Family Pictures

A lady in our ward asked if she could take some pictures of our little family for her website she is starting up. Who says no to free pictures right?! I'm 34 weeks...

Prego Pics

20 weeks

 26 weeks

 30 weeks

 32 weeks

 We are all do within a week of each other and having girls.

It's a Girl!

We found out at 17 weeks that we are having a girl! We are so excited! I started feeling the "flutters" at 14 weeks and felt the actual kicks at 19 weeks. I have been monitored really closely with this one because at 10 weeks, I started bleeding and KNEW that I was miscarrying again. We were devastated. I had a doctor's appointment that next morning, so I decided to wait to go in. When I showed up for my appointment they ran an ultrasound and I saw the baby! Everything looked normal and we could hear her heartbeat. It was such a blessing!

Isn't she cute?! 

16 months!

We love our little Westy boy. He turned 16 months on November 23^rd. He is getting so big and talking a ton. His favorite words to say are dada and mama of course. He can also say Hayley, dog, ball, cat, duck, nose, eyes, papa, Lyza, Blaine, baby, hot, cold, more, ball in, and please…. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few more. Needless to say, my child is a genius! Haha He’s the sweetest boy ever. His favorite breakfast food is oatmeal. He loves it with just about anything on it. He loves to help me clean, especially sweeping… He also is way into shoes. He loves them! He wears a size 6 now. His favorite game to play is basketball with his little hoop and ball. Westen has the shooting and dunking part down. When he makes a basket he says “ OOOH Ball in!” Haha he is the cutest little thing. We have totally been blessed to have him in out home.

Miscarriage

Elliot and I found out we were expecting baby #2 and we were both thrilled! We decided to keep it quiet and only tell family… I was sick right from the get go at 4 weeks till about 8. I had been feeling all along how this pregnancy was a lot different from Westen’s. Deep down I felt that something was wrong but I chalked it up to being paranoid and Hormones. We went in for our first appointment when I was almost 10 weeks along. I was so excited. We went into the ultrasound room and the lady started to find the baby. I immediately saw the placenta on the screen and nothing inside and new something was wrong. She said ok I’m going to let you see the doctor now. It took all I had inside me to not start crying right then and there. We found out from the doctor that I was going to miscarry or in the process of miscarrying. He wanted to know if I wanted a d and c and I told him I wanted to go on my own. We were devastated. 

For the next week I was sitting around the house waiting and waiting for the miscarriage to start. I would not wish that upon anyone. I started bleeding and it was a bitter sweet moment. I was excited that I didn’t have to have surgery but totally heartbroken at the fact that it was really happening. About four days later my bleeding started to lighten up. On the fifth day it got extremely heavy. I know something was wrong. I called Elliot balling and told him to come home from work. I continued to bleed in crazy amounts. I’ll save the disgusting details but it was bad! I called the doctor and they told me to come down right away. I rolled up a towel and stuck it in between my legs and went to the doctor. By this time I am freaking out because I keep passing clots the size of baseballs. No joke, it was disgusting and felt like labor. The doctor takes a look and tells me that its not normal and I’ll need to go to the hospital right away. I felt myself start to faint on the table and started yelling saying I’m fainting help me. Elliot was there and I remember my eyes going black and barely being able to see him as I layed down. The other doctor comes running in with an iv and my veins are collapsed. After poking and poking he was able to get the iv in. At this point my body is in shock and I am sweating really bad. They had to get me into a wheel chair to bring me to the hospital. The doctor decides it would be faster to drive me over in his car than wait for an ambulance. Remember I don’t have anything on my lower half! Elliot and the doctor lift me up and put me in the wheel chair. They put this thin sheet over me and proceed to wheel me through the waiting room to go outside. I remember there being a younger guy in the waiting room and I was feeling loopy and I turned to the nurse holding my legs up and said “ woa woa I totally flashed that guy!” So embarrassing! They wheel me outside and lift me in the car. One of the nurses hops in the backseat to hold up my iv. I still have no bottoms on! That poor doctor’s car. Hopefully he was able to get the blood out. We get to the hospital and a couple of nurses try to lift me up and I keep saying “I’m not wearing anything!” The nurse said “Hunny that is the least of our worries right now”… Ya I felt totally violated and it was a busy parking lot. Who knows who was around to catch the action. Anyways they get me inside and start prepping me for surgery. The anesthesiologist comes in and told me because I had lost so much blood that they weren’t going to be ably to give me a spinal. They were really worried about my food coming up so the doctor said that as they were putting me under that I would feel their hand on my throat which was supposed to help my food not come up into my lungs. Talk about claustrophobic. I thought I was going to die. Here I am with a mask over my face and a guy I just met is injecting me with a needle to make me fall asleep while his hand is pressing down on my throat! Ya, not cool. I’ve never been so freaked out in my entire life. 

The surgery went well supposedly after they were able to stop my bleeding. I stayed in the hospital over night so that they could monitor me. I bled for the next week. And had a pounding headache the entire time. It was terrible. I’m so thankful that it is finally over with. It has been a long and strung out process full of emotional and physical pain. I hope I never have to experience anything like this again.

NC Livin'

It is crazy how our plans don’t always align with Heavenly Father’s plans. Things were going great in AZ… Elliot was working for the bank and we had just gotten approved for a loan for a house! We were both so excited to finally move into a home! Then we started praying about it. We felt like it wasn’t the right time and Heavenly Father had something else in mind for us. Elliot brought up the possibility of moving to North Carolina to work for his dad’s new business. I was hesitant at first because of what a huge change it would be. We started praying about it and it felt like the right thing to do for both of us. Elliot put in his 2 weeks notice at the bank and moved to North Carolina. I was still in az coaching a volleyball team. The plan was for me to finish out the season while Elliot worked in NC and flew back ever couple of weeks to see us. Ya , that didn’t last very long. Westen missed his daddy and I could not handle being a way from Elliot for that long. I was able to find a coach to take over for me and we moved to NC. It has been an adjustment. I love it here though. I’ve never lived in a prettier place… The weather has been awesome too. I love having Westen so close to Elliot’s family. Westen’s great-great grandma is still alive and great grand parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles ect live right here close to us. I love it. I’d be lying if I said it has been easy here though. I have never been faced with so many trials in my entire life. It seems like they have been coming one right after another. I know it is for our good and it has been Heavenly Father’s plan all along. I can tell how it has shaped both Elliot and I into something better. It is crazy how that works. Isn’t that why we are here, to be tried and tested? I start to feel overwhelmed with all that has been going on, and then I realize that I wouldn’t be given all of these experiences if Heavenly Father didn’t think I could handle them. That knowledge helps me to look at the bigger picture and realize more fully how much he loves us and wants us to be like him so that we could live with him again someday. 

Genius Child

So I've been teaching Westen sign language and he has taken to it really well! I think it has helped him a lot because he whines a lot less because he knows a better way of communicating now. He has started to say some of the words while signing. It is supposed to help them learn how to talk faster. He knows how to say please, more, drink, thank you, pacifier, all done, and soft. 

Some of the words can say now in English are Jesus, its hot, baby, Hayley... and he does this cute chant thing all the time saying "ah ba ja bajaaaaa" so funny. I love this sweet boy.

1 year check up

I took Westen in yesterday for his one year check up. He was sick last week and had a fever of 102.5 for a couple of days. After his fever broke, he broke out in a bad rash. We found out that it was Roseola :( Poor Westen. He lost some weight. At his doctors appointment he was still 20 pounds and is now 31 inches long. His ears and throat were clear...

Westen turns 1!

Westen had his 1st birthday on the 23rd of July. We had a little party for him at my mom's house. Elliot and I got Westen a basketball hoop and he LOVES it! He has been playing with it all week! I wanted to write down a few of the things he is doing at this point.
Top 5 Words:
1. What's that!
2. Mama
3. Dada
4. Ball
5. Dog

He has 13 teeth! And a few more that have almost popped through!
Westen loves playing with the ski ball machine at my parents house.

His top 5 favorite foods:
1. Potatoes
2. oranges
3. Peaches
4. bananas
5. Eggs

I am starting to ween Westen and he is down to eating once in the morning and still all night long. He usually wakes up 2-3 times now to eat.... Still hopeful he'll sleep through the night in the future!

10 months

Today Westen turned 10 months today! He has changed so much in the last month. His favorite thing is to copy other people. He can mimic pretty much anything you do. An ambulance past by our house the other day with its siren on and Westen started making a high pitched noise like the siren. Haha some of the things he's been doing this past month are:
-Walking!- Westen has taken up to 10 steps in a row!
-Stand up in the middle of the room and walk
-he has 8 teeth and 2 more on the way
-clap
-say hi, mama, dada
-gives high fives and noggins (thanks to Hayley)
-will eat any vegetable baby food now
-still nursing, occasionally will drink goats milk
-takes 2-3 naps a day
-still wakes up 2-3 times a night (still hopeful he'll sleep through the night someday ugh)
-Sleeps in his crib in his own room
-loves to dance to music! whenever music is playing he'll start to swing his hips and bob up and down.
-He loves to wrestle mommy and daddy
-he likes the trampoline and the swing
-Dr. says Westen should be about 6'3'' when he grows up!

desk project

Hayley bought this beauty at goodwill for $15.... And look what a little paint and creativity can do! This is what we worked on today along with a couple other pieces of furniture. Isn't it beautiful?! The back patterns were Hayley's idea...

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Birthday Freebies

There is nothing Elliot loves more than saving money! (Well Except for our family, the church, ok you get it...) Anywho, what better way to celebrate his birthday than to go around town to all the places he gets free food?! http://thefrugalgirls.com/birthday-freebies this website was extremely helpful. What we plan on doing today:

Krispy Cream Donuts- Get 1 free donut on your birthday
Baskin Robbins- Sign up on their website for a free ice cream cone!
Joe's BBQ- $10 credit towards a meal w/ID
Liberty Market- $10 credit towards a meal w/ ID
Joe's farm grill- $10 credit towards a meal w/ ID
Firehouse subs- free medium sub w/ ID
Red Robbin- sign up for their rewards program and you get a free appetizer as well as a free burger during the month of your birthday!
Sonic- Sign up for Sonic cruisers club and receive a free slushy, tots, or a fountain drink.
Jack n' the box- go here: http://www.jackinthebox.com/coupon/happy-birthday-2-U.php for a free dessert on your birthday!

Isn't he a handsome guy?! Aaah love him!

We'll see if we make it to all the places, but I'm starving! Counting down the time until Elliot is off work!

1 year older and wiser too

Last night we had some friends over for Elliot's birthday. We ordered Barro's Pizza and I made an Oreo ice cream cake with white chocolate ganache frosting! Yum... It was a big hit! I think this one was better than the reese's one because it wasn't all chocolate. 

 I woke up this morning and made Elliot a birthday breakfast of his favorite- scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit. I was going to make blueberry muffins, which he loves, but I got up too late. So this had to do.

I got Elliot a couple pairs of basketball shorts, 4 new shirts, some comfy nike socks that he loves, and a nice jump rope to help him work out. Westen got him a red tie and a matching one for Westen along with a picture frame that said "I want to be like you" with pictures of Westen in a basketball outfit, Sunday outfit etc. Tonight We are going to go to all the places that he gets something for his birthday. I got most of the ideas from this website. - http://thefrugalgirls.com/birthday-freebies  

ice cream cake

I made this ice cream cake for the May birthday party last Sunday at my parents house upon Elliot's request. It was a little too chocolaty for my taste but that's the way Elliot wanted it haha. The base was made out of devils food cake. Middle layer was Reeses ice cream and the top layer was a chocolate ganache made out of whipping cream and chocolate chips. Then of course lots of reeses bits to top it off. Elliot is so spoiled. I think I'll make an oreo one for his actual birthday! yum

9 months old

Westen is 9 months today!!! He is such a fun and active kid... He has a checkup tomorrow, so I'll be able to see what percentile he is in everything... Westen has been into everything lately. He eats anything that is left on the floors. I could vacuum a million times and he would still be able to find something in the carpet haha. Some of the things he has been able to do so far is....

-Stand up in the middle of the room for a couple of seconds

-He can take 1-2 steps without help

-walks along the furniture to get to wherever he is going

-has 6 teeth so far (more on the way)

-Still wakes up 4 times a night- (maybe one day he'll sleep through the night... still hopeful lol)

-Favorite thing to go after is shoes (flips them over and licks the bottom- disgusting) 

-Had his 1st hair cut

-his 3 favorite words are hi, mama, and dada

-he can clap

-Learning how to through a ball (next is dribbling!)

-he waves

-he rolls his tongue to make noises

-he loves to play peek a boo

-he still nurses but occasionally will eat carrots and only carrots (hates everything else so far)

-Hates the taste of formula but like goats milk

-LOVES swimming- we took him a couple days ago and it was freezing but he was laughing and splashing the whole time... didn't want to get out!

 loves his cousins

 Loves to get dirty!

 our little fishy!

Hayley

Hayley has been in the hospital for almost two weeks now. Life can change so fast. I have been thinking about trials a lot lately and how Heavenly Father won't give us anything we can't handle... Hayley has had such a good attitude about this whole thing... It is crazy how you can really gage how strong a person is by how they deal with the challenges they are given. Hayley is so strong. I have also noticed that those people that I admire the most are the ones that have had really difficult trials their whole lives and have seemed to deal with them so well... It is hard to be grateful for trials when you are in the midst of them, but we have already seen so many miracles so far... The best miracles happen when you can't do anything without the Lord's help and there is no room for fear. only faith...

All Boy

Westen ate his 1st bug today. We were over at grandma's house playing with all the cousins and I saw Westen pick up something off the ground and put it in his mouth. Totally normal for him so I go over to scoop it out and it was a cockroach! So sick. I have never been so grossed out in my entire life.

Piggy Bank

I was laying in bed trying to sleep after being up all night with Westen... Elliot was in the other room changing Westen when I heard Elliot Yelling "Hey Heather Come In Here!!" I jumped up and found that Westen had swallowed a penny and it had come out in his diaper. Elliot and I were both grossed out. Poor little guy! I don't even know how a penny could have gone down his poor little throat! Needless to say, Westen has earned the nick name "Piggy Bank" from Elliot. Haha

8 months

Westen turned 8 months on the 23rd of March! Some fun things he is doing are:

-Couch cruising... he can walk anywhere as long as there is furniture!

-Standing for a couple seconds at a time

-Has 4 teeth

-Only wakes up 2x a night now... Woohoo!

-takes 3 naps during the day

-If you blow in his face, he immediately spits back.

-Favorite thing to do is take baths!

-Started eating baby food, but hates everything except for carrots.

-Learning how to wave and clap!

keeping Busy

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