our little swimmer

We've got ourselves a fish and his name is Nate.

{this video was of him at the beginning . . . he got a lot better as Wes was helping him!}

Ever since last summer he's been a great little swimmer with his lifejacket on. He gets himself all around the pool, he goes down the slide, jumps in, etc. He's never had a fear of going under, etc.

This summer, every time we swim we take his life jacket off at the end and have him swim around and kick just to get the feel of life in the water without a jacket. By no means did we expect him to start swimming. He got a little better every week - a little more daring - but he still sank as soon as you let go.

Wes started really working with him last week and while he was out of town this week my dad came over one night to take Nate swimming and I hear a call from the pool for me to come watch. Nate was swimming! He made it a 1/3 of the way down the pool swimming by himself! He even jumped in the pool, swam to the top of the water, and made his way to the side.

Lets just say I was one proud mama. And he's one proud little boy.

And every time we swim he gets a little better. I've been a slacker with swim lessons this summer so now I'm really glad a swim teacher is coming to our house next week to work with him!

nate's adventures

I love having conversations with Nate.

He kept calling all of our Salt Lake outings adventures.

So this week I told him we were going on another adventure.

We get in the car and we're driving and he asks where we are going. I tell him Target & Costco. He says in a very annoyed tone. . .

"moooommm, that is not an adventure. Those are stores."

an SLC adventure

We recently had our annual weekend with the Andrus Family in SLC for the 24th of July. Oh, we miss having them around the corner.

PART 1 of our SLC ADVENTURE:

The boys and I flew up a few days early with my dad to see my Grandma Florence {my mom's mom} who isn't doing all that well. I send her pictures regularly of the boys and she's been dying to see them in person so I wanted to make that happen for her. We spent some time at her house on Wednesday and Thursday and she loved it. Nate was shy at first but by the end was giving her hugs and telling her he loved her.



The boys and I also managed to take a mini-tour of Utah {that's what it felt like, at least!} to see some family and friends that we don't get to see very often. Nate absolutely loved playing with endless kiddos . . .

Nate & Zack Brown (my cousin Shannon's little boy). They were instant buds.



Nate and his good buddy, Seth who recently moved to Pleasant Grove a few months ago. We met him at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.



We met up with my Aunt Tina and cousin Jen at Jen's beautiful home in Kaysville. There were around 10 cousins to play with - 4 of which were three year olds. They had fun!

The boys were TROOPERS on our driving adventures!

Part 2 of our SLC Adventure: The Andrus Family

We picked Wes up from the airport on Thursday evening and that began our time with Ryan, Leslie and their kiddos Millie & Tyler. We all had a great time but it was especially nice to have Millie & Nate play so well together. They both asked for each other constantly and overall had a blast together.

While we were there - Millie & Nate got to go to Wheeler Farm. We went to a Splash Park. Played at the parks around their house. In their little pool in the backyard. Ate yummy food. Talked alot. Ryan & Wes played a round of golf at Thanksgiving Point. Leslie and I had an afternoon at Gardner Village doing some shopping. Played a round of Rook. Watched a few movies. Fireworks for the 24th of July. Rode scooters. We had fun.

Wheeler Farm

Nate introduced Millie to a little Fraggle Rock.

Watching Fireworks

Having fun outside. Speaking of being outside - I love Utah summers. They are perfect. It was so nice to be able to be outside without literally feeling like you are in an oven. And the nights were actually cool instead of remaining at 100 degrees. I need to win the lottery to have a summer home there.

It won't be long before these two are buds.

Little Tyler struggled the entire weekend we were there. Poor guy just cried and cried. Turns out he had a double-ear infection! I know Ryan & Les were glad there was an excuse for his behavior because he was giving them a run-for-their-money! Hopefully he feels better soon.

Thanks Andrus Family for letting us stay with you and visit! We always enjoy seeing you. Escape the cold this winter and come our way.

our little family: July 2010

a new calling

I haven't had a calling in our church in 9 months which is pretty unheard of. Between a Young Women's release in my old ward and moving in to a new ward - I had a little break. Which I must admit was kinda nice.

And then our Bishop wanted to meet with me. And that ended my 9 month streak.

And my calling is . . . ??? Primary Presidency - the secretary to be exact.

At first I was a little hesitant . . . I haven't stepped foot in primary since I was 12. But now I'm really excited. It will be a lot of work but I get to serve with amazing ladies and I'll get to watch Nate and 2 little nieces in action in Primary.

ryan - 5 months old

My little man is {five} months old. He has really grown and changed a lot in the past month or so! He's such a fun boy to have around. He's pretty happy during the day as long as he gets his sleep. It's been interesting on round 2 . . . I don't get nearly as much time to sit and play with Ryan as I did with Nate . . . so I really cherish the times when I can sit and make him laugh & smile. He's not a cuddler anymore - he's way too busy for that. The only time I get to snuggle with him is when he's so tired before bedtime that he'll lay on me. I love that part of the day.

Here's a little bit about Ryan at 5 months old . . .

Stats:
17.6 pounds
27" long


. He loves his rice cereal.

. But he's not so sure about sweet potatoes or green beans.



. He reaches and grabs for everything. Nothing is safe in his reach - especially our food & drinks.

. His need to touch everything makes changing his diaper fun these days. He tries to reach anything and everything in sight.

. He threw his first little baby tantrum when I took a toy away from him that was potentially dangerous!

. He rolls from his back to his front and his front to his back. When we lay him on the floor - he's never in the same spot when we pick him up. Whether he rolls or spins himself around, he's always moving.


. Oh, we hope he learns how to sleep better soon.


. He is still swaddled during bed and naptime.

. When he's tired, he simply wants to be held and he makes you stand up to hold him. Sitting down is not an option.


. He still spits up alot and is pretty gassy.


. He's still a chunk but is thinning out a little bit as he grows longer.


. We can get a great smile & laugh out of this little boy.

. Ryan has decided he'd rather drink his milk out of a bottle rather than nurse. So my pump is- once again - my best friend.


. He's still trying to figure out his big brother. Other kids Ryan's age think Nate is pretty funny but Ryan just stares at him with a serious look. He doesn't laugh or cry - just stares.

{nate loves ryan. if nate wakes up first in the morning, he loves going in to ryan's room when he wakes up and play with him in his crib for a bit}

girls weekend with the college roomies

i had the best college roommates at BYU. We had an absolute blast. It's been 10 years since we met in David John Hall and we're still great friends.




We actually see each other quite often but it's been 5 years since all four of us have been together. Laurel Plewe & Laurel Walker came to Vegas for the weekend to visit me and Trish and we had a great time. Laurel P. brought her baby boy, Justin so it was great to meet him! He's only a month younger than Ryan so it was fun to see the two little chunksters together next to little miss Emmy (trisha's 1-month old daughter).



Our girls weekend consisted of lots of eating out, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, swimming, laying on a raft in the pool & endless conversations and laughter. We managed to enjoy some toddler-free time but Justin & Ryan were our sidekicks for the weekend. Overall, they did great. LW was able to come without her kiddos so it was so nice to have an extra set of hands to help!





a few things about our weekend:

- laurel w. made her famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. oh, i've missed those.

- all you need is a box of fruit loops to keep the laurel's happy for breakfast.

- nate has a major crush on the laurel's. when I asked him if he liked my friends, he got a cute little smile and said, "yes, they are really cute."

- i love having a diet coke buddy around (laurel walker).

- we got a babysitter for justin & ryan so we could sit on a raft in the pool in peace.

- we consumed a lot of yummy food.

- by Sunday afternoon - we were exhausted and we all took a nice Sunday afternoon nap.

- a big thanks to my mom and Wes for keeping Nate occupied as much as possible. Wes took Nate to Toy Story 3 (his first real movie theater experience) and he loved it.

- nate really liked justin. And I think Justin really liked Nate - giving him lots of smiles!

It was a great weekend with three of my favorite people.

Can't wait to see all three of you again in April 2011 - to visit Laurel W. in New York - to celebrate all 4 of us turning the big 30.

B O Y S

These three boys - Nathan, Harrison & Jake - have known each other since they were born. But they've never really played together outside of church functions. That is, until now.

They've played quite a bit together this summer and they've loved it. They are just BOYS. Plain and simple. They wrestle. They punch. They throw things. They swim. They play.

It's been interesting to watch Nate play with BOYS. He usually plays with girls {he loves his girlfriends/cousins} but it's been fun to watch him play with boys. It's a completely different kind of play. It's a little crazy and insane at times but it's fun to watch, nonetheless. They don't really fight or argue over things - they just play. And if there is an argument - it usually turns physical instead of emotional. Like I said - BOYS.

Boys will be boys. And I love it.

ryan and nate have a new cousin.

Madeline Jane Griffeth was born yesterday!



9 pounds 1 ounce
22 1/2 inches long

Maddie & Ryan can be little chunksters together. Maddie is Griffeth baby #4 born in the last 11 months - hooray for cousins.

Can't wait to meet you in November, Maddie. Congrats Grant & Alyssa!

happy birthday, america!

We spent the 4th of July at the cabin with my entire family. It was nice having everybody together for a few days & it was fabulous to be out of the Vegas heat and enjoy the outdoors.





A few highlights of this trip:

fishing boat. we took a fishing boat out on navajo lake where nate caught his first fish! to say he was excited is an understatement.





funny fishing boat story: we had been talking about catching fish all morning. Kyle caught the first fish and as soon as it came out of the water and in to the net - Abbie started screaming hysterically. She didn't realize we'd actually catch a fish and bring it on the boat.



4th of July parade. duck creek has a 4th of July parade every year. This year we decorated one of the "cabin cars" and my mom and dad drove abbie, daisy & nate in the parade while they threw out candy. They loved it. My mom had the kids yelling "happy birthday, america!" When it was all over, Abbie said to my mom . . . "this is the happiest day of my life!"

Kyle was a trooper and led the parade holding a flag in his boy scout uniform. We were all so proud of him for doing it all by himself!



the rest of us sat on the sidelines and watched the parade.



we were like kids, lined up on the side ready to catch all of the candy!




and of course, lots of cabin car rides.



the weekend was spent with great company, yummy food, lots of games of Sequence, paper airplane tosses from the loft, crafts {thanks aunt sam}, turns on the rope swing, walks in the forest, smores around the campfire, firefighters pancake breakfast, reading and/or taking a nap on the deck, washing the cabin cars, dancing to disney songs, Wimbledon & long nights with both of our boys awake and crying.

the cousins had a great time together. I constantly saw the little ones asking each other to play & Abbie loved baby Ryan. She read him books and played with him whenever he was awake.