The Nunemakers

A short story

2012-01-15T21:53:00.002-05:00

Once upon a time I made a goal to blog more often. Then I failed miserably and didn't blog for an entire year. I started feeling sad because I didn't have a record of all the things we have done, so I made a new goal to blog more often. The end.
(Let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't fail again!)

What kids? I have a piggy and a superhero!

2011-01-10T12:42:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned before, Jane loves her rice cereal. She would probably eat it all day if I let her. Even when I make her a big bowl of it...she usually cries when she sees the empty bowl. Today I stepped away for a minute to get something for Henry, and turned around to see this:

Clearly Jane felt that I was taking too long and it was time to take matters into her own hands.

See, she doesn't even need me around...give her some cereal and a spoon and she's ready to go!

Just five more bites Mom. THEN I'll be done!

In other news, Henry has been loving all things Buzz Lightyear recently. I love hearing him say "I'm Buzz Lightyear! To infinity...and beyond!" Especially because he does it in his Buzz Lightyear voice. I love this boy.

Henry has really been enjoying playing with Jane lately. And by playing, I mean dumping all of his toys all over the floor and taking away anything that Jane tries to play with. I swear, he's not making her do push-ups here. They really were playing together. He may be bossy, but he loves his baby sister.

6 months of Jane

2011-01-09T14:17:00.005-05:00

I really can't believe that my baby girl is already 6 months old. It seems like it was just the other day that we were at the hospital with her, and now she's growing into this beautiful little girl with such a sweet little personality.

Overall, Jane is a very happy baby. Now that she is becoming more mobile, she really likes to explore. I'll put her on a blanket in the middle of the family room and then find her across the room within a few minutes. (Somtimes stuck up against the couch or the t.v. stand) She LOVES Henry and saves all her best smiles and laughs for him. I love watching them "play" together. Jane has been eating rice cereal for about a month now, and loves it. She makes noises the whole time she eats and sometimes grabs the spoon and shoves it in her mouth before I can get it there.

We are so glad that Jane is part of our family. We love her so much and look forward to watching her continue to grow!

Brand new baby Jane

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

Finishing off 2010

2010-12-31T09:18:00.026-05:00

So, I kind of feel like this year flew by. I'm going to go ahead and use that as my excuse for not blogging more...the year went by so fast that I just didn't have time. Okay, so that's not really the case. If I've done the math right, 365 days x 24 hours = plenty of time to blog. I've just been a slacker. I can admit it. But one of my goals for 2011 is to blog more often, so now I have lots of room for improvement!

I'm going to go ahead and share a few things from the last few months that never made it on here. I think I left of with Jane joining the family, so here are some of the things that have happened since then...

In August, my parents came to visit and meet Jane. We spent lots of time visiting D.C., eating yummy food, and hanging out. Joe's mom came in August too, and so they were all able to be here when we blessed Jane in church.

I can't remember anything too exciting that happened in September. (Maybe that's why I need to blog more consistently!) I did spend quite a bit of time hanging out with these two:

In October, we enjoyed the Fall weather by going hiking at Great Falls Park. Henry was a trooper and walked almost the whole time by himself, picking up lots of sticks and rocks along the way.

We also went to Great Country Farms to play and visit the pumpkin patch. Henry enjoyed picking out pumpkins and helping carve them.

Henry and Jane were both monkeys for Halloween. John, Susan, and little John (Mickey Mouse) joined us for our ward's Halloween party on Friday night. On Halloween morning we celebrated with pumpkin pancakes.

In November we headed to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We were able to have a nice long vacation and spend time with my extended family on both sides. It was great to see people family that we hadn't seen in 2 years, and to meet some new cousins.

The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Suns game. It was the first time that Henry, Jane, and I had been to an NBA game and it was lots of fun!

December was a lot of fun. Henry knew what was going on a lot more this year, so he really enjoyed the Christmas season.

So, in a nutshell, that was the end of our year. We had a lot of fun and are looking forward to making lots of new memories in the year to come. Happy New Year!

How did I get so lucky?

2010-10-08T23:43:00.003-04:00

See Jane Grow

2010-10-08T23:19:00.005-04:00

I can't believe that Jane is already 3 months old! It seems like the time has gone by so quickly, but at the same time I feel like she's been here forever. She is such a sweet little girl and a wonderful addition to our family. I love watching Henry with her when he doesn't know I'm looking...especially when he gives her a kiss and tells her he loves her. It melts me heart.

We went to the doctor yesterday and Jane is now 12 pounds 10 ounces and 24 inches long. She's got these cute little chubby thighs that I can't help squeezing every time I change her diaper. Or give her a bath. Or any other time of day.

Is it possible to kiss these cheeks too much? I'm thinking no.

Welcome to our family

2010-07-22T17:33:00.009-04:00

On July 6th, we were blessed with the arrival of our baby girl, Jane Elizabeth. I was convinced she was going to come early, but she decided to take her sweet time and came 3 days late. Everything went really smooth and we didn't have any complications. (Unless you count the nurses taking 6 tries to get my IV in and leaving my arms covered in bruises) I started feeling contractions around 3:30 a.m. and Jane was born about 6 hours and 45 minutes later. I only had to push through 2 contractions, opposed to the 3 hours of pushing I did with Henry. We are so happy to have Jane here as part of our family!

Jane Elizabeth Nunemaker
Birthdate- July 6, 2010
Time of arrival- 10:12 a.m.
Weight- 7 lbs 15 oz
Length- 20 1/4"

Henry was excited to finally meet his new baby sister! He was able to hang out at Uncle John & Aunt Susan's house and spend lots of time playing with his cousin John while we were at the hospital. I am so glad we have them close by and I'm grateful for their willingness to help out with Henry.

Here's Jane all ready for the ride home in her new carseat

Since bringing Jane home, Henry has been a little jealous, but overall has been a sweet big brother. The first thing he did when we walked in the house was get his toolbelt and bring it to her to play with. He likes to get cars and books and set them next to Jane for her to play with. Sharing Mommy and Daddy isn't always as easy...but he's working on it.

Pretty sure babies in just a diaper are the cutest things ever...especially mine :)

Being a baby is exhausting...so is being a mom

We're lovin Jane and so glad she's here

I Needed This

2010-05-26T17:18:00.006-04:00

I just watched this video and I can't stop crying. Sometimes life seems stressful and overwhelming and it's nice to have something like this to help put things in perspective and remind me how blessed I am.

Henry turns 2!

2010-05-21T13:55:00.010-04:00

I cannot believe that my baby is 2! Where has the time gone? It really does seem like just the other day that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is so grown up and we are getting ready to start all over with another one! I am constantly amazed at how it is possible to love a child SO much. He brings so much joy to our lives and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy.

On Henry's actual birthday, Joe had to work, so we went to Fairfax and met him for lunch. Henry was a little hesitant to let Joe hold him at first...I think seeing him in uniform may have been a little intimidating. But that quickly wore off and Henry was more than happy to "drive" Daddy's police car and ride on another officer's motorcycle. When Joe got home from work that night, we let Henry open his presents from my parents. He was VERY excited to open presents and loved them all. When he got one of them partially open, I asked him what was in it and he yelled "Clothes!" He's just like his daddy :)

Henry LOVES books...we read these all about 10 times within the first 24 hours of getting them

Modeling his new swimsuit...we might need to fatten him up a little before swimsuit season :) Wish I could say I had the same problem

Apparently his new tractor jammies make him run faster!

You can't turn 2 without having a birthday party, so we celebrated with family on Friday. Judy (Joe's mom) was here visiting, so Henry was lucky to have one of his grandmas here to celebrate with him. Henry also wanted Uncle John, Aunt Susan, Barbara (Susan's mom), and his cousin John to come to his party. We all went to Chuck E Cheese's and had pizza and let the boys play games. Then we came back to our house for presents and cake.

Henry in the car with Chuck E. Cheese

John taking Stuart Little for a ride

Pizza!

Joe doesn't look too pleased with this shot, but Henry was certainly impressed

Uncle John and cousin John joining in on the basketball fun

Whacking the ABC's

Henry loves anything where he gets to drive

Throwing footballs with Daddy

Party time with Uncle John, Aunt Susan, and John

Hmmm...what's in this one?

Henry's birthday cake...hopefully my skills will improve as I have more kids and they have more birthdays. I have big shoes to fill after all the great cakes my mom made for me and my siblings.

Mmmmmm! Cake and ice cream!

Riding on his truck from Mom and Dad and showing off for Barbara

Looking adorable in his toolbelt from Grandma Judy

Happy 2nd Birthday Henry!

Easter

2010-04-05T21:02:00.006-04:00

I hope you all had a great Easter this year! Last year Henry and I were in California for Easter, and Joe was here in Virginia, so really this was our first Easter with all 3 of us. When Joe got home from his Saturday night shift, (at 8am Sunday) Henry checked out his Easter basket. He got some fun toys and then a few jellybeans and a little chocolate egg. He was more interested in the toys and HATED the easter grass...he kept saying it was green beans. :) Joe slept for a while and then got up to go to an Easter egg hunt with some other families from church. Henry had lots of fun and found lots of eggs. The rest of our day was pretty relaxing...Joe slept, I watched conference, and when Joe left for work, Henry and I went to John & Susan's (Joe's bro) for dinner.

I loved conference this weekend and enjoyed all the talks that were given by our church leaders. Being able to hear our living prophet and apostles testify of Christ definitely helped strengthen the spirit and meaning of Easter. I am so grateful for my Savior and for the Atonement and Resurrection.

Hanging out in D.C.

2010-04-02T21:56:00.011-04:00

Recently, we've been enjoying some of Joe's warm days off by going to D.C., and it has been a lot of fun. We went to the National Zoo and few weekends ago and then yesterday we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival. Henry and I love having Joe around and we all love D.C. There is a lot to do and see and we look forward to seeing a lot more. And for those of you who live far away...feel free to come visit us and use us as your tour guides...we won't get sick of all the fun things D.C. had to offer!

Getting ready to hit the road (When Henry wants to go somewhere he tells me "Road!")

Hanging out in front of the tigers

Henry had a lot of fun checking out the turtles with Dad, but kept wanting to get in

The beautiful cherry blossoms...we got lucky because it was supposed to be the best day to see them

Junior Officer Nunemaker

The cherry blossoms up close with the Jefferson Memorial in the background

Our family at the Jefferson Memorial

Clemyjontri Park

2010-04-02T21:10:00.014-04:00

A few weeks ago when we were first starting to have warm weather, we decided to take Henry out to Clemyjontri Park in Mclean. Last summer when one of my old roommates from BYU-Idaho was visiting the area, we met up at this park and I thought it was SUPER fun. At that point Henry really wasn't walking very much, so I was really excited to take him back this year to really enjoy it. The park is HUGE and there is so much to do. Henry had so much fun! (And we had so much fun watching him)

Climbing the rock wall with a little help from Mom

Now I can do it on my own

Showing Mom and Dad the letter B

Henry loves slides

The cars were one of his favorite things...he spent lots of time getting in and out and driving them

Playing in the wheels of the Firetruck

Motorcycle!

Flying the airplane

Giving Mom a big grin from the swing...he wanted to stay in it all day

Loving having Daddy at the park

Do we really have to go guys?

There will definitely be more trips to this park this summer!

St. Patrick's Day

2010-04-02T20:56:00.003-04:00

For St. Patrick's Day, I decided I wanted to make green cupcakes. Since Joe worked that night, I was able to send the majority of the cupcakes with him. (Luckily...otherwise I would have eaten most of them myself!) I usually do cakes and cupcakes from scratch, but this time I just did a boxed white cake mix and added green food coloring. I forgot how good cupcakes from a box are...they were so light and fluffy! I did make my own frosting, and that was really yummy. I wasn't super creative with my decorating, but we enjoyed the cupcakes. Apparently one of Joe's coworkers dreamed about the cupcakes and then woke up and headed to the store to try to find something similar. (He ended up with Twinkies...ha ha!) Maybe next year I will be a little bit more creative. I still need to learn how to make corned beef and cabbage. I used to LOVE when my Dad made it on St. Patrick's Day and have yet to try it myself.

Here are some pics of the cupcakes and my sweet little boy enjoying one:

Enchiladas...mmmmm

2010-03-03T21:16:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I made my favorite enchilada recipe, after not making them for a really long time. I was reminded of how much I love them and I wanted to share the recipe with everyone else because they are easy to make and SO good! I was going to include a picture, but I totally forgot to take one...maybe I'll have to make them again so I can add a picture! (Thanks Mom & Dad for the pictures! Glad I was able to share this delicious recipe with you!)

Mom's Chicken Enchiladas
From Eating for Life, Page 114

Ingredients:
4 portions chicken breast (about 1 lb)
4 green onions, sliced
2T fresh cilantro chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
3 cans (10 oz. each) green enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tomato, diced
1 can (2 oz) ripe olives, sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Place chicken breasts in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over hight heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Shred chicken by pulling apart with 2 forks; set aside.

3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add green onion, cilantro and jalapeno; saute for 2 mintues. Add shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

4. Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce in a medium bowl and microwave until warm, about 2 minutes. Dip each tortilla in the heated sauce and fill with about 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish.

5. Pour remaining heated sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas are heated trhough and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

6. Divide lettuce onto four plates and place a portion of enchiladas on top. Top with a spoonful of salsa, a dollop of sour cream, tomatoes and olives. Serve and enjoy.

-If you think the jalapeño will be too spicy for you, you can use a poblano pepper. They are flavorful, but not as spicy.
-I don't do the whole shredded lettuce thing, and I usually do just salsa instead of salsa and chopped tomatoes.
-I usually use flour tortillas instead of corn because they hold up better.
-Depending on the size of tortillas you use and how much filling you put in...this recipe usually makes 8-10 enchiladas.

We make girls too!

2010-02-20T15:47:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I was finally able to go in for the "BIG" ultrasound! I had originally scheduled it for the 16th, but became too impatient and rescheduled for the 11th. Then along came a lovely snowstorm and ruined my plans...which led to us waiting all the way 'till the 19th. (It was torture, I tell you!) I was starting to get a little nervous because I hadn't felt much movement for a few days, but once we got our baby on the screen, she was all over the place. The woman doing the ultrasound kept commenting on how active our little girl was. It took quite a while to get all of the pictures they needed, but we were more than happy to check out our little girl from every possible angle. Well, Joe was...I couldn't see as much as he could from where I was laying.

Henry is excited to be a big brother and to be getting a sister. From the beginning he has been telling us that the baby was a girl and that he wanted a sister. Looks like he was right all along. He was probably thinking 'Mom, I was just there...trust me on this one!'
Joe and I are both super excited to be having a girl! Having a boy is great, (especially one as sweet as Henry) and we are looking forward to having one of each!

Catching Up

2010-02-16T14:13:00.011-05:00

So, I keep procrastinating updating the blog and everytime I think 'Oh, I wanna blog about that...' I end up not doing it because I am not caught up. Not that we have been doing tons of fun and exciting things in the past few months, but we have lots of pictures that I have wanted to add and there were a few things like Christmas and my b-day that I never blogged about. So, this will be kind of a condensed version so I can get it out and move on. Here are some of the things we have done during the last few months:

Santa brought Henry a train for Christmas and he LOVES it! For the first week or so, it was the only thing he wanted to play with. He also got some great books, puzzles, and clothes and has been enjoying them as well.

Henry loved having his Grandma Judy here for a visit. He talks about her a lot and the other day while we were at the grocery store, he held up a granola bar to his ear to call Grandma!

Back in November, Henry started going to Nursery at church. (For ages 18 months-3 years) He made this crown that says "I am a Child of God" and Joe and I can't get over how adorable he looks in it. Sometimes he likes to wear it while we play or read stories.

Henry LOVES spending time with his Daddy on Joe's days off. He likes playing ball, reading stories, helping Daddy fix things, and riding in Daddy's truck. He is always disappointed when he wakes up and it's just me, after Joe has had a few days off.

On January 14th, I turned 28! I had a nice day hanging out with my 2 favorite boys. We had an awesome lunch at Famous Dave's (our favorite BBQ restaurant)and Joe and I went out on our own for a bit, while Henry played with Grandma Judy. That night we had some delicious cake that John & Susan got from Edibles Incredible. (SO GOOD!) Joe got me some new running shoes and after 2 exchanges we ended up with the perfect pair. Unfortunately, the great yellow ones that Henry is modeling in this picture were returned because they were not comfortable :(

Henry's cousin John came over to play for a while, the day they left to Houston to start John's radiation treatments. Henry was SO excited to have him at our house. As soon as he came in, he took John by the hand and took him to see his toys. Henry misses John and talks about him all the time and tells us that John is in Texas. We are all excited for John to come back so we can see him!

After being told that winters are pretty mild here in Northern Virginia, we have received record amounts of snow this winter. We had two big storms within a week (in addition to the one we had in December) and it was CRAZY snowy. Most schools were closed for over a week and a majority of local businesses were closed during the snowiest parts of the storms. Needless to say...I can't wait for Spring!

Henry is learning and growing so much everyday! I can't believe that my baby is so big...it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital, and now he is going to be 2 in less than 3 months! He is going to be a great big brother.

Since we weren't able to go out on Valentine's Day (since it was a Sunday and Joe worked all weekend) Henry and I decided to make Joe a Red Velvet Cake. I had made cupcakes with a boxed mix before, but this was the real deal...2 whole bottles of red food coloring and all! The pictures don't look that great, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and Joe and I both agree that it is delicious! Joe brought me some chocolates (Yum!) and a balloon that Henry quickly claimed to be his. We were happy that Joe got off work early and we were able to spend some time together as a family.

Man, does it feel good to be all caught up! I might just start blogging more often now that I don't have the task of updating the last 2 months looming over my head!

Let in Snow, Let it Snow, Let it snow!

2009-12-26T12:49:00.015-05:00

Last Saturday we had the biggest snowstorm since we've been out on the east coast. I think here in Loudoun County we got about 2 feet of snow over the course of 24 hours. I am not a big fan of cold and snow, but I have to admit that it was beautiful. Luckily Joe has a truck, so we were able to get out and get our Christmas tree, but we saw people getting stuck all over the place. I think between Saturday & Sunday, Joe helped pull out like 4 people who were stuck. You would think people would realize that some cars are NOT meant to be driven in that kind of weather! Henry loves the snow and whenever we go outside he says "Snow!" which actually sounds more like "No!" It's pretty cute. We got some pictures to remember the snowy weekend.

The view from our balcony

What kind of ice cream should we get guys?

Helping Daddy carry the basket

Our snowy parking lot

Henry and Daddy in the snow

My car was COMPLETELY buried!

Officer Nunemaker

2009-12-23T12:36:00.009-05:00

This past Monday was Joe's graduation from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy. They had the graduation ceremony at George Mason University in Fairfax and then shortly after we went to his department for him to be officially sworn in. I am so incredibly proud of Joe for all of his hard work and dedication over these last 5 months. Getting up between 4 and 4:30 a.m. during the week is hard enough, but then he had to spend hours in classes, go to the shooting range, practice driving at the Old Dominion Speedway, do hours of PT, get sprayed with OC (pepper) spray, practice defense tactics, and SO many other things.

Joe has worked so hard and has definitely gone above and beyond to do a great job in all that was required of him. I am so grateful to have a husband who is so dedicated in all that he does and willing to go the extra mile to be successful. He does such a good job of taking care of our family. I know that he is going to be an amazing officer and that the people who work with him will quickly grow to love him.

Sorry for the dark pictures...the lighting wasn't great
and either was my camera

Coming onstage

Joe is the 4th person from the left

Session 121

Officer Nunemaker and Officer Rutter being sworn in

I got to pin Joe's badge on

Joe being
congratulated and welcomed
by the other officers in his department

Congratulations Joe! We are so proud of you!

(Henry after the long day)

Thanksgiving...a little late

2009-12-06T16:06:00.011-05:00

So it's been like a week and a half since Thanksgiving and I never really posted anything about it. I was a slacker and didn't take any pictures, but we had a good time. We went over to John and Susan's (Joe's bro and his wife) house and Judy (Joe's mom) was here visiting from California. We had lots of delicious food...which led to lots of delicious leftovers. Susan did an awesome job with the turkey. It was SO good! I made green beans, homemade cranberry sauce and a double layer pumpkin pie. Judy did stuffing and cranbrosia and Barbara (Susan's mom) made gravy, mashed white and sweet potatoes, an apple pie, and a pumpkin pie. Writing about it now makes me wish there were more leftovers!

On Friday morning, we went to the holiday parade in Reston. It was FREEZING and the parade was kinda slow, with too much space between each group, but I think Henry and John had fun.

Here they are waiting for the parade to start in their strollers

Henry found a better location

for watching the parade

John and little John

Henry with his bell. Man I love this kid!

We weren't expecting to see crack out in the open on the streets of Reston, but were quite surprised. I could not stop laughing!

18 Months

2009-11-13T13:10:00.005-05:00

Yesterday my baby turned 18 months. Is that really possible? I can't believe how quickly it has gone by and how much he has grown up. It seems like just the other day that I was bringing him home from the hospital, and now he is this little ball of energy that runs and talks and brings so much joy into our home.
Some of Henry's favorite things right now are:
1. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with waffles
2. cars, trucks, buses, planes, and helicopters
3. mom and dad's shoes
4. trains...or anything he decides is a train-like his barn, packages of diapers, the back cushions of the couch, mom and dad, etc.
5. going to the park and playing on the swings and slide

Here are some recent pictures of our big boy:

"Eating" yogurt by himself

18 months old today!

This is the face Henry makes when you tell him to "say cheese!" I love it!

Henry likes to hang out in the bathroom cabinet while we are getting ready

Halloween 2009

2009-11-05T15:52:00.010-05:00

It's hard to believe that in a year this:

can turn into this:

I think that Henry was able to enjoy Halloween a lot more this year, even though I'm sure he still wasn't sure exactly what was going on. A few days before Halloween, we were able to go to our ward Halloween party at church and then on Halloween we took Henry out trick or treating with his cousin John. Henry was a baseball player and John was a fireman and they were both adorable.

Luckily, Henry has parents who are willing to sacrifice and help him eat his Halloween candy since he isn't really old enough to eat it himself!

Tami & Kari's east coast visit

2009-11-05T15:43:00.007-05:00

Two weeks ago, Joe's sisters Kari and Tami flew out from California to visit. We were SO happy to have them here, even if it was only for a few days, and are grateful for the time we were able to spend with them.
I love Joe's sisters a ton and am glad that I get them as MY "sisters" now. Some of my favorite memories are times that I have spent with them.
While they were here, we were able to do some fun things like go to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, walk around Theodore Roosevelt Island, hang out in Georgetown and spend lots of time hanging out.

Me, Tami, and Kari in front of Julia Child's kitchen at the National Museum of American History

The 4 siblings and kids...Joe & Henry, Kari, John, Tami, and John

Out to dinner at Clyde's in Reston. The food was SO good!

John playing on the rocks and Henry playing in the leaves

John and Tami with little John

Smooching our cute babe

I need a Blog

2009-10-16T16:17:00.001-04:00

So I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now, and I am FINALLY getting around to it. Most of our family and friends live at least 1,000 miles away, so I figured this would be a good way to stay connected and let everyone know what we have been up to. I am new to blogging (I read a lot of them, but have yet to write one) so it may take me a while to get the hang of it. Hopefully I can come up with lots of exciting things to say...otherwise you might just get cute pictures of Henry!