Will, Jessy, Lexi and Paisley

better late than never!

2012-02-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

It has literally been MONTHS since I've caught up on my blog! It started out that we just had a really busy summer last year and then our laptop broke with all of our pictures on it. We finally got it fixed so here goes trying to sum up the last 8 months of our lives!

JUNE/JULY

I try to get the girls together for a little photoshoot every couple weeks or so. Here they are back in June when Paisley was just over 2 months old.

Every year at the end of June we go up to the condos on lake Pend Orielle with my family and some of my cousins. Here are the girls with their cousins Brookie and Austin all ready to go to the pool!

Since we rarely have the entire family together anymore, I decided we had better get a family picture taken! Here is everyone!

And its a tradition to do our sister pictures too.

My mom bought Lexi and Brookie these adorable matching outfits. They are still best friends!

After the condos we stuck around for the 4th of July. Here is Paisley in her 4th of July outfit(now 3 months)

Sisters...

These pictures were taken about a week after we got back home from Coeur d Alene.

AUGUST

Middle of August we had a really fun time when my Mom, Zack, and his kids all came down to Utah so the kids could see their mom.

One day we went to the Hogle Zoo

It was always a tradition when I was a little kid to get a picture by this Lion drinking fountain so I made sure to get one of Lex.

My cousin Sammy met us at the zoo with her kids Claire and Noble (my girls 2nd cousins).
We were glad to get to spend some time with them!

My grandparents got to come along as well:)

Paisley and Grandma

Jackson and Lexi

Another day we went to Thanksgiving Point and the kids got to do a pony ride.
I got some pics while we were waiting in line.
Here's Lexi...

Lexi on the pony...

Paisley and Grandma...

Brookie...

All the cousins...

Austin...

Later on in August I came up to Coeur d Alene with the girls and we got to go to the fair!
This is the first year Lexi has gotten to ride some rides and she loved it!

My cousin Chelsea got married while I was there and I got to take the pictures at her reception. You can check them out here.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Here are some pictures I got of the girls before church one day. Paisley is just over 5 months and Lexi is 2 1/2.

In October my Family came down to visit and attend my Grandparents 60th wedding anniversary party.

Here they are with 8 of their 10 children:

That same weekend we had a blast visiting the American West Heritage Center.

Lexi loved the train!

Abbey and Paisley

They had a place where the kids could make dolls out of corn husks. They loved it!

Paisley and Grandmaa

Mom, Me, and Paisley

Paisley and Mommy

Everyone after the train ride...

They had a little trick or treat out there too so we brought our costumes. These were the best pictures I could get of my girls.

Since they weren't going to be together on Halloween I organized a practice trick or treat with a few of my neighbors so they could go together.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

These were taken mid November when Paisley was about 7 1/2 months.

We were glad to be able to go to Boise for Thanksgiving this year. Here are the girls with there uncles Max, Heath and Conner.

Christmas was a lot of fun too! We got to spend our first Christmas at our house with Grammy Sandi, Papa Phil, and Erin and Hailee. Sandi bought the girls these matching dresses to wear to church on Christmas.

Here are the girls all dressed up to go to our neighborhood Christmas party.

Lexi was really excited to go see Santa Claus this year.
Paisley seemed to be intrigued by him.

Lexi totally freaked out. Ever since that day she has thought that Santa is SCARY!

JANUARY/FEBRUARY

In January my Grandpa Simon passed away from complications from a fall he had in his apartment. I have been to a lot of funerals this year, but this one was probably the hardest one. My grandpa was an amazing person. He had a great sense of humor and I always felt loved and never judged by him. He will be greatly missed, but I have also felt a lot of comfort knowing that I will get to see him again and that he is with my grandma now. I was lucky enough to talk to him on the phone just a few days before he passed. I remember him saying, "Can you understand my language?" (he was groggy from the medication he was on) He told me I sounded like my grandmother. We said I love you and miss you and then we said goodbye. I am so grateful for that opportunity I had to talk to him one last time.
Here is my grandpa last summer at my cousin Chelsea's wedding reception...

Here are some pictures I took just a couple weeks ago. Paisley is 10 months old.

bummy crack!

Lexi decided all the sudden to start posing for some pictures...

Lexi and Daddy

Last weekend my cousin Jordan and his fiance Stephanie drove up to Logan and I was able to take their engagements. It was so much fun. You can check out more pictures on my photography blog here.

Last Week on the February 8th Lexi turned 3! I can't believe how big she is getting and how grown up she seems all the sudden!
Here she is with her new bike she got for her birthday!

blowing out her candles...

For the last few months whenever we asked Lexi what she wanted for her birthday she always said, "a pink cupcake". Needless to say we had a party with pink cupcakes and I made a giant pink cupcake just for her!

Since her party was a few days after her real birthday, I took her to Temptation Cupcake on her real birthday and let her get a pink cupcake there too. She was quite pleased.

Here is Lexi in bed with her new quilt that Grandma Simon made for her!

Merry christmas!

2011-12-16T09:09:00.001-08:00

Here are some recent phone pics since our computer is down...

2011-11-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

My baby

2011-07-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Will's Mother's Day Birthday!

2011-05-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Will's B-day happened to be on Mother's Day this year! He turned 31. It seems strange to me because I can clearly remember my dad's 30th birthday party. We celebrated on Saturday with Will taking the day off. We left both the girls for an hour while we went and played some tennis then we went to lunch at Costa Vida. It was a fun day.

Sunday was a relaxing day. I made Will his favorite cinnamon rolls for breakfast, than after church we had Phil and Sandi over for Hawaiian meatballs. Sandi made Will red velvet cupcakes that were to die for. Phil and Sandi got Will PORTAL 2 for Xbox360 and I arranged for him to go up in a powered parachute later this month! Lexi LOVES to blow out candles, so she was pretty excited to help daddy with that.

The girls all ready for church in their pretty dresses...

I can't believe my baby is 6 weeks already

Even though it was Will's B-day he still got me a really thoughtful card and some chocolates for Mother's Day!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mother to two wonderful little girls! It isn't always easy, but definitely worth it! I am also grateful for my own mom and the amazing woman she is for raising me! I hope I can one day be as good of a mom as she is to me. I love her and she is my best friend. I wouldn't have survived the first few weeks after Paisley was born if she hadn't sacrificed her time to come to Logan and be my full time servant. Thanks Mom! Your the best!
Not to mention the funnest Grandma around!

Paisley's Blessing Day

2011-05-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Will gave Paisley a wonderful blessing at church today! She looked so beautiful in her little white dress. It's the same one that Lexi wore on her blessing day that my mom had made and the same white blanket from Grammy Sandi. She was perfect and slept the whole time! Papa Phil, Grandpa Doug, Uncle Wayne, and Uncle Jackson were all able to participate in the blessing. Grandpa Doug, Laurie and Uncle Max, Heath and Connor drove all the way from Boise to be here.

We had a really good, but sad testimony meeting. One girl in my ward got up that was due the same time as me that had her baby emergency c-section and her baby had a really rough start. Another girl can't conceive and has been trying to adopt forever without any luck and another girl was pregnant, but told about how they had lost their first baby. It doesn't seem fair how some people have it so much harder than others. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us and we are all given different trials at different times in our lives that are meant to help us grow. It just really made me appreciate how blessed I am to be the mother of two healthy beautiful girls that came into this world without any complications.

Here are some pictures we got after...

Lexi doesn't like to cooperate for pictures anymore so this is the best family picture we could get!

the proud parents...

mommy

Grammy, Papa and Hailee

Aunt Hailee

Uncle Jackson

Grandpa Doug

After we got back to the house, I asked Lexi to come sit on the couch and hold Paisley for some pictures. She adamantly refused so I said "If you hold Paisley I will give you some money!" She said "Ok!"

Beautiful Girl...

Baby Animal Days

2011-04-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Baby Animal Days was a blast this year! Thank You Jackson for coming with us! The weather was great and Lexi was definitely in baby animal heaven! The best part was the baby rabbits for sure.

I have to mention that this was our second time to baby animals this year although our first attempt at it was a complete and utter disaster. Looking back, I'm not sure what I was thinking! Paisley was only 10 days old, hence I was still pretty sore and could hardly walk, and there was rain and snow in the forecast. For some reason I was determined that we go while my mom and Lexi's cousin Brookie were still in town. We lasted just under an hour and ended up soaking wet and freezing with two bawling toddlers that didn't even get to hold a baby animal. I think the only part that was fun or cute about that experience was when Lexi went in the baby cow pen and said "Hi Cow! What's your name?"

I am sooo glad we went back a second time! It was worth it to see the excitement on Lexi's face!

Paisley 4 weeks

2011-04-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

My little baby is growing to fast already! Someone make it stop! This last month has just flown by!

I have been blessed tremendously this time around to have such an easy baby! She never cries unless she's hungry! She is so sweet and we already can't imagine life with out her!

Paisley Jane

2011-03-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well, she's finally here!

Paisley Jane was born at 12:13 am after 15 hours of labor and 12 minutes of pushing. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long! She is a very sweet baby and we already can't imagine life without her!

My second experience with a new baby has been so wonderful so far I can't complain one bit! Paisley is so sweet and content and nurses like a champ! She reminds us a lot of what Lexi looked like when she was born although I think her nose is a little different.

I think the hardest part of this whole experience was not being able to see Lexi the whole time we were in the hospital. They wouldn't allow anyone under 14, even siblings to come visit! Needless to say, I was anxious for us to get home so that Lexi could meet her new baby sister!

Lexi was sooo cute with Paisley when she saw her! She kept saying "Hi Baby! Hi Baby!" She kept wanting to hold her and cuddle her. She is very fascinated when I nurse her or change her diaper. She has seemed to handle the transition really well so far. So far she's only tried to feed her string cheese once.

Our first family picture at the hospital (minus Lexi)

It seems that we are destined to have Billi babies!
Paisley's levels were too high this morning so she is now under the lights, doctors orders!
It is so much better this time than with Lexi because they delivered a little bed right to our house for her to lay on instead of having to go back to the hospital like we did with Lexi!

When we first put Paisley in the bed, she was the most alert she's been so far. She just laid there so sweet looking around for a long time before she fell asleep.

Boise Trip

2011-03-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we got the sad news that Will's grandpa Jim (his mom's dad) had passed away. He was an amazing grandpa and I was so glad for the chance i had to know him. He always made me feel so special and a part of the family. Although its a hard time for Will to leave the Car Wash and I only had 3 weeks left in my pregnancy, I really felt that we should go to the funeral. I knew my doctor would say no to the trip so I didn't bother asking. We hurried and packed everything we thought we might need just in case I were to have the baby in Boise and we were on our way! That same day we found out that Will's grandma Star (his dad's mom) was in the hospital (also in Boise) and was getting close to passing away. Will got to go see her and she passed away just 3 days after his grandpa did. It was a whirlwind of a week with Grandpa Jim's funeral on Wednesday and Grandma Star's funeral on Saturday, but it was so nice to be able to attend both funerals and to be able to spend time with all of Will's cousins and other relatives that were there. It was like attending two family reunions in one week. We got to hang out and play games with the Will's cousins and one day we went to the Boise Zoo with Will's little brothers.

Lexi and her cousin Tren

Tren, Aunt Kim, Bailey, Cooper and Ryann

family picture... somehow we missed Erin:(

Probably our last family picture before our family grows one more!

Our trip to the zoo was a blast!

Lexi and Daddy on the Carousel

The penguins were definitely the best part!
Heath...

Conner

Penguin...

Max...

Lexi was pretty fascinated... wouldn't crack a smile!

And we had to have a little photo shoot back at the house...

9 days and counting!

2011-03-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Reality is finally setting in! I think I've been in denial most of my pregnancy that I'm actually having another baby! I'm surprised to find that I feel less prepared for this one than with our first. Now that I'm nearing the end I'm starting to feel more and more excited to meet our new daughter, more aware of how miserable pregnancy is making me, and more anxious about how I'm going to handle having 2 kids! This pregnancy has seemed to fly by so much quicker than my first. I felt very lucky to have had 2 awesome pregnancies where I haven't gotten sick. The second time around has been a little more uncomfortable than the first... a little more back pain, a little bit of heartburn, and a lot more cramping. But still, I can't complain! (My husband would probably tell you that I DO complain:)) This baby has definitely been a lot more active than Lexi was. I remember when I was pregnant with Lexi I would poke and prod at her all the time to make sure she was moving. This next little girl kicks at me so much I find myself wishing she would quit... hopefully not a sign of things to come:)

Here is me at 37 weeks...

Wish me luck!

Lexi's 2!

2011-02-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it! Lexi had her 2nd Birthday on the 8th! I feel like the last 2 years have flown by so quick it makes me sad! She is becoming such a fun little girl! She is so incredibly smart and funny. Here are a few facts about Lexi that you might not know... *she is a social butterfly
*loves her "friends" (any other little kid would qualify)
*loves nursery *can count to 10
*knows all the words to ABC's, twinkle twinkle, sunbeam, and I Love You from Barney (not really, but she sings them so confidently and fills in the stuff she doesn't know with nonsense like she knows exactly what she's saying)
*would gladly give up ever drinking her bottle if we would replace it with hot chocolate
*is a momma's girl
*is obsessed with shoes
*hates being dressed(when she see's me coming with an outfit she literally cries "No!" and starts running the opposite direction)
*is really thoughtful
*good at sharing her food
*is obsessed with what belongs to who (she got really upset today when daddy tried to use mommy's blankie)
*is very polite (most of the time)

That's mostly what comes to mind at the moment. Let me just say that I LOVE being Lexi's mommy. She brightens up my life every single day. I never imagined that I could feel so much love for someone. It's hard to imagine that we are going to have another little girl joining our family pretty soon and I will get to experience that love all over again. I think one of the best things about being a mom is that your kids love you back no matter what. They think you are amazing. The other day I went somewhere by myself for about an hour and when I got home Lexi was sooo excited to see me, she ran into my arms and before I could say anything to her exclaimed, "Mommy! I love you too!"

My brother Zack was coming down to Utah the weekend before Lexi's Birthday, so I was super excited when I found out that my mom decided to make the trip as well along with Lexi's cousins Brookie and Austin! We decided to have her party Saturday night so that we could celebrate it with them. Not only that, my brother Jackson came down from Rexburg too! We had quite the crowd at Lexi's party with my family, Sandi and Phil, and Will's Uncle Wayne, Aunt Shelley, and cousins Brandon and Austin. Needless to say, Lexi got a little bit spoiled.

Out of all the neat presents Lexi opened, the best reaction by far was her face when she opened this cheap little toy I got for her that lights up and spins when you push a button. She was pretty happy with it. Sadly, it was broken within an hour or so.

The party guests...

I love this picture of Lexi and Jackson! Say cheese!

Lexi, Mommy and Daddy...

Lexi's Dora Cake... Yes I actually made this! I was so proud of myself!

Lexi blowing out her candles...

My big present to Lexi I literally started working on over 3 months ago... Her new room!
It was a big project getting it all painted. It turned out really cute! Also, she got this little kitchen that we converted out of an old night stand. She loves her new room, especially her big girl bed! Thank you so much to Mike (my cousin Sam's husband) for all the work you did on Lexi's kitchen! And thank you grandpa Phil for helping me paint and for doing all the finish work on Lexi's kitchen! I couldn't have done it without you!

Here is another picture of her room... It looks way cuter in person. I sanded and painted the dresser to match and sewed curtains to match everything.

I had to throw in a picture of all the cousins when we went to pick them up in Tremonton.
We didn't tell Lexi we were going to get them so she wouldn't get impatient. She ended up falling asleep on the way and was pretty excited and happy when she woke up to see these two!

Lexi got a special birthday package from Grandpa Doug and Grandma Laurie with some really cool puzzles and this adorable Valentine's dress that she wore to church on Sunday! She looked sooo cute! Thank you guys!

My Funny Little Girl

2011-02-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a post to mention some of the funny things that Lexi has done to make me laugh lately...

*Lexi has been extremely attached to her pacifier, which she has named her "aya" (can't quite figure out how she came up with that name) I had been thinking for quite a while that we needed to get rid of it, but began to dread it because I knew it would be really difficult. Anytime I would try to take it away or tell her she couldn't have it she would throw a huge tantrum. And one night we couldn't find any of them and she was literally up the entire night, spazzing out and crying for it. I had always heard of the idea of cutting the tips off and thought I would give it a shot, because that way she wouldn't think I was taking them away from her. So about a week ago I cut the tips off of all the pacifiers we had and when she asked for one I just gave it to her. She took one look at it and said "Oh Nooo! Aya Broken!" She knew that we kept more pacifiers up on the shelf so she asked for another one, so I kept handing her more so she could see they were all broken. I'm excited to say that this trick actually worked! She didn't want them anymore if they were broken, and she didn't make a big deal of it at all. She still would ask for one every once in a while, but I would remind her or show her that they were broken. So about 4 days into it and everything was going really well, we were hanging out at home and all the sudden Lexi comes running out of her room, yelling "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" and then once she got my attention she excitedly started galloping around the room with a pacifier in her mouth singing "I found it! I found it! I found it!" She had obviously found one that had been lost a for a while in her room. I couldn't help but laugh at how triumphant and excited she was. I let her hold on to it for a few minutes, but quickly snook it away when she took it out. When she asked about it I just said.... "aya for babies", she tought about it for a few seconds and then repeated "for babies" and ran off to play.

Another funny thing that happened recently was the other day I just could not get Lexi to go down for her nap. She finally fell asleep around 7:30 which is way too early for her to go to bed. I decided just to let her sleep, knowing she would probably wake up in the middle of the night. Sure enough she woke up around 2:30 wide awake. I put on a movie for her in the living room and got back into bed. About 10 minutes later I heard her desperately crying "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" I ran out there real fast to see what was so urgent and Lexi just turned to me and asked, "Hot Chocolate?" She's had hot chocolate maybe a couple of times. It cracked me up that this was her special request in the middle of the night. Of course I let her have some!

Christmas

2011-01-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well... better late than never I guess! Our holidays were quite a whirlwind this year! We spent
Thanksgiving in Cda this year and then only a few weeks after we got home my sister Sadie got married in the Oquirre Mountain Temple! You can check out more pictures from her wedding at jessicamausphotography.blogspot.com

Lexi kissing Sadie...

I was so excited my best friend Hannah got to come. She made my sister's beautiful bouquet!
I'm so excited we are having babies together this time! She is only about 12 weeks behind me!

After the wedding was over we got to spend about a week with Sandi, Phil, Erin and Hailee in Logan! We made sure to get some family pictures!

Since we were going to Boise for Christmas we all opened presents together on Christmas Eve morning at our house! Grandpa Phil built Lexi this awesome dollhouse! Here is a picture of Lexi with all her presents!

Christmas Eve afternoon we all drove to Boise to spend Christmas with Grandpa Doug, Granny Laurie, Max, Heath and Connor. We had so much fun spending Christmas with them! I'm sad I didn't get very many pictures!

Here is Lexi all ready for church the day after Christmas with her new dolly from Grandpa Doug and Granny Laurie.

We also got to visit Great-Grandma and Great Grandpa while we were there!
Grandma Jody got Lexi this adorable vest!

Thanks everyone for such a wonderful Christmas!

Gluten-Free Cooking Blog

2011-01-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

As most people know by now, Will was diagnosed with Celiac Disease just over a year ago which means he can't eat anything with Gluten(primarily wheat) in it. It's been a challenge, but I've learned to enjoy cooking a lot more and have had fun finding new recipes that taste good that are gluten-free. I know it can be hard at first for a lot of people to figure out what to eat or how to cook so I decided to create a new blog sharing my favorite tips/recipes that are gluten-free!
Here is a link for anyone that would like to check it out! http://jessysglutenfree.blogspot.com/

Brookie and Lexi

2011-01-11T19:23:00.001-08:00

I can't get over what great friends these two are turning out to be!

Snow and Santa Claus

2010-12-04T07:20:00.001-08:00

Last Week we went up to Cda for Thanksgiving to visit my family. We had a really good time and for the first time ever we had Thanksgiving dinner with just my immediate family and my grandpa. I had my first experience of waking up early Thanksgiving morning and actually preparing half of the food myself... not to mention figuring out how to make all or most of it Gluten-Free. Not to brag or anything, but I made the most fabulous homemade gluten-free stuffing that my entire family loved and no-one could tell it was gf!

It pretty much snowed the entire time we were there. Lexi absolutely loves playing in the snow! Here she is out in it with Will...

We made sure to take the kids to see Santa Claus one day... Lexi was so excited to see Santa all the way up till the part where we tried to set her on his lap. I have never had her squeeze so tightly around my neck! Are we mean for forcing her to sit there while we got a picture? It was so funny to me because she was so excited to see him and she's normally a pretty social little girl.

I think the highlight of our trip was definitely the time Lexi spent with her cousin Brookie. Back at home Lexi talks about Brookie all the time. Anytime we tell her we are going to see someone, she looks at us and asks "Brookie?", like "is Brookie going to be there?" The last time she asked before our trip we said... "No, No Brookie" and Lexi's lip started trembling and she started tearing up and saying "Pees Brookie! Pees!" It was so cute and sad!
These two are just so cute and play so well together! They were inseparable the entire time. Every morning while we were there, Lexi would wake up super early and the first thing out of her mouth was "Brookie?" I would ask "You want to go see Brookie?" She would say "Ok!" and proceed to run all the way up the stairs calling Brookie's name until she found her and woke her up.

Here they are in their matching white coats that grandma got them!

So cute!

And its....

2010-11-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER GIRL!

We are so excited! We already have so much fun with Lexi, it will be so much fun to have another little girl! I am so excited for Lexi to have a sister that is close to her age!

I love fall!

2010-11-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

\I really do love it. I love when the leaves start to change colors. I love putting on a cozy sweater and being outside in the crisp clean air. Its cool enough to wear a jacket, but you can still take your kids to the park and not freeze. I just wish it would last longer... Fall always seems to come and go too quickly... I will just have to enjoy it while it lasts I guess. We've had a pretty enjoyable fall so far. I can't believe its November already! I can't seem to keep up! Anyways... here is a little of what we've been up to...

In September I got to go visit my family in Cda. While we were there we made our annual trip up to Greenbluff, which is a bunch of farms up in north Spokane. It was fun... My Mom, Abbey, and I took Austin, Brookie, and Lexi and we actually went out in the orchard for the first time to pick apples. It was a great time!

Here is Lexi with an apple! This was more fun for her than I thought. One thing thats kind of funny about Lexi is she learned how to say apple a while ago and now she calls everything from pumpkins, to peaches, to grapes..... apples.

I couldn't resist the scrunchy nose picture! I love it!

And Brookies scrunchy, eyes squished shut picture... so cute

Here's grandma with all 3 grandkids

Cute cousins...

Another cute picture with aunt Abbey

We decided to drive out to Heritage farms one day so Lexi could see some horses. Anytime we see a horse while driving around she starts saying "nay!nay", then "bye, bye horsees!"

In October we went on a little trip down to Vegas with Phil and Sandi.
Here we are at the MGM outside the lion exhibit.

Lexi trying to get a better look at the lions.

After Vegas we drove down to Fontana, Ca so that Will and Phil could do the Nascar Racing Experience that Phil had won. Here they are all suited up, waiting for their name to get called. Sadly, they never got their chance. A bunch of people before them were there to drive Indy cars. They put the first group of people out on the track driving Indy cars and not too long into it we heard that someone had crashed their car on the opposite side of the track. They said they needed to do an investigation and that we would have to wait for awhile. We waited around all day to see if they could get a chance, but they finally told us that nobody else would be racing that day... but wouldn't tell us any details on the crash.The boys were a little bummed we drove all that way, but understood later when we read in the news that the young woman that crashed the car had died. It was really sad and shocking to hear.

I guess you could say the highlight of Fontana was taking Lexi to swim in the pool at our hotel. Grandma Sandi had gotten Lexi one of those suits with the built in floaty part. Then we went to Target and got just about everything else you can think of for Lexi to be all decked out in swim gear.

She thought it was really fun for a second...

Then she got pretty mad that we made her put on those goggles...
When we got down to the pool she had a blast, especially when she realized she could pretty much float in the pool all by herself..

The weekend before Halloween Sammy and Mike came up with Claire and Noble and stayed with us for a night. We decided to go check out the pumpkin walk. It was pretty neat!

Lexi and Claire

All of us together, ready to head home...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We were excited this last weekend to take Lexi Trick or Treating for her first time! We decided to go with Papa Phil to his ward's Trunk or Treat.

We forgot Lexi's bucket, so we borrowed one of Grammy's bags for Lexi to use. At first, Lexi wasn't sure what was going on, but about 5 cars into it all the sudden the light bulb switched on and Lexi just took off running back and forth to random cars holding her bag up to people for candy. It was pretty funny, she wouldn't say anything though... she would just hold her bag out and stare.

Hope everyone else had fun this Halloween!

Our Crazy Summer

2010-09-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

CONDOS
Our summer officially started when we made our trip up to Coeur d Alene for my family's annual vacation at our condo on lake Pend Orielle. We have been going there since we were kids and we always have looked forward to it in anticipation... As I've gotten older it has started to seem like not so big a deal, but for some reason this year.... maybe because I had moved away, I was sooo excited for condo time to be here. Its the one time a year where my whole family is together and we can just relax and enjoy one anothers company without any other obligations... not to mention it is beautiful up there on the lake. Here are some random pictures I got from up there....

Every year my sisters and I go on a little hike and take "sister" pictures....

Lexi and Brookie in their matching PJ's from grandma...

Both of these girls LOVE the bath!

This girl is fearless... here she is jumping off the mantle to my dad

Kai (sadie's fiance) and Jackson in the canoe

Sadie and Abbey

I love this picture of Lexi and Abbey...

Lexi on the swing...

family picture time...

back in cda... carson got lexi to sleep around the campfire....
only the best uncle ever!!!

HOOPFEST
The weekend after condos we got to go to Hoopfest in Spokane where Will played on a team with my dad and brothers....

Sadie taking Lexi on the big red wagon slide for the first time!

Will, Sam and cousin Jeremy

THE DODD REUNION
Less than a week after returning to Logan from Cda we had the Dodd family reunion over 4th of July! It was so much fun! All of Will's cousins had fun playing with Lexi and we got to relax and visit a lot.

We all took family pictures for the reunion...

That weekend we also got to attend the sealing of Will's cousin Chris and Annie. It was really neat to be there! Annie made an adorable wedding cake and also made this little smash cake for Lexi... she loved it!

The water at bear lake was pretty cold!

Cousins playing in the sand!

Lexi spent most of the time at the beach chasing all of the seagulls around...

splashing in the water...

Sam and cooper...

MOTT FAMILY REUNION

At the end of July we had our Mott family reunion which is my mom's side of the family. It was good to see some of my cousins that I hadn't seen for years! Our last reunion was 3 years ago! We were at this beautiful place about an hour up Provo canyon. Sadly, I was feeling pretty sick most of the time, but I still got to enjoy myself a lot. I know everyone else had a great time too!

Lexi and Uncle Jackson in the hammock

Daddy and Lexi on the swing...

Lexi and Grandma

Lexi and Mommy.....

Lexi thought it was so much fun when grandma would gallop around with her on her shoulders...

Lexi and cousin Lily...

Emi... hanging out in the tree

Harrison... what a cutie

Max... if you can't tell there is a grasshopper on his head

Addy.... she found a dead dragonfly... it was so cool

Talent night.... my mom and all of my aunts doing an abba song i think

HEATH'S BAPTISM

The last weekend in July we got to go to Boise and attend Will's little brother Heath's baptism! Way to go Heath!

birthday cupcakes...

Here is one of my new favorite pictures of Lexi at the piano with Will...

Here are some cute pictures of Will's brothers...

Max

Heath

Connor...

While we were in Boise we got to go over and see great-grandma Jody and great-grandpa Jim!

ENGAGEMENTS

Right when we got back into Logan my cousin Mikelle and her fiance Nate came to town for me to take their engagement pictures. It was really fun. I'm so excited for them to get married!

PERKE'S REUNION

About midway through August we made another quick trip to Boise for one night, and then continued our drive up to
Walla Walla, WA for the Perke's family reunion. It was a lot of fun hanging out and visiting and playing games with friends! Sadly by this time I was a little tired of snapping pictures... I did take a few though...

We had a 50's night and here is one of Lexi and Will...

Coeur d Alene once more...

After being at the reunion in Walla Walla, we figured it was only a couple more hours to Cda, so we may as well drive up for one last visit. We had a good time with my family as always.... here are some of the highlights....

We couldn't pass up on the Kootenai county fair!
Lexi's favorite part of course was all of the animals! Here she is with the pigs!

We came across this little blow-up house with a little climbing wall/obstacle course... This was right up Lexi's ally... she loved it. We paid $2 and they let her go through it over and over! Totally worth it!

Here she is on the pony ride! They wouldn't let us walk by her, but she didn't seem to care! She just had this grin on her face the entire time!

Sam and Angie met up with us part-way through!

Lexi hugging a baby cow...

I also got to take some senior pictures for Abbey.... isn't she gorgeous?

Lexi wanted to get in on the photo shoot too!

Well, I think I should win an award or something for having the busiest summer ever! I'm pretty sure I was gone way more than I was home. I've been finding myself quite exhausted from all the travel... sort of wanting to go home and just do nothing... I have no reason to complain though. I feel so lucky to have so many people in my family that love me and that I can spend time with. I don't know how many people that have four let alone one family reunion to attend every year! I feel incredibly blessed to have be a part of such a family! I look forward to the next time I can get together with my family... but for now, I think I want to just relax for a little while....

Oh ya! By the way... did I forget to mention that I'm PREGNANT? It must have slipped my mind:) Yes, sometime during our busy summer, we managed to find the time to conceive our second child! I don't know an exact due date yet, but its sometime in the last week of March I think! Until next time! -Jess

A lot has happened.....

2010-06-05T21:04:00.001-07:00

Well, the last few months have flown by in a whirlwind! First off, for anyone that doesn't know just bought a house! We are so excited! After looking at pretty much everything in our price range and not finding anything we liked, we finally came across this house that was a for sale by owner. It was just the right price and it had all of the things we wanted in our first home..... a garage, fenced in yard and enough room for our family to grow. It was built in the 50's so its a little out-dated but I am excited at the idea of painting and fixing it up the way I like it. It definitely has a lot of potential. One thing I love is the fact that there is hardwood under the carpet that I would like to refinish eventually. I think the thing that Will and I and especially Lexi are the most excited about is our backyard. Its small, but its quiet and its so nice to be able to go back there and just relax and let Lexi roam around. The other bonus is our cute little garden! We moved in just in time to get it planted. Of course I have never gardened before and didn't have a clue how to get started. Lucky for me, our neighbor came over and helped me get it tilled and planted! I am so excited! I planted peas, carrots, beans, onions, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, corn, and strawberries! Let's just hope it all comes up okay! Part of me doesn't think it could actually work, how could it be that easy?

Here is my garden!

Here's Lexi playing on our back patio!

Now for an update on Lexi! Everyday she is looking more and more like a little girl and less like my little baby! What happened??? This is all happening way too fast!!! She is just full of personality and is super smart. I can just tell that she is thinking about everything around her trying to figure out how everything works. I know she is frustrated sometimes that she can't talk and communicate things to us sometimes, although her vocabulary has expanded a little bit. She now says mama, mommy, da da, me me(hold me), hi, bye bye, bee (bird), keys, puppa, ba (ball), ba ba (bottle), ba balloon, ba (bath), ba pa (grandpa), cacka (cracker), num num (food), and uh oh. Animal sounds.... woof woof, moo, ooh ooh ahh ahh, ooooooh!(elephant), roar...... and she knows a lot of different signs.... more, shoes, car, eat, please, drink, milk, bird, cat, dog, fish, airplane. She also can point to all of her body parts and she folds her arms, gives hugs and kisses, and loves to dance, climb on things and walk up and down stairs. Phew! Sorry to bore anyone that's reading this! I just wanted to document all of this since I don't keep a baby book at the moment!

Lexi's most recent word has been "uh oh", she loves to drop or throw things on the ground and then say "uh oh". Its hard to get mad when she throws food all over the kitchen floor and then looks up at me with her cute little face and says "uh oh"!

The other thing that gets old, but I still think is so cute is how much she all the sudden loves the bath. Anytime she sees the bath she starts whining to get in and starts pulling to take her clothes off. I just realized that she was big enough to climb in on her own the other day when I was in the bath and she proceeded to climb into the tub with me fully clothed.

Lexi is fascinated by all kinds of animals, but most especially dogs and birds. Whenever we are outside if she sees one of them she will scream "puppa" and pat her leg or "bee" and do the sign for bird. It is so cute! Now that we have a fenced in yard I am just dying for us to get our own dog. It won't be long!

Last but not least Lexi finally got her first tooth at 15months! I was starting to wonder if this day would ever come! I always new there had to be some teeth in there somewhere, but I was starting to have nightmares of sending her off to kindergarten with just gums in there!
See her little tooth?

I was able to take a little trip down to L.A. to visit my bff Hannah right in the middle of all of the moving! We had so much fun! We hung out and went camping in the desert. I saw a baby rattlesnake that wanted to kill me and we met up with our friend Sally from high school! Here is a picture of us at the beach!

That's about it aside from that Will and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary! I definitely am married to an amazing man! I am so lucky! I can't wait for the rest of our lives! Oh ya! We did just book a cruise to the Caribbean this fall! Yay! A real vacation! Until next time!

Baby Animal Days!

2010-04-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

We just had so much fun with Lexi at Baby Animal Days at the American Heritage Farm. They had all kinds of baby farm animals there as well as some baby bears! Lexi LOVED it! She already freaks out anytime she sees a dog, which she can spot from a mile away. She got to look at and pet a variety of animals and we got to enjoy some beautiful weather!

Daddy, Mommy and Lexi!

Lexi and the Chicken!

Petting the baby bear....
Lexi always sticks her tongue out when she's really excited!

The baby piggys were adorable!

Everywhere we went, Lexi kept wanting to peek through the fence! So cute!

Lexi and Grandma Sandi!

My favorite was the goat...

She even kissed it! Tongue and all!

Lexi and Mommy with the baby bunny!

It was a great day! The end!

a fun day at the zoo!

2010-04-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo with my Mom, Dad, Carson and Abbey who were visiting, along with my mother-in-law Sandi, my cousin Sammy and her kids, and my Aunt Joanne and Uncle Frank who were also visiting from out of town!

Although it was a bit chilly and Lexi was having a bit of a bad hair day, we still managed to have a pretty good time!

Here is Lexi with her Uncle Carson!

Here is Lexi giving the ducky a kiss!

Lexi and her cousin Claire checking out the ducks...

More Hugs...

Family Picture!

Abbey, Mom and I

We had so much fun together! I have the best family!

St. Patricks Day!

2010-04-05T20:30:00.003-07:00

On Saint Patrick's Day Lexi and I went for a walk with Sammy, Claire and Noble. We went to the grass by the Tabernacle in Logan and just let the kids run free. It was such good weather that day, it felt good to get outside!

Lexi in her Kiss Me I'm Cute Shirt.... i thought she looked pretty cute, even though she wouldn't smile for the camera!

Lexi and Mommy.... now there's a cute smile!

Sam, Claire and Noble

Lexi and Claire running around together...

Claire and Lexi going in for a hug! So cute!

St. Patricks Day

2010-04-05T20:30:00.001-07:00

Lexi's Birthday.... better late than never?

2010-03-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

I thought that since its been almost 2 months since Lexi's birthday I had better finally post about it! Man am I terrible! Lexi's Birthday was on February 8th, but we had a little Birthday party on the 15th for her because she was sick on her birthday! Lexi and I had recently returned from Cda right after her birthday where Lexi and I had both been sick the entire time! We were worried for a few days that she might have had whooping cough but luckily the test came back negative. This has definitely been a sick kind of month with Will and Lexi and I being sick off and on a lot. We are finally all feeling better and can't wait for this nasty Logan weather to improve. In the last week the snow has finally started to melt away and I think we may be seeing the first little glimpses of spring!

On the way home from Cda we were able to stop in Boise and celebrate Lexi's Birthday with Grandpa Doug, Grandma Laurie, and Uncles Max, Heath, and Conner! We also got to hang out with Great Grandma and Grandma Dodd, Uncle Mark, Aunt Kim, Trenn, Ryann, Bailey, and Cooper! We are so lucky to have so much family to love!

For Lexi's party I stuck to the tradition my mom started with having a lady bug cake. I made some little miniature ones for Lexi and her friends to have. They turned out pretty cute if I can say so myself!

Lexi LOVED her cake! It was so funny! She took her time at first, picking all the little candies off and then sticking her fingers in the frosting and licking it a little here and there and then all the sudden out of no-where she just let out a growl and dug her entire fists into the cake until the entire thing was demolished!

Lexi in her adorable apron that Sammy made for her!

Lexi and Claire opening up the farmhouse that the Dodds gave her, so cute!

We were sad that none of Lexi's grandparents could be there, but we still had a lot of fun with the family that came. The guest list included Uncle Wayne, Aunt Shelley, Hillary, Austin, Brandon, Sammy and Mike, Claire, Noble, and our neighbors Patti, Dallin, Zeelee, and Emma Joe.

Thanks everyone for the awesome gifts! Lexi got a big stuffed dog from Mommy and Daddy, a Little People Barnyard from the Dodds which she loves! Also Sammy sewed some adorable matching aprons for Lexi and I to cook together in, as well as a nursery rhyme book and CD from the Holmes.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took of Lexi with two of her favorite people, Toby and my Grandpa Simon.... Lexi's great-grandpa!

The Holidays

2010-01-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm not even sure where to start! The last 3 months have been a whirlwind, that's for sure!
First off my family came down to Utah for Thanksgiving and it was so much fun! We went down to my grandparents house in Lehi for Thanksgiving day and my family got to spend some time with us in Logan as well! It was great to have the whole family together even though it got a little crowded at times. While they were here we played games and relaxed as well as went and saw the movie Blindside which I would highly recommend!
The only downside to Thanksgiving was that Will was extremely sick and we didn't see much of him the whole time my family was here. After my family left he continued to get worse and after having several tests/procedures he finally got diagnosed with Chron's disease and Celiac disease(where you cant eat gluten/wheat). It was kind of a bummer, but they got him on some medication for the Chron's and I have quickly adapted to cooking gluten free food and he feels as good as new! We feel blessed and relieved that he has been feeling so much better! It could have been much worse! P.S. If anyone needs any tips on gluten.free cooking let me know! I made the most delicious bread the other day! Will couldn't tell the difference!
About a week before Christmas I packed up Lexi and drove to Rexburg where I stayed the night with my cousin Darcy, Adam and there adorable baby Jack! Then I picked up Jackson and he drove with me the rest of the way to Cda! It was a fun-packed week with me working whatever shifts I could at Roosters, the Joseph Smith Party, going on a real sleigh ride, and all of the other pre-Christmas celebrating. My mom even let me squeeze in for the last week of stocking exchanges! Christmas eve was fun as usual.My entire extended family got together for dinner and a white elephant gift exchange. Also the kids acted out the nativity and at some point Santa Clause actually showed up! (My dad) He was hilarious! The kids could not believe that he actually knew all of their names! It was so cute! Then after the party was over I got to go pick Will up from the airport! He couldn't join us till late that night because he had to work that day. I'm just glad we were all together for Christmas!

Here is a picture of Lexi just a few days after she took her first steps.... I love how she's sticking her tongue out concentrating!

Here we are on the sleigh ride we went on with my family...

Lexi and Jackson at the Christmas Eve Party!

Lexi and Abbey got to be the angels for the nativity... Lexi was sooo excited, can you tell?

Lexi and Brookie with Santa Clause...

Christmas morning I think I slept in the latest I have in my entire life! I think for the first time I woke up my younger siblings instead of them waking me up! Lexi didn't quite know what was going on so we opened most of her presents for her, but she had fun crawling around all of the wrapping paper! We didn't get her anything this year cause we knew she wouldn't remember it. She got plenty of neat stuff from my parents though! My favorite was the shopping cart cover my mom sewed and the socks she knitted for Lexi! I was the luckiest cause my parents got me new tennis shoes and Will got me a gym membership to a nicer gym that has classes and a day care! I was so excited because I was able to earn enough from working at the coffee stand to buy Will some new skis!

Will and his new skis!

Christmas night we all went to see Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else told me it was good. I will have to take their word for it since I was out in the hall the entire time with Lexi(: Luckily my mom took her home after that and I got to stay later and see Avatar in 3D. I have to admit that I think its definitely been added to my top ten list of movies. It was awesome! We were sad to leave cda on Sunday as Will had to be back to work, but at the same time it was good to be home and get Lexi back into more of a routine.

The day after we got back my best friend Hannah and her husband Josh came to Logan for the day to visit! It was so good to see them and catch up! They were so good with Lexi! I can tell they are going to be awesome parents someday!

We got together with Sandi,Phil, Erin, and Hailee when we got back to Logan and opened presents with them! They spoiled Lexi as well, and we were excited to get a picture of Jesus and the temple for our living room! We got together with them for New Years Eve as well! It was a fun relaxed evening. We mostly just ate and played games. It was pretty uneventful, but it was fun to all be together!

Next Will's Dad, Laurie, Max, Heath and Conner came to visit! It was fun to be able to see them! They got Lexi a bunch of adorable clothes for Christmas! Thanks guys!

Here is a picture of Lexi with her uncles... so cute!

Well, That pretty much wraps it up as far as the holidays are concerned! In the meantime Lexi has been reaching some milestones! Right before Christmas Lexi took her first steps! She can now take several steps across the room, but still prefers crawling as her main mode of transportation. She can easily go up and down the stairs by herself(and has for a while), and has actually taken a little interest in food! She's not interested in me feeding it to her, but if she can shove it in herself she is likely to eat it! She has taken a sudden interested in stuffed animals and her baby doll. When we hand her a stuffed animal she will just squeeze and cuddle it with the biggest smile on her face. Or if I ask her where her baby is she will say “baba” and go crawling looking for it til she finds it. She's becoming increasingly a mommy's girl and she is super clingy. She also loves her daddy and gets excited when I ask her where daddy is or when he gets home from work. I've seen the first glimmer of Lexi throwing a fit the other day when she wanted something, hopefully not a preview of things to come!? Also the other day she hit me hard in the face so I looked at her and very sternly said “Lexi! No! Don't hit!” She just looked at me and started cracking up laughing like it was the funniest thing I had ever said to her! I think I'm definitely in for it! I have to tell you though, I can't get enough of this adorable creature! I love her more and more every day!

I bet your wondering if this post is ever going to end! I just had to tell you about a recent incident that occurred while Lexi was at the gym daycare (ya the one where I recently started going to). This was only about Lexi's fourth time and she was already a little scared to go so I decided to take her right when she had fallen asleep and wheel her in in her stroller where she could hopefully sleep the whole time. Well, not five minutes into my workout they came and got me because some kid had found her and bitten her cheek while she was sleeping! Luckily it didn't break the skin, but it left a dark bite mark on her face that has still not completely gone away! We stayed calm but were a little more upset when we found out that they have no biting policy aside from just sending that kid home for the day! Which means there could be a bunch of little biters running around in there all the time! We fumed about it for a week and realized that by leaving Lexi at any kind of daycare that was a risk that we would have to take. I finally worked up the courage to bring her back this week, because it was either that or I don't work out. I made sure there weren't any kids in there that were known to bite, but am I a bad parent for bringing her back? I hope not!? Anyways... I think they will be keeping a better eye on her from now on.

Here is a picture of Lexi's bite mark...

And just some of my recent favorites...

Lexi looovves her stuffed animals!

October update....

2009-11-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

Im finally updating my blog! After getting back I realized that both Will and my laptops are out of commission which has made it just a little more difficult to update my blog, with pictures at least. So I finally snuck into the office at the car wash because this is way long overdue....

We have had a beautiful fall so far in Logan! For the most part the weather has been fairly warm with lots of sunshine! The fall colors are really beautiful here, I don't want it to end! Here are some cute pictures of Lexi in the leaves.

She just LOVES to be outside. Anytime the front door opens she immediately starts crawling as fast as she can to go outside.

Will and I took Lexi out to a pumpkin farm in paradise to pick out a pumpkin. I guess we were a little late, because they only had rotten leftover pumpkins. We still got to snap a few pictures though and buy some delicious apple cider! This I was very relieved about, because one thing I was really going to miss about home was going to green-bluff to get some cider!

We were excited that Grandma Jody and Grandpa Jim came to visit for a couple of days!

A few days before Halloween we went to this Pumpkin walk that they do every year in north Logan. It was way cooler than I expected. They had tons of these displays where people had painted pumpkins to look like people and different objects. Here are a few of our favorites...

Where the Wild Things Are...

This one wasn't the coolest, but we thought it was so funny. If you look closely you will notice the there is a woman with something stabbed in her eye. We thought it was funny that the EMT helping her had this big smile on his face and not only that, him and the other guy are holding hands!

Afterwards they had tons of those things where you can put your face into different characters and take a picture. Here is Will as Harry Potter.

And me as Cinderella...

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween wasn't super eventful. Will had to work and was going to close early but ended up having a pretty busy day at the car wash. I ended up walking down the street to our wards trunk or treet to say hi to a few people and have hot chocolate. Then Mike, Sam, Claire and my aunt Joanne came over for dinner! I really wanted to get a cute picture of Lexi and Claire in their costumes, but they would not cooperate at all... so here is the best one I got.

Fun Times in CDA!

2009-10-03T20:00:00.001-07:00

Lexi and I have had a great couple of weeks in CDA... here are a few of the highlights...

Lexi had so much fun playing with Grandma... She even made this really cute Halloween outfit for her! Isn't it cute?

She also had fun with Grandpa... snuggle, snuggle!

I tried to feed her some peaches... as usual I think more of it ended up all over her than in her stomach!

We had a fun time hanging out with my friend Shawnte and her baby Vance!

Lexi and Brookie were so cute together! I think they are finally at the age where they can start playing!

The best part was putting them in the bath together. They had so much fun! At one point Lexi kept looking at Brookie and just kept cracking up.

Probably one of my favorite things this trip has been watching Lexi interact with our golden retriever Toby. She isn't one bit afraid and seems quite fascinated by him. Here is a cute video...

Here is another little clip I thought was funny. Abbey put on the song Poker Face and she just started rocking out to the beat!

We got to go to Greenbluff and look at the goats and pumpkins!

Overall I'd have to say we had a great visit! Now we are ready to go home to Logan! We miss Daddy SO MUCH!

Chubby Cheeks

2009-10-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

I've just been thinking the last few days... I can't believe how big Lexi is getting. I feel like one moment she was this tiny newborn baby and now all of the sudden she is this huge baby that crawls everywhere and gets into everything! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this stage! Lexi is so cute and funny right now. She is finally starting to get a little chubby and its especially showing in her little cheeks. She makes the funniest facial expressions and she will squish her cheeks up in the cutest ways. She is just growing up so fast, I wish she would slow down just a tiny bit. I know she will be walking before Will and I know it!

August-September Update

2009-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Where do I even start? I think this is the longest I've gone in a while with out updating my blog so I have a lot to tell you.

For anyone who is out of the loop, Will, Lexi, and I moved down to Logan beginning of August to open up a car wash with my mother and father-in-law. It's called The Green Gorilla and it is pretty awesome if I say so myself. We have been open for about a week and we have gotten some good response so far. Business has been slow and steady to start off, but people seem pretty pleased and some are allready returning for their second and third time! Today has been our busiest day yet. My favorite part (aside from having a clean car all the time) is that Will only works about 5 minutes away from our house as opposed to 30 minutes and I can stop by and see him whenever I want. Plus, whenever he forgets his lunch its not a big deal because I can just bring it to him.

So far I have to admit that Logans not all that bad. Its actually a pretty nice town. Its funny cause they have a few stores right here in Logan that they don't have in Cda like Old Navy, Down East, and we just got a Texas Roadhouse(which I have NEVER been to) but they don't have a Costco or a Target which are two of my favorite places to shop. I hate to admit it, but I have recently discovered the conveniences of Wall-Mart which we have two of in Logan, one of which is only a 1 minute drive from my house.

We were lucky enough to find a cute townhouse to rent after less than a week of being here. That was wonderful that we didn't have to spend too much time looking, plus it allowed me to get settled and adapt to Logan a lot quicker. Our neighbors are all really cool and just about all of them are in our ward which is different than in CDA. Making friends hasn't been quite as hard as I thought it would be. I just hosted a game night at my house last night and it was a blast! I had a lot of fun playing and laughing with some gals from my ward, even though Lexi was being a pill and wouldn't let Daddy put her to bed. I was all excited that Will would be home to take care of her, but of course she decided she would not allow that to happen! She screamed and screamed and then instantly calmed down when mommy would come and take care of her. She is definetely in the clingy, I only want mommy stage, especially at night... lucky for me! Its feels so good to be wanted and loved, doesn't it?

Well, enough about me...........

Lexi has sure changed in the last month! My goodness! She has learned so much!

How to suck her thumb... or finger I guess

We had a lot of fun playing with Grandma Judy and Uncle Car Car when they came to visit us!

How to flirt with boys........

We also had fun with my friend Shawnte and her little boy Vance

As well as Jon and Brynne Erickson and their two boys Cade and Jay
Jon was in town for a bike race that goes all the way from Logan to Jackson Hole WY!

How to Swing!

I can't even begin to tell you how much Lexi LOVES to swing! The first time I put her in the swing at the park she immediately started kicking her feet and giggling.

Uncle Max, Heath, and Conner are the coolest!

They built Lexi a cool fort!

I can smile and keep my pacer in at the same time!

I Love my Uncle Jackson!

Starred in The Lion King!

Lexi as Simba, Jackson as Rafiki, Hailee as a Gazelle

I love love the bath... especially in my blow up ducky!

I Love my Daddy!

And my Mommy!

I can crawl and stand up on things!

Lexi started crawling this last month at just 6 1/2months old!

I can clap!

Lexi is so funny... she will be crawling around from toy to toy and then every minute or so she will just sit up and start clapping before going back to crawling again. The very first time Lexi clapped was for her great-grandpa Jim when we went to visit in Boise!

Standing up on a watermelon takes a lot of concentration!

I love to splash!

I like to visit my Daddy at the car wash!

Just a random cute picture....

Logan at last!

2009-08-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally made the big move down to Logan, Utah! It's been just a little crazy so that's my excuse for not keeping up on our blog. We were able to find a nice townhouse to rent right away so that has been nice to have our own place again.We went to church in our new ward today and we loved it. There were a lot of really friendly people and a lot of younger couples that we could make friends with.
Lexi turned 6 months and her personality is really starting to come out! She is really hyper and wiggly and always smiling, laughing, or making some new strange noise. Today I put her in this blow up rubber ducky bath that she can sit up in by herself and it was sooo funny. She got so excited just kicking and splashing around. She kept trying to pick up the bubbles and when she realized she couldn't she leaned forward and tried to eat them and then would come up with a face full of bubbles!

4th of July!

2009-07-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

The fourth was fun... Will had to work, so I slept in and then went and hung out with my siblings at the park. Then we went home and barbequed at my parents before heading downtown for the fireworks! Will was not looking forward to the post-firework traffic jams so I had to prove to him that we could get out of there fast. I went and left my car down there earlier in the day. I think we set a record by getting home ten minutes after the show ended. Lexi wasn't too happy about the fireworks. It was WAY past her bedtime so she was really tired. She fell asleep and then the fireworks woke her up of course. She would sit there staring at them wide eyed. Then a really big one would go off and all you would hear was oooh! awe! with a wailing baby in the background. We got some pretty cute pictures at the park too!

Cousin Power!

Lexi, surprisingly happy for being in the carseat.

Lexi and Brookie... so cute

Austin and his Brookie

Hoopfest!

2009-07-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well... we had a fun, hot, sweaty weekend as always at the annual Hoopfest tournament in downtown Spokane. It was a blast watching Will, Zack, Jackson, Dad, and Carson play on their different teams. Also, Will's friend Tom Perks played in the Elite division so we got to catch a few of his games. Carson's team actually got to the championship and won! Way to go Car! Lexi actually handled the heat pretty well. I brought an umbrella to keep her shaded so she wouldn't get burned... in fact I was so focused on keeping her out of the sun, that I forgot to take care of Will and I. We both fried pretty bad. Oh well! Here are a few action shots...

June.....

2009-06-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here I am once again... way behind on my blog. I just can't believe how fast the last month has flown by. I guess its just that time of year where we have a lot going on. So here it goes...

2 YEARs!

Will and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on June 2nd. I cannot believe how fast 2 years can fly by. I feels like we just started dating and all the sudden I woke up one day and we are married and have this funny little baby. Life couldn't be more wonderful right now. I am so grateful to be married to such and awesome husband and to have such a cute healthy baby. I can't wait to see what the future brings. We will be moving to Logan, Utah sometime this summer for the next big adventure of opening a car wash. I can't wait. Its going to be hard to leave my family in cda, but I know it will be a great opportunity for us to grow as a family.

Here is the a pic of how construction is going on the car wash!

DATE NIGHT!

So on our anniversary I realized that Lexi is definitely entering a new stage where we can't get away with taking her out to dinner with us any more... that is if we want to actually be able to eat and have a conversation with each other. We decided to treat ourselves to wolf lodge... which is a place outside of cda that has the best steak ever. It was sort of a last minute decision and we couldn't get a babysitter so we decided to take Lexi with us. We ended up getting sat next to a pretty rowdy table that had a lady that wouldn't quit turning around and talking about Lexi. In fact at one point her and the lady next to her asked me if they could hold her. They were all drinking and I just wasn't comfortable so I told them I would rather they didn't and tried to just joke how I just don't like to pass her around and how she just finally got over a cold. One of the ladies just turned around completely offended and wouldn't talk to us the rest of the evening. Also Lexi was being in one of those fussy moods where she just wanted us to hold her the entire time. So at the end of the evening Will and I didn't get to have one conversation and I left the restaurant still hungry with a cold steak. Will and I just had to laugh and realize that this was our life now... definitely going to get a babysitter next time.

JACKSONS HOME!

The fact that Will and I were celebrating our two year anniversary also meant that it was time for Jackson to come home! The last time I saw him was at our wedding reception. His homecoming was so wonderful. He looked so good as he came off the ramp. Its sooo good to have him back. He served an amazing mission in the Dominican Republic. He has the cutest accent now... we especially seem to notice it when he is praying or reading the scriptures. He is so fun to be around and is inspiring all of us to do better.

"Hi, I'm Conner! I'm an uncle!"....

The same week that Jackson came home Uncle Max, Heath and Conner & Gpa Doug and Gma Laurie came to visit. We had the perfect weekend visiting with them. On Saturday we went to Silverwood and hit the water slides and roller coasters, Sunday they came to church with us for Jackson's homecoming talk and hiked Tubbs Hill that afternoon. Then on Monday we joined them at Triple Play for more water slides. What a Blast! The best part was how much Lexi loved watching her uncle's jump around and play. They would jump all around her and she would laugh and giggle. She thought she was jumping around and playing with them. She sure loves her Grandmas and Grandpas and they love her!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY WILL!

I just want to dedicate this portion to Willie. I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband who is also an amazing daddy. Ever since Alexis was born Will has adored her. He is so attentive to her and is always concerned about what is best for her. She lights up when he comes in the room... you can tell she knows he's her daddy! Here are some of my favorite pictures of Will and Lexi...

Lexi and daddy... not even 2 weeks here!

patty cake, patty cake bakers man!

After hiking.... can you tell she just woke up?

Here is a video of daddy making Lexi laugh!

CONDOS!

Every year my family takes our annual trip up to the condos on Lake Pend Orielle. We have been going ever since I can remember. As always the week just flew by. It was such a blast. We played games all day, went swimming, played tennis, pickle ball, water volleyball, etc. I can't name everything we did. We definitely wore ourselves out though. I was going to video Lexi swimming in the pool, but we got up there and our camera was dead, but it was the cutest thing ever! She loved it. I strapped her in the baby swing at the park and she loved that too!

Memorial Weekend

2009-06-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

We took Lexi camping! We had a fun weekend visiting with Phil and Sandi's friends as well as Will's sisters Hailee and Erin who came up to go camping. We went up to Farragut and camped for a night with Lexi. She did so good! She slept all night in our make shift bassinet that we made out of a laundry hamper. I just love being out in nature.........

May Update

2009-06-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

I just finally was able to load all my pictures onto my computer from the last month so here it goes! I have a lot to tell you....

OVER THE LAST MONTH LEXI HAS HAD A LOT OF FIRSTS....

#1... Sleeping in her own room!

A few weeks ago the room across the hall became available for us to put Lexi in. My first thought was hooray! because I wouldn't have to get woken up by every little noise she made. So I dragged her pack n play across the hall. Only later that night I sort of had an emotional breakdown at the thought of having my baby be that far away. So I ended up dragging her back into our room again for one more night. I have now gotten over my separation issues and Lexi now sleeps a consistent 9 hours a night in the other room. Yes... I know... I am one of the lucky ones. I no longer find myself wondering if Lexi is going to wake me up in the middle of the night. She also is a great napper throughout the day. In the morning we will usually hear her sort of whining and when we go in to get her she just looks up and smiles really big. It cracks me up every time because she is always so happy to see us when she wakes up, but then as soon as we pick her up she starts breathing a little faster and whining as if she's saying "If you don't feed me right this second I'm going to starve to death!" Such a drama queen already.

#2... Little Drama Queen

As I previously mentioned Lexi is starting to act a little bit dramatic. It is so funny. Just like the "feed me before I starve" when she needs something she will let you know... loudly. I've noticed that she no longer has that newborn sort of cry. She has turned into a little whiner more than anything. When she wants something she will just sort of yell and then if she gets really mad she will SCREAM. And she can be pretty loud. Sometimes we will be sitting there and she will be completely fine and quiet and then the next second be screaming hysterically at the top of her lungs. People will look at me like "What are you doing to that baby?" I don't mean for this to sound like she's not a good baby because she really is quite pleasant. It's just when she wants something she will let you know... loudly. The other thing she started doing recently is the lip quiver. I swear Lexi could win the contest for cutest pouty face. A few times recently we have handed her to friends or relatives who have wanted to hold her. They will be holding her close and smiling at her. Lexi would just stare back with wide eyes wondering who is holding her and then all the sudden her bottom lip will start quivering and she will make the saddest looking face. We usually take her back right away and she will calm down. I think she is starting to recognize when she is not with mom and dad.

#3... Wow... look at these! (hands)

This is one of those things that I think most mom's get super excited about when their baby does it, but to everyone else it seems like no big deal. Last Tuesday Lexi grabbed one of her toys for the first time and but it in her mouth. I was so excited that I went to Fred Meyer and bought her all of these links to hang in her car seat so that she could have something to grab on to.

#4 Giggling

Lexi has been smiling now for quite awhile and has been on the verge of giggling for quite some time. We've been getting her to coo and smile and sort of squawk even, but Ive been trying everything to get her to actually giggle. So on Friday I took Lexi with me to Macy's to do a little shopping. It always takes a lot out of me to haul her around while shopping and trying on clothes so when we were all finished and back to the car, I set her in her car seat and just sat next to her in the back of the car to rest for a sec. I took a deep breath and sort of blew air at her. And to my amazement she started giggling at me! I wasn't even trying to make her smile! So I preceded to take deep breaths and blow on her face for the next 5 minutes to make her giggle until she wouldn't anymore. Since then I've only made her giggle one other time. It was last night after I was exhausted and just sitting there talking to her. Once again I wasn't really trying to make her laugh and she started up again! Silly girl!

#5... Lexi's first wedding!

On May 9th we were able to attend the sealing of Will's best friend Sam Abrahms to Will's cousin Angie Dodd. So now Will is officially related to his best friend. Pretty cool. It was a really neat ceremony and it was nice to be able to visit with all of Will's extended family. The reception was beautiful and a lot of fun too. Grammy Sandi and Will were able to show off Lexi to all of there old friends from Spokane. I was kind of boycotting bringing my camera along that day ... sadly.... hopefully I can get some pictures from someone else that was there. Congratulations Sam and Angie!

#6... Lexi's first cold):

Unfortunately after being passed around all weekend at the wedding, Lexi ended up sick just a few days later. I think we were pretty fortunate to have made it 3 months before she caught anything. She actually handled the cold very well... we didn't have to take her in to the doctor thankfully... but I am definitely more careful now! Sorry if I am a little bit paranoid about people washing their hands!

Hiking!

Okay, so this wasn't actually Lexi's first time hiking, but it was the first time we went hiking with Will's friend Hiro. Hiroki is Will's friend from Japan that he went to high school with. He came all the way over for Sam and Angie's wedding. The next day which was actually Mother's Day, we got to hang out with him before he flew home the next day. It was the most beautiful day for a hike. Lexi loved it. She was so funny. She kept leaning herself way back so that she could stare at all the trees. She was completely mesmerized by them.

Smiling all the time! (:

2009-04-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter

2009-04-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Lexi's Blessing Day

2009-04-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Will blessed Lexi a few Sundays ago... on the 22nd of March. She looked beautiful in the dress that my mom made and we wrapped her in a beautiful white blanket that Grandma Sandi made. She got a wonderful blessing from her daddy and it was neat to have so much family be able to come and participate.

pretty as a princess.... 5 weeks old!

2009-03-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

We finally got the two little cousins together for some pictures! Zack and Lizzie's baby Brooklyn Elizabeth is almost exactly a month younger than Lexi! It makes us sad how fast she is growing. We hadn't realized how fast exactly until we put her next to Brooklyn. I am so excited for her to have a girl cousin the same age! I hope they get along!(:

Lexi's Trip to the Chiropractor

2009-03-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds crazy... taking a baby to a Chiropractor. I wouldn't have ever considered it until she started crying so much that I was willing to try just about anything. I've been going to this breast-feeding support group at Mother's Haven and everyone is just full of suggestions on different things to try. A handful of people told me about Dr. Rick this Chiropractor at Life Chiropractic in Post Falls and how he had helped their babies out a ton. So I decided to give it a shot. It wasn't at all like you would imagine it, there is no cracking or popping, and Dr. Rick is really gentle. She has been about 3 times now and the difference has been night and day. She hardly fusses after feedings now, naps great and practically sleeps through the night. If anyones having any issues with a fussy baby I definetely recommend trying this!

P.S. Lexi doesn't look too happy in the pictures but she really doesn't seem to mind it at all. In fact most of the time she just lays there so calm while he works on her... she actually seems to enjoy it!

Cute Pics

2009-03-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

Lexi's First Trip

2009-03-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

We were really excited that Lexi decided to come on time so that we could make a trip to Boise for Sadie's State Basketball Tournament. Her team did amazing and ended up winning the championship against a really good Boise team. It was really fun to watch.. Congratulations Sadie! While we were down there we were able to visit with a lot of Will's family... it was neat for everyone to get to see Lexi while she was so little! She is growing so fast allready as well as developing more of a personality everyday! I'm sad to report that my camera his broken and it may be a while before we get it fixed so I am hoping to borrow my moms so that we don't miss out on all of Lexi's little stages.

Way to go Sadie!

Daddy and Mommy

Uncles... Connor, Max and Heath

Grandpa Doug and Grandma Laurie

Auntie Hailee

Auntie Erin

Great Grandma Jodi & Great Grandpa Jim

Cousins Cooper, Ryann, Tren, and Bailey

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-15T14:29:00.001-08:00

MY LITTLE VALENTINE

We finally got to come home from the hospital on Valentines Day! Just an update... we originally came home from the hospital on Tuesday with Lexi and she was doing good but they told us she was jaundice and we would need to really feed her a lot to keep the levels down. On Thursday we had her tested and came to find out that she would need to go back to the hospital for a few more days to go under the bili-lights. It was pretty upsetting to us at first, but we are really glad that we went back in and now don't have to worry about whether or not she is healthy. We got to come home yesterday on Valentines Day. The difference in Lexi is night and day. She has a lot more energy and wakes up on her own with a healthy appetite. She is really strong... allready trying to hold her head up and has the cutest personality. Although I have yet to catch a good picture of it, she smiles all the time. She is so sweet and Will and I are madly in love with her. We are so lucky to have such a sweet baby. We are definetely floating on a cloud at the moment. It felt nice to get home yesterday... I got to dress her up in her Valentines outfit and believe it or not we were brave enough to leave the house and went out to eat with my mom and dad for their anniversary! Thanks for everyone's support and prayers for our baby! We can't wait for you all to meet her!
\

LEXI RELAXING IN HER TANNING BED

My Turn!

2009-02-11T22:17:00.001-08:00

Everyone wanted their turn at holding baby Lexi...

Great Grandpa Simon...

Grandma Sandi and Grandpa Phil...

Grandpa Brad and Grandma Judy...

Uncle Carson...

Austin was the proudest of all....

2009-02-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

Introducing... Alexis Marie Maus

Born February 8 at 1:17am
7lbs 1oz & 21 inches long!

My Favorite Room

2009-02-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

My favorite room in the house is definetely the nursery. I think one of the funnest parts about having a baby is decorating the room and finding a spot for all of the cute things you get. I am about a week away from my due date and reality is starting to set in. First there is the reality that I am sure won't fully hit us till we are in the hospital in labor... that we are actually having a living breathing baby that is going to totally depend on us to take care of it... we are going to be mommy and daddy for the rest of eternity... and all of these adorable things that I go stare at every day in the nursery are finally going to get put to use. I have so many cute outfits... I don't know how I will choose what to dress her in everyday. I will probably change her outfit 5 times before I leave the house(: I just can't wait to meet her... to see what she looks like... to hold her and kiss her! I love her so much allready and I haven't even met her yet! I hope she gets here soon!

Are you sure you there's only one in there?

2009-01-11T12:50:00.001-08:00

Wanting to know if I'm sure i'm not having twins is the most popular question people want to ask lately... Aside from... are you due any day now? have you picked a name yet? Not only that people aren't afraid to tell me how great they think I look.... (Wow you are getting huge) Just to set the record straight... I am only pregnant with one baby and I am not due for 4 more weeks.... Feb 11th to be exact. We are very anxious to meet our baby girl. We really haven't picked a name for her yet... I think everyone thinks we have and just aren't telling. For some reason I just feel weird naming her when I haven't even seen what she looks like yet. As unbelievable as it may be I still have 4 weeks left... though I would gladly have this baby anyday. It just keeps getting a little more uncomfortable every day. Sorry if I seem to be whining(: I know it will all be worth it when I get to hold her!

Greenbluff

2008-10-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its fall already! I decided it was about time for us to make our annual trip up to Greenbluff in north Spokane. Will and I went up there with my mom, Lizzie, Austin, Sadie, abbey, and Carson and it was a beautiful day. I decided to take the opportunity to take some pregnant pictures with Will. If you can't tell, Will absolutely loves having his picture taken. I had to keep reminding him that the last time I made him pose for a picture was when we got married. Anyways... the main reason I wanted to go to greenbluff was to buy some cider. I decided it would be best to wait until right before we left to buy it. But of course there we were, driving about 20 minutes away from the farm and I realized that I had completely forgotten my apple cider. For anyone else that is pregnant you might understand how devastating this was to have been craving it for weeks and then to have left with out it. I would have turned around and driven all the way back if it hadn't been for the fact that my mom had an extra gallon. I have to say that sadly... my biggest complaint so far about being pregnant is how forgetful I've become. I think in the last 2 weeks I have left my cellphone inside some store at least once a day, driven all the way home before realizing I was missing it and then driven all the way back to see I left it sitting at the checkout. Its a miracle that I still have it! To anyone that has actually taken the time to read my first boring blog entry.... congratulations, you've made it through without falling asleep! Happy Fall!

2008-10-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

welcome to our blog!