Our Sweet Life

The birth of Charlie David

2012-02-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of Charlie's birth. As with all births, some details of this story may be graphic. This is also very personal to me. So consider yourself warned. :) I'm also going to refer to Charlie as baby because we hadn't officially decided on his name.

At 5:15 am on Sunday, December 18th, I was peacefully sleeping. I woke up suddenly because I felt something and I knew that it was not urine. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I knew that what was coming out was the amniotic fluid. At first I thought "Oh no! We're not ready! Our babysitters are all set up for Wednesday and Thursday, not today!" (I was scheduled to be induced on Wednesday the 21st.) But then I was so excited to know that I would be holding my little boy before the day was through. I called to David who was still asleep. He woke up and I told him that my water had broken. He jumped up and was about to start throwing things into a bag (because of course my hospital bag was not ready). I told him he didn't need to do that and we could wait.

I then called my parents to tell them my water had broken. My dear father got up and made the drive down from Layton so he could stay with William and Henry. While we were waiting for my dad to come, I showered, did my hair and makeup, packed my bags, and ate a light breakfast. My dad arrived about 6:45am. We visited for a few minutes while David and I finished getting ready to go. Henry also woke up about the time my dad came. It was really nice getting to spend a little bit of one-on-one time with my baby before the new baby came!

Before we left, David and my dad gave me a priesthood blessing. David has given me a blessing before the births of each of our boys and I'm so grateful for that. I was blessed with comfort and that all would go well with the delivery of our baby. We then said our goodbyes and drove to the hospital.

Checking in at the hospital was interesting. The lady knew my name because she had seen it on the induction list for Wednesday. And of course I hadn't pre-registered so we had to get that taken care of. We were quickly taken back to a room. We were put in a room 2 doors down from the room where Henry was born. I secretly hoped we could be in the same room, but I didn't ask.

Here is my only pregnancy profile picture. We were in our room by 7:30am.

Andra was my first nurse. I recognized her but couldn't remember if it was from Henry's birth or from a different visit to the women's center while I was pregnant with Henry. But now I remember that she was one of my nurses after Henry was born. She was very kind and very excited for us. And she recognized us too. She first checked to make sure my water had broken and to see how dilated I was. The litmus test and the fluid on her glove confirmed that my water had indeed broken. And unfortunately I was still only dilated to a 1, but I was 70% effaced. She then started my IV.

I was started on pitocin right away since I wasn't having contractions on my own. They started me out at a 4 and would increase it each time they came in to check on me. After an hour or so a new nurse named Lori came in. She was a really nice nurse. She referred to me as Sis. At first I thought it was weird, but then I really liked it. It helped me feel more comfortable around her.

I progressed V E R Y S L O W L Y. Seriously. I couldn't believe it. And it didn't help that my sisters and dad had all placed bets on when I would have the baby and one sister (ahem... Becky) didn't think I would have the baby until almost 6 that night!

Lori turned up my pitocin each time she came in. Doctor Holmes came to check on me around 10 or so. I still hadn't dilated much. I told them that I was hoping to go natural. They gave me a few pointers. Then Dr. Holmes did an ultrasound to check the baby's position. He was head down, but somewhat posterior. His head was turned to the side instead of being face down. During this time they told me if I wanted an epidural that it would take at least half an hour for the anesthesiologist to come since it was a Sunday and he was at home. I wasn't too worried because I was really hoping to go natural.

By this time my pitocin was at 16. 20 is the highest they take it to. For the next half hour at least I tried really hard to be strong. But the contractions were incredibly strong and were coming so close together. I could also feel my contractions in my lower back due to the baby being somewhat posterior. David sat with me and rubbed my back when it hurt. He was so strong for me. It was really hard for him to see me like this, though. The contractions were incredibly painful and I was really struggling. I prayed throughout this half hour asking for help. I told Heavenly Father I wanted to go natural, I wanted to have that spiritual experience I've read about on so many other blogs. But I was in so much pain. It was at this time that I learned a very valuable lesson. One I hope I will never forget. Jesus Christ knew what I was feeling. I knew that. He knew I was hurting, He knew my desires, and He knew that my main desire was to have a healthy baby. I felt that an epidural was the best route for this birth. David and I talked about it. I knew it would help me calm down and I knew that it would bring comfort to David. I also knew and felt that God loves epidurals. They were created for a reason. I pushed my call button and told my nurse I needed an epidural. She made the call to the anesthesiologist and our wait began.

The next 45 minutes felt like an eternity. Contraction after contraction came, strong and hard. I did my best to breathe through them and David did his best to help me. I was so relieved when my nurse came in with the anesthesiologist. While he prepped for the epidural my nurse helped me through each contraction. She also turned my pitocin off. David had to sit down by this point. He doesn't do well with needles - especially when they are going into me. I was somewhat close to hyperventilating by this point because my contractions were so painful. I was breathing so deeply I was making it difficult for the anesthesiologist to place the epidural. But I slowed my breathing and the epidural went in perfectly. The anesthesiologist even complimented my back and said it was perfect for epidurals. He said he could play darts with my back and the epidural. Ha! Pretty funny compliment! The epidural took about 15 minutes or so to take effect. And when it did I was so relieved and grateful that I had made this choice.

The nurse checked me during this time and I was only at a 3. A THREE! I couldn't believe it. All those hard contractions and still just a 3. They both left and David and I were left alone. Lori said she'd be back in 15 minutes to check on me. She didn't come back for an hour... That hour felt like the 2nd longest hour of my life. I just laid in bed doing nothing. I felt like nothing was happening and it was torture.

Lori finally came back in. The baby's heart rate kept dropping with my contractions. Time for the oxygen mask. I really hate oxygen masks. They feel so constricting and I feel like I'm suffocating.

I'll do my best with the rest of the details, but things are a bit of a blur. My doctor came and checked on me. He had seen how the baby's heart rate kept dropping. The heart rate was typically at about 150 beats per minute. Well, with my contractions his heart rate was dropping down to about half that. At one point it was at 30 beats per minute. They started an IV line up through my cervix and into the uterus to give the baby a bit of a cushion. They also placed a monitor on his head to better track his heart rate. I was checked again and was at a 5 at least.

At one point at least 5 nurses flooded into my room (I was the only one in labor at the time so they all were watching me). Some were prepping for the baby, but they all were checking to see how the baby and I were doing. They were also prepping for a C-Section. Lori brought in a razor and a vial of something. She told Dr. Holmes the OR was being prepped just in case. They hoped that by prepping and being ready for a C-Section that I wouldn't need one.

I started praying fervently that I would not need a C-Section. I did not want a c-section and I prayed that the baby's heart rate would stop dropping. Thankfully his heart rate seemed to stabilize. My army of nurses left. My doctor at some point checked me again. I had further dilated and was almost completely effaced. He also manipulated the head so the baby would be face down and not posterior. We talked about what I wanted to do when the baby was born. I asked to cut the cord. He said that was fine. He then suggested that I could help pull the baby out and put him on my tummy. His daughter had given birth just a few hours before in Arizona and her doctor had had her do that. I excitedly agreed to help pull him out.

By about 1:55 or 2:00 I was ready to push - finally fully dilated and effaced. I could feel when I needed to push. I only pushed a few times and he was born! Once his head crowned Dr. Holmes had me reach down. I grabbed onto the baby's shoulders and helped pull him out. It was amazing, beautiful, intensely spiritual, and perfect.

He was very slippery! Thank goodness Dr. Holmes had a good grip on him too. He cried a good, strong cry. The cord was tied/wrapped around the baby's neck. Dr. Holmes got it off of him and then placed the baby on my tummy. Incredible emotions flooded me. I cried tears of joy and gratitude. It felt amazingly spiritual to hold my sweet little boy. The baby peed in my hand so the nurses wiped that off and then let me wipe him up a little bit. I then cut the cord. I snuggled my baby close and then they took him to check him.

My sweet, perfect little boy!

5 pounds 7 ounces

20 inches long
Born at 2:05 pm

While he was being checked out, I delivered the placenta. David did take a picture of it, but I will spare you from seeing that. It's pretty cool though. The cord was pretty small. I had been measuring small at least since my 20 week ultrasound. The baby measured about a week behind at that ultrasound. By the time I was 33 weeks or so the baby was measuring about 2 weeks behind. At each appointment after that I had an ultrasound to measure the baby. There was very little difference. At my last appointment when I was almost 38 weeks I measured small still and he measured about 33 weeks. It was best that our baby came early. The placenta wasn't giving him the nourishment he needed anymore.

David and our baby!

Mommy and baby!

One thing I love about Orem Community Hospital is that there is no rush to take the baby away. I got to hold and cuddle and feed my baby for a few hours before he first visited the nursery. It was during this time that we prayed and felt his name should be Charlie. I'll do another post later about his name.

Every baby is a miracle. But I feel that this baby of ours, our sweet Charlie, is a huge miracle. It's a miracle that he was born healthy - small, but healthy. It's a miracle that I didn't have a C-Section. And it's a miracle because he is a precious gift from our Father in Heaven.

Welcome to our family, Charlie!
We love and adore you!

Temple Square

2012-01-17T21:00:00.011-07:00

On Saturday, December 17th we went to Temple Square. We didn't realize it was the night of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert so parking was INSANE! Luckily we found a spot pretty close to Temple Square. Unfortunately it was on the opposite side of the road. Fortunately we were stopped at a red light. So I dashed out of the car, ran across the street, and stood in the spot until David could get there. I only got a few dirty looks and I only had to turn one car away.

Once we were parked we bundled the boys up and headed out to find David's parents.
We met up at the Lion House Pantry and had a delicious dinner together! Then we walked around Temple Square to enjoy the lights.

This was just so sweet! I had to take a picture.
I love seeing couples who have been married for a long time still walking together, holding hands.

The best part of temple square - the temple!!!

We loved the lights! They are always amazing and breathtaking. Temple Square has a beautiful, peaceful spirit that I love feeling. I'm glad we were able to take our boys this year. Little did we know that this would be our last picture as a family of four!

Mater!

2012-01-17T19:00:00.008-07:00

Guess who came to town?

MATER!!!

He was sitting outside a tree lot. The owner of the lot knows the guy who created this life-sized replica of Mater. It was pretty awesome!

We all LOVE Mater!

William loved it but was acting a little nervous around it.

Our boys adore Mater! I'm glad we got to see this!

Our Christmas Tree

2012-01-17T16:30:00.010-07:00

We picked up our Christmas Tree on Saturday, December 3rd. We chose to get a flocked tree again. They are just SO pretty and very easy to care for! I'm sure in the future we'll return to green Christmas trees.

We had a great time decorating our tree that evening. We listened to our new Christmas CD - Michael Buble's Christmas. William was very excited to decorate the tree. He loved hanging up the ornaments and finding places to hang each ornament.

He did a great job! Although he did group several close together!
(But they didn't stay there for long. Henry loved playing with whatever ornament he could reach!)

Henry helped for a few minutes. But then we decided he wasn't all that helpful. So we distracted him with a coloring book and crayons. He was pretty content to sit and color for a while. Henry sure loved the tree though. If/when he got his hands on an ornament that looked like a ball he would promptly chuck it across the room and yell "BALL"!!! Needless to say, all those ornaments were moved up high! He was pretty funny about the lights. He would walk up to them and point at them and yell "Hot!" and then try to blow on them (with his mouth, not his nose - see he's learning!). He also would point at very ornaments and say "Wow, Cool!"

David put the star up on our tree. It sat a little crookedly, but we loved it. Having a real Christmas tree and decorating it with all our ornaments is one of my favorite things about Christmas! I have a lot of fond memories of selecting and decorating our Christmas tree as a child/teen and I hope my children will as well.

Thanksgiving

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice and fun Thanksgiving this year with David's family. We enjoyed the day with David's immediate family as well as his Uncle Terry and Aunt Debbie and their family. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures!
We had a great time hanging out, playing games, and visiting with the family. We had lots of delicious food, too! After dinner, David, the boys, and I went to my family's dessert party. We had a great time visiting with family and eating more delicious food!
That night David and I went to some Black Friday sales. We learned an important lesson - Walmart just isn't worth it! But we found great deals at Target. Thanks to my parents for watching our boys so we could go. And a special thanks to my dad for staying up half the night when William ended up getting sick! William still remembers the kindness shown to him that night. My dad called letting us know about William at about 1 am so David and I went back to my parents' house after we finished at Target. I went to a few more places Friday morning around 5 am.
We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with our families. It was great visiting with everyone!

I do have a few pictures from Thanksgiving weekend.

Henry loved this fake mustache!

He didn't care too much for it as a unibrow though!

Heading home in our super-packed car!
We had baby stuff, the things we bought on black Friday, and the stuff we originally brought with us all crammed into our car.

William is pretending to sleep! silly kid!

We had a great Thanksgiving. Thanks to all those who helped to make it great! We have much to be grateful for - the gospel, the temple, our family, our friends, and our health. And many many more things!

Henry at 18 months

2012-01-16T20:00:00.001-07:00

On November 21st, Henry turned 18 months old!

Henry's stats at 18 moths
Weight - 28 pounds
Height - 33 1/2 inches
He's right in the 75th percentile.

Henry started nursery just before he turned 18 months. At first, he cried when being dropped off and then off and on throughout nursery. He liked having William in there with him, though. He still cries when being dropped off, but he is slowly warming up to nursery.

Henry is such a sweet boy. He loves to snuggle. He loves carrying his blanket around with him and he LOVES his binky. He only gets that at naptime and bedtime though. (And hopefully soon we'll be able to get rid of it!)

He loves to read books. He'll sit and look at books by himself or with William. He loves playing with William. He loves all things Cars and can tell you most of the names of the Cars characters. He loved studying the toysrus toy catalog. He could sit and look at that thing for several minutes at a time.

Henry is our screamer. He'll scream in his sleep for no apparent reason. He screams when he's happy. He screams when he's mad. He screams when he's sad. It sure drives us crazy at times, but he is slowly getting better. He loves to roar like a lion! He loves being loud! He loves climbing, too. He'll climb up on the kitchen chairs and then up onto the table.
His vocabulary is growing more and more each day. I love how he says "mmm... delicious!" when he's eating. It is simply adorable! Henry also prays now with help from mom or dad. He says amen so sweetly! And sometimes when he is ready for whoever is praying to be done he'll start saying amen over and over again!

On his half birthday we gave him some ice cream with a candle in it. After we sang "Happy Half Birthday" to him, we told him to blow out the candle. At first we thought he wasn't doing anything. But then we realized he was trying to blow the candle out with his nose! (He learned ho to blow his nose a month or two before he turned 18 months.)

He sure is silly!

No matter how hard he blew, he couldn't blow out the candle. Since his half birthday we'll occasionally light the candle and see if he can blow it out. So far, he hasn't been able to! He still blows through his nose!

Henry LOVES shoes! He has mastered untying his shoes. He will sit for several minutes at a time playing with shoelaces - untying them and then unlacing the shoes. He also loves to wear mine and David's shoes.

Henry makes us laugh everyday. His snuggles and charm more than make up for the frustrating middle-of-the-night-screaming-for-no-reason moments!

And one last thing...

his curls.
We sure love his red, curly hair. And those curls aren't going anywhere for a while! Henry is still our baby and we'll enjoy those curls for as long as we can!!!

We love you Henry!!!

Snow Fun

2012-01-16T17:00:00.001-07:00

So far this winter season we've had ONE good day of snow. And it wasn't even winter technically.

On November 19th we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground.

We bundled up in our warm clothes and headed out to play!

Henry LOVES the snow! He is just fascinated by falling snow! And he loved playing in it. He didn't even mind falling in the snow and getting it on his face (something I dislike!).

William also loves the snow. He had so much fun playing in it! He didn't want to come inside when we were all done.

David tried to make a snow man. But this snow wasn't very snowman-friendly.

So they made one that was about 9 inches tall.

We also made snow angels!!!

I'm pretty sure this is the snow angel Henry made.

This video just cracks me up!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Halloween 2011

2012-01-16T14:16:00.001-07:00

We had lots of Halloween fun this year!
On Wednesday the 26th, William, Henry and I went to our ward's trunk-or-treat. We played some carnival games and of course got lots of candy!

On Saturday the 29th, we went to my parents' ward's Trunk-or-Treat.
The kids had a great time collecting lots of candy!
And thankfully they didn't get scared by their Papa!

On Halloween day William and Henry received a fun Halloween package from David's parents. They had a great time coloring in their new Halloween coloring books and eating some yummy treats.

We enjoyed our traditional witches' fingers (french toast cut into strips and jam) for breakfast. After our lunch of eyeballs and blood (spaghetti-o's) we enjoyed some Frankenstein pudding cups! For dinner we had our traditional homemade chili along with Mummy dogs. We then had delicious candy corn ice cream shakes (just ice cream dyed and layered to look like candy corn).
I love planning out fun meals for holidays - if you couldn't tell. :)

After dinner, William and Henry dress up in their costumes and I took them trick or treating! (David had to work.) We only went to 10 or so houses in our ward. Then we headed over to my grandparents' house for hot chocolate and homemade donuts! We had a great Halloween (2 1/2 months ago) and hope you did too!

And one more Halloween note...
Here are the boys' trick-or-treating bags that I made for them.

William's Wild Thing bag

Henry's Frankenstein Bag
(idea from homemadebyjill)

They were so fun and easy to make. And the boys LOVE them!

Halloween 2011 - Our Costumes

2012-01-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to Our Family Circus!

Introducing....

Timothy Q. Mouse

AND

Dumbo the Flying Elephant!

The Stork
and...

Mrs. Jumbo!!!

All costumes (except Dumbo's) brought to you by Rosalee and her amazing sewing machine!

Halloween 2011 - Carving Pumpkins

2012-01-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday October 28th we all picked out our pumpkins at our local Maceys. Back at home we got to work carving our huge pumpkins!

William was a little nervous about touching the inside of the pumpkins.

But eventually he decided it was okay to touch the slimy guts!

Henry was a little nervous too.

But he soon dug in!

Their finished product! (William told me which shapes to use.)

My finished product!

David's finished product!
I never got a really good picture of his, but this one helps you see his design the best.
He carved Puss from the Shrek movies.

Omaha Trip

2011-11-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Thursday October 20th I flew out to Omaha. David and the boys took me to the airport. I was excited to go, but sad to leave my boys behind. I'd only spent 1 day away from William ( I don't count the time I was in the hospital having Henry because I still saw him multiple times a day) and I'd never been away from Henry. As I said goodbye to David and my boys I definitely got choked up! I knew my boys were in the best hands with their daddy. He had work and school off so I had no concerns. I just knew I'd miss them all like crazy! But I had a promise to keep so I needed to go.
I met Mindy in Primary when I moved to Nebraska when I was 8. We didn't really become friends at first. But starting in junior high we gradually became better friends. Since high school we've been best friends. We're there for each other through thick and thin. We would visit each other either in Omaha or here. She came out to be with me for the week or so before I was married. I promised her at some point that I would be there with her when her time came to be endowed.

(Mindy is the one on my left)
Mindy received her endowments the night of Thursday the 20th. It was amazing to be with her and to be her escort. It is an experience I'll always treasure. I'm so grateful that everything worked out so I could be there with her.

During my trip I stayed with Becky and her family. Being with them definitely eased my loneliness.

On Friday we went to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. Becky and her family LOVE this place, so of course they had to take me!

Becky and Matt

Josie, Anthony, Makayla, and Zachary

We first went through a storybook village.
They had some fun displays of various nursery rhymes and fairy tales.
My favorite was the 3 billy goats gruff - especially since a goat was going over the bridge and the troll right as I took the picture!

We also went to some pig races. While waiting for the races to start I saw and visited with my 7th grade social studies teacher. That was a strange but fun experience.

Back to the races. This was the first race.

The second race.

The third race.
They were all pretty fun and the kids loved it!

We also went through some haunted houses and rode the train.
We had a great time!

On Saturday morning we went to the zoo.

Aren't they adorable?

We went through my favorite - the jungle!!!
The monkeys were really active and very noisy while we were in the jungle.

One of my favorites - the sloth!

A pretty peacock-like bird was walking around our feet.

A friendly orangutan.

Zach really enjoyed his chocolate animal cracker.

Saturday afternoon Becky and I played skipbo while we watched the Husker. I spent that evening with Mindy. We saw the new Footloose movie.

Becky and I woke up very early Sunday morning to make it to the airport on time. My flight left at 6:20 am. It was sad saying goodbye - just because I wish Becky and I lived closer to each other.
But it was so good to get back to my boys. I sure missed them!

Decorating Cookies

2011-11-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

During the first year of our marriage, my friend, Crystal, gave me this huge bucket of cookie cutters. It has cutters for every holiday!
Recently we pulled out our Halloween cookie cutters and baked some yummy sugar cookies.
(You need to try this recipe some time... It's my favorite! The cookies are so moist!)

I dyed some Betty Crocker frosting and we got to work decorating our cookies.

William's first attempt at decorating his pumpkin cookie.

Henry attempting to decorate his cookie.
I helped him with what is already on the cookie.

Eating our work!

Delicious!!!

We'll have to do this again soon!

Five Years

2011-11-05T12:00:00.003-06:00

October 12, 2006

I married my best friend.

For time and all eternity.
A promise I truly believe in.

So happy.

So in love.

We looked forward to the rest of our life together.

One of the happiest/best days of my life.

Almost 2 years (and 3 apartments) later...

We became a family of three.

We are blessed with our darling William.

I became a mother.

You became a father.

A family of three.

21 months later...

One turned into two.

We are blessed with our adorable Henry, our feisty redhead.

A family of four!

But still two best friends in love.

And now here we are...
Almost a family of FIVE (can you believe it!?!).

5 years after that special October 12.
5 wonderful years.
We've had our share of downs and ups.
But through it all, you've been by my side.
Thank you for making me a wife and a mother.
I love you more than I can express.
Here is to the rest of our mortal life together
and to eternity together.

“If a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; . . . and if [they] abide in my covenant, . . . it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world” (D&C 132:19).

Henry's first hair cut

2011-11-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am in love with Henry's red, curly hair. It is so curly in the back! I love the little ringlets he has.
I don't care what others say about his hair. The curls will be cut when David and I are ready for them to be cut. So for now, he will keep his ringlets.

But something really needed to be done about his hair.
At times he looked like he was about to take flight.

So we had a little bit cut off around his ears.

He was a good, wiggly client!

And now I have his little hairs saved in an envelope.

This is how he looked a few weeks after his hair cut.
So handsome!!!

I'll post a picture with his 18 month update of all his curls.

Sunday Best

2011-11-04T16:00:00.001-06:00

I know I'm not biased... all the older ladies who sit on the back row in my ward agree with me.
These boys are simply the cutest, most handsome boys I've ever seen!

Mary Poppins

2011-11-04T14:00:00.000-06:00

At the end of August I found a great deal on tickets to Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre. David and I decided to get tickets for our 5th anniversary.

On September 3rd we left our boys with my parents and went on a hot date!
We first went to the Macaroni Grill in Salt Lake. When we were walking to our table we passed Elder Dallin H. Oaks! We waved to him and then went to our table.
After dinner we walked over to the theatre.

This was our first time going to an off-broadway production together.
The Capitol Theater is amazing and really beautiful.

Outside the theater.
Once in the theater I overheard someone say the Elder Oaks was sitting a few rows in front of them.
Apparently David and I had the same date night as Elder Oaks and his wife.

The playbill.

The play was INCREDIBLE!!!
We really loved it and were totally blown away by some of the things they did in the play.

After the play we walked through this forest of pipe type things.

We had a great time on our date! It was so nice to get out and go on a date in honor of our 5th anniversary. It had been a while since we'd gone on a date without kids. Hopefully we'll be able to do this more regularly once David is done with school.

August Family Outings

2011-11-04T12:00:00.002-06:00

During the last half of August we had some pretty fun family outings.

Utah County Fair and One Man Band Diner
One day we headed down to Spanish Fork for the County Fair. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures there. We saw lots of farm animals and almost got drenched in some torrential rain. We had our first funnel cake as a family and then left the fair.
We drove over to the One Man Band Diner for dinner.

Henry loved all the pictures. There was one picture he kept pointing to and calling Jesus. It definitely wasn't Jesus in the picture. It was some 1970s rock-n-roll singer. He looked familiar but I am not sure who it was.

Waiting for our food.

William got to try Apple Beer. He really liked it!

We had a fun night together!

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

On Tuesday the 23rd of August we packed a picnic dinner and drove up to the Gardens. This was our last opportunity as a family to participate in 2 buck Tuesdays.

Checking out the fish!

This picture makes me laugh. It seriously sums up life as a mother of 2 young boys.
I'm pretty sure they took off in opposite directions after we took the picture.

Climbing in the gazebo.

Water!

Playing in the fountain in the Secret Garden.

I'm sure they both would have climbed in if we'd let them!

The Secret Garden is by far my favorite in the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It is so beautiful and so peaceful! Someday I hope to have a garden similar to this.

I sure love him!!!

We really enjoyed our summer! We went to fun new places and tried some new things.
The only place we usually go to in the summer that we didn't make it to was the Lindon Pool.

William's 3rd birthday

2011-11-04T07:00:00.004-06:00

William had been anticipating his birthday since Henry's birthday back in May. We told him that he had to wait for Mommy's and then Daddy's birthday. And then it would be his birthday. Father's Day really threw him off. He thought for sure that his birthday was so soon! Once he finally understood that father's day wasn't Daddy's birthday, he started looking forward to David's birthday. With about a month or so to go until his birthday, we made a paper chain that counted down to both David's and then William's birthday. He LOVED it and was so excited to remove a link each day. Since we knew he really understood birthdays this year, we wanted to make it extra special.

William awoke to balloons hanging in his room. He was pretty surprised!

He then got to open one present.

Happy Birthday, Little Pookie!!!
We'd checked this one out from the library and he loved it. So we decided to add it to his collection.
He was thrilled!

He was even more excited when he ran out into the living room and saw all the balloons and streamers!!

Henry was enthralled with all the balloons.

The boys loved playing with the balloons and streamers in their room.
They spent lots of time in there giggling and playing together.

After breakfast, we packed up and went to the zoo. Since we went for Henry's birthday William had been looking forward to going for his birthday! We saw all William's favorite things (except for the train).

The boys checked out their favorite pachyderm.

Zuri- the baby elephant!

Henry LOVES elephants.

We went to the bird show. William really adores this. He'll even play bird show at home sometimes.

Don't let this face fool you!

He was very excited to be there watching all his favorite birds - especially Poco!

Next up was the carousel!
No trip to the zoo would be complete without a ride on the carousel.
William chose the rhino.

And Henry chose the gorilla in honor of his cousin, Anthony, who loves gorillas.

William wanted to pose with the T-Rex (or Buddy as he called him).
He really enjoyed the dinosaurs at the zoo. They are gone now.

Playing on the tigers.

This was hilarious! We watched this giraffe for several minutes.
It was just too funny watching him eat and spit his food out on this sign.

The boys loved it!

We headed home shortly after lunch so we could get ready for William's birthday party.
I made 3 homemade pizzas - 2 pepperoni and 1 BBQ Chicken.
Grandma Dougal, Nathan, Kat and her 3 kids, and William's great Grandma and Grandpa came for the party.

After our delicious dinner, it was present time!!!

William loved all his presents!!! Thanks to everyone for your generosity!

Next up: ice cream cake!!!

I'm pretty sure William joined in as we sang happy birthday to him.

William really loved his 3rd birthday. Birthdays are so fun with kids!

I sure love you William!

Your daddy loves you too!

We're so glad you had a very happy birthday!!!

Farewell/Birthday Party

2011-11-03T18:00:00.001-06:00

First of all, tell me this doesn't look A-MA-ZING!!!!

Yep, you can't. Don't you wish you could have had a slice or two? This beauty is a homemade chocolate cake with a layer of homemade ganache between the 2 layers and on top of the cake. Then it is covered in delicious homemade chocolate frosting. Mmmmm..... It was heavenly!!! And I made it all by myself!

Enough about the cake. I made this beauty for two very special people.

William and Adam.
My little brother decided to get a job in Korea teaching English for at least the next year. He left the day before William's birthday and a few weeks before his own birthday. So at this party we celebrated William's 3rd birthday and Adam's birthday with my family and some of Adam's friends. We also gathered to wish Adam luck in his endeavors in Korea.

This is just some of the family that were there. Jacob and his family were also there.

William opened his presents from my parents - a Clifford book and doll and a Jeff Corvette shake'n'go car. He loves them and still sleeps with Clifford (along with 3 other stuffed animals) every single night.

We gave Adam a kindle (he's an avid reader just like the rest of my family) and a little scrapbook with pictures of our family. Adam left on the 16th for San Francisco and then flew out to Korea from there on the 17th. He's having a great time there but we sure do miss him!!! We love you Adam!

Dinosaur Museum

2011-11-03T16:00:00.000-06:00

I love when Thanksgiving Point does their 2 buck Tuesdays.
Yes you have huge crowds to deal with, but you can still have lots of fun!
I took my boys to the Dinosaur Museum one Tuesday in August and met up with Jacob, Lily, and Jake.

The kids loved the science hands-on exhibit they had set up. The also LOVED the dinosaurs!

They spent some time playing with the dinosaurs. Jacob is a cute daddy!
I really enjoyed watching him play with his kids.

Henry was amazed by all the huge fossils. William loved playing in the tunnel. After the museum we enjoyed some delicious ice cream cones! We were so glad to have Jacob, Lily, and Jake there with us. Thanks for coming guys! The only thing that would have made this better is if David, Kat, and Asher could have joined us. But it was nice to have some time with just my brother.

David's birthday

2011-11-03T14:41:00.000-06:00

David turned 26 the beginning of August.
We celebrated his birthday at home the day before his actual birthday.

David opened some of his gifts the day before his birthday. This was partially because William was about to spoil some surprises, but mainly because we were pretty busy on his actual birthday. William got to help open presents.

Henry didn't want to help open presents.

On David's birthday, we had a family party to go to in the morning. We spent the afternoon relaxing at my parents' house. Then we went out for dinner with David's family and my parents and brother.

David chose Zupas - one of our favorites!

Then it was back to my parents' house for a delicious homemade ice cream cake.

Henry especially loved the ice cream cake. Although he did have a love/hate relationship with it. He experienced his first brain freeze!!! It was pretty funny watching him gobble his cake down and then freak out. He had no idea what was going on!

Next David opened up more presents!

We all enjoyed his birthday!

We are truly grateful for David in our lives. He is an amazing husband and father. He's dedicated to us and to taking care of us. He's such a hard worker. He is patient and kind. We love you!!!

He walks!!!

2011-10-24T20:25:00.001-06:00

Henry started crawling when he was about 6 1/2 months old. I figured he would walk sooner than William did (who didn't crawl until he was 8 months old and was officially walking when he was 13 1/2 months old). But he didn't. He decided to take his sweet time. He's been able to push up from the ground to standing since before he was a year old. He took his first steps right before he turned 1. But he just wouldn't take the risk and keep walking. He finally started taking a few steps here and there in the beginning of July. As July progressed, his confidence grew. But he would usually only stand up and walk when David got home from work (rude!). But on Sunday, July 31st at 14 months old, Henry finally decided to ONLY walk!!!! Thank you Henry!!! My arms and back thank you too!

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This video is from Aug 23rd. I wasn't very good about catching his earlier progress on camera.

It's a boy!!!!

2011-10-24T19:49:00.002-06:00

Dear Baby,

We are thrilled to welcome another little boy into our home! Boys are truly special. I feel honored to raise 3 future priesthood holders, 3 future missionaries, and 3 future fathers. I feel the weight of the responsibility your daddy and I have been entrusted with. You are so loved and we look forward to holding you in about 10 weeks! You have 2 adorable, fun, and kind brothers waiting for you to come join the fun! We love you dearly.

Love,

Mommy

On July 27th during my 18 week appointment, my doctor was kind enough to check the gender of our baby. The ultrasound revealed that we are having our third boy!!! We are truly thrilled to welcome another boy into our family! We still do not have a name picked out for him. But we have about 10 weeks to get that figured out. I would post pictures from our 20 week ultrasound, but I would need to scan them in and I don't think I'm going to for a while. But I can tell you he is an active little boy!

image from here

Zoo with the Wallins

2011-09-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

Jon, Kanien, Marcella, and Claire came to visit family this summer.
We got to hang out with them a few times.
We met up at the zoo one morning and had a great time together.

Here are the kids and Kanien checking out the giraffes.
Sadly, this is the only picture I have of all the time we spent together!

Henry loves the giraffes!

Of course we rode the carousel! This is one of the best things about our zoo!

Cheese!

Thanks for going to the zoo with us, Wallin family!!!
We loved seeing you! We sure miss you guys!

Playin' in the Sprinklers

2011-09-27T16:00:00.004-06:00

One hot afternoon in July I decided to let the boys play in the sprinklers. I quickly got them into their swim suits and took them outside shortly after the sprinklers had turned on.
Henry was in HEAVEN!!!

He sat and stood in the water and giggled!

"Where's William," you might ask? Henry is pointing to him.

William was NOT in heaven! He sat by the door and cried. And I (being such a nice mom) locked the door so he couldn't go back inside. I was trying to encourage him to come back down and play with us!
In the video, Henry is sucking the water off his fist.

Come and play, William!!!

Crawling through the sprinklers! (He wasn't walking yet.)

He sure loved playing in the water! But he sure was shivering when he was all done!

Uncle Terry's

2011-09-27T14:57:00.000-06:00

On Sunday July 17th we got to have dinner at David's Uncle Terry's house. It was a lot of fun to visit with them especially because David's Grandma and Grandpa were in town from Idaho. Terry has a beautiful yard and a trampoline. This was the boys' first time really getting to play on a trampoline and they had a blast!

Playing with each other, their 2nd cousin Penny, Uncle Terry, and their great-grandma Robin.

Henry LOVED playing with Uncle Terry!
He really enjoyed being bounced around and crawling around the trampoline.

William also had a fun time! He loved bouncing and running around!

Park City Family Trip - July 2011

2011-09-26T17:45:00.001-06:00

We had the opportunity to spend an entire week with my entire family back in July. The last time we were all together was probably at my wedding almost 5 years ago. Back then our family had 15 people in it (my original family of 7, 4 spouses, and 4 grandkids). Now we have 24 people in our family!!!
We all stayed together in 3 condos in Park City from Friday July 1st through Friday the 8th.

Friday July 1st
David, our boys, and I went up to Park City the evening of the 1st. Everyone was there that night except for Shannon's family. We had a fun time visiting, swimming, and hanging out. I finally got to meet my cute little nephew, Zachary!

Saturday the 2nd
This was a very special day! My sweet niece Emma was baptized by her daddy, Eric. Emma is such a precious little girl. She has set a wonderful example for her siblings and her cousins. William started talking after Emma's baptism about how he wants to be baptized! I look forward to that day!

The birthday girl!!! She's holding up the skirt I made for her.
After the baptism, we took family pictures in Layton. Then several of my family went to be fitted for scuba gear. Then we all made the trek back to Park City for more delicious food and great company!

Sunday the 3rd
We all went to church together (well except for Jacob and Kat and their 2 boys, they went to their home ward down the canyon). The testimony meeting we attended was lovely and the Spirit was there. I took the opportunity to share my testimony. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up - I felt I needed to share my testimony with my family all present.
Then it was back to the condos for more family time together.

And of course for some much needed Sunday naps.

That evening David and I played a great round of Gang of Four with my dad and Adam. Then we watched and enjoyed some beautiful fireworks.

Monday July 4th
Monday morning Shannon, Kat, Jacob, and I went to some sales at the outlet mall. Meanwhile everyone else headed over to downtown Park City for the parade. I was kinda bummed I missed the parade, but Shannon and I caught the tail end of it. Once I saw the end of it I was honestly kinda glad I'd missed it. Park City is an interesting place....
After a picnic lunch we made our way back to our condos.

We had another great dinner!
That night, my siblings and our spouses all gathered together at Jacob's condo to play games and hang out. It was so fun to have everyone together, laughing and visiting.

Tuesday the 5th

Haha! I love this picture. We originally had the pack and play in front of the window. But that was causing Henry to wake up before 6 am. Sunday we moved it into the closet. I took these two pictures during Henry's morning nap. He'd figured out a way to push the closet door open more and peek out at me.

He's a cutie!

Tuesday was our scuba diving day. We all headed out to the Crater in Heber for the Scuba adventure. Shannon and I didn't get to participate since we are both pregnant. Thus we were put in charge of all 14 grandkids. So fun!!! We had a fun time entertaining all the kids with the help of my Grandma and Grandpa Gowans. Meanwhile David and the other adults enjoyed a few hours learning how to scuba dive in the crater.
We made it back to our condos about dinner time. We had a fun time visiting with my grandparents and taking pictures with them.

My whole family, plus my grandma and grandpa Gowans.

Wednesday the 6th
Zoo day!!!
It's a lot of work taking a group of 23 to the zoo (Jacob didn't make it). But we did it and we had lots of fun!

We checked out lots of animals and the dinosaurs!
We then went to the bird show. William and Henry LOVED it!!!

William and Lily posing with the gorilla statue.

Comparing ourselves to the orangutans.

My sisters, David, and I took most of the kids on the carousel. Anthony was THRILLED that some sweet lady gave up the gorilla so he could ride on it. Gorillas are his FAVORITE!!! (In fact, he wants to be a gorilla when he grows up!)

Next we checked out the elephant show. It was pretty awesome watching the elephants perform some simple tricks. I wish I'd taken some pictures of Zuri (the baby)! She did some really awesome tricks!
Then we headed over to the train.

Zachary! Isn't he adorable!

Asher! He's adorable, too!

Riding the train. Henry didn't ride since he was asleep in the stroller. He stayed behind with my mom.
That was the end of our zoo adventure. We went back to Park City and went swimming. Perfect end to a hot day at the zoo!

This picture just cracks me up! We were attempting to pray before putting the boys to bed. Henry wasn't being very reverent in the pack and play!

Thursday the 7th
In the morning, most of us went shopping at the Outlet Mall. David was smart and stayed behind with our boys. They needed some down time! I think we all found some great deals!

That afternoon we went bowling. We'd found an awesome groupon prior to our vacation for a bowling alley in Park City. So we got to bowl for 2 hours for an amazing price. We also got free shoes, pizza, drinks, and arcade tokens as part of the deal.

William loved bowling! It was his very first time. It was so cute to watch David help William. He is a great father!

Action shots of the group.

More shots of the family.

I LOVE his smile!!!

Poor Makayla got sick and puked on Becky. Becky was such a good sport about it! (She sure smelled though! hahaha!)

After our bowling time ended we played some arcade games.

After another amazing dinner we made some s'mores!
I have some pretty dang cute nieces and nephews!

Before bed, my dad was teaching William how to flex his muscles. It was hilarious!!!
Once all the kids were in bed, my siblings, my dad, and I all met up again at Jacob's place for a game night. We only got to play games for a short time before the power went out. We continued to visit for a while though. When we ended for the night the power was still off. It made for a long, hot night!

Friday the 8th
David, William, Henry and I woke up early to head home. We had to leave early so I could make it to a class I'd signed up for in Provo.
We had an amazing and wonderful time with my family. It was so nice to be all together again. I hope we can continue to do this from time to time. I love you all dearly! And a special thanks to my parents for organizing everything!

Sharing

2011-09-26T11:20:00.001-06:00

Sharing does not come easily for most little kids.
It is something we emphasize all day long and praise when it happens.
Here is one of those special sharing moments that happened back in June.
William got a sucker from my cousin after he'd been so brave getting a dozen or more teeny splinters dug out of his hand by my uncle (he didn't cry or fight or anything!).

Your turn.

My turn.

Your turn.

Brotherly love!

I'm not really sure who was licking the sucker, but at least they're sharing, right?

Father's Day

2011-07-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

We had a great time spoiling our dear daddy on Father's Day. I made him a delicious breakfast - a ham and cheese omelet and some bacon - before he had to head off to his early morning meetings.

We gave him some new clothes and a book he's been wanting.

Those are the only 2 pictures I took on father's day. Sad. Anyway...
We are so lucky to have David as the father of our family. My boys are so lucky and I know they know it. They love being with him and playing with him. He is so good to them and is always doing something for them or with them. I am so lucky to have David as my husband. He's a great example to me. We love you and hope you had a great day!

Also, I am so lucky to have a wonderful father. Dad, you've helped me become the woman I am today. You are a great example and inspiration to me. Thanks for everything you've done and all that you continue to do for me. I love you!

David is also blessed with a great father. Dann, we miss you and you are always in our thoughts and prayers. We hope we get to see you soon! Thanks for being a great example to David. Thanks for all you've done for us! We love you!

Summerfest

2011-07-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

On June 11th we went to our city's Summerfest Parade.
We were super lucky to find a great spot to put our blanket at early Saturday morning. Most spots were taken by Thursday sometime if not earlier!

We went back to our spot an hour or so before the parade started. We kept ourselves entertained with our picnic dinner and with books and a game.

Anxiously waiting!

I think this was definitely William's favorite part - the "sheriffs on the motorcycles".

Watching the parade.

There were lots of great floats.

William loved this one - a train and pigs!

There were lots of great entries in the parade.
We got a lot of coupons and candy from the people in the parade.

Henry really loved watching the parade. He would clap and dance. He was entertained the whole time!

William also loved it. I think he got pretty tired toward the end. But overall we had a great time!

This is the Place Park

2011-07-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

On the last Saturday in May we met up with my family at This is the Place Park in Salt Lake.
Once we got our stroller fixed (which unexpectedly fell apart while in the park, but thankfully the missing parts were in the trunk of our car) we had a great time.

David took the boys on a pony ride.

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I know this isn't the best shot, but I love the tenderness it shows.
William protectively holding onto Henry, and David protectively holding onto his boys.

We then saw some farm animals. Henry loved petting the goats.

William loved petting the sheep.

And I think we all loved this very hairy cow!

When we went into the school house, William found himself a desk to sit at.
He looked so cute and tiny sitting at that big desk!

He had lots of fun at school!

Emma enjoyed getting her face shaved! I thought this was pretty funny!

Henry took a nap and missed out on riding the little train.
William sure loved the train!

We had a good time riding it together.

Then David looked for some gold. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything except some fool's gold.

William enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.

When Henry woke up we all enjoyed riding on the big train together!

We had lots of fun checking out all the fun sights and eating ice cream.
Thanks so much to my mom and dad for taking us! We had a great time!

My Golden Birthday

2011-07-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

For many years now I've been looking forward to my golden birthday. You know, the day you turn the same age as your birth date. Well this year was that magical year. I turned 26 on the 26th. I'd always envisioned a big party with lots of friends and family. I held on to that vision until a few days before my birthday. I knew David hadn't planned a party. I feared my much-anticipated day would not live up to my expectations, but I was wrong.

David stayed up late to decorate the house for me.
He hung golden balloons from the ceiling in our living room just for my special day.

He also spoiled me with many nice and thoughtful gifts.

But most importantly, the day was filled with what matters most... the people I love.

William

Henry
(Can you believe all this came from just one half of a cupcake! Now that is talent!)

My parents, Adam, Terry, and Nathan all came to celebrate the day with us. We went out for a favorite dinner of mine (pupusas!) and then came back for a delicious dessert made by David.
It was perfect.
I had lots of sweet messages from friends on facebook. My father-in-law, my sisters and my older brother all called me to wish me a happy birthday.
The day was perfect because it was filled with love.
Thank you David for helping me have the best golden birthday.
I love you!

Henry's 1st Year

2011-07-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

It is absolutely amazing to me how quickly a baby grows and changes. Sometimes it is hard for me as a mother to even notice because I am with them all day, every day. I love looking through the pictures of my babies as they grow up. Please allow me to share with you this little journey through Henry's first life.

(first picture)
Dear Henry,
You have brought me such joy from the very beginning of your life. From the first moment I felt you move within me to the first moment I saw you and to this day, my love for you grows and grows. Your birth was easy and perfect.

I cut your cord and then helped clean you up while you laid on my belly. You were amazing. So beautiful. You brought an incredible spirit with you, one I hope to continue to nourish and let grow as your Heavenly Father would have it be.

(first picture with me)
I am so blessed to be your mother.

You've filled my heart and my life with love and joy.

(1 month old)
Your first smiles made every challenge worth it. I knew you were smiling at me because you love me.

(2 months old)
I love how much you love your big brother.
William adores you (even if he has a funny way of showing it sometimes).

You brought many new challenges and experiences into my life. Your spit up was something I really struggled with. I couldn't believe how much one little being could shoot from their mouth. I didn't like being covered in it. But it was worth it. I'd do it all over again just for you! Your sweet smiles and your soft giggles and coos made it worth it.

(3 months)
When you were born with red hair, I hoped it would stay. Your hair fell out, but it grew back just as red as the day you were born. It perfectly suits you!

(4 months)
You've always had a great appetite. You've been a great eater since the very first time I held you in my arms and fed you. I couldn't believe how quickly you packed on your chub, but I absolutely adored each and every wrinkle and crease on your chubby body.

(5 months)
I love being with you. I loved taking you to BYU football and basketball games. I know some may not understand, but BYU is very dear to me, and I hope to pass that love of the university and its sports on to you.

(6 months)
I love how in tune you are. You're very aware of what is going on around you. I know that you already have a testimony. That is evident to me every morning and every time you wake up since the first thing you do is point to your picture of Jesus and say His name. Jesus loves you. Please always remember that and always cling to Him and His church.

(7 months)
You definitely have a mischievous side. Those little wheels are often turning in your head trying to figure out what you can get into next. I love that though. You always keep me on my toes. And it reminds me of myself. I love seeing a bit of me in you.

(8 months)
We sometimes call you Henry Bear or little bear. It started with this hat that I made you for Christmas. We also call you by the Japanese term for little bear. I think it suits you so well.

(9 months)
We also lovingly call you Henry boy. I love hearing William call you his little Henry boy. I cherish the love you two have for each other.

(10 months)
The biggest challenge I've faced with you was when you refused to breastfeed at 10 months. I felt rejected at times. But as I prayed about it and as I did all I could to continue to give you that "liquid gold" (I finally came to really understand that term), I knew you weren't rejecting me. You were teaching me. I have a better understanding now for what other mothers may go through. Thank you for teaching me this very valuable lesson. This has been one of the best lessons I've learned as a mother. Thank you for helping me become a better person.

(11 months)
You're also teaching me patience.
I thought I was patient before, but I now know I still have much to learn!

(12 months)
Every moment with you is a gift.
I love you and I thank you for all that you've taught me and continue to teach me.
I'm truly grateful that you are mine forever.

Love,
Mommy

Henry - 12 months old

2011-06-30T15:03:00.001-06:00

Here is a look back at Henry.
These pictures are from 4/22/11 through 5/21/11. But the update is from then until now.

12 month stats:
22 pounds
30 inches tall
47 cm head circumference
Overall he's in the 50th percentile. Seems perfect to me!

When Henry is happy (which is 98% of the time) he is really happy! He loves to play with his toys, with his brother, and with David and me. One of the funniest things he does is showing his emotion with his fists. When he is really excited/happy/angry he puts his fists up and clenches them as tight as he can! He also bunches up his face when he does this. It is hilarious! I really need to get a picture of it!

Henry loves hats. He'll often start giggling when you put one on him. I love it!

Henry is an excellent cruiser. He'll walk along the furniture all day long. He did take 2 steps on the 17th of May and then 5 steps on the 18th. He'll take some steps here and there, but other than that, he just doesn't seem to care about walking. I wish he would though (famous last words, right?)! One of these days, he's going to amaze us all by getting up and walking/running all over. I just know it.

Henry loves bath time. He loves to put his face in the water. He also is king of cheesy faces.

Henry LOVES reading! And I love that he loves it. I was worried for a while because he really wanted nothing to do with it. But now I often walk in to find him reading. I love hearing his babbles as he flips through his books. It really makes me so happy that both of my boys love reading. My goal is to continue to foster that in them!

This was Henry's first (and only) time wearing his sandals. He didn't know what to think of them at first.

Then he decided he really didn't like them!
What can I say, we just prefer bare feet in this family (well, except for David).

When Henry cries he makes some of the saddest faces you'll see. And he produces lots of big crocodile tears. It melts my heart and it makes me giggle.

Henry does not like being growled at. Although he's getting more used to it now. Usually when we growl or roar at him he makes this face above.

And then this happens. Yes, I am a mean mom. I purposely make Henry cry on occasion because we just love his sad little face! His lip puckers out and it is just so darling. We always comfort him.

Don't worry, he still loves and trusts us.

Some other random bits about Henry:
He now has 9 teeth. His bottom left side tooth finally came through right after his birthday. And now he has his left top molar coming through.
He is still a really good eater, but he definitely has his picky moments.
He can say Jesus, what's that, daddy, bird, more, and moo.
He can sign all done, more, please, thank you, milk, and bird.

We love you Henry boy!

Henry's 1st Birthday - The Party!

2011-06-28T15:20:00.002-06:00

We held Henry's birthday party in the evening on May 21st at my parents' house. It was so fun to have most of my family there (just missing Becky and her family) and Terry, Nathan, and Amy! We had a hot dog roast with some delicious side dishes. Thanks to my dad for cooking all the hot dogs!

I decided to make cupcakes in ice cream cones for Henry's party. It was pretty fun and really easy! This is how they looked BEFORE Jacob decided to be "helpful". Thankfully most of them survived his helpfulness. (I love you Jacob!)

This was Henry's cake. We got this for free from our local grocery store.

After dinner, we played a little game. We had ten balloons with 10 facts about Henry. My dad got the 10th balloon which had our announcement that Henry is going to be a big brother.

This shows my dad's reaction! "Are you pregnant!?!"

Henry opened his presents after our little game. My dad was so kind to help him with all his presents. He received some very nice things. Thanks to all our family!

We then sang Happy Birthday and Henry "blew out" his candle. I didn't get any pictures of this.

Henry had no problems eating his cake. He started with a finger full of frosting...

and quickly progressed to fist-fulls of cake.

Then he decided that wasn't working either.
So he grabbed half of his piece and tried to shove it in his mouth.

He loved playing with and eating his cake!

Delicious!

Waving to us!

How can you not love this face?!!!

Squishy!

All done!
It's a great thing we did this outside. When Henry enthusiastically signed all done, cake went flying everywhere!

Henry had a great birthday!
Thanks to everyone who came and to Becky who called!
You all helped to make his first birthday a very special day.
We sure love our Henry!!!

Henry's 1st Birthday - Zoo Trip

2011-06-27T20:50:00.000-06:00

On Henry's birthday we spent the morning/early afternoon at our local zoo.

The boys were very excited to be there!

Henry was in awe of everything around him!

We caught the boys holding hands as we were walking around. I thought it was adorable! Definitely one of those tender moments every mother cherishes.

Here are some of the wildlife we saw. The boys absolutely loved the elephants. The baby elephant was adorable! And the dinosaurs were kinda random, but pretty fun - especially the ones that spit at you!

William really enjoyed the giraffes. He loved see their long purplish tongues.

Henry also loved the giraffes - even those this picture would make it seem otherwise.

With our zoo pass we get unlimited train and carousel rides. We didn't make it to the train because of how busy the zoo was, but we did ride the carousel once. It was so fun! William loved riding on the wolf.

Henry also enjoyed the carousel. As soon as it started moving up he looked up and just stared in awe. He loved going up and down so much he started dancing!

We had a blast at the zoo! We're so glad we got to spend some time there with just our little family before our big party that night. More to come on Henry's birthday tomorrow!

10 Fun Facts about Henry

2011-05-24T13:35:00.000-06:00

1. Henry loves to crawl on his hands and feet.
2. Henry can sign more and all done.
3. He can say moo, mama, dada, this, and that.
4. Henry will eat anything - even dandelions!
5. His favorite book is Moo, Baa, LaLaLa by Sandra Boynton.
6. Henry does not like being tossed in the air.
7. He loves laughing and being tickled.
8. He LOVES playing with William.
9. He has curly red hair!
10. Henry is going to be a big brother in December!

Happy birthday, Henry!!!!

2011-05-21T09:00:00.001-06:00

Our sweet Henry is one today!!! Happy birthday to our little bear. We love you dearly and are so grateful you joined our family!!!! Here's to many more happy years together.
Love,
Daddy, Mommy, and William

Easter

2011-05-20T23:03:00.000-06:00

We had a lovely Easter weekend.

On Saturday the 23rd we had a fun Easter egg hunt with David's family and neighbors. William loved looking for all the eggs. He even stopped to look for some other hidden treasure... We sure got spoiled with lots of yummy candy!

William got a brand new Lightning McQueen bike from his Grandma Dougal. He was SUPER excited when he saw it. He ran right to it and climbed on. He's been working hard learning how to "pedal like mad" as he says. Thanks Grandma Dougal!!!
We spent Saturday evening with my family celebrating Easter and my niece's birthday. We had a great time with them!

Sunday morning we awoke to some fun Easter baskets. We each got some books, some candy, and some other little things. Henry was so funny - he realized that his eggs made different sounds when he would shake them. So he found two different ones and would shake them together to hear their different sounds. It was pretty funny! Then one accidentally opened, spilling some M&Ms out. He sure enjoyed those!

I made the boys these really cute car mats. They can be arranged in all sorts of ways. The boys have had lots of fun playing with them. I had a lot of fun making them - they were pretty time consuming, but the end product was well worth it!

After church David, William, and I colored Easter eggs. This was William's first time coloring eggs. He LOVED it! He had lots of fun dipping his eggs in all the colors.
That evening we had a lovely dinner with my grandparents, my uncle and his family, and another uncle.

It is fun to celebrate Easter with these various traditions. But we definitely stopped to take time and talk about the true reason for Easter. We are eternally grateful to our Savior Jesus Christ, for His atonement in our behalf and for His resurrection. We know that one day we too will be resurrected like Jesus and, that if we live righteously and apply the atonement daily in our lives, we will live with Him again for all eternity. Our lives would mean nothing without our Savior. We hope that you will join with us in remembering him not only on these special holidays, but in everyday of our life.

Henry turns 11 months old!

2011-05-20T15:33:00.000-06:00

Henry turned 11 months old on April 21st.
Here are highlights from March 22nd through April 21st.

This kid has a very talented tongue. He can fold it and twist it all sorts of ways.

Henry loved playing in this box. He loves playing with William's toys as well as his own. He LOVES the playhouse I made for them. He'll crawl in and out of it any way he pleases. He loves to crawl in it and giggle.

He loves dark chocolate!

He really loves any food. The only thing he sometimes will turn away is scrambled eggs.

One Sunday after church, Henry escaped while he was getting his diaper changed. He was crawling away laughing hysterically like he was the funniest guy around! All he had on were his black socks.
Henry loves laughing and loves getting chased!

We've also discovered that Henry loves balloons.

Shortly after Henry got his 7th tooth he started biting me. We continued nursing for a week or so and he would only bite me occasionally. Well, one day he bit me while he was nursing and my reaction really scared him. I tried comforting him and nursing him again, but he refused. He refused to nurse the rest of that day. The next morning he nursed perfectly though! He didn't bite and he didn't arch his back and scream. Sadly, that was his last time nursing. Every time I tried after that he would arch his back and scream. I tried giving him a few days without attempting it, but when I tried again he still freaked out. I finally decided to let it go. It was a very hard decision but it was what was best for Henry. I started pumping that very first day that he refused. I pumped for a week with just my hand pump, but then I was able to borrow an electric pump. I actually just stopped pumping a week ago. My milk was definitely drying up. Thank goodness for the free formula I had received in the mail around the time he was born. Thanks to that and to what I was able to produce we never had to buy formula. And now that he's almost 1 he is on whole milk.
Henry drank his bottle best if we just laid him on the floor with it. So in the above picture he is enjoying one of his bottles.

We sure love this happy, adorable little boy. He sure has a fun personality! We are so grateful that Henry joined our family. We love you, little bear!

Crunch!

2011-05-20T15:10:00.000-06:00

On April 4th William, Henry, and I were involved in a car accident on our way to get David from school. To make a long story short, we were hit as we were heading southbound by a lady heading westbound. She ran her red light (which had been red for at least 30 to 45 seconds) and ran right into me. We later found out that she was most likely impaired. And we later found out she was uninsured.
But thanks to our amazing insurance company everything has been taken care of. Our car is beautiful once again!

Here are pictures of the damage.

We are truly grateful that no one got hurt.
We know that we were being watched over and protected by our Heavenly Father.

Markus Zusak

2011-05-20T14:55:00.000-06:00

If you've never read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak you need to. It is an amazing book set in Nazi Germany during World War 2. I will warn you that it has quite a few swear words. But the story is fantastic.

On March 26th I went to a lecture he presented at the Provo Library. He gave a great lecture about his book. After his lecture he signed books. My friend, Lori, ended up in line right behind me. So she took this picture for me.

I took this of him signing his other book I am the Messenger.

Henry turns 10 months old!

2011-05-19T23:20:00.000-06:00

Henry turned 10 months old on March 21st. Here are highlights from February 22nd to March 21st.

Food Mastery

Henry mastered the sippy cup during this month.
He also made the switch from eating baby food to eating table food full time.
He successfully mastered the art of slurping up noodles/pasta.
He also mastered the fine art of spreading his food all over his face and hair.

"Has anyone seen my cookie? I swear I just had it!"

Discovering the Great Outdoors

Henry discovered the warmth of sunshine on your face, the feel of dry grass, and the taste of said grass.

He also discovered a brilliant way to sit on the grass with the least amount of skin touching the grass. This picture doesn't quite capture it, but, let me tell you, it was hilarious to watch. I am amazed at his balance!

He sadly discovered that he does not like flying.

Sleep Adventures

At this point in time, he still loved being swaddled. He'd always wiggle his arms out of it, but he still loved the swaddle. He also loves his binky at bedtime and his soft and silky blue blanket.

Reading

For a long time Henry refused to sit for books. I would attempt it but he'd always get away from me. Well, I'm happy to report that this is no longer the case. He found a book he LOVES!!! Moo, Baa, LaLaLa by Sandra Boynton is his book of choice. It's funny because this is the book that William really loved when he was a baby.

Teeth Count: 7
Fifth tooth: top right side
Sixth tooth: top left front
Seventh tooth: top right front
He's got a cute lop-sided grin!

Potty Training!

2011-05-19T17:30:00.000-06:00

Potty training has always intimidated me. There are so many ways to go about it and so many factors that can influence it. I knew what methods I didn't want to use, but I didn't know what I DID want to use. Enter the best book ever! Well, it's not the best book ever, but it definitely was extremely helpful and just perfect for William! I read Teri Crane's Potty Train your child in just one day: Proven secrets of the Potty Pro. This book was great! Easy to read, but full of amazingly helpful information.
Here is the main idea. Plan a "potty party" day for your child. In the morning your child potty trains a doll/stuffed animal. Throughout the morning the doll will have accidents and successes. The doll is praised and the child is rewarded as long as he promises to someday use the toilet.
In the afternoon the focus switches to the child. Praise and reward for successes. Accidents are really no big deal. After an accident your child sits on the potty to "help build potty training memory muscles". At the end of the day you celebrate the child and they earn a reward of some sort.

So now that you know the theory, here is how our day went.

March 16, 2011
I chose this day because it was David's first day of spring break. He took spring break off from work. There is strength in numbers. Plus he was able to take care of Henry.

William awoke to find a present with his name on it!

Inside was a new friend. We decided to name him Tommy. Tommy arrived wearing a diaper just like William's. But inside his turtle shell were 7 pairs of underwear (that I had sewn for him the night before).

Throughout the morning, William and Tommy read books about potty training and watched a show about using the potty. Tommy had a few accidents of both varieties. But he also had many successes - we celebrated when he was still clean and dry AND when he successfully used his potty. Yes Tommy actually pooped and peed in the toilet. His poop were little raisins I sneaked in the toilet while William wasn't looking. His pee was just a syringe of water squirted into his toilet (the bottom portion of a juicer). Each time Tommy succeeded he got a sticker on his chart, and William got to eat a little treat since he promised to someday use the potty.

After lunch and a little quiet time (William doesn't nap anymore), William got another present - his very own underwear!!! (We regifted his Christmas gift to him.) He was SO excited!

And thus it begins.

William had had LOTS of fluids throughout the morning and early afternoon. We would check occasionally to see if he was clean and dry. When he was he would get a sticker on his own chart and a little treat. We then popped some popcorn and watched a little movie.
During this movie, William had his first accident. And let me tell you, it was HILARIOUS!!!! Seriously! We had a waterproof blanket down on the floor. He was standing on it close to the popcorn bowl while watching his movie. All of a sudden, he started peeing. Not a little bit, but a lot! All those fluids had struck with a vengeance! The funny part was his reaction. He started looking down and you could tell he was thinking "AH! What is going on here???? Where is this all coming from???" We got him to the bathroom and cleaned him up. He was SO very sad that Mater got wet. After he sat on the toilet for a bit to practice and build his potty training memory muscles, he chose out a new pair of underwear. David, thankfully, cleaned up the accident which was all contained on the waterproof blanket and which completely missed the popcorn!

After that accident, William had several successes! He stayed clean and dry until his celebratory party began.
We invited my parents, my brother, and David's mom to come for our potty party. Shortly after they arrived for dinner, William had another accident. This one was much smaller, but he was still pretty distraught. This time he got McQueen wet. Poor kid! My dad was the hero and cleaned it up! (Am I lucky or what?)

We enjoyed a pizza dinner and a fun time visiting and celebrating William becoming a big boy.

William was actually pretty overwhelmed after dinner. He did have another success, but he was pretty much done for the day. We put him back in a diaper (which we stressed throughout the day was JUST for bedtime).

He then got to open his special present to celebrate his successful day!

Buddy!!!

The next morning I was pretty stressed thinking this was going to be a failure. William proved me wrong though. The 17th was an accident free day. He peed and pooped on the toilet with NO problems! He went 5 whole days completely accident free. Those days even included outings and church!

Here he is with his chart all full of stickers! Since his chart was full, he earned Tiny!

We are so proud of our big boy!!!!

It has now been a little over 2 months since this fun day. William had an accident a week for the first 5 weeks. He has been accident free since then! And the most amazing part is he is dry through the night and has been since a week or so after we started. He was even waking up in the middle of the night crying because he needed to go to the bathroom. I of course thought to myself "you've got a diaper on, use that!" But I knew that I wanted him to learn to stay dry through the night so I would get up and take him. He only did that for a week or so. Since then he lasts through the night without waking up to go potty. He does still wear a diaper to bed, but it is dry every, single morning!
William, you have truly amazed us! We are so proud of you!

Playin' in the Park

2011-05-17T21:40:00.001-06:00

The beginning of March provided us with some very beautiful weather - absolutely perfect for playing in the park.

William loves the slides.

Going down the slide!

Crawling through the tubes.

He went down "the big slide" all by himself!

He giggled most of the time he was in the swing. I loved it!

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Dr. Seuss Day

2011-05-16T16:20:00.002-06:00

On March 2nd we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday.

I made a hat for William the day before modeled after the Cat in the Hat's hat. He sure loved it!

We started out the day with a Dr. Seuss style breakfast. I checked out the Green Eggs and Ham cookbook from the library. From that we got a recipe for Moose Juice (pretty much an orange julius). It was so easy and SO yummy!

Our main breakfast dish was a blueberry bumpling (also from the Green Eggs and Ham cookbook).
They were really good! It's pretty much a biscuit recipe with blueberries added in.

Throughout the day we read LOTS of Dr. Seuss books.

We ended the day with green eggs and ham for dinner. These aren't quite what Sam I am offers, but they were just as good!

William would definitely eat green eggs and ham with a goat and on a boat!

Henry would eat his in a box with a fox!

We loved Dr. Seuss Day!
It is definitely something we will have to celebrate every year.
And now I can remember which day is his birthday without looking it up because my cute little nephew, Zachary, was born this year on March 2nd! Welcome to the world little Zachary! I can't wait to meet you.

A favorite

2011-05-16T16:05:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE BYU sports - mainly football and basketball.
David and I got to take the boys to several home basketball games this season. My grandpa has season tickets and when he has extras they usually come to me! I also got to go to a game or two with just my dad and other members of my Dad's extended family. But it is most fun when my little family comes with me.

William LOVED the games! He would clap and cheer "Go Cougars!" He learned the cheers. And he sang the Cougar Fight song (which I've been singing to and with him since he was a baby). After the final home game free posters were handed out. William proudly displays his poster of the team on his bedroom door.

Henry also loved the games. The noise never seemed to bother him. He even clapped for the first time at one of the games. He was quite fascinated by all the action! And just in case you don't know, that is my sweet dad holding Henry. He was at most of the games we went to. We sure love this special time with Papa!

When the games were on TV (on the channels you can pick up via antenna) we would watch them at home. Here the boys are watching the "blue team" (as William refers to them) beat the Aztecs in San Diego.

We love BYU sports!
Less than 4 months until football starts!
Go Cougars!!!

Henry turns 9 months old

2011-05-11T21:46:00.000-06:00

These are highlights of Henry from January 22nd to February 21st when he turned 9 months old.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again in this post and more to come. Henry LOVES food. He started switching from baby food to table food during this month. He'll eat anything! He'll even eat leaves - as seen in the top left picture above. During this time he was nursing 4 times a day and eating 3 solid meals a day.

This was Henry's first time playing at the park. He loved swinging (and eating the swing) and he loved the slide. I'm sure he'll love it even more this spring and summer.

Henry loves his johnny jumper. This was one of his Christmas presents and he sure enjoys it!
These pictures also show how expressive Henry is. He makes so many funny and cute faces! I love it!

Henry had his first cold the beginning of February. He was so very miserable! I hate seeing my kids like this; it is heart-wrenching! He also developed a double ear infection. My poor little baby was miserable for about a week. I am thankful that he didn't develop croup during this time. William came down with croup about a week before Henry got his cold. When I took him to the doctor he weighed in at a whopping 20 pounds 1/2 ounce.

Henry started pulling himself up to standing and cruising along furniture during this month.
He started out s-l-o-w-l-y cruising his way along the couch, but now he's a pro!

One of my favorite things about Henry is his kisses. He gives big, open-mouthed, sloppy kisses. He'll just lean right in and give me a big kiss. I LOVE it! I love this picture - he's giving himself a kiss!
Another favorite thing about Henry is his laugh! He loves to laugh. He's got such a cute, contagious laugh. I love getting him to laugh. After I would nurse him before bed I would always get him laughing good and hard for several minutes. It was always a highlight of my day!

Henry loves being swaddled. I tried to quit swaddling him, but I could tell he still wanted to be swaddled.

And finally a tooth update: by the time Henry turned 9 months old he had 4, almost 5 teeth! William was SO slow getting teeth (first one at 11 months). Henry just kept popping them out! He got his teeth in a really weird order though.
1st tooth - bottom left front
2nd tooth- top left side (one next to front tooth)
3rd tooth- bottom right front
4th tooth- bottom right side

And thankfully, at this point in time, he didn't use them on me!
We love you, Henry!

Valentine's Day

2011-04-27T22:15:00.000-06:00

The boys woke up to a room full of red balloons. Needless to say, they LOVED it!

David and I also "heart attacked" their room.
We had fun coming up with phrases and later reading them all to the boys.

For lunch we had a heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's.
We all love pizza!

After lunch David and the boys received some treats.

For dinner I made some DIVINE mushroom smothered pork chops, delicious cheesy pasta, and a rather lame salad which consisted of ... lettuce (go me). But really those pork chops were heavenly and SO easy!!!
And please notice my beautiful roses! David treated me to a lovely bouquet of my favorite flowers!

After dinner we read our valentines. Of course I got choked up. I'm a sap, especially when it comes to expressing the incredible love I feel for my husband and my children.

The boys and David then opened their presents. The boys each got a book. David got a little picture frame from the boys and a Canvas wedding photo from me.
Lest you think I was left out of the fun, I was treated to a little shopping trip to Kohls. David, my boys, and Dann (David's dad) spoiled me with some fun new clothes.
I do love Valentines Day. It's a fun holiday to just focus on the love we have for each other, even if we do express that love daily anyway!

Stone free!!!

2011-04-27T21:34:00.000-06:00

Ever since a couple weeks after I had my kidney stone "blasted" back in August I had a little health problem. I never wanted to bring it up since it was rather embarrassing. I felt like I had to go ALL the time. It was awful. But of course I didn't get it checked out the end of December when some obvious signs occurred that made me finally accept that I was still having stone problems. After a CT scan I learned I had 4 stone fragments leftover from my original stone still in my ureter. Thankfully, yes thankfully, I also learned that 3 of those 4 were causing my problem. Well in January I had them all removed and I am happy to report that I am stone free!!!

I know that this was a direct blessing from my family members fasting for me and for the priesthood blessings I received. I'm so grateful to each of my family members who fasted and prayed in my behalf. I felt your prayers and your love for me. And I am truly grateful for the priesthood. I cannot imagine my life without it. What a comfort it provides to me in every aspect of my life.

Henry - 8 months

2011-04-22T16:30:00.000-06:00

Henry turned 8 months old on January 21st. Here are some highlights leading up to his 8 month birthday.

This kid loves his food. We started giving him peanut butter around this time. He sure loves it!

He became a more proficient crawler.

His preferred crawl is on his hands and feet. He looks like a little monkey! I love it!

He has such a sweet face.

Kissable cheeks!

One of the big surprises of the month - Henry got his first tooth on January 20th. I was a little bummed at first, but as that little beauty came up I definitely fell in love with that toothy grin.

The best part of waking up

2011-04-22T16:15:00.000-06:00

Good morning, Mommy!!!

I love my boys and my sweet husband!

Gowans Family Christmas Party

2011-04-22T07:58:00.000-06:00

Our yearly Gowans Christmas party was held New Year's Day. We enjoyed a great dinner and a rousing game of Bingo. I love this party because it's one of a handful of times during the year that I get to see most of my Gowans family.

This is my Grandma modeling one of the white elephant/bingo gifts.

My grandpa.

We sure love the close relationship we have with my Grandma and Grandpa Gowans. Both of them are great examples to me and I love and adore both.

I'm sad this turned out blurry. But aren't they so cute?

Henry sure enjoyed the food!

My family - minus my mom who was working and my siblings Becky and Jacob and their families.

Sunday Best - Christmas edition

2011-04-22T07:42:00.000-06:00

Aren't they SO handsome?
You should see the older ladies in our ward smile as my boys go by.

The Playhouse

2011-04-21T21:40:00.015-06:00

I first saw a felt playhouse that fits over a card table on a craft blog several months ago. I thought it was super cute. Through that blog I found an etsy shop that sells felt playhouses. Let's just say they aren't cheap. So I decided to look into making my own. I bought about $30 of felt, made/drew my own patterns, and got to work. I slaved away on this thing for many, many hours. I finally started sewing once I was all out of pins; I was pretty nervous! But it all worked out great. I stayed up until 1:30 am Christmas morning sewing. I then woke up at 5:45 to finish sewing. I finished right before 8 am! I would have finished sewing it earlier in the week but some health problems came up that set me back a few days. I'll post more about that later.

Anyway, here is the picture overload.

Front

The door lifts up.

I got the flower idea from Better homes and gardens magazine.

More flowers.

Mail box.

Left Side

The strawberries are removable.

I love the birds and the bird house!

Rose bush.

Right Side

The tree is on both the side and the back.

All the apples are removable.

Inside shot of a window.

Close up of dog.

Squirrel! I drew this little critter all by myself! I guess I can be an artist.

Back Side

The garden!

1 of 3 carrots.

1 of 2 onions.

1 of 3 ears of corn. The corn and cornstalk were really fun and challenging to make.

Close up of owl and dragonfly.

I adore this owl!!!! I can't believe I drew this by hand!

(This is David playing the wizard of Oz. He's wearing my new "ruby" slippers.)
We sure love this playhouse! The boys LOVE playing in it and harvesting all their fruits and vegetables.
I hope it lasts for many years.

Snow Fun!

2011-04-21T21:00:00.000-06:00

David had several days off around Christmas. It was SO nice to have him home and to do things we normally didn't get the chance to do. On the 29th of December we went out to play in the snow.

All bundled up.

Stompin' around in the snow.

Just chillin'.

His fingers found a way out and into the snow.

Teaching William how to make snow angels.

William's first time making a snow angel!

We loved playing in the snow!

Christmas

2011-04-21T20:16:00.000-06:00

We had a lovely Christmas. We changed things up a bit this time around. Christmas 2009 was too hectic for us. We lost sight of what really matters. This year we tried to slow things down and spend more time with just our little family. We also tried to make things more simple this year. For our gifts we decided to do a theme of sorts - Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. So 4 presents plus a gift from Santa. We loved it and plan on doing it again.
Well, here is a look at our Christmas.

Anxiously and excitedly waiting to enter the living room.

The tree with our presents.
A lot of the presents are behind the tree.
We were hiding them from Henry.

Our boys walked out to find this...

..
I spent so much time on this playhouse that it deserves a post dedicated completely to it. That will follow soon.

The boys love it! We had to sit in here for a while before moving on to the other presents.

David:

Want: Drawn to Life. Need: Wedding picture on Canvas. Wear: Jeans.

Read: The seer of Shadows by Avi. Santa: Wii Fit
From the boys: a new wallet.
Stocking: The Blind Side.

Rosalee:

Want: Willow Tree Three Wisemen. Need: Post its, planner, new oven mitt. Wear: Jacket. Read: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Santa: Some very cute red shoes.

From the boys: Bath and body works products.
Stocking: Persuasion the movie.

William:

Want: Playhouse. Need: Potty seat. Wear: Underwear. Read: Fox in Socks and The Cat in the Hat came back. Santa: A little broom and a little set of pots and pans.

From Henry: Jessie from Toy story.
Stocking: Toy Story coloring book and Dinosaur Train toys.

Henry:

Want: Playhouse. Need: Homemade Tag blanket. Wear: Homemade Bear hat. Read: The Little Mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big hungry bear and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Santa: Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Kitchen.
From William: a new outfit.
Stocking: Puffs and a sippy cup.

After breakfast and a lovely morning at home, we headed up to Layton to visit with our parents. We went to the Dougals first. It was so fun to visit with Nathan, Amy, Terry, and Jason. We really enjoyed our time there and are SO grateful for the gifts we received.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with the Gowans. We really had a great time with my parents, Adam, and my sister and her family. We are grateful for the gifts we received from them.

Christmas is truly a wonderful season. I'm forever thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for this season we have to celebrate His birth and His life. May we always ponder His life and recommit to follow Him every day and not just during Christmas.

Christmas Eve

2011-04-21T19:27:00.001-06:00

We started a tradition the year William was born that I really love. Every Christmas Eve our children receive a new ornament that represents something about that year of their life. When our children are older they will each have a set of ornaments that represent their lives.

This year William received a Toy Story ornament. He really loves Woody and Buzz.

Here he is standing by his ornament.

Henry received a baby's first Christmas ornament that has his picture in it.

You can't really see his ornament here, but I sure love his sweet cherubic face!

On the evening of Christmas Eve we went to the Neal Family Party. We always have a fun time there! This year we even had a lovely music number!

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We had 2 special visitors at the party as well. The Penguin read the children a story. Then she led the children, my Grandma, and my uncle Kelly around the room in a penguin parade!

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Santa also visited. I was really happy that both my boys did well on Santa's lap. Henry was a bit baffled by the big white beard! Santa brought the boys some new books.

After our fun party we headed back home to prepare for Christmas day.

Henry - 7 months

2011-03-10T21:00:00.001-07:00

Henry turned 7 months on Dec 21st.
Here are some fun pictures and tidbits from his 7th month of life (Nov 22 to Dec 21).

The day after Henry turned 6 months old, he started sitting up on his own!

Henry loves laughing. I probably write this each month, but it is true. He loves being tickled and will laugh and laugh.

I love his cheeks! I get comments about his cheeks all the time!

Henry and I were playing peek a boo one day. He looked hilarious like this.

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I love peeking at my boys every night after they are asleep. It is a good reminder to me of how sweet and precious my boys are. In those calm moments I like to ponder what lies ahead for my little boys. They are such special boys. I love them so much!

Henry loves bath time. Since he started sitting up on his own, he now takes baths with William. They have a good time together!

We sure love this boy!

Temple Square

2010-12-20T17:04:00.003-07:00

Last Monday we met up with Shannon (my sister) and her family in Salt Lake. We first visited with my grandparents and then we headed out for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious pupusa dinner at an El Salvadorian restaurant. Then we rode Trax to Temple Square. This was the boys' first time on Trax. William loved it!
Temple Square was beautiful as always! We enjoyed all the beautiful lights, nativity displays, and the beautiful temple. It was great hanging out with my sister's family. They are a great family and we love them dearly! We even ran into my friend, Michelle, and her family. I'm so glad we got out early this year so we could enjoy beautiful Temple Square! I love the spirit that is there. I love how the lights are a representation of Christ being the light of the world. I hope and pray that His light and love fill your homes during this Christmas season and always.

Gingerbread House

2010-12-20T17:03:00.001-07:00

The last few years we've gotten together with the David's family to decorate gingerbread houses. We had a great time this year. I think our house turned out super cute!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-20T16:54:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to get a flocked tree. I really, really like it! We decorated our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. When David put the star on top, the top bent over. He trimmed it down and put it back up. The top of our tree leans a little bit, but it is still great. It has wonderful character! I love decorating our tree with the ornaments we've collected over the last few years. William has his own set and he loves looking at them. We'll each get our new ornaments on Christmas Eve to hang on the tree. I love how our tree looks!

The boys started wearing their Christmas pjs a few days after we decorated the tree. We are SO excited for Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-20T14:31:00.002-07:00

Due to various circumstances, we spent Thanksgiving with my family again this year.

Henry enjoyed watching the preparation during his first Thanksgiving. However, he missed Thanksgiving dinner due to nap time. He enjoyed some squash later on though.

I made these beauties! They didn't just look good, they also tasted good! Not bad for my first time making these rolls!

This is how Eric prepared for Thanksgiving dinner.

William really liked the rolls. I'm pretty sure that's all he ate. He's not much of a meat eater.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. It was wonderful spending time with our families. We truly are so blessed and have so much to be grateful for. Here are a few things I am thankful for.
1. My Savior, Jesus Christ - without Him my life would be meaningless and nonexistent
2. The gospel - this blesses my life daily, in every aspect of my life
3. my testimony - because of this I am the woman I am today
4. David - he truly is my better half, he is so good to me, and I love him dearly
5. William and Henry - they bring such joy and fulfillment to my life
6. My family - They are my closest friends and I am so grateful for all they do for me
7. my friends - they bring great strength to my life
8. the temple - I love the spirit that comes into my life when I go to the temple. Plus because of the temple I can be with my family for eternity
9. the scriptures - I know the book of Mormon is true. It blesses my life! I also know the bible is true. I love reading the accounts of Jesus' life.
10. my home - it's not much, but I love it and we have many wonderful memories here
11. books - I love, love, love reading!

The day after Thanksgiving we said goodbye to David's dad. He's gone overseas to work for a year. We miss him dearly!

Henry - 6 months old

2010-12-20T14:12:00.002-07:00

Henry turned 6 months old November 21.
Here are his 6 month stats:
18 lbs 10 oz
26 1/2 inches
head - ?? the nurse said 39 cm but she measured wrong
- his head was bigger than that at 2 months
teeth - zero (thank goodness!)

We sure love this little chunk!!

I love dressing my boys up in white shirts and ties!
Henry's a future missionary after all!

Playtime!

Henry has a really bad habit. Can you guess what it is?

Happy half birthday to our adorable, sweet, happy Henry!!!
We love you!

Halloween 2010

2010-12-20T14:00:00.001-07:00

So, I'm a little behind (shocker, I know), but I've been busy.

We had a great Halloween. We decided to go with a farm theme this year. William was a little farmer and Henry was a pig. David and I dressed up in western wear as well.

We went to my parents' ward's trunk-or-treat. We had a great time! Henry was only called a girl oh about 10 times, but I always corrected them. Come on, what color would you expect a pig to be? Male pigs are pink as well. I just laughed though. I also took the kids to our ward trunk-or-treat, but I didn't take any pictures. And we left after William got 2 pieces of candy.

We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins. I just wish William would have stuck his hand in the pumpkin. He refused to touch the guts. David did the pumpkin on the left, and William designed the pumpkin on the right.

Before we went trick or treating on the 30th we had mummy dogs for dinner. They were so fun to make! We then headed out trick or treating. Since it was raining we only went to a few houses. But we still had lots of fun!
Halloween day we had my parents and my mother-in-law Terry over for a homemade Chili and cornbread dinner. We then visited, ate apple crisp, and played Pit. William didn't get to play pit, but I think he gets the main idea of it. Occasionally he'll start yelling "two, two, two, two, two... Corner!!!"
We hope you had a wonderful Halloween (50 days ago).

Henry 5 months

2010-11-03T15:56:00.000-06:00

Henry is now 5 months old!

He learned how to roll from his tummy to his back on September 26.

And on October 5th he learned how to roll from his back to his tummy. He's been working on this for SO long and he was SO close many times. Now he rolls all over like a pro.

Henry makes lots of great faces! He also has a handsome smile.
He loves to give kisses.
He loves playing with William.

Henry loves playing with toys.
And as seen in this picture, he is especially slobbery. He spits up and drools all the time. I just have to keep reminding myself that he'll grow out of this.

We sure love Henry! He is a great addition to our family. I love how easy he is to make laugh. He loves smiling, talking and laughing. He doesn't cry much, but when he does he can get worked up pretty fast. But he is also pretty easy to calm down. I'm SO grateful for my two boys and my husband! I feel so blessed.

Henry's First Solids

2010-11-02T14:25:00.001-06:00

On October 5th Henry ate rice cereal for the first time.

First bite.
He looks a little disgusted.

Not quite sure about this stuff.

William then asked for a bite. I gave him a big spoonful. He didn't ask for anymore.

Henry did really well eating his first time. You could tell he wasn't quite sure about it, but he continued to eat.

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David joined in the fun and helped feed Henry as well.

Delicious!
(In Henry's defense, he didn't make all that mess. I am not that great at keeping my children's faces clean when I feed them. I must have bad aim.)

He has since tried applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas, and peaches. He loves them all! Not that anyone would be surprised that he loves food and eating. I mean, look at those cheeks!

4th Anniversary

2010-10-25T16:40:00.000-06:00

We celebrated our 4th anniversary on the 12th of October. We all went out for breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. That evening we had a delicious Japanese dinner. We then exchanged gifts. I knew a family in Nebraska that called their anniversary their "family birthday". I've always loved that! So this year we decided to give the boys a little gift in celebration of our family birthday. We then went out to the Golden Spoon, a new frozen yogurt place here in town. (I highly recommend it!)
I am SO grateful that I married David 4 years ago. He is a wonderful husband, best friend, and father. I'm excited to spend the rest of eternity with him!
I love you, David!

Alpine Loop

2010-10-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

We drove the Alpine Loop a few Sundays ago.

It was a beautiful drive! This picture doesn't do it justice.
I loved the bright yellow leaves of the Aspens.

We walked up a little path for a better view.

I love this picture!
We had a great time on our drive. Towards the end William looked a little sick. We quickly pulled over and luckily had a bowl in the car with us. William kept saying afterwords that he spit up in the bowl. He talked for a few days about it too.
Anyway, a beautiful drive that I highly recommend if you're in the area!

"Waooo" Football

2010-10-24T17:20:00.000-06:00

In this family, we bleed blue.

We enjoy the games with our children.
This was Henry's first BYU football game.

Just like his namesake, William LOVES "waooo" football.

He even knows most of the words to the Cougar Fight Song.
(Do you like his shirt? I took my Alumni shirt and cut it down and sewed it back together for William. He loves his "waooo" shirt.)

Win or lose, we love our team!
Go Cougars!

Temple FHE

2010-10-24T17:15:00.001-06:00

"As we touch the temple and love the temple, our lives will reflect our faith. As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation.

The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls - not the peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.'"
- President Thomas S. Monson; October 2010 Ensign, pg. 15

We had a little Family Home Evening the last Sunday of August at the Provo Temple. William loved seeing the temple and Angel Moroni, and he loved splashing in the fountains. Then we sat down and talked about the temple and the blessings the temple brings into our lives.

William loved being at the temple. He loves to talk about the temple and Angel Moroni.
We are so grateful for the temple!

Henry - 4 months old

2010-10-18T16:55:00.000-06:00

Henry turned 4 months old in September.
These pictures are from his 4th month of life (so leading up to him turning 4 months old).

4 month stats:
Weight - 17 pounds 1/2 ounce (90th percentile)
Height - 25 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
Head circumference - 43 cm

He's a big boy!!!

Here he is wearing his white shirt and tie for the very first time! He looks so dapper!
Around the time he turned 3 months old I switched him over to 3 -6 month clothes.

Who needs a bumbo when you can pin a child to a chair using a boppy?
Henry started showing a lot more interest in his toys during this month.

Henry also learned the right time to cheer for.
And he is a true blue fan - he supports them even though they have a less-than stellar record this year.

Henry is also starting to help with laundry.
He helped by NOT spitting up on the clean clothes. Thanks, little buddy.

Henry also started wearing cloth diapers full time.

Who needs toys when you've got hands?

Henry enjoyed playing outside on his blanket and watching his big brother run around.

We sure love this little boy!

Henry - 3 months old

2010-10-18T16:50:00.001-06:00

Henry turned 3 months old in August.
These pictures document his 3rd month of life (so leading up to him turning 3 months).

Henry enjoyed laying in the grass in the shade.

I love his little toes!

Henry's first bottle (of breast milk). He took it without any problems! He doesn't get a bottle very often, though, due to David's busy schedule (and my laziness!).

Henry slept through the night before he turned 2 months old, but he still slept in our room until the beginning of August. I finally kicked him out because his wiggling and flopping around in his sleep was waking me up. He loves his crib and William loves sharing a room with him!

Henry smiles all the time! I love those chubby cheeks!

We started putting Henry in cloth diapers again during this time. He wasn't in them full time, though.

Henry is my binky-boy! He loves that thing. He only gets it in bed, in the car, and during church though. I love how he gets the binky marks on his face! So dang cute and funny!

A week of miracles

2010-10-06T15:29:00.004-06:00

Do you believe in miracles? I do. I don't really believe that things happen by coincidence. Let me share with you a week I had back in August.

Around 12:30 am on Monday the 16th of August, I woke up in excruciating pain in my left side and back. Nothing I did could ease the pain. I spent the night going from the tub, to the bed, to the couch and back to the tub. It was the same pain I felt when I was 35 weeks pregnant. When I went in to the hospital at that time back in April, they ran some tests to see if I had a kidney stone. Since I was pregnant they didn't run any scans or take any x-rays though. Anyway, I researched kidney stones during this long night in August and figured that was the culprit. I asked David to stay home from work and then I drove myself to the local ER.

Two CT scans, some blood work, a few heavy doses of pain killers, and 3 1/2 hours later it was officially determined that I had a kidney stone that was too large to pass. The nurse called a local urologist and got an appointment for me for later that morning. Only problem was that this urologist didn't accept my insurance. She asked if that was ok and I told her I really didn't want to have to pay out of pocket to see this doctor. After we talked, she decided to find a urologist that would take my insurance. Cue Miracle #1 - she found one that had a cancellation that day so I could be seen right away. David and my grandpa came to pick me up from the hospital (since I had our car and I couldn't drive myself home). They gave me a blessing when we got back to my apartment. Then grandpa and grandma (she was staying with the boys) left. After I nursed Henry we dropped the boys off at my uncle's house and headed to the doctor.

The X-Ray taken during this appointment showed my stone in all its large glory - 6 by 8 mm. It's amazing how something so tiny can cause so much pain. However considering the size of the ureter, bladder, and urethra it's no wonder that it hurts so much. Anyway, lithotripsy was scheduled for Friday. The nurse practitioner I saw told me I most likely wouldn't be able to nurse for at least 24 hours after the procedure since I would have to be put out for it. Cue Miracle #2 I had 3 days to store up some milk for Henry. I was sent home after a shot in my bum (ouch!) and with prescriptions for percocet and an anti-nausea pill. After we got home, David went to the pharmacy for my prescriptions. When he came home we found out I couldn't take the anti-nausea pill because I nurse Henry.
The percocet helped with the pain, but it made me so sick. Tuesday was William's birthday so I tried so hard to put on a happy face. We had planned to spend the day at Thanksgiving Point, but we only made it for a few hours. Miracle #3 is that I felt perfectly fine during those few hours. My head was clear, my food stayed down, and I didn't have any pain while we were celebrating William's birthday. I was able to keep most of my food down on Tuesday and I was able to pump a little bit of milk.

Wednesday was the worst day. David worked that day. I couldn't eat anything, I threw up everything, and I had absolutely no strength. Yet during this time I was able to care for my boys and continue to nurse Henry - 2 more miracles. Then my visiting teacher called to set up an appointment. I told her what was going on and then she asked if she could bring me dinner. She had "just so happened" to cook 2 roasts that day and had no idea how they were going to eat it all - another miracle! She brought us a dinner that looked delicious. David and William enjoyed it. I wish I could have! I know that it was no coincidence that she cooked too much food. Another miracle occurred that night - my family doctor called me back (I had tried calling him twice to get a different pain killer) and then called in a prescription for me for Darvocet. Then another miracle happened - I called the pharmacy because they were minutes away from closing and explained what was going on. They said they would try to stay open until David got there. David made it just in time to get my prescription. Then another miracle - I ate a roll and didn't throw up that night!

Thursday morning I was still so sick. I couldn't pick myself up off the floor. I was throwing up bile since nothing was in my stomach. I called David and told him to come home. Then I told myself I was going to eat and that I wasn't going to throw up. It worked! Another miracle. Then David came home and I spent most of the day in bed. My grandma came over as well and took our laundry to do - a great blessing! I was able to eat every meal on Thursday and didn't throw up again. By Thursday night I felt great!

Friday morning was the procedure. I didn't have to worry about my boys - they were home sleeping under the watchful care of my dad and Adam. While waiting for the doctors, David gave me a blessing that the procedure would go well. When the anesthesiologist came I told him I was nursing a baby. He told me that I would be able to nurse right away! Another HUGE miracle!!! Especially since I wasn't able to store up very much milk due to my lack of eating. Then another miracle - the procedure worked!!! The stone was broken up into small enough pieces that everything passed without any problem. I have felt completely fine since the procedure was done. The last pain pill I took was the night before the procedure!

Here are some other miracles from this experience:
1. My kidney stone moved out of my kidney on Monday morning and not the week before while I was camping. I had been home for less than a day and a half before this happened.
2. My insurance covered pretty much everything. I just had to pay the co-pays and a fraction of the cost for the procedure. Thank goodness I had a baby this year! I'm pretty sure I've met my deductible and my out-of-pocket maximum for the year.
3. I was able to continue nursing Henry the entire week even though I had almost zero strength. I could feel my milk supply decreasing, but I knew that he was still well fed.
4. My milk supply picked right back up after the procedure was done.

And finally, in response to the age old debate of having a kidney stone vs. being in labor - give me labor any day over a kidney stone. At least you end up with a cute, squishy baby after you've gone through the pain.

William's 2nd Birthday!

2010-09-24T16:45:00.001-06:00

William turned 2 over a month and a half ago. Thanks to his and David's birthdays being fairly close together, William was excited for his birthday.

We decided to invite some family over for a little party on the 15th. Both sets of his grandparents, Adam, Nathan, and Amy came.

William got lots of great presents! He was so excited about his new cars and his new pjs from my parents. He also LOVES his new table and chairs that Grandpa Dann made for him. The picture doesn't do the table justice. They are made from maple and walnut and are amazing!

William's cake. William loves the movie Cars so I decided to have McQueen and Doc racing on a "dirt track" on a bundt cake. William loved it! (Adam loved all the frosting! I think he ate most of the frosting in the center of the cake.)

William blew out his candles all by himself - with no spit!!!

I think he enjoyed his party!

David took the day off work for William's birthday. We went out to eat for lunch and then went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens for their 2 buck Tuesdays. We had a blast exploring some of the gardens. We didn't get around to all the gardens, but just saw our favorites, due to my condition (I'll do a separate post about that later). William loved running around and exploring everything! I cannot wait until we have a backyard for this boy to explore any time he wants!

William got to open presents throughout the day. Henry gave William Mater and Sally cars from the movie. William also got Woody and Buzz, a new Cars/Toy Story blanket that I made for him, and some books.

And of course, he got more cake! He also got to blow out the candles again. He had a fabulous birthday!

William, we sure love you!

Grand Teton/Yellowstone Family Trip

2010-09-17T17:00:00.002-06:00

This is a mega post - lots of pictures, lots of typing. It's for our family record. You've been warned.

August 9th through the 14th William, Henry, and I went camping with my dad, my sister Shannon and her 4 kids, and my sister Becky, her husband Matt, and their 3 kids in Grand Teton National Park. David couldn't go because it was finals week. I must say that Matt and my dad are pretty brave (or crazy) to go camping with 3 women and 9 kids (ages 7 and under).

Monday

Since Becky and her family drove out from Nebraska we decided to meet up in Jackson, WY. This was Becky's first time meeting Henry. It was a very happy meeting (despite Henry's head getting whacked while in Becky's care; she did a great job comforting him though)! We walked around the town square, took pictures by the Antler Arches, and then piled back in to our vans and headed out to get our campsite.

We camped at Colter Bay in 2 campsites that were across road from each other. Looking at the pictures above: My family camped in the little blue tent with the blue roof. Becky and Matt and kids were in the big tan tent next to us. My dad was alone in his little blue tent with the tan roof. Shannon and kids were across the road in our other campsite. You can also see the inside of my tent. William and I shared a queen sized sleeping bag. Henry slept in that bubble-type thing. Let me tell you, that thing was a lifesaver. It protected him from excited little children who wanted to play with him as well as keeping him up off the ground during the freezing cold and wet nights. More to come on our lovely adventures with the rain.

We didn't do much that day besides set up camp. It rained most of the afternoon. That night we celebrated Anthony's 4th birthday. It was my first time spending his birthday with him. It was great! I sure love that little boy!

That night when I went to bed I found a little wet spot on my sleeping bag. I thought that Willam's water cup must have leaked and didn't think anything else of it. That night was pretty rough. William and Henry both woke up a few times. I learned that William has a major aversion to covers - not a good thing when it's freezing outside. Henry slept with us part of the night in the sleeping bag, but spent most of the night in his bubble bed. I should have taken a picture of him asleep in that thing. He was so bundled in 5 or so blankets, plus he had a warm hat on, so all you could see of him was his nose, mouth, chin, and part of his cheeks.

Tuesday

We drove up to Yellowstone on Tuesday. We entered through the south gate and drove up the west road to Old Faithful. Along the way we stopped at Kepler Falls. What a beautiful site!!!

We then drove to Old Faithful. After an overpriced lunch, we walked on the boardwalk around Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin. We saw several small geysers and hot pools. The color in those little pools is unbelievable! They are so clear and so blue. We also watched Old Faithful erupt. Next we drove down to another part of the Upper Geyser Basin and saw several more geysers and pools. I am just amazed at this area. It is so fascinating! We did a lot of walking that day and we were all worn out. We then made the hour and a half drive back to camp.

That night when I got into bed there were several more wet spots in my sleeping bag. I knew it couldn't be from William's cup. But I decided to wait until morning to further investigate the problem. I put my empty duffel bag on top of the wet spots and slept on top of the duffel bag. I slept very well despite the wetness and the freezing cold temperatures. The boys also slept very well. William was now bundled in 3 pairs of pajamas. Once he fell asleep I was able to cover him up with the sleeping bag.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning I told my dad about the wet spots in my tent. Then, Becky and her 2 girls and William and I headed over to the showers. You can only go so long without showering! We paid the small fee and enjoyed our nice hot showers. (I only mention this because some people chose not to shower the ENTIRE week. Eeeewwwww. But their names will not be mentioned, only their pictures will be shown.)

While we were at the showers my dad pulled out my sleeping bags. (We had 2 regular sized ones unzipped and spread out underneath us for warmth and for extra cushion.) He said it looked like a swimming pool underneath the bags. Somehow the water had pooled underneath us during and after the rainstorm Monday. He hung my bags out to dry.

We headed up to Yellowstone again. This time we took the east road after entering through the South gate. We stopped after driving for an hour or more and hiked out to the Natural Bridge (upper right hand picture). It was a lovely little hike. We also stopped at the Mud Volcano area. As we were driving to the Mud Volcano we passed a few bison (our first sign of wildlife - other than squirrels). We then saw about 8 bison while walking around the Mud Volcano boardwalk. My sweet niece, Emma, was so excited that she had seen ELEVEN bison total! Little did she know what was in store for us. Once we got back in our vans we passed by a valley that was covered in bison! The upper left corner picture does not do it justice. There were bison everywhere, even next to the road! When I saw Emma next I jokingly asked her how many bison she had seen up to that point. She exclaimed, "I don't know! I can't count that high!"

Our final stops on Wednesday were the Upper and Lower Falls. Both were incredibly beautiful! Seeing places like Yellowstone is such a testimony to me that a very loving God created this earth for us. There is beauty all around us!

Around 6 pm or so we left the falls to make the long drive back to camp. Seriously, if you want to go to Yellowstone, camp in Yellowstone (or better yet, get a cabin!). That's what we all decided. Our long drive became even longer when we were stopped for an hour and a half in the Bison Valley. Some bison were darting in and out of cars and thus caused quite the traffic jam. We moved at what felt like an inch an hour - that is when we were lucky enough to move. At least we were parked in a beautiful place! We didn't get back to camp until after 9 or 9:30. Becky and Shannon had somehow gotten several miles behind us so they didn't show up until 10 or so.

William kept my dad and I entertained in the van. He and my dad had a great time together each time we got in the van. They called out colors of buses, RVs, and cars together. They also had a great time simply saying each other's names over and over and over and over..... Thank goodness my dad is such a patient grandpa!

That night I enjoyed my dry sleeping bags!

Thursday

Since Wednesday turned into such a long day, we decided to hang out around our campsite on Thursday. William enjoyed wandering between campsites and playing with his cousins. All the cousins played well together during our trip. It was really fun to watch them. William and Makayla loved playing with Grandpa. William also spent some time reading the letters on the license plate. He thought that was pretty fun!

Makayla and Anthony LOVED Henry! They couldn't get enough of him. Makayla would scream "baby" any time she was close to him. He definitely loved them too!

How could you not love him? Isn't he just adorable!

Thursday afternoon we drove to the Jackson Lake (Colter Bay is right next to it). Again another beautiful place!!! The older kids enjoyed the water and the rocks. We also checked out the Colter Bay Museum and Visitors' Center.

Jessica also enjoyed the rocks at the lake and at the campsite. She also liked the pine cones, the sticks, and especially the dirt. You would not believe how filthy she got! This picture doesn't do it justice! Oh, and her jacket - well it used to be white! It was almost black by the time we left!

This girl (remember I said no names) couldn't stand too close to the fire for fear of starting a grease fire! Good thing she kept her hat on! I bet she had a nice reunion with her shampoo, soap, and her razor when she got home! I know I sure did!

Anyway, more about Thursday night. William had fun playing with this stick. I thought he looked like a little Moses. During this trip he learned something very valuable - to fear the road! It was pretty funny actually. Anytime a car would come down the road he would run away from the road crying! He'll still start to whimper if he's playing in front of our apartment and a car comes down the road.

Mmm.... smores. Camping just isn't camping without them! Makayla sure loved those marshmallows! William really enjoyed the smores; he probably ate more than I did!

Friday

Friday we set out in search of bears. We had heard that several could be seen on the drive to Mammoth Hot Springs. This located at the top of Yellowstone, thus we had a long drive ahead of us up the western side of Yellowstone. We left camp early and only stopped when necessary. Well, we then got stopped by road construction for about 30 to 45 minutes. We still had fun though. William and my dad entertained each other. I had fun running back and forth among the 3 vans visiting with my sisters and their families. We finally made it up to Mammoth in time for lunch. Since it was raining we decided to forgo the picnic lunch and enjoy a nice hot meal. We then walked around for a while.

Well, afterward we decided to start driving back to camp. My dad decided we should drive down the eastern road to avoid construction. We made a quick stop so I could visit the lady's room and that was when we got into trouble. We somehow got separated from Matt, Becky, and Shannon and kids. We thought they were behind us, but they never got caught up to us once we started driving out of Mammoth. We even stopped for a while because we saw a bear on the hillside, but they still didn't catch up to us. We kept driving and stopped again after a while. We waited by the road for 30 to 45 minutes. Still no sign of the others, and no cell phone service. We said a prayer and decided to keep driving.

We stopped a few times throughout the trip back to camp because of wildlife. We saw an elk with HUGE antlers.

We saw more elk and then across the road was a grizzly bear. We didn't get a good glimpse of it but Becky and the others did. Turns out it was a mother grizzly with 2 cubs!

These last 3 pictures are from Becky's blog. I didn't take any pictures this day due to dead batteries. Sad!

Anyway, our trip back to camp took at least 3 hours. Amazingly once we got down by Yellowstone lake we had cell phone service. Even more amazing was that Becky and Matt had service too. We were close to the last stretch of the road from Lake Village out to the South Gate. The others were up by the Lower and Upper Falls. They were together, but several miles behind us. They somehow missed us coming out of the bathroom parking lot up at Mammoth because they went to the gift shop. We didn't see their vans at the gift shop so we thought they were somewhere close by us. Then they took some scenic drive because they thought that's where we were heading. When they didn't see us, they left Mammoth and drove down the Eastern Road. Well, we decided that we would just meet back at camp.

My dad, my kids, and I finally got back to camp close to 9:30. It had been raining all day long. My dad checked my sleeping bags to see if they were wet. They were still dry. My boys and I went in to the tent to wait for the others to get back. We all fell asleep. I woke up a while later. Everyone was back and asleep. I got ready for bed and got Henry ready for bed. I noticed a wet spot where Henry had been sleeping on the sleeping bag. I knew it wasn't from him. I checked William's side of the sleeping bag - still dry. I put Henry in his bed and then I went to sleep.

Thus began a very long night - I woke up several times. Each time it was still raining and my sleeping bags were getting wetter and wetter. Eventually I started to get soaked too. William, thankfully, was still dry. Henry was perfectly safe in his bed. I put my duffel bag down and tried to curl up on top of that to sleep. No luck. I finally just sat on my duffel bag holding my legs up to my chest with my blankets wrapped around me. I figured the sun must be rising soon. It didn't. I finally left the tent to check the time - 5:21 am. This was when I finally broke down crying. I went to my dad's tent and told him what was going on. He helped me get my boys out of my tent and into his. He sat in the corner and held William the rest of the night. I slept in his sleeping bag with Henry. All I can say is I don't know how the pioneers did it - being cold and wet, night after night. Actually, I do know how they did it. They had incredibly strong testimonies and knew that God was with them.
Quick side note - Becky heard me crying. She thought Henry had frozen to death, but then must have heard what I was saying. Pretty funny. I think if Henry had frozen to death I would have been slightly more hysterical.

Saturday

Once we got up, my dad pulled my sleeping bags out. Again it was like a had a little lake in my tent. All 3 bags were soaked!

After breakfast we packed up camp. We left around 10:45 and headed back to Jackson. We stopped right outside the Grand Teton park for some last pictures, though.

What a beautiful place!!!

I would love to have this view everyday!

Anyway, we headed our separate ways. Becky and Matt headed back to Nebraska. We followed highway 89 back home. We stopped in Star Valley for lunch and ice cream and then continued on home. It was so wonderful to get back to David and to a nice hot shower!

We had an amazing trip despite a few rough nights!!!! Next time, we'll get a cabin, though! Thanks for the great memories Dad, Becky and family, and Shannon and family!

If you're still reading, you should treat yourself to some ice cream!

David's birthday

2010-09-09T16:30:00.000-06:00

David's birthday was the 6th of August. I was so proud of myself because all of his presents were a surprise this year! Either I haven't kept secrets in the past or we went shopping together for his presents. This year William "helped" me pick out presents for David.

David had to work on his birthday. But once he got home we had a splendid time. I made homemade biscuits and gravy for dinner per his request. Then he got to open his presents.

William and Henry gave him Go Fish and Chuki (a Japanese car from the movie Cars which William promptly claimed for himself).

William got to help Daddy open his presents. He really enjoyed birthdays this year. We tried to play it up more so that he would get excited for his own birthday which I'll post about soon.

David was super excited for his strawberry cheesecake caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company. After opening presents we went out for ice cream sundaes.

I feel so blessed to have David as my husband and as the father of my children. He is so patient, kind, and loving and really brings out the best in me. We love you David!

Fun with Friends

2010-09-09T16:15:00.000-06:00

Back in July one of my best friends from college, Alyssa, came to visit her family in Utah. We got to hang out a few times. It was SO much fun spending time with her and catching up. This was our first time meeting each other's children. Her children are super cute!

We went to Thanksgiving Point's Farm for Family Home Evening. Alyssa's 2 boys and her niece rode the horses. William kept saying "William's turn" while the other children were riding. David ran in and bought a ticket for William to ride. Well, he freaked out when we tried to put him on the horse. So Ema (Alyssa's little girl) got to take William's turn.

We had a great time at the farm. This time William's arm didn't get eaten by a cow. William did not like the geese. He thought they were too loud.

We also hung out at Alyssa's mom's house. The kids had a great time playing together!

They especially loved playing in the water. The boys in tank tops are Alyssa's twin boys (the twins she didn't know she was having until after the 1st baby was born! Best twin birth story ever!). I think Channing is in gray and Jakob is in blue. I could be wrong, though! The other two are Alyssa's niece and nephew.

We also spent time together at the Bean Museum. William loved the elephant.

Alyssa and I then. This was taken in January of 2006. This was the only picture of just the two of us I could find from college. I should have bought a digital camera earlier! We missed out on lots of great photo opportunities!

Alyssa and I now! (Like my eyebrow? I was wondering why David wasn't taking the picture. Apparently he was!) It was so much fun to see Alyssa. I wish she didn't live so far away! Even though it's been about 3 years since we've seen each other it felt like no time had passed at all. I seriously love this girl and all the fun and crazy memories we've made together! Love ya, Alyssa!

Henry - 2 months old

2010-08-06T13:45:00.002-06:00

Henry is now 2 1/2 months old. He is growing like a weed; I can't believe it! Here are his two month stats:
13 lbs 9 oz
24 1/2 inches long
40 cm head circumference
He certainly is a big boy! He's longer and heavier than William was at this age. I guess that's just how it works when your baby is born on time rather than a few weeks early.

Here are some updates on Henry.

He loves his binky. He only takes it though when he's tired.

He LOVES this blanket! Soft on one side, silky on the other. He loves it either way.

He's discovered his hands. He loves eating his fist.

He started smiling!!! Definitely one of my favorite developments. I read once that a baby's smile is like a natural high for mothers. I totally believe it. I always feel so good when he smiles at me. It's quite adorable!

Henry is such a sweet baby. He already sleeps through the night. He did it all on his own. He started sleeping from 10 to 6 before he turned 2 months old. He now sleeps from 9:30ish to 7:15 or so. We love having our sweet little Henry in our family!

Now just for fun, help me out with something.

People are always asking me if he looks like William. Or else they are telling me that he looks so much like William. I honestly don't see it. They have different noses so that changes their whole look for me. They both have big cheeks and double chins in these pictures. And yes they do have pretty much the same head/face shape. But other than that, I really don't see how they look so much a like. What do you think?
By the way, they look the same size in these pictures. However, Henry was 8 weeks in this picture and William was just over 3 months.

Seven Peaks

2010-08-05T13:41:00.002-06:00

Xango held their summer work party at Seven Peaks this year. The whole place was rented out just for Xango employees and their families. It was the perfect way to spend a hot evening.

We started out with dinner. Then we applied sun screen. I love rubbing the sunscreen through William's hair and spiking it up. What a cutie!

Ready to go!

William and Henry LOVED the water! Henry cried when I first put him in, but he loved it the second time around. I think the coldness startled him at first.

He quickly adjusted though and loved sitting in the water!

William loved splashing!

After we played around for a while we went to the wave pool. As soon as we got to that pool they announced it was time for prizes. Guess what??? After 4 years of working for Xango, David's name was FINALLY drawn. He won a $100 gift certificate to sanctuary day spa. Guess who gets to use it? Me! Don't I have a sweet husband?!?! After prizes, William, Lizzie (my 3 year old niece who stayed with us for 3 days) and I headed into the wave pool. Lizzie loved it. William hated it. Oh well. We still had a great time!

Henry's blessing

2010-08-04T16:55:00.001-06:00

Henry was blessed in our ward on the 4th of July. David gave him a beautiful priesthood blessing. The spirit there was beautiful. I could tell that David gave his blessing a lot of thought so it would be what Heavenly Father wanted pronounced upon Henry. We were so grateful to be surrounded by family on this special occasion. I didn't take an individual picture of him in his blessing outfit, but we are going to get some professional pictures taken soon so I'll post some of those.

Henry with our family.

Henry with his extended family - grandmas and grandpas and great grandparents.

While we ate lunch, Henry slept.

He sure was worn out by the day!
I just have to point out his blue blanket. David's employer, Xango, sent that to us. It even has Henry's name embroidered on it. Henry loves it and so do we!

We had lunch after church at my grandparents' house. We had a great time visiting with our family. While we were setting the food outside, I was carrying 2 pitchers of water to the deck. I failed to notice that the sliding screen door was shut and walked right into it! It was pretty hilarious and embarrassing since most of my family were watching me!

Also, while we were eating, this little stinker decided to take a walk by himself. My grandparents' backyard isn't fenced in so William took off. I thought he was with David until everyone started asking me where William was. Apparently a man came into the backyard asking if we were missing a child. I didn't see that happen, but when everyone was asking about William I quickly went up to the front of the house. The wife of that man came up to me carrying William. He was half way to the end of the block! They noticed him walking by himself as they were driving up the road. They stopped and got out of their car to catch him. I am so grateful for those kind people who saved my son for me. Needless to say, William was watched like a hawk the rest of the luncheon!
Henry's blessing day was definitely a day I'll never forget!

Fourth of July

2010-08-04T16:50:00.001-06:00

One thing I love about living in Utah is that if a major holiday (other than Christmas) falls on Sunday that holiday is celebrated the Saturday before out of respect for the Sabbath. I know this bothers some people, but I sure do appreciate it. This being said, we got to celebrate the 4th of July on the 3rd, the 4th and the 5th.

On the 3rd, we headed to Pleasant Grove for fireworks! William sure had fun waiting for the fireworks. He got to eat lots of yummy licorice and play with mom and dad.

Henry also seemed to enjoy waiting for the fireworks.
(You may or may not notice that smudge in the middle of most of our pictures from this time frame. I didn't until I uploaded some pictures. You can thank William's fingers for that.)

William made the most of the waiting period by preaching a great sermon to the people.

Too bad we couldn't figure out what he was saying, but I am certain it was profound.

On the 4th of July we celebrated by going to church. After all this nation was originally settled by people seeking religious freedom. I am so grateful that we have this freedom.

On the 5th we enjoyed a barbecue with my grandparents and some of my uncles and their families. I didn't take any pictures there. When we got home William got to play with those snap things. He had a great time dropping them off the balcony.

Bombs away!!!!

Wow!

We hope you had a great (3rd) 4th (5th) of July!!!

My birthday and Locks of Love

2010-08-04T16:44:00.003-06:00

Ever since high school, I've wanted to grow out my hair and donate it to Locks of Love. However, I didn't want to be left with really short hair, so I knew I needed to grow it really long. Well, I always got sick of long hair before I reached the "really long" requirement. I decided while I was pregnant that I would let my hair grow out and then donate it after I had Henry.
On June 5th I finally did it. I looked in the mirror that morning and knew I was sick and tired of my long hair. It was time to donate it.

Since my hair is so thick it was separated into 2 ponytails. This shows right after the 1st ponytail was cut off. I was really nervous, but I'm glad I did it. It's neat knowing that my hair is being made into a wig to help someone without hair.

This was taken on my birthday. It gives you a faint idea of my hair before.

This was taken on the 6th of June. It gives you a faint idea of the after look.
P.S. I had a pretty good 25th birthday.

Glenn Beck and Me

2010-07-20T14:40:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I read about Glenn Beck having macular dystrophy. I don't follow Glenn Beck's show, but I do respect him. I respect the fact that he found the gospel and turned his life around. Something he said when he announced to some youth that he has this disease really touched me. He said, "I truly came to a place that is the greatest blessing," Beck said through tears. "Lord, if you need my eyes, they're yours. They've been yours the whole time, anyway. Thank you for letting me see as far as I have."

You may be wondering why I'm writing about Glenn Beck and his vision. Well, it's because two years ago I was diagnosed with an eye disease called Keratoconus. I'm not going blind, but my eye sight is becoming rather poor. There are different treatments out there. In the most severe cases a corneal transplant is necessary. However, most people can see close to 20/20 with gas permeable contacts. Right now I'm still wearing soft contacts, but I think I'm pretty close to needing gas permeable contacts.

When I found out about this disease, I was shocked. It is typically genetic and found during your teenage years. Well, no one in my family has it, and I was almost 23 when diagnosed. I was mad and worried and devastated. I worried that I would never be able to clearly see my children, lose my ability to read, and miss out on seeing so many incredible things in this life. One night I just broke down and cried. David held on to me and cried with me. After that moment I have felt more comfort when I think of my disease. I've had a priesthood blessing specifically for my eye disease. I feel like I can now say what Glenn Beck has said - Lord, my eyes belong to you. Thank you for letting me see so much and I know that if one day I cannot see very well, that I will be able to see perfectly once I am resurrected.

There is a new, promising treatment out there, though. If you remember Steve Holcomb from the gold medal US bobsled team talked a lot about being legally blind and now seeing almost perfectly. Well, he has what I have. He visited a doctor in LA who has developed an amazing procedure that can restore near perfect vision to patients with keratoconus. I hope to someday be able to have this procedure done. I only need $7000 or so to get it done. Donations are welcome! ;)

Post Edit:
Insurance does not cover the procedure since it hasn't been FDA (?, it's either them or some other group) approved. However, results of the procedure are very promising. It would be well worth whatever we have to spend on it. I'm grateful that I'm not going blind like Glenn Beck, but I will have my fair share of challenges if I cannot get the procedure done. Also, please know that I have a really positive outlook on this disease. I'm not sure what the future will hold, but I know that I will not be left alone as I face whatever challenges may come.

Henry's 1st month

2010-07-13T16:50:00.000-06:00

Henry's first month was wonderful. We definitely had some challenging moments, but overall it was wonderful. Henry has brought a wonderful spirit into our home. We love having him and think he is so sweet. I was worried about what "kind" of baby he would be, especially since he was very active in the womb. He has a sweet temperament. He sleeps very well, eats extremely well, and is simply wonderful! We are so grateful that he has joined our family.
Here is a look back at his first month.

Henry would cry/scream every time we changed his diaper or his clothes. William also did this at this age. Henry is 6 days old in this picture. He handles diaper changes much better now.

Henry's first bath at home. He was 6 days old. I don't know why I waited so long before giving him a bath. I guess when you have 2 bath time for the baby can get overlooked pretty easily. Thankfully he now has a set bath time routine so he no longer goes a week or several days without a bath! Anyway, Henry enjoyed parts of his bath.

His next bath was in the bath tub (5 days later). He loved it! Well, he didn't like getting his hair washed and his head scrubbed, but he loved the rest of it. When he first got in he started to fuss. As soon as he rested his feet in the warm water he calmed right down. He loves bath time now.

Henry got to meet Jacob and Kat the day he came home from the hospital. We were grateful they visited us before they went back to Ohio. My dad was out of town when Henry was born. We expected him home the 2nd of June. Well, on the 30th of May my mom came to stay for most of the week. I thought it was rather odd that Adam came along with her to visit us since he would have to drive back home by himself. Terry, Nathan, and Amy were also visiting us when my mom arrived. My dad called a few minutes after my mom got to our apartment. I chatted with him for a few minutes before Terry mentioned that my dad was right outside! I couldn't believe it! It was a very pleasant surprise. Shortly after that, my grandparents stopped by. They were in Israel when Henry was born. It was a lovely evening! Henry got to meet Grandpa Neal a few weeks later.

Some random cute pictures of Henry. The top right picture shows Henry in his first cloth diaper! Right now he's wearing disposables, though, until he gets a little bit bigger.

Henry hated being on the floor at first. But he has learned to enjoy it. The picture with the boppy needs a little explanation. I had propped Henry up on it, but then he pushed himself forward until his head was resting on the floor.

Life with 2 has been an adjustment. It was actually harder with others here helping because I felt like I couldn't create a new "normal". Once it was just me with the boys things improved a lot. William had less tantrums and better adjusted to sharing mommy. Most of the time things run smoothly and William does really well with Henry. We do have difficult moments, though, when William hits Henry. Henry already has a cry that lets me know he's been hurt. William is getting better about not hitting Henry. William loves being with Henry. He is a good helper and lets me know when Henry's spitting (which he does a ton!), yawning, or crying. He tries to help out by giving Henry his binky and by gently rocking Henry's cradle. He loves hugging and kissing Henry. He also tries to share with Henry.

William shared his puppies with Henry.

Then he decided to share the rest of his bedtime friends with Henry.
I love having 2 boys and look forward to when they can play together!

These next pictures show how much Henry has grown.

1 week old

2 weeks old
At Henry's 2 week check up he weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and measured 21 inches long! Despite all his spitting up he had gained 2 pounds from when we left the hospital!

3 weeks old

1 month old

Henry, we love you and your chubby cheeks!

Henry's hospital stay and coming home

2010-07-08T20:39:00.000-06:00

After William and Terry spent some time with Henry, we decided it was time for Henry to have a bath. David, Terry, and William left with Henry to watch his bath.

Terry and William watching Henry's bath through the nursery window.

Henry cried through most of his bath.

We had lots of visitors during our stay. Shannon and her family plus Lily came Friday night along with my mom and Adam. On Saturday we had even more visitors. My aunt Eileen, Grandma Neal, my mom, Kanien and girls, and my uncle Jim and his family all came to visit. And of course Terry and William came multiple times while we were in the hospital.

William showed a lot more interest in Henry on Saturday.

Henry actually spent both nights in the nursery. The nurses were so kind and took great care of him. Friday night he only came in once to eat and that was around 5 am. Saturday night he came in twice - around 2 and again around 5. I didn't send him back to the nursery after the last feeding. I honestly didn't sleep that well with him gone. And I wanted to be able to watch my baby sleep.

Sunday morning we got ready to go home. While we were waiting to be discharged David and I got to partake of the sacrament. It was quite wonderful being able to partake of the sacrament in the hospital.

Here we are all dressed and ready to go. Henry looked so adorable in the outfit I picked out for him. One of the nurses commented on his outfit and said it was the cutest "going home outfit" she'd seen. We left the hospital around 12:30 pm.

Home at last!