Saturday...

I got Ray to myself for the whole weekend and we LOVED it.  We wandered where we wanted to and took our time completely.  We made breakfast in the morning.  Visited Stacie & Tyson at their new house and had a blast visiting with them.  We hit up a yard sale in which I got an awesome deal on a handfull of clothes for Kate--it seriously was a "high" for me!

We went to Kaysville and got incredible corn dogs-hand dipped and cooked as you ordered- so worth the drive! They were delicious and everyone loves corn dogs! 

We got some goods at Walmart and then headed to Brigham to party with Craig for his 40th birthday party!  It was a really fun night!

Friday...

I was a wee bit tired today from having worked the last two nights but it was still an enjoyable day.  I got to hang out with my mom in the morning and afternoon-we had a great time at Costco's sample day for lunch (they really had good stuff and we really did consider it lunch!) and then she was kind enough to drop me off in SLC on her way to Ferron.  I was able to visit my grandparents (I nearly killed over thinking they wouldn't be home so I let myself in with the code just to see my grandpa poke his head around the corner...yeah I nearly died and attacked my own grandpa!) and had a good visit with them.  I love that I have a great relationship with them and that they are now having good relations with Kate, they love to see her and cuddle her!

I met Ray at Costco on my way home (yes, I went twice in one day and no that is not uncommon) and we had fun wandering and getting some supplies. We then ended the night off with a picnic with Jess & Briele in the front yard.  It was such a warm calm peaceful night.  We had a great time just sitting out on the lawn (which is starting to be luscious and thick) and enjoyed the company of two pretty active little people.  Kate even clapped for her first time as she imitated what Jess was doing!  It was pretty cute!

I love that no matter what Kate is doing or where she is, she finds something to hold onto...even the sink faucet! She MOVES a ton while sleeping and I find her all over her crib.  Sometimes her legs are sticking out the slats, she is turned opposite of how she was laid down and on the opposite side of the crib.  She LOVES her "lovie" which I am terrified to let her sleep all night with. She has woken up a few times in the night crying and I find her stuck on her stomach--she is having a tough time remembering how to get back to her back!  She is definitely a crazy sleeper!

Practicing...

We have been practicing sitting up...it isn't exactly easy!  She sits up great for 2 seconds and then leans...leans...leans...crash!  She will throw herself to the side of the boppy and be completely on her belly if there is a toy she decides she likes or she will just lay back and relax!  It's so fun to see her grow and learn new things!

Her new thing is rolling immediately to her belly when I lay her down and then screaming because she doesn't want to be on her belly.  She hasn't remembered how to get to her back from her belly so she just screams until I tip her back over...then goes automatically back to her belly and screams!  Thankfully this has only happened once in the night!

I must kiss these cheeks, fingers and toes and exclaim/think a million times a day that SHE IS JUST SO CUTE!  I am obsessed and in love with this little one.  She makes each day exponentially better!

Lexi's Dance Recital...

I had the chance to go to Lexi's end of year dance recital.  This little gal can shake it!  She is such a good little dancer!  She does the dance amazingly well, with as much energy as she can and right on beat!  I was quite impressed!  Other than sweating to death in the gym and the blaring music, Kate found that there was lots to watch and occupy her time!  Briele was mesmerized by Lexi's shiny costume and may have busted her own moves for a couple songs as well!  Afterwards we had a delicious dinner at my mom's and tried to cool down!  Miss Kate happens to be obsessed with her aunt Jessica and gives her best smiles whenever she is around! 

Briele & Kate

Briele came over and played with us for a bit.  She LOVES Kate (& may randomly use her as an arm rest). She thinks it's hilarious that I let her run on the grass just after it rained and got her toes wet!  She now puts up pretend binoculars whenever she looks for something!  She waited and waited for her mom and I promised her mom would come back and every few minutes she would come over and say "promise?".  She LOVES her mom and dad! 

Kate is not exactly the easiest to feed, it usually ends up everywhere!  She loves to grab the spoon as your feeding her and has a serious death grip causing food to squish everywhere! She has tried bananas and squash and still loves/hates solids on a day by day basis.

Her new thing is resting her hand on her head...isn't it adorable!

Kate "drove" her dad's truck for the first time...all the way from the driveway to the road. She thought it was crazy! I love seeing Ray play with his baby girl, I love when we get to be home as a family!

Lexi Turns 5!

First, I can't believe she is 5.  These little girls are growing so fast! All but one are going to be in school next year! EEK! I can't even handle it!  

Since turning 5 is a big deal (every birthday is a big deal in my eyes!) we threw a pretty awesome carnival! There was popcorn, cotton candy, "popcorn" cupcakes, hot dogs, homemade root beer and lots of fun games!  The girls may have squealed hysterically as the bounce house was being blown up, squealed hysterically that there was an inflatable duck with toys in it, got incredibly serious when they got tickets to use to play the games, and were ecstatic when there were prize bags at the end.  

Ya, we are awesome.  

Our activities included:

1. Pin the Nose on the clown

2. Tattoos

3. Fishing

4. Bob/Pick the matching floating toys in the duck

5. Knock over the cans

6. Bounce House

We opened presents, squealed some more, ran and played and were crazy loud.  They ate more popcorn than I think they each weighed. I asked Lexi if she had a good party and her response was "YES! Is it over yet?" Which I replied "No" and she followed with a "GOOD!" as she ran for the bounce house screaming with joy!  I think we threw a successful birthday. Even the adults had fun!

Lexi is crazy/fun/loud/exciting/energetic/loving/sweet.  She is always concerned about others and wants to make sure everyone feels loved and included. She is such a mover, keeps us all up and running.  She says the funniest things--she has such spunk.  She is BEAUTIFUL (as is all of my nieces!) inside and out.  She is such a happy girl, I can't help but be happy (and exhausted) whenever I am with her! Oh how  I love Lexi Lou!

...All of our decor...

...Our Games...

...Presents...

...Sleeping Babes, Picnic, Kip finally agreed to a picture after years of complaints, Tanner is such a boy, Ray LOVES popcorn...

...They loved when Grandpa would tackle the bounce house!....

...This gal LOVES to drink out of cups--she thinks she is so big!  And she loves her grandma! First time on a horse (stuffed!)...

...These girls are still obsessed with Kate and bed to hold her all the time...even if she is getting to be quite chunky!  And I love Briele's little pose!...

Love...

I think everyday..."Isn't she just incredible?!?"

The day she was born my heart grew at least 20 times.

I love this little girl with all that I am and will forever be changed because of her.

Ray & Kate are my everything.

Kate's 2nd time playing in the grass-she is so happy and loves to be outside.  Grandma & Grandpa Whipple babysit for the first time and they got in a good nap.  Ray and I attended a wonderful sealing at the Brigham Temple.  The spirit was so strong, it was definitely needed and we will hopefully make it back soon. (Sidenote: This was the first time we have gone anywhere together minus the babe!) We attended/decorated a surprise party for Jeff-he has moved jobs after 17 years at Kyle's Service Center-yay Jeff! Kate loved the sea of balloons that covered the floor !

Happy 5 Months Baby Girl!

Pooptastic...

1.This gal has some seriously loose bowels...like to the point she may never eat fruits...ever.

2. She finally likes her jumper and loves to have me watch her tricks (bouncing) and she just laughs and laughs!

The above equals trouble!! Like poop jumping out of her pants...twice.  Plus she pooped out her pj's in the morning so that equals THREE in one day!  Good thing she is adorable and she just grins that toothless grin each time I find her surprises.  I really love spending my days with her...even if they are a little poopy!

Side note: I bought this green romper 3 years ago and I FINALLY have a bebe to put it on!  It's surreal!

My First Mother's Day...

This day was incredible.  For the week leading up to Sunday I became very emotional each time I thought about it.  I am so overwhelmed with gratitude for the chance to be a mom. Once upon a time I wondered if I would ever be a mom and now here I am celebrating my first year as a MOM!  I am so grateful for Katelyn and for the chance that I have to be her mother.  She is such a special person and I am continually awed that she is ours to keep!  She brings such an amazing spirit into our home and she makes us want to be better people. I am also so grateful for the many wonderful "moms" in my life who have taught me so much and made being a mom something to treasure and look forward to.

My only request to Ray was "no gifts, just make it a good day" and he did such a good job.  I worked the night before and came home to beautiful bright flowers, chocolate covered strawberries and a beautiful card. I crawled into bed with Ray and we snuggled for a bit, when the baby woke we all snuggled, then he let me sleep for a couple hours.  I woke to a delicious breakfast, we attended sacrament, had a great after church family nap, lunch and then headed to Whipple's for dinner.

We had a great time at Whipple's laughing and enjoying the time with family. All the while Ray was incredibly sweet and thoughtful and attended to my every need, he even managed to scrub his mothers kitchen top to bottom!  He is such a wonderful husband and I am so blessed to be his eternal companion and to enjoy this life together.  He is such an incredible father and takes such good care of both of us!

Thank you Ray, my first Mother's Day as a mother was better than I had ever dreamed.

Lucky Me...

 I am so lucky to spend most of my time with this girl.  She really is quite fun!  We usually accomplish very little outside of playing with each other but I couldn't care less. Here are some of our latest doings...

I love these jammies...SO MUCH!  I want everything to be navy blue and hot pink! When I work my first day on we have "jammie" day and I secretly try to make these jammies land on that day so I can enjoy them longer! Kate loves bath time, she just sits and relaxes and as usual her legs are usually up in the air or kicking!

Briele came to play with us one day and to my surprise she wanted to lay in Cole and Ray's bed and watch a movie...even more shocking is she actually laid there and watched the whole thing!  Totally abnormal for the girl that usually never stops!  We had fun cuddling in the bed-she is so sweet to Kate and tried not to scream/pet/cuddle her while she napped! She is such a funny funny girl!

On our way to Costco one day Kate was attacking and yelling at her little mirror (she is hilarious to watch-it's like she is in a wrestling match with whatever she has hold of!) and then all of a sudden she was silent.  When we got there I found her asleep yet still clutching her toy, she wasn't about to let the mirror win even though she was tired!  And some days as I get ready and she just doesn't feel like playing alone (which really is never) we do my hair/make up like this...funny thing is she will mostly sleep while I move/turn/twist/bend!

I love this girl of mine!

Pretty Baby Wants No Food...

Poor girl has been sad lately, I don't know if she is teething/growing/sick or what but she has not been the happiest little gal.  She has not eaten very well the last few days, not even when I let her try a banana. Instead we ended with a beautiful mess.  I love her completely un-interested face and her need to have 2 spoons so we can keep trading! 

She was playing on her mat one day and noticed a little mirror in which she saw a pretty baby looking at her. Soon she scooted over to it, looked that baby over and then proceeded to give that baby lots of kisses!  It was so funny!  If the mirror turned away from her she would get concerned and confused until I turned the mirror back to her!  Man, I love spending my days with this gal!

Lexi Lou Finds A Fish...

I got the chance to hang out with Lexi on Saturday. I love this girl. She is so fun and energetic and hilarious. She had a dance competition and since I am to cheap to pay to see it, she brought the recorded event to my house. It was adorable. She was the best there, really.  The best part was her acting it out in person as we watched it. We played and played and played. We went to the park where we found fish in the icy cold river in which Lexi would like to come back to swim in, we did hand stands, cartwheels, and spun til I almost puked. We then went to Jess & Kip's for a BBQ, a fire and roasted marshmallows.  Too bad the wind kicked up and we had to rather abruptly put out the fire and rush indoors before we were swept away.  We watched a movie and my squirmy daughter (she moves ALL over while sleeping) went from my arms clear down to my lap and was super comfy!  She is so incredibly cute!

This little green romper was bought 4 years ago, it is so exciting to finally see it on my baby as I had always dreamed!

1st Day @ The Park...

We took Little One to the park for her first time.  She loved it. Mostly she loved being outside! Every time I take her outside, even if just to sit on the porch, she just smiles and laughs and looks all around!  She LOVES outdoors!  Unfortunately she is pastey white like her mom and after maybe 30 minutes in the sun she had a slight pink burn line on her head from her headband...oh and I was fried!  We are pathetic! Poor babe! She didn't know what to think of the swings, she was actually quite stoic on the swings and the slide but when I laid her out on the blanket she was incredibly happy!  She loves to kick and squirm! We had a great picnic, followed by a super nap at home, lots of playing time and blowing bubbles with mommy, and the happiest post-bath baby!  Also as we sat on the porch we saw my flowers in front have bloomed a beautiful blue! 

Today was one of those incredibly normal yet wonderfully amazing days! 

Floppy Bows & Apples...

I LOVE this big floppy bow, so thankful my mom decided to plop it on her headband. It was one of those bows that I assumed I would put on her when she got bigger but oh how I LOVE it!  It was so incredibly cute!  Little One got her first taste of an apple (while wearing an enormous floppy bow) in a gummy bag (no idea what the name actually is), she didn't know what to think except she was chewing on something slightly better than plastic toys.  I think she also enjoyed that it was cold!  Can't believe how big she is getting, good thing she is still my cuddle buddy!