Maggie's new trick

We didn't even force her to do that one!




Ok, so I guess you can't win 'em all!

fun fotos

As of yesterday my baby is 11 months old...
So, because it's fun to take pictures, I did.
Following are a few of my favorites.

Sam is always so good to take care of his baby.

This one just makes me laugh. Way too excited to kiss her!

And sometimes they just melt my heart.




She looks so bored with my enthusiasm.
They make me so happy. I love being their mom. :)

sweet stuff

Livia has really had fun playing on her zebra lately. She just wraps her little monkey feet around the base and enjoys the ride!








A month or two ago, Jason and Sam were playing outside and Jason helped Sam pick some wildflowers for me. Ever since then, Sam frequently comes in with a little handful of flowers, or grass, or weeds...


But he's always so excited to give them to me. So if you ever see a vase with grass and weeds on my counter... you'll know why. My sweet little Sam picked them for me with all the love his heart has to give.

flexi-girl

I can't imagine how stiff I would be in the morning if I fell asleep like this.

It's funny how flexible babies are. Lately she will be sitting on the floor with her feet out in front of her, and all of a sudden she will lay her head down on the floor, with her feet still under her. Apparently she thinks her feet make a great pillow. I'll try to get a picture of it sometime, since it's so funny how she is completely folded in half and just lays like that for a while. She's a funny girl. I'm glad she makes me laugh.

swing-a-ding-a-ling

It only took us about 3 hours to set this baby up. We like it. :)

all decked out

A couple of months ago, a big project was started. (Before you are too impressed with us, we didn't do it ourselves, we hired someone to do it for us.)

We have been wanting a deck to go off the dining room since we moved in. The window was just the right size for a patio door.







Sam was pretty excited about the whole thing.






In planning how we wanted the deck to look, Jason decided it would be really fun for us to put a slide on the side of it for Sam. Sam has been pretty impatient for his slide to be ready for him.
And after all this time (and a few headaches here and there...) we finally have a completed project, slide and all!





Ta da! We're very happy that it's complete! And happy with the results.

Blessing #4

I am grateful for showers. Especially after a long, hot day, when you feel all hot and sticky and yucky. It's nice to get into a luke warm shower and feel clean again.



I am grateful that we have the technology to have indoor plumbing and have easy access to hot and cold water with the turn of a knob or two. (Even though some of our faucets forget which side is hot and which side is cold sometimes.... I can deal with it.)
I am so blessed.

the kiddos

My kids crack me up.
Sam can turn anything into anything. Here's a shark made out of corn on the cob.


And how about this cute little "Jackie-O-Lantern"

Gotta love how crazy baby teeth can be.

Blessing #3

I am grateful for a beautiful home. We have plenty of space to comfortably live. We have a great yard (after lots of work) for Sam to play outside.


A few times when we were house shopping, we almost settled for a house that we only somewhat liked. I am so grateful that we were patient and waited until we found this house. I know we are supposed to be here right now.
I am so blessed.

Blessing #2

Today I am thankful that I have a strong body. The last couple of days, I have been a little under the weather... but I am still strong. (Well, not super strong, but strong enough... and very capable.) I am grateful that my body is usually healthy.



I am not in the best shape of my life... but I feel healthy and I feel strong. A few weeks ago at Trek, I was worried I wouldn't physically be able to handle the 30+ miles. I did, and I think I did a great job at that! I had a horrible night last night, and I have been up since before 6 am and I just shoveled 2 truck loads of dirt onto the ground. I am grateful that I am able to help my husband with difficult things. Now I should probably just help him outside more often....
I am so blessed.

count your many blessings

It seems that lately I have a lot of cranky days. Yet I really don't have a reason to not be happy. I usually try to remember my blessings, especially on those grumpy days, so I have decided to count my many blessings on my blog.... because things become more real when they are written down and shared.

I think I need that.

So I'll start today.

Blessing #1 (these will be in no particular order)
I am so thankful that I have Jason. He is so perfect for me. He is loving and caring, he is patient and affectionate, he is smart and hard-working. He is tall and handsome. And he is my eternal companion... forever and ever.
We have obviously had our ups and downs, but the downs have become few are far between, and the ups have continued to rise beyond my expectation or comprehension. I love this man! He makes me want to be a better person, a better wife and a better mother. I am so grateful that he picked me to be his wife and the mother of his children.
I am so blessed.

PS Today was not a grumpy day... in fact, today has been a beautiful day.

morningness

Highlights:
1. Livia rockin' out to Yankee Doodle
2. Livia's monkey feet holding the ball in place




Highlights:
1. Maggie's pleading look and her amazing catching skills
2. Sam's delayed reaction

curtains... please

Since we moved in almost a year and a half ago, I have been meaning to put up curtains over the little windows on each side of the front door.


Now I don't have to worry about ever getting dressed again. J/K.

keeping sambo out of the pantry

Love it!

drum roll please....

I know that all of you have been pacing and pondering what in the world I ended up doing with the space above my cabinets.

The wondering and waiting has come to an end.

This:
has become this:

And a close up:
and the change:

I got some really good suggestions, so thanks everyone for your help!

bum scooter

Livia has not shown much interest in crawling. However, just today, she discovered the joys of moving around on her own.

First, you need to start off with a complete bum circle.



Then you can move on to bigger and better things.



Scoota-roo.... ta-da!

the traveling pooch

Meet "The Dog." The Dog has been in the Riskedahl family for about 8 or 9 years. He lives with all of us. He moves around from house to house. Right now, he is at my house. You see The Dog has become the family prank. When we received him as a gift all those years ago, my family consisted of 5 different households. (My parents, each of my 3 sisters, and me.) My mom thought it would be a fun family game to sneak The Dog into each others' houses.

This dog even made it into the MTC with me! My sister, Ronda, sneaked it into my suitcase when I wasn't watching.


I almost took it to Argentina with me, but worried my baggage would weigh too much, so when I left a few boxes for Ronda to pick up at the MTC, The Dog remained in Utah.

When Jason and I were recently married, we lived in a little apartment in Springville. I invited Ronda and Leesa and their families down for dinner. The next time I did laundry... I found the little guy on my washing machine.

One time, my brother-in-law, Ron, put Livia in her carseat for me, and very willingly took her out to the car too... only for me to discover a little prize on top of her when I unzipped the carseat cover at home.

This week, Leesa gave me some tubs and boxes of little girl clothes and shoes... and one little doggie inside one of the boxes.

It's fun to see where The Dog ends up and how he gets there...
so, watch out family... he's on the prowl... again....

one of those days

Yesterday was just one of those days. With the help of a few key moments, I started the day really cranky... and only got crankier as the day went on. Every little thing annoyed me. My poor kids. And poor Jason. He called at lunch time to see how my day was, and he could tell I wasn't very pleasant. I should've been nicer.

When Jason got home from work, I was up in our bedroom folding some laundry... and I was still in a bad mood. And I still needed to get ready for Bunco... a major highlight of my month. We were all upstairs while I was getting ready, and Sam kept telling me he wanted to show me something. Since he says that for everything, I didn't want to go with him. Finally, I was ready to leave, still with a not-so-pleasant attitude. I said goodbye and headed downstairs, with Sam still wanting to show me something. As I walked into the kitchen, Sam proudly pointed to something on the counter...



All day long I had been upset with everything and everyone. I had been feeling that Jason expected me to be this perfect housekeeper and gardener and everything else... which I am clearly not, which makes me feel like I am a complete failure at my roles in life. I know he didn't mean to hurt my feelings, and I know I'm overly sensitive about things like that because I'm not good at it. He really did tell me in the nicest way possible what he was feeling and I of course always take it the wrong way.

Jason, I am sorry for always being so overly sensitive and cranky when you try to help me be better. I know that you appreciate what I do and the things that I am good at doing. Thank you for your patience with me as I work on my weaknesses. Thank you for being better at expressing yourself than I am at it. The flowers are beautiful and it really changed my heart when I saw how much you care. I love you.

one last hoorah

My sister Leesa and her family are moving to Farmington, NM this week. I took the kids up to my sister, Ronda's house yesterday to see them one more time before they leave on Thursday.

Sam had lots of fun playing with Cassidee.


Livia tried to play State to State with Kylee and Emmalynn, but I think she felt a little excluded.

So she found a hanger instead.


I'm really sad to see them go, but I know that this is a good job for them. They are a great family and I wish them the best of luck in NM.

And now that of all their family, I live the closest to them with a 6 hour distance, I know I'll be the favorite sister for sure.

weekend happenings

Livia's first pedicure.


Poor baby girl got her first hornet sting. :(


At what point does a child learn the basic unwritten rules of society?


Hopefully before too long he'll find it wise to wear pants outside.