The Bumbo

Damon loves his Bumbo.  

FULL OF PERSONALITY

Outdoor Symphony

For our work summer party we went to the Deer Valley Summer Outdoor Concert Series.  We went for the Utah Symphony's version of 1812 Overture.  AMAZING!

Swimming with the Gals

Back Yard BBQ

For those of you who know me... know that I love to be outside.  I can't wait for the day when I have my very own backyard.  However, for the time being I'm perfectly OK with using the backyard I share with the rest of my complex.  Even if it's not the normal thing to do ;)

Stepping Stones

Plaster stepping stones with imprints of little fingers and toes are not only adorable, priceless, and something every grandma would love to have.... they are WAY messier than anticipated and definitely not a child friendly craft as it states on the box... but we did have a good time.

4th of July UPDATE

So... I found some more 4th of July pics I thought I'd share.

This is our niece Aeydn and she doesn't actually like fireworks

Damon is an amazing little boy who is so even tempered (most of the time) :)

Such a fun shot... I wish we could say we planned it

Andi and I being... well... Andi and I

THREE MONTHS OLD

Mom's will always tell you that time goes by so fast with kids.  I always thought I knew what they were talking about. However, now I realize how truly fast it zips by without warning.  I cannot believe Damon is already there months old.  I know I'm partial but I have to say he's a pretty darn cute kid.  Darren and I are SO blessed to have him.  We couldn't ask for a better little boy.  He reminds me SO much of his dad... so even tempered, chill, and happy.  I was really lucky to be able to stay home with him for the twelve weeks of my maternity leave.  However, on July 23rd I went back to work and have been working full time ever since.  I have to say being a working mom is harder than I ever though it would be.  I owe my mom HUGE thanks because she worked as we grew up and I never have given her enough credit for all she was able to accomplish.  Since the day I went back to work I feel like everything else got put on hold.  Our poor house is a disaster area, we have laundry piled practically to the ceiling, I'm not sure I remember the last time I made dinner... the list goes on.  Basically I just want to say 'thank you' to all the working moms out there.  It is much tougher than it appears on the outside.  Silly me... I thought I'd be 'Super Mom' and juggle it all.  

However, I am SO grateful for 3 really amazing things...

1st - Grandmas, Grandpas, Neighbors, and Friends who so graciously have come to my rescue to watch Damon while I'm at the office.

2nd - A husband who helps SO much with Damon and around the house.

3rd - An amazing company and boss that I am so privileged to work for.  When I first found out I was pregnant I knew I didn't want to work full time.  I decided to do a very bold thing.  I went into by bosses office and told him I would like to work part time from home in the Marketing Department where I would specialize in doing photography and anything else they needed help with.  Keep in mind I was essentially creating a position for myself that didn't exist.  Well, in this case bold paid off because my wish was granted upon one condition.  I was to come back after Maternity Leave and work full time for 2-4 weeks as I trained my replacement.  - - Now, here I am 2.5 weeks into my work and I have 1.5 to go.  Little did I know they were going to hire the most outstanding person to fill my position... Someone my boss had worked with at a former company for years...  Someone much more qualified than I... Someone that would get along so well with my team... Someone I love more than anyone else in the whole world...

Yes, oddly enough Darren is now going to work at Unicity and I have a sneaking suspicion he is going to love it!  No more 70 hour work weeks for him :)

LIFE IS GOOD!

NAP TIME

Dad and Damon taking a nap.

DAMON'S BLESSING

PEOPLE ARE SO GREAT!

We had Damon's Blessing on the weekend of the 4th and I couldn't believe how many people drove SO far to come support us.  Thanks to everyone :)

Isaac and Trey playing on the tire swing.

Darren's fam... (minus Cory, Kimberly, and Kiara who live in texas).

If my family is looking at this... sorry we didn't think to take a picture with you (we still love ya!)

4th OF JULY

As usual 4th of July was a blast.  We had a BBQ in my Dad and Joni's backyard.  It was great because all the Cedar City folk were up for the event.

Thanks to Curtis for the adorable pics and Joni for the matching child ware :)

DAMON'S OFFICIALLY A CHURCH GOER

This time Damon had somewhere to go when he got all dressed up.  Isn't he cute for his very 1st Sunday at church?  Thanks to Pat and Paula for his cute pin striped overalls :)

I must say Damon did SO good for his first Sunday.  However, we did learn that he DOES NOT like the organ.  He was sitting so perfect and content and the second the organ started he burst into frantic tears (so sad).  After we calmed him down he was doing great until the next unsettling noise.  Let's be honest why do the church buzzers/bells have to be so obnoxious anyway?  Poor kid was so scared when that went off he didn't know what to do.  

But now after several weeks at church those sounds are like old news and he does just fine.

CEDAR CITY ISN'T SO BAD AFTER ALL (take 2)...

We have now officially made our second trip to Cedar City (they place that steals our family members faster than should be legally allowed).  It all started out with Andi moving down there to join her cute husband Curtis.  As if that wasn't bad enough Shawni & Trevor soon followed in their rascally footsteps.  Unfortunately Kyli decided to take the rascally route as well and headed down there for school.  Thanks to her, the majority of our family are official residents of Cedar City, UT... which means... you guessed it... we'll be taking more than just two trips down south.

It really isn't so bad... it's just a little frustrating that it's so far away.  I always thought Andi and I would live close enough to borrow eggs from each other when we got the last minute urge to bake fudge brownies on a Sunday.  Alas, she has chose her husband over the girl with the extra eggs.

Anyway, here are a few photos of the trip. 

Aedyn just loves baby Damon
It's a good thing I know my dad isn't computer literate enough to blog.  He'd probably kill me if he knew I put a picture of him in his pj's on the internet for all to see.  ;)
Aedyn listening French lessons on grandpa's ipod.

SPORTS CENTER W/DAD

So... Darren's introducing sports to Damon at a young age and it looks like he's already loving it.  I get the biggest kick out Damon watching TV with dad.