Family

Throughout the years I have come to really appreciate the people in my family for who they are. As I get older I am able understand them and learn things I have never known before. Each year it seems I grow closer with a different family member. I love learning new things and really seeing people for who and what they are instead of what mistakes they may have made in their lifetime. We all make mistakes and then we learn from them and become better people.

There are so many different types of family. I have my mom's side of the family that I could not live without! I love each and every one of them and at some point in my life they have taught me to be a better, stronger person. I could go through the LARGE list of family members and tell an amazing fact or story about them, but there are way too many. I am just happy that I have such great people that I can call my aunts, cousins, uncles, and grandparents.

Another family I have is my dad's side. The most important person in that family recently passed away. She was the reason we all got together at certain times of the year and I can definitely say she was the rock of that side of the family. I have so many memories with my grandma that are good and bad. She was a strong independent lady that was at times very difficult to be around. I know that she made a huge impact on who I am today. I know we all miss her and it has been a little crazy since her passing. I know that she is missed by everyone.

Another family that I hold near and dear to my heart is Trevir's family. Trevir and I have been together 5 1/2 years on Christmas, so I have known his family for a long time now. They are so nice and welcoming and I couldn't have asked for betters in-laws! Throughout Trev and my ups and downs they have always been there and have been so easy to talk to. I love all of them.

The closest people to me are my mom, dad, and brother. My parents are the BEST parents that anyone could have! They have always helped me and stood beside me even when they thought I was wrong or just plain crazy. I know I was a crazy teenager, but I made it through because of them. There is no way I would be where I am today without them. They both are strong, hard-working people. I hope I will be just as good of a parent to Landin as they were to me. Now my brother and I weren't always close. We are five years apart and I think for the most part I was the annoying little sister for most of his teenage years. Thankfully, the past few years we have become a lot closer. I think having children around the same time and finally going through something together and not 5 years after him has helped. It might also be that I have become closer with his wife Cara. I love that I can text or call her for a stupid question about baby poop or baby teeth. I am just very thankful that I have become closer with both of them and will hopefully only become closer through the years.

Finally, and most importantly I have my own new family. As of August 2008 Trevir and I have started our own family and our own stories. Hopefully 20 years from now Landin will be able to reflect back on all of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents and appreciate each and every one of them for who they are and what impact they have made on his life. I especially hope that he will think that Trev and I are the best parents he could have ever had and that we made his life fantastic. **Hopefully he won't start asking for a brother or sister when he gets older. ;)

I love ALL of my family and with Christmas coming I hope we can all take a little time to appreciate each other and maybe forgive someone we have had a falling out with or at least just pray that each one of us will find happiness during this holiday season and in the new year!!

My Mom and I

My Dad and I

Some of Trev's Family

Cara, Patrick, Me!

You wonder why I love them so much??

Most of my Mom's side of Family!

It's my ONE year anniversary with the blog world!!

I have been blogging for a year now! I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. I have found a lot of amazing people through blogs that I now follow daily. Landin is 16 months old. We have a new baby in the family, Olivia. (She is the most adorable little BROWN haired, BROWN eyed little girl) Can you tell i'm a little excited?? :) Today is Nolan's birthday, he's 4! All the babies are growing up so fast! So, Happy Anniversary to me and my blog!!

Thanksgiving is over...

Thanksgiving is over and we had a blast!! We started it off at my Damma's house. I got to see my cousins, which I haven't seen is sooo long!! Landin had a lot of fun walking everywhere and even took a trip out to see chickens and turkeys with my dad! After we were done visiting and eating we left to go to Trevir's sister's house. It was so much fun with all the little ones and spending time with his family. Thanksgiving was a great day with great food! Today, Black Friday, Trev and I tried to go to Wal-mart to get a printer that was on sale. Of course, we didn't get up early because we aren't crazy! Grandma and Grandpa watched Landin while we went only to find all the printers were already gone! (I don't know what we really expected at 8am) It was a short trip without too much craziness. I just felt really bad for all of those Wal-mart employees!

Need to Vent

I was at the store a couple days ago and as I stood behind an older white woman in line, I over heard her talking with the cashier. They were talking about their children and how they did things "right". The older white woman's daughter got married and had her first child at 26 years old. She herself, had her first child at 30 years old. They continued talking about how their daughters and themselves did things "right". It made me a little upset. It is people like this woman that look down on me and my situation. I had Landin at a young age and I am not married. So therefore, I did things "wrong"? Well, I believe everything happens for a reason. For some reason God gave me my son at a young age. If I could do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing. He will get to enjoy his grandparents and GREAT grandparents far longer than other children. Landin will have young, educated parents there for him whenever he needs. I love him so much and can not imagine my life without him. If I had the guts, I would tell people like that older white woman that not everyone does things her way and they aren't wrong. I could have married Trevir right when I found out I was pregnant, but then everyone would have thought he was only marrying me because I got pregnant. When we get married I want people to know we are doing it because we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together. Landin will also know that his parents love him and they love each other. He will know that what his parents did in their situation was the RIGHT thing. He will know that he was a surprise gift! Look at this face and tell me we did things "wrong"!

More Halloween Pics

Baby Hulk was not happy, haha

Papa and Landin

Uncle Shawn and Landin

Grampa and Landin

Pumpkin Carving!

Yesterday we carved our pumpkin with Landin! It was so much fun and he really loved it. This was our FIRST pumpkin to ever carve together too!. At first Landin was unsure about the gooey insides, but after I took them all out and put them in a pot he went to town picking them up and throwing them everywhere. Trevir actually carved out the pumpkin and his cute little face. Of course, after carving the pumpkin we had to cook the pumpkin seeds! I always remember when I was a kid we would do the same thing at my house. It was always a good, fun time. Today we are going to Marissa's church for some fun trick-or-treating. Landin will once again dress up as the Hulk. I will post pictures of that tomorrow! Happy Halloween!!

Our pumpkin seeds

Before seasoning!

After! They look sooo good! (And they were!)

Halloween Time!

Yesterday I went trick-or-treating with Cara, Patrick, and Sam in Mission Grove. All the little shops were passing out candy and there were a lot of little ones in their costumes. Samantha wore her tiger costume that was very cute and Landin wore his Hulk costume which is perfect for him! Everyone loved his costume and said he probably could of won the costume contest they had earlier in the day! I couldn't believe how cute he looked. He actually kept the head piece on too, which made the outfit. After a little trick-or-treating we headed over to the pumpkin patch down the street to play. The little ones got into a jump house thing, but of course Landin didn't enjoy it much. I think the highlight for Landin was getting DIRRRRTY! He was digging in the dirt and picking up hay with Samantha. After getting drenched in the misters he continued to play in the dirt and get even more dirty! He loved it though! Samantha liked the pumpkins, she was putting the little ones with the big ones. They are so cute together! Later that day we went over to my mom's house to have dinner...YUM! My mom bought Landin a BIG pumpkin so we can carve it for Halloween! Yesterday was a good day!

The Couch!

We have a large leather sectional couch that has been a problem lately! For about 2-3 months Landin has cried if we didn't let him up on the couch with us, so we would usually give in. Once up on the couch he would walk along it and sometime do some dare devil moves which scared the living daylight out of me! The couch has been a constant battle for Landin and I. Well.....yesterday he finally learned how to get onto the couch and get safely OFF the couch!!!!! At first I was not very happy, but he is a big boy and can it all on his own. I still line our hardwood floors with pillows in case he does fall off, but he has been pretty good at getting on and off and not doing any crazy moves.! I am actually really proud of him!

Our Life Lately

Lately our life has been busy and boring all at the same time. I am back in school 3 days a week now, so that is keeping me busy driving all around. Trev works every day and night now except Thursday and Fridays. Friday is our only day off together, so we take Landin to his Gymboree class for some fun and baby socializing. He likes one girl Camryn, who happens to be my friend's neice. They always try to kiss in class, which is very cute! This week while we were in class Landin tripped over a mat and face planted into the corner of a wooden box and cut open the side of his eye. (*Picture below)He cried hard for a minute, but was able to pull it together and make it through the rest of class. That is the first time he has ever cut anything open on his face! I think I would have freaked out a lot more if I wasn't in public. Last night we babysat Marissa's kids. They had a lot of fun with all of Landin's baby toys. There was a toy for everyone. Nolan had the pirate ship, Paige had the stuffed animal and ball, and Caleb had the bouncy horse and bells. I think the best thing of all though was the seat I made out of a bucket my mom got us. The kids loved sitting inside and had to take turns. It's the simplest things in life that make kids happy!

Speaking of happy kids, Landin has not been so happy lately! I think he is teething again. He now has four on top and four on bottom. I see his bottom gums are full of bumps, which mean little teeth are trying to push through! Poor guy! At least he has started actually sleeping through the night, thats definitely a plus for me! Other than that he is kind of talking. Sometimes I swear I hear him say actual words. He waved bye-bye to someone the other day. When we are outside he will wave and say HI to cars passing by. I'm being patient and not worrying too much that he isn't talking more.


The bucket chair


Gymboree wound

My Funny Little Guy

Lately I have been cracking up laughing at Landin. I think his personality is really coming out now that he is 13, going on 14 months old. He dances at the sound of any music, whether its a sound bite from a commercial or an actual song Trev or I am listening to. He LOVES to dance and he has some good moves! I think he gets that from me and my side of the family. My dad was teaching him some good moves yesterday like "throwing the dice" and others we won't mention! haha so FUNNY! Also, he is learning so fast these days. We were watching a couple on t.v. make out (kissing) and he started kissing me out of no where as if he were copying the couple!! I couldn't believe it! He now walks around all day saying "mom mom mom" (so cute!), and when I try to get him to say certain things like stinky he will make the "sss" sound and for hot he makes the "t" sound. Any day now he will be talking like a little man. I love being around him, he makes my days better. I love his personality and his baby humor. Oh! And he can and WILL climb on anything he can get his little hands and feet on. He climbed up onto the bath tub ledge and was standing up before I even knew what was happening! He is quick! I wonder if he has made such a huge improvement in his skills because of his age or because of his Gymboree classes he has every week?! He loves the class for the most part. There is an "air log" they have the kids push and he becomes a little muscle man! Once again it's so cute! I should try and get a picture next time.


This is Landin w/ his baby back pack and his snack cup!

Pictures From Landin's 1st Birthday!

Back to Normal

Landin's birthday party is over and it was a complete success! Thank-you to everyone that came and/or helped out! Landin had a few melt downs, but it was his party right?! He got a lot of great stuff and he loves playing with all of his new toys. Our house is pretty much back to normal, with the exception of a few loose ends. Nina (Josh's girlfriend) took pictures at the party and I will hopefully post those soon. On another note, I signed Landin up for Gymboree finally! We went this last Monday and he seemed to have a lot of fun. He did whine a couple times, but for the most part he was a good sport about it all. We will be going to one class a week and maybe some extra play times along the way. I'm sure once he gets used to it he will love it! I also went to his 1 year doctor appt on Aug 20th. He weighs 22 lbs. and is 29 in. tall! He is a healthy boy and the doctor still comments on how large his head is! He will grow into one day...won't he? Other than that I think Landin is starting to become attached to me because every time I leave the room he starts to whine and when we go to see new people or people he hasn't seen in a while he takes a while to warm up to them. Along with being attached to me though, he has become really close to Trevir too. School is going to start soon for me and I will be gone almost all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays and half day on Wednesdays, so he will get over the attachment. So that is about all as of right now! I will post pictures soon!

Landin is ONE!!!

Landin turned 1 yesterday! I can't believe it has already been a year since he was born. It went by soo fast for us! Landin is such a good boy and we have loved seeing him grow into the little handsome boy he is! He walks like crazy and can get up on his now! He eats all people food and drinks milk now! (No more formula!!) Landin has always loved music1, but now he stands up and "dances" his own little dance. He doesn't really talk yet, but every once in a while it sounds like he says things like No, Mama, Dada, or Doggie. Yesterday on his birthday we went out to dinner with my family to celebrate his, Cara's and my dad's birthday then we went back to my mom's house and had cake and pie! Today we are going to get his 1 year pictures done at JC Penneys. His birthday party is almost here! It is all very exciting! Here are some recent pics!


His 1st tricycle!