William's birthday party

For William's birthday, we decided to do a bug-themed party. We had lots of fun, and we really appreciated all of those who came.

The invitation.
Yep, David and I made it! The inside said "... to a bug party!"

The birthday cake.
I decided to make cupcakes and decorate them like bugs. We made ladybugs, bumble bees, and a caterpillar using regular sized cupcakes. We used mini cupcakes to make ants. The white birthday cake was free from Macey's. I thought all our cupcakes turned out super cute! David and I did a great job, if I may say so myself! Oh, and may I just point out how perfect the chocolate cupcake looks - just like a rose!

Game and Presents.
Once everyone arrived and had a few moments to visit, we started the party. We had the kids play "pin the stinger on the bee" (David made the bee for us). They had lots of fun! My niece, Josie came the closest and won "The Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. After the game William opened presents with some assistance. Thanks for all the great gifts everyone (even you, Becky)!

Make a wish!
We then sang happy birthday to our sweet William!

William's 1st cupcake.
William got to eat the head of the caterpillar. He was not shy at all with the cupcake and had a great time eating it. I loved how he picked it up and started eating it like he does a plum.

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My friend, Christie, requested a video of him eating cake. Here it is!

William's 2nd cupcake.
David's mom decided that William needed another cupcake. Then my dad decided William wasn't dirty enough and used some frosting to finger paint on William.

Almost done! What a messy boy!!!

William really enjoyed his party! It took a while to clean him up, though. David, William, and I really enjoyed William's birthday. It was so fun to plan and carry out his birthday party. Thanks again to all that came and for all the great presents. And a special thanks to my grandparents for letting us use their backyard for the party. I'm glad you had a great birthday, William! We love you!

Happy Birthday, William!!!!

Our sweet William turns 1 today!!! We can hardly believe it! It seems like only yesterday we were unexpectedly awoken by my water breaking. August 17, 2008 was a remarkable day. It is a day I will never forget. I will never forget the very first time I saw you. I'll always cherish the moment when I finally got to hold you for the very first time. I will always cherish your smiles, your hugs and your slobbery kisses! You have brought so much meaning and love into our lives. As David and I look back over the last year we reflect with love, joy, and laughter! We are so grateful for our sweet little boy! Happy Birthday, William!

Here is a look back at William's first year.


First Picture

In the hospital

Home at last!!!

One month old

Two months old

Halloween! He was a hot dog!

3 months old

4 months old

1st Christmas

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

8 months old

9 months old

10 months old

11 months old

11 months old

almost one!

August 16th - So excited to turn one!!!

Celebrations

William is the happy owner of two new teeth. I found his first tooth on July 23rd. His second tooth started coming in this Monday. I thought for sure I would end up with a toothless one year old, but alas he has proved me wrong.

He really likes his new teeth!

In other news, I have reached a milestone. I have finally caught up my journal. It only took 4 months and 64 pages to write about the last 11 months! I no longer feel like a horrible mother for not documenting the first year of my son's life in my journal. Now I just need to get back in the habit of writing daily. Prayers requested!

Farm Country

Thanksgiving Point is doing $2 Tuesdays this month. So after David came home from work on Tuesday we got our picnic food ready and headed off to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. William really loves animals - toy ones, real ones, even ones that are on TV. We figured he would love this place. We were right! He loved it!


We saw lots of sheep, goats, chickens, cows, pigs, rabbits, and horses. The chicken in the picture above is actually a Turken. It looks like a cross between a chicken and a turkey but it is actually a chicken that does not grow feathers on its neck. Pretty interesting. When we got into farm country we were given some tickets that we could use toward a pony ride or a wagon ride. We chose the wagon ride and had a lovely time.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

William absolutely loved the animals! When he first saw the animals he got SO excited and started laughing. The video shows his reaction to some of the animals.

I thought this was so cute! A miniature horse with its miniature baby.

We also enjoyed a picnic dinner. This was William's second time eating a peanut butter sandwich. He loves it!

The last animals we saw were the cows. There was an especially friendly cow. When William and I first went over to see him, there was another family standing by us. The cow started licking the father and the children. Then the cow came over by William and me. He started licking us as well. I turned away for a second, and then looked down. To my great surprise HALF of William's arm was in the cow's MOUTH!!! And William wasn't freaking out or anything! I quickly pulled out his arm and found that everything was still intact, just covered in cow slobber. I couldn't believe it. It really freaked me out at first, but we had a great laugh over it. The cow then licked me and tried eating my shirt. He also licked David and tried eating David's jeans. I never knew cows were so friendly!
We had a great time! We definitely won't forget this trip to farm country any time soon. I know that I will NEVER forget seeing William's arm in the cow's mouth.
If you get the chance, head on over to Thanksgiving Point and check out 2buck Tuesdays!

David's birthday

David had a great birthday a week ago. Here are some highlights!

My cute boys!

David is opening up William's present. It is this collage below. I had it printed as an 8x10 for him and then framed it so he could take it to work.

We're glad you had a great day, David!

Camping with family

July 31st David, William, and I went camping with David's family. We camped at South Willow Canyon above Grantsville. It was my first time camping since my junior year in high school and William's very first time camping! We had lots of fun! We got there early in the afternoon to claim a campsite. We spent the afternoon exploring while William took a nap. The rest of David's family came that evening. We had a really great time camping!

William enjoyed watching the fire. He also like putting his feet in the freezing cold creek water.

After we packed up on Saturday we celebrated David's birthday with some cake. Thanks, everyone, for helping make David's birthday special! We love you all! (I must point out the awesomeness of my picture. Isn't that a great action shot? If you click on it, it is even better!)

Advice needed

I am in need of some good advice. Since William will be 1 next Monday, I have started weaning him from breastfeeding. So far we have cut out his bedtime feeding. He currently nurses 3 times a day still - 7:30, 11:30 and about 4:30 or 5. So I really want some good advice from mothers out there who nursed their babies for a year and how they weaned their babies. Also, did you feel rather emotional about it? I feel so sad about weaning William. I love that 10 minutes we spend together 3 times a day. He lets me hold him close and doesn't push me away. We laugh and giggle together as he drinks. I feel so sad that this is coming to an end. So I ask, what did you do to wean and how did you handle it emotionally? I really appreciate your advice. Thanks so much!

Happy Birthday, David!!!!!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful husband and father!!! William and I both love and adore you more than words can express! Thanks for being my best friend! William and I hope you have a very special and fun birthday!

Welcome Home!!!

Three years ago today was a splendidly awkward day. It was the BIG day. I got home from work probably around 6:30 am and anxiously climbed into bed. After possibly getting a few hours of sleep my alarm went off. I got myself ready for the day and finally put on the brand new shirt and jeans that had been sitting in my closet for a few months. I had to have the perfect outfit of course! I met up with David's family and rode with them to the airport. We waited impatiently by the security gate only to realize that David had come from a different gate and was waiting on the main floor by the escalators.
It was INCREDIBLY awkward going down to see him. I politely stepped back so he could greet his family members. Then we walked on to get his baggage. I didn't even say hello. I was too nervous. His mom looked at me and asked me if I had said anything to him. After all we had been anxiously awaiting this day for 2 years! To me, this was THE moment - would he be happy to see me? Would he be upset that I was there? I had NO clue! Some how we got pushed next to each other and finally greeted each other. Thus we have this gem of a picture...


Awkward? Oh yes! And let me tell you the day didn't get much better.
But the awkwardness soon passed. It took 6 days for us to share our second "first" kiss while watching The lion the witch and the wardrobe (I LOVE that movie).

Ten days after he got home we went on a picnic together and then went to the soul to soul 2 concert (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill).
Then came August 7th. It was a Monday and my parents were in Nebraska with my very pregnant sister. So of course I had FHE with David and his mother. This FHE is NEVER to be forgotten. We had a lesson given by Terry about following the Holy Ghost's promptings. After she concluded David told her she needed to give a challenge. And a challenge she gave!!! By the end of the week we needed to pray to find out if we should get married! (My mother wasn't too happy when she heard about that! But I think it was a splendid challenge!)
So the next day we took a little drive down to Provo and we went to the temple together. We prayed individually about whether we should get married. Then David opened his scriptures and it just so happened to fall on Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
We both felt like it was right.
So 13 days after he came home, David and I were engaged! (And he hadn't even given his homecoming talk yet!)

On August 19th he officially proposed with the ring. Perfect timing considering we were having our engagement pictures taken that day.

And 2 1/2 months after he got home we celebrated our wedding!
How's that for a welcome home?
David, even though way too many people told me it wouldn't work, we made it! I'm so glad that I waited for you. You are the best husband and friend I could ever ask for. I'm so thankful that you served an honorable mission and I'm grateful you came home honorably to me.
I love you!

11 months old

William is 11 months old today! He has such a fun personality. I love watching it come out more and more each day. He has a very contagious smile and an even more contagious laugh. He mimics us a lot. He will do a fake cough if David or I cough. He will do a goofy smile if I do a goofy smile. He is such a pleasant little boy and I couldn't ask for anything more!

I'm not sure why William does this, but I think it is pretty hilarious. He does this almost every time he eats, and he always leans to the same side.

David and I love to take William up Provo Canyon to Vivian Park. There is a beautiful and very peaceful picnic area up near the top of the road. We all love it.

I have to admit that I sneak into William's room almost every single night because he always sleeps in such cute, funny ways. Sometimes I find him asleep on his face. I wonder how he can breathe like that so I often will turn his head a little bit.

William has learned how to walk while pushing his little walker toy. The other day he pushed it a little faster than his feet could follow and he ended up stuck!!! Of course we HAD to take pictures before we could help him up.

Last week William decided to be quite scandalous... he went skinny dipping in my mother-in-law's front yard! He loved it - for a few minutes until he got cold! On Friday David's work had their summer party at 7 peaks. We had SO much fun! William loved the water and he loved sitting in the tube. I am just thrilled that he loves swimming!

The other night at my in-laws' house William played with one of their wind chimes. He figured out that the harder he swung the firefly the louder and longer the chimes would ring. I love how curious he is. He is always getting in to things. It seems he is always trying to figure out how something works. Hopefully we can channel his curiosity into a love of learning!

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William loves sitting in front of the mirror. He also loves standing up next to and dancing in front of it. My absolute favorite is when he gives himself kisses. It is just too cute. Speaking of kisses, I absolutely LOVE when Claire and William try to kiss each other. One of these days I'm going to get a picture of it!
Now I need to start planning William's birthday party and make some invitations. Any ideas for a great first birthday????