"So often in life we think that because we have done things in a certain way, certain results should follow. But life is like the ocean. Sometimes we get caught in squalls & storms & things don't go the way we think they should, even when we think we have done right. But God can find us in the eye of a storm and give us courage to swim in rough water. We learn lessons from storms that we cannot learn from calm seas Sometimes the Lord calms the storm and sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms his child." -John H. Groberg

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we went to Greenbluff to pick our pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. I love making dinner in a pumkin on Halloween night so I put Weston in charge of finding that perfect pumpkin for our dinner. It was such a beautiful day and between the hayride, falling in love with pressed apple cider, looking at all the beautiful leaves, and chowing down on kettle corn we had so much fun!

And in the end, Weston did find us the perfect pumkin!

The Binky

I have a love/hate relationship with Weston's binky.

It has saved us in so many situations that I don't know how I would have managed otherwise.

It has allowed me to sleep through the night since Weston was 6 weeks old.

It has also created a habit that I know would be a nightmare to break.

The habit needed to be broken while I still had patience within me and before his baby sister comes.

I clipped the tip off of his binky, he put it in his mouth then threw it across the room.

We then went cold turkey after we threw it away because it "broke".

We did not sleep for 2 days straight.

Naptime #1 didn't happen. Nighttime #1 happened at 11:30 pm while waking up every hour in screaming attacks that we couldn't stop without praying for patience.

Day 2 woke up with the worse cold ever. Miserable all day long begging for comfort. I wanted to give in so bad. I didn't.

Nighttime #2 took 3 1/2 hours with all of us finally going to bed at 12:45. Little did I know he was cutting more teeth.

Perfect time to take a binky away, wouldn't you say?

Day number 3. A miracle happens. He went down within 15 minutes at naptime and bedtime. Yes, I was by his side both times in his bed, but he cuddled next to me and I knew he found comfort from me and not the binky.

Putting him to sleep with me by his side is a habit we will worry about when I don't need sleep myself:).

Last night I cried out of pure happiness.

We are celebrating tonight on becoming a "big boy"!!!!!

21 weeks

Over half-way and it has been so easy so far.

Love the fact that I can eat oreo cookies in bed at 2 am and not feel guilty:)!

Let's cross our fingers for the second half.

That is where it gets a little tricky.

Bed rest with my busy bee.....I can't even comprehend how it will work.

Bahamas and Baby News!!

So Ryan and I were spoiled by my parents with a cruise to the Bahamas while he were down South. The only stipulation....Weston had to go, therefore it would not be a "relaxation cruise". There were moments when I wanted to pull my hair out trying to control a crazy toddler boy who does not slow down. At one point he was throwing carrots across the room where everyone eats and tries to relax. Nope, not with Weston in the room,lol. However, I experienced paradise with my 2 favorite boys and brother and sister....I couldn't ask for more. My sweet husband even surprised me with a massage in the Bahamas while he took care of Weston because he knew how stressed out I was with Weston. Moment like that make me love him so much! Here are some pictures of our cruise.

Ryan, Lindsay, and Matt got to go snorkeling and they had so much fun. Look how pretty the water is....so clear and blue.
Lindsay helped so much with Weston and keeping him busy. He had so much fun with her. Thanks a ton Linds for all the help!

I love this picture so much. My husband is amazing with Weston and they truly have so much fun together. Weston loved playing near the water and Ryan would sit and play with him while I got time to read on the beach!


I love my family more than life. I smile just thinking that we will soon be having another child in our lives!

To keep Weston quite while we ate were threw out all the rules of healthy eating and gave him as much chocolate cake as he wanted. Dinner was seriously my favorite part of the day...unlimited food with sweets that never stopped. You can see I had 3 different bowls of dessert in the background. When I eat for 2 I seriously do not hold back,lol.

I was once a mother that swore I would never put my child on one of these leashes....yeah, not anymore! This lion backpack/leash saved us on the cruise. This is what Weston did 99% of the time when he didn't hold his "tail"...run away for us,lol.

I truly could wake up to this every morning if I could!

More food....Weston shoving eggs in his mouth. Why use a fork when you can get twice the amount in your mouth with your hands? Oh how I love my little man!

So, from this post you can tell that toddler boys can be beyond a handful. There have been moments the past 4 months when I just break down wondering if I have any control over my little man. My mother keeps telling me that it is because he has been thrown off of his normal routine with all this traveling and time changes and I pray that she is right ( I am happy to say that he has calmed down a lot since we have gotten back into a normal routine). However, there are still moments when I ask myself, is this just a phase or our these tantrums going to continue for the next 5 years. Weston is 100% boy and throwing, spitting ( it's amazing how quickly he learns from watching his daddy), and yelling in the middle of Wal Mart is just his thing right now...even in the middle of sacrament meeting. Time outs are becoming more popular these days, which are working so far. And we are having another child in the next 5 months?!??! Yes, I lie in bed at night wondering how I will survive sometimes.

HOWEVER, WESTON IS A SWEETHEART IN SO MANY WAYS. Weston still makes my heart melt with his kisses, when he calls me mom, and when he snuggles up to me when he sneaks into our bed early in the morning. I love his squeals when he sees an airplane, and how he giggles when we sing Five Little Monkey and Popcorn Popping. I love how every night we have to make "pop pop" before bed and how he sits on the couch with me with his bag of popcorn that he wants all to himself. I love how I tuck him into his big boy bed every night and he waves bye to me as I shut the door. Moments like that make being a mother SO SO WORTH IT!

In conclusion, I have been secretly praying for a girl just to add some girliness and hopefully calming behavior to our little family. I would be happy with a boy of course but deep down I really needed a girl for my sanity. So this past Wednesday, I literally broke down in tears during the ultrasound when we found out we are having a GIRL!!!! I am so excited for everything and I have already gone crazy at the fabric store buying all kinds of fabric for future projects. All in all, I feel like Heavenly Father truly knows what I need in my children to help me become a better mother. I love everything about being a mother, and I know that these moments of chaos and insanity are part of a life that I truly am falling in love with.

Idaho Falls

For the month of July and August we lived in Idaho Falls for a clinical that Ryan had to complete. I love the Idaho Falls area and it was so fun to be around some family and friends. We had so much fun visiting Yellowstone, going to Wyoming, and eating out WAY TO much. I seriously think we went to Cafe Rio more times than I can count. Here are some pictures of our stay in IF.

Weston and I in Yellowstone. He did so good the whole time thanks to Toy Story and Finding Nemo! I recommend a portable DVD player to any family who has a toddler and has to travel. It has saved our LIFE.

Posing with Grampa Patterson's moose in Wyoming. Weston loved this moose and every morning would want to get up close to it.

With Ryan in Yellowstone.

Playing on the playground. I loved the parks in Rexburg and we would go multiple times and just have so much fun!

Weston had so much fun fishing in Wyoming. However, once he caught a fish he would scream when the fish would come in the boat. He literally ran to the other side of the boat.

Having fun with Aunt Lindsay. She spoiled him with her Dr. Pepper while I was apparently not looking;)

We had so much fun at this ballgame. Ryan's work let us in their suite and I had so much fun with all the Texas Roadhouse rolls with honey butter. I was so glad I was pregnant at that moment:)

Overall, we had a blast and came back to Spokane for 3 days only to pack everything back up and head across the country to South Carolina and our cruise. I'll post pictures later for that trip!

Hello from paradise!

So it has been FOREVER since I made a post and figured I should at least explain why I have been so lazy at blogging. First and foremost....

• our life has not slowed down in the past 3 months. We have moved into a new place in Spokane, lived in Idaho Falls for 4 weeks, went to Wyoming then Yellowstone, been on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, and we are currently on week 3 in South Carolina...and our child has become an amazing traveler thanks to the best portable DVD player in the world!


• I don't have a computer attatchment to upload any of my pictures so I am going to have to be patient at posting those...


• Truthfuly, reading has become my priority while on vacation right now...I just finished Mockingjay and loved it and now reading Eat, Pray, and Love which is so far very entertaining...so this poor blog has been kinda neglected I guess you can say
  

However in the next few weeks you will see in future blog posts...

• Weston eating way to much chocolate cake on the cruise


• Weston's first baseball game in a luxury suite with unlimited Texas Road House rolls and honey butter ( thank goodness I am pregnant:)
• my growing belly ( I seriously feel huge)
• Weston's first fishing trip in Wyoming
• Ryan and Weston boogie boarding on the beach...so cute
• The BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING views of the southern life in South Carolina ( I have been living the retired life for 3 weeks now and I feel so spoiled). We are on the beach every day and it is so relaxing and fun
• Going to the zoo!!!!
• Adventures on a cruise with a busy 20 month old....FYI: I don't highly recommend it if you want to relax;)
• My attempts to get Weston to start calling his dad "daddy" and not "Ryan" or "Ry"...he will seriously call Ryan by his first name all day long...at least I still am getting "mama"
• Whether we will have a boy or girl......:):):):)!!!!!!!!

Anyways, here are some pictures I found on my dad's computer of our trip down South....:)

Can you see why I have been living in paradise for the past 3 weeks. So AMAZING!!!!

And yes I just had to put this one in because he is getting cuter and cuter as the days go by:)