Walking

James took his first real steps over a week ago. He had taken a step here and there months before, but mostly by accident and it scared him. Over the past few day he's gained a lot of confidence and is really starting to take off on his own. That being said, he's still a super fast crawler, so if he wants to get somewhere fast he reverts back to it.
It took me a few days to get this video out of  him. He's not big on performing tricks. He's quite a stubborn little boy! Anyway, enjoy!

Three Years

Three years ago today Paul and I walked into the Salt Lake temple to get married for all time and eternity. Sixty-nine years ago today my grandparents walked into that same temple for the same exact reason. At our sealing I could feel their presence there, especially Grandma. I love sharing that with them.

It feels like we've been married for so much longer. A lot has gone on in our lives in just a few short years. We've had 6 different jobs, and lived in 7 (moving again on Friday!) different places. Majors have been changed, a baby has entered our lives. We've been so busy and have gone through a lot of trials, but with those trials have come so many blessings.
I am so grateful to have a worthy priesthood holder for a husband. He works so hard to provide for our family, both spiritually and temporally. I love that he's able to laugh during the hard times as well as the good times. He's such a stud! I am truly blessed.

Again.

We're moving again. It'll be the 7th move. I'd be lying if I said that I was really excited about packing everything we own (that is fortunate enough to not end up in the ever-growing DI pile) and piling it into a moving truck. I hate that part. It's the worst.
However, after thinking about it and praying about it, we both feel that this is what we need to do. When we first moved to where we live now we both had jobs. Then the baby came with his endless expenses and a new car was inevitable. We've been doing ok, but just staying afloat. We want to be able to buy a house when we're done with school in 2 years, so we're downsizing to a 2 bedroom in Orem. It's a really nice complex still. Has a pool and a gym, and a little park where James can play, AND we'll be saving a considerable amount of money. I wish it were over with already. Luckily I have a month to go through and throw things out and pack so that this move will be a bit more organized than the last.

James is on his 4th cold of the year. He has spent most of the year sick. I just got over a horrible sinus infection last week that I had for almost a month! I hope I don't get it! He recently turned 10 months old. I can not believe how fast the time is flying by! He's standing on his own, although he fights it. He's so fast crawling that he gets frustrated when we try to push him towards walking. I know he'll get it soon enough. He's saying "Dada", "Mamamamamama" :), and the other day he started saying "Yeah."  He's such a joy. I'm so grateful to be his mom.
I'm starting to practice with cakes for his birthday. He's allergic to milk so I've been experimenting with dairy free cakes. I have had a few interesting outcomes so far. I found a water and vinegar cake that tasted really good and had good texture, but just looked awful. Hopefully I'll find a super recipe before June.  I've tried giving him soy formula and toddler drink, but he hates it. I'm kind of at a loss of what I can do so that I can wean him. Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome!!

Paul is doing well at work. He's really enjoying his job and is preparing for finals next week. He will be taking classes during the first block of summer, so he won't have much of a break until June. But we're looking forward to going to California for a few days and a long-awaited visit from Paul's uncle (and James' honorary Grandpa) for a whole month!

I've been trying to keep up with some projects. I started getting back into family history and look forward to James' naps every day so I can search for more of our ancestors.  With the move happening I probably won't get much done until after we're settled in.
Here is the bib and burp cloth set I made for my new niece, Charlotte!

Some recent cooking creations:

If you've never made Strawberry Chiffon pie you need to go make it!! It's so good.

Paul's favorite meal: Chicken Pot Pie.

And I didn't make these, but they make me happy! I can't wait until another month or so when the strawberries start to get sweet!

While I was cooking dinner last night James decided to get into the pots...litterally! He's such a funny boy.

Some Pictures

James has been falling asleep everywhere. His favorite spot is his high chair though. He spends a lot of time in it. When I cook dinner I just face him towards me so he can see what I'm doing but can't get into anything.

Splashing! He loves bathtime. Sometimes he just hangs out next to the bathtub until I give him a bath.

He's also quite the musician! I cannot wait until I can get my own piano!

My latest project. My cousin, Wendy, gave me a set similar to this when I had James.  I made these burp clothes and bib for my friend, Carey. I hope she loves them as much as I do! I'm also working on some girly ones for my sister-in-law who is expecting this month!

Lately

I feel like February just flew by and I don't have much to show for it. After we got back from California we all caught a very nasty cold that lingered for weeks. Poor James had such a terrible time and was in the Dr.'s office constantly. Thank goodness that's over!  I spent a good week deep cleaning the condo just to get all traces of sickness out (and a bit of Spring cleaning, too!). 

Spring is here. Who knows if we'll have more snow or not, all I know is that there are buds on the trees and for right now the weather is warm! I love it. James and I have been frequenting the park this week.  I sit him in a swing and he just chills, almost falling asleep at times. I love being outside. Being holed up all winter does nothing for me.

       Such a cutie! I love this kid :)

Paul got me this amazing jogging stroller.

Isn't it awesome? I can plug my Zune into it and the speakers let James listen to music. It's awesome. James sings along while I get a workout. We have a gym in our clubhouse, but I'm never really able to use it. James fusses the whole time, which annoys the other people trying to work out. With Paul's busy schedule (6 am to 8:30 pm at school and work) he's not able to watch James for me, so this stroller is awesome.
James went in for his 9 month checkup! He's 22 pounds, 29 inches and healthy. He has 5 teeth, one of which is actually chipped already! Leave it to my kid to break his teeth before they're even all the way in. Yesterday he got into the pots and kept hitting himself in the head with my little saucepan. I sometimes wonder if little girls do the same thing, or if boys are just wired to get into trouble and use their tough little heads as explorative tools.

Some recent accomplishments:

First taste of toilet water (yuck!)

Discovery of toilet paper
Sits down by himself from standing position
Pulls himself up onto furniture
He is learning to back down off of furniture--but he still faceplants a lot
Has taken his first big boy bath in the tub and loves it
Uses his teeth to chew on anything and everything. My shoes have little teeth marks on them.
Climbs stairs like a pro
Sings constantly
Hasn't been a bad boy once when nursing since getting teeth
Uses his walker or walls to walk throughout the apartment
Dances to music--which I still need to get on video
Waves to people...and sometimes to himself.
Hits everything with his hands or other objects. He's definitely a boy!

We went to Cabella's to get a birthday present for my dad. That's a stuffed bear behind my boys.

James snagged a chunk of that cake for himself.  His Grandpa loves him.

 I helped my sisters dip pretzels for Roxanna's wedding last week. James loves his Aunt Roxi.

I found these awesome little baby feeder things at Target. The top is a mesh bag that you can fill with fresh food. He loves it, and I love that I don't have to worry about him choking!

Getting into things and landing himself in baby prison. He hates baby prison.

And finally, being a sweet little angel :)

Finally Home

We went to San Diego for my Aunt's funeral. Paul came home from work on Friday, took a nap and then we drove through the night to get there. James was an angel and slept the whole way.
It was the best funeral I've ever been to, which probably sounds weird.  My aunt was a truly amazing woman and it was sad that we all had to say goodbye to her, but each of our lives is at least a little better for knowing her. The spirit was so strong at her funeral. Paul and I were both touched by the spirit and prompted to live by her example. I'm glad that we were able to go and receive such a powerful example of how to live. After the funeral we decided to stay an extra day to rest and visit with family before driving back again. It ended up being a mini vacation for us, and our first family vacation. .

James absolutely LOVED the hotel pillows. He couldn't get enough of them for some reason. Also, after months of painful teething, James got his first tooth while we were in San Diego! yay for James!

Paul had never been to the San Diego temple, so we stopped by. Just as pretty as ever.

We also had to see the ocean while we were there, so we went to La Jolla and took a walk. SO gorgeous.  I was sad to come home to the winter of Utah (even though Spring is on its way...just not the same).

Such a cutie.

After driving around San Diego for a while we headed out to Aliso Viejo to visit with Paul's Aunt and Uncle. We lucked out because Paul's great uncle Harvey was there, so James got to meet them all.

On our way back to the hotel the car broke down on the freeway. The lights started blinking and the car just died. Paul started it up again and we were able to drive twenty more minutes to our hotel. It kind of ruined the plan for the night and we weren't sure when we were going to get home or how. We ended up ordering a nasty hotel pizza and trying to sleep.  In the morning we loaded up the car and checked out. We drove to the nearest dealership (because we just bought the car in Utah we had to go to a certified Dodge dealership to get it fixed to be reimbursed later) and as soon as we turned in the car died and they couldn't even start it up to move it.  Turns out the alternater was shot. We were told that we were very lucky to have gotten home safe the night before and that it was a miracle that we were able to get it to the dealership. We feel like the Lord was really watching out for us. Even though it really sucked, it could have been much worse. There was an outdoor mall right across the freeway so we spent the morning walking around. The weather was beautiful and if you have to be stranded somewhere, that's the place to be! 

At this point there was no way we would get home in time for Paul to go to work the next day, so we decided to do what we had planned to do that day before going home. And so we drove out to Aguanga, where I grew up. It was interesting to go back and see how things have changed. I hadn't been back there since my family moved 4 years ago. Here are my boys in front of our old home.

Before we left we stopped at my favorite taco shop for dinner. It was so delicious and James was cute as always.

The trip back home was very long. We didn't get home until the sun was rising and we were totally exhausted. We have a lot to be grateful for. Now to get back into the swing of things!

He's Mobile!

James is 7 months old. The worst part about having babies is that they grow up so fast. The best part of having babies is watching them grow up. I know it sounds funny, but every time James reaches a new milestone I can see how happy it makes him, which in return makes me happy. He is just so excited to progress and move forward. I love that about him. Children are such miracles. I think sometimes we take that for granted because we see so many kids around us all the time. Each one is special and different and so eager in their own ways. We were each like that once and so full of our own potential. Life is a miracle and I am so glad to be living it.

Here is James' first time crawling. So glad I got it on tape. He's much better at it now and is all over the place. He tends to go for the dirtiest things in the room, like shoes, doormats, etc. He got into my basket of pinecones, figured out how to open the entertainment center and get into movies, gets stuck under tables (this actually scares me--all those sharp corners!) and yet when he wants me or his daddy he refuses to crawl to us but prefers to scream and "swim" until we pick him up. I will never rest again. Ever. But I LOVE it.