darling dalbys

Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-21T14:54:00.011-07:00

YAY!! Blogger finally worked for me! I've been trying to upload these photos since the beginning of October. I love how these turned out, I'd for sure recommend this studio to anoyone! Enjoy the picture overload and have a very Merry Christmas!

blogger hates me

2011-12-19T16:31:00.003-07:00

Seriously...I've tried to post on here for the last 2 months and it never works!! If this post ends up working out, here is a little song to wish you all Merry Christmas from me. Comment on this guy's YouTube page, he is so good and such a nice kid!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL7h76pDojA&feature=share

Disneyland -- June 2011

2011-09-27T14:15:00.014-06:00

This is for you Rachel. You are my only follower.

Ok this may also be for my family history. I'm so great at journaling, taking pictures (ummm I left my camera at home for this trip....my kids' FIRST trip to Disneyland. Go me.) recording our family history and stuff, etc. etc.

So my little brother left on his mission to Russia at the end of June. My family took a fun trip down to a beachouse in Newport Beach, CA for a week before he left. I know Matt was/is concerned that my kids won't remember him, and I'm really hoping they will. Here are a few snapshots from the trip. By a few, I mean alot.

We attempted to do an unplanned family picture on the beach, using the timer. It kind of worked. And no, my sisters did not intentionally wear the exact same outfit.

We are funny. We like to do stupid stuff, like this.

Matt sandwich!!

Notice the "Grump Face." I have been getting this look alot more lately. She is going on 3, not 13 right??

The mornings.

DISNEYLAND!!

Let me just offer you all one piece of advice (yes, I was also given this advice, but I did not follow it). Do not take your kids on all the big and scary rides first, or the rest of the day they will look like this:

Terrified. Awesome Mom Award for sure this year.

Bubble machines. So expensive. But so worth it!

45 minute wait for the 3D Toy Story ride in the middle of the day = Alexa falls asleep and misses the whole thing. Too funny.

Who doesn't love a cute beach bum picture??

Best Day Ever

2011-09-21T11:46:00.003-06:00

I suck at blogging. But here's a picture you all might enjoy. Just a little a bit, if you haven't already seen it on Facebook or ever even look at this thing...

Please tell me he did not just say that....

2011-03-07T17:55:00.003-07:00

aka "The Daily Colton" aka "Pete Repeat"

So we are at the grocery store and I'm letting Colton pick out the soda for his birthday party, and he points at a drink and asks:

"Mom, is that Bud Light?"

Me: (trying not to completely freak) "What do you mean Bud Light? Where have you ever even heard of that before? We don't drink that buddy."

Colton: (completely matter-of-fact) "Well, in football they say 'Bud Light is a good time'."

Oh Boy...

"Lil C" is not so lil anymore...

2011-02-14T13:32:00.005-07:00

Colton turned 4! He has been so excited and for the last week every morning he would wake up and the first thing he'd ask was "Am I four yet mommy?" So cute! His party was a lot of fun and we were glad to have everyone over. He got some great presents from his friends and family, and today was super excited to get his bike from Mom, Dad, and Alexa. We are just looking forward to warmer weather now!

Happy birthday my little man, I love you! You are such a good example to your little sister (most of the time:) ) and are a joy to be around. You have the best laugh in the world, even complete strangers light up and laugh when they hear your adorable giggle. You are the most curious kid ever, and the questions you come up with never cease to amaze me. I will still never understand how we get from where the earth is to if God's parents are nice to what a graveyard is in the span of 5 minutes, but it makes me smile anyway! You are a funny little man who remembers EVERYTHING and sometimes you are absolutely crazy. It is so fun to watch you grow up! Happy Birthday Colton!

Alexatar

2011-02-05T10:32:00.005-07:00

A new post! How excited are you? Ha ha..

We decided to head to St. George for some last minute rest and relaxation...wouldn't you guess an hour into our stay Alexa falls and smacks her face right on the fireplace hearth. Saddest/scariest thing to date with my kids I think. Luckily she is still so young her nose is mostly cartilage and it wasn't broken, but she sure looked like it! Hence the nickname Alexatar; with her nose so swollen and bruised she looked just like our own little Avatarian princess.

The nose:

The culprit:

Of course our little princess bounced right back the very next day!

Alexa turns 2

2010-11-10T15:10:00.003-07:00

I am only about a month late here but oh well. Alexa turned 2 last month and we had a fun little party to celebrate. I may have died a few fingers black for a week or two but I think the black pumpkins were a success...at least in my book.

Alexa is such an entertaining little thing around our house. She talks more than any other kid and it surprises everyone how well she can talk too. Some of my favorite phrases are "That wasn't supposed to happen" or when she sings "Your heart's an empty hole" (yes, Christmas is in full swing at our house already...). She is the most polite 2 year aroundand says "Thank You" and "You're Welcome" a hundred times a day but is also the biggest tease to Colton, poor big brother. She still loves to growl and scare people and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Here's her most recent bio:

Height: 36 inches (95%)

Weight: 26 lbs (49%)

Favorite Color: pink

Favorite Toys: Iron man, Kitten, Legos

Favorite Shows: Scooby Doo, Spongebob

"Grr"

Stubborn. Just like her mama.

Except when you ask her to show her pretty face. ADORABLE.

It's about time!

2010-10-25T14:35:00.003-06:00

I am finally updating this thing... And I can't believe how much my kids have changed since the last time I blogged. It's official people, Alexa can grow hair! We are still waiting to take her for her first haircut ever...pathetic I know but she's adorable anyway. Here are some updated family pictures we had taken at Gardner Village.

Dino Museum

2010-03-13T13:57:00.003-07:00

Lately we have been frequenting the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It makes me laugh how Colton breezes past all the exhibits just to get to the sand box at the end. I love making him stop for 2 seconds every now and then to make him tell me which dinosaur is which. I am amazed at how easily he recognizes the dinosaur skeletons and how perfectly he pronounces their names. Seriously what 3 year old knows what a Pteranadon skeleton looks like, let alone how to say it? Alexa is so entertaining just trying to keep up with Colton and attempting to engage the other kids in conversation. She is such a little chatterbox of complete nonsense other than "Thank You" and "Colton" and a few random perfectly pronounced words and phrases in between...

on to the catch up

2010-02-20T22:27:00.009-07:00

I won't bore you with all the details, but here is a little bit of a recap of the last few months for us Darling little Dalbys...

Back to December (that was what, only 3 months ago? ha ha) Alexa broke her arm! Ok so we're pretty sure it was Colton's fault since he admits to pushing her off the bed, but he admits to pretty much anything you ask him so who knows for sure. All I know is I learned not to let the kids play on my bed while I get dressed...Here are pictures of the little sweetheart just as happy as can be even with a cast on. She managed to pull her arm out of the first one so we had to go back and get one that went past her elbow. This girl is just so calm and mellow and easy, if all kids were like this one, I would have ten.

Lex and her curls just after getting her new cast. She is finally starting to get more hair. Slowly but surely...which I am thankful for because I have NO idea how to do her hair!

Colton and his new "big boy" carseat. Yes I know using the harness and seatbelt aren't safe-it is not actually in the car like that don't worry.

Then there was Christmas. The kids loved it and I loved that I could use Santa and the Elves as a reason for Colton to be good. Why can't that last all year? Colton loves his robot truck and so does Alexa. All that girls needs are some cars, trucks, trains, you name all the boy toys and she wants them. Put a doll or a My Little Pony in front of her and she'll think you're crazy.

Best breakfast ever!

Such a tired/excited face! Funny enough we finally woke him up at about 8:30 Christmas morning. I don't think that will last much longer.

Pretty much the most attention those ponies have ever seen

We have been to Discovery Gateway quite frequently lately, taking advantage of our season pass before it expires at the end of next month. I love getting the kids out of the house! We love going down to the Dinosaur Museum and meeting up with Dad there for his lunch breaks. Colton is getting more and more obsessed with dinosaurs and it's fun to hear him talk about them and pronounce their names so clearly. We went to the zoo a few weeks ago when it was getting warmer and it was so fun to see the animals being way more active! I felt bad because I scared Colton by telling him the bears and the tigers wanted to eat him because they kept looking at him. Lesson learned-Colton believes everything I say.

Then there was Colton's birthday! Mine is the 13th, then there's Colton's on the 14th and Valentine's Day just gets lost in the mix sometimes. We had a fun party at Discovery Gateway for Colton and it was great to see how happy he was that all his friends were there for him. He loooooved hearing the museum-wide birthday announcement and going crazy in the party room. Thanks to everyone who came, he felt really special!

Oh those Spiderman boots-Colton loves those things and pretty much refuses to wear anything else. It is awesome especially when he doesn't wear socks with them which is pretty regular.

seriously slacking...

2010-01-26T12:37:00.003-07:00

Is it just me or when you know you have a lot of catching up to do on your blog doesn't it make it that much harder to sit down and blog? I guess I could just skip on all the holidays but then I think 10 years down the road I'm going to wonder what we did and if I don't have it here where else will I have it? But then again I wonder if I'll really care in 10 years? Who knows...but just for the chance that I will, one of these days I'm going to get around to updating this thing. One day...

How great is this for the 100th post? I guess I could mention that finally Alexa started walking this month. It only took her 14 months, but she got it down thank goodness!!!

Thank you Mr. Wonka...

2009-12-03T15:31:00.005-07:00

I already have my hands full with this little doll...she is one and she already has the shimmy down! You get a little preview at the beginning, but the best is at the end. She pretty much dances to anything these days.

I had to throw in this video of Colton singing about what a "nincompoop" August Gloop is. As you can tell, he really latched on to the word poop. Total boy. If you watch Alexa, she is grooving along in the bacground; totally shaking her hips. That girl is a dancing machine I tell you!

Lately the kids have been treated to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" while I make food and clean the kitchen. As you can see it has worked well so far.

The Daily Colton

2009-12-01T09:36:00.004-07:00

Brent took Colton to Home Depot the other day, and this was Colton's reaction to the place...

"Daddy, this place is so boring. I've never been so bored my whole life. We have to leave, it's way too boring for me."

Apparently the kid only likes the stuff when it's Handy Manny style, the real thing just doesn't cut it...

THANKS!!!

2009-11-29T13:42:00.004-07:00

For new babies!!! This Thanksgiving was extra special since I found out I get to be a new aunt twice! I am so incredibly excited for my sister to have her first new little baby coming in July! I am so excited to find out what she is having and am glad that Alexa will have some cousins semi-close in age (they will only be 1 year apart in school-yay!) Brent's brother and his wife also announced that they will be having a little girl in May and I am really excited for them, too! I think I am maybe most excited that I get to have all these little newborns around and I don't have to be pregnant. Anybody who knows me really well knows that if I could, I would constantly have a newborn. Forget being pregnant or having to raise the kids-I want a permanent newborn! Those first 2 months are always my favorite. So anyway, congrats to the new parents and you better believe I will be holding your babies every chance I get!! These next few months are going to creep on by very slowly...

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T19:01:00.003-07:00

Halloween was so much fun with Colton this year! We kept it really simple-dropped by Grandma and Grandpa Dalby's and then trick-or-treated to the few houses in our circle. I don't think that will last next year when Colton realizes we can go to more houses but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it...

Pumpkins

2009-10-27T21:19:00.004-06:00

Colton, Brent, and I carved pumpkins Sunday night after Alexa went to bed. They took FOREVER but were still really fun and Colton was surprisingly entertained the entire time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXA!!!

2009-10-11T21:03:00.005-06:00

This will be just a quickie-I need to go to bed but I HAD to wish my little princess a Happy Birthday since she turned 1 today! I still am amazed at how fast the last year has flown by. We had Lexi's birthday party yesterday and despite her current teething crankiness it was a success. I took one picture right before her party started-I seriously struggle! Next year I will do better. I will post more about her when I have a little more time...she is the sweetest little bear we could have asked for and even though she misses her binkie and her bottle she is being quite the little champ about it!

We went to my grandparents to celebtrated all the October birthdays on my Dad's side of the family tonight. This is my attempt at a cute pumpkin cake. Hopefully next year I will be better at that, too!

GO UTES!

2009-09-27T16:23:00.002-06:00

Growing up

2009-09-18T15:45:00.006-06:00

My babies are more like kids and less like babies everyday and it is awesome. I hope someday I am able to capture a picture of the two of them both looking at the camera and both smiling.

After a full week of no wet pants and (FINALLY) pooping in the toilet today...I am officially reporting that Colton is potty trained!!! I'm sure all of you are wanting to know how excellent he has been at peeing in the potty (he goes an ENTIRE night=12+ hours; and 3-4 hours during the day without a single accident) and how NOT-excellent he has been at pooping in the potty, but today he finally figured out how much better it is to not have to throw your favorite big boy undies away if you just poop in the toilet. We started potty training him last week and I am so proud of him for getting it down so quick!! He even washes his hands all by himself. Such a stud. I hear horror stories about boys and have my own delightful memories from my little bro trying to figure it out so am very grateful for how easy Colton has been. I don't know if any of you mom's out there want some pointers but I am happy to share our strategy if you want it. I think the best advice we followed was never using pull-ups. Nowadays he is obssessed with Halloween and Utah football just like me and runs around yelling either "Go Utes," "Touchdown Utah," or "Suck your blood!!!" and is great at laughing like a scary witch. He is hilarious!

And on to Alexa-dang I wish she would just walk already! Seriously! I think I am one of few moms who want their kids to walk asap. I think life is just so much easier when they walk. I am not a huge fan of the crawling stage. She is almost there, hopefully (CROSSING MY FINGERS!!) she will be walking in time for her birthday in just a few weeks. I can't believe my baby is almost one! I don't know if I have ever mentioned how this little child growls like a grizzly bear (hence her nickname Lexibear) but one of these days I will get a short little video of it and post it. She is the spotlight of every party with that little growl of hers. Her hair is growing slowly but surely. I hope one of these days I'll be able to actually put a clip in her hair and maybe just maybe by the time she is 2 I will finally be able to do pigtails...maybe. She is blabbering away and her new favorite phrase is "uh-oh." She is adorable!

And how cute is this little baby elephant? I have to add that I totally spaced Colton needing to go potty while we were at the zoo yesterday-he went the entire time plus the drive home. Another proud mom moment for me! :)

Maui Wowi

2009-09-03T15:37:00.007-06:00

Brent and I got super lucky and spent an entire week in Maui with just the two of us. Major thanks to both sets of grandparents for taking care of the kids!! This was the first time I had left Lexi overnight, so it was a bit of an adjustment especially because a)I just stopped nursing about a week before we left and b) we were gone for so long! Everyday I wished the kids were there but it was also really nice that they weren't because we actually relaxed, spent time together, and talked about things other than what the kids did that day. Here is a breakdown of our week...

Friday: We arrived in Maui at about 2:30. Stopped at Costco, went to the condo, drove to Lahaina and walked around there, went to the grocery store, and went to bed at like 8. (Can you tell we are parents?)

Saturday: I woke up at like 4 am and couldn't really fall back to sleep (yes, I missed the kids. It was 8 am Utah time and that is usually when I get up with my little Lexi bear). So I went running by the beach. It was awesome; there were so many paddeboarders and surfers out, it was sweet. We went to the beach across the street (Ha'amole II) from our condo, had chips and salsa at Fred's (only the best Mexican Restaurant in Maui! Thanks Kristin and Randy!!) and then played beach volleyball with some very entertaining locals for about 4 hours. One of them had a boxer named Harley Girl who I fell in love with and wanted to take home.

Ha'amole Beach

Brent goofing off :)

Us and Harley Girl...I miss that doggie!!

Sunday we semi-slept in and lounged around, then drove up to Ka'anapali where we stayed last time and walked around at Whaler's Village. We grilled some delicious steaks then headed over to "Little Beach" (yes, the naked beach) where we were told every Sunday they have a big drum and fire-dancing show. I will say most people were dressed thank goodness...but it was a total hippie fest and after having a few "sausages" walk right in front of our faces, we decided to go home and watch a movie! It was a pretty entertaining experience to say the least though...

Monday we headed to Big Beach and had a blast playing and boogie boarding in the huge waves there! (Ok Brent more than me...I got a little absorbed in a book...)

Big Beach-if you climb over the little mountain behind me you are at Little Beach

Tuesday a certain male in the family was suffering from a bit of a sunburn, so we hiked to the Nakalele Blowhole and drove over to the Olivine Pools. We didn't hike down to them, it was pretty far but we got a great view of them and the ocean so next time we are in Maui we might make the journey down to the pools...

View on the hike...yes we hike in flip flops. So what?

The blowhole almost in full force

On my way to check it out...I ended up a little too close and was peeking in the actual hole when it started spraying. It was hilarious.

Wednesday we wanted to go snorkel at the Fishbowl so we rented our gear only to find out the Fishbowl is closed for a couple years and there's a Ranger there who will give you a ticket if you go to them. Lame! So we snorkeled at the very crowded 'Ahihi Cove, which was actually really cool and full of hundreds of crazy looking fish! Then we headed over to Wailea beach and bodysurfed for a few hours. That night we went to the Shops at Wailea and walked around where they supposedly were having live music and a luau but we never found the luau. Oh well, it was really fun to window shop at all the expensive stores and they had a really cool art gallery where you could touch all the paintings. We had to stop at Fred's for more chips and salsa and some super tasty churro's to-go!

The shops at Wailea

Me and we assume the Fred of Fred's Mexican Cafe

Thursday we did the Road to Hana. Seriously-it's beautiful; even though I got the worst headache from the drive...there are over 600 turns in the road. It takes forever; you only go about 35 miles and it takes 2 hours if you don't stop at any of the waterfalls or pools or nice views along the way. Insane, right? But totally worth it. In Hana we went to Hamoa Beach. It was gorgeous. The water was so clear, you could see at least 20 feet below you. And the sand is half black, half white, it looks so cool.

Brent and the view of Hamoa beach from the road

Hamoa Beach

Friday we went to the beach across the street again and tried to not think about having to do laundry or pack later that day...but we were so ready to get home and see the kids already!! That red-eye flight home was a doozy. We left Hawaii at 9:45 pm and luckily had a straight flight to SLC but we both have the hardest time sleeping on a plane! We got home at 7:35 am and were completely elated when Brent's mom picked us up with Colton in the car! We missed those two little buggers every day...I can't wait 'til we can go back and bring them with us! Seriously every little kid we saw at the beach reminded us of our kids and we'd talk about how fun it's going to be when they're a little older and can really enjoy the Hawaiian experience with us. So until next time, ALOHA!

Spoiled and The Daily Colton

2009-08-15T14:55:00.003-06:00

Pretty much our dogs are spoiled. Somedays the only reason I haven't sold them is because I know how much Colton loves them; this is especially rough when I look at our beautiful backyard-turned white trash. But they are (typically) good dogs and they put up with a lot between our 2 kids (mostly Colton) and sometimes I love them.

A couple days ago Colton was trying to make Roxy take a nap in his room and it just wasn't working for him...well, he came over to me and said, "Mom, Roxy's driving me bonkers!"

Of all the things I have said about the dogs, I am glad this is the one he remembered...;)

The Daily Colton

2009-08-08T15:48:00.000-06:00

* I had to change his diaper in the middle of the night while we were camping and it was really cold. He was mad about it and said "It's not very fair mom!" He tells me things aren't very fair alot...

*I had a jacket on and C was trying to look in it but couldn't see anything. He told me "It's dark in your belly. There's monsters in there."

a little catch up

2009-08-08T15:46:00.006-06:00

Not that it's been that long since I've posted-but seeing as how this is my scrapbook/journal, I figured I should update a little about our summer. This week was a little slow seeing as how I got really sick and then got Brent really sick but somehow the kids managed to not get sick; that was a relief!

We have been having some fun in the sun! Alexa has such olive skin it is crazy-even the parts of her that don't see sun are tanner than Colton, poor little white boy! I was feeling like a bad mom for exposing the kids to so much sun that we've taken a couple week hiatus from the splash parks and pools. In the meantime we have been to the zoo a couple times (including today which was SOOO nice with this weather!), camping, and mostly just trying to hang out indoors and read books and color and play games and watch movies (ok just one movie, Transformers) but that doesn't always go over so well when the outdoors is so enticing!

My little yoga buddy! I can't even tell you how many pictures I have of Alexa pulling the downward dog pose...so random and so funny.

Colton was soooo excited to have Aunt Sara and Bridger come to the splash park with us. Let's do it again!

Lex is such a fast little climber! One day she just decided to try climbing the stairs and mastered it on her first try. Same thing with Colton's bed! She still has such a sweet and chilled-out personality. It makes life with a crazy 2 year old so much easier. I just love this girl! One day you will grow some hair sweetie...one day...

Colton is turning into such a little daredevil. It makes me so proud and scared all at the same time. He's always yelling at me to "Watch this!" as he jumps off the stairs or couch or bed or whatever. He's crazy. Ron and Helen set up this pool in their backyard for the 24th and he was just as crazy there jumping/belly-flopping into it...hence the bucket that became Alexa's pool...

smashing pops on the 24th

Let's just say C struggles with being patient (wonder where he got that from...)

FINALLY!!!!!!

My precious little camper. She was so good, like she always is. It must be a girl thing (being good). ;)

Colton has been asking to go camping all summer. I'm not sure if it was what he expected but he had a blast and actually slept really well.

Tomboy in the making...her favorite toys are Colton's cars and Transformers and she loves to crawl up on his four wheeler. She's still very much a girl though-she grabs any jewelry anybody is wearing so watch out 'cause she's FAST too!

Little buddies. They play so well together-we are super lucky. C is really good with Lex and sweet 95% of the time! That other 5%, well, no visible battle wounds yet so we'll take it!

Long story short-we thought Colton was allergic to peanuts after a major round of hives, but luckily he's not! He was such a rockstar while getting his blood drawn (notice his cute little wrapped up left arm) and went right back to playing with Bumblebee after. He is turning into a little super-hero fanatic and it's awesome. He runs around yelling "Superman" or "Batman" all day, loves his "Spiderman" fruit snacks and cups, I love it! He's so fun right now and talks so much-I love just sitting and talking to him all day and laughing at his wild imagination. He's the best!

Park City

2009-07-19T17:08:00.008-06:00

A couple weeks ago we spent the weekend up in Park City with my family and had a blast! Colton loved playing with his cousins all day, Brent got to golf, I loved shopping with the girls and my mom, and Alexa was her normal easy-going, easy to please self (even though she's been teething for like 2 months I swear). We stayed at the new Escala Lodges at The Canyons and they were exquisite. I hope we get to stay there again soon! Thanks Mom and Dad for an awesome weekend!

Goofing off after dinner...yes I am surprised Stefani didn't fall over when I jumped on her back.

Colton is the bravest kid alive! He loves the helicopter and loved the "mountain rides" even more. He was laughing and screaming "wee" and "woo-hoo" all the way down the Alpine Slide and every time we'd go down a hill he'd tell me to do it again. Brent went as fast as possible on the Alpine Coaster and Colton was a champ through it all, even when they'd be going so fast Colton would lose his grip and fall to the side. Man, he is such an awesome kid and total daredevil like his parents!!

Most of the fam at the weekly Park City Market they have every Sunday. Who knew? The kids got free face paintings and made some crafts, us adults got pictures of our Auras and chakras, Matt bought coconut water and it was completely disgusting, I want to go up again soon! I love looking at all the cool stuff vendors have out for sell!

I realize this is pretty much the only picture Alexa is in...I'll update again soon with what she's been up to...aka crawling up stairs, getting teeth, being adorable, and having legs as tan as mine (does that make me a bad mom? probably...)

The Daily Colton

2009-07-17T21:37:00.000-06:00

I had just gotten Colton out of the shower and went down to the laundry room to get his shorts when suddenly he came running down the stairs saying:

"Mom! I poop in the bathroom! It's gross."

So I tell him that's awesome, let's go see it so I can clean it up...well we get to the bathroom and although it smells, there isn't any poop. I asked him to show me where he pooped and he pointed to the corner. Still no poop in sight so I asked him what happened to it. He replied...

"Mugsy ate it."

Can you say NASTY?!!

team...undecided?

2009-07-15T22:28:00.005-06:00

So I have to start off by saying how completely disappointed I was with the "Twilight" movie. I could have left half way through and not cared...not only was the acting, directing, script, and quality in general terrible, but Edward was hideous and came off creepy and Bella was annoying. The only good looking vampires were Victoria, James, and Laurent.

HOWEVER...I recently saw the trailer for "New Moon" and am surprisingly really excited! Everything looks better...even Edward, although he is still far far far from good looking. Which brings me to my main point: I think I may be switching to "Team Jacob" after this movie... he is really hot!!!

Any one else having a change of heart? Am I really only one of few who hated the first movie?

Harry Potter

2009-07-15T18:00:00.003-06:00

My dad's work rented out a couple movie theaters last night for the new Harry Potter movie and I was lucky enough to score a ticket from him (even better that we got to see it at 8 instead of midnight). Quite a few people had some awesome costumes. There was a perfect Voldemort and Stefani and I tried to find him to take a picture but we couldn't. Somebody dressed up like the snitch-they were completely gold and had the wings too, it was really cool. This picture is my bro Matt and his friend Alex with their Mad Eye Moody eyes (sweet!) and a real owl. Some random lady dressed up and walked around with her owl but she said she never gets her picture taken so she wouldn't be in the picture...

I loved the movie! Soooo much better than the last one. I think it helped that it's been ahwile since I've read the 6th book. I had re-read the 5th book right before the 5th movie came out and was super disappointed...

The Daily Colton

2009-07-04T10:05:00.003-06:00

Brent told Colton to go grab him a hammer so he could put the stake in the ground to put up our American flag...Colton came back 2 minutes later with his little, blue, plastic "Handy Manny" hammer...so cute!

blue eyed beauties

2009-06-29T22:03:00.006-06:00

I just have to say that I am super jealous of my kids' blue eyes. Even though Colton was being a punk and glaring at the camera and you can't totally see his eyes, they are beautiful just like Alexa's, although a totally different blue!

gotta love the grumpy faces...

Thanks to my in-laws neighbor for stopping by the other day and taking such great pictures just for the fun of it! They are adorable, if I do say so myself!

wasatch back

2009-06-21T22:17:00.003-06:00

This is by far the funnest race I've ever ran-although during the actual race you are wondering what the hell you are doing, especially when it's 2:00 am and you haven't slept and you have to run again in about 6 hours...but I'd totally do it again in a heartbeat! There are some crazy people running in crazy outfits and some pretty dang funny team names.

My body felt great even after a 2-month hiatus from running. I just needed some sleep! And my knees need a little recovery from my last leg- a 4 mile "plummet into Heber Valley. FAST."

We had some serious runners on our team! Two of which were alternates we found at the last minute and ran 7-7:30 minute miles the entire race. I'd be lucky to run one 7 minute mile, let alone 18ish miles with no sleep. One of these alternates had 3 days notice and his only training was that he's been playing basketball. What? Who does that? Another one of these alternates had a week's notice, and also ran a 4th leg since we had a puker who couldn't finish; this 4th leg was a 3 1/2 mile severe uphill climb with an elevation change of 1500 feet. He ran the whole way up. And passed, aka "killed," quite a few people along the way. I'm pretty sure I would have crawled up that hill.

2010 anyone? Any takers for the Redrock Relay this September?

The Daily Colton - rain part 2

2009-06-14T16:39:00.001-06:00

Today we woke up to sun. We told Colton we'd go to the splash park after Alexa's nap...and then it rained yet again. Colton's response?

"Go time out, rain!"

Bummer summer.

The Daily Colton

2009-06-13T16:35:00.003-06:00

Today Colton said "Go away rain," while trying to push it like it was one of the dogs.

He also asked if we could go build a sand castle...after he asked for the 177th time this week if we could go play at the splash park or swim at the "poo."

I think someone is sick of the weather even more than I am...

zoo weather

2009-06-09T12:45:00.005-06:00

Although we wish we were here more often...

...this weather has been PERFECT for the zoo!

Colton kept asking to go back and "ride the cau-sel"

And this is what happens when dad is in charge of doing Colton's hair...;)

The Daily Colton

2009-06-04T18:27:00.003-06:00

Colton has been running around saying "I'm Dad's number one fan!"

He also has been known to say he's best buddies with Dad but not Mom. At least I've got Alexa on my side, right?

i heart summer

2009-05-29T16:27:00.008-06:00

If you need us, we will be here 99% of the time...nothing beats the heat better! An added bonus = it's a short 5-minute walk from the house. And if I go the long way there and back I can get my running in for the day and get cooled off in the middle :)

We look forward to Saturdays and Sundays when Daddy can join us!!

Oh...and for Alexa's hair to grow ;)

Messy Missy

2009-05-23T12:22:00.001-06:00

It only took 2 months and a lot of messes, but Alexa actually eats baby food now!! Obviously some foods better than others, but still. It's better than nothing. Too bad she takes after me (pretty sure my fam called me "messy missy" until I was about 17...) Check out those eyes though, I may be a bit biased but are they to die for or what??!?!

I know it looks like gross boogies, but it's really applesauce. Oh how I cannot wait to be out of this messy phase! No more cute outfits for awhile, sweetie. Orange and green spit up is not pretty.

This is from the zoo the other day. Although we call her our little Lexi bear, she may be more of a monkey than we realized; she tries to hold her bottle up with her toes!

Pyro at the zoo

2009-05-21T16:08:00.009-06:00

Let me start off by telling you all that Brent lit himself (and most of what little grass remains in the backyard-we can talk about how brutal dog pee is later) on fire Friday night. He was seriously burning in at least 3 places. Our neighbors were over to enjoy a cozy little backyard fire, I think they got a little more than they bargained for. Lucky for us they were there though, and were smart enough to tell Brent to stop, drop, and roll (while laughing their heads off at the same time), and put the fire out in the grass while I was trying to get the hose. Hopefully he finally learned why gas and fire don't mix. Awesome. Amazingly enough, Brent walked away completely unscathed and somehow all of his clothes were in tact and unburnt as well. I think he was most happy that he managed to avoid rolling in dog poop. Apparently the Big Guy owed us a favor or something.

Might I add that about 20 minutes prior to his fire show he also managed to nose dive over the front of a BMX bike while trying to jump off a ramp in our neighbors' driveway. Yes-same neighbors. Apparently he is not 15 anymore but at least he still tries. I hope our neighbors aren't too scarred from hanging out with us. Unfortunately for them, we have a whole summer ahead of us...

We did manage to make it to the zoo over the weekend and had a blast. You know it's hot when your 2 year old says with a big sigh:

"Daddy, it's hot."

Thankfully for Daddy, this time it was from the sun and not a fire.

The Daily Colton

2009-05-13T13:33:00.008-06:00

While eating lunch today, Colton yelled out of nowhere:

"Go in time out Mama!!!"

Apparently after making messes like these everyday, he's learned some new words. (And believe me, these messes are pretty small in comparison to his favorites...like spreading the dog food all over the kitchen floor while I'm feeding Alexa, dumping out cereal boxes, emptying the freezer, I could go on...)

soap all over the bathroom

lotion all over his window, windowsill, wall, and Handy Manny instead of napping

Good thing these beautiful blue eyes of his keep melting his mom and dad's hearts!

Not for the faint of heart...

2009-05-11T11:41:00.005-06:00

Poor Uncle Matty!! A couple weeks ago he fell in a basketball game and ended up in surgery for 3 hours. He ruptured his patellar tendon and fractured his proximal tibia. He has about 20 staples in his knee and two huge hardware-type screws in his leg. OUCH! (pictures of that are at the end, so if you're anything like Husband, you won't want to look). He'll be out of commission for roughly 2 months, and in rehab for about 4. We're just hoping he makes it back in time to play bball his senior year!! Right now he's in a cast from hip to toe and has moved his bed to the living room couch at may parents house. Being nearly 6'5" with a bed that has a headboard and footboard, he just doesn't fit. Here are some pictures of his new humble abode...

We brought our Wii with Guitar Hero and Rockband to keep him sane since he hasn't gone back to school yet. Alexa wanted to join in on the singing fun, although Grandpa takes the cake for best vocals... ;)

If you want to see what the anatomy of a patellar tendon tear looks like, check out this website: www.arthroscopy.com/patendrep.htm. It's pretty gruesome!! Here is the aftermath of Matt's surgery. I wish I had a picture of the screws in his leg!

friends

2009-05-01T18:08:00.003-06:00

Colton is really starting to like his "baby Lexa", and it couldn't make my heart melt more. Today, he asked to hold her about 15 times, and when he finally realized she was too tall/heavy, he asked for her to sit with him on the chair. Alexa couldn't have been happier to get that much attention from her cool big bro!! Every time I asked to take the baby off the chair to feed her, he'd say no.

don't mind Colton's Dennis the Menace hair...he discovered the blow dryer

I had to post this last picture to show what crazy toes these kids have, and it's cute that their big toes are doing the same thing at the same time! They get it from their daddy.

cute kids

2009-04-28T16:42:00.007-06:00

I just thought both kids looked extra adorable today-I love their outfits! And Colton even picked his out...well kind of. He picked the shirt and the shoes.

Thanks for Alexa's outfit Auntie Em!

This was earlier this morning-for some reason Colton likes to play in the dog's kennel. I think it's because a) he thinks he's hiding, b) he thinks I can't get to him when he's in there, and probably most of all c) he thinks it's another way to tease the dogs, as if they care that he's in their kennel and they aren't.

I think Colton looks so much like Bridger in this picture!

Salt Lake Half Marathon

2009-04-24T15:54:00.003-06:00

Friday morning I decided I wanted to get cortisone shots in my knees because they still hurt, but of course there weren't any doctors in the office by the time the nurse got back to me. Awesome. So pretty sure I wanted to quit after mile one...my knees were killing me and I was not in as good of shape from trying to rest my knees. Not a good combo. But I finished, even though I started a half hour late (wasn't the only one, thank goodness) and even when at mile 9 I wasn't paying attention and didn't turn into Liberty Park and had to turn around so I could pass a water stop and seriously just wanted Brent to pick me up and drop me off at the Gateway to cross the finish line (probably the 15th time that had crossed my mind). All in all I ran (ok mostly walked, but ran when I could) 13.5 miles instead of 13.1, it took me alot closer to 3 hours than 2 (my goal) but I'm glad I finished. Next year will be much better when I don't have "really angry kneecaps" as my physical therapist said. Oh, and don't worry, now I have Achilles tendonitis in my right heel from babying me left knee. It's really sweet and feels GREAT when I drive. I highly recommend it.

One of the main things that kept me going was knowing my old college roomie, Katie, and her boyfriend, Ben, would be at the finish line cheering me on! They drove all the way from Arizona and I couldn't disappoint.

And don't worry-I'm still running the Wasatch Back in 2 months-I just might be done running for a few decades after that. ;)

Supermodel future?

2009-04-16T16:34:00.004-06:00

I now have proof that I'm not crazy. All of Alexa's clothes really are short and baggy for a reason.

6 month checkup stats:

Height: 26.5 inches (77%)

Weight: 15.0 lbs. (30%)

Head Circumference: 43.0 cm (66 %)

Hopefully that head of hers slows down a bit...it's been doubling in size every checkup...

Alexa is such a sweet, easy going baby! She is rolling all over the place, almost sitting up on her own, is on the verge of army-crawling, loves her toes and splashing the bath water, and hates every baby food I've tried to give her. Literally hates it-like coughing and gagging she hates it so much. What can I expect when everyone else in the family is just as picky though, right?

San Diego

2009-04-13T15:51:00.012-06:00

We spent all of last week in San Diego with Brent's whole family for his dad's 60th birthday. It was a blast to get all the cousins together! Colton loved to "play with the kids" and is still asking for his cousins. He also took home a stuffed Shamu souvenir and won't let it out of his sight...bath time has been quite a treat without it....

We took family pictures on the beach and they turned out great! I'll post some of those once we get the disc from the photographer. Colton was being typical boy and tripped at the airport the day before, skinning his cute little nose. Then, with 23 people of course we had to go back and retake our big group picture and about an hour before that he fell again, this time right into the corner of a wall and so had a swollen face and major bruises. Awesome. Thank goodness for Photoshop...

**sorry, couldn't get any of the pictures to rotate today**

You can only sort-of see the damage to his precious face. Don't you love his crusty? He's gotten pretty good at them unfortunately

Colton's favorite place was by far Sea World. He loved seeing all the different animals, and was surprisingly really good during the shows. The Sea Lion Show was definitely the best-he was laughing so hard he couldn't even breathe at times. Of course Shamu was great too, but not as entertaining. Brent and I went on the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster-it has been years since I've been on a ride, and I have to admit I was nervous. It was a blast though! Colton enjoyed the rides too-so I'm looking forward to Lagoon this year!

notice the scabbed nose :(

Feeding the birds rather than himself...

It was a long day, can you tell?

Colton and I LOOOOVE horses. Clydesdales are my favorite

LOVE this face of his!

One of the best memories from Sea World-having a seagull swipe my churro right out of my hands. No joke. I hadn't even taken a bite yet! I wish I had a picture!!

The San Diego Zoo was also really cool!! We went on a double-decker bus tour and that was fun, and a great way to see lots of animals.

She sure loves her grandparents!

We had a nice pool and hot tub in the backyard of the house we stayed in, also a highlight. The house was right across the street from the beach, so we got to watch pretty sunsets every night! The only time I remembered to take a picture, my camera battery was dead. Typical! I only ran twice because of my knees, but it was awesome to run right along with the beach!

Brent and Colton with the Birthday Boy

We owe a major thanks to Ron and Helen for organizing the trip and getting us tickets to Sea World and the Zoo! We can't wait for the next big family vacation!

Isn't Alexa adorable??!?

The Daily Colton

2009-04-03T15:31:00.002-06:00

Me: Getting mad at Roxy for stealing Colton's bread.

Colton: while shaking his head, muttered "Stupid dog."

Awesome.

I blame myself and Toy Story.

Shhh…don’t tell

2009-04-01T00:34:00.001-06:00

April Fool’s success ladies and gentlemen!! Brent got me really good a few years back, and now he’s suffering the payback!!

1. Pretty sure I stopped his heart for a bit when I scared him while he was getting ready for bed. I couldn’t even breathe I was laughing so hard.

2. I just turned EVERYTHING on in his car…wipers, blinkers, air, LOUD LOUD music.

3. Covered the keyhole to the car.

4. Put saran wrap on the tops of all shower products-shampoo, soap, face wash…ya I’m funny.

And it hasn’t even been April Fool’s Day for an hour…

Riverton Half Marathon

2009-03-30T22:35:00.001-06:00

Despite the FREEZING weather at the start of the race, and my knee basically giving out around mile 9, I really enjoyed the race and am excited for the next one in 3 weeks!!! Hopefully I'll get my knee back in working order and can finish faster next time.

This is right before the finish line-Brent joined me for the last 3 miles. Thank goodness he did or I might not have finished with my stupid knee! Thanks honey!

Right before Brent joined me...I was glad to be rid of my fuel belt! Even though my hair was blowing all over the place, the wind felt so nice (except when it was a headwind uphill...ugh)!

My mom and I before the race. Can you tell we are freezing? We had major goosebumps and wanted to get back in the car and drive to the finish line it was so cold...

ST. GEORGE MARATHON HERE I COME!!!

The Daily Colton

2009-03-27T18:15:00.000-06:00

I stole this idea from my friend Kristin, because it's a good one!!

We were sitting on the couch while I was feeding Alexa, and Colton kept pushing me and repeatedly begging for me to turn on the "scary vacuum" (for some reason he loves when I vacuum and asks me to do it several time a day??) and this happened:

Me: (for the thousandth time) "Colton you need to be patient, I have to finish feeding Alexa first."

Colton: "I can't be patient MOM!!"

proud parent

2009-03-22T15:02:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I may be Stefani's sister and not her parent, but I still feel like a proud parent when I watch her dance! She is seriously amazing, and I hope she dances for the rest of her life (and teaches Alexa how to dance just like her...) I'm pretty sure I'm going to make my beautiful lil sis try out for So You Think You Can Dance-on the premise that she splits the winnings with me! This was her last year as an Accadian at good ole' BHS, and I've loved being able to watch her for the last 3 years (although I couldn't go as often as I would have liked). I love you Stefani and am so proud of you!

I suppose Tayja is pretty great too!

Oh baby baby!

2009-03-22T14:57:00.000-06:00

I have to send out huge congrats to two great friends who had babies this month!! Garrett and Megann's precious little Adalae Faith was born on March 9th and BP and Jenna's adorable little Madysen was born on March 14th. Both babies are so tiny, it makes me sad that I can't even remember Alexa being that little and it's only been 5 months! I forgot my camera when we saw little Addie, but big brother Gavin came and played with Colton and they had such a blast-Colton hasn't stopped asking about Gavin and his dinosaurs all week. I'm so lucky (and excited!!) that Meg has kids that are the same age as mine, and that Alexa already has two little buddies that have parents I like to spend time with too!

Colton and Gavin sharing their "Spiderman water"

Alexa and Madysen (she is sooo tiny! I'm totally jealous...)

Colton, me, and baby Maddie

When little boys have nightmares...

2009-03-19T17:46:00.000-06:00

moms and dads do this...

and trust me, it's just as uncomfortable as it looks.

LOVE THIS HAT...

2009-03-12T22:47:00.000-06:00

And pretty much every other hat this lady makes! Check her out at nuxiemade.blogspot.com, or on Etsy!

Go here to enter the giveaway!

Stats

2009-03-10T15:32:00.000-06:00

Ok, I realize I should have done this a month ago when we went to the doctor, but hey, we were busy!

COLTON-2 YEARS OLD

STATS:
Height: 34.0 inches (41%)
Weight: 26 pounds (29%)
Head Circumference :49 centimeters (59%-looking more like a Dalby!)

*Sleeps 13-14 hours a day. Typically runs around like a mad man when awake. Must have toes and hands covered when watching a movie or going to bed (see above picture). Recently discovered "Buzz" (Toy Story) and Chai Frappuccino's and can't get enough. Talks in near full sentences. Remembers everything. Pediatrician says he acts like a 3 year old-he is one smart kid!!! Is on a strict mac-n-cheese diet (and fraps of course)-per his refusal to eat anything else. Doesn't like cake, ice cream, cookies, or candy. Seriously.

ALEXA- 4 MONTHS OLD

(5 months old in this picture. Brent hates this picture of him cause he has crazy eyes trying to make Lexi laugh, I think it's cute so I put it up anyway.)

STATS:
Height: 24.3 inches (49%)
Weight: 13 pounds (35%)
Head Circumference: 40.4 centimeters (33%-used to be in the negatives, she is catching up!)

*Sleeps 15-16 hours per day (8-9 at night, so nice!). Smiles and laughs for Colton and the dogs. Is anxious to be mobile. Too tall for most of her clothes, but finally not so skinny (I miss her little chicken legs!). Loves to suck her hands/fingers, creating super dry skin. Is on a strict breastmilk diet (why do my kids hate rice cereal??)

Watch Giveaway

2009-03-08T15:40:00.000-06:00

I love these new watches!! Go here to check them out and enter the giveaway for yourself! It ends today so you better get crackin'!!

http://www.watchoutwatches.blogspot.com/

Colton's Party

2009-02-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought 8 kids could be so loud and crazy and messy? It was a great reminder why I don't want any more kids...and why I'll probably wait a few years to have another birthday party at my house.

Colton ran around laughing, screaming excitedly, and yelling the names of Handy Manny's tools, among other things, until he would start coughing so hard he'd almost throw up. He refused to eat all day, hid in his room while we sang Happy Birthday, showed off his big boy bed, could have cared less about opening presents, was obsessed with his "Lightning McQueen" candle, loved to sit on the stairs and watch everyone play with his toys, and had the most fun blowing bubbles outside (which he begs to do every day). Here are some pictures of the massive craziness.

Blowing out the candle on Colton's mini cake, which he didn't eat and probably never will (and yes of course we did cake before food!!)

Cute boys!

Dad/cousins opening presents for Colton-not much has changed since last year! I'm actually surpsrised I even have a picture of Colton with the presents...

This is no where near half of the mess...

Wagon=big hit with the kids!

Trying to pop the bubbles

Birthday Boy with #2 (Uncle Brent) and Aunt Sara

birthday bonanza

2009-02-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Lots of posts today...like I said it has been crazy around here this week!!

Highlights of our birthday weekend include…shoveling the snow, getting Alexa’s ears pierced, surprising Daddy at work with an early Valentine’s present, running around for an hour (literally, no stopping) while aunt Sara and Uncle Brent (or as we like to call him, number 2) got sealed, Colton sitting at the table at their luncheon like a big boy and spilling water and ice all over, graduating into his big boy bed-which he loves thank goodness, several trips to the “Nothing Bundt Cakes” store, having dad go with us to run errands (pathetic I know, but it’s amazing how much easier it is when he’s there and I love it!), playing with stickers and helping mom in the kitchen, ice cream from Marble Slab, and going to a movie tomorrow (thanks mom and dad for watching the kids!) We also got to go to Asian Star (so yummy!!) with Brent’s parents last week and they watched the kids after while we went to a movie, so thanks to you guys too! I’m sure I’ll be reminding myself of all the goodies I indulged on as I run 7 miles after I finish this post...half marathon here I come!!

I just love this cute girl! Brent's work buddy's wife made her this flower headband and matching bracelet, little girl stuff is so fun!

Ok every time I try to take a picture of her cute little earrings she turns her head towards the camera!! This was the best I could manage so far. Isn't she adorable though???? Her big blue eyes are the best...just like Colton's.

colton is two??!

2009-02-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Poor Brent...he's got my birthday on the 13th, and Colton's today plus Valentine's Day! It has been a CRAZY CRAZY few days around here. We'll celebrate C's birthday next Saturday in true Handy Manny style, so there are definitely more pics to come! I can't believe my little skunk monkey's birthday is here again already! He's 2 but acts like he's 3, is totally crazy and crazy smart, lovable, funny, wild, energetic, super sweet, and oh so much fun! Man I could go on forever! He is the highlight of everyday life around here. Here's a list of his current favorites:

spitting, shoveling the snow, cleaning the walls and couches with wipes, sweeping the whole house, his cousins, teasing the dogs, Handy Manny, Curious George, giving kisses and hugs, reading books-especially the "mommy and me" monkey book, music, seeing his grandparents, puzzles, playing legos, chocolate-mainly "mims" (code for M&M's), mac-n-cheese, saying all foods are "nummy" but refusing to eat any of them, repeatedly opening and slamming doors, pictures of snakes and saying "sssss," checking for monsters under the bed and in the closet, talking in pretty much full sentences (ok, that might be one of MY favorites...), driving in the car, saying things like "awesome, "dude," "please NOW," "thanks buddy mama/dada" and "oh man," sleeping in his big boy bed, playing with flashlights, screaming just for fun, fish-mostly nemo, and helping me "mix it" (make food).

Colton, you are the coolest kid around and Dad and I are so proud of our little dude. We love you so much it hurts!! Happy Birthday buddy!!

Newborn pics

Cute little 5 month old

Braving the storms in Hawaii at 10 months old-thanks for putting up with GRUMPY parents!

Loving cake on the first try on his first birthday

First sucker

Adorable at 18 months-gotta love ham!

classic

2009-02-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

My birthday was yesterday (man I feel old…), I want to give a shout out to my parents since they’re the reason I’m here. They are the best parents anyone could ask for. They love me unconditionally, spoiled me like crazy, but also taught me to be independent. I feel like I am a better person today because of them. I love you both more than I think you realize! Thanks for always being there for us kids in the many ways we have all needed you. Happy Birthday to me!!

This picture is classic, but if you don't my know my parents well it deserves an explanation! My parents are both really funny. My mom tells a great joke about a wide-mouthed frog-and she has the mouth to tell it! We always make her stick her fist in her mouth after the joke, because we are all pretty amazed at how much of her fist she can fit! My dad also tells an absolutely hilarious joke we like to call “Wanna buy a toothbrush?” He makes the funniest faces when he tells it, and his voice for the joke is hilarious too. I try to recreate it, but it’s never as good. So the picture is of them entertaining us all!

bald beauty

2009-02-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Benjamina Button...oh how we love you so!!! Someday your hair will grow and your clothes will fit and you won't look like an old lady. We promise.

seriously so cute

2009-01-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does that look SO uncomfortable? Must not be because she falls asleep like this almost every day.

He loves his lil sis! His new favorite thing is to help me carry her carseat-so adorable!

Can you believe his short haircut??!?! I love it and hate it all at the same time. It's so dang cute but it makes me realize how old he is getting. No fair.

ok, ok,

2009-01-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

So it was a lot easier to tell who was who...you all were right. But I know if I don't label that bottom one of Colton I won't know who it is in 20 years.

twins??

2009-01-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Do our kids look alike or what? Both little, both blonde but mostly bald, both with blue eyes, same chin and mouth shape... I didn't even realize I had taken such similar picutres until I got looking at some old ones today. Let's see if you can tell who is who.

Baby #1

Baby #2

Baby #1
Baby #2

Leave a comment and tell me who you think is Colton and who you think is Alexa!

i wish it were summer

2009-01-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Then we could do this:

and this:

so the rest of the day was like this:

Because cleaning up mess after mess after every cupboard in the house emptied in 5 seconds after mess after throwing every book in the house on the ground in 3 seconds after mess and did I mention cleaning up a mess? is getting old. In a nutshell-COLTON IS CRAZY IN HIS TERRIBLE TWOS.

At least he says "uh oh" or "sa-wee"after each mess is made, says "pwease pwease pwease" when he wants something, sometimes we get a "shank ew," is really patient when I'm nursing Alexa, and even better says "yub you" and always needs to "give kisses" over and over before bed time. We love him. To pieces!!

And we're really grateful to Alexa that she sleeps 6-8 hours at night and is pretty content all day long. Such an easy baby to complement such a wild almost-2 year old! We love her to pieces too.

christmas fun

2009-01-02T16:12:00.001-07:00

Christmas is so much more fun when you have kids, I love it! Thanks to everyone who made our Christmas special, we got completely spoiled (like always) and had fun spending time with our loved ones. Colton has no idea who Santa really is, but he sure recognizes him, says Santa, and "ho ho ho." That kid continues to amaze me...the other day he saw an elephant on tv and said "eaphant" out of nowhere. He also has a toy dinosaur and has been saying "dinesaur" all the time now. I seriously have no idea where he learns the words I don't teach him, but it's still really fun!

Anyway, back to Christmas... Even though I swear we kept it small this year, it really doesn't look like it! Maybe that's why it's so much better with kids, their presents are so inexpensive!

More concerned with putting the markers away than with coloring...

For some reason he thinks he's supposed to ride in Manny's truck, but he doesn't quite fit.

New bath toys, all he says when he plays with them now is "catch fishies"

Christmas Eve we always have a yummy dinner at my parents with prime rib, au gratin potatoes, and many delicious foods! We also get to enjoy my grandpa singing Christmas Carols on the guitar after we watch Luke II.

Brent also plays the guitar, and Colton was so excited to see his daddy play!

This is the AWESOME blanket I made for Sara and Brent. GO UTES!

Christmas morning we go to my grandparents for more yummy food, presents, and our balloon tradition; we write notes in balloons and send them off to our loved ones who have passed away while we sing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas."

Our cute matching kiddos

Isn't her outfit adorable? Too bad she only wore it twice!

SOO funny, the adults were more entertained with Elmo Alive than any of the kids!

Colton really LOVES balloons. And his grandma!

Getting ready to send off our balloons, I didn't take any pictures of them all in the sky.

Poor grandpa, he let Colton have some of his diet coke and didn't know what he was in for. Since Colton never gets soda he wanted as much as he could get!

LOVE THEM!

Colton's new BFF Natalie...too bad she lives in Colorado because she was SOOOOO good with him and he loved playing with her! And what did I say about getting as much soda as he could get? I think he brought me about 10 cans and I had to

just keep hiding them.

Sara teaches kindergarten and she is lucky enough to have our nephew Stillman in her class. They have someone come teach Chinese and they learned how to sing Jingle Bells, so we made them perform for us. So cute!

Of course I couldn't forget about the dogs! They got some rawhide bones and treats, which of course are all gone by now. Mugsy is above, Roxy is in the picture below.

Lastly I had to take a picture of our nativity set. I just LOVE this collection and was so excited to get it last year. I would have included pictures of the lights we put up but one time when I was shoveling the snow I hit the shovel on the railing and broke a few lights, causing some strands to go out so now they just look kind of crappy. Maybe next year...

Mom's little helper

2008-12-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

Colton loves to help pour in the ingredients, put the top of the mixer down, and turn it on to "meex" the dough. Of course his favorite part is eating the dough and frosting. Therefore we have "Colton cookies" and cookies that are "Colton free." I am definitely glad to have him help me, it's a ton of fun!!

Oh, and he loves to say "cheese" for the camera. Smart kid, I tell ya. He already repeats everything I say and he's not even two. I better watch out!

MNF in Philly

2008-12-22T16:16:00.001-07:00

Seven posts in one day? Ya, I'm a little behind.
Philadelphia was awesome and the game was even better. I managed to bid strategically on eBay and get us front row tickets to the game, and since Brent went to school with Kevin Curtis, a wide receiver for the Eagles, we got even luckier and met up with him after the game. He signed a few jerseys, gave Brent his gloves (which caught the first TD of the game), would point over to us when he ran by, and basically made Brent feel like the luckiest kid in the world. Going to a Monday Night Football game and seeing his buddy play has been one of his dreams, and I was happy to go along for the ride. Merry Christmas babe, I love you!

Kevin also signed a jersey to Brent, it just isn't pictured.

FRONT ROW BABY!!

We have to thank Abbie, Mari and CJ for making this sign for us!
(notice the cup holders, SUCH a good idea! all stadiums need them)

Westbrook warming up

Yes, she was directly in front of us most of the game (Michelle Tafoya from ESPN)

Donovan McNabb, so cool!

Live band before the game, pretty sweet.

We had such a fun time in Philly, and were so happy to spend time withe Brent's brother and his family. We have to give them a MAJOR thanks for letting us stay there, watching Alexa while we went to the game, and not minding our crazy sleep schedules. We had fabulous food, played fun games, had great conversations, and are definitely missing them...can't wait to see you guys in San Diego in April!!

airport fun

2008-12-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

Alexa was an angel on our crazy plane rides. She slept the entire time, only waking up to eat. We were delayed in SLC due to ice, so when we made it to Minneapolis we ran I swear 5 miles (that airport is ENORMOUS) to catch our connection, only to have that plane delayed as well. While nearing Philadelphia, we were put in a holding pattern due to a crash landing at the airport. After about an hour of waiting, we were flown to Allentown, only to fill up with more gas and head back to Philadelphia. We had been planning on surprising Brent's broher Russ, but since we didn't have Lainie's cell we had to spoil it and tell Russ where his wife was and have him let her know where we were. On the way home we were delayed in Philadelphia, made it to Minneapolis where we ran again forever and BARELY made it on our plane home. We were the last ones on the plane and the attendant had to cancel the door close so we could get on. Once in SLC, we were luggage-less, but at least the airlines delivered our luggage to us in the middle of the night.

Almost home, hooray!

Ya, she's going a little bald. So what?

gingerbread house and nativity

2008-12-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Christmas a little early this year with Brent's parents since they will be in Philly. Alexa slept the entire night, and Colton had a blast helping decorate the gingerbread house, unless he got frosting on his hands and then he'd start screaming. (Have I mentioned how clean this kid likes to be, and how much he enjoys helping me clean?)

Eating the candy was more fun than using it to decorate...

Grandpa's little boy

THE INFAMOUS NATIVITY.
The kids were a little young this year. Colton screamed, Hudson got a little nervous holding Alexa (the only time she was awake all night), and Sawyer ran around under the orange towel. Oh the memories... :) I think it was actually pretty cute despite all that.
(and yes, Mary is the creepy doll next to Hudson)

music man

2008-12-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Colton is very much into listening to music. Everytime he hears some he says "music" and starts dancing. He recently figured out how to listen to my ipod and couldn't be happier. One of my new favorite phrases he says is "happy colton," which sounds more like happy contin. It is absolutely adorable. We have his grandparents to thank for teaching him that one while we were in Philly.

SNOW

2008-12-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

This little monkey of mine LOVES the snow. I think most kids do. He loves to come shovel off the driveway with me and once we come inside from that he begs to go in the backyard to clean the patio off for the dogs. Whenever he sees snow or we are talking about it he says "cold snow." It's VERY cute! He's getting very smart and is talking like crazy, I love it.

leg warmers

2008-12-22T15:32:00.001-07:00

I think these are pretty dang cute, and they do a great job of keeping Alexa's chicken legs warm!

thanksgiving

2008-12-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Every other year we spend Thanksgiving with Brent's family, usually in St. George. This year we were lucky enough to have Brent's sister, LeAnn, and her family join us all the way from Georgia. We had a blast and Brent spent just about every waking minute playing with all his nephews! Alexa was a little outnumbered being the only girl there. Luckily when we go to San Diego over Easter Russ's family will be there so she'll have a few more girls on her side.

Colton's first bowling experience...I think we'll wait a few years to try that again.

Brent, Hudson, and Kurtis drawing pictures of everyone with diapers on. They thought they were pretty funny.

Brent snuggled up with Justin.

Watching Handy Manny, his favorite show. For some reason this box seemed like the perfect spot to watch from!
until he found this one

Again watching Handy Manny

Isn't Hudson adorable? He enjoyed watching Manny with us too.

Alexa's 2 month checkup

2008-12-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it’s been 2 months already? Some times I can, other days I feel like I’ve had Alexa forever, and 2 months seems so short. We took her to the doctor on Thursday and she is getting FAT! Ok she’s really not fat, but compared to how little she used to be she is!

Current Stats:

*Height: 22 inches, 39%
*Weight: 10 lbs. 2 oz., 35%
*Head circumference: 36.4 inches; 18% (no longer in the negatives! yay)
*Smiling: Not really, but we’re pretty sure it’s because she’s constipated all the time. F.U.N.
*Loves: to lay on her belly
*Favorite Parent: Dad. He’s the only one that can calm her down when her belly hurts.
*Snores: Yes. Everyone in the family but mom does…including the dogs.
*Sleeps: 5-6 hours at night.
*Binkies: not her BF, she basically chokes on them.
*Hair: going bald on top…but it’s starting to grow back and it’s blonde like her brother.

Colton is getting soooo sweet with her, it's awesome. He loves to rub her head and give her "loves." Usually when no one is looking, and if they are he runs off after like he didn't mean to. He's also really good at helping pat her back to get her to burp (which is more like spitting up) and if she's in the other room crying he runs in yelling "uh oh" so I know to come help her. Aren't kids the greatest?

I know I need to update pictures, but we're off to Philly for the Monday Night Football game and I'm in a hurry, so I'll catch up when we get back!

call me crazy

2008-11-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

But my parents had an extra ticket to the game and of course I couldn't say no, or leave Alexa behind! So I brought most likely the youngest fan in the stadium and weathered the cold for one of THE BEST games in Utah history! Alexa was an angel and slept through all the noise and cheering, it was great. Perfect preparation for the years of football games to come!

PERFECT RECORD BABY!!

Gotta love the crazy fans

The sun may have been in my eyes a little...

Getting ready to leave...she only fills out about half of the outfit. So cute! Brent said she looked like Ralphie from The Christmas Story; the outfit is so thick she couldn't move in it!

Can't get enough of this little angel face!!! It is getting fatter, can you tell?

CUTEST PICTURES EVER

2008-11-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

Get ready for picture overload...I could barely narrow down my favorites to just these!!! Loved the photographer and loved the results! She doesn't even normally do family pictures, but I think she somehow managed to get some good ones even though Colton was being pretty rotten that day.

P.S. She gives you a CD with all the pictures she takes and the cost is SOOO reasonable..I totally LOVE that!
Sweet Pea Photos
http://www.sweetpeapix.com/

i heart barack

2008-11-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

SO EXCITING!!

happy halloween

2008-11-01T15:27:00.001-06:00

or maybe not so happy....

cutest little pumpkin ever!!

mugsy-k9 police

roxy-hot dog

we kinda like our pups
superman leads the way!

best friends cause mischief together

friend's halloween party

he was going for oprah

in lieu of candy

2008-11-01T15:08:00.001-06:00

we got fish and a four wheeler

little daredevil

love this little face!

2008-10-28T15:41:00.001-06:00

Grandma and grandpa captured some great photos of Alexa with her eyes open, and I just couldn't resist posting them!!

still does not fit in normal size clothes, but I try (notice the flimsy feet...)

practicing her "blue steel"

We went to Alexa's 2 week check up today and she is still just teeny tiny!! Her weight is 6 lbs. 4 oz. and in the 4th % and her head is 33.5 inches which is -1%! She is actually kind of tall, 19 3/4 inches at 23%. The doctor wants me to try and feed her more often during the day and just let her sleep as long as she wants at night. She is a stubborn little bugger and really only stays awake to eat when she wants to, so we'll see how trying to wake her up every 3 hours to eat goes...

Alexa Melissa Dalby

2008-10-14T14:36:00.001-06:00

Welcome home to our little angel!! She was born Saturday, October 11 at 9:14 PM. At 5 weeks early, she weighed a surprising 5 lbs. 15 oz. and was 18.5 in. long! She has been doing great and never needed oxygen or time in NICU like we were expecting. She is healthy and eating well and absolutely beautiful! You can read my labor story at the end of this.

Colton has been so good with her! He doesn't show too much interest, but is always very concerned when she doesn't have her binkie and always tries to put it in her mouth for her. If she won't take it he hands it to me just to make sure it's safe and ready when she needs it. Today we put her in the swing and he loved pushing it and always made sure she had some toys with her. I should have taken pictures, but I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities!! The picture below is the first time he met her. We didn't let him come to the hospital since he has been sick with a nasty, croupy cough. He is getting better so hopefully the rest of us don't catch it!

Alexa's blood sugar was low for a little while so we had to give her a little formula after I nursed her, but everything went back to normal levels after the first 2 feedings! She was also breathing a little quick, but all we had to do was keep her extra warm and snuggled up close to us for a few hours and she calmed right down and avoided needing oxygen. The only thing they are concerned about now is jaundice, so we go back to the pediatrician tomorrow for more blood work.

On our way home...finally! I missed Colton like crazy and was so excited for him to meet Alexa. She barely fits in her carseat she is so little, even her preemie outfits are big on her! Since she is so early and little the hospital did a 90 minute test with her in her carseat to make sure she could breathe well and get enough oxygen.

Flowers from Papa and Colton.

This labor and delivery was such a breeze compared to last time!! It took 8 hours to dilate from a 6 to a 10 with Colton, and then I had to push for 3 hours so I was sort of dreading what this time around would be like. I had contractions off and on all Friday night, and several times they woke me up because they were more intense than they had been. We were soooo sick of going to labor and delivery just to sit and be monitored (we had gone 3 times already, twice in the last week, one for a full 24 hours) so I was just waiting for my contractions to get really painful like I remembered from before. Both Brent and I were getting so annoyed and impatient! Finally at about 5:00 Saturday evening after talking with my doctor, we decided I should go in yet again and see if my cervix was changing. We checked in to the hospital at about 6:30 and I was only at a 3+, so we thought for sure I would just be sent home. My OBGYN showed up an hour later and thank goodness I had dilated past a 4! He broke my water, I got my epidural, and at 8:45 called my mom to say she needed to get to the hospital ASAP because it was going to be any minute that I could start pushing. My mom had to go get batteries for her camera and took a little longer than she should have, but luckily with the epidural I was able to wait to push (even though I could have started pushing right after I talked to her). My mom arrived and about 4 contractions and 15 minutes later Alexa arrived!! We were so nervous that she wouldn't do well, I can't even tell you what a relief it was to hear her cry on her own. They had a NICU nurse in the room ready to assess her and take her away if need be, but she did awesome and was so surprisingly healthy, it's a miracle! We are so grateful she is this healthy and has done so well. It would have broken my heart to have tubes all down her throat or to have been unable to bring her home with us yesterday, so right now life couldn't be any better! I am healing well, just super exhausted and sleep-deprived. I can get used to this though, it's totally worth it!

waiting game

2008-10-02T13:28:00.000-06:00

Apparently I spoke too soon or something...after having an upset stomach for 2 1/2 days and not being able to keep ANY food down, causing some major contractions and sleepless nights, I spent another few hours at labor and delivery getting IV's and shots and monitored and steroid injections to help the baby develop, etc. You name it, I probably experienced it in some way. We’re hoping to keep the baby in for at least another week or 2, but my doctor really doesn’t think I’ll last much more than a week or so since my cervix is so thin and I’m dilating more (slowly, thank goodness, but still more). Now I’m all the more anxious and excited to have the baby but I want her to be healthy so I don’t want to have her yet…such a jumble of mixed emotions! I think this baby is just a LITTLE bit like her mom already…when she wants something she wants it NOW and doesn’t want to have to wait, and right now I think she‘s ready to meet her family! So now the waiting game begins and it’s just slightly nerve-wracking. Honestly, patience needs to stop avoiding me!!!

the light at the end of the tunnel

2008-09-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

Only 2 more weeks until I no longer have to be on bed rest!!! Oh my, I can’t even begin to tell you how happy that makes me. I will still take it easy that week since my doctor will be on vacation, but after that I will be walking to the park with Colton, going to the grocery store, basically ANYTHING but laying around the house all day! It couldn’t be better timing either, because the “Wee Witches Weekend” at Gardner Village is that weekend and I am dying to take Colton so he can go on another pony ride, pet some animals, get his face painted…all sorts of fun activities! There will be lots of boutiques plus the plethora of stores already there, so you better believe I will make up for lost time on some good old fashioned shopping. Plus my mom and my sisters and I are planning on going that weekend as well for a girls night (we would go for the actual "Witches Night Out" weekend, but that's pushing it a little with the baby and all) ; at the Cottage Retreat Day Spa there you can get an “extreme witch makeover” where they do your nails, hair, and makeup for only $23!! I’m so excited! I seriously cannot wait to get out of the house and have some fun!

oh the agony

2008-09-11T15:39:00.000-06:00

Doctor appointment today = good news and bad news. Good news is that I haven’t dilated or effaced any more, but it’s still not a good thing that I have at all and since my cervix is already in the anterior position ready for delivery, I must remain on bed rest; which is the bad news. I am only 31 weeks and will stay on bed rest until at least 35-assuming the baby stays in that long. Pray she does, and then 4 weeks from now you will see me at every store possible and walking to every park in the neighborhood everday! I was able to sneak in a few runs to the grocery store over the last 2 weeks, but now I am banned pretty much from even leaving the house. Ok not totally banned, but still. I can only run short errands that don’t involve a lot of walking or time on my feet. The worst part for me probably is that I will have to continue not seeing Colton all day every day. The days Brent leaves with him in the morning I already miss him not even 5 minutes later! So not fair. At least it’s only a few days a week without him, and I have to take into account the long-term benefits for him and the upcoming baby, but still. That doesn’t make it any easier! Luckily the doctor said sitting is ok (the hospital nurse had been concerned about sitting for too long) so I will be doing a heap load of sewing. Need anything? Oh, and try to update your blogs like everyday. You know, so I have some entertainment to keep me at least semi-sane.

In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite maternity pictures we did awhile ago (before we chopped off Colton’s snarly curls). I love looking back at how cute his hair was. I can’t wait until it grows out again!

I can't believe how big (and low) my belly is! This is about how I looked when I delivered Colton; except my stomach was seriously up in my ribs. I have to say, it's been so nice being able to breathe a lot better this time around!!

bummer summer

2008-09-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

Thursday at Thanksgiving Point touring the Dino museum and visiting the farm animals
+ Friday in the sprinklers
+ Saturday sewing and ending up with 5 stitches in my finger from a rotary cutter
+ Sunday breakfast at Ruth’s diner and a day at the zoo
= Monday in the hospital for preterm labor and me now on bed rest.

Moral of the story-our weekend was a ton of fun but now I am stuck on my back in bed to keep this baby from popping out anytime soon. So boring. But I guess when you’re only 30 weeks along and already starting to dilate and efface with contractions, you gotta do what you gotta do! I miss my little monkey like crazy and can’t wait to see him tonight when Brent picks him up after work. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from our eventful weekend… (beware, lots of pictures coming up. It's really hard to narrow down the best ones when you take 200 in 2 days.)

thanksgiving point

2008-09-02T16:03:00.001-06:00

first pony ride! really hard to take a picture of when you also have to make sure he doesn't fall off...

he sees a dinosaur...aka a dog.

zoo

2008-09-02T15:52:00.000-06:00

i love my boys!!

waiting for the train ride

he chased that little lizard back and forth along its' cage for so long! adorable.

notice the large finger bandage on my left hand...

finger

2008-09-02T15:39:00.000-06:00

the results are in...

2008-08-16T16:11:00.000-06:00

and colton is finally climbing up the chart! (and yes, roxy is his best friend) he had his 18 month check-up on thursday, and he jumped from 4% in weight to 34% and from 26% in height to 57%! the little sucker is starting to not be so little anymore. the doctor was also really impressed with how many words colton spits out, we're going on 30!!!! a few of his favorites are: dog, go, car, shoooot (just like mater from "cars"), uh-oh and the newest word to grace his vocabulary, girl. another new, fun thing to add to his "i can do" list....cheer with mom about the olympics! we were watching an intense beach volleyball match, and every time the USA would score, i'd yell "yes!!" and throw my hand in the air. now anytime i say yes, colton puts a hand in the air, looks at me and grins; and then he claps for himself. he's very good at giving himself a nice round of applause for doing good things. it's pretty cute.

i had to post some pictures of the next best thing colton loves these days, watching 101 dalmatians. the only time he's ever actually watched a movie is in the car, and his attention span even then is very limited. i decided after a few rounds of cars and nemo, i'd try a dog movie. it's a hit! so we decided we'd see if he'd watch it in our room with us since he loves to sit on our bed. while it only lasted about 20 minutes...he actually sat and watched the movie! it was so stinkin cute i couldn't resist taking pictures and posting about it. colton is such a STUD! ladies, beware.

last, since today is our 3 year anniversary, i had to post some good ole wedding pics! time has flown by and i can't even believe we have been married for 3 years, let alone almost have 2 kids! these last 3 years have been awesome, and the next 3 will be even better. love you babe!!

favorite

2008-08-11T15:11:00.000-06:00

one of my favorite things to do is sneak into colton's room in the middle of the night and rock him. occasionally (meaning more often than not) i fall asleep too. brent happened to capture a pic of the two of us snuggling together. i love that you can totally tell i fell asleep tickling his face...i love this little monster!!

flaming gorge

2008-07-31T19:53:00.001-06:00

our awesome friends crystal and bond invited us up to flaming gorge for the weekend and we had such a good time! it was great to be out on the lake, watching everyone wakeboard and waterski on glass, let me tell you. i was so NOT jealous! i suppose there is always next year. and i really can't complain, i just enjoy being on a boat and it was pretty relaxing not having colton for three days, even though we missed him like crazy! at least i didn't cry this time...i am getting better, little by little.

brent, being the awesome wakeboarder that he is, although this picture does no justice whatsoever. i still need to figure out how to take the picture at just the right moment.

don't you just love our boating/camping look? it's the new "in" style, i swear.

from now on, this is probably the most naked belly of mine you'll see. ever. even after the kid. unless i get lipo, which isn't likely. so enjoy it while you can! :)

there was this really cool rope swing in the middle of the lake that i so didn't want to go jump off...i swear it looked so boring. anyway, here are bond and the cutest girl samantha walking up to the rope. of course between crystal and i we didn't get a good picture of either of them jumping, the best i could manage was bond right before he jumped.

and as a last word of advice...older cousins + slamming doors + colton = soooo not a good match. poor little guy has the biggest bruise on his arm! at least his arm wasn't broken and it wasn't his fingers, they probably would have been sliced off. the most unfortunate part (for me anyway) was that i wasn't there to comfort him. is it sad that i love when he gets hurt-not because he's hurting-but because he runs to me and snuggles in my arms for so long after? for me, it's so much better to cuddle with them when they are older and do it because they want to, not because they can't really move and don't exactly have a choice. it's the best. i love being a mom!

wish i were there

2008-07-23T10:29:00.001-06:00

we got this awesome lettering done while we were in hawaii last december (which by the way was so NOT a good time weather wise to be there. they need to give visitors a redo when it's a hurricane all week). anyway, i am a total slacker and just barely got it framed. i think it's really cool and i love all the intricate detail on each letter. i'm still trying to decide which one is my favorite. seriously, the guy who did this is a genius and it probably took him all of 10 minutes to finish. so not fair...

by the way, this is the funniest blog ever! you have to check it out. (thanks for the tip kristin!)

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

men....

2008-07-17T14:16:00.001-06:00

so i sent brent to the grocery store for some much needed food, and he came home with this instead. a dog that sprays water from it's ears, tongue, and tail. hopefully colton doesn't start expecting our real dogs to do this too...

(seriously...can i get any bigger with this baby?)

anyway, i suppose i can't blame brent for giving in, i do it too! these blue eyes are just simply irresistible!

handy manny

2008-07-09T18:11:00.000-06:00

4 days, some serious manual labor (on brent's part) and painting (on mine), and about 37 trips to home depot later...the baby's room is finished! well, minus some wall decorations here and there, but the hard part is over! i'm so glad to have it done while i still have the energy. i just have to say how awesome of a husband brent is! i was a total slave-driver all weekend, probably wasn't the nicest at times, and wouldn't let either of us quit until it was done, creating some major sleep-deprivation. he did such an amazing job you would never guess that we didn't pay someone to put up the beadboard and chair rail. (i can't say the same about the painting, sorry i am just not a crafty person!!)

here are the before pics, i seriously don't get the decorating idea here. at least it could have been worse, like BYU themed or something...

it (meaning the border i painted) was different when i imagined it in my head, but since i am so not a visual person and lack some craftiness skills, there was probably really no way to make it happen. luckily i am still really happy with the way it turned out! it's not overly girly or babyish but still works for a baby or a toddler or a young girl. unfortunately for me i can't picture it with the black furniture we bought, but brent's very visual and says he thinks it'll look good. hopefully the furniture will get here this weekend so we can see! anyway, here is the finished product (don't mind the drop cloth on the floor):

this picture shows some of the bedding:

and can i just say stenciling is so NOT as easy as it looks? i can't even tell you how many i redid...speaking of which, i think i'll go redo that starfish right now

fireworks

2008-07-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

colton loved the fireworks! i was worried he'd be scared of the loud noises, but he definitely was not. all he wanted to do was run over to them and play. the only way to keep him in my lap and not chasing after them was to grab a box of cocoa puffs (which i never have, so thanks grandma!) and let him sit in my lap and dig in. thanks to all the neighbors and our buddy cole who all came out and shared their fireworks, legal or not, they lasted for awhile and were really entertaining! maybe next year we'll have to take colton to see some really big ones...we won't have just worked on a baby's room all day (i'll get pictures up once the border is painted!) so we should actually have some energy.

shoes, sprinklers, and slides

2008-07-07T10:57:00.000-06:00

apparently colton likes my shoes...after a while of watching him struggle to get the shoes on, i put them both on his feet for him, held his hands, and we walked around the room. too bad i can't take pictures of myself because his face was so stinkin' cute!

he also loves to call and talk to dad.

this is pretty our much daily activity; walking down to the sprinkler park and letting colton go wild! he's obsessed with water, which is great because i love it too! if we aren't at the sprinkler park or the pool, we'll be in the back yard hosing down the dogs and ourselves!!

colton was checkin' out this cute little girl...it was great

and this is him telling me he's done, so put him in the stroller and walk home already!

lil c also loves slides (and swings-but i don't have any pictures of that right now). my parents have both in their backyard and he figured out all by himself how to get up the ladder! now we just need to teach him how to not fall back when he's going down the slide.

"i got worms..."

2008-07-02T19:06:00.001-06:00

so about a month ago when my in-laws were watching colton their neighbor took these adorable pictures. apparently they had found a bunch of worms and colton would pick them up and throw them! such a boy...he does pretty much the same thing when he sees bugs, he smashes them with his finger! he's a crazy monkey, that's for sure. at least he doesn't try to eat them.

here is his monkey face. he's actually probably saying "dog," one of his favorite words, but he still looks like my little money!

here he is playing with a worm. sooo gross! but definitely cute.

his hair is so messy but we cut it last week and now i miss it! and look at those rosy cheeks and blue eyes. such a little heartbreaker already.

yes, he has a handful of worms!

i thought this last picture was so funny because it totally illustrates how small he is! his pants look 2 sizes too big and they are for 9-12 month old kids...he's 16 months.

i just love my little man!

sorry for the rant...

2008-06-29T14:16:00.000-06:00

but sometimes i just get so frustrated! and i really had to get something up besides those spider bites. anyway, i have to rant about how much i HATE smoking. especially when people really struggle with using their brains and first of all, smoke at a park full of kids and pregnant moms. and second of all, throw their cigarette butts in the grass! i mean seriously, do you not realize there are tons of crazy children running around who are interested in anything and everything, and will go pick up your used cigarette butt and probably stick it in their mouth while being chased by their mom yelling "that's yucky! don't touch! and don't put it in your mouth!" and the child will continue running away laughing his cute little curly head off. (this doesn't sound like colton at all, right???) and can i just say that there are like 50 garbage cans conveniently all around the park for you to use. so if you're going to be stupid enough to smoke at a park, can you at least use a fraction of your brain and throw the damn cigarette butts away? honestly!! it's probably a good idea never to get me started on smoking + kids...especially those wonderful, loving, responsible parents who smoke in the car with their children in the back seat. windows rolled down or not, you're an idiot. and have absolutely no self control.

ok so maybe i should talk about something nice now...like how most people probably don't know this about me but i absolutely LOVE to dance! seriously when a good song comes on i will always start moving with the beat. and there are some pretty good songs on commercials, and i always jump up and dance. plus i love the ellen show, so i always dance with her when i watch it. well, when i was pregnant with colton, brent used to say that he was going to be such a smooth little dancer because i was constantly shakin my thang. well, he obviously wasn't a little groove machine when he first came out, but i can promise you this, that boy has rhythm! he always dances in the car (ok so it's more like bouncing, but whatever). sometimes i will catch him pretty much head banging to the music while we're driving. it's the best. and he loves to stomp his feet and walk around in a circle (albeit a backwards one, but still a circle) when we listen to music at home. it's great. and he LOVES when i hold him and we dance together. i have a pretty sweet video of him in the car grooving to Madonna/Justin Timberlake/Timbaland's song "4 minutes." it's his ultimate fave dancing song. pretty much that whole CD he dances to, but definitely that song in particular. i don't think it's because he copies his mama at all though....i'm guessing we make some pretty great entertainment for the other drivers out there! people should really STOP smoking and START dancing!!!

thanks dad

2008-06-26T13:22:00.001-06:00

so i know it has been forever, and since my camera has been at my parents house for close to a month now, i decided to steal some pictures from this lovely email my dad sent me yesterday. ENJOY! because i sure did....

this guy was bitten by a brown recluse spider. this is day 3...

day 5...

day 6...

day 9...

and the spider who caused it all...

now i think everyone will thank me for waiting to get my pictures uploaded rather than cursing my name for never posting!!

look at lil c

2008-05-26T20:09:00.000-06:00

just wanted to show off how cute she is already!