The Tale of Two Teeth

The other night while at TJ Maxx I found this outfit (see photoshoot above). I don't think I've ever seen Kyle so excited as when we put it on him and it fit...kind of. I found this same one a few months ago, but the only size they had was for 2 years (we still bought it). This one is still a little big, but maybe that's the point.

After MONTHS of teething, Lil' Chief has finally cut two teeth today, and the days not even over! Who knows maybe he'll have three by tonight. We went to the doctor and he's still in the 10th percentile for weight (he gained two pounds though), and he needs to get back up to where he was pre-allergies, which was the 50th percentile. So....I'm done nursing, and we're going to go straight on the hypo-allergenic, hypo-expensive formula. Pray for lots of samples! Do you know what this means? Mommy gets to EAT AGAIN!!! I'm going to gradually take him off nursing, so hopefully by the beginning of next week I'll be able to eat normally again. One thing this diet has taught me is I can do without butter, sour cream, processed foods (s0y), chocolate and many, many other things. Moderation in all things.

The doctor said he'll have a hard time gaining weight because of how active-I call it hyper-he is. Seriously, he doesn't stop moving for one second.

8 Months

Holy Smokes, I can't believe Michael is already 8 months old today. Before I know it, he'll be 8 years old. Michael is so much fun; I can hardly stand it. He is an extremely happy baby, and is always laughing. I can learn a lot from him...seriously. Speaking of standing, for the past few weeks he's been pulling himself up in his crib, and he pulls up to everything and anything. He is still teething, yet no teeth have popped through. His allergies are worst then ever. I was hoping they would start to trail off and he'd be allergy free by one year, but pretty sure that's not happening. I've been very good with my diet of no dairy/no soy, but will be very glad when it's over. Butter, sour cream, ice cream, skim milk, chili, bread, and many, many other things have been absent from my diet for almost 4 months now and I crave them daily. Yesterday I decided to take Michael for a walk outside. Big mistake. There was a very slight breeze, but it was enough to get his allergies going and by the time we were home his eyes were practically swollen shut and watering, his nose was running, and he wasn't happy. I learned my lesson.

If you look very closely, you can see some hair on his head.....I said VERY closely. Good thing he's a boy because I don't think he'll have a full head of hair for a couple of years. Also, check out the excitement on his face in the picture below. He is doing his classic nose scrunch, snort, laughing face. Love it!I "caught" him reading the other day. He was actually flipping the pages! I know what you're thinking....he's so advanced for his age. Thanks, we think the same thing.
Tonight we are going with some friends to Hogs and Dawgs (motorcycle show), and then to Cool Desert Nights (a classic car show). Only problem is I know that after tonight Kyle will start talking to me about fixing up his and his brother's '64 Impala, and he'll want to buy a street bike. Sorry buddy, ain't happenin'!

Big Chief

Today Kyle's at Fathers and Sons...without his son, maybe next year I'll send Michael, maybe. Kyle is such a good dad. Pretty sure he'll be our kids favorite. He loves playing with Michael (as well as anyone else's kids), absolutely loves it. Whenever my nephews see me they ask "where's Kyle?" (thanks guys, I love you too). Many nights he gets Michael out of bed just to snuggle with him, and everytime he tells me, "this is my favorite."

I love this picture of Kyle and his dad. I only was able to meet Kyle's dad once before he passed away and it was before I'd even met Kyle. I can see Michael and Kyle taking a picture similiar to this in 20 years.

Lil' Bro

He wore my cap, gown, and tassel (I don't think they could tell that it said 2000, instead of 2008).

The past week has been a BIG week for my lil' bro Andrew. He sang his first solo at Baccalaureate and then his second solo at graduation (can you tell there are a lot to pick from at his school?) and he did GREAT on both. I have to admit, I was very nervous for him...probably more so then he was for himself, but he pulled it off. So he graduated a week ago from high school, followed by seminary graduation. This week he had finals for Running Start and finished his last final this morning, and tonight he will graduate with his Associates Degree. Yesterday while we were at my cousin's wedding, we got a call from him saying his mission call came in the mail. It had only been a week and half since he put his papers in! After the luncheon a big crowd met at my parents house and he opened his call. He's going to the Texas Houston East Mission-English Speaking, which also encompasses parts of Louisiana. He lives on August 27th, which is perfect for him. He will be able to stay home and work all summer, go to our brother's wedding, and leave right before school starts, also he can finish recovering from shoulder surgery. Way to go Andrew, we're so excited for you!

We had our sister on the webcam so they could see him opening the call

Ah, how cute...love this picture.

Happy Birthday Mamma!

Today's my mom's birthday, and in celebration, Mother Nature decided to send her some of the craziest weather of the year. For her birthday she's doing what she does best...serve others. Today she is babysitting some of her grandkids, making dinner for someone in her ward, making jam for her family (what's left of them that is), arranging flowers for her niece's wedding, hopefully going to get a free lunch with my dad at Red Robin (if she gets the other things done on her list), saying goodbye to my dad while he goes to 4 hours of meetings tonight, and then coming to celebrate with us.

She loves being a Nana, and her grandkids love her!I wish I had more old pics scanned, but this is all I've got.

Don't I look great for just giving birth? Okay, that's not my baby, but that would've been nice!

I love living closer to my mom. Before I used to only see her a few times a year, but now we're only 25 minutes a way, so I can see her whenever I want. Mom, I love you; thanks for all that you do for us! Happy Birthday!!!!

What's For Dinner?

Are you constantly asking yourself this question at 4:30 pm? Yeah? Me too! Go HERE, and enter to win. Don't be scared to comment, it's just my sister.

I'm one to talk....I never leave comments on people's blogs I don't personally know.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well I haven't posted in a REALLY long time, so I decided I better post some pictures. We have been busy spending time with family and friends, being sick, trying to get Michael to gain weight, going to the doctor, being out of town, and lots of other things. A couple of weeks ago Michael got a double ear infection and bronchitis, and I got bronchitis too. We were miserable to say the least, but he's finally better. We now know that he also has allergies in addition to the dairy/soy because whenever I take him outside and it's breezy he immediately gets plugged up. Where we live there are TONS of flowers and trees, so I think the pollen gets to him, actually I know it does. Poor guy! Then of course as soon as he recovered from that, he started teething. The tooth has yet to pop through, but he seems to be doing a lot better. I've had many interrupted nights the past few weeks. Also, Michael wasn't gaining weight, and was actually losing weight while he was sick, so we were worried about that again. He was only 14 pounds 5 ounces last week, but this week he is already up to 15 pounds 6 ounces, and I am soo happy. He hasn't been this heavy (if you want to call it that) ever, and he really needed to gain weight and still does. My milk supply is finally getting to where it needs to be after working at it for the past month. It also helps that he's eating solids more now too. We started him on a new formula too, but it's EXPENSIVE. It's 40 bucks a can and the can doesn't even last 5 days, and that's with me nursing the majority of the time. I can't even imagine how much money I'd spend if I wasn't nursing. Ridiculous. He still spits it up a little because it has soy in it. Seriously annoying.

Since I last posted I turned 26, had my first Mother's Day (although Michael was feeling like pooh), and this past weekend Kyle and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary. Lots has happened over the past two years, that's for sure.


Michael just turned seven months, and here are some of his stats:

-He started sitting up and crawling on the same day when he was 6 months (he's still better at crawling then he is sitting up). He is a fast crawler; I have to keep my eye on him!
-He is eating cheerios, which is so cute
-He started to wave this week
-Had his first ear infections
-Can now pull himself up to a standing position (I have found him standing up next to the toy box and crying because he didn't know what to do)
-He LOVES strangers and smiles and laughs at everyone
-He is the happiest baby I've ever been around
-He loves to kiss mommy with his wet, open mouth


All and all, we are doing great. We are looking for a new place to live as we have to move out at the end of the summer. I love where we live, and am sad to think we will probably have to move back into town. Country life is what I love!


Here are some pics....



Hopefully it won't take me this long next time, but not guarantees, especially with summer around the corner. We will be hanging out at the pool as much as possible!