Utah and Bear Lake

UTAH

We went to this really cool park last week. It was a western theme playground. It had cover wagons, trains, and boats you could pretend to drive, and the playground had a jail and different stores with slides, tunnels, and bridges built into it. There were also swings, monkey bars, rock climbing, and sandpits. Easton had fun going down the slides with me and playing on the swings. I bet he would have had a lot more fun if he was older. It was definitely made for older kids, but I think he still had fun.

Easton driving the covered wagon.

Easton is absolutely loving the stairs at his Grandma and Grandpa Kelsey's house. Since we have been here he has mastered going up the stairs and is currently learning how to come down.

To celebrate mine and Sue's birthday we went to Gardner's village and ate at Archibald's (we both got a free meal but we had to bring our husbands to get the deal). It's a really cute restaurant with a bunch of little shops. They even have a little petting zoo for the kids. It was already closed by the time we got there, but Easton still enjoyed just looking at all the animals.

Nathan, Easton, and I went up to Provo to see Nate's best friend Art and to get some BYU gear for Nathan for Father's Day. Unfortunately, Sierra (Art's wife) and Eli (son) left earlier that morning so we weren't able to see them, but we finally got to meet their youngest son, Wesley. Wesley is about two months older than Easton. I think Easton had fun hanging out with someone his own age for a change (I can't say the same for Wesley since Easton was following him all around and stealing all his toys). Before we left BYU I had to get my usual Chicken bowl and cookies and cream milk. Being the great mother that I am I thought I would share my milk with Easton (this is not an easy thing for me to do because I like this milk so much and you can only get it at the creamery). Anyways, I filled Easton's cup with just a little bit of milk since he generally doesn't drink very much. This was a big mistake. I don't think I have seen Easton drink something so fast. He was trying with all his might to get every ounce of that milk out of his sippy cup and when he couldn't get anything out, he started getting very, very upset. He got even more upset with me when I took the cup from him to fill it up again. Of course he calmed down once he had the cup of milk in hand.

I told Nathan that we might be in trouble and was thinking that we might not have a perfect little boy anymore if we don't have this milk on hand at all times. I was seriously worried that we would have a cranky baby forever since we just introduced the greatest milk ever and would have no way of getting this milk unless we moved to Provo. Luckily, we had just enough milk for one more fill up (which he didn't finish completely) that left him full and happy. I might add that I didn't even get half of the milk. What moms won't do for their kids. On our car ride home we stopped in to see Grandma and Grandpa Davis (Missionary couple from Nathan's Mission). It was really nice to see them again.

BEAR LAKE

Thursday through Saturday we went camping at Bear Lake. It was tons of fun (probably because it wasn't the roughing it type of camping which is definitely my type of camping). It was Sue's birthday on the 20th so they rented a camp site (the super site). We had our own fenced in yard equipped with a hot tub, fire pit, and two BBQ's. We went ATVing, swimming, and spent about an hour down at the lake. The water was freezing, but Nathan was the only daring one to go in above his knees. While Easton took a nap, (well that was the plan anyways, but he actually didn't take a nap) Nathan and I went ATVing together. It was really nice to get away just the two of us because it doesn't happen all that often anymore these days. We went up in the mountains which was green and the view of the lake was gorgeous. I wish I would have remembered to bring my camera but of course I forgot it.

Fenced in yard

Dad and Easton

Easton absolutely loved Sue's cake (well the frosting anyways). He tried licking every inch of it off his plate. He is such a funny little guy.

No worries, Easton didn't actually drive.

Dad and Easton playing in the Sand.

Birthday, Test, and Utah

This last week has been great! It was my birthday on Wednesday. I went jogging with my friends early that morning and when I came home Nathan surprised me with a Little Debbie's swiss cake with 23 candles (It makes you feel really old when there are more candles than cake). It was so sweet of him and I was so surprised. I wasn't expecting anything since he has been really busy studying for his test (which is finally over....YES!!!). Nathan took most of the day off and took me shopping and out to eat. It was fun to get some much needed clothes but even more fun to just spend the day with my boys. It has been a long time since we got to hang out all day as a family. Of course the day just flew by, but I guess that is what happens when you are having fun. Also, that day we got our pictures taken by a friend in our ward. I got to look at a few of them on her blog (http://www.hayesphotography.blogspot.com/) and they turned out great. I'm excited to see the rest of them, but unfortunately, that won't happen until we get back to Maryland. The day before my birthday, my friends had a little get together/party for me. We hung out and ate snacks and cupcakes. Thanks guys, it was a lot of fun.

Nathan took his test on Thursday. I think he did pretty well but we won't find out the results for probably six weeks. I think that is going to kill Nathan to have to wait that long. It is exciting though that he is finally done. No more 10+ hours of studying, no more study materials/books spread out over our apartment, and I can finally have my bedroom back. Nathan actually seems like a doctor these days. It is really cute. If we are watching something on TV or someone passes by with something wrong he is constantly diagnosing them. "They have _____ and _____ wrong with them so they most likely have _____. It is neat to see that he finally knows his stuff.

We took off Saturday for Utah. The plane ride wasn't quite how I was expecting it. We weaned Easton off his pacifier about a week and a half prior to us taking off for Utah and on the plane ride I was thinking that that was the worst idea ever. The good news is Easton isn't dependent on his pacifier anymore, so he won't be one of those toddlers running around with a pacifier until he is 3 or 4 years old (which makes me happy because that is a huge pet peeve of mine). So Easton basically hates his pacifier now and he refused to take it on the plane and so we had nothing to help with his ears. On top of that it was past his nap time when we took off so he was tired, cranky and in pain. I felt so bad for all the passengers on board. We probably made half their trip miserable but I mean what can you do?

We are finally in Utah and I am loving it. I love spending time with family and getting away from every day life. It is fun to be able to hang out with Nathan and just do whatever we want when we want (with the exception of Easton's nap time). Right now we are staying with Nathan's dad and Sue. Easton is having fun with his grandparents, uncle Andy, and Kodi (the dog). When we first got here Easton was terrified of Kodi (Easton really hasn't been around a dog before). He only wanted to be held and when we put him down he would either start crying, scream, shake, or tighten his body into a ball (kind of reminded me of a scared turtle). It was sad but kind of funny at the same time. Eventually, Easton came around and he absolutely loves Kodi now. He's basically Kodi's shadow now. He follows him all over the house (poor Kodi. At least he is faster than Easton so he can get away and try to hide from him). Easton gets the biggest grin on his face whenever he sees Kodi now and he laughs and giggles when he is in the high chair and Kodi licks his feet. He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. Easton also loves sharing food with Kodi (when I say sharing I mean sharing both ways). Easton shares about half his food with Kodi and every once in a while Easton gets into Kodi's food and puts a few piece of dog food in his mouth. It's cute isn't it? Makes a mom proud.

Easton eating in the same high chair that Grandma Sue ate in as a baby.

Easton having fun on the swing in G & G Kelsey's backyard.

Zoo pics

Here is a few pictures from our zoo excursion. Thanks Heather for sending them to me.

Aleese, Barrick, Savannah, and Easton

Apparently Easton thinks he is a monkey...

Mom and Easton watching the elephant. Easton wouldn't take his eyes off the elephant not even for a quick picture.

Easton and 5K

Easton is learning so many new things recently. It is so enjoyable as a mom to watch him learn and grow. Just this week Easton has really taken off with his walking and he hasn’t looked back. He is practically a pro now. With his hands straight in the air for balance, he is a walking machine. It is really cute! Along with his walking, he has just recently begun what Nathan likes to call his Popeye look. I call it his stinky face. He likes to scrunch up his nose and breathe in and out very quickly. It’s not the most attractive look but it is funny and I can’t help but laugh every time he makes it (of course he enjoys the reaction he gets when he makes that face, so he is doing it quite often these days). Here’s a short walking video to get a little glimpse of what his face looks like (this is the best I could get. He doesn’t make the face as well when the camera comes out).

So Easton is going to be the next NBA player or pro soccer player (however you want to look at it, maybe a combination). This week he learned to slam dunk soccer balls into his toy soccer net. I know it’s a little messed up, two sports in one but what can I say, “My kids got talent”. I have a video of him dunking, but he doesn’t do it until the very end of the video so you’ll have to be patient.

My boy is a well rounded sports player. This is a picture of him in his baseball outfit with his bat and ball.

Along with all these exciting accomplishments this week, Easton has also had a couple rough moments as well. On Monday he had his 12 month well baby check up and he had to get FOUR shots. He was not a happy camper. And just when he thought he was finished getting tortured, we had one more little surprise waiting for him over at the hospital. Easton’s doctor also wanted some blood drawn to make sure his iron level was okay and to also get a lead screen done. My poor little boy was already screaming before they even stuck him with the needle. I’m pretty sure he knew exactly what was going on. That’s a picture of his battle wounds. The face explains it all.

Then on Friday, Easton found an interesting creature flying and buzzing around our apartment window. Being the curious boy that he is, he decided he was going to get a better look at it and poke at it. Of course the bee appreciated it so much that he wanted to give Easton a special gift to remember him by. He left Easton screaming with tears and a half swollen hand. Dad came to the rescue and told the bee off, “Nobody hurts my son” and then smack. They bee was never seen or heard from again.

5K Run

Yesterday, I ran a 5k (race for the cure) with a couple of my running buddies. Because Nathan was studying for his big test, that he has to take this coming Thursday, I had the pleasure of bring Easton along for the ride. We woke up at 5:30 and rode the metro down with the Stewarts. The metro was jammed packed with runners by the time we got downtown. It was crazy how many people were running/walking in the race. Aleese and I packed our boys in our jogging strollers and took off running (well sort of). Apparently, all strollers have to start behind the walkers (which makes no sense for those who are planning on jogging, which we were). Aleese and I had to weave in and out of people and ended up getting on the sidewalk in hopes that we could get around all the walkers. Eventually, our luck ran out and the walkers began to crowd the sidewalk which led Aleese and me to jog on the grass and dirt. It was interesting to say the least. Off roading is a little difficult when you are pushing a stroller. When there wasn’t grass or dirt for us to run on we got stuck behind walkers. We finished the race in 46 minutes with sweat pouring down us and a few friends cheering us on. There was not an inch of us that wasn’t covered in sweat (disgusting). It was so hot and muggy, but it was still lots of fun. It was definitely worth it.

Easton ready for the 5k with his matching bib on.

Aleese and me right after we crossed the finish line (the boys are sleeping).

Diana, me, and Aleese (running buddies minus Heather. We missed you Heather).

Happy 1st Birthday Easton!

Easton is officially ONE now! This year has gone by so fast I can’t even believe it. To celebrate we got a bunch of friends (since we have no family out here) together and had a little party. I think it turned out pretty well and I think everyone had a fun time. We were supposed to have the party at a local park, but just my luck it ended up raining so we had to move it indoors. My friend, Diana, was such a sweetheart. She offered to have Easton’s party at her house. I am so grateful for her because I really don’t think we could have had that many people in our little apartment and all leave on good terms by the end of it. I made two cakes; one for Easton to smash (which he did a horrible job at) and one for everyone else.

This is about as much smashing as Easton did with his cake. It doesn’t get anymore exciting than this. All he did was just poke at it and then lick his finger. I guess he is just too neat of an eater and doesn’t like to get messy (this is probably mom’s fault).

Here’s the bathtub cake I made for everyone else. Right before the party started, Nathan accidentally spilled bubbles on part of the cake. I was so mad at him. I had spent so much time on the cake and now it was ruined! Okay, so it wasn’t completely ruined but I was still mad. I tried to clean up as much of it as I could, but unfortunately, is wasn’t coming off. It ended up working out okay though. We just cut around the parts that had the bubbles on it and threw it away while we were serving it. No one even knew (well now the secrets out). Sorry guys!

Picture of the Kelsey family with the cakes.

Here is the fabulous bubble machine that ruined Easton’s cake. It was a huge hit with the kids. They absolutely loved it. Can you believe it spits out 4,000 bubbles in one minute? Now that is a lot of bubbles.

Everyone was so generous with gifts and Easton loves all of his new toys. Thanks everyone for the wonderful gifts and for making this day so special for Easton.

Easton almost didn’t make it past 1 year and 1 day old. For some reason he just kept hurting himself all day long. Right before we left to go to Diana’s house, Easton misjudged trying to grab the bathroom door and ended up hitting his head on the bathroom scale which instantly left an indent that eventually led to a bruise (poor little guy). And if that wasn’t enough, while we were at Diana’s, Easton apparently thought because he was now one that he could take on a new challenge: the stairs. Nathan and I were so busy setting up for the party that we didn’t realize Easton was trying to follow Diana up the stairs and yep you guessed it. He crawled up about five steps and then came tumbling down onto a hardwood floor (ouch!). After the party ended and we were cleaning up, Easton somehow managed to close his own finger in the closet door. I guess Easton has more than three lives, which is a good thing because I don’t know what I would do without this little boy in my life. He is my little bundle of joy and I love him so much.

I know this is a really long post but I have just one last thing to add. I thought it would be fun to post pictures of Easton over the last 12 months. I hope you enjoy watching him grow up as much as I know I did.

1 day old 1 month old

2 months old 3 months old

4 months old 5 months old

6 months old 7 months old

8 months old 9 months old

10 months old 11 months old

And that’s my baby boy growing up in a nutshell.

Memorial Day and Zoo Trip

Memorial Day
Easton and I went swimming with a couple of friends while Nathan stayed home and studied. How boring! I thought holidays were for relaxing and enjoying time with family and friends. Easton and I had tons of fun and maybe next time we go swimming, if we are lucky, dad will join us. This was Easton’s first time swimming and man the water was freezing. I was a little worried that this first time experience would turn out to be a traumatic one, but to my surprise he absolutely loved it!In fact, he probably would have stayed in the water all day splashing if I would have let him (I guess it wasn’t that surprising considering Easton loves bath time and splashing not only me but every inch of our bathroom as well). Easton still had a good time despite the fact that he kept rubbing sunscreen in his eyes. I felt so bad. His eyes were all red and puffy. Next time we will definitely need to get some tear free sunscreen (Sometimes I wonder how it is that the first child ever survives. It is truly amazing with all the mistakes their parents make). After swimming we went and picked dad up and went to a BBQ with a bunch of close friends. I guess Nathan was able to enjoy his holiday, even if it was just for a little bit.

Zoo
On Wednesday, Easton and I went to the zoo with a bunch of friends. I love getting out of the house and doing things with friends. Easton really seemed to like the zoo a lot more this time, especially the elephant. I just love watching Easton discover new things. The look on his face and the excitement he gets is priceless. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but luckily my friend, Heather, remembered hers. I will need to get those pictures from her and hopefully post some of those pictures soon.

Happy Feet

Easton is a funny little guy. Just recently he started doing a little dance (what I like to call his happy feet dance). The way he moves his feet obviously reminds me of the little penguin off of that movie. It is pretty funny to watch. I have tried several times to tape it but as soon as the camera comes out the feet stop tapping. I really hope I can get it on tape because it is absolutely adorable. I love it!