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9/29/2014

Blessing Day


How blessed we were to have so much family here for Colton's blessing!
Sarah came to stay with us for about a week before the blessing and we had a great time working on crafts for the nursery, going to the auction, thrift storing, and watching a few movies. 

Then Dwayne came in on Thursday before the blessing. We all went to The Village for lunch and enjoyed catching up. It had been Dwayne's birthday on that Tuesday so I made him a Mounds cake. It was delicious, and we cut into it Thursday night along with Great Aunt Jean and Uncle Loy. 

Friday morning Jared and Dwayne went with uncle Loy to the church orchard out past Caldwell to glean fruit and they came back with a truckload of peaches! Then that afternoon my family came in (minus Skyler and Nicole, now both on missions!) Colton got to meet his uncle lance and uncle Damon. That night we ate pizza and just hung out and it was so nice to be surrounded by people we love.
Saturday Sarah surprised dwayne and Jared with a "flyboard" experience, basically a jet pack on water, so they headed up to lucky peak to do that while I went downtown with my family to the farmers market. Then after we all met up at Red Robin for lunch, and my grandparents came too!
Saturday night we enjoyed a long walk, we go on nightly walks with Colton all around the neighborhood, and I've loved including our family in on them.
Finally Sunday came, 8:30 am church is a little rough on everyone but we all made it, dressed and everything.

Jared gave Colton a beautiful blessing, blessing him to be kind and conscious to everyone, be obedient and respectful of his Elders, and to be strong in body, mind, and of opinion (like he needed that one, have you met his parents?) :)  Colton did great through the blessing and all of sacrament meeting. Then we went outside for pictures and he had had it.
Four Generations!
We all headed home for a big lunch,  and slowly everyone had to start heading home.
We are so grateful to everyone who came out and made the blessing of our first baby so special. We have one awesome little boy, and so many people love him, it is wonderful to see!

9/24/2014

6 & 7 weeks

Colton has changed so much over the past two weeks it is crazy! He is tracking so much with his eyes, and he will find me wherever I am in the room. He is also a kicking FIEND. He will lay on his back, or sit in his bouncer, and kick his legs it seems like he will just take off. I vow to get a video of it this next week, it is hilarious!

He's been "talking" a lot more, finding out that he makes a lot more noises than just crying. He makes this high pitched sigh that is absolutely darling, and he will copy it if we do it first.
This kids favorite thing is to be naked. I mentioned last week he is a tough crowd, he still is, but get this kid's diaper off and he's all smiles and grunty giggles. Heck even when we just lay him on his changing table he grins. Weirdo.
Speaking of grunts, he has the hardest time waking up. As I lay in bed typing this, he has been grunting, stretching, wiggling and tooting for and hour and 15 minutes, but is still asleep. The other day I took this picture, after 2 solid hours of his wake up routine he had wiggled his legs all the way over the edge of the swing!

We sure love our boy, especially his daddy. He has a magic touch to help Colton calm down. He will get fussy right around the time Jared comes home for work because he knows dad is almost home and he is sick of mom. Jared is so patient and sweet with him, he will sing to him and play the piano to him, I love watching them together. 
This week we had tons of family in for Colton's blessing, that is a whole other post, but one thing is for certain, his blessing outfit broke my heart he was so handsome (even if he wasn't the biggest fan of it :) ).
Look at how much his complexion changes from being so serene to being super mad...too funny.

9/12/2014

5 weeks

What an awesome week we've had! Colton's evening scream sessions still happen, but only for about 
an hour or so, around 9 pm, instead of for 4 hours from 8-12 am. Hallelujah for that!
The best part of the week? I posted a clip from this video on facebook, but the full thing is priceless. This was filmed on Saturday September 6th, on his one month "birthday".

Though this kid makes for a tough crowd because we haven't seen able to make him giggle again! We get a few smiles a day, and he will grunt/gurgle in response to us talking to him, but no more giggles, he just teased us! (yes...this face is a smile haha)
This boy is immensely sweet, I've known that since I first heard his cry. This week his cries have been accompanied by tears, which would break anybody's heart! I'll pick him up from his swing or pack and play when he is crying and he will bury his head in my shoulder and finish his sobs silently, just relieved to be held again, and then rest his head there. These are moments I absolutely soak up, I know they won't last long. 
Along those lines, we are starting to pack up the newborn clothes. There are still a few onesies he fits into, and the next size up is still a bit big, but this boy is sure growing!

9/04/2014

3 & 4 weeks



As of August 28th Colton weighed 10 pounds exactly, but I'm sure it's a bit more now.
We had a few half smiles while Grandpa and Aunt Nicole were in town, but no full grins yet.

This face also happened, he has taken to sticking his bottom lip out when he is so sad, and it is darling.

He is a great eater and sleeper (once he finally goes to sleep)  we are up 2-3 times a night for diaper changes and eating, but he goes back down easily. 

This boy LOVES baths. We borrowed a bath chair from our friends Chase and Emmie, who yes, have a little girl. So regardless of the pink color, baths are Colton's favorite thing. We sing primary songs and wring the warm water from the washcloth on his belly, it is pretty much baby heaven.

During the day Colton is happy and naps a lot, which is helpful for mom to be able to get things done.
We go on walks every evening with dad and Colton loves it, but only if we are holding him facing out. No stroller or carrier, this boy wants to see, to take the world in. He loves looking at the blue sky and the tall trees.
(GAAHH That double chin kills me!!)
Our kicker is from about 8pm-12 am, which is the period of time he is most likely screaming. He gets over tired and bubbles in his tummy and he just hates that time of the day! It's definitely a hard adjustment to go from a silent house for 4+ years, and being and be to go to sleep whenever we wanted, vs getting screamed at for 3 hours every night, but we are learning some tricks and hey, at least it's not at 3 am. 

9/02/2014

Grandpa and aunt Nicole

Last Thursday night, late, my dad and sister came out to spend labor day with us and to met Colton. I was so excited for them to come, and bittersweetly,  this is the last time I will see my sister in person for a year and a half! She leaves on her mission next Wednesday! I'm sad but so proud of her, and I'm so glad we got to spend some time together before she leaves.

Friday we had a delicious lunch at Kona Grill in the Village, and frozen yogurts after. We love going to The Village and it was fun to take dad and Nicole around the cute shopping center. Plus Colton did awesome.
Saturday we headed downtown to the farmers market and for some breakfast at Goldies. Breakfast was awesome, even after waiting forever, and it was so fun to eat the fruit samples and dad even bout some "plumcots" a plum and apricot hybrid, and they were absolutely delicious!

We also did a lot of hanging out, and talking, it is still kind of a challenge to do much out of the house with our 4 week old. It was so nice to spend time together, and this is the first time my dad and been out to see our house!

Monday came and we were sad to say goodbye, though we get to see my dad in just 2 weeks for colton's blessing. But not Nicole, so sad!
It is so weird that next year all my siblings but Damon will likely be on missions. But what an awesome heartache to have. I'm so excited for them!

9/01/2014

15 Movies

My sweet friend Emmie tagged me in a post, challenging me to list out 15 movies that have had an impact on me. I really got to thinking, and had a lot of fun coming up with my list! I thought I would make a blog post out of it so I can add pictures and reasons :) I will point out that these are in no particular order.
1. Forrest Gump
This is one of those movies I could watch over and over again. I think Forrest is the prime example of kindness. My absolute favorite part of this movie is when he finds out he has a son, and he asks if he is smart, or if he is "like him [Forrest]". He knows he isn't the brightest, but strives to be the best he can be. 

2. Star Trek
Just hearing the words "Space; the final frontier" brings me back to my childhood, watching Star Trek with my parents. But the new Star Trek was awesome! I love the first and second one. I think Captain Kirk and Spock are perfect and I love the music that reminds me so much of "Lost" through it.

3. Up
There's something about that montage at the beginning along with Russell that absolutely melts my heart. I love the adventure, and the love story, and the friendship.

4. A Walk to Remember
That scene after Landon finds out his father is helping Jamie, and he goes to his house, that hug...I saw it for the first time when I was in 5th grade, and it gave me chills even then! I also love that they get married, it preserves some of the beauty of marriage out of true love, that you never see in movies any more.

5. The Time Traveler's wife
This is mine and Jared's movie. I'm not into many chick flicks, and I rarely ask that Jared watch any with me, but this is one that Jared and I watched when we were engaged, and we both absolutely love. We watch it every Valentine's day. At the end when flawless Rachel McAdams is sprinting through the field just to hold her husband one last time makes me choke up just typing about it.

6. Father of the Bride
This is a movie I grew up on. Aside from adoring Steve Martin in this, I love the father/daughter dynamic in this movie. it always makes me think of my Dad, and helps me get some perspective on how much he loves me.

7. Dead Poets Society
Robin Williams. Oh Captain my Captain. Need I say more? I love the writing of this movie, it is funny and tragic.

8. Minority Report
My favorite kinds of movies are ones that make me think. I think Minority report has a solid plot, and I always end up really pondering people's choices after I watch this movie. Bringing the gospel into it, I think it really plays up the idea of free agency, and how important our choices are.

9. Inception
Mind. Explosion. Speaking of movies that make you think....is there any movie that does that more than Inception??

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2
This was the end of an era for me. I went and saw the premier of the first movie when I was only 11 years old, and saw this premier when I was 21. I thought they wrapped up the movies pretty perfectly. I will always prefer the books, but the movies did capture a lot of the magic in the words.

11. Les Miserables
That soundtrack tho. Love. Love. Love.

12. The Invention of Lying
This is an awful movie and I really don't recommend it to anyone. I will never see it again, BUT. When Jared and I were dating, we saw this in the theaters, and there was a moment, they were talking about falling in love, and Jared and I looked at each other, and there was such an electricity in the air. That was the moment we fell in love with each other. We just stared at each other and couldn't look away. I think that's when we knew we would spend forever together.

13. Charly
GAAHH. I lovehate this movie. It rips your heart out and stomps it on the ground, and I really don't like to be depressed for a week after I watch a movie. But it really shows what a blessing eternal marriage is, and it's such a different feeling at the end than A Walk to Remember. 

14. Mud
This is just a fun movie. Think Goonies, but less silly. Matthew McConaughey is brilliant in it. It's an unexpected movie. It is funny and adventurous, and showcases southern living on the river beautifully. It feels like you are reading a well-written novel when watching it, but it's not based on a book!

15. Pride and Prejudice
Seriously? "Mrs. Darcy Mrs. Darcy Mrs. Darcy". Melty melty melty.

I challenge all my sister in laws to think of the 15 movies that have had an impact on them and do a blog post about it!