Running in Circles

January

  Started my wellness internship at ScenicView Academy, ran the St. George half marathon with Martin Wright and PR'd, went to the Jazz game, felt different, took a pregnancy test..or two or three.

   Went to basketball games, worked on the Jetta, kept running to ease morning sickness, had to wait and see if insurance would cover my pregnancy, and survived morning classes (barely).

March

 Told our families we were pregnant, baby had her first picture taken, celebrated my 22nd birthday

April

 Finished a semester of classes, found out our baby was a GIRL, Melanie and kris got hitched, Brice started his internship in Iowa, we missed each other, started Spring classes, and taught Pilates four hours a week

May

  Lots of Skyping and missing one another, my stomach grew bigger, obviously forgot to take any pictures

June

  Reunited and it felt so good, had a lot of free time while Brice worked, enjoyed the days with family, watched Brice play on a softball team

July

 John Deere party of all parties, baby kicked a lot, sweaty in Midwest humidity, still running 40+ miles a week

August

 Road trip back home, 18 hours in the car, celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in Bear Lake with our friends Matt, Emily, and Eli, spent three long days welcoming freshmen to BYU via New Student Orientation

September

  Started Fall semester, wondering if we would both survive with a newborn, kept running along, cut my hair..couldn't decide if I liked it, belly grew even bigger!

October

   Due date comes and goes, spent hours bouncing on stability ball, got induced, had a baby, welcomed Hazel Rae Johnson into the world and into our family. The best day ever!

November

 Learning how to be a parent, fell so in love with our sweet babe, enjoyed Thanksgiving, started running again after taking 3 weeks off, Hazel is mostly sleeping through the night.

December

  Survived finals, made lots of chocolate chex mix, visited Temple Square, spent a week in California, got spoiled rotten from Santa, enjoyed a few days with Doug & Lucinda and Hannah & Andrew

2012 
... a year of ups and downs, learning and growing, small trials and incredible blessings. 

Tonight we say Adios 2012 and hola to 2013!

On Wednesday night Hazel got to join us at her first BYU Basketball game. She slept through most of it, except when we started scoring a lot- she would wake up looking very concerned. It was really fun to get out and do something fun together.

Thursday morning we woke up and hiked the Y. 

For the first half I carried Hazel in the baby Bijou. It felt like I was pregnant all over again and traded Brice for the backpack. Hazel was wonderful and fell asleep for most of the hike. I couldn't believe how exhausting the hike was for me...and I was quick to tell Brice..probably too often too! I've been running more and more each week but oh boy!! It felt really good to be sore the next few days!

I didn't get any pictures but we really enjoyed spending our Saturday night with Hannah and Andrew and the Wright Family. They made our favorites for dinner and spent the evening playing games with us. We played a few fun paper games and then played a few rounds of Murder in the Dark in the basement. Playing that game brought back a lot of fun memories for Brice and I. 

(Thanks Davo and Whitney for the weekend at the cabin.)

We were really grateful for the few days off from school. Two more weeks and then its Christmas Break! 

 I've been on the wait-list at the library for this book since early July! Finally this week it was all mine. I finished it in hours. 

I  couldn't put it down. 

It made me so grateful for life.

So grateful for family. 

So grateful for my sweet babe who looks at me with such innocent eyes. 

So grateful for my body. It may not be what I want it to look like, but it is so capable of so many things- especially the everyday things that I take for granted. 

So grateful for my husband-for loving me and promising to spend eternity with me. 

So grateful for the gospel. For a loving Father in Heaven who loves and protects his children.

Read this book and you will walk a little taller and have a smile on your face all day- it just makes you feel good and want to be better.

I cannot believe how fast the last few weeks have gone by. Hazel is already a month old and we are a week away from Thanksgiving break. I just finished my application for April graduation from BYU and will only have 8.0 credits next semester to graduate. I will also be teaching Pilates again for BYU. Brice continues to work hard at his job, in his classes, and on his motorcycle! 

It is so fun for me to watch Brice with our babe. As I type this he is giving her a bath and telling her how beautiful she is. He is a wonderful husband and father. Life seems to be keeping us busy and on our toes! 

 The timing belt on the jetta broke so we were forced into using most of our savings to pay for it.  I guess those "rainy days" come and we'll start saving and preparing for the next one that is sure to come!

Hazel at ONE month

- Goes to bed between 9:00 and 9:30 and sleeps until 3:00. Eats and goes back to sleep until 6:30-8:00. We are so grateful she is a good sleeper! 

- Comes to classes with me on Weds and is so good!

- Smiles a lot now, but mostly at Brice :)

- Recognizes our voices

- Outgrew newborn diapers last week

- Is eating well and takes a bottle easily when we need her to

- Can hold her head up for quite a long time

- Loves being outside and falls asleep in her stroller as soon as I start jogging

- Has a pretty sad case of baby acne

Looking back I realize the last few posts have only been about Hazel, but what can I say... she is my best buddy and the most important (and time consuming) thing in our lives!

I am in awe in how our lives have changed in the last week. We had a baby- and we fell in love with this perfect little girl!

I spent the week missing classes, resting with my bebe, learning what she needs and wants, and becoming completely smitten with this little person. I feel so grateful for her. She is a very sweet tempered baby. Every night this week, Brice and I have gotten at least 8 hours of sleep! Not what I expected. If we get her in her pj's, lotion her up, feed and burp her, and swaddle her tight around 10:00-10:30 she sleeps until 3:00 am. I feed her, burp her, change her diaper and she goes back down until almost 7:00 am. Repeat routine and she sleeps again until 10:00. Perfect! I get up when Brice leaves at 9:00 and shower, get dressed, make the bed, etc..and am so happy and prepared for the day when she wakes up!

Our days have been a mixture of feedings and naps, walks, errands, and snuggle time! I'm almost a little mad I'm in classes but a wonderful friend has volunteered to watch her so neither one of us have to miss our classes.

This week has changed our lives- but so much more for the better! Happy one week birthday Miss Hazel!

* I did write this on Friday and forgot about posting it. oops!*