Desert Star

Last night Jerry and I went with my daughter Kate to see the annual Christmas play at the Desert Star. Jerry's Grandma, Joyce Rasmussen, buys a whole row in the theater for the whole family. That's her Christmas present to everyone. It was great to have Kate come this year, they had an extra ticket, so Kate was able to attend. Normally it is just for the adults, so this was definitely a special treat. For those who don't know what it the Desert Star is, it's a little dinner theater. Kate loved all the root beer and pizza Grandma and Grandpa let her have. I probably wouldn't have given her as much as she drank, but she was sitting by Pa-Pa and Grandma. It was a special occasion so I was to upset. It was a really funny Christmas play. It was so fun to see Kate's face when Santa came out. Kate's face just lit up, she was so excited. It so neat to see the child like wonder in her eyes, sometime I wish I still had that. Jerry and I had a great time as well, the ice cream was great. It was also great to see all of Jerry's extended family again. Thank you Brams!

Keeping the Family Traditions Alive !

Every year around Christmas time we had a tradition of making Sugar Cookies and decorating them with my mom's famous frosting. It's something I've done since I can't even remember. It was so much fun to share this tradition with Kate this year, she was amazed that we just let her go to town and decorate any and all cookies the wanted anyway she wanted to decorate them. At one point she took 4 sprinkle containers and shook it all at the same time on one small cookie. It was so much fun. Everyone loves to roll out the dough and cut the shapes out. The decorating is the best part of all. My sisters couldn't decorate them fast enough. The kept fighting over using the same sprinkles, to funny. I don't know but I think we all eat more then we decorated. Let's just say after an afternoon of sugar cookies and frosting everyone had a pretty good sugar high for the day. It been one of my favorite traditions as a child. It's so much fun to turn up the Christmas music and sing and decorate Cookies all afternoon. It's hard to do it by yourself it a lot of work to roll out, cut and decorate for one person, so I enjoyed it more doing it as a family instead of by myself. I definitely will try to keep this family tradition alive for many years to come.

Visit with Santa

The first thing we did when we got here was go to my parents church party. My kids got to sit on Santa Clause's lap. Kate was smiling with joy she was so excited to tell him what she wanted. She wants a doll that goes pee pee on the potty and a roll over puppy, yeah I don't know. I think she got the idea from one Saturday morning I let her watch the regular Saturday morning cartoons instead of Disney or PBS that's when she saw all the fun commercials. The advertising to kids is crazy. I'm just glad she only asked for two things, that last couple of years she only asks Santa for two things, it kind of cute. You ask her if that's all she wants and she says that's all I want from Santa. Kate did great wasn't shy at all, never has been which has been nice. Caleb well needless to say did really know what was happening other than all the red Santa was wearing caught his eye and the fun candy cane he was given which he would never get to eat. My poor kids, we just got off the plane so I did have a chance to dress them all cute in red like I like to do. Oh well I guess the point is Kate and Caleb got to see Santa. They had a great time talking to Santa!

Twilight the second time around!

An afternoon of Edward,Bella, Popcorn, Peanut M&M's and no kids, what more could you ask for! I had a great chance to go see the movie again with my mom. My sisters were really great, they watch the kids while they took their naps so I could go see the movie in the theater. I originally saw it with my husband and at our local drive-in with the two kids in the back seats. Kate watching her own movie on her DVD player of course. I didn't realize how much I missed the first time I watched it. I guess it was all the crying from Caleb trying to fall asleep and Kate's potty breaks. It was really nice to go see it in an actual theater, I don't get to do that very much anymore. I some times really miss and enjoy gong to see a movie. The movie was definitely better the second time around, maybe because I got to see it without any interruptions. Thanks mom, I had a great time. I am an Edward fan, I have to say for the record. I'm still struggling to read the last book, It hard to find time to sit and read with to active children, and when I get a chance to read I'm so exhausted from the days activities. I don't have the energy to read without fall asleep, I'm dying to find out what happens in the last book. I have to find the time that's all there is to it. I need to know what happens to Bella, it's bugging me. I'm sort of taking my time as well because I don't want the story to end for me yet. So it's a little of not having time and me trying to stretch out the story and trying to make it last longer. I am going to finish it, I will. Once again it was a great time at the movies and I'm glad I got to see it again.

Caleb is 7 months old today!

Caleb is 7 months old today! He weighs 16.5 pounds and I need to double check his height. He has finally started eating baby food now. I nursed him solely for 6 months, it's been a great experience. The doctor suggested since he has reflux that if I could go 6 months just nursing it would give his stomach more time to get adjusted, I think it's helped. He still spits up, but it's slowly improving. Caleb is completely sitting up on his own, and you can tell he really loves it. He still smiles and lifts his one eyebrow at everyone who says hello to him. He is grabbing and holding on to things really well, he puts his Binky back in his mouth all by himself now. He responds to his name when you call him across the room. Caleb loves bath time, he loves kicking his feet and splashing the water with his hands, also loves it when Kate sings to him in the bath. Caleb loves to hear anyone sing him "You are my sunshine", when ever he is upset if you sing him that song he immediately calms down. He loves to grab your face, he has to always be holding your ear, your nose or just your cheek, it gives him great comfort when he is upset. Food wise Caleb hates peas and rice cereal, but loves bananas, and sweet potatoes. We have been really lucky so far, no food allergies yet. I have to be careful introducing new foods to my children, my husband has some allergies in his family I have to watch for. Caleb is such a sweet boy, he is starting to get more of a predictable nap schedule, which is great! He is my traveler, he loves to be out and about, he love to go shopping and hardly ever fusses. He has been really easy going that way, it's been really nice. Kate was not so much of a traveler or shopper. I love his smile, laugh, and his sweet domineer, it's such a blessing to have him in our family. 7 Months WOW!!!! Caleb we love you lots and love to see your learning and growing!

Snowy Sunday!

We had a really good Sunday. Caleb was actually good and not so fussy this time, I was actually able to listen to some of the lessons at church. The lessons were about loving one another and having hope and faith. It was very uplifting. Kate loved nursery, she ran in and never looked back. I'm worried when she moves to the older class, they call the sunbeams,because they don't have toys and snacks. I hope she loves it just as much. When we get back to BAMA she will be a sunbeam, my little girl is getting so big. I had to pull her away from the blocks today, she loves all the different toys at Grandma Mott's church. I spent the rest of the day catching up on my laundry for the week, I only brought a weeks worth for each person, except for Caleb because he spits up a lot still. We end up watching the Survivor finally together, it was fun to watch with my family, Jerry's isn't much into that show, so it was nice to be able to talked about what we thought and to see the final results. We ended the night with Kate, Aunt Amy ,and Aunt Karrie having a sleep over in the t.v. room and watching Polar Express. We also got to see it snow some more, Kate just can't get enough of it, who can blame her, she hardly ever get to see it where we live. It's supposed to snow all week, yeah for us visiting, not so good for those who live here permanently. I've got almost all my shopping done for Christmas, except for my so hard to shop for Husband, and some of his family. It was a great Snowy Sunday!

Good Friends and Family

Today the kids and I head out to Eagle Mountain and visited my sister as well my good friend Jenny Gillette. It was a great day filled with good conversation and some good old catching up. I had a great time having lunch at Jenny's while the kids played together. It was so wonderful to meet Jenny's two cute kids Hunter and Gage. It seems like yesterday the two of us were in collage going to Ricks, and now we both have two kids, time just flies by so fast.It was also great to see her husband Jared, we were friends in High School, I introduced them to each other. It's fun to talk High school memories with Jared and College ones with Jenny. I am so grateful the Lord has sent me such good friends in my life. There are many friends you don't keep up with after you move on to new stages in life, but not my friend Jenny. I am glad we have stayed in touch. It's great that we could absent in each others lives for years and just pick up talking like we've never been apart. Thanks Jenny for such a wonderful time and most of all your friendship. It was also a lot of fun to visit my sister at her house. I had a great time just having some good girl talk. Sometimes being a stay at home mom you don't to talk to many adults, just your little kids, so it's really been nice to catch up with all my sisters and see what they have been up to. I didn't realize it until I got home that Caleb was sleeping each time I took the pictures, so he isn't in any of them, sorry everyone. It was really a great day.

Traveling to Utah!

Well, on Saturday we travel on the Plane to Utah to visit family. Anyone who knows me knows I was super anxious to travel with two kid on my own. We made plans for me to come out two weeks early and then Jerry would come out later. We will travel home together as a family. So I just had to do two planes and I was there. I was pleasantly surprised when the kids did really well. The first flight was from Dothan, AL to Atlanta, GA it's only about 30 Min's, the kids where really excited and love flying in the plane. We has the perfect amount of time to get to our next plane and we even had bathroom breaks and eat pizza for lunch. Kate wanted pizza thank goodness they had it. She really did well eating, she can be picky sometimes. They even had a family bathroom in Atlanta so I just rolled the stroller right in and I was able to take care of everyone and myself with out the frustration of others being around. Thank goodness for family style bathrooms. The next flight went really good for the most part. This plane was set up with three seats across then the isle and then another three seats. I thought when I made the reservation sitting in the two inside seat would be the best, so we would bother anyone, well I forgot about my three year old tiny bladder. She had to get up 3 times, the third time the lady sitting next to us was so upset with us waking her us, she said, do you mind if we trade and I sit by the window so you can get out as much as you need. Note to self, reserve the outer two seats instead. I should have know she was not going to like sitting by us, because as you mom's that travel all know I got The look. You know the look of, I have to sit by this lady and her two small children look. I know you all know what I am talking about. Well, my kids did great after that they sleep for 2 hours and 45 Min's, which it's a 4 hour flight. The lady sitting next to us must have felt my frustration and how bad I felt for waking her up, she started to offer Kate snacks and let her put her feet up when she took her nap. Others after the flight said my kids travel really well. That's always good to hear for me as a mom that is so worried about bothering others. I guess I can't complain to much the people in front of us had three children and one got sick and threw up everywhere. She cried the whole time. So I am truly grateful that the kids were good. I also want to mention I said a lot of prayers for this trip to go well and that I would be at peace and not be all anxious inside. It truly helped a great deal and I am thankful for the Lord's help in making my trip go smoothly. I was worried about Caleb, because he is officially teething right now, he did really well. So we are here really enjoying being at my mom's house. We went to church on Sunday with my mom and then yesterday, I got almost all my Christmas shopping done except one or two people. I got some great deals as well. I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season. Kate got here wish it snowed yesterday!!!

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

LIke Mother-Like Daughter

Kate did the cutiest thing today. I was busy doing dishes and she comes to ask me to tie my exercise band behind her back in a bow. Then I turn around and Kate says mom I have to put my baby in here, I have to get it in the right spot. She tied it just like the one I carry Caleb in all by herself. I was so impress she made it look just like the one I use. Kate is more observant than I give her credit sometimes. She walked all over the house with her baby, which she calls big sister. It was so cute, I'm glad I had the camera near by to catch her in the action.

Thanksgiving

It was such a great day, it was so busy I didn't get a chance to write a few things I am thankful for. My mind this year has really gone back and pondered on what President Thomas S. Monson (Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), in his last talk he talked about Finding Joy in the Journey. He said quote..

"Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings...Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey; and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows( Nov. Ensign 2008)."

I really am grateful for each day I am given, I am thankful for my family, friends, my good health. I am also so grateful for the chance to be a stay at home mom, it is truly a blessing. I am so thankful for all the blessings the Lord has given me!

We truly has a wonderful time this year. We traveled as a family to Jennifer's house in Bella Vista, Arkansas. I have to say I was worried at first whether we were going even make it there. Let just say on the trip out we had one diaper blow out, two throw up/vomit clean ups because Kate got car sick, a husband that had a tickle in the back of his throat that made him cough all 12 hours and oh yeah my dog, and her lovely farting aroma. It was the worst 12 hours, I mean 15 hours after, all the stops, road trip in my life. We finally made it there and we really had a great time. Thank you so much Stephanie and Mike for letting us stay at your place while we were visiting, it was so nice of you, we really appreciated it. Kate loved their dogs, she really was in heaven. Kate also had a great time playing with her cousins Ivy, Peter, Mia, and Sierra.
I got introduced to Guitar Hero the video game, I was terrible at first, but got a little better the more I played, it was so much fun. Bryan, Jerry's brother is so good at it, I was very impressed. We also got to see my niece Sierra get baptized and also celebrate my other nieces first Birthday. So it was a really pack weekend but it was so much fun. The Kids and all the spouses went to the Bat caves and took pictures, Jerry will have to post those later. They really like crawling all around and looking at all the bats in the cave. I thought Kate might be nervous, but they said she wasn't. The only bummer is I miss seeing our new nephew Preston by 4 days, I hope to see him soon. Thank you so much Jennifer for inviting us to Thanksgiving and letting us celebrate all the wonderful milestones with your children. I have so much to be thankful for. We had a better trip home, we opted to travel during the night while the kids were asleep, it was so much better. Only down fall is I'm so tired and Jerry has to sleep to be able to go to work tonight, so I have to try and some how get through the rest of this day on less than 4 hours of sleep. Taking care of two kids, one that's teething. Then in about 4 days I get to pack back up and go on a plane to Utah. Not much rest, but I'm still glad we made the trip to Arkansas it was so worth it.

Caleb 6 months old

Caleb is now 6 months old, already a half a year old, time is flying. Caleb officially has rolled over and can sit up for about 15 seconds or so. He loves to make nosies with is lips and tongue. Caleb is really doing well at putting his binky back in his mouth. He loves his new jumper, it took him a week to figure out that he could jump in it, but as soon as he figured it out he has gone to town on it. He loves to smile at everyone one he see. He loves to laugh at Kate and Daddy. Caleb just discovered the dog Sadie and can't seem to take his eyes off of her when she walks by. Sadie doesn't seem to notice Caleb as much as she did Kate, maybe because she is older and she was and still is getting malled to death by Kate. Caleb always is following he dad with his eyes around the room, he gets so excited to see him when he gets up in the morning. I don't have his official stats for the month his doctor appointment is not until the 5Th of December. I know he has definitely gotten taller. Caleb just started eating his rice cereal this week and lets just say it didn't go so well. I thought getting throw up on me that was just milk was bad, now adding the cereal, it's just plain awful. Yes, he still has his lovely reflux, we are hoping it will only get better from here on out, now that he is 6 months old. Caleb likes to be held all the time, mostly by me his mom. He seems to get fussy with other at times, I don't know if it's just the way others hold him or if it's his personality, that's yet to be decided. He is down to only two or three feedings during the night, which is good, I think once he get the hand of the whole cereal thing, it might be one less feeding. He really is a sweet baby, he is so aware of his surroundings. He is very sensitive to what is going on around him. He will cry when sister cries, he laughs when mommy laughs. It's really fun to see the growth and the differences in my two children. Even though he is my second child sometimes I still feel like a new mom, because each child is so different, and what I did with Kate may not be what works for Caleb. Well Caleb still has his cute toothless grin, no teeth yet, anytime now. That the lasted on our little boy Caleb

My New Backdrop

Well, I know a while back I told everyone that I got some photography books to read to help me get better at taking pictures. I'm not an expert by any means but, I think I've been getting a little better. I am able to see common mistakes most people may make, and I am trying to work on taking picture of what I am seeing, to help remember the moments I'm capturing on film. For example the simple colors of a leaf, or rocks on a shore line. I really love our camera we got for Christmas last year, it's been so much fun to use. I still have to admit it is still a lot more camera then I know what to do with but I'm getting better.
The whole reason for writing this post is to tell what I made. I have always thought if I had a nice backdrop I could take the same picture as a professional, well at least attempt to anyways. So I went on line and found a site that teaches you an easy and fun way to make your own, with muslin fabric and some color dye. I had a great time. I was first disappointed with my results, but then after taking some pictures of Caleb for his 6 month pictures, I actually like it a lot better. It looks different after you take a few pictures with it. I really had a great time, I really am enjoying this whole photography thing. I also took some pictures of my friends kids with the back drop and it seem to work out pretty well. I am very pleased with the end results, so what do you think???

Small Spaces and Productive Places

Some of you maybe wondering where I have been and what I have been up to. I've been slaving away in my tiny apartment trying to make my little space look and feel a little more organized. I've made some simple changes that have really made a big impact. Like a shoe rack on the back of the closet door instead of the first thing you see when you come in. A manly basket for Jerry to dump his must have on the counter at all times/everyday essentials (watch, wallet, ring, dog tags,etc.) He actually has been using it this time. Who would have thought to get something more masculine and he would totally change his habit of just dumping thing on the counter top
So back to my original idea I was going with here. I really have been doing well with my cleaning routine, so I thought I would treat myself at the end of two weeks and get some selves I wanted to get for Kate's toys, if I stuck to my routine. Some may say why two weeks, well most experts say if you can do something for two weeks straight it will stick. So what I thought what was going to be a treat, actually turned out to be so much more than I bargained for. I kept reminding myself of my friends advice to be serious about it and not just talk about it. I wanted to attempt to clean the back of my couch. Some of you may think what is so hard about that. Well, it's been a source of frustration the whole 5 years I have been here. First my husband would just dump anything behind it, because there was no where else to put it. Oh let me stop a minute, for those who don't know behind my couch is a counter top/bar area, they think there is actually enough room to put a couch love seat and dinning room table is a very small room. So we just decided to for go the dinning room space and use it for our couch area instead, but there is a space behind the couch in between the couch and the bar that has been the biggest waste land I could never really fix. I tried to put bins back there to store things in, My husband just stack stuff on top, I tried to cover it with a blanket, you can see where this is going, not good. So after 5 years I told myself I am not having this mess back here any more, don't get me wrong we would straighten it up all the time, but never moved anything.
So yesterday was the day, it took me and I am not kidding from 10am to 10:30 pm to finish the job, and I am still working on the odds and ends. I don't know if it was just a lot of work or having to stop and feed Caleb and Kate. I was so wipe out after that. The main reason I wanted to clean this so bad was, I wanted to make this a productive space. I wanted to make this a little play area/princess toy cave for Kate to play in. I guess trying to improve you home and the space you live in is harder than I thought it would be. So I am glad I did, it feels great, only one problem, Jerry build the selves and it doesn't fit right. I forgot to account for the beam support for the bar counter top being in the way. So now I am sitting here trying not to cry over all my hard work being for not. If we would have gone for the 8 cubby hole shelf instead of the 9, it would have fit perfect. I guess it's time to be creative again. It's hard living in such a small space sometimes. I still think I will still put Kate's doll house and other items back there to play, I just have to find room for the shelf. I love the shelf, it really has helped to organize her toys and it's really helping Kate to take ownership of her toys and learn to put them away by herself. So I know this wasn't very interesting to read, but that's a part of what I have been up to. So all in all I'm glad my house is more organized, but frustrated it didn't turn out the way I competely imaging it would. I would have taken a before and after shot but it was just to embarrassing to show you.