A Special Day

Yesterday was a very special day for our little family. We celebrated our 2nd anniversary. It's amazing how quickly time flies. David and I have been together for 6 years - 2 years before his mission, the 2 years of his mission, and married for 2 years. I feel so blessed to be married to a wonderful man! David is so kind and thoughtful. He rarely ever gets angry, and even when he does he is so calm and kind and usually gets over it in a few minutes. He is always so good to me. While I was pregnant, I would look at something I wanted and say "accio, water (or whatever it was I wanted)" and David would run over, grab it, and bring it to me. Accio is from Harry Potter; the object is supposed to fly into your hand when you say the command. One thing I love about David is how much he loves my cooking. He always compliments whatever I make and always says it is the best he's ever had. On Saturday David and I got our wedding video from our friend, Cameron. Cameron did a great job with our video. I love watching the video and seeing the excitement and the joy that was spilling out of us on our wedding day. It is a nice reminder of the joy I have in my marriage.
Of course, the best thing that has happened to us since we got married was the birth of our sweet William! Which brings me to the next reason why yesterday was special. We blessed William in our ward yesterday. The circle was filled with David, both of our fathers, my two grandfathers (David's grandpas both live out of state), my brother Adam, our brothers-in-law Eric and Jon, and our bishop Craig Cottle. The blessing was so sweet and really brought the spirit in. David was really nervous for the blessing, but he did a fantastic job because he performed the blessing through the spirit. William slept through most of his blessing and was quiet when he did wake up. We had lunch with our families at my Grandma and Grandpa Gowans's house after church.
Here are some pictures from our day.

This picture shows four generations. Here I am with William, my dad Floyd William Gowans, and his parents - Floyd H. and Shannon Gowans.

Grateful Thursday

My friend, Amy, does a post every Thursday about things that she is grateful for. I just got off the phone with a dear friend of mine and I feel so grateful for some things that I just have to express. So today I am following Amy's lead and posting the things I am grateful for.
I am so grateful for this dear friend of mine. She is such an example to me of courage and strength. I feel so grateful that she trusts me enough to call me when she needs someone to talk to. We were talking about the atonement and how we know we always have the Savior to rely on. We both expressed how we need to talk to someone sometimes to really feel better. I made the comment that at times I feel guilty talking to people, that the Savior should be enough to talk to and communicate with through prayer. But as I was telling her this, I realized that the Savior IS enough. He and His Father have given us siblings, parents, and friends to talk to. They, in Their infinite mercy and wisdom, have placed other people on the earth through whom They can answer my prayers. I am so grateful for a loving and merciful Father in Heaven, for His Son and my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the plan of Salvation and the peace that it brings us in the good times in our lives and in the difficult times. I am so grateful for the friends, sisters, brothers, parents, and family that I can call upon in my times of need and in my times of joy. Thanks Becky and Shannon for always being willing to listen. My friendship with you and my love for you are so dear to my heart and fill me with unspeakable joy. I am grateful for my testimony and for my understanding of the gospel. I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wouldn't trade my membership or my testimony for anything. It is because of my testimony that I can fully appreciate all that life brings to me. It is because of my testimony and my faith in the Lord that I can truly enjoy having a son and having a sweet husband. I am so grateful for my sweet son and my sweet husband. I love them both more than words can adequately express. Sometimes words aren't enough, just the feeling will suffice.
I want to share my testimony with those few of you who read my blog. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church of our Savior. I know that the doctrines of the church are true and that they can bring a peace unlike any other peace into my life. I know that Christ atoned for me, not just for my sins, but for EVERY aspect of my life - the joy, the sorrow, the good and the bad. I know that He is ALWAYS there for me. I know that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me and that He knows me. I know that families are meant to be eternal. I know that the things that I have learned in the temple are true. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and that he did indeed restore the true church to the earth. I know that he did indeed see God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I know that there truly is a power that flows freely from the Book of Mormon and that we just have to read it to partake of that power. I miss that power when I miss a day reading the Book of Mormon. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the living Prophet today. I love praying for him every night and I know that he prays for me. And just because my heart aches for him and because of the gratitude and love I have for him will I add this - I know that Gordon B. Hinckley was and is a true prophet of God. And I know that it is ok for me to say that I miss him because it shows that he made an impact on my life. I know that all these things are true. I bear testimony of these things in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

He smiled!

William smiled at me today! It was a genuine smile - a responsive smile! I was talking to him and he gave me a great big smile! SO CUTE!!!! Now I just need to get a picture of it. I've been waiting for this! I saw on the news a while ago how a baby's smile provides his mother with a natural high. I now know what they mean!

In other news, William is now one month old! We weighed him this past Saturday and he weighed almost 9 pounds! He probably weighs 9 pounds now! He has cute chubby cheeks! I love it! Here are some pictures from September 17th. I love his expression in the bottom right picture! And I don't know why his head is chopped off in some of the pictures. I'll figure it out, I'm new to Picasa.

When William isn't swaddled he sleeps in a pretty funny position. It looks very uncomfortable, but he seems to like it! These were taken when he was three or four weeks old.

William loves looking at our couch! I think he likes the contrast in the colors and the pattern.

On Sunday we were at my parents house. Shannon came over with her family. Lizzie loved EVERYTHING about William! She kept rubbing his head and poking him. She loved holding him (with my help of course) and putting him in his car seat. Then she stole his pacifier! I guess she loved that too! The second picture is really blurry, but I just had to post it because it is so cute and funny!

So in Love

WARNING -- Long post, but with lots of good pictures. What else would you expect right after a baby is born?

We weren't expecting William to come when he did. I was only 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My hospital bags weren't packed. We hadn't turned in our pre-registration form to the hospital. We weren't even in Orem! On the 15th we went to Layton to finalize some car maintenance. We then stayed the night at my parents house. On the 16th my family threw me a baby shower and then we also had a family reunion. David and I had originally planned on going home after those two events. However, we decided to stay one more night so we could watch Michael Phelps compete in his last race. We stayed in the "guest bedroom" at my parents house; it is actually my old bedroom. My water broke while I was sleeping! I awoke at 4:45 am realizing that I was quite warm and quite wet. The trip to the hospital was not much fun. My contractions started right before we got in the car. They were about 2 to 3 minutes apart during the drive from Layton to Provo. David told you the rest of the story. William Floyd was born at 4:29 pm. We named him after my dad, Floyd William, only we switched the order.

Being a mother is amazing. It is also a little overwhelming at times. I have been quite emotional since coming home from the hospital. But thankfully I have a sweet husband who hugs me and holds me when I cry. I wouldn't trade this time for anything. I love caring for my son. I love rocking him and singing to him. I love nursing him and changing his diaper. I even found it kinda funny when he pooped on me in the wee hours of last Sunday morning. I am so in love - so in love with my husband, and so in love with my son.

Here are some pictures to update you on our life.

This is the last picture I intended to post about being pregnant. David and I went to the gardens at Thanksgiving point and walked through them at the beginning of the month. I was 34 weeks pregnant in this picture. It's amazing how much cooler (temperature wise that is) I feel now that I'm not pregnant anymore! On a side note, I highly recommend seeing the Secret Garden in the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It was my favorite! ("If there's a key, then there must be a door. And if there's a door, there must be a garden." From Hallmark's The Secret Garden)

This is a picture of me in labor. Aren't epidurals splendid?

Here is a picture of mommy and baby shortly after his birth.

William with his grandpa and namesake. In the corner is my FABULOUS nurse, Ashley. She was so amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better nurse! Thanks Ashley!

This video shows how alert and quiet William was right after his birth. I love how he waves! His arms and hands are always moving about or are close to, if not in his mouth.

William's first bath.

Two proud grandmas! I love this picture!

My sweet William, 1 day old.

Getting ready to go home!

I don't know if you remember my post where I posted a picture of the car seat. I couldn't imagine that my baby could be tiny enough to fit in the straps at the lowest level (I hope that makes sense, sorry). However, he is that tiny! Here he is at home!

On Thursday the 21st William was retested for jaundice. His bilirubin level was very high, so we had to get the bililights. He was on the bilibed for the next 4 days. On Monday the 25th he was tested again. His level had dropped enough for him to get off the lights. He sure liked the bilibed though. It kept him extra warm.

Here he is at one week old! He loves to eat his fingers! We love his little toes!

One week old!! I sure do love my little one!

One week old with Daddy. David is a great dad!

Now that he is off the bililights, he can actually wear clothes!

Sweet dreams!

My boys - this is what they did while I worked on this post. So cute!

William

August 17, 2008 We welcomed a new part of our family into the world! After about 11 hours of labor and 55 minutes of pushing, Weighing in at 5lbs 12 oz and 19 and a half inches long. our baby boy William Floyd Dougal! He was born at 4:30 somthing Pm. here are a few pictures for you!

My projects

This week I have been very busy working on lots of projects for the nursery. Some of these projects I've had for quite a while. Others I began and finished just this week. I don't usually do many "crafty" things, so this is a big deal for me. I've decided to post pictures of my projects, so I hope you enjoy them. Who knows, maybe you'll even get inspired to do something that I did. And so you know, my nursery has a theme of stars and I'm using chocolate brown and light blue to decorate.

This is a magnet board that I bought at Roberts for $3.99. I then covered the board and the magnetic frames that came with the board with paper. I got this idea from Good Things Utah on Monday. It was really fun and super easy to do this project.

I bought the board and vinyl lettering for this next project back in May. This week I finally bought the paint and brushes so I could do this project. I think it turned out really cute.

This shelf was given to me by my friend, Dedra. David and I painted it back in June when we painted our dresser/changing table. I just had to paint the stars blue. Since I bought the paint for the board above, I was able to finish this project as well. Thanks Dedra! Kanien, my sister-in-law, got this next project idea from a girl she works with. We made curtains out of bed sheets. We had to cut and sew the sheets so they would be the appropriate size. Then we ironed on our decorations that we cut out of other fabric. Kanien's curtains are white with flowers ironed on. These are the curtains I made. It was a fun project! I love my curtains! It did take a while though. But it was worth it!
I am currently working on a quilt for the crib. I'll post pictures of that next week sometime.

New Things

Well, we moved into our new apartment about 2 weeks ago. I will post pictures of the apartment later. Today I just wanted to post a few pictures of some of our new things.

This is the crib that my father-in-law made for us. It is made out of walnut. My dad had a piece of walnut that he had saved for years, so that is why we chose walnut. I love the crib! It is so beautiful!

This is my new glider and ottoman. I love it! It is super comfy. Marcella (my niece) and I like to sit in it and read stories together. I'm excited to rock my baby in it someday!

This is actually not new. This the dresser I used growing up. It is also a changing table. I think my parents got this for their first baby. So it is about 29 years old. My dad and brother stripped the old paint off. I did the sanding. And then David and I painted it. The color is called Chocolate Coco. When we poured the paint on the tray it looked like melted chocolate.

And this is a view of our laundry room. We decided to use our stimulus check to "stimulate" Home Depot by buying a new washer and dryer. It is so nice to have my very own washer and dryer. The washer is a front loader. The first time we ran it, David and I sat in front of it and watched it. It's pretty cool. I don't think I'll post a video though. It would be way too exciting. Both machines are GE. They are super nice. And because our washer is an Energy Star product we get lots of rebates! Even better!

I was tagged, so no tag backs!!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Around this time I was at Scout camp having fun.

2. What was on my to-do list for today? Come home from work, eat dinner, and go to sleep.

3. What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire? Buy an ice cream cone from Macey's

4. 3 Bad habits... 1.) Talking bad about any and every job I have had. 2.)Laziness. 3.) not blogging...

5. Places I have lived..... Idaho, Utah, Kasai, Maebashi, Fukui, Koga and back.

6. Places I have worked... my parents backyard, crestwood growers, peter piper pizza, e-co marketing, arizona big salad, reams, xango llc.

7. 3 Things people don't know about me.... 1.) i like japanese comics like this (click on picture to see more pages) 2i like exercising but i don't like to get up the energy to do it. 3.) i like raw fish and rice.

Tagged

Tag:
A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and post their names, then go to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was 13 years old. So that means I had girls camp and I think that this was the year my friend and I made up a fantastic story about a lost girl scout, a racoon, and a tent that was missing its cover. I wish I could remember the story better because it was great! I was also getting ready for 8th grade!
2. What was on my to-do list for today? Go to Crystal's house and help her with a project. Go to a Relief Society Book Club in my old ward. Unpack a couple boxes of books and put them away. I did two of the three. David was very kind to unpack the boxes for me while I was at my book club this evening.
3. What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire? I would pay tithing first and donate a nice portion of it to the Church. I would pay off our car. I would buy a house that we could live in forever that has a very big, nice backyard and is in a nice quiet neighborhood where birds love to come and sing for you. I would buy horses. I would save a lot of it and invest it too. Give some to family and friends. I would help a special friend of mine with her car problems and make sure she has enough so that she won't have to worry about money and buying necessary things while her husband is in school.
4. 3 Bad habits... 1.) Procrastination. "Tomorrow... Tomorrow I love ya tomorrow You're only a day away!" 2.) Judging other people. 3.) I am a terribly inconsistent journal writer. I used to be wonderful at it but then the dreaded P word snuck in and destroyed that habit. I'm trying to get back in the habit, though.
5. Places I have lived..... California, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Utah.
6. Places I have worked... Arizona Big Salad, BYU custodial, Kroger Ice Cream and Novelty Factory, The Malt Shoppe, Deseret Towers, and Sharon Elementary
7. 3 Things people don't know about me.... 1.) I have a crazy fish named Cosmo. He likes to watch TV and he loves to hide! 2.) I love books! I love to read them and I love to buy them! 3.) I like to name my plants.

I'm going to skip Rule C listed above. If anyone objects to that then they can do the tag if they so desire!
David will post his tag soon!

Baby & Mommy Update

I am now 26 weeks (6 months) pregnant. I love feeling my baby move off and on through out the day and night. He is very active in the evenings. It is fun to lay down and watch my belly move all by itself! David loves this too. He loves feeling the baby move around. We are so excited to have a baby! We recently purchased a stroller and yesterday we got a car seat. Now we just have to wait 3 more months to put our little baby in them! Here is our new car seat! Isn't it so cute? The current placement of the buckle seems too small for a baby! But maybe he will fit in that!


And here I am, 6 months pregnant! We will be moving soon to another apartment in Orem. We are super excited for several reasons. 1. Cheaper rent. 2. Nicer carpet! 3. Two bedrooms! 4. It is right above Jon and Kanien (David's sister). 5. We will no longer be "basement dwellers"! 6. Jon says this is a plus, but I don't know... we can walk to Macey's!
We will be moving the first week of July! I am so excited to start setting up my baby's room! I will also attempt to make the quilt for the crib. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. Luckily I'm moving above one of the best quilter's I know! If I need help, I know who to ask. She's amazing!
Oh, and one more thing. This is in regards to my birthday a few weeks ago. Kanien did the nicest thing for me. She surprised me on Friday the 23rd by bringing a huge bouquet of balloons, a bouquet of flowers, and chocolate chip cookies into my classroom during the last hour of school. My students were surprised and excited because they each got a cookie. Marcella had fun playing in my classroom and watching my fish. It was so thoughtful of Kanien to do that. I have always seen that type of thing done for other people, and I always wondered what it would be like. Now I know! So, thanks, Kanien, for making my birthday so special and memorable! The rest of my birthday was great, but that was the highlight! I'm excited to live by you! I love ya lots!