July, July, July

July has been a busy month for us. We went to Bear Lake with my family over the 4th, we had some neighborhood parties, we went to Lake Powell with Brad's family over the 24th, and Brad has been in school during all of this. We had a blast at both lakes. I really wish we had more time to go to both of those places more often. Here are a few pics from our fun. Having a baby makes for one amazing summer!

1.Went to Tibble Fork Reservoir for the first time with some ladies in my ward. It was a total blast and so gorgeous! If you haven't been there, be sure to check it out.

2. Paisley just rockin' her new hair do.

3. My two loves on the 4th of July at Bear Lake

4. Paisley Pais just happy as can be.

5. My beautiful baby at Bear Lake

6. She is such a cheeser

7. She loves her froggy pool

8. Brad's new look- a sombrero, a tank top and uncomfortably short shorts. I am one lucky lady

9. Paisley at Tibble Fork just munchin some watermelon.

Miss Paisley J. at 11 months

 

*Has 4 teeth still, with her two front teeth making their way

*Weighs about 18 pounds

*Cruises all over holding onto furniture

*Can stand for about 30 seconds on her own

*Absolutely loves to read books. Her favorites right now are Brown Bear, Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar

*Loves tub time. I will start the bath and she will crawl to the bathroom from wherever she is.

*Eats ALL the time! Loves pancakes, noodles, crackers, and meat, especially hamburger.

*Points at what she wants and pushes away what she doesn't want.

*Sometimes I will ask her to say mamama and she'll say it back, but I don't think she is realizing what she's saying.

*Loves her cousins



June Happenings

I love June! Summer is finally here and adventures begin. We've had a fun summer already, complete with Birthdays, Baseball games, Boating, and BBQs.

These two had birthdays. Brad turned 26 and his dad turned the big 50!

I had fun making these cakes for them. Brad's is a homemade oreo ice cream cake, and I had been waiting months to make that toilet cake for his dad. They both turned out great and tasted delicious!

 

We went boating at Utah lake for a birthday celebration. Paisley was having the time of her life, despite the cooler weather. We also went to the Bees game. It was Paisley's first baseball game and she loved it, except when the crowd gets loud and cheers.

Her favorite hangout spot these days is on the fireplace.

Her friend Jaxon came over to play. After dinner they needed a bath, and everyone loves nakey baby photos! They are so darn cute!



10 months

Paisley J  is 10 months old!

 

*Loves grapes and watermelon

*Crawls all over the place

*Loves to pull herself onto the fireplace (I have a mini panic attack every time she's near it)

*Loves being thrown in the air by anyone, but especially dad-he throws her extra high

*size 3 diapers

*size 6-12 or 9m clothes

*Nurses morning and night

*Loves to curl up with a blanket near her face and sleep on her side or tummy

*Loves the swings at the park

*Has 4 teeth. Her bottom middle teeth, and her top fangs - she looks pretty cute :)



Paisley at 9 months

9 months old!

 

*Got her first tooth on May 16th

*Crawled for the first time on May 17th

*25 inches long

*17 pounds

*Has been sick for the first time (not related to shots)

*Can pick up food and put it in her mouth

*Can pull herself up

*Likes to sit up and pull toys out of her basket, and then put them back in

*Learning to wave and give a high five

*Loves going to the zoo

*Nursing 3-5 times a day
*Size 3 diapers
*6-9 month clothing

*Loves going to baby zumba

*Likes to sit outside and splash her hands in water
*Says dadadada

 

 

 1.Paisley with her piggy tails at the CF walk downtown.
2.Brad cuddled up with Paisley's blanket
3.This is what she does when she's tired and wants you to pick her up
4.Carter, Owen, and Pais in the eagle's nest at the zoo
5. Mommy and Pais at the zoo
6. Learning to crawl
7. Poor sick babe
8. Eating blueberry muffin in her new high chair (thanks grandma nancy!)
9. Playing outside - she is obviously a big fan of that hat



8 months old

This little nugget turned 8 months old!

*Very stable sitting up

*Loves to blow raspberries/bubbles with her mouth

*No teeth yet

*Almost crawling-gets in crawling position and then rocks back and forth

*Rolls to get where she wants-she's pretty fast too

*Still doesn't like a bottle

*Loves to play with her rubber ducky in the tub

*Loves being outside

*Loves sweet potato, carrots, avocado, peanut butter, yogurt, blueberry muffins, banana

*Size 3 diapers

*6 month clothes

*Sleeps about 10-12 hours

a few pics

Paisley at her 6 month well child check

Playing outside

Playing the piano on the ipad with dad

mommy moments

The other day I had one of those mommy moments. You know, the ones that make you feel so special and so happy and every time you think about it, it makes you want to cry a little.

 

Paisley had gotten shots the day previous day and I knew she wasn't feeling good. We were up most of the night and she just couldn't stay asleep for longer than 30 minutes. Finally at 6:30, after being up since 4 trying to get her to sleep I decided we'll just get up for the day. She had a low fever and I could tell she wasn't feeling good at all. I cuddled her and played on the floor with her and she fell asleep on me sitting up. It was the cutest thing-she just wanted her mommy! I remember being sick as a little girl and all I wanted was my mom to cuddle me and hold me, and now I am the one she wants. I am the one she needs to make her feel all better. It was such a special moment between me and her, and I will never forget it. I love being your mommy Paisley Jane bug.

 

 

 

 

Pais girl at 7 months

I have a 7 month old! A rolling, sitting, laughing, smiling, happy 7 month old. Time goes way too fast, but I am loving every minute being Paisley's mom. Here are her stats at 7 months.

 

*15.8 pounds

*24.5 inches tall

*20th percentile for height, 25th for weight. (she's just a little thing)

*size 3 diapers

*3-6 month clothing

*rolls all over the place

*can sit up by herself, as of March 1st

*sleeps 10-12 hours at night

*happy, happy, happy

*no teeth yet

*still doesn't like a bottle

*likes peanut butter :)

*loves all things girly; jewelry, hair brushes, lip gloss tubes

 

 





Mini Vacation

Over Presidents' day we took a mini vacation down to St. George. We went down with Jordan and Kristy and stayed with Kristy's parents at their house. We went rock climbing, played games, ate delicious swig cookies, but mostly enjoyed some sunshine and warm weather. It was a nice break from school and work and it was just what we needed. Paisley did great on the car ride. We stopped in Fillmore on the way down and I fed her real quick, but other than that she slept and played with Kristy :) On the way home she was so exhausted from our weekend, not to mention she didn't get a nap all morning, so she slept the entire way home. She really is such a great baby and always delivers when she needs to.

 

First 5 pictures are from St. George.

Last 4 pictures are Paisley on Valentines Day :)

Paisley at 6 months

Pipsqueak turned 6 months! I feel so accomplished that I was able to keep my child alive for 6 whole months. :) She is so much fun! We love watching her change, grow, and discover new things each day.

*Can roll over from tummy to back and back to tummy
*Switches objects from hand to hand easily
*Able to reach for objects she wants and has an opinion for what she wants
*Starting to eat solid food. Has tried rice cereal, squash, and sweet potato, a few bites of banana and bread.
*Laughs all the time
*Loves playing the spitting game with dad
*Loves being thrown in the air
*No teeth yet
*Mostly wearing 3-6 month clothing, can still wear some 3m
*Size 2 diapers-about to switch to size 3
*Can stand up well, just needs a few fingers to hold to help her balance
*So happy in the morning-she wakes up and just talks to herself for a few minutes and when I walk in to get her she gets a huge toothless grin on her face, and clasps her hands together. It's adorable
*Grabs everything and puts it right in her mouth
*Sleeps from about 8pm to 7am with a 2 hour nap in the day and 1-2 small naps.
*Sleeps in her crib (since the end of January) and will sometimes fall asleep on her own if we just lay her down after she gets a bath and eats.
*Will not take a bottle
*Loves going on walks and being ouside

*Favorite toys include; rattle, measuring spoons, her little light up singing radio, rocking horse teether.

We love you Pais!

The Beard

Last year, Brad wanted to participate in 'NO SHAVE NOVEMBER' but wanted to get a little bit of a head start -he is a slow beard grower- so he didn't shave from September - January. Today, January 26th he shaved it off. We had to document this moment.

We had some fun with Paisley's hair elastics. Brad is such a good sport.

 

He looks like a totally different person!

I love this picture! It is Paisley feeling Brad's face with nothing on it. He has had facial hair for basically all of her life, so this was a new experience for her.

 

7 ways I'm saving money in 2014

Now that I get to stay at home with Paisley, Brad and I have been working hard to save money and make our income last longer. Here are a few ways we are saving money.

1. We don't have smart phones.
A lot of people think we are "lame" for not having them, but we calculated it and we are saving about $50 a month. It doesn't sound like much but that is the equivalent of 2 dates a month, not to mention $600.00 a year.

2.We made a budget.
We have never done this before, but so far it's going well. I made some tracking sheets and found some really simple tracking sheets here.

3. 4 days a week we commit to being a one car family.
I am a stay at home mom 6 days a week, and one of the biggest ways to save money is actually staying at home. Except for the day I go to work and an extra day to run errands, I pretend we only have one car and that Brad has it at work. Luckily we have 2 cars, so if I need to go somewhere I still can, but I'm trying to think like we only have 1. (This is new for me, I'll update next month about how I'm doing)

4. Pack lunches.
This is really so simple, but I think the fact that it takes time is why people (including me) don't always do it. Packing lunches not only saves you money, but it is much healthier too.

5. Check price labels and don't buy name brand groceries

6. Only eat out once a week

7. Be creative.
For the last 2 years, every January Brad and I do the $7 challenge. We each only get $7 a week to spend however we would like. (This excludes our regular expenses like gas, groceries etc.) You can combine it and spend it on one thing or buy little thinks like treats or eating out if you want, each week. We found it's nice to do in January because the holidays just got over so we don't really need anything. You should try it!

How are you saving money this year?

Photos of Paisley

1.Laughing at Zeus
2.I found her sleeping with her hood covering her eyes
3.Cutest little feetsies
4.She LOVES her crinkle toy
5.Making waffles with mom
6.Tummy time with the crinkle toy
7.Story time with mom
8.Hood buddies
9.My happy baby girl

Another month older

*Loves "talking"

*Blows bubbles all the time

*Giggles a lot

*Rolling over is getting easier

*Still only eating breast milk (Brad can't wait to start feeding her "real food")

*Loves story time

*Likes when you sing to her

*Has a few onesies and pajamas that are 0-3m ~ most are 3m, but can now fit into 3-6 month

*size 2 diapers

*getting used to being in her car seat

*Loves sitting in the bumbo and helping me cook

*a happy happy baby

I'm 4 months!

This little nugget turned 4 months! She is 13.8 pounds and 23.25 inches long. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and the 50th for height. She laughs all the time now! The first time she really laughed was on Dec. 17. Brad and I were giving her a bath and she let out a really high pitched squeal and then laughed and laughed. It was so amazing to hear! I am so glad that both Brad and I were there for that!

*she is still a great sleeper

*still doesn't like to be in her car seat in the car. She is fine to be in it when we're in stores, but she hates it in the car.

*Likes to grab daddy's beard

*only eats breast milk

*is mostly in 3 month clothing now. She can still wear 0-3 and 3-6 is just a little too big.

*wears size 2 diapers

*loves putting everything and anything in her mouth

*likes her bumbo chair

*can occasionally pass light objects from one hand to the other

*definitely knows who mommy and daddy are. When she gets tired or overwhelmed she won't let anyone else hold her but mom or dad...it's so cute and makes us feel like we're doing something right! :)

 

Our happy baby girl!

Brad & Leah in real life

I know this blog makes our life look super fabulous and perfectly edited (not really), but we have had our fair share of blow outs, spit ups and messes that come along with a new baby. I just happened to capture one of these lovely moments on camera.

Brad was lucky enough to get Paisley's "spit up" in his face. He was super happy about it as you can tell :)

Pictures!

It is so crazy how fast time seems to go now that I have a baby. I constantly feel like I am playing catch-up, especially on this blog. Here are some pictures of our little family throughout November and December.

 

Top Row: Lights at Temple square on Dec. 1st 2013

Second Row: 1;Thanksgiving morning at Brad's parent's house.

2; Family pictures at wheeler farm

3; Thanksgiving weekend at Solitude with the Fortuna family.

Third Row: Paisley meets Santa! Dec. 7th 2013

2; Paisley and Zeus...best little buddies

3; Festival of Trees

 

We have been busy but having a great time enjoying life as new parents. Latest news from us- PAISLEY ROLLED OVER!! DECEMBER 7TH 2013 at 2:37 pm

 

We are excited for Christmas and love watching Paisley discover new things each day. She LOVES looking at Christmas lights. She was having the time of her life downtown and at the festival of trees. She was kicking her legs and was just mesmerized by all the lights at people.

 

We have a little group of friends that we have been trying new restaurants with each month. So far we have tried Couscous, Sugarhouse BBQ and Adobos Caribbean Grill. Each of these restaurants have been delicious and we would recommend all of them. It is so fun exploring our own city.

3 months old!

My little baby is getting so big! On the 13th she turned 3 months old. She is the cutest little thing and has already developed a personality.

*sleeps about 8 hours at night, which is amazing!
*smiles all the time
*loves getting her feet and legs rubbed (a true girl)
*still only eating breast milk
*loves watching mommy get ready
*loves to be held
*cries when she's in her carseat
*still LOVES bath time
*still doesn't like tummy time
*only takes short naps...like 20 min. in the day
*loves being outside and seeing what is going on around her

Blessing Day

On Sunday September 29th we blessed our beautiful little girl. Brad's whole family on his mom's side was able to be there which was really neat. Brad did an amazing job! The whole day went better than I could have hoped for, and Paisley looked beautiful! After the blessing we had a small get together at Brad's parent's house. Thanks to everyone who helped make her big day so special!