my chatter

breaking dawn

2011-11-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

i went to the midnight showing last night. yes i'm crazy and i was also super dissapointed. did anyone else see it? what did you think?

long time no blog

2011-11-03T11:53:00.000-06:00

it's been a while. i've been given a bigger workload at work lately so i've had no time to blog (yes i blog at work). so i guess i'll pick up where i left off....
the week we got back from lagoon tragedy struck in the life of my very dear friend. she was 36 weeks along in her pregnancy and she went to the doctor and found out that her sweet baby had not survived. she went in the next day to deliver her beautiful baby girl, and later that week they had a beautiful graveside service and laid baby kynlee to rest. my friend has been through a lot in life and then to have this put on her as well breaks my heart. she is the strongest woman i know, and a fantastic mother to her 6 year old boy. this experience that she has had to go through really threw me for a loop and has been on my mind constantly since it happened. life is hard, and for some it's really hard. i try not to take a moment for granted because we never know when our whole life will change in an instant......
on to happier things. at the beginning of october we hit our 1 year mark for being in our house! for a whole year we were trying to get our house built and it seemed like it took FOREVER, and now the year that we have lived there has flown by.
we celebrated halloween. it was very low key. no trick-or-treating, but we did dress stone up and take him to grandparents houses, and i dressed up for work....

my cute little mickey mouse. he is at a stage where he doesn't want his picture taken and won't sit still. so these are the best we have.

and i was an ice princess....

yes, i was crazy enough to wear my wedding dress as a halloween costume. and it was awful! wedding dresses were not made to be comfortable...and mine is not. but it was fun to dress up. brandy and i got together early that morning and helped each other get ready. we had fun.

the costume didn't turn out as i had planned but oh well. i think we look pretty cute.

my little one turned 2! and we had a little party for him. he was spoiled to the max from his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. and now he's all grown up!
he went from this

to this:

and now to this:

he's so big and smart! he can spell his name, sing his abc's, count to 15, knows all his colors and shapes, and can speak in full scentences! where does the time go?
that's our life in a nutshell recently.....

annual lagoon trip

2011-09-22T12:23:00.000-06:00

over the weekend we went on our annual lagoon trip, and we squeezed hogle zoo in this time too. we saw some cool animals

and played with the kiddos (i should say, the kiddos played together and had a blast)

my boy is happiest when he can go, do, and see what he wants, so running around the play area was his favorite thing.
The next morning we went to cracker barrel for breakfast and then hit up lagoon. we went to the kiddie rides first thinking we would wear stone and mya out and then while they napped we would do the big kid rides. i thought for sure that stone would love all of the rides...and he did like some of them

but a few of them he really didn't like

i felt so bad watching him cry on this one, but by the end he had settled himself down and was fine.

he didn't cry on this one, but he clung to my shirt for dear life, and when we got off he looked at me and said, "too fast, scary". he was a trooper though. we had so much fun!

where were you?

2011-09-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

on sunday it will be 10 years since out country was attacked on September, 11 2001. i've been thinking a lot about it lately. there have been a lot of articles online, and many tv reports in the last week or so that i've been paying attention to. i've seen horrifying pictures from that day, and heard people tell where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.....where were you?

i was getting ready for school. i always had the radio on while i was doing my hair, getting dressed, and putting my makeup on (seems silly that i was trying to look my best while others were fighting for their lives). i was looking in the mirrior, giving myself one last look over when Z103's DJ's came on and said that a plane had crashed into the world trade center in NYC. i didn't know what the worl trade center was, but i thought it was werid that an airplane would crash into a building. i remember thinking how scared the pilot must have been before he hit (at the time i thought it was just a little one man plane), and i remember wondering what kind a freak malfunction must have cause a trained pilot to run into a building. so i finished getting ready for the day and went out and hopped in the car and while she drove me to school i told her what i hear on the radio. she told me that i had heard wrong and that a plane wouldn't just fly into a building. i got to school and i had mrs. aston's history class first (fitting right?). i walked in and she had been crying, we sat down she told us more of what had happened, and we turned on the news. we watched the news in every class that day.... and the situation got more and more scary by the minuet. when i got home my mom apologized for not believing what i had told her that morning. i don't remember many details from that day, or from any of the days that followed, but i remember exactly what i was doing the moment i heard about that first plane. i don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing...but this all means more to me now than it did then. i'm more touched by it now, and understand it better now that i'm older, and i realize that because of what happened on this day my children will be growing up in a very scary world.
i'm sure most of you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing as well. i just read this article (watch the video and read the article) of an astronaut who was the only american not on the planet at the time the attack happened, and how helpless he felt watching what happened from space (he saw the smoke over new york). where were you? what were you doing?
take a moment (or better yet, the whole day) on sunday to remember what happened 10 years ago, and what our men and women in the armed forces are fighting for.

labor day weekend

2011-09-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

josh now has 32....yes 32 pearl jam concerts under his belt. he left on sept. 2nd at 4 in the morning in order to go pick up his buddy and head to SLC to catch a flight to wisconsin to go to the pearl jam 20 music festival. it lasted 2 full days and he and jeremy were in musical heaven. while josh was gone, stone and i spent quality time together and spent a lot of time with my mom, dad, one of my brothers, and my grandparents. on monday we were invited up to palisades to spend some time on tyson's boat. it was cooler than we thought it would be, but that didn't stop the boys or my mom from putting in some time on the wakeboard/skis. my dad and i were in charge of taking some pictures and i think i got a few good ones.

handsome bryan

tyson pulling a backflip

fly big bry!!!

my mom is so beautiful

aren't my grandparents too cute?

stone liked the boat as well. he was content to just sit in someones lap and watch whoever was out on the water. such a good boy.

being a birthmom

2011-08-24T11:54:00.002-06:00

we birth parents are all very different. some of us don't like to talk about the fact that we placed a baby, some of us love to talk about it. some of us worry that we will never heal from the pain, some hope the pain never really goes away. some want a closed adoption, some like to keep it open. some wonder if their baby will be hurt by their decision not to parent, and some are awake every night wondering if their baby is thinking about them. there are a lot of emotions involved in being a birth parent...and i think even more emotions come into play when that birth parent has another child later and parents that child. being a birth parent is a tough gig....but one i wouldn't trade for anything because i brough an amazing child into this world 7 years ago, and even if it wasn't me who got to parent him....i'm so glad he was born.

i am the kind of birthmom who likes the term "birthmom" or birthmother"...it makes me proud.

i am the kind of birthmother who likes to talk about adoption and make people aware that it's not a careless decision.

i am a birthmom who cringes when she hears someone say the words "gave their baby up" or gave their baby away" or "didn't want their baby"

i am the kind of birthmother who still feels some of that pain from placing and hoping that it never goes away.

i am the birthmom who, after 7 years still misses that little boy like crazy, and i still wonder if he thinks of me

i wonder if he has questions that he doesn't ask, and if he understands why he's not mine.

i've had a lot of these feelings and thoughts recently. i have an open adoption with seth and his family. meaning we send emails, and pictures, and we can see eachother whenever we all decide we can and want to. i got to see them this last weekend! my mom, stone, and i were invited to their house in utah for a BBQ, and we had so much fun! seth is so grown up, and tall, and handsome, and athletic. it was so fun to watch him and his siblings and cousins in their own back yard, playing like they always do. as soon as we pulled up and i got out of the car he came right up and gave me a hug...and it felt so good. i know he has questions, and doesn't really know what to say, and he was probably a little nervous (i was too), but he was perfect. he told me all about his new "rip stick", and showed me how he could do back flips on the trampoline, he asked me to take his picture, and he played with stone. it was just the perfect evening.

look at this daredevil!

so handsome

kiley (seths older sister) and stone

mom loves to play with the kiddos

what an amazing family

he was so good to play with stone

my boy is getting so brave

we had a wonderful time, and i was so proud of seth and how he has turned out. i could not have placed him with a better family, they are amazing. kiley's birthmom and i are always included in their family prayer, and after prayer one night tate (seth's little brother) asked who his birthmom is, kristi (seth's mom) said "i am" (she was able to have tate and annie herself). kristi said that tate seemed a little dissapointed that he only has one mom. haha. i thought that was cute, and it's just an example of the questions that they are going to have to answer forever. and i know that seth will have questions for me as he gets older.
being a birthmom is emotionally tough, but i love it.

help!

2011-08-15T10:55:00.001-06:00

i'm asking for help again. stone has gotten to the point where he can climb out of his crib. he's quite good at it (i may have given birth to a monkey...he's THAT good at climbing). so saturday night he wouldn't stay in his crib, and my worry wasn't really that he was getting out and playing in his room, but that once he was ready to sleep he couldn't get back into his bed....so i made josh take the fron rail off the crib and we turned it into a toddler bed (i was really sad about this). it was a bit of a rough night...but we finally got him into a deep sleep at 2 am and he stayed asleep till 8. not too awful right? well then naptime came....stone is down to one nap a day now so when that once nap comes...he needs it. well, there was no napping in the "big boy bed". he was too excited to play in his room. last night went much better (i think because he was so exausted)...we got him to sleep at 10...and he stayed asleep till we had to get him up this morning. so my question to you smart, experienced moms out there is this....any tips on getting a sweet little one to sleep in a toddler bed? or is this just something that, like so many other things with kids, has to come with time? and....my mom, stone and i are going out of town this weekend (we get to go see seth! yay!), so any tips on staying in a hotel with a toddler that has never slept in bed with his mamma? help me!

rain rain go away...

2011-08-03T11:52:00.000-06:00

we had a rainstorm monday evening, and i thought it would be fun to go play in the rain before bath time

nothing more fun than a bucked of dirty rainwater

stone thought the rainbow was cool

puddle jumpin'!

uhhh.....

2011-08-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

stone was playing with some rocks and dropped one and said "oh shit".
not my proudest parenting moment.....

the great outdoors

2011-07-27T09:48:00.001-06:00

the weather has been quite nice lately so we have been trying to get stone out to play as much as possible. we don't have a yard yet so we've been taking trips to the park, the splash park, the zoo, and sometimes just out to the driveway to color with the sidewalk chalk
knock knock

chalk bumb

mamma has her very own super hero

what a studly little batman

at the zoo.....and then our camera died.....nice

josh is very excited to teach little man how to play baseball....first lesson....pitching

he's getting so big

cheesy mamma

that's what we've been up to. stone has also recently started throwing little tantrums when things don't go his way. terrible two's on the way?? i'm not so good at handling the fits. the biggest one comes when i try to wash his hair....he doesn't like water on his head i guess. any tips?

just a few pictures

2011-07-12T10:43:00.001-06:00

not much has been going on with us, but because i have such a cute boy i thought i would share a few pictures
over the 4th we had a few BBQ's and stone's favorite part was playing in the water at the crocketts house.

splashing in the slip n' slide is what he spent most of his time doing

stone has recently started to stack his blocks. he's very particular about how they are stacked, and if they fall over he gets really upset and frusterated. this day we showed him to build his tower on the kitchen floor instead of the carpet and he built it 10 blocks high! i was proud and so was he.

grandpa hegsted took stone on a 4-wheeler ride, but i guess it didn't last long enough...that's what the face is about

my parents irrigate their lawn about once a week and we happened to be there one of the days they did it, so stone got to play in the water....he loved it. how cute is this picture of my boy and my dad?

i have a water baby! i'm so glad it's been warm enough to "swim"

my handsome boys

new reading

2011-06-28T11:26:00.000-06:00

i've been reading a new series called the luxe series (thanks for the recomendation kacie!) and i'm loving it!

i'm currently into the second book, and i'm so glad that i still have 2 more to go. i think these books were written for young adults (i can still consider myself a young adult right?), so it's not a super challenging read, which is exactly what i was looking for in the books i wanted to read over the summer. great series! give it a read!

weekend yardwork

2011-06-15T11:30:00.000-06:00

over the weekend we (josh) rented a big tractor to get some dirt moved around the yard, remove some wicked weeds, and level out the ground.

my dad and father-in-law came and helped rake out the dirt that josh moved,

my mom and i (mostly my mom) made dinner, and stone played in the dirt and wanted on the tractor.

it seems that a lot got done in the yard, but there is still so so so much to do. but phase one is finished. thanks to my hubs and our fathers for such hard work!

cute baby contest

2011-06-12T10:51:00.000-06:00

i entered one of stones photos into the zulily cute baby contest. so i'm asking a favor...please go here to vote for my cute little guy (and join zulily while you're at it...they have lots of cute baby stuff for great prices every day), let's see if we can get him enough votes to win! you can vote once a day...voting ends wednesday. thanks!

family pictures

2011-06-06T11:36:00.000-06:00

after way too much time stressing over what all three of us would wear (i seriously lost sleep about it one night...how stupid is that?), we got our family pictures done! taken last week by the talented (and so fun and cute) kelly stewart. she did a fantastic job, she was so good with stone, let me hound her with (not kidding) at least 12 emails, and got the images to us only a week after we got the photos done! i was very impressed. stone was in a good mood most of the time, but he didn't feel like smiling, and josh's least favorite thing to do is get his picture taken...so i'm glad we are done with pictures, but i'm so glad that we got them taken. here are a few (ok a lot) of my favorites

my boys eyes are stunning

kisses for mama

can you say "cheese"?

i think this one is my fave

i love my hubby

ooooh! i love it in b&w too!

lurkers

2011-06-02T10:37:00.006-06:00

i'm a blog lurker...

these are my babes eyes....he's not a lurker, but i thought the picture fit haha

i'm not afraid to admit it. it's one of the reasons my blog isn't private, i don't feel it's fair to "lurk" others blogs when no one has access to "lurk" me. and yesterday i was so glad that my blog isn't private. i got a sweet comment from a woman i don't know on one of my posts about seth. i'm so glad that she commented. it totally made my day. thanks for stopping by emily! i know there are a lot of creepos out there, but i think there are more good people who are just wanting to read other people's stories and to know that they aren't alone in this big scary world...to know that a lot of us are going through some of the same hardships, and having some of the same joys, and to just make a connection with other people. so if you are a lurker (not a creepo, or mean lurker), welcome! come in and stay a while. kick off your shoes and look around, and if you feel up to it leave a little hello.

camera

2011-05-26T10:36:00.000-06:00

so a few weeks ago our nice camera was stolen....out of my car! yeah...nice. i had taken the camera to work with me to get the pictures off of it and onto my external hard drive (yes i could have done this at home...but i wasn't getting around to it and i knew i had a slow day at work). i got the pictures off (thank goodness) and then took the camera out to my car at lunch and left it in there....stupid of me?? yes. when i came back to my car at 5 the camera was gone. i felt awful and violated. what kind of world is it that we don't even feel safe leaving our posessions in our locked car anymore?? we knew we wanted to get a new camera, but it wasn't really in the budget and we do have a little point and shoot that works (it doesn't take very good pictures...but better than nothing).
fast forward to may 20th. our 5 year anniversary. we had a sitter for stone and went out for a nice dinner (we always go to the sandpiper to eat, and don't do gifts for our anniversary). we got home and i was getting ready to get stone in the tub and ready for bed....i happened to glance on our bed and there was a box sitting there...it was a new camera! from my hubs to us! and these were the pictures i found when i fired it up

how sweet is that? i love my husband! he's so thoughtful!
so we've spent the last week getting to know our new camera. and while we aren't experts, and still have a lot to learn...i think we have taken some good pictures....these are some of my favorites

his daddy has this same popeye look

he loves to ride the 4-wheeler with his daddy

glad i have such a cute model to practice on.
i know there are a lof of very talented photographers out there...any tips?

love

2011-05-17T11:46:00.000-06:00

silly kid

handsome boys

growing up

need i say more?

talking dog

2011-05-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

how cute is this?

easter 2011

2011-04-26T10:54:00.000-06:00

we had a great easter weekend! we stayed up too late a few nights, and ate too much sugar...but it was fun. on friday night we went over to kim and robbs to color eggs. the kids were still too little to do any of the coloring, but they liked to watch. on suday we were invited over to patti's for dinner, dessert, easter baskets, and an egg hunt (she has the perfect yard for a hunt). i wasn't too sure that stone would "get" the egg hunt quite yet, but he suprised me and caught on real quick (he's been practicing at my moms house).

inspecting his find

stone and mya love playing together

enjoying the beautiful weather on easter afternoon

stone, mya, grandma bernadine

after we got home from a full day at grandma patti's we came home and stone opened the easter basket left for him at our house.

best buddies

it was a fantastic easter with family!

flowers

2011-04-19T11:02:00.000-06:00

seth's parents sent me flowers on seth's birthday...as they do every year. I love this little tradition that they started on the day he was born (they had 12 roses sent to my hospital room only hours after seth was born), this simple act shows me every year that they have not forgotten how seth came to be their's, they have not forgotten my feelings, they have not forgotten me. this year's flowers did not dissapoint..they are beautiful and they smell nice....stone agrees

they are so good to me!

7 years

2011-04-14T09:48:00.000-06:00

7 years ago today i gave birth to a 6lb. 7oz. baby boy at 6:03 in the morning. he was the tiniest most presious baby i had ever seen, and oh i loved him. it was a bittersweet day, and I'll never forget it.

thanks to seth's amazing parents i have had the opportunity to watch him grow and learn through pictures, emails, and visits. and what a fantastic boy he is growing up to be! i'm so proud!

some days (especially his birthday) are still hard for me, but not near as hard as they used to be. i'm just so happy that he has an amazing life and family that have given him everything that i couldn't, and i love that he's happy. so today, i'll be shedding some tears, some sad, but mostly happy tears because he is 7, happy, and healthy! happy birthday seth! i love you!

our weekend

2011-04-13T16:38:00.000-06:00

over the weekend this handsome boy was sick

throwing up sick (first time we ever had to deal with that). poor, sweet, boy. he was such a trooper too. didn't cry, just wanted to snuggle (that's the best part of having a sick babe). he seemed to be feeling back to normal by sunday night

but by then i think it was too late for me. i cuaght his bug and stayed home from work monday. lucky for me, josh was able to stay home to watch stone and take care of me too. he did everything that day...i hardly got out of bed. hopefully josh doesn't catch what stone and i had. i'm still not 100% but feeling well enough to be back to work. being sick is no fun.

stones first memory book

2011-04-06T11:07:00.000-06:00

so i finally finished stones first memory book! i wouldn't call it a scrapbook..because i'm not that creative and don't use a lot of embelishments or anything like that, but i love how it turned out. i made it through mixbook and the quality is fantastic!

the quality of the picture isn't great (you like my desk?), and i got the idea for the cover (for some reason that was the hardest part of the book for me) from this woman's first daughters first book (go read her blog, it's awesome).
i love love love the way the book turned out, and you can go here to view the whole thing.
what do you think?

a geek in training

2011-03-24T09:41:00.002-06:00

grandma patti let us borrow this little laptop that stone likes to play with, and when i came out into the livingroom the other day this is what i found...

he loves to push buttons and whenever we are on the computer he'll throw a fit if he doesn't get to play on it too.

i love his little popeye look...he gets it from his daddy

he's also climbing on everything now..so he likes to sit up at the table and work on his laptop. and he already knows the letter a!

what a handsome little geek!

a mama and her boy

2011-03-23T14:50:00.001-06:00

i just love my little guy! oh...and i've decided i really need to win the lotto because i'm getting really sick of missing him all day long.

proud birthmama

2011-03-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

i got an email from kristi and riley (seth's parents). they informed me that seth loves school, loves numbers and math, loves to play yhatzee, and....are you ready? is in the chess club! yes, at 6 (almost 7) years old he loves chess! how crazy smart is that for a 7 year old?? i was so proud that i've been telling everyone how smart he is. as i sat thinking about everything that he knows, and the amazing family that he has...it hit me like a ton of bricks....his family has everything to do with how smart he is....sure i think we are all born with a certain mental capacity...but it's all up to parents to teach, and provide oportunities to make us smarter, to teach us how to learn and study....and his parents have done that (and more) for him. if i had chose to parent him he wouldn't be as smart and well rounded as he is now. as much as it hurts me to say that, i know it's true...and it makes me proud that i found and placed him with the family that was perfect for him. it makes me proud that he is who he is. what an amazing little boy. what an amazing family he has. my heart is bursting right now with happiness, a little sadness (i still miss him like crazy), but mostly....pride for that little baby that i brought into the world almost 7 years ago and has now grown into a fantastic little boy.

i'm no photographer

2011-03-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

but i did manage to get these cute pictures of my little man the other day.

look at all the hair he's got!

i love his eyes

long blonde eyelashes
he's at such a fun age right now (i'm sure every age is fun)...laughing, and running, and talking, and playing. we got a new rug for our "hometeacher room" and he loves to run in there, say "rug" and sit and play on it. he's such a ham! i just can't get over how much i love him!

family weekend

2011-02-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

all three of my brothers and my sister in law were here for a friends wedding/ presidents day last weekend, so we got some time to hang out. it was so good to see them all, and they can't get enough of stone. in fact...hanging out with stone has made my oldest brother and his wife think that they are ready for a baby! we had a fun weekend and i couldn't resist snapping this picture

aren't they all so handsome?

my guys

2011-02-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

early last week josh had a scope done on his knee, so he's been laid up since then. just because he can't get down on the floor and play with his little buddy doesn't mean that they can't read a book together.

how cute is that?

last week

2011-01-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

josh was out of town for business last week (he was in florida where it was 80 degrees and part of the conference they got to go to universal studios to the new harry potter theme park....but don't worry...i'm not bitter), so stone and i had some quality alone time, and this is how we spent a lot of it

smiling

playing peek-a-boo in a storage tote

playing in the tub

being silly
stone found a storage tote that we have been meaning to take to the basement and he started throwing balls into it, then he wanted to get in with the balls and throw them out and then have me toss them back in....this lasted as long as i was willing to throw the balls back...he loved it. he's so much fun, and growing and learning so much. he has such a fun personality, and i know every mom says this...but he's so smart! i'm always so amazed at how fast he learns things...and figures things out.
and thanks to all of you who gave advise about stones next pair of shoes! i found a pair at target for 12 bucks...and they have a flex bottom that makes me feel that he can walk a little easier in them, but not as soft as a crib shoe. it's so nice to be able to get advise from so many of you! thanks again!

advise from all you experienced mamas

2011-01-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

here's my question...when did you all start putting your kids in real shoes? and where did you get them? what are your favorite brands? stone is almost 15 months and walks everywhere now, and we've just had him in little crib shoes, but does he need to start learning to walk in real shoes now? should i wait a little longer? and i really don't want to spend a bunch of money on shoes that he's gonna grow out of in 3 months. what are your thoughts?

and a happy new year

2011-01-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

we are trying to get back into the swing of things now that the holidays are over. we are back to work, and back to getting up before the sun. we had a fun new years eve celebration...we had a few of joshs work friends over and their kids...we didn't think that we'd make it to midnight...but we did....we actually made it to 2:00am! everyone just put their babies down to sleep and we stayed up playing poker and chatting. i haven't been up that late since HS! we had a lot of fun...and it's funny how when i was just a little yonger staying up past midnight was a normal occurance, and it had almost ne effect on me....now...it definatley has an effect! haha. new years day...as i was walking around in a sleepy haze i kept thinking about what a big year it's been for us. at the end of 09 we moved out of our cozy little home (while i was 9 months pregnant) running on faith that we would be building a new one, and that it would be done in 3 months (sounds funny now) and in the meantime we would have a baby and live out of boxes (it was only gonna be for 3 months right?). we had our sweet baby, and we lived out of boxes just as planned. then 2010 hit and it wasn't the year we thought it would be.....is it ever? in 2010:
we raised a baby into a toddler (it's been so much fun)

it took a year but we built a new home

went to a few jazz games

lost another dog (we miss our wolfie)

lived only partially moved into our "temp home" and realized we didn't miss the stuff in storage THAT much.

josh turned 31

i turned 26 (and josh got me a kindle! it's the only way to read a book!)

stone turned 1

played "easter bunny" for the very first time

played "santa" for the very first time

watched our baby learn to crawl, walk, and talk
had a few sleepless nights
got addicted to a few tv shows (office and glee anyone?)
my mom and i got to go see seth over the summer, and stone got to meet his 1/2 brother

bought a new car

got fancy new phones that in the end...we aren't sure if we like
had to get a 4-wheeler with a blade to scrape snow off our driveway
read a few books
all while working full time!
whew! it's been a fun and stressful year but we feel so blessed to be where we are in our lives. here's to 2011, and here's to wishing you all a fantastic year!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

christmas was low key this year, and that was just fine with me. we told everyone that we weren't going anywhere this year...we were staying home to enjoy the house, and that they could come to us...and they did! it was so much fun to not go anywhere this year. Most years before this one we have gone to see my parents, joshs mom, joshs dad, and joshs grandma. that was always a lot of fun, but this year it was so nice to stay home, and not have to pack up the baby and be in the car most of the day.
it was so much fun to get to play Santa to our own child this year. he didn't know what was going on, but it was still fun.

santa brought stone a basketball hoop and a rocking dinosaur. santa also brought ace (our dog) a new bed, collar, and ball to play with...and stone liked that stuff more than his gifts!

stone was spoiled this year

and so were josh and i. family members all got us decorations for our house! it feels so nice to have things on the wall, and it's all stuff that we love! we didn't have to take anything back! our family is good!

this year i made my mom a book of stones first year. i made it with mixbook.com and it turned out fantastic! it literally took my breath away when i first saw it, and my mom loved it too. if you are thinking of doing any kind of photo book, mixbook is the way to go.

we had a good christmas, but i'm glad it's over. it was really busy and hectic this year (i hate that feeling, because that isn't what christmas is about), and i think that is because i wasn't organized....next year i'll be ready for it! we got the tree and christmas decorations down on sunday, and it's nice not having to constantly tell stone to leave the tree alone. i hope everyone else had a great holiday, and i'm wishing everyone a safe and happy new year!

busy busy busy

2010-12-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

we're still here! i've been pretty busy the last few weeks and not with anything too noteworthy. just getting ready for christmas...and i've already promised myself that next year i'll be doing my shopping throughout the year so that i'm not stressed about getting it all done in december (it's too expensive this way!). we have the tree up (a 7.5 footer this year), our stockings are hung above the fireplace, there are a few decorations (borrowed from my mother-in-law) up, and the house feels very festive. we've been to a few holiday parties, and stone got to come and meet santa at one of them!

it's not easy to get a decent picture of stone right now....he's way too mobile (walking everywhere!) and busy to sit still
my boss opens up his house every year for his employees to bring all of their kids and meet santa, have horse drawn sleigh rides, and he buys each child a gift! how nice is that?

my boy looked so handsome in his holiday outfit.

do you ever get the feeling of "how did i get here?" that feeling hit me the other night as i sat watching my guys play. how did i get lucky enough to have these two in my life?

and how is that all of a sudden i'm old enough to be married for 5 years, have a house, a baby, and a family of my own? it just seems like not long ago i was pulling over in vacant parking lots at 10 at night, cranking up the music on the car stereo and dancing with my friends. it's just all gone so fast, and it really hit me the other day. i'm so blessed to be where i am with the people that are in my life. and i need to stop and just enjoy the moments that seem so small...because they are the ones that matter. like this little guy playing in the bubble bath....he's my own little santa.

christmas is right around the corner....i didn't send out cards this year, or make holiday neighbor treats, or get a family photo taken. but i do take the time every night to let my babe play in the tub, and watch a little TV with the hubby. maybe next year i'll get around to doing the neighborly thing....but this year i've been happy to go home to my new house, my hubby, and my baby and stay holed up there

thanksgiving weekend

2010-11-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

we had a great thanksgiving weekend. it all started with buying a new vehicle on wednesday night! i don't have pictures of it just yet, but we love it. it's a ford escape and it fits our little family perfectly. it was sad to leave josh's prelude tho, it was a good car and took josh on many many many pearl jam trips over the years, but it was time to move on and get a vehicle better suited for us (and for winter).
on thursday we woke up and started cooking. we hosted thanksgiving this year at our place. joshs family and some friends came over, brought good food, and spent the afternoon with us. josh cooked an amazing turkey, ham and green bean casserole (he did most of the cooking and cleanup....how lucky am i?). i cooked mashed potatoes (josh was helping peel the spuds and took a good chunk out of his finger...ouch), and yams. everything turned out great! so thankful for all that we have.
friday we packed up and took a quick trip down to utah to see the jazz game in box seats provided by some family friends. it was so much fun! i forgot my camera, so i had to use my phone....and these are the only pictures i got (not good at all...stone won't sit still long enough for me to get a good one....but they are better than nothing)

stone has just learned the word "wow"...he said it a lot the night of the jazz game, mostly when we let him look over the edge down onto the court.

sitting on daddys lap watching the game...he was so good! we got him his own jazz t-shirt and he was super cute in it

gotta wear the winter hat...it's cold out!

this is the only picture i got of josh all weekend. how sad is that (i think it's good one tho...he looks best in candid shots)? i need to be better about taking a camera with me everywhere.

we had a really fun trip, and our ford got us around great! so nice to have something that we feel super safe in.

we came home staurday and the rest of the weekend was spend just hanging out. it was a nice, busy weekend. now...let the christmas shopping, decorating, and music begin!

happy holidays!

guess who can walk? and other news

2010-11-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

of course i don't have pictures of it...but i did get a short video that i'll try to post later. he's been taking 3 or 4 wobbly steps at a time for a few weeks now, but last night he just let go of the couch and took off! he still prefers crawling, but i'm so proud of my little guy! now the real work begins. haha.
in other news....getting stone to drink anything is still not going so well. he likes milk a little better now that i started mixing it with just a little bit of ovaltine but he still doesn't love it. he also doesn't seem to like to drink out of a sippy. i've been offering him a sippy since he was about 6 months, but now that i'm trying to get him off bottles he doesn't seem to want it. any advise there? i've tried a bunch of different cups and he will drink a little bit out of them...but not enough to make me feel that he's getting enough fluids. am i doing something wrong? is there a sippy that you swear by???
one more thing.....we are getting a new car!! i'm so excited! since stone was born we've only had one car that can fit his car seat, and one that josh has had since before we met....it's a 2 door prelude and he loves it. we have been trading off cars every day depending on who had stone....well then the jetta broke down so we had to borrow someones car that had room for the little mister (thank goodness for family) then the snow hit and joshs car doesn't have heat (brrr) and it's a really low car so there was no getting out of our driveway in it....so....time for a new car that can handle our needs. we are looking into a ford escape, and so far we love it! hopefully by the end of the day we will have a new vehicle in our home.

advise?

2010-11-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

my little mister won't drink milk! i tried mixing the milk with some OJ (thanks for the tip Genevive!), and he seemed to like it, but then we found out that he's allergic to OJ. so i need more tips on how to get some milk in the little guy. did any of your kids hate milk in the beginning? how did you get them to drink it?

26

2010-11-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

i had my 26th birthday on friday, and it was a great day. My work gives us our birthdays off...so nice! So my mom, aunt, and grandma came down and took me and stone to lunch, and then shopping. We spent most of our time wandering around kohls, and we had so much fun! Later that evening my mother in law made dinner for the family...and it was delicious! We spent the evening at her house eating, chasing babies, and opening gifts (i was spoiled). i had a wonderful day, and a nice relaxing weekend. a big thank you to my families for taking such good care and spoiling me.

lullaby for a birthmom

2010-11-04T11:04:00.001-06:00

november is national adoption month. so when i came across this song/video on the r house blog and had to share. it made me cry...it's beautiful. enjoy

my baby boy is 1!

2010-11-02T15:23:00.000-06:00

on sunday (oct. 31) we had a birthday party for stone (he didn't turn one till the next day, but this is when we could all get together). we had a lot of family show up.

and they all spoiled him

we had a great friend make an amazing cake (let me know if you need a cake decorated...she does a fantastic job)

the whole cake was edible (and delicious) except for the strings

we opened gifts

and watched stone tear into his cake

he loved it!

we had a great party and we are so grateful to all the family that came and made it special and spoiled our boy.

i just cant believe that a year ago this baby boy was brand new and bruised all over

i was in love. and at that moment i really thought this year would go much slower than it did. we had a few hard nights/ days (very few), and it took some practice getting good at changing diapers, making bottles (and doing countless other things) with one hand, calming a fussy baby, and getting him to sleep. but it didn't take long before we felt like we knew what we were doing.

now my baby boy is going into toddlerhood

and i'm still in love

i'm not sure what the next year with a toddler will be like......temper tantrums, the transitions into real people food, no more bottles, walking, talking...... but i'm looking forward to it. ups and downs and all.
happy birthday stone! mommy loves you!

halloween

2010-11-02T11:06:00.000-06:00

this year halloween was pretty low key. my office always has a little costume contest and a halloween party all day so i dressed up for that....i was a "fire fairy"

darcie won the award for scariest costume..she was medusa and her makeup was awesome!

we were able to go pick up our littles for the last hour of the day and bring them back to trick or treat the office...so i went home and picked up my little monkey

he really was happy to be there....but he doesn't look it in this photo. on saturday, stone and i went up to my aunts house for a little halloween party. low key holiday, but that's 100% ok with me.

adoption

2010-10-29T11:44:00.001-06:00

this morning i've been reading a few blogs about adoption, one about the feelings of a new "birthmom", another about the feelings and experiences of seasoned adoptive parents, and other adoption stories. i guess after going through adoption this is something that catches my interest. after reading a few of these blogs i felt the need to express some of my own feelings, because some of them have changed since the day (6 years ago) that i placed OUR sweet little seth. and as a warning, this will be a little jumbled because they are just my own random thoughts a feelings.

EDIT: I JUST WENT THROUGH AND READ THIS AFTER I WAS FINISHED AND IT'S LONG...AND REALLY JUST MY OWN THOUGHTS AFTER READING SOME OTHER BLOGS.

when i first placed seth i didn't feel like i should (or could) ever be happy again. i thought that feeling happy would mean that i was an awful birthmom almost feeling like "if i REALLY loved him wouldn't i be misserable forever because he's not with me anymore?" i don't feel that way now, i know that it's ok to be happy...in fact i feel like being happy shows my love for seth, it shows him that this was a decision that i didn't make lightly and that it was the best choice for both of us. i'm happy about my choice because i see that he is happy and loved.

i didn't think i was supposed to be happy about my choice. placing a child....MY CHILD should be awful, and dark, and sad. not true. it was hard, and part of me was/is sad, but mostly, when i wasn't thinking of myself...i was very happy that he was where i KNEW he was meant to be. sure it hurt(s) to know that he wasn't meant to be with me...that for him i wasn't the best mother...that we weren't the best family for him (knowing that put me in a dark place for a while), but i'm so happy that i was able to be the best birthmother for him, and to place him with his family. for that i'm truly honored.

not all "birthmothers" feel this way...but i LOVE the term birthmother...i think given circumstances as they were/are it's very honorable and beautiful. that's just me.

i was scared to have...for the lack of a better phrase...."my own" child. what if i didn't love him like i loved seth? what if i loved him more? or less? what would that say about me? what if when seth gets older he wonders why i didn't "keep" him but i "kept" another baby...how will that make him feel? now i see that having gone through adoption has made me appreciate being a mother more than i would have....i think i may have taking motherhood for granted had i not gone through adoption. not saying that women who haven't placed or adopted take motherhood for granted, but i know myself enough to know that i might have. i cherish my moments with stone more because i didn't get those moments with seth...in fact i cherish the moments so much that laundry doesn't get folded...and dishes don't get done. and i know that seths parents tell him every day that i didn't place him because i didn't want him....i placed him because i wanted him to have a better life than i could have given him at the time.

i hate what people say "gave your baby up" or "gave your baby away"...my baby is not a sweater or a CD that i didn't want. i PLACED my baby with another family because i love him. it was not a decision that was made lightly or easily. it was the most serious decision i have ever and will ever make. the next person who says i "gave him away" might just get a beat down :)

i have an open adoption with seth and his family (this is sometime i knew i wanted from the beginning, and it was a big reqirement for finding a family for seth). for us that means that we can email, call, visit, send and recieve pictures and gifts at anytime....as long as all parties involved are ok with it. i'm not scared that seths family will all of a sudden want to have a closed adoption. they have made it clear that they want to do what I'M comfortable with. yes life gets in the way sometimes..and we don't always email once a week like we were in the beginning....in fact it's gotten to where it's once a month...but that's ok too. if i was feeling bad about it i think i could tell them. as a birthmom it is hard to ask for things from the adoptive parents tho...no matter how great they are. sometimes i feel like i have no right to ask for pictures and letters and all that because, legally, he isn't my child anymore....but on the other hand....i gave birth to him and placed him with them....so yes...i have a right to those things...and i don't think any adoptive couple would dissagree with that. if you are a birthmom who feel like you need a little more from your adoptive parents....ask!

before i was a birthmom i didn't know much about adoption...i didn't think about adoption, but when it did pop into my head the image was a big room full of cold looking cribs..and a couple would walk through and pick a baby they liked...like at the pound. i think i knew this wasn't really how it works (at least not around here). but i never wanted that kind of situation for my baby....i HAD to pick the family for him and i HAD to be the one to hand him over to his parents or this wasn't going to happen. i'm sure every agency does things differently...but i got EXACTLY what i wanted. for the most part...any good agency will work with the birthmom and adoptive parents and find something that works. they gave me all kinds of options to make sure i was comfortable and things went the way i needed them to.

(lets not judge my hair or the way i look in this pic....i had just given birth and placed my baby in the arms of another couple...recognize)

when i was pregnant, before i got into adoption..i thought that all agencys were just out to make up my mind for me....to push adoption down my throat till i gave in.....this wasn't the case. at least not with the agency i went through. in fact i went to some counseling sessions with my case worker and they worked with me to think of a way that would work for parenting my child...only after that did we start talking about adoption.

i love talking about my story. i know people are afraid to ask questions or bring it up for fear of upsetting me....but it doesn't upset. yes i might cry, but it's not because i'm sad...it's just still very emotional. but i love the memories, and i don't mind the questions at all. i think a lot of birthmoms are this way. ask us questions...we would love to tell you about our little miricles.

and last...(because i know this is really long)...i don't, for even one second regret my decision. if i was given the chance to go back and do things differently...i wouldn't...i wouldn't even go back and not get pregnant (is that bad?). seth is an amazing little boy, and this is the way he was brought here....i would not take that back. it was hard and painful and downright gutwrenching for me...but if that is the way he was to come to this earth and be with his family....then i'm happy to be the one to bring him here, and i'm so happy that i get to be a small part of his life. adoption was a gift for me too...not just for seth, and not just for seth's parents and family....i think for everyone involved it was a gift. at least that's how i look at it.

i guess the bottom line is that everyone involved in adoption will have a different opinion depending on the way it went for them. but for me...it went as well as it could have in that situation.

seth is a big brother again!

2010-10-20T10:59:00.000-06:00

seth became a big brother again at the end of september..and from what i hear he loves his new little sister.

cute siblings

very handsome little boy and a very loving big brother..beautiful baby girl

yes i miss him....but when i see these pictures, and get emails from kristi and riley, and get to go see him....i know he's right where he was meant to be. with his family. i love them all so much, and i'm so excited about their new addition!

family

2010-10-20T10:09:00.001-06:00

my family (brothers and sis-in-law) was in town (from utah) over the weekend, so we all got together at our place and had dinner and hung out. it was so fun to have my whole family in the same room...it doesn't happen much anymore and i miss them! they had fun with stone, and it sounds like they might all make it up again for stones birthday!

my three handsome brothers hanging out while stone has his bath

my wonderful mom and beautiful sis-in-law bethany

chilling with daddy

riding the rides at leos..he wasn't sure what to think at first...but he ended up liking them

after a busy weekend stone was worn out and couldn't keep his eyes open through wal-mart...so he took a nap in the cart.

in other news...stone will be one in less than two weeks (and then i'll be turning 26)! where did the time go?

parenting

2010-10-12T10:25:00.000-06:00

i read this post and it broke my heart. i know that things like this (and worse) go on in the world..i'm not naive to that, but it makes me so sad. how can a person look and a tiny child....a sweet, innocent child, and hurt them in any way? i don't think that post should just be directed at dad's tho...i think men and women both need to think about their parenting style. my child is getting to the age that discipline is going to be a big part of our lives, how will i handle it? i'll admit that i've been frustrated with stone already..mostly when he spits out his food for the 14th time during a meal, or he just wants to throw his food on the floor, but i don't ever want to be a yell er. i don't ever want my child to be afraid of me, i want my child to know that i love him always...no matter what, i don't want to break my child.

perfection

2010-10-12T10:11:00.000-06:00

i was directed to this post (go read it...and think about it) from another blog (thanks holly)...and all i can say is...WOW. i think it's so true. i believe that we all need to pinpoint our imperfections, and be ok that we are imperfect. i also believe that when we know our weaknesses and imperfections we can work on them and become better people, but none of us are perfect. so in the light of reading this post, and getting in touch with a few of my own imperfections here's a list of just a few of mine:
i procrastinate...there is a basket of laundry sitting in my living room that should have been folded 2 days ago
i don't make dinner very often...i only know how to make a few meals, and otherwise i don't know how or what to make...so i don't
i don't ask for help around the house and then i get frusterated and cranky that i'm not getting any help
i feel like less of a mother because i'm working ouside of the home
i feel guilty that i don't take home baked treats to neighbors, family, and friends
sometimes when i'm helping someone i get a chip on my shoulder that it's me helping yet again and someone else isn't taking their turn

so those are just a few of my imperfect, dirty little secrets....what are some of yours? let's get real. and i'm going to work on this list of mine...i'll report back.

just for fun

2010-10-11T15:06:00.000-06:00

this weekend we got stuff done, but we did stop for some fun too

playing with grandma

taking a ride in the new washer

don't worry...i didn't close the lid or anything..but we did sit him in there and spun him slowly...he thought it was fun.

do you ever?

2010-10-08T09:41:00.000-06:00

do you ever look at your kids and think your heart might burst..or is that just me?

he has his daddy's "pop-eye" look

settling

2010-10-05T11:13:00.000-06:00

everything is moved over to the new house and we are working on settling in. the kitchen is unpacked, and stones bedroom is almost unpacked as well. our bedroom still needs a lot of work, the bathrooms aren't even close (we bought towel racks and toilet paper holders last night), we need to put up our mailbox, and organize the garage. but we are settling. stone has taken really well to his new digs and always wants to be on the stairs (we need to get a baby gate pronto). i was afraid that it might take him a few nights to feel at home, but he slept through the night the first night we were there. i don't have any new pictures of the house because it's a mess, but i have a few cute ones of stone loving his new turf.

hangin with great grandpa while we get things moved in

loving making a mess with a bucket of sudsy water in his new bedroom

taking a bath in his new tub

homeowners

2010-09-30T09:58:00.000-06:00

the house is officially ours!! we signed our names on a million papers and took the keys to our front door. it's amazing to me everything that goes into building a home and then we sign some papers (and pay A LOT of money) and boom, the house is ours...crazy. after the closing we went over to the house and cried a little. tears of happiness and tears of stress and tears because we are so thankful that we are fortunate enough to be able to build a beautiful home that we can raise our family in.

stone playing in the master bedroom closet.....he fit's into the little cubby hole!

playing in the nook/great room

i'm not sure why i don't take pictures of other parts of the house...i guess the kitchen area is where we will be spending most of our time, but once i get the bedrooms set up and the bathrooms decorated i'll take pictures of those too

these are the last days

2010-09-29T12:55:00.000-06:00

no...not the last days of the earth (actually they might be...but who am i to say?)...no these are the last days that we will be living in "limbo". the house that we are renting has never felt like home because we never really unpacked...i never decorated...and it's not where we wanted to be, it just felt like limbo. but as of today at 4:00 we will be the owners of a brand new home!!!!! we are finally closing, and on saturday we will finally get to move home! i'm sick of making building decisions, sick of driving out to the lot every night to see what had been done, sick of the stress, and i'm even sick of the anticipation. i know that good things come to those who wait...and it's true...i'm just glad that we are done waiting! it's been a year and we are so ready!

yet another house post

2010-09-21T10:48:00.002-06:00

i feel like our whole life right now revolves around stone and the house...actually that's how it's been since last november, and to tell you the truth...i'm a little bit sick of it. not sick of the stone part, but sick of the house part. i'm looking forward to the days when my life can revolve around stone and josh and the house will just be a fantastic place to be. and that time is now just around the corner! we are getting to the tail end of things. cabintets are in, paint just has a few finishing touches, exterior should be finishing up today and tomorrow, concrete is being poured today (hopefully), carpet goes down thursday, and granite will be installed monday (maybe friday if we are lucky)! wanna see it? this is what it looked like as of last night

the rock is called "summit"

front view

stones bedroom

master bath

main bath

entry way and "formal sitting room"

entry

fireplace in the "great room"

kitchen

kitchen (i love my cabinets)

it still looks like there is a lot to be done, but our builder claims that it will be finished by the end of the month. can't wait!

as for the little man in my life...no new pictures, but he's everywhere and into everything. he's quick! he now has 8 teeth, loves to chase the dog or my parents cat, can wave hi and bye, gives kisses, and loves to "talk". he's almost 11 months old and that blows my mind!

progress

2010-09-17T09:35:00.000-06:00

no pictures to show the progress at the house (because when i finally get time to go out there it's almost dark and there are no lights in the house yet), but it's looking fantastic!!! paint is almost finished and it looks so beautiful (thanks to daniel d's painting and sherwin williams cashmere paint). it looks like rock will be going on the house today (can't wait to see it!), cabinets start going in on monday, granite tuesday or wednesday, carpet thursday and friday, and hopefully exterior stuff (siding and concrete) will all continue to come together while interior stuff is going on. we are in the final stages now and i'm so excited! we have all of our kitchen appliences picked out (can't wait for my new fridge!), but i still need to pick out my washer and dryer and our toilets. any suggestions? i'm pretty sure i want a top loader washer...know of any good sets? any good deals on sets? any that you hate? talk to me!

tis the season

2010-09-08T10:47:00.000-06:00

of the idaho state fair

cooler weather

new seasons of all my favorite shows

and moving in! we have been told that we will be ready to move into our house at the end of september. painting will start tomorrow, cabinets after that. this is what it looks like now

kitchen

living room

some siding (called montana suede)

it looks like it has a long way to go before the end of the month, but they assure us that it can be done! i love this time of year!

reviews & such

2010-08-31T10:19:00.000-06:00

so we finally decided on a car seat, bought it, and have tried it out for the last few weeks. this is the one we got

it's called the maxi-cosi priori. we just bought the one and are just trading off cars for now. it's been a great little carseat. it seems very sturdy, the material feels like it will hold up to washings and dirty fingers, stone seems very comfortable in it, and it sits high enough that he can see out the windows....he loves that. it fits nicely in the back seat of my jetta but i'm prety sure it wouldn't fit in josh's prelude. it was fairly easy to get installed as far as carseats go (all car seats are a bit of a pain in the you know what). all in all i've really liked the seat and have no complaints so far.

i finished mockingjay last week and all i can say is "wow"! what a fantastic series! it's brutal, and violent, and kinda horrifing....but well worth the read. i won't post any spoilers for those of you who haven't read the books yet....but so so so good and so easy to get into and read. i love an easy read.

and for the past 5 or so months i've been trying some new makeup and skin care. it's the sei bella (used to be nicole miller) line from melaluca. it's always been tough for me to find a makeup and skin care that works with my unbelieveably dry and sensitive skin. but i've really liked this one. (and isn't the packageing simple and pretty?)

those are some new things that i've been loving lately....just thought i'd share.

is anyone else excited?

2010-08-25T08:42:00.000-06:00

i started reading it last night and i didn't want to put it down. i'm so excited that it's finally out!

swimming

2010-08-23T11:43:00.000-06:00

over the weeknd we went swimming (i shouldn't say "we"....i don't have a suit that fits me...so i sat on the side and watched). it was stone's first time, and he seemed to really like it!

this look said "stop trying to take my picture!"

backfloating with dad

swimming with grandma Patti

rumor has it...

2010-08-19T09:40:00.000-06:00

that my walls are going up today!!!! josh drove by the house last night on his way home from work and said that drywall had started, and that exterior work should start today (i hope i love the rock and siding we picked out). last night we made a final decision on interior doors, baseboards, and casing. These kinds of decisions are really hard for me to make, because i can't see what it will all look like when it's put together (i'm a visual type of person), and i don't really have a decorating style....so i've just been picking things out and keeping my fingers crossed that it will all look nice and flow together. it's so exciting to see our house come together, and it's finally at a stage that tells me we will be moving in soon!

help

2010-08-12T09:57:00.000-06:00

stone has grown out of his infant carrier (sad day) so i'm looking for a new car seat (convertible because stone still needs to be rear facing). there are about a million different car seats to choose from all ranging from about $50-$400 (im so not spending 400 bucks on a seat)! we need two car seats...one for joshs car and one for mine (josh takes stone up to rexburg most mornings, and all the other times we have him in my car). the problem is that both of our cars are fairly small...josh has a 2 door honda prelude and i have and VW jetta, so neither seat can be big. i would love to have one of the bigger seats that will hold stone for longer than 40lbs but those seats just won't fit in our cars. i have found 2 that seem like good seats...but before i make a decicion i would like your imput. do any of you have small cars that you've had to put car seats into? which seats do you love or not love? any opinions on making this work??

just an update

2010-08-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

i've given a lot of thought to my last post. private or public? some of you gave me your opinions and i really appreciate it. i've decided that for now i'm going to stay public. i know there are some crazies and creepos out there, and the safety of my family is the most important thing...but to tell you the truth i don't feel weirded out by strangers looking at my blog (in fact if you are nice strangers i welcome you!)....maybe i should...but i don't. so for now i'm keeping things the same. and hey...if you are a "lurker" i would love to get to know you! come out of "the closet" say hello.

in other news...the house is coming along very nicely. i have windows, doors are being installed today, insulation tomorrow, drywall friday! we were told to have our painter ready in about 3 weeks!!!

this is what she looked like last night.

i'm really happy with my windows

i'm so excited! it sounds like we will be able to move in the end of september! it seems like this has been such a long process. we first started talking about building a house last year at this time, and now it finally feels like we are getting somewhere!

yesterday we took stone to his 9 month dr. appointment. we went to a new doctor for the first time because we really didnt like the guy we were seeing....this new doctor seems great! stone is doing well and growing just as he should. he's a pro at crawling now...it's amazing at how much coordination he got in just a week. he loves to eat real food, and he "talks" all the time...melts my heart. my little man is growing up and before i know it he'll be walking.

annoyed

2010-08-04T09:38:00.000-06:00

so the last few days i've been getting random and mean comments on my blog from people i don't know. then i got a comment from another person i didn't know (thank you whoever you are) telling me that my blog address had been posted by someone at my work on a blog called "ask anything". i went there and sure enough there was someone claiming that i was some person who calls herself "guru" and uses really nasty language and says really awful things. so this person posted by blog address and now people are coming to my blog thinking i'm this really awuful person and lashing out at me. i can take some mean comments, and people can think what they want about me...true or not. the thing that makes me mad is that people can't be decent human beings...people have to tell lies and cause trouble for others.
i have never felt "danger" about having an open blog....i don't mind if strangers visit my blog...i've met some really fun people through having my blog public and i have loved it! i like going to others blogs that i don't know and reading about their life and adventures....it lets me see that there are people out there going through the same things i am....some blogs toatlly inspire me...and others bring me down to earth and teach me things. i don't know if my blog does any of these things for other people, but if it does i really don't want to cut that off.... but when things like this happen it makes me think that maybe i should go private. i guess i'm toying with the idea....what do all of you think? some of you are private....do you feel that blogging is as fun as it was when you were public? those of you that are public....do you feel threatened by the creepos and jerks out there? please tell me what you think!

on the move

2010-08-02T13:25:00.000-06:00

my little guy turned 9 months yesterday and started crawling (about time right?)! it's not a real strong "i know what i'm doing" kinda crawl...but it is a crawl and it was so cute! it won't be long now that he'll be into everything...wish me luck!

shingles

2010-07-27T08:38:00.000-06:00

we drove by the house last night while we were out and about. we didn't think anything new had happened because we had been out just the day before (which explains why there is no picture)...but when we got close we saw that we had a roof!!! we were super excited becuase we haven't seen anything happen for a while....lately it's all been electrical, plumbing, and gas. we have picked out our siding and rock and our doors and windows, so that stuff should be going on soon as well. we are super excited to see it all coming together. there are still a lot of decisions to be made, and it still feels like we have a long way to go, but when we are finished we will appreciate it so much more!

pictures

2010-07-17T15:53:00.002-06:00

we got our pictures yesterday and they are so great! annalee did a fantastic job! if anyone needs pictures done give her a call.

sneak peek

2010-07-13T08:51:00.000-06:00

wanna sneak peek of the photoshoot that we did this last weekend? go to annaleetaylorphotography.blogspot.com see them! so cute!!! thanks again annalee!

helping the sullengers

2010-07-12T08:41:00.000-06:00

many of you know pat and ashley (siddoway) sullenger. their little girl preslee fell in a canal friday night and was life flighted to primary childrens in utah. i don't know any details, but i do know that they need help right now. by clicking the image at the top of this post you can donate some money to help cover expenses that i'm sure are quickly popping up for this sweet little family. they have enough to worry about right now with keeping their little one alive...lets help ease the worry of finances! please keep little preslee in your thoughts and prayers, and donate anything that you can. thanks for your help!

lunch guests

2010-07-08T14:19:00.000-06:00

josh has had this whole week off, so he's home playing mr. mom (which he said isn't that bad...and i think he could get used to it). he and stone have been having fun...i think stone loves having his daddy around. every day this week they have come downtown and met me for lunch! it's been so fun to see them every afternoon. i get to smooch my hubby and love on my little....it makes the last half of the day go so much better. thanks babe for dragging the baby out to see me! love you!

4th of july

2010-07-06T11:03:00.000-06:00

4th of july weekend was busy just like every other 4 of july weekend, but it's always my favorite. i love the 4th of july...i feel like it's the only holiday that everyone agrees with what we are celebrating, there are no gifts, and everyone gets together with friends and family and celebrates our country and the men and women who made it possible for us to be free. we had bbq's, fireworks, golf, family and friends. i didn't take many pictures, but i got a few good ones from my mom.

4th of july and we are in jackets! gotta love idaho weather

stone and my cousins super adoreable little girl eva. shes10 weeks older and stone is bigger! i have a big boy

my little cheeser

it was a fun weekend, and my favorite part is always the fireworks. we didn't do the melaluca ones this year. josh and i both had headaches and we weren't sure how well stone would do...so we skipped out. bummer. but we always do our own, totally legal (right), firework show. josh loves to go buy and light them off...and he puts on a great show. stone did pretty good...and quite liked the fireworks that he stayed awake for.

we had a great weekend and i hope everyone else had fun celebrating our country and our freedom! God bless America!

i promised

2010-07-06T10:34:00.000-06:00

i promised a post about our weekend in utah once i got the pictures from my moms camera...so here it is.
last weekend (june 25th-27th) my mom, stone, and i went to utah for a little getaway. we had the oportunity to see seth and his family so of course we took it! we left friday morning and drove to park city. we made pretty good time, and stone slept most of the way. we did stop a time or two to change his diaper and feed him.

my mom's trail blazer was great to open up and stretch out in. it made traveling super nice.

we got to our hotel in park city about an hour before we were supposed to meet kristi and riley, so we got cleaned up and headed to heber city.

we had a blast there, and it was so good to see one of my favorite little families.

aren't they the cutest little family? kristi and riley are the best parents, and the kids are all so well behaved. we had a blast just talking and taking pictures, and we went over to the park to play a little. seth was so outgoing and loving, and i loved seeing him. he's getting so tall!!!!

please excuse my childs face....he was into pulling all ids of funny faces that night

aren't they so cute?

one big happy family (please don't mind my face....i don't think i was ready for the pic)

it was hard to leave, but stone was hungry an ready for bed. we had a blast and i'm go thankful that they took the time to see us.

the rest of the trip was spent shopping in park city (and feeding a baby en route)

playing in the hotel

and loving on the babe

it was a great trip, and it was sooo fun to see seth and the family. i feel so blessed that i found such an amazing family for my little seth. they are so great! we had a really fun trip and it's already been over a week since we've been back!

house update

2010-07-01T09:57:00.001-06:00

we went out to see the house last night....this is what it looks like

i can't wait!!!!

eclipse

2010-06-30T09:56:00.001-06:00

yes..i went to the midnight premire of eclipse this morning. yes i'm working today. yes i only got about 2.5 hours of sleep. and yes, i'm insane. to be honest the midnight premire wasn't something that really mattered to me...i would have been fine seeing the movie in a few days...or a week, but me and a few gals from work decided to try and win tickets....and we did! so we went, and we had fun! the movie was GREAT and the company was even better. i'm tired now, and i know this afternoon will be murder...but it was worth it.
the movie is really good. lots of action, some comedy (gotta love charlie), plenty of eye candy (jacob anyone?), romance, and my favorite part...more of the cullens! it's about time we saw more of them. i'd love to go see it again (movies are better the second time around). did anyone else go to the midnight premire? what did you think of the movie?

guest blogger

2010-06-29T16:03:00.000-06:00

so i was asked to be a "guest blogger" on an adoption blog! i was asked just to tell my adoption story. it ended up being longer than i thought it would, but if any of you are interested here is the link. it was a tougher story to write than i thought it would be. i've told the story many times, but going through the pictures and old letters and everything was hard, but it was good for me to go back and, in a way, relive that part of my life. let me know what you think!
p.s my mom and i took Stone down to Utah this weekend, and we met up with Seth and his family. we had a great trip! i'll post more about it later because the pictures are on my moms camera...and we all ike posts with pictures more.

in the last week

2010-06-23T11:17:00.001-06:00

it's been a week since i last posted and since then a few things have happened. the biggest and most upsetting is that our dogs ran away...we found one, but the other is still lost. he has tags and a newspaper ad and flyers have been posted (thanks to patti and amanda). we got a tip yesterday from a guy who said he saw wolfie sunday night...so as far as we know he's still alive and just running around lost. ace (the other dog) is pretty broken up about it and hasn't been the same since. wolfie is a dark grey/ black mini schnauzer, is wearing a black collar and tags. he was lost in ammon...if any of you see or hear of anything please let me know...we miss our boy!

in other news...my house has walls!!!!

front views

my guys checking out their soon to be new digs

or..i guess i should say some walls. but things are coming along (funny how things seem small until they are finished)! we are even supposed to start picking out our exterior doors and windows! i can't wait! i'm so excited to have my own brand new home!

also....i'm super excited for this weekend because.....my mom, stone, and i are going down to utah to shop and see seth and his family!!! i haven't seen them i 3 years and i'm soooo excited!!! hopefully stone will do well on the drive...and i hope he sleeps well in the hotel. i will be shopping mainly for outfits for stones 8 month photoshoot, happening july 10th with ms.annalee taylor of a.taylor photography. she is so talented and i'm super excited to have her get a few shots of my little guy. lots of stuff going on right now and i'm so excited!

just an update

2010-06-15T10:18:00.001-06:00

we actually SAW progress on our house the other day!!! i know there are a lot of things that happen "behind the scenes" and things that need to be built before they get to the job site...so i know that things have been happening, but it's exciting to see things goin on.

it doesn't loo like much....but it's very excitig to us.

it's still hard for me to "see" where there is room for everything, but trusses and load bearing walls make it a little easier.

josh looking happy about the work

josh stopped by the lot on his way home last night and said that all the trusses were finished and framing should start this week (if the weather holds out)

in other news stone is still growing fast and being the best baby a gal could ask for.

he's learned to drink from a straw (still no interest in holding his own bottle tho)

rode in a shopping cart without his baby carrier for the first time and LOVED it.

likes his daddy more than anyone else

likes to try on dad's hat

and is just too cute!

are we excited?

2010-06-10T11:12:00.001-06:00

i am! i just saw a new cip from eclipse and i thought i'd share with you
only 20 more days...but who's counting? eclipse was my favorite book so i can't wait to see the movie!
i have also been listening to the soundtrack and it's great! anything to get a little fix right?

june?

2010-06-01T10:37:00.000-06:00

can you believe that it's june already?? and we haven't had more than a week of nice weather yet this year! which makes building a house really tough. it's still going up, but it's been slow going...it looks like we won't be moving in till august....at least we have a decent house to live in until then.

stone is 7 months old today!

i can't believe how time flies! i always thought that having a baby would be so tough at first that it would seem like the day would never end (i'll be honest...there has been a few nights that i thought would never end), but it's been so fast...and for the most part (dare i say it?)....easy! he is learning so much and getting cuter and cuter every day. he's rolling all over the place, doing his best to sit up all by himself, grabs toys (and things he isn't supposed to have), and switches things from hand to hand. he's eating his baby food really well and really seems to like it.

josh and i are just working and loving our time together and with our little one. at the end of the day it sometimes feels like we haven't said more than 10 words to each other all day...we really charish our weekends. our anniversary was nice...we went to dinner at the sandpiper just the two of us. kim and robb watched stone for a few hours, so josh and i had time to talk and eat with no interuptions. we missed our little bug but it was so nice!

that's all that's been going on with us...just living.

4 years

2010-05-20T17:03:00.020-06:00

4 years ago i married this handsome guy i wore this dress my daddy walked me down the isle and everyone was there.we cut the cake i threw the bouquetteand he took off my garter (with his teeth). it was a great day! in the last 4 years we have....gotten one new car, gone to two pearl jam concerts together (he's been to 4 since), had a total of 3 dogs at one time, lost a favorite pet, gone to countless jazz games got pregnant had a beautiful baby boy started building a new house

and so many other things! it's been a fantastic 4 years and i'm so excited to have many more years with my hubby!

beauty loot

2010-05-13T09:06:00.003-06:00

ok...so this is my beauty arsenal

it's just my everyday tools to make myself look presentable...you know....foundation, powder, blush, eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner, eyebrow filler, lip gloss, and all the tools that are used to apply, pluck, groom and curl.

josh seems to think that it's insane that a woman who claims to be low maintenance would need this much stuff (especially brushes) to get ready in the morning. i told him that this is very minimal compared to all the women out there that have a lot of hair who need blow dryers, curling irons, straighteners, and/or diffusers.

so what do all you ladies use every morning? and do your husbands/boyfriends/roomates think it's too much?

boring updates

2010-05-12T15:20:00.005-06:00

as you can tell, nothing much has been going on with us. the house is still coming along, work is still just fine, i still hate leaving my baby every day, i am still off my diet pepsi (and it's actually not been TOO tough), and we are still 100% head over heels in love with stone

can you see one of the reasons why? isn't he just the cutest?! we took him into his 6 month checkup yesterday and he's growing like crazy! he rolled over yesterday, and he had his first taste of rice cereal as well!

he didn't seem to love it (but it's pretty nasty stuff..i wouldn't love it either), but he didn't seem to mind it too much. we will be starting fruits and veggies next week....i think he will like that better.

i had my first mothers day (where i actaully got to hold my baby instead of just looking at pictures with a slight stab of pain in my heart), and i really thought all day of how grateful i am to be a mom....i've been a birthmom for a while now, but this is so much different....i feel so blessed that i finally get to raise my little one. he is so good, and innocent, and precious. it's a lot of work being a mom, but it's work that i enjoy and wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

josh and i will be celebrating our 4 year anniversary this month! i love my hubby. i'm so glad that he's mine, and that we get to experience life together.

and that's all that's going on with us.

goodbye....it's been fun

2010-04-30T09:45:00.002-06:00

dear diet pepsi-

it's been a great ride. we've had some good times (road trips, camping trips, card games, and lazy summer afternoons), and i'm pretty sure that we could have more, but let's be honest...you aren't good for me. if it weren't for you my belly and hips might be a little smaller....if it weren't for you i would drink more water, and despite your caffiine....i think overall i would have more energy if it weren't for you.

oh i enjoy you very much, i love your sweet (but not too sweet) taste, i enjoy the fizz, and i mostly enjoy the feeling that the first sip brings....but it's not enough. so i'm saying "goodbye". this isn't a break....this is a break up....forever.

goodbye....it's been sweet (but not too sweet).

must read

2010-04-28T11:14:00.005-06:00

ok....so i just finished the first two books in the "hunger games" series

...and they were FANTASTIC! i can't wait for the next book to come out (not till august). this is a must read series. it's action packed (not cheesy action) with some romance (but not so much that a guy wouldn't like it...in fact i think most guys would really like them) and a touch of fantasy/ sci fi. they are easy reads and rumor has it that a movie based on the books will be in production soon. seriously...read these books and let me know what you think!

the weekend

2010-04-26T09:05:00.002-06:00

well, we made it through our first road trip with an infant...and it went great! stone slept most of the way there and back. what a good baby. he didn't sleep super great once we got there though....but once i brough him to bed with me he was out like a light.
i WAY overpacked (i wanted to be prepared for anything)...but the one thing that didn't make it into the suitcase was jammies.....for any of us! nice.
it was a fun, short weekend, and it's always nice to get home to our own beds.

in the sun

2010-04-23T09:37:00.002-06:00

this song and video just makes me happy....ok...the video is a little cheesy but too cute.

first road trip

2010-04-23T08:11:00.002-06:00

ok...so this weekend josh and i are being brave and taking stone to utah....yes...a 4 hour drive with an infant. we are going down to stay with some friends for the night. i'm super excited to go and get out of town....but i'm a little nervous about the car ride. there is a good chance that stone will sleep most of the drive....but who knows. any tips on traveling with a baby? and i know the things that we need to pack (bottles, formula, clothes, ect.), but doesn anyone have any tips on making packing a little easier? or what do you all bring on overnight trips for your littles?? i'm new at this...i hope it goes well....wish me luck!

as a birthmom

2010-04-21T16:47:00.004-06:00

i just want to say that as a birthmom i love knowing that my childs parents are thinking of me. every year on seths birthday i get beautiful flowers with a little note telling me how thankful kristi and riley are for their child....they don't need to send gifts....just a note is great....but i love knowing that they are thinking of me and it means so much that they make the effort to let me know how wonderful their little "gift" is. thanks kristi and riley! i love you!

six years ago

2010-04-14T08:45:00.002-06:00

six years ago today i was laying in the hospital with a sweet little baby boy that i love, but who was not meant to be "mine". i was a jumble of every emotion imagineable, i was happy, excited, sad, angry, scared, proud, thankful....but mostly i was just in awe at this little life that i had just brought into the world and how much i loved him...i never knew you could love someone that much.
as i sat and looked into seth's sweet face i couldn't believe that i was planning on placing him with another family...that i had to let him go, but because i loved him as much as i did (and still do), i knew i could do it....that i HAD to do it...for him. he was meant to have a beautiful and perfect life, and at the time i wasn't able to provide that, but i COULD give him a family that would make him their everything and that's what i did.
i held seth every minuet that i could for two days...for two days he was just mine...for two days i told him that i loved him..and for two days I was his everything...it was amazing.
i wish i could be there today on his sixth birthday. i want to watch him open his star wars gifts (he loves star wars). i want to watch him play with his friends and marvel at what a grown up boy he is. but even though i can't be there i know that i will get pictures of his day, and emails telling me exactly what it was like and how happy he was, and he will get my little gift in the mail, and even though it's not much he'll know who it came from and that i still love him and think of him every day.
this may seem like it's a sad blog post, but it's not. i'm so happy today. happy that seth has the family that he was meant to have...that his whole family will be around celebrating him today, that he has the perfect life that every little boy should have..and that he's 6 years old!
i'm not gonna lie...i feel a little empty, like i do every year on his birthday....but that's ok...i knew i would feel this way. i used to feel this way (but 50 times worse)every day, but gradually over time it's gotten better. it's been a long road, and i'm go grateful to all the people who have helped me through...so today is a great day!
happy birthday seth!! i love you!

easter 2010

2010-04-05T13:43:00.004-06:00

we had a good, low key easter this year. the easter bunny visited our house and left both josh and stone gifts (mine came a few days early in the form of a new purse).

stones basket included a teething toy, two books, baby einsten (baby noah), and a new outfit. he was super excited about his gifts as you can see (or he just wanted to suck on his new pants), and he looked super handsome in his new outfit....don't you agree?

we went to my mom and dads for a delicious lunch, and of course stone got an easter basket there too. there were toys and clothes in it, AND he also got an easter basket from grandma patti and grandpa ron which had more clothes, shoes that belonged to josh when he was little (so cute), and candy for mom and dad (spoiled kid). we came home and watched the first baseball game of the year, and hung out just the three of us.

in other news...construction has started on our house! the hole is being dug as we speak! next we will just have to wait for the ground to dry enough to pour a foundation (idaho weather sucks)!

how cute is this face?

2010-03-30T08:35:00.005-06:00

i know i'm a little biased, but isn't this the cutest face in the whole world?? stone is doing great! growing like crazy (17lbs. already!), and getting smarter and learning new things every day. he will be 5 mo. old on april 1st, and i can't believe it's already been that long, it really seems like we just brought him home a few weeks ago. he's been a fantastic baby for the most part (of course i have no frame of referance), and i think josh and i have transitioned into parenthood pretty nicely. we have had a few tough days (and nights), and there was one small breakdown on my part (many more to come i'm sure), but all in all...it's been great!

stone has a new jumper now, and he loves it!

he can really get some air in it. it's the "graco bumper jumper", and if anyone is looking for a doorway jumper this is the one to get (in my opinion). he still won't roll over which worries me a little, but i'm told that it takes babys a lot longer than it used to because they don't spend as much time on their tummies. i'm sure he'll get the hang of it soon. he does have a tooth coming in which has made him a litte cranky the last few days (super fun), but i know it could be worse....so i'll take a little cranky over super cranky any day. sleeping is going really well....we gave in and gave the binky back (we tried to take it for a few nights), but it hasn't been a problem since then (yay!). he's usually sleeping from about 9:30 till around 5 or 6 with no interuptions at all.

as for josh and i.....we are both just working, and trying not to go crazy waiting on the house. it has been marked off and there is a big truck on the lot just waiting to dig (funny thing is...it's parked right where our driveway will be)...we just have to have the right weather (it's idaho...is that ever gonna happen?)

my hero

2010-03-23T10:18:00.004-06:00

...it's my phone, no i'm not saying that my phone is ACTUALLY my hero, but that's what my new phone is called...the HTC HERO (from sprint). i finally have a fancy phone and i love it! this thing does EVERYTHING...email, facebook, twitter, internet, blogging, pictures, video, weather...you name it this little baby does it. sure it has a few (very few in my opinion) issues along the way (short battery life being the biggest annoyance), but i figure....it's basically a palm sized computer that also makes phone calls, it's amazing, so i can handle a few issues.
josh and i were both due for phone upgrades, and we decided that we deserved to splurge on ourselves a little (being new parents is hard work).

it's been two weeks with my hero and i've downloaded some great apps (and some not so great ones), personalized to my hearts content, learned a few (very few) things about android phones, and basically just had a blast.

this is what the hero looks like out of the box

nice and streamline, but a little boring for me. so after some searching online for some cute "skins", i made a decision and got mine yesterday...put it on and this is what my hero looks like today

i got the skin from decal girl and i LOVE it.

bottom line, if anyone is looking for a new fancy phone go with the hero...you won't be dissapointed.

tease

2010-03-12T10:33:00.001-07:00

it seems like june 30th is so far away!! are you as excited as i am?

help!

2010-03-10T09:35:00.002-07:00

ok...i need your help...again. stone used to be a GREAT sleeper..and now he's not. i haven't changed anything about our bedtime routine, but i think the problem is that he is overly dependant on his paci, he is upset whenever it falls out. he doesn't have the paci during the day (except naps). so i guess my question is....how did you wean your babies off of the paci? do i just take it away one night and let him cry (i'll admit i'm a pushover), or do i just wait and see if he grows out of it? it's been really frusterating these last few nights getting up in the middle of the night to go find the binki and then getting up every 15 min after that to put it back in until he is deep asleep. this can't continue...HELP!

house plans

2010-03-03T10:12:00.007-07:00

wanna see our house??
there are going to be a few minor changes to the floorplan (there will be a wall and french doors that seperate the entry way from the upstairs living room, we are thinking of making the half bath off the garage into a mudroom instead, we are adding a fireplace to the great room, and we are adding a door from the front "porch" into the garage), and we are only planning on finishing the family room in the basement for right now. we are super excited tho, and can't wait to get started!

~fun weekend~

2010-03-01T11:06:00.009-07:00

we had a super fun weekend...and get this...i didn't even cry when my mom pulled out of our driveway with stone! yay me! i did call and check on him at least 4 times that day, and i missed him like crazy, but it was really nice to get away for a night.

when we got to utah we headed to the gateway mall to kill some time before dinner. the only thing we bought was...chocolate from the rocky mountain chocolate company (and we ate it before dinner). then we headed over to benihana for dinner. i think josh and i were the only ones that liked it....but i'm so glad we ate there.....yum!

then it was over to the arena for the jazz game. we were up in the nosebleeds, but it was a great game (we won by like 20 and d will had 35 points!) and we all had fun. the next morning josh and amanda and i got up and went to the hospital to visit grandpa fife (he was lifeflighted to slc about a month ago with a severe case of spinal menigitis). he seemed to be doing really well. we stayed for some of his physical therapy to be his cheeleaders, and he did super good! it was nice to see him in such good spirits.

after that we headed home to see this chubby guy and i couldn't wait to get to him. he had a blast at grandmas house, but seemed pretty happy to see me and josh.

on the way home from my moms house we stopped by our lot to take a picture because digging is supposed to happen this week (i'll believe it when it happens)!i know it doesn't look like much now...but in about 4 months we will be looking at the front of our new house! can't wait!

last but not least...we got stones pictures back and they are sooo cute! these are just a few of my faves

had to have a shot with a pearl jam shirt and a guitar case

wish stone was looking in this one...but oh wellthere are plenty more that i love (kacie is fantastic)...but i'm sure you are all bored now. that was our weekend, and now we start another week.

weekend plans

2010-02-26T09:52:00.002-07:00

we are going to a jazz game this weekend! i'm super excited to go, but it will be the first overnight without stone. i know he will be fine, and i know my mom (she's taking him for the night) is super excited to have him to herself overnight, so i'm not worried about them...i'm worried about me. i'm gonna miss him so much. it might be different if i was home with him every day, but i'm not, and i only get nights and weekends with him. we will only be gone saturday night, but i know i'm gonna miss him like crazy! i know that we need to get out of town without the baby, and it will be good for us, and we are gonna have so much fun...i love going down to the games and being with josh and hanging out with the rest of the fam. go jazz!

house update and

2010-02-23T16:06:00.006-07:00

yes we are still planning on building our house...it's just taken about 6 months to get all of the loans approved and all of the paperwork in and finished. and as of yesterday we are ALL approved to build and on friday we should have our building permits! wahoo!!! i can't believe that it's finally happening. we are so grateful to be in the rental house that we are in...but we CANNOT wait to get into our own place that we can call home and actually feel like that's what it is...our home. i'm sure there will be a lot of drama from here on out...mostly from me about decisions that i'm not sure how to make....but it will all be worth it in the end. we are sooo excited!!!

and

i can't leave you all without a little update on our little bug...

he loves to suck on his fingers...he is laughing now...he has briefly found his toes...he likes to "stand" and "talk"...and he's trying to roll over!

he likes his sling (leslie...am i wearing it right? and please ignore how odd i look in this one)...and it's nice because it gives me two free hands to do dishes and fold laundry or whatever when he just wants to be held. i LOVE it, and i totally recomend it to anyone who has or is having a baby...it can be worn three different ways to suit you and your little one. find them at cornflower attic (she also makes totes and nursing covers).

loving the generic?

2010-02-17T14:33:00.003-07:00

ok...so let me just start by saying you know that you're a mom when you write blog posts about diapers...welcome to the motherhood.
for a while i was having a hard time because i could NOT find any diapers that i liked...i bought packs of huggies, pampers, luvs..basically all of the "name brand" diapers...not necisarilly because they were name brand but because i figured one of them had to be the best (it's what they use in the hospitals). well after all of them failed (leaks, blowouts, weird pee smells) i decided to give the generic "parents choice" brand a try...what could it hurt right? i spent half of what i would have on a name brand and so far i LOVE them! now, i know this could change once he starts to get more mobile...but for now i'm loving the generic.

more pictures

2010-02-17T14:29:00.003-07:00

so kacie posted more pictures of stone on her photo blog! go check them out at eyecandybykacie. i seriously suggest that everyone get a hold of kacie and have her do your pictures too...she was so great with stone and we had so much fun (after we got him fed)! she's just so talented!

gravity

2010-02-15T10:47:00.004-07:00

this weekend we went to "gravity" presented by TDC (the dance collaborative), and it was FANTASTIC! this beautiful lady

is my sister-in-law and she is one of the directors of TDC (go here for the TDC blog). she put this whole performance together including choreographing about half of the dances, dancing in a lot of the pieces, putting costumes together, and picking out the perfect music. she did a fantastic job and we really enjoyed the performance. even stone loved it. he sat in my lap the whole time and stared at the dancers and the lights....it was so cute! we are so proud of amanda and we are so excited for the next performance!

reviews

2010-02-12T08:18:00.006-07:00

so i was going through a lot of my older blog posts, and i realized that i used to report on any movies and/or TV shows that i saw...i also realized that i haven't done this in a while, so i'm going to give you my opinion on a few things.1- greys anatomy: i used to be a fan of the show, but this season doesn't seem to have the same greatness that the others have had. maybe it's because george bit the dust (he was my fave), or because izzie has been MIA (what's the deal there?), maybe now that mcdreamy and merideth are married the frusterating drama is gone...whatever it is the show just isn't holding my attention like it used to, but i still have to watch because i've followed it this long and i have to know how things end up.

2- dear john: it was a super cute movie (not as good as the notebook...but what is?). now when i say cute i mean it's not a show that your hubbys or boyfriends would enjoy even a tiny bit (josh would have sat next to me and died if he had to sit through it) it's a great show to go and see with the girls though! it's got a cute story, some tear jerker moments (i didn't cry tho...which i'm quite suprised about), a few good laughs, and a little bit of eye candy. what more does a movie need?

3-new moon: ok...i know i don't need to say anything about new moon because you have all seen it and it was FANTASTIC! i liked it better than twilight. the acting was great, i felt like it folllowed the book pretty well, there was some good comedy, some heartache (how sad is it when he leaves her in the woods?), more than your fill of shirtless warewolves, and i loved the special effects. can't wait till this one comes out on DVD (march 20th ladies!).

4- the host: i had a hard time getting into the story, but now that i've pushed through the first little bit of it i'm really enjoying the story, and find myself wondering what's going to happen next. if you have started reading the host and then just couldn't get into it....try again...push through the first 80 or so pages and you won't be sorry.

5- dark tower series: i know that stephen king has a reputation of writing mostly scary books, but this series is fantastic. it's weird, and confusing, and yes sometimes it's a little scary. but the story is amazing and the characters are so great. i so wish that these 7 (yes 7!) books would be made into movies. oh and if you are at all familiar with other stephen king books you will be amazed at how this series and all of his other books weave together....amazing!

6- private practice: still love this show!

7- bones: love love love bones! the first few seasons were the best, but this new one is good. if you haven't seen bones netflix it!

8-24: new york is about to get jacked! we are hooked on 24 (i can't say that i love freddie pince jr. character yet tho). so far this season has been ok..but i hear that it gets GREAT later in the season, so we are hanging in there...we love that jack is back!