More Pictures

Its been a crazy summer! My brother Mike is staying with us for a while (that's a picture below of him and his 3 amazing kiddos, also a Robyn photo shoot), and I've been so sick with Baby #2. It's all I can do to keep it together these days! We've spent some time just hanging out at my parents (notice Gavin shaving with Grandpa Hays...he's such a sucker for anything Grandpa does. He loves him so much!). Its been a summer full of memories being made. I love our little growing family!

Pictures...As Promised!

About a week ago, we had some family pictures taken and the weather was great, the lighting was perfect, and for once, it wasn't windy. Unfortunately, I was as crabby as I've ever been, swollen, and in that awkward "is she pregnant or just fat" phase. Steve and Gavin were grouchy too (I guess the saying is true, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!). So my dear Robyn snapped a few adorable pictures, but most of the good ones were of Gavin alone! I didn't give her much to work with since I walked out after the first 5 shots! LOL! Total Diva Moment, but its my first, so they went easy on me.

I Know, I Know...

Okay, so its been QUITE a while since I've bothered to post anything...and I'm sure most everyone has given up checking my blog, but for anyone out there, we are still here!

BIG NEWS!! We are expecting Baby #2! I am due January 20th and we are thrilled! It was a bit of a surprise pregnancy, but I will take a happy surprise over the heartache that we had waiting to get pregnant with Gavin for over 18 months. This is the best surprise I've ever had! I am 17 weeks and I have been incredibly sick this time. Since week 7, I have been...let's just say, no fun to be around. Carsick-type sick all the time! Everyone was CONVINCED I am having a girl since the pregnancy has been so different, and so was I! We found out at about 15 weeks that...IT'S A GIRL! So, pink is on the brain and Gavin is ready to have his little sister already. We are teaching him to be soft (he pets my hair and whispers "sooooo soffftttt" cutest thing ever), and he points at my tummy and says, "Baby?" and shrieks. Its so strange to me that in a little over 5 months he will be the BIG BROTHER and no longer my baby boy. Okay, he will ALWAYS be my baby boy...right???

Gavin has changed so much! He is running around and talking more than I can understand. He is our little communicator. He always has something to say. Since he was a tiny baby, he has fallen asleep either singing or talking to himself. Now he just says all the words he knows and strings them together in a long line of jibberish. I really can't get enough of it. Its so amazing to see him grow and change everyday. This summer has been super busy with family, but we've been able to make it to the pool or splash pad a few times a week and that boy loves water. The other day we passed by a splash pad we sometimes go to that is in a shopping area in our neighborhood and he got so SOO excited...then so SOOOO upset when we wheeled right past it and my heart just broke. He's certainly a water baby!

Steve started a new job that he LOVES at a company called Deals That Matter (its similar to Groupon, but its local and a portion of the money is donated to a charity that matters to you...its an amazing company and Steve is SUPER happy, which makes me happy!!) and is still doing insurance on the side, because he always wants to keep his foot in that door and he loves helping people.

Its funny how life just moves right along, whether you are ready for it or not! When I started this blog, we didn't have any children and just got into a house. Now we are the ones that have lived in our neighborhood for a long time (haha!! That's Daybreak for you!) and we have our second kid on the way! What an amazing life we lead! I will get some pics up here so you can see my new baby bump and more importantly, how amazing handsome my lil guy Gavin is. Almost 19 months old now...time FLIES, people! More to come!!

A REAL Post, From Me, Kacey...

Well, first of all, Gavin celebrated his FIRST BIRTHDAY! He is very loved, and there are more pictures to come, but here is a preview!

Here we are, Gavin and his biggest fan, his momma!

I know it seems hard to believe, but I am here, updating my blog about our lives, not promoting Steve's website or anything. (And for those of you that know me, and know my style...Steve signed in as me and wrote that last 3 posts...ack! That's what I get for not updating my blog!) So I'm sorry to anyone that cares to know what's going on in our lives!

We have been really busy lately and I'm grateful for where we are at right now. Gavin is the BEST baby and is a total delight! He has a very mild temperment, but is a total show-off, just like his pop. He is so much fun right now and he is learning so much and growing everyday! He is talking up a storm and learns about one new word every other day or so! He says momma and dadda, and hi mom, hi dad, ball, kisses, thank you and he's signing too. He says more, please and all done. It's so cute! He has been trying to communicate since he was born! Now he's finally aquiring the skills to do so! He's not walking yet, but he's so close! He walks along everything and will walk as long as he has a pinky of help...but as soon as he's on his own, he just sits down. It's pretty funny. He's very content to sit and play with a toy for a long period of time. I really can't complain about this boy! I'm so in love with this kid, it's crazy. He's still prety small for his age (he weighing in at a whoppin' 17 1/2 pounds and he's 13 months), but he's right on track for everything else.

As for Steve, he's let you know (in my words, appearantly) what he's been up to. He's been really busy with 3 part-time jobs, but next week he's starts full time for a marketing agency and he's really excited about the oppertunity he has to work with really amazing guys. He gets to be paid to learn what he wants to know from people who really know what they're doing. It's a huge blessing and I'm really proud of him for following his gut and doing what he knows is right for him...even when the money isn't as good in the beginning. Its hard to walk away from a (soul-crushing) sure-thing 9-5 job for something you believe in and hope for success. But guts he has, and I'm so impressed with the way he's handled himself while we've had some serious financial stress. While we are not out of the woods yet, we are on the up and up and see hope in 2010 for our family. Life is good...almost. ;)

And as for me, I've been trying to keep this family together, help 2 of my siblings plan weddings that will be happening this year and trying to get into shape. I've been a busy girl! My brother Josh is getting married in 9 days and my sister is getting married in October. Its really exciting and I love me a good weddin'!

I am going to go to bed, but I will have you know that it's my New's Years resolution to blog consistantly and relavently this year...so look forward to more from me!

Food giveaway

Make sure you sign up and pass this around. My husbands company is giving away $60 in Gift Certificates to Braza Grill. Thats right 3 people will win $20 in FREE food. Braza's food is so amazing, you'll love it.
There are two ways to enter. Go become a member of Salt Lake Restaurant (its free) and the second way is to Click the Share Button on the contest page and mention how awesome they are on Facebook. Its pretty easy to do!

http://www.saltlakerestaurant.com/braza-grill-salt-lake-restaurant/

My good friend Keri Treasure won the Braza giveaway in October. So go sign up and mention them on Facebook.

This is so cool!

So I am so proud of my husband. He has been working long hours between his regular job and the company he is trying to get started with his best friend Brian (Robyn Lunds husband). The business they are starting is www.saltlakerestaurant.com. Their website advertises for restaurants here in the Salt Lake Valley.
It has grown so fast and all though he works late into the night I am proud of him and know it will be successful. Since they started they have given away $1500 in Gift Certificates and over $10,000 in coupons. If you are not a member of their email list go to the website and become one.
I want to help his business grow, so I wanted ask my friends if they would mind blogging about his website. One thing that would help them is to get some video interviews with some of my friends just talking about their favorite restaurants and why they love it. Or you could talk about your favorite place to eat for Valentines day. Of course you would get a copy of the interview to put on your own blog, so your friends can see it. Let me know if you are interested.
Our son Gavin is growing so fast. I swear everyday he is getting smarter and smarter. I just love him so much. He is starting to transfer between objects so I think he will be walking soon. He can cruise around the house with his walker, but still lacks the confidence to go it alone. He'll get it.
Well life is pretty good. I will try to get some new photos up here as soon as I can.

Free Dessert for my friends.

So my husband and his friends started a cool new website for finding restaurants in Salt Lake. The name is http://www.saltlakerestaurant.com/. They get awesome coupon deals on eating out and also do weekly giveaways to these restaurants. So far they have given away over $300 worth of free food and they have restaurants lining up to giveaway more gift cards with them.
On http://www.saltlakerestaurant.com/ you will find the contest giveaway information each week, the hot dining deals coupons under the coupon page and you can also access their blog which contains funny stories and videos.

My husband is trying to get the word out about his website and is willing to personally hook my friends up with a FREE Dessert to Madeline's Steakhouse (worth $9). All you have to do to get the free treat is:
1)go to the website and check it out, do a blog post about http://www.saltlakerestaurant.com/ telling what you think of the website.
2)then email a link of your blog to saltlakerestaurant@gmail.com. He will verify that you did the post and he will mail you the FREE dessert card.
Thanks everybody for helping get the name out. I appreciate it. I hope everyone is doing well.

Finally, some pics!

Here are some great pictures of Gavin at 8 months. He is such a ham!! He finally started crawling and he's so timid and cute about the way he moves. Its so sweet. I could NOT imagine a sweeter boy than him. He sleeps so good now. It took almost EIGHT months for him to sleep through the night, but he's sure making up for it now! He sleeps for 10-12 hours at night and then one solid 3-4 hour nap in the day. SO BLESSED. But like I said, don't get mad at me...I more than paid my dues with his first eight months of life!

Gavin looks like such a BIG boy in this pic...its happening so fast!

Yes, those are DIMPLES people! He's my lil blond AC Slater! Swoon!

And for anyone wanting to know the results of the NextFit 12 week challange with Kathy Smith, I'm happy to report that I lost 15 pounds and I ran a personal 5K this morning. So awesome! I loved the program and I am going to keep this up and go for my next goal of losing another 15 pounds. Slow and steady!

Not the best pic of me, but I won a cute packet of SPRI home workout gear for attending ALL 12 weeks of the NextFit Challenge (one of 5 people, thank you very much!).

This is a sweet pic of me and two of my dear friend Angie's triplets (one had to stay at the hospital an extra week to stay cozy warm). So precious! I'm so proud of Angie and Keith, they are the cutest mom and dad! 2 boys and girl, all healthy and growing! Way to go!!!

Whats for dinner, y'all?

Hi everybody! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I have been busy being mommy, wife, gym rat and a mormon with a calling. Things are going really well for us and Steve is trying to get a side business up and running. He is working with Robyn Lunds husband, Brian on a website to save people in Salt Lake money on eating out. Check it out. http://www.saltlakerestaurant.com/

Gavin finally put on some weight and has grown 6 inches. He is going to be a tall skinny kid I think. I love him so much. He is so close to crawling. Today he crawled a few steps forward, but then got frustrated and rolled over. He likes to roll everywhere.

12 Weeks From Now...

In 12 weeks I hope I have an awesome "after" picture to post on this blog!!! Cuz I had some pretty sorry before pics taken last week and I am going to make a great change!

Jenny, me, Robyn, Keri, Christine, and my Momma Julie
Here I am running for my life!

Next Fit is my dad's company that is going big with a revolutionary idea to get America moving. Its called the Next Fit Keychain Trainer. It is a portable MP3 player that you can plug into your USB drive, fill out your profile and based on that, it will very accurately choose trainers that would be best for you. I have worked out with Kathy Smith, Kent Burden, Michael George and Dori Madsen. I am taking part in the 12 week challenge with Kathy Smith (fitness queen!)and we had our first group (160 people!!) workout on Saturday and they worked us over! I was sore for 3 days! It is so inspiring to workout next to Kathy Smith and look over and see a 75 year old man chuggin along right with us. Not to mention I get to workout with some of my best girlfriends! What a great experience this has been so far! I get to then use my "keychain trainer" during the week and choose which ever trainer I want!

If anyone is interested in joining this challenge, just let me know! The 12 week challenge has already started, but they are letting people join until the end of next week! It is such a great oppertunity to make the changes you want...and meet incredible people! The Keychain Trainer is usually $100 plus 24.95 a month, but if you complete the challenge, they reimberse the cost of the trainer PLUS the next 2 months of service. All you have to do it show up to the workouts each Saturday and work out 3 times a week with the device. If you are interested...there is still time!

Now that you have seen my before picture, I look forward to getting to my after picture! Wish me luck!