Goodros Exposed

Sentimental..

2011-04-28T21:37:00.000-06:00

It's funny how having a baby makes me get out the camera again (and start blogging again lol.) Baby Ashton is such a joy in our family. Mason is doing great adjusting to a baby brother. I can't wait until they can play together.

Mason turned three this month and started Pre-School, which he loves =). We are still working on potty training. He does great with number one, but number two... let's just say he is being a stinker about it =). He saves it up until his nap, when he knows I won't make him sit on the potty and make it happen. It's frustrating because he knows how to do it on the potty, he is just being sneaky and waiting until I'm not around. I wouldn't care, but it is interrupting his nap time. Oh well- this too shall pass, right?!? One day we will look back and laugh about it together.

Ashton is growing so fast. I can't believe he will already be 7 weeks on Saturday. We are blessing him this Sunday, which I will glad to have over with because it is stressing me out. LOL. Here are a few pics from his photo shoot from last week. Thanks to Justin @ http://www.hamblinphoto.com/ for another great set of pictures!

Can You Tell How Much I Love Winter??

2010-03-24T23:44:00.005-06:00

My blogging hiatus has been largely due to the fact that I HATE winter, and therefore have had nothing fun to report =) LOL not really- TONS has happened this Winter, though I am extremely grateful for warmer temps and the sunny days to come. Here are a few of the exciting things that have happened since October of last year..

We had 2 Weddings!!

First, Matt and Brit's. They had their wedding and reception at the Point. It was beautiful and I couldn't be happier for Matt. Brittany is so amazing. She has the best personality! She is one of those people I admire for always being so cheerful. AND I have no idea how she puts up with Matt =P

The second wedding was Tim and Jess'. They had a beatuful reception at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, which was SO Jess. Their ceremony was amazing- my dream beach wedding at the Cuvier Wedding Bowl in La Jolla. We are very happy for them!! (And excited to be done planning her wedding for her while she works her butt off getting her Masters Degree)

And we have a THIRD wedding planned for June 3rd. I am so so so happy for Ben and Jobie (Pete's twin brother and super sexy fiance!) We thought this wedding would never happen... I love this pic of them at the Oakley Rodeo last 4th of July.

I have been knitting a lot. My latest creation was a pair of wool (alpaca) gloves Pete could use while fishing. I'm not sure why I support his annoying habits.. aka fishing... but I guess that's what you do for the people you love, right?? LOL. Apparently the wool is supposed to keep your hands warm even if they are wet.

We have snowmobiled into the cabin a few times this Winter. We were up last weekend and everyone was sad that "it is probably the last weekend we can snowmobile in this year." Maybe I'm the crazy one- but I can't wait until we are snow-free and sitting out on the deck in the SUN!!

Aww.. What a cute uncle =)

As always, I have to whine about my baby getting huge. Mason has gone from TINY 5 LBS 13 OZ....

To Chubby Baby..

To my little crawler...

To A Little Man!!

He is going to be 2 in a few weeks. I can't believe how the time has flown by. He is such a sweetheart and a joy in our family.

He has recently found a new play place--

He loves to make the light go on and off!

I love the crazy positions he sleeps in!!

Last week, I gave myself an early b-day present from Mason and cut the top off his paci. He has only been allowed to have it at nap and bed time for about 5 months, but he started reaching in his crib and sneaking it all the time. Monday he threw the biggest tantrum because he wanted it, so i chopped the top off and gave it to him. Of course he was super mad and chucked it across the room. I honestly think it was harder for me than him!! Besides the 4 hours of crying that day (and 3 on Tues, 2 on Wed), it was nice to have at church/grocery store to keep him happy and quiet.. and in the daycare at the gym so he doesn't put everything in his mouth. That being said, we are now binkee free and SO happy about it!! It has cut down the whining a ton!!

Well, that's enough of my marathon post- but I really want to keep up on the blog so hold me to it, guys!! Oh- and if your blog is private, send me an invite because I haven't been on for so long that I can't get into some of your blogs. Happy Spring!!

Summer Fun

2009-09-17T15:16:00.006-06:00

We had such an awesome Summer! I am having a really hard time saying goodbye to the sunny warm days and moving on to fall. Here are some pics of what we have been up to:

We went to Lake Powell the 2nd week of July. We found the most beautiful canyon with a waterfall at the end of it. My dad, Pete and I hiked back about a mile into the canyon. We followed the stream and found a ton of tadpoles, crayfish, and other animals and bugs.

Mason is a water baby to the max! He loves splashing around and collecting things to put in his bucket.

We had to take the traditional pic at Rainbow Bridge.

We have had a blast in the kiddie pool (mommy and baby!) I admit, I have read a good book or two laying out by the pool while Mason naps. I have to take advantage of the perks of being a stay at home mom with only 1 kid while it lasts!

There is only 1 volleyball tournament left this Summer in St.George on Oct 17th. I will miss those Saturdays hanging out in the sun!!

Mason and Aunt Jobie =p

One weekend at the cabin, we hiked up to Fish Lake. It was beautiful, but WAY too long of a hike for me (6 miles each way.)

Mason put rocks in and out of this waterbottle for about an hour! Sometimes I wonder why I even buy toys..

Update

2009-06-17T23:48:00.007-06:00

It's been a while since I've blogged... big surprise =) Life is so crazy. I really thought when I became a stay at home mom, I would have more time. People that don't have kids won't understand, like my little sister (bless her heart) who said the other day "why can't you come visit me- it's not like you have anything to do." HAHA- She will understand one day.

Mason has been doing so great. He just turned 14 months, and gets cuter every day! I love watching him learn and grow. He seriously makes me laugh about a hundred times a day. Here are some pics of what we have been up to

My Mom is the sweetest lady ever and helped me make this frog cake for Mason's 1st Birthday. It took us the better part of an afternoon..

He loved it! Mission accomplished!

Mace and I spent the day at Red Butte Gardens with his cousins Maddy and Kelsey. They had a blast

This is Greta, my dad's new puppy. We have been babysitting her. She is adorable!

Pete and Ben play Volleyball most Saturdays. Sibling rivalry at its best!

One night it was way too quiet-- so I ran around the house looking for Mason and found him splashing a dog bone in the toilet. I know it's gross but I couldn't help laughing and grabbing the camera. (I swear I stripped and bathed him after =p )

My girlfriends and I try to meet once a month for lunch. It is so great to have some girl time! We all can't wait until our kids are old enough to play with each other.

First Haircut!!

2009-03-17T22:37:00.006-06:00

Aunt Jessie and I took Mason to get his first haircut the other day at Cookie Cutters in Bountiful. My friend Jessica recommended the salon and I have to say, we were not disappointed!! They have giant toys for the kids to sit in, and there is a TV at every station. Mason watched Elmo while rollin' in his blue car. It was the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. I forgot my camera (argh) but took some pics with my phone. Grandma Linda saved the day and brought the video camera along! What a priceless video it will be!

Christmas in California

2009-01-18T17:10:00.014-07:00

First of all, thank you to all of you for your great advice regarding my mommy meltdown. Your words of comfort were greatly appreciated. It's so nice to have friends and family who have been through some of the ups and downs of parenthood!!

So I'm always a little behind on the blogging, but we had the best vacation over Christmas break. Instead of doing the whole present thing we decided to go on a trip instead. We were originally going to stay in a hotel, but decided it would be hard not to have a microwave to make Mason's food and a separate room for him to sleep in. Since it was last minute, we got a great deal on a little 2 bedroom vacation rental on the beach. The complex was called North Coast Village in Oceanside. We left the day after Christmas and drove to Primm, NV. I was afraid Mason would get fussy in the car but he did so great! We put on some movies for him and he was a little champ.

Mason's first time in a hotel room!

The condo was so cute! And it had the perfect sink for bath time!

The first night there we bundled up Mason and took him to the tide pools at Cardiff State Beach.

Pete found some new role models (65 year-old volleyball playing beach bums..) I think he finally found out what he wants to be when he grows up =p

We took Mason to the beach for the first time. He ate his first sand!! I thought it was hilarious but Pete was a little concerned (see video below)

We had the best New Year's Eve ever!! We BBQ'd some steaks, threw together a salad and ate it while listening to the ocean on our little balcony.

Afterwards, we tried our hand at chocolate dipped strawberries. It was kind of a disaster. Apparently you're not supposed to get the melted chocolate wet-- Wish we would have known that before we washed the strawberries!!

Pete's friend Chris took him surfing for the day.

We built an awesome sand castle- complete with a moat! I added our initials to the castle and then realized they spell PMS. Go figure...

I never wanted to be the mom who never lets her kid get dirty- but I'm so that mom. In an effort to be less anal, I gave Mason a little teething biscuit and let him go for it!!

It was such a great trip. It was especially awesome because it was our first vacation as a little family. We were so sad to come home! I think I was meant to be a California girl!!

Crisis

2009-01-06T22:47:00.004-07:00

Okay all you mommies out there- I need some serious counseling. I'm having a total meltdown!! Yesterday I put Mason down for a nap and after about 15 minutes I had a feeling I should go check on him. This is what I found....

Okay- first of all he just barely started crawling a month ago. He's never pulled himself up to stand before so I was in absolute SHOCK!! He thought it was hilarious. He was laughing and gooing because he finally got to chew on the stuffed snail he's been staring up at for the last 9 months. Maybe I'm just emotional or something but when I saw him standing in his crib it totally hit me that my baby is gone forever. He is growing into a boy faster than I can believe. Tonight I gave him his bottle and then bawled my eyes out over how big he is. I just can't help feeling like I didn't cuddle/snuggle/hold him enough and now I can't ever get his tiny baby days back.

Here's me post-breakdown. See, he's HUGE!

Update

2008-12-23T11:17:00.009-07:00

I know I'm a slacker and Halloween is way over, but the pics were so cute I had to post them. Mason was the cutest pumpkin ever!!

A ton has happened in the last few months! I had surgery on my foot and we had some 6 month and family pictures taken of Mason. I love our photographer! He does such an awesome job! His name is Justin Hamblin and his website is www.hamblinphoto.com if anyone is interested.

Mason is getting so big. His first 2 teeth are coming in and he started crawling this week! I can't believe he was born 8 months ago. It seems like it was just yesterday. I swear time goes by way faster after you have a kid.

I've been scrapbooking calendars for Pete's and my parents for Christmas- They took forever to do but turned out really cute! We love you all and are so thankful for our friends and family especially at this time of year. We hope you all have an awesome Christmas!! See you in 2009!

Baby Shower Fun!

2008-10-29T19:07:00.006-06:00

This past weekend, we had a baby shower for Corie. We had a great time! There was so much good food and it was great to see old friends. Corie, Lisa and I have been best friends since Jr.High. We have kept in touch by going to dinner once a month for the last few years. I truly look forward to it every month and have loved growing up, getting married, and becoming mothers together!! Good luck Corie!! Can't wait to see little Jonah!

I was in charge of decorations for the shower-- I had so much fun makin this diaper cake! I am totally not creative by myself so I found a cake online that I liked and copied it. I think it turned out really cute!

Mason's Laugh

2008-10-21T17:00:00.004-06:00

Auntie Jessica was over the other day and she had Mason laughing harder than he ever has before. I've tried to get him to laugh that hard again but I just can't do it. I guess mommies just aren't as fun as aunties!!

Update

2008-10-18T23:12:00.020-06:00

So I'm such a bloggins slacker. The last month has been crazy! I say this in every blog but Mason is getting so big! He had his 6 month appointment on Friday. He is 17.9 lbs (46th percentile) and 27 inches (74th percentile) I think he is going to be tall like his daddy! He also started trying to hold his own bottle and is rolling all over the place. He is such a smiley kid- we are so lucky to have such a good baby! When I was pregnant, a lot of people I talked to were so negative towards kids. They would tell me how much our lives would change and how there's no going back... etc. Our lives have definitely changed and there are definitely hard days but having a baby is so much fun!! He fills our lives with so much joy, and the older he gets the more fun he becomes. Here are some pics and videos of how we ended our summer

Mason watching his dad play volleyball.

He was so cute kicking his legs in his crab floatie. Man I'm going to miss 88 degree weather!!

Ben got us the coolest program for Mason. Its called You Baby Can Read. The DVD's and books help teach babies whole language and phonics using a combination of sound, sight and interaction. The beginning of the DVD's shows a 9 month old baby who can recognize words- like the dad holds up the word laugh and the baby laughs. Its amazing!! Anyhow- Mason loves to watch them while sitting in his bumbo chair.

I love this picture. My 2 favorite boys having snuggle time!!

He recently started sleeping with his bum in the air. Babies are so silly!

It was a big day when I went to lunch with my cousin Aaron and Mason sat in a high chair and entertained himself with this teething ring!

I somehow got roped into driving all the way out to Tooele one Saturday to take a 5 generation picture. Mason met his 96 year old great great grandma for the first time while we were there. She adored him, of course- and I ended up being kind of glad I went because it will be fun for him to see this picture when he's older!

We found this jumper on the KSL classified ads. I think it is the best thing in the world!! He plays in it for hours at a time. In this video, he is watching his You Baby Can Read DVD.

Mason's New Toy

2008-08-24T22:34:00.004-06:00

Wow 2 posts in one week- this never happens!! Anyhow- we got Mason a play gym the other day and he adores it! The monkey in the middle plays music and lights up and the little wind chime is his favorite. The monkey speaks Spanish, which is both perplexing and hilarious to me. Its so nice to have something to keep him occupied for a few minutes- he is becoming such busy little guy! Here are some video clips of him playing in it today.

Bear Lake

2008-08-23T19:37:00.010-06:00

Last weekend we went to Bear Lake with my family. We hung out on Matt's boat and we both got to ski/wakeboard for the first time this summer. It was a little chilly, but awesome to be out on the lake. I know I say this in every post, but Mason is getting SO big! He had his 4 month appointment last week and weighed in at 15 pounds 2 ounces. He also rolled over for the first time this week AND started rice cereal. Everyone keeps saying "oh you just wait- before you know it he'll be (crawling, getting teeth, talking, etc.)" I feel like everyone is wishing his babyhood away and it makes me so sad! I wish he could stay little forever. My only consolation is that he gets cuter every week =P

Getting some sun with the girls..

What a cute daddy!!

If only I could water ski every day- I would be in the best shape!! I'm still sore a week later!

So sleepy after a long day at the lake!

Before rice cereal...

After rice cereal..

Mason's Baby Blessing

2008-07-21T18:42:00.010-06:00

So we blessed Mace last Sunday. It was awesome to have the family over, and Pete gave a beautiful blessing! Since it wasn't fast Sunday, I didn't get to bear my testimony - but I thought I'd take the chance to do it anyhow. A few weeks ago the young men's president bore his testimony and said they teach the youth to say "I have a testimony because...." I've been pondering that lately and come to the conclusion that I have a testimony because the gospel just makes sense to me. It gives me a pattern to follow so I can partake in the great plan of happiness. I've been thinking a lot about the great plan of happiness since Mason was born, because it allows family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. I have always thought the "happiness" part pertained to the next life, but I've come to realize that if I follow the pattern set out for me, I can live happier in this life too. Every time in my life when I have been truly trying to live the gospel, I have found happiness and peace. When I have chosen to fight against what I know is true, my life is in turmoil and I am miserable!! I think about how much I love Mason and want what's best for him- that must be how Heavenly Father feels about me. I like to think that he knows what I'm going through, and that it's all a part of his plan to make me the best person I can be.
I love the Family Proclamation to the world! It so boldly declares what I believe. I am so thankful we can give little Mason a loving mom and dad. What a happy thing our baby has been in our lives! The "rules" seemed so hard growing up- No dating until I'm 16?? Etc.. Looking back now, I'm so thankful for the rules because I can see the effects of following them. I know they come from a parent who knows us completely and wants us to live the happiest life we can.
When Mason was born, somebody asked me if I felt overwhelmed-- I'm really not overwhelmed by taking care of him day to day, but when I think about raising him in this crazy world with all the temptations that will surround him--that part is overwhelming. My favorite scripture has given me comfort- Ether 12:4 says "By faith all things are fulfilled. Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with a surety hope for a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God. Which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast- always abounding in good works and being led to glorify God." I want my soul to be anchored in the gospel- I want to be sure and steadfast. I truly have hope for a better world..
Love you all
Sum

Changing light bulbs before the blessing. Stunting is like riding a bike- you may get a little rusty, but never forget how to do it!

My mom made the most amazing outfit for him!! Even Pete said he looked like a little stud!

Jessica and I made these letters for his nursery. We were reminded how much we LOVE crafting!

Grandpa David holding him after the blessing. So sleepy.....

The fam

Playin with Uncle Ben after the blessing

Summer Fun!

2008-06-27T01:07:00.003-06:00

Wow! Time has been flying by!! I can't believe it has been almost a month since we've posted. Life has been a little rough lately, but amidst all the turmoil little Mason is our ray of sunshine! He is growing SO FAST!! He had his 2 month checkup on the 16th and he was 10 lbs 12 oz!! I feel like he's not little anymore and it makes me sad! He is so full of life and always has a funny expression on his face! I can tell he's taking in everything and learning a lot about his world. He does something new and cute every day!

He started smiling for reals last week!

We've been having so much fun golfing with Grandma Linda and Grandpa David!!

The first few weeks of June were still pretty chilly- this particular evening we went golfing and I forgot a hat to keep Mason's head warm and a burp cloth. We improvised with a pair of his pants and the golf towel...

Mason LOVES his bath time!! He was extra sleepy this day!

Mommy and Mason have been hanging out at the pool!

Pete has a new partner for Volleyball and they have been tearing it up!! They took 4th place at the Liberty park tournament and 2nd place last week in the "A" division. It is so fun to watch!! We look forward to Saturdays all week!

Shout out to Fam & Friends!

2008-06-06T00:34:00.003-06:00

Tonight I am feeling super grateful for all the love and support we have received since Mace was born. Having a baby is a huge deal and I just wanted to say thank you for all the dinners, advice, shoulders to cry on, etc. We truly love you all and wouldn't be who we are today without each one of you! XOXO

Baby Mason's Fake Cry

2008-05-29T23:20:00.010-06:00

So Mace is already learning how to manipulate the system-- he's so cute I just can't resist giving him anything his tiny heart desires! I so want to capture every second of his life- just over memorial day weekend I took 76 pictures and 24 movie clips of him. This particular tidbit shows baby mason during tummy time- he got a little tired of it and let out the cutest pretend cry!! I laugh every time I watch it!!

Yeah! We're Bloggers!!

2008-05-29T22:06:00.004-06:00

Tonight, I find myself sucked into the world of "blog." What a fun way to journal our lives and keep in touch with friends at the same time! I only have one disclaimer- I'm not a writer!! You'll all have to bear with me as I try, clumsily, to organize my thoughts. SO... Our lives have taken a dramatic turn over the last 2 months- we're parents!! It has been a major adjustment going from working full time to being a stay at home mommy. The first few weeks were rough, but Mace and I are adjusting and working into a nice routine. Most days I feel like I'm in a dizzy haze from sleep deprivation, but I'm trying to enjoy every minute of his tiny life because I swear he's growing right before my eyes! I have to admit I was worried that our lives would be over now that we have a kid but so far we have taken him golfing, fishing, out to dinner and much more. It's easy to take him places right now because he sleeps through mostly everything- I'm sure it won't be like that for long but we'll enjoy it while it lasts. Pete is so cute with him- I love watching them together. You never know what kind of parent your spouse will be, but I think I'm one of the lucky ones who can give their kids a truly committed dad who is interested and involved in their lives. Just look at them together!!

2008-05-29T21:18:00.000-06:00