Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Adios Ryan, Leslie & Millie

Three of our favorite people are leaving Las Vegas tomorrow morning.
Our good friends, Ryan, Leslie & their baby girl Millie, are returning to good ol' SLC tomorrow. We moved in to our ward about 2.5 years ago at the same time & we've been friends ever since. I swear we were the only two couples in our ward without any kids so we kinda stuck together. Leslie and I have been in young women's together the entire time, too which made my calling even more fun.
We spent A L O T of time with them over the past few years...Countless dinners when cooking for four was easier than cooking for two, endless rounds of Hearts, a trip to Dana Point, lots of shopping (sorry Ryan) and just hanging out. I think it's rare to find friends where both the wives and the husbands get along so well. Thanks guys for letting me invite myself over so many times when Wes was gone!
It's been pretty funny at church and ward functions because everyone asks us, "what are you going to do without your sidekicks?" I'll let you know after tomorrow. :)
We'll miss you guys! I expect frequent blog updates so we can see Miss Millie grow up. Hopefully we'll see you both soon. Travel safe!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Too good for baby food.

Nate has been a very peculiar eater lately. He still loves food but he's pretty funny about it. Last week there were a few days where he would not eat any baby food! It was like he was telling me, "mom, I'm over the mush." He wanted to pick food up himself on his tray. He may not be crawling yet, have any teeth, or know how to sleep, but he sure figured out eating very early. He's been picking up food on his tray for months & loves big, chunky pieces. I'm a little hesitant to give them to him sometimes but he never tries to swallow....he just gums them to death and then swallows. He loves it. Last week caught me by surprise when he would not eat if I fed him. So I opened my cupboards to find anything and everything to give this kid. At every meal he usually eats: a jar of size 3 baby food or cereal & ALOT of cut up fruit or his Gerber snacks. What was I supposed to give him that could equal 6 oz of food? I got pretty creative but I'd LOVE any suggestions. I'm sure that's not the last time I'll be rummaging cupboards for something new for him to try. Did I mention how long it takes for him to eat when he won't eat the mush? FOREVER.

He also loves to be messy. It's funny for me to see the kids that can't stand to be dirty. Nate's the total opposite. If I drop food on his tray, he immediately gets both hands in it, smears it all over the tray, on to his face, in his hair, and just laughs. He thinks it's great to be messy. He's definitely ALL BOY.




These are a few pictures Wes took over the weekend:



Thursday, April 24, 2008

Just a little too big ...

Nate thought it was pretty fun to wear his dad's hat. His head is too big for his own hats so he had to borrow Wes'.






Monday, April 21, 2008

228 blocks

I have to say that I like home projects. We don't do them very often so when we do, I kinda like it.

It was the weekend of spontaneity. We woke up on Saturday morning and decided to build us a retaining/planter wall in the backyard. My back felt MUCH better on Saturday morning so I was able to help. We pulled up to Lowes to buy the blocks and as the forklift was putting a pallet on to the truck bed, they couldn't get the blocks back far enough for the truck to hold the weight. So, our only option was to m a n u a l l y load 168 blocks. Keep in mind that these things are a t l e a s t ten pounds each.

So, we loaded 168 blocks to the truck....then unloaded the 168 blocks to the backyard. We used all of the blocks and we were short one row. We wanted to get it done so after dinner we went back to Lowe's where we hand-loaded 60 more blocks on to the cart.....then in to the car.....then in to the backyard. That's 228 blocks moved 2-3 times. Needless to say, we're a little sore from the weight lifting but despite the labor, it was nice to be outside spending time together.

The wall is 99% done. Wes just needs to cut a few blocks to finish up the ends and then our wall is complete. In a few weeks we're re-doing the drip system and planting!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Me....impulsive?

I think I may win the award for "most indecisive". Wes will agree with me on that one. However, about a week ago I kinda surprised myself when I posted our entire five piece, Crate & Barrel, bedroom set on Craigs List without thinking about it for more than a few minutes.

Let me back up, my parents recently sold their condo in Utah because they are building a cabin. The rooms at the cabin aren't very big so Wes' and my king bed at the Utah house isn't going to work as our bed at the cabin. So, when my parents said it was available for the taking the wheels in my head started turning. That's when I impulsively posted our bedroom furniture on Craigs List. This is the set we got right when we got married. It's dark wood, beautiful furniture that I still quite like but I have a love of furniture so I was kinda excited to get a new room without having to really pay much. What did I have to lose, right?
Well, I got lucky again on good ol' Craigs List because I sold it tonight. Wes just got home from delivering it! And the best part is I sold it for the asking price! Since we are inheriting the headboard and footboard from the "Utah house".... I have just enough money to buy new nightstands and a new chest of drawers without it costing me a dime! You can't beat that! I'm pretty excited.
Our master bedroom is always the room that gets neglected until the rest of the house is put together. So now, after 2.5 years in this house, I think it's time to paint our room and actually have a put together master bedroom. A little retreat, if you will. And maybe this time around we'll actually get a comforter. We've used hand-me-downs until now! I think I'm most excited about new bedding.
Here's what our furniture used to look like. I'll show you what our new room looks like when it's all done.

one down, one to go

I'm pretty sure Nate's flu has come and gone. Yesterday sucked but Nate definitely woke up more of himself today. Thank goodness. He felt miserable.

Now we just have to figure out what in the heck is wrong with my back. I see the doc on Tuesday so we'll see what he says!


{This is Nate with a piece of dried apple stuck to his face. He seemed to like it there}

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Fast Forward through today

I wish I could hit fast forward through today.

Not sure what's going on with Nate. He has diarrhea and is throwing up. This is the first time I've seen him throw up. It's awful to watch your baby puke. Poor little thing. It was gushing out of his nose, too.

To top it off, my wonderful genes came back to haunt me over the weekend. I've always had a bad back but sometimes it really kicks my butt and hurts. I'm not sure what I did to it but over the weekend it started killing me. Shooting pains...constant pain....to the point where almost every move hurts. I have an appointment with the doctor next week so hopefully the pain either goes away by then or he has some amazing treatment that will make me better. It's bad enough when it's just me but carrying 20 pounds around all day isn't helping either.

Today is the first day I wish I could "call in sick" from being a mom. But, that's definitely not how this parenting thing works.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Cute but Smelly

I apologize for a post about poop but unfortunately for me, it's nate's favorite thing to do.

I seriously think Nate poops more than any other child on this earth. Every time he is sitting up (which is all day long), he poops. Sometimes he poops three times in just 30 short minutes. For a mom with a sensitive smeller, this is not good.

Yesterday we had a half naked boy at church for a while because poop was everywhere. Tonight, I picked him up and this is what I found.



Usually the diapers contain it but lately no diaper stands a chance. So, we take a lot of baths. At least we know his digestive tract works.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

127 words per minute

I've always loved to type. Keyboarding was one of my favorite classes in highschool. I used to take the tests over and over to see if I could type even faster. Looks like nothing has changed.

This was on my friend Camille's blog & when I have a minute to spare, I see if I can get faster. So far, my best is 127 words per minute.

How fast are you?

http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com/

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Sunday @ 2:00pm

I can't wait until tomorrow at 2pm. It means my talk will be over.

Yes, Wes & I got roped in to speaking in sacrament tomorrow. I HATE public speaking so I've been dreading this all week. I sooo wish I were a natural public speaker.

Wish me luck.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Nate's New Cousin


Wes' brother Spencer and his wife Leigh had their little boy today. I think he is one of the cutest newborns I've ever seen. I love his cheeks! I'm not sure I can wait until July to meet this little man.
His name is Spencer Michael Griffeth & we're so happy to have him in the family! Congrats Leigh & Spencer. We're glad you are all doing well. We miss you. Nate can't wait until Spence is old enough to play.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

My 8 month old

This photo pretty much sums up month #8.

{WARNING: This is a long post about my little dude but it's my journal!}

This month has been a rough one. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of happy moments, too but things weren’t smooth sailing like they were the month before. Gotta love babies phases, right? I will say that the last four days have been MUCH better. Thank goodness.

We’re still working with our pediatrician to figure out why he doesn’t want a bottle most of the time. We currently think it’s due to acid reflux so he’s on prevacid. He’s not drinking a ton more than before but at least now he’ll open his mouth for it occasionally instead of putting his hands up and shaking his head no almost every time. I’ve actually gotten to a point where I’ve quit worrying about it. It just made me crazy! He’s at least eating lots of solid foods so he’s not starving.

I think he’s teething (although I’ve been saying that for months) because you can tell he’s in pain. His gums are swollen and he won’t let us touch them….but still no teeth. I think this is part of the reason why he isn’t sleeping well. Sleeping has never been his strong suit so it’s always a bummer when it gets even worse! It’s so sad to go in there when he’s just crying in pain. Hopefully a tooth will break through soon.

We also tackled the swaddle this month. The kid needed his swaddle to sleep so we didn’t see any point in stopping it UNTIL…he started flipping himself over at night every few hours and got stuck. I was definitely not doing that for more than a few nights! It took the ENTIRE month to get him out of it. I started with just wrapping one arm….then they both got free but his body/legs were still wrapped. He’s been swaddle free at naptime for a few days and we tried not swaddling him at all at night for the first time last night. He woke up a number of times thinking it was time to play because he had his legs free….but overall…wasn’t too bad of a night! I’ve never seen a kid have to have a month long transition but whatever works, right? I do have to say that seeing him sleep without being all wrapped up is adorable. He turns on his side, holds his dog blanky, and cuddles in to another blanky. He loves stuff by his face.

I say this every month, but he seriously LOVES food. Lately I’ve been giving him “real” fruits in conjunction with his gerber jars. He loves having chunks in his mouth and loves everything. I find myself constantly trying to think of foods I can give him that are “real” that he won’t choke on and that are healthy. I’ll take any ideas! I also appreciate that he can feed himself food that is on his tray. He loves it, too! I need to get a video of him in his highchair when he sees the jar coming. He waves his hands and kicks his legs so excited for food. He also loves his water/juice in his sippy cup.

He’s not crawling yet….which is another reason he’s been so whiny this month. He wants SO badly to be mobile but hasn’t figured it out yet. He gets close and then quits and freaks out until you come help him. Hopefully month 9 will bring him mobility.

He still loves walks. Sometimes we take 5 in one day just to be outside. He especially loves my mom’s stroller. I love watching him because he pulls himself right up and stands up as we walk. He loves it. I had to steal my mom’s stroller because it’s his favorite.

He loves being in a shopping cart which has made grocery shopping much better! He tries to grab everything he can. He also loves the attention that other shoppers give him. He’s quite a ham sometimes & other times he gives them his furrowed brow like “why are you talking to me?” Yes, he still has the furrowed brow.

He’s definitely the bully on the playground. He’s around a lot of little girls and he goes right for their hair as soon as one of us isn’t looking. Even if they are newborns and they don’t have any hair, he’ll grab the skin on their head and yank. Sorry Millie.

He does say “dada” pretty regularly and just talks more in general.

His favorite game is for him to make a noise, then you make it back at him. He’ll do this over and over for quite some time. He also loves to be upside down....thrown around....bounced around, etc. He laughs hysterically.



Since we don't have any grass, I've been taking him to a nearby patch of grass during the day to lay on blankets and roll around. He also loves to eat grass, leaves & rocks. Most of these pictures are from yesterday when dad could come with us.

Nate supported our two favorite teams during March Madness. Too bad the Cougars and the Bulldogs lost in the first round.

I love baby feet....

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Home Improvement Part Two: BACKYARD PATIO

Vegas is not known for his large yards, but our yard is exceptionally T I N Y. However, we've grown to appreciate T I N Y because it means N O maintenance.

We literally have 8 feet in our backyard so we debated for a few years on what to do. My parents recently re-did their backyard and poured lots of stained, stamped concrete. We really like how it turned out so we called their concrete man and he poured the same stained, stamp concrete in our backyard. Now, the back area is more of an extension of our house instead of a yard. The back part is ALL concrete and then the side yard has some concrete, a sandbox for Nate, a future retaining wall/planter & stepping stones.

The concrete portion is done & we really like how it turned out. I wish we would have done it sooner! It's so nice to sit outside. It will be nice for Nate and I to be out there when he can crawl and walk around. There's enough room for a small slide or a little plastic pool. Now we just need to finish it off with a retaining wall/planter, some rock, & sand for the sandbox.

Here are some photos of the final product. Hopefully in the next month we will have finished everything so I can post final pictures of the new living room and new backyard.

The before photo of the dirt.


Views of the back now....



Nate's got his own patio chair.....


Now I see this from my kitchen/dining area instead of ugly dirt and rock....


Nate's future sandbox....


The retaining wall/planter will line this fence. This will give us some green and give me the ability to plant a few flowers.


The concrete stepping stones that lead you to the gate. We need to fill in around it with some rock.


And finally, the path that leads from the driveway to the gate.