Our New Abode

As I write this I am sitting comfortably on my couch in my living room in our new home! That's right, Trent and I are responsible for a house and It's wonderful (and terrifying).

To say this has been a long experience would be an understatement. We had been searching for a home for a year. That's right, a year. Countless offers and frustrations later we are finally homeowners. Anyone who says this is a buyers market is probably right, but the thing they forget to tell you is that it's a buyers market at the banks discretion. You no longer have any say in whether or not you want a home. The banks hold all the power and tell you if you're worthy of their home (even if you're perfectly qualified and can afford the home) and they're so polite about it. They wait months to tell you and sometimes they don't bother to tell you anything at all. Depends on whether or not they feel like it. What sweethearts. Thanks Obama for bailing out the banks! Now they don't have to respond to anyone. They're in no hurry. They already have their money. Another one of his wonderful "Changes". Yay!!

Anyway, enough of that. I could go on forever! We really are so grateful to be here. There have been so many who have worked incredibly hard on our behalf and to them we are so so thankful! Trent's Dad is one such individual. He has spent countless hours and taken those hours out of his already swamped schedule to help us. We couldn't have done it without him. Trent's brother Justin helped us search for homes for a while too and we're grateful to him also.

We're so happy to be in our home. We're living in a great neighborhood in a great ward in Maricopa (it's about 25 min outside Phoenix). We really love it out here and it's nice because Trent's commute is only about 25 min right now. I'll post pictures soon.

(Two more posts below)

Spring Break in Rocky Point

Woo Whoo Spring Break! Par-Tay!! Ok so maybe those partying days are way way behind us but we did go to Rocky Point, Mexico for Spring Break this March and it was so much fun. We went with Trent's brother Jeff, his wife Leza and their two cute kids Addison and Xander. Trent's been going there at least once a year for most his life and I joined the fun right after we got engaged. Let me tell you though, it's a completely new experience going with a baby. Normally we would wake up get in our swim suits and head straight to the beach and only come back to the house to eat and sleep. This time however we probably spent about 5 or 6 hours total on the beach the whole 5 days we were there. It was still a lot of fun but a different kind of fun. It was Luke's first time at the beach and he didn't seem to care too much. He liked putting his toes in the sand but other that I think he'd be just as happy indoors.


A trip to RP wouldn't be complete without a trip to the fish market to barter for souvenirs. This time I was spoiled though by my husband. Every year we go I want to buy a matching pitcher and glasses set and a brightly colored clay vase. They just remind me of Mexico and I think they're pretty. Well my requests were finally granted and I walked away with not only the pitcher and glasses and clay vase but a platter to match and two Mexican blankets! I was a happy girl. We had a new dining experience while we were there too that I think has become a new tradition. It's a little fish shop behind the fish market where the owner fries up any fresh fish or shrimp you want for a great price to eat in tacos, in homemade tortillas of course. I'm drooling just thinking about it! It was literally behind the fish market so we were eating near the water and the view but also near all the other lovelies of a back ally. Authentic. All part of the experience though. Our little family had a great time this year and are looking forward to next year already.







At the "resturant" behind the fish market

See, Luke had a little fun at the beach.

Trent and I have a picture very similar to this one that we took when we were engaged. Now here we are again married with our chunky baby.

Luke with cousin Xander in their matching suits. Too cute!

Joy

* This post was supposed to be first*

So much to write about! First of all, can I just talk about our cute little Lukie Boy? He's always had a lot of character and personality, even from the day he was born, but as he gets older the more of it he allows us to see. He's been so much fun! He's learned to roll over and is very proud of his new achievement! Every time he does it he looks at us like "Check me out!". He seems to have found his voice too. So fun! He likes to talk to himself sometimes in the morning before I get him from his crib. I'll let him chatter to his toys for a while till I can't help but go get him to join in the conversation. Which brings me to his next big accomplishment! We're sleeping through the night *hallelujah*. I feel like a human again. I was getting up with him 3 to 4 times a night and needless to say I was pretty much a grouchy zombie. My poor husband took the brunt of my crankiness. He was such a dream though and let me be cranky to him and was always great to take Luke so I could have a break when he came home from work. Love him! All three of us are thrilled that Lucas sleeps through the night. How did we do it? The good ol' let him cry it out method. It was torture!!! But lucky for me there were only two nights of crying and he didn't seem to be even the slightest bit angry at me in the morning. He's such a sweeite. I'm so glad he's a snugly boy. He loves to be cuddled and I'm more then happy to let the laundry pile up and the dishes sit in the sink to oblige him. I love being a mommy! The best word I can think of to describe this experience is Joy.

Going Private

It's time. I've decided to take my family blog private. I really didn't like the idea of all the crazies out there being able to know about my little family. Friends and family please leave me your email so I can include you if you'd like to follow us. Now, I'm not above blog stalking...I spend many an hour doing it myself. I can do it because I'm not crazy and if you're not a crazy person and like to stalk my blog feel free to leave your email as well! (I can't imagine I have a ton of followers.) I plan to make the change at the end of next week so please let me know by then. I have lots of fun pictures and big and fun events to write about so please stay tuned :)

Now That I'm 31/2 Months Old...

i love being with my dad. he's my buddy.

i like to smile a lot!

i'm putting anything and everything in my mouth that i can get my hands on

i love my Bumbo seat

getting in lots of tummy time

but it wears me out

mom and dad took me on my first hike and i and loved it!

I'm a busy kid!

Our Little Goober

It's been a month already since our last post. Luke is two months old! Where does the time go? Everyone tells you to enjoy every minute because it goes by fast. No kidding! He had his 2 month check up today and we found out he's 13lbs 3oz and 23 inches long. (That's 75th for weight and 50th for height for those who were wondering) He's smiling up a storm and is cooing and making the cutest little noises! Is there anything sweeter? He's such a snuggle bug which I LOVE! I think he's getting ready to start giggling any day now too. He starts to work up to it and then just can't quite get it out. Sometimes he goes from smiling to talking to crying to smiling again without missing a beat! You can tell this whole body thing is a little overwhelming to figure out for him still. We went through a rough week or two around Christmas time where every night at around 5 or 6 he would just cry for about 3 hours straight. No matter what we did he just couldn't be comforted. There was nothing we could do sometimes accept cry with him (and believe me sometimes I did). It broke my heart and I've never felt more helpless. (Audra, I feel for you! I had it for about 3 hours a day for two weeks. I can't imagine all day every day for 3 months! You're a good woman.) We weren't sure what brought it on but he seems to be out of that phase now. I seriously think that life just got to be too much for him sometimes and he just needed to cry it out. Being a baby must be so hard. There's so much to figure out and learn!

The majority of the time he's a happy baby boy. I think we're all learning our new roles as well as anyone would expect. It's interesting to see your spouse go from husband or wife to mom and dad. I know that for me I see Trent in a new light. I fall more in love with him each day as I watch him with our son. I knew he would be a great dad but he still has his ways of surprising me. He always told me before we had Luke that he wasn't as excited for the newborn/baby phase but was super excited for the one year old/toddler age. He's still excited for that but you can tell he just can't get enough of our sweet little Luke. After all they're only this little for so long. We are so in love with our baby boy! :)

1st Road Trip to UT to visit his Great Grandparents the week after Christmas.

1st Christmas in his cute PJ's Aunt Kelsey bought for him.

Hangin out with Dad

Sweet little smile :) We are having so much fun!

One Month Old

Can he really be one month already? Where has the time gone!? You can't deny when looking at him though that he's a growing boy. We went to his one month check up today and found out he's already 11 lbs and 22 1/2 inches long. Wow! He's in the 80th percentile for his weight and 60th for height. He's our growing boy! When I look at him sometimes I feel like he looks so little still but then other times I can't believe how big he's gotten already. He's been such a good baby! He pretty much cries when he needs something and then he's pretty happy once he gets it. The only problem we're having is bed time. He's not the best sleeper and has his nights and days mixed up a bit. He usually wakes up around 11:00 or 12:00 to eat and then is up again at 2:00. From 2 am on he is up almost every hour. I'm not sure why. Sometimes he wakes up to eat and sometimes he's just up and looking around for an hour or so. He's not fussy just awake. It's been a challenge for me since I don't ask Trent to wake up with him. I feel like since he needs to be at work everyday and can't nap he shouldn't have to get up with Luke. I can at least nap when Luke does during the day. Everyone is reassuring me that it'll get better and I'm just waiting for that day! His Dr today even suggested giving him formula during one of his late night feedings to hopefully help him sleep longer through the night.
I feel so blessed to be his mother. He's such a sweet little guy and has us wrapped around his little chubby finger. He has brought such a sweet spirit into our home and blessed our lives so much. His grandparents and uncles are all enamored with him too. He's gonna be a spoiled boy!