Just Call Me "Gus Gus"...

Does this look familiar? Minus the gnome-like hat, fur and mouse ears...it's what I see when I look in the mirror.


Jody has a new name for me - Gus Gus! (You know, the mouse from Cinderella) I roll out of bed in the morning and my shirt has rolled up - exposing my baby bump.

"Good morning Gus Gus," Jody says.

"Good morning Jody," I say...and then I think; "When did this nightshirt shrink? Why are shirts that used to act as tents now hanging on for dear life - trying to cover my tummy??"

And then I feel the most surreal feeling ever - my little one moving inside of me. A little person growing in my tummy, and I get to feel her move. The thought is, at times, overwhelming and so beautiful.


I kind-of like my new nick-name! :)

~Catching Our Breath~

We have been super busy since I last updated our blog. Here are the 'cliff notes' of what has been going on!

* We sold our GMC truck!! It's gone.


We now only have one vehicle, and we are hunting for something that will sustain 2 car-seats. That truck holds so many memories. We bought her when we moved to Butte, MT after we were recently married. She carried us through Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks on camping trips and sat through drive-in movies - as we watched from the bed of the truck. We watched fireworks light up the sky from the back of the truck too.


Gracie loved the truck just as much as we did.


I can tell Jody is sad. That truck helped him with many projects in the yard. I threw up out the window of that truck, on my way to work, when I was pregnant with Gracie more than a dozen times. And it was in that truck, that I saw Missoula in the rear view mirror as we left for the last time - when we moved back to Utah. We will miss you dear friend!

* This is me at 27 weeks.


Our baby girl is active, and it's a blessing to know she's growing. She has turned me into a TUMS addict. I never knew what constant heartburn was until the last few months.


* The surgeon who removed my tumor informed me the scar on my face is abnormal. He gave me a painful shot of steroids into my face to help the healing. It did the opposite. It turned that area black and blue for about 2 weeks! No amount of make-up could conceal it. He wants me to have another surgery after I deliver - in hopes of a better looking scar.

* Many weeks, I've been working a full-time schedule at Channel 2. It's been a blessing in the fact that we can put that money toward expenses for the baby, before she arrives.

* We traveled down to Moab with our friends the Jensens. We enjoyed hiking 'Arches', swimming, and staying up laughing with friends. And the boys had a great game of golf.




* We took a fantastic trip to Scottsdale, Arizona with my family. The sunshine felt wonderful.

We ate lots and lots of yummy desserts.


My dad found his long lost twin in Scottsdale. :)


Gracie and Grandma went for a ride on a drugged camel at the zoo. Really. That camel has no recollection of what it does during the day.


Gracie worked on her tan.

Just Like Mommy...

I have dreamed of the day I would snap a picture of my little girl doing this...


She walked into the living room, (after finding the right pair of my shoes in the closet)...and she was singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to her baby doll.


Wow, I gasped to myself. I have the most amazing opportunity to teach this little mommy.

"No teaching is equal, more spiritually rewarding, or more exalting than that of a mother teaching her children."
--President Boyd K. Packer

The other night, Gracie and I were going through her regular bedtime routine. After a few storybooks - I always sing to her while rocking her in the rocking chair. This night, she nestled down - putting her head on my baby bump. She hummed along with my songs, and soon her little breaths deepened - as she faded into a sweet sleep. All the while, I could feel our new little one moving and kicking.

"Please God," I thought to myself. "Don't let me forget this moment."

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And what would a mother's influence be without some flair too? :) Gracie has some serious skills to walk around our house in these chunky shoes of mine - without stumbling.

It's a Robot!

...A GIRL ROBOT.

When it was time to tell my in-laws if we were expecting a boy or a girl - We decided to let Gracie share the news. She was so excited.

"Mommy Having a Robot," She exclaimed.

I didn't even know that was an option.


We are thrilled to be expecting another GIRL. I can't tell you how much joy it brings me to know Gracie will have a sister; and that they will be close in age. Growing up, I remember wanting a sister so badly. I am happy Gracie will have the chance to share that bond.


Our growing baby girl looked wonderful at the ultrasound. What a blessing and relief to see that she is measuring and growing at a perfect rate. My eyes welled up with tears when we saw all four chambers of her heart beating in perfect rhythm.


I Love This Picture. You can see her little hand waving, profile and those little legs & feet.


She really is a miracle.

Cutest Cutie!

Gracie was named the First Place Cutest Cutie Born in 2007 in the Utah Valley Magazine May/June Issue! Those blue eyes of hers won her a new blanket that she won't put down! Jody went out and bought a stack of the magazines - which I thought was cute. Now, of course, we already thought she was the Cutest Cutie...but we're biased and her parents!:) We both think she's pretty special, and we love her so much!

Click Here to Flip Through the Pages and see her Picture in the Magazine.

The Joys of SPRING!

We woke up this morning to freshly fallen snow.

However, we have had some BEAUTIFUL days so far this Spring! We attended the Tulip Festival with our good friends, the Jensens. I think it's safe to say this is Gracie's BFF. His name is Sawyer - She looks forward to playdates with him!!




There is something so beautiful about this time of the year that makes you excited to be outside and see the world in full bloom.


Nothing like a piggy-back ride to the car - after an exhausting evening chasing tulips!


This is Gracie with her cute cousin, Nahla. Gracie really adores her and talks about her all the time.


If you couldn't tell, Gracie is a VERY happy little girl. The girl likes to smile.


This Spring brought many Easter Egg Hunts. Gracie was so thrilled about hunting eggs, that it has become a weekly occurrence.


And what would Spring be without GRANDMA GRACE?! Jody informed me that sometimes I dress Gracie like a Mini-Grandma. (As Pictured Below.)

I thought the Grandma look was really working for her. :)


And here I am at 18 weeks. My belly button has already popped! That's funny - because it never even did that when I was preggers with Gracie.

I Want To GLOW!

We've all witnessed it...a darling pregnant woman walks into a room, when someone exclaims, "Look at You - You're Just Glowing!"

And She Is.

I Want To Glow.

I'm glowing on the inside. I just think there are other pregnancy-related dominant physical factors that are smothering my potential radiation. The acne that hasn't gone away in four months, the outbreak of cold sores, frizzy hair, dark circles under my eyes, not to mention that some days Gracie and I are hiding in the house when someone rings the doorbell at 3:00 in the afternoon...because we are still in our JAMMIES.
(Yeah, that's definitely not helping me to GLOW.) :)

I heard the baby's heartbeat again yesterday. AMAZING.

And I felt like I was glowing.

In fact, it's the Best Feeling in the World! It's a sound I will never get tired of hearing. 153 was the heart rate number. It will be so exciting to take another peek at the baby next month at the 20-week ultrasound. Can't wait!

Best News of the Year!

In six months, "Our Tait Trio" will be adding another special member to our family.

We are Expecting a Baby!!!

And We Couldn't be Happier!!

The most recent ultrasound shows our little one arriving on September 25th. Here's a peek at Baby Tait #2 from a sonogram done at 12 weeks.


I'm now 14 weeks along. This pregnancy has been different than my first. I have been exhausted and nauseous. (More so than with Gracie...or did I forget? I can't remember.) :) Even the most simplistic of tasks have seemed like climbing a mountain. Gracie has been very patient with her less than mediocre mother these past three months, and Jody has picked up middle of the night duty with Gracie - giving me a chance to rest.

But even in the moments when I've been lifeless on the couch - I'm excited - I'm thrilled - and I'm blessed. No amount of sickness could take away the joy I feel knowing I get to be a mother for a second time. Having Gracie has changed both my and Jody's lives for the better - we can't imagine what bliss this new baby will bring!!

Here's a picture of my mom and me on her Birthday a few days ago. I'm already showing a baby bump. Everything seems to be happening faster the second time around. We've made it to the 2nd Trimester, and we're looking forward to September!

Aspiring Hair Bow Model

Gracie had the chance to model for "Katelyn & Co." - which is an accessories company mostly specializing in hair bows, leggings, and cute hats for babies and little girls. They have some darling stuff. Check out their website here.


Gracie just wanted to jump on the bed during the entire shoot!


I remember when we lived in Montana, and Gracie was a baby. We would go out in public and people would just stare at the enormous bows I would place on top of her head. No such thing as Big Bows up in the Big Sky State. It didn't seem to be an acceptable fashion statement. They tend to be more of the trend in Utah. :) Anyhow - she should have known it was coming...just look at this picture!

Desmoplastic Trichoepithelioma-What?!

It sounds like a fake diagnosis.
But it's real, and no longer a part of me.


I went in for a routine check at my dermatologist 3 weeks ago. I asked him about an unusual bump on my face, below my left eye. He acted concerned, and so he biopsied it. I really didn't think much of it because this particular blemish had been on my face for years, but I had noticed it seemed to be spreading.

When I went to get my stitches out from the biopsy procedure the following week, my doctor informed me I had a Desmoplastic Trichoepithelioma - a Tumor that originates from basal cells of hair follicles. He said, "This won't kill you - but it will destroy your face." (I started laughing. Totally inappropriate I know. But his wording surprised me - and that's how I dealt with it.)

So last week I had surgery to remove the tumor. Jody and Gracie came with me. I was thankful to have them there. The surgeon removed the tumor, bandaged up my face and sent me to a room where other people with giant gauze taped to their faces were waiting to hear results. After about an hour of the doctor biopsying the tumor, he came back and said he didn't get it all. He was able to remove the full tumor the second time around. When he took the bandage off my face so he could stitch up the area - Jody's face turned white. I thought he was going to faint.

"There's a huge hole in your face, Sweetie."
That's what you want to hear.

The Surgeon did an excellent job stitching me up. "You're a gem," he said. "I perform 10 surgeries to remove cancer-related cysts from patients everyday - but your type of tumor...I only do two of those surgeries each year."

Strange. Rare. And now Gone.

My tumor was benign (great news) but this type of tumor destroys nerve-endings; in my case affecting the vision in my left eye. I'm thankful everything went so smoothly. I'm really blessed - truly blessed. Here's a picture of the stitches before getting them removed. (Maybe a little too close for comfort. It had been a rough week...)


Jody bandaged up my face before church, four days after the surgery. It had to stay completely covered for a week. (I don't know why we didn't snap a picture of me with the GIANT bandage on immediately after the surgery. Sorry.) Gracie kept me laughing during all of this. She comes up with hilarious new sayings every day. The other day, my mom asked her, "Gracie - are you a Princess?" To which she replied, "No...I'm a Robot." She then started moving her hands in stiff motions and dancing like a robot.

FYI - Princess, No. Robot, Yes!