11 months old

my practically 1 year old 11 month child.

i wrote this post on the first buthaven't gotten around to putting this pictures with it!
so here it is, 2 weeks past :)

WALKING

he definitely prefers walking to crawling.

he's so big!

but it's just as i imagined, he walks around the corner with a toy (or kitchen object) in his hand looking for me in excitement. cutest boy ever.

comprehending SOOO much!

claps, high fives, and gives kisses all the time when asked to

signs "all done" after meals.
plays peek a boo and loves to stack blocks.

when told to "go find mommy/daddy" he goes to the other room we're in.

knows when he's doing something he's not supposed to.

there's a cabinet i accidentally leave unlocked sometimes and at some point he'll find that it's open and once he hears me coming towards him he'll hurriedly stick his hands in the cabinet waving them frantically hoping to find something that falls out, hilarious.

definitely has some opinions these days.

if he's trying to get away from me like in church or people's houses and i stop him to redirect him,

he lets out a large yell in retaliation.

totally has fake laughs, fake frowns and fake cries.

that too is hilariously adorable.

i just love that child.

his smile is infectious.

have i mentioned he doesn't mind strangers at all.
not one bit.
he'll go into a new person's arms at the drop of a hat,
i love it.

his sweetness oozes.

his giggle empowers my adult funniness.

i just love him to pieces!!!!!!

.

this is a very important subject to me.

if you have just 2 minutes will you please sign this petition to the obama administration.

it will "require porn to be an "Opt In" feature with internet service providers rather than a standard feature.

pornography is an addictive demoralizing habit that hurts families.

help families protect their children in making this an "opt-in" service instead of standard.

the petition is easy to sign. it takes 1 minute to create an account, all they want it your name and zip code.

and please pass this on to friends and family.

thank you!

this is legit

you guys.

every once and awhile i've linked to videos of the smiley project.

it's a husband wife duo doing the fifty classic climbs in north america aka 50 really hard/crazy rock climbing routes

it's pretty dang cool.

their new video is my favorite so far.

you have to watch it!

you can see more of their videos and info here

ps- totally got to talk to them last month at my cousin's wedding which was really fun.
i'd be lying if i said i wasn't just a tad giddy when getting to talk to them about it all.

i should have gotten a picture with them but didn't...
blast my cowardness!


ANDDDD

if you're in the utah valley area, there's a way cool class being offered!
they call it a flower party.
you go, they provide all the materials to show you how to make a fancy floral piece.
this month is a gorgeous winter wreath.
this wreath is just perfect!
check it out friends.

waking up is hard

sometimes i'm jealous maxson gets to take 2 naps a day.

but on the other hand, sometimes i feel even groggier and more tired when i wake up from naps.

although maxson's body needs nap, he sure doesn't like waking up from them.

i can count on one hand how many times that boys has woken up happy.

i caught this little series after a late day nap he took.

i think casey actually woke up him up from this nap because it was going so long into the evening.

i love his look of confusion.

the way he buries your head into your shoulder when trying to wake up.

the yawn.
the eye rub.

the smile when he sees me.

just watching his little mind wake up, try to take around his surroundings, and remember everything he's learned.

i love that little boy SOOOO much!

ps- casey your smiley-double chin makes my heart smile too ;)

picturas de iFono

and here's the iPhone update!

1. waiting at my cousin's wedding with this little study
2. standing in the back with this baby during the whole ceremony
3. cousin bonding
4. this picture didn't load and i'm too lazy to fix it

1. found this sweet mechanism at the airport. BRILLIANT
2. watching the airplanes
3. flying over the grand canyon
4. these 2 cousins played constantly

1. few things make you feel younger when you drive your dad's car to the grocery store at night with nothing but your phone, keys, and their credit card.
2. maxson's new friends raja
3. cheerios all over the church floor
4. learning young

1. had a little hair date with my SIL whitney. (she's awesome my arizona friends! call her! all of our family who gets our hair done by her constantly get compliments on our hair)
2. we took a mid hair coloring break to have lunch with our niece at her school (my hair is not at the final stage in this picture).
3. met up with my bff, amy, love that girl!
4. fhe with my brother's family

1. the half marathon finish area, beautiful or what?
2. wonderful grammy cutler finished!
3. britton conked out after the half marathon excursion
4. maxson fell asleep real quick at home (that skin is definitely my arm)

1. abby made us dinner at the park with her grass clippings
2. trucking 3 kids to the park with the dog
3. leaf playing
4. leaf piling

1. messiest, funniest eater
2. went on an awful waffle date with my niece abby, man have they done GREAT with that new place!
3. crepe with nutella and banana
4. maxson terrorizing callie the dog

1. drove up to salt lake to get together with my cousin kammy!
2. post baby
3. 3 kids ready for church 15 minutes before go time!
4. university parkway

1. more slide time
2. also met up with 3 of my aspen grove friends, 2 of whom have babies too!
3. the dog was always parked right under maxson during meal times. ALWAYS. i never had to clean food off the floor while i was there, so great.
4. pre-santa

1. made banana bread with this munchkin. he kept pointing and saying "uh oh, lu lu!"
2. caught the peak of this funny moment on video, no child was hurt ;)
3. met up with a nebraska bff, jocelyn, who transplanted to utah!
4. my attempt at pumpkin bread bowls this year for halloween

small surprises

i love finding unexpected things all around the house to remind me what a joy motherhood is.

examples:

opening the bottom drawer in the kitchen to find a hot wheels car mixed in with the tupperware.

stepping on a squeaky bath toy in the shower left over from his bath.

unexpectedly kicking a toy underneath all my sheets once i slip into bed.

finding small toys mixed in with the groceries when they sit on the kitchen floor too long.

coming into the kitchen to find all the lower cabinets and drawers emptied of their belongings.

finding a trail of cheerios anywhere in the house.

there are countless other moments that belong in this category and i know i will only gather more through all my years of little children.

just like i don't mind putting away my husband's scriptures everyday he leaves them out after breakfast because that means he is reading his scriptures,

i don't mind picking up after this cute little munchkin all day everyday long, because that means i have a happy, healthy, curious, learning child in my home.

more on halloween

i couldn't resist sharing some of my friend's costumes.

they were so cute this year!

i will shamelessly post another picture of our dental family.
we had lots of fun this year in our costumes.
casey stood by the the trunk of our friend's car where we combined forces in candy and sad to all the kids walking by "do you have any teeth for me!?"
he was very proud of his costume.
people kept saying they couldn't believe i could get casey to wear this and i kept thinking "uh, you don't know my husband, he loves this stuff!"
casey borrowed his costume from a girl in his dental class, i taped paper teeth onto his "wand"
i sewed pillow cases in the shape of teeth and stuffed them with pillow stuffing, and put my graduation cap to good use.

the (mini) dentist and halloween leaves
i bought a scrub shirt, minimized the whole thing to fit maxson and sewed a tooth onto the pocket

2 bees, a bee keeper, a bear, and a sunflower.
adorable!

doc mcstuffin family
caesar and a witch

pumpkin seeds, 2 pumpkins, and a farmer
pocahontus, john smith, meeko the raccoon

a pilot in his airplane, a flight attendant, and a landing traffic controller.
grandma holding a baby with lord voldermort beside her

unlike last year, there were lots of families and parents who dressed up, not just the kids, which made it so much more fun.
it was a little dreary and cold out but still fun to see everyone dressed up and happy!

ps- a note on halloween. i love halloween, i really do, it's another fun reason to do fun things. what i don't like: kids who trick or treat not in costumes. i SERIOUSLY do not want to give them candy!!!! is that just me?

a fall day in a nebraska town

i was pleasantly suprised that nebraska welcomed me back with red, yellow, and orange leaves! i was afraid that while i was gone nebraska would pass by fall in a heartbeat and little maxson and myself would miss all the fun. alas, not so. yesterday was a beautiful temperature and we found multiple lawns covered in leaf piles to jump into. and even though maxson just wanted put the leaves in his mouth, i think he enjoyed the crunch of the leaves quite much.

HAPPY FALL!

and happy 11 months to maxson today!

ps- and happy birthday brooke! ;)