What a weekend!

After work on Thursday, we drove down to Park City, UT where we met up with my parents, sister and brother-in-law, Nana and Papa, Aunt and Uncle and their kids to stay in this BEAUTIFUL vacation home! It was AWESOME! Instead of staying in separate hotel rooms, my parents thought it would be fun to rent a house and be all together--and it was so fun! The house was huge, allowing everyone their own room and bathroom, and there was a hot tub, pool table, game room full or arcade games and air hockey. The house was in Deer Valley. Which was great--I love Park City area--but Heather's 8:00 graduation in Provo wasn't so much fun..!
It was great, thanks mom and dad for such a great weekend in such a fun place!!

My cousin, Ava, who was born two months before Isaac had a fun time with each other!! I love watching Isaac interact with other babies/children. Here they are posing for the picture...

And here they are grabbing at each other!! So funny...
Friday morning we watched as my sister, Heather, graduated with Honors. She actually finished in December is is currently getting her masters, but this was the closing chapter on her BYU days. We were so happy for her--but Isaac was a WIGGLE WORM through the ceremony! We were passing him back and forth, I got up and walked around with him once and then we went out to the car to get his stroller later. He was so happy and smiling at everyone around us, it was so cute.
After her ceremony, Taylor, Isaac and I headed over to the Harris Fine Arts Center to say hello and introduce Isaac to the Dean's Office. I worked for the Dean's Office for a year and a half, so it was fun to go and say hi. We then met up with my family at the bookstore, did some shopping and then headed to lunch. Heather's favorite restaurant is Bajio's, so she reserved part of the restaurant and we all had lunch--and I captured my new favorite picture of Isaac!!!
Following lunch the boys went home and the girls went shopping, it was great. That night my sister in law and her family came up and played with us--we so appreciate the drive they made to come up. Then, Saturday was more shopping, but this time at the Park City Outlets. And that night Taylor and I and Isaac went to a wedding reception where we got to show Isaac off some more. Taylor is the first of his group of close friends to have a child, so it was really fun. But then on SUNDAY, came the BIGGEST and MOST EXCITING thing ever! ISAAC STARTED CRAWLING!!!!!!!
We are so excited!!!! (I know, that excitement will fade) but we are so happy and so proud of his growth and development! It's so fun to watch him master it, he was army crawling and now he is rocking on his knees, it is so fun! YEA!!! Let the real fun begin as we have a future 3 + hour plane ride ahead of us! Haha...not!

We drove home Sunday night after having dinner with Taylor's family. And yesterday we had a pleasant house guest stay with us...at 7:00 or so, one of my bestest friends called me and said "we are 75 miles outside of Pocatello...." So we invited, well insisted, that they come and stay the night so Lindsey and her fiance Josh came and stayed with us!! It was such a pleasant and fun visit!!! They are getting married at the end of the month and we couldn't be happier for them! It was so funny, they got here and hand-delivered their wedding invitation to us and Taylor made a comment along the lines of "you drove all the way here just to hand deliver your invitation for us...? How nice of you!" And Josh said (again, along the lines of..) "Yeah we thought we would save the 41 cents to deliver it to you ourselves!" It was pretty funny...guess you had to be there. :-)

Update: Taylor's ears are still plugged. Going on 2 weeks now. He went to the doctor yesterday (per me making an appointment for him) and I don't know what it is called but his ears aren't functioning properly...duh...I guess it's the 2nd tube or tube 2 dysfunction, meaning they don't open and close properly. So the doctor gave him some spray and it's supposed to help....nothing yet though.

So, it was a fun, busy and exciting weekend for our family. And as April ends, May begins and our lives get even crazier....so let it begin!

Utah here we come!

My sister graduates on Friday from BYU, which means we are going to be in Utah this weekend, more importantly: Provo! I'm excited about that because we know a lot of people who are graduating this Spring and we are going to be on campus pretty much all morning on Friday and in Provo all day...so here's to hopefully running into to people we know and love!!

P.S. if anyone isn't too busy with graduation...we would love to intentionally run into you! :-)

An Update

Isaac is back to his happy self, but still has a runny nose and cough. I think he's just going to have a runny nose for a long time due to teething, so what can you do? Taylor on the other hand has had a pretty miserable week--he started it with a double eye infection, then a head cold started, and then on Wednesday night one of his ears plugged up. It is now Saturday and it is still plugged. I feel so terrible for him! It has gone from frustrating, to painful, to irritating, to annoying, etc. It came on right before we went to bed on Wednesday night and after laying in bed until 1:30 he got up and tried to figure out what would make it pop--finally at 2 AM he drove to Wal-mart. He came home with some hydrogen peroxide and around 2:30 I hear, "Honey....honey...will you come pour this in my ear?" Needless to say, he laid on the couch until 4:30 or so and then came back to bed. Same thing happened Thursday night. I believe he actually fell asleep but his ear started throbbing and he was woken up at 1:30 again...at 2 AM he was off to Wal-mart again in search of some sort of ear relief drops. Last night was better--no trips to Wal-mart at least--but it STILL hasn't popped!! It seemed close today, but no. He has tried hydrogen peroxide, Dayquil, Sudafed, Tylenol, ear wax candles, ear drops, drinking lots of water, sitting in a steam filled room, but it just won't pop. :-(

Here are some pictures just for fun...

Isaac wouldn't let go of the spoon.
And then he tried smiling with it in his mouth...haha
Taylor likes to use Isaac as a work-out, last Sunday I walked out and saw this, I thought it was so funny.
I even got Taylor to take a picture of it! And Isaac looks so cute just chillin up top!
Right before bed...

Starting out early...the smallest Dallas Cowboy's fan :-)
Chilling in his saucer
Smiling at daddy

Recently, I give Isaac a slice of an apple to naw on to make his gums feel better and he LOVES it. He goes to town with it.

See his runny nose?


And he loves to chew on his burp rags...weird...at least he doesn't spit up anymore.

Our first trip to the ER...

Today was an eventful day. I got home from work and Isaac was laying in Taylor's arms with a cold washcloth over his forehead--he is usually such an active boy that it was very strange to see him lay there so calm and so motionless. Taylor told me that he had just taken his temperature and it was 101. NOT GOOD. I looked at him and he wouldn't even smile back--another thing that is NOT like Isaac. And pretty much broke my heart. It was a terrible feeling to see your child so miserable, and not being able to alleviate the pain and discomfort for them. We called the doctors office and spoke to the physician on call and was told to go to ER and go to Urgent Care. So, off we went. Isaac's temperature slowly fell--at the hospital it was 100.3 and he was starting to act happy again. By the time we saw the physician assistant, Isaac was acting much more like himself that I am sure the doctor thought, "Ah, another pair of paranoid parents." :-) But we are really glad we did go--Isaac is either starting to get another ear infection or the previous one never fully cleared up (which is what we are thinking). He has a head cold--is very congested--but all his coughing and runny nose has nothing to do with his lungs, thank goodness. So, with time and a new antibiotic (omisef), Isaac will get over this.

And an update on Taylor: his eyes are feeling and looking much better! Our family is getting better, yea!

My Boys Are Sick!

It is no fun to be sick. Or to see someone sick. It all started...oh, lets say Sunday. Isaac woke up with a red/pink eye and I went in to Taylor and told him that I was worried Isaac may have pink eye. It seemed to clear up before church so I assumed it was just a "tired" looking eye. After church Taylor started having eye issues. His didn't clear up. Taylor went to the doctor Monday afternoon and learned he had a bacterial infection in not one, but BOTH of his eyes. :-( When I got home from work, Isaac had just woken up and he ALSO had some discharge coming out of his eye also. NOT FUN. In the meantime, Taylor started getting a sore throat and runny nose. But that's not where it stops--Isaac has a nasty cough and a runny nose. When does it end?!

I'm trying to not be the complete worried mom and assume the worst with Isaac being sick but it is so sad! I think, and am hoping, that it is just teething, especially since he just got over his first ear infection. Anyone have any ideas or tips on helping a baby get over a cough??

On a different and positive note--we had a "Spring Cleaning" weekend. It was GREAT. Taylor spent the day deep cleaning the cars and I deep cleaned the house. It was great and very productive. It would have been even better if Isaac wasn't entering his separation anxiety stage. I've read that around 7 months it kicks in and every time I put Isaac down and just walked away he just cried...it was cute the first two times...but then it got harder to get anything done. Anyone else going through this or have advice?! :-)

Six Months! (A week ago)

I have been terrible this last week with updating the blog. Isaac reached six months this last Sunday (April 6) and it is crazy to me that he is half a year! :-) It has been such a great six months, here are the traditional pictures with some updates:

Five Months:

Six Months: Isaac weighs 19 lbs 2 oz, and is 26 inches long. He is in the 75th percentile for his weight, the 50th for his height and the 50th for his head (He has grown into his head! :-) For comparison and journal reasons, at 4 months Isaac was in the 50th for his height, the 60th percentile for his weight and the 90th for his head).
Just about everything Isaac gets his hands on goes straight to his mouth.
These pictures don't really give it justice, but his hair really is coming in! It's just really light. I had red curly hair when I was little and Taylor had really blonde hair when he was little, so we're interested to see what Isaac's will be.
Just for fun...
These next two pictures are fun. When Isaac rolls over, he hasn't quite figured out an easier way to roll from his stomach back to his back. He will put his arm behind him and then roll onto his arm--making it look like his shoulder is going to pop out of place--and then he has to get his arm out from under him. He can do it, it's just funny and something I hope to always remember.

This next picture doesn't really show it because it took too late, but Isaac is desperately trying to crawl and/or scoot. He will get up on his knees and try to hard, but just hasn't figured it out yet. He has master the rolling over and lately can do a 360 on his belly. One second he'll be on his belly facing the window, the next second he has maneuvered himself to face the other way by simply pushing with his arms. This picture makes him look like he is laying on his side, but he just pushed himself up on his knees and was starting to fall over.

Ah so cute.

These next pictures are LONG overdue, but needed to be posted nonetheless. Last month, around the beginning of March or so, Isaac started sitting up well--without support and without falling over after a little bit.

Another long overdue update: he has been holding his own bottle. This is bitter sweet.

Isaac is doing so well. We are so happy with where he is during the day, he just started eating fruits, which he loves, and we are just starting to give him diluted apple juice in a sippy cup. I really want him to drink out of a sippy cup for when we go to Disney World for some reason, but he can't figure it out yet...He has been great at nights, and has been for a long time, got over his first ear infection, seems to be teething a lot, he is drooling like no other and has a runny nose and you can see how close his teeth are...he is always so happy, he will smile and laugh at anyone. He is such a blessing in our lives and we both love him dearly! But I still can't believe he is already six months old!

I'm terrible!

Ok, so my sister-in-law's birthday was on Tuesday and I HONESTLY thought I already posted a birthday tribute! I was doing the dishes this afternoon and it dawned on me that I didn't, so Heather, I'm sorry! I honestly thought I already posted it! :-) What a crazy, busy week it has been. So, here's to my wonderful sister-in-law, Heather!!
Oh, Heather, Heather, Heather...where do I start??? My respect and love for Heather runs so deep that words will never be enough to accurately convey my feelings for her. The obvious would be to start with how Heather opened their home up to Taylor and I last year for several months and allowed us to join her sweet family for quite some time. It was definitely a time of sweet and wonderful memories. Living at their house was such a great thing for me in regards to preparing for motherhood. Heather is such an amazing mom--I LOVED watching, learning, and soaking in all of her great examples of being a mother. I cannot even tell her enough about how many times I thought of her or was reminded of her or did the things she did when Isaac was born. I found myself saying "oh, well Heather did this," or "this is how Heather did it," SEVERAL times!
Heather is one of the most real, genuine, and down to earth persons I know! I LOVE IT. I know I can always tell Heather what I think and she will do the same in return. I trust Heather, I love her, I respect her, I admire her, I think the world of her, and I consider her a sister.

I am a better person because I know Heather, as is everyone who comes in contact with her. She is talented, beautiful, a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, church member, and friend. I love you so much Heather---you hold such a special place in my heart that no one could change or replace. You have no idea how much you have influenced me by simply being who you are! Happy (Belated) Birthday!!!

Conference Weekend

We drove down to Salt Lake City on Friday for General Conference--it was a great weekend! For the past decade, it has been a tradition for my family to go to SLC for Conference. It is definitely a tradition I have loved. So, Taylor picked me up right after work and we drove down. Isaac did great in the car and we arrived at the hotel about 7:45. We got settled, took a few pictures, and got Isaac to bed. (We really didn't take many pictures...these first two are the only ones I have).

Say Cheese! I love this picture!
We had tickets to Saturday morning, so Taylor's mom watched Isaac. I feel so blessed to have been able to attend the Saturday morning session. Briefly, it was the solemn assembly to sustain the new Prophet. It was so remarkable. The Spirit was so strong in there; I truly had the Spirit testify to me that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.

So--I have to insert a funny story. My family is very big about getting to the conference center on time, aka, early. So, we leave hotel, walk up to the Conference Center (we stayed at the City Center Marriott...about 4 blocks from the Conference Center) and we were literally on Conference Center grounds when I look down and realize I left my wedding ring and watch on the bathroom counter. We have heard terrible stories of people having their jewelry stolen at hotels; and last time we were at this hotel I had my cell phone stolen. So it's about 9:20 when I realize this, and I know I have to go back. So Taylor walked back with me, we got my jewelry, and then we booked it back up to Conference center. We were at the Conference Center, waited in line and got to our seats with about 10 minutes to spare. It was crazy. Taylor told me he had never seen me walk so fast--and to prove it, within 3o minutes or so, a nice blood blister developed on my toe. Ouch.

Following the session, we had lunch with our good friends, The Porters! Lindsey is engaged to be married on May 30, so we also got to know her fiance a little more. We had a great time--we even convinced Lindsey to stay up in Salt Lake with us (she had prior arrangements, etc....) We were able to spend the entire afternoon together and she stayed with us while the men went to Priesthood, it was so fun to be together, but definitely not long enough!!!

Saturday afternoon--between the afternoon session and Priesthood--Taylor and I put our bathing suits on and got Isaac in his little swim trunks and took him for his FIRST swim!! I don't have any pictures of it on my camera; we took a video. I'll have to get some of the pictures that my sister took on my computer to post. Isaac didn't scream with excitement about the pool, but he also didn't scream--so we took that as a good thing. It was a little chilly, so Isaac had a "quivering" lip, but no cries.

Saturday evening we went up to the Joseph Smith Memorial building to check out "Ladies Night." Nothing too exciting, just a packed room with a stroller too big to maneuver the crowd. But as we were going around minding our own business and doing what we freely wanted to do, I couldn't help but think that that time (Priesthood Session), six months prior, Isaac was born. (7:55 p.m) Ahhh..... :-)

Then on Sunday, we had tickets to Sunday morning and enjoyed another great session of conference. We spent the rest of the afternoon with my family and got back on the road that evening to drive home. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend filled with great messages, family, and the Spirit. I sure love conference.

Here are some cute pictures taken of Isaac today. I think we might just be getting out of the "deer in headlights" phase! Hallelujah!

I LOVE MY SON!!!!!!!!!