1 Month

She is a noisy sleeper and takes an hour to wake up! I am finally learning which noises to pay attention to and which not to. She grunts and snorts and smacks her lips and makes elephant noises. It is pretty adorable..except in the middle of the night when you are exhausted!

She can pretty much hold her head up at this point. It is quite impressive!

She made her first trip to Grandma & Grandpa Fletcher's house for Christmas. We spent two weeks there mostly just hanging out. It was a good change of scenery for me and nice to have people around. She loved watching the fan in the kitchen spin.

Malorie Joan

Malorie Joan joined our family on Saturday, November 29, 2014.

8 pounds 14 ounces

21 1/2 inches

After 40 hours of induction/labor she finally came into this world by C-section.

She had her neck extended, was facing the wrong direction, and was just big!

She has been super aware and friendly since day one. She always has to know what is going on around her.

August - Ogden Temple Open House, Family Dinner, & Catie's Bridal Shower

August 20 we were able to attend the Ogden Temple Open House with Jeff's parents and Mike & Elaine. Jeff & I both took the day, off so that we could attend. In the LDS faith we build Temples where sacred ordinances are performed. Once Temples are dedicated, only worthy members of the church are allowed in the Temple. Before temples are dedicated, the church opens the buildings to the public. Anyone can come and walk through the temple and learn about why we build temples. The Ogden temple was just redone and as custom, was open to public for a few weeks. The Temple was beautiful, my favorite was one of the sealing rooms. The room was so white and peaceful. I felt the spirit as soon as I stepped in the room.

You are not allowed to take pictures inside the temple, but we made sure to get several outside once we were done. (Ignore my red face-it was HOT).

Jeff & I - not the most flattering angle, but you can see the top of the Temple

Tom, Beth, Jeff, Becca, Elaine, & Mike

(Jeff decided we should sit down.....)

Baby bump picture for Traci (almost 27 weeks)

Jeff & I in front of the Ogden Temple

Beth & Jeff thought it woudl be cool to take a picture of me in front of a tree on the Temple grounds, then in a couple years we can come back with baby girl to take a picture in the same spot.

At the open house, you could take a picture in front of the picture of the Temple. We pretty much blocked out the Temple, but it's still a picture of us all.

After the Open House we went to Marie Callender's for some pie. I think that was one of the first chances we had had to sit down with Mike & Elaine and really talk. It was fun to hear Mike & Beth share stories about their childhood. I also enjoyed getting to know Elaine. After Marie Callender's we went back to Enos & Deanne's for another Cummings family dinner.

Saturday, we were back down to Utah Valley so that I could go to Catie's bridal shower in American Fork. Even though we had already spent lots of time with Cummings, at each activity I got to spend time catching up with different people. After the shower, I went to Babies R Us with my friend Karen. She helped me go through and register, since she has 2 kids and I have none! We also enjoyed an excuse to catch up! I have missed her since we moved to Bountiful. Jeff & I ended the day by going to Five Guys and making the hour drive back home to Bountiful.

Ogden Open House & Family Dinner (August 20) & Catie's Bridal Shower (August 23).

August - Cummings Family Events & Girls Night

In addition to Mike & Elaine visiting from Virginia, two of Jeff's other Virginia cousins were in town. Sunday after the sealing we got together at Enos & Deanne's house for a family dinner. As always we enjoyed spending time with the Cummings side of the family. Even though, Sam & Courtney live in Virginia, we haven't spent as much time with them in the past couple years. I enjoyed having a chance to get to know each of them a little better. We also got to meet Jeff's cousin, Catie's fiancee.

The Cummings side of the family is very musical, so we ended up enjoying a jam session put on by Jeff's cousins. It started out with Jeff's cousin, Nate, playing songs upon request. I am amazed at how talented he is. Soon, Sam joined in on the trumpet. Courtney also did a solo vocal performance. The session ended up with almost everyone on random musical instruments, mostly making noise & having fun. Baby girl seemed to especially enjoy (or hate?) the drum. Whenever the drum was going, she was going! I am hoping this means she will be a musical person.

That Tuesday, I started out the day with a doctor's appointment. I got my TDAP, did a glucose test, and met with the doctor. Luckily, the only thing out of the ordinary were my thyroid levels, which I already knew. They had me schedule all my appointments for the remainder of my pregnancy, I can't believe we are only about 3 months away. That night I was able to have a girl's night with some of our Utah Valley friends. They were all wonderful enough to make the drive up to Bountiful! We spent the night eating treats and catching up, just as any girl's night should go.

Sam & Courtney family dinner (August 17) and Girl's Night (August 19).

August - Mike & Elaine's Sealing

Last May, when we were in Virginia for my younger sister's graduation from UVA, Jeff was also able to attend his Uncle Mike's wedding in Charlottesville. This year, Mike & Elaine came out to Utah to be sealed in the Mt Timpanogos Temple in American Fork. (Fun fact, Jeff was one of the few people who was able to attend their wedding & sealing).

 Jeff & I drove down Friday night and stayed with his parents so that we could be up bright & early for the sealing. In the LDS faith we believe that you can be sealed to your spouse and family for time & all eternity. These sealings are performed in LDS temples. We are so happy that Mike & Elaine have found each other and that we were able to be a part of their special day.

Mike & Elaine right after they came out of the Temple

Jeff & I waiting for Mike & Elaine to come out

Enos, Mike, Beth, & Shannon 

(3 of Jeff's Uncles & his mom)

Pretty picture of the sun coming up (I said it was early!)

The whole group

(This picture was actually pretty hard to get. We had our camera on a tripod. You had to hold up the tripod and take the picture hoping that it was framed right. The random stranger we asked to take it did a pretty good job!)

Becca, Jackie, Sara, & Jordan

(Jackie & Sara are Jeff's cousins, Jordan is a cousin-in-law)

The Cummings 

Mike & Elaine in front of the Temple

Mike & Elaine with Beth, Enos, & Shannon 

After the sealing, everyone went to Golden Corral for breakfast. I never knew they served breakfast. We had a chance to get to know some of Elaine's family and it is always fun to catch up with the Cummings side of the family.

Next up, Elaine went to a shower with her family & Mike hung out with us. We ended up going kayaking & canoeing. Beth & Mike were in the kayaks and Tom, Jeff, & I were in the canoe. (Don't worry Mom, I sat in the bottom of the canoe and did not row. Also, there was hardly a current and the water was not that deep.) Beth & Mike weren't so sure about the kayaks, but it was a nice day to be out on the water. (As long as you mostly stayed in the shade.)

After we all got cleaned up from the water adventure we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. After dinner, Mike went to join Elaine's family and Jeff & I went to visit my cousin Scott & his family.

Mike & Elaine's Sealing (August 16)

August - Beth's Birthday

August 13, is my mother in law's birthday. Jeff wanted to go down to Orem to take his mom to lunch, but I suggested that he meet her in the middle and go to a place near my work, Village Baker. Village Baker is a place that Beth & I love, but she doesn't go to very often since it is a 30 minute drive. Apparently, Beth had been thinking about going to Village Baker that day, but couldn't justify the drive. Luckily, meeting up with Jeff & I was enough of a reason. It was a bit of a rough week for me at work, so it was great to take a little break for good company & good food. No pictures, but I am glad we were able to celebrate with Beth on her birthday. I have heard horror stories about daughter-in-law/mother-in-law relationships, I am grateful not to have that problem! I got lucky with both my mom & mother-in-law!!
Happy Birthday Beth!

Beth's Birthday & Lunch at Village Baker (August 13)

August - 5 Years

The second weekend in August we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Jeff took a half day so that we could go to dinner on our actual anniversary. Jeff kept coming up with fancy restaurants for us to try, but none of them sounded good to me. We ended up going to Outback. It was delicious, although we both ate too much. (Also, steak is not nearly as good when you can't get it rare!) After dinner we walked around the nearby mall. I was too full to sit down in a car for 20 minutes! Once we got home we couldn't decide on a movie, so we watched Parks & Rec on Netflix. After an episode or two, neither of us could stay awake so we went to bed early. It was fairly low key, but that was ok with me.

Saturday, we got a chance to work on baby girl's room! We finally put away the final boxes from moving, and took down the huge desk we had inherited (but no longer fits in our house!) Jeff also set up the changing table we inherited from his brother (thanks Daniel & Jenna!) I am all ready to organize baby girl's room, I just don't have much stuff to organize right now!! After that we ran a few errands and came home to chill for a little while. We decided to finish off the day by seeing Guardians of the Galaxy using a gift card Jeff got from work. The plot was somewhat lacking, but it was fairly amusing.

It was a very low key weekend, but a great way to celebrate our anniversary. We didn't get any pictures on our actual anniversary, but we have a few from a few weeks after.

Jeff & I on our wedding day, 5 years ago. August 8, 2009

Jeff & I at his Uncle's sealing this August.

Jeff & I at the Ogden Temple this August.

Our Anniversary (August 8)