Payson Temple Open House

We had the opportunity to go to the Payson Temple open house. Zane has started to recognize temples more and loves to see Moroni on top; so when I saw that tickets were available to go I jumped on the opportunity. It was so much fun to see his excitement. He thought the "pool" {baptismal font} and the sealing rooms were the coolest part. He didn't love the booties they put over his shoes though ha Couldn't walk normal. And Stella...she is just always happy. It was a fun day and I'm glad we had the chance to go and teach Zane about that special place. 

I am so thankful for temples and the knowledge that I have of eternal families though the sealing ordinances that take place this this sacred building. I love my family and I love this gospel. 

Families are forever

Handsome boy

Cute smiley girl

Love this family of mine

For more information on what we believe and temples click here!

Nick's Graduation

This past Friday, Nick GRADUATED!!  Although he is not done yet, this was still a big step to get to and now we have two more years till we are done completely!  I don't think people really understand how hard the architecture program is...I never did till my husband became a student.  It's hard work you guys.  I have said that it is as much work as a doctorate but you don't get a PhD and I guessing when I say that people who do have the doctorate or been a spouse to one of those are rolling their eyes saying "yeah right" but seriously...this degree is a tough one.  Nick starts pulling all nighters about four weeks into the semester.  And those all nighters continue through the entire semester.  And if he isn't pulling an all nighter he is leaving at 3:00 in the morning often times and not getting home till 9:00 or later.   When they have assignments, they can't do them at home because they need the shop with the laser cutter or power tools to build models and plotters to print off their presentation boards.  They study for the tests some time in the midst of all those projects and write the papers as well.  Architecture is hard and very time consuming.  So getting through these past two years is a major accomplishment and I am so proud of all his hard work.

Utah Ute Graduate

These guys have too much fun...I think they secretly like the all nighters

University of Utah College of Architecture

Love this guy

The Family

He is just too cute

Two more years to go!

A Little Update

The Just thought I would give a little update on all of us.

Stella:

Stella girl is now 10 months old and so fun. She can say a few words like "Dada" and "Mama" and "Uh oh" and "Oh Wow!" and then the normal gibberish.  She is telling really good stories, just with we understood them.  She can wave (which is the cutest thing in the world) and does it with both hands right in front of her face. Also she gives kisses!  Everything she does is cute haha Last month she started to stand a little bit and then last week she took her first steps!!!  She only takes a few and then sits down usually.  But we have gotten her to take quite a few across the room.  Guess I need to get ready to be chasing her all over the place soon.  She loves her brother so much. Loves it when he will play with her. Even if he hurts her, within 30 seconds she is laughing at him again. She hates baby food and will only eat what we are eating. Usually I don't feed her fast enough so I just put the food on her tray and she will gobble it up, getting it all over herself.  She loves making noise and pulling her clips and ponytails out of her hair. She has switched to formula and is now sleeping through the night! Woohoo! She loves to shake her head and do things she knows she's not suppose. When we tell her to stop she just looks at us, gives us her adorable little smile and keeps doing it. She is also obsessed with anything little like babies...her new cousin Cole needs a fence around him to protect him from her potential squeezes. She is so dang cute! We just love her so much. 

(She was mad because we took dirt out of her mouth...)

Zane:

This boy is growin up so fast. I think when you spend all day every day with your kids you don't realize it. Nick's sister lives in Cedar City and so she doesn't see us as much as we would like but she was up a bit ago. We were just sitting around at Nick's parents house and Zane went up to see the goldfish in McKynlee's room. Well the goldfish had died so he came walking down the stairs, all big boy like, and says "Mom, the goldfish isn't there." Well this caught Chellcee off guard and she kind of got teary and goes "he is just so big!" And it's true! He is so grown up. He is talking so well. And he will tell you all kinds of things. He loves to play outside. He loves school and his friends there. He's really good at making up words to songs which usually includes something about Santa Claus. It's especially funny at church. He is OBSESSED with carrots. I have to limit him to one a day. We noticed the bottom of his feet started getting a tinge orange ha. He took swimming lessons and did really well. I think we are coming out of the two year phase and more into the whiney three year old stage. He is really good at fake crying and pointing out Stella's fake cry (even when it isn't fake). His favorite phrases are "oh my  josh!" And "yes sir" (complete with a salute). Oh and we still aren't potty trained. We have definitely had our hard days full of timeouts and tears but in the end of the day, I sure do love this boy and he can always make me smile. He is so funny and loving. 

Me:

I have been working on our garden a lot lately. Getting ready to plant soon. So that's fun. I have also done a few video projects.  Like I said before I have been loving doing videography!  Nick has noticed it too.  He says that he can see how happy I am and loves that I am doing something that I love.  Other then that I just hang out with the kids which I love!

Nick:

This guy has been working as always. He had a good spring break full of outside projects. But the most exciting news is that he got into the Master's ofArchitecture program at the University of Utah!!! We are so relieved and excited. He has definitely earned it. He graduates next week and then we have two more years till we are done! He is looking forward to his summer break and we are hoping to do some fun things on top of working. He loves being home with us and playing.

Ducks:

So I have discovered that I am not a pet person right now it this phase of my life haha  The ducks are gone.  We had them for seven weeks and then decided to give them to another family.  They were outside and I would stress over them being cold or eaten or something and yet I didn't care about them enough to bring them inside {they stink so bad} and so I thought it would be better for them to just go to a new home that can handle animals better.  They went to a farm with other ducks and chickens and horses and a happy owner.  It was fun while they were little and cute...then not so much ha  I don't think I ever told the story of our cat...We adopted a cat a bit ago, like in October, and we had to keep him inside for a bit to get him use to living here.  So I did that and it killed me {again, not a pet inside type of person} and so then he finally got to go outside.  I took him to the vet to get his shots and then the next day he ran away........ So we are done with pets for a bit ha Lesson learned.

So that is what we are up to. We are all loving the warm weather so we can be outside more. Life is good :)  Sorry there are no pictures...I will get some up soon.

Our new pets.

I'm When I was pregnant with Stella, Zane would only call her "Baby Duck". We could never get him to say her name till she was born. And ever since he called her that some of Nick's family insisted we get ducks for the kids. So with spring in the air and eggs hatching, Grandma Bulkley and Uncle Bob surprised the kids with some baby ducks!

 The minimum they could purchase was 4 so that's how many we got :) they are so cute! We haven't decided on names yet because 1) we can't tell them apart yet ha and 2) we don't know if they are boys or girls yet.

The kids love them though. Zane likes to pet them and watch them but will not hold them. Stella just wants to squeeze them! She gets so excited when they get by her she seriously shakes. But when the nibble on her toes she tries to get away from them. They follow Zane around too which he thinks is cool. 

The next animal I want to get for our small "farm" (it's not really a farm) is a goat. We have a small pasture that grows weeds ALL summer and so I think a goat would be great to put out there for weed control. And they are pretty fun too. We just need to find one :)

So there you have it...we own ducks ha Stay tuned for a picture of them grown and their pond and living area to come soon!

My almost 6 month old and 2 and a half year old

Oh life has sure been busy!  But it has been so much fun.  I love this stage of baby when they start interacting with people around them.  Stella is super smiley and so active.  She loves to laugh at Zane.  Everyone always tries to get her to laugh and she just gives them big smiles, but then that big brother comes around and she can't help herself.  She loves that kid.  Here is an adorable video of her laughing at him.

Stella has now started solid foods!  She hates the cereal alone.  For the first week we gave her just cereal and I think most of it ended up in her lap rather then in her belly.  But then we started adding different foods with it and she started to like it a lot more.  She loves bananas and doesn't really love squash.  We think that she is going to be our fruit baby.  Zane was (still is) and veggie kid, Stella...not so much.  She is still not sleeping through the night which is tiring but we are working on it and trying a few different things.  Music playing seems to be doing the trick.  She still wakes up but not as often.

She also rolls all over the place.  I put her down on her blanket in the middle of the room and within minutes, she is on the other side of the room.  She is trying really hard to crawl.  She has the legs figured out, just can't figure out that her arms need to help out...rather then her face.  There have been some times when she moves a few inches by pushing with her legs.  She has now figured out how to get anywhere she wants.  She just wants to keep up with the active boy in the house. She is also our littler chatter box.  She is always making noises and they aren't quiet noises...they are loud screeches.  Girls are definitely louder then boys.

She isn't the best cuddler which makes me sad but when I do get her to cuddle and fall asleep, I love it!  She sleeps a lot better when being held which I'm OK with because those are the times that I love.  She is just a super happy girl.  We love her so much!

And Zane is so fun as well!  Yes he has his two year old moments that aren't so pretty, but we work through it and have fun.  He loves school and is doing so well.  He can now count to 15 which is so cute and he loves to count.  He knows his colors and can identify most letters.  He doesn't really do the letters in order...like sing the alphabet, but he can look at a letter and tell us what it stands for.  His favorite is "O" for Owen!  He has made a lot of friends at school and is still working on walking, not running, in class (that is a hard task for him unless he has a paper in his hand...then he walks extremely slow).  But he loves school!

He loves helping me cook.  He really loves helping with anything.  And by helping I mean doing it by himself.  He thinks that when it says "Zane help" it really means that he wants to do it by himself...we are getting to that independent stage :)  But trust me...there are plenty of times when I ask for help and he says no ha But he mostly loves to help because sometimes he earns money (a nickel or dime or quarter) for helping and then he gets to put it in his piggy bank.

He is doing a lot better at staying in his room at bedtime and nap time.  He only comes out about two or three times now.  And he doesn't need us sitting in there with him anymore.  But boy is he already the master of putting off bed time already..."Mom I need water", "Another story?", has to gather every stuff animal he owns, has to make sure he has his three different blankies, reminds me to fill his humidifier...the list goes on and on.  But the cutest thing is when I'm walking out and he goes "Wait Mom...HUGS!"  How do you say no to that?  Melts my heart.

Zane is very excited for Christmas!  He is so excited for Claus (that's what he calls Santa) to come and is asking for a train.  He got to sit on Santa's lap and told him what he wanted but he doesn't understand that he has to wait till Christmas so leaving without his train was somewhat dramatic ha

I just love my kids.  They are pretty dang adorable.  They make my new job of staying home pretty great.  It isn't easy at all but it is so worth it.  I love watching them learn and grow and watch their little (really not so little) personalities come out.  They bring so much joy to my life.

3 months

Little Miss Stella is three months old today!! She is such a funny girl! She loves to suck on her fingers. Her hair is ridiculously long. She loves to smile! If anyone gets close to her and talks to her she has the biggest toothless grin. She loves her brother and can always count on him to talk to her and give her kisses. If he doesn't then she will stare at him till he does. She loves to kick her legs and sit up. She also loves her binki. She still isn't the biggest fan of the bath. She has slept through the night a few times but now she is back to her old ways. But her biggest milestone is that she rolls from her back to her tummy like a pro! Anytime she lays on her back she rolls. But she hates her tummy so she better learn to roll the other way soon. We love this little girl so much! 

Life as of late.

Here is what we have been up to lately...

Nick started school again! Which means I have started the single wife life again ha just kidding...it hasn't been bad yet. He has only had one late night so far. Now only nine months till he graduates with his undergrad!

Zane has started preschool! I wrote about that already. He is loving it. Finally his sleeping habits are getting better. He has been staying in his room and going to sleep all on his own which is so nice! 

Stella is growing so fast! She is a very smilie girl! She always has a big toothless grin for us. Another big milestone...she rolled today!! From back to front! She has been working so hard to get there and then she finally did today! She hates her stomach though so she better learn to roll from front to back soon ha. Her hair is so long that we can fit it in a ponytail. Most moms wait months and months, sometimes years to do that...this little girl has one at 2 months! 

As for me...I cut my hair all off! That was a big thing for me. But when you only have a 15 minute window to get ready in the morning, you go for quick and easy ha

Also I have loved staying at home! Yes there are days that I would rather deal with 30 eight year olds rather than one two year old ha but I do love this. I think about everything I would be missing if I were working and it makes me scared. I wouldn't have been able to take Zane to his first day of school...I may have missed Stella rolling. And I know for a fact that I would miss my little man's cute giggle and my beautiful girl's smile. I love my new job! Miss my friends at work and seeing those cute kids succeed but I know that I am doing what I need to be doing right now. 

First day of preschool (age 2).

Nick's mom works at a preschool here in town teaching the three year olds. They have a class for two year olds and we decided to put Zane in there this year. It is just two days a week for two hours (lots of twos ha) Isn't he just so dang cute?!

This picture kind of gets me choked up. He looks so old. When did my little man grow up? 

It's interesting sending your child to preschool...you have major anxiety and get those first day jitters for them but they have no clue what is going on. Driving to the preschool I started to tear up a bit...ha but I got myself under control and when we got there we went to his room. His teacher, Ms Mignnone, was there to greet us. I know her and she knows Zane so that's nice. She gave us a little bit of info while the kids played. They do a color and number each month and this month is red so there were red apples sitting out on the table for snack time. Well we looked over and all the kids had helped themselves to an apple and were eating haha if you leave apples out, they will snatch them up haha So after the info I went to tell Zane bye and he didn't want to come over to me because he thought he was going to have to leave. So I went over to him, kissed him bye, and left. Got to the car and cried haha My little Zane is a big boy now...going to preschool! He had so much fun. When I went to pick him up he was all smiles. He gave some girl, who is maybe his friend, a hug and his teacher a hug goodbye and we came home. He went right to his bed and crashes for three and a half hours haha preschool is hard work! I'm so glad he had fun though...I would've been an even bigger mess if he would've cried when I left him. But give this kid a room full of toys and some other kids to play with and he is a happy boy :)

Chellcee and Garrett.

Chellcee is Nick's sister. She and Garrett got married a little over two years ago. About two weeks after their wedding Zane was born. I think it was around then that Chellcee became baby hungry ha A year after that, Nick's other sister Melissa had her little guy and Chellcee's desire for a baby got even deeper. She is always so excited to play with the little ones and you can just see the joy that she finds in being with her nieces and nephews. I am so excited to see her with her own children.  She is so loving and caring.  She is going to be such a great mom.

As for Garrett, I have known him since we were kids. Our families would go on trips with each other and I never thought he would be my children's uncle. He never really likes holding newborns and I don't know why but once Chellcee finally gets a baby in his arms, his eyes light up. And he loves entertaining Zane! And Zane loves it too. 

They are both very anxious to have a family of their own. And when you are that anxious and have a major obstacle to overcome it is very hard, especially when it seems that everyone around you is having babies. I remember when I found out I was pregnant I told Nick that I was nervous to announce it because I felt  bad that we were on baby #2 and it was taking them a long time to start their whole process. But the amazing thing about Chellcee and Garrett is not once during this whole thing have I ever seen them bitter towards anyone else. They have always been so excited for anyone having a baby and show nothing but happiness for them. And I know that deep down (maybe not so deep) they are aching...aching for a child of their own. They are the most patient people in the world. I know that our Heavenly Father is aware of their situation and gives them the strength they need to be patient. It is a miracle when any baby is born but just thinking about how we have the science and technology these days to make this process possible is miraculous. The process they are going through is very long and trying but they are doing it to insure that their children are healthy and have the best quality of life possible. Who doesn't want that for their children? And to make that possible, they have some major expenses that is hard for any family let alone a young couple who are both still in school. Here is a video that will pull at your heart strings and show you just how amazing these two are  ---->>> Video

The amazing photographer Abbey Kyhl approached them and wanted to help out by doing a fundraiser for them. She is doing an awesome giveaway for ever dollar you donate. You can check out the details on her blog here. Also if you would like to donate you can go to their GoFundMe account. 

You can read the whole story of their process on Chellcee's blog too. 

We love them and we are so excited for them to bring a little bundle of joy into the family. They have been so patient through this whole thing and that is just one thing that indicates that they are going to be amazing parents. Your help {even if you just share their story} is much appreciated. 

This is Stella's birth story

With this little lady being 6 weeks today, I thought I should blog about her story of how she came into the world.  Sorry it has taken so long...life with a newborn and a two-year old it's hard to find time to blog...but I found some time!  So here is the story....

I was so sick of being pregnant as most pregnant women get around 8 months.  I had a few break downs as most women have around that time and I just wanted this baby out of me.  I wanted my body back.  I wanted to sleep comfortably.  I wanted to meet this little girl!  Every day in the days leading up to June 17 people text me asking me if anything was happening.  The answer was always the same...nope.  I was at the point where I wanted the pains of labor.  I wanted to feel that hurt because that meant that she was going to come soon.  I decided that the second (and probably the others after the first) is harder to wait because you know what to expect.  The first it's all a mystery...when will you go into labor?  How do I know if it's really contractions?  When do I go to the hospital?  And a billion other things; but after the first, you know what to expect...for the most part.  So I was getting impatient and so was my mom.  My mom was getting a little nervous because she was leaving for our annual family vacation soon.  My due date was June 25 and they were leaving June 27 so she was hoping with all her might that she would come early so she could help out.  So on the night of June 16 she text me and said "Tonight is the night...I know it!"  Well I was done getting my hopes up so I just laughed it off.

June 17 at 2:30 in the morning I woke up right in time to feel a little trickle of liquid come out of me. My first thought was "Oh great....just peed the bed."  So I hurried and jumped up and went to the bathroom before it made a mess everywhere.  As I was changing I thought...this doesn't smell...and I'm still leaking...I'm pretty sure my water just broke.  So I calmly called out to Nick so I wouldn't startle him too much till he woke up and I said "Nick...I think my water just broke."  He just sat up and said "OK".  And I was explaining what had happened and he just kept saying "OK" ha I hadn't had any contractions yet...just water but we had to go to the hospital so I said that we needed to call my parents so we could drop off Zane and head out.  He just said "OK" ha 

I called my mom and as soon as her phone rang and she saw that it was me she knew.  By the time we got everything together, we got Zane up and to the car, it was about 4:00.  We dropped him off and headed to Park City Hospital which is about 15-20 minutes away.  As we were driving I started to feel small contractions but all I could really feel was that I was STILL leaking...my pants were soaking.  I text family to tell them we were heading to the hospital but since it was 4:30 I knew people wouldn't see it till later (except Melissa, Nick's sister, who happened to be up with her little guy) We got to the hospital and went to the front doors thinking that we could get in but no...they were locked and the sign said that we had to go in through the Emergency Room which happened to be on the opposite side of the labor and delivery area.  So we drove around to that door and got out and all I could think of was "Oh great...I have to walk through the whole hospital with wet pants looking like I peed..."  We checked in at the ER at 4:30 and this nice lady said she would take us up to labor and delivery.  As we were walking she said that there were a lot of babies being born and it was busy up there. The Park City hospital is kind of a small hospital and in labor and delivery there are only 4 normal rooms and 2 "overflow" rooms.  Then there are 2 triage rooms.  Well since there were so many babies wanting to come that particular day all the rooms were full!  They put me in one of the triage rooms which is basically a room big enough for a bed and a monitor.  They felt so bad and assured me that they would get me into a comfortable room soon.  They hooked me up to a contraction monitor and my IV (which I HATE).  Contractions were starting to pick up but not much.  

The nurse came in around 5:30 maybe to see how dilated I was and I don't know what it was but it killed me!  I think she had tiny hands or something because she was a little rough trying to feel my cervix and it hurt so so badly!  I can't even remember what I was dilated to due to the pain.  I think it was about a 4...

So I hung out in the triage room for about an hour or so and they came in and told me that one lady was going to be checking out that day so they were going to move her to the other triage room so I could have that room ha I felt bad for that lady...at 6:00 in the morning she had to gather all her stuff to move to a tiny room but at the same time I really didn't want to give birth in that tiny room and wanted to be comfy.  And at that point contractions were getting a little worse and I told the nurse that when I got to the room I would probably want my epidural.  I just had to wait till they cleaned the room for me.  

Around 6:30-7:00 (I don't know exact times) the nurse came in and said that the room was ready.  I was very happy because at that point contractions were strong and painful and I wanted my drugs!  Contractions were very strong.  They were a little different from normal contractions though...it was all in my hips.  Not the normal where the whole belly tightens up...it was all in my hips.  Every time I had a contraction, it was like I could feel my hips spreading...it was very painful.  When we got into the room and all set up the nurse with the tiny hands needed to check me again and OH MY WORD it killed me!  It brought me to tears.  It seriously was the most painful thing ever.  And poor Nick couldn't do anything.  He just watched me and felt so bad and tried to make me feel better.  After she checked me I just hurt all the time....contractions were killing and I just wanted my epidural.  Nick could see how much pain I was in and went and asked where the anesthesiologist was and they said that they had paged him but he was in surgery...of course...and would be here soon.  In the mean time there was a shift change and my new nurse came in and it was my visiting teacher! ha I told her that after this, I think she fulfilled her calling for a year.  

Finally around 8:00 I was dilated to a 6 and I was hurting and the anesthesiologist walked in the door!  Hallelujah!  Now this doctor is good but he is one of those "get in and get it done" kind of doctors.  So although it wasn't the most comfortable things getting that massive needle shoved in my back, I welcomed it!  They also gave me some pitocin to get my contractions more regular.  Finally I was comfortable and could have a conversation with Nick and text people who I hadn't text yet and those I hadn't written back to for a bit.  

Around 9:00 our family close by us had gotten up and ready and were heading up to the hospital to see us and visit and pass the time.  Well around the time they were pulling into the parking lot, the nurse came in and checked me and I was at a 10!  So she called my doctor, Dr. Falk, and she came in and said "Wow, that pitocin did the trick!"  Nick text the family and told the family that I was starting to push so they would just have to wait down in the waiting room.  So at 9:30ish I started to push.  It was really cool because at that point I had kind of let the epidural wear off a bit because when I had Zane it took the epidural hours after I had him to wear off and I didn't want that again.  I wanted to feel a little bit and be able to walk and stuff soon afterwards.  So I started pushing and at 9:50 this beautiful little girl came into our world.  Stella Kathryn Wood weighing 7 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long.  She had a head full of hair (we didn't realize how much till after her first bath though) and blue eyes.  When she came out the cord was wrapped around her a bit and she was a little purple but they got her untangled and handed her to me.  She was beautiful.  I was finally holding this little perfect girl.  

She was crying a bit but not too loud and they were a little worried and wanted her to cry louder so they took her over to the bed thing and she started crying then!  They got her cleaned a bit and brought her back to me for skin-to-skin.  She nursed a bit and was a happy beautiful little girl.  

The family came in and I was most excited to see what Zane thought of her.  She was so wrapped up in blankets that I don't think he really understood that it was a baby in there because he was just didn't  react the way he usually does with babies.  But after a minute we unwrapped her and then he was so excited to see her!  He pointed out her toes and fingers and nose.  He loved her!  And I loved seeing my whole family together.  It was so great!  My little family of four.  

Stella and I stayed in the hospital for two days.  Nick would go home with Zane and sleep in a nice bed at night and then they would come and see us during the day.  Zane would only stay for a few hours and would go home with grandparents and hang out with them for a bit.  

All was good with us at the hospital.  Stella ate great and slept great and had all the diapers she should so everything was great!  

We got up and were ready to go home on Thursday.  They had just done her bilirubin test and the results came back and it was high...We were all so confused!  She showed zero signs of jaundice but apparently she had it.  And it was so high that the pediatrician wanted to put her on the blue lights for a bit.  The whole time we were waiting for her to be on those for a bit, we all (the nurses included) were expecting the lab to call and say they gave us the wrong results...that's how unexpected it was. 

 The pediatrician said everything else looked great so she would let us go home with the lights if we promised to take her to her pediatrician in Heber the next day.  So we headed home!  

She stayed on the lights for about three days and everything was good!  

Six weeks later she is still great!  She is a great sleeper, great eater and just so adorable!  We all love her.  She has started to smile a bit (it's hard to get a smile out of her) and she is doing pretty good and holding her head up!