Aiden's 1 year pictures

This weekend, we had a lot of family in town which included my lovely cousin, Erika.  I always convince people with fancy cameras to take pictures of me and my family so I put her to work. ;)  I had completely spaced doing Aiden's 1 year pictures, which is weird for me since I obsess over pictures, so it all worked out perfectly.  She's sweet and said she wanted to take the pictures but either way, thank you Erika!!  These pictures capture his cute little personality. 

He really loved rocking back and forth on this chair so I had to stand close by to make sure he didn't fall and hurt himself on the cement.

I was excited to get a few pictures of me with my baby.

I love his little TOMS

Aiden and Carly loved playing on these chairs at my mom's house.  Cute little cousins. :)

5 Years-Our love story

15 years ago, in 8th grade orchestra, there was this boy that caught my attention.  I have memories of sitting in orchestra, talking to this boy while a movie was playing(probably South Pacific or White Christmas) and thinking he was really nice.  I also remember that when I got "promoted" to 1st chair viola, he leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "hey, look at you moving up in the world."  And I got butterflies.

High School came and we ran into each other at the opening bonfire and again I realized he was really sweet.  Football games came and we started looking for each other.  We became close friends and by the time we were 16, we started dating.  I was in love. ;)

Senior year came and my heart was broken by this boy.  Shattered.  I thought my world was ending but luckily college came.  And I realized it's pretty fun to date...as much as possible.  This boy left on his mission and I dated some more and fell in love again.  Things didn't work out but I was done with dating and no longer interested in the boy from 8th grade orchestra.

This boy came home from his mission and I told him that I was only interested in being friends, but he stuck by my side.  He listened to me cry over boys.  He became my counselor.  He started dating other girls and I started dating other boys and we both became interested in other people.  However, none felt quite right and by Christmas time, I decided that I had to know either way if this boy(Jon) was the right one.  So, I told him I thought we should date.

Two weeks later(5 1/2 years ago), Jon called up my dad to ask permission for my hand in marriage.  I'm glad my dad's comment of, "Are you sure?  Has she given you any indication she wants to marry you?" didn't deter him.  Jon later told me he just knew how he felt and didn't want another year to go by before he asked me to marry him.  So, he took me up to the Rexburg Temple on New Year's Eve and he said that he wanted me to take a walk with him.  I didn't think anything was up because I was still trying to decide how I felt about him so I told him it was freezing and I didn't want to get out of the car...even if he did have hot chocolate in a little thermos to keep us warm.

So he proposed.  In his old Ford Bronco.

And I didn't accept.

I made him get out of the car, get on his knee and propose again.

And then I told him I'd think about it.

A few days later(yes, I really made Jon wait for an answer), I went up to the temple and I finally got that feeling I had been waiting for in past relationships.  I just knew that was the direction my life would take.  My decision wasn't based off of lust or infatuation, but by spiritual promptings and a realization that I deeply cared for this man and I trusted him with my life.

5 years ago, yesterday, we were married in the Rexburg Temple.  And I love this man more deeply than I can say.  He has seen me through my hardest times, held my hand when I needed strength, and loved me with an unconditional love that has meant more to me than I can say.  I didn't know my personality when I got married but the Lord knew exactly who I would need to keep me stable.

Yesterday, I kept looking at Jon and thinking how lucky I am.  How lucky am I that I found a man who would do anything for me and our little family?  How lucky am I that I found a man that would sacrifice his own desires or pursuit to keep me happy if need be.  How lucky am I to find a partner in life who is willing to see me through my worst times and help me become better?  I couldn't have picked out a better partner for me.   And I love him more today than the day we were married.

Falling in love isn't always the fairy tale story.  Our story could be considered far from romantic but it's our story.  And I love it.  Someday, hopefully my kids will read this and they'll be trying to decide if they've found the right person.  I had so many times in the dating years where I would plead with the Lord to let me know if it was right.  And answers never came.  And drama and confusion came.   And it wasn't right.  But when I had finally found the right person, the Lord let me know because I had a feeling of peace.  And Jon felt the same way.  Every moment afterwards wasn't necessarily peaceful but when we thought of marrying each other, there was the feeling of just knowing.

Our life hasn't been perfect since being married but it's always felt natural and right.  We've had ups and downs and trials that have tested us as individuals but the important thing is that we've always confided in each other, made decisions together, and grown together.

And it's been fun.

Happy Anniversary, Jon.

5 years ago

Last fall

 Apparently I like dark blue and teal together.

Home Improvement pictures and potty training

This past winter, my mom added on a new addition to her house and I never got around to posting pictures on here.  Remember me posting the pictures of us demolishing a kitchen on Thanksgiving?  That kitchen has now turned into a living room.

And this kitchen is the new addition.  It is quite the hang out area-the boys love running around that island.

 

Jon and I have been searching through, literally, hundreds of house plans and all of the construction around my mom's house has gotten us excited.

In other news, guess who's potty trained?!

 I believe we've gone a full week without any accidents so I'm saying we are officially out of diapers.  It's sooo nice not having two kids in diapers.

Honesty moment: Patrick is going through a rough stage for me.  My proudest mom moments have not come during this phase called the terrible twos.  Potty training was rough and after multiple attempts and waiting for Patrick to be ready, he's finally potty trained but it wouldn't have been successful if I'd tried to force it a day too soon.  He is the sweetest little boy but he has a stubborn streak that has tested my patience over and over again(He gets it from me so you'd think I'd understand).  I know his whining and desire to be independent are normal...but it's been rough.  But, I'm learning and Patrick is forgiving and at the end of the day, I might be happy for bedtime, but I would do anything for this little boy.  I can't believe that my first-born is turning 3 in a few months and then going to pre-school and then into Primary.  The other day I got emotional thinking about how my days are quickly coming to an end where I get to be home with him all day.  Before I know it, he'll be graduating from High School.  But until then, I'm trying to learn patience and enjoy my days with this strong-willed, independent, sweet, car obsessed little boy.    

Dr. Seuss Party and some one year stats

For Aiden's party I decided to go with a Dr. Seuss theme.  Honestly, I'd had that theme picked out since Patrick turned one but his parties have always turned to cars...I have no idea why. ;)  Aiden isn't really obsessed with one particular thing/kind of thing, so I did whatever I thought would be cute. :)

           Kami tried to photobomb the picture... :)

 Really, my camera abilities are useless and horrible so they don't really do it justice but I thought it turned out well.

See in the above picture how there is a gold fish in a cute little bowl?  Here were my thoughts on the situation: "That will be cute, I can have a real goldfish as the centerpiece and draw some Dr. Seuss like fish on a piece of paper and tape those to the side to make it look Dr. Seuss-y and then the next day the goldfish will die, like all my goldfish have in the past."
How it really went down was this: I bought my $.28 goldfish, we took him home and the next day Jon noticed he was gulping at the top surface of the water.  Me in my not caring manner told him it was normal.  Jon researches and figures out that all my goldfish die because I've basically suffocated them to death and goldfish are meant to live in tanks with filters.  Instead of just letting our $.28 goldfish die, we drive to Idaho Falls and buy a lot more expensive tank than the dang fish is worth, decide he needs friends, which are all more expensive than original $.28 fish, pick out tropical ones by accident, need special heater, need different food for tropical fish vs. goldfish, Jon decides our fish needs little toys to swim around in......are you seeing how this is playing out?  We now have a tank with cool fish in it that all ended up costing more than my original $.28 because I had to have the stinkin' idea that a goldfish would be cool at Aiden's party.  My tender hearted husband cares for animals a lot more than I ever gave him credit for and me, the "animal lover" was just going to let the goldfish suffocate to death.

And, back to the party.  Mainly the food was the biggest portion of the party so after we ate our green eggs and ham, chocolate covered strawberries, cake pops, etc. we opened gifts and then watched Aiden not eat his cake.  Apparently he's not a huge sugar lover, which is just fine by me.  I was just slightly looking forward to watching him dig in but I shouldn't be surprised that his personality is a little more reserved, like mine is, and he just didn't want to get messy while everyone was watching.  Aiden pretty much seemed a little overwhelmed the whole time by all of the attention he was getting and zoned out by the time the gifts were over.

Opening his presents.  Patrick was so good at getting the presents for him and "helping'" him open them.

We tore open the cake for him and this was his look.  I have a video and he's pretty much just crying over the fact that we put frosting on his hands and mouth.  We tried putting a little in his mouth to have him try it but he clamped down as hard as he could so we couldn't get anything inside.

Once we stopped trying to force it, he was a happy camper.  His cheezer face...kills me.  I love it.

Patrick was soo excited by the whole thing that he couldn't fall asleep until 2 in the morning.  I really loved that after being exhausted from the day. :)

I thought the party was a success.  We always appreciate when family comes to support us and show their love for these little kids that mean so much to us.

Sorry, this post is turning out long but while I'm on here, I wanted to add Aiden's stats and some things about him.

Weight-21.12 pds.(24%)
Height-29.75 in.(48.51%)

He's still our little man.  I know I say this a lot but he  seemed like a little baby for a lot longer than Patrick did and I'm grateful for that.  It might not make sense to everyone why I would say that but it really has been a blessing for us.

At one year Aiden:
-is walking everywhere.  goodbye crawling days.
-has 4 teeth
-still loves eating most everything but if he's not in the mood, you know it.  there is no opening that little jaw to get any food in.
-says mama and dada but has recently started trying to imitate more sounds, especially when we say "hi!"
-jabbers with a lot more meaning.  He's constantly trying to tell me what he wants or tell me a story
-points to everything he wants as well
-understands little commands like, "Aiden, come to me"
-he tries singing along with me
-claps his hands
-waves hi or bye
-loves climbing things
-loves going to the park and exploring.  he really loves the slide
-loves riding things like bikes, mater truck, etc.

Hence why we got this little mickey scooter thing.   Probably ranks in the top 10 purchases by mom and dad

-loves being outside

-loves wrestling

-still a mama's boy but there is no doubt that he loves and adores all of his family

-sleeps 10-12 hours at night plus 1 or 2 naps depending on when I lay him down.  I've been transitioning to one but he'll sleep whenever I lay him down.  Seriously, I can't think of an easier baby and I know I've been spoiled which scares me for if/when we have another baby. 

Today at the doctor's office, the nurses were all commenting on how he was the sweetest and cutest baby ever.  I couldn't agree more. I love my little boys. :)  

Our 1 year old

I want to give a recap on the busy day we had today and write about how I think Aiden's birthday party turned out as adorable as I hoped, but I'm tired.  That recap can be tomorrow.  Right now I'm just going to say Happy Birthday to the sweetest one year old I know.  

I can't think of anything Jon or I wouldn't do for this little man in our life...for either of our little men.  I know Aiden won't remember his first birthday but to me it means a lot to celebrate the life of a boy who means so much to us.  Before having kids, I couldn't quite comprehend how much having kids would change my life but I know they have changed me for the good.  I don't know whether or not if Aiden is our last child but I still can't help feeling nostalgic and wishing that time had slowed down just a bit.  

Happy Birthday, cutie.   

Life lately

Anyone else loving the fact that it's starting to feel like spring might be coming soon?  I know it snowed/hailed today but on Saturday, I barely wore a jacket...and that day gives me hope for future weather. A couple weeks ago, we had a few nice days in a row and we took full advantage of those.

 I'm excited to build a house in the future, but I have to admit that it's nice having three parks within a 1-5 minute walking distance.   I keep trying to convince Jon that since we'll have a larger piece of land, we have to include a playground in our landscape designs.  I also want an indoor pool, huge kitchen, sitting area in my bedroom, walk-in closets, the highest materials possible, jacuzzi tub, library, vaulted ceilings, workout room, and an apartment attached.  For some reason, he thinks I'm slightly unrealistic. ;)  Oh yeah, and I want a huge greenhouse that I can turn into my tropical getaway...and a mini house for guests.  I obviously have humble tastes.

Also, Aiden has been to multiple doctors because he failed his hearing test.  Wanna know the answer they all give me?  Earwax.  So what do I do?  Give him baths every day and pour warm water in his ear and take showers at night with him because he can't sleep because his ears are hurting him(and nope, he has no ear infection).  Finally, the last doctor I go to mentions there's this magical little bottle, that's over the counter, that can soften his earwax.  Am I the only person on this planet that didn't know that stuff existed?  I'm really glad I've paid hundreds of dollars for doctors to say, "get his ear wet and come back in a week" and then tell me he still has earwax.   Maybe doctors think something so obvious isn't worth mentioning but believe me...it is.

Good thing Aiden has a great time at the doctor's office.

This last Saturday, we all went to a birthday party for Kami's little boy and the boys were in little kid heaven.  Trampoline, swing set, dart guns, junk food...pretty much everything Patrick could ever want in life right now.

 Aiden really loves the slide.

 Any else have a problem taking group pictures with little kids? ;)  It's like we were yelling, "Hey, no one look at me!  Yep, just keep examining that grass everyone.  Or cry, that works too."

Patrick really loved the trampoline.

That pretty much sums up anything exciting that might have happened lately.  Other than that, we've just been working and trying not to go crazy inside.  I should become one of those crafty moms that has fun crafts for her kids but I'm just not.  And I'm starting to accept that about me and that I can be a fun mom in other ways.  Like, wrestling with my kids and giving them piggy back rides or chasing them around outside.  I love my little boys more than I can say but these winter months make me simultaneously bored yet pushed to my emotional limits.   Numerous times a week, Patrick points to his swimming gear and asks for summer to come.  At least we're on the same page.  I hear ya, bud.

We're pretty much the next flappy birds :)

Flappy fins is now ready for you all to download. :)

Sooo...remember how I mentioned a few months ago that Jon and I are developing apps together?  Well, we posted our first game tonight!  We're still working on our original games(they're a little more in depth) but when flappy birds came out and became so popular, we(along with every other developer in the world) did our own knock off.  So even though there are a million flappy...things, please download our game and we will be your best friends forever.  If you want us to be.  Also, this game was put together really fast and I think I spent a total of one hour on the graphics(note: I got my degree in music and I barely know how to turn on the computer so the graphics thing is all new to me) so be relatively kind to us in your reviews but we do want to know what you think.  Just don't write something like, "hey, this is the dumbest game I've ever played.  Nothing like flappy birds."

Thanks. :)

Right now it's only available on android devices but it will be coming soon to ios and whatever else is out there... Jon's the technology person so I should have had him write this post.

Here's our icon.  

 We just posted it and have a total of 3ish downloads so it's a looong ways down the list of flappy games so just keep scrolling down until you find it.  Or, you can find it faster by typing flappy fins jaybird in the search bar.  For those curious, the word jaybird is part of our "company" name.  Jay was my dad's middle name so the name was/is a dedication to him.  If you don't see the splash screen when you first open up the game, it's because Jon's trying to add it as I type this.  It might not be updated until tomorrow.  But, the game is still available to download.

We realize there's another game called Flappy Fins.  It's dumb.  Don't download it. ;)

My boys

After having no pictures for my last post, I decided it was time to break out the camera...ipod.  (My last post now has updated pictures for those of you interested in taking a look.)

I'm really glad I get to hang out with these two all day.

                                         
I'm already looking forward to and dreading the day they go to preschool/kindergarten.

11 months on Valentines Day

Guess who turned 11 months old on Friday?

Valentines Day happened to fall on the same day Aiden turned 11 months old.  Karolyn and my mom were kind enough to volunteer to watch our kids on Valentines night until Saturday morning so, we celebrated his 11 month birthday by dropping him off. ;) Really, I wasn't sure how he would do sleeping away from home but he didn't skip a beat and did really well.  Thanks again, mom and Karolyn!  It was definitely a nice break.

Aiden hasn't changed very much from his 10 month post but he's getting more and more vocal all the time.  He now says mama, as well as dada(Jon was pretty excited that dada was his first word), but usually mama just comes when he's upset.  When he sees food he says nana but I'm not sure if that's because that's what we call bananas or if it's random.  Either way, he's in the phase where he vocalizes most everything with grunts or cries.

His stubborn side has definitely come out.  Goodbye to eating anything we put in front of him.  His taste buds have developed more(I guess that's what it is) and while I wouldn't say he's incredibly picky, he definitely lets us know when he doesn't want something.  Usually he'll toss all of his unwanted food to the floor and watch the dogs eat it.  He's gotten really good at pointing to what he wants and if he doesn't want it, he shakes his head quite emphatically.  It's really cute, except for when I really want him to eat his peas.

On Sunday, Aiden took his first 2 steps!  He hasn't done more than one step since then, but he's getting there.  I have mixed emotions about this.

I can't really say what Aiden prefers to play with.  Usually he wants whatever Patrick has.  He still likes to chew on everything but I guess, going along with the walking thing, he likes to play with things he can push.  Ex: his walker, laundry baskets, wagons, tonka trucks, etc.  He is definitely my water baby and could play in the tub for hours if I let him.  When he's not in the tub, he likes to find water wherever he can get it.  Lucky for me, that includes the dog bowls and the toilet...

He's learned to clap, point at what he wants, and wave hello or goodbye to people.  I love watching his uncoordinated wave.  Aiden knows he has him mom wrapped his cute little finger.

In less than a month my baby turns a year old.  I already started shopping/planning for his birthday party because I am so excited but the other part of me can't believe a year went by so quickly.  I love the baby phase but at the same time, I find it so cute to see Aiden and Patrick become more interactive with each other.  Here's to one more month of calling my baby a baby.  I might have to start thinking about getting me another baby soon...;)  Completely kidding.  Two crazy little boys who are dependent on me for most everything, mixed with potty training and teething, mixed with incredible morning sickness sounds about as appealing to me as chopping off my own arm. :)

Anyway, we love you Mr. Aiden!  I don't know what I would do with myself if I couldn't look forward to those slobbery kisses all over my whole face.    

We're done with this winter stuff.

This is how we feel about winter nowadays:

Just as I started bragging to people about how we have avoided most of the sickness this year, we got hit.  And once we got hit, it was like our immune systems shut down and we started getting sickness after sickness.  This isn't a pity post, I'm just sayin' we're a little tired of being cooped up in the house.  We're ready for some warmth and sunshine!  Remember that post where I said we loved snow?  That happy feeling is gone. ;)

I'm just extremely thankful that my kids are pretty happy while they're sick and when they don't feel well, they conk out at night...for the most part.  I can only think of one night that Aiden woke up in the middle of the night wanting some cuddling and a bottle.

Aiden failed his hearing test(he needed to be checked since he'd been in the NICU) so we ended up at the doctor's office to see if he had an ear infection.

Who knew the doctor's office could be fun?  I never leave wishing I could stay longer...

 Turns out, small ear canals+ear wax=not that great of hearing.  We go back to check his hearing in another week so hopefully the ear wax was the only problem.


Among all of this sickness stuff, we've managed to have a little fun.  Like the superbowl!  What an intense game...

This is what the kids did while the adults were yelling.  If you can't tell by Clayt's shirt, we were rooting for the losing team. :)

It's been pretty dang cold here(hello, I had to go deliver something this morning at 7:00AM and froze my tooshy off, almost literally), so I have zero desire to bundle up the kids to go play outside.  Our outlet?  McDonalds!  Thank you indoor playground.  Thank goodness their chicken nuggets are so healthy for us.

Oh, and laundry baskets have been pretty fun as well.

 Remember when I posted this picture of Patrick around the same age?  That year and a half sure went fast...

I'm beginning to think all my kids will look nothing alike.

Cross your fingers we start getting some warmer weather around here.  30 degrees would be nice...we have to be a little realistic.