Mitch, Elise & Blake

Weston Ross Hill

2011-11-09T15:22:00.001-08:00

Our sweet little familyBlake was a little unsure of all of the tubes and monitors on his baby brother but he was still excited to meet him.

So happy to be holding him
I might be smiling but I sure was hurting.. :)
Weston Ross Hill was born on October 3rd, 2011 at 5:07 am weighing it at 7lbs and 7ozs and was 21 inches long. This delivery was so much faster than with Blake. Weston came 2 weeks early just like his big brother. Here is his birth story...

On October 2nd I decided to pack my hospital bag and finalize everything in preparation for our baby's arrival (my due date wasn't until October 16th) so I thought I was ahead of the game. Mitch wasn't home that night, he was dog sitting his parents dogs but I wasn't worried at all because I still had two weeks left. I jokingly called him that night and said well my bags are packed, just watch my water will break tonight. And around 1230am it did! I was fast asleep and a gush of water woke me right up. I don't think I have ever moved faster in my life to get out of my bed and into the bathroom. How ironic that I made that comment to Mitch just a few hours before. I called him immediately and we rushed to figure out who could watch Blake while we went to the hospital. I called my mom and she met us there. We made it to the hospital by 1:30 am and my contractions were very close already. They admitted us and by 2am I was already dilated to 4cm. The nurses for whatever reason could not get an IV in me. You have to have a full bag of fluid before you can get your epidural and the nurses could not get an IV in me! Needless to say I was getting very frustrated and my contractions were only getting stronger and more close together. They moved me to the labor and delivery room (still no IV) and I was really starting to get anxious about that epidural. Finally the head nurse got the IV to take and the fluids started. My labor nurse was a sweetheart. She was very thorough and explained everything to me. I told her I was having a lot of pressure so she checked me and I was at 7cm. Still no epidural. I had not prepared my mind at all for what it would be like to deliver a baby without an epidural. I pleaded with her to get that process started. Thankfully I was able to get one before I missed the window of opportunity! After I got the epidural I still felt a ton of pressure so I asked the nurse to check again because it really felt like it was time to push. She checked again and sure enough it was! It was 4:50am. My doctor was on her way so the nurse was coaching me to not push just yet. Dr. Hollar arrived at 5am and with two pushes Weston was out. I couldn't believe how fast it all went. With Blake I was in labor for 23 hours and with Weston a little over 4 hours total. So fast.

So that was the delivery part...

When Weston came out the cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he wasn't breathing. They put him on my chest... he still was not breathing. He was blue. A deep shade of blue. I knew something was wrong. I looked up at the nurse and said take him he is not breathing and he is blue. My doctor was trying to ensure me that he will take his breath. As I am watching across the room I still don't hear a cry. I see the nurses working with him but still not a sound. Then teams of doctors and nurses start pouring into my room. Still not a sound. My doctor gets up and goes over to Weston and starts working on him. Still no sound. They start chest compressions. No mom should ever have to see that. That image will forever be engraved in my head. I was so scared. Actually scared doesn't even describe my emotion. I was frozen. Finally after what seemed an eternity Weston let out this little tiny cry. Barely anything. I just started crying. I didn't know what was going on. Why didn't he breathe? The NICU pediatrician came over to me and reassured me that he was going to be okay. He said that some babies are just slow to start. His oxygen levels weren't maintaining so they needed to take him and put him on oxygen and observe him. I didn't know what to think. They brought Weston over to me... this time he was pink like he should be so I knew at least he was breathing. I only got to hold him and see him for a brief moment before they whisked him away. Mitch stayed with me until I was all taken care of and then he went with Weston. Before I knew it I was alone in that room. No doctors, no nurses, no Mitch, and no Weston. Just me. And I cried and said a prayer. In that moment when it was just me I felt a reassuring calm from the Spirit letting me know that everything was going to be okay. The peace that I felt was something that I hadn't felt in a while. God works miracles every day. Weston was our miracle that day.

Weston had to spend the time we were in the hospital in the NICU because his oxygen levels wouldn't level out. Our nurse in the NICU was wonderful. She took care of Weston and reassured us that everything was going to be okay. Being in the NICU really made me realize how miraculous it is to have a baby. So many babies were sick and it broke my heart. I just wanted to go home with my baby. They took xrays of Weston's chest and saw that he had a lot of fluid in his lungs and that could be a possible reason why he didn't breathe right away. Over the next two days he coughed up a bunch of fluid. He had every possible monitor hooked to him it seemed. That was hard on me to see that. After rounds of antibiotics and lots of monitoring he was released to go home with us. I was so grateful for all of the nurses and doctors at Banner Desert for taking care of him.

This birth experience was so different from my first on many different levels. Being in the hospital after you carry a baby for nine months and then deliver him and then not having him with you was hard. I felt empty not having him close by me. I spent as much time as I could up in the NICU with him. I missed him.

I am so happy that he is a healthy little boy. Weston has such a calm demeanor. He rarely cries and never complains about anything. He sleeps all day and most of the night. He only wakes up to feed. He loves to be held and snuggles into my neck. He has the best hair. It is my favorite thing.

Blake loves being a big brother. He loves to help. He only has had a few outbursts but that is normal. He loves to hold him and help change him and bathe him. He asks me every day if he is big yet... he can not wait to be able to play with him.

I love my husband. He was right by my side and was my calming force. He kept reassuring me that everything was going to be okay and that we were in the best place possible for Weston. Mitch is a wonderful dad. The best I know.

On a side note... We had a bittersweet moment on the way to the hospital. We both got choked up realizing that the drive their was the last time it would just be the 3 of us. The past 3 years with Blake have been so wonderful. We have been blessed with such a sweet little boy that we wondered how it could get any better. Now that Weston is here it feels like he always has been. We are so blessed.

Blake

2011-11-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Blake,

I wanted to take a minute to write down how much I love you so that you will always know how special you are to me. From the minute I met you I fell in love. You are such a sweet, smart, caring, stubborn (which will be a good thing when you are older), loving, thoughtful, happy, shy (until you get used to someone), special little 3 year old boy.

Right now a little about you...

You love to be with your family and we love to be with you!

You love to help with anything you can. You help your daddy fix everything and you help me with house hold chores

You love your daddy and you love to spend time with him.

You love your mimi, grandpa, and your grandma d and love running errands with them by yourself in their cars.

You love skittles and sugar cookies and it is hard for all of us to tell you no.

You love to create and you are funny. You are a thinker.

You have the best little imagination and you are always teasing us making up your own words to songs and stories.

You don't miss a beat with anything and you remember everything.

You love Mickey Mouse and everything to do with cars and trucks.

You especially love your red car and your lightening McQueen car. You are always in them.

You love having date night with your mom - and I think I love it more. We usually watch a movie and go out for pizza

You tell me you have a secret for me and then you tell me you love me. It melts my heart.

You are a picky eater - I think it is because you are too busy to sit down and eat

You like macaroni and cheese, cereal, mandarin oranges, turkey roll ups, and noodles. Yes plain noodles. You are a snacker - cheese its, goldfish, and pretzels are a few of your favorites.

You love going to school and to nursery. You have lots of friends at both places

You are so sweet and sensitive. You don't understand when kids are mean because you aren't mean

You think about how your actions effect others and apologize when you have a fit. "I'm sorry mommy for throwing that fit and saying mean things, I don't know what I was thinking" Love it.

You have the best vocabulary of any kid I know. You use words like predicament, suppose, clarify, and other big kid words. It is awesome because you use them in the correct context always.

You know how to re structure sentences when someone doesn't understand you. What 3 year old can do that? Just you.

You laugh at all the funny spots in movies. You have the best laugh. It cracks us up!

You have this awesome serious voice that you use when you are making a point about something.

You think of reasons that you love your mommy and daddy and you tell us, you are so sweet!

There are so many special things about you and these are just a few that I can think of right now. Thank you for blessing my life and for teaching me how to be a better mom. I love you little man!

Early Bird Preschool!

2011-11-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

Waiting ever so patiently for his first day! He was so excited... walked right in and took off his back pack and said see you later mom and dad! Like I said... he is growing up way too fast!Walking on up to her door. He picked out his own back pack for school. Love how big it is!
I love his first school picture by the door. His face is priceless!
Yes my little buddy now goes to preschool! He is such a smart little boy. I know everybody says that but this little kid is hilarious with how smart he is. He uses logic and decisive reasoning when making decisions so it was more than time to find him a school to attend. Ms. Erin is his teacher at Early Bird Preschool and he loves every minute of it! He is learning so much! He cracks us up because he is so private with school... doesn't want to tell us about it! That's fine with me... It is his own special thing! Everyday he brings home some art project about what they learned that day and some home work that we can do together. He LOVES it!

Blake turned 3!

2011-11-09T14:18:00.001-08:00

Blake we love you more than you know! You are such a special kid and you have blessed our lives beyond any description! Happy Birthday my best little man! What?? I am just enjoying my cake! :)

Playing skeeball. He was loving it!
All of his best little buddies sitting down for pizza together. so cute!

I am behind with my blog. Blake celebrated his third birthday on August 31st. He is such a big boy now! The theme was Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Cassy did a great job again with his cakes! So cute! We had his party and Peter Piper Pizza and it was a blast! Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us!

Potty Training! A success!!

2011-09-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Very proud of you little buddy! Way to go!Picking out stickers for his reward! He also knew that once he started going potty than he would get to go to pre school! That starts tomorrow!!
So proud! Showing daddy what he did!
I decided that it was past time to start potty training this little kiddo... so Blake and I blocked off 3 days and dedicated our lives to the cause! haha. By using sticker charts, skittles, a timer (every 10 minutes), and lots of recognition we finally made it! I was so proud of him and he was so proud of himself! It took a little while to go #2 but going #1 was not really an issue. Hardly any accidents and we would wake up dry almost every day from nap and even from the night. Once he finally decided that going #2 in the potty wasn't scary anymore we have not had any accidents at all and he wakes up dry every day and every morning! YAY! I am not going to lie... this was hard for me (probably because I waited until I was 8 months pregnant to accomplish this mile stone.) But ever since he has gone on the potty Blake has been so happy and so proud of himself! WOOHOO!

Baking a cake!

2011-09-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

End result: A yummy cake! And yes that is how he smiles when he doesn't really want to smile!

I love the excitement on his face in this picture! He was having so much fun!

Blake loves to help! It doesn't matter what we are doing he wants to be right there helping us! He had so much fun baking a cake with dad! Mitch is such a wonderful dad. He never loses his patience with Blake and makes sure that Blake knows how special and important he is!

Self Portraits..

2011-09-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Love you little buddy! Full chipmunk cheeks!
Big BITE!
I love random funny surprises! Blake sometime got a hold of the camera while eating a yogurt and took some pictures of the event. It must have been one delicious yogurt! He is so funny! Seriously when I found this I started laughing out loud! So fun and so cute!

Lagoon!

2011-09-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun trip! We met up with Grandpa Greg, Cameron, Becky, and their kids and had a great day! I must say I did pretty good for being 7 months prego! Flying the helicopter! Loving life!
Loved the boat ride!
Getting ready for take off!
This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Blake. He was so excited to get on his first ride! So stinking cute!
In Utah they have a fun theme park called Lagoon! I love this because they have rides for little kids and they can go on them without a parent! Blake was so excited which was awesome because we were not sure how he was gong to do. As you can see he was all about it! So Much FUN!

Iron Springs

2011-09-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

It was a great trip! Lots of fun memories!Driving on the little roads with dad! He loves to do anything that daddy does!!
Spending some time with Grandpa Wayne teaching him how to use his flashlight :)
Showing off his big catch!
Caught the first fish of the day! He was so proud and so excited! And so were we!
Nice self portrait!
My favorite place to go camping is in Utah called Iron Springs! I loved going there growing up and I love that my family has been a few times too! Blake loves to go fishing!! He has his own fishing pole and all! He was so much fun for this trip! Anything that he could do to help and make it so we had smooth sailing during the camp out he was all about!

Last Day of Disneyland

2011-09-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful family vacation to Disneyland!! It was so great to spend time with Grandpa Greg, Cameron, Becky, Aidan, Ross, and Emilee! Thank you family for joining us for a wonderful family vacation! Love you all!

Day at the Beach!

2011-09-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Nice shot of me and my hubby! Great day! I love my family! Grandpa Greg and Blake. Blake was having the time of his little life with Grandpa Greg. They were pretend surfing!

Me and Becky. As Blake would say aunt Bucky. haha
Blake with his cousins checking out the scenery!
I love getting pictures of Mitch and Blake walking side by side. So cute!
Part two of our California trip was spent at the beach! We had such a great day splashing in the water and soaking up the sun! Blake wasn't too sure of the cold water at first but then we had a hard time pulling him away! It was a very fun day!

Finding the Beauty

2011-08-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

So I found this quote online today... and for those moms who aren't blessed with stretchmarks I still think you can relate. But for me... I have lots of marks. And although I used to not be able to even look at them they now remind me of my precious blessings that I have been given. So blessed to be a mom and so excited to meet our newest addition!

Disneyland trip Part 1 2011

2011-07-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Blake dancing with all the friends! Blake couldn't stop staring at Minnie's shoes. haha. Then he was all about Minnie Mouse. He loved her just as much!He hugged Mickey for about 5 minutes straight. I had to pry him away. It was so sweet. I didn't know if he would be scared or excited and he definitely was happy!

The one and only thing that I absolutely wanted to do was to have breakfast with Mickey and friends. It was so much fun! All of the Disney characters come in and meet all of the kids while we have breakfast. Yep... Blake was in heaven!

We stopped to watch a couple of live Disney shows. Blake was so happy! He was participating and singing and dancing along with all of his favorites from Disney channel.

I swear I have never seen Blake more happy than when he first met Mickey Mouse. I got a bit emotional about it. It was pretty sweet.Pretty much the only ride I made it on... yes a kid ride made me nauseous. Gotta love being prego!

Blake's favorite ride was the Ferris wheel! He asked to go on it many times!

Back in May we took our family vacation to Disneyland! I am so happy that we went! Blake loves Mickey Mouse and he was in heaven the entire time we were there! We met up with Mitch's brother Cameron and his family and his Dad. It was a great family vacation full of lots of special memories!

It's a BOY!

2011-06-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

I guess this is the first embarrassing shot of our new little man! YES that is right we are having another little BOY! I am SO excited about his arrival! He is measuring right on target to be due October 16th! We took Blake with us to the ultra sound and he was so cute watching the screen! I can not wait for them to be little buddies. Blake will be such a great BIG brother to a sweet little boy!

Baby #2!!

2011-04-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to say that we are expecting number 2 due October 16, 2011! YEA! It was so much fun to see this little person and to hear the heart beat! Everything is looking good and we are both so excited! Blake doesn't quite understand but he does know that a baby is in mommy's tummy... he will be such a cute big brother! Wish us luck!

PF Changs Half Marathon 2011

2011-01-17T18:22:00.001-08:00

I did it! I ran 13.1 miles without stopping in 2 hours and 20 minutes! My original goal was to finish in 2 hrs and 30 minutes without stopping and I beat it by 10 minutes! YEA! Oh my gosh I was so happy! Everyone says you are addicted after you do one and I am. It was a lot of fun! My friend David is one of the best friends I have ever had. He trained with me, motivated me, and stuck with me the entire race! We had a blast running this together! I was pretty nervous because the most that I ran before the race was 10 miles. I can not tell you how accomplished I felt when I ran through the finish line... it was Amazing. There is something about having the people you love cheering you on at the finish. You get this crazy surge of adrenaline and you realize that you can finish this. It was awesome because I did this, I set my mind to a goal and I finished it. This has been a goal that I have wanted to check off my list since I was in high school. As silly as this sounds I got a little teary eyed when I ran across the line. I was just so proud of myself. This past month has been so crazy with balancing family, work, and training and to know that I stuck with this just makes me so happy! Okay okay I am done. Pats Run here I come!

Suns Game

2011-01-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks again for taking us with you! We had a great time! Sitting with daddy watching the game! He had a lot of fun. When the suns would score he would say sink a bucket! haha

Just teasing grandpa like usual!

What a little ham!

Look closely... he has his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. So awesome!

We went to the Suns game last Wednesday with Grandpa, Mimi, Josh, and Britney and it was a ton of fun with Blake... his first game! Talking about his sense of humor... we walk into the suite and the first thing he says is nnniiiiccceee! lol. It was really funny! Thanks grandpa and mimi for taking us with you!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T15:00:00.001-08:00

After all was said and done Blake was a happy little man. It was very difficult to get him to look at the camera... who could blame him when he has all those awesome toys to play with! Merry Christmas!!

Grandma D came to spend Christmas morning with us. Blake was so happy to have her there with us!

Christmas this year was amazing for so many different reasons. When you have a toddler you really look back and remember how fun Christmas morning really is. Blake is so fun! We walk out of his room Christmas morning and he was so excited to see what Santa brought his way. Before he opened any presents he said Oh I LOVE it! lol. He was so happy and so sweet after he opened each present he said thank you. I love his sense of humor and how smart he is. He uses words like instead and also. Hahah. It cracks me up when I hear my two year old say I want this toy instead mommy. Anyway Christmas was a ton of fun spending lots of time with the family.

Family Pictures 2010

2010-12-24T06:55:00.001-08:00

We had family pictures taken back in November. I love how they turned out! Blake was being a typical active little 2 year old so I was worried that we weren't going to get any that turned out good! He was too busy discovering everything to pay attention to the camera! He is the best thing in our lives! We have been blessed in so many ways since he has come to our family! He has the best sense of humor and having conversations with him is my favorite part of the day!

Happenings

2010-12-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

Blake just enjoying his Thanksgiving feast. He had to have those silly glasses on the entire meal! So I have been a little M.I.A lately?? I have not been neglecting my blog on purpose I have just been SOO busy lately! I took a few days off of work the week of Thanksgiving which was nice but before that is when the craziness began. I got a promotion at work which I interviewed for the week of Thanksgiving. I am proud of this promotion because I have worked really hard the past two years to get where I am at and it feels good! I feel very blessed because my job has afforded us a lot of peace of mind in these crazy economic times. I am fortunate to have a husband that supports me and appreciates how hard I work. My family came for Thanksgiving and it was real good to see them. I hadn't seen my sister in over a year so it was fun to catch up. She spent the night and we stayed up and talked and giggled like we were little girls again. My grandpa came as well and I sure do love him. We have always had such a special relationship and I was so happy that he was able to spend time with Blake. Thanksgiving and Christmas are always my favorite time of year because I am reminded of the importance of having an attitude of gratitude. Everyday I realize how blessed and lucky I am to have the life and family that I do. I want to teach Blake about loving others and serving people less fortunate than we are. This year Mitch and I decided that we are going to take gifts to the children's hospital and have Blake hand out some gifts to the kids. Every year I want to take him to do something that requires him to give and love others in need. I haven't quite worked out all the details yet but hopefully everything works out. Running has sort of gone to the back burner because of the promotion and the holidays but I am still determined to finish this goal! Either way I am going to participate in the run even if I have to walk some of it... although I really hope I can do it without walking! Wish me luck! :)

Week 6 update

2010-11-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Week 6??? What? I can not believe that I am approaching the end of week 6 in training! I am proud of myself because I have kept pretty strict to the schedule. I get up early before work and run. It has gotten to the point that if I don't run I feel guilty! What? It just makes my day run so much more smoothly. I really do love it. Last week I ran 7 miles and was proud of that because it was hard but I have made up my mind that I am going to do this so I am sticking with it! One frustration? I thought I would be losing weight super fast because of how much I am running. Nope, only lost 2 pounds. So if any of you runners out there have any diet advice please let me know! I am determined though. I will keep at it!!

Britney and Josh

2010-11-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

It was such a wonderful day! Love you guys!I love what Blake was wearing... little suite, pink tie, and converse shoes! So cute!

Blake was the ring bearer and it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. He walked the aisle swinging the pillow and holding Mitch's hand. Once he saw me standing at the front he was like "hi mommy... hold you." haha

The beautiful bride and her bridesmaids

Britney got married! I love this picture above... it seriously chokes me up! It is SO sweet how they are looking at each other. I love being around Britney and Josh because you can just tell how much they love each other. It is pretty sweet. Thanks Britney for letting me be a part of your special day! You looked gorgeous!

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Can you guess what Blake was for Halloween? Yep he was Mickey Mouse! He had a lot of fun with Ella and Easton. I love that they are friends.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

We took Blake to the pumpkin patch and it was so much fun! Look how serious he is while picking out his pumpkin. He picked up and put down lots of different pumpkins and finally found the one that he wanted! He is so cute and fun right now!!

Week 3 Update

2010-10-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

So just because I didn't update week 1 or 2 of my training for the half marathon doesn't mean I cant start now, right? Well I am loving it. I really am. I feel so good about myself when I am doing this for lots of reasons. The top two: I am sticking to a goal that I set for myself and I am doing something just for me. I am up to 4 miles now with out having to stop for a break which is a big deal for me because I used to only be able to run 2 miles without a break! Tomorrow is a 5 mile run and I am looking forward to it! Wish me luck!! I will update next week and let you know how I am doing :)

Mickey Mouse

2010-10-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

So like I mentioned before Blake loves Mickey Mouse. Every thing Mickey Mouse. We went and bought him a couple of more friends to add to his collection and now he has to have them every where he is. He loves to watch Mickey Mouse, play with Mickey Mouse, sleepy time with Mickey Mouse... you name it! It is so funny and Mitch and I sometimes wonder what it is about Mickey that he LOVES so much!! Either way it is so cute and he is so fun right now! Here are some highlights about him right now.

He is starting to talk in sentences now
He loves his family and gives kisses unexpectedly
He is funny and likes teasing/joking with us
He can count to 15
He sings his ABC's
He loves trucks, blocks, and his toy truck that he can drive
He grabs my face when he wakes up and gives me kisses
He loves his daddy
He loves the park
He loves his friends - Easton and Ella and talks about them often
He loves to dance to Mickey Mouse hot dog song
He says his prayers
He lets me sing to him at night while we have a rock a bye and sometimes he joins in
He loves to swim and go to swim lessons

I am having so much fun with him right now. I love having conversations with him and hanging out with him. And honestly when he has his two year old meltdowns I have a hard time not laughing because he is so cute! lol. Love you Blaker Man!!

Weekend Camping Trip

2010-10-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Quick snack in the truck! It was cold and a little tough to sleep with a toddler at night but I am still happy that we went! I love anything that has to do with being outside so it was such a nice break from the valley! I tried to get the sunset in the background... I was right on the edge... and a little freaked out!

Showing mommy the perfect rock to throw in the lake. Blake helping take down the tent! He is a freak for Mickey Mouse. Check out his PJs..

This lake was SO pretty and relaxing!

This weekend we took Blake camping up near Payson. It was a good time. It was definitely different camping with a two year old but I want Blake to love it as much as I did growing up! He had a good time throwing rocks into the lake and hiking around! He is so cute!! Blake and I played while Mitch fished, then at night we had a fire, grilled some burgers and made some smores! It was fun!

Carrie Underwood!

2010-10-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here she is! She made the stage look like the grand ol opri... someday I will go see the real deal! I had such a fun night!! The weird KNIX barrel guy. haha.

Katy and I before it started. Katy is the cutest prego girl ever..Quick picture during the concert!

So my birthday was back in May but I got Carrie Underwood tickets for it! The concert was the beginning of October and we went with Billy and Katy. We had such a fun night! Carrie Underwood is very good in concert and she is stinkin gorgeous. lol. It was a great time! Thanks friends for coming, you made my birthday lots of fun!!

I Am Committed!

2010-09-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have decided to run PF Chang's half marathon! I am so excited about it! This is something that has been on my list of things that I want to do and so I am going to do it! Training starts the first week of October! Perfect timing... the weather will be great! I have always been nervous about training for this but when I looked at the training schedule I realized that this is 100% something that I can accomplish. I am excited to get my body into great shape, accomplish a goal that I have set for myself, and challenge myself to do something I have always questioned that I could do. Wish me luck, I cant wait!!

Blake turned TWO!

2010-09-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came! You truly made this a special day for our family! It was a packed house and we had a great time!! Blake LOVES the Walimaa family. And we are so grateful that they are in our lives!!

He bit each car in half then drove them around on the frosting race track. so cute!

Check out the details on this cake. I love it.

Blake loves to drive. I know that sounds weird but now its great because he has his own car!

Blake opening his presents with Daddy... He was so excited! He put his little fists together and said "yes! It's my birthday" haha

We had a pool party for the kids and it was a hit. They especially loved the helicopter pool!

Cassy made his cake/cupcakes again for me this year! Isn't she amazing!?!!

Blake turned two on August 31st... Can you believe it?? I cant. Seriously. I can not believe I have a little 2 year old toddler! He is amazing. We celebrated it Lightening McQueen fashion last weekend and had a great time with our family and friends!!

San Diego 2010

2010-09-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

We were sad to leave but very happy that we took the time to go on this quick trip. Blake turned two on Tuesday and he kept saying its my birthday! I'm two! haha!

Then we stopped at Balboa Park and took Blake on the kiddy train! He was so happy!

On our last day we took the trolley around San Diego. It was really cool! The conductor let Blake pull the whistle before we left!

We had such a fun day at the zoo!

I love this picture... a little out of order but it was back in old town San Diego... Blake loved the mariachi band! He was singing along!

Blake called this the sky bus! He wasn't even scared! He was having so much fun!

Next stop the Zebras... Very cool

Quick picture with a bear! I cant believe how close it was!

Zoo Day! We are waiting in line for the tour bus! Blake was very excited!!

We took a tour of old town San Diego and I had to represent the Fargo. haha.

This is my only picture of our beach day... bummer because it was a great time!

Sitting by the bay... Blake would jump in if we let him!

Blake does this thing right now where we say smile... he tries to show his teeth! It is pretty cute!

Like father... like son?? Both making weird faces!

This was a huge Navy ship... Very cool.

Sleeping on the car ride up... He had to have Pooh Bear right there with him!

This past weekend we took a family vacation to San Diego! It was a blast!! I had such a wonderful time hanging out with my two guys. We did so many things together and that was the best part - being together as a family! This was the first vacation that we have taken just the 3 of us and I am so glad that we took the time to do it. The weather was amazing! 70 degrees all day! Blake is so much fun right now and it was the perfect time to go! Brace yourself for lots of pictures!!

So HOT outside!

2010-08-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

Uh-Oh! I'm losing my pants! Haha... Happy Summer Time - We welcome winter any day now! Looks like the grass needs a drink!

Oh I think I will cool off my head!

What is the best thing in the summer time? Playing in the water of course!! Blake loves to be outside and he loves playing in the water! He is in our backyard "helping" daddy and took the chance to get a little wet! He is so cute and we love him to pieces!

Catching Up

2010-08-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends - I am still here! A lot has been going on this summer and because of that I have been a blog slacker! Major blog slacker! Well anyway just to name a few things... we moved to Chandler, I got a promotion, Mitch started a new job, Blake talks up a storm. This summer has flown by. I can not believe that Blake turns two in a couple of weeks. He is growing up so fast and it is exciting but on the other hand it makes my stomach hurt. I am not ready for him to be so big. He is awesome. Every minute that I spend with him I think to myself how lucky I am that he chose me. He has such a sweet personality and is always concerned about others. He is funny too! I can not wait until he talks in sentences because I am sure he will be cracking jokes all the time! He loves his daddy, his mommy, Pooh Bear, shoes, and keys just to name a few. My favorite thing about him right now is when I say I love you Blake and he says LUV YOU! It is awesome!! I will post more pictures later but the one above is him playing with Mitch's hunting camo! So stinking cute!!

Daddy's Helper

2010-05-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

All done mom! I fixed it! I sure do love you mister man!

Here he is fixing the bed!

I can't say it enough... I love that Blake and Mitch have such a sweet relationship! Mitch had to fix our bed the other day and Blake was right there to help out! Check out how serious he is! He really is helping! I love everything about him right now. He is saying so many words now.

To name a few...

please
thank you
excuse me
mom
help
no... the dreaded no
milk
drink
uh oh
up
purple
blue
truck

I cant think of the others but my point is that he is a talker! I love it so much. Every day he gets more and more fun!

Summer time Fun!

2010-05-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Blake we love you more and more every day! What a mess!

Enjoying a yummy chocolate chip cookie on the way home!

Cute pic playin in the dirt

And notice... keys still in hand!

Earlier this month we took Blake to the park to feed the ducks... well it ended up being the birds! Either way it was way fun and way cute to see Blake chase the birds! He is so fun right now. I could just eat him up!!

Fun Family Day

2010-04-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Blake was having so much fun playing in the 38 degree water! This kid loves the water no matter what temperature! We love you little man!On our way up Sabino Canyon. It was SO pretty!

Mitch couldn't have been happier when we found the beaver den. Yes he lovingly calls me Beav

Oh that's better!

Haha... here he is in a turtle shell... trying to escape!

The weather was just right and Blake was happy as can be with his cup of ice

Blake is such a typical little boy. He loves to climb and loves to be outside getting dirtyOn Tuesday we went to Desert Sonoran Museum and to Sabino Canyon with our great friends the Jackmans. It was so much fun. I love going on adventures with them. We have traveled a few places in Arizona with them and we always have such a great time! Blake loved seeing all of the animals native to Arizona and I loved being outside of the office! It was a much needed family day and we were so happy to spend it with Cam, Meagan, and Ella!

Seriously?? So Cute!

2010-04-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. And I love this little man. Profile shot.

Hi mom! I am so cute!!Like I mentioned before Blake loves his daddy and loves daddy's keys. The other night I walked into the family room and Blake was wearing Mitch's hat, belt, and of course carrying his keys. We love him so much. He is soo much fun right now!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

See ya mom. Happy Easter! Then he saw his treats and was all about it!

Not too sure what is going on. He kept looking up at me wondering if it was all for him! Yummy Easter breakfast of pancakes and grapes. Some of Blake's favorites!

Cute little basket and outfit laid out the night before...

When I was growing up my mom always had the Easter bunny deliver baskets and a new Easter Sunday outfit so I decided to keep that tradition. Blake had no idea what was going on but I still had fun getting some goodies for him and picking out his cute outfit! We didn't dye Easter eggs this year (honestly it came so fast this year that I forgot) but next year we will for sure. Happy Easter everyone!

Smiles and Keys

2010-04-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

A very happy smile. He was laughing the entire time! I love you little man!Hi mom lets go, I have got the keys!

Keys in hand...

This little man gets cuter and cuter every day. Lately he loves keys. He walks around saying keys all day long. He will run up to the door with keys and say "go!" or he will take them over to his toy car and try to start it up. He is so funny right now. He eats with them in hand and has to leave them on the table at night just to request them first thing when he wakes up! It is so cute. He also poses for the camera. He cracks us up and we love him more and more every day!

Good Times and Great Friends

2010-03-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic day! I loved every second of it! Hope we go again soon!!Katy and I taking a break in the lodge

Look how beautiful the trees look covered in white. I love it. Quick pic before we headed up the mountain

We went up to Flagstaff yesterday and spent the day snowboarding at Snow bowl! What a blast! I love the snow, I love being up in the mountains and I love to snowboard! We went with Bill and Katy and had such a great time. The weather was awesome (snowed the entire day) so we had fresh powder all day long! It had been 4 years since we had gone and I really didn't realize how much I missed going. My mind is always going 90 miles a minute but yesterday on the mountain I didn't worry about anything. I just listened to the sounds of the mountain and enjoyed EVERY second of it! Awesome. I decided that this is going to be our new hobby - at least during the winter months :) Thanks friends for going with us... we had so much fun!

P.S This is my 100th post!

Hamburgers, Fries, and KETCHUP!

2010-02-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

Quick picture with mommy. I am so lucky to have this little man in my life. He is the light and joy of my life! I love you!! Put him in the bath right away... now we have a clean little man! Red ketchup spiked up his hair that night! I am all done mom! It was so good! Notice the missing sock! What a crazy kid!Yes those white things in his mouth are his teeth... You can barely tell they are there because of all the Ketchup!

Hi mom... I am about to make a huge mess!No one could possibly love ketchup more than Blake. He loves to dip all of his food in it! Except pancakes of course... No really though this kid loves ketchup, especially when he learned to dip fries in it! You can tell that I just let him have at it on Saturday night! He was a hungry little hippo and he made me laugh the whole time he was eating! I love you little man!

Best Friends

2010-02-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

Love you friend! Thanks for the girls night out!! Yes we really are very goofy! Two girls being SO silly on a late night date out! You don't often make friends that last a lifetime but I am SO lucky to have found mine. Jenny and I have been best friends since elementary school. I love her. Every time we hang out we have so much fun together. We laugh until we are sobbing and we don't care who is around to see it! You can tell by our bloodshot eyes how hard we had been laughing the entire night! Jenny I love you because you have been my friend through every moment that has mattered in my life. You never judge and you always care! You are a wonderful example to me of how a friend should be and you are truly Christlike. Thank you for your example and for loving me all this time! You are my bestest good friend!

Mariah Carey!!

2010-02-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

Here we are leaving the concert. It was such a fun night and thanks again!! Camera's weren't allowed in the theater so I had to snap a quick picture and put my camera away fast. Britney and I decided that she looks like a Disney princess... HAHAQuick picture while we were waiting for her to come on... We got rained on after dinner so we are still a bit wet!! Our tickets... the concert was at Dodge theater.

Last night I got to go to the Mariah Carey concert with my good friend Britney! She had an extra ticket and took me with her! It was SO fun! Mariah Carey was AMAZING live! She played a bunch of her old stuff and some of her new stuff... very good! Thanks Britney for taking me I had a great time and it was SO fun hanging out with you!!

Trip to Oregon

2010-02-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Time to go home now. I missed you little man! On the way home he cuddled up next to Mitch and slept most of the way. He is so cute and we just love him SO much! Look how cute these boys are... Blake is so little. I love it! Thanks grandpa for letting me drive! I am having so much fun!

Blake must have been in heaven when they went out on the boat! He loves to drive!

Blake and his cousins Aidan and Ross. They are all so cute!

I don't know who is happier? Grandpa or Blake?

Look at all these cool buttons I can push!

Hi mom... I am such a big kid sitting in my own seat on the airplane!

Back in the end of January Mitch and Blake took a little trip to Oregon to visit Grandpa Greg. It was Blake's first time on an airplane and Mitch said he was a perfect little kid. He didn't cry from the air pressure change and he sat in his own seat the whole time! Mitch said everyone on the plane loved him and he was being so cute and fun! I was so glad the airplane ride went well because I was a nervous mom back at home! I asked Mitch to take lots of pictures and he captured some pretty cute ones. It was the first time Blake met grandpa Greg and he seemed to have a great time!

Too Soon??

2010-01-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

He is SO happy to do what daddy does! We love you little man! Hi mom! Check me out! So like I have mentioned MANY times before Blake loves spending time with his daddy. The other day I walked into the family room and saw Blake "playing" x box with daddy. He really thought he was playing! It was pretty funny! Then later that week Mitch was getting ready for work and was shaving and sure enough I walk into find Blake with shaving cream on his cute little face! I absolutely love their special little relationship!

4 years and counting

2010-01-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a blast from our past... this was one of our engagement pictures. I feel so old now.
Happy Anniversary! Some beautiful roses that I really wasn't expecting. Such a nice surprise! It is the simple things that make me the most happy! Mitch and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on January 5! I can not believe how fast a year goes by! It seems like I just posted about our 3rd anniversary yesterday! It has been a crazy year for us but I am so glad to have gone through it with Mitch. He is such a wonderful husband and father. Thanks babe for all that you do! I love you!

Blake and Jack - Part 2!

2010-01-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

Come back and play again soon Jack!

They did pretty good though!

It was funny watching them learn to share with each other!

The last week of December Blake got to have a play day with his little buddy Jack. They were so cute and lucky for me on the same schedule! They went down at the same time, ate at the same time, and played together like little champs! They are so cute!

Oh how I LOVE football!

2009-12-31T10:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks again! We had a great time! Britney and I

Quick pic with the hubby... you can tell he is much more interested in the game! Third row seats in the red zone! Yipee!Who doesn't love Sunday night Football? Especially when you get to go to the game! We had such a fun time and our seats were AMAZING! Thanks dad for the tickets and for inviting us along!

Christmas Bells are Ringing

2009-12-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. It was so nice to spend it with both families! Merry Christmas!

Quick pic at the game... GO SUNS!

Christmas night we got to go to the Suns game! Tons of fun!!

Such a little helper... cleaning up! It was tough to get him to look at the camera! Too much going on!

Lots of new toys from Santa

Christmas Day with Grandpa and Gammy His very own phone! It was so fun to watch him know exactly what to do with it. Straight to his ear and he started talking! HA

Here he is opening his first gift Christmas Eve... with a little help from Daddy.

Christmas Time arrived! We had a wonderful holiday spent with both our families. Christmas Eve was spent with my mom and Christmas day was spent with Mitch's family. Blake still wasn't too sure about the opening of the presents part but he sure loved the end result! He was so fun this year! When he would open a new present (or should I say I opened it for him) he would squeal and go OHH! It was so cute!

It's beginning to look A LOT like Christmas...

2009-12-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

And we cant forget the buds. They are so funny when we all get together... you can tell by the looks on their faces how badly they wanted to be there. Thanks boys for playing along! A quick family picture! Meagan and me... Notice the lights in the back.

Ella and Blake all bundled up and ready to go!

Well it has been way too long since I have posted anything. Where has December gone? Seriously this month has flown by! On December 3 we took Blake to the Temple to see the lights. He loved it! He loves to be outside, even though it was pretty cold that night. He just sat back and enjoyed the stroll. We went with our great friends Cam and Meagan and little Ella. Blake and Ella were flirting. It was so funny! Thanks for inviting us friends, we had a great time!

Blake is now 16 months old! What?!? I can not believe it! He is the light and the joy of my life. Everything about him makes me happy! He is starting to say a few more words like... up, on, off, go, mama, dada, and jerry. But he understands EVERYTHING! I love that he loves his daddy so much. He doesn't want me to do much for him if daddy is around. He prefers to have Mitch read to him, bathe him, feed him, you name it. They have such a special little relationship and it has been so much fun for me to watch Mitch teach and love Blake. We love you little man!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

Cute boys playing... Notice Blake is still wearing his ears! Too fun! At least Blake looks cute in this picture (minus me!) HA

Cousin Aidan was Bumblebee from transformers. Very cute!Blake and cousin Derek. Derek was a very cute Nemo! And they are such cute friends too!

Hello Happy Baby!

Yes I know this is very late to post about Halloween but I can not forget about it! Blake was Yoda for Halloween and we was so cute!! The cutest Yoda I have ever seen. The funny thing about this costume is that he Loved wearing the ears. It is funny because Blake hates having things on his head! He would walk around everywhere with it on! Too funny! Happy Halloween!

Dishwasher Helper!

2009-11-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

He is always ready to go outside! We love you little man!! See ya mom! I got work to do! Here he is helping pick up toys... notice he has to have his shoes on! Church shoes at that! Blake We love you SO much! Hi Mommy! I am just busy working and helping! Here he is putting things in the dishwasher and taking them out. What a stinker! HA!

So I know it has been over a month since I have blogged! I can not believe how fast these past two months have gone by! Blake is growing cuter and cuter everyday and I love him more and more every second! He is running everywhere now, talking like crazy, and so full of personality! He is now 14+ months old and so much fun! Some of his favorite things right now are playing with trucks, books, blocks, and anything that has a button! He loves to have his shoes on and be outside. He hides my shoes from me! It is so cute! I found a pair of my shoes the other day under neath the bathroom sink! What? It was funny, I thought I had lost them! He loves to be a helper... with everything! He helps do the dishes, pick up his toys, do the laundry... oh it is just so fun! Every once in a while I will get a real hug... it melts my heart! I love this little man!

Some of My recent Favorites

2009-09-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

And now my most favorite picture we have taken recently... Right before church. He is such a handsome little man. Blake I love you forever! His first experience with bubbles! You can tell how happy he is! He loved them!! He now brushes his teeth at night... which I think is so cute!

Just playing with his trucks before bed time.

So in case you have not read my blog lately I LOVE my little MAN! He is the light of my life. I can not wait to get off of work everyday to come home and see him. He is walking EVERYWHERE now. For months and months he would just cruise around the furniture and last week he decided that he was ready. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! I will post a video of it later. He is such a happy little baby. He talks in his own language all the time and looks at you like you should understand. He is so funny and I love being his mom more and more every day.

Grandpa Time

2009-09-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

We love you Grandpa!! I love how Blake is looking at him in this picture. You can just tell how much he loves him!!

Blake love his grandpa! They have such a cute special relationship. Every time Blake sees his grandpa he lights right up! It is so cute!!

Family Pictures

2009-09-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun doing this and thank you Megan for capturing some very cute pictures! Now I need your help everyone!

I am definitely getting this one. He is so happy and cute in it!

I really love this family one too!

I love his face in this one.

So curious..

So Serious..

This one makes me laugh. He looks like he is about to play football!

I love this family picture. I love how Mitch and I are both smiling at him. He is so cute!

Like I mentioned in the last post family pictures were done in late August. We had so much fun taking them in down town Gilbert. I love Megan's work. These are just a few of my favorites and now I can not decide which ones to order! I need your help! Your opinion counts!!

More to come..

2009-09-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

We had family pictures taken back in late August and here is just a sample of the amazing work Megan Papworth does! Check her out! Her blog is on my sidebar. I am so excited about these pictures!!! He is so cute and his little personality really shows in the pictures. I LOVE him!

Fountain Fun!

2009-09-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks gammy! What a fun day!!

I love when the camera catches water splashes! Check out his face! He is loving this!!

Look at his mouth... he is trying to bite it. hahaha

Well as you can see Gammy loves little Blake. She let him play in the fountain outside their house and he loved every minute of it! He was so excited to be in the water and so mad when we brought him back inside! Thanks Gammy for letting me have so much fun!!

One Year Ago...

2009-09-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

We love you happy man! Happy Birthday! My goodness I love this little boy! He makes me so happy! I took him to his doctor appointment on September 8th and got his one year stats...

He went from:

Weight - 6 pounds 10 ounces - 10%
Height - 21 inches - 25%

To:

Weight: 18.5 pounds - 5%
Height: 29 inches - 25%

Still my little man and I love every bit of him!

Motivation...

2009-09-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

So today I got up bright and early... 4:45 to be exact to get ready and go running with some friends from my ward. I have been wanting to get back into running for some time now and I haven't quite figured out how to squeeze it into my schedule. 5:15 in the morning really is the perfect time! It is still dark out which is kind of weird but the weather is wonderful! I was pretty excited about it because running is something that I really enjoy. I couldn't keep up with Erin and Marie (thanks girls for being so nice) but soon I will. So the point of my little story is that I was already motivated and this next part just made me even more! I took Blake to his 1 year appointment today and his pediatrician asked me if I was pregnant! Nope, not pregnant I "calmly replied" (I guess my face must of looked shocked because the doctor immediately tried to cover up what he just asked.) So instead of being offended and letting that get me down by diving deep into a bowl of yummy chocolate ice cream I am even more motivated to get into shape! So if anyone has any words of encouragement in case I start to fall of the bus please enlighten me!

San Diego Here WE Come!

2009-09-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks again friends! We had a wonderful trip and made some fun memories!

Lets go everybody!

Well you cant tell but there are sharks behind us... Scary!

Mitch and Katy with the little guys.

Here Blake is watching the seals. By this time he was getting pretty tired but he is such a busy little guy that he cant miss a beat!

On to the seals!

Next stop... Shamu! Blake pretty much watched the entire show! He was so good!

Even Easton got in on the action!

At Seaworld Blake got to touch the sting rays. He wasn't scared at all. He loved it!!

Packin up and ready to go! We were at the beach for 2 days then on to sea world before we went home. Blake was such a good baby! All of the babies were. It was great!

Beautiful Beach! It was soo nice!

Boys will be boys... playing horseshoes! All the babies sleeping so the mommies could lay out! Yay!

Check out all the sand that is everywhere. There wasn't one part of him that wasn't covered by the time we left!

Yes we buried him... just a little. He was a good sport!

Ella and Meagan

Katy and Easton

Blake and Cam

This picture makes me think it should be on a postcard somewhere. Love it!!

Hi everybody! Look at me!

All the friends takin a break from the sun.

So happy to be in the sand and the sea! This is probably one of my favorite pictures of me and Blake. I love this little man.

At first he wasn't too sure of the sand... but soon you will see that he LoVeD it!

He would laugh every time the waves came up and splashed him! So cute!!

The second Blake saw the ocean he wanted in. He wasn't afraid at all. He loves the water!

Nice little family pic by the bay.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! What else can I say... This pic is too funny. I love how all the boys are taking care of the babies while the ladies walk behind. awesome.

Blake is ready to go!

On Tuesday we went to San Diego with our best friends the May's and the Jackman's! We had such a good time. Blake got to see the ocean for the first time and he absolutely loved every minute of it! It is so fun to have friends with kids. Easton and Blake are about 6 months apart and Ella and Blake are about 10 months apart! It is so much fun! Thanks friends for going on vacation with us and we look forward to many years ahead of vacations together!! You guys are the best!

IT'S A PARTY!!!

2009-08-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Dive in little man! Yummy yummy! We love you Blake. Happy Birthday!!

He loves this little car! It is an amazing toy!

His cute shirt goes along with the construction theme. Thank you Target!!

Present Time! He got so many amazing presents! Thank you ALL so much!

Great friends! Blake is always happy to see sun glasses!

Blake LOVED the balloons! He was so happy to see them!

People are starting to come and enjoy the food!

I absolutely love this picture! He is soo sweet!

YUMMY YUMMY FOOD!

I love his banner. So cute! Setting up...

My friend Cassy made these cakes for his party! Look how awesome they are! Check out her blog (she is on my sidebar) if you need a cake for any occasion! She is amazing!!

Happy Birthday Blake! He had a birthday party on Saturday even though his actual birthday is on Monday!! It was such a fun day! I know that I have been saying this over and over but I can not believe that he is 1! Thank you to everyone who came to support us and PARTY with us! We love you all!!

Getting my hair cut!

2009-08-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Such a sad face but he really did just fine! And I am so happy with how it turned out! What a big boy now!Please get me out of here!! But check out the cute hair cut! I love it! Are we done yet?

Trying to escape!

Quick toy to distract him... Again he loves anything with wheels!! Such a sad face.

Now the beginnings of being done... He especially wasn't too sure of the clippers.

Close up before she started cutting... I love this picture, he is such a sweet kid. Still so happy and having so much fun!

He got his special cape. He wasn't too sure about it at first.

Hi Mom and Dad this is fun!!

He was so excited to sit in this cute little yellow car. He loved the steering wheel!

So we took Blake to Cool Cuts for Kids last Saturday to get his first all over hair cut. Now he has had trims in the past but never had an experience with the clippers! Well the pictures will soon tell the story but he started off very excited and then was SO ready to be done. It was so cute! He is such a big kid now...

I can not believe how fast this year has gone by. I have been an emotional roller coaster lately. I get so excited because he is taking his first steps and then I get very teary when I think of how fast it is all going by. Its like I feel as though I haven't had enough time of him being an infant. I was just thinking about how grateful I am that I stayed in with him for the first 5 weeks. Those weeks just belonged to Blake and me. We really got to know each other pretty well. All of those nights staying up to watch Jay Leno and then putting on a late night movie since he was so excited and ready to play. Then we would fall asleep on the couch and cuddle until morning. I just loved every single minute of him. Yes it was hard to adjust to the lack of sleep and the crying but I still wouldn't trade it for anything. I am looking forward to seeing him grow and develop and learn but I still just can not believe how fast it has gone by. I hope he knows how much I love him and how grateful that I am that he chose me to be his mom. I love you little man!

Mr. Fix It

2009-08-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

We did it! YEA!! OK so I talk for Blake... but I can not help it he is just too dang cute!Maybe it goes here?Whats that?

Look daddy I can fix it!Blake loves his daddy! He loves to play, to be held by him, and to help him (so he thinks)! I think it is the cutest thing ever! And more than that I love that Mitch loves to have him around to help out! Mitch is such a great dad! This past year has been so fun to watch him bond with Blake. They have such a special relationship and I love it!

The CUTEST Boy I have EVER seen!

2009-08-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

This is his corner... he has claimed it from the time he started crawling. And that little yellow tractor... it goes with him everywhere. Mitch or I will say "Blake where is your tractor?" and then he goes right to it and gets so excited. It is so dang cute!Check out those teeth! They are about to be joined by two top ones! He is growing too fast!Hello everyone!

I love this close up picture! He poses for the camera now. He makes me laugh every time he does it!

Aways so happy! He loves to play with water bottles. What a silly kid!

So I know that I am biased... but I think that Blake is the cutest baby boy ever! I can not believe that he turns 1 at the end of this month. This has been the fastest year of my life but also the best year because of Blake. I just love him so much. I love watching him discover new things. I love that I know what he needs and when he needs it. I love that he gets excited every time he sees me. I love that he is such a happy kid. I love that he doesn't get upset when he falls down he just gets right back up and tries again. I love when he talks in a funny language and says mamamama and looks at me like I should understand. I love that he is such a daddy's boy. I love that he spins wheels around and around and never gets sick of it. I love that he is mine! I just love him so much and I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing my life with such a wonderful child. I love you little man!!

Keith Urban!!!

2009-07-28T07:22:00.001-07:00

Did I mention that I LOVE Keith Urban! (I can not figure out how to post the picture we had with him so as soon as I figure it out I will post it!)

We had the BEST seats! So fun!Britney and I

Him and his band. They were SO good!

At the concertJosh and Britney

Mitch and I waiting to see him! This was a big poster on the wall

We weren't allowed to take pictures when he came into the room so I took some before..

This past weekend we got to go see Keith Urban at Jobing.com arena! I can honestly say that was the most fun I have had in a very long time! He was so entertaining! To make it even better we had back stage passes and we got to see him perform a song that he didn't perform for the rest of the concert. We got our picture taken with him and it was cool to meet him! Did I mention that I had a blast! Thanks Dad for the tickets!

Mommy's Little Helper!

2009-07-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Check out his mischievous face! He is so funny with his faces lately! I love it!

Now he is hiding... Must be up to something! So excited to be helping!

Pulling the laundry back into the basket! The other night I was folding laundry and little man decided he wanted to be helpful! He is so stinkin cute. He climbs right into the basket and starts taking all the laundry and putting it back into the basket! That is his thing I guess... he does it with the dishwasher too! The other day I was loading in the dishes and all of the sudden he was inside sitting holding onto the rack! What a crazy little guy! I just love being his mom! It is the best time of my life!

By the way... he took three steps today all by himself! It wont be too long before he is off and running!

Friends and Babies!

2009-07-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

It is so fun having little babies all about the same age as Blake. I can not wait until they are old enough to play together! It will be so much fun!Elise, Blake, Katy, Easton, Meagan, and now little Ella... So cute!
Blake 10 months
Easton 5 months
Ella 3 weeks

Lake Day!

2009-07-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Splash Splash Splash! We LOVE you Blake!

Taking a Dip!

Hi Mom! This past weekend we had a chance to go to the lake with our friends Bill, Katy, Brandon, and Kim! We each brought our babies and headed off to Canyon lake! It was such a fun afternoon! The kids were so good even though it was SO hot! Blake is so funny. He has absolutely NO fear! He would walk right into the lake if we let him! He LOVES the water. We had to stop the boat and dip the babies in so that they would not get too hot! Thanks friends for taking these pictures for me... I cant believe I forgot my camera!

Carnival Day!

2009-07-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

It was fun but now I need a nap! Blake does this really cute thing now where he will bend his head to the side and look at ours to see what kind of facial expression we are making... he was starting to do this in this picture. So cute!

Look how big I am mom! This fourth of July we spent up in Prescott with our friends Shawn and Jenny! We had a great time this weekend beating the heat! It rained and was in the mid seventies! Nice... Anyway we went to the carnival with the kids and had so much fun! Blake loves to watch people! He was so curious about what was going on. We cant wait to take him on rides next year when he is big enough! Thanks friends for inviting us along this weekend. We had a lot of fun hanging out with you guys!

Monkey Boy!

2009-07-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

Blake is so proud and excited! Thanks Grams for not letting me fall! Flipped the switch and turn to see...

Reached the switch...

Here starts the climb...

We have a little monkey on our hands! This is probably his favorite thing to do right now. He uses all of his strength to pull himself up to reach the switch to the fan and the light then once he hits it he quickly turns around to see what he has done. Then he smiles with such delight and is so proud of his accomplishment! haha... it really is so stinkin cute!

Guitar Baby!

2009-07-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Blake you are the light of our lives! We love you so much! It is so fun watching you grow! Look at me mom! I am playing the guitar!

What dad? I just want to play like you!

Such a curious little guy! He will pluck the strings and then try to put his mouth in the hole! So funny!

Blake loves the guitar! He loves to watch and listen to Mitch play! Yes... I said watch, this is one of the only times Blake will sit still and just watch. I love these pictures so much because Blake loves to be doing whatever Mitch is doing. They have such a special little relationship and it has been so fun for me to watch Mitch play and take care of Blake. I know that he loves this little man so much!

Making FUNNY Faces!

2009-06-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

What a silly boy! I love you little man! Loves his tounge!

My MOST favorite picture... What a cute kid!

I love the up close picture... look at his cute cheeks!

Hi dad!

Waiting patiently for mommy to come home...

Did I mention how much I love this little man? He is so funny! His personality is really starting to show now. He now has two bottom teeth that he cant leave alone with his tongue and he makes the funniest noises like raspberries and squeals! On this particular night Mitch and Blake were waiting outside for me to come home from work. (One of my most favorite things) While they were waiting Blake started making his funny noises but this time accompanied by lots of funny faces. He is so cute and I don't know how I could love anyone anymore than I love this little boy!

Summertime Fun!

2009-06-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Splashing in the pool with dad! We love you Blake! Look mom I am so happy!

Grandma D joined in on the fun!

Always has his tongue out!

Look how cute he is driving! He would hit the steering wheel and it would beep! So cute!

Blake loves loves loves the water! He loves to be in the bath, he loves to be in the pool, and he even loves to splash in Jerry's water bowl (gross)! He is so much fun! Lately he has started to dance a little... I will have to get video of it and post it later but it is soo cute! I love him! I never knew one little person could make me so happy!

Blake and Jerry

2009-06-07T19:53:00.001-07:00

Such a happy little man! We love him so much and cant imagine our lives without him! Gotta eat the remote!

Look how cute Blake is snuggling up against Mitch's leg. Notice his cute little first tooth! Now he always has his tongue out. He cant quite figure out what it is! I love him!!

Whoops I slipped!

This picture is so funny to me... both the dog and Blake have the same expression!

One night last week while I was working late Mitch took a bunch of pictures of Blake and Jerry. Blake loves Jerry. He follows him all around the house... but Jerry isn't a fan! He never snips at Blake but you can tell he gets a bit annoyed with him taking all the attention! Jerry really is quite patient with Blake though... he lets him attempt to pet him and pat his head. So cute!

My little sister got Married!!

2009-05-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Bride! Mom and Heidi!

Me, Halley, and Stella... her three bridesmaids!

My goofy husband that I love so much!

Heidi and I at her reception! It was lovely!

I still cant believe it! Heidi got married May 9 and I couldnt be more happy for her! She looked beautiful and we had a wonderful time! Her husband treats her like a queen and that is exactly what she deserves! Congratulations Heidi... I love you!

Crazy Nap Time Hair!

2009-05-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! Eyes closed and a big smile! SO CUTE! Love Him!!

Always the most happy when his clothes are off!

Get me out of here please!!

Still has sleepy eyes!

I LOVE Blake's hair! He is so cute when he wakes up from a nap or in the morning with his crazy hair! Notice how confused he looks with spiky hair and a crooked Binky! He is so cute! His personality is coming out more and more everyday. He is such a mamma's boy! He is finally cutting a tooth on the bottom. He doesn't like to show it off though! I can't wait to see it! I love him sooo much!!

Picture Tag!

2009-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's a "PICTURE TAG" and this is how it goes. Go to your pictures and go to the 5th folder. Then open up the 5th picture and post it. Then tag 5 people when you are done. Have fun!
I tag... Jenny, Katy, Kellyn, Anna, and Tarah... and anyone else who wants to do it! HAVE FUN!!!
(By the way... he climbed in there himself! HAHA)

Messin Around!!!

2009-04-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I just cant believe it! Blake has been crawling for about 3 weeks! I still can not believe that my little baby is crawling and standing up holding the furniture! He is supposed to be little still! He sure loves the remote control. There is no fooling this kid, he knows the difference between the real thing and a toy! Too funny!

UH OH I'm caught!

SO CUTE!

Uh oh look what I found!

Here I come...

Like I mentioned before this little man is crawling and climbing all over the place! It is so fun to watch him discover things. It looks like I need to take my baby proofing to the next level! He is such a fun little baby! We love him sooooo much!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

He is such a big kid! He pulls himself up, crawls all over the place, and talks all the time! He truly is a wonderful blessing in our lives and we LOVE being his parents!!! Mom and Blake headed off to church!

I think he looks like a little grandpa man in this picture. He just ate so he has a full belly! He is just relaxing on the couch! Cute!

Happy Easter!!! Blake looks so cute in his little Easter outfit. I love, love, love the tie! Grandma D got him a cute little Easter bunny that he loves to put in his mouth. haha. He is so stinkin cute! I love being his mom!

Bath Time Fun!

2009-03-21T17:41:00.001-07:00

Bath time has become Blake's favorite time of the day! He loves to splash and play with his toys! He is getting so big! He laughs all of the time and smiles when mom and dad come in the room! I love this little guy!

Happy Birthday!!

2009-03-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Riding the bull is much harder than it looks but lots of fun!

Today is Mitch's 27th birthday! This past Saturday I threw a surprise birthday party for him at Cadillac Ranch! Mitch claims he knew I was up to something but the look on his face when he saw all of his friends was priceless! I love when he gets excited about stuff because I can rarely keep a secret from him!

We were able to see some friends that we haven't seen in about 3 years! It was such a fun night. Mitch and I both jumped on the mechanical bull, we had great food, and had a great time with our friends. I love you babe and I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

6 Month Picture!

2009-03-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that my little man is 6 and a half months old already! The time has gone by so quickly! I love thinking about the moment after I had him when they placed him on my chest and he looked up at me with his big eyes. I was in heaven! There are so many things that I love about him so I just thought that I would make a list for him to read someday. I love you Blake!

I love when you smile at me
I love when you laugh
I love when you squeal with excitment
I love how you put everything in your mouth
I love when you play with your feet
I love how you roll all over the place
I love that you sit up by yourself
I love that you reach out your little hands and touch or grab my face
I love the noise you make when you are trying to go to sleep and you chew your binki
I love bathtime and how excited you get
I love rocking you at night
I love how you bury your head in my shoulder when you are tired
I love your hair and all the crazy cowlicks
I love that you love blankets by your face when you sleep
I love when you babble
I love to get you up in the morning
I love picking you up while you are sleeping so that I can snuggle you
I love how you smell
I love how strong you are and how you try to climb when you are held
I love to feed you from a spoon (the way you open up your mouth when you want the next bite is so cute)
I love your little cry
I love to watch you discover new things
I love how you sit on my hip
I love when you rub your eyes
I love how you are trying so hard to crawl and how you get into push up position
I love how you already know what you like and dont like
I love when you hold your own bottle... it is so cute to see your hands grasp the bottle
I love your eyelashes
I love learning all about you
I love spending my time with you
I love being your mom

Big Kid!!

2009-03-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

No more pictures daddy! Please :)

Always has his hands in his mouth!

Up close!

Mommy and Blake time! He smells so good!

I love how his little hand is on his belly! So cute!

Look at this little man! He is so cute and strong! He sits up by himself, kicks his little legs like crazy, rolls all over the place, and gets in push up position! He is so fun to be with. I love getting to know his personality. Mitch and I always wonder how he knows exactly what his preferences are! He is just so little... so how can he even know what he likes?

FUN!

2009-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Lucky you!
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Though I may ask some questions during the process.)
2 - What I create will be just for you.
3 - It'll be done this year (might take a little while).
4 - You have no clue what it's going to be.
5 - I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same. (Don't worry, it can be a card or cookies or whatever - it doesn't have to be outrageous, just homemade.)The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Getting Bigger!

2009-02-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks little helper! He is probably thinking what are you getting yourself into mom!

Always putting things in his mouth!

Mommy's little helper. He looks so small in the middle of the mess!

Blake is getting so BIG! I had to clean out his closet with the small clothes and hang up his 6 month and bigger clothes! Sometimes I get sad thinking about how fast he is growing up but on the other hand I am so excited! Every day he does something new and discovers something new. One of my favorite things right now is watching him concentrate on me. He studies my face so intensely. I love it!

Catching Up!

2009-02-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

Here I am trying to take a picture of the four of us... As you can see I wasn't too successful. What a fun day! Let's get together again soon!

Blake is like I am so over taking pictures mom... and i am sure Lyla is thinking get off of me dude! haha

My happy little man!

I love how Lyla is looking at Blake. It is so cute!

Stopping for some pictures at Tempe Market Place.

Last Thursday I got together with my friend Anna from high school. We realized that we had not seen each other for 7 years! Crazy how fast time goes by! It was so fun to meet up with her and meet her little one. I am so glad that I found her blog because I have often wondered how she has been and it was soo good to see her so happy! Thanks Anna for a fun day!

Random Cuteness!

2009-02-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

I wonder what great idea he is coming up with! Hopefully not a mischievous one! Blake holds his own bottle...but only when he is in the mood too. He still likes mommy to do it which I love.

The beginnings of crawling! :) He pretty much army crawls right now but it is soo cute!

Here is Blake one morning when I came into his room to get him. He managed to be upside down!

Here are some random pictures from the past couple of weeks. I take so many pictures of this cute little kid that sometimes you just need a random post! I love this little man. He brings so much happiness into my life!

Lunch with Aunt Heidi

2009-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

Obviously Blake had something much more interesting to look at! Still so cute! Aunt Heidi, Emma, and Blake

My sister came in to town Valentines weekend from Provo. It was so nice to see her! She is getting married on May 9th so we had lots of wedding activities to accomplish! And accomplish we did... but hey we got to stop and eat, right?

Good Recipes Anyone?

2009-02-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

Well lets admit it... I am not the best cook there is! I know it and that is OK. So I was hoping that I could get a little help in this department. If anyone has any favorite dinner recipes that they would like to share I would be very grateful. I can tell that my husband is getting a little tired of the same old same old. Who could blame him when my specialty is spaghetti! HAHA. Seriously though if you all could help me out that would be wonderful. Thanks!

Funny Face!

2009-02-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

OK it is official! This kid is SO cute! The other morning I was feeding him his rice cereal and Mitch grabbed the camera and said "Blake look over here" so Blake did and pulled a funny face! What a little character! He cracks me up! I still can't believe he posed for the camera! Love it!

Belly Laughs

2009-02-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is the first time Blake has let out his cute baby belly laugh! Of course he has laughed before but never like this! Mitch was drinking a soda with ice in it and when he would shake the cup with ice Blake would bust up laughing. Mitch would spit a little ice at Jerry and Blake thought that was pretty funny too! This little man is so cute and it just keeps getting better every day! I love him so much and I love being his mom!

6 more to go

2009-02-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

Meaning I only have 6 pounds left to pre-prego weight. I feel like these 6 pounds are stuck on me! I am sure that I could up my workouts and eat less, but honestly I feel like I have been doing pretty good! So if any of you moms out there have any words of encouragement or advice on how to ditch the last 6 pounds please let me know!

5 Months and Counting...

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

Blake turned 5 months on Saturday! It seems like he has been going through some big milestones the past 2 weeks or so. He can now role over from tummy to back and from back to tummy! He is sleeping through the night (with the occasional wake up around 430 just needing his pacifier). He is talking all of the time and laughing more than before. He eats rice cereal with bananas and apple sauce (and prunes - not such a good idea yet!) Blake is gaining weight! Yea! He is chunkin up especially in his cute cheeks! I love it!One of my most favorite times right now is getting him up in the morning. He does this awesome stretch were his legs kick out from under him and he looks like superman! He is my little super happy man! He puts everything in his mouth especially his hands. He lights up when I walk in the room (another favorite of mine). I love having Blake in my life. Mitch and I were just saying the other night how much better our lives are since we had this sweet little man. He truly is a blessing from Heaven! I love you Blake!

Tummy Time

2009-01-29T10:03:00.001-08:00

Two very cute boys!

Blake and Beau! I love how they are staring at eachother like who are you? So cute!

My little man is getting so big! Just this past week he rolled over! It was so fun to see his little face when he realized what he did. I love being his mom. It is the best time of my life. He makes me so happy... he is my happy thought! No matter what is going on with me when I think of Blake I smile and say a little prayer thanking God for him. I love you sweet boy!

Weekend in Heber

2009-01-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went up to Heber with some friends. It was fun to get out of town and go play in the mountains. In the mornings the boys went out and hunted and Saturday afternoon we all went and shot guns. It was a lot of fun! I think the girls hit their target more then the guys! Good job ladies:)

Discovering my Feet!

2009-01-22T08:06:00.000-08:00

So Cute!

This weekend he got a new bouncer! Blake might be small but this little man is so strong! He jumps around and gets so excited when he is in his bouncer! Thanks Grams!

He uses his feet to grab the toys! He cracks me up!

I love this little guy! He is growing and developing so wonderfully! He has recently discovered his feet! I think that this is one of my favorite stages! I love watching his face and his little eyes concentrate so hard when he discovers something new! Blake I love you little man!

We are the Champions!!!

2009-01-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

Such a great game! Go Cardinals! I know you can win the Superbowl!!!

We Won!!! Mitch and I were so excited!

We had pre-game passes so we got to go down on the field and watch the team warm up! Good times!

Mitch and I had the opportunity to go to the Cardinals game on Sunday! It was so much fun! The energy of the fans was amazing! Everyone was cheering so loud and I have never seen such an excited crowd! I was also impressed with the good sportsmanship from the Eagles fans. It really was a fun day! Thanks dad for the tickets!

Sunday Night Football

2009-01-11T18:22:00.001-08:00

Later Blake and I made Mitch's favorite... Brownies!!

So in to the game!

I thought this was pretty cute... I walked into the family room tonight to see Mitch and Blake watching Sunday Night Football! Blake was just hanging out with his dad! It looks like he is already a football fan!

4 Months Already!?!

2009-01-09T12:22:00.001-08:00

Blake had his 4 month appointment yesterday! He is actually 17 weeks as of January 5! I can not believe how fast time goes when you are having fun with your little one! Well here are his 4 month stats...

Weight: 12.75 - only the 9%! He is such a little guy
Height: 24 inches - 10%!
Head: 16.5 around - 45%!

The doctor put him on a special diet to try and up his weight and this morning was the first day he did it! His face was so cute! He wasn't too sure of the concoction of food but he still ate half the bowl so I guess it wasn't too bad! I was proud of how well he did eating from a spoon! I love this little man and I love being his mom!

Third Anniversary!

2009-01-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Our little man! 7 months pregnant!

The BIG day! My first favorite day...

Here we are on our honeymoon to Durango!

Here is one of our engagement pictures!

This is the night we got engaged!

Mitch and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on Monday! So much has happened in the past 3 years and I am grateful that we have experienced it together. In a nutshell here is what happened this past year...
Most importantly we welcomed our son Blake. He is the most wonderful gift in the world! I have learned how to function on minimal sleep:) haha. I celebrated my 5 years at Wellsfargo. The company that I work for is great! They kept my position part time, I guess hard work really does pay off! Mitch started his own landscape design business in which I am very proud of him. He is so talented at what he does. We love eachother and we love the Lord and we are grateful for every new experience and challenge because it has made us learn and grow stronger together. Thank you for supporting me and loving me every day. I love you babe! Happy Anniversary! I have added a few pictures of us over the past 3 years.