Loving Life in Tennessee

Christmas Morning!

2011-12-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday, the program at church was so beautiful and it was our last Sunday at 12:30 church. Next week we switch to 9am, but it was fun to have Christmas morning, then all be able to get ready for church!

Santa definitely made it to our house this year! Leighton was so happy to see that he enjoyed his cookies and milk and the reindeer nibbled on all of their carrots! She loved all of her Santa gifts, but especially the guitar to play with Dad and the camera that Santa brought for her to take pictures with Mommy! She finally got to open the presents she's been eyeing under the tree from Idaho and bounced on a horse bouncing ball all around the house in her princess slippers (thanks Grandma and Grandpa)! We watched Christmas Story and Prep&Landing(one of our new favorites) and had tortilla soup(not too festive, but Jack's favorite!). It was such a fun Christmas to spend in our home here in Tennessee. We got to skype with Jack's family too, thank goodness for technology! Exhaustion caught up with us and Leighton got a little sick before bedtime, so that wasn't much fun... but luckily we had tons of fun new toys to keep our spirits bright! We all crashed after a fun day of playing, it was such a wonderful day!

Next year, Santa will be bringing some boy toys our way too! Merry Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

We opted out of mailing Christmas cards this year with everything being a little busy at the end of the semester, but we do hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas today! We love all our family and friends, near and far! 2011 has been such a wonderful year for us with Jack's new job and our growing family. We are truly so grateful for all 2011 has blessed us with!

So Merry Christmas from our family to yours...and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

To start off Christmas Eve morning, we decorated our Gingerbread house. Leighton had so much fun and snuck a little sugar for breakfast... okay... a lot of sugar! Nevertheless, we made a 'sturdy' little house of treats and enjoyed the morning playing at my Mom's and relaxing!

That afternoon, we had a little party with my Mom and everyone to open some gifts and eat some treats. My mom spoiled us this year like always, but at least she got to save on shipping costs. This is the first year we have all been together for Christmas and I know it was really special to her to get to see Leighton open gifts. We missed the Maxfield's a lot and my Mom really wanted Jack to enjoy Christmas here, we appreciate all the extra measures she took to make Christmas wonderful! We are so lucky to have two very wonderful families and feel blessed from both of them, no matter where we spend the holidays (we got lots of surprises from Idaho and Utah this year too!). I think one of the things we will enjoy after grad school is being able to travel! We have so many wonderful people, we want to be able to see them all! Here are some pictures from Mom's house Christmas Eve!

That night, we were able to go spend time with my Dad's family at Charley and Happy's beautiful home for the Chandler Christmas Party. We were a little worried that Leighton would be shy since she was usually heading to bed at this time of the night, but she blew us away! In fact, I don't think Jack and I saw much of her the whole night except to open all of her awesome gifts! We got so spoiled at the party and the food was even better than I remembered! My Dad has become quite the chef! Leighton played with her cousins and they were so sweet to include her in everything and fight over her attention a little! I love how much she loves to see them and play with them! As the night went on, Leighton would sneak off and play with the dancing Santa... she danced her bum off! It was hilarious... Charley said he is leaving her the Santa in his will! I got to enjoy some of Granny Pam's chex mix, it's her Christmas special and usually Addison is sneaky and says she'll bring me mine...then it doesn't make it on the plane ride out! I don't blame her, it's amazing! Everyone was so good to us and we had such a great time!

After the party, we drove the 4 hours back to Tennessee and made it into our beds before Santa visited. It was a pretty exhausting trip, but the drive back was fun with Leighton watching movies and snoozing, and Jack and I listening to Christmas tunes and enjoying spending a Christmas Eve together. We were so glad he had the holidays off, one of the many blessings this Christmas season!

Over the River and Through the Woods, to Grandmother's House We Go....

2011-12-23T08:33:00.000-08:00

This year the Christmas party at my Grandparent's house was Dec.23rd. It was SO MUCH FUN! There was tons of food...and tons more food...and every food you can think of! My Grandmother makes a feast for our family every Sunday, but our Christmas dinner could feed the masses...and she always has shrimp for me because I'm the favorite! (JK if anyone in the family is reading this...but really...Haha!) After dinner, Ginger and I planned 'Minute to Win It' games for all the kids and I think it was successful in organizing the chaos! Some of my favorites were "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" and "The Nutstacker" -- and thanks to Rachel for the live action pics!

For my grandparents this year, the whole family put together a scrapbook where each family got a couple of pages together and Tiawanna, Mom, Ginger, and Addison compiled them into a scrapbook. It was so sweet to see them read it and see all of the happiness that has come from the family they created. My grandparents are such great role models and we love them so much. I hope they enjoyed getting to look through it after the party.

With four new great-grandbabies this year, we'll probably have to update it for 2012 :)

Little Miracles

2011-12-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

This morning Leighton kept putting her hand on my stomach and saying "Hey Bro-gan!"(she calls her baby brother Bro-gan...one of our recent favorite things!) and every time she did it, he would start kicking. It was so cute, she got really excited and when I tried to explain that was baby brother kicking, she would just start trying to tickle me. She is so funny and I love that she's usually a morning person! It sure makes up for my recent lack of sleep when she's giggling and keeping my exhaustion entertained!!

I love this little girl, she's going to make an awesome big sister!

(Jack got a little upset when I straightened her hair a little big ago...I know it's a no-no...but I love having a little gal who likes to dress up and do hair/make-up, so every once in a while we break the rules :] )

December Daddy-Daughter Date

2011-12-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

For Jack and Leighton's daddy/daughter date in December they went to see the new Muppet movie. Leighton called it "The Muffets" and had so much fun! They came home singing all the songs and re-watching them on YouTube. Jack is the best daddy ever, he loves having his 'dates' with Leighton. I'll try to better at documenting them in 2012, I know she'll love seeing these when she's older!

Ugly Sweater Party

2011-12-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

My friend Lorianne hosted an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party for the fun ladies in Relief Society and it was a blast! Here are a few pictures to commemorate the craziness :]

Me and Audrey before the party:

AnneMarie, me, and Lorianne with our Secret Santa gifts:

Some totally awesome ladies:

Classic goofy shot:

What a fun night!

Christmas Parade

2011-12-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to include some pictures from the Christmas Parade. It was Leighton's (and Jack's) first Christmas Parade because in Idaho if you had a parade in December, everyone would get pneumonia for Christmas. It was so fun to see Leighton run out and grab candy, not to mention the kids on either side of us were bringing Leighton candy because she was the smallest. She left with a huge bag of candy and goodies and talked about the parade the whole next day. I love this age, she is just so much fun and full of excitement!

Bristol Speedway in Lights

2011-12-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

Here in Tennessee, one of the big Christmas attractions is at the Nascar Motor Speedway in Bristol about 25 minutes away. They light up all the surrounding area and inside the track with huge light displays that you can drive through. Then you get to drive down on the track and in the middle is a carnival type area with rides. Our friends the Lufkin's and Shawver's(minus Cameron) were able to go with us. There was a bonfire where we all made s'mores and Leighton and the girls rode the train and merry go round. It was a blast! Leighton has LOVED seeing Christmas lights this year and they had every light display you can imagine, from toyland to aquariums to dinosaurs to the Nativity. A lot of the displays were also animated -- for example, Jack's hospital group did a display where Santa takes an unfortunate fall off the roof while delivering gifts... get it - because they're a hospital... HA... Okay, so it was a little corny!

And of course there were a few Redneck Santas :] We'll be going back here next year for sure!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2011-12-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

We kept up our tradition of decorating the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving again this year. Mom was awesome and let us steal one of their extra trees from the attic. It is 7 1/2 feet -- definitely an upgrade from our Charlie Brown tree in the trailer. It was so much fun to see Leighton get excited about putting ornaments on this year! We let her choose where to put them and she did a great job! This is one of our favorite ways to kick off the season and then we relax and watch Christmas movies and drink peppermint hot chocolate :)

Catch-Up on November!

2011-12-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

November passed so quickly, I just wanted to summarize some of the fun stuff we did after Leighton's surgery.

Jack got to visit Idaho and although he had a lot of clinicals(and didn't take pictures!), he did get to see his family after 6 months out East. Leighton and I were sad to miss it, but we're glad Jack was able to see his brothers and sister and their families! We're hoping to make a visit this summer after baby boy arrives and gets settled in. We sure miss them, especially around the holidays!

Leighton and I were able to go visit SC for her cousin Hunter's birthday party! Hunter and Leighton are about 6 months apart and are so cute together lately, as they're both talking so much more. Hunter loves Thomas the Train, so here is a picture of him(left) playing with some of his cool birthday toys with our other cousin Andrew.

We also got to go back for Thanksgiving and I didn't snap enough pictures, but I love this one of Ethan and his fiancee and my long-time friend, Rachel. They are so sweet to each other, I love that we get to see them so much since we moved here.

Another fun past-time of November is Leighton's obsession with Papa's music room. Leighton has inherited Jack and my love of music and Papa Joey lets Leighton sing all day when we visit. She has such a blast...and then passes out with Jammin' (her nickname for my Mom).

Leighton also loves playing football with her cousins! My mom is such a good sport and teaches the kids fun games and Leighton loves hanging out with the boys (who are also good sports when she doesn't understand all the rules yet).

Jack also started his new job in November and is really enjoying it (and is excited to buy some new scrubs that aren't "galaxy blue" --the required color at Johnson City Medical. Ha!). We are so proud of him for getting the ICU job and working hard towards his goals!

We've got a future soccer star!

2011-12-02T07:12:00.001-08:00

Yesterday marked 22 weeks 5 days in my pregnancy and Jack got to feel our little guy kicking around and squirming! I have been feeling this kiddo move around since 14 weeks, but every time I try to show Jack he would stop moving or move to the other side of my stomach. We were both so excited for that he finally got to feel the kicks too. This baby is definitely more active in the beginning than Leighton was. I started to feel her move for the first time around 20 weeks and still didn't know if that was her moving or other bodily stuff. But baby boy moves the whole time I'm awake and a lot at night too. Especially after I eat or when I'm trying to relax, I'm so happy that he's so active and present. We just love him already and can't wait to meet him, but he can stay in there as long as he wants, we're patient!

Catch-Up on October!

2011-12-02T05:12:00.001-08:00

Leighton hanging out with Mom before Preschool - October 2011

The surgery kind of put life and blogging on hold and we are all so glad it is over, as well as Jack being away for the week and life is getting back to our normal routine!

October came and went and I still have so much to catch up on (like the whole month of November..ha) but here is October, all the same!

We were able to travel down to South Carolina for my Grandaddy's surprise 75th birthday party! It was so much fun! Leighton got to play with all her cousins and she and Hunter had fun feeding Grandaddy all the yummy food! These two kiddos sure got into the potato chips, every time I came back over Leighton asked me for another "sour chip!"(salt and vinegar) My cousin Ginger and I had to sneak a prego picture and she spent most of the party resting...then only a few days later Ellie Pearl arrived at 36 weeks. Ellie wanted to party too!

Then back in Tennessee, my friend AnneMarie's dad plays at Atlanta Bread each week and the girls got to play and have dinner together. It was really fun, I want to take Jack back to hear the "One Man Band" sometime!

Then on October 21st, one of my best Tennessee galpals Audrey's second daughter was born. She was so sweet to let Leighton and I come visit her. Charlotte Marie Shawver is so beautiful, we just love her already! It's crazy that Audrey had been pregnant the whole time I'd known her... and now you can't tell that she had a baby a month ago! Go girl!

We also had the opportunity to go to Leighton's cousin Cole's birthday at Monkey Joe's in Columbia, SC. It was a blast! I wish I could've gotten more pictures of the birthday boy...but it was so cute when he got our other cousin Will to sit in the birthday chair with him. I love how close they are! Will's big sister Maddie was so sweet to take Leighton on all the big slides! She was such a good sport! We also got to meet Cole's new little brother Cooper. Our family is growing so much this year! My cousin Audrey is due in December and then we're due in March. I'm so glad they will all be so close in age! Thanks for inviting us to your party Cole! We love being close enough that we can drive down for family parties!

Here is a picture from my 25th birthday. Jack had to work on the actual day, but Leighton and I got all matchy-matchy for church. We wore sparkle shoes and blue and white and had a really great Sunday watching the Primary program together. I love having my sweet little Leighton, we have so much fun together! Then Jack more than made it up to me with awesome gifts and dinners and movies... I got pretty spoiled!

And finally Halloween -- which was so much fun, despite how crazy we look in the pictures! There are funny stories behind these...but they were funnier if you were there... so just take my word for it! We also got to take Leighton to trunk-or-treat and to the hospital for Jack's co-workers to see her costume. I love Halloween, it's a good time!

Almost 2 Weeks Post-Surgery......

2011-11-17T05:40:00.000-08:00

Last night was such a good night after a long string of terrible, sleepless ones! Let's hope the sleep continues:

Erika Lindsay Maxfield
Leighton was in bed from 8pm-7:30am(and was completely asleep by 9pm after a couple potty trips) with no medicine in over 24 hours. I hope this means she is recovering and I'm going to get some more 8-hour nights of sleep to myself... I am so thankful for how easily she is breathing now and that she is not in so much pain. Makes this exhausting experience seem so small in the big picture!

Leighton's Surgery (11/4/11)

2011-11-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

Last Monday(Halloween), I was finally able to see a doctor about Leighton's breathing problems. She has snored since infancy, but month after month it has grown worse and worse until she would stop breathing for up to five seconds at a time during the night, then wake up gasping for air. When I brought this up with several doctors in Idaho, I felt like I was too overprotective when they'd say "It's just a cold" or "She must have allergies" -- not that we didn't love the doctor that we settled on in Idaho, but the pediatricians made me feel like it was completely normal for a 1-2 year old to breathe louder than a train all through the night.

After about 5 minutes at JC Pediatrics, the doctor confirmed that I was right to be worried and recommended us to a specialist although she said it would take a week to get us in. Then that afternoon they called and asked us to come in on the 3rd. After one look in Leighton's throat, the specialist said we needed to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out as soon as possible and they scheduled her for the first surgery the next morning. I was really surprised because I'd been warned that they only perform this surgery in children over 3 unless the case is severe. It was a 30-minute procedure and after 1 and 1/2 hours the surgeon came out to tell me they took out her tonsils and adenoids, but as she was coming out of the anesthesia she experienced a lot of bleeding. Some blood got on her vocal cord and caused her to have throat spasms, so they had to put her back under anesthesia and go in to stop the bleeding, then take her off anesthesia slower the second time. They also told me that the airways to her nose had been completely blocked off and that is why she hasn't breathed through her nose the past six months.

After the surgery, we spent the next 3 days in the children's hospital trying to get Leighton to eat or drink. It was tough for me to watch her in so much pain and know that it was for her own good. By the third day, she was already breathing through her nose when she slept better than I have ever seen...she has always breathed through her mouth while sleeping. My mom came and stayed with us in the hospital and it was nice to be able to leave to shower since we live so close. The second night, Leighton ate some jello and they said if I could get her to drink a sippy and eat again, we could take her home. So I tried...all night and morning...with no luck! If there is one thing she gets from me, it's her stubborn will. And two-year-old's are hard to bargain with!

Finally, around noon on the third day Leighton pointed to a bag of Ranch Dorito's and said "Can I have chips please?" I was really hesitant because she is supposed to be on soft foods, but the girl ate two snack bags of DORITO'S! They must have "scratched an itch"(as Annemarie put it!) and they discharged us that afternoon. Grandmother, Grandaddy, and 'Nana'(Tiawanna) came up for the night to stay at our house and give Mom a ride home(since she brought our car up!) and Leighton loved having them at our house!

Yesterday was probably the worst day yet. Leighton whined and cried for 11 hours straight, but her medicines were giving her problems going to the restroom so we had to cut back some till she could go and would eat again. Today she is still acting somewhat sore, but is getting back to herself and playing! She loved having preschool at our house today -- sometimes her galpals are the best medicine! And her breathing is better than it ever has been, I am so happy to see such a quick improvement. It definitely makes it worth it to hear her breath so easily at night.

Here are some cell phone pictures to remember the hospital stay...I only took happy pictures:

Leighton was 'high' or 'drunk' on the medicine before the surgery... and Jack and I were dying laughing! She would move her hospital bracelet up to and away from her face and tell us how much she loved Dora and stickers(which the nurses were letting her watch and play with). It was hilarious!!

Watching Dora before surgery.

Playing in the playroom at the hospital (we were hoping she would wear herself out after they took her off the IV and realize how thirsty she was).

We love our TN friends! Madalyn and Audrey brought her surprises and played for a while. Hollidae also came to play and AnneMarie brought us dinner(I wish I had gotten a picture, but Leighton was really upset by that time).

Playing some more -- Lei loves letters and her new Minnie slippers that Jammin' brought to the hospital for her!

And finally DORITO'S!! I will never forget this, she is so unpredictable sometimes after I offered her pudding, popsicles, jello, ice cream, and yogurt for days! I love this girl and I'm so thankful we have gotten this over with :] but wanted to 'journal' it all the same!

BOY oh BOY!!

2011-10-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is cell phone picture quality and although it's going to take me a while to catch up on the last week or so of festivities that need to be blogged, I just wanted to post all our good news! Baby Maxfield #2 is a BOY! Neither of us could believe it and made them double check because everyone kept saying "With how sick you are, this is gonna be a girl!" So I built myself up saying it's a girl, I'll probably never get a boy... Goes to show that all those pregnancy myths are crazy. We are ecstatic!! We are so excited to have one girl and one boy in our house... it'll even things out! And although I love dolling up Little Miss Leighton, shopping for a boy is a whole new world of fun!

We are so excited to meet you, Little Buddy...as your big sister is already referring to you! Now, let's just see if Mommy and Daddy can agree on a name!

In other exciting news, Jack was offered an ICU position at Holston Valley in Kingsport and has accepted it! He is really excited and this is another big accomplishment for him! He's itching to start graduate school app's and this is just one step closer to our main goal.

Leighton and I are so proud of all his hard work!!

The Big 25

2011-10-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have to say, Jack spoils me every year, but 25 is my favorite birthday yet! He had to work all weekend, so we celebrated Thursday-Monday! I loved every minute of it, especially when Leighton was singing me Happy Birthday! On Sunday(my actual birthday), Leighton made the whole nursery sing Happy Birthday to Leighton's Mommy for their songtime! How sweet is that?! And since it was the Primary program in Sacrament, we had yummy cupcakes in Primary... so I told my class I was pretending it was my birthday party :]

When Jack got off from work, we were supposed to grill...but it was so late we hit up 5 Guys instead...where they have cherry coke on tap...Mmmm! On Monday, Jack had asked our friends to babysit and Leighton got to play with Hollidae (Thank you Annemarie and Sean!), so he took me out to the movies. It was so much fun to have a date! Then we picked Lei up and went to Amigo's for family birthday dinner -- 75cent tacos on Monday's...woot woot! And Jack let me help pick out some birthday stuff this year, but I'd say he did pretty dang good!!

I got a Canon Rebel T3i with the portrait lens and telephoto lens (say goodbye to the long delay and hello to cute baby pictures!) and some B&BW swag...y'all know I love smelling like Christmas all Fall/Winter long!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! I am so lucky to have such an awesome husband and family!

2011-10-26T02:28:00.001-07:00

I really need to start a new blog. Mostly because this blog is my only form of journaling/scrapbooking right now and I probably need a bigger outlet to express all of the feelings and emotions running through me at this stage in my life, but as this is really the only place I write about our family I try to post pictures and keep it light. However, I don't want to let this morning pass by and lose memory of it...because let's face it, whether you're a mom of 1 or 10, you just get busy and forget things if you don't write them down! :)

Every morning while I am pregnant I wake up somewhere between 3 and 5. Rarely can I fall back asleep within an hour.... I am envious of people who are "back asleep before their head hits the pillow." My thoughts get going, and my to do lists, and before I know it my mind is reeling! In fact, if it weren't for a half a Unisom every evening(which is BABY SAFE, so no lectures) I doubt if I would fall asleep at night to begin with. And it's not because I'm not tired... I am EXHAUSTED! I just can't sleep.

I usually use this time now (since I know I'll be up at least an hour) to process what I'm feeling about the new baby, to think about how I can be a better Mom to Leighton, and just to try to have a minute to myself to relax, because those will be far and few between in about 5 months(a reality, but I'm so excited anyway! YAY!). I also go take Leighton to the bathroom **side tangent** she has not had an accident during the day in quite a while -- she even takes herself to poop in the potty now, which was her worst struggle with potty training. Night training on the other hand, she wakes up and tells me she has to go.....from her bed. If I don't hear her at first, she gets upset because she's tired!**

So this morning was like every other morning. I wake up around 3am and have a hard time falling back asleep. But around 3:45am I doze off. And the sleep when I doze off is wonderful because I am so exhausted and will have to take Jack to work at 6am. But at 5am, Jack grabs me and wakes me up and I hear Leighton screaming. This isn't a "go peepee" cry, this is a terrified, weeping crying that instantly has me running to see if she is hurt. I calm her down to a slow sobbing and take her to the bathroom. I let her go potty and I wipe her face with a warm washcloth, but she just has little tears and keeps saying things half asleep that I can't understand. After about 5 minutes, she has calmed back down enough to say she wants to go back to bed.

So I take her back in her room and just can't shake this feeling because I know she's not happy and that breaks my heart. And I know all kids have bad dreams now and then, but as a mother you just can't go back to bed when your baby is so sad. We don't let Leighton get in our bed until 6:30am. It's our rule and for the most part she doesn't ask to, but occasionally when Jack is off it's nice to just all lay in bed for an extra hour and she is so happy that she'll sometimes go back to sleep with us -- till 8 or 9 -- woohoo! This said, I wasn't going to take her to our room because I think it's important for her to be able to go back to sleep in her room and Jack needs good sleep before work.

I lay her back in bed and ask her if she's okay. She quietly leans over and says, "Mom, sing me Heavenly Father?" (A Child's Prayer from the Primary Songbook) At that moment, the Spirit in the room was so strong and I just had this overwhelming feeling that although I have been feeling inadequate about motherhood (whether because I compare myself to other Mom's in the Church, or because I feel like a comment was directed at me, or because simply you never feel like you are everything your child needs and will need) I knew that Heavenly Father is always in my home and with my family and that I am doing everything I need to do to teach Leighton to be a righteous daughter of God. After I sang her this song and she hummed along with me, I hug her and ask "Can Mommy say a prayer with you, Leighton?" And she said, "Mommy say prayer for me." So I quietly said prayers with her that she could be comforted and I know she will be. Right before I got up to come back to bed, Leighton leans over and says "Mommy sing I'm Child of God" and while I sang her another one of her favorite Primary songs, I was once again so overwhelmed by that peace and calm that I knew that the Lord is watching over my family and I felt so much comfort and faith. I am so grateful for the gifts and blessings I have seen in my life and with my family. I know that we are watched over and protected. I love that I can feel so close to my Heavenly Father in my own home and that I can make it an escape from worldliness. And I know that although Leighton is small, she can feel the Spirit too and receive comfort. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father found me worthy to be her Mother.

Some Family Fun in Jonesborough!

2011-10-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Lauren asked me to snap a few photos of her and her family in downtown Jonesborough, so I had her snap a few of us too. (Thanks Lauren!)

Here are a few I think turned out great!

Charity Photoshoot

2011-10-21T13:05:00.001-07:00

An awesome photographer in our ward told us about a food drive/photoshoot that was going on last Friday and did some pictures of the girls all dressed in their costumes. She was supposed to leave, but let Leighton sneak in at the last minute before she left. To see a sneak peek of her photos of Leighton and a bunch of other cute kiddos, check them out here:

http://brandilyndavidsonphotography.com/

I'll post them after she emails them to me, but I also had to take a few of all the girls together :]

Almost 2 1/2 years old and we have conquered the swing!

2011-10-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

For all my playdate buds, near and far... you probably remember the horrible looks I would get when I practically forced Leighton to try out the swing. Little L has hated the swing since infancy... which made me sad when we had our nice tree in our yard in Idaho and I wanted to get a swing for it... but nevertheless, all we had to do was look at a swing and she shuddered with fear. It actually got to be a joke because she loved the slide, but would start going to the car if I took her by the swings!

Well the past couple of weeks she has been asking to try them and they've been wet everytime so I would just send her to the slide instead, which the other kids had already dried with their bottoms, haha. Then this week, she has been in the swing three times and LOVED it!

I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but to me it is a huge deal!

She is so much fun! She is going to be a great big sister!!

JackDaddy got to go to 'Mommy & Me' Gymnastics

2011-10-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, Jack was off work and decided to crash gymnastics with me and Leighton. He kept jumping in to spot her on bar, but was surprised how much she actually does on her own. I told him I always hang back and take pictures except to lift her to the bar. I think he had a lot of fun getting to watch our daily routine instead of staying home to study.... but anything is better than studying some days :] Leighton calls it "gym-mas-a-tics!" and is always asking if it is Monday yet because she loves it so much. It has been really good for her to sit and stretch and take instructions (as has preschool). She's still 100 miles a minute, but she's 2 so that's not really a surprise. I am trying to post gymnastics pictures every couple of weeks because this serves as most of my journaling/scrapbooking right now. I'm so proud at how much she has come out of her shell in Tennessee, she really has grown up so much lately!

**Disclaimer: Please excuse the undies hanging out... anything 3T swallows her whole! Haha!

October Fun!

2011-10-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last week we planned a Pumpkin Carving FHE and had over a few friends to hang out and enjoy some good festive food. While no pumpkins were carved before the night was over, it was a lot of fun and we got some pictures of all the gals in their embroidered shirts that we made (props to Audrey for teaching us with her awesome embroidery machine). I love this time of year and getting to hang out and enjoy nice weather and yummy treats!

Halloween Preview

2011-10-10T06:38:00.000-07:00

I took a couple pictures of Leighton in her costume... we're taking her to get her pics done on Friday, but I thought I'd post a little sneak peek because she's so stinkin' cute!! Can't believe we'll have two munchkins next Halloween...better enjoy having all her candy to herself this year :] I love Halloween!!

Playground Fun 9-20-11

2011-09-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Had to steal a few pictures from Miss Audrey Shawver--who will get a good pic of the girls...even if it means rolling on the ground...literally! (JK Audrey! Props to you for always being the Mom with the camera...and letting me hijack pics off FB!) So every Tuesday is official 'playdate day' with all the girls. They all play so well together, it's pretty impressive and it gives me some grown-up time to chat...not to mention kids eat free at Atlanta Bread, so I can make an excuse for a good lunch out! Unfortunately, I never pull out the camera at playdate...so here's a few from Stage Park and I'll try to do better :]

BIG NEWS!

2011-09-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

We've made it through the first trimester and Leighton is going to be a Big Sister! That's right...Baby #2 is scheduled to arrive March 31, 2012. We've been praying for this baby for a long time now and it just gives me butterflies that our prayers have been answered with this little miracle! We're so excited for our little Tennessee baby!!!(even when I'm too sick to move!)

This pregnancy has been a lot like my last one, so hopefully the sickness will pass before the 16th week again (and I'm living off Unisom again...so if Lindsay reads this - I will always be grateful you recommended it!) Some similarities from my last pregnancy along with the sickness, this first trimester also brought the crazy dreams that would wake me up in tears or making sure all my teeth were still there and the horrible pain in my chest area. This first trimester is different from my other pregnancy because I actually crave something. I didn't crave anything until almost the end with Leighton, but I can't go a day without a Sonic Cherry Limeade. It's insane, I feel like I never knew what a craving was and when I'm too sick to eat, I can still have a cherry limeade. Funny, huh!? Well that's my first trimester...sorry...you will not be missed! I'm really excited for my energy to come back in the next few weeks and the last of the sick symptoms to disappear....and most of all to see if our little one is a boy or girl!

Leighton's Potty Story - September 2011

2011-09-17T09:54:00.001-07:00

This week we took on the task of beginning potty training...and we did it with full force! From everyone I've talked to, the most successful stories come from locking yourselves in the house for 3 days and following Lora Jensen's method...so that has been our week! We let her pick out big girl undies and treats and stayed inside for days! And this is the most difficult thing I've ever done. Leighton is one smart cookie, but I'm just not as patient as I wish I was sometimes. I did want to journal her story though because this is a large accomplishment for our little girl and while it's not perfected and will be a work in progress for a while, the goal was to be out of diapers before March...and we're doing way better than I anticipated!!

Day 1 - A whopping 17 accidents...only 3 or 4 real successes. .Hardest.Day.Ever. --- I started to feel really discouraged and thought repeatedly about throwing her diaper back on and calling it quits. Then I started really pulling out the Skittles because if there's something Leighton inherited from me, it's a sweet tooth. And she almost never gets candy, so it caught her attention really well.

Day 2 - Only 7 accidents...and 8 successes. Now a few other people who tried this method complained that their first day was a 7 accident day and the worst day of their life. I rejoiced at 7 accidents! And one thing I learned on Day 2 is if the question is "Leighton, do you need to potty?" the answer will always be "NO!" So instead it became "Leighton, when you need to pee...run to the potty!" And that's what she does!

Day 3 - Only 4 accidents and numerous successes! And get this...all accidents were on the way or inside the bathroom! I was really impressed and excited that I was not asking Leighton...she was running to the potty on her own. She's growing up so fast!

Day 4 - Another 4 accident day and Leighton will not stay on the potty long enough to go #2. But if I get her there in time, she no longer acts scared and loved when she learned that "Big girl potties" get a her a wafer cookie.

Day 5 - Almost an accident free day, so Jack gets off work and takes us to our beloved Olive Garden. We have a lot to celebrate lately and I was not feeling sick (for ONCE!), so I didn't argue!! At Olive Garden, we make 4 trips to the bathroom and 2 of those are a success. Our little smartie learned that saying "potty" means to get to walk around the restaurant! But I'll take that over changing her pants...so it was our first accident free outing! YAY! Leighton charmed the waitresses and even gave some people from our ward a BIG laugh when she clapped for Mom going potty and said that I'm a big girl on the potty! Yep, that's my girl!

Day 6 - We're currently on Day 6. Our biggest struggles are making it to potty before #2 and peeing every time instead of just wanting a treat. Our biggest success is NO accidents today! I think it will still be a while before we're 100% and completely night trained, but we've had as many hits as misses at night and she is catching on really well!

We're so proud of you, Leighton!! Thanks for being so smart and wonderful! And one day when you see that I'm one of the dorky Mom's that blogged your potty story, reread 'Day 1!' Hahaha!

More August Fun!

2011-09-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Our Little Princess L being her adorable self before the birthday party!

While Bob and JoAnne were here, we took Leighton to her friend Madalyn's birthday party at "Hands On Children's Museum." I've blogged about "Hands On" before, but I just wanted to post some cute pictures! Madalyn's the cutie in the pink horsie costume (there's a part of the museum with costumes). It was such a fun birthday party and Leighton never passes up a chance to go to the museum!

Grandma and Grandpa Visited from Idaho! (8/23-8/30)

2011-09-17T09:20:00.001-07:00

Leighton's Grandma and Grandpa from Idaho got to visit us for the last week of August and we had so much fun!! They were such good sports with how sick I was and really spoiled us rotten! One of the hardest transitions for us has been not having them right around the corner. Leighton misses staying with them and we miss "Chip Dip" nights and just hanging out at their house (and dates to Chiz's)! Our favorite part of the visit was getting to show them Jonesborough because Jack and I just love the little town. They also got to go to a birthday party with us at "Hands-On Museum" and Leighton was excited to show them all her favorite stuff! We really hope they can come out to visit again soon, we had so much fun, I wish I would've gotten more pictures!

Gymnastics!

2011-09-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Leighton and her gal pals Londyn, Hollidae, and Madalyn all went to a gymnastics class in August at Revolution Dance and it was so much fun! Leighton has been somersaulting all over the house since we went and I am really excited to sign her up for the class in the next little bit and try out the dance class as well. I love that the Tri-Cities offers so much for young kids to do and we're lucky to have such a fun group of friends to do playdates with!

Playing Catch Up from July and August

2011-09-02T11:49:00.002-07:00

We finally got internet and we've been so busy that I missed blogging. We had so much fun going to visit Ivy. We have missed her so much and hopefully we can go see her again soon! We got to swim with her in the neighborhood pool and Leighton especially loved playing on Ivy's gymnastics bar. And shoutouts to Donna for a delicious southern meal from Lizard's Thicket! Mmmmm!

Another thing Leighton did was invent jungle gyms at my mom's house. This one was my favorite and she is forever climbing, she is just such a fun little lady! I wish I had as much energy!

And we're finally in the new townhouse! We love the added space and HUGE garage, but the thing we love most is getting to watch the sunset over the mountain as a family off of the patio! The weather is so beautiful in the evening and we can just lounge and eat dinner and watch the sun setting, it's like our own little sanctuary, we LOVE it!

I still need to upload pictures from Little L visiting with her grandparents from Idaho so stay tuned this weekend! More fun stuff to come!

Thank Goodness....

2011-08-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

....we picked the faux leather furniture as opposed to the microfiber! Leighton decided today that my eyeliner pencils are amazing for 'coloring!' She even came upstairs with one this morning and said "Mom! I'm COLORING!" I ran downstairs for fear she had made the walls her canvas...but there was no "coloring" to be found. I took the makeup and told her I would put some chapstick on her instead...thinking I had outsmarted Little L! It wasn't until we returned from playdate and lunch that the glare from the window revealed navy blue eyeliner all down the dark brown arm of the couch. It only took one wipe and about 3 minutes of scrubbing. So thank goodness we didn't go with the microfiber! Disaster avoided! And note to self: Little L can reach the counters, makeup goes in the cabinet from now on!

We still don't have internet, so the pictures will have to wait, but I felt like Leighton needed her own update since I've been so slack on posting.

So here are a few things about Leighton being 2 years and 3 months old:

-She loves lipstick/chapstick/lipgloss of any kind! It's a great reward and a way for me to get her to behave -- i.e. Leighton if you go to nursery by yourself I'll give you some chapstick!

-This month she has gone to nursery and stayed the whole time without Mom or Dad! Woohoo!

-She still hates swings, but will play on the bouncy slides at Wallabie's all day which I am certain will work to my favor all winter! She's also really excited to be starting gymnastics in September and loved the trial class we went to!

-She has mastered the ABC's, identifying each letter and it's sound. She can count to 30 and identify 1-10. She knows all the shapes and colors. Such a smart girl!!

-She says "Liggle" instead of "Little" but pronounced all her other 't' sounds just fine. I think this is adorable and hilarious!

-She is learning to share right now, some days she is great with it, others it is a struggle. But I am really proud that she is learning the concept and playing nicely with other kids.

-Every ounce of her 28 lbs belongs to Daddy... she is a miniature Jack and follows him like a shadow! If Mom tells her no, she just bats her blue eyes at Dad...luckily he's usually on my side!

Happy 4th of July and a Little More Fun!

2011-07-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

This year for 4th of July, we took Leighton to Jonesborough Days about 15 minutes from our house. It was so much fun! Leighton 's favorite parts were the petting zoo and the bubbles! We got to spend time with some fun friends, I need to take more pictures of all of the cool people we've met here, but I usually just get pictures of all the kids! After Jonesborough Days, we made a last minute trip to SC and got to see family there. Leighton had a blast playing with Spencer, Andrew, and Carson... and we're all excited for her to have a little girl cousin in a few months!

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when we had a barbeque with a bunch of couples from our ward! Leighton and two of her friends, Londyn and Hollidae, were all born in the same week. Madalyn(the blonde cutie) is just a few months younger. Leighton loves playing with her friends and they always have to do ring around the rosie before they go home!

The Splash Pad is just another fun [and free] activity we've been introduced to! It's about 20 mins away, but Leighton really warmed up to it after a bit... the kid is really becoming a fish! I love her smile here because I kept trying to get a picture and she was trying to snack, so this one may have been out of sheer frustration! Ha!

Our main activity lately has been swimming at Boone Dam, but unfortunately I have not been snap-happy with the pictures there yet. I will have to get on that! My updating has become more consistent though, so I'll have a reason to pack the camera with us! Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home, Glad As I Can Be!

2011-06-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

I thought this was pretty cool, just made using the words to The Proclamation from wordle. I think I'm going to use it for a fun craft I found.

I also never blogged on Father's Day, but I am really grateful for such an amazing husband. He is such an example to me of being a Parent in the ways we are directed in The Proclamation. I don't know a more humble, hard-working (and handsome :]) man. He is such a great Father to Little L and she wants to be just like him (and if I'm lucky, she will be). We gave him a motorcycle beginner safety class and motorcycle gear for Father's Day this year. I also spent about a week teaching Leighton the words and motions to the Primary song "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home" and Jack and I both teared up a little when she sang it solo to him. We made him coupon books with a couple new friends and Leighton made him a card in Primary. What a fun way to celebrate how awesome the man in my life is!

This Month in Pictures

2011-06-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

Trying to a avoid Blog-overload...a picture is worth 1,000 words--and we have a lot of pictures!!

Hands-On Museum is a children's museum where they can touch and explore everything!

We drove to Asheville, NC to go to "Sliding Rock" with the Lufkin's and Marler's, but they closed after some thunder. We drove to this waterfall to eat lunch and ended up swimming under it. It was a lot of fun and something hadn't planned to do! We still want to try to go to "Sliding Rock" but it is quite a drive if they close again!

When Mom came to visit, she had to spoil Little L at Chuck-E-Cheese(thanks Mom!) and Leighton loved it! She wanted to mash every button on every game!

Every Friday in Jonesborough, they close off the downtown area and bands play. The cute little stores stay open and it's just such a fun atmosphere for families. Jack and I love Jonesborough, it is so pretty and we go to "Music on the Square" when he's not working on Fridays.

Well, we're having a blast out here and loving Tennessee! Jack is really liking his job and learning a lot, while I'm really enjoying staying home with Leighton! She is such a blast and even when it's challenging, I'm so grateful to be her Mom! Leighton is still shy and cautious, but we have found that she has no fear when it comes to swimming! She loves it just like her parents do. She is such a smart girl and can identify all of the letters, their sounds, and the numbers. She loves to spell her name and count to 10 in Spanish and pick out the letters in every book we read (when I'm patient enough...haha), and is getting really pumped for 'Cars 2.' Jack and I feel so blessed that she is so healthy and happy, but she is growing up too fast!! I guess that's all we're up to right now, but I'll keep snapping pictures so we can keep everyone up to date! Hope everyone's having a great Summer!

I Will Always Love You, Dolly!

2011-05-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

Erika Lindsay Maxfield
Let it be known that on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 10:32pm my husband Jack Maxfield promised to take me to the 26th annual Dolly Parade on May 6, 2011 in Pigeon Forge where you can find Dolly atop a stunning float as she makes her way down the Parkway. He thinks I'll forget... this insures that I won't!

Remember that status? Well, my Jack is a man of his word! I love him for it! I've loved Dolly since I was a young country girl and it was such a fun way to start this new chapter in our lives!

Just a pretty view of the Tennessee mountains that day.

Go easy on us, we've had a long traveling!

Getting started!

The woman herself! DOLLY!

Families Can Be Together Forever

2011-05-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

I'm so late at posting these, but here are our pictures we had done in front of the temple before we moved. We've obviously made it safely to Tennessee and Jack is loving his job. We love the new area and ward, and this area seems to cater to young families really well! I am excited to be back near my southern family, but we do miss everyone in Idaho! I'll post pictures of what we've been up to soon and try to be better at blogging now that I'm not working!

Little L does 'Over the Rainbow'

2011-04-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhC8msnshFs

Just wanted to share. She sure puts on a show for the camera!

My Momma said she's gonna sing opera with those faces she makes!

So here's what we've been up to lately!

2011-04-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

My soon-to-be new sister Keri said that my blog is "begging" to be updated... and now that finals are over I don't have many excuses! So here is what's going on with us:

1. Jack and I both finished our Associate's Degrees. I am just glad it's over and finished the semester with all A's. Jack graduated in the top 10% of his class from the BYU-I Nursing Program and got all A's (again :] ) and we're so proud of him.

He will be finishing his Bachelor's online.

2. Jack got a job out in Johnson City, Tennessee! We will be heading East on April 30th (Leighton and I flying; Jack driving). We are so excited to be near our SC family, but we'll miss out ID and UT family very much! We are so excited for this new time in our life though!

3. Leighton is more active and pretty and smart every day! We just adore her and we're so happy for the blessing she is in our life! I am personally so ecstatic to be able to stay home with her :] She is learning things so quick and growing way too fast! Little L is also obsessed with Tangled right now...she loves Disney just like Mom and Dad. She's speaking in a lot of sentences now and loves counting to 20 and telling me all the letters and the sounds they each make. It's hard for Jack and I not to spoil her rotten, she's just so sweet! I can't wait for our SC family to see how much she's grown! (Last time we visited she wasn't even walking!)

Well, I think that's it for me, Jack, and Leighton... but here are some pictures to get you by until I post after Easter (let's not kid ourselves by thinking I will before then... but we are excited to see what the Easter bunny brings :] )

Leighton and her cousin Annabelle watching Tangled..in the wagon, of course! These girls are hilarious together! I had a fun time getting to watch them (and McKinley) and 'play Rapunzel!'

Leighton reading her favorite Toy Story book. She likes to point to each character and tell us who they are. My favorites to hear her say are: "Mr. Pricklepants" and "Stretch"

This is Leighton spinning in Grandpa's office chair. She gets really excited to visit him at work!

While the picture suggests otherwise, Leighton loves eating pickles! She eats the skin and all!

Funny Girls!

2011-02-18T09:35:00.001-08:00

Leighton and her best buddy Paige were so funny last night and this morning! Paige is really adventurous and Leighton talks nonstop, so Leighton just thinks everything Paige does is hilarious!! I had to snap some pictures of them this morning.. they were cracking me up!! We are going to miss Paige, Melanie, and Jake (her mom and dad) a ton when we move, we always have a blast with them!

Fun in the Snow!

2011-01-15T15:17:00.001-08:00

Today we decided to suit up and play in the snow! Addison came over and it was a lot of fun! We stay pretty busy, but today we realized Leighton had never really gotten to play in the snow outside and she loved it!

I love having Saturday afternoon off with my family and having Addison here!

Holly Jolly Christmas, It's the best time of the year!!

2010-12-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, we must have been really good this year! We had such an amazing Christmas and it was so nice to spend it with our family in Idaho because we'll probably be a long ways away this time next year! Thanks to everyone who made it so special for us! Here are a few pictures, mostly to show off Leighton's cuteness :] Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Happy New Year Y'all!

Leighton's cute Christmas dress!

Santa Claus was good to Leighton this year!

I just love the jeggings on her, I can't help it. I'm such a proud Mommy!

She was hilarious when we finally let her walk outside, it's usually too icy...

Opening her Christmas pajamas from Mic-Mic!

Our little family down by the temple in Idaho Falls, I'm so lucky!

Merry Christmas from the Maxfield's!

2010-12-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

Another year has come and gone and once again I am overcome with how blessed our family has been! When we entered 2010, we had no idea all of the changes our little family faced. Leighton was 7 months old and we were enjoying the Christmas break, but Jack was beginning the BYU-Idaho nursing program and we were excited and stressed and nervous for what this chapter in our life would hold.

Jack began the Nursing Program in January and amazed me with balancing school, working 25-30 hours a week and never getting home from work before 3am on the weekends, only to get back up and do the same thing again. He flew through his first 2 semesters with flying colors and then in August we went to South Carolina to visit my family there and made the ultimate decision that when we got back, Jack would return to school unemployed. Between confusion and stress, leaving his job opened a new door for him to be a lab tutor in the nursing lab on campus (a job his teachers highly recommended him for) and where he is able to practice his skills and study with other students. This was such a blessing as we have needed the extra income. So he completed his 3rd semester with all A's once again (my brilliant hubby :] ) and is taking a New Testament class over Christmas break so he can graduate in April with his RN. In April, we will be leaving Idaho for Jack to work a minimum of 1 year in an Intensive Care Unit, which is a requirement for a graduate degree in Nurse Anesthesia. We are not sure where we will be moving or where he will attend graduate school, but we enjoying the light at the end of this tunnel...and freezing a little in the process!! Ha!

Last winter, we also had been praying about a few other things, not the least of which being my hopes to reapply to BYU-Idaho (I had a lot of credits there but no degree yet). The more we talked and prayed, the more we came to terms that: while a lot of BYU-I credits will not transfer to another school, an Associate's degree would. So with confirmation, I reapplied and was accepted to finish school in April with Jack. This has been such a blessing for me to continue learning and growing at the Lord's University. I am so thankful for the friends I've made and the Spirit I've felt being back in school. I want to set a good example for Leighton that education is important and you should learn whenever you have the opportunity, in the classroom and otherwise. I am continuing to work at Horkley's and I'm very grateful to have had this job the last 4 or so years. I will be working Saturdays for my last semester and will probably miss it when we leave, but hope to be an official "Stay at home Mommy" after my Horkley's era ends.

Leighton is 19 months now! I just can't believe how fast she is growing! She is constantly moving and changing. She can count to 13 .. sometimes 15 right now and loves to fill in the letters I stop at in the ABC's. She loves to read, we read anywhere from 10 to 20 books a day together, even when I am in school. She is completely obsessed with Toy Story and can name every character of almost every Pixar movie (Yes, we have a DVD player in the car). She loves coloring and watching her Mickey Mouse Club and PBS. She loves dancing and ANY kind of MUSIC! If she can strum it or tap the keys, she's in heaven. Leighton loves her bedtime, she likes routine and often brings us her book and her toothbrush when 7pm rolls around. She is learning to pray and always says "Heavly Fader, thank you" when we have our arms folded. It is adorable!

She asked Santa for a talking Jessie doll and a play kitchen for Christmas, so we'll see what's here Christmas morning... she has been a very good girl, you know. She can say any word we ask her to, her vocabulary is growing daily. She is beautiful inside and out. I am sad to say that she has had a few diva tantrums this past 2 weeks. But she understands time-out and counting to ten, then saying that she is sorry(which is the saddest thing I've ever seen, but she is learning). She is a lot like her dad, in the way that she is careful and humble and very sincere in all of her words and actions. She is a lot like her mom in the way that she laughs a lot and likes to be a busy-girl. Some say she has my blue eyes and her daddy's eyelashes. She certainly is a daddy's girl. We feel so lucky that the Lord found us fit to take care of his beautiful daughter Leighton and we can't imagine life without her now. We are so blessed to have our "Little L!"

We are very 'braggy' parents :] We hope this Christmas finds y'all all safe and warm! We are very blessed to have such great friends and family, near and far! Hope you are enjoying the holidays and may we all remember the "Reason for the Season!" We appreciate you all and love you! Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Our Family at Boo at the Zoo in Idaho Falls

Right now, Leighton is watching Toy Story 3 for the first time since the theater and even when I say her name (3 times in a row) she doesn't so much as blink! She LOVES Toy Story and talks about Buzz, Woody, and Jessie nonstop lately, and Halloween was no different! She got super excited every time she saw a kid dressed as any of the Toy Story characters! We had such a fun Halloween this year! Last year, Jack had to work all night and it was more about me taking pictures of Tinkerbell(her costume), but this year we all dressed up as Pirates and Leighton walked and trick-or-treated all night! Halloween is one of our favorites, as it always feels like the beginning of the Holidays! And it is so much fun as a parent, Leighton loved knocking on doors and saying "Thank you" every time she got a candy. I love October!!

Leighton and Grandma

Leighton and Grandpa looking at the monkeys

Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Us at home before Trick-or-Treat

Happy Fall!!

2010-10-27T10:35:00.001-07:00

I love this one of me and Little L!

This is my pre-Halloween post, but do not be distressed! Costume pictures will come on Sunday! I just got excited and wanted to post some Fall pictures! Fall is our family's favorite time of year, all of the leaves changing and the cool(not cold) weather! I love Fall, especially in Idaho! So here are a few cute pictures from me and Leighton playing in the leaves! Happy Fall!

I like this one because you can see the trailer and the 309. I put it in her baby book as her first house because in this one, we make the trailer look good! Hahaha!
The Princess and the Pumpkin!

And here is one of Leighton playing with her friends Brooklyn and Brodie on the playground! Last week was so fun, Kathie and the kids should come stay more often!

WALKIN' ON SUNSHINE!

2010-09-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Leighton took some steps yesterday and we got them on video! (We do have to put her in front of us, but she walks right to us, 4 or 5 steps at a time!) That made my whole week, since Jack will be leaving us for a few days this week :[ I'm glad he was here for it! She can totally walk, she's just holding out on us! Well that's all I've got today!

For now, enjoy this adorable picture of "ol' blue eyes!" (as Byron and Susan call her!)

Our Little Chatterbox :)

2010-09-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Leighton has been doing so much fun stuff lately and although I'm super busy(totally worked 12 hours today!), I just want to write it down somewhere until I have time to catalog in her baby book. She is growing up so fast and I just feel so lucky to be her Momma, I love her so much!

My little girl is so smart :) She folds her arms when we say prayers and has started standing without holding onto the furniture, she upgraded to big girl sippy cups and loves "Buzz and Woody." She likes her big girl books more than any of her toys and is starting to point to things on the pages when I ask her, like babies or Woody. She kisses her baby dolls and pats their back when she hugs them. She sleeps 12 hours a night and has been napping like a champ (usually saving my sanity when the house isn't clean). She claps and high-fives and 'bumps it!' She can now show you where her nose, mouth, tongue, ears, and belly-button are. She is just developing such an awesome little personality and I love to watch her in action!

She has really widened her vocabulary the past month or so and can say almost anything I ask her to say, but here are the words she says when she recognizes things or when I ask her a question:

Mommy

Daddy

Baby

Wowwww!

Buddy

Addi

Abby

Hello (holding anything long and skinny to her ear like a phone!)

Four

Five

Bubbles

Pop

Bump-it (we totally stole this from Jen&Dan with Mason)

Minnie

Elmo

Banana

Bite

Apple (usually knocking on the fridge)

Night-Night

Bat-Ti(for Bath-time)

Lub(for Love...but she says it in context)

La-La

Water

Bye Bye

Papa(Joey)

Mic-Mic

Happy

Puppy

Kitty (but we don't see a lot of cats, so this one is rare)

Bella

Amen

Please

(Her own version of) Thank you

Tut-dow(Touch-down, with her arms straight over her head like the referee... do we watch enough football? GO COCKS!)

...And still one of my all-time fave's: "mah-num mah-num"...her own made up word for yum-yum when she's ready to eat!

14 Months

2010-07-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, Leighton is really growing up fast! We will be in SC in a few days and we're getting so excited! I wish I had more pictures to post, but I just snapped this with my cell phone today!

Rexburg Circus and a few things about Leighton

2010-06-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

This week we went to the circus in Rexburg! I didn't take a lot of pictures of the acts, but I did get some of Melissa riding the elephant with her girls (and I totally forgot to give you the CD Melissa, I will give it to you next time I see you!) and a few of all of us there! I love spending time with my family and Leighton loves to play with her cousins! I am going to have a lot of catching up to do after this semester, but here are a few things Leighton does/likes right now:

1. She just turned 1 and we had an 'Alice in Wonderland' party with Jack's parents, a few friends, and my Mom, Brandon, Jenny, and Hunter were even able to come!

2. She loves to talk! She just babbles away and we just laugh and laugh because she "knows" exactly what she is telling us! She says 'please' a lot now, as well as 'baby,' 'mama,' 'dada,' 'oooooh!,' 'bella' (her cousin), 'ten' (when we count), and occasionally she will say 'tank you' and 'elmo.'

3. She loves to brush her teeth and sleeps from 7pm-7am! She even points to her crib after reading and prayer at night.

4. She feeds herself a lot now, especially bananas! She's like a little monkey!

5. She is getting a lot better at being "soft" with babies and other kids and understands 'no-no.'

6. Her chronic ear infections are getting a lot better and she doesn't seem to pull at them much the past 2 weeks.

7. She is a total daddy's girl, I always joke with Jack that I have to be the favorite with baby#2.

8. She loves playing with blocks and counting and loves ANYTHING WITH MUSIC... just like Mom and Dad.

9. Her favorite thing to say is "baa-TAH" and laugh her bum off, but none of us can figure out what it means! She says it over and over, so we get a real kick out of it!

10. She has 8 teeth and is teething again and she hates to have a dirty diaper, so hopefully this will come in handy when potty-training time comes!

Well, here is one more picture that I thought was cute... she kept hitting her highchair and saying "baa-TAH"!

Crazy 8's!

2010-05-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

Ok... I haven't posted in quite a long time, but just to prove I still read all my family's blogs, Lindsay tagged me in this one, so what the heck! :]

8 TV Shows I Watch
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. 30 Rock
3. Modern Family
4. The Office
5. The Big Bang Theory
6. How I Met Your Mother
7. Biggest Loser
8. Vampire Diaries (Don't ask me.. I'll deny it! HA!)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Chick Fil A
2. Olive Garden
3. Garcia's Mexican

4. San Jose's

5. Macaroni Grill

6. Anything JAPANESE
7. Five Guys
8. Texas Roadhouse

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Having the night off with Jack to RELAX
2. The weekends!
3. Seeing my family when I can visit
4. Blowing Leighton bubbles in the bathtub
5. Idaho Summertime.. if it ever comes!!!
6. Playing games with Jack, board games or on the Wii.
7. Having another baby
8. JACK FINISHING SCHOOL! Shoulda' been #1!!

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Went to class
2. Made chocolate covered strawberries
3. Went to the Farmer's Market
4. Watched some movies with Jack
5. Played with Leighton all morning :]
6. Visited my friends at Horkley's
7. Let Leighton eat chicken, something kinda new
8. Washed some blankets for my Mom's bed on Tuesday

8 Things I Am Passionate About
1. The Gospel
2. Family and quality time together
3. Education
4. Making time for just Leighton, with no distractions or homework
5. Being outside for the 3 months you can here. haha.
6. Reading my scriptures and praying every morning and night
7. Paying full tithing to the Lord
8. Hanging out with good friends

8 Words/Phrases I Often Use
1. Bye Bye
2. Say, "Baby"
3. IIIII LLOOOVVVEEEE UUUU!
4. Uh-oh!
5. No-no honey!
6. Lalalalala... is it time to sing?
7. Give mama kisses!
8. Let's go change your bum! (Not the favorite)

8 Things I Have Learned From My Past
1. Everything happens for a reason
2. There was a reason for everything my Mama said
3. Unisom is the best for morning sickness (stole this from Lindsay.. SO TRUE)
4. "I can sum up everything I've learned about life in 3 words... It Goes On" -Robert Frost
5. You have to have a good laugh and a good cry sometimes.
6. What goes around comes around.
7. Don't wanna get karma-slapped.
8. If you always pray, you can't go to bed angry.

8 Places I Want To Visit/See
1. SC -- my family! AUGUST?
2. Disney world again in August.. happiest place on Earth :]
3. Europe, everywhere, the Sistine Chapel, the Louvre, I wanna see it all!!!
4. Vegas, baby!
5. The Oregon Coast (where Goonies was filmed)
6. I wanna take Jack to the Biltmore and to Wash. D.C.
7. NYC, me and Sarah's first real vacay after school?!
8. Anywhere with history, I'm a total history geek!

8 Things I Need/Want
1. Laser Eye Surgery
2. To drop like 20 more pounds.
3. A live-in babysitter/maid/personal chef! Yes please!
4. A car
5. A warmer climate and a pool to put in it
6. To find the winning lottery ticket
7. An elliptical at home
8. Veneers! One day!

8 Bloggers I'm Tagging To Do This
1. Momma
2. Ginger
3. Melissa
4. Jenny Collins
5. Jenny Kolb
6. Andrea
7. Bree
8. Connie

KISSES!

2010-02-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

Leighton, The Social Butterfly!

2010-01-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

Leighton is feeling so much better now and she was so funny during church today! She is very social and loves to talk... especially when everything is quiet.. So of course, her favorite place to babble away is in church. Jack had to let her eat cereal puffs all during Priesthood so everyone else could hear the lesson! She is just a hoot! This picture is from yesterday. This weekend was a blast, I just love being at home with my little girl!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday!!

We have an 8-month-old! Where is the time going?!

2010-01-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Leighton turned 8 months old yesterday! She loves bathtime and making a mess with whatever the can get her little hands on! I love this stage, it is SO much fun!

We love you, Leighton!!

2009 ROCKED!

2010-01-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated in months, but now that Leighton goes to bed by herself at night and I'm working a little less.. I think I'll hop back on the blogging wagon! If for no other reason, it helps me remember what we did each month! So here's why 2009 was so special to me and 2010 is only going to be better!!

JANUARY

*Jack and I got sealed in the Rexburg Temple

*My Mom and Addi came to visit

FEBRUARY

*Valentine's Day with Jack at Olive Garden and decorating Leighton's room

*Hand and Foot with the Dexter's everyday :]

MARCH

*Took Jack to a Jazz/Suns game and cabin weekend

*Jack redid the kitchen floor and surprised me

APRIL

*Jack finished the semester with a 3.8

*The Last Shenanigan with the Dexter's

MAY

*We added a Little L to our family!

*Ethan came out for his birthday and stayed until I had Leighton

JUNE

*Cutest newborn pictures ever

*Jack had his first Father's Day

JULY

*My mom came to meet Leighton

*Addi came out for EFY and stayed with us

*The Maxfield family was reunited and we took some family pictures

AUGUST

*Leighton was blessed in SC by her daddy :]

*Jack and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary in Hilton Head, SC

SEPTEMBER

*Leighton got 2 teeth

*Jack got accepted into the Nursing Program at BYU-I

OCTOBER

*I finally got my golden birthday

*Leighton started eating baby food, she loves bananas the best!

NOVEMBER

*We met the Maxfield family in Disney World

*Thanksgiving with my family in SC

DECEMBER

*Our first Christmas as parents was WONDERFUL

*Our first New Year's Eve together at midnight (not at work!)

For Grandaddy

2009-08-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with Disney's Peter Pan. I could have watched it every day! We had a "Sing-Along" tape with the song "Never Smile at a Crocodile" and my Grandaddy would let me and Ethan watch it over and over! Now Leighton loves that video and watches it over and over and laughs. It made me so happy that I have memories of watching that with Grandaddy, so I tell her about it while she's watching it! She's so much fun, and she can't wait to meet her Grandmother and Grandaddy next week!!

I just love this picture!

2009-08-16T20:54:00.001-07:00

Jack is such a great Dad!

GO HERE AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PICTURE!

2009-08-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Vote for your favorite in a comment on Rognon Photography's Blog ! They did my maternity photos, as well as Leighton's newborn photos, and they are AMAZING! Plus, they're just really fun people and it was a fun experience for us! It won't hurt my feelings if you don't vote on Leighton's, but just check them out anyway!! Hope everyone's having a fun and safe weekend!

18 more days till South Carolina! Woohoo!

Right now, Leighton loves.....

2009-08-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

Bathtime... and her hooded towel (for my lack of bathtime pictures!)...

And going to the Park with her Mommy!

Hope everyone is having a great week! Jack and I are working our butts off as usual.. but all is well!!

Leighton's Blog

2009-07-30T10:00:00.001-07:00

I barely have time to shower these days! We're both working full-time and when I'm home I just like to relax and play with Leighton! So I'm going to keep blogging about our family whenever I have time, but I also have a blog where I put a new picture of Leighton every day. That way everyone can see how fast she is growing when I don't have time to blog! The address is: http://leightonphoto.blogspot.com/ so if you'd like to add it, go for it! We have the most precious baby girl ever, so check out her pics when you get a chance :] And everyone have a wonderful week! I'm off to work will 5pm, then Jack works 5pm till late tonight.... woohoo....

MIC-MIC WILL BE HERE FRIDAY!!

2009-07-14T02:20:00.000-07:00

We're just soooo excited!!!! And Leighton was so sweet last night for Mommy and Daddy's night off together! We had so much fun all together!! I love my little family!

Maxfield Family Pictures

2009-07-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun having all the family together this past week! Leighton got to meet her cousins and it was so cute trying to get a good picture of all the kids together!! Everyone should be getting their disc in the mail soon.. I'm burning them tonight after work :]

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, JACK!!

2009-06-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

You are already such a wonderful dad to Leighton! You are a great example for me every day because you always have a kind attitude, even when we are exhausted! I love you so much and I can tell how much Leighton loves you already! Thank you for how hard you work for our family and for being a worthy priesthood holder. I couldn't ask for anything more.

You are amazing babe!

Happy [first] Father's Day!!!!!

This Week

2009-06-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

Leighton loves watching Jack's basketball games! She's so much more alert now and aware of what is going on around her!

And this seems to be her favorite position to nap lately!

I think she's looking more like her Daddy!

2009-06-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

Leighton was so funny tonight! She kept trying to eat my fingers and when I'd pull my hand back, she'd smile... then quickly realize I'd fooled her. Her looks are changing so much, I have to take pictures every day! She's gotta be the cutest girl ever, Jack and I are so lucky to be her parents! I'll try to post more pictures soon, she's pretty time consuming these days! I don't ever want to go back to work, I just love spending my days with Baby Leighton!

Leighton's Newborn Photos

2009-06-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blogging, but here are Leighton's newborn photos! My computer crashed and we just bought a Macbook, so I'm really excited to be back in the world of blogging again!

May 11, 2009

2009-05-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

The day before I was induced, we were able to get some maternity photos taken. They turned out really well and we're so grateful we could get them done on short notice, since I was induced early. We had a lot of fun and I can't wait to put them in Leighton's baby book!

Thank you so much, James and Michelle! Everyone should check out their blog:
http://rognonphotography.blogspot.com .

Welcome Home, Leighton!

2009-05-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

We are so glad to have our little angel home! She's doing so well today and we're so happy she's healthy! We're having a hard time sharing her, she is just the cutest thing ever!!!

Quick Update on Little L :)

2009-05-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Leighton is doing great, we're just trying to get her eating more before she comes home. The pediatrician said she is looking much better, her oxygen is staying high and they've taken her off of the IV's that she was relying on for food. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring her home this weekend. Thank you for all the congratulations and prayers! We love and appreciate all of y'all!

Leighton Valencia Maxfield

2009-05-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Leighton was born on May 12, 2009 at 11:40Pm. She weighs 7 pounds 3 ounces and she is 19 1/2 inches long. We are so excited to finally have her here! May 12th is a very special day to us. It's the day Jack proposed to me 2 years ago and we are so happy that it is our little angel's birthday! We already love her so much, I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much! She is such a beautiful baby and we are so grateful that Heavenly Father sent her to us! We must have done something right :) Right now, she is still in the Newborn ICU. She had the hiccups throughout the delivery and has some fluid in her lungs. They are going to keep her for a few days to stabilize her oxygen levels, but she seems to be doing well. She's our little trooper already! And I have to say: Jack was my incredible husband, as usual, yesterday! He massaged my feet, stayed with me the entire day, held my hand through every contraction, waited on me hand and foot, held my leg up during labor(only my left side really took the epidural and I couldn't lift my left leg at all!), he counted through all my contractions, and he even cut the chord!! Sorry ladies, I snagged the best man out there! He's such an amazing husband and I know he's going to be a great father too!!
Well, we just wanted to post a few pictures so everyone back home can see her!
We love our little Leighton, we're so glad she made it here safely!!

He's going to be such a great daddy!
Jack, Leighton, and Me
First Family Photo :)

On another note, we are so happy that we had Leighton before Ethan had to go home today! I've had so much fun celebrating his 21st birthday with him and hanging out the past week! It was so special for to me that he was able to hold Leighton before he left. She is so lucky to have such great aunts and uncles! We miss you already, Eeskie! I hope you enjoyed your birthday week and we're so thankful for you! Love you so much, buddy!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there,
but most especially to mine!!
We Love You, Mom! Thanks for all you do for us, we miss you so much!
Hope you're having a wonderful day!!

Good News All Around!

2009-05-02T12:11:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all! I've been trying to squeeze in my last few weeks of work before Leighton arrives, so I haven't had much time to update! Jack is doing really well in school this semester and studying hard. The nursing program is very competitive, so he literally studies most of the time he's not at school or working (whenever that could possibly be! Haha!).

Yesterday we went in for a weekly checkup at my doctor to see how Leighton is doing. I've told my work they could schedule me up until the 15th (my due date is the 17th), as long as they had someone on call, just in case. I just imagined I'd be late.. I am related to the Dinkins! JK :) But yesterday at my appointment, the doctor told Jack and I to try to hold out until Thursday, then they would decide what day to induce me. Turns out, I'm already dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. I still don't want to get my hopes up, I may end up going to my due date. But we are just so excited for Leighton to be here!! We feel so blessed and can't wait to become parents!

Our other good news: as many of you know, we have been saving up for a little while to go to Disney World in November with our Maxfield family. Jack and I are pretty obsessed with Disney, we had a Disney World Honeymoon and it was magical! Ha! We've planned everything, so we could fly out for Disney World, then spend Thanksgiving with our family in SC. (We have to eat at "Lana's Cafe" for Thanksgiving!) With the baby coming and me taking a month off of work, we didn't know if we'd be able to afford any vacation that soon. Jack has the fall semesters off, so it's really the only time we can leave Rexburg for more than a weekend. We've also been e-mailing the company Jack worked for last summer trying to squeeze out the rest of the money they owed him. This has been ongoing since January! Well, yesterday it seems like all of our prayers were answered! After the doctor's appointment we came home and much to our surprise, there was a check waiting in our mailbox for quite a bit more than we expected! We joke a lot, but in all honesty neither of us thought they would pay Jack for the remainder of his sales because he didn't sign a contract to work again this year. We have so much to be grateful for, especially at this point in our lives. I feel like a lot of the blessings we've received lately are directly connected with paying our tithing. Jack and I have both developed a strong testimony of the importance of paying tithing and it seems like every time we give our 10%, the Lord gives us 110% back. We're still going to save up our money for Disney and SC, but it feels like a huge weight has been lifted. We are so thankful for our blessings and so excited for November and to be able to spend time with all of our family! 2009 is turning out to be our favorite year yet!

Congratulations Jack!

2009-04-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

So, I'm a little late in posting this.. but Jack finished his first semester at BYU-Idaho with all A's and a 3.8 GPA! I am so proud of him, so I had to brag a little!! I love you so much babe, great job! Keep up the good work!

The Last "Sunday Night Shenanigan"

2009-04-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is a little late, but we hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! The Easter Bunny brought us lots of sweet treats :] and then we were able to go to our friend's Jesse and Bree Dexter's house for their going-away party. Every Sunday, we've had Sunday Night Shenanigan's (thus the title up there) and every Monday we'd have dinner together and play cards. Jesse and Bree will be moving on the 25th and they are sure going to be missed!! I'm sure they will be back to visit quite a bit, but Jesse got into school in Twin Falls, so they're going to be living a few hours away. We're really excited for them to begin this new chapter in their lives! Good luck, Jesse and Bree!

Our awesome Easter baskets!

Jack and me at the Dexter's house

A picture of us all dressed up!

Wiffle-ball baseball at the last Shenanigan

Our friend Mark climbed up the tree to rescue the wiffle-ball

Jesse being Jesse! Haha.

Jack is up to bat!

And of course there was Rock Band!

Close-up of Bree and me! I'll miss you Bree!

Jack and I goofing off at Applebee's on Monday :]

Jesse and Bree at Applebee's

On a side note, 28 more days!!!! I can't believe we're getting so close!!!!

40 MORE DAYS!!

2009-04-07T00:48:00.001-07:00

We're just really excited! :]

A Good Weekend for a Basketball Game

2009-03-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

Back in January, I bought Jack tickets to see the Utah Jazz play the Phoenix Suns. We took Saturday and Sunday off this weekend and fled Rexburg, Idaho to watch our two favorite NBA teams play each other. It was one of our favorite adventures since we got married, not only because it was our first live NBA game, but because we've both been working pretty hard and really needed a BREAK! Ha! Here are a few pictures of some fun things we did!

We got to hang out with Thomas, Jennive, Daniel, and Mason at the cabin!

Played some pool, of course!

This is the new flooring at the cabin, it turned out very good!

Right before the game (we like this shirt because I look really pregnant! Haha.)

We got off at 2am the night before, then left for Utah at 5am.....

Shaq shooting free-throws.

Steve Nash and Deron Williams!

The final score... after it went into overtime!!

We also went to see Monsters Vs. Aliens in IMAX 3-D! It was super cute!!

I didn't post the pictures of Chick Fila, Five Guys, and Chipotle, but we ate really well in Utah! Not to mention Daniel and Jennive cooking up an awesome breakfast at the cabin (Thanks y'all!) It was such a fun weekend, even with the blizzard (and of course the only shoes I took down were flip-flops!). It was hard to come back to work and school, but we had an amazing time! We'd been looking forward to this weekend and I'm glad I got to do some nice things for Jack because he's such a hard-working guy, but he always finds time to make me feel special! I love being married to my best friend, we always have so much fun together!

32 down, about 8 to go!

2009-03-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'll be 32 weeks pregnant on Saturday, so I finally took a belly picture in Leighton's room. ENJOY! (And not to brag, but I'm excited to say I'm still wearing all of my pre-pregnancy jeans!)

I have the BEST husband!

2009-03-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

The other night my back was hurting really bad and I couldn't sleep, so Jack stayed up and did our entire kitchen floor in one night. I have to post the before and after pictures because it's amazing! He has really done so much to our house since we bought it! I love him so much, he always goes out of his way to make things nice for me. I kept forgetting about it yesterday and when I'd get home it was like a whole new surprise to see the new floor when I walked into the house! I absolutely love it! I have the BEST HUSBAND EVER!

Before: (Circa 1970 - hahaha!)

The masterpiece:

We're just so excited!!

2009-02-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

We can see our DRIVEWAY today!! And we haven't seen it in months!! Haha, everyone who has lived in Idaho knows this is a glorious day!
And most of you know I was being tested (over and over) for gestational diabetes this week because it's common in my family. I had to drink(or CHUG) the most disgusting drink ever.. a few times.. and have my finger poked on numerous occasions, but they think everything is looking okay. I just have to keep trying to eat less sugar because I feel so sick afterwards! I still haven't gained any weight, so I was pretty excited to be over 6 months pregnant and still in my regular jeans :] Leighton is looking great at 28 weeks and we're still working to finish the nursery so I can get those pictures on here! We found some really cute Tinkerbell things in BYU-I Bookstore to go on her shelves. I'm kind of the Peter Pan one in the family, so it works just perfectly! We can't wait till she's old enough to be Tinkerbell and Minnie Mouse for Halloweens.... but mostly we just can't wait for her to get here! We love her so much already!!
Well, hopefully I'll have pictures for my next post.. but Jack and I are alive and kicking.. just not as much kicking as Leighton is lately! Hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend!

I've been so slack on the blog scene lately!

2009-02-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

I'm so mad that I didn't take pictures yesterday, but Jack and I both had our only day off together this week and it was so much fun! We always celebrate Valentine's day a little late and our 18-month anniversary is tomorrow, so yesterday we went to Idaho Falls and shopped for Leighton's room. Then Jack took me out to Olive Garden and we ate until we couldn't fit anymore!! We probably walked a thousand miles in all the stores and the mall, so I ate twice what I could normally eat -- and it was amazing!! We came home and watched movies and relaxed, it was such a great day! (Thanks honey!) Anyway, we've been working really hard to get everything for Leighton's room because I really only have one full day a week that I can work on it. I wish I would've taken before pictures because it was just a storage room, but I can't wait to finish it and take pictures for everyone to see our "handy-work." Jack has been so good about putting up a shelf with some extra hanging space, putting together the crib, changing table, and rocking chair, and he even found some corner shelves on sale! I'm so excited that it's finally starting to look like a nursery instead of a closet. HA! Well, that's basically all we've been up to outside of working and school... which Jack is doing great in (for those of you who know Jack, he pretends he's not the 'student type' .. but don't let him fool ya!) I hope everyone's having a fantastic and safe week! I'll try to be better about the updates, I know life is only going to become more crazy the next few months!

The best weekend ever!

2009-02-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, once again I am playing catch-up on my blog! January was a very eventful month for us, but the end was packed so I haven't been able to update yet. So I'll post some pictures for everyone to enjoy! Hope everyone is enjoying February so far!!

January 21st - Jack's 23rd Birthday

He was so funny posing to blow out the candles.

He was pretty upset about the singing and tamborines, but he got a huge free dessert out of it!

Jack's birthday cake his mom got him and we had cornbeef&cabbage for lunch!

Jack had a wonderful birthday and of course we made it last the whole week! He's pretty excited about the video camera we found and he's finally completed his collection of the Seinfeld series! He's so excited to video all of Leighton's 'firsts' and the trip to Disney World! He's such a great man and I'm so thankful for all the happiness he brings to my life and our family.
Happy (late) birthday, honey!!

January 29 - Mom and Addison come to Idaho!

At the top of the Jackson Pass.

They had to play Idaho scratch games before they left!

I was so happy they came out for the weekend! It was Addi's first time in Idaho and she seemed to handle the cold better than I do! It meant so much to me for them to be here, it was such a special weekend! Addison was able to tour BYU-I and I was able to show them a lot of my favorite things about Rexburg. I had so much fun and I can't wait to see them again in June!

January 30th - My Baby Shower

JoAnne and Jennive hosted the most awesome baby shower for me! It was so much fun, we played games and ate good food and of course Leighton's little room is getting filled up with all the surprises we got! I feel so blessed that I have 'inherited' such a great family! Jack's family does so much for me and I truly appreciate all the time and energy that went into the shower. It was so cool to have Mom and Addison here for it!

Me and preggo friend Lea

Me and Erica Grover (she's due in about 4 weeks!)

Me, JoAnne, Jennive, and Baby Mason

Leighton's 'cupcake cake' -- I loved this!!

The layout... we know how to eat up here in Idaho!

January 31st - Our Sealing in the Rexburg, Idaho Temple

Saturday was the best day of my life so far. It's very personal and writing about it won't do it justice, but I hope everyone has the opportunity to have this experience in their life. Jack and I are so thankful for everyone who could be there, in person and in spirit. We are truly blessed!

February 1st - 'Chip-Dip' Superbowl Party

For Mom and Addi's last day here, Jack and I took them to our ward and we had the opportunity to hear their testimonies while they were here :] Then after church, we all went to Jack's parents house for the Superbowl (Addison was so happy the Steeler's won, haha) and we all ate tons of good food! Mom and I contributed pizza dip and a caramel pecan cake (it sure made me miss my Grandmother and T-Dawg!). 'Chip-Dip' Night is a tradition with Jack's family where there's tons of food and we all hang out and watch movies or play games. It's always a blast!

GOOD NEWS MOMENT :]

2009-01-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time to blog between work and helping Jack get all of his school stuff together, but we have a few things I wanted to share with everyone!

1. Jack started taking his nursing pre-req's this week. We're so excited for him to finally be back in school!

2. We got our temple recommends and we'll be sealed in the Rexburg Temple on January 31st.

3. We decided to name the baby Leighton Chandler Maxfield. We're more excited every day for her to be here! I felt her start moving last week and I've been feeling it more and more.

4. Mom and Addison are coming to visit us the end of this month! We're so excited to see them! (Happy Birthday yesterday Addi-Boo!!)

5. We found a really good deal on a white crib and matching changing table, so Jack got them and put them together for me. We also got cute Carter's onesies that Bob and JoAnne brought us from Michigan and Jack got her a little BYU-I t-shirt! (I'm thinking Leighton's going to be a little spoiled!!)

Well, we hope everyone is enjoying January! We've been super busy, but we'll try to keep everyone updated!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!

2009-01-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

Jack and I both had to work late last night -- we still haven't spent an Idaho New Year's Eve together! Instead we break out the (Welch's grape juice) bubbly and celebrate Alaska New Year's Eve when we get home at 2am! Haha, we will definitely look back on these first few years and our crazy schedules and laugh when we actually get to spend real New Year's Eve together! I hope everyone is enjoying 2009 as much as we are already!! We have had such a wonderful year in 2008 and 2009 is looking even better! We were able to live in 3 different states, spend time with ALL of our immediate family (even Brett, Melissa, and McKinley), go on a cruise, and start preparing to become parents! It has been both of our favorite year yet! And to add to it, we have a new niece: Annabelle Jo Maxfield -- congratulations Brett and Melissa!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

Our ultrasound confirmed it at 11:00 this morning! We going to have a daughter, due May 17th, 2009! We couldn't be happier!!

Just a little update!

2008-12-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't really get any pictures of our Christmas this year, hence the wordy post.. but it really was a wonderful and adventurous Christmas! It's freezing here (well below freezing usually, ha!) and we woke up pretty early, so Jack went to turn on the space heaters to make the living room nice and toasty before we opened gifts. Much to our surprise, our power was out from the blizzard! We decided to get up, bundle up, and open up the gifts.. then call Jack's parents to make sure they had power. Luckily they did and after our "good attempt" to get the Honda up the road, our neighbors helped us push it back to the driveway and Jack's dad came to the rescue! He picked us up in the Durango and we spent the rest of the day at their house. It was so much fun and Jack's mom prepared so much good food, we had to take a little nap after we ate! We got all kinds of goodies, including some new Paula Deen pots and pans and 800-count Egyptian cotton sheets! We love them! We are so grateful for all we received this Christmas and even more, for the blessing of having family so close by! At the end of the night, Bob drove us home to find our power back on and our house nice and warm! It was a great end to a great day! It has been such a wonderful year for us! Time has flown this year, but we hope y'all all know how much we love appreciate you! We hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2 MORE DAYS TILL OUR 20-WEEK ULTRASOUND!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-25T23:53:00.000-08:00

I know it's a little late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas! Ours was so much fun, but we certainly miss everyone far away! Enjoy the rest of 2008, we love you all!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

2008-12-22T17:42:00.001-08:00

SANTA CAME EARLY THIS YEAR! When Jack and I arrived home tonight there was a big box on the door step! I was so excited to see a brand new set of red pots and pans from my Mom! I absolutely LOVE cooking and this was my biggest gift on my wish list this year and I just started crying when I saw the box, I told Mom I couldn't wait till Christmas to open it! We are going to have such a delicious Christmas dinner!! And they match my kitchen perfectly!

We love our Charlie Brown tree!

It has been such a busy week, getting ready for Christmas! I guess you can probably tell from the pictures, but it hasn't stopped snowing yet... we are treading through it literally! Shoveling and driving are awful, but I love the snow!! We are so excited to have another White Christmas!

Welcome Home, Elder Maxfield!

2008-12-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

I've been a slacker with blogging lately, but Jack and I have been working some crazy hours! December 17th was our first day off in a while. Jack's brother Thomas returned from a two-year mission in Brazil on the 17th! We are all so excited to have him home safely and so proud of all the work he did in Brazil! I snapped a few pictures at the airport, then we all went to Garcia's for lunch and back to Jack's parents to watch movies and catch up a little. It was such a fun day and we're so grateful to have family so close by for the holidays! I hope everyone is enjoying their family this season and remembering the true meaning of Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year! We all have so much to be grateful for and it's easy to forget when life gets busy, but celebrating the birth of the Savior always brings us back to the things that are really important! We love y'all all and we're so thankful Thomas is back safe!

Grandpa and Baby Mason are twins!

Jack and our nephew, Mason

Thomas and his Mom

Thomas and Jennive and their Dad

Jack and Thomas

Jennive, Mason, and Thomas

This huge chunk of ice got stuck under our front bumper!

Merry Christmas! Love, The Maxfield's

Cruising the Carribean

2008-11-18T12:28:00.001-08:00

Last week, Jack and I were fortunate enough to go on a cruise with the Vision Carolina's office because he worked so hard this summer. It was really fun (minus the motion sickness) and we were able to visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. It was such a fun experience, we saw some beautiful places and ate a ton of good food. We were both a little sick, but it was worth it! It was fun to hang out with all our friends from the summer again. We feel we've been so blessed to have so many fun adventures in our first year(and a few months) of marriage. It's such an awesome opportunity to be able to do all of the traveling we've done!

And now we're ready to settle down a bit and get ready for Baby Maxfield! For our first day back today, I had my 14-week appointment and we heard Baby's heartbeat! I was a lot more emotional than I thought I'd be, it's crazy to already love someone so much that we've never met. We can't wait for December 29th, to find out the sex!

BIG JUDD'S

2008-11-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

Big Judd's is a restaurant that I guess you could say is part of the Southeast Idaho experience. If you can eat the whole burger you get your picture on the wall (Jack and I can barely split half), but there are people who have eaten triple's and quadruple's. It's a really cool place and we're dying to get Joey out here to see if he can eat the whole burger! We leave for our cruise tomorrow, so enjoy this picture of Jack with the massive burger :] Have a good week everyone!

Another wonderful birthday!

2008-10-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the birthday calls and messages! I had a really fun birthday! Bob and JoAnne game me a really cute maternity outfit. Jack got me some really sweet presents (for those of you who don't know, we are pretty obsessed with out Nintendo Wii) so he got me a few games for it. One is the Wii Fit, which I've been wanting for a while, and the other is a game called Boogie where you sing and dance that we saw Jenny and Brandon play a while ago and it looked way fun. He also got me some movies and a gift card so I can get some long shirts for when my belly gets huge, haha! He got an i-pod touch as a gift from his company for passing 100 sales, but I fell in love with it, so he's getting me one too. I guess it's our last birthdays before the baby comes and he knows next year all I will want is baby stuff, so he made this birthday really special for me. It really has been wonderful. He also got me a cake with baby stuff on it! It was so cute, so here are some pictures! Everyone have a safe weekend!

A healthy baby makes a happy birthday!

2008-10-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Jack and I went to the doctor for our first ultrasound on Tuesday! It was really fun even though I hadn't known what to expect! Right now, I'm 10 1/2 weeks along and the baby is 3.12 cm. We could see the baby's heartbeat and I already can tell how cute it is! Every time the doctor would look around the baby would just wiggle all over! The doctor said "That's good, dance for your mommy!" Anyway, we're about to go eat at Johnny Corrino's for my birthday, but I wanted to post some pictures of our little baby! We love him/her SOOO much already!!

Going to the fair tomorrow!

2008-10-12T18:25:00.001-07:00

We are just so excited, I have been telling Jack about the fair for years! And Ginger and the boys are coming with us, what a treat! WE CAN'T WAIT!

Charleston, South Carolina

2008-10-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Jack and I had the opportunity to go to Charleston to visit my Grandaddy David and Granny Pam. It was really fun, we don't get to see them very often so it was nice to be able to visit. I forgot I had my camera until later, so we didn't get any pictures with them :[ They took us to lunch and of course I got shrimp!! (You have to get seafood in Charleston, even though I'm trying to eat less of it lately). Then they showed us around and we got to see the beach. Jack and I love the ocean, hopefully we'll be able to live closer to the coast when we're older, I never realized how much I miss the ocean when I'm in Idaho. It was such a treat for us to spend time with them!! Later Jack and I went downtown and rode around and saw The Russell House, the old city market, and The Battery. Then we took pictures at Rainbow Row, one of my favorite places in Charleston! It was such a fun weekend, we only have a few left out here and I want Jack to see all my favorite Eastern sites before we head home!

CONGRATULATIONS JENNIVE AND DANIEL!

2008-09-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

We can't wait to meet Mason! Congratulations! We love y'all!

Another Fun Savannah Weekend

2008-09-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day Weekend, Addison came down and stayed with me and Jack! It was SO much fun! We cooked a lot and went swimming and watched movies, it was a really nice, easy-going weekend! Then Sunday, we had a big get together for our friends Kathie and Kasey because they were moving Monday. It was way fun, lots of good food! And Mom, Grandmother, and Grandaddy even showed up to eat with us! They stayed the night and I got to show them downtown Savannah, the River Street and shops, Tybee Lighthouse, and they took me and Addi out to Lady and Son's (Paula Deen's restaurant)!! We went right in and there wasn't even a wait, like it was meant to be. It was delicious (I got shrimp of course)! We brought home food for Jack because he had to work, but he loved it too. I had so much fun with my family, I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've had to be closer to them for the Summer!!

Tybee Lighthouse

2008-08-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Jack and I went to Tybee Lighthouse! Jack really likes lighthouses and we love anything historical, so this was really fun! Though it's been restored and rebuilt, the original Tybee Lighthouse dates back to the mid-1700's. When we got to the top, it was so beautiful to look out over the trees and see the ocean. I'm so glad we've had this opportunity to live near the coast all summer. I love the ocean so much! We also went down by the river and walked around. Yesterday was such a fun day to start off the week!

The Tybee Lighthouse

Jack at the top!

Me at the top!

Happy Birthday, Kathie!

2008-08-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

Over the summer we've gotten to hang out with some really cool people! Next week is Kasey, Kathie, and Brookie's last week and we're definitely going to miss them! We've had some fun times and yesterday was Kathie's birthday. We were all supposed to barbeque, but thanks to Hurricane Fay we settled for pizza and a yummy birthday cake that Vil and I got! Late last night we all got together and let her blow out the candles and when she gets home Kasey's going to buy her a car! Happy birthday, Kathie! It's been so much fun hanging with you and Brookie while the guys work all day!!! I hope you liked me and Vil's presents!

Kathie's B-day Cake I got her

Kathie and her daughter, Brooklyn

Brookie, Preston, and their Dad's

Siv, Preston, and Vil

Me and Jack (Man, do we look tired.. haha!)

Happy First Anniversary!

2008-08-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Jack and my first anniversary! This year has flown by so fast! I still can't believe how lucky I am to have Jack as a husband! He is my best friend and the man of my dreams! I am so grateful for Jack, he's given me the best year of my life so far, and I'm looking forward to the years to come! I love him with all of my heart!

And to top it off we finally finished our puzzle! I bought this puzzle for Jack to motivate him to get his 100 sales so we can have our end-of-the-summer trip to Disney World! He's at 91 right now and in case you can't tell, each piece of this puzzle has a different scene from a Disney movie! It was pretty tough, but it gave us time together every night (even just a few minutes) to wind down from work and just do something fun together! I love spending time with Jack no matter what we're doing!

Tomahawkin'

2008-08-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Jack and I went to Braves game in Atlanta at Turner Field yesterday! I've been a Braves fan for as long as I can remember, my great-grandpa on my dad's side loved the Braves and I've always wanted to go to see them play. Tonight we're going out for dinner for our anniversary so I'll post pictures from that tomorrow. Yesterday was absolutely wonderful! I'm so lucky to have Jack, he makes all my dreams come true (even the corny ones like seeing a baseball game!)

Turner Field

Chipper Jones

Jack's Parents Visit Savannah!

2008-08-14T09:08:00.001-07:00

We had such a fun time with Jack's parents! They brought us some really cute Mickey/Minnie salt and pepper shakers from Disney World and now Jack and I have the worst case of Disney fever!! We went to downtown Savannah by the river to walk around and shop. All of the stores were really cute, Jack and I are going to go get some souvenirs from there before we move. Then we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Macaroni Grill (and they even let me sneak next door to buy Breaking Dawn from Barnes and Noble!!). Sunday was my favorite because they finally got to visit "Lana's Cafe" and Joey serenaded us all on the guitar! It was such a blast to have a lot of our family in one place, we love them so much, we only wish they could have stayed longer!