Happy Happy Happy Halloween!!!

In case you aren't familiar with Duck Dynasty (shame on you if you aren't) that's where happy happy happy comes from... Watch it! You will not regret it! Also notice that Aniston refused to smile for any of these pictures (she is so stinking sassy when the camera comes out) and also notice that by the last picture I took... the one in the bottom right corner... she was getting pretty ticked.

So to be completely honest, Halloween wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be with a baby. Maybe it's because she is not even 4 months old yet and she can't do anything... also Spencer wouldn't let me buy one of those sweet pumpkin buckets for candy, so the only candy we got this year was from two single BYU - Idaho students who knocked on our door and gave us candy. It was really quite clever actually... when we opened our door there was a door there that said "knock on me and say trick or treat"... I'm totally kicking myself for not taking a picture. It was fun though.

Aniston sure did look pretty cute though in her little pea pod outfit. Actually she was more than cute... she was stinking ADORABLE!!! That's right... I made that.... Aniston that is, not the costume.

 So my daughter inherited crazy long arms from her father... it's kind of funny but also a little weird...

 Always with the tongue. And yes, she is wearing a bow so that there would be no gender confusion.

 Family photo!!!!! So cute!

 Tiny Ani with her tiny pumpkin!!!

I could just eat her up!!!!!!

 I love being Aniston's Mom!!!! I cannot get enough of her!

Sometimes we let strange men dressed up as creepy scarecrows hold our child while she's sleeping... We are the BEST parents ever!!!

At work today all the kids were dressed up and I couldn't help but to take a picture with Ben.... Classy...

Pretty sure my cheerleaders will dig this!!!

Sometimes on Halloween I put enormous glasses on my little baby and laugh at her for 10 minutes while she struggles to get them off her face.

Aniston's personality is crazy awesome!!! These picture were literally taken within 30 seconds.... So many emotions!!!

She has a perfectly round head!!! Haha!

More random pictures of the little Anster.... (I can't help it)

 Sleepy church baby!!! Even sassy when in sleep.

Aniston thought it was way more important to watch Revenge than to look at the camera for Mom... She is totally into that show!

And a quick shout out to Madison Varsity cheerleaders!!! They cheered through the snow at Friday's game and ended Madison's football regular season undefeated!!! They had the most positive attitudes and had a blast!!! Love these girls!

Hope your Halloween was as good as ever!!! Mine included scary movies with my little family, 2 pieces of candy, and Taco Bell!!! Happy Halloween!!!!

One Very Sick Baby...

It's the worst feeling in the world to know that your tiny baby is sick. Okay so she's not so tiny anymore (14 lbs 11 oz), but still... she's only 3 months old! Imagine being woken up by the sound of a tiny raspy cough followed by 3-5 seconds of gagging followed by whimpers and occasional crying. That was mine and Spencer's night last night. We were constantly having to use the lovely green booger sucker (as we call it) to pull all of the snot out of her nose so that it wouldn't drain to her throat. It's a good thing that our child is a little weird and actually likes when we use that thing...

PS - I have no idea what it's really called. Is there an actual name for those things?

Anyway so I called the doctor this morning because we were being wussy first time parents and didn't really know what to do. All I could think was that it was RSV and I know that some babies die from RSV.... Yes, my mind ALWAYS goes to the worst place first... and there's no way I could live without my little Ani Kate. So we went to the doctor and he said that he throat had an infection.

(Poor guy had no idea I was taking the picture.... I'm kind of a creeper)

Thank goodness there's no ear infection or anything else, but we do have to give her breathing treatments for 3 months... or until the infection gets lost. She is also taken an antibiotic (which she loves!!! Because it resembles food I'm guessing). So I don't know how many of you have ever used a nebulizer before, but it's just not awesome. Aniston does NOT like it. She refuses to use the mask and will only use the mouth piece for a brief period of time. The rest of the time we must resort to forcing the medication into her by basically shoving the mouth piece in her mouth.

 A-W-F-U-L!!!

So pretty much it's awful, and I kind of feel like it's all my fault. I truly feel as though we do an awesome job of bundling her up when it's cold outside (PS - it snowed today... BOO)

 but maybe the football games are just too cold for her. Even when she's wearing 6 layers and bundled up with blankets. No more Bobcat football for Miss Ani Kate. Which is really sad for her because we are currently undefeated and only have 1 game left... Oh, and we're also ranked #1 in the state. Basically I think I'm cool because I go to the games in case you couldn't tell. Hopefully our little wookie will kick this infection soon and all will be well in the world. Also it's creepy because when she's sick she sleeps with her eyes open... it's gonna give me nightmares guaranteed.

Speaking of wellness (not the healthy wellness just awesomeness basically), while we were at Walgreen's waiting for Ani's prescriptions we discovered that they have really awesome stuff there. The kind of stuff, that as a child, I always dreamed of having. Things like these...

 The Clapper!!!! Who didn't want this? This will definitely be under the Christmas tree for sure!!! I am VERY excited about it!

 Chi, Chi, Chi, Chia!!! I always wanted one of these. Chances that I will kill it are extremely high, but they just look so cool!

Had no idea you could even buy these. Am I a little tempted to buy one just for our front window, HECK YES I am! How classy would that be? 

Also Aniston's prescription was the biggest one that I have ever seen in my life!

Despite our little Aniston's illness, and lack of sleep, and our own sicknesses (yes, Spencer and I are also sick) we still think she's a doll and she's been such a trooper!!! Basically I think my daughter is AMAZING and I am LOVING all the cuddle time!

 Get better soon Ani!!!!

Another blog about coaching.....

It was only a few weeks ago when I finally  made the change from this

Don't judge my dirty windows....

To this

It felt good to put that MHS sticker on my car. I am loving coaching here! It's very different than Utah, but it's more the way that I had always imagined coaching to be. More the way it should be. I (for the most part) had a blast coaching in Utah. I loved going to Nationals and taking 5th. I loved making connections and lifelong friends with the girls, and I miss some of those girls dearly, in fact I still talk to a lot of them and when I'm down in Utah I make sure to see them! But the program wasn't heading in a way I was proud to be a part of and that constant ringing of my phone because of squad drama, wasn't so enjoyable. Maybe it's a small town thing or maybe parents just parent differently in Rexburg, Idaho, but these girls keep their drama at home, they work so well together JV and Varsity, and I feel like they understand exactly what a privilege it is to be a cheerleader. What I wouldn't give to bring some of my old cheerleaders up here to cheer, you know have the best of both worlds.

It's hard to get through to teenage girls sometimes. They're at a stage where they think they know better than you and they have a striking desire to always be right... I know this because I've been there. But I don't really experience that while coaching at Madison. Basically these girls are AMAZING in every way you can be amazing! To give you an idea of their awesomeness, I took these pictures at our JV game this past week. Keep in mind that this is only JV. Pretty sure they are way more talented then my Varsity team from when I was in high school. They are super talented and they only have a desire to improve! I cannot wait to start getting ready for competition! Pretty sure they are gonna kill at State this year!

 Yes, I caught her as she was falling, but you get a pretty good idea of her flexibility.

 So flexible!

 Gorgeous!!!! Love the height and position of the back leg!

 Anyone else thinking "ouch" right about now?  We have 12 girls on JV, and each stunt group has 4 people, so we have 3 stunt groups. Here are our 3 scales.

Scale 1... Almost a straight back leg, but looks pretty darn good!

 Scale 2... I caught her falling again, but once again awesome flexibility!

Scale 3... GORGEOUS!!!

Our 3 extended arabesques.

I have always thought that every team I have coached has so much promise and ability, but these girls might be my most talented team to date. At least they are the most advanced I have ever coached. Last year was tough because of the restrictions we had at nationals we couldn't really spend time pushing ourselves, but those girls exceeded my expectations when they took 5th! If only this team could go to nationals!!!!

 Spencer needed to get in on that action!

Poor girls! It was so stinking cold!!!!!

And of course we cannot forget about Aniston! Or as she has been dubbed, the Spirit baby!

 I'm really loving her sassy looks these days!

 So happy at the start of the game!

 Not so happy by the end of the game. Luckily she was held by Mom's and Varsity cheerleaders all night and she was covered in blankets so she stayed really warm!

Family photo!!!!!

Also can we talk about how I love to carry a diaper bag???? I can stash all kinds of yummy snacks in there and it's totally acceptable!

So I know you are all looking at our awesome warm up jackets and you are loving them. I have seen hundreds of warm up jackets and these by far are my absolute favorite!!!!! Let's break em down...

 The fabric is stretchy and smooth, and is super warm!!!

 Lovely arm decor.

 One of my very favorite parts! The thumb holes! I always thought these were super cool when I was younger, and so it's like I'm living out my dream! It's awesome!

I also love how the inside of the jacket is lined with paw print fabric. Super cute!

Basically to summarize ... I am coaching an amazingly talented JV cheer team! Now use your imagination to think that is this is only our JV.... what must our Varsity look like????

Also.... Merry Early Christmas from our chubby bunny to yours!!!!