Sunday, January 12, 2014

Top Ten for 2013

Top Ten things that happened in our lives in 2013.
Not necessarily in order of importance, ya know . . .

10. Family reunions and get-togethers. 
We loved the Bahr family reunion in Bryce Canyon. We love monthly SibDin with the Blake family. We attended the baptisms of several nieces and nephews. Christy (Jan, in Cedar City); Tyler (June, in Washington); Dallin (Springville in September); Thane (West Jordan, also in September). We traveled to Washington in June for Tyler's baptism, so we had a short visit with Spencer's family and Lisa's family. We spent the holidays with my family here in Utah County. We enjoyed a Smith family reunion in July. We were also rill excited that my sister came home from her mission this year, and that by the end of the year she got engaged to a rill neat guy.
in Bryce Canyon

With Grandpa Bahr.

Featuring our gifts from the Philippines from Heidi.

Blake son with son. Blake daughter with daughter.

Well, hi again, Heidi.

Laura and her cousins Daniel and Dallin. 

At Tyler's baptism.

Bahr Family Reunion

Our nieces and nephews (before 5 of them moved really far away.)
9. School
Jacob pre-student taught at Centennial Middle School in Winter Semester, and he student taught with Jared Morris at Timpanogos HS. I pre-student taught at various elementary schools in Provo District. Jacob took classes Spring Term. And . . .he is done with school as of last month! All graduated. I'm so proud of him!
Jacob's last first day of school pic.
 (Well, he's going to be a teacher,
so I don't think it's the last one . . .)
8. Car
We've put a lot of money into our car to keep it running. In 2013, our faithful Maximus got a new transmission, new axle and bearing parts, and newly tightened belts and light fuses. He's pretty small, and he's been through a lot (by that, I mean, he's burned holes in our wallets), but we count our blessings that we have a car that runs!

7. Church
We started the year serving in the Nursery as music leaders and as Wolf Den Cub Scout leaders. Now, I'm a Relief Society teacher, and Jacob is the Sacrament Meeting chorister and the Primary Chorister. (Somehow, I'm sensing a theme with all these music-related callings . . .)
Some of our nursery kiddos. Love Jacob's face.


6. Hobbies
Becca's favorite hobbies this year were quilting, making cards and reading. Jacob enjoys exercise, and he tries to get Becca to like it, but she's not there yet. =) Jacob ran a half marathon with our brother-in-law Jon in late August. We both enjoy games (Scrabble was their favorite this year) and watching shows together (The Mentalist was their favorite TV show this year). We attended several club meetings for a newly-organized BYU club called Supporting Student Parents.
Jacob stuffing his face after the race.

Laura on her new quilt that I made for her.
5. Moving
We moved from a one-bedroom basement to a two-bedroom basement across town. We save $100+ per month on rent. Our landlord is a old, disabled and very eccentric man, but he's very generous in paying Jacob for any extra help he does around the house.
First diaper change in the new house.
4. Jobs
Jacob worked this year as a Student Manager at the Canon Center three nights a week. Becca worked in the Band Office during Winter Semester, and then she took the rest of the year off from working. Jacob started a job a few weeks ago teaching beginning band at a school in Kearns.

3. Marching Band
This was the first year that neither one of us participated in Marching Band as members, but Jacob was student teaching with the marching band at his school. He attended several competitions with them, and we even made a short family trip down to St. George with the band in November.

2. Tuba
We bought Jacob a tuba! (Okay, Dad helped us a bit . . .a lot, really). Jacob loves having his own instrument, especially since he can't use BYU's tubas anymore. The giant tuba box sat in our living room for several months, acting as a second table/clutter space, but we finally got rid of it eventually.
Jacob's two loves.

Laura in the tuba box before we took all the peanuts out.

1. Laura
Of course, the greatest thing that has happened to us in 2013 was the birth of our daughter. Jacob blessed her in Sacrament Meeting in June, and we were blessed to have so many family come to share that special day with us. She has always been quite the eater, and at first she was quite the sleeper, but now she's digressing a bit when she gets up often during the nights. We switched to cloth diapers when she was about 3 months old, and we like it so much, we probably won't ever go back. She has three and a half teeth, and she LOVES to roll and scooch herself around. She has done well at all of her check-up appointments, always being in the 80th percentile or higher for her sizes. She has the cutest grin and laugh. She gives high-fives and "kisses" which absolutely melt your heart. She transitioned well into solid foods and is still nursing 2-3 times a day. She had torticollis, which is basically an underdeveloped neck muscle. We had some stretches we had to do with her, and once we were really diligent with them, she got better and even use of her neck. She started sitting up on her own around 5 1/2 months, and she can stand leaning up against something for a few minutes at a time. Her favorite toys are her bath toys, a music radio thing, and a wooden spoon. We are so grateful for family and friends who have helped watch Laura, especially when Jacob and I were both back in school again. We love our little girl soo much!










These last couple of pictures were really
hard to take because she moves so much.
And she wants to eat the paper, too . . .

2013 was a pretty awesome year, and we're even more excited for the awesomeness of 2014. Love to all.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Scrappy Quilt

I finished something! Wahoo! This was my first quilt, and it was super fun to make! A lady in my ward is teaching me how to quilt, so I used her scraps, materials and equipment. I bought the backing and binding fabric, so in essence I made a quilt for less than $8!

I had so much fun making this quilt! =)



Like Mommy and Daddy

They say imitation is the strongest type of love, right?

We love this little one!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Photo Journal

our little baby is five months old.

she loves to suck and chew on everything.




 she loves applesauce.

she is a cougar fan.

she loves daddy-daughter naps.
(and again, the next day . . .)

she loves being on her tummy.

she loves to crawl on her back.

she has a super chunky diaper bum. 

she loves to eat.

she makes darling happy sounds.

she has a small fascination with shoes and feet.




she sleeps in the weirdest positions.

she can almost sit up by herself.
oh that tongue!!
and we love to kiss her every day.



Sunday, September 15, 2013

My Baby is My Sanity

Sometimes I feel like I overwork myself to try to be a good mom. I'm so close to graduating and earning a degree, which I hope in the long run will make me able to help support my family if needed. Plus, it's something I enjoy, and something that Jacob and I enjoy together.
Sometimes when I come home and I'm so exhausted and overwhelmed at all my teaching and school responsibilities, I wonder if all this sacrifice is worth it. It's so hard to be fully engaged in my daughter's life when I'm not there for most of her waking hours. But I love being with her and feeding her and hearing her cute sounds and seeing her roll over and seeing her happy smiling face. She helps me forget myself. Even though I'm finishing school to "support my family," I don't feel close to them at all while I'm in class or teaching. When I am with Laura, I feel happy, and I know that nothing else in the world matters besides the happiness and development of my child.
The hardest times for me are at night after she's asleep. That's when I have to do my homework and study and make lesson plans. By then I'm so overwhelmed and stressed by the piles of things I need to do. Plus my body is extra tired at the end of the day, and I feel helpless. Some nights the stress is so bad, I can't stop thinking about it when I go to sleep, which means I don't sleep well.
This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

When Cookies Aren't Enough

I'm not the world's greatest visiting teacher.

But sometimes I wish I had the world's greatest visiting teachers. Especially when I'm one week away from school starting and still have eight hours worth of time that I need to find a babysitter for and I haven't yet formed super close relationships with ladies in the ward who might be able to help and I'm going crazy about starting school with a baby.

So, yeah. Maybe I would have benefited more from an actual visit instead of cookies on the doorstep.

And maybe I should try to be a better visiting teacher myself.

Monday, August 26, 2013

A Little One

Just thought I'd add some pictures of the little one.
We sure love her!
Oh. Hello there.

Two of Daddy's loves. In one complete package!

Well, you see .. .her head is a little big. It sometimes makes it hard to roll over.

Ugh . . . .(yummy pancakes and eggs for breakfast!)

I just love this dress. And this baby.

We've got a thumb-sucker.

Baby jailbird.