one of those ahhhhhhhh moments!

Jackie has come a custom to her bed time routine, bath, pj's story and prayer. So much so that as soon as story time is over she folds her arms for prayer. In the past she will babel along with us as we say the prayer and yes that is sooo cute! but thats not the ahhhhhh moment!
On Tuesday when she folded her arms and i started to pray my little girl said her own prayer in three words, "thank you! Amen" and then she looked up at me and gave me a big hug! I really thought it was the cutest thing ever!

Parenting and what not

I am so amazed at how fast Jackie is learning and growing and how good of a baby she is! She is always so happy! The only place we have problems with her is at church and thats because her nap time is at one and church is at one, and lets face it toddlers with no naps are cranky! But lately we have been bringing her bottle and stroller and having her take a little nap at church, it helps some but she usually gets woken up by some little kid, but still i cant wait for January for 9 am church and nursery!!! Jackie has found the nursery room and really wants to go in and play....i hope this continues when its really time for her to go to nursery. I know i know who would have ever thought i would be excited for 9 am church??? lol but i am excited that Jackie wont have to take her nap 3 hours late, and that we will be able to get a nap and we will have some time before we have to head of for family dinners!

Jackie used to throw little tantrums but those are gone (for now i am sure we will see them again) When she threw them we would ignore her until she was done and then talk to her and tell her we love her and give her hugs. We have found for Jackie if she does something wrong all you need to do is talk to her sweetly and help re direct her she will usually will stop. Jackie never really has a day when shes is a brat or is hard to be around she really is just and all around sweetheart! Sometime she will just want attention and will want us to hold her or just be near her while she plays, but really that is not a bad thing. :)

I dont know i know a lot of people put one year olds in time out, but i just dont think they are mentally ready for it, and understand why they are in time out nor will they remember what they did to get there, and well all the research out there agrees with me too (lol i read a lot of parenting books online) so i will continue that for now. Plus she is so good there is not much she would need to go out in time out for, she is a one year old who loves to explore, luckily in our house she is free to explore what ever is in her reach we just never had stuff out that kids cant play with ( I did not change my house for my daughter, we just keep things cleaner so its safe for her to play). Or maybe we are just tolerant people because i dont care if she gets into my pots and pans or pulls my Tupperware out. I think its all part of being a kid and exploring and learning. I guess i get that from growing up in a home with little kids. I don't know i think that all kids are different and need different discipline based on their personalities. Really though I think that parents just need to do what is right for their kids, no one can know what is right for another kids. And lets face it kids will be kids especially toddlers they will have times when they don't do what they should and when they make your life hard but you teach them and move on.

I have also decided that we just are not paranoid parents, but we both grew up in homes with parents that were not paranoid and i think that is why we are that way. When Jackie was born I did not mind if people wanted to see her or hold her, as long as they were not sick and would wash their hands. In fact i loved the visitors! It really helped us make the transition to know we had support from friends and family. I was one of those moms that went to church soon after too. We took Jackie when she was 1.5 weeks. I know allot of people wait because they dont want their kids to get sick, but mine didn't. I figured with nursing they are so protected from their mom that she would be okay, and she was.

When Jackie started to explore we let her we let her touch things and put things in her mouth. This one was a little hard for me but her doctor told me as long as its not dangerous she will be okay, he told us that is how the learn, grow, and build up immune systems. ( lol he said that kids of paranoid parents tend to get sick more....lol or maybe they just bring their kids in more...i think some of both) I must say it worked because she really has only been sick once and that was when she had just turned one and she caught it from me.

We were not paranoid when it came to food either. Jackie did not like baby food so we gave her table food. A lot of people freaked when they heard this, but baby food is really food with water. And her doc said it would be fine as long as you avoid foods they are not supposed to eat. We would just mash it up and let her eat it. It worked well for her she loves all food now and will eat anything! I dont know i just did not think it was worth the stress to be paranoid I wanted to take time to enjoy my time as a mother. I have seen to many people stess out so much with everything they don't enjoy it. I say take a breath and enjoy being a mom! Keep your kids safe but know they are pretty resilient and can handle exploring and discovering the world around them!

But anyway i know all parents are different and know what works best for their kids this is just what worked well for us so far, i know we have a lot for to learn as Jackie grows and as we someday add to our family!

Lets face it this is what happens when you get board at work lol

after 5 or so tags........................

okay so after 5 tags i did it i posted the 4th pic in my 4th folder now to explain lol well its my wedding day and i am throwing the bouquet lol not to hard to guess!!!

lol i tag only those who want to do this!

All about Derek!

All about my hubby!!!

1. Full name: Derek ******* Stell (he hates his middle name so i edit it :D
2. How long have you been married? hmm lets see according the the calender its been 3 years one month and 26 days and a few hours lol
3. How long did we date? haha so we were the typical BYU coupple we meet in the end of may got engaged July 28th and married September 3rd :) sooooo we dated for 3 months! what can i say :)
4. Who eats the sweets? hmmm Derek buys the sweets and we both eat them
5. Who said I love you first? He did, he took me out for by birthday and when we were driving home he pulled over and told me he had a secret to tell me then he whispered in my ear "i love you" which i told him back. (the funny part is he had been telling me for about a week that i was in love with him, but i was to scared to admit it.)
6. Who's taller? lol DEREK he is a foot taller then me 6 '3' to 5 '3'
7. Who sings better? Derek for sure!
8. Who is smarter? The endless debate in our house :) i have my degree already so i claim it makes me smart, but my husband knows all the answered to jeopardy (or any other game like that!)
9. Who does the Laundry? It changes, i will do it for a while then get sick of it and stop so he will pick it up, as for the folding i usually fold and Derek puts everything away and gets me the hangers!
10. Who pays the bills? Me! Derek is in trouble if something happens to me he wont know any of our bills or passwords
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?Derek our tv is on the left side of the bed and i cant see over him!
12. Who cooks dinner? I do! i love to cook, but my sweet hubby makes me dinner on Monday nights and i love it!
13. Who drives? Derek for sure! I am more of a rider then a driver :)
14. Who admits they are wrong? haha Derek wrong? lol
15. Who kissed who first? Ha ha Derek kissed me first on our first date! lol yes remember we were fast
16.Who asked who out first? Derek asked me out first we played catch went to wendys then i had to go to work then i came back we watched miracle and he kissed me during it
17. Who wears the pants? lol derek does but lets me in when he needs to
18. why do you love him? I love Derek because he always knows how to make me laugh! One of the first things i noticed about him (besides his eyes) was his sense of humor! lol I love his commitment to the gospel and knowing he will always be able to bless our family with his priesthood. I love that i can talk to him for hours and never get board, i love his passion for hockey (even though at times it drives me CRAZY!) I love knowing how much he loves and cares for me and Jackie. Most of all i love him because he is perfect for me! He really is my better half, he makes me whole! I love him, and am so happy i get to be with him forever! I LOVE YOU DEREK!

OKAY now i tag
Jess, Danielle, Adrienne, Beth, Katie, Melissa, Jenn and anyone else who feels like talking about there hubby

any one any one?

Does anyone know where my mind went? I cant seem to find it today. Reward possible for the return or information on the whereabouts.

Traditions!

So in Relief Society yesterday we talked about traditions, holiday and spiritual traditions, and it really got me thinking about what traditions we have and what ones i want to continue so i thought i would write them up here, since lets face it i don't keep a journal this is the best thing i got!!

1. Christmas book
I grew up with this its an scripture, story, and song for each nigh of December! I always loved hearing the stories that were in there and reading them as a family! I cant wait to have kids old enough to enjoy this tradition!

2. Turkey Bowl
Every thanksgiving my family gets together and has a HUGE football game we call this the turkey bowl! its so fun to have everyone together and play

3. Church
One thing i admire about my parents was their dedication to make it to church, we went every Sunday no matter where we were! While on vacation we always went to church and would stay for the whole block!! I remember every time we went to Mexico we still went to the whole block even though we could not understand more then a few words! This has really stuck with me especially since we have a kid now. I want to make sure i set a good example for Jackie and show her how important church is! Sometimes i wonder to my self as i spend most of church in the hall why i am there, but i know its where the Lord wants me so its where i am going to stay!!

4. Christmas Morning
Christmas morning we would have to wait until everyone woke up (no peeking was allowed!) then we would all line up youngest to oldest on the stairs and would come down to were "Santa" left our gifts (we have two trees one in the family room for Santa and one in the living room for everything else) we would open our stockings and play with our Santa gifts. Then my mom would make us a huge breakfast! (yes before we could go open our other gifts!) After breakfast and everyone got ready we would go in to the other room and divide up our gifts by the giver not the receiver (so you would get all the gifts you were giving) then we would take turns giving gifts to each other! I loved this one! I think this really helped Christmas become about giving instead of receiving! We all loved being able to give our gifts instead of just having a free for all

5. Christmas Eve
Both my families did this and i know most do, its just my favorite! We would always read the Christmas story from the scriptures before bed! I think this helps set the mood! We also got to open a gift on Christmas eve and it was usually PJ'S!!!!

6. Back to School
On thing i loved growing up was my dad would always give us a blessing before we went back to school! I always loved receiving the comfort and guidance before every school year!! I hope my husband can continue this with our children!

Well there ya go there are a few of my favorite traditions in my family! What are some of y our traditions, holiday or spiritual? I tag all to write about them!

BIGGEST LOSER!

okay guys its almost here the biggest loser is starting soon! we want everyone to join us so go sign up and have some fun! just click on the link to go to the blog it has all the instructions for joining!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!! its sooo cute go look!!!!

Two and a half men and Jackie

So me and Derek really like the TV show two and a half men. We have our DVR set up to record the episodes and then watch them.....needless to say we watch a lot of this show its on 2-3 times a day. Anyway they have quit the catchy them song basically they repeat the word men over and over and ooooooooo alot. Well Jackie has always really liked the theme song and will get up and dance to it which is really cute! Any way the other day in the car we were talking about the show (yes we are lame) and Jackie started to sing the theme song!!!! We heard here in her car seat going men men men men men men men ooooooooooooooooooooo to the rhythm and ever thing!! now when ever we watch the show she sings along with them lol.......... yes i know this means we watch WAY too much of this but its soo cute! Who would have known a 14month, ok well she is 15 months in three days, could pick up and learn a theme song lol.

Anyway Jackie is growing and learning like crazy! I am constantly amazed at the new things she is picking up!

• she is always learning and saying new words (yes some of it only mom and dad understantd) amazing us at how smart she is and is just so darn love able!!!
• I think she is having a hard time with me going back to work, because she is clinging to me for a good 15-20 minutes when i get home, she will just lay on my shoulder and hold me. Its really cute, but i feel bad at the same time!
• Her biggest thing right now is her love for the out doors, the girl would live out side if we would let her! she always wants to go out side, she will walk over to our door and reach for the handle saying sli sli (slide) and weeeee weeee (swing) if you dont come she will come grab you by the finger and start to pull saying go sli go sli its really cute! So we try and make sure we get her out on the swings and slide at lest once a day (the ones at our complex) and we try to take her to a park at lest once a week.
• She also is continuing her fascination with books. She always wants to read them to her self or she will bring them to us and have us read them to her!
• One of her new favorite games is to grab something from us and run away with it laughing, its funny most of the time :D
• She likes to unroll our toilet paper.....we no longer keep it on our tp holder
• she also knows what car is ours....i guess its kinda hard to miss a big yellow car.....but if we are out in a parking lot (she has to walk everywhere) and you ask her were the car is she will point and start running.
• she can get in the bath tub her self, and tends to dive in when one of us is in the shower
• My friend Auraleen who has a 5 month old watches Jackie on MW mornings for us, Jackie loves her and knows her name and when she heres her coming over she runs out saying aubrey aubrey baby, and then will "help" take care of her
• jackie also likes to help me around the house, when i vacumn she grabs one of her push toys and pushes it around making the noise the vacumn makes
• She still is our amazing little eater! eats everything and anything and of course is still feeding her self! that girl has never let us feed her she has been feeding her self since she was 7.5 months old, you can see some of her first tries here . One of her new favorite foods is salsa and sometimes chips. We love mexican and when ever we go to a mexican restaurant Jackie is there dipping her chips and licking off the salsa...occasionally she will eat it with a spoon. Yes yes she is odd

Well there you go a breif update on Jackie! Hope you enjoy reading about some of the new things she is doing there are many more but these are some of my favorite!

I am doing great! i love my job and its working out well except the person we have had watching jackie on T and TH cant do it anymore soo we need some one else. Derek will no longer have his morning class so we would just need some one from 11:45-1:30. If anyone would be willing to help us out we would appreciate it!!

A WHOLE NEW WOLRD!

so day after lasik is great i am seeing 20/25!! its amazing to see i get to sleep in some hot goggles and wear sunglasses all the time but all is well! i hvae some swelling and once it all goes away i should be seeing great! i have a video of the procedure soo i will try and figure out how to post it :D

Family Pictures

Okay so i am a HUGE slacker my neighbor Adrienne Murray took these pictrures back in the start of June and I am just putting them up, anyway she is the best you should check out her blog http://admphoto.blogspot.com/ and use her to take your pictures!! any way we took these all around BYU campus here we are

This one is my favorite!
Jackie is flexabile!

I really like this one too!

haha Jackie got REALLY sick of taking pictures

I think we are a cute family :D

I LOVE her eyes...haha do you like the cell phone....she is SUCH a modern day baby!

So derek wanted to try the star wars pose lol

Yes Derek is eating Jackie :)
She thought she could get away
And she did off exploring the unknown


haha I love this picture i think its funny its like she is saying I'm with her lol

Well i guess a lot are my favorite because i think these are CUTE too!
I love the relection in the water
More escapaing baby!
She loves it when Derek throws her around




Yes my baby goes to BYU :)

Okay thats the jist of them there where 217 for me to chose from haha i would have put them all up here but i don't have that much time :D

As for the Stell's we are doing great!! I am loving my job and we have some amazing friends who are helping with Jackie! (thanks Jess!!! Thanks Auraleen!!!) Derek is making it through school and I am getting Lasik on Thursday, I am starting to get nervous but way excited...I still am keeping my fingers crossed they will let me get it ( do to my horrid vision i am a borderline case) but a month without contacts should tip the scales in my favor, buti wont find out tell that morning!! any way hope everyone is well!!!

make-a-flake!

i have wasted much time on this site! haha its fun go take a gander! you know i would never lead you some where dull!
http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

The biggest loser!

So me and my friend Jenn have decided to start a biggest loser compition because we want to lose weight!!! we want anyone and everyone to join. We have made a blog just for it! Its going to start on Nov 1st and run through March 1st! we will have a $25 buy in and the winner gets the pot!!! go take a look at the blog if you want to join let us know!
http://healthy--girls.blogspot.com/ there is the blog! Not much is up there now, but we will be working on it soon! I know it says girls but boys can join too its just the only thing we could think of that was not taken :)

Basketball and Jackie

its the little things .............

its the little things...................

• the kisses Jackie will blow or the slobber kisses she will give me
• the little hugs she will give me
• when Jackie will call out for mama
• when Jackie wakes up in he morning and all she wants is to come play in bed with her mom and dad
• When she will crawl up my leg just to get a hug
• when i am cooking dinner and she just wants me to hold her and let her help stir
• when she learns new things
• When she will look at a picture of Jesus and recognize who it is
• When she will call me up on the phone (with her dads help most the time ;))
• When she wants her daddy
• when she wants to just sit in my lap
• How she wants to do everything I do
• When she is playing on her own but always checks every few minutes to make sure i am still there
• how she wants to play with her dad's hockey stuff just because its his
• her immense love for BYU football (she will watch a whole game with us!)
• how the cougar fight song will always make her stop crying

That remind you how great it is to be a mom!

More than anything I love knowing she is mine and I made her and no one will be able to take that away from me! I love you JACKIE!