Today was THE day.....

All I want for Christmas

Is my 2 front teeth.

Wow. This silly thing gives me to much credit.......

But I'll take it.

Your Christmas Sprit Level: 80%

Your Christmas spirit is almost as big as Christmas itself. Christmas is definitely your thing. You celebrate Christmas with enthusiasm. You love every minute of the holidays. Your Christmas spirit is inspiring to everyone who runs into you during the holidays. You make everyone's day just a little bit brighter. And that's what the holidays are all about!

http://www.blogthings.com/doyouhavethechristmasspiritquiz/">Do You Have the Christmas Spirit?

Crappy Holidays

I have been hesitant to go get Bennett's Picture taken with Santa.
Reason#1- They are like $15.
Reason #2- I knew they would turn out like this.

So we did a trial run at our ward party. Confirmed. I am just going to have to dress Jon up if I want that classic happy baby-happy Santa shot. Look at poor Santa. I'm not sure who was more miserable.

Ready or Not.....

here he comes!!

Bennett has been walking for a couple of weeks now. It is a lot more work but ultimately pretty fun. Today I am grateful to that. My arms were getting pretty tired.

I lost 10 pounds in seconds

 I finally got the courage to get rid of my hair. This is not the greatest picture of it but you get the gist. She cut off almost a foot. It is so much easier and feels so much better. I was able to donate it which is something I have always wanted to do. Thanks Karlie, I love it. 

Today I am thankful that it only took me 5 minutes to blow dry. 

Today I am grateful to be a U fan!!

Today I am grateful for my sister

Something came up today and I needed someone to watch Bennett for about 6 hours. So with about an hour notice I called up my sister and she came to the rescue. She even met me half way to pick him up, fed him and found him some clean clothes to wear when he got dirty. Thanks Sis! Now you are about 1/64th away from paying off your dept of the 6 years of babysitting I have supplied for you. But who is keeping score.

{1} Happy Boy!!

Today Bennett is grateful for everyone who spoiled him rotten for his birthday. 

We have big families so we had a party on Sunday with my fam to celebrate Bennett's, cousin Madelyn and uncle Nathan's birthdays. 

Nia and I made the cakes and Nia made all 3 of them videos of the past year. I wish I knew how to put it on here because she did a great job. We love it.

On Bennett's actual birthday he started the day of just 20 minutes into the day. At 12:20 am he decided to wake up ready to party. Reluctantly he went back to bed an hour later and we didn't hear from him until 7am. Later that night we had a party with the Maynes. He loved all the attention. 

Notice the ring around the tub. It is from all the chocolate frosting. Yummmmm!

Thanks so much to everyone came and sent their love. He is set for months of entertainment.

The Best Day of our Lives

Every day, but especially today, we are filled with gratitude for the gift of our little boy Bennett.
Exactly a year ago our lives changes drastically for the better. Tears stream down my face as I remember sitting in the parking lot of the hospital with Jon. With so many mixed emotions, I stared at the hospital doors realizing that we were going in as 2 and coming out as 3.

I have never journaled his birth story so before I forget I better put it in writing. Props to you if you make it through the whole thing. My details may drive you nuts, but this is for me more than anything.
November 18 (3 days over due) I woke up with very consistent contractions. They never got too intense so I waited them out until that evening. We figured we would be going to the hospital some time in the night so we headed to the store to get a few last things. My blood pressure had been up and down my last trimester and my doctor told me if it ever hit a certain number to go to labor and delivery. While we were at the store I took my blood pressure and sure enough it was way higher than the doctor told me to let it get. So we went for our last supper at Quiznos and headed to the hospital. We talked the entire way about when and who to call, what to do in case of an emergency, what he would look like and how excited we were. The last few minute before we reached the hospital was very silent as we listened to our current favorite song, The First Noel by Faith Hill and Josh Groban. Every time I hear that song I get a very vivid memory of sitting in the parking lot with so many mixed emotions. Part of me wanted to go home and better prepare but Jon was not having that. After some tears and a prayer we entered the hospital. After reporting my blood pressure to the nurses they hustled me into a room to get me started. I could feel the urgency in their voices as they would call the doctor on call and discuss their plan of attack because my blood pressure was so high. I maybe should have been scared but I knew I was in good hands. After they had started me on a lot of good stuff to help- it kicked in and my blood pressure plummeted. I could literally feel the life being suck out of me. I felt like I could close my eyes and hibernate. At the other side of the room I could see a very nervous Jon. We locked eyes and I kept with him until they had me leveled back out. After that it was smooth sailing. All that night I could not sleep. I was too excited. All I did was stair wide eyed at my glowing monitor, watching my contractions go up and down and giggling to myself because I could not feel a thing. Every time a nurse would come in she would try to talk me into sleeping but it was not happening. Jon was so sweet and attentive the entire time. The medication that I had to be on made me so thursty. I kept begging him to sneak me some water in my ice ships. Although he felt guilty, he did it. He knew it was better to keep me happy than the nurse. Early that morning my doctor came in and broke my water. After I was able to see and talk to her I felt much more relaxed. I fell asleep and woke up 2 hours later feeling a whole lot of pressure. I told Jon to get the nurse because the baby was coming out. He did not take me too seriously but knew better than to not obey. Just 2 hours before I was at a 5 so I don't blame them for not believing me but I turned out to know what I was talking about. They called my doctor back and after about 45 easy minutes of pushing.......(drum roll).......Bennett arrived at 12:55 pm November 19. Weighing 6lb 15 oz, and 20 in.
My first thought was shock, of how dang cute and tiny he was. I just wanted them to leave us alone to stare at each other. All through out pushing Jon kept saying, " oooh, ouch, this seems like it would really hurt" which was followed by relief that I was comfortable and not feeling a thing. Happy Birthday Bennett Boy. We love you so much and can hardly put our joy into words. You are a radiant little man who brings a smile to the faces of so many friends, family and strangers. We are so proud of you. Thank you so much for the happiness you have brought and the renewed meaning of life. We sure hope that we are doing a good job and helping you be your very best self. We cannot wait to see the fun you have in store for us in the years to come.
Gosh your sweet! Happy Birthday. We Love you- Mom and Dad

Oh dear;

I was hesitant to do a post everyday because I feared missing days here and there. Sure enough I dropped the ball. Oh well, the show must go on.

Today I am grateful for google, and any other search engine out there. I probably use them once a day, at least.

Today I am so grateful for the drop in gas prices. Yay!!
I filled up my car for $38, as apposed to the $60+ that I was used to.

Today I am grateful that I never had to wipe Bennett's eyes, and I haven't for a long time. Ever since he was born his tear ducts have been clogged. Finally they opened up on their own. I am so grateful that we were able to avoid a surgery. I'm sure he is so thankful that I don't have to drive him crazy by cleaning his eyes multiple times a day.

I am so thankful to my little boy for so many reasons. But today I am especially grateful to him for still taking 2, 2 hour naps a day. I sure do love being with him but being with him after his full nap and my me time, awww priceless!

I am so grateful for Jon's job. These days Jobs are not easy to come by. Although it is not perfect and not at all what he expected to be doing in life, we are still grateful for it everyday. I am so grateful that he is the kind of person that people want to hire. I am so proud of him and appreciate and the hard work he does for our family when he is home and away from home.

Today I am grateful for my neighbor Nichole who made these super cute invites for Bennett's birthday. And while we are on the topic of this awesome neighbor- I am Thankful that we have little boys about one year apart, allowing Bennett to be this cute monkey for Halloween. Thanks Nichole, I sure do appreciate you. Everyone needs to have a neighbor like her. I am lucky enough to have quite a few.

Counting down with {Gratitude}

My cousin has a count down to Thanksgiving on her blog and everyday posts something that she is grateful for. Cute idea right! Here we go-

Today I am grateful for my church calling. I am the compassionate service leader and it could not be any more perfect for me. It is easy for me to do and at the same time I feel like I am doing alot to contribute. Recently it has become even more convenient. Jon just got called as the Elders Quorum President. I am really going to appreciate a calling that I can do from home on my own time.

Crazy 8's

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. Life
2. The Office
3. Lost
4. Anything on TLC
5. Anything on History Channel
6. Anything on Travel Channel
7. The Soup
8. News

8 Things that Happened Today:
1. Went to Ikea
2. Went to Costco
3. Sent out Bennett's birthday invites
4. Started dehydrating some apples
5. Took dinner to someone in my ward who just had a 3lb. baby
6. Had a fun time showing Jon the stuff "we" got Bennett for his birthday and Christmas
7. Cleaned the house
8. Fed Bennett spaghetti for dinner, then I got to wipe down the 10 foot radios around his high chair

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Outback
2. The Roof
3. My Mom's
4. Kneaders
5. Chick-fil-A
6. The Elephant Bar
7. Tucanos
8. PF Changs or Pei Wei ( I'm not sure how that is spelled)

8 Adventurous Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Bennett's Birthday
2. Having a walker
3. Moving out of state
4. Vacations
5. More babies
6. The holidays with Bennett
7. The holidays with a husband (this will be Jon's first year in 10 not doing Christmas lights)
8. Snow

8 Things on my Wishlist:
1. A faster computer
2. A knowledge of sewing
3. A garden
4. My garage back, right now it is filled with more Christmas lights than you have ever seen in your life.
5. A house keeper
6. 5 more Bennetts
7. A Vacation
8. A pumpkin smelling plug in

8 Things About Me:
1. I have to eat apples cut up or I would rather not have one at all
2. I have been using coupons a lot more often
3. One of my biggest fears is hitting a deer
4. I am so glad the election is over- not thrilled with the outcome but glad it is over
5. I use all environmentally friendly detergents and cleaning products and I don't give a hoot about the environment. I'm of course kidding. I absolutely give a hoot about the environment but what got me to switch was ALL Bennett. I was afraid he would ingest something harmful. So I switched for him but helping the environment is a good side affect.
6. I didn't know how to use a dish washer until a few years ago when we bought our house.
7.I am already listening to Christmas music
8.And have been for weeks

Now is where I am supposed to tag 8 people to do this. To be honest it was really hard for me to think of 8 things for each. So I guess I tag anyone with time to kill.

"She's so cute"

The other day my baby BOY got called a she. But for this one time I let it slide.

For the past couple of months we have been trying to faze out the bink. It is going really well. But the other day I had to pull out the eMeRgEnCy bink for both of our sanities. While at the bank the teller said, "oh, she is so cute". I guess we deserved that, even though he is draped in boyish blue from the car seat to the clothes and bruses. But none of that really matters when you have a pink bink.

Why pink you wonder?
1-it was given to us
2-we lost all the boy colored ones
3-to discourage using it
Lucky for him, the other day I found one of the lost boy ones, so we can avoid any future confusion.

Big, 11 month old boy!!

Cousin Madeline

Corn Belly's

Bennett thought this was pretty fascinating!! Instead of a sand box, it was a corn box. We kept finding corn kernels in his clothes all night. 

                     Farmer Bennett

We had a fun day. We will be back next year, for sure.

There must be a mistake?!?

The other day I got the mail and noticed we got a catalog for 1st birthday supplies. My first thoughts were, "There must be a mistake. We got someones mail. We have no need for this."
And then I stopped to do the math and realized that there was no mistake at all.
My baby is just a month and a half shy of being the big 1. What the??? Time flies when you are having fun!

{2 Pearly Whites}

Bennett has taken a long tome to show any signs of teething. Finally the day has come.....

2 pearly whites have made an appearance. Can you see??? This is one of those mile stones I am so fine with putting off, but I was pleasantly surprised. Our teething days have not been too bad. He is such a happy, easy going guy. Until they popped through, I didn't even notice he was teething. Aren't they cute!!

CornBelly's

I love finding a deal, so when I do, I love to share it. A radio station has a printable coupon for a .93 cent admission to CornBelly's at Thanksgiving Point. The coupon is only good for this weekend- so hurry up.

Click here!!

Bennett's Room

I have had a few requests for a post on Bennett's room. So, here you have it:

When I was pregnant I was so indecisive. I bought 3 sets of bedding before returning them all and having my Mom make one. I had a vision of exactly what I wanted it to look like. It was not easy but after a lot of shopping, phone calls and internet surfing, I was able to come up with all the components. I am so happy with it. Thanks Mom!!
If you are ever in need of a crib, I highly recommend JcPenney Catalog!!
This was his dresser, Ikea special..........
And here it is after I got my hands on it.
My Dad made this shelf for him and I painted it to match. Bennett is so lucky to have such talented grandparents. This saying came from a Dixie Chicks song. (It's on my playlist) I have always said I would sing it to my little boy, and I do.



Some day I would like to replace this wall hanging with something a little less girly, but until I find it- this will have to do.Our neighbor made Bennett this soft, fluffy blanket. It matches his room perfectly.
I am in the process of doing something cute with these letters, so stay tuned........

10 Years Ago...........

I was 13 years young. Just entering my 8th grade year. My BFF Ashley and I had tons of fun but not with out getting our selves into trouble. I was a sassy little thing who thought I was pretty cool making fashion statements such as wearing about 9 necklaces at a time, painting only 1 finger nail and shopping in my brothers closet. I spent a good amount of time in "pass" which was detention hall. I don't know why my school called it that??

Today's "to do" list:
(how about tomorrow's since it's night time)
1. Plan an art project for my niece to do when she comes to play in the afternoon.
2. Make up an invoice for a painting job I did last week.
3. Get Bennett's new silly things on video
4. Catch up on all your blogs
5. Do some exchanging and returns

Snacks:
1. Ice water, crushed
2. Gram Crackers
3. Anything Chocolate, as always
4. Zucchini Bread
5. Yogurt

If I were a millionaire...
1. Crank out a bunch of babies and get my baby having days over with and have fun, fun, fun with them!
2. Move all my fun neighbors into another close but bigger community.
3. Get Jon the Sunday NFL ticket, a comfy chair and a big TV.
4. Lots of vacations with my family and friends.
5. Repair my body after all the babies.

Places I've lived:
1. Provo Canyon
2. Charleston
3. Midway
4. Orem
5. Here

Jobs:
1. Jerky Stand
2. Flower Delivery
3. Loan Processor
4. Interior Decorator
5. Scrapbooker

I tag:
1. YOU!!

Thanks for tagging me Marnie. This was a fun one.

I LOVE FALL

I am so excited for summer to go and fall to come. It has always been my favorite season. It reminds me of so many things,
the fun holidays, (my costume last year, 8 1/2 months pregnant)












all my favorite colors,









getting ready for Bennett to be born,










decorating my house,













warm foods,











cooler weather and wearing pants and sweaters,









and going back to school.








I realized that this year will be the first that I am not going back to school. After high school I have been working at schools and going to college until now. I really will miss it. I had so much fun with the kids and feeling their excitement, energy and innocence. I loved helping them learn and grow. My favorite thing of all was feeling that I got to share with them of "you did it". I loved seeing them so proud of themselves when they read their first book or even just hung up their jacket by themselves. Even though I will not be doing that at a school, I still get to do it everyday at home with Bennett. I can see the excitement and pride in his eyes when he does something for the first time and immediately looks to me to make sure I saw it and receive his praise. I love what I am doing right now and can't think of anywhere else I would rather be, but here is a little tribute to the kids I will miss and the fun that we had.

Fun Field TripsThis little guy proposed to me right after Jon did. "Miss MarKey will you marry me?" While presenting a giant ring from a coin machine.
"Sorry Ben, I am going to marry Jon."
"But my ring is bigger........"
Smart for a 5 year old, huh. Knows just what to say.



This is Bennett. He was such a sweet boy. I don't know what I would have named my child if I never got to be this little boys teacher.

A fun part of my job was writing, teaching and directing the programs. Don't they looks so cute in their Christmas and spring outfits?