Taking a walk

James and I have been loving spending time outdoors since it has gotten nice. Some days are cooler than others, but almost every day we spend at least an hour outside. Some days we relax in the backyard under the tree, some days we take a walk, and most days we do a garden tour where I show James the tree, leaves, grass, etc. and let him touch all of the above. Wouldn't it be neat if his first word was something like 'tree'?

Our walk route in the neighborhood always includes the "secret" house. E and I lived at our current address for six months before we discovered this amazing home tucked back behind a church. Seriously, this is like our dream home. E and I love old homes so much, and this one is awesome.

The home is huge, three stories with lots of beautiful old windows, dormers, and such. And the gardens and grounds are to die for. I love walking up there and just starring at everything with total awe.

And I love taking my camera along as well.





And my little walk buddy who smiles and talks the entire time we're out.

Farmhouse in May

On Saturday morning E and I packed up our things and the babe and headed down to Sanpete County, and, more importantly, the farmhouse! We've both been waiting for the weather to warm up again before making the 1.5 hour car ride, because hanging out on the lawn under the blooming pear tree sounded like a little slice of heaven.

We packed the crock pot, as well, so that for dinner on Saturday night we could all enjoy a slow cooked roast. We added potatoes, onions, garlic and carrots for the last two hours, and everything was so so yummy.

I think I might need to take a photo like this every May. See how things change. Don't you agree?


The 100 year old pear tree was in bloom, which meant James was all about touching the blossoms.



In the evening it cooled down a bit so we put on this adorable sweater (it is so soft and wonderful, I love it!) and played on the big feather bed.
Before James's bedtime Chelsea helped me with baby bath. What's neat? E and his siblings also bathed in this sink when they were babies.
The next morning we woke up to have french toast made out of home made cinnamon bread! Chelsea and Joe shared their awesome cinnamon bread with us, and we were so lucky, because it tasted totally amazing.

After breakfast was devoured James and I made a cozy spot on the lawn while we watched E mow. Every time E would stop the mower and call for James, James would look over and a huge grin would spread across his entire face. He loves his Daddy so much, and it makes me love E even more to see him be an amazing father.

Under the pear tree. Listening to the wonderful hum of honeybees and watching the billowy clouds lazily pass by overhead.
Love all these shots. And the last photo on the second row is where I FINALLY caught a picture of James's awesome eyelashes. Glad I finally succeeded.




After a little afternoon nap we went to the Mount Pleasant City Park so we could plop James in a baby swing. I took him to a Salt Lake City park earlier in the week with my mom and he had so much fun on the baby swing, I couldn't wait to show E. While there, we all acted like kids and swung on the swings, climbed on the monkey bars and even took James down the baby slide.

It was a great way to spend the weekend.

I told E and his sibs to sit on the swings in order of oldest to youngest. So here they are. E is going to be 29 in a month, David is 25 and Chelsea is 23.
And there was lots of snuggles and kisses from Grandma this weekend, which is to be expected. :)

Trying peas and the Jumperoo

James tried peas for the first time today. I guarantee this will make you smile, but most likely it will make you laugh out loud. Seriously, it is so funny!


And remember way back in March I took a video of James trying to figure out his Jumperoo? Well he is now a master at jumping and can be entertained for a good twenty minutes in this thing. Best baby device ever.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day started out around 8:00 am with James was happily talking and cooing in his room. E got up to get him, give him a diaper change, and bring him back to me in bed. We relaxed and talked while I fed the little guy.

Then we got up and started prepping for Mother's Day brunch. Chuck and my sibs were all coming over to celebrate my Mom. E and I set the table with the china, and he started on breakfast (a repeat of the amazing frittata from the day before). At 10:00 am everyone arrived. James was thrilled to see his Auntie Melissa, Uncles Brandon and Chandler and of course Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone chatted, sipped big mugs of coffee and laughed while E and Chuck worked hard in the kitchen.

James was adorable, showing off his best sitting skills and his biggest grins. Soon the breakfast was ready and we all sat down to an amazing meal. Coffee flowed, fruit and yogurt were consumed, and toast, frittata and sparkling cider made us all smile.

After brunch we put James down for a nap (he is seriously getting to be a great napper!) and walked around the backyard with my family. We showed off all of our garden plans, our planted veggie garden, and the side of our garage that is in the middle of a face lift!

E and Chuck made the entire brunch for everyone.
Uncle Brandon loves James. They are so cute together.
The ladies. Me, my Mom and sister Melissa.
The guys. E, Chandler, James and Brandon.


After awhile everyone headed home and E and I decided to take a blanket out to the back yard with our books. We relaxed and enjoyed the sun while Baby Man slept. After a nice long Mother's Day nap we heard baby sounds and E went and gathered the babe. I nursed him outside on the glider, and just enjoyed the perfect day. Then we played on the blanket as a family, and took a quick trip to Home Depot to pick out my Mother's Day present (I got two trees! A Japanese Maple and a Kwanzan cherry tree).

Relaxing in the shade is so nice on warm days in May.
And we spotted a squirrel in our backyard! This might not mean much to many areas of the country, but there are not many squirrels in Salt Lake City, surprisingly.

And isn't James's Mother's Day shirt cute? I thought so.


Upon arriving home from Home Depot we discovered a full diaper blow-out. Seriously, poo everywhere. While cleaning James up from shoulders to toes, I realized I love this. Cleaning poo and all. I love being James's Mama. Wouldn't trade even the yucky jobs. It's an awesome feeling.

That night we went over to E's family's house for a BBQ. We had to celebrate E's mom too, after all! We all chatted and played with the baby while dinner was being prepared, and then sat down to an awesome dinner of pork chops, sweet potato fries, bread, an awesome fruit salad and watermelon margaritas.

We had a wonderful day celebrating our moms. We love them so so much. Happy Mother's Day.

Now that E's family has grown, we always need to sit in the dining room for dinner. Notice even James's high chair is there!
E with the babe and Uncle David with James. Notice an outfit change? Yes, the diaper blow-out was too much for the cute Mother's Day shirt.