Animals, Bikes & Fun!

Nixon was outside playing so I lathered him up in sunscreen. He took a nap and when I got him out of bed this is what he looked like. I loved his new do, he was rockin'!

Conner wrapped up his Wells Fargo training in SLC last week. He had training for two days so they put us in a hotel. While he was at training both of those days I went to my Aunt Kristy's house to spend time with her and her family. We even got to go to Kameron's soccer tournament. Kameron is honestly the cutest kid and SO cute with Nixon.  
 Conner's mom and sister were also in Utah at this time, so it worked out great that we were already in Salt Lake and we were able to see them. They came to our hotel to hang out after dinner, and we did some swimming too. It was a fun couple of days!

 *Nixon and his GREAT grandpa*

*Somersault*

*I'll have you know he has NEVER just slept in my arms like this....uhhh, HEAVEN.*

 *Nixon was SO zonked, so Conner kept changing 'molding' him into new positions. =]*


County Fair-
I knew the county fair here in Logan was going on, and when Conner is working all day I will do ANYTHING to make the day go by. (Is that sad?) Anyways, I decided to take Nixon to the fair to see the animals. I kinda felt dumb walking around by myself because I would always pass groups of *cute* moms with their kids...and I wanted to just jump on in and join them! It was still fun and Nixon got a kick out of the animals. The pig was sniffing his leg which he thought was funny...but then he just looked disgusted and wanted the pig to STOP. Then we visited Mr. Lamb. He was awfully hungry and decided to eat our stroller. We didn't like that so much either.

That very night we headed down to Nephi for the Juab County Fair and to spend time with the fam of course!
Nixon seriously has a huge obsession with bikes. The only problem is now he thinks he can ride a big kid bike.He could sit on that bike making 'vroom vroom' noises for a LONG time. Conner pushed him down the drive way on the bike as well. He LOVED it. He has always hated wearing a helmet (we have tried when he rides the four-wheeler), but lately he loves to wear it. So, don't think I am an over protective parent...and I make him wear it when he walks down the sidewalk!

Conner claims that he has never been to a fair (besides the derby). When we took Nixon, Luke, and Tanner to see the animals he thought it was the strangest thing. He didn't understand the whole ribbon thing, why there were different colors, and how the animals could even be judged. He hated the dirt and he hated the smell. I guess county fairs are a bit of a cultural shock for Mr. Seattle Boy. 

And then there was the derby. Oh how we LOVE the derby. In fact, my nephews have declared that the derby is BETTER than Disneyland. I would turn it down a notch...a BIG notch, but it is still pretty dang fun. Nixon really enjoyed it too. Last year I was walking around with him the entire time because he was crying, so it was nice he now actually enjoys it!

Yesterday Nixon had his first real play date. Is that pathetic? He is 17 months old and has never had a PLAY DATE.What kind of mother am I? Anyways, we went to the park and to the Willow Zoo with Miss Ava. She is a bit older than Nixon but he is a bit bigger than her. He was giving her hugs and kisses galore. He is such a charmer!

 

Nixon the ax murderer...I mean the Popsicle eater!
Yesterday I mentioned to Conner how Nixon has never had a Popsicle. The poor kid is missing out on so much in life! We gave him one when we were outside playing. I took all of his clothes off and I am so glad I did. He was a MESS but he was in heaven.

Geejus
We have a picture of Jesus that we can see everytime we go up or down the stairs. I have pointed to the picture a few times to Nixon and I'll say, "That's Jesus". Lately, we don't have to say anything and every time we pass the picture he will say "Geejus". It is the sweetest thing!

My Fair Ladee

My friend Shawnee is amazing! She has a son close to Nixon's age and all at the same time she is a huge go getter! She is so crafty and always making and doing neat things! One of the things she is VERY best at is making jewelry. She has made me a necklace which i love and  is in the process of making me head bands too. She does SO good at them! Anyways, she started a shop on etsy and I really think it is worth everyone taking a lot at! Let me know what you think! =]  http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyFairLadee

A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That

(Warning...for my own sake this post has a A LOT of writing!)

August? REALLY? ugh. Just the sight of the word A U G U S T makes me cringe! Does anyone else get a yucky feeling as you walk into Hobby Lobby and see the scarecrows, pumpkins, and fall leaves on the shelves? Seeing that I can honestly say that it feels me with sadness, anger, and shockingly a bit of anxiousness for what lies a head in our lives. Summer was awfully fun! We traveled near and far and did so many exciting things! It was SUPER fun because it was my baby's first "real" summer where we could actually PLAY with him. Even though school seriously STINKS, I love where we are right now and I love the family we are creating and the fun times we have with each other and most importantly the memories that we are always making! Summer has not come to a wrap YET, so we are going to make sure that we really enjoy the time that we have left!

*Spicing Things Up*
Most of you know that it takes a lot of CHA CHING $$$ to decorate a home. Therefore, it has been a LONG process decorating our house and we still have a long ways to go. I just tend to do little by little...here are some things I have done this past week.


I changed out our old pics with some new!

 It took Conner, my mom, and myself to tackle our little monster to get this done. It isn't PERFECT but it is a lot better than I thought it would end up looking.

Isn't this the cutest?! N*I*X*O*N starring none other than the man himself!

For those of you who know my mom you know she is one crafty lady! My sister has followed right in her footsteps as well, leaving me FAR in the dust. I can honestly say that I have never successfully made a craft or anything worth showing for. ESPECIALLY hanging up in my house! Well, there is always room for a first! And here is mine...

*Visit to the Promise Land*

My mom came to Logan for a good four day visit. I always LOVE when she comes and so does Conner and Nixon! My sister also made the journey to come stay a night with us. I didn't get any pictures from our first day with the whole clan. We spent a good amount of time on the river walk trail while the kids all rode their bikes. EVEN Nixon! He was in heaven. He only had two accidents. One, he did a willy a bit too far and when straight back and whacked his head on the road :(. Two, he decided it would be fun to ride his bike down the hill on the side of the trail. It took us all a minute to realize that he really was going down the hill, so we didn't really make it too him until he was at the bottom. Oops. Good news though, he wasn't even hurt and he probably enjoyed the ride so much that he had butterflies! He is just lucky he chose the best side to go down. If it would have been the other side he would have went right into the river. If he would have went a few feet ahead or behind he would have it a lot of trees! 

Conner had a work party which was a dinner and an evening at the pool. It was kind of bad timing with my mom and sister here.Oh but that didn't stop us from going! Conner and myself and the whole gang made an appearance. If you are thinking, "oh no I hope there was enough food for everyone since there were 5 unexpected guests!" No need to fear, we made sure to be there right when the party started so if anyone went without food it would not be us!! ;) KIDDING!!! It was a great night and we had A LOT of fun at the pool! Kaydee even had to play life guard and jump in after Tanner Pants after he went down the slide. For some odd reason the dumb lifeguard standing 2 feet away from him failed to notice a small boy bobbing in and and out of the water unable to swim. I was watching from a FAR distance while yelling and cussing at the life guard. My mom was standing right by Kaydee saying, "Kick your legs Tanner." haha Come on Mom! Luckily Kaydee is the only smart one who actually jumped in! The award goes to you sister! As for the rest of them...Luke learned to swim farther and better on his own and Nixon tried swimming like the fish he thinks he is being freezing cold with blue lips sure didn't stop him.

The next day (Friday) we packed up the car and headed to BEAR LAKE. We had a great time lounging on the beach while the kids played in the sand and water. Nixon did really well and enjoyed himself very much. It took him awhile to warm up to the water, but once he did he was golden! He has a thing about having dirty hands which was a BIG problem at Bear Lake. Every time he touched the ground he'd suddenly had hands with sand stuck to every pore! He didn't like that to say the least, so we were always washing his hands off! What a crazy kid! He didn't like sand on his hands, but he sure didn't mind sand in his mouth. Don't ask, I don't have an answer!
The kids had such a great time that second after hitting the road to head back to L town they were all ZONKED. Thanks familia for such a fun day! And sorry babies for the red RED bodies! 

*Nixon*
I have been wanting to watch Nixon's birth video, and yesterday I finally did. It brought back a lot of memories!! One of the biggest things that bothered me is how young and dumb I looked! Those nurses were probably scared to death of the fact that I would soon be responsible for a sweet precious baby! I think I had a big smile on my face the ENTIRE time. It was such a happy moment! I am so thankful my sister was able to be the cameramanWOMAN  for us. I thought that by watching the video of Nixon as a little TINY newborn it would make me REALLY baby hungry! It actually did the opposite. It made me sad how fast the time has gone. It made me sad that I don't have a memory of each day spent with my baby. It made me sad that I think I have taken 16 months of his life for granted! I wish that I can press a slow button so I can truly enjoy each moment and take it all in. Today I just kept looking at him and trying to remember him as the newborn that was on my TV screen. It is hard! That makes my heart break. If I have learned anything I have learned how incredibly fast time really does fly by. Everyone says it, everyone knows it. But I think it took that very moment for me to really realize it. I really want to do better at documenting Nixon's life so when I look back it won't break my heart that I don't have a clear memory. I know I will be able to read and see pictures that will help me and everyone else remember the good times we have had with our growing boy!

There are a few things that Nixon has loved doing lately. Playing outside, playing outside, oh and playing outside! If we are upstairs and I ask if he wants to play outside, he will go straight for the stairs and right to the door. He whines quite a bit while standing at the door because he wants to go out and play. It is hard for me to open the garage door without him trying to squeeze by me and escape. Rather he is at the park, on a walk, pushing his train, or riding his bike, that boy is in HEAVEN as long as he is outside! 

He has also come to be quite the little Mr. Independent Boy! He thinks he can 100% feed himself. Luckily, he hasn't tried to feed himself oatmeal in the morning which I pray will not happen for a good long while. But everything else, he demands a fork and he goes to town. Since he does pretty well at it I actually don't mind it because surprisingly enough it is a lot LESS messy! 

Yesterday Conner was outside playing with Nixon. He came in to ask me to get him two of my "head-band things". I did, but I was confused as of WHY he needed two of my "head-band things". I gave them to him only to find his brilliant plan...

It is so fun seeing the new things he learns and picks up on each and everyday. He is ALWAYS making us laugh...well 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time he is driving us crazy because he is a whiner! Either way, we love that kid SO much and we can't be thankful enough to Heavenly Father for allowing us to have such a precious baby be put in our arms to be with us for eternity! What an honor and true blessing it is!!