Happies -17-

- Smelling all the scented candles in Hobby Lobby with Gwen. I'd tell her the name of the candle and she'd repeat it before giving a big sniff.

- When Gwen met my friend's newborn and she was being so sweet! I hope she's that nice to her baby brother.

- Both of my sisters are flying in for my baby shower in November! I can't remember the last time we were all together.

- Pumpkin spiced candles. I've already bought two....

- Reading Big Magic. I feel very warm a inspired while reading it. It's kind of a spiritual experience for me, as weird as that sounds.

- All the rain we've had this Sunday. It makes it feel like proper fall around here.

- Finally deciding to buy Alison's Cookie Party when it went on sale last week. I just really want to make awesome Halloween and Christmas cookies that are so beautiful, people are too afraid to eat them. (lol but I'm serious.)

- Thinking of the fun plans this month including brunch with blogger babes, a visit to the pumpkin patch, and a Harry Potter themed party for this month's book club! 

Happies -16-

-My video has over 2,000 views on YouTube?? What is this life??

-The first day of fall here in Phoenix was not terribly hot. It even rained!

-When I went grocery shopping with Gwen and she got really excited when she saw all the little pumpkins for sale.

-Meeting a couple of new blogging friends. I love that the internet has brought so many awesome people into my life.

-Watching This Is Us and feeling all the feels.

-Watching Bunheads! If you're a huge Gilmore Girls fan, like myself, you may love this show as well. It's got fast, witty conversations, small town quirk, Kelly Bishop, and a few familiar faces. It's only one season long and I'm in the middle of it! *crying emoji*

-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! I finished it last week and it was so fun to read about Harry and the gang as parents. And yo, it has some intense moments. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you thought.

Happies -15-

Although I've got an annoying cold this week, I'd like to focus on the good that's been happening. First off- Thank you! I feel bad for not giving a big internet thank you to everyone that has congratulated us on my pregnancy and the gender reveal. So again, thanks so much!! And thanks to everyone who viewed my gender reveal video. It has gotten over 200 views on YouTube! This may seem like such a small number for some bloggers/video makers, but it's progress for me, and it's nice to know that some people enjoyed this thing I've made.

-Gwen has been saying sentences like, "I like trees." "I like cars." "I like food." "I love cupcakes." It's so cool that she's forming sentences now.

-Feeling the baby move. I feel like maybe I said this in the last happy list? I can't remember, but it's still making me happy!

-My sister-in-law had her baby last weekend! We FaceTimed a few days ago and she told me the birth story. I love hearing other moms' positive birth stories! It's fun to relate in that way. And it's so cool to see her as a mother. I am over the moon happy for them.

-Planning our trip to Minneapolis to see the new baby!

-We hosted our friend from New Mexico for a night while she drove to California and it was so fun to catch up! She'll be working at Disneyland and said she can get us in both parks for free! We'll be there next month and you can bet that we've changed some plans to go to Disney.

-Buying a new umbrella stroller. That is such a "mom" thing to be excited about.... But I'm so excited to use it on our upcoming trips! And it's tall enough for Ryan to use, compared to our old one.

-Reading The Help. It's for book club and I'm proud to say that I'm in the middle of the book. I am usually so bad at reading the whole book before our monthly meetings, but I'll definitely finish this one!

Happies -14-

A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on Aug 3, 2016 at 11:54pm PDT

-Being spontaneous and going to Weezer's concert, on a weeknight. Imagine that!

-In the line to the concert there were these really obnoxious girls in front of us. I couldn't believe how annoying they were! (I thought they must have been 16-18 but then one of them mentioned that she just turned 22?? Maybe they were kinda buzzed or high?) For some reason they left the line and as soon as they were out of earshot everyone around us said how relieved they were that those girls left the line! haha. Ryan was like, "I thought only teenagers in movies or TV acted like that. I didn't think people like that were real."

-Whenever we put in a DVD for Gwen she likes to press the little "play" symbol that pops up in the lower left corner of the TV screen. She probably thinks it's a touch screen and that you need to press it to play the movie. That's the conclusion Ryan and I came up with. The next time we put in a movie for her and she was pushing the symbol Ryan said, "It's really nice of Gwen to push Play for us so that we don't have to walk up to the screen every time."

-Another funny thing that Ryan spontaneously said in the car one day, "Is there anything less cool than beat boxing?"

-Baking a cake from scratch for the first time.

-The new Gilmore Girls teaser. Can't wait for November! Just in time for my birthday :)

-When Gwen gets excited and kinda tenses up her body and shakes a little.

-Beginning to feel the baby move! They're just little nudges right now, but that is hands down the best part about being pregnant.

-Finding out what the sex of this baby is! I'll probably announce it on Friday, so please don't ask me before then! 

Happies -13-

- My mom came to visit and she deep-cleaned my whole house! This is a bigger deal than you may think because I was seriously feeling so crowded and unmotivated to clean because I let the kitchen get out of control. My mind feels so much lighter in a clean house. I am so grateful to her for being so gung-ho about it. She is literally the only person on earth that would do that for me, without being paid, haha.

- Not feeling so nauseous anymore!

- Reading More Than the Tattooed Mormon and getting a spiritual recharge.

- Finally going on a date!

- Singing karaoke for the first time on our date. I was kind of terrible but we're planning to go back sometime, so I'm going to practice! lol

- So right before we left the karaoke restaurant I had to use the restroom. While in there I heard someone singing in Korean over the speakers and they were so good! I finished in the bathroom and saw that it was our waiter??! He could be a professional singer!

- Coming home from the date and finding out that our babysitter put on Gwen's diaper backwards. Gwen wet the bed because it wasn't on tight enough, but all I could do was laugh. It was the girl's first time babysitting, so it was just kinda cute.

- Finding our old Bradley Method workbook! I've got to re-educate myself on this childbirth stuff before labor.

- Finally getting a diffuser for my essential oils!

- Buying a ticket to the next AZ blogger mini conference. I'm more excited for this one than I was for the last because we'll be learning about social media, and I'm obsessed with Instagram and Snapchat.

- Making plans to visit New Mexico, Minnesota, and California this summer! I feel like we've gotta make up for not being able to leave Arizona during Christmas/New Years.

- Being able to attend Sunday school and Relief Society at church and having adult conversations about the gospel. It was nice to have a break from being surrounded by kids in Primary. 

Happies -12-

- This clip ^^^ from God Help the Girl. Yo!! I had no idea that this movie existed until earlier this week when I saw it at the movie rental store. If you love Belle and Sebastian, too, watch this!

- Drinking Pero with hazelnut almond milk creamer and Biscoff cookies.

- Making our home more Christmassy!

- Planning Ryan's Christmas present.

- Gwen's words: "putt-a-buh" (peek-a-boo), "bott-er" (water).

- The dance party I'm going to tonight!!

- All the fun holiday videos on YouTube right now. (24 Days of Zoella and DIY December with Ingrid Nilsen)

- Seeing Eisley and Copeland live last week! Best birthday present.

- Listening to We Are The City on repeat in my car. It feels so good to get into an album again.  They played at the Copeland show and I'm so glad that Ryan suggested we buy their CD. They sold both of their albums to us for $10 and they're worth far more than that.

- Madi Davis's voice and face.

- While watching The Voice Ryan says, "That sounds like a song from Fievel Goes East."

I initially didn't mean for this blog post to be another Happies post. I still need to edit one more video from Emily's visit, edit a video from my Portland trip, and post the photos I took while in California! Ah! Wish me luck with that to-do list. 

Happies -11-

photo by Emmy 

- Our trip to California! I'll finally be able to show Ryan where I grew up.
- Joining a book club.
- Watching Vanilla Ice Goes Amish. He pimps out a buggy.
- The fact that I've been successfully nursing Gwen for 14 months. Say what you will about me.
- Baking cookies for other people.
- Chik-fil-A.
- My birthday is this week!! And we have fun things planned! I've always loved my birthday and I hope I always feel that way as I get older. I'll be 26 years old young.
- Going on walks again.

Happies -10-

- Buying tickets to see a couple of my favorite bands in November! Copeland and Eisley!
- All the love for Gwen on her birthday.
- Buying a few new books to read.
- The amount of chips in my house.
- Sliced fruit on sale.
- Making a list of 50 facts about myself.
- The vintage market next Saturday!
- Gwen's glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas. 

Happies -09-

-Buying my plane tickets to Portland to see Holly after her baby is born!
-Making some fried chicken tenders with Ryan on a whim last night- they turned out better than I expected!
-Taking pictures at the Mesa temple at sunrise. I haven't been able to fully appreciate the beauty of the Mesa temple until this week and I think it's because every other time I've gone it has been hot hot hottttt outside, so I haven't done too much wandering about the temple grounds. But on Thursday I was able to go before the temperature reached 100 degrees, plus the sunrise made the temple seem to glow and it was just breathtaking. I can't wait to share the photos with you this week :)
-Seeing a chicken cross the road. You guys- A CHICKEN CROSSED THE ROAD. Like in all the jokes. I screamed with excitement (because I was alone in the car, so I could get away with it).
-Planning a cool video to make in my head involving my sister, a hula hoop, and hopefully White Sands. Stay tuned! 

Happies -08-

Happy things happening in my life as of late-
-Preparing for Gwen's first birthday party! Whoa, it's next month.
-Planning our trip to New Mexico. I can't wait to see my friends again!
-When Emily sent me a screenshot of her plane ticket confirmation! BLOG FRIENDS IRL. October is going to be fuuuuuuuun.
-Watching Gwen learn how to walk.
-Smoothies.
-This photo of my sisters. Why so pretty??
-Talking with another mom at Zumba about natural birth and extended breast feeding and co-sleeping.
-Monsoon season.
-My friends had their baby!!

Happies

- Ryan and I went on a date! It has been about 6 months since our last date.

- We saw Inside Out. Probably my new favorite Pixar film. Going in, I had no idea it would make me so emotional- I should have known, it's a movie about emotions. After the first scene I knew I was in trouble. I cried at the beginning, middle, and end. Pixar, you've done it again.

- Holly and Ruby came to play!

- I've discovered The Fashion Citizen YouTube channel, and it's one of my faves now. Vlogs are strangely enjoyable- it's like hanging out with someone. A little one sided, maybe.

- Ryan's cousin was getting rid of a bunch of stuff and I scored some "new to us" baby toys! I think Gwen has gotten bored of her toys, so I was planning on buying her some more, just to keep her occupied while we're stuck indoors during the unbearable summer days. I'm glad I don't have to, now! The new toys are electronic, so I get to listen to the same phrases and songs on repeat all day, but I don't even mind that much if it keeps Gwen occupied.

- It was cool enough to go on a walk this evening- under 90 degrees! And I was so happy to get out of the house after being such a homebody this weekend.

- We came across a dog wearing shoes on our walk. Too cute!

- Nate Reuss's new album. I've only listened to a few songs so far, but it'll be playing allllll week.

I'm so glad I remembered to post this happy list; it cheered me up. This weekend was not the funnest- Ryan had a three day weekend, but on Thursday night he started to feel sick. So we didn't get to go out to celebrate the 4th. It's alright, because there will always be more holidays to celebrate later. 

Happies

Some little things that have made me happy since I last, last blogged-

-When Gwen is tired and does this little falling thing- she crawls a few steps and then collapses, gets up and does the same thing a few more times until I scoop her up.

-When we thought that there was a little crab at the bottom of Ryan's co-worker's pool during our Memorial Day barbecue. We made him go in the pool to see if it was real/dead. (None of us were swimming.) We all circled around the pool to see. It ended up being a little plastic toy.

-Buying cute things for Gwen's room.

-Zumba. You guys. I twerked. Or at least tried to.

-The soundtrack to The Fault in Our Stars.

-Watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower with the commentary on. All the main actors and the author of the book chat it up and it made me love the movie even more. When the author says that he likes the movie adaptation more than his own book, you know it's a good one.

-That one night when Gwen slept for 7 hours straight! I woke up realizing I didn't have to tend to her once that night and thought, "Oh my gosh, is she dead??"

-Working on my talent for the little talent show we're having at the Houpt family reunion. 

Happies

These posts listing why Ross Geller is the best and why he's the worst.  I can't make up my mind. Feel free to discuss in the comments!

Watching anime with Ryan. You know you've found the one when they watch Japanese cartoons with you. (Any anime fans out there? We've just finished watching the first season of Noragami. It's so good!)

Shopping for cute baby clothes. Always.

A tiny pit bull baby running after his/her master.

My mom and aunt were in town for a few days! They loved on Gwen.

When Ryan was researching new cameras for me :) He could research for hours.

Barbecuing with friends.

The weather! I'm taking every opportunity to get outdoors before the harsh summer arrives.

My sister-in-law is coming to visit this weekend, as well as a couple of my friends. They're all in town for the same wedding!

We are having a Bradley class reunion this weekend! We'll get to see all the babies and hear everyone's birth stories! Yes, I'm planning on taking photos.

Arizona doesn't participate in daylight savings time.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is my new favorite show.

Finally Another Happy List

Long time, no blog. Why is that? Baby. And laziness. And teething. I've been meaning to post another happy list for a couple of weeks now-

Girl Scout cookies! Hello! I should have bought 5 boxes of Thin Mints, because really. 

Still loving my free book from Chatbooks. Want a free one as well? Use this code: AAM437N4. No really, who wouldn't want a free book of their photos? 

How cute are these pajamas? Baby Gap knows what's up.

I had the opportunity to participate in a Girls with Glasses music video. Gwen too, naturally. 

Valentine's Day was low-key and relaxing. We picnicked. 

A friend lent us this seat. It is so convenient for this baby that can't sit up on her own. 

Ryan's dad came for a short visit last Monday-Tuesday. 

We were at friends' house for dinner last week and they had this baby doll. 

I went to another Arizona blogger meet-up! The theme was Galentine's Day. For now I will just say that it was oodles of fun. I'll post a lot more about it later this week. 

Diner date. Why would anybody ever eat anything besides breakfast food? People are idiots. 

Other happy things-

- I finally found the protein bars my midwife suggested I buy a long time ago. They're in the refrigerated section with all the yogurt at Sprouts. When I spotted them, "At Last" was playing over the speakers. My love had come along. 

- I babysat a 7 year old who taught me about geography and chess. 

- News of family and friends coming to visit next month! It's going to be so good. 

- New boots.

- Gwen was babysat by someone other than family and she was well behaved. Win!

- Cactus socks. 

- My sister-in-law is in labor as I write this! I'll have another niece very soon.  I'm hoping we can visit next month. 

Happies

Hey blog world!! I've been neglecting you because I've been busy with friends and family the past two weeks in New Mexico. We had so much fun! Here are some happy things that happened during our stay- 

So my best friend Holly and her little family moved far away from New Mexico shortly after we moved to Arizona. I'm so glad that we were all back in town for the holidays! Our daughters finally met! Neither of them will remember it, but we have photographic proof, so. Note the photo of Ruby hugging Gwen. She initiated that hug all on her own. See?? Friends. 

Gwen and baby Ceci met! All my mom friends live far away from me. *sigh* I'll have to come up with more excuses to travel back home to see these cuties again. 

More friends :) 

Annual cookie decorating. // Ryan decorated this awesome skeleton reindeer. // Gwen "unwrapping" her first gift. // Aunt Audrey with one sassy baby. 

My mother-in-law crocheted this beanie! One of my favorite gifts. // Gwen in her Christmas pajamas. // She got a lot of books. // Cookies for breakfast.  

Christmas din-din. // The annual New Year's Eve white elephant gift exchange. // She won a lot of cake mix. And that amazing sweat suit thing. // Pretty Aunt Melanie. 

Gwen met a lot of dogs! Note the photo of my father-in-law sleeping with his dogs. The big one to his right is a new addition to their family. She's a rescued dog and is super sweet. 

Everyone learned to knit! My sis-in-law offered to teach. Knitting is definitely something that I never thought I'd learn to do, but I'm so glad that did! // We went on our first date since Gwen was born! We were actually able to go on two dates. :) We saw Into the Woods. So good and sad. But good. // You know what else was very good? This raspberry cake. Holy heck. // This photo of Ryan and his family is amazing (he's at the far right). I think they took it at some amusement park? It was printed on metal, so that's neat. 

Baby snuggles. We relaxed a lot despite having more plans/activities than usual. // Grandpa Houpt. // Another sleeping pic, 'cause why not? // Gwen wearing Ceci's hand-me-downs. Thanks again, Anne!

A few more Happies that are not pictured above-
- We ate at my favorite Mexican food restaurants. Yes! Chile rellenos and burritos and enchiladas!
- Ryan and I had a contest trying to name the most Christmas songs. There are like 1,000, ok?
- I had two family photo shoots in the desert. They're so pretty and I can't wait to share them with you.
- The little Christmas program at church. My sister-in-law sang and brought everyone to tears. The song was through the eyes of Mary and shed new light on this woman that I've known about my whole life. I'm sure it's because I'm a new mom. I may just write a separate post about it. 

Happy List 02

- My sister meeting Gwen for the first time.
- Delicious salmon sushi.
- Getting our first family photos taken. Thanks, Ashley.
- How Ryan's pouty face looks so much like Gwen's pouty face.
- Watching 90's kids movies on Netflix- House Arrest, Trading Mom, and Troop Beverly Hills. Too good!
- Spotting an old couple at Target wearing matching Grinch shirts.
- Spotting a mom feeding her baby while walking around Target (she was wearing a "hooter hider"). Thinking about it makes me feel weirdly emotional and so happy about breastfeeding and thankful that I can feed my baby this way. It'll definitely be something I'll miss doing once Gwen doesn't need it anymore.
- Our loooong family nap last Sunday.

- Christmas time is heeeeeereee!
- Buying Gwen a cute Christmas outfit and jammies.
- Ryan and I went to his co-worker's son's 1st birthday party where they served dang good Chinese food. When we were leaving, the grandma gave us $20 for Gwen! So sweet.
- Baking/making Christmas goodies to share.
- These pretty flowers that I can see outside our living room window. 

3 Months + a Happy List

Gwen turned three months old this Monday. We are completely smitten with her.

Here are some things that have made me happy recently:
- My older sister is coming to town for a couple of days this weekend! It'll be her first time meeting Gwen and she'll be taking our first family photos.
- Gwen has been making real cute "ooh" and "hoo" noises and the other day she tilted her head back and let out a little "hooo!" She looked like a wolf and I couldn't remember the word "howling" so I asked her if she was wolfing. Now we call her little wolfer.
- The other nicknames Ryan gives Gwen. There are too many to remember but my favorite right now is Little Willie, after Willie Nelson.
- I went to a mini blogger meet-up last night and met a couple of new blogging friends. Holla!
- Biscotti and fancy hazelnut hot chocolate.
- When Gwen lifts one eyebrow, which is a lot.
- When Gwen and I smile at each other when we first wake up in the morning. I heart co-sleeping.

Regarding that last point- If you're kidless and are too afraid of possibly co-sleeping with your future babies, think again! It's one of my favorite things about having a baby. I think there are a lot of benefits to sleeping with your baby, the biggest one- more sleep for you and baby if you're breastfeeding (in my case, anyway). I urge y'all to read this article about co-sleeping. I understand that not everyone may like this idea or that it may not work for every family, and that this article's title is a little harsh, but if you're on the fence then this article is for you.

Baby Gwen

Gwendolyn Rebecca Houpt

Born- Monday, September 8, 2014 @10:44am 

7lbs & 3oz, 19.5 inches long 

She came earlier than expected, which I am so grateful for! Sorry, not sorry, for not updating the blog sooner. The first week with her was honestly overwhelming! But now that I'm over the breastfeeding hump, my mental, physical, and emotional health are on the mend. I'm going to write out her birth story and hopefully have that posted by Friday.

As you can see, she takes after her father- fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes (I'll get opened eye photos soon...). She resembles him so much! It will be neat to see how she'll look as she grows. We love this pink, little baby a lot.