I am a week late with this fun new achievement for Q, but only because he has been super sick this last week. I barely have had time to shower and work :P.

Anyways last Wednesday Q started crawling! He is a pro now, but he only really crawls if he truly wants something. If he just wants to be held he will just whine and lift his arms up for you to hold him. Silly kid. He doesn't follow me around or anything so I dont know if he really understands he can crawl but like I said, if he wants something he will get there as fast as he can. He is usually after my computer. I think he thinks Grandma is in the computer cause he starts smiling and then looks at me like "where is the lady in the computer?"

In other news we are in our last month in Wisconsin! We have started collecting boxes and have already made travel plans. I dont want to start packing until July 1st, because it gives me something to look forward to. I know, who gets excited to pack?! I do! I am moving to Seattle!! I cant wait.

Friday afternoon we headed to Chicago. Eric got off a little early from work - he is definitely ready to be done with his job. If we could leave to Seattle now we would. sigh. But back to our fun weekend. We went down with our friends Kory and AnaLee, we got a hotel by the temple and planned on switching off baby duties so we each could go to the temple.

Since Eric had never gone swimming with Q we took our suits and as soon as we checked in we headed to the indoor pool.

We left his floating thing at home, so we just held him while we played. The water was kind of warm. I would have liked it to be warmer. When we were done Q past out as soon as we put his PJ's on. It was cute.

On Saturday we went to the temple, then decided to take the train into downtown Chicago. It is CRAZY expensive to park so we thought we were being really smart and saving money.

AnaLee and AnsLee waiting for the train

 

Kory and AnaLee told us about this great pizza place so he went and got some for the train ride. It was AMAZING.

 

 

I didn't take any pictures on the train because I was busy eating a monster piece of pizza and Q was acting up :( But i didn't take this gorgeous shot of downtown! We walked the Magnificent Mile, but then got tired of walking and just headed to Nordstrom so AnsLee could get a balloon. Then we went to The Grand Lux. One of my favorite restraunts! Kory and AnaLee intruduced us to their Beignets.

picture from google

The kids happy not to be in strollers

 Don't they look amazing? They taste as good as they look. This isn't my picture- I didn't think of taking a picture until they were all gone. After dinner we realized that we had to catch the train, otherwise we would be stuck in Chicago for another 2 hours and both kids were ready to be done with their strollers. So we had about a 1.5 miles to walk in about 45 minutes. AnaLee is 6 months pregnant, so we were not walking that fast. At one point Eric and Kory took off running. It was the funniest thing EVER! Namely Kory. He had to bend over a ton for their stroller and he had the diaper bag on his back and it was all the way up. I tried to take a picture to capture how funny it was, sadly it doesn't do it justice.

 

Kory and Eric said that the kids loved it. AnsLee was waving at everyone as they ran by and Q just sat back and enjoyed the ride. 

Well while they were running AnaLee and I were just walking enjoying the great weather and the company. After awhile we knew that we were not going to make the train but hopefully the guys would and one of them would get a car and come back into the city for us. Once we got to the train station we got the news that the guys did not make the train. They missed it by 4 minutes. 

SO we took a cab to our cars. So much for saving money :)

In the Cab - Q was asleep as soon as I picked him up

The guys were exhausted- AnsLee did manage to keep her balloon after all the running

 Even though everyone is recovering today from all the walking/running it was still fun and next time we do a trip we will have better plans. Cant wait!

Extra Pictures from Nauvoo

Our little Pioneer Boy

Q and Dad look good- This look is not for me

Poor kid fell asleep sitting up!

While we were in Nauvoo we stayed with the Cluffs. They were in my homeward in Seattle since I was 14 and then Casey took a job in Nauvoo. He is in charge of all of Nauvoo! All of the sites, grounds, artifacts etc. He is kind of a big deal :) While they were in Nauvoo they had their 4th little girl Abby. There is a 10 year (i think) difference between her and the next sister Emily. Abby was a surprise. Q LOVED her! He would watch her and play with her all the time! Emily and Sarah were super cute with him too! Made me wish Q had more friends- hopefully we will live by Neal and Michelle in Seattle so he can hang out with Maddie and Wilson.

He has been looking at me all day today looking at me like "Mom where are my friends? What did you do to them?!" Apparently I am not as fun as they are.

If they didn't live 4 hours away we would visit more often. They are an amazing family!

On Saturday Morning we did temple baptisms, the night before we had done a session which was really cool. But after doing baptisms I have to say that was my favorite. It was my first time doing baptisms acting as one of the endowed adults, meaning, I didn't get baptized but I handed the kids that had their towels as they got out. I sat in on the confirmations first and as soon as they started the spirit became so strong. I could feel that the excitement and happiness of these people. I felt like standing and singing out for joy! I have never felt that way before. It was amazing. I had a smile the entire time, the spirit in that temple is so incredible. Everyone should go there!

After that we went to Carthage. It was a good day to do so, because it was raining so we could be inside the whole time. Again, amazing spirit that is there. There is a place in the visitor center that if you look at the jail, you can see Joseph Smith in one of the windows, because of where his picture is in the visitors center.

We had a few places we wanted to go and we went to a show put on by the Young Performing Missionaries. These are missionaries that have already served a mission, and had to AUDITION to come to Nauvoo for a 2nd mission. They served in Nauvoo and performed for 3 months, they had to obey all mission rules. Only 24 out of 250 applicants are chosen to be these missionaries. How crazy is that!? They were the best of the best! They had performed little skits on the Trail of Hope, and put on shows. They were incredible. (Are you catching a theme that Nauvoo is awesome?)

Sunday, church wasnt until 2, so we relaxed and hung out. We had Elder Baxter from the 1st Quorum of the Seventy there. He is from England and had the greatest accent. He was pretty funny and took the entire sacrament time. He talked about how we are Christians. He was pretty blunt on some of the points, like we dont believe that the God Head is one being because that is wrong. He didn't try to sugar coat anything. I love that!

Monday we headed over to the Joseph Smith Historic Site. It is was by the Community of Christ church. There is a totally different spirit there, or should I say lack of spirit. When we went to Joseph Smiths houses and places he had been it just felt like an old house. After we went to Brigham Young's House and the minute we walked in we felt a change, a reverence for this place. Whenever the Community of Christ sells the Joseph Smith sites to the church I want to go back to see the difference in the spirit. I know it will be moving.

Monday was our last day, so after we packed and had lunch we left because we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone but its nice to know that we will be seeing them soon!

For Memorial Day weekend, my parents and little brother flew out to Nauvoo to visit since they have never come. It is about 4 hours away from us, so Eric, Q and I drove down. If you have never been to Nauvoo you have to make the trip. It is amazing. This is my 4th trip to Nauvoo, and every time I learn something new.

Here are some thoughts I wanted to get down before I forgot:

The Brick House
One of the sites you can visit is the Brick House where they teach you about how the pioneers used to make bricks, and then how they would build their house. The 6 of us were the only ones on the tour at the time, so we got special treatment :) Our tour guide shared these thoughts with us.

To make a brick house it is 3 bricks thick. So when you buy the bricks once they are made you just get a bunch of bricks, and depending on their color will depend on where they were when they where in the fire. As you can see below, there is the black brick, the light brick and then the prettiest red brick. The pretty red you usually put on the outside layer of your house so it made you house prettier. The other 2 bricks are still great bricks, so they will be on the 2 inside layers, where no one else can see them.

- Do we look at the black and beige brick and think it is useless and would just throw it away, just because it isnt as pretty as the other one? Do we belittle ourselves and some of our talents and hide them because there are people that are better and more talented then us? Each brick is needed to make a house.

Another interesting thing to note about bricks- is when you make a brick you have to get all impurities out. This includes pebbles. Otherwise, when the brick is burning the pebbles cant stand the heat like the other clay and it ruins the entire brick. From the picture below the beige mold of brick looks perfect, you cant see there is anything wrong with it, but once it has been in the fire or underpressure the impurities come out.

-Do we tried to hide our sins, thinking that if i can look good on the outside, no one will know about my secret sin? That will only get us so far before our faith is tested, we are put under the refiners fire, and our sin is revealed.

Rendezous in Old Nauvoo
This is a super cute little play the senior missionaries put on. It is about some pioneers and what their lives were like living in Nauvoo. It is a cute little musical that will keep you laughing. One of my favorites songs is about the exodus west. Some of the men are worried that they are going to be remembered as cowards for fleeing the mobs, and not standing up for their rights. The song says- we will be remembered that we went "willingly- because we have to" by the last verse though, they have changed their tune and now are saying they are going "willingly - because we WANT to".
-Are their times in our lives that we do things, such as callings, service, etc. Willingly because we have to. Meaning, have to to please our parents, because other people will look down on us, because the prophet said, but i dont want to but i have to do it. You know that tone right? Usually it is said with a sigh, or a huff. maybe even rolling of the eyes. An example of this is those shirts that say" I can't - I'm Mormon". Like being LDS is keeping you from really enjoying life. How much better though would we feel if we did it Willingly because we WANT to? You want to fulfill your calling, you want to not double pierce your ear or get a tattoo. You want to go to the church and clean it on Saturday morning at 9 am. Instead of saying I cant I'm Mormon, take a stand and say, I drink, or smoke- or whatever you feel being LDS is keeping you from doing. How many blessings are we keeping from ourselves because we do not have the right attitude?
Can the dialogue of a pioneer that was crossing over the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter because they HAVE to? I imagine there would be a lot of murmuring, mumbling under their breath, and I bet they would just turn around. Every Pioneer story I have heard is they went Willingly because they wanted to. If they were going because they HAD to, I'm sure their faith went out the window after the 1st storm. But there are countless of stories of the pioneers recieving amazing blessings because they had the faith, and because they WANTED to go. They WANTED to listen to the Prophet, and the Lord.

These have just been my thoughts as I have been in Nauvoo on Day 1. If I have any other thoughts I will share those tomorrow.

We also did a session in the Nauvoo Temple. It is beautiful. I love thinking about the pioneers, and that I am walking where they walked. I know they walked in Salt Lake as well, but there is just a different spirit here in Nauvoo.

Tomorrow we are doing Baptisms for the Dead in the Temple, and then heading down to Carthage and more site tours.

Till then!

Weight:  14.1 lbs
Length: ?? inches
Clothing Size: 3-6 Months
Sleep: You now will take all naps in your crib. At night you start in your crib but if you wake up and it takes too long to get you to go back to sleep you end up in bed with me and dad. You still wake up every 3-4 hours at night to sleep. We would really love it if you would start sleeping all the way through the night.
I Love...: Roll over, and play with your toys. You also are a jumping maniac. You have a bouncy chair and a saucer that lets you jump and that is all you do. Even when someone is holding you and you stand up you start jumping. You talk a lot now, no words but you just babble on and on. Also you love baths and water- you love to splash.
I Hate...: Itching. You skin still has some flare ups and they make you itch and you get super frustrated. Also, you have to be swaddled still to go to sleep otherwise you rub your eyes and it keeps you from sleeping.
Trips: We went to St. George for Bergen and Coltons wedding at the beginning of May. We flew out of Madison and straight into St. George. I loved it! Also, we went to Nauvoo to visit the Cluffs, and to see Grandma and Grandpa Corbett and Uncle Andrew.
It was funny when...: Max (Aunt Cyndy's Dog) loved to play and lick you. You would just lay there and let him. Also, you are starting to giggle more often now. So it is super cute when you do. Especially when you are trying to decide if you are going to giggle or cry.
Firsts: You went swimming for the first time in St. George! You had a ton of fun, and loved splashing the water. I cant wait till it gets warmer so we can go swimming more often! Also you are starting to get on your knees acting like you want to crawl. You scoot backwards but I think in the next few weeks you will be moving forward.  We also went to Nauvoo for the first time with you. Sadly it will probally be our last time while we are out here in Wisconsin before we move. You had SO much fun with Abby!
Other facts: No major doctor visits! You definetly like to sit back and watch. Before reaching for something you have been watching it and deciding if it is something you want. Once we got the rash under control you turned out to be a pretty mellow baby. You usually just and chilling in the stroller or being carried. You dont care where you take a nap or when. Its been nice.

LOVE YOU!

I just have to brag :) Last Mother's Day I was pregnant, and still got  a present (a blanket I had been coveting). So this was my first Mother's Day with an actual kid. I didn't know what to expect, namely because I hadn't been dropping any hits to Eric on things that I want. So on Saturday night when Eric said I didn't have to wake up with Q that night, that he would get up and feed him all night I thought that was present enough! It was wonderful getting an entire night sleep. Namely because he is being difficult now, he likes to wake up, scream and then act like the bottle we are feeding him is poison. Not sure what that is about but it needs to stop.

Anyway, on Sunday when I woke up Eric brought in this beautiful box!

Isn't this a GOREGOUS diaper bag! I had beeing eyeing it for awhile. In Fact it was going to be my gift to myself once I got to my Goal Weight! Lucky me I have a wonderful husband! Now the pressure is on for a Father's Day gift that is the same!

This Friday Eric also took the day off and we drove up to Green Bay. We did a tour of the Packers Stadium and had dinner at the Pub inside. It was pretty sweet! While on the tour they take you on the field, and have you yell "Go Pack Go!" The idea is that you get to hear what the players hear, and that the phrase echos back to you, because of how the stadium is built. Eric was holding Q, and when everyone yelled Q got super scared and started crying, big crocodile tears. He is such a baby :) It was pretty funny. 

He had a busy weekend :)

Q and I made a little trip to St. George for my cousins wedding. We flew out of Madison and right into St. George. It was wonderful! We had an extra layover but totally worth it! We got in Tuesday night and played all week! Here are some pictures from our little vacation.

Qin the pool for the first time. If you cant tell he had a blast! This summer you can bet that you can find Q and I at the pool.

My mom came down the same day I did so we could spend more then just the weekend together. We had so much fun, wish we had even more time!

We went to the nail salon to get mani's and pedi's - He may now be my new pedicure buddy. He loved the jets and when he wasn't in the water he kept staring at it. Also Max( the dog) LOVED that there was someone his size! He kept licking and playing with Q, and Q didn't mind at all! He would just sit there while Max licked him. It was pretty cute.

I wish St. George was closer so we could spend more time there!! The wedding was awesome and I am so happy for Bergen and Colton! When we move to Seattle it will be nice that the flight to St. George isn't crazy expensive so we can spend more time together!

I cant believe it has been 4 years since our wedding! Since I was at my cousins wedding this Saturday (post to come) I have been thinking a lot about our engagement, wedding and the last 4 years.  I cant believe it has gone by so fast! I also feel like we are now out of the "newlywed" group. We may have exited that group when we hit 3 years, but at that point we still didn't have a kid. Now that we do we are officially out of being newlyweds!

What has brought you closer in the last year?
I definetly think having Q has brought us closer. We have become better at working with each other and helping the other person. We also value our time alone more then we did, at least I do.

Anything shocked you about your spouse?
Eric likes to pretend a problem doesn't exist. Namely when I am upset, instead of trying to fix it or ask what is wrong, he will actually ignore me and pretend that I'm not there. His thinking is that eventually I will get over whatever I am upset about so until then he will just act as though nothing is wrong. Unfortunatly, that is not how it works ever, it makes me even angrier that he is not addressing the issue so then it makes it worse. You would think after 4 years of this he would just learn to face it head on, but no. He continues this process. Maybe one day he will get it.

What was a Honeymoon Disaster you are ready to laugh about?
Honeymoon 1: I forgot shoes. For my overnight bag Victoria, CAN I didn't pack shoes. Not sure how I forgot to pack them but I did. SO on the boat over I had to wear Eric's flipflops and then we went straight to the mall to get shoes.

Honeymoon 2: I was stung by a jellyfish. We went to Mexico, and the first time in the ocean I was stung by a jelly fish. It was awful. I was in pain and I had to get a shot in my butt.  Which made me drowsy.

What has shocked you about being married?
How you go from an independent person, to never wanting to be without them. I had my own room all growing up, and when I went to college I had my own room and at one point my own apartment. I never was worried to go to bed if someone else was home. But when Eric is out of town or I am out of town without him I have a really hard time going to sleep. Also any noise that the apartment makes freaks me out. I laugh at myself all the time thinking that I used to do this all the time! How is it that after only 4 years of being married I hate being alone?!


I love Eric more and more every day. He is my best friend. We laugh together, play together and have great conversations. We are not perfect, but every day we are helping each other get there. I am so excited to see where we will be in 4 more years!

Love you a million red m&ms!
Hill