Accepted!

Well, Matt got a call yesterday that he has been waiting for for A LONG time now. It was a call he often wondered if he'd ever get, and after months and months of an agonizing application process our steam was beginning to run out. But, alas, it came. He got a call from the admissions office at Rocky Vista University. They told him that he has officially been accepted into their medical school. Oh happy day!

He called me, and when he told me the good news, I could hardly believe it. I didn't know whether to cry, scream or die I was so excited! We went down to Colorado last weekend for his interview, and weren't really expecting to hear back so soon.

When he recieved the call he was on a job installing an alarm at a customers house. The school told him that if he was accepted he'd recieve a call, if he was put on the waiting list, he'd recieve an email, and if he was rejected, he'd get a letter in the mail. They told him to be looking for a "303 number" and if he saw it, to make sure he answered his phone. So, when he saw the "303 number" he ran outside of the customer's house and answered his phone. They told him the great news and he said that he was just freaking out and kept saying "thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!" over and over. I wish I could've been there to see it. :)

He has another interview in Washington in March that he is still planning on going to. We have also applied to several other schools that we're still waiting to hear back from, so we'll just have to see what happens there. We're going to wait and see if we get in anywhere else, and then weigh our options and deciede which school will be best for our family. I really liked Colorado, and the area where the school was. I could totally see us living there, so we'll just have to see what happens!

YAY!!!!!! :)

Half a Year

Ellie is already 6 months old, (*now 7! I started this post a couple weeks ago) and I seriously can't believe it. I know everyone says this, but time has FLOWN by since she's been born. I am loving staying at home with her, and it's so fun to see all the new things she's learning everyday. She is already crawling!!! A couple weeks ago she started to army crawl, and is getting better all the time. Before I know it, I'm going to be chasing her around the house! The baby-proofing has already begun. I wish I could just freeze time. The stage she is in now is so cute- so baby! I love how chubby she is and that she can't move too fast yet. I love her little chuckle and how excited she gets to see me or her daddy. I love how she smells- I wish I could capture the smell and bottle it. The combination of baby lotion, slobber, poop, and laundry detergent has got to be one of my most favorite smells. I love burying my nose into her chubby little neck and giving her kisses. She just makes me so happy and I am so glad that she is mine.

I have been terrible about blogging lately. (what's new!!)But I thought I'd give a little recap of what's been happening at the Maynard home for the past couple months.....

July: Matt Graduated, and we moved back to Utah!! (YAY!!) I am loving being closer to family and taking full advantage because I don't know how long it will last. Matt applied to 17 different medical schools. And spent most of his time studying for the MCAT.

 

Our parents both came down for his graduation.

 

 

 



 

SO PROUD!

I love this smarty pants of a man! This picture was taken in front of the building where he had the majority of his classes.  He's so happy he never has to enter that building ever again! (and so am I!!!)

 



Hello stud muffin!!!

 

 



4th of July!

 

 

 

Harris Family Reunion- this was also Elle's first time swimming! She loved it.

 

 



Cousin Viv's Blessing

 

 



 

Enjoying our new pool!

 

 



 

She wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini! I simply couldn't resist. 

 August:

Ellie started to army crawl and gets around pretty well!

Matt started his new job at Elite Home Security working as a technician. It has been such a good job for him, and he is really enjoying learning new things. Matt took the MCAT at the end of August (such a relief that's over!) He spent the majority of August studying and working on applications.

Here's Matt working his butt off on med school applications. I had NO IDEA how much work this was going to be!!! I'm relieved we're almost done now!

 We watched my sister's kids while
her and her husband went to Hawaii.
Having 4 kids was quite the adventure.
Good birth control! :)

Lisa and I got together a bunch this

 summer and did all sorts of different crafts. I'm hoping to 

gain some homemaking skills from her!! :)

  We went camping with Lisa's family and my Mom and Dad.
This was ellie's first time camping, and she loved it!

 

September:

Ellie got her two bottom front teeth! She loves to play, and thinks EVERYTHING is funny. She's super ticklish and loves to play with daddy.

If you look close, you can see her two cute little teeth starting to come in.

 

Nothing too exciting happened in September, we still continued to work on secondary applications and Matt kept busy with work.

As the school year started I was so relieved that I didn't have to go back and work! Don't get me wrong, I love teaching, and had a blast doing it, but there is nothing better than being able to stay home with my baby. She changes and grows so much every day, and I am so thankful that I am around to see her new tricks and play with her all day. She's my buddy, and I love hanging out with her. :)




October: Most of the secondary applications for med school have been sent, but we are still working on a couple. This whole application process is so much more difficult than I thought it would be, and definitely an emotional roller coaster. We have applied to 17 schools, which means we have had A LOT of secondary essays to write. It takes FOREVER!!!!! The waiting game is painful, and after all this trouble I'm hoping we just get in SOMEWHERE, anywhere!!

So far we have heard back from 2 schools. Matt has his first interview on Monday!! EEEKKK we are SOOOOO excited. I am going to go with him so I can check out the area. It is in Colorado, so we are just going to drive. My mom and sis are going to watch Ellie, so it's just Matt and me going. It'll be like a little vacation, which will be fun. :) We also heard back from a school in Washington State. Matt has an interview there in March! The waiting game continues....

Ellie is learning and growing so much every day! She can sit up, crawl, and gets into EVERYTHING!! I can't take my eye off her for two seconds. She is a busy bee!

She said her first word: DADA!!!! It's not mama, but hey it's still dang cute!



 

These rolls!!!!!

 

 

 



6 month birthday!!

We went for lots of morning runs together. She loves running with Mamma!  

Checkin' out the ducks at the lake!

View from our new home!!

Halloween!!!!

 

 A weed, a flower, and a gardener. We went to the annual "Edstrom Monster Mash" at Lisa's house. It was SOOOO much fun. Her and Ben go ALL out every year, and really it's quite the event. They had their backyard full of carnival games for the kids, prizes for the kids, a cotton candy machine, crock pots full of various soups, treats, a magician, music, dancing, and just all out FUN! We look forward to this party all year. Edstroms sure know how to do it! :)

Trick or Treat!



 

Ellie and Grandpa! She loves Grandpa Ray!

 

 Loving the wagon ride while trick-or-treating.

 

 

 

 

 

At Grandma Sue's house!

 

 

 

 

 

Well there you go. A recap of the last few months. I'm really going to try to be better about blogging so I don't have to try and play catch up like this again! (How many times have I said that!??) :)

 

 

XOXO



Ellie is 3 months!

Well, Ellie is officially 3 months old now, and I can't believe it! Time has seriously FLOWN by! She is just the cutest thing ever, and I am having so much fun with her. I was worried about being a stay at home mom at first. I have been working ever since we've been married, and I was a little unsure how I'd do at home all day. Well, it turns out that I LOVE it, and couldn't ask for a better job. Although there are days where I don't shower 'til 4 or don't get out of the house all day, it is THE most rewarding job I could ever have, and I am so thankful that I can be home with my baby!

Here are a few milestones Ellie has come across lately:

5 weeks- started smiling- not just in her sleep but actual eye contact smiling. SO CUTE!!

10-11 weeks: started sleeping THRU THE NIGHT!!! (knock on wood, let's hope it lasts!!) She goes down for the night between 10- 10:30 and sleeps until 7 or even 8 sometimes! It is seriously amazing to be able to go to bed at night and not wake up until the morning.

10 weeks(ish:) discovered her hands, and is OBSESSED with them. She is constantly sucking on them and has found her thumb a few times as well. She started to grab things and loves to suck on her minky blankey.

13 weeks: (today actually) she laughed for the first time! It was so cute. You can play with her and tickle her tummy and she will smile and laugh. It's so darn cute.

She loves bath time. She will just sit there and smile at you the whole time. If the water is extra warm, she will pee as soon as you put her in, it never fails. You can tell she's peeing because she makes a little grunting noise and grins a little...haha sorry if that's TMI!!!! :)

She sleeps SO good in her car seat. Better than her crib! She loves her car seat.

She is mesmerized by the T.V.

She loves to go on walks in her stroller.

She loves when we sing to her, she'll just sit and look at you and smile, it's so cute.

She gets so excited in the morning when I go to get her up. As soon as she sees me she puts her little hands up by her face and squeals and smiles so big!!

She is growing and changing everyday. It is so fun to watch her grow, but a little sad at the same time. I can't even remember what life was like before her. She has been such an incredible blessing in our lives and we love her SO much. :)

Ellie's Blessing Day

Ellie’s Blessing Day was beautiful. Everything about it was just perfect! Matt gave such a beautiful blessing, and she slept through it! I was relieved; I didn’t want her to cry during the blessing. Since we live in Rexburg, and our entire family is in Utah, we decided to do the blessing where it would be convenient for everyone, so we went to Utah. I didn't want to bless her in my parents ward (since we don't really know anyone) so we just did a little ceremony with family and close friends. I loved it! It was so personal and special.

Little Miss Personality..

I am SO in love with her dress. It looked so cute on her. My mom, sister and I went shopping for her dress. We went to a couple stores but didn't find much. We went to the Quilted Bear last and my sister, Lisa found the dress. As soon as I saw it I fell in love. It was handmade and there was only one there- so it was one of a kind!

Her dress originally came with a brown ribbon tied around the waist, but I didn't love it especially since it was a spring blessing. So, we all went to Hobby Lobby to look for some different ribbon. We found this ribbon that she's wearing, and I was so excited, it was perfect!

Pretty little thing.

Me and my little brother

Parents...

We are so blessed to have a beautiful, healthy baby. We love her SO much, and are so glad we can call her ours!