30 Days of Blogging- Day 27

Well, with vacation- it was bound to happen! I missed a day! I missed yesterday because we spent most of the day in DISNEYLAND!!!!
WOOHOO!

So, today I am picking up where I left off. An original picture of the city where I live...which I don't have. SO- After I get home- and get my other memory card, I did take a picture of the city that I will post.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 26

Today is supposed to be my dream wedding. Since I am already married, I thought I would get a bit more personal and talk about why my wedding day is not the most meaningful day of mine and Mike's marriage.

Mike was not an active member of the church (LDS). Because of this, we had the typical, family and friends wedding.

Years down the road, Mike had decided to go back to church. He approached me about preparing to attend the temple and be sealed together.

The LDS church believes that the Lord wants families to be together forever. Through the power of the priesthood, the Lord allows us to be sealed to our spouses and families for eternity in the temple. Unlike your typical civil marriage- there was no "til death do you part" read during our sealing.

Our sealing not only made our marriage eternal, but now, our FAMILY is eternal. Grayson was born within that sealing and will be sealed to us for eternity as our son.

I am so grateful that Mike and I were able to go together to the House of the Lord and make our union eternal.

California Dreamin'

We made it to California today. We are enjoying our time here already. We had to go through a snow storm between Twin and Jackpot, elk, and more, but we got here safe and we are excited for what is in store this week.

Here are a few pictures from today. Grayson had his first adventure in a pool-

AND he had his first experience at the beach/coast.

We are tired from driving all night last night and today so we are heading to bed. Sienna is getting a big surprise tomorrow....

30 Days of Blogging- Day 25

Put my Ipod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs....
Well, my ipod is stored somewhere secret in the rental car right now so I will use my itunes....

1. Let My Love Open the Door by Peter Townsend. I fell in love with this song after watching Dan in Real Life. I actually prefer how he sings it in the movie....but this is what is on my ipod.
2. Pour Some Sugar On Me- Def Leppard. Who doesn't like this song! Now it has the memory of seeing Taylor Swift perform this song with them at the CMT Music Awards in 2009
3. That's What I Love About Sunday- Craig Morgan. I love how this song focuses on the simple church and family memories created on Sundays.
4. Paralyzer- Finger Eleven. Have you noticed I like all kinds of music yet? This is about as "heavy" as my music gets but I thoroughly enjoy this song.
5. Big Yellow Taxi- Counting Crows. The message in this song is so great.
6. Summertime by Kenny Chesney. This is the perfect song for vacation! I can't wait for summer.
7. You're Gonna Miss This-Trace Adkins. What a great message for me as a new mom. On those hard days I try and remember that I will miss this....and I do. I miss the days spend nursing Grayson all day on the couch, being able to just cuddle all day- even though back then I wished for a little time where I could put him down.
8. American Pie- Don McLean. A favorite of many people
9. Inside Out- Eve 6. Nothing special really, just like the song.
10. My Immortal-Evanescence. This gal's voice just gives me chills. LOVE IT!

That is my first 10- well, I skipped over holiday songs and then bits of comedy CDs by Bill Engval, etc.

We are in California now. I am going to try and enjoy this beautiful weather. Tomorrow we are giving Sienna her surprise! So EXCITED!

30 Days of Blogging- Day 24

Something I have learned-
I have learned a lot, and some of it is amazing (to me anyways) and other items are trivial. I have learned a lot about life, our Heavenly Father's plan for us, love, and more.
BUT- today, I have learned that I no longer am a pro at packing for vacation.

Mike and I were married for over 8 years before Grayson was born. In that 8 years, we traveled quite a bit. I had it down to a science on how to pack, organize and get us ready for a trip using the least amount of space and making it quick and simple. Being the "planner" (read suffering from anxiety) that I am, I even would always have more than enough clothes, things we may need if such-and-such happened and more.

Well, now I have a little one to pack for. You would think that since we have taken several trips with him I would be starting to get it down. Problem is, each trip he is at a different age/stage in life....so I have to re-learn everything that he needs every time.

So, I guess I have learned that traveling is a lot more complicated, and takes up a lot more room with a baby.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 23

Something I crave- SLEEP!
This morning, we woke up at 3 am to head to Lewiston to pick up Mike's niece Sienna. We wanted to leave so that we could get to Lewiston by the time Grayson would wake up for the day. Of course- the night Mike and I wanted to be able to go to sleep early- we found ourselves wide awake. Normally, nights Mike needs to do stuff, he can't stay awake while putting Grayson to bed....
So, we drove to Lewiston at 3 am, we just got home at 4 pm....we are TIRED!!!!

Sienna is going to California with us. We hope to leave tomorrow night and drive all night so that Grayson and Sienna can sleep that time frame. So, Because of that, Mike is napping right now (5 pm) and then he is going to stay up late tonight, doing the last of his homework, then he will wake up normal time and go to bed tomorrow afternoon so he can be well rested to drive most of the night. I will take over driving in the morning.
We are super excited for vacation! We have a special surprise in store for Sienna.....but I can't share it yet because that would not be fun.....

30 Days of Blogging- Day 22

What is in my purse? Most moms answer (well at least when they have a child Grayson's age) that they don't have a purse- but a diaper bag....
Well, I HATE diaper bags. I can't bring myself to spend a ton on the ones I do like, and I hate the plastic, huge ones.
SO- I have a purse that I use as a diaper bag.
In it I have:

• a fold up changing mat that has diapers and wipes in it
• an extra outfit for Grayson in case there is a blowout or something
• those ring/link toys
• a board book
• hand sanitizer
• lotion
• painkiller for me- in case I have a major headache
• heart burn medicine
• a few pens
• a pack of gum

That is it. I have a little zipper wallet/coin purse that fits all my ID and cash and stuff that I keep in my back pocket. Pretty simple stuff.

I am going to try and not miss a day- however, we are heading on vacation soon- so I might....IF  I do- I will just start where I left off.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 21

Today I am supposed to share my favorite picture of me of all time...LOL!
Well, it isn't my favorite of ALL TIME, but is my favorite that I have loaded up on this computer.....

Why is this one my favorite? You would think my favorite would be one with Grayson in it (and it actually is but I used it for Day 1 so I picked something different). I love this one because it is a rare picture of me with a smile that I like. It also shows my eyes. My eyes are my favorite feature. Lastly, it is unique. I only wear a hat in the winter- and I don't take many pictures in the winter- so this is rare to find a picture of me- in my favorite hat.
This picture was taken the winter I was pregnant with Grayson.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 20

Turd and Turd Nugget are terms of affection in our home. Today is blogging about Nicknames....these are the main ones in our house. There is actually a funny story behind it.

Mike has always called me Turd when I tease him.

One day we were playing Scattegories. (You know the one where you roll a letter, then you have a list of 12 things and you have to come up with things for them that start with that letter...)
Our letter was T. Well, one of the items we had to come up with was a term of endearment. I answered all the others, thought long and hard and wrote down Turd.
Mike tried to challenge it. The conversation went something like this.
Mike "That is not a term of endearment."
Me "Yes it is."
Mike "It is not."
Me "It is. You call me a turd all the time and I know you would NEVER use anything but a term of endearment with me, right?"
Mike, shaking his head and smiling "Turd."

I one that argument...and the game. So now I am Turd, Grayson is Turd Nugget.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 19

WOW- I almost forgot about this today. There is a lot going on at our house right now between getting ready for Spring Break, a bathroom being remodeled by the Managemnt Company because upstairs neighbors flooded our ceiling and walls, and more....and I guess I just didn't think about it.
Today's post is something I miss. Well, I miss the sun....but it came out a little today....so the other thing I miss:

THE BOLANDER FAMILY!!!!!

I miss them living close by so we could hang out at night and play games. I miss seeing the kids, talking with Terrie, and more.

I am so excited that they will be moving closer this summer. We are already trying to decide when we will go seethem first.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 18

Today is about my favorite place to eat. I have several places I like, but different things at each one.
I LOVE Olive Garden for the breadsticks. Chili's has an AWESOME dessert (Molten Lava Cake) and Texas Roadhouse has some great steak.
However, we like to go to The Cracker Barrel the most. We love the country store part and they have some great food. Mike is a HUGE fan of the homemade Macaroni and Cheese. I love that I can fill up on a kids meal.

But really, we eat at home mostly. Eating out is expensive and we have only done it a hand full of times since Grayson was born.

10 Months!!!!

Where has the time gone? My baby boy is 10 months old! Not only that, he is WALKING!

This is him today, walking out to the car with Mike. It was really cute because he would keep stopping to look at everything around him.

So here are some 10 month stats:

Weight: Actually, not sure on this one. He has not been weighed for a while. We packed up our baby scale. I will do the weigh myself holding him and without him tomorrow and come and update this. UPDATE: He is just under 17 pounds

Diapers: Size 3

Clothing: Finally has outgrown his last item of 0-3 month clothing. He can still wear some Carters 3 month (different than 0-3) because they are much longer. He is mostly in 3-6, although a few things he is wearing 6-9 months (mostly Gerber onesies) and some brands that have 100% cotton shirts, after I wash them he can wear and they are 12 months. They look a little big- but not too bad. I still mostly dress him in 3-6 though.

Shoe Size: 2, except a weird brand I found that he needs size 3 because they run REALLY small.

Other items of business:

He climbs like crazy, walks- although he is just starting this so he will often drop down into a crawl half way to his destination, dances, bounces, rolls balls, just started clapping, can push most of his toys- including the lights and sounds table, shakes his head no, feeds himself finger foods really well, drinks from both a sippy and regular cup, knows how to open the wipes container, and can take off his shoes.

He says Banana, and just today started saying Mama to me. He loves to sing and scream

He LOVES finger foods. He also had Spaghetti for the first time this last week.

His other favorite foods are bananas (of course), toast, plain yogurt, applesauce, and unfortunately puffs and yogurt melts and the things I call baby cheetos- they are made by Gerber and I can't remember what they are really called. He loves the sweet potato, spinach, tomato basil, and blueberry flavors of those things. He also likes to eat ANYTHING we are eating...be it chicken, potatos, pasta, or anything else. We can not eat in front of him without giving him some of OUR food....even if he has his own food. He knows if it is different.

While at Grandma and Grandpa's today, he discovered the piano and gave us his first recital

Blogger's video upload is not working right now, so I will add the video later.

2 more months and my lil man will be a year old. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 17

Here are some things that I am looking forward to right now-

The SUN!!! Both when we go to California next week and when it decides to hang around Boise more. I am so ready for warm weather, trips to the park, walks outside, and days at the zoo....In Caliornia I am excited for the beach, spending time with friends, and more.

Of course- there is something else I am looking forward to....2 months from today....

Grayson's first birthday! I can't believe he is almost a year old. I will do a separate post for his 10 month stats today.

I am also looking forward to a few small trips this summer, Disneyland in October, the Bolanders moving much closer, and more.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 16

My Dream House- Well, I mostly want a house that is big enough for my family and our needs. Nothing super fancy. I have a few things I would like to have- double ovens, lots of counter space (my parents home had tons and it was so nice), a BIG laundry room (also my parents house has a HUGE one and it is wonderful), and nice big rooms for family to gather in during holidays (another great thing my parents home has). The one thing I really want though is a nice big yard for my kids (Grayson & Mike...oh and any future babes) to play outside in. Yep- my parents house had that too. Unlike my parents home though- I would like a bigger master bedroom then they have- with it's own bathroom attached to it. I would like to have a room to have as an office/craft room, and maybe also double as a guest room.
However- I know with our current situation- Mike still in school, finances, etc...purchasing a home is quite a ways away. So now, we make due with what we have....even though our home is quite cramped...it still has the most important aspects of my dream home- FAMILY, LOVE, THE GOSPEL.