Thoughts on a Sunday Evening

Isn't she so beautiful?



My good friend Amanda, photographer extraordinaire, just took some family pictures for us. I just cherish these pictures. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Amanda! You have such an "eye" for these things...what talent!

I am now 31 weeks pregnant, yet feeling like I am full-term already. Not sure what that means. Although I haven't gained as much weight to this point as I did with Reagan, I feel ENORMOUS. I was blessed/cursed with the torso of a ten year old (read: short), and so the more pregnant I get, the more my baby and my body battle over who will win. The baby usually wins, and by jutting outward as far as she can go. I am constantly asking myself, "Can this baby girl get any bigger?" and then she reminds me that yes, indeed she can, with a swift kick to the ribs. Reagan was, I believe, born 10 days after her due date. This baby needs to hang on until at least 6 more weeks, then she's welcome to make her appearance. "This baby" officially has a name now, too. Although I never 100% decide on the name until the baby comes out and we meet her face-to-face, we're 99% sure that she will be called Ember (middle name to be decided) Wilson. Ember means "a small, glowing fragment of fire," which, bear with me, is what this baby's spirit and personality really feel like to me already. I hope that she is fiery (not furry), and that, despite her size or stature, she will always be glowing. I am so excited to finally meet her. It has gone by so fast. Please remind me of that those last few agonizing weeks, okay? =)

I also wanted to share something that was really inspiring to me this morning while I was going over my Young Women lesson for church. Marvin J. Ashton gives a talk entitled "In His strength," in which he talks about, among other things, the youth feeling like "nobodies" as they go about their daily activities. It's not just the youth, though. I'm thinking that we, as adults, also go through phases where we ask ourselves "who am I to deserve this?" or "who am I to have my prayers answered?" I know I do. How often do we tell ourselves that we are "nobody"? Probably too often. He goes on to talk about Joseph Smith and that, despite being 14 years old, and calling himself an "obscure boy," he always trusted that, in God's strength, he could accomplish all of the things that were required of him. Which, as we know, were A LOT. Ashton says, "As children of God we are somebody. He will build us, mold us, and magnify us if we will but hold our heads up, or arms out, and walk with him. What a great blessing to be created in his image and know of our true potential in and through him! What a great blessing to know that in his strength we can do all things!" I loved this. It's nothing new - we've heard it time and time again, but for some reason, it really hit me hard this time. We (I) might be "obscure" or awkward, but I am a child of God. And so are you! I love this thought.

Alright, so I should have switched this next thought around with the last one (it's a lot "nicer"...oh well? =) I am seeking advice from all moms about potty training. Did you read a book that was particularly helpful for you? If you were expecting while your child reached an appropriate potty training age, did you wait until after the baby was born? I've never been one to rush Reagan into anything she isn't ready for. I'm all about letting her take her time and doing things when she's good and ready. However, lately she's been obsessing about ANYTHING to do with poo-poo, bums, and potties. She tells me when she has to go (only #2 so far), rushes into the bathroom, pulls her pants down, and wants to sit on the potty. She HATES when she is dirty. She will grab a diaper, lay on the ground in front of me, and say "Bi-doe?" which, in Reagan language, is "diaper?" In other words, in a lot of ways, she seems ready. However, when we do make it to the potty and she sits down, she kind of (well, not kind of) freaks out and, besides rare occasions, stands up right away and runs out of the bathroom, terrified. We have had a few successes on the potty, and I let her try when she wants to, but I don't want to rush her into something she isn't ready for. I realize that she is not even 20 months old yet, which seems pretty early. Should I just keep on doing what I'm doing and let her try when she feels like she can? Or is there some "magic formula" or step that I am leaving out? I try to make it a positive experience for her, and give her lots of praise when she decides to try and sit down on the potty. I know she knows that it is not something to be scared about because, more often than not, she ends up in the bathroom with me, and sees that I don't "freak out" about anything. I guess I am just kind of lost at what to do! Any advice would be appreciated! I always feel a little silly asking for advice about parenting, because, for the most part, I feel like I know what's best for my daughter, but potty training is something that I just honestly am not very well-versed in!

Last, but not least, here is a picture of my sister, Haley, snorkeling.

She lives the LIFE out at BYU Hawaii! When I look at pictures of her and all of the fun adventures she has been having, I sort of feel like, in Freudian terms, I am watching my id. And I mean no offense by that, either. I just may or may not be extremely jealous of all of the tropical goodness she is soaking up out there! Reagan misses her Auntie "Hayhee" though, and is constantly telling us that "Hayhee died." Yes, apparently my daughter has a dark side to her. We always have to remind her that no, she didn't die, she's just at school. And she is LIVING life to its fullest!

2009

My friend Whitney recently wrote on her blog that blogging had lost its luster lately. I'd have to say I couldn't agree more. However, with a new year already started, I feel as though I should give an update, especially to those family and friends that we don't get to see as often as we'd like. I'd like to be a better blogger, but I find that the less time I spend online, the better. I feel a little less "connected," but I like it that way. If anyone wants to give me a faster computer, however, I might reconsider my sparse blogging ways! I've decided that in order to motivate myself more, I'll try to take a different approach to blogging for a while. I got this book a while back that asks questions about your life and gives prompts that get you started writing in your journal. Since this is a "journal" of sorts, and I may one day have it printed out for journaling purposes, it might be a good place to start. Since this post is long overdue, here is our year in review.
JASON
Jason had a very busy and productive 2009. He started business school at Western Washington University, which is both exciting and sometimes stressful (for the both of us!) Last semester he took 22 credits which, to me, is unheard of, but somehow he managed to do so getting all As. Don't ask me how he did it - it doesn't make sense to me! I remember my first semester at BYU taking 18 credits and realizing (too late, of course) that it just wasn't possible for me to be able to focus on that many classes. This semester he's toned it down a bit with 19 credits. Yep, still crazy. But we still love him. He will be getting his degree this time next year, and we are so excited! It leaves our future rather open and unpredictable at the moment, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Ideally, after he graduates, he'll find a job somewhere here in western Washington, but we just won't know until it happens! We both really love it here, and love the idea of raising a family here, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.
Other than school, Jason is still working the night shift at the group home 6 nights a week. It is really hard having him gone at night, but it's an ideal job right now while he's still in school. It gives him a lot of time to study and do homework too, which is nice. Somehow with work, school, and church responsibilities, he still manages to be an excellent father and husband which Reagan and I both appreciate. Reagan adores her dadda more than I can even explain. He is the one person that can get her to do almost anything... go nigh-night, brush teeth, say prayers, cuddle for hours on the couch, watch college football, and have intense dance parties in the living room (a personal favorite). He loves his "goonzie girl" (I don't even know how this nickname started, but somehow it stuck) so much, and it is the best thing in the world to see them cuddle and play together. She definitely has him wrapped around her finger, but I'd have to say that he has her wrapped around his as well. He always tells me how excited he is to have two "goonzies" running around the house. He is definitely a guy that can handle being a dad to multiple girls, which is something that I've known about him since before we even had kids. For that I am very grateful, because having two teenage girls very close in age is going to be interesting!
You'll also all be happy and relieved to know that Jason is still as handsome as ever, however seems to be doing some sort of "disappearing man act," where he loses significant amounts of weight in short periods of time. He calls it the "stress and no time to eat diet." It's better, however, than his diet years ago, when he had just gotten off his mission. He called that one the "I'm too poor to buy food and eating isn't a priority" diet. Another important thing to note - Jason grew a very impressive "Billy Mays-esque" beard over the holidays. I can't find a picture, but just know that it was very festive and full of lumberjack charm.
Emily (me)
I had a wonderful 2009, but I have to say that I am more than ready for this new year and all of the excitement it will bring. This was the year that I really "settled" comfortably into my new job as a mom. I kind of feel like I have this whole mom thing figured out, but if I've learned one thing, it is to never get too comfortable feeling like I have everything figured out, because something always happens to make me realize that I don't! I have found so much joy this year as a wife and a mom. I don't really have anything significant to write about myself. My biggest triumphs this year were those that I watched Jason or Reagan make, or experienced with them. I like it that way.
One of the most obviously significant things I experienced this year was finding out that I was pregnant with our second daughter. Although scared at first, I have realized that becoming a mom has helped me to discover strength that I never knew I had, and has helped me to really become the person I have always wanted to be, just never realized I could be. I owe a lot of that to Reagan, and I imagine that I will owe just as much of my growth as a person to this baby girl as well.
I can't say that I grew a beard this year, but I did: make new friends, strengthen my relationships with old friends and family, get addicted to Afrin nasal spray and am currently "detoxing" (you wouldn't laugh if you knew how miserable this was!), get my first blood transfusion, attend the sealing of a best friend and a best cousin, go to Disneyland and realize it was a lot more fun when I was a kid, make a trip to Minnesota to laugh and love with family, make progress decorating and making my house a "home," and learned a lot in my calling as a young women leader and teacher.
Reagan (Goonzie)
More than both Jason and I, Reagan probably had the most drastic life changes in 2009. Learning to walk and talk seem to be pretty significant skills that will help her throughout the rest of her life (or hurt her, if she's anything like me...clumsy and put my foot in my mouth a lot). I can't even explain how much this funny little girl has changed our lives for the better. She is almost always happy with a smile on her face. She loves to eat, loves to sleep (hallelujah!), and loves to make everyone around her laugh. She usually does this by either blurting out things like "bum!" or "I tooted!" (what can I say, we are a family with a genuine love of potty humor), or busting one of various dance moves she learns from Jason or my sister Haley. She has a current obsession with Elmo. She literally goes to bed talking about Elmo, and wakes up talking about Elmo. The word 'elmo' currently exists in almost every little thing she says. A close second to Elmo are princesses, which she calls "happy" because we have a book where the Disney princesses sing "If you're happy and you know it." (It's amazing how kids make these kinds of connections.) She is a smart little girl, repeating everything we say, and even some things we don't say. She talks and talks and talks, all day long, usually about a movie she just watched, or a recent visit to Nana and Bumpah's house. She loves babies, animals, apples, yogurt (this girl would eat yogurt for every meal if I let her), reciting the names of everyone she knows, nursery, and music. She is easily entertained, and keeps us laughing all day long. We are so grateful for our little goonzie girl. She brings out the best in us!
Well, folks, that is our year in review.

Unsure about her visit with Santa at church.



Trying on Auntie Hayhee's stylish glasses


Me, 29 weeks pregnant, and wearing a black body suit (I did put on a dress over this otherwise lovely ensemble)


The girls' room. I went a little non-traditional and painted it blue, but I like it. Its a work in progress.





My funny little girlfriend




These were just my most easily accessible pictures. More to come!

Girl

We did end up finding out that we are having another baby girl. We couldn't be more excited and Jason couldn't be more appreciative that I am not going to go out and buy more loads of baby girl clothes. Although, who said that you couldn't still buy new clothes if you have two girls? =) I must admit however, it is quite the "economy package" as I had a friend describe to me the other day. I can't wait to have two little "goonzies" running around the house playing with each other. I know it won't all be sweet and precious, but a mother can dream, right? I am so excited to have two kids and I already have a pretty good feeling about the spirit that this baby will bring into our home. She is already unique and different than Reagan in a lot of ways, but I have a feeling that she will fit in quite nicely. =)
I have started "nesting" like crazy the past couple weeks, organizing all the closets and baby clothes and labeling everything. It may be a bit early to start nesting, but I can't help myself. Next up is painting and finishing the girls' room. I love that I can now call it the "girls' room." It is strange to me that Reagan is not the "baby" anymore. She knows the baby is in my tummy and gives her kisses often. I still can't seem to fathom the fact that she is definitely growing up. She is such a girly girl now. She loves to dress up and dance and sing. She always entertains us with her performances. Just in the past week, she has even gone poopoo in her potty chair and just today brought her potty seat to me, screaming. Apparently it was urgent! I rushed into the bathroom and set her down on the toilet and heard a little tinkle almost immediately. I don't know if this is just a coincidence, and I am not ready to push her into anything she isn't absolutely ready for, but it's times like this that make me realize how grown up she really is becoming. I must admit, it does scare me. Being a first-time parent to a toddler has me feeling very inadequate at times. I feel so much more prepared to take care of a newborn than a toddler, but at the same time, Reagan teaches me so much every day and is such a loving and peaceful girl that I wouldn't even give up the times when I want to pull all of my hair out! (Which is a daily occurence).

Some things that have made me smile this week:

She always wants to wear her Supergirl costume and on this particular occasion looked at Jason's comic encyclopedia for an hour, upside-down. =) She makes her daddy proud.

We just got over a short (but what seemed like forever) bout of sickness in our home. Reagan had croup and had never been so sick. I was exhausted after a week of her not being herself and not sleeping at all. One night, at like 3am when she wouldn't sleep, we were just cuddling on the couch watching something on tv when she just starts holding and rubbing my hand, while putting her other arm around me. It was a precious moment that literally brought tears to my eyes. Love her so much and love that she is so affectionate to us. I hope she is always this way, but at some point, I don't think kids still like to hold their parents' hands?

Dreams

When I am pregnant I have the strangest dreams, and I have heard other people say the same thing. All I know is that on any given night I wake up in the middle of the night screaming, laughing, crying, you name it. Well I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy.

Dream #1: We are in the waiting room at my doctor's office waiting to get an ultrasound to tell us if we're having a boy or a girl. The receptionist hands Jason a hospital gown and tells him to undress and to put it on and we can get started with the ultrasound. He does and then they tell him to sit on the bed and put his feet up in stirrups...this is all in the waiting room with other people around, mind you. Yet neither of us think it is in the least bit strange. The technician starts giving him the ultrasound and Jason falls asleep. I get really mad and keep shaking him, telling him to wake up or else they can't tell us what we're having. He finally wakes up and the tech says "It's a boy!" and we look up at the screen and there is a huge scary cartoon boy waving at us. I woke up really disturbed.

Dream #2: I go into labor and it progresses really quickly. Jason is stuck taking a final at school, so I go to the hospital by myself. Minutes later, I am in a room that is completely dark except for a huge bright spotlight on me. I give birth to a baby girl who is 7 pounds 19 ounces (I realize that means she is 8 pounds 3 ounces, but in my dream she was 7 lbs. 19 oz) and 22.5 inches long. We name her Haley (sister's name). Very strange.

Dream #3: I decide to get a tattoo down my inner thigh of all of the different versions of Mickey Mouse through the ages. It is literally huge and literally on my inner thigh. I keep thinking it is okay because no one will see it, but Jason ends up seeing it and gets really mad at me. He just keeps asking, over and over "Mickey Mouse??" I thought it was such a good idea in my dream. =)

Anyone want to tell me what these mean?

19 weeks

On Sunday I will be five months pregnant. Which means that next week, we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl...or maybe even a "goy" like Reagan keeps telling us. She's such a politician, always avoiding giving a direct answer. Yesterday we kept asking her if the baby in mommy's belly was a sister or a brother, and she either shrugged her shoulders and said "I dunno!" or just answered simply "baby belly." She's a sly one I tell you. Everything is going really well with this pregnancy. It's a lot different in a lot of ways than my pregnancy with Reagan. I showed sooner this time, but am growing a lot slower it seems. My sickness tapered off sooner with this one as well (thank the high heavens). I love feeling this little goy move. The little taps and wiggles are so fun to feel at the end of the day when I finally get to lay down and rest. Would anyone like to guess what we're having? (I still have no idea.)

Uper Girl

Those that know Jason know that he has a deep love for all things Superman. One of his earliest childhood memories is sitting on his dad's lap watching the Superman movies. He has tried and tried to get me to agree to name one of our sons Clark Kent Wilson. It is a solid name. We'll see if he succeeds. He has even used Superman analogies in almost all of the talks that I have heard him give at church. Once we saw the Supergirl costume this year in Reagan's size, it was game over. I had to get it. Jason was so proud to be Supergirl's daddy that he had to dress up as Clark Kent. And I, not wanting to be left out of the fun, chose the extremely original (sarcasm) costume of Lois Lane. Since she's just a regular person, most people didn't even know that I dressed up until they saw my name tag. We still had fun. I don't love these pictures, but they are all I have of Halloween so they'll have to do. In the pictures that I am wearing the super flattering footie pajamas, we were headed to a halloween party for a Young Women activity. I decided I would spare the rest of the ward that costume for our trunk or treat party. Reagan had so much fun being "Upergirl" and trick or treating. I had so much fun eating all of her candy.

* I wish that these pictures weren't sideways. If I'm feeling motivated tonight, I'll try and turn them again.

"Smile"

If you know the Pratts, you know that most of us "lucky" ones have something in common...our smile. We all have very squinty eyes. Catch any one of us smiling, and most likely you will just see two slits where our eyes once were. In fact, most people that have been with me while driving know not to make me laugh, because I literally will not be able to see. Well, it appears as though Reagan has inherited this trait. I wouldn't say that she has the typical "Pratt eyes" like most of us, since she looks so much like Jason. Her eyes appear to be a little bit bigger, but I guess she proves that the smile may not just be genetic. It is also a learned behavior. For the past month or so, I have not been able to get any good shots of her because the minute the camera comes out, or she hears the word "smile", she pulls this face. At first I thought it was to protect herself from the flash. But, flash or not, and even when there isn't a camera nearby, she still smiles this way. I think it's cute...but maybe it's the face only a mother could love.








(I did try to make these pictures right side up. You may have to turn your heads.)