Life with Brad, Emily, Mya, & baby

And the verdict is . . . . . . MORE PINK!!!

2011-03-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

We had our 22 week ultrasound last Monday. Luckily, the baby cooperated really well so we got to find out that we're having another little girl (that was Brad, Mya, and I's guess.). We're excited to have 2 sweet little girls and of course, I can never get enough pink in my life so I'm always happy w/ more girls. I already made matching skirts for the baby and Mya; can't wait til' baby is here to model it. More importantly, everything looked great on the ultrasound the tech said and we have a very healthy baby. She weighed about a pound and all of her measurements were pretty much average. Now it's time to get the nursery ready and everything on my to-do list done. 17 more weeks to go!

A new addition to our family

2011-01-11T07:36:00.001-08:00

We are so excited to welcome this little baby into our family. We got to do an ultrasound yesterday and it's amazing that at only 11 weeks the baby looks so big & developed already. This adorable little baby is due to arrive July 30th but since I'm having a c-section again it will probably be scheduled around the 25th. So excited to cut a week off of this pregnancy. We have our next ultrasound on March 21st and I'm dying to know what we're having so I can start planning & getting everything ready. I'm glad to almost be done with this yucky first trimester and hoping the 2nd & 3rd ones are better so that I can get something done before this baby arrives. Mya will be a great big sister; she loves babies. Hope everyones new year is off to a great start!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo look who turned Two!

2010-10-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

As if Mya hadn't had enough sugar with cake
and ice cream earlier in the evening, Grandpa
decided to feed her a rootbeer float. Oh well,
I guess Grandpas can get away w/ stuff like that.

Jenn & Mya

Grandpa Morris & his beloved buffalo & cows

Mya's cousins & friends

My buddies & their kiddos: Jenn & Peyton and Kelly & Cole

Cousin Wyatt giving pony ride.

Cowboy cousins: Maddex & Mavrik

Maddex is already a better roper than his dad!

Mya turned 2 on Oct. 7th! Can you believe it? I sure can't. Anyways, for her birthday this year we decided to have a barnyard/farm theme because if you've read my previous posts I did today, you already know that she has been obsessed with horses lately. What better place to have this barnyard themed party than at Grandpa & Grandpa McConnell's farm. We started out her party at my brother Matt's house; they have about a dozen horses. We did pony rides there; it was Mya's first time riding a horse. She wasn't so sure about it once the horse started moving. She loved feeding them though. She would get a handful of hay and feed it to the horse & then say "AWESOME!" It was so funny. Then we headed to the farm for a hayrack ride and to watch the buffalo and cows eat their dinner. That was quite a hit. My parents have been working on redoing the old milk barn so it worked out perfect to have dinner & cake in the top of the barn. See that amazing cake & cupcakes? That would be my incredible friend Jenn's talent. You know you have a wonderful friend when they take all of that time to make something like that for your daughter. Mya got lots of fun gifts & has enjoyed having some new toys in the house. Mya had a fantastic birthday party & thanks to all of our family & friends for their help. We couldn't have done it without them.

Mya's Top 3 Loves

2010-10-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

1. SILLY BANDZ - You can see from the above picture that this girl has no shortage of silly bandz. They are pretty much her favorite thing to play with and hold her attention longer than any other toy. She spots them at every store and thinks she can never have enough of them. The other day we were at the park a little girl came up to her and wanted to trade some silly bandz with her. It was the cutest thing. The question is do you think she can fit any more silly bandz on that little arm of hers? She is so funny about just wanting to put them on the one hand.

2. HORSES - A couple of months ago Mya grew this instant love for horses. I'm not sure where it came from (seeing how Brad & I are far from horse lovers); I guess maybe it's a bit of that McConnell blood in her. Jon & Alex were so kind to let us have the horse in the above pictures; she loves it. Just like the silly bandz, Mya has no shortage of horses. She has a huge stuffed horse, little stuffed horses, mini horses, and a hundred other little horse toys & figures. Not to mention the like 10 horse movies her dad bought her.

3. PARKS - Mya has to visit the park at least twice a day. Thank goodness our new house has a lot of parks within walking distance. This is one thing I love about our new neighborhood (there's 3 or 4 private little parks very close) and 2 bigger ones. She would live at the park if she could. I am a bit worried about winter time & not being able to frequent the park every day. She is going to have major withdrawls. I got a children's museum membership so hopefully that will help.

Look who's all grown up!

2010-10-23T14:13:00.001-07:00

Here's my Mya girl looking so big! Don't you love this cute sweater her little friend Emmie gave her? It's perfect for her because she is quite the horse lover these days!

Mya gets "Trooper of the Year" Award

2010-07-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm sorry but another blog post on Mya tonight. I just want to give this girl a huge THANKS for putting up with much craziness this year. Here's some of the things that she's been a total champ through:
1.) Multiple ear infections this year (many of them double ones). She just had tubes put in this month and she did fabulous with that little surgery. Sidenote - I have no idea how parents function when their child is in surgery. Mya had a 10 minute very minor, minor surgery and I was crying & the 10-20 minutes went by way to slow.
2.) Other various illnessess: bronchitis and yeast infection. We also found out she has a small umbilical hernia that if it doesn't work itself out by the time she's about 4, she'll have to have surgery to remove it. Another sidenote - Did you know that if someone has an "outie" it's most likely a hernia? I had no idea until the dr. was telling us this when he was checking out Mya's sometimes "innie" and sometimes "outie" belly button. I'm not trying to freak out any of you that may have an "outie" but thought this was interesting.
3.) Three moves.
4.) A pretty much total house remodel the month of June & complete chaos that month b/c of it.
5.) A working mom that's recently been scrambling to get things done @ my current job for the next person. August 6th is my last day. Cheers to haning out with Mya all day after that!
6.) Many hours in the car in July but was a great traveler overall.

YOU ROCK MYA!

CUTENESS=MYA

2010-07-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

So don't these pics of Mya spell CUTENESS all over them? Thanks again to Stacie for capturing so many cute pictures of my baby girl the last couple of years.

This girl has learned soooooooo many new things since I've last blogged. All I have to say is she's too smart for me already. I used to try and write down in her journal all of the new words she says but I can't write them down fast enough anymore. She basically tries to repeat everything she hears. Here's some of my favorite words she says (even though I think each word she says is adorable): painting, oh shoot, show, noodles, Jesus, tractor, yogurt, Stone, applesauce, swing, Grandma, Grandpa, puppy, church, hippo, elephant, chair, toys, and blanket. Mya has also started combining words to try and say sentences or phrases; here are some of my favorite of those: help you (I think this is funny that when she wants help she says "help you" instead of "help me"), need some more, I see you, watch it, and need mommy. In addition to building her vocab, she's been learning other tricks too. She can give you eskimo kisses (aka nose to nose kiss), gives fist bumps, count to six (w/ just a little help), march & say march while doing it, she's learned to move a little stool or chair around & climb onto it so she can reach the things she couldn't otherwise, jump high, attempt a peace sign and say peace out (mainly you just hear out), and when asked how old she is she holds up two fingers & says two (we'll she's almost 2 so I guess I won't bother to reinforce that she's actully still 1), and go down the big slides by herself. This girl is non-stop fun & craziness. I can't believe how she's this big toddler now and not my little baby anymore (tear).

Summer Snack of the Week Handout

2010-05-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

One of my big projects this spring at work was to design another "Summer Snack of the Week" handout. I developed one last year and it was a hit at health fairs, farmers markets, etc. There's a total of 10 recipes and an activity/lesson about MyPyramid for each week too. To download a free copy go to this website address:
http://lancaster.unl.edu/nep/resources.shtml

It's the first link/title under "Educational Resources." I was really happy with how it turned out this year. By the time I was done with it though, I was so sick of it and didn't want to see it ever again. However, I wanted to share the resource with everyone because I know parents are always looking for fun, free stuff to do with their kiddos in the summer time. Have a wonderful summer!

Mya's 3 Favorite/Most Frequent Words

2010-05-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

Mya is learning new words every day & she is saying all sorts of things. Lately she's been on a "sh" kick - saying brush, fish, show, wash, shoe, etc. However, right now Mya has 3 words that she says constantly (besides mama & dada of course). Here they are:
1.) Emmie - Emmie, our friends Brenden & Julianne's daughter, is one of Mya's best buds. She is about 5 months older than Mya. Even though they don't see each other every day or anything, Mya is always, always wondering about Emmie. Today when I got her out of her crib this morning her first word was Emmie; they did get to play together all day yesterday which was so fun for them. Anyways, it will be a sad, sad day for Mya and for us whenever they move.
2.) "Me Me" - Who is "Me Me?" Well she is also known as Jamie, my friend who is staying w/ us temporarily while she finishes up her student teaching. Mya can't quite say Jaime so she says "Me Me." When Mya is wondering about "Me Me" during the day, I have to keep reminding her that she is at school with the kids and will be home later. Then Mya misses her on the weekends especially b/c Jaime usually goes up to Omaha. It will also be a sad day when Me Me moves for us and for Mya. Mya is liking having a roommate on her end of the house.
3.) Baby - Mya LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES babies. There's a billboard on Hwy. 2 of 3 babies and she looks forward to seeing that billboard every day we go by it. Before she can even see it, she knows it's coming up around the corner b/c she says baby over and over and over. She is a good little mommy to her dolls at home, feeding them bottles, giving them stroller rides, swaddling them. She gives baby "Jace" aka Jason (at daycare) tons of loves and always looks forward to seeing him. She is always on the lookout for babies - anywhere we go. Well, you may ask then when is she getting a little brother or sister since she loves babies so much? All that I can say to that is I can't even think about that at the moment! So once again a sad day for Mya b/c life has been soooo crazy lately that despite how cute babies are it is about the last thing on my mind. Life needs to settle down first.

How many times have the Hulse's moved?

2010-05-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Well today I figured that I better start packing (seeing how we need to start moving our stuff on Monday & have all of our stuff out by Wednesday night). However, I could hardly muster up one ounce of energy to pack. I started thinking why am I having such a hard time getting motivated to pack (well besides the fact I don't want to leave our beautiful new construction)? Well, I shortly realized it's b/c I've moved one too many times in the past 6 1/2 years. Not that it's exciting or anything but if I don't write it down here I think I'll start to forget pretty soon. Anyways, here's a run down on where Brad & I've lived since we've been married:
1.) Highland View Apartments - While Brad was finishing his degree, he worked as a leasing agent at Highland View. As a wonderful bonus, we got to live in one of their apartments for free. Boy do I miss those days of no rent/mortgage payment!!!!
2.) Highland View Apartments - Since Brad was a rockstar leasing agent, we were able to upgrade to a bigger apartment @ Highland View. This was a pretty easy move but nonetheless a move.
3.) When Brad first started his career at Home Real Estate & I was finishing school, we decided to rent a little two bedroom house. It was a cute little house in a quiet, old neighborhood.
4.) About 6 months later, we bought our first house. It was a 100 year-old fixer-upper. Boy did we learn a lot from that house; I will never own that old of a house again. Enough said there. (This was Mya's 1st home.)
5.) We then decided to try our hand at new construction & build a house. However, that would take about 6-7 months so we needed somewhere to go in the meantime. Here's where we started calling Colonial Heights Apartments our home temporarily. Boy was it a change going back to an apartment. I'm not going to lie though; it was a bit of a nice break after all the projects we did on our previous home.
6.) Well we finished our new construction but various things occurred and we decided it would be best to try and sell it. However, I did not want to be paying a mortgage for the house, rent for our apartment, & then possible rent on our rental house we own (b/c sometimes the tenants don't think they need to pay their rent but that's another story for another day) so we decided to move into our new construction while it was on the market. We took a chance - it could sell in a month or it could have been 6 months. Well, 2 weeks of living in it, we SOLD it. We were thankful but at the same time I knew this meant another move in a couple months.
7.) After selling our new construction, we started looking for houses. We weren't seeing much (it seemed like houses were pretty picked over after the tax credit ended). Then we were thinking we would have to go back to an apartment while the house search continued. Our prayers were answered though and we find a house to buy. More details on our new house soon. We are thankful we could start doing renovations very quick & close on it so fast.
Well, so there you go, after our move next week we will have moved 7 times in the last 6 1/2 years. Averaging a move a year; way too many moves in my opinion! I don't know how people do it (like military familes) who have to move constantly. I told Brad he has to give me 5 years in this next house. If not, I may go absolutely crazy.

P.S. A special "THANK YOU" to all of the people who have ever helped with any of our moves. You are awesome!!!!!!!

Last but not least post - Emily

2010-04-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well if there haven't been enough changes and craziness for us I have another one. And no I am NOT pregnant. Recently, there's been some changes with my current job and I've decided to soon spend my days hanging out with Mya. Yes, I'll be able to call myself a stay at home mom (except I know being a mom is the hardest job & I don't really care for the stay at home title b/c you're working hard all day long). Anyways, this will probably occur by August 1 so I have about 3 months left of working full-time. I am really excited to be with Mya more and devote more time to just her. Hopefully, this slows life down a bit too and I won't be so crazy busy. I of course will miss some stuff about my job but I'll be doing the most important work of raising her. She is the cutest little thing and I have no doubt she'll keep me entertained all day long. Brad is already getting many ideas for me to be his "assistant." I've always teased him about being a husband/wife realtor team and he just laughs about that. We'll see what he thinks after I'm his "assistant" for awhile. On another note, I would like to finish my masters degree (I have about 15 crediets left) but not sure how big of a rush I am in to do that. After all, not even sure what I would do w/ it but it would be nice to have. That's all for me now.

Housing situation

2010-04-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

So obviously a lot has happened in the last few months with the house we built. So originally we had the intentions of building a house for us to live in. Well by the time we were completed with it (which was about a month ago) we decided it would be best for us to sell it. Brad did an amazing job with this project for it being the first house he's acted as the builder on. I am so proud of him. It was a ton of work and stress with contractors, crazy weather, etc but he did great dealing with it all on top of all the other normal work stuff. I'm glad I only had to do the fun part like picking out cabinets, countertops, carpet, etc. We both learned a lot. So anyways, back to our housing situation. Okay the house got done mid march and we were still living in our apartment. The house hadn't sold yet (we had it on the market while it was being built) so we decided to move into it but still leave it on the market. We moved in the end of March; it was the craziest, fastest move we've done yet. Then not even 2 weeks later we got a pretty good offer on it that we couldn't pass on. The couple seems so nice and they love the house. I don't blame them; I'm getting pretty spoiled living here & I'm not going to lie it's going to be hard to move out (oh well I got to enjoy it for a couple months). We close May 28th so that means we have about a month to regain some energy to move again. The question remains: Where are we moving to??? Well, good question. . . . we don't know!!!!!!!! We thought about building again but decided against that for now. Brad's been looking for houses for us like crazy. I'm not sure if we'll have to head back to an apartment or short term stay in the mean time. I really hope some good houses come on the market soon!!!!!!!! We've learned a lot from the last few houses we've owned so now we're a bit pickier so it might take us a little longer. I am ready to be done moving though at least for a couple years. On a little side note related to housing, we are gaining a roomate for the month of May. One of my good friends, Jaime (I worked w/ her at Union Pacific), will be staying with us. She is finishing up her masters in teaching and has to be out of her apartment this weekend. I'm so excited to get to hang out w/ her more b/c even though we've lived in the same town for the last year and a half we've both been crazy busy. Now I get to see her every day for almost a month, woo hoo! Brad will be a bit outnumbered w/ 3 girls in the house but he'll survive I think.
Of course pics will be coming soon of the house so stay tuned for those too!

Mya - 18 months

2010-04-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 3 months since I've blogged! Agh!! Crazy times. Anyways, I want to start off by blogging about the cutest 18 month old around. That's right, that would be my Mya bear.

Mya loves the following:
- mini MM's
- bubbles & she can say bubble so clearly
- side walk chalk (she would carry her pail of sidewalk chalk everywhere if I let her)
- going to the park (she loves slides)
- babies
- kids (she randomly goes up to kids at the park and pats them on the back, it's so funny)
- dried fruit
- Madagascar 2, Little People DVD, & Kung Fu Panda (She is taking after the Hulse side b/c she is turning into quite the movie lover. Don't worry I do try to limit her screen time.)
- being rocked for a little bit before she goes to bed
- making complete messes (this is nothing new however)

Here are some of her new words: amen, choo choo (Derek has taught her all about trains & she now loves Thomas the Train), puppy, dog, Emmy, poo (& point to her booty - now I wish she would already by potty trained), and uh oh. You can ask her what a dog says and she says "woof woof." She can say "moo moo" when you ask her what a cow says.

Mya is quite the character. I love to watch her little personality develop. She is a bit stubborn, impatient, and demanding, just like her mama can be sometimes. She had like 3 ear infections in March (had never had one prior to this) and that was no fun; I hope we're she's all done with those. The nights she came down w/ them were just like she was a newborn again and I don't know how I ever functioned on that little of sleep. I've been totally spoiled with her pretty much sleeping through the night since she was like 2 months old. Other than that she's been healthy as can be. Keep tuned for pics of her at easter time.

What's new with Brad (according to Emily)?

2010-01-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

(The little shingles in the peaks and the front door need to be pained dark brown still and the columns need stuco and stone still - other than that the exterior is almost done. In the interior, we mainly just need carpet and faucets in, along with touch up painting done and then it will be pretty much done too. Hopefully about 2 more weeks to completion!)

Well, first off it's Brad's birthday on Thursday, the 4th so happy early b-day to him and he'll be the big 28 this year. (It's also his 10 year high school reunion this year.) We'll be celebrating his birthday on Tuesday with some friends watching the Lost premiere and eating prime rib and red velvet cake (hopefully it turns out). This last month we've been watching all of the old seasons preparing for this big event. Then on his actual birthday is a Home Real Estate Awards dinner that we'll be going to so that should be fun. Brad has been busy this month with trying to get all the contractors to our house at just the right time so that we can get it done ASAP. He's done great and am glad that it's him doing this though and not me. I just like the fun part of picking stuff out and that's all - he's done fabulous. The house that we started out building for us we actually have on the market though just to see what happnes. If it doesn't sell by the beginning of March then the plan is for us to move into it. Therefore, we're in a bit of crazy, stressed state of having no idea what will happen. Either way I am good - if it sells it would be great extra money and if it doesn't well then we have a beautiful place to call home soon. And if it sells then we get to start all over (or Brad gets to start all over would be more truthful). There's a lot in the same development that we like and we would already have a lot of the stuff picked out that we used on this first house. However, we'll know some things we would change the second time around - for example the crazy, intense blue color we chose for Mya's bathroom (a sorry goes out to our painter for having to repaint it - I hope I can find a better, more calm color tomorrow). Other than being busy with our house, Brad's busy selling houses. We pray for another great year of real estate transactions. Mya loves her daddy and they are always goofing around being silly. I am so glad that Brad has a flexible schedule that allows him to be with her more. She is his little helper and whenever his phone ring (which is a lot!!!) she's very concerned and makes sure Brad heard it.

What's new with Mya Bear?

2010-01-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

Mya is almost 16 months old - above are her 15 month pictures. Stacie continues to amaze me with her photo taking skills b/c Mya is quite the handful for pics and is usually not too happy and always on the move - despite this Stacie always ends up w/ some cute photos for me. Mya had a huge growth spurt betwee 12 and 15 months, she grew 4 inches and gained 4 pounds!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it? She has quite the cute personality and is already my little drama queen. Here are some of her latest tricks:

- she can fold her arms for prayer, it's the cutest thing ever

- she gives high fives

- she waves to anyone she sees

- she says the following words: ball, mama (usually when she's mad), dad, this, eyes (& can point to them), hi, buh bye, juice (kind of), Jason (well she just says "Jace" but she tries , she loves baby Jason and is constantly giving him hugs - the poor guy), and her latest thing is "oh no oh no oh no" It's so funny, so many things are "oh no oh no oh no." She tries to say lots of other words but I can't quite make them out yet.

- she can "dance" - meaning stomp her feet around and kind of shake her booty

- she can reach almost anything I swear no matter how high I seem to put it

- She understand so many things that I say, despite her lack of ability to completely communicate back to me - I can't believe it; it's so amazing. For example, yesterday I asked her to go get her socks. She went straight to the dresser drawer with socks in it. I then asker her to get her coat - straight to the coat closet she went. I asked her to get her shoes - back to her room she went to get them out of the closet. Whenever, I say "Mya, let's go get your milk or food" straight to the fridge she goes. I sometimes forget just how much she can actually understand already.

- she is constantly brushing her teeth and into the toothpaste/toothbrush drawer

- she can throw fits

- SHE CAN MELT YOUR HEART!

She's full of energy and keeps us on our toes but is the cutest little thing.

What's new with Emily?

2010-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, once again I am behind on blogging but I am determined to be better this year about posting more. I can't believe it's 2010!!! That's crazy, it seems like it was just the year 2000. I am definately finding out that time goes even faster once you have kids, so scary. 2010 is off to a way busy start for me. January through March is about the busiest time for me at work and I am out doing a lot of presentations for all the kiddos. This last week I would have to say that I saw one too many 1st graders and made one too many "yummy bugs." The kids are so cute though. I was at Everett 1st grade doing a healthy snacking presentation and I was reviewing w/ the class about MyPyramid and some other things they learned from their "Healthy Me" kit when one little boy politely interrupted me and said, "Um, can we just get to the part where we get to eat our snack?" Either I was totally boring him or he was really hungry, probably the first one. I had to laugh; it was so funny. Luckily, I'm still getting to work at home when I can. I am only taking 1 credit hour this semester for grad. school and it's an independent study so that helps to make my schedule a little less crazy. I hope to be done in a year and a half or so but we'll see about that. I am also serving in the Young Womens in our ward and am busy with all sorts of fun-filled activities. We have a great group of girls that have good parental support which makes a huge difference. I almost forgot to mention too that I am a member of the YMCA and am very excited to be back in the gym. After a year of inconsistent exercising, I told Brad this had to change. I missed working out and the gym atmosphere and was way out of shape. Of course, I was pretty sore the first couple of weeks of exercising but it's getting better. I also have a couple events I am looking really forward to these next couple of months:
1. Feb. 15 (hopefully nothing gets in the way) I will be at the spa all day long!!!!!!!!! Brad and Mya got me a day at the spa package for christmas and I haven't had a chance to use it. I am going to feel like a new woman I think afterwards.
2. In March (also hopefully nothing gets in the way of this) I am going to a weekend scrapbooking convention in Grand Island. This is the only way I will ever get any scrapping done I think. I haven't done any of Mya's book since I was on maternity leave. What's even better is that my sister and hopefully a couple of my sister-in-laws and buddy Jenn will be going too. Girls weekend crafting!

Other than that the highlight and joy of my day still revolves around Mya - oh yeah, and Brad. More to come about those two crazy cats in the next posts.

House Update

2009-12-14T20:08:00.001-08:00

The progress on the house is moving along pretty good. The snow storm didn't help any but oh well, it is December after all. These pictures are a couple weeks old so it's changed even since these pics. We should be getting siding and stone on starting this week - I'm so excited to have that done and see what it will look like. On the interior, they're done w/ wiring, insulation, and some other stuff like that. Hopefully the heater will go in soon and drywall will start. Brad and I have been picking out quite a bit of the interior stuff and for the most part have that done - lots of little things will come up I'm sure though. I'm so glad Brad and I have very similar taste; it makes this part go much smoother. We're still hoping for a completion date of Feb. 2010. Yes, the house is still on the market and I'm going a bit crazy not knowing what's going to happen. You guys know me; I am a PLANNER! Oh well, I'm getting better at going with the flow, esp. after having Mya. If the house sells, then we'll just have to start the building process over and we will not sell that one so hopefully at the latest we'll be out of the apartment and back in a house next fall. Yay!!!!!! Remember, if you have any housing needs, just call Brad, the Realtor.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

Mya - 2 months old
(She slept through the whole photo session; we couldn't ever get her to wake up.)

Mya - 14 months
(We could barely get her to sit still (the little holly thing she's holding was the only thing to distract her - she only ate a couple of the fake berries, no worries.)

Can you believe how much she's changed in one year?????

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and since I'm being lazy this year and not sending out christmas cards, I figured I better at least do a christmas post. I actually hate to even admit it but I didn't put up a tree or any christmas decorations either. All of our stuff is in storage across town and I figured since Mya would probably just pull the tree on herself and probably burn down the apartment complex I wouldn't bother. We'll be celebrating christmas eve and christmas day in Hershey and then going to St. Louis the following week to be w/ Brad's family. I'm so excited that we'll get to see all of our family on both sides!!!!!! Can you believe it? It doesn't happen very often, considering how many there are of us and esp. on Brad's side when everyone is so spread out. That will be the best part about this christmas. I am looking forward to being in our new house next christmas.

Mya loves christmas lights and the big inflatables in people's yards of santa, snowmen, reindeer, etc. It's soooooooooooo cute; she pants and kicks her legs and gets so excited. We've been driving around looking at lights a lot and whenever we go to Lowes, Wal-mart, etc. she has to see the inflatables and wants to touch them so badly. I didn't even think she would really notice that stuff yet but she definitely did this year. I'm so excited for christmas morning with her this year since she'll be a bit more interested in presents and stuff than she was last year.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-13T23:27:00.000-08:00

Pictures courtesy of our favorite photographer, Stacie Powers.
Visit her website at:
http://www.staciepowersphotography.com/

Things I am thankful for:

a loving family (both immediate and extended)
the restored gospel of Jesus Christ
the knowledge of the plan of salvation and eternal families
the cutest little girl
good health
great friends
a flexible, fun job that also pays for me to finish my masters degree
that I've always had food to eat & shelter over my head
a laptop that is working again
education
a wonderful husband who also has a flexible job
technology (I love that I can keep in touch w/ so many people through facebook, email, and blogs.)
my calling in the Young Womens
Mya's wonderful baby-sitters (Stacie & Stone)
everything I have!!!!

Can you believe I'm actually posting early and not 2 months after Thanksgiving? Hope you all have a wonderful turkey day!

Mya's 1st Birthday Party!!!!

2009-11-13T23:10:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. . . . What is this thing my mom is feeding me now? She usually just feeds me boring stuff that is supposedly healthy for me. How do I even go about eating this pink thing?
Well let's see . . . I'll first lift it up and try to take a big chunk out of it.
No, I think I'll set it back down and try something else.
Okay, I just smooshed my face in it and that worked out pretty good. Yummy, this thing called chocolate is delicious. Where was this stuff before? Enough of those fruits and vegetables mom.
Let me get every last lick of this heavenly stuff off my fingers.
Why are you guys still watching? Just leave me alone now and let me eat my cake.
I'm going in for another bite. I can't get enough of this.
Man, this is hard work.
I think I"m going to be sick now.

So like most first-time moms out there I had been thinking about/planning Mya's 1st birthday party in my head since oh she was probably like 6 months old. One of the hardest things I think was to decide on a theme. Finally, I decided to do a butterfly theme (liked the idea of look how our caterpillar has grown into a beautiful butterfly). Once I decided on that it was easy to come up with all of the details. The other hardest thing was to figure out where to have the birthday party (since we're temporarily in a small apt. right now we knew we couldn't squeeze everyone in here). The Oxfords were so kind to let us have the party there; however, all of the kids got sick the weekend of the party so I was back to square 1. Luckily, the Matsons (some lovely family friends), were so gracious to let us invade their house and do the party there. I was a bit stressed w/ the change of location and starting the party late (b/c of the husker game) but later on I realized that the most important thing was that Mya was surrounded by a lot of her family and friends that love her so much. (Luckily we had lots of family in town for the weekend of Mya's birthday - Grandpa & Grandma Hulse & McConnell; Mike, Natalie, & Clay; and Travis & Megan.) We had dinner, opened gifts (I had more fun opening Mya's gifts than she did I think - she was too sidetracked by everything else going on), and had cake. Mya got some adorable toys, hair accessories, clothes, books, etc. (Yes she's spoiled.) I made Mya her own little cake; it was so fun to watch her eat it because she loved it and made the biggest mess - as you can see from the pictures above. I am already excited for her next birthday and am going to remember not to stress about the little things so much (but I think I do have a theme - pumpkins). Anyways, Happy Birthday again to our beautiful butterfly Mya!!!!

What I've learned about being a Mom - in a nut shell!

2009-11-13T22:40:00.000-08:00

(Side note - what's up that in 3 out of these 4 pictures I am wearing the same shirt? Oh well, I guess that us mammas know that things like this seem to go by the waysides sometimes.)

This past year has been so incredible. I've learned a ton of new things from my new role as Mommy that I thought I would share just a few.
Being a mom means that (in my words/ramblings anyways):

you have the best job ever (well I don't really like calling it a job but that's the closest word I can think of right now)
you will look at life in a totally new way (it helps you to regain focus and remember what's truly important)
you will love someone in a way that you never have before (instantly you would give your life for this little person)
you will be closer to your Father in Heaven
you are truly blessed
you have had the opportunity to witness a miracle (of pregnancy & birth)
your life will never be the same again (in a good way though)
you have the most important responsibility
your patience will be tested to the max somedays
your house will never stay clean again for longer than a couple of hours
you learn one day at a time (no matter how many books you read while you were pregnant you just learn as you go)
you are tired almost all of the time
the days will go by faster
you will cry, smile, and laugh a lot more

I love you Mya bear!!!! - hugs and kisses

From helpless to destructor - all in one year

2009-11-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that at this time last year Mya was basically unable to do anything for herself and was this little babe that just slept and ate all day. Now look at her, only one year later! She can do so many things all by herself, even including getting into trouble. Brad and I call her the "DESTRUCTOR" because well yes, basically she destroys everything. Case in point. last week on our way to St. Louis Brad tells me that I should give my sunglasses to Mya to play with (apparently he thought she was bored with her other 20 toys). Anyways, I decide well I guess okay maybe it will entertain her for a whole 2 minutes. What do you know though? Not only a minute or two later they were broke. Oh well, still love you to pieces Mya!!

Happy Belated Birthday Mya baby!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

(As you can tell from the above 2 pics Mya closes her eyes when the camera flashes; it makes it hard to get pics of those beautiful blue eyes of hers.)

Do you like my new wheels guys?

(wheels courtesy of Grandpa & Grandma Hulse)

So we've already established I'm way behind on blogging. Anyways, I missed a very, vey important event. My baby girl turned 1 on October 7. Can you believe it? I can't; the year went by way too fast in my opinion. However, it was a wonderful year. So here's my first excuse for not blogging on her birthday. I did have the crazy H1N1 the week of her birthday. Therefore, we couldn't go out and do the fun stuff that I wanted to but we did do a few things at home that day for her. Luckily, her birthday party wasn't until the next weekend so I had time to get better for that (a post on her actual b-day party w/ pics will be coming soon). Anyways, Brad went and picked up a few gifts for her because I wanted her to have some presents on her actual birthday and I found some energy to bake a little cake for her too. She loved her presents. She had no desire to eat her cake but did love smooshing (however you spell that) it in b/w her fingers. I was surprised that she didn't like it but she loved her chocolate cake at her real b-day party (as you will easily be able to tell by the pictures coming soon). It boggles my mind when I look how much she's grown and changed this past year and these little babies truly are miracles and the best blessings ever. I am so lucky to be her mommy and well I just think she's the cutest thing ever.

House Update

2009-11-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple drawings of the house. We found a plan way back when online and luckily one of Brad's clients he sold a house to awhile back is an architect. He helped us tweak everything and get all of the many drawings and plans done for the city. He was great.
The floor plan - here's the main floor.
Here's a picture of the very beginning of the framing; it's pretty much all framed in now (will post a pic of that soon - well soon in my world is like a month or so I guess, ha ha).

As usual, I am a couple months behind on blogging (I guess I need to get H1N1 again so I have the week off and can do some more blog posts, just kidding that was the worst junk ever). Anyways, here's an update on the progress of our house. It is finally coming along and I am pleased with the recent progress. It's almost all framed and soon they'll be doing roof, siding, etc. Hopefully the nice weather stays around for a little longer so that the exterior stuff can get finished.

Build, Build, Build

2009-10-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

The building has begun on our new house. Last week they did the excavating and all that fun stuff. This week the foundation was poured and the plumber will be going to work doing his thing. Then hopefully next week they will start framing. Let's hope all the really bad weather will hold off until our house is framed, sided, and roofed. Brad has been doing an excellent job acting as the general contractor for our house and I'm so proud of him. He's already learned a lot about the building process and we actually are listing the house we're building just to see what happens. If we get the right price we may sell it and then well we'll just build another one I guess. We hope to start building other homes but I guess we'll have to see what happens with the first. So, if anyone wants an awesome house in Lincoln, NE then I guess you know who to call, BRAD THE BUILDER!
Here's just a few pics of the lot.

H1N1 - aka Swine Flu

2009-10-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

So this week is a really crummy one for us. On Sunday I started feeling sick and thought it was just allergies. Then in addition to my headache and runny nose I started getting a sore throat, cough, fever, chills, and body aches. I knew it wasn't going to be good. On Monday I woke up (I had been up during the night too) and still felt yucky. I called and made a doctor appointment and in themeantime googled H1N1 symptoms and everything I had was on that list (not a good sign). Anyways, after my doctor visit I found out I really did have H1N1. I don't think I have ever been so sick. It stinks so bad but hopefully this tamiflu and ibuprofen will work miracles and I'll be good to go soon. So Mya, Brad, and I are basically homebound for the week and I will be going stir crazy soon. It's so hard for me to sit still and not do anything but this crazy influenza is driving me to do so. On a positive note though, Brad is taking good care of Mya and I (luckily he can work from home a lot) and I'm still alive. I hope no one gets this crap. Stay healthy and wash those hands!!

Random Pictures from Aug. & Sept. - Part II

2009-10-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

We went to a water park in Grand Island w/ the Oxfords. It was a blast. They even got me to go down the "scary" waterslides.

A nice summer day in Aunt Jenny's yard.

A great profile pic of Mya.

Mya and Brad got me this yummy, beautiful edible arrangement for my 26th birthday. I loved it. It was a good birthday but hopefully next year we won't be moving on my birthday.

I took Derek and Mya to the Lincoln Zoo. I'm glad the Oxfords happened to be going that day too b/c it was great to have their help w/ both of the kiddos. It was Mya's 1st time to the zoo.

This year was the last year for the state fair to be in Lincoln so we decided we better go. They did have an excellent little petting zoo and a barn w/ all different kinds of newborn animals. It was so chilly though. We did have our share of fried food too (fried oreos, funnel cake, etc.).

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Branson with the Rensinks and Barreras. Brad's co-worker has a nice condo there that they let us stay in. We went last year too; we had a blast hanging out and all the girls got to play together.

Random Pictures from July & August - Part I

2009-10-06T12:41:00.001-07:00

Mya loves taking baths in the big tub and not her little pink one anymore.
Mya's 1st haircut by Grandma Hulse. We're so glad Grandma can cut hair b/c Mya will be needing frequent hair cuts. It's only been a month since this one and she's in need of one again. Good thing Grandma is coming next week.

We met up with Luke & Tonia & their kiddos in Nauvoo. It was so fun. We got to see the pageant and tour the sites there.
Mya's 1st 4th of July - There was an awesome firework show by the river (and there was even rain to go w/ it).

The St. Louis Archway - It was so amazing. We had lots of fun w/ Brad's family here.

Bath Time

2009-10-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

Here's just another cute video of our Mya bear. (Don't mind the yucky tub, we were in the process of redoing it at the time.)

Silly Daddy & Mya (yes this video also was from awhile ago)

2009-10-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

So Brad and I have a lot of cute videos of Mya but until recently something with our camcorder wasn't compatible w/ most computers. Anyways, Brad just figured out how to convert these videos so that I can finally share them w/ everyone. So, I'll probably be posting some videos from the past year and now you know my excuse for posting them so much later than when they were taken. Enjoy!

Silly Mommy & Mya (yes this video was from awhile ago)

2009-10-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

From the House to an Apartment

2009-08-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

So the past couple weeks have been a bit crazy for the Hulses. We are all moved out of our house and closed on it last Friday so the sell is official. We are now feeling like college students again living in a 2 bedroom apartment. I now know how crazy it is to move with a kiddo; I just don't know how people do it all the time. Luckily, we had lots of good help. Grandma Hulse came and spent a week with us and was a lifesaver. Grandpa Hulse came for the weekend and helped us get a good start on the move too. Thanks also goes out to my sister and her family and some guys from the elders quorum. We never could have done it without all of them. Mya is busy exploring our new place and she doesn't seem to mind it. She is now has two bottom teeth, is saying ma ma ma a lot, walking w/ the help of her buggy and "walker" she pushes, pulling up on everything, and opening & closing doors. I am enjoying some of the stuff the apartment complex has like the workout room, indoor & outdoor pool, and the trails nearby. We'll survive apartment living just fine for the next 6 months and honestly, it's kind of nice to have a break from all the work of owning a home.

Mya's 9 month stats & pics (only 1 month late)!

2009-08-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, now that Mya is 10 months old I figured I should post her 9 month stats from her check-up.
Weight - 19.4 pounds (70th percentile)
Height - 27 3/4" (60th percentile)
The doctor teased that the other babies are starting to catch up to Mya (b/c usually Mya has been in the 90th percentile for everything). She's still so healthy but is slimming down since she's so mobile. Also, here's some pics from her 9-month photo shoot with Stacie. Stacie got some pretty cute pics I think considering Mya wasn't the happiest that day. I'm so thankful for all the adorable pictures I have of Mya b/c of the great photo-taking skills of Stacie.
In other Mya news, she has a tooth!!!!!! It's so cute and I think she's going to get the other bottom one soon. Warning though, she bites sometimes and it hurts. We're working on this one. She has the cutest personality.

Breastfeeding Benefits

2009-07-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

So, I took a Nutrition through the Lifespan graduate course this summer, which I really enjoyed for the most part. I decided to write my final paper on the Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding. I found it difficult to gather research-based information on this topic b/c such a small percentage of people in the US breastfeed after one year but what I did find shows many advantages. I wish that our society in general didn't have such negative feelings towards moms who breastfeed their baby that is over age one. People in the US think age one is automatically when a baby should be weaned and what are they basing that decision on? Anyways, I'm kind of on a breastfeeding promotion kick lately but I'll stop rambling and just post some portions from my paper (it won't flow too good below b/c I'm just cutting and pasting certain parts and not posting all 10 pages). By the way, I would love to be a certified lactation consultant some day, ya know after I finish my masters, have a couple more kids, and all that other stuff (I just have too many things I want to do).
Note: I just want to state that I don't intend to hurt anyone's feelings that didn't breastfeed b/c that is a personal decision and I respect that; also, I know that there are reasons some women can't breastfeed, even if they wanted too. So please, don't take offense by this post.

As my baby girl is quickly approaching the age of one year, I have thought a lot lately about how long I should continue to breastfeed her for. It dawned on me that this would be the perfect topic for my paper because I could find research-based information to help me make this important decision for both my baby Mya and for myself. The following are questions that have crossed my mind at one point or another about extended breastfeeding, which in the United States is defined as breastfeeding beyond one year of age (6): Will extended breastfeeding benefit my baby in the same ways that it has during her first year of life? What is the optimal duration of breastfeeding? Will extended breastfeeding negatively influence Mya’s appetite for other foods? What will my family, friends, and co-workers think of extended breastfeeding? What will Mya’s health care provider recommend? Will I harm her in any way if I nurse her beyond one year? Are there any benefits for myself if I breastfeed for longer than one year? Throughout this paper these particular questions will be examined.

Breastfeeding is one of the most important contributors to the “optimal health and development of infants”; human milk contains a perfect balance of nutrients that matches an infant’s needs for growth and development (18). Extended breastfeeding contains many ongoing health benefits for the child (17). One benefit is nutrition; research has proved that second year milk is very comparable to first year milk nutritionally (16). A mother who has been nursing for more than one year has noticeably increased fat and energy contents in her milk, compared with women who have been lactating for shorter periods (14). “During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant (14).” Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins (10).

Another benefit is immunity to disease (16,17). The infant’s immune system is not fully mature until about 2 years of age, so human milk provides a distinct advantage that infants fed formula do not experience (9). “Several studies suggest that the benefits continue even after breastfeeding ceases, and a few studies have found that breastfeeding into the second 6 months of life protects against infection (9).” The American Adacemy of Family Physicians says that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (10).

The third benefit is the prevention of allergies and asthma (10). Many studies have shown that one of the best ways to prevent allergies and asthma is to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months and to continue breastfeeding long-term after that (10). These are not the only benefits from extended breastfeeding. It reduces the risk for many acute and chronic diseases (6,18). This study, along with others, is consistent in showing a reduced risk of overweight among children and adolescents who were breastfed as infants, especially when the duration of breastfeeding is increased (13). Optimal nutrition is especially important during the time from birth to about 12 to 18 months because at this period the human brain experiences a growth spurt (4). Another study found a link between longer periods of breastfeeding and cognitive developments. Increasing duration of breastfeeding was connected with small, detectable, and generally consistent increases in childhood cognitive outcomes from the age of 8 to the age of 18 (15). Benefits of extended breastfeeding aren’t just for the child but also for the mother too. I think the main advantage to a mother who breastfeeds for a long duration is the proven reduced risk of breast cancer (3,6,9,17).

Despite the fact that the optimal duration of breastfeeding is unknown (14), many health agencies currently recommend breastfeeding as the “optimal method of infant feeding for at least 1 year with the addition of solid food beginning at age 6 months (5).”

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) has a very similar to position statement as the AAP and AAFP; they state that “optimal infant and young child feeding is exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, and continued breastfeeding for at least 1 and up to 2 years or longer, with age-appropriate complementary feeding (12).” The recommendation of the World Health Organization is to breastfeed for at least 2 years (10,17-18).

Clearly, there is need for more breast-feeding promotion and support initiatives in the United States (18). These resolutions not only include mothers, but also their family members, health care professionals, and the general public. I think in addition that more research needs to be done on extended breastfeeding, especially in the United States and not just developing country, because although there’s evidence of the benefits to mother and child it is limited (6). Obviously this is something that can’t be changed overnight but hopefully with many, many baby steps at least the percentage of babies and moms reaping the benefits of extended breastfeeding will increase in the United States.

The 1st post done all by Emily

2009-07-13T19:58:00.001-07:00

So I have to start out by saying I'm so proud of myself because I am finally figuring out this blog thing and am doing a post all by myself finally. So yes, you can expect more frequent posts from me. So here's what's new with Brad, Emily, & Mya:

Brad - Brad is staying busy selling houses. We are feeling very blessed, and I'm so proud of him. Yes, he even sold our house and hopefully it will close the end of August. We are in the process of finding somewhere else to live while we wait to hopefully build a house. We'll keep you posted on that.
Emily - I'm keeping busy w/ work and chasing Mya & Brad around. I'm so thankful that I have such a flexible job and can be home with Mya more. I just finished a summer class and am glad to have that done and am almost half done w/ my masters degree.
Mya - Mya is 9 months old, can you believe it? I can't. She started crawling a month ago and now is busy getting into trouble. She loves cords, outlets, and everything else she shouldn't have. She's our new vacuuam cleaner b/c she seems to find every little thing on the floor. She loves to swim (& taste chlorine) and to be outside. Mya liked to rearrange her crib bumper so that is now out of the crib but she still manages to do things like get her feet stuck in b/w the crib bars and all other crazy stuff. We have her 9 month check up this week so I'll post her stats when I get those. I think she's the cutest baby ever and am so blessed to be her mommy!

Last week we went to St. Louis to see Brad's family. We had a blast and got to see some of his siblings and nieces that we hadn't seen in a long time. It was a much needed vacation and we're glad Brad's parents are only 6 1/2 hours away now instead of 14, yay. I'll post pictures soon!

then the months turned into....more months

2009-06-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

The adventures Mya takes us on have been great!

The first time we fed her solid foods......

Her first Easter bunny visit................

Her first visit to a Strawberry patch.............

and 6 months later

2009-03-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

So apparently there are people out there that want to see updated photos of Mya from when she was born which is pure insanity but whatever!! Sorry we haven't been very vigilant about posting stuff about our beatiful daughter. Enjoy!

Growing and Growing

2008-10-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

The plus one in our family is continuing to grow today as she approaches the one day old mark. HOLD UP!!!..... Let me back up for a moment. For the past 9 months there has been some sort of large growth on Emily's stomach, yesterday we found out it was a baby (just kidding!) We went to Bryan LGH East at approximately 7:30 pm on Monday the 6th. Emily was induced and she really began to actually feel the contractions about 12 hours later. Doctors were somewhat concerned with the baby's heart rate as the contractions came her heart rate stayed the same. Apparently this is a possible indicator that the baby may not be able to handle contractions and/or the actual birth. Afer multiple consults from the doc's and surgeons they decided it would be best for the baby to be delivered via C-Section. This decision was made at about 2:30 pm on Tuesday and Mya Ada Hulse was born at 3:00 pm. As you can see from the pics, she has lots of beautiful hair and she started to lift her head up a little after her very first "burping session". We are so happy to have our daughter in our lives, especially with the excess of sleep that we were getting. Enjoy the pics!