soon to be gilliespartyofFOUR!

soooo we have some super exciting news!

we are expecting BABY #2!!!

and can i just say this has been a long little crazy ride for us...

this little journey started about a few years ago...
when the baby hungriness started to set in...
but due to the fact that i am on some immune suppressants...
 and have been on them for over 10 years....
i needed some vaccine updates
(one being a series that had to be done over a 6 month period)
... which i couldn't get if i was pregnant...
so we were told to wait...
along with all that my crohn's was pretty much all out of wack anyways...
so fast forward a bit to july 2015... undergoing colonoscopy #5 to see what all
was going on and why i wasnt in remission.
so we get that accomplished and wait for my follow up about a month
later to discuss my results.
now let me tell you... i was actually super excited to head to this appointment...
i pretty much had this visit all figured out in my mind to go as follows...
we would go in, discuss my results, be offered some new medications, look over
their risks, be sent on our way to go make a baby.
so when the doct came in... very very serious... and pretty much told us that
surgery was looking like our only option...
my hope for another baby at that time just dwindled away.
my heart broke that day.
and maybe that sounds dramatic... but if there is one thing i know,
when your heart is aching because you feel like something is missing from your family
there is nothing more discouraging then hearing that you cant have that.
and then it all just keeps piling on...
every time you see someones birth announcement,
or someone has a baby,
 or you get asked when are you gonna have another?
or the unwelcomed advice about how far apart you should space your children,
or someone saying- oh but you can snuggle my kids whenever you want...
like holding their baby is going to make me feel
any better about not being able to have one of my own.
so after 6 months of recovery.... and not a whole lot of improvement on the health....
it was time for another colonoscopy.
this time we left we some happy news!!!
since everything was healing great then it was
was as good as time as ever to be able to start trying again.
after we stopped the birth control... things just werent right.
and i guess i just chalked it up to be that i have been on the pill so long that
my body was just trying to get back in the swing of things.
and when we got pregnant with madyn, we really werent on the pill that long...
so i just needed to be patient.
but something didnt feel quite right in my gut.
and i kept having a feeling like i needed to go to my obgyn.
so i went... and we talked... and scheduled blood tests... and ultrasounds...
and the first problem- my thyroid is out of wack...
and second concern- i was diagnosed with PCOS.
so we discussed our chances of having a baby being significantly lower
then a normal healthy couple.
 medications to help us get there.
and all these other options that just made my heart hurt.
so we were sent on our way and told to come back in two weeks
to discuss more blood tests, hormone tests, and some testing on eric.
so to say that i was depressed and struggling was kind of an understatement.
the week of my appointment came and sunday i was SOOOO sick.
and monday came and i was sooooo sick....
and then it hit me, about a few weeks earlier.
the reason we went to the obgyn in the first place was (ready for tmi?)
that i kept bleeding... like everyday bleeding.
and a few weeks prior i had just suddenly stopped.
so maybe why i stopped was because i was pregnant....
so i took a test and there was a double line :)
i laughed. i cried. i honestly felt like what in the heck is heavenly father doing to me?!?
it had definitely been a roller coaster of emotions during that month... or even
past couple of years for that matter.
this pregnancy has been a bit different compared to madyn.
the whole first trimester i was sick the whole 24 hours a day...
luckily just not nauseous- im not a puker.
i was also super tired the first trimester. making it to bed by 8 was
killing me... i couldnt get to bed fast enough.
i have acne like CRAZY!
my hair is pretty nasty... it's falling out like crazy... and greasy... and brittle...
and just plain weird.
i feel super moody... poor eric.... im pretty cranky.
i want absolutely NOTHING to do with my diet dr pepper and coke.
i wouldnt say that i have really had any cravings
although i have been eating quite a bit of cheese cake and grilled cheese & tomato soup.
probably sprite or 7up if anything would be what i want most.
i am also super cold... all the time! i cannot get warm...
probably part of the thyroid issue...
but either way I AM FREEZING!
madyn is super excited to be a big sister.
she is set on having a girl.
her name for a girl is sofia... and for a boy it's clifford the big red dog.
and eric is set on having a little boy and a future hunting partner.
and to be honest im just super excited and dont really care what gender it is.
right now we are sitting a little bit past 15 weeks so we
get to find out what it is january 13.
which seems like FOREVER away!
but we are super excited for our little baby bean to get here on/ around may 30 :)
and feel pretty blessed that we get to be parents again
and have our family grow a little bit bigger!

december!

sunday we were back home!

it was pretty nice to get back to the house and our own beds.

but it was a pretty busy week ahead of us.

mads was thrilled to get back to preschool and see her friends.

monday was spent running around getting visiting teaching done for the month.

tuesday i had to do a certification for home health and watch colter.

wednesday after i picked up mads from school we had to go get some

grocery shopping done...

well apparently school has been wearing little miss out...

she was out cold for our whole shopping trip.

that night little miss had dance class then she went with

me over to young womens for the night.

she loves tagging along and being with all the girls.

that evening i found out that we were having all these complications

with billing and the companies that i go through for my remicade

and the company that comes to administer it.

i had been so sick the last couple of days so looking to have to prolong it

was seriously killing me inside.

and to be quite honest i was super frustrated that we were dealing with this at 

literally the 11th hour since i was supposed to get it the next morning.

but i had the biggest tender mercy of my life!

my sweet, sweet, wonderful gary from rs iv worked everything out for me

so that i could still get it.

so thursday morning i was able to get my infusion.

but by the afternoon i was completely beat!

so luckily when madyn got home she was beat too so we were able

to have a nice nap together. 

friday me and mads went over to a ward friends house

and did music makers with them and a bunch of other people from our ward.

we sang songs, read books, the kids played and we made a snowman craft gift.

and of course madyn had to go completely decked out as a princess.

after we got home we got out our christmas decorations.

madyn loves her nativity that she can play with and pretty much hasnt 

let it out of her sight.

saturday was a big day for the cowboys!

that afternoon we went and watched the cowboys play a basketball game

and we got free chick-fil-a!

after the game we came home and got ready for the mountain west championship.

it was freezing outside!

soooo. 3 pairs of bottoms +snowpants, a long john top, t shirt, 2 sweaters,

2 winter coats, a scarf and 2 beanies later (and that was just on me...)

we were set to go!

we were bundled and warm, and had lots of blankets 

to keep us nice and cozy.

it was soooo packed and was crazy busy!

and before the game even started little miss was out!

she was asleep through the first quarter.

then we tried to move her to get her a little more comfortable

she woke up and was up for the rest of the game.

but she did awesome.

unfortunately the game didnt turn out in our favor....

but we still had a blast and it was well worth sitting out in the 

FREEZING cold to watch :)

thanksgiving!

so i knew i should have listened to my gut

and took madyn into get her ears checked last week...

we thought little miss was doing better, then in the middle of the 

night mads just started crying in her sleep :( 

because her ears hurt :(

dad took off early after breakfast...

i got ready for church and eric got the pass to miss church

to take mads to urgent care to get some meds for her ears.

monday was mads first day back at headstart.
she was so excited to be back to see her friends.
i asked her who she missed the most and was excited to see
and she said kayla because "she's so CUTE and SO LITTLE"
boy that girl makes me smile:)
when eric got off from class we talked about heading to the valley a little earlier
then planned...
he didnt have anymore class and there was going to be a snow storm blowing in.
so when he got done with work we took off to the valley.
tuesday we spent the day over at the school.
madyn loved seeing megan and being in moms class...
so much in fact that we couldnt get her to leave.
she spent the rest of the afternoon there and she loved it.

she is quite the goofball!

her big thing she is into right now is drawing suns.

and i guess just drawing in general.

i love when she is proud of her work.

that night we had dinner at mom and dads for dads birthday.

wednesday i went and worked at the shop for the morning.

we were watching maycie that morning so madyn was super excited to 

have a friend around.

they loved playing with tony and carilyns bouncy house.

that afternoon we spent over at moms helping prepare things for the big ol day.

thursday was of course thanksgiving!

we had a great day spending time with our family and just being together.

all the food was stinking delicious!

we played cards, ate, watched football, ate, cooked, ate, and visited.

it was a pretty great day.

the next day we spent the day over at the gillies house.

we had thanksgiving dinner with tony, carilyn and tyson that afternoon.

then later we headed up to the mountains and got them a Christmas tree.

that evening we found out micah and her family came down for a quick visit

so we went over there to visit for a bit.... and play cards.

saturday dad took tys, james, eric and ry to rock springs to the gun show

and to sportsmans warehouse.

so us girls stuck around and hit up busy bee, the bokay, jane an main...

and then played cards for the rest of the day.

that night we watched football...

and it wasn't a very good night for pokes or utes fans...

so that was kind of a bust....

but all in all it was still a great week.

sick in bed.

sunday we headed back to ol laradise.

we took off pretty early because eric had to get to work that afternoon.

it was great to be back home even though it was such a short quick trip.

monday when i went and picked madyn up from preschool her teacher

told me that she had a little bit of diarrhea during the day... and when we went home

she still had some through out the rest of the day :/

since the stomach bug was rolling around her preschool we decided we would

keep her home tuesday just in case...

and she seemed great. she played with colter. was happy as can be. 

and just seemed fine.

so by late in the morning i was feeling pretty bad that i kept her home...

but by noon... my girl was beat and the fever hit. 

and the rest of the night she still wasnt feeling that great....

so wednesday we kept her home again.

but she seemed fine yet again...

but it hadnt been 24 hours since her fever broke and that's

what they recommend at her school.... so we went out and did our grocery shopping.

and this is how little miss insisted on going out...

isnt she a ham?!?
but by the time we got home she was once again pooped...
and quickly went down for a nap.
and by the time she was up again.... another fever.
i seriously was thrown... why was she fine and so good in the morning,
but by the afternoon and throughout the evening she was down again.
she was breaking my heart!
so thursday we kept her home again....
and she wasnt too happy- she was missing school big time.
but when the girl doesnt move from her spot on the couch all day
you definitely know something is up.
friday she was doing sooo much more better but still had
a little low grade fever throughout the day.
i had a feeling it must be her ears but she said that they were fine
and werent hurting... i figured she was on the mend anyways
so i wasnt going to worry about taking her in.
i should have listened to my gut... because SPOILER ALERT!
it was an ear infection.
that night i went out to our relief society fab friday.
while eric got to spend the night home with little miss.
saturday we got ourselves some company!
dad came up to hit up some cowboys sports!!!
and finally- mads NO LONGER had a fever!
we went and had breakfast then headed over to watch some football!
and it was a beautiful day!
we ran into pistol pete on the way up to our seats...
and madyn was NOT a fan!
i personally thought it was hilarious! #terriblemommoment

it was a great game and we won!

it got a little nerve racking there at the end...

but we won and it was great.

-other then the obnoxious people we were sitting by-

after the football game we went home, had dinner. and hurried off
to a cowboys basketball game.
but to be honest i think we were all beat and super exhausted after that football game.
and it didnt help that it was stinking hot in there...
but we ended up winning the basketball game too...
so that was fun.
but we were ready to head home and get to bed!
it was a great day. and perfect end to our lazy/ sick week.

disney on ice.

so it was a pretty great start to our week.

being lazy. taking it easy around the house.

eric has been pretty busy with school, and work, and everything else

in between. 

so a lot of the time it's just me and my girl....

and honestly... i cant complain. :)

this week we got madyn's school pictures back...

how hilarious?!?

huh?

what a little goober!

i saw them and started busting up laughing... 

her teacher was quick to tell me when retakes were. 

but honestly, i think they are going to be keepers.

i think they are hilarious.

the rest of the week was pretty much the same old, same old.

preschool and dance class for mads.

school and work for eric.

and running errands and young womens for me.

friday after eric was finished at work we took off for the valley.

saturday we hung out with dad for a bit before we took off to utah.

we first hit up midway. mom, grandma, and the aunts were having a baby shower 

for my cousin haley.

it was nice to visit everyone.

after that we headed to salt lake to meet up with eric's family.

we ate dinner at cafe rio, then went to the gateway mall to kill some time

before disney on ice.

i think everyone liked it.

we got to see lion king, peter pan, little mermaid, frozen,

and of course mickey, minnie, daisy, donald and goofy.

after the show we headed back to the valley to stay the night.

it was another good week in the books!

HALLOWEEN!

sunday mom, dad and micah said their farewells.

it was a pretty hard goodbye, especially for little miss.

monday was good ol halloween!

and little miss was minnie mouse!

it was a pretty low key day.

eric didnt get off work till 5 and most of the around town activities

ended at 6.

so as soon as he got home we rushed to do some trick-or-treating.

mads was pretty shy the whole time, the last person we hit she finally broke out of her shell...

go figure right?!?

tuesday mads wasnt feeling so great...

unfortunately the head cold is hitting eric and madyn pretty hard right now. 

so i was pretty ok to keep her home with me for the day.

that next night she slept AWFUL!

so i decided just to let her sleep in and then see how she felt later in the day.

and little miss was more then ready to head back to school!

i love how much she is loving school. 

it sure makes the long days away from her more worth it.

that evening we had dance class and young womens to keep us busy and running.

and can i just say that little miss is such a trooper- 

especially considering how exhausted she was.

thursday madyn had a pj day at school.

and she was sooo excited to go in her pajamas. 

friday we had a parent teacher conference to see how she was doing.

and she is doing AWESOME!

here is a little bit of what we found out.

she is making friends- and is not just sticking to one group.

she is playing with everyone.

she is super compassionate and will always try and comfort someone when they are upset.

if she cant find a way to help then she lets her teachers know.

she loves science and watching experiments be preformed.

she is awesome with her cutting and pasting.

she is doing pretty good at meal time- she will at least try something once.

(HUGE SHOCKER THERE)

she marks her things with a M.

and is doing really good mimicking and copying letters.

which at the beginning of the week i was so impressed with her...

she wanted to draw a picture to send to Carilyn.

so i asked her what she wanted to draw, she told me, i drew it, then she drew hers.

and i do have to say myself- i think she did WAY awesome!

so we were pretty happy to hear how great she is doing at preschool.

her teachers told us that they have to constantly remind themselves that she is the 

youngest in their group and that she only just turned three.

but what can we say... i guess we already knew she was pretty brilliant ;)

saturday we spent catching up on some much needed rest and relaxation.

that night we headed out to the university of wyoming and utah state game.

i love how much madyn loves going to those games...

even though she was passed out before the end of the first quarter.

it was a pretty great night for some cowboy football.... even though the game
seemed to last foooorrrrreeeevvvveeeerrrrr.....
especially in the 3rd quarter.
but we were pretty happy to have another uw win under our belt!

company! and GO WYO!

so another crazy week started out in the gillies house!

and if this picture was any indication of the great week we were to have

then you should know it was pretty awesome!

tuesday evening me and mads were able to spend some time together

at a literacy night held by her preschool.

she was stuck to one of her teacher's hips the whole night!

and was just in seventh heaven.

i think she is pretty well liked around there and im super happy that

she likes it there just as well.

wednesday night madyn had a halloween dance party at her 

dance class and she was beyond thrilled to dress up.

and she was pretty excited when her dance teacher was dressed

up as minnie mouse just like her :)

thursday mads had a big day at preschool.

we went over to the university for a field trip at the bug museum.

it was a pretty great morning spending the day with her and her class.

that afternoon when i got home- me and eric had a little date together.

we had some errands to run on campus and had lunch at panda express.

it was the best afternoon that we have had together in a long time.

that afternoon madyn had her first eye doctor appointment.

and she did pretty good considering she was super nervous.

the good news is her eyes are good and healthy

but the bad news is they are right on the boarder and will eventually

need glasses... but hopefully not for another year or so.

friday evening micah, mom and dad made it to laramie!

and saturday we had a ball!

we spent the morning out at the prairie rose for breakfast

and then did the typical laramie experience,

hitting the usual shopping spots.

then we just came home and played cards till around 2.

the toomers were up for the game as well and invited us over to their tailgate party.

after that we headed to the football game against bosie state.

it was a pretty awesome game and we ended up winning by a safety.

it was the first time ever that the University of Wyoming has beaten Bosie.

we broke their undefeated season, and moved to the number 1 spot in the mountain west conference.

all in all it was a pretty great way to end the week.

and needless to say we were all pooped by the time we got back to the house!

running. running. running.

sunday we got up and going and took off to head back to 

good ol' laradise!

it was pretty nasty weather in lyman so we were pretty happy to head home

to warmer weather!

(even though it wasnt too much better over our way)

madyn was pretty happy to be back home and go back to preschool to 

see her friends!

but needless to say being back into that routine... it pretty much wiped her out!

so it was a pretty chill week.

between getting the refrigerator stocked back up 

and the house deep cleaned 

after being gone.

the only big thing going on was that mads had a dentist appointment on friday

which she did awesome at.

and i couldnt have been more proud of how she acted even though 

i know she was super nervous and pretty shy.

saturday i took off for fort collins to attend the temple.

i seriously think that temple is just simply gorgeous and 

i thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon there.

then i was able to come home and watch a little poke football with my family.

talk about a perfect way to end the day!

workin in ol' lyman

so our crazy week in the valley continues!

i spent most of my time at the shop paying off some ol debts.

and to be honest i was actually quite proud of all that i got done and accomplished

around the shop and office.

wednesday dad had a tow call to evanston so we hopped in the tow truck

with him and headed over.

it worked out perfect because i had a few errands to run at the 

court house while we were over there anyways.

just when we were getting ready for lunch dad got another call

for a vehicle in evanston to head over to ogden.

so after lunch we headed onward.

needless to say... i didnt get anything done at the shop that day...

but it was still a pretty great day anyways :)

complete with a target run!

friday was eric's birthday! 

but he couldnt find a sub so he could get out of town earlier then 5....

so he got to the valley pretty late at night.

i had another appointment down at the U so Carilyn took me

down so i didnt have to drive in Salt Lake...

because im a huge wimp! and cant handle that!

and it was pretty much the longest appointment of my life!

we checked in at 2 and didnt leave the hospital till 5....

and for the better part of the day we were just waiting.

so after a frustrating day it was pretty great to end it with eric since

we hadnt seen him in over a week!

saturday he took off hunting and i took off to utah for a sisters day.

it was a much needed/ perfect day- and get way to end our stay in the valley.

unfortunately eric didnt get his big bull he had been hoping for-

but did get a cow to fill our freezer with.

so we were pretty happy anways!

down to the valley!

welp it was a pretty crazy week getting 

ready to take off to the valley for the next 10 days.

so in other news there wasnt too much going on besides

grocery shopping, cleaning, packing and running around.

although we did get some pumpkin decorating in for miss mads.

thursday we were planning on taking off to the valley after madyn 

finished preschool in the afternoon....

but little miss woke up with a bit of a fever so we kept her home.

i still had some things to do around town so we didnt get off any earlier then we had planned.

we got into lyman later that evening, and made our rounds saying hi to everyone.

madyn was pretty happy to be in lyman.

friday she went off to the gillies grandparents while we took off to a doctor's

appointment at the U.

we had a fun rest of the day going out to lunch and doing some shopping.

then mom and dad took off to head home and i took

off to heber to stay with the colemans overnight.

i sent micah and casey out for a night out on the town and the kids

and i all cuddled up and watched movies.

we had a fun night together.

saturday we spent the morning doing some 

family pictures for one of micah's friends.

after pictures and running around town i headed back to be with my little miss!

i was missing her BIG time.

when i got into the valley we decided that we better head out 

and get the meeks family pictures done while scott had a day off.

so needless to say it was a pretty busy day for me and my camera!

but it was still pretty great!