The Wilhelmsen Botanical Blog

Hello, hello!  I think that I will just jump right in and tell you about our week.  Monday evening we got a free redbox, Meet The Browns.  I actually really liked it.  It had a good story line with a bit of silliness mixed in and a happy ended.  Just the recipe that I always enjoy.  🙂  Brandon enjoyed it as well.

Tuesday has slipped my mind.  So sorry!  Wednesday was Aiden’s 6 month check up.  (I know, you can hardly believe he is that old already because it seems like just yesterday when he was born.)  For details on weight and height you can go to Aiden’s website.  The doctor said that he looked like he was doing well, he got his third set of shots, and we talked about getting him in to the allergist between now and when he turns one (yea, yea it is my fault that we have to be so careful, but better to be safe then sorry).  She also pretty much gave us the go ahead to feed him anything that I am not allergic to, including pureed meats, dairy products (but NO MILK until he is one), and wheat products.  This same day we also got the news that our friend Adam (who incidentally is the one who set Brandon and I up) and his wife were at the U of U hospital with their brand new baby girl.  We ended up going to see them and meeting their little one, Kathryn Emma Weiss.  (On a side note, it is VERY good that they didn’t name her Emma Kathryn because our first girl will be Emma and that is just too many Emma’s :p)  Anyway, we hadn’t been in contact with them for about 10 months and it was really nice to visit with them and get caught up on the news in each others lives. 

Thursday we watched College Road Trip.  It was good.  I like Disney movies.

Friday evening we drove out to Provo to attend the reception of a friend of mine from my U of U single student ward.  While we were there we got a chance to chat with another friend of ours Cameron and his wife.  We met their little boy and they met Aiden.  It was good to see them as well.

Saturday I drove out to Bountiful to visit my grandma so that she could spend a little bit of time with Aiden.  While we were there grandma let him play with her bucket full of rubber duckies.  There was one plush duck that quacks when you squeeze it and Aiden thought it was really cool so we put it on the ground and squeezed it.  He smiled and scooted/crawled over to it.  It was the closest to crawling he has done so far and I was just amazed.  He is getting more and more mobile every day.  I then went grocery shopping with my dad.  Thanks again dad!

Sunday we went to church.  It was nice to be back after being on trips and a baby blessing the last three weeks.  In the evening we had dinner with my dad, mom, sis, and her hubby Matt because they are moving to Florida on friday.  🙁  All of Aiden’s cousins will live out of state.  I am so used to seeing my cousins whenever I want that it makes my heart ache a little bit to think that Aiden won’t have that wonderful opportunity. 

We hope that everyone is doing well, Brandon did have one interview this last week and applied to be a UTA transit officer (he won’t hear from UTA for 7-10 days for an interview).  He plans to keep looking this week.  Love you all!  Thank for reading…

Hey everyone, can you believe that summer is nearly over?  It definitely went by fast.  Another thing that I am amazed about is that next friday my first born little boy will be 6 months old.  Time has sure passed quickly since he was born.  Why is it that time moves more and more quickly as you get older so that one day you wake up and it seems that you are in a race against time?  Couldn’t it just slow down a little bit.

Anyway, this week was pretty good.  We came back from Wendover on Monday and sort of took it easy.  We didn’t do a whole lot this week, it seems like we did a lot of dishes and laundry but that is just because there are always dishes and laundry to do.

A couple of things to update on are that Brandon is out of a job again.  He was working through Kelly Services and they weren’t keeping up their end of the contract with Kelly Services so the temp. agency pulled everyone of that job.  He did have an interview Thursday that seemed to go well and he also contacted a few other people about a job.  I am going to send him out tomorrow to search a little bit tomorrow and hopefully he can e-mail a few people.  He is also going to do some follow up as well.  His last day was the 25th of July.  We would really appreciate any prayers that you could say in our behalf and especially that Brandon might get the job that he interviewed for.

I was also having a lot on my mind because for some reason I hadn’t had my monthly visitor yet and I thought that I might be pregnant.  I took a pregnancy test on Monday, negative this worried me because I still hadn’t started of course and was afraid of another ectopic pregnancy, I eventually called my doctor and they had me get another test on Thurs. morning, negative again.  Later that afternoon my visitor arrived and all is well.  For those of you who are curious my doctor said that because I didn’t have damage or a loss of my ovary or fallopian tube my risk of another ectopic is about the same as a woman who has never had and ectopic.  He did say though that they will be a little bit more careful with me because I have had the one.  The doc also wasn’t concerned of me having an ectopic this time around because the pregnancy tests were negative.  Anyway, that is enough of that.

Saturday was a good day, I went to the temple with two of my very best friends Katie and Richelle, in the morning (I should have gotten a picture darn it) and we did a session.  It was nice to go to the temple because I haven’t gone for a couple of months.  I went home after the session so that Brandon could have the car to do a couple of errands.  In the evening Aiden and I went to my friend Richelle’s to celebrate my friend Charissa’s birthday.  It was good to see her and my other friend Melinda because I don’t see them very often.  As you can see in the pic. Aiden was enjoying the exersaucer during the party and he even got to taste watermelon.  (On a side note, we got Aiden an exersaucer of his own on friday from someone in the village who was selling theirs at about 1/2 the cost.)

Today my cousin’s son got blessed.  It was a good blessing and the open house afterwards was leisurely and relaxing.  I ate and snacked until my tummy was happy.  The brownies and cookies were especially tasty.  The other thing to mention is that we decided to let Aiden pet the little dog named Dolly, because although we plan not to have any dogs we most certainly don’t want him to be afraid of them.  Well, he enjoyed petting the dog but we neglected to wash his little hands off afterwards and this afternoon he woke up with red eyes and as he kept rubbing he got little red splotches on his head.  I concluded that he is probably allergic to dogs and gave him a bath to get the dander/allergens off.  That pretty well cleared him up.  Poor guy!

Well, that is all from us this week.  Aiden has his 6th month check up this week and I am having a nail party this Saturday, Brandon also intends to work on his kite since we will have the community center, other then that it should be pretty laid back.  Thanks for reading…

Hey everyone!  We hope that you had a wonderful Pioneer Day this past week.  We celebrated by taking Aiden to the Bountiful Handcart Days parade, his very first parade ever, and the eating at the carnival afterwards.  The food was good and Aiden liked seeing all of the new things that there were to see during the parade and at the park.  He did not like the loud sirens at the beginning of the parade, they made him nervous because they were so loud and he cried a little.  It was a lot of fun though.

This past weekend we went to Wendover with my dad, sis, and her husband Matt.  We went swimming as quickly as possible when we got there and we ate a yummy buffet on Saturday evening.  There were so many delicious dessert choices and also a chocolate fondu table with strawberries, maraschino cherries, pineapple, marshmellows, rice krispie treats and a few other things that I don’t remember.  Mmmm, mmm good!

Sunday we went to the salt flats and the wendover air field.  Both were interesting but there was not much to see.  After being tourists for a bit we ate lunch and then Brandon and I watched The Guardian while Aiden napped.  After that we went swimming for a brief length of time (it was insanely windy, it was almost knocking me over).   Then we ate dinner in the cafe.  After dinner we all watched a pay per view movie.  We picked Baby Mama it was funny and clever.  After the movie it was time for Aiden to go to bed and then Brandon went to play pool with my family while I went to sleep.  He and my dad won 2 out of 3 games only losing the third because Brandon hit the 8 ball into the wrong pocket.  My husband is a pool shark.  🙂 

Yesterday I gambled a dollar on the penny slots.  At one point I was ahead, havng won $1.38, when I cashed out I had $1.06 so hey I didn’t lose my money!  🙂  Go me.  I just don’t really get how people zone out and blow through thousands of dollars in one night.  But hey, whatever floats (or in this case sinks) their boat.  I am good with just playing a dollar or less on one slot once every 5 years or so.   Lsat night we watched 21 courtesy of our free Monday red box code.  I liked the movie a lot.  Movies where they try to “beat the system” in Vegas are intriguing to me.  This particular movie is about card counting which is not illegal but can get you beat up if you are caught. 

Anyway, I guess that is all for this week.  Life is going pretty well and Aiden is healthy and happy.  Until next time, thanks for reading.

I know I haven’t written for about a week and a half.  I wanted to wait until after our trip with my mom, sis and bro-in-law to Misty River and then I am going to try and write our posts on Sundays.  I will hit on the highlights since I last wrote and anything else that comes to my little brain.

Last Saturday the 12th This is the Place Monument had a family free day as part of the Days of ’47 festivities.  They had a lot of cool crafts for kids to do and I hadn’t been to see the little village since I went to the haunted village about 4 years ago.  I like looking around at all of the little houses and things.  It was blazing hot but enjoyable. 

Moday the 14th we ate ice cream with our dinner group for this month and we had a good time chatting with the others from our ward and eating tasty ice cream.  Yum!

Then on Friday the 18th (my sister’s birthday) we went to Misty River.  We got there around 7:00 and set up our bedding and things in the little cabin that was reminiscent of a shed.  (It was cozy and cute.)  There were about a million mosquitos and I got like 20 mosquito bites over the weekend.  After we unpacked we went to Nephi to pick up stuff for food and breakfast over the weekend.  By the time we got back Aiden need to eat and then I ate cake and went to bed. 

Oh on a side note, I went to walmart earlier in the day and was letting Aiden drink water from his sippy cup.  I eventually put it in his car seat between his legs and put his binky in his mouth.  Well, after wheeling around the store a little bit I look down to see Aiden holding his sippy cup and putting it up to his mouth.  I pulled out his binky and he started to drink from it.  I was proud of little Aiden for that accomplishment and to me it meant that he kind of knows what being thirsty feels like and that the liquid in his sippy will help relieve that.  It also means that his hand eye coordination is improving in leaps and bounds.  I can’t believe how fast kids grow and develop.  It is amazing!

Anyway so on Saturday we spent the morning in Fillmore and ate at a yummy little restaurant in town.  On the way back to camp we stopped at Yuba lake for a bit but there was no shade down by the water and I was worried about little Aiden being too hot.  When we got back to camp Brandon and I pulled our camp chairs into the river and sat.  It was very refreshing.  Eventually the wind kicked up and storm clouds rolled in so our plans of roasting hot dogs for dinner were foiled.  Erica, Matt, Brandon, Aiden and I ended up driving back into Nephi to pick up a pizza.  It was GOOD too. 

Sunday morning we ended up just packing up and heading home.  I was feeling exhausted because even though I felt like I was sleeping well I wasn’t feeling very refreshed upon waking up.  Even today I am still feeling sluggish. 

Anyway, there you have it.  Our adventures for the week.  Thanks for reading!

Oh my goodness you will not believe what happened this afternoon.  It was TOO funny and a little bit of a shock mixed with some ewww factor.  Aiden and I had been playing airplane and I was lifting him up in the air because he enjoys it.  Well, as you all know he is a bit prone to spitting up and well, up he went and down came the spit up right into my EYE.  My glasses got some on them too but they did not provide my eye with any protection.  I was a bit shocked but amused at the small chance for that to happen to me and yet, somehow it did.  I was laughing and had to put Aiden down on the bed so that I could clean my face.  He fussed a bit, mostly I think because he didn’t understand the abrupt actions I took to resolve the mess.  I got up quickly, went to the bathroom to wash up quickly (while holding Aiden), and then plopped him on the bed when I realized I couldn’t hold him and clean up at the same time.  All the while I was giggling and saying, “Oh Aiden you spit on mommy’s face,” and “it’s ok.”  Word to the wise, be careful because it could happen to you!

Anyway, we have been busy, busy since July 3rd on which day we thoroughly enjoyed the REAL Salt Lake soccer game courtesy of Brandon’s employer.  I missed a lot of the game due to feeding Aiden but it was still fun because we were hanging out with Dan and the fireworks were nice.  It was a late night though and we are unnacustomed to that.  Here is a picture of Aiden watching the fireworks…

On Independence Day we went and ate dinner at my mom’s, made yummy cookies, then Matt (my bro-in-law) and Brandon lit fireworks.  Aiden couldn’t decide if he wanted to look at the Citronella candle flame or the fireworks.  The noisy ones scared him.  This ended up being another late night.  Two in a row for us which is unheard of!

Saturday we watched a movie (Drillbit Taylor, lots of bad language which was not appreciated, decent story line, kind of a mean girls but with boys) and we plopped Aiden into his little pool again.  That was fun and he enjoyed it without fussing one bit.  Here he is with his ducky…

Sunday was mostly laid back, we had to water my dad’s lawn and so we visited my grandma & grandpa for a bit.  They really enjoy seeing the great grandkids.

Yesterday was crazy again.  Aiden and I went to Vicky’s for a scrapbook day and he took only short or very short naps throughout the day and so by the evening he was slightly ornery.  After Vicky’s I went to get my lovey hubby and Aiden and I ended up sitting at his work for an hour so that he could “put out some fires.”  At which point we figured we had just about enough time to get to the airport to pick up my dad and decided to drive straight there, at which time we sat there for 30 mins.  By this point I had been feeling too warm almost all day, was getting hungry, and needed to use the restroom so I made Brandon leave the park and wait spot so we could drive to one and of course at that moment my pa called.  So we told him we’d be right back.  Thankfully after we finally picked him up he was generous enough to take us to dinner and that perked me back up a bit.  Needless to say I slept well last night.  So there you are.  Thanks for reading.

Well, Aiden has had an adventure filled couple of days.  Friday we went up to Pineview Reservoir again, this time with our ward.  We spent the day on the beach and we took one boat ride.  I wish I had a picture of Aiden in a life jacket.  You see it was for 30 pound toddlers, not 16 pound infants and it squished around his little cheeks and made him look a bit like violet on Willy Wonka when she turns into a blueberry.  Tee hee.  He seemed to enjoy the ride and since it was nap time it eventually lulled him off to sleep. 

Saturday Aiden and I went to my friend Katie’s baby shower while Brandon stayed home and designed some things for thumb prints.  At the shower we went swimming and so I took Aiden in the pool again.  This time I was brave enough to dunk him twice. 

Sunday after church I had a meeting and Brandon had to do some home teaching.  I made an apple pie and we started a batch of apples to dry along with two trays of strawberry apple fruit leather.  Saturday we dried banana’s, peaches, and made apple fruit leather as well as peach fruit leather.  We love our food dehydrator!  We also picked up our first food co-op order.  It was a GREAT deal for some really quality and fresh food.  There are food co-ops all over the state for information about a food co-op in your area go to http://www.crossroads-u-c.org/cfc/ You can get about $50.00 of meat, veggies, and fruits for $21.00.  Sweet!

Yesterday, my sister and I took Aiden to the zoo.  He slept through a lot of it as babies tend to need a lot of sleep but he did enjoy the things that he saw after he woke up.  It was extremely hot but we kept hydrated and Aiden drank out of his sippy cup pretty well.  It was fun for me to go and see all of the changes.  I haven’t been to the zoo in a few years and was pleased with most of the changes.  Although I must say, “Where are my beloved hippopotumuses?”  🙁  They are gone, it is very sad.

Today, oi.  First of all Aiden spit up about 4 ounces of his morning milk feeding.  Resulting in a need for a change of clothes and a mopping of the floor.  Then I fed him prunes for the very first time and he liked them, he was squealing and grinning (to me they smelled a lot like raisins).  Then while he was napping his pocket diaper leaked (sometimes the fleece wicks the moisture right out of the diaper, but not too often) and of course I had to change his clothes again.  Then while we were sitting at the computer so that I could do my weekly scrapbook page, he spit up a little bit of prune colored goo down the front of his most recent onesie.  So, he gets to go around looking a bit messy until he soaks this outfit in either spit up or urine.  Such is the life for a mom.  Busy, busy and messy, messy!  😉  It helps that he is so darn cute though!
Well, I don’t really have much else to say.  Things are going well.  Brandon’s job will be at the U of U stadium before the Real Salt Lake game on Thursday doing promotions for their business.  As a result he gets a few free tickets to the game and so we will get to see the fireworks and soccer game on the 3rd.  On the 4th we are being pyro’s at my mom’s and having our own small firework display and then on Saturday the 5th we have free tickets to go see the 23rd army band at temple square.  I think it will all be a lot of fun.
We hope that everyone is doing well and is having a fun filled (and cool) summer.  Be careful on the 4th!  Thanks for reading.

Well everyone, last week Brandon, Aiden and I went camping with my extended family up at Pineview Reservoir.  It took us half a week to prepare, we were there half a week and it has taken another half of a week to unpack and resume normal life.  Camping went fairly well.  The first two nights were pretty chilly but Aiden had on a sleeper, blanket sleeper (basically a bag with sleeves) and 2-3 blankets on him.  The 3rd night was pretty warm.  I just had little Aiden in his two sleepers.  The days were pretty warm and Aiden was eating peculiarly the whole trip but he seemed to be getting enough.  He had his first two full halves of a popsicle.  Half of a blue on one day and half of a yellow the next.  I felt it neccessary in order to keep him cool and hydrated.  While we were there we shot our bow and arrows, I made 4 cards for our yearly family auction, we played cards, I read, Aiden slept and got to enjoy being held and played with by various family members, and Brandon got in the lake and found some cool rocks which got lost amongst everything else.  We ate well, spaghetti one night, bbq beef the next, and chicken & ribs the last night.  Mmm tasty!

While we were gone some friends of ours in the ward watered our garden for us and so we came back to a flourishing garden.  I harvested some of the pea’s on Monday and turned them into baby food puree today.  It is now in the freezer getting frozen.  We also received a letter in the mail telling us that we are eligible for the medicaid Primary Care Network and that we need to pay our $50 annual enrollment fee by July 19th.  How cool is that?  Very soon our WHOLE FAMILY will be covered by insurance.  Hooray! 

Anyway, I think that is everything of consequence that has happened since I last wrote.  I did come home from camp on Sunday with a sore throat and it has developed into a cold.  (Meh!)  Aiden also had some allergies at camp which I eased with a 1/4th dose of Children’s Claritin.  He still has a gagging/choking cough but the pediatrician said that I only need to worry if Aiden has trouble breathing or gets a fever and that it is probably just allergies.  Until next week, thanks for reading…

Hey everyone.  So, I guess I spoke to soon about the nice spring weather and rain because BAM!  It is in the 90’s again.  I think it was actually 99 degrees (according to one of those time and temp. clocks) on Saturday evening when we were headed home from Canyon Rim park.  Oi. 

So on Saturday we all went to the bishops house for swimming and a luncheon. (View Brandon dunking Aiden in the pool here http://wilhelmsenfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2008/06/dunking-aiden.html) It was tasty as usual and I got a recipe for some delicious pasta salad!  Yippee.  After that we came home and Brandon helped a new family move in while I grabbed a posicle at the 900 court activity.  Then after feeding Aiden, and showering to get the chlorine off of us we headed out again to pick up part of my dad’s father’s day gift and also to go to this festival that was being held at Canyon Rim park.  It was pretty neat there were a lot of booths about various transportation updates (rail and road) and also different outdoor vendors.  There was an area where kids could shoot a compound bow, another where they could get in a garbage truck and pick up a trash can, and another where you could see the wiring of a traffic light.  I enjoyed looking around. 

Needless to say it was a long day in the sun.  I was worried about Aiden because he hadn’t slept much and was eating spastically.  My body is definitely not used to being so hot and in the constant sun.  It pooped me out (and Brandon too).  In the evening when it started to cool down we went and shot our bow.  I shot 14 times and only hit the 18 in. target that Brandon made 1 time.  I was consistently too high and to the left, even when I tried to correct it.  He hit the target about 8 times or so out of 24-30 shots.  It was fun and I am sure that I will gradually get better at it. 

Father’s day was good.  We ate dinner with my dad, sister, and brother-in-law before going up to my grandparents to visit my grandpa.  Aiden and I gave Brandon a card, olive oil, and under the cabinet lights to go above our stove.  (I bought the lights Friday and was so excited to give them to him that I did when I got home.)  I think that he had a good Father’s Day but I don’t know.  At my grandparents he played croquet with a few of my cousins and he won!  He finished a good 5ish mins. before everyone else.  Crazy eh?

Well, life is good.  Aiden and I have stayed indoors most of the day to compensate and recuperate from all of the time spent outdoors in the hot over the weekend and I imagine we won’t be going outdoors during the hottest part of the day if we can manage it.  I just worry too much about him getting heat stroke or dehydrated.  We are going camping with my extended family at Pineview Reservoir this weekend and I am a bit nervous about it but hopefully it will all go just fine.  We will post pictures from camp next week.  Thanks for reading…

Hello, hello!  So I didn’t quite get around to writing this past sunday.  I had visiting teaching and trying to get breadsticks made and then we went to eat dinner with a couple of families in the ward.  We had homemade pizza.  This combined with breadsticks, salad, and lemon bars made for a well rounded and tasty meal.  Saturday was busy as well, although I don’t remember what we did most of the day in the evening we went and saw Prince Caspian with my dad.  It was an excellent movie and I would once again like to encourage everyone to READ THE BOOKS!!!  As you know movies take liberties and don’t always get all of the details of the books, leave some out altogether or rearrange them into a different order.  It had been long enough since I have read the books to be able to enjoy the movie for what it was but I still liked the books better. 

I have also been thinking that this is the coldest (although still pleasant) and rainiest transition into summer that I have seen for a long while and I am somewhat relieved.  I was nervous back in February/March when we were already having 90 degree weather and was preparing myself for a long, HOT summer.  Thank goodness for rain.  But I have one question?  Why all the talk about global warming when we had a colder winter then we had for several years and now we are having a normal rainy, cool spring rather then the HOT HOT ones we have had?  I know, I know global warming diehards would say that the extreme in heat would have an equal an opposite reaction with an extreme in cold, but the last thing I heard on the matter is that it the warming trend has been at a stand still since 1999.  I believe in global climate change but not in the possibility of such extreme that we would have major problems as a result within 20 years because by then it could be getting cold or hot again.  Anyway, let me jump down off my soap box.  🙂

So, Aiden is continually growing.  He was blowing spit bubbles yesterday and has learned to grab things that we hold close where he can reach them.  He has even started to grab at the dangly objects on his swing.  On top of that I have been more diligent about giving him tummy time (to encourage rolling over and crawling) and now he will push up with his arms fully extended for short periods of time.  He is still not quite sitting on his own yet because his tummy muscles are still too weak but it should be any day now.  He has started on baby food now (view video of his first feeding at http://wilhelmsenfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/), mostly rice cereal mixed with a little bit (like a 1/4 tsp.) of fruit or veggie.  He didn’t seem to sure about the applesauce but he seems to enjoy sweet potatoes.  I only feed him baby food once a day and only a little bit because it really isn’t neccessary for his diet yet.  It is more of a curiosity and love of varying flavors for Aiden.  I think it makes him feel grown up.  He also likes crackers and those gerber wagon wheels.  He is really good about gumming them until they are pasty and then swallowing.  I also should mention that his eyes are still blue and seem to be getting more blue every day.  I also can see some itty bitty blond hairs growing in on his head.  Your guess is as good as mine as to what color his hair will end up.  I think it will be a lighter brown or blond.  I guess we shall see.

As for Brandon, he is really enjoying his job.  They already gave him a $1.00 raise because they were so pleased with how he works.  I am just glad that he can finally work somewhere that the they appreciate him for his hard work and abilities.  It also helps that the business is still working through some of the kinks of start up and that in July they will be moving to a larger facility.  So Brandon was able to get in on the ground floor.  I think he also enjoys working with/for someone who is not much older then he is and knows all the ins and outs about starting a business.  It has been a busy summer break so far but I hope to be able to allow Brandon do to some of the things that he has been wanting to do.  He did start working on his HUGE kite the past Saturday and did not get nearly as much done on it as he thought he would.  I knew it was a huge project and would probably take longer then he expected but had no idea how much longer.  He is a creative and curious sort and I love him with all my heart and soul.  😉

As for me well, I just keep busy here at home with Aiden.  He has been keeping more of a predictable routine the past week or two and this has been nice because I can anticipate how long I have to do things and when to try and get them done.  I have been working on turning my extended family back into blogging instead of me stressing out to get a quarterly newsletter designed and printed and there have been a few kinks in the things that I have wanted to do with it.  I also have decided to have one sewing/craft project a week, to read one book, and to scrapbook one page (digitally for the most part).  This combined with occasional relief society activities (about one a week), household chores, and taking care of Aiden pretty much fills up my week.  I do hope to go to some concerts in the park and the Farmer’s Market this summer and I would like to go to the zoo once (I wish it weren’t so expensive) but we will see if we have a lull long enough to do it. 

Lastly, Brandon and I are buying our bow and some arrows tomorrow.  It is pretty exciting for me to be taking up a new hobby.  I also want to learn fencing/swordsmanship.  As you all are well aware I am not very active or athletic and much prefer activities that take mental skill and discipline.  That is why archery and swordsmanship are so enticing to me.  I also want to try polynesian dancing and have for years.  I almost paid the $35 to take it at Kearns High through the Granite District community classes but it is too far to drive 8 times for an hour long class.  I am hoping that they will offer it again in the fall somewhere closer to home.

Well, I better quit this jibber jabbering now so that you can go do something that you need to get done.  🙂  Thanks for reading…

Woah, the year is already almost half over and Aiden (who it seems like was born just yesterday) is almost 4 months old.  Time just speeds on by the older you get. 

So today I was pondering because in relief society my visiting teacher asked if she could hold Aiden and in previous weeks others have asked to hold Aiden as well.  My guess is that they want to give me a break or help me out or something, sometimes I can tell that they just want a little cuddle from him and will return him quickly.  Nevertheless I am always reluctant to give him up because these moments will all pass too quickly and before I know it little Aiden will be independent and only want to cuddle and be held on rare occasion.  I am also very good about turning Aiden over to Brandon when I need a break or a rest so if I have him it is because I would like to.  I just truly enjoy holding Aiden every chance I get.  This then led me to think about my decision to be a stay at home mom.  Yes, I do go stir crazy staying home all the time.  Yes, I get a little bored sometimes.  Yes, it will be hard to have a family of 8 (six kids, mom and dad) on one income.  Yes, there are moments during the day when I am home alone and want to pull my hair out because I have no idea why my child is upset but, I don’t want to miss a single moment in the lives of any of my children.  I will gladly give up that extra nice car, weekly steak dinners, new clothes, jet ski’s, and even yearly trips to Disneyland/world (I am addicted what can I say?  I have been to a Disney Park every year since 2000 and am currently going through withdrawals from lack of being able to afford it this year) so that I can be available for every moment and milestone in my kids lives.  That is what is the most important to me as a mom in these latter days.

Speaking of milestones, we plan to start weening Aiden onto rice cereal during the latter end of this week.  I have been letting him lick various bland foods for weeks now and today I even pulled out a graham cracker and let him lick it and dissolve it in his mouth.  Once it started to get messy I wiped him off and put his binky back in his mouth.  He watched intently as I drank my milk and ate my yogurt.  I also bought him a sippy cup with a silicon lid that acts much the same as a bottle lid.  He seems to be doing pretty well with it. 

As for our week well, I kind of wrote about it already in the previous entry but I will briefly recap.  Brandon’s mom and brother came up thursday for an orthodontist appointment and we picked them up and dropped them off at the airport.  Brandon also had his interview and while he was there the rest of us (and Aiden) went to the park.  We then went to the orthodontist appointment, had a yummy lunch at Arctic Circle, and then came to our apartment.  Brandon flew a kite while we watched a bit and then it was time for the to go. 

Yesterday was our fun day again.  We drove out to Sandy to pick up some food forgetting that the place was closed.  So we went and visited my mom for a bit before going to Sportsman’s Warehouse to look at the bows.  We even got to try out the recurve bow and will probably end up buying one similar to the one we tried out.  While we were there we saw the dehydrator that I was planning to buy with some of our food storage money and so we ended up buying it.  This week I will try drying some apples and making some apple fruit leather.  I am very excited. 

After the trip to Sandy we came home and after Aiden ate we took him outside for a little swim.  When I went outside I saw that most of the little neighborhood boys were out swimming.  I made the mistake of taking rubber ducks out for Aiden and in a flash all the boys wanted to play with them.  One little boy was even squirting people with it.  Aiden was a bit more fussy this time around because the water was not very warm.  I ended up adding 4 gallons of HOT HOT water to the little pool to try and warm it up.  I only succeeded a little bit.  In the evening we rented “Mad Money” from the red box (a funny movie I might add) and ate a dinner of fried ham, scrambled eggs, and hash browns.  So there you go.