Roll Over, Roll Over. He rolled over and Mom freaked out!!!

Well it finally happened!!! Beau rolled over for the first time on Saturday. WE have been working toward the goal of crawling by Christmas but I knew that we would be lucky to be rolling by Christmas. Beau has been working really hard with all of his baby push-ups, hollow holds, and stretches. All of his hard work has paid off and he is now rolling over a few times a day but never when I can see him. He is a little shy when it comes to rolling in front of me. But Beau has rolled over for Rich. Which is totally not fair but such is life. So it first happened when I was getting ready for Kaydrielle's wedding reception and I was straighting my hair. I checked on Beau and he was still doing his push-up. I went back to straighting my hair and then checked on him again a few minutes later and he was on his back! I screamed and clapped my hands and then put Beau on his tummy again. I then sat down on the couch and just stared at him.Beau loved that and he just held himself up high on his arms and smiled at me the whole time I was sitting there. I then had to hurry and finish getting ready to go. I kept looking back to him every minute or less and he still hadn't turned over. I then went to the bedroom to get my shoes and when I came back Beau was on his back again!! What a stinker! Oh, well I have pleanty of time to see him roll over but I am still looking forward to it.

Christmas makes me feel emotional

Well, Rich, Rachel, Beau and I went to our friend Spencer's house for the LDS Christmas Devotional. I loved it! I hadn't watched it in a few years and I loved the feeling of peace that it gave me. I have been worrying about presents and getting them done in time and a whole bunch of other nonsense, so it was good to be reminded that the reason for CHRISTmas is Christ. I am so grateful for this time of year and for the goodness that it brings out in everyone.

Rich is helping me to grow so much in our relationship. I sometimes get all caught up in the wrong things. But he helps me to keep an eternal perspective when we have to make small and major decisions.

Rise and Shout!!

Go Cougars Go!!!! Whoohoo!

Saturday was our last BYU home game so we decided to go all out! We face painted, tinseled, and placed bows with art and precision and the result was beautiful. We were a little late to the game but it was worth being late so we could be as spirited as possible. Here we see Rich and Allie looking like Smurfs and I look like a white and blue maned lion. We received stares and comments as we went to the game and from those next to us and I could tell that they were jealous of our creativity and genius.

This season has been pretty good for BYU. We lost a game that we should have won but over all it was a good season. I had fun. I ate slushies. I cheered. I even understood what was going on. But most of all I had a blast hanging out with my husband, Rachel, and Allie.

HEY SISTER!

I know there are people out there who have a bad relationships with there in-law's and I am so glad that my relationship with my in-law's is a good one. Rachel is my husbands sister and is the only girl in the family. She is a sweet heart! She has been so kind and supportive.

I only have one little brother, who is ten years younger than me, so I didn't really know how to live with a guy but Rachel has helped me to understand the logical and very masculine man that I married. There are some things that Rich says and does shock me and then I look over at Rachel to see her reaction and she is laughing. So I relax and let Rich just be a guy.

Rachel also has watch Beau for us on a number of occasions so Rich and I can have some time alone and she is so great with Beau and is always willing to help. I love that about her. So to those out there with in-laws take time to really get to know and love your in-laws because those relationships can be so awesome!!!!

So thanks Rachel for being the sweetest sister-in-law a girl could have.

100% for 100 Days

As we all know Christmas is coming soon. In my ward they gave us a challenge to read the Book of Mormon, pray with the family and individually everyday, have family and personal scripture study every day, go on 1 date a week with your spouse, and give your spouse at least 1 act of service a day. The challenge is to do all of these things 100% of the time. This is to be our Christmas gift to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have been trying really hard to follow these challenges and so far I am about 80% but I am getting better. But even though I haven't been perfect in all of these things I have noticed a greater peace and JOY that has come to my household and to me. I noticed this increase of joy and happiness every time I follow the teachings and commandments of the Lord. I am so grateful for the Gospel in my life and the peace that comes from knowing the pure truths that are taught in the Gospel. I am so excited for General Conference that is coming up in two weeks and I can't wait to listen to the Prophet Thomas S. Monson. He is such a spiritual man of God and his love of Christ is evident in his face and in his actions. I am trying everyday to be more like Christ. I know that He lives and that He died for my and your sins. I hope that I can show my gratitude more fully by the way that I live my life and follow Him and His teachings.

There is so much beauty and grace in the world that Heavenly Father has given to us. I hope that we can add to that beauty by being kind and loving to everyone just as Heavenly Father is to us. He is always there for us. We just need to reach to Him and He will pull us up from the depths of despair. He will lead us through the maze that is life.

Football Season

My family has never really been into football. I went to a couple of football games in high school but it wasn't really to watch the game. The reasons why I went were more of the social kind and I love hot chocolate. But since my marriage I have found that football is usually the topic of conversation for 3-4 months out of the year. When this first started (The first night of our marriage) I really didn't understand the depth of my husbands love for competitive sports, mostly football but some others. but 1 year, 2 lacrosse seasons, and 1 1/2 football seasons later I have finally come to understand that depth of passion and joy. I have even found myself enthralled with a particular close football game or enthusiastically declaring my opinion of a bad call made by the referee of a lacrosse game.

I never thought that I would be a football fan for the football. My husband has done a great job converting me to the football seasons. I know who is ranked. I know who is supposed to win but the percentages of which they could lose. I even know the names of players and coaches. Its been great and even though I give my husband a hard time about watching too much football....secretly I enjoy them almost as much as he does.

I have actually enjoyed going to the games the most. I have loved going with my sister-in-law Rachel and our cousin Allie. It is nice to have other girls there to hang with. I missed going to the last game because of work and I was surprised at how sad I was that I couldn't go. But I will be able to go to the next one I think so I am going to cheer extra loud and get a double large snow cone! Go BYU!

Top Left: Richard's excitment for being at the game!

Middle: Richard and me

Bottom Right: Allie, Rachel, me

Tummy Time

So now that the doctors tell parents not to put their babies on their stomachs to sleep they tell us to give them tummy time. This is a time set apart during the day for Beau to be on his stomach. The more time the better is what they tell me but Beau doesn't seem to listen. After 15 minutes of tummy time Beau very adamantly lets me know that he is done with this activity and that it is not one of his favorite situations. But since I am a tricky sneaky mom I have learned that putting a variety of toys in front of him instead of just one that he is content for about 5 to 10 more minutes!I also put Bubba on his tummy while he is laying on my legs and he really like to do that. I figure that finding solutions to these kinds of problems will help me to get him to eat his veggies and other things like that in the future. Beau is getting better about tummy time. It is fun watching him reach for toys. He is still learning how to grasp things but he is getting some things to his mouth already.

Richard

I just want to write a snippet about my most favorite person in the world... My husband Richard. ;) He is playing lacrosse again this year for BYU and it is such a great experience for him to be playing with one of the best college lacrosse teams in the nation. I just want to say that my husband is the best and I am not making a biased judgement at all. lol But really he is doing such a good job providing for our young family and he is so dedicated to school that he is even getting up early in the mornings to do homework, and if you know Rich that fact alone shows true dedication. Rich is not a morning person. My baby takes after his daddy like a carbon copy and it is so odd to me too have two blonde haired, blue eyed males out number me in my home. It is so amusing and comforting to watch Richard interact with Beau. Beau always gets a HUGE smile on his face when he sees his daddy. They do manly activities together like watching football and wrestling (so far Rich has won every time but Beau is getting there lol) My favorite is when Rich gives Beau a bath. It is an interesting experience for them both and although Rich gives him pretty good bathes I always check in the fat roll on Beau just in case. I am so glad that Rich is my husband...good thing to because we are going to be together forever! Well see ya!

The Codex of Alera by Jim Butcher

This is a series of books that my sister-in-law Ashley recommended to me. The first book, The Furies of Calderon was a little bit slow for me because I figured out a lot of things before the author told me about them in the next books. But it was still very interesting and I loved the new type of magic that was involved and there were still quite a few surprises that kept me on my toes. The second and third book were very good but I loved the fourth one. I am anxiously waiting to get my hands on the next book. This is a series that I will defiantly add to my library when I get a chance. Tavi is the main character and I have loved following him in his life. But by far my favorite character is Isana. Butcher did a fantastic job at making Isana a real person with amazing strengths and real worries and failures. I related to her and always looked forward to reading about her and her thoughts.

Beau

Beau is getting so big!! we went to the doctor for his 4 month well check and he was 18 lbs 2 oz and in the 95th percentile in height and weight. I have met a lot of 1 1/2 year olds who weigh less than Beau. Grandpa Palmer keeps teasing me that I need to teach Bubba how to walk because he is getting to big for me. Lol. Oh, well that just means I am going to be a strong mommy! He can't roll over yet but the doctor said that was on the normal side. What isn't normal is that if reclined on a pillow Beau can sit himself up. Beau hates to be lying down when there are so many things that he can be looking and learning about. ;) Beau has also started to "talk" almost constantly. He babbles and coos to anyone who will talk and laugh with him. He is such a joy to me. He makes my heart sing so many new songs that I didn't know I knew! Well Here is a video of our angel!

The top photo is Beau during one of his flying lessons with daddy. Beau loves them and Rich loves giving them so it is a win/win situation.
I noticed the other day why Beau needs to be in clothes that are 6-9 months instead of the 3-6 months like they say on the tags. His legs are so huge that when I try to snap up his onsie's they are too tight on his chubby legs! lol It is the cutest thing ever! Well, I have to go an do some things for Rich. Bye!

1st Book Review on this Blog: My sister's Keeper BY Jodi Picoult

This book was very emotionally charged and went through some great ethical questions. I am not usually drawn to these kinds of books but my mom-in-law was reading it and left it with me to read because I expressed interest in the book. As it turns out it was amazing. It has a slight amount of swearing but barely noticeable. The overall story it me like a bomb causing raging emotions in my heart and sent my mind reeling with all of the debatable subjects that were introduced to me. My Sister's Keeper is about a 13 year old girl that was literally conceived to be a perfect genetic match for her sister, who has a form of leukemia. Throughout Anna's life she is hospitalized and used as a donor when her sister Kate slips out of remission. This heartfelt book made me so grateful for the health of my son. I think that this book was wonderfully written and even if you don't like books on ethics My Sister's Keeper is a must read.

Ants/Aunts?

So when Rich and I came home from a family get together last night I noticed that our kitcken was filled with ants! I freaked a little...Rich made fun of me and so I stopped freaking out. I remember when I was little and I loved to watch ants do there thing. The are facinating but I do not like them in my home. so I told the managers and they are going to pray our apartment. Its wierd though because they seem to be coming and going in shifts. For a while there will be quite a few of them and then the next thing I know they are all gone agian. The first time this happened I thought that they just left and I wouldn't have to kill them. But then they came back again. So I now have to take drastic measures. Sorry to all animal/insect activist but ants do not belong in houses.

So now to talk about the aunts. My grandma on my father's side is having heart surgery on Wednesday. the operation should go well with few, if any, complications. But my family consists of many worry warts. Because this is the case many of my grandmothers children came to support and worry over here. An uncle came form Arizona, an aunt form the Dominican Republic, and other aunts that live in the vicinity. When you get my Dominican Aunts together it is like an explosion of sound, love, and energy. I found out who is the most important memeber in my family to my aunts: My 4 month old son!! It was quite amusing to see my aunts goo, tickle, and exclaim over my bewildered baby. It was so wonderful to see them all. The only thing that would have rendored this night more perfect would have been to have my two sister Melody and Analaine there with us. but the are having fun in college. But just so you know Melody and Analaine...we missed you.

Pic: sister Sariah and son Beau

The first day of practice.

So I coach volleyball at a high school and it is one of the best and most interesting thing that I do with my time. I love the age group that I teach. They are not quite as bratty as 16 year olds can get and not so stressed about getting scholarships that the seniors are worried about. The only down side is that these girls are so hyped up on hormones that they are sometimes hard to handle. Yet that is what makes coaching them so interesting and action packed.

Last year was the first time that I coached at a high school level. I wasn't as confidant as I should have been. I have coached on the club level for a few more years than the high school level and I don't think that I was ever as nervous as I was coaching in high school. I am much more confidant in my coaching style and my girls have so much potential and talent that I feel like this year is going to be a blast.

A dying breed

I have decided to put my future career on hold to do the most important and exciting thing in the world. I am a stay at home mom. I am almost 21 and am proud to say that I am a recent mother. When I finish getting my degree I will be an English teacher and from there I am going to get a masters in library science. But before I will have the opportunity to work in a high school library and help those kids to love reading, I am going to spend time teaching my children the joy of reading. Being a stay at home mother is harder than I thought it was going to be. I not only look after our apartment, do laundry, and run errands, I am also tending, caring, and other wise devoting myself to my child. He is so precious and perfect that I want to make sure that I am always there when he needs me. I will be there for my baby Beau from changing dirty diapers to the birth of his children and beyond. What greater calling is there in the world than to look after my eternal family and care for their needs and emotions. My calling at this time is to look after this precious soul that Heavenly Father has sent to Rich (my husband) and me. Don't get me wrong. I look forward to working in the high school system after my children leave the home but until then I am going to change diapers, play with paint, go to thousands of practices and games, and everything else that comes from raising an amazing baby boy.