IDAHO

Last Monday Dallas headed off to Boise for yet another training and Wednesday Amaya and I headed home to spend time with some family while he was gone. After a horrendous flight home (it was cancelled at 11:00 at night, we were stuck overnight in Houston) we finally made it home.  Amaya was a trooper on the plane. I didn't take any pictures on the plane ride because I didn't bring my camera.  I had a brand new birthday present waiting for me in Idaho! A camera from my wonderful husband! Since Dallas is taking his camera in the fall when he leaves, we were in the market for a second camera.

Amaya when she woke up from the monstrous nap she took when we finally got home.  You can see the mesh imprint from the portacrib on her forehead.

Going for a four wheeler ride with Grandpa Clark

Grandma Clark

Look at how the wheels on the wagon are buckling under her! What a little chunk!

The highlight of the trip for me was getting to go see our new baby niece that was born right after we left for Texas.  Tyson and Meagan FINALLY got a little girl and she is so beautiful! She made me so anxious for our little girl to get here!

We also got some really happy news from a certain family member, but I'll wait to share until they have!

I totally spaced taking any pictures when we were with the Abrams, so I'll have to take some and post them before Dal and I fly back Saturday.

Yup I'm officially not a teenager anymore :) I told Dallas I'm going to get him a T-shirt that says, "I support teen pregnancy".

Sunday was my birthday and Jackie (Dallas' mom) baked me a cake and put Dallas and Tony (Dal's dad) on speakerphone so everyone could sing to me.  It was so thoughtful and sweet of her! I forgot to take a picture until after we'd eaten some of it but it was yummy! Last night all the girls on the Abrams side all went to dinner and a movie for my birthday which was lots of fun (again, no pics).  I'm glad I have such a great family to take care of me when my husband is gone!

Yesterday I went into my Dr. appointment and we were able to get a sneak peak at our little baby girl via 3D ultrasound! (You have to use your imagination a little bit) How cool is that? I sent Dallas a picture message of the ultrasound pic and he said that it looks like she's going to be a cutie just like Amaya.  We are so blessed to have such a healthy family.

Little side note: Dallas and I have officially known each other 2 years.  Crazy! We had a bunch of two year milestone/anniversaries that have passed while Dallas was gone:

May 22: The day we met

May 24: Our first date

May 27: Our first kiss

Potty Training

What's the first step to potty training?

Familiarizing yourself with the area.  Amaya has learned to flush the toilet and unroll the toilet paper.

Way to go Maya! Only 47 more steps to go!

Joy

Nothing brings me greater joy at the end of a long, trying day than sneaking into Amaya's room and seeing this:

I've heard it said before that "there's lot's to think about, but nothing to worry about." That's how I feel when I see our baby girl sleeping peacefully.  We are so blessed.

Happy Mother's Day

Little Miss Maya

I promised to keep my blog updated really well this summer while we're gone, and I've been trying. These are a few pictures I took on our balcony a few minutes ago. It's currently a balmy 91 degrees outside--at 5:30 at night. Luckily Amaya and I are hanging out in our air conditioned apartment but poor Dallas is sweating it out in the hot sun.

A couple of fun new accomplishments for Amaya in the last few weeks:

• 
  
  big, sloppy kisses
• 
  
  waving bye-bye
• 
  
  hi fives
• 
  
  saying "mama" and "dada" (usually it's "mama" when she wants out of her crib or picked up because she know I can't resist)
• 
  
  standing alone for about half a second
• 
  
  lots and lots of cruising, crawling, jabbering, laughs, and smiles

We love our crazy nine month old girl!

Swimming!

Swimming!

In case you missed it, I posted yesterday as well so check it out below!

Houston

We're having a fabulous time in Houston! I haven't updated for awhile so prepare for a picture overload.

We drove from Rexburg, ID to Big Sandy, TX in two days.  That's 1,615 miles.  This is Amaya passed out in her portacrib after we arrived.

Why did we drive to Big Sandy you ask? To see my fantastic grandparents of course! We had a wonderful time.

Amaya reluctant to say good-bye.

It's hot in Texas but we have an awesome pool at our apartment complex that Amaya and I take advantage of frequently while Dallas sweats it out working in the hot sun.  Tomorrow morning we're going swimming as a family though!

Amaya and I visited the Houston Zoo on Thursday with some other APX wives and their kids.  Amaya got a kick out of the animals but slept through the best part, the carousel!

Can you tell she was just thrilled to be here?

equally exciting, Amaya's hair is now long enough to put in piggy tails.  Not the best picture of her but you get a good look at what Dallas calls "grasshopper antennas"

The after effect of pig tails--devil horns

Today we enjoyed Dallas' day off and played at the park.  Amaya's favorite thing in the world is riding on Dallas' shoulders.

We're having a great time in Texas, enjoying spending time as a family.  We found out this last week that Dallas will be deployed again this fall, so we're enjoying the summer while he's here.  He'll leave in September just a few weeks after our baby is born and be gone for about a year.  We're very grateful for the opportunity we will have to serve our country. We're so thankful for our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace and comfort His Atonement brings us as we go through times of trial. We're also grateful for wonderful friends and family members who support us, love us, and help us.