The Johnson Family

Alexia is 4 months old and Austin Adventures

2012-02-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

This is Mount Bonnell, the highest point in Austin. It is a whopping 775 feet above sea level. It has great views of the city and it gives my kids a place to get their wiggles out.
This is the Austin skyline. It is still weird for me that there are no mountains that surround the city, I still get turned around very easily because of this. It is a beautiful city. I love how green it is even in the middle of winter. I am excited to see it in the spring!
This is the "Trail" to the top. It is a 0.3 mile hike from the parking lot. It is definitely a tourist attraction, but you do get a little bit of the work out :)
There are trails that wander away from the main trail, My boys love pretending they are going on a bear hunt through the forest.
This is what Alexia and I did while the super bowl was on, after dinner (since it did not start until 5:30 our time... weird) It was her first time getting her nails painted, I had to use a toothpick because her toes are so small. It was so fun to get some one on one bonding time with her :)
She has such beautiful blue eyes! They are lighter then Kaleb's. Ethan got Matt's hazel eyes. I think she is so beautiful!
Especially this giggle. She is really starting to laugh and I can't get enough, she is such a happy easy going baby. This little smile just melts my heart, I am afraid I am already wrapped around her little finger.
I finally got a pic of her holding up her head. She has even started Rolling onto her back. I can't believe my baby girl is growing up so fast. She also has started scooting around on her back using her feet. I often find her underneath or against furniture and toys.
This is all of us at Mount Bonnell. I love that there are so many things for us to do as a family!

Sorry if you can't see the video, This is a video of her rolling over.

Alexia is 3 months old

2012-02-01T11:42:00.001-08:00

I can't believe my angel is 3 months old already. They are not kidding when they say that time goes by faster with each child you have. She is such a good baby. She sleeps about 13 hours at night and takes 3-4 naps each day. She drinks 4-6 oz per feeding every 3-4 hours. She now scoots on her back using her feet and can grab on to some objects. She loves to smile and coo all the time. She has a special connection with Kaleb, she always has a cute coo and smile for him anytime he gives her attention. Ethan on the other hand we are working on, she might like him a little more if he stopped being so loud right in her face. They both love giving her hugs and kisses.

This is what she looks like when she wakes up in the morning. A smile on her face, leg and arms moving like crazy, and a hairdo that is just as wild. I can't wait for her to wake up, she is such a joy in my life.

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She is already great at entertaining her brothers and seems to enjoy their offerings ;)She seems to be growing like a weed, she is already over 14 lbs and is over 2 feet tall :) She is my little angel! Love you Alexia!

Welcome to Austin

2012-01-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

We have moved... Matt got a job offer in November, started in November and the rest of us moved at the beginning of the year. Though it has been a whirlwind and the reality of how far we are has yet to set in, it is a great blessing in our life. Austin seems to be a great family city. In the short time we have been here, we have been to five parks all within five miles of our house. Matt did a great job picking a place for us to live. For those of you who are familiar with Vegas we live off of a street that is equivalent to Stephanie, it has all the shopping you could ask for.
Our boys are loving Austin. They like that they have a play area in the main part of the house, it is just quite the task keeping the toys "on the blue carpet." When they are not playing with toys we are running around finding all there is to do in Austin.
Alexia is growing like a weed. She is doing great in her own room sleeping through the night and taking naps. She is almost always full of smiles and coo's.

Alexia is here!!

2011-10-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

Alexia arrived on October 10th. She was 7lbs 14oz and 20.25 inches tall. She is such a blessing! She is healthy and strong, a great eater and sleeper! I can't believe she is finally here! She is beautiful! if I do say so myself :)

My sister-in-law practiced taking pictures of her, these are a few of them. Isn't she just an angle?
I love her sooo much, and could not be more thrilled that she is part of our family!

Ethan's 2!! Happy Birthday!

2011-09-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ethan turned 2 years old! Sometimes I forget that he is only two, he is always trying and most of the time succeeding in keeping up with Kaleb. He loves anything to do with balls, throwing, catching, kicking, running, chasing, etc. He loves doing everything himself. His most common sentence is "DO it." So for his birthday cake we made a basket ball. He loved all the attention and opening presents. We practiced blowing out the candles, so he did it in one blow. Because we already have more balls then we need, Matt and I decided to make blocks. The boys love making houses for all their toys and even forts for them to stand in. For his birthday he chose to go the the McD's playplace. They had a blast!
Thanks to everyone who made his seconds birthday special! We all love Ethan's smile and up beat personality! Love you soo much Ethan!

Summer Excitement

2011-08-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

We have had quite the summer fun. It all began after our move from our first house together to a bigger place so we could spread out a little. Then we headed for the mountains in UT where we went camping with about 25 family members for an extended weekend. My boys LOVED camping and everything that went with it, the dirt, rocks, the food, hiking, fishing, camp fires, shooting guns (marshmallow guns and a few shots from the paint gun with dad's help), games and most of all, all the boy cousins to play with! (7 boys to e exact) I hardly saw Kaleb all weekend because he was always off somewhere having an adventure with Spencer and the other boys.

After our adventures camping me and the boys headed to Denver to visit with my sister for a couple of weeks. It was so much fun just hanging out with them. Mason has his dad's social personality, and loved having two boys to play with (most of the time). we went hiking a couple of times, went to the zoo, played games, watched movies and played in the back yard, enjoying the 80 degree weather and the showers that come almost everyday for about a half hour. Amber has a vegetable garden we watched grow and a trampoline that Kaleb and Mason would jump on for long periods of time. We set up a blow up pool where we all jumped in a couple of times to cool off. On the July 4th weekend, we threw a bbq party with a few of their friends, where we had great food and company. It really is great to have a sister that will take you in for a couple of weeks and make you feel so loved and welcome!

The next thing my Boys discovered was how much fun a parade can be. I tried to get them excited for the annual Tri-stake Pioneer day celebration but until we were about a half hour into it, my boys did not seem amused. Once they discovered that most of the people on the floats either shoot you with water or through candy they were hooked. After a hat full of candy, the parade was over and it was time for the other festivities. After digging for gold (finding pennies in a pool of sand), doing a spunge toss (through a wagon wheel), and a snow cone to cool off, we headed inside the church to see what other fun we could find. Most of all Kaleb wanted a spider web painted on his face, so after standing in line for about an hour, he was happy as a clam and we ready to go, but through some encouragement we made butter, a spinning toy, candles, and tried some great harvest bread. It really was a great celebration!

In between we have been finding ways to get out of the house. My boys love going to the pet store and choosing a puppy to play with. Of course Kaleb always wants to bring it home, then for the next few days he tells everyone he is getting a puppy for his birthday, I have no idea where he got that idea, because it is not happening, we are going to leave the animals at the pet store until my boys are old enough to take care of one.
We also did the summer reading program through the library. I was always kind of currious how much I actually read to my boys and without changing it too much we managed to read for 1200 mins this summer. My boys love going to the library and picking out books and playing in the kid area. That makes me so proud!

Every once in a while we go the chucky cheese to get some wiggles out put still stay cool. I signed up to be a part of their email club, so they send coupons for tokens and such which makes this outing not too expensive. It is nice because they have climbing for Kaleb and all kinds of ball games for Ethan. We love to take Tiffany and her kids with us between the six of us, we have quite the fun time.
Another outing that I like to do, is take my kids swimming at the M hotel pool. It is free for locals 21 and older and kids 6 and younger, so it does not cost a thing. The pool is really nice because it is rectangular shaped with lots of stairs and shallow areas for the kids. Over the summer my boys have learned to love swimming and they both with the aid of floaties like to float in the deeper part now too.
Another fun activity that has helped fill our time is our ward playgroups. Over the summer they changed it up, since going to the park is a little hot. One of the places we discovered is the Natural History Museum. I was a little sceptical because some museums to young children is very boring, but we ended up staying for about 2 1/2 hours and Kaleb still did not want to come home. My boys especially love the 35 foot long t-rex! It had a button that when pushed the t-rex would roar and move! Kaleb also spent quite a bit of time driving a submarine. There really is some cool things to see!

It's A ....

2011-05-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Were Having a ....Girl!!!! I am still in shock! Heavenly Father has given me just what I wanted, two boys who can be best friends and a little girl to spoil with hair bows and nail polish! There were so many nights that I stayed up worrying that I would never get to experience pinks and purples, bows and bracelets, princesses and dress-ups. I had almost resigned to the fact that my life will forever include mud, cars, swords, and bugs, because I thought that there is no way that I will get what I asked for three times in a row. But I know that Heavenly Father knows me better than anyone on the face of this earth, including myself, and He knows what I need and what will help make me experience joy to its fullest. And I guess in this one department, I asked for the right ones.
A little angle princess is on her way to be a part of our family, and I could not be more excited to share this life with her!

Craziness!

2011-04-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Everything comes in threes. When anything bad happens something good also happens. And my life has been about change lately. Last summer my grandmother found out she had a cancerous tummor in her brain. She survived therapy and treatment and the doctors thought she was fighting it. About a month ago she took a turn for the worse and started sleeping most of her days away. She slowly lost speech and other cognitive capabilities. Then she slowly slipped to the other side about two weeks ago. She was ready to be on the other side with her husband and other family that preceded her in death. So, this put my parents primarily in charge of everything. It has been a whirlwind for me just trying to help my parents arrange everything and get everything squared away. Who knew it is so much work when someone passes away. The services turned out beautiful and all my family was able to be there in salt lake city. I stayed for a little longer and had a long overdue visit with my cousin. We had a lot of fun visiting and playing games. She has two boys about the same ages, and mine did not want to go home, they had so much fun.
So, with this series of events leaves my grandma's house open. So Matt and I jumped at the opportunity and are going to rent her house. It is more fit to our family and with our house in the financial state it is in, we saw this opportunity as an answer to our prayers. So Kaleb can't wait to live in our "bigger" house!
So the third and most exciting change is .... I am Pregnant! Yes, we are surprised and thrilled to be welcoming our third child into our family. Kaleb has been excited from the day we told him. But he already has a lot of questions I am not sure of how to answer already, but so far so good. Matt and I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father sees fit to put into our care yet another sweet spirit into our family unit!
Amongst all the chaos, my boys have grown closer to each other. Everyday they seem to get along and play together a little better. They have so much fun laughing and making faces at each other. Kaleb has had to learn how to be a good example to his brother and Ethan has started copying everything he does. Ethan really tries to keep up with his brother and someday he will! But to add to the craziness we had a round of the flu come through our house. And thanks to my pregnant self I could not clean up the messes without adding to it, so poor Matt has had to belly up to the bar and clean up some things he normally would not come close to with a ten foot pole. And to be completely honest, Matt has been very supportive, loving, and understanding through the whole thing. I really could not ask for a better husband.
Wow, with that being said, and you all up to date (I think that is all), I am going to bed, I am exausted as usual and have more long crazy days ahead. so tah tah for now!

Singing (ok waving and smiling)

2011-02-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

Today Kaleb got up and sang his first song in sacrament meeting. That is something that I have always looked forward to as a mother is watching my children sing. Granted Kaleb did what every other sunbeam does, He proudly walked up to the front, squeezed to the front, then did nothing but smile and wave the whole time. It still made me so happy to see him so excited to get up there and sing. I look forward more of these sweet moments in the future :)

Thanks to those who showed love and support from my last post , I received some good ideas and am working on some of them. Thanks again!

Help!

2011-02-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

I need your help. I am bored! (yes, this is not going to be uplifting) I feel like I am stuck in a rut. I have tried some things but just cant seem to move forward. I go to sleep every night with either a kids song stuck in my head or a list of chores that I did not get to that day. I feel like I am going through the motions but inside I am bored. Even my scripture reading and prayers have become empty and dutiful. I feel like I do the same things every week. The only breaths of fresh air that I get are time with my Mom and my two friends Tiffany and Dawn. Things really have calmed down. It seems I have nothing on my calendar other than to take Kaleb to preschool and go grocery shopping. It does not help that we have no extra money either.

So, here is what I need from you... any suggestions? books? hobbies? service ideas? activities to do at home? If you have some free time call me. Lets hang out, I would love to get to know some new people. I sometimes think that all other full time mothers have a secret that I haven't figured out, because I either spend most of my time cleaning or I am bored looking for something other than cleaning to do, and everyone else is sooo busy in order to do anything with them you have to scedual two weeks in advance. I really don't understand. I find myself taking naps just because I don't have anything else to do. What do you do with your spare time? How do you fill up your days? What are you so busy doing? Do you need an extra hand? I'm not even sure anyone even reads this anymore, but If you are please help me? Any information or suggestions would be helpful!

1 and 1/2 years and not a minute younger!

2011-02-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

I Cant believe it! my baby will be 1 and 1/2 years soon! I love him so much! He marches to his own beat which has been a change of pace for me. He has so much character and zest for life. He takes to the time to observe what is going on around him, especially when older children are playing. He is so willing to try new experiences. He can be so full of energy and laughter, but we when we run into someone he doesn't know and he wont even look to them because he is so shy. When you tell him to stay out of the street, he runs faster. When you ask him to stop banging the cupboards, he bangs harder and faster. When you put him in time out he makes the best of it by either making funny noises to get Kaleb's attention or simply bounces up and down just because he can. He is definitely smart, I have seen him out smart Kaleb :) For example one time Ethan was playing with the football, he waltzed into the kitchen where I was making dinner and set the football down so I would pick him up. Kaleb being the three year old that he is, decides he wants the football simply because Ethan wants it. When Ethan sees that Kaleb has the football he begins to cry. After a few moments when this has not worked Ethan moves on and walks in the other room to find a new toy(or so it seemed). Obvious to me from the kitchen I hear from Kaleb in the other room. "NO give me Lightening McQueen (Kaleb's favorite toy in the whole wide world) OK... FINE.... I will trade you the ball for Lightening McQueen" A few seconds later Ethan comes back into the kitchen with the football ready to play catch with me ;) This kiddo knows what he is doing. For Christmas Ethan got the set "Your baby can read" I have not been the best at doing the books and word cards, but they love watching the videos. Since then his vocabulary has blossomed. He now not only understands almost anything you say but he has begun to repeat alot of words. His most commonly used word though is "this," he has found that it is easier to point and say "this" than to try and pronounce the correct word. He is so stubborn sometimes :)
One of my favorite things I love about Ethan, is even though he loves to race and move and wiggle, he always finds time to give me hugs. Sometimes he just warms my heart, he will be busy playing then all of a sudden he will climb up on my lap, give my a hug and a smile, then he will turn around, climbs down, and returns to playing. In my mind that is his way of saying "I love you mom" Being a Mom is definately the best job in the whole wide world! I feel so blessed to call Ethan my Son!

Happy Birthday MOM!

2011-01-26T20:50:00.001-08:00

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We have had a fun January and I can't believe it is almost February! Here are some of the pics that I took at Duck Creek. We have been enjoying the 60 degree Vegas weather by practicing riding bikes and going to the Park. The weather could not be more perfect! And spending time with Family!
Today is also a special day, because it is the day many years ago that my sweet mother came into this world. And as I contemplate about all the love and dedecation that went into rasing me and and my sisters, I am so deeply greatful for all she has sacrificed on my part. Now I have been a mother for a little over three years not only am i greatful for all she has done for me but all that she continues to do for me almost daily. My children love their Yaya so much! It is so true, that once you are a mother you will ALWAYS be a mother. Words cannot express the love and gratitude that I feel in my heart for my sweet, beautiful Mother. I Love you! Thank you for all you do! I am so greatful you were born to be my Mom.
To celebrate her birthday we went to one of her favorite restaurants RED LOBSTER. My boys loved all the fish on the walls and of course the tank full of lobsters. Of course the food was delicious and the company was even better. I love my family! My aunt Susan and Uncle Dave have been in Vegas helping with my Grandma(they were across the table from each other in the back of the pic). It is so miraculous that she is still here! My grandma over came a fast spreading brain tumor that was cancerous. The doctors gave her three months to live in September. As of two weeks ago she was declared tumor and cancer free. If that is not a miracle I don't know what is. It is because of all the prayers, love and support of family and friends and of course the blessing of advanced medicine. Family is simply divinely inspired!
Speaking of family... I dont have any pics but it has also been great to see Rachel a lot lately. I think it is wonderful that she came in town this last weekend and all those that live in the valley made time to come together to see her. Even Megan who is nine months pregnant made the thirty min drive. Isn't family great!

Duck Creek Fun

2011-01-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

Over Martin Luther weekend my family and around 30 of my relatives drove to a cabin in duck creek. It really was a perfect weekend. What more can you ask for then to be surrounded by those you love, eating great food and snacks, playing games, snowmobiling, sledding, white elephant gifts, movies, and talking until all hours of the night!? It was soooo much fun! Another cool part is among all the 12 children that were there NONE of them were girls. (There is a girl on the way and another unknown baby on the way) So all of these little boys ranging from 1 to 7 had a blast playing cars, monsters, throwing balls, and all those fantastic things boys like to do. And of course playing in the snow that was so high the boys could climb onto the roof with no assistance. The men decided to join in the fun and built a tunnel slide in the snow! There were also some enthusiests that did some cross country skiing! And then there were those that sat back, relaxed and read a book by the fire. There was something for everyone!

Our Christmas season so far :)

2010-12-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

Playing in the rain with their cousins!
It is so fun to have family so close!
We love Papous! and it is fun to have him around so much too, the boys just adore him!
My mom and Stacy waiting to play more games
They are making a Kaleb Sandwich! Kaleb thinks this is so funny!
They LOVE Playing in the rain and it makes it even better to have cousins to join you! We got three days of rain in a row, wow, i does not feel like vegas weather but I like it. It makes it feel more like Christmas!
Our Beautiful Christmas tree, just waiting for christmas!

We have been enjoying lots of hot chocolate and treats during this chilly time of year!
Look they are both happy to see Santa this year! Hooray! We got the chance to see Santa three times this year! Wow what lucky boys to have mother that takes them :)

My sisters are in town all this week so it has been lots of fun working on projects, playing games, and playing with the kids. It is so fun so see these boys begin to interact as they become old enough to understand friendship! Kaleb and Ethan really enjoy playing with their cousins who are so close in age to them!

Christmas Symbols (This is worth your time)

2010-12-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Thrilling Threes

2010-11-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for Kaleb. Often we have uplifting and interesting conversations. I want to remember some of them so here is an example of how some of our conversations go:
K: did heavenly father give me my fingernails?
Me: yes, sweetheart he did
K: so he gave me my milk too?
Me: yes heavenly father gave us everything we have
K: so heavenly father gave me my Lightning McQueen car too!?
Me: Yes Kaleb heavenly father likes to share with us and he lets you have your cars and your trains and games and even Ethan was given to us by Heavenly Father
K: and he gave me blocks (big smile)
Kaleb really does make me laugh everyday. He is such a good boy and is so smart! I Love him so much. It is fabulous having him a part of our eternal Family. I love you Kaleb! Thank you for coming to our family, it has been a wonderful three years and I look forward to being your mom for the rest of my life!

I am back!

2010-11-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

The boys birthday party!
Relaxing watching a movie with family
Playing in the rain with his best friend
Ethan has a look of miscieviousness
One of their favorite pass times "Mr. Potato head" and family
Wow, it has been a long time. I finnaly convinced Matt that I could not live without the internet so here I am. I dont even know where to start. My family is doing wonderful! Ethan has been walking since september and Kaleb is completely potty trained! Kaleb also started preschool in oct and loves going with his best friend. Matt is keeping as busy as ever with getting licensed. And I have started couponing so we will see how that goes so far so good. Today i spent 78 on 130 worth of groceries.
I have over 100 pictures on my camera since the last time I blogged so here are a few to start with.

Snap shot of my life

2010-03-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

I found a few moments to sit and blog, that is amazing! Sometimes it feels like the world around me is changing so fast it is like a tornado, good thing change is not a always a bad thing. Family is an amazing thing, I is truly an eternal unit, I just can't get enough, but at the same time I sometimes I feel like I am up to my ears in family and I have a hard time finding time for me. It is defiantly a balancing act, one that I am getting better at, but will not perfect in this life time.
Ethan is reaching a lot of mile stones lately. He has been rolling over both ways for a while now. He got his third tooth yesterday, he can sit on his own for a few mins and getting better everyday, he only wakes up once a night to feed and now takes a bottle, he seems to be growing right before my eyes and there is nothing I can do about it but enjoy every second.
Kaleb ... he is livelier than ever. He loves to pretend to be any kind of scary animals such as a T-Rex, Lion, snake etc. He has more energy than ever and is starting to skip naps every once and a while. I hope to hold on to those for as long as I can. He knows a few letters of the alphabet, and is getting better at counting, he can say all the numbers now we are just working on the order. He knows all the basic colors and loves red because it is the color of Lightning McQueen from the movie cars. He is a movie fanatic, he has discovered that there are more movies then cars and dinosaur, and is learning to appreciate a little more complicated plots such as Tarzan. He has come to love puzzles and with a little help can put together a 24 piece puzzle. As most two year olds do, he has come to love sugar, against all my efforts to prevent this, he loves sugar. Today for lunch we had leftover homemade wheat pancakes, after his second one that was drenched in syrup he decided that he did not want any more pancakes he just wanted more syrup.
Matt is very busy. They are constantly asking him to work longer hours and weekends for a project that is being built as fast as they can put the drawings together. He has started telling them no or limiting the time that they do get to make sure he keeps his life in some balance. In addition to more work, he is studying to take his first test out of seven for licensing. He really needs to get going because he only has five years to pass them, and if he does not pass one he has to wait six months before he can try that test again. But one thing I will give Him, he does a great job at making sure I am taken care of. He has become very good at calling and asking and making sure the kids are not driving me crazy, and if I can't handle it one more minute He is very good at stepping in and helping. I am truly blessed to have Matt as my husband.

Ok here is what a "typical" day looks like for me. Six oclock Kaleb comes in bed to wake me up. Ethan wakes around six thirty. Down stairs for breakfast, make it, feed ethan, clean up. Up stairs to get ready for the day, get dressed, brush teeth take vitamin comb hair, my make up etc. A few min to play then Ethan goes down for a nap and K watches sesame street while i do some cleaning. then its time for lunch, make it, feed them, and clean it up. Then we have a few minutes to play or go outside or run errands etc. Then its nap time around one or two for both kids. While they are sleeping I straighten what ever messes we made, make phone calls, pay bills ect. Sometimes if I am lucky I have a few mins to read a book before they wake up around four oclock. When they wake up we read some books and have some time to play, then it is time for me to start cooking dinner. K watches a movie and play independanly with toys and ethan does too or i carry him around on my back in the carrier. Matt comes home, we have dinner. We clean up dinner. We have a few min to play the n we have family prayers and get the kids to bed, then matt and I have some time to talk and wind down. Ethan usually wakes up betweet midnight and two for a feeding. Then it starts all over again. Who said being a stay at home mom is not a full time job!?
Keep in mind this is a day with no extra activites such as going to the doc or going to the park, This is a basic day and it only gets more complicated. I dont know if I am lazy or what, but there are some days that when I finally drop in bed I feel like climbing a mountain would have been much easier. As most of you know, life is bitter sweet when you have young children, and I am trying to take it all in the best that I can while keeping my head above water. I would not trade my family for anything they are a great blessing , I love them soo much. They teach me to be better and stronger and that is what family is all about.
Take care, and have fun!

It been a long time

2010-03-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

It has been about six months since my last post and it may be that long until the next one because we do not have the internet at our house, and finding time to even check my email while i am at a place with internet with two children is very hard to do. I LOVE being a stay at home mom, I feel like I finally have time to do what I am here on earth to do and that is being a full time wife and mother ( and house keeper, food cooker etc) I do not stay on top of it all the time, but I feel that I am on top of it way more then I ever have been in the past. chI love the sound of my children laughing together, there is nothing sweeter! We are doing great and love spending time together. We also get to see Yaya and Papous (My parents) at least once a week wich is also great fun and support. (and a way of getting out of the house). matt and I have also set the goal of going to the temple at least twice a month, we have done alright, it is so nice to get that spiritual lift and feeling of Heavenly Fathers love. Matt's mom has gracoiously volumteered to watch the boys while we go. It has made it difficult being Ethan has a hard time taking a bottle. Well I have to run and do my lifes calling :) I am thinking about all of you and hope all is well.

Ethan is Here!!

2009-09-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ethan arrived on September 10th in the evening. He was 7lbs 9oz and 19.5 inches long. He is healthy and doing well. We are so excited he is here! The delivery was easy. At my apt that morning we found that my water was leaking so she sent us to the hospital. Once at the hospital we got settled in and they gave me my epidural and broke my water. Then we waited by playing games, napping etc. until he arrived at 5:21pm.

Las Vegas Summer Heat is FUN (Not so much)

2009-07-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

I am 8 months pregnant and counting the days until it starts cooling off. Unfortunately that will probably not happen until after my little boy arrives. The heat usually does not bother me too much, but having a little extra heater inside has not made this summer easy. So I have been trying to be creative as to what activities we can do inside to keep these kids out of trouble. In this department my parents (especially my mom) has been a LIFE SAVER. So as often as time permits we have been trekking over to her house and hanging out there. The kids have discovered some new toys. My mom pulled out some old blocks that we played with as kids, buckets with water and a Popsicle in the mouth is a new found method of getting some fresh air without too much work. And then there is a favorite of running into Papous' office to see what new and exciting things have popped up in there. Even Emily has decided that sitting still is no longer entertaining, she has become quite mobile and loves to eat real food, just like the toddlers.

My friend gave me a coupon to get some free pics, so I couldn't turn down the offer. All the pictures turned out so cute a had a hard time just picking one. This is the one a put on my wall.

This one is the one I picked to give as gifts to grandparents and such. I love it because you can't help but smile when you look at it. I also like it because you can see how much progress he has made in the tooth department. All i had to do to get him to smile like that is play peekaboo behind the photographer with his blanket, monster noises always does the trick. Kaleb has such a great personality.

Here are some of the other pics that were taken at this photo session. Enjoy!I wish I was this photogenic, what an adorable smile! I LOVE him so much! He is definitely a keeper forever!

It's My Body

2009-05-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

Just some thoughts that have been on my mind that I would like to write down...

As most women know, from the time that a girl is born, we are exposed to all kinds of ideas about our bodies and how we should treat them. Like most women I am not alone in the search to find the Truth and find a balance about how it really should be. Over the last month this has really been on my mind. I know that it makes Heavenly Father sad when women do things to their bodies that tries to make them all the same. He did not create us the same for a reason, therefore we should not try to become identical. Now when I see magazines in the store, it makes me sad to see what role models and doing to their bodies, it isn't something I aspire to in any way. I have grown an appreciation for my body over the years. Heavenly Father gave me my hips, hair, face, legs, feet, tummy, and every other part of my body as a gift, he created it just the way he wanted it to be. I can finally say, I love my body just the way it is! Yes, I still have my moments of weakness, but the fact that it wont look like it did in high school, in this life, it is okay. I don't have to be a model with no figure, I will never look that way, nor do i want to. No one in my life or in anyone else's should be setting unwanted expectations on what my body should be other than being healthy. So here is what I do care about, I want to take care of my body and be as healthy as Heavenly Father will allow. This does not mean running 20 miles a day, it does not mean I am never going to eat chocolate or anything that is not good for me, this means, all things in moderation, and I am not going to be ashamed of what I look like because in Heavenly Fathers eyes, I am beautiful, I am gorgeous beyond anything I can imagine (or I have the ability to be)and that is the only thing that matters.
My body is a gift, and with it comes the gift of motherhood, and with motherhood comes sacrifice. And with motherhood comes, change of body, that is all it is, change, it isn't good or bad, just change. Yes, weight gain is part of it, and it isn't bad. Even after the baby is here, your body is never the same, it is changed, and that is how Heavenly Father intended it to be.
Being a mom has been the best change I have gone through in my life, it is why we are here. It is so exciting to watch Kaleb learn and grow! He is worth every pain I have felt on his behalf.
This gift that God has created, was created especially for me, he knows what I need and has created it accordingly. It was a customized gift that he made just for me, how could you not love a gift made with so much love and potential?

He's Here

2009-04-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

My sister Amber had har son at around 11am on Easter. He was 7lbs. 1oz. They named him Mason McKade. He looks just like his dad. Because of all the crazyness of the weekend, I only got one pic of him, (it is in the slide show at the end, it isn't very good) Amber had quite the weekend, she was in labor for a little over 30 hours. She too wanted to deliver natural but because of the length of the labor had an epidural three hours before he arrived. They are both doing wonderful, and Amber is loving every moment of finally being a mother of her own.

What have we been up to? In a nutshell, quick, and easy

2009-04-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Guess What!!

2009-03-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'M PREGNANT!! It seems along with everyone else, I am also due in Sept, on the 14th. That makes me almost 14 weeks along (3 1/2 months for those who are not female and don't want to do the simple math) I am in my second trimester. The first wasn't to rocky, pretty much just extreme exhaustion, but in the last couple of weeks my energy has returned and I feel a little more human and have a little hump to show for it (no, it isn't very noticeable yet, but it is there). I have also been able to feel the baby move a few times, which was a surprise to me so early, but I guess I know what to feel for, this time around. Kaleb already knows about the baby too, anytime you ask him (except when too many people are watching or when Emily is around) where the baby is, he will point to my belly button. Who knows how much he understands or will understand before the baby gets here but it is fun to think he is going to be an older brother and I want him to be excited when the baby does come. So the next question you probably have is, was this planed? Well kind of, we had "stoped preventing" it for the last six months and "tried" for a couple of months, but because we were into Sept, and up against Matt starting school in another state (potentially) we stopped and prevented it again, and low and behold here I am, pregnant and due in September. So we have some things to work around and help from family might (okay, will) be needed, but we will make it through, and we are both excited to welcome another spirit into our family!
I had my first doc apt, and it went well, the baby seems to be healthy and strong. We probably wont have the ultra sound until about 20 weeks, so we have a ways to go before we know the gender. We are hoping for a boy, but of course will be thrilled with a girl too! Going off the fact that this pregnancy is almost identical to Kaleb's, my guess is that it is a boy, but we shall see!

She's Here!!

2009-03-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

Julia Faith was born on March 3rd around 10:30pm. She was 6lbs. 11oz. And she is beautiful and both Megan and baby are doing great. They are home from the hospital and enjoying their time together as a family. Congratulations to Megan for delivering her first child naturally, especially since her doc accidentally broke her water at her weekly check up, so they had to give her drugs to start labor. They sent her directly to labor and delivery. She was hoping to do most of the labor at home. Everything turned out great and Julia is here and healthy. Congrats! Mike and Megan on your new arrival. She is beautiful!

Mini Van

2009-02-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

One thing that has gotten pushed aside, is the fact that we bought a mini van! That's right, (disclaimer, Matt will not drive it) It has been fabulous. We did it for many reasons, 1) we wanted to buy while we have the money 2) Now is a great time to buy a vahicle 3) With me watching Emily that would put me at needing three car seats in the car which the honda would not fit, therefore leavinging me stuck at work everyday 4) We want to have more children, and they are really nice for lugging stuff around that comes with them 5) it is safer, for the kids, no worrying about one getting hit by a car while i am strapping the other one in 6) it was in our price range, if we are buying a vehicle for more seats why pay extra for it to be an SUV, mini vans are cheeper and just as nice 7) I love the sliding doors, expecially the automatic one, no more worrying about kids slamming doors into other cars. and i think i could go on and on but you get the point, we are excited about our new (to us) Mini Van!

The Last Months Happenings

2009-01-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

Since Emily has gotten here, I just have not had the time like I did before for blogging, and I don't imagine it will get any better any time soon. So I have a feeling my blogging will be fewer and farther between until we get the Internet at our house.
Christmas
Christmas was fantastic, we celebrated a couple of days early with Matt's family and then celebrated Christmas with my family. It was really nice because everyone was there and we all have spouses now. Matt Kaleb and I ended up spending a couple of nights at my parents house just so we wouldn't miss out on all the fun. Of course we had the traditional Greek Leg of Lamb for Christmas eve dinner and all the things that go with it, Once again it was delicious. We opened one gift witch were matching camo Pj's nice and light for the Vegas summers :) Then on Christmas we opened presents ate breakfast and just hung out all day, It was great!
Reno
A few days after Christmas, actually new years, we flew up to Reno to visit my sister and her husband. She has lived in Reno for about three years and I have never been there to see what it was like, so I finally decided to do it. She showed me all of the houses she has lived in, took us on a walking tour of campus, and thanks to AJ we watched a movie at the student union movie theater just us five. Kaleb loved the freedom to run up and down the isles and explore. And of course we watched some movies at her house too. They live in a one bedroom apartment on campus, so it was a little squishy with five of us, but thankfully we are all flexible and enjoyed our time together. Thanks Stacy for the great weekend!
Five Years Together
So we returned from Reno on Monday, went back to work for four days, then turned around and left town again Friday night. This time Kaleb stayed with Yaya and Papous, and had a fabulous time. Meanwhile Matt and I took of to go to California where our Cruise left for Mexico. That is right to celebrate being married for five years we decided it was time to take a cruise and go on a real vacation just the two of us. IT WAS FABULOUS! It was seven days so we had a day and a half to relax and get in the groove of vacationing on the ship. Then on Monday we docked in Cabo where we had no idea what were doing, so we walking around, went to a museum, and walked through town a little. On Tues we were in Mazatlan where we paid a taxi to give us a tour. We also added on an aquarium (where i saw a sea horse in real life for the first time and a toucan, it was very cool). On wed we were in Puerta Viarta where we did an excursion that took us snorkeling, to a fishing town only assessable by boat, a water fall, a beach and fed us lunch. The town was amazing, it looked like it was hanging off the side of the mountain. It looked ancient and run down but the people were friendly. Then we had two more days to do absolutely nothing! It was nice to sit down and read a 600 page book (The Host by Stephanie Mayer), that is my kind of vacation. The only thing that could have made it better was the food was not great, it was a step better then airplane food. When we wanted to stretch our legs there was plenty of things for us to do. We played ping pong, shuffle board, a 6 ft chess game, a game room for cards, and we also attended a couple of shows and classes. Overall it was very relaxing and refreshing.
Grandpa Mandeles
Before we left on our cruise, my grandpa suddenly passed away. He was in fairly good health, so it took us all off guard. He was hiking when he felt a little light headed, then he fell and never took another breath again. Some of the group he was hiking with were retired nurses, they tried to revive him until the paramedics get there. It makes me so grateful that we decided to visit them before Christmas. We usually don't go because of the busy schedules around the holidays, but because of some encouragement from my sister, we visited them, which is a great last memory of my grandpa. We had the traditional Greek leg of lamb, opened a few small gifts and sang Christmas carols together. And of course left with a hug and an "I Love You." So I think we are all feeling grateful for the life he lived and the time we spent together and we are happy that he is in a better place. Now we are all praying for my grandmother who is now adjusting the the life of a widow, and will have some mourning to get through, loosing her best friend and eternal mate.
Matt and school
Matt has officially got all three applications in to Denver CO, Phoenix AZ, and Salt Lake City UT. He has gotten confirmation that they received the applications (which was a process in and of itself, but we made it) and all the pieces that goes with it, Now it is the waiting game, and to all those who ask me every time I see you, it probably wont be until April or May that we will hear back from the schools. Thankfully Matt is still working (they have laid off about 7 people, in his office that used to have 40 people, so Matt really is grateful to have his job).
My Work
It was hard going from taking care of just me to taking care of two children again. Erica is still on maternity leave until the beginning of March, so she mostly takes care of Emily while i take care of Anna and Kaleb. Unfortunately they have been passing around a virus at their house so everyone but me has gotten it. So we have been doing alot of hanging around the house to keep from spreading it. I have been taking vitamin C and praying that I dont get it, what do you think the chances are? So to add to my plate Kaleb is truly sick for the first time (an ear infection caused by the runny nose from teething doesn't count right?) i think he sounds like a dog barking, Matt says he sounds like the bad guy from transformers, either way he sounds horrible but seems to still have energy to play, so it can't be too bad. Emily has it though and is not doing so well, so she has been to the doctor many times so Erica sure thinks it is very helpful to have the extra pair of hands, and it is nice to be needed, even if I don't get breaks anymore. So yes, I am still loving my job, and couldn't ask for a better one.

Well I think that is all for now...i feel like I am forgetting something, sorry there is no pictures, I will try and take the time to download them some time. That is what has been going on in our lives, and yes it has been crazy, but fun. ( I'm sure you can only imagine the laundry) Thanks, I am excited to get updated on all of your blogs.

Lets start with Thanksgiving ...

2008-12-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

So I finally remembered to bring my camera in with me while the babies sleep so I can load some pictures. This is Matt's Grandparents and drove into town for the occation. Rachel made the treck also, it was so good to see them.

And and special thanks to John (Dad) for doing the dishes after, Rachel was also a great help. This year was unique because Megan, Brianna and I all brought some of our families dishes to the Johnson thanksgiving. It added a fun touch to tast some new reciepies! Thanks ladies!

Thanksgiving was fun, seeing family and being together. We all took turns going down stairs and playing with the kids, I just caught Matt with camera.

And Last but not least of some exciting news. Emily was born on Thurs. night! Anna is a big sister! She was 8lbs. and 20 inches long. They came home from the hospital this morning (Tues) and are doing great! Anna now has something other then Elmo to obses about, now its baby...baby...baby...baby...
While Emily and Parents were at the hospital, Anna came and slept over at our house. Kaleb had his first sleep over! He thought it was so fun (and frustrating to share) to show Anna all of his toys. He was so amazed when she was still at our house in the morning. This pic was taken minutes after they woke up.

So yes, It has been crazy, and busy, but lots of fun too!

I also took some pics of Kaleb and the christmas tree, but when I went to download them I realized it had gifts under it that were not wraped, so I will have to post them after they have opened their gifts ;)

This is Kalebs new favorite pass time with papous (Grandpa), it is flying like an airplane all around the house. Kaleb will run to my dad, over and over and over again, asking (in his own way) to do it again.

It is so fun to see them together!

Hope you have enjoyed the pics. :)

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times

2008-12-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is the part about being grown up, you have to be responsible for everything you do.

Heavenly Father really does know what he is doing.

I just read a story on one of my friends blogs that reminded me of how much Heavenly Father really does love us. The shortened version of the story is that we are like silver being refined in the fire and heavenly father is the refiner. To make silver perfect, you have to hold it in the hottest part of the fire and watch it carefully. The only way to know when all the imperfections are out is by seeing your reflection in it. So it is with heavenly Father, he will be by our side, until it is time to pull us out of the fire, then will we see heavenly father in our countenance.
My mind is also turned to Joseph Smith and a lesson that I had in institute, I remember learning that with every great blessing that was given to Joseph Smith, there was also a trial that came with it. For example, when Joseph Smith received the blessing of eternal families, he also received the commandment of taking more than one wife, witch brought lots more persecution from those who did not understand. I can testify, that is how Heavenly Father works, he gives us the greatest blessings along with the greatest trials.
I feel so blessed, with a great husband and father of my son. My son is also a great blessing in my life. I have a great supportive family that will do anything for me, if need be. I am blessed with a home and jobs to provide for out needs. And to whom much is given, much is expected.
I know alot of this does not make sense to most, but to those who understand, thank you for your love and support. There are just so many things up in the air, and things out of my control, that I feel all I can do is be patient and pray to my father in heaven that we will know what to do when the time comes.

Now onto lighter and brighter things. Erica, my boss, is having her daughter tonight! So it will be an exciting next couple of weeks. I am so excited to meet Emily, their new addition to their family, and hope that she has a safe arrival.

Thanks for listening.

Filled with the Christmas Spirit!

2008-12-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

I am converted! (I know this post is better late then never) I went shopping in the wee hours of the morning on black Friday. I thought it was a blast. My mom and I make a pretty good tag team. The part that I am the most excited for is the fact that I got most of my Christmas shopping DONE in one morning. Because I actually had presents to put under the tree, that motivated me to put up the Christmas decorations the next day, and before the weekend was over, Most of the presents were wrapped under the tree, AMAZING! (Thanks Carolyn for your help!)I am usually one to drag my feet and get the tree up a few weeks before Christmas just to turn around and take it down again.
But more importantly, with the stress of "WHAT TO GET?" everyone for Christmas GONE, I have been able to sit back and really enjoy this joyful time of year. My Relief Society had a fantastic Christmas enrichment activity on Dec 2 that really touched me. Ever since then I have been joyfully listening the local Christmas song station on the radio. I have been getting excited right along with Kaleb over how beautiful all the Christmas lights are, we even went to the Cactus garden and saw their beautiful lights for family home evening last night! Tiffany and Jackson joined us, it was a blast! with everything ready to go, I really can feel the spirit of giving in the air, and I love it!
Although my life is still just as crazy, I am so grateful for all of the blessings in my life! In nine more days (or less) the family I work for is going to invite a little baby girl into this world! I think that is just going to add to the specialness of the season, I am so excited!
Christmas is coming so fast! I am excited because we get to spend Christmas with my family this year. There is something truly special about being together with family, when everyone is there! And this year we will ALL have spouses there to share the event with also. So we have officially doubled from four girls to eight, plus mom and dad :) Wow, what a great time of year!
Marry Christmas to All! And remember to think about Christ, he is the one that gave the ultimate gift! Thanks for reading.

What is up?

2008-11-24T11:48:00.001-08:00

I know it has been a while since I have updated, I have gotten sucked into the facebook world, and find myself with less time to do anything else.
My Sisters Wedding
Stacy and AJ's wedding was wonderful. We dodged the rain, Stacy looked fabulous,the decorations were beautiful, and the food was yummy. They have been happily married for two weeks now and are in their new apartment. I am excited to see them at Christmas! For pictures of her wedding check out the mandeles blog.
Kaleb is One
My baby is also officially one year old and walking! If he is standing he will walk, but if he is on the ground he still crawls. He also has 6 teeth as of this weekend! He is really starting to enjoy playing with other children and cannot get enough of being outside. He eats everything we put in front of him (except salsa), and especially loves steamed broccoli and banana's (not together ;). He is on whole milk and has been off the bottle for a month now. His fascination for this week is anything that goes together he does over and over (opening and closing doors, cupboards, Tupperware, pens, books, etc) when outside he likes to explore bushes, flowers, and especially rocks and dirt. But he never fails to listen for planes overhead, especially at Yaya's house (grandma Mandeles). Kaleb has never been a long napper and is now down to one 1 1/2 hour nap a day, which is keeping me on my toes. he had such a special spirit and loves to give hugs to those who love him.
What is Matt up to?
Matt is keeping busy. He is in the ninth inning of his applications for his masters program. We have finally decided to apply to three schools, University of Utah in SLC, Denver CO, and Seattle WA. His portfolio is done and thanks to family is under revision. So all he has left is letters of recommendation, which he is getting today ;) We pray everyday that he will get into at least one of the schools so he can continue his education. Although it has been nice having him home in the evenings, I know it will be better in the long run.
Playing
Among all these exciting things we have still found some time to play. Last weekend, Kaleb and I went quad running outside of boulder city for the day with Yaya and papous (my parents) My parents have a razor that Kaleb and I with Yaya rode in, Kaleb decided it would be a good time to take a nap :0 It was a blast!
Twilight
Matt also reluctantly agreed to see Twilight with me and my parents on Friday. I loved it! They followed the book as close as they could. I loved Bella's character, but was not too happy with Edward, he came off more cocky in the movie then in the book. the sceanery was beautiful! The only thing that would have made the experiance better was if all the teenage girls would keep their excitment to themselves, they laughed at not funny parts and wooped with excitment at the romantic parts, it made the movie feel a little cheezy.
Family
I feel so lucky to have such a great family! With Stacy's wedding we got to see everyone again. And this weekend, matt's brother and family came in town to visit so we got together and celebrated the November birthdays. And the holidays have just begun! It is fun just visiting and catching up. But even better is listening as the children play together. i just hope and pray the Matt and I will always have the means to visit with family often when we move away. That will definatly be something that I will greatly miss, having family close.

Thanks for reading, I hope I have not bore you to death. Hope all is well with you!

PS Sorry for the loud obnoxious music, it appeared with the slide show of kalebs birthday party, and i am not sure how to got there or how to get it off, so i hope it leaves when it is not on the front page anymore ;) if anyone knows how, let me know, Thanks!

Making Progress

2008-10-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Fun Times

2008-10-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

Kaleb's Birthday Party

2008-10-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

For all the planning and preparation it takes to put something like this together, it went by quick. But kaleb is deffinatly worth it! We ate, then right after had cupcakes and sang happy birthday, then we opened presents. after most people went home and Kaleb played on the park equipment. Then we cleaned up and went home, it was quite the whirl wind, but tons of fun seeing friends and family! Thanks for making his day special!

Another Eventful Weekend

2008-10-27T11:54:00.001-07:00

For those of you wondering about my friend and her baby, He passed away when he was about a week old. I am not sure about the details because matt got a text telling us that, but we have not been able to get ahold of them yet, I believe they are away laying him to rest and should be back by the end of the week.
We celebrated Kaleb's birthday this weekend. Thank you to all those who came and celebrated with us, it was a success! More about this later and pictures to come!

Touched to Tears

2008-10-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

We had a very special weekend!
It started on Friday night when we went over to our new neighbors house for dinner ,Mike and Julia. It was delicious food and great company. Though they do not have any children of their own, they were so understanding and loving with Kaleb. I think they got a little taste into the world of parenthood and how much of a mess children can make. We had them over a couple of weeks ago. They are amazing people, very friendly. We are excited to get to know them better.
Then on Saturday, there was a bridal shower for Stacy. There was a great turn out and great food. We played a fun game of name the song, artist and movie of love songs that I selected. There were moments during this that I was touched by the love I have for my baby sister! She not only is my only younger sister but she is also a really good friend, i feel blessed to be sealed to her through the blessings of the temple. And I am so excited for her as she takes steps into having a family of her own, starting with AJ.
After the shower we headed home to get ready for the temple. Thanks to my mother in law, Kaleb had fun at Grandma's house while we headed off to the temple. That afternoon Stacy received her endowments from the Las Vegas temple. What made this event so special, is it was the first time that my entire family was in the temple together. I was prepared for a flood of tears much like at Eleesha's endowment, but only a few came. In the celestial room, I felt such a flood of peace and comfort. there was not a sense the anyone was missing, we were complete as a family. there are no words to describe how peaceful it was, I can only imagine how it will feel when we reunite after this life. I love my family so much, and I feel so blessed that we have all lived worthy, so we can come together in the temple.
After the temple we headed to Macaroni Grill for Amber and Eleesha's Birthday. Yes, Saturday was their 27th birthday! It was so fun to sit and talk and laugh and eat in celebration of that special day. I hope that both of them know that they both hold a special place in my heart, and are such examples to me. I am also so excited that Amber is going to give Kaleb a cousin, she looks so cute with here little belly that is just starting to pop out. Amber is going to be a great mother! And Thanks Dad for the wonderful meal, you can never go wrong with Italian food ;)
Sunday was another kind of touching experience. We have some friends, that Matt has known since high school. she delivered her baby this last Thurs. But before he was born they knew that he would have lots of health problems and there was a chance that he might not even survive birth. He was born five weeks early and only 28 minutes after she got to the hospital. Keagan was born with irregular limbs, holes is his lungs, high blood pressure, a couple of hernia's and many more health issues. There is a name for what he has, but I don't remember the term.He was a little over 3 lbs and 12 inches long! He was instantly taken to the NI CU and is on life support. The part the touched me the most was Keagan's mother and fathers attitude towards the whole thing.
On Sunday, we went to the hospital to see how they were doing. When we walked into their hospital room, I felt the spirit instantly. There were lots of friends and family and they were talking and laughing like it was a family reunion. Danny was so excited to show us pictures and explain everything about his newborn son. But most of all, I saw no fear at all in the couple of hours that we were there, I only saw and felt hope coming from these new parents. When some of the guests left, they were excited to take Matt and I into the NI CU to see their little angle. I just could not help but think, If I was in that situation, I would have been sad that I could not hold my son and many more things like that, But these parents have such a testimony of life after death, that they know that if Keagan passes away, they will raise him in the next life. They also count each day that Keagan lives and improves in small ways as blessings, and that is where they found their comfort, knowing that either way, thanks to Jesus Christ, everything will be OK.
What great examples they are! So we are praying for Keagan and the Lainharts, but just as they know, I know everything will work out in the Lords way.

Sorry no pics, my camera got left with Kaleb all day, I will see if I can get some pics of Keagan, he is so cute with so much black hair. What an Angle!

Don't Blink or You'll Miss it

2008-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Last night, Kaleb finally practiced walking with Matt and I. He took about 6 steps in a row!! I even got it on video. Although when you watch it don't blink or you will miss it. We did not have a third person to video and it takes two hands to practice walking with Kaleb, so i set up the camera the best I could, so it isn't wonderful footage, but you will get the idea, just don't blink ;) My little man is growning up!

P.S. sorry it is sideways

General Conference

2008-10-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

I love Gernal Confrence Weekends! Not only do we get a break from our responsibilities at church for a week, but we get to hear God's cousel from his servants! These men and women are such examples to me, and they speak so powerfully, it has to come from Heavenly Father. On Sat. Matt and I went to my parents empty house and watched it with just the three of us. We brought some toys for Kaleb, and he did great overall. On Sunday we headed over to Matt's parents house, we also brought some extra toys to entertain Kaleb, for the most part he did well. It sure is different from before Kaleb was around, and I am sure it is only going to get more complicated, but it is worth every second, and I have the benifit of it coming in the mail in a few weeks, so I can read the parts that I missed. It is such a blessing to hear the leaders of Christ Church teach us and remind us of his Gospel!

New Moves

2008-09-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

Kaleb is camera shy and stops doing whatever he is doing when ever I pull it out, this makes it difficult to get any condid shots. So in my attempt to video his new dance move, I set up the camera on him and diverted his attention to me, while I was also juggling the phone, so there is alot of things going on in the back ground sounds, but in this video you can see his new dance move. Kaleb LOVES to dance, he now has three dance moves, shaking his head no, waving his hands, and his newest, bouncing up and down, it is cute, you just have to love this baby! ;)

Baby Talk

2008-09-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

One of the blessings of me being able to take Kaleb with me too work, is that he gets to socialize with another child on an almost daily basis. Sometimes when I am watching these two, I feel like I am watching "Look Who's Talking", because they will jaber on and on, but I feel like I am the one left out of the conversation :). I have always tried to get it on video so I can share it with the world, but have never been successful until this week. I had just put Anna in her room for her nap, but Kaleb was not quite ready for his, so he was hanging out with me, when they started a conversation using the baby monitor. I only got the end of the conversation because he noticed the camera. He has become camera shy, which is what has made it hard to catch on video. To hear Anna's side of the conversation, you have to listen carfully or you can see the lights on the monitor light up. Enjoy!

Baby Steps

2008-09-25T10:40:00.001-07:00

Once again, Kaleb has reached some more mile stones in his life. Last week, he took his first steps!!! I was in the kitchen with him against my legs facing away from me. Then all of a sudden he took the step and a half that it took to reach the cabinets. I have a feeling that just like his rolling over and crawling, he wont take anymore steps for another month or so, then he will just take off. He is such a tease :) He wont even practice with Matt and I, he becomes gumby whenever we encourage him to walk. Another mile stone that he has accomplished that I am relieved he did is, He got tooth #3. Yup, the first one on the top. So hopefully this will help with his fussyness for at least a little while, that would be fantastic ;) Another mile stone that he is still trying to tackle is, he is going down to one nap a day, which has not helped with the fussyness factor. But at the same time, it means an eariler bed time for him, and more time with just Matt and I in the evenings. Now if we could just get his nap up to 2 hours long instead of 1 hour and 15 min. that would be even better :) Watching Kaleb learn and grow is such a miracle, it is such a blessing to have him in my life. Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he created his plan about families.

Airplanes at the airport

2008-09-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a family trip with just the three of us to the airport to watch the airplanes land and take off. When Kaleb was watching his eyes got really big with amazment, it was very rewarding to watch him. While I was there, I also decided to practice my photography. It was very challenging because, in the dark the shutter has to be open for so long to even get anything, because I do not have a tripod, most of the images were blurry like this:

Which is cool in and of itself, but not a very effective photograph.

But I did get a couple good ones, with a little help from photoshop.

I thought this one was really cool. It was not changed at all, it is an airplane going by :)

And of course, my happy little man, with be cut out of the picture because, I had been cleaning all day, had no makeup on and it was windy so my hair was a mess and did not feel like getting my picture taken. But kaleb always seems to be so photogenic :)

It was fun watching the airplanes and it was a beautiful night in Vegas, and we will probably do it again!

Pictures Pictures and More Pictures

2008-09-19T11:43:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Carolyn I now have a book to help me learn about Photography, so i decided to practice on Matt's and mine wedding rings. I also finally sat down with Matt and learned the basics of Photo shop and the above is what i came up with. These pictures are a few of the couple hundred that i have taken in the last week. I am having lots of fun learning about Photography and fixing them up the photo shop :)

Daddy's Shoes

2008-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

I went to Childrens Orchard and found some shoes that look just like Matt's Basket ball shoes and they just happen to be the perfect size for Kaleb, so I had to get them, and here are some pics of them.

Fun Fun Fun

2008-09-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

It is the same old stuff, work work work, play play play.

The first set of pictures in the kids playing with homemade playdoh that did not thicken like it was supposed to and yes Kaleb has one of Anna's shirts on for the event. Then there are the classic spaghetti pictures. Towards the end is hanging out, outside in front of Anna's house, enjoying the cooler weather!

All Kinds of Good Stuff

2008-09-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

I would like to wish Stacy a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She turns 21 today! I would also like to anounce that my sister Amber is expecting her first child! She is due in early May. It will be so exciting for Kaleb to have a cousin on the Mandeles side. I am so excited for Amber and McKade, they will make great parents!

Exciting News!

2008-09-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister Stacy got engaged this weekend! They plan to marry in the temple in early January. She really has found a great guy! His name is AJ and he is from Truth or Consequences New Mexico(yes, this is really a place, it is not to far from Elephant Bute :). He has 7 sisters (I think) and one younger brother, and he is right in the middle. He returned from his mission in July. Stacy was friends with him before he left, wrote him while he was gone, and is now back in Reno going to school. He is a mechanical engineering major.
I am so excited for Stacy, being engaged is an exciting time of life. She is the last of my sisters to marry, so we will all be in the temple together! Love you Stacy!

10 Months Old

2008-09-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

My baby turned 10 months old today! He has grown!

He can crawl (the traditional way now!)
he did his fist sign (more)
he says mom and dad (occasionally)
he plays independently
he likes to flip through books
he puts his fingers all over everything and everyone (especially slimy stuff)
he now takes a pacifier (long story, but I am not thrilled)
he can push toys while standing
he still loves to spin in circles and smile at himself in the mirror
he can walk with the assistance of one hand
his favorite game is to be chased around the house by grandpa (yes, he runs, with assistance of course)
He still has only two bottom teeth
he sometimes likes water over formula
he loves anything with buttons and lights up
he dances to music by shaking his head no and/or waving his arms

I Love Kaleb so much and feel so blessed to have him as my son!

Great Weekend

2008-09-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

We did not have the chance to leave town for labor day,but we still managed to have lots of fun. (sorry no pictures because I forgot to take any, we were just having too much fun) It started with the missionaries coming over for dinner on Friday night. On Saturday we slept in, got some things done around the house, then went shopping, and bought Kaleb some much needed age appropriate toys, matt claims I had more fun in the toy isle then Kaleb. On Sunday we went to church, then headed to my parents house for dinner (Frito Pie ... yum) games, and home made ice cream (yum ...yum). Then on Monday we had breakfast with Matt's parents and enjoyed the nice weather. then we headed to the mall to buy Matt some new sunglasses, since his are broken. And we switched cell phone services to T-mobile. Then we came home and visited with Mike and Megan for a while. Then we headed to the park for a BBQ with Mark and Carolyn, afterwards we went to our house and watched a movie. Overall this weekend was filled with fun, family and Friends, thanks to all who made this weekend great!

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

I finished Breaking Dawn Last night, and for those of you who haven't read the twilight series and would like to sit down and read a good fiction novel, read it, it is fantastic. As with all the other books I have mixed feelings about finishing the book. It feels good to not constantly have the urge to pick up the book even when I have other things I need to be doing. But at the same time, I am sad that the really good movie in my head is over and I have to get back to reality. While reading these books I can really forget everything else and get lost in Bella's thoughts. I feel like Stephanie Mayer does a great job at making the characters feel real, they have strengths and weaknesses just like real people. As a writer, I think this would be a great challenge, to include enough detail about the characters but not bog down the plot. I still think it is amazing how Stephanie can write about "burning" for page after page and I am still captivated and went to know more. The other thing I love about her books, is just like most love stories, you can guess how the book is going to end, but what Stephanie does is gives the reader something more than just a typical ending, so you get the best of both worlds, it is a happy ending, but you also end up with more plot then you asked for.
I also have to say that I started reading the first chapter of her next book (from her website), and I am so excited. i was curious what Edwards story would be like and when she finishes her next book, I get to find out!
So now it is back to normal, reading books just a little at a time. I still can't believe that I read 750 pages in a little over a week! But when I am reading, it doesn't feel like I am, it feels like I am watching a movie, except I get to envision the characters with the guidelines of the words.
All I can say, is wow, Breaking Dawn is a book you can't set down!
Okay I am finished talking about that :) Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.

News!

2008-08-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, Megan, my sister-in-law, best friend from high school, whom I have known for ever ten years is expecting! They have had a rocky road in this area so it is an extra special miracle for them. She is about 12 weeks along and is due in early March. I feel as if Heavenly Father is blessing alot of couples with this great blessing. It is going to be really fun in the next while being able to welcome such sweet spirits into the world. My other sister in law Brianna is also expecting a little boy (who she has affectinatly nicknames WALL-E) she is due in January, so in 2009 there will be 2 spirits welcomed into the Johnson Family. There is also 2 other wonderful women who are also expecting that have not told everyone in their families yet, so I can't mention names, but you know who you are, Congrats! on your wonderful news! Pregnancy can be such a wonderful time of life! The whole experiance of parenthood is so amazing! What a great blessing! Congrats to all who are celebrating in this exciting season in their life!

Distracted

2008-08-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ok . . . So i have to confess that the reason I havn't been blogging as much is because I have been reading the last book in the twilight series "breaking Dawn" I feel like that has been all that I do this last week. The good news is, I am almost finished only 200 more pages to go, at the rate I am going, i should be done by Monday. It is just so good!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-08-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my father a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I thought it was only apropiate to put a family picture because that is what my father has always put first, family. As a little girl I remember always knowing that I could always call my dad and he would always make time to talk to me no matter how big or small and no matter what he is doing. Another favorite thing about my dad is he is always so loving, I look forward to every time I walk in the door He always gives me a big, genuine, hug, and tells me that he loves me. I have never doubted that my dad loves me forever and for always. Another characterisitic I love about my dad, is he is so full of life and when you get him laughing, you can't help but join in. Some of my favoirite memories of my dad are when he was being goofy and silly around the house making all of cry because we are laughing so hard. And as I have become an adult, I have seen a soft side to my dad come out, He has been so supportive. I also love the way he loves Kaleb. Kaleb just lights up when my dad comes into the room. Kaleb loves playing with Grandpa, especially when he chases Kaleb around the house tickling him. Grandpa is Kaleb's budy. I Love you so much Dad! Thanks for all you do for my little family! Happy Birthday!

Family Camping Trip

2008-08-18T13:23:00.001-07:00

The weekend of August 9th we went to Tropic Resavore Camping for 5 days and 4 nights. It was tons of fun with lots of good food and company. We went ATV riding and attempted to do paint balling. We played some games and relaxed. We did get sprinkled on and rained on a little bit, but because the boys figured out how to hang the tarp we enjoyed it in the dry. It was definatly a fun adventure and we look forward to going next summer.

Jared and Eleesha's Wedding Pics

2008-08-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry this took so long . . . Here are my sisters wedding pictures

We are so excited to welcome Jared into our family. They were sealed in the Las Vegas Temple for time and all eternity on July 12th 2008. It was a wonderful day!

I'm Back

2008-08-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

It has been so long because, Matt and I don't have the internet at our house so, I do all my bloging at work while the babies nap. Well last week I had most of the week off work and then I went camping so, unless I went to the public library or mooched off someone i couldn't blog. I had tons of things to do anyway.

So before all the time off, Kaleb and I were playing waiting for Anna to wake up and this is what we were doing. I thought it was so funny I had to get it on Video.
One day last week, I put Kaleb down for a nap and ran to get some things done. He woke up before I was done with the dishes so I decided he could help me by just sitting on the side playing with things in the kitchen (since this is even better then toys) I turned to put a dish in the dishwasher and when I turned back around this is what I saw.

We had fun staying at home, Although we did miss Anna.

More to come...

Reminder

2008-07-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Friday Night is GAP Night, anyone in the stonegate ward is invited to come, and invite others from our ward, so we can get to know you better. 6pm at the church, bring food for potluck, and toys for the kids. games and plastic ware will be provided. Please come it will be fun!

Just Thinking

2008-07-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

I have been out of school for over two years now, and I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do outside of being a mom for the rest of my life. I am not one that has been blessed with lots of talents, but I do strive to develop the ones I have and discover new ones. My newest interest is photography, but I am not really sure how to go about moving forward without spending any money. (being my husband is still working on his education) I am just such a hands on person that I don't learn very well from reading something. Maybe Photography will just have to wait until a later time in my life.
Another point of interest is, I would love to develop toys for babies and toddlers. I have ideas that just come to me almost everyday about how I could modify a toy to make it better or create a new one all together. I just don't know how to begin on any of my new interests.
I also have in the past wrote some children's books. Ideas for those come every once and a while, and sometimes I write them in my journal, but that is as far as it goes.
If anyone has any ideas about any of these ideas, let me know, I would love to learn anything I can on how to move forward.

Picture of Tooth #1

2008-07-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is the best I could get. He is really wiggily and it is hard to focus the camera that close all be myself. But here it is, It definatly adds character to his smile! If you click on the picture it becomes bigger and you can see that I circled the tooth.

Tooth #2

2008-07-29T12:26:00.001-07:00

I know this is post number 4 for today but I have to tell you. Kaleb got his second tooth yesterday. It is on the bottom right next to his first one. Yeah, it is finally here, but I am sure the worst is not over yet. I love it, you can now see his first tooth when he smiles, I am still working on getting a picture.

A New Hobby

2008-07-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Since Kaleb has come into our family, it seems Matt and I have been trying to balance spending time with each other and spending time with Kaleb. They never mixed. Either I was playing with Kaleb or Matt is, until we found an activity that we all can enjoy. We can all sit down together on the floor and play with Lego's. As a future architect Matt enjoys building things. As a big kid I also enjoy playing with toys. And Kaleb likes to crawl around to see what his parents and doing and suck on the Lego's (of which or too big for him to get all the way in his mouth). I am so glad we have found an activity that we all can enjoy together. So here are some of our creations so far.Of course Kaleb likes to play demolition and knock over anything he can get his hands on. He is just trying to help in any way he can, as you can tell by the look on his face in this picture."What, Mom, I'm not going to do anything to Dad's creation? I am just looking at it!"

Most common words

2008-07-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a friends blog and thought it was fun. It is a program that compiles the most common words on your blog. The more often and word is used the bigger it is. I thought it was interesting the the biggest words were Kaleb, can, and Matt. Sorry it is hard to see. If you want to do one of your own go to http://wordle.net/create

Graduation Present

2008-07-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Matt's parents, he got a much needed new suit. I had to twist Matt's arm to get him to put it on so I could take pictures. I think Matt looks fantastic in his new suit. Thanks mom and dad. It fits perfect!

Upgrade

2008-07-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

So, the children have decided that the original game of pushing Kaleb around the house, is no longer as fun. They used to do this

And now they do this
Over all it is better for me, because I have to drive and the stroller is more my size (less bending over and hurting the back)

Happy Pioneer Day (One day early)

2008-07-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

Because it has been a long time, I decided to go to the Pioneer Day celbration. It was fun but very hot so we only stayed for about an hour. Kaleb did fantastic, he watched to whole parade and enjoyed looking around at all the camotion around us. It will be even better once he can run and grab the candy.

Memory Fun

2008-07-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

OK, I've seen this on a few friend's blogs lately. So I thought I'd give it a try...
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

My sister is Married!

2008-07-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

On July 12, 2008 at aprrox 1pm my sister Eleesha got sealed to Jared. For anyone who knows my sister knows that this was a big thing. Of course getting married is always a big thing but for Eleesha this is huge. Eleesha was born with Cerrebral Palsy (CP)(sp?) She has never been able to walk on her own and has limited use of both her hands and very little use of her left hand. She is bound to a wheel chair and has speech impairment. So most of us thought that Eleesha would not have the blessing of being married in this life. About six months ago she met Jared who also has CP. He also happens to be a twin (Eleesha is a twin also) and has a sister named Stacy (How ironic, we have a sister named Stacy too) Luckily Jared is a little less limited in his abilities. He can do most things with his hands, and does not have a speech impairment. But like Eleesha, he is also bound to a wheel chair, and can't walk on his own.

So these two special spirits where bound together for time and all eternity. and are now on their honeymoon at the Excalibur. When they return they will be temporally living with my parents until their names are called to the apartments they have their names on a waiting list.

Eleesha has such a sweet spirit. I am sooo happy for her, that she has found a companion. And it is so great to welcome Jared into our family, he fits right in and has from day one. Because of their limitations, they have a lot to work through, but I have faith that they will work through it, and one day after this life they will be able to dance and enjoy life as we know it. I feel so blessed to have witnessed such a great event.

I think that the next best part of the day was when it was time for them to leave, we put bubble wrap on the ground so when they drove out of the church it sounded like fire works and we were blowing bubbles all around them. What a great closing to a wonderful day! I Love you Eleesha and Jared I look forward to watching you learn and grow together as an Eternal Family! (PS Thanks to my parents for throwing such a wonderful party on their behalf it was a fantastic day!)

Kaleb has a TOOTH!

2008-07-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

The first time a noticed it was when he was eating breakfast on thurs morning. It is about time because he has been teething since about 4 months old. It is the bottom left tooth and the right one is right behind, it will pop through anyday. It is interesting to see everyones response when I tell him he just got his first tooth, some people think it is late and some think it is early. Honestly, I think it is perfect, I am no longer breast feeding and he could sure use the teeth to eat instead of gumming everything. But we are in no rush, these things take time. PS sorry I don't have a picture, I can hardly get in there to see it let alone take a picture. It is just going to have to grow more before any picture can be taken.

Standing Up

2008-07-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

I am just amazed at how much Kaleb has changed in the last month. This time last month he could barley sit up and tipped over often. It took him five minutes to move ten feet. Within the last couple of weeks not only can he sit completely on his own but he has begun to pull up on EVERYTHING! He even tries to pull up against a wall. And he is fast! Just yesterday, I sat down to change Anna's diaper with him playing with toys next to me, by the time I was done and went to throw the diaper away, I found him by the dogs food bowl with a piece of dog food in his mouth. (yuk!) It was a good 20 feet from where we were around a corner. It doesn't help that he thinks he has skills that he doesn't. He thinks he can walk just like Anna, so when you hold his fingers and walk him around the house, even though you have stopped he will keep walking. He is getting better at feeding himself and is almost loosing interest in the pureed stuff and wants what Matt and I are eating. Between Kaleb and Anna they are really starting to keep me on my toes. Anna can walk independently down a 15 foot hallway and is starting to get an attitude (even though she just turned 1 year yesterday). Luckily most of the time they like to be together in the same room and don't wander too far (yet, fingers crossed) They like to play follow the leader around the house with Anna as the leader, or with Kaleb in the walker Anna with push him all round the house. They are definitely going to be a hand full when Anna gets a new baby sister in December. It will be a fun new exciting change, and I am up to the challenge, there are mom's who have 4 kids all under 5, why can't I take care of 3 kids all under the age of 2? When there's a will there's a way, and I will find the way when the time comes :)

Summer Hair Cut!

2008-07-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

I cut my hair! I love it! It has never been this short. There are so many ways that I can style it. So in these pics all I simply did was last night I took a shower and went to bed with it wet. This morning, I combed through it, dampened it, and put a little moose. It took me less then five mins!! I can also flip it out, or curled it under, and I love it! I was ready because I never had the endegy to do my hair and even if i did, it ended up in a pony tail because it was either too hot or Kaleb was ripping it out. I finnaly gave into the "mommy hair cut" but I dont know if I will ever go back! I just might go a little shorter next time! we shall see!

Happy Independence Day

2008-07-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

So . . . we had a busy weekend. I had four days off of work, it was so nice to spend time with friends and family. On the fourth, we spent the morning with my parents and went to a movie. We then went home, regrouped and headed over to Tiffany's mom's house, where we had a BBQ and went swimming. And the boys played games. It was tuns of fun! Thanks Tiffany for inviting us over.

GAP Night

2008-07-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

It is time again for Games and Potluck for the Stonegate ward. It will be at the church on Friday, August 1st at 6pm. Please come, it will be fun! Bring food for the potluck, toys for the kids, the pack'n'play and monitor for the babies. It will be fun for the whole family. We will be eating dinner then playing games. It is a good way to get to know other families in our ward especially those who have callings and dont come to RS or Priesthood. We have so many new families, so please invite them too. Just so I have an idea, if you could leave a comment if you think you can come, that would be great, Thanks.

Back to Work

2008-06-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend. Matt went camping with the guys on Friday night so I decided to have a slumber party with Megan. It was fun! We went out to dinner with Tiffany. Then we stayed up and talked until about 1am. It brought back alot of fun memories from High school. Now it is back to work. When I came into work today I relized how much Anna has changed in the time that we have been working with her. She is starting to walk. Kaleb seems to think he can do everything she can do.

Oh . . . How I Love Matt!

2008-06-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for my husband, he has such a sweet heart. So . . . my hairdryer stopped working a little over a week ago which was my backup. (The one that I have had since I was 17 years old, died about a month ago) And because money is tight right now I decided to improvise and use the fan to blow dry my hair. It takes little longer but it still works. And as most people know Matt is crazy and gets up for his day way before the sun rises and works on things for him such as studying and washing the cars. And he usually leaves the house before 5 am. So this morning around 6 I heard him comming back homw and turning off the alarm for our house, which caught my attention. Next thing I know, Matt is standing in the doorway with a box in his hands. It is a brand new, really nice blow dryer. I am so excited, I just about got up and took a shower right then and there just so I could try it out. It was just totally an unexpected surprise. I love him so much, it is the little things like that that he does that means so much to me. He definatly is the love of my life!

Congrats Eleesha!

2008-06-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Eleesha went through the temple for the first time, in preparation for her up coming wedding. It was a fantastic experiance! I felt the spirit so strong! Niether of us could contain the tears in the celetial room. It has been amazing to be at the temple with my family as each member comes through for the first time. We all look forward to the day when Stacy will be there so All of us can go together and be together in the celestial room. Eleesha just has such a sweet inocent spirit! I am so greatful that she made the choices in her life that has taken her to the temple. After we all met at Olive Garden and had a celebration dinner. We love you Eleesha, go to the Temple often and the Lord will bless you beyond your understanding! he has in my life when I have made it a pattern in my life.

First Hair Cut!

2008-06-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

So a couple of days ago I was frustrated with Kaleb's fuzzy hair and decided to give him his first hair cut. I did it with our clipers. He did not mind them at all and was a little curious. So here is a a pic of my little man with a crisp hair cut.

And this is how much hair I clipped o
Like most mom's I just can't believe how fast time has gone and how much Kaleb has grown. This is a video of Kaleb inching his way around the house. And let me tell you when he wants something he is fast. He is going to have arms of steel. :) It wont be long before I am chasing him around the house

Swimming

2008-06-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we invited Heather and Blake our friends to go swimming with us. Come to find out that it was Blakes first time in the swimming pool. He did great, he is more of a fish then Kaleb is. We swam for about 45 minutes having fun going under the water, splashing and relaxing in the new floatie. It was fun and will do it some more! Blake is almost 5 months old. This is them before we went swimming.

New Tricks

2008-06-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Kaleb amazed me again today. He was supposed to be falling asleep for his morning nap, and when I came in to check to make sure he was asleep this is what I found:

Even though he is not offically crawling, he can sure motor around and figures out how to do what he puts his mind to. We are in no hurry for him to crawl, but I am sure the days are numbered that he will begin to.

So work is going well. Kaleb and Anna are begining to play with the same toys at the same time side by side. They say hi to each other when they wake up from naps. They are going to be great friends and partners in crime with Anna leading the way.

Anna loves to play in Kaleb's car seat, she will do it for a good amount of time. She thinks it is funny when I rock it and sing "row row row your boat" to her.

They both love playing the piano at work and pushing all the buttons that change the sounds. Kaleb might be a piano player after all, we shall see.

Kaleb is really starting to bloom when it comes to his eating. He has lost some interest in his baby food and wants to eat everything that mom and dad and Anna are eating, so he tries new foods frequently. Now if he could grow some teeth that would help tuns. In the picture above he just enjoyed a huge strawberry. I think he enjoyed squeezing it inbetween his fingers more than he did eating it. He is such a joy in my life, and I try to enjoy every second. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for my beautiful family that he has given me. Being a Mother is an amazing experiance, my feelings and emotions have grown so much deeper and meaningful. I never thought that I could love my family as much as i do now, and as time passes the more I love and apreciate them. Matt is an amazing husband and father, I love him so much!

Amazing

2008-06-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after work, I was putting groceries away when I came across one of Kaleb's old pacifiers. Since he was born, he wouldn't take one. I tried to get him to take one every day for the first 4 months of his life and finally gave up. When I saw the pacifier I thought that it would be a good chew toy (since that is what he does to everything these days) so I gave it to him. To my shock and amazement he took it and started sucking on it. I stood there for a few minutes not believing my eyes. To see if he really was sucking, i tried to pull it out, he was sucking hard. All I can say is "wow, timing is everything"Then I ran and got the camera so everyone can witness for themselves.

Fun Times

2008-06-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day yesterday. Anna got some new toys from the neighbor and so there were all kinds of fun things to explore. One of them was a baby carriage. These babies did this activity in the video for about 20 min. Oh, the fun time's we have with the three of us! After Anna wanted a turn!

Fun Weekend

2008-06-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice weekend!
On Friday we threw a party/get together for the young families in our ward. It turned out nice. It was a potluck and game night (GAP Night) Not as many families showed up as I had hoped. But it was fun and I think I am going to through some more in the future. I got some tips from my mom on how I could make it more fun for next time so it will only get better.
John, Camile, Hanna, and Little LJ came in town to celebrate the Johnson Fathers day. So we hung out their for most of the weekend. He went swimming, saw Jared and Brianna's new house and went out to dinner at Cafe Rio. It was fun to see family together again!
One of my favorite parts was spending the entire weekend with my best friend and husband Matt. I don't think through our entire marriage (of four years) we have had weekends together consistently without work or school. In fact Matt and I stayed up late Saturday night just talking, planning and spending time together. It felt really good to sit down and talk with no interruptions. I love him soo much!
On Sunday we also went over to the Johnson's and had a wonderful Sunday dinner (like always, my mother in law does a great job putting on a full course meal, and she does it effortlessly, thanks mom) after we did fathers day presents and John and Camile took off to head back to Arizona. So the boys and mom sat down to play a game and Megan and I took a walk to the temple. It was nice day, but warm in the sun. We got some pics of Kaleb but because it was warm, he wasn't in the mood to smile.
See you Blogging :)

Mirrors

2008-06-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Kaleb loves mirrors, as most babies do. He can entertain himself by making faces at himself for about 20 minutes. I just couldn't resist taking some pics!

Playing

2008-06-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

Kaleb and Anna are doing great together. Now that Kaleb is more moble, they are begining to play side by side. (sometimes together) They have both grown so much, it is wonderful to watch them learn and grow! I feel so blessed to have the job it do!

Textures

2008-06-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

Kaleb loves exploring textures, he has come to like the texture of wood. Consequently when he sees wood the is in reach, it is hard to seperate him from it. Kids or soo fun!

Just Like Daddy!

2008-06-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Kaleb has already learned to appreciate basket ball!
Matt is so proud!

Kaleb

2008-06-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

Fun Pics

2008-06-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

I love sepia, (if you couldn't tell) and I am working on my photography skills so that is what will mostly be on here, so here are some fun pics of Kaleb (my favorite person to take pics of)

New Blog

2008-06-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

Previous to this I have been posting on my families blog, i finally decided it was time that i get my own, so to see previous posts go to the Mandeles Family blog