May

is a crazy month for us. First my birthday on the 5th, then Mother's Day on the 9th, our anniversary on the 19th, Paul's birthday on the 25th and my sister's high school graduation on the 27th! Throw the move in there on the 21st and Memorial Day and it's just one hectic month!
For my birthday I went dumpster diving for moving boxes with Kim in the morning and went home and made myself a double layer chocolate cake. Paul came home with flowers and...a double layer chocolate cake. We had a lot of chocolate cake! It was probably the most laid back (aka boring) birthday I've ever had, but I didn't mind.

On Mother's Day Paul woke up and took care of James and cleaned before I even woke up. I love that man. Of course there were flowers  and these cute placemats from Williams and Sonoma :)

I made chocolate dipped strawberries for my mother. I wrapped a shoebox lid in nice wrapping paper, put the strawberries on parchment paper and then covered the whole thing in plastic wrap. I think it turned out well.

For our anniversary we went to Tucanos. We took James with us. We don't often get alone dates anymore. Finding a sitter is difficult, and we don't mind dragging him along.

Anniversary Flowers

Then there was moving day/days. Paul and I loaded up both cars with the fragile stuff and headed to the new place. It took much longer than I would have liked to pick up the keys and get the cars unloaded. We had a slight scare when we walked in that perhaps it was going to be too small for all of our furniture, but it all fits. Then we went to a few places looking for a U-Haul. By then we had to stop off for lunch, so we didn't start loading the U-Haul until probably 1 or 2. Luckily we have some great friends who came along to help us. It was still a very long and tedious process. Can I just say that moving with a little boy is NOT fun. Naps were missed, feedings were constant, screaming ensued from all the commotion and when we finally had the beds set up little James wouldn't sleep. He ended up in our bed, so none of us were well rested. The next morning we went over to pick up the last few things and clean. It turns out that there were a lot of last few things!

My dad brought his truck over and we were able to move everything but the fish. Being quite sick of going back and forth and still not being unpacked, we waited until Sunday to go get the fish. The landlord had said that he would pick up the key from us at our new place, but Sunday night he called and asked that I put them on the counter!! Soooo, Monday I had to go all the way back to Springville to leave the keys. It was so good to be out of there after all of that.

Helping me clean the fridge.

He "Helped" a little too much so we sat him in his stroller while we finished cleaning.

James has gone right back to his normal sleeping schedule and isn't afraid of the new place at all. In fact, I think he likes it better since it has proven difficult to baby-proof. I've finally unpacked everything and we even have our pictures on the wall. I admit that I'm quite homesick for the other place though. Not because there is anything wrong with this one at all, it's just that we lived there for a year and half. That is the longest I have been in one spot for nearly 5 years and we really made that place home. Now to make this place feel the same way!

For Paul's birthday I made chicken pot pie (his favorite) and a carrot cake. It was fairly low-key since James was already asleep.

My sister Rosilynn graduated from high school. She's the 6th child of 7, but the first to actually graduate. We were "homeschooled" as kids so she's the first to actually attend all four years and graduate. I'm so proud of her! It was way past James' bedtime by the time she finally walked, so he was unusually grumpy.

He kept going back for more and then would get super dizzy and laugh hysterically. He's a funny kid.

Then there was Memorial Day weekend!

Paul doesn't have school on Fridays so he got off early and we went to the park.  We've recently discovered an awesome park in Orem and I have been spending a lot of time there. After church on Sunday we packed up a lunch and went to the park again. Homework kept Paul pretty busy for most of the weekend, but it was nice to have him home.

He loves bananas.

In the midst of all this I forgot to get the car registration done!  So now I have to hope that I don't get pulled over for expired tags on my way to Jiffy Lube. Did I mention that May is crazy for us?
And then there were all the other random adventures of the month:

Christian's Massive BBQ

It snowed the first weekend in the new place.

 I went to IKEA with my sister and we found this fun toy rat. Kind of freaky if you ask me.

Playing at the new place.

Paul decided that we needed an ice cream break. He bought 2 Kong Cones. I have been eating Kong cone for days.

I'm not one to typically feed my kid a bunch of junk, but everyone has their first oreo at some point!

Being Silly.

...and it doesn't take much imagination to know what's going on in this one.

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 :)