has it really been that long?

i guess it has. 7 months of no blogging would make for one lengthy post! but i'm not going to do that to my one or two readers. only a few highlights from the past 7 months that i'll touch on.
November:
lake havasu, arizona. it was wonderful & 90 degrees. jake, brog & i flew. flying with a 10 month old? i don't suggest it but sometimes ya gotta do it. he was a pretty good boy all things considered. he was more curious than anything and just wanted to explore. i was relieved that his ears didn't bother him during flight so that was good. met up with the family and had a great week of lounging, boating & sight seeing. the highlight? my sister in law, lyndsie & her bf kegan got engaged. it was fun to chat all things wedding for the rest of the week.

shortly after we got home, brogyn was full on walking, crazy kid.

December:
of course December is Christmas but it was also brog's 1st bday on the 26th. we celebrated with family & close friends. i of course went way over board an spent my entire day shopping, cleaning and cooking. will never do that again. broh was sick most of christmas so that made him sick on new years eve as well, where we spent the night in the ER, then he decided to share the love and i became sick with the flu i'm gonna say around midnight...happy  new year.

February:
i am officially a stay at home mommy. all i've wanted since pregnant. jake and i worked very hard to save and cut back to fund my staying home full time. shortly after, we were blessed with the opportunity for jake to be voted in as one of the partners of the farm. he has definitely earned it. he is the hardest worker i know and has come a long way. i am more proud of that man than words can describe. we also went to our family friend's cabin in island park where brog rode the snowmobile for the first time & of course he loved it.

March:
i became a Health Coach working from home helping people get healthy & lose weight! it's been a rewarding and fun experience & i've learned a lot. jake turned 27. easter was great & brog was spoiled as usual.

April:
i will do a small april shout out then finish it later. april is the month we have all been eagerly waiting for!! lyndsie & kegan are getting married this month which means we are all heading to san diego. 2 weeks from today we will be outta here. i'm trying to get organized so it's not too crazy the night before. the coolest things about this wedding? jake is performing the ceremony. sounds a little crazy? that's what everybody else thought. but jake is ordained as a deputy dignitary for a day so he is legit. we are busily working on his speech but i know he will do great.

i guess that's it for now. i will try & do a better job at keeping this thing updated.

all about him

oh this little boy is my sunshine. (that song is our current favorite) he is going to be 9 months on the 26th & it's hard to believe. he is so full of energy & always on the move. little tid-bit i just have to share since i never saw this coming, he will not lay still to have his diaper changed nor to be dressed or undressed. this leaves me literally following & sometimes chasing him around to change his diaper or dress him. i usually find myself putting something on the couch or somewhere he can reach while standing & i change him while he is distracted. now, this isn't so bad at home, but try going anywhere else he may need a change...the mall...a long car trip...church! yes, the other sunday as i'm on my hands and knees in my dress chasing brog down to change his pants, one of the sisters just stops, laughs & says, "that is great!" she was kind of in shock that this is how we change diapers, PS, this woman has 4 kids, including twins whom are 2 months older than brog & she thought it was crazy! anyways, brogie keeps us on our toes & always laughing. he loves to say ma ma ma ma over & over again along with ba ba ba & da da da, it's adorable of course. he has his top 2 teeth and the 2 teeth next to them & that is also adorable. he pulls himself up to everything & on Labor Day he stood on his own for the first time. what? yes, he is starting to stand on his own. he did it again a few days later and he just looked at me all scared like "what am i doing?" then he fell. i'm not encouraging this since i'm not at all ready for him to be walking but i don't really have a say. he loves his puppy & follows her everywhere ( the feeling isn't mutual) & he has to be a part of everything you are doing, doesn't matter what it is. i just love watching him discovering things & learning, he is my little buddy.  i'll end my post with some of the pics from his 6-7 month session since i'm sure brog's nap will be ending soon.

the haps

so it has been a crazy long time since i have taken the time to post anything on here but as you all know, life happens. we have been so busy, it's hard to believe it's been 2 months. sadly as i sit here thinking of what great things i could post, i can't come up with many. this should be a post filled with lots of fun & exciting things but it'll mostly be a picture overload. let's see, since my last post, brog is now 8 months! he is crawling, quite speedily i might add, and is pulling himself up to everything. namely, me & holds on as tight as he can by pinching the skin above my knees. he has 3, going on 4 teeth and is an absolute riot. he loves any food you are eating & expects a to have a bite after each of my bites. he loves chocolate milk & banana bread. he has always loved bath time but it's even more funny now that he smiles & giggles as he tries to climb up the side of the tub to get in. he adores kids. he understands his name & the word kiss. if you ask him, he will plant a big, wet kiss right on your lips. he also enjoys kissing his reflection anytime he sees it. he loves  his puppy & being outside. i could go on & on about him forever but i will stop here for now. since my last post, harvest is in full swing. boy oh boy. could it be november yet? i say this because yes, i have received word that we will be in harvest until the middle of november...jealous? i'm just glad i have my little buddy here to keep my company! i have also changed jobs...again. i went back to my old job i left last summer. it allows me more time with brogyn so i couldn't pass that up! i am working a lot now but it will slow down soon since we are in a transition of owners. wow. can you believe it? i am sitting here trying to think of little events to fill my post with & i leave out the most important one of all. brogyn's blessing. what a truly amazing day. he was blessed by his daddy on august 5th. i was filled with so much happiness and emotion all week in anticipation of the big day. jake gave a wonderful blessing and we had so much support from family & friends. i was even lucky enough to snag a 5 generation picture with my great grandpa, grandpa, dad, myself and brogie. but i am an airhead and spaced getting a picture of brogie and everybody who stood in the circle: jake, my dad, todd, grandpa larry, grandpa bowlin, grandpa heward, great grandpa heward and rex gerratt. sigh...oh well. staying on the church topic, my great husband was called to teach the CTR 5 Primary class! his response to me directly after he told me was "everybody is going to want to be in my class" "well since the kiddos get to choose which class they want to go to"...was my response back. he didn't think i was funny. but i am excited for him to be in primary with me. although we won't be in the same class (i teach sunbeams) it will be fun to have him & brog with me. PS, brog LOVES Primary! he is a very busy and rambunctious and curious boy who never sits still but in Primary, he sits right on my lap and just listens and sings along. it's adorable. we also were able to do some fun family pics and some individual pics of brogie (i'll post later). i hope to get the ones off my phone posted soon of the 5 generation pic and a few others of my baby boy. that's all i can think of for now...enjoy!

it's your {half} birthday, shout HOORAY!

june 26th was brogie's 6 month birthday. i have known since i was pregnant with him that i wanted to celebrate him being half a year with a little half birthday party. it really snuck up on me! in honor of the day, we barbecued little slider hamburgers & i made mini cupcakes, then our awesome family filled in the rest with salads and appetizers. i also made brog a cupcake of his own and stuck a #1 candle in and pushed it in so only half of the 1 was showing,he was not impressed that he couldn't eat the cupcake! it was a fun, low key evening with grandparents & great-grandparents just celebrating and having fun with the man of the hour! originally, this was supposed to be a gift-free party but who am i kidding? they are grandparents!! so he was thoroughly spoiled. he got everything from new swim suits to a toy car to a john deere cell phone and my personal favorite, a walker ( i guess that's what they are called?) i now have no excuses for a dirty house. he loves that thing. it took him a whole 10 seconds to realize he could walk in it & was so cute. brought a tear to my eye seeing him so grown. before i know it, he will be walking on his own...to kindergarten.
a few things he is up to lately:
he finally lets me sneak a little snuggle without him grunting at me and pushing away
he growls while chewing toys
he has his 2 bottom teeth, they both came without me knowing it, way to go mom of the year!
he is THE biggest cheese ball.
he likes to be upside down
sunglasses, paper & tags seem to be his favorite chew toys
still hates his car seat
feeds himself with a bottle but likes to twist the bottle in circles while he eats
LOVES squash (just like daddy), sweet potatoes, & white gravy, hates bananas
he is a pretty good sleeper...for now
is in the BEST mood of the day first thing in the morning
i usually wake up to him humming/singing at 6am versus crying
tries to get away from us when we are trying to change his diaper by rolling to his tummy
hates getting dressed & undressed
still has daddy & i wrapped around his finger

he had his 6 month check up wednesday, he is 15lb 15oz & 27.5" long! he is 95% in weight & 25% in weight...still long & skinny! we love him so much & are looking forward to the next 6 months!

the aforementioned cheeseball, you can barely see his little teeth 

5 months...already?

my oh my. my little stink bug is just growing & won't stop!! he turned 5 months may 26th. he weighs 15 lbs give or take, i don't know his exact height, we just know he's long & skinny! he cut his first tooth a few days ago and is working on #2. he is absolutely hilarious with the cutest little personality. he is quite the spitfire and is rambunctious and very curious. we have discovered that he has great hand eye coordination, which he did not get from me, and is very determined. when he sees something he wants, he will get to it, no matter what. he is rolling over two times in a row now and has the general idea for crawling. he can support himself with just his arms straightened & will go on his knees with his bum in the air just gotta put those two together!! but i can wait a little longer for the crawling thing...he is already all over the place! he is so giggly & smiley & has quite the talk box. he's a little show off. he loves sleeping on his side with his head cocked back..weird! speaking of sleep, he is sadly off his nightly routine of sleeping 8:30-5, 5-7-he is now 9-1, 1:30-5, 5-7!! makes for one tired mama! i'm hoping he gets back to normal soon! can't believe he is on his way to being half a year! we love this little man more than anything, can't wait to see what he's gonna do next!

just a few weeks old

5 months

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam

i am so excited! i have been called to be a Sunbeam teacher! what a wonderful opportunity & definitely what i needed-wise bishopric we have. i've always had a passion for teaching & i love little kids so this will be such great 'practice' for when i get my degree. i think i have decided to switch from teaching 2nd grade to Kindergarten, there are a couple years difference in age but it will give me an idea if i'm making the right decision! i start this week but don't actually teach til next week since the other teacher is going to show me the ropes this week then we will alternate...wish me luck!!

memorial weekend

what a crazy, long weekend! i had been looking forward to this weekend for a while & had big plans for brogie & i-but plans rarely work out with a little babe! we were planning on going to oakley on saturday where my family camps every year for memorial day. i knew jake would be working so it would be a nice outing for us..,WRONG! brogie had other plans. i went to pick him up from brenda's friday after work and jake's pickup was there...weird since it was like 3:00 in the afternoon during hay. i walk in & brenda tells me, brog was great but it looks like he's got a little runny nose oh & jake is downstairs really sick. i go down & he is not looking so good. so i left him there to sleep & went to get some sick supplies from the store w brog. jake made it home & wasn't doing any better, brog still doing fine though. well as the night went on, brog was getting worse. terribly runny nose, coughing & being really fussy. by the time his bedtime rolled around, he was not doing well so i started out sleeping on the floor next to him in his room. that didn't last long. he soon ended up in my arms just moaning and crying, trying to sleep but would wake himself up by coughing. it was heart wrenching. so helpless. i gave him some medicine & checked his temp. my thermometer just kept climbing after 100.1 so i decided to wake my poor sick hubby up to tell him i'm taking bubba to the ER. turns out, he had an upper respiratory infection & beginning stages of bronchitis. the most horrifying part of the night was when they called the respiratory therapist down to suck out his nose! jake was balled up trying not to throw up so i had to literally hold brog down so he could suck his nose! i cried the entire time. then he said he didn't get as much as he would have liked so he stuck a teeny, tiny tube up his nose to get deeper...saddest thing i've seen & i'm not done yet! after all that was done, TWICE, he started coughing it up. the saline had broken up all the mucus and it was so deep in his chest he was choking on it--terrifying! but he did survive. it was the longest 2 days but we made it through! he is still fighting a runny nose but i'm pretty sure that's due to his little teeth coming in! we did end up going to oakley sunday after church for a bit, which was freezing but fun. glad brog's first time being sick is over...now on to the next.

in oakley, he was not impressed i put his bear suit on him!