Happy Daddy's Day!

I just love Father's Day and today I'd like to send my appreciation and love to three very important fathers in my life.

The first is my daddy. My dad means so much to me and I am so indebted to him for all the invaluable advice and support he has given me. He and I are so much alike (which can be good and bad) and I absolutely adore him. Love you, Papa!


Next I'd like to thank the father of my husband. John is such an incredible man and one of the nicest guys I know. I'm so grateful to him for raising such a great son and for his love and devotion to our family.

(This is John with Sean when he was about Tay's age.
Doesn't Taylor look so much like him??)

And last (but certainly not least), I'd like to thank my sweet husband for being such an incredible father to our children. Sean is the greatest father on the face of this planet, hands down. The second he walks in the door after a hard day's work, Taylor immediately jumps up and runs to him. Without getting even a minute to rest, Sean instantly switches to "play mode" and the wrestling, tickling, and running around commence. He has more patience and energy than I think I could ever muster, and he never answers Taylor's questions with the typical parent response of, "Because I said so." He really takes time to explain things to Tay Bug and build up his trust and confidence. Sean also loves playing and tickling Ollie, and both Taylor and Oliver absolutely adore their daddy. I can never repay Sean for all he's done to help me raise our brood.

I hope you all have a very Happy Father's Day!

So relaxed.

A few days ago we took the boys swimming for the first time this year. One of the things I love the most about renting is that we've got access to a nice swimming pool and playground in the summer. I thought Oliver would hate the water (Taylor sure did the first time we took him swimming), but instead he was the exact opposite. Little Ollie was so relaxed in his little floaty that he almost fell asleep! So cute..

First Meal

At Oliver's six-month doctor's appointment on Monday his pediatrician was a little concerned about his weight. Looking at him you wouldn't think he needs to gain anything, but in the past two months his weight and height have both gone from the 80th-ish percentiles down to the 30th. I know that part of the reason why is that we've had a hard time giving him cereal; it seems to really upset his stomach and makes him super cranky. So for a while we just gave up giving him solids at all. Well now that he's six months old we can give him pureed fruits and veggies, so I've started him on a twice-a-day feeding schedule that will hopefully catch him up to where he was before.

His very first meal: peas and a sippy cup of prune juice. YUM-O.


He did the typical make-a-yucky-face-not-so-sure-about-this expression, but he ate it pretty well. Since then we've also tried peaches, pears, prunes, and squash. He absolutely hates peaches, but he's pretty good with the other foods.

Since Sean bought me an awesome food processor for Christmas I've decided to make a lot of my own baby food. There is something so rewarding about making your own baby food. Plus it's a super money saver! I bought one squash for less than $2.00 and it made 14 servings. Can't beat that!


I just can't believe my munchkin is already big enough for solid foods. He's growing too fast!

Best. Lunch. Ever.

This is my lunch of choice lately. It's an avocado and roma tomato panini with a little mayo (I use veganaise), salt, and pepper. I grill it in my George Foreman for just a couple of minutes and it is so YUMMY.


I think I could eat one of these babies every day for the rest of my life. Mmm!

Day Out With Thomas

Memorial Day weekend we took the boys up to Heber Valley Railroad to see Thomas. This was our last gift to Taylor for his birthday. Do you think he was a bit excited to go?

I'll admit I was in a bit of a bad mood that day (Mom can't be happy all the time, right?) but we still had some good times. The boys loved riding on the train. Oliver looked more confused than anything, but we all had a fun time.





Afterward Taylor got a (temporary, of course) Thomas tattoo and a big balloon that surprisingly still has enough helium in it to keep it floating around on my living room ceiling.


I think the highlight of the day was the hay bale maze that Tay wanted to go through over and over again.

Whenever we go up to Heber Valley Railroad I have to take some pictures of the old train cars. I just think they're so neat looking. I may have some large prints made and hang some of the beauties in my house.




All in all it was a great way to end this cute four-year-old's birthday celebrations!

Six Months

Oliver is officially half a year old today! This month has been so much fun; his personality is really starting to come out and he's just such a cute little butterball. Here are some little tidbits about my six month old.

He is obsessed with sticking out his tongue. There are some days when it seems like his tongue is too big for his mouth because he's sticking it out constantly. It's so stinkin' adorable!


He's started babbling more and says "mamama" and "bababa." Sometimes I think he thinks he's really talking to us.


Oliver is our little squealer. If he gets frustrated or wants attention he'll scream at the top of his lungs. Sometimes it's really cute, and sometimes it really isn't.


He wants to eat real food so bad. He's constantly leaning toward our food or trying to swipe something off our plates. Unfortunately we've had a hard time introducing cereal to him; it really upsets his tummy and makes him super constipated. This month we'll be able to introduce other pureed baby foods so I'm hoping we'll be able to get his little digestive system regulated soon.

Ollie is following in his big brother's footsteps when it comes to sleep. As in he doesn't sleep. I'm lucky if he takes a long enough nap during the day or sleeps for any significant amount of time at night. It drives me and Sean completely crazy and I'm hoping we can get him sleeping better soon.

Oliver loves his daddy and big brother, and he gets so upset if they're playing without him. He just can't wait to be able to roughhouse and play with toys.


He has recently discovered his feet and is always playing with them and trying to shove them in his mouth.


Oliver absolutely loves his grandma and gets so excited when she comes to see him after work every day.


He really likes the Kokopax carrier I bought last month. I can put him in it if he's super fussy and I need to get stuff done around the house. A few weeks ago he even fell asleep in it while I was cleaning the house.


Ollie is really into textures. He loves to run his fingers over things that feel interesting to him. His two favorites: our ottoman and the brick wall outside our apartment. Silly kid!


He's getting close to being able to sit up on his own. He still needs a little assistance from Mommy or the sofa, but he's getting there!


I love my little Oliver and it's been so much fun watching him grow!

I buzzed my head.

Yep. Yep I did.

I've wanted to do it for a while now, but haven't really talked much to anyone (but Sean) about it because I knew I'd get lots of, "WHAT??" and, "Don't do it!!"

So why did I do it, you may be asking?

A few reasons.

1. I've always considered myself somewhat of a tomboy, and my hair has always been a frustrating thing for me. It's just in the way all the time and I decided I couldn't stand it anymore and needed a break.

2. I feel like I need to learn a very important life lesson right now about following my instincts and desires, rather than letting other people govern what I do and don't do. This isn't a "rebellious" thing per se, just a way to push myself beyond my comfort zone and learn to be happy with my decisions, even if others are not.

3. I honestly like the way it looks and I love defining for myself what I deem as beautiful.



So will I keep it this way?

Probably not. But I'm enjoying it while it lasts.