More Recent Pics!

Michael having a ball. Lol.

Check this out!

Mommy and Michael getting ready for bed.

Michael loving Grandpa

Michael and Mommy on the local news from Boo at the Zoo

Another news shot

Let's go! I'm ready!

Little QB

Michael's Game Face

Come on!

Check me out!

Halloween Fun!!!

Michael and Karmen sharing their lunches.

Michael and Karmen already eating their candy at the zoo.

Ready to leave mom, enough pictures...

Michael getting ready to eat some lunch!

Michael in his BSU costume going to Boo at the Zoo!



It was a fun weekend! On Saturday I took Michael to Boo at the Zoo with his aunt Heather and cousin Karmen (who is only 1 1/2 months older than Michael so they were perfect together). We had a blast. Michael is a BSU football player this year (Kellen Moore to be exact) and has the full get up with fake pads and the under-eye markings. Karmen was an adorable little bumble bee complete with wings and antenna. Michael and Karmen quickly learned that taking candy out of their buckets was much more fun than getting candy put in and Michael had all his chocolate eaten before we even left the zoo. They were able to ride the carousel and Michael was put on the local news in his BSU gear. They even got to be in a costume contest where they each won a ribbon. After a couple of hours of fun at the zoo, we all went to lunch at McDonalds and then went home for some good long naps. :) We will go pick out a pumpkin this week and carve a family pumpkin just in time for Halloween. On Halloween, we haven't determined what we are doing exactly. If it's not too cold we are going with Karmen and the gang down Harrison Boulevard to trick or treat which is the historic part of town and they always have great displays. If it's cold then we will go to our subdivision's club house to decorate cookies and get some good candy and play games. It's so much fun now that Michael can enjoy the things we are doing. Life is going well for us. We are looking at new places and will hopefully be out on our own soon. We are still trying to decide whether we want a house or if we prefer to go cheap and just have an apartment again. We also adopted a new puppy. He is now 5 weeks old and a doll. We weren't looking for a puppy, but his owner said he was the last of the litter and if no one took him then he would be going to the pound that night. At 4 weeks old, they aren't even supposed to be away from their mothers so we took him in and he's doing wonderful. He is a chihuahua/pomerianian mix and we named him Cooper. Beyond family life, I recently got a raise and will be moving to a new area so we are excited about that and Mike is doing great with the prison and the CERT Team (the prison SWAT team). Life is going well and we are excited to start moving into the holiday season!


Cooper trying to sleep next to Mike's shoes.

A Day of Love!!!

Well, I have sure been slacking. It's been a little over a month since I posted anything and it wasn't much of a post. Lol. So here's the update you've all been waiting for! :)

We took a little tritp to Utah in August where we were able to finally meet our sister Jenny. It was amazing! I think we all felt as if we had all always known each other. We all stayed up until 3 in the morning and practically had to force ourselves to go to bed. We would have spent the rest of the week together, but unfortunately everyone except me and Michael got sick. Michael and I did go to Lagoon though one day while we were there and he was SO brave! He went in both haunted houses, rode the paratrooper, jumping dragon, kiddie coaster (all the kiddie rides really), the carousel, the tilt-a-whirl, and the Odyssea. He was amazing and we actually had a blast just the two of us.

Michael is now just about 16 months and doing amazing! He is still in the 90th percentile for his height and 20th percentile for weight (although I am doing all I can to fatten him up, lol, I think he feels all his meals should come with a toy and be in a sack). He has a Spiderman Power Wheels Quad that he absolutely adores and is doing great at figuring it out. The first two days he didn't understand the steering part, but he's finally getting it down after a couple of weeks and he loves it! We took him to his first corn maze last weekend with Bryson and Trish and he had a blast! The one we went to also had a giant "jumping pillow", slides, pedal cars, hay rides, animals, and a corn box (a sand box filled with corn kernels instead of sand-lol). He LOVED the jumping pillow, but he was so tiny that when anyone else jumped, he was all over the place. :) We have also started him on the Your Baby Can Read program and after only one week, he is already recognizing the words "mouth" and "nose" and he loves his books (although he gets so excited with them that I'm not sure they will survive for another child- lol). Halloween is coming up so we've gotten all the fall and winter clothes out and we are in the process of costume hunting, we are thinking he would be a cute BSU football player, pirate, or lamb. Michael had his first haircut yesterday at a salon. Boy did he hate it! Lol. The poor little guy screamed the entire time, even though there were really cool hummer chairs and Shrek playing.

Mike and I are doing great, in fact, today is our 2 year wedding anniversary (we have now been together for 5 1/2 years) and wow has time flown. We have gone from high school and illegal street races after work at Mcdonalds to a family of three with good jobs and a crazy busy life, but it's great. It doesn't feel like it's been that long. We have been through a lot these last few years, but it has only made us stronger and grow both as individuals and as a married couple (and now as parents as well). To celebrate our years together, we will be staying at a gorgeous hotel tomorrow night and going to dinner and a movie. Thanks to Ann (Mike's mom) we will be able to be baby free so we can focus on just the two of us. :)

Upcoming events.... hmm, there really aren't any. We will begin potty training in two months so we are starting the "pre-potty training" process right now which is just charting his habits as well as getting him used to sitting on his potty and having potty story time every night (we sure are busy with pre-potty training and reading). Other than that, we are pretty uneventful right now. :)

Here is our smart little man... (sorry it's blurry, it's off my phone)

Utah Vacation Photos

Here We Go!!!!

Yay! I am so excited. In only 3 hours, we will be headed to Salt Lake to visit family. We will be able to visit with all our family who we miss so much, meet a few new family members, and we will get to let Michael experience a "real" zoo and Lagoon! It's going to be a fun week and we can't wait to get there. The countdown is nearing to a close and our antsy"ness" is getting high! :) Michael's excited too, here he is practicing his car skills for the trip. Lol.

I Finally Got Pictures!

Today was the first time we bought Michael a full portrait package. We finally got around to his 1 year pictures and they are adorable. I am still amazed by how much he has grown and how much he continues to grow every day. We are so excited to watch him grow and learn and become a man. This first year has flown and it has been wonderful and we have many more to go!

Time Goes By So Fast

Our little baby boy is going to be 14 months on August 3rd and it's amazing how far he has come and how much he has grown. He now cuddles, kisses, climbs up and down things, dances, hides, runs, "loves", and even throws tantrums and pouts. Lol. Last week we took him to Carl's Junior and he found it fascinating to take the napkins out of the holder one by one and throw them each on the booth behind us. Lol. Another time, we went to Applebees and he played peek-a-boo with the couple in the booth behind us. He has such an adorable personality and he melts our hearts. He's such an amazing little guy and we just adore him so much. I haven't been very good about updating pictures as I go so here are some from the last couple of weeks.

Smiles! We're going to go to the zoo after lunch!

Happy after a bath and some chocolate milk

Going crazy over ice cream!

Giggles!!!

Michael giving Elmo "loves"

Thoughtful Thinking...

Tiny hands, tiny feet, sweet scent, clear blue eyes. Their love for you is everything and they ccould care less if you haven't done your hair or makeup, haven't cleaned the house, or if you just don't feel like doing much of anything. All they ask is for your love and to be held and taken care of. I was looking through pictures of Michael as he has grown this last year and it is truly amazing how he can go from so tiny and fragile and helpless, to a giggling and running little 13 month old little boy who now has a funny personality. I have so many close memories that I hope I will never forget. I remember his "snapping turtle" hungry move where he would shake his head back and forth a couple of times and then snap right on to his bottle, I remember him cuddling up to his daddy and watching them take naps together, I remember how hard he tried to hold his head up for the first time and then when he was finally defeated just 30 seconds later how sad he was, I remember watching him stare in awe at simple things such as fans or the way his mobile moved and how much he loved his swing, I remember the first time he sat up without falling and how proud I was of him, and then again when he stood for the first time and walked for the first time. In one year, I have been given so many blessings and wonderful memories that I hold so dear to my heart, that just thinking of them makes me so overcome with emotion and love that it is hard to breathe. Now I cherish his smiles, his laughs, his kisses and hugs, and I adore when he cries "mommy" and just wants to sit in my lap and watch TV or fall asleep. I have so many hopes and dreams for his future and I will always be there by his side. I hope I can inspire him to be everything he wants to be and nothing less. Motherhood has been the hardest and easiest transition of my life. I have found myself crying and flustered on many occassions due to lack of sleep and time for myself, but there are SO many more times that have become wonderful memories. I no longer put myself first and he is the first thought in my head each morning and the last each night. I cherish everything I have been given through him.

More Pics....

Looking at Wahooz

Playing Wac-A-Mole

I don't Know

I don't know again

Wac-A-Mole

Bath Time...

I LOVE BATH TIME