William's First Birthday

Saturday we celebrated William's birthday, a friend made a cake for him to smash up and have all for himself.

He really did not want much to do with it, maybe he was full from dinner, or maybe he just does not like cake.

 

 

After playing with the frosting for a while, we smashed his hands into it, to show him how it's done, and he still wasn't having any of it. Not the most exciting cake smash of all time, but it was Williams, and that is what makes it special.

 

It is hard to believe that my baby boy is already one year old. He has learned so much, some things I love, others, not so much.

 

 

He has brought so much laughter into our home, always making us laugh or smile at the silly things he does.

 

It does not seem like more than a few days ago, we brought this tiny baby home, fresh into this world. Now he is growing, jabbering up a storm every minute of the day, and running around like a crazy man.

 

First snow

We got a little snow storm a few days after Christmas, just enough for a little William to go experience snow for the first time.

 

 

So we bundled him all up in his snow suit, he looked just like the little boy from the Christmas Story, it took him a few minutes to figure out how to move and crawl in it.

 

 

He had so much fun exploring the frost yard, and surprisingly, he did  not even eat any of the snow.

Little hands get cold easily though, so we cut it short, saving more fun for another day.

Christmas

Christmas was wonderful this year, we did  not have Nick's parents and brothers here like we had thought, but we spent the day enjoying being together none the less.

 

 

This was William's first time opening presents, and most of the time he was more interested in the paper, than what it was wrapping.

 

Eventually with our help though, we got them all open. So many great presents this year, thank you to everyone who sent him something.

 

Our eternal family

It is official, on January 19th Nick and I will be going to the Louiville temple to get sealed for time and all eternity. We have worked very hard to get to this point, and we can are so excited to finally be able to do this. Most of my family is coming into town for the weekend to be there, but everyone who wants to come, is more than welcome to come.

Some pretty big news

We have some very exciting news to share!

 

 

Baby number two is on it's way, and we are so excited. Then end off June, or beginning of July is when the next little one is expected, the doctors can't seem to decided on a date for some reason. June 27th and July 4th have both been thrown out there. We all know though, baby come when they want to come, no matter what any doctor has planned.

ABC 123

These last two weeks have been very crazy for us. I had all three finals to do, on top of doing a boutique at our house. It all got finished though, I got at least a B in all of my classes, and although the boutique was a complete fail, it meant our house got a good deep cleaning!
 

 

William had been busy learning as well, he has been practicing eating rice cereal with both his hands and a spoon.

 

Sometimes learning is a very messy job.

He also learned how to get a pair of his overalls off, I went to get him from a nap one day, to find that he had unbuckled them, and they were down around his ankles.

 I get a month off from school, although Nick jut started his. It is a self paced course, so he is hoping to get it all finished while he has a couple of weeks off for Christmas, then it's back to the books for me.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a very quiet weekend, Nick was off of work for four days, so we had some time to just be together and relax. I took two days off from school work, and spent most of the day playing with William, building mazes and obstacle courses for him to navigate.

 

 

Thanksgiving day we took a drive down to the park. It was a wonderful 70 degrees, and William had so much fun swinging and going down the slides.

 

 

Two other families showed up, and that is when he got more interested in what they were doing than what we were doing.

 

 

We didn't have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but that seems to be normal for us. It was just a great weekend together before all of the craziness reached it's peak.

 

So much to be thankful for

It is a beautiful day here in Kentucky, a great reminder that we all have so much to be thankful for in our lives. I was thinking back to our life only a year ago, and so much has changed. I was 8 months pregnant, Nick was in AIT so we spent our Thanksgiving in a hotel, eating mozzarella sticks and pizza rolls for dinner. We were together though, and that is what matters most.

The list goes on and on, but the main thing I have to be grateful for. Family near and far, although mostly far.

 

We know we have a support system country wide, a large group of people who love and support us, and would do anything that we needed.

 

 

 

 

 

We have both been blessed with amazing parents who have taught us so much, and giving us so much love. We are now parents ourselves, and are able to experience all of the joy that come with that.

William brings so much joy and laughter into our home, he has such a sweet spirit and always makes you feel so special.

I am grateful for our health, and for our freedoms. Although Nick has not had the chance to "fight" for our country yet, I am still bursting with pride that he chose to do this, because if is was not for men and women like him, we probably would not have so much to be grateful for.

We have a beautiful home to live in, that we can call our own. It is full of all of the things we need, and plenty that we want. I am thankful for my craftiness, to make our house a home. Even though it never turned out to be a money maker, I am glad I was given the chance to try it out.

Tell your family and friends how much you appreciate them in your life, and keep the spirit of thanksgiving in your heart.

Take a moment to see the beauty in life, I can guarantee that you will find it in unexpected places.

 

 

Such a big helper

William has turned into such good helper.

 

 

 He makes sure I organize the towels and hot pots the right way,

 

He helps me load the dishwasher,

 

 

and he even makes sure his diapers are clean and folded correctly.

 

I can always count on him to help me fold the laundry too.

 

I don't know what I would do without him helping me out every day.

Our next big step

Last Sunday Nick was ordained to be an Elder, and I could not be more proud of him. This was a big step for both of us, but now we can not wait to set a date and get sealed together in the temple.

He worked very hard going through the classes, and preparing for this big commitment.

 

First Hair Cut

A couple of weeks ago we decided to give William his first hair cut.
 

He was such a champ, and did really well all most the whole time.
 

He got upset at the end, but I was pretty much done anyway.

It tuned out shorter than I wanted, but that is the good thing about hair, it will grow back.

So much to do, so much to see

The end of last month we moved into our new house, and we are loving it. We are much done unpacking, Nick finally hung up all of the pictures, which always make a house look so much more like a home.

Life has been pretty crazy around here, Nick has spent the last few weeks in the field, and preparing for the field. Another way of getting ready for their deployment next summer. Luckily, it got so windy Sunday morning that the tents were falling over, so he got to come home a week early.

Our old washer officially gave out on us, not great timing after buying a house, but it never really is. We got our new one delivered the day after Nick left, so I hooked it up and started running a cycle, only to come downstairs and find that our bathroom and hallway were flooded. I guess that is what I get for not reading any instructions, and thinking I know what I am doing. Luckily, it was in the basement, so it was not as bad as it could have been, it just means we have to clean our carpets sooner than planned.

I am still doing school, a little over half way with this semester and boy am I glad! I am taking three classes, Math, English writing, and introductory to Psychology. I am managing, and passing all of my classes (some better than others) but I do not think I will ever take three classes again.

 

Like a Kangaroo

We bought William a Johnny Jump Up a few months ago, but he never really had much interest in it unless you were swinging him. We tried again yesterday and he started bouncing like he knew what he was doing! He even started hopping on one foot towards the end.

 

William's First Halloween

Since William is my first, I may have gone a little overboard with this first Halloween pictures, but I just could not help myself! My good friend Gina graciously did a photo shoot for me, so I gathered up some pumpkins, cut out some letters and got William all dressed up and just let him do his thing.

William did so good, playing with the pumpkins and leaves and he only took his hat off once.

We wanted to get a family shot, but Nick had to work late, so I decided to get some shots of just William and me, there are not to many of those around.

 William is such a happy boy, and a joy to have around. Everyone loves him, and we can not make it through a store with out getting stopped at least once. The Yound Women get so distracted by wanting to play with him, Nick has had to start taking him. 

His first year is almost gone, and Nick and I have both loved watching him grow, and his personality flourish. He is crazy sometimes, and always very loud, does not ever sit still but he loves to smile. William is such a great first baby, and I love getting to spend my days with him.

Some big changes

Needless to say, so much has happened in the last month or so since I have posted. William is getting so big, he loves feeding himself, crawling around and talking. He has to teeth now, and loves mashing things up with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 He is grew out of the baby tub, and has learned how much fun the big boy tub can be. Who wouldn't love playing with all of those toys and slashing water around? Not to mention that oh so wonderful wash cloth babies can't seem to resist.

This afternoon we will be signing the closing paperwork on the house we bought, and will be moving in this weekend. We are both so excited to not only have floors that don't creak and wake William up, but a place that is our own. Nick already has remodeling jobs planned, and I have the whole house painted and decorated in my mind.

I started school a month ago, and even though it takes up every extra minute I once had, and then some, I really am loving it. I can't wait to be able to say (in two years) that I was finally able to get my degree. I have also decided to close down my little business I do online, this will give me more time for school, and the family, I am actually really excited to use all of my craftiness on our new home and growing family instead of that.

On the move

At the end of August, William decided that he wanted to crawl. We worked on it for two weeks and n September 5th, he was on the move! Crawling is his new favorite thing, and doesn't sit still for much of anything anymore. We are so proud of him, and how much he has grown over the last month.

We all scream for ice cream!

While my parents were here, Grandpa got the privlage of giving William ice cream for the first time(without permission)!

Who doesn't love ice cream? Even though it was cold, William was no exception.

He gobbled the whole thing up, and it was gone before we knew it.

 

Life in the fast lane

Well it's been a roller coaster these last few weeks. Nick got his wisdom teeth pulled so he was home in bed for a week.

My parent's are back in town for a few days before moving on, it's been fun to see them and have them visiting again. William sure doesn't mind, he always gets spoiled whenever they are here.

I am starting school next week, I am so excited to finally be working on my Psychology degree, but nervous about keeping up an almost full time work load. I am also doing a street fair next weekend, I'm hoping to do well enough to get my product a spot in one of the local children's stores.

The biggest thing though happened about three weeks ago. From the first month we got here, there have been problems with the house we are renting, mostly going back and forth on who actually owns it. Well, at the beginning of the month two men from the County showed up at the door, posting notices that the house is being sold at auction on August 30th, so, we have to move. After a lot of talking, searching what is out there, and praying, we decoded that the best option for us, would be to purchase a home. No one can kick you out of your own home! So, we looked at about 10 houses, and decided on one. We put an offer on it on Thursday, and after a little back and forth we came to an agreement. We are just waiting for everything to finalize, but by September 15th, we will be home owners!

There is no doubt that there is a lot going on right now, but it sure makes life exciting. As soon as we get the keys, you will hear all about our now home.

The first time

I really love being a Mom. It is so great having someone love you so much, no matter what.

I love that feeling when they rest their head on your shoulder as you are carrying them to bed, or that big smile when you walk into the room.

Children teach us amazing life lessons that no amount of school, or number of books could.

They teach you to love and trust with out question.

They teach you that just because something isn't suppose to be a toy, doesn't mean it can't be, and that it can't be fun!

 

They also teach you that sometimes, you just need to throw your Cheerios on the floor, then laugh about it.

But one of the things I love most about them, is that they teach you to enjoy everything like it's your first time. This really hit me the other day when Nick was out watering the flowers and I brought William over to feel the water coming out of the garden hose. To him, it was the neatest thing ever, because he had never experienced it before.

We take so many things for granted in our busy days, how beautiful the sun is when it rises and sets, the sounds of the birds chirping outside or the occasional chicken or bunny wandering through your yard.

So tomorrow lets try to be more like them. Enjoy being you, and everything that means. Even if you have to spend a few minutes looking in the mirror telling yourself how wonderful you are, especially to your family.

Enjoy nature and all this world has to offer, the laundry, dishes or checking your email can wait for the unplanned trip outside to see what kind of adventures are waiting.