The Sweetwoods

Catch Up

2011-10-20T10:00:00.004-06:00

Wow. So much has happened since the last post, I almost don't know where to start. Here are some tidbits:

Ryan and I are now in Oakland, Maryland. We're renting a furnished condo while the house we're buying is prepping to close on November 7th. We're very excited for that.

Ryan likes his job and has been working good hours -- not too overloaded. It's so nice having him home early because he's such a great dad. He walks in the door, throws down his stuff, and plays with the girls. It's so fun to watch.

The girls and I got to spend a few weeks in Raleigh before coming to Maryland. I loved spending time with my family, and I loved having all the help with the kiddos. ViVi misses her grandparents and her Aunt Nelly, but (sorry mom) I think she misses Olive the most. Every once in a while she goes on blabbering sprees, and you can pick out "Olive! Treat!" somewhere in the middle of them. Also, now whenever she gets on the phone to talk to someone, she either says, "Daddy?" or "Nenny?" Nenny is how she says Nelly, which is short for Janelle.

We also spent a long weekend in New York to visit my sisters Lori and Kimmy. The drive was horrible, but the weekend was fun. They live in the most amazing place! For days after we left, ViVi was asking for Chloe. It was so cute.

Now I'm just going to start posting pictures and videos. They'll be kind of all over the place, but I hope you like them!

They already love eachother:

Here's V and her friend Lucy Crest after a fun time at the pool. The Crests live in Texas, and they visited us in Colorado on the way back from a wedding in Utah. So much fun that weekend. So much pizza eaten. :)

V turned 2 while we were in New York. She's pretty good at the whole opening presents thing:

ViVi had quite the conversation going with her cousin Jonah:

Do you think V likes her presents from nana and papa?

Aunt Lori gave V Mary Poppins for her birthday. She is OBSESSED with it. She watched it for 8 hours on that drive back, and she requests it every morning. Here's one of her favorite parts:

2011-08-29T05:46:00.002-06:00

Ryan (me) has to see a bunch more houses today, but here is more video of the outside of one of the houses we like as requested by Melissa.

2011-08-28T19:15:00.002-06:00

This is Ryan's favorite house thus far.

Maggie-fest

2011-07-26T07:55:00.008-06:00

OK, OK, I know I've been bad about uploading pictures of Maggie. So here's a whole bunch of Maggie pictures and videos:

This is what happens when I ask ViVi which bow she wants in her hair:

Maggie's awake!

2011-06-25T10:41:00.015-06:00

Maggie's starting to wake up for more of the day, so I finally got some pictures of her awake!

Here are some recent photos:

Check out what I found Genevieve doing. Now, you might look at this and think, "Yuk. She let her keep doing that while she went to take a picture?"

Yup.

Beautiful girl:

Margaret Joan and Margaret Joan:

"Look, mommy, I found a pocket!"

Dancing Queen:

My beautiful girls

2011-06-14T12:34:00.010-06:00

Yes, I know, I need to post more often. But now that I have a newborn, it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I'd like to do! I'll keep trying.

Here is Genevieve in our flower bed. She loves to sneak outside and pick all the flowers even though we tell her not to. I think this is the first time she's actually smiled for the camera. She's usually not into that.

Baby Maggie. I like to take a picture of her whenever she's in a really cute outfit.

Or when I just can't stop admiring her.

Helping nana make monkey bread. She thought this was SO fun.

Maggie's first week at church:

I STILL had someone ask if she was a boy or girl. Really? Really?

Music time fun:

My princess:

Every Tuesday I take Vivi to Tot Time at the library. The bean bag song is one of her favorite parts. She's kind of awesome at it:

More stuff

2011-05-22T18:05:00.021-06:00

And now, for all of the random extra stuff I have:

Isn't this picture sweet?

And isn't this picture beautiful?

I MADE this dress! It's my first sewing project I've ever done by myself.

My Maggie.

There were never such devoted sisters...

Genevieve unwrapped that cadbury egg WAY too quickly.

This is in the middle of Genevieve signing "baby," for her baby sister.

Dark hair

Maggie and grandma

Daddy daughter #1

Daddy daughter #2

Gorgeous Genevieve

Yes, she still has beautiful eyelashes

Vivi's new shopping cart. She LOVES this thing. When she took it to the grocery store, two employees stopped to take her picture:

Look for "Sony Bravia paint" on YouTube. Your kids will LOVE it:

Yes, this hot tub was in my hospital room. It rocked:

Easter Fun

2011-05-20T22:04:00.014-06:00

First, let's play a round of "Name That Baby." Can you name which is which?

And, just because I love this picture:

Maggie was born on Easter, so Genevieve had her egg hunt a little late. Actually, she had several egg hunts because she was so darn cute.

"If you think I'm sharing with you, you're crazy."

I was stupid enough to think she wouldn't immediately rip off the wrapper and stuff this whole chocolate egg in her mouth:

Margaret Joan Sweetwood

2011-05-16T15:05:00.009-06:00

Our little Maggie was born on Easter. Compared to how Genevieve was as a newborn, Maggie has been a little angel. The delivery went well, and the recovery was 26 times easier than last time. My mother came for 2 weeks, my dad came for almost a week, and my mother-in-law is here until Tuesday. I've had so much help, and it's been great! My insanely long to-do list is now sanely long because I've had time to work on it, and Vivi has had lots of play buddies to help her adjust to mommy's new distraction.

Here are some pictures:

Vivi loves kissing Maggie:

Oh yeah, that's a good face:

Update

2011-04-08T12:17:00.009-06:00

I know I'm skipping stuff, and I'll have to post more later that's out of order. But I'm just going to post the pictures and videos that are easiest to find because I'm lazy. :)

Family Home Evening last week. (Dani - there's a shout out to James)

You can tell we are not afraid of getting dirty in this family:

At least she helps clean up:

Lately I've been hosting a few play groups every couple of weeks. This last one I did was on April Fools Day, so we had a "silly" theme. I sent out Christmas e-vites, and we dressed up silly. We ate inside-out sandwiches (cheese on the outside, bread on the inside) and apples cut into funny shapes. Then we talked about how April Fools Day started, and how in France they try to stick a paper fish on someone's back without them noticing, and then they point and say "April Fish!" when they find it. So we decorated paper fish. It was a fun day:

I think mommy's silliest of all.

More signing:

My mom tells me that when I was a little girl, and they'd ask if they should have more kids, I would say, "No! I'm the baby!" I wonder if I'm gonna have a similar problem...

By the way, she climbed into these by herself. I was pulling baby stuff out of the garage, turned around, and there she was just happy as a clam. It was pretty adorable.

Fun with bubbles:

My Week

2011-02-21T10:43:00.002-07:00

Please excuse me while I throw myself a pity party.

Last Sunday I signed up to clean the church building. We only have 1 ward in our building, so each family has to sign up often. The sign up was open, and I figured I could go during the day and do stuff I could handle with V, and then Ryan and I could do bathrooms etc. at night. So Monday morning, like a good girl, I went to vacuum the chapel. A) Those vacuums are heavy, 2) They are difficult to maneuver under all those pews, and D) It takes a good hour just to vacuum the floor in there, including up by the choir seats. I had also gone grocery shopping that morning with a very full, heavy, cart, and I just kept doing stuff I normally do. None of that sounds strenuous, right? I didn't think so either. But sometimes I forget I'm 30 weeks pregnant.

Tuesday I felt SO SICK to my stomach. It hurt so bad I could barely move, and the only time it didn't hurt was after I lay down for at least 30 minutes. I finally figured out that I had pulled some stomach muscles, and that's why I felt sick. So for the next few days, I either had to lift my baby through the pain (ow ow ow) or watch her cry angrily at me for not picking her up. One day I called in reinforcements -- an 11-year old in our ward who came over and played with her for a few hours.

Then Friday she woke up sick. SICK SICK SICK. Fever of 102, very sad, and not eating all day -- though she did drink a lot. Ryan came home from work and had to leave straight for the Klondike Derby like a good Scoutmaster.

Saturday morning, V was still SICK SICK SICK. Fever of 103, not eating all day, and drinking very little. SO CRANKY. Just crying and whining all day. It was EXHAUSTING! Ryan got home that evening.

Sunday morning, V AND Ryan woke up SICK SICK SICK. Ryan stayed home with V while I went to church because I just needed to escape my baby. She napped during church time, so when I came home I had another day of dealing with a sick baby and no hubby b/c he was extremely sick himself. She wouldn't eat all day, and she wouldn't drink. I tried water, juice, milk, kool-aid, popsicles, and jello. I had to tip back her head and forcefeed her spoonfuls of water every hour so she wouldn't get dehydrated.

This morning, V feels better. Not so hot, and she's drinking and even eating a bit. Granted, all she's been willing to eat so far are cookies and fruit loops, but I'm just welcoming the calories. Unfortunately, now I'M sick, and Ryan has an inspection and an important meeting, so he couldn't miss work.

The Tally:
# of calls to the nurse: 3
# of times we've watched Signing Time: at least 10. SO sick of it.
# of Disney movies we've watched: 5. Ursula really scares V.
# of times I've broken down sobbing: um...
# of milk bottles I've poured out b/c V held them like a teddy bear but never drank them: 4
# of hours V has been awake and NOT crying/whining in the last 2 days: I'm guessing 3 total. Max.
# of vacation days I'm gonna need after this: Give me a vacation hour, and we'll call it good.

Pity me.

My Baby's a Genius

2011-02-06T19:28:00.005-07:00

Genevieve is now trying to copy pretty much any sign we do. She's figured out that signing GETS her stuff, and she loves it. Her latest discovery is "please." When she learns a new sign, I try to reinforce that she's doing it right. So when she first learned to sign "candy," I gave her an M&M every time she signed it. Now she's learned to sign "please," and of course, she mostly uses it with "candy." It goes like this:

Vivi: signs "candy"
Mommy: "What do you say?"
Vivi: signs "please" and giggles
Mommy: gives V an M&M and says, "Can you say thank you?"
Vivi: signs "thank you."

My baby is a genius:

For those of you that actually know sign language, you'll notice that she isn't actually doing any of them correctly, but she gets pretty darn close!

If you haven't checked the blog in a while, make sure you look at the next post to see fun pictures from Christmas!

Christmas in Raleigh

2011-02-05T21:35:00.006-07:00

Ryan, Genevieve and I went to Raleigh for Christmas this past year. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. V ate herself sick with Christmas goodies, and she still misses her family terribly. Here are some fun videos and pictures from our trip.

Christmas morning, Vivi and her cousins got pillow pets from Grandmere. Vivi got a penguin, but she ditched that in 0.2 seconds and stole Alice's pink pig. She LOVES this thing. Last week I hosted my first play group, and V was very possessive of it. One boy tried to play with it, and she stole it away and then hit him. We're working on the whole sharing concept.

Here Vivi is playing tug of war with Olive's pillow pet:

Can you tell V loves her Howington cousins? Jack was SO cute with her. He spent a lot of Christmas morning running up and tackling her -- always very gently, so she never got hurt. She thought it was so fun.

Notice how Vivi is completely happy sitting on Aunt Nelly's lap.

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?

2010-12-13T20:27:00.003-07:00

A little over a week ago, Ryan and I took a little trip to Denver and Colorado Springs, both of us for meetings, but we also had a lot of fun. While in Colorado Springs for a school board conference, we stayed at the Broadmoor Hotel.

Let me tell you about this hotel.

It is a 5 star, 5 diamond hotel. It is the sort of place where you'd better be rich to stay there b/c you'll go broke just for all the people you need to tip, since you're not allowed to lift a finger for yourself. We stayed in the main building; the West building is across the lake. But don't worry. There's a bridge if you're aching to see the ice sculptures over there. Our room had a huge bathtub, huge shower, huge bed, separate office area (great to put the crib in) and everything we could want. At night they came around for turn down service and gave us chocolates and the list of complimentary events hosted by the hotel the following day. These events included, by the way, movies in their own theater. Ryan also took Genevieve to cupcake decorating one morning. It was kind of awesome.

If you're thinking the school district should be outraged to pay for that expense, simmer. It was the off-season, the week after Thanksgiving, and they give a huge discount to our conference because it's been there for 20 years, so it's not much more than staying at other hotels. And, um, it was totally worth it. :) As pretty much the only perk that comes out of being a school board member, it definitely lived up to my expectations.

On a more normal note, Genevieve has already learned to help mommy with chores:

Development Updates:

Vivi has now learned to sign and say "hot." Last night I made the mistake of telling her her eggs were hot at dinner, and she spent the rest of the meal blowing on them.
She also has learned "no," and I'm already missing the days when she would say yes to everything.
She signs "brush teeth." That baby toothpaste must taste good because she loves it.

We leave for Raleigh in 4 DAYS!!!

2010-12-10T02:52:00.003-07:00

Well, it is now 2:52 AM, and I've been awake since 11 feeling so sick I would give up my Christmas presents to feel better. OK, maybe not. But since I'm up, I figured I could give you some more updates on our Genevieve.

We are amazed by how much she is now communicating with us! Here are all the signs she uses now:

food
more - We haven't seen this one in a while. She's still just signing "food," but we're working on it.
dog - We went to Old Navy last week, and they had one of those creepy mannequin family displays at the entrance. Part of it was a dog, and she walked right up to it and signed "dog" without any help. Of course, she pats her stomach instead of her leg, but we know what she means.
book - She also says "buh." This is probably her most common sign. She does it every time we go in her bedroom. She LOVES her books -- especially the peek-a-boo ones with flaps.
please - I was at school board meetings tonight, but Ryan said she signed AND said this tonight without any prompting. I can't wait to hear it. Ryan gets all the credit for this one because I rarely remember to teach her these good manners.
all done - I have to prompt her a lot to do this one -- she still prefers yelling at me when she's done -- but we're working on it.

Sometimes I think she might be doing a few others, but I'm not sure yet. She also keeps doing one hand motion, but I can't figure out what it means. It looks like "clean up," but there's no way that's what she's telling me.

Here are a few more videos. This first one shows what a good little helper she is. She was so cute, sitting by daddy and handing him screws as he needed them. I distracted her when I pulled out the camera. Oh well.

This next one's from a while ago. I turned the box from Vivi's new carseat into a little playhouse. It looks very ghetto, but she thought is was the best thing ever.

This is from even longer ago, but it's cute, and I'm up, so here it is:

Yes, there's still a lot more to post, but for now I'm going to try to sleep again. Fingers crossed.

"Yeah"

2010-12-07T20:57:00.002-07:00

I have SO many new things to post, but I'll just start with a few fun ones from our trip this past week. Ryan had meetings in Denver the first part of the week, and I had a school board conference in Colorado Springs the second part of the week, so we made it a family trip.

Here's a video from the Denver hotel room, where she spent most of her time chillin' in the sink:

Vivi is not a very good talker yet, but she loves saying "yeah." If you ask her ANY yes/no question in the world, she will nod and say, "yeah." It's pretty entertaining.

SO much more to post. But I'm tired.

My hilarious little walker

2010-11-06T21:13:00.004-06:00

Yes, I know she only goes like a foot and a half, but that's pretty much all she does before she realizes that crawling is still a whole lot easier.

And now for the moment that had Ryan and I laughing until our stomachs hurt. I think she likes soda; what do you think?

Birthday Presents!

2010-10-25T15:16:00.015-06:00

Sure, birthdays are fun. And birthday cake is yummy. But what's even better?

Presents!!

Here's V with her present from nana and papa. You can't tell, but she's saying "Thanks, nana" telephathically.

"Oh, toy, I love you so much!!!"

That thing is fabulous. It has so many bells and whistles it's sure to distract her when I plop her down in front of it so I can finally get something done!

We also got a package from grandma, grandpa, and grandmere. Vivi's favorite part? The box of popcorn. Please notice the pile of presents untouched off to the side:

Try as I might, I couldn't take her attention away from the box of popcorn. So I decided to embrace that and poured it all into a shallower box that she could sit and play in. She loved it:

"Yay!"

I cut off the lid sides, and it is now a "sandbox" in Vivi's room, which she plays in every day. As for the actual toys, we've been pulling out one every few days so she has one new thing to focus on at a time. She loves them and is getting pretty good at fitting a triangle into a triangle hole on one of the gifts. But I'm getting a little tired of hearing "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" from the barn toy on the fridge -- which has one button she won't stop pushing. All day. She LOVES it. But as hard as she tries, she can't match the front and back of the same animal. We'll work on that.

I'm adding this picture in here just so you can see how darn cute she is in pigtails. Plus, I want you to see how daddy babysits:

And I'll throw in some pictures from our last FHE to the town park before it got too cold.

This one I'm adding just because I love her little butt ruffles (Thanks Aunt Gale!):

Genevieve is one year old!

2010-10-20T10:48:00.004-06:00

My little baby turned one on October 1st. Oh, how the time as flown. It seems like only yesterday we were still with her in the hospital. I don't miss that.

Besides, she's so cute NOW!

Before we look at all the birthday celebration stuff, let's admire her handiwork when she found mommy's lipstick. It's kind of amazing that she knew where to put it:

Genevieve's birthday wasn't the best of days, but she didn't care. She got cake! She didn't eat much of it because she was so busy playing with it:

Vivi got bubbles for her birthday. Let's compare enthusiasms, shall we?

But she finally caught on to the fun of it:

We also have lots of fun pictures of V playing with her gifts from grandma, grandpa, nana, papa, and grandmere. I'll wait a few days to post those because I don't want this post to get too long. And I'm bored of waiting for the videos to upload and process. But they're very cute, so check back in a few days!

Saint Louis Videos

2010-09-28T12:48:00.003-06:00

Finally, more videos of my gorgeous girl.

This one is my favorite. We call it "The Aww Game." She just kind of picked it up on her own and LOVES it. How does it work? Just watch:

So. Many. Buttons.

One quick close up. Just 'cause it's cute.

V LOVES water. But hates pools. We think it's because they're cold. And yes, I know my baby is chunky. I love it.

This one's fuzzy because I had the video on the wrong setting. I was very sad because it's so cute. So I'm posting it anyway. She's pretty good on the telephone, isn't she?

Water spouts:

Playing in a fountain:

The magic house had this awesome slide. It was kind of squishy, so V could sort of stick to it and climb it all by herself. Then she even liked going down by herself! This video is the tail end of her climbing it. I tried to move so you could see her face after going down, but I blocked it. She was beaming.

The first video is my favorite. Which one is your favorite?

Saint Louis Pictures

2010-09-25T11:15:00.009-06:00

Ryan had management training in Saint Louis last week, so we bought an extra ticket and V and I went with him. We had so much fun! Ryan's family drove down from Chicago, and we played in the city. I've got a lot of photos and videos, but this post will just be photos. I'll do the videos later. I realized as I looked through the pictures that they're pretty much all just Genevieve. But that's all you want to see anyway, right?

Also, I'm about to buy a Stage 2 carseat for V. Anyone have good recommendations for features or a model I should look for?

The Saint Louis zoo was AMAZING. It's my new favorite zoo, and we didn't even see half of it. Here's V in the children's area, playing with the water spouts. She LOVED it:

REALLY loved it:

Here's Vivi playing in the dirt and bark outside our hotel room. She loves getting messy:

We went to the most amazing children's museum, called the Magic House. I would have LOVED it as a kid. Here's Vivi playing in the water area:

Blake, Ethan, and V in the sand area:

My beautiful girl:

Public nudity (she rolled around in the dirt a bit and needed to clean off):

My Big Girl

2010-09-12T20:53:00.005-06:00

This was back in July, but I couldn't post it. She's so big!

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

Very well, thank you.

V's favorite pastime:

More to come. Yay!

YAY!!!!!

2010-09-12T20:42:00.004-06:00

Check it out!!! I can post again! what did I do? Wait. Weird, huh? It still just shows text until I actually post it, which is super annoying, but at least it works.

help me

2010-07-23T19:56:00.002-06:00

Just in the past few days, I haven't been able to post videos. I go through all of the steps to post one, and then instead of the black box coming up, a line of text does. It says it's uploading, but then it doesn't. Anyone know what to do?

My little pianist

2010-06-30T10:05:00.002-06:00

A musician in the making:

Crawling!!!!

2010-06-26T12:52:00.002-06:00

Yes, it is awkward, and half scooting. But that's how she's doing it for now.

Isn't that adorable??

She's crawling!

2010-06-25T21:34:00.002-06:00

(This is Ryan) Holly has been extremely busy these last two weeks. I've been lucky to spend more time with Vivi. About a week ago, she started taking her first forward movements. Then, one day as I was eating my dinner on the floor and playing with Vivi, she made her first big move. The dog was by me and she crawled toward the dog and when she got close she started giggling. She reached for the dog and the dog moved to the other side of the room. She turned around and went for him again. And like before, she started gigling as she approached Toby. Toby moved and it started all over agian. Unfortunately Holly had the camera or I would had put it on the site. For some reason, Vivi thinks Toby is the funniest thing on earth even though Toby can't stand her.

Signing Time

2010-06-23T07:57:00.002-06:00

My little girl loves Signing Time. The other day Ryan and I tried to put on a Fraggle Rock cartoon for her instead. She got excited when she saw the TV turn on, and then she FREAKED OUT when Fraggle Rock started and it wasn't Signing Time.

This video was taken the day before. Check out how much she loves this show:

Videos from Raleigh

2010-06-18T14:05:00.002-06:00

Here are some video clips from our trip to Raleigh. First, Vivi's new best friend:

Zoo fun:

Fun with cousin Lila:

Recent Pictures

2010-05-29T10:25:00.004-06:00

Today I finally downloaded pictures from my camera and discovered that I had over 160 of them. So I'm gonna give you an onslaught of my favorites:

We start 'em young:

I posted videos earlier of our trip to the Denver aquarium. Here's a picture. She loved the rainbow fish, but most of the time she was more interested in mommy and daddy than in the fish. I feel like there's a lesson in that...

Playing with daddy. Living in Paonia, even visiting a Barnes & Noble is like a theme park:

Wait, how did she get in there?

Vivi and her favorite snack. Paper.

From our visit home to Raleigh. BFFs:

Strawberry picking:

Fun at the zoo:

This is my favorite picture from the zoo. It was a long, hot, and fun day, and when we were done we got on the bus to get back to the parking lot. I took Vivi out of her stroller and set her down to give her some tummy time on the seat. After 1.7 seconds, she fell asleep like this:
With Aunt Nelly at Jack's birthday party:

Grandpa:

Vivi's a little fascinated with Jonah:

Can't you tell?

Vivi and grandma:

Vivi and grandmere:

Vivi and grandpa:

Admire my baby. Do it.

2010-05-18T18:55:00.008-06:00

JUST TRY to tell me this baby isn't stinkin' adorable:

What the What?

2010-05-10T18:39:00.002-06:00

About 3 weeks ago, our local newspaper published an ad looking for an appointee to the district school board. One of the elected members had to withdraw because of health issues, and the remaining school board members needed to choose someone to replace him for the remainder of the term -- about a year and a half. I decided to apply.

A week later, I got a letter saying that the appointee would be chosen after a public Q&A panel with the 6 applicants. I spent the week researching and preparing, and last Thursday I was on a panel with the other applicants. A moderator asked us questions, chosen by the school board, on a rotating basis. It was very intimidating.

Then, about 10 minutes ago, I got a call saying the board picked me. I am now a district school board member.

What the what??

Bring it.

Anticipation!

2010-05-07T07:39:00.002-06:00

I am giddy! Tomorrow Vivi and I go home to North Carolina, and we'll be there for 2 weeks. Every time I look at her, I'm just SO EXCITED for my family to love and adore her, as they're bound to do.

I CAN'T WAIT! ONE MORE DAY!!

Aquarium

2010-04-27T15:39:00.002-06:00

This weekend, Ryan and I took our baby to Denver for the weekend. The drive there was AWFUL. There was a snowstorm around Vail, and it took us 8 hours to make the 4 hour trip.

Saturday, we all went to the aquarium. She was still a little tired from the crazy schedule the day before, but when we saw the rainbow fish, she woke right up. Check out how cute she is:

Glee Personal Statement

2010-04-22T19:00:00.002-06:00

I have no chance. I know that. But I had SOOOOOO much fun making a Glee audition tape. Here's my personal statement:

Our Country Girl

2010-04-10T10:58:00.002-06:00

A future 4H-er in the making:

6 Months

2010-04-02T11:07:00.006-06:00

Two days ago my baby turned 6 months old. I can't believe it! Sometimes I look at her and am shocked that she is so big! But I'm not sad; she just keeps getting cuter.

Here are some videos. They're nothing in particular -- just Vivi being Vivi.

And my favorite, the belly laugh. Sorry it's moving so much; I couldn't stop laughing myself!

I'm going crazy

2010-03-17T13:24:00.006-06:00

My hormones are a little out of control lately. Today I watched Julie and Julia and cried 1) when Eric gave Julie pearls for her birthday, 2) when Julia found out Dorothy was pregnant, and 3) at the end, when Julie says, "I love you, Julia." This was not getting a little choked up. This was full on tears with Vivi shaking in my arms. And those of you who have seen this movie know that these are RIDICULOUS things to cry about. 3 times.

OK, that's it. Now for your viewing pleasure:

My spoiled, spoiled puppy

My beauty, playing with her favorite toy -- a spatula.

Daddy loves introducing her to new foods before he's supposed to. Here's her favorite new lollipop

And my favorite

Home again

2010-03-10T21:06:00.003-07:00

We got back from TX on Sunday. Why is it that you're always more tired at the end of a vacation than when you left? We had a GREAT time, and I already miss the Williams and the Crests, and Vivi misses Allie. More on the trip when I get pictures from them to post.

For now, enjoy watching what happened when we came HOME from the trip. Vivi was very excited to be out of her carseat!

People Magazine

2010-02-27T15:50:00.002-07:00

Thank you for the magazine, nana!

Stuff

2010-02-24T16:22:00.003-07:00

Funny picture from our snow storm. I really thought we had this dog neutered...

My cute girl:

And the video to match:

Snow Day

2010-02-20T15:44:00.002-07:00

We got about a foot of snowfall last night. It took Ryan and I a long time to shovel out 2 driveways and paths to the chickens and wood pile, but I got my exercise for the week! Here are some videos from our snow day:

Toby LOVES snow:

My silly hubby:

Can you tell Toby loves Ryan?

Wow, it feels so weird making a post that's not about Genevieve...

New Pictures

2010-02-17T10:39:00.004-07:00

Does anyone know why some of my pictures show up sideways when I post them to the blog? I've already rotated them on the computer.

A New Trick

2010-02-03T16:47:00.002-07:00

Yes, I am aware that my voice is really annoying on these videos. I would tell you to mute this one, but you need to hear her grunting to get the full effect.

Failed attempt. I probably shouldn't even post this one, but I think it's cute.

Success.

Funny Song

2010-02-02T12:12:00.002-07:00

I know this is a funny song to sing to a baby, but she LOVES it. Can you name where it's from?

This is also the closest I can get to that "missing picture" I posted on earlier. She does it cuter than this, but you'll get the idea. Watch for her to bring her hands up to her face.

Our new furniture

2010-01-30T16:14:00.007-07:00

This table will have seen 5 generations of Sweetwoods once Genevieve is old enough to eat with us. It was a not-so-pretty orange before Ryan's dad refinished it for us, and Ryan's working on refinishing the chairs that go with it. Isn't it beautiful?

We like that it can fold down because our dining area is a little narrow.
And now, what you've all been waiting for...

Ta Dah! Isn't it gorgeous? It's made out of zebra maple and cherry. Ryan and his dad made it themselves. I'm so excited we have such a wonderful family heirloom to pass on.

The pretty wood:

The Missing Picture

2010-01-28T10:58:00.009-07:00

Genevieve does this thing that is the cutest thing in the world, and I haven't been able to catch it on film or video. When we say her name or something and she's suddenly happy, she arches her back, brings her hands up under her chin, smiles really big, squints her eyes, and crinkles the bridge of her nose. It's adorable! I'll keep trying.

So here are some other pictures for your enjoyment.

A winter walk. Yes, it's cold here.

She fell asleep on the walk.

My beautiful girl.

Here's Vivi's hair after a bath if I don't brush it.

I'm so lame

2010-01-27T06:57:00.002-07:00

I'm somewhat ashamed to say that this year I have gotten sucked into The Bachelor. Hey, I feed Vivi for a lot of the day, and I need stuff to watch! **I don't watch The Bachelor until Tuesday when it posts on Hulu, so NEVER talk about this show with me before Wednesdays!** OK. For those of you who also watch The Bachelor, here's my take on it:

Jake is no dummy. I've seen shows like this before where the guys are SO DENSE. Jake called out Elizabeth (I think that was her name) on her teasing, and he called out Vienna on how she brings it on herself. A lot of times he'll make comments that I think are very perceptive. And I like that he's sending girls home so quickly. He's right -- why waste their time? However, that also means he'll have less time with the girls he does like, since the show will end sooner.

So far, I've been ok with his choices. Except for -- and I know everyone feels this way -- Vienna. Seriously, dude. Let her go. I respect that he's determined to decide for himself and not base it on what the other girls say, but really. We can all tell you're not into her anymore.

I liked Ali at first, but now she's just a brat. Vienna's still there. We know. Get over it. But Jake obviously likes her.

I like Corrie, but I think she'll be the next to go, since the show doesn't spotlight her very much.

My favorite is Tenley. Jake likes her, and she seems kind.

On the castoffs: Jake's right. Ashleigh was smokin'. But they obviously had no connection. Jessie was an obvious choice since we didn't see much of her. Kathryn was a sourpuss with a chip on her shoulder. Elizabeth was a tease and playing a game. Rozlyn was a slut. Ella I liked because she was a lady and didn't drape herself over Jake all the time. But she wasn't right for Jake. And she seriously just left her kid for that long? Michelle was psycho. Seriously psycho.

What do YOU think of The Bachelor?

Christmas Gift

2010-01-25T11:39:00.002-07:00

This video is for Vivi's grandma and grandpa Howington. They sent an adorable outfit for her, and this video is me showing it to her. I tried to just email it, but the file was too big. Thanks grandma and grandpa! She obviously loves it!

The Wiggles

2010-01-21T20:52:00.002-07:00

Good Morning

2010-01-20T08:30:00.002-07:00

It turns out my baby is a morning person. Yet another thing she inherited from her father.

Oh, and you should mute your computer when you watch it. My voice gets high and shrill when I'm so excited to see her.

Giggles

2010-01-17T15:24:00.002-07:00

My Happy Girl

2010-01-06T08:32:00.007-07:00

Genevieve is smiling away now, but I still haven't gotten any good pictures of it. Why? When my face goes behind the camera, she doesn't want to smile anymore. sigh... I'll have to double team it with Ryan this weekend.

Here's Vivi with Nana and Papa:

And this is what she does almost all day long:

This one's fuzzy because I was trying to hold the camera away from my face and smile at her. But you can see the general idea:

The New Me

2009-12-10T19:28:00.006-07:00

I chopped off over a foot of hair this week. It's my third donation to Locks of Love -- and probably my last, since this is the shortest I've ever gone and it would take FOREVER to grow that much again.

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it. That's mostly just because I look in the mirror and it doesn't look like me. Once I get used to what I see, I might love it. Or I might wear a lot of hats.

Here's the profile shot:

And another picture of Vivi because she's a lot cuter than I am:

Two Months

2009-12-04T06:27:00.010-07:00

Vivi is now 2 months old. Crazy!! Here are some newer pictures.

Fence

2009-11-01T16:46:00.005-07:00

This is my fence. I am just about done. Holly wants me to paint it white next year.

2009-10-28T17:26:00.006-06:00

Enjoy. Taken by Janelle and Lori (Holly's sisters).
ryan

And now for my REAL baby

2009-10-02T14:09:00.006-06:00

At 6:27 PM last night (you win, Sabrina!), Genevieve Lorraine Sweetwood joined our little family. After 21 hours of labor and 1 and a half hours of pushing, we're SO glad she's finally here.

Don't you love that hair? Like father like daughter.

We just can't believe how beautiful she is.

More pictures will come later. But now I'm going to nap. :)

My Baby

2009-09-29T12:15:00.006-06:00

Now I know you all want to hear about my actual baby, but I still don't have one of those, so I'm going to post about the baby I have now:

my dog.

I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with my dog. When I moved to Paonia, he was my only friend, and all day long it was just me and Toby. I am very very attached to this dog.

And this morning he was hit by a car.

He's going to be fine, but for about 10 minutes I was a WRECK. I didn't see it happen; I just heard a series of very loud yelps and went outside to find him coming into our yard from the street, hopping around on his back legs and chest with his front legs folded under his body. I thought he'd broken his legs. I thought he had been run over. I thought my dog was dying. So I screamed and ran after him and got him into the car. I sobbed my way over to the vet, and then Toby walked in just fine (with a limp). The vet looked him over and listened to his lungs and determined that Toby ran head first into the passing car, and the head trauma caused disorientation, which was why he initially wasn't using his legs. So he's bleeding from the side of his mouth and 2 spots on his front leg, and he'll have a very bad headache for a while, but other than that the vet thinks he'll be fine. We just have to watch him and make sure his behavior stays normal. And he has to wear a huge cone to keep from licking his wounds.

He looks miserable, doesn't he?

The wound here at the bottom is pretty bad, but I didn't want to move him to get a good picture of it.

My poor baby.

The Final Countdown

2009-09-24T06:26:00.004-06:00

We are now into the single digits of days left before this baby's due. In 9 days, on October 3rd, I will be very disappointed if I still have no baby.

Things are progressing well. I've been having contractions since Sunday, so my body is already in practice mode. Monday night we even had a false alarm and drove to the hospital. My contractions came every 5 minutes for more than 3 hours, but it was still just nothing. sigh...

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment, and I am only dilated to 1 but "very thin." It could be any day, or it could be 2 weeks from now. Who knows? Ryan's always hopeful she will come any minute so he can leave work, but I kind of don't want to miss the Mountain Harvest Festival this weekend.

Any guesses on when she'll come? Winner gets ... well nothing, but good for you if you get it right!

I think his tractor's sexy

2009-09-20T15:35:00.005-06:00

Ryan had the time of his life on this tractor. We rented it from a place in town, and he drove it down the streets to our house to till our garden for next year. When he drove it back, Toby followed him the whole way!

Yeah, Ryan and Toby are BFF:

Oh, and here I am at 38 weeks. 13 days left until the due date! Yikes!

Shoes, glorious shoes

2009-09-18T17:42:00.003-06:00

One of the big employers in town for many years was a Chaco factory. They make great hiking sandals and boots and sell good, quality shoes. Earlier this year, they shut down the local factory and outsourced to China. We bought our house from a couple that had to move because they lost their jobs. It was all very sad.

Except...

Ya know one benefit of a shoe factory closing? Sales. Lots of sales. I just found out yesterday that every Friday afternoon they open up to try to get rid of the last of their inventory. They don't have much left, but ya know what they have a lot of? Women's size 7. And I just happen to be a size 7.

Now, I know for a lot of you that generates feelings of "whoop-de-doo, big deal, eye roll," etc. But usually size 7 is the first to go because it's so common. I guess people here have big feet. Anyway, I got 3 pairs of shoes that would normally total for around $350 for $30, including the boots I have pictured here. Every pair of shoes is on sale for $10. They all have some kind of minor defect, but I couldn't find them on any of my shoes.

So if any of you size 7 women out there live in snowy weather or enjoy hiking or just want some good, cheap shoes, let me know before next Friday and I'll see what I can do!

Baby Shower

2009-09-14T20:09:00.007-06:00

Last week some sisters in the ward threw me a baby shower at church. We had games, food, and of course presents -- what more can a pregger lady ask for?

Here we're playing the "guess what mashed up candy bar that looks like poop is in this diaper" game. I got them all right except for the Sugar Daddy. The most disgusting was definitely the Almond Joy.

And the food was yummy. Check out the babies-in-bed cake:

And here are a few pictures from opening presents. This first one is the sling a sister made me. And yes, that is Piglet -- another present. :)

And here is a gift from one of my laurels -- matching mommy and baby hats!

And last but not least, here is ONE of the homemade baby blankets I got. Isn't that amazing? These women make them like it's no big deal. It would take me years to actually finish one of these. Here it's already keeping baby warm.

19 days until the due date. Aack!

36 Weeks

2009-09-07T21:15:00.003-06:00

Apparently the baby grandmas are very anxious to see how big she's getting. :)

So by popular demand, here I am at 36 weeks:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2009-08-29T17:34:00.003-06:00

Who out there has the best answer for this one?

Black Canyon Hike

2009-08-15T09:18:00.006-06:00

The biggest natural attraction in this area is Black Canyon. It's within an hour of where we live, so Ryan and I decided to finally go see it. Last weekend we did a short hike, and it was beautiful!

Toby had a great time and was pretty good about staying away from the edge.

The obligatory baby bump shot:

My First Demolition Derby

2009-08-10T08:44:00.007-06:00

Last week was the Delta County Fair, and Ryan took me to my very first demolition derby! I was so excited, and the place was PACKED. Unfortunately, the fair workers wet the field about 2 hours before the show -- so the cars couldn't go too fast and hurt the drivers -- and then it rained very hard for a good 20 minutes. So most of the show was watching cars overheat trying to move through the thick mud. :) It was still fun though!

I think the best part was when one driver gave up on getting out of the mud and shot fireworks off the hood of his car. Then he kept revving it until the hood went up in flames. He got a big crowd response to that.

And during the breaks Ryan and I went around to see the animals. It was amazing to see such little kids lead around cows and take care of pigs and do just about everything. 4H is very big here.

We liked seeing the chickens best because now we know something about them, but Ryan also loved this comparison:

Who's bigger?

My First Rodeo

2009-08-08T09:12:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago, Ryan had to go work a booth at the Gunnison County Fair, which also included a rodeo. I went with him, and he took some interns so they could take shifts and watch some of the show. I've never seen so many cowboy hats or tucked-in shirts (to show off the belt buckles) in one place!

We had so much fun.

My cowboy. I think we're both adjusting to this life pretty well. :)

Poll

2009-07-31T14:39:00.003-06:00

An important question for any parent or babysitter out there:

Huggies or Pampers?

Family Friendly

2009-07-31T09:07:00.002-06:00

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

This rating was given b/c of (or in spite of) the presence of dead (2x) and shoot (1x). I think I need to stop posting about chickens or I might risk a PG rating soon.

Our Chicken History

2009-07-23T07:08:00.013-06:00

** This is a long history, though we've only had chickens for less than a year. Be ye warned.

Once upon a time, Ryan and I moved to the country and decided to get chickens. So Ryan worked very long and hard to build this:

We started off with 4 chicks, which we got from a local farmer. The neighbor girls loved to come and play with them:

Of those chicks, Toby killed one. He thought it was a toy and didn't know he'd done anything bad. I bawled like a baby. Then 2 (Fatty and Blackbeard) turned out to be roosters. We lived inside town limits and weren't allowed to have roosters, so Ryan worked very long and hard to make them into this:
They did not taste very good.

That left one original chick, Rosie. Meanwhile, we decided to buy some full-grown hens so we could have some eggs. So we went to another farmer and bought Gandalf the Grey, Phantom, and Ugly Betty:

Well, Toby decided those chickens looked too tasty. Gandalf and Phantom didn't last long. I bawled like a baby. We started kenneling Toby whenever we went anywhere (our chickens wander the yard during the day), but one morning he got at Rosie before we got out of bed. She had a big hunk of skin and feathers missing from her back when I found her, but she was walking around as if nothing was wrong. Ryan said she would likely die soon from infection, but I was stubborn. So I held Rosie, looked the other way, and sang songs while Ryan cleaned her back and put a whole bunch of ointment on it. Now I figured that Rosie was kind of like the flock of my field, so I prayed very hard for her to survive. More to come later on that.

We were down to 2 hens, Rosie and Betty, so we went to Murdoch's and bought 6 more chicks. One was taken by a hawk early on, which left 2 identical grey ones (the Olsen Twins), one with a black stripe down her back (Pepe le Pew), one really beautiful one (Cindy Crawford), and a white one (Gandalf the White -- in honor of our previous lost chicken).

So then we bought a house (see earlier post), and Ryan worked very long and hard to build our hens this:

The Olsen Twins turned out to be roosters, as I discovered when they crowed at 5:30 AM one day. We're technically allowed to have them now, but our neighbors live right on the other side of the chicken pen, and we didn't want them to hate us quite yet. We actually found a good home for them where they didn't get eaten! Amazing!

This past weekend we really discovered what a difference it makes being outside of town. A fox got Gandalf, Pepe, and Betty. There are still white feathers all over the yard, Pepe just disappeared, and Betty's body was still there. A neighbor found them first and said Rosie was just standing by Betty waiting for her to wake up. I didn't bawl like a baby this time, but there were tears. Ryan says they're just chickens, and now that we're in the country I need to get used to it. I think I'm getting better, but I was still sad.

That left Rosie and Cindy, who's not laying yet. So yesterday I went and bought 7 grown hens from a man who is moving. We didn't want quite that many, but he said it was all or none. I would have posted a picture of them, but they're molting right now and honestly pretty scary looking. Rosie kind of hates them.

Think the story's over? Oh, just you wait.

Early this morning, Cindy once again flew out of the pen (yes, we clipped her wings, but she's still so light it's easy for her to fly) and was walking around the yard during prime fox hunting hours. We heard her make some noise, so Ryan jumped out of bed and Toby of course followed. Ryan found a fox forcing Cindy into the corner when he said, "Toby, get him!" Our wonderful dog chased that fox to the river. We were feeling pretty good about that, but I just searched the yard a few minutes ago, and Cindy is nowhere to be seen. The fox probably came back and she just didn't make enough noise this time. I'm sad because I really want our hens to be able to wander the yard, but I'll have to let them out late and put them in early. And then it's still risky. Puts a whole new spin on the whole security vs. freedom debate doesn't it?

And then there was one (plus the herd of ugly ones, but they don't count yet). Meet Rosie:

Oh yes, Rosie survived the dog mauling and now holds her wings higher on her back to cover the wound. Looking at her, you couldn't even tell she's been so scarred because she's moved her feathers to cover it. Rosie is now, as of this morning, our only chicken left from before we moved. And I am one lucky girl because she also happens to be my favorite. As soon as I go outside, she'll run over to me from across the yard and follow me around. Ryan says she was probably protected because of my aura of prayers surrounding her. I also think she's a fighter since she somehow got away from Toby even after he took half of her back. I have already warned Ryan that if she gets eaten, I will bawl like a baby. I'm trying to work her into the pet category with Heavenly Father so we can have her in heaven. :)

Cherry Days

2009-07-22T08:59:00.006-06:00

On July 4th weekend, Paonia always has a big festival called Cherry Days. Basically, it's a celebration of the first fruit harvest of the year. Grand Ave is packed with people and they have different events going on all weekend. Here are some highlights:

This is at the finish line of the bed races down Grand Ave. Basically, a team of four people puts a bed on wheels and races down the main strip. The teams dressed up, and it was quite a show.

They also had a parade. It was pretty small, but it was fun.

They had fun events going on in the park. One night they did square dancing with a professional caller.

And the whole time the park was packed. There were booths and vendors and music all day. Then on the football field there was a big carnival with a Ferris wheel, carousel, and all kinds of other rides and fun houses you'd find at a fair. I forgot to take a picture of that. Since I had the NC State fair growing up, this seemed pretty small, but to the locals it was a huge deal! People came from all around the western slope for the weekend.

Can you tell I love where I live?

Dark Canyon Hike

2009-07-15T08:18:00.004-06:00

Ryan and I went hiking last Saturday morning up the Dark Canyon trail. It was really fun! Sometimes it felt like we were hacking through the jungle bush, and sometimes it was a wide open trail. We only went about 5 miles; I wasn't sure how far I could handle now that I'm big! Ryan went slow for me. It felt fast to me, but it was probably half the speed he normally goes, poor guy.

Our family picture:

The trail follows this river down through the canyon. It's actually almost 15 miles one way, but we just turned around when we felt like it.

28 Weeks

2009-07-12T13:50:00.002-06:00

Getting bigger...

My Cowboys

2009-07-11T13:44:00.007-06:00

While mom and dad were visiting Paonia, Ryan and dad went horseback riding up at Redstone. It sounds like they had a great time! They host cattle drives there if any of you want to reenact City Slickers.

Ryan and Dad

Pretty view, ain't it?

Our House is a Very Very Very Fine House

2009-06-21T19:49:00.010-06:00

Here is our house! We closed last week and move in this Saturday. We LOVE the location. It's still close to downtown, but it's technically outside of town limits. Behind our backyard are orchards, and across the street are more orchards. It's also a dead end rd, so there's very little traffic.

This is the living room.

And the dining room.

The kitchen. Wish it came complete with mom and dad!

Here's the baby's room. The play room is off to the left. The master bedroom is to the right; it looks pretty much the same as the baby room.
A little birdie told us this was Paonia's first Post Office. I'm going to call the historical society to confirm. If it's true, we'll try to restore it and make it cute.

Here's our yard on the side of the house. We have about 1/2 an acre total. Ryan's favorite part is that shed you see on the right. It's completely his domain, and I'm excited for all the things he's going to build for me in it!
We have lots and lots and lots to do, but we're going to take it slowly. Ryan will be working hard while I'm at Girls Camp this week. We hadn't owned the place a full 5 hours before he ripped out a wall. It will take years to do everything we want, but we're excited to do it!

Check This Out

2009-06-17T20:53:00.002-06:00

Ryan and I gave my grandpa a picture of the Raleigh temple to paint for us, and it's AMAZING!!! Aren't all you North Carolinians jealous?

An Amazing Weekend

2009-06-15T14:22:00.015-06:00

Mom and dad are here! We're very excited to have our first visitors to Paonia. They're also the only ones that will see the house we're in now, since we're moving within a month. Here's some of what we've done so far:
Saturday morning we went to Butch's Cafe, in honor of my dad. Mom has the picture of the huge pancake the size of a pizza -- I'll have to upload that later.

Here mom and I are getting ready to ride the train into the gold mine in Silverton, CO.

And here we are in the gold mine! Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde. They took us right down into it, and we all stood around the kivas and poked our heads into windows. It was amazing!

Like this!

Aren't they cute?

We also went to Balcony House. You don't get to see the grand scope like you do with Cliff Palace, but you get to tour more parts of it. You have to climb a lot of ladders and go through tunnels to get to it. It was so fun!

Ryan in the tunnel.

This is what we had to climb to get out of Balcony House. It looks worse than it is.

Mesa Verde was amazing! It's almost 5 hours away from where we live, but that's totally doable. Don't you want to visit so you can go see it??

Baby kicks

2009-06-08T09:50:00.002-06:00

I was lying in bed this morning when I should have gotten up and started working, and the baby kept kicking me. I'm pretty sure she was trying to kick my butt out of bed and start doing stuff. Darn, did my baby inherit Ryan's work ethic? I'm gonna have to teach her a few things...

23 Weeks

2009-06-07T14:20:00.003-06:00

Aack!

You and Your Census Worker

2009-05-28T16:30:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, I have been working for the census bureau this summer doing address verification for next year's census. It's been quite the experience.

Here's the deal, people. First, if you receive mail at your house next year, you should get a form in the mail. FILL IT OUT AND MAIL IT. Then no one has to bother to drive to your house and ask you questions when you'd rather be watching something on Hulu. IF you don't get mail at your house, or for some reason you don't mail in your form, BE NICE TO THE CENSUS WORKER. He/she hates her job more than you hate her for doing her job, and she's just the messenger anyway. If you don't believe in the census, tell her so politely and shut the door (I'm using female pronouns b/c 90% of the workers in our area are women). No guns, no swearing, no dogs foaming at the mouth -- please.

I've learned a lot so far on this job -- like the fact that there are a lot of kind and trusting people out there. I was offered water for myself and my dog on hot days, I stayed and chatted with some people about what it's like to be new to the area, and I left some homes feeling a strong sense of faith in humanity. Then there were the other houses -- the ones with "No trespassing or I'll shoot your f*ing head off" signs (and we're supposed to ignore those). I've been bit by a dog. I've been sworn at and shooed off property. I've stood ignored at doorways where I KNOW people are home b/c I can hear the TV, when all I want to know is if that house is # 350 or 352.

I've learned I need to update my cell phone with some local numbers. One day my car got stuck in the mud (yes, I live in the country), and I had to walk 4 miles home in the rain because Ryan was on a scouting trip and I had no Paonia numbers in my phone. I even had to pee in the woods -- all you who have been pregnant will understand.

I've learned that materialism is relative. I've been to multimillion dollar ranches and shacks in the woods, and if I were to tell the owners of the latter that they're poor, I don't think they'd believe me. *Start singing "The Best Things in Life Are Free" here. It's been good for me to step back and realize that my definition of needs was inappropriate. Well, it still is. I need a dishwasher.

And last but not least, I've learned that maybe SUVs aren't the spawn of satan after all. I could really use some higher clearance and four wheel drive out here!

In conclusion, be nice to your census workers. They've been through a lot!

Our car

2009-05-25T13:58:00.001-06:00

On our way to our baby appt a week ago, Ryan and I got in a car accident. We were stopped at a red light on Hwy 50 and got rear-ended. The other driver said he just wasn't paying attention. We heard his brakes squeek about a second before impact. Luckily, no one was going through the intersection because we just rolled right through it -- I was freaking out and Ryan was leaning over asking if I was ok. And then for the next hour and a half I kept crying and Ryan handled everything. I'd like to blame that on the pregnancy, but it probably would have gone down that way anyway.

Our car has been pronounced a total loss -- it was only four months old. Now we're looking for another car. Anyone have any leads/suggestions?

Our baby appt

2009-05-18T23:21:00.003-06:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

Ryan and I are very excited. Yay for pink!

Oh, and we got rear-ended on our way to our doctor's appointment. Ryan and I have some wicked whiplash, but besides that we're all ok, including our baby girl. Our doctor was so nice. We were supposed to be his last appointment of the day, but when we called and told him what happened he waited almost an extra hour to see us and check on the baby. And one of the nurses gave us a ride to the rental car place.

We're in Denver right now, so I'll update with more info on Wednesday.

Our Family

2009-05-16T10:33:00.007-06:00

Goodness it's been uh, quite a while since Ryan and I have taken a picture together. Guess we should get on that, huh? -->

This is our dog Toby. He's about 1 year old, and we've had him for about 8 months. He misses the snow somethin' fierce.

This of course is baby girl or baby boy Sweetwood. We find out on Monday. Eek!

And then of course, there's our chickens. We don't have any pictures yet that don't include the dead ones still, so I'll get on that. :)

Peer Pressure

2009-05-16T09:57:00.001-06:00

Well, now that we're going to have a baby, I guess the next requirement is setting up a blog. So here we go!