California

We just got back from a week of fun in California...

Grandma took us to the beach

Evan had fun playing in the sand

But he really didn't like the sand between his toes

On Wednesday, we picked up this guy from the airport! Bryant is back from honorably serving his 2-year mission in Michigan!

Evan and Trae became good friends. Evan decided he didn't like Bryant so much after B thought it would be funny to give Ev a wet willy-not so much.

Then we went back to the beach for a fun bonfire with Grandpa

Evan decided he might kinda like that sandy feeling

Then he face planted
Welcome Home Mr. B! We are proud of you and are glad you're back!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun trip!

Family Pictures

Last week we finally did family pictures. Of course Evan wanted nothing to do with it! But Laurel did a great job and was able to get us some cute shots! Here are a few...Oh Cougar, how did you make it into the pictures?!
Check out more of us-and Laurel-on Laurel's blog! She worked so well with our stubborn 1-year-old! Thanks Laurel!

Recent Doings

Here are some fun things we have been able to do the last few weekends

A few weeks ago one of Reed's freshman roommates got married and had a reception in Salt Lake. We decided to make the most out of the drive and go a few hours early and visit the zoo! I haven't been there since my freshman roommates and I decided to be freshman and go to the zoo instead of studying on a reading day!Evan loved it! He was going crazy pointing to everything and saying, "Whazat?"Ev seemed most interested in the elephants and giraffes. Reed really liked the tigers-we got to see them when they were really active.

Evan pulled out his BYU hat when we got to the cougars.Mom and Evan in a big gopher holeThe gift shop was another highlight of Evan's dayWe had some time to kill between the zoo and the reception, so we wandered around the This is The Place MonumentThis last weekend we went to an Orem Owlz baseball game with some friends. Evan had fun crawling around on the grass.Being silly while waiting for the fireworks after the gameWhy the heck does my baby look so big all the sudden?!

The Worst Day Ever

One year ago today was the worst day ever.
One year ago today my baby was having a hard time breathing and wasn't eating or crying.
One year ago today I took my sweet little 6 day old baby to the ER.
One year ago today they were putting a PICC line into my son's head.
One year ago today my mom was with my perfect little baby while he had a spinal tap because we couldn't stand to be in the room.
One year ago today my mother-in-law was spending her birthday driving to Provo from Washington (a 11-12 hour drive) alone.
One year ago today they wanted to life flight Evan to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake.
One year ago today we found out we could possibly lose our little baby.
One year ago today we found out that if we didn't lose him, he could possibly have some severe mental and physical handicaps.
One year ago today I lost about 10 pounds in tears.
One year ago today my baby was on 4 different antibiotics, a few steroids, blood pressure meds, heart meds, a feeding tube, bili lights, oxygen, and others that I don't remember.
One year ago today we were blessed to see our family and friends rally around our little guy.
One year ago today we were able to exercise the power of the Priesthood like we never have before.
But one year ago today was the worst day ever.
Today is a much better day.
Today Evan is one and going crazy playing with all his new toys.
Today my sweet baby is walking and saying, "mama" and giving his dad high fives.
Today I'm still crying!
Today my mother-in-law is driving to Seattle for some birthday fun (Happy Birthday!)
Today we are counting our many blessings.
Today we are grateful for modern medicine, educated doctors, and caring nurses.
Today we are grateful for friends and family who did so much for us this last year.
Today we are grateful for the Priesthood, for prayers, for the power of fasting, and for faith.
Today we are mostly grateful to have a healthy, happy, perfectly normal one-year-old and for a very loving Heavenly Father.

Today is one of the best days ever.

Happy FIRST Birthday, Evan!!!

July 28th was Evan's big day! We had so much fun getting ready for his birthday and were so excited for it. Here's the picture run down.

He was excited about getting a puppy and a truck full of blocks from mom and dad.

Birthday chocolate chip muffin for breakfast-turned out to be a small preview of cake time. And don't be fooled-he's not blowing out the candle, he's just making a funny face.

Getting impatient to open presents from his grandparents (thanks so much!). The soccer "cake" (sorry it's such a horrible picture)

Cake time! Evan wasn't too crazy with it. He had massive amounts of frosting in his hands and his entire arm was covered in it! He ate some of it, but most of it he threw on the ground (reminded me of every other time we try to feed him!)

Then we let him play in the hose to rinse off. He loves playing in the hose, even though the water is so cold! He thinks it's so fun to splash in the water, but it always takes his breath away when he gets it in his face! But he just giggles and does it over and over!

We love you, Evan!

New Things

As we approach Evan's very first birthday (!!!!), he has been doing a lot of new stuff lately. We took him in for his 1 year old appointment and here are his stats:Weight: 20 lbs, 5 oz (he got sick last week, so he lost a little), 25%

Height: 29 inches, 25%

Head Circumference: 46 cm, 25%

So we're still waiting for some huge growth spurt, but at least he's well proportioned!

We got the ok to start Evan on cow's milk and to turn around his car seat! The Dr recommended giving Evan ice cream to help him get his daily dairy (Dad has a new love for this Dr now!). So to celebrate, we turned Evan's carseat around and went to get ice cream! He loves it!

We also decided it was time to give this boy's hair a trim. We had to do it in a few stages.

Stage 1: in the backyard while he played with the grass.

Stage 2: In front of the TV. Yes, he is watching a Spanish soap opera. It's the only channel our antenna picks up.

We went to the pool again yesterday. Evan had a lot of fun in the water. And when he wasn't in the water, he was lounging by the pool!

Happy 4th!

We love the 4th of July. It's my very favorite holiday. Warm weather, BBQ's, and fireworks-doesn't get much better than that! Here's how we celebrated this year:

Friday night we headed to downtown Provo to check out the Freedom Festival. Evan loved trying on sunglasses! He was really funny. Here are a few of his favorites:

Saturday morning we watched the Argentina-Germany World Cup game. Evan was pulling for Argentina, but it didn't work out.

After Evan's morning nap, we were off to the pool. After his afternoon nap, we kept with tradition and went to the BYU Men's soccer game against the Ogden Outlaws. BYU won 3-1!

Then they let us down on the field to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. We were really nervous about how Evan would do with the fireworks, but he did awesome. He just sat on my lap and enjoyed the show!

Sunday we went to church and then to Reed's brother's house for an awesome BBQ!

On Monday, we went to the Freedom Days Grand Parade. Evan liked seeing the horses and motorcycles, but was ready to get down and crawl around about 20 minutes into it!