Taggie & Hightops

Oh how Tavvin loves his "Taggie" and his "Hightops". This last month he just got super attached to these two things and he likes to carry them around with him, especially right after a nap. I love it. I think it's adorable. He kisses (eats) the giraffe's mouth and snuggles the blankie to his face. Too funny.


**Update: so I actually wrote this a month or so ago and he's lost interest in them already haha. It was really cute while it lasted though!

Winter Blues

I think I made a post with the exact title last January. I guess I could check, but I'm too lazy. Oh how I hate January! And speaking of hating January.. I guess I kind of hate February-about May too. It is cold, and the air is crappy, and it looks gross and dead outside. Bleh. I have been just Jonesing for a delightful sunny vaca! My basic reaction to this weather is to hide in my bed day in and day out. Which, I actually have done a lot of when I don't have things to get done. Or sometimes when I do.. But I'm starting to feel bad for Tav, he just wants out! He will point at the keys on the wall, bang on the garage door, and say bye? bye? .... Ya, I need to get us out of the house. I may just even get crazy today and take him on a walk around the neighborhood. Is anyone else this bad this time of year? Do you all feel super bad for me? 

Lets all look at pictures of beautiful places and imagine we're there and not here. And I'll try to be a good mom and take Tavvin to a fun place or two to get his wiggles out!

 OOOooohhh

 AAAaaaahhh

Mmmmm...

Spontaneous St. George Crash

My parents went to St. George for a week after Christmas and had extended the invitation for us to come down if we wanted to. We didn't decided to go until the Saturday after Christmas we just randomly packed up and headed down for a day or two. It was great and I'm glad we went. It was really nice to get out of the yucky weather and get a little sunshine. 

 ^^^Don't be fooled, this only lasted MAYBE an hour on the way there and back. Tav did not like the drive this time around! It was rough. He does look precious in this picture though. ^^

 Shad, Tav and I randomly stopped by this house we saw on the way home from dinner one night. It fulfilled my need to see some Christmas lights this season. ^^

 ^^Tavvin about to get in the pool at the condo^^

 ^^Tavvin was being so funny about the pool. He really wanted to get in and loved being in, but ONLY if dad held him. He wouldn't sit in his floaty or let me hold him. He has been a major daddy's boy lately. So sweet, but sad for me :(.^^^

 ^^We had fun swimming. It was just nice to get in the pool since we haven't since summer.^^

 ^^ So handsome ^^

 ^^We drove up to Dixie Rock Sunday afternoon and hiked around. It was so refreshing to be able to be outside and breath good air and not be freezing to death. Also isn't that blue sky so pretty against the red rock? ^^

^^Right after this photo we hiked that tiny slot canyon in the background. I hated it! It was so skinny I had to turn sideways the whole way. I just hung on to Shad's hand for dear life the whole time. I guess I am a little claustrophobic? (I totally had to look up the spelling on that) ^^

I'm so glad my parents have that condo and let us use it. It's nice to have a little warm getaway every once in a while!

Christmas with the Webbs

We spent this Christmas with the Webbs. This was the first time we had Christmas with them at their home in Lehi instead of Blanding. It was a little different, but still wonderful! 

This post is making me realize how bad I've gotten at getting pictures, I need to work on that! These are all a little random. 

^^^The Monday before Christmas we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. This was Tavvin's first time meeting Santa. He was super nervous and kept reaching for Grandpa to take him back. ^^^

 ^^^ Joe showing Tavvin his newest cousin Cohen on Christmas Eve. We love Cohen! Tavvin doesn't seem too interested, except he really likes handing him his bottle haha. ^^

 ^^^ Christmas eve Stacey, Haven, and I did a puzzle. I love being able to just relax and get lost in something like a puzzle. I was obviously proud of our work and had to snap a photo ^^

 ^^^Christmas Eve just before bed. Grandma and Grandpa's house has such fun toys to play with. ^^

 ^^Shad and Tavvin Christmas morning. It was fun this year Tavvin actually enjoyed opening presents and getting new toys. ^^

 ^^ Tavvin got some new bath toys from his Great Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and he loves them. Actually I do too, I think I have more fun playing with them in the bath then he does, haha. ^^

^^We got Tav that toy, and Grandma Stacey got him the toy flashlight.^^

Shad got me a treadmill this year and it was a huge surprise. I'd been talking just recently about how much I wanted one, but I thought we'd just buy it in the next while. So when I walked upstairs Christmas morning and saw it I was so surprised, it was awesome. My parents got us a grill and I've been wanting one for a long time, we are so thankful. Shad's parents helped us by a new TV and we are loving it. We got totally spoiled and had a great Holiday. We were most thankful to spend it with great people who we love!

Cookie Train

Because what would my blog be like if I didn't post about the cookie train every year?

We made this one FHE in December. Of course I didn't get a single photo of any of us making it... But I made the present and animal car, and Shad did the tunnel (which I thought turned out so awesome!!). Haven did the usual engine, Cody did the coal car, Joe did the... M & M car (which was entirely devoured by tiny hands by the time the Christmas season ended), Chris did the caboose, Stacey did the train station, and Lant made the monster truck. I'm pretty proud of our work this year :). Cody and Joe even got all fancy and linked all the cars together with candy canes. We had a fun time!

Mother

My brother has asked me a few times why I chose to be a Mother.

He has good reason to ask this. If you know me well, you know I'm a  big complainer/pessimist. It's not that I'm not happy, I just have a bad habit of announcing every discomfort or inconvenience that befalls me. So in the short time that I've been a mother, he's seen me at my most exhausted and exasperated. He sees that parenthood is a pretty intensely selfless job and I think for those who haven't experienced it, it may seem like a strange choice.

I have a hard time explaining to him what it really is that makes it so incredibly worth it, but I just had some thoughts run through my head that do a fairly decent job.

I just put Tavvin down for his morning nap. He woke me up multiple times last night, crying, and this morning he was throwing huge fits about eating breakfast. When naptime came, I filled up his bottle of milk, gave him his 'taggie' blankie, and another snuggly blanket. We turned off the bedroom light, turned on his sound machine, and sat down in the rocker. He laid on my lap and I sang him primary songs while he drank his milk. When he finished drinking he rolled over and curled into a ball on my chest. I sang a while longer, but then just rocked and we just snuggled. Whatever inconvenience he had caused me in the last 24 hours, no I could say his whole lifetime, disappeared in that moment. I loved this moment so much, it was seriously hard to get up and put him in his crib so that he could get a decent nap.

In that short stretch of time, my heart completely melted. I experienced a joy so intense that it's hard to explain. It doesn't really compare to anything. He is my child, and that is all I really need.

I felt that joy when I first saw him after giving birth. It was the most physically taxing thing I have ever done, yet the second I saw him it was absolutely more than worth it. Just to see him.

I felt that joy when he first rolled over. And when he first crawled. And when he first walked.

I feel it when I look into his sweet beautiful face and know that he is mine. That he was given to me and I get to have him.

I know I wouldn't have been able to understand this before I had him, so it's hard to explain, but it brings me immeasurable joy to be a mother. And I've only had the privilege for 15 months.

Of course it's hard. So, so hard sometimes. But I would not rather be doing anything else with my time.

Changing the Blog

I changed my blog to private. Mostly because of the of the obvious reason that I don't want creeps knowing details about my life. However, I also want to switch up the tone of my blog a little. I want to make it more of a journal so that I can record thoughts that I have that are important to me or things that I want to remember (I will still be posting all my regular pictures and updates as well). It will probably not be very exciting (or very well written) to anyone else, but I feel like there are things I want to remember, and it's easier and faster to type them here than to write in a journal. So I feel like making it private only lets those who really care to read it be privy to it. It protects my pride a little because some things I share may be slightly personal (I'm not planning on airing dirty laundry or anything!) and I don't want just anyone reading it. So here I go!