Baby Kate Turns 1!

Our sweet Kate is now 13 months old BUT

better late than never!

We did it! We survived being parents for 1 whole year.

We have done A LOT  of different things

over 365 days...

 - Changed diapers for 365

- Been up in the night for 365

- Rocked Kate to sleep for 365 (don't judge)

- Cleaned up messes for 365

But most importantly we loved, snuggled, and gave too many

kisses to count over the last 365 days.
That year went by so fast but I am so grateful for
what this last year has taught me and who I have become.

Yes Kate still isn't a great sleeper but I have to say

she's practically perfect in every other way.

She is so happy and has the most articulate little jibber jabber.

She smiles and waves at strangers and gives the best hugs.

She is a great eater and will basically try anything we try to feed her.

We love her to pieces and couldn't imagine our family without her.

We had such a fun Minnie Mouse Birthday for her.

She is so spoiled with love from both of our families.



Here are some favorite pictures from the night!

Here's to another year of smiles, laughs, and learning new things!!
We love you, baby girl, kater's, kate the great, and our Princess!

Update on Kate the Great and Me and Mr. B!

It's been awhile since I posted. 
I have contemplated whether I should
continue to do this silly blog but for the sake
of forgetting details I guess I will continue.

I always told myself,

 "Once Kate is born I will post cute

Mom stuff all the time..."

Well.... there hasn't been very much 

cute mom stuff going on around here but life is

great as a stay at home mom even

with the sometimes mundane tasks.

Ty graduated at the beginning of May with 

his Bachelors in Finance. 

He recently got a new job at IHC and 
we couldn't be more grateful!

I am loving my calling with the 

Young Women in my church and enjoying

getting out of the house at least once a week for a 

fun activity.   

Kate is sitting, rolling and army crawling (for some reason she can't figure out the regular crawling concept...) 
anywhere and everywhere.
Learning to walk is just around the corner! 

She will eat anything we let her get her hands on.

Literally anything.... lemons, pickles, Dr. Pepper, no problem! ;)

She has 2 teeth and is 10 months old.

Our summer was very simple but went by sooo quickly!

Thank goodness for us, "summers" don't really 

exist for us any more

and dad doesn't go back to school this fall!!

LOVE

I've realized as I have gotten older

(and yes I understand that 24 is not "old"er)

that the word LOVE is so much deeper and fuller

than I dreamed it could be back before I ever truly felt it.

I have been so blessed to experience many different kinds of love.

I have a:

Head Over Heels

Best Friend,

Supportive Team Mate Forever

kind of love with my sweet Mr. B

I have a:

Cherished,

Ever Grateful,

Beautiful Memories,

kind of love with my parents and siblings.

And now that I am a mother I have

come to the realization that I will

never fully be able to express 

 my love for my sweet baby girl.

(along with any and all other children that I have)

No matter how many hugs, kisses, squeezes and 

"I love you so much" whispered in her ear,

No matter how many sleepless nights of 

endless rocking and sshhhusshing,

And when she is older,

No matter how much time, effort and support

I try to give to her.

I don't believe she will truly grasp the depth of

how much I love her.

I am okay with that reality

because one day when she becomes a mother herself.

Then.

She'll have a moment.

It will click.

She'll sit there with her baby in her arms and say...

"Ahhhh... now I get it."

My mother and I have had your average mother-daughter

ups and downs, but now that I am a mother myself

I better understand that 

-she loves me and I love her-

MORE than we will ever get the chance to share or show.

As I speak of this love I obviously 

can't go on without including 

our perfect example of love from

Our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ.

If I can't explain or express how much I love my sweet baby girl,

then I can't even try to comprehend how much love they have for each one of us.

So I won't.

I will just try my best each day to soak up that love, 

cherish it, accept it, and share it with those around me.

I hope there never comes a day that this 

spectacular love ever becomes ordinary.

Because to love someone more than you can express

is truly magic.

Princess Kate's Blessing Day

Our baby girl is three months old!!

Time is flying by but she is more fun everyday.

She is such a happy baby and loves to 

smile, talk, look at books, and roll over!

We are completely in love!

On January 3rd Mr B gave Kate a beautiful blessing

filled with promises I will never forget. 

It was such a wonderful day to be surrounded by family

and cherish such a sweet little girl. 

I love that she has had her first "white dress"

and it gets me excited for all that she has ahead in her future.

It's such a blessing to know that some of the best days in our little

families life are things that haven't happened yet 

and we get to look forward to!

Since becoming a mom I have thought a lot about

why we have been commanded to have children.

Besides bringing bodies to earth so that they

can have a body and be tested and return home

to our Father in heaven; I believe

that being a parent is one of the greatest ways

we can learn and develop attributes of Christ.

Patience, sacrifice, humility, and unconditional love

are all attributes that I am practicing and praying for everyday.

Sweet Kate's Surprise Arrival!

Our darling Kate made an early entrance into the world  October 9th at 2:45 am

I can't believe we are coming on 6 weeks since our little miracle joined our family!

I figured I better get the whole story down
 in writing before I forget

any precious moment.

My original due date with Kate was October 28th.

During my whole pregnancy I was told
 I was measuring a little small

and so I figured she would be a Nov. baby 
but kept my hopes up that

I wouldn't be one of those poor mommas that
 goes past her due date.

Earlier in the week that Kate was born, I had started having

very early signs of labor.

I had read online about these signs and asked many friends

if that meant it was coming soon...? I came to the conclusion

that basically they didn't really mean a
 whole lot and it could be days or weeks.

Well Mr. B had been asked to go on a last minute business trip

to D.C. and wanted me to go into the 
Dr.'s to see what the chances

were that she would come while he was away.

Part of me felt a little silly and dramatic going in and figured

nothing would come of the visit.

On Oct. 8th I told my boss that I had an a quick
 Dr.'s appointment and would be back soon!

Well, to my surprise the routine blood pressure test, that 
had never been a problem my whole pregnancy,
 showed that I had high blood pressure.

The nurse tried again on my other arm and again it was high.

The Dr. had me lay down for 10 minutes to see if it would go down

but it didn't.

I didn't know what to think but the Dr. told me

to tell my husband that he would not be going to D.C.

Secretly I was excited!

I didn't want him to leave me all alone for the weekend.

Little did I know that not only did the high blood pressure mean

my husband wasn't going out of town, it meant we

were have a baby... that day!

What?! I was excited, nervous, scared, and calm all at once. 

I called Mr. B while he was in class.

Again, shocked and excited he headed to meet me in labor and delivery.

As I walked over to labor and delivery, still in my work clothes,

I thought of all the things I still wanted to do before she came!

Make freezer meals, wash and sort her cute clothes!

At the very least I wanted to shower and shave!

At around 4:00 PM on Oct. 8th

they started me on Pitocin and Mr. B contacted my boss letting him

know I wouldn't "be back soon".

The contractions weren't bad and we enjoyed watching T.V. and relaxing.

At around 6:00 they asked me if I wanted my epidural then,

otherwise the anesthesiologist would not be available

until 8:00.

I decided to wait until 8:00... well 8:00 rolled

around and I couldn't wait a second longer!

This is where I give HUGE credit  to any women

that can handle natural child birth.

Lets just say that is not for me!

After the epidural was in I literally fell asleep.

So comfortable and peaceful... epidurals are magical.

I hadn't made much progress and we figured it would be a

long night but within an hour (while I was sleeping mind you)

I made HUGE progress and was ready to have the baby!

I woke up Mr. B and had him put on some music from

my phone to help me relax.

The nurses and Dr. came in and it was a little party!

After pushing for 30 minutes with little pain our

precious 5 lb. 6 oz. 19 inch princess was here!

She was an angel from the second she arrived!
She was bright eyed and her sweet Dad melted immediately.

 First (so flattering) family picture!

Kate has brought so much love into our home!
We are learning more as parents everyday.
We can't wait for all the memories we are going to make with our princess!



The Latest Scoop on Me and Mr B... Becoming THREE!

It's been fooooooooooever since I have updated our blog!

Which also means a lot has happened that hasn't been documented! 

Lets start in March.

For Me and Mr. B's anniversary we were able to

go to Salt Lake City and attend a close friends wedding.

We made a long weekend of it and really enjoyed our time

relaxing and spending quality time together

celebrating a wonderful 2 years!

I love that even the most simple vacation

together can be a treat!

I enjoy anytime I get to spend with my best friend

 but I love it even more when we don't have to 

go to work and I don't have to 

make any meals or do any dishes!!

This trip came at a really good time.

Back up a few weeks and we found out we were pregnant!!

We were shocked and excited!

The week following our exciting news

I had a medical scare which lead us to believe that I 

had, had a miscarriage.

I was very emotional. 

We relied very closely on the comfort and guidance from

our Heavenly Father.

I wasn't quite sure what his plan was for our sweet little 

family was but I tried my hardest to be positive and 

know that he loved us and would help us through the trial.

After our little vacation the Dr.'s office called and said that my

hormone levels from the blood tests were still rising 

and they would like me to come in for an ultrasound.

This being my first pregnancy, I didn't know what to expect

but I tried my hardest to not get my hopes up.

At the Dr's office, to our shock and amazement, 

we were thrilled to find

out by some sweet miracle that there was 

still a precious little baby inside of me.

I immediately thanked my Heavenly Father and felt

an overwhelming amount of love.

Although I am not sure why we were spared having to go through that trial I feel extremely blessed and grateful.

We can't wait for our little miracle to join

our family the end of October!

(looks like we are going to have a finger sucker)

In May we were able to go on a vacation with 

Mr B's family to San Diego.

I love it there!

It was a great getaway with

good food, family, weather, and adventure!

We packed in the fun and went to

 Sea World, Mission Beach,

San Diego Zoo, and the San Diego Safari Park.

Last but not least I had the opportunity to go to girls camp 

with the wonderful young women in my ward.

Although I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going

while pregnant, I really enjoyed my time

being in the mountains, feeling the spirit,

 and having fun with the girls 

(which included a dance with a DJ and lights!)

PARTY!

We are getting closer to the home stretch with 14 weeks left

until our sweet baby girl comes!

It seems so close but so far away.

We aren't sure what to expect but we are ready for 

the adventure that is ahead!!

Count down of Memories for 2014

What a GREAT year!!

 I love this time of year where we can look back 

and remember the great memories

and count our many, many, blessings.

Me and Mr B truly have been blessed this year.

Everyday is a treat with that guy.

I don't know if we can ever top our first year of marriage

but this year was pretty great. 

Let the count down begin!

10. Not a whole lot happened at the beginning of the year but

Mr. B did start a job at a pharmacy software company and he 

loving it and learning a lot. 

It truly has been a great blessing in our lives.

9. March was our year anniversary and we celebrated in style!!

We had such a fun time in San Diego!!

Definitely a trip I will always remember :)

8. In May finished my first semester in the Speech Therapy program at USU.

I really enjoyed my classes and little by little.... I will get my degree.

7. Our summer project was our backyard.

Mr B did most of the work but we LOVED how it 

turned out.

We are determined to make the most of our 

cute little apartment.

We've since added a BBQ and a Fire Pit... party at our house!

6.  I started a new job as a loan officer/office manager at 

Red Rock Financial and I am really enjoying it!

5.  We took a quick getaway to Provo/Salt Lake in October.

It was short and sweet but just what we needed.

4. Mr B finally got a truck! 

Something he has been wanting for a very long time!

The 95' accord wasn't quite cutting it for his manhood. 

3. Our holidays were filled with family, fun and way too much food.

We went to Cedar for Thanksgiving, we had a couple of 

trips to the Brooks cabin, and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas

here at home. 

2. To top off the New Year good old Dixie got some snow!

THAT.... is about the most amount of snow this girl wants to handle..

Dixie has definitely turned me into a wimp but I don't mind.

1.  We truly have been so bless this year and every year.  

I made this quote design for my mom this year for Christmas.

I know that this is true and I am ever so grateful for

my life and a loving, kind, and aware Heavenly Father.

2014 has been great and I can't wait to see what 

2015 has to bring!!