Baby pictures!!!

Babys Profile

Growing little fingers

Body and legs

Spine and head

Here it is. We are having a BOY!! Colin is so excited!
We had my 20 week appointment scheduled for Monday the 19th. When we got there, we checked in only to find out the ultrasound is a separately scheduled appointment. Bummer! Of course, me and my hormonal self sat in the waiting room and couldn't help but cry. The receptionist felt so bad for me that she squeezed me in the next day for an ultrasound appointment. She was so awesome. So we had to wait another day but at least we didn't have to wait until after we got back from Christmas. That would have been the worst! Our little munchkin showed us who he was so we don't have to wonder anymore! He actually looks like a baby now instead of his little kidney bean he was at 7 weeks.

Our little man is coming in May!! We can't wait to meet him! We are thinking about putting him in karate at a young age because he's already practicing his martial arts in there!!

A Chapter Closes

How do you blog about the last three years of your life? How do you acknowledge every person that has made a difference in your life? How do I share with you what I am leaving behind?

I don't know how. But these people know me. I know them and I hope every one of them knows how important they are to me. Certain people are meant to come in and out of your life at appointed times and only Heavenly Father knows when and why. I plan on staying thankful for those I am lucky enough to come in contact with.

I was so proud of Colin at graduation. Emotions welled as I thought about our little baby and how Colin strives to do well for our little family. He was awarded the Newel K Whitney Scholar Award by the Economics Department. The teachers nominate students to receive it. Only four students got it! Colin's teachers were really sad to see him leave. After he met Colin's dad, Brother Johnson sat with Colin in the graduates seats and talked with him. They have such a good relationship. Colin would disappear for two hours sometimes and not answer his phone. He would later confess to being in Brother Johnson's office. "Talking about what?" "Economics and stuff." Colin will be missed up there.

I haven't cried yet. It is coming though. Once school starts, I'll miss the new teachers, new classes, old friends, new music excitement, and the anticipation of an exciting semester. A new chapter of my life is starting and I couldn't be happier but I look back on the long and meaningful chapter that is closing with feelings of accomplishment and happiness. Every chapter must close.

It's always good when a chapter can close with a smile.

This is how I feel

Bring on the dishes, crafts, vacuuming, baking, babies, photographing, and living. I am done with school. Ready for the next chapter of my life.

Together

In our zip-up hoodies and jeans on a regular day but this is us.

Two years. That's 24 months. That's 730 days. That's a lot of minutes. Seems like it was yesterday that we fell in love. If I had to do it all over again, I would still pick you and I wouldn't change a thing. Let's be together forever, lovies. Love you.

Thank you Sarah for taking these pictures on busy Thanksgiving Day. Check out her website and read about what she does. It's moving.

Dear Baby,

I have been reading about how you have been developing lately and I think about what your little ears, toes and fingers will look like. You're starting to develop bones which means that I would be feeling you soon. As I sat in church last Sunday, I felt a little flutter. At first, I thought it might have been gas or digestion. But this was different. I sat really still and waited to feel it again. Sure enough, it was you. Over the next few days, I felt you again and again. Daddy was so happy to hear that you have started to make yourself known! About a week later, I was sitting by Daddy reading a book with my hand on my stomach and I felt you move with my hand! I grabbed Daddys hand for him to feel. It took a few minutes but he felt your little movements too!!

As you grow bigger and bigger, Mommy's choice of old clothes is thinning out and she gets bigger. Shopping is soon to come.

We can't wait to meet you. We think, talk and dream about you all the time. Keep letting us know you are there. You are already making us smile.

Love Mommy (and Daddy)

Surprise!!

Confession. I lied to my husband. I told him I was coming down on Tuesday evening for Thanksgiving week BUT I found a secret ride on Monday night. He called me while I was driving and I told him I was eating dinner and then doing dishes and he believed me. When I slipped into the house and opened the door to the bedroom, I scared him so bad he almost threw a book at me! He was truly surprised!! I think he will forgive me for lying to him this time:)

Let Thanksgiving vacation BEGIN!!!

To Do:
Put up the Christmas tree...
Organize the apartment with the new furniture from Miriam! Thanks again!
Drink candy cane hot chocolate every day...
Eat food at Sarah's on Thursday with the family...
Do some homework but not a lot...
Our second wedding anniversary...
Dream about what our little one is going to be- boy or girl? We find out in four weeks!

Bluebird, Bluegirl

Lately, I have been drawn to turn on my "chill out" playlist on Spotify. This is always the first song I listen to. When it starts, the soft sound of the piano and Sara singing makes me think of my husband. I have been missing him. I go to school every morning, I'm in class until 530pm and then I usually stay at school and attempt to do homework while I 'people watch' with friends. It's much more fun than you may think.

When I do come home, I want to be tucked in and snuggled while I fall asleep. I sleep more by myself these days than I do with Colin's cold toes touching my warm ones. I love our apartment but I don't always like going home. Because only I go home. There's no one waiting for me. Just for my phone call.

Colin, Five more weeks. No. Four and a half. I'll come live with you again in four and a half weeks. I'll make you hot chocolate before you go to work. I'll have dinner ready when you come home. I'll warm up your toes every night. We'll fall asleep in the middle of our conversations. We'll argue over what music to put. I'll kiss you and send you off to work. Four and a half weeks. No longer than that. And hopefully never again.

A week and a half and we will have been married for two years. Four and a half weeks til I come to live with you again. Five weeks and we will know if we'll be welcoming a little boy or a little girl into our new little family! Six weeks then Christmas. Seven weeks then New Years. And we'll start another year together.

I love you. Thinking of you always.

Love, Naomi

Snowstorm, Symphony, and Cellos

I just started the eighth week of school. Colin and I have been so lucky to see each other every weekend so far this semester. What a blessing.

Kellen, Brennan and I went to Utah this weekend in the snowstorm to go to a Utah Symphony Concert. They played Beethoven's Seventh Symphony and it was AMAZING and SO worth it. Seeing live music is such a good experience; so much better than recordings. We splurged and all went to Tucano's for lunch and had such a good time. The people that worked there were so awesome.

We also made a stop at Peter Prier's Violin Shop to play some REALLY expensive cellos. You know that Barenaked Ladies song, "If I had a million dollars"? If I had a million dollars, I'll tell you right now I wouldn't buy a green dress, Dejan Ketchup, or an Ottoman. I'd get one of those cellos.

Mode switch is coming

School, husband, husband, school, clean kitchen, school, school, husband, laundry. Oh ya and baby.

It still seems surreal that there is a little one growing inside me. I'm not showing yet and I am still in school so I am by no means in baby mode yet. Sarah offered some of her baby things to me and I hesitated because the baby still wont be here for what seems like a long time. She gave us her a crib, stroller, and baby blankets, one of which mom used for us when we were kids. I brought everything home and it started to sink in for me. I don't know how it is for Colin because he wanted to put up the crib today. I think we will wait at least a few more months for that. It's midterms which leave only about 7 weeks until the end of the semester. I think moving back to live with Colin, being done with school, and having time to really sit and think about the little miracle that is coming will help baby mode set in. Til then, these blankets and crib will be very foreign.

Facetime

You know how on the Facetime advertizements, the people look beautiful and the picture is as crisp as a picture? I don't think that's entirely accurate... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE facetime and we use it almost every day but this is usually what it looks like.

Haha! What a fun and wonderful thing to have when you love so far away from each other!!

A ring

Looking through some of my old pictures of my beginnings in Idaho, I smile as I see friends and places that hold a special place in my heart. Those memories make me so happy. But I started to notice my lonely left hand ring finger. I look down at my hand now. A ring. A beautiful ring that was placed there my a wonderful boy. What a different life I now lead.

I talked with C0lin on the phone tonight. He lives in Salt Lake City working at his new job that he loves and is excelling at. He is on a business trip in Oregon. What crazy adventures he is having with his coworkers. He absolutely loves the challenge.

We have been lucky to see each other every weekend since school started and the next three weeks the pattern will continue! He comes up here, I go down there. We are blessed that this is happening in a time of our lives where we can live apart and make it work. We are both so driven and independent.

Sometimes I think 'what does this little shiny rock mean? What does it mean to me?' I will tell you. I accepted this ring from a man I know could provide for me, make me happy, and love me for who I am for the rest of my life. I think about my commitment to my lifelong journey with my best friend every time I see my little ring shine in the light. I smile. I put in my effort and he puts in his. We are in this together. We will never be alone again. I know our little family will be as happy as ever.

Speaking of which....


...for those of you who don't already know. I hit 10 weeks on Sunday. The little one is already over an inch long.

Senior Recital

I did it. This weekend, I did my senior recital. It was a wonderful experience. Since January, I have been preparing to give an hour long recital as the finishing achievement of my undergraduate career. Everything went well. Most of my family members came from Utah and California. My friends Brennan and Kellen played a piece with me and my sister Miriam accompanied me on the piano. No major derailments, I got a little tired but the audience, the performance and the feeling was perfect. It couldn't have gone better. Part of me still can't believe its already over. I'm sure it will take a while for it to sink in.

Over the past few weeks, I hadn't been too nervous but I knew it was coming. It wasn't until the day of that I started getting nervous and flustered over the smallest things. My hair wasn't working and Miriam came to my rescue. My programs were having problems and Brother Tueller came to my rescue. I wasn't warming up enough and again Brother Tueller came to my rescue. I had butterflies before I went out for the first piece but once I sat down and started playing my whole being wasn't in another place as I was in my element and creating music, just me and my cello in an empty room.

Thank you to Brother Tueller for opening my mind to the world of music and for all your love and support over the past three years. Thank you to all the friends I have made here at BYU Idaho that have grown with me in the our continuing love for music. Thank you to ALL my family for your encouragement and enthusiasm over the years and for making the sacrifice to travel all the way up to the sticks of Rexburg to hear me play.

Thank you to Mom for having all of us start music at a young age with the piano and a string instrument. We all love and appreciate you for bringing music into our home. We all have taken that love for music and started our own traditions for our homes.

10 years ago

That Tuesday has been on my mind for weeks now. It has been 10 years since Mom yelled at us to get out of bed and come look at what was happening. I didn't immediately realize what was going on but as the tears ran down Moms face, as the minutes then hours unfolded I started to see; Thousands of people had been murdered in such a small amount of time and it wasn't an accident. All day at school, the TVs were on in my classrooms and we watched as the casualty numbers climbed. The entire school stood on the center lawn as we had a moment of silence. I was in seventh grade. 12 years old. During the time we stood together, everyone was reverent. The nerds, the smarties, the tough kids, even the lunch ladies. All of our differences were non existent. That day affected every single person in this country and so many across the world. Even people 3,000 miles away in a little town in Northern California felt it. I didn't know anyone personally who died that day but someones dad, sister, uncle, or mom did.

Every year, I have remembered. I have done something. From wearing home painted clothes to remind those around me what they should remember to taking a moment to read someones story of that day, I have always remembered September 11. I hope no one ever forgets.

As I sit, struggling to type as I cry, I think of what I will do this year. I have watched the documentaries of the children who lost parents, the heroes on the highest floors and the tributes that are being made. I hope to have discussions of the constitution and the wonderful freedoms we have in this country. Don't ever take any of them for granted.

Take a moment to watch this video as you decide what you will do to commemorate what happened 10 years ago.

Click here to see the beautiful 10 year memorial at Ground Zero.

Ground Zero will always be a reverent place. I visited in May 2006.

Looking from the Empire State Building toward lower Manhattan where the towers stood.

And I love Celine Dion's version of this song. With the pictures, its even more moving.

God Blesses America.

Read, reflect

The scriptures spoke right to me the other day.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:14(excerpts)

"...for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou are at this time.

...and now i tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the spirit of truth.

... there is non else save God that knowest thy thoughts and intents of thy heart.

Therefore be diligent; Stand by my servant [Colin], faithfully, in whatsoever difficult circumstances he may be..."

This was a bit of a reality check for me. I know I am living where I am, I have the education I do because of the choices I have made. The spirit has helped me through all of that. The intents of my heart need to always be sincere.

The last little part prompted me to reflect on what the upcoming months will bring: Colin will be working down in Salt Lake City while I finish school in Rexburg Idaho. I know its a wonderful opportunity and I am supporting him in that. The next few months may be a little hard but they will be worth it in the long run. With the Lord on our side in our decisions, we can do anything.

7-11

I forgot this little gem.

Notice the black marks above Lillies car seat. So awesome.

More toes, braids, sprinkler and water balloons

There was a curious obsession with this Shark Book while I was there.

Yes I did both of these girls hair. Made possible in part by the TV and Iphone.

Classic of all of them. Grace and Ruby ignoring everything else that is happening, Lillie upset about not having the phone or the doll she wants, and Matilda smiling because I was making high-pitched squealing noises to get everyone's attention.

Sarah and Jake came home on Saturday night because they missed the girls and couldn't stay away any longer than three days. They came home after the girls went to bed and I heard they were crazy excited when they woke up to Mom and Dad!

The weather was awesome on Saturday and, accompanied with a watermelon, we spent a lot of time outside. We went to target (Colin came too) and spent time in the dollar section. Lillie's final choice changed about a billion times before we finally left and Ruby couldn't decide until the very end. I got stickers and Colin got those little dinosaur capsules that grow in water. Those two things provided entertainment and arguments between the girls for the rest of the day.

I wouldnt trade those few days for anything. I had so much fun being a Mom for three days. It was a bit of a shock going from zero kids to four but those girls taught me a lot. I am glad Sarah and Jake had a good time on their little getaway. She has already requested me for next year.

Icee pops, forts and bare feet

Day one is going well at the Smylie zoo. I am here at Sarahs house watching the kids while she and Jake go on an anniversary trip. Miriam came over this morning to teach Grace piano, after she left, we went to the park, Matilda is down for a nap, and we made the BEST fort of all time. After mentioning a fort, there was no going back. We used boards, chairs and come-to rope. I hope Jake wont mind that we used them. I figured better safe with rope than having it cave in on the girls.

I am here four days. FOUR days. I have faith that I can do it fine but what an adventure! Its 3:30 and no melt downs yet. Keepin' my figures crossed.

Eureka Trip August 2011