New phrase needed for playing catch up, help!

Busy again, ahh I hate when I put off blogging so that it then becomes a chore. Life has just been so busy. Since the arrival of my great niece we have had allot going on. A few days after Ryklyn was born I went up to Brigham City to help Jillian out for the day. There is nothing like a the smell and touch of new baby. She was an angel the whole time. I am trying to figure out what Jillian did it her former life to receive such a sweet spirit.

This is what I found when I got there, a princes dressed in pink, sound asleep. You want to kiss those cheeks don't you?

She is so tiny, I swear I can't remember my baby boy being so little.

The weekend after Ryklyn was born we went up to my sister's house to celebrate. We had a feast of crab, shrimp, and other treats. It was super yummy, we decided that we will celebrate each birth with a seafood feast, looks like we will have to wait a while on that meal. It was the first time that Jason and Alex met the baby. As usual she was an angel however.. I was able to get one photo that night of her short 2 second cry so here it is as prove she can cry.

As soon as I was done snapping the picture she returned to her sweet self.

Alex loved the new baby and enjoyed the new kittens at my sisters house as well. Shae took him on like a little mother pushing him in the swing, stroller and helping him pet the kittens. He loved being outside. He also received another haircut.. does that make 10 or 11, I would have to go back and look. Now if only he could sacrifice a little of that hair for his dad.

Alex playing the piano, he is a natural, hopefully one day I can put him in lessons so we can play together.

Alex turned 18 months old on the 15th. I honestly am blow away that my baby is becoming more of a little boy than my sweet little baby. Where does time go? He has been so cuddly lately, I love it. He has been doing so many cute things lately.

Here are just a few..One day he was helping me put away the groceries when he disappeared in to the front room. It was super quiet so I went to check on him. I found him standing at my ottoman, two yogurt piles, a yogurt covered lid off of the container and him playing with a spoon in the yogurt. Did I grab the camera, nope didn't even think of it until it was all cleaned up.

Another time I had finished eating so I cleaned him up and turned around to grab something before unbuckling him to get down. He kicked his legs scooting himself over to my counter and helped himself to the muddy buddy mix. His mouth was packed with them before I noticed. What a character!!

We have also learned that he can give a mean back rub. He is also signing more and talking more. His two newest words are Doggy and Cookie. He adores Blue's Clues and I have become a huge fan myself. So much I can do in 24 minutes =) He has become very orderly wanting to stack things and put items from one place to another. He is also understanding commands very well. It's incredible how fast they learn things as this age.

The last few weeks have been a real struggle because Alex's molars are coming in and he has officially become sick for the first time. Today is day 8 of getting over his cold but hey who's counting. Sleep is my favorite thing and I haven't had much of it lately due to all that is going on with Alex. To make matters worse I am worried that I am now getting it. Alex did sleep much better last night so I hope that things are looking up.

Last week we took Alex to the Dr for his 18th month old check up. He wasn't himself seeing that it was the 1st real sick day for him. The Dr and nurse committed on how different he was.. poor kid. He is developing great with no concerns. He has become quite a chunker pushing the scale at a whopping 22 lbs 5 oz putting him at the 9% for his weight, he it's better than the 5% from last time right. So he isn't a chunker but he is healthy and can afford to eat butter and ice cream whenever he wants, not such a bad thing. he is in the 50% for his height and head at 32 1/2 inches tall and 18 3/4 inches for his head circumference.

Pictures of my sweet 1 1/2 year old boy

Alex enjoying a typical morning

Also on the 15th I was able to go to my Best Friend Laura's baby shower. We have been friends since we were two. It was great to see her, my 2nd family and my old college roomie and friend TyAnne. My Mom, Ty and I made the road trip together out to Saratoga Springs where the shower was. We drove straight there without even taking a potty break or lunch stop.. HA HA JK that joke is for Mollie who lives out there in BFE, it's really not that far but it's fun to give her grief.. anyway. Laura looked amazing and received some really fun gifts. Here are a few pictures from the shower.

Laura looking hot as ever, crazy to think she is due with her 1st boy in January. She will make such a great Mom.

Note to self: outside pictures with shade and two wild toddlers makes for one horrible picture. Laura and her baby look the best while TyAnne and I try to get our kiddos to look at the camera.

Well there is my life in a nutshell the past few weeks. Tomorrow is Turkey Day and we will be spending the holiday at my Aunt Sheila's house. I am so thankful for all I have been given. If you are reading my blog odds are you have touched my life in one way or another and I am so grateful for you. I will save my thoughts for tomorrow but wanted to leave you with this quote I received the other day in an e-mail. I would love to turn my life around were I could live in the moment.

Leave Yesterday Alone (its gone)
Live Today (count your blessings)
Don't Worry About Tomorrow (it may not come)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Green Enough!

I saw this quote while I was out and about shopping yesterday...

Dear Lord- Thank you for helping me to remember that my grass is green enough.


So true, no matter what life throws at you, regardless of how many sleepless nights you have had to a crying toddler, there is always someone out there who's grass is browner.

I'm so thankful for all I have.

I promise to post soon, I've just been super busy.

Great Aunt Sharie

Well as you can tell from the title it's official I am old!!! I am now a Great Aunt to the sweetest most adorable little girl. Ryklyn Story Bailey made her grand appearance 11/03/08 at 1:23 pm weighing in at 7 lb 15 oz and 21 inches long. I was able to witness her birth which by the way was incredible. She took awhile to get here, I assume Grandpa Roger just wasn't quite ready to give her up. He adored being a Grandpa to Jillian and seeing that this little one looked so much like her as a baby I am sure it was a rough goodbye.

Jillian did such an amazing job for her first time. Little Ryklyn scared us at first not crying and appearing limp. She had swallowed a good amount of fluid. Finally we heard her little cry which was repeated only 3 more times while I was there. She is so good natured, at least for now =) Here are many, many pictures of her, I just couldn't get enough of her. Welcome to the family little girl.

Jillian and Clay shortly before Jill started pushing

All dressed up and no where to go.

Proud 1st time Grandpa Mike

Doesn't she look so sweet with her little bow?

Cuddling with Great Grandma

Aunt Hil Bil, somehow she is the only sibling I didn't get a picture with Ryklyn however here is proof she was there and being silly.

Uncle Braxton

Aunt Areiann

Aunt Shae

Daddy checking out his baby girl

Getting her 1st diaper changed, 1 of 3 poopy diapers within her first few hours.

Daddy doing the honors.

Grandpa, Daddy and Ryklyn

The proud family, Mommy, Daddy and Ryklyn

My sister holding her Grand baby, too young to be a Grandma don't you think?

Now on to other random things

You know you are old when... you are the one chasing doorbell dingers off your property instead of being the one doorbell ditching. Saturday night we had just put Alex to bed when the doorbell rang, of course no one was there when I got it. 10 minutes go by and again another doorbell but no one there. By now I am assuming that it's the wind but am getting quite frustrated that every time I get my son calmed down and to sleep the doorbell would ring again. Finally Jason got dressed and waited by the door in the dark.. he heard the kids approaching, waited for the ring and ripped the door open to catch them. Only problem, he had the door locked. By the time he had the door open the kids were running down the street. He yelled at them, Get back here and took off after three teenagers up the road and around the corner. He said he could have caught the girl who was last of the three but didn't know what to do with her once he caught her. Annoyed with the fact that we couldn't get Alex to sleep or go to bed ourselves we finally called the cops at 10:30 requesting them to patrol the area. Although we were told the cops would be out and patrolling our area all night or at least until the kids went home we never saw them or the kids again. I think old man OwYoung may have scared them aware from targeting our house again. =)

I have looked over many blogs the past few days to see pumpkin carving, trick or treating, baking etc., all cute photos of Halloween. I was tempted to completely forget posting anything to do with Halloween because ours was so lame this year. No carving, no baking and no trick or treating. We attempted to take Alex out trick or treating to a few neighbor houses but it was raining. I had received an e-mail that said Ikea was having a Halloween party so we opted to head down there for a bit. We were one of oh four customers in the store, the only ones dressed up and no party going on. We stopped at Harmons to pick up some pumpkin cookies and then went home to order pizza, hand out candy to a few wet trick or treaters and put Alex down for the night. Lame I know but I guess it's good that Alex is too young to understand what he was missing out on. Besides neither Jas or I needed more candy to eat. Here are a few pictures I took of Alex. As you can tell he wasn't a fan of his hood as he never likes anything on his head. He also wasn't up for posing with Mom. Oh well!

Help, what I am doing in this garb

Happier with the hood off

The back of my little dino

So happy to pose with his Mom

Or maybe not, there is always next year right?

Playing Catch Up AGAIN!!

Agg... I hate when I get behind on blogging and have to play catch up. It's been awhile since I have posted. We have had a lot going on yet I have very few pictures to show for it. No excuses!
Two weeks ago Jason went to Atlanta for work. What do you do when your hubby is gone for a week. Well play, eat out, play some more and eat out some more oh and of course miss him like crazy.

Monday morning I dropped Jason off at the airport and picked up my good friend Anna-Marie from RI. She was in town for SU's leadership summit and arrived a day early so we could play. =) I took her to my favorite bakery Haggerman's for lunch, did a little shopping, chatted and finished the night at Rumbi Grill. As always it was nice to get to see her and her little boy. There was only 10 minutes of the day I did not enjoy and that was when both of our boys were in the backseat having a crying match. One would calm down just as the other one would start up. It was the longest drive to dinner I have ever had. Alex was covered in tears when I pulled into the parking lot. So sad!!! Overall it was a wonderful day getting to hang out with her. I also ran into a few other demos at the hotel and got to chat with them. As much as I love being a SAHM I miss my SAMees, they are such a great group of women.

Tuesday I did some cleaning and then I had two of my good buddies Jen and Nat over for a girls night out. We had pizza and chatted, it's always so much fun when I get to spend time with them.
Wednesday my niece Jillian and her BF Andrea came down for the day. We made binky holders and headbands and bows for the new baby. My front room was covered in ribbons and flowers and jewels etc. We had some much fun though. We hit Pei Wei for dinner before they headed home.

Speaking of Jillian, she was due yesterday and no baby as of today. =( Can you tell I am a tad bit anxious? I get to be there for the birth and can't wait to see her. Wednesday was also the 15th which meant Alex turned 17 months old.

With everything going on we have not gotten around to taking his usual 17 month pictures. I did however to sneak in this cute picture first thing that morning. Gotta love the bed head!

Thursday was supposed to be our Moms group trip to the Wee Witches festival. We had a pretty big group meeting for lunch and then shopping. I was really looking forward to it when I got two calls from friends who had gone early. I was told the place was packed, parking was nuts, having lunch at the bakery was impossible and there were people everywhere. Those who hadn't left yet cancelled out. I ended up going shopping at Target for some much needed clothing and then helped Natalie that night prep for her Super Saturday event. We have spend a few days together trying to get everything prepped. Luckily our boys play together really well.

Here are a few fun pictures of Nate and Alex playing together and a cute video. On a side note I wish I had a picture of the cutest thing that happened a few weeks ago. Nat and I were busy prepping when we turned around and found Alex laying in Gavin's lap while Gavin stroked his hair and face. It was the sweetest thing ever. I did get a quick picture on my cell phone but didn't get a chance to grab the real camera.

The boys playing clapping games and giving each other hugs.

Gavin was able to sleep through the boys running around. Don't you just want to kiss those chubby cheeks.

Nate sure knows how to make Alex giggle.

Friday I met up with my good friend Stephanie for lunch at OG and while on my way to the restaurant I called Jason to check in. Every morning that he was gone he has called me but not that day. Come to find out he had changed his flight to an earlier time to come home and surprise me. Sweet huh!! To be honest I think he was homesick for his son but I can play like it as all because of me, right? I was able to pick him up from the airport that day (originally he was going to have to take a cab) and he was home to take care of Alex instead of my niece having to tend for me. That night I had my Christmas Card Crank Class and enjoyed stamping the night away.

Saturday we decided to go to the Farnsworth Farms for their pumpkin fest. I didn't expect it to be so popular. We got in line just in time for a hayride without a super long wait and then we grabbed a free doughnut and walked around the pumpkin patch. We didn't stay for the movie but it looked like fun. Of course I brought the camera along and then left it in the car. I wasn't about to walk the mile back to the car in order to get a picture, not quite that obsessed yet I guess.

Last week was busy as well. Thursday Jason took a half day so that we could go with my family to see Body Worlds 3. If you haven't heard about it you can check out their website by clicking on the Body Worlds link. It was FABULOUS!! I was so amazed by the babies throughout the different weeks. Crazy to think I had one growing inside of me at one time. The miracle of life is fascinating.

I was also very amazed to see a smoker's lung. It was coal black... I pledge to never spoke especially after seeing what it does to your insides. Here are two pictures of statues from the show... they don't do it justice. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take my own camera into the exhibit. Looks like you will have to go yourself to really grasp how cool it is to see real humans. Yes I said real, these are all real humans that have gone through a process called plastination, where the fluids in the body are replaced with chemicals that harden and preserve the body. BTW it wasn't gory at all for those with week stomachs.

Saturday I planned a Girls Night Out with my Moms' group. Unfortunately numbers were low but that didn't stop us from having a terrific time. We had dinner at Pei Wei and then headed over to Gardner Village for their Witches' Night Out. Thanks to Natalie our amazing photographer for the evening, here are a few fun photos of that night.

Libby, Me, and Jen

Natalie attempting to use the outhouse after a few two many Diet Cokes

Libby and Natalie pose for a pictures while waiting for Jen and I.

As we were walking around we were stopped by these two guys asking if they could interview us. Being the dorks we are of course we said sure. Jen just watched since she wasn't wearing a hat. After we made complete fouls of ourselves I asked what it was for. Comcast on demand I was told. Eek... Great now we will be on tv, lucky very few people I know will have the luxury of seeing the interview. We tracked the guys down after leaving realizing that we need a blog worthy photo to remember the moment. I think they thought we were a little nuts, oh well.

Recognize this scary witch? We had to track her down and ask for a picture, we weren't the only ones requesting one. Libby happily informed us after the photo that not only was she nice but she smelled good too. Oh Libby, you crack us up!

Posing by the candy shop, we took way more photos than needed. We spent the night laughing, dancing, watching people ( oh the people you see) eating and of course shopping. Thanks girls for the fun night, thanks hubbies for watching our kiddos so we could play.

So there are my two weeks in a nutshell. Hopefully my next post will be title Great Aunt Sharie, will my sweet niece Jillian luck, we want this baby here ASAP.

Happy Birthday Buva Buva!!

It's a birthday weekend, first my Dad's and today my Brother Brandon's. On a cold and snowy Utah day he is probably enjoying the sun in Florida. Might I add I am very jealous, 33 and snow in October is not my cup of tea.

If he has been here he would probably be taking in the fresh powder on his birthday. He definitely got my Dad's genes enjoying nature. He is in his element if it's just him and the great outdoors. He loves fishing, camping, hiking, skiing, anything with physical and outside included.

Brandon out fishing

As he gets older ( we won't mention his age but only that he is 8+ my elder, now that's old!! ) he looks more and more like my Dad. Last year I received this Christmas picture and would have swore it was my Dad, beard and all.




My brother is super talented. He is a self taught Musician and an incredible artist. I wish I had some of his artwork saved on my computer to share with you. It's so amazing what he can do that I still have a hard time believing it myself. I remember watching him in awe as he took a picture from a National Geographic and recreated it using paint on our computer. He also did a picture of a Man by just using dots. Perhaps why I find it so incredible is because I can barely draw a stick man and not a very good one at that. I wish I had just an ounce of his talent.


My brother has a very odd and unique sense of humor. I notice this allot in photos. Here are a few of his crazy faces over the years.

Christmas of '05, every picture of him opening a gift had this crazy face attached

Dinner in CA after my Wedding reception, my Mom smiling and

my Bro pulling a GQ look

It's been a few years now since my brother moved to FL with his then GF Susannah ( now his wife). I don't get to see him as much in fact it's been a year and a half since I saw him last which was on his wedding day. I hope we can travel out to FL soon to stay in my inlaws' condo and take Alex to Disney World. Brandon has also promised to take my little boy fishing like his Grandpa Roger would have if he were here.


We have always had a love/hate relationship. I want to kill him when he is around and miss him when he is gone. Although he has always loved teasing me I know under that tough exterior he really does loves me. Right Buva Buva? Happy Birthday! love, your baby Sis Shar

Happy Birthday Dad!

Tears fill my eyes as I read back over last year's entry about my Dad. Today would have been his 63rd birthday. I miss him so much! It has been 18 years since he passed away. So much has changed since he was with us. Every year on his birthday I put together some thoughts and send them to my family. I have saved these over the years and also the responses I have received from others. It is nice to read back on all the memories we have of Dad. Today I want to share a few poems I came across in my scrapbooks while looking for pictures of him. I hope that someday Alex will be able to read this and learn of his Grandpa Roger. I have several fun photos of my Dad I would like to share but unfortunately my scanner is not working right now. I will try to add them later. For now here is one of my favorites that I have shared before.

Two poems I found and included in a poem book I made in High School

A Season's Wait

Daddy's remains we buried in the cold, trampled earth by gnarled, aging tree trunks anguished by limbs withered to leafless decay, where amidst perished bough and barren ground lie fallen seeds strewn all about, lying in wait for sun and fair showers knowing those windblown, shriveled shells spring time is just a season's wait. - Miles Tuason

Graduation

by Emily Ivie

Wait.

Before you cross that hall this last day,

Wait for me.

I have one more thing to say

Before the end.

I never had the courage, but

I may not have the chance again.

Just stop a moment and let me say

How I feel.

I have to tell you

How much you meant to me.

The doors are closing in each room.

The windows shut and cut me away

From all I knew.

Before I start my newest life, I must

Finish the old.

Before you leave, I must

Confess at last

That your life has touched mine.

Wait.

A poem I wrote for the same poem book.

Roger

Loving, funny, kind

Father of Kim, Shane, Brandon, Sharie

Lover of Pam, nature, work

Who felt love, hope, pain

Who needed respect, acceptance, family

Who gave encouragement, service, money

Who feared failure, loss, pain

Who would have liked to see world peace, kindness unity

Resident of heaven, in the clouds above

Stewart

A few of my friends have lost loved ones recently. A spouse, Father and Grandpa and with each one a piece of me aches for the pain they are enduring. Sadly I know that although time may help it will not heal all pain. After eighteen years I still miss my Dad. I had a conversation this week with my friend who recently lost her Father. She told me that her niece reminded her family that with death comes new life. I thought of the upcoming arrival of the newest member of our family. Jillian ( my oldest niece) is expecting a little girl the end of the month. It brings me joy to think of my Dad spending time with this precious new baby before sending her to us. I feel his presence often and know he isn't too far away. Happy Birthday Dad, I love you!

Spaghetti Baby

Spaghetti and Meatball Baby for sale OBO-

includes left over spaghetti noodles ( may be pre-sucked on or dried out, sealer is not responsible for quality, contact Chef Boyardee for compliments) spaghetti covered floor, spaghetti covered highchair, spaghetti covered clothes. Buy now and receive one exhausted crazy spaghetti covered Mom. Buy now, too cute to pass up, will sell fast.

Spaghetti Baby and yes he put the bowl there, I didn't.

After a long warm bath

On a side note Alex is now saying Hi and waving at anyone and everyone that will acknowledge him.