The Malsons... and then there were three!

Air Hockey Anyone?

2011-06-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we got an air hockey table. Jared taught Mya how to play one afternoon (she picked it up really quick) and since then it has proven to be a family favorite. She looks like such a big girl standing on her stool, holding the paddle. I think she has better eye-hand coordination than I do.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

Mya recieved a Valentine's Day package from her great-grandpa and great-grandma Vos. She was very excited to open it as soon as we got home on Monday. Once she made her way through the tissue paper, Mya was thrilled to find a giant pink monkey! Mya drug it around the house all night, hugging and kissing it. She even insisted on taking it to daycare the next morning.

Winter Carnival

2011-02-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

McCall's Winter Carnival, an Idaho tradition.

The last weekend in January we spent the weekend in McCall enjoying all the activities the festival has to offer...watching the parade, looking at the ice sculptures, shopping, listening to live music, and sledding. Plus, some relaxation and games at the cabin. McCall was celebrating its 100 year birthday.
Jared wasn't too excited about all the people, but he was a good sport.

Mya loved the tubing hill!

Christmas Treats

2010-12-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

All the snow we had last week really put me in the Christmas mood, so last Saturday Amanda came over and we made Christmas cookies...Andies mint chocolate chip and sugar cookies. We didn't have any cookie cutters so we had to cut out our fun shapes by hand. It was like being kids again!

It was a lot harder than we remembered coming up with fun ideas for decorating the cookies. Amanda won "Cookie of the Year" with her "don't eat yellow snow" cookie.

Mya wasn't too into making or decorating the cookies, but she really enjoyed eating them!

All in all, a very successful baking day. And some great sister/aunt bonding. We love you Aunt Amanda!

Our little chatterbox

2010-12-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

With each stage comes new and exciting milestones. Mya is 16 months, walking eveywhere, getting into everything, yet what I love most is listenig to her talk! She is quite the coversationalist. She has about a dozen real words and numerous "other words." I am sure that being first time parents we are more amazed at her development than if we had experience with other children, but it just blows me away.
When I pick her up from daycare all I have to say is, "how was your day? What did you do at daycare today?" And she will tell me, in what I assume is great detail, because it takes the whole 15 minute ride home. Mixed in with the ball, baby, mommy, daddy, Holli is ba, da, oh. She is so excited and animated with her story telling. I always wonder what she thinks she is telling me. Whatever it is she must have had a lot of fun.
Her new thing is "my daddy" and "my mommy." My sister was staying with us for awhile and she has a boxer named Halle. When Mya first saw her, her eyes got really big and she said, "hi doggy!" Which made me wonder, what did she think Rambo was? She had never said doggy before. I try to video her little monologs, but as soon as she sees the camera that is all she wants. One of these days I will get one captured and posted.
God blessed us with such an amazing little angel. We couldn't be more thankful...even at 6am when she starts telling us its time for breakfast!

Loads of Fun!

2010-11-09T20:06:00.001-08:00

Mya is a great little helper and laundry is one of her favorite chores to assist with. Usually her favorite part is putting the clothes in the dryer, but today daddy let her ride around and play in the hamper too. She was all smiles until it was time to get out.

How to Carve a Pumpkin

2010-11-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

How to Carve a Pumpkin

by Mya Grace Malson

Step One: Select the size and shape of pumpkin to best fit your design Step Two: draw your design onto your pumpkin
Step Three: cut a hole in the top (mommy has to do this step)
Step Four: assess the situation to see how big of a bowl you will need to put the "guts"in

Step Five: using your hands, scoop the guts out of the pumpkin...

...and place them in the bowl provided to you by mommy

Step Six: cut out the design drawn on in step #2 (as demonstrated by Aunt Amanda)

Step Seven: place a small candle or tea light in the bottom of your now hallow pumpkin and put the lid back on

Step Eight: pose for a picture to document this year's artwork

Step Nine: place outside and light the candle!

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-21T21:29:00.001-07:00

Not knowing how much longer the nice weather would hold out, Amanda & I took Mya out to a local pumpkin patch on Monday evening. She was very curious about it all. She checked them all out. It was so cute to watch her thump on 'em and try to pick them up. The pictures say it all so I will just leave it at that.

Playing Catch-up

2010-10-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Binge Blogger Malson is back! But I am caught up now. I started with July and had planned on only posting one month a week so everyone had time to read them without getting confused, but Mya took a long morning nap, so I figured I would put my free time to good use. It starts with September and works back to July. When you get to July it will have another intro, sorry for the redundancy.

Playing Catch-up - September (BSU Football)

2010-10-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

ESPN's College Gameday came to Boise State for the home opener against Oregon State and we were there to enjoy the festivities. It did make for a long day of tailgating though.

Boise State opened their season against Virginia Tech in D.C. and since we are saving to buy a house we decided to pass on this trip. We still cheered for our Broncos at Mark and Carla's house with the rest of the family. Go Broncos!!!

Playing Catch-up - September (Trouble)

2010-10-09T09:10:00.001-07:00

Mya has learned that we keep food in the pantry, not just paper bags and the broom. She also figured out how to open up the saltine cracker box.

Look who figured out how to open the dishwasher. Now if I could just get her to unload it while she is in there. Needless to say we keep it locked at all times now.

Playing Catch-up - September (McCall)

2010-10-09T08:31:00.001-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend we joined the Malson family at the cabin up in McCall. This was the first time Mya had been up there and she had fun hanging out with her cousins, playing in the water, riding the boat, and going for walks. Mya's favorite part of the whole weekend was playing in the stairs. We do not have stairs at our house and she thought she was in heaven with 2 diferent flights of stairs to crawl up and down.

Our hous is pretty quiet in the mornings, so she enjoyed playing with Jayten in the morning while we made breakfast.

We lucked out and Saturday was warm enough to play in the lake. The water was too cold to go swimming, but we played on the beach and built sand castles.

Mya and Jayten did get to hang out in the tube for a little bit. She was very upset when I made her get out.

Playing Catch-up - August

2010-10-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

If you watch the news on a regular basis you are probably under the impression that the sky is falling and the economy will never recover. Well August proved to be quite different in our eyes. On August 13th Robertson Supply officially opened The Pump House. A seperate location here in Nampa dedicated just to selling pumps...irrigation pumps, home sprinkler system pumps, you name it-they got it pumps. They had a HUGE grand opening celebration and several hundred people came out to celebrate and congratulate them on their new venture. I am so proud of Jared and all this hard work helping get this project off the ground.

Contrary to popular belief, the real estate market is doing quite well too. As a business development rep, I am usually out of the office more than in it, but in August I spent a fair share of my days in the closing room helping people sign their packages. With the combination of low interest rates and realistic home prices now is the time to buy and people are starting to realize it. It is fun to be busy again! To top it off, my event planning business is starting to take off and I had a wedding in August too. I love this thing we call life!!!

Playing Catch-up - Mya's 12 month photos

2010-10-09T08:00:00.001-07:00

Looking for a family photographer? Check out www.maggiemalsonphotography.com!

Playing Catch-up - First Birthday!

2010-10-09T07:28:00.001-07:00

Mya Grace Malson turned the BIG 1 on July 28th, but we celebrated with a backyard BBQ a few days later. It was also a celebration for Jared & I, for surviving the first year of our first child. Lord knows the learning curve was high, but he always gave us the grace and wisdom (and ability to go to work with no sleep) right when we needed it. Thank-you to all our family and friends who laughed both with us and at us as we stumbld through being new parents. It is so worth it. We love you Mya Grace!!!

Mya has made the best little friends at daycare and they were there to help her celebrate the milestone. Lots of family made it over too.

She really enjoyed ripping into the wrapping paper and shredding the tissue in the bags.

"You Grow Girl!" was her birthday party theme and mommy had a little too much fun going all out for the big day. Our friend Melissa made a giant cupcake for Mya and daisy cookie cupcakes for her guests. As you can see below, Mya knew exactly what to do with it.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Playing Catch-Up!

2010-10-03T11:11:00.001-07:00

Binge Blogger Malson is back! I know I have been off-line this summer, but Mya is so active now and I didn't want to miss anything. I told myself when I got pregnant that I was going to be a mom that participated in her life, not just narrorated her life. Well, Jared & I have definitely been particpating this summer. Wow, she keeps us busy!!! Because I am so behind, I will keep this short and sweet...cliff notes.

July - Fun in the Sun

Mya loves the water so we spent countless hours in the backyard playing on the slip-n-slide. Mommy & daddy, even uncle Zeke & aunt Amanda, got in on the old school fun this summer. She would crawl up and down just giggling and giggling.

The park is always a good time and Mya loves the swing.

The zoo! Jared & I thought it would be fun to take Mya to Zoo Boise this summer. She loves animals and gets very excited to see the cattle and horse and both her grandparents' house, so why not. Ummm yeah, she thought we were there to see all the kids. She spent the majority of the day talking to all the other children walking by..."hi, hi, hi!" It was pretty cute though. The tiger was the only exhibit she seemed interested in. She would point at it and say "rrrhhhrrr."

Anniversaries are funny things

2010-09-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

As Jared & I celebrate our fourth anniversary today, I couldn't help but think about our last three anniversaries. Our first we spent at the Anniversary Inn, followed by a week in Las Vegas. Our second, a romantic dinner at the Mona Lisa fondue restaurant. Mya was a month old last year, and not on a bottle, so we ducked out for a few hours for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. This year...lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, frozen yogurt with Mya after work, and then home for the Vikings/Saints football game. The funny thing is that each year I have enjoyed myself. I feel like breaking out song, singing the lyrics of a country song "...this is right where I'm supposed to be." I love my husband! I love my life! God is good!

Minnesota Vacation

2010-09-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

The last week of July, Mya & I packed up in the car and drove back to Minnesota with my parents. I felt it was important for her to meet her great-grandparents, and them meet her. Plus, it was Mya's 1st birthday and my grandpa Vos' 85th birthday the week we were there, so it was really fun for them to celebrate together. We drove 26 hours...straight through. We pulled out of Bliss at 8 pm on Thursday and made it to Jackson, MN at 10pm on Friday. It wasn't too bad with three drivers and Mya did great! I was so proud over her. Grandpa didn't know we were coming, until Saturday when we showed up at his door with birthday hats on and a cupcake in hand. Mya is his first great-granddaughter. They had a lot of fun playing together. He had recently refinished a little red wagon so they spent a good portion of the afternoon weaving through the living room furniture.

Saturday evening, the rest of the family surprised grandpa for a co-birthday party. Doris had ordered a birthday cake for Mya and boy oh boy was she in heaven when we let her dive into it!

Four Genterations of Vos'

Four generations of Shearers

My grandma Shearer lives in Jackson, MN so we got to spend some time with her as well. Her friend Roy volunteers at Fort Belmont (an old restored army fort) and we got a private tour of the grounds. It wasn't very exciting for Mya, but I remember visiting the fort as a child when we would go visit grandma and grandpa, so I enjoyed the nastalgia of it all.

Of course we had to have another birthday party for her with great-grandma! This time she knew exactly what was going on so I had to hold her off while we finished singing happy birthday.

a-boo!

2010-07-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Mya was playing on the floor in the bathroom while I was getting ready for work. After finishing my morning routine in the bathroom, I moved to the bedroom to make the bed. Mya crawled over and closed the bathroom door. I asked "baby girl, are you locking mommy out of the bathroom?" She swung the door open and shouted "a-boo!" I was shocked, did I just hear her right? She wasn't even prompted to play the game. Then she pushed the door closed and proceed to play peek-a-boo with me 3 more times. I ran to get the video camera, laughing in astonishment. But as soon as she saw it, she came crawling out of the bathroom to play with it too, better luck next time. She is growing up so fast, everyday there is something new she is amazing us with. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.

So many books, so little time

2010-05-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

Mya loves to read books! We read everynight before bed and she watches her My Baby Can Read DVDs, but just these last few weeks she has been choosing to play with her book over her toys. We keep her book on the window seat in her room so she can get to them pretty easily. Today we were playing in the living room when she decided she was done with the toys. She crawled into her room and proceeded to pull all the books off the shelf. It was so precious, I couldn't help but just sit and watch!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-05-05T12:02:00.001-07:00

WOW, what a birthday! I knew we were going on a tour of Sonoma & Napa vallies on Monday, that was my request. Jared had told me we were going on a group tour in a passenger van with 8 or so other people. I was perfectly fine with that, I was just excited to be visiting the wineries. Well what do you know, that sneaky husband of mine booked a limo for the day. Here I was standing outside the hotel waiting for a 15 person passenger van and up pulls a limo. I was in shock, I started crying. We had an incredible time! I was speechless, I know...hard to believe...but true. On our way out of town, we stopped at Golden Gate park and took a moment to enjoy the views.

My friend Teresa lent me her "birthday tiara", so between it and the limo I truly felt like a queen!

My favorite winery was Rubicon Estates. It is the oldest winery in Napa Valley. The grounds and the buildings were breath taking! Their wine was wonderful too.

My last day as a "twenty something"!

2010-05-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Not to brag, but...today was amazing! The weather was a perfect 70 degrees, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We started our day with a tour of Alcatraz Island. What an incredible experience! It was very interesting to see how the inmates lived, but what fascinated me the most was the lives of the families that lived on the island. I had no idea that the officers and guards lived there with their families...young children none the less.

In the afternoon we visited the famous Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world! It was a long, streep hike up the backside of the hill, but pretty cool to see in person.

We ended our day at Jack's Bar in the Cannery at Delmonte Square. Just relaxing on the patio with friends and adult beverages listening to live music. It doesn't get much better than this.

I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband and great friends, thank-you honey for a great vacation! I love you! Tomorrow we are on to wine country.

Turning 30 in San Francisco!

2010-05-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

I am turning the BIG 3-0 on Monday, YAY!!! To celebrate, Jared & I are in San Francisco for 5 days. Our friends Mark & Terry joined us. We got in to town yesterday afternoon and hit the streets right away visiting Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf.

The weather to perfect, mid 60s! The locals are telling us it is the nicest day of the year. So far today we have visited an open air market, China Town, and Coit Tower. Stay tuned for more highlights.

Mya's 9 month update

2010-05-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

Baby girl turned 9 months on Wednesday! She tipped the scales at 18lbs. 7 oz. Mya has been a busy body these last few months...grabs everything! eats everything! rolls/wiggles/squirms everywhere! She hasn't mastered crawling forward yet and the pediatrian actually doesn't think she will crawl because she has found other ways to get around. She has been getting up on all fours and rocking back & forth for about a month. She will "crawl" backwards, but not forward. Last Monday she started trying to pull herself up. She has five teeth and her favorite part of our bedtime routine is brushing those teeth.

Lucky us!

2010-03-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself the other day while taking Mya's 7 month pictures, I had to put the hat and bow tie on her. Happy St. Patrick's Day! We are so lucky to have such a happy, healthy, sassy baby girl in our lives. Actually it is not luck, we are blessed! Our cup overflows!!!

Be Mine!

2010-02-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I love you "beary" much. Thanks for being a part of my life.

Love Mya

More peas, please!

2010-02-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Baby girl loves her big girl food! We tried peas first, a couple weeks ago. She wasn't to sure about them at first, but by day two though she thought they were pretty tasty. Since then we have mastered green beans and spinach. We tried bananas at breakfast this weekend, but she wants nothing to do with them, not even mixed in her cereal. I guess we will move on to another fruit and re-visit bananas in a little while.

Precious Moments

2010-02-14T16:04:00.001-08:00

Usually Mya isn't much of a cuddler; seem there is always something to look at, play with, talk to. But this last week she has been pretty sick with the stomach flu, bronchitis, and an ear infection. Needless to say, she has been pretty snuggly, especially with mom. The other night I put her to bed and even though she was very tired she didn't want to settle down & go to sleep. I decided I would give her a few minutes to settle down while I got ready for bed. Sure enough, after a minute or so she got really quiet. When I went in to check on her this is what I found. What a little sweetheart!

Laugh a little...or a lot

2010-02-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I had the opportunity of offering a little of inspiration to the attendees at the Canyon County Women's Council of Realtors meeting. I had a hard time at first trying to narrow down my topic, but after taking to a broker friend of mine I found the perfect topic. One that was near and dear to my heart, one I was raised on...laughter! She told her agents to "lighten up and laugh more." It was perfect.

"Live LAUGH Love." "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." "Laughter is the best medicine." The last quote was the one Ifocused on. Did you know that children laugh 300+ time a day and adults only 15x a day? Pretty sad considering laughing is good for you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Laughing reducing stress & muscle tension for up to 45 minutes after the laughter subsides. Laughing creates intimacy and bonds between people, strenghtening relationships.

Now that Mya has entered our lives I know there is a lot more laughter filling our house these days. Not that Jared & I didn't laugh before, but now we have even more to laugh about. We hear her laugh at something and that sound makes us laugh which in turn makes her laugh more. I think you get the picture. So, I challenge you to "lighten up and laugh".

What's been happening

2010-02-05T20:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, were did January go? We have been busy in our little world and I apologize for not keeping you all up-to-date. January started off with the Fiesta Bowl. Go Broncos! Jared was at the game, so Mya and I went to our friends', Mark & Terry, house to watch the game. Here Mya was introduced to cats for the first time. SHE LOVED THEM!!! They were not too sure about her, but when Mark would hold one and let her pet it she would grin from ear to ear and start squawking.She finally started growing into some of her Christmas toys. Below is one of the few shots we have of her actually riding her princess pony. Usually she is draped over it with one ear in her mouth. Either way, it is fun to watch!
Toes are her favorite body part. She loves to play with them, like most babies. But probably more exciting than the actual toes are the socks that mommy covers them with. She is always pulling her socks off and chewing on them. She prefers socks over any teething toy we have! Which reminds me, she has 2 teeth on the bottom now.
We started rice cereal the middle of the month and she took to it very well. It only took a few spoon fulls to catch on to the concept. Below is what she looks like when daddy feeds her, they have fun playing with the food. Mommy keeps her a little bit cleaner, but it did make for a great photo opp!
Mya no longer stays on her blanket during floor time. In a matter of days she went from rolling from her stomach to her back to rolling across the living room in a matter of seconds. I honestly thought she would spend a little longer at the single rollover phase, boy was I wrong! Jared had a solution to keep her in one place, dump out the toy basket and put her in it.
I can't believe how fast this stage is going. Everything is happening all at once. By the time I sit down to blog about the first cute, new thing she is doing she has already done 3 new things. This is crazy! Again, you don't realize what people mean when they say "it all happens so fast," until you have a child of your own.
On the 28th, our baby girl turned 6 months. She weighed in at 16 lbs. and measured 27 in. long.

Holiday Re-cap

2010-01-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Winter Garden aGlow: Jared, Mya & I, along with Amanda, and Josh, Maggie, and the kids, visited the impressive display of lights at the Idaho Botanical Gardens in Boise. It definitely helped put me in the holiday spirit seeing all the Christmas lights. Vos Family Christmas: We celebrated with my family on the 23rd this year. Being all grown up, we all ask for "grown-up" gifts (this year mom & dad gave us a new stove). So since there are not any presents under the tree to open we spend our time celebrating in other ways. This year we went bowling and to dinner at the Mona Lisa fondue restaurant. We all had a great time! Of course, no family event would be complete without a little competition...Men vs. Women bowling match! I am proud to announce the women, "Team Bobcat," won overall! At the restaurant Mya got to open her first Christmas presents (minus the pink rocking horse grandma & grandpa openned with her before Jared & I got home from work.)

Christmas Eve: We celebrated Christmas with Jared's mom and brothers on Christmas Eve at nana's house. Maggie & I had fun attempting to snap our first cousin pictures. It is alot harder than it looks to get all 4 sets of eyes looking at the camera at the same time. Especially since Jayten is so active right now. The kiddos all openned their stockings and Christmas pjs from Nana. Later Mya & I went to candlelight service at church. She sleeped through most the service, but jumped every time people started clapping.Christmas Day: I hate saying "our first family Christmas" because Jared & I were a family before we were blessed with Mya, but our first "parent-child" Christmas was so much fun! We started our day at home with stockings and presents. Mya was really into the paper. After playing in her new exer-saucer, and a long nap, it was off to Grandpa & Grandma Malsons' house for Christmas Dinner and more bright paper...I mean presents! Here we had a wonderfully relaxing evening of eating, watching movies, visiting, and playing with Christmas presents. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families to celebrate with!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Dear Santa, Define Good

2009-12-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

The Saturday before Christmas we braved the mall crowds and took Mya to meet Santa. She did great! No crying, but no smiling either. She is a very serious little girl when in new situations.

Mya's 4 Month Update

2009-12-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

At her 4 month well baby check-up, Mya tipped the scales at 13lbs, 7oz and was 25.25 inches long (this puts her in the 82% for her height...where does she get it from?) Her growth spurt can really be seen in her 12 month onesie! We are having trouble with pants because they are either too short or too big around the waist.Month 4 milestones...
-She did get her first cold this last month, but is finally getting over the sniffles.
-She rolled over for the first time last week.
-She is trying to sit up on her own, which she can do for a few seconds before sliding forward. When we lay her in her swing, chair, or on a pillow she will strain to lift her head and back up. She has figured out how to hold herself up in the tub though.

Daddy's Bronco Buddy

2009-12-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yay...our Boise State Broncos are going to the Fiesta Bowl! Unfortunately Mya doesn't get to join daddy at the big game in Phoenix. But thanks to her new sitter, Holli, she will get to watch the game in style wearing her new BSU headband. Thanks Holli! It brought us luck against New Mexico State and we are sure it will against TCU too. GO BRONCOS!

I'm a big girl now!

2009-12-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Mya always wants to be upright now. Playing on the floor on her "party mat" only lasts for so long these day and her bouncy chair only allows so much mobility, so we busted out the Johnny-Jumper a few weeks ago. Mya loves it! She hasn't figured out how to jump/bounce in it yet; boy can she spin circles in it though! It is the funniest thing to watch. I am having some technical difficulties with posting video so you will have to use your imagination as you look at the pictures.

Fall was in the air!

2009-12-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures on our blog. It was a beautiful fall day and our neighbors had the perfect leaves covering their yard, so I couldn't help but take a few shots. I definitely had more fun than she did. Mya was 3 months old in these pictures.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-28T20:12:00.001-07:00

Last weekend my sister, Amanda, was down visiting and she wanted to see Mya in her ladybug costume. Mya HATED it, even though she looked so cute, but we had so much fun that we decided to have a little Halloween Fashion Show. Here are the pictures...

...a Boise State Cheerleader......a jack-o-lantern...
...a polar bear...
...a cowgirl...
...and the mad little ladybug.
Needless to say, we will not be dressing up and going trick or treating this year.

Our baby girl is 3 months old!

2009-10-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhh!!! Everyone says they grow up fast but you don't realize what that means until you have one of your own and now I get it. Three months? Really? Anyway. She weighs 12lbs. 6 oz. and is growing like a weed. Her favorite things to do 1) walk around the house, or the neighborhood, in the front pack, 2) play airplane with daddy, and 3) play with her best friend "Penguin" (one of the toys on her overhead gym/play mat. She "talks" all the time too. Poor Jared now has 2 women in the house and one of us is always talking!
Here is a picture from her 3 month session last Sunday. Check out more pictures of her on my sister-in-laws blog, http://maggiemalsonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/10/miss-m.html, if I get 15 comments I get a free print, so please take a look.

Mya's 2 month Update

2009-10-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

My apologizes...our computer died and we have been using my old prehistoric laptop which makes getting online no fun. Besides Mya has really grown up in the last few weeks and playing with her is a lot more fun than blogging, no offense! I will get some pictures downloaded soon. But in the meantime, at her 2 month appointment (which was 2 weeks ago) she weighed 10lbs. 11oz. and grew another 2 inches. She is now in the 72% for her height; we have no idea were that comes from! Got run...she just woke up from her nap and daddy says she is hungry.

Go to bed mom!!!

2009-09-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

Why am I awake and blogging at 5am? I should be in bed, I am not a morning person! Just when I was going to post how Lil Miss Mya was sleeping for 7-8 hours, she threw me for a loop and went back to her 5 hour shifts. All last week she was going to bed at 11pm and not waking up until 6 or 7am. Jared & I were so proud of ourselves! But then Saturday night and Sunday night we went back to waking up at 4am. As much as I love my sleep I do love her more! I have to admit my heart melts when I pick her up and she snuggles her little head into my neck and then when I lay her down to change her diaper she smiles at me with those big blue eyes. Instantly 4am isn't so bad. I do love having an excuse to just sit and rock her and watch her. Plus, I can get caught up on my blogging while she plays and wears herself out again, it takes her about an hour to settle back down again after eating. She is asleep so I am headed there too, good night.

Fall is in the air!

2009-09-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

Watch out Gerber! I went to a local fruit and veggie stand last week just to pick up some sweet corn and walked out with the corn plus green beans, squash, carrots, and of course the above fresh flowers. Baby food for Mya and sunflowers for mommy! I know what you are thinking, "but Stephanie she isn't even 2 months old." My response to you...yes, but she won't stay this way and when she is old enough to eat real food all that great produce won't be in season anymore. Or you are like my mom you wonder why I don't just grind up whatever we are eating for dinner that night when the time comes. Well I have to admit that Jared & I don't have the best eating habits (though we are working on that) and I don't think that pepperoni pizza is an acceptable dinner for a 7 month old.

My plan...buy it fresh, cook it, blend it up, freeze it in ice cube trays (the perfect infant serving size), and then store it in freezer bags until she eats it. This way I don't have to worry about perservatives and will lower the chances of food allergies. Plus, it will save money. Not having done this before I was not aware how green beans multiple in the blender. I ended up with 156 servings of green beans, 104 servings of squash, and 84 servings of carrots! Hope she likes vegtables!!! I ran out of freezer room and had to start storing them at my mother-in-laws. If that isn't bad enough, I am going to try peaches and pears this week. Wish me luck!

Cheers...Here's to many more!

2009-09-21T03:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to us! On September 9th, Jared & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. On one hand it doesn't seem like it has been that long and in the grand scheme of life it hasn't. We always joke, "three down, 47 to go!" Other than Mya, not much has changed. We still have the same jobs, the same house, the same vehicles, and the same dog. But at the same time, we have know each other for 12 years and that is more than a third of our lives. But when we look back at wedding pictures, it seems like that day was a lifetime ago. However you look at it, we still love each other more than the day before and look forward to many more. On a side note, we did make it a date night...we went to dinner and left Mya with Nana....we were out for 2 whole hours with out baby girl. (But we did talk about her the whole time!)

2006...

...2009

A house divided...sort of.

2009-09-12T16:50:00.001-07:00

As some of you know, I graduated from Colorado State University. Yes, I am a RAM! Usually Jared makes fun of me and will cheer for the other team just to get me worked up. But there is one game a year when he will cheer for CSU, the Rocky Mountain Showdown...CSU vs. University of Colorado. CU's coach Hawkins left BSU a few years ago, so even though we love coach Peterson more, Jared still has some ill feelings toward Hawkins and he cheers on CSU. This year CSU WON!!! Yahoo! Since Mya obviously has tons of BSU apperal, I had to order some green and gold for her. Well, her lil outfit didn't arrive in the mail in time for last Saturday's game so she had to sport one of my t-shirts. But it turned out alright, so only sported it for one quarter before falling asleep.

The Princess and the Pea

2009-09-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

Little miss had some sleeping issues the first month. She hated her bassinett and would scream bloody murder within minutes of laying down in it. She didn't care for her crib either and would only sleep in there for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. So we did what I swore I would NEVER do...let her sleep in bed with us. It was so hard to say no to her because she is so darn cute all curled up next to me. In my defense, the book Happiest Baby on the Block says that babies are often scared sleeping by themsleves at first and feel "evicted," so it is alright for them to sleep with you for awhile.
Luckily we were able to slowly break this habit on our road trip. All the hotel rooms we stayed in had 2 beds, so she got hers and we got ours. The first hotel we stayed at apparently had to hard of beds and she would only sleep if laying on pillows, talk about a princess! I know we shouldn't indulge her every wimper, but the experts say "you can't spoil a newborn." I am happy to report she is now sleeping in her crib at nights! She sleeps for about 5 hours at a time and that is great news for Jared who can't take 2-3 naps a day like we do. Now I am reading Baby Wise, so hopefully she will start putting herself to sleep soon. I will keep you posted.

Go Orange, Go Blue...

2009-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

...Fight, Fight, BSU! Last night kicked off college football season. But more importantly Boise State Broncos football season!!! Our Broncos took on the Oregon Ducks and it turns out "the myth is true...Ducks do crash on the blue!" We won!!! For those of you not familiar with BSU urban legends, our turf is blue (aka Smurf Turf), so imgrating ducks flying over the field think it is a body of water and crash land on the turf. Again, this is just a MYTH, but it makes a fun t-shirt! This game is the main reason we kept our season tickets this year.

In true football tradition we tailgated before the game too with some of Jared's co-workers, his brothers, dad, & sister, and several very nice Duck fans. (See...we are good sports!) It was a regular party with food, drink, great people watching, and a little trash talking!

The Malson Clan

Mark used to take the boys to BSU games when they were little, so it was fun for them to "celebrate" and cheer on the Broncos now that they are older.

This was lil Mya's first Bronco game. I am not sure if she was as excited about it as we were, but she sure looked the part in her BSU onesie and matching bow! She did really well considering how hot and loud it was.

She made tons of friends at the tailgate.

Here she is with Cal and Carly...

...and aunt Michelle and her rommates loved sharing their Bronco pride with her too!

Weddings and Reunions!

2009-09-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

Two of my college roommates got married last weekend and lucky for me they didn't have them on the same day, so I was able to be there to watch them both walk down the aisle. Great planning Demi & Liz. But it did mean a roadtrip with a one month old. Much to my surprise it went GREAT! Mya was a precious lil angel. Sse only got upset a few times and that was because she was hungry and mommy was off doing wedding stuff. Jared was SUPER DAD! I always knew he had it in him, but he really was wonderful. He got her dressed, changed her diapers, stood in the back with all the other new babies and their mommies, and calmed her every little fuss. Thanks for your help honey!

Mommy's lil helper! In the mornings while I was helping get ready for the weddings, Mya road along in her sleepy wrap. She loves hamging out in it. When she is awake she likes to ride facing foward so she can look around and then when it is nap time she sleeps in it like a hammock. Thank-you Maggie for introducing us to this amazing product. (Check it out at http://www.sleepywrap.com/).

Demi & Zach got marrried in Red Feather, Colorado. Demi was a bridesmaid in our wedding and that is when we met Zach, so it was wonderful being able to be there on their big day and share it with them too. I hadn't seen them in 3 years so it was a so much fun seeing them again. Love you guys!

Next we were on to Liz & Dave's wedding in Florisant, Colorado (in the mountains west of Colorado Springs). Liz was also a bridesmaid in our wedding and Dave was our videographer. Liz also caught my bouquet, so we couldn't miss this amazing union! Congratulations, we love you!

3506 Winslow Drive reunites! Shayna, Karla, Chad, Liz, & I were all roommates in Fort Collins, so it was AWESOME getting to see them all again. I miss you guys!

Our Baby Girl is One Month Old!

2009-09-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Our lil Mya is one month old! My friend Stacey gave me the idea to take a picture of her each month in a 12 month onesie. I wasn't prepared for it when she was a newborn, but her she is at one month, so it will be fun to watch her grow into it!
The Stats (at her 4 week check-up):

- she weighed 8lbs. 12 oz.

- grew 2 1/2 inches

The Milestones:

- started smiling at people because she wants to

- started wearing size one diapers

- took her first roadtrip

Mya's Three Week Update

2009-08-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

Wow...time has ran away from me! And my brain has left the station too. Here is an update I saved but forgot to post, ooops.

Has it really been 21 days since we brought our baby girl home? Yikes! We have been a busy family these last 2 weeks. Jared was out of town last week opening a new Robertson Supply in Rexburg. While he was gone, my mom came down and stayed with Mya & I. And Mya had another week of firsts.

At her 14 day check-up she weighed 7lbs. 7oz. She lost had lost 7oz. her first couple of days so we were excited she had put it back on and then some. She is a good little eater and does not like to be interepted during meals!

Well Mya's first bath was a sponge bath and it didn't go as smooth as mom and dad would have liked. But we can't have a smelly baby so we took a real bath last Wednesday to see if that would go over any better. Surprisingly...she really liked it! Once in the water, she just watched me and made all those cute little baby sounds. Yay!

Lots of outings!!! We went to Target on Tuesday evening, but it was a fairly quick trip and she did great, so on Wednesday we decided to go to JCPenney dress shopping for some weddings we have coming up next week. Precious lil Mya just slept in Grandma Sue's arms the whole time. Then grocery shopping. She slept in her car seat as long as we kept the cart moving and made it up until check out before letting me know that all this shopping was making her very hungry. I was very impressed! Pushing our luck, we went to dinner at Olive Garden...she slept the whole time. All the people stopping at our table to look at her and tell us how cute she is didn't even wake her.
Big girl clothes! Up to this point she has just wore sleepers and onesies. All good things must come to an end...bring on the lil outfits. The wardrobe change didn't seem to bother her any, well until her socks fell off and her toes got cold.
First binky, sort of. Jared had given her the binky when she was a week old, but I had read that you should wait 3-4 weeks to introduce the binky, so I took it away. However, while he was gone I learned why he gave her the binky...sometimes she just needs something to do, besides eat. She took it just fine and what do you know, she went back to nursing just fine too.Mya is getting very strong and it still surprises me how she is able to pick her head up and look around. Not to mention how hard she can push away/pull back when she is eating. Those little legs are getting stronger too as they fill out, but she hasn't quite figured out that kicking them in her bouncy seat is what makes it move. The other day she kicked them, bounced the chair a little, and startled herself. Her little face was so cute, those big eyes got even bigger.

Tiny fingers, tiny toes...

2009-08-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, Maggie, came over to visit and captured these precious images. She is an incredible photographer with an amazing eye. Thanks Maggie.

Our baby girl is one week old!

2009-08-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

My how time flies! So much has changed in the last 7 days. We went from Jared & Stephanie to Jared, Stephanie, & Mya! I can't believe how much she has changed since we brought her home last Wednesday morning. It was been a week of firsts. Her first outing was to the pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon. She got her case of the hiccups on Thursday, which was pretty entertaining for mom & dad. Saturday her umbilical cord fell off. On Sunday she made it thru her first diaper changing without crying. On Monday she finished off her first pack of diapers. And yesterday she spent her first alone time with daddy while mommy went to the store. Tonight is her first bath, so I am sure that will be an adventure in itself.

Thank-you for your support

2009-08-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Thank-you to our families, friends, and co-workers for your love and support over the past nine/ten months. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives. It has been such an honor sharing this experience with all of you and we are excited for Mya to get to know each of you. And a BIG thank-you to our families for making the trip to the birthing center so late on Tuesday night to meet Mya and welcome her into the world.

It all happened so fast!

2009-08-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

I am sure there are a few of you who are wondering what in the heck happened. One minute I am at work telling you no baby til Friday and the next you are recieving emails and phone calls that I had a baby. Well, that about sums it up.

I woke up at 4 am on Tuesday morning with contractions 8-10 minutes apart. They lasted until 7am and then stopped as quickly as they came. I had been having braxton-hicks contractions for several days, so I didn't really think that much of it. I went to work, still nothing. Went to my doctors appointment at 11am; I was dilated to a 3 and 90% efaced. But, I had been at a 1 for the past 3 weeks so we went ahead and scheduled an appointment to be induced at 8am on Friday since I was already 3 days past my due date. I went to my lunch appointment at noon and my contractions started again, this time about 30 minutes apart, still didn't think anything of it. Yes, I went back to work...what was I supposed to do, sit at home and focus on the uncomfortable "feelings" I was having? By 4pm they were back to 8-10 minutes apart and I finally went home, still not thinking that I was going to have a baby today. From the time Jared got home from work at 5pm to 8pm when we called the birthing center my contractions had jumped to 2-3 minutes apart. Jared was such a a great coach/cheerleader that I was able to get thru the contractions a lot better than I had anticipated. Good thing he paid attention during class! (They want you to go in to the birthing center when they are 3-5 minutes apart for an hour or more, well we skipped that step.) We checked in to the Mercy Family Birthing Center at 8:45pm, my water broke at 9pm. We started pushing at 9:50 pm (I was ready earlier, but we were waiting for our doctor to finish delivering another baby), and had her at 10:25pm. Women in my family don't mess around when it comes to delivering babies!

But it wasn't as easy as it sounds. For starters I was going all natural, no epidural, no drugs of any kind. Then, as soon as I started pushing they discovered that Mya was breech, meaning butt first. Usually they do a c-section on breech babies, however we were at the birthing center not a hospital, so no operating room. They gave me the choice of being transfered over to Mercy Medical Center across the street or deliver her there. I decided to stay and deliver her there since they had so much confidence in me.

WOW!!! I had no idea what I was getting us into. First off, NOTHING could have prepared me for delivery. Second of all, her heart rate started to drop and they had to put me on oxygen. There was no time for taking breaks between contractions. Up to that point Jared was able to calm me down when we were not pushing, but now the nurse and doctor had to get "firm" with me. When she did finally come out, Jared said she was white as the sheets and wouldn't cry. My doctor and the nurses at the birthing center were incredible. They worked on her right there on the bed for a few minutes so we could bond, but when that wasn't working they didn't waste any time getting her to the warming table with oxygen and sucking out all the amniotic fluid she had ingested/inhaled while coming out backwards. Within minutes they had her back in my arms. I am sure I am leaving a lot out, but like I said it all happened so fast.
This isn't the best I have looked, but at that point there was no shame in my mommy game!

Meet our newest family member

2009-08-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Introducing Mya Grace Malson

Born on July 28, 2009 at 10:25 pm
7lbs even and 21 inches long
She has a full head of black hair

We are ready, but she is not.

2009-07-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well, July 25th has come and gone and still no baby Mya blessing our abode yet. There has been lengthy discussions about what kind of personality trait this means she has. Like whether or not she is stubborn like her daddy and will do things in her own time. Or is she just going to be the kind of person who is even late to her own birthday party. A co-worker told me yesterday Mya is enjoying all the free "womb service" and sees no reason to venture out into the world when the accomadations are so good. I liked that one! But, I think she is an obedient child. I did say I didn't want to have her until August 1st and I think she listened.

Mya, if you are listening now..."Good girl, thank-you for listening to your mommy and obeying me, but I changed my mind, you can come out now. Daddy has put together your stroller...

...Grandma Sue has finished making your bedding...

...and mommy has finished decorating your room. So we are ready when you are."

The final countdown...

2009-06-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we only have 5 weeks left? According to the doctor, we are still on track for a July 25th birth date. However, I was born 3 weeks late so we will see how genetics play in to the final results.

Baby Belly

2009-06-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

My friend Alana's daughter, Kristin, is starting up her own photography business and she asked me to be a baby belly model for her portfolio. She did a great job! Alot of you have been asking to see updated baby belly pictures, so here are a few shots from my session.

IT'S A GIRL!

2009-06-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard...it's a girl! Her name is Mya Grace Malson. I know what you are thinking, "but I thought you weren't going to find out." You are right, I didn't want to know. But Jared did want to find out, so the doctor printed off the picture, wrote the gender along the top, and put it in a sealed envelope for him. There were 3 rules. 1) He couldn't taunt me. 2) He could tell a soul...not even the moms! and 3) I couldn't beg. Jared did great. He never let it slip to me.

It was an accident! One day while I was dusting, I opened the drawer to Jared's night stand to put the baby name book away and there it was...THE PICTURE! I think it was divine intervention. This way Jared didn't have to worry about slipping in front of me and I didn't have to feel like I cheated. We are very excited to meet our baby girl!!!

2009 Home Improvement Project

2009-06-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Each year we take on a major home improvement project. In the past it has been things like remodeling the bathrooms or tiling the kitchen & dining room floor. This year we put in automatic sprinklers! In the past, we had to pull hoses around the yard every night. We couldn't go anywhere in the summer without getting a house sitter or our lawn would die. Needless to say the sprinklers were a necessity!

Due to my current physical condition, I was limited to Supervisor and construction clean-up. So I am very proud of my husband for taking on such a HUGE undertaking alone!!! Jared rented a trencher, and with his brother Zeke's help, cut out trenches for all the lines.

Plus they had to dig out by hand all the spots for the sprinkler heads. But of course we chose the wettest weekend this year to start the project. So we had a few minor set backs, such as HUGE rain delays, flooded trenches, and broken water lines.

Despite the extended timeline and extra work, I am proud to report the sprinklers are installed, the grass is growing back , and we now have our evenings back.

23 weeks down, 17 to go...

2009-03-28T21:18:00.001-07:00

...but who's counting.

Week 23

I finally look pregnant!

37.5 inches

Week 22

Week 20

Why Babies Have Mommies!

2009-03-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

2009-03-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Boo's lil feet

Introducing Baby Boo!

2009-03-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

So by no I am sure you have heard that I am "with child". We are very excited! Everyones first question is..."what are you having?" so I will just answer that right away. We are having...a child! I don't want to know the gender. Since "it" is no longer a fetus we can't call it FeeFee anymore, so it is now loving referred to as Baby Boo. We had our 20 week appointment on Tuesday and have lots of great picture to share with you all. Boo weighs 11oz and is about 6.5 inches from "crown to rump," 11 inches head to heal.

This picture is of Boo on profile. You can see s/he's cute little hand! It looks like Boo is holding a flower, but we are not sure what that is. It was hard for the doctor to get a really good, clear picture at a profile because Boo would NOT hold still and wanted to look at the camera the whole time. As for mommy, I have only felt Boo move twice. Thank goodness I can still sleep in peace. We were able to get a precious photo of it's little feet and a close up of Boo's hand too.

Meet FeeFee!

2009-03-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

SURPRISE!
WE'RE PREGNANT!

Baby FeeFee's first picture.
It is 11 weeks & 5 days here.
(taken January 3rd)
Our due date is July 25th.

2008 YEAR IN REVIEW

2008-12-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

JANUARY

There was a lot of great snow in the mountains this year and we took advantage of it. We found the perfect tubing hill just north of Idaho City. We went several times with both family & friends!

FEBRUARY

We spent a weekend up in McCall with our friends the Herzbergs. There was plenty of snow to sled, build snow forts, and jump off the cabin into snowbanks, you know...the usuals. Plus it was cold enough that several of the sculptures from Winter Carnival were still intact. Jared doesn't like winter as much as I do, but he is a good sport!

MARCH

I had the awesome opportunity to go to Germany with my Aunt Pat for 5 days! We flew into Frankfurt and then took the train to Koln. The ancient architecture was beautiful and the local food wasn't too bad either. The beer does flow like water over there! The annual Malson Angus Bull Sale was also in March and Jared had fun getting back to his roots for a day.

APRIL

My sister Amanda was on the Texas Tech Stock Horse team, so the parents and I went down to Lubbock to watch her last show the end of April. She competed with horses and riders from all over the US in cutting, trail, and pleasure where she took Reserve Overall!

MAY

Not a very exciting month. I turned 28. Jared was busy with the Robertson Supply Intermountain Expo at the Boise Centre on the Grove. But I did find time to go to the Carrie Underwood concert and the Cirque du Soleil show when they came to Boise.

JUNE

Jared turned 26! But, instead of a surprise birthday party like last year, he got to celebrate at my 10 year class reunion. He is just now starting to forgive me. There was a golf tournament, so I think he would have had fun it hadn't been 40 degrees and windy.

JULY

Lots of adventures this month! Mom, dad, and I went to Napa Valley for 5 days and toured the wine country with my aunt Kathy and her family. We had a lot of fun at the beach, tasting wine, touring vineyards, shopping, and hanging out with family.

Over 4th of July weekend, Jared, his brother Zeke, & I went whitewater rafting on the south fork of the Payette River. Then got out of town and went camping at Anderson Reservoir.

AUGUST

Vos Family Adventure at Anderson Reservoir; mom & dad bought a boat this summer, so back up to Anderson we all went for a family vacation. It was a weekend full of boating, fishing, playing games, and eating. We taught dad to wakeboard and mom to kneeboard.

Home Improvement; the next weekend mom & dad came down and helped us tile our kitchen and dining room floors. We had already replaced the countertops and tiled the backsplash, so the floors were next to go. It took all weekend, but with extra help from his younger bro Zeke and our sister-in-law Maggie we got it done. Over the course of the next 6 weeks we also refinished the kitchen cabinets and added hardware.

On the Lake in McCall with Josh & Maggie and the girls; we made our annual pilgrimage up to the Malson family cabin for Labor Day. WOW! It was cold this year! We still had fun visiting Charlie's Garden, shopping in town, and playing games.

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

This is Jared's favorite time of year! College football is in full swing. Pull out the blue and orange; this was our second year with season tickets to Boise State Bronco football, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Oh yeah, we did celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary on September 9th.

NOVEMBER

Road trip to Metallica Concert; Zeke, Joe, Jared & I traveled to Salt Lake City to see Metallica in concert. While the boys are the real die hard fans, I have to admit that it was a great show and I had a blast! I don't know what surprised me more...how many lyrics I knew, or how animated Jared & Joe got.

The First Thanksgiving at Our House; we had family from both sides congregate at our house for turkey, tri-tip, and football. I will admit that Jared's beef turned out better than my turkey.

Bitter Sweet End; the last regular season BSU football game. The day after Thanksgiving we sported our blue and orange as we cheered on the broncos to a huge victory over Fresno State, securing the WAC Championship and our place at a bowl game.

DECEMBER

Robertson Supply 60th Anniversary; San Diego here we come! We spent a week in sunny California with the Malson family and customers. We enjoyed golfing, visiting Sea World, and an evening on a private yacht touring the harbor, just to name a few of our activities.

Greetings from Jared & Stephanie

2008-02-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

We have finally entered the 21st Century & started a blog!