2 Kids Later....

So since the last post we've added to our growing family, a sweet baby boy named Knoxx. Our two kiddos could not be more different from each other!

This is just before we left for the hospital..Harley woke up at 6:30 while we were getting ready to go, this did NOT make it any easier for me to leave knowing we were not going to be a 1 kid family ever again.

Our precious baby boy, Knoxx Brady

So our birth story (this is more for me, because I never wrote it down!) goes something like this. I was due on May 20th, but Knoxx didn't want to come then, even though he had been causing me a lot of pain for about 2 weeks prior, so on May 22nd we decided it was time to give him his eviction notice. We got to the hospital around 7:30a and got all prepped and ready in the room. We had an awesome nurse who of course had son's that went to high school with Brady (he knows EVERYBODY) so we just hung out for almost 2 hours watching some tv, then my mom got there (after she dropped Harley off at Brady's mom's) and we watched some more tv and my mom and Brady decided to read every name in this lame baby name book that had the stupidest names ever in it. and about 9:10 they broke my water and started the pit, no pain no gain right? So I labored through some contractions, laughing in between and having a dandy time, and then came the tears and the real pain, and my husband stayed in the chair across the room haha about 12 I wanted my epidural ( I was born in this day and age for a reason) It took a little longer than expected because apparently he didn't hear me tell him I had scoliosis so he was fishing around back there (talk about painful) but I knew what the result would be so I pressed on and silently cried (seriously, he didn't know I was crying until he saw my shoulders shaking) so we get that all set up and then it only numbed my left side (buzz kill!!) so I kept telling my nurse and I laid on my right side, and I did this and that, and nothing worked...so my happy drug man came back..and within 20 minutes we had things all figured out...I was ready to get my nap in before I had to push...HA!! within 20min I went from being dialated to a 6 to a 10...(no nap for me)...so my nurse decides we should wait to push until my doctor is in the hospital which was probably like 10min (I was trying to nap)...so they had me get in pushing position..what. a. joke. I couldn't feel ANYTHING! Not even when I was having contractions so Brady and my mom had to literally hold my dead weight legs, and I just did was I thought was efficient pushing haha...all the while my doctor is sitting on the couch talking about his recent trip to Moab and how he went dirtbiking (he was good friends with my happy drug man)...and about 45min later and after I laughed between contractions little baby boy entered this wonderful world. He was 7lbs 5oz and 20.5in He is the sweetest baby boy ever!

I'm a slacker...

Wow it's been 2 1/2 months since I've updated this! Crazy! Life seems to be in fast forward lately (except for the nights that Brady works late). Harley is almost 18months eek!! Where did the time go? She is a crazy kid. She loves music and starts dancing the second she hears any. Her absolute favorites are "Hot dog, hot dog hot diggity dog" (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and Michael Jackson and anything country. She can say, "dog, no(really well), thank you, please, mama, dada and a couple others occasionally. She signs, "more, please, and eat"...and can make the noises for dog, cat, cow, pig, and duck (she needs reminders on all but the dog but she's getting it)...and she knows where her eyes, nose, mouth, and ooga(belly button) are...and she likes to tickle. Also she picked up the nasty habit of hitting..it's quite lovely.Here are some pictures to recap the last couple of months: (They are in backwards order...but still you can enjoy them)

The swing still puts her to sleep...

Endee came to visit and Harley absoutely LOVED her, I've never seen Harley be this nice to any other baby

Best Cousins aka Double Trouble!

We got a new puppy, don't ask me why, I'm still trying to figure it out...and she is still called, Puppy after 2 months of owning her...

Brady pulled Lilly's tooth out...he was so excited about it!

I was babysitting at Brady's brother's house and Harley disappeared into the basement, I wasn't too worried I figured she wanted to play with toys...well she was really quiet for awhile so I decided I should at least make sure the bathroom door was closed down there...she was almost asleep when I went down and I managed to close the bathroom door and go back up the stairs without being noticed...a couple of minutes later she was kind of whining..and I decided I would wait for her to come up the stairs...well she didn't quite make it..

I was cleaning Harley's room up before bedtime, and Brady was out mowing the lawn..when he was done he started talking to Harley through her window so we opened it..and she was SOOO mad that she couldn't be outside with him. As for Hank, he seriously does not leave Harley's side for anything!

Mom's BFF 4 Ever =)

She knows she is cute!

Riding with Daddy in the skidster

She thought putting Dad's work boots on would be fun...
Kind of a long post..but hey I haven't posted for 2 months. Brady is wrapping up landscaping (or so we thought, they could potentially have 2 more jobs after they finish winterizing sprinklers)...which means landscaping will end probably mid November rather than the beginning, it kind of sucks but he has to make money somehow! It's getting cold and I am excited about that...I just wish that when the snow comes it would stay off of the road! Our next family vacation that I am anxiously awaiting is California for Christmas!!! Hallelujah!! It will be so lovely to escape Idaho for a couple of weeks! Oh we also have a quarter of our fence up(don't ask) but the rest is hopefully coming in the spring, and then my neighbors won't have to rescue my dogs all the time, and Harley and her cousins will be free to roam...I hate living on a busy street..someday we won't...someday....Well Harley has been good long enough for me to post this....so until next time...

Summa-time

August hasn't been too eventful, other than I can now put Harley's hair in two piggy tails either on the top of her head or in the back. I LOVE having a little girl!!!

So our "big" anniversary getaway was to Las Vegas 2 weeks ago, so on Sunday we were trying to figure out what we could do to celebrate the day (Brady hadn't been feeling too hot all weekend) so I decided (since it was "my" year) that we should have a picnic, so we packed Harley up, went to Subway and got a sandwich to split(which neither of us hardly touched, since from the beginning of the week with my hospital bout I haven't been feeling too up to eating) and headed up to Kelly's Island. It was the perfect day for a picnic, we ate there and then went for a little drive up Kelly Canyon, then on our way home, Brady surprised me with a trip over to Swan Valley for a square ice cream cone (my favorite!) Harley decided she wanted a Tootsie Pop, so of course we gave her what she wanted! And she was a complete sticky mess!! We had a fun day overall and I'm so glad that I have found my very best friend to spend the rest of eternity with!

Brady enjoying his Mountain Dew

Harley enjoying a strawberry creme filled Twinkie

Mommy enjoying Harley

Martin's Cove

So Brady and I had the most amazing opportunity to go to Martin's Cove as a Ma and Pa with the youth in our ward and we took it! It was extremely difficult to leave Harley behind, but once we got there we were so busy we didn't have time to think about missing our baby girl! She did come with me in picture form in my 5 gallon bucket though =) So we met at the church at 2:30am on June 8th and we loaded our fabulous ward onto a charter bus and we drove, and we drove, and we drove to middle of nowhere, Wyoming aka Martin's Cove. It was the best spiritual experience I have ever had and we had 10 awesome kiddos! We were told the first day that we would pull a handcart 3 miles...ha!! we ended up walking almost 6! Everybody was exhausted from lack of sleep, and it was warm, but our kids pressed on and got the job done! We then headed over to the Willie Handcart Site...and that's where we camped and had a good ol' time with the other Ma's and Pa's. Wednesday we headed out on another 6 mile hike but after some much needed sleep that second day didn't seem nearly as difficult as the first! We went through water which I thought our girls would be hesitant to do but they were just as eager to pull the handcart through the water as the boys, it was so cool to see them all working together. We had the women's pull that day with represents all the men being called off to war and how the women trekked together with the kiddos, my girls again were amazing and didn't complain once (I think I complained more than they did this day!) The following morning we headed out to Rock Creek Hollow which was my favorite stop it was here that 13 people died overnight after walking/pulling handcarts 14 miles in a blizzard some of them children. We were able to see the memorial they had there and then Annika and I walked over this little hill and you could see the actual trail that they had walked on 150+ years before, it was amazing to think of all the trials that they went through just to get to Zion and they remained faithful! We had an awesome time and we would volunteer to do it again in a heartbeat...Harley had fun too with her cousins (mainly Lola) and we were very grateful to the Vest family for taking her for us. That's what we have been up to in our corner of Idaho...Brady is back to work as I type this is it 10:30pm and I still have not seen him yet today..bummer deal but tis the life of a landscaper's wife!

Unfortunately something happened with my camera while we were there, and I only have the last two pictures I took on the trek which were of the memorial and the headstone...sad day. But I'll include a picture of my precious baby girl too for your enjoyment!

Harley turns 1!!!!!!

So my baby girl is 1!!! I cannot believe how fast the last year went by and how much she has learned. She amazes me everyday. She can say, "hi", "uh-oh", "mama" and "dada" as well as play peek a boo and wave bye bye. She is getting a lot more hair and realizing now that she has bows so when we get in the car and go somewhere that is the first thing to go! Her actual birthday was on May 3rd but we celebrated on May 8th because my parents got here on May 5th. So we had a week of celebrations!! I am still trying to convince her that she likes milk instead of formula, but she isn't buying it so far! She can stand up on her own which she started doing the day of her party and if she doesn't want or like something she is sure to let you know! She loves her mama, but when daddy walks through that door after work she only wants him and has big smiles for him!

I am taking 2 online classes this semester and will hopefully get to take a full load of courses this winter when Brady is home. Other than that I try to hang out with friends as much as possible to keep me sane, and I am eagerly awaiting summer so that Harley and I can start our walks again.

Brady is busy landscaping and has big plans for our own yard..if he could just find the time to do it!

My parents are here until Saturday and we have been having so much fun with them. It's always nice to see my own mommy and dad! So now onto the pictures!

There are more pictures of the celebrations on my facebook. Hope you enjoyed these and I hope I don't get more 6 months behind again!

February-April

February brought snow, and lots of it, but we enjoyed as best as we knew how with a 9 month old.

Harley's 1st Valentine's Day


Harley and Hank playing in his dishes


Harley got to enjoy a snowday...except she didn't think she could move in her little snowsuit!

March wasn't a very exciting month, mostly consisted of Brady starting back to landscaping so he was home every couple of days due to the weather, and Harley and I were just hanging out and I was going to school. So not very many pictures were taken.

Harley got to enjoy her own bowl of chocolate pudding one night(it was almost bathtime anyway)


Daddy gave Harley her very own "dork dot", but she didn't really appreciate it

So in April we went to California (Harley and I) along with Joni, Andrew and Lola for the birth of Endee Rogue and just to escape the cold of Idaho. Brady was back to landscaping so we will see him sometime around Thanksgiving =) Harley got to ride in her big girl forward facing seat for the first time and she decided while in California that maybe pulling herself up onto her feet rather than her knees wasn't so bad. She now walks with the help of a walker toy and would rather stand than sit of course! I can't believe how big she is already! Harley also celebrated her first Easter but unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of her in her Easter dress since it was General Conference on Easter she wore her dress the week before, maybe on the next sunny day I will get a picture of her in the dress.

The first time in her big girl seat! She aboslutely loves it.


Harley and I need our sleep, and in the mornings after Daddy gets out of bed is usually our snuggle time


Harley decided to get adventurous and stand on her walker, she doesn't really want to be IN it anymore, but sometimes we still use it to trap her in something! lol


Three sisters with their baby girls.


Harley with her Grammy!!


Baby Endee the whole reason for our trip to California



So that wraps it up for February to April...the next post will show what we just experienced and that was Harley turning 1 and having her first birthday party. Thankfully we all survived =)


This is Harley's "pretty" Grammy made it, and we cannot go ANYWHERE without it..It's our comfort thing and she is so attached to it, thankfully it's cute and little.

Finally a new post! November-January

It has been 6 months since I last posted!! Holy smokes what a slacker I am!! We will give you a run down of what our life has been like the last 6 months. We went to California for Bee's graduation, Rowdy's 1st Birthday and Thanksgiving back in November.


We also had some family pictures taken.

Harley partied a little too hard!

We had our first family trip to the San Diego Zoo

And enjoyed the beach. Where Harley experienced sand for the first time.

Onto December, we enjoyed having Mom and Jay up for Christmas and helping us celebrate Harley's very first Christmas(outside of the womb)

Harley's Christmas dress. (We later realized she was doing that thing with her bottom lip because she was teething)


Harley enjoyed her presents


And so did Brady.

Onto January
What did the new year bring us? Well first off our beloved Baco was stolen 4 days after Christmas...which totally sucked...but at the end of January we welcomed Hank into the family or Hanky Panky as he is commonly called. We love him and Harley loves to chase him around and take his toys.


He is much bigger now.And so is Harley for that matter


This was the first day Harley had enough hair for me to snap a little bow right into her hair, she hated getting her picture taken...but the facial expression cracks me up!


And this was one of her first bubble baths..she loves the bath and would stay in there all day if I would let her!

I will continue with another post of the next 3 months!