Hickmans

Sweet Valentine

2012-02-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

He was trying to get to me while I was taking the pictures. He loves seeing the pictures I take. Makes it harder to get pictures of him though. He loved his balloon. He gives me kisses, nice big juicy ones. I taught him to kiss himself in the mirror. He cracks himself up when he does it. He is cuddly and I love my little Valentine. I love my big Valentine too!

It is so funny to see his personality come out. He will duck down then pop up, playing peek a boo. He has tried to scare us by hiding around a corner then running out and shouting. He opens the garage door and loves to push buttons. He can understand so much of what we say now. Sometimes he chooses to listen, other times, not so much. He likes to squeeze inbetween things. Most of the time it is between our two bar stools. But today it was inbetween our two dressers. I didn't think he could fit there, but he does.

Since it has been so nice we have played outside a few times and he loves being outside. We finally had snow the other day, so I dressed him up and took him out. He loved it. He needed help walking in it, but had no problem eating it.

He loves to look at books and be read to. He laughs all the time, which cracks me up. He likes to have a bowl and spoon when he eats now and tries to do it himself. He walks to his bedroom when I say it's time for night night. And gets excited when his bottle and blanket come.
He moves things all over the house. Grabs things from the pantry, or drawer and takes it to another part of the house. I will find things days later in unexpected places.

The last couple of days he has been so good about playing by himself. Usually he takes my finger and drags me where he wants me...or pulls me down to pick him up cause he likes me to carry him some days. So days where he entertains himself is a welcome relief. I taught him to get down from the couch himself, so I made him a seat and turn on Baby Signing Time when I need to get something done and he doesn't want to play on his own. He likes his seat and he can get down when he is ready. It works.
Nothing like company coming into town to motivate me to clean like crazy. When I vacuum Carter roams around trying to be louder than the vacuum. So funny.
He also lets you know when he doesn't want to do something. He cries when he doesn't get his way, but hopefully he is getting better. He sure is fun. He is a good eater and I have been getting more daring with what I feed him. He found a candy cane the other day in the pantry and I gave him a piece. On Valentine's day he kept pulling me to where the Valentine's cookies were that my neighbors brought, letting me know he wanted another taste. Apparently he likes treats like his mom.
I gave him a quick hair cut today....not a good hair cut but I got it a little shorter in the front and around his ears. Not even and he wasn't even sitting still when I attempted to snip a few places. But it will do until we see my sister.
Tried out a bow and honestly, he would make a cute girl too. haha. I will save this picture for black mail some day. Jim thinks I am a mean mom. haha He was trying to take the bow off, but it looks like he is posing with it on. I love it!

Love this kid and can't believe it has almost been a year.

Watch out 2012!

2012-01-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

Is it first babies or just mine....he wants me to be with him 24-7. I wish he had someone to play with besides me, because just every once in a while I do need to get something done.
The other day I put him down for a nap and it took him a while to fall asleep. He was rolling around, then it started to get quiet and I thought he was finally asleep. But when I looked he was sitting up in the corner of the crib. I checked a few minutes later and he was still sitting there. I wondered if he had fallen asleep sitting up, a few seconds later his head dropped in between his legs, which does not seem like a comfortable sleeping position so I went in a laid him down. Crazy that he fell asleep sitting up.
He reminds me of Linus on Charley Brown because he now tries to tote his blanket around with him from room to room. He loves his blanket. He is either dragging his blanket or me around the house. He was doing it all on his own for a few days then he decided it was safer pulling me along with him. Normally he wears clothes, but he was trying to escape here.

He is drooling like crazy and it amazes me that his top teeth haven't come in yet.
He had his first sucker yesterday and oh course loved it. I think he gets excited that he can eat and do big boy things.
He has had a few crazy hair days. One when he woke up from his nap the other day. And one after he got done eating and then playing with his hair. Apparently he likes the spiky look. As you can see he needs a hair cut.

Now when I try to take pictures of him he starts high tailing it over to me, he likes seeing the pictures I have taken. So it is hard to take a picture cause he is too busy trying to see what I am taking a picture of. Then he laughs when I show him the pictures of himself, like he is so proud.
He loves the shower. We have taken him in with us a few times and now he is always banging on the door and wants to go inside.

He likes playing in his tent. Although he tries to stand up in it and it falls over. Not real sturdy.

He snuggles this teddy bear everyday. It's so cute. Now he is finding his eyes and nose. But he will just walk over and cuddle the bear.

He discovered that his finger could come out the other side of this box the other day. So he played inside for a few minutes.

And here is just a shot of my cute baby, just because!

He actually did okay at church today. I had to run after him a few times as he was making a break down the isle, but what kid hasn't done that. We sat next to this little 9 month old boy and Carter loves him. They just talk and Carter gets to play with his toys. It's great fun! Sometimes he isn't shy with people and I still can't figure out why sometimes he seems fearless and sometimes he is shy. I told the mother of the baby that he is normally shy and she couldn't believe it, cause he is such a little ham when she sees him.

He split open his chin yesterday when he fell. But he wouldn't keep the band-aid on, so he might have a scar to remember that fall. Super cool!

Walking is the new crawling!

2012-01-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

Who needs to crawl when they can walk? And if you can walk, you can play soccer....right! That is the natural order of things. This week Carter has decided he doesn't want to crawl anymore. He is doing great and getting better everyday. Sometimes he still wants to grab a finger to feel more secure or go faster, but most of the time he is walking around by himself and going up and down the stairs.

I know it's not safe for a baby to walk around while holding objects like pens, or spoons, etc....but at least a couple times a day Carter is walking around with with an unsafe object. And he likes playing on the stairs....another thing I am sure is not a good idea to encourage...but once again it happens. Sometimes, it's is whatever keeps them busy and happy that wins. Already have bad parenting skills.....what can I say!

One month to go!

2012-01-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

Today is Carter's 11 month birthday! Crazy how time flies! He is pretty much walking more and more on his own everyday. He can walk across the room to where he wants to go. He is trying to figure out how to stand on his own in the middle of the floor. He will come grab my finger and start walking with me where he wants to go. How can you resist going with him, it's so cute. Everyday he tries to walk more...so it won't be long before that is his mode of transportation.
Speaking of transportation, we switched his carseat facing forward and he likes it so much better. It is so nice to have him facing forward.

He loves his tunnel that he got for Christmas and has fun crawling through it.

He likes bowling in our basement and trying to play Foosball. He gets pretty excited when he knocks the pins down, as you can see from the video.

He loves bath time, swimming, chasing after balls, being near mom and dad, TV, and being on the move. Can't get him to sit still in church....anyone have any tricks out there?
He bounces when he hears music.
He can wave goodbye.
He likes chewing on things still, since his top teeth are breaking through. He likes spoons.
I think he loves his "snuggle, snuggle" (blanket) even more.
He still likes his soother, especially for a few minutes after his afternoon nap. But that is something that calms him down.
He says mama and dada and knows who they refer to.
He likes to play shy and snuggle his head in my shoulder when anyone pays attention to him.
I can't believe it has almost been a year....wow! He has been such a blessing and such a fun addition to our family. Even though Jim and I can't travel or go out like we used to, it is so worth it.

Video

2012-01-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

So I forgot to bring my video camera. I am pretty sure when we got it a few years ago, it was indeed meant to be used for videoing our future children, since Jim and I do nothing note worthy. Anyway, I forgot it, so I took a few video clips with my camera....not really sure they capture much but it was all I had.

Here is Carter playing with some toys! Boys need lots of balls to play with. He likes kicking them and throwing them.

He also loves to play the piano. Sometimes he even sings while he is playing, but of course not when I start to video it.

He liked playing duets with Grandma.

His walker/rider is a hit.

Having a great time at Christmas! Happy boy!

He gets to do things at Grandma's that he is not allowed other places. What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's!

Walking and disrobing!

2012-01-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

My sister sent me some adorable pictures from Christmas that she took on her camera.

Roxy and Carter looking for squirrels...or something outside. Carter loved hanging out with Roxy!

Then these are what Carter has been up to since we have been home. He is now starting to try to walk to things instead of crawling. Not just back and forth between Jim and I...now he thinks he can walk to his toys or places. A little nerve racking...Jim is better at letting him fall. That may be why when he walks to me he can walk further cause he goes slower. When he is walking to Jim he tries to go faster and can't balance as well so can't go as far. It may be because he trusts me to make sure he doesn't fall, but who knows. He is always pulling off his socks. And a few times in the past few days he has disrobed in his crib. One day he pulled his pants and socks off. One morning he had one arm out of his PJ's. Not sure what this is all about, but he keeps things interesting that is for sure.

He loves knocking over towers and putting objects inside each other. He was a daddy's boy this weekend and would follow Jim where ever he went. He loves playing with his dad.

Baby's first Christmas!

2012-01-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

We went to Canada for Carter's first Christmas! People were saying all he would want was the paper and boxes, but that is not true. He loved playing with his toys and didn't even try to get the paper or boxes.

Besides playing with his toys, he loved my brother's dog, Roxy. He was also pretty good around her. He got a big kick out of watching her run after her toys or do tricks. He also learned to crawl up and down stairs while at grandma and grandpas. He started trying to take a few steps on his own. Basically he is on the go all day long. He did have a cold for the first week we were there and that was miserable. He couldn't breathe and hated mom coming after him with a Kleenex or nose sucker. But a moms got to do what needs to be done, or what dad is too chicken to do. Thank heavens he is better.
He had so much fun playing with grandma, grandpa, and aunt Tami. He loves music and playing the piano.

He also loves cell phones, TV remotes, and i-pads/computers. But he really learning how to play and interact with his toys. Putting things inside each other, crawling through tunnels, playing with cars, or walking with his walker/rider.

It was fun to be able to spend time with my family. My brother and his family were there for Christmas eve. My niece Kionah was so good about looking out for Carter and Carter really liked her. He is funny about who he is comfortable with...still can't figure it out. I think Levi and Sophie weren't sure about Carter. Levi was worried that Carter would get his toys and Sophie wasn't sure where all the noise was coming from.

We had our tradition of cinnamon knots for breakfast and we had our big dinner the night before. I swear that turkey and ham was used for every meal for the next week. Thankfully they only get cooked a few times a year, cause I am over them for a while.
Before we left Utah there was another tub incident. Once again Carter was innocently playing in the bathroom. I left to wash a dish. Came back and couldn't see him, until I pulled back the curtains to find him standing there. Honestly. This kid is always on the move....not sure I signed up for a BOY. haha. He is pretty fun and a good boy, but going to keep me on my toes.

When we came home Carter spent an hour rediscovering his old toys, he went from one toy to the other. It was funny. He was so happy to be home but we had a great trip.
So more about our 10 month old. He loves his car seat facing forward and doesn't fight getting in anymore. he is now trying to get into draws and cupboards. He loves pulling his clothes out of his drawer. He is getting pretty fast racing along furniture or coffee tables. He eats whenever someone else is eating. He likes bananas and pretty much any food you put on his tray, he eats. He loves to walk with help, walker or hands, and has started taking steps on his own. Today he took 5-6 steps towards me on his own and was pretty proud of himself. He learned to turn around before going down the stairs and is pretty proficient at going up and down them, and knock on wood, hasn't fallen down them yet. Well, that is kind of not true....before our trip while I was packing the car and Carter was wanting to climb down the cement steps in the garage...he tried to hold on to a stroller and it fell and he fell down one step, getting a raspberry on his head and cheek. Poor baby.

Vegas baby!

2011-12-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

I thought this picture was hilarious! Carter kicking back watching a little TV.

We went to Vegas because Jim got some amazing NFR (National Finals Rodeo) tickets given to him. We debated what to do with Carter, take him or leave him, but I still can't do it. So we enlisted the help of our traveling buddies, Heather and Don, and we headed to Vegas. Carter sitting in the lap of luxury in his first class seat. He does really well on airplanes and no one even knows he is there. Of course it is nice to have an extra set of hands to help keep him occupied. Jim almost didn't get upgraded in the way back and I was a little nervous to be on my own. But thankfully, my prayers were answered and Jim was there to help. After a weekend of go go go, Carter was a little more tired and wound up, so I was lucky to have Jim there.

The next wonderful thing about the trip was the amazing hotel Jim booked. It is a new place and it seems to be "the place to be". Trendy, but so nice. The pictures from my phone do not do the room justice. But the shower and tub were sort of combined in the shower area. The tub was square but deep and Carter loved it. You could do a necked shower and tub dance for the person in the bedroom, sweet.

There was lots of room for Carter to wonder around and for the crib in the sitting room. As you can see, I used the couch as a bed the first night because we were above the Dance club and I was awake all night thumping to the techno beats. So we moved rooms the next night and I slept very well. We had to push the crib across the hotel when we moved. People were loving it and so was Carter cause we pushed him in it.

The room and bathroom had sliding doors, so it was really nice to be able to have a space for Carter.

Here is Carter going for his ride through the hotel.

He loved the fish tank in front of the Cheesecake Factory. That is a must, when we are in Vegas. Love it!

Then we walked through the Bellagio Hotel to see their Christmas display, which was amazing.

The rodeo was so fun and Carter loved spending time with His aunt and uncle. He did get a little mad when Jim and I ditched him at the restaurant as he realized we weren't coming back. But then he was fine. He started to get a little nervous the next day when Jim and I stood up from the table at the same time again....but we didn't leave that time. He is pretty smart though. We had a great time. Thanks to Heather and Don for coming with us on short notice. We miss going on trips with them.

Thankful

2011-11-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

November has flown by....probably because we were out of town for 2 weekends and had family in town for Thanksgiving. Carter keeps getting more and more daring....he has started trying to stand on his own. NO Hands....which is a little scary.

He loves playing in the bathroom, with his bath toys. I walked into my kitchen a few weeks ago while he was innocently playing with his toys.......

Walked back in 30 seconds later to find him in the bathtub. He must have slid on down cause there was no thump or complaining. Apparently one of his toys fell in and he went after it. Ummm, okay!

He misses going outside everyday. He is standing up on anything now...walls, couches, drawers, my pant legs, Jim's leg hairs (since he wears shorts). I don't worry about him standing as much anymore cause he can get himself safely down for the most part.

He is still cruising around on all fours when no one will be his walker. Always has to explore what is new, tasting it or figuring out what it is all about. Also trying to get the remotes, computers, or cell phones.

We went to Boise because my brother was blessing his baby. My sister has recently moved there too which is nice to have two siblings in the same place. Carter got a LOT of attention for the past week or so. My sister has 3 kids that were very fond of Carter and loved him every minute he would allow. Jessica and Jacob were such good helpers with Carter and Lucas was happy to have someone smaller to mug. Pretty funny. Lucas shared his cape with Carter. And Carter thinks he only needs to hold on with one hand, if that.

Here is Jacob and Carter, just planning what fun to have next. Carter loved watching the boys play football outside and learned to tackle and get tackled by his cousins.

My cute little man!

That night at the hotel he slept like a log, sure all the excitement and playing tuckered him out.

Here is Anson, my adorable nephew. What a cutie! So glad we got to meet him and hang out with my family.

JJ and Audie make some cute kids. Oakley would say "Albuquerque" when she was getting her picture taken. She is a little ham, and Jovie tries to keep her dad in line (good luck with that). So fun to be able to be there for Anson's special day. He was an angel for the blessing, just starring up at his dad.

Jovie came over and got out some of her toys for Carter. He loved the blocks.

Here are the cousins. They are some cute kids. It is amazing to me to see how grown up and mature they are getting. Love those faces!

5 minutes after getting home from Boise, as Jim and I were unloading the car, Carter fell on one of his toys as we has crawling with it and gave himself a black eye. Poor little guy! Hard to get a good picture of the shiner, but it was a bad one.

The party followed us from Boise to our house. My parents, sister, Tami, and my sister Angela and her 3 kids came and stayed with us for the week of Thanksgiving. Here are Jacob and Lucas with their snowman.

Jessica and Grandpa made a dragon. I should have got a picture when it was finished cause it was good.

There was a LOT of shopping done this week. Got most of my Christmas shopping done. There were also some Black Friday craziness. But we had it down to a science and did it pretty fast. My sisters and I saw Twilight, which was fun. Mostly it was shopping and more shopping. It was nice to have to extra hands to help with Carter, and dinner. I really wish my family lived closer....by closer I mean next door. They are amazing and I love having them around.

Aunt Tami gave Carter his first haircut. We knew he would freak out with clippers, so she used her scissors. It went okay, just tried to keep Carter distracted.

Grandpa bought Carter a giant teddy bear, which Carter loves.

Everyone is gone now, the house is quiet again, and it's just our little family. Yesterday Carter found a new walking toy, the step ladder. He pushed it around. He actually got better at his toy walker cause Jacob was a sport and helped him practice while he was here. He is feeling more confident and getting more daring, so I'm sure more bumps and bruises are in Carter's future.

We started putting up some of our Christmas decorations yesterday. Carter has to check out the new things and help rearrange them for me.

That's my baby! He laughs all the time and is so fun!

Look close and you can see his two bottom teeth. Those things are SHARP! He is still trying to bite everything, so more are probably on there way, but ouch, they hurt!

I am so Thankful for an amazing family. For a healthy, happy baby. For a hardworking, loving husband. For my home that is filled with the Gospel. For the knowledge I have been blessed with and for the freedoms and comforts I enjoy everyday! I truly have so much!

Walking

2011-11-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I worry that we are creating a spaz of a child. It's so funny to get Carter worked up though. When one of us is playing with the boy and the other one starts walking towards Carter he gets excited and starts crawling/ climbing/ booking it away, then looks to see if we are still after him. It is hilarious. He is such a character.
BabyCenter.com says that by this age kids can start showing emotion for another person, like empathy. Not sure Carter has empathy but his sense of humor might be a little off....I was holding Carter as Jim was coming in the garage door. Jim had his arms full or apples and started dropping them, accidentally, and Carter started laughing at him. He also started laughing when Jim tripped over one of his toys. Makes you wonder what he will be like when he is older. Hopefully not mean and laughing at others expense.
I have to watch him all the time cause he is crawling and trying to climb everything. He was on this box and got off going head first. Honestly...more gray hairs for me.

He loves to walk. He always wants our hands to hold and help him. I bought this walker for Christmas, but then I figured he might be walking by himself by then, so we gave it to him early. The first time he was running behind it. Then after falling and bonking his head a few times and having it land on top of him, he has slowed down. Well, we helped by tying a string around the back wheels so it can't go as fast and adding a little weight under it so it hopefully doesn't fall on him so easy.

He loves the bathtub and always tries to climb in it even when there is no water.
He loves to play with musical toys. Especially now that he can stand up and reach all sides. Of course, he is still learning the best ways to get down. I still put pillows all around him when I can....but it's hard to follow him around with pillows as he is walking from chair to chair as you see in the video. I pray they are all small bumps and bruises.

He is getting good at climbing the stairs. I hope he remembers how we are teaching him to go down them. I am not sure that we are going to be successful because he climbs on my pilates box or machine and gets off head first. But I have to say it is how he learns and he does get better. Here he is trying to get past the bars.

He is cutting a tooth, I can see it. Finally...but I only really see one...I was hoping they would all come together. More sleepless nights in my future, got to love it! My baby....he is funny!

8 months and moving!

2011-10-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Outside in the leaves....he is a little dazed in this pictures. Wondering what his mom is doing setting him down in the cold leaves.

These are pictures I took while I was waiting for the photographer to get there to take his Halloween pictures. Now you can see why he was not smiling in his costume....he was not in the picture mood. Tired, sore teeth, and cold weather = not happy baby. But he is still cute!

These are pictures I have been taking over the past week to show what my 8 month old is up to. He is crawling, in fact yesterday he decided it was time to crawl, crawl. Meaning, hands and knees. Just woke up and decided this is the day. Then today he was back to his stomach again until I said hands and knees and I swear he obeyed and got on his hands and knees. It's amazing what they understand. But he is under everything and standing up on everything. Just exploring his world.

He also loves to pull out all his books and look at them. He loves being read to and sits still for as many stories as you will read to him. I usually read to him before nap and bed time to wind him down.

He has discovered how to stand in his crib. So proud of himself! He has gotten better at understanding that he can't let go and I don't have to worry as much about him hurting himself.

He can actually pull this drawer open, which isn't easy.

He is doing a pull up here. Not sure if you can tell but he is pulling himself up to the bar. Working out already! Love it!

And under the table is a favorite spot to hang out. He gets lots of bumps from crawling under the chairs.

This is when you hope the chairs are sturdy and not easy to tip over.

Halloween! I borrowed this princess/medieval costume from my friend Natalie and it was a hit. It was quite the costume and people loved it.

Jim wasn't quite so lucky.... we threw his costume together a few hours before so it was not as authentic. But he was a good sport and truly is my knight in shining armor. (insert gag)

Carter has rocked his dragon costume 4 or 5 times and is also a great sport. He gets it on and goes with the flow. I'm not sure what he thinks about Halloween....people in funny or scary costumes. What is going on?

It all came together for the Hickman Halloween Carnival. Poor Carter, his mean mom won't even collect candy for him. He doesn't get to eat that stuff yet and Jim and I certainly don't need it.

So I am happy to report that I think the sleeping and eating problems from the last few weeks are over. At least he has been better the past few days and it is so nice to sleep through the night again and not have a fight at nap times. I just need to go with the flow at these times, cause they have always worked themselves out, thankfully. Just give him what he needs, even if that means getting up a few times a night with my baby.

Here is a video of the piggy face....he did it a month ago for a few days all the time, then stopped. Then started it back up the past few days. Not sure what it is all about, but it cracks me up.

Here is Carter signing "more". What a smart boy!

2011-10-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Carter wasn't in the picture mood yesterday....but the show must go on. He didn't have a long enough nap and his teeth are bugging him, that is why he is sucking on his lip. But his Halloween pictures are still cute, just not smiley like he normally is. What can you do?

Click here to view these pictures larger

Remember when.....

2011-10-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Remember when my baby would lay on the floor and drink his own bottles.....
remember when my baby would lay in the bath to get washed......
remember when he would lay down in his bed and go right to sleep without a fuss....
I remember those days...it was a few weeks ago and it was heaven. Not sure what this new phase is but it is killing me.
You have to let him sit up and you have to hold his bottle so he can drink it....and he isn't finishing any of his bottles.
He wants to only sit up in the bathtub which makes it hard to wash his hair.
Jim is on his 5th story before putting him to bed cause he starts to fuss when you go to lay him down, but he will sit quietly for stories. I'm glad he likes to read but there has to be a line.
This 8 month old stuff is crap.
He is now able to stuff bread and other finger foods in his own mouth after I have been practicing with him this week. We saw our neighbors kid on Sunday feeding himself and he is a few weeks younger than Carter. So I pushed it this week and am happy to say he can feed himself. We did go through a few days where we were fighting for the spoon when I tried to feed him, but luckily I won that fight and he keeps his hands out of the way for the most part.
He can crawl on all four but still chooses to army crawl mostly to get around.
He is fun, but also more challenging. But I guess that is part of parenthood. Give me strength. I know I am too old to have started this, but I had no choice.

Fall is Here!

2011-10-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

I had to show the cute shirt Carter was wearing. It says hug magnet and he certainly is. So cute!

The weather is cooling down, but thankfully it was perfect last week and we still went on walks and hung out outside on the grass. Grass doesn't bother Carter at all. He will crawl, sit, and even lie in it.

Love his smile. Although this last week he isn't smiling as much cause he is sucking his lip, so I think his teeth are bugging him more....honestly teeth, what a pain.

My sister and her family came to stay with us last weekend. Her kids were so good with Carter. They wanted to love him and he wanted to love them from a far. He loves it when they play soccer in front of him, he laughed and laughed. It's funny how a new toy is fun for kids at any age.

We dressed Carter up in his Halloween costume to show his cousins. Lucas is roaring and Jessica and Jacob are holding the wiggly dragon. We had a lot of fun. We played school and we wished it was nicer so we could have played soccer outside but the boys played it inside. We went to Jim's parents house and went swimming. Carter loved it. He loves the water and had fun playing with everyone in there. There were races and kids getting thrown in by Uncle Jim. Good times. We were glad Jim got off work earlier from work so he could be there, cause the kids love him.

I can't believe how grown up these kids are getting. Jessica is so good and loves to read. Jacob has really matured and I was proud of the young man he is becoming. Lucas is so fun and was fascinated with Carter. They are such good kids and I'm glad they moved closer so we can see them more often. The are BIG BYU fans so I think there was some smack talk from the Aggie fan and the BYU family of fans.

Lucas ..... think he is winking at the camera. Not sure!

We went to an Aggie football game Saturday and we had to dress for the cooler weather. Here is Carter rocking his cool look. He keeps me toasty warm sitting on my lap and he loves looking around at the people around us. He is a good baby, he sat for the whole game...well we left at the 4th quarter cause it was bed time and the Aggies were killing it.

He has discovered the fun of making noise, throwing things, banging things, and the sound of the door stops. He always looks in our closet to see if we are in there. He also loves crawling for the bathroom, he gets a kick out of it when we are in the bathroom. Funny kid.

He has been doing this for weeks and has faint bruises all across his forehead to show for it. He pulls down the bumper pad and peeks out when he wants to get out of his crib. What a boy!

We put up a few Halloween decorations and Carter seems to like them. We hope the nice fall weather stays for at least a month longer. I am not ready to be shut up in the house. And already everyone's kids are getting sick. Not ready for winter!

Just the last few days he has started clapping by himself and signing more to me when he is eating. The other day we were chatting with some neighbors and I put Carter down on the grass so he could crawl around. He started crawling towards me then he saw Mason with a cookie in his hand and changed direction towards him. That is not like him to go towards anyone else, so he must have really wanted that cookie and thought maybe he could get someone else to share with him what his parents won't. Sorry little guy, soon you will get more food, but not yet.

People Always Ask

2011-10-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's a commonly asked question, "Who does Carter look like?" So here is a picture of Jim and me at around 6 1/2 months old. And then there is a picture of Carter at the same age. I will leave it up to you to decide.

Here Comes Trouble!

2011-10-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Army crawl or not...this kid is getting around. I put long pants on instead of shorts and off he went on the hard floor. Trouble is coming! He loves the top of his toy, that is what motivated him to go the distance.

He also loves to stand and he is getting better about holding on.

September fun!

2011-10-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

For my birthday Carter and I flew to Vegas to meet up with Jim who was at a Conference. We luckily got upgraded to first class, so Carter was spoiled for his first flight. We did not get excited looks when we sat in our seats, and I don't blame people. It is not fun to be sitting next to a crying baby on a flight. But thankfully Carter was an angel. He didn't fuss at all and did amazingly well all flight. In part thanks to Heather, Jim's sister who was sitting next to us and helped distract Carter. She was awesome, and Carter loved playing with his Aunt Heather. Vegas was a great time as always. Carter traveled well and did well at the hotel. He was overwhelmed by all the lights in Vegas. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant inside a casino and Carter was so noisy talking and probably trying to hear himself over the Vegas noise. As we left the restaurant some lady scoffed at us having a baby in a casino. "why don't they get a babysitter?" It's not like it was late or that we were playing the slots, we had to walk close to the casino to get to a restaurant. Anyway....we did get a babysitter later that night. My wonderful cousin Krystal watched Carter while we went to a Garth Brooks concert. He was amazing! No back up, it was him and his guitar and it was one of the best concerts we have every been to. Such a great birthday!

We drove back with Jim, Don, and Heather. Carter has started making this funny face and breathing funny too. He scrunches up his nose and starts blowing air out his nose. We call it his piggy face. He looks a little evil and thinks it is funny to do. We videoed it as well, but not sure I will figure out how to post it from my phone. It cracks me up.

Jim left for a 4-wheeler trip, conveniently the weekend my parents were coming, haha. I love having extra hands in my house to help entertain Carter, babysit, and help with meals. I see some benefit of being a sister wife...jk. Carter had a great time with Grandma and grandpa. I think he was missing his dad though cause he had a rough couple of days while Jim was gone. And he was so happy to see Jim when he got home yesterday. Carter decided not to nap Saturday and instead joined us in watching conference. He actually sat for most of the session on our laps and just watched conference. When I took the picture he looked over, but it was amazing that he would sit and watch with us. He loves the music. For the other sessions we didn't get as much out of conference because we were playing with my cute baby. Grandpa would hide behind the couch and play peek-a-boo with Carter and he loved it. Grandma would sing to him at night. We will miss our company, it nice to have my parents visit.

His shirt says Here Comes Trouble. And before long this will be true. He is really starting to figure out how to get around and crawl. He had 2 or 3 bumps on his head this weekend to prove it. Honestly, I need to bubble wrap my entire house. I really do wonder how much Jim's absence affected him, cause for a couple days he cried when I tried to put him down for a nap and he was grouchier. Maybe he was growing, or his teeth were bugging him, or he wasn't feeling well....who knows, but it was when Jim was gone. And he is back to my regular perfect baby today, thankfully, but I think he missed his daddy. It is a really fun age and he is curious about everything. We look forward to next weekend when my sister and her 3 kids are coming to visit. Carter loves to watch other kids play around him so he will be in Heaven.

7 months

2011-09-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

The weekly changes are amazing. Carter is starting to explore his surroundings. Just in the last couple of days really getting up on his hands and knees to try to crawl. He is also quite the talker sometimes. What cracks me up is how his whole jaw moves.

He has already had a few bumps and bruises. This one across his nose was from taking a nose dive when he was sitting in the grocery cart. I thought it hit his cheek but for the rest of the day there was a nice red line on his nose. Poor baby.

He also doesn't like to sit still for diaper changes anymore. So I give him something and have started changing him on the floor. He was pulling himself to look over the edge of the changing table....and he lunged for the fan while on a chair the other day. So, the floor it is!

He is also enjoying pulling out toys from his toy basket. The question is will I be able to teach him to put them back in?

Here we are going for our daily walk. He loves grabbing my sunglasses and his, I guess.

It's hard work crawling around....he is resting!

I went on a scrapbooking retreat last weekend and Jim watched Carter. He did awesome and Jim is an amazing dad. Carter wouldn't go to sleep the Monday after I got back, not sure if he had anxiety about me not being there when he woke up or what. Thankfully he is back to his regular schedule. It was hard for me to leave but it was a lot of fun. The girls are a blast, the food is fabulous, and I got caught up on Carter's scrapbook. This weekend we are taking Carter to Vegas. His first plane ride. Hope it goes well.

Exploring

2011-09-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

So first off, I just want to say that I am so grateful that Carter is healthy. My niece is sick in the hospital and it is heart breaking. I don't do well with children being sick, my sensitive side can't take it. My brother and sister in law have been amazing. Their strength and faith inspire me, but I know it is not easy. So my heart and prayers go out to them and I am thankful for Heavenly Father and know he is looking out for Sophie and her family.

Hard to want to update about Carter when that is on my mind, but I need to stay on top of it. He is becoming quite the mover and shaker. On Labor day he was sitting playing with a toy, I think he tried to climb on it. Next thing I see his whole body somersaulting in the air and he lands on his head. He had a big red bruise there for a bit. But I guess that is a glimpse of things to come. He is rolling or army crawling places, not far yet, but I'm sure it won't be long. Cause he has started getting up on his hands and knees the past few days. He has also become quite the little talker. He was all sort of noisy yesterday at church. His whole mouth moves and it looks so cute. We tried to video tape it, but then he clammed up of course.

Here is his bruise, sure he will have more where that came from.

Here he is exploring under his crib.

He loves to chew on his rubber ducky in the bathtub. It looks like he is protecting it here, so it doesn't float away.

He has started splashing more and really enjoys his bath time. The other day he was sitting up and he was splashing, then he would laugh when I splashed or splashed with the duck. He thought it was hilarious!

He is discovering details. Here he is playing with the handle of the coffee table.

He was on all fours, but by the time I got the camera he was sitting back a little. But he is going to be crawling soon. WOW! He always wants to stand. He reaches for my hands, telling me he is ready to stand up. Jim even tried to walk with him. He loves looking at himself in the mirror. He holds on the towel ring in the bathroom when I put him in front of the mirror. He loves it!

Hopefully he survives all the bumps and bruises that are in his future. Hey, I am just hoping he survives the weekend. I am going scrap booking and his dad is watching him. Don't get me wrong, Jim is amazing with him. So cute and fun....but he is a guy. He has already suggested taking him on a motorcycle day ride or just following the ride from an all day bus ride. Or golfing 18 holes. I know Jim needs to learn things for himself, I just don't want Carter to be tortured in the process. I'm sure Carter will love it.....it's just me that will be nervous.

Today we had a park play date. My friend Lindsey has a little boy a few days younger than Carter. It was the first time getting them together. It's so amazing to see that kids develop similarly and it's nice to have another new mom to talk to about everything. At our 6 month appointment the doctors measured Carter and I didn't think it was correct. Graham measured bigger than Carter, and so I compared them today and Carter is clearly bigger. Glad to know it wasn't me that was off. Anyway, of course the boys weren't exactly sure what to think of each other...they did try to grab each others toys. And Graham did try to grab Carter, which Carter didn't like. It's so funny to watch. Glad after months of talking about it we finally had our play date. Can't wait for more in the future. Graham was so cute and smiley...I'm not sure Carter liked sharing my attention. He was looking at me like...hey lady...why are you playing with that kid?

My little boy is getting so big. It is interesting how he is okay with some people and then not okay with others. Jim and I went to the Parade of Homes this weekend. One of his friends was holding Carter while Jim and I walked around the house and Carter was fine. But other times he is fussy when others hold him. Who knows. He went to his first USU football game. He wasn't a fan of the noise for the first few minutes, but then he sat good for the rest of the game. He did enjoy the small nibbles of popcorn I gave him.

He also loves his Baby Einstein video. The first time I only watched it for a few minutes and turned it off cause I thought it was random, but Carter likes it. So once a week I put it on, and he laughs and is glued to the TV. I love my cute baby!

Play time

2011-08-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

I seriously wish teeth would come in.....it would make me feel better. For a month Carter has been chewing viciously on anything he can. He give him his soother for often, he cries/ makes grouchy sounds more often, they HAVE to be coming soon. It is not nice if they aren't cause they are obviously bugging him. So to entertain him I tried to have him play in this floaty device... which quickly became his chewing toy and a peek -a-boo game for me to play with him. It kept his attention for a while, so I was all for it.

This is me playing peek-a-boo with him.He laughs at me all the time....I am silly. The fool you make of yourself for your baby....sad.

Maybe he is using his imagination and pretending it is his spaceship. That is what it reminded me of.

He is sitting so well and seems to be discovering more things around him. He was playing with a draw handle the other day, and I thought to myself that it won't be long before he is getting into everything he can. He always tries to get our cell phones. I got one of my old ones for him to chew on and play with. He loves knocking over some blocks I have.
He looks at our food and pretty much wants whatever he sees that we have. (not that he gets it, but it will be nice to feed him people food.) I tried feeding him Avocados and peas the last few days..... he wasn't crazy about them so I mixed in a few pears and tricked him into eating them. I figure you do what you have to do, right!

He loves being outside...but it has been in the 90's for the past few weeks and we have to wait for shade to venture out. Also, we were trapped for a few days in the house because the wasps were soooooo bad. They love the heat. Jim used 3 cans of wasp spray and he still needs more.

Surprisingly he doesn't mind touching the grass. No big deal.

These are for my sister Tami. I bought this Superman onesie with her in mind. So all these shots are for her. PS. he could really use a hair cut....it's getting alittle out of control.

Have I mentioned that I love this kids face, smile, laugh, belly, toes, everything. He is so much fun. I was floating him on his back in the tub and he loved it. He was relaxed and just loved feeling the water moving around him. Might need to look into a mommy and me swim class soon.

6 months

2011-08-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby boy is 6 months old. Half a year....crazy! He is so much fun. I wish his teeth would come in already....seems like they have been bugging him for weeks and weeks. He is drooling and gnawing anything he can get his hands on. Which is anything he can see. He is starting to scoot towards things he wants, or roll to get places. He has a lot more to say, and it funny to listen to him babble.

We went to the doctor today for his 6 month appointment, which is not fun. He cried when he got his shots but I was ready with a bottle to ease the pain. He is fine so far but last time it didn't hit till the evening, so I'm not sure the worst is over yet. He is about average for everything but his head, which is in the 75%. He weighs 17 pounds, close to 18. He is 26 1/2 inches long...which I am not sure is accurate. I thought he'd be longer, but what do I know.

I found this new toy hidden in my basement and thought it would be the perfect new toy. I think this was a black Friday find from a few years ago, score. He does like to play the music and watch mom rock out to

the ABC song.

What he is like at 6 months - He sleeps so good. His naps are like clock work and he sleeps all night. He wakes up happy and smiling. We have taken him swimming a few times and he loves the water. He gets excited when he sees butterflies flying around. He likes going for walks. He likes standing up holding on to our hands. He is always pulling my hair....drives me nuts, but what do you do. He eats his vegetables and fruits really well. He didn't like mashed bananas or avocados. I think it was the texture.

We decided to try to take some cute 6 months shots at Jim's parents last Saturday. We enlisted Jim's sister, Suzanne cause she is good at stuff like that. (Thanks, Suzanne) No fancy camera, just my adorable baby and 3 adults trying to get him to smile for 45 minutes, while trying to capture a few cute shots. So I narrowed it down to these. I had to laugh on the way there cause it was Jim that was grabbing all the picture props. I'm sure he never thought the day would come when he was worried about such things. But the props were all him. What a great dad!

The arm props are mine. haha.

Suzanne's creative help trying to get him to pose on the slide. He wants the camera.

Jim's dad has an old car collection and we thought it would be fun to get Carter driving in the Jeffrey.

Suzanne brought her dog in case we needed smile help for Carter. These are a few darling shots of Carter and the dog.

Kisses! Yum, yum!

More kisses. These ones Carter is very used to, since he gets them all day long. Man I love that kid!

How could you not love that face!

I finally bought him his own sunglasses. He doesn't try to pull them off. He likes to have his hat and sunglasses when we go outside. They are a touch big, but so cute. He is one cool dude!

August Fun!

2011-08-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

It was my anniversary on August 3rd. These are the beautiful flowers I got from Jim. This anniversary was flowers and fruit. I didn't get him fruit...do people get that? I got him a much needed massage instead. Since having Carter I am not as laid back as I once was....more emotional and having no life of my own can be a hard adjustment....so thank you to my wonderful husband for putting up with me.

Here are my handsome boys getting ready to go to Bear Lake. We joined some of Jim's sisters and their families for the afternoon. It was a zoo because it was Raspberry Days, but we had a good time for a few hours and enjoyed a Raspberry shake to celebrate. Carter doesn't own a swim suit or swim diapers...so we improvised. He loved being in the water.

Ok, he also loved being naked out of the water.

Here are all the cousins...for the life of us we could not get everyone looking the same direction at the same time.

He is getting better at sitting up, although sometimes he doesn't even try. It is easy to eat things while lying on his back. His head was hitting the top of these poles.

His first experience sitting in a high chair at a restaurant. We went to apply for his passport and went for lunch after. He did great in the high chair...although things are starting to get dropped on the floor.

He actually likes wearing sunglasses. These are mine, I haven't had a chance to find any for him yet.

Last night we went to the Logan fair. We saw all the 4H animals. Carter was laughing at the pigs, and enjoyed seeing the goats, cows, and roosters. I had to make Jim buy us tokens to go on the Merry-go-round. He is a stick in the mud about some things. We will have to break him down. Carter did good on it till the end. Not sure he knew what was going on. I will try to post the video that Jim took...but it might take a bit to figure it out.

Carter is laughing more and squealing in high pitched tones. When he gets a little older that will have to stop. He also does a fake cough and then laughs about it. Like he is starving for attention....yeah right. I really expect to see teeth soon. He is so good and so fun. I really am blessed to have two incredible men in my life.

Soccer practice

2011-08-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

(finally got the video to load, but it is not the best quality) Carter was having a great time playing with the soccer ball. I sound like a spaz on the video, but maybe that is how I always sound. He has the game figured out already, no hands, just kicking. Soccer has always been Jim's sport, so we are starting Carter young. It was pretty funny.
Golf is also a big sport for Jim, so a few weeks ago on Saturday we took Carter to the golf course and played a few holes. It was probably more fun for me, just good to outside and enjoying summer.
I really have to say that I am so blessed with how good and easy going Carter is. It is probably because I cater to his schedule, and don't give him a chance to get too tired, but it works cause he is a happy guy. He also usually goes right to sleep when I put him in his crib. He has started rolling everywhere in his crib and there was a day he was rolling on to his stomach in there and getting so mad. Sometimes he is legitimately stuck in a corner, but sometimes he was just mad that he was on his stomach. Apparently he forgot he knows how to roll over. This morning he had his butt in the air, knees under him partly on his side. Didn't look that comfortable but he was fine sleeping like that.
He is so great about chilling. I went to lunch with some friends and he sat there and didn't make a peep. I will enjoy this stage while it lasts. Soon I'm sure he will want to be everywhere. He is starting to grab for things on the table and eye food like he wants it. I can't wait to be able to start feeding him food, I feel guilty eating in front of him sometimes. We got him a high chair and we are teaching him to feed himself. It's funny to me that he will do it himself until I try to help then he will get lazy and expect me to do it for him. I didn't make him feed himself cereal...not there yet, but I let him eat the spoon after. It may look like he is feeding himself cause he has it all over his face, but that is not the case.

I got this as a baby shower gift and I am going to figure out how to use it so I can start making my own baby food. I will let you know how it goes.

Here it looks like he is reading the music and playing a song on his song book. He does love music.

Rocking and Rolling

2011-08-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

So Carter is starting to be a mover and a shaker. He was in the middle of the green blanket on his back as I went to do something in the kitchen....I heard a noise and looked to see him on the hardwood floor.That is either a leaping roll or more than one roll. He was happy just checking out the new surface. At night he has been scooting up in his crib and will end up with his head jammed into the top corner on the bumper pad with his legs still trying to push him forward. Not comfy!

He ate rice cereal for his first time on Sunday. He had no problem understanding what to do and was a natural. He was definitely ready. I mixed it with his formula and it was so runny, but he did great. Day 2 of cereal I didn't mix in formula and made it not so runny. He started off taking bitefuls...then realized it tasted horrible and started making a face. I will have to mix in something to make it taste better. But he is happy to be starting to eat with a spoon. I think he is starting to teeth as well. Fun times ahead.

He was grabbing for my sister in laws Popsicle the other day, like he knew what it was and wanted some. Not quite yet little buddy! Although his cousin Caden was happy to share a bite of brownie with Carter. Heighten awareness will need to take place when Caden is hovering around Carter. Caden likes to get right up close to Carter...not sure Carter is sure about that. But Carter is lucky to have lots of fun cousins around and will love playing with them when he gets a bit bigger.

Love this face! MORE!

He is not quit sure why pictures are being snapped...he is just trying to eat some breakfast.

Such a cute and messy mug!

I think he is starting to think about how to move forward. I'm sure he will be crawling soon....am I ready for that?

Sitting in his bumbo car.

Happy boy!

This is his face as I was singing to him. He loves when I sing to him and gets a big smile.

Yup....pretty sure he is so stinkin cute!

Here I am having him practice sitting....he likes to stand up more...but he is getting better at sitting. Still I think Jim and I are more interested in him learning how to do it than he is yet.

5 Months old

2011-07-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

Some more firsts since we have been back from Canada.
He had his 1st cold. It wasn't too bad, but it did affect his eating and sleeping schedule for a few days.
He weighs 16 lbs. He is getting so big!
......man, I need to write this blog when I think about it cause now I forgot the other "firsts" I was going to talk about. Maybe it will come back to me.
I remembered....he had his 1st babysitter. Last week Nicole, our niece came and watched him and Jim and I went to a movie. Of course I was a little nervous and Jim makes fun of me cause I texted Nicole a few times.Carter did pretty good till she tried to put him to bed. I think it was just because he was so tired, because he has had other people besides Jim and I put him to bed, but he freaked out a little. Nicole handled it and finally got him to sleep, hooray! It is nice to have family you can trust take good care of your baby. It was a big step for me!
Anyway, he has a new toy. At first he wasn't sure about his exersaucer...but he is liking it more and more. I need more to help keep him entertained. I feel like the same old floor time is not cutting it. He is starting to roll over from his back to his tummy. And he is better about staying and playing on his tummy. I have really worked with him the past few weeks to get him better at this. Apparently it is a big deal in how soon they will crawl and walk and all that good stuff. I can see he is starting to want to be more mobile and it is a little disconcerting. People are always saying how you want them to stay small and not crawl too soon, I can kind of see what they are saying. He is so good, but I am worried the little boy is about to come out in him. The mover and trouble maker. It will be interesting.

He is starting to laugh a lot more and get jokes. Last night Jim and I were in the back yard with him and Jim would chase me and I would run away, then I would turn and chase Carter. He was laughing a ton at this game. It is fun to see more personality....but I still want him to be my good baby. I have been spoiled.

This week he has started sleeping from 8 or 8:30pm to 7 am. It has been heavenly. The first few nights I still woke up but the last few I have slept and it has been fabulous!

He doesn't get swaddled anymore at night. He is free at last to sprawl out. He always wakes up happy and smiley and it is so fun to go get him once he wakes up. He usually just chats to himself for a few minutes.

He grabs his feet all the time and even eats his toes. His PJ's were wet in the toe when I got him up the other morning, and I had to laugh. A little appetizer before breakfast.

He likes to read books and sits still for a few in a row. When we go for walks he looks at the directions on the side of the stroller, I think he will be a good reader.

I bought a sign language DVD and we will see how that goes. I just watched a few minutes of it today.

This was when we were in Canada. He was holding on to his car seat during the drive. I think Grandma's driving was making him nervous. JK

Baby's firsts

2011-07-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

Carter had his first road trip. He travelled really well and I am always amazed how good he is. I don't think I slept well before the trip cause I was nervous how he would do in new places and sleeping in hotels and in his pack -n- play. I was so relieved that he adapted and went with the flow. We headed to Boise first. My brother and his darling family live there. We only got to spend a day with them and we met up with my parents there too. It was such a quick trip that I forgot to get any photos. But it was fun to see my brother JJ, Audie and their two girls. Jovie is such a performer and Oakley is such a ham.
From there Jim came back to Logan and Carter and I went to Canada with my parents. They have a ranch and a house in the city so we had lots of traveling between the two places.
Carter turned 4 months old while we were up there. He is such a blessing and is happy and smily 95% of the time. He still doesn't like getting burped (but knock on wood, since we have been home he hasn't made a peep when getting burped)
He is getting so big. Holding himself up well and sitting up with help.
He now grabs and holds onto his toes.
He rolls from side to side and is pretty close to rolling from his back to his stomach.
He loves looking at himself in the mirror.
He blows spit bubbles.
He started sleeping through the night. We put him to bed at around 8 and he sleeps till 5 or 6am. Then I feed him and he goes back to bed till 7 or 8am. It is fabulous. Now if I could only sleep through the night it would be great.
We got him a bumbo car and he sits up so well in it.
My sister spent lots of time teaching Carter to stick his tongue and blow air through it, not sure what to call that. I'm sure we will regret it one day. But he loves watching us do it and he tries it himself. So cute. I got it on video but that might have to be another post cause I still have to figure out how to rotate the video.
Some days he is really chatty, others he is just taking it all in.
It's nice to have in-house baby sitters. I went for a few runs, went shopping with my mom and sister, got a massage with my sister (heavenly) and when Jim came we went to a movie and golfing. And Carter's routine isn't affected. He is eating every 4 hours and some people think I am over feeding him cause he spits up but I'm not. He just spits up no matter what. Some days are better than others, and some days we use a lot of burp clothes.
He still chews everything and usually is eating his hands or fingers. But he isn't picky about what goes in his mouth. Here he is before our trip trying to eat his bear. Anytime a camera comes out he gets these surprised looks on his face.

Here he is sitting up in this giant bear chair at Grandma's in Calgary.

Amazing we actually captured a smile. It's because he was looking at my sister and not at the camera.

He is pulling this ring down so he can get the fish in his mouth.

His first ride in the old blue truck. It won't be long before grandpa is letting him drive it in the ditch.

In the fields with the horse and cows.

Silly face!

His first time riding an ATV. He looks like he is ready to take the wheel.

Bubble blowing/ drool! He needed to be covered up cause it is always so windy in southern Alberta.

First trip to Waterton Falls. Grandma wanted to give him ice cream, but I said no. Maybe once he can keep down a bottle we will think about ice cream. My sister cut my hair. I was hoping it would be harder for Carter to pull.....but nope he can still get a good hold and he has a strong grip.

Grandma and Aunt Tami protecting Carter from the mist coming off the falls.

We are trying to train him to feed himself. He does okay!

The farm shirt! Good old John Deere. Next time he will be ready to help Grandpa with all the farm work. He loves being outside.

Grandpa saddling Ginger to give Carter a ride.

First Horsey ride! He didn't enjoy it cause he was too tired and needed to go to bed.

Cute naked baby!

Sitting up in his bumbo car. He is a lookie lou like his dad, always wants to see what is going on around him.

He loved Aunt Tami's butterfly shirt. She was worried he was going to throw up on it. He spit up right down my Aunt Diana's shirt the first time he met her. It was priceless. Grandma was handing him to Aunt Diana and was in the middle of saying, "Don't spit up!" Classic!

Jim came to fetch me after 2 weeks. My brother Michael's family was visiting one evening so Kionah convinced Jim to play on the hay bales with her. He is a good sport.

Here is Kionah sliding down the hay.

Aunt Tami gave the kids rides on the ATV. Here is Levi in his cape that Tami and I gave him for Christmas. He wears it everyday. Glad he likes it.

Kionah turns 8 next month, she is such a good girl. She kept offering her polar bear to Carter to play with, so sweet.

Here are Sophie and Carter chilling on the floor together. Sophie just turned 2.

Here is Carter's Great Grandma at the Jacobs family reunion. She is still as sharp as ever! She likes Carter cause he is such a good boy!

My dad wears these caps and I wanted a picture of Carter wearing his too, even though it was a little on the small side. Carter has his grandpa's head shape.

First 4th of July!

Carter celebrated his first 1st of July (Canada day) and first 4th of July. Thankfully he slept through all the neighborhood fireworks. To be honest...I don't really get the buy it yourself fireworks. I think they make me more nervous than entertained.

Jim's dad also wears these "Paddy caps" as Jim calls them. Carter needed a picture with both of his Grandpas and their hats.

Since we have been home I think he is getting an ear infection. I am trying some ear drops and hopefully we caught it in time. Thank heavens my friend's baby had one and she told me the warning signs, otherwise I would have been clueless. (Thanks Lindsey) He didn't sleep well last night and today he hasn't been that interested in eating. We will see if we caught it in time. The ear drops have garlic in them, so now he smells like garlic baby. No vampires around our house tonight. But if it helps, it's a small price to pay.
We had a great trip, it's nice to be home but I miss having my family close by.

Heart Breaker!!!!

2011-06-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

I bought Carter a new toy to chew on....basically it could double as a dog chew toy. It squeaks and is rubbery, but he chews on it. He hooked his arm around it and it was propped in his mouth while he was holding the dog. The camera didn't capture how funny it looked, but it made me laugh.

Here we are getting ready for church. He is snugly....and this may become a problem since he wants more snuggles to go down for naps. Do they go through phases????Guess I will just enjoy the snuggles and give them when he wants them. Everyone says to enjoy each stage cause they grow up so fast. I'm sure it's just because it's my first, but I am look forward to him crawling and I wonder what he will be like the older he gets.

I took some pictures of him in his heart breaker tie shirt. It's cute, but it was funny trying to get his arms out of the way. The last one, I moved his arms and his face is priceless, like he just got in trouble or something.

He is finally getting how to help prop himself up and lift his head when on his stomach by using his arms. Today was the first time he really got it. Yesterday I had him on a pillow on his stomach and he was quick to figure out how to drop a shoulder and roll on his back. Pretty smart kid. He kept scooting down in the tub so more of his body was under water....so I decided to see how he did going all the way under. He did not like it, but it didn't stop him from sliding down to keep his body in the water.

Stretchy baby!

2011-06-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

So, a few nights ago we went to put Carter is his PJ's and he was too long. Honestly....I didn't want him to be squished so I pulled out these cute ducky pj's. They are 3-6 months and as you can see Carter was rocking the belly shirt. Also, he fits width ways across his crib. He loves to stretch and posed nicely for these shots. He is always width ways when we get him in the morning.

This is not an attractive picture of me...but I love how he was cuddling me so I had to capture it. He is so cuddly and I can't get enough of him.

Years before I had a baby I found these books at Target. (oh how I miss Target). Look at the titles....an animal and first words book make sense. But I'm not sure Carter will be enjoying the United States book anytime soon. Look at the close up of a page below. I think he will be smart but this might be pushing it. It has the capital, bird, and flower of each state. Got to love it!

Swing time fun!

2011-05-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Carter likes being in his swing. But the other day he learned a new trick, an escape trick. I was vacuuming and when I came back in the room he had shimmied down and down, until his feet were on the floor. Of course I laughed and started taking pictures. So later that day, he did it again. Then when Jim came home he put him in while sitting right in front of him, and he went down even further. We wanted to see how far he could get. He was literally pushing off the floor and swinging himself. It was awesome. So now I have to buckle him in. Mom is such a buzz kill.

I went out for an hour a few Saturdays ago and left Carter asleep while Jim was cleaning out the garage. This is what I came back to find. Carter just hanging out in the swing in an empty garage. He is such a mellow baby most of the time. He is just happy hanging out at home. He likes being outside, even though there have only been a few days when it hasn't been raining. I am OVER the rain. It is so funny when there is a gust of wind and he inhales and smiles. Kind of the same reaction when Jim's whistling is high pitched.

3 1/2 month update - I have stopped swaddling him for naps and put him back in his crib for naps, instead of the napper. He was getting too big for it.

He laughed at this toy the other day, Jim and I were cracking up too.

I think he is starting to have more of an opinion about things. Trying to let me know what he likes and doesn't like.

He loves pulling himself to a sitting position while holding our fingers. Then as his reward he wants to chew on our hands.

We took him in the shower yesterday for his first time and got water in his face. He wasn't sure what to think about it.

We tried taking him for a jog in his jogging stroller yesterday front facing, it was ridiculously windy and cold so he was not having it. So we put him in his regular stroller and ran in it. It is definitely not meant for running. Jim had to keep the front wheels off the road the whole time. Carter was sleeping after a bit and Jim and I were dying. Out of shape.

Giant baby???

2011-05-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

So leaving the house gives a different perspective....recently I have seen a few other friend's babies. I swear I may have a giant baby....which you don't realize until you see other kids. One friend's baby is almost a year and I think Carter is as long as him. She said her baby is small, but come on....3 months and a year. Then I saw another friend's baby who is a few days younger than Carter. Carter's head was double the size of the other baby. His head went from being in the 10% when he was 2 weeks old to the 70% at 2 months. How does that happen? I mean thank heavens it came out small, I appreciate that more than anyone. It was hard enough pushing out a pea sized head. I have always known his hands and feet seemed big, but maybe I just have a giant baby and I didn't know. Where is he getting his size? It will be interesting to see if he really is big when he grows up. By big I mean tall.
He is so fun. I don't think he likes loud noises and places. He refuses to smile when we are loud places, so I'm sure people think he is grouchy. But honestly he is pretty easy going and happy 95% of the time. I am so lucky to have an easy child like him. His only trouble is his spit up, but he comes by that naturally. I spit up all the time as a baby and Jim still has a bad stomach, poor Carter didn't have a chance.
He has started interacting with some of his toys. And everything goes in his mouth, I didn't realize this started so early, but I guess it does. He can also hold his head up pretty well. Sometimes he lifts his head and legs and balances on his stomach making this labored sound, like it's so much work. And it is, I try to tell him not to lift his legs and to use his arms to help push up, but he isn't there yet. He loves it when he pulls himself up to a sitting position holding on to my fingers. We are working those ab muscles.

He is going cross eyed here looking at this dog cause it's so close. He is studying it closely, then chews on it.

He has started sleeping till 5am most nights, which is so nice. He wakes up so happy. Sometimes chats with himself in his crib and when I go in he smiles and stretches. We took out a feed and nap cause he can go longer in between his feeding and is taking longer naps. I have been putting him in the napper, a places he barely fits in our room. Sometimes he wakes up and starts to fuss and when I go to check on him he just looks up at me with this smile. It's so precious, even though he is a little stinker, already working mom and dad. Big toothless grins are my favorite! It's hard to get a good picture of him smiling cause he is moving and gets a scared look when I am behind the camera. The other day he stuck out his lower lip cause he was sad. It was the cutest thing. But then we went to see his dad at his office and Carter was all smiles. Jim whistles to him and Carter loves his dad.

So I have a little more free time. I read a book the other day. Today I should be finishing up preparing my sharing time...but it's hard to be motivated to do it.
Of course he has incredibly long, gorgeous eyelashes. Why is it always boys that get those????Honestly,not fair.

I pulled out a picture of Jim and myself at 6 months. I am going to try to scan them and post them. People always ask who Carter looks like. I stick by my original thoughts. He has my eyes and chin and Jim's nose. Man he is so cute. I really LOVE this kid.

Soccer fun!

2011-05-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Carter after his bath all warm and snuggled in his towel. It's hard to take a good picture when you are trying to hold him so he doesn't roll off the counter, keep the towel out of his face, and hope he isn't peeing in the towel.

The weather was nice for a few days. So on Friday we went for a walk in his stroller. He usually falls asleep in his car seat, but I still think he loved being outside.

Then for the BIG adventure we went to Salt Lake for a REAL soccer game. Here is Jim and Carter in their soccer gear ready for the game. It was a little loud for Carter. I spent most of the time trying to cover his ears, he finally fell asleep. We went to the Cheese Cake Factory for dinner after, which I love. Avocado egg rolls, and the bread are a favorite. It was about an 8 hour outing and Carter did awesome. He is such a good baby.

For Mother's day Jim and Carter got me these gorgeous flowers. There was a card from Jim and another one from Carter. So precious. Jim made me breakfast and dinner. He is so good to me and Carter. I am lucky to have these two special guys in my life.

Blessing

2011-05-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Carter had his two month checkup a few weeks ago. He was almost 12 lbs, so now the doctor is saying I might be over feeding him. Really.....I give up!
I only had them give him some of his shots...which was a huge decision for me. He didn't cry getting the shots...but 4 hours later was horrible. He cried like he has never cried before and he didn't stop for a few hours. Anytime you touched his leg he would cry again. It was not fun. He finally went to sleep in my arms and I didn't move for a few hours. I am pretty sure it is not just me, but honestly, I can't get over how much more emotional I have become since having a baby. Sometimes it's the stress of not knowing what to do or what is best but sometimes it's just raw emotion. It might also have to do with not getting enough sleep, but whatever it is I hope it decreases with time. I am not used to it.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned before how adorable I think Carter is, but I really can't get over it. He is smiling and getting more personality and it is so fun to see. He likes to listen to Jim whistle and follows us with his eyes. He screams when he has to get burped, but I think that is because he usually throws up and it can't be fun for him.

These may be a bit blurry, but Carter is a wiggler. And trying to capture the smile is not easy.

My sister found this shirt. How did they know that is what I call Carter.

I love that he looks like he is reading along with Aunt Tami. I do read to him and hope he will love it.

Aunt Tami loved his rocker pj's so we tried to take some pictures of him doing his air guitar.

I bought this darling outfit for him. His little army outfit. What a little cutie.

One of my talented friends made this hat for him. So cute, even if he isn't a fan of hats.

This animal should be a skunk, then that caption would be perfect.

He isn't trouble but is does have gas.

I love this one of Grandpa and Carter looking at each other. He was starring at Grandpa. It was cute. Grandpa was probably telling him stories about riding horses and driving the old red truck when he visits on the farm.

You can't really see it, but his shirt says Property of mom. That is true

He is now 10 weeks and he got blessed on Sunday. Some of my family got to be here and that was so fun. My sister and mom shopped a LOT and we even took Carter with us and he did great. Carter loved all the attention he got from everyone. We took some pictures on Sunday and I was going to take more with Jim's family but it never happened. They aren't big picture people. We missed all the family that couldn't be here, but we sure were happy to be able to have all the family and friends be apart of Carter's big day. He did cry through the blessing, he had lost his soother and wasn't happy about it. But Jim did great under pressure and I am so lucky to be married to him.

My cute sisters and mom. It was so fun to spend the weekend together. They are some of the most amazing people I know. So glad they are apart of my life and made the effort to be here with me. Ok, let's be honest, it had nothing to do with me, it was all about being with Carter, but I will take it anyway. It was like calling for shotgun. They would call for who gets to hold him, or get him up from his nap, or babysit. I really wish they lived closer.

This is a shirt that he needs when he is with Grandma in Canada. I have seen it with nieces and nephews and know Carter will be just as spoiled. That is what Grandmas are for.

He looks so innocent.

Favorite things

2011-04-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite things that Carter does:
Sometimes he gets frantic when he wants to eat or his pacifier and he starts moving his head back and forth really fast. I call it his wild man and it cracks me up every time.
When he is done eating he puts his lips together, telling me he will not take anymore. It's a cute little face.
When I am burping him over my shoulder he just holds his head up and stares at me sometimes. Sometimes his eyes are closed.
I love snuggling him close.
I love the feel of his hand on my arm or hand. It is so soft and light.
All his little baby sounds, especially when he is talking to himself in his crib. He is noisy but in a good way.
He loves to be on his changing table. Not sure what he looks at on the wall or shelf but he just smiles and chills there when he is getting changed. Maybe he is just happy to be getting a fresh diaper.
When he is eating sometimes, halfway asleep, he stops eating, smiles and moves his little tongue. He even laughed the other night. So cute. I can't wait till he is smiling more and laughing.
I really am in LOVE with my little guy and miss him when I am away...which is never more than an hour and only on the weekends when Jim is home.
He also rolled over onto his back by himself this week. He did it a few times when he was 3 weeks, but it has been awhile. Also, I had to put away all his newborn clothes. He doesn't fit in them. In fact he managed to rip 2 button holes in a pair of his newborn pj's cause he was too big. I took the hint and bought him some bigger pj's.
I don't like that his little tummy is upset or how gassy he is. Or how his throwing up has made his baby acne worse. I hope these stages pass quickly.

Next year he will be our little tax deduction. This year he is just reminding us to get our taxes done.

This is him starring at the wall when he is being changed. I wonder what he sees.

His shirt says, " Daddy's best friend." Pretty sure Jim dressed him.

There are a few pictures, cause I don't have a lot. I would love to get pictures/video of the things I love (up above) but they are hard to capture.

Ahhh, leave it to the professionals

2011-04-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

And these pictures are why you pay to have someone else take the photos. Honestly...not sure I can say this enough....but I really think he is adorable. I tell him that all day long. He really is a great baby, and when he sleeps through the night or at least longer.....I will love him even a little bit more. Jokes....I don't mind getting up to his cute little face or cry. But I do miss sleep, A LOT!

He stretches his arms all the time. I have heard that means they are growing or something, his arms are going to be crazy long then.

Even cute when he cries. The photos were during his nap time, but he wasn't about to go to sleep till it was over. He was getting over it after an hour and a half. Plus he was naked and his little lip shivers when he is naked. So cute.

We tried to get him to stand in this bucket to take some cute shots but he was almost jumping out of it. He likes to use his legs to push. Trust me, he will not need a jolly jumper.

Darling!

His little sad face....makes me want to snuggle him.

He didn't want to lay on the soccer ball, pretty sure he will still have to love soccer. (if his dad has anything to do with it)

Our family glamour shot!

My glamour shot with my wee baby boy!

He likes his dad, who thinks he is a baby whisperer. He does good the 30% he gets to spend with him. There is no bitterness there.....just saying I am the one who is with him all day and night.

This is us taking a stroll on Sunday with Jim's family. They go see their neighbors horses and we took Carter in this Buggy. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Jim's dad wasn't pushed in this as a baby. Vintage! That thing has some good bounce. Jim's mom said she could get 3 kids in this thing. I wish I lived in the day when buggies and kids jumping around in the car with no seat belts was normal. I am all about safety, but there are a few too many rules. Jim believes in survival of the fittest, but the USA doesn't.

Dressed for success

2011-03-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Not saying I am dressed for success, I am lucky to get make-up on and get out of my sweats. But honestly, why am I going to squeeze into my pants that are tight. I am just kicking it at home most days and sweats are comfortable. DON'T JUDGE! But I have been watching the show What Not To Wear. I am afraid that someone could nominate me for this show. I could definitely use help...so I decided to start with a new hair style. Jim has never seen me with bangs....we are getting used to it.

And I finally started dressing Carter in some clothes. I had to laugh when I put this outfit on him, cause it makes him look like an old man. I love it!

Here are a few other, cuter outfits.

It looks like he is waving and smiling in this picture. Funny! Really he is probably sick of me taking his picture and telling me to beat it. He hates putting things over his head. This outfit was not fun for him to get on. Poor guy. Probably reminds him of getting pushed through the black hole into this scary world.

I tried to take some cute naked pictures....I am NOT a professional. Professional pictures costs hundreds of dollars.....I can't wrap my head around it. But I really need to suck it up and get pictures of him while he is little. Jim got on the scale and then held him on the scale. We think he weighs around 9 lbs. Sweet!

I think he is so stinking cute!

This is his superman pose.

Going to have big blue eyes.

Yes, the professionals would do this much better.

This is me letting him feed himself so that I can eat breakfast. Hey, it works....sort of.

And this is him holding his bottle. Yup, I am training him young. Yeah right. I am pretty sure I try to be in control, but it rarely is the case. I keep reading my baby whisperer book and try doing what it says. But he doesn't comply easily. In the book I think it would classify him as a spirited baby. But he is really good. Only really cries when he is hungry or has a burp....lately he fights when I am trying to put him down for a nap. Why? He knows he is tired. I would kill for a nap!

Slacking already!

2011-03-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

The picture taking has slowed down already....he isn't even the second child. I will just say it is harder to take good pictures of him when it is just us two. But here are a few... of him at one month. This is Carter and Grandpa Hickman chilling on the couch for Sunday night Hickman get togethers.

This is Carter dressed in actual clothes. He doesn't have very many outfits but I have started dressing him when we are going out. Jim and I managed to go to dinner Saturday night with our little man. We had to take a few extra circles around the restaurant so that Carter was asleep, but it paid off.

If you notice most of his shirts are more like 3/4 length sleeves on him and he can't straighten out his legs all the way, but he is so skinny 0-3 months clothes still drown him.

Carter is just resting, looks like he is ready for a photo op with his arms crossed this way.

It was nice a few days out this week, so Carter and I went for a stroll to the mailbox. (it is a community one down the road) So I got him all dressed and ready for the walk. I think he likes being outside, except it is too bright for his little eyes and the breeze is still cold. But we enjoyed getting out of the house for 5 minutes and being outside. we can't wait for nice Spring and Summer weather.

Tummy time. He doesn't mind it now.

I love his sleep poses.

Not sure if you can tell but he is filling out a little and growing longer. He is getting more used to things and doesn't scream when he gets his diaper changed. He has been waiting a few days and then really blowing out his diapers. That is fun and his gas in between.....are you kidding me with how stinky it is. WOW! What is in that formula??????? But we are loving him to pieces. He is a good boy!

Another week under my belt

2011-03-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Maybe only a mother thinks every face their baby makes is pretty stinkin cute....so these pictures may not be for everyone. But I am trying to keep on top of pictures for everyone that doesn't get to see him. He is now 3 weeks old. He is starting to sleep a little longer (most nights, knock on wood)

He likes his fingers, fist, or thumb in his mouth.

Here he did good with tummy time. You may not believe me but he has actually rolled over to his back twice when I have put him on his tummy. What we like to call none-stop little legs and determination. My mom saw him do it too. He has also smiled, real smiles. Pretty cute.

This is his look of surprise when he rolled over on his own.

This is documentation of his large feet. By the looks of it, he might be tall.

His first outing, besides to the doctors and things like that. We got him dressed in something other than PJ's. He went to Walmart, but slept through the experience.

Look, I put on make-up today. Someone showed up at my door the other day and I had just finished feeding Carter. My mom answered it, but I decided to go say hi. Once I reached the door I realized I hadn't even looked in a mirror or showered. I glanced in the mirror after the fact and my hair was all over the place and I looked pretty scary. Pretty funny...or maybe I should be embarrassed. I had a pilates training Friday afternoon and all day Saturday.....can you say hello abs. They had been on vacation and have not fully returned. It felt good to do something, but I can feel it today!

I asked my mom if this picture was inappropriate and she said it was fine. I just happened to take the picture at the perfect time to catch him in the act of peeing in the bath.

His face says "Oops, she caught that on camera!"

Busted little guy!

Jim was in Vegas this weekend cheering for the Aggies at the WAC. My mom and I both went to BYU and this is an outfit my mom bought for my brothers 30 years ago. So we put it on and sent the picture to daddy. They say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, stuff happens here too when daddy is away.

These are some high lights of the week. My mom leaves Tuesday and I am not looking forward to my full time nanny being gone, or doing everything all on my own. I was spoiled. Thanks to my amazing mom, who sacrificed time, energy, and sleep to help me and help take care of Carter. We will miss her! Reality is about to hit, scary!

I am 2 weeks old and way too cute!

2011-03-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, he is partly Canadian! Yes, he is sleeping with his hand against his cheek. So adorable. He loves his hands.

Grandma trying to get a burp, Carter just hanging out.

Carter's first bath! He was not to sure about it!

Momma just looking at her little peanut. He is so small and cute.

This is how we found his diaper....half off. We had to switch to preemie diapers so they wouldn't come off his skinny butt. At his two week appointment we found out he is back up to his birth weight. So we are supplementing him trying to fatten him up. I hate not being a good enough cow. What can you do.....nursing maids are a thing of the past, so spitting up formula is what we have to deal with.

His stylish hair!

Some quality time with dad, while watching sports. Jim is so great with him. My two amazing men!

Look closely....both legs are in the same leg of the PJ's. He crosses them, or gets them stuck when he pulls his knees up to his chest. Once again, the pains of being too skinny.

He likes his swing.

We bought a wedge, so he could sleep at angle to try to help him not spit up. He rolled down and turned sideways and was sleeping at the bottom of it. Less helpful.

That is our cute little man. We are loving him and getting used to less sleep.....sort of!

Carter James Hickman

2011-02-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

Our baby boy is a week old. I went into the hospital on Thursday, got my water broken, started on the pit, after 4-5 hours of intense labor and no dilation I decided it was time for the epidural. He came a few hours after that at 1:18am after an hour and 20 mins of pushing. He weighed 7 lbs 3 ounces and was 20 inches long with lots of dark hair. His first week has not been without trauma. He had blood sugar issues in the hospital, had to be on a jaundice light bed for the first week home, got circumcised, along with trying to figure out his little system and sleep. He probably handled most of the trauma better than his mother. Let's just say I feel a little overwhelmed and am not sure what I would do without my amazing husband and mother that are by my side. How do people do this on their own or more than once. Honestly.....he is pretty darn cute though. Especially when he is sleeping, haha. He has long fingers and big feet, doesn't like to get changed, but loves the sun and light and car rides. He covers his eyes with his hands when he sleeps and he did that in the womb as well.

Greeting his mom with big eyes.

Dad is amazing with him. He takes the 11pm feeding shift so mom can try to sleep for a few hours. I really married the best guy ever!

His first car ride. Leaving the hospital and coming home.

Grandpa taking his turn babysitting. They are both sleeping, classic.

First family picture!

Carter has already graduated from the napper to his crib, mostly because he had to sleep in it with the bilirubin bed. He is already growing up.

Grandma is a life saver. She is there at all hours of the day or night to help out with Carter. I couldn't do this without her and am so grateful that I don't have to. Carter loves his grandma.

Big wide eyes wondering what mommy is doing.

Sleeping in his bilirubin bed. The blue light special. We tried to make him as comfortable as possible. He was a trooper.

He has had a few visitor, some close friends and some uncles and aunts. Jim's parents came over for dinner, but baby boy was having a hard night that night. Some days are better than others....but we are doing good. We sure are glad Carter is here and that he is part of our family. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, calls, gifts, and love you have offered us.

Grandma Hickman with Carter.

His little jailbird pjs. He still pulls his feet up to his chest in them. He also scratches his face with his long fingers and nails. He is pretty stinkin cute.

We love you Carter!

Baby Moon

2010-12-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

It has taken me a few months to get this trip documented....laziness. But in October Jim took me to Ireland for our last big vacation before the baby comes. It was a combo anniversary/ birthday + a little nagging vacation. It is our baby moon, last big trip before our lives change forever. Some of our favorite traveling companions came with us, Heather and Don (Jim's sister and her husband). To start this trip off we were blessed to get upgraded on some of our flights. Thank you business class, for reclining seats so I could elevate my legs. Heather and Don were very gracious, even though they didn't get upgraded, sorry guys.
The weather was better than we expected, which left Jim feeling bitter cause he never experienced that kind of weather the other times he has visited. We only had a few days of chilly and overcast, most of the time it was clear and warmish.
We had a fabulous time sightseeing and having Jim as our tour guide. We ate dinner with a family that he knew from his mission. We started off our trip by going to a soccer game. Talk about fans, the energy is crazy.

We also went to the Waterford Crystal factory. Beautiful stuff but not baby friendly! No crystal for us!

We ate a LOT of chips (french fries) and chocolate. Chips are served with everything, even Italian food. And well, the chocolate is so good over there so we always had a stash for car rides or walking tours. We might have gained a few pounds...but what can you do. (Work it off when you get home, or blame it on pregnancy) We saw lots of amazing castles! Here I am kissing the blarney stone for the gift of eloquence. Not sure it worked.

Here we are in Kinsale checking out the forts. Grass grows on everything, cool.

A stop on our drive through the countrysides of Ireland.

The Giants Causeway. Amazing what nature can do. Kind of reminded me of the Superman scene when they are in the ice cave talking to Superman's dad.

The Cliffs of Mohr. You can't tell from this picture but they are gorgeous. Jim was mad that they have put up fences so people can't go close to the edge of the cliffs like they once could. Apparently some people have been blown off, but Jim's theory is "Survival of the fittest!" I told him guidelines to keep us safe are not a bad thing. But he likes to live on the edge, so we hopped the fences and walked the path by the edge.

Ireland sights were amazing. We had a great trip and the only snag we had was when we (not mentioning any names) put the wrong kind of gas in the car. Had to take a 2 hour detour to drain the tank and refuel. The most amazing thing was the mechanic didn't charge us for the service cause he said we paid enough in wasted gas. So NICE! It's always a good reminder to be a giving and Christlike person.

Stolen

2010-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Just stole this from a friends blog, cause it fits. It's a lesson I continue to be taught, that our lives are in God's hands. He has so many amazing things in store for us, if we just trust him. I do, and I am glad he is going to be trusting me with a little boy soon. I can't wait!

It's a Boy!

2010-10-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

After all my talk about wanting a girl, we are excited for the news of a boy! I must explain my desire for a girl, I actually don't care about what order boys or girls come in, and I have nothing against boys....I just always knew I would get boys and I want to make sure I also get a girl. So I wanted a girl so I wouldn't have to stress about what else came. But apparently, I will have to sweat it out down the road. But I am happy that so far everything looks good and I swear just today the little guy started to pop out. So I guess now I will start thinking about getting some maternity clothes and I can start looking for cute boy things. It will start being more real, cause we haven't discussed anything so far.
They gave us a DVD of everything they saw today, with the baby moving around....actually he wasn't moving much, we had to push him around to even see what he was. He was hanging out with his feet over his head most of the time. Just picking up my moves from pilates. It was a relief to me that everything looks good. I just like to worry, but so far so good. Can't believe I am half way done. This half was the easy part.
I think my husband is a little disappointed, I haven't had any cravings yet, or really nothing to complain about. It has been nice....does that mean he will be a disaster when he comes out? Oh dear!

News to Some

2010-08-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

For some of you this will not be new news. But to all that don't know, I am pregnant. Hooray, thank heavens, finally, it's about time....yes, all of those things. Everything is looking good and that is such a relief. I am 15 weeks. Everyone asks, are you going to find out and what do you want to have? We are definitely finding out in 5 weeks!!!!! So excited. I am hoping for a girl but will be happy with a healthy baby.
No pictures, cause honestly there is nothing to show, except me being a little thicker with no real visible baby bump. Just bigger in places that aren't even baby, like the butt and thighs, under the arms, and chest (guess that is related or will be at some point) Most people probably don't notice, but I definitely do. And I fit into most of my clothes, but let's just say they're getting a little too tight. I am glad I had some that were loose before, cause they aren't anymore. I am feeling good, haven't been sick, which I am so thankful for. So really not much has changed, but don't think I don't know that it will in February. Our world will be changed forever....but we can't wait. We are very excited!

My husbandimony

2010-08-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

I knew at the time that I was happy and lucky and had found the perfect man for me. 3 years ago today we sealed the deal and I feel happier, luckier, and even more sure of my choice. Jim couldn't be more perfect for me and I am so glad I waited 32 years to find him because he was worth every minute. Someone recently asked me if marriage was an adjustment or if Jim has a habit that drives me crazy and I can honestly answer NO to both of those questions.

He treats me with love and respect and kindness.

He is positive and optimistic and lets things that don't matter go.

He is always willing to help others, whether it is an inconvenience to him or not.

He makes me laugh and we can joke around and be silly.

He likes to breakout into any song that fits the moment.

He tries so hard to make me happy and does what he can to make things right.

He is a hard worker and puts everything he has into his company.

He loves being active and is always up for anything.

He works out hard to be the hunk that I get to cuddle up to every night.(which I love)

He loves the Lord and has a sensitive heart.

He would take care of all the less fortunate people in the world, if he could.

He loves his family, even when they don't appreciate him.

He loves kids and is a great uncle and will be a great dad someday!

He is a man of integrity and honor.

He is my best friend and I love being around him.

He can make a mean egg salad sandwich.

He cooks and cleans and helps out around the house when I need him to.

He makes me want to be a better person.

He is one of the best men I know and I am so blessed that he is mine!

I love you babe!

Happy Anniversary!

Hickman Hotel

2010-08-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not saying it's the best hotel around, but it was free. I had family come for visits in July! My cute nieces and nephews were fun and it is always nice to see family cause they all live far away. First my brother Michael and his family came for the 4th.

Sophie, Levi, and Kionah. (Couldn't get her picture the size I wanted and gave up)

Some fun fireworks. Alita, my sister-in-law was the ring leader for these. Good times!

The kids playing in the dirt, in the hot Utah sun.

Next my sister and her 3 kids came, accompanied by my nice mom. She is always there to help.

Here is Lucas with a milk mustache.

And Jacob, with his mustache.

Grandma reading to the kids and them loving it.

Lucas loves motorcycles and Uncle Jim gave all the kids a ride. Here is Lucas taking his own ride.

Our cute neighbor Ashley let us borrow her kids and pool to play with. Here they are having a water balloon fight in the pool.

They loved playing together and became good friends in a matter of days. Then the Hotel closed and now it is quiet and boring again. But so glad everyone came to visit.

Back in the OC for a visit

2010-07-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

CALIFORNIA! This is how my trip started off. With a girls lunch at The Corner Bakery. It has been too long since I have spent time in California with some of my favorite, amazing friends. Cori, Jen, Stephanie (Sydney on my lap), and Lynnley. It was fun to catch up and just hang out. It was less fun when Sydney peed down my leg, but thankfully I was wearing black pants so you couldn't see the wet spot after I drenched them in water. Then I went with Cori to get pedicures, a given when in California.

Then there was shopping. Another must do in California, especially since Ann Taylor Loft was having a sale. I love that store. Jen, Julie, and I also enjoyed breakfast at Sugar Shack and a few hours relaxing on the beach, time hanging at their house, a movie and dinner. I seriously miss that place. People complain about the traffic, but it was so nice to drive there for me cause people drive. They know how to use their gas peddles and no one watched speed limits. You just go, unlike drivers in Utah, they drive me bonkers. Jen fought getting her picture taken at first, cause it looked like Ann Taylor Loft threw up on her (her words), I just look at it like they are getting a free model for marketing.

Then there was lunch with some of my friends from my old school John Marshall. Jenni, and Catherine are so fun. We experienced some great people watching and as always there were tears of laughter. I love these girls.

At some point I forgot to take a few pictures to document more good times, such as, dinner at Lynnley's, thanks, it is always fun to hang with you. And my friend Beth got to bring home Baby Colton. He has been in NI CU for 6 weeks, but he is home now, doing great, and I got to go visit him. He is adorable.

I miss so many things about California...but mostly I miss my good friends. It's always fun to go back and pick up like no time has gone by. Thanks for making time to see me, it was so fun.

Exciting

2010-05-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

I will start with the more spiritual side, before I move on to the worldly side.
My mom came to visit last Wednesday so we could go to Women's Conference at BYU. They pack as much as they can into that conference...so much so that you have to pack a lunch cause you don't have time to stop for one. It started Thursday morning with an opening session, then there were back to back classes. We skipped the last class and service project so we could eat lunch at 2 and get some shopping in. Then we were back that night for a great concert. There was Micheal McLean, Hilary Weeks (who sang one of my favorite songs), Alex Boye, Dallyn Bayles, Mercy River, and the Fab 5 dancers from America's Got Talent. It was amazing. Friday it was back to classes, but this time we made it to all of them and scarfed down half a sandwich in about 2 minutes before a class. Honestly, I haven't been before and have never really even thought about going, but things like this are always so good and uplifting. It leaves you wanting to be a better person and that lasts for at least 5 seconds till I am bad mouthing the driver in front of me as we drive out of the parking lot. Listening to the speakers, their inspiring stories and examples of faith was touching. It makes me want to be closer to the Savior and be more positive and a better person. Getting that to translate into my life is another story, but I am a work in progress.

Along with the spiritual, my mom and I had lots of fun. We found some fabulous deals of clothes....you can't pass up a shirt on sale for $5-10. We would scan the clothes and laugh about the price, saying "it's ridiculous NOT to get it for this price." We ate Cheesecake and avocado egg rolls, two times. Went to a soccer game, bought a car, and made a cool rap video. My brother posts a rap video on Facebook every Friday. So I wrote the rap, (my first time participating) and my mom was free and crazy enough to rap it. Cause that is just how much fun she is. If I was more savvy I would download it onto my blog....but it took us hours to figure how to get it on to Facebook....so go to my Facebook page if you want to see it, and you will want to see it. Good times!

Next there is the material side to the weekend. I traded in my Acura TRX, which I LOVED and upgraded to this. A Lexus RX, which I am sure I will also love. It is used, but practically new and we got a good deal, so we couldn't pass it up. It was actually hard for me to let go of my Acura, it's been a perfect car. But I have been thinking about and looking at cars for months and when this came along I had to act. Thank goodness for Jim and for men that are able to negotiate and not get taken advantage of. I just turn it over to him cause they fill me with all sorts of nonsense. We liked our car sales man at the beginning, but in the end he is a car salesmen, just like the rest of them. You just have to laugh at the lines that they feed you, like "I had two other people want to buy that today." "Oh, you are really getting a great deal, I sold one like this for this much more and it didn't have.....blah blah blah" But he was personable and he had a guy drive it up to Logan for me, so that was nice. It is so quiet and it drives nice so far. It's mine now! it looks gray in these pictures, but it is Bambo, which is a tan, green mixture.

And that was my exciting weekend!

Sun & Fun

2010-04-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Going to Mexico saved me. I might have repayed Mexico by taking the Swine Flu back to them....but the warm weather and ocean moisture helped me feel better. A week and a half before we left I was pretty sick. Started as the flu then a bad chest cough and respiratory problems. I lost my voice and displaced ribs all over the place from coughing so hard and so much. I'm kidding about the swine flu, I don't think I had it, but I did get an inhaler, along with some other things from the doctor. But thank heavens for warmer places that aren't dry enough to suck the life out of you. Here we are so excited to be there.

We went with our friends the Robbins to Cancun. Glad to report that we are still friends after the vacation, I mean, there is always the risk of the friendship not holding up to 24-7 time spent together. But we had a great time.

It started off with us flying the red eye to Mexico. We got there at 4:45 in the morning and had to wait for the Mexican border staff to decide to come to work. No workers were there to let us in the country for half an hour. That is how they roll down there. WOW, is all I can say.

So first thing on the agneda was to take a nap. Then to town for supplies. Then to the pool to relax.

We spent a lot of time reading by the pool and drinking pina colodas. Even without alcohol we were there for the 2 for 1, happy hour. Oh yeah!

We made the boys take a pilates class with us. Natalie and I got massages while the boys played golf and had a horrible scuba diving experience. We played beach volleyball and even did water aerobics...if you can call pelvic thrusting in the water while waving your arms ridiculously in the air aerobics, but we went with it.

Matt got pulled over by the cops and had to pay them off, but totally worth it for the picture and the cop smiling and waving wildly at us when we passed him again.

We went and learned lots of interesting things about Tulum, some ancient ruins. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten it all, but it was interesting stuff.

We played lots of cards at night....I am cured of wanting to play hearts again for a long time. The last night for me was brutal and I got a little grumpy. Got even grumpier the next day at the airport when they took away my favorite tweezers and searched me three times. Honestly! And I have always taken those tweezers and have never had a problem. Not happy about that!

Over all it was a great trip. I soaked up the sun and vitamin D never felt so good. We did take a few to many pictures in our swim suits....let's be honest....those are never as cute and it's better not to have proof that you didn't look as good as you wanted to in a swim suit. It was a fabulous trip. Thanks Matt and Natalie for ditching your kids to hang out with us over Easter.

Two things I HATE!

2010-03-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Lets start with #1 thing I hate. That would be hackers. Honestly....do you really have nothing better to do with your obvious computer skills? And lets get real for a second....do you think if I was stranded in London I would email people I haven't talked to for YEARS and ask them for money? Let's say I am crazy enough to do that, do you really think they are crazy enough to send it to you without talking to me or something. Do you not think I would call my husband and parents first to be taken care of. Aside from being totally unrealistic, it is a big pain in the ass. Yes, I said it and I mean it. They locked me out of my accounts, yahoo, gmail, and facebook and sent messages from all of them. Jim came home laughing about the email at 6:30am...but he wasn't thinking it was so funny at the end of the day. I had concerned friends give phone calls and text messages. And I had long lost friends offer to send me whatever I needed. Thank you to them. Here are a few (very few) funny moments of the day. When my sister emailed back and asked "where is Jim and why are you in London?" When I talked to her on the phone she said, "I was wondering why you didn't just ask mom and dad, I don't have $1300 dollars." Glad to know the limit of her love for me. haha. It made me laugh. Another friend, Alana emailed the hackers back and told them to go make their own money and quit trying to steal other peoples. I LOVE IT! I think I finally secured all my sites, but it still makes me nervous and I am locked out of facebook again....not sure why. It was such a diasaster. So be careful to all my friends cause now that they have your email address they will try to get you to give them more info so they can hack you. It will look legit, like from a bank, or yahoo or something, but don't give any info out. So sorry to all my friends!!!! PS. the phone number attached to my acccount was from Nigeria. WHAT?????
The next thing I hate is MICE...no sorry VOLES. They have destroyed my lawn. I see them running through my rock wall and through the tunnels in my lawn, as I type. That is right, I see them! Don't think we haven't tried to get rid of them, after I got a little crazy yelling about it to Jim.(Hey, I needed some action taken) I sent Jim on a 30 minute drive to get 2 farm cats. As soon as they got to our house they ran for the hills, not to be seen again. (although the cat food I have outside was gone this morning, so there is hope. Or the mice are eating it) Then Jim got some poison and put it in a few holes and rocks. He also raked our lawn, with mice running for the hills, to destroy their homes. But alas.....I still see voles running around our yard. And there are at least 5-10 dead ones in each of our window wells. Thank goodness for Jim, cause I can't deal with that. Please come back cats...I need you!
That is my rant, I am hoping next week will be better!

Thailand

2010-02-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

Nagging works! I have been bugging Jim forever that we needed to go on a trip. So one day a few weeks ago he says, "What about Thailand?" I say sure. He booked the tickets the next day and we left the following Saturday. Cause that is how he rolls and I just take what I can get.
Yes, it is a LONG plane ride to the other side of the world. The culture is so different...they don't try to protect you from yourself. If you do something stupid, you can get in trouble. Glad we didn't have any problems with our stupidity....at least nothing that harmed us.
The weather was perfect. Sunny and 90's everyday. We started in Bangkok and did lots of touristy things. The drivers would always take you to lots of floating markets and jewlery stores, and pretty much any place where the owners gave them kick backs to bring tourists..
Here is us and our friends the Rowlans in our Tuk tuks, being carted around town to all the stores we didn't want to go to.
Here is Jim in front of Golden Buddah. Lots of temples over there, and lots of Buddah.

Here is the Grand Palace. To get in you have to be wearing long pants....if you weren't, you could borrow clothes. Don't we look sexy! Yes, those are elephant pants Jim is wearing. Sad but true, we didn't buy them.
We got to pet monkeys and have them sit on our lap. Then we watched their little monkey show. It was pretty funny. One of their tricks was supposed to be doing addition and subtraction....but lets just say they did not get the answers correct. They might want to reconsider having that in the show.

We fed elephants. I got slobbered on, which was discusting. We need to work on Jim's photography skills. He takes one and they are always when I look horrible. Seriously!

Then we went to a different place and got to ride the elephants. The driver got off and Jim drove the elephant a lot of the way. It was not comfortable for him at all, but he did great. Those Thai people are bendy and small.

We went to this zoo like place. They put on an elephant show and it was AMAZING! I mean, how do you even train an elephant to walk the tight rope and paint pictures. They also played soccer and I was totally in awe. You can also feed the giraffes and get your fingers eaten by monkeys and tigers. Totally different experience than at our zoos. Yeah that tiger wanted me for lunch.

Then it was to Phucket for relaxing. We did some snorkeling, swimming, Thai massages by the beach, and reading by the pool. It was fabulous.

And don't forget the highlight for the men.....feeding the wild monkeys on Phi Phi island. The monkeys loved food, especially cookies, chips, and pop. But I did see them hiss and chase people that were not doing what they wanted them to do. Our friend Stan was like a monkey whisperer. He had one eating stuff off the top of his head and was helping them drink water out of a bottle. Jim on the other hand was making the monkeys work for their food. He had them jumping or swinging upside down to get the food he had. There were so many monkeys. It was also interesting to see the hiarchy at work, first the men, then when they were done they left and the women could come, then last the little monkeys could come scavange for leftovers. The ocean was clear and warm and perfect.

Thailand was fabulous. Now.....where to think about going next?????????

Famous

2009-12-30T17:25:00.000-08:00

Apparently when you live in a small town it is easier to become famous. Since moving to Logan I have been in the paper twice. Once as a school teacher, now as a pilates instructor.
One of my pilates clients took the pictures, she is talented. I teach her class at 6:45 in the morning....the night before the pictures were to be taken I get a text message from her. It read something like, "ummm, you might want to wear makeup to class tomorrow." Those that know me, know that I am simple and more natural. But I had to laugh about the warning, not to come looking like I normally do. So I tried my best, and it's all I can do. I only have so much to work with and I'm not that talented. The article didn't mention me, our pilates director was interviewed, but the pictures were all me.
This is my debut in the paper. Very exciting!
The close ups!
Christmas was good. So fun to spend time with my family. My little niece had to go to the hospital but she is doing better now. So relieved but still praying for her and her family. Other than that, my life is boring!
I wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!!!!

Crafty

2009-11-14T14:29:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since I've blogged....because October has been a month of excitement and heart break all in one and although lots of people I know share inspiring stories of enduring, I just sit back and keep the faith in silence. At the same time being so thankful for friends and family that are there through it all...especially an amazing husband.
Plus, I usually use my blog to show off cute nieces and nephews and fun trips I am blessed to go on. But not today....today I am showing off my craftiness.
I tend to get excited/proud of myself when I have finished making cute cards, examples to follow. I think it's just the sense of accomplishment. I actually have a hard time giving them away sometimes.

So you can imagine my excitement after making fabric pumpkins with my friend Mindy. Mindy gets the Martha Stewart magazine and she let me crash her craft idea and make some too. Let's just say the instructions took up less than half a page...so we had to be creative for some of it but they turned out darling! I think we might make more....we also went to a craft fair and decided, why pay for crafts we can make ourselves...so maybe we will try something else next time. Not saying I could make them as fast or cute...but I can certainly give it a shot.
The green one was our practice pumpkin. Although it turned out pretty cute, I realized it wasn't stuffed enough. On the second attempt with the bigger orange pumpkin...I found the fabric wasn't the best, so it was challenging to get it closed tight enough. Pumpkins were almost thrown...but I took a breathe and persevered and I won in the woman vs. craft challenge. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to future craft adventures.

I may have a problem!!!

2009-09-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

I can't stop eating the delicious peach salsa I made yesterday. My sister-in-law Holly brought me some peaches for my birthday and I used her recipe to make the salsa. It was my first salsa attempt and even though Jim, my sou chef, and I had some differences on how it should be done, it turned out really tasty. Today I took some to my teacher friends cause I was subbing and they loved it too. I ate a ton last night, it was basically my lunch today, and my after school snack. I think I need to walk away.
Here is the link to the salsa. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peach-Salsa-II/Detail.aspx. We changed it a bit. We didn't put in as much cumin, vinegar, jalapenos, or garlic and left out the pectin and last 3 1/2 cups of sugar.

Also, some special shout outs for other people that made my birthday special. My sister-in-law Suzanne took the September birthday people out to dinner. So Suzanne and Mike took two of their nieces and me to dinner to Texas Road House. It was fun and all 3 birthday girls took a turn on the birthday saddle. I love Texas Road House, it is delicious! She has some funny video on her blog, it's the Biker Diva blog in my friends list, check it out.

#1 birthday winner was my husband Jim. I told him I had bought my own birthday present, so I wasn't sure he was going to do anything. He got off work early, got me beautiful flowers and made dinner and baked me a pumpkin cake from scratch. He was sweating to get it all finished by the time I got home from teaching pilates. He had a problem getting the cake out of the pan, so half of it was in pieces but he tried his best to ice the rest and write Happy birthday on it. It wasn't the prettiest cake but it was delicious! He was so sweet and it meant so much that he tried so hard.
It was a great day! It's nice to be special for one day!

Green at last

2009-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

So last year for my birthday I said all I wanted was to have my yard finished.
Yeah....that didn't happen. So as spring rolled around I start begging my husband for a yard so I can enjoy being outside in the summer. He promised we would have it in by Sept. That was not soon enough for me. Then, typical to building a house, the powers that be started suggesting that they would put the yard in, in June. June was too rainy....okay, July....NO. So they really started sounding like August was going to be the month. I think, great, just in time for my family to come. They worked on my dirt, weeds, rock wall, and sprinklers....but still only had dirt for my family.
Then, like from the heavens above, the sod showed up a few nights ago...so this is the picture I took because my dreams were about to come true.
Hallelujah, my husband was true to his promise and I did get my lawn before Sept. Yesterday I went from dirt pile to yard full of lush, green, grass. OK....maybe it will take awhile for it to be lush...the sod was a little dry, but it's grass. Hooray for grass! This is the finished product. Now I can have friends over for BBQs and other fun things. Now I can sit on my porch and enjoy the quiet peace while surrounded by grass. Now, I can stop bugging my husband! I'm sure he is thankful!

MY LOVE! MY LIFE!

2009-08-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

This is dedicated to my husband, even though he scoffs as I write it! Tomorrow is our 2nd anniversary! It goes by so fast. So to celebrate he planned a weekend away in Park City. We drove through Salt Lake and ate at The Melting Pot, which was delicious! Then on to Park City to relax, and we did. We stayed at a great hotel on top of Park City, hiked in the morning, got massages, and read books for a while on the patio over looking all the ski hills, then did a little shopping, and ate dinner. It was a fabulous lazy day. But as cheesy as it is to say, everyday is great with Jim. Honestly, waiting for him to come in to my life was worth it. We have so much fun, but we also appreciate each other. I love being around him cause he is always positive. He has a great attitude about life, he works so hard, is honest and tries to be fair with everyone, he lets things go, he is good to me, he likes to travel, he is amazing, he is my best friend and my favorite person to be around!
Here are a few pictures of us the weekend before in New York with his sister, Heather and her husband Don. Also, in Boston for a soccer game, so we did a duck tour before....and I needed duck lips to do my duck call.

This is us at the beginning of July with his family on the Oregon Coast. It was chilly up there but a great time.
I love you and feel so lucky to have you in my life! Happy Anniversary!

New Niece!

2009-07-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

So I took off to the Great White North a few weeks ago, eh! It was good to hang with my family and see my new niece, Sophie. She is a doll. I love spending time with my family we can just chill.
Me, the proud Aunt!

Little Sophie all wrapped up!
Such a good baby all snuggled up in her blanket. Her older sister and brother will be so good to her. Proud big sister!
Good luck to my sister-in-law keeping up with Levi and a new baby! If anyone can do it, she can! Levi LOVES grandpa and always yells for him. It's cute.
This is what happens when Tami and I are babysitting. He was in the closet eating a cookie. He loved it in there...probably cause he found the stash of treats! I didn't take any pictures of Kionah and Levi running down a big dirt pile over and over again, crashing at the bottom. Let's just say there was a lot still in Levi's diaper later. Good times! It was their favorite game. That or feeding and riding the horses. Always fun to play with my nieces and nephews! Love you guys!

Remember when...

2009-06-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh....remember when I had fun trips to blog about.....now I am stuck blogging about being trapped inside my house. Last time it was the wasps...this time the weather. I almost remember what it was like to see the sun.....I miss you sun!
So about a week ago we had a huge thunder and lightening rain storm. I got excited, I love thunder and lightening. We had a power surge and a few minutes after I tried to pin point the buzzing sound I could hear. I found that the surge had turned on the tub jets. That can't be good for them to be on with no water. Other than that no problems, thank goodness cause lots of people in our area had to deal with flooded basements. Remember when I got excited about thunder and lightening...I do...but after a week straight of storms, some thunder and lightening, some just rain....I am not as excited when I hear the pitter patter of rain drops or light flashing in the sky. Like most things in life, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I forgot to bring in my patio chair and now it is stuck in the mud. I don't have rain boots (or wellies, as our Irish friend who is visiting calls them) so I can't go rescue it and the puddle hasn't gone away for over a week. I am thinking about buying some boots today and possibly a row boat. I do not want to be one of those people who has to get rescued from the roof of the house. Okay...that might be a bit dramatic...but...honestly, it's a lake in my back yard.
So while I am stuck indoors I have been studying pilates cause I am getting certified to be a pilates instructor using the reformers (pilates machines). Kind of intense and challenging but good. Thanks to all the friends that have let me practice my teaching skills on them.
The other thing I like to do is make cards. My sisters both are cute little card makers. But Tami is a card professional....her cards look amazing. Mine never look as good as hers, but I still feel proud when I finish one. It takes me forever and a lot of times I only make one or two. My sister gets a pattern and makes a bunch of the same one so she has them on hand. Not me....I make one or two and then don't want to give them away....but I still give them away, hoping the recipient will appreciate how amazing the card is. Here is the card I made for my nephew Josh (yes I am claiming him even though it's Jim's nephew). Josh graduated from High School last week. So proud of him.
I hope the weather improves soon or I get to go somewhere on a little vacation. That would be lovely!

Surrounded

2009-05-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

What is it about our house that keeps wasps making their hives in every crack outside our house. For weeks we have been knocking down hives and spraying, hoping the wasps get the hint. I first noticed hives at both sides of my garage door.
So, as a good wife, I yelled for Jim to take care of the problem. Here he is....my hero!

At first we just knocked them down...and by the next day they had built a new hive in the same spot. I had to take more drastic measures! Step two....I tried to research on the Internet and found out that we have lots of Paperwasps surrounding our house. Step three -The solution was to buy RAID for wasps, so I did. As Jim walked around the house, he found multiple nests on all sides on the house. I can not feel relaxed outside on the porch if I am in a constant state of wasp watch. The Raid is supposed to work for a few weeks so they don't build their nests in the same spot....for the most part this has worked, except for the door to my porch. So this is what I am greeted by when I want to go out back.HELLO!And now the wasps are getting trickier.
But I am on to them....of course I have to buy another can of spray cause trying to stop them from building is a full time job! We are on the run after Jim tried to knock down a nest with 4 wasps on it and the can of Raid was empty. We are SURROUNDED! HELP!

Family

2009-05-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the handsome birthday boy with his sisters. Go get em cowboy!

Boring for you maybe...but it's what I live for. So I've been on a few trips in a last few months to visit my family for some big events. First was to Canada for my Grandpas 90th birthday. The thing I love about my grandpa is that no matter how he feels he is always smiling. I wish I was like that. Such a great man and he loves horses, so that was the theme.
Some of my favorite people I got to see on this trip.
My sister Tami, who is amazing and always gets things done.

Oh yeah...I brought this guy with me....but he's still my favorite!

Levi wins the cutest cowboy award! He loved the balloons! I love his squeezy voice...he is so adorable.
Kionah is pretty cute too! Don't you just want to hug her????
Trip #2
Next I went to Iowa and got to see these trouble makers. JK! My niece turned 8 years old.....I can't believe it. I have been visiting her every chance I get since she was 2 weeks old. Now she is all grown up and got baptized. Jessica is such an amazing girl, so sweet and talented and I love seeing her.

So fun that lots of my family was able to be there for Jessica's special day! Chad's parents and Brynli were also there and we love seeing them too. They are great for many reasons but I'd be lying if I didn't say that a bonus is how well they can cook. We had the best tri tip I've ever tasted....why don't I see them more often.

Lucas is another favorite, such a little tease and a sweety.
Jacob practicing his innocent look. I love this kid but he has a lot of energy and is a smarty....he is hard to keep up with.

This kid + blankets piled on a bed = disaster! Otherwise known as big hole in the wall from a head crashing into it. So glad Jakie is tough.

Jessie riding one of her favorite animals. She is silly!
The Aunts got to meet them for lunch at their school. It was fun...except the scary office lady.
Man I love these kids!

Adorable visitors

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

I love when my family comes to visit. This weekend we got my parents and my brother and his cute wife and 2 girls. We just chilled and spoiled the girls. Oakley, who has her first birthday in a few weeks, knew how to work the room and got packed around all weekend. She is so light and so smiley and fun. She loved the fan and tried to imitate my tongue clicking sound.
She was not loving the doctor costume....but it was so darn cute.
Then there is Jovie....she was born with a scowl but she has tons of personality. She would break out into song...like, ABBA's Money, Money, Money, or Shake Your Booty. We'd all start singing along. She also is so cute when she wants something...she says "Should I have that? Or Should I do that?" She always wants someone to come play with her. She also loves to wear silky pjs all day.
Both the girls are so darling! They must get that from their mom.She also loves her movies. I think she had Princess Bride memorized. Here she is chillin' in my bed.

She was having fun jumping off the bottom step of the stairs. WOW, big jump! She was proud of herself.

My parents are the best. They get right in there and play on the floor with the girls. They are fun to have and we do shop out Logan, as usual.

Good friends

2009-03-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

It was a weekend of laughter, memories, sharing, and just enjoying being with the girls. I miss my girl friends from California. I was so excited for them to pick me up on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. From there we ate, lounged, shopped, and had a great time. To bad the weather didn't cooperate...Saturday morning we got dressed in our swimming suits for about 2 minutes till we realized the pool was not going to happen. So we went shopping and got pedicures.

This cake from Claim jumper lasted the 5 of us for days. It was a great way to start off the day. I also miss lots of restaurant choices.

I love the SUN!!!

2009-03-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

I love being in the warm weather, just soaking it up....and that's what we did on our cruise. We went on the Eastern Caribbean on an 8 day cruise and it was fabulous. We went with a fun group of Jim's soccer buddies and their wives. There were so many pictures taken that I don't know where to start.
Here we are making sure we know the safety drill.Those reflectors would really work, they were bright in the flash.
This is Jim riding the waves on the Flow Rider. They tried it on the knees first then surfing. It was lots of fun...but Jim's neck was sore for days after from wiping out.There were many people watching that got more than they bargained for....let's just say....crack can kill. Say no to crack if you can!
Here is the gang as we sail away.
Here we are in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We toured a few old military forts. They were really cool. Jim loves history so he reads all the information.

Here we are in St. Thomas. We went to a remote beach and snorkeled and got a little too much sun.
Ginger made this sign out of rocks. I spotted a turtle like rock and Ginger made it look like a real turtle. I decided to ride it...not sure why but yeehaw! I wanted to see a real turtle but no luck when we were snorkeling. The rock turtle was a close second though.

Here we are in Labadee, Royal Caribbeans private island.

This is our formal night....it's as fancy as we get. But we look GOOD!
Every night we found a new towel animal made up from Cynthia, our room maid. They were really cool. She made a dog, rabbit, love swans, turtle, and this monkey.
We had a great time and it's always hard to come back home. It's harder of course when your flight is cancelled. We ended up driving 9 hours to a different airport just so we could fly home the next day. (Jim got a ticket in GA...the cop was not friendly!)Otherwise we could have been stuck there for a few days. But we are home now trying to recover from the late night fun.

Island Park

2009-02-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Here is my attempt at being a photographer!

You have to love long weekends! Jim and I headed out with Jim's sister Heather and her husband, Don to their cabin in Island Park. The cabin is a classic log cabin but feels like a home, minus the dead animals or stuffed cougar. Love it!

Dead animal pelts. There was also lots of deer heads mounted on the walls and things like that.

This is the snow mushroom outside the cabin. How does it stay like that????? Inquiring minds want to know.

We had a relaxing weekend, filled with fun activities! I introduced them to the game of Farkle. Yes, this is a real game. It involves dice, luck, guts, and strategy. We played it many times and all ended up winning. (I think I won the most) But Heather had the most amazing dice roll luck. And Jim kept practicing his dice rolling cause he likes to win.
When we weren't putting our feet up by the fire and playing Farkle we were either snowmobiling, or playing Guitar Hero. This was our first time ever playing. Jim started to get into being a rocker after a few times practicing. And let's just say I never got booed off the stage like some other people playing did.

Don still beat all of us. He is the biggest rocker of all! It was fun....even though I look scared....it was my first time when Jim took this photo and let's just say there were a lot of notes coming all at once.

Jim had a dead sexy outfit on under his snow clothes but he wouldn't let me get a picture and believe me I tried. It reminded of my of ninja meets 90's ski bum. This is all I could get.

Here we all are ready to snowmobile. The snow was perfect powder and I got stuck a few times trying to keep up with Don and Jim.

The snow outside the cabin was past my waist. I was the only one that wanted to go play in it. Luckily I didn't sink to the bottom but it still came up to my knees. I made a snow angel and Jim had fun from the deck taking a few pictures. One of the stair ways was completely full to the deck with snow. Crazy!

Thanks to Don and Heather for a great weekend!