Our little family

So we originally went to Kiddie Kandids to get our family pictures done and they did an OK job. We only had 6 pictures to choose from and that's all the poses they did so we didn't have a lot of options. When time came to order prints we were blown away to say the least. One page cost $20 so we only got 1 8x10 for us (sorry mom and dad no pictures for you). Well about a month later I was at Target and ran into a freind and she told me about Targets Portrait Studio and how much cheaper it was, we dicided to give them a try and were pleasantly surprised. I think we will be going to Target from now on, we may keep trying different studios so if anyone has recommendations I would love to hear them.

Making ornaments and a mess

Every Christmas season my family gets together and does our version of the 12 days of Christmas, it pretty much consists of doing a different activity with the family each day on the 12 days before Christmas. The first activity we did was make Christmas tree ornaments. You start with a dough made out of cinnimon, apple sauce and glue (so its edible!). You roll out the dough and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. I had a great idea of getting Shad's hand print, well it didnt work very well because the dough wasnt the right consistancy. Knowing how much Shad likes textures I thought he might like to play with the dough and boy was I right. He mostly just grabbed it with his hand and squished it in between his fingers and of course made a huge mess but it was well worth it.

Reading time

I try to get in a least a few minutes of reading time with Shad every day. I can usually squeeze it in but sometimes it doesn't happen. My hope is that he will grow up loving books and reading and that will only benefit him that much more in the end. He loves textures so his favorite books are the touchy feely books but he will sit and listen to anything and often tries to hold the book on his own. Its only a matter of time til we go in his room and find him sitting up in his crib reading, right?

Memories and Sock Monkeys

Dan and I thought it would be cool to get a new ornament every year since we got married (you know a little something to remind us what happened that year). So naturally this year we had to get something to represent our new little addition to the family. I could have gotten you know the "Baby's first year" ornament I have found some pretty cute ones but we wanted something a little more unique and thats when i found the adored sock monkey. And with our luck the purchase comes with a story. So the day after Thanksgiving we went christmas tree shopping. Well they didnt have any trees up yet so we went to the Antique/Flower shop next door (The Planted Earth, dont ever go there you will see why). Its a cute little shop with fun little trinkets that we were adoring (we as in, my sisters Angie and Bekah, my brother Luke and me). Well shortly after we got there I noticed that one of the workers coinsidentally needed to dust wherever we were. I pointed it out to my sister thinking that we were being spyed on so we didnt steal anything, I guess we are not the usual customers of an antique shop, figures. Well we then went up stairs to look at some vintage hats and jackets when Luke proceeded to try on an old War jacket, very cool. We then heard a screach from downstairs (and Im not exagerating we actually thought it was a parrot) saying "dont put that on, dont put that on" over and over, "thats over 100 years old and you will tear it" WOW. I dont think I have been yelled at like that since I poked holes in my sisters water bed. After being repremanded by a 50 some year old fashionably challanged store owner we felt very uncomfortable. Then to top it off the same worker from before shockingly needed to dust some pictures right next to where we were upstairs. I said "lets just go" and Bekah very loudly said, "YA we're being followed". We went to leave, well first buy my sock monkey which I realy didnt want to buy from her but I really wanted it and didnt know where else I could get it. While I was checking out the owner came out and said, not apologetically "ya I have tried on really old clothes and tore right through them" and Angie replied, "ya well we just dont like being yelled at from down the stairs", the owner didnt have a response to that. I really cannot believe that an owner would treat her customers so poorly, we felt like little hoodlums, as Im sure she would refer to us as such. In the end we ended up with a beautiful tree, and adorable ornament for Shad and a store added to my "will never shop at again" list. I found this ornament in my moms Christmas box and decided to put it on my tree, I hope she doesnt mind. I made this when I was in 1st grade I think, wasnt I so stinkin cute, that must be where Shad gets it from.

Christmas in Comming

I cant believe it Dan didnt fight me on putting up a tree this year, actually I think it might have been his idea. I think I just might be more excited about this Christmas than any other year, there is something different about Christmas when you have kids. I am more excited about opening Shad's gifts than my own but that may also be because not only do I know what I am getting, I bought and wrapped it too (I guess we are not very traditional in that way). I am so excited for the rest of my family to get here, and get more excited every morning when I turn on the tree lights.

Sacramento or Bust

I know they look gentle and harmless, if we only knew

Kaylee showing her true colors (Shad looks so miserable)

Since Dan will be starting the Post Academy in January and we finally had a car that would make it we decided to go to Sacramento to visits Dan's family and friends. Bekah was here for Thanksgiving so she rode with us back to CA, which was nice because I got to spend a little more time with her. This was the first time Shad had met his cousins on Dan's side so that was fun especially because they love dolls and thought that Shad was just a real live doll, I still dont think that they can hurt him eventhough everytime they picked him up he whined in protest. Overall it was a very eventfull evening, but I think Shad will enjoy his cousins more when he can defend himself. I drove up to Chico one of the days to play with Bekah and meet her freinds, it was really nice to see that she is being taken care of by some pretty good people. The last night we were there we went to Dan's best childhood freinds house for some dinner and games, which always includes a game of Killer Bunnies which didnt dissapoint. The trip home was much easier then the one there because we stopped half way in Winnemucca so each day we only drove about 5 hours. Shad holds his ground with hating the car seat but Im sure I will break him in eventually and he will learn to love road trips, the sooner the better.

Dan finally gave in

Well our two cars have been slowly dying for about a year now and we are just waiting for one of them to finally go toward the light, so it was inevitable that we would need to get a new car. So around August I told Dan that all I wanted for my birthday was a new car, and he just laughed and said yeah right. Well when my birthday came around and Dan took me to Park City for the weekend, my new phrase was "all I want for Christmas is a new car, and maybe some front teeth for Shad so he will stop teething". He just laughed like before, well we thought the Explorer had driven its last mile so we went car shopping, just to see what was out there. I think that a new car is an appropriate Thanksgiving gift after all I would be very thankful for it. We finally decided on the car we wanted and went to a friend to see if he could find one at an auction for us. I must have been our lucky day because he ended up getting the car we wanted with a few extras along with it, it had about 30,000 less miles than we expected to get along with leather interior and a built in DVD player which we probably wont be using much until Shad is older and we are needing to entertain him on road trips. We are very happy with our new purchase, especially after taking our first road trip out to Sacramento last weekend to visit Dan's family and my sister in Chico.

Just like Daddy

Ever since Shad was born he has always had a nice head of hair which I am very proud of not like I really had any say in what he looked like. We gave Shad is first haircut at 2 months and again every month after that. Because his hair was growing so fast I gave in to Dan's request to buzz his hair this time and I really like how it turned out. I was worried about cutting off to much so I wanted to use a #8 guard and if Dan had his way he would use no guard at all so we compromised on a #6 guard and were both happy with the results so I think this will be our hair cutting methods from now on. Maybe next time I will be more adventurous and go with a shorter length.

Dan's Update

Dan stopped working for the Canyon's ski resort in July of this year and since then has been trying to get his business going which has actually paid off a bit, we have actually taken a pay check for the first time since he started it over a year ago. However since his business is not yet able to pay all the bill he is in the process of registering to go to the post academy. He actually applied to get a job with a few police departments and in the end he was always on the top of the list of candidates but they all turned him down because they did not want to pay to put him through post and told him that if he was already certified he would be one of their top choices. So that made our decision. When Dan was in the military we knew that some benefits would come our way when his service was through but we never thought we would need them so badly. Because Dan is a veteran the state is actually paying for his academy training and his GI bill will be giving us money for living expenses and we are so grateful for that opportunity that he has. If everything goes as planned then he will be starting his training in the end of January and will be finished in July, and hopefully hired with a PD soon after.

Hangin with the cousins

These are just a few pictures of the whole family well the little ones anyway. This is all the grandkids with Nana and Pop from left to right; Violet, Mason, Grace, Lily, Shad, Hannah, and Sam.
These little ones were all born within 1 year, well almost 1 year Grace's Birthday is exactly 1 year and 1 day older than shad. Grace 16 mo, Mason 13 mo, Violet 10 mo, Shad 4 mo.
I guess it was twinner day, JK. Jay Kim and Mason came over for Sunday dinner and I told Jay that shad had the same onesie so I put it on so we could get some twinner shots. Arent they the cuttest little boys.

Eating Cereal

Well we decided to start Shad on Rice Cereal a little early hoping that it would help him sleep a bit longer and it may end up biting us in the butt. As it turns out he absolutely hates it. I don't know if he doesn't like the taste texture or just the fact that it takes to long and is to much work but for whatever the reason we cannot seem to reason with him long enough to get a bite down so I think we might give up for at least a few weeks and try again, maybe then he will be ready.

And then there were 2

I can't believe it only took 2 weeks but he got his second tooth. He was not quite as fussy as with the first but we could deffinately tell when the tooth came in cause he cheered right up.

Just showing off how freaking adorable my little boy is

Playing in his Johnny Jump-Up

What a stud with his fo-hawk, in his church clothes

Halloween

Well Halloween was a week long event. The Saturday before Halloween we had a Ward party, I went to help my mom with a both she was in charge of and also to show off Shad and his adorable costume. We had a fun evening watching all the kids run around in there costumes and at the end of the night they gave out different awards for costumes and to my surprise Shad got the first one which was the baby category, I didn't even know he was in a category. So pretty much the bishop announced what I already knew, that my son was the cutest baby in the ward hehe JK. The next week I worked on making Pinatas with Angie, we thought it would be fun to set up Pinatas instead of just handing out the candy. The Pinatas were a bit of a challange to figure out how to make but in the end turned out looking really cute. On Halloween we just hung out at the house, outside for a good portion of the evening waiting for groups of kids to come so we could "wack" the pinatas. We were very lucky because it was a beautiful night and was actually pretty warm however it did sprinkle a couple of times. The rest of the night we spent watching a semi-scary movie Aracnaphobia, it was a fun Halloween.

Vegas Baby!!

Every year my sisters, mom, aunt and I go on a girls retreat and we usually end up going to Vegas because it is in the middle of where everyone lives. Last year we went to see Celine Dion before she retired her show and it was absolutely fabulous. This year we first stopped in Cedar City on the 15th of October to see the Shakespeare Festival. The next day we drove down to Vegas and picked up my sister from the airport. On Friday we hung out at the pool and later that evening my sister and I went shopping while my mom and aunt went to see the play Menopause which they said was halarious. The next day we toured the strip which consisted of getting show tickets, walking around the Venitian, Belagio, and eating at the Excalibur Buffet. Two of my sisters rode the New York New York rollercoaster but I would'nt dare in fear of passing out on a down slope. That evening we went to see Mystere which is a Cirque du sole show at Treasure Island and it was fantastic I enjoyed almost every minute of it (I hated the baby part in it and for those who have seen the show know what I am talking about). The next morning we woke up just in time to check out and head to the M&M store for suveniers and watch the fountain at the Belagio to pass by the time till my sister had to be back at the airport. The whole trip was very relaxing and enjoyable trip but by the time the 4 days were up I was ready to get home, I really missed my boys.

Family Pics

What, a tooth!!

We found a tooth, well not actually found it we just noticed it. Shad was acting really gumpy and not eating well at all, he would it about 2 oz. then just scream. We went on like this for about a week or so not knowing what to do. I looked on the internet and all of his symptoms matched Thrush (I didnt know much about it but is seemed to match) so I pinned the crying on that. He had a check-up with his doctor the next day and I brought it up and he doubted that it was thrush and said it could be caused by teething. I really didnt think that was possible considering he was so young so I continued to treat Thrush which is pretty much just sterelizing everything to the extreme including his hands. Well the next day we were out running errands and he was talking (cooing) and when he opened his mouth my sister noticed something white and low and behold it was a tooth. I cant believe his first tooth came in a just 4 months old. I am so glad that I am not breastfeeding. We are not sure if he ever had Thrush but either way the tylenol helped out tremendously whether it was just teething or Thrush so I am so greatful for modern medicine.

Shad is sleeping through the night!

At just 2 months old Shad started sleeping through the night and most would say "oh how lucky are they", well it was a bit more than luck although I wont say that luck didnt have any part in the process. I had heard a lot about the Babywise method and didnt think much about it until Dan and I were very sleep deprived and quickly getting short with eachother. About this same time a friend of mine mentioned that her daughter (9months old at the time) was sleeping on average 12 hours a night WOW. She said that she started sleeping through the night at just 3 months old and told me that it was due to the Babywise method, so of course it got my attention. I immediatly purchased the book on amazon and started reading as soon as I recieved it, it took me a few days to finish it but it was worth it in the end. After just 5 days of doing the suggested routine Shad just decided on his own to skip his midnight feeding and slept 8 hours straight and has been doing that for the past month and a half and now and then we have a very lucky night of 10-11 hours of straight sleep and on those days I am particularly happy that I accepted the suggestion from my friend.

EF77F87B-0D82-28E7-82E5-40E93620208C

1.02.21

1.02.05

Please come party with me!!

I have just started selling with a company called Usborne books and I am so excited! I am having a starter party on
Sept. 27, 2008 at 1:00 pm

and would love everyone to come and visit or even start your Christmas shopping early and get a few books. If you cannot come but would like to order books just call me and you can make an order over the phone. Hope you can make it!

EF77F87B-0D82-28E7-82E5-40E93620208C

1.02.21

1.02.05

Happy Birthday to Me (Kate) in Park City

The weekend of my Birthday was a bit crazy because we had a lot of people in town for Shad's Blessing so we decided to celebrate my Birthday the weekend after. Dan planned a weekend away without Shad which was a wonderful break from our daily activities. Shad stayed with my parents and Dan and I went to Park City, we did one of those TimeShare "scams" where they suck you in by giving you a free stay in a hotel but you have to take a 90 min tour of their facility and listen to all the incentives they want to give you if you buy today. Well needless to say we didn't buy anything as much as we wanted to so we go put into a decent but not great hotel room for the weekend. When we got to the check-in counter Dan knew the person checking us in from when he worked there this past winter. Luckily Dan was on good terms with this person and her upgraded our room to the nicest room they had available and it was RIDICULOUS!! We had a two story room on the top floor equiped with; two common areas, 2 bathrooms, 3 TVs, a full kitchen, 2 outdoor patios, and of course a bedroom well actually 2 bedrooms but only one of them was really ours to use, they just hadn't locked the door in between the two rooms. The next morning we went to breakfeast at a 5 star restaraunt (which doesnt taste much defferent than ihop for breakfeast anyway). I spent most of the afternoon at the spa which was very relaxing and I think much deserved after just having had a baby. And for dinner we ate again at a 5 star restaraunt which was deffinatly worth the money. I order steak and Dan of course ordered the hamburger, which to my surprise was better than my steak, I didnt think that was possible. We eneded the reaxing day in the pool. We went back home the next morning which was good because I was starting to miss my baby boy (Dan thought I was ridiculous for missing Shad after only 2 nights away). We also had a nice family party that evening where we just ate dinner and dessert and played games in the backyard. Overall I think it was the best Birthday I have had so far.

Shad's Blessing

We finally blessed Shad on Sunday the 31st of August, we had to wait until Dan's Dad and friends could make it out here from Sacramento. I thought that I would share some pictures of him and the family. My mom made his adorable outfit, the vest is made from her wedding dress material and the tie I made from the sash I wore when Dan and I got sealed so there is a bit of sentimental value in his blessing outfit.

Shad's First Trip to San Diego

When Shad was just 8 weeks old I decided to go down to San Diego to visit my sister and aunt. Bekah went with me so that made the trip much easier. Shad was still eating very frequently so that made it the longest trip to SD that we have ever taken. We had to stop about every 2 hours or so but we were lucky that Shad decided to be good in his car seat and slept most of the way. We had a great time in SD although we really didnt do much. We hung out with my sister, aunt and of course neices. I was very surprised that Shad did as well as he did, he really didnt seem to even notice that we were not home. When we went home we flew (shad's first airplane ride) and it proved to me much easier and faster, of course, that driving. I was worried that Shad would have a problem with his ears so I just made sure that he was drinking or sucking his binky everytime we were accending or decending and it seemed to work great. I think I will fry from now on.

EF77F87B-0D82-28E7-82E5-40E93620208C

1.02.05