Petting Zoo, Ponies, and Playgrounds Oh My! (Pic overload!)

A few weeks ago we went over to Eric's and got to ride a horse! The horse's name was Rex. He is a total sweetie! So gentle and nice! Afton is a total natural on the horse!

This is my favorite picture from the day!

On Tuesday we all (My mom, mother in law, the girls, Carrie and Liam) headed off to the mall! We had so much fun! The kids rode the carousel and the train. They played on the little car "rides" and spent quite a while playing in the little play land they have there!

The kids really love being together!


On Friday the girls and I went to the petting zoo at Gardner Village with my mother in law. It was so much fun! Afton's favorite (and mine) were the bunnies!

Autumn wasn't sure she liked the bunnies at first!

But Afton had no fear and wanted to hold every single bunny! She was so gentle and sweet with them.

This little guy was the sweetest of them all. I love his markings! I wanted to take him home!!! He kept licking my hand and nuzzling and he let Afton carry him everywhere!

Autumn finally decided that those bunnies were pretty cute and she liked them too!

Afton trying to hand one of the bunnies to Autumn. So cute!

These were seriously the most tolerant Bunnies ever!

Next we saw the chickens

Autumn was fascinated by the honking ducks and geese. Afton loved the baby llama. That llama's wool was SOOOO soft! Autumn has her own "Lamby" that she sleeps with. So I thought it was neat for her to see a real lamb! :)

Afton loves the witches around Gardner Village this time of year!

After that we headed over to the West Jordan Park near the new library. This is seriously the "Playground of all Playgrounds!"

We didn't get a lot of pictures taken there because we were all too busy playing!

After that we all tried to relax a bit!

Needless to say, we were all pretty tuckered out after all of our adventures!

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Trying to be more positive!

A good friend told me that recently I've been kind of a downer and had a kind of "glass if half empty" kind of attitude and that it was stressful. It really broke my heart to hear that. And opened my eyes to the fact that I HAVE been too negative lately and I've let things get to me too much. So I am determined to get back into thinking positive! No more dwelling on imperfections and shortcomings! From here on out I will ALWAYS find the good in a situation FIRST! :)

On that note, one thing I've really been enjoying lately is sewing. Tyler bought me a sewing machine for our 5th year Anniversary and I just love it! It's a basic machine, which is all I really need at this point, and I've used it almost every day recently! It's so fulfilling to be able to just do repairs on clothes and things or alterations to make things fit better! I have been making lots of things for Afton and learning so much each time I make something new! Here are a few things I've made recently :)

This is the bodice of the dress (without sleeves on yet) of the dress I am working on for Afton for Halloween. She wants to be a Princess! (Again)

Picnics, swimming and diapers :)

This has been a fun week so far. On Monday we got to go to lunch with my best friend, Lacey. I always love being with her. She makes me a better person :) And later that evening she came to the grocery store with us, which was an immense help. Afton just wanted to hold Lacey's hand! We had a blast visiting. She helps keep me sane!

On Tuesday we met up with Grandma and Carrie and one of Carrie's friends (And Liam too of course) and had a picnic and then went swimming in this adorable little paddling pool near Carrie's house. It's just perfect for the little kids.

Here is Afton at the picnic, having a blast and being her adorable self :)

While in the pool Autumn thought it was just about the best thing ever. Here she is lounging in her tube. Life is good.

We had a lot of fun playing in the water and being in the sun. My girls are definitely water babies! Just like me :) Liam loves it too. I don't understand why my sisters don't really like swimming. Thank goodness Liam will always have an Aunt and Grandma who will take him swimming! Carrie came in too but she is not a water love like the rest of us :)

Later that evening we were at my parent's place and all of the kids wanted Grandma at the same time. It was just about the cutest thing ever to see them all piled on her lap.

Afton especially adores her grandparents on both sides. The minute she isn't with one of them she is crying that she misses them. All I hear all day is "I miss Grandma so much", "I miss Nana so much" it get's a bit tiresome. Even as I type this she is in her room (supposed to be going to sleep) crying because she misses my mom. She is a sweetheart and loves with all her being.

Today is Wednesday and we were able to go to lunch with Lacey again. Afton kept saying, "I can't wait to see Lacey!" and after we left she said, "I miss my Lacey." I feel the same way! We went to Chick-Fil-A and let Afton play in the play place while we talked. I love their food. And I loved the company!

When we got home I decided to use some old receiving blankets and make Afton a few diapers for her dolls. They turned out really cute and Afton was thrilled. I absolutely love having a sewing machine. I need more projects. Too bad fabric costs money! I'd be sewing all the time if I could. I really enjoy it. I just wish I was better at it!

My girls sure keep me busy and sleep deprived! Autumn still wakes up continually through the night. I'm hoping that when we are in a new place and she is in her own room that things will get better. We get to start looking on the 9th!

Oh dear, Afton just woke up Autumn. I guess it's gonna be a long night! Haha

New beginning

So a couple of weeks ago now I went to my doctor. We talked at length and decided I am NOT bipolar. Instead he doubled my dose of Zoloft (I was on the lowest dose) and instructed that I get more sleep. Well with Autumn waking up so much still that's kind of impossible. But we're working on it. The good news is...I feel so much better!!!

I hardly feel anxious at all anymore and when I start to I can easily control it. I am not getting frustrated or ANGRY all the time anymore. I feel like myself again. Things are so much easier.

Although I still feel extremely tired all the time. My doctor had my thyroid checked which all came back normal and was going to have my hemoglobin tested for anemia but forgot so I have to go back in for a finger poke. I'm pretty sure I'm anemic and that's part of my problem.

I am so grateful for modern day medicine and help. Without it I'm pretty sure I would have ended up in an insane asylum, complete with a strait jacket! Haha.

Some things that are going on in our lives right now are as follows:

Autumn is starting to walk! She isn't fully walking yet but she is up to about 4-5 steps at a time before she crashes haha. It's so cute watching her toddle along with a big grin on her face and an expression that clearly says, "Look at me Mom!" It makes me laugh everytime. She has also learned how to sign "All Done", "More", "Milk", and shakes her head "No". She is a smartie just like her sissy!

Afton is learning so much all the time. Lately I've found that she appears to actually be reading. There are times I think she just recognizes what should be happening in a book or something but then I wonder if she is actually starting to recognize words. The other day she was with my mom and they were looking through a list of shows and Afton immediately picked out the show she wanted just by the Title. Pretty impressive. Also, the other day, my mom and I were talking about going to the Zoo but we didn't want to say it out loud in case it didn't end up working and Afton getting disappointed so we spelled it out. Z-O-O. And Afton repeated it then said, Z.... Zoo! I want to go to the Zoo! So she is definitely comprehending a lot! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that some of the things I'm doing as a parent are helping her learn and grow :)

Here are a few pictures that make me smile :)

Afton is starting to love having Autumn around a little more, rather than just tolerate her. It's sweet seeing them together. Autumn absolutely ADORES Afton.

Tyler got me a sewing machine for our Anniversary/my Birthday. I made this dress for Afton out of some of her old shirts :)

Recently Eric took Afton on a fun day date with him. They went to Thanksgiving Point and Afton got to ride a pony and see have ice cream and do all other kinds of fun things with her Uncle. They stopped at Cal Ranch to see the little bunnies and this is where Afton found her outfit ;)

Last one for now. I could upload hundreds :) It's a bit blurry. I decided that Autumn needed a baby doll of her own. Afton won't let her touch hers. So I found this one at ShopKo and the minute I handed it to Autumn she wouldn't let it go. She cried the few minutes it took to scan it and buy it.

That's all for now :) Thanks everyone for the support and prayers!