The Welty's

Christmas 2011

2012-01-21T23:55:00.000-08:00

While I realize that this post is almost a month late, I am finally, FINALLY getting around to updating my family blog! Between working, my photography business, and taking care of Jackson, blogging has gotten just a little behind. Okay, so those are all just major excuses but I'm trying! Anyways, this year we spent Christmas with my family at my dad's house with my 3 sisters. Here are some pictures with them.

This was my niece Emeline's "angel" costume, can't you see the resemblance?

My sister Michelle made all the kids reindeer food that they sprinkled on the porch, how cute!

We always take a picture on the stairs where we would wait for my dad to light the fire, but Jackson wasn't cooperating. Can't you tell how excited everyone was?? ;)

Jackson's Christmas PJ's

Jackson's new sock monkey! He sleeps with it every night!

Okay, so I would've put up a picture of Brian where he didn't look under the influence...

...if there were any.

Brian thought it would be funny to put my dad's kidney stones that have been sitting on the counter for forever. I thought it was HILARIOUS.

Mom was trying to help him unwrap his gifts, but he's easily distracted!

BY THE WAY, in case you haven't heard (IF there's even anyone who still reads this) I'm doing free photoshoots for cancer patients on the Central Coast and I need referrals. Take a look at this post to read more about it.

2011-12-13T19:55:00.000-08:00

Just some cute pictures I took tonight ;) Totally candid, he put them on himself!

Thanksgiving 2011 Part 3: Moses Lake (cont'd)

2011-11-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

More pictures from Moses Lake!

Josh and Tadlee made some mean crepes!

Oh boys....

Look at all these boys!!

Watch a video of the family

Its not Thanksgiving without football

Cutest cousins!

Jackson just LOVED Scotty! Especially when he'd play piano with him

I just love our family!!

Thanksgiving 2011 Part 2: Moses Lake

2011-11-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

After a few days in Seattle, we headed for Moses Lake to stay at Brian's brother's house with Marty and Robert and his sister's family. Despite the fact that Tadlee had just been put on bedrest after a short stay in the hospital for some heart problems, the Welty's were so hospitable and put up with the 9 screaming kids and the chaos that always follows the Thanksgiving season. Everybody did their part in cooking and cleaning and the dinner was just amazing!

Tadlee's two oldest children, Josh and Aubrey, set up the table all by themselves just beautifully!

They assigned everybody their spot and even made homemade nametags

The appetizers

You probably can't see it that well, but look closely at the next few pictures. The orange paper underneath the glass has written on it what everybody is thankful for.

Lynn had the cutest Thanksgiving activity for all the kids! She made rice krispy treats the night before and each kid had an individual baggy of pretzels and candy corn and they each made a little turkey out of them!

Tadlee is such a great uncle, he helped Jackson make his turkey

The grub

This is the tree Tad and Carrie made with their kids. Each leaf has something that they are grateful for written on them.

Thanksgiving 2011 Part 1: Seattle

2011-11-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we flew to Washington to catch up with some of our siblings that we don't get to see that often. Brian's brother Tadlee's family consists of 6 kids and they live in Moses Lake, his sister Lynn and her family of 2 boys and one girl on the way live in Seattle, and my sister Kimberly and her family of one boy and one girl also live in Seattle. We were so lucky to be able to see so many wonderful people and I really am so thankful for such wonderful examples in my life. After leaving I felt like I took bits and pieces of each of their parenting styles and Brian and I are trying to be better parents because of the example our older siblings have set. Here are some pictures of our time in Seattle, enjoy!

Lynn and Scott took us to the Science museum and Jackson had fun riding cars...

Going on the slide...

Shooting targets with water...

and playing in the music room!

Brian and I love going to big cities just to see the really cool architecture

There was a butterfly room that was really pretty, I'm just shocked Jackson didn't kill any of them!

I love the face Jackson's making in this picture, its his "I'm concentrating on something" face... Or his "I'm pooping" face.

My little Mozart in the making :)

Sammy loved giving Jackson hugs the whole time it was SO cute! Luckily Jackson's quite the hugger himself so he didn't mind one bit!

While in Seattle, we stayed at my sister Kim's house for a few days. While there we got to go see Breaking Dawn together which was SO fun because all the girls in my family are huge Twilight fans, but I think Kim really takes the cake on being the biggest fan. I got to take pictures of my sister's beautiful family, but I'm not putting any up because I plan on putting them up on my photography blog so keep an eye out for those :)

Mom's Birthday Week (or Two)

2011-11-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Because I have the most loving husband in the world, and because I'm the luckiest girl in the world, my birthday basically lasted for 2 weeks this year :) It started out with a weekend trip to good old Disneyland with my dad where we met up with my sister and her family. Needless to say, we had a LOT of fun there!

I like to think that I don't always look as haggard as I do in these pictures...

The next weekend Brian surprised me with tickets to one of our favorite bands Death Cab for Cutie! They are SO talented and its just really good music, so if you're looking for a great band and haven't heard of them, check them out. He got us a suite at a really nice hotel right on the water where we stayed with our good friends Wes and Lindsay!

View from our hotel in Ventura. This is why we live in California.

Never mind the fact that I'm completely out of focus

And that Sunday on my actual birthday, Brian served me breakfast in bed with these cute litle heart shaped pancakes :) Lucky me!

In Which I Cram the Last Few Months Into One Blog Post....

2011-11-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I basically feel like a horrible mom. I've been so motivated to get my photography blog up and running that I haven't posted anything about Jackson in... well... let's just say forever. As always, he is just our pride and joy and basically the best thing in our lives. I can't imagine a more cuddly little boy! Whether its mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, or just a random stranger on the street, Jackson will run up to you and hug you and make you feel like the most important person in the world! While I'm standing in front of the sink doing dishes he'll run up to me, push me away from the sink, give my legs a big hug and a big ol' "Ahhhh", then run away and continue playing with toys. While cuddling on the couch watching Shrek his favorite movie EVER, he'll suddenly climb on top of me and give me a big hug, then calmly sit back down next to me with his hands folded in his lap. When dad gets home the second he hears the doors clicking as dad is unlocking the doors Jackson gives a huge gasp and runs to the door and gives dad a big old hug out of pure joy. Jackson also sleeps like a champ and usually sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7:30 am.

He's quite the little chatterbox (as anybody who has spent more than 5 minutes with him will tell you), but mostly its just jibberish. He'll walk around the house sounding like he's speaking Chinese, but the funny thing is that it sounds like he's actually talking to you! For example, he knows the right inflections to use in his voice to make his jibberish sound like a question. So he'll be chatting away then look up at you and make his voice go higher to ask a question, then immediately nod his head and look down as if you had answered his question perfectly :) He also knows when YOU are asking a question and will say "Uh-huh!" and nod his head in agreement. He does know a lot of words (the pediatrician said above the average 17 month old) like:

"Thank you!" (his favorite that he uses at the appropriate time like when you hand him something) "Uh-oh!" "Uh-huh!" "No" "Mom" "Dad" "Papa" (meaning grandpa) "More" "Amen" (this one is rare but he has said it after we say prayers, but usually he thinks that prayer time is a game) "Ow" "Bye-bye" "Hi!" "Hello" "Catch" "Ball" "WOW" (he really elongates each letter on this one) "Hot" and "Yay!". He also says "Quack quack quack" and makes the hand movements of a duck because of the song 3 Little Ducks, and he know the hand movements to Popcorn Popping. When we're eating dinner he always sees us blowing on his food so he'll even do that now :)

He's the biggest climber/adventurer of a boy I've ever met. By about 14 months he was already running around and climbing on top of everything!!! We have found him on top of the:
-Stove
-Kitchen table
-Piano
-End tables
-Coffee table (and he actually broke through the glass in it, luckily he didn't have a scratch on him but it was still the scariest thing)
-Our bed
-Our sewing table

Here are some recent pictures of the cute boy :)

Jackson LOVES watching Shrek, its his favorite movie! It also helps that mom doesn't mind listening to it, because any movie he watches I basically have memorized because I also have to listen to them! As soon as we turn it on he instantly has the cutest little smile on his face! This is a candid picture of him watching Shrek.

Jackson got to see a couple horses up close and personal for the first time the other day at the beach. He was so fascinated by them but didn't want to get close without holding onto mommy.

Mom caught Dad and Jackson watching Chicken Run one Sunday morning, I fell like this face is oddly familiar.....

LOVE

2011-09-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last night Brian and I headed to Cambria for a picnic dinner and some playtime in the park with Jackson. On the way home, we decided to let each other know all the things we love about the other person. I know the reasons why we fell in love, but we've each changed so much over the past 3 1/2 years, and so has our relationship. It was important to step back and remind ourselves the reasons why we love each other and the new ways our relationship has gained depth. We spent the whole 45 minute drive back into Paso listing off everything we could think of. We made sure to not use the word "like", but we constantly said "love".

If you haven't done this lately with your husband, I highly recommend it. I also recommend going through old engagement, wedding, and maternity photos. Its good for you, I promise :)

In Which I Talk About a LOT of Food....

2011-09-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Let me start off this post by saying that my mom was a really good cook. And I mean, a really good cook. So when I got married I naturally assumed that I had inherited the good cook gene, just as she had inherited it from her mother, and I was really proud of a lot of the dishes that I made.

I had this one dish in particular that I made all the time. It was my go-to dish, the one that I was most proud of; the one that, when the chips were down, I made when I wanted to impress. The Chicken Crescent Squares. So for whatever reason, I stopped making that dish and it had been such a long time since we had had them, so I decided to whip 'em out again last night.

Fast forward to this afternoon when Brian comes home from work and he says, "Kaitlin? Can I give you a compliment?" Yes. "You're a really good cook." Thanks. "Do you know what made me realize that you're a good cook?" What. "Last night, those Chicken Crescent Squares, they were good, but they really weren't THAT good. I didn't realize how much better of a cook you were till you made those again last night!" Luckily I have a high enough self-esteem and sense of humor that we were able to laugh it off with little to no harm done to my ego :)

Now I'm proud to say that I make such beauties as:

Pesto Cream Sauce w/ Sauteed Mushrooms & Garlic Chicken

Whole Wheat Crepes

Shrimp Linguini

Sweet Rolls w/ Homemade Honey Butter

Homemade Pizzas like the one with sausage, bacon, onion, and mushroom;

and my personal favorite: Homemade pesto sauce with feta crumbles, tomato, onion, mushroom, and artichoke hearts.

Now I'm off to marinate the pork for tomorrow's dinner of Cafe Rio salads with Sweet Pork Barbacoa and Cilantro Lime Dressing :)

(By the way, Brian told me it would be okay if I didn't make the Chicken Crescent Squares again) ;)

Bye Brian!

2011-08-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Brian started school last week and boy is he busy! He will be working full time, going to school full time, he is the Young Men's president in our ward, AND he will be spending time with his overly needy wife at home : )

What a dork : )

Bye Brian! See you in 5 months : (

On a completely unrelated note! Brian and I are training for Ragnar!

We're doing it with some of my cousins and my aunt who are all so funny and so fun to be around, and some good friends in our ward Jesse and Alyssa Hunt! Its a relay race that ends up being 13 miles for me and 14 miles for Brian. You run it in different legs and end up running through the night under the stars and the best part is that it goes through San Francisco and Napa Valley and it will be gorgeous! I've always admired people that are all healthy and in shape and do marathons and what-not so I'm giving it a shot! The only small problem is that I'm neither healthy nor in shape....

Life In Autofocus

2011-08-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

So as you all probably know, I've been working on a new hobby for awhile now. Photography has become my passion and seirously all I can think about. Driving around town I don't see the scenery anymore I see opportunities for backdrops and cool poses that I can do there. When Brian starts talking about motorcycles, I start thinking about where I'm going to do my next photoshoot. (Before you all gasp in horror at the thought that I admittedly don't always listen to my husband, take solace in the fact that when I start rambling about apertures and ISO's, he is almost certainly thinking about motorcycles) So as a result of my constant need to "fit the world into a picture frame" (that quote is all John Mayer, I am not nearly as poetic) I've accumulated a lot of pictures that I am just dying to share with the world! So I started a blog. It's called

"Life in Autofocus"

and its a small portfolio of all my pictures, plus some little posts about my thoughts on photography (hopefully its not as boring as that sounds :) So check it out! And if you like it, click the small "Follow" button at the bottom of the page and feel free to leave comments!

Jackson's New Obsession

2011-08-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

This is Jackson's new obsession: Hats. Besides reading books, Jackson's favorite hobby is to run up to us holding a hat, begging us to put it on him. Once we do he smiles and runs away, only to return a few minutes later holding his hat and wanting us to put it on him again. Yes, our cute little boy loves hats. Whether it be......

His pirate hat,

Mom's girly Volcom hat,

or her Breast Cancer Awareness hat she runs in, he wants to wear it.

Now we just have the small problem of getting him to stop pulling it over his eyes while running around....... Got to watch that boy like a hawk.

The Lake : )

2011-08-01T09:23:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the wild adventures we had at the lake : )

Alfredo

Jana

Jake

Brian

Brane

Austin

And I don't know why Brian's won't automatically play (because its vertical??) But click on the picture if you want to see Brian's awesome pose in this one : )

I apologize for the horrible, horrible quality of these pictures. More still pictures to come : )

Meet Lindsay

2011-07-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

This is Lindsay.

Lindsay and I met in High School, where our mutual love for Phantom of the Opera, books, and anything to do with Joaquin Phoenix made us best friends instantly. Lindsay and I started doing everything together including.......

Going to the lake....

Going to Death Cab for Cutie concerts.....

Flying on airplanes to go to EFY together....

Oh, and did I mention she was the Maid of Honor at my wedding??

So last January, Linsday left on an LDS mission to South Korea for 18 months which was SOO exciting! I really didn't realize how much I missed my very best friend I had for years until she came home last Wednesday!! And now that she's back we'll be

Going to the lake (this weekend!),

Seeing a Fab Four concert at the fair,

And basically just hanging out all the time.

I'm excited. : )

It's Good for the Soul

2011-07-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

This picture just warms my heart.

I can't look at it without getting those butterflies in my stomach and the smallest hint of a smile on my face.

I love that my two boys are looking at each other and smiling, something I get to witness on a daily baisis.

I love that the weather is clear and the ocean beautiful.

I love that I have a husband who enjoys being active and getting out of the house with his family.

Most of all I love that I have such a beautiful family. It's just good for the soul.

4th of July Weekend: Part 2

2011-07-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

So this morning Brian and I got out by about 10 am and headed to Avila Beach. Its the first time we've gotten around to a nice, relaxing day at the beach this summer. We've been wakeboarding at the lake a few times and sometimes Brian will go surfing in Morro Bay but we haven't been able to just go lay out at beatiful Avila. So we packed up our tunafish sandwiches (thanks to Brian), watermelon, Keebler Grasshoppers, and Vitamin waters and were off. It was SO beautiful! Its been so hot in Paso and the beach was not too hot, not too cool, and not too breezy!

We love this special boy : )

Doing his daily squats routine

I just LOVE his cute face!!!

This was Jackson's sweet getup. We brought his pack-n-play (yes, I was a little embarrassed at first but it ended up working out PERFECTLY!) and we bought a $15 umbrella from Walmart and Jackson had an awesome little place to play! He stayed out of the hot, gross sand and was surrounded by toys and treats and was able to stay cool!

Adorable.

Jackson didn't know how he felt about the cold water when it hit his feet...

...but he absolutely LOVED running along the cool sand!

What a good dad ; )

4th of July Weekend: Part 1

2011-07-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

This year's 4th of July weekend started on Friday for us, when our AMAZING friends Alyssa & Jesse Hunt had everyone over for a Harry Potter wand making night!! Of course, me being the biggest HP nerd, I was asked to be the Harry Potter wand expert of the night (and, no, I'm not ashamed of it.) The night before I put together a long list of every wand that JK Rowling ever mentioned in her books. (Side note- Brian asked how I put together this list, to which I answered that I just happened to know where she had mentioned each wand in her different books and was able to locate them fairly quickly. Is it weird to brag about that??) Anyways, I also made delicious Nutella filled doughnuts and called them "Golden Snitches" to go with the Hunt's world famous homemade ice cream.

In case you haven't noticed, the vibrant purple shirt is my "Hairy Otter" shirt, with a picture of an otter with glasses and a scar on it. Yup.

I have to say, Jesse was pretty awesome when it came to wandlore! We had a straight up Mr. Ollivander on our hands....

Beautiful.

The whole Harry Potter loving crew

Ezra was showing me his celery stick wand

Ohhhhhh Harry Potter.......

Just Because....

2011-06-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been itching to take some pictures, but we haven't had anybody that wants/needs them taken. So out of desperation, Brian and I loaded up the tripod and headed out to a pretty field to take some pictures of just the two of us. Being a wedding/engagement photographer is basically my dream so we dropped off Jackson at mima and papi's while we took them of just the two of us.

Black and white or color? Usually I always say color but I kind of like this black and white too..... One of life's great mysteries I guess ; )

Sometimes I just can't decide.... To pop?

Or not to pop?

Okay so this picture needs a little bit of explaining. Brian wanted to take a picture of just me (because he's usually always the subject of a picture) and so as a joke he told me to pose like this. Not thinking that he was actually ready to take a picture, I did it really quick, forgetting that we had the camera on a tripod with everything ready. I swore to myself I would delete it as soon as I got home, but I just thought it was too funny to delete!! Plus I'm not the one in focus so you can't totally see how completely and utterly ridiculous I look.....

...makes me laugh everytime : )

Jackson's First Birthday Party: Part 2: Pirate Party!

2011-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had Jackson's second first birthday party (if that makes sense :) We celebrated on his actual birthday a week ago, then again with his buddy Boston who is only 10 days younger than Jackson. Cindy, Boston's mom, and I have been planning it for almost a year now, but if I'm being honest Cindy did all the leg work : ) They party was Pirate themed and we held it at the pirate park in Avila Beach.

This picture was actually just me checking the lighting but Brian and I thought it turned out kind of cool : )

The above picture is of the party favors, and below is what what inside them, little pirate toys!

Cindy always does the cutest cupcakes

Boston's grandma, Jean, made this cute pirate cake!

The banner says, "Happy birthday Boston & Jackson"

Such great grandmas : )

Robert manning down the bbq

Hahaha : )

We love grandmas

The super tough guys

I made the pirate cake pops

Chris and Darci are so cute!!

"Arrrrrgh!" -Calvin

Cindy searching for Captain Jack

Searching the High Seas

Walking the plank

Captain Jack Sparrow has arrived!!

...and he stole the treasure!!

I don't think Boston liked the dark makeup....

I love my family : )

Jackson's First Birthday Party: Part 1

2011-06-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Well my baby turned one on Thursday and it was SO weird thinking about what was going on exactly one year ago from that day! The night before when we went to bed at about midnight we realized that exactly one year ago they were just taking out my epidural. We later looked at the clock and realized that it was 8:45 am and I was still pushing the year before (he was born at 8:50 am) He is SO big now I can't even believe it! We are having a combined birthday party this Saturday with his buddy Boston, but we decided to celebrate that night with family so we met my dad and grandpa at the Welty's for a little birthday bbq.

This is my version of a "creative" cake. I don't think anyone could think of anything easier than making a round cake into a baseball, but it tasted good! I did make it a double layer cake so it took a little bit of time, but it turned out super yummy!

My handsome big boy

The Welty's grilled up some hamburgers, I brought 2 salads and the cake, and my dad and grandpa provided drinks. It was a fun dinner!

This picture is so cute I can't even take it!

The whole gang

This is the before picture....

Jackson took a dainty bite to try it out...

Starts shoving it in his mouth a little bit...

...and he was a huge mess at the end. Luckily dad was smart enough to surround him with a towel and garbage bag so Jackson could make as big a mess as he wanted!

Don't you just love those eyes??

And of course we always love the smearing of food all over his face!

Opening up presents!

Okay, so maybe I went a little crazy with the family pictures here but I had to get all four generations of my handsome boys together!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Father's Day

2011-06-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Have I ever talked about how much I love these two boys?? Maybe once... Or twice... Okay, so I talk about it all the time. I can't help it, these boys are my life!! I don't know where I'd be without Brian, who is absolutely what centers me. He knows me better than anybody has ever known me (okay, so maybe he's tied with my mom) and he's the only person that knows exactly how to make me feel wonderful. He is such an awesome dad and works so hard to provide for us, and is always sure to make time for us too. He makes me a better person and I absolutely love our life together.

So for Father's Day this year I made him this quilt! Its made from all his football jerseys growing up and I just cut them all up and sewed them together. Maybe I shouldn't say "just" because it literally took me weeks to do, but it was so worth it to show Brian how much I love him!

Then I embroidered this message on the back of it by hand. It says, "Made with all my love! -Kaitlin" Hopefully this will be a great thing to hand down from generation to generation.

I also have 3 other amazing men in my life: My dad, grandpa, and father-in-law. They also all happen to be chefs, so we thought it was appropriate to buy them aprons and write "Jackson's Grandpa" on them, or in my grandpa's case "Jackson's Great Grandpa".

We then had a party after our Father's Day dinner with the Welty's, Chris and Darci, and my dad and grandpa and put Jackson's handprints on them :)

I absolutely love this picture. I love the look on my grandpa's face as he admires Jackson's handprints, and how Jackson is the only one looking at the camera. I love my grandpa so much, he is one of the sweetest, kindest, smartest, most loving people I've ever met. He has always been such an amazing husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. I'm so lucky to call him my grandpa.

Working on Robert's apron. I can't even say enough how much I respect this man. He has worked so hard all his life, and if there's anyone that could help us to teach our children the definition of hard work and integrity its him. He's a spiritual giant and I am always in awe of how he can find blessing from the Lord in everyday life.

And finally, there's the amazing man that raised me, my dad. I can't say enough how grateful I am for the many lessons my dad taught me through the years. He and my mom raised 6 kids that have all either been married in the temple or are on their way to being married in the temple. He supported my mom and us kids through thick and thin, and is the perfect example of a loving husband and father. I don't think I've ever seen a man love a woman more than my dad loved my mom, or seen someone who sacrificed more for someone else.

I'm such a lucky girl to have such amazing men in my life! Happy Father's Day!

(Coming soon: Jackson's First Birthday Party Part 1!)

Boston & Jackson

2011-06-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this Thursday my baby is turning 1! He is growing up SO fast, he's already walking with no problem! He will stand up by himself (no help from chairs or walls or anything around him) and walk and run everywhere he goes, there's no place he can't walk to anymore. He's a little chatterbox and people have commented on his nice conversation skills. He will say something, wait for you to say something, then keep talking, like a polite little boy : ) His favorite thing to say is "Ahhhh, bah!" meaning "Ahhhh, boo!" like when we're playing peek-a-boo. He is so cute and SO much fun!

Jackson has a friend that is only 10 days younger than him named Boston. Boston's parents, the McCauley's, have agreed to have a combined birthday party for the two boys at the beach and its going to be pirate themed! So these pictures are our little/not-so-little babies at Montana de Oro. It was a lot of fun taking these because they are just so cute together!

If only it were more focused in on his face, this picture would be SO cute! He looks SO handsome!

.....and so chunky ; )

This picture cracks me up! It totally looks like Jackson is giving Boston a back massage. We can just picture Jackson saying, "Boston, I'm sensing a lot of tension...."

It thought this one was so goofy but so cute : )

When these two are best buds and in High School it will be so fun to look back on these pictures to show how small they were when they met.

Just how I like 'em

2011-05-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

It is seirously ridiculous how much I love this boy. When he wakes up from his naps I set him on my lap in the recliner and read him his two favorite books, "I Love You Through and Through" and Mary Engelbreit's "Happy Mother Goose" nursery rhymes. Its my favorite time of day because one, it means I just got a nice 1-2 hour break by myself, but two my little boy is still a little groggy and super cuddly. I read him through these books about 10 times, sometimes we sit there for almost an hour just reading them over and over again. You can tell he's starting to wake up because he'll start wanting to turn the pages and pausing to point at a picture that captures his attention.

....and of course anything that my two boys do together is just the cutest tihng ever!

Diaper changes are a constant battle. Seriously. That boy cannot sit still for more than a minute so it often turns into a two man job. One person changing, the other taking pictures.

This is just how I like my babies, messy. This is what Jackson usually looks after I feed him baby food. He gets it on his hands then rubs his hands all over his face, meaning Jackson is usually getting baths 1-2 times a day. Luckily Jackson LOVES bathtime so we have a lot of fun. (These pictures are super grainy, the ISO was somehow much MUCH higher than I thought)

Oh, Jackson and that finger. He points at EVERYTHING, so cute!

Just for family history purposes, Jackson is talking a ton, says mama, dada, and everything in between. He's walking around more and more, usually taking 2-3 steps at a time but has been known to take 5 or 6. He now has 3 teeth, his 3rd one just sprouting out this morning (when it rains is pours), and he is the most amazing thing in our world!

The Croop Part 2

2011-05-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

I just remembered the other part that I wanted to blog about with the whole mess of us moving and Jackson getting sick and everything. On Friday night when Jackson came down with a fever we were sleeping on Chris and Darci's living room floor on an air mattress and Jackson was in his pack and play. Brian was up with him from 2:30-3:30 am, then I was up with him from 3:30-4:30 am. Finally at 4:30 I decided to take that naked baby into bed with me (he was so hot we had to strip off his clothes) and let him sleep with us, something we hadn't done in a long time.

I'll never forget the love I had for Jackson that night. He had a horrible, barking cough and was so stinkin hot and miserable and really just wanted to go back to sleep but couldn't. As soon as I laid down with him he cuddled up into me with one hand on his cheek, and one arm he threw around me. I snuggled up with my baby all that night, and despite the fact that we had been up for hours and it was almost 5 in the morning, I couldn't go back to sleep because I couldn't take my eyes off his sweet, sleeping face. He would periodically wake up coughing and crying, and I would just hold him till he went back to sleep. I wish so bad he didn't have to go through this pain, but that experience of holding my helpless child all night is something I'll never forget.

The Croop

2011-05-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

We are moving! Ahhh we're sooooo sad! We absolutely LOVE Paso 2nd ward! Brian was the Young Men's president (pretty important right??) and I was the primary music leader (okay, so not as important but still SO fun!) We loved living so near to family and we have such a great group of friends. So where are we moving to? Santa Maria. Bit random? I think so.

Okay, so it all started with a pipe bursting outside our window on Tuesday. The ONLY window that was getting completely drenched was Jackson's, and there was so much water pouring on it that it was leaking through our window and soaking the carpet. The water went about 3 feet out and it was just completely drenched. Ugh. So that was at about 11:00 Tuesday morning, and the idiots that manage our apartments didn't send out anyone till about 10:00 on Wednesday morning! So there was water sinking into the drywall and carpet for about 24 hours. So smart on their part, right? Anyways I had to drag everything out of Jackson's room and scatter it about the kitchen and living room so our house was a complete and total mess, smelling like must so being that our house was completely unlivable and disgusting we tried to keep Jackson away as much as possible and have been staying the night at the Welty's since (thank goodness for family).

So we figured it would be as good a time as any to pack up, move out, and quit Brian's job (not to mention getting away from the black mold that was undeniably forming from the 24 hours water spent seeping into the walls and floors. And what better way to make money than in Santa Maria selling Dish and Directv with Chris and Darci? They pay for your apartment and Brian would be making a lot more money, so much in fact that he would actually be able to just go to school for the next year without having to worry about working. So that's what we've been doing.

Some of you might be wondering why my blog title is "The Croop" and what that even means. I will tell you. Because of our fiasco with the property management company and the lack of action on their part, Jackson got a ridiculously high fever on Friday night at 2:30 am and a really horrible, barking-like cough. Unfortunately because we were staying at Chris and Darci's while we trained we didn't have a thermometer or baby tylenol. But he was burning up so bad that we literally had to take off all his clothes and just hold our hot baby. It was so sad and so scary, so we took him in on Saturday morning and found out that he had croup. (Its spelled croup but I titled it croop because thats how you pronounce it and its way more fun to say "croop") Its an infection in his throat that causes his airway to swell, which causes a fever. He has to take liquid Prednisone (which I'm sure Michelle and my dad were quick to realize its the the same stuff we gave our mom the weeks before she died, just a much smaller dosage). We just can't wait to get out of that disgusting apartment, but we are sooo sad to leave our amazing ward and all our friends and family : (

Jackson Time

2011-05-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ahh I just realized how long its been since I blogged about Jackson! I've been so into doing little photoshoots with my family and editing them I've completely forgotten to talk about whats going on in the world of Jackson! And because these posts are mostly for family history (I make a blog book with all the pictures and posts I put on here) and there's really not anybody that reads it besides close family, I should probably document whats going on with my cute boy : )

Well, I should probably start off by saying that Jackson FINALLY popped out a tooth! Two, to be exact. Since he was about 4 months old we've been saying,

"He's definitely teething!"

"Okay now he's for SURE teething!"

"Oh yeah, this time its the real thing, he's absolutely teething now!"

And guess what? No teeth.

I guess he is just a naturally drooly, sometimes cranky boy. So finally two weeks ago one popped out and boy was that a tough week. (Thank goodness for Baby Tylenol) I first noticed it because he was chewing on my hand (as usual) and lo and behold, there was a tooth! Two days later while Mima was watching him she said another tooth had wiggled its way out! And what does he get for all his effort? Two top teeth are now budding out, so no break for Jackson, which means no break for mom and dad. Oh well.

So how did I reward him for letting me poke around his mouth with a popsicle stick to find that darn tooth?

By tickling that cute boy!

On a different note, Jackson says "Mom" and "Dada" ALL the time it is so cute! When he cries he yells out to me saying "Mom!" I think its cute how he says "mom" instead of "mama" because it seems more intentional. But he babbles constantly, and people that he passes in the grocery store almost always take notice : ) We have sweet conversations when he wakes up from his naps. We sit in the rocker and he tells me stories of "Rarara" and "gagaga" and combinations of the two.

He's also still walking along furniture, and getting more and more comfortable with standing on his own. He's taken a couple steps a few times now, but its usually by accident so I don't really think we totally count it.

Jackson's gotten really good at drinking a bottle : )

Cranky face but SUPER cute outfit (he basically only wears surfer t-shirts and shorts now so of course we got him adorable sandals from Target)

The new way to hang out in his bouncer

Real men only wear light grey tapered sweats with no shirt on

Totally candid moment while Jackson and Brian watched some TV! (Too early for tv? I think not.)

Jackson loves helping me pick out a movie... And he found a winner! (Notice the "Pretty in Pink" selection)

Basically what I'm trying to say is that he's the cutest, smartest, funniest, chattiest, drooliest, most amazing baby to have ever been born (in my world anyways)

Mother's Day Part 2

2011-05-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

My amazing Mother's Day started out with this.....

It looks like it came straight out of a magazine right?? When I told some of the girls at church that Brian made me eggs benedict for my breakfast in bed they were shocked that he even knew how to make them! Yes ladies, he makes eggs benedict and he's all mine : ) Well first off I should point out that I got to sleep in till 9:30, and then had my favorite breakfast of all time.

Brian also wrote me this sweet, amazing poem that I seriously thought he had got off the internet or something. It reads:

"Batton down the hatches, see fury in the sky, but all I'll ever need, is my first mate and I. Now all sails are lowered, the great storms strength is full, forever you will be, the anchor to my soul. Waves surround at port and bow, sea and vessel in fight, I'm steady at the wheel, if you are by my side. Storm weathered, morning breaks, a burning sky is seen, my heart is full of thanks, you make a better me."

(This is where I swooned)

At church the bishopric put on a great mother's day brunch so it was like second breakfast! (The Office quote? Anyone? Anyone?) Then for Sacrament meeting I lead the children in a medley of Mother's Day songs (I'm the ward primary music leader, best calling ever!) We sang Love Is Spoken Here, I Often Go Walking, and Mother I Love You. They were all so cute, I love watching all those silly goofy kids and just wondering what they will do next. I had to hold back tears during Mother I Love You because its a really special song to my family since my mother passed away because we sang it to her the night she died. Thankfully I held myself together and didn't burst out in tears while leading about 40 small children during the sacrament meeting : ) After church we went to the Welty's house to exchange gifts and then to my dad's house for dinner with Chris and Darci, who just moved to town. These were taken outside the Welty's house using a tripod and all its glory : )

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I personally believe that pictures are better in color 90% of the time. ...But here's a black and white just for fun.

He is just so cuddly I LOVE it!!!

I love his smile in the above photo! He always makes this face when he's really happy and makes this snorting noise while he does it, isn't he just the cutest thing!?

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! Hope it was as amazing as mine!

Mother's Day Weekend Part 1

2011-05-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

One of the many MANY things that I love about Brian is how big he goes on holidays. Birthday, anniversaries, you name it, he goes big on it. One super cute thing about him is how much he loves to surprise me! As for me, I can take them or leave them, and I'm about as bad as it gets when it comes to actually surprising people. Anyways, this Mother's Day Brian went ALL out! We started the festivities on Friday because Brian didn't have work. We started out by going to Costco for lunch, which is our new favorite cheap meal. Two big, cheesy, greesy, give-you-a-heart-attack pizzas plus a polish sausage and a drink=Less than $6. Yum. Then we drove around Shell Beach looking at houses, our favorite pasttime because we can't WAIT till we can have a home of our own and we love deciding what we do or don't want in a home. Next stop, Pismo Beach Factory Outlets for some bargain shopping. Brian and I both got some things we loved for ourselves, then met Marty and Robert at Carter's for a major shopping spree for Jackson. (is it weird that sometimes I prefer shopping for Jackson than I do for myself?)

Afterwards we headed to Avila Beach for clam chowders with Brian's aunt and cousin at Custom House. The Farmer's Market they have there every Friday night is so fun! Its right on the beach and with the warm weather, it made for a perfect setting for a nice evening stroll.

There's fresh vegetables...

There's usually live music...

And the pier always makes for a fun walk.

What a fun grandma

This picture kills me, I love my 2 boys more than anything in the world. Brian just looks SO handsome and Jackson is such a cute boy!

My big present for Mother's Day was the lens Brian bought for me! It was the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens that I had been dreaming about for so long! Unfortunately, we didn't realize that with my camera it didn't autofocus so we had to return it with the promise of finding me one that was perfect and that I love, but Brian made it such a special weekend it didn't even matter!

On Saturday morning Jackson was being so cuddly! He kept reaching out to us and giving us these huge, tights hugs! Love these boys!

I don't have any other pictures from Saturday, but Brian made me his world famous biscuits and gravy (yum!) for breakfast and we spent the day cruising and walking around downtown SLO. That night he took me to Shin's Sushi in SLO and holy cow was it good! We went all out this time and got miso soups, edamame, drinks, and 2 yummy rolls. I couldn't believe that despite the fact that we have no money he still spoiled me and made me feel so loved. Thanks Brian, you're the best!

(More pics to come of Mother's Day DAY!!)

Why I Love California....

2011-05-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Making the move from Idaho to California was by far one of the best decisions we've ever made. We're close to the beach, the lake, and snowboarding. We live so close to both sides of our families (can you say free babysitting!?) And unlike Idaho (which I'm pretty sure its STILL snowing in Rexburg) its been nice and warm and springtime-y for a few months now. The grass and trees are SO green, there are beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, I've pretty much been wearing shorts, skirts or dresses everyday, and most importantly weekly trips to the beach are right around the corner! I love everything about this beautiful area called the Central Coast, so yesterday Brian and I took advantage. We went on a run around his parents neighborhood and then went for a little dip in the spa with Jackson, it was perfect weather for both.

He's kind of a special boy : )

So flirtatious

Can't you just smell the intoxicating mixture of chlorine and fresh air when you look at these pictures?

I do.

This is the floaty toy we got for Jackson at Walmart. Jackson LOVES the water but sometimes gets a little out of hand because he's constantly trying to dive into it and drink it (we sense an awesome wakeboarder in the near future)

Its a rough life.

Brian getting tired of mom taking one too many pictures....

California, we love you.....

Cambria Photoshoot

2011-04-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

If it seems like I've become obsessed with taking pictures and editing them, its because I am. I dream in vibrant color that will make my picturesn pop out, and I am constantly in wait for the next time I can get out ofthe house and do a photoshoot. I mean, when you have all your pictures edited the next morning by 10:00 am, you know there has been some neglecting of your child. But hey, at least his childhood will be well documented ; )

Well, who can blame me when I have the two cutest boys ever to take pictures of??

Just as a side note, I shot all these in Manual, a huge accomplishment for me that I've been working on : )

Bye Bye Sleeper

2011-04-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Jackson has always been the kind of kid to completely sprawl out when he's sleeping (must get it from his mom). Even from just a couple weeks old he would rather sleep with his arms above his head than swaddled up in a blanket. Then we found the most amazing thing to get him to sleep while keeping him bundled up.....

The sleeper.

We found it at Target (my safe haven) one day and since then we have never been able to find one just like it with a hood and long sleeves and everything. The second we put it on him he starts rubbing his eyes and he knows its time to sleep. When Jackson started getting too long for it where he couldn't stretch out his legs, I sewed on an extension with similar spare fabric that I had and lined it a soft blue minky material. Problem solved. Now the summer is approaching and its getting way too hot for him to sleep in. Slowly we are trying to ween him off this amazing blessing that was sent to us, but alas Jackson is too attached to it. So goodbye amazing sleeper, you've been good to us, and hello to trying to reform great sleeping habits (again).

Breakfast Recipes

2011-04-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've never been the kind of person that loves breakfast. In High School I probably wouldn't even eat it most days, and going out to breakfast seemed like such a waste of time and money on a meal that I never feel good after. This was a hard adjustment for Brian who absolutely LOVES breakfast because I never wanted to make it. So I found some breakfast recipes of meals that at least sounded kind of decent to me and made them for three days, and let me tell you I am now a converted lover of breakfast. They were so easy and had at least one healthy alternative to some fatty meal I had made before. They have all been added to "the list" of meals I will make again. I absolutely love cooking but I'm also picky about the meals I will make on a regular basis, and more often than not I'll end up making a few adjustments of my own to get them just right. Here are the recipes:

Pumpkin Pancakes:

Trust me, I was as hesitant as anyone about this recipe. For one, pumpkin is pretty bland and pancakes are too (without anything on top). For two, I got this recipe while reading an article about sneaking veggies into your kids food, which didn't build much confidence for me that you had to sneak it in to get your kids to eat it. To my surprise these were extremely moist and very flavorful!

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I mixed 1 Tbs.

lemon juice with 1 cup of milk

and let it stand for 5 minutes,

its a great alternative!)

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Melt 1 Tbs. butter. Whisk in egg, buttermilk, pumpkin, and melted butter.

(Note: Because I thought it would be a little bland, I decided to mix it up and add a sprinkle of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. We thought it was just what this recipe needed)

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp. butter, swirl pan to coat. Spoon on batter and flip just like a regular pancake.

3. Cover with syrup (the recipe says maple syrup but the regular kind was just fine) and raspberries if you have them.

I also made bacon and eggs on the side, and for a healthy spin on eggs add some red bell pepper! Its so delicious and such an easy add. If you're feeling crazy that morning, go ahead and add some mushroom and onion too, and I season with Santa Maria Style Seasoning.

Pancakes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Okay could there be an easier recipe? All you need are some fresh strawberries,

Some pancakes and whipped cream,

Smother them with syrup,

And enjoy : )

Whole Wheat Breakfast Crepes

Don't be intimidated by the name, trust me these are so easy and so delicious. Anything that says "whole wheat" has always made me nervous, I've always thought it meant so much extra work but really all I had to do was buy whole wheat flour, go figure! ; )

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (Little hint: Look at the ingredients list and make sure the first ingredient doesn't say "enriched" anywhere. You can also use all-purpose flour)

3 Tbs. sugar

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup skim milk (I only had 1% and it turned out just fine)

2 large eggs, beaten

2 Tbs. butter, plus more for frying

1. In a mixing bowl, blend flour, sugar and salt. Gradually whisk in milk. Add beaten eggs and continure mixing until the batter is smooth and creamy, with no lumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (or overnight). When ready to make the crepes, melt 2 Tbs. butter, add to batter and mix thoroughly.

2. Heat a small pan over medium heat. Brush the pan lightly with butter or oil (repeat for each new crepe. Pour 2 Tbs. of batter into the pan and tilt to spread evenly. Flip once browned.

For these berry crepes, just heat up a package of frozen mixed berries and add about 1-2 Tbs. sugar. In a separate cup mix together about 1/2 cup water and 1 Tbs. cornstarch and pour in while stirring berry mixture. (Sorry this is a recipe that my mom made up so I don't have exact measurements, I just go by what feels right). Fold and put a dollop of whipped cream on top. You can also sprinkle powdered sugar on top and any fresh berries you might have.

For these Nutella and banana crepes, simply spread on nutella and sliced fresh banana, fold, and enjoy! (Trust me, they'll change your life) If you have extra banana slices left over, put in a ziploc bag and freeze for a smoothie later on!

Surf Day

2011-04-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

No explanation needed for these pictures. Brian loves surfing. I love taking photographs.

I do love California......

I Love You Through and Through

2011-04-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

So as most of you probably know I'm a huge reader, and I really thank the Harry Potter books for that. I started reading them when I was in 5th grade and just read them over and over and over (would it be ridiculous to admit I probably read the first 4 about 20 times each??) So once I realized that there were other books out there besides Harry Potter I just went crazy, and am now proud to say that I have a small little library of my own that fills up 2 bookshelves. Naturally I really want Jackson to pick up that same love for reading that I grew up with, so I've started reading to him whenever possible. The first few times were a little discouraging because he would lose interest within, hmm, about 2 seconds, but lately he has absolutely loved it when I read to him. He gets quiet and starts touching the little pictures, and he even helps mom turn the pages now! His favorites are:

and

No matter what Jackson will almost always stop crying and pay attention and smile whenever I open these books, they saved my life on the 10 hour car drive to and from Arizona! I hope that as he grows up he learns how amazing reading is and get transported into different worlds just like I did when I was little! Something tells me he will : )

On a similar note I've been re-reading the C.S. Lewis books The Chronicles of Narnia. I read some of them when I was little but I don't think I retained very much because I don't remember anything I've been reading! Anyways I was thinking about the question that is often asked, "If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?" (This is excluding prophets, of course) I finally have my answer: C.S. Lewis. First of all, what a cool guy to just hang out with J.R.R. Tolkien and decide to write books that have underlying Christian themes! I know some authors have attempted the delicate art of relating their characters to Christ, but sorry J.K. Rowling it take more than that to write a great analogy of Christ. Secondly, you just don't see his writing style these days anymore. I think the reason why my favorite books are from authors that are no longer alive is because they have a feel to them that you just don't see anymore. I don't think authors today could capture the intricate revenge plot of Edmund Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, the lovable characters of The Princess Bride, or the pure magic and wonder of the Narnia series. (And yes, I do read books besides the ones that are made into movies, its not my fault they've made the best ones into movies! Haha) Anyways, back to C.S. Lewis, I honestly think he must have known something, you don't write books like The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity without a greater knowledge of the Christian Church than most have. If you want an awesome short story that can be related to Christ on so many different levels, read the chapter in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader entitled "How the Adventure Ended" and you'll see exactly what I mean when I say, "He knew something." I can just picture the amazing stories he would tell and the great bits of wisdom he would say if I were to meet him, and while I myself wouldn't add much to the conversation, just to sit and chat with the man that prophets and apostles have quoted countless times would be the most amazing experience.

Lazy Tuesday Afternoon

2011-04-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a lazy sort of Tuesday. Jackson's been sick with a neverending cold and I feel like I've been constantly suctioning out his nose every 10 minutes, but because of course the weather in California has been BEAUTIFUL I decided a little trip to the great outdoors was necessary. I then spent a good portion of the afternoon taking pictures of my handsome little guy and then editing them. I was really proud of myself because it was the first time I've shot in Manual, and because I want to seriously start a little photography business its definitely a goal of mine. Of course I didn't get it totally right but its a baby step : )

This is the lion that Brian used to play with when he was little

Impel Clothing

2011-03-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is an awesome modest clothing store that gives away tons of free prizes and getaways! Right now they have a vacation getaway that they are giving out, so not only are their clothes super cute but I'm also hoping to win a little vacation time just Brian and I! Click on the link to check it out (plus it'll help me win if you do!)

http://impelclothing.com/blog/ge/bkwelty11

And The Best Husband Award Goes To.....

2011-03-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

I just need to give a quick little shoutout to the best husband in the world, Brian Welty! When I came home from my trip to Arizona I knew I had a surprise waiting for me, and I only assumed that it would be a huge tv that Brian got a killer deal on from a friend. So as I walked in the door, there it was, the huge 50-something inch tv and a little reorganizing of our family room to fit it. Of course, a huge tv wasn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world to me (we don't have cable so we don't watch a lot of tv, just movies) I was mostly just happy to be home. (I was excited about the tv, I think it was mostly for Brian though...) Then I noticed the piano, which used to be in the bedroom, was in the living room and I immediately realized that something else was hiding in the bedroom. So as I walked through our bedroom door there it was, a new sewing table for me! A while back I inherited my mom's old sewing machine and lots of fabrics, threads, scissors, pins, etc. but I haven't really been able to use it because of our lack of table space. It was so exciting to be able to use the sewing machine finally, and Brian put a lot of love and hard work into making it all pretty for me. He stained it a nice dark cherry wood color and even put a new knob on it. The knob might not seem like a big deal but if you saw the old huge, bright green one you would understand. He organized all the fabrics and threads to make it all pretty for me when I got home. Those are the little moments in life that show exactly how much my husband loves me and cares for me, and how sweet and giving he is : )

To top it off, a couple weeks later Brian tells me as he's coming home from work that he has another surprise for me, and when he walks in he has a new jogger for me!! I'm SO excited because we are way too cheap to pay for a gym membership (you want me to pay $50 a month to run or bike in place??) but its also hard to just go on a run whenever I want with Jackson. So I've literally been dreaming about the day I could get a jogger and be able to go running whenever I want and then Brian just comes home one day with one!!! He is the most thoughtful, kind, giving, selfless person I've ever met

....And did I mention what an amazing dad he is?

So the Best Husband In the World Award goes to.....

Brian Welty :)

Tallen

2011-03-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Last week Brian and I said goodbye to eachother for the first time in approximately 1,141 days as I hopped on a plane to Phoenix, AZ. Brian and I had always been so proud that we had seen eachother every single day since the night we met over 3 years ago. That's why it was so hard to say goodbye, but I was SO excited to go visit my sister in Gilbert, AZ and her newborn baby Tallen! When I had Jackson, Michelle drove to CA alone with her 3 boys to help me out and it was such a huge sacrifice for her that there was really no question as to whether or not I was going to do the same. Plus, since my mom died we've had to band up as sisters and be there as a "womanly support". Michelle came home to 7 boys (her 4 kids, husband, my dad, and Jackson), so needless to say it was pretty she needed some girl time. We talked mainly about babies, births, and more babies. When she came to CA she took hundreds of pictures of Jackson for me that are so priceless, so I was really excited to do the same! We each had our cameras out and probably took about 1,000 pictures between the two of us. Here are some of my favorites that I've edited so far, who knows, there may be more to come!

If you show me a picture first in color, then in black and white, 99% of the time I will probably say I like the colored one better. I feel that when you turn something black and white it just loses a lot of its appeal and you're stuck with an ordinary and bland picture most of the time. I really feel like its an art and if done in the wrong way it only cheapens a picture. That's why I've created a "preset" on Lightroom that I absolutely LOVE that gives the feel of a black and white without taking away from the original photo. Of course I love variety and had to share the colored version because I love it when pictures have vibrant, fun colors!

There's this feature on my camera that you can move the display screen so you can shoot from above while still look at the picture, I love it! Yes, this may have killed the boys necks but I also like the outcome ; )

Hands : )

Isn't this blanket amazing?? My aunt Colette gave it to Michelle, its adorable! My mom used to sew the name of the new baby on any quilts she made so its nice to still have some of that

Gotta love all the tiny toes : )

This one is Brian's favorite and I really do like how it turned out

Jackson: 8 Months

2011-03-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

So I've been a little behind on my blogging about Jackson because he seems like he's just been learning something new each week! First he started doing the army crawl and got really fast at it! I would just throw toys across the room and let him go exploring while I did dishes or cooked meals. One time I even looked down at him and he was holding his toy in his teeth like an army man biting down on his knife!

It was cute because he started following me everywhere I went. Whenever i would leave the room for even a second I would soon see him peaking around the corner waiting for me. I'm so glad I caught this funny face of his!

Soon he started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, and Brian and I knew it was only a matter of time until he started actually crawling.

Eventually I stopped putting out toys for him because he would much rather go and crawl on top of our small wicker laundry baskets and any sort of boxes or other small things he could climb on.

Then one night as Brian and I were talking in our room we looked over and Jackson had stood up on his own on our laundry basket!! We were shocked! Ever since our trip to Arizona to visit my sister where Jackson had a ton of stuff to climb on thats about all he does! Its like he skipped the sitting up phase because he would much rather be crawling around and climbing on furniture. There pretty much isn't anything he can't get on these days, its the getting down part he struggles with.

Jackson does the CUTEST pose! Sometimes when he's crawling around he'll just stop and do this little pose. These pictures are hilarious because he looks like a little model! I think my favorite part is his chunky thighs ; )

He just makes the cutest faces! He'll do this face where he scrunches his nose all the time, I love it! And even more recently he started shaking his head back and forth while raising his eyebrows, its my favorite!!

The Reason I Blog

2011-02-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a great cleaning day, the kind of day where you feel accomplished and slightly light-headed from all the fumes you've breathed in. So between Brian coming and home and starting dinner, I decided to lie down for a little while. I didn't feel like starting a book but also didn't want to fill my already cluttered mind with television, so I picked up our coffee table book which happens to be my grandma and grandpa's life story. It starts out with my grandma's account of her life, something so special to us because she died quite a few years ago of cancer. Grandma Tess was an amazing woman, the kind of person that fills the spotlight of a room with her wit and humor, and can get away with the occasional swear word or two because you just have to laugh. I loved hearing her voice in my head as I read her words from a long time ago, and even laughed out loud a time or two. This passage in particular had me on the verge of tears while making me smile:

"The next spanking I ever got came when I ran behind Faye's boyfriend's car. It was a truck and I was hanging on for dear life, my legs just a flying."

The picture of my grandma running behind a car "legs just a flying" makes me laugh so hard because I really can picture it perfectly. In my family we often say "That's such a Broderick thing" in reference to anything funny, daring, or witty.

The reason I'm blogging about this is because it made me realize exactly why I feel the need to blog about everything. I print out my blogs in an easy "blog book" that I have on my coffee table with all the pictures and texts I've put on here. I like to think that one day my grandkids will open up one of my books and discover how much I loved to read (a fun fact that I learned my grandmother also loved to do.) Or how I started taking pictures when I was 21. Or see how much I loved my family, not just my husband and child but how close my siblings and I are, too. These things are part of our family history and maybe someone will laugh one day when they read my story.

Feeling Creative

2011-02-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

One thing that I have never considered myself as is creative or artistic. Some people just have that mindset, and thats one thing thats always attracted me to Brian. He's an amazing artist and just has that vision that only truly artistic people have. So my solution to feeling more artistic? Buying a nice DSLR, gaining a basic knowledge of photoshop, and letting my uncreative self go wild. Trust me, those things can make anyone feel artistic ; ) One day I would like to start doing engagement/wedding photos, but thats a long ways away. For now, I'm just having fun taking pictures of Brian and Jackson and pretending like I know what I'm doing. Here are my endeavors in the photography world.

I think this one is my favorite, you really can't go wrong taking pictures of two handsome guys : )

I just have to point out what a big boy Jackson is becoming!

I think I have a thing for lightpoles.

What a sexy man I married ; )

Determined to Fight Cancer

2011-02-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen the movie Julie & Julia? It's about a woman who starts a blog as she cooks through the Julia Child cookbook. Brian and I felt, as I'm sure just about everyone else did, invigorated after watching the film and felt determined to start a blog that would hook thousands of readers and end in a book and movie contract based on the blog. Of course, those dreams were abandoned within a few hours and probably never spoken of since. While I'm not starting a blog about this adventure, recent events have sparked my interest in blogging about something meaningful to me. Let me explain.

As many of you probably know (because I'm pretty sure only immediate family even read this blog :) ) my darling, sweet, kind, loving sister Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer. The fact that within a little over a year of my mom dying of non-smoking lung cancer after a 5 year battle with it, my dad, aunt, and sister were all diagnosed with some kind of cancer. This could almost be comical if it wasn't so devastating and crippling to my family. This extremely rare hereditary disorder called Li Fraumeni that resides in my family's gene pool has been ever present in my life, and I think I have become almost indifferent to it. Li Fraumeni is basically just a gene that some people in my family have that makes us more susceptible to cancer, to put it simply. So you can understand how in my mind it seemed that "You get old and you get cancer, and that's that." I don't want to sound like I am complaining, and the last thing that I want is people's pity, but all I'm trying to say is that this looming threat that seems to have always been in my future has finally made an appearance in my generation. My sister Kim was the first to find out she had cancer out of all our siblings and cousins, and it was a wake-up call to someone totally apathetic to the idea of cancer. The fact that someone so wonderful as Kim could get diagnosed at such a young age of 31, with 2 kids ages 4 and 9 months, just chills me to the bone with fear and pessimism. So my solution? To start eating healthier, and this is where the blog comes into play.

My goal is to start eating healthier. Of course, I know myself and my usual plans to "start exercising everyday" or "stop drinking soda" usually end before they've even started. That's why I'm putting some accountability on myself so that when friends or family ask me how my little "project" is going, I won't be able to say, "That journey ran its course." Instead I'll be encouraged to tell people that I'm eating healthier and loving it. I got 2 cookbooks in the mail today and I can't wait to dive in. My goal is to have at least one of those meals a day (again, I know myself and I know that I won't be able to go cold turkey on potato chips and corn dogs, so I'm pacing myself). If I like a recipe, I'll post it on this blog. If I don't, I'll just skip it.

Let me make a few disclaimers. I don't think that eating organic or more fruits and vegetables will stop me from getting cancer, I'm not that naive. If I'm supposed to get cancer, I'll get it, but at least I'll feel that I didn't do anything to help it, and I'll feel prepared. Also, I don't think that anybody who doesn't eat this way should be doing it or they'll get some life-threatening disease, or that those who have been diagnosed with cancer could have done anything to stop it. Once again, in our family if you're gonna get it, you're gonna get it. I'm just excited to start learning about superfoods that help me fight it and to hopefully start starving cancer early.

So... Who's with me to fight cancer? ; )

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

Traditionally mine and Brian's Valentine's Days consist of going out to sushi, but this year we decided to switch it up a little bit. Instead I went out and bought Lobster Tails, something I have never even eaten, let alone cooked. A simple Google search took me to an easy recipe that didn't take long and that I already had all the ingredients for. The recipe was 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon white pepper, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, and 2 lobster tails found on http://allrecipes.com/. Basically I just kept marinating the lobster while grilling it until cooked all the way through, it was delicious! I also bought asparagus and decided to try my own recipe which was soaking the asparagus in freshly squeezed lemon juice and soy sauce, sprinkling brown sugar on top, then broiling it. Surprisingly it actually turned out really good, which is saying a lot because I really am my biggest critic when it comes to cooking and am usually self conscious the whole meal! Brian then took care of the second course which was his World Famous Not Bob's Shrimp on rice pilaf. His shrimp recipe is based on Brian's dad's Not Bob's seasoning that he invented and it calls for about 1 to 2 tbs of Butter, 1 tsp Worshtershire sauce, 1 can of Chicken Broth, 1 tsp Black Pepper, about 1 to 2 tsp minced garlic, about 1/2 pound of shrimp, and about 1 to 2 Tbls of the Not Bob's seasoning. He also made these cucumbers that were SO good! Its just sliced cucumber sitting in freshly squeezed lemon juice, you'd be surprised at the flavor that stuff has! And the best part is that you just stick it in the fridge for a quick snack later on. Trust me on this one, if you're looking for a healthy snack these were DELICIOUS! I also made some Red Velvet cupcakes with home made cream cheese frosting and a white chocolate bottom. And of course I had to take pictures of the whole things because we usually don't eat so luxuriously ; )

Brian also knows how much I love to get flowers so he went out and bought me some : )

The lobster tail, asparagus, and cucumber with a glass of red wine. (Just kidding its Apple-Cran sparkling cider)

Brian was drunk off the deliciousness of the lobster tail

The amazing Not Bob's shrimp

If you want anymore details on the recipes, just let me know ; )

Obsessed With Editing

2011-02-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

So I posted my pictures that we took last week that I thought turned out really great, and then I discovered Photoshop Lightroom. Basically all I can think about now is editing my pictures and when I can take more. No denying it, I am obsessed. So here are the edited versions of a lot of the pictures I took, a lot of them may be subtle or may be even HORRIBLE but I am just loving pretending like I'm artsy and creative and cool, all of which I am not. Enjoy!

Our First Photoshoot

2011-02-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

Brian and I bought the Nikon D5000 about a month ago to take pictures of Jackson because our old point-and-shoot was just such a poor quality. My dad was the one that talked us into it because we seriously don't have ANY money but he told us that he and my mom went through the same situation with a video camera and just bought one because they figured that by the time they did have the money we would've been all grown up! So we were sold at that point and began our search for a great deal on a camera. Little did we know that we would actually find that great deal that very day we started looking, we found this Nikon for $250 cheaper than anywhere else at Walmart! So since then we've just been messing around trying to figure it out, and we finally felt comfortable enough to head out to Barny Shwartz Park on Wednesday night for Jackson's first photoshoot, and this is what happened! (These aren't edited because we're still figuring out Photoshop Lightroom) Brian's so artistic and creative he picked it up right away, the pictures of me are the ones he took and the lighting is just perfect!

Lately I've been going on a lot of photography blogs and just figuring out what kind of style I like and one thing I've learned is that I LOVE pictures with sunlight just like this and of course Brian figures it out first try : )

Can I just point out Jackson's CRAZY hair in this one!? So funny!

Jackson took this one

Okay so I definitely wouldn't call myself a photographer yet but I'm excited to keep learning! Luckily I have 2 sisters and a few girlfriends that are amazing photographers to teach me how to do it!

Superbowl Weekend

2011-02-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Four years ago, Superbowl Sunday would have consisted of going to a friend's house, eating yummy food, then sleeping through the ENTIRE game, boys yelling and all. I wouldn't have been able to tell you what a first down was, any positions besides the quarterback, or even how many points a touchdown equals. Boy how things have changed...

THIS Superbowl Weekend was filled with family, friends, football, food, and snowboarding. Friday night Robert, Marty, Brian, Jackson, and I left for Fresno and stayed in a hotel, compliments of the Welty's. Saturday morning Robert, Brian, and I packed up our stuff, said goodbye to Mima and Jackson, and headed up the mountain. We were a little worried when we didn't see a speck of snow almost the whole way up the mountain and the temperature was getting into the 40's, but the day ending up being so perfect for a weekend snowboarding trip. It was warm enough that we weren't freezing our butts off and the snow softened up very nicely, but it cooled down later so it didn't turn into slush. Brian and I hadn't gone snowboarding in 2 years (what with the pregnancy and all) and even then I had only gone 5 times that winter 2 years ago. But all was well and we picked up right where we left off, Brian of course shredding it up and just being awesome as always, and me tailing behind and carving both ways occasionally.

Sunday I made my mom's yummy recipe for pasta salad consisting of bacon, tomato, and Santa Maria style seasoning; and homemade cookies. We then headed to the Espinal's home where we ate delicious tacos. It was so fun for Brian to finally watch a game with a bunch of men instead of with me (but I will say I am learning the game quite nicely and even enjoy it!) The boys yelled, jumped up and down, wrestled, ate meat, you know, all the manly stuff. The girls sat at the table and pretty much talked about babies and birth stories, two of my favorite subjects ; )

We just absolutely LOVE our ward! At some of our old wards like in Idaho we never really felt like we connected with anybody but here we have so many fun friends with kids Jackson's age that we can relate to. We have Girls Nights, Play Groups, and FHE once a month with all the young families in the ward. We seriously want to stay in this ward forever and watch Jackson and our other children grow up with these kids!

Where Did the Time Go!?

2011-01-31T22:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, can I just say that Jackson is becoming such a big boy?? Of course we're always so excited for each new development and every milestone that he reaches but seriously where did the time go!? Last night Brian and I stayed up after Jackson was asleep just watching old videos of when I was pregnant and after Jackson was born. It was so funny watching them because we took such long videos of him just doing nothing and we laughed saying, "Him smiling was the most exciting thing we had to videotape!" Now he's doing something new every other day it seems like! He's crawling, sitting up, eating solid foods, and even clapping! Plus he's so big for his age he just seems way to old to be our little baby.

This is Jackson's new way of drinking his bottle. Of course, he's way too independent to let us ever hold the bottle for him. He wants to do things in his own time, on his own terms. So everytime we put him in his bouncer to eat he kicks back, crosses his legs, puts his hand behind his head, and just takes it all in. Oh, to be young : )

Jackson got his first haircut! We love his long hair and don't want to cut it at all but the sides were getting a little long to where they would sit on his ears and make him look a little mullett-y so a trim was necessary. It was hard for mom to cut his beautiful, soft, baby hair but it only ended up being a few snips from the sides and ended up being virtually painless for the both of us

He just has the cutest baby face!

My Best Friend's Birthday

2011-01-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Brian's birthday, so naturally I've been thinking about our last 3 years together and how grateful I am for the amazing husband I've been so blessed with! We met exactly 3 years and 2 weeks ago when my friend Wes Mallett invited me over to Brian's house for a little get together. For some reason I decided to wear jeans and a XL baggy gray fleece zip-up jacket. Later, when trying to understand my thought process in picking out that outfit, Brian thought it went a little something like this: "What can I wear that will accentuate my... Nothing." BUT despite my severe oversite and lack in taste, somehow I still caught Brian's eye. Since that night we met (January 13, 2008) we have seen each other EVERYDAY without fail. In case you're wondering, that is approximately 1,110 days straight.

One of my favorite stories that Brian tells about when we first met is when one day as we were driving together and having a great time and laughing he had this thought in his head: "Even if things don't work out with this girl, we are still going to be best friends." And thats exactly what we are! Best friends that get to live together and have a family together and see each other

every day for a thousand days.

I can't imagine my life without my best friend, husband, and father of Jackson! He's everything I've ever wanted in a husband and more, and I still don't know why he picked me! The dorky girl in a baggy, gray, fleece zip-up that talked about Harry Potter way too much and was way out of her league. Let's just say there was some divine intervention that night : )

So yesterday we celebrated this amazing man's 25th birthday by starting out with some home-made breakfast burritos. We then dropped off Jackson and headed to the beach! We were supposed to go snowboarding that day because you snowboard for free at China Peak, but the night before Jackson got really sick and was throwing up for almost an hour straight until there was nothing left, poor guy! So we decided to stay a little closer to home, and only in California can you decide not to go snowboarding in January and then head over to the beach for some surfing! It was BEAUTIFUL in Morro Bay! It was about 70 degrees and when I got out while Brian stayed in the water to surf a little longer I just took off the top of my wetsuit and layed in the sand soaking up the sun!

Brian and I planned our food very carefully yesterday, wanting to take advantage of every free thing we could! So we headed to Sylvester's in Los Osos for a free burger, then later that night after Brian's class we went to Big Bubba's for a free $20 meal! We ended the night with the only thing he actually asked for, a massage! I felt bad about celebrating his birthday with the Guster concert so early, but we decided that his birthday should just be a month long celebration : ) Because we were so full yesterday I didn't make a birthday dessert, so I'm making it up for him by making his two favorites over the next couple days: My mom's berry/brownie dessert and a Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream cake. After all, there's still a few days left in January!

Weekend Trip to Utah

2011-01-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we made the trip to Chris and Darci's wedding at the Timpanogos Temple in Utah. We're so glad we were able to be there as they got married!

Scott and Brittany

Jackson loves the color red so much and wouldn't stop reaching for Brittany and he red coat!

Brian getting ready to open his early birthday present....

Reading the card that explains that his present would be useful on our roadtrip we're getting ready to take that weekend....

A little excited....

Oh! The new Guster CD!.....

So excited to find out we're going to the Guster concert in Salt Lake that Saturday!!!

We brought in our little point-and-shoot to the concert then realized while we were in there that the memory card was in our new digital camera so we had to take these pictures on my phone. This is the opening band for Guster

I got to touch the lead singer of Guster when he stood on the railing right in front of the crowd! I grabbed his knee then I actually held his hand!! We were so close we were right in the middle and only 3 people back, pretty much the perfect spot!

A last minute picture of us as we were leaving