Miss Shades

Thanksgiving Point

We went to Thanksgiving point with Amanda and Max to see all the animals and to ride the ponies.

When we were leaving Amanda and I decide to by a season pass because we had so much fun. 

We are so excited to go back all the time and to take as many pony rides as we want! 

Officially Weened

Well we made it to just about 16 months of nursing and this girl is officially weened. 

The weening process went so much smoother than the scenario I conjured up in my head.  I thought I was going to need some big plan to put nursing to rest, but one morning I woke up with the feeling it was time and that I needed to stop TODAY. So, that's what I did. We began on a Thursday {2/27/14} and didn't look back.  She asked for it a little bit and put up a small fight but quickly realized it was gone. Her nursing days were over. Jade began sleeping through the night immediately.  It was a dream. I could not believe that weening had solved our sleeping problems as easily as everyone had said it would.  Until we went to St. George.  She woke up every night for 2-3 hours the whole time we were there. Man, oh man did I miss nursing then.  I could always nurse her right back to sleep when she awoke in the middle of the night.  However, that is not the only reason I miss nursing. I absolutely loved nursing and the bond it created between Jade and I. I will forever be grateful for my time and experience I had nursing my sweet babe.  It was easy for me and made sense to me. It was a crutch and a cure. And we both loved it. I hope it will always come easily and naturally for me with my future babies because I am way too forgetful to be packing around formula and bottles. It was always a comfort to know I had what my baby needed on tap and it was one less thing for me to think about. I have nothing against bottle feeding and think you should do what works best for you and your baby, but I will always be an advocate for nursing. You can't knock it until you try it- or give it an honest attempt.  Nursing is magical and packed with a long list of benefits - this rang true for me. My wish is that is could ring true for every mother but I understand that is not always the case. You've got to do what works best for you. In the future, I hope nursing will still work best for me because there really is just nothing like it. 

Cafe Rio Saturdays

Our new thing is to go to Cafe Rio on Saturdays because of their Cancun shrimp tacos, which are only served on, you guessed it, Saturdays.  Tyler can't seem to get enough of them.  I, on the other hand, tend to stick to my favorite barbacoa pork. Sometimes we go with friends, sometimes we get it to go, some times we eat it there, and go alone. No matter how we do it, it is always tasty and I look forward to a night off from cooking. 

February Sunshine

The last week of February was gorgeous. We spent every afternoon outside at the park. We went solo and with friends. It was beautiful. Everyday since then I wake up hoping it's going to be just as warm as that week so we can bask in the sunshine again. There have been some good days but nothing as good as that perfect week. Summer, please come back already. 

Winter Olympics // Sunday Funday

The olympics captured our hearts and attention yet again. I'm a sucker for anything that unites mankind. We looked forward to watching our fellow Americans compete every night- such incredible and inspiring athletes. Last Sunday, we watched the closing ceremony feeling proud to be Americans and proud of all those who competed. It was also a gorgeous February day so we went on a nice walk and played hard in grandpa and grandma's backyard with the family. The kiddos were in heaven.