The Grovers

5 Months

2012-02-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

Colin is 5 months old and weighs 14 pounds. He started sitting about a month ago and is loving the new view. He is such a sweet little guy and a total mama's boy. He wants to be held all day but I usually don't mind. In a few months he will be into everything so I am just going to enjoy all the baby loves I can get. He is a pretty good sleeper. He will sleep for around 8 hours and then wake up to eat and then go back to sleep for another 3 hours or so. I can't complain too much but I am looking forward to not waking up at 4:00 am to feed him in the future. He started solids at 4 months and loves most fruits and carrots. Cereal and veggies are not his favorite but he will tolerate most of them except squash.

He loves bath time right now.

He has been sticking his tongue out like this on and off all day for the last two days. I think this is such a fun age.

Just to mix it up a little ... Here is Connor. He likes laying in Trey's headboard. I need to get a better picture of him in there. I love that he fits.

A Month in Review

2012-01-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for me so I can look back and remember a few of the things we did :)

Christmas

I didn't take many pictures of our celebrations. I either left the camera in the car or just forgot to get it out and snap a few pics so I am just going to write a few memories. We went to see a live nativity in Nibley for family home evening. This is our second year going and I love it. Along with the nativity, they had a camel, a few animals, hot chocolate, and wagon rides. It helped us get into the spirit of Christmas. Instead of exchanging gifts with Jeff's family this year we volunteered at The Road Home homeless shelter to teach our kids about the true meaning of Christmas and how truly blessed we are, then went to see the lights at Temple Square. The kids loved it and the weather was even pretty nice. We visited Santa at the Gateway and he was wonderful. He had a real beard, was so sweet, and made sure I heard everything my kids asked for. He even made sure it was ok if he told Trey that he had a little bit of room left on his sleigh for Cars 2. Trey's school put on a Christmas program. The kindergartners sang All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. On Christmas Eve we made cookies for Santa, had a turkey dinner at Nana's, opened new pajamas, drove around and looked at some lights, then came home and read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Teeth

Trey had a supernumerary (extra) tooth pulled. Now we know why he lost that first tooth so early. The dentist had a really, really hard time getting it out because it was shaped weird and he couldn't get a good grip on it. Trey was so brave though and thinks it is pretty awesome that the tooth fairy gets to come 21 times instead of 20.

Projects

I told my mom that I wanted to make a quiet book for Connor so she decided to get me a sewing machine for Christmas and gave it to me early. It took FOREVER to make the book because I had to do lots of unpicking and figure out how to use the machine, but it was actually pretty fun.

Trey has been reading pretty well for a while now so we decided it was time to get him his own scriptures. We went to Deseret Book to pick out some scriptures and case but there wasn't a very big selection of cases to choose from so we decided to make one instead. Trey picked the fabric out...

Facebook?

2011-10-22T18:27:00.000-06:00

Does anyone still get on facebook? A few weeks ago I was talking to my sister in law about the new house that they are building and she said that she updates the progress of their house almost everyday on facebook and it got me thinking. I have quite a few reasons for not using facebook, some of them are: I have the hardest time telling people "no", I'm afraid of stalkers, I am seriously a weirdo magnet, and sometimes I just like living in my own little world. I am probably the last person alive that doesn't have facebook. For the longest time I didn't join pinterest because you have to have facebook or twitter and I didn't want to sign up for either but I just kept seeing so much stuff that I wanted remember and I was getting tired of printing or bookmarking it. So I finally signed up for facebook just so I could use pinterest. So, I technically have an account I just don't have anything on there. I know that it would be fun to see what everyone is up to and reconnect with friends and family I haven't seen or talked to in forever but I just wanted to know if it's really worth it and if anyone actually gets on facebook anymore...

Blessed

2011-10-14T22:44:00.000-06:00

Colin was blessed on Sunday. It was such a nice day. We are really excited to be able to watch this little one grow up and to see what he will become.

Jeff's mom made Colin's blessing outfit.

4 Generations

Great Grandpa & Colin

Colin is 7 weeks old already. He has changed so much. We weighed him on Monday and he was just a few ounces shy of 10 pounds, he is getting close to doubling his birth weight. He has been cooing and smiling for about a week and I can't tell you how much we love it.

I had really good intentions of doing a separate post for this but never got around to it. This is Trey on his first day of kindergarten. I can't believe my baby is in school; I am getting so old. He absolutely loves it and is doing so well.

Trey and Mrs. Peterson

Doesn't she look like she could be Trey's Grandma?

The Birth Story

2011-09-25T20:23:00.000-06:00

Has it been a month already? I meant to write the birth story a few weeks ago but 3 kids don’t leave me with much time so sorry about the grammar. Anyway, here it is now… I woke up to a contraction at 2:30 a.m. and was pretty sure that I was going into labor and since I was awake I decided to go to the bathroom and sure enough 6 minutes later I had another contraction so I decided to pack my bag and then I would get Jeff up because I wanted one of us to get some sleep that night but I must have been too noisy because Jeff came out and was wondering if everything was ok (so much for sleep). After I got packed we texted my brother to see if he would come over and stay with our kids. He didn’t have his phone by him though but luckily he is a night owl and lives just across the parking lot so Jeff went over and knocked on his door while I got in the tub to shave my legs because I am weird like that and I know no one would notice but I would know so it had to be done before we could go. My contractions were 2 minutes apart before we left for the hospital at 4:30 but got further apart when we got there. After I got checked in and changed Jeff said to me”Let’s see if you can get this thing out by 8:00 so we can go home”. I said “I’ll see what I can do but I don’t think they will let me go home even if he’s here by then”. So the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 5+. About an hour and a half later I got the shakes really bad (like violent shivers) so when the anesthesiologist came in he had me lie on my side and curl up into a ball while he did my epidural. With my other two labors I sat straight up on the edge of the bed. Labor was pretty nice after that. I had to wear oxygen because the baby was having some heart decelerations with the contractions but once he was down low enough his heart rate was fine. At 7something the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 9 so she called the on call Dr. because mine was in Paraguay and got the warmer out. When the Dr. got there I was at a 10 and as she was having me sit up to get ready to push and so she could break my water, it broke on its own. I didn’t even know it was possible to not have your water break and be fully dilated but I guess it is. They had me push 3 times with 4 different contractions and he was born at 7:53 a.m. Jeff got to cut the baby’s cord this time. I was pretty excited to make the 8:00 deadline but they didn’t let me go home until the next day :) .

This was by far my fastest and easiest labor. Trey’s was 15 hours and I had to have an episiotomy and they had to use the vacuum. He was born sideways (facing my thigh) with a major cone head. Connor’s was 7 hours. I was induced but they had to stop my labor because his cord was compressed and his heart almost stopped. They had to do an episiotomy and he was born face up with the cord wrapped around his neck twice. He had a serious cone head too. Colin’s was 5ish hours, he was born in the right position with a perfect shaped head and I only got 2 little tears.

With this pregnancy, we had few scares, I had 25 Dr. appointments, 15 NSTs, and 7 ultrasounds. I was so scared that he was going to have heart problems and that I would end up having a c-section but he is perfectly healthy and I couldn’t have asked for a smoother delivery. I really feel like he was meant to come to our family even if it was a few years earlier than I would have planned.

Attempting to get a picture of the 3 together. Yes, Trey has chocolate all over his face.

We bought this shirt for Connor for homecoming. It is a 2T and drowns him. Does he look big enough to be big brother?

This pictures just makes me smile so I decided to add it.

Meet Colin

2011-08-24T21:56:00.006-06:00

Colin Henry Grover

8/23/2011

5lbs 14oz

19 1/2" long

Side view. Sorry the pictures are not great.

Me in all my prego glory right before leaving for the hospital.

Quick family pic Colin's first bath. He hated the bath part but loved having his hair washed.

Hopefully I will post more pictures and the birth story later. Trey is so in love with the babe and Connor seems to like baby but is not super interested in him so far. He just keeps asking us "what's that?" and likes to feel his hair and poke his face.

Official Big Kid

2011-06-01T21:39:00.010-06:00

This guy is really starting to grow up. It has really hit us just how much in the last few weeks.

Since Jeff had a week off between spring and summer semester and the weather was actually nice we skipped preschool and went for our annual visit to the zoo. Although he said he liked all the animals his favorite part was the train and carousel. I guess the animals just aren't as cool as the rides.

Trey graduated from preschool. We loved his teacher so much. I can't believe he is done with this chapter of his life. He is so excited for kindergarten and is already a great little reader.

Trey played outdoor soccer this spring. He had a blast. I'm not sure this is his sport but at least he looked adorable in his uniform.

Trey has had a loose tooth for a week and a half and today he lost it. He seems way too young to be loosing teeth already. I didn't start loosing teeth until I was 7 1/2 and in 2nd grade. I know most kids start in kindergarten but it just seems crazy that it is happening already. It is a little unusual that he lost a top tooth before the middle two on the bottom. Generally, they fall out in the order they came in but I guess his teeth wanted to be different.

When we first found out that his tooth was loose we googled tooth fairy pillows and found a pattern. Trey picked the colors and Jeff's mom helped him sew it. He pretty much did the sewing by himself Grandma only helped if he got too far off course. It is far from perfect and I think it's a little ugly but he loves it and can't wait for that tooth fairy to come tonight.

With the baby on it's way and all the expenses that go along with it we decided we should save some money and cancelled our satellite. A few days later, Trey drew us this remote and calls it our new tv. When you "hit" the buttons you can watch the golf channel, sword fighting channel, kung fu channel, bug catching channel, and the weather channel live and in person right in the living room. He keeps us laughing all the time. It's so fun watching him grow up. Sometimes I wish we could just freeze time and keep him like this forever.

Frogs and Snails

2011-04-28T12:59:00.006-06:00

And puppy-dogs' tails.

That's what our next little one will be made of.

If you can't tell, we are having a boy! We are actually really excited. We love boys at our house and have plenty of clothes and toys to go around.

So, I have a few questions for all those moms out there who have had 2 kids close together or know someone who has. First, do we need a double stroller? They are huge and heavy and I am a wimp and don't think I could push one very far, but I also don't want to be stuck at home. Second, did you have 2 cribs or move the older one into a different bed? I'm kind of leaning towards getting another crib. Connor took forever to start consistently sleeping through the night and I don't want to mess up his good sleeping habits by stealing his bed and throwing a new baby at him at the same time. We kept Trey in a crib until he turned 2 so Connor would still have a good 7 months after the baby comes if we moved him at the same age. Plus, we got our crib from Jeff's brother so it's not like we have bought one before and I'm not attached to it in any way. Last, is there anything we can do to prepare Connor for the baby? He is 13 months old and has no idea what is going on. We took him to meet our new niece a couple weeks ago and he freaked out when I held her. Any ideas on how to make the transition smoother for this little stinker?

The Birthday Boy

2011-03-20T21:01:00.006-06:00

Connor turned one on 3/11/11. He is growing up so fast. He's been walking for a month and a half. He loves balls and playing catch (maybe fetch is more accurate because you can't really catch his throws yet), peek a boo, and taking baths. He weighs 18 pounds and is 27 1/2 inches tall. It hard to believe he started out at barely 5 pounds and 18 inches. He had a nice birthday. We just had a small family party for him. I was so excited for him to eat his cake. We took off his clothes and the cover off his high chair but it wasn't really necessary because he would not touch the cake without a fork and when he saw Trey's ice cream cone he wouldn't have anything to do with the cake.

The damage after cake and ice cream. Not too bad. Trey had a chocolate cake on his first birthday and went to town on it so Connor's clean up was super easy. I didn't really take many pictures of him opening presents. He didn't really get the wrapping paper thing but loved opening the gift bags. Too bad I wrapped all of his presents in wrapping paper. It's a good thing everyone else did bags. We have really enjoyed watching this guy grow up and it's a good thing he is getting big because...

Nope, this is not a joke. We are more shocked than anyone. In January everyone in our family got a cold and about a week into it one of my symptoms was nausea. I didn't think anything of it the first day but by the fourth day my first thought was, OH NO, I cannot be pregnant. I decided to take a test just to be sure and that positive pretty much INSTANTLY appeared. I will be 16 weeks on Wednesday. The baby is due on September 7th so we should find out in about a month what we're getting. Connor and the baby will be 17 months apart so we will definitely have our hands full. Wish us luck that we will survive the next few years.

Visiting the Big Guy and Catching Up

2010-12-05T21:03:00.011-07:00

We took the boys to the mall yesterday.

Trey was so excited and insisted on wearing red and white just like Santa. A few years ago I wasn't sure he would ever like Santa but when we got there he practically jumped in his lap.

I was a little disappointed that Connor fell asleep and that we wouldn't be able to see his reaction to the big guy but he looks pretty sweet in Santa's arms anyway.

I planned on adding lots of pictures but it's getting pretty late so here are a just a few happenings from the last few months:

Trey turned 5 years old on 10/10/10.

We had family come to visit from other states.

Trey played soccer for the first time. He scored 2 goals this season - 1 of which was actually in the right goal.

We had a fun Halloween. Connor was a dinosaur and Trey was a vampire.

I was released from the primary a few weeks ago after almost 3 years. I miss the kids, teachers, and my presidency so much but I do enjoy sitting by Jeff in Sunday school and not waking up early to go to ward council at 7:30.

Connor is getting huge but still doesn't have any teeth.

A Sunday Drive

2010-10-04T17:52:00.002-06:00

We love going for drives on Sunday afternoons. Usually it is to get Connor to fall asleep but yesterday we stopped to take some pictures with the fall leaves.

Trey took this picture by himself. It is definitely the best one he has ever taken.

A sweet lady came up to us and offered to take a picture of our family, so we said yes.

Connor getting a taste of his first fall. It is so fun to see him experience new things and the world around him.

Finally A New Post

2010-09-24T19:27:00.000-06:00

We had a fun filled summer but it would take way too long to catch up so I'm just going to start fresh.

Trey's first day of school.

9/7/10

We just love the person Trey is becoming. He has changed and grown so much in the last few months. He is the cutest big brother ever and can get Connor to laugh and smile better than anyone. He is so smart and loves preschool. He can spell around 15 words and can do some addition and subtraction. He is starting to read. He loves to send text messages and can do it all by himself. He is the world's pickiest eater. He started soccer this week. He has a great memory and imagination. He wants to be a super hero when he grows up.

Connor at 6 months

Connor is 6 months old and is changing everyday. He has been sitting for 5 or 6 weeks. He loves to take baths. He weighs 14 lbs (5%) is is 25" tall (10%). He started solids a couple of months ago and isn't a big fan although his fingers and piggies are delicious. He lost pretty much all of his hair but it is starting to grow back. He thinks Trey is coolest guy around.

Happy Fall! We drove up the canyon yesterday and the leaves are starting to get so pretty. We picked some to use for a couple of projects for Trey. Hopefully we can take a few pictures this weekend. I planned on making some pumpkin bread to celebrate the first day of fall but didn't have time :( I have the BEST recipe for it that I found on allrecipes.com a few years ago and thought I would share. If you like pumpkin bread you will love this recipe. I make mine in mini bread pans and add a cup of chocolate chips. Yummmm!

2 Months

2010-05-11T20:13:00.005-06:00

The last two months have been so great. Jeff finished finals, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary, and we got to love on two of the cutest little guys around. Trey is an awesome big brother. I was so worried that he would be jealous because he has been the center of our world for 4 1/2 years but he hasn't been at all. He loves to hold Connor and is a pretty good helper too (sometimes a little too much like the time he tried to get Connor out of the swing or helped him roll along the couch) but it has been a surprisingly easy transition. I heard it was easier when they are closer together in age but we haven't had any problems. I took Connor to the doctor today for his well check and he weighs in at a whopping 9lbs 8oz (10%) and is 21" long (3%). He's growing up so fast. He has a couple of rolls on his thighs now and I LOVE them! All the nurses and doctor still call him peanut but he is only ten ounces away from doubling his birth weight.
This was one of the pictures we put on his birth announcements. He is definitely a fussy baby but with a face like that how could you not love him? And when he smiles it makes it all worth it.

He's Here!

2010-03-15T15:05:00.008-06:00

Connor Jackson Grover

3/11/2010

5 lbs 1 oz

18" long

And The Winner Is

2010-02-16T18:48:00.001-07:00

We're still here and doing great! We've just been super busy. I know that's not a very good excuse but it's the only reason I could think of for the lack of posting. Things are going well for us. This picture was taken on Saturday. We measured around the biggest part of our bellies. Who do you think is bigger?

Trick question. It's a tie! We are exactly the same size. I think I may come out ahead though because I still have a few weeks to grow and Jeff hasn't gained a single pound of sympathy weight. So, even though he wins with total weight I think I might win for inches (in a few weeks that is).

We're having a....

2009-11-16T14:23:00.004-07:00

We went in for the big ultrasound last week and we couldn't be happier to announce that we're having a.............................................BOY!
We both thought that this baby was going to be a girl but we also thought that Trey was going to be a girl so I guess we can't trust our instincts. We are super excited to have another little guy around. He looks great. He was a stinker during the ultrasound though. The technician said that this was the hardest ultrasound he had done all week because the baby was curled in a little ball with his feet above his head and he was clear up in my ribs. We couldn't get him to move no matter what we tried or how hard the technician poked and prodded him. He should still be below my belly button but somehow managed to get up there and decided it was a good place to stay. We are just glad that he showed us the goods and that everything looks great. We can't wait until he's here. If you have any ideas for names we would love to hear them. We each have names that we like but no names that we both like so all ideas are welcome.

A Little Spider and a Little Pumpkin

2009-11-02T18:00:00.006-07:00

Trey picked out this spider costume by himself. He is so proud of it. At a Halloween party we went to a couple of weeks ago he went up to every single person (man/woman/child) and made sure they saw his costume. He is usually a little bit shy but he was so confident in his costume. I love that he picked out a "cute" costume because I am sure this will be the very last year he wants to be cute on Halloween.

We are expecting a little pumpkin in March! Our little spider is very excited to be a big brother and to find out if he's going to get a brother or sister. We find out next week!

Our D.C. Trip

2009-10-29T20:19:00.011-06:00

My brother Tom got married on Saturday so we went back east for his wedding. It was a quick trip but we sure had fun. We rode the metro into D.C. on Friday and took six kids under the age of five to the national zoo and to the natural history museum. They were way better than expected but we didn't make it to any other museums or monuments. Max, Elayna, and Trey on the national mall. If you look in the background you can see the capitol.
Trey and Max at the national zoo. Their favorite part? The skeletons (the Halloween decorations).
Trey and I at the natural history museum.
We rode the carousel on the mall. It was seriously the fastest merry-go-round I have ever been on. I didn't think that any carousel went fast. I was wrong. Trey thought it was awesome.
Us at the Washington D.C. temple. It was so beautiful inside and out. I wish we would have had time to do a session. Apparently guys and girls get to sit right next to each other in the center rows instead of having an isle. How fun! Someday we will make it back and sit together. Trey got sick the night before (as you can tell) and is still sick almost a week later :( There was one nice thing that came about from him not feeling well... he slept the whole time on BOTH of our flights on the way home.

I had scare hair because of the rain and humidity but I wanted to show the bridesmaid dresses and flowers. I loved the colors of the flowers. Don't they look awesome with the black dresses? I don't think this picture does them justice.

This is not a good picture but it was the only one I had on my camera. Here is the reason for our trip. They both looked fabulous! I'm so happy for them. Being married is the best! Congratulations Tom and Evan!

Look Who's 4!

2009-10-12T17:58:00.016-06:00

Trey turned 4 on Saturday and is getting to be such a little man. He has the cutest personality and always keeps us laughing. I can't believe how much he has changed in just 4 years. He started out at 6 lbs 3 oz and was 18 inches long. He now weighs in at a whopping 37 lbs and is 41&1/2 inches tall.

Here's a look at how he has grown.

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

The Big Day

2009-09-08T16:45:00.003-06:00

My little man started preschool today. He has been so excited for the last month and today was finally the big day. He wasn't scared at all and went in all by himself and came out all smiles! I am sure that I missed him way more than he missed me. I still haven't figured out what I am going to do with myself for 2 whole hours 3 days a week. Luckily, my Mom went shopping with me today or I may not have survived without him. He absolutely loved it. I am so happy that he is enjoying school and has so much to tell me about. It's hard to believe that in 2 years he will be off to kindergarten.

One Year Older

2009-07-20T20:50:00.006-06:00

It was my birthday yesterday and Trey, my brother Bill, and my soon to be sister-in-law Evan made this cake for me. They were going for a Harry Potter cake… only Trey insisted that it had to be purple (my favorite color) instead of pink and there is a “volcano” and a “dinosaur” on it. Apparently all good birthday cakes need a volcano and a dinosaur. I loved it. I had a great birthday. At church I went to see why the Sunbeam B class wasn't in the primary room because we were ready to start sharing time and when I opened the door Sister Johnson had the class sing happy birthday to me and then she told Trey that when he got home from church he was supposed to get all the spoons out of the drawer and put them in my bed for my birthday. So, as soon as we got home from church he went and got all of the spoons out of the drawer and put them in HIS bed.

My brother Tom got engaged last week to a cute girl named Evan. I am super excited for them. Having five brothers isn’t so bad after all. I didn’t realize growing up that I would get the sisters I always wanted in the end. They are getting married in the Washington DC temple. I’ve been to Virginia a couple of times but have never had time to go the temple so I seriously can’t wait for the wedding.

Trey and my nephew Max.

We are having a crazy busy summer and loving it. Here are a few things we love about the summer: boating/swimming, bbqs, picnics, fireworks, playing with cousins, fresh fruit, mowing the lawn, going to the zoo, and birthday parties.

What We've Been Up To

2009-05-27T21:21:00.014-06:00

Here is what we have been up to the last few weeks...

Trey LOVES this bike. He rides it for like an hour almost everyday but the Easter Bunny brought him a new one and we have been trying to convince him that his new bike is as cool as this one.

We finally have got him to ride it a little but he still prefers to ride the other one about 95% of the time.

Jeff' turned 27 on the 18th. Happy Birthday Babe! We love you OLD man!

Trey has a new best friend. His mom and I have been friends since we were seven. We never knew back then that 16 years later our three year olds would be playing together. I'm glad he has a new friend to play with because he spends so much time with me that apparently my girly habits are rubbing off on him... he wanted me to paint his toenails so bad the other day. We compromised with some white stars on his big toes because I'm sure Jeff would kill me if I painted them. He also loves purses. I think it's because he likes containers (boxes, bags, jars, etc.) but I can't convince him that purses are for girls. If you have any suggestions let me know.

One of the nicest girls from my ward taught me how to do glass etching like a year ago and I really enjoyed it but I haven't done anything with it since right after she taught me. Trey and I get sooooo bored while Jeff is at work some days so I decided I needed a new hobby. I love how our name turned out. I'm going to add something decorative under it but haven't decided what yet.

We went to Hogle Zoo today. It was so much fun. My mom has taken Trey every year since he was born. We love it. This year we didn't even need a stroller. Hooray!

4 Years

2009-05-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

Today is our anniversary. Here are a few pictures of our engagement and wedding.

Happy Anniversary Honey! Thanks for the best four years ever!

Hooray For Spring & Easter Fun!

2009-04-07T19:51:00.010-06:00

I'm so glad that spring is finally here! We have had fabulous weather for the last two days and have enjoyed spending some time in the sun!

I can't wait until it stops raining/snowing and we can do this more often.

Since the weather was nice today and won't be for the rest of the week Nana colored Easter eggs with Trey and did an Easter egg hunt. Easter is Trey's second most favorite holiday. He seriously loves it. He likes it so much that he fills eggs and hides them pretty much all year round. He's a little special but we still like him.

This was at the start of the egg hunt but by the end Trey was carrying a bag that was so heavy from toys, games, and treats that he could hardly lift it. Nana spoils him rotten... teeth and mind. I guess that's what grandparents are for though.

As a side note, last night we did a family home evening lesson about the resurrection. We bought the new nursery manual when it came out and we absolutely love it! Trey loves the handouts/coloring pages, the lessons are super simple, and the pictures are beautiful. If you have little ones you should get one. They're only like four or five dollars at the distribution center or it is on lds.org. We like to print the coloring pages from there instead of making a copy. Just though I would add that because it has worked so well for us.

A Look At Trey

2009-03-13T15:12:00.010-06:00

Not too much is going on right now but I thought it was about time I updated the blog. Jeff started a new job today so Trey and I are back to the old times. Here are some pictures from our day:

Today while we were out and about Trey had to wear his sunglasses so “the sun would not burn his eyes”.

A few weeks ago we had a family home evening about being reverent during the prayer. We talked about how we bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our arms. Ever since the lesson this is how Trey has been closing his eyes during prayers.

Lately Trey has loved having his picture taken. He came up with this pose all by himself. His personality makes me so happy! I love spending the day with this little guy.

14 Things I Love About My Valentine

2009-02-13T20:45:00.001-07:00

Jeff and I had our first kiss on Valentine's Day five years ago. Five is totally our lucky number. We got married on 05/05/05 and Trey was born five months and five days later. We totally planned it that way... Just kidding :) Anyway, I decided that I would share a few things that I love about my cute husband and make out buddy of five years.

He has really, really nice legs.
He makes me laugh.
He honors his priesthood.
He is an incredible dad.
He is very hard working.
He watches chick flicks with me and doesn’t complain.
He is nice to everyone.
He is the tidiest guy I know.
He loves me.
He makes me a better person.
He lets me have 3/4 of the bed.
He lets me have a break whenever I need it.
He rarely gets mad.
He makes me sooooo happy.

I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T20:08:00.008-07:00

Trey and I had a lot of fun decorating sugar cookies tonight. I got this fabulous recipe from Good Things Utah a year or two ago and it makes the yummiest soft sugar cookies ever so I thought I would share (I have to modify it a little bit but I am putting up the original).

Sugar Cookies

1 C. Butter

1 1/2 C. Sugar

2 Eggs

3 T. Sour Cream

1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 tsp. Salt

3 1/4 C. Flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla-mix well. Add soda, salt, and flour and mix on low just until combined. Roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut shapes. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375* for 6-8 minutes (These cookies do not brown).

~When I make these I have to increase the flour by about 1/2 cup and bake them for an additional 2 or 3 minutes. I usually do mine about 1/4" thick.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

1/3 C. Butter, softened

4 C. Powdered Sugar

1/4 C. Milk (or more)

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

Pinch of Salt

In a mixing bowl, beat butter slowly with powdered sugar. Then add milk, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. If needed, add more milk until desired consistency.

Catching Up

2009-01-21T13:56:00.007-07:00

I know that it may seem that we have fallen off the face of the earth but we are still here. The holidays were wonderful! We are still busy but at least things aren't quite as crazy. Here are a few pictures from the last month:

Trey loves the snow but I'm sad to say we haven't spent too much time outside the last few weeks.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam! Trey is one of 16 new sunbeams in our ward. He's doing really well. I just hope I can survive the next few months of the transition. I really appreciated the break last Sunday while I went to Virginia for a week to meet my new nephew...

This is Nick. He is adorable. I'm so sad I couldn't bring him home as a souvenir. I almost got stuck in Washington DC on Saturday but after 6 & 1/2 hours at the airport I finally got on a plane to come home. This was my first trip flying by myself and it went really well on the way out. Not so well on the way home. I had to check in at three different airlines, go through security twice, baggage claim twice, and got selected for special screening for explosives. It was quite the day... not to mention that while I was on the plane home they were showing coverage of the plane that crashed just a few days before (not too comforting). Luckily, I had my two favorite people in the whole world waiting for me at home so it made it all worth it.

The Fourth Time is the Charm

2008-12-12T20:52:00.010-07:00

We had our ward party tonight and it was a blast. I got to be Santa's little helper and hear what a lot of the cute kids in my primary want for Christmas.

This is Trey's fourth Christmas and he has finally decided that Santa is not a bad guy. He didn't say a word to him but no tears is still a huge improvement.

First Christmas

Second

Third

Fourth

Notice the brown mustache? I hope that the nice guy that played Santa didn't ruin the illusion for the kids. It was funny but hopefully none of them noticed.

Loving the Holidays

2008-11-29T17:06:00.010-07:00

I'm so glad that our little man is getting into the holidays. I absolutely love this time of year and I'm so glad that he can feel the magic of the season. Trey is old enough this year that he actually understands the whole Santa thing so it is going to be a blast. We've been teaching him Christmas songs since the beginning of November and he loves it. His favorites are "watch out" aka "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" and "jingle bells all the way".

As you can see Trey decorated the tree minus four ornaments. Too bad he isn't a little taller. I had to wait until he fall asleep last night to move things around.

6 ornaments on a branch too much?

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:31:00.005-06:00

Our little bat

Trey and Jeff

He decided that he was all done with pictures.

Party, Primary Program, Pumpkin Walk

2008-10-28T20:11:00.000-06:00

We have had 4 busy days! On Friday we went to a Halloween party and carved pumpkins, played Halloween games, and had a fabulous dinner. Trey is quite the party animal. He loves parties and asks daily if we can go to another one.

Thanks for the bunny ears Zac.

On Sunday I survived my first primary program. I was so worried about it that I only got a couple of hours of sleep Saturday night. Luckily, I had ward council at 7:30 so I had something to distract me before church. Our first practice was so rough I thought the bishop might release me (seriously) but we practiced a couple of more times and the kiddos did an incredible job in sacrament meeting. Both the parents and teachers were in tears. Our bishop concluded the program with a quote from Neal A. Maxwell that said something to the effect that if we who work with young people knew of the foreordained callings that they will have, we would be frightened of the responsibilities to teach them. That's so scary! I think Heavenly Father trusts me a little too much but I really love my calling. Tonight we went to the pumpkin walk. It was so fun. Some people are so creative. Trey's favorite part was not at the pumpkin walk at all but riding the bus from the school to the park and back. At least we tried :).

Happy Birthday Treyson!

2008-10-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

Look who's 3!

Totally cheesy but so cute. He hasn't put that light saber down since he opened it, he even slept with it last night. Thanks Nana for the Jump-o-lene. He loves it.

Fall Pictures

2008-09-27T13:25:00.000-06:00

We took a ton of pictures today and this has to be my favorite.

"There is nothing quite like a fall day...

2008-09-25T09:24:00.000-06:00

The cool crisp air, pumpkins in the fields, and playing in the leaves." I am so excited for fall! It is so nice that every season has something different to offer. I love being able to wear sweaters, eat pumpkin bread/cookies, the smell of cinnamon and fall spices, and soup on a cold fall night. We drove through the canyon a few days ago and it was beautiful. I can't wait to take some pictures with the changing leaves and Trey can't wait until they fall. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

2008-07-22T17:36:00.000-06:00

This is why we play in the water everyday...

In the car after playing at Bear Lake

At the zoo

What a Wonderful Month

2008-07-22T16:03:00.000-06:00

July has been such a great month! My 3 brothers and their families came to visit from Texas and Virginia. Trey absolutely loved getting to know his cousins. We had new family pictures taken while they were here(since the last picture we had taken was at my wedding 3 years ago and we have added 3 little people since then). We also took Trey to Hogle Zoo. He had a great time. His favorite animals were the giraffes. He also loved the carousel and the train. We have been going swimming/boating as often as possible because it makes Trey so happy. We mix it up a little by playing in the pool at Nana's, going to the aquatic center and the surrounding state parks. I love the summer time and being able to be outside! I also love the BBQs and the many things that go on while it is warm.

Just a Little Update

2008-06-17T10:51:00.000-06:00

The last few months have been really busy for us. Trey is 2&1/2 years old. He is definitely going through the terrible twos (sharpie marker on my kitchen table- need I say more?). He can be so stubborn if he doesn't get his way but most of the time he is super sweet. He loves dinosaurs and being outside all day (at the park or pool). He thinks his name is "Baby". Whenever he says anything about himself he refers to himself as "Baby". I'm not sure where that came from. It is so fun to hear him talk. It just amazes me that he can think for himself and actually say what he is thinking. Jeff has been working a lot and he is in school right now. Luckily, he just has one class until August so we still get to play together this summer. Not too much is new with me besides my calling at church. It keeps me really busy but I enjoy it and I love the ward we are in.

5 Months Later...

2008-06-17T10:43:00.000-06:00

It has been over 5 months since our last post. Sorry! We have been busy and a little lazy. I manage to look at everyone else's blogs but never seem to find time to update ours. I love it when our friends and family have a new post so I am going to try harder! Trey is really cute after all and I'm sure everyone wants to know what he has been up to.

Top 5 of 2007

2008-01-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

Jeff has been asking me to do a blog for months and months and I decided that since it's a new year that I would finally get around to giving it a try. A lot of people have been posting their top 10 of 2007. I have a 2 year old that isn't napping so we are going to narrow it down to 5. Here it goes:

1. Jeff only works 1 job!

Hooray! Jeff stopped working overnights in February and it has seriously been sooooo nice to have him home more and not be so tired all the time.

2. Virginia Beach/Washington DC

In August we took our first real vacation since Trey was born. He did so well on the plane that we had other passengers complementing us. We had a blast at Virginia Beach. Trey got to see the ocean for the very first time. He loved it... until he got some water in his mouth :( Washington DC was amazing. The 110* weather was a little rough but the museums all had great air conditioning. We would really like to go back in the spring or fall because there is so much more we would like to see. Luckily, I have 2 brothers going to medical school at VCU so we have a free place to stay if we go back.

3.Holidays

We had wonderful holidays in 2007. It's fun to be able to get off work, celebrate, and do things out of the ordinary. We love being parents and doing the whole Easter Bunny and Santa Clause thing. Taking Trey trick or treating and boating/water skiing on the 4th of July was awesome.

4. Anniversary/Birthdays

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary in May. I can't believe how fast time has gone. We love being married and spending all of our time together. We had great birthdays. Jeff turned 25 in May, I turned 22 in July, and Treyson turned 2 in October <-I can't believe that either. Sometimes I feel like there is this kid that runs around my house all day that thinks I am his Mom. Weird! It really has been a great 2 years!

5. Family and Friends

We have great family and friends. With all of our friends and family it seems like there is always something going on. Whether it is a baby, baptism, mission, wedding, new house, school, or whatever. We definitely stayed busy in '07 with our friends and family. We wouldn't have it any other way.

We hope that everyone has a great 2008!