Thank You

 I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the prayers and support.  We appreciate them more than we can say.  Just for an update: we're back from the hospital and hospice will come in to help take care of my dad.  Both of my parents are being so strong through all of this and I'm just grateful I have them to look up to.  I couldn't have been blessed with better parents.      

And dad, we love you and will take all the time we can get.  We always have hope.

Another great afternoon :)

I have to say Patrick loves the park almost as much as I do.  Right now his favorite activity is being outside of the stroller and pushing it along the grass.  I have the cutest video but unfortunately my phone won't let me "share" it like I can with the pictures.  Maybe tomorrow I'll remember my camera.  

Patrick hated the feel of grass for awhile but now he thinks it's the greatest thing ever.  Especially when there's dandelions to eat.

As I was watching Patrick push along the stroller today(which he's perfectly content doing for a good 20 min.), I was reminded how much I love this little boy.

 I love that he starts clapping every time he hears music or every time we act excited over something he's done.

 I love that in the middle of play time, he'll take a break to just cuddle with me before going back to his toys.

I love that he has his own toothbrush and loves to brush his teeth with me every morning.

I love that we're best buds and he wants to be by my side all day long.  I'm starting to realize I'm going to dread the day he realizes mom isn't so cool anymore.

 I love his little laugh and I love that he smiles at everyone he meets.

 I love that he's so outgoing but acts shy and cuddles into me anytime someone shows him attention.

 I love how he tries to play with Max and Abby(mostly by taking away their toys and grabbing their fur)

I love that every morning I can hear him happily chatting away in our monitor when he wakes up and I love that when I go get him from his crib, he smiles at me like I'm his favorite person in the world.

This post wasn't meant to be mushy but lately I've just been thinking a lot about how everything is different with your first child.  Never again will I be able to devote so much time to one little person(no, I'm not pregnant).  Next time we have a baby, I'm going to be chasing Patrick around while trying to love another little baby.  I won't be able to do what I did with Patrick, just sitting in a rocking chair in his bedroom, singing him to sleep, having no other obligation in the world other than to care for this one child.  I feel like it takes all my energy to care for one child, I don't know how all of you care for multiple kids!  I guess I'll learn...in awhile.  Right now I'm content giving Patrick all the lovin' he could ever want.

Rexburg

In my last post, I mentioned that we might be in Rexburg forever because of Jon's new job.  One week down and Jon is really enjoying everything about the company.  Next week he starts on a big project and he's pretty excited about it.  I've made it no secret that I really want to move away from Rexburg, so while I was really excited for Jon, it's also a little hard for me to give up my dream of living in California...close to the coast...in San Diego with perfect weather...and palm trees...etc. ;)  That's just me dreaming because who's to say he would have found a job in California.  Anyway, I love being around family but I've always made it clear that it would be nice to experience life away from this little town for at least a couple years.  Honestly, I don't know if Jon will stay with this company forever or if he'll get another offer somewhere else in a few years, or make his millions developing apps(wouldn't that be nice ;)), but since I've had to think of being here awhile longer, I'm starting to appreciate things about Rexburg that I've always taken for granted.  Like, how great is it that I can walk to the park without the fear of getting mugged?  Or, how great is it that a temple is 5 min. away from our house?  And, how great is it that my son will grow up feeling safe and surrounded by people who love him?  I've even started noticing how great parts of Rexburg are starting to look.  This little town is growing, and some of the landscaping is really nice.  Jon and I will occasionally take drives up by the temple just to relax and enjoy how nice everything looks up there.  Sometimes we even dream about living in one of those crazy large houses, too. ;)  So, while I will always despise the cold temperatures(I really can't emphasize enough how much I hate this) for 9 months of the year, and while I still dream of traveling all over the place, Rexburg is starting to re-grow on me.  And who knows, maybe we will move someday but if not, I'm starting to be ok with that.

Our latest events

So, this post is just a mixture of random events happening in our life.

Firstly, this little cutie and I have started taking daily trips to the park.  One reason is because I love parks.  If I had to choose a  "happy place" in life, it would be at a park.  It's like being in nature without actually being out in nature.  It reminds me of favorite birthdays growing up, eating a picnic and playing games at the park.  Sandwiches never taste so good as they do at a park.  My second reason for going is because I go crazy being at home all day.  Never thought I would say that but I do.  Being a stay at home mom is so much harder than just being home, hanging out all day.  I love hanging out with this little man, but we often need a change of scenery, for more than one reason.

By the way, Patrick took his first step yesterday!  So, by 9 1/2 months Patrick can now take a few steps, wave hi and bye, give kisses, clap(he mostly does this when we say, Ya!) and he says mama and dada.  He's started copying hi and bye but I can't really say he means to.  Soon enough though.  The kisses he actually started a few weeks ago but I forgot to record in his 8 month post.  



Second event: we celebrated Derek's birthday.  Happy Birthday to my awesome brother!  Unfortunately, we won't see as much of him starting this fall because he's going to go get his master's degree.  So Derek, we'll miss you but I know you'll rock the program and be a great teacher to all of this little freshman college students!

Thirdly, it was Mother's Day this weekend.  Oh, I so love being a mom to this cute guy.  Never has anything been so frustrating and so rewarding.  I've always wanted to be a mom but once Patrick came I realized just how emotionally and physically exhausting it can be.  At the same time, I would do anything for this little boy and I wouldn't change this role for anything.  Also, I just want to give a shout out to my own mother.  I was soo lucky to have a great example to look up to growing up and I know she would do anything for her kids. It's nice to know that I can go to her for anything and she'll always listen and be understanding.  I'm also lucky to have a great mother-in-law who raised such great kids. ;)  Patrick's lucky to have such great examples.

Lastly.....................................................Jon got a new job!!!  Goodbye Broulims.  While we appreciate the employment for the last 3 1/2 years, we're also excited that Jon gets to leave.  As of tomorrow, Jon starts at AMX International.  We're excited because 1) it pays better, 2) the hours are during the day, 3) Jon will be one of their computer programmers, which is what his degree is in, 4) there's lots of room to grow within the company, especially after he graduates.  I could probably name more reasons why we're excited about this but I'll stop there.  I'm just super proud of my smart hubby and I'm so excited that these people saw his talents.  He's applied at other places and they were quite flaky and this one just...fell into place.  They were really impressed with his programming skills and he was hired within a couple days.  I guess this means we'll probably be in Rexburg for....maybe forever.  We'll see. :)

26

Jon turned 26 this last Thursday.  26.  When did we grow up?

Happy Birthday, Jon.  We love you.

Sometimes I try to run

So, I don't write much on here about physical fitness stuff but I just thought I would share that I hit a milestone tonight.  I realized I can actually run 30 min. straight and complete a 5K.  For all you runners out there, laugh at me all you want since it's nothing to some people, but I'm proud.  Also, I know running on a treadmill is easier than on a road but it's progress.  Someday I'll be good at this running thing. ;)