Teeth & Vomit

Not a good combination for Nate or his mom & dad.

Nate's got at least two teeth poking through on the bottom. He refuses to let anyone's finger in his mouth except his own so it's hard to tell but they are for sure there! His top gums are super swollen, too so I'm wondering if there are a few more on their way. Throughout the day, I find him rubbing his own gums as he cries. Poor little man. That can't be fun. This morning, all he wanted was the empty tylonel bottle so he could use that as a binky as he watched Sesame Street.

On top of teething, Nate still has a stomach bug. He got it on Sunday at the cabin and he's still not back to normal. He's not puking all day long, but he's still on a simple diet and you never know what's going to come up. Luckily, he's drinking a lot so dehydration shouldn't be a problem. But lets just say I'm ready for my house to stop smelling like baby vomit and baby diarrhea. Yuck.

The positive side to all of this is he still manages to be happy part of the time. He loves his new toy (see photo below) and he had a good time crawling around outside last night. He's been very clingly lately . . . following me around every room just wanting to sit on my lap. He's usually very independent so I'm enjoying the "lap sitting" while it lasts.

He's getting a close-up of himself in the mirror.

He used to love the grass but lately he picks his legs up when he can!

the cabin's debut

My parents recently built a cabin in Duck Creek, Utah. It's up in the mountains outside of Cedar City. This weekend was our first trip up with the Marz clan. I love it and can't wait to use it all the time!



On Saturday morning, we rented 4-Wheelers and a Rhino. It was my first time on a 4-wheeler ~ we all had a great time! They were fun to ride in to the village and on the trails that surround the cabin. Nate even got to ride on the Rhino. He loved it!


Sam & I ~ "ready to ride"


Sam & I out riding.


Me, Nate & my dad on the Rhino.


Wes on the 4-wheeler.


The boys after a morning on the 4-wheelers

On Saturday night, Duck Creek had a "summer-kick off" get-together that we went to. Hanks BBQ was there as well as live music for a little dancin'. We have great family friends who also have a cabin up there so we met them at the Duck Creek village for dinner on Saturday night. It was fun to be up there with them in the S N O W!


Of course Nate spit out his food right as this picture was being taken!


My good friend Anya and her youngest, Ikey.


Nate & Daisy


Ali & Daisy


Abbie saw the band on stage and had to be a part of it. She walked right up there and started dancing with the band. She had a great time and was so fun to watch.


Sam & Kyle at the fire.


Nate with grandma.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying time around the cabin. We ate alot, played games & enjoyed our beautiful surroundings. We got to experience true Utah crazy weather. It S N O W E D and then five minutes later the sun was shining. Then snowing. Then raining. And it continued like this the entire weekend. It was actually pretty chilly at times. It was fun to see the kiddos all bundled up.


Kyle & Abbie on the deck, looking at the snow.

Nate loves all of his cousins, but he really enjoyed Kyle this weekend. Kyle was such a great older cousin. He let Nate crawl all over him & play! I love this picture of them. It looks like they are best buds even though they are 10 years apart!

Abbie loves her papa.

On Sunday afternoon ~ Sam, my dad & I went exploring. We walked around this beautiful pond and creek that's only 5 minutes from the cabin! I can't wait to go fishing next time.

It was nice knowing that we could just relax at the cabin without feeling like we had to do everything possible while we were there because we can go back whenever we want!

For memories sake, it wouldn't be a Marz vacation without someone getting sick. Nate & I had the stomach flu on Sunday....Ali and my dad on Monday.....and Daisy didn't feel well a few nights either. Hopefully we can all stay healthy in Newport!

we've missed you, Maui

About five years ago, Wes & I went to Maui, Hawaii on our honeymoon. We found out last week we are going back in June.

I love Hawaii. I've been a number of times with my family, once with my dear friend Laurel & I can't wait to go back. We kinda lucked out this time. Wes' boss invited us to go on their annual Hawaii trip this year. There's one day where Wes golfs with his co-workers and goes to a meeting & the rest of the time we are on our own. Since I L O V E to sit at the beach & the pool all day long....I'm kinda excited for my day alone. Just me, the pool, a banana coconut smoothie & a book. Heavenly.

We're staying here. Looks PERFECT. I've stayed next door to this hotel at the Grand Wailea and I love this part of the island.

And the best part? My mom & dad are taking Nate.

But our first summer adventure I'm looking forward to is Newport Beach with the Marz clan. I'm trying to make up for 2007's vacationless summer due to third trimester of pregnancy!

one more thing about my Phoenix friends ....

Besides being fun & wonderful people, Mimi & Amy are also T A L L, which I L O V E D. They are both 6'0 tall so I didn't feel like quite a giant. My Vegas friends are a little on the shorter side....so it was fun fitting right in with my fellow tall girls!

Phoenix with the Merrill Clan

We spent the weekend in Phoenix, Arizona with some of our favorite people..... Mimi & Dan. Mimi and I met our sophomore year at BYU. Mimi started dating Dan and I started dating Wes at the same time our senior year so we spent a lot of time with them. We try to see each other a few times a year but with Nate & Claire being born, it's been over a year since we had seen them so it was time to go down there. Plus, Mimi has a fabulous family so we love seeing all of the Merrill clan.

Claire & Nate had a love/hate relationship. Nate looks like quite the pro at smooching girls.





I flew down with Nate on Friday morning so I could have some girl time with Mimi & her adorable daughter Claire. I was a little concerned about Nate and how he'd do without his consistent naps but he did really well! However, he did set the record for his longest nap E V E R....4 hours... on Friday afternoon. I guess the airplane ride wore him out. We were going to go swimming that afternoon but since he was obviously exhausted we just let him sleep. We did meet up with Nicole, Anthony & Amy and their twins on Friday night at a fun outdoor mall so the kids could play in the fountains. It was perfect weather & wonderful company! Nate was really funny with the fountains. He L O V E D them! He kept sticking his head in the fountain over and over. I'm glad he loves the water like his mama!

Nate loved playing with Claire, Addison & Mackenzie. The twins are Amy & Anthony's little girlies (Mimi's bro. & sis in law) ~ they kept Nate occupied, that's for sure! He loved watching them since they are a few stages ahead of him. I think that's what saved me from having a cranky little man.

Mimi's siblings.....Anthony & Nicole.

Saturday was P E R F E C T. It started out with Wes, Nate & I meeting another great friend from BYU and his cute wife at an adorable place, La Grande Orange, for breakfast. Joe and I were great friends at BYU.....he even lived with my family & I for a summer when he had an internship in Vegas. It was great to see them.

The rest of the day was spent at a F A B U L O U S park with the Merrill Clan. It had a train for kids to ride, a big lake with ducks, an adorable little park with a water portion and even more that we didn't see. Nate was such a trooper. He was awake A L L day....finally going down for a nap around 3:30. He definitely impressed me with his happiness through his exhaustion. We had a great dinner Saturday night and topped it off with yummy Cold Stone.

Claire & Nate enjoyed stealing each other's binky's.


Addison was our little daredevil at the water fountains on Saturday. She loved being thrown in the air through the water!

Amy & Mackenzie

Mimi & Claire

Mimi, Anthony, Addison & Mackenzie

Nate loved the park.

He found my slushy and loved that, too.

And, he loved his watermelon.

It was sooo nice to visit with everyone. We had a wonderful weekend and it was nice to meet all of the kiddos I've been watching growing up through the blog. Thanks for being such great hosts, Mimi & Dan! It was great to see you Anthony, Amy, the girlies & Nicole!

I have to say that every time I go to Phoenix I realize how much more they have than Las Vegas. They have great non-chain restaurants, amazing parks, some culture, professional sports, etc. It’s a pretty cool city. I think I'll be going back soon. And when I do.....can I see you, Julie Bingham? :)

My life changed last week. Nate is mobile.

Nate has been slithering around for a few weeks now but last week he learned how to really crawl. He's got it down. I wouldn't say he's fast, but he definitely moves around which makes my daily life a L I T T L E different. He's not in to cupboards or anything like that yet but this afternoon he was L O V I N G the stairs. What he loves more than crawling is pulling himself up to
E V E R Y T H I N G. He's a pretty strong little dude so he stands quite a bit. I swear he thinks Wes and I are a human jungle gym. I think he's going to be a climber.

Today I discovered that he likes life in this red bucket. Well, he did OK for about 10 minutes which was all I needed. I needed him to sit still and it was the closest thing I could find. It worked until he wanted to stand in it.

While this stage presents many new challenges ~ I like it. He seems happier to be able to move around and explore and so for that, I am grateful.

On a side note, Nate got to swim with his buddy Hadley today. It was his first time in the pool and he L O V E D it. Thank goodness. It's the only way we're surviving this summer! I'll remember the camera on his next swimming adventure.

Happy Mothers Day

It was kinda fun celebrating my first mothers day as a mom. Wes was super-nice by letting me sleep in & handling Nate in the middle of the night! He & Nate also surprised me with an adorable hand-made card and a great gift.

I have to say that the past nine months have truly made me appreciate my own mom even more than I did before I had Nate. Mom’s seriously are amazing & I’m beginning to understand that women truly are blessed with talents that help us raise our children.

Wes’ aunt was in town from Louisiana during the last session of conference in April so I missed Elder Ballard’s talk on moms but I had the chance to read it over the weekend. I loved it. I loved that he geared his message towards the young moms that are trying to juggle life with little ones. It gave me some encouragement & reminded me of how important my job of being a mom is. Some good reminders were:

“Treasure the doing more, and the getting it done a little less”. I struggle with this sometimes when I feel like there is so much to do around the house or with work. Most of the time it can all wait a little bit!

“How important it is to focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life”. I’ll never get any stage back with Nate so I’m going to be better about appreciating every stage….even if it’s not the easiest one!

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." Why is it that it’s nice to hear someone else say that they understand that it’s going to be hard and frustrating sometimes? It's a good thing that the laughs and smiles make it all worth it.

I’ve loved the last 9 months as I’ve tried to figure out this “mom thing”. I have to say it is such an amazing blessing that I’m so grateful for. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned from my little man and how much I love that kid. Being a mom is the best & I wouldn’t trade this for anything. I appreciate all moms out there who are trying their best. The world is a better place because of you!

On a side note, Nate was a little under the weather this weekend. He had a temp of almost 102 on Saturday ~ we could tell he wasn't feeling very well. Today was a little rough for him, too but we're hoping he will start to feel better soon.

He had quite the sad lip going on tonight but I missed it with the camera. Instead, I got this look of "why are you taking a picture of me when I feel like this?"



Luckily, Wes turned in to his goofy self and got Nate to laugh after dinner.