Oh Summer how I love you

I Guess it's about time for a new post, so many people have been putting posts up of the fun they've had this summer so I thought I'd share a few. I've been horrible about taking pictures, ALL of them are of Ella, but really I don't mind her taking up the spotlight she just loves the camera! She is 9 months old now, can you believe it? I can't, she's grown up so fast!! She has two of the cutest front bottom teeth. It's so cute when she gives you a big grin and you can see those pearls poking through.

She mimics everything you do, EVERYTHING. She says a lot of baby talk but I think she's understanding the word baba (bottle). I say it every time before I give her one and she'll cry baba and get excited when I say that word. She loves books, she's more interested in tearing out all the pictures in them though. We're learning the things she doesn't like are balls, she's terrified so maybe she won't be interested in sports ha ha, remote controlled cars, and grandparents she's a little scared of them. She likes pretty much every food that we've ever given her even a taste of salsa and a lime. She claps and makes the funniest sounds and faces with her tongue, pretty much anything to get a reaction from you. I think my favorite thing right now is that she's growl and talk really low like a monster. It totally takes you off guard that she could be making those noises but she does.

She absolutely LOVES the grass. Other parent's tell me that's good because most little ones don't like the poky feeling, she doesn't mind at all, the only problem is keeping it out of her mouth!

She loves feeding herself, if you feed her she will take the food right out of her mouth and feed herself. I love just slicing up banana's and watching her feed herself, she makes such a mess it's not uncommon that she gets two baths a day. Maggie is in heaven because Ella has learned how to drop her food at her. I never have to worry about food on the floor unless it's something Maggie won't eat.


I find her sleeping like this all of the time. She sleeps with her butt in the air as well. She kicks all the covers off just like her dad it's so funny. She's been sleeping 10+ hours straight it's been great!

I don't take enough pictures of us together and it's like pulling teeth to get Jarre in the picture too. He's more than happy to take them though but I took one tonight after going through my pics. Don't mind the after boating scraggly look I'm sporting. When Ella is drinking her bottle she is so serious, it's the "don't bother me I'm eating" look when you try and talk to her. How did I get lucky to have such a good baby? I wasn't really expecting such a little sweetie but for the time being she truly is. I love going to get her out of the crib in the mornings because she clings to me so tightly and hugs me.

She can pull herself to a standing position all by herself. She uses chairs, walls, cabinets and legs as support. She loves when you hold her hands so that she can walk you can tell she really wants to soon (I'm totally not ready for that). She can stand without anyone holding her for 6 seconds, jarre and I counted the other night. We're totally going to need to baby proof better she's into everything and she LOVES cords AHHHH!!!

Sorry for this video being sideways, I'm not sure why or how to fix it but she absolutely loves her Maggie, one day they will be inseparable. Jarre taught her how to throw the toy to Maggie, it is just so cute to watch them together. Maggie isn't really interested in Ella yet she doesn't like the way Ella grabs at her but she's still very good with her.

So I'm realizing what a long post this has ended up being sorry to bore you all, I have to make these posts so I won't forget everything when I finally sit down and start scrap booking. I'm terrible about writing things down. My mom recently drooped some childhood things off at my house and I was going through all my journals and it made me sad that I don't keep one anymore, it is so fun to read. This Summer by the way has been a blast, it always goes by way too fast for me it's depressing. I have so many more adventures that I have planned so lets hope I can fit them all in one month. Our latest trip was Fish Lake, It was a lot of fun but I forgot my camera so I don't have any pics to post, I'll try and be a little better next time!

What a week!

This past week has just been crazy, CRAZY!! First of all I've been so busy with hair I barely could keep up I even had to work a Sunday to fit everyone in, Lake Powell kinda messed me up in a way. Of course when I am busier than usual I always have a project on the side, I'm trying to design a craft room upstairs and it's been a lot of work painting furniture. I'll have to post some pics if it turns out OK, it's going to be an interesting project to say the least.

Anyway I started noticing that Ella was a little crankier than normal but didn't think too much of it, I was too busy to notice. As last week went on she got more irritable at night and on Tuesday night she threw up. I thought it was just a baby thing or that she ate something that didn't set well because after she threw up she acted fine. Wednesday she had a slight fever that went away and later that night we were hanging out with friends when she felt hot again. I was freaked at this point and was asking everyone for advice on what to do we took her temperature and it was 102.7! We gave her Motrin and aspirin and eventually we got the fever down and she slept just fine. On Thursday I could tell she wasn't herself and decided to make an appointment with the doctor, but they couldn't do anything till 5 p.m! I was like "are you kidding me?" I waited until 6pm when the doctor finally saw her and all he said was that it was probably just a viral infection but it could be much worse and the only thing to do to find out was to go to the ER. We were scared and just wanted to find out what was the problem so we ended up going. By that time her fever was 104 and she was so sick she barely moved. I just wanted to bawl every time I saw her, she has never been sick before this so I had no idea what to do. The doctors did test after test on my poor little baby they did two x-rays to check for fluid, 2 blood tests, an I.V., and a catheter (the worst). I just felt like they were torturing her, I think sometimes I cried harder than her. After 5 hours of being there, they figured out it was a really bad UTI. I used to get them as a baby so they think it was a hereditary thing. I was so relieved to know what was causing her so much pain so that it could be fixed.

This was the only picture I took that night because I didn't have my camera or phone and Jarrett's was dead. This was after we got home and she was on her medication. The wrap was from her I.V.

The next morning I did more hair and we headed off to Delta to celebrate the 4Th. That night was Jarrett's 10 year reunion. It was weird and a little awkward, I don't think I'll go to mine, ha ha. Anyways Ella was doing better for the weekend, not near as happy as she usually is but no fever. She gets really bad diarrhea from the medicine which gives her the worst diaper rash, it's so sad. But lets hope she gets better all the way, she's got 2 weeks of being on this medication and UTI's take a little while to heal but I think she's doing OK. It was so nice to go to Delta because Linda knows just what to do and she watched Ella while I took a few naps and caught up on some sleep. We went to the parade and had a fun BBQ at Craig and Lori's I ate way too much and am paying for it now but it was so worth it! I just loved watching all the kids run around, it will be fun to look forward to next year. Anyways Happy 4Th to all of you I hope you all had a good one as well!

Lake Powell

Every summer from the age of 11 on I've been to Lake Powell, sometimes up to 4 times like last year. I just love it there, I remember telling my mom that I loved it better than Disneyland and I truly meant it (which is being a traitor in my mom's eyes). Anyway I was SO extremely nervous this year because I didn't quite know what to expect with Ella, she'd never been on a boat and I had no idea what to pack so I just sort of packed everything. Surprisingly she was WONDERFUL, seriously the happiest she's ever been, probably because she got attention 24/7 from her Great Grandma, Aunts and Grandparents, it was the best! The weather was Great, a little breezy but still 95 degree weather. It was so much fun to see her play in the water, she didn't mind that it was cold she just wanted to splash all day!!
Surprisingly she didn't mind her life jacket even though it was so big on her, it was seriously the smallest one we could find though. As soon as the boat started moving she was out like a light and stayed that way the whole time, for three hours sometimes.
We decided to go on a hike and forgot our carrier so Jarre made one out of a towel. I was a little sceptical she would go for it but she fell asleep for the entire hike, 2 1/2 hours!! I couldn't believe it. We also discovered that she does better at night time when she's has long naps during the day so we've been trying to get her take longer naps.

She absolutely loved it when we would take her out on the beach and let her play out on the water, I'm not sure where she got the energy to kick in the water for as long as she did.

While we were there she did so many new things. She's learning how to grab on to things and pull herself up on her legs. She says momma, Dadda and bobba. My grandma even taught her how to play patty cake which is now most favorite thing she does. She watches you and trys to mimic what you are doing it is so funny. She's learned how to drop her food to Maggie which means that Maggie is liking her more and more.

Ella is so easy going for a baby, I was worrying about giving her good water for her formula and the water from the cooler was cold. I thought for sure she wouldn't take it because she's used to it being warmer but she was a total champ and gulped it down just fine. She didn't mind it being hot the whole time we were there and she even had a runny nose the first part of the trip and actually LIKED her nose wiped. She loves the booger sucker, she closes her eyes like it's such a cool feeling. There has never been a single food or drink that she hasn't liked so far she loves trying different foods.

The day after we got back I felt her first tooth coming in, she is on the late side for this being her first tooth but I read that it was actually a good thing. I can't believe she'll be getting some teeth in soon, that is so crazy. Anyways It was a good trip but I'm glad to back to normal life, what a busy week I have to look forward to!!

Just a few things

Lately I've just been wanting to get out of the house, when the weather is nice I like to be outside. But on a day like this I have trouble getting out of bed because it's so RAINY AND COLD! Anyways I've managed to do a few things lately including a girls night which RARELY ever happens so it was nice for a change. A few girlfriends and I went to the Tracy Lawrence concert (I recognized ONE song because country music really isn't my thing) but I had a lot of fun!

We've been trying to have fun this summer but let's be honest it's just recently started to warm up so we can only do so much. We've attempted to go boating but it's either been too cold or too windy. We've made it to the Zoo twice so far surprisingly, I think I'm officially zooed out for the season though, there's only so much zoo i can take. We try and have a little family time in the park, there's one by our house that we walk to. We got this cheesy little pool for Ella that sprays water and has shade, I'm not sure what the blue creature is but it's a little goofy, I'm not much of a character person but I'm sure she'll love it when she's older. We have warm water on our hose so she doesn't freeze.

Ella is in to everything, she crawls further and further everyday. She still says Mom but has learned the B sound and says a lot of baby talk. She holds her bottle up with her feet and her hands, it makes me laugh so hard! Here are some pictures in random order.

And Lastly I took a class for how to do these glamour toes and nails, you can't really see from my crappy camera skills but they're pink cheetah and they look SO cool. I guess they're the new thing to replace glitter toes, The metallics look awesome I'm still kinda learning but let me know if you want some!

Ella says her first word

Any guesses on what it is? Well you'll just have to see this video to find out.





Wow, my voice is annoying but can you believe it? Everyone told me it would be dad first because it's easier to say. Not to mention he does way more coaxing than I. But my girl just belted this out today and I had to share, I'm a teeny bit excited ha ha ok a LOT excited!! I can't believe how much she catches on to things, she is amazing. She's now 7 months and she's scooting all over the floor now a days, she's on the verge of crawling but she's found that rolling works quite well for her at the moment and rolls all over the floor. She LOVES babies almost as most as Maggie and screams and grabs for them. She's definitely a water baby and is now starting to study it a little bit more. She tries to drink it in the tub so we watch her extra carefully. She is still so cuddly, I hope that NEVER goes away. She entertains herself quite well and I love that she is so fascinated with the smallest of things, I should be more like her. She loves being outside and is my little buddy while I am gardening or doing yard work. And lastly she sleeps at least 10 hrs at night. She wakes up around seven in the morning when she is hungry and is out until ten in the morning. I just can't get enough of this girl!

Baby food

So I make my own baby food. When most people hear this they either think I'm majorly talented or have a lot of time on my hands, neither is true. Baby food is SO easy to make, so much cheaper, and best of all no artificial ingredients, I'm surprised more people don't do it. So I decided to post some instructions on what I do because a lot of people have been asking me lately. The jars you buy at the store are still good if you're out and about I use the food I make at home mostly.

You can use any fruits or veggies, the best are fresh or frozen but you can use canned. Firstly you'll need to boil your fruits or veggies until soft and mushy. You'll need a baby grinder or processor that grinds the baby food up to a puree consistency.

Grind your baby food up and put them into ice cube trays covered with saran wrap and freeze them for at least an hour. Take them out and put them into labeled Ziploc bags so that you don't get what you have mixed up.

You can defrost these a few different ways by putting it in the fridge overnight, leaving it out on the table for an hour or so or putting it in the microwave for 30 seconds, I usually do the microwave.

And there you have it, so simple. I told you I wasn't talented. I usually make large batches of baby food at a time so I have a good stock and variety, and best of all Ella loves it. I hope this helps some of you with little ones!

4 years

Today is our four year Anniversary, I can't believe I've been married for four years sheesh!! Where did the time even go? I've been having so many flashbacks of our wedding day, I was so nervous the night before I slept for maybe an hour. The morning of the wedding I broke a nail so my mom ran to the store to get something to fix it and ran into the metal dumpster!! Her trunk was so damaged that we hard time getting my dress that happened to be in the back (which by the way the night before the seamstress got it mixed up with another order and got sent somewhere else so I barely got it in time which made me an hour late). I did end up getting it fortunately as you can see here.

The photographer ended up taking a lot of pictures so we ended up being another hour late to the luncheon, it was worth it though because I got beautiful ones like this one of my sisters and sister-in-laws. Jarrett had everyone rolling because in his speech he told everyone "this day is getting better and better and it's only going to get better tonight". He didn't mean it that way but it sounded hilarious! I'm sure my dad was wanting to kill him at that moment. And it was a perfect day, it was absolutely beautiful. I just remember how much I couldn't wait to rip that dress off and yank all those bobby pins out of my hair!

The next day we were off to Mexico and of course got pulled over and got a ticket. It's too bad Jarrett already washed the "Just Married" off the back of our car or maybe the cop would have believed we were in a hurry for the airport to our Honeymoon. Our honeymoon was absolutely one of my favorite memories, except for the fact that Jarre got stung by a stingray and had to go to Mexico ER. He was fine but I've never seen him so close to tears!!

This year for our four year Jarre took me to the Melting Pot, all I have to say is D-elicious! It was such a fun experience, I won't bore you with the details. It's just something that everyone must do, I especially loved the chocolate fondue it's heavenly and I'm not much of a chocolate person.

This day is extra special because exactly a year ago today we found out we were having a baby girl! I'll never forget the look on Jarrett's face, the look of "what am I supposed to do with a girl?" I of course was ecstatic, I wanted a girl so badly. Ella is such a daddy's girl now she's got him wrapped around her finger. I even heard him say that he wants another girl next kid, I was so surprised. Well happy four years, we have so many good/funny memories of May 19th!!