The Chad and Chelsea Davis Family

Trip To Paradise - Turks and Caicos 2011

2011-12-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

My family
The ENTIRE GROUP

My boys

Chad's family

Dawson's favorite part of the trip was all of the sesame street characters walking around

(poor people in those hot costumes)

Chad and Jett enjoying the ocean

Me totally relaxing while Lisa took care of my kids :)

This year over Thanksgiving we went to Turks and Caicos and stayed in Beaches resort to celelbrate Ivard and JaNeen's (Chad's Granparents) 50th anniversary and enjoy a Budge family reunion. IT WAS AMAZING! I would imagine that place is pretty much exactly what heaven is like... I WOULD TOTALLY GO BACK TOMORROW! When I am totally rich, I plan to move there (ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE RESORT) and lay on the beach, float in the water, swim with the fish, have all meals prepared for me, have someone clean my room daily and do my laundry, check my kids in whenever they are driving me crazy and have no responsibilities whatsoever. SERIOUSLY what a life! Anyway, in all seriousness, there is just something special about the Budge family. I TOTALLY enjoy every single person and appreciate everyone for completely different reasons. What a neat group! ANYWAY, some day I would like to return and relax on the beautiful beach and be pampered.

The Rumors Are True...

2011-07-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

We are buying a home!! We are very excited to have a space to call our own. I NEVER realized the amount of time and paperwork that actually goes into this process. We are set to close on August 19th but things have been going so quickly. I am hoping that will be moved up a bit so that we have more time and cancan slowly move everything without the stress of getting everything out of one house and into the next within the same day.

We LOVE Summer!!

2011-07-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

We have loved the summer this year so far! We enjoy the pool that we have here at our complex just about every day. My boys love running around with little or no clothes in the sun. I get Dawson ready and he wants to take his clothes off after about 5 minutes. My boys are really starting to enjoy their time with one another. The FUN time is almost ALWAYS ruined by a jealous act and ends in tears and time out. I LOVE these little stinkers so much!!

Dawson's Pre-School Interview

2011-06-23T13:25:00.001-07:00

Today we had "the interview" the dreaded "I hope my child behaves perfectly with each given scenario and responds appropriately to every question asked" situation. Well... I guess as can be expected Dawson was a little shy at first which I was a little annoyed by BUT okay with. Almost too quickly though, he became comfortable and began to show off in a not-so-awesome way. He was so crazy. Here I am trying to prove to Ms. Michelle that my child is ready, 1 year early, to attend pre-school and NOW he has reverted back to throwing crayons, running in circles and talking in baby babble. Luckily, there were a few moments where he showed his potential namely the moment where she asked him what he had drawn for her and he explained that his spirally crayon mess was "a house with daddy standing next to it" AND when she handed him a book and he instantly began to identify each object, carefully turning each page one at a time explaining in detail what was happening on each page. At the moment when I thought yeah this is starting to go well... he jumps down from his chair running in circles. Honestly, I kept thinking to myself "she has got to be more impressed with sweet little one year old Jett who was behaving (in my opinion) charmingly". URG! Dawson, what a stinker... I think she could tell that I was a bit frustrated by the situation because she kept assuring me that it always ends up working out and the children usually do better when their parents are gone. When we arrived home after the interview I found myself feeling upset and overwhelmed by frustration with the situation that had just occurred. AND THEN... I was reminded that he is STILL only 2 and that I was possibly expecting too much out of him. The thing about it is... that he has moments where he SO MUCH impresses me with how he behaves, what he says and the things that he somehow knows, that I forget that he is still just a toddler.

The Zoo & The McEwens

2011-06-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get this up for a while now and decided I just need to do it. Shortly after moving to Kennewick we met a family that was very much similar to our own Chad and Brandon (or as Alyssa and I refer to them as "the boyfriends" to each other) are both obsessed with sports and have many similar interests, Dawson and Jaxson are both very busy and enjoy playing (wrestling) together love each other so much, Jett and Jaggar were bound to be the best of friends with their laid back personalities and Alyssa... well what can I say about the two of us... we are pretty much both amazing and truly became the best of friends in a very short period of time. It makes me sad to type this because they have since moved to Utah. For our last hurrah trip we decided to take the 3 day weekend last month and make a trip to Portland and visit the zoo with our families. Our boys (especially Jaxson) are obsessed with animals/dinosaurs and we believe it was pure fate that the dinosaur exhibit opened the exact day that we visited. We had a really fun weekend with our friends and then we came home to the reality that they were really moving... it came much to quickly and they are now gone. I still talk to Alyssa almost daily but I feel sadness each time Dawson says "I want to play with Jaxson" which has since changed to "We can't play with Jaxson... he moved!" which makes me even more sad. One thing that brings me comfort is that we have vowed to visit one another and vacation together... you don't lose good friends. We LOVE the McEwens!

New Portraits

2011-03-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

We had some new portraits done mainly for our anniversary but Julie was kind enough to do a few family shots as well. I LOVE how they turned out! Thanks Julie!

Seriously... Where Has Time Gone??

2011-03-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

This picture perfectly shows what Dawson is like these days. I would totally describe him as silly, energetic, mischievous, funny and sweet.

(This perfectly portrays Jett's personality. He is always happy and smiling. He is my sweet little cuddler but is very motivated to keep up with Dawson.)

Where in the world has the time gone?? I feel like I just had a baby and my "baby" is already 11 months old. Dawson is already two and a half years old I was looking at them play together today and kept thinking to myself that they are each looking much older daily. I can feel the time that I have with my children as babies slipping away. I have a feeling of sadness as well as an excitement for what is to come. I feel VERY blessed to have these two cuties in my life!

"Don't Run Him OVER..."

2011-02-26T20:15:00.001-08:00

(Bath time is so fun these days they love to splash and play in the bath together. Dawson is so protective of Jett and always wipes the water out of his eyes with a towel. CUTE LITTLE BUMS!)

( Ouch! He was being run over by Dawson's car and fell and hit his eye on the car. This looks amazing compared to what it looked like before we cleaned it up. Scary.)

... or you will go to time-out!!" This is one of the many phrases that I say multiple times on a daily basis that I NEVER imagined myself having to say. My patience is running thin these days. Throughout the last nearly 11 months my boys have taken turns being what we like to call "THE STINKER" They have really never been in a stinker stage at the same time for much longer than a couple of days... that is until now. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic. Let me first say that Dawson constantly tells me that he "LOVES Jetter" but lately I have found Dawson sneaking in a little push, being bossy or even trying to run Jett over with his car. Jett is now needing a little more of my "fun physical attention" less of the necessities like feedings, comforting etc. and more playing and interacting. I think that Dawson feels like his territory is really now for the first time being invaded and is acting out a bit.

Jett is getting very loud and active and will be running through the house any day now. He has been taking a few steps for the last couple of weeks and I can feel it coming. He is in the "hard at church" stage where he is completely happy BUT cannot sit still and/or be quiet. He is also in the "stick EVERYTHING in your mouth" stage. In the last month I had to call poison control twice. (Side note: he now says "Dott-N (Dawson), Jett, Dada, Mom and has the cutest smile and best laugh I have ever heard)

Needless to say, my life right now is busy. I am not complaining I am venting which is helping to keep me sane at this point. Everyone is happy and healthy and we are VERY blessed that Heavenly Father has allowed us to care for two of his BEAUTIFUL children in our home. I am trying to enjoy every single moment as I feel my babies quickly changing into big boys. I am beginning to see small glimpses of the joy that we will have when the boys can more fully entertain each other rather than relying so much on me for entertainment. I feel like I wear so many hats right now with the diaper changing, clothing, cooking, feeding, cleaning, playing, entertaining, disciplining, loving, teaching, shopping, comforting, fixing etc etc etc...

Lately I Have Been Thinking...

2011-02-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about how Dawson was so young when we found out we were pregnant with Jett. Originally I wanted all of my children pretty close together and we did plan to get pregnant with Jett. Here is a picture of Dawson the day that I found out that I was pregnant. He was so tiny... thinking back I remember thinking he was bigger/older than he actually was. I had many doubts during my pregnancy that having two children so close together was a good idea. Thought of doubt came every time Dawson would run away from me or make a huge mess. Looking back I wouldn't have done it any other way! My boys are starting to play together and it is so much fun! There are definitely days where I would rather go scrape my face on the sidewalk than be a mom. It is amazing though how two tiny giggles can turn those thoughts around in a second. I am so grateful today for my two little guys. The other main concern I had when having a second so close to my first was that Dawson would not receive enough of our attention. The second photo was he and I cuddling a couple of weeks before I had Jett I remember when I saw this picture thinking that the baby was already LITERALLY coming between the two of us and thinking how my relationship with Dawson might change. I have just decided that there will always be room for more babies, more love, and the love will not be divided but will duplicate with each. Now DO NOT get me wrong here... I am going to wait a bit longer this time to have another but it is nice to know that when the time comes I will not need to worry.

I Have An Announcement...

2011-01-24T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today I registered for a 10k race. I am going to train and get myself ready. I HATE RUNNING but I am one of those people that needs to constantly set goals to be able to keep motivated with working out. After this race we will see what happens but I think I'd like to do a triathalon and maybe even a half marathon at some point. Wish me luck!

2011-01-23T02:07:00.001-08:00

Test

What Was I Thinking??

2010-12-08T01:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to a craft show and was totally inspired to start being creative again. I called

Chad's Aunt Karin and asked the details of the next craft show that she was doing... next thing I knew, I was committing to a show on December 18th... What was I thinking?!! Anyway, a while back Aletha had done some baby shoes that I thought were so adorable and I thought I'd just try making a pair to see how simple they were and this is how I have spent my day I also made about 15 hair clips. I wish the photo showed all of the detail because they are darn cute. I am a little burnt out on making shoes so this may be the entire collection for the show. Anyway, I am starting to get excited and nervous all at once. Luckily it is a pretty small event with about 10-15 vendors and it should be a good one for my first EVER.

Winter Portraits Of My Boys...

2010-12-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

December 1, 2010 portraits... ENJOY!

The TOP 10 things I LOVE...

2010-11-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

... about the Tri-Cities. I have been meaning to post about how much I LOVE it here for a while now but it seems like life has been so crazy.

In no particular order:

CONVENIENCE (Location) -Everything I will EVER need is within 15 minutes from my home.
ALL of the Restaurant Options
Clothing stores are EVERYWHERE!
Winco/Costco/Target
Big Lots
Hobby Lobby/Craft Warehouse/Joannes
Parks - ALL of the parks here are AMAZING!
Recreational Activities (golf, bowling, movie theater, shopping, children's activities etc.)
Photography locations :)
OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS

Just a word about options, I no longer have to go to Walmart for...

... groceries.

... a new top for a last minute event.

... gifts for EVERY occasion.

... shoes for the boys when one has been misplaced.

... craft supplies.

... ANYTHING unless I decide that I want to. :)

Here we have stores for specific things and not just one big store that has a little of everything... AND I love it!

Davis Family Photos

2010-11-08T09:58:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I did family photos for Chad's family. Yes, I set everyone up, got them looking good, I put my camera on the tripod and ran into the shot each time... I think they turned out pretty cute. I was also able to do some with just the brothers, Dan and Lisa and some of Nathan and Paloma. I LOVE THE LOCATION! That place is GOLDEN when it somes to taking photos.

Finally Captured This Two Year Old's Smile

2010-11-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know that has been a while since Dawson turned two, but I have attempted pictures a few different times with him... on my own of course. He just runs away from me every time so this time I decided to BRIBE him with some Halloween candy. As you can see it did the trick.

Charlie Brown And Snoopy

2010-10-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!! This year we decided to make our boys Charlie Brown and Snoopy since everyone is always telling us that Dawson looks like Charlie Brown... it didn't hurt that they were fairly simple costumes to make either. :) I painted the crazy stripe on Dawson's shirt, I thought I'd better get it kind of large for him since Charlie Brown's shirt is really long. I think that I may have gone a little bit too big but oh well... I think it will work. Oh... and I think that Jett's costume turned out so cute!! Not bad for a person that is not super crafty huh?! LOVE these cuties!

What CRAZY Person Uses Cloth Diapers?!!

2010-10-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Me that's who!! Well we are trying them anyway. We will see how this goes. I have a lot of friends that use them that have been trying to talk me into them for a while now. I always thought people who used them were CRAZY. We only have to use them for 6 weeks for them to pay for themselves and if we like them... well then I will never have to buy diapers again... well not as often anyway. The kind that I got is supposed to fit from birth until the time that they are out of diapers. They are really cute and actually very simple. Wish me luck!

Happy 2nd Birthday Dawson!!

2010-10-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

This year for Dawson's birthday we were just going to keep it very simple and have a little family outing and do something really fun but that the last minute we decided to invite some family and friends and go to Chuckie Cheese's... I am glad we did because Dawson couldn't have been happier. He is obsessed with driving so he drove anything that you could possible drive and threw every ball that he wanted to throw. We had a little cake and opened some presents. It was still very simple but he enjoyed EVERY second!I cannot believe that I have a 2 year old!!!

September Photo Dump...

2010-10-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Cal-i-FORNIA Knows How To Partay

2010-09-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the opportunity to go to California to visit Chad's grandparents. It was a really great time! They live near Sacramento in a beautiful home with a beautiful pool, fun yard and they could not have been more hospitable. We enjoyed many wonderful memories both at their home and at Chad's uncle's home in Los Altos. The first couple of days were spent enjoying time playing ping pong, watching Dawson follow Grandpa Ivard around from one super fun activity to the next and Grandma JaNeen go wild over sweet little baby Jett. Ivard and JaNeen offered to entertain the boys for a day while we went to San Francisco.

I have never really been to California before so it was really fun to see the sights and enjoy the day with Chad and Parker and not have to worry about chasing Dawson everywhere. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts Exploratorium. It was AMAZING! I felt like a little kid running around and playing with everything. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge which was really neat because I have seen it hundreds of times on TV. We also drove down Crooked Lombard Street which is really an interesting thing to see as I have never seen anything like that before. The last thing that we decided to check out in San Francisco was Fisherman's Wharf, it was a fun little place with lots of vendors and cute little shops and restaurants. There were some really great ships there as well.

After enjoying San Francisco, we headed over to Jim and Lisa's home for a yummy dinner and fun games. We played with the kiddos throwing rocks at the rat nests, checking out a dead bunny, and playing in their amazing playhouse that is almost comparable in size to our apartment. We stayed over night and headed back the following morning to be with our babies. The next couple of days were filled with more family as Curtis and Cathy were able to visit with their children, games, basketball, ping pong, a great lesson at church given by the one and only JaNeen Budge and lots of yummy food and football. It was a wonderful and much needed vacation. I think if Dawson were given the choice to stay and play with Grandpa Ivard, he unquestionably would have. Thank you to all of you Cali-folks for making this trip an enjoyable experience for us! We love ya!

Happy Birthday and Summer

2010-08-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Chad turned 26 on Saturday. To me that is one of those ages that sounds significantly older than the last. Anyway, on Friday we were able to spend an evening with Nathan and Paloma it was very nice. They treated us to some yummy Olive Garden for the occasion and we even had dessert which is rare since we usually eat way to much to even think of having dessert, I must say it was yummy, the entire time I was wondering why people don't eat dessert first just to make sure they have room for it. Saturday we were able to go out with some friends to eat at Michael's on the Lake and attend the Grant County Rodeo. That was also very fun!
The first picture was Chad and I before our date and the others were from earlier in the summer that I found on Chad's phone. This summer has been a really fun one! Swimming, feeding the birds, spending time with good friends, getting in shape and watching my babies grow... I am not sure but I don't think it gets much better!

Jett 4 Month Photo

2010-08-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Can it be?? My "tiny" baby is already 4 months old.

I cannot believe how quickly the time is going these days. I feel like I just had him but I cannot imagine my life without him. Oh and he is already sitting up as you can see and when we went to his 4 month check-up at the Doctor's office they weighed and measured him and I could not believe what they told me... My sweet boy is already 27 inches long and 17 pounds. He is in the 90th percentile for his weight and the 95th for his height. This boy seems to be a clone of his father. We were checking out Chad's baby photos the other day and I was a little freaked out about how much they look alike.

Jett Is Almost 4 Months Old!??

2010-08-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Jett will be 4 months old on Friday. I cannot believe it, time is flying by. We have a little cutie on our hands, he seems to get even cuter every day.

On another note, Chad will be 26 on August 21st...

Dawson and Daddy

2010-08-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

This just so precious!

Stress Relief

2010-07-30T11:54:00.001-07:00

Today I gave Dawson a bath which is generally a point of the day when I do not have to worry about much because he loves his bath time. I heard Jett start to wake up and left the room to grab him up out of his bed. All of a sudden I hear an "Oops!" come from the bathroom... I ran in to find a heavenly scent permeating from the tub and Dawson holding one of my containers for sugar scrub and the oils from the scrub floating atop the bath water. He had a huge smile on his face in spite of the fact that he knew that I was not happy, which happens more than I'd like to admit. I was flustered and wanted to scream. That was until I noticed the kind that he had selected to spill everywhere and once I noticed that, I thought to myself... 'Heavenly Father must have a sense of humor'. I am sure he is cracking up at this moment and I began to laugh. It was the kind that is supposed to help with stress relief. I immediately went to grab my camera to capture this moment since I felt that it was a reminder to me to enjoy every moment of my life.

P90X Progress

2010-07-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

I am trying to keep everyone updated as to my progress on P90x to not only to keep myself motivated but to motivate others. So far with the P90x workouts I have been faithful for 51 days now and lost 10 pounds. I would like to clarify I am not doing the diet, only the workouts. I think that the 10 pounds is great but more importantly I feel amazing and have so much more energy. My body has changed so much and I am so much stronger and able to do many of the things I was unable to in the beginning. Everyone is always asking to see before and after shots and I have been taking photos of myself in a bathing suit once a week since I started just to see the progress myself but nobody will ever see those but me and maybe my husband, sister and mother. I did find these pictures to give you an idea of my progress.

What A Crack-Up

2010-07-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

I love it when he giggles uncontrollably!

Surprise Utah Trip & Swing

2010-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

This last week my mom and I decided the night before we left to go and visit my sister for her birthday in Utah. The following morning we left for our adventure. It was a long drive I think that we decided it took us about 14 hours on the way there because we stopped quite a bit to keep everyone happy and comfortable. Despite the long trip, the boys did amazing. I can really only think of one little melt down Dawson had and that was actually when we were stopped and in WalMart. Jett was sleeping or very happy unless he was hungry or poopy. It was actually very pleasant, well except for the aching butt that we received from sitting in the car all day. We arrived at Aletha's house around midnight and ran around to the back to jump on her trampoline and gave her a call and asked her to come outside to join us... she had no clue that we were coming. The following day we went to a place called Kangaroo Zoo it was a huge warehouse type building with over sized bouncy castles and slides. It was so fun and we spend almost the entire day there running around and having fun.

At one point Aletha and I decided to race through a few obstacles and ending at the bottom of a slide. I decided I was going to win no matter what I had to do and I threw my body over the top of the slide and went head first into the slide where my face was squished right into the slide causing my neck twist and to pop very loudly. At first I thought I might have broken my neck but I tried moving and I was able to so I figured it was okay and got up to confirm that I had won. I DID! Yay me! I am still sore from this little incident but it was totally worth it!

We also went to Ikea... it is my new favorite store. My sister had this really cool indoor swing in her house for her kids that she had purchased at Ikea. I decided that I also needed one. I put it up yesterday as you can see from the video. So cool Dawson loves it... he was watching tv when I recorded him so he was a little distracted.

Anyway we were only able to stay for a couple of days but it was totally worth the trip to see one of my very favorite people in the world my sister!! LOVE YOU LETH!

My New Little Jumper

2010-07-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

It seems like just the other day that we were putting Dawson in this little jumper. Jett is such a little chunker, oh I just LOVE chubby babies! I always go and compare photos of Dawson and Jett at the same age... I was looking through photos of Dawson when he was this age and found this other cute little smiley one. These are both of their first really smiley photos so I thought I would post them both.

A Few New Pictures

2010-07-07T15:05:00.001-07:00

This summer has been really great! We try to spend time outside as much as possible but it seems like I get hot really easily and I think it cant be good for my babies so we end up coming in fairly quickly.

Last week Dawson was able to go to Texas with Dan, Lisa and Parker to a Budge family reunion that we were unable to attend. They were gone from Early Thursday morning until the following Monday evening so needless to say I struggled with a little separation anxiety however it seems as if Dawson did not care one bit that he was away from us. It probably helped that they were busy doing really fun things the ENTIRE trip.

Today we were playing outside drawing with chalk and blowing bubbles and I decided to grab my camera and snap a few shots of the boys... Jett is now 3 months old and I need to do some real shots of him, I guess I just need to stop making excuses and just do it... but for now here are a few to hold everyone off.

Video Update On Kids

2010-06-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

Dawson's Grandma Lisa has a little problem... she pretty much has to buy him anything that she thinks he might like. Here is her latest purchase, it had to be one with a slide. As you can see he is loving it, I am loving that it stays at her house but that we can go over whenever we'd like to! Thanks Lisa, this summer will be a good one because Dawson has his own pool!

As you can also see Jett is growing like crazy and I was looking at pictures of Chad as a baby and you would not be able to tell them apart and if Chad were 25 years younger they'd be identical twinners! Please disregard my talking how embarrassing. Why don't I just keep my mouth shut!??

P90X Seeing Some Results

2010-06-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

So today was officially the end of my second week of doing P90X. I am trying to keep people informed of my progress so that I can stay motivated... I will officially weigh and measure myself again tomorrow but after the first week I had lost 4 pounds and an inch around my chest, stomach, thighs and a half inch around my biceps. I knew that I felt much better and that my muscles were feeling more firm but I was not expecting those results especially since I am not really doing the diet part. I really look forward to doing the program each day and I really enjoy working different parts of my body each time. I have been trying to post something each day on my facebook to keep myself accountable. I love the kind of sore that this program makes me feel. If I do not get sore after working out I feel that I haven't been working hard enough. Also, I am not one that does a lot of sweating... however, during this program I have to say that I sweat like a MAN! Right now, my favorite workouts are CardioX, KenpoX and PliometricsX those are the ones that really make me sweat it all out and feel like I am working hard. I also feel like any stress I may have oozes out of my body. It is weird to say this but I really like Tony Horton he seems to say the right things to get me motivated and feel like I can just "do my best and forget the rest!" I feel like I am accomplishing a goal that I have set for myself and it feels good! I like that I have decided to do this for myself and I am just doing it and not letting anything else distract me from it. I cannot wait to see the final results of my 90 day program. It is EXCITING!

Another Sighting Caught On Video

2010-06-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Finally got it!! kind of... I caught the tail end of a Jett smile... man I have been lucky these last couple days... ENJOY!

Finally Got This On Video

2010-06-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get Dawson to say a few words on video for the longest time but he always gets distracted and wanders off but today I was kinda lucky and got many of them... there are still a ton that we didn't include however, I couldn't think of all of them on the spot and frankly I couldn't remember what I already had him say so next time I will be prepared and write them down first...

Lazy Memorial Day

2010-05-31T15:40:00.001-07:00

Well usually we'd be at Silverwood today or doing something else fun with our friends but Chad and Dawson are both sick so here is how we are spending our holiday this year...

Jett Update

2010-05-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

I have heard some criticism that I have way more photos of Dawson recently than I do of Jett. The reason that this is happening is that Jett sleeps quite a bit. It seems like every time I have my camera out he is asleep and to be honest you can only take so many photos of a sleeping baby before it gets old. So here are a couple that I snapped the other day of Jett. He is now about a month and a half old.

Lots Going On...

2010-05-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Well we have had a lot going on the last week or so... The boys and I went to Spokane with my mom to see my grandparents that live in Liberty Lake. They had not yet seen Jett so we thought we'd take a little trip to visit. We had so much fun with them Dawson was showing off for them and they loved holding "the new baby". My grandma made sure that I knew that the name Jett was a "unique name", she is so cute I love her! Also, we headed to Ephrata and visited my parents this last weekend since we don't get over there much. Dawson was able to spend some time with his cousins... he loves them so much and had so much fun! This last week I received my new stroller and was able to run/walk it felt so good but made me sore! I feel so out of shape but I LOVE it when you feel like you have actually worked out. Anyway this last week has been great!

Free Photo Sittings...

2010-05-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is my opportunity to do what I LOVE on my own terms... and YOU can benefit and receive a FREE photo sitting check out my photo blog for more information on how to receive a free sitting NO PURCHASE NECESSARY... CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG.

My Goal...

2010-05-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am doing it... I am going to lose the weight that I gained when I got married and had babies. I just bought this stroller that might help me. To get to the weight I would like to be at I need to lose about 21 pounds. It has been very frustrating to not be able to do anything physical for over a month now. I feel like if I say it out loud and have someone to be accountable to I will actually get it done. So... I will be documenting my progress from time to time. To reach this goal I will be watching what I eat and exercising. I do not have the exact plan because I cannot yet do exactly the type of exercising I would like to do... so for now I will be eating better and trying to be as physically active as possible. In the longer term my plan is to get on the P90X program. My mom is currently on this program and lost about 20 pounds. She reached her goal weight and more importantly she looks so toned and HOTT... in addition to that my brother is also on the program but not really to lose weight just to tone up and bulk they both look AMAZING! The point is I know that the program works and my goal is to reach my goal weight and look great by October. That program is set up to take about 90 days however, I am giving myself a little extra time since I will not be able to start the program right away. WISH ME LUCK!

Dawson 18-19 month Photos

2010-05-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Finally got some pictures of Dawson... I feel like I can rest now. I wish I could get him to smile a little nicer... it's hard when I am the one behind the camera. He's still pretty cute though.

Jett's Announcement

2010-05-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

So, I have have had a totally hectic life since Jett was born so I just barely got these done and still have not sent them out in the mail... Thought I would share before it's really old news.

OOOPS!

2010-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have been finding a lot of "little" messes like this lately followed by a big UH OH. It is not uh oh if you do it on purpose... Oh Dawson, when will you give me a break?!!

New Pictures & A Big Thanks

2010-05-03T10:05:00.001-07:00

PHOTOS...Here are a few of the latest photos... I still need to get my mom up here to help me do some really nice photos of Jett. Just had to get some done so that I have something to share. Things have been a little hectic lately to say the least.

A BIG THANKS! I have to share my great gratitude for everyone who has pitched in and helped with meals, children and for all of the emails and phone calls offering comfort and assistance. This last year has been full of many challenges and in the last month or so I feel that I have received so many blessings from my Heavenly Father that greatly outweigh those challenges and trials. I am generally a very independent person so through these times I have really had to humble myself and accept help from the angels that have been sent to me to perform services in my life. Our family has been amazing however, I also have to share with you the amazing blessing that is my ward family at church. It is mainly among these people that have emerged the angels that I could not have survived without in the last month. I received emails, calls, prayers, visits, meals, gifts, flowers, childcare and dozens of other offers for help. I could not have survived without my ward family. Although my life is still a bit hectic and I am still trying to fully recover from my hospital stay I am feeling much better and have come to the realization that we are loved. We are eternally grateful to those of you who have assisted us in one way or another. Thank you!

Surprise Natural Labor & Appendicitis A Week Apart

2010-04-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not have heard but I went in to meet with Doctor Bunch for Jett's one week follow-up. I asked him if he might take a quick look at me as I was having a horrible pain in my stomach. He had me lay on the table and he pressed in many different locations finding that the pain was only in one small area... good news right??! NO! Not good news at all! That area just happened to be the lower right hand side of my stomach they immediately sent me to have a CT scan at the hospital and shortly there after I was admitted for an appendectomy... It seems that things are just happening very quickly and unexpectedly for me these days at least medically. So Wednesday I had surgery and I am very sad as I have not really had a chance to enjoy my boys. Even now that I have come home I am unable to care for them... this is a very frustrating moment for me and I just feel like crying. People have been so amazing and willing to help out but I wish I could just be a mom. THE GOOD NEWS... My sister and I both had our first ever surgeries on the exact same day and were able to talk each other through it afterwards over the phone. Hers was more fun than mine, her surgery resulted in holding her baby for the first time and mine resulted in me not being able to care for mine.

A Few More Pictures Of Jett

2010-04-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have been without a computer for the last week... bad timing for our computer to die, I know... Anyway, I haven't had any time to do some nice pictures yet, but here are a few that are at least not in the hospital. :)

The Real Story Of Jett's Birth

2010-04-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I had been feeling like I had been contracting for about four days when a good friend called and said "where are your contractions at right now??" they were at 10 minutes and pretty consistent but this was no different than the ones I had been having for days. She convinced me head up to Costco in Tri-Cities and see if we couldn't get this thing going. I of course was willing just because I had been frustrated by sitting in the house timing contractions for the past week. I was happy to get out of the house. So we packed up Dawson and drove to Costco. On the way my contractions got down to about 6-8 minutes, still I was not thinking anything of this since this had been happening for days. We arrived at Costco and decided to walk around and grab a few things that she needed. As we were walking my contractions were getting very close but were inconsistent. I kept informing her of every contraction I was having and she would reply back with the minutes that separated this one from the last. She started replying back with 3 and 4... she was convinced and commented that we'd better head over to the hospital. I was still not convinced as they were not consistent. I insisted that we run and get the last of what she needed before we leave. We checked out and headed over to the hospital. i gave Chad a call just to let him know that he should kind of be on call and answer his phone if I called in case they decided that i was actually in labor. I also informed him that I had everything ready in a pile at the house so that he could put it all in the car should he need to head over still unconvinced that I was in labor. We arrived at the hospital at 5:40 and they took me into the room and had me put on the gown and placed a few monitors on me to see what was happening with my contractions. They were a bit inconsistent but they seemed to be fairly strong. They called my doctor to come over and check to see how for I had dilated. He came and I was at a 4. He decided to break my water at 6:15 and i decided it was time to call Chad to pack things up and head over. The nurse asked if I would like an epidural I said that yes I absolutely did but that there was no rush as I was not really in any pain yet. Chad arrived about an hour later and contractions were just starting to feel uncomfortable. Chad called his brother to bring him something to eat and they met to exchange Dawson's bag for food. When Chad returned minutes later the contractions were very hard and painful and he was shocked. I began to really request that I get my epidural very soon. They checked me at that point and I was at a 6 or 7. They called my doctor to tell him to start heading over. The nurse came back into the room after calling my doctor and checked me again only to find that he was crowning. All the while I am still yelling a bit frustrated that I was ready for my epidural. The nurse knew that not only was I not going to receive an epidural but that my doctor would not make it to the delivery ran into to hall to grab a doctor and it was a good thing because as he walked in I shouted that I had to push. Two pushes later Jett's head was out and a half of a push later he was laying on my stomach having his umbilical cord cut by Chad. My doctor walked in about 2 minutes later and got there just in time to hold my hand as the other doctor stitched me up. Needless to say I had an entirely natural birth and endured it just fine. I have to say it was the most pain I have ever felt in my life but in reality the pain was only for about a half hour and afterwards I felt great. Our baby boy Jett Allen Davis was born on Tuesday April 6, 2010 at 8:29pm he was 19 inches long and weighed 7lbs. 4 oz.

Thank you Chad and Tami for being there for me. Thank you Nathan and Paloma for

taking good care of Dawson for us and being so willing to help. Thank you mom for being available by phone at every moment, and thanks to everyone else for being supportive and loving to our family.

I HATE Timing Contractions

2010-04-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last night I woke up with hard contractions but they were not very painful I began timing...

12:49a.m. - Woke up

12:59a.m. - 2 minutes long, 10 minutes apart

1:14a.m - 2 minutes long,10 minutes apart

1:25a.m - 2 minutes long, 11 minutes apart

1:32 - 1 minute long, 8 minutes apart

1:39 - 1 minute long, 7 minutes apart

1:46 - about 45 seconds long, 6 minutes apart

1:53 - 1.5 minutes long, 7 minutes apart

2:00 - 2 minutes long, 7 minutes apart

2:08 - 2.5 or 3 minutes long, 8 minutes apart

2:15 - 2 minutes long, 7 minute apart

2:25 - 5 minutes long, 10 minutes apart

2:35 (Got up and walked to the bathroom had another small contraction in between)

2:49 Small contraction

Went back to bed @ 2:50 tried to get a little rest

I woke up about 5 times after going back to bed to contractions and potty breaks. This morning I am still contracting but I have given up on timing because I am just so tired and frustrated. Thanks mom for staying on the phone with me and listening to me being annoyed.

Names, Names, and More Names...

2010-03-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

This has really been my biggest struggle this pregnancy and Chad and I are unable to agree on any names. Many people have been asking about this for a while so... I have posted a list of names as a poll question just to see what people think. We are not in agreement on any of them so if you have other ideas feel free to post those here as a comment and we may add them to our poll... I am really stressing about this issue since I could literally have this child any day at this point and almost surely by the 8th of April. Yet again it has to be somewhat different because our last name is DAVIS.

Less Than 2 Weeks???

2010-03-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

I had my OB appointment today... I learned that I am having very hard and more frequent contractions than I should be for how far along I am. I have also already begun to dilate some and "thin out" significantly. The baby is in the correct position and has dropped a ton. My doctor informed me that I will likely deliver around April 8th which is before my due date! I am excited, nervous and I am starting to feel like I should begin to prepare for this child!! AHHH!! I feel like I have done nothing. I am trying to remember all of the things I need to do before this happens. I already have pretty much everything I need because I obviously just did all of this with Dawson 17 months ago but I know that there is probably some huge thing that I am forgetting about. This baby already has a car seat, bed and clothing (washed and ready). I know need to start preparing my hospital bag... is there anything I am forgetting??? HELP!

My Dad Should Be Proud

2010-03-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

My Grandma always had a million plants in her house when I was growing up and she loved one kind in particular... the Christmas Cactus. It seemed like she had an entire collection of just those. She passed on this last year and I think that most of her children and grandchildren have been given a start from her plants. I received mine from my parents when I got married 4 years ago. I DO NOT HAVE A GREEN THUMB!! I have tried really hard to just keep this one alive since it is very special to me... but in the last year it has really grown and in fact it has started to bloom!! AHHH! I am so excited! My dad has a few of these plants and does really well with them, I think that he will be proud!

I Love Getting New Stuff

2010-03-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

I got a couple new backdrops that I wanted to try out... I know this is a little funny with a little boy but I really wanted to see what they looked like with the flowers. I thought it turned out pretty cute! By the way I think this is quite possibly one of the hardest ages to photograph. URG frustrating!

I Want To Be Like Daddy

2010-03-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

I have been finding Dawson just like this almost every day for some time now... It is obvious that he was to be just like his daddy! Notice his DUKE hat, large shoes and his own little cell phone on the ground that he is constantly carrying around also just like dad. I thought it was so cute!

4th Anniversary

2010-03-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

On March 17th Chad and I will have been married for 4 years... it is crazy to think that we have been together for that long... although the road has not been perfect, it has definitely been worth it and I cherish my relationship with my husband. It seems that each day gets better and I cannot wait to see where we are at 50 years from now. I love that we have shared so many experiences and especially the experience of having a child together and almost 2 :) Chad is such an amazing person, husband and especially father... it is so fun to watch him play with Dawson and see the adoration in his eyes when he spends time with him. It will be so fun to see him with another baby boy! Love you Chaddy!

Baby Names ANYONE??

2010-02-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

VERY SOON this child is going to need a name. Chad and I have been through countless discussions about names for this child and I seriously think that I may be going crazy. It seems like every name that is mentioned is just not the RIGHT name... I don't know if this child's name NEEDS to be one specific name for a real purpose or if I am just being REALLY PICKY!?? I feel like I am having a hard time making up my mind in general these days and I remember feeling that way when I was pregnant with Dawson but it seems much worse this time. Anyway feel free to throw out a few suggestions... and again please remember do not give me any names that you are planning on using as I do not want to STEAL a name from anyone else. Thanks friends!

He's Getting So BIG ...AND SO AM I!

2010-01-30T16:01:00.000-08:00

Dawson is now OVER 15 months!! I cannot believe how fast the time is FLYING! He now has a pretty adorable vocabulary. Right now he says mama, dada, ball, oh no, oh my, oh BOY, no no no no (usually when he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to do), he also randomly says other words but not very consistently. Some cute little "TRICKS" he does are that right now when you ask him where his baby is he lifts up his shirt and points to his belly. He points to the things he wants like food etc. , he finishes the phrase Old Macdonald had a farm with a BIG "YIYIOOOOOOOOO", He get's snacks out of the fruit snack drawer and brings them to us to open for him. He says the word cookie but it sounds more like toookie. OH THIS IS THE FUNNEST STAGE YET! I love just about every moment. I guess I must also tell the bad part of this stage as we should remember both. He does sometimes throw a fit if we take something away that he is really set on. He will just throw his head back and fall on the floor which is normally followed bu a huge BONK and a little crying. MAN, this kid is one of the most determined children I have ever met. At this point that is a bit of a struggle but I think it will be a very wonderful quality in the future!

This pregnancy is going so quickly I think mainly because I do not have time to think about it. I have been filling in as substitute EA and Secretary for the Othello School District since the end of September and that has been an interesting experience. It has really worked out well for me because on days that I have appointments or haven't felt well I can just say no when they call me to sub. I am really starting to feel uncomfortable. I have always had some bad hips but right now it seems that my hips are separating from my lower back and that my pelvis is cracking in half. I guess it is caused by my body producing too much of the hormone "progesterone" which is the hormone that moves everything down there to prepare for birth. My doctor said the name of the problem which I guess happens to about 1 in every about five women during pregnancy but I cannot remember it... of course. Anyway so other than being humongous and having pain in my hips and pelvis I don't have much time to think about being pregnant.

Christmas, Birthday, New Year, New SUV

2010-01-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well I have been slacking on my blog the past few weeks I think mainly because an entire week of that I was having fun with my family and especially enjoying the precious time that I had with my sister. I rarely have the chance to spend time with her family so it was a real treat! Anyway the past few weeks have been very eventful. First we bought a new car (picture is just like ours... but not our actual car). This was a much needed purchase as we had been living without a car since Thanksgiving and Dan and Lisa were generous enough to let us borrow one of theirs for that time. I am super excited about the Dodge Durango that we purchased because it has heated leather seats, runner boards (helpful when pregnant), a sweet luggage rack on top... i don't know if I will ever use that but I have always though that they were pretty cool, it has AWD and 4WD which was something that we were really looking for and last but probably the coolest feature of the entire car is that there is a 3rd row seat which means we can fit 7 people in this vehicle... very cool!

Next was Christmas which was very fun! We were very blessed in the gifts that we received and mainly the people we were surrounded by. A little crazy with 9 kids under six in the house but very magical and fun! I was spoiled.

I was spoiled again the following day on my birthday. Chad was very generous and thoughtful on my birthday and I was able to use most of the gift cards I received when I went shopping in Wenatchee with a few of my favorite people Mom, Aletha, Brynlee, and Dawson.

On New Years Eve we invited Tanner Gilbert, Shawna Juarez, Jake, Sariah and Sydney Mattinson and David and Molly Beus over and played games and ate a bunch of junk food. Most of us stayed up until midnight (David and Molly I am disappointed in you... I stayed up and I am huge pregnant)

Anyway, so I guess you could say we had a really great holiday break.

A Very Merry Christmas!

2009-12-20T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here is our Christmas card that we sent out this year. This year we get to have Christmas with my family which is always a huge treat for me as I don't get to see my sister and her family very often!! Yay for seeing your favorite people during the holidays! I hope that everyone has an amazing Christmas this year.

Anyone Selling An SUV??

2009-12-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Due to our little situation recently we are in need of a second vehicle. We are on the lookout for an SUV. We don't want to spend more than $7000 and we want it to be reliable, fairly new like 2002 or newer and have less than 100k miles. I have been looking on Craigslist and a few other sites and I know that it is a possibility but it would be nice to buy one from someone we know maybe help each other out a bit.

This is one that I found that I like... they are asking $5600 which is great, but it has a few more miles than we'd like. I think it's beautiful!! If someone you know is trying to sell an SUV please let me know we will probably need to purchase a vehicle in the next week.

Lost and Found

2009-11-30T14:08:00.001-08:00

I took Dawson out of the bath got his diaper on him and set him down he ran off like usual. I was walking around the house and could not find him I was yelling his name and could not find him anywhere. I heard a giggle and saw a DVD come flying out the the entertainment center. This is what I found.

The CRAZIEST Thing Just Happened!

2009-11-27T07:25:00.001-08:00

About an hour ago Chad and I were sleeping in our bed when we heard the biggest crashing sound I think I have ever heard in my life. Chad instantly ran outside to see what had happened (in his underwear) and found this. A white truck was quickly speeding away.
These are both our cars. Apparently the truck/SUV that hit the gray car pushed the front end down and forward enough to catch the back tires of the blue car and pop it right up on the hood. The blue car only has a few little scrapes on the bottom of the back bumper from when we drove it off. They gray car unfortunatly has lots of damage both in the front and back. It was a very interesting thing to find one of our cars on top of the other. As far as we know they have not found the other vehicle.

This Is What I Found

2009-11-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

I went into Dawson's room to organize his toys etc. Coming from the front room I hear a giggle... Dawson and I were the only ones home so I was very curious to find out what was making him laugh. He had grabbed the basket that we put our WalMart bags in and keep under the sink and emptied it out. I had to just laugh because this is what I found. He was laughing at himself with the basket on his head!! Oh I love this boy so much!! He is such a stinkin' cutie!

It's Another BOY!!

2009-11-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it is true that I was kind of hoping for a girl. The truth is that I am completely thrilled with another boy. I just need to know that eventually I will have a girl if not 2... it's just that fear that it may not happen for me. Especially because Chad's family is all boys and it seems that there are a very unusual amount of boys in his extended family as well. I LOVE MY BOY!!! I think I am a great mom to my boy! Growing up I always thought it would be neat to be a mother to all boys. Since then, I have become very close to my nieces and realized the amazing relationship that my mother, sister and I have. I would just be very sad to not have at least one girl. I guess I cannot get discouraged yet after all this is ONLY my second child right??! ANYWAY, Enough of that!

I am ecstatic that I am having a boy and he looked so cute in his little ultrasound I fell in LOVE! He was sucking on his tiny thumb right there in front of us. It was so obvious that he was a boy when she went over that area of his body... "I said it's a boy" before the technician could even say a word. She quickly confirmed with "yep it is very obvious isn't it!" Chad came to the realization that I do actually have a child inside me and I am not just using pregnancy as an excuse to gain a ton of weight! I think it was fun for him to see the baby kicking me in the ultrasound and make the connection that yes, I can feel those kicks and I am not lying to him as he cannot yet feel them.

So Handsome!

2009-11-11T10:53:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share a couple of recent photos... Dawson's hair is finally growing!!

BOY Or GIRL That Is The Question

2009-11-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

Right now I am about 16 weeks (photo). On the nineteenth of this month we get to find out what we are having!! That is the most exciting part of being pregnant... I could pretty much do without the rest. Anyway, last time I really felt like I was having a boy the entire time up until we found out that we were having a boy. This time I have been feeling girl. I think it's silly when people say that they KNOW what they are having. I do not KNOW but I do feel like I am having a girl... or maybe I just want a girl so badly that I am tricking my mind into thinking that. I will totally be happy with either as there are definitely positives to both. Financially a boy might be a better situation and Dawson might love having a little brother... but I want a girl, I need a girl, I am surrounded by boys. Positive energy can't hurt right?? So here is the question for you... Do you think I will have a boy or a girl??

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:37:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!! This was Dawson's first Halloween and I must say it was a success. Last year my sister made the absolute cutest costume for her son Gavin. I decided that it would be cutest and really easy to just borrow her costume since she is a million times more creative than me not to mention it would be less stressful for me trying to find something. Anyway it turned out really great everyone LOVED his cute little dwarf costume! THANKS ALETHA you are the best and so talented... I think I will take this time to tell you that next year Dawson would like to be a... just kidding!

Fun With David and Molly

2009-10-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight we invited David and Molly over to watch The Office which was one of the funniest episodes in a long time BTW. Afterward we carved our pumpkins. I was sad that we had to put Dawson to bed before the pumpkins. I think he would have really liked them. We had so much fun and I think they turned out pretty well! I didn't post a picture of me because I looked like a total scrub tonight and I am really starting to feel fat with this pregnancy...

YUCK I am starting to remember what it is like, I am glad I forgot long enough to want another one so soon. Some women say that they love being pregnant... I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE WOMEN. I love to find out what I am having and to feel the baby kick but that is the extent of my enjoyment.

WHERE DID THIS COME FROM??!

2009-10-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Dawson has recently started smiling back at people with this ridiculously cheesy smile. It is somewhat embarrassing when he looks at someone behind us in the line at Wal Mart and flashes this face.

He has the cutest "REAL"smile and I wish he would have never learned this face... I mean, seriously where did this come from?? I have a feeling this little phase will last a while since every time he does it people laugh.

Great Birthday & THE BEST GIFT EVER...

2009-10-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

The party was great!!! Almost all of my favorite people were there!! We went to Time Out Pizza which is always fun, there are a bunch of arcade games so it was very simple to get a ton of quarters and entertain the kids. The pizza and cake were great and the company was even better! There were so many people there that LOVE Dawson... it was a little hard to get around to everyone so I am really hoping everyone there had fun!

Happy Birthday My Sweet Baby Boy I cannot believe you are already one! I am SAD but love every single precious moment I have with you.

AND YES... I am sure you have been thinking it for a while now. I AM PREGNANT! I show so early that it has been very hard to hide but we really wanted to tell everyone together at Dawson's party. We are very excited and a little nervous to have two. I am about 3 months pregnant and I am due on April 23rd.

We told everyone tonight at the party by having Dawson open up a present that had a t-shirt inside that read "I am 1 year old today! For my first birthday my mommy and daddy are making me a big brother". Chad Grandma Audrey read the shirt out loud since she was the closest. At first everyone was a little confused so I had to clarify by saying "I AM ABOUT 3 MONTHS PREGNANT"... It was pretty fun and I think we got it on tape!! So fun!!

Another fun things about all of this is that my sister is due just about the same time!! We might just have twinners!

ONE ALREADY?!!

2009-10-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

So it was raining today so I just took a few pictures and will need to do more later since I couldn't really catch his attention I decided I will never try to take another picture where he can see the swings . Tonight we are having Dawson's birthday party I think it will be great I will need to share how everything went but until then... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWSON!!! You are my GREATEST happiness! Love you! SMOOCH!!

Workin' & Walkin'

2009-09-29T16:53:00.001-07:00

So I am a working gal now this has been my second week working as a substitute EA and my first week as a substitute secretary for the Othello School District. I am really trying to keep my working to only 3 days a week so that I can still feel like I am raising my own child. Dawson has been staying here at out house with a babysitter which is so great. He really seems to enjoy the girl that I have watching him and it's so nice that he can nap in his own bed and play with all of his own toys. I do believe that we will have him going to the Children's Garden Daycare after he turns one at least some days as they have an awesome drop in policy.

Chad totally chewed me out the other day for not posting actual video of Dawson walking since he's been walking for about a month now... so I decided I'd try to do that today just to get him off my back. It is pretty cute too! you may want to turn down your speakers. Enjoy!

Fair & Rodeo

2009-09-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Chad and I decided to take Dawson to his first fair and rodeo last week. We had lots of fun, ate some good food and Dawson especially enjoyed the rodeo with all the music, animals, people and movement. I even dressed him for the event.

11 Months Already?!

2009-09-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

NO WAY! My baby is already 11 months. In one way this is a very sad moment for me... he is almost 1 year old! In another way he is in a very cute stage he drives me CRAZY at times with getting into everything, but he is so stinking cute... I LOVE his expressions! I love his laugh, I love the way he pats my back when I hold him, I love his curiosity, I love the way he looks at me, I love the way he cuddles up when he is super tired (since that rarely happens), I love the way he eats always pushing the remaining hanging food into his mouth, I love the cute little way that he walks he kind of reminds me of Frankenstein...

Right now I want to focus on his cute little expressions... above you will notice, first of all that he thoroughly enjoys chicken. Secondly he was outside playing in the plants in front of our house and heard a dog (first picture) the dog then came around the corner and he saw the dog (second picture) soooo... cute! I love this boy!

Fantasy Draft Frenzy

2009-09-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

As most of you know my husband Chad is the biggest sports freak I have ever met or even heard of! Every year he does fantasy football and this year was no exception. In fact he is in 3 different fantasy leagues one for family one for friends and one for Parker's friends. On Sunday they had their live draft online Chad and his family have been looking forward to this moment since last season and if you think that this would be a fun thing to do... it's not! This is serious business in this family. So when Chad got on the phone with his brother Parker prior to the draft I was laughing so hard at the serious nature of their conversation... some of the things that Chad was saying were just PURE RIDICULOUSNESS. So being the loving wife that I am I decided to document this conversation at least on Chad's end to prove to him how silly this really gets from and outside perspective. Now I must warn... Chad is so into this fantasy stuff he tends to bring out a few fake swear words... I must reiterate that this transcript is word for word exactly how it was said. I am not exaggerating at all... keep in mind this is serious business even though it will be a little hard to believe. So here is how it all went:

"I cannot believe it is finally here!"
"When the time for action has come, the time for preparation has
passed."
"I want to be talking to you for at least the next three minutes so that we
can make some last minute analyses."
"Oh my gosh!! Less than 2 minutes less AHHHH!" (screaming like a
girl)
"This is where it all matters"
"Down to 15 seconds Snickahs" (one of Parker's many nicknames)
"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1 AHHHH!!!" (screaming like a
girl)
"Come on stupid YAHOO!!"
"Screw you Park!"
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP don't tell me! I don't want to know until I can
see it for myself!!!"
"OH MY GOSH!! OH MY GOSH!! OH MY GOSH!! I GOT THE FIRST PICK... OH MY
GOSH!!!"
"Oooh and Jim got second pick again."
"How embarrassing for you!"
"I cannot believe that I am number
one! SHOCKING! HOHOHO!"

So... Yeah I know it's hard to believe but true... this is what I live with. Needless to say I cannot wait for the Superbowl as that is my celebration of the end of football season. Side note: Chad asked me who I thought he should pick first... like I would have any suggestion... but I quickly said Tom Brady as I pretty much have a huge crush on him I think you can probably understand why... He said he went with "A.P", whoever that is... I am sure he is not as CUTE as TOM so it's probably not the best choice he's ever made!

Our Cute Little Monster

2009-09-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

"HECTIC" is the word that describes my life best at the moment. Every time I sit down after putting Dawson down for a nap I take a deep breath and think to myself "Can he get any more crazy than he is right now?". Once he is down you would think I should probably take a little rest for myself... but it is time to start cleaning up after the many messes that Dawson has made only after that point I can begin the daily upkeep stuff that is expected of a stay at home mother (laundry, dishes etc.) if there is any time remaining after that point I make myself just sit and watch some mindless TV and maybe eat something. It is funny because when he is crawling around knocking things over, pulling things out of cupboards, pulling down DVDs, eating something that he clearly shouldn't be eating off of the floor and many more destructive things I am wishing it was time for a nap. It never fails... before he wakes up I miss him, and sometimes I'll even open his door and turn the music up high to get him to wake up. Another thing that drives me crazy but that is so stinking cute and that I never want to forget is when you start walking towards him (especially when he is doing something wrong) he gets the BIGGEST and CUTEST smile you have ever seen and just takes off crawling faster than I have ever seen anyone crawl I genuinely have a hard time catching up to him. Also he will be walking any day the other day he took ten steps... oh he's growing up so fast. Being a mother is the most amazing thing in the world... very challenging at times but absolutely the most rewarding job I have ever had! I LOVE YOU my sweet little DESTRUCTIVE monster and I always will no matter how CRAZY you are!

Events This Past Week

2009-08-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Chad just informed me that it has been a while since my last blog... the truth is not much has been happening. My sister came up from Utah for my grandma's funeral and brought two of her kids Gavin and Kambria (Brynlee & Brian we missed you!). They just left today and I am so sad! I spent the week in Ephrata with her and other her family members in and out the entire week. I was able to spend time with some cousins that I have not seen in quite some time. That part was great despite the fact that I was missing my little hubby! He worked all week (and was very successful in getting some good accounts all week - Good job babe!) while I played with my family.

My grandma's funeral was very nice. My cousin Wendy called me the day before and asked me to sing with her for the service since we both grew up with a great interest in music and singing. We practiced and things were sounding pretty good even while singing through a nasty cold... I was feeling pretty confident. We got up for our special musical number "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and I couldn't even get through my first verse (SORRY WENDY) My voice immediately began to quiver and I'd let out a sob even stopping completely at times. The runny nose that comes with a nasty cold didn't help my situation any either. Ugh... Sorry grandma, I thought I could get through it for you. Anyway we snapped a few photos after the service at the little dinner that we had out at my uncle Glenn's home and at the graveside.

All in all it was a pretty decent week just not a whole lot to blog about.

PS. Dawson has been taking a few steps at a time for the past couple weeks but today he took six steps while trying to grab a snack from his Grandpa Dan... Dan and I were the only witnesses since then he has been taking a few steps here and there but so far six is the record.

A Farewell Letter...

2009-08-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday you fell and broke your hip... this was only the latest incident of many in the past few years. You were taken to the hospital and the WONDERFUL Dr. Dan Canfield operated on you with the knowledge that there were many risks with your heart and kidneys but taking the risk anyway knowing that there was really no other option. You made it through the surgery just fine and woke up this morning just as feisty as ever. The hospital staff took some vitals and did some testing and found that your heart and kidneys were only getting worse and that your body was slowly shutting itself down. The doctors informed us that at most you had 2-3 days.

I was fortunate to have been able to spend some time with you yesterday. As Dawson and I sat there next to your bed before surgery you kept saying how "beautiful his big brown eyes" were and "where had his hair gone?..." and you played some patty cake with him... he brightened up your not so happy day and I believe that he enjoyed it just as much as you did.

Today was a different story altogether. I woke up to a story that things had gone well and that you were back to your ornery self and that you had even recognized my dad when he first walked into the room stating that he was your youngest son to the nurse. Which was a good thing since your mind has been unclear for some time now. I later received a phone call from my mother to inform me that doctors were giving you at most a few more days. I decided that I would drop Dawson off at Lisa's house (THANKS LISA BTW!) and head over thinking that this may be my last chance to see you. It was a good thing I did... I met you at the hospital at 4pm sat there and cried for a bit watching you struggle to breathe. The nurse came in and checked your vitals they couldn't even find a blood pressure and your 2-3 days instantly turned into hours. At that moment I couldn't help but get up and walk over to grab your hand I couldn't convince myself to get up even for a little snack. As much as Aletha wanted to be there she couldn't so I brought a letter from her to read to you... you wouldn't wake up so I decided to read it to you anyway but couldn't get through it so my dad took it and slowly through broken words started and finished what I could not. I held your hand until the end (8:15pm) and even longer still... it was so difficult to let it go. I ran my fingers through your hair and gave you a kiss on the forehead. You were no longer there, the color of your skin told me that. I said I loved you and slowly left the room thinking that you must be having a wonderful reunion with your husband that you lost so long ago. I know you are happy now and you will always be remembered as a wonderful grandmother. I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!

I LOVE To Blow In His Face...

2009-08-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

...and this is why... Each time I blow in Dawson's face I get the cutest toothy smile with tightly closed eyes. I learned at a family reunion a few years ago that if you blow into a baby's face it makes them take in a deep breath so that you can dunk them into the water. So when I started trying that with Dawson I got the cutest reaction... I know it may sound a little mean but we do this all of the time just because it's so dang cute!

We Have A Little Dancer

2009-08-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

Dawson has loved music from the very beginning and it seems like he started dancing really early I cannot remember exactly when but he has had a little evolution of dance styles... this one is the latest! When he sees the camera he gets a bit shy. You should see him go crazy. I often turn on music for him and just let him go for it so that I can get a few things done around the house but really it's just so cute that I really don't get anything done because I am so distracted by his cute little moves. The other day he was holding on to the entertainment center and started shaking his head back and forth with so much force that it literally knocked him over on the floor and he bonked his head pretty good and fussed for just a second and got back up and started dancing again... this kid has a passion for dancing!

Matt & Hanna's Wedding

2009-08-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Cool street sign Dawson Street but quite possibly the funniest part of this picture is Dawson's face and the fact that he's pointing at the camera like a stud you'll have to blow it up to see the detail HAHA I laughed so hard when I first saw that and still laugh every time I think about it!

Chad's friend's from high school (above L to R: Zach, Vicky, Tanner, Dawson, Chad, me, Holly) BTW we just found out that Holly is getting married in January AHH!!! So Exciting!! Congrats Hollah! The newly married Matt & Hanna Coffman (below)

Matt Coffman is a long time bestie of Chad's and he married the most perfect girl for him in the entire world this last weekend. Matt played college football and Hanna played college basketball both at CWU which is where they met. They are both super athletic and both have an amazing sense of humor. Anyway so Matt asked Chad to be in his wedding which Chad was happy and honored to do. So we made the 2.5 hour trip to Pateros last Friday morning and decided that we really love Pateros even though neither of us had really heard of it before. It is so beautiful! Hanna's family lives right on the river which is where they had the wedding. It was a very fun wedding they even had the DJ announce the wedding party like an announcer would a game... and the guys all did a little "chest bump" or "special handshake" with the groom it was so neat. Everything was so perfect besides the 107 degree heat. Anyway we really enjoyed our time there and we are very excited for the new married couple. Congrats M&H!

Standing Already?!

2009-07-28T14:45:00.001-07:00

Can this be true?! I feel like I just had this cute little kid! He is on the verge of walking and he actually took a step or two last night before falling on his face but he is still pretty unsure of this new upright position and balance thing. This is the first picture that captured this new milestone... I feel like he's progressing so quickly at this point, it seems that he has a new trick daily. Exciting and kinda sad.

New Family Photos

2009-07-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Sabrina is so amazing at so many things she even likes to do photos now and then (mainly of her 2 beautiful girls) so I asked her if she might be interested in taking a few much needed photos of our family. Here are just a few... Thank you, thank you, Sabrina! You are the best!

9 Month Appointment & More

2009-07-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Dawson's 9 month appointment at CBHA. Turns out he is 19.9 pounds, 28.5 inches tall and doing very well physically and right on target mentally. All of this we pretty much knew but it is always reassuring to hear a professional tell you that things are well with your child.

On another note... we are happily poor right now due to me living the dream of being a stay at home mommy, so... my mom gave me a much needed FREE hair cut a couple of weeks ago. She always cut my hair growing up because I had a hard time trusting anyone else (the one time that I had someone else cut my hair, I hated it). Since then I have had some really really great people cut/color my hair and have just loved it but due to hard economical times my amazing, very talented mom was the natural choice. I love it, thanks mom! So this morning I decided that I needed to do something about my 8 month old roots... I decided to change things up quite a bit... so as you can see in the photo above... my hair is brown, I decided I love that too! Not only that but Chad says I am smokin' HOTT, so that is also a perk.

Lastly, Chad is begging me to let him share a little something so without further ado this is from Chad:

I read this on a banana laffy taffy yesterday and it wasn't half bad:

Q:Why do Melons always have big weddings? A:Because they Cantaloupe.

Our Little Trailer Walker

2009-07-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

We have ourselves a little "trailer walker" I guess I am not quite sure of what to call this new milestone. Dawson's new favorite thing is to walk around the living room behind his little toy walker. It is the cutest thing and he just always looks up at me with a huge smile like he is just so happy with himself and his accomplishment. He takes such large steps like he is walking through tall grass it is so cute! I never want to forget these cute little moments. Every little thing this kid does melts my heart. Love him, love him! He will have his 9 month appointment this month and I cannot wait to see how much he's actually changed I swear I look at him and think to myself that he's grown another inch overnight... he's just getting so tall. He's not my little baby anymore he's a kid!

Life Goes On & On

2009-07-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Shawna and Mari have been coming over during the day quite a bit to visit Dawson... Shawna was a friend of Chad's growing up and we have since become great friends. She and her sister have grown very attached to Dawson. They love visiting and I love the company and break from entertaining Dawson alone as well. Anyway, we took these pictures: Playing the piano is one of Dawson's favorite activities and he just began to stick out his tongue I think it is so cute!

Yep, he loves that piano! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Chamberlain!

8 Months & More...

2009-06-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Dawson was 8 months old on the 17th. He began to crawl that day as well. I cannot believe the progress that he's made in just a short amount of time. He is getting around the house so quickly now and pulling himself up on everything. Yesterday I set him down on the living room floor and walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and walked right back into the living room. He was climbing up our entertainment center... It really scared me to think that could have fallen on top of him. Anyway, I guess I will no longer be leaving him alone even for just a few seconds.Cute little 8 month photos...

I feel like I need to get more creative with my pictures of him... it just seems like such a hassle when I am trying to get him to smile while holding my camera. Maybe I can get Chad to help me one of these days. I have so many ideas.

Happy Father's Day!!

2009-06-20T22:24:00.001-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! I have the BEST daddio! He is one of those dad's that you never really understood how much LOVE he really has for you until you get older. My dad will do anything for me and I really wish I would have understood that when I was younger... I really could have used that to my advantage.
So I really began to understand and appreciate my dad when I began with him my senior year of high school. My dad has the best sense of humor of anyone that I know. I may think that because we are so on the same page when it comes to funny stuff. We are both always thinking of how to shock people with a quick witted off-color response. He and I are also more alike than I would have ever thought growing up. He is very stubborn... guess who now has that trait?!

Another thing that I actually really enjoy sharing with my dad is our business-minded drive to constantly find new ways to make money with things we enjoy doing. It seems we always have some big idea to share with one another that we will make millions at. He is always willing to listen and encourage me when I come to him with my BIG dreams when others may not... I think he just understands my thinking.

I love that he just calls me sometimes when he really has nothing to say just because he misses me and wants to check in to see how things are going. My dad is also a wonderful grandpa... I think that sometimes when we get together I find myself thinking he loves those kids way more than he ever loved us... I am sure this is not true... but I remember a time when I was running through the house screaming and covering my butt because dad gave the much deserved "HARD SPANKINS" (in opposition to mom's where we'd laugh so hard the entire time) although I only remember maybe one occasion where he actually had to spank me. I remember playing hide and seek for family night and he was always the best at hiding... My dad is very talented in so many ways. I really enjoy my dad and his personality I really do think that some of the very best things about me, I got from my dad! LOVE YOU DADDIO!

Chad is an amazing father! Of all the things that Chad does in his life this is the thing that I admire the most! He is so loving with Dawson! He is constantly coming up with new little nicknames "Jittle Sros", "Sroston" or "Jittle Daws". He gets so excited at every single new thing that Dawson does. Dada was Dawson's first "word" (sound) and Chad was so proud of him! When Dawson first sat up Chad was his biggest fan and when he began to crawl Chad took a break from work just to come witness it with his own eyes. Chad sees such greatness in Dawson and is already trying to work with him on catching/throwing a ball. With such an talented, athletic, supportive and involved father, I cannot imagine that Dawson will ever fail at anything. (It doesn't hurt that Dawson has such an amazing mother either). Chad I love you so much for the amazing father that you are to our son!

Chad's dad Dan is also a wonderful father in our lives! Dan has always been very involved and encouraging to Chad. If I could have picked a father for Chad I don't think I could have found a better one than Dan. They really are the perfect match, they "get each other" in a way that everyone else just looks around and says "what the... huh... that didn't make any sense" but they both understand each other perfectly. Dan fathers Chad in a way that Chad perfectly responds to... especially when dealing with sports, coaching issues, music and random useless trivia. Dan is also a very loving and involved grandfather. He always denies the fact that Dawson can do anything until he sees it with his own two eyes... it's really kind of cute! Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Father, Father-in-law and Grandpa!

"Are You FREAKING Kidding Me!!??!?..."

2009-06-14T18:19:00.001-07:00

That is what I said when I walked into the living room...

We had an awesome day at church today. I have a feeling Heavenly Father was making up for what we would find when we got home... We walked in the door and walked directly back to Dawson's room to lay him down for a short nap. We then walked into our room to change and get stuff ready to head over to the Dan and Lisa Davis home for our Sunday lunch. I walked out into the living room when I saw it... URG! How frustrating. Apparently what happened was that our neighbor hit a sprinkler head with the lawn mower broke it and never said anything to the owner of our apartments. At two o'clock every morning the sprinklers come on and the sprinkler head was spraying water directly into a vent near the roof of our apartment; which then went into our ceiling and the ceiling dropped right into our living room... WHAT A MESS!
( This was us last night enjoying our mess free home after a day in the sun watching Chad play softball in which he did amazing yesterday by the way... not ever thinking of what might happen the following day.)

Of course Kevin (landlord) came over to temporarily fix the huge hole until he can really get in there and go to work. We spent the majority of this afternoon just getting the living room back to the point where we can at least function (Thanks for the help Dan!). Needless to say, my entire house is full of this nasty powdery dust and as I tried to clean the majority of it, I have a feeling I will be spending at least a few hours tomorrow and a few in the next couple of weeks just getting this crud under control.

Graduation Weekend

2009-06-09T12:50:00.001-07:00

This past weekend my little brother Wes graduated. The family got together and a good time was had by all. We missed you Leth!! It began to storm just about an hour before the graduation was scheduled to begin and the lighting was super scary so they delayed the graduation about an hour until the storm passed over but it was nice and quick and I was sad that I didn't take my nice camera in but I didn't want to chance it with the rain... so here are a few pics from the little camera...Congrats Wes!

We also were able to attend a dance recital for Arianne. She did so great and looked so pretty!

We Love Summer!

2009-06-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

I just love summer this year! I am not in an office unable to enjoy the nice weather. It is so fun now that I am at home to run over to the park with Dawson and push him on the swing, he loves it! We tried on his swimsuit today and I snapped a few pics... I also got him saying dada on video but only on my phone. I have not been able to send it to my email or download it... I will find a way it is so cute! I thought the last photo on that strip was so funny I was totally laughing when I saw him do that, he was almost growling.

This sweet boy is so handsome in his mama's eyes... look at that perfect face! Love you sweet boy!! You will also notice the lines from his sunglasses. I thought it was to cute to just photoshop out. Anyway, I cannot wait to take him swimming... he loves his baths so I am sure he'll love the pool!

Some New Wheels

2009-06-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Today I went and traded in the Jetta with 115,000 + for a Focus with very few miles! Now Chad and I each have a Ford Focus. For those of you who know my Jetta... this has been a long time coming. I had a hard time getting rid of the thing up until now because I didn't want to sell it to anyone that I knew. What a relief that it is now gone forever! Ahhhh!! I cannot believe that "cancer of a car" is out of my hair!

My wonderful daddio met with me to make sure I didn't get screwed... and in fact as we worked together I got a screaming deal! We are a pretty good team! Yeah for car dealers that don't drive you crazy! I must say I had a good & short experience this time around!

What A Weekend!

2009-05-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

WOW, What a weekend! My "little" brother Wesley was competing in the state track tournament in which he was the defending state champ in pole vault for the past 2 years. Dawson and I went with my parents over to stay with My aunt and uncle in Federal Way, WA which was very close to where the tournament was being held in Tacoma. We went there and the day started out alright he did pretty well in high jump which was the other event in which he qualified to compete in state. He got 6' and went out at 6'2" which I don't think he was very happy about but I thought was pretty darn impressive!

Chad got there right before pole vault started which we were very happy about.

(Disclaimer: I believe I am remembering this all accurately but it was crazy so sorry if a few details are wrong. )

Pole vault for Wes began with a miss at 13'... AHHHH... I was freaking out, I don't know why because he misses the first vault sometimes because it's like a warm up for him BUT I was so nervous for him. He made 13' on his 2nd try then he skipped to 14' made it on the 1st try. At 14'6" he and one other kid made the vault and moved on the other kid had them move the bar to 14'9 and Wes decided to skip to 15 which ended up being a great move as the kid missed 1-2-3 times. Wes made 15' first try the crowd went crazy for him... then the real fun began he had them move the bar to 15'6" which would be the new state record the people running the event stopped the entire meet for Wes. The entire crowd began to clap slowly at first and progressively faster... it seemed like everything was going in slow motion, I could hardly watch I was so nervous for him. HE FREAKING MADE IT! I could not believe it! Well... I could believe it, but it was so perfect on the first try... AHHH... We were totally jumping around! He got the STATE MEET RECORD which he also previously held. He had them move the bar to 15'8" which at the time we thought was 16' as you will hear in the video, but it was really 15'8". HE MADE IT ON THE FIRST TRY he was on FIRE!!! Anyway, My little bro is the most talented person I know I am definitely a proud big sister. I am so glad that I was able to be there! WAY TO GO WESLEY! LOVE YOU KID!

ALSO today is Lisa's Birthday!!

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Lisa, Happy birthday to you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandma! LOVE YOU! Love, Dawson

Silverwood & More...

2009-05-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

This Memorial Day was a pretty good one! We went to Silverwood Amusement Park in Idaho and had lots of fun with a few of our friends! Our friend Ryan is leaving on a mission this week and this was his last wonderful experience before the mission. Anyway we went on lots of rides we even took Dawson on a few he was able to ride the old antique cars and as you can see in the picture I rode with him on the dumbo ride... it was pretty much amazing! He really did enjoy himself and did so well the entire day he just loves being outside! Chad Ryan and Brady decided to climb the rock wall, as you can see in the goofy picture of them. We also were able to go visit my grandma and Grandpa Latimer and my uncle Rex was there too BONUS!! Anyway it was all around a very fun day! I had lots of fun with my two favorite boys in the entire world!

Nakey BOY...

2009-05-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

I have always been a fan of naked baby pictures... today I set up my studio to do some senior photos for some friends of mine and decided to do a few of Dawson while I had it set up... here is the product... Kinda artsy... I know, but I thought it was pretty cute!

Do I have just the cutest babe ever??!!! Look at that cute little crack!!

Of course when Chad saw this he had to throw in a basketball... I actually think it makes a nice little accessory.

He then of course wanted a few of himself... :) I wont share those ones... If you think these are cute you should see the ones with Chad! HAHA...

My First Mother's Day As A Mother

2009-05-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

It was a good one, we went to Ephrata to spend the day with my mom. Thought I'd share a few photos.
Look at those cute little toes... don't mind my dirty feet we were playing outside before this.

I love it when the sun shines through his cute little ears... it makes me laugh.

I thought this was a cute little moment with my boys.

Our first official mothers day last year I was pregnant... NO FUN!

He is so FREAKIN' CUTE!! Love this boy! Not bad photos for my little not so amazing point and shoot camera... I don't like lugging around my nice one too big to take it everywhere.

A Tribute to the GREATEST Mother in the WORLD

2009-05-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

I know that everyone feels that they have the best mother but I am here to tell you that I ACTUALLY IN REALITY DO! She is so talented, intelligent, caring, selfless, thoughtful, loving, patient, kind, beautiful, Etc. Etc. Etc.
I respect my mom for who she is, what she does, and how she raised me to be. If I could only be half the example of what kind of person you should be for my children that my mom was for me, I would consider my children lucky.

You gave us an appreciation for quality family time.

You showed us by example how to have a great sense on humor, and obviously handed down some good looking genes.

You have always been there when I need you to lift my spirits when I was in need of some support.

You are a wonderful and loving grandmother.

Just look at what you created, with a little help from dad of course.

And look what we've created to pass on those good genes of yours! WOW You are pretty much amazing!

We love you mom! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

6 Month Check-Up

2009-04-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

My handsome little Dawson was 6 months old on April 17th... CRAZY! Anyway in the last 2 months it seems that he has just grown up so much. Yesterday he had his check-up and it just hit me how much he has really changed since the last time I was there. He is so close to crawling he gets so frustrated that he cannot get around especially when a toy is just out of his reach... He laughs so much now it is the cutest thing. It is rare to see him not smiling. How did we get so lucky to have such a happy baby?? When he is not feeling well it is very obvious. Like yesterday after his shots he was fevering quite a bit and he was so lethargic and fussy, he'd been a little sick the day before I think he was a little too close to his ill cousin, Gavin last week and with the shots on top of that yesterday was no fun at all.

Above is a photo of him in his little bath tub with the ducks strategically placed. I always give him a bath after his immunizations as they say it can help their legs to not feel so sore. You can see his little crayon band aids SO CUTE! When I was little I always wanted to wear band aids so I figure I'll leave them on him for a day or two, I am sure he doesn't care either way but for some reason I just feel like he would want to keep them on longer... I know it's weird.

So Chad has this thing where he just thinks that Dawson is always too hot in his little sleepers so he zips the front down half way... well this is what I came home to the other day... What was Chad thinking?? I am not really that sure Dawson does have Eczema just like his mommy NO FUN and I believe that he was having some skin issues on this day maybe that was the reasoning behind the lack of shirt. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cute!

So at 6 months Dawson is 27.5 inches tall and 18.1 lbs. In his weight he is in the 50% and in his height he is in the 75% so... it is exactly opposite from when he was 3 months old... Funny how those things can change so much!

FUN IN UTAH

2009-04-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

So... things have been pretty awesome on my surprise trip to Utah. I have been able to spend time with a few of my very favorite people.
We went to a really fun place called Kangaroo Zoo this place with a ton of huge blow up slides and jump toys.

Here are three of my favorite people in the world I was lucky enough to give them a little horse ride.

Here is Dawson with Aletha, she is so crazy he thinks she's so funny.

We are loving the sun! The weather has been so amazing here.

Dawson is loving it! I think that he is missing his daddy though... I have been saying Dada to him for a while now and he is finally repeating it every once in a while... It is the cutest thing.

Dawson loves his cousin's. Gavin is always hugging on him even to the point of tears at times... I wish he understood how much he is loved.

I was able to spend a little time with my roommate from college Ashlee Swenson. She is pretty much amazing! This fine young lady is available if you know anyone who may be interested. She is working as an accountant in Spanish Fork SHE'S FREAKING AWESOME! LOVE HER!

It's been so great to be back with this amazing family for a while! We were able to do a few pictures as you can see...

It was a very cool location... I love UTAH everything is a background everything is beautiful.

Oh I love this boy!

DADDY (Chad), we miss you we will be home soon! can't wait to give you a BIG smooch!

BRACES AND SURPRISE TRIP

2009-04-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

Chad had braces as a teen. Since then his teeth have moved significantly. He decided to check into his options for getting them back to the way they were after he first got them removed. He went back to see the orthodontist and today he is yet again wearing braces. He only has to wear them for 6 weeks which we were happy about.

On another more exciting note... CHAD SURPRISED ME WITH A TRIP TO UTAH. When I say surprise, that is what I mean. I found out last night that I am leaving tomorrow for a 10 day trip to my sister's home in Lindon. I AM SO EXCITED to see my sister and her family. She is my BEST FRIEND and I get to see her very little. Not only did he surprise me with a trip he moved all of my prior engagements he changed and AtHome America party that I had scheduled, moved a doctor appointment for Dawson, arranged for my church class to be taught, picked up a birth certificate for Dawson to be able to fly with me and contacted the paper that I just started working for and told them I couldn't' make it next week and who knows what else... I thought that was so thoughtful and what other man in the world would have thought to not only arrange a surprise trip but takes care of every other engagement before even telling you about going?!! I AM SOOO... IMPRESSED! GOOD JOB CHADDY!

I Want to Be Like Glenn!

2009-04-14T21:01:00.001-07:00

So Chad and I really, REALLY like Glenn Beck... so today I took a picture of Dawson in his really cool Glenn Beck shirt that he received from Santa for Christmas and I emailed it to Glenn. I thought it was so cute so I am sharing it with you all. I think it would be really neat if he emailed me back but I understand that he receives thousands of emails a day and he may not get back to me.