Chad & Brittany Coons

Aidan's Birth Day

2011-09-12T09:25:00.008-06:00

I've been reprimanded for not updating my blog so here you go! :)

Aidan John Coons was born just after 8am on June 21st, 2011. Aidan is a name that we've both loved for a while and had picked out for a few years (unfortunately it is now the most popular boys name) and his middle name, John, is for my Dad and Chad's Grandpa Coons.
My doctor had told me that she figured he would be about 7.5-8lbs but he surprised everyone when he came out at 9lbs, 13oz. He was 21.5 inches long (same as Tristan). He was perfect, looked just like a little doll (still is). Because of his size the nurses started calling him Bruiser which just fit. The scheduled c-section went off without any problems and recovery was soooo much better than with Tristan. Aidan was so much bigger than his big brother though that they had to cut more than my original incision line (about an inch) and now it's off center. Nothing wrong with it, it just bugs me ;)

Here he comes! That's my doc on the right and she is awesome!
That's right, 9lbs, 13oz! My little tank.
Proud Mommy with my two beautiful boys
Tristan LOVES his little brother. He's very protective of him and wants to love him all the time. It's very sweet to watch.
Perfect little doll

Almost there

2011-06-14T06:09:00.003-06:00

I'm now 38 weeks along with this little boy and definitely feeling it! I'm so ready to be done! The pregnancy with Tristan was uncomfortable with the horrible swelling I had but it was a piece of cake compared to how I'm feeling now. My hips/legs/back hurt so bad that I just don't want to move. As long as I stay still it's not bad but the minute I try to roll over or stand up I'm ready to cry because it hurts so bad. The things we do for our children! ;) Fortunately I have a definitive cut off date since I will be having a c-section on June 21st and that makes it much easier to deal with. One more week!!!!
I'm so excited to meet this little boy taking up all the room in my belly and kicking the crap out of my insides. Tristan is so cute about the baby in my belly. He came with me to an OB appointment and told the doctor that he had a baby in his belly too and she needed to take it out. He seems to be getting excited but we'll see what happens when Aidan is finally here. Anytime we see a baby now he asks if that's "Mama's baby".
Some other funny things Tristan's said lately:
• He keeps asking if we can go rollerblading and if I tell him we can't because if I fall it could hurt his brother he reaches out and hugs my belly and says "It's okay, I hold him tight, I keep him safe" (So cute!)
• When explaining to him that baby brother is going to get "Mama's milk", he told me, "No! I drink it all! Brother gets bottle!" (No he's not still nursing, he just thinks he's funny!)
• If I complain about Aidan kicking me, Tristan leans over and says to my belly, "Stop it brother! Stop it!"

Singin' in the Rain

2011-04-20T03:26:00.004-06:00

The weather has been so sporadic here in Utah the last two months that poor Tristan is about to go crazy! It will be gorgeous one day and snowing the next. I personally love the spring rain storms but am not happy about the snow. The other day we had quite the rain storm including thunder/lightning and hail. I LOVE thunderstorms and I really don't want my kids to be scared of them so instead of sitting inside cuddled up and worrying about the noisy thunder, I let Tristan put on his (adorable) fireman's raincoat and Ironman boots (which I took a lot of mocking for for buying) and grab his umbrella to go play in the rain. We stood under our patio while the hail came flying out of the air and Tristan loved that he could grab some of it and eat it. I showed Tristan the lightning and how every time he saw the flash that the thunder would soon follow so he got really excited and kept watching for it. Every time it's rained since he asks to go out to "see the thunder". As you can see, he had quite a fun time running around in the rain and we had to bribe him to come back inside and get warmed up.
He wanted to get his hair wet so he kept getting out from under the umbrella.
Showing off his awesome outfit
LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!

My Little Artist

2011-04-11T08:40:00.007-06:00

I fell asleep on the couch for a little bit the other day. Tristan was playing and behaving at the time but he knows that if I'm asleep he can always get in to trouble. This time I woke up to him sitting next to me on the couch butt-naked and covered in marker. He was so proud of his "colors".

I pulled out the finger paints the other day because it was cold and wet outside and was trying to distract Tristan so he wouldn't keep trying to escape outside. For being so willing to cover himself in markers he didn't want anything to do with painting with his hands. He had to use popsicle sticks to paint with. I finally convinced him to put his hands in the paint and he immediately wanted to wash them off. Goofy kid!

A boy and his dogs

2011-04-11T08:03:00.002-06:00

We make the dogs sit and stay before they go and eat. This day Tristan sat down when I told the dogs to sit.

Build-A-Bear Tradition

2011-04-11T07:24:00.003-06:00

When I was pregnant the very first time, Chad and I decided to start a tradition; with every pregnancy we would make a teddy bear for the new baby. Tristan has his "Jazz Bear" and we went and made a "Utes Bear" for the new baby a few weeks ago. Tristan picked the outfit out all by himself and then got to make his own stuffed animal, a monkey in PJs named Banana. Hopefully Aidan loves his bear as much as Tristan has loved Jazz Bear.

Sitting in Build-A-Bear while dad pays for his new monkey and his baby brother's bear.
Zonked out in the car after a long day at the mall.

24 Weeks

2011-03-09T06:17:00.005-07:00

I was looking through my old posts from when Tristan was in my belly and came across a couple pics of my baby bump. I was right around 24 weeks in this pic just like in the one further down.

Prego with Tristan (July 2008)

Prego with Aidan (March 2011)

I can definitely see more of a bump this time but I think that has more to do with being 20lbs lighter than I was with Tristan. Oh and the best part about this pic is that I'm still wearing my "skinny" jeans! The ones I had finally got into after dropping 30+ pounds. It makes me feel a little better about gaining all that weight back for this baby. :)

It's a Boy!!

2011-02-10T05:45:00.004-07:00

I'll spare you the "boy" shot but that little skeletor grinning at you is a boy! When I first found out I was pregnant we told Tristan and asked him if it was a baby brother or baby sister and he's been adamant that it's a baby sister. I've gotten so used to the idea of the baby being a sister that I'm still trying to get used to it being a boy. But I'm excited! I always said that I would be happy with all boys because I'm afraid of the payback I might get with a teenage girl ;) Tristan seems pretty indifferent that he's going to have a brother. He keeps asking to see the pictures though and thinks he's funny. The pictures aren't that clear because he is a wiggler and did not want to hold still. Dang children!
If you've followed my blog from the beginning you know that we struggled for a long time with infertility. So when we started trying for the 2nd one I hoped it would happen quickly but was resigned to the fact that it might take a while. But miraculously we got pregnant with this baby the first month of "trying". Needless to say we're so happy and excited.
Right now this little one is due July 4th but that due date could change. He's measuring about a week and a half further along then they originally thought so I have to go back in a month for another ultrasound so they can measure him again. I'd be happy if I could have him earlier in the summer, rather than later but either way works.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2010-12-20T06:23:00.005-07:00

Mommy, Tristan and Santa

Daddy, Tristan and Santa
We went to Zoo Lights last week mostly so we could take Tristan to see Santa Claus and he was definitely worth walking through the freezing cold. Tristan is getting so cute about Christmas and Santa. He loves to watch Christmas movies; his favorites are the Home Alone movies, the Santa Claus movies and of course Mickey's Christmas Carol. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas he told him "Toys".... nothing specific, just Toys. I can't wait for Christmas this year with my whole family in Arizona!

Tristan's First Baseball Game

2010-09-22T17:21:00.006-06:00

Jen wearing Tristan's hat.

Tyler chowing down on popcorn and actually paying attention to the baseball game.
He jumped in front of the camera! Haha apparently mom wasn't allowed in the picture.
Cute family picture
7th Inning Stretch

Jen and Brandon had some extra tickets to the Bees Baseball game a few weeks ago and asked if wanted to come along. I was a little worried about how Tristan would behave but he did great! Part of it was probably because we were in the first row and he could run back and forth without bothering anyone but us but he also really liked watching the game. Every time a pitch was thrown he would say "Again, again". Next game will have to be a Jazz Game!

Casted Up

2010-09-22T17:03:00.003-06:00

He's so proud of his outfit.... Pajama pants, shorts, shirt and mom's shoes. Also his splint on his freshly broken arm. Yes, my 22 month old broke his arm, or mom helped him break it. :( I was climbing over the baby gate in our family room while holding Tristan. I stepped down on a toy and lost my balance. I fell forward and caught myself but lost my grip on Tristan with him about a foot from the ground. He didn't fall far but apparently landed on his arm funny. He has a break just above his elbow and now has a cast up to his arm pit. Needless to say I felt/feel like a bad Mommy!!! He's done pretty well with having the cast on except for getting upset because he can't play in the bathtub. It comes off in less than a week.

A Visit from Nana and Aunt Halley

2010-09-22T16:42:00.008-06:00

Bug eyes!
Salty/Sandy face. He sure had fun though!
Walking out to the waves... we didn't make it because we were barefoot and the salt was cutting in to our feet.
Tristan and Nana on the Spiral Jetty
Looking out at the Spiral Jetty with Dad

My sister Halley had a friend getting married in August and convinced my mom to drive out with her so we got a visit and Tristan got to spend time with his Nana. It was a quick trip for them but we packed it full of adventure :P. My mom has been here several times but has never made it out to the Salt Lake. I've lived here for 8 years and had never been either. So we went to the Spiral Jetty way to heck and gone. It was an adventure for sure! It's on the North side of the lake which is about a 2 hour drive from our house, we got lost (a little) and the last part of the drive pretty much requires 4-wheel drive. It was after 5pm when we finally got there and we were all alone. It was quiet, peaceful and pretty.

The Wiggly Circus

2010-08-08T11:28:00.012-06:00

Waiting so patiently for the show to start. It started 10 minutes late which I thought was a little ridiculous for a show for toddlers!

After waiting so long for the show to start, this is what he did when it finally started... he hid! The Big Top Ringleader came out first and he didn't like him. Haha!

"Toot, Toot, Chugga, Chugga" Tristan's face lit up when they came out in the car.

Captain Feathersword.... Tristan LOVES him!

Dorothy the Dinosaur

I tried several times to get a picture of us together and this was the best I could get. I guess it's a lot to ask a not-quite-two year old to look at the camera when the Wiggles are on stage.

Watching the show

And here is what happened when the show was over... hysterics! He kept signing "Wiggles, more" over and over. He was sad until he got his very own Captain Feathersword hat and sword.

Tristan has a slight obsession with the Wiggles so when I found out they were coming here, I decided to buy some tickets and take him. I thought the prices were a little ridiculous, especially because you had to purchase a ticket for anyone over a year old (makes sense though). I got the cheapest tickets at $15 a piece and was a little worried because they were in the very last row. But the seats were really good and Tristan loved it! Murry (Red) Wiggle walked right past us which Tristan thought was so exciting.

Super-Tristan

2010-07-21T11:00:00.005-06:00

Chad was trying to entertain Tristan last night while I was cleaning up from dinner so he put the dishtowel around his neck like a cape and kept "flying" around the kitchen. He'd say swoosh and flip the cape around. Tristan thought it was so funny and kept saying "swoosh" and "again, cape again". So I made him his own cape after he got cleaned up and he started running around the house swooshing. So cute!

It's been a long time coming

2010-07-10T11:32:00.006-06:00

I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. It's never been easy for me and was often frustrating to me. Starting in February I finally cracked down and have been trying to be really good and watch what I eat and work out at least 3 times every week. It's definitely paying off! To date, I've lost 35lbs, 6 inches off my waist and 3 pant sizes. I still have another 25lbs to my goal but having come this far and feeling the difference is such a good motivator!

I was trying to find a picture from January or February so I could show the difference between then and now but I have no pictures of myself. So I went back to December to one of the few pictures I have of myself. As you can see I'm hiding behind Tristan because I was so self-concious... but not anymore! :)
I feel so much better and much more confident, clothes fit me and look good. I still have some work to do but I'm happy with my results so far. :)

Not a baby anymore

2010-07-10T11:30:00.006-06:00

I finally gave in to everyone and gave Tristan his first hair cut. My friend cut off his little curls and it's amazing how different he looks now. Granted, the curly mullet was a little out of control but without it he no longer looks like a baby at all! Sad! It's definitely time for another one haha :)

As promised.... Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-10T11:02:00.010-06:00

Tristan with his best buddy "Bay-r" (Bear) He brings him everywhere!

Celebrating the 4th at my sis and bro-in-law's house
The fam on the fourth

My sis-in-law Jen and one of her boys, Tyler. Seriously... how cute is he!

Chad and his wishful thinking ;)

At the pool with Eddie & Gio. Haha notice that Tristan has on floaties and is sitting in his old floaty. He wasn't so sure about sharing his baby float with Gabriel (Eddie & Gio's boy).

My new favorite picture of Tristan. :)

He LOVES the "pol". Of course he kept trying to steal other kids floats...

As you can see, we had a fun 4th of July weekend with family and friends... nothing better than that!

Guilt

2010-07-09T05:26:00.001-06:00

It's amazing how guilty one can feel about not updating their blog! Updates are coming.... I promise! :D

I LOVE my new camera!

2010-03-19T10:16:00.012-06:00

Some new pictures that I've taken with our new camera. He's starting to get quite the personality!

Tristan "helping" Chad. He is obsessed with the drill and any and all tools... such a boy!

Stuck in his high chair... and of course I had to run and get the camera before helping him out!
He's pretty good with silverware now. He wants to eat everything with a fork... including his french fries.

This is quite a big step for Tristan. Until the day this picture was taken, he would scream bloody murder whenever Chad's dad came around. But now he's sharing his french fries and giving him all kinds of love.

At the store with his new jersey.

Just had to share this picture because his face makes me laugh!What?! You mean the toilet isn't here for me to use as a step stool to the counter?! That's crazy talk!

Cheezin' with Mommy!

This is the face I get when I ask him to smile

Playing in his ball pit after he turned it upside down and dumped most of the balls out

Family Time

2010-03-19T09:07:00.012-06:00

It was so nice out on Wednesday we decided to go to the zoo as a family and enjoy the day. It was so much fun and absolutely beautiful weather!!! Tristan rode the carousel the first time and thought it was the best thing ever. He even picked out which animal he wanted to ride. I won't bore you with all the pictures we took but here are a few of my favorites. On a side note.... you probably shouldn't take your children to the zoo in the spring time unless you want them to have a sex education lesson Haha the giraffes were quite randy!

Later that night, we went to a Jazz game with Jen and Brandon. The Jazz won quite easily so fun was had by all. Tristan didn't come with us but that's no reason for him not to show his support! ;) We got a killer deal on this jersey and he wants to wear it all the time.My cute sister and brother in law, Jen and BrandonUs... decked out in green for St. Patrick's Day!

Some new pics of the babe

2010-03-11T07:10:00.008-07:00

Looking for treasure
Climbing... nothing new!

"Helping" me fix the tire on the jogging stroller

He was cold and covered himself up with pillows and took his nap

What's a nap without a phone. Haha I fell asleep a few times like this in the middle of a conversation.

Watching the Wiggles from the top of the stairs

Sorry for the poor quality, I took them all with my phone. But yay, I got a new camera finally!!! So new pictures will be coming (plenty from France and Prague as well).

Neglected

2010-03-08T15:02:00.003-07:00

Oh my poor neglected blog and blog readers!!! I can't believe it's been since January that I've written but with my schedule it really isn't much of a surprise! I started my new schedule so I now work from 4am to noon every day but Wednesday when I work 4am-8am and then 3pm-7pm. Plus I have school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. With the new work schedule came many, many more clients (about double what I had before) so therefore I have so much more to do and not enough time in the work day to do it. With homework on top of that, taking care of Tristan so Chad can study and do his own homework and trying to find time to work out at some point during the day, I've lapsed in other areas such as the blog. When it comes down to homework or working out verses typing up a post I'll choose the first option.
Just a quick update on our crazy, busy life! Tristan is now 16 months and quite the handful. He still doesn't talk but he knows so many signs and picks up new ones on a daily basis so communication is definitely not a problem. He's in to everything and asserting his independence. He's so much fun to watch and be with and I'm going to miss him so much when I leave for Europe in a mere 5 weeks! I can't believe the time is almost here... it's exciting but scary too! Chad is in school more than full time but is set to graduate at the end of summer term and has been accepted at the U and will start in the fall. He's really excited and loves everything about school except his math class. But who would love that? ;) I've been trying to be good, watching what I eat and trying to exercise at least 3 times a week. Working out is much easier now that I have my own elliptical machine at home! It was my "Valentine's present" and I LOVE it! I'm happy to say that in 5 weeks I've lost 8lbs and my goal is to lose 10 more by the time I leave for Catalyst (the conference in Europe). I think I can do it if I really crack down!

Budding Artist

2010-01-21T18:43:00.008-07:00

Tristan has always jammed out to music, but now he's starting to pick up some more moves. He makes me laugh every time. I tried to get it on video but as you can see, I got about 5 seconds of dancing and then he got distracted by something else.

He also loves books! We've had to fashion a gate across the opening to our "library" or he will pull all the books off the shelves that he can reach. Sometimes he stacks them up over by my desk, or brings them to me and runs back for more. Other times he just scatters them and occasionally rips out pages. As you can see on the video, he's also pretty good at sign language... especially doggy. Technically, to sign dog, you pat your leg but he does it where ever on his body; but we know what he means. He won't talk verbally still but he's learning signs all the time so we do have communication and that's really what matters. :)

A couple weeks ago, Tristan was very interested in me writing with a pen and kept trying to grab it and do the same thing. So I grabbed a crayon and gave it to him to see what he would do. After a little encouragement (me drawing on the paper) he started "drawing" on his own. He tried again tonight and was very proud, he kept bringing his paper over to show me. I guess it's time to clear some room on the fridge for his artwork!
Tristan's first masterpiece.
Coloring in the basement while I work.
Showing you how it's done.
I'm one proud mama! :D

Some funny videos

2010-01-05T02:45:00.002-07:00

Playing with one of my nephews' Christmas presents. Make sure to watch until the end when I ask him to say "Go JAZZ". He's so funny and does the same thing every time!

Tristan just realized today that the ball pit is not heavy at all as you can see in this video!

CHRISTMAS

2010-01-05T02:18:00.015-07:00

We had a great Christmas this year. It was definitely more fun since Tristan is older and gets excited about things.
Tristan and Santa... he was not real happy about being left alone with him.

Tristan with some of his loot from Santa on Christmas morning (don't mind the date, our camera is apparently a day behind)

Giving Daddy his present from him (FIFA '10)

Looking at all his new books

The slide was a definite hit! He was so excited when we brought him downstairs and showed him. The ball pit was a present from his Nanna and Bestefar (my mom and dad). We only have one part of it in the family room because it is so big. The other tunnel and tents are in his playroom.

Woops! Head-first!

He kept peeking inside and then looking at me and pointing to the balls inside. It took a little coaxing but he finally went in and now he thinks it's so fun to crawl inside and peek out of the holes.

Faith of a Child

2009-12-14T17:35:00.003-07:00

Just a cute story I thought I would share about Tristan. Yesterday in church he was of course trying to escape and could not be pacified into sitting still in Sacrament meeting. So I took him out in to the hall to run around. We walked around the building a few times and stopped in one of the foyers where there are couches and chairs. Hanging over one of the couches is a beautiful painting of Jesus Christ. I pointed the picture out to Tristan and he got the biggest smile on his face that I've ever seen. He kept pointing to the picture until I walked over and set him on the couch underneath the painting. Normally I have to tell him to be soft or not to touch but he reached up so carefully and softly touched the painting and smiled again. I asked him if that was Jesus and he looked right at me and nodded. He was so loving and tender towards the picture, it brought tears to my eyes. Seeing the look on his face, that he knew who that man in the painting was, strengthened my testimony. Oh to know what a young child knows!

A New Anticipation

2009-12-09T00:09:00.003-07:00

I don't know about you but I loved Christmas as a kid. My parents were fantastic at letting/helping us believe in the magic (aka: Santa) for as long as possible; I was 13 before I knew the truth :(. One year when we woke up Christmas morning my dad "discovered" something on the roof of our house. The family room to our house had been added on to the house at some point long before our family moved in and there was a great fireplace in that room. Because it was an addition, our bedroom windows led right out onto the roof so we could easily see it all the way down to the chimney. So one year (I may have been 11, not entirely sure) when we woke up my dad told us to look out our window. And what did we see? Tracks.... Sleigh tracks, reindeer hoofprints and Santa's footprints leading to the chimney and back to the sleigh tracks. There was even a round print where his bag had been set down by the chimney. To this day, my dad claims it was Santa, no matter how much I beg and plead for him to tell me how he did it. It couldn't have been an easy feat since it was winter in South Dakota so there was about a foot of snow on the roof. We always had piles of presents from Santa as well as a tree loaded with presents. My dad's presents were always entertaining: a crisp, fifty-dollar bill stuck into a toilet paper roll and wrapped up and one year he wrapped up a piece of 2x4 wood. The wood went to beds that he had made my sister and I but they weren't put together yet. My dad is quite handy and has made several presents over the years, including the scooter he made for Tristan (and his cousin) last year. See? Isn't it great?! And now that Tristan is big enough, he loves it!

Over the years, as I got older and no longer lived at home, Christmas became less about the magic and more like just another day. It was still a nice day to be with family but I didn't have the excitement for it like I did as a child. But now that we have Tristan the anticipation has returned but in a totally different way. Rather than being excited about what I'm going to get, I'm excited about what he's going to get and how much I KNOW he's going to LOVE it! The kid is a little monkey so we bought him a Lil Tikes play set that has a "climbing wall" (really just a rounded ladder with hand holds), a slide, a basketball hoop and a hole for throwing a football and another for kicking a soccer ball. We also got him some books which he loves; I even made him his own alphabet book with pictures of him and his favorite people/things. Even though he's only one, I can't wait to see how excited he'll be on Christmas morning when he sees his playset. Though I miss the anticipation of a child for Christmas, I think this new anticipation and seeing Christmas through my son's eyes is even better!

Another Nice Day... Another Outside Excursion

2009-11-06T01:00:00.009-07:00

Since it was 75 degrees today and I didn't have my English class in the afternoon, I decided it would be fun to take Tristan to the park and let Chad work on his homework in a quiet house. So I called up my friend Mery from our ward and asked if she wanted to meet me at the park with her daughter Nova and of course she said yes. Nova is just a month older than Tristan and they get to see a lot of each other because Mery and I are in activity days together.

Riding the bouncy horse. He kept running over to play on it but wasn't quite sure what to do when I actually put him on it.

Nova's turn

A hazard of the playground... woodchips! He kept trying to eat them!

Mery and Nova sharing their snacks with Tristan. They both love the cheese-puffs.

Talking to Nova in the swing next to him.

Nova is going to be a big sister in March to a little brother. Mery keeps trying to get me to try for another. Haha not yet! Notice Nova's foot, she kept crossing her leg in the swing and refused to put it through the hole. Such a funny little girl! Also, look at how much longer Tristan's legs are compared to her... and she's a month older!
Out of the swings and right back to the horse

First Trip to the Zoo

2009-11-06T00:50:00.011-07:00

It has been so nice this week here in Utah so we decided to take advantage and go to the zoo. We don't have the greatest zoo, it's really small and still have a lot of small enclosures for the animals. But it was still fun for an afternoon excursion. They have so many new babies; twin tiger cubs, colobus monkey, giraffe and their pride, Zuri the elephant. Tristan enjoyed seeing all the animals and I loved seeing all the babies! :D
Statue of the gorilla the zoo had for years.

Riding the tigers

One of the adorable twin tiger cubs

Baby giraffe and his mama

Tristan making friends with the penguins. They came running up to the fence as soon as he leaned over.

Me and Tristan in front of the giant elephant that makes noise and music

Not so sure about sitting on this thing! The Godfather shirt was a b-day present from his uncle Eddie and Aunt Gio (LOVE our friends!). He also got a Rocky shirt from Ryan and Janelle.

Outside the Elephant Habitat. If you look close, you can see the baby in the background.

Zuri the elephant and her mama

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday to Tristan!

2009-11-06T00:26:00.008-07:00

I can't believe I have a one year old! This past year has been indescribable! It is truly amazing to think that just one year ago I had this tiny little boy that I had waited so long to hold. He's not so tiny now! At his one year check up he was in the 95th percentile for height at 31 1/4 inches (he's grown a full 10 inches since he was born). He's walking everywhere now, climbing on anything and getting into everything!

Since his birthday is Halloween I, of course, decided to have a costume party. The whole family were pirates.

Since we were pirates, I went with a pirate theme for the invites, pinata and cake. The invites were so much work but so worth it! Message in a bottle, I made all the "maps", filled the bottle with sand and mixed in jewels.I don't have pictures of the cake yet since my camera decided to die after one picture! We have a lot of video that I won't bore you with but fortunately, Ryan was there with his handy camera and he took pictures for me. THANK YOU RYAN!!!

I sent the kids on a treasure hunt around the house and front yard to find their goody bags filled with gold coin candy, ring pops, glow sticks and other treats. They all seemed to have a blast doing it! I also made a face cut-out poster that people could take pictures in. Here's the end of the treasure hunt... the dead pirate guarding his treasure. I made the Treasure Chest too. (Yes, I know I was a little out of control)The poster... I wish I'd done it on plywood instead of cardboard because it turned out so cute!

Our house was full to the brim with friends and family. We ate cake (which is a story in itself that I will share later when I have the photos), sugar cookies, opened LOTS of presents, broke open the pirate flag pinata and had a lot of fun. All in all, it was exhausting but so worth all the work! Fun but I'm not doing this again until he's five!

Tristan and all his loot. He loves all his new toys, especially the lion from his Aunt Jen, Uncle Brandon and cousins, Matthew and Tyler. When I brought it into the room his face lit up and his mouth opened as wide as can be! He kept going over and just patting it. So cute!

Mmmm Cake! His Pirate Hat Cake w/Green Frosting (another fiasco) as you can see he made a mess but only after I prompted him by pushing his hands into the cake. He was eating so daintly before I "helped".

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME AND I HOPE YOU HAD FUN!

PUMPKINS

2009-10-15T00:15:00.007-06:00

There is a great little pumpkin patch just down the road from us but Chad and I have never been until this year. We figured, since we have a Halloween baby, we should probably decorate. So we decorated the house and went and bought a bunch of pumpkins today.

Halloween Costume

2009-10-15T00:04:00.007-06:00

In case you don't remember, Tristan was born on Halloween and because of that, he was dressed up in the nursery at the hospital before they brought him into me. He was a pirate then so we decided it would be a good costume for his 1st birthday as well. And look how adorable he is!!!!

Arrrggghhhhh Matey!

He looks so sad... but I LOVE this picture!

Tristan with his cousins, Matthew and Tyler

Happy Little Pirate!

October Fun

2009-10-14T23:40:00.007-06:00

If you can't tell from my previous posts... it's been a busy month! Last weekend we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point with Ryan and Janelle. We rode a little train through the corn, slid down slides, went through the corn maze; oh, and froze our butts off!!! Haha it was cold and windy but we all had a lot of fun.

Cabella's

2009-10-14T23:35:00.003-06:00

We had to take a trip to Cabella's the other day so Chad could get some things for the hunt. For those of you who've never been, it really is a cool store. They have a ton of stuffed animals as well as a huge fish tank. Tristan was having all sorts of fun running around and looking at the different animals.
I'm ready to go too Dad!

Chad and Tristan... smiling before the attack of the killer bear! ;)

He liked the deer the most. He stood here for a few minutes looking at them very closely. I told Chad I was going to teach Tristan to say, "No Daddy, don't kill BAMBI!!!" HAHA

The Little Gym

2009-10-14T23:27:00.008-06:00

A friend recently told me about a place called the Little Gym and I decided to try it out with Tristan. It's an hour long class with kids his age and they do tumbling, hanging and different exercises. He had so much fun! I'm trying out another place this weekend so we'll see which one he likes better before deciding which one to take him to.

Playing with bubbles

So many things to play on/with and this is what fascinated him the most!

Learning how to hang on his own. He loved the teacher... even went and sat in her lap at the end of class!

Of course playing with the one girl in class.

No fear... he was off and running without me.

And the end result of all this fun? Asleep before we were even out of the parking lot!

Bike Trip

2009-09-25T05:08:00.011-06:00

Chad had somewhere to be today so I thought I'd take Tristan on a bike ride. We rode from our neighborhood all the way to the Jordan River Parkway off of 9800 South and then took the parkway up to the play ground. Since it was past 5, we were the only ones there but it was fun just running around with him. He had his first experience on the slide and he loved it. He figured out really quickly that if I set him at the top of the slide, all he had to do was push forward a little and he'd go flying down... giggling and smiling the whole way!

Here he is at the top of the slide (I of course forgot the camera, so my phone had to do the trick... thank heavens for camera phones!)And at the bottom.And headed back to the slide as fast as his little legs could carry him.

He also discoverd that woodchips are fun to play with. Personally I'm not sure why cause they kept poking me so I'm sure they were poking him too, but he loved grabbing them by the handful and tossing them into the air.Examining the woodchipsI love this picture! He is so happy... you can just see the joy on his face!He thought it was great fun to have me chase him through the grass. He would turn around and see where I was at and then turn around and run.Our new duck friend. This duck is quite funny. We've seen him on more than one occassion at the parkway. He has absolutely no fear of anyone. The last time I saw him, I was rollerblading and pushing Tristan in the jogging stroller; the duck was sitting in the middle of the path and just expected us to go around him... didn't even move a bit when we rode past him.

Tristan liked the duck and thought it was funny when I fed him some animal crackers. The dang thing about took my fingers off, he didn't even wait for me to toss the cracker, just jumped up and took it. He then followed me around begging for more. Smart duck!

Child Locks... Schmild Locks!

2009-09-17T23:39:00.005-06:00

We were good parents and child proofed the house. Not anything over the top, just enough to keep him from hurting himself. That lasted about a month!!! He has no trouble pulling the electrical outlet covers out of the outlets and he's now figured out how the child locks work (as you can see in the video).

And now he's figured out how to take off his diaper. That was one I figured would happen... but so soon? Damn smart child!
Off with the diaper!Bum cleavage! Just can't resist!
I love this picture! But he suddenly looks like a little boy instead of a baby! Where has the last year gone? Oh and you can see he's actually getting some hair, light though it may be!

State Fair Fun

2009-09-14T01:34:00.012-06:00

Chad always says that football and the State Fair really kick off fall for him so of course we had to go to the fair this year. I was mean and didn't want to go last year since I was fat, swollen and rather uncomfortable. But this year was much better and a lot of fun. We went with Jen and Brandon and the boys and Chad's brother Jeff and his wife Jen and Chad's BFF Jake. We ate, walked around and of course looked at all the animals. Tristan loved it! He was so excited when I let him walk around and pet some of the animals. We'll definitely be going again in future years.

Tristan trying to reach the goat but it was just not cooperating.

Another goat... this one was more friendly so I had to hold Tristan back or he probably would have tried to hug/wrestle him.

He's starting to learn to pet "softly" which was a good thing for this sheep. A month ago the poor thing would have had its ear pulled and probably been smacked on the head a few times.
Mama and baby piglets... so cute! Almost makes you want one, until you take a good look at their mama and realize that's what the babies will look like shortly!

My little cowboy and a demon cow!

WATERMELON!

2009-09-07T00:18:00.004-06:00

One of Tristan's favorite things is watermelon as evidenced by the video below. I think he would be perfectly content to exist on a diet of watermelon, bananas and cheerios! He's also learned to clap and will do it at the most random times, especially if we say "Yay!". He thinks it is so much fun!

As I've said before, Tristan also LOVES bath time. I didn't really want to give him a full bath so I stuck him in the sick to hose him off and he thought that was the greatest thing ever!

Smarter than the average bear...

2009-08-31T23:19:00.003-06:00

As you can see by the video, the suction cup trainer plate didn't stay suctioned very well. This kid is too stinkin' strong! It came up a whole lot easier the second time (of course when I was videotaping it). The first time he had to pull pretty hard and basically just took it apart piece by piece and threw them all on the floor... including the spoon. Fortunately, there wasn't any food on it because I wanted to see what he would do with the plate. He needs to learn to eat on his own with a spoon because half the time he refuses to eat if I'm trying to feed it to him. He wants to eat things that he can pick up on his own, which is fine, but I can give him only so much watermelon, bananas, cheerios and toast. :)

Attempt Number One

2009-08-31T00:10:00.007-06:00

STEP 1: Take spoon with food already on it from mom and try out this whole feeding myself thing.

STEP 2: Bang spoon on my tray to listen to the fantastic noise it makes and then try getting a bite on my own.

STEP 3: Get bored with all that, grab the bowl full of food and shake it until all the food dumps onto my tray!

This is the result of Tristan's first attempt at eating with a spoon. It didn't go so well. He understands the concept but eating with the fingers is SOOOO much easier! He took a few bites with the spoon and then grabbed the bowl and literally shook it so that all the mashed potatoes would fall out onto his high chair tray. He continued to play with the spoon but when that got boring he started throwing it, once at me! Then it was on to finger painting with said potatoes. He would occasionally suck them off of his fingers but would promptly go back to pushing them all over the tray. At the end we had a tray caked with mashed potatoes, a belly covered in potatoes and a mohawk with potatoes holding it up. But at least he had fun! We'll try this again, but this time we're a little smarter and have purchased a "trainer" plate that actually suctions its self to the tray so there will be no more dumping the contents of his dinner out.
I love the bottom left picture because you can see how truly BLUE his eyes are.... beautiful! (click on the pictures and they will blow up so you can see them better).

Walking Man

2009-08-25T23:22:00.003-06:00

So this post is WAY overdue. Tristan really started walking on August 8th but I haven't gotten a video until now. He's still pretty wobbily but he's getting better. He was so tired when I recorded this and didn't feel like cooperating so it's just a quick preview. I'll get a better one when he's in a happier mood.

Field Trip

2009-08-07T00:52:00.003-06:00

Chad and I just bought season passes to the Aquarium here in SLC. Odd place to have an aquarium I know but it was pretty cool and we figured Tristan would like it especially as he gets older. And since paying twice pays for a season pass, we just bought the pass.

Here's Tristan in front of the Anaconda's tank. He loved watching all the fish swim around. His favorite was the Shark tank. We sat and watched the sharks and sting rays swim around for at least 5 minutes and he was enthralled the whole time. He kept touching the glass whenever one would swim by the window. We'll definitely be going back again and once he gets a little bigger he can touch the sting rays in the touch pool (they feel like wet suede).

Standing Man

2009-08-07T00:44:00.003-06:00

Tristan has been able to stand on his own for a few weeks now but try as a might, I can't get a picture of him doing it! When he sees the camera he either plops down on his butt and crawls to me to get it or literally lunges at me. And since our camera is way too slow in taking pictures I haven't been able to get one of him actually standing, just ones of him half way down to the floor or coming at me like a monster. :D The other night I finally got a picture (see below) but of course... he blinked!!!! Bloody hell! HAHA I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to get an actual picture without him blinking, falling or attacking but it's still annoying! He's started using his little walker toy that we bought him because he realized he can walk if he pushes it - walk without falling that is. He's taken a few tentative steps but hasn't gotten more than 3 or 4 without falling down. But it won't be long before he suddenly takes off in a dead run I'm sure.

Don't mind Chad's head, he was ducking trying to get away from the Godzilla baby. If you lay down on the floor, Tristan takes that as a cue to attack you. He thinks it's quite hilarious... and it is, when it's not you he's attacking!

This picture just made me laugh so I had to share!

FRUSTRATED!!!!

2009-07-30T05:19:00.002-06:00

If the next time you see me and I have a few bald spots, just pretend you don't see them! They are either from Tristan pulling my hair out - which he does quite regularly - or because I've yanked my own hair out in frustration. The child won't sleep through the night! He used to, he started around 6 weeks until 5 months, but since then it hasn't happened. And he's started waking up in the middle of the night and staying awake. I've tried letting him cry it out a few times but I think I give in to easily. It just seems to me that if he's crying so hard that he can't breath, I should probably check on him.
Tonight he went to bed around 9 and then woke up at 12:15, I nursed him and he fell back asleep but as soon as I laid him down in his crib his eyes would pop wide open. I rocked him once and then laid him back down and I let him cry and just sat outside his doorway where I could see him but he couldn't see me and watched him to see what he did. He of course screamed like the world was falling down on top of him. He kept laying his head down for a second and then would bounce right back up and scream even louder. I let this go on for about 35 minutes before I went in and picked him up. I tried rocking him but at this point he was wide awake and was just not having me try to put him back to sleep. I was so frustrated so I had Chad try and take a turn rocking him. He lasted about 10 minutes before he brought Tristan downstairs. I stayed down in the basement and worked and Chad let Tristan crawl around and play for a little bit. When Chad wanted to go to sleep I tried to get Tristan to go to sleep too by laying down with him but he still kept pushing away and jumping up. Finally, I threw him in the car and went on a drive. I drove about 10 miles before he finally fell asleep. He woke up once a few minutes after I laid him down in his bed but I only had to rock him for a minute and he's been asleep since. Of course that was only 2 1/2 hours ago so we'll see how long it lasts.
I think he's also about to get a new tooth or teeth because he keeps gnawing on my fingers and pulling on his ear. So maybe that's a partial cause of him waking up so often but I've given him teething tablets and it doesn't seem to extend his sleeping length. I've looked at a couple books and gotten some advice from friends and family, I just need to stick to it and let him cry it out I guess. But before he finally sleeps through the night on his own, I may end up bald from pulling my hair out in frustration!

Things In Threes

2009-07-17T22:32:00.003-06:00

I sure hope the old adage, things come in threes is true because it has been a rough couple of weeks for the wee one. First he got croup, which as I said before, is actually not too bad since it's the first time he's been sick. But then last Friday I was woken up to Chad running up the stairs and yelling for help. He had Tristan cradled in his arms, literally foaming at the mouth and covered in pink. Chad was wearing some pants that he hadn't worn in a while and they apparently had some Tylenol and Benadryl tablets in the pockets. A few must have fallen out and Tristan found them, and like every 8 month old, put them promptly in his mouth. Fortunately he started throwing up and that's why he was covered in pink. When Chad brought him up to me I dug around in his mouth and pulled out part of a Tylenol tablet. We of course called poison control and they said that he should be alright since it was only one tablet and just to watch him. He stayed acting normal so that was a crisis averted. And then today.... I gave Tristan some freeze dried strawberries and bananas a few days ago not realizing that he couldn't have them yet (yes, stupid mom moment) and a couple days later he had a little bit of a rash on his face. It still hadn't gone away and so I called the doctor's office to see if I could give him Benadryl and they asked me to bring him in just to document it and make sure that's what it was. It's a good thing we went in because he didn't actually have an allergic reaction, he has Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. The other day we noticed that he kept playing with his tongue but thought it was just his new entertainment because he wasn't acting like he was sick or anything. Apparently he has quite a few sores/cankers in his mouth. Poor baby!!!! So now he's all doped up on Benadryl and Ibuprofen. Fingers crossed that this is it for a while!

New Friends

2009-07-16T05:35:00.003-06:00

This is Tristan and Asher, he's the son of Michelle, a friend from our ward. They crawled all over together, climbed stairs, shared some cheerios and played with each other's toys. It was his first real experience playing with another kid and as you can tell from the smile on his face, he enjoyed it! Guess I need to start setting up some play dates for him! Asher is 2 months older than Tristan and such a cutie!

On another note, I bought a cookbook called Cook Yourself Thin a couple months ago and we finally decided to try out the recipes. They are fantastic!!!! We haven't had one that we didn't like and I've started to notice that my pants are getting a little looser. Hopefully it actually works and I'll start to drop some weight because I'm getting soooo frustrated that nothing works. I lost all the weight I gained when I was pregnant with Tristan but haven't been able to lose anything since then. Fingers crossed that that will change once I stop breastfeeding. Anyway... if you're looking for some good recipes, I would highly recommend this cookbook!

Trouble Maker

2009-07-14T21:58:00.008-06:00

Oh for the days when Tristan was not mobile!!!! Haha he's into everything and so fast! We have been strategically placing things in his way so he can't get up the stairs or grab and pull down the game consoles, dvd player and dvr but he seems to find ways around that.

I grabbed the camera as fast as I could to catch this one, but like I said, he's fast! So I only got his descent from the couch. We've been placing the playpen between the wall and the couch so that he can't get up the stairs into the kitchen which worked for a few weeks. But Houdini has found a way to sneak past the barriers. He climbs up the MonsterSak, onto the couch, scoots across the couch to the end, grabs the edge of the playpen and swings off the couch!!! He's too smart for our good!

Here he is pulling down all the video games and proceeding to pull down the game consoles. I had placed his little walker toy at an angle in front of that portion of the entertainment center and he tried and tried to get past it from the side. When that didn't work, he just went under it and stood up on the other side, pushed the toy out of his way and went to work pulling everything down.

Some approved mischief. When visiting Chad's grandparents the other day, Tristan was getting into things he shouldn't. Basically, he found all their decorations and plants and wanted to destroy them! So Grandma took him over to the best baby cabinet ever.... the tupperware cabinet! As you can see he thoroughly enjoyed himself!

Your Chariot Awaits

2009-07-14T21:54:00.003-06:00

Chad and I like going on bike rides together but haven't been able to for a while. Last summer was because I was pregnant and until recently was because we had no where for Tristan to go. We bought this little puppy the other day and tried it out for the first time. Tristan thought it was great! He got so excited when we pulled out of the garage; he was bouncing up and down and laughing. I see more family bike rides in our future!

Weekend Full O' Firsts

2009-07-08T03:15:00.016-06:00

We had a fun Independence Day weekend. We were going pretty much non-stop the whole time but it was fantastic. We actually got to spend some time with Eddie and Gio which is a rarity these days since Eddie's in med-school and quite busy. We went swimming, bbq'd, watched some fireworks and just had fun. Tristan had a whole bunch of firsts this weekend... see below :D

FIRST TIME SWIMMINGAs I've said previously, this kid is a little fish in the bath tub and the pool was no different... just bigger. He thought it was the greatest thing ever! Here he is with his new float-tube. We also took him out and just swam around with him. If we put him on his chest and faced him to Chad or myself, he would reach out and kick to get to us. Smart!

Playing motor-boat with Daddy. He was giggling and smiling the whole time. The first time swimming also led to his first sunburn (very minor). I lathered him up 3 times in 4 hours with sunscreen and he still got a little pink on his shoulders and arms. Dang kid is so pale! I guess next time he will be wearing a t-shirt as well.

FIRST TIME ON A TRAMPOLINELook at that smile! He thought the trampoline was awesome! I got up and bounced him a little bit which he thought was hysterical. He would race around the tramp (usually away from us) turn around and laugh. Chad's sister Jen and her hubby Brandon have quite a fun house, swimming pool, trampoline and numerous toys for Tristan and his cousins to play with once they get a little bit older. He had so much fun but his hands, feet and knees were BLACK from crawling all over the trampoline.

FIRST TIME SEEING HIS NEW COUSINSTristan actually saw Tyler and Matthew on Brandon's birthday on the 30th but he didn't really notice them because there were way too many other people around for him to talk to. On the fourth, we went over to Jen and Brandon's for a BBQ and to hang out. Both boys were sleeping in their swings and Tristan suddenly realized there was someone in there. Here he is trying to get as close as possible, I had to keep grabbing him to keep him from taking a leap off the couch to the swing. That's Tyler in the swing... can't wait until he and his brother Matthew are a little bigger so all the boys can play together!

FIRST FOURTH OF JULYSitting on Daddy's shoulders trying to see the Sandy Fireworks off in the distance. He was more excited about being on Chad's shoulders and pulling his hair and bouncing up and down. We sat out in the front yard and watched the neighbors set off fireworks which Tristan was much more intrigued by than the ones he could barely see.Sitting in Jen and Brandon's front yard watching the neighbor's fireworks. Jen was cold so she borrowed Tristan's blanket for her legs. Once he realized that was his blanket he kept grabbing it and pulling it off her, snuzzling it for a minute and then setting it on the ground. We put the blanket back on Jen and he did it again, and again. Uh-oh... is this a sign of things to come? I'm pretty sure Jen has Tyler and Brandon has Matthew (it's hard to tell without being able to see their faces).

FIRST TIME GETTING SICKNot such a good first but he seems to be doing alright as evidenced by the picture. This was right after I brought him home from the doctor's office and he made himself a little fort with the couch pillows. I noticed on Sunday that he sounded really hoarse when he would cry and was acting like it hurt so I took him into the pediatrician Monday morning. Sure enough, he's sick. He has croup! Apparently he doesn't realize that he's supposed to have that in the winter time, not the middle of summer! I can't complain too much though since he's now 8 months old and this is the first time he's been sick. For being a late-fall baby, we sure lucked out! HAHA I love this picture! He's just so happy!

Quick sidenote: He is up to 21lbs, 8oz as of Monday. His outfits in the pics are all 18 months as well. Such a big boy!

Fireworks

2009-06-30T00:14:00.005-06:00

Sorry for the blogging over load... I've been meaning to post for a while now but have just been so busy with school and work! This is the last one... I promise!

This last weekend we went to Taylorsville Dayzz with our friends Amy and Manny and their two kids. Chad and I have never been but we'll definitely be going back again next year. First of all, it was an absolutely beautiful day, around 85 degrees, sunny and blue skies as far as the eye could see. Amy and Manny had gone earlier in the day and set up their spot to reserve it for the fireworks so we didn't have to stress about the crowds and finding a good spot. We wandered around the carnival area a little bit and watched Tyson and Nichole play on all the fun jump houses (I can't wait until Tristan is old enough to jump too). Tristan loved just hanging out in his stroller and watching all the kids and people running around.

I was curious how Tristan was going to do with the fireworks since I know a lot of kids are scared by the noise. But not this kid... he was fascinated! He just sat, enthralled by the big explosions and bright colors in the sky. After about 5 minutes, he curled up and went promptly to sleep and didn't wake up again until we got home and put him in bed. Here are a few pics... unfortunately, our camera doesn't have the shutter speed to capture the fireworks very well but you can see he's happy.

Don't mind Chad's wide-eyed grin, he was trying not to blink when the flash went off. HAHA

Bath Time

2009-06-30T00:08:00.004-06:00

The older Tristan gets, the more he loves bath time. He's such a little fish. If I try to stand him up to wash his bum, he goes limp and refuses to put his feet down and stand up because he thinks that means I'm taking him out of the tub. If we try and take him out too early, he screams bloody murder. He also screams if he sees the bath filling with water and we take him out of the bathroom. He absolutely loves playing with his duckies. We're going to try swimming in a pool for the first time this weekend, we'll see how that goes!Love those baby blues!

Soooo Sleepy

2009-06-30T00:03:00.004-06:00

Eating is hard work! And apparently just being a baby is hard work. Tristan fights taking a nap but eventually gets so tired that he just can't stay awake any longer. He was munching some crackers the other night while we ate dinner and he suddenly got very quiet and this is what I saw when I looked over....
He woke up a little and fussed when I tried to tip the chair back so I just left it up and he took a 20 minute power nap in his high chair.

Little Mountain Goat

2009-06-29T23:40:00.006-06:00

Once Tristan figured out how to crawl it wasn't too long until he mastered the stairs. He's so fast and if you say his name he just goes faster! The videos are a couple weeks old and he's only gotten better at climbing. Now if we could just figure out how to go back down them and not head first! He really has no fear when it comes to climbing, if we leave an opening he's half way up before you can blink. His first attempts at climbing the stairs looked something like this....

And a couple days later.... (Sorry it's sideways, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)

He's so determined to get whatever we've put out of reach. He will try and try and try again until he gets it. Last night I put my sunglasses on the ledge behind the couch... He climbed up the monster sak, onto the couch and pulled himself up on the pillows until he grabbed the sunglasses. You should have seen his face! He was so proud and happy!

He's not a fan of Peas

2009-06-15T02:12:00.003-06:00

This video was too funny to not share! The baby books and such say to keep trying if baby acts like they do not like foods. Well we've tried baby food peas and now regular peas... I don't think he's a fan! Just like his dad!

New Toy

2009-06-08T02:08:00.004-06:00

It's a new old toy ;) My dad made Tristan, Justice (my nephew) and my sister (for her future children) awesome little scooters for Christmas. They are heavy-duty! I didn't think Tristan was ready for it yet so it's just been sitting in his room next to the crib. I put Tristan on the floor last night while we were lowering his mattress (now I don't have to worry about him falling out) and he discovered this new toy. He was so excited when I put him on it and he actually started pushing himself. Granted, it was backwards but it still works. He was jumping up and down and laughing. I think he approves! It looks like this may be a favorite toy this summer.
Look at that happy smile!

Camping

2009-06-08T01:22:00.017-06:00

Tristan got his first experience with the great outdoors this weekend. Chad has been begging and pleading to be able to go camping so I finally caved and said alright. If it were up to Chad, he would happily go camping for a week. Me, I'm more of an overnight camping girl... I hate not being able to shower! We went out to Payson Lake. It's a really nice campground, only about an hour away and has a really nice lake (hence the name). We left as soon as I got off work Friday morning (6:30am) and headed up there to be sure we'd get a good campsite. The campsite that we'd originally wanted was already taken when we got there (shucks) but we drove around and checked out some others and found a fantastic site. I won't share the number because we don't want everyone trying to take it! ;) But it's up a little hill to the picnic table and firepit and then up another little trail into the trees to where you can put up your tent. It was beautiful and had a lovely view of the lake through the trees. Once we got all set up I took a nap since I hadn't gone to sleep for the night yet and was pretty much exhausted. I basically slept through the only nice day of the trip! It was freezing most of the time. I guess that's what we get for going camping the first week of June. Jeff and Jen (Chad's brother and his wife) joined us Friday night. We had wonderful food, tinfoil dinners, dutch oven breakfasts, steaks grilled over the fire, s'mores (of course) and lots of other munchies. We played games which can be kind of difficult when the wind kicks up suddenly and tries to blow all the cards away. By the time it got dark on Saturday night it was so cold that we couldn't stay outside anymore even with the fire. So we all crammed into the back of Jeff's Ford Explorer and had a rousing game of Yahtzee (camping fav in this family). It was so cramped with all of us though that one game was about all we could handle so we went to bed fairly early. Tristan did pretty well. He was getting pretty frustrated by Sunday though because he wanted to be able to be down on the ground crawling around and since it's all dirty I just couldn't let him. He did enjoy taking a walk around the lake with us though. He was also mesmerized by the fire, I'll have to remember that on later trips!

Rocky decided she needed to be on the other side of Tristan's car seat with Kallie as we pulled into the campsite. She basically squashed Tristan so I had to pull him out to save him. She apparently thought his seat looked pretty comfy!

Trying to stay warm in our hoodies

So proud of himself cause he's standing up in his playpen. Look at those pretty blue eyes!

He was chewing on the paper towels so much I thought I would try it out too. :D

Hanging out in the tent in his warm jammies and chewing on his favorite toy... his shoe! Chad said I shouldn't bring those pj's because they're 18 months and he thought they would be way too big... guess again! As you can see, they fit quite well.

Tristan and his Daddy... the Mountain Men!

Cuddling under his blanket

The puppies waiting very impatiently to get in the truck to head home.

Ta-Da!

2009-06-03T02:45:00.002-06:00

Tristan is on the move so much now. He's definitely mastered the army crawl and is moving on to crawling on all fours now. He can also sit up all on his own now so I don't have to keep doing it whenever he falls over (or gets knocked over by the dogs). But who wants to sit when you can pull yourself up and reach things on higher levels?! He's already pulling himself up on everything. He will also walk if you hold his hands, granted he's not very good at it yet but he's determined and I'm sure he'll be running before I know it. He is definitely a persistant / stubborn child. Hmm, I wonder where he gets that from? If there is something that he sees and wants, he will try and try and try to get it. He rarely gives up. That determination comes with a bad side too unfortunately. If we move or take away what he wants, he screams. And it's an ear-splitting screech! He's learning the word no rather quickly. He's such a stinker though! If he's crawling towards or grabbing something he shouldn't have, I'll tell him no and he just turns around and smiles. He seems to think that that will work (which it does sometimes).
He's quite proud of himself! :D

Over the river and through the woods...

2009-05-29T00:17:00.010-06:00

A couple weeks ago my mom was giving me a hard time about going out to Missouri to visit them since they hadn't seen Tristan since Christmas. I really didn't think we could afford to go but decided to check airline tickets anyway and found a killer deal that we just could not pass up ($120 round trip!). So we left last Wednesday (May 20) and stayed until this last Wednesday (May 27). It was a nice trip. Tristan had his first plane ride and did really well. Everyone kept telling me what a great baby I had (I have to agree). He basically slept the whole way there, which was good because Chad was not sitting with me and it would have been a major pain trying to wrangle Tristan without Chad there to help. He woke up for the last 20 minutes of the flight and just played peek-a-boo with the lady sitting behind me and pretty much entertained everyone sitting around us.

The day after we got there I discovered Tristan had his first tooth coming through on the bottom which by the end of the trip was being joined by a second bottom tooth. It definitely explains his recent crabbiness and bout of not sleeping through the night. He's doing much better now that they've finally popped through. He also started getting up on all fours and trying to crawl (more of lunging) but he still prefers the army crawl. We had to keep an eye on him a whole lot more. Especially with all the animals that my parents have... he loves to grab! Our dogs don't mind and theirs don't mind much either but the cats definitely don't like it! Riding on the plane... I'm not sure what is with the face he's making! These pics are actually from the trip home because I forgot to take pictures on the plane ride out there but I think they still count as his first plane ride.I ended up having to take the pictures with my phone because the stupid flight attendant kept yelling at us to turn off all electronics except cell phones. We were on the freaking ground and still couldn't turn on the camera. Whatever! Our plane landed 20 minutes early but we were still "late" because we waited on the runway for 40 minutes! It was ridiculous!

Tristan loved my parents' bathtub! He discovered how much fun it is to splash. It was a fun time for all!Tristan and his Bestefar (Norwegian for Grandpa). He doesn't even look like a baby in this picture! He's not even 7 months and looks like he should be up running around!

Tristan, Nanny and Muffin. Muffin LOVED Tristan, he would search for him any time he came in the house. He's an enormous dog (as you can see) but such a sweetie! He let Tristan just crawl on him.

His new monkey pajamas. It was a little chilly at night for him to sleep in just a diaper so we bought these for him. They are 12-18 months and almost too small. I'm wishing I bought the 18-24 months now!

So many toys to play with at Nanny and Bestafar's but his favorites were flip-flops, an empty Gobstoppers box and bags laying on the floor. We just had to put him in the bag and take some pictures!My mom and dad had lots of fun playing with the Grandson. He loved all the attention too and started giving kisses while we were there. Open-mouth, drool laiden kisses but kisses still the same! It was a fun first trip to the grandparents' house. He got to spend time with my sister and brother as well. He wasn't so sure about Evan for a while but warmed up to him in the end. Hopefully Evan will be coming in July for a visit so he'll get even more time with his uncle. Now we just have to get back to normal. :D

Family Pictures

2009-05-28T23:55:00.011-06:00

Ryan took some more fantastic shots of Tristan and us as well a couple weeks ago. Seriously... if anyone is looking for a great photographer, you should hire Ryan! Sorry for the picture overload but there were so many to choose from... these are just a few of my favorites!

A moment to show off

2009-05-12T23:08:00.006-06:00

I just wanted to post a couple pics of the Toy Box I made for my sister-in-law Jennifer. She's due with Tristan's cousins, Matt & Tyler next month! We're all very excited for them. I'm pretty proud of how the box turned out and now I just need to make one for Tristan too. :)
You can't see it here but both sides are painted yellow and the back is painted red. And yes, I painted the Mickey's.

1st Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:38:00.004-06:00

This is my first official Mother's Day. :D It's been a pretty good one I must say. I woke up to my smily little boy patting me on the cheek. Chad got me a nice (singing) card and a couple gift cards (yay for Barne's & Noble!). We went to church and have just had a pretty laid back day since then. Chad and I were talking last night about Mother's Days growing up and they were very different for us. He doesn't really remember doing much for his mom but I remember tons of stuff. We usually had some project that we'd made her either in school or church. We made her breakfast in bed a few times (that was probably more work for her) and we always sang with the Primary to her in church. I can't wait to have that with my own kids! Here are a couple pictures to commemorate the day. :D

The reason I get to celebrate today... and I couldn't ask for a better reason.

Cuddle-Bunny

2009-05-08T02:43:00.008-06:00

Tristan has been such a cuddly, loving boy since the day he was born. He slept on my chest pretty much his whole first month and still often falls asleep there now. Of course he takes up a whole lot more room then he used to! Just look at these pictures! Such a change.

Sure love this little boy!His "excuse me, I'm trying to rest here, can you put that stupid camera away" face.

Hanging out in the swing that is really too small for him. I just can't give it up yet, it still soothes him to sleep when he's being fussy. He doesn't seem to mind though and I'm pretty sure he was watching a basketball game on the TV. Oy! He is his father's son! Except for the thumb in the mouth... that's all me! Notice the little rug burns on his knees? He doesn't seem to mind though since he can scoot to what he wants now.

Bathroom

2009-05-08T02:32:00.005-06:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while but just haven't gotten around to it. Three years ago, we had a little flood in our house thanks to the swamp cooler. There was a leak in the line and the water ran down the wall and came through the ceiling in our downstairs bathroom. It was the day we set up the swamp cooler and after we had finished we out to run some errands (or something). When we came home I went into the bathroom and noticed that there was water on the floor. But the dog's water bowl was in there so I didn't think much of it until I noticed that there was water dripping from the ceiling. I yelled for Chad and grabbed a towel to dry things up. I dabbed at the ceiling with the towel and my hand went through it and water came pouring out. Haha too bad I don't have pictures of that! We of course had to rip out part of the ceiling and also the wall. For probably 2 years we didn't even have dry wall up in the bathroom, just exposed beams and insulation. Chad finally was able to get the wall up but it still remained unfinished. So now three years after the "flood" the bathroom is done! Chad actually finished it a couple months ago and it looks fantastic! I just had to share, mostly for my parents and grandparents since they've seen it in construction phase but never completed.

I think it's one of my favorite paint jobs that we've done. Yes, it's all paint, Chad did an amazing job on the stripes. After ripping all the wall paper out of this house, I don't ever want to put it back in again. Only one room left with wall paper and it's coming out soon!

My Birthday

2009-05-05T02:20:00.005-06:00

I can't believe I'm 29 already! After high school time sure flies! But I couldn't be happier with where I am in my life. I have a great husband, beautiful little boy, a good job that lets me work from home and a comfortable house. My birthday was actually April 26th but I'm just getting around to this post. I was hoping for some pictures from our dinner out (hint hint Janelle) but haven't gotten them yet. I'll just post them later. On Friday night we went out to dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, Jen and Brandon to PF Changs. It was delish!

Saturday we helped Eddie and Gio move into their new house, well Chad helped and I "supervised". We all went to dinner later that night. The original plan was to go to the Cheesecake Factory but because we have such a large group the wait was ridiculous. I called at 5:00pm to see how long the wait would be if I were to come in right then and put our name on the list since the plan was for everyone to meet there at 7pm. They told me it would be 2 1/2-3 hours so I sent my friend Kate down there to put our name on the list. By the time she got there (only 20 minutes later), the wait was 3 1/2 - 4 hours!!! So we bagged that and went to Chili's. Adam and Tammy, Amy and Manny, Ryan and Janelle, Kate and Scott, me and Chad and Eddie and Gio (when they finally got there ;) but we understood since they'd been moving all day!). We seem to all get together for birthdays mostly which leads to loud, long conversations and dirty looks from the waiters because we stay so long and hold up their table. It's always a fun time!

Sunday, my actual birthday, Chad and I grabbed lunch after church and then went to see the Disney Earth movie with Ryan and Janelle. It was very cool but sad with all the baby animals dying. I think Janelle may have cried a little ;). My mother and father in law were both sick all weekend so they took Chad and I to dinner on Monday.

I got a couple gift cards to Torrid, one to Barnes and Noble and my mom bought me a dress from Torrid that I've been wanting for months. I bought a new swimsuit with my gift cards:I've been doing the P90X workouts for the last 2 months and I can definitely see that it's making a difference. Just the fact that I'm okay posting this picture says a lot! :D Here's a picture of the dress too. I actually bought a size smaller than I am right now as motivation to keep up the workouts but I was surprised that it fit so well. Chad loves it and I do too!

All in all, I had a pretty good birthday! Next year I'll be celebrating my 30th in Prague! :D

And... HE'S OFF

2009-05-04T03:15:00.005-06:00

Just a quick update on Tristan (mostly so I don't forget these things later on). We had his 6 month check up on Friday and he's weighing in at 19lbs, 5oz and he's 28 inches long. He's basically mastered sitting up (see the pic above) and he smiles at pretty much everyone now. Except for yesterday when a woman in the store turned around and said hello to him and he started hysterically crying! Either it was because he was tired or she was shooting off some seriously bad vibes!
And his newest accomplishment as of last night: He's Mobile! Well somewhat! ;) There was a bag on the floor about 2 feet away from him and he wanted it very badly. I had moved it away from him since babies and plastic bags just don't mix and the next thing I know, he's pushing himself towards it, stretching and pushing with his feet. Here's a video:

His favorite thing to grab and of course put promptly in his mouth is my phone. Normally I don't let him have it but it was such a good incentive to get him to crawl for the camera. :D

I have no more time tonight so I'll have to save my birthday post for tomorrow!

Stand by Me

2009-04-30T02:15:00.003-06:00

I love the song Stand by Me, in fact I signed it in my ASL class last year. I saw this video online and it's and amazing rendition of the song. I have to admit it made me tear a little... enjoy!

Amazing 'Stand By Me' Rendition

This Kid is Crazy

2009-04-24T05:06:00.002-06:00

It's 5:00 in the morning. Tristan didn't take a very good nap(s) yesterday so he ended up falling asleep at 8:00pm so now he's awake and wants to play.

He's just so cute! How could I say no to that face?

Who does Tristan look more like?

2009-04-24T05:01:00.005-06:00

My friend Eddie was over tonight just to hang out for a bit. He was talking to his wife on the phone and said he thought Tristan looked like Chad. Which he definitely does, he's Chad's Mini-Me. But then I showed Eddie this picture:To which Eddie said, holy cow, he looks just like Chad. Haha one problem: That's me at 6 months! Tristan's definitely a good mix of the two of us! :D Don't you just love the fat rolls on my legs? What do you think? Who does he look more like?
Here's Tristan with his blanket that my aunt made and his Christmas ornament (sending presents late runs in the family I guess!)

Proof

2009-04-19T17:57:00.006-06:00

This is one of my new fav's! Such a happy boy! This is really how he usually looks. So here's proof that Tristan really does smile. :D Everyone always tells me how serious he always looks in pictures and it's only because as soon as you pull out the camera he stops smiling! Stinker! Ryan seems to be the only one who can get pictures of him smiling.

This is Tristan and Lucky (Ryan and Janelle's puppy)

Look at that belly!

Jazz Lovers

2009-04-14T04:13:00.001-06:00

Such a cute picture..... I just had to share!

Our Little Easter Bunny

2009-04-12T23:28:00.004-06:00

Tristan has been trying all kinds of new foods lately, bananas, peaches, applesauce, peas and most recently.... CARROTS! It seemed like an appropriate post for this weekend with it being Easter and all. He loves the fruits and seemed to like the peas at first but towards the end he kept making a disgusted face. We'll have to try them again to see if he truly dislikes them. But he got carrots for the first time yesterday and loved them. A little too much if you ask me... they were everywhere! Haha he even sneezed with a mouthful and I got sprayed. Thank heavens I was just wearing a bra or my clothes would have been ruined! This picture cracks me up... he looks a little drunk on the carrots!It was quite a cleanup operation. A simple wipe down with baby wipes would not suffice with this mess so I stuck him in the sink to hose him down. Even with scrubbing his skin had a slight orange hue to it. There were carrots everywhere, all over him (obviously!) covering his tray and high chair and of course on me. Besides the sneeze he also grabbed my arm after having stuck his hand in his mouth.

More of the Boy

2009-04-06T01:31:00.008-06:00

Just some new pictures of Tristan. Since no one in my family lives here, they don't get to see Tristan very often (if at all) so here's some more pictures for them! He's just about into 9-12 months clothes and gives me a work out just holding him. I can only imagine how it will be when he's one! He still hasn't figured out to go from his belly to his back but he's great at the other way around. He constantly flips himself onto his belly and then gets pissed because he doesn't know how to get back. We'll let him fuss for a few minutes and then flip him back, he then promptly flips himself back to his belly. Darn kid! His newest thing is laying on his back and pushing up with his feet. He scoots across the floor a bit this way and also tries to push himself out of his swing.I just had to get a picture of this. He so did not want to be in the swing so he pushed and pushed with his feet and shoulders until he ended up like this.This is about as close as I could get to a pictuere of him smiling. Every time I pull out the camera he stops smiling and just looks at me. He's tricky!And one of him with his thumb in his mouth. He wasn't actually sleeping, he just kept blinking when the camera flashed. Apparently that problem runs in the family because I blink in pictures all the time and so does my mom!

New Tricks

2009-03-25T00:16:00.002-06:00

Tristan has been figuring all kinds of things out lately and I'm afraid that I'll forget them if I don't write them down.
1st: He figured out that sucking his thumb is pretty fun. I've tried repeatedly to get a picture of him but he always pulls it out just as the camera flashes or he sticks his tongue out at me. If I can get a picture, I'll post it. It doesn't come as much of a surprise to me that my son sucks his thumb. After all, his mother (yes, me) sucked her thumb until she was thirteen. Yes, I said thirteen! I lucked out though, I've never had braces and I still ended up with perfectly straight teeth. For now Tristan still prefers the binky, lets hope it stays that way!
2nd: He figured out how to click his tongue yesterday. He was sitting in his swing while I was working out and he must have been bored because he just started clicking away. It was so funny! The funniest part though is that he won't do it when you're looking at him, as soon as you turn your back he clicks again. I don't know if he's trying to get our attention or if he's just playing a game because he smiles at you when you turn around and laugh.
3rd: He finally rolled over for the first time today!!!! I was so excited! I was starting to get worried that I was a bad mother because he didn't get enough tummy time. But I guess he didn't need it since he flipped from his back to his belly. Unfortunately, I was working and Chad was watching TV so we both missed it. One minute he was playing happily on his activity mat and the next time Chad looked over at him he was happily playing on his mat on his belly. I came up to the family room and tried to get him to do it again but he was too excited that I was there and just kept reaching to me. Though he hadn't rolled over yet, he still has a way of getting around, he wiggles, rocks and squirms until he's completely turned around or slid 3 feet from where he started out. I have a feeling that he's going to be crawling fairly soon after he masters this rolling thing.
Some other things he's mastered:
Eating cereal. I have to time it just right though. If he's too hungry, he yells because he's not getting it fast enough and ends up getting so mad that I end up having to nurse him. If he's not hungry enough, then he won't eat much. He already tries to feed himself, he grabs the spoon or my hand and pulls it towards his mouth.
Flirting... haha he's definitely my child! ;) I had five people come up to me after Sacrament meeting on Sunday and tell me that they just couldn't stop watching him because he's so cute and apparently very distracting. He smiles at everyone, especially other kids. He thinks they're quite fascinating (I'm sure they think the same of him).
Riding in the car. Lately, he'd started getting fussy in the car because he couldn't see anything except the back of the seat. If someone sat in the back with him he was fine but neither Chad or I enjoy sitting the back of the car since we both have long legs. The funniest thing was he would get mad if it was dark and he couldn't see his toys that were attached to the car seat. He would start yelling but if I turned on the dome light he was just fine and would go back to playing with his toys. Turn it off, and he'd start yelling again. Haha we experiemented several times to see if that was really why he was upset. We transferred him to the next size carseat and he loves it because he sits up higher and can actually see outside so he doesn't mind riding by himself.
I can't believe my little baby is getting so big already! He's wearing 6-9 months clothes and most people do a double take when I say he's not quite 5 months. All the clothes we bought for him before he was born are not going to fit him this fall... he'll probably be wearing them mid-summer! Haha oh well! I'm so happy that I've got such a healthy, happy little boy. Plus, lugging him around is quite the workout!

Puppy Love

2009-03-09T00:00:00.006-06:00

Tristan has recently discovered the dogs and wants to hold them. They don't seem to mind since they are more than willing to put their noses right in his face and let him grab on. He thinks they're quite funny and I think Kallie thinks he is her new puppy. Notice the paw on him in the pic above.

Tristan and Kallie Rocky being a little too enthusiastic about Tristan's attentions

Monkey Monkey

2009-03-08T23:55:00.003-06:00

After I had the miscarriage last year, Chad brought home a stuffed monkey for me to make me feel better. He's very soft and floppy. A couple weeks ago, Tristan spotted him in his room with all his other stuffed animals and got very excited so I gave him the monkey. It's his new best friend. We call him Monkey Monkey. If Tristan is upset and not wanting to go to sleep, we just have to give him Monkey Monkey and he'll cuddle him and fall asleep.Ahhh sleepy time!

Chunky Monkey

2009-03-02T23:35:00.003-07:00

Tristan had is 4 month check up today. He's growing like a weed! He is 17lbs and 6oz and 26 inches long! He's going to need a new car seat soon as well as some more clothes. He has some long legs, the pants that really fit him now are 6-9 months but he still can wear the 3-6 months tops just fine. It's fun to see how much he changes week to week. Just this last weekend he started "talking". His name means "noisy" and he's started to live up to that. Even during Sacrament meeting at church. I swear he waits until it's silent to yell! He's also started laughing a lot more now. It makes me so happy when he giggles or even just smiles at me. I think he knows that too because when I'm getting frustrated that he's crying for no reason or just being a fussy pain in the butt, he'll suddenly stop and just look at me and smile. It's hard to be mad at him when he's so darn cute!

One of Tristan's favorite things is bath time. He's such a little tadpole. He basically out grew his baby bath tub a month or more ago so I've started just bringing him in the tub with me. He LOVES LOVES LOVES it! He gets so excited when he hears the bath water running. I just hold his head out of the water and let him float. He goes crazy, kicking and splashing, pushing off the bottom of the tub and squirming all over. And if I take him out before he's ready to be done, he gets mad and pouts. He's never hated baths like all the baby books said most babies do. From the very first time, he's just kicked back and enjoyed the warm water. I took this picture on my phone because the camera was not close by and he just looked so adorable. I'm sad it's not the best quality because it's one of my favorite pics now.

Tristan's New Toy

2009-02-24T02:34:00.003-07:00

Tristan has been rather fussy lately when we try to lay him down on his play mat or even in his bouncer. He wants to be sitting up and looking around or standing up. So we went to Babies 'R Us today and bought him a new toy. It's looking like it will be a great investment! He LOVES it!!!

Puppy Tales

2009-02-17T04:08:00.009-07:00

I just finished Marley & Me by John Grogan (a read I would highly recommend to dog lovers) which got me thinking about the dogs I've had over the years and thought I would record some stories of them. My family has always had pets, either a dog or a cat, but usually both... and more than one of each. The first dog was Muffet. Since I was the intruder, this dog HATED me. According to my mom, Muffet regularly chewed up baby clothes, toys, etc. Sadly, the dog had to go. Here we are (notice my dad's hand holding the dog by the foot for the picture):

Maybe Muffet is the reason I don't like little dogs. Never have... probably never will. No offense to those of you with little dogs but to me, they just aren't dogs. If you can pick up and easily carry your "dog" around, it's not a REAL dog. :P

Next came Rosie. We got Rosie around the time I was 5 I think. She was a Miniature Collie mix with a reddish coat and black mask, she looked like a fox. Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of her in my many photos. Maybe my sister will have one she can send me and I can upload it later. Rosie was such a sweet, loving dog. She is the one that was there through all our childhoods. She was really my mom's dog though, she would follow her around everywhere and rarely would go on a walk without my mom there too.

This is Odie. Isn't he the most adorable thing ever! The summer before I started 8th grade, there was a family that lived in our neighborhood that had a litter of puppies. Unfortunately, they were not nice people and treated the puppies horribly just because they were not pure-bred. The mother was a pure-bred Springer Spaniel who was apparently very attractive to the pure-bred Black Lab that lived across the street because Odie was in her second litter with him. WARNING: the next part of this story is horrible so if you want, just skip ahead. I'm writing it as well so I remember later on for posterity's sake.

The first litter that Odie's mother had, her owner drowned because he didn't want the puppies. And Odie's litter were left outside with a pan of oatmeal for them to eat and one bowl of water for nine puppies. The owner kicked one of the puppies against his garage and killed it just because it crawled across his foot. He also shut the tail of one of the puppies in a door, breaking it and leaving it with a permanently crooked tail. They were only allowed a couple hours a day with their mother.

All of the horrible things the owner did led myself and a couple of other kids (mostly my idea) in the neighborhood to come up with an elaborate rescue mission to save the puppies. Because the owner didn't care about the puppies, kids were constantly taking them and playing with them for the day and then returning them later on. One night, I decided that I wasn't going to bring Odie back. I took my hard earned babysitting money and went to the store. I bought him a collar, leash, and food bowl and took him home. Now I knew there was no way that my parents would let me keep him unless I could sucker my mom into it, so the night I brought him home, I tried to hide him outside until my mom got home. My sister Caitlin and I chained him to the deck and left a bowl of water and food for him and TRIED to go inside. Everytime we'd try to go inside, he'd start crying. Eventually my dad came outside to see what the commotion was and there we were, standing over Odie trying to keep him quiet. I'm pretty sure he rolled his eyes and asked exactly what we thought we were doing. When my mom got home, I cried and spilled out the whole story about how mean the owner was and that we couldn't possibly take him back. My mom of course caved and said that we could keep him for a couple days until we could find another home for him. A few days came and went (with us also stealing 2 more of the puppies and giving them to other people) and we still had Odie. Then my parents said that we could keep him if my dad got transferred... that didn't happen. Then they said we could keep him if I cleaned my room... HAHA NEVER happened! By that point, Odie'd been with us for a couple months and was definitely part of the family.

He was such a goofy dog. When he was a puppy, he would run so fast that his back legs would come up even with his front legs so he would be running sideways. It was quite a sight to see! He would sleep in bed with me, scooting his butt under the covers and putting his head on the pillow. I would ride my bike with him inside my jacket or sweatshirt until he got too big (which didn't take long). Odie's favorite game was to run away from us so that we could chase him, and he would run for blocks! The only way to get him to come back was to run away from him so that he'd chase us and then try and grab him as he ran past us at full speed. Or my mom would have to drive to where he was and trick him into getting in the car for a ride. I loved that dog so much! Even after my family moved to Missouri, leaving me in Arizona, he knew my whistle if I whistled over the phone. He'd start searching for me. He was always excited to see me when I'd go to visit. He was 15 years old when my parents had to put him to sleep this last summer. I'm glad that he's no longer in pain but I do miss him.

Next came Junior. I got Junior the day my parents moved to Missouri. It was the first time I lived on my own and I couldn't imagine being without a dog. He's a really sweet, dumb dog. I lived on a horse ranch - really just a boarding farm for horses). The apartment (aka horrible trailer) had a small yard with a fence around it. The other side of the fence is where people would ride their horses by. Junior's dog house was right up next to the fence and he could jump up on it and see over the fence. So he would sit crouched on the dog house, watching through the slats in the fence, just as a rider would get up near where he was, Junior would jump up barking. He scared more than his fair share of the horses and riders and my landlord finally said that he would have to go if I couldn't keep him off the dog house. He was my bodyguard. When I got him, I was engaged to my ex-husband. Junior did not like him from day one (that really should have been clue one for me). He would stand in front of me when Tim would yell at me which unfortunately led him to get smacked instead of me. The best thing that ever happened for him was myself and Tim getting in an accident on the way to my parents house because we had to leave Junior with them and fly home without him. He now lives happily with my parents in Missouri where he has lots of room to run, horses to chase (even though he's been kicked), skunks to get sprayed by, etc., etc.

Now we come to these two crazy pups! If you've read my blog in the past, you've probably read some stories about them. Kallie is a shepherd-mix pound puppy. Chad and I got her about 2 months before we got married when she was 13 months old (she's nearly 6 now). She has the sweetest disposition and is so smart. I never worry about her around kids. When we first had her, I took her to a park to visit my friend who was nannying two 2 year olds. Of course all the kids at the park wanted to see the puppy. She just laid down and let them crawl all over her, pulling her fur, her ears, sticking their fingers in her face and she didn't move. She loves kids and is now starting to notice Tristan. She's also too smart sometimes. She's quite the escape artist. At one point, we had a doggy door on our back door so she could go in and out as she pleased when we were home. However, we would lock it when we left so she wasn't in the house by herself. She would always figure out a way to slide the locked, plastic guard up and get in the house. When we got rid of the door and would just leave her outside, she figured out how to open the sliding glass door and get in. We currently have the grass part of our yard fenced off so the dogs don't destroy the new grass we planted, and she keeps finding a way under or around the fence to get in the yard. She's Houdini dog!

We got Rocky a year after we were married. She is a Boxer/Rottweiler mix and because of that people think she's scary. Haha she's the farthest thing from scary. She has the worst underbite and her tongue is too long for her mouth so half the time she has at least half an inch of tongue hanging out over her teeth. She loves to cuddle me and always wants to play if we're willing. She's my rollerblading partner and often is exasperated with me because I slow down. I've recently been replaced in her heart as her number one. She now runs to Tristan when she's let in the house instead of to me. She kisses him and checks to make sure he's okay when he cries and if I'm out of the room, she will lay down guarding him until I come back. He thinks she's quite funny and just stares at her and laughs when she's jumping and running in circles. I think they're going to be quite good buddies.

Rocky and Kallie are the best of friends. Or more like sisters... haha because they have their spats. They are inseperable most of the time. If they escape the yard or house and decide to take themselves for a walk, they stay together. Kallie is like a big sister, I swear she gets Rocky to do things to see if she gets in trouble, if she does than Kallie will stay put, if she doesn't than here comes Kallie to join the party. They always each have their own bones but both want just one of them until it's gone and then they fight over the left over one. Kallie will steal the bone from Rocky and then Rocky comes running to me, looks up at me and whines. It's as if she's saying, Mooommmm! She took it! It's not fair, it's mine! After reading Marley & Me, I started thinking about the day when we'll lose one of our puppies. Tristan will lose one of his buddies and our family will be one member short. The best thing about the book though, is that it teaches us to enjoy the present and not worry about the future. I'm fully convinced dogs are furry little angels that we get to spend a few short years with, they love us unconditionally, watch over and guard our families and are always happy to see us. My mom always told us that our pets went to Heaven and I'm going to be very disappointed if they aren't there when I get there. :D

Jazz Fest

2009-01-29T00:20:00.005-07:00

Brandon and Jen (my BIL and SIL) have season tickets to the Jazz games. As part of their ticket package, they get a night for dinner with the Jazz players and a chance to get their autographs. They took us with them tonight and of course we brought Tristan. He was all decked out in his Jazz stuff that we bought him a few weeks ago. So stinkin cute! He was so not interested in looking at Chad take his picture... he was too busy watching the players on the court.

I hate to admit it but this kid really does love the Jazz games when they're on T.V. :P I'm just glad he can't yell at the television yet... I don't think I could handle him and Chad yelling. I got my Mehmet Okur jersey signed and we had Tristan's beanie signed by several of the players and Jerry Sloan. We'll have to get it framed or something. Top left to right is: Andre Kirilenko, Matt Harpring, CJ Miles, Darren Williams, Mehmet Okur & Jerry Sloan. Chad's jealous!

You could also have your picture taken with the Jazz Dancers so of course we had to have Tristan's picture taken with them. They all loved him! Everyone that was waiting in line behind us were oohing and ahhing over how cute he is... can't say I disagree!I have some videos of the babe but haven't figured out how to download them from the camera to the computer yet so you'll just have to wait on those. :D

Night Owls

2009-01-08T07:02:00.002-07:00

Well Tristan's slept two nights in his crib out of four. The others he's been downstairs with me while I work. And unless he's completely asleep, which you can see he is NOT in this picture, he wants me to hold him while I'm working. He'll happily sit/sleep on the Boppy as long as he's in my lap. I don't mind but it starts to kill my back after a few minutes. Such a stinker!

New Year... New Life

2009-01-06T04:28:00.004-07:00

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it's 2009 already! New Year's Eve this year was probably one of the most laid back, boring New Year's Eves I've ever had but it was one of the best. Chad wasn't feeling well so we just stayed home and watched LOST (so addicted) and spent time together, just our little family. It was fantastic!
As the new year starts, I can't help but think about how different our lives are from last year. We're parents now! I love being Mommy to this beautiful little boy. Haha even if it feels like he's eating 24/7. Tristan is so sweet and happy. I melt whenever he smiles at me. I thought I would be going stir-crazy being on maternity leave but I never did. I started back to work yesterday and really didn't want to. It was so hard! And I work from home! I can only imagine how hard it is for women who don't work at home, like my sister. We tried putting Tristan in his crib for the first time last night (it only lasted a few hours) and I could not fall asleep. I cried myself to sleep finally. I missed cuddling him to sleep and it just felt weird to not have him sleeping next to me. He's currently sleeping in his bassinet that is sitting next to my desk. I'm hoping that if he gets used to sleeping in there and I can let him fuss himself back to sleep without worrying about him waking up Chad, then I can transfer him to the crib soon without too much stress on either one of us.
We took Tristan to his 2 month check-up last Friday and the kid is a tank! His whole first month he didn't gain weight, we were fighting to get him back up to his birth-weight. He's definitely made up for it now. He was 13lbs, 2oz and 24 inches long. He's in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. The pediatrician told us to try and hold off until 4 months before giving him cereal but she said we'll probably end up having to start supplementing next month. He is hungry all the time and eats between 4 and 6 oz. each time. He's in 3-6 months clothes already and almost into stage 3 diapers. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, it's not like Chad and I would have a small child since we're both so tall.

So excited for the Utes Bowl Game

Rocky loves him just as much as we do... sometimes too much! Sorry the pic's so bad, it's just from my phone. There was no camera available at the time and it was too cute to pass up.

Look at that toothless smile and the chubby cheeks! Gotta love it!

Formal Pics

2008-12-01T13:48:00.006-07:00

Ryan took some fantastic photos of Tristan last weekend. Here are a few of my favorites. I can't wait for him to take our family pictures now!

Tristan!!!

2008-11-11T14:33:00.005-07:00

Just a quick post with some pics of the munchkin. Tristan arrived on 10/31/08 at 12:44 am (yay I got my Halloween baby). He was 8lbs, 4oz and 21 1/2 inches long. He's beautiful and wonderful and I'm loving every minute of being a mommy!

Our Little Pirate

So stinkin' cute!

Heading home from the hospital

Sleeping with his Daddy

In Response to...

2008-10-28T02:12:00.011-06:00

A few days ago I wrote a blog about my feelings about California's Proposition 8 and also on my opinion about homosexuality and gay marriage. I've recently received a couple of comments to that blog that I would like to respond to, so here it is.

First off, I asked for respect of my opinion when posting comments which I don't feel I received. I fully understand that there are many individuals that disagree with my opinion, including many of my close friends. I respect and welcome that. However, accusing someone of not following the prophet because I disagree with a stand that was made, is extremely offensive. Unfortunately, it seems to be a tactic that is used quite often by members of the LDS church, more often in Utah than elsewhere. Heavenly Father gave me this brain to think, question, analyze and wonder with and I'm grateful for that. I fully believe that he wants us to question everything; it will only make your testimony stronger, as it has mine.

I was not always of the opinion that people are born gay, though I've always thought that everyone should have the same rights as anyone else. It is through questioning, study and prayer that I've come to the realizations that I have. It is also through knowing and caring about people who have come out. I've noticed that many people who are so against gay marriage and homosexuality have not been a spectator to the agony that many go through before accepting who they are and coming out. A family member of a close friend recently came out after years of self-hatred, depression and anger about the feelings they'd ALWAYS had. Now that this individual has accepted that they were born this way and loves themself for who they are, they are happy. This person is also a strong member of the church and have one of the strongest testimonies I've ever seen. If it were your sister, brother, best friend, child, whoever, would you deny them happiness because you were always told that they were wrong? Would you shun them until they "decided" to live up to your standard of "normal" again? I certainly hope not. If so, I pity those individuals around you.

I'm not one who likes to debate (that would be my sister Halley). But I will always stand up for and defend those that I love and those that I feel are being treated unfairly. I will also fight, tooth and nail if I am attacked for my beliefs. Stating your opinion and attacking someone else because you disagree with them are two very different things. Please sit back and think about your approach before commenting. The only MORAL issue here is that we need to treat everyone the way that Christ taught us, with LOVE and without JUDGEMENT.

The last point I would like to make is this: I know that living in Utah, I'm most likely in the minority with my opinion. However, I had the courage to post a blog with said opinion and will happily voice that same opinion if asked and often, even when I'm not asked. My name and face are all over this blog, so that anyone would know who is stating her opinion. If you have such a strong belief about this (or anything else), have the courage to tell people who you are! By hiding behind the title of "anonymous" you just show that you are afraid. If you truly believe something, don't be a coward about it. State it proudly and stand by it! I would respect you and your opinion completely. Currently, I think you are a coward.

Locked and Loaded

2008-10-22T02:15:00.005-06:00

We went to the doctor today for my (now) weekly checkup. I'm dilated to not quite 3 centimeters (she said somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3) and 70% effaced. The doctor also stripped my membranes to see if we can kick this into gear. So apparently I could go any time now. :) My doctor leaves on Nov. 3rd to go to Texas for 3 days so she can take her boards, which means she gets back the day before my due date. I'd really like it if she was the one to deliver Tristan since we've been through everything with her. I go back Monday (if he hasn't come that is) and she'll see if I've advanced any further and will try stripping the membranes again. If he hasn't come, we'll most likely schedule an inducement for November 1st. Wow! Haha I just knew when she checked me that I wasn't even going to have started dilating yet... guess I was wrong! The doctor said I've probably been laboring for the last couple weeks and just didn't notice. The most I've had is some minor cramping. I keep expecting for something to really hurt and let me know that it's labor pains but so far... no go.

We're as ready as we'll ever be. His bag is packed, the carseat is in the car and ready to go, his nursery is all finished (see the pics below). I have my bag basically ready... it's all together, just not in a bag yet. I'm not nervous yet... but just wait until I'm in labor and I'm sure it will be a whole other story!

Strange creature

2008-10-21T04:17:00.003-06:00

This dog cracks me up... I just had to share. She's looking at the camera but she was sleeping just like this just seconds before. Does this really look comfortable? Rocky started out by being curled up next to me on the couch, then stretched out a bit and leaned into me, then slid her head down the belly to rest in my lap and last this position. I don't know how she sleeps like that!

Notice how spoiled the dogs are... we call them the Queens of Sheba because if they have the choice, they will A: sleep on the couch, B: find pillows on the ground and lay on those (they even dragged one of the couch pillows all the way upstairs to sleep on) or C: lay on the pile of cushions on the couch.

Proposition 8

2008-10-15T00:47:00.005-06:00

I've seen a few blogs lately and heard comments that have really bothered me. And I feel like if I don't say something, that I seem like I agree with those statements. So here it is... I'm FOR gay marriage. Now I know that this makes me a "bad mormon" in some people's eyes. However, if being accepting of all people no matter their race, religion or sexual orientation makes me a bad mormon than I'm all for it! The fact that the church is encouraging people to vote a specific way in the California elections really pisses me off. First off, the church has always said that they DO NOT tell their members how to vote... well I guess that's not so true anymore is it? I know a lot of non-members who are convinced that members of the LDS church all vote a certain way because the leadership tells them what to do and until now I've been able to say no that's not true. The fact that the church has so openly encouraged the members in California to vote for Proposition 8 and told members that do not live there to encourage people they know in CA to vote for Proposition 8 will just make people think that we do in fact vote the way "we're told".

I do NOT believe that allowing two consenting adults to choose to marry is somehow going to destroy the family as it is considered today. A family is someone who will love and care for you. That could include a number of individuals, not just mom, dad and 2.5 children.

I do NOT believe that giving someone the right to spend their life with the person they love and cherish even if they are the same sex will hurt anyone else. It wasn't too long ago that inter-racial marriage was against the law in many states. Looking back, how stupid was that?

I DO believe that we are all God's children and it is not our place to judge anyone. We are told often that it is not up to us to judge anyone for the life they live.

I DO believe that teaching our children to be accepting and respectful of all people will make the world a better place.

I DO believe that we are born wired the way we are. Some of us are attracted to the opposite sex and some the same sex. That doesn't make anyone a bad or evil person.

All this Proposition is doing is pushing fear, hate and intolerance. Three things that we do not need in our world and should be fighting against, not for. So I would encourage anyone that I know in CA to vote AGAINST Prop. 8 on election day.

I do not mean to offend anyone with this post. If you disagree with my opinion, that is your right and I respect that. I simply felt the need to make my view known. Feel free to leave comments, just do so with respect to myself and others.

Cranky!

2008-10-09T23:26:00.002-06:00

I've noticed I've been rather cranky lately. Or I just don't have the patience I did before. The littlest things are annoying me right now. :) But I can blame it all on the hormones right? I can't wait to get back to normal... althought I'm not sure that what I once considered normal will ever be the same again.
Today's latest thing that made me cranky: There's a couple in our birthing class that already drive me crazy. The husband especially! He's very opinionated about how the birthing process is supposed to go and what should or should not be done. And if he's contradicted, he gets condescending and snotty. A couple weeks ago, the teacher was discussing all the medical stuff involved in having a baby which included covering Epidurals and other drugs offered. When she was done she asked if everyone was planning on having a "natural birth". He scoffed and very snidely said, well I would think so if we're in this class. I of course had to say ummm actually... I'm not decided. I just want to be prepared as best I can for whatever happens. He looked at me like I was the devil and that I was going to burn in hell for even considering an epidural. So at today's class, the teacher brought in the empathy belly for the dads to try on and see how it feels (even though they'll never completely understand) and everyone BUT this guy tried it on. His wife kept trying to get him to do it and he flat out refused. He leaned over and told his wife that he didn't need to understand since he would never have to go through it. I about chucked my birthing book at his pin-head. Haha that would have been fun! Fortunately I only have one more week of class to contain my crankiness towards him. Hopefully I can make it! ;)

He's almost here and it's getting real!

2008-09-09T23:42:00.006-06:00

We're down to 8 weeks until Tristan's due date and it's finally starting to sink in. I had to go get a new bassinet this week since ours was recalled. For those of you who don't know, Chad and I have had some baby stuff for about 2 1/2 years now. He likes to be prepared and we had some extra money to spend at the time so we bought some of our big stuff. We have a portable crib, swing, car seat / stroller combo and the bassinet. I really liked our bassinet but a couple weeks ago it was recalled because a couple of babies had essentially hung themselves in it. Yeah, definitely don't want that in our house! It was a Simplicity 3-in-1 Bassinet and oddly enough, Simplicity has yet to issue a safety recall. However, Babies-R-Us and a couple other stores have recalled it thankfully so we were able to return it and get our money back. I was fine with that until I couldn't find a bassinet that I liked as much. I had wanted one that would hook directly to our bed but I haven't had much luck, especially since our bed is so tall. I was finally able to settle on one that I liked. Though it doesn't hook to the bed, I love it. Here's a pic of it:

Isn't it cute! And the best part is that it matches our newly refurnished/decorated bedroom perfectly. The colors are an exact match! Notice the handles on the sides? Simply push the buttons in and the whole basket pops off for easy transportation around the house. Definitely a selling point for me! And my other favorite thing is that we'll get more than a couple months use out of this product because once Tristan moves into his bedroom to sleep, it converts to a baby bouncer. See:

I love it! Such a good idea! I came home and put it together right away (haha and have yet to move it upstairs out of the family room). As I was watching TV with Chad the other night I just kept looking at it. It's the first thing that we've bought that I'm really excited about and it made Tristan's arrival seem very real.

On another note, we started our birthing class last week. It lasts for 7 weeks, with the last 2 weeks being a class on breastfeeding. So hopefully he doesn't decide to come early or I may be calling those of you who have breastfed for pointers on what to do! Last week was pretty much a review of stuff we already knew and Chad said he felt like he was in Kindergarten because it was kind of boring and nothing new to us. This week should be a bit more enlightening since we will be going over labor and delivery. We are definitely the black sheep in our class though... we're the only ones with an actual doctor. Everyone else has a midwife. We also have the closest due date but I'm like half the size of the other girls in the class. Let me tell you... that got me a few dirty looks when I told everyone when we were due. It's not my fault I'm tall and have a long torso! Sheesh! ;) I haven't decided yet if I'm going the drug-free route or opt for the epidural. I'm leaning more towards an epidural but I do want to have the option to not do so. Hence, the birthing class. How many of you have had an epidural? Any suggestions or opinions on the matter?

Lastly, I had my first shower last weekend. My sister-in-law, Jennifer threw my "family" shower. It was fun and we got a bunch of cute stuff! This kid will be well dressed! :D Thanks Jen for the shower and to everyone that came!

Stretch Marks and Flintstone Feet

2008-08-17T23:17:00.005-06:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I last wrote. I'm such a slacker! In my defense it has been a bit crazy the last couple of weeks. We went to Missouri to visit my family (and then go to Nauvoo for my sister's wedding). I don't mind Missouri in the spring time when it's rainy and comfortable but I don't know if I EVER want to go back in August. Hahaha at least not pregnant. It was around 100 degrees the first few days we were there (which I can handle) but on top of the heat was the 95% humidity! Ugh! My hands and feet were so swollen and no matter how much I elevated them they would not go back to normal. My new brother-in-law, Johnny, nicknamed me Brittany Rubble. :P The picture does not do justice to just how swollen they were! Now that we're home, back in the lovely dry desert weather my feet have gone back to mostly normal. Phew! I was worried they'd stay that way until November! I've also begun to get stretchmarks. Nothing horrible, but a few are a little random. I'll just lotion the belly up and hope for the best but I'm not super worried about it.

Now that I've whined a bit, I thought I would write my top 10 favorite things about being pregnant (I've only got 80 days to go until the due date so I better enjoy them now):

10. Now that I'm finally showing people are a lot more courteous, ie: they hold doors open, ask if I would like to go ahead of them in line, etc.

9. Complete strangers smile at me when they notice the belly.

8. Expectant Mother's parking at the mall! Normally I park in the back for the walk but my feet hurt enough as it is without adding walking across hot blacktop to it. ;)

7. Registering for all the cute baby stuff.

6. Envisioning Tristan and the nursery in said baby stuff.

5. Checking the pregnancy book every week to see where the baby is at in his growth and what he's up to in there.

4. Putting our nursery together.

3. Chad talking to his son via the belly. Makes me smile every time.

2. Tristan kicking/bumping/punching Chad's hand when he's talking to him.

1. Feeling Tristan move around at any given moment or watching my belly jump as he changes position.

I'm sure I could think of more things to add to the list but I think this is sufficient. It definitely makes the few inconveniences that come with being pregnant seem very minimal. Especially with how difficult it was for us to get here. Here's a more recent pic of the belly... 28 weeks along.

Bump Watch

2008-07-14T02:52:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the baby bump since I don't get to see everyone on a regular basis. I was told today that I'm barely showing for being almost 6 months. I guess I'm just lucky that I have a long torso so there's plenty of room for him to grow! I felt him move - when touching my stomach - for the first time yesterday, but every time I'd try to get Chad to feel him, he'd stop moving. Haha Tristan's being difficult already! I took both pictures at 22 weeks.

I finally bought some more maternity pants yesterday. The belly band on the new ones is much softer and thinner material so it doesn't show under my clothes like the ones I have on the pictures. Which I much prefer!

100 Things All About Me

2008-07-03T00:50:00.006-06:00

So I recently read a list of 100 things about my friend on her blog and thought it would be an interesting challenge. Can I really come up with 100 things all about me? Guess we're about to find out huh? Hmm maybe I'll just start with the easy stuff and go from there.

1. I've been happily married to Chad for almost 4 years.
2. Pretty much every anniversary we have has happened on the 14th of the month: Our first date was Valentine's Day, we were engaged 3 months later on May 14th and married 3 months after that on August 14th. We miscarried on January 14th and then miraculously conceived again one month later on (I'm 99% positive) on February 14th.
3. This is my 2nd marriage. I married my "high school sweetheart" when I was 19 and then divorced him at 21. Not a good 2 years but I learned a lot about myself and how strong I can be.
4. I don't think I have, but most everyone I know thinks I've moved around a lot. I was born in Minnesota, lived there until I was 4. Moved to South Dakota and lived there until I was 16 when my family moved to Arizona. I lived there until I was 22 and then moved here to Utah.
5. If you count all the different houses I've lived in, then yes I've moved... way too much. MN: 2 houses. SD: 1 (and a half if you count the house we lived for a couple months). AZ: 7 houses/apts. UT: 6 houses/apts. For a grand total of 16. :P
6. When I was younger, I would write skits and plays and make my siblings help perform them.
7. We also came up with great games that only we know, such as the "Plunger Game". :) If you want explanation on that, you'll have to ask.
8. I've always been content just being by myself. My mom tells me I've been that way since I was a baby. If I've had several days in a row with people constantly around, I crave my alone time.
9. I've always wanted a pet snake or lizard. But since I apparently married a sissy (love you Chad), I'm never allowed to have one.
10. I blame my mom for my love of all animals, both warm and cold blooded. She used to catch gardener snakes in our backyard and let us hold them. She even kept one for a few days in a glass bowl in our garage until it escaped.
11. Because of my mom's love of animals, we could pretty much sucker her into letting us bring animals home. They ended up with a dog and a cat because they "followed us home".
12. The dog that "followed" us home, I actually stole. :) I smile because I stole him and 3 of his brothers and sisters because they were being abused by their owners. We kept Odie, gave 2 to neighbor families and donated one to the Children's Miracle Network to be auctioned off for charity. My parents still had Odie until about a month ago when they finally had to put him to sleep, he was almost 15 years old, pretty good for a black lab.
13. Though I love animals, bugs pretty much creep me out. I'm not afraid to kill them but they still give me the willies! The only bug I make Chad kill is earwigs... I just can't bring myself to get near them.
14. I was never scared of bugs or spiders when I was younger. We used to collect the pill bugs and millipedes on the playground and put them in wet paper towels. I'm not sure why! I remember putting them on the desk of a substitute once though.
15. I used to hate my name. I remember always changing it to something new when I was in 2nd grade. :) My teacher never said a word though. The only 2 I remember for sure was Virginia (ugh, I can't believe I liked that name!) and Tiffany.
16. I was in Girl Scouts from kindergarten through 5th grade but always thought the Boy Scouts would be better. They always got to do the fun stuff and get dirty!
17. I've never been girly (my sisters cornered the market on that one) and it took me until I was in my 20's to even be able to curl my own hair. I think I've found a healthy mix now between girly and tom-boyish.
18. I'm glad to be having a little boy because little girls scare me. One, because I'm afraid I'll end up with a girly-girl and won't know what to do with her. And two, because I was a horrible teenager and I'm afraid of retribution for how I was toward my parents!
19. Having this baby both excites me and scares the bejebus out of me! As mentioned previously in #8, I enjoy my alone time and I'm afraid I may go crazy if I don't get that every once in a while. I also worry that I will totally screw up and be lost as to what to do.
20. I'm quite a voracious reader. I love books... especially history. And it drives me crazy when people tell me they hate to read. I just want to smack them in the forehead like on those V-8 commercials. :P
21. I failed Word Processing in high school but can now type about 100 words per minute. I didn't fail because I couldn't type, I just had a crazy teacher.
22. I had horrible grades in school, not because I didn't know the info but because I didn't care and quite often didn't turn in my homework. Chad doesn't understand how anyone can be like that.
23. I failed Geometry twice because my brain just does not work that way! But I used to drive my teacher crazy because I would sit and draw my "optical illusions" in class and they are quite geometric in nature.
24. I finally went back to school at 26 and love it and worry about my grades. I'm quite proud of the fact that I have a 3.6 gpa and was asked to join the International Honor Society.
25. I've never ditched (or sluffed for you Utah people) school. My parents basically put the fear of God in me about ditching.
26. I have however, ditched plenty of seminary. I basically went once a week the whole 2nd semester of my junior year and 1st semester of my senior year. I often went home and hung out with my mom though and she was okay with it because I had a horrible teacher. I still graduated with 4 years of seminary though!
27. A lot of "Utah" words drive me crazy... Sluff being one of them. The Utah accent also drives me crazy.
28. I think Utah is beautiful but really worry about raising my kids here. I think that being surrounded by "the church" and a high population of members is actually detrimental to gaining a testimony.
29. I've been baptised twice. I was sprinkled as a baby and then dunked when I was 8.
30. My parents are converts to the LDS church and both are amazing examples to me of what it means to have a testimony.
31. I love to learn about pretty much everything and retain quite a bit of information. A girl I used to work with called me Rainman because I remember the most random stuff.
32. I have a complex about eating in restaurants by myself... I just can't do it. I blame it on the fact that I had no friends in 9th grade and ate by myself every day in a lunch room packed with people.
33. I used to be very shy and quiet and usually let people walk all over me just so that I had "friends".
34. Moving to Arizona was the best thing that could have happened to me because it made me break out of my shell and become more outgoing.
35. They call me the mean one at work because I'll tell it like it is and won't hold back.
36. I'm much more protective of my friends and family than I am of myself.
37. I often forgive people repeatedly and let them back in my life no matter how badly they may have hurt me or screwed me over in the past. It's a flaw but I'd rather be more forgiving than bitter and angry.
38. I have an insatiable need to "fix" people. My parents used to call my friends the stray of the month club because they were usually very screwed up in one way or another and I would try to help them.
39. The only people that I'm still friends with from when I was a child are my sisters and brother. Chad finds that weird because his group of friends has not changed and most of them are like family.
40. My absolute favorite song is Pachelbel's Canon. I heard it at a symphony when I was 7 and I've loved it ever since. If I'm ever upset, sad, scared, etc. all I have to do is turn on that song and it calms me down... works every time!
41. I love all kinds of music. Chad calls me a human juke box because I know most songs that come on the radio.
42. I love to sing and must say I don't have a bad voice. My mom made sure all her kids took choir and music classes and we all enjoy singing.
43. I played the flute from 5th grade through high school. I've lost a lot of my ability but can still play the scales pretty well.
44. I marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1994 with my high school band (yes, I was a band geek).
45. I've never been very good at sports. I usually went off in a daydream (much like JD from Scrubs) and was oblivious to what was going on around me.
46. I scored a goal for the other team - twice - when I played soccer when I was 6. I was more interested in doing cartwheels on the field.
47. Even though I sucked at organized sports, I rocked at 4 square! Haha probably had something to do with the fact that I was almost always the tallest kid playing.
48. I'm between 5'10" and 5'11". My height used to make me really self conscious and I would slouch horribly to appear shorter. I love it now and confidently wear heels that make me as tall as my husband (6'3").
49. My mom is 5'1" and my dad is 6'3" so you know where I get my height from.
50. Hallelujah, I'm half way done. I should really be working right now but it's very slow and this is keeping me entertained.
51. I have 2 dogs, Kallie and Rocky. Rocky thinks she's my child and will whine if she doesn't get her daily cuddle time.
52. I love to just go for drives. Though the mountains are pretty here, I miss being able to go out driving in the Arizona desert in the middle of the night.
53. My friends and I used to drive to the Denny's in Payson, Arizona (about 45 minute drive from Mesa) in the middle of the night even though there was a Denny's less than a mile from our house.
54. I love to people watch. I always wonder what their story is and love to hear about my friends lives and their families.
55. Genealogy is so interesting to me. My family is related to Jesse James and the Younger Gang and Chad's great-great-great Grandfather was one of the people that rowed Joseph Smith across the Mississippi river to escape Nauvoo right before he was arrested and put in Carthage jail where he was killed.
56. Though I sometimes get burned out with working, I love my job. I'm so grateful that I can work at home now and still do my job. Though most people think the hours are crazy, I really don't mind.
57. I take pride in my work ethic. One of my biggest pet-peeves are people who flit from job to job and don't do their best when at those jobs.
58. I was laid off of a job for being "too fast and efficient". No joke! They told me I worked too hard and was too fast at what I was doing (graphic design) and they just couldn't keep me busy.
59. I think I'm a good listener and a good shoulder to cry on. I'll happily sit and listen to my friends vent for hours if they need it.
60. I've been referred to countless times as not normal for a mormon. And I'm quite proud of that living in Utah. I love that my opinions and my beliefs on a range of topics differ from the masses.
61. One of those opinions: I'm all for gay rights and was very happy when California passed the law saying that gay couples could marry.
62. I hate when people judge others because of their lifestyle, religion, race, etc. I try very hard to be accepting of everyone and hope I can pass that on to my children.
63. I have very strong opinions on things but hate to argue with someone who disagrees. I love to have discussions with anyone on their opinions but I will usually sit back if someone starts telling me what I believe or should believe. I fully believe that everyone has a right to their opinion and beliefs and no one should try and force theirs on another person.
64. I wish I was more comfortable in my own skin. I'm envious of people who don't have to struggle with losing weight or keeping it off.
65. It drives me up a wall when said people complain about being fat when they have absolutely no reason to think that. I usually think they are trying to get people to tell them they look great just so they feel good about themselves.
66. I was my mom's biggest baby at 9lbs, 4oz and 22 inches long. And as I stated in #49, my mom is a little lady just barely over 5 foot tall. I fear that I'm going to have a 15lbs baby just as payback for what I did to my mom.
67. I'm the oldest of 4 kids and often mother everyone whether I realize I'm doing it or not.
68. Though we often wanted to kill each other as kids, I love my sisters and brother and know that I can always count on them.
69. I love having inside jokes and stories whether it's with my friends or family. It just makes me feel like I have an unbreakable connection with that person.
70. I didn't realize it would take so much effort to find 100 things to say about myself but I'm impressed that I've been able to find at least 70 things!
71. I have 3 all time favorite books that I've read several times each. 1st is the Count of Monte Cristo (6 times), 2nd is Roots (13 or 14 times) and 3rd is Gone With the Wind (10 or more times).
72. I like the movies that were made for Count of Monte Cristo and Gone With the Wind but they do no justice to the stories themselves. And I just can't watch the mini-series for Roots because they changed the story so much!
73. I love to watch movies. We own around 500 DVD's and our family room is decorated with movie posters, only one of which is not a rated "R" movie.
74. I love working in our house and seeing rooms transformed. We've slowly changed most rooms in our house since we got married and I love it!
75. We're currently redoing our kitchen and downstairs bathroom and it drives me nuts that I can't help with the painting etc.
76. I'm an extremely independent person and hate asking for help when I know I can do something on my own. The girls I work with keep telling me to play the pregnancy card but it's just not in me to try and get out of doing something I know I'm perfectly capable of doing just because I'm prego.
77. I enjoy going on vacation but am always ready to come home after about a week. I'm more of a home-body than I ever thought I would be.
78. I've lived in Minnesota and Arizona and have never been to Mexico or Canada. In fact, I've never been out of the country.
79. If all goes as planned, I get to go to Prague next year for work and I'm so excited!
80. My life is not at all as I pictured it would be as a child and teenager but I wouldn't change any of it.
81. You never think you'll appreciate the trials in your life when you're going through them but I'm grateful for every single one I've been through. They've all molded me in one way or another.
82. I associate music with events in my life. It always fascinates me that I can hear a song from high school and instantly remember a person, or place or event and remember just how I felt then.
83. I can't believe how fast time goes once you graduate from high school. It's hard to believe that I graduated 10 years ago and I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to slow down and enjoy that time because it will be gone before you know it.
84. I hate people who are two-faced (who really likes people like that though?). Don't pretend you like me or that you're my friend and then talk smack the minute my back is turned. I'd much rather people were up front with me. If you don't like me, too bad. I know who my real friends are and I don't need fake people in my life.
85. Our baby's name will be Tristan. People ask me all the time what happens if he doesn't look like a Tristan and I just think that's silly. :) I think it was meant to be; Chad and I both decided a long time before we ever knew each other that we each wanted to have a son named Tristan. It's fate!
86. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I was pretty close to suicidal as a teenager. My mom tells me now that I had her really worried for a while. All the poetry and stories I would write were about suicide and being lonely. My journal is full of statements basically saying that I didn't want life to go on after death, I just wanted it to be over.
87. I realize how precious life is and how our behavior can affect others around us. I've tried very hard to show my young women how their actions affect their friends and enemies.
88. I'm not a secretive person... what you see is what you get and I have no problem sharing with most anyone.
89. I'm grateful for all the people that Heavenly Father has placed in my path, both good and bad.
90. I love my husband very much and am so happy he's never given up on me... I know it's been hard sometimes.
91. I'm excited for the next stage in our life with this coming baby and all the changes that will result because of him.
92. I have stacks and stacks of my drawings as well as a book full of them but I've never done anything with them. I wish there was an easy way to share my creativity (or insanity depending on how you look at it) with others and possibly make some money.
93. I can hear the boo's and hisses now but I don't really like Disney Land. Haha Chad hates it because he and his family love to go there.
94. I do love rollercoasters and thrill rides. I would much rather go to Six Flags and give myself whiplash from all the rollercoasters any day than go ride the teacups in Disney Land.
95. I've wanted to go sky diving for the longest time but I've never actually done it. Maybe I'll be that old lady on her 70th birthday finally jumping out of a plane. It's definitely on my "bucket list".
96. I love to buy foods that my mom never let us have as kids. Especially Kraft Singles and white bread. Haha they make the best grilled cheese sandwiches but my mom was always thinking of our health... blah!
97. I'm now craving a grilled cheese sandwich and am going to make one as soon as I can come up with 3 more things about myself.
98. I haven't had any weird cravings with my pregnancy. I've noticed more what things do not sound good... like Cafe Rio! Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love that place! This kid is crazy!
99. Haha he must know I'm talking about him because he suddenly started kicking me and moving around.
100. I now feel rather narcistic because I've been talking about myself so much... and yet, strangely satisfied.

Here comes Tristan!!!!

2008-06-17T00:14:00.007-06:00

Well he's definitely a boy! And quite proud of the fact as well! This is the first shot we got as soon as the Ultra Sound tech put the wand on my belly.

Just in case you are not proficient in reading ultrasounds the important part is that little thing sticking out of the crescent moon shape. Haha and I just realized that referring to it as a little thing could be seen as offensive to him later in life! Sorry the pictures aren't very good, I took them off the U.S. with my phone because my scanner isn't working at the moment. Here's another good one of him waving (he did that a lot).

He kept showing us his hands. The tech said that it's pretty rare that they stretch out their fingers like he was doing, I guess they normally keep their hands in fists. He wasn't being very cooperative about showing us his profile though. He kept looking right at us so we have a couple "Skeletor" type pictures but not a very clear profile shot. If he's being this stubborn already I'm in trouble!

In case you can't tell, that's his face in the upper right corner with his hands on either side. haha he's playing peek-a-boo already! Just a little creepy but still very cool.

Chad and I went and worked on some registry stuff today. It was fun being able to pick out the boy stuff. Chad was enjoying himself getting "his boy" all kinds of sports stuff. Very sweet! This is going to be so much fun!

Drum Roll Please

2008-06-10T04:25:00.003-06:00

I know you've all been waiting for the verdict and I've been horrible about blogging so.... the doctor is 90% sure we're having a little boy!!! :) When we went in for our ultrasound 2 weeks ago it was actually too early for them to do the full medical check through the ultrasound so they told us no go. We were pissed! And not just because we were so excited to find out the sex but because they didn't let us know until we were at the doctor's office for the appointment. Our doctor felt bad because it was her adding error that had us come in too early so she suckered the ultrasound tech into doing a quick (and free) ultrasound to see if we could see if the baby was a boy or girl. First off, he was sleeping and he is definitely my child. When the U.S. Tech pushed the wand on my stomach trying to get the baby to move, he threw his arm up like "Leave me alone!" haha Soooo my child! I've been calling the baby he/him/Tristan since the appointment so it would be pretty funny if we went in on Thursday and they said, just kidding, it's a girl. He wasn't being very cooperative but the tech was able to get him to move enough that she said she's almost certain it's a boy. So we go back this Thursday for the "official" ultrasound. They'll do all the health stuff they need to to make sure the baby is good and healthy and we'll get pictures then. Chad was disappointed for maybe half a second that they didn't say girl but now he's super excited. I am too.I must admit that I think I'll do better with a boy then I would with a girl... especially once they reach the dreaded teenage years! Looks like I'll be changing my page to something with blue.

I also started my new shift last week. It's not horrible but it's not easy yet either. It is currently 4:35 a.m. and I'm trying to stay awake. I'm good as long as I stay busy but if I let up I get drowsy. And it's not like I haven't gotten enough sleep because I definitely did yesterday... I think my body is still on my old schedule and it's going to take a couple more weeks before this feels normal. Monday's are pretty much always going to be hellish because I have to get back up at 9 a.m. for a meeting with my team. I don't have to go in or anything, it's just over the phone but a lot of the time it's kind of pointless and I'd much rather be sleeping. Today/Yesterday was horrible: I worked my normal shift, so 11pm to 7am and then one of our sales people set up a phone conference with one of my clients from 7 to 8 and by the time that was over, there wasn't any point in me trying to get some sleep before the meeting so I just stayed up. I didn't end up getting to sleep until around 10:30 or so. This poor baby is going to be so confused! Oh well... it's all worth it in the end!

Update on our baby

2008-05-14T15:10:00.003-06:00

I guess it's time to update on OUR baby. :) He or she is in there and doing well. We heard the heartbeat a couple weeks ago at the doctor which was very cool. I relaxed quite a bit after that as well. I will be 15 weeks tomorrow and am actually starting to feel pregnant. Haha, my pants no longer fit. I can button them still but it's so not comfortable with the little bump popping out. So I went and bought a couple pairs of maternity pants last night. My problem now is that I'm in between sizes so the pants are a little bit baggier than I would have liked but I'll probably grow into them. At this point I haven't gained any weight... in fact I've lost weight every time I've gone to the doctor. I'm not complaining though since I know I've got some extra to lose. The doctor hasn't said anything about it yet either so I'm not worried. I'm trying to be good about eating veggies and not overdoing it with other foods which actually isn't that difficult since I fill up so fast.
My appointment for the ultrasound is on May 29th. Any votes on if it will be a boy or a girl? Chad has his fingers still tightly crossed for a girl and I think it may be. :) But I think that's probably because I know how much he's hoping for a little girl and I want him to be happy (not that he wouldn't be if it was a boy). Only 2 more weeks but the suspense is killing me! I apparently need to still work on this whole having patience thing!

Newest Member of the Family

2008-04-30T10:59:00.007-06:00

My sister had her beautiful little boy last night. His name is Justice Kyng Brathwaite. He was 6lbs 13oz and 20 inches long. So little! Of course as tiny as Caitlin was, he probably didn't have much room to grow! It's so weird to think that my little sister is a mommy now and so exciting!

Here are a couple of pictures of the newest addition to the clan:

This is Caitlin and her new little boy.

And this is Justice (he looks just like his mom!)

Sorry, they're a little blurry since they are camera phone pictures.

I get to go to Scottsdale to visit her in May. My mom will also be there so I'll get to see both of them. It's going to be bloody hot but it will be fun to see her since it's been almost a year since we saw each other last.

Change of Schedule

2008-04-24T08:40:00.002-06:00

Chad and I have been worrying about what we're going to do once the baby is here for daycare. Chad's sister had originally told us she would watch him/her but her plans have since changed. So we've been stressing a bit, even though it is a little early to worry too much. We've been considering all kinds of options. Ideally I'd like to be able to just quit and stay home but with the housing market the way it has been lately, that's not really possible. (For those of you who don't know, Chad owns his own company designing homes.) So for a while at least, I have to keep working. The company I work for is an IT Research firm and we have many international clients. The only way we're allowed to work at home is by doing the European shift which is at night. They were also thinking of adding a shift for our Australia/Asia clients but not for a while. Last Thursday morning my boss asked me if I would possibly be interested in doing a second European shift. He said it wouldn't be for a while but he just wanted to know if I was interested. I told him yes and went back to work. A couple hours later he called our whole team to his office and said that Dawn, our European Client Rep. has decided to stay home with her kids and we would be needing a new CR for that time shift. I took it! Granted it's happening a whole lot sooner than I expected but hopefully that will help me get used to the schedule before the baby is born. Starting on May 19th I will be working from 11pm to 7am. The time sounds daunting but I have worked nights before and actually loved it. So now I get to stay home. It was definitely an answer to our prayers. The worst is going to be getting used to that schedule since I'm falling asleep about 10 o'clock. It will probably take me a good month but then I'll be fine! I'm actually pretty excited. Not only do I get to be home but since I'm the European CR I will be the one to go to our annual European conference. This year I won't be able to since it's in October and I will be 8 months pregnant but next year for sure!

The Meat Dilemma

2008-04-23T15:26:00.003-06:00

Lately I've been having struggles with eating meat... the thought of putting meat in my mouth and chewing makes me gag. Even just writing about it! Last night I made this yummy chicken dish that Chad and I have had before. First of all, he had to put the chicken in the pan because I just can't bring myself to touch the raw meat. When we pulled it out of the oven it looked and smelled quite tasty but the second I cut into the chicken I about lost it. I thought huh, that's interesting and tried again and about ran to the bathroom. So I told chad just to eat the chicken and I'd make something else and eat some of the rice that I'd made with the chicken. I took one bite of the rice and gagged because it had touched the chicken and that's all I could picture! Haha! It was awful! I ended up making some grilled cheese sandwiches and had some chips and a smoothy I made.
So I have a bit of a dilemma. I know I need to be eating some meat for the protein for the baby, but at this point it's just not happening. Hamburger seems to be about the only thing I can handle without gagging and even that is iffy at times. Has anyone else had this problem when they were/are pregnant? Any suggestions of things I could eat to compensate for not eating the meat?
I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow and for the most part the nausea I've been experiencing (only at night) is abating but now is when I start feeling like I might really get sick. It's pretty funny! I thought it was supposed to be easier after 12 weeks but it seems harder now! Alright, enough complaining! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

40th Anniversary

2008-04-04T11:48:00.004-06:00

Today is the 40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination so in honor of him I thought I would post a video of one of his most famous speeches. As well as a paper I wrote recently on the feelings I had after first really viewing and listening to his words.

I was brought to tears by reading and watching the, “I Have a Dream”, speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I could feel the emotion in the words. King truly believed what he was preaching. His speech was not just his hopes and dreams for the future, but also a warning to people of what could happen if they went too far in the other direction. He warned them not to let themselves be absorbed with hate. He warned them not to resort to violence because there was already enough violence against them. He warned white America that they were not going to just lie down and take it anymore. It was time for a change, time to pay on a long overdue debt.
“It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” I love this section of the speech because he is telling the whole world that, “We are here and we deserve as much any white man, and we refuse to back down”. It is an inspiration to me that they could stand up to such adversity and praise God for what they had and what they hoped to one day have.
While watching the speech, I was in awe of how many people were there. It was a really incredible thing to see. I was honestly surprised at how many white people were in attendance. I think we are often taught that black people were alone and had to struggle against all of white America, when in fact they had support and even white individuals fighting in the trenches with them. Many Americans probably had the same hopes and dreams for the future that Martin Luther King had. My grandparents taught my parents to respect everyone, and that no woman or man is better than another because of the color of their skin or for any other reason. They may not have been on the front lines with the African Americans but they had begun to change beliefs in their own homes.
King dreamed that one day his children would be able to live in a world that was just and treated them as equals. Have we reached that point? I believe that we have come closer to the end but we still have quite a bit of work left to do. There is still racism in our country and barriers that keep individuals back from realizing their dreams. We as Americans need to continue or to start teaching our children to love instead of hate. The best way to do this is by our example. We must watch how we treat other people, what we say and do in our homes will be reflected in our children.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is still alive today and the struggle continues. May we choose to follow the outline of his speech; to “work together, to pray together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”, to become the great nation that he describes.