Step One and a Few Updates

I finally get to update my blog! Yay! It has been too long. Okay, only 2 weeks or so...but I know that is eternity to all my faithful followers wondering what is going on in our exciting life. Not a lot has been going on, but here is what has: First of all, I am loving being a stay at home mommy. It is the best/hardest thing ever. Everyday is a new adventure and I get to see my baby boy grow up. Which by the way is happening so fast. I can't believe it has been 3 months already. Tayden has hit so many milestones that seemed so far away. Here are few examples:

*He can carry on a 'conversation' for a good 15 minutes.
*He can hold his head up during tummy time.
*He laughs at his daddy. I love hearing those two...I could sit and listen to them for hours. Scott is a great dad.
*He sleeps through the night. (most nights)

*He stands when you hold him on your lap.
*He knows his mom and dad.
*He is starting to figure out how those cool things on his arms work. He is constantly grabbing anything that touches his hand.

Those are a just a few to name. I am so grateful I get to see him grow. Being a mom is the most rewarding thing ever.

Things with Scott and I are great. Scott is doing a great job working and supporting the family. I am so blessed to have him as a best friend and husband. He gives me crap now and then about staying home all day, but it is out of love. He is truly the rock of our little family. I don't know how I would get by without him. So that is it for the updates, on to step one of our project...


Opps! I forgot I had this picture of Tayden. He is in his new walker (Thanks Uncle Justin and Aunt Echo). He LOVES it. He just sits in it, but it awesome. He likes to sit up and see what is going on. Cute boy...Okay now on to our little project.

We bought our first home a little over a year ago. It's a starter home, and I absolutely love it. But as with all starter homes, there are plenty of projects to be done. We have embarked on a few little ones such as the finishing the laundry room, re-carpeting, and hanging new doors. Nothing too ambitious. Well, with spring on the way...Scott is gearing up for home improvement season. He has decided to re-cement the driveway, walkway and add another walkway from the drive way to the steps. Its going to be quite the project but totally needs to be done. Here is the proof:


This is our walkway up to the house from the sidewalk. Its awful. We are always tracking gravel into the house and the ice really builds up in the winter. Its a mess.

Here is our 'driveway'. The Passat gets a nice cement slab, but since we drive the trailblazer more, it gets the strips. What a nightmare. One little rain storm and it turns to complete mud. If you want to see something funny, watch me try to haul Tayden out of an SUV without stepping in any mud in the middle of a storm. Most the time I end up parking on the street.

This is our lovely little home prior Step One of this little makeover. If you look close you can see little Tan-Tan (the dog) in the screen door.

And here is after! We got shutters! I love them! I have wanted them for so long and think they look great! So for now, those are our updates. I'll keep you posted on the cement because I know you are dying to see how it turns out.

Easter and One Handsome Little Boy

I have to show two different little outfits in this post. The first outfit is just super cute. I waited for him to grow big enough to wear it, and when he finally did I was so excited. Cute huh?


Here is a picture of him finally smiling. Its not much, but I really think people think I am lying when I tell them what a happy baby Tayden is. Every time I try to get him to smile for people he just sits there and stares. It is kind of funny, but in all honesty...he is a major talker and smiler.


Tayden had a very handsome Easter outfit this year. I loved it. I tried to get a picture of him and his daddy, but we were lucky to get a picture of Tayden alone. However, take my word for it: Scott looked handsome as ever. I am a very lucky lady.

And of course, you have to have a mohawk on Easter. Taydens hair is starting to grow back so we did a little mohawk. It was awesome!


I hope everyone had as wonderful as an Easter as we did. We went to church with my family and then had dinner with Scotts. Its great to share the Holidays with our little boy. It makes them so enjoyable. I feel so complete with him in our family, at least for now.

My lil' pooper....

*WARNING* THIS MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL VIEWERS. THIS POST CONTAINS IMAGES THAT MAY BE TOO GRAPHIC FOR SOME. AND QUITE FRANKLY IF MY HUSBAND WASN'T PRACTICALLY PINNING ME DOWN TO POST THIS, I WOULDN'T BE. WITH THAT SAID...ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Yesterday, Scott and I had plans to go grocery shopping. I had been looking forward to going all day. When you are home all day taking care of baby, little outings like this become priceless. I was feeding baby Tayden and getting him ready to go. While I was feeding him, he started to go a little squirmish. For him, that is a sure indicator he needs to burp. I sat him up and started to pat his back. Well, to my surprise he had bubbles, just not the burp kind. While my hand was on his back, I felt his shirt rumble.... not a good sign. With him sitting the way he was, there was only one way for the poo to go, and that was up. Here is the evidence:

Up his back...not too bad right? Well, check out the next picture....

This is his onesie after the explosion. I didn't even know where to start without getting him any dirtier then he already was. It soaked through his onesie to his shirt. I decided to peel both off at one time. This was semi successful. We still had to put him in the sink...



He is really not too happy about it. It was his second bath for the day. I normally put him in the tub so he can stretch and play. But, we were in a hurry so we settled for the sink.

I just thought this was a cute picture!

Would you check out that belly? It must be the way Tayden is sitting, but he looks like a Budda Baby!

He wasn't quite sure if I knew what I was doing...but in the end, it turned out okay. We still got to go grocery shopping, just a few minutes later than we had planned! But one thing is for sure, I love my little pooper!

Am I Breaking The Rules?

Okay...so I might be breaking the rules. I don't know if what I am about to do is legal in the blogging world, but here goes....I am going to address two topics in one post. Is that do-able? There may be an unwritten rule I am not aware of, and to those I offend, I apologize. However, I could be posting three; but we'll save American Idol for later. (Megan was acting so weird the other night!) So with that said...topic one:

My New Baby K'tan
For my baby shower, Echo got me an awesome sling. I could tote Tayden around the house hands free. I was able to continue doing what I do and keep him with me. It was awesome. I loved it, Tayden loved it. However, the day came when the babe was simply too big. His little legs would poke out the end and his head out the top. Sadly, I put the sling away. I gave into the idea of packing Tayden around, and quite frankly I got really good at doing things one handed. I even made meatballs with one hand... now that is true talent. People kept telling me to get a front pack since Tayden loves to look around and see the world. I toyed with the idea and finally gave in. As I was checking out the front packs I came across this....

The Baby K'tan!

This isn't the best picture..but take my word for it... Its awesome! The Baby K'tan can hold baby 8 different ways. I finally have two hands again! Its so great.

Topic Two:
My Frames
As some of you know, I have been working on a canvas for Taydens room. I started it when I was about 4 months pregnant and finally finished it. And wouldn't you know it, I hate it. The pictures are the wrong size and placed funny. My colors really weren't as great as I thought. Its just plain not cute. I was planning on posting a picture of it when it was finished, but instead I will post my latest project. I found these MDF frames at Seirras and covered them scrapbooking stuff. Each frame cost about 2 dollars. I love them. Here are the pictures.



Fun huh? Well, thanks for putting up with my dual posting. I'll come back to American Idol next week. But just to get my two cents in...my prediction for the final three: Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey and Kris Allen.

Taydens Two Month Check-Up

Wow! It has been 9 weeks already. I took Tayden in for his two month check up and immunizations. I looked forward to this appointment all week, yet dreaded it all at the same time. I was excited for the checkup part, just not the shots. Everything with Tayden is great. He weights 13 lbs 15.5 ounces ( I think the scale stayed on 14 lbs longer...but the nurse insisted he was .5 ounce shy of 14...) and 24 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile in both height and weight. He is one big boy! The doctor said everything looks perfect. I must say those are the greatest words a mother will ever hear. Its so reassuring to know I am doing things right and my son is healthy. Then came the fun part...the shots. It was awful. First, they gave him an immunization that he drank. He loved it....he was all smiles and then (dun dun dun)...they stuck him 3 times. He was not a happy camper. He screamed and screamed and just when I thought he was done, he screamed some more. It was the worst feeling seeing him in so much pain and not being able to do anything for him. I wanted so badly to take it away. In the end his crying stopped and mom only shed a tear or two. However, we are so lucky to have the blessing of immunizations to keep our children safe and strong. I had to tell myself that over and over again. So for now, he is good and we get to do it all over again in 2 months! Woo Hoo

A Full Nights Sleep

Okay, so this is going to be quick. Tayden slept 8 hours! Well, 7 hours and 45 minutes, but close enough right? That is practically a full night sleep! Woot Woot! I tried to post this yesterday with a video of baby Tayden in the morning (he is such a morning baby...always full of smiles and happy little coos), but apparently I am a bit computer illiterate and couldn't figure it out. I will work on getting a video or some new pictures up soon. Anyway, I followed the book, " Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Sleep" and love it! Tayden is 8 weeks old and quite the sleeper. It has made my transition into motherhood much easier and has given me a happy baby...for the most part. Sorry this is a bit lame. I am pressed for time and have a 'not so happy' baby on my lap. I will get pictures up soon...but in the meantime "YAY FOR SLEEP!"

Its Official

So, its official. I am not going back to work. The plan was for me to stay home for 8 weeks and go back to my wonderful job at Idaho Central, but the plan was also for Scott to become a driver at UPS. However, as I have learned...sometimes the best plan is to deviate from the original plan and play life as it comes. As Scott is going back to school in September and I was supposed to be the primary bread winner, I am sure some of you are thinking "That girl is crazy. With these tough economic times, what is she doing? People are being laid off all around the country and she is quitting!". And I will admit, I have had the same thought run through my head more than once. However, the following promptings have outweighed that thought by a mile.

• What is the big picture? Is the big picture until Scott graduates? the next twenty years? Or how about eternity? For me the big picture is eternity and this is just a small part of the painting. My family is eternal and everything else is temporal. So where do my priorities lie? To my eternal big picture or the temporal time when Scott is going to school. Yes, we will have to change our life style for a while. Yes, it will be hard. Yes, we might be tighter than we are used to. Yes, we will make it. And yes, it will be worth it.
• Echo, my super wise sister-in-law, told me something I will never forget. Life is like riding a tandem bike. We are on the back peddling as fast and hard as we can, but we can't control where the bike goes. That is up to the person in front who is steering. And that person is the Lord. We have to have faith in him to lead us in the right direction. I truly believe this is our test of faith. Why would we give up my job? Why would we give up our main source of income? Because that is the answer we got... Plain and simple. No second thoughts, we are doing what the Lord has told us to do. I have to confess, it was the scariest answer I have received. However, isn't that the ultimate act of faith? Jumping blindly and having faith he will catch you. I know he will bless us because we trust him. Our job is to keep peddling.
• Its funny the things that come to my head at 3 am when I'm feeding my baby. I have decided I am going to start a summer school program. I know, all the new moms turn to babysitting to supplement income right? But, this is different. I have outlined the summer with activities and have a fun curriculum. I have a few people interested already and think this will work fabulously. I am overwhelmed with peace when I think about doing this. I just know it is going to work.

So, I guess it all really boils down to two things: Faith and Family. The two greatest blessing in my life, and how could I turn my back on either one. Scott and I have carefully considered the situation and feel we are making the best decision. I am so blessed to have a supportive family and a wonderful son. So now, our plan has changed again...and we are living life as it comes.