Dear Moo,

Dear Mason,

I can't believe you are a year old!!! This year has flown by and has been filled with so much wonderful excitement...all because of you! You are now technically a toddler, even though you have been walking since 7 1/2 months. Your amazing personality is developing more and more each day. I love being your Mommy and getting to learn from YOU day in and day out! I wish we were all like children, instead of rushing kids into adulthood.

You are a big guy. And you are VERY advanced. Crawling at 6 months, walking a month and a half later, 3 words by 10 months, already understanding object permanence and on and on. You continue to make your Daddy and I so proud. We have high hopes for you. As you can see in the picture above, we expect Texas football will play a roll in your athletic future. On your first birthday, you had 8 teeth, were 23 pounds and 29 inches tall. We KNOW you will do great things in all aspects of your life!

You are a boy, through and through. You LOVE to play outside, if I let you, you would live in the backyard! You eat rocks. Chase dogs. Swim in the pool. Dig in the dirt. And your fair skin turns red within 10 minutes of too much sunshine. You are a bully with other kids, but not in a cruel way, rather a physically dominating way (it's pretty funny to watch you handle kids older than you). You love to show affection...with your gorilla grip. You LOVE to eat. He gets "drunk" off the booby milk (it's so adorable). Anything we eat, you eat. You have used "Momma" and "Food" interchangeably.

You are assertive. You love to cuddle. You always want to be up high. You love to read. You love textures. You pat me on the back when I pick you up (melts me, every time!). You are curious and love to solve problems. You LOVE chewing on toothbrushes, you're the Toothbrush Bandit! You make everyone smile with your infectious giggle. You are told constantly told by strangers, how beautiful you are. You love wheels and are always trying to take things apart. You have a nonstop motor and an excellent bubble. Your bare booty is too cute for words.You grunt like a caveman. You do the touchdown dance and bob your head to music. You are a YouTube sensation. You have shown Daddy and I what patience and unconditional love really means.

Thank you for being a wonderful lil' man! We love you bigger than the world!

Love,

Mommy (the boob lady)

Photography

I have decided that photography is the hobby of choice this year. I have been in bidding wars all week over different cameras, and I think the Nikon D3000 is the winner. I'm so excited to start taking pics and seeing if I have what it takes to get some good photos.



Once the camera arrives, I will be sure to post pics! I have always loved photography. Some of my favorite photographers are these :

Michael and Anna Costa www.michaelandannacosta.com
They are AMAZING!!! And Micah is friends with them. Their talent just blows me away.


My second favorite is Rayel Photography in Plano. www.rayelphotography.com
I am so photo envious.


Pictures are so fun! And there are so many beautiful things and people in my life that I hope to photograph soon!

Such a Wonderful Year....

A year ago this evening, my family and I were walk/hiking the Provo Canyon Trail when my water broke! It was such an exciting moment! My parents were ahead of Micah and I when it happened. I remember yelling to my Mom, "Either I just peed my pants, or my water broke!" We were all so excited and began calling and texting everyone. Mason's arrival was a week and a day "overdue" and everyone was antsy to meet this lil' guy. Especially since my Mom since she would be leaving town two days later.

After 26 hours of labor and an unexpected birthing experience, my wonderful Mason was born! It was the BEST day! I'm so grateful for his sweet spirit and the joy he has brought to my life. I can't believe it has been a year! It feels like I have known his forever and I don't remember life without him.

Happy (early) Birthday Mason!!! You are the best lil' boy in the whole wide world!!!

Party pics to come...

The Natural Child

My new favorite parenting book is The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart. I got this book on CD because I am able to get so much done AND listen to a book at the same time, it's fantastic. Anyways, this book is amazing. I am making copies of it for all my preggo friends. It talks about parenting in a way that truly resonates with my motherly instincts.

I am a self proclaimed "hippie" in the sense of being into organic, natural and non-mainstream ideas (not in the dope smoking way). This book is most certainly fitting into my hippie ways, which I love. What I don't love, is that many people immediately disregard it because its ideas are not preached by doctors.

This book took about 3 hours to listen to. It's well worth your time, just put it on in the background and see what ya think. Any Mommies who want a copy, please just let me know and I will buy you one or send you a copy. I honestly believe that the way we raise our child will change the world. I think it is so important for Moms out there to stay educated and continually learn. Some ideas you may not agree with, but there is something in this book for every parent. If you have any great books, PLEASE share! I am a sponge when it comes to new ideas and interesting books!

I love being a Mommy.

Home Sweet Home

House hunting is one of Micah and I's favorite activities. We love driving neighborhoods and finding homes and talking about what we would do to fix up the home or how we would change it.

We have fallen in love with the homes in Parker, TX. There are a few neighborhoods that are basically ranchettes. Each home sits on a minimum of two acres. We both agree that we want land so that our family has plenty of room to run around and play. And I want chickens and a cow and a greenhouse. Micah wants a softball field, an alligator and a running track.

Well, we found the home where we could make all those things possible, minus the gator :-) We walked through this home last weekend and fell in love. More with the property than the home. The house needs a lot of TLC before it would be "Kelly Ready". But this home has so much potential. We are so excited about the possibility of getting this house and making it our own. It's a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage that sits on 2 big, beautiful flat acres. It's the perfect size for what we want.

So exciting!

Are YOU a Warrior??

I am SO happy that the warrior dash is coming back to Texas this year!!! We just barely missed the race they had in Dallas. In Novemeber it will be down in Austin, so it gives us an excuse to make another trip down to our favorite city!

If you have not heard of the Warrior Dash, check out their site www.warriordash.com . It is too funny! I love a good race and this just looks like a good time.

Now all I need to do is figure out what our costumes will be...

El Templo

August 6th can't get here soon enough!!! I am so excited to be sealed to my beautiful boys in the LA temple! We have grown so much over this last year and are so ecstatic to take this next step. Our little family is what truly brings us happiness each and everyday!

Micah is my best friend and Mason is beyond amazing! I can't imagine spending eternity without them. My heart feels like it could burst with love and happiness when I think about them and how wonderful this day will be for us.

Both our families and closest friends will all be out in California with us and we are pee-our-pants excited! I'm so grateful that families can be together forever!!!