Spoils

We love our son.

A "KEEPER" For Sure.

My sweet baby boy has found a love for the sport that I love. He just hasn't figured out how to kick the soccer ball yet. He'd much rather bend down and stop it, then fall over on it, laughing hysterically all the while. I LOVE HIM!
This particular video is of him and a new favorite toy....er...wipes. my favorite is when he attempts to put them back. Dax is one determined boy, for sure!

Good for a Smile, AND Breast Cancer Awareness.

The Reason I Wear 5" Heels

....is because THIS is what happens when I wear flats. However, my ankle felt significantly better when I donned these worn-out beauties. Go figure.

Halloween in Mo-town

Tonight, and Other Nights....

As promised, here are some "finished" pictures of the house....or maybe just Dax's room for now....

The Christmas Season began with a bang on Wednesday, when IT SNOWED IN MOAB!
We went into Arches to take pictures....
and found our friends Stefanie and Brady doing the very same thing.

Daxson kept himself busy with his dump truck driving up and down his leg, and across his belly, sometimes even giving him big kisses on his cheek and forehead!

Later that day, we bundled up and jumped in the back of Stef and Brady's truck and headed into the LaSalles. It was gorgeous! We drove up to Lake Oowah and took some pictures.

A picture of Stefanie and Brady that I'm sure they are so proud of!

Dax had a good time until he put his hand in the powder,
then decided that he hates the snow and cold.
He proceeded to snuggle with his daddy for a few minutes afterward.

This one's for my mommy....
she painted the little chair for me when I was a toddler,
and made this Carebear for me too.
My little man loves them both now!

Our pumpkins.....
Mine:

Robbie's:

And Daxson's:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The AWESOME Award

It's very prestigious, and difficult to be nominated. Don't be fooled, not just ANY person can be awesome enough to score this one. But, for next time, I'll clue you in to how I did it:

1. Wake up "super" early to get a good start on the day (like, say, 5:20 am).

2. Carefully pack and prepare everything you need for a ten-day trip to Salt Lake City, making sure very specific items needed for certain events are included.

3. Be sure to pack your son's items in the same bag for ease.

4. Wait until your cute child wakes up for the day to finish packing his items, so as not to wake him prematurely.

5. Zip closed the bags and place them by the car to be put in the back when you grab the keys.

6. Grab the last few items upstairs as you hear your son tumble the ENTIRE way down the stairs, only to be stopped by the baby gate at the bottom.

7. Calm him down and lovingly place him in his carseat with a sippie cup full of milk.

8. Pull out and head to SLC three hours earlier than intended.

9. Feel proud of yourself.

10. Make it to your son's doctor's appointment 30 minutes early so as to properly take care of paperwork and insurance.

11. Be told by the doctor that your son has a pretty awesome ear infection, and that he will conveniently send the prescription on to pharmacy of choice.

12. Meet my cute little sis and mom to help said cute sis out while she packs to move to Connecticut later this month.

13. Head out to grab the prescription (in addition to one of my own) before the pharmacy closes.

14. Be told by the pharmacy that the prescription has not been called in yet, and deal with subsequent pharmacy/insurance issues for over two full hours.

15. Find out, that when all is said and done, that the insurance didn't work anyway, but you wasted two hours of your life for a measly $7.56.

16. Take dinner to your hungry family, eagerly anticipating your return with Costco pizza.

17. Get your son put to bed in a fairly timely manner.

18. Have Erica cut your hair.

19. Come to understand that 18+ good things you accomplished in the day will never make up for the fact that you left your suitcase in the garage in Moab.

Because it Made a Difference to Me Today:

While researching things for my upcoming lesson in YW on Sunday, I stumbled upon this video. I have always loved this song, and along with the other 13 million members of the church still wonder why it is no longer included in the LDS hymnbook.

I took the few minutes to listen to and really feel this song as it is sung/played. I am so grateful that I did.

The Spirit has entered our home, and I have felt a noticeable change in Dax as he has heard it playing.

I am so thankful to have a knowledge of the love my Heavenly Father has for me, and for the tiny tender mercies I feel so blessed to receive, and more blessed to recognize.

I'm Putting the Bishop on Speed Dial!

We LOVE our new ward. People are super-friendly and nice, and have been so very welcoming to us. One problem....there's three of us, and several hundred of them. When it comes to learning names, we're on the disadvantage for sure.

Rewind to last Thursday. I get a phone call from the ward executive secretary, Brother Shumway. I remember his name, because anyone who has the gumption to have twelve children (yes, I said twelve) suddenly makes themselves memorable enough for me to log that name for good. So, yes, Brother Shumway. He asks if we have time to meet with the bishop that evening, and we agree.

Being a member of this particular church, I knew we were in for more than Temple Recommend interviews. I was surely right. However, I was not expecting to be called into the Young Womens' Presidency! I am officially the 1st Counselor in the Young Women's presidency in our ward. I feel....well, I feel a lot of things, but "prepared for this calling" sure is not one of them.

My favorite part of the interview was when Bishop mentioned to me that this particular set of girls was "in need of someone like me."

Those words seemed hauntingly familiar. Maybe EXACTLY like what President Simmons would say to me in nearly every interview I had with my dear mission president? Maybe....

Fast forward to today. I have been aware of this calling for approximately two whole days, and still no closer to knowing anyone's names than I had been the week prior. We get sustained (Robbie was sustained as the 1st Counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. Oh, and he barely makes it to sacrament meeting with his work schedule. Figure that one out.), and after Dax interrupts Sunday School and I wander the halls a bit, I head to Young Women's.

Trying to get my bearings and notice the sea of faces smeared with chocolate chip cookies from their classes, I take a seat and begin to get settled. I sometimes make small talk with the woman to my right while trying to tactfully tell her I have no idea who in the world she is. Class starts.

I learn that we are having an "all-girl" lesson because the YW President skipped town to go hunting with her husband and forgot to tell people (P.S. ...STILL no idea who she is), and the lesson is short-lived because the new class presidencies need to be sustained and set apart.

So now, class is over ten minutes early, and most of the girls jet.

The prior 1st Counselor approaches me, hands me a stack of books and manuals, and after explaining that she loves these girls but can't invest the time anymore with her health suffering (she just had a major surgery), tells me that many of the girls are from terrible family lives and "need lots and lots of love." No problem, right?? Except that that's all she told me before she left. I think her name is Diana???

Skip to this evening. Robbie had to work a bit late, so I took Dax with me to a Bishop's fireside that was at the Shumway's home. No problem that I haven't been there, right? I can totally mapquest it!

Mapquest has no knowledge of the Shumways.

I remember some of the girls describing how to get there, so I jump in the car, and try to make it. Never found it, didn't have the Shumway's number to call, and STILL know no one's names.

I call Robbie to tell him that I won't actually be making it to the fireside.

My car runs out of gas.

Sweet Love. Counting my blessings, I was in our neighborhood and could easily walk the rest of the way home.

Mind is racing. Instead of mutual this week, they are going to the BYU game on Saturday. Still no idea if I am going. Don't know if there is a ticket for me, or what I have to do. Plus, I'll have Dax with me. Awesome. Still don't know the YW President's name or who she is.

I'm putting the Bishop on Speed-Dial!!

Belated Anniversary Post

Ok, so it's what? Mid-September? Yeah, well, our anniversary was on August 8. I'm a bit late, but ON PURPOSE! I selfishly wanted to wait to post about my anniversary with photos of the gifts.

We spent all day on our anniversary in Grand Junction, Colorado. We did some shopping, and went to lunch and dinner. It was pretty low-key, but a good one nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I had left Robbie's gift in Centerville the week before, so his came about a week late when we went back to get all our things packed for the final move.
Robbie's gift was a Nixon Player Watch. He's a bit of a watch-snob (his words)! It has a small diamond on the face....to make up for all the diamonds he has given me. :) I love diamonds....you could say it runs in the family.

So.....Robbie surprised me with a right-hand ring that he had custom made for me. He had been waiting for the time when we could get it, and after more than a year, decided this new job would do it. Hooray! I finally got to pick it up last weekend on my way back home. I LOVE it!

What I watched on my drive home. Well, in between watching the road. Can you blame me?

A closer, more detailed view of the ring. And just for good measure! One of our sweet son.
I can't even begin to describe the love I have for my husband. I feel so blessed that he is in my life. He treats me far and away better than any person I ever dated, and I can see in his eyes that he is sincere. He is fantastic and wonderful, and is a fantastic daddy to our little squirt of a son.

I love you, baby!!!!

Birthday, WHAT???

I'm still not sure how an entire year has passed since we welcomed our sweet boy into our lives. Regardless, we still love him to pieces, and he truly is the light of our lives!

Dax currently will climb up/down any/everything. Serious. He still refuses to walk, thinking it's a big game. When we let go of his hands, he literally laughs so hard he falls over, which makes us laugh too. We're probably perpetuating it, but at least we know he's still normal!

He became a champ at going up/down the stairs, but just when we were starting to feel comfortable letting him go unassisted, he decides he wants to walk up/down! No more crawling (on the stairs at least!) for him.

He loves to help mommy and daddy, especially with laundry, dishes, or Mommy's Etsy business. Anytime mommy and daddy are doing something, he wants in on it too, and makes sure to do whatever he can to be there! He's even successfully opened the oven while we were broiling chicken. What are we going to do with him????

He jabbers, and jabbers, and jabbers all day long. Robbie has successfully taught him to say "Aw, man!" and Daxson continues to say things that really do sound like real phrases. Once, I asked him if he was ready to be done with dinner so we could put him in the bath, and he said, "NO!"

Great.

He keeps us constantly entertained, and we laugh and laugh, and laugh at our little man and his antics. We love that when he hears us laugh, he starts up right along with us!

Oh, he melts our hearts, and we think we'll keep him!

D-Squeezy's Birthday!

Our baby boy turned ONE on September 1st. Hard to believe that it has now officially been over a year since I was pregnant. Hooray for that!

Anyway, the spoiled little man got a total of three birthday parties: one with my parents and siblings the last weekend up in Salt Lake, the second with my parents a couple weekends ago, and the last on his actual birthday.

Squishy Moo received some pretty fun gifts! His Aunt Jen and Uncle Clay got him a play phone that definitely kept him occupied during the long ride home (thank heavens for that!). PaMa and PaPa got him a frog-puppet that goes with a new book "Frog in the Kitchen Sink" and a car/walker to hopefully encourage the man to walk! Grandma and Grandpa Allred got him a fun new sport set that has baseball, basketball, and football all in one. Mommy and Daddy gave him a soft teddy bear, some fun new Tonka trucks, and a tool set! Oh, he loves that hammer! The kid will never have a shortage of things to play with.

We LOVE our little man!