An Idaho Weekend

Last weekend we went to Idaho to celebrate some big events... and Baby A wore his shirt to fit the occasion!

Obviously, he had a blast sharing the backseat with Daddy on the long drive!

First and foremost, it was Uncle Kyle's "welcome home" church meeting after his mission.

I am so proud of him for serving faithfully for two years. I think he is a wonderful example of commitment and of how there is a place for everyone no matter their abilities or talents. He has wanted to serve a mission ever since Brandon, our brother that is just a year older than Kyle, served a mission. Luckily my family lives in an area with lots of great people and Kyle was able to be offered the opportunity to serve in our local high school's seminary with another one of his friends.

These two missionaries served fantastically and it was really neat to hear the stories of the neat things that happened as they served as the seminary door greeters and class helpers.

While we were there, we also celebrated Papa's birthday {which was technically yesterday}. It is fun to watch my family and my son spend time together, but especially my dad because he is the one that has begged for a grandkid like crazy.

I'm so grateful to M for helping me make this trip possible. It's amazing how 3½ hours isn't that far away, and yet in some ways it seems like we live so far apart! I know it means the world to my family to get to spend time with Baby A.

And I {selfishly} love that my family takes tons of photos with their fancy schmancy camera!

Growing Up Too Quickly!

Ever since his teeth started showing through, Baby A has decided he doesn't want to be a baby anymore. He's growing up too quickly!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July has always been one of Meema's favorite holidays. So growing up, my family celebrated big time. One of the best parts of celebrating with my family is the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, a.k.a. a massively awesome firework celebration, held in my hometown every year. Yeah, this year they launched over 17,000 aerial fireworks in their 30-minute show. It's awesome. And really, really loud.

That loud factor is why we decided we probably shouldn't go this year. Considering the fact that the sound of paper crinkling or Velcro tearing makes A cry, thirty minutes of earth-shaking booms probably would have caused him to have a nervous breakdown.

But we still had a great holiday here in Utah. We started the holiday off with breakfast and swimming at Grandma's house here in Utah. Baby A LOVES swimming and had a blast. He also loved getting to spend time with Abby.

Then we headed home so that A could take a nice, long nap because he was exhausted! Once he finally woke up, we went out for lunch at Taco Bell {because what's more American than Mexican fast food?!} and bought some little fireworks for A. We tried to pick out ones that would be pretty and as quiet as possible.

We started with ground bloom spinners. And A looked terrified.

Then we tried a fountain that the man in the fireworks tent told us is really mellow. He lied. Baby A loved it at the beginning because it really was just a pretty shower of sparks... but then it suddenly turned into a wild eruption of crackles! We had no idea that was about to happen and A shrieked in a way that I've only experienced during shots. Poor baby!

He also saw sparklers, which he handled better but still seemed pretty unsure. All in all, our suspicions were confirmed that 6-month-olds and fireworks are not a good mix! But with lots of cuddles with mom and dad as well as a little snuggling with Kami the Koala {his favorite toy}, his smile was restored and he was happy again.

But despite his fear of fireworks, we were still able to have a pretty awesome evening while he slept peacefully in his crib. Once he went to bed, we turned up his white noise so that the fireworks outside wouldn't wake him up and then we climbed up the mountain in our backyard to watch fireworks throughout the valley. We live in the perfect place because we got to just be in our backyard where we could hear him on his monitor, and yet still have this amazing view.

I love this holiday! Happy 4th of July!!

Baby A at 6 Months

I swear he gets cuter every day!

These are his stats right now:

• Weight: 16.8 lbs.
• Height: 26.5 inches
• Diaper Size: He is fitting solidly in Size 2.
• Clothing Size: He is doing great with his 3-6 Months outfits.
• Likes: Making people laugh, eating his delicious pureed foods, sitting up, trying to crawl, wiggling constantly, and having mommy or daddy help him try to stand.
• Dislikes: Not being the center of attention.

The doctor hasn't seen him in 2 months and she was very impressed that he is chunking up so well. He gained 3½ pounds since his last visit and he has now almost tripled his birth weight!

We take walks almost every day and he loves seeing the outside world. He is definitely happier outdoors than anywhere else.

On a walk last week we met a neighbor {a cute little older man with a thick accent with a unique outlook on life} who explained A's mindset pretty aptly: he's like a little bird that perceives being indoors is like being stuck in a cage... and he just wants to be set free in nature!

And one of his favorite parts of nature is all the animals he gets to meet! A perfect example here with these fluffy cuties, Olive and Jeff, when we were visiting our friends, Josh and Danielle.

Because he loves animals so much, we took him to see birds at the local aviary. He was in heaven!

And while there, M was able to catch A's "kisses" on camera! He's such a sweet baby. I absolutely love that he likes kisses and cuddles! 

Something else I love about him is how fascinated he is with everything he sees! Particularly how excited he gets over his shadow and his reflection.

He is so curious about everything, especially anything that his mom and dad are trying to do. If we are holding something, he wants to hold it {and try to eat it} too. One thing he likes doing with us is reading his books together. Meema sent him a new book with textures to feel. And as you can see, A was fascinated!

His smile has always been adorable but now he has two little teeth on the bottom that make his grin even better! And my favorite part is that they are a little bit crooked, which makes them unbelievably cute! We've tried over and over to get a good photo of his little teeth but his tongue is always in the way... so here's just a cute picture of his smile even though you can't see his teeth.

He is also a champion of eating his solid foods now too. He still loves eating his oatmeal {and reading his cereal box!} but he also loves vegetables. Carrots are definitely his favorite.

We've also started trying to give him fruits now as well, but he doesn't seem to love the sweetness of them and pulls some pretty hilarious faces!

He simply refuses to sleep on his tummy. If he rolls onto his tummy while trying to fall asleep at bedtime or naptime, then he will just start whining until we go help him roll over. Which is funny because he knows how to roll over onto his back but he just won't do it anymore.

He loves swimming! We have taken him to both public pools as well as just played in the kiddie pool in our backyard. He is thrilled any time he gets to be in water. And he looks so adorable in his little swimsuit!

Today was officially his half-birthday and so we had a little party and gave him a little gift. His Meema and Auntie Amy were in town for wedding plans, so it worked out perfectly that they got to spend his special day with him before leaving back to Idaho. And then in the evening, his Grandma stopped by and fed him his half-birthday food and watched him open his present {which he was very apprehensive about because he hates the sound of crinkling or tearing paper!}.

I just love this little guy so much! He is always so happy and fun to be with. I can hardly believe he's already 6 months old! Happy half-birthday to this little cutie!

M's First Father's Day

These two boys make my heart happy.

M is the best daddy in the world. He and A adore each other.

I was lucky to grow up with an amazing dad of my own. He set the standard pretty high in my mind and I'm so grateful I married a man who surpasses that standard and is an amazing dad to our son.

I loved this quote that was on the program handout at church today:

"Fatherhood is a relationship of love and understanding. It is strength and manliness and honor. It is power and action. It is counsel and instruction. Fatherhood is to be one with your own. It is authority and example."
—A. Theodore Tuttle

I am so grateful that M is such an awesome dad and a wonderful example to our son {and to me!}. Happy Father's Day!

Baby A's First Tooth

I just noticed it. Bottom left center. He hasn't been grumpy or feverish or anything. We didn't even know he was teething until I randomly decided to stick my finger in his mouth today {which isn't something I normally do so I don't know why I did today!} and discovered something sharp!

He tried to help us get a photo of it but it's barely breaking through the gums so you can't really see it. But it's there—I promise!