My Family

I have a family here on Earth

They are so good to me

I want to share my life with them

Through all Eternity....

Looks like we will be sticking to BLUE in our family for a while! We found out that we are expecting another boy - Due March 30th.

I am so grateful for the chance I have to be a mommy to these special little boys. Motherhood is truthfully the best blessing I have ever received and I know Daniel would say fatherhood is the best blessing he has ever received.

Although there were some concerns pointed out during this ultra sound with this baby, Daniel and I strongly believe that the Lord will bless us with a child that chose us as his parents.

Our range of emotions are still very much on the surface however, we also know our family will be strengthened and blessed during this time and especially when this baby joins our family.

How am I going to handle a house full of boys?! I can't wait to find out!

Readers Digest version of the last 4 months

These pictures are way out of order and just a few highlights of our last couple months:

Daniel went to the U of U vs. TCU Game. Such a disappointment!

Daniel and I took Garrett and a few of his cousins to feed ducks on a Saturday afternoon

Daniel went hunting with his Dad and Brother-in-law, Shannon, a few weeks ago (the first weekend it snowed) They didn't get anything but they had a good weekend away.

Halloween was so much fun this year!! We went to the pumpkin patch with all the cousins and of course to Ama's work to start trick-or-treating off right!

We are finally making a potty training attempt and Garrett was so excited that we bought a Toy Story Potty and stool that he held it the entire way home and fell asleep on it!

Our annual Lagoon day for my Dad's work summer party. Garrett was old enough to ride a couple rides by himself. The boats were his favorite!!

Garrett with his newest baby cousin, Ryland, who he absolutely adores!! (If we have a little girl and he loves her half as much as he loves this little girl - we are set!)

Labor Day Weekend -Daniel's little brother, Ben, and Kilee were married and we just love her!!!

The more the Merrier

So.... I have a million things to blog about that I am very behind on. However, first things first. Daniel and I are SOOOO happy to be expecting our second baby due on March 14! I know my widget has A TON of days left on it - but I was so excited to put it on here!!

Survival Mode

Well.... I survived.

For a minute last night, I didn't think I was going to make it. Neither did my mom or dad.

I put up a pretty good fight.

I thought I was ready for a big boy bed. And I was. I LOVE my Buzz Bed!

Until Bedtime came.

Then I hated everything about it. How do my mom and dad expect me to like it in the dark?!

I tried and tried to sneak out of my room, but there they were.

Waiting.

Finally at about..... well...... I am not sure exactly what time it was, all I know is that my mom was telling me over and over that it was waaaaay past my bedtime.

Whatever that means.

(She gets a little excited sometimes)

She put me in my crib. I thought for the night, but when I woke up this morning I was back in the bed.

I underestimated those two.

I know they are hoping that tonight will go smoother, but I am highly doubting it.

Papa - Paparazzi

Au Naturel

Because Daniel, Garrett and I are up by 6:30 during the week to get to work and to get Garrett to daycare, we are usually up about that same time, if not much later on the weekends.

So as we woke up this morning from the sunlight instead of a tiny voice in the next room, we were surprised that Garrett was still asleep. It was 7:30.

Daniel and I took advantage of this time and we were both able to shower and get started on our Sunday morning routine. By 9:00 we decided that we better wake Garrett up.

As we went into his room this is what we found:

It's not uncommon anymore to find him in the morning with his pants off, but he has - up to this point, left his shirt and diaper on. Hey, we're not complaining. If he is going to sleep 13 hours a night like this, we decided that we would wash a load of blankets every day. No problem.

Our Day Out with Thomas

It's Thomas the Tank Engine

Hip Hip Hooray

Chugga chugga chug chug, Chuff chuff chuff

He rides along the way

And when you hear that whistle

It can only be one train

Our favorite little engine

Thomas is his name

Meet "Pommy". He's kind of a big deal. I have no idea how Garrett got Pommy out of Thomas, but it works. After watching the 6 Thomas the Train music videos over and over about a thousand times in a row with Thomas' biggest fan, there was no way we were going to miss the biggest day of the year:

DAY OUT WITH THOMAS THE TRAIN

Heber, UT 2010

After our annual Memorial Day Breakfast with the Ebert's and BBQ with the Luthi's, We made our way up to Heber and boy it was worth it to my 1 year old!!

Patiently waiting for Pommy to Arrive

He made it!!!!!!

A little light reading before the train ride begins

Does life get any better than this?!

The toy train station that Garrett could have honestly stayed at all day

Last, but not least, his permanent reminder of this day

(Well... permanent for 2 days)

Celebrate Motherhood

In and out of weeds and dirt.
squealing, laughing, getting hurt.
Arms held out for loves and hugs.
Tiny fingers finding bugs.
Rough and tumble, sweet and shy.
Snuggling for a lullaby.
Who could name the countless joys
That come from raising little boys."

How lucky am I to get to be the mom to this little guy!

White Picket fences

If you would have asked me 5 years ago, I would have told you what an amazing, wonderful, non-nagging wife I would be to one lucky guy – and on top of that, I would have told you what a patient, caring, easy going, extremely effective mom I would be… one day.

Isnt it amazing how differently you see things before you are actually in the middle of a situation?

Wow! I sure was the best mom in the world! That is… until I actually became one.

All those times I saw moms in the grocery store, at the restaurant or in church losing patience too quickly (in my mind) with their screaming kids and how prompt I was to tell myself that I would never be that mom. I would always have the right answers, I would be this great mom that my children would listen to and I would have the miraculous ability to be able to talk my child out of a melt down or better yet, the ability to talk them into reading quietly through church.

So after this wonderful reality check I received after becoming a mom, the only 2 promises I can make are:

1) I can and will only be the best mom I can be

2) I will try my hardest not to judge other mom’s mothering skills

As far as being this amazing, wonderful, non-nagging wife I speak of, that is another story for another day. But I am working on it!

Needless to say, I am in the process of building the white picket fence to go around my house.

A boy's best friend?

As we pulled into the driveway today after running a few errands, we came across this little duck and we seriously sat and fed it for probably a half an hour. I assume it got full and proceeded to go about his day. However, Garrett was not done feeding him and started chasing this duck with a fist full of bread that he was determined to shove into its mouth. That is where I finally decided to intervene and explain to Garrett that the duck needed to go find it's mommy and family. Poor guy, I think he thought we had a new family pet!

Easter Weekend

What a busy weekend! We started it off with a surprise birthday for my brother in law Clifton. We played Rock Band, which was so much fun!



The next morning we were able to watch and listen to conference. Afterwards all the grand kids gathered at the Luthi's house to color Easter eggs, and color on the sidewalk with some Easter chalk. After that Daniel, Garrett and I headed up to my parents house so that Daniel could go to the Priesthood session with my Dad and brother's while I was able to spend some time with my mom and my sister. (and of course Garrett until he is old enough to go)

Garrett spent the Friday before Easter at his cousin Porter's house and they made some yummy Easter cookies, you can see how thrilled his is in the picture below that he doesn't have his cookie yet. Thanks Nikki and Steve for watching him!

After conference on Sunday we went up to Daniel's Grandparents house for the annual Easter egg hunt (which is, by the way, pretty serious). All eggs are worth a certain dollar amount and everyone is gunnin' right for the gold and silver egg - which always take forever to find! But it is always so much fun!

By the time we got up to my parents house we were all so tired and candied out that I completely forgot to even take any pictures. But we had a great Easter spent with both families!!

Dear Mom and Dad,

I know you have been thinking about getting me a big boy bed in the near future.

I think it's a great idea.

A lot of my friends have big boy beds.

I think they just got them because they can climb out of their cribs anyway. The truth is, I got Mom's flexibility and Dad's short legs so there is no way I can climb out of my crib. Not now, and probably not soon.

Sometimes when you guys think I am sleeping, I am actually trying with all of my little might to hoist my leg up high enough to just get my body up and over that edge. No success. Ever. I give up and go to bed.

So if I did get that big boy bed just think of all the possibilities, all the new adventures I could go on while you guys think I am sleeping, or better yet, while you guys are sleeping......

Oh and one more thing.... sometimes you two go on and on and on about how BIG I am and how I should walk instead of being held all the time. And the very next second you are telling me I am too little to feed myself an ice cream cone or too little to brush my own teeth... Please make up your mind. I am confused.

Garrett

I know this email is going around, but I got a kick out of it and thought I would share it anyway....

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks meif I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail.What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

31. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!!

HAVE A GOOD DAY!

"Bob"

After Garrett's surgery we had alot of downtime. He spent alot of that time on Mom and Dad's bed in his pajamas. The calmest activity that kept him preoccupied the longest amount of time was watching Spongebob. Now every morning after I wake him up, he goes straight to our room and grabs the remote to watch "Bob". On top of that, he screams "Ow" the entire time I am getting him dressed. (Knowing full well that I am not hurting him) He thinks that if he says "Ow" I will stop dressing him and let him get back to his "Bob". He is such a funny boy!

Update: He has slept the last 2 nights the entire way through! That is a first since he had his surgery. Cross your fingers that this keeps up. (If it doesnt, I am tempted to have them take the tubes back out and put the adnoids back in)

Pretty in Pink

Every year at this time we are so lucky to celebrate 2 of our niece's birthdays. Aleah & Clara were born exactly a week apart and let me tell you, they are both way in to princess things. We were unable to go to Aleah's birthday last Monday, but we did make it to Clara's birthday this last Sunday. I took this picture of her cake because it is the epitome of both of these girls! So Darling! We love these little ladies so much, and have loved watching them grow up!

Sealed the Deal

It's official. Jeff and Jen are married! They, along with my parents and her parents, jumped on a plane headed straight to Fiji. They were married February 20th in the Fiji temple.

Congratulations you guys!

We love Jen and are so excited that she joined our family. These 2 are seriously meant for each other!