The Mormon Miracle Pageant

It's pretty much become a tradition each summer for Justin and I to go to the Manti Pageant. (We have gone every year- sometimes more than once a year- since we started dating.) We just really love going- it's such a fun summer activity. And what better place can you think to spend some time than sitting on the grass in front of one of our beautiful temples? And, of course, it's always fun to eat at Fred's Sports Grill, walk around the quaint little town of Manti, and (this year) purchase a stick of wonderfully yummy chocolate covered strawberries!

So, on Saturday, June 25th we headed out to Manti with my cousin Kyla and her husband, Dallas, who joined us this year, which made our night just that much more fun. We got there quite a few hours early and just talked together and played Catch Phrase. Lots of laughs were shared and it was so much fun to hang out with and get to know Dallas and Kyla better as a couple, since we don't get a chance to do that very often. Thanks Dallas and Kyla for making our night so enjoyable! (Dallas took the absolutely amazing panoramic picture of the temple that is at the top of this post. I am so in love with it! I can't believe that his phone could take such a great picture! I wish I could have made it bigger so that you could really see how great it is, but I don't know how...?)

Keaton was a little fussy all day Saturday, (I think the heat has been getting to him lately...) which made me a little nervous for what would happen during the pageant, but all in all he was a pretty good boy. :) It was a lot of fun to be together as a little family.

walking buddies*

On Friday afternoon, June 24th, my good friend Chelsea and Keaton's buddy Andrew were in town for the day (Chelsea, Jed, and Andrew usually live in Provo, except during the summers when they move to Colorado for Jed's job.) and so Keaton and I met them at the mall to visit and walk around a little bit together. It was lots of fun and made me miss having a walking buddy, since before Chelsea left we went on quite a few little walks together with the boys. We sure do miss you guys and can't wait for the fall so that we can continue our walks together!

Both these boys love being in their strollers to take walks. :)

Just look what he can do!

(I apologize for the length of this post... I just had a lot to say? Please, at least make sure you look at ALL the cute pictures till the bottom of the post!)

Yes, that's right, this little boy can FINALLY sit up on his own!

And that's not all he can do! Over the last month Keaton has been growing and learning so, so much. Keaton  turned 10 months old on Friday, June 24th. (Seriously?! That can't possibly be right... only 2 more months and Keaton will be 1! No, that can't be right, can it???) But, it's true my little boy is getting to be such a "big" boy. Keaton now weighs 16 lbs 3 oz and is 26 inches long. And Keaton is pretty proud of all the new things he has learned to do recently. (His parents are both pretty darn proud of him too. :) ) Along with loving to sit up and play with his toys, Keaton also really enjoys being able to sit up in the tub and play and splash in the water like a crazy boy. Keaton even enjoys to stand up, bounce, and jump on our laps now, which he has never liked to do- the jumparoo really helped him to realize what he could do with his legs I think. And while we were gone on our cruise my family taught Keaton how to dance! It's really cute and he does it all the time now if there is music playing- even if it is church music. :) Another super fun thing that Keaton has started to do is say some of his first words (Keaton loves to talk and says lots of different sounds) but, it seems that his first real words have been "da da" and "bob." Yep, that's right, Keaton says "bob" all the time. It's so funny! (Justin says he is "da da" and I am "bob.") Well, to be truthful, Keaton probably still doesn't know why he is saying these 2 words, but it's pretty fun that he says them all the same. Keaton is doing great at eating his baby foods and loves pretty much any kind of fruit or vegetable that you feed him. Keaton has learned how to drink from a sippy cup. He also really loves eating his "puffs" and yogurt "melts" and if you put them on his highchair tray he can pick them up and feed them to himself! (So far, he even seems to be favoring using his left hand, which makes his Grandpa Adams pretty excited- as he is left handed himself.) Keaton still hates LOATHES laying on his belly. And lately it seems when I put him on his belly that he has forgotten how to roll back over to his back, cause now he just cries and won't even attempt to roll over... Oh, my silly baby boy. So, crawling probably won't be happening in our neck of the woods anytime soon. (Which I may or may not be completely okay with since a mobile baby seems to get into a lot more trouble than a baby that just sits and plays with their toys... ;) ) But, lately Keaton really seems to love his feet and is always grabbing them and even trying to eat his little toes! Keaton is and always has been such a happy and content little boy. He still takes 2 naps a day that are between 2-3 hours long and sleeps almost always 10-13 hours at night. Keaton hardly ever cries and is mostly just full of smiles and giggles all day long. Keaton has become super ticklish and loves to be teased and tickled. Also, I can tell that Keaton is really starting to understand the different tones in Justin and I's voices- he can tell when we are happy or proud of him, he can tell when we are teasing him, and he thinks its really funny when we pretend to be upset at him for being a little stinker! I love that Keaton is starting to like to look at books (especially "touch and feel" board books) and he even seems to be starting to like for me to read them to him. He also really enjoys when he is sitting in his highchair while I am making dinner when I sing different songs to him like, "The Wheels on the Bus", "10 Little Monkeys" (both," Jumping on the Bed", and "Swinging in the Tree") and any primary songs. Keaton loves to play with both me and his daddy. And although, I have loved each different stage that Keaton has gone through since he has been a part of our family, I can honestly say that so far this stage is my very, very favorite. (At least this is the first time that I have wanted to freeze time and just enjoy my little boy in this stage forever and ever...)

I mean, how could you not want to keep this sweet boy just like he is forever?




A note to my dear friend Ani: I love these pictures. I am proud of how good they turned out (since oftentimes the pictures I seem to take of Keaton just aren't the greatest quality) but, I also love that they do and always will remind me of you and our friendship. You are a great friend, Ani. And I can't wait till you move here in 1 more month! And for us to start our amazing book club!

P.S. Anyone out there that lives in the Provo/Orem area that wants to join our book club, please, please, let me know!

"I want that!" and it's summer at our house

A couple of days ago Justin was eating a plum and decided to give Keaton a little taste... and well, Keaton didn't want to give it back! He would get so sad when Justin would take it away from him. (Lately, Keaton more and more often wants what we have.) So, we decided to let Keaton have at it! Keaton still has no teeth so, he was mostly just holding and sucking on this yummy plum, but he was loving every second of it.

The past couple of days we surely have felt that summer is here- full force. Our little apartment has no air conditioning... and all of us- Keaton included- have noticed this little fact since we've been back home. It's hot in our apartment- all the time- which has made nap time and bedtime for Keaton a little tricky. You see, Keaton, although he is getting to be quite a big boy, loves to sleep all wrapped up like a little "burrito baby" (as my little sister Maddie likes to call it) and he doesn't usually sleep too well unless he is all wrapped up nice and tight. In this picture, Keaton was so tired he fell asleep without being wrapped up, but only slept for like a half hour or so... and then wouldn't go back to sleep until he was a nice and snug little "burrito baby" again. 

a Norman family favorite

Summer just isn't summer unless we are out boating! Our couple of days extra stay in West Point quickly turned into a whole week and this past Saturday we took Keaton boating for the very 1st time with Justin's family. We went out to Willard Bay and although the water was pretty cold and there were bugs EVERYWHERE it turned out to be a really nice day to just be out on the boat.

Keaton seemed to really enjoy it. But, let's be honest, what doesn't Keaton like? I know I have said this before, but we are so lucky to have such an easy-going baby.

And if we ever go boating somewhere this summer where the water isn't freezing I think Keaton would really like to go swimming too. He loves the water during bathtime and I think he is going to be just like his dad when it comes to boating and wakeboarding and such. :)

Once we were all packed up and ready to go home for the day Keaton decided he would take the wheel and drive us on home. Silly baby, he is getting really curious about the world around him. :)

Just doing what they do best...

After getting back from our cruise we decided that it might be fun to spend a couple of days in West Point enabling us to be able to go to all the girls dance recital. And when I say all the girls I mean ALL- not only were Maddie and Miryka in the recital but Brooklyn, Brinnlee, Ady, Riley and Lexi were all in it, plus some of my cousins from the Adam's side of the family- Megan, Carley, and Sarah. (I think I named them all...) I wasn't able to get a picture with all of the girls (which is what I really, really wanted) but, here are the girls in my family that just love to dance!

These girls all have such attitude! It cracks me up. Every one of these girls is pulling a different face in each of these pictures. Of course it was much too hard for all of them to just smile at the same time. :)

It was a lot of fun to be able to see these girls showing off what they truly love. And they all did a spectacular job.

all aboard the Allure of the Seas!

On June 4th- June 12th, Justin and I, along with the rest of Justin's family starting off the summer just right by having the time of our lives on the amazing cruise ship the Allure of the Seas! (My camera was having some issues throughout the time we were gone on the cruise so my picture taking was pretty sporadic, but here are some of the pictures I got of us while on our cruise.)

On the top deck of the ship on the first night of the cruise. It was amazing to look out at the beautiful ocean from the top of the ship.

Our 1st "formal" dinner night. All dressed up to go have dinner at the dining room. Which, I might add, had the most absolutely AMAZING food! I don't think I have ever eaten so much in my life!

Our 1st stop off the cruise ship- Labadee, Haiti. We went snorkeling, shopping, and sun-tanned on the beach. It was a fun day.

Our ship was just huge! Bigger than you can even imagine. I honestly couldn't even tell we were on a ship most of the time. Every once in a while I could feel a little swaying, but I didn't really ever get seasick at all. (Maybe just a little on our first day as we were watching the ship pull away from the dock... that did make me a little sick.)

The girls, waiting for to be seated for dinner in the dining room. We had the best waiter and waitresses and even though there were lots of places for us to go for dinner a lot of the nights we decided to go to the dining room (my personal favorite) because of how much we loved the people who took care of us while we were there.

Our 2nd "formal" night.

Justin's really, really bad sunburn, which he got while snorkeling in Cozumel, Mexico. (Our last stop off the cruise ship- our 2nd stop was in Jamaica, but I didn't get any pictures there... :( )

Our stateroom. That bed behind us is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in! (Do you like our matching BYU shirts- we didn't even plan to both wear them that day, it just happened. :) )

Almost every night while on our cruise we would get pizza at Sorrento's as a late night/before bedtime snack. They had super yummy pizza!

Our last night on the ship. I finally got some sun... or should I say I finally got sunburnt! And man, it didn't feel too good. (My legs were really burnt and hurting, and now that we are home they are peeling like crazy! Opps, guess I shouldn't have stopped wearing sunscreen...)

Our cruise was a ton of fun and our time away from home went by pretty quickly. We did so many fun things... went to shows, movies, rock climbing, ate tons and tons and tons, Justin, Mckell, and Curtis tried wave riding, we went snorkeling a few times, the islands we visited were way fun and interesting to see, we ate some more and more, we swam and sat in the hot tub, we slept in everyday, and we did a lot of relaxing. It was a great week. But, as great as it was it was horribly hard to leave my baby boy behind and I was very anxious to get home and be with him. (Not that he missed me at all I am pretty sure!) Nonetheless, the only thing that could have made our cruise any better would have been to have him with us! (Maybe next time?)

I missed my baby Keaton so much! I just haven't even been able to get enough of him since we have been back. He is getting to be such a big boy. He is such a happy baby and was so good for my mom and grandma while we were gone on our trip.

a visit to West Point

Curtis and Miryka found this perfect chair for Keaton to sit in to play while we were at Justin's parents house. (We decided to make a quick trip home on Sunday after church and stayed till Tuesday morning.)

On Monday night, Justin's parents took Justin and I out to dinner to celebrate Justin's birthday. Justin chose Red Robin and after a delicious meal they brought Justin out this HUGE piece of birthday cake that we all shared.

It was sooo good.