Feeling A Little "Crabby"

My little bear got this outfit from one of my dear friends from Thailand. I knew that I had to get pictures of him in it and look how cute it is!!

We're trying to hold him down so that we can actually see the outfit on him!

But he will not be repressed!!!! 

Aaron Turning 30!

I can't believe that Aaron is 30!  It seems like it was just the other day that I was making fun of him for turning 25!!  I also remember how totally old and creepy I thought 30 year old guys were when they were hitting on me...and to think that I'm married to a 30 year old is kind of a huge paradigm shift.  Mostly because I forget that I'm almost 25.

Aaron decided that he didn't want to have a huge party (or even a manageable small party) to celebrate his birthday.  But he did agree to have a little BBQ with a family that we absolutely adore in our ward.

I spent the day getting ready.  Mostly marinating chicken and steak to get them ready to get BBQed.

I also had a wonderful little friend (one of my activity day girls and daughter of the family hosting our get together) come over and help me make a cake.

Aaron got to sit back, relax (while watching Zach, of course) and watch me BBQ him some chicken!

Because what is sexier on your birthday than watching your wife grill you up some chicken!

While the chicken and steak was on the Barbie, I went inside and started getting the candles on the cake.  I had a little 7 year old help me.  I had been putting the candles in rows...and I look over and see this at the bottom of the cake.

Candles clump!

I almost said something stupid like, "No, they need to be in a row."  And then I realized....it really doesn't matter.

See my rows at the top and the lower you get on the cake, the more nonsense it is?  Perfection.

These kids are such hams!!  We love them!

Concentration is required.

This is Aaron's "I'm so happy!  This is such a wonderful day!" face.  I'm not joking.  Look at our pictures from Disneyland.

Getting ready to blow them out!

Trick candles!!  WHAT?!  Yeah...Aaron totally heard the girls planning this and was super nice to play along and be like, "What's going on?!"

And just like that, Aaron is 30.  We are going to have many more birthday celebrations with each other and I can't believe that I've already celebrated 5 birthdays for Aaron.  Maybe one day he will let me throw him a really big party but I'm glad that he got to enjoy this one the way that he wanted.

Three Months Old

Zach is already 3 months old!  That means that I only have 9 more months to plan his birthday party!

 Hahaha,....but seriously...9 months.

Anyway, when EVERYONE in the WORLD tells you that the time flies...they are apparently not joking.  I have no idea how time is speeding up like this...but I have a feeling that sleep deprivation has something to do with it.

This little boy is growing like he wants to grow up to be his Uncle Markus! According to our scale, he is 14.6 pounds.  He has officially doubled in weight since he was born!  I don't know how that is possible since he still seems to be the same tiny little guy that came out of me.  But other people tell me that he is growing.

His favorite things in this world are, watching anyone fold laundry (as long as they tell him what it is and what color it is), kicking and punching his toys on his play mat, feeling his soft taggie, BATH TIME, doing sit ups with dad, swinging on the swing with us in the backyard, snuggling to sleep, and....oh yeah...EATING!

He has also started to get SUPER CHATTY.  I have no idea where he would have gotten that since his father and I are such shy quiet people.  I've spent a good hour of my life sitting next to him, repeating every noise that he makes back to him.  He LOVES that.  He likes it so much that yesterday, he started to giggle!  WHAT!?  Hahaha, oh yeah!  So, I started playing peekaboo with him and he LAUGHED OUT LOUD!  That has got to be my favorite sound in the whole wide world.  I pulled out the camera to record him doing it, for Aaron, and he immediately started crying...so...no dice.

For about a week, he was trying to roll onto his stomach.  Most of the time, he would do his practicing while we were trying to change his diaper...which wasn't optimal.  Seriously...it wasn't a great idea.  Poop...poop everywhere people.

Well, 10 minutes after Aaron got home from work on the 22nd, Zach finally achieved his goal and flipped over onto his tummy.  SUCCESS! His reward was 5 minutes of tummy time...till he spat up and rubbed his face in it and started crying.

He has done it a couple times since then.  My type of parenting for babies is pretty laid back so I'm not pushing him too much.  He is reaching developmental milestones at a normal pace so I'm enjoying watching him learning things and helping him when he wants.

Some people have asked me how I like being a mom...let me think about it....ummmm.....
BEST JOB EVER!!!

Okay, so it is hard.  FOR REAL, it is hard.  But I'm having an awesome time with it.  It definitely helps that the guy I've picked to do this job with is THE BEST!  Aaron is a great dad (not a huge surprise) and so it really makes the hard parts of this gig easier.

In conclusion, this little guy is getting big so quickly and I'm trying to get all of the snuggles and cuddles that I can.

Almond Milk

I've still got about 8 pounds to lose  before I'm back at my pre-pregnancy weight, which means that it is time to kick it into gear and start exercise and eating right.  I know that I can lose weight on the Paleo Diet and that it helps my skin clear up.  Plus, I love feeling domestic and it never fails to make me feel like a good home maker when I find new things that I can make.

Like ALMOND MILK!  Turns out...it is the easiest thing in the world to make.  It just requires some time...and cheese cloth.

You soak the almonds for at least 8 hours, rinse them off really well.  Then you throw them in the blender with up to 8 cups of water and blend it.  When the almonds are in small pieces, you strain it through cheese cloth and....TA DAAAAAAA!!!!  Almond milk!!

The left over pulp can be made into almond meal with can be used in baking other paleo things.  Magic!!

The next day, I also decided to turn some almonds into almond butter.  It is the healthier alternative to peanut butter and with honey and cinnamon in it....IT IS AMAZING.  Also, a jar this big usually cost about $8...and I made it $3.  So...yeah...saving money all over the place!

Heart Melting-ly Sweet

I love it when I'm busy cleaning and I come in and find this going on.

My two favorite boys in the entire world snuggled up having the world's most adorable nap time.

 

Activity Day Hike!

A week after I was asked to be in the Activity Days, I was released from my duties with the cub scouts.  I'm pretty bummed about that too because I've LOVED working with the scouting program.  I missed out on day camp and hikes this summer because I had just had a baby.  So I decided with my new calling with Activity Days, that I would still go on hikes!

Our regularly scheduled activity was cancelled and so I asked if any girls wanted to go on a hike and this little lady stepped up to go.

We defaced a bench!!!  I don't feel too bad about it.  When we got to this little shaded area with a bench, we decided to sit and work on some of the Faith in God book.  She got two things signed off while we were out there in the woods!

New Calling! New Fun!

The Mormon church is run by volunteers.  Every member is asked to volunteer to the best of their abilities to help and further the work of the church.

Aaron and I served together for 3 years as Primary teachers. While we did that, I used to be a Cub Master for a year.  Then we served together as Webelos scout leaders.  Last November I was released from being a Primary teacher and asked to be in the Primary presidency.  It was a great calling and I learned a lot.

Last Sunday, I was released from being in the Primary presidency and asked, or as we say "called", to be an Activity Days leader.  That means that I will be working with the 8-11 year old girls helping them build their talents and grow closer to their Father in Heaven.  I'm so excited for this new volunteer position!!

My first job was for a Stake wide Activity Day!  I had a bunch of fun meeting up with the girls in the morning and heading over for some games.

Can I just say that I feel so much like a mom/grown-up when I have a SUV full of kids, driving them around to activities?  And you know what?  I love it.

The theme was Friendship and so they had some team games for the girls and some crafts.  They got to decorate cookies as "Sunshines" because we are suppose to let our light shine and brighten other people's lives.
How do you like our cookies?

Some of my girls and me!