goodbye baby stage

i can't believe that in a few days our baby won't be a baby anymore!

i know everyone says it, but they really do grow so fast!

although this first year of life has required a lot of patience on both our end and hers,

i speak for us both when i say we would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

sadie really has exceeded all of my expectations on raising a baby though.

from sleeping through the night well starting at just a few months old...

and nursing like a champ with me for 12 months straight (my goal!),

to hardly making a fuss when her first 2 teeth were coming through.

in one year's time she has learned to roll over, sit, crawl, stand, go up and down stairs,

say "mama", "dada", "hi", "yes", "no", and a whole lot of jibberish,

give "loves" (hugs) and kisses, throw balls (dad's excited), stack blocks,

and making every day of our lives 1,000x better by being in it!

she is friendly, energetic, loud, and all of the strangers who have stopped us will agree.. 

SO BEAUTIFUL! 

happy 1st on monday, little bug!

we are so excited for the next year of life exploring and growing up with you! 

easter 2015

 this easter weekend was full of fun!

on friday, my friend bailee helped me do an egg drop around downtown salt lake.

i borrowed the idea from an inspiring lady i follow on instagram.

every week, she challenges her followers to do a new act of service that spreads positivity.
this week, her challenge was to hide eggs with uplifting messages on them around town.

this is definitely a new tradition i want to continue with my family.

i hope to teach our kids to find joy in giving and not just receiving.

also, my little brother came into town this weekend and stayed with us for a couple of days.

we had a good time catching up and getting together with my brother richard's family too.

his kids are a hoot! and man do they give little sadie lots of attention.  :)

 

 

on saturday, we went to the annual egg hunt with the betenson cousins.

it took a little time (haha), but sadie was able to spot and a grab a few eggs. 

will loved carrying her around and helping her fill her basket while i was behind the camera.

and of course, i can't leave out pictures of how stinkin' adorable sadie looked in her easter dress!

yellow is such a great color on her. she looks like a little ray of sunshine!

 "thanks for the bunny, grandma!"

 sadie girl has always got her fingers (or something) in her mouth ha.

her and her cousin charlie both had a great 1st easter!

san diego

we just got home from a fun spring break trip to san diego.

sadie has been a great road tripper since day one, so the drive went well.

we only had to made one long stop on the way there to get out to stretch and play.

we spent time everyday at the beach boogie boarding, playing in the sand and waves, 

and watching the sunset together.

sadie wasn't a fan of getting her legs in the water, but liked splashing in it with her hands.

she loved swimming in the much warmer hotel pool though.

i gave her some lessons and even dunked her for the first time without even a tear!

so far, she seems to love swimming as much as her mama does. 

while we were there, we also visited the san diego temple and the zoo.

the temple was beautiful! it was the perfect way to start off our sunday morning.

the zoo was a blast! growing up, it was one of my favorite places to go.

my dad would take us once or twice a year as a family, and it is a tradition i want to pass on.

sadie didn't notice the more stationary animals (like the koalas),

but the moving ones like the panda, birds, and monkeys caught her eye.

i think mom and dad had a more memorable time there.  :)

we're already talking about and planning our next visit to san diego!
maybe for our 5th anniversary next spring? ;)

7 months old!

our favorite little girl is 7 months old!

she is so much fun to be around full of smiles and giggles.

she says "Dada" all the time, and "Mmm" when mom spoon feeds her.

she is army crawling all over the place and getting fast too!

her favorite thing to play with is shoe laces and car keys.

she loves to kick, smack her hands on things, and bounce.

she is enthralled with the vacuum, hair dryer, and anything that makes loud noise.

she loves finger foods and gets so proud of herself when eating.

there's no sign of any teeth coming in soon, but we just love her gummy smile!

our week in arizona

sadie and i just spent an entire week in arizona!

we missed will a ton, but had a really fun time!

the main reason we went down was to be there for my sister's baby shower.

it was a beautiful shower and we are getting so excited for little addilyn to get here! 

there is always a good feeling that comes along with going back to your hometown.

we have a great support group of friends and family down there and had fun catching up.

i went paddleboarding on tempe town lake with my brother, 

hiking up to the wind caves with my friend metzli,

running along all of the freshly paved canals (in shorts!),

swinging with sadie at the park and bouncing her on the trampoline at my parents' house,

meeting up with friends for lunch and frozen yogurt,

visiting with my grandma and cousin tanner for an afternoon,

and taking maternity pictures for my sister and her fiance.

we made really good use of our time down there, 

and i even got to sneak in a couple of naps while my mom or brothers watched sadie. ;)

the plane rides were more difficult this time since sadie is more wiggly than a few months ago.

luckily people were very understanding and complimentary of how sweet she was.

when we got off the plane, a nice family help me carry my carseat and base out past security.

then i got to see the best sight ever... my sweet husband waiting for us with roses in his hand.

he also brought a gift for sadie (the new "big hero 6" movie).

he knows how to treat his girls! ;)

it's good to be home and together again as a family.

the best, hardest thing i've ever gone through

it's no secret that i find the greatest joy in being "mom" to our little sadie.

but if i'm being honest, it was not an easy road to get to.

i haven't opened up much about our trial of struggling to get pregnant, but i feel ready now.

those 2 years of anticipating, and being let down in the biggest way possible month after month

were for lack of a better word... sucky! 

i can't tell you how many times i asked heavenly father "why me?"

"why do you ask me to start a family and promise me joy in my prosperity, then make it SO hard?"

i had moments where i felt like my womanhood had been stripped from me.

thankfully, i continued to pray. my husband continued to love me and comfort me.

in retrospect, not getting pregnant right away had its fair share of blessings.

i was able to make a dent in my schooling and will was able to grow his business.

we were able to spend much needed quality time together learning to communicate better

and working on having more patience with one another.

we were given the opportunity to travel and experience other cultures and people.

we discovered our hobbies and made and strengthened many friendships. 

we were blessed to be able to move into a house and prepare a family environment.

above all though, we were given the strength everyday to keep moving forward

through tears, heart ache, and oh so many prayers.

heavenly father wanted us to grow up and prepare to guide and protect this special girl.

there are so many people who have to wait for a child for many more years than we did,

and i can't imagine the amount of courage and strength they have to cling onto daily.

all i know is that heavenly father is all knowing and that he hears and answers all prayers.

not a day goes by that i don't see sadie being here as anything but a miracle.

what an amazing gift we have as mothers to use our body to bring these spirits into the world.

likewise, what a gift for mommies who grow their babies in their heart and adopt their children.

i can't imagine a more fulfilling life than to know my children are happy and kind- hearted,

because i loved them with all i had and taught them what it means to live a beautiful life.

Sadie Grace 3-6 months

the past several months i have completely neglected my blog...

but we are all doing well and our sadie bug is growing like crazy!

here she is at 3, 4, 5, and 6 months old with her pal, mickey.

 

 she gets cuter (how is that even possible?) by the day!

right now she is sitting up all by herself, starting to army crawl,"talking" up a storm,

finds and puts her binky in all by herself, sleeping through the night (most nights) in her crib, obsessing over max (our lab), starting to really notice her feet and eat them,

and loving when she gets to feed herself (mostly bread and crackers for now). 

she has even started fighting me for the spoon when i'm giving her veggies and fruit.

she is such a happy, smiley baby and i honestly couldn't get a crying picture of her if i tried!

i had no idea such a tiny person could take up so much room in my heart! 

we celebrated her half birthday with will's family by singing and eating cupcakes.

sadie had her first taste of mixed fruits for her "sweet" instead. ;) 

earlier that evening, will and i took her to an open field to do a balloon launch.

we both made a wish for her and let her "send" them up into the sky with some balloons.

 it was a fun little tradition we want to continue for each of our kids' first half birthday.

 here's to another 6 months of smiles, learning, and having so much fun together!