beaches, sunsets, sand, zoo-exploring and fun...

California post! finally!! i have been wanting to post about it for so long, but as luck would have it, i'm really not in the writing mood today. i have literally been editing sessions since 8am this morning (not complaining...okay maybe just a little but shhhhhhh) but you would be too if your butt felt like it is fused to this rock-hard stool i've been sitting on for the passed 7 hours. so, instead of writing about each photo that you are about to see, i will explain here:
-we went to San Diego Zoo...that place was seriously massive! we were there all day long and didn't get through it all. it was really fun though, even though the babies had a bit of a hard time.
-beach beach beach! we spent 2 full days there and we just loved it! and after Dylan spent one of the beach afternoons eating sand and rocks, i pretty much let him eat anything now. he deserves it if he can stomach those.
-family pics on the beach at sunset. i took Cami's family photo's while we were there (i am in the process of editing some now, keep checking my photo blog to see those in a few days, as well as a bunch of other sessions i'm currently editing) and so i wanted just a few casual ones of us since it was Dylan's first time to the beach.

WARNING: LOTS OF PHOTOS!!

enjoy :)

i have about a thousand more photos but i think i have overloaded you already. we had SO much fun in Cali! a hugmungous thanks to Cami and Brandon and baby Kaden for letting us stay with them and for cooking us amazing food! you guys are the best! we can't wait to see you guys soon and visit again!

random 11...

hmmm what to blog about when you are still trying to edit a million pics from photo sessions and from a California trip that you wanna blog about? i know! 11 random facts about Brett and i!
i started a post like this a few months back but for some reason i never published it. maybe i thought it was stupid, or lame, or that it would bore you to death. well, i need to update the blog with something but my Cali pics aren't ready yet, this is the day that you get to read our randoms list. we have about a million random facts about us and our relationship and us separately, but here are just a few to tidy you over and get to know us a little better :)

1. thanks to brett and his refusal to get out of bed in the morning (to give him a tiny bit of credit, he does have to wake up at 5:30) and snoozing his alarm every 3 minutes for 20 minutes straight. i have to wear earplugs to bed. and not to mention his snoring is impeccably loud! i don't know how i have slept with him without earplugs this whole time. thanks to those two foam squishies, i usually always get a good night's sleep.
2. we are soda addicts in our house. water just doesn't cut our thirst people. our fridge is always stocked with Caffeine Free Diet Coke and Voltage Mtn. Dew. If you are ever in the need for a beverage, come on over.
3. i have owned a Crockpot since the day we said "I Do" but it didn't come out of the box until a couple of weeks ago. i never knew how easy and scrumptious a meal could be just by sticking it in that thing and letting it sit for 8 hours. genius. that thing is my new best friend.
4. some couples talk in baby talk. some don't have any cute voices at all. when Brett and i are in a really good mood to joke around, we always do it in a voice with a lisp. i have been doing that with my sister for as long as i can remember, but i am not sure why Brett joined in since we sound ridiculous. but i must admit, i love it.
5. even though i am a stay-at-home mom, i never feed our dogs. go ahead, call animal control on me. i don't even know why this is, but i just don't want to. Brett always feeds them when he gets home. if he is getting home super late that night, i will drag myself the 5 feet it takes to feed them. but other than that, it's Brett's job.
6. we love to read books out loud together. a couple of Sundays ago we started The Hunger Games (wish we would've read it before we saw the movie but what can you do) and we literally, for 7 hours straight, sat in our backyard after Church and took turns reading to each other and eating snacks and cuddling with our pups and baby when he wasn't napping. definitely one of the best Sundays i can remember.
7. when we choose a place to eat out, Brett, without fail, every time, always says that he will eat wherever sounds good to me. and every time, without fail, i know that he will disagree with my first 3 choices. this happens every.single.time. and even though this has happened for as long as i can remember, i still manage to name places off. why? i don't even know.
8. Brett sings constantly. and not your regular songs. he makes up songs. every single day. to the tunes of church hymns and Christmas Carols only. those are the only tunes he chooses to sing his serenades too. it can get annoying, but mostly it makes me laugh because they are usually hilarious and ones that he knows will put me in a good mood or make me smile.
9. adding to #8, besides him making up songs by himself, we have gotten on a kick the last few months of when we talk, we sing what we say. sounds stupid i know, but it's a good way to laugh together. just picture yourself having an argument with your spouse, and all of a sudden they burst out in song the point they are trying to make. trust, it makes the argument disintegrate almost immediately.
10. one of our favorite things to do, if it's a holiday weekend, is make a midnight run on a Sunday night to a fast-food joint. we used to do it a lot more before the babe came along, but it's still fun to wake him up and go, because he doesn't mind being woken up for 15 minutes then goes right back to sleep when we get home so it makes it even more fun. i don't know why midnight runs are so fun, but we have been doing it since we were dating so it's kind of tradition.
11. our biggest pet name for each other is Pup. we are weird, i know. but i called him it within the first couple weeks we began dating and it totally stuck. and when we talk about Dylan, we refer to him as pup as well. we are so weird i know! i feel weird just writing this out. but, we love it, and it's us, and it's fun.

oh, and here's one from California to get you excited for my Cali post when i get done with the pics...

how to get your baby to hate syrup...

since Dylan is now over 14 months, i have been trying gradually to feed him more solids so he will want his bottle less. it's not going too well. not that he doesn't like normal food, he does, it's me being diligent about feeding him solids constantly that isn't on the fast track. but in one of my attempts last week to have him eat big people food, i decided it would be a great idea to make him french toast. Brett was home from work that day anyways so i wanted to make him a good breakfast too. and since Dylan needed a bath anyways, i thought it would be a fun way for him to get some good food and also to have fun playing in the syrup. (sidenote, i never like Dylan to get dirty, let alone sticky, because i am ocd about it, so this was kind of a big deal)
i was so excited. i thought this was going to be a ball for him and so fun for us to watch. and it was...at first.

see that smile? that look of satisfaction and that twinkle in his eye that says "wow mom! you never let me play like this!! this is awesome! you are awesome!"
i was awesome. the awesomest. and i was proud. proud that he was loving it, and more proud that i was letting that syrup drip down his arms, his legs, into his shirt, into his hair and ears (yes that happened). i was letting it all go so this kid could have a fun time in the sugary syrup. go me!
but then, just as i was getting used to the fact that this wasn't so bad, thinking that this is actually good for him, that twinkle in his eye started to change...

he was dunzo. he went from being the happiest baby to ever play in syrup, to wanting out of that chair. i didn't really understand it at first, but then, i realized why...

i really didn't think this whole process through, as you can see. notice how his shirt sticks to his chin and neck and his hands. why i didn't think i should've probably taken his clothes off except his diaper is beyond. i guess i was just too excited about letting him play in the dumb stuff.
so, after 10 minutes of  Brett and i pulling and tugging,and Dylan screaming and whining, we finally got his clothes off (luckily without cutting them because i had the scissors on hand) and threw him into the tub...

pretty sure that tub was my saving grace because at that point this kid wanted to strangle me i'm sure. you can't tell from this cheeky smile of his, but a few seconds before, while i was carrying him up to the tub, the fire that radiated from his eyes burned into my soul. but once his little bottom touched the water, all was forgiven and all his hatred and judging was out the door.
thank heaven for baths :)
ps, we tried feeding him french toast on Sunday, this time with him in his high chair and us holding a plate with his food on it, and he barely even touched it. perfect. my plan pretty much backfired on me in every way possible. i didn't think his grudge for french toast would last this long. i didn't even think babies remembered that far back (8 days?) well, one way or another, this kid will learn to love syrup again. just give it some time i guess. maybe if i feed him french toast while he is taking a bath? yeah, i think i'll try that next.

it's been busy around here...

we have been very busy around our house the last few days.

as usual, Dylan has been busy watching Toy Story and crawling around like a mad man and walking around every piece of furniture he can get his hands on and drinking out of his sippy-cup and waving to whoever waves at him and babbling like crazy and getting an even more teeth in his already-full mouth of chompers.

Brett has been busy studying for the GMAT and he is starting a course tonight that will help him up his score so he can take it and register for the U's Master's program of Accounting. he has been such a busy guy working his little tail off at work, getting up at 5:30 everyday so he can have Friday's off to be with us and to do yard work to keep our yard looking great. he is the hardest working guy i know. i am so grateful for him and his work ethic and his drive to get things done. because i feel like i have none.

and as for me, i finally have been getting on decorating our home. room by room, instead of just talking and dreaming about it, i've been starting to decorate. the problem has been decorating on the cheap. when you have a limited budget, decorating seems to get pushed to the back-burner, at least for us. but we saved up a little and i did some DIY-ing and our front room is FINALLY finished!!! i am so excited to show you all. we just put the finishing touches in it last night and it felt like Christmas having it finally done and exactly the way i have pictured it in my head.

first, i'll show you what i redid, then show you the full room so you can see the difference.

i got this mirror on KSL even before we were house-hunting because i knew i love mirrors around my house. it's gold with a brown edge. that didn't go with my color scheme for the front room at all so i spray-painted it (hence the tape in the picture) to a light nickel color.

then, i went to Hobby Lobby in search of a couple of really large vases to put on either side of our entry buffet, but every single vase that i was looking at was around $70 a piece. since we aren't rich people, i decided to make the vases i wanted myself. i found a couple of these beauties on the same isle for less than half the price of the ones that were already painted, and since i had a $25 gift-card to the store and a 40% off coupon i got two of them for $12. amazing!! i went to a different store and bought some spray-paint in the color i wanted, and started transforming them.

i don't know why i haven't used spray-paint earlier. it's so easy and fun to redo things and so easy with spray-paint.

so after lots of coats on both the vases and the mirrors, this is how they and the front room turned out...

 and the wall collage that i have dreamed of having ever since i was introduced to Pinterest. after Brett showed me how to use a hammer and a nail and how to hang them, i hung each one of these photos and signs by myself. and i free handed this collage. i set it up on the floor before, but it looked completely different than how it turned out, but i just love it! it was so much fun doing it myself and getting the satisfaction of doing it myself.

so there you have it. i just love it. i have been sitting in this room all morning and just love the feeling of having it just the way i want it.

the living room is next...i have a few things to hang and we are having some furniture made for that room as i type and i am so excited for when it's done :) and i am repainting since i am over the red wall already. ha! go figure. i will post photo's as soon as it's done :)