Favorite Dress Shop...

Shabby Apple is all about vintage inspired dresses and they are ADORABLE! I am obsessed with this store! It's all online (shabbyapple.com) and EVERYTHING is modest!! It's fabulous! I have never seen a store with such gorgeous dresses that were all modest and very chic. I have a couple of Shabby Apple dresses and just bought another and they are my favorite dresses that I own. And, right now everything is 20% off + FREE shipping! It's a pretty good deal considering these dresses aren't super cheap but they are well worth the price. Go look around, you will seriously fall in love, and probably get a little addicted:)

Weekend in Pictures...

Yeah...it was a pretty fun weekend :)

I'm can't wait...

My Happy Little Man

for this weekend!!!! Brett has a 3-Day weekend from school (and, sidenote, he is Acing all his tests so far!! My husband is so smart:) and of course, Dylan and I are always free now so it's going to be a fabulous weekend full of fun with my boys :) Since we had Dylan so close to July 4th, we didn't get to really Celebrate one of my favorite holidays because he was just too new and I didn't want to take him anywhere super public. But, now that he is 5 weeks old (sigh) we can definitely celebrate the 24th of July, and we plan too:) Below is what is going on this weekend:

• Farmer's Market: Craft Booths, Fresh Produce, Beautiful Outdoors, Yummy Food and Fresh Lemonade...ummm yes please
• Snow Cones...at least two or three visits to the snow shack...they are my ABSOLUTE favorite treat in the summertime
  
• Harry Potter Movie Marathon. I must confess that I have never seen the Harry Potter Movies. I have never really been into it after I got done reading the second book (I was in like 7th grade and I remember swearing off Harry Potter because that book was SO boring). But, with all the hype of the last movie coming out last week, Brett talked me into doing a marathon with him and then we would go see the last one. We watched the first one this evening...it wasn't that bad. 6 more movies to go...
• Texas Roadhouse
• Picnic and Fishing in the Canyon
  
• Play with Dylan
• 24th of July Parade
• Festivities, Carnival and Craft Fair on the 24th
• Sunday Drive

Relaxin' with Daddy

Fun huh?! I can't WAIT! Summer is just so great, I can't believe it's almost over:( Gotta live it up everyday while we can!!!! And Dylan has now fallen asleep to the sound of the keyboard so it's time for me to go to bed before I have to wake up in a couple hours to feed the little sweet cheeks.

Goodnight :)

1 Month Old...

Can you believe this adorable little baby boy is 1-Month old today?!?! Oh my gosh! It's insane how fast the time has gone! I honestly don't even know where the last month went! Seriously. It's been the best month of our lives! Dylan is just SO much fun! I cannot believe how great he is, how much I have learned and how much we love him! He brings us daily laughs and smiles, and we just cannot get enough of him. I love spending my days with him, rocking him and playing with him. We are just so blessed to have this little munchkin for Forever:)

Below are some of the very many pics we have taken of him over the last month:










New things/Facts about Dylan:

-He LOVES church hymns and music. A few days ago Dylan had a really bad tummy ache and he was up crying for 8 hours straight...poor guy and poor us! So I sat him down and rocked him, desperate to do anything to make him stop, and it came to my mind to sing him my favorite hymn, which is "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." I am not kidding, 3 seconds after I started singing him that song, he stopped crying and got the biggest smile on his face! It was ADORABLE. As soon as I got done singing the song over and over again, he went right back to crying. It was an incredible testimony builder to me that Babies really do reach beyond the veil. It was awesome. Now, whenever he is fussy, I turn on my MoTab Pandora station, and it almost immediately calms him down.

-He sleeps all during church, and right when we get home he wakes right up.

-He is still sleeping during most of the night, but it's no longer consistent (dang it!). He will now wake up usually every 3 or 4 hours in the night, not wait 5 or 6 hours.

-He LOVES the outdoors. Everytime there is a window around or a door open, he immediately turns his attention to it. We now go on a lot more picnics.

-He will turn his head to you when he hears mine or Brett's voice. It's so cute. He will also follow us with his eyes when we are walking around the bed or around him at all.

-He loves getting stories told to him. I was in the bathroom washing my face and getting ready for bed one night, and I came out to find Brett holding Dylan and telling him a VERY broken down version of Nephi and His Brothers. It was adorable. Dylan was hypnotized and Brett went on and on about it for 10 or 15 minutes and he didn't miss a beat. It made me fall more in love with both my boys:)

-He loves to kick and pump his arms. Seriously. He is going to grow up to be super active.

-He no longer likes to be bundled up super tightly, he likes to be able to move around. And if we do bundle him up, he immediately kicks out of it.

-He loves his swing.

-He fights going to sleep. It's so funny. He will be so tired, but it will take an hour to rock him to sleep because as soon as he starts falling asleep, and then he will wake himself again. That process goes on for about 30 times, then he lets himself sleep.

-He makes the cutest little sounds. I know all babies do this but it's just adorable.

Transition and Structure...

I love my life. I love everything about my life. But, I need to make some serious changes or I am going to go Crazy!! Don't get me wrong, having Dylan as part of our family is SO much fun and I get to be with Brett almost all day every day and I get to stay home and take care of our baby and do whatever else I want. Who gets to say that? Not a whole lot of people. I feel extremely blessed to be able to live the life I'm living and especially thankful that I get to be at home with my new baby. It's the best job in the world! But, since I had Dylan 3 1/2 weeks ago, my daily routine took a serious hit and shifted dramatically, which you expect to happen right?. I literally went from working 40 hours a week to not working at all then to being a full-time mom. It's been a little tough to transition to being home all day and not having a whole lot of reasons to get out of the house every once in a while, and not to have a reason to get cute everyday. I know your thinking that Brett should be the reason I get up and get cute, but it's way less appealing to do that because Dylan will get his meals all over my clothes at least once during the day. It's also been hard because I haven't been able to be active because you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can exercise after you have a baby so you heal properly. And I want to get this body lookin better than it looked before I had my sweet bundle of joy. So, the wait is a killer to do that.

I came to a point last week where I literally felt like I was going nuts. I hadn't left the house in a week or so and I had most likely been wearing the same sweats the entire time (gross I know) and hadn't gotten ready and hadn't done anything for myself except go to the bathroom. I started getting really grumpy and emotional, and feeling like I had lost who I was in such a short amount of time, and it scared me. I called my mom crying my eyes out and telling her I thought I had postpartum or some sort of depression because I felt like I was going insane, and she is the one who made me realize that I was not taking time out of my day or week to do anything for me. My whole life and everything I did and focused on was now about Dylan, not me. Not that that's a bad thing, but it can be once you hit your breaking point and you start to feel like you are losing yourself. I hadn't even thought to get out and do anything for myself because I feel selfish doing that when Brett needs to focus on his class and homework, and the reason I am not working is to take care of Dylan full-time. But once I got off the phone I talked to Brett about how I was feeling, and he had no idea anything had been going on. He immediately told me to go out and get my nails done and go tanning and go shopping. He always tells me to go out whenever I want and that he wants me to do stuff for me, but I never did. Oh my! I cannot tell you how amazing that felt. I felt like a whole new woman. Seriously. It was amazing that a few hours of getting out of the house could automatically put me back into feeling like myself, and like a better wife and mom. I came home feeling regenerated and felt like I had more patience and love for both my boys than before:)

So, since then I have decided that in order to not go stir-crazy again, I need to make a routine and follow it everyday. I need to get out of the house more often, and feel okay and not guilty about it. We all need time to ourselves, and it's so hard to find that time when you have a new baby. So, I purchased a tanning pass so that will give me motivation to get out of the house, and I am going to get a pass to do Zumba 6 days a week as soon as I get the okay from the doc. I am going to at least do my hair and makeup everyday, so that I feel a little more like myself and pretty for my hard-working hubby. I am going to do something with friends at least once a week, and Brett and I are going to try and get out every day and do a picnic or go on walks or go get frozen yogurt...just do SOMETHING to get out of the house and enjoy time to ourselves in the beautiful summertime sunshine:)

Since making those goals, things have been SO much better for me. I have seen a huge difference in myself. I am so much more patient with everyone in my life, and I feel like I am accomplishing my mommy duties a lot better because I am feeling more confident in myself, and I don't feel like I have lost myself. I almost feel like I have found myself since going through this. Being a mom is what I was meant to be, I feel that with all my heart. And taking time for myself every once in a while helps me do that even better.

Abra Ka Dabra

I have been seeing infomercials for this stuff for as long as I can remember. Seriously, I think I remember seeing them before I even hit puberty and had no idea what zits were. I have never had huge problems with having acne...until I got pregnant!
Ugh, it was more frustrating to deal with than seeing myself transform into an elephant! I started having pimples pop up from the first month I was pregnant and then in the second trimester it subsided. Then the third trimester hit and it was like a bomb exploded on my face. I was having at least a couple popping up a day and by the end it was awful. And I thought it would go away right after I had the baby but it didn't.
I know it's only been a little over 3 weeks since I had Dylan, but they were still showing up as of a week ago. And I was getting a little bit ticked because it wasn't going away and I am super impatient!
I was up late one night and the same old infomercial came on and I gave in and called and I am SO glad I did!!! I started using this stuff 5 days ago...and it has NOT disappointed! I am a little ticked I didn't start using this stuff earlier! It's AMAZING! No joke, I saw a huge difference in my skin after the first day! And as of today, my face is completely clear and looks so much healthier! This stuff is heaven-sent. I HIGHLY recommend it if you are having horrible break-outs and feeling like a 13-year-old like I was. It will work wonders for you. I have never loved my skin and now I do. It's fabulous!

I am in love...

With this little guy! Seriously, nobody could've prepared me for how much love would consume me the first moment I saw him. And it keeps on growing. I was in labor for 22 hours, and it was SO worth every minute (after being pumped full of Pitocin and swelling up bigger than a balloon). It was the hardest but most SPIRITUAL and rewarding experience I have ever had in my life. I would compare it to my wedding day in the temple. It was that good. And it's only gotten better.
Recovery for me has been a breeze (after the first 3 days, those were awful) and Dylan is amazingly healthy. He is already almost two weeks old...tomorrow. I know it's lame that I am getting teary-eyed about it, but I can't help it! He is growing so fast!! On one hand I cannot believe we have had him here for that long, and then on the other hand it feels like we have had him here for forever. I don't remember what life was like without him in it because it's just THAT good! He is just so stinking cute and is just perfect. I want him to stay this little. But, with each day, he does get cuter and cuter, and funnier. He is so much like his momma when it comes to his facial expressions. He has about 30 different expressions he uses (no joke) and so you can usually tell exactly what he's thinking, it's hilarious! He keeps me laughing all day long. Here are some random facts about him right now:

-He sleeps through the night. He sleeps a 6 or 7 hour stretch through the night. I don't know how I got so lucky, but he has only woken me up in the middle of the night once since we brought him home. Here's to hoping that lasts...

-We have mastered Breastfeeding!! It was really frustrating at first because I wasn't sure how to tell when he was done, and not to mention how painful it was at first. But, once we got the hang of it, I have LOVED it! It's bonding time for us. I never thought I would be able to say that before because the thought of nursing totally grossed me out. Yeah, I can't imagine feeling that way now.

-The little man loves to snuggle. He needs at least a few hours of awake snuggle time every day. I LOVE it. Brett loves it. He loves it. So it works:)

-He loves his swing. Our cousins gave us a little swing to put him in when he wants to be rocked and we have our hands full, and Dylan will just sit in that thing and rock away for hours everyday. It's bright and colorful so he loves to look at all the colors and just swing back and forth.

-He has learned how to cross his eyes. It's hilarious. I am trying to get a picture of it because it's just so cute. When I do I will post a pic, it's adorable.

-He smiles! I know, they usually don't learn to smile until a month or whenever, but my mom was the first one who noticed it so I promise I'm not making it up! She noticed it the day after he was born, and he does it all the time now. Especially when he's sleeping. I just know he is talking to my dad on the other side, probably laughing at all the mistakes I have made in the last two weeks:)

-He hates getting his diaper changed unless it's right after he gets fed. After he is fed, you could change his diaper 10 times and he wouldn't care. He is so content after getting a full tummy:)

-He is starting to coo a little bit, and each time Brett and I fall in love. It's the cutest sound I've ever heard.

-He has the most adorable baby's cry I've ever heard. It's not really a cry, it's like a softened whine, and it makes my heart break every time he does it.

-He hates baths, but, he loves getting his hair washed. We bathed him a couple of nights ago and hated the bath, but when it came time to get his hair washed, he sat there and didn't make a peep and started falling asleep. Adorable.

-He has the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen, and they are GORGEOUS! Just like his daddy:)

-I am pretty sure he is annoyed of how much I kiss him because every time I do it now he glares at me. Too bad, I'm not stopping.

-The poor thing gets the hiccups at least once a day, sometimes twice.

-He has taught me patience like nobody else could. I never saw myself always wanting to comfort my baby each time he made a peep, but Dylan, man, each time he even coos in his crib I am over there in 2 seconds waiting to do whatever he needs. He's got us wrapped around his finger.

-He is our entire world, he is adorable, and he's perfect. Brett and I will say a few times a day to each other "oh my gosh, we have a baby! How did we ever live without him?" It's amazing to know that he is OURS forever!

Oh, and he doesn't like to get his picture taken while he's naked. We took family pics and his newborn pics on Saturday and we did them outside, and the poor thing almost cried the entire time. I hope she got some good ones. He did not like being but naked for an hour, but he was sure cute, and he got a mosquito bite on his bottom. Oops. I'll post them as soon as I get them.

Motherhood is AMAZING. I am so grateful this little guy is finally here and that we have him for eternity. The last couple of weeks have been a huge adjustment, but we are starting to finally get the hang of things, at least I am. Brett has had the hang of things since before he was here. He is such a natural father, it makes me fall in love with him even more. He is so willing to change diapers, rock him to sleep, get up with him in the early morning, play with him, and just hold him. I love watching them together, I could do it all day. I really got SO lucky not only in the baby department, but in the husband department. He is amazing!

The Waiting Game...

Yep, this is how I am feeling right about now. Literally. I am getting text messages and phone calls almost every hour from family and friends wondering....and waiting...and wondering some more (don't worry, I'm not complaining. It's nice to know that everyone is almost as excited as we are;). I really thought this little guy would've made his debut already. But, he hasn't. I don't know if he is just too cozy in there or if he is scared or what but we keep reassuring him (yes, we give him daily, well, more like hourly pep-talks) telling him that it's SO much better out here and there is nothing to be afraid of and that we will protect him and love him so much:) They aren't working very well, obviously. But, we will keep trying. One word of progress, I am starting to have more frequent contractions...I went from having one my entire pregnancy to having a couple a week (they last about 2 seconds a piece) but hey, that's a little progress right? {Silver lining}
We have yet another doctor's appointment tomorrow to see if I am dilated at all and to schedule getting induced...hopefully it doesn't come to that though. I really would prefer to have him come on his own time, even if that means a few more days. My doctor says that we would schedule the induction a week from tomorrow...that sounds like an eternity! It's such a bitter-sweet thing. I am wanting him to come out so badly (I am SO over being pregnant), but at the same time, I am really enjoying being with Brett all day and having it just be us. But, we both feel as ready as we can be (I never thought I would be able to say that about myself), are both super excited, and both feel like we need Dylan here to feel like our family is complete; we know it's going to be hard but it's going to bring so much happiness and fun that we have never experienced and we are so ready for it! So, therefore, we are getting more and more anxious by the day. I guess that's what comes with the unknown timing right? I just know that God is teaching me patience at this point. And what I need to remember is this: when Dylan wants to come, he will come. I just need to remember that. And no amount of complaining, jumping, bouncing or talking about it is going to change it (we will keep giving him pep talks though; it's fun to see him squirm around when Brett talks right into my tummy, he loves hearing his daddy's voice).

Okay, so here is what better be the last pregnancy update I have for at least 2 years, if not longer:

Pregnancy Update at 40 Weeks & 1 Day:

-I am constantly craving Strawberries. I have gone through like 3 cases of them these last two weeks. And not the little cases, they are BIG cases. YUM!

-I am now on a Diet Dr. Pepper kick. I just don't see the pop craving ever stopping.

-I still am proud to say that I am fitting into my jeans. Barely, but I am.

-I have gained a good 29 lbs. this pregnancy. Hopefully I don't go over 30.

-I am still super-sensitive to smells. It's starting to irritate me because I can seriously smell things that are like a half mile away (okay that's an over exaggeration, but you get the gist)

-Sleeping is still okay...flipping from side to side in the night, now that's a different story. I have to sit up and shift my entire body every time I want to flip to a different side. Not fun.

-I wake up every morning before 7:30, not sure why, just do.

-Every time we are at the store we have to go to the baby section and see what cute outfit we can get for Dylan. Don't worry, this happens about twice a week. He is fully stocked for like a year.

-I am still not extremely moody, but I do have my moments. I really sometimes am really happy one minute and the next I am crying or angry or annoyed about nothing. Luckily this doesn't happen all the time, but I hate that it does at all. I am sure Brett is counting down the days until my hormones are balanced again.

-My nesting instinct is still somewhat here, I need to get on that tomorrow though so just in case Dylan comes our house is spotless for him.

-I am starting to feel like a 13 year old again...I am getting acne like nobody's business! ANNOYING! My doctor says that everyone reacts differently to the hormones that you have in the last part of your pregnancy, and, lucky me, I react with getting a million pimples all over my face. Awesome. Just one more thing I need to boost my self-esteem right now because getting stretch marks and having every part of my body blow up like a balloon just isn't enough.

-I still haven't packed my hospital bag yet. I don't really know what to pack besides a pair of sweats...

-My feet don't itch anymore! HOORAY!! That was really getting on my nerves.

-I can still reach my toes and shave my legs

-Dylan is still constantly kicking me, punching me, having hiccups, stretching against me or ramming his head into my bladder.

-I still haven't had to get up in the night to go to the bathroom...I thought that happened to every pregnant woman?

-I am starting to get more hungry. The last few weeks I haven't really had an appetite, but this last week I have felt like I haven't eaten for weeks. Thank goodness 99% of the time I just want Strawberries

-My Belly Button still hasn't popped!! YAY!

-Brett and I go into Dylan's Nursery every night and just talk about how amazing it's going to be when he gets here. It's becoming a nightly routine.

-My hips are super sore. I can only sleep on one hip for about a half hour then I have to flip to my back or the other side because it's feeling so sore.

-All I can think about is eating or Dylan. Period.

-I am in the process of scheduling Newborn Photo's for Dylan. I am really excited about the photographer we chose:)

-I keep having dreams about Dylan. I have seen his face in all my dreams, but every face has been different...not sure what that means...but at least they were all cute.


Alrighty, I think that's it. I must say that this pregnancy has definitely gone better than what I expected to be going through 9 months ago. I have been, well, I should say WE have been blessed with having it pretty dang easy. I have not been sick, I have been able to function and to work through my entire pregnancy, we have had no emergencies, I have gone to term, I can still move around without waddling, I have not had any weird cravings, and our baby seems to be as healthy as can be. I am SO grateful for all of these things, because I have some friends who cannot even get out of bed because they are so sick or are on bed-rest. I really have had it so good. Hopefully all my pregnancies go this way!

Okay Dylan, we are ready for you! We cannot wait to see you!!! We are just waiting now...and trying to be as patient as we can be. We love you . See you when you get here little guy:)

Long Lucious Locks...

Have always been something that I really want. Long, beautiful hair. It has been my secret wish for forever. Sadly, I was not blessed with hair that was thick and that grew like a weed. My sister, sister-in-laws and pretty much every one of my friends has hair that is super thick or super long and gorgeous...and then there's mine: thin and grows an inch a year. LAME!

So, I have been contemplating for a few weeks now what to do with my Birthday money I received from family and friends (since I cannot go shopping until after I am no longer an elephant) and I realized that this dream could actually be in reach! I decided to get on KSL.com and look and see if I could find an amazing deal on Hair Extensions. And, lucky me, I DID! A girl on there, with 10 years of experience, was advertising that she was holding a special for $180 (almost exactly what I had saved) with the hair included. Ummmm, YES PLEASE! I was a tad skeptical since that really is super cheap compared to all the other prices I have seen, but I called her anyways, talked to her for a while and she sounded really legit (and sent me her portfolio of her work to look at), made an appointment for the next day (yesterday) and Voila!

Check out the Before and After Please:) (also, ignore my nasto pregnancy face)





CRAZY HUH!!! I am SO HAPPY with them! It only took her an hour and she had the hair dyed for me already had them dyed to my exact hair color (at no extra charge) which was so nice. They will last up to a year if I take really good care of them and have to go get them tightened every 3 or 4 months.
It's so weird having long hair because I have NEVER had it long before, it's only ever been a little passed my collar bone. I have to say that I am thinking longer looks better, and Brett absolutely LOVES them so it's an even bigger bonus. My dream has finally come true!! I am in love. It's going to take a while to get used to them but they are great. I don't think I will have short hair again for a long while. Happy late Birthday to me:)

It's Here...

June is here. Dylan is coming anytime now, and we officially are in the month he is coming! CRAZY! We are super excited, nervous, anxious and getting really impatient. We just really REALLY want him to come so we can play with him and love him to pieces (and so I can become normal again:) Dylan, PLEASE COME! We are so anxious to meet you and see what you look like and feel your baby soft skin. We love you so much already and cannot wait until you make your debut because we know we will love you more than we ever thought possible. Please hurry!!