The Herb Family

Happy Half-Birthday to my Baby Girl

2012-02-03T14:51:00.006-06:00

Today Bailey is 6-months old.
I can't believe it! She is so big!
I'm so grateful that she has become such a sweet girl. I look back at the early days, even the first three months and I can't believe how far she has come.
She is so much happier these days. She can entertain herself with toys now, interact a little bit more with Tanner and she eats like a pro.
Here are a few things that are going on with Bailey right now.
She can roll back and forth and does all day long.
She has discovered her toes and loves them
She is eating cereal and gerber fruits and vegetables.
She loves her brother's giraffe- not so much her own hippo, but the giraffe.
She is still very happy in the mornings and after her naps.
She loves to be held and walked around.

In a couple of weeks we are having Bailey's 6 month pictures taken and I'm so excited. I'll post them as soon as I can. Happy 6 months Bailey Boo!
Here is my big girl swinging at the park yesterday!

Sweatpants Sunday

2012-01-29T21:35:00.004-06:00

Sunday afternoons in the Herb house are known as "Sweatpants Sunday". All week I dress my kids up, do their hair- or in Bailey's case, put a headband on her, and make them wear outfits that sometimes are my cute than comfortable- but on Sundays after church we relax and get comfy. I look forward to it and if my kids knew any better, they'd look forward to it too. I LOVE my little babies in their sweats, they give the best snuggles when they are so cozy.
Today because the weather was so nice, (I think it was almost 60 degrees) we went for a walk/bikride. Tanner rode his bike, with Chris pushing him and I held Bailey in the front carrier. It was such a beautiful day to be outdoors.
Tanner didn't want to come back in.
Anyways, I just wanted to share a few pics of my kids in their sweats. (ps- Christie, I'm in these pictures!)
My sweet boy after our walk.

Bailey in her sweats- love the huge open mouth smiles

Bailey and Mom after our walk. You can't tell but Bailey really liked our walk. She was talking and growling the entire time.

Mom and the kiddos before we left for our walk. Yep- even I'm wearing sweatpants. Sweatpants Sunday- its a real thing.

Valentine's Day Photo Fun

2012-01-27T19:11:00.008-06:00

Yesterday I spent a good two hours taking pictures of my kiddos for our Valentine's day card. For those of you who don't know me, I LOVE Valentine's day. So this was the perfect chance to dress my kids up and take some sweet pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Tanner took a lot of convincing for most of these pics.
He just didn't want to stand still and smile. Imagine that- a 2 year old not wanting to hold still. But all in all we got some cute ones I think.

I posed him like this while taking his pictures.

Then while I was taking Bailey's pictures Tanner came over and posed himself like this, and said "Cheese again, Mom". I about died laughing.

And Bailey was pretty good, after she got to eat. As you can tell in the pictures- she is practically starving and wasting away to nothing.

I ordered the cards today and I can't wait to see how they turned out.
This year is Chris' turn to plan our Valentine's date so we'll see how he does. I've been collecting ideas on Pinterest and next year I'm doing a "14 days of Lovin" leading up to Valentine's day. SO excited!

Also- next week Bailey turns 6 months- so be on the look out for the pictures from that. I just got her petti romper in the mail today and I'm pretty much in love with the way she looks in it.

Until then...

Playing Catch-up

2012-01-22T20:39:00.008-06:00

Not that a whole lot has happened around here, just life as usual. But I haven't posted in a couple weeks and therefore I have a few hundred pictures on my camera card. So here are a few pics just because...
Tanner doing his favorite thing in the world

More of Tanner holding Bailey

Sweet Baby B

Tanner's new obession- coloring. Which he calls "paint"
Complete concentration

sweet smiles though

Razorback gear- this was right before the Cotton Bowl- BTW- We won!
Bailey helping dad

cutest razorback booty ever

Papa Time

This picture wont rotate..but i just love her face.

The kids right after the game...and the next morning. Those Tattoos were a little hard to get off.

Random dress up fun with Bailey

Cute kids after Church

Bailey tried baby food for the first time. We started out with squash. It was a hit. She ate the entire container.

Pizza and Movie night at the Herbs- Tanner and Dad picked out "Kung Fu Panda 2" It was pretty cute

Saturday morning snuggles. I just love my husband. He's such a sweet dad!

We make bathtime fun- GREEN WATER. Tanner loves all things green right now. so this is a big hit with him

She is getting so big...

Anyways- thats it. Just pictures- hope you enjoyed them!

Warmest January Ever

2012-01-05T21:45:00.001-06:00

I can't get over the weather we have been having so far this year. Its been in the low 60's on and off for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow the high is 66 degrees. The average this time of year is usually around 43 degrees. Its crazy. I'm not complaining, actually quite the opposite. I'm LOVING it! I hate being stuck inside the house and Tanner is like a caged animal. He goes crazy and is constantly running circles just trying to use up energy. He's a wild boy.
Well today I took the kids for a bike ride. Well actually Tanner rode his bike while Bailey rode in the front pack carrier. I love Tanner's her tricycle because it has a removable handle bar that I can use to push and steer. Its great! I just buckle tanner in and while he thinks he peddling, I can push with just one hand and carry Bailey in the front carrier. Easy peasy.
We met up with our neighbors and had a great walk/ride.
Here are a few pics of my little man on his bike.
He loves his bike

He even packed his giraffe and a bottle of chocolate milk for the trip.

Well tomorrow I think we will go to the park and then head over to my parents house for the Cotton bowl- MAY THE HOGS KICK BOOTY!

And a Happy New Year

2012-01-01T21:17:00.000-06:00

Welcome 2012!
We had a great, low-key new years celebration. We hung out with my family until about 10:00 or so. Came home and put the kids in their beds. Then ate the last of our "junk food" and watched a movie until 12:00. At midnight we kissed, sipped our sparkling cider and said "good night". I think I was out cold by 12:01 am. Pretty wild huh?
We did set a few goals for our family though. Which is kind of a big deal for us because, if you know my husband at all you know, Chris hates setting resolutions. But this year we set a few and I'm REALLY excited about them.
1) Read the the Book of Mormon as a family by our next Stake Conference- April 22nd, 2012. This was a challenge given to our Stake by our Stake President and Chris and I both felt like our family could use that added measure of the spirit gained through scripture study and if any blessings come our way from doing what is asked by our leaders, well we wouldn't complain.
2)Have regular Family Home Evening. We were doing really good this summer because there were so many fun things to do outside and it made it fun. But now that its winter and we are stuck inside (usually) its hard to think of things to do besides just have a lesson. So we are going to try really hard to have fun FHE each week. I read a talk by Elder Bednar last year that made me realize how important family scripture reading and FHE are even to the youngest child. So we want to do this for our kids.
3)Live within our means. Since we moved to Arkansas 2 years ago we have been spending way too much money. So Chris and I made out a strict budget and we aren't going to spend anymore money then we really have to. Its going to be really hard because we love to eat out together and I love to buy clothes for my kids. Granted- I usually by their clothes at consignment stores and hardly ever pay full price, but even that adds up. I'm keeping track of all our purchases and I'm really excited to see how much we are able to save to pay off other debts.
4) Eat healthy and eat in moderation. I've gotten in this habit of eating...well anytime. And it wouldn't be so bad if I was eating healthy food but I'm just snacking of junk food. Its making it really hard to lose the last bit of baby weight. So Chris and I are both going on a moderate diet. Nothing really strict, just healthier choices. We will start working out too, but right now we are just trying to master eating better. I threw out all our junk food and bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables. We're are looking foward to a healthier 2012

As for my personal goals, I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail but they mostly revolve around being a better mother to my sweet kids and a better wife to my husband. I also want to become a better friend. I have alot of things I need to work on, but these are a few that I am focusing on.

Thats it for me. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T17:19:00.000-06:00

Well Christmas has come and gone and it seems so weird that its almost the end of the year. I love Christmas. I love decorating. I love the food. I love buying gifts for my family and friends. I love reading the story of our Savior's birth. I love everything about this holiday and so naturally when its over- I'm a little sad.
But this year, like all the years past, was wonderful. It seems like each year Christmas gets to be more and more fun- mostly because our kids get older and older. Although Tanner still didn't quite understand what the big deal was- he was so much fun to buy for.
Tanner got a few little presents, some books,a dvd, clothes and puzzles; but then his big gift from us was a tricycle. He loved it. Although I'm not sure it was his favorite gift of the day. Nanny and Papa got him a remote control race car that moves by chasing a light. The remote is like a laser flash light and when you shine the light on the ground the car chases it. Tanner was pretty much enthralled with that. So props to Nanny and Papa for getting him his favorite gift this year.
Tanner on his new trike- despite the look on his face- he really did like this gift!

Tanner driving his race car

Bailey got mostly clothes, a photo album, a few books, a sit and play/ stand and walk music center and a rolling hippo ball toy. Since she could care less, we are counting it as a very sucessful Christmas. I loved all her gifts and can't wait until she is old enough to enjoy her toys.
Here is the run-down for our Christmas
I left the kids with Chris for a couple of hours on Christmas eve day to do some last minute shopping- this is how I left them. Can this picture be any more precious?

On Christmas Eve we went to my parent's house and had a big family get together. There were a ton of people but it was fun to catch up with some family members that we havent seen in a long time. Then after everyone left except the immediate family, we brought out the gingerbread house. The little boys got their hammers and with a little help- they destroyed their first (of hopefully many) gingerbread house.

Tanner was loving it. He mostly wanted to eat it. Clark didn't quite know what was going on.
Tanner tried to just eat it whole

Then he tried using the hammer

Victorious! See his mouth full of gingerbread house?

Tanner opened his and bailey's Christmas pj's and after their baths they got dressed in their Christmas sleepers.
Love these snuggly kiddos

Tanner loving on his sister.

You can't tell in this picture- but Bailey loves her brother and she loves when he loves on her.

That night I filled the kids stockings. I think picking out the stocking stuffers is my favorite part of Christmas. I love finding just the right gifts to put inside. I think I get that from my Mom. She always did such a great job on our stockings.
Here were the kids stockings. I filled Chris' at like 3 am- so he wouldn't catch me

The next morning we woke up and watched Tanner go through his stocking.

He was so excited. After every little thing he pulled out he would say "Whoa- Gank Goo" - which is how he says "Thank you" So that was pretty much adorable. Then we helped Bailey discover her stocking and she really enjoyed her teether. It vibrated and she thought that was pretty awesome.
Here is Bailey with all her stocking loot

trying to devour her teether

Then we rushed to get everyone ready for church. Our awesome neighbors brought over some yummy cinnamon rolls for us too.
Family pic before Church

Here are my darling kids in their Sunday dress clothes for Christmas

Bailey in her dress

After church we headed back to our house to change clothes and then go to Nanny and Papa's to open presents.
I was so excited to get Bailey dressed. I had peiced together her outfit and I loved how it came together. We did a dry run a couple days before- but I hadn't finished her onesie- so it was a topless dry run- which in my opinion was even cuter. Seriously love the chubby baby bodies!

Pretty darling huh? Here are a couple with her shirt on.

here is a buns shot

Tanner, of course, wore a Christmas shirt too.

Here are both my babies

When we got to my parent's house, the little kids were so tired that we decided to do the toddler Christmas first.

So Clark and Tanner opened all their presents and Bailey's- they played a bit and then we put them down for their naps.
Then we ate lunch and did the adult Christmas. Once again- my husband and family spoiled me rotten. Seriously- way too generous.
Then it was pretty much dinner time so we rushed to finish everything and we ate a DELICIOUS Christmas meal.

After that- our kids were still kinda tired so we decided to head home. We skyped with Chris' family in Oregon for a bit and then enjoyed a nice quiet evening after the kids went down.

It was such a wonderful Christmas. I wasn't real excited when I found out Christmas was on Sunday this year, but I decided I almost liked it more this way. It really helped me refocus on what we were celebrating. I enjoyed all the beautiful music and I'm so grateful for that sweet baby that grew up to redeem me from my sins. The birth of our Savior was such a blessing to this world and I'm grateful that we set aside some time to celebrate that.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. See you all next year!

Tanner and Bailey's Letters to Santa

2011-12-15T21:33:00.002-06:00

I'm so looking forward to the time when my kids can write their own letters, but until then here are their letters to Santa.
Tanner's Letter:

Dear Santa,

This is my third Christmas,
so by now I’m kind of a pro.
So sit down Santa and let me tell you
a few things you ought to know.

A big kid like me wants lots of toys,
but here’s a few I really need.
Some books, puzzles and a race car,
one that can really, really speed.

But I really need my little sister
to hurry up and grow.
If she was bigger we could run and play
and watch some TV shows.

I could show her all my many tricks
and how to keep out of trouble.
We could play outside and ride our bikes
and maybe blow some bubbles.

So if you’ll bring some Christmas magic,
we’ll get this baby growing.
And before we know it she’ll be big enough
to practice her ball throwing.

I know I can count on you St. Nick,
you never let me down.
So hurry over and don’t get lost,
we just moved to a new town.
Love, Tanner Herb age: 2

Bailey's Letter:

Dear Santa,

My big brother tells tales of Christmas eves
and Christmas mornings past.
He says they are days of fun and wonder
and go by way too fast

He says I should write what I want in a letter
and get it in the mail.
Otherwise, come Christmas morning,
I’ll have a reason to cry and yell.

So Santa here is what I want,
pay attention please.
I’m going to make it really clear
and put your mind at ease.

I want to play with my big brother
but make sure he takes care.
For I’m still little and I don’t want
to get squished by the Tanner-bear.

I want Mom and Dad to hold me
and never put me down.
For every time they do,
I feel the need to fuss and frown.

So hurry over to our house,
I’ll leave cookies on a plate.
I hope you’ll bring me what I want,
and make it worth the wait.
Love, Bailey Herb age: 4months

Its Beginning to Look alot like Christmas

2011-12-13T23:24:00.001-06:00

Again I know its been awhile...I really don't know where the time goes. We are all alive and doing great. As of today Chris finished his last final- so no more grad school for 4 weeks!!! YAY!!!! Bailey is growing like CRAZY. Seriously she's huge! And Tanner is as happy as ever. He's really becoming a great big brother. Christmas is in full swing around the Herb household. The first day of December we went and got our tree. I made Bailey's stocking and had it embroidered. I've finished my Christmas baking and delivered all 10 plates of cookies. (Don't get me started on what a disaster baking was this year- it was a 3 day event and my poor kids watched so much tv for those 3 days...)My Christmas shopping is mostly done, thanks to amazon prime! And we've really been enjoying the holiday season so far. We even had our first snowfall of the season. Granted- it was only about 1 inch, but it totally counts. We were "elfed" with some cookies at our front door.On Dec. 2nd we went to the annual Christmas parade. It wasn't real cold but it sprinkled for about 3 minutes so we were bundled up. The kiddos all bundled. I love their smilesHere are the kiddos and I. Tanner was way to distracted by the flying candy and wouldn't smile for a picture. Sweet Kitty BaileySuch a good dad. He ended holding her for almost the entire parade.When we got home we decorated our tree and watched the Christmas classics with the kids. Tanner and Bailey love snuggling on the couch. Our tree Uncle Joseph came over and helped me put up our Christmas lights. We had an unusually warm day- it was almost 60 degrees outside, So Bailey got to help.On December 5th we headed over to ASU for the "Jingle on the Green". It was indoors this year (thank goodness because we nearly froze last year) and the kids got to sit on Santa's lap. Bailey was completely indifferent and Tanner loved his beard. He kept caressing it like a creeper the entire time he was on Santa's lap. Here is a pic of Tanner on Santa's lap. (Don't ask me what his arms are doing...)Then here is a picture of both kids. Like I said- Bailey couldn't care less...On December 10th we went to our Ward's Christmas party and Bailey sat on Santa's lap again.Tanner did too, but he was not a fan this time around...Growing up we'd go to my Aunt Ginny's house every year on Christmas Eve. We'd all visit and play and then before everyone left, all the grandkids would pile into her kitchen and we'd all smash this amazing gingerbread house that my Aunt Ginny made from scratch every year. Don't get me wrong- she made it just for us to smash and we looked forward to it sooo much. Well last night my little family made our first annual gingerbread house. Tanner really liked helping me put the frosting on. Then he discovered all the candy and it was over. I lost him after that. But we finally got it finished. We are going to start the tradition with my parent's grandkids. This year on Christmas eve, Tanner and Clark will smash our gingerbread house together and get to eat whatever they want of it. I'm so excited. I know it sounds like a weird tradition but we loved it growing up. So I'm hoping the boys will enjoy it this year and maybe next year Bailey will join in. As you can see, Tanner was super excited about making this gingerbread house Here is Tanner with our oh so amazing Gingerbread house. He's pretty proud of it.Anyways, thats what we've been up to. My sister Laura flies in on Saturday and we are all going to get her from the airport and then we are going to silver dollar city to see the lights. So I will have more pictures soon. Then Sarah and Johnny fly in on Wednesday and its going to be non-stop partying with my little sisters. Merry Christmas to all!

Turkey Day

2011-11-26T22:37:00.004-06:00

We started out the day totally relaxed-watched some TV, ate breakfast, got in some morning snuggles with the kiddos.
Bailey and Dad snuggling on the couch

Then I headed for the kitchen to finish up my contributions to the big thanksgiving meal. I made 4 pies, rolls, deviled eggs and a corn casserole. That took most the morning.
Tanner helping me roll out the dough for the rolls

Then we headed over to my parents for dinner. IT WAS DELICIOUS! Seriously- best turkey I've ever had!
Check out the darling place settings Stephanie made (yes- they are cupcakes)

and our bountiful spread of "num nums"- as Tanner would say.

Then we relaxed and visited. The kids enjoyed themselves playing in the basement, in the ball pit and the cardboard box fort Uncle Joseph made.
Bailey and I in the Basement- watching Tanner and Clark play. (She'd lost her little dress by this point)

Then around 8 pm Chris took the kids home and I left for BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!!!
Stephanie (Aaron's wife) and Julieta and me drove two hours to Springfield and stayed there shopping until about 9 am. My feet and back were aching so bad. I felt like an old lady. We got home at about 11 am the next morning and I was completely exhausted. Like- I wasn't really functioning...it was bad.
Luckily- now I have slept and life has resumed as normal. Its been a great weekend and I've really enjoyed my little family. Its so nice having Chris home and have him able to play with us instead of doing homework or working on the house.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. Recently, at my parent's request, Chris and I saw the movie "Courageous" It's a little cheesy but has the best message about the importance of strong righteous fathers. (I may or may not have teared up more than once while watching it)Anyways- it made me really appreciate how lucky I am to have such an AMAZING husband. He works so hard for us ALL day, then comes home and does homework at night and then works on the house on the weekends. Isn't he fantastic?
The movie also made me appreciate my sweet babies and the time I have had with them so far. I know I complain about Bailey being a crier and being harder than Tanner- but I really am grateful to have her in our lives and so happy she is part of our family. I am grateful for the 4 months we've had so far with her. LOVE THAT LITTLE GIRL! I'm also grateful for my sweet little two year old. He makes me laugh out loud EVERY day. He's such a happy little boy that brightens the world around him.
So to sum things up-I'm grateful for my family. They make me so happy and I feel blessed to get to be their mother/wife.

I'm also grateful that Chris has a job he loves. I worried our first year here because he couldn't find his niche. But now he loves where he works and what he does and that makes it so much easier for him to go to work in the mornings.

I'm grateful for family. I don't know what I'd do without my parents. They are so supportive and willing to help out whenever we need. I love my siblings and all they do for me. And I'm grateful for my amazing in-laws. Deveney (my mil) has been here 3 times in the last 3 months just to help out. They are all awesome!

Lastly, I'm grateful for the gospel. I'm grateful for the doctrine of eternal families. I'm grateful for the blessings of the temple. I'm grateful for my relationship with my Heavenly Father and the ability to pray to him at any time and for any reason. I'm grateful for the priesthood and its presence in my home. I love the gospel and I love what it does for me and my family.

I hope you all can count your numerous blessings and recognize God's work in your lives. I know I've been blessed beyond measure!

A little bit of this and that...

2011-11-23T21:59:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blog presence...Here's a little of what we've been up to.

Tanner's favorite place in our house is the back porch. I also love it because I can put up the child gate and let him play and play. He will blow bubbles or ride his bike for 30 minutes without stop. Then he checks to make sure I'm still watching him and goes right back to playing. He loves being outside and thankfully we've had a beautiful fall.

Playing in the leaves

While Mimi was here the kids wore the hats she made for the first time. Love love love them!(Bailey didn't love wearing hers)

Helping mom make cookies for our sweet neighbors- who mowed our lawn for us!

Also- this is Tanner's new obsession. He's always been great at smiling for pictures- but now all he wants to do is be the one taking them. Ridiculous right? He goes around the house flashing the camera and yelling "CHEESE"

Second newest obsession- Scissors. Don't worry- he only uses them while in his highchair and I watch him closely (Resume breathing Mother) But he is actually really good at them. While I was making the Pompoms for Bailey's room he sat next to me and cut for 2 hours. He's so intense.

Bailey is growing like crazy. Seriously- you would think we fed her miracle grow. She's huge. Just over the 90th percentile for weight and height. Little chunk! But she is getting to be more and more fun. She's laughing more and smiles when she hears our voices. She really loves her Daddy. Every night when he gets home he gives us hugs then picks up his girl. She just beams at him. I LOVE IT!

She's even doing better at "tummy time"

And she's loving the bumbo

I just love this little face.

Also- love dressing her for winter (Mostly because I love dressing her in boots)

She discovered her mobile about a month ago and now it will calm her for about 10 secs. But she was so enthralled the first time she noticed it
Tanner loves his little sister

We're doing great. Staying really busy (finally got our garage cleaned-thats a huge step- I could actually park in my garage now)But everyone is healthy and happy and hoping to stay that way.

We're off to see the Wizard...

2011-10-31T21:41:00.006-05:00

Happy Halloween!
This year our family costume theme was the Wizard of Oz. I had so much fun putting our costumes together and I loved how it all came together. Each year I fall in love with my husband a little more because he is such a good sport about dressing up for Halloween. This year was no exception.
Chris was the Tin Man, I was Scarecrow, Tanner was the Cowardly Lion and Bailey was our Dorothy.

We went to our ward Halloween party on Saturday night and we had a lot of fun. Nanny and Papa were there and they were kind enough to take some pictures for us.
Dorothy and I

My cowardly lion and little Dorothy

Love my Dorothy

When we got home Chris' parents arrived and we visited with them for a bit.
This morning I dressed the kids in their Halloween outfits that I've been saving just for today.

tonight we took Tanner trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. He had so much fun. He ran most of the way and loved knocking on the doors. He'd run to the door and then instead of actually knocking on the door, he'd say "Knock Knock". So cute! Then he'd say his "please" and "thank-you"-and as we walked away he'd yell "bye bye." I think he actually said "trick-or-treat" only twice.
Mimi and Tanner before we left to trick-or-treat

Running around the neighborhood- he ran almost the whole time. He was so excited

love this shot...

When we got back to our house Tanner immediately dumped his bucket out and started sorting his candy into piles. He moved his piles around the room and then he gave it all to Bailey.
Tanner going through his candy

Giving all his candy to Bailey

Bailey in her Bumbo

Blogger keeps rotating this pic...ugh
but i love this little face

Then as we had more and more kids come to our house to trick or treat he started giving them his candy. He'd open our door and right away put his candy in their buckets- whether they wanted it or not. He was cracking us up.
Here are a few pumpkin carving pics.
Mom and Tanner

"Mom, look whats in here"

Tanner loved it when Chris pulled the top off.

This pic cracks me up. I asked Tanner to say "cheese" and he folded his arms

I think we all had a great halloween and we really loved having Mimi and grandpa here with us.
I put the kids in their halloween pjs and snapped a few more pics.
Bailey's kitty bum

my sweethearts

Now to welcome November in and prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can't believe October is over!!! Happy Halloween everyone!

Bailey's Blessing

2011-10-31T14:54:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Chris blessed Bailey at church. We were lucky enough to have both sets of parents there. Chris' mom and dad flew in on Saturday and we are so happy to have them here. Chris gave a beautiful blessing and Bailey made sure she cried throughout the entire thing. Fortunately, we could still hear Chris and Bailey's crying didn't phase him at all. He just kept on talking and it was really a sweet blessing.
I know that sometimes Bailey is a little punk, but listening to her being blessed helped to remind me of how lucky we are. Heavenly Father sent her to us and we love her so much. Even Tanner loves his baby! We feel blessed to have her in our little Family.
Here are a few pictures from yesterday
Family shots- don't mind Tanner's confused look. He's not use to not being the center of attention.

Semi-Sweet Bailey in her blessing dress

Happy girl

love these little piggy toes

Deveney and Bailey- Don and Chris were MIA at this point, so I only got one with Deveney.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Julieta with Bailey

Nanny and Papa with Bailey

Thank you to all those who participated and came to support us. It was a lovely day which we ended with a big family dinner at our house. So fun to have everyone together.

Family getaway to St. Louis

2011-10-30T22:38:00.006-05:00

On Thursday evening after work, Chris and I loaded up the kids and took off for St. Louis. I'm not going to lie- I was a little more than nervous for this trip, since Bailey can't go 5 minutes in the car without screaming. But our ward only goes to the temple once a year- and its the only time we get to go- so we felt like we needed to be there. Luckily Nanny, Papa, Uncle Joe, Aunt Julieta and Clark were going up to St. Louis too. They drove in a separate car and met us at the hotel that night.
We took off, stopped and got some dinner before leaving town and then drove and drove and drove. We already had the kids in their sleepers and they'd had their baths, so they were ready for bed. Tanner ate 1 1/2 chicken nuggets and he was out like a light in his car seat. Bailey cried for the first 10 minutes and she too proceeded to pass out and they both slept the entire 5-hour drive there. Heavenly Father must have helped us out here- because normally Bailey is a terror in the car. SHE DID AWESOME. They both did. Unfortunately, when we got to our hotel they both woke up and were totally wired from their "5-hour naps" It took us about an hour to get settled down again. So we all ended up going to bed around midnight. Crazy long day
wide awake at 11 pm

They next morning we got up and went to the temple (while Uncle Joe watched our kids)
Happy Bailey in the morning

We did an early session and came back to check out and pick up our babies.
Before leaving the Hotel

Then they whole crew went to P.F. Changs for Lunch- DELISH!
My HAPPY travelers!

Then we headed over to the St. Louis Arch. I'd been when I was little and wanted Chris to see it. We rode to the top in the tiny little car- then looked through the tiny windows at the top over the city. The arch is 630 feet tall. You feel so far up when you are looking over the city.

Tanner wasn't sure about the whole experience but all in all we had a good time.
Tanner looking out the windows at the top of the Arch over the city

Us inside the top of the Arch (yes Tanner loves me)

At the northern base of the Arch

Downtown St. Louis was crazy after the second Cards game- everyone was gearing up for the final game of the series. There were Card fans everywhere. But it was fun to be there and see everyone's enthusiasm.

We changed the kids back into their sleepers and loaded them back into the car and drove another 5-hours home.
I know that it sounds like boring, but we had a wonderful trip. The kids slept on the way home and we got back to our house at a decent hour this time. Chris and I spent 10 hours talking in the car without kids interrupting us. Beautiful! And we enjoyed the time with my family while in St. Louis. Now we are looking forward to a getaway without the kids...Someday!

October-fest

2011-10-14T21:43:00.010-05:00

Wow- its been a little while. I promise pics of the house are coming. We have been crazy busy trying to paint, unpack and clean- oh and take care of two kids...but we are enjoying a beautiful fall. The leaves have begun to change colors, the weather is perfect and halloween is just around the corner. I can't believe October is halfway over. I love the fall. I really love to decorate for fall too, but since my house is about halfway unpack (the essentials are unpacked-everything else is still in the garage) I haven't been able to bust out the fall/halloween decor.
But today the kids and I went and got some hay bales, mums and a big scarecrow and started decorating outside our house.
Then this afternoon we met Nanny, Papa, Uncle Joe, Aunt Julieta and Clark at the Pumpkin Patch for some fall fun. I think the little boys had a lot of fun. I had fun capturing all these precious moments on camera and Nanny had fun snuggling Bailey.
Here are some shots from our afternoon at the Mountain Home Berry Farm.
The Herbs Fall 2011

The whole crew on the hay ride

little boys climbing mulch mountain

Nanny snugglng Bailey

Papa and Tanner hiding in the mulch mountain

corn maze

Tanner andClark playing in the hay

Tanner riding the horse

Tanner found his pumpkin-he just couldnt lift it

Tanner in the pumpkin cart

Now if I can unpack my sewing machine- I can start on our Halloween costumes. This years theme is "Wizard of Oz". Then it will be time for Thanksgiving and then Christmas before we know it. CRAZY how fast time flies. I love this time of the year though and I'm looking forward to the holidays with family!

And We are Home Owners

2011-09-27T22:35:00.005-05:00

Crazy! We bought a house! We just closed last Friday and we couldn't be more excited. We've spent every night, excluding sunday, cleaning, painting, and pulling up carpet. We hope to move in on Thursday. Can't believe its ours. Its a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in Gassville. And I feel like such a grown up picking out paint colors and carpet. More pics to come after we get it all set up and decorated.

Baxter County Fair

2011-09-19T22:06:00.007-05:00

Last week the county fair was in town.
On Wednesday I took the kids to the fair parade. It was too windy for Bailey, so she stayed in the car with Nanny. It actually got cool last week so Tanner and I wore sweatshirts to the parade. Tanner was enthralled with the parade this year. He clapped for the different floats and danced when the bands marched past. He loved picking up the candy that was thrown. It was so fun to watch him enjoying himself.
Tanner's drumstick suckers

Tanner's candy loot

The kids and I after the parade- Bailey looks so happy huh?

The next day Chris and I took Tanner to the fair. Nanny watched Bailey again since she is a little young. Although, not much more than the fair food appeals to me, I knew Tanner would LOVE it. He didn't disappoint either. He was all smiles while we were there and he was exhausted by the time we left. We rode the toddler roller coaster, the fun slide and the carousel. We actually did the fun slide about 3 times because Tanner loved it so much. Last year he was only big enough for the carousel and dizzy dragons- this year he could do a few more rides.
Before we rode rides though, we went to the animal exhibits and got dinner. I love me some Kiwanis burger! SOO DELICIOUS! Before we left we grabbed some more yummy fair food. Tanner was a big fan of the cotton candy and caramel apples.
So excited to leave for the fair

takin' it all in- we pulled up and the first thing Tanner said was "Whoa"

Checkin' out the livestock

Rides

Fair Food

All tuckered out

I'd say the fair was a huge hit this year and we look forward to taking both kids next year!
Aren't these two kids the sweetest?

Labor Day Fun

2011-09-10T22:30:00.011-05:00

Better late than never right- I'm finally getting around to blogging about our labor day weekend...
Even though it was pretty low key around here- it was oh so nice.
Saturday was spend relaxing and getting caught up on a few things around the house-- like buying groceries...(eating is overrated right?) Saturday night we went to Nanny and Papa's house to hang out with the family. Tanner had a blast driving the remote control car around outside for almost an hour. Sunday was the typical church, naps, Sunday dinner with the family. Then Monday Chris woke up and went shooting with some friends, then we packed up the car and drove to Blanchard Springs with my family. We ate our picnic lunch and played for a bit.
Tanner and Papa climbing the tree

Then we drove to the beach and let the kids play in the sand and swim.
The sand toys were a big hit.

We also enjoyed burying Clark in the sand- he hardly noticed.

until he wanted to move- then he just busted out...love this money shot

Tanner swimming with his wings

Papa and Tanner practicing his swimming

Nanny and Tanner snuggling after his swim

One cool dude

Mom and Tanner

Bailey spent most of the time in her car seat asleep. Someday she might actually get to swim...if she can stay awake for it. I don't know if its the sound of the water or the heat, but she just can't stay awake at the lake.
Bailey getting a diaper change in the car.

Bailey and I after we got home from the lake

That night we bar-b-qued and hung out for a bit. We tried to take a family pic- Tanner didn't want to cooperate- this is what we ended up with...

It was a relaxing weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed having my hubby home. I miss him during the day and its nice to have the kid-to-parent-ratio even.
Here are a few other pics from the past few weeks- life is flying by and Bailey is growing up so fast. She has gotten really big all of the sudden. She was 6 weeks old yesterday- CRAZY!
Tanner loves his sister

Smiling in her sleep- dont mind her one creepy half-way open eye

silly face

Seriously- he can't get enough of "baby"

Whatever bailey does, Tanner has to do too--

chunkin' out

Bailey -yesterday at 6 weeks..

Tonight we are headed to the Fair with Tanner, while Nanny watches Bailey. We're pretty excited. Tanner has asked to "go go" about a billion times today. I'll post about the fair soon!

The Puppy Paw-ty!

2011-08-24T16:02:00.013-05:00

Happy Birthday to my little man!!!
I can't believe my Tanner is TWO! The past two years have absolutely FLOWN by. It kind of breaks my heart to know that he's no longer my baby- he such a little boy now. He acts like a little boy- playing with dirt, splashing in puddles, taking toys apart just to see how they work, cars, trucks, tractors, puppies...he is just a little man now. I have a feeling I'm going to really have a hard time when he starts kindergarten. I miss my baby- but I'm thoroughly enjoying this new stage of life.
He is such a sweet little boy and I love getting to be his mom.
So HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER! And thank you for the joy you bring into our lives. Not a day goes by that Chris and I don't crack up at something he's said or done. Its so fun!!!

Here is a picture of the birthday boy first thing this morning.

Tanner had his favorite breakfast food this morning (malt-o-meal, so weird- I KNOW)
Then he helped "Mimi" (Chris' mom) make cupcakes and loved that.

Then he took a bath with his little sister

For lunch we took him to his favorite pizza place and then let him play at the arcade.

Then it was home for nap time and party prep.
We had a puppy party this year and I had so much fun getting ready for it.
His invitations read "There will be cats to chase and bones to chew, Come help us celebrate because Tanner is turning 2"
Although it was a much smaller party then last year, I still had fun with the decorations. Here are a few pics:
Our little puppy

Tanner's Puppy cake

cupcakes

Table decorations

Birthday Banner

Balloon boy

Before we started opening presents we had face painting. Tanner thought it was so funny to watch others get their faces painted. He even tried to paint Uncle David's. (Thank you David for painting us all up)

His party was a family affair this year. Although we missed Aunt Sarah and Uncle Johnny- everyone else was able to be there.

Tanner made a HAUL on presents- it was a little ridiculous actually. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!
In fact he got so many presents we had to stop halfway through opening them to let him take a break. He was starting to loose interest...What a great problem to have-- TOO MANY PRESENTS!

We took a break and ate some cake. After spending two hours making his cake, the little twit only ate the doggy tail and then enjoyed digging his fingers in the rest of the cake...
Tanner and his cake

Then he ate a cupcake.
It was hard to tell what was face paint and what was cupcake at this point...

Then back to more presents....
After a little warming up to his new dog "BOLT"- it was "PUPPY LOVE"

We had so much fun and I want to thank everyone for their help and for their awesome gifts! Tanner doesn't know what a lucky little boy he is to have such great Grandparents, Great-Aunts & Uncles, Aunts and Uncles and cousins. THANK YOU
And once again happy birthday to our sweet Tanner-Bear!

Now to the lake we go...

2011-08-20T15:05:00.009-05:00

Yesterday we headed out to Bull Shoals lake for some much needed time on the water and time in the sun. Of course, having just had baby 2 1/2 weeks ago- I declined the chance to ski and tube. One good tumble and I'd be done for...
Here is Tanner with Chris at the boat dock before taking off.

Anyway-- Mom and I held down the fort on the beach. Tanner and Chris took off on the boat and Tanner thoroughly enjoyed helping Papa drive the boat around the Lake.
(Even though you can't tell from this picture- he loved it. He was mad that I made him look at me for a picture- all he wanted to do was steer the boat)

Tanner even took a turn tubing with Chris- although the water was a little choppy- I'm not sure how much he enjoyed it. He tolerated it though...
(Sorry these pictures aren't the best- it was really rough water)

Meantime, Bailey and I hung out with Nanny on shore and soaked up the sun. Well Bailey didn't see the sun that much but she did get out of her carseat for a bit.
Bailey and I at the lake... I LOVE HER LITTLE SWIM SUIT!!!

Bailey in her suit

When the first group of boaters came back Tanner and Chris got of the boat and hung out on shore with us. Correction- Tanner was carried off the boat because he was out like a light. The rocking of the boat was just enough to lull him to sleep. We made him a little bed out of a floatie and he slept for about 40 mins like this...

Then we had lunch and let Tanner play in the lake.

After about 4 hours we headed home. We were all tired and ready for naps. Later that night we went to Nanny and Papa's for bar-b-q pork and hung out with the family.
It was a great Saturday and it was so fun to get to be out enjoying the beautiful lakes.

2 weeks with Bailey and Big Brother Tanner

2011-08-17T12:46:00.008-05:00

Today marks the 2 week mark since Bailey entered our lives. Life is starting to settle down. I'm feeling alot better, I am back to cooking, sometimes cleaning, and doing a TON of laundry (8 loads to be exact). Ridiculous right? But I'm glad to have some semblance of normalcy...
Here is a summary in pictures of the last two weeks.
Tanner reading to his little sister

Bailey's newborn photo session

Some pics I took for fun

Bailey travels...

Bailey gets to meet her Uncle David- dont mind that David looks totally awkward...

Movies with Dad

Tanner being a cutie pie

And Tanner's new obsession with dice- he's such a weird kid.

Bailey had been sleeping really well for the last 1 1/2 weeks, but the last 3 nights or so has been horrific. I don't think she is getting enough to eat, but today my doc called in some "Reglan" to help my production. Maybe that will make our lives better.
Tanner has been a sport. Even though Bailey's cries wake him up sometimes- he just comes into our room, grabs Chris' hand and drags him back into his bedroom and then goes right back to sleep. He's still taking really good naps, and although sometimes he gets bored he's been so great. I've been trying to spend a little 1-on-1 time each day with him while Bailey is napping.
Today I'm exhausted, but overall the transition is going well. If we can get Bailey eating enough I think she will sleep better and then we can all sleep better too. Wish us luck!

Welcome to the World Bailey!

2011-08-06T21:00:00.012-05:00

Our little girl is here! She decided to come 9-days early, not that I'm complaining. We are more than happy to have her here and happier still that she is healthy and strong.
So here is the labor story- I will try not to gross anyone out with too many details- but here it is...
After Tanner and I got home from the library on Wednesday morning I was feeling a little off. I'd been having lots of contractions but they weren't painful- just like constant cramping. Then I started bleeding and that made me really nervous. So I threw our "to-go" bags in the car, grabbed Tanner and drove to get Chris from work so we could go to the hospital. By the time I got to his office I had to let him drive because I had worked myself into a panic and couldn't focus. I'd already called my mom and we drove to my parents' office to drop Tanner off to my mom. Tanner was pretty oblivious to everything and happily went with his Nanny to play. I about started crying when we drove away because I was thinking about how his life would never be the same and he had no idea. (plus I was already really emotional)
We got to the maternity ward of the hospital and they got me settled into a room. I wasn't admitted yet because they didn't know if they'd be sending me home or if I really was in labor. (like i said- i wasn't having painful contractions- just cramping)
They got some monitors hooked up to me and I finally got to hear the most beautiful sound in the world- my baby's heartbeat. Then I was able to relax a little and actually focus on what the machines were saying. I was having contractions every 4 1/2 minutes- even if I wasn't really feeling them. They checked me for dilitation and I was at a 2. (not encouraging since I had been at a 2 a week ago). An hour later they checked me again and I was at a 3, and an hour after that I was still at a 3. They decided to call my OB/GYN and see what he wanted to do with me. He said to go ahead and admit me but because by this time it was almost 5:00 pm he wasn't going to be aggressive at all. He wanted to let me "SIMMER". Those were his exact words. Simmmer- really? By the time I was finally admitted I was having pretty painful back labor and the contractions were stronger. I think that if I hadn't gone into the hospital because of the bleeding- I would have gone in at this point in the day (about 5:00 pm) because the contractions were under 5 mins apart and getting more and more painful.
They hooked me up to an iv for fluids and left me to "simmer". I was pretty grumpy at this point because the whole time I was being monitored I wasn't allowed to eat. We'd gone into the hospital at noon- and because I'd been in a panic I hadn't eaten anything. Then all I was allowed was ice chips- and then they admitted me and I still wasn't allowed any food. So I hadn't eaten since breakfast at 8:30 am and I WAS STARVING! Then to have the doc say he wanted to let me "simmer" all night- yeah- that didn't go over well.
When the nurse came back in I asked her for some I.V. pain meds- if I was going to be stuck at the hospital I thought they could atleast give me some drugs so I could possibly fall asleep and try to ignore my growling stomach. She looked at me like I was a HUGE BABY for asking, but gave them to me anyway.
So by about 6:00 pm I was dilated to a 5. The Doctor came in at that point and I told him straight out that I wasn't really the type to sit and simmer all night. I wanted this baby out. I told him about my labor with Tanner and how once I'd gotten the epidural I'd gone from a 3 to a 10 in 45 mins. I told him I wanted the epidural as soon as possible because then I'd be able to relax and let me body do the rest.
I guess I convinced him because he decided to go ahead and break my water, then he told the nurse to hook me up on some pitocin and he'd be right back to do the epidural.
After I got my epidural I started feeling a little bit better. The contractions were getting stronger due to the pitocin, but I wasn't feeling them nearly as much. But then the baby dropped really low and I started feeling a ton of pressure. It was at this point I had a nagging suspicion that the epidural wasn't working or atleast wasn't working as well as it did with Tanner. I started feeling dull contractions and so much pressure that I was convinced she was coming at any second.
30 minutes after I got the epidural I was at a 10 and the nurse told me they wanted me to wait and let the baby drop some more before I started pushing. Seriously- was it possible for her to drop anymore?
Then she left the room and came back in and asked if I was ready to start pushing. I SAID "YES!!!" She said ok- and I started pushing. That's when I was convinced the epidural wasn't working. Time felt like it started dragging and then the doctor came in and took over. He said push and I gave it all I had- 2 series of three of pushes and she was here. She was here and the worse pain I'd ever felt was over. Then I got to endure feeling every single stitch as he sewed me back up. I'm not sure why the epidural didn't take this time, but now I have a pretty good idea of how EASY I had it with Tanner. I know it could have been worse if I didn't have any pain meds, but wow- it hurt so bad I thought I was going to cry.
As soon as they laid that little girl in my arms I was able to forget everything else. She was so perfect. My labor was almost 9 hours from the time I arrived at the hospital- 4 hours from the time I was actually admitted.

My first thought was- she looks just like Tanner, except with lighter hair. She weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz. She was 19 1/2 inches long and has brown hair.
This is a picture of Tanner- he weighed 7 lbs .5 oz and was 19 inches long. Do you see the similarities- to me its like seeing twins.

We named her Bailey Joyce after my sweet Grandma- Bettye Joyce. I'm hoping Bailey will take after her Great-Grandma because I adored my Grams so much and I know these two would have been buddies.
Chris and I with her new baby girl

Eventually everyone came in to meet Bailey and Chris brought Tanner in.
Nanny and Papa with their first grand-daughter

As soon as Tanner saw the baby he smiled.

Then he got really serious. He is very protective of his little sister and its adorable!
Tanner giving his new sister a kiss

Tanner holding his new little sister

My little family of FOUR

Baby Bailey

We spent the next 24 hours in the hospital and by the time 8:40 pm came around the next day we were SO READY TO GO HOME!
Tanner came with Nanny to visit twice the day after- here he is eating my hospital lunch

Bailey in her "Going home" outfit

Bailey in her carseat

Now we are home and trying to adjust to life with two kids. Tanner loves his baby. He calls her "Bay" because he can't say Bailey yet. Anytime he hears her cry he runs to her to make sure everything is ok. We have to reassure him that she is fine and then he goes about his playing. Occasionally he will give her kisses and he likes to throw away her dirty diapers for me. He's a great big brother and I'm so relieved he's handling it so well.
I'm recovering and I've been blessed with a wonderful husband and a wonderful family. Chris is great and takes care of Tanner so Bailey and I can sleep whenever we want. My Mom spent the day with me today while Chris was at drill and she cleaned my house and even did my laundry. Seriously- my mom is awesome.
We feel so blessed to have a strong, healthy little girl and a sweet big brother for her. We are so excited to see the two of them grow up and play together. Life is good and I really don't have anything to complain about.
Here are a few of Bailey from today

Oh and this picture op was too cute to pass- Tanner reading to Bailey and Dad. He went into his room, grabbed this book (his current favorite) and then climbed up on the couch and snuggled in next to Dad and Bailey. He then proceeded to read to them for about 15 minutes. He even pointed to pictures for them. It was so funny.

He's already such a good big brother- I hope its indicative of the future. I sure feel lucky to have such sweet kids and such an amazing husband!

Fun with Tanner Week

2011-08-06T16:43:00.006-05:00

Monday, August 1st was the beginning of our "Fun With Tanner" Week. Each day I planned something especially fun for Tanner and I to do together. Since I was expecting to be induced on Wed August 10th, we were trying to get some quality Tanner time in while we had the chance.
Day 1:
We started off the week with a movie marathon inside a blanket fort. (Marathon meaning about 30 mins) First we built our blanket fort. Tanner loved helping me drag the chairs across the room to build the fort. Then we hauled every pillow we owned into the fort to lay on and tossed the couch cushions down there for padding. We popped our popcorn and grabbed our raisinets and then started the movie Tanner chose. Tanner loved having the huge bowl of popcorn next to him and he loved having his own box of candy.

He snuggled up next to me and together we watched the first 30 minutes of "Mulan". I'd say day 1 was a huge success- I got lots of Tanner snuggles and we discovered a new "special treat" (blanket forts) to use as incentives or rewards for Tanner.
Our "BIG BLANKET FORT"- well it was big to Tanner

Day 2:
Lucky for me- this day was also "Park Pride Day" and therefore the activity I had planned turned out to be free. Tanner and I picked up Uncle David and headed over to the city pool to swim. With it being SOO HOT here, there aren't many things we can do outside, but Tanner LOVES the pool. We played until Tanner decided he was ready to go and then hit up Sonic's "Happy Hour" to get drinks. Tanner had his first slushy. Very exciting stuff for our little man.
Swimmin' at the pool

Tanner and his slushy

Day 3:
We woke up early and ate breakfast and then headed to the park. We had to get there early because we were trying to beat the heat. We succeded and Tanner had a blast. We went to the big kid park and he loved that he could climb on everything. Then we headed over to the library for story time. Tanner loves the library because they have children's computers that he can play on without fear of breaking the keyboards or anything. I love the library because we get to look at new books and it has AC.
Loves the swings

He kept "ROARing" at the dinosaur

Unfortunately, "Fun with Tanner Week" ended here because I went into labor when we got home from the library. We didn't get to have our Jaccuzi bath day or the arcade/game room and pizza day but we did get a new baby- so I guess it was a good deal. Tanner spent Wednesday and Thursday with my Mom while we were at the hospital. She brought him over to meet Bailey Wednesday night and then again Thursday morning and afternoon. Now we are all home together and life is GOOD! I'm really glad we atleast started "Fun with Tanner Week" because I had so much fun with my little man. He's getting so big and it was fun to spoil him and spend just mommy and Tanner time together.
He is such a sweet little boy and I'm so glad I get to be his mom

I'll post about Baby Bailey soon.

Baby Shower, Pool, Ice Cream and Bubble Baths

2011-07-31T22:07:00.010-05:00

Life has been pretty busy around here lately as we try to finish getting ready for this baby to come. Busy- but WAY FUN. Tanner has been SO GOOD these last few days. Maybe its all the extra attention he's getting, but whatever it is- ITS WORKING. He's been a gem.
On Thursday, my good friend Leslie Kingrey, threw me a baby shower. My mom hosted it at her house and we had a great time. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! This little girl is totally set in the way of clothes now. SO MUCH CUTE PINK STUFF!!! The shower was a lot of fun and I think everyone had a great time.
Here are a few pics.
Decorations

Leslie and my Mom

Me, my Mom and my sisters (Minus a much missed Sarah)

Goofing off before the present-opening started

Lovin' the PINK

The awesome photo book Julieta made! She's amazing!

Kind of a group shot

Then on Friday, Tanner and I met some friends (Amy Murphy and Sandy Taylor) at the pool. These girls are twin sisters who I've known pretty much my entire life and it was so fun to see them again- since it doesn't happen near enough!
Tanner in a life jacket in the big boy pool

After the pool, I took Tanner to get an ice cream cone from DQ. It was a huge cone and he finished the entire thing. Needless to say, he didn't eat much dinner that night. But it was fun to spoil him and he pictures make it totally worthwhile. Seriously- even covered in ice cream he's cute.

Saturday Chris and I decided to load up with Tanner and drive up to Springfield. We stopped in Harrison and Branson on the way and I got some more last minute baby things. We took Tanner to his first "Play Place" at McDonalds. I don't have any pictures because my brother had borrowed my camera, but just know Tanner had a blast!

Then today Tanner finally graduated from bath time in the sink at Nanny and Papa's to bath time in the tub. Not just any tub though. Clark and Tanner got to take a bath in the jacuzzi. It was awesome. When we turned the jets on we almost lost Tanner in all the bubbles. He loved it! Clark was safe in his Uncle David's arms. He wasn't crazy about all the bubbles, but he was a good sport.
They played for almost an hour in there and when it was time to get out, Tanner said a tearful goodbye to the bubbles. "Bye Bye Bubbles"
I'm pretty sure he will never be able to take a bath in the sink again- I mean really- you can't go back to the sink after having a jacuzzi bath.
Love these two little backsides.

Love this little face

Covered in Bubbles- Where is Tanner?

Pretty much- I'm SOOO ready to have this baby. But until she decides to come- I'm spending all my time enjoying my little boy. I'm worried about both of us- and how we are going to handle sharing the attention. Tanner has been the center of my universe for so long- its going to take some major getting use to. So until that time- he will continue to be the center of my universe- and we are dedicating the next week to "FUN FOR TANNER". Wish us luck!

How to Train your Toddler to sleep in a Toddler Bed:

2011-07-20T12:57:00.010-05:00

Because we just recently finished making this transition- I can now say I'm an expert. NOT! I'm not going to lie, this was one of our hardest transitions yet. Tanner was a remarkably easy baby, so I had a feeling that toodlerhood wasn't going to treat us as kindly.
Don't get me wrong. Tanner is a great kid, but he's got a little too much of my stubborn nature in him. He's really trying to push the limits lately and try my patience at every opportunity. Of course, me being pregnant and hormonal isn't a great combination either, but somehow we are all managing.
So anyways, on to the much anticipated instructions.

Step 1: Introduce your child to his/her new bed
Allow them to figure things out on their own and explore the new concept of freedom. (Tip- don't do this right before bed. Give him/her some daylight hours to explore and let the "newness" wear off by bedtime" WHOAPS. Of course I converted Tanner's crib to a toddler bed right before bed and surprised him with it. He was super excited. So excited that he didn't want to lay down. He just wanted to climb in and out of his bed.

Step 2:Put child to bed in new toddler bed
Then wait and watch as he/she climbs out of bed for a few hours trying to decide how important sleep is and how long he/she can survive without it. (if you are like me you are pulling your hair out by this point)

Step 3: Get woken up by your child coming into your room at 3:30 am
Of course he/she is wide awake and asking for their favorite movie (in our case it was "Bolt") and your brain is hardly processing anything because its 3:30 am. But you make yourself and your huge pregnant belly climb out of bed and explain to your child that they can't watch their movie because its the middle of the night and they need to be asleep.
Step 4: Put your child back to bed in his/her toddler bed
then watch as he/she continually climbs back out to try and play.
Finally you give in and put your child in the crib in your room- because you can't keep your eyes open any longer. Then you climb back into bed, only to have the baby in your belly wake up and start playing the drums on your ribs. (Your awake another 1 1/2 hours.) But your toddler, admitting defeat, finally falls asleep again.
Step 5: Repeat the Process again the next night
However, this time you make a pallet on your child's floor next to their bed and sleep on the floor the entire night. You prevent your child from escaping their bed, but the next morning you wake up aching all over. Only one escape attempt and your start feeling like maybe this is possible.

Step 6: Repeat "Step 5" for the rest of the week
Alternate who gets to sleep on the floor with your husband to avoid the back ache every morning.
Step 7: Remove your pallet from the floor and sleep in your own gloriously soft bed
After 5 days of laying on the floor next to your child's bed, you decide to give sleeping in your own bed another try. Success! Your child sleeps from 8:00 pm to 7:00 am- only waking up once at 6:00 am- for two nights in a row.
You start to believe there is an end in sight and stop hating your life so much.

p.s. If there is some simpler way of making this transition- PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME!!!
I dread ever doing this again!!!

Time with the Fam

2011-07-17T20:00:00.012-05:00

With Gram's funeral on Friday, we had family coming in all week. Although the reason for the family reunion wasn't happy, we were still able to enjoy each other's company and get in some quality cousin time.
The funeral was really beautiful. Everyone spoke well and the musical numbers were wonderful. I,of course, was practically in tears the entire time- but it really was amazing the number of people whose lives were touched by Grams and her kindness.
Everyone has been so wonderful- and I can't express my appreciation for all those who have cared for my family this past week. The funeral home employees were especially kind. They took into our family's every need and anticipated everything. They took care of everything from the visitation, to the flowers being transported, thank you cards, sticky notes for dishes that need to be returned- they even had water bottles for everyone at the graveside dedication. It was such a comfort to not have to worry about all the details of the funeral.
After the viewing at the funeral home we all met up at Gram's house. The Aunts had decided that each grand-daughter should pick out a piece of Gram's jewelry to have to remember her by. We didn't really realize how much jewelry Grams had. By the end I think each girl had atleast 3-4 jewelry pieces and a couple scarfs. It was such a fun way to end the night. Each piece of jewelry held memories and it was fun to reminisce about Grams wearing each one. Now each time I wear a piece of Gram's jewelry I can think of her.
Some of the jewelry laid out on Gram's bed.

My cousin Shannon, my Aunt Jan and my sister Sarah admiring a necklace.

More jewelry and in case you can't tell who that is in the background with the belly button sticking out- thats me...

After the funeral we all hung out at Grams house together, chatting and eating.
Later we snapped a "few" family pictures...
All of Gram's grandkids

The grandkids and spouses (minus a few spouses)

The Whole family that was able to come for the funeral.

The Drake Family- Don't mind that my child wouldn't turn around for the camera...

Everyone was leaving at different times over the next two days, but we were still able to fit in a movie- we saw Harry Potter. (it was pretty good) Plus the girls got mani/pedis and the boys went out to eat Korean food. (My toes look awesome- by the way) It was fun to hang out with everyone.
We are planning on a big family reunion for the 4th of July next year- so that will be awesome. I just love my family and its good to know that although we've lost our sweet Grams, everyone is still willingly to make the effort to get together.
I'm grateful for that the family I will be spending eternity with is so awesome!

Goodbye Grams

2011-07-10T14:16:00.002-05:00

My heart aches as I type this, because even the simple act of composing this post makes my Grandma's death more of a reality.
Yesterday morning around 5:30 am, my sweet Grandma passed away. I was fortunate to get to be with her until the end and during those last few hours of her life a peace settled over me. A calm feeling that caught me entirely off guard.
A peace born from the knowledge that this life isn't the end. Grams is now with her sweetheart. She is happy, whole and healthy. She isn't suffering anymore and for that I am immensely grateful.
I'm grateful for the simple doctrinal truth that "FAMILIES ARE FOREVER"
I had the sharing time lesson today at church and the title of the Lesson was "Families are blessed through sacred temple ordinances" This lesson took on a whole new meaning for me. I'm grateful the prophet Elijah restored the sealing power to Joseph Smith all those years ago. I'm grateful that my Grandma and Grandpa took advantage of those temple blessings and were sealed together, that my dad and his siblings were sealed to them and that I am sealed to my parents as well as my husband and sweet son. We truly are an eternal chain that can never be broken and this gives me more comfort than anything else.
My Grams was the most stylish, classy, sweet, honest, empathetic, loving, compassionate, sweet woman I have ever known. No one was better at making you feel happy when you were down, beautiful on your worst hair day, or more loved just because you are you. She always knew just what to say and just how to say it. And because she said it, you knew it was true. She didn't take slack from anyone and she always expected you to give life your best. She taught me to take pride in my accomplishments and to never be afraid to try new things. So much of Grams shaped who I am- or most of the time- showed me who I wanted to become. She touched the lives of so many people. You couldn't meet her and not love her. She had a way of making new acquaintances feel like old friends. I'm so grateful for the example she was for me.
I don't know how I can possibly fill the void left in my life because of her death, but I'm determined to figure it out and to smile again. I will smile everyday - because Grams wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Fourth of July Fun

2011-07-05T14:13:00.017-05:00

I Love the 4th of July!
We had so much fun yesterday! Growing up the 4th of July weekend was always packed with canoe trips, days spent skiing/tubing on the lake and awesome food and fireworks. So I've developed pretty high expectations for this holiday.
I wasn't disappointed this year either.
We woke up and watched a movie with Tanner yesterday (He is soo into "Toy Story" right now) then we packed a picnic lunch and headed over to Blanchard Springs. It was beauitful weather and the drive was gorgeous. When we got there it was about 11:45 am so we ate our lunch and then jumped into the river.
Tanner mostly liked sitting on the shore and throwing rocks into the river, but he floated with us a little bit. I can't even tell you how nice it felt to float on my stomach. Incredible!
Anyways.. Here are "few" pictures from our Blanchard Springs trip.
Running into the water

Little Stinker

Tanner and Mom

He loved my floatie. Little thief- everytime I would go to get on it- he'd come over and say "Peeaze" and want on. And I can't say no to him when he says please..

chillin' in the chair getting ready for a snack.

About 2:00 pm it started to get a little crowded at the swimming area so we decided to head home. We drove to our house first and picked up some dry clothes and fireworks then headed to my parents house.
Then we filled up the kiddie pool for Clark and Tanner to play in. I also hooked up Tanner's "hopscotch sprinkler" Tanner had a blast- he loved running back and forth between the pool and the sprinkler. Clark took a little longer to adjust.
Tanner also mastered his squirt gun and had a great time shooting water at everyone around him.
Seriously- look at this kid

Seriously- squirting everyone- not even Clark was safe

Tanner and Uncle David

Clark watching Tanner run on the hopscotch- he had to see how it was done.

trying to get a drink from the sprinkler

Eventually we got Clark in the pool, although he never warmed up to the sprinkler.

After a while Papa came out and set out a HUGE slip-n-slide. He used some painter's plastic and we covered it with water and soap. It was so awesome. I didn't get to play on it- for obivious reason- but I got some pretty good pictures of the action.
Uncle David catching some air

Papa and Uncle David showing the little boys "how its done"

Tanner on the slip-n-slide
Ready, Set, GO!
Going, Going- Gone!

"That was AWESOME"

"Come on Papa, lets do it again"

Even Clark gave it a try...

After everyone was thoroughly exhausted from the slip-n-slide we ate dinner on the back porch. It was such a beautiful evening. We ate ribs, cinnamon baked apples, green beans and potatoes and garlic bread. SOO GOOD.
Tanner really enjoyed it.

After cleaning up- it was time for fireworks. There aren't a whole lot of fireworks that Tanner is old enough for yet...but he got to do lots of sparklers

Here's Tanner throwing the snappers on the ground so they would pop

and here is Tanner trying to figure out how they work..

He even did a Roman Candle- with help from Uncle David.

Then we just watched our neighbors- everyone had their own show going on- so there were fireworks going off left and right.
Tanner and I watching the fireworks

Tanner and Dad watching the fireworks

Tanner really liked the fireworks this time- he kept saying- "Whoa" over and over. It was adorable.
Tanner clapping for the fireworks

Squatting down to watch the fireworks..

My little family- getting ready to grow in about 5 1/2 weeks...

Then we ate cake and played dominoes- all-in-all, an awesome 4th of July.
I'm so grateful to live in this country and enjoy the freedoms we take advantage of everyday. God Bless America!

Red, White & Blue Festival

2011-06-26T14:26:00.006-05:00

This weekend was our community's Red, White & Blue festival. I can't believe the 4th of July is so close. This year is more than halfway over- I can't get over that!
Anyways, I love this little town and all the fun events they put together for the holidays and other random occasions.
On Friday we headed over to the ASUMH campus for some games, food and a movie. Tanner immediately found his little buddy, Austin Kingery, and they had a blast together.
Little Buddies

Seriously- I love this kid! (Notice his oh-so-patriotic shirt)

We had to walk around to every booth so Tanner could see what everyone had to offer. We played a few games...
Tanner playing the golf game- The kid's got skills!

The bean bag toss...

The boys got their face painted.
Don't ask me why Tanner always looks so serious after getting his face painted...

and then we enjoyed a snow cone to cool off.
(Tanner may have eaten most of it and consequently had a tummy ache that night- yeah-I'm a responsible parent)

Then it started getting dark and they set up the big screen to play the "Movie in the Park". They have these movies throughout the summer and they are usually at the park- but this one was on campus. The movie was "MegaMind" and it was so cute.
Before the movie started

Laying down to watch the movie

Tanner did good for about the first 2 mins...but then he wanted to get up and play. Eventually Chris took Tanner home and I stayed with my Brother (who showed up for the movie) to finish watching the show.

The next day we mostly took it easy. We spent some time at Nanny and Papa's and then Tanner took a nice long nap. He has been exhausted from the crazy late-night parties. We went to a birthday party at the park for one of Tanner's little friends and then grabbed some Sonic and headed over to watch the firework show. Which was really good (as usual- ASU always puts on a great show) and the weather really cooled off.
Tanner would not take his eyes off the fireworks- not even to smile for a picture.

Tanner wasn't sure how he felt about the fireworks. At first he was scared and just wanted to snuggle me.

Snuggling while watching the show

But then Uncle David held him and they counted off each time a firework sounded. David would say "1..2..3.." and then Tanner would yell "GO" and the fireworks would light up the sky.

I think he was convinced he was actually causing them.

Either way- it made Tanner happy and he was able to enjoy the rest of the show. Then we headed home, exhausted from another late night.
Thankfully now Tanner is down for a nap- and hopefully it will be nice and long!
We had so much fun this weekend and I'm glad we went. But now its time for me to take a nap. 6 1/2 weeks and counting until baby comes! YAY!

Happy Anniversary to my Sweetheart!

2011-06-21T11:20:00.003-05:00

Four years ago today I married my best friend and the man of my dreams.
It hardly seems possible that its already been four years, the time has flown by.
I love my sweet husband more than I can say. He makes me laugh when I'm sad, smile when I'm upset and he makes me feel beautiful even when I've just woken up. He's pretty much the best husband ever. I'm so grateful that he's mine for eternity.
I LOVE YOU CHRIS!

Drake Family Vacation

2011-06-20T20:24:00.015-05:00

We just got back from a week-long vacation in Branson, Missouri.
Its only 1 1/2 hours away and there is tons to do- so we love it. Not that we do a ton while we are there- its mostly a bunch of lounging at the pool and marathons of "24" But, somehow I still managed to take about 300 hundred pictures. Prepare yourself...

Chris, Tanner and I spent our first day in Branson at Silver Dollar City. We discovered a few more rides that Tanner could ride and a bunch of rides that are just right for Chris and I. Chris and I decided that we are getting old. We no longer liked being yanked and jerked around by roller coasters and the dizziness I feel when I get off a ride is not something I like to relive. So we found a few "tame" rides that even we could handle.
Tanner really wanted to ride the "hopping frogs" He did good until it really started hopping- even I was a little nervous. Those frogs were really jumping.
Tanner and I before the ride took off- Yep- he was a big boy and sat in his own seat

Tanner and Dad after the frog ride.

We also played in the rope tree house again and cooled off at "geysers gulch"

Tanner squirting the water gun

Then Chris and Tanner played in the ball fort- Tanner loved helping his Dad load the ball gun.
Tanner in the ball pit, handing Dad balls

Helping dad load the gun

I love this shot of Tanner following his Dad around. He looks so little and yet its such a big boy thing to do- running around and throwing balls....

Tanner in the ball fort- I'm not sure if he knew how to get out at this point...

Doesn't he look concerned?

After grabbing some yummy ice cream and later some frozen lemonades- we decided to leave the park and head over to the condo.

Saturday night we ate in and just hung out with my siblings. We, of course, did a little swimming as well.
Yes Tanner is trying to drink the water from the fountain....

On Sunday, my parents and my sister Sarah and her new husband Johnny arrived. That bumped our total family members up to 12 and completed the crew. We rented two condos this year because our family is growing so much and we were sooo glad we did. The two families with young kids (my brother Joseph, Julieta, Clark. Chris, Tanner and I) were in one condo and everyone else (Mom, Dad, David, Laura, Sarah and Johnny) were in the condo just one room over.
Our rooms were on the ground floor and on the pool-side. We pretty much walked out our backdoor into the pool. It was awesome.
After everyone was finally together we snapped a few family shots (even though this picture will be outdated in about 7 1/2 weeks- comon' baby) and then we headed off to Olive Garden.

Its a good thing the food was good because our service was terrible. Luckily, we were able to laugh it off and still enjoy each other's company.
When we got back from dinner, both Tanner and Uncle Johnny had their first experience with fireflies. I think they were equally excited about them too!
If you look close you can see one crawling on David's hand...Its not lit up though.

Sunday night we said good-bye to Chris and Joseph - Joseph had class and Chris had to work. It was sad to see them go, but we managed. Tanner enjoyed having even more room to himself on our King size bed. We played dominos that night and chatted until we couldn't keep our eyes open.

Monday we spent at the pool. Well between the pool, mealtimes and naptime- It was a pretty full day. Tanner LOVED the pool. He loved being able to touch and walk around- but sometimes he would walk in too deep and I'd have to keep pulling him back to where he could touch. He was determined he could breathe underwater. I'm a little more than concerned about the lack of self-preservation...
Tanner really liked standing over the fountains... my kid is so weird!

Double Trouble

Tuesday morning I took Tanner to the "party at the pool" they had face painting, bubbles, sidewalk chalk- what's not to love? Tanner had blast. He held sooo still while he got his face painted. And then he loved looking in the mirror afterwards. He thought his fish face was pretty cool.

Love this boy

The rest of Tuesday we spent shopping. Well- the girls went shopping (except for Laura- who decided she'd rather babysit). I bought WAY too many clothes for Tanner and baby girl at the Carter's outlet and the other outlet stores. We wont even get into how much I went over my budget. But on a positive note- Tanner is TOTALLY set in the way of 2T clothes. And baby girl's closet is getting pretty full too.
It was really fun!
Tanner and Papa- Tanner is wearing Aunt Sarah's sunglasses (which he found in the condo somewhere) and Papa is wearing my sunglasses (which Tanner also found and brought to Papa to wear)

Then on Wednesday we went to see "The Body" exhibit in Branson. It was pretty cool. After that, just more swimming and eating.
That night we roasted s'mores around the fire. Tanner really enjoyed the chocolate and the marshmellow. He could have done without the graham cracker though.
Papa and Tanner roasting marshmellows

YUMMY

Papa and Tanner eating their s'mores

On Thursday, my brother David watched Tanner while I spent a few hours shopping in Springfield (a short 30 minute drive from Branson). I got some stuff for the baby nursery and a few pairs of jeans for Tanner, then I headed back to my boy. That night was more food and then we went and saw "X-Men 1st Class"- So good by the way!
My little cheeseball

Friday we slept in, had donuts for breakfast and then made sushi for lunch.
Tanner loves donuts

Then Sarah and Johnny had to leave to fly back to Utah. SO SAD!
but then Chris came back up. We spent the day at the pool, napping, playing in the clubhouse and then my Dad grilled some steaks for Dinner.
Tanner really loved throwing the ball in the fountain and watching float away. Then he run and get the ball and do it over again. Uncle David and Uncle Johnny would sit on two of the three fountains and make the one Tanner was playing with squirt water really high. Tanner loved it.

Tanner's new trick- jumping into the water
Ready...set...GOOOO!

This was kind of a slow motion jump because we were trying to catch it on camera..but he really would jump/walk off the edge of the pool into the water. He thought he was pretty big stuff! He'd even go underwater.
Oh and just pretend you can see my big belly in that maternity swim suit...
Mom and Tanner

Tanner playing on the beanbags in the clubhouse

Going down the slides at the clubhouse

That night we watched more "24" and eventually went to bed. It was such a fun-filled week!

Saturday we had to check out by 10 am. Which was soo early. Even Tanner had gotten in the habit of waking up around 10:30 am- so it felt really early when my alarm went off at 9 that morning. We ate breakfast in the other condo and then did a little more shopping before driving home.

We had such a wonderful week, and although we missed Chris like crazy, we had so much fun with my family. I'm so glad that we all get along. My siblings are honestly some of my best friends and its so fun to grow up and have kids and watch them play together too. I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T11:04:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's day to the wonderful men in my life. I feel so blessed to know so many awesome dads! Today at church we heard a talk about the priesthood and it really made me appreciate my Dad, my father-in-law, my brothers (and brothers-in-law) and my own sweet, amazing husband.
I'm so grateful to my own Father, who was a shining example of what a priesthood holder should be in the home and in every day life. He is never to busy to listen to my problems, offer advice, give a blessing, or be at the special events or moment in my life. He's constantly serving others and works SOOOO hard to provide for the ones he loves. He's an amazing father and I'm so lucky he's my Dad!
My Daddy and I on my Wedding Day

Because of the example my Father was to me growing up- I knew just the kind of man I wanted to marry. Luckily for me, the guy I picked out decided I was worth a shot too. Chris is the husband and Father for my children that I always wanted. He's caring, loving, compassionate, willing and ready to serve those around him, he loves his family, his friends and his country. He's sweet and tender, but playful and fun. Tanner absolutely adores his Dad and its not hard to see why.
Chris being an awesome Dad!

Its no accident that Chris turned out the way he did. He too has amazing parents and his Dad also taught him the value and sacred nature of the priesthood. So I'm also grateful to my Father-in-law for raising my husband to be the man that he is.
Here is my Father-in-law being an awesome Grandpa

Thank you to all my favorite Dads out there and Happy Father's Day!

While Dad is Away...

2011-06-03T16:30:00.005-05:00

Mom and Tanner will play!
Don't get me wrong- we miss Dad like CRAZY! But we're trying to make the most of our Mommy/Tanner time. The first 5 days Dad was gone we were under constant tornado warnings and crazy thunderstorms- so we stayed at my parent's house.
Later that week we went to Branson with some friends and did some shopping at the outlets.
On Memorial day we went back to my parent's house and we brought Tanner's new hopscotch sprinkler. Tanner loved it soo much.

Here are some other memorial day pics
Tanner loves corn on the cob and he really loved helping me shuck the corn..

We also discovered how awesome Kazoos are...

On Wednesday we went to the City pool with some friends. We had fun for a while, but the water was REALLY cold. They had just refilled the kiddie pool and so it was freezing. We're hoping to go back before school gets out because its alot less crowded without all the school-age kids.
Tanner after his first dip in the water.

Tanner after his second dip- it was hard to stay standing for some reason....

After we finished swimming...Tanner was pretty excited to be going home. Or maybe it was the ice cream I promised him...

Today we played in Tanner's blow-up pool. We've been having some really hot weather and being pregnant doesn't help...But I'm pretty sure I spend more time in Tanner's pool then he does. I'm hot alot!

He spent most of his time getting in and out of the pool...

I love this boy!

Anyways- Chris gets home tomorrow and we couldn't be more excited. We'll post again in a few weeks. Aunt Sarah's open house is next weekend and then we're headed to Branson for a week. I know we'll have tons of pics to post from those events so stay tuned.

More Herbs in Arkansas

2011-05-19T20:33:00.028-05:00

Chris' brother Phillip, his wife Stephanie and their little boy Chase flew out to visit us last week. They flew into Springfield on May 10th and stayed until the following Tuesday, the 17th. A full week of fun! Prepare yourself for a TON OF PICTURES!!! I can't help myself- these two boys are such cute models!

We had such a blast!!! I tried not to overdo it, but I wanted their trip to be memorable and not just consist of sitting around our little two bedroom duplex. I think they had a pretty good visit- I know we sure enjoyed them!
So we got them from the airport really late Tuesday night and drove home- getting in around 2 am or so. We were all tired the next morning, but Chris got up and went to work for a few hours. Once the rest of us got up and around we ate, got ready for the day and packed a picnic lunch. Then we headed to Blanchard Springs to play at the river and see the caverns.
The little boys loved the spring and throwing rocks in the water.
They could have thrown rocks in the stream ALL DAY LONG!

Here are a few from the spring and waterfall.
Family pic

Tanner sitting on the rocks- doesn't he look so tall here?

love the father and son shots

Tanner and Mom

Then we went down to the river to let the boys enjoy the water. Chase (my nephew) loved it and splashed around and had a blast. Tanner thought it was too cold to get completely wet and was content to dip his hands in the water and play with his hat in the water. Both boys had a ton of fun though.
Checking out the shore line- unsure of whether he wants to get in the water.

Tanner using his hat as a bucket to scoop water

Tanner and I- he kept clapping the in the water- that's why his hands are in his face.

Then we headed up to the caverns to take our tour. Both Chris and I had both been before, but it was still cool. Stephanie and Phillip enjoyed it and once Chase fell asleep on the tour they were able to enjoy the sights even more.

At the beginning of our tour

Tanner checking out the formations

Phillip, Steph and Chase in the Caverns

One of the cool formations...

We headed home and ate dinner at a local catfish place then put the boys down and just relaxed that night.

The next day was just as full. We woke up early, ate breakfast and packed the car to head to Branson for the day. We had tickets to Silver Dollar City and the Dixie Stampede. We spent the day at Silver Dollar City and while the husbands rode the fun rides that Steph and I couldn't (both of us are 7 months pregnant) we took the little boys to play on the kiddie rides. We had alot of fun and the little boys seem to really enjoy themselves.
My little family before we entered the park

Tanner being a cheeseball in his stroller

We rode the carousel- which Tanner was totally obsessed with. He wouldn't not look at the camera- he just held tight to the pole and watched all the horses around us. I was dying of laughter at how hard he was concentrating...

The boys loved the rope tree house too

Chase was a pro at the ropes...

Then I took Tanner to the SDC "build-a-bear" copycat shop and he built his own puppy dog.

The little boys had a blast a the water/splash part of the park.

The Silver Dollar City Express- Tanner loved the train ride.

Tanner was sooo tired- he loved the puppy he made so much- he snuggled it for most the train ride.

And Chase was totally out by this point

That evening we headed over to see the Dixie Stampede show. Its a dinner show with a competition between the North and the South. Both little boys were totally enthralled with the horses and later with the chickens and pigs. While you watch the show they bring you different courses of the meal. It was sooo much food but we managed it all pretty well. Both little boys did remarkably well after such a full day at the park. It was a blast!
Right after the show- notice how tired Tanner looks...Such a full day!

Cute Little Cowboys

I know this isnt a great pic- but its the only full shot I have of Tanner that you can see his boots, wrangler and shirt. He totally looked the part

Friday morning was spent at garage sales and later that night we left our sleeping boys with my sister and headed off to see a movie.
Tanner and Chase took turns on this awesome garage sale find that I got for $2. What a steal. Neither one wanted to get off the 4-wheeler when their turn was over

Saturday we mostly just hung out. Chris and Phillip went shooting and Steph and I took the boys to the park. We got some groceries for our camping trip and brought home a pizza for dinner.
A few park pics

Boys swingin' together

Sunday we left for Crowley's Ridge to camp. Well camping in a cabin- but whatever. By 4:00 pm we were settled into our cabin.
Here are the little boys having a pre-dinner snack. Cheetos are a rare treat!

We roasted hot dogs and Brats over the fire for dinner and had fire grilled corn on the cob and baked beans.
Tanner grillin' his hot dog.

Chillin' in the camp chair, chowing down on his hotdog

Family sitting around the campfire

Our Oregon family didn't know what to make of the cicada bugs. Here is Steph and Chase playing with one on the table

Phillip and Chris made a dutch oven peach cobbler and then we let the little boys play while the big boys went fishing.
Chase and Tanner were obsessed with pulling the bark off the trees

Little boys blowing bubbles

After the little boys were asleep we had smores and stayed up and talked until we were all too tired.
The next morning we made breakfast in the cabin and played a bit more.
Tanner checking out the birdhouse

Chase hiding- with that camo hat on you can hardly see him- right?

Then we got loaded up and checked out of our cabin by 11:00 am. Then we let the little boys run off some more energy before we headed home- a 2 1/2 hour drive. When we got home we did laundry and everyone got cleaned up. Then we went out for some bar-b-q and visited my parents, who had been dying to see everyone.
Chase loved the tractor at my parent's house

The next day we had breakfast and pretty much packed the car back up to take them back to the airport. We made one quick stop at the Bass Pro Shops to look around and ate dinner at Hemingways- which was sooo good. And then that was it. It was over.

I cant believe how fast their trip went by and how smoothly everything seemed to go. Both little boys did amazing. They played so well together and now Tanner is going through Chase withdrawal. Its sad. We are so grateful they spent the time and money to come all the way out here to visit. We had blast and hope they did too.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:48:00.005-05:00

I had to write a short note to thank all the mothers out there who are such wonderful examples to me. I wanted to give a special thanks to my own Mother. She is the "mother" of all mothers. She's pretty much amazing and I want to be just like her. And as if being an awesome mom wasn't already enough- she's also an amazing Grandma- or as we say "Nanny". Tanner sure loves that sweet lady. I don't know where I would be without her and I'm grateful everyday for the relationship we have and the short 10 minute drive to her house. She is truly one of my best friends! I LOVE YOU MOM! Thanks for everything you do for me and my family!

(I really need a picture of just me and my mommy- this is the best I could do)

I had a wonderful day today with my two sweet boys. They gave me a gift certificate to get "pampered" at the salon- and I'm SO looking forward to that. Then we went for a drive, played at the river and had a yummy dinner at my parent's house. We also got to visit Grams. All-in-all, GREAT DAY! Thank you to all those who made it so special!

Easter

2011-04-29T10:36:00.007-05:00

Better late than never right?
Well considering we just got home from our big trip last night, I feel like I'm doing pretty good.
Our trip home was a whole different disaster that I will go into later. I really wanted to post some pictures from Easter.
Because of all the wedding festivities going on we didn't do a ton for Easter. Not that I'm complaining- Sarah's wedding was wonderful and more than made up for the fact I didn't get to have my annual Easter party. But I don't have a ton of pictures. We left Sarah and Johnny's reception at about 9:30 and drove up to Smoot Wyoming to visit some friends from college. We arrived at there house around 12:30 am extremely tired and sleepy. We didn't get to go to church on Easter Sunday, which was a bummer, but it was nice to get to relax and sleep. Even Tanner was tired after the wedding.
We woke up and had breakfast, got ready and dressed for the day and then we brought out Tanner's Easter basket. (Be impressed- I actually remembered to bring his basket from home) We didn't put much candy in there- besides fruit snacks- because he's not even two and doesn't really need the sugar. We mostly filled it with toys and he got a new "Little Miss Spider" book.
Here is Tanner with his Easter loot

Even though I had my camera on the wrong setting and the picture isn't great- I LOVE HIS LITTLE FACE. This was the "casual" Easter outfit I got for him because I knew we'd be traveling on Easter..and I figured this wasn't too dressy. Love the bright orange shirt! I had made him a tie to go with it, but decided he didn't need to wear it....it was also obnoxiously bright-which I loved.

He loved the new toy truck. He drove it all over Michael & Heather's furniture while he made truck noises. What can I say- he's all boy.

He also found a toy duck in his basket that kept quacking at him as it laid its candy eggs. He wasn't too sure about the duck though.

No smiles...

Then he discovered the bubbles and fell in love. I fell in love with these too. The bubbles came with a "no spill tumbler" so Tanner can dump the bubbles upside down and nothing comes out and yet when he pulls the wand out he can still blow bubbles. I LOVE TARGET!

So we had to play outside with the bubbles for a while.

Eventually we went back inside and he looked though the rest of his basket. He did finally discover the "Buddy Fruit" applesauce that he loves. (Thank you Pam for turning me on to those-- they are wonderful!)

That afternoon Chris and Michael took Tanner out to explore and I got a nice nap. Then we went over to Heather's grandma's house for Easter dinner. They were really nice people and made us feel right at home. Tanner loved it there. They had chickens, goats, dogs, cats...he was in seventh heaven. Dinner was so delicious and we were happy to spend it with friends.

After we got home from dinner Chris hid Tanner's Easter eggs around Michael and Heather's property. Unfortunately, they are still working on their house so their yard is kind of a construction site. So the pictures aren't that pretty but he had a good time looking for them.

The hunt

Tanner putting the eggs he found in his basket

Yeah- he loved that he could open them and get the fruit snacks out

It was so fun to get to spend some time with Michael and Heather. They were some of our best friends in Idaho and we miss hanging out with them.

The next day we left for Montana to go visit one of my best friends- Adrian and her hubby Luke. We hung out with them for about a day and a half and then headed back down to Utah to catch our early morning flight. We had so much fun visiting Adrian and Luke though. They are both so good with Tanner, we all felt right at home. We spent our first day in Helena playing around and shopping a bit. We didn't have much time and we would have liked to have stayed longer, but it was still fun to see old friends.

Wednesday we drove back to Utah and stayed with my Aunt Jan one last time. We ate at "Sushi Ya" that night and it was so good. I could only have cooked fish like crab and shrimp but it was still so delicious! Well it was delicious until about 2 am when I woke up really sick and spend the next 1 1/2 hours throwing up. Then at about 4 I woke up with a ridiculously high fever and I couldn't stop shivering. Chris had to hold me so I could finally get warm enough to fall asleep. All-in-all I figure I got about 3 hours of sleep that night. We woke up at 5 am to catch our flight, only to get there and wait 6 1/2 hours because of a dead battery. Then we had a 5 hour layover in Denver. Because of the delay that morning, we missed our connection into Branson so they had to fly us into Springfield. That would have been fine except our car was parked in Branson.
So we landed in Springfield at 11:40 pm- waited for our luggage and rented a car. Drove down to Branson, picked up our car- returned the rental and then drove the rest of the way home. I fell into bed last night at 4 am. And because Tanner wasn't up until 4 am last night- he was up and ready to play at 9:00 am this morning (which is pretty late for him usually, but I'm still so tired).
But atleast we are home and can relax. Frontier did give us each $200 vouchers for our next flight and $15 meal vouchers for the airport. So we're hoping we can now afford to visit our Oregon family earlier than planned. With Tanner turning two he won't get to fly free anymore, but with these vouchers maybe we can swing it. Hopefully we can fly out to visit them for Thanksgiving to New Years. YAY!!!

My Little Sister's Wedding

2011-04-25T12:58:00.019-05:00

I can hardly believe its over- my little sister is a married woman! Sarah and Johnny Allred got married April 23rd, 2010.
Their wedding went off without a hitch. It was a beautiful day and she was a beautiful bride!

Bride and Groom coming out of the Temple

They had a sweet sealing in the Bountiful Temple, followed by pictures on the temple grounds and a luncheon at the Wight House in Bountiful.
The Bride with my little man

Sarah and Johnny with our Parents

Bride and Groom with the Bride's nephews

Bridesmaids with Bride

Tanner loved his Aunt's flowers

Tanner and Mom at the Temple

Playing around the grounds of the Temple

Little man all worn out

The luncheon was so yummy. There were speeches given by both sets of parents and then the bride and groom and then Johnny sang Sarah a song he'd written on his guitar. It was super sweet.
The Bride and Groom entering the luncheon

Bride and Groom at the luncheon

Johnny singing to his new Bride

Tanner clapping for his new Uncle.

Sarah loves my baby belly. (Disclaimer: this dress is not them most flattering thing ever- I look big here)

Tanner thought the food was delish!

Then we had the reception at a stake center in Layton. We arrived an hour early for pictures and prep. We hired a company to come in and decorate the gym to make it look like a reception hall and they did a great job.
Bride and Groom at the reception

Here is their cake. The colors were Green and Orange. The whole place looked amazing.

Drake Family picture at the reception

Herb Family picture

Tanner and his Uncle at the reception. Tanner being "coy"

Bride with her sisters

Tanner and Noah (My cousin Matt's little boy- he's 4 months older than Tanner) Aren't they studs?

Tanner and Papa at the reception

Tanner enjoying some wedding cake.

Tanner only got about 25 minutes of a nap all day, but he was such a sport. He smiled for pictures and didn't cry all day. He was awesome. Love my little boy!
I also got to see some old friends from College. Jon and Julie Arndt were there, Christie, Steve and their little girl Bree, and Kelsey and Katie Hogge. It was so fun to see everyone. I didn't get one of Julie and I, but here is one of Kelsey, Christie and I.
Tanner and Bree- They were giving "loves". Tanner even gave her a kiss. It was so adorable

After the reception Chris, Tanner and I drove to Wyoming to visit some friends. We got in at 12:30 am. We were so exhausted, but now we are catching up with friends and relaxing. I'll post about Easter soon.

Enjoying the Awesome Weather

2011-04-17T13:03:00.009-05:00

We headed down to the river last Sunday to take a walk and let Tanner run around. He loved walking around the "boardwalk" on the river. He ran back and forth and kept peeking his head through the wooden planks.

Love this little face

He really like watching the fish in the water with his Dad.

Family Picture at the River

Then we let him play a little bit at the playground.

Of course he only had interest in the slide

Then we walked down to the river access and let him play in the water. Even though the river is still freezing, Tanner couldn't resist dipping his toes in the water. He really like playing down there.

We're getting excited for the water to warm up so we can go on canoe trips and fishing. We're planning a day trip to Blanchard Springs really soon too.

Anyways, we had a pretty quiet week. Tanner is cutting more teeth (Seriously- its a never ending process) and he's been sick with that. He doesn't eat hardly at all when he cuts teeth and he runs a pretty good fever. He just wants to be held.
I left for a "Girl's Weekend" on Friday but between Joseph and Chris- Tanner was in excellent hands.
Our "Girl's Weekend" was so much fun. We rented a hotel room in Branson. We shopped all afternoon and evening, ate at Olive Garden, and then swam at the pool, followed by pedicures and manicures. Doesn't get much better- right? The next day was a Relief Society Activity in Springfield. I wasn't really excited about going, but I'm so glad I did. It was awesome. I learned alot and it made me appreciate how awesome my life is and what a sweet husband I have.
Now I'm home with my two FAVORITE boys ever and enjoying every minute of it. I had a great weekend but it feels so good to be home!

Lions and Tigers and....Fish? OH MY!

2011-04-10T13:28:00.014-05:00

We had a ridiculously fun weekend. So prepare yourself for picture overload!

Friday night we chilled at home, ate pizza and hot wings, watched a movie and got plenty of sleep for our big adventure the next day.
Tanner loves hot stuff. Its so weird.
Yummy Wings!

We woke up on Saturday morning, ate breakfast and loaded up the car for our first official family fishing trip. We drove out to Amon's lake- about 10 mins from our house and got all set up. Chris immediately cast his line in the lake and got a bite. Sadly, the fish got away before he could reel it in. And that was the only bite we got all morning. Sad! Then Chris helped Tanner use his little "Nemo" rod. Tanner loved it- he really liked turning the reel to get the fish to come back in.

Then we let him cast his own line from the shore of the lake. He was mostly just dipping the end of the rod in the water and playing.

Tanner yelling at the fish. He kept saying "GO GO" I'm not sure he quite grasps the whole concept of fishing. No Tanner- we want the fish to come to us- not go away.

He was having a great time yelling at the fish and playing in the water and then all of the sudden he was head first in the water. I was about 12 feet away taking pictures and it happened in slow motion. He was fine. The water was all over 4 inches deep at the shore so there wasn't really any danger. He just got soaked!!! He didn't even cry. We had been at the lake for maybe 15 minutes and Tanner was already soaking wet.
Tanner after his dip in the lake

But we just stripped him down and he kept on playing.

Taking a break to have a snack

Tanner and Dad after their turtle hunting adventure

Quality Dad Time

Then we came home and Tanner took his morning nap. After his nap we ate lunch and then drove to my parent's house. My parents have an inflatable kiddie pool and since it was almost 90 degrees yesterday we figured we should take advantage and take our little guy swimming.

HE LOVED IT! I think he'd forgotten how much he loved being in the water.
Cousin Clark got to swim too. These boys had so much fun.

Clark mostly just chilled in the cool water and Tanner busied himself splashing Clark as much as possible.

Aren't these two sooo cute? Love these little boys!

They swam for about 45 mins and then we took the boys in. Both were so tired they took their milk and went down for their afternoon naps. I took Tanner home and he slept until it was time to leave for the circus.
The Twin Lakes Shriner Circus was in town this weekend and we were so excited to take Tanner. We had wanted to go last year but Tanner was so young and he got sick that weekend, so we didn't go. This year he was the perfect age to the AWED!
I don't have any pictures of Tanner and the animals... but I have a ton of his awesome expressions as he watched the performers.
No circus is complete without cotton candy

"YEAH- Cotton Candy"

Here is one of the acrobats...he was fun to watch.

Tanner's cheesey smile- This is the smile I get when I say "Tanner, say cheese"

Here are some of the animals we saw

Tanner and Dad watching the clowns

Mom and Tanner during intermission.

Those elephants are so cool! Oh my!!!

Tanner's favorite part of the show- the fire breathers

After the circus was over we walked around the grounds and then rode an elephant. Tanner loved the elephant. He was laughing and smiling during our ride, but he kept trying to look over the side so I had to hold on to him so tight. Little dare devil!

Then we headed over to Sonic to get dinner. By that time we were all so tired that as soon as we had eaten dinner, I bathed Tanner and he went right to sleep. Chris and I soon followed. It was such a fun day and we were totally worn out.
I don't know how we are ever going to top this weekend, because it was awesome!

Hello .49 cent Ice Cream Cones.

2011-04-05T14:33:00.007-05:00

The weather turned nice again. It must be spring because we've been having the craziest weather. Over the weekend it was in the high 70's and even low 80's. Then yesterday we had a huge thunderstorm and it was cold- in the 40's. Today its 65 and sunny. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good thunderstorm every now and then, but we're enjoying the sunshine.
Today we went to the park and met some friends for a picnic. It was the perfect day for a picnic. Tanner has so much fun at the park and that makes it even more fun for me.
I didn't take any pictures today but here are a few from our park trip on Saturday after conference.

Yeah- Tanner goes up and down the slide all by himself.

The weather was so nice on Saturday, it was almost a shame to watch conference indoors. But Conference was amazing and it was a great weekend.
This is Tanner playing his new favorite game at Nanny's house. She doesn't mind the noise or the mess, so HE LOVES IT! He takes all her metal mixing bowls and some pots out and then puts the different lids on them. Its quite loud-which is probably why he loves it so much!

Here is Tanner taking his bath in the sink (don't mind that he's pretty much way too big for the sink). He is doing his "coy" look. Its one of my favorite "tricks" he does. We just say "Tanner be coy" and he does this pose. Its so cute. This picture melts my heart.

Doing another one of his "tricks"- Tanner blowing kisses.

Here are a few of Tanner on his Dad's motorcycle. He didn't want to get off it. He probably sat up there for 10 minutes just pushing buttons and smiling.

Oh how this little boy loves his Dad. Everyday when Chris gets home, Tanner runs to the door and yells "DAAAAAAD!" Its so adorable!

He's also discovered our "flowers" or weeds growing in the backyard. He loves picking the little yellow flowers and bringing them to me.

Finally- here are the pictures that inspired the title of this post.
Is there anything better than a .49 cent ice cream cone on a warm sunny day?
Today Tanner had this very first ice cream cone all to himself. In one word -it was AWESOME. He devoured that thing.

"whoa- this is the best thing ever"

"Yum- Thanks mom"

There are so many nice things about warm weather- the park, ice cream cones, picnics, going to the pool or lake, sprinklers...the list goes on and on.
WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS WONDERFUL WEATHER!

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2011-03-26T09:40:00.008-05:00

We've reached the halfway point of this pregnancy.

I'm 20 weeks and feeling great. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by. Having Tanner around to keep me busy really has helped. Tanner makes everyday an adventure and most of the time I'm too busy to remember I'm pregnant.
I thought I show some pictures of me at different points of each pregnancy.
The first one is me at 14 weeks- at the end of my first trimester. The picture on the left is when I'm pregnant with Tanner, the right is me during this pregnancy.

The second picture is me at 20 weeks- after finding out the sex of each baby. Again- the left is Tanner, the right is this baby girl.

Unfortunately, I didn't take that many picture of me when I was pregnant with Tanner and I have only taken three so far with this one. But I'll get more when I'm bigger and its easier to compare.

Other differences between the two pregnancies:
I started feeling sick about 2 weeks earlier with this pregnancy. So instead of being nauseous at 7 weeks, it started at 5 weeks. So not fun...but luckily with both pregnancies I started feeling better around 13 weeks.

I was really tired at the beginning of this pregnancy. Most of that is probably due to Tanner. I have less energy but am still as busy as ever with him. But again, once I got past the first trimester I started feeling better and having lots more energy. I also started working out- so that helped. I was too sick to work out earlier. Pathetic huh?

I'm hungry ALL the time. I probably go through a box of cereal on my own each week. I crave cereal at like 10 pm every night. I feel like I never get enough to eat, even though after I eat I'm stuffed. I get hungry again really fast Its really out of control!

I'm more tender and sensitive with this pregnancy. Its hard to rock Tanner to sleep because having him lay against my stomach makes me a little nauseous. This is probably the most heartbreaking because I love my snuggle time with Tanner. But if it takes longer than 10 minutes for him to fall asleep rocking with me, then I have to put him in his crib and just lay down next to him and hold his hand.

So far that's about it- I'm not showing that much yet (unless I eat a TON of pizza or something) but I feel like I'm carrying the same as I did with Tanner. But it will be easier to tell in a few more months.

Anyways, I'm excited to be halfway done and can't wait to meet this little girl.

It's a......

2011-03-22T11:26:00.004-05:00

GIRL!!!!
Can you believe it? We're SOOO excited.
There are hardly any girls on either side of our family, so we were shocked at the lack of boy parts at our ultrasound.
She looks good- she's healthy and growing right on track. We couldn't be more happy.
Here is the profile shot- she wouldn't move her hands out of her face

Then here is the shot confirming its a girl- not only were there no boy parts, but you could see the "two little dark lines" that they look for on girls- so no surprises!

Then another profile with more of her body. I just love those little arms and you can even see her leg. I'm already so in love with her.

This last picture is one of my favorites. If you look on the left side of the picture- you'll see her little foot. She stuck it right where the camera was. I love her little toes

I've already started buying pink. So ridiculous right?
I'm 19 weeks and 4 days now- so almost halfway. Comon August- get here faster!

My Birthday and other fun...

2011-03-21T14:56:00.008-05:00

I turned 24 last week. It was a pretty fun day. Tanner slept in, so I got to sleep in until almost 9. (Not a bad way to start off my birthday). Chris had left to go to work by the time Tanner and I finally got up, so we went to have breakfast at a little diner next to Chris' office and he met us there.
Then Tanner took his nap. Later my mom took me out for my birthday lunch and of course Tanner got to get spoiled too. He loves his Nanny. He wanted to sit by her at lunch and didn't want anything to do with me. After lunch Tanner took his afternoon nap and when he woke up my Mom came by and picked him up. So I had about an hour of alone time before Chris came home and whisked me away for my birthday festivities. My parents watched Tanner all evening for us.
He took my to eat at the new Italian place in town- it was DELISH. Then we grabbed some chocolate and headed to the movies. We watched "I am Number Four" and I really liked it. I went in with really low expectations and that always helps- but we were surprised how much we liked it.
Then we went to my parent's house for cake, ice cream and presents. My parents got me a beautiful brown leather jacket and some money for maternity clothes, my siblings got me new scriptures, and my husband got me a new camera.
But not just any camera- the camera I have been drooling over for MONTHS! It was way too much but he said he wanted to spoil me and who am I to argue? He's amazing!

He got me the Canon Rebel T1i. Its a beauty and takes amazing pictures.
I'm still learning how to use it, but if its possible- I take more pictures now them before.
Tanner has even started saying cheese whenever I pull the camera out. Its so funny.
Needless to say, I had a great birthday and I feel completely and totally spoiled.

On Saturday we decided to take advantage of the windy day and we headed to the park to fly Tanner's kite for the first time. Tanner thought it was fun for about the first 3 minutes. Then he wanted to run around and play in the rocks. He did enjoy chasing the tail of the kite though.
helping Dad fly the kite

Caught the kite tail

Keeping his eye on the kite

Then we headed over to catch a bit of the baseball game going on at the park. Tanner loved watching the players hit the ball and then getting to clap for them. He clapped for both teams and cheered when everyone else cheered. It was so fun to watch him watching the game.
He's so intent on the game in this picture

Clapping for the other team

Today it is beautiful outside. Its 80 degrees and sunny. Perfect!!!!
Tanner and I decided to go play in the sprinkler. So I changed into some shorts and put Tanner into his swim suit and we headed out to the backyard.
Tanner really loved the sprinkler. He loved running back and forth and getting wet. Then he got really daring and decided to face the sprinkler and run right at it. He of course got nailed in the face by the water and after that the fun was over. He didn't like getting water in his face, but he was determined to beat that sprinkler. He tried again and again. Finally he got mad and ran to me for hugs to make it all better.
I turned the sprinkler way down and then he decided he was bigger and could beat it. He ran right up to it again, but because it was barely on he didn't get sprayed in the face- just the legs. He really liked that.
Right before he got the full blast of the sprinkler in the face. As you can tell- he really had fun for a while.

The sprinkler is SOOO MUCH FUN!

Tanner trying to figure out how the sprinkler works

Then he helped me turn it off and we played outside to let him dry off.
Then I got him dressed in some summer clothes. Can I just tell u how much I love summer clothing. I love the swim suits, the shorts, the sleeveless shirts- I love Tanner's somewhat-chunky body. I really love his little toes in flip flops
Here is Tanner in his first summer outfit of the year
Whoaps- the shorts were a little big

Tanner didn't mind. We just pulled them up and kept on playing

Now he is taking a nice long nap because he was exhausted after our water adventure.
He's so fun right now. Everyday he learns a new skill and he's always excited to try new things. I love my boy!

Bowling 101 & More

2011-03-07T21:22:00.006-06:00

I found this cheap bowling set a few weeks ago and when the weather got colder, we decided to bust it out. Since we couldn't play outside we had to come up with some new ways to entertain ourselves.
We tried to show Tanner how to hold the ball, then how to throw it and knock the pins over.

He watched as Dad rolled the ball and the pins fell.

His reaction after watching Dad bowl.

Tanner throwing the ball. I know it looks like he's just dropping it, but this is how he was throwing it at first.

From that moment on his new mission was to make sure not a single pin remained standing. Every time I set the pins up Tanner would run over and knock each one over. He would be so thrilled with himself each time he knocked them over, it was so funny to watch.
He threw the ball a few times but couldn't figure out the underhand rolling. He just loved to knock the pins over.
A much more efficient way to bowl- strike every time.

I think he really enjoyed bowling. Maybe if the weather gets cold again we will bring them back out and practice our bowling skills.

Here are a few others from the past week or so. Tanner went into nursery two Sundays ago. It was his first official time, although he has been going in occasionally to visit with Nanny (she's the nursery leader). But now its official and I can't believe he's old enough for this. He's such a little man.

We had a play date last week too. It was too cold to play at the park so we had it at the church. Tanner loves playgroup. He loves playing with all the girls- he gets all the attention because he's the only boy there.
He found this puppy in the toy cabinet and it was love at first sight.
Puppy love

He also loved this toy.

Here are the two girls Tanner's age he plays with.
Jess

Olivia

LOVE THOSE GIRLS!

Eventually the weather got warm again and we were able to head to the park. Tanner loves the park so much. It was a really last minute trip so we didn't invite anyone else. Just me and my boy. Quality Tanner time!!!

Although I love spring time and all the beautiful weather, I hate how my allergies act up. And being pregnant, I didn't know what I could take. The nurse recommended benadryl- so lets hope I get some sleep tonight. I'm so tired and Tanner has no mercy!

Happy 18-Months to our Little Man

2011-02-24T16:54:00.008-06:00

Tanner is 18-months old today. I can't believe it. I can't believe that in 6 more months he'll be 2! My little baby is growing up way too fast.
He's really started to become a little boy lately too. His little face even looks older now and he had a small growth spurt. He's even wearing a lot of 18-month size clothing now. (That's actually a big deal!) He's such a fun little boy. He loves to laugh, smile, blow kisses and give snuggles.
But he also likes to play in the dirt, collect rocks and twigs and play with his cars.

Here are a few things Tanner really loves right now.

He loves Lego's- well technically they are MEGA BLOCKS- but either way he loves them!!! He probably brings the bag of Lego's out twice a day to play with them. He loves stacking them really high and then having me knock them over. It cracks him up.

He also loves his sorter box. The toy that has different shaped holes and you have to put the right shape in the right hole in order to get the block to fit inside. He recently discovered he rocks at this toy and we play with that at least twice a day too.

He loves to find sticks and twigs outside in our yard. He will find one he really loves and carry it around the whole time he's playing.

He loves to flirt! His cheesey smile and big blue eyes are a dangerous combination. He definitely knows how to work a crowd. He recently added blowing kisses to his repertoire. Oh the ladies love that!

He loves his snow boots. Unfortunately for him, we haven't had much snow lately. But he brings them to us every morning to put on over his sleeper and then after his naps he wants them back on again. He would go to bed in them if we let him. He's crazy about his snow boots. Here is a picture of Tanner bring me his snow boots after his nap.

And I know he's going to love being a big brother. Well he at least loves wearing his big brother shirt.

Tanner is such a funny, expressive little boy. He loves to make his Dad and I laugh. He thrives on praise and he hates to disappoint us. He can have quite the attitude sometimes, but usually only after a day without naps. He loves to give me kisses and snuggles and he loves being Dad's little buddy. I'm not saying Tanner is a perfect child, but for the most part he is a really good kid and we feel so lucky to be his parents. Happy 18-months little man!

Lovin' the Sunshine

2011-02-21T14:50:00.007-06:00

I know I've been blogging a lot lately, but I feel like life is so good that I have to take time to appreciate each wonderful day.
Tanner has been such a blast lately. Literally I think I've been having more fun than he has. I just love my little man and I love that he's getting to an age where he really loves to play with me.
Last week the weather was wonderful ALL WEEK LONG. I'm talking about sunshine and 70 degree weather. SO BEAUTIFUL. Tanner and I spent a lot of time outdoors last week and I know the sunshine has helped improve my mood. I'm really a sunshine person- rainy days bring me down.
We went to the park last Wednesday and Chris even came with us. Its so fun to watch Tanner try and play with other kids. He's really observant and not aggressive at all. He's happy to just sit back and watch what the other kids are doing. I'm sure that will change as he gets older but its so funny to watch him as he watches other kids. He gets so tickled at the things other kids do.
Tanner particularly likes to go down the slides. Lucky for him, this playground had four different slides to play on. He had a blast climbing up the steps and then going down the slide-over and over and over again.

We tried other things as well. We did the swings for a little bit. He likes those too, but nothing beats the slides. (Don't you love the belly hanging out?)

Chris even tried the dinosaur bouncer- Tanner thought Dad was pretty funny but didn't care for the dinosaur that much.

I don't know if its just me or what, but this picture melts my heart.

Chris is such a good Dad. He loves Tanner and he loves to be with him. It doesn't hurt that Tanner absolutely idolizes his Dad. The two are a great pair.

Then on Friday we had play group at the church and on Saturday Tanner and I went to the library book sale. We totally scored- 5 books for $1.50. Then we went to some of our favorite baby shops and got 4 shirts for $2. Another deal. Then came home and he took a nap. Then we finished off the day by getting girl scout cookies, making rice crispie treats (which Tanner loves) and making play dough. Tanner discovered play dough doesn't taste very good, but its really fun to mash between every crevice in his body.

I don't really know how to explain it, but I'm enjoying Tanner so much right now. He just a hysterical little boy and I laugh all the time with him. He's sweet and tender at times and other times he's all boy- trying to splash in puddles, play in the dirt and rocks and help Dad in the garage.
I've decided I really don't care if this next baby is a boy or a girl. Mainly because if he/she is anything like Tanner I'll be totally content. I love being a mom of a car-zooming, dirt packing, truck loving little boy. But I'm sure little girls have their perks too. Either way I'll be happy. I'm just focusing on enjoying Tanner time while I can. Being a Mom is so AWESOME!

Our Delayed Valentines Day

2011-02-18T12:22:00.010-06:00

We had to celebrate our Valentines day a little late this year. I have really great timing and got sick with a stomach bug early Sunday morning. I spent most of Sunday in bed, trying to sleep but not really succeeding because I was in too much pain. Luckily the next day I was feeling better- not 100% but definitely better. I wasn't up for all of the valentine's day festivities I had planned, so Chris generously offered to postpone until the next day. He took care of Tanner all day Sunday and Monday and brought home dinner on Monday so I didn't have to cook. I know- I have an AMAZING husband. He really is the best.
On Tuesday I decided to get my bum in gear and spoil my man. I got up and made heart-shaped french toast, sausage and eggs for him and Tanner.

Its not a great picture, but you get the idea.
Chris devoured it and headed off to work. He came home for lunch and we just had some leftovers- nothing special.
Tanner had a cute little valentines lunch

Then Chris headed off to work and Tanner and I went to run some errands. I mostly just needed to get the food for Dinner that night.
When we got home we attempted to enjoy the beautiful weather and we decorated our sidewalk with sidewalk chalk with a little valentines day message for Chris.
Tanner doing his part

I don't know why this wont rotate the right direction

Thanks to the Pioneer Woman I had a delicious menu planned. I made this Pasta al quattro formaggi, ribeye steaks, and garlic toast. YUUUUUMMMMMMMMMY! Click on that link if you get a chance- CHRIS LOVED IT.
We followed that up with our traditional chocolate covered strawberries. Let me tell you- Tanner loved these. I made a small one just for him and at first he was unsure...

Then he decided it was a hit

"This is sooo Good"

"More please" Yes- he is literally licking the plate. I don't know where he learned that- must be from his Dad.

After a very thorough bath we put Tanner down for the night.
Then I surprised Chris with one of his favorite cakes.

Now this cake is special because its the same cake I made him the Valentines day before he proposed. I'm pretty sure this cake it what sealed the deal. This cake is totally from scratch. He tasted it and the next day went out and bought a ring and popped the question. Okay- maybe not, but Chris loves this cake. If I wasn't so secure in our relationship, I might be a little worried about how much he loves this cake. Anyways, he was surprised and thrilled.

We had exchanged gifts earlier- He got me tulips (so beautiful), I gave him a motorized head scratcher- which I know sounds weird, but you have to know Chris to really appreciate this gift. HE LOVES HAVING HIS BACK TICKLED OR HIS HEAD SCRATCHED. Then we gave Tanner a new "Little Miss Spider" book. He liked it but eventually went back to his favorite "Little Miss Spider book and starter reading it again. Oh well...
It may not have been our most extravagant valentines day but it was wonderful just the same. Maybe next year I wont be recovering from the stomach bug and we can really party. Hope everyone had a wonderful love-filled valentines day!

Sunshine and Popsicles

2011-02-14T16:31:00.006-06:00

What? Sunshine and Popsicles in February? Crazy- I KNOW! Its been in the high 60's low 70's the last two days and its BEA-utiful!!!
Could this be the beginning of spring? Well probably not, but maybe the end of the crazy snow! I'd settle for that.

Luckily it doesn't take much to make Tanner happy either. An hour in the sunshine and he was as happy as a clam. He loves being outside and since we haven't actually seen dry ground in a couple weeks he was having a blast.
Who knew sticks and twigs could be this much fun.

I love this picture- you can just see his excitement at getting to play outdoors.

Then I busted out the big guns. Popsicles!
Speaking of guns- little boys can't eat Popsicles with their shirts on.

Tanner did not want to let go of his twig while he ate his Popsicle.

"Hahahaha- I crack myself up"

Tanner burning off the calories from his Popsicle. He could play outside all day long.

But alas, all good things must come to an end and nap time always comes too soon for my little man. The weather is supposed to be fairly good the next couple of days, maybe we will go for a bike ride tomorrow. COME ON SPRING!

Snow Day

2011-02-07T09:22:00.011-06:00

On Saturday we had another load of snow dumped on us. I'm trying really hard to enjoy the winter weather, but I've got spring fever. I want to be outside enjoying the nice weather, going for bike rides, having picnics and planting flowers. However, mother nature isn't cooperating. Luckily this snow didn't last long- not even long enough to get church cancelled the next day. It was melting that afternoon when I finally got Tanner out to play in it. Chris was at drill this weekend, so Tanner and I went over to Nanny and Papa's house to play. We got bundled up and I stuck Tanner on the sled. He loved it. Nanny went outside with us to watch and we took turns pulling Tanner Here is a really short video of Tanner on the sled. (Don't mind that I don't know even know the date in the video.)

Oh and YES- Laura that is your hat he's wearing. Somewear between our house and the car we lost his hat, so we had to borrow one when we got there.
Tanner first setting foot into the snow. Sidenote- this kid loves his snowboots. He will wear them all day long. He brings them to me in the morning and he will wear them over his sleeper. Its so funny. Tanner on the sled He was really enjoying himself on the sled until he got dumped and face planted into the snow. He sat up and his whole face was covered in snow. If I had been thinking I'd have snapped a picture, but instincts took over and I ran to help him get his face cleaned off. Here is a picture after we got most the snow off him. He wasn't happy with us at this point. Anyways I'm making the most of the snow for Tanner's sake. He seems to enjoy it and I love watching him play in it.

Redecorating and Reorganizing

2011-02-03T17:09:00.007-06:00

I realized I never got around to posting pictures of my house after I got the decorating bug. Maybe I've been watching too many TLC home-decorating shows, but I really felt like my house needed a little sprucing up.
So I started with the area above our entertainment center. It use to have a small photo collage that, according to what I've learned recently, was placed way to high on the wall and I felt like it just wasn't a good use of space.
So I changed it to this....

It was fun to find a new way to use a lot the things I already had around my house. But I did get to buy a few new things too.

Then came the huge wall behind our long couch. After making some new throw pillows to try and brighten up the hand-me-down couch, I decided to make another picture collage. However this one would be large enough to fill the wall space I needed.
We had lots of pictures to choose from because we have an awesome photographer. Check her out here- www.lifeasaphoto.blogspot.com
I bought a few new frames and used lots of ones we already had and went to work.
This was the final product. Sorry you can't see the pictures all that well.

Here is a close-up of the pictures- love Jamie soo much! Don't mind the Christmas tree lights reflecting in the photo.

Then I started on my entry way. I'd seen these panels on one of the craft blogs I follow and I loved them. So after a JoAnn's trip to get the fabric and a Home Depot trip to get the wood, my sweet husband and I started working on this project.
Here is the final product hanging on our walls above the entry way table.

Then yesterday my oh-so-sweet husband picked up some metal shelves for me at D.I for 10 bucks. Not bad!
He put them in the garage for me and I immediately knew what they would be used for. My craft desk has been overflowing lately and its been getting worse and worse. So I went to work organizing all my craft supplies.
My desk looked like this when I started this project

Now my craft shelves look like this- so much prettier and easier to find stuff.

I seriously couldn't be more excited about this. And I love my husband for seeing these shelves and thinking of me. It really is the little things that make me SOOO happy.

So anyways- there is a little peek into my home. I'm excited to start planning Tanner's "big boy room" and possibly, depending on the gender of this new baby, a new nursery! YAY!

Tanner's Big News

2011-02-01T21:59:00.003-06:00

I'm about 13 weeks and feeling really good. The nausea is over, my energy is back and I'm able to enjoy being pregnant.
My tentative due date is Aug. 12th. My ultrasounds say I'm a week further along then my date, so I'll be due around Aug. 12th. Which means Tanner and this new baby will be just under 2 years apart. Tanner's birthday is Aug 24th. August will be a busy month.
We couldn't be more thrilled and can't wait to find out what we're having.

Tanner's Terrible Tumble

2011-01-31T09:59:00.006-06:00

It finally happened. It seems like no matter how careful you are, at some point your child is going to take a pretty good fall. Tanner's time was up- he tumbled down my parent's stairs yesterday.
Chris was watching him go up and down the stairs and he said he turned around to count how many stairs they'd gone up and a second later Tanner was falling. He said it happened too fast for him to catch him. We think he fell about 8 stairs. It wouldn't have been so bad, but my parent's stairs are only carpeted in the middle and then they have wood on the edges. Well Tanner's face caught most of the fall on the wood. His poor little cheekbone!!!
Here's his face a couple hours after he fell- the bruise looks funny because I put some lotion on him after his bath and its reflecting the flash from the camera- you can still kinda get the idea.

The day after. Now it's turned purple instead of bright red.

The bruise doesn't look half as bad in these pictures, but his little face really is sad looking. It makes me want to cry every time I look at him.
Our little guy was pretty tough though. I think it scared him more than anything. I know my heart was racing a million miles a minute and I couldn't stop shaking afterwards. I heard him crash down the stairs and I ran to get him, but Chris had already scooped him up by then. I snatched him away from Chris and immediately started trying to calm him down. He only cried for about 1 minute and then he just sat on my lap and snuggled.
Then after dinner he tried to conquer those dang stairs again. Too bad for him, I wouldn't let him anywhere near the stairwell for the rest of the night. Maybe next time we go over to my parent's house we can work on stairs, but we're going to take a little break for a while.

Park, Snow, Park and More Snow

2011-01-30T21:53:00.006-06:00

We've been having some bizarre weather lately. We had a few snow of the year and it was freezing after. Then the next week it warmed up. When I say warm, I mean in the high 40's. So after being cooped up inside the house for so long, Tanner and I had to stretch our legs. So we grabbed Chris and headed to the park.
Tanner had so much fun and Chris and I love playing with him and watching him play. He's such a funny kid and very determined.
He climbed up the big slide all my himself.

But once he got up there he got a little scared.

So Dad went down the slide with him to show him how it's done. After that Tanner loved it and he wanted to go down the slide over and over.

He also really enjoys the swings.

Even though we looked bundled up, it actually was really nice weather compared with the weather we had earlier.

Then we had another RANDOM snow storm. This time we got about 5 inches. It was enough to play in so Tanner and I bundled up again and braved the cold weather. Unfortunately, it was a dry snow and didn't pack well. But Tanner had fun for a little while.

Then he was ready to go inside for some hot cocoa. He loves hot cocoa and its one of the few words he'll say at the correct time. He'll drag me into the kitchen and point to the pantry, where its kept and say "cocoa, cocoa". Its actually pretty dang cute.

Then this past weekend it was almost 70 degrees. Crazy!!! Tanner and I met some friends at the park and we played there for almost 2 hours. Tanner loves the park. He really loved the merry go round. It was his first time and I almost couldn't get him off it.

We've been having lots of fun and staying busy. Between church, playgroup, volunteering, and the normal day-to-day stuff we are always up to something. Supposedly there is another ice/snow storm on its way- should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll see.