Pictures of the house...

so i just got done doing the first coat of paint in our living room. and since i have to wait 4 hours to do the second coat, i figured i would post pictures of our humble abode. 

these are BEFORE pictures, meaning i took them the day we got the keys (almost two weeks ago). we still haven't moved in, but we have most of our stuff here now, and we are painting today, re-carpeting Saturday, cleaning carpets, changing out light fixtures, getting some furniture, and switching out the doorknobs on all the doors .

So i will post the AFTER pictures after we are done doing all of that and have moved in and unpacked. this is just a sneak peek for all of you who keep begging me to see pictures. 

and so, without further ado, our home :)

living room right as you walk in

front living room on right, this is looking ahead when you walk in the front door

standing in dining room facing entry

sorry its blurry :)  standing entry living room

kitchen

view from behind the counter in the kitchen

only one view of backyard, there is tons more on both sides this was just taken from inside cause' it was freezing that day (don't you love that the owners left their junk?)

going upstairs (another blurry one, sorry)

master bedroom french door  and walk in closet

 bathroom upstairs

dylans bedroom (bedroom #2 upstairs)

bedroom #3 upstairs (will be an office for now and eventually repainted)

master bedroom looking inside (it has double windows in that corner just like the living room. master bath is connected on the right i just forgot to take a picture)

vaulted ceilings

living room below the kitchen that is being repainted to super cute colors today and is getting recarpeted on Saturday. It's the only room that needed a little bit of work. (it has double doors so we have two sets of those. one in the kitchen and one in this room. they both lead to different decks)

laundry room (this is now occupied by a super nice front loading washer and dryer, we just got them in last night

basement living room (bedroom #4 is off to the left, it was too dark to take a picture) and a storage room is on the left where that door is)

so happy to be in our new house

and the front of the house. i will post pictures of the backyard when i post the AFTER pics

so there you go. we just love our house and feel so blessed to have such a great home in such a close neighborhood by family and friends. our ward is awesome too so we feel really lucky! 

i still feel like moving in is going to take forever but we are almost there! we should be totally in by the end of the weekend! Yahoo!

 

holy moly...

he's growin up and he's growin up FAST! and, he manages to get cuter and cuter while he grows up. this kid is movin so fast (both in age and in motion) that i can't seem to keep up. oh, and if you couldn't tell, he loves the camera. we have put some serious thought about calling a couple of modeling agencies for him, we think he's that adorable, but i am sure that every parent thinks that about their own kids so we might just be making a big deal out of nothing. but, this kid IS a big deal, and besides, i could definitely see him on the next Huggies commercial, couldn't you? he's just so darn cute and photogenic!

new for 9 months:

- this kid is officially a crawler as of last Saturday night! he still likes to do his little scooting maneuver (i need to film it before he stops doing it) but he is getting the hang of the crawling thing more and more each day. 

- he loves big people food...and he HATES when you don't share with him. it's so funny, he totally knows when we are eating and he sits there and groans and crawls over to you (if he is on the floor) until he gets in on the good stuff too

- he is obsessed with watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2. if he is in a bad mood, just put on those and he is good. i think he mostly loves the previews though.

- he is learning to use a sippy cup. he mostly just looks at it funny when he gets a taste of apple juice or he thinks its a toy but he is starting to warm up to it.

- he loves cups of water. we can put a cup of water across the room from him, and gets super excited and does his super fast army crawl over to it. it's hilarious. he also loves to drink out of your cup.

- he is starting to take less naps. today he has only taken one so far and he normally has taken 2-3 by now, so we'll see if that sticks.

- he just got done with another round of teething. that's always fun for both baby and parent. he was onry for a straight week. now the old Dylan has returned (constant laughter and smiles) and we love it.

- he loves guacamole, bread, bananas, strawberries, and pretty much anything we feed him. there hasn't been anything he has rejected or spit out so we take that as a good sign.

- this kid, like i said before, absolutely LOVES the camera. you probably wouldn't believe that right before i took these shots he was crying and screaming (he was hungry). right when he sees the camera, it's like a whole new baby. he automatically gets into character, smiles, giggles and flirts with the camera. he knows what i'm doing and he loves every minute of it. it's awesome.

- he is still as happy as can be. only sad when he's starving to death or super tired.

- he loves dogs. they make him so thrilled. and that makes us thrilled.

- yesterday, we were sitting watching Toy Story (what's new) but this time i was sitting on the floor with him and he crawled over to me and climbed onto my lap (as best he could) and it pretty much melted my heart. i sat him on my lap and he stayed there the entire movie. yeah, i think i teared up a bit. 

- he loves to sing along to music. everytime i'm in the car with the radio on, all i listen to is Dylan singing in his carseat. and he loves to show off his vocal talents during the hymns at church as well.

- he is right on schedule, fitting into 9 month clothes.

- he is such a boy. he loves to make farting noises and spit for 15 minutes straight, most of the time i think he does it to pass the time in the car when he gets bored. it's awesome. 

- he knows who i am, and when i walk in a room he lights up and starts jumping and he has reached for me a couple of times. he even prefers me over Brett a good share of the time, especially when he is hurt, and i never thought that would ever happen, so i am one happy mommy.

Dylan, stop growing please. that would be fabulous. i can't handle that in 3 months you will be a year old. NO! it can't be! i seriously am in denial. so stop growing now, okay? mmmmkay:)

we love you little man! 

moving right along...

so, the secret is out. we are buying a house!!!!!!!!!!! well, technically, we just bought it last night! can you believe it?! i will explain how we got to this point since nobody even knew we were buying until yesterday.

so we started casually looking for houses in early January, just online and stuff. when we moved into my mom's basement, we knew that we could take our sweet time and save money and really find something we would love and that was an amazing deal. we didn't think we would be out of my mom's basement for at least 9 or 10 months. so, we got a realtor (Doug Winder, my mom's neighbor who we have known since i was born and who is AMAZING!) and he was awesome at reassuring us to just look and take our time and not to rush us. Brett went and looked at a couple of houses with him, but i never went. i trusted Brett to know what i liked and what i don't. he came back both times and said he didn't like them, and he knew i would hate them.
so, Brett kept searching online and i did in my down time, but i wasn't super into it. well, when us girls decided to go on our girls trip to Arizona, Brett found a house in South Jordan and called me while we were there and said that it had just been put on the market and that he went and looked at it with Doug and he LOVED it! he said he had a super good feeling about it and that he wanted me to look at it the minute i got back from my trip. so right when i got home (3 days later) we went and looked at the house. i fell in love pretty much right when i walked in. it had everything i wanted (hardwood floors, tile countertops, well taken care of, a different layout then the usual, 3 stories, finished basement, a deck, a massive backyard that was big enough for a dog (or two) and had trees and shade, good safe neighborhood, close to friends and family, South Jordan...pretty much amazing!) and like Brett had felt the first time he had looked at it, i felt a really good feeling about it right when i walked in. and the feeling just got stronger and stronger as we walked throughout the house.
so right after we walked through, we put an offer on it that same night. we figured that we both felt good, and an offer didn't mean we were locked in just in case we changed our minds, so why not? well, Doug called us the next day and told us that our offer, out of the 11 they had, was the one they accepted. we were SO happy! we decided to really pray about it and make sure it's what was right for our family, and we felt like it was. and after dealing with stupid mortgage companies and their annoying demands and phone calls and all the proof they want that you have money in the bank, we closed on our home last night! i never thought in a million years i would only look at only ONE home then own it. i always imagined we would walk through 10 or 20 houses before we found one we loved and agreed on. nope, one house and that was it for me. and i haven't questioned it since either. it just feels right. and we knew we would regret it if we didn't buy it.
so crazy right?! no matter how much i talk about it, it still seems unreal. when did i get this old? where has the time gone? i don't know why, but i feel like buying a home automatically puts you in the category of "officially old." not like getting married or even having a baby puts people there, but buying a home does. i know it's dumb, but i have always thought of it like that. so now that i am "officially old" i can say that it actually feels different. i feel a huge sense of responsibility and nervousness. it is a similar feeling to when i brought Dylan home from the hospital, it was new and something i've never done it before and it was nerve-wracking. and now 9 months later, i can't even remember what life was like when Dylan wasn't here. it's so routine to have him here and to take care of him, i can't imagine not doing it. i imagine that after a few months of owning our own house, it will become the same. it will feel like we have always had it, can't remember life without it sort of thing. but not being there yet, i am a little nervous. i mean, it's a house. we just signed our lives away last night to a mortgage company who now pretty much owns us. but, i am SO grateful for it at the same time. like all things in life, if you aren't feeling scared or nervous it's not a big enough risk. at least that's how my life has played out. the things i was scared to do most turned out to be the things that i cherish the most and have zero regrets about. and i know this is one of them. we are terrified, but feel amazing about it! it's been so crazy! we get the keys Monday. we are so grateful that everything has gone so smoothly and we are finally going to be in our own home! Monday cannot come soon enough!!

laundry day...

yep, this is what laundry day looks like at our house. my little sidekick loves to help me out by taking his seat in the laundry basket as i go up and down two flights of stairs every hour to switch the clothes out. and although my arms are desperately sore, i wouldn't have it any other way, because the smiles, giggles and noises of pure joy coming out of this little guy during his ride make those aching muscles worth it. laundry days here are pure fun. only 4 more days until the next one :)

friday favorites...

Disney style :)

favorite princess:

favorite disney soundtrack:

favorite disney villain:

favorite disney character:

favorite disney ride:

favorite animated disney movie:

happy friday all :)

eight months...

doesn't this little guy look massive?! i swear i don't even feel like i can call him little anymore...i mean, look at those chompers! he has 4 on top...and yes, you read that correctly...FOUR! and 2 on bottom. i just can't seem to keep up with this little munchkin! he is getting bigger right before my very eyes! and this shot was taken two weeks ago! if you can believe it he looks even bigger now. you will see in his 9 month photos, since i will be posting that in two weeks from now because i am an awesome mom and also, a slacker. i need to get it together!
anyways, i cannot believe i have an eight month old. i know to all you moms who have older kids or multiples that probably sounds like he is still small, but to me, that sounds ancient. it makes me sad, and oh so excited at the same time. every stage has been such a blast with this kid. he is hilarious and such a sweetie. oh how i just wanna eat those cheeks and legs!

okay, now for his newbies this month:
- he is now eating tiny bits of food off of our plates..such as mashed potatoes, applesauce, bread, bananas, avadacos, tomatoes. we haven't found anything he doesn't like yet, which is nice. did i mention he downed an ENTIRE thing of mashed carrots with a smile? yeah this kid seriously loves food, no matter what it is. and he takes Tylenol like a champ (that used to be our biggest struggle, now i think he thinks its a treat?)
- he has tested and approved the sippy cup. it's still in the early stages, but he seems to like it. it might just be that it's red and that's his favorite color
- he is quite the chatterbox these days. he will sit and say "da da da da da da" and "ba ba ba ba ba ba ba" and if you say it back to him he will get a massive cheeser on his face then keep going. adore.
- as of today, he is now able to go from laying down to a sitting position all by himself. he has to roll on his side then pull himself up, but he is getting the hang of it, as i found him sitting up in his crib this morning, then i witnessed it myself a few times this afternoon. ah!
- he is going to be crawling any day now. am i scared? no. i am TERRIFIED! i can't have a crawling baby! i am already chasing him around and all he can do is roll! once he crawls, there will be no stoppin' him. he gets on his hands and knees and bounces up and down...doesn't rock, just bounces. it's hilarious. he also drags himself if he wants something that's right in front of him and it's close enough that he doesn't have to roll.
- he definitely knows who Brett and i are. i know that should've been obvious to me a while ago, but he always has reacted the same to everyone when he sees them, with a smile. but Brett and i, we get a smile and bouncing up and down and he makes noise. it's fabulous.
- he is looking more and more like me everyday.
- he has the sweetest personality. he just wants to love everyone. and he is such a social butterfly AND a flirt. seriously. he will go to anyone anytime.
- he knows when we are eating, and he wants in on it. everytime he sees Brett and i eating something, he immediately stops what he is doing and just stares and groans at us until we notice him, then he gets excited that we noticed his desire, then he waits patiently for us to pick him up then starts kicking once he realizes he will get a bite of our food.
- he is going to start getting baths in the BIG bathtub starting today. he literally splashes ALL the water out of his little one because he gets such pleasure out of splashing and playing in the tub. it's adorable. i can't wait for Summer when he can play in the pool. and i don't think he can either.
- he is so smiley. i have never seen a kid just sit and smile for 3 minutes straight, but he does. it is to die for. he is such a happy kid all the time. unless he is tired, you will see a smile on his little face. melts my heart.
- he has had his first experience of falling off the bed. a couple weeks ago we were getting ready to go to Brett's family's house for dinner, and Brett left him on our bed since i was still in the bedroom, but i thought Brett took him with him, so i wasn't watching him, and all of a sudden...THUD. and then hysterical crying...from both of us. i have never felt so bad in my life. luckily it wasn't a huge drop and he fell on carpet, but his wails will haunt me for a long time. i think he was just shaken up. it was horrible. there goes mom-of-the-year for me.
- he is such a boy. he LOVES blocks and cars and things that make noise. stuffed animals besides his Pooh Bear are stupid and boring.
- he looks SO much older with teeth. who knew those little white things made a baby look a ton older then they did before?
- he is obsessed with other kids. and i don't even think obsessed covers it. he loves kids and babies. he loves watching them and tries to jump out of my arms or his car seat to play, even though he can't move. i hope that goes with him when he actually needs to start socializing.
- he loves car rides. he could be screaming at the top of his lungs, but if you put him in his carseat, he knows what's coming and automatically flips that frown upside down and starts bouncing and getting excited.
- he is hilarious! seriously, i am laughing constantly throughout the entire day because of little things he does or doesn't do.
- he has my heart wrapped around his little finger. i honestly didn't know it was possible to love something so small so much. and i didn't know it was possible for my love for him to grow more with every day. it's crazy.

oh Dylan, what a little sweetie you are. i can't imagine doing anything else but being your mom and watching you grow everyday and laughing with you, playing with you, cuddling with you and loving you every moment. you have made my life better in every way possible. i love you more than life itself little man. xoxo, mom

friday favorites...

i am posting this early, i was working on it for tomorrow and since i need to post about Dylan's 8 month stats, i will do that tomorrow and do this today since it's finished :)

i decided to do today's friday favorites on my favorite makeups, since i love reading about what other people use and why they love it.

favorite primer:

smashbox photo finish. this stuff is amazing. i bought the tiniest bottle they had at Sephora.com over a year ago and i still have over half the bottle left. granted, i only use it probably like 3 times a week, but it lasts forever since you only have to use a tiny squeeze for your entire face. it makes your makeup stay on ALL day. seriously. doesn't budge.

favorite foundation:

maybelline dream matte mousse. i adore this stuff. it goes on like butter and isn't runny. i only use it under my eyes, around my nose and if i have blemishes. i don't put it on my entire face because i use a powder too and for me, both are too much in both time and feeling heavy so i only use it in the places that need a little extra coverage. it instantly wakes my eyes up and makes the redness around my nose fade.

favorite loose powder foundation:

laura mercier loose powder. this stuff is like gold for your face. not kidding. it is a tad on the expensive side, but i promise it's worth every penny. it's only at stores like sephora or ulta. i decided to try it after i had been using covergirl for years and never liked how my face looked with it on, it looked like i had chalk dust on my face and always felt cakey. this stuff makes my face look sleek and airbrushed and isn't heavy at all. it stays all day and doesn't feel like i am even wearing makeup. i can't say enough good things about this stuff. it's my favorite.

favorite eyeliner:

almay 18hr eyeliner in black brown. i have been using it since high school and i don't think i have ever fully gotten it off my eyes when i wash my face. it stays SO well. i never have to worry whether my eyeliner has disappeared throughout the day. i swear it's like putting your own tattoo eyeliner on. and it's cheap too which is amazing. 

favorite mascara:

clinique high definition mascara and maybelline falsies mascara. i love these mascara's both seperate, but i LOVE them together! i used to have eyelash extensions, and i loved how they made my eyes look, but they were super expensive and WAY too much maintenance. so i stopped filling them and decided to shop around for good mascara's when i came across clinique high definition mascara. i love this stuff by itself. it makes my eyes look awesome. i always put two coats on. but when i really want a defined look, i put a coat of maybelline falsies on top of a couple of coats of the clinique, and it looks amazing! everytime i do this someone asks me if i have fake eyelashes. both are amazing, especially together.

favorite eyeshadow:

physician's formula eye brightener. okay so it's not an eyeshadow, it's a brightener, but it's still my favorite. i just wear it alone, and put it all over my entire eyelid and on my brow bone and in the corner of my eye. never fails to make my eyes look brighter and naturally pretty. it's very simple, just a glow around my eyes, but i like it that way. i am not really into putting tons of color on my eyelids, and when i do its almost always neutrals. this stuff is fab.

favorite bronzer:

physician's formula bronze booster. i used to be a huge bronzer fan. i still am, but i have toned way down on using it. i only use it around my hairline (thank you Carmandy from What Not to Wear for that nice tip) it makes you look like you have a tan but without making you look like you are wearing a fake tan just on your face, if that makes sense at all? but anywho, this stuff is fabulous. it's organic and i love the color.

favorite blush:

NYC cheek glow. it's like 3 bucks, and i love it. it stays on all day, the color is perfect for my face, and again, it's cheap. i have tried lots of different brands of blushes, and this stuff works just as well as the others and costs half as much and you get twice as much. no brainer? i think yes!

favorite lipgloss:

victoria's secret beauty rush. i love all the pinks, but especially the light pinks, they are my favorite. and, they taste great too! i love these glosses because they stay on my lips for hours. it just feels more quality if that makes sense, there are some glosses i have purchased that feel like i am putting pure water on my lips and goes away. this stuff feels like dew on my lips, and i like that feeling. i guess it depends on your preference.

favorite nail polish: 

opi you don't know jaques. i ALWAYS get asked where i got my nail polish when i wear this stuff. seriously. it's the best color that goes with literally anything you wear. i adore it. and it looks super cute on toes too :)

p.s. quick tip, you can get a lot of the expensive stuff like the nail polish and the physican's formula makeup on amazon or ebay for like half the price. that's where i usually buy my makeup. not always, but they usually have some sweet deals.

happy weekend :)

your gonna miss this..

i have been sick the last few days, and so has Dylan. we both have colds. lucky us. it doesn't seem to be affecting him too much, he has his times where his nose is runny and you can tell he just isn't feeling like himself, but for the most part he is happy and playful. it hits me like that too, i feel really good one moment and the next i feel like i wanna lay down and die. it's a weird type of cold this time around. but hopefully, it will be gone from both our systems in a couple days. in trying to get my sleep with this cold, i took Nyquil a couple of nights in the beginning of getting sick. i am not a fan of taking it, for some reason it makes me wake up more during the night than usual, which is funny because it's supposed to knock you out. so i stopped taking it a couple of nights, but last night i felt exhausted and awful, so i decided to try and take it again. not a good idea. waking up for 9am church today felt impossible. i literally fell asleep while doing my makeup, standing up. who does that? well i eventually got ready, looked drugged, got Dylan ready and our little family was off to church. it didn't help my mood that it snowed for the second time this Winter and it was freeeeezing outside.
once sacrament meeting was over, Dylan pulled his usual stint and only lasted not even halfway through Sunday school before he needed to be taken home for his nap. i usually don't get annoyed or irritated when he does this, it's a normal occurance. but i think the lingering effect of the Nyquil, plus the snow and me feeling like poop all mixed together is what brought it on. i found myself venting to Brett on the way home (we left church to let Dylan nap, and get me a nap as well) about how i dread coming to church with Dylan. i feel like it's pointless, i don't learn anything or hear anything besides the voice in my head repeatedly saying over and over "please stay quiet Dylan. watch Dylan and make sure he is quiet and behaving. Dylan, Dylan Dylan." i kept telling Brett how i missed the days when Dylan was so small he couldn't even lift his head up and he wouldn't make a peep during all of church except when he snored in his sleep. Brett just hugged me and told me i was tired and didn't feel good and that i needed to be thankful that our little guy is as good as he is, some kids don't even last as long as he does, and that it's only going to get more obnoxious the older he gets. that last part gave me great comfort and definitely helped my sour mood.
once we got home, i got in my jammies and Brett put Dylan down for his nap and i fell asleep and had a dream, that i think was inspired. i don't remember where i was except that i was in the sun, and that i was with my sister-in-law Heather. we were talking on a blanket and it was really bright, and i remember i was i was venting to her about the same things i had been venting to Brett about. i don't exactly know why i was talking to her about this, considering that she doesn't even have kids, she isn't even married yet (she is getting married next month) and she can't really relate to how i am feeling right now. but i remember after i got done venting, she told me to really indulge in what Dylan is doing right now. she told me to not get irritated by the little things he does, but to be grateful that he is here, healthy, playful and a happy baby. she told me not to take for granted what a great baby he is, and to not wish that things were different. she told me that someday, i was going to want all this back, and i was going to wish that Dylan was back at this age.
i remember her words hitting me like a ton of bricks. i expected her to feel bad for me or tell me that it was going to be okay, but instead she told me that i needed to cherish these times with my little baby, no matter how disruptive, noisy or whiney he gets. i remember in my dream i broke down in tears after she said that to me. it was exactly what i needed to hear. then i woke up.
i layed there and wondered if that was actually a dream or if it really occured. i kept thinking about what she had told me, and how right she was. i feel like i do a pretty good job of that, not taking my sweet little boy for granted or not getting mad when he gets fussy, but with my sickness it's been affecting not only my mood about situations that come up with Dylan, but also my happiness and has made me not focus on how blessed i really am to have that little boy jumping around on my lap during Sunday school, even if he is being noisy. i love that little boy to death and i wouldn't change my situation if i had to choose a million times over, and i need to remember that. just because he has to take a nap and gets fussy during church doesn't give me the right to get mad at him. he has a routine and is trying to stick to it, and i need to be grateful for that. i remember when he didn't have a routine sleep schedule and it was horrible, i never knew when he was going to want to sleep and it was hard to predict and know what he wanted. i need to be grateful for the little things that he does.
i need to take a lesson from Dylan and, even when i am sick, i can still be happy, because that's how he is. he is feeling terrible and he still lights up when i give him a toy or pick him up or play with him. he gets such a thrill out of it even though he feels like dirt. i need to put that type of perspective into my life. even if i am feeling like crap, or even if he isn't being quiet at church, i need to still be happy in knowing that he is mine and for the most part, one well-behaved little guy and he is amazing.
thank you Heather, even though it was a dream, your words totally changed my perspective on how i need to be looking at things no matter how i am feeling. your words also made me think of that song by Trace Adkins You're Gonna Miss This. it totally applies to how i felt today.

i love you Dylan. thank you for teaching me to be happy no matter the situation. i needed that reminder today. you are amazing. keep kicking, squealing, getting thrills out of little things, sticking to your routine and loving life. you teach me things everyday, and today was no exception.

you are my angel. i love you more than anything. you have made me a better person in every way. i don't deserve such an amazing little guy. thank you for melting my heart with every smile and every hug and every little thing you do. you are truly heaven sent.

friday favorites...

favorite color:  right now, red
favorite article of clothing:  cardigans
favorite type of jewelry:  necklaces
favorite time of day:  mornings. i have always been a morning person.
favorite food:  sushi or french fries
favorite day:  friday
favorite chick flick:  the proposal or dear john or ps i love you
favorite disney movie:  toy story 2 or cinderella
favorite thing to do with dylan:  make him laugh or cuddle him
favorite thing to do with brett:  what married folks do, and cuddle ;)
favorite song:  defying gravity from wicked
favorite place i've been too:  Jamaica
favorite store:  ebay or forever 21
favorite drink:  diet dr. pepper
favorite color combo:  yellow and navy or yellow and gray
favorite dessert:  apple crisp
favorite restaurant:  zupas
favorite book:  something borrowed by emily giffin
favorite month:  july
favorite tv show:  keeping up with the kardashians
favorite guilty pleasure:  red velvet cake balls
favorite celebrity:  katherine heigl
favorite holiday:  my birthday
favorite hobby:  photography or crafting
favorite temple:  honolulu, hawaii
favorite thing that makes me smile:  dylan's smile
favorite state:  california
favorite candy:  kit kat
favorite animal:  puppies
favorite game:  bohnanza