Flashback Friday

I realize that this is only a flashback to a couple months ago, but I found these pictures and can't believe how huge I was!  These were taken about one week before going into labor.  Holy cow, Daxton was a big boy.  If he would have went to term, the doctors were predicting that he was going to be 10+ pounds.  I'm pretty ok with how things turned out and his 6 pound 15 oz body instead of the double digits!

I'm loving my little man, although last night he was up from 1-4am...mom keeps telling me sleep is overrated.  We are trying hard to establish a routine to help with feeding and nap times.  He is a stubborn one though, and it's taking awhile to retrain him.  I guess he takes after his momma in that way!

Daxton Meets His Cousins

We are so excited to be able to live close to family, especially since so many of our family members live in other states.  Last weekend we had our first family adventure out of the house.  Daxton had finally reached his due date so we ended his house arrest by introducing him to his crazy cousins.

 Dallas was pretty funny for the first hour or two, standing as a sentinel over the baby to protect from 'germy' hands, but he soon realized that everything was going to be fine.  The kids were so cute with little Daxton.  They loved touching his little toes and giving him kisses on his head.  One of his toes is a little crooked and we call it his "monkey claw."  When we told that to Will, he couldn't stop giggling and laughing about the 'monkey toe.'  It was pretty cute!

I was a little nervous about introducing Daxton to Will, because I didn't want little Will to be jealous (I wrote about our special little bond in my last post) but Will was amazing with Daxton.  The minute we walked in and put Daxton down, Will crawled up on the table and started making the funniest faces at him.  I'm sure if Daxton was awake he would have loved them!

 After dinner everyone wanted to take turns holding our little guy.

Both Ellis and Rulon were SO sweet with him.  They are getting VERY excited for their new little sister coming in July.  Ellis wanted to help Daxton with everything.  She kept snuggling his blanket around his toes and watching every little move he made.  With all the attention people were giving Daxton, Will started to get pretty funny.  After Rulon took his turn holding Daxton, Will hopped right into his lap and started crying like a baby.  We all thought it was pretty cute, especially since Will started laughing after!

Thanks for the yummy dinner, Heather and Erik.

And thanks so much for letting us be a part of your lives.

We sure do love you guys and can't wait to meet our new little niece in a few weeks!

Will's Birthday

I can't believe that my little Will turned 3 years old!

My nephew and I have a special little bond.  I wish I could put it into words.

He was born during a very hard time for Dallas and I.  We were trying so hard to start a family and things were not working out.  The doctors didn't have any answers and kept telling us that things looked fine and just to keep trying.  It was extremely frustrating and would often make me feel quite depressed.

One thing that always cheered me up was little Will.

Whenever I would get frustrated or sad, I would drive over to my brothers house and snuggle with Will.  He was such a sweet baby and would immediately fall asleep cozied up on my chest.  My sister-in-law, Heather, was so great about letting me show up any time to hold him.  It was the perfect therapy for me!  I love how even now, he gets excited to see me.  He'll still let me give him big hugs and kisses, and on those special days, will even let me snuggle a bit.

Will's birthday was last month and since Daxton had only been home from the NICU for a week, Dallas stayed at home to babysit while I went over to help decorate cupcakes.  The kids were so excited and wanted to know everything about their new cousin.  Ellis was such a sweetheart and decorated some cupcakes for Dallas.  I'm sure he loved that there were more sprinkles than frosting on them!  

I sure do love you, little Will.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Thanks for always making me smile!


(Make sure to click on the picture to enlarge and see his many facial expressions)

Fall Recap: Dallas' Birthday and Christmas in Casper

This is the last of my 'Fall Recaps'.

December turned out to be quite the busy month.  The holidays always seem to bring a lot of activity from finishing up work, shopping for the family, attending holiday parties, baking goodies, etc.  I was also almost into the second trimester, so my nausea had mostly passed and I was regaining energy.  I figured that it would be fun to make a lot of the gifts this year, so I spent a lot of time at different craft stores and up to my elbows in modpodge and pictures.  I hope everyone enjoyed their gifts because they were made with serious love!

Dallas's birthday is on the 22nd of December, so it's been a bit difficult to distinguish it from Christmas gifts some years.  I asked him once if he liked having it so close to the holiday season and he said that it was great because he got twice the amount of gifts.  So if he's fine with it, I should be too!

This year we decided to have a combined birthday party for him and another neighbor friend in our ward, Jay.  It was pretty easy since both guys are totally laid back.  We opened up our apartment to the neighborhood, pushed all the furniture back, and let the kids go wild.  Each had their own cake with several birthday candles to blow out, lots of ice cream and goodies...I'm pretty sure all the kids were in sugar comas by the end of the night!

The party went pretty late into the night, which made for a very early morning.  We left for the SFO airport via BART around 4am.  Casper is a pretty hard place to get to since it's in the middle of Wyoming and pretty expensive to fly into.  We found extremely cheap flights from Vegas to Casper, so we ended up flying to Vegas in the morning and then catching another flight from there to Casper that night.  By the time we got to Casper I was not feeling too hot.  I figured it was because I hadn't slept the night before with all the partying.  Needless to say within the next few hours I had developed the worlds worst cough and was totally congested.

We don't get to see Dallas' family very often, because we live so far away from everyone, and I felt horrible that I wasn't feeling well.  On Christmas Eve we went over to Grandpa and Grandma Dittburner's house for the traditional family dinner and gift exchange.  It was so much fun to see little Brynnlee interact with everyone, especially the dogs.  She got a kick out of chasing them around the house.  I also love watching Dallas interact with his dad.  They have such a special relationship.  I pray that our little boy will take after his father and grandfathers!

Ashleigh found the most amazing vest and I wish I would have taken a picture of her dressing up poor Kelli in it.  I swear she is the most patient dog ever!  Christmas morning everyone went to church, but I was up all night sick, so I stayed in bed.  When they got back from church we all opened presents and watched Brynnlee tear apart the wrapping paper.  She is pretty darn cute!

The minute that I started to show signs of illness, Dallas did what every supporting husband would... He set me up in the basement bedroom, turned on the humidifier, turned off the lights, and then left.  Every couple hours he would peak his head in, hold his breath, make sure I was ok, and then leave again.  I sure do love him!  We tried to go to a walk-in clinic, but they wouldn't accept us since I was pregnant; too much liability.  So we ended up having to spend an entire morning in the emergency room trying to see a doctor.  It turned out I had bronchitis and two ear infections.  They gave me some great drugs to take that would be safe for the baby as well and then sent us home.  I spent the next few days in bed sleeping.

I felt horrible I missed out on all the Perkins holiday games and family bonding.  They were so sweet to let me sleep and get feeling better.  Dallas said he had a great time hanging out with his family.  They went to a couple movies, played lots of games, visited relatives, went shooting, and ate great food.  Next time I'm going to do everything in my power to not get sick before heading on vacation!

Happy Birthday, Daxton!

Today is Daxton's official due date.  

It's so weird to think that Dallas and I would be on "labor watch" with our bags packed and I'm sure much more prepared than we were 6 weeks ago.  Can I just say how grateful I am for how things worked out?  As it was, I tore during labor pretty bad and little Dax was only 6 pounds.  I can't even imagine how badly my body would have taken it at the weight he is now!  We've had so much fun with him these past six weeks...true, I'm utterly exhausted and am still trying desperately to figure out how to be a mom, but he is just such an incredible blessing in our lives.  

Dallas is such a sweetheart with him.  I am so amazed at his natural instincts to be a father.  I love watching Daxton's reactions to him as well.  The minute he hears Dallas' voice, Daxton will turn his head and raise his eyebrows trying to find daddy.  I should start calling Dallas the baby whisperer or something, he literally has a special connection with our boy and I am so grateful for that.

Sweet Daxton, we are so grateful for you.

We love you so very much.

We love your adorable little facial expressions.

Your little puckered lips and furrowed eyebrows.

We love how you slept for four hours last night giving mommy the longest sleep she's had in the past several weeks!

We love your sweet smiles.

You are the answer to so many of our prayers.

Love you

Love you

Love you!

On his one month birthday (April 27th) we went to the park to try and take family pictures.  Needless to say, this was all he would give us.  At least we got to capture his amazing lips before he started to scream from us waking him up from his nap.  He's going to have to get used to seeing a camera!

Fall Recap: Janelle's Visit and Thanksgiving

After how crazy October turned out to be, November was quite relaxing.

One of my best friends from Provo, Janelle, flew out to visit for a week.  It was her birthday so we definitely wanted to make the trip special.  Dallas loves Janelle and was such a sweetheart with all our crazy ideas.  Since school was out the entire week for Thanksgiving break, I didn't even have work to distract me. 

She flew in on a Sunday night, so Dallas and I picked her up from the airport and drove us into San Francisco.  Janelle and I thought it would be fun to have a couple 'girls days' in the city, so Dallas dropped us off at the Westin Hotel at Union Square.  The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and the perfect way to start the few days of pampering we had planned.  I'm sure Dallas was just excited he didn't have to be present for all the late night talking and giggling!

We stayed up all night catching up and woke up to a yummy birthday breakfast in bed.  Our room had an amazing view looking out towards Union Square.  After getting ready for the day, we spent hours shopping along Powell Street.  Janelle was very patient with my lack of energy and growing baby bump.  During the holiday season the city makes a huge ice skating rink in the middle of Union Square.  Janelle couldn't pass up the opportunity to skate in the middle of San Francisco!

You can't stay at Union Square and not eat at the Chesecake Factory at the top of Macys.  It's become our tradition the past few times she's been out to visit.  We sat outside with the most amazing view of Union Square's Christmas tree lit up and decorated.  After dinner we took our time exploring Macys.  They had an entire floor dedicated to the holidays.  There were hundreds of decorated trees, all a different theme.  The Hawaii theme reminded us of our trip to Oahu back in 2006.  We especially loved the theme "Believe," which brought back some great memories from another trip with friends to southern California that same year.

On our third day in the city, we checked out of the Westin and headed to the California Academy of Sciences.  I was shocked when Janelle told me that I had never taken her there, especially since this was her fifth time visiting the bay area with me.  She loved the indoor rainforest and the aquarium. 

After spending the day at the California Academy of Sciences, we drove over to Baker Beach to watch the sunset.  I absolutely love this beach.  It's very rarely populated and has an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was a little chilly with the wind, but there is nothing like the fresh ocean breeze and the sound of the waves.  We could have stayed there for hours.

The rest of the week we spent back in Pleasant Hill.  We had a blast going to movies, relaxing, and enjoying our time off of work.  On Thanksgiving Dallas, Janelle, and I all pitched in to make a perfect Thanksgiving meal.  It was so great to have her with us.  I wish I could put into words how amazing Janelle is.  She has been such an incredible example to me over the past 8 years that I've known her.  She has literally become one of the biggest blessings in my life and I love her to pieces.

Janelle, I hope you had a great birthday.  Thanks so much for coming out to visit and thank you even more for being the amazing friend that you are.

Fall Recap: Disneyland

It's no secret that I LOVE Disneyland.
I have so many amazing memories with dear friends that I cherish.
I truly believe that there is a special magic children have with their power of the imagination and as adults, we tend to lose sight of that power.  Disneyland allows everyone to be transported back in time to their childhood.  Thank you, Walt, for creating this priceless plastic paradise!

I love how the park transforms with each holiday/season.  My personal favorite will always be Christmas, but Halloween was a close second.  All of the details are so intricate, often unnoticed, but I think that's what makes it so great.  Each time you go you can find something new.

The classic Disney shot on your way into the park.

Will was not enjoying the sun in his eyes!

This is my sad face for not being able to go on my favorite rides Indiana Jones and Space Mountain.  I have to admit, it was a rough few days trying to keep up with everyone.  I had to fight back the constant urge to throw up and I literally had to rest every few minutes.  By the end of the day I would get back to the hotel and crash, often falling asleep before the kids!  Daxton sure was worth it of course, but it's hard to have to watch everyone have fun instead of actually participating.

Dallas and I, being the fun aunt and uncle that we are, decided to buy a churro for both Will and Rulon.  Giving Will his own churro was probably NOT the brightest idea we ever had.  By the end he was covered in cinamon with his eyes glazed over in a sugar coma.  I'm sure Erik and Heather were really happy about that!

We spent a lot of time in toon town and everyone was very cooperative with my picture taking.  I love Rulon and Lincolns facial expressions in the above picture!  It was pretty funny to watch all the kids interacting in that environment.  What fun memories they made with their cousins.

The grandkids call mom and dad "Kiki and Bunda."  I'm not quite sure where it came from or how it started, but they decided to get special Mickey ears made for them.  At the end of the day we watched the big parade, danced in the streets, and were extremely exhausted by the time we left...basically your perfect day at Disneyland...

It was so much fun to spend time with our family.

We love them all so much and feel so incredibly blessed!

Fall Recap: California Adventures

Over the summer Dallas and I planned a week long trip to Disneyland and California Adventures with my older brother, Erik, and his family.  We figured that the end of October would be the perfect time to go since there aren't many crowds and we could celebrate my nephews birthday.  Word spread through my family and before long my parents and my oldest brother, Bryan, and his family also wanted to join us.  I spent the next four months so excited for October to role around.

Little did I know that I would be right in the middle of my first trimester of pregnancy...

 Erik and Heather never told their kids that Bryan and Heather's family were joining us in southern California (Yes, both of my sister-in-laws are named Heather.)  When we arrived at the parks, Bryan and Heather's family were hiding behind one of the signs.  Right as all the cousins were walking past, they jumped out and surprised them.  The look on Lincoln, Rulon, and Ellis' faces as they saw their cousins was priceless!  Will and Sadie couldn't have cared less, though.

We decided to spend our first day at Disney's California Adventures.  I know this may surprise a lot of you, but out of all the times I've been to the Disneyland parks, this was only my second time going with children and the first time going with children I am related to.  It was such a different and sweet experience.

 We spent a good portion of the day at the Bug's Life section of the park where the rides are focused on younger kids.  It was fine by me, since I was not allowed to go on several different rides being pregnant.  Dallas was quite the enforcer of this rule and wouldn't let me go on any of my favorites...therefore I became the designated photographer.  I did get to ride the caterpillar with my little Will.  He was pretty apprehensive about the whole thing, which made for some great snuggles.

 The thing I loved most about our adventurous day was watching Grandma and Grandpa act like little school kids on all of the rides.  Grandpa even joined the guys going on California Screaming and Tower of Terror.  I'm pretty sure he won't be doing that again!

 The Adams family took over the entire Zephyr ride.  The grandkids LOVED having the whole rocket ship to the family.  I love the above pictures.  I know I'm totally biased, but I have some VERY cute nieces and nephews!

 For lunch, all of the girls had a special reservation to eat at Ariel's Grotto.  We all got our own crowns and were able to meet each of the princesses as was ate.  Ellis was so excited to meet Belle since she was wearing her favorite 'Belle' dress and Sadie was in awe of Snow White, her Halloween costume.  Each of the princesses were so sweet and got pictures with all the girls.  We had a lot of fun being total girls, giggling, singing, dancing, the works.  While the boys were having their own male bonding elsewhere.

 Crazy faces and giving kisses...pretty much sums up our family!

Everyone's favorite ride was the Grizzly Bear Rapids by far.  There was no line so the kids wanted to ride it over and over and over...  They were a bunch of drown rats by the time everyone was finished.

 I absolutely adore my parents.I know that they hate it when I post about them, but I just have to say that they are seriously the most amazing parents.  As you can tell from the picture below, they bring laughter and love to everyone around them.  I'm sure I can say for all my brothers, that we love and appreciate our parents and feel so unbelievably blessed to be their children.

Here's the whole gang, all 16 of us, taking a quick break in between rides.

Next post...DISNEYLAND!!