Tataipu Family

Family Update

2012-02-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

Logan is busy with school and work but really LOVES his new job and has been doing Awesome with school. Although I am sure its been stressful, he tries hard to come home and give us some attention as well. We both miss him a lot while he's gone and wait at the window for him to come home (literally)!!!

27 week update: Little Avery is quite the mover...she loves to kick and jab my ribs and bladder, which as uncomfortable as it is, I can NEVER get sick of that feeling. I am already noticing my feet swelling, which didn't happen until after Kai was born and I have very frequent braxton hicks, but atleast it shows me that things are working :) I have gained 9 lbs so far but with my new appetite (24/7 hunger) I am sure more lbs are quickly approaching. Kai and I still love our walks and I am REALLY trying to keep up with it, although its hard to find the energy. Besides the aches I really just love this part of pregnancy, no more sickness and lots of fun preparations!!! 27 weeks

Oh Kai...where do I start?! Kai and I have had A TON of bonding time lately and it has (on most days) been a lot of fun. We play in the snow a lot....lets be honest....Kai plays and Mommy watches, and stays dry :) His attitude is EVER growing, which is difficult but thankfully a little time out does the trick. He is goofier than ever and has been learning so many new words. We have to be careful because he is our little word copier! Kai as usual loves to run, jump and climb....and i think thats how he keeps his figure. We pretty much just love him to pieces, and have learned a lot from his crazy personality....and I know each day he will surprise us with more lessons :)

Ok ignore my nasty scream...Kai loves when he thinks something is wrong OR frustrating...imagine that :) So when I scream and act like "my phone isn't working" or I'm annoyed, he can't stop laughing. I would do anything for these giggles!

What a day...

2012-02-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOSH...what a day!!

Today was a terribly embarrassing Wednesday. Most of you know that we manage mens apartments and MOST days we really enjoy it and feel very thankful for the opportunity.

UNFORTUNATELY today was one of those days where EVERYONE needed EVERY ounce of my energy and I was seriously losing it. So much so that I REFUSED to clean my house and REFUSED to do my daily chores and REFUSED to be a good Mom.

CUE THE HUMOR.... unbeknownst to me, our apartments were getting appraised for our building today. The doorbell ringing was none other than two appraisers and our owner asking to walk through our apartment. Seconds before I heard this info Kai threw popcorn ALL over our apartment and continued to throw toys at me, the walls and destroy the already messy apartment. OH AND P.S. our apartment not only smelt like popcorn but Kai has been having some STOMACH issues so his diaper was VERY questionable!! Yuck I know!

SO I asked them to wait at the door and I ran upstairs and just began to THROW anything I could think of in the bathtub so that they didn't have to see the disaster.

LONG STORY SHORT....can you guess what happened next? YES...they had to look at the tub!

NICE HIDDEN MESS...

Bright RED face and total disaster in the tub (This in only half of it..its too awful to show it all)....how ghetto can I be?

Toys, electronics, popcorns and a naked baby with a stinky diaper....Oh gosh I so win the worst Mom award!!

Thankfully they were able to see my cute little munchkin, although I am not sure anything could save us at this point.

Moral of the story: PLEASE call me before you show up at my house and if you don't...DON'T look in the tub!! :)

SNOW DAY!

2012-01-24T17:08:00.001-08:00

Call me crazy but the little break from snow has actually caused me to "want" the snow to come our way. And lucky us it did, and we had SUCH a fun day playing in it! I have to admit, I was freezing, but watching Kai play in it and enjoy every little bit was so much fun!

He loves eating the snow, but his poor little fingers were freezing! Did that stop him? Yeah right!

After a fun afternoon (and lots of hat hair) we warmed ourselves up with some yummy cookies and lots of snuggles!

i love them...A LOT!

2012-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

OH MY BOYS! They may be crazy, funny, goofy, hyper and many other things...but I am so thankful they are mine and that we have simple and adorable moments like these!

HAHA do you love how it falls on his head after :) poor little brain cells!!

Family Fun

2012-01-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

This weekend my brother Jordan and his girlfriend Madelyne came for a day visit and we had such a great time! Not only did we get a little family time but Kai LOVED getting the extra hugs and kisses.

Beautiful Temple with a goofy child!

This was a "Mom" picture. My Mom always made sure we took pictures by the signs from wherever we were...so I tried (just for you Mom!!).

An intense game of GOLF, or at least Logan thought so...he was in it for the win...but Madelyne creamed us!

NO EXPLANATION...our family makes me laugh!

How can we have an awesome day without HOT FUDGE SUNDAES...yum, ESPECIALLY after an awful Saints game!!

We were so so so sad to see these two go, but SO thankful that we were able to spend the day with them. (YES, those r oreo cookies in his mouth right before bed...THANKS A LOT uncle j)

Move over Dennis the menace.......

2012-01-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

...Kai has arrived!!

Do you remember a few short months ago where little Kai ran into a wall? Do you remember how we had to go to the hospital? Do you remember how we had to get stitches?....

Well here we are a few months later and experiencing pretty much the same thing...just on the other side of the head :( Kai decided it would be fun to pull things off the counter onto his head...sounds fun right? Yeah, not so much!

But atleast I am learning (or trying to learn) LOTS OF patience and quite a few Dr tricks to add to my book!

As you can see Kai doesn't want to talk about it.....I'm fine with that...but can we please not repeat it? K THANKS!

Burg Update

2012-01-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

With a New Year comes a new semester and I honestly have really enjoyed it so far. It was a really hard transition to have Logan gone so much, but we are so grateful to have him in school as well as working in a new job, which he really likes.

This CHANGE has also given me SO much time with my little boy...and although you constantly hear me say how crazy he is (which hasn't changed) we have been having SO MUCH fun together.

So here is a quick Rexburg picture update:

Movie time with Kai's Monkeys and a cookie...he has the life!

Our weather has been SUPER mild in Rexburg and I am LOVING IT!

Everything is a ladder for my BIG boy, he is such a character and keeps me laughing all day!

23 weeks and feeling really good. I LOVE feeling Avery move, she is so strong now and I love sharing that special time with Logan. I had my Dr appointment today and things are looking really great with our little girl, she's small and spunky :) We just love her A TON! Kai also loves his sister already, he continues to play "peek-a-boo" with my belly and yells "Hi, A-vy"...it seriously melts my heart.

WELL...thats life for now. WE R LOVIN IT!!

Christmas in Cali photo-DUMP

2011-12-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

We were SO excited to be able to go home for Christmas...it seems California NEVER lets us down for a good time. Unfortunately I am failing at getting these in order..there was just too much fun to narrow it down.

Thanks to my brother Jordan we were able to take Family pictures and we are SO happy that it turned out. Our little boy is growing up!!

Christmas morning was SO MUCH FUN! I love having these sweet kids to share traditions with, they were feeling the Christmas Spirit and SO WERE WE!

Kai and Cousin Talmage had fun sharing their loot!

We caught a little sneaker :)

Our sweet sister Felicity is getting SOO BIG and SO adorable!

I LOVE HIM!

Kai had such a good day with all the family, he loves all the attention!

Me N' my Dad...isn't he cute?!?

Talmage got trains from Santa and he was SOO excited!

I love my sweet nephew Everett. He is 6 months old and just about to have his 2nd open heart surgery. I am not lying when I say he is THE HAPPIEST baby I have ever met. We love you baby Ev!!

Now for icing on the cake...my sweet husband surprised me with this camera for Christmas. I am not gonna lie, I cried. I think I made excuses to take all these pics just to try out all the features. Thank you love, IM OBSESSED!!

Although I am always sad when the Christmas season ends, I could not have asked for a better one.

New Years here we COME!!

It's a GIRL!!!

2011-12-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

Avery Ann Tataipu

FINAL GUESSES!!!

2011-12-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

It's been SO much fun living without the flu! I seriously appreciate our healthy bodies so much more after such a nasty bug! Things are going well here, nothing much, but I'm ok with that!

Kai continues to crack us up with his spunk and CONSTANT energy!!

WE LOVE visiting Dadda at work, Kai thinks he runs that place!

FINAL GUESSES....

Everyone (in our extended family) thinks girl...EXCEPT my Grandpa and I. If you are one who thinks its fun to guess, like I do, then please leave your guesses and we will know SOO SOON :)

Dropping like flies...

2011-11-28T14:33:00.000-08:00

THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST WEEK EVER! But before I get to that let me tell you of happy things...

My Brother Chase was able to come visit us, so friday Logan went to pick him up in UT and look what they brought me back...lets just say it was HEAVEN! Thanks love!

KAI LOVES CHASE, he pretty much stalks him from the moment he wakes up and I really love to watch it!

I kinda like him too :)

hmmmmm.... not sure how much I endorse this photo!

A few days later Kai was lucky enough to have his Oma and Aunt Felicity come visit from cali, and like usual they came bearing gifts! Kai LOVED HIS DRUM SET! Thanks Campos family!!!

And he also loved all the extra love and attention! and Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the break~

NOW...CUE THE AWFUL SOUNDING MUSIC....THIS IS WHERE THIS POST GOES DARK!!!!

Tuesday we went out to lunch with the whole family...on the way home Kai threw it ALL UP and much much more. But by that night he seemed to have passed the worst of it, which made us believe it was food poisoning.

Tuesday night, Chase came home from a friends house and complained that he didn't feel well, the next day he spent most of his time in the bathroom... and it still hasn't stopped!!!

Wednesday morning Logan started to feel "IFFY" and soon after took turns with Chase in our VERY tiny bathroom :) He had to work, on Thanksgiving, even with the flu, and finally started feeling a lot more normal today!!

Thursday= A not so happy Thanksgiving. Since Logan's Mom and sister were here we wanted to still act like things were normal..after a long day of cooking and not a lot of eating, I started to feel awful and....yes, you guessed began sharing with the boys, I got a mixture of Kai's flu and the boys...YUCK! (do you like how there are no pics of me? not a pretty sight!) Unfortunately I found out that poor Felicity also started the flu that night...poor girl couldn't run from this bug!

Friday Morning I was starting to feel contractions and MASSIVE cramping and with liquids coming out of EVERYWHERE (sorry to be so gross) we quickly went to the hospital. I LOVE DOCTORS. We were not only able to hear our baby and know everything was good with it, but we were able to fill me back up with liquids and pain pills and bring this pregnant body semi back to normal....and then I was able to share the wealth of pills with my sick family :)

Friday evening Lori began the flu, after a long long night of sickness she drove the 12 hour drive back to Cali, what a nasty trip! Although we know this wasn't the trip she expected, we were very thankful for all of her help!

I TOLD YOU IT WAS BAD!!!

SO NOW....I BEG BEG BEG AND PLEAD FOR EVERYONE TO FORGET ABOUT THANKSGIVING AND LOOK ON TO A VERY MERRY (HEALTHY) CHRISTMAS!!

The power of a heart beat...

2011-11-18T10:56:00.001-08:00

I can't even express how much those little heart beats mean to me. Each appointment, my fears return and thankfully I am met with a simple but magnificent sound. I LOVE MY DR, and today he just talked to me about what a blessing babies were and how awesome it is for the cycle to work correctly. I can't agree more! Through all the sickness and exhaustion I am so thankful to fully realize just how special it is to have this sweet baby growing inside.

I am so thankful to have experienced the last two miscarriages (something I could not say until recently). I have learned so much about myself, my sweet husband and the blessings each child (born or not) can bring to our lives.

Today we were able to schedule the BIG GENDER REVEAL and I can't be more excited! We will find out DEC 6th which seems so soon (I am not complaining though!). Logan still thinks girl and I think boy...we will know soon enough!!

And of course...a shout out to this little rascal!!
When Kai does something bad or doesn't want his diaper changed, he thinks covering his eyes makes him invisible..I think its pretty dang cute!

Kai may look JUST LIKE his Daddy, but the faces he pulls reminds me of my little spunk, always trying to make people smile! :)

I am so thankful for my little family...a husband who puts up with SOOO MUCH, and a wild little monkey who makes my life SOO MUCH fun!

Happy FRIDAY everyone, ENJOY THE SNOW!!!

Sledding in the 'burg

2011-11-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

We woke up to snow this morning, which I surprisingly wasn't sad for because I have a little boy who LOVES to play in it. After a quick Walmart trip for snow pants we were ready to explore the SNOW!

Dadda and Kai were having soo much fun, while Mom sat back and enjoyed the show!

What a sweet face! He couldn't stop smiling...although it was FREEZING he refused to wear his gloves..silly boy!

Oh Gosh, I just can't get enough of those smiles!

And this is what happens when its time to come inside...yeah, not so happy now, but we had A GREAT TIME PLAYING!!!

A child's Prayer

2011-11-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

I love nightly prayers with Kai because he stares at us and smiles and I can't help but wonder how much he understands. It is one of the few moments of the day where my child sits still...so lets just say we say LOTS of prayers :)

Last night before bed Kai decided it was his turn to say prayer...SO CUTE!

Halloween FUN!!

2011-10-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Our ward Halloween party was SOOO much fun and so well planned. Kai dressed up as a sock monkey since that has been his favorite toy from day 1 and logan and I were monkey HUNTERS...since that seems to be our reality :)

Daddy and Kai, ready to go Party!

Showing off his monkey skills.

I love to watch David and Kai, they just smile at each other and it is freakin adorable! P.s. they are pretty much the cutest monkeys in the world!!

PICTURE TIME!

Fishing for toys was by far a favorite in Kai's book.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE love him!!!

The Party was put on by the YW and YM and at the end they all performed the "Thriller" dance for the ward...I started tearing up and Logan thought I was crazy and started to laugh, but how awesome is that to see these teenagers get excited over something so fun! OK IM CRAZY!

Family Photo with my two favorite boys!

INTRODUCING...
Baby number 2!!! We are so excited to FINALLY announce that we are pregnant with a healthy baby! We have been to the Drs, seen/heard the heartbeat and couldn't be more excited to know that everything is ok. We r just about 14 weeks and I have been SUPER sick, even moreso than with Kai, which I have strangely been thankful for, knowing that it must be a good sign. The Dr. was VERY pleased with our little baby and has been telling me for a month to start telling people but I have been scared...so now that this bump isn't leaving me, I decided there is noooo hiding it!

This pregnancy has made me VERY emotional as I think of all the ups and downs families go through to extend their eternal families. I feel very grateful for a Heavenly Father who lifts us up even when we don't see the light at the end, but thankfully we know that he does!

Happy Halloween Everyone! STAY WARM (Maybe thats only applicable in Idaho).

Pumpkin Family Fun Night!!

2011-10-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

We had some couples over for a night of fun/FHE and we had such a great time. I didn't remember to take pics until we were almost done (bummer) but there was lots of food, fun and TONS of laughs!

Candy Corn Cupcakes....anything that has to do with cupcakes is a MUST!!

Kai agreed as well!

Rach and David (I failed to get a family photo, sorry guys!!). I love that little boy!

Don't worry Mark, we didn't forget about you and your pumpkin skills.

Phil and Corinne Merrill and their awesome pumpkin AND adorable smiles!

And what is a fun night without the Turners...SO CUTE!

I was totally impressed with Logan's pumpkin (I wish I could say I helped, but I just sat back and watched the show!)

Kai was able to paint his pumpkin this year and although it got a little messy he had a great time!

Happy almost Halloween to you all! No spooky things for me, just LOTS OF YUMMINESS!

ER anyone??

2011-10-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today has been a "FUNNY" day to say the least. I won't go into much detail but the first part of the day, just wasn't workin for me...so when I came home all I wanted to do was relax and prepare myself for a new week, but Kai's energy played out for a totally different plan.

We went downstairs to help a tenant and Kai continued to grasp the guys attention. It was like Kai couldn't get close enough to him. Kai saw me walking by and thought I was going to get him so he darted in the opposite direction...and ended up running STRAIGHT INTO A STORAGE SHELF. The blood immediately started coming and I thought it was fine...but after lots of advice we took him in just to check it out. Sure enough it was VERY deep and had given him a little concussion. Our AWESOME hospital Dr was as kind as he could be with my baby and I was as brave as I could be holding him down for his first three stitches. And Kai shocked me, he was so kind and although he had plenty of screams to share he listened and thanked each nurse and DR for stitching him! I LOVE THAT BOY!!!

I realize every day that being a Mom is one of the GREATEST blessing I have ever been given, but is also one of the BIGGEST heartaches, because you realize just how much you would do to take away any pain your baby feels (no matter how big that baby may be).

Once we got home I made Kai pizza (one of his favs) and continued to tell him what a big boy he was. As you can see Elmo was much more exciting than Mom.

In this picture I am saying, "Kai can you smile?" to which he responds "no no no!" His coloring is a little off and it makes me sooo sad!

When it was time for bed I cried all through our prayer together (which made Kai laugh). I am just so thankful for healthy bodies, wonderful doctors and a Heavenly Father who is ALWAYS there to make my heart feel a little happier!

The Dr said he was sure he would see me often (thanks doc but i hope not) :)

DETERMINED??? I think so!

2011-10-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

Kai has been our wild monkey from day one...he started crawling at 4 1/2 months and walking at 10 months and HE HASN'T STOPPED SINCE!

The window is Kai's favorite spot in the house...its kind of humorous because ANYONE who walks by gets an earful from my little boy screaming, "HEY HEY... DKFHASDLFKASDFLKASJDFLAKSD" the last part explains his jibberish.

The scary part is he is now trying harder and harder to get closer to the action...HOW DO WE STOP THIS?? I know you will immediately say, "move his chair..DUH!" But Take a closer look at the third pic....nothing is stopping this boy!

So the window is now closed and Kai screams for it....crazy boy will thank me someday!

When Kai takes the pictures.......

2011-10-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

...it looks a lot like this! LOVE THOSE LIPS!

Sunday fun!

2011-10-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

We love sundays for many reasons....unfortunately with a hyper little boy church is one of those things we are trying to learn to love :) we have a little over a month until Kai gets to join the nursery clan, and to say Kai (and his mom) are excited would be a complete understatement...WE CAN'T WAIT!!! At our old ward they had a class for all 14-18 month old kids since there were A TON of kids, but now with a new ward we are hoping/desperately praying that the class reorganizes!

But until then we try and pull as much peace and happiness as we can out of sundays.

We love sundays because we get to Skype with family. Oma, Mema, Pepa, Noni and Grandpa...you totally make our day!!!

We also love Sundays because we get to spend time as a family. And today we had the EXTRA special treat to eat at the Distelhorst house! Little David and Kai are 4 days apart and thankfully they just moved back into town. It is soooo funny to watch them play because they are both learning how to share, and what its like to have a friend. P.S. WHY DID DAVID GET ALL THAT HAIR???? We LOVE them soooo much!

So minus the tantrums and tears we had an AMAZING SUNDAY :)

Girls are sooo FUN!

2011-09-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Mondays and Fridays have become my favorite days in the week because Kai's good friend (future girlfriend) Ellie gets to come play.

It is honestly one of the sweetest things I have ever seen because he loves her so much. Each day he wakes up saying, "Bubby....bubby?" and then I say, "Ellie is not here today," to which he reponds..."ELLIE!!! ELLIE!!! BUBBY ELLIE!" It is so dang cute! P.S. "BUBBY" means baby in Kai's world :)

They talk to eachother, SOO CUTE!

Is that not the sweetest face you have EVER seen??? I think So!

He is trying really hard to learn how to share....but that process is a lot harder than I thought. My 16 month old might just be a little too spoiled~ as much as I always promised myself he wouldn't be :)

BOWS, BRIGHT COLORS AND SKINNY JEANS....where have little girls been all my life! We love you "bubby Ellie" and can't wait for a fun filled semester!

OOOOBER blonde and OOOOBER talented and OOOOBER cute!!!

2011-09-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

Where should I start??? Blonde moment I think....SOOO my beautiful friend Corinne has started a gluten free "lifestyle" and let me tell you I think I would starve to death. Anyway, we were having the Merrill family over for dinner and I decided to go all out. Long story short the dinner date didn't end up working out so I brought Corinne all that I would have used to cook her meal. That night the Merrills came over both laughing as they handed me what I thought was gluten free flour.....LOOK CLOSELY.......

Yeah thats right, its PURE gluten flour....after a little embarrassment and LOTS of laughter I have given up trying to understand the gluten free lifestyle!

Now the OOOOBER talented and OOOOBER cute pictures are mixed together. Corinne takes beautiful pictures and we are lucky enough that she uses Kai as her model. I LOVE THEM!

Thanks Phil and Corinne for being so wonderful, we love you and are really sorry we tried to kill you :)

Mema and Pepa ROCK!!!

2011-09-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

There is something about being a Mom that makes life SOO special, but there is something even more special about watching your Mom and Dad enjoy priceless moments with your baby/big boy!

Mema and Pepa were able to come visit for the weekend and it seriously MADE OUR MONTH!

Kai LOVES Pepa, he litterally was at his feet the WHOLE visit...only making Pepa trip a few times :)
I don't know how Mema calms him down enough to sit still for a book but I REALLY wish she would come back and do it again!

Football just isn't the same with out Pepa!

Kai LOVED to dance with Mema around the house, Kai laughed and laughed and laughed!

The best part of the weekend was hearing Kai run around the house yelling for Mema and Pepa, but the worst part of the weekend was him yelling their names, but knowing that they were long gone :(

As usual Mom took most of the pictures so I will have more to come soon!!!

We love you guys and can't wait for the next visit!

Kai-isms

2011-08-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Just a little something to make you smile :)

Happy SUNDAY!

2011-08-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

Its been a really hard year for our family, but THANKFULLY we have leaders in the Gospel who help push us through and give us the hope and strength we need.

My Mom (who is my ultimate hero) sent me this quote from Jeffrey R. Holland and it totally made my heart feel a little warmer, so I decided to share, for those of you who may need a pick me up as well.

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike--and they will--you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed.

Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:16-17)

I am SO thankful for the Gospel...it keeps me going, even when I feel I have reached my limit.

There's no place like UTAH!

2011-08-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

Do you love Utah??? I DO!!! This weekend we went to Utah to see Jordan and my best friend from college Holly. It was sooo much fun to get away and I immediately fell in love with the environment...sorry Idaho, but I would totally replace you if I could :)

Uncle Jordan and Kai had A LOT of bonding time...it is so nice to see Kai with family, since we live so far from anyone he doesn't see a lot of people besides us!

Swimming is also something we don't get to do very often and we had a REALLY good time!

Daddy is WAY more fun than Mommy...I kept saying, "what if he falls off?" but Logan and Kai just kept laughing at me.

This was the FUNNIEST moment...because people walking by kept saying "oh poor baby" which made Jord feel bad, but he was actually crying before this moment because Mom took away his snacks...it makes for a funny pic though :)

Uncle Jord showing Kai how cool he can look!

It was SO FUN to see my bff and old college roomy and her sweet baby Kinley and her husband Justin. We laughed so much and I REALLY miss her already!

Thanks to Kinley, I was able to feel what its like to have a girl :) Isn't he cute??

I love my brother...he is SO HANDSOME and we had such a good time hanging out with him and following him around Provo.

I can't even tell you how great this weekend was and how hard it was to make the trip back. We love family time and LOVE the lack of responsibility trips bring! Thanks UT we hope to see you again soon!

Three little sickies!!!

2011-08-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

The stomach flu hit our WHOLE house this week and it was not a pretty sight! I don't know how Kai does it but throughout the week he continued to be VERY patient and VERY happy despite how he was feeling and the lack of attention we could give him.

Trying to clean up with Mommy...when EVERYONE is sick, the cleaning NEVER stops!

I am sooo GLAD to say we are all feeling better and starting to get things back in order. Kai is such a trooper...we just noticed today that he was not only dealing with the flu but he was teething and three molars have popped through. Poor boy!

We are so ready for a new week and SOOO grateful for healthy bodies!!

Kai is living the good life!

2011-08-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

Big boy toilet, Elmo and books....could his life get any better??? I think not!

Kai is doing pretty well with his potty...he is OBSESSED with sitting on it (clothed or not) and will go when we sit him on it...but now I just have to learn how to make it more consistent. If any of you experienced Mom's have some tips PLEASE pass them on!

International Dance Festival

2011-08-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT WAS SOOOOOO MUCH FUN! We found out about the dance festival and I knew it was something I would LOVE...but I wanted to drag Logan along too :) Lucky for us we immediately found Belgium (where Log served his mission).

I quickly learned that Belgium people are some of the nicest people in the world. I really hope someday we can go visit, because it was so neat to listen to logan speak Flemish with them. I was proud to say that I could understand quite a bit because of Logan.

Me N my boy....we LOVE to people watch!

What a Patriotic little boy!

He clapped at every country as they did their dance and would yell "ooooooooooooooooh!!" it was so cute!

CUTE LITTLE BELGIUM, please send me a plane ticket! OR lots of chocolate!

They did this AWESOME "flag dance"...seriously I am now not only obsessed with their chocolate :)

FIVE MINUTES LATER....A REXBURG STORM BEGAN!!!!
We couldn't run fast enough...we were drenched!

After a warm bath, we were off to bed....VERY happy for such a fun night together!

The semester ended with a BANG!!!

2011-07-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well we have made it through our first semester managing our new apartment. It has been SUCH an awesome experience with the ups and downs that come with men who sometimes "forget" to think before they act :)

This picture explains it all...on the last day of the semester a few guys (from a neighboring apartment) decided to set off fireworks in the dry dry brush. Needless to say...we had four fire trucks, 1 ambulance, 4 police officers and 100 ONLOOKERS who have nothing else to do on a friday night ( I know this picture means I am one of those onlookers, but to my defense this picture is out of my window) :) Oh the joys of living with single men!

Since it is the 7 week break, we have had tried to spend all the time we can together. The zoo was SOOO much better this time because the animals were moving all over and very interactive with Kai.

Wow...I am now even more determined NEVER to meet a Lion...They're HUGE!

Oh my boys...I can NEVER get enough of them!

We also took Kai to the "lake" for the first time....they call it a lake, but it is just water that they bring in each summer :)

Did I mention the water was FREEZING....Kai and I didn't last very long, but the sand and people watching was SO MUCH FUN!

I am so thankful for boys who make me smile, and for weather that we can play in and for NO MORE FIRES....I HOPE!

ITS GETTING HOT HOT HOT!!!

2011-07-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

In our new apartment (which we still LOVE) we get free air conditioning. To say Logan is obsessed is an understatement....we have a 66 degree house 24/7. Well, the last few days Logan has been working nights and while he is working the air goes OFF giving my legs a break from the goose bumps. UNFORTUNATELY sometimes I forget to turn it back on.

It got so HOT in fact that when I did my nightly check of Kai before bed, this is what I found. He took off his new summer jammies and exchanged it for his birthday suit!!! Doesn't he look so peaceful and cute?? and look at his growing chunker thighs... I WUV HIM!

With Daddy home, and the AIR running..Kai is one happy boy!

DANCING KING

2011-07-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Scoop Jam in Idaho falls....it was TONS of fun and Kai definitely tried to steal the show with his dance moves. The band kept looking at Kai trying to see what everyone was laughing at...Yep thats my boy. I am just bummed that i didn't get my camera out earlier.

And of course we couldn't have a weekend without our Kim. She seriously makes Kai's week so much more special! We all love her!

I LOVE HIM

2011-07-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Have a mentioned lately how much I love this little boy??? Well, let me tell you again! He is constantly making us smile, and growing up so fast!

We have been spending A TON of time outside and LOVING every second of it. I vowed not to complain about the heat, because I know soon enough I will dream of these HOT days :)

Kai's new shades!

This is the, "I just ate dirt, weeds, ect. and it didn't taste as good as it looked" face!

I can barely keep up with this kid, Hence the blurry pic.

WARNING...YOU MAY THINK THIS IS GROSS!!!

Lately Log and I have started getting Kai comfortable with his new potty. Yes I know he may be too young to express to me that he has to go to the bathroom, but its never too early to start. This pic was our first attempt. We sat him on it, gave him some books to read and a few minutes later he wanted out. BUT when i picked him up he had gone both kinds of bathroom (haha, I didn't know what else to call it). I censored it so it wouldn't be too nasty for you, but we are so proud of our big boy Kai! And he was SO proud of himself, he kept clapping every time we would talk about it!

So the moral of this story....I LOVE MY LITTLE BOY!

Happy Fourth

2011-07-04T22:17:00.001-07:00

What is not to love about the fourth? Freedom, Fun, AND Food! Today did not let us down. We started out with the Rexburg Parade, which was AWESOME because Kai really enjoyed looking at all of the trucks and PEOPLE! And we ended the day with a fun bbq, and fireworks. At around 11:00pm Logan and I went out to our back yard and sat together watching fireworks put on by...everyone and their dog, and it was so awesome and so romantic and SO FREE!!!

We love our sweet Kai!! Thanks Mema and Peapaw for my awesome shirt!

Kai clapped as each float went by.

I love my baby boy, through EVERYTHING he helps me to smile and live in the moment!

Aunty Im was in the parade and we were able to see her at the end and sport her hecka cool sunglasses!!

On a more serious note PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for my Nephew Everett. His open heart surgery was moved to tomorrow July 5th and we just love him so much! He is a tough little boy and we hope to have everything go well and the recovery to go quickly as well! We love you Baby Ev!!

A sweet new BABY!

2011-06-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

My amazing sister Heather and brother in law James just had there second sweet little boy, and he is SO ADORABLE! Thankfully both Mom and Baby are doing GREAT! HEATHER IS SUCH A STRONG WOMEN!

Everett Knight Wigginton

8 lbs 15 ounces

20.5 inches long

Everett is the sweetest little baby EVER...he is quite the little chunk, with lots of beautiful hair!!! unfortunately I live far away and haven't been able to hold that sweet baby but I am so so so so SO excited to meet him sometime soon.

Congrats Wigginton family, thank you for once again making me a VERY happy Aunt!

Why?

2011-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Do you ever ask the question, why, and realize that 99.9% of the time you don't really get the answer? Well this seems to be one of those years....WHY why why?

Logan and I once again are going through a miscarriage. We were 7 weeks along and REALLY excited. It had been almost three months after our last miscarriage when we found out the wonderful news. I actually didn't feel nervous at all with this one....PROBABLY because I thought there was no way I would go through another. After our last miscarriage I remember telling Logan that I felt so bad for those poor women who have to go through more than one miscarriage and that it would literally kill me if I had to go through another. But here I am, still very alive and VERY aware of the pain that I feel.

I don't know what I would do without Logan. Throughout the contractions at all hours of the night, he sat with me, rubbed my back and continued to tell me how much he loved me. For those of you that have experienced this, you know, that through this you feel angry, heart sick, and very guilty that you did something wrong. But Logan continues to try and lift both of our spirits. Unfortunately this all happened on his birthday, but instead of complaining (like I do) he stood by me and just let me cry.

I don't know if I will ever receive the answers to all my "why" moments... but I just hope we have good news to come, and other children who want to make it into our home.

Until then, we will continue to snuggle our sweet Kai and thank him for making the hard journey to join our family. We love him so much and want to give him the life/family he deserves!

Your Prayers are REALLY needed and REALLY appreciated!

I LOVE SUMMER!!

2011-06-23T15:16:00.001-07:00

I use the word summer VERY loosely here in Idaho...one moment its BURNING HOT and the next its STORMING! So when the weather is nice we really try to take advantage of it. We are loving our little yard because we pretty much spend all of our time swimming, blowing bubbles and going on walks! I LOVE IT!

And I am not the only one...KAI IS OBSESSED! He loves to splash, run and of course...eat dirt!

Happy SUMMER to you all!

What a GREAT job!!

2011-06-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

I can't even tell you how much I LOVE being a Mom! I don't think I would have appreciated being a stay at home Mom if I wouldn't have had to leave my baby at home for 9 LONG months! I LOVE being home, I LOVE teaching Kai new things and I LOVE also being a business women as I manage these apartments. I feel SO blessed to have my sweet baby, HOT husband and a secure home to live in!

I know its only Tuesday but I feel like I have a lot to share~

Kai now knows how to take off his diaper...do you see that mischievous face? oh my! Kai has been learning so many new things! He now says: Dadda, Mom, ball, cheese, outside (said ousssssd) and of course hi. He signs: more, please, thank you, eat, hi, bye, ball, and book.

We visited our local park and it has a ton of fun things to do. We went on the carousel twice because Kai started screaming as soon as he got off. Where did he get his attitude from? NOT FROM ME :)

We have a little water boy, he has to be pulled out at the end of our trips!

OUR NEW PLACE! Its funny how home changes so easily as long as you have the ones you love! We love it here!

Downstairs Family room

Stairs (obviously)

Upstairs Living room

Kitchen (upstairs)

Kai's room (upstairs)

Outside patio/lawn

And my favorite part of the whole place...KAI! LOVE THIS BOY!

I didn't take pics of our upstairs or downstairs bathroom, cause there is NOTHING special about a toilet, sink and bath....and our room is not pictured because its laundry day, and my room is a mess!

WE MOVED!!!

2011-06-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

After three weeks of interviews (for the same place) we finally got the Apartment Manager job we were wanting. We found out Thursday and were all moved in by Saturday. I can't even tell you how excited we are to be here and to have this blessing in our lives. The apartment is awesome too...it feels more like a home although the size is not much different from our other apartment. So this is life for now, finally setting down!

Thankfully we have Aunt "Immee" in town and she took Kai so that we could move quicker, we love her so much and Kai is pretty much obsessed. She didn't only watch him but she brought him to the park and they got snow cones.

Thank so much Kim, Kai had a blast!

BIRTHDAY FUN!

2011-06-02T19:52:00.001-07:00

This weekend we made a LAST minute decision to go down to Cali for the three day weekend to play with family for Kai's birthday. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!

Logan had free points for Hotels so we decided to stop in Reno and the hotel was BEAUTIFUL. We honestly felt way out of place because we stayed in the best room there was...SO FUN!

We had Kai's party at Lew Howard Park in folsom, which was also the place Logan had his first birthday...it couldn't have been better! And let me just give a shout out to my sweet nephew Talmage...he was Kai's best friend the whole trip and is going to be such a good big brother in a month :)

Kai had a blast...give him a park and he's happy!

I decided to try and attempt to make Kai's birthday cake...and I was really glad it turned out...if you can't tell its a monkey! Thanks Mom for all of your help :)

We knew we would have NO problem with Kai eating his cake....holy crud, he LOVED it!

I had to take the cake away at the half way point because he WOULDN'T stop!

All weekend Kai had SO SO SO much fun with all the toys at Grandma and Grandpa Holtry's house!

We also stayed for memorial day on Monday and I have never appreciated Memorial Day so much....Thank you to all those who fight for our freedoms!

One of my favorite men in the world served our country in the Navy and I am so proud of him!

Uncle Chase and Kai spending some quality time together! We love you uncle Chase!

This was the sweetest moment ever, Kai fell in love with Grandpa Scott as soon as he put his hat on his head, and then the smiles began!

Kai is now back in Idaho and enjoying all the toys and clothes that everyone was so generous to give him! We unfortunately brought a California flu back with us, but we would do it ALL over again just to have a weekend like this!

His DR apt was today and here are his stats

20.1 lbs 12%

30.1 inch 90%'

He is just so so skinny but eats more than logan and I...I guess I will never know his secrets for keeping his figure!

Thank you again California family for sharing so many special memories with us! We love you all!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

2011-05-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

Where in the world did this year go??? Thinking back, we had NOOO idea how much our life would change...and no matter what, I am SOOO glad it did!

One week late, we were finally given the go...and off to the hospital we went to be induced.

9 hours later, Kai William Tataipu joined our family, and changed our lives!

Happy Birthday baby boy....we love you so much and can't wait for LOTS more birthdays!

BIRTHDAY PARTY PICS TO COME....WE HAD SOOOO MUCH FUN!

What happens in Idaho....stays in Idaho!!!

2011-05-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby will be turning one this week. CRAZY!!!! And since he was born...and so far raised in Idaho, I decided to pay my respects with a little cowboy photo shoot :)

Thank you Idaho...for rubbing off on us a little!

BOYS WILL BE BOYS??!!!!!??

2011-05-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

What kind of person is obsessed with Neosporin? Well the kind of person who falls, jumps, and dives every TWO seconds...aka KAI! Poor Joelle has been watching him for the last month until I finish up school and I swear every day she tells me something else that this little monkey did.

This week, he learned how to get out of the pack n' play...AWESOME...she didn't know he was out until she heard him knocking on the back door! Please accept our apology Joelle...ONLY 5 MORE DAYS!

Look closely...his legs are off the ground!! He has found a love for his new ability to climb. Unfortunately he is really good at balancing that little body on anything and EVERYTHING!

If you can't tell, he is bonking his head on the door over and over...he thinks it is so funny, and now we can't get him to stop, HENCE the ever existing bruises!

We love you little boy...we just wish you would be KINDER to yourself!!

CRAZY CHANGES!

2011-05-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend Kai experienced a TON of changes. We have been wanting to ween him off of his bottle and binkie, since he will be one in a little over a week. I was going to start with the binkie since I thought that would be the hardest, but when it wasn't as bad as I expected, we decided to do it all at once....SO here is our picture journey!

I FINALLY decided to take a step back and allow Kai to completely feed himself. After lots of laughs and a HUGE mess I would say it was a success!

Kai sleeping for the LAST time with his beloved binkie....

No more binkie, day or night. After one confused nap, he has completely forgotten about the dang thing...and I could not be more happy!

The VERY last bottle, with the LAST little bit of formula....TEAR :(

No more bottles and no more formula. I thought I would get a huge reaction taking away his bottle, but he could care LESS!! Thankfully!

To congratulate Kai and OURSELVES for the accomplishment we decided to enjoy an AMAZING weekend together!!!!!

Mrs. Tubbs (aka my favorite teacher/friend at Iona Elementary) and her husband made this lawn chair for Kais' upcoming birthday! Thanks so much, he loves it! With the awesome weather we sat outside 24/7...well almost!

Logan, Kai and I were able to go to the zoo with our friends Jonathan, Lindsey and Talmage! We really love them and love the matching strollers!!!

I was a nervous wreck...how bad would a donkey bite hurt??? I didn't want to find out!

Do you love zebras??? I DO... I could stare all day. And Lindsey told me that no two zebras are the same.....I NOW LOVE THEM MORE! So awesome!

They had a sweet little play area, and I'm pretty sure it was one of Kais' favorite areas. He loves dirt and loves the way it tastes :(

Talmage didn't want to wear his hat, so Kai gave it a try...for point two seconds...WHY WON'T THEY KEEP HATS ON???

Kai loves to swing, ALMOST as much as he loves straws. I'm pretty sure he got that from me.

After a VERY long and VERY exciting weekend we all felt like taking a nap!

SO....farewell dear bottle, formula and binkie....YOU WILL NOT BE MISSED!!!

What a wonderful WEEK!

2011-05-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

This has been SUCH a great week! Not only was I completely spoiled for Mothers Day but I was also able to enjoy another exceptional day with my sweet boys! Logan made sure both days were amazing and my family and friends were so loving! There is something about a birthday that makes you feel so loved (even when you don't want to acknowledge that you are getting older).

Of course Kai is my GREATEST joy and these videos just show a few of his new tricks :)

The second video is my favorite because Kai is so so proud of himself...he always claps when he thinks he's the "COOL" kid! I love this boy, he makes each day so so fun!

2 + 3 = 23!!!

2011-05-09T23:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!!!

I wanted to be the first one to wish you a Happy Birthday! I hope you know how much Kai and I love and appreciate all that you do - you are such a wonderful mother and wife! My love for you grows every day that we are together and I look forward to the Eternity of birthday's I get to spend with you! Have a very Happy Birthday!!!

Love,
Logan

Spring is in the air!!!

2011-05-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

I am a little bit hesitant admitting that the weather is BEAUTIFUL here because I don't want it to change back to GROSS Idaho.

BUT...it is too beautiful not to give a shout out to! This week has been so so pretty! Everyday Logan and I have taken Kai out on walks, bike rides, park trips and of course he experienced his first Sno shack snowcone, and of course he loved it!

Kai loves to swing! Since the weather is so crummy this was only his second time experiencing it and he just laughed and laughed!

My Mom has pictures of me making this funny face when I was Kai's age and somehow he picked it up too. Going along with this "FUNNY" face is a sweet little sound coming out of his nose! Ha ha that is when you know he is REALLY having a good time!

Ever since Kai mastered walking, he has decided that he is obsessed with life! He is constantly giggling as he discovers something else. It must feel so good to really have no worries...he is so so happy!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....I have a new bike!!!! For an early B-day present Logan got me a bike so we can continue our family bike rides (without always having to borrow). I am seriously so excited to think of all the adventures I will go on in this bike...I know that sounds corny but it really is so much fun to just RIDE and feel the wind in my hair. Haha ok ill stop now!

So thats our update from SUNNY Rexburg, and I am going to enjoy EVERY minute while I can!

Has it really been that long?????

2011-04-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am a really BIG fan of date nights...probably because I am a really BIG fan of my sweet husband....but UNFORTUNATELY it has been 11 LONG months since we have been on a date, not that we haven't been to dinner, but never alone. Kai is always my favorite third wheel :) I don't really know what it is....I think I just feel so guilty leaving my sweet boy #2 at home, but (thanks to wonderful Kim) we were able to go out alone and it was so much fun. Not only were we able to talk but we were able to just play and be competitive without worrying what time it was and who's turn it was to change the stinky diaper :)

We started off the night with a delicious Tai dinner. It is a little hole in the wall (which my Dad always taught me are the best) and it DID NOT disappoint. We loved every bite and are already planning our next date around this dinner! YUM!

Logan is the king of bowling. As you can see he is one of those funky bowlers who spins the ball and it somehow makes a strike....beats me how that works :) But I am proud to say that I beat him once out of the three games, that may not sound like a lot, but i was impressed!!!!

Thanks to Kim we had an awesome night! We definitely don't plan on waiting 11 months until the next!

Just what the doctor ordered :)

2011-04-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been SO SO SO awesome. Not only has the weather been awesome but I have really been able to let go, realizing that sometimes I don't have control (which is hard for me to admit) and to just enjoy the moment....well this weekend we had lots of those moments!!

I don't know about you but when I go through trials/hard times I eat and EAT AND EAT!!! So thanks to my friends Jessica and her sister Alicia, I made my VERY first pie and I was really proud of it. Usually I buy the crust, but WOW it makes such a difference to make it at home!

Because of my new cooking blog i stalk Justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com I found these super cute Easter treats for my kindergardeners and they loved them. They thought it was so cool and they thought I was super talented (PLEASE DON'T TELL THEM HOW EASY THEY ARE TO MAKE!!!)

To celebrate Easter, Kai enjoyed his first egg hunt......Only one problem...we got there 50 seconds late and all the eggs were gone...haha! Luckily Kai could care less!

Thankfully there was some kid who doesn't care about our environment and just wanted the candy so Kai got the leftovers :)

Poor baby was SOO tired after running around the field over and over!

Soo...does the Easter bunny scare you? If your answer is yes, you are not the only one. Kai wasn't sure at first...but just Look below to find out how it ended :)

...yeah, not so much!

The rest of the day was literally my dream. We had a ward activity outside and then afterwards we stayed outside, enjoyed the sun, and let Kai discover the world around him.

We all had such a great day and ended it going on a bike ride together. I have really learned that there is nothing greater than spending time with my sweet family, they make all the difference in life!

One day at a time....

2011-04-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

I am sure a lot of you did not know....but I was recently pregnant and just experienced a miscarriage. As soon as we found out we were pregnant we were ECSTATIC as we started dreaming of our new family of four. I felt a little uneasy about spreading the news so only family and VERY few friends were told.

This week was my 12 week appointment and I almost couldn't sleep at night because I was SOO excited to start sharing our news. But Tuesday night (two days before my appointment) I started bleeding, it wasn't a lot, so after talking to some family and my DR I felt as if maybe everything would still be ok.. that is... until I woke up the next morning with lots of blood and clots. I can't write my feelings at this point. Besides pain, fear, and complete sadness...I felt numb. I had Logan call the Dr and tell them I needed to be fit in for an ultrasound and LUCKILY they were very accommodating and I left work early to go in. After an hour of waiting for the Dr, I felt as if I would faint at the possibility of losing this baby that had been such an miracle. When the ultrasound began I began to dream of all the possibilities that the blood meant no harm to my child. But then I saw it....or more importantly I didn't hear anything.

The Dr. then began to tell me that I was almost 13 weeks but the baby had passed at 10 1/2 weeks. Those words could not have sounded worse to me. In the most simple words I can think of, I completely LOST IT! My dreams began to turn dark and I struggled to listen as the Dr told me that I would probably need a D & C since it was so big.

My mind was RACING....how could this happen? why did I have to go through all the moodiness, sickness, zits and cravings, WITH no baby to look forward to? I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. As I walked out the door, I looked down at my belly and saw that my hand was subconsciously rubbing and comforting what used to be my sweet dream. Leaving the office I knew my pain was just beginning. How would I tell my sweet Logan?

The next 24 hours turned out to be the hardest thing WE have ever gone through. We struggled to connect together with the sadness. We struggled to understand why. We struggled at the thought of the future. And we struggled to find the light, that is SO important in our lives.

I went in for a D & C after work that day...and opted to go by myself. Kai's birth was such a miracle, there were happy tears, cheers and a sweet baby to hold. But I knew this was VERY different and I did not want Logan to remember the things I knew we would see that day. With lots of prayers coming our way, I know I was blessed through the surgery and now through the recovery. I am so thankful for Logan and Kai...i really can't even try to express how their hugs, smiles, and giggles can change my moments of weakness.

Now that the grieving process is in FULL force, we have good days and bad days. We have happy times and sad times. BUT we could never be more thankful for our dear families and my friend Holly who literally answered my texts at all hours when I was feeling I couldn't go any lower. WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Heavenly Father heals all wounds, and I know he will. Thankfully I have a testimony that my Savior knows EXACTLY what I am going through, and he is by me always.

I hope the prayers can continue and the light can continue to slip into our lives.

Mother Teresa says it best, "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much." But because of his trust I KNOW we will make it through.

The Best Two Years!

2011-04-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

Ash,

I can't believe that today is our 2-year anniversary! Although we have only been married for a couple of years, it feels like I have known you forever! Every day you bring a smile to my face and make me a better person than I was before. Knowing that I have you makes even the hardest times bearable and the best times greater than I could have imagined! You are truly my best friend and I look forward to spending the rest of Eternity by your side! I love you so much! Happy Anniversary!!!

Log

TWINNERS :)

2011-04-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Since Kai was born I have heard OVER and OVER again just how similar these boys are...OK lets be honest the comment usually is, "Kai doesn't look anything like you..." but you get the picture :) So this week when Logan would take breaks from studying I would stalk my boys realizing just how identical my sweet boys are!!

THIS WAS NOT PLANNED! Even the way their shirts come up in the back makes me smile...Logan is OBSESSED with Kai and Kai is OBSESSED with his Daddy!

Only the best movie on earth...TANGLED....could keep both of my boys occupied with mouths opened and wide eyes!

And when I was caught, the reaction was exactly the same.... I seriously could not love these boys more.. they make my life SO interesting and SO wonderful!

Lovin life!

2011-04-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

This has been such an AWESOME week/weekend! Not only has the weather been so nice but we have been able to spend lots of time with family and friends! My Dad and Mom were able to come from California for the weekend and I really can't even tell you how much fun it was. Do you ever just really really crave your family? Well it happens to me quite often, so this was a dream come true! I was not the only one who loved this time either, Kai loves his Meema and Peepa and already misses them SO MUCH! (I will post later about our fun times but Mom took all the pics on her camera.)

This weekend Kai started taking his first steps :) We are only to four steps at a time right now but he is totally obsessed with being independent! (And yes, that is his toothbrush, its just another obsession!)

We went to the Merrill's house for dinner and they took some candid shots of us while enjoying our time...and I was so thankful for that because when you are the picture taker its hard to have pics with my little boy!

Since the weather has been so great Logan has been able to use the bike trailer that we got from our Grandparents and it has been SO much fun! Not only is it a BIG break for me but Kai loves it as well!

Kai loves to be scared so this is what happens (daily) when Logan gets home from school!

So thats our life right now, and we love it! Kai is over 10 months old and I am shocked to see more and more of his personality coming out, WHAT A BIG BOY!

A LETTER TO MY ENEMY :)

2011-03-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Idaho,

WHY do you lie to me? Why do you get a poor girls hopes up?

Two days ago the weather man, who normally has bad news, said it was THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING and that our weather was going to be looking up. With news like that how could I not be happy?

Well let me tell you how....this morning I woke up to a snowstorm. Seriously Idaho, have we not had enough snow? It drives me crazy!

So for this reason, I write to you begging, pleading and threatening you to TAKE the snow away!

Sincerely,

A Sun Deprived Idahoan (but of course a CALIFORNIAN at heart)

WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED....

2011-03-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

....That such a sweet little boy could make SUCH A MESS!!!

While Mommy was getting her grades done for school, Kai was making sure to take care of the rest of the "household chores"....JUST IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY!

Thank you my sweet Kai for making life so exciting and NEVER giving us a dull moment! And THANK YOU THANK YOU for FINALLY saying "Mom" today, you have no idea how much that meant to Mommy!

I LOVE THIS BOY!!!

2011-03-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

So my nephew is honestly the cutest little boy. He is FULL of energy and really sports his own kind of attitude! My sister was kind enough to let me steel her video and BRAG about my sweet little Talmage! Poor boy is showing off his stitches...like I said he is FULL of energy :) I love him so so so so much and wish he would QUICKLY move back from New York!

We miss you T!!!!

So many discoveries...

2011-03-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

KAI LOVES MAKING NEW DISCOVERIES!

Thanks to Kimmie I discovered what hair would feel like!

"So this is a girl.... :)"

"Dry ice is sweet!!!!"

"My best bud Talmage looks good.....how does he taste?????"

So thats about all the excitement we can handle in this winter wonderland...hope you are all far from the 'burg enjoying MUCH warmer weather!

"Hi, my name is Ashleigh and I'm a hypocrite :)"

2011-03-03T15:47:00.001-08:00

So as most of you can tell I am NO LONGER private..... why might you ask? Well here is the deal.... A lot of my friends had gone private and told me their case about why it is so important and what bugs them about not being private, and after listening intently to their case I decided to give it a try.

And after a little bit of a "trial period" I found out that I am really not a fan of the whole thing! First off, let me say that I care VERY MUCH for my children's safety and I will still make sure to keep them safe..... but I just wont be private!

So call me what you will.....but for all of my friends/family who have been struggling with the stupid sign in page....you are now welcomed back to my blog!

9 Months

2011-02-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Kai had his appointment today which meant shots :( Luckily they don't seem to bug him too much anymore, but it still makes me feel sad.!

Here are his stats

Height: 30.5 in 97%

Weight: 18.9 lbs 24%

Head: 18.3 in 80%

BMI: 14.3

He is SUPER long and SUPER skinny. You would never guess by his weight that he eats more than we do... literally this boy can put it down!

I love seeing him grow...but just wish he would slow down a little!

Gender roles....I don't think so!!!!

2011-02-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

This semester I babysit my neighbors little girl Jessika on Fridays after work. This has opened up a whole new world of toys for Kai. Seriously the second Kai put his eyes on that attractive doll, he wanted to be the ONLY one to hold it. Poor Jess is SOOOO patient with Kai but we are already struggling with the sharing aspect....which I know is hard for him to understand. Kai also wants to be practically ON Jess 24/7 so she pretty much runs from him the whole afternoon, I am already trying to teach Kai that sometimes girls need their space....its never too early right? :)

Kai eats and eats and eats...now if we go out to dinner, we get him his own little meal and he literally eats the whole thing.....HE'S SUCH A PIG!! Not only is Kai OBSESSED with any kind of food but his tongue has made its debut into EVERY meal!

Kai is our little walker, he will use pretty much ANYTHING to get him to where he wants to go faster...Thanks to Meemaw, Kai walks around in style and a wall is the only thing that stops him! I am trying to enjoy these last few moments before he's running on his own :(

Well thats it for now....Kai has his 9 month appt. tomorrow so I will post an update!

Bieber fever......

2011-02-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

...I THINK SO!!!!!!

Out of the mouth of babes

2011-02-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

So each day I come home with a new "funny" story of the day from my Kindergarten children. It seems that the most simple conversations come out HILARIOUS. Lets just say, today they REALLY outdid themselves.

So the following chat occurred between two 5 1/2 year old boys sitting at their table "working" on their handwriting...

BOY #1 You really need to go to Church to learn about God and how you should be acting.

BOY #2 I don't even want to go to Church. I NEVER GO!

BOY #1 Well if you don't go, Satan will come into your life. Go home and tell your family you need to go to Church.

BOY #2 Well I want to learn about sharks MORE than I want to learn about God.

BOY #1 God loves you WAY more than sharks do!

So WORLD... I think we can all take a lesson from boy #1....lets stand tall and be proud of what we believe....EVEN IF IT MEANS LEAVING THE SHARKS BEHIND!!!!

He's a teething MONSTER!!!!

2011-02-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

When Kai got his first two teeth a few months ago we didn't even know he was teething, he was just his normal happy little boy......but this time is a WHOLE different story! Recently Kai goes from two different extremes, EXTREMELY happy to TICKED OFF in point two seconds. He is still into everything and trying to walk more and more everyday, which just means more cuts and bruises on our poor baby!

We quickly realized just how fake his cries were and so, distracting him has become our favorite game!

So the moral of the story: If you are in a bad mood, make this noise and I promise it will turn your day around :) It works for Kai at least!

8 Months

2011-01-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

8 MONTHS OLD....ALREADY??!!??

*Kai is a VERY happy 8 month old!

*He is currently 18 lbs, which is not because of a lack of eating but rather a LACK of sitting still :)

*He is a people watcher to the max!

*Loves to crawl and explore!

*No matter how much his Mommy does for him, Kai is OBSESSED with his Dad and reminds us all day long! It is his first and ONLY word!

He loves food! Anything you give him becomes his new favorite. Recently he was able to try pizza and asparagus (not the same night :) ) and he fell in love with both! Luckily at this point in his life he is not a picky eater, as long as he sees us eating it, he WANTS it!

We were able to fly home to see my brother come home from his mission (thanks to the Steed Family) and Kai did a pretty good job on the flight, minus a few upsets and a flu bug :(

Kai is EVERYWHERE! He now crawls, stands up on EVERYTHING and has just started to walk along the furniture and walk around the room, thanks to his Vtech from "Meema"! I just love our little boy and his DETERMINED personality!

And of course more videos with food! This boy LOVES LOVES LOVES food and will ignore you until the food is gone.

We love you Kai! Happy 8 months :)

WE LOVE YOU KIM!

2011-01-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

We love our Kimmee!!!! Thanks to Kim, Logan and I were able to go to the Temple tonight and it was SOOO WONDERFUL! The temple is awesome it is really the most EXPENSIVE date night....for FREE!

I really can't tell you how great it feels to trust someone to watch my sweet bubba! Kai loves Kim...seriously he's obsessed!

On the way to the Temple I was feeling sad leaving Kai and I asked Logan if this part of parenthood would ever get easier....to which he replied...."Not for the Moms." What is it about being a Mom that makes you crave time with your children or more just fear leaving them? OR What is it about being a Dad that lets you turn off your role/worries? Sometimes I wonder!

But anyways....Kim did AN awesome job and my baby was so so so so SO happy...he probably wished our Temple trip was longer :)

THANKS KIM.....AND PLEASE DON'T LEAVE IDAHO!!!

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!!!!!!!

2011-01-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well its official....all of the episodes of "Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, Lockup Raw, and COPS" have all caught up to me AND freaked me out to the limit... soooo I am finally GOIN' PRIVATE! I have put if off as long as I could but I am officially freaked out by just how easily you can find out ANYTHING you wanted to know about me and my sweet family so I gotta do what I gotta do......

PLEASE comment on this post leaving your email (BEFORE FRI-21st) if you would like to still "stalk" my blog...because lets be honest....I probably stalk yours as well :)

AND to intrigue you to read future posts... here is my WILD ANIMAL SCREAMING AWAY!!!

He keeps going and going and GOING!

2011-01-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

Well... sadly the Christmas season has come and gone and we are left with the NASTY weather that is no longer cheerful and full of the Holiday spirit. We have been trying (unsuccessfully) to keep Kai healthy by keeping him inside but he is EVERYWHERE and as tiring as it can be I love it! Kai loves to crawl, jump, climb...and he will pretty much do whatever it takes to get to what he wants. When he was first born I never thought I could be happier but this little boy brings something new to my life EVERYDAY...I love him!

He has discovered just how easily our movies tip over (they are now moved!)

He loves to climb UP and OVER you if you get in his way! Kai is in love with Logan and now that Logan is back at school he can't wait for him to come home!

He missed Kim over the break but THANKFULLY they were reunited!

Kai is now IN LOVE with peek-a-boo and will hide in every crack he can find and then wait for you to jump out at him....it is SO MUCH FUN!

....and he now will stand up in his crib and serenade you with loud squeaks and gawks to let you know he is AWAKE!!!!

Thats our life right now...we love it and wouldn't change a thing!

We wish you a Merry Christmas....and a Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

Well here we are...back in Rexburg. Although it is good to be back, we already miss all of our family who gave us such a great vacation! (Not to mention the beautiful weather we left behind only to come home to -26....WHY DO WE LIVE HERE????????)

The drive down to california was a snowy one...until we got to the pass that is. It was actually beautiful! BUT... the silly californians made us put on snow chains even though #1 we have snow tires and #2 it was raining :) you can tell we are used to weather by logan's clothing choice :)
Dove court is a MUST at christmas time. Kai and Aunt Felicity enjoyed all the lights and festive houses!

SUSHI, Sushi and MORE Sushi! What else can I say? It was pure bliss!

Enjoying the male bonding time! It was VERY entertaining to watch Dad attempt to play X-Box

How could he not be happy with all his toys?...SO SPOILED!

Christmas morning. Kai loves all his cute festive clothes....or maybe just I do :)

Kai and Cousin Talmage became best friends! It makes me smile EVERY time to hear Talmage running around the house screaming, "COUSIN KAI!"

My sweet baby is sportin his two teeth in this picture..his smile seems to get bigger and bigger!

This trip was SOOOOOO relaxing! Logan and I were able to do facials two days in a row...he is such a good sport :)
Kai now not only crawls ALL over the place but he crawls over/up stairs, Riley (my dog) and/or any person that gets in this way! Thank you Uncle Chase for being so patient!

Aunt Felicity was CONSTANTLY making Kai laugh...he was so entertained by her songs and noises!

This year was more than I ever thought it could be and I really couldn't be more excited to think of what is to come in the year 2011!

SUPER SATURDAY!

2010-12-04T20:05:00.001-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days that were SO much better than the rest? Well...today was one of those days!

It started out with a giggling baby waking me up at 8:30....I love waking up to that CUTE face!

Then after nap time, Kai decided to talk louder and Louder and LOUDER until I came to get him...when I walked in he was staring at the door, just waiting for anyone to remember he was in there :)

Logan, Kai and I were then able to go to Idaho Falls to get some Christmas shopping done and Kai couldn't help but "woo" all the old ladies in Macy's.

And of course you can't make a trip to I.F. without this place...my baby is all grown up and eating Cafe Rio....well some of Mom's that is! He couldn't get enough, which I am sure runs in the blood...but I have to be honest, it was VERY hard to share :)

And to put the icing on top of our day, we stopped to get a gourmet cupcake....HEAVEN is all I have to say!

What a FUN day! I wish it was Saturday everyday, so that my boys and I could spend all day together, making lots of fun memories!

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE!

I LOVE PICTURES!!

2010-11-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

We feel so thankful to have such talented friends! My old Roommate Jessica and her sister took some pictures of Kai and they turned out SO GREAT!

This HOT soon to be Momma is the one and only Jessica. Her baby girl is due in less than a week and I am so excited to meet her! Don't you just love that belly??? I DO!

Thanks Jess for being so awesome and for helping us to have so many WONDERFUL memories with our little boy!

And....if you're in Rexburg and need a photographer she is awesome, her blog is Jessicabutlerdesign.blogspot.com!

We are so blessed!!

2010-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

This year we had thanksgiving at our apartment and it was so much fun! There really is nothing that fills homesickness on a Holiday more than a room FULL of friends we love!

The tables filled both our kitchen and living room, it was pretty funny but it fit just right!

I slaved and slaved away on Kai's thanksgiving meal and he couldn't be more thrilled with the results...

...but lets be honest he wanted the turkey MUCH more!

We feel so blessed to have so many people to share this special day with (Sorry Tristan for cutting you out of the picture....I can promise that it was an accident!!! or maybe it was payback...I guess you will NEVER know!)

Happy happy thanksgiving! We are so thankful for you all!

so So SO thankful!

2010-11-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

These past couple of weeks I have been feeling so thankful for every little thing.

The children I teach have really taught me so much about who I am and the wife/mom I want to be. These kids come from VERY troubled homes and at times don't even have a place to call home. They are not only trying to learn how to function in day to day life, but they are searching for what it feels like to be loved.

Each day I come home feeling heartsick as I wonder how to make an influence on these children who go home to a TOTALLY different world than I have ever experienced!

BUT..God knows what we can handle, and God puts us in situations where we can make the biggest differences and I KNOW that is why I am teaching these children.

Because of this, I have come to a greater understanding of how blessed I have always been and how much I have to be thankful for. So...although I can't express all of my gratitude, this is a start!

I am so thankful for my best friend! The man of my teenage dreams has now become the man of my present/future and I cannot be more happy! I love you so much Logan!

Each morning I leave for work at 6 and when Logan isn't working I wake up to a romantic breakfast...these heart shaped eggs put a smile on my face ALL day long!

I am so thankful for a little boy who lights up my world each time he smiles... and who shares his patience with parents who are doing the best we can to give him the life he deserves.

My Parents have made me the woman I am today! They have always loved me, and supported me and taught me the right things and choices to make. I really cannot say enough how much they have changed my life and continue to change it! Kai is SO thankful for Grandma and Grandpa and misses them SO much!

Logan was lucky enough to be raised by a Mom who would/does drop EVERYTHING for her kids. She constantly outpours her love to us and supports us each step in our changing life, even if that means driving to Idaho for a weekend :) . And Kai misses his growling buddies!

And to ALL of our family and friends who we don't have individual pictures of :) ....those who love us, support us, talk with us, cry with us, play with us and pretty much make every day better....WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH! You make our lives so much happier and we feel so so so so so so blessed to have you in our life!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Rexburg date night for less than $1...

2010-11-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

Now that its a Winter Wonderland our options have drastically reduced for date nights.

BUT lucky for us Idahoans, we just need to walk out our front door and...

..dessert is calling our name! All you need is a pack of Koolaide and you are set with a DELICIOUS snow cone :)

Thank you Logan for an awesome date night and a VERY creative idea!

Time flies, when you're having fun!!

2010-11-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

Where did the time go? It really seems like just yesterday that I brought this sweet little bundle home with me, as I tried to discover how to be a Mom....and now here we are 6 months later, still discovering new tricks everyday but loving EVERY second of time with my not so little bundle :(

6 MONTH STATS:

16.9 lbs 48%

28 in. 95%

He is LONG and skinny and his body has finally caught up with his head :) A lot has changed with sweet baby Kai these last few months. He now eats ALL kinds of baby food/crackers and LOVES to drink out of his new sippy cup. He rolls all over and has just started making his way into the crawling world. He sleeps from 7-9 (most of the time) and wakes up happy and ready for you to entertain him :)

We have found it VERY entertaining to even attempt to baby proof because Kai finds the funniest places to crawl to and gets stuck in the most uncomfortable positions!

Kai really has picked up his love of people from his Mom. I LOVE to people watch, and so does Kai. He will watch you, and watch you, until you decide to make him laugh :) Such a funny boy!

I have a crawler on my hands!!! These last few weeks he would move from one side of the room to the other without me noticing, and each day he starts to crawl more and more. Sometimes it takes a little bribery...but I do what I have to do :)

I really can't express all the emotions that come with being a Mom. When I look at my little boy I feel proud, happy, emotional, and anxious all at the same time. His future is always in my mind, but his smiles give me comfort and tell me to "chill out" which I am sure he will be saying soon enough :) My boys are my world and I thank God everyday that I have been so blessed to have them in my life!

LOVE LETTER...

2010-11-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Mimi and Aunt Felicity,

This weekend was so much fun! Thank you for driving ALL the way to Idaho just to get to know me a little better...you are much more fun in person then on Skype :)

I love you both so much....thank you for giving me LOTS of attention and constantly hugging and kissing me! This weekend was the best!

I loved spending time with you and Daddy!

5 1/2 months ago I enjoyed this MAMMOTH burger....

..and because of you I was able to enjoy it again....YUM YUM YUM!

I loved how you would play with me in the bath...it was so much fun!

I miss you already!

COME BACK AND GROWL WITH ME :)

i love Love LOVE you both so much!!

Love,

MR. KAI

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2010-10-31T07:43:00.001-07:00

It was a nice, quiet Halloween yesterday/today...Logan had a few days off so we were able to enjoy some special time together as a family! Halloween never was my favorite holiday, mostly because I am afraid of EVERYTHING..but this year it was so nice to share a special dress up day with my two favorite boys on earth!

Kai got right into the Halloween spirit with orange spit up caught in action :) He just turned five months old, is 17.2 lbs and is loving life! He now rolls, scoots and just crawled for the first time this week. We keep trying to catch it on camera but he only does it when he wants to :) He now sleeps from 6:45-9ish only waking up once (on a good night!) We really do just love every second with him, even his fits make us smile :)

For Kai's first Halloween we stayed all warm and cozy inside and Logan read Kai his first Halloween book! Kai loves books...but he loves his Daddy EVEN more!

Thanks to my talented Mom and Dad we were able to sport matching baseball outfits!

The fronts of the shirts say, "Mighty Tataipu's".....

...and the back says it all! We are proud parents of this little baseball player...only a few more years and we can have a full roster! (JUST KIDDING!!!)

Happy Halloween everyone, hope your weekend was as fun and relaxing as ours!!

Fun, fun.....and more FUN!

2010-10-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite times of the year!! The weather is getting a little cooler (but not Idaho crazy cool) and so we are enjoying all the fun park trips, pumpkin carving, baking and spending as much time together as possible! Life is still absolutely crazy but Logan and I are working hard to keep our family going and to have as much fun as we can as we go through this journey!!

Kai's mouth is CONSTANTLY hanging open and drooling... which means he is always wet and ALWAYS talking!!

We have started taking Kai to the park and I am pretty sure that we love it more than Kai does. Kai just LOVES to watch all the kids play!

We had friends over to carve pumpkins and to get into the Halloween spirit I made Mummy pizza :) Don't make fun....I know it wasn't a complete success :)

We let the men do the dirty work, while us women sat and talked and prayed that no fingers would be lost in the process!!!

The Dennett Family was able to come (although I am lacking their family picture), and they made a pumpkin just for their baby boy Talmage! He was a little shocked by his new pumpkin attire but did look so dang cute!

Brett and Emily with the pumpkin Brett carved for little Kai. Just a side note....could this be a Crest commercial or what?????

Tristan and Markie and baby Ellie in the BELLY :) ...FEATURING the Ninja Turtle pumpkin!

My handsome man sharing his pumpkin skills!!!

hahaha I couldn't help but post this one... those precious eyes and lips just melt my heart!!

So thats it for now! We live each day and go through every trial for this sweet boy as he shares his giggles and smiles and continues to change every day!

Monster Mash

2010-10-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

So...I first learned about this funny site from my Sister but then I just saw one of my friends do it on their blog and I laughed so hard that I had to try it !!! So in this video you will see, Logan, Kai, Talmage (my Nephew), and my little brother Chase! For those of you who haven't done this before....ITS A MUST!!!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

WE LOVE FAMILY!!

2010-10-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Its been such an exciting and busy couple weeks and unfortunately my blog has been slacking because of it! Conference weekend my family came to Utah for conference so we made the trip to visit with them and had SO SO SO much fun. My Mom has most of the pictures and so far I haven't seen them, but I will be sure to share them when I get them! Kai was able to experience his first time in a Hotel, first time in a pool and first time watching conference...overall it was awesome~

Kai was such a trooper with our BUSY schedule! I love my little cuddle bug!

My little brother Chase and Logan get along so well...its actually one of the few times I see Chase smile :)

As soon as we came back from Utah Noni and Grandpa were on their way to good ol' Idaho. Unfortunately I got the stomach flu....but lets be honest, they just wanted to see Kai anyway so I was able to sit back and relax! Kai was obsessed with Noni, anytime she would look at him he would start to giggle!

I LOVE this picture! Grandpa is such a sweet man and after a little warming up time Kai fell in love! HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY GRANDPA, WE LOVE YOU!!!

Within a weekend Kai learned how to roll and mastered scooting. We now have to watch him 24/7...and because of all of his movements he experienced his first bruise :(

And the PROUDEST Aunt award goes to.......

2010-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

...ME OF COURSE! From the second I heard my sister was pregnant with Talmage I dreamed of what I would do with my sweet little nephew and how much I would spoil him.Unfortunately we don't live ANYWHERE near each other and so skype is my one way to impress this little boy.

My sister and I have always been best friends, she has been my right hand through EVERYTHING! Heather is smart, beautiful, funny, CRAZY, creative, fun and a PERFECT friend. So...although little T looks a lot like his Daddy his personality is just like his Mommy and I can't get enough of him! I love them both and miss them so so so so so much!!

So, even though half the time Talmage would rather see Kai then me, its okay because when you watch this video you can TOTALLY see who the favorite is!

P.S. is he the CUTEST LITTLE BOY in the WORLD! I would kiss him all day if I could....hint hint, move to IDAHO!!!!!

4 Months

2010-09-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

Weight: 15.3 lbs 65%

Height: 25.8 in. 84%

Head: 17.3 in. 90%

My sweet little baby boy had his Dr appointment today and it was the first appointment I wasnt able to go to...lucky for me Logan was there to save the day and play Mr. Mom! Kai started out in the 90th percentile in all areas but now he's taking his time, which is DEFINITELY helping my back :)

This month Kai has definitely gained more and more of a personality. He has started to have a little bit of "stranger danger" and SCREAMS when he thinks we are leaving him! He is a homebody (just like his mom) and will cry until we walk in the door and then smiles...When Kai is sad...he is REALLY sad. But when he's happy he wants nothing more then to share with you his smiles, laughs and happy movements! Kai still eats VERY often but he is starting to sleep in longer stretches which I am LOVING!

He has not mastered rolling yet but he sure does try hard. Kai really enjoys walks/runs in our running stroller and basically just loves being outside because there is so much to look at!

The biggest change this month is that Kai talks 24/7! Its almost like he just enjoys hearing his own voice...but I don't blame him cause he has an ADORABLE raspy voice!

This month Kai found his tongue and will share it with you anytime, anywhere...and usually that means a pool of drool follows!

He was also able to start eating rice cereal which he LOVES!!! He has been reaching for our food and smacking his lips and so when the day finally came he was pumped!!

After a belly full of rice cereal, Kai was ALL smiles and only cried because he wanted more!

LIFE IS ...

2010-09-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

To say life has been crazy lately would be a MASSIVE understatement...Logan and I are nothing more then parents who switch places as we come and go. The last few days I have had to stay at work later which means sweet little Logan has to sleep until 10:30 and he starts work at 11:00. I really really really miss him!

This weekend when logan woke up we decided to go to dinner together which hasn't happened in a long long time!! Kai slept in his carseat the whole time and I cannot even tell you how much fun it was to actually share a meal with my best friend! Everything we do is to keep our family going and I know someday it will be a wonderful memory of what we did for each other!

This video just makes me laugh again and again...after church on sunday Kai was a little overstimulated by EVERYTHING and I was so glad to catch it all on tape!! I love this little boy!

All in a day....

2010-09-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a day when your WHOLE life changed in an instant? Well let me tell you a little about my life right now :)

Tuesday morning I received a message from Mrs Tubbs (the Teacher I student taught for and LOVE) stating that there was a part time Kindergarten teacher position that had just opened at Iona Elementary and she had brought my name up and if I was interested the Principal wanted to meet with me. After a quick earnest prayer and a talk with my #1 supporter (Logan of course) we decided that this really was an answer to our family prayers. Not only would the pay be WAY more than we were anticipating but my worry of insurance would be gone.

So I called the Principal and he said that he has never had so many teachers request one person and that he was VERY interested. I thanked him and told him I would love to meet with him sometime in the following week. He then shocked me by asking if Logan and I could meet with him that night after scouts (only in idaho would a principal have to go to scouts first!!)

ANYWAYS long story short I interviewed that night, found out Wednesday that I got the job and started today in my Kindergarten class with 25 little kids.

DONT GET ME WRONG...leaving today was the hardest thing I have ever done....I cried all morning getting ready, the whole drive to school, anytime Kai's name was mentioned at school and the whole drive home :) Luckily Logan gets to be home with him during the day so I know he is safe and VERY happy... but it was my first time leaving and all I wanted to do was hug my sweet boys!

Day 2 starts tomorrow and I am going to try to be stronger and give it all I got!!!

Gotta love the right side of the bed...

2010-09-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Kai ALWAYS wakes up on the "right side of the bed" no matter how much sleep he has gotten! For days now Logan and I get excited to go in and see him because the smiles he gives can really make any ones day better. Finally we remembered to get it on tape!

The 2nd video just shows how much Kai loves his Daddy!!

After a LONG walk I got home and Kai was entertaining himself in his carseat so I decided to take the opportunity to get some work done around the house. I was smiling to myself hearing Kai talk in the front room until I decided to look around the corner and see what he was up to..... yeah...lesson learned....Kai knows how to scoot :)

So thats all the videos and pics I have for now.....but they will keep coming....AS USUAL!

Happy Sunday!

2010-09-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Have I told you lately how much I love my boys??? Well its about time I say it again! This morning I woke up to a happy baby and a wonderful husband... not that I don't every day but there is something about a sunday that makes you a little more thankful.

Lately I have been anxiously awaiting news from a Nanny job that I had applied for. To be honest I thought with my degree and past experience there was NO WAY I wouldn't get the job. Well weeks went by and I just kept telling myself that I would hear any day. I FINALLY received an email and I did NOT get the job.

I spent at least an hour crying and feeling a little sorry for myself. Don't get me wrong I love being a Mom and love the extra time I have on my hands. But going from 19 credits and a full time job to a well tempered baby and LOTS of extra time on my hands is not easy!

It wasn't until today, while watching BYU channel that I felt a complete peace with my job in life and my purpose as a Mom. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang, "Sunrise, sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof and of course I cried as I realized this time with my baby is SO SHORT! He will not be a baby for ever, and I am so thankful to be given this time to teach him, play with him and have so much fun with him!

I LOVE being a wife and Mom! I love having time to serve and meet new people! I love keeping a tidy home and trying out new recipes! And I love watching Kai's eyes as he discovers the world around him!

I have the BEST job ever...I am a Mom!

LOSERS ARE WINNERS...AND WINNERS ARE LOSERS!

2010-09-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Logans family is BIG into card games...and lucky for me that love was passed on to our family! This week we went to our friends house and the games began. We started out with a sweet and innocent game of Golf! That sweet game turned into a full out fight to the finish...and with that finish the "LOSERS" of the game (aka Kristen and I) were basically begging for a rematch!

The day of the match finally came and the heat was on from the start. Kristen and I were losing just like before but with one card left we were confident that there was no way Logan would draw the card he needed.

AND CAN YOU GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?????

....YES.....he drew the dang card! And there we were, LOSERS....BUT worse than that...Logan and Trevor were the WINNERS!

The house then became an uproar....and luckily Kai slept through all of the screams! So although we hope to have people leave our house feeling happy and inspired......this just wasn't one of those times :)

Who knew the game of Golf could be so exciting?!?

So, Logan and Trevor....we are ready when you are??? Third times a charm right???

WHAT THE 3 MONTHS??

2010-08-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Where has time gone?? My little baby boy is SO OLD!! Three months ago I had no idea the joy that would be brought into my life and now I live for this little boy!

A lot has changed with Kai in the last three months...he LOVES people and constantly examines facial expressions and responds to voices, he smiles A LOT as long as he looks at Mom first to see if its okay with me :), he started teething and has two little teeth that are giving him grief! Kai LOVES to be bounced and LOVES getting 100% of your attention! He is determined to roll and everyday he gets better and better! A few days ago we started letting Kai soothe himself to sleep and last night was FINALLY a success with only 20 minutes of crying and 6 hours straight of sleeping....now all I have to do is hope and pray that it continues!!!! Sadly Kai now weighs 15 lbs and is now wearing 3-6 Month clothes and even some of those are too small!

As always we are having so much fun with Kai and he teaches us something EVERY DAY!

As you can see I can't get enough of his smiles!!!

This morning we woke up to Kai snuggling with his favorite monkey...these days everything becomes a chew toy :)

AnD I only caught the end of this but Kai rolled himself over, and then got stuck!! He is so strong!

Happy 3 months handsome Kai we LOVE you so so so much!

JUMP...JUMP...JUMP FOR JOY!!!

2010-08-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Kai and I have been spending LOTS of time together lately!! As I have posted about before Logan works graveyards at the Quality Inn and so hes gone all night and then sleeps all day, so our time together is short, which has been a hard adjustment! While Logan works and sleeps I get to enjoy my baby boy, who continues to become more and more involved and VERY happy! We love him so much!!

Kai has found a new love for his jumper (thanks Grandma). He is so amazed by the toys, lights and freedom he has while inside! Kai is a VERY independent little boy!

Logan and I have found a new way to communicate with his new job...we write notes on paper, white boards and the bathroom mirror just to make sure we can keep each other informed about all that goes on while we are separated!

The other day I not only woke up to a sweet note, but there was a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers! I love Logan so much. Although I am sure he is constantly exhausted he makes a point to show Kai and I just how much he loves us!

These next videos are just a few of my happy little boy. I am sorry they are all sideways I always tape the wrong way!!!

Full of Smiles!!!

JUMP FOR JOY!!!

I guess that is the only update I have for now...Kai will be 3 months old this week and I am just shocked how much a baby can change in such a little amount of time!! We love being parents and LOVE discovering all the new skills our little boy!

WARNING...

2010-08-09T07:39:00.001-07:00

...this post contains biased bragging about my WONDERFUL family and the WONDERFUL time we had in California! This week Kai experienced a lot of firsts, like...first car trip, first time in California, first time meeting a lot of family, first Fair experience, first movie in the theaters, first cold water experience, first professional pictures, first flu (so so SAD), and first airplane trip...ITS BEEN A BUSY WEEK!

We were able to bless Kai in my old home ward..Kai was lucky enough to be surrounded by LOTS of family who love him! He is one lucky boy!

The California State Fair is A MUST, and this year we all got to enjoy together. Kai and Cousin Talmage became best friends fast and wanted to do everything together!! (TRUTH: Whoever holds Kai becomes Talmages best friend, but lets be honest...he isn't reaching for you!! )

Kai received LOTS AND LOTS of kisses this week! This is just one of the many from Great Grandma Holtry!
Talmage is THE CUTEST little brown eyed boy... I miss his sweet little personality already and can't wait to play with him again!

My brother Chase is SO SO SO Handsome...but thats not all...he also puts Kai right to sleep. He has a natural touch with kids and I just know he has LOTS of kids in his future :)

My nephew is the smartest little boy I know. Not only does he know sign language but my brother in law is teaching him Russian...he amazes me and is again ...SO CUTE!!! (Don't judge me for bribing him, I had to get it on video!!)

We had such a great time with our families but unfortunately I didnt get pictures of some them but I love them so much and wish they would send me their pics...hint hint!!!

TIME FLIES!

2010-07-23T11:12:00.001-07:00

2 Months Old

Height: 24.5 in (96%)

Weight: 12.8 lbs (84%)

Head: 16 in (74%)

Why is it that when I was pregnant two months seemed like years but now that my sweet baby is here two months has FLOWN past? I am pretty bitter about it!!! At two months Kai now LOVES to eat and is becoming quite the little chunk, he loves to smile and loves to be given ALL of your attention, if he doesn't have it, he will give you a fake cry to gain your sympathy!

Today was his two month Drs appointment and I have been dreading it for a while because of his shots. I don't know how to handle that kind of thing. I don't want people to hurt Kai and I don't want to be the mean one to bring him there to be hurt :) But unfortunately I know its necessary and so I went.

Everything was going great and the Dr said he would send in the nurses to give him his shots. Moments later the nurses came in... (here is the part that bugs me) They went up to Kai and talked with him making him smile and coo and then while his smile was as big as it could be they shot him....WHAT THE HECK...why make the poor baby smile just to punish him for it? Anyways I left the office with a wailing baby and a heart sick mom. This is one of the jobs of a Mom that I really DON'T like!

Lucky for me, after a nice big nap and feeding Kai is finally happy (as long as you stay away from his sore legs that is!) Two months have gone WAY too fast and I just hope to find joy in every second with our sweet little (big) baby!

Say Goodbye.....to the Samurai!!!!

2010-07-20T15:29:00.001-07:00

Kai was born bald....except for his little "samarai" hairs on the back of his head. It has bugged me from the start but I thought he would lose it as time went on.... but no...of course not...actually quite the opposite has happened, HIS SAMARAI IS GROWING WITH A VENGEANCE!!! So today was the day, and thanks to Logan it turned out great!

BEFORE: Featuring the samurai!

AFTER: Fresh start, ready for his hair to grow...evenly I hope!!!

I love my baby boy!!

2010-07-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Kai started gracing us with his coos a while ago but I misplaced our camera...but now that its back I finally caught my baby in action! I hope u enjoy as much as I did!

HE'S A BIG KID NOW.....

2010-07-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Things are just going amazing here in the good old 'burg! We are LOVING the nice weather and loving spending time together. Logan started his new job and he loves it and fortunately for us they love him and continue to give him lots of extra hours!!

My baby keeps growing and growing...I just can't help but feel a little sad. This last week I switched him from his little bassinet to his very own room in his very own big kid bed. SO of course I had to document the difference....so this is him before he switched and.....

...here he is after the big switch. Same sweet position but lots of extra room! I thought I would be sad to see him leave our room but we both actually get much more sleep!

I have started watching Jessica (my neighbors 18 month old) again and I just LOVE watching her with Kai. She loves to help him and entertain him with his music on the side of his swing. He is happy and I am VERY thankful for the extra help :)

My sweet boys!! I love them so much! Today was the big Soccer game and unfortunately the Netherlands lost at the VERY end but we still love them and had a lot of fun cheering until the end. Logan assures me that the flag will be down by tomorrow but he says out of respect for the Netherlands we have to keep it up the rest of the day!! haha!

WE LOVE AUNT KIM!! I am so thankful to have Kim in Rexburg, and get to see a little piece of family! She is so sweet to come visit and spend a little bonding time with Kai.

I love her and I love Kai's little BUDDHA BELLY!

Its been another great week and we know there are many more to come!!

ORANJE TOT HET EINDE!!!

2010-07-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

aka ORANGE TO THE END!!! For those of you who don't know Logan served his mission in the Netherlands and has gained a real pride for ANYTHING dutch.

Since the World Cup began Logan has added a new addition to our front porch...and to my dismay it is BRIGHT ORANGE!! He promised me one simple thing, as soon as the Netherlands lost, the flag would immediately be taken down....Little did I know, they wouldn't lose a SINGLE GAME!!!! So if you drive by our house you will see, the flag still remains!

With yet another win against Uruguay in the semi finals Logan showed the city of Rexburg his pride by flaunting his BRIGHT orange jersey, BRIGHT orange slippers and waving the BRIGHT orange flag, while cheering to every approaching car! OLE, OLE OLE OLE!!!

SO....

Dear Netherlands,

Please WIN and please WIN QUICKLY so that I can once again enjoy my front porch!

Much thanks from Rexburg!

Love,

Your #2 Fan

Happy Fourth!

2010-07-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well....its was an interesting Fourth to say the least. We were planning on being in California to bless Kai but Logan heard back from a job last minute which was SO exciting, so we decided to reschedule his blessing for a later date. I am so glad that we did because Logan ended up being sick all weekend so Kai and I had EVEN MORE one on one bonding time :)

I love my little boy. Excuse my face...it had been a LONG weekend!

His smiles come more often now and his coo's light up a room!

Poor sick Logan...he was so miserable and I just tried my best to keep Kai healthy and Logan happy! Luckily he is starting to feel better and has a lot more energy.

I love love LOVE his chunky little face!

So...although it was a tiring weekend I couldn't have asked for more. And for a little present to his Mom, Kai decided that last night was the night to change from waking up every 2 hours to sleeping in 4 hour stretches. Thank you sweet little boy, I am rested and ready for whatever is coming my way!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

2010-06-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today is my wonderful Logans 23rd Birthday! I just love him so much and I am so glad to be given two weeks in a row to praise him!

I attempted to make a cool cake...if you can see its sinking in the middle...oh well, I guess I'll try again next year!

My handsome husband with his many gifts!

Logans Mom has been with us this last week and on our way to pick her up in Utah we tried out a "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" place and it was DELICIOUS!

Seriously the burgers were HUGE and the onion rings were crunchy and YUMMY!

And I really can't even try to explain the shakes...they were a little piece of Heaven on earth. Speaking of a little piece of Heaven, little Kai sat and watched his Mom and Dad devour the food in the back of the car!

Kai finally got to meet Mimi and Aunt Felicity. They were all VERY excited to see each other!

Kai met his Great Grandma Holtry... It was love at first sight!

Kai is getting so good at focusing on people. We are enjoying watching him turn his head when he hears our voices!

Aunt Felicity loves baby Kai! He listens very intently while she read to him!

Soaking in the sun at the park!

The park had a fun carousel for Felicity to enjoy.

So thats about it for this week...We are having so much fun enjoying the Rexburg summer weather with our sweet little boy! Lots of posts to come because I just can't seem to stop! But as for now....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN...WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!