we're spending a week in utah

Nate and I are leaving tomorrow to spend a week in Utah. My grandma marz passed away on Friday night so we are going up for the funeral. I will have a lot of time this week to think about my grandma and all of the many memories I have of her so I will post about her & the funeral when I get back.

Wish me luck on our adventure! Nate did so well last week on our road trip that we decided to double the driving distance to SLC! We'll see how it goes! We're driving up with my mom and then Wes is joining us on Tuesday night. I decided to stay up there with my mom through Saturday since Wes is going to be out of town next weekend anyway with the Scouts.

Hope you all have a nice week!

Five sets of hands are better than one

While I posted about Nate's blessing, I didn't say much about our weekend with The Griffeths. Wes' parents and our sister-in-law Leigh came last weekend. I thought it was pretty cool that even though Wes' brother Spencer couldn't come, his wife Leigh came anyway! It was great to see them & it was SO nice to have extra help. I was able to get a few things done without him in my arms. Like I said, five sets of hands are definitely better than one when a baby is involved.

We didn't do a whole lot....just enjoyed each other's company. We went out to eat a few times & took them to Golden Spoon. We also took them to Ethels Chocolate Lounge at the District for some fondue and we walked around so Nate could be outside ~ one of his favorite things. We played games & hung out around our house. Next time they come we'll try to have a few things planned. :)

Leigh is the BIGGEST Tennessee football fan so on Saturday we watched the game with her as we ate pizza and wings. Yum. I had to put Nate in his orange and white to support the Tennessee Vols.....even if Nate will grow up being a Georgia Bulldogs/BYU Cougars fan.

Sunday was spent with the actual blessing and then we went to my parent's house for a few hours in the evening so The Griffeths could see the remodel and we enjoyed sitting outside in their yard....something our house is lacking.

Thanks Robert, Doreen & Leigh for coming to spend time with us. We can't wait to see you guys again soon.

Nate playing with his two crazy grandmas.

He actually slept ALOT while they were here! Of course he behaves for company! If only he'd be on his best behavior when it's just mom.

Road trip to the mountains

Nate went on his first road trip this week. Wes was out of town for work and when I heard my mom was going to Cedar City this week....I let her know that Nate and I would join her if she was up for the adventure! She was thrilled to have us come.

The reason for our trip is because my parents are building a cabin in Duck Creek, just outside of Cedar City. They very recently spent a weekend up there with our dear friends, the Earls, and fell in love with the place. Within three weeks they had been back 3 times and found a lot they liked, a general contractor, and the foundation will be poured next week. This is VERY normal for my parents to do something so quickly! We're excited to have somewhere within a few hours away to escape the heat and enjoy our family's company. We met with the general contractor & then enjoyed the mountains. We can't wait to be mountain neighbors with the Earls!

I was a little concerned about how Nate would behave on our little journey. He sometimes sleeps in the car & has never slept anywhere but his crib so there were lots of uncertainties going on here but I figured we'd have to try it out sometime and if it's not going to be with Wes it might as well be with my mom! He was WONDERFUL! Or, as my mom would say, "he's a prince!" He slept 90% of the time in the car, did fine in the pack-n-play at night & loved being outside. It was fun to bundle him up ~ he looked so cute! We lucked out because we stayed at The Big Yellow Inn, a great bed and breakfast and we were the only ones in this part of the house so I was able to put Nate in the bedroom next to ours so we didn't have to hear all of his crazy noises that he makes at night. I think he could win "loudest sleeper" award for newborns.

It was great to have a change in routine and to be able to spend a few days with my mom. It's so great to see her with Nate ~ she just loves him to pieces and is such a great help when I'm with her. We missed Wes a lot and it was great to see him tonight.

HERE IS A PICTURE OF OUR LOT....

Nate's Blessing Day

We blessed Nate on Sunday. What a neat experience it was for me to have Wes bless our first child. He gave Nate such a neat blessing. It was so great to have Wes' parents in town as well as our sister-in-law Leigh. It was their first time meeting Nathan so it made everything even more special to have them here with us.

Here are a few pictures of Nate with his grandparents who love him sooo much.

It was great having so many wonderful family and friends with us on such a special day.

We had a great weekend with the Griffeth's in town. I will post more pictures of our weekend with them soon!

a "long skinny little boy"

Nate had his 6 week check up today. Yep, he's 6 weeks old already. The doc walked in the room and said..."you've got a tall skinny little boy!"

9 pounds, 14 ounces

23.25" long

Which means he has gained 2 lbs. 12 ounces and has grown 3.25" since we left the hospital! I could tell he was growing b/c a lot of his pant outfits are too short. He'll just have to have floods like his mom does sometimes! :)

He also got his first 3 shots today...hence the bandaids in the picture. It was so sad to see him happily sitting there with the binky in his mouth to instantly watch his face just shriek in pain. So NOT fun. Glad round one of shots are over....only a bunch more to go!

We had a great weekend with Nate's blessing ~ pictures to follow soon!

Moms & Sisters

I have to say that two of the best things in life are moms and sisters. I'll start with my mom who has been AMAZING since Nate was born. Anytime I have needed her, she has been more than willing to drop whatever she has planned to come and help. This morning was no exception. Grandma & Grandpa G. and my sister-in-law Leigh arrive tomorrow and our house was in need of some cleaning before they get here. I asked her to help and she spent over 3 hours here working away. We did things I don't do often enough....like cleaned the blinds, cleaned the windows, vacuumed behind couches :), etc. The downstairs looks so good & we made it through part of the upstairs, too. Now the only goal is to keep it this way until tomorrow night! She is a great grandma and can't get enough of little Nathan.

My sisters have been wonderful as well. They are a different kind of busy than my mom with jobs & kids but I know when I need them they are there. Their constant willingness to help is appreciated & I feel so blessed that Nate will be able to spend so much time with two of his aunties.

Not only are my mom and sisters wonderful, but I managed to be blessed with an amazing mother-in-law and sister-in-laws, too. Grandma G. calls all of the time so excited to meet Nathan. Alisha is our expert mom and I can't tell you how many times I've called her with baby questions and she's always so willing to chat, regardless of what she's up to. Leigh always calls just to see how everything is going and I can't wait to see her tomorrow. Alyssa and I just chat about our little newborns and try to give each other as many tips as possible!

I'm so blessed to have such great ladies in my family!

more of Nathan....

I left my camera at my mom's house so sorry, Griffeth family, for making you wait four days for more pictures of the little man. :) CAN'T wait for Grandma & Grandpa G. and Aunt Leigh to meet Nate this week!

Nate asleep on Mom. He loves being scrunched up.

Hanging out after his bath.

Asleep in his car seat. YEAH!


Nate LOVING being outside.

a "youth vampire" book

I'm sure many of you have heard of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ~ that was the book we read for our book club last month. If I hadn't received many great recommendations on the book, I probably never would have read it since I am not interested at all in vampires. However, everyone loved the book and everyone either already read the two sequels to Twilight or they have them on order. Even though it technically is a "youth vampire book" ~ don't let that deter you from reading it. It was great! The author graduated from BYU and her story and a little about how the novel came about are on her website. Pretty interesting!

Our book club meeting location was also my favorite. We met at Ethels, a chocolate lounge at The District. We had great fondue while we discussed the book! It was a nice evening out for me and we had a great discussion about the book. I will definitely be back for more fondue! Yum!

One Month Old

Nate is one month old today. I can't believe it has already been that long since we brought him home.....yet I can't remember what life was like without him.

My sisters gave me these cards that I thought were fun to track how old Nate is. Every month you use the next card! It will be fun to watch him grow month to month.

Here are a few things that we've learned about our little man in the first month:

1). He is a wiggle worm. He recently started pushing off anything and everything his feet touch which makes feeding and putting him to sleep fun. He is long enough to push off the chairs and he loves doing it.

2). He loves light...especially sunlight coming through a window. Whenever the sun shines through in to the house, he just sits and stares.

3). He loves being outside, which is a bummer right now because it's still over 100 degrees so it's unbearable during the day. But at night, we try to take him out there for a little while because he loves it so much. He instantly calms down when we go outside.

4). He loves his baths. He got his first "real" bath last night since his circumcision is finally close to being healed. He had a great time in the water which I was grateful for since I LOVE water.

5). He loves it when his diaper is off. He pees almost every time. It's also his favorite time to poop and he somehow shoots it 3 feet to cover the wall. Yuck.

6). While he does OK at night, sleeping during the day is something he's not a fan of. Unless he falls in to a dead sleep while eating, it takes a long time to get him to sleep regardless of how tired he is. If he gets enough sleep, he is a really happy boy. If he's tired, watch out because he's GRUMPY. Geeze, that sounds a lot like his mom. :)

He reminds us daily that he runs the show in the Griffeth household. We're enjoying figuring him out and we love having him in our family. We look forward to what the next month will bring!

no more roots

I've said this before, but there is nothing better than getting your hair done.

I had a hair appointment scheduled the week of Nate's due date but since he came early, I had to cancel. Consequently, my 2" dark brown roots were atrocious! My mom was nice enough to watch Nate this afternoon while I got it cut and colored. It was so refreshing! I still feel like a fatso so to look in the mirror and hate your hair too.....it was just too much. :)

For Grandma G

These pictures are for Grandma G. who is all the way in Georgia! I can't upload pictures fast enough for our family that is on the east coast. :)

We had a nice, low-key weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon at my parent's house watching tennis and the BYU football game. We have watched SO MANY HOURS of the US Open in the last week ~ I love it. I've never been home enough to watch every match. :) Sunday we went to church & then to my parent's house for dinner. It was so nice to have a delicious home cooked meal. I'm still not cooking dinner....I haven't done it for four years so a few more weeks won't hurt anyone! Monday has been a nice day at home with the three of us.

Nate is doing pretty well. He gave us a present a few nights ago and slept for 7 HOURS! He must have seen the bags under my eyes! He's slowly doing better sleeping but he still such an alert and awake little boy. He definitely can see more in the last few days because he is focusing on things and loves to look around. My mom says he's exactly like me when I was a baby ~ very alert and afraid to miss out on any of the fun.

Enjoy the pictures of Mr. Nathan!

Hanging out with my crazy dad

Since the day Nate was born, he has been lifting his head up. If you hold him over your shoulder, he just lifts up his head and looks around. He has no control over it going forward though so sometimes it comes crashing down.

What a sad little lip....