." And I just stared to cry... I sat in his office for about 10 minutes and just cried. The poor doctor didn't even know what to say to me. He finally just said "I will give you some time, stay in here as long as you want and I wish you the best of luck." So I stayed in the office for about 10 minutes and realized I wasn't going to be able to stop crying so I just left. The people in the waiting room probably thought I was crazy. Well I got home and called my mom and told her. I told her I wasn't ever telling Steve and I just wanted her to keep it a secret. Well, she convinced me that I needed to tell Steve, so I called him and asked him to come over to my house. He told me no, because he thought I had the flu and he didn't want to get sick. So after about 20 minutes of trying to convince him that I really needed him to come over and he kept telling me no, I just ended up telling him over the phone. Telling Steve was honestly harder than telling my mom. I didn't know how he would react and I was terrified that he wouldn't be supportive. He defiantly had a hard time when I first told him. He was just worried that we weren't ready to be parents and this was going to be a lot harder than I think it's going to be. I just kept telling him that I might not be ready right now, but in nine months I will be as ready as I can be!! Well after a few weeks of letting it set in, Steve ended up deciding that having a baby was going to be a great thing and now, I honestly think he is more excited about having a baby than I am. I honestly am so lucky to have Steve in my life, and I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend. He is being SO great about me being sick and doing everything he can to help me get through this. There are still times I break down and cry to him because I am scared and just worried that I am not going to be ready for this baby when it comes, and he is always there for me, telling me everything is going to be fine and we are going to get through ANYTHING. He is not only my boyfriend, but best friend. My life wouldn't be the same without him, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him and I can't wait to get our family started in August.

Merry Christmas

2010-01-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since I have posted anything, so I figured I would post a couple of pictures from Christmas!!

My family get's together every Christmas Eve night & Christmas day. We usually have an AMAZING dinner then we sit around and play games and talk, then we have the little cousins act out the Mary and Joseph play while my grandpa reads the story about when baby Jesus was born. This year, we couldn't do the play because my little cousins were fighting over who got to be Mary and who got to be the Angel & Joseph. So we skipped the play this year and went straight to presents. We always have so much fun at my family parties... we tried to play Catch Phrase, but had like half the family playing and people guessing questions for the other team. The girls ended up winning!!!

On Christmas day I went to Steve's house, we opened up each others presents & then had dinner with his family. Instead of buying each other a bunch of gifts, we decided we were going to go to Orlando or San Diego over Valentines Day this year. So, we had a limit of $100 to spend on each other. Of course we both went over our limit. I bought Steve a jacket, t-shirt, the new Grand Theft Auto game for XBOX & the movie The Hangover. I had begged Steve to buy me black Ugg boots... he kept telling me no because he thinks they are SO ugly. So when I got to his house he had 1 small present for me and 1 big present. I for sure thought the big present was my boots. So I opened the small present and it was Skull Candy head phones for me to use while we were on vacation. I opened the big present and it was a smaller box inside the big box... it was a Skull Candy IPOD dock... I was way excited because I needed a new dock for my IPOD but I really wanted UGG boots. So I opened some more presents from Steve's parents & after I opened the presents, Steve was like "Hang on I have to go to the bathroom." So like a minute later Steve walks out with one last present for me... I opened it and it was my BLACK UGG BOOTS!!!! I was so excited and I can't wait to wear them. YOU ARE THE BEST BOYFRIEND!!!

We talked his little sister Katelyn and her boyfriend Levi to play Monopoly with us. Steve took last place, and I took first. Although, Steve & Levi swear that I somehow cheated and didn't really win. They are just poor losers and couldn't accept the fact that Katelyn and I beat BOTH of them!!

Getting to know Steve && Brandi

2009-08-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

I got this idea off of my friend Whitney’s page. I read some things about her that I never knew before, && it gave me something to do OTHER than work!!! So, I hope you enjoy getting to know Steve && I a little bit better!!

About Him…

22 years old… YES DATING AN OLDER GIRL (: He will be 23 in November
Lives in Draper
Went to Riverton High School
Is Greek
LOVES his Dodge Truck && 2 door BMW
Isn’t a big fan of candy BUT loves Popcorn
Plays Baseball
LOVES the Lakers
Admits he is in love with Kobe Bryant
BIG fan of the 49ers && Steelers
Yankees Fan
Has a blue Banshee
Loves going to the Sand Dunes
Loves to go boating
Wakeboards
Just received his Associates from University of Phoenix, Now going for his Bachelor’s degree in Sales && Marketing
Entourage Fan
Doesn’t like chick flicks but will see them just because he knows his girlfriend loves them
Very family oriented
LAST BUT NOT LEAST… Loves his girlfriend, Brandi

About Her…

24 years old
Lives in Centerville
Went to Viewmont High School
Loves Cherry Coke
Could live on Chips && Salsa
BIG fan of shopping
Loves MAC Makeup
Doesn’t play sports, but likes to watch
LOVES my 10 year old Boxer, Tasha
Hates wearing shoes
Could live in Victoria’s Secret PINK pajamas FOREVER
Is pro at driving a stick shift WHILE texting (well not anymore, since that is against the law)
A fan of scary, bloody, gory movies
Terrified of Giraffes
Has seen every single FRIENDS episode, but still watches it every night at 6:00 && 6:30
ALWAYS has to have my nails done
Pretends to be on the phone while driving, just so I can jam out to the radio in my car
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LOVES MY BOYFRIEND STEVE

KennY CHesneY

2009-07-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

My best friend Whitney and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert last week. It was SO nice to get out of the house and have a girls night. There had been so much going on with Curtis's funeral & Steve's surgery, I was in need of a FUN night. Steve had surgery the day before the concert, so he was not able to come with me. But Whit and I had a great time catching up and LOVED being able to stare at Kenny for 2 hours!!

WenDoveR TiMe

2009-07-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

It was my friend Alycia's 21st birthday, so we decided to celebrate in Wendover. Steve and I didn't do so well on winning... I think our total winnings for the weekend was -$600. Yes that's right, we are in the NEGATIVE. We were only down about $400 at the end of the night, but I convinced everyone to stay the next day and gamble for a little bit before we went home. Well Steve and I just kept loosing and loosing. Alycia on the other hand came home with $700.
We still had SO much fun and can't wait to go down for my birthday in a few weeks.

Curtis Davis

2009-07-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

My best friend & cousin Dani lost her husband Curtis Davis on Saturday! Curtis was such an amazing person. Every time we got together as a family, you could just see how in love Curtis was with Dani and her son Dayton. My thoughts and prayers are with you Dani & Dayton!!!

Curtis Lester Sortor Davis "Handsome Curt" Our beautiful smiling Curtis left his earthly bounds to return home to the open arms of his loving Father in Heaven on July 18, 2009.Curtis was born October 13, 1984 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Iris Marie Davis Toone and David William Sortor. Curtis graduated from Viewmont High School in 2003. He married Kristy Lynn Mills on September 27, 2003. Through their union they were blessed with two beautiful children, Caden Lester (Buggy) and Kenzie Lynn (Lou). They later divorced. He married Danielle and son, Dayton (Boo) Frasier, in a beautiful ceremony on the island of Kauai, Hawaii on April 27, 2009. He loved Dayton as if he were his very own son and was very proud to tell you all about his family life with Dani and the three kids. When he was 17 he and his best friend Brandon Mills started their own business. We all thought they were silly, but were we ever wrong. The business grew into a great success and brought Curtis much joy and satisfaction in his life as he met and associated with many great and wonderful people that became his dear friends. Curtis always valued hard work and a job well done. He always had a new idea. A way he was going to make it big. Curtis was an exceptionally intelligent man with wisdom far beyond his earthly years. His personality was magnetic. He attracted friends everywhere he went. He never judged anyone, just loved them. He always had a way of making everyone feel like they were his very best friend and most favorite person. He never realized that all the while he was actually each of our favorite person and very best friend. He is his "Grandma's Angel"! Curtis is survived by his beautiful wife, Danielle, his three children, parents, DeVon and Marie Toone and David and Linda Sortor, his Grams and Gramps, Richard Lester and Carolee Davis, whom he truly loved and adored, and grandparents, Lloyd and Shirley Sortor. His siblings, Coy (JoJo) Sortor, Aaron and Melisa Toone, Kasey (Pablo) Montano, Calvin Russell, Mikayla Toone, Adam (LauraLee) Toone, Marcy Jewett, Valerie (Jordan) Fauver, Joshua (Karin) Toone, and Koda Atwood. In-laws, Raymond and Shawndra Frasier and Shane Frasier, 15 nieces and nephews, many aunts and uncles and even more dear friends, including, his best friend and business partner, Brandon Mills. Preceded in death by his sister Shasta Atwood; brother, Jonathon Toone; Grandma and Grandpa Toone; brother-in-law Craig Jewett; uncle, Kenneth Toone; cousin, Ryan Toone and dear friend, Jon Finn. Viewing will be held at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, UT Wednesday July 22, 2009 from 6-8 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at the Centerville Stake Center, 950 North Main, Centerville, UT on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. with a viewing from 12:30-1:45 p.m. prior to services. Online guest book at www.russonmortuary.com Interment will take place at the Redwood Memorial Estates, 6500 South Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, UT. The family wishes to express a very warm and special heartfelt thanks to the Davis County 911 response team and Dr. Kevin Stigge, the Emergency Room and ICU Staff at Lakeview Hospital for giving us those very precious hours. In lieu of flowers a Memorial Fund has been set up at US Bank under the name Curtis L. Davis. Curtis, we are deeply saddened by your passing. We look forward to the day that we will be reunited with you as family and friends. Until then, please know that we felt honored and blessed to share your life with you. "If you don't stand out, You just blend in" We love you, Curty!

Kelli Brown

2009-07-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

It was Kelli's birthday on July 7th, so I thought I would do a HAPPY BIRTHDAY post for her & a post just to tell you how special Kelli really is.

I am sure many of you know the struggle & heartache Kelli and Kyle have gone through the past year and a half. But what many of you DON'T know is how strong Kelli really is. If you would have met her when she was going through the hardest time in her life, you would have never known it. Kelli has the most positive attitude about everything & ALWAYS has a smile on her face. She is honestly the most amazing person I have ever met. She is someone that I will always look up to. I couldn't imagine my brother with anyone more perfect. I Love you Kel & I love having you apart of my family!!!

4th of July weekend

2009-07-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

My cutest friend Brianne and I

I LOVE the month of July for one reason & one reason only…. FIREWORKS!!!! Parades, rodeos & carnivals are fun BUT Fireworks are by far the best part. On Friday, our friends JJ & Bri were taking Bri’s little boy Connor to the Riverton carnival & invited us to come. I thought the Riverton fireworks were on Friday night, but it turns out they were not until Saturday night. We still had a lot of fun. I really wanted a stuffed animal, and Steve tried SO hard to win me one. Everyone we were with won a stuff animal except for Steve. For all the money we spent trying to win something, we could have just gone to Wal-Mart & spent half the money and bought a stuffed animal. I talked JJ, Steve & Richard into going on this (about ready to break down) ride. It looked way fun & not scary at all. OH WAS I WRONG. We sat in our seats and for some reason mine & JJ’s lap bars wouldn’t go down. So the creepy guy running the ride was like “hang on one minute.” He walks over to the machine that releases your lap bar, sticks his key in some hole and wiggles it. After a couple of wiggles, our lap bars came down. There should have been my first sign TO GET OFF THE RIDE, but I convinced these boys to ride it with me so I couldn’t ditch out now. So, the ride starts and it turns us upside down (I didn’t realize it went upside down) Well my lap bar was not tight on me at all, and my butt was lifting off the seat. I thought I was going to fall out, so I told Steve to hold onto my leg. Well being the nice boyfriend he isn’t he says “hell no, I am so scared I am not letting go.” So JJ leans over and is holding my legs down so I don’t fall out of the ride. FINALLY the ride was over, I didn’t fall out but I defiantly learned my lesson… NEVER RIDE CARNIVAL RIDES AGAIN!!!!

Saturday night, Steve and I were pretty tired and didn't feel like doing much. We ended up just going to Boston's with my parent's for dinner. We had never been there before, it was actually really good. We could see Davis, Layton's & Clearfield's fireworks from where we were sitting. We finished dinner & just went back to my house to do some of our own fireworks. My dad had some artillery shells that he had bought in Seattle a couple of years ago. So after we did out not worth $40 fireworks, we cleaned everything up so we could do one of his illegal one's and hurry inside in case the cops came.

Not sure about this whole blogging thing

2009-07-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

We finally decided that we were the only ones that were not into this whole blogging thing. So, we decided to give it a try. We are not really sure how it all works, but hopefully we will figure it out soon!