Ukorebi Family Updates

Baby blessing

2011-10-01T00:57:00.001-07:00

Here is my family in California. We had a great time this summer playing with family. My sister just had her third beautiful blue eyed blonde haired boy. She is so lucky to have 4 handsome guys in her life! We love baby Hayden!

Mary's Wedding

2011-10-01T00:51:00.000-07:00

Back in May Victor's neice Mary from the USA came to Nigeria to get married. She was the first grandchild to get married from Victors parents. It was fun to get to see a lot of Victors family. Now out of the 10 brothers and 2 sisters I havent met 1 brother and 1 sister. This was our outfits for the chapel wedding that was 2 hours long.

Here is our family at the Traditional Wedding the day before.

Helping Hands

2011-10-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

Once a year on a Saturday we have the Mormon Helping Hands project. Well our ward was in charge of cleaning out the gutters and sidewalks along the local government office. Now let me explain that when I say gutter it is not like the ones that we have in the USA. A gutter here is like 3-4 feet deep of yucky water, with mosquitos flying all around and tons of trash that people have just dropped all over. Here is a picture of me carrying a trash bag walking to the next section. In the backround is Elder and Sister Meier. They leave this week for Utah and I am so sad to be losing some of my American friends but I am starting to make some African ones!

More of Holland

2011-09-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I think I mentioned before that we stopped in Amsterdam before coming back to Nigeria. Maelyn loved riding on the trains. I love this picture of Mae and her dad. We went to Zaanse Schans and saw lots of windmills, cheese making (I love cheese!) and clogs.

We also went on a canal cruise/tour with one of Victors friends from his misson and his family.

I love how they ride bikes everywhere! In Amsterdam instead of having car parking lots they have bike lots and they can be like 4 stories high. We didnt see any overweight people in Europe, if we did I am sure they were tourists :)

The Sound of Music

2011-09-26T03:51:00.000-07:00

So have you ever watched The Sound of Music? Well in case you haven't she makes clothes for the children out of the curtains in her room. We had a wedding to go to in Abeokuta and Victor had this fabric picked out for us. Instantly when I saw it I thought of curtains, and the movie The Sound of Music I wasn't sure how it was going to look as an outfit. The curtains in my house are pretty much the same color so that is probably where I got the thought from. All the Africans kept telling me that it goes good with my skin color. Yeah that may be true but still it is not my favorite fabric. We had a great time at the wedding!

Victor was the Chairman of the wedding so we got to sit at a special table.

Its Been a While!

2011-09-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

So I have negected my blog forever and my wonderful sister keeps reminding me :) So you can thank her for my new posts. I am going to post once a day for the next week. So stay tuned for more about our live!!! We have been doing good, Maelyn started school a couple of weeks ago and she is starting to like it. Monson will be walking soon, he took 8 steps today before falling over. Living here in Nigeria has helped me be greatful for a lot of things. On Wednesday morning we woke up like any other day and went to shower and there was no running water. Well today is Sunday and we still don't have water. I did not realize how many times a day I wash my hands. It has been a little bit of a challenge with doing dishes and flushing toilets but we are managing and hoping we will get running water back soon!

I have been sick with Malaria again this past week and I don't really seem to be getting better. Part of it is my fault because I don't rest as much as I should, but as a mom of 2 I dont really have much choice, life goes on whether we feel well or not. Some of you might be wondering what Malaria feels like. It is different for everyone, I feel like I have been hit by a truck :) I get really bad migranes, my whole body aches like the flu, my stomach cramps up, I have a loss of appetite, extreemly tired, my legs get weak, I have hot flashes galore, plus a fever now and then. Sounds fabulous right?! So my goal this week is to get as much rest as possible!

Amsterdam

2011-08-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

We had a layover in Amsterdam for three days and we had a great time sight seeing. Most of my pictures aren't uploading. This is the Queens house that she stays in once a year. I think that is what they told me :) Then we went on a river cruise and Maelyn really enjoyed it. She loved riding on buses and trains and the airplanes.

Maelyn had her hair done before we left and she kept it in for over 6 weeks. This is the best picture I could find of what it looked like.

Vacation!!

2011-08-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

We went on vacation to the USA and we had a great time. We were sick most of the time but we still enjoyed being with friends and family. We had a great family reunion in Idaho and Maelyn had a blast playing with all of the girl cousins. They have a slide that goes all the way down the mountain and she loved going down with Ashley. We went back and visited BYU-I and it was so different from when we went there.

Here is my little guy in his Sunday best, he is 8 months now and growing bigger everyday.

My sweet Maelyn is going to be 4 in November and I don't know where the time has gone.

She loved riding a bike at my moms house.

Here is Monson and his newest cousin Hayden, they are wearing matching outfits.

Maelyn and her cousin Tyler were in a 4th of July parade at the church.

School Carnival and Performance

2011-08-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I have updated on our lives. We have been really busy the past few months. Maelyn had a school performance and all of the kids has their own part to say. Maelyns line was: My name is Maelyn Ukorebi my school is my pride. She did really well, I was afraid that she would freak out and not say anything up on stage. I didn't get a picture of her with the microphone because she said her line too fast and handed it off to the next person. She had everyones part memorized and would give me the whole program weeks before it really happened.

This is her with more of her classmates.

Her school had a carnival she loves to climb. She is at the top with on of her friends. Yes I know she need to pull her pants up :)

This is Maelyn and her friend Imioloua.

One of Maelyn's favorite things at the carnival was the train she must have ridden on it 25 times or more that day and she always wanted the front seat so she could beep the horn.

Birthday Boy! (or should I say Man!)

2011-05-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Victor had a birthday last week, I made him a cake and took it to his work.

Here is the group photo of the people Victor works with.

The Beach

2011-05-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the beach with our ward. This is Maelyn ready and waiting to go.

So this was very interesting for me they dont swim at the beach they just stand there and hope that the water reaches their feet. I think Maelyn and I got in the deepest.

Here is our family at the beach.

Cultural Day

2011-04-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

Maelyn's school had a Cultural Day and her class was assigned a different state in Nigeria. She was nominated to be the Queen for her class. So she got to dress like an African Queen from Edo State. This was her first time being in something like this and I don't think she really knew what to do. She didn't smile very much but she did what she was told.

This is the King and Queen of her class with all of her classmates behind.

They asked us if we could have her hair done in a certain style so she would match what the style is from Edo state so she enjoyed having her hair braided with beads put in.

She wanted to hold her brother for a picture but she still wouldnt smile.

After the parade outside they did a performance on stage and her classmates danced for her.

I can't believe another month has flown by. We have just been hanging out at home getting used to life here. I did have my turn for Malaria and I wish I knew I would never get it again but thats not really possible until we move out of Africa. Monson has his two bottom teeth now and he is rolling over. His latest thing is blowing bubbles with his saliva.

Our Life

2011-03-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to upload pictures to the blog for a couple of weeks now and the internet just hasnt been fast enough. So sorry for the lack of pictures of what is going on in our lives but this is a little of everything.

I got a sewing machine and I made the crib sheet and bumper pad for Monsons crib. They dont have cribs here because kids just sleep with their parents. And if you do find one its like $1200 which is outrageous. So we had one hand made which means that there is no bedding for it. I was proud of myself for how it turned out.

This is Maelyns new backpack. She loves Dora. Here everyone starts school at age two because parents work. So she is actually behind the other kids. We got her in a very nice school that is close to home and Victors work. Her class goes swimming once a week and she love it. On the playground they have all the normal equipment plus a trampoline so that is her favorite part of the day.

This is my big girl in her school uniform. I cant believe how fast she is growing up. She recently came down with her first case of Malaria and she fought it really well.

My little guy is 3 months, almost 4 now and he is so fun to have around. He is discovering his voice and loves to smile at people. Although he still doesnt like to be held by very many people besides his mother. I started using cloth diapers on him and I actually really like it. I thought people were crazy who still did it today but its not that bad!

Stake Conference

2011-03-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was amazing. We had a fireside Friday with Elder Oaks and then a Stake Conference on Sunday. After Stake Conference Sister Oaks requested to meet us. So that was a real treat. Maelyn was excited at Stake Conference because the building wasnt big enough to hold everyone they had a huge tent out on the lawn with a bunch of fans and a big screen showing what was going on in the chapel. That was her favorite part of the conference.

Elder Oaks wanted to take a picture with baby Monson so he could tell President Monson he met baby Monson.

Abuja

2011-02-25T00:42:00.000-08:00

We traveled with Victor to Abuja last weekend and had a fabulous time! We stayed at the Hilton and Maelyn was in heaven. They had a little swimming pool like 2 feet deep that she could play in plus they had a park playground and she loved the teeter totter.

Victor has been busy with work. Elder Oaks came to Nigeria last week with a couple of other General Authorities and so he has been busy making plans for their stay here. I am excited tonight I get to go to a fireside where Elder Oaks will be speaking.

Here is the police directing traffic.

Here is a road with not very many cars. Do you like how there is no divider between the opposing traffic?

I think these little taxi's are so cute. Maelyn really wants to ride in one.

Here is a picture of Abuja, I love all the palm trees and the green.

Here is another picture from our hotel room in Abuja.

Nigeria

2011-02-16T01:11:00.000-08:00

We made it to Nigeria. The flight was long but the kids did really well. I didnt even have to give Maelyn anything she slept like a baby. Victors family is amazing and I love all of them. They have been taking such good care of me.

The house is in a nice quiet neighborhood. The street to get to it has tons of huge pot holes in the road but the house is very nice. He did good remodeling and getting things set up for me. I have been busy unpacking since we got here and I am still not done yet. Between the kids and visitors I havent had much time.

We blessed baby Monson at church on Sunday. My new ward has a wonderful Primary and Relief Society Presidents. I was already given visiting teachers on my first Sunday there. We have about 6 Americans also in our ward and they have been so helpful also. They are going to take me out to some more stores that have American food.

For Valentines day Victor took me to a Chinese restaurant and it was really good. I was surprised that they would have Chinese in Lagos.

The driving here is crazy, if there is one lane they make two. Everyone just does there own thing and I havent seen any accidents yet.

I will update more later, I just wanted to let you all know we made it safe and are doing well. Victor is already gone on a 3 day business trip so his brothers have been checking in on us everyday. Maelyn is really enjoying all of her uncle and aunts.

Can you tell it was a long flight?

Here is the front of my house at the gate.

The front of the house inside the gate.

This is my living room.

More pictures to come of the house and our adventures here!

Goodbye

2011-02-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

The past couple of weeks we have been visiting family and saying goodbye. We went down to my sisters for a few days and had a great time. We even went to the zoo. Maelyn is going to miss her cousins. We have also spent time with my brother and his family and got to see my nephews sing in a school performance.

We are leaving Thursday for Nigeria and are excited and a little nervous. So my next post will be from Africa!

Maelyn and Monson all ready for church.

Maelyn pretending to breastfeed, she even got the boppy.

Monson at 2 months smiling!

One Month

2011-01-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

So this title has two meanings. My little guy is already one month old and we have one month until we leave for Nigeria. Let me just say I dont know how people have more than two kids. Maelyn is such a handful herself, I tell people she is like 5 kids in one so I feel like I have 6 kids now! So I am DONE having kids.

People say that delivery gets easier, but not for me. Monsons delivery was twice as long as Maelyns. I am just glad it is over. The doctor told me he didnt think I was going to make it to my due date because at 35 weeks I was already dialated and 50% effaced. So Victor made his flight home a little earlier so he wouldnt miss the delivery. Well Monson was stubborn and didnt want to come out so I had to be induced. I had the baby on Sunday morning and Victor left for Nigeria the next morning. It was hard having everything happen all at once. The kids and I leave for Nigeria on February 10th. We are so excited to be reunited as a family again. We all have our shots and are just waiting for the babies passport so we can send in for the visa.

Maelyn is so proud of her little brother!

Its a BOY!!

2010-12-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Monson Victor Kokoetteh Ukorebi
Born December 5, 2010, 9 lbs 7 oz, 20 3/4 inches long.

Sleepover

2010-11-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Maelyn has a little friend Natalie who is her best friend in Patterson. She used to play everyday with her before we moved to my parents. Natalie saw a tv show that was about a sleepover so she called to see if Maelyn could come over for a sleepover. We went and it was so much fun, she got her very first pedicure and manicure. She loved every minute of it. Now when I got to get my feet done, I'm sure she will want to come and have her toes done too.

Maelyn and Natalie

The finished product before she ruins them.

Sitting like a big girl in the chair!

Halloween

2010-11-01T07:51:00.001-07:00

We had a good Halloween we went trick or treating at the Farmers Market on Saturday and then we went to the library and had a parade with more trick or treating and then we went to the ward trunk or treat. Let me say she has way too much candy. The picture below is only half of it.

I can sum this picture up in one word: CAVITIES!

My Cinderella, she has been waiting all month to wear her costume. She keeps asking me when we are going trick or treating again. I told her Halloween was over and she is devastated.

Slacker

2010-10-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

So let me just start off by saying sorry for being such a slacker in blogging lately. We have been busy having fun and playing with friends and family. Some of you have asked how Victor is doing, well he is doing great and we miss him. By the way he is coming to visit in 35 days and we are SO EXCITED he will be here for two weeks. He keeps really busy with his job and works long hours 6 days a week which he promises wont happen once we move over there. But I know the truth my husband is a work addict! He says he has finally found a house, which I hope is true because I am ready for him to move all of our stuff into it so it will all be ready when I arrive. My wonderful mother has decided to fly over with me to help me on the plane and to see where I am going to live so I look forward to that in February.

Maelyns cousin Tyler turned 4 in August so we rode the Amtrak Train down to his house. This is a picture of Maelyn and Papa waiting for the train to come.

Maelyn sitting on the train excited to see out the window!

This is Maelyn and Brielle her friend from church. A shopping center had a trick or treat thing early this month and so we took the girls from store to store.

Here is my family, (minus Debbie's) celebrating my dads 85th birthday, yes you read that right my dad turned 85 this year!

My little princess is growing up way too fast. She loves to pose for pictures every Sunday morning to send to her dad.

My African Princess

2010-08-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

Victor came to visit us this last week. He has been gone for a little over two and a half months now. We won't be able to join him because I cant get all of the shots I need until February. He brought Maelyn some new clothes that he had made for her. She LOVES them. She wants to wear them everyday she is always jumping and dancing in them.

Ready for Church!

2010-07-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

I had to speak in chruch today so we got ready a little early and she said that she wanted to take a pictures with her scriptures so this is what I got! She is so cute and growing up too fast.

Mowing the Lawn

2010-06-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

We have been at my parents the past couple of weeks. Maelyn has already replaced her dad and I with her grandparents. When she wants to go outside and pick berries she gets Papa, when she wakes up in the morning she wants Grandma. I am enjoying the break but a little sad that she prefers them over me. I am glad she gets to spend time with them before we move far away.

Papa got the lawn mower out and so she ran and got her toy lawn mower to help him mow the lawn!

Prayer

2010-05-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

We have been working hard with Maelyn and saying prayers. Well last night she got down on her knees and folded her arms and said the most sincere prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for today, for my food to eat, my fruit snacks, my fruit rollups, Loni, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa Amen.

So Loni if you are reading this feel privileged to be in her very first prayer. Its probably because I talked to you on the phone that day!

I thought it was so cute that she differentiated between fruit snacks and fruit rollups. She has said a lot of prayers today and included that she is thankful for reading her scriptures and for the toilet and underwear and flushing. So I know I am at least doing something right.

Priceless

2010-05-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Maelyn. She definitely is one of a kind. She LOVES to climb. This is a daily routine for her. She has mastered it so well she can get up and down all by herself.

I started potty training back in March and then we got the new job in Nigeria and my whole world turned upside down. So needless to say I kinda gave up on it. Well we started again today and I know she is totally ready. We have only had one accident today and it was my fault. Anyways she made up this really cute song that she sings every time she goes potty. It goes "Shake your body I went potty!" It is adorable to hear her sing and dance to it.

Speechless

2010-03-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Words can not even begin to describe how I feel. Excited, Happy, Overwhelmed, Stressed........We have some news for all of you. We are moving. We received a phone call and paperwork on Thursday from the Church. Victor has been offered a position to be the FM Supervisor and Office Coordinator of the Lagos, Nigeria office. There I said it, we are moving to Africa.

Victor will be leaving on May 1st and I will follow him shortly after. We are excited for this new adventure in our lives and hope everything goes smoothly. I am excited to only buy summer clothes because it doesn't get cold there. I am excited to see and meet a lot of Victors family and for Maelyn to see where her dad grew up. I will miss my family tremendously but we will fly home twice a year and talk over Skype. I have made a lot of new friends here where we live and I will also miss them too.

Anyways I am still speechless, I just wanted to update you all on whats going on in the Ukorebi family!

Goodbye February

2010-02-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

As you can see Maelyn is pushing the button to take us into March NOW. We have had a pretty bad month this month and are ready for a fresh start with a new month. This month I was sick with 3 colds and I had allergies twice. I have only been healthy six days out of the whole month. I guess we bought the wrong house because the tree in front of our house has blossoms and it drives me nuts with allergies.

Our car was stolen from in front of our house. I got up early to leave my house at 5:30am to go to Dennys for the free Grand Slam and I opened the garage and my car wasnt in the driveway so I looked on the street and then stupid me I didnt see it there so I went out to the sidewalk and looked further down the street. Then it dawned on my I dont park down the street I park in front of my house. My car was gone along with my ipod, Maelyns carseat, and both of our jackets. Three weeks later we still havent heard anything so I had to quit my job because I didnt have a reliable way of getting to work.

My primary class this year is the 4 year olds and it is only three girls. You would think from having eleven 7 year olds last year it would be a relief. Guess again, this class is my most challenging class I have ever had. But I am slowly being humbled and things are getting a little bit better.

Anyways enough of my sob stories. March is a new beginning that we are exited for and I think it was Elder Worthlin that said "Come what may and love it" .......so that is what we are going to do

Two Questions...........

2010-02-01T18:23:00.001-08:00

1. Are you pregnant?
2. When are you going to have another kid?

Here are my answers for these two questions........NO I am not pregnant. Just because I sit with people that are pregnant at church functions (because they are my age) does not make me pregnant. So please stop asking. As for number 2, we will have another kid on the LORDS time. Right now we are enjoying Maelyn and are greatful for the blessing she is in our lives. I consider these two questions very personal and if I want to share them with people I will, but please don't ask me.

I am sorry if this post came off rude but I needed to get it off of my chest.

The Holiday's

2010-01-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

Well the end of this year has been a little crazy at our house. These pictures are out of order and I don't feel like taking the time to re arrange. So here it goes: This is Maelyn with her new motorized bike that she got for Christmas. She was so excited to sit on it and then her foot hit the go pedal and she started moving and it freaked her out so she refused to get back on it for a few hours.

This is Maelyn at her birthday celebration, yes my baby turned 2 this year. We had Thanksgiving at my sisters this year and so we celebrated there because we were all together. It was fun the girls all went to see New Moon together.

Potty training......she is being very, very stubborn. So about two months ago, she started training herself. I thought wow, this is great but I didnt have the time to dedicate to potty training at the time. So I have been waiting for my 3 week Christmas vacation. Needless to say she doenst want anything to do with the potty, or her Dora underwear. The two words I hear are no potty, no potty mommy. So she hates the bathroom and doesnt like to get near it now. So I guess potty training will have to wait until spring break. This is her way of rebellion also, she wants to dress herself.

Our good friend Precious finally got married to a beautiful girl. They were married in Utah and we went up for the sealing and reception.

Here is Maelyn's second birthday party, remember she turned 2! So Victor had an African celebration with his family and friends. They killed a goat and cooked it with a bunch of other African food and we all had a great time.

Here are the guys cutting up the goat in our backyard getting ready to cook it.

Victors mom has come to visit us. We have been married for 3 years and I still had not met her. So she flew out here for two months to stay with us. It has been fun to have here here and to learn more about Victor as a boy.

This is Maelyn and her cousin Tyler on New Years Eve, my sister Debbie had just gotten done making brownies so they were licking the spatula.

This is just a picture of Maelyn being her cute self. It is so nice to have her talking in sentences now and understanding what she wants.

Family Pictures

2009-11-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

So it is that time of year again when we go in to have family pictures taken. Maelyn refused to smile I was so sad because last year she did so well. I think it depends on the type of person you have taking the pictures. She wasnt very kid friendly. Anyways Enjoy!

The only time she would smile was if she was clapping.

Our BEAUTIFUL family!

Home Sweet Home!

2009-09-03T18:31:00.001-07:00

Finally I am posting some pictures of my new house! I love living here and being able to call it my own. This is our front yard obviously, I just want all of you to know how hard I worked. They previous tenants sprayed round up all over the lawn before they left and so it looked horrible. My brother Steve came and helped me dig it up and then rototill it and then even it out. Let me tell you it was hard work. But the result was amazing, we got sod and it looks great!!

So this is my Kitchen which is my favorite room! I love having an island in the middle and all of my cupboard space!

My BIG Girl

2009-08-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

Maelyn is growing so fast it is hard to believe that she is going to be 2 in November. This is her newest picture we just took last week, the scarf is a prop and she was playing with it and then stopped and posed. I thought is was so cute. She keeps telling me she is a BIG Girl. She refuses to sleep in a crib, she refuses to swing in the baby swings at the park and she refuses to drink out of sippy cup. So she has learned how to sleep in a twin size bed, and drink out of a cup without spilling, and how to hold onto the swing so she doesnt fall off. She has also learned how to pedal her little bike.

Now for a little updating on our crazy summer life. We bought a HOUSE!! Yay! Finally a place I can paint and dont get charged for every hole in the wall. I have pictures but since we moved, I seem to have misplaced the charger to the camera so you will have to wait and see it later. Our house in 5 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my kitchen! I love having so much space to put thing and my WALK in Pantry!!!!! We have a great neighborhood, it is quiet and we arent on a through street so their isnt lots of traffic. We have some kids across the street that are around Maelyns age. There is a park on like every other corner so I ride my bike to 4 different ones every morning with my little trailer for Maelyn. Our ward is great, I am in primary.....again. Hopefully not too long though. I have 10 kids in my class and they are a handful. I am still unpacking, who knew we had so much stuff and it would take this long. We moved about two months ago.

We went to Idaho for a family reunion and it was a lot of fun to see all of my cousins and their new spouses that I hadnt met. It was also good to see my grandma, she broke her hip a few months ago and we werent sure she was going to make it so it was good to see her one last time.

My brother went on his annual trip to Hawaii so we house sat for him for two weeks and it was fun they have 3 dogs and 2 cats and Maelyn loves animals. My nephews are also doing 4H this summer so I had to feed their goat and sheep every morning and night. Let me tell you I am not a farm girl that is for sure. Now I get to go to the fair next week and see the animals at the fair before they are auctioned off.

We have seen my sister and her kids a lot this summer which has been nice. Maelyn is always asking about Tyler and Carter. She thinks every time we go to my parents house that they will be there. She loves baby Carter and has started playing with dolls a lot more. This morning I found her sitting on top of her changing table with a wipe and a diaper trying to put it on her doll. She is so cute, even though sometimes she can be rotten. Lately she has been trying to hang from the chandelier above the kitchen table like Tarzan and swing.

Well that is all I can think of right now. We have been busy but I cant remember much. Sorry it took two months for the updates.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

2009-05-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue but we have just been so busy. So here is our life in a nut shell for the last 6 weeks. My sister Debbie had her second baby boy on April 11th. This is him, Maelyn puts the glasses on herself all the time but she decided that baby Carter needed them.

This is Memorial Day weekend we always go to my Grandpa Carrs grave every year. Grandma with her two oldest grandkids.

Victor finally got to go back home and visit his family after three years! This is a picture of my beautiful mother-in-law who I hope to meet someday soon!

Its summer time and that means berries!!! My parents have every fruit you could imagine growing in their back yard. My dad was watering the strawberries and Maelyn loves to get dirty so she started to pick the mud up and play in it so I took her clothes off so she could have more fun!

Nursery: Maelyn is 18months now and she got to go to nursery and on her first week she got bit hard by a little boy in there....that is the red mark you see on her face by her eye. It looks like an old ladies lip stick but it had teeth marks.

My First 5K!

2009-04-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

One of my New Years Resolutions this year was to start running marathons. So I asked a friend of mine in my ward if she would do it with me. We have been running for about two months now and we decided to start out slow. So we just finished our first 5k today and plan to do a 10 in June or July. This is me just passing the finish line! Yay! I made it!

My lovely parents came to support me in the race!

Me and my baby! Daddy was taking the picture (he came to support me too!)

Me and Laney just after we finished the race!!!

Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

It has been way to long since I have put up a post. Sorry there is no excuse I am just lazy. We are still doing well here in California. Just keeping busy chasing the little one around. Here are some pictures of her Easter egg hunt at Stephanies house.

I was so impressed that she got the concept of picking up the egg and putting it in her basket. We have a video tape of when I was her age and I would bend over to pick up an egg and they would fall out of my basket at the same time. It was fun to watch the same thing happen to her.

She loved finding new eggs all over the front courtyard.

This is Nataly and Maelyn sitting by the fountain out front.

Super Savings!!!

2009-03-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

My friend Shamaine put a few websites on her blog about a month ago (Thanks Shamaine) :

www.beingfrugalisfabulous.com and creativehomemakers.blogspot.com (she has a bunch of other websites on the side of hers that are good too) so I decided to check them out. I have been following both of them for about a month trying to understand how it all works. Well this week I put it to the test. It works! It was so cool. On the website coupons.com I was able to print off the Huggies coupons twice and then they restocked them so I got to print them again! The rest are weekly savings and coupons from the store. Oh by the way this all came from Walgreens. This was in three different transactions, the toothpaste was last week but the rest is from yesterday. So I got:

8 pks diapers
6 pks gum
6 toothpastes
3 pantyhose (filler)
2 pks pads
2 air fresheners
2 shampoos
1 head ache relief
1 lotion
1 razor
1 chap stick
1 candy (filler)

This all came to $32! and without coupons it would have been $163 that is what I call Super Savings!

It is so exciting because this is all stuff that I am going to use! There are lots of other things really cheap or free but I dont use them so there is no point in buying them. I think I am addicted, in a good way!

Forever Grateful

2009-03-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life. I am so glad that I know about the Plan of Happiness and where we go after this life......Today I learned that a good friend of mine died in Iraq this week. He was one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He was so kind, generous, and thoughtful. He had high morals, never had a mean thing to say about anyone. He had a black belt in karate, he was Student Body President for two years in High School. He was accepted to West Point on the East coast and he graduated with honors. He has served our country for 5 years. I will always remember the good example Daniel Hyde was to me. May he Rest In Peace.

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/624216.html

Ready for Summer

2009-03-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

I have gone shopping a lot lately because I am excited to get Maelyn new clothes and shoes and swimming stuff. Yesterday I went to Target and found this adorable swimming suit for her. When she tried it on I opened the door for her to go out and show Grandma and she walked out like a model and posed for everyone in the store it was so cute. Now that we are home she puts the halter around her neck and screams when I try to take it off.

More shopping of mine. I think these little chairs are so cute so I finally gave in and bought her a tinkerbell one. She loves it she sits in in all the time and reads her books.

She is mommys little helper now she loves to sweep the floor and throw things away. When we finish a granola bar or some fruit snacks she runs to the trash can because she knows what it is for.

My sister Debbie recently moved to Fresno! We are so excited to have them only an hour and a half away!!! More cousin time for Maelyn. I picked Tyler up half way and kept him for the weekend while Debbie and Matt went house hunting. When we got off the freeway I turned around to check on them and this is what I found! They were holding hands....how cute.

Papa and Maelyn

2009-02-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Maelyn loves her Papa. She started calling him Papa instead of Grandpa because her little cousin Tyler does. Now that is the only person she wants to play with. When we come to visit Papa always takes her on a little car ride. They were just getting back from their ride around the block.
Sorry I havent updated in a while but nothing has really been going on. Maelyn is using sign language that I have been trying to teacher her. She says more, please and thank you. She gets smarter everyday. She has learned how to pull out the table chairs to climb up and dance on the table. She lifts up the toilet seat and plays with the water and opens all the doors she can. Right now she is trying to figure out how to turn the dead bolt on our front door so she can go outside!

Too Cute

2009-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

I was in the other room getting some thing and when I came back Maelyn had turned her drum over and decided to crawl in and sit in it. I thought it was too cute! She didnt want to get out of it either so I took some pictures.
Another short story......Every morning Victor exercises and then he does push ups. Well the past couple of mornings she gets down on all fours and trys to do push ups too. It is so cute to watch her interact with daddy. Then this morning she was eating yogurt and she saw him doing his push ups again so she walked over and gave him a kiss and then went to the table to take a bite of yogurt and then back to give her daddy a kiss. She just kept repeating unitl the yogurt ran out and he was done with push ups.

Look at the fro she is getting!

She is looking at Victor laughing.

Trying to mess with the tv

Baby Blessing in LA

2009-01-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we went to a baby blessing for a friend of Victors down in LA. His friend Ubong is on the same translation team for General Conference. As you can tell both kids are really tired because they both slept through all of the pictures.

He is such a cute little baby it makes me want another little one.

This is the little family with Grandma

Maelyn's Favorite Five

2009-01-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

Maelyn has five things that she loves to do all day long they are:

1. Stick hand in fireplace to make it all black.
2. Climb everything she sees including chair, couch, table, an of course the princess mobile..etc.
3. Brush her teeth.
4. Steal the remote or even better mom or dads cell phone.
5. Scatter everything within her reach.

She definitely keeps me busy. The other day my dad told me there was no point in joining a gym because she keeps me up and running all day long. I watch a friends daughter while she goes to school every Tuesday. This is Maelyn's idea of sharing with Morgan. I guess she thought there was room for both of them, but from the looks of things I think Morgan disagrees.

This is Maelyn standing on the steering wheel of her princess mobile trying to get into the chair to get onto the table to get to the computer.

This is Maelyn standing on the couch saying haha I have the remote and you dont!

This is Maelyn brushing her teeth. I think she would do it all day long if I let her.

Christmas!

2008-12-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

We went to St. George for Christmas and stayed with Victor's cousin Prince and Kelly and their two kids. This is Ayo, Maelyn and Samarrah sitting at the table they got for Christmas. Maelyn loved it so I will probably have to buy her something like it because it is her size.

The three kids were waiting for Dinner and Maelyn was playing with the centerpiece.

This is Maelyn on Christmas Morning, She was excited for all of the toys.

Maelyn loves eating french fries. This one was huge!

Birthday Photos

2008-12-29T09:26:00.000-08:00

So here are some of the pictures from Maelyn's Birthday. She got a baby doll and she was trying to give it kisses when my nephew Colton handed it to her.

She got a phone for her birthday and she loves to sit and jabber into it.

As you can see she enjoys eating cake!

This is the cake that didnt turn out as planned but it still tasted good.

This is Aunt Marsha and Maelyn, with Aunt Kathy in the backround and my nephew Cameron on the side.

Updates......

2008-12-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

It has been forever since I have updated our blog. Sorry, I lost my camera so I cant post any pictures. But for updates in our lives. We went to Texas for a few days to spend time with some of Victors family. We had a lot of fun but wish the plane ride was shorter she cried the whole 4 hours there and on the way home she slept for two of the 4 hours so that was nice. We actually spent her first birthday there and had a party. Then two days later in California we had another party with my family. So I made this barbie cake that I have seen other people do. You make the bundt pan cake and it becomes her dress. Yeah it didnt work out too well for some reason it did raise so it looked like a donut and so I decided to let my nephews design it and they made it an inertube and it looked like she was floating down a river.
We had a great Thanksgiving at my Uncle Richard and Aunt Jeanies house in Concord, CA. It was fun to see them I dont get over there very often.
Since Maelyn turned one she had to go and get shots at the Drs office. She didnt like them, this was the first time that Victor came with me so that was nice that he had to hold her and not me. While they gave her the shots they also gave her half of the flu shot. Bad idea.......it gave her the virus and she has been sick for over a week now, plus Victor and I also go the virus so we are all trying to overcome it. I have been trying very hard to get her to drink cows milk but she refuses. She will drink out of her sippy cup and then spit it out and shake her head no. Now she wont even go near her sippy cup that I put milk in. So if any of you have suggestions of how to get her to drink milk it would be greatly appreciated!

Family Photos!

2008-11-08T18:33:00.001-08:00

We have not taken a professional family photo since we got married. So I figured it was time to go in and get it over with. Here are a few of our new photos! She did really well, I was excited!

Halloween!

2008-11-02T09:15:00.000-08:00

We went to a Halloween party at Victor's co-workers house. As you can tell she was a duck for Halloween and if you pressed her stomach it would quack for you! She had the time of her life. She loved all the little kids and food, and they had a room just full of balloons so she played in there a lot.

This is a little girl at the party that she had fun playing with.

This blanket was really fuzzy on the couch so she just leaned on it for a while.

She also enjoyed eating her costume too!

She is trying to pull it off at the end of the night.

Daddy's Girl!

2008-10-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

There is a primary song that says "Im so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be; clap my ands and shout for joy, then climb up on his knee; Put my arms around his neck, hug him tight like this, pat his cheeks, then give him what? A great big kiss." Maelyn is definetly daddy's girl. She does every thing the song says. I have had a rough couple of weeks. I was visiting my sister in Washington and had a great time except Maelyn woke up like 3-4 times in the night. Then she did the same thing in Pocatello. When we got to SLC and met up with daddy she slept fine---all night. Then he came home a day earlier than us and that night was horrible again. When we got home to daddy, she slept fine---all night. Victor had to go to SLC again this last weekend so I felt like I was on vacation again even though we were in our own beds. She woke up 3-4 times a night. Then last night daddy came home, she slept fine---all night. So I have decided Victor cant go on any more trips and I am not taking any vacations without him!

OREOS

2008-09-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Maelyn had her first taste of Chocolate. My nephew Tyler was eating and Oreo with his dad and he licked the frosting out of the middle and dropped both sides of the cookie on the floor. I was in the kitchen cooking and all of a sudden I hear my brother in law Matt say "Uh oh it looks like someone has gotten into the OREOS". Yes it was my child and she was darn proud of herself. Too bad that is the only chocolate she will get until her first birthday in two months.

Smiling very proud of herself

Fall Festival

2008-09-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Debbie lives in a smaller town here is North West Washington. They are kind of a farm community and so they had a festival the other day and we went and had a lot of fun.

They put pumpkins in a catapult and the different teams had mascots and these people were the mascots for their team.

I made a zucchini and pumpkin car and entered a race, I didn't win though because one of my wheels was crooked.

We had Carmel apples and they were SO good. Washington has really good crispy apples.

This is the four of us at Pike's Place Market. It was fun to see all of the little shops that people from all over come and set up.

2008-09-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went to Seattle to see some of the sites. This is the space needle it was so tall! The building is beautiful.

Me and Maelyn in a pretty garden downtown Seattle

This is Maelyn holding a stuffed space needle for kids

Debbie, Tyler, Me and Maelyn are sitting eating lunch on the balcony of the mall downtown

Me and Debbie

Old Pictures

2008-09-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

This picture is like three months ago but I wanted to let people know she feeds herself and gets it all over!

She loves to feed herself

Here are some more old pictures one day when I was cooking dinner it got quiet so I went to find her and she was in her toy corner. She crawled under the thing she is supposed to sit in and was playing with a receipt.

No Socks, No Shoes, No Service

2008-09-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

Maelyn and I are getting ready to go to Washington State (Seattle Area) to visit my sister Debbie and her family. We are so excited and have already started packing a week and a half early. It is a lot colder in Washington than in California so I decided I needed to buy Maelyn some socks and shoes. She hasnt really worn any because it has been too hot here and doesnt need them because she isnt walking yet. So I have been out on the hunt for the perfect shoes for her. Let me tell you she does not make it easy. The first couple of shoes that I tried on her she did fine but they were either too small or too big. Once I figured out what size she wore any time I got a shoe near her she screamed. The first time I just shrugged it off and kept trying but then she threw a tantrum. I could not believe her. So I left the store and decided to come back later. The next day I tried to put some socks on her feet because it was cold outside and she screamed again but I got them on. She pulled them off as fast as she could. So to make a long story short she refuses to wear socks or shoes. I hope she changes her mind before Washinton!

The Princess Mobile

2008-08-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is her new favorite toy. I found it at the store and just had to buy it. It has all the Disney Princesses on it and it makes all sorts of noises. She loves to sit in it and press the buttons and scoot backwards, she doesnt quite have the forwards part down yet.

She loves to pose

She's trying to honk the horn

These are her bug eye glasses. She loves glasses she has already broken her grandmas and has been close to breaking grandpas so we found these in an old drawer of my parents. They are missing a lense but she doesnt care she still wears them!

San Diego!

2008-08-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

We went to a family reunion in San Diego last weekend. It was for my dads side of the family. It was fun because I havent seen alot of my cousins in a long time. Everyone loved Maelyn. She didnt really like the beach but she loved the food and swimming pool.

2008-08-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just having fun!

2008-07-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

She love to play with toys and by herself now which is nice, she is my little explorer since she has started crawling if she is curious she just goes right to it and checks it out.

She loves to stand and walk along things everywhere.

She loves to pose for pictures

The toilet is just the right size for her to stand up, I have to make sure the lid is down

She likes to beat it like a drum!

Time Flies

2008-07-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that our little princess is going to be 8 months in a few days. She is growing up so fast. Her new favorite things to do are try and stick her hand in the fireplace, plugs in the wall or play with the door stopper on the ground. She has started sleeping alot better so that has been nice for me as well as Victor.

2008-07-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Second Year Anniversary!

2008-06-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Victor and I went to the Sacramento Temple as part of our celebration of our two year anniversary. We also did a lot of shopping which was fun for me! I am married to one of the most amazing men in the world, I feel very blessed!

She's Crawling!!!

2008-06-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

My days of sitting her down on a blanket while I go and do something are gone. She has started crawling and follows me everywhere. So I dont get very much done anymore because I have to watch what she is putting in her mouth. Another new thing is the stands up in her crib too to cry and wait for us to come and get her.

2008-06-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

She is trying to show off her two new teeth!

She learned how to pull herself up.

She is Crawling!!!

Learning new things!

2008-06-13T11:09:00.001-07:00

Maelyn seems to learn something new everyday. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn. She can sit up forever now and loves to play with toys on a blanket. If she reaches too far, then she will fall over and roll as far away from the blanket as possible. She is over 6 months now and does not like baby food. She loves rice cereal, and that is about it. Any vegetable I have tried she hates. She will smile because I am smiling at her but then she spits it out. Also a couple of weeks ago she got her first tooth! She is very proud of that tooth and likes her mouth open so people can see. Another one of her new favorite things is to sit in front of the mirror at my parents house and play.

2008-06-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Family Fun

2008-05-19T08:42:00.001-07:00

Well today Tyler and Debbie are going back home to Washington. It was really fun to have both of them here. Maelyn will definetly miss them, as well as me. We enjoyed going shopping and swimming and just sitting and talking like we used as sisters before we had kids....but we love our kids!

2008-05-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

This is Tyler and Maelyn right before church I thought they looked so cute I just had to take a picture.

Swimming in the sun!!

2008-05-19T08:25:00.001-07:00

She had so much fun swimming in our pool.

This is Maelyn and Tyler before they went swimming.

Cousins

2008-05-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Maelyn have been playing together for the past couple weeks. They have been having lots of fun. Tyler thinks she is like a doll and so he can do whatever he wants to her but she cries and he doesnt like that. He is very good at putting her pacifier in her mouth. Before Debbie and Tyler came to visit she was quiet and mellow which was nice but now she is loud and wild because Tyler is.....she never knew she could be loud and wild before he came along.

2008-05-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Tyler loves giving Maelyn hugs! He even tries to pick her up and hold her.

He decided he could share his trucks with her.

Tyler wants on the chair so he can be in the picture too.

Maelyn isnt too sure she likes him so close!

Wedding Reception

2008-05-06T07:10:00.001-07:00

Wow she has got quite a grip on Richards finger. She did not want to let go, she enjoyed him holding her. This is at Katie Ludlows wedding reception out in the country where we got eaten alive by pesty little bugs.

2008-05-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

This is me and Kelly Lundquist one of the bridesmaids and long time friends!

Exciting Times!!!!

2008-04-30T15:15:00.001-07:00

She is as happy as ever. She started rolling over a month ago but it was more like whenever she was in the mood to. But now, she rolls over like crazy everywhere I have to be careful and not leave her on the couch or on the bed. We are also excited my sister Debbie and her son Tyler are coming to visit us for a couple of weeks so I am excited to see how they play together and to spend time with my sister.

2008-04-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Pocatello

2008-04-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

My cousin Heidi and her adorable baby Emily

Me, DJ and Melissa, I went to see Melissa because she just got
back from a mission and it had been a long time. Victor was busy
translating for conference so he didnt even have time to miss me.

Me and Heidi

Salt Lake City

2008-04-27T19:52:00.001-07:00

Daddy and Maelyn waiting in the airport for her first airplane ride.

We arrived in Salt Lake City for General Conference and Success came to meet us and see his little friend Maelyn. He came to visit us a few weeks earlier and he was a huge help. I hated to see him leave. It was like I had my own personal nanny.

Maelyn's two favorite things!

2008-04-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Two things she absolutly loves is bath time with
daddy and sticking out her tongue!

Maelyn Arrived!!

2008-04-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Right after I ate Thanksgiving Dinner I was sitting on the couch and my water broke! I didnt quite know what was wrong with me. Anyways we went to the hospital and 9 hours later Maelyn Ekaeteh Ukorebi was born at 1:32 am, 8 lbs 10 oz, 20 1/2 in long. I was a little worn out it was hard work. After I was done delivering Victor said wow I don't think I can go through that again.... Get a load of him!

Moving to California

2007-10-26T19:28:00.001-07:00

We have been living in California since April and loving it here. Victor is getting his Masters Degree in Business. He is also working for an Engineering Company as a Project Analyst. I have been working as a Substitute teacher here with 4 different districts. It was kind of hard to find a job because we found out a little suprise right after we graduated. We are expecting! I was shocked....but am now excited! I only have three to four more weeks and then we will be parents.

Graduation

2007-10-26T19:23:00.001-07:00

We graduated from Brigham Young University Idaho in April 2007. Victor got a Bachelors degree in Business Administration with a minor in Communications and Information Systems. Katie got her Bachelors degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminal Justice and a minor in Marriage and Family Studies.

The Wedding

2007-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

We were married on June 24, 2006, in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity.

How it all started...

2007-10-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Well a little backround info for everyone. Victor and I met at BYU Idaho in the summer of 2005. We dated for over a year and then got married in the summer of 2006.