Here they are: Pictures

These first few are just some that I took. I was hoping to catch her grinning a little bit. She's always smiling in her sleep and grins at me sometimes. I love it when she laughs in her sleep to, it is the cutest thing ever!

These are pictures of a FHE activity we did a couple weeks ago. I bought some gingerbread houses and we decorated them with Afton for our activity. She loved it. (I think it was the candy.) Surprisingly, Tad was more into it than anyone. He loved decorating and making his "sweet" garden in the "back yard!" He's a goober!

One day Afton decided to get the broken trundle from under her bed and walk around the house with it. It was funny trying to get a picture of her. She kept saying, "I'n stron'!" carrying around that trundle!

Aww...sisters! I'm not quite sure who Reesa will end up looking like but at the moment she looks a lot like Afton did when she was born. I love my girls!!

Another Post (Pictures to come!)

Well, I've decided it's time for me to post again. The baby is asleep and Afton is watching Cars, so that gives me a few minutes to get some things done. First, I just had some pictures that I've been wanting to post so we'll see if I can't get them up on here.

We've all been adjusting to our new life as a family of four. It's been amazing, for the most part. There have been only a couple of almost sleepless nights but overall it's wonderful. Reesa is a great baby, but loves to be held and it's hard for me to resist. Most weeks the house is a mess and Afton gets to be her independent self. Reesa is now three weeks old and I can't wait to see how much cuter she's gonna get. She's 9 lbs and a happy, healthy baby.

Afton is amazing and very helpful, although she is getting to the terrible two's. The other day she almost had me in tears, the baby was screaming and Afton was oblivious to what I was wanting her to do. (Or so she acted that way!) She does like to hold Reesa every once and a while, but mostly loves hanging out with Daddy. Tad's happy that he finally gets a daughter who likes to spend more time with him than with Mommy. I love having Momma's girls but it's been so cute to watch Afton with Tad. I had to drop him off the other day and Afton just started crying when he left. She loves Daddy! I've been meaning to start one of those journals with all the cute sayings your kids say because the other day we were watching Santa Claus and she asked me who it was. I said, "That's Santa, Afton." She quibs, "No, dat's not Santa, seowly (aka "silly"). Another cute story: Yesterday was our Christmas program for church and Tad and I were both in the choir so she sat with some friends. Halfway through I looked down at her and she pointed up to me and said quite loudly, "Mommy's singing!" So cute!!

Other Afton sayings: "Peace out." (said with a lisp)

"Mommy, it's Baby Reesa's paci."

"Reesa, it's a paci."

"Daddy, it's Baby Reesa's paci." (Most of the time she picks out some object to tell each of us about."

And of course she's always randomly singing about Poppy or Lela or Grammy.

Other news, this weekend we will be leaving for sunny CALIFORNIA! I love the snow but it will be nice to not have to worry about the baby being out in the freezing cold. Christmas in warm weather is always a little different but it will be nice to visit with Tad's family. Almost everyone will be there at some point during the holiday, so we're excited. We'll also be blessing the baby down there since so many of his family will be there. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! I'll post again after Christmas!

Reesa Merrilee Dickerson

Just a little update: Reesa Merrilee has arrived! We went to the hospital Monday morning at 7:30 to be induced. I was a day over and wasn't dilating still, so it was time to get her moving. They put me on Pitocin when we got there and waited to see how things started working. I started having contractions but nothing huge. The doctor came in to check a couple times and I was only a 2 - 2 1/2, that means it was time to break my water. That was lovely. After that my contractions got much stronger and more frequent, but I still was only dilated to a 3 is. Things were going slow, but I wanted to see how much I could do. The nurse and doctor suggested an epidural to help me relax and get further along, so at about 8/8:30 I got and epidural. It took a few more hours but I finally got to a 9. Then the babies heart rate started to get really fast. The doctor came in and checked me. I was still a 9 and things were getting a little tense. We had two options: we could insert a catheter that would put some liquid in with the baby and help her to calm down; if that didn't work we would have to have a c-section. That was worrisome, but luckily the catheter worked. About an hour later, we were pushing and in about 10 minutes, Reesa Merrilee was here. We were so glad that everything went well and that we have a very healthy baby. She was born at 4:04 a.m., weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, was 20 1/2 inches long and very cute. She looks a lot like Tad or at least a Dickerson. I love having her and already cannot imagine life any different. Afton has been such a good big sister and loves to hold her hand. For the most part, she is getting tons of attention from my family and so that has her distracted a bit.

So this is what's been going on and I might not be blogging for a while, but enjoy the pix!

What was she thinking?!

Yesterday, we had quite the experience at church. First of all, it was Stake Conference so Afton was getting a bit antsy. I decided it was time for a snack for her so I gave her a little baggie of raisins. She was sitting on Tad's lap just chillin', eating her raisins. About 10 minutes later she turns to me and says, "Raisins." I said, "Yeah, you're eating raisins." She replies with, "Nose." She likes to point out her body parts so I glanced at her nose...nothing that I could see. Then 5 minutes later she starts getting fussy, red-eyed, and rubbing her nose. She sneezes and out pops half of a raisin! I grab her and run (as fast as you can in the middle of a church meeting being 8 1/2 months pregnant) to the bathroom. My mind is racing trying to figure out how to get who knows how many raisins out of Afton's nose. All I could think was just make her sneeze them out, so I keep rubbing her nose. Out come two more raisins. I tried to look up her nose and see if there were more, but I couldn't see much in that light. I think we got them all out and hope she didn't shove some up to her brain! All I want to know is how in the world did she get the idea to put raisins up her nose and what did she think was so fun about that.

Cute little giveaway

There's the cutest little things at this giveaway. Check it out at Make It and Love It! The little shoes are the best!! Or just check out the website at www.teacupsandmudpies.com.

Halloween!

This Halloween was a little sporadic for us, but it was still fun. We had a ward party on Thursday and Afton was Boo from Monster's Inc. She looked perfect! I was going to be Sylia and Tad was going to be Mike but we didn't have enough time to do our costumes. We made dessert for the ward party and just went and had a fun time watching Afton play around. On Halloween morning, we carved our pumpkins and I have to day I'm quite proud of us. We did a pretty good job! Afton thought all the gook inside was pretty gross so it was funny to watch her act like she liked playing with it. We were going to take her trick-or-treating but it was cold and she liked opening the door for all the trick-or-treaters and giving them some treats. We did teach her to say trick-or-treat, which was the cutest thing ever. All in all it was a pretty good day. Tad's pumpkin was this wolf and mine was the witch, but that picture isn't loading now. I'll see if I can't get it up later with more pictures and a video of Afton.

Also, some updates: I had to go to the doctor's again on Friday because he was going out of town this week so he went ahead to check and see if I'm progresssing. I'm dilated to a one and 50% effaced. Not huge news, but it's more than when I was prego with Afton. Reesa is such a mover who knows what will happen. So the next couple weeks could bring a new baby into our family! We are excited!

An old post finally posted: A Fun-filled Fall Day!

On Saturday, we went out to Idaho Falls where they had a harvest festival. It was a ton of fun. There were lots of different vendors, yummy food, singing, a car show, dog shows, a kids straw maze, and a little pumpkin patch. I haven't had funnel cake in years and it was almost just worth it to go just for the funnel cake! We got Afton a little beanie, a headband for Reesa, and a couple of great pumpkins. It was so much fun just to spend some good quality time with all of us together. Afton loved it! We were super tired after spending a few hours there so we all came home to nap and stuff. Then we woke up and headed out for a little shopping. We needed some little home things. We also found the Bourne movies for a great price, so Tad and I got treats and made it a movie night. (I won't tell you what part of the movie I fell asleep at.) Also, Tad and I are big game players, so we were playing Boggle and I won! It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's fun. The punishment for the loser was to wear tape on their eyebrows until we woke up in the morning! (Weird, but still funny.) I let Tad off easy and took the tape off just before bed. Oh well, it was worth the picture!

Our Home

So I finally got some pictures of the apartment uploaded. I figured out how to work this computer. (After having it for a while now!) I still have some stuff to get up in the living room and I am going to re-do Afton's dresser, so in the meantime, here you go!

P.S. We love our couches!! And apparently the other pictures aren't loading, so these two will have to do in the meantime.

Here We Are

Well, I finally uploaded some pictures that were taken a while ago. I forgot where I put the cord for the camera to upload all my pictures. That's what happens when you're pregnant and moving at the same time. I don't have any yet of the new place but hopefully I can take a few today. I still have a few things that I want to get to decorate the rest of the living room, Afton's room, and our room. Our room has become the storage space for all the leftover boxes and we are getting a dresser soon, so I won't take pictures of that area but you can imagine.

We woke up today and saw snow all over. Well, all over the car. It doesn't look like it'll stick but it's still fun. I am now 34 weeks and counting. I have good days and bad days. Reesa is constantly moving trying to poke her way out of my belly it seems. Afton loves to pat my belly and give kisses to her lil' sister. We can't wait to see her!

We got to watch Conference at our house this year. We did go to the Taylor chapel for the Sunday morning session, which wasn't too bad with Afton, but the afternoon session cuts into nap time so we stayed home for that one. We felt uplifted and strengthened by such strong talks and the Spirit. Tad was saying that a lot of the talks felt like Priesthood session talks. That just makes me think how much we must need to be working on. We need to hold stronger to the iron rod and remember why we are here. I was also thinking about President Monson's talk about his birthday gifts. I wish I would have participated, but I think the point is not to just do service for that one day, but to do it always. I know this is something that I have been needing to work on lately, especially with Tad. Some days I just think so much about myself. (Actually that happens a lot these days.) I know that service changes people, because it has changed me, but it's hard for me to always remember that.

So, not much more has been going on with us. We visit with Katie and Dallin and their newest addition, Garrison. He's a cutie! It's hard to remember that they are that small. Tad is a trooper working very hard all the time. Afton is getting bigger and bigger every day. She now addresses me as "Mommy." The other day we were walking to go get the mail and she walking around saying, "Mommy? Mommy?" "Yes, Afton?" "Hi, Mommy." Usually after she says mommy she just runs around saying "mommy said, mommy said." I'm not sure what I've said but apparently she remembers me saying something. She loves wearing her winter boots and coat. So of course I have pictures.

This was before we moved. She came out of her room with three pairs of shorts/pants on. She's talented!

Another Quick Post: Giveaway!!

Another giveaway! If your a crafter, scrapbooker, or anything of the sort check out the button on my blog for Make It and Love It. There's a huge scrapbook storage cabinet giveaway from the Original Scrapbox called the Workbox! It's an amazing giveaway and here's a picture!

Also, you can check out the website for other great craft stuff! I love the ribbon box which is a great organizer for all those rolls of ribbons! You can get a great discount of $100 off on shipping by entering 100Writes. Good Luck!

A Quick Update

So we are finally all done with our other apartment and have moved into our new apartment just down the road. Unfortunately, I've been crazy busy unpacking and cleaning apartments that I haven't had time to post. I don't have much to update actually besides the fact that we have moved and got a new couch. (It's actually a sectional thingy and we'll get it on Monday.) I'll have some pictures soon to post and we'll see how everything looks. So talk to ya soon!

Suweet Giveaway!

Check out a sweet (literally) giveaway at Make It and Love It! Cakes! I'm not just talking a little store bought yummy cake, these things are amazing!

3 Year Anniversary!

Today is our 3 year anniversary! To celebrate, I made Tad some waffles (in the toaster, seeing as how our waffle maker magically broke after someone used it) with bananas, peanut butter and syrup, and a side of orange juice. We'll actually celebrate this weekend but it was a good breakfast! We also found out Tad got this job at the company he's been working at right now. It's a RD/QA Lead position. Basically that means he makes sure their product is up to par. He's basically a supervisor. It's not what he wants to do forever, but it'll help us for the next little while so we can prepare for grad school.

Looking back we've come a long way. I can't believe it's already been three years. We've learned to communicate a little bit better and by we I really mean me. Tad's already a good communicator. Anyway, it doesn't seem like three years is a long time, but I loved being married to such a great man. I have always known that I am top priority in his life. He is so gentle, kind, and loving in ways that I never thought I could be. He's a hard worker and I'm so proud of him. I'm grateful to have such a wonderful husband who will massage my feet (yuck!), do the dishes, change diapers, and sit and watch chick flicks with me. He makes me laugh and he laughs at my corny jokes! His testimony of this gospel is inspiring for me and others. What a great guy I married! I love you so much, Tad! Wooh! Three years down!

Popcorn Popping

Towel Project...check!

So I finished a project recently that I've been wanting to do since I came back from Georgia. My sister got a gift like this for her bridal shower and I thought it was such a cute idea. I just love making things cute, but in an easy way. So what it was...you just get some fabric and cut out letters of your names and sew them onto your towels. I did it and thought they turned out pretty good. I can see where my mistakes are but hopefully you won't be able to. It was fun and easy!

My Little Singer

I was talking to Tad on the phone the other day, and my blog was up, so the music had been playing. Some point during our conversation I happened to listen to Afton, beside me, and this is what she was singing. (It's the Maroon 5 song on my blog, "I Won't Go Home Without You.")

This one's for you, Grampy

Grapes, guns and naps

So we've been trying to keep Afton on a diet of fresh fruits to help out with her regularity. (Sorry if that's too much info.!) She loves grapes and blueberries and just loves to stuff her mouth full of them. Here's a few pictures.
Also, recently we had some friends that were moving out of the ward come to clean their apartment. While they were here, they let Tad and I use their gun to go shooting. (My first time!) Tad usually goes with Dan, but they were pretty busy, so I got to go along. I did hit the target the first time, however it must have been beginners luck because I didn't do too well after that. It was pretty cool though, to have a gun in my hand and learn how to use it. Watch out for me now! Tad was pretty awesome, but that's no surprise, at least to me. I usually hear that he's pretty good. It was a fun day and we came home to a silly girl wanting to do some shooting herself, I guess. :)Aww... so cute. Daddy taking a little nappy and Afton being cute.

Scentsy Giveaway!

There's a great giveaway again, on the Make It and Love It blog! It's from Scentsy, which if you haven't heard of it, you need to check it out. These wonderful, cute warmers fill up your home with great smells. Check it out!

We are having a....

For all of those who are wondering, and haven't yet heard, we are having a.....................................

Another GIRL!

We are very excited and can't wait for Afton to have fun with her new baby sister. We think we might name her Reesa Merrilee, but we're not sure. If you have a good girl names leave a comment! Sorry the pix are kinda weird, but they'll do.

A couple cool 3-D pictures of her face! She has her hand in front of her mouth, but other than that they're pretty vivid. We saw her sucking her fingers during the ultrasound. So cute!

A Project Finished

Okay, so I finally got a project done that I started quite some time ago. I got all my stuff out the other day and decided it was time to finish something. Afton now has a cute tu-tu to wear all around the house and dance in. (Thanks Ashley for the great idea!) It turned out pretty poofy, but Afton loves it. She'll bring it to me, saying "Pitty," and dances in circles. Love it! She's my cutie!
This is Afton after she devoured a double chocolate chip cookie! Sweet!

Sweet!

Just so you know...there is a great giveaway for some FREE photography! Check out the button on the side of my blog at Make It and Love It! (Just don't enter, because I want to win! Just kidding.) You can always enter and give to me!! Again, just joking! Good luck!

A Fun Day

The 4th was a great day. I already posted on our morning activities, so now I'll let ya know what a great evening we had. We planned on going to Idaho Falls the watch the fireworks there. (They are rated #20 in the nation, so that's some incentive.) So we cooked ribs in the oven all day and packed up the cooler with some other picnic foods, packed some games and Finding Nemo for Afton. We went to Fremond Park, which was awesome. We were expecting everything to be super overcrowded, but it actually was pretty nice. We sat up on this hill and ate our picnic dinner. Then we played some frisbee, while Afton threw and chased after her bouncy ball. (Yes, Dad, I still remind her that it's from Grampy!) It was so cute. Then Tad and I played some games while Afton watched Nemo. Then came the show. Every now and then someone would be shooting off some fireworks, so Afton was able to get used to them before the big ones. It was quite the show. After the last five songs we kept saying that was probably the last one, but we kept being surprised. They were huge and Afton kept saying, "Whoa, whoa!" The drive home only took about 40-45 minutes, which we were quite impressed about after hearing talk from everyone about the awful traffic. All in all, a great year's celebration of the 4th!