Our Little Family

These kids pull at my heart strings...

2012-02-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hangin' with my boy...

2012-01-29T20:42:00.000-08:00

4 Months old

2012-01-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

I love the different look of her cheeks when she

is laying down vs. sitting up...makes me laugh!

Peace out...yo

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

We very much enjoyed this Christmas season! Spencer is old enough now that we had a great time teaching him about the reason for the season. He was very excited about it all. It was also wonderful to have our little Kaitlin with us. We sure love her.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Getting a good picture of either one of these little monkeys is hard enough when they are alone...but to get a good one of them together would be a miracle...here are some of my attempts...

smashing his sister {on accident of course}

He looks away, she tips forward...

She looks so cute...he closes his eyes...

He looks up and she looks down...

Daddy helps out and gets both of their attention...

the camera is blurry...

(doesn't look too bad when it is small)

I give up...

All ready for church

Merry Christmas!

Sweet

2011-12-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait and post these pictures in a few days the the 22nd when Kaitlin turns 3 months old but I just can't wait. I am just in love with this baby. She is the sweetest thing that has ever come into my life. Even Nate will say just about every other day..."she is just such a sweet heart!". When she looks at me and smiles it just melts my heart. I am so grateful for her.

{I know there are a lot of pictures but I love them
all so much I couldn't pick just a few. Enjoy. }

My fave...

{I dare you to look at this and not smile!}

{see...you smiled...I know you did}

Do they look alike?

2011-12-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Oh Christmas Tree...

2011-12-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

Kaitlin

Spencer

This is how Kaitlin felt about having a picture together...

Faces

2011-12-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

I love the faces this kids makes!

She has some good ones too!

Spencer was so excited to put up the Christmas tree and decorations!

Now if I could just get him to stay still for a picture...

Can you see the lights reflected in her eyes?

She has the sweetest face that melts me!

This is what Spencer's face looked like when

he was done with dinner the other night.

I sure love these faces.

I am so grateful to be able to take pictures of these

daring little faces as they grow so I can remember them!

Kaitlin's Blessing Day

2011-11-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

Nate gave Kaitlin a name and a blessing in our ward on Sunday. It was so special. I felt the Spirit as he blessed her. He said in the blessing that Heavenly Father had blessed her with a kind heart and faith. He said as she kept the commandments she would be an example of virtue and goodness. I just felt so strongly of what a sweet little girl she is and I feel so grateful that she has been added to our family.

4 Louises

Louise Later (My Dad's mom)

Louise Later (My Mom)

Tami Louise Higbee

Kaitlin Louise Higbee

Kaitlin's blessing dress is very special to me. While I was on my mission I taught an amazing lady named Mirna. she made beautiful crocheted dressed for little girls. I bought this from her with the hope of one day being able to use it for a little daughter's blessing dress. Now, nearly 7 years later, that dream has come true!

Yahoo!

BIG BROTHER little sister

2011-11-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

I make these shirts for the kids

Poor thing...she lost most of her hair on top...

She will be 6 weeks tomorrow!

One Month old

2011-10-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Kaitlin is one month old today.

LOVE this girls so much!

We are all doing better with the adjustment.

Our days are crazy and our nights are sometimes long

but we are happy and healthy and glad to be a family :)

Kaitlin's first bath

More pictures

2011-10-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

I know I may be a little bias but this girl is just ADORABLE!

I can't get enough of her!

A little smile to melt my heart...

Just a few pictures...

2011-10-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

The proud brother...he has been so sweet with her (mostly...)

Our little Family

He may be cute but boy has this adjustment been hard on him.

What do people do with out their mommies?

I have the best mom in the world!

This is what she wore today...for about 5 minutes that is.

Then she spit up all over it :)

Kaitlin's birth day story

2011-09-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, both of my kids (I have KIDS...weird!) are sleeping right now and I finally have a minute to write about how the birth went for those of you who care to know. I woke up Thursday morning with a strong contraction. I got up and used the bathroom and then tied to lay down and go back to sleep. Sleep wouldn't come but the contractions did about every 8 minutes apart. I tried to relax but I felt so excited. However I wasn't quite convinced this was the real deal yet.

Finally around 5:00 I was pretty sure that I was in labor. I decided I wanted to try some different positions and so I went out into the living room so I wouldn't wake up Nate. I wanted him to get as much sleep as he could. I made myself some toast and ate that in between contractions. It seemed like my contraction were coming every 3-4 minutes. Each time I felt a contraction I would drop down on my hands and knees and breath through it.

I laid back down on the couch to see if I could really relax some more and the contractions slowed down to 10 minutes apart. Around 6:15, Spencer woke up crying. That woke Nate up and he came out to see what was going on and I told him that I thought I was in labor. I told him that the contractions were 10 minutes apart and that I thought we had lots of time before we need to start making phone calls and head for the Hospital. He helped Spencer get ready and I ran in to the bathroom because I thought I was going to lose my toast! I didn't actually throw up but I did notice that I was bleeding a little. I knew this was a good sign of progression and so I yelled out to Nate that it was time to start calling people!

We headed for the hospital around 7:30 and got there about 7:45. I kept wondering if we were leaving too soon but felt like it was the right thing to do.. The first part of the car rid wasn't too bad but the last part was so hard! I felt like I was having one big contraction that would not let up! I said I better be in transition because I am so done with this!! A few minutes before we got there I also felt the urge to push! I was so glad to get out of the car!

We got there and they checked me. I was at a 10! I was so surprised. All the nurses started scrabbling around. They said as soon as my water broke I was going to have the baby right away. They even called in an on call doctor to be there until my midwife could arrive. But I actually didn't have the baby until 2 hours after being at the hospital! It took 2 hours to push that baby out! But she did come out and she was beautiful and perfect as can be! She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz!

After the birth was the hardest part and actually quite traumatic for me. I will spare you the details and sum it up by saying, I lost a lot of blood, tore really bad (a strange tear that every kept saying they had never seen before) and ended up having to go into surgery and get a spinal so they could stitch me up...not fun. I also ended up getting a blood transfusion. Wow. All a small price to pay for a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

Spencer's fist time seeing "baby sister"

My parents with my KIDS!

What a great daddy! I sure love Nate!

Our sweetie

2011-09-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Introducing:

Kaitlin Louise Higbee

Birthday September 22

9:44 am

7 lbs 11 oz

Beautiful as can be

More details to come

(and millions of more pictures)

40 Weeks

2011-09-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I am 40 weeks today. Hopefully this is the last

belly shot that you will have to see of me for a LONG time!

I woke up this morning feeling really good and excited that it is my "due date". I know that it can't be long now until we get to hold that little one in our arms! I know she will come when she is ready and for now I feel content to just wait for her.

My little helper in all that I do.

Spencer loves to help me cook. Today we were making muffins and while I turned for a second to get something out of the fridge, he cracked the egg into the bowl all by himself. I rushed over to see what the damage was but he actually did a really good job. A little bit got on his hands but it all got into the bowl. I was quite surprised!

Hopefully my next post will be one with a new baby sister on it!

A Few Birthday Pictures

2011-09-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day we had a joint Birthday party with my family

for Spencer and his cousin Dalin.

This is the little cake that I made for them.

Spencer was crazy about the tractors on top and didn't

care too much about the cake.

Cousin Dalin...what a cuttie!!

We also had a little party for Spencer with Nate's family.

He was really excited about this cake!

I love that little face!

Happy Birthday Spencer

2011-09-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Guess who turned 2 today?!
I can't believe that my little baby is not my little baby anymore.
He can be the cutest, most adorable little guy one minute
and the most grumpy, crazy little boy the next.

Couldn't love him more.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Here are some pictures from a few recent photo shoots we did :)

Here are some things that Spencer really likes right now.

(I totally stole this idea from a friend...thanks Jannelle!)

Spencer is a very strong willed little guy who know what he wants!

He can say a pray for the food all by himself!

He can count to 10 (but usually skips 5 and 6:)

He knows most of his shapes and colors.

He can sing most of the alphabet and can recognize quite a few letters.

He knows quite a few songs and loves to sing!

He is starting to really crack us up and surprise us with the funny things he says and does. Watching him learn and grow has been the most rewarding experience of my life so far. I sure love to be this little boy's Mommy. I am thank for for all he teaches me and for all he is helping me to become. He has showed me how to love like I didn't know I could.

Backyard Treasures

2011-08-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This is a really random post, feel no obligation to read.

So we have lived in our house now for 4 years! I think that is the longest I have lived in any one house my whole life. We love it here. We love our neighbors and our house and living so close to the beautiful mountains. We love the small town feel but not too small :) We have little to complain about.

We do have have something...strange going on in our backyard...

Our backyard has a gate that connects right up to a

community/neighborhood park.

We like that. It is mostly a fun thing.

Somehow, the strangest items keep finding their way into our back yard...

Are they being thrown over the fence from kids/teens who are at the park?

Are our side neighbor kids "accidentally" throwing them over?

Did the wind blow these things in?

Are they walking in by themselves?

I don't really know...

But I do wonder about it.

It doesn't really bother me...I think it is kind of funny.

But I do wonder about it.

So, for example...

Here are a few things that I took pictures of a few minutes ago:

A nice orange cup

A butter knife

A Lego

A Pink Balloon

A clear plastic cup

We also had one, small, brown flip flop our there for a while

but I can't see it anymore...Rude! I really wanted a picture of that.

How did it leave? Where did it go? I don't really know...

(no of course I don't actually just clean up these items when they appear in my back yard...

I wait for them to disappear on their own...they always do)

We have had a plethora of strange little toys,

lots of plastic bags, news papers, balls...

But this last one that I just found yesterday really takes the cake.

It sure took me by surprise...

Can you tell what it is? Well, I don't really know for sure what it is.

A trash can with a face on it...

(It reminds me of stories I have have heard about moms who collect their little kids toys at the end of the day that the kids didn't clean up when they were told to...I am totally going to do that)

So, how did it get in our backyard?

I really would like to know.

(Maybe the little kid got tire of his mom taking his toys so he hid it in our yard?)

I need to set up a servalence camera back there.

So, dear neighbors, if any of these objects, toys or trash cans are yours, feel free to walk right in out our backyard and claim them.

Thank you for your feedback and ideas on how these objects got in our yard.

2011-08-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

If heart burn is really an indicator of how much

hair your baby will come out with,

this is what my baby is going to look like...

A little update...

2011-08-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

We are all still alive and well here in the Higbee home.

I am now 34 weeks along.

Here is the latest picture for your viewing delight.

Spencer boy is growing up so fast! He will be 2 in only a month!

I feel just a little sad about him turning 2 for some reason but also excited.

Months ago, I remember thinking that after his birthday our little girl would be coming soon! And that isn't too far away now :) I feel nervous and excited for our little one to come.

There will be a lot of changes but also much love and fun.

4th of July fun!

2011-07-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 4th of July in Layton again this year. We got to spend some time with both of our families. We went to the Layton parade in the morning with my family. Spencer wasn't too interested in the parade we had in our little town about a month ago but he was glued to this parade. Maybe because they were giving out candy :)

I finally got him to look at me for about 2 seconds so I could get a picture.

Some of my fam

Too close...a little too close

That's better. Aren't we cute?!

Spencer, enjoying the taffy at the parade.

Our little family!

Spencer had a great time playing at the park all day!

He LOVED the fire works. You would think that by 10:00 at night he would crash on my lap and fall asleep but he was as hyper as ever. He loved it all. He is still talking about the fire works and how they go "bomb up in the clouds"! Love that boy.

My Child the Hitter (and not with a bat)

2011-07-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

My sweet little, darling, innocent, wonderful child is a hitter! Yep, every time we get together with friends, he hits them (oh and pushes and takes toys out of kid's hands too)...I know, he is only 22 months, this is a stage, he doesn't mean to do anything wrong...I know. I know. But still...he is hitting other kids...sometimes me and Nate. What do I do? How do I teach him that is not okay? Soon kids everywhere will run and hide when they see him coming...The child will have no more friends. I just want my kids to be perfect and that's all. Now, really, is that asking too much...sigh...

My little smarty

2011-06-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

So the other day I was changing Spencer's diaper as I was getting him ready to take a nap. I always sing him 2-3 songs as I am putting him down for a nap. I have done this for a long time now. As I started singing a primary song to him, "I love to read the Holy Scriptures" he started to sing a long with me and fill in words if I stopped singing for a minute. I was shocked and amazed! This is something he had never done before. I had no idea that he had actually been listening to the words of these songs and remembering them! So we tried "I am a Child of God". Again I was amazed that he knew many of the words to the song!! We tied song after song and I was so touched to hear my sweet little boy sing the words to these precious primary songs that I have been singing him since he was born. I have underestimated his abilities. Now we sing the songs together each day. I love to hear him say "one more song" or sing...sing!! What a sweet boy I have been blessed with. He brings so much joy into my life, more that I have ever felt before. I love to see him grow and learn. I love to be his mommy!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2011-06-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's been 4 long years since Nate and I tied the knot...

They have been some of the best years of my life.

I am so grateful for my wonderful husband, for a happy, healthy

little boy who likes to get into everything, and for a little girl on the way!

What blessings!!

To celebrate the anniversary of our family beginnings
we went to the park for a picnic dinner.

(Thank you kind lady that walked by at just the right time to take a picture)

Not very flattering, but there you have it,

the happy couple.

Then we headed to Jamba Juice for a yummy treat.

Spencer is in love.

All the way home he was saying over and over

"Jambie Juice... I like it..."

Just a few new pictures and things...

2011-05-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 22 weeks.

This was last week, I am 23 weeks today...

just in case you wondered.

Did you remember I am having a girl?

I am kind of excited about that :)

This boy sure makes me happy...

when he is not driving me crazy :)

Over the weekend I went to my friend Brooke's baby shower.

She was my very best friend for a while in Jr. High and High School.

We are due only 5 days apart.

I don't know why, but this made me so happy...

This was a Macey's in...Clearfield I think.

We also got to go to a play over the weekend that my niece and twin nephews were in. My sister (their mom) directed it. It was very well done and I was so proud of all four of them.

My sisters and me

A cute boy I know

2011-05-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

I love to see the Temple

2011-05-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Last week, Nate's brother got married to a wonderful girl in the
Salt Lake Temple. We had a fun, but long day.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.
I was in totally bliss with all the amazing flowers on Temple square!!
But boy was it cold!

p.s. did you see my last post? I don't think people realize

just how excited I am about having a GIRL!

It's a...

2011-05-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!
I am in such shock, I can't even tell you!
I was so sure this baby was a boy...I just "felt" it.
Well we had our 20 week ultrasound today and boy was I wrong,
and I am very happy to be wrong in this case!
I won't even try to guess with the next one
(and we are not ready to think about that yet ;)
We are so excited. I can't stop smiling!
Now if we can agree on a name it will be a miracle!
Watch out pink and frilly...here I come!!

Easter "eggies" hunt

2011-04-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg hunt at Nate's work. Spencer likes to call them "eggies". It wasn't much of a hunt. They had great big boxes of candy and they would just throw it all out on the lawn and the kids would run out and get as much as they could as fast as they could. Spencer was in the 1-3 age group. Nate went out with him and helped him get some candy ~~for us~~.

Spencer was pretty mad he could just eat the candy as he picked it up.

He couldn't understand why we wanted

him to put it in his basket and try to get more.

This candy wasn't just little suckers and bubble gum either.

Well they did have little things but lots of it was full size and king size candy

bars, bags of skittles, etc. This was good stuff.

We Spencer got a lot of candy!!

(We are finally starting to see the pay offs for having kids.

Tomorrow we are teaching him to mow the lawn ;)

He was so sweet to share his king size candy

bars with this 6 month old stranger.

What a good sharer!

Say cheese...I mean tootsie roll.

(not sure why the picture quality looks so poor??)

Dear Savers...I love you!

2011-04-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

So last night for FHE our little family headed over to Savers after going to my 16 week check up (info on that to follow). I made a steal on maternity cloths!! I have looked at the DI (and I also love you DI, just not for maternity cloths) and there was nothing!! Well nothing from the last two decades at least. Then I went to Savers and it was a jack pot! I got 8 shirts, 4 pairs of pants and one skirt! Guess how much all of that would have cost me new had I purchased them from the stores they originally came from? Well I don't really know for sure, but I am guessing I would have spent some where between $300 - $400. But I got it all for around $60. And they are really cute things too! I am comfortable again and can breath when I sit down :) It feel so good to be ~~cheap~~ frugal! Okay, I just had to tell someone about that.

My 16 week check up went good. It went fast. We heard the heart beat (a musical sound :) they measured me, weighed me, asked me few questions and that was that. I wondered if the visit was even really necessary. But there ya have it.

So at 16 weeks I am feeling much better for the most part. I still feel really sick if I don't eat every 1-2 hours but now eating actually helps me feel "normal" again instead of just helping me not to throw up. The past week or 2 I have been feeling sick at night right before I go to bed even though I just ate...but then I just go to bed and I am okay. My back is starting to hurt more and I get some weird pains from time to time. And why, may I ask, do my hips feel so raw and sore at night? I usually always sleep on my side...why do they hurt more than usual now? Anyone know? Well, I am happy to be pregnant, even with all it's discomforts.

I have given some thought to waiting until the baby is born to find out the gender. I honestly feel very neutral on the gender so it would be kind of fun. I would love a boy so that I could have two little boys close in age to be buddies (I actually am pretty sure it is a boy...I just have a feeling. I could be totally wrong). But a girl would be great too. Hair bows, dresses, etc...I would love it. BUT in the end I think we will find out at the 20 week ultra sound because I think we will need the 20+ weeks for Nate and I to agree on a name! We have such a hard time agreeing on names. I think Spencer is the only name, boy or girl, that both of use really loved and agreed on. I don't know how we will pick a name for baby # 2.

Well, this post turned out to be longer than I thought it would be. Thanks for letting me ramble on and thank you all for your kind comments and congratulations. Getting a comment is very happy-making for me!

Have a great Spring Day. Don't you just love April?! I sure do!!

{Pretend this post has some really great pictures added to it...

Thanks.}

September 2011

2011-03-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

14 Weeks

Nate thinks I am really gross for posting a picture

of the stick I peed on... sorry if that offends anyone :/

2011-03-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

My very talente sister has an etsy shop where she sells some awesome hand made crocheted and knitted items. You should go check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/fivelittlemonkeys05

A few pictures

2011-03-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

I follow a photography blog that gives tips once a week on how to

improve your photography and other ideas dealing with photography.

Last week she said you should take pictures that tell a story.

So, I gave it a try.

Here is a story that has been happening a lot at our house lately.

Enjoy

I am glad that I can laugh about this now...

And we did get one smile out of all those pictures,

but it has terrible exposure :(

Happy Half Birthday

2011-03-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

Spencer is 1 1/2 today!!! Holy Cow!

He is pretty much the smartest 18 month old in the world...

(or close to it I think :)

He can:

Count to three

Do puzzles like a pro

Knows most animal sounds and body parts

Get into anything

Figure out how to turn anything on or off

Figure out how to open or break anything

Climb onto everything

and a bunch of other really smart things that I can think of right now.

He has started to attach to things now.

When he goes to sleep he has to have his cup of water,

his little blanky and his dog, Scout.

(Well super, while looking up a link for Scout,

I found out there is a recall. Just what you like to hear)

He is getting his 13th tooth.

He is waking up around 6:30 every morning

That = grumpy :(

(Spenc and mommy)

He does takes great naps

(she typed as her said child started waking up from a short nap)

He loves nursery!!!

Funny side note. I have been waiting and waiting for the day he was 18 months so that he could go to nursery. I mean I have been counting down since he was like 3 months old. Now that he is able to go I am all worried that he will miss me and need me. I feel all worried to leave him. But the good news is, he did just fine last Sunday.
Didn't even miss me...that is a good thing, right?

He is so busy and full of energy.

Sitting still is a rare happening with him.

He loves to be moving and doing.

If I lay on the floor I know I better be ready to be jumped on.

He is testing limits like never before.

He looks at me with a sneaky grin when

he is going something he knows he shouldn't.

Good think I am a darn patient woman.

Or something like that.

I am going to have to add pictures later
because he really is waking up from a short nap.

I was hoping that since we got up at 6:20
this morning he would take a longer nap.

Oh well.

Happy Half Birthday little guy.

We sure love you!

2011-03-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss. What an inspirational guy...

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!

I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go.

http://quotations.about.com/od/bookquotes/a/seuss1.htm

17 Months

2011-02-15T12:30:00.000-08:00

My little "baby" is growing so fast. Everyday I look at him in amazement to think that he is ours forever. I love the way his eyes light up when he gets to turn the lights on and off or pushes buttons on the microwave. I love the way he says "mommy" like I belong to him. I love how excited he gets when hear or sees trucks and doggies. I love when he helps me count to three. I love when he says "awesome". I love when I sing to him and he lays his little head on my shoulder and pats my back. He can be a little stinker but (can't we all :) I love every part of him more than I ever thought possible. I am so grateful for my little guy. He brings me so much joy!

Here are a few recent pictures. Yes, I know he is in the same (adorable) cloths from my last post but I promise it is a different day. These are some pictures I took while we were at my parents house on a little red chair that my mom got when she was one.

Enjoy.

Spencer

2011-01-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen anything more adorable in your life?!

Spencer just turned 16 months old a few days ago.

One of my favorite things that he has started doing is saying "thank you"

when he hands me something. He will get a can from the pantry and hand it to

me and then say "thank you". Or he will unload the dishwasher with me and

say "thank you" every time he hands me a plate. He also takes all the CDs out of the

entertainment center one by one...thanking me all the time as he hands them to me :)

It is pretty darn cute.

We are counting the days till nursery!!

Only 2 months...I think I can make it.

Happy Holidays

2011-01-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I know that all of you have been waiting so anxiously for me to finally post about our Holiday season. Well wait no more! Here is is:

We spent Christmas Eve with my family.

We had a yummy dinner at my Grandparent's house.

Then we did a little nativity.

I was the donkey...not sure how that happened.

{Luckily there were no pictures of that}

Spencer was a pretty cute little shepherd!

He stayed still and quite the whole time as pictured below :)

All in attendance:

Grandpa & ma

My sister, her husband and kids

My ma

And pa

And our little family

Spencer was pretty happy about that picture too!

We missed my other sister and her family who

didn't come because of a sick kid :(

It seems like someone always gets sick.

We spent Christmas morning together at our house.

Besides starting a little too early, it was a very nice morning.

Spencer with his gifts

We got most of these gifts at our neighborhood exchange for free.

He didn't really care about most of them.

That is why I am so glad we didn't spend a lot of money on him!

Our cutest and bestest gift:

The rest of the day we spent with Nate's family.

Sorry, no pictures.

My Mom came to stay with me for several days in between Christmas and New Years.

I LOVE having her come stay with us. She is one of the best people I know.

She helps out with Spencer and cooks and cleans. She is the best!

We had a great time watching a chick flik,

shoping, talking and just being together.

New Years Eve was going to be this great party at our house but again,

there we sick kids and it ended up being my parents and Nate's parents.

It was a little awkward but ended up being pretty fun.

New years day we did have a litlte party at our house.

My parents were there and one of my sisters and her family.

That was a fun day! I didn't take many pictures of that day either.

But I did get a cute one of my little Dalin!

Happy 2011!!

Gingerbread Waffles

2010-12-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Last year, when we got together with my husbands family for Christmas, they made these very yummy waffles. I made them again this morning for a few friends that came over for breakfast and I was reminded why I love them so much...I don't have a fancy picture or anything like that but I will give you the recipe. They are pretty darn good. Truth be told they are more like a dessert than a breakfast food.
Maybe that is why I love them so much :)

Gingerbread Waffles

1 C. Molasses

½ C. Butter

1 ½ tsp. Baking soda

1 ½ C. Milk

1 Egg

2 C. Flour

1 ½ tsp. Ginger

1 tsp. Cinnamon

½ tsp. Salt

1. Heat molasses and butter in a sauce pan till almost boiling.
Remove from heat and cool slightly.

2. Stir in baking soda, milk and egg.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt.

4. Add mixtures together.

5. Cook in a waffle iron.

6. Top with desired toppings
(i.e. fresh whipped cream, pie filling, syrup, pudding, etc.).

7. Enjoy!

Spencer

2010-12-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to do an update on Spencer for a while now and I was planning on doing it on the 9th when he turned 15 months but we were sick again! S.I.C.K. I will spare you the details and just say that I am better now and all caught up on laundry but that's about it.
On with Spencer...

This kid is getting harder and harder to take pictures of, but that doesn't mean I don't try. I just love that smile of his. He lights up my world!

He is (mostly)sleeping through the night

He will still eat almost anything

(sometimes I have to work at the green veggies)

He is saying a lot of words.

Here are some of that ones he says the best:

Daddy!

Tractor

Cheese

Lights

Cracker

Door

Diaper

Please

I love to hear him talk!!

He gets into EVERYTHING!!

We went into do tithing settlement with the Bishop the other day and he was into everything in there. First he pulled down all the ties the Bishop had hanging up on hooks on his door. Then he worked on clearing everything within reach off the desk. Then it was the paper shredder. Then the garbage...Can't you just sit still child!! No...the answer is no.

He now has 9 teeth and luckily doesn't bit anymore.

I think he understands most of what we say to him.

I can't believe how fast he is learning!

He is really good at fitting shaped blocks into their places.

He loves to wear his shoes! Today he wanted me to put one of his shoes on. I did and then asked him to find his other shoe. I kept on folding laundry and forgot about the other shoe. Next thing I know I see the kid with two shoes on. Either I had a brain fart (highly possible) and forgot that I put the other one on or he put it on himself! I asked him if he did but he didn't answer (weird huh?). But I think he put his shoe on all my himself! Wow...my kid is amazing!

Although he won't say "mommy" very often. I think he does love me quite a bit. He cries when I leave the house or even the room that he is in. Sometimes when he is playing he will run back over to me and say "hi" a bunch of times and give me a big hug...ya, my heart melts again!

He is a pretty happy kid (except when I am trying to make dinner) most of the time and we sure love our Spencer boy.

Well, I really could go on and on about all that he is learning and doing but he just woke up from a nap so I guess I better go get the kid.

lol

2010-12-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

This is making me laugh so hard I just had so share it...

If you have a minute check out this book called

Awkward Family Photos

You can use the arrows or scroll down

to preview some of the pages in the book.

Maybe you won't think it is as funny as I do

but I am crying from laughing so hard!

Hope you enjoy.

This melts my heart...

2010-12-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

Well I was going to post some pictures from Thanksgiving and then I remembered that I didn't take any. Nope, not a one...sad huh? But to make up for it I have already taken several for Christmas time...

(Can you see me..4 times?)

Spencer trying to put his shoes on...so cute!

So I really like this picture that I took last year...

and I wanted to try and get another just like it....ha ha ha!

This is what I got...

And this...

And finally...

Close enough :)

My how time flies...and how HE flies

And just for fun.

And just because I decided that there are far too

few pictures of me and the little guy together.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I got an award!

2010-11-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

Am I cool or what?! My phtograph blog got an award. Check it out here, especailly if you want to know 7 randome things about me :)

Birthday Party

2010-11-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

This isn't really a great photo shoot...or a photo shoot at all. I just need a way to get these pictures that I took to my sister...

Halloween Fun

2010-11-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty fun Halloween this year. It started out with double (because there was pumpkin in them and they look like pumpkins :) pumpkin pancakes. I hope to make a family tradition. They were yummy!

Then we headed up to my parent's house where we

had a Halloween party with the family.

We had some good food and played some games.

The kids had some great costumes. I know most of you don't care to see all my family in costume but this is mostly for my brother and sister in law. I took these pictures with them in mind so they could see everyone even though they weren't able to be there.

**Spence's costume is at the end! So keep scrolling down,

you won't want to miss it!!**

These two dress up as twins :)

AND NOW...

Presenting.....

Captain Thunder Pants!

Just so you know Spencer won the "cutest kids costume" at our ward party.

I was just a little proud!

I mad the costume using my new silhouette machine. It was Nate's idea for him to be captain thunder pants. I was unsure about it because I wasn't sure if it was...appropriate. But everyone I asked seem to think it was a good idea. When my mom said she thought it was a good idea, I finally gave in.

And yet another...

2010-10-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sweet angel...see more here

Another photo shoot

2010-10-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Check out more pictures of these cutties here.

Little Miss M

2010-10-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

I did a fun photo shoot a few days ago.

Check out my other blog if you want to see more.

p.s. I am still offering FREE photo shoots to

anyone willing to let me practise on them :)

Conference Weekend

2010-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

We spent time with my family over conference weekend (did you know there is a new web site for general conference?). It was wonderful to be with family and as always, conference was wonderful! Prayers were answered for me again right in the first talk! I know Heavenly Father loves me. Little ol' me! He knows and loves us all. Isn't it great to know that! What a comfort and blessing.

I also got some cute pictures of my little guy amongst all the pumpkins my parents have!

Spencer with my dad, Grandpa Later.

I love this little guy!

Family Trip

2010-09-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Our little family was able to go to Logan for a few days last week.

Logan is one of my favorite places to visit because it was my home for

about 5 years while I was going to school.

And the place where Nate and I met and feel in love.

We are so lucky that my Grandparents have a cabin

up Logan Canyonand we were able to stay there.

We had such a great time.

Among other things, we went swimming, watched movies,

pigged out on good food, went shopping, had dinner with some good friends,

and roasted a big fat marshmallow (which makes me really happy!).

We went on a beautiful walk on a nice flat trail.

I was a little disappointed that the leaves were still in the

very beginning stages of changing colors.

It was still very beautiful but not the

WOW I was hoping for if you know what I mean.

We walked around Utah State campus and reminisced.

Future Aggie!!

A good time was had by all. Can't wait to go back!

One year old photo shoot

2010-09-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take some pictures outside on Spencer's Birthday but it was raining. So we did it the day after. I just haven't been able to post them until today. He is so dang cute. I just love my little guy!

Oooo...Wow! (that is what he was saying here :)

Birthday Boy

2010-09-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

I tried to make Spencer's Birthday special but there is only so much you can do for a one year old (I have a one year old!) because he has no idea what is going on. I made him a special birthday shirt and hat. He HATED the hat and wouldn't keep it on so I have no pictures of that. I also made him a birthday banner. We got him a few fun little gifts. He thought they all tasted great! We had some pie and ice cream (he told me that's what he wanted ;) We went on a walk together and he loved that! That's pretty much it.

Tasting his new magnetic numbers...yummy!

We got him these foam letters from the DI for $6!!

He loves these little cars that Nate picked out for him!

Did I tell you my baby is walking!!

Talk about melting my heart! It is so cute!

What a year it has been! We love our little guy and are so happy to have him in our family!

Well, I would say more but he just woke up from a VERY short nap and I really should go get him.

My baby is {ONE}

2010-09-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that my little guy is one today!

We had a little birthday party for him when all of my family was together on Sunday. I made this cake for him. Again, not from a magazine but I am okay with that.

So was Spencer.

My little monkey

I will post more pictures from his Birthday later.

2010-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I had a blast taking pictures of my new little nephew yesterday.

If you are interested you can see more on my other blog.

Builders of Nations

2010-09-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sisters, you are an essential part of our Heavenly Father's plan for eternal happiness; you are endowed with a divine birthright. You are the real builders of nations wherever you live. Because stong homes of love and peace will bring security to any nation."
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Baby Dalin

2010-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

I have a nephew! He came unexpectedly on August 27th...3 weeks early! I was able to be at his birth and take some pictures of the goings on. It was amazing. If you count Spencer's birth, this was the 8th birth I have witnessed. It never gets old. Every time it is the most amazing miracle and a witness to me of our loving Heavenly Father's plan for his children.

Me and my sister!

Family Fun

2010-08-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

We got to spend time with both both our this weekend. We spent Friday with my family in Layton and then we spent the day with Nate's family on Saturday. We had a great time. Here are some fun pictures I took.

Later Family

My dad made this little pool in his back yard.

They kids LOVE to play in it!

Spencer had a blast!

(Yes, that is a rock he is trying to eat...)

We were missing a few family members that day :(

Higbee Family

Spencer and Daddy playing.

All the Higbee Family

This is Nate with his siblings and parents.

Nate's little brother just got home from his mission this last

week and so this was the first time the family

had been all together again for a few years.

11 Months old!

2010-08-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Somehow it is the 9th again and Spencer is 11 months old.

Don't ask me how that happened...

Here are a few things that our little guys is doing:

He likes to sit at the top of the stairs and drop toys off and see what happens :)

We need a caution sign on our stairs :)

He loves to eat and taste everything.

Here is is ripping some cardboard off his fort...

And here he is eating it...

(kind of a freaky picture, I know but

I thought it was so funny that I got it by accident).

He loves to sit and read his books

(and eat them from time to time as well).

He has created a new hands free method of eating :)

And of course, some pictures just for fun...

Tasting a leaf...

Tasting the bench...

And we are SO done!

This was gona be the perfect picture.

Maybe another day.

I think I can see his stomach through there...

Spencer's room

2010-08-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a remodel for Spencer's room for quite some time now. I am pretty happy with how things turned out so far. Nate thinks is was silly to worry about what his room looked like and kept telling me that Spencer didn't care if it looked nice or not. Let's be honest...I did this for me! I love to make a space look nice. It just feels good. Mind you this is nothing from a magazine but I'm okay with that. I still have a few things that need to be finished but I am not sure when that will happen so I decided to just go a head a post what I have done. I did it all for about $20 - 25.

I made the curtains out of a sheet and lined it with dark fabric to block out the light.

I refinished some pillows that we already had.

I got these frames form the DI for $1.50 each.

I found this sweet poem and loved it! I just used foam board and scrapbook paper.

I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs and just made it my own way.

Ta-da!

Look what I can do...

2010-07-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

{10 Months old!!}

2010-07-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry if any of you are getting tired of these month by month updates about Spencer.

But it's my blog..and my world revolves around Spencer...so there.

Spencer is picking up new skills all the time and he continues to amaze me!

He is starting to be able to watch me do something and then try to imitate it.

For example he will try to comb his hair with the brush, put a spoon in a bowl, etc.

{It just confirms he really is the smartest baby in the world! I knew it!}

He finally is crawling a little but prefers to scoot still and can really get up some speed.

Especially when the fridge door opens...wow. I never see him move faster :)

He is into EVERYTHING!!

Sleep...not so good

Will eat ANYTHING he sees

24.5 lbs

29ish inches

Couldn't love him more

And now, for your viewing pleasure:

p.s. I am SO proud of myself for figuring out how to get this video

from my iPod to the blog.

Don't ask me how I did it and I don't know if I will be able to figure it out again.

4th of July fun...or 5th of July I guess.

2010-07-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Independence day Nate, Spencer and I went up to Layton to be with both our families. We had lunch with Nate's family and spent the rest of the day with my family at Layton park. A good time was had by all! However we all really missed my brother, his wife and their 2 boys!

WARNING: There are a lot of pictures below. I was the only one with a camera so I took a lot of pictures (witch I probably would have done anyways :) and I need to share/show them to the fam.

Ask A.

What they were laughing at :)

Selling water and to raise money for the scout trip.

My Dad's carvings

Poor kid ate large amounts of junk that day. Everyone wanted to feed him.

I love this picture. It is my mom with Spencer the day after.

They are playing the piano.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Treasure

2010-07-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of things going on in my life and around me lately that have really been causing me to think about how fragile and precious life is. Too often I get distracted by things that really are of no lasting importance. Too often I don't take the time to appreciate the small things. Life is so fragile. Those we love could be gone at any moment. Of course living in constant fear of losing a loved one is really no way to live at all. But am I making the most out of my time with them? Am I treating those I love most, the best? Do they know how much I love them? Am I taking the time to get down on the floor and play with my baby?...he won't be a baby much longer. What are the last words I say to my husband when he walks out the door? What am I putting off that just needs to be done?! What fills my time and my thoughts? What if today was my last day? Did I live it well? I don't really know if this makes sense. I am not very good at expressing my thoughts and feelings. But I hope you can get an idea of it. I felt the need to express it.

Treasure every moment, even the not so good ones.

Take time to do what is most important.

Find JOY in the journey.

Forgive.

Love.

Rabbit!

2010-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Did you remember to say "rabbit"?

If not, try saying "beaver" or "wart-hog" now and let me know how that goes :)

(You have nothing to lose)

When life gives you lemons...or when daddy gives you a lemon...

2010-06-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

He really does love to eat them...he cried if we tried to take the slice away.

Spencer says "have a nice day!"

9 months

2010-06-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

Spencer is 9 months old today!

He is another inch taller but still only coming in at 24 lbs!

I think it's funny when people still comment on how chubby he is!

I say "you should have see him 4 months ago"!

He has learned a lot of new things in the past month!

Yesterday when I went in to get him up from a nap,

this is how I found him!

It was quite the surprise for me.

It was the first time that he has pulled himself up!

He loves to stand up next to things and

will play pretty content like that for a long time!

He can wave bye bye and clap!

He finally learned how to creep forwards!!

Now this happens less often.

He also got his first little "shiner"...can you see it on the left side :(

He always seems to have some kind of scratch or bump.

He has enjoyed corn on the cob (without the corn :) and mango pits!

He likes to roll all over the floor and look at the knots in the wood.

He occasionally like to see how they taste too.

He has 7 teeth! (yes he bites!)

He continues to be the light of our lives!

Oh what do you do in the Summer time?

2010-06-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

The other night I went to a Relief Society meeting on family traditions! It was taught by an amazing and very inspiring lady! She had so many fun ideas that it really got me thinking about what things I want to do with our family to create close bonds and just have fun together! I want to share some ideas that I got there but for now I thought I would just focus on Summer time fun. I for Spencer and I every day is pretty much the same, no matter the season. But I know things will be different as more kids come along and as they grow up. So I want to start planing now :) Some of these ideas came from the lady that taught the class, some from people there that shared ideas and some are from ideas I got online at different places. Please leave a comment with some of your own ideas!

Go on a penny walk (flip a coin to see what direction to go)

Go Hiking

Bike rides

Kick ball

Frisbee

Hide and seek

Kites

Go to a different park every week

Go on picnics to a new spot every week

Feed the ducks

Board games

Go out for ice cream

Make ice cream in a bag (easy to get recipes on line)

Bake something together

Take treats to neighbors

Adopt a Grandma or Grandpa

Make a fort our of cardboard

Make a tent out of blankets and watch a movie in it

Go to Library activities

Get books and movies from the Library

Read books together

Act out scripture stories

Camp in your back yard

Puzzles

Put together your own skits

Make play dough

Make peanut butter play dough

Play at the McDonald's play ground

Play with shaving cream on the table

Family Olympics

Bathtub paints

Lagos

Make a card table tent

Sock puppets

Go to the DI

Bubbles

Sidewalk chalk

Giant drawing (trace their body on butcher paper color it)

Will it float game (test object in water to see if they float)

Plant seeds

Finger paints

PBSkids.org

Bowling

Story writing (have the kids tell a story and you write it down)

Dress-up

Have a summer party and invite your neighbors (water balloons, sprinklers, watermelon, etc.)

Have a lemonade stand

pickyourown.org - pick berries

Can't wait to hear about your fun ideas!

Rabbit!

2010-06-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

Did you say "rabbit" first thing when you woke up this morning??? If you did, you will have good luck all month long! No, I am not crazy, it is true. This has been a tradition that my mom taught us when we were growing up. On the first of every month you need to say "rabbit" when you wake up. It has to be the first word you say or it won't work. I used to go to great lengths to try and help myself remember to say rabbit on the first of every month. I must say I have forgotten very few times. I have been devastated every time I do forget. Nate thinks it is silly and when I forget he tries to tell me I can just say "beaver" or "hamburger" and it will make it all better...but we all know that is just silly and wouldn't work! So if you forgot or didn't know about this little good luck advice, there is always July!

Anniversary Update

2010-05-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

Not long after posting about our anniversary yesterday my sweet little husband came home early from work with a flower for me and announced that we were going on a picnic. It was such a fun and thoughtful surprise (especially since I thought all our anniversary activities were over)! We had a great time and I had fun taking more pictures!!

He LOVED playing on the blanket but did all he could not to touch the grass :)

Watch out! He is up on all fours!

4 years ago I don't think I could have ever guess I could be this happy!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-05-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today is our 3rd Anniversary! I know that to many of you old folks ;) that may not seem like very long. I will admit in the eternal scheme of things it's nothing. But it feels like I have always been with Nate. They have been the best 3 years of my life!! He is so good to me and is more that the man of my girlish dreams! He works so hard for our little family and is the best husband and daddy that I could have asked for! I am so blessed to have him! Here is to a hundred more years and to all eternity!

I love you Nate!

Graduation May 5th, 2007

Engagement Picture

Wedding Day May 25th, 2007

I love this handsome guy!!

Our 1st Anniversary on a carriage ride in SLC

Our 2nd Anniversary in Park City!

For our 3rd Anniversary we have kind of had an all weekend celebration. On Saturday ,we got to go to the Temple together for the first time since the little guy was born. It was wonderful.! (Thanks to my sister-in-law Rae Lynne for watching him!) We also got a big cheese cake! Our favorite and also the refreshment served at our reception! And last night we went to the Cracker Barrel! Oh my! If you have not been there hurry up and go! It was so yummy! It was my first time going and I was impressed! I should take a picture of us today...I will try to make that happen and post it later. For now, it is lunch time and I am going to go eat my left overs!

Mormons and Social Justice

2010-05-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

My husband has made a blog where he talks about what Mormons believe about social justice. Do you know what social justice means? Do you know what Mormons believe about it? If you don't (and even if you do :) you should check out his blog (there is a lot of confusion going on about the subject right now). He worked really hard on it and I must say he did a really good job at presenting the information. It is easy to read and understand. There is a lot of scary stuff going on it our world today and I think it is necessary to be as informed as possible about it. Please check out the blog and leave a comment with your thoughts, questions, etc. Please ask others to take a look at it too (husbands, wives, friends, etc.) Thanks so much!

Baby Baby

2010-05-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Let's just pretend that the city where I live was going to have a baby photo contest...

And let's just say I entered a picture into that contest...

Which picture do you think I should enter if such a thing were to happen?