Nash meets Kenzie!

Meet Kenzie...

My good friend Heather had Kenzie on the 4th of July...today my friends Briana, Stacey and I were able to welcome Heather and Kenzie home.

She is a sweet little baby, and is very loved by her big sisters Cora and Alexa.

This was a fun outing and a much needed break from my house. Heather, Stacey and Briana are such good friends. They have helped me so much while Darin has been gone by organizing meals, getting me out of the house to exercise, or just by coming over on Wednesday nights to "Scrapbook"/watch "So You Think You Can Dance". I am so grateful for their willingness to hold Nash when he is upset or comfort me when I am having a bad day! You all are the best!!

Heather lived across the merry-go-round from me. We became friends when we began running together and I tutored her daughter Cora. Heather was the first person to come to the hospital when I had Nash and was there when Darin couldn't be reached. I am so grateful for her friendship. She is moving to Idaho in August and I am going to miss her friendship greatly!!!

Nash and Kenzie are 6 weeks apart. It was fun being pregnant at the same time as Heather. We were able to keep each other motivated to exercise and she was good as reassuring me that I was okay when the weird pregnancy stuff happened...hallelujah the pregnancy is over!!

It is more fun having sweet little babies like Nash and Kenzie!




Cute Addison (Briana's daughter) loves the babies!

Jessica visits!

One of my favorite things about living in Southern California is the occasional drop in of an old friend. I love to have people drop in and stay with us while they are on vacation. It is a good time to catch up on old times. Nash and I are were fortunate to have Jessica and her friends stay with us on their way to six flags...they are too brave, that place is fun but it also scares the heck out of me!! I am sure they had a ton of fun and I am so happy I got to see her!

Growing like a weed in a bucket!

Can you tell I have a lot of time on my hands right now! I have made my child into a hobby...I found this bucket at Target on clearance and decided to squish Nash inside of it. I am glad I did it last week because he is growing like a weed.

Last week at 5 weeks old...

AND Now at 6 weeks he looked like this when I tried to do it again...
HAHA!!

He got so mad at me. But I was not satisfied so I squished him into it another way...

HAHA...POOR LITTLE MAN!

He is still so little but definitely GROWING!

Happy 4th of July!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

Today was a long day...despite the fact my husband is gone, I missed attending the Blanding 4th of July celebration! I haven't been to the Blanding festivities for 3 years now and every year I yearn to be there. Darin is probably so glad he wasn't here to listen to my trip down memory lane. I always think about who my family saw on the church lawn during the parade. It is like a big class/family reunion for everyone. I think about the quilts my mom has made for the quilt show, and listen to her tell everyone how easy sewing is...ya right! Then there is the navajo tacos or the yummy food that Salvation makes. There are so many things that I miss about the 4th of July in Blanding. All of you that were there this year, I hope you enjoyed every bit of it!!! There is nothing like the 4th of July in Blanding!

Despite how homesick I was today it really wasn't too shabby. In the morning Nash and I relaxed at home and watched a movie. Then in the afternoon we went to the Claremont parade with the Andrews family, and afterwards had a yummy dinner with some members of our ward and the missionaries. Then tonight I received the great news that my running partner and good friend Heather had her baby! YEAH fo Kenzie!

Here are some pictures of our day today...

Parade fun!

Thanks Amy and Shane for letting me tag along!

Nash basically looked like this the whole day...not much of a conversationalist! Our friend ReAnn gave Nash this hat. It doesn't quite fit yet but it helped keep out the hot sun. The poor little boy looks like he is going on a safari with the hat and Darin's choice of car seat...hehe.The Claremont parade was a lot like Blanding's, just with fancy old cars instead of tractors. Claremont is a liberal city so their was a lot of entries about the war and the elections coming up. There was also weird dancing old people...they were hula hooping, belly dancing, and some kind of Israeli Folk dancers. Needless to say it was interesting.This is how much Nash enjoyed it! Even if Nash missed the whole thing, I am so happy I was able to get out of the house and celebrate my favorite holiday! I am thankful for great friends!

Darin the Elders say hello, and thank you for the Japanese cd's!

I found this outfit in the boxes of clothes from Troy and Tanya. THANKS!

So remember the nickname GIRD...case and point!

These are the moments when I love being a mother!

These are for Daddy!

Nash and I had some fun taking pictures last week and I thought we would share them with Darin (and all of you of course). I am a sucker for black and white pictures.

He can almost hold up that nice round noggin of his.
Nash's arms and hands are his favorite things. He hates to have them swaddled. He loves to stretch and play with his hands.


Deep thinker like his father....




Mr. Bright Eyes!


Darin look at his arm in the last picture...Nash wants to say...
"No Way Daddy! No Way!" ....hehe (inside joke)

Adorable...& Baby Wars!

I thought Nash looked adorable last night in this little outfit. He is all ready to go exercise with mom.... Just thought I would share...

These pictures are a little awkward...Bug has been so clinging to me this week, she always wants to sit on my lap....even when I am feeding Nash....this is Bug curling up around Nash's head on my lap. I think she is a little jealous!

My Sanity...

So every few hours (literally) when I see or talk to someone they ask me how I am doing without Darin...I am very grateful for this question but it seems my answer is always the same..."Fine...Nash is a great baby...yes he sleeps through the night...occasionally he wakes up once or twice...yes I feel very blessed...." and so on. The truth is I have a few things that keep me sane and happy in those moments when Nash looks like this...

Isn't that such a sad face...that is enough to break a mother's heart. The poor child I am learning to let him cry, those years of being a special ed teacher and ignoring behaviors has really come in handy!!! (FYI he is screaming right now!)

So how do I and the doggies (yes they suffer too!) keep sane? Well, here are a few of the most wonderful things in the whole world...

#1 is the JOGGING STROLLER! This was our best purchase ever!!! I love to run and because I just had Nash 4 weeks ago I am not yet able to fully get back into it completely. Not to mention my running partner is 9 months pregnant and moving to Idaho! I am going to miss you Heather!!! Nash and I make great use of the jogger by going walking in the morning with the mommies of the complex and walk/jog at night with Briana. I am so happy to be exercising and Nash enjoys the outdoors!

#2 is the swing! Notice the sad little face in the pictures, well that sad little face soon goes away when that swing starts rockin!!! I can get so much done with him rockin' out to the swing and it's music. Thank you Amy for letting us borrow it!!

And then there is the binki, he just accepted it this morning after some persuasion! He is not too fond of it yet but we are getting there. So with all these helps, Nash and I are enjoying our time together.

So when life looks like this...

We can make it look like this...

To update you on Darin, he made it to Michigan on Sunday (yes he drove), he went the route through Nauvoo so he could see all the flooding. Because of that he hit a couple of road blocks and it took a little longer but he made it. He started at the hospital yesterday (Monday) and was very positive when he called. It sounds like it will be a great experience for him!!

This is the face Nash gives when I tell him about his father....hehe. We love and miss you daddy!!!

WE HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!!!