"Good morning, mommy!"

Its about time that we have to lower the crib! (As most of you probably realize Keaton has been a little slow going on hitting certain developmental markers since most babies start standing up in their cribs way before they are 1 year old.)

I could hear Keaton in his room this morning, but waited a bit longer than normal to go and get him because I really wanted to sleep some more. A few minutes later I gave up the idea of him possibly falling back to sleep and decided I better go and get him, and to my shock and surprise when I walked into his room I found this little man standing up at the side of his crib. Standing up! He has never done that before. It about gave me a heart attack. I mean, I knew he would eventually figure out how to do it, but it was still crazy to just see him standing there smiling at me. :)

P.S. I think we can also say officially that Keaton is finally crawling! He doesn't do it a ton, but when he really wants something he goes for it and has really been doing great crawling around here and there the last few days. :) (I should probably take some pictures or video record it...)

A new season.

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." 
-Elizabeth Lawrence

I think it is safe to say that fall has begun. School has started, the air is cooler, the nights are shorter, and I can even smell it- fall- more and more every day as September is quickly turning into October. My 2 very most favorite months of the year.


Fall means a lot of really fun things for us... school is back in (Yep, Justin really does look forward to and enjoy school, and I love the back to school season, even if I am not in school anymore.), BYU football games!!!, lots of pee-wee football games for the young boys in my family, hunting season is here for both my family and Justin's family, we no longer have to run our window unit ac's 24/7 :), and  it is the perfect weather to enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities (like taking long walks, and Justin would really like it if we hiked the Y... but I keep putting it off...). 


I love the fall.

And this year, as we watch the seasons change, we also have experienced quite a few changes in our small family recently...

*Justin started his final undergraduate year studying Mechanical Engineering at BYU. He is studying hard for school, the GRE, and the GMAT. And, by the end of the year will be starting applications for a graduate program that is a Mechanical Engineering/MBA all-in-one 3 year program that BYU offers. I am so proud of my amazingly ambitious, amazingly smart husband!

*Justin has also been busy working part-time at BD Medical since school started, but thinks he will  probably give his 2 weeks notice tomorrow? Because, well...

*I got hired as an on-call/prn phlebotomist at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. This hospital is right down the street from our house. (It's the hospital where we had Keaton, and where Keaton lived for the 1st 8 weeks of his life.) I won't lie, it's a little scary to think about going back to work. I have absolutely loved being a stay-at-home mom for the past year, and although I shouldn't have to leave Keaton with a babysitter too much... it is still not my favorite idea and it is going to be kinda hard for me.

So, as much as I love the change of seasons from summer to fall I have a little bit harder of a time adjusting to changes in my life. But, these changes feel like good changes. (Once I get adjusted to them anyway. :) )

Go BYU!

Keaton in his game day shirt. :) (Darn boy wouldn't hold still... so, this picture is a little blurry, but it's the best one I could get.)

 Everyday I have to remind myself that Keaton is in fact 1 year old now. 

It's weird, it doesn't feel like that could possibly be right, or true.

But, he is. So, here's a little update:

*At Keaton's 1 year check-up he weighed 18 lbs 13.5 oz and was 28 inches long.

*Keaton waves "hi" and "bye" quite frequently now.

*Daddy taught Keaton how to give "5" and now he does it all time.

*He still can't crawl really, he is working on pulling himself around on his belly, which is a good start I think! 

*We have started to give Keaton more table foods, some he loves, some he doesn't. (He seems to have a little bit of an issue with certain textures, which his doctor says is normal for premature babies like him.)

*I guess it is time to take Keaton's binky away- Dr's orders. So now, we are starting the weening process- Keaton hardly ever needs his binky during the day, except naptime, and I still let him have his binky at bedtime. (The goal is for it to be completely gone within the next couple of months.)

*Keaton loves to talk baby talk all the time and is recently really loving experimenting making all different kinds of sounds with his tongue.

*Keaton still takes 2 naps a day (averaging about 1 to 2.5 hours long each nap... usually he has one shorter nap and then one longer nap). And, he sleeps 12-13 hours at night. :) It's great.
*Keaton STILL lays in his bouncer with his bottle propped up when it's time to eat.
*Keaton is FINALLY taking nice, good, long naps in his crib INSTEAD OF his swing!

*Keaton is getting better at drinking out of a cup/sippy cup. (To be honest I really need to help him work on it more...)

*Keaton loves babies and puppies and gets very excited when he sees them.

*Sesame Street has an animated Elmo and Cookie Monster letter mini letter learning segment which Keaton just loves and gets all excited about and dances to every time it comes on. 

*Keaton loves to dance and dances any and every time he hears any kind of music. (Even church hymns.) :)

*Keaton loves his Murray "doll" (Maybe, I should call him a monster? I don't know.) and knows who Murray is when we ask him. He also loves the "Murray has a  Little Lamb" segment of Sesame Street. 

*Keaton is a happy, fun-loving little boy, he hardly ever cries, or gets upset, and he loves and lets just about anyone and everyone hold him or play with him.

We love our sweet, super cute little boy. 

Anyways, back on topic. Go BYU! We can't wait to take Keaton to his very 1st game on Saturday- BYU vs. U of U!

$2 Tuesdays, plus IKEA

On August 30th, the very last Tuesday in August, I met my mom, and sisters, and their kids out at Thanksgiving Point to take advantage of their $2 Tuesdays that happen every August. It seemed like the perfect end of summer activity. We decided to visit the farm. Maccoy and Keaton liked looking at all the different animals. Ellsie and Landon didn't really care so much one way or another, they were just along for the ride. :) Above is a picture of Maccoy in the jail. Ha, ha, he was being pretty funny about being stuck in there. :)

Then, after a fun and yummy lunch at Chili's we all headed to IKEA to do some shopping! (Mostly just looking, but we all did our fair share of buying too...) Above and below are pictures of Keaton zonked out in the stroller while walking around IKEA. He was so very sleepy. I love his wide spread legs. For some reason he always loves for his legs to be like this while in the stroller. :)

I had such a super fun day with my mom, BreAnne, and Kayte. It was a blast getting together, especially since it isn't too often when we are all together. It was also fun being with all the kids in our ever growing family too. :)