the photographer is . . .

Sorry. Should have told ya who took our family photos so since many of you asked . . . her name is Becky Earl! She was easy to work & I love her stuff but she recently changed her pricing and I think it's a little too pricy to use her again but I like the photos we got! Her sitting fee isn't bad but it's a small fortune to get a CD of your photos. But don't get me started on the photography industry!

our poor man's pool

My little man is just like me. He L O V E S the water. Once we got back from our vacations, I finally went to Target and got him a little "poor man's pool" for our backyard. Well, it's not so little. It's about 9' long by 3' wide by 2' deep so we all fit comfortably! It's heavenly! It's perfect when we have a half hour to kill and we're both sick of being inside. Filling the thing up is definitely his favorite part. He loves having the hose on so he can spray it everywhere - including his face. He doesn't seem to mind the freezing cold water.

Now don't let me lead you to believe that I'm able to sit on a chair next to him and read a book or call a friend. Oh, no. He wants me IN the pool with him to splash and play. Which is fine by me because I love being in water, too. He usually just climbs all over me and wants me to wind up his water turtle and lobster so they can swim with us. And just like the tub, he quickly found the drain at the bottom so he frequently waters our cement!

Some days I wish I could fill the thing up just for me so I can lay in it and read a book! But since that's never going to happen . . . Nate and I (and occasionally Wes) continue to enjoy it.

our family photos

A few months ago, we decided to get some family pictures taken so we'd have some nicer photos to give to our parent's for mothers/fathers day. Plus, I wanted some non-studio "professional" ones of Nate at 9 months. It seems like they get hardet and harder to get photos of as they get older! So, in April, we had these taken! I couldn't post them right away because I didn't want the parentals to see them before they got their actual gift. So, here are my favorites from our little photo shoot.

This one is soooo Nate. He smiles and laughs with his hands waving!

But he can also give you this stare . . .


I love this blue wall at Town Square . . .






Even though I wish you could see all of Nate's head. I still love this one.

a fun week with the fam

My cousin Emma was in town this week staying with my sister, Ali. Ali had a fun week planned and I got to tag along for some of it!

It all started on Monday night with quite a crowd at my parent's house for a swim BBQ. We had my immediate family, Emma, aunts and uncles who live in LV & my cousin Danny and his cute family were in town so they came, too. It was fun to see everyone! I love getting together for casual evenings at my parent's house with the fam.

Abbie enjoying her Capri Sun


Daisy isn't a huge fan of the pool but she's a great observer!


Nate was "getting Abbie" in the pool. We're trying to get her over her fear of Nate. They had a GREAT time in the water!




On Tuesday, I met Emma and Ali at Town Square to eat lunch at CPK. I love that place.



Then on Tuesday night, Wes and I got our first babysitter so WE could go out together! We met Ali, Tripp and Emma at the movies to see Batman. I loved it but it was a tad too long. Well, probably about an hour too long. I don't sit still for that long and it was WAY past my bedtime. But it was a great movie and Heath Ledger was amazing. It's sad to think he's gone.

Thursday night was spent at Mandalay Bay having dinner at the Burger Bar and seeing Mamma Mia! I've probably seen the show at least 10 times and I love it E V E R Y time. I think Emma thought my mom, sisters & I were a little crazy as we talked about cast members playing different roles, our "favorite" Sophie/Skye" etc. We've all seen it A L O T so we're all very familiar with cast members. :) It's a great show. I highly recommend it.

And then today, we went to paint pottery. Ali, Sam & I used to do this quite regularly but we haven't been in a long time. It was fun to paint today! Emma is quite the artist. She put me to shame!

It was great to not only spend some time with Emma but Ali, too! We should do that more often, Al! I had a fun week!

a visit from the andrus girls

My good friend Leslie took a spontaneous trip to Vegas last week to stay with us! Her hubby Ryan is down to his final days studying for the bar exam so she decided to hitch a ride with her sister to have a change in routine since she's basically a single mom right now! It was GREAT to have her here.

We did a little shopping, lots of eating, some swimming & just hanging out. I miss having them around (they recently moved back to Utah in April) so it was fun to catch up and see Miss Millie! She's SO BIG and adorable. She has changed so much since April.
Thanks Les for coming down to visit. You are welcome anytime.

I was TERRIBLE at taking pictures but we managed to get a few. On the photo above, Nate was definitely a bully to poor Millie. And, he thought he was on "millie binky patrol" taking her binky any chance he could! Sorry Mil. You'll be able to defend yourself before you know it.

Swimming at my parent's house





















This is Millie's new face she started making. I love it! She opens her mouth as WIDE as it will go!

I got the "tubes warning" today

Nate has yet another ear infection. He's just like his dad was when he was little. You'd never know he was in that much pain since he's a pretty happy kid most of the time but he was tugging on the ears and shaking his head so I took him in again today. It's only a single ear infection this time but Dr. Carrie said it's a pretty good one with "bubbles" in there. Yikes. This is his second one this month so while we're not making an appointment to have tubes put in quite yet, I did get the "just be prepared if this keeps happening we may need to look in to it" talk today.

I think Wes had tubes put in twice so I guess "like father, like son" is in order.

Nate is quite a champ ~ he's got an ear infection and two top teeth cutting through and he's still as happy as can be. Must be that Griffeth pain tolerance kicking in!

Smart Little Ones

It amazes me how observant these little ones are. It seems like Nate is doing something new every few days lately! Maybe it's just that stage.

We didn't know our grill was out of gas tonight so we couldn't cook our planned Sunday dinner so we ended up having pancakes, bacon & eggs. It seemed like the easiest and fastest thing to throw together last minute! Anyway, the eggs were hot and so I was blowing on them, telling Nate they were hot, before I gave a bite to Nate. When I put it up to his mouth he blew on them, too! He kept doing it over and over. It was his first time "blowing" on his food! It's always fun when they catch ya off guard with something new.

We've been using a large box that contains a bookcase for Nate as our "gate" at the bottom of the stairs (our gates are on order) and I think by tomorrow he will be able to climb over it. I think he watched his friend Hadley climb over it a few too many times & now he's about figured it out.

And here is a camera phone picture of him drinking one of his all-time favorites. An In-n-Out strawberry milkshake. I swear he can drink the entire thing himself. He LOVES them.

11 months old

He's been 11 months old for a few weeks now but better late than never, right?

His 11 month of life was by far his most exciting! He spent a week at the beach with his Marz family, a week being spoiled with grandma and grandpa marz, and a week with his Griffeth family on a lake. What a life!

His personality keeps coming out more and more lately. He's such a goofball. His smile is contagious. Grandma G puts it best when she says that "he loses his entire face in his smile." His whole face goes in to that big grin! He's turning in to quite a people person.

He's definitely on the move. He's quite a speed crawler these days. He's walking pretty well when we hold his hands but we're still a ways a way from him walking on his own. Right now he's content standing and walking along the wall. He's also in to EVERYTHING. He makes me laugh all day with the stuff he manages to get in to.

{Getting in to our food at the lake. Yes, he did pee on this box. I love naked babies.}


{His latest favorite thing to do}


He still loves to eat. His current favorites are: pickles, strawberries, watermelon & of course, any kind of cheese. He currently wants to drink "big people drinks." Whenever he sees me with a cup, a water bottle, a soda, etc. ~ he wants it.

His newest talents are: he gives high fives, claps, waves hi/bye, says "uh-oh", points to the lights and fans (he's obsessed) and occasionally growls like a bear when you ask him what a bear says. I can't take credit for any of these things except for high fives & "uh-oh". The rest were taught to him by grandma's and cousins. He also signs more. We're working on drink, all-done, & eat.

He still only has two bottom teeth but there are FOUR swollen white gums on top! I'm sad for his top teeth to come in because their little faces change so much (and they usually look a little goofy). So, I'm enjoying his gums as much as I can. They won't be there much longer! Because of his teeth, he's back to chewing on everything he can get his hands on.




He's finally a good sleeper! I waited 10 long months to be able to say this but he's finally figured it out. THANK goodness.

This little kid is so much fun. We love him!

Lake Wedowee with the Griffeth Clan

We just got back from spending a week at Lake Wedowee in Alabama with Wes’ entire family. Wes’ parents rented a beautiful house right on the lake. It was perfect!



We spent 4 days on the lake and then a few days with Wes’ sister’s family at their home in Alabama. At the lake we rode jet skis, went tubing/kneeboarding/wakeboarding, swam, played lots of games, ate yummy food and enjoyed each other’s company. We don’t get to see the Griffeth Family very often so we love our time together. We had a blast!

OUT ON THE WATER











Nate got to ride on the jetski a number of times and loved it!



PLAYING ON THE DOCK

We blew up an inflatable pool and put it on the dock for the kids to play in. Nate loved playing with the hose with the water on! He squirted himself a lot and loved it!

Wes' parents: Grandma and Grandpa G


Leigh & Baby Spence


Baby Spence - his first time in the pool!



SWIMMIN' IN THE LAKE



Nate loves to splash when he's in the water. It makes it quite pleasant to hold him.





ONE CAST OFF, ANOTHER CAST ON.

Wes' sister's family is having an accident prone summer. Trey (their youngest, turns 2 in August) fractured his leg a little over a month ago and he was due to get his cast off while we were at the lake. Unfortunately, Kendal was so excited to go fishing with her dad that she fell down the steps on the way to the dock and broke her arm. So, they got Trey's cast off and a full arm cast put on Miss Kendal. Poor little thing! She was quite the trooper with her arm.

Trey with his leg cast


Kendal's pink cast


COUSINS

Nate LOVED his cousins. He loved having someone to play with at all times. It was fun to see them all interact & play. It seems like Nate was even more animated than usual and was a pretty funny kid on this vacation. He was just trying to keep up with his fun cousins! They will have so much fun as they grow up together.

all of the Griffeth cousins: Kendal, Olivia, Bayley, Nate, Trey & Spence


Bayley & Kendal were fabulous with all of the kids. They were always willing to play with them and make them laugh. They are great BIG cousins.

Bayley & Nate




Baby Spence. I got to meet him for the first time. He's precious!


Nate and Olivia are only 3 weeks apart so it was fun to watch them interact. They played very well and had a good time together! It was fun to watch their little personalities.






Trey is an adorable little boy but he can be quite the bully to the little kids. He's used to being the little guy so I think he enjoyed being able to be the boss of Olivia and Nate. This photo is pretty good representation of what happened to Nate & Olivia when Trey was around. We still love you, Trey!

We had a great vacation. It was fun to see all of the Griffeth clan! We miss ya already.

After we left the lake, we spent another day with Alisha and her family in Alabama. They have a beautiful home with a beautiful backyard! They have a swimming pool and then a pond behind the pool to fish in. . . .

Jeff & Trey with the minnows. Kendal tried to feed Nate a dead minnow. Yuck.

This is a few feet from Alisha's backyard. It's beautiful. This is Wes and Kendal fishing.

Nate fishing with Aunt Alisha and Bayley.

Grandma G. with four of the grandkids.

We celebrated Grant's 25th birthday!

Swimming in Alisha's pool

Bayley is our daredevil. The higher the better!

Can't wait until next year!