The Crane Blog

to the rescue

2012-02-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

i really wish i lived by family. any at all would do. my side, jeff's side. i don't care. this is something that jeff and i differ in. it's one of our many "discussions" (arguments) we have over and over.

it's really hard being a stay-at-home mama. don't get me wrong, i'm so grateful to be the one raising my daughter, since there are so many mom's that don't get that option. but it's Hard, capital h.

the hard part for me is that jeff comes home around 8:45ish. isn't that late? i usually shut off as mom A LOT earlier than that. i have to do sofia's bedtime routine alone. i know i'm only 5 month pregnant...but sofia almost weighs 26 pounds. try lifting that just to wash hands, or brush teeth.

the other night it was 7 pm and sofia was doing her usual "take all the dvd's out of their spots and spread em everywhere" routine, when there was a knock at the door. it was Tia Ash. sofia's only auntie in provo. she was only dropping off a tupperware i had let her borrow, and ended up staying over an hour and doing the following:

entertaining my daughter, including running around with her and dancing
changing her diaper 2x (POOP diapers), yes she pooped twice in an hour
and while i was putting sofia down, washed my dishes

i seriously cried. this is why i want to live by family. i'm so grateful she's at BYU and i have someone here who's related.

i know my family would do so much for me if they could. just like i would for them.

A Crane Daily Routine

2012-02-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

jeff loves to dance. when i first met him, i really didn't think he looked like the dancing type. tall. thin. white. he danced for me on one of our dates and all i could think of was: usher. black. wow.

most of you who know me, know that i, too, love to dance. so, we knew that our children would inherit this quality of ours (is it a quality? maybe i should say love).

we have a dance party daily at the crane home, usually when jeff comes home from school. or when we're getting ready. i love it. here's a glimpse:

It's Official

2012-01-31T13:25:00.000-08:00

you know when you get engaged, buying the dress makes it more official. or when you get a job, it doesn't feel official until you actually get your first paycheck. am i right here?

well, i feel the same way with a baby. we are pregnant. by "we," i mean me. i like to take the credit because i'm doing most of the work. anyway, today we found out it's a boy. it really made it official once we found out the gender.

my whole life i've wanted all boys. that quickly came to an end with our first little woman. don't get me wrong, i'm sooooo excited, but now i'm thinking, "what am i supposed to do with a boy? and what do we name him?"

all the same fears that i had with sofia are back, and i think no matter how many kids you have, it doesn't go away.

looks like i'm ok to have another baby shower right?? i know it's weird here in UT to have another one...but everywhere else it's ok! plus, it's a boy! it's another world.

P.s. i'm due in June.

special delivery

2012-01-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

what would we do without grandma queen? sofia got a special delivery in the mail yesterday, filled with clothes, a book, a new owl purse, 2 bowls, and socks. oh, and a couple shirts for me (love that my mom doesn't forget me). doesn't matter how old you are...when the UPS truck, fedex man, or mail man pulls up with a box, we all run to the window...

my fav in the box...a black trench coat for next fall. doesn't it look like a big girl coat??

she was ecstatic, to say the least. i wanted to get these next pictures in to show Ariel that she finally fits in to the shirt she bought her when she was born. she's representing her Tia Aya. amo.

and this one is to show how light her eyes and hair color are. crazy huh? yep, she's mexican.

What a Grrreat Winter

2012-01-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

for me. not for others, though (i know a lot of people depend on snow). anyway, it has snowed 2 or 3 times (i can't even remember). which makes me a VERY happy person. it did snow once last week and the sun melted it almost immediately, but i did get pictures of sofia playing in it.

don't laugh at her outfit, i put everything on her to keep her warm. she's also wearing her thick pj's underneath this, which is why she looks extra thick. look at those legs...

Julia's Giveaway

2012-01-10T07:51:00.001-08:00

My friend Julia...the furniture lady...is having a giveaway. Visit 551eastdesign.blogspot.com ! LOVE free stuff.

i promised more

2012-01-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

we are finally home. it's so nice. sofia has been in a pack 'n play, in our room, for 2 weeks. yikes. it's so good to have her in another room. sorry sofia.

san fran was amazing, to say the least. we went to sonoma, ca for a day and it was gorgeous. here are a few pics from that day.

oh jeff. poor sofia.

my nephew, Wells.

i couldn't believe how many pics i have with me and sofia. usually i'm taking all the pictures, and only sofia and jeff are in them!

double chin (sofia, mine isn't showing here, might be in other photos).

some cute family pics...

oh this girl makes me smile...

jeff and his brothers are sooo alike...

my nephew, seth, sofia, and my other nephew, wells. i can't wait to show this picture to them in 18 years when they are at BYU together...

i really do have the best sis-in-laws in the world.

christmas morning outfit.

back to our day in sonoma. this picture depicts sofia well. free spirited. dad wrapped around her fingers.
p.s. i love this huge blue chair. makes jeff look tiny.

here's my double chin :)

she escaped from us way too many times. she is sooo fast.

the boys took a break and went to an NBA game. kings vs. bulls. jeff didn't know whether to wear his bulls shirt (bc he's a huge chicago fan) or his BYU shirt (bc he's a huge jimmer fan). he went with his bulls shirt.

this is 3 of jeff's siblings. don't they all look so different? we definitely missed bret and kelli. matt, where were you for this picture?

again, i LOVE my sis-in-laws. LOVE that i don't have drama with any of them.

the only picture i took with just the two of us. i love this guy.

hope you enjoyed.

christmas preview

2012-01-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

it's always a bummer when i don't get to spend my christmas in beautiful san diego, with my big mexican family that i love so much, but my second best is pretty darn good too. san fran was a gem this year, and the cranes are the best in-law bunch i could ask for.

here's a preview of our christmas with the cranes. these are all photos from other's cameras because i'm actually still in san fran, and i forgot my camera cord in provo. so they'll be more to come. if i get around to it...

jeff's lil sis, Ash, came home from her mission. there was 2 nieces and 2 nephews that she hadn't met yet. the kids were ecstatic to see her.

christmas eve dinner...after caroling. quick story...we caroled at this one house and a teen girl answered in a bikini. it was quite awkward singing "joy to the world" to her. her family wasn't home. but who is home alone on christmas eve...in a bikini?? at least it was a red one. i tried to cover jeff's eyes.

we also acted out the nativity, thanks to the cute costumes that brooke made. amazing.

there's aren't many pics of sofia, jeff, or i (because again, it's not my camera)...so here's one of sofia in her christmas pjs.

told you it was just a sneak peek. more to come. i promise. i get home tomorrow night.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

it's so different being married and having to combine traditions, but fun to start new ones. i don't feel like jeff and i really have that many traditions together because we've never had christmas alone at our home. this will be the first year without my nana's tamales. tough, but i'll survive. i also think more traditions are established once you have kids. am i right? and not kids like sofia's age...kids like elementary age. we can still wrap sofia's old toys and get away with it.

anyway, here are traditions i'd love to start. i thought i'd write them, so i'd have a place to refer to it when i actually start them.

*decorate tree on December 1st (i'm against doing christmas things in november)

*Jeff insists on putting up the lights the day after thanksgiving because he'll have the day off, but we WON'T turn them on until dec. 1st)

*make treats forneighbors and have the kids deliver (really so i don't have to be in the cold :)

*write letters to santa and send in the mail (maybe i'll mail them to my mom because she'd make it happen)

*find streets with the best lights and take a drive with the kiddos

*open one gift on christmas eve- (always new PJ’s- this is a tradition in my family)

*12 days of Christmaswhere you have 12 things written on a card and then every evening you pick theactivity for the night (baking, craft, christmas story, letter to santa, make ginger bread houses, ice skating, christmas movie (must include elf, the grinch (Jim Carey one) home alone 1,2, and 3 (because jeff LOVES home alone), etc)

*donate to or serve a familyin need

*leave cookies and milkout for santa and a carrot for the reindeer

*if we don’t have afireplace or chimney make a Santa key to let Santa through the front door. Getan old fashion skeleton key, spray paint it gold, tie a ribbon around it, thenput it on a wreath so Santa can come inside and bring gifts

*Christmas Eve: caroling to neighbors, sing christmas hymns and drink hot chocolate at home by the fire, write a letter to Jesus and receive the letter you wrote from the year before)

*Christmas morning- read the nativity chapters from the bible

Oh how i love me some christmas time. it's just a different feel in the air.

pb

2011-12-08T16:27:00.001-08:00

who doesn't like it? seriously. add it to apples. add it to bread. eat it by itself. i'm talking peanut butter here. sofia just started eating pb. i add it to her whole wheat waffle or make a pb and honey sandwich. the only problem is that she opens the sandwich, licks off the pb, then eats the bread (at least she eats the bread, right?).

what a dear.

2011-12-03T20:05:00.001-08:00

sofia is kind of attached to me. i'm really trying to teach her to play independently. she doesn't freak out, crying, when i leave a room. she just follows me. which makes it really hard to do anything. ANYTHING.

yesterday morn i was having one of those mornings where i just needed 15 minutes to call my doc's office, go to the bathroom, and eat some breakfast. anyway, she was following me, but wouldn't stop whining. so before i lost my patience/mind, i stopped, bent down to her level, and talked to her in a "serious" voice: "sofia mae. i need you to stop whining, stop following me, and just give me 15 minutes to work on a few things." she looked at me seriously, hugged me, patted me on the back, then kept her head on my shoulder. so i took her to her crib (even though it was 2 hours before her nap). she played in her crib, quietly, for about 20 minutes.

what a dear.

love heather

2011-11-19T20:27:00.001-08:00

i love heather. i love baby showers. i love throwing heather a baby shower. it was so fun to plan this shower and see so many people that i love and miss. thanks to everyone who came. she is having a boy and her due date is christmas day. the theme was maps. enjoy some pics...

for my baby shower my mama made a banner, so i asked her to make one for heathers. loved it, my mom's so talented...(heather's last name is Bliss)

gotta love soup season. chicken tortilla soup...yum.

laura and i made a motorcycle diaper cake...we think it turned out pretty cute...(the tires look flat, that fat rhino)

this is the mama to be...

loved planning it. glad i didn't procrastinate anything, so it wasn't too stressful.

fall leaves

2011-11-18T11:07:00.001-08:00

dad has been raking a ton. that darn gigantic tree in front of our house. sofia loves to wander around while dad rakes. i put a pink shirt underneath so people would know she's a she.

go cougars.

My Man

2011-11-14T21:54:00.001-08:00

it's 11:00 pm. one more hour to celebrate my hubby's birthdate. he's stuck doing homework, a huge assignment he just found out is due tomorrow. ouch. what would i do without this guy? boy am i glad his parents made him, and raised him to be the person he is.

my top ten fav things he does:

1. lets me sleep in EVERY morning while he gets up with sofia, feeds her and plays with her till i'm ready
2. checks that all the doors and windows are locked before we go to sleep
3. eats candy likes its going out of style, and doesn't gain any weight!
4. gets up early Sunday mornings for church meetings
5. sings and dances to high school musical with sofia (and sometimes without her)
6. thinks my skin is the softest in the world. sofia comes in at a close second.
7. really loves his major and is excited that's he's in graduate school
8. he is willing to work for his family
9. checks on sofia at night to make sure she's warm and alive
10. prays with me every night and thanks God for marrying me

i sure do love my man. happy birthday jeffrey paul crane.

Too Late for Halloween?

2011-11-11T20:59:00.001-08:00

sorry sofia fans. i should've posted this up a week ago. or even 2 weeks ago. my bad. just enjoy her now.

we went to a halloween party and there was a newborn there who was a banana. too perfect to go with our little monkey...

i apologize for being busy and not updating my blog. shame on me.

Her Jam

2011-11-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

this is sofia's new jam. she loves music, so she has a new jam everyday. i just caught her in the act of jamming out to this song.

i love this girl.

One year older...and wiser too

2011-10-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

yep, you read right. sofia is a big girl now. a big 1 year old girl now. i know, i can't believe it either. i love her more now than i did a year ago, who knew that would be possible.

please don't laugh at my ghetto wrapping job.

i didn't want to do anything big, because 1. she won't remember 2. we don't have money and 3. i make fun of moms who go overboard for their kid's first b-day

she ate 2 whole cupcakes. and screamed for more...

this is tio eliot eating an entire cupcake in one bite.

yep, that's cake up her nose.

this is sofia's future man. i'm so glad the prete twins came to celebrate!

i know, i want his hair too.

so again, it was nothing big. but we wanted her to know we love her.

the best gift was from her grandma queen...my mama...

can we even compete with her?

dear sofia,
we love you so much. seriously, we are lucky to have you. although you throw really, really good tantrums now and you're not happy because you're getting your top teeth, we are still happy to have you in our family. you love music and bob your head to it when you hear anything. You clap every time people on the TV clap. you love being the center of attention, and you're really good at captivating/entertaining people. did i mention you L.O.V.E food. any kind. green beans especially. thanks for being our gem. we love you.

Hee Haw

2011-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

last week we were hicks and went to hee haw farms. only in utah. we went with our good friends, wes and leah, who have a daughter only 4 days younger than sofia. much to my surprise, it was sooo fun. jeff had told me we were going to a pumpkin patch, which excited me...then he said it was a farm, which unexcited me. if you know me at all, i am NOT an animal person. i'm not scared of them, i just think they are gross. ok, maybe a puppy is cute, that's about it.

i was so impressed by my sofia. she had no fear of anything. wild animals, scary old women.

a little goat got free from the petting zoo, and sofia chased it. it was so cute.

sofia got a little too close to this fierce animal. it ended up nibbling at her hands. you can tell in the picture after this one on how she reacted.

not so happy with the mean goat.

corn box. she loved it, except she kept trying to eat them.

while in the corn maze, sofia was walking extra slow, and i didn't know why. jeff took her shoes off and a flood of corn kernels fell out. poor thing...

i definitely recommend going to Hee Haw farm in Lehi. We will be going next year for sure.

Happy Day

2011-10-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

jeff always does a good job with my special day. he took the day off last friday and we spent it eating lunch, going to the canyon to see the waterfall, and just being together. on my actual birthday, jeff through a little surprise party with some of my closest friends. he had cake and ice cream (he actually bought one of those tubs that they serve from at baskin robbins). so we have enough ice cream to last till next june.

sofia thought the party was for her. she entertained our guests like a perfect host. she did get a bit dirty.

see what i mean with the tub of ice cream?

they were singing "happy birthday" to me here, and jeff was using my hands to direct them

i like how mine and sofia's eyes are lazy here...

glad jeff didn't overload the cake with candles to embarrass me, or to show my real age.

there were so many babies at the party.

Laura's going to hate me for putting this on the blog.

sofia is such a big girl, she looks older than she is, and the fact that she's been walking for 2 months doesn't help. so everyone forgets how young she is...which is why everyone kept feeding her cake at the party. she loved it.

Amanda Claire, my besty, was here! she lives in WA and it was soooo good to have her all to myself.

we love the Larks...sad james couldn't make it

mari never misses anything. niki just had a baby, doesn't look like it, huh?

being the ham that she is, sofia had to put on her costume to entertain...

i love hallie prete.

thanks everyone for a great birthday. once again, my dreams come true year after year.

i'm so clean

2011-10-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

the other night we had our friends, the williams (sofia's friend, Jo's, parentals) over for dinner. i made spaghetti squash with lots of veggies. sofia mae loved it. she loved it so much she thought it would be a great idea to rub it on her hair, face, and shirt. i didn't think it was the greatest idea. what do you think?

i think it accentuates her receding hairline.

she had already bathed that day. darn.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2011-10-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

what defines me as a person is simple. 3 things. 1) my relationship with my Savior 2.) my family 3.) how i treat other people. although there are more things that are on the surface ( i hate snow, i love jeopardy, i can shut one eye completely without any creases, ice cream is the best invention ever), these 3 things are at my core.

i am a mormon. i am a christian. i believe Jesus Christ to be my Savior and only through Him can i make it back to heaven. i know that Jesus Christ established His church while He was here. I know that a prophet of God brought it back, in it's entirety, to the earth. i have done my research. i know my Savior knows me and accepts me as a christian.

despite what many are saying on TV, that i am not a christian and that i am a member of a cult, my belief in Him and my church grows stronger daily. please don't tell me what i am or what i am not.

i'm not here to fight or argue. just to let you know that

i
am
a
christian.

and you can't tell me otherwise.

learn more about us here. thanks for reading.

Dad

2011-10-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

a few months ago i asked jeff, "are you going to freak out when Sofia goes on her first date?" he replied by saying, "no... (pause) i'm going to be with her." straight faced. poor sofia.

jeffrey found this shirt online and i think it perfectly describes him:

i need to get this for him.

her bud

2011-10-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

sofia has some good friends around the neighborhood. mayla and crew are in her top 3 friends (she only has 4). sofia and i absolutely love jo williams. she is totally a bff, and can i add that she loves me, like a lot. laughs her head off when i talk to her. so i consider her one of MY bff's. oh, and i LOVE her mama too, which is a total bonus.

andreas hubby, brian, thinks sofia is so advanced (physically) and has a work out schedule for jo so she can keep up with sofia. love it. they are about 4 months apart.

anyone else notice how cute jo's hands are positioned? and then you look over to my baby girl and see the big watermelon/drool stains on her shirt. gross. and notice the difference in leg thickness? wow. that's my healthy mexican.

just had to post

2011-10-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

sorry. ones of those moms here. i just had to post her outfit. at least i'm not posting my own outfits.

i got a picture of her in this right before she pooped all over it. so lady like.

such good voices

2011-10-05T14:33:00.001-07:00

i love this song and i truly think these kids do it justice. they were on ellen today.

Update on My Girl

2011-10-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

sofia has been such a good girl lately. i think she's making up for being a crazy baby. hopefully me writing this down doesn't jinx it.

on game days, this is what she looks like. jeffrey dresses her.

Jeff washed the windows this weekend and they look amazing...see?

i love that you can see all 3 of us in this picture, if you look really closely, you can see jeff's reflection.

sofia is so funny. new stuff:

1. she dances a lot
2. she claps
3. she points. (kind of rude, i know)
4. she loves looking at pictures of herself
5. she waves goodbye to people
6. she loves giving "besos" to people, open mouthed.

she is the happiest kid ever when she wakes up. just yesterday, while she was napping, i went in to the kitchen to get water, and i heard sofia cracking up in her room. i had no idea when she woke up, so i grabbed my camera, and recorded this...

(note that her voice is still super raspy, which i love, and i apologize for my very high pitched voice that sounds ridiculously annoying)

wake up time from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

both jeff and i fight over who wants to get her from her crib because we love, love, love it. she's a gem, the best part of our lives. we had no idea how much she would strengthen our home, and our marriage.

My Baby Sister

2011-09-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

i have so much to catch up on, especially since we've been living without internet for a couple weeks. i promise to get you all caught up in the next few days.

Miranda Mercedes Ruiz is now a missionary for my church. i am so proud of her. i got to spend time with her and my mom this past week. it was splendid. i picked Miranda up from the airport first and we went to temple square for a couple hours before we picked up Mama queen.

Miranda kept taking random pics of sofia and i loved that sofia flashed her the peace sign.

we will miss her a lot. but hello, 18 months flys. i can't believe i've been home from my mission for as long as i have been (no i'm not telling you how long that is). nice try.

Julias giveaway!

2011-09-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

My friend, Julia...the furniture lady, is doing a giveaway! Check it out at 551eastdesign.blogspot.com. It's a few posts down. Love you all.

moving time

2011-09-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

we are in the process of moving...which is why i have been M.I.A. I'll be back soon.

outside

2011-09-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

i think there's some kind of power outside that makes babies happy. she's crying hysterically, i step outside and she's abruptly the happiest kid in ~~provo~~ utah. sofia and i absolutely love it when dad comes home. we stare at the clock and count down. of course, we wait outside for him.

i feel like she's been wearing purple a lot lately.

new fav spot

loves touching the trunks of trees. weirdo.

eyes are still light

does this stomach make me look fat?

i am totally one of those moms. i'm obsessed.

tribute

2011-09-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

i remember i was on my way to seminary, my senior year of high school, and i started flipping through the radio stations. i got mad because it was just news reports and no one was playing any music. so i turned it off. i'm an idiot. little did i know that so many lives were about to change.

the following hours were horrific, and i have images eternally imprinted in my brain and heart. i can't believe it's been 10 years.

i heard this song on the radio on saturday. i broke down crying. take a second to listen. sorry it's so gigantic, just hit play.

i know not many read my blog, but those who do, i want you to know that i truly thought of the families that lost loved ones.

Girls Night. Much Needed.

2011-09-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

a stay at home mom needs to get out. at least once a day, even it's to the grocery store. well, it's a good thing i have good friends who agreed to get out with me. we enjoyed a night out at spark restaurant, which by the way, is delicious and i wish more people in provo would go to that place.

bree, me, andrea

bree has a baby boy named archie (8 months old), andrea has a baby girl named josie (7 months old).

heather, laura

heather bliss is expecting a little one in december, laura has twins who turn 3 this month (which i can't believe because when we met, her twinners were younger than sofia!).

these are the kind of friends that stick around. the ones i see daily or at least talk/text daily. they each have a different story, have such different personalities, and so much good advice. it's really nice not having to be alone and its one of the reasons i'm so glad we stuck around here for grad school.

Two in One

2011-09-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

i have 2 blog posts in 1 today. hope that's ok with you. my first one is dedicated to my sister, candice. she just started her new job as a 2nd grade teacher in virginia. this is HUGE because she has been patiently waiting for a job for a while now. i wish i could've been there to make her breakfast, pack her a lunch, and meet her at the bus when she returned home. sofia and i sent her this the morning of her first day...

we love her sooo much! i really miss being a teacher, so i'm going to live through her.

labor day. we sure do love our best friends here. the bliss (that's their actual last name) mean the world to us and it's even more exciting now that they are expecting a little one of their own. sofia adores them. tio eliot is amazing with kids and sofia genuinely loves him...

don't you LOVE the new feather headband i got her??? i sure do...

she always has a smile on her face when he's around.

i have to explain this next one, so he doesn't look like a pedophile. sofia has been coughing a lot lately, so we got some infant vicks vapor rub. we put her shirt over her head to rub it on her chest, but she wasn't having it and got fussy. eliot jumped in and started reading a book to her. sorry i didn't get the book in the picture.

i love that their mouths are in the same shape...

the following pictures are of sofia, just because. i liked her outfit. and i just loved her little body in it.

i don't remember what she was doing here...but it's cute.

and hello cheeks. yes, my baby is 20 lbs now.

never thought i could love like this.

Kitchen Table for Sale

2011-09-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

We posted on craigslist...if anyone is interested. We are selling our kitchen table and chairs for $75 bucks. Spread the word if you have friends looking :).

Proud to be an American.

2011-08-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

this seriously made me cry...

aren't they amazing??

We are Back!

2011-08-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

jeffrey, sofia, and i have been in perfect San Diego (20 degrees cooler, might i add) for the past week. i have lots of pictures for you to be jealous of. i love visiting the family. I just wish candice could've been there. by the way, i gained about 5 pounds while there. I'm not exaggerating because i ate too much, i literally gained 5 pounds. i blame it completely on our favorite taco shop, Lolitas. we went almost daily.

sofia loved these little thingys...i don't know what to call them

diego, my nephew, turned two. mel threw a cute little birthday party for him and we were so glad that we were in san diego for it!

meet diego.

my daddy and his grandkiddos:

my sis, melody, and diego.

hector, his baby enzo, and me.

sofia is so photogenic, don't you think?

except here...

my cousin, alec, tried to help sofia swim, though he doesn't swim either

we had a carne asada at my dads house, which is also where i gained a pound. the following pictures are at my dad's house.

my sisters: sarah, ceecee, and melody

the boys: jeff and hector (my bro), sofia looks like a boy here

porcia (sis-in-law) and my baby gap model nephew, enzo.

i want isabella to move to utah so she can be sofia's babysitter. she's excellent with kids. she doesn't seem like a 5 year old.

ok, i totally lied about sofia being photogenic...what happened here, sofia?

the love of my life. we're a cute couple, aren't we?

good to be back.

I'm Just Showing Off...Or is She?

2011-08-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

now remember, she's only 9 months. NINE months.

I'm so advanced from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

is my life over?

9 months

2011-08-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

see. me. grow.

1 month:

4 months:

and now...9 months, i couldn't decide which one...and yes, she's holding a tylenol bottle:

sofia weighs 20 lbs. wowsers.

Is it a boy or a girl??

2011-08-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

boy or girl? how many of you, for a second, thought i was pregnant? fooled you. i just had to show sofia...in jeff's favorite outfit.

the outfit is a lil snug. it's a 6-9 month. oopsie.

jeff is obsessed with the colts. can you tell?

check out these legs.

isn't this a glimpse into the future of what our boys could look like? oooo i love this ~~boy~~ girl.

Little Change

2011-08-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

remember the post when i was featured in julia's blog? go ahead, take a minute to look at the post.

we were in park city with another couple and i just had to go to the world market, because i LOVE it so much there (to me costco and target are like disneyland, world market is pretty close). anyway, i found some adorable knobs to put on sofia's white dresser. i'm so excited to move soon where i can completely decorate her room, it's going to be gorgeous. and you bet i'm going to post about it.

here's the white dresser before:

cute right? especially since my next door neighbor gave it to us for free. we sanded it and painted it white. but it still just needed a little something more.

the only thing we have to fix is a little bit of paint that chipped off. minor detail.

i love the world market.

Sofia the Movie

2011-08-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

here is the imovie i made of sofia (0 to 6 months)...has everything from pregnancy pictures, to video footage of the hospital, to home videos of her doing nothing. pretty exciting. now, this movie is a bit longer, fair warning. it's more for family...like my sister in virginia, who i know will watch it once, then make her hubby, joe, watch it, then watch it again alone (when she thinks no one is watching). the rest of you who aren't as obsessed with sofia as you should be...you could skim through it (thats the beauty of technology these days). her debut...

(P.S. i made this video originally for jeff, for father's day, but had to do it over because we got a new computer and it didn't transfer!) oh and P.S.S don't mind her Mr. T hair mohawk. she no longer has that, thankfully!

Dear Dad2 from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

does this make you a little bit more obsessed with her now? if not, watch it again.

Movie Preview

2011-08-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

i made this trailer video of my baby girl...to preview the coming imovie i made of her. it's short, so enjoy it. the actual movie of her is not as short. this only took me about 15 minutes to create! i suggest putting it in full screen, there's a button for that on the movie (right next to the word "vimeo" on the bottom right.

Sofia Trailer from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

impressed? excited to see the movie i made of her?

Some Family Pics

2011-08-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

at bear lake, traci shot a few pics of our familia. which one's your favorite?

i know i look the exact same in every single photo, but look at sofia! she is such a model, changes her pose for every shot. and even jeff changes it up a couple of times by taking off his glasses. i love my family. especially my husband. oh, and my favorite daughter.

Delicioso

2011-08-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

anyone out there have this conversation, repeatedly:

"Hey, babe, what do you want for dinner?"
"I don't know. Whatever is fine."
"Really whatever I want is ok?"
"Well, as long as I like it too. But, whatever is fine."
"Got it. Thanks for your help."

help? yeah right. i think i stress over dinners too much. anyway, i will be sporadically putting my favorite recipes with some helpful hints. don't worry, this is not going to turn in to a recipe blog (there are way too many out there, and plus, this is more of a Sofia blog than anything).

have you ever tried quinoa (pronounced keen-u-wah)? it's kind of a replacement of rice...but a lot healthier. i made this recipe tonight....with quinoa. i found this recipe online (our best bites), the highlighted parts are how I tweaked it.

Mango Quinoa Salad
What you need:

2 cups cooked quinoa at room temperature, or chilled I'll teach how to make it below

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed I used about half a can bc jeff doesn't love beans

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced i used 5 bc Jeff doesn't like onions

1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup) I put more because Jeff is obsessed with cilantro

Dressing:

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lime

Quinoa: Do the quinoa earlier in the day and then throw it in the fridge bc it's supposed to be chilled. Actually you can do all of it earlier in the day and throw it in the fridge. I put 2/3 C of dry quinoa in a bowl and rinsed it in water for about 5 minutes. Then I drained it and threw it in a rice cooker, with a can of chicken broth and a bit more water. (if you don't have broth, you can do water, but put some salt in it- do about 2 C of water, or a bit more)- the original recipe has you make it on a stove, so you can do that too, but I'm lazy).

Salad: Throw all ingredients together in a bowl and then stick in the fridge (after you've poured on the dressing below)

Dressing: throw the ingredients together and pour desired amount all over the salad

Add some kosher salt (regular salt works too) freshly cracked black pepper all over the salad. Put in the fridge.

I put this over grilled chicken and it was delish. Pictures?

Beware, this is very healthy. and very tasty. this was jeff and i's conversation:

Jackie: "you don't have to like this, but you do have to try it."

Jeff: "what am I? your child?"

Jackie: ("sometimes" i say in my head)

after dinner...

Jeff "I actually liked it."

Jackie (in my head): actually? what? like i'm a bad cook or something? please.

My Spare Time

2011-07-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

many of you know that I have recently become a "House Mom." i don't know why i capitalized it, or why i put it in quotes. anyway, this upcoming year is going to be quite challenging for jeffrey and i, financially. we are going from 2 full-time incomes, to ZERO full-time incomes. yikes. mom, can you keep buying sofia's clothes, please?

i have been thinking about starting to do something productive with my spare time...well, something that i can make money off of. for example, my friend julia-the furniture lady. or my friend, sarah-the sewing/headband lady. i mean, these women are AMAZING. but, i can't sew a button, and my furniture would be a joke. so, what am i good at? weirdly enough, making i-movies. i've made one of sofia, one for our wedding, one for our one year anniversary, also for my 6th grade class, and family reunions, etc. i had to take technology classes while teaching, and they taught me a lot about i-movie.

so, i want your sincere opinion. i would love to work with photographers and have this be part of a package deal they sell. i'm going to put an example of a quick i-movie i put together of our wedding. would you want one of these as part of a package deal with your professional wedding pictures? am i being dumb here, or could i really do this?? how/where do i even get started?

disclaimer. beware ruiz, zelayas, cranes, stephensons, and wrights...lots of pics of you. my apologies. siweks...i don't know why jared didn't take many of you. oops.

JeffandJackie from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

comment...i want your true feelings/opinions.

Crane Reunion 2011

2011-07-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

one thing i love about jeff is his family. i say this not because I know they read my blog, but seriously, i LOVE them. a few things we did: eat, talk, play "dangerball", eat, outside games, day at the lake, eat more, family home evening, and the famous talent show.

i warn you now that there are a lot of pictures, but I wanted to put my favorite video first, so you don't miss it. the Crane family has an annual talent show, and you always have to bring your A game. we brought our game face for sure. it was special this year because each talent was dedicated to jeff's dad for his 60th birthday. so, to explain...at the beginning of the video its a slow song that jeff's mom and dad sang to all the grandchildren a couple years ago...we are re-inacting it (then it changes songs). sofia is on the left (8 months), seth in the middle (6 months) and wellsley (3 months). wellsley couldn't do as much as the other kids, which is why he is laying down (can't sit up yet), and a few times you see his head disappear because he can't hold it up yet.

Talent Show from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

this is kelli. she used to live in utah, now lives in kansas and i hate kansas for taking her from me.

logan was A LOT smaller the last time i saw him. now he's taller than me, with a very deep voice.

jeff's real other half.

my other half.

blake, with his popped collar, was so welcoming. love him.

emily, on the left, announced she's preggers!! #5! brooke (on the right), not pregnant. would probably cry if she were (she has a 6 month old)

all the boys were matchy matchy with their BYU sweet 16 shirts. adorable. camille, show this to tij.

getting ready for the big talent show!

at the "beach" with maddie. i don't know what i'd do without her!

my babe and maddie's fell asleep together. touching.

why is my husband wearing his mom's hat?

the wrights

the texas cranes

i put this next pic in not for you to see me in a bathing suit (post baby, ew)...and with no make-up...but so you can see the "beach" behind me. i put beach in "quotes " because to me it's not a beach! to me a beach has an ocean. but apparently everyone calls it a beach because theres sand. it sure is beautiful and way better than no "beach", right?

sofia loves g'pa

we love going to bear lake for our reunion. the cranes are an amazing family, i look up to them tremendously. they way they rear their children, the manner in which they treat their spouses, and their love for each other. i'm grateful to have married in to this wonderful family.

See Me Fly

2011-07-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

is there anyone else out there that have husbands who throw babies around like rag dolls? i'm actually secretly glad that jeff does it. although i stop breathing when he throws her too high, or tries a new trick, or even does it over concrete (gasp). i know he loves it...and so does she.

proof.

See Me Fly from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

well, we are off to bear lake today. stay posted for that post! should be fun.

Loopy

2011-07-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

all day today I have been thinking about my 4:00 pm dentist appointment. i have 3 cavities. THREE!! wowsers. i don't know what it is about needles that just freaks me out. come on, i've gone through labor and i'm still scared of the dentist?

anyway, all i have to say is: i. love. my. new. dentist. as soon as i got there, they put one of these on me...

yes, laughing gas. and i did laugh. then they numbed me. then they put the needle in to numb even more. i didn't feel the needle! it was fabulous.

i completely recommend my dentist.

jeff loved me when i got back because i was so loopy. he tried really hard to make me laugh, mainly because i couldn't smile, and i didn't know when i was drooling. he also tried to make out with my numb face. not successful.

She is Way too Mobile.

2011-07-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

sofia is growing. too fast. way too fast. this is a picture of sofia way back in april. she wore this outfit as a dress.

now she has to wear it as it's supposed to be worn, as a shirt with shorts. look at her belly. and look how light her hair is getting! makes me so sad, i wanted her to have my hair color.

also, she crawls faster than i can walk. it kind of scares me. one second she's in the living room, playing with toys, the next she's in the kitchen looking at her reflection in the oven window.

She's so Mobile from Jacqueline Crane on Vimeo.

sorry she sounds like a puppy. she has a stuffed nose, and apparently can't breathe out of her mouth.

I've Talked about Her Before...

2011-07-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Friends, I've told you about my amazing friend, Julia. She's the furniture gal who turns ugly ducklings into swans. Anyway, she's doing a giveaway! Check it out. I put her button to the right (551 East Design) and put some pics below to show off just how awesome she really is.

Here's a before:

After:

Before:

After:

I was really really sad that both of these pieces sold so quickly. I secretly hoped Julia would save them for me to buy them in 10 years when I could afford them. One day...

Weekend Bliss

2011-07-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

I love pizza. I love the grill. Why not grill pizza? I was hesitant, but it was a total success. We had our besties over, the Bliss, as our guinea pigs. They love me enough to come back to eat if the pizzas didn't turn out. But boy did they turn out. Take a look.

These kiddos make me happy.

Not sure why he's making this face...but do the Crane boys ever need an explanation for making faces?

Don't these look ~~Amazing?~~ ~~Delicious~~? DIVINE.

Sofia got a package this week. She gets more packages than I do. Actually, I can't remember the last time I got one. Anyway, it was from her Tia Candice in Virginia. She made her an outfit. What a good Aunt. The "S" stands for Sofia, not Superbaby. Although either works. She stood by herself 3x yesterday.

Despite all the toys we have for her, she loves this wooden spoon. Her second favorite thing? A red spatula. She is sooo teething.

I Promised You...

2011-07-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

the longest post in history. here we go. feel free to get a drink, use the bathroom, or even answer a call from your mom while reading. I better get at least one comment to make this worth it.

jeff and i got 7 Peaks water park season passes, so we have been going there a lot with sofia. she loves every minute of it. i tried going by myself a couple times, and soon found out that dad is way more fun than mom.

love the legs

a few weeks ago was the long awaited blessing of Wells Crane (maddie, i'm going to be honest, i still don't know how to spell his name. Welsley? Wellsley?). we went up to SLC and got to see the little man. love love love him, and can't wait to see him again in just a couple weeks. Bear Lake!

twinners

she is really really good at all of Jeff's tricks now.

for some reason, Sofia always goes for the eyes...

i love it when family is around. jeff's side or mine. doesn't matter. i can't get enough of family.

this was Jeff's first official father's day. i tried to do a photo shoot with sofia for a picture collage card i wanted to do. i was not successful. take a look...

it was tough. but it ended up being really cute. jeff has the collage hanging in his office, i think.

anyway, as a family, we have been working on having family home evenings. so this is one of our activities to the waterfalls. sofia loved it.

her favorite spot is on dad's shoulders. on top of the world.

she is growing so fast, isn't she?

yep, her eyes are still a beautiful blue.

my cousin, zoe, came for a visit right before going to a byu camp called soar (EFY for brown people). of course we went to 7 peaks. we loved having her visit for a few days. it was love at first sight for sofia.

we went up to park city this past weekend for another baby blessing. jenna marie stephenson. my beautiful niece (traci and chad's 6th child). unfortunately i forgot the camera!! i only had to pack for one child and only for a day...traci, how do you do it for 6 children for a week?? traci, if you have a picture i can use, send it and i'll post it asap!

i love the fourth of july! jeff and i haven't really been able to enjoy it the past couple of years. we kind of enjoyed this one, but again, we did too much and were too busy. we do love our friends though. jeff camped out over night with "the boys" to get a good spot at the parade. sofia ended up sleeping through the whole thing, so i missed it. we had a big breakfast at our best friends, the Bliss. After was our bbq, with our friends below, plus the Zelayas and rebekah allred.

look at jeff here...

and here...

tia Mary and the kiddos have been here for a week and i am loving it! even uncle joe came. alec is a gem. noah is huge. audrey is beyond gorgeous. zoe is too smart. tia, you're too perfect.

they thought it would be funny to spike sofia's hair using milk. nice. she looks like one of the lollipop kids from wizard of oz.

today i absolutely loved her outfit, so i had a little photo shoot. she also found my vanity and had way too much fun with her new friend named reflection.

doesn't she look HUGE here? love the eyes closed.

told you she is big. 8 months already. i know, i can't believe it either.

this is our new macbook pro. i love it. the keys are fresh. no scratches. smooth. gorgeous. sofia, it's off limits. no joke.

i am back to blogging! i missed it so much.

Just you wait

2011-07-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

We have officially ordered our Mac! I will be doing the longest post in Jackie history as soon as it gets here. So, reserve a few minutes/hours to checking my blog in the near future. Oh, I'm excited! Sofia has grown sooo much, just you wait...

Drew

2011-06-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today is June 23. My baby cousin, Audrey, is 14 today. I can't believe it. I remember the day my Tia brought her home from the hospital. I call her Drew. This is why she amazes me:
1. She sings better than Mariah
2. Dances better than half the people on SYTYCD
3. Has the straightest teeth ever
4. You can trust even a newborn with her
5. She has a Cindy Crawford mole that is gorgeous
6. She has legs longer than the Nile.
7. Let's me touch her skin
8. Doesn't have to blow dry her hair, or wear make up
9. Has a strong testimony
10.chooses her family over her friends

Auds pods, drew. I love you. Feliz cumpleanos.

Isn't she pretty?

She's the one all the way on the left. In the pink. Modest. Love it.

September 28

2011-06-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Why is that date significant? Not only is it the day Toronto became Capital of Ontario, Indonesia became part of the united nations, yes and even the ITT building was burned down in NYC in protest. But it is also the day my baby sister goes in to the MTC. She is going to the Denver south, Colorado mission. Mexican, I mean, spanish speaking.

I am so proud of my chewy. She has been preparing spiritually for this her whole life and I have no doubt that she is ready.

Best advice I could give her? Keep the Savior in your thoughts 24/7. Yes, even dream about him. That sounds kind of creepy. Also, be the companion that everyone wants. Just like everyone wants jimma Lopez as a visiting teacher.

Sofia can't wait to write to you. Denver is only 6 hours away. You're lucky Melody isn't 6 hours away...

September 28 is also Hillary Duffs birthday. What an important date.

I have followers!

2011-06-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Your comments made my day! More than just my mom reads this! So, for Sofia's followers I will do everything in my power to update this. Pictures will be coming as soon as we order our new Mac.

Please tell me if my child is a physically fit prodigy:

-5 months...crawled for the first time (reverted to army crawl for a bit)
-6-7 months... got her first tooth
-7 months... can now pull herself up to the couch and STAND. Oh no. She's really really good at this. Pulls herself up to a lot of objects and stands. She also scoots herself (walks) while holding the couch. Wow.

What is next?

Sad sad

2011-06-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

So, I don't have a computer right now, just our iPad...which doesn't upload pictures. So, I haven't updated my blog in FOREVER. I like to think some of you are disappointed other than my mom. Or is my mom the only one that reads this? Either someone let me come use their computer or you all cant stalk me for a while. Just thought you all would like to know where I have been lately. I need more followers...I have 1025 or so friends on facebook, but only 25ish followers. So sad. I'm sure half of my followers don't even check this! Haha. Anyone out there?

So Amused

2011-05-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

When Sofia cries, this is what I do to stop her. She is just like her mom, would rather be outside in the sunshine.

Man I just love her blue eyes...

She is as happy as can be when we finish looking outside.

The Time Has Come

2011-05-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

to throw away my apple. To lock up my classroom. To retire my badge. I have complete mixed feelings about this step in my life. I know I will never regret it, but I will miss it. Everyday I will think about my students. I will think about what teachers are teaching, which kids are getting in trouble, which will go to college.

What am I going to miss most?

Getting presents like these...

Seeing a note on my desk in the morning when I get to school that say this...

Mrs. Crane,
These are the last days that we're seeing each other. Thank you for being the best teacher I have ever had. Thank you for caring about me. I wish you were my mom and that I was Sofia's big sister. God has great plans for you and your family. Please never forget about me. I also thank you because when I was sad, you would cheer me up. I hope we see each other some day. I will miss you so much. On the last day of school I will be really sad because we won't see each other every day. Thank you for being my second mom.
You Rock,
Student
P.S. Don't tell anyone about this

Knowing that I am making a difference in a person's life. I teach completely because I LOVE these children. I cry myself to sleep sometimes knowing what they go through at home. It's discomforting to know that some of my kids have lived in a drug selling house, that some of my girls have been sexually abused, that a few have no one at home telling them how beautiful they are so they turn to bulimia, or other harmful things. In the demographic that I teach in, I am a mother to a lot of them.

Do you like that I am on a chair so I can feel better about myself?

They say I have a "teacher look" and a "mom look." Bad combo.

I'm in my classroom right now. 9 pm. Cleaning and I just had to take a break because I'm so sad. Wow, I'm crying just writing this. Today they threw me a surprise party. Brought my favorite thing in the world. Ice cream. They even made an i-movie about why they are going to miss me.

I'm really going to miss teaching. It's hard for me to say goodbye to a career that I know I am genuinely good at.

Saturday...While Dad's at Work

2011-05-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Dad had to work today. We hate when dad has to work on Saturdays. But, that sure does not stop us from having fun...I love my mac. Don't mind her hair, she had just woken up and I took her for a jog.

Are we bored or what? DAD come home!

Old Timers

2011-05-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I got to spend some time with my freshman friends from college. I can't believe freshmen year was 9 years ago. Ouch. We have all gotten married, well, almost. Amber is the last one to tie the knot. So, of course, we threw her a bridal shower. We love her so much.

The dinner menu

The food table...without the food yet...


Cupcake table...got to have one of those. They were lilac cupcakes I might add. Delish.

A few hours after, the girls and their boos went to India Palace for dinner. We love culture food. You can probably tell from the picture that we are all from different cultures. Japanese, Hawaiian, Chinese, Mexican, and Jeff. Sofia falls in the Mexican category.

From Head to Toe

2011-05-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

She is pretty, from head to toe. See?

What I love about this pic? Other than the color, alien toes,

What I love about this one? It looks like a sausage with toes.

I can't believe I wanted all boys. What was I thinking??? To follow in my moms, and Traci's, footsteps...I'm thinking all girls now. What do you think?

Envy

2011-05-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Pretty soon, in 2 weeks, I will be an official "Stay at Home Mom." I capitalize it because it is a job title. I pretend to think that Sofia is going to take all her naps and let mom clean and start some projects. I know it's not going to happen, but a girl can dream right? Well, I follow a girlfriend's blog who is sooo talented with her time at home, which gives me hope that I can do something good with my time, rather than sit and watch Oprah while eating bon bons. (p.s. anyone else so depressed it's her last season...yeah, right when I'm finally home to watch it!)

I look at Julia's blog and I am utterly amazed. I know I am talented in other ways, and I need to focus on that, but a girls gotta dream that one day she can be as talented in THIS way!

Check out a before and after...

Since I've been looking at her blog, I've looked around my house and asked myself "what could I take and make better?" Ummmm, a lot. So here is a picture of Sofia's little dresser. Maybe some cute knobs to add to it? (Did you notice the bottom knob broke off?? Oh wait, I cut that out of the picture on purpose. The knob is sitting there, on the top. See it?).

I feel that I am pretty good at decorating my very little home. I do what I can with what I have. So here are some pictures to show off, and prove that I do have a little bit of talent...(btw, my house is so dark and has lots of brown, so I really want to bring out the blue this summer).

I'm thinking of adding blue toned pillows to my brown couch, and replacing my brown curtains with some other color. Julia, help?

Another talent...I am also really, really good at dressing my daughter. (But I can't sew a button).

HGTV...welcome Julia Miller.

Check out her blog 551eastdesign.blogspot.com

We love to SMILE

2011-05-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey makes me smile a lot. He makes Sofia smile even more. Seeing her smile is better than eating cheesecake.

Heather was walking around our neighborhood taking pictures. She used us, the Crane Models. We didn't charge her, despite how demanding our modeling schedule is.

I LOVE Jeff's real smile. You don't see it often because he's usually making a funny face in pics. This is real. Wrinkles.

I just have lots of real wrinkles. One for every hour lost of sleep.

She wins.

Feliz Dia de las Madres

2011-05-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

dear mom,
       i had no idea how hard it was to be a mom. oh how little i knew. i didn't know you only sleep 4 of the 24 hours a day. i didn't know even when they are sleeping, you still wake up to check if they're alive. i didn't know I'd spend 5-6 hours of my day feeding      VFGNILLKUJHGGT^F7U6,mf (oops, sorry, sofia just typed that). i didn't know how expensive a little human could be. i didn't know how I could cry just because she's crying. i didn't know i could read so much and know so little.
   i also didn't know that i could loving shopping for someone more than I love shopping for myself. i didn't know I could love someone as deeply as I love Jeff. i didn't know how much my mom loves me, until i knew my love for sofia. i just didn't know.
      momma, thanks for doing everything I've done for Sofia, for me. i owe you my life. thanks for teaching me everything you know, and everything you don't know too. you're the smartest, most talented, and creative person i know. you throw the best parties, find the best deals, give the best advice, get the best clothes, and give the most love. happy mom day.

i heart you,
~jackson.

mom and her daughters.

mom and her diego.

mom and my sofia

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-04-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sofia Mae Crane at a 6 month glance

Weight: 15 lbs (50%)

Height: 26 in (55%)

Dear Sofia,
What do we love about you at 6 months? Other than making us go crazy over you... you are VERY mobile. You would walk if I would let you. You would eat steak if I would let you. Dad would let you. You sometimes sleep with eyes open (a Crane thing). You hum while you nurse (a Noah thing). In 5 seconds you go from one side of the room to the other. Everything goes to your mouth. I finally don't cringe when Dad throws you in the air or makes you fly. You still get people stopping me wherever we go, just to see your pretty face. We love, love, love you.

Mom and Dad

P.S. I was only supposed to take one 6 month picture. Oopsies.

A Great City

2011-04-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

She survived. Or should I say, WE survived Sofia's first plane ride. I was a little nervous and like a frantic mom, looked up tips for traveling with infants. Most said, they will most likely sleep the whole plane ride. And did she?

This is what she looked like the WHOLE plane ride. Wide awake. Playful, mouth open. Entertained many passengers.

We went to beautiful city of San Francisco to visit Jeff's side of the family. One of the perks of going was Sofia got to meet a few of her cousins, her Tia Brooke, and Tio Mike. Cohen and Eden were soooo good with her. This was my fav, Cohen in the hammock cuddling with my girl.

Don't mind her Mr. T hair here. The cutest thing was when she started to fuss, Cohen looked at me and said, "I'm done." Wish I could say that sometimes.

Meet primo Seth. He is 3 months and so adorable. I love that such a big baby came out of little Brooke. He weighs 4 lbs more than Sofia.

We went to the farmers market and I LOVED the fresh fruit. Strawberries, oranges, and asian pears. Delicious. We took a family picture to prove we were all here...

There was a section for kids to play. Who ended up playing? My husband. Who knew that jump roping could be competitive?

I can't get enough Father/daughter pictures. She just loves Jeff so much. Who could blame her?

I love that my family lives in San Diego, and Jeff's in San Fran. No matter who we visit, we get to visit some of the best places in the U.S. of A! We are blessed. We have a good life. A really good life.

The Queen is Here.

2011-04-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Queen is here to see the Princess. And she brought LOTS of gifts. You think your mom is crazy with gift giving to your children? My mom brought Sofia about 30 outfits. I'll really count them later, and make sure that wasn't an exaggeration. Here are 3 of my favs. 2 bathing suits, and a navy blue and white polka dotted coat. Love it.


The ONLY time I will let her wear a bikini. Jeff wants a long sleeve onesie under it.

Can you just picture her walking around in this with white leggings, and a little purse?

Ok, so secretly, I WANT THIS BATHING SUIT! For me. Not fair.

I'm ready for church, mom. She'll be walking soon...

She loves this lady who keeps bringing her gifts, keeps her stylish.

Tia Melody, do you like the dress you bought me on me?

Posing.

So, I really don't have to buy this kid clothes. Between my mom's visits (she brings a suit case of new clothes every time), Melody's impulse Fifer buying (she says she sees it and HAS to buy her nieces love), and Cam's making her the cutest outfits...I never have to lift a finger. But do I? Of course I do. She's my first. And I love her.

Baffers

2011-04-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

For some reason, my weird family calls baths, baffers. I know, we're weird. Sofia loves showers, and we just retried baths (before, she screamed bloody murder). She loves them. Dad is with her in the bath (with his swim trunks, don't worry). Dad loves doing her hair in the bath. I have a full naked picture (of Sofia, not me), but Jeff would be mad if I put it on the blog. Sorry.

A Handful, a Mouthful

2011-04-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Sofia won't eat cereal. It's bland. It's gross. It's boring. Today, Jeff let her lick his strawberry. Bad idea...

About 20 minutes later...

She was really mad at Dad for "taking it away" (there was nothing left!)

Vampire?

All you moms thinking, "oh no, she's not going to eat anything else" or "now she's not going to eat her veggies..."
Whatever. It was adorable. And look at her now...

Sad Day

2011-03-30T09:37:00.001-07:00

Or should I say, sad night? It was a fluke.

A Few Firsts...

2011-03-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

She did it. I didn’t know when it would happen, all I knew is that it would be bliss. It sure was bliss. Sofia slept through the night last night, for the first time. I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t even cry or whimper. At 7:30 am she woke up cooing and smiling. I almost cried. I woke up Jeff at 6:30 and he asked, “is it time for her to eat?” I smiled and said, “she's still asleep, she slept through the night.” He then asked, “Are you sure she’s alive?” I knew she was because I had checked on her at 2 am, 4 am, and 5 am. I hope she sleeps like that tonight again and that it’s not just a fluke. I am so grateful to have gotten sleep. It’s been 5 months. She slept 11 hours straight.

In the past few days, Sofia has had a few more firsts.

1. First time in a jogger (Jeffrey bought one for me as an early Mother's Day gift!)

2. First time eating cereal. I really don't think she ate anything. She had that "why are you doing this to me" look that she gives.

She ate her bib more than she did the cereal.

She also got a text from her grandma saying happy 5 month birthday. Thanks for remembering Grandma queen! Love you all.

Made You Smile.

2011-03-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

Heather Bliss, my pro photographer best friend, can't help but snap pictures of Sofia. Can you blame her? We had dinner at their house...so this isn't even a photo shoot. She is just picture perfect.

I love the way Sofia looks at her daddy. He makes her smile way too much.

This one is definitely my favorite...I don't know why.

I come in and ruin the picture. I was just getting jealous at this point.

Would You Rather

2011-03-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that I am a 6th grade teacher. A lot of times I get asked questions that have nothing to do with anything. For example, "Mrs. Crane, would you rather lick the bottom of your own shoe, or taste your pee?" Gross, really?

So, I thought of a few "would you rather" questions for you moms out there. You can answer a few in the comments (even if you're not a mom, Cambo).

1. Would you rather change having your husband carry and deliver the baby, or have him nurse?
2. Would rather your husband take ALL the night time wakes, or have dinner ready every night?
3. Would you rather wash dishes or scrub the toilet?
4. Would you rather your husband tell you you're beautiful, or skinny?
5. Would you rather have your kids nap well during the day (so you can get things done), or sleep through the night (so you can get some rest)
6. Would you rather your kids be smart, or honest?
7. Would you rather your in laws visit every other day, or never see them again?
8. Would you rather have all boys or all girls?
9. Would you rather eat whatever you want and not gain a pound during nursing, or lose all your pregnancy weight right at birth?
10. Would you rather get rid of leg cramps during pregnancy, or swollen feet?

Just thought it'd be fun. Here are my answers...don't let them sway you!

1. Nurse...100%
2. ALL the night time wakes
3. scrub the toilet
4. beautiful
5. sleep through the night
6. honest
7. in laws visit every other day
8. Now that I have had Sofia...all girls! I know...my dream was all boys, now I can't even picture having a boy!
9. Eat whatever I want and not gain a pound during nursing (I LOVE eating)
10. Get rid of leg cramps during pregnancy. I had soooo many!!

Tag Team

2011-03-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

So my husband is really, really amazing at waking up to help me at night. I know, I'm lucky. Boo to all you husbands out there who think it's only the mom's job! Shame on you. I have a full time job, and being a mom is WAYYYY harder than having a full-time job, x 10. Anyway, so I love him.

However, he's really, really delusional at night. Two nights ago I was having trouble finding her pacifier in the dark and woke up Jeff because he was the last one to have it. (Have it, not use it). He looked at me, 3 am, and said, "I have to choose a University." I smiled and patted him back to sleep. We are in the middle of deciding where to go to Grad school.

Last night Sofia was crying and I thought maybe she was face down in her crib, so I asked Jeff to check on her. I had to shake him hard because he doesn't even hear her cry.

Anyway, I said, "I think she's face down, can you check?"
He replied, "Like Gonzaga?"

I think he's watching too much March Madness.

Those aren't the only things he has said, but those were the past two nights. I should keep a journal.

What a guy...

Oh it's the Best.

2011-03-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

What do I love most about being mommy?

Other woman give me looks when I'm carrying her, it's like I can read their thoughts, "she's soo pretty." "I want one of those." "Look at her eyes!"
Smelling her. Better than chocolate chip cookies in the oven
She knows MY face
Having complete control over her wardrobe. I wish I had complete control over Jeff's (he thinks cardigans on boys are too metro, I think he can pull it off, what do you think?)
Bed time routine...we read a story together as a family (she actually looks at the words, then switches to the picture when we aren't reading the words anymore...genius!). Then we pray together, and I sing her a song. Love love love it.
Her laugh. She thinks dad is the funniest guy in the world. So do I.

What could I live without?

Waking up so often at night
A few pounds I just can't seem to shed
Shots. I could punch those nurses.

The good weighs out the bad, as usual. And look at this face...

So wide eyed, and curious. She hates to blink. She just doesn't want to miss a thing.

Just Me and My Babe

2011-03-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

It's so confusing. Sometimes she looks like me. Sometimes Jeffrey. I just don't know. But I love being her mom.

Me

2011-03-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Fans,
I was waiting for calls. I was waiting for gifts. But my 4 month birthday came and went. For all my blog stalkers, look how much cuter I have gotten. I really have. Not just my mom tells me I'm pretty, everyone who sees me tells me. Why would they lie?
Enjoy,
~Sofia

Dad loves me so much that he has given me his favorite spot on the couch.

So fresh and so clean, clean.

This was me at 1 month.

I'm so much longer now.

Dad makes me laugh. A lot.

You can still send me gifts, or give me a call.

Wow. That's all I have to Say. Wow.

2011-02-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

So, I wanted to let you know of the big explosion Sofia JUST did. I had my nursing pillow on my lap, and she was sitting on it. All of a sudden, she had that look on her face that makes her red and concentrated. Then I heard it (thank goodness it wasn't smelly). I looked down and it was dripping down the pillow (sorry Tia Mary) about to get on my couch! I screamed (which totally startled her), caught it with my hands (yes, my hands, gross). Don't judge me...I can wash my hands...it's harder to wash off my couch! I then run to the shower and drop my pillow in there splashing poop all over the tub (don't tell Jeff, he won't ever want to shower in there again). Can I just tell you that my darling little daughter was smiling the whole time while watching me? Well, then when I go to change her, I notice it all on the back side of MY pant leg. How did it get there? Double gross. I change her, and guess what? NOTHING is in the diaper!! I don't know how she did it...positioned herself so it would squirt out the side. Congrats, Sofia. Wow. Just wow.

Dear Mrs. Smith

2011-02-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

I have had a student teacher for the past 7 weeks. This is my plea to her.

Dear Mrs. Smith,
I have come up with the top 5 reasons on why you should come back.
1.) When I brought the class in today and they saw your note, David yelled "whaaaaaaaaaa!"
2.) They knocked constantly while I was trying to finish up milking myself
3.) My kids said, "aren't we supposed to start our spelling test yet?" Oops.
4.) I had to grade the math test, treasures test, AND spelling test all by myself!!
5.) When I took them to lunch, Jaden said, "this is just weird having you stand in front of us." Ouch.

Therefore, come back. Westridge will never love you like Franklin does. A whole blog post dedicated to you. Convince you yet?

With love,
Mrs. Crane

PS. You may respond with a while blog post back to me...

Let's Get Away

2011-02-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

Jeff planned a quick "let's get away" family trip to Salt Lake City (we can't go far with an infant). It was nice to be together as a family...including Heather and Eliot, because they are our only family up here.

Sofia's suitcase is a winner. People stared as they saw a 6'4 good-looking 26 year old man rolling it along. Thanks dad for carrying baby's stuff. Thanks Carmy and Sarah for buying it for her.

On Saturday before the Bliss came up, we strolled around SLC, wandering through stores. It was cold. When we got back, Sofia looked like that scene from Dumb and Dumber...you know, then one with dried buggers all down their face. It was gross. But look at this picture. Can we say Ensign magazine?

We stayed at the Marriott downtown and it had beautiful views of Temple Square. But Sofia's fav thing were the fluffy pillows. We got there and she staked her claim over the king size bed. Who could fight her.

Heather and Eliot joined us for the evening. We tried a new restaurant and were very pleasantly surprised. The Bluelemon is definitely somewhere we will return. It's an organic place with the best butternut squash soup (almost as good as Spark, Laura!)

They also joined us for a dip in the pool that night. Well, it took Jeff an hour to convince me to let our precious almost 4 month old go in to a germ infested public pool. I still get the creeps thinking I let her in. Oh well, she lived. We didn't have a pool diaper, so as ghetto parents, we tied a plastic bag around her diaper. It worked.

This suit is too big for her (6-9 month), but look how adorable she looks! And check out her legs. Loving them.

Heather would only go in if I went in. So, Heather didn't get to go in. Jeff knows that I don't like pools unless there is a hot Sun to tan my body. Why would I want my post baby body to get into a bathing suit if not necessary?

Does she look like me?

She loved the pool.

Don't you love it when babies get crazy eyes? These are Sofia's crazy eyes...

On the ride home, she got a little restless, so I jumped in the back seat with her. And ended up filming her. I love love love this little girl.

Sofia, we hope you loved our first weekend getaway with you.

Valentines Love

2011-02-17T17:18:00.001-08:00

Dad and Sofia came home with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. I think Sofia picked them out, and Dad paid for them. Good combo.

Sofia is still in a cradle, because she is so petite. She looks absolutely adorable in it. Thanks cousin Diego for letting us use your cradle. She also sleeps naked. Plus a diaper, because that would be a mess.

Love her.

I love picture for 3 reasons, and I am not embarrassed about them. 1. Her hair looks like a balding 40-year old mans. 2. It looks like she has a few chins here (even though she's pretty thin) 3. Her eyes look GORGEOUS! Still blue.

Sorry I blog constantly about Sofia. You would too if you were her mom.

Dear Dad

2011-02-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Dad,
I know you have a big interview today with BYU. Just show them my picture and you'll get in for sure. I know you'll do great because you're really smart, and people really like you. I like you a lot. You make funny faces at me. You're the best dad in the world.
Sofia Mae Crane

Super Super Bowl

2011-02-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

Go Eddie! Our friend, Eddie King, made an amazing commercial for a Doritos contest. We wish him luck in winning tomorrow and hope to see it air during the superbowl! Watch for it...

2011-01-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

Sofia's Tia Brooke made her some awesome gray and black leggings and Jeff thought she looked like she was ready to work out.

Thought you might enjoy...

We have way too much fun with her.

Blessing

2011-01-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

Sofia Mae Crane was blessed by her amazing, loving daddy. The words were so special and we are so grateful for all our friends who came. Doesn't she look pretty? Thanks mom for the blessing outfit.

This is her Great Grandma Ruth. Grandma Ruth insisted that Sofia be named Jacqueline Elena Crane. We didn't go with it.

Jeffrey's parents flew in from San Francisco. Dave didn't touch her once. But I know he secretly loves her the most out of all his grandchildren. It's his only Mexican grandchild.

Right now this is her FAVORITE uncle Matt. Tio Matt drove over night, 20 hours, and slept at a Walmart...just to surprise us! It was so great to have him there and we love him and Maddie sooo much. I'm not sure why he's making this face here...Grinch looking?

Yes, You May Admire...

2011-01-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

Mothers always think that their children are the most beautiful. I never thought I would be "one of those moms." I am. But, I have evidence. Look at these pictures, and tell me that she isn't beautiful! I just can't stop staring at her. Feel free to take one of these pictures and make her your desktop picture. I know you want to...

Ceecee calls this her "sexy pose." I knew she was a born model.

The same girl, Heather, who did my pregnant pictures in the lilac fields, and who took my pictures at the hospital, is the one who took all of these. She's talented, isn't she?

She is so pretty.

I LOVE how she is looking at me here!

I think she is perfect. Half me, half Jeff. What more could you ever want?

Lovin the Fam

2010-12-30T18:24:00.001-08:00

Before we left to San Diego, Sofia got to meet her Aunt Emily and Uncle Bret. They came all the way from Virginia! I am very proud of this picture because her cheeks look big. She's a skinny girl and I want her to be chubbier.

Tio Bret didn't want to share her.

But Tia Emily got her way and stole Sofia from her husband! I'm hoping Sofia made her baby hungry so they can make another Zachary.

While down in San Diego, all my sisters and brother got together with daddy to eat. It's been a long time since we've all been home at the same time.

This is Candice and Joe who live in Virginia. They got the 5:00 am Sofia shift almost every morning (I miss those extra hours of sleep!).

This is Melody (Left), who looks AMAZING. The most beautiful I have ever seen her. She also spoils Sofia and has bought her the cutest H&M outfits ever. Sarah (right) is now in Bulgaria with her boyfriend. She'll be back in 3 months!

Me and my true love.

My little sister, Marlyn. She is almost finished at Chico State! I'm so excited for her to be finished.

My brother, Hector, married a beauty and makes gorgeous kids. Porcia does NOT look like she has had 2 children. Not fair. She probably weighed less than me while 9 months preggers (I mean when I wasn't pregnant). Isabella, my princess niece, is in their arms.

Enzo is one of the happiest babies I know.

My daughter's first Christmas was special. We made her match us. We should have done family Christmas photos in these...next year, Heather?

Her eyes are so blue!

Tia Candice was so great with her. I just love this backside picture of Sofia!

I truly thought Tia Mary was going to steal her. I was scared.

But then I reminded Tia Mary that she has a cutie of her own. Meet Alec. Smiles at everything, loves everyone.

I thought Tia Ariel was going to steal her too. She bought her the prettiest headband that doesn't fit her yet. She looked like a showgirl in it.

Diego Potato. My handsome nephew. Son of Melody. He's got the longest eyelashes I've ever seen.

Alec's big bro, Noah. He is darling with babies. He wanted to be with Sofia night and day, well maybe not night.

My little sister, Ceecee, shaved her head this year. Not only was it on her bucket list, but our good family friend has cancer and a few of Ceecee's friends decided to shave their heads. I like this picture because her and Noah have the same haircut. Ceecee is on the left. Hehe.

See...blue eyes?

Her Christmas dinner dress.

She is so pretty, don't you think?

California was wonderful and it was disheartening to come home to lots of snow, but it's good to be back.

Happy anniversary...

2010-12-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late.

2 years ago, on November 29th, 2008, I married my best friend. Jeffrey Paul Crane was (and still is) the man of my dreams. He is even dreamier since I've seen him as a daddy. Here are a few of my favorite Jeff things:
*Fulfills his callings
*First thing he does when he gets home is kisses me
*Surprises me all the time
*Is a very thoughtful gift giver
* Tall...gives me hope for Sofia
*Skinny...gives me hope for Sofia
*Amazing dresser
*Good looking
*His hair gets long in the summer
*Cooks for me all the time
*LOVES Sofia more than anything.

I love you, Babe. Happy anniversary.

Sofia Sofia Sofia

2010-11-20T14:53:00.001-08:00

These days our life revolves around one thing, or should I say, one person? Sofia. I took some pictures while my mom was here, and I am finally taking the time to post them. Motherhood is seriously the hardest thing I have ever done. EVER. But we love her so much and sometimes I just look at her and start crying (I cry everyday).

My favorite is when she is wide awake and not fussy. She looks around for hours sometimes.

Jeff thinks it's important that she watch college football with him on Saturdays, and read ESPN magazine on the other days. She's as interested as I am.

I love the sleepers that have the fake little shoes. She looks like she's posing here.

Jeff puts her in the cutest places. The other day he played hide and seek with her. He hid her in a basket. No one was assigned to find her. She didn't like the game so much.

She did, however, like this little koala spot in dad's jacket.

We are proud parents and boy do we love our little girl.

And Then There Were Three

2010-11-07T08:31:00.001-08:00

Wednesday October 27th, 2010
3:00 am
-Wake up with contractions. They must be fake, right? 20 min apart, 1 week early? Definitely false labor.
-Can't go back to bed.
-Go to work and suffer more contractions...yes, in front of my students, who are ready to catch her if she falls out of me. Because it's that simple, right?

5:00 pm
-Home from work, Jeff not home.
-Jeff comes home and contractions are 5 min apart. Tears in my eyes from holding it in all day at school.

6:00 pm
-Arrive at Utah Valley Hospital
-They take care of a woman in front of me first who is only checking her blood pressure...while I am CLEARLY having contractions 3 min apart now. What is wrong with the world?

6:30 pm
-Finally admitted to the hospital
-Jeff keeps me smiling and laughing by dancing, singing, and being his cute self.

7:00 ish pm
-Heather Bliss arrives to document the whole thing on camera. She took many pictures, these are just a few. So glad she was there to capture these precious, sacred moments.
-Thank you, Heather.

9:30ish
-Drugs come...I loved the epidural
-My nurse checks me and I am dilated to a 6/7.

10ish pm
-Mr. Doctor comes to break my water...in just half hour time I had dilated to a 9!
-Mom was right, we Latinas are made for labor.

11:20ish pm
-I start pushing! Apparently my nurse says I am an amazing pusher. Is that a talent to add to my list now?

12:15 pm
-Dr. Savage arrives, pretty much to catch my baby.

Thursday, October 28th, 2010
12:31 am
-Sofia Mae Crane enters our lives
-She is wide awake, not crying, and just looking around, soaking it in.

Still not crying. I love her already.

The Crane family.

Proud Mommy. Happy the labor is over and done with...little does Mom know how hard this up coming week will be for her.

Happy Sumo

2010-10-26T18:47:00.001-07:00

We both really love Halloween. It's my birthday month, fall is gorgeous, and Jeff gets free candy. We went to a Halloween party last Saturday. Jeff came up with our costumes about 3 hours before the party.

Sumo wrestlers. Of course.

We won the table contest. If you reach in the black boxes...you either get a trick or a treat. Only one box had candy, and the rest...gross stuff that Jeff came up with.

Jeffrey found it really hard to sit down. For once he knew the feeling of pregnancy. He looks cuter fat than I do.

My little Prete twins. A cat and dog...so perfect. Hendrix is a big canidate for Baby Crane's future husband. He is a looker.

Still no Baby Crane out yet.