The Butterfield Brood

Introducing Sawyer Leavitt Butterfield

2011-11-28T12:22:00.009-07:00

Sawyer was born 2 days before my birthday on July 29th, 2011. He is the best birthday present I've ever gotten :) He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 21in long. He is such a good baby. He didn't cry at all the first few days. We all love him so much! Between Tae and Max he gets kissed on at least 50 times a day. Here are a few pictures of his first 4 mo. as a member of our family.

cHaOs and Christmas Resolutions.

2011-11-27T23:59:00.004-07:00

Oh my....I have been a horrible blogger. So much has happened since my last post the biggest being that we have a new addition in our family. Sawyer Leavitt Butterfield was born July 29th. Everything since then has been all about trying to balance 3 kids. So many people warned me that 3 was a killer but I didn't think much about it. Let me tell you THREE REALLY IS A KILLER! We love our newest addition but I'm having the hardest time bouncing back. My house is usually never anywhere near clean for more than an hour and laundry is now a daily thing. Don't get me started on the dishes. Between bottles, tantrums, and preschool I'm constantly jumping. I used to have a nice routine: wake up before the kids, shower, eat breakfast, make the bed, get the kids up and dressed, go to the park, make lunch, do a few dishes, read to the kids, bath time, etc. You know the usual stay-at-home-mom stuff. Now I squeeze in a shower whenever I can get it and that might not be until 11 o'clock at night. The bed gets made everyother day and as for everything else it's all random chance. This has got to end...Soon. By the way did I mention I've gained weight since I've had the baby. Yep you heard me gained not lost. When I'm prego I can eat whatever and I mean whatever I want and only gain 15 lbs. but after the pregnancy I still want to eat like I'm preggers. It just doesn't work. Blah! So now it's time to get rid of the excuses and the illusion of being able to eat whatever I want. I'm thinking forget New Year's how about Christmas resolutions? So here's to getting control back of my house and my body. Wish me luck I'm going to need it. Like I said three is a killer ;)

The "terrible two" birthday!

2011-05-27T22:26:00.006-06:00

April 7th we celebrated Max's birthday. I can't believe my sweet chubs is already 2! He is turning into such a little man. Literally a week after his birthday he threw the WORST fit of his life yet. This stubborn streak that we'd never seen before emerged. He has been known to be so easy going and laid back, however, those days are gone at least until this "terrible two" phase passes. We are loving having him in our home regardless :) His favorite things to eat : bananas, juice, "otta pops", cheese sticks and cookies. He is a major sweet tooth! I'm afraid he got that from his mama. I'm just glad he likes healthy sweets too such as fruit. He talks so well and isn't afraid to tell us what's on his mind. He loves his "Tae" and copies EVERYTHING she does. He loves to sing bedtime songs and his favorites are,"Popcorn Popping", "Leo the Lion", and "5 Little Monkey's". I love to watch him do the actions with his cute little chubby hands. Max is such a boy he loves cars, tools, and outside. His legs have at least 5 bruises/cuts at all times. I love the way he runs to me and asks for a hug and that he still loves to snuggle with his daddy and I even if it's only for 15 minutes. We love you Max!! Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Max and Grandma Butterfield getting ready to open presents.

We really need a better camera. I know this is extremely blurry but I couldn't bring myself to delete this pic of him licking the wrapper.

Like I said ....better camera. Love this face though!

We took him to play at the park earlier in the day.

Concentrating on that flame pretty hard.

Opening the presents. He scored with the cars! Now we have cars e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. He puts them in his pockets and then I find them in the washer. That's not all we find them in the yard, our bed, his dresser, in the piano bench, the bathtub, the dishwasher, and even the silverware drawer a time or two. Silly boy!

More presents!

Playing with the power drill. I love the look of manly power on his face.

Those of you who've seen "Emporer's New Groove" doesn't this picture remind you of , "Feel the power Krunk", "Ohhh I can feel it!"

Concentrating so hard. He figured it out really quickly, daddy was proud.

And last but not least the race track!

The last few months....

2011-05-04T16:24:00.006-06:00

I have had so many great posts planned and NO motivation or energy to actually post them. So here is the short version of the last few months. I promise to post pictures later. First we found out we are having another BOY!!!
We couldn't be more excited! We are also pleased to announce that so far as they can tell he appears to be very active and developing normally. We have also celebrated 3 birthdays in April. First Max turned 2 on April 7th, then Tae turned 4 on April 24th which was actually Easter this year, and finally we celebrated Nic's 26th birthday on April 30th! In addition to all the birthdays we spent about 3 weeks down in Utah at my mom's house. Nic gutted and remodeled her bathroom while we were there. Whew! What a whirlwind of fun and chaos! Happy Spring everyone! I promise pictures to come.

Sidenote: I'm looking for some help/advice. Have any of my blogger friends experienced regular contractions as early as 20 wks? If so what did you do for it? Did anything help? Anytime I go for a walk, clean my house, or go grocery shopping I get contractions. I see the doctor tomorrow so I'm hoping to get to the bottom of this and hopefully it doesn't mean bedrest!

Twins?

2011-02-11T17:35:00.003-07:00

Ok so realistically I know we probably aren't having twins but.....

When I first told the fam I was prego at Christmas time our nephew asked his new Magic 8 Ball(remember those?) if we were going to have a boy it responded, "most definetly". Someone else than asked it if we were having a girl and it said, "it is certain". So finally my sister-in-law decided to ask it if we were having twins, a girl and a boy. "Absolutely". Nic then declared if we are having twins he is going to have to buy a Magic 8 Ball. haha

Since then Nic has been pestering me nonstop about having twins. A few weeks ago we were making breakfast for dinner. Nic always cooks the eggs so he asked me how I wanted my egg. "over easy" I say. Crack! Out of MY egg comes twin yolks :S He then proceeded to tell me it was a sign that we were having twins at which point I told him no we were not and I was NOT eating that egg.

Then came the Dr.'s appt. It was just a quick visit because I was sick so we didn't get to do any ultrasounds or anything. However, we did get to hear the heartbeat and the Dr. said my uterus was measuring at 20 wks. when I was only 14 wks. What the? I am confident of last period so it's not possible for me to be further along than I thought. She did only hear one heartbeat but it is not uncommon for the babies heartbeats to be insync or to only hear one due to positioning of the babies.

And finally my mom just told me last week that my great great grandmother was a twin. Why am I just now finding out about this?!? According to recent studies it doesn't really matter what line or how far back it goes, if twins run in your line somewhere your chances go up. Yikes!

So as unlikely as the chances are still twins are on my mind. Maybe Nic's talk has finally gotten in my head. We should have our ultrasound on tuesday so we will see if twins are in the future for us. I don't want to get ahead of myself and declare we are having twins. I really don't think we are but it's fun to think about.

Dora and Boots; the love of two siblings.

2011-02-01T19:53:00.003-07:00

Lately Taelynn has been reffering to herself as Dora and her brother as Boots from the Nickelodeon cartoon "Dora the Explorer". Tonight as I'm watching cartoons with the kids both snuggling on my lap Max leans over to Taelynn and holds her hand. They held hands for a few minutes and I kept trying to think of a way I could somehow get my camera to take a picture without distrupting this precious moment. Unfortunetly since they were both sitting on my lap I didn't see how that would work. When the cartoon ended Taelynn leaned over and said so sweetly, " I love you Boots". MELT. MY. HEART. I love these 2 sweeties and can't wait for them to spread that love to the new baby! I ask you does life get any better than that?

A Heartbeat

2011-02-01T19:38:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. It's amazing to me how much of an impact one heartbeat can have. The joy we have felt each and every time we've heard the heart beat for the first time with each of our children is undescribable. Upon reflection I have noticed how significant that sound is to so many people. When a heart stops beating the emptiness is consuming. And when listening to a loved ones heartbeat in their chest, comfort and safety are the words that come to my mind. I feel so blessed to have been there when my dad's heart stopped beating as well as my grandma's. Whether good or bad anytime their is a heartbeat involved it has always been a spiritual experience for me. To me it's a testiment of our Heavenly Father's plan. I feel so in awe that he created us and our bodies in all of their complexities. I am so thankful for my body and for my families healthy bodies. I feel so grateful for the hearts that beat in their chests.

It's Dangerous....

2011-01-10T21:58:00.003-07:00

What dangerous activity am I talking about? Sky diving perhaps? Cliff jumping? Swimming with sharks? Nope, nada, none of the above. Baby hunger! It hit me with a bad case when Max started nursery and other "big boy" behaviour. There were new babies everywhere!!! What was a girl to do? At church all I could do (besides wrestle with my kids to behave) was stare at all the babies. So much so that I'm sure I freaked all their moms out. Little snuggly babies who smile at you like your the best thing in the universe. Very much unlike my toddler (tear) who now thinks he is the boss and is completely positive that I get in the way of his personal agenda for trouble. We had some close friends who had a baby. I was sure going over to their house and holding their newborn would cure me of my baby hunger. I would get my fill and that would be that. The second I held their little girl I knew I was in trouble. My case of hunger just got worse not better. So in my insanity I said to Nic, "let's try to have another baby". Shortly after Thanksgiving we found out #3 was indeed on the way. And that's when the panic struck in. We'll have to get a bigger car.....possibly a mini van (gasp). 3 kids under 5! I'll only be 24 with 3 kids! How am I going to grocery shop?

In all honesty I feel extremely blessed to be having another baby. I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry or have moments of anxiety. However, I love being a mom more than anything else and my kids have blessed my life in ways I never thought possible. I know it will all work out in the end mini van and all :) Nic couldn't be more excited or supportive. So bring on 3!

Gratitude

2011-01-04T20:36:00.003-07:00

I never did a Thanksgiving post so here it is. We were going to go down to Utah and spend Thanksgiving with my mom and sisters but they predicted (key word being predicted, it didn't really happen) a massive snow storm so we decided not to chance it. Everyone else had plans so we ended up having our first Thanksgiving with just the 4 of us at home. We cooked everything for the first time and I have to say it turned out to be delicioius. It was a very quite and relaxing Thanksgiving. My favorite part of the holiday had to be when we let Max have some sparkling cider and he spit it right back out in a perfect stream to the middle of the table. haha life with toddlers :) My least favorite part of the holiday was watching "Eat, Pray, Love" I read the book and really liked it but the movie just dragged on and on. Most. boring. movie. ever. I have so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and my personal relationship with him as well as my Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is so comforting for me to know that no matter what happens in my life I always have my faith. I am also extremely thankful for my husband and kids. They are so amazing and make my life so complete. I love being a wife and mother. This year I was particularly thankful to have Nic home for Thanksgiving. He had missed the previous 2 Thanksgivings since he was in Iraq. Extended family and friends continue to be a blessing to us and as always I am so Thankful for the simple things such as ; food to eat, clothes to wear, and a nice warm bed in a nice warm house. My heart is full and I'm going to challenge myself to be this thankful all year round.

A Butterfield tradition, raspberry pretzel jello.

My homemade pumpkin pie. In-laws recipe, it's the only pumpkin pie I like.

Nic carving his first turkey.

It was delicious. I LOVE turkey!

These 2 munchkins are what it's all about.

Our self timer family picture. haha

Better Late Than Never

2010-11-19T10:38:00.011-07:00

I know, I know Thanksgiving is this upcoming week and I'm just barely posting Halloween pics. But alas here they are. Taelynn was Tinkerbelle and Max was a puppy. The first picture is the only one I have of Max with a nose painted on and it's hard to see it but he was so much cuter with the nose.

With the cousins getting ready to "Trunk-or-Treat"

This costume was perfect for Max. We always call him our little puppy because of his basic personality. Loyal, happy, snuggly, and the fact that he loves to play fetch. Literally!

I wish I took one of his chubby bum with the tail!

I was quite proud of Tae's hair. She has the finest, thinnest, wispy hair. I had no idea how I was going to get it on top of her head in a bun. It turned out to be as simple as: MASSIVE amounts of hairspray.

I love this one of her!

haha look at her feet! I didn't even tell her to get on her tiptoes. She actually naturally prefers her tiptoes.

Pumpkin time! I'm so lame I didn't take any pictures of the pumpkin patch or the carved pumpkin.

Max loved the pumpkins!

MaSHuP

2010-11-16T15:25:00.029-07:00

I was terrible at blogging during the summer so here is a summer mashup. This summer we went camping at Bear Lake with my family, visited Grandma Ewell and some cousins in Utah, went swimming at Aunt Laura's pool, and went to Cascade with Grandma and Grandpa Butterfield. It was all so much fun and I'm sad summer's over but excited for the holidays!

Summer sleeping in. Of course Max is the 1st one awake he's our little early bird.

During the summer we babysat our friend Brayden. Here's the 3 of them piled in to go to the park.

The kiddo's visiting Grandpa Ewell in Utah.

This summer our cousins ( The Beckstead Boys ) moved back to Virginia :( This is the 3 of them all lined up in the mini van to start the long drive from Utah to Virginia.

The Beckstead Bunch taking a farewell portrait before their drive. I miss my brother and his family!

Max in his Indiana Jones shirt! Movie number 5? ;)

The boys playing basketball . They almost have enough for their own team. ( I love baby Sam's face in this one. He is such a ham! )

Max hated my sister's pool!

Tae is my little mermaid

Quite possible one of my favorite pictures. lol like I said he HATED her pool. He finally fell asleep like this in the tube.

Wild child at Bear Lake

I never get tired of that smile

My sister's and I camping

My beautiful sister and her baby Zander. She is the only person I know who gets more beautiful when she's camping. Tan, check. Naturally sun bleached blonde hair, check check. It's sickening really ;)

I love his dirty little face!

It's not very often that this girl falls asleep on daddy's lap anymore.

Crazy cousins. They ran around in the sprinklers in nothing but swim diapers. Because I'm just white trash enough to let them.

Taelynn and her "Pappa"

Tae and I in Cascade.

Slacker!

2010-11-07T23:40:00.005-07:00

We've been back from Rexburg for about a month now. I've just been too busy to blog. Also we have limited access to the internet now so it has been more difficult to blog. I know in the last post I promised pictures of the trailer we were staying in and it's not going to happen because I didn't take any pictures. :P Anyways I've been such a slacker so I need to catch up. Rexburg was great. It was so nice to have a break from the world and just focus on our little family. Nic was able to come home for lunch and then we'd just spend the evenings playing games, going for walks, and playing with the kids. Also Rexburg has this awesome teriyaki food van. It was 5 bucks for this huge thing of teriyaki chicken that was to die for! It could feed our entire family. I would beg Nic to go there all the time. I really enjoyed the smallness of Rexburg. It felt really cozy but I am glad to be back! Kids are sooo much cuter in a bigger space :)

Temporary Home

2010-08-27T12:07:00.002-06:00

So today I am packing everything we need for approx. 2 months. Nic has been working in Rexburg and only coming home on the weekends. After him being gone in Iraq for a year and a half and a summer of weekend cohabiting we've decided we're sick of it. We have convenient access to a camping trailer and the owners (my in-laws) have been so kind to let us "borrow" it. Since we don't have kids in school yet we don't have to worry too much about moving the kids. I'm not sure how well I'll handle downsizing from a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house to a 1 bedroom, 1 bath camping trailer but it's only temporary and I think it will be a fun little adventure. I'll be sure to post pictures later of our living arrangements. I might not blog for a while since we won't have internet during this time. Wish me luck I haven't lived with Nic consistantly for almost 2 yrs ;)

Kids and dryers are like peanut butter and jelly.

2010-08-24T10:11:00.005-06:00

I'm doing dishes when I hear Max screaming. So I abandoned the dishes like most mom's do when their child needs them. I followed the sounds of his cries to the laundry room where I found him in the dryer with the door shut. Taelynn happened to be close by so I put 2 and 2 together and put her in timeout for forcing Max in the dryer. Taelynn is crying and saying something unrecognizable about Max. But if you know Tae it's not uncommon for her to say things you don't understand. So I go back to my dishes while she finishes timeout. It's not long when I hear Max screaming again. "Taelynn left timeout and put him in the dryer again. She's going to get it." I think to myself. Only Tae is still in timeout. What the...? And Max is in the dryer again with the door shut. Time to do some problem solving. I open the dryer door and Max crawls out BY HIMSELF! And then crawls back in again BY HIMSELF and shuts the door on himself and starts to cry!!!! Oops. Man do I feel stupid. I go get Tae out of timeout and ask her if she was trying to help Max get out. "uh huh, help" she wimpers. Great I just put my 3 yr old in timeout for helping her brother. I feel like an awesome parent! And so it begins.....this probably won't be the last time I make a mistake when it comes to disciplining my children. Bring on the teenage years! Seriously though what is it about my kids and the dryer?

Max crawling in on his own.
Now that I'm taking pictures and he's getting attention he doesn't mind being shut in.

Tae a yr. ago when she figured out to climb in the dryer.

She too got herself stuck but not with the door, with the lint vent.

Bittersweet events, memories, and vacations.

2010-07-14T10:48:00.006-06:00

Today is the anniversary of my Dad's death, tomorrow is the anniversary of my Grandma's death, and the day after that is the anniversary of my Grandpa's death as well as my niece's 2nd birthday. What a bittersweet week, emotions are high for me. This is all going to be a little scattered and a tad more like a journal entry so bear with me...

Six yrs. ago today my Dad died. It's always a little painful on the 'anniversaries' of these milestones but this yr. is a little harder. We just went on a family vacation with Nic's parents to the Oregon/California coast. It was so much fun but at the same time the reason this yr's harder for me. You see this particular coast was a part of my Dad. He lived in Arcada, CA when he was just a little boy. When he was 6 his own Dad drowned in the Trinidad Bay just north of Arcada. They didn't find his body for a few months and when they found it he was buried on my Dad's 7th birthday in Eureka, CA. That last piece of information I found out just this month. My Dad never talked about his Dad being buried on his birthday to anyone not even my Mom. I weep inside for the little seven yr old boy who watched his father get lowered into the ground when he should have been blowing out candles. I'm not sure why they buried him that day but it has been confirmed by several sources.

Growing up we visited the Oregon coast a few times on vacation. We lived in central Oregon for a while so the drive wasn't that bad. Those were my first memories of a vacation other than visiting family. I loved combing the beach looking for shells, the wind whipping my hair, and the cold water hitting my feet. My Dad LOVED the ocean. He loved the smell of the ocean. He loved lighthouses and what they represent. In later years my parents decorated their home in lighthouses and ocean views. And when we took my Dad off of life support 6 yrs ago today it was ocean waves that filled the hospital room to accompany him home. It was a part of his soul.

Our last family vacation was to the Oregon coast. My Dad rented out a couple of houses on the beach for a week. A lot of my siblings came but a few couldn't make it. We had the time of our lives. I so wish all of my siblings could have been there. We went crabbing, played on our private beach, flew kites, played the most intense game of family feud, and on one of our last nights had a bonfire testimony meeting on the beach. The spirit that was there was untouchable. It was almost as if on some level we knew it would be the last one. My Dad planned to go back the next year and he was determined to have everyone there. He made up invitations and was thinking about how he could help everyone make it. He died about a month shy of that next trip.

I haven't been back there since he died.

Until Now. Nic never met my Dad. I want him to know him more than anything so it was really important to me that I share that place with him. I've been hoping to go since we first got married. We finally went and to share that with him was very bonding. It wasn't all tears, we had so much fun with my in-laws. I very much appreciate my in-laws patience with my agenda. They were so kind and supportive of these side trips to these special places. But that is why this anniversary is so much harder. As we were driving along the ocean my Dad came to life. I could see him everywhere. My memories both haunted and comforted me. The ocean is now part of my soul. My siblings, you know my pain. The bond we share because of this day is both tragic and pure. My children, you bring me joy I never thought I'd feel again. I believe you knew your Grandpa Ewell and that he sent you down to me with love. And most importantly I want to take a moment to thank Nic. Nic has healed my heart in so many ways. Teaching me that life goes on and love for another person can begin past the grave. I appreciate your respect and admiration for a person you've never met. I know it isn't always easy when I become the broken hearted girl who lost her Dad or to live up to his memory. You are amazing!

I love you Dad! I feel like I picked you out from heaven to be my Dad. You are incredible. Thank you for marrying Mom and having me. I am who I am because of the two of you.

Family Pictures!!

2010-07-13T23:57:00.004-06:00

We finally got our family pictures taken! Woot woot!

I absolutely LOVE them. Maggie Malson did a fantastic

job! My only regret is my blonde hair :( I wish I were

closer to my natural color in them. And of course new

pictures means an updated blog y'all :)

Childhood

2010-05-20T21:12:00.004-06:00

These pictures were taken on Mother's Day. It was such a nice Mother's Day! Nic was home this year, that's always a plus especially so that he can help the kids get mother's day flowers :) I have the BEST kids in the world! Taelynn is such an amazing girl. She is so smart and talented. That girl knows how to have a good time! Maximus is my handsome little stud winning me over with his shy smile and his "I love you" gazes. He adores his sister and is such a content, happy boy!

When I think about the world and the chaos that goes on it's amazing to me how much childhood is like a little bubble. I love the Rice Krispie's commercial's.......childhood is calling. I'm not a perfect mom but I hope that when my kids look back they will remember :

Bubbles, laughter, mermaids, popsicles, snow angels, butterfly kisses, dinosaurs, books......lot's of good books, picnics, cousins, mud pies, tickle monsters, driving in Daddy's truck, pinky promises, dandelions, and SO MUCH LOVE!

I want to thank my own mother for creating a childhood of those things above! I love you Mom! Any bit of good I do as a mom I owe to you.

AMAZING APRIL!

2010-05-12T22:10:00.008-06:00

Ok so April is a big month for our family. 1st we have Max's b-day which is the 7th. Next is Taelynn's b-day on the 24th. And finally we have Nic's birthday on the 30th. 3 out of 4 family members birthday's are in April! This yr. was even more amazing because Nic came home from Iraq for good. That right you heard me, NO MORE IRAQ! :) So now here are a butt load of pictures. None of Max's b-day since I already posted about his. I'm a picture freak so, as always, I did some serious cutting back. Enjoy!

Nic with his birthday presents. An apron the kids and I made and a new GRILL!

The 2 of us getting ready to go eat some yummy food at Texas Roadhouse!
Nic's Dr. Suess cheesecake. 25 candles!

We know how to pucker up! lol Her new bike helmet she was pumped it was Dora.
Nerds! I love them!
Uncle Naitt (my big bro.) and Max
haha I'm not sure I know what it's like to sleep this deep anymore.
I love her tutu bum on the trike!
Taelynn with her 2 fav. b-day presents
haha this is the "before you know it she's going to be 16" face
This is how Taelynn ate her cake, like a puppy.....fun stage we are in

Taelynn was in heaven playing with her cousin's kitchen

Lady and the tramp moment.
Our first family pic with the four of us since he's been home
Grandma Ewell and Max
Nic and Max at the airport. Look how happy Max is to have Daddy home.
First sight of him!
Taelynn waiting for Daddy with Grandma Butterfield

Birthday Boy!

2010-04-10T13:07:00.011-06:00

Mr. Maximus turned the big ONE on the 7th. We only have a little bit longer until his Dada gets home so we decided to wait to have a big party when he's here. I didn't give him any of his presents yet but I did make cupcakes. I cannot believe it's already been a yr. since this dimpled mini me of Nic was born. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this baby boy! He is so mellow and smiley all the time. What a little stud he is turning out to be. So I took a crazy, obsessive amount of pictures since Nic wasn't there. I apologize for the pic overload but just be thankful I didn't post the other half I took :) The pictures are all a little out of order but here they are.

Taking a bath after his cake!

From head to toe covered
I love this one, this is the sweet Max I know and love.
I had to get a shot with the bottom of the high chair.

I love the way he looks at her
Aww sissy love!
haha check out the huge piece Max is shoving in his mouth. Not to different from his sister ;) Apparently Nic and I raise champion eaters.
I love her big lips! She gives the best kisses
This is how I feel when I eat cake too Max
haha I love it, he looks like Hitler
Of course he hated the crown

Taelynn was happy to have a cupcake too

Where did that m&m go?

I'm going to puke if I eat any more cake. lol
Getting serious about his plan of attack
I'm taking the picture, trying to get Max to look, singing, and trying not to burn him or me all at the same time.

The cupcakes, Taelynn had one with gummy bears
Max's cupcake

Peek-a-boo!
Peek-a-boo!
Watching tv
He's finally multi-tasking : clapping & standing!
Big boy!
1st time eating chicken nuggets. Where have you been all my life?
His first time eating chicken. What is this stuff?
Max trying to see what we were up to
Sissy helping to frost the cupcakes.
She might have "tasted" the frosting too :)
After his bath.
He was so hyper I couldn't get him to hold still.

Easter weekend

2010-04-07T21:28:00.008-06:00

*WARNING A LOT OF PICTURES*

Easter weekend we had Aunt Lanie and the cousins come stay with us. We had a blast with the boys or "the 3 bears" :) They are so much fun to have around. They love to wrestle and Taelynn was exhausted by the end of the day. She slept in my bed with me and it was kind of comforting to snuggle her at night.

Boy's sleep over. Cousins Jaron and Braitton.
Eli and Aunt Lanie
Taelynn goofing off with the pieces to her Mrs. Potato head
She is one funny girl ..............
And she's going to be one heck of a teenager
Modeling her "jewelry" :)
After the easter egg hunt at Aunt Laura's

(It was freezing cold by the way...no easter dress)
I love this picture of her with her new easter dress.

She LOVES dresses!
Sweet Max
Finding his basket
Wrestling around (inspired by cousins?)
I love them!
One of my favorites of them.
haha I love her bed head

Aunt Lanie is the best, she gave them glow sticks!
Cutie pie Sam, I love his curls!

Max decided he didn't want to wait for me to take

off his clothes. He just dove right in. haha :)
Braitton and Jaron being silly boys.
Sammers
Good morning

A little bit about Nic....

2010-03-27T15:29:00.006-06:00

Ok so Nic is coming home in less than a month and I couldn't be more excited! We have been worried about if he will have work when he gets home and have prayed that if it is right for him to come home that he would have work. We feel so blessed that it appears to be lining up perfectly for him with work. To us it is just a confirmation of the answer we received to have him come home. Although I have been doing a lot of complaining about dieting (lol) I can't complain about my life. There is nothing missing right now from our lives. We feel so extremely grateful to have our kids and our health and strength. And with these blessings we can now add to the list being together. Now that his time in Iraq is coming to an end here are a few pictures of a baptism Nic and his brother were lucky enough to be a part of. If I understand it correctly it is the first baptism in Babylon since the priesthood keys have been restored there. It was Nic's first baptism so I'm excited that he had that opportunity.

So now I want to take a moment to let you all know how wonderful Nic is. :) First of all I am so blessed to have a husband who would make such a huge sacrifice to provide for our family. I know it has killed him to be away from the kids. He is such an amazing dad! I LOVE this man! We have only gotten closer with this struggle of having him away. I feel so lucky to truly be married to my best friend and to be compatible in so many ways. We have so much fun together! I love that I can be 100% my annoying and goofy self with him. I love that on the other hand we can have really deep, amazing conversations. I feel like a giddy 15 yr. old girl when he looks at me after he hasn't seen me in a while. It's like I'm the most beautiful woman in the world (which I'm definitely not). I know everyone probably wants to barf right now but seriously I get the butterflies every time I think about spending the rest of my life with him. We're not perfect but we're perfect for each other and that is honestly how I feel. Less than a month, YA BABY! Now come home safe!

No thank you Thin Mints!

2010-03-21T23:00:00.003-06:00

DISCLAIMER: There is a lot of "venting" about dieting involved. Periods may be mentioned, a swear word of two may be dropped, and T.M.I may occur.

Ok so remember my last post about busting my butt to look like Kim? Well.....lets just say that I was really dedicated for a couple weeks. Then I fell off the wagon, HARD! A weekend with my mom and my sister (who by the way looks fabulous) really messed with me emotionally for various reasons I won't go into here. Then mother nature interfered with her p.m.s. cravings. Aww I so love being a girl sometimes. (thick with sarcasm) So the last couple of weeks have been spent saying to myself, "I'll start exercising again tomorrow".Which leads to, "If I'm not exercising today than I might as well eat these cookies today and start eating better tomorrow". Which leads to, "I might as well wait until monday."I think you get the picture. Sound familiar to anyone? (Please say yes!) BLAH! So I'm pretty sure any weight I lost in those first 2 wks has been gained back. The one line I haven't crossed is the girl scout cookies. Oh man I have been tempted! Samoa's and tag-a-long's have been calling my name. I've come so close to buying them a few times. So if I am officially off the wagon why draw the line at the girl scout cookies? I feel like if I buy the *damn* (yes I said damn and if you fully understood my struggle you would say it too) cookies than I'll lose all sense of self preservation. I cannot afford to eat a box a night, which I fear would be exactly the case. I LOVE them so that I cannot stop at one or two. This girl is getting back on the wagon! Tomorrow I start exercising again and I'm not excited. I am glad, however, that I still have it in me to fight. I refuse to throw my health out the window. I may not be where I want to be yet but I'm maintaining and every time I "fall" I force myself to get back up again.

p.s. I put a cartoon picture on because the real

picture was too tempting :S

If your lazy you can still get a body like Kim Kardashian

2010-02-17T10:16:00.003-07:00

I'm terrible at this blog thing. I'm just plain lazy. Anyways, with that said yesterday I was talking to Nic and he said something about only having 2 months left until he's home. Can I just say WOO FREAKIN' HOO!!!! As excited as I am, I realized that the last 2 mo. have gone by without me losing very much weight. Once again the word lazy comes to mind :) . My goal was to have lost all of the baby weight by the time Max turned one and Nic came home. hahahaha if that's the case I guess I better get on it. So yesterday in a state of panic I did 50 min. on the elliptical doing interval hill climbing. Then I did a 20 min. pilates workout followed by some thigh and butt toning exercises. Wish me luck as I sprint to the finish line. :p But seriously at this point hard core workouts at least 4 times a wk is the only thing that's going to get me there in time. Once I start working out it's not that bad it's the games in my head before I work out that make me dread it. So motivation is the BIGGEST thing for me. So with too much extra time on my hands and a need for some creative motivation this is what I came up with.

My head on Kim Kardashian's body!! hahaha Unfortunately it doesn't really help that much because every time I look at it I bust out laughing and end up somewhat appalled at my pathetic behavior :)

Bliss

2010-02-05T22:19:00.005-07:00

Webster's New World Dictionary defines Bliss as : 1. great happiness 2. spiritual joy

The sun came out today so I dusted off the stroller and took the kids for a walk. As I basked in the glorious sunshine the words to "How Great Thou Art" kept running through my mind. And as I cleaned up dinner and watched the sun set this peace overcame me. I was truly 100% living in the moment! How often does that happen? It's in those little moments that I can feel something so much bigger than myself. How could you not believe in God? So today I'm grateful for the sunshine and the encompassing harmony that I feel.

Holidays 2009

2010-01-13T18:12:00.008-07:00

So I'm finally posting pictures from Christmas and New Years. Christmas was so fun with Nic home and it is the first year that we've stayed home. We had so much fun with our kids. We got a Wii for Christmas and Nic and I both got really good at tennis. haha We would invite people over and challenge them to tennis without telling them how good we are. We would crush them for our own ego's. We're mean and pathetic :) It was all in good fun. Taelynn got her coveted Ariel doll from the little mermaid and now bathes and sleeps with her. Max doesn't care at all. Nothing we got him interested him but the wrapping paper. New Years was weird because Nic was already back in Iraq. We were all a little sick so we ended up staying home but it worked out great because Nic was able to call me on the web cam. So Tae, Nic, and I all rang New Yrs. in together. I hope the holiday's were as kind to everyone else as they were to us. (well they weren't kind to my waistline)

Taelynn's New Year's banging pots and pan's

Max's New Years sleeping blissfully unaware.
Once again, Taelynn's New Yrs screaming and throwing confetti.
Max's New Yrs. cute little boy in dream land.

Christmas Eve at Nic's parents house.

I love kissing his chubby cheeks, I'll be so sad when they're gone!
I love how he is staring at me thinking "you don't have to do that Mom"
1st Christmas
Ok so not the best picture but when you are working with 2 yr olds you improvise.
Daddy and his munchkins on Christmas Eve
Christmas sunday
I LOVE this one! So sweet.
haha this is how Daddy does Tae's hair.
Look at Nic's face, he's so proud of his work on her hair.
Our gingerbread house.
It's a family event..........ok I took over!
This is Tae's contribution to building the house, eating it!
Yes I'm crazy, I didn't even realize I was elbowing her out of the way.
Nic's a little scary with that knife :S
Well at least it started well. She was excited at first.

Vegas Baby

2010-01-05T14:04:00.014-07:00

I have been so lazy updating the blog with pictures. So here are a few of Vegas. My favorite place was hands down the Venetian. It was so beautiful. We went on a gondola ride and ate chocolate covered strawberries. YUM! It was a nice getaway but I don't feel a dying need to ever go to Vegas again.

The architecture in the Venetian was amazing. They did a great job trying to recreate Venice. This isn't the best shot but I took while we were on the gondola ride.

On our gondola ride.

You can't really tell but I was posing by a palm tree. I was so happy to see green in winter!

Relaxing in our room, waiting for room service

The ceiling of the Venetian. Gorgeous!
The Christmas decorations inside the Venetian were incredible.
Getting ready to go on a gondola ride.
This one was my favorite lit up at night, it reminded me of when I was four and thought I would marry a prince and live in a castle. :) We went to the Tournament of Kings here at the Excaliber.
The ceiling of the Bellagio.
The Eiffel Tower was so cool on the outside, not so cool on the inside.

The sunset in our room. Haha!
Huge Slot!
Everyone loves green!

As close as Nic is going to get to the Godfather.

The Strip from our end.

Being a dork, making fun of my sister. haha

The Night Before

2009-12-26T23:42:00.002-07:00

Here I am at nearly midnight the night before Nic leaves back to Iraq. We had so much fun this trip. The best part about this trip was how quickly we fell back into our routine. Usually there is somewhat of an adjustment. It feels so good to have Nic home. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that feeling of wholeness. When he's gone I feel so incomplete. Taelynn remembered Nic so quickly and Max became very comfortable with him. Taelynn is 10 times happier when he's home.....we all are. This R&R was unique from other ones he's had because we had a chance to get away without our kids. Vegas was so much fun and a nice break for an overworked mommy ;) We were ready to be home with our kids by the end though. There's nothing like having your complete family unite together. We had a lot of fun with friends and family. It was such a nice Christmas. The moments I will remember the most have nothing to do with Vegas or things we got or places we went. The thing that MADE this vacation was the moments we spent as a family in our own home playing with our kids. Calling Taelynn puppy and watching Max crawl all over the place. Dancing in our living room, watching Tae shake her "groove thang". And now it comes to an end. Tomorrow Nic leaves and I have to try to tough the last 4 months. I get this feeling of despair the last 24 hrs. as I'm desperately trying to cling on to every second. I can't help but feel like we are tearing our family apart. It feels so unnatural to send your husband across the globe for half a yr at a time. So tomorrow I will be crankin' up my ipod to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and Jodee Messina's "Bring on the Rain."

All I want for Christmas

2009-12-04T23:59:00.003-07:00

All I want for Christmas is an electric blanket. I'm cold, really cold. I'm talking cuddling up to a vampire cold. I'm so cold my bones hurt. My thermostat says it's 72 but I'm feeling more like freezing. I would turn it up except I keep having problems with the stupid thing kicking off in the night so I'm afraid to touch it. So Santa all I want for Christmas is a nice warm electric blanket so I don't fall asleep every night thinking about how I'm going to end up like my Grandma wearing a coat in July.

The Holidays

2009-11-22T20:54:00.002-07:00

I've been getting really excited for Christmas this year. In the past I've been kind of a scrooge. I'm the kind of person that usually gets annoyed if people play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. This year, however, I have a new outlook on Christmas and the holidays. Nic will be home with me this Christmas. After last Christmas without him I never want to be apart from him again during Christmas. I have a deeper appreciation for the family unity of the holidays that I so often took for-granted. I'm so excited to be with the love of my life and celebrate with our kids the beauty of our Saviour's birth. Christmas is forever changed for me after being apart from Nic. I will never be a Christmas bah-hum-bug again. I am going to be gone for Thanksgiving at my Mom's in Utah so I would like to take a moment to say how truly grateful I am for the past year. Having Nic in Iraq is by far the hardest thing I have ever done and I think Nic would easily agree that it is the hardest thing he has ever done. I have been so blessed and watched over with him away. My brother gave me a blessing not too long ago and in it he said that there have been many times when the Lord has carried me through my trials. I know that to be true and I am grateful for this trial. When I think of all of the hardest times in my life my relationship with Heavenly Father has only gotten stronger. I'm thankful for the power of prayer which has literally carried me through my hard days. I'm thankful for Nic and the sacrifice he is making for our family, he truly has it harder than me. I'm thankful for how strong our relationship is and for the understanding and deeper love we have gained through this time apart. I'm thankful to be home with my beautiful kids. As much as Taelynn wears me out I wouldn't change a hair on her head. She is the fire that keeps our house warm. And Max..... oh sweet Max. I am so thankful for this happy-go-lucky baby that radiates peace. I could go on and on I have so many things to be thankful for but I just want to say one more. I am so thankful for friends, particularly one friend. This friend has been through a hard time and I'm grateful for her example and her strength. My life has so much more joy with her in it. :)

2009-10-31T23:10:00.001-06:00

2009-10-31T23:09:00.001-06:00

Pictures for Nic

2009-10-09T21:10:00.002-06:00

Nic has been nagging me to put pictures of what I've done to our kitchen table on the blog so he can see. So I have added a couple of slideshows of pics for Nic. I can't really blame the guy, I can't imagine being in Iraq and missing out on all of the stuff going on at home big or small.

Dinglehoppers, sitting up, and dryers!

2009-10-04T23:20:00.013-06:00

I haven't posted anything about my kids in a long time but it's not because there is a lack of content. My kids have been doing all kinds of crazy and fun things lately. For starters Taelynn has discovered the classic " The Little Mermaid" and of course with that the dinglehopper and snarflat. Thanks to Ariel I am constantly catching her sneaking into my silverware drawer and then proceeding to comb her hair with a fork. Bet Disney didn't see that one coming. lol Max has also mastered rolling over both ways and is working on sitting up. He can sit up without any assistance for about 15 seconds tops thanks to his impressive size. That kid is like an anvil. Lately Taelynn is into copying EVERYTHING I do. After watching me feed Max just one time she decided she was going to feed her baby. I caught her shoveling mouthfuls of egg salad straight from the fridge to her doll's mouth meanwhile spooning huge bites into her own mouth every now and then. The other day I was calling for her to come here and she yelled from the other room "I can't" . I asked her to come again and she kept telling me "I can't". I was starting to get really annoyed thinking she was just learning how to tell me no another way. Well I went in and she was trapped in the dryer. She had climbed in and gotten herself stuck by the lint collector. She looked at me, smiled and said "see I can't". That's about the time I felt stupid. I thought I had a few more years until my kids started to get the best of me.

2009-10-01T21:08:00.001-06:00

Thankful

2009-10-01T20:20:00.005-06:00

I have a friend who lives in American Samoa and has been making updates about the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami on facebook. One post says, "As the parents walk up and down the beaches calling for their missing children, my heart breaks and I cry for them. Bodies are floating in the harbor and mothers are recounting the tragedy of babies swept from their arms. Hold your little ones extra hard today as life can change in just a moment." She has been making updates about her efforts to help the people, sharing her food storage. If I'm being honest the first time I heard about it I thought "how sad, glad it's not me" and moved on with my day without blinking. The more she updated the more I started to put myself in her situation. I cannot even comprehend loss on such a tramatic level. I cannot begin to imagine combing the beach looking for my babies and finding their dead bodies floating in and out with the tide. How do you deal with something on that level? And yet it is so easy for me to blow it off because it's not happening to me. I am not usually one to be on a soap box and I do not pretend to be some totally self sacrificing person who devotes my life to helping war refugees and children from 3rd world countries. I admire those who are better than I am and willingly devote their lives to serving others. All I am suggesting is how can we make a difference? How can I help those people who are grieving their children. There are many miles separating me from them. What comes to mind is simple. When was the last time I included a suffering stranger in my prayers? When I see those pictures of mothers and fathers holding their children's bodies do I pray for "the woman I saw in the news"? Maybe I should add a little more to my fast offering this month. I can't do much but I'd like to think if that had happened to me there would be people praying for me from all over the world instead of turning an indifferent ear because it didn't happen to them. Wow, like I said I'm not usually one to get preachy about causes but when I think about those people I can't sit here and do nothing. "Prayer changes things". And I like to add on to that "prayer changes things even if it's only our understanding". I really don't want to write a novel but I feel so tremendously blessed for my family. For my 2 babies. I can't imagine a day without them. I am so grateful especially with my husband gone that we are all safe and healthy and well. I would be so ungrateful if I didn't say how truly blessed I am.

Our House

2009-08-31T17:22:00.003-06:00

Ok so the slideshow with pics of our house is for Nic. He wanted to see what I ended up doing with the house. Nic, I didn't put pictures of Tae's room since it hasn't changed at all since you were home.

2009-08-31T17:16:00.001-06:00

Reflection.

2009-08-30T18:02:00.003-06:00

Well Nic came and went. He was home for 2 wks. in July and we had a blast. We had so many things planned that we didn't stay home and relax for even 1 day!! INSANE!! We went to Cache Valley to visit my brother, Oakley to visit Nic's family, boating in Cascade for a day, and Jump Creek to go cliff jumping. In addition to that were many, many other small trips and plans. Oh, did I mention we also celebrated my b-day and moved?!? Once again INSANE!!! I absolutely loved having our family together again. Be grateful for your families and the time you have together. Having Nic gone in Iraq is the hardest thing I have ever done. People always ask me about how difficult it must be and I never know how to sum it all up in one sentence . There have been times I have cried myself to sleep with loneliness and there have been times I have felt so proud of myself for being independent. Nic and I have felt our relationship get stronger and have also had moments when we weren't so sure. One thing that we both know for sure is that we could NOT do what we do without help. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for the endless support and strength we receive. There are times when I pray that I feel like I have already tapped out all of my blessings and yet more always come. We are also so grateful for all of you. We feel so blessed to have so many people in our lives who have stepped up and helped us through some difficult times.

I turned in our apartment keys today and have an overwhelming sense of reflection. I feel so sad to say goodbye to our apartment. It's funny because for so long I couldn't wait to get out of there. As I glanced around our apartment for the last time I reflected on the comfort I found there. A few yrs. ago Nic and I made the poor decision to buy a home when we weren't prepared for the responsibility. We went into foreclosure and were forced to move in with his parents for a while. It is a humiliating mistake but one that we have learned a lot from. Our apartment was our first step back to independence. Because of all of the stress our home caused it never felt like home. The apartment, at least to me, felt like our first real home. I can still hear the key turning in the front door in the morning when Nic would get home from working the night shift. I remember Taelynn putting her doll in timeout on the stairs. And when Nic left and I was all alone I felt so comforted in our apartment. It was small and cozy. I think of all of the growing I did. The first few nights Nic left I cried every night missing him, scared of the decision we made. ( remember I was pregnant and my hormones were everywhere lol ) I know I'm being really cheesy so I'll wrap it up. Thank you apartment for being a shelter from the storm. I know it was time to move on, we needed more space and I am excited about our house. I'm glad we are in the same ward and I look forward to making more memories in the house we live in.

2009-07-19T19:10:00.001-06:00

St. George

2009-07-19T15:38:00.007-06:00

I decided I better post about my trip to St.George now since NIC IS COMING HOME TOMORROW! I am so excited for Nic to come home but I know that I won't have any time to update my blog while he is here. This weekend I flew down to St.George with my sister Laura for my cousin Brad's wedding without kids! It was sooo much fun!! We had a blast acting like complete goofballs and idiots. The wedding was just beautiful and it was so refreshing to get a short much needed break. By the end I did miss my munchkins. It was so hot and when I got off the plane this afternoon in Boise it felt cold compared to St. George. It was a fun adventure and now I get to have the time of my life with Nic for two wks. !!!

Our Anniversary!

2009-06-26T21:39:00.009-06:00

Nic and I celebrated our anniversary on this last week on June 23rd. I was suprised to find out that some money I gave his sister for "scout camp" was actually for our anniversary because if he used the debit card or took money out of our account I would know. Nic had his sister Shauna order some flowers for me and pick out some earrings. He also arranged for his Mom to come over and babysit the kids so I could have a day out without them. A little while after his Mom got here the flowers were delivered. 3 orange roses. One for each year we've been married. Orange roses because that is what he gave me the first time he got me flowers. Attached to the roses was a jewelry box with some silver opal and diamond earrings. The flowers and earrings are beautiful. I really appreciated my day out too. I drove to the Boise Temple and stared at it, remembering the day I married my Eternal companion. I have never felt more loved or beautiful in my entire life then when I knelt across the altar from my husband. The spirit in that moment was so strong and I've never felt more positive that what I was doing was the right thing. I feel so blessed to have a husband who feels the same way about that day that I do. We have only been married a short time in the big scheme of things but I feel like we have been married for so much longer. I am so excited to continue sharing my life with him. Nobody makes me laugh harder, feel prettier, scream louder ;) , smile bigger, or feel more loved. (Yes I occasionally yell at my husband, if you don't you are insanely perfect!) Nic and I still have so many dreams and I can't wait for him to come home so we can make those dreams a reality. Here's to you Nic and sharing the rest of eternity with you. Happy 3 yrs!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T13:08:00.003-06:00

It has been kind of a weird Father's Day this year since Nic isn't here. My Dad passed away 5 yrs ago next month. I would like to take a minute to talk about my own Dad. My Dad was the kind of guy who would bend over backwards for family and I think he deserves to be remembered on Father's Day. My Dad passed away July 14th, 2004 from a sudden heart attack just a little over 2 wks. before my 17th birthday. It's funny that I can talk about it now without the pain. On July 9th I rolled out of bed at about 10:00 and was eating some cereal at the kitchen table when the phone rang. My Dad worked with his brother Walter doing siding on houses. My Uncle Walter asked for my Mom and I knew in that second something was wrong. I went to the front porch where my Mom was waving my Aunt Shar off and told her to come to the phone where she was then told that my Dad had had a serious heart attack and was being life flighted to LDS Hospital in SLC. (he was in Wyoming at the time) I remember exactly what I was wearing, exactly what I felt, exactly how my Mom reacted. I remember everything about that morning. The next few days were a blur. Basically my Dad was in need of a bypass but when he had the heart attack it put him into a coma. It wouldn't make sense to do the bypass unless he came out of the coma...he never came out. His chances of living a good quality of life decreased each day he was in the coma. So on July 14th, 5 days later all nine of us kids and spouses, my Mom, and my Dad's siblings gathered around and watched as they took him off of life support. That moment was one of the MOST spiritual moments of my life as I watched my sweet Father's body give up. He was free from the stress of the world and I know he is happier. I still feel him with me every once in a while and when I do it's such a peaceful reassurance of the plan of salvation. My Dad loves the gospel and family more than anything. He never failed to express love for me. He was the kind of grandpa that every grandpa should be. There are so many memories of the incredible things he did as a Father that I couldn't possibly begin to start. It's weird because you never say I love you to someone after they pass away, but I want to say it to my Dad. I love you Dad, thanks for being a good Father. So today I am thinking of him and the amazing Father he was and is. David Leavitt Ewell.

2009-06-21T13:04:00.001-06:00

More Bitter than it is Sweet

2009-06-17T17:30:00.002-06:00

So this morning Nic and I finally decided when he's going to come home for good from Iraq. April 23, 2010 is the big day. It is such a bittersweet thing to extend another 6 months. I am ready for him to come home now and he is ready to be home too. Unfortunetly with the market the way it is it wouldn't make very much sense for him to come home in Oct. during the slow season for plumbing. By April we will have enough money saved up for Nic to get a jump start on his company with his brother Curtis. On the one hand I feel very grateful to be in a situation to pay off debt and put money away, especially in an economy like this. However, it is really hard for me to put my emotions aside and think logically. My heart is screaming, "I miss you, I can't do this anymore, Come home NOW!" I know it will require a lot more strength to endure an extra 6 mo. . I know the strength will come from my Heavenly Father when I need it and when I think of what Nic is doing I feel lucky in some ways. At least I am at home with the kids and family and friends. I know this decision is going to be just as hard if not more on Nic. I think the thing I hate the most about Nic being gone is the empty feeling of not being quite complete. Yes we can talk on web cam every day but at the same time we miss out on a lot of the small things..... the daily routines. I worry about the kids relationships with Nic as well. How are they going to adjust after not having him around for so long? I miss eating dinner together and laughing at the funny things Tae does. I really miss watching Nic interact with the kids. I guess bottom line is that the extra 6 mo. is neccasary to accomplish what we set out to accomplish but I'm not really happy about it. Once again I am grateful my husband has a good job. I just need to take baby steps and focus on getting to his next R&R in July.

My Kiddo's !

2009-06-14T15:59:00.012-06:00

Today after church Taelynn was asking to "hode Mah" aka hold Max. They were so cute together I couldn't resist taking pictures. She gets so excited to hold Max, it's adorable. He can't stop staring at her. I feel so blessed to have such beautiful healthy children. I have been thinking a lot lately about how priveleged I am to be trusted with these 2 special spirits of Heavenly Father. As much as Taelynn wears me out I LOVE her personality. I love the fire that's in her and I know that if I can help her to harness it and trust in her Heavenly Father she can and will do good beyond belief. I feel so incredibly lucky to have children. They bless my life in so many ways. I need to take a moment to thank Nic for the sacrafice he is making to provide for our family so that I can stay home with our adorable little monsters. Once again I feel so lucky to have a husband that sees that as a priority. When our kids are older and they ask about the time their Dad was away in Iraq and why he did it I will tell them, "Because he loves you so much!" I cannot imagine how hard it must be for him to be away from everything he knows. Thank you Nic ... I love you. Usually I am so busy that I have been guilty of not taking time to stop and count my blessings. I am so thankful for my happy, healthy, safe family!

p.s.can somebody teach me how to do a slideshow?

Blog Envy and A Cry For Help!

2009-05-22T22:10:00.007-06:00

I am totally jealous of my friend TC's blog. She always has the funniest stories about her kids and the cutest layouts. Some people are born to blog....I wish I was one of them :)
With that said I have been totally slacking with my blog. I have to admit facebook has been incredibly distracting. Lately I spend ALL of my freetime on fb. It's becoming a serious addiction. I have a problem, any advice? I don't even read or watch movies at night anymore. My books are collecting dust and my netflix is going to waste! I just can't stop myself from facebooking!!!! I get on fb and in my mind I say " I'm not going to be on long, I'm just going to see if anyone's updated and that's it." It always starts out innocent. A quick comment on someone's page... oh wait did they add a new photo album? hmm I wonder what disney character I am? how well do I know the Bible? One quiz turns into two, two turns into three or four......ok eight. Anyways the point is what starts out as "just checking" turns into ten quizzes and 200 pictures!?! :S what is wrong with me??

24 reasons

2009-04-30T22:35:00.005-06:00

Today my hubby turned 24 and he had to spend his birthday in Iraq with his brother Curtis. Poor Nic, who would want to spend a b-day with Curtis? ;) I miss him so much and am so thankful he came into my life. He completes me. So in honor of Nicholas Alan Butterfield I would like to post 24 reasons why I love him for his 24th. That is if I can think of 24 reasons. jk of course I can.

1. He always makes me laugh, and he definetly brings out my sense of humor. I am much more sarcastic with him.
2. WONDERFUL dad!!
3. puts up with my mood swings or should I say mood explosions. :)
4. he thinks like a little kid 75% of the time
5. he has twice the energy I do
6. can't spell to save his life so is always asking me how to spell things.
7. the way he makes me laugh when he's not trying to like the time he asked me who was going to circumcise our daughter.
8. extremely close to his family
9. will never move from Nampa, ID. Was born here and will die here if he has his way.
10. he sings to me when he is in a good mood.
11. I think he secretly fantasizes about being on American Idol.
12. Once you get him started on politics his voice raises louder and louder as he gets more heated about the topic. And I've probably heard him say the same thing enough to quote to word for word what he says.
13. he knows more quotes from movies than anybody else I know. Half the time I don't know if he's qouting a movie or just talking.
14. sings in the shower
15. squeezes my hand three time to say I love you
16. flexes his muscles to impress me
17. the most loyal friend anyone could ever have
18. thinks scottish music with bagpipes is romantic lol
19. gets embarrassed when I tell funny stories about him, probably will kill me for half of these
20. makes everything more fun, radiates happiness
21. always trys to put my feelings first
22. No matter what I weigh or how I look always makes me feel beautiful
23. cheats when you play games with him, somehow I ALWAYS lose
24. sacraficed a lot to provide for our family, I appreciate him so much for the sacrafice he's made. Iraq is not easy for him without all of his family and the comforts of home. I will never fully understand how difficult it must be for him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR POSTING THIS :)

Two!

2009-04-25T23:21:00.004-06:00

Two has become an important number the last two wks. I now have two kids and Taelynn just turned two yesterday. Nic and I celebrated her birthday together before he left. I can't believe she is two, it seems like yesterday she was the same size as Max is now. Wow!

Goodbyes

2009-04-21T22:40:00.003-06:00

This morning I dropped off my hubby at the airport. Our three wks. has come to an end. It was such a good 3 wks. ! We had a baby, went golfing, ate out a lot, spent time with good friends, went to Wahooz with family, watched movies from Netflix, gave Tae her first haircut, watched conference together, went out to Jump Creek, lounged around the house, and I'm sad to see it end. Every time I have had to say goodbye to Nic I tell myself I'm not going to cry, that I'm going to be strong for him. And so far every time I make it just until he goes into security and then the water works start. This time wasn't quite as bad since I don't have to wait as long to see him again. I also purposely let our house become a disaster while he was here so that I would have plenty to do after he left to keep me busy. The good news is we have 6 mo. behind us and only a couple more until we get to see each other again.

Look what the Easter Bunny dropped off!

2009-04-12T15:17:00.005-06:00

Maximus Nicholas Butterfield was born on April 7th at 5:35pm. He was 19 1/2 inches long and weighed 7lbs 12 ounces. I feel so blessed to have him as an addition to our family. Every thing went really well and I have been recovering very quickly. Nic and I are so happy to be together and to have 2 kids! We are enjoying our time as a foursome.

Suprise!

2009-04-01T10:56:00.002-06:00

Tuesday morning at 12:30am someone was ringing my doorbell and banging on my door. My first instinct was it was my drunk neighbors and I was scared. I was on the phone with my Mother-in-law at the time (long story) and she offered to stay on the phone while I answered the door. I opened the door and received the best suprise ever. There standing on my door step was my wonderful husband who wasn't supposed to be home for a little over a week! I am so relieved to have him home now I can have the baby anytime. It turns out when I lost my mucus plug I freaked my husband out that he wasn't going to be here for the birth of our son so he booked an earlier flight. He will be here for 3 wks. instead of 2! I am so happy to have such a good husband!

Really I said stay in a little longer baby!

2009-03-25T10:58:00.002-06:00

Ok so this morning I was taking a shower and I lost my mucus plug. Once again it could be a while until I have the baby or it could come sooner than I want. But all of these signs are starting to really scare me. I called my doctor and am waiting to hear back from her and I have alerted my "emergency" people. lol Really though I want this baby to hang in there a little longer. Please wait until Daddy makes it home.

Stay in a little longer baby!

2009-03-23T21:52:00.002-06:00

So today I had my first doctors appointment where they check for any progress. I am dialated to a 2 and 50% efaced. It doesn't neccasarily mean I will go into labor anytime soon but it doesn't mean I won't either. I am so scared of the idea that Nic won't be here when I go into labor. I hope my little boy will hang in there for at least a couple more weeks. Nic comes home in exactly 2 wks from tomorrow. So everyone cross your fingers for me and in the meantime I am going to try to take it easy and do as little as possible.

About Time!

2009-03-10T22:39:00.003-06:00

My computer has been having problems for what feels like forever. ( forever is actually about a month) I accidently downloaded a virus thinking it was antivirus software and today I finally got all of the glitches fixed. I am so excited to have my computer back and fully functional thanks to some good friends and ABI computers. I love you ABI computers!

Pull-ups

2009-02-09T21:42:00.003-07:00

Taelynn's latest thing is to take her clothes off every time she is in her crib. She takes off everything including her diaper which has led to some big messes for Mommy to clean up and a lot of laundry. Finally today I decided to try pull-ups and see if it makes any difference. I told Tae that she has big girl underwear and she's been running through the house saying "big gil undywa" (translation "big girl underwear." We'll see how it goes, wish me luck!

Ready for Spring!

2009-01-28T15:47:00.002-07:00

I am so sick of the cold weather. Today I have a really bad bug for warmer weather. I can't wait for more sunshine, t-shirts, flip-flops, and my hubby to come home.

2009-01-27T20:42:00.004-07:00

It has been such a long time since I have updated the blog. Today I watched our niece Nicole and nephew Garrett. Taelynn had so much fun with them. Here is a video clip of them rockin' out.

Bobbin' for ?

2008-12-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

Taelynn is our crazy tub bobber. She is nuts in the bathtub.

It's a boy!

2008-12-02T12:59:00.004-07:00

Well I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and we are having a boy! Yipee! I know Nic is really excited. I think it will be fun to have one of each. He looks really healthy and good so far. Everything is developing very well. We are so blessed to be having another baby. I went to the store today and saw this little outfit. For those of you who know Nic than you know he thinks he's a cowboy so I thought this was appropriate. :)

2008-11-15T22:36:00.001-07:00

I went out with my sister-in-laws Shauna and Deedra tonight. We went to Krispy Kreams where Shauna treated us to doughnuts. mmm... they were good. Aunt Shauna brought home some hats for the kids.

Our Last Camping Trip

2008-11-14T21:38:00.004-07:00

We couldn't find our digital camera for this trip so we bought a disposable camera. I just now got around to having the pictures developed. Since Nic hasn't seen these pictures yet I decided to post a few of them. Doesn't my husband look good on a four-wheeler? :)

2008-11-12T19:46:00.004-07:00

Taelynn has discovered how to dance, it's too cute!

2008-11-11T16:47:00.002-07:00

This picture is for my husband, Nic. Before he left for Iraq while he was packing Taelynn climbed into his bag. She wanted to be a stowaway. Nic decided to zip it up to see if she'd fit just in case he decided to take her. :)

Poor Taelynn!

2008-11-09T13:01:00.003-07:00

It all started with a runny nose, now my little girl is sick. We have been home vegging out for almost 24 hrs. She looks so pathetic in these pictures. Last night we snuggled up in my bed and Taelynn rested on Daddy's pillow while we watched her Baby Einstein movies. Hopefully she recovers quickly.

Halloween

2008-11-08T20:46:00.004-07:00

These are some pictures I took of Taelynn on Halloween. She is such a cute kitty cat. She loves cats too! She must have gotten that from her Dad because the only cat I like is her : )

Lake Lowell

2008-11-07T21:35:00.003-07:00

Taelynn and I went to Lake Lowell with Aunt Laura, cousin Rachel, cousin Jaron, and cousin Zander. It was freezing cold outside. Taelynn went to throw a rock in the lake and lost her balance and fell forward into the water. Luckily it was shallow and I was close by. When she fell some moss splashed onto her face. I took a picture just for her Daddy to show him what a trouble maker she is. She even had moss up her nose! My little tomboy didn't care at all she thought it was funny, I thought it was disgusting.

Our Little Cowgirl

2008-11-07T21:26:00.003-07:00

Taelynn loves to ride the horse at Aunt Laura's house. Go get em' cowgirl!

Woah Nelly!!!

2008-11-05T13:28:00.004-07:00

Taelynn spilled her melted ice cream on the table and I left the room for a minute when I came back she was licking it off the table. That ice cream wasn't going to go to waste.

2008-11-05T13:24:00.002-07:00

Here is a current picture of our cheeser daughter. She loves the attention just like her Daddy.

2008-11-05T12:59:00.003-07:00

Alright Nic this is for you. I updated the blog but I'm still working on the pictures thing. I'll get new pics on here asap.

Nothin but good news.

2008-06-03T16:29:00.002-06:00

Today was my Mom's knee surgery. She had both knees replaced and I'm very happy to say that things went well. They officially started operating at 1:40pm. Her surgery was a lot shorter then we were told it would be and the doctor said things went "smooth, smooth, smooth" . However I haven't been able to see her yet because she was moved to recovery for a couple hours. After she gets out of recovery my brother Naitt and I will be able to see her. Taelynn was a real trooper she sat in the waiting room with us for about five hours.
Some other good news is Taelynn started walking yesterday, woohoo!
It's funny though because Nic left on Sunday to go back home and I was teasing him that she would start walking as soon as he left and lo and behold she did. She's really taking off.

Birthday cake

2008-05-23T13:52:00.006-06:00

She loves cake so much she even stole her cousin Omi's after having seconds.

Taelynn's Birthday!

2008-05-23T13:48:00.004-06:00

We recently celebrated Tae's 1st birthday on April 24th. This last year has flown by so fast.