Our Christmas

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Busy but fun! We got Justin for 2 weeks and had a great time with him. Christmas started out with a fun surprise. We surprised our Young Women with a limo ride down town to see the lights at Temple Square. It was so fun to see them so excited. What a great night!

We stopped by 7/11 on the way home for hot chocolate.

Justin had the best time getting to know his brother and I was loving every minute of it. He kept wanting me to take pictures of the two of them and just wanted to hold him constantly. It was really sweet! As a mother, my hope is that these two will always be close.

My three boys out to eat right before Christmas

Justin had just as much fun giving presents this year as he did giving them. He spent a lot of time helping me wrap presents. I finally just started letting me wrap a bunch on his own. His wrapping was endearing and so was his writing.

Tada! After over 2 years without my wedding ring, Alan finally gave it to me for Christmas. I lost the diamond over 2 yrs ago and it was quite the fiasco trying to get it back. I was thrilled and so surprised!

Just taking it all in

Justin is so funny! He's been dying for a pair of cowboy boots for months now. He wants a pair so much because his dad wears them.

AJ was so spoiled this year. Sad part is he will never remember it. He got a few gifts from family and got tons of attention at my parents house that day.

We spent the morning with our own little families. In the afternoon we all met at my parents for the rest of the day. We started with my niece playing her violin for us. Then opened presents. I missed half of it trying to put AJ to sleep. There was so much excitement going on, he just couldn't fall asleep.

AJ's cousin Thomas adores him. Here he is feeding him his bottle.

Justin with my dad

Awe, love him!!

Love my three boys!

After opening presents we ate dinner and played games till late that night. I got home that night at around midnight and felt so sick that I threw up. At first I thought it was because I ate too much junk. Nope, I got the flu. Blah! Not only did I get the flu but it got past around most my family for a week like a domino effect. It was awful. I felt sick for days too. It was all worth it to spend time with my family and have Justin and AJ. Love those boys! I can't wait until AJ understands Christmas. Then it will be that much more fun! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas this year!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was so much fun! My dad's brother, wife, daughter and her 3 kids came out from California which made this year so much more fun having family in town. I loved it! Can I mention that I also loved it because Alan took the night feedings all weekend? I was in heaven! The day started out very lazy. Just hanging out at home in pj's. My cousin Lynnette and I finally made it to the gym around 11am. Got in a good workout and then headed to my parents for Thanksgiving. Mmmm! I love Thanksgiving! It's so fun to spend time with family, eat good food and focus on all the blessing I have. I was very impressed I didn't eat very much this year but I certainly made up for it the next day! :(

What's better than one Thanksgiving? Two! We had my dad's siblings, my mom's sister, husband, son and wife and their 4 kids come over the next day for leftover and hung out. What a good time that was and it was so fun catching up with my cousin and his wife. I just adore them! I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of Friday but I did get some from Thursday...

My cute cousin's son Brady helping me feed AJ

I can't stop kissing my little guy! He has the best chubby cheeks to kiss!

What I am grateful for this year:

1. My sweet little guy. I adore him so much and can't get enough of him. I get excited a lot of times when he wakes up from his naps because I actually miss him when he's sleeping. (I don't get excited when he gets up for his 3am feeding. ;))

2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being a mom. It's better than I ever could have imagined. It's been such a blessing in my life.

3. These aren't all about AJ, I promise! I am so grateful that he's such a good baby. He sleeps pretty good and I'm not as tired as I thought I would be with a newborn. (I was way more tired when I was pregnant than I am now.) He sleeps anywhere. I can put him down and he falls asleep on his own. He'll sit in his swing for long periods of time and I love how when he sits in his swing, he kicks his feet, waves his arms and talks to himself. Adorable! He's the best baby!

4. OK, OK enough about him...for now. I am so grateful for my sweet husband. He's so good to us and works so hard to make our lives so good. He's so giving and is always putting his family first. He's such a great dad and AJ adores him. He smiles more for Alan than anyone else. I'm just slightly jealous of that. ;)

5. I'm grateful that Alan takes the night feedings on the weekends so I can get more sleep. Now that is a good hubby! :)

6. I'm grateful for spanks. That sounds really funny but after having a baby and gaining 60lbs, they are heaven sent! I don't wear them all the time but they are nice to put on when you want to wear a fitted shirt and not have a belly!

7. I'm grateful I've lost almost 40lbs of the 60 I gained. Yes, I gained 60lbs! That is crazy! I lost 30-35 of it with in a month and am working hard to take off the rest.

8. I'm grateful to be back at the gym and working out without a big basketball hanging in front of me. Awe, it's nice!

9. OK, OK enough of the superficial! I'm grateful for my family. I LOVE them SO much and LOVE spending time with them. I know I can always count on them and they will always love me no matter what.

10. I'm SO grateful for wonderful in laws. When AJ was born my mother in law came out for almost a week and took such good care of us. She would remind me to eat (I was constantly forgetting), she fed me, she let me sleep whenever I was done feeding AJ, she cleaned my house and did my laundry. The support meant the world to me. They are really good to me!

11. I'm grateful for my calling. I love serving in Young Womens. I love our girls and love the leaders I serve with.

12. I'm grateful for the smiles I get from my baby. They melt my heart!

13. I'm grateful for his tender heart. He really is such a tender, sweet little guy and I'm so grateful for the spirit he brings in our home.

14. I'm grateful for a sister who is so willing to watch him daily so I can go to the gym and who is so helpful when I need a sitter and is willing to watch him so Alan and I can go on a date once in awhile. (It will be nice to go on a date and not miss him constantly and think about him constantly! The first time we left him to celebrate our 3yr wedding anniversary, I cried after we left the movie because I was missing him so much! I know, I'm over the top!)

15. I'm grateful for the relationships I have in my life and for all the people who are so good to me and my family and show up for us when we need them. Family, neighbors, old and new friends.

16. I'm grateful for my life in general. I feel really blessed to have all I have and to have the life that I have. I'm really happy and count my blessing every day for all the Lord has blessed me with.

AJ's baby blessing

AJ got to meet his big brother finally! Justin flew in from California for AJ's baby blessing. We blessed him on November 7th when AJ was just 5 weeks old. It was really exciting for me to see these two little guys meet each other. I think it was little overwhelming for Justin but he loved it!



AJ's blessing day turned out perfect and I was really lucky to have so much help that day. I had gotten mastitis (a breast infection that feels like the flu) for the second time the day before the blessing. It got progressively worse throughout the day and by 6:30pm I was in bed with a fever of 101 and the chills like I've never experienced before. I was lucky to have my in laws staying with us and they were so great to get my house all ready for the big day while I laid in bed wanting to die!

I was so grateful to feel somewhat OK to make it to the blessing. The blessing was so sweet. Alan was really great and kept getting choked up as he blessed him (he'll deny that ;)) but the spirit was so strong and it turned out great! AJ had a lot of loved ones come out and support him. The day was perfect!

Our little family

Three generations

My sisters

Our good friend, Ryan

Our good friends Ron and Angie

AJ's cousin's adore him and love to hold him!

AJ's newborn pictures

My very talented sister (www.crystalynlifeimages.com) took AJ's newborn pictures for me. I'm so in love with them! He melts my heart. I've been loving being his mom. It's been an amazing 6 weeks!

AJ Sleeping

I recorded this video in the hospital when AJ was just 2 days old. So cute and hilarious!