Tuesday, July 2, 2013

St. George

Now that our life is finally settling down I feel like it's time to get back to blogging! Hopefully I can catch up! Back in May we decided to take a little family vay-cay to St. George. It was such a hectic time with packing, moving, and Alan graduating but I'm glad we took the time to go. It was a much needed break! I love taking trips just the 3 of us!
We spent lots of time at the park and I think this was when Deacon became obsessed with digging! He is such a boy! This picture was taken the day he turned 18 months.
We went to Swig more than I should admit! Nothing is better than the dirty diet coke. 
We had so much fun getting together with one of my college besties, Skye, and her cute family. Deacon and Grahm had a blast and I wish we lived closer because they would be the best of buds.
We went hiking one day. Deacon was less than thrilled to be carried in a backpack, but he was cooperative for a short while. I let Alan do must of the carrying after I carried Deacon for about 5 minutes and thought my back was broken. Those backpacks are killer!
Deacon practically jumped in the pool when we got there!
Deacon loved the pretend fish and his favorite thing to do at the pool is fill up cups. 
Deacon was pretty upset that I wanted him to wear a hat. The hat was taken off shortly after this picture was taken and no hat has touched his head since. I'm learning to pick my battles!
We had dinner at the Pizza Factory with Skye and her fam.
 St. George has an awesome splash pad/wading pool park and Deacon had tons of fun!
 One of our good family friends, Tommy, met us there as well and brought his darling little girl Avery! Deacon and her were instant friends and he has never taken a liking to another little girl like this! It was probably the funniest/cutest thing ever! His first kiss...
We had such a fun time and love when we get to spend time together as a family. It seems like good, quality time can be hard to come by with how crazy life gets! Deacon was such a great little traveler as well! Until next time St. George...

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Deacon: 18 Months

  My baby is growing too fast! I wish I could freeze time. I am loving the phase Deacon is in but I know I always say that! He really is such a good, sweet little boy. I feel like he gets easier the older he gets. Sure, he throws tantrums and there are difficult days but for the most part he is pretty easy going and I understand what he wants and needs. 
I don't even know where to begin with what he is doing right now because he is doing so much. I'm sure I am biased because I'm his mom but I think he is such a smart little boy. He has so much spunk and personality and I keep wondering what our future kids will be like because I feel like he radiates so much personality. 
Deacon is absolutely obsessed with trains, cars, trucks, and buses....basically anything that goes! We live right next to the train tracks and Deacon is in absolute heaven! He has 2 favorite spots in our house to watch the trains. One is in our bedroom where he stands on a little foot stool to look out the window and the other is out the window in our living room where he pushes a chair to the window to look out. Our blinds are always up and if you walked by our house you would most likely see Deacon in the window. The second Deacon hears a train he yells "train" or "choo choo" and runs to the window. He loves for us to hold him up to the window so he can get a better view! He loves being outside and watching all the trucks and cars go by which he says "tru" for truck and "vroom vroom" for cars. He does the sign for bus but can't quite say the word. He will keep saying these words over and over until we acknowledge what he saw. 
He loves going to the park. He loves going down the slides. He can walk up the stairs by himself without holding onto the rail. He loves running across the bridge a million times. He loves playing with the wood chips. 
He has the cutest cheesy grin that he does and has the funniest little chuckle that goes along with it. 
He loves to hold our hands wherever he goes and he is pretty particular about how he holds hands. It is the sweetest thing ever!
He has gotten quite attached to his blankets and his stuffed dinosaur. He loves to snuggle up to them and puts his blankets by his face and gives his dinosaur hugs. In the morning he calls my name when he wakes up and when I go into his room he is standing up and has his blanket in one arm and his dino in the other just waiting to get out. It is the best way to start the day. 
He loves to sing 2 different songs that he learned at the library: "shake your silly's out" and "bread and butter". He does the actions perfectly. 
{stretching his silly's out, doing a kick, and folding his arms to pray}
He understands nearly everything it seems and we are surprised everyday at how much he knows. He is starting to get a grasp on colors and shapes. 
He loves riding his trike and playing in the rocks outside. 
He has become quite the climber and loves climbing on our furniture and jumping off. 
He folds his arms for prayers and says amen when we are done. 
He has matured so much in the last few months and suddenly has started to behave so much better at church. He can make it through nearly all of Sacrament and doesn't try to escape. Don't get me wrong it is quite hectic trying to entertain him but he seems to get the concept of church. He loves getting the bread and water. 
He is getting his top 2 molars. He went through a pretty terrible week or two of napping and I'm pretty sure that's when the molars started coming through. I was so worried he was giving up his naps but he is doing fine again. 
He is trying so hard to talk. He repeats what we say and gives most words a good attempt. Here is a list of some of the words he is saying consistently:
 park, slide, tru (truck), ball, amen, cheese, nana, papa, hi, outside, bike, stairs, go, vroom (car), mama, dada, train, blue, Costco, bread, aust (Austin), croc (crocodile), pa (pirates), min (minnie), Kiwi Loco (our favorite yogurt shop)
He has started combining words and signs to make 2 word phrases.
He loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates and always talks about the Crocodile on the show. He does the actions of what the Croc does and it is hysterical. 
He loves squirrels. We frequent the cemetery by our house so we can feed them peanuts. 
He is pretty predictable and follows a really good routine. I think both him and I need this! He is a great sleeper and a great eater. 
He doesn't take milk before bed but has really become a milk lover during the day. He has started to ask for it quite frequently. 
Deacon is not quiet at all and is the biggest entertainer of all time. He loves attention and has become quite the little show-off when people come to our house. 
He has become a bit "bossy" as I like to say. He is very particular about how he wants things done and even tells me how to play with him through words and actions. He is such a crack up!
He has become quite the little traveler the last couple of months with our busy schedule. It seems like we have been gone every weekend. He does great in the car as long as he can watch a show. 
He did awesome while we went to Hawaii, especially with it being practically the first time we have ever left him. 
He is a little jokester and loves to tickle us and tease us. 
We love this boy to pieces and can't imagine life without him. I can't believe how much joy he brings into our home. I want a million more kids just like him...ok not really but he is so much fun to have around!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Boise Trip

A couple of weeks ago, we headed to Boise for a little getaway. Alan was presenting at a pharmacy conference and also had a job interview. Deacon and I decided to tag along and I'm so glad we did! It honestly was such a fun trip. We really haven't taken any trips just the 3 of us and we had the best time. I am so in love with my little family. Yes, we were just in Boise but for some reason everything about the trip was perfect. I am so grateful for the opportunity we have in this life to have families. There is nothing better and I love spending time with Alan and Deacon. 
We headed straight to P.F. Chang's when we got into town and quickly learned it was not a good idea to bring Deacon there...should have stuck with Chipotle! However, Deacon loved the huge horse outside of the restaurant. 
We were a little nervous about having a one room hotel. We were not sure how Deacon would go to sleep with us in the same room but he did amazing! We did some furniture rearranging so his pack-and-play was hidden behind the t.v. console and he didn't put up a fight. The only tricky part was keeping the lights off and being quiet from 8:00 p.m. until we went to sleep. So what did we do? We watched Downton Abbey on the iPad, sharing the headphones...pretty awesome!
If you know Deacon, you know he is obsessed with phones so he spent the majority of time in the room playing with the phone! He was in heaven!
We went to an indoor play gym one day. Deacon had an absolute blast and if I'm being honest, so did I! 
Maybe the best part of the trip was the swimming pool. The last time we went swimming Deacon was pretty little so we weren't sure if he would like it or not. He LOVED it! And how cute is he in his swimsuit...seriously the  cutest thing ever!
He had a blast splashing in the water and loved hearing his voice echo in the room. We swam every night and Deacon could not get enough. I can't wait to do swim lessons with him this summer. 
We fed the ducks one night. 
These two have the sweetest bond. 
The weather was gorgeous and we spent an afternoon at the park flying airplanes. 

It was the most perfect little vacay and it makes me want to do this more often. Heres to hoping for more family trips in the future!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Mom's 60th Birthday!

On February 16th my mom turned 60! In January she had a double knee replacement, which is a huge recovery. We wanted to plan something special for her birthday and thought a party would also help to cheer her up! The party preparations started a few months prior to her birthday. My sister flew in from California and we came down from Poky. It was a hard secret to keep! I picked Shannon up from the airport late and she slept at Alan's parent's house with us that night. Bright and early the next morning Shannon and I picked up bagels then headed to my parent's house to surprise my mom. She had a wedding to go to that morning so she was up and doing her physical therapy exercises before she had to get ready. We came into the front door and headed to her bedroom. 
My mom is going to kill me for posting this but this picture is priceless! We walked in the room and my sister said, "I heard you wanted breakfast at 7:00!" It's safe to say she had no clue and was in shock!
We played it off like we came into town to hang out while she recovered. Basically the whole weekend was full of lies because we still had some party planning to do. We lied to her one night and said that we were going to the mall but really we went to my brother's house to decorate for the party. The day of the party was a crazy snowy day. We made up some lie as to why we were going to Brent's house that night. She didn't make things easy and really fought us going out in the snow. 
However, it was worth it because she was totally surprised when she arrived at Brent's house and all her kids, grandkids, siblings, and dad were there!
We kept the decor pretty low key but it turned out cute!
We served some delicious desserts thanks to my sisters amazing baking skills!
Brent was thrilled that we had so many glittery decorations at his house!


Shannon and I couldn't have pulled it off without Angela and Anya! Everyone helped out so much!
 My mom with her siblings and dad
 The whole fam minus Cam, Weston, and Holden. The only bummer about the party was that they couldn't be there. 
 It was such a fun weekend celebrating my mom and the amazing person she is! I also got to go to lunch and shopping with just my mom and sister, which hasn't happened in I don't know how long. Made me wish we could do it more often!
Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Fun in the Snow

A couple of weekends ago we went to Utah to surprise my mom for her birthday (post to come). We went down on Thursday but didn't surprise her until early Friday morning. We spent Thursday with Alan's family and my mom had no clue we were there. It was a sunny day so we decided to take a walk on the golf course and pull Deacon around on the sled. 
We have played in the snow several times this winter but Deacon has never really tried to eat it until this day. He was obsessed. He would drag his little mitten in the snow while we pulled him then he would eat all the snow that he had collected. 
 It was so adorable!
Deacon wasn't too happy with us when we tried to teach him how to make a snow angel. 
 But surprisingly, he made the most perfect little angel!
 Deacon had fun playing with Grandma. 
 We have enjoyed the snow but we are ready for spring!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Today...

Today has been one of those days where I want to just freeze time and soak in every moment. I normally don't post things like this on my blog but this is the closest I get to journaling so I figured I better write it down. I feel like I have been on the brink of tears (good tears) all day and I have a million emotions running through my head. Today, being a mom has been perfect. Don't get me wrong, being a mom is hard work and some days and weeks I want to scream. Last week was one of them. Deacon got shots on Monday and later that night was throwing up and completely lethargic to the point of not being able to wake him.

 If you know Deacon, you know this is completely out of the ordinary for him. Tuesday I woke up feeling completely nauseated and Deacon continued to be sick with vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, fussiness, and no appetite for the whole week. I was nauseated and so tired all week. I think Deacon and I took 3 hour naps for 3 days straight. Sounds like morning sickness right...well no I am not pregnant but it did make me a little apprehensive about going through that again! Alan left on Thursday for a residency interview and left both Deacon and I sick at home. He came back on Friday night and woke up with a fever, chills, and an achy body on Saturday. Luckily, we were all feeing much better on Sunday! So maybe it takes hard weeks to make you really appreciate the good ones but I woke up today feeling so grateful for my little family. Deacon is at such a fun age. Don't get me wrong he loves to tantrum but he can also be such a sweetheart and brings so much joy into our home. We have this silly little nerf gun that he has recently taken an interest in. He loves when we shoot it and then he runs and gets the bullets. Well this morning, he was laughing hysterically as Alan shot the gun, Deacon ran and got the bullet, and then came running past me as I tried to tickle him on his way back to Alan. So simple, yet I felt like the luckiest person in the world. I wanted time to stand still. 
And then today at lunch I felt the same thing. Since Deacon was little I have played this game where I will hide behind the counter while he's eating in his highchair and then pop out at him. Well today he thought it was the funniest and most fun game in the world. He would not let me stop doing it and every time I would stop to take a breath he would start to pout and cry. Oh how I love being his mom and making him happy. I truly would do anything for this boy.
 Lately, he is so obsessed with both the blender and magic bullet. They are practically the only "toys" he wants to play with. He is so good at pretend play and he loves smoothies so he is constantly pretending to make smoothies in his blender. He imitates the exact same actions that we do when we make smoothies and he does this little sound pretending that the blender is on. This is also the same sound he makes if he wants the blender or if he wants a smoothie. He is such a crack up. So although I'm praying my blender doesn't get broken before this phase is over, I never want this phase to end because it is absolutely perfect. 
March is a big month for our family. Not only is it our 4 year anniversary but we are headed to Hawaii and planning to leave Deacon. I think I almost threw up just writing it down. Every night before bed I nearly have a panic attack just thinking about it. Not living near family and not really having anyone to watch Deacon, we have only left him a handful of times for only a couple of hours. I am sooo nervous and sooo excited at the same time. Anyway, the day before we leave for Hawaii, Alan will find out if he has been matched with one of the 3 residency programs he interviewed with in Utah. It is extremely competitive and we feel so blessed he was able to get the 3 interviews he did. This is another reason I am on the brink of tears. I am so proud of Alan for working like crazy for the past 4 years. He has accomplished so much! We are hoping he gets a residency because it will open up many doors in the future for his career but we are so happy he has some other awesome options if a residency doesn't work out. I always thought I would be devastated if we didn't move back to Utah but I am realizing lately that I would be completely fine if we didn't. Yes, I love Utah and I love that our family is in Utah but I can honestly say I have loved living away. I was scared to death to move to little Pocatello but I can honestly say I know we were supposed to move here and it has been the best thing we have ever done. This is really the only home we have ever known since being married. My heart breaks thinking about moving away from the first home we bought together and the home we became a family of 3. The place where we became parents and learned how to be parents on our own because we didn't have any family around to help us. I never knew how refreshing it would feel to move to a place where you don't know anyone and you have the chance to make that place your home. I never thought I would fall in love with Pocatello but I did. I do miss having a decent mall, restaurants, Target, Hobby Lobby, and FAMILY but I can honestly say I will miss Pocatello. But I am excited about the new adventure that lies ahead of us, wherever that may be. So wish us luck as we wait on pins and needles...oh and did I mention Alan will be done with Pharmacy School in 3 weeks! Words can't express my excitement!!!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

15 Months

Time is flying and I can't believe Deacon is 15 months! Now I realize I post a million pictures and tons of stats when I do these monthly updates but I am so glad I do. I have had an app on my phone where I have documented all of Deacon's milestones since he was born. I have been pretty precise as far as exact dates of nitty gritty things he has done. Well I just got a new phone and all the info from that app was deleted. I was seriously hysterical but the only thing keeping me sane is the fact that I have documented Deacon's life on a montly basis on my blog. That being said, I still feel like a horrible mom!
15 Month Stats:
Weight: 22 pounds, 7 ounces-18th percentile
Height: 31 1/4 inches- 45th percentile
Anyway, Deacon keeps getting busier and more fun by the day. He truly is such a joy and we love him so much. He is quite the talker as far as jibberish goes. He has a handful of words which include: mama, dada, nana, papa, cheese, go, bath, and this (if that counts as a word). We have realized how much we say "this" to him and it is a hard habit to break! He is still signing but mainly uses milk, water, more, all done, and dog, fish, and book. He loves the signing time DVD's and will sign nearly every word when he watches the show. It is pretty cute! He knows the following animal sounds: horse, cow, pig, dog, elephant, and cat. He is pretty good at pointing to his body parts (eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, belly button, hands, feet, head). He loves to find mom and dad's belly button and does so by lifting up our shirts! He has started doing this adorable cheesy face this month. I have tried so hard to catch it on camera but have not been able to but it is hilarious! 
He now has 8 teeth...4 on top, 4 on bottom. 
He got his second ear infection last month which was in both ears. He had a cold but I really didn't think it was anything more until he started grabbing at his ears like crazy one night. I quickly decided to take him in before the clinic closed and I'm so glad I did! He was pretty miserable!
He is really into trucks and cars lately. He loves to push them around and make sounds with his mouth. 
He is a pretty great eater. He is very independent and won't let us feed him. He is awesome at using utensils. Some of his favorite foods include: cereal, any kind of fruit, corn, turkey, cheese, macaroni, and bread. He is pretty good about eating whatever we are having for dinner. He loves those Gerber fruit and veggie puffs. He would eat them all day if I would let him. 
He loves playing on stairs, which drives me crazy sometimes! However, he just recently learned how to go down on his tummy and he is pretty careful so that makes me feel better. 
He is OBSESSED with phones and remotes to the point of throwing tantrums if he doesn't get them. Anytime he hears a phone ring he immediately puts his hand up to his ear as if he's talking on the phone. We have some pretend phones that he talks on and constantly says, "dada, nana, and papa" into the phone. He also likes to pretend to talk into other objects like remotes or anything resembling a phone. 
He loves our cell phones and has gotten pretty good at working them and can get to the games he plays. It is insane!
Church is a joke lately. He literally will not stay in the pew for more than 5 seconds. We spend the whole 3 hours in the hall. 
He's a t.v. fanatic. Not sure how this happened because I really limit the amount of t.v. he watches but he loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse more than anything and it is the only guaranteed thing that will always cheer him up. 
He sleeps from about 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and takes a two hour nap around 1 p.m. Sometimes he sleeps longer. 
He loves to play pat-a-cake. He will clap his hands to let us know he wants to sing it and he throws his arms in the air to "throw it in the oven". 
He loves peek-a-boo and will cover his eyes with his hands then uncover them and yell. 
He is kind of needy as far as wanting us to play with him at all times. It is hard to get anything done!
He has learned how to climb onto things that aren't too high. 
He really hates to share and cries if other kids takes his toys or even comes near them. 
We go to the library 1-2 times a week for story time and I'm starting him in a gymnastics class this week. 
He loves bath time but absolutely HATES having his teeth brushed. He has still been getting a bottle before bed. He loves it and frantically signs "milk" when he gets his jammies on. However, last night I put him to bed without a bottle and he did great! I'm hoping we will be able to cut him from the bottle, although I'm really going to miss holding him before bed! He goes to bed great and goes down for naps pretty easily. It takes him awhile to fall asleep but he usually doesn't cry. He still takes his binkie for naps and bedtime. Not sure when I will dare take it away!
He really is such a sweetheart and we love him so much! He keeps us entertained all day everyday and has such a fun personality. I really wish everyone could see him in his element because he's one of a kind. He has so much spunk and loves life so much! 
He is so strong willed and can be quite dramatic when he wants to be yet can be so sweet and can be quite the little ham. He is constantly getting people's attention when we are in public and knows how to put on a show when he wants to. He cracks us up!
We love you more than you'll ever know Deacon! I wish time would slow down but I love seeing you learn and grow. You amaze me and I couldn't be more proud to be your mom!