Happy 30th Justin!!! (and Jordan)

Justin hit the big 30 as of yesterday! Wow! Where does it go? We went to Utah for the weekend. Friday night I was able to reserve a table for 20 at Chili's and we had an "adult only" dinner. That was nice. Afterward, Justin and I went over to Jordan's for "cake & ice cream." While there, Tiara mentioned she had Jordan's birthday present in the garage and asked if we all (Jordan included) wanted to see it. What Justin didn't know was that I had sectretly transported HIS present down from Idaho the month before. He has been wanting a chop saw since before I knew him. It's about $650-$700 and completely out of our budget, but I had been saving for awhile & with the help of some $ from a side job he did (which he thought went to bills) I was able to pull it off & get him his dream gift as a special reminder of his 30th birthday. Seeing his face alone was worth it! He knew it was a physical and financial impossibility for years to come... so that made it an even better surprise!

Every year, since we were friends, I've given him a T-shirt for his birthday. This year, due to lack of ideas, he got this COOL Pinto shirt from Kohls.

Yesterday, (his actual birthday) he worked until noon, then we dropped Estin off at Grandma's and went to Idaho Falls for lunch at Red Robin. Their strawberry lemonade and onion rings are to DIE for! Justin got all embarassed when they brought out an ice cream sundae and made him wear balloons on his head. It was pretty funny.

Afterward, we went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty good, although we won't own it. Last night we had about 15-20 friends over from the ward for cake & ice cream.

Fun in Utah...

While in Utah this weekend, we took Estin and met a few cousins at the Legacy Center in Lehi to swim. What a FUN time!

Estin and His Toddler Bed...

Estin is now officially in his toddler bed. He gave up his bottle on his own, all we had to do was tell him his binkey was broken, and now he's on night 4 of his toddler bed without a fuss. I hope potty training is this easy. :) We got back from Utah Sunday night a little earlier than planned. I had taken down his crib before we left (we needed the room) thinking that when we got back it would be late & he'd already be asleep... an easy transport. Well, we were home by 6pm and we just knew it was going to be a LONG night. We went through our bedtime routine (bath, pacorn (Popcorn Popping), Noman (Once there was a Snowman) and Jesus (Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam), had our family prayer and he crawled into bed without another word! Wow! It was that easy!

The Innocence of a Child...

Estin's new FAVORITE show is "Jesus Show" (Finding Faith in Christ). We watch it at least 2 times a day. How can you say no when he asks for the "Jesus Show?" Monday night we had a FHE lesson on General Conference. I cut out pictures of the First Presidency, the Conference Center, the Temple and Jesus. We talked about them for awhile & then I hung them up low where he could see. The next day the very first thing he did was run in the living room and point and say "Ookborf!" It was pretty cute.

An Answer to Prayer...

The other night Estin woke up at 3am SCREAMING! Justin and I spent an hour or more trying to calm him down and figure out what was wrong. We gave him milk, changed his diaper, gave him Tylenol, tried to rock him, let him come in our bed... NOTHING was working. We didn't know if his tummy hurt from the late dinner he had, or if he'd had a nightmare. Finally, I suggested we say a prayer in his behalf. Justin asked Heavenly Father to bless Estin to be able to tell us what was bothering him. Within seconds of saying amen Estin, in between sobs, says "Minner" (dinner). I looked at him funny and said, "Are you hungry? You want dinner?" IMMEDIATELY he stopped crying, perked right up and said "All Wight!" He was still HUNGRY!!! Justin and I couldn't stop laughing!!! Talk about an IMMEDIATE answer to prayer. So at 4:30am in the morning Estin ate a cheese crisp and ketchup and then slept until 9am the next day. What a night!!!

RSV

Sunday night Justin and I took Estin into the ER where he tested positive for RSV. I didn't realize he could get it at his age, but sure enough! He was pretty miserable. There's nothing good about watching your "baby" get poked with needles while you stand by helpless. Luckily, after 10 days of being quarantined... he's back to his old self again and is thrilled to have play dates with friends other than mommy! Last night for FHE we spent an hour or more sanitizing all of Estin's toys. Who knew that a little boy could have so much!!! It's crazy to think that before his arrival, 2 years ago, we had none of this stuff!

A House Full of Men...

I have to admit, I was SO CERTAIN I was having a girl that the news of another boy came as quite a shock. For a year now I've felt a strong impression that a little girl named Kate was to join our family, so needless to say, the results of our ultrasound was VERY unexpected. However, with that said, although it's left me questioning some... and I'm not sure what I am to learn from this experience as of yet... I am thrilled our little boy appears healthy! I LOVE that Estin will have a little buddy to grow up with and look forward to welcoming another little man into our family.

It's a....

Watch the ultrasound and see if your vote was right!

Baby Oswald is Growing!!!

We find out what we're having in 6.5 days (but who's counting!) We have to wait until 22 weeks because the baby was measuring a bit small and the Dr. wanted to make sure he could see something. With Estin we found out at 18 weeks... so an extra 4 weeks is killing me!!! Don't forget to place your vote in the baby boy vs. girl poll!!!! We'll let you know just as soon as we do!!! Wish us luck!!!

Impromptu Night Away...

My best friend, Josie, now lives half way across the country in KS. so needless to say I don't get to see her very often. We have been as close as sisters and I miss SO much having her nearby... especially because we're both moms now. Last Thur. her sister got married in Utah and she was coming for a total of 24 hours. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see her, not knowing when the next time might be. I decided about 5pm Thur. night that I would leave Estin with Justin and travel the 4 hours to see her. We had such a good time! Although I arrived just before 10pm and she left at 8am the next morning, we stayed up late in the hotel room talking as if we'd never been apart. It was a little strange being away from Estin overnight for the first time, but I'm SO glad I made the trip! It was SO worth it! The only pic we got... early morning!

My Sweet Husband...

This is the kind of sweet stuff I find around my apartment all the time! Justin is so thoughtful!!!

Our Cookie Monster

While making sugar cookies for Valentine's day, Estin decided to give the cookie dough a try. After several small pieces we told him he'd had enough... so when daddy wasn't looking, he grabbed an entire cookie cutout and stuffed it in his mouth before we could do anything! That little stinker!!!

Valentine's Day!

Saying I LOVE Valentine's day is a little cliche and an understatement. I LOVE everything about this day! The supermarket aisles of pink and red, the men standing in line Feb. 14th to buy flowers because somehow they forgot. I love the valentine mailboxes and conversations hearts... but most of all, I love to have a special day set aside to really appreciate the ones we care about. Now let me get on my soapbox for a moment to say, it really annoys me to hear people say (i.e. women) "My husband is so unromantic, he never does anything for me." or "Valentine's day is just another Hallmark holiday, a day of commercialism"... etc. etc. etc. This is what I have to say to that.... WHO CARES!!! February 14th is not a men's holiday, although yes, it would be nice for some acknowledgement, it was not designated for men only to show there devotion and undying love to the woman in their life... it's a day to show love to ALL those you care about!!! So get off your pitty party and do something nice or romantic for someone else! Celebrate your love for your family, friends, spouse, and children. Take advantage of this little reminder once a year to truly appreciate all that you have. Ok... I'm done now. Happy Valentines Day!!!!

Estin and the Potty!!!

Lately Estin has been telling us "potty" anytime he needs a diaper change. He screams unless we let him sit on the big potty after taking his diaper off. He usually sits there for about 2 seconds and says "all done." Well... the other day he actually went in the potty!!! He was SO proud of himself (and so were we)! We hadn't planed on really introducing the concept until at least his 2nd birthday, but wanted to start before the new baby arrives. We're so glad he's ahead of us!

Rexburg Snow Fest!!

Every winter, Rexburg has a community snow fest. They have horse drawn wagons, snow bowling, a polar bear swim, more games, sledding, hot chocolate and a bonfire. It was a lot of fun to take Estin this year.

Who is this kid?

Estin NEVER falls asleep anywhere but his bed... but this week he's fooled us all!

He fell asleep with his arm in the ketchup!

Estin must have been tired... he grabbed his "banket" and his "pellow," climbed up on the couch and fell asleep!

Do You Love Our Little Girl?

Justin loves it when I dress Estin up like a girl!!! :)

Good News!!!

We just found out Justin passed his CMA exam! He took it in October but had to wait until now to find out if he passed or not. He is now a CERTIFIED Medical Assistant! We're SO proud of him! Lets hope it brings a pay raise!!!

Weird things are happening....

So I just made brownies today to take to a few friends of mine who just had babies. I usually make these out of scratch from a recipe I LOVE! Today however, weird things are happening! Take a look at all the walnuts... they've gathered in the middle with NOTHING on the edges! That has NEVER happened before! Of course, it's only because I was making them for someone else. WEIRD!!!

Funny Boy!

The other day, Estin and his friend were playing in his bedroom when he started SCREAMING bloody murder! Thinking something was horribly wrong, I ran in to find him like this... I had to grab my camera!

BIG News!!!

We're having a BABY!!!! Estin is excited and ready to be a big brother. Baby #2 due July 14th. We'll keep you posted!

What a Helper!

Estin loves to help me in the kitchen! His favorite thing is washing dishes. We wash dishes, mop the floor, and get a bath at the same time!!! I LOVE my little Man! isn't he CUTE!!!

Oh what do you do in the wintertime....

While in Utah we met up with an elder I served with, Kris Smith, and his family. We went to Thanksgiving Point and saw Santa's reindeer! We also checked out the Christmas lights and had dinner. I'm glad we've stayed in touch all these years. Another highlight of our break was SLEDDING!!! We didn't know how Estin would handle it, but he was COMPLETELY stone faced. He didn't crack a smile, a tear... NOTHING! It was actually quite funny!

Christmas 2008

This year we spent Christmas in Utah with Justin's family. We stayed in my brothers basement... it was nice to be together as our own little family. Estin was so much more fun to watch this year...besides not having to spend 1/2 of Christmas eve in the ER (like last year), he actually enjoyed tearing open his presents. The highlight of my Christmas was buying Justin a much wanted tool that was originally not within our budget. I was able to secretly save and surprise him Christmas morning. It was SO worth it!!!

Justin surprised me by building this amazing table! (The picture doesn't do it justice) I'm SO glad I have a handy husband!!! I LOVE it!!!

The Binky Addict...

So the other day Estin was having a hard time deciding which binkey tasted better... so he decided to try both! (He got them both in by himself!)

Estin has become quite the binkey connoisseur, apparently 2 binkeys at once was not enough! He'll be sucking on one and if he sees another one, he'll spit the first out and stick in the second. This is repeated over and over. What can I say... he likes his fix!!!

We Won!!!!

We went to look at all the different gingerbread houses today after church and we won the adult category!!! We still don't know what we get ("cash prizes")... it's probably like $10 to the hospital cafeteria... (just kidding) but it was fun regardless. There is still the "People's Choice" award that will happen all week. We'll find out about that Friday. (Pictures below)

Estin...

Isn't he getting SO big!! (He unzipped himself)

Gingerbread Lane

Justin & I decided to enter a gingerbread house contest held at the hospital. We were watching a movie the other night and saw a doll house we both really liked, so we patterned our structure after it. Overall, it took us about 40 hours to complete! It was a lot of fun and it was great working on something together. What a GREAT way to start off the holiday! We'll find out next week if we won anything.

Today is Sunday...

And Estin & I are sick. Justin & I figured that with Estin not feeling well, we wouldn't be able to take him to nursery, so one of us wouldn't be able to pay attention anyway. I woke up feeling yuck too, so here we are, Estin & I hanging out this Sunday morning. I thought it would be a good opportunity to get caught up...

November 12th was my 29 birthday! Can you believe it! 29!!! I used to think 30 was SO old and SO far away!!!! I don't feel that way anymore. Justin and I had breakfast together before he had to leave for work. I spent the day enjoying myself at the salon while Estin was at Grandma's. When I got out to my car I found a dozen roses and a card. While I was driving home, Justin called me but unbeknownst to me had changed my ringtone on my phone to a new song I'm in love with ("Lucky" by Colby Callait and Jason Mraz). I met him for lunch only to find that he was dressed in shirt & tie and had taken the rest of the day off to hang out with me! Don't I have the BEST husband!!! That night we took it easy by ordering in and watching a movie. It was a GREAT day!!!

Thanksgiving...

This year everyone came up to our neck of the woods for Thanksgiving! Now that my mom lives in the next town over and it's only a 4 hour drive for everyone else... this year we got to celebrate as a family. It's the first Thanksgiving since Justin & I have been married that we had it with my siblings. It was great! We actually had it the weekend before the holiday, due to work schedules. Everyone came up Sat. and stayed until Sun./Mon. We had a great time just spending time together and the kids had a blast with their cousins. I hope we can do it more often.

Future Blackmail... Owen (3), Mylie (1) Estin (19 mo.)

Poor Grandma Nelson... Aaron is always making her do crazy things! What a good sport! Grandma always has one eye closed so Aaron decided to make her an eye patch!