So cute!

David will be 4 months on Sunday! My little baby is growing up. In fact, I was checking the height and weight limits on our infant car seat; the max height is 29 inches and the max weight is 22 pounds. At Davids 2 month appointment he was 24 inches and 13 pounds (at 3 months he was 16 pounds). So I went ahead and ordered a "big kid" car seat for him. It should be here next week. We'll see what his height and weight are on Oct. 18 and go from there.

David is starting to roll over, so sometimes when I go in to pick him from his crib he is on his back:



We go on walks pretty much daily, on this particular day David was not napping well. As we were coming back from our walk, this is how I found him:



How can you not love that face? That is his "daddy doll." He loves to cuddle with it...and eat it!

We went to a 1,2,3 birthday party tonight. Our Bishop loves babies. Needless to say, I didn't see much of David. At least he was in good hands...or should I say arms?

"I Won't Let My Guard Down" Music Video - Darby Ledbetter - National Gua...

I know this is the second video in just a few days, but I am so proud of Mark and the other men and women who defend our freedom!

Picture of the Week

My mom came for a weekend visit. On Friday we went into St. Louis and met up with Katie for lunch. We ate at Scape & Crepe. It has yummy crepes filled with lunch/sandwich items and dessert crepes! I had the strawberries and cream crepes. They were delicious!



Don't they look so good? If you are ever in the St. Louis area, you should try this place out!

So, David has begun a new thing where he occasionally does not like...no, I take that back, he strongly dislikes being in his car seat while buckled in. He cried the whole way to lunch. Not fun :-( Anyways, it was suppose to be warmer that day, but it was super windy so it was a little chilly. David sat contently on my moms lap.



He is so stinkin cute! I love him! In other news, Similac recalled 5 million cans of their powdered formula. Thursday morning after I fed David, I felt the need to read the news (at 5 am!). I saw the recall and checked my cans. All 4 of mine were part of the recall! Great! Did I mention I had just bought 3 two days earlier? I go up and knock on Katies door and ask her to listen for David while I ran to the store. I drove to Walmart, picked up some liquid Similac and went to check out...I had to wait in line at 5:30 in the morning! I was really surprised at how many people were there! Anyways, I come home and go back to sleep. Later in the day I get a text from Katie stating she wasn't sure what had happened that morning and wasn't sure it was real or a dream :-) I tried to switch David to Enfamil powder but David wasn't having it (he was spitting up lots and just not acting very happy). Poor baby. So now we are back to Similac liquid. I hope they can get their act together and get the powder back on the shelf when it is safe.

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Glaze

On Sunday when my mom was still in town I had her, Amy (& Kennedy), Suzy (& Jayden) over for dinner. I made an Angel Food Cake with a Chocolate Glaze. I didnt have the right type of pan (I need to look into getting a tube pan-who knew there was a specific type of pan for Angel Food Cake?), but it turned really yummy even though it looked like a big chocolate glazed donut. Thank you Katie :-)
Here is the recipe:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 12-I wouldn't use the extra large eggs)
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt.

1. Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375.
2. Mix powdered sugar and flour; set aside. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Beat in granulated sugar, 2 tblspoons at a time, on high speed, adding vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy meringue forms.
3. Sprinkle sugar-flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over meringue, folding in just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. Push batter into ungreased angel food cake pan (tube pan...again, I didn't have one so I used a bundt cake pan.) Cut gently through batter with metal spatula.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until crack feels dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down. Let cool completely. Spread or drizzle top of cake with chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate glaze chips
2 tablespoons margine or butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 to teaspoons hot water

Heat chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate chips are melted; cool slightly. Stir in hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until consistency of thick syrup.

Enjoy!!

A plea for Joelle...and me!

Haha. My friend Joelle is amazing in the kitchen..as well as a great friend (who else would take your 7 week old baby while you were having emergency surgery to remove your appendix?!). When we lived in Rexburg, I could always count on her to have a last minute ingredient and vice versa. I remember one Sunday, Joelle was making some pies, but didn't have some ingredients, but I did. Between her kitchen and mine, we were covered. Good times :-) Anyways, she has the pretty cool baking, cooking website where she posts yummy recipes. If you look to the right, you will see the button and name of the site: In the Kitchen Where I Belong.
So ladies, house wives, mothers, and even some of you men out there, if you are looking for some new recipes that will please the entire family, check it out! And lets be honest, family dinner time is not only important but can be a memory building time :-)

"The Price Of Peace" Tribute to the Troops & Family Music Video "Extende...

To my hero, I love you Mark!

Cute but somewhat awkard

While we were at the Dustins, she insisted that they make us a romantic dinner for our last night together. It was really cute, but they had their daughter and her husband as well as another couple that they knew while they were in the Air Force, over for dinner. So while they were upstairs enjoying dinner, we were downstairs eating by candle light. These guys dont mess around-candle light, roses, sparkling cider and delicious dinner!



The Dustins are really just the sweetest people. She made breakfast every morning-coffee cake, breakfast burritos (mm!), waffles. They are so nice and literally want to do anything they can to make our lives just a little bit better. Thank you for opening your hearts, your family and your home to us. We really appreciate it!

Picture(s) of the week!

I would like to think that I am doing a great job at updating this thing more often, but I guess you can be the judge of that :-)

When David was 3 days old, Mark had to attend a Yellow Ribbon Event (aka pre-deployment meeting). They were given these little dolls with a picture of the soldier inside. I'm not going to lie, it is a little weird looking, but none the less it has a picture of Mark and David seems to enjoy it. He will hold it and literally try to eat. It is so cute!



David also loves bath time! If he is fussing, I will turn the water on (whether it be the bathtub or the kitchen sink, it usually doesn't matter) and will immediately stop crying. Anyways, he is starting to kick his legs and splash in the tub which is so fun! Here is a picture of him chilling in the tub.I just love that facce and cute little buddha belly :-)

Everything in the mouth

So it begins. David has begun rolling over on his side. It is so fun to see him reach little milestones, but at the same time I kind of want him to stay "my baby." The last couple of mornings when I go in and get him out his crib he is either all turned around or on his back. He is all over. He has also begun putting just about anything and everything in his mouth!

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure...


I almost wonder if I should go buy more burp clothes? I have started putting bibs on him which should help.




I love that David is literally a "mini Mark!" It is so cute!

My boys!

I am so proud and grateful for Mark; for his love, his support and his sacrifice that he is making. While in Idaho we attended a "Farewell to the Troops" picnic. I left feeling proud to be an American, grateful for the men and women who give so much to defend my freedom and my family, and especially Mark.

Anyways, there was a reporter there who interviewed us and got a great picture of Mark and David.



This picture just brings a smile to my face as well as tears to my eyes. We love you so much Mark!

For the full article go here, http://www.postregister.com/story.php?accnum=1001-09172010&today=2010-09-17%2000:00:00.

Never A Dull Moment

As most of you know David and I flew out to Idaho to see Mark before he leaves for Camp Shelby and then onto Iraq. It was so great to see him, spend time together, have David and him see each-other, and have Mark enjoying Davids little milestones. However, the getting to and from was not so much fun! I'm warning you now, this is probably going to turn into me venting a little, but after you read, you will understand. Promise.
Ok, going back to last Friday, we get on the plane in St. Louis headed towards Salt Lake. THe lady at the gate was actually really nice. She left the seat open next to me so I could put Davids carseat there. Anyways, if I remember correctly, weather slowed us down and we left about 30ish minutes late. Keep in mind I only had a 45 minute layover in SLC and I had to change my seat because for whatever blessed reason, Delta had me sitting in an "Exit row" with an infant. Well I got to the gate as they were doing final boarding. I switched seats with a nice man, but it wasn't going to work because I was now on the "wrong" side of the plane (the left side apparently only has 2 oxygen masks, where as the right side has 3.) Anyways, the lady at the gate told me I was going to have to switch with someone once I got on the plane. I start walking down and the same man that switched seats with me offered to take my carseat (because David had NO desire to be in), my diaper bag, and David. I told him no thank you, I can do it. Well after we went back and forth on this, he takes the carseat out of my hand and walks downs the longest walk ever to the plane! He really was helpful, some what weird, but helpful none the less. So we get to the plane and he tells the luggage man to make sure this (the car seat) gets on the plane, that I was going to need it once we got to Idaho. I switched seats (more like I sat down and when the lady came to the seat, I told her what was going on, and she was happy to switch with me.) We finally take off. I think we sat on the runway longer than what we were in the air for. David through out all of this was actually really good. He was a little fussy, but theres something about that runway that puts him to sleep :-) We land in Idaho Falls and after some confusion, we finally get to see Mark! Mark was so excited to see us...especially David! It was so fun to see his face (both Mark and David) when they saw each other!
--Small break, we stayed with probably the sweetest, kindest people in Idaho Falls. The Dustin Family. He and Marks dad were at the Air Force academy. Thank you Dustin family for opening your home to us!--
Ok, so the flight back. This is where things really get good. But first, those of you with kids, did you know it is a federal regulation that car seats can be checked...for FREE?!?! I didn't! I have now paid twice with Delta to ($35 each time!) to check it. It wasn't until Thursday when we were coming back that I found out-the man working the ticket counter asked me how many bags I had, 2, my duffle bag and car seat. He said decided to tell me how the car seat isn't charged! Ok, so David and I are sitting in the Idaho Falls Airport patiently waiting for the plane to come. Were waiting. And waiting. Over the intercom, we hear that our plane will be here around 6:20pm...ten minutes after we should be in the air. Well, it finally comes. Everyone from the first flight comes off, we go on, and we wait some more. I sat next to a man who is an Occupational Therapist at EIRMC. He was really excited to sit next to David because he works with kids that have problems, so it was fun for him to see a baby doing everything they should. We finally land in Salt Lake at 7:42pm...my next flight was suppose to leave at 7:53pm. The flight attendant assured me they would wait. So I run. (Im sure Im quite the site to see do this!) I get to the next gate right after the door closed. This really begins the fun :-( I was then told they would get me on the next flight...in the morning! I'm pretty much in teas at this point. They gave me a very nice suite at Country Inn & Suites. I go to the baggage center because I need to get into my bag to get diapers, wipes and formula!!! About an hour and a half/two hours later, I'm told that my bag made it on the flight. (Ugh. How the heck is that even possible?!) They gave me some meal voulchers, paid for the taxi to take me to buy some formula. The taxi driver was somewhat scary. I kept thinking about law and order and bad things that happen. I was tired. Exhausted actually. Hungry. An emotional mess really. (I personally think they should have paid for that, but whatever, Delta will receive a nice little comment from me. On the other hand, another lady that missed the flight (did I mention there were 14 people that missed that flight because their first flight was late?) Anuways, this other lady was upset because her makeup and hair products were in the bag. Hello, get over yourself, you will live. Anyways, I get the formula and go to the hotel. THe pack and play that they had didn't work-the sides wouldn't stay locked. The lady at the front desk couldn't figure it out (and there were 2 other buses that came in after me that were stayin the night due to issues at the airport). She brought me a rollaway, but I was worried that David would roll off, and the mattress was way too soft so I couldn't put David just on that on the floor. I ended up putting him on the pack and play matt at the end of my bed on the floor. Im glad I did that because David was ALL over the place! I woke up to him kind of crying and he was partially under the bed. Another time, he was half way across the room!

The picture is pretty dark, but you can get the idea.



Anyways, he did pretty good during the night. We go down and eat breakfast and get on the shuttle. I get to the airport. Fly through security and wait some more. But this time waiting it wasn't nearly as bad because 1)the plane was there 2)I knew I was going to get home in 2 1/2 short hours! So we're sitting on the plane and this rude lady looks me in the eye and sits behind me and says "Oh crap, you better keep that baby quiet." Who says that? Seriously? I was shocked. I dont want David crying/screaming anymore than the next person! (My mom says I should have pinched David and let the lady have it! If hadnt cause pain to David, I probably would have.) So the flight went pretty well, David fussed for a minute towards the end, but all in all did really well! (Have you had enough? I hope this all makes sense.) My bags really did make it St. Louis and we're there waiting for me :-)

So needless to say, I am so over traveling for a little bit. And if you are still reading, wow! Way to go! I'm really glad we were able to see Mark. You are going to hear that a lot over the next year. We love you Mark and are proud of you!

You know your husband/dad is in the Army when...

...he changes a diaper like this:



Yes fellow bloggers, Mark is wearing his gas mask to change Davids diaper. I am excited for David to begin rice cereal and eventually "real" food but I also fear that he is going to have some pretty stinky diapers. While Mark was just joking about getting his gas mask to change the diaper, I think it was a pretty wise move because that diaper was sick!



We are enjoying our time in Idaho with Mark and are grateful for the time thata we have to spend together as a family. I love my boys and it makes me happy to see Mark and David rebond. It is really fun to see David laughing and smiling with Mark. Just so precious.

Happy 3 Months!

Where has the time gone? No, seriously, where has it gone? Just last month I was having my appendix removed (in case you were thinking about having yours removed, it cost $10,000!), moving to Illinois, preparing for Mark to leave, blessing David, family reunion in Colorado, Mark leaving...It's been busy. But none the less, life is good and we are enjoying being around family here and being closer to mine as well.
David turned 3 months today and unfortunately we both got colds. No fun. It is so sad to see him not feel well and not be able to do much of anything to help him. Despite his little cold, he has still been a pretty happy kid. I just love his little smile and am grateful each day he is in our family here on earth! We love you so much David and I know Dad is excited to see you soon! Happy 3 months little man!

Pictures of the Week

This is for you Joelle. I thought I was doing pretty well at updating this thing. Evidently not. So, to help me update more frequently I will be borrowing an idea from Joelle..."Picture of the Week." By Friday I will have a picture up of something that happened earlier in the week. This will hopefully give me more motivation to write a little excerpt as well :-)

There are 2 pictures today! WOW! They are both of David sleeping. I think they are just so adorable! He is a tummy sleeper and sleeps so much better that way! Only have to get up once a night is so nice!