Friday, June 22, 2012
A Birthday Party Trip
This post is belated, but I wanted to post the cute pictures from our day in Spokane a couple of weeks ago. We decided to do a little road trip to celebrate Mason's first birthday, so we drove up to Spokane which is just a couple of hours away. Sadly this is where the closest Nordstrom is located, so we went there first for a couple of things we needed. Mason was just as excited as I was to finally be back inside a decent mall. There is also a darling park with amusement park rides and the world's largest Radio Flyer wagon. We rode the carousel and played with the ducks. Then we had some dinner and let Mason eat his very first cupcake (really his first baked treat) at the most darling bakery! We love that our little town is so central to lots of wonderful places to go and see. We will definitely be spending more time in Spokane!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Daddy
I actually started writing this post a couple of weeks ago, and figured it was just appropriate to finish it and post it on Father's Day!
I always seem to talk about how obsessed I am with my Mom, and I do absolutely adore her. I find it so flattering that people call me her twin and I want to be like her in every way. I think it's natural because I'm a girl and a mother and so I emulate her in so many ways.
But I feel that I owe my Dad the same accolade and praise. My dad is seriously awesome. Here's a few of the many many reasons why.
*He has always worked so hard to give our family a beautiful and comfortable place to live. He remodeled the house I grew up in and worked on it every night after what I'm sure was a super long and stressful day at work. I know Scott, Siara, and I have happy memories of running between the beams of bare walls and watching my Dad use the jackhammer. We'd also get to take turns going to Home Depot with my Dad, and getting ice cream at The Honeybucket after. I still love the smell of lumber.
*He provides so well for our family. We were given everything we need and then some all through our lives, even into our adulthood. He has made sure that our family has never felt financial stress and has given us so many opportunities.
*He is the most generous person I know. I know that part of why he works so hard is so that he can share with others who are less fortunate. He has taught me how important it is to be charitable and kind and to give. And he always picks up the tab when we all go out to eat. Which is a huge deal, considering that there's 8 kids in just our core family, and that it continues to grow with in-laws and grandchildren.
*He has always honored his Priesthood and I realize how blessed we were to have that in our home growing up. I remember when I had the Chicken Pox and had a horrendous fever and he gave me a sick blessing. And we were given blessings every year before school started. And I always knew and still know that I can ask for a blessing anytime I need one.
*He always magnifies his callings. I remember when he was a Seminary teacher when I was really young and he just seemed to love it. He brought waffles for the class one morning and I thought that was so cool. And now that I really know how hard being a Seminary teacher must be, I respect that even more! I was also able to see how many lives he influenced serving as Bishop during my early teenage years.
*He taught me how to travel. Ohh man did he teach me how to travel!! Poor, Austin. He had no idea that he was marrying a crazy, neurotic, super-efficient travel Nazi. All thanks to my Dad! =) I could be a travel agent with all the training I got. My parents took me on an amazing trip to Switzerland and Italy when I was 17, and that trip taught me not to be afraid to go anywhere in the world.
*Going along with his incredible travel skills, he is the most hyper-efficient guy I know. If something needs to get done, my Dad will do it twice as good and in half the time. When we were packing the moving truck and I was getting so stressed and it was driving me crazy, Siara said "you need Dad here, he's so good at this stuff!" And it's true, he can Tetris maneuver anything into a Pod that you need in there. It's really very impressive.
*He had to be out of town for work on my 16th Birthday, but sent me a giant bouquet of flowers to my high school.
*He is super funny and goofy. We used to have family wrestling matches and my Dad's favorite line was "you wanna piece of me?!" One time Shane said "I want the whole thing, and then bake another batch and I'll have some more!" Obviously Shane's sense of humor came from my Dad's.
So here's to my amazingly awesome Dad! Thank you for all of the wonderful things you have taught me and the example you have always shown to me. And for not killing me during my teenage years, I know I was a serious handful during that time. Happy Father's Day!
I always seem to talk about how obsessed I am with my Mom, and I do absolutely adore her. I find it so flattering that people call me her twin and I want to be like her in every way. I think it's natural because I'm a girl and a mother and so I emulate her in so many ways.
But I feel that I owe my Dad the same accolade and praise. My dad is seriously awesome. Here's a few of the many many reasons why.
*He has always worked so hard to give our family a beautiful and comfortable place to live. He remodeled the house I grew up in and worked on it every night after what I'm sure was a super long and stressful day at work. I know Scott, Siara, and I have happy memories of running between the beams of bare walls and watching my Dad use the jackhammer. We'd also get to take turns going to Home Depot with my Dad, and getting ice cream at The Honeybucket after. I still love the smell of lumber.
*He provides so well for our family. We were given everything we need and then some all through our lives, even into our adulthood. He has made sure that our family has never felt financial stress and has given us so many opportunities.
*He is the most generous person I know. I know that part of why he works so hard is so that he can share with others who are less fortunate. He has taught me how important it is to be charitable and kind and to give. And he always picks up the tab when we all go out to eat. Which is a huge deal, considering that there's 8 kids in just our core family, and that it continues to grow with in-laws and grandchildren.
*He has always honored his Priesthood and I realize how blessed we were to have that in our home growing up. I remember when I had the Chicken Pox and had a horrendous fever and he gave me a sick blessing. And we were given blessings every year before school started. And I always knew and still know that I can ask for a blessing anytime I need one.
*He always magnifies his callings. I remember when he was a Seminary teacher when I was really young and he just seemed to love it. He brought waffles for the class one morning and I thought that was so cool. And now that I really know how hard being a Seminary teacher must be, I respect that even more! I was also able to see how many lives he influenced serving as Bishop during my early teenage years.
*He taught me how to travel. Ohh man did he teach me how to travel!! Poor, Austin. He had no idea that he was marrying a crazy, neurotic, super-efficient travel Nazi. All thanks to my Dad! =) I could be a travel agent with all the training I got. My parents took me on an amazing trip to Switzerland and Italy when I was 17, and that trip taught me not to be afraid to go anywhere in the world.
*Going along with his incredible travel skills, he is the most hyper-efficient guy I know. If something needs to get done, my Dad will do it twice as good and in half the time. When we were packing the moving truck and I was getting so stressed and it was driving me crazy, Siara said "you need Dad here, he's so good at this stuff!" And it's true, he can Tetris maneuver anything into a Pod that you need in there. It's really very impressive.
*He had to be out of town for work on my 16th Birthday, but sent me a giant bouquet of flowers to my high school.
*He is super funny and goofy. We used to have family wrestling matches and my Dad's favorite line was "you wanna piece of me?!" One time Shane said "I want the whole thing, and then bake another batch and I'll have some more!" Obviously Shane's sense of humor came from my Dad's.
So here's to my amazingly awesome Dad! Thank you for all of the wonderful things you have taught me and the example you have always shown to me. And for not killing me during my teenage years, I know I was a serious handful during that time. Happy Father's Day!
Monday, June 11, 2012
One Year Old
One year ago today we brought our sweet little baby boy into the world. We were lucky enough to be able to bring him home that very day too. I of course can't believe all that's happened in these last months. I also can't believe how truly blessed we are to have Mason in our home. Here's a few things that our little man has been doing in the last month.
His weight gain has tapered off now that he's moving so much more, and he's held pretty steady between 22.5-23 pounds. He's getting taller and taller! His doctor's appointment is tomorrow so we'll find out his height then.
He walks like a champ now, just picks up and goes anywhere he wants. And he can walk while carrying things now too, so our house is getting rearranged on pretty regular basis.
He's also talking so much, he's started to say "uh-oh" in context now, like when he drops something or at the end of a book. And he says "down" "go" and "cracker". He also babbles in what seems like a very complex language.
He loves to look at himself in the mirror, and waves and says hello and clicks his tongue and dances while he's looking at himself. So vain!
His culinary repertoire has expanded as well. He is pretty much off all baby food and onto the real big boy stuff. He loves hummus, cheese-especially cheddar, goat, and fresh mozzarella, kiwi, mangos, cinnamon toast, triscuits, PB&J, pasta, oatmeal, blueberries, tilapia, tuna fish, sweet potato fries, and...just about everything else we put in front of him! And he loooves almond milk! He chugs several cups every day.
We've started weaning him, especially the nighttime nursing. It's going well, but of course right when we started to cut back he teethed and then got a terrible cold. So we've been merciful on the poor little thing, but he is sleeping much better and he can actually be put to bed by Austin instead of just me. Which is nice. He now has 8 teeth-4 on top and 4 on bottom.
He has been on a lot of plane rides, but lately he has become a seasoned road tripper too. We've gone on three road trips in the last four weeks and we'll be leaving in a couple of weeks to go on our 3 week excursion to North Carolina and Connecticut. I hope he keeps up being an adventurous and patient little travel buddy!
And now here's a little timeline of pictures to show how much our littlest sweetie has grown in the last 12 months.
Brand New!
One Month
Two Months
Three Months
Four Months (I miss the thumb sucking!!!)
Five Months
Six Months
Seven Months
Eight Months
Nine Months
Ten Months
Eleven Months
One Year Old!
It's tradition in our family to do a train cake for the first Birthday. Mine is not anything spectacular by any means, but I wanted to keep the tradition alive! We used Google Plus to have a virtual birthday party with all of our loved ones all around the country!
Singing Happy Birthday from 6 different states
Are these wrinkles already?!
And here's some pictures from the last month!
He's the best little helper. He helps me vacuum...
And helps me in the bathroom...
And helps me fold the laundry...
He LOVES his books. Loves, loves loves. I tried to get him to watch a movie this week because I was so sick and just wanted to rest my eyes for a little bit. But he turned his back on the TV and instead looked at his entire pile of books. Our little smarty pants!
His weight gain has tapered off now that he's moving so much more, and he's held pretty steady between 22.5-23 pounds. He's getting taller and taller! His doctor's appointment is tomorrow so we'll find out his height then.
He walks like a champ now, just picks up and goes anywhere he wants. And he can walk while carrying things now too, so our house is getting rearranged on pretty regular basis.
He's also talking so much, he's started to say "uh-oh" in context now, like when he drops something or at the end of a book. And he says "down" "go" and "cracker". He also babbles in what seems like a very complex language.
He loves to look at himself in the mirror, and waves and says hello and clicks his tongue and dances while he's looking at himself. So vain!
His culinary repertoire has expanded as well. He is pretty much off all baby food and onto the real big boy stuff. He loves hummus, cheese-especially cheddar, goat, and fresh mozzarella, kiwi, mangos, cinnamon toast, triscuits, PB&J, pasta, oatmeal, blueberries, tilapia, tuna fish, sweet potato fries, and...just about everything else we put in front of him! And he loooves almond milk! He chugs several cups every day.
We've started weaning him, especially the nighttime nursing. It's going well, but of course right when we started to cut back he teethed and then got a terrible cold. So we've been merciful on the poor little thing, but he is sleeping much better and he can actually be put to bed by Austin instead of just me. Which is nice. He now has 8 teeth-4 on top and 4 on bottom.
He has been on a lot of plane rides, but lately he has become a seasoned road tripper too. We've gone on three road trips in the last four weeks and we'll be leaving in a couple of weeks to go on our 3 week excursion to North Carolina and Connecticut. I hope he keeps up being an adventurous and patient little travel buddy!
And now here's a little timeline of pictures to show how much our littlest sweetie has grown in the last 12 months.
Brand New!
One Month
Two Months
Three Months
Four Months (I miss the thumb sucking!!!)
Five Months
Six Months
Seven Months
Eight Months
Nine Months
Ten Months
Eleven Months
One Year Old!
It's tradition in our family to do a train cake for the first Birthday. Mine is not anything spectacular by any means, but I wanted to keep the tradition alive! We used Google Plus to have a virtual birthday party with all of our loved ones all around the country!
Singing Happy Birthday from 6 different states
Are these wrinkles already?!
And here's some pictures from the last month!
He's the best little helper. He helps me vacuum...
And helps me in the bathroom...
And helps me fold the laundry...
He LOVES his books. Loves, loves loves. I tried to get him to watch a movie this week because I was so sick and just wanted to rest my eyes for a little bit. But he turned his back on the TV and instead looked at his entire pile of books. Our little smarty pants!
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