Thanksgiving

So... this is a little late. Like usual. Jack turned 7 months on Thanksgiving Day. So I am making a double post.

We had 2 Thanksgiving's this year. One at Chuck and Ruthann's, and then my parents. Boy, were we STUFFED by the time we had 2 big meals. It was a good thing we had them spread out with a 4 day time span.

Jared and I were in charge of the meal at my parents. I couldn't be happier with the turnout of our meal! It was DELICIOUS!! Yes, I just tooted my own horn. We made mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, turkey, candied yams, stuffing with bacon, green beans, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. Oh and I made 10 pies. 5 pumpkin, 2 pumpkin cheesecake, 1 regular cheesecake, 1 apple, and 1 cherry. We were in pie overload! It was a good thing we had quite a few people come over. We had my dad's family Ted and Jana with their 5 kids, Tina, Jared and I, Annie, Quinn, Jack, my mom and Dad, and Josh and his girlfriend/fiancé.

Yes, that's right, FIANCE!!! Can you believe it?? This return missionary is actually found the girl he wants to buy a ring for! We couldn't be more excited!! I get to go help him ring shop in a week or so, that way he can give it to her around Christmas. Yippee!!! Her name is Kailey. They met at school in their band class. They couldn't be more perfect for each other!

Both Thanksgiving's were great! I couldn't be more thankful for my family, and Jared's family. We are so blessed to have what we have. Even in our rough time. This time of year, I love spending time in the kitchen. I have found one of my true passions, and that is to cook till my heart is content. I find myself making something like caramels, candies, cupcakes, etc when I am upset or stressed out. So needless to say, I have made WAY too many goodies. I guess it is good because now when I make something I can just go give it to the neighbors and call it "Christmas treats for the neighborhood"! Anyways, things are looking up in a different way than I expected. I am going to continue with school and get my coding license, and Jared is still going to search for full time work somewhere. Whereas before we were going to quit school and focus on keeping ourselves financially secure. I think our plan will work out. Hopefully. The last 10 plans were a complete FAIL.

Anyways, we visited our favorite place, Jeremiah's, for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving with my family. It was great! It is tradition to go there every year for breakfast and then we go shopping. We didn't get to go shopping this year, nor did I want to venture out on Black Friday. Yikes. I guess I am just not that fun loving!

Jack is getting SO big. He currently weighs 19 lbs 6 ½ oz. He is 28 inches long.

He is crawling like a maniac and has been since the beginning of November. He is pulling himself up to everything. Scary little kid. It makes me nervous every time he pulls himself up, cause he will wobble sometimes.

We did have a moment of freaking out on my part. Poor little guy fell down the stairs. I think I had a heart attack! It all happened so fast. He went down the basement stairs, which is about 16 steps. Jack is perfectly fine, and didn't even have a mark on him. He only cried for a minute, and when he was done crying, I was still bawling. He was ready to go play again after about 2.5 seconds of crying. It definitely scared me! Doors are now being closed, and baby gates are up!

He loves to say "ba, ba, ba, ba, ba" constantly! He does say "ma, ma, ma" every once in a while. It melts my heart! I love it. He will say "da, da, da" as well. He HATES the baby food purees. He would much rather have what we are eating. He throws a little tantrum if we don't give him a taste. Little stinker. He does love the little Graduate Puffs. He gets so excited when he sees the container of them all the time. He is wearing size 9-12 months right now. He wears a couple 18 month old outfits. When did he get so big so fast??? I feel like just yesterday he was in the newborn size, and just laid still in my arms and slept. Now I can't seem to keep him in one place, well, EVER!! This kid is a mover.

He sure is cute, and we love him so much! I am so grateful to have him in my life. I am also so grateful for a wonderful husband. He has done so much for our little family! I am truly blessed.

One quote that I just love lately is "Be extra nice to everyone around you, you don't know what battles they may be going through". I LOVE it. And I am sure it is because it helps me realize that everyone else is going through trials as well. I am not the only one. Though, at times I feel like I am the only one.

I can't wait for Christmas. I am excited to cook a big meal again, and make tons more goodies! Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Thankful for Life’s little Throw backs…

"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot."
-Charlie Chaplin

That quote seems to sum up my life right about now. I know another saying that goes something along the lines of; it always gets harder before it gets easier. I think we have been hitting pretty close to the bottom, and I am ready to come back up. I keep telling myself there has to be something out there for us; we just need to find it. And, anyone who knows me knows I have absolutely NO patience. It's bad. As soon as we have something figured it gets shot down. Just when I get my hopes up. I have tried praying, searching, and looking for guidance. Hopefully one day things will all come together again. Jared and I laugh because I will be bawling and he will look at me and tell me everything is ok. I trust him; I just don't know where the hell he is finding these answers! I would like to know. I am trusting my instincts and trying to feel ok. My heart hurts because I know how hard Jared has been working to get us where we want to be, it's just not falling into place like we have been hoping and praying for. These past 6 months, we have dealt with a lot of set-backs. We currently are searching for work down in the Herriman area. We keep getting really close, and then it all falls apart again. We are taking one more shot, and then we will figure out a different plan of action to take.

"In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back."
-Charlie Brown

I went on a search for quotes, and I definitely found what I was looking for. (And then some.) I'm trying to cope with many issues right now, and I honestly don't know where to begin. I have wanted to find something to make me feel secure, better about myself, kick out my insecurities, and be myself again. Maybe it's the post pregnancy hormones. You would think after 6 month, they would be gone. I have no idea. As I keep searching, I have found that life is all but what we make it. I don't want to feel all these feelings that I am feeling, but I am only human. I want what others have, I get jealous, and I want things that are not important in life. I need to realize what an AWESOME husband I have, and adorable baby that lights up my world. But for whatever reason, these feelings get built up on top of what's really important and bring me down. I guess life would be easier if we received all the answers. For now, I will be thankful for what I have. My family. My life. My health.

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it."
-Danny Kaye

I felt like since we got married, our canvas has been COVERED in color. We have gone through so many obstacles in the first year. I do not regret anything that has happened. I have always felt like everything happens for a reason, and we might not know the reason now, but we may later on. I have had my best friend by my side the entire time, and I can honestly say we have never fought about anything. I am not sure really why, not that I am complaining, but I always hear about the couples who the first year was the hardest, and some that never make it past the first year. I am so VERY grateful that I have a wonderful guy by my side. We can always laugh out of a crappy situation.

"No matter how qualified or deserving we are, we will never reach a better life until we can imagine it for ourselves and allow ourselves to have it."
-Richard Bach

"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life."
-Herbert Otto

I think these two quotes go hand in hand. We need to take risks to get places in life, we need to reach out and strive for a better life or we won't get there. If only the risks didn't give me such a huge panic attack! Lol I get the worst anxiety when Jared wants to take all these huge risks. I need to calm down and trust his judgment. I mean, we can't get any worse off than we are now, right? Just kidding.

"Where there is love there is life."
-Indira Gandhi

This is the quote that I have basically sort of stolen and ran with. It's in my house. It reminds me to love every day. My family is what I love, and that is where my life is at. With my family. Nothing else is important.

I originally was going to write everything I was thankful for since Thanksgiving is coming up, but for some reason I have always felt like it was so cheesy. I want to remember this time that we are struggling, so I can look back and laugh. So I can smile because I have my son and my husband. So I can remember, during this time, what I have been thankful for. I could go on and on and list a million things, but that wouldn't really reflect on what I am currently thankful for. And I couldn't ask for anything better. I am actually grateful to be in our crappy situation. It has made us a stronger couple and a stronger little family. Having nothing, has made us stronger. It just goes to show that we don't need "things" in our lives to make us happy. Family is what makes us happy.

Sorry, such a long post, for the answer I was searching for. I needed to take a step back and realize everything. And this post has helped me. I love my little family more than anything. I would do anything for them. Always and Forever!

6 Whole Months!

Jack turned 6 months on the 25^th of October, and Yes I have been so busy I have not been able to update.

Jack is growing like a weed, of course! He is 19 lbs 3 oz at his 6 months check up. He is 27 inches long.

He still LOVES the bath. He gets so excited when we fill up his tub.

He is sitting up on his own.

He is scooting and sort of crawling. He will get up on all fours and rock, but will flop back down on his stomach and then scoot with his legs and arms. He definitely gets where he wants to go!

He loves tummy time! And his Jumperoo. He goes CRAZY in there.

He HATES taking any sort of medicine. We have to hold him down on the floor, hold his arms, face, cheeks, EVERYTHING to get medicine in this boy! And since he is still on his acid reflux medicine, we have to give him medicine twice a day. It's a PAIN! He is still not sleeping through the night. Of course. He is relentless. He will scream till you come and rock him to sleep. I love rocking him to sleep, But he usually always wants to get up and play.

He LOVES sweet potatoes and carrots.

Hates applesauce and peaches.

He likes to go places all the time. He gets excited to get in his car seat now and get in the car. He will always fall asleep, but gets so excited when we reach our destination. He tries to get himself out of his seat.

He has the cutest little wrinkled up nose look that he gives everyone now. It's so funny, but so adorable.

He likes to scream…. Drives me crazy, but it's still cute!

We can't change his diaper unless we give him a toy to distract him from changing his diaper. Then it is a race to see how fast we can get it done before he tries to roll over again.

He hates taking naps. He will roll around in his crib and play as long as possible.

Every time we are sitting down to eat, he wants us to share. He will whine and fuss till we give him a taste. He loves lemonade.

Loves his daddy. He loves to smile and laugh and dad. He is the funniest person around. I can't ever get Jack to laugh like Jared can. It's so cute!

He has this thing where he has to feel everything with his hand and he will wave his hand back and forth over it to feel it. It is quite funny!

He LOVES his blankie and his binky. He can't go anywhere without them. He is very particular. He won't sleep anywhere but his own bed.

Jared and Jack

Eating sweet potatoes


My sweet shades!.. and new binky!

Sitting in a big boy chair... like the stickers?

Jack N the Box!! :)

Park City and Halloween!

This October we were able to go to Park City with Jared's parents. They own a time-share at The Canyon's with Westgate. We were there 2 different weekends. The first weekend, we did lots of swimming, relaxing by the fireplace, yummy food cooked by Chuck, and a fun time for the cousins to play. We also woke up to SNOW!!! It was pretty exciting! I love when it snows, and especially when you can curl up with a yummy cup of coffee. YUM! We slept in the living room, and surprisingly Jack didn't do too badly. We did wake up to the sliding glass door leaking pretty good. It actually made me sleep tons better! It was like having one of those noise machines in our room that help you fall asleep. It was nice. The following weekend we headed back up there at 2:30AM, since that is when Jared gets off of work. He is always wide awake at that time, so we figured why not. With baby sleeping in the back, we headed out. It was actually a really nice drive. We went through Ogden canyon, on I84. We saw quite a few deer on the side of the road, and thankfully none actually came out onto the road in front of us! That trip we spent more time at the pool, talking as a family, little bit of shopping at the outlet mall, and of course some more delicious food!!

For Halloween, we had a Trick-or-Treat at Westgate. The Kids Club had it all set up so we could go to all the departments in the Condo and get treats. We visited Engineering, Housekeeping, Human Resources, and many others. We came back with quite the haul of candy. It was fun. Jack was a little monkey (of course), and Wyatt was a Dragon with Cowboy boots (Since he won't take them off.) It was so much fun. I definitely say Halloween is TONS more fun with a babe, then it is without. Here are some pictures... in no particular order of course.

Jack's first cookie, from Roger's Bakery. (family friend, and guy that made our wedding cake)

Couldn't resist a picture of this little monkey!

Me and the Monkey

Daddy and the Monkey

Cute Cousins! Wyatt and Jack!

Jack with the pumpkins

His new face. I have no idea where he learned it either!

Jack with his pumpkin

The boy's pumpkins

Jack and his candy bucket

Jack found his sucker again...

Jack had his first sucker. He absolutely LOVED it! It was so cute. He was pretty pissed when we took it away because he was a slobbery, sticky mess! What a cutie.

Ready to go Trick-or-Treating!

Wyatt and Katie

Jack and Jared

Little Family

My monkey!

Jack fell asleep before the Trick-or-Treating even began. It was cute.

Jack and Wyatt ready to go!

We had lots of fun celebrating Halloween this year. Can't wait for the rest of the Holidays coming up!

Bear Lake!

Over UEA weekend, we were able to spend a few days at Bear Lake. It was SO gorgeous the entire time we were there. It was a little chilly most mornings, but the sun always came out and warmed everything up. We played lots of games, went to the pool, and enjoyed my side of the family for a few days, including the Tingey's. Family Picture.
We were on a long 4-wheeler drive up the south side of Bear Lake with a big group of us. It was Jared and I; Quinn and Jaxson; Annie and Tony; Carmen, Sarah, and Tasha; Josh and Kailey; and Zach. It was tons of fun and it was great to sneak away from the baby for a few minutes. Their is not very many chances that I get to take advantage of seeing my husband and no baby in the same time frame. So I definitely jumped at the oppertunity!

Jaxson and Quinn. (Dumb and Dumber)

Jared and I

Quinn and Jaxson again.

Jack and his cute bear slippers

Jack refused to sleep in his pack'n'play, so here is he is snuggled up in my blankets, on my bed. Spoiled much?

His new baby prison.

He is happy in there is this picture... not so much when he actually was supposed to go to sleep in it. He threw a FIT!!!

It was a great vacation. We definitely needed to get out of the house. Jared and I got to sneak out again for a moment, so we took the bikes and rode down to get a ever classic raspberry shake from the best shake place ever, "La Beaus" (I think that's how you spell it). Funny story, Jared ended up getting a chopped up fly in his. (DISGUSTING!!!) He wasn't quite sure what it was. He thought maybe it was pepper or something until a piece he was trying to pick out was clearly a wing. I wanted to barf! It was pretty bad. I felt bad that he had ate through most of the shake. So needless to say, we both got our shakes AND our money back on that one!

It was quite the adventure!!

5 whole months!

Time has really been flying by! I think I say that like every month... but it really has! Jack now weighs 17 pounds even. And we know that because yesterday we had another trip to the doctors, with Jack's 3rd ear infection. All in less than a 2 month time frame. I think I see tubes for this kid in the near future... Yikes. Poor boy. He does.not.sleep. EVER! So neither does Momma. It has been a rough couple of weeks. Just when we get the acid reflux under control, we get an ear infection. When we were at the doctors yesterday, Dr Pete, (which is a family friend), gave me a bottle of Xanax and another antibiotic for Jack. It was desperately needed, since I had a meltdown at the doctors yesterday. But I am pretty sure it was just lack of sleep again. But last night I was able to get a little more sleep, which was good.

Okay, off my soapbox again.

Jack is rolling everywhere!! He can't leave anything alone that is near his hands. He grabs onto EVERYTHING! He giggles about lots of things. We sing the nursery rhymes "Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick" and "Patty Cake". He thinks it's hilarious when we do.

His feet are SO ticklish, and giggles almost everytime you touch them.

He is still waking up at least 3 times at night. He has been eating a little bit of sweet potatoes and bananas every once in a while. He HIGHLY prefers the milk. Or what I think is mostly just for the boob. (He is a boy, right?)

He is such a fun little man, as long as he doesn't have an ear infection or the reflux is acting up.

And I still can't believe its been 5 months!!!

And here are some pictures again. :)

Happy Boy!

Rolling...

Being a big boy... always wanting to stand.

Laughing at Grandpa

Jack and Papa

Jared and Jack

Grandpa and Jack... watching something "Manly"

Smiley boy:)

Oh and this month was the big 2-1 for me!! Woo Hoo! I'm really starting to feel old. We celebrated at the Timbermine Restaurant with my family, and Olive Garden with the Rackham's. Jared bought me an Ipod touch with the camera and video. (SO HAPPY!) Just what I wanted. I also got my hair done (present from my parents) and the usually $100 from the Rackham's. We went to the State Fair as well, to hang out with the Rackham's for my Birthday as well. Overall it was an awesome Birthday. I couldn't be more happy with my little family and of course my awesome family and in-laws. :)

Moving Jack