quick road trip

i went to denver this past weekend to attend a couple of special family events. i rode out with my parents (always better than driving!) because weston was at a field trip for school, found out he had a crazy assignment for his english class the night before i left (he wouldn't have time to go and get the papers done), and has bronchitis on top of all of it.

andy got baptized. he is such a sweet kid and he has more energy than anyone i know! he is super smart and has a very creative mind. andy has these amazing blue eyes that melt you to pieces when he smiles :)
i'm proud of you, andy! you made an awesome choice on saturday!
i also got to watch my little brother, andrew, bless his newest baby boy - reynolds andrew cottle. i'm glad i was able to witness this and andrew did an amazing job. reynolds is almost 4 months old and i guess he was squirming around and they thought they might drop him a time or two. he was so good and the only peeps he made were the cutest little coos. kate is going to have a ton of fun with her cousin :)
here's a shot i stole from andrew and sarah's blog (sorry i didn't have my camera out!) these are my three brothers: alex, travis, and andrew. those are my black fingernails and kate's arm . . .

happy mother's day!

how much fun was it to have a new holiday to add to the list :) mother's day started at midnight saturday night - weston wished me a happy one with a kiss. how sweet. we then decided to keep talking and talking until we could see the light blue sky illuminating our bathroom . . . it was after 6 am! but it was fun to reminisce and talk about our lives and the years we've spent together. weston told me i got what i always wanted - staying up all night talking :) it was fun. we had church at 11, so we both got a few hours of sleep and then rushed to get everything ready for church - but we made it. the primary kids were cute and the flower i got should live for a couple of days :) when we got home, we ate and then took naps - all three of us. weston surprised me with something i have, in the back of my head, wanted for YEARS!!! okay, so i didn't exactly get the full-blown arcade version :) but i did get the ps2 version! i'm so excited! after our naps, weston grilled pork chops and i took care of the baked potatoes. it was a sweet day and i enjoyed every minute of it! i'm so so so grateful to be a mom and i love my daughter so much. she's been such a blessing in our lives and we love being a little family :)

celebration dinner

so tonight we took my parents out for dinner for a) my dad's birthday and b) my mom's mother's day. not too exciting of a gift, i know, but it was so fun to spend a couple hours with them and partake in the deliciousness as a family :)
even though tomorrow is saturday and that means this is what's for dinner (again) for weston and myself (pretty much every week without fail - leftovers for sunday, baby!) cafe rio is like jello - there's always room for more!

Kate

This is what happens while Mom is at work...Dad plays Kate's stylist and makes her do things for the camera.

who said blue is for boys?

kate is all girl and we think she looks pretty adorable in blue, too :) weston picked out this outfit for kate before she was born. we were both so excited to see her in it because weston has a matching shirtit even has an alligator on it - it's SO for a boy! :) but we think she looks pretty cute in anything she has on - even if it's just a diaper. {check out the bubbles she's a blowin'}

get a load of these two. it's crazy how much of a clone kate is to her daddy. awwww.
don't you just love her?

when did i miss it?

so i totally missed my 100th post! i had all these big plans to commemorate the event . . . i'm not sure how . . . but still! oh well. this crazy, ocd entry will have to do! :)

happy birthday dad!

this is my dad

his birthday was yesterday, may 6th. happy day dad! my dad is a great man - he has the strongest work ethic out of anyone i have ever met. he has such a strong sense of duty - i love that about my dad. when he is committed to doing something or has a task or favor in front of him, he does anything he needs to do to complete it and does the best job he can. he is very thoughtful of others and cares for his family greatly. my dad loves to golf, fly (naval pilot for 22 years), write in his journal, and take photos (my dad just got a new digital slr camera at christmas - thanks to some strong encouragement from weston.)
one thing i admire in my dad is his kindness and partnership towards my mom - a big example of this (in my lifetime) has been the way my dad pops up from his chair at the dinner table, clears everyone's dishes, and proceeds to clean up after dinner (dishes and kitchen clean up). this is a priceless gift - someday i hope my husband learns to do the same :) it may sound silly to value a thing like dishwashing, but it has always been a huge example to me of the way my dad is a partner to my mom.
thanks dad and i love you! have a great year!

happy birthday to the bean!

my niece, kali, turned 9 years old yesterday! this girl has become such a sweetheart. she is so thoughtful of others and has the cutest giggle.
this is a picture of kali that weston took a few years ago - i love her adorable smile and she looks so gorgeous in those bright colors :)
here is my little kali on a family vacation - i can't believe how fast she is growing up! i lived with her family for a few months when she was just a baby . . . i'll see if i can find a picture . . . anyway, i can't believe you're NINE, beana bear! i love you!

have the best year! :)

i wear my sunglasses at night

i just picked up these shades and the cutest hat ever tonight :)can't wait for those sunny days!

whole different ball of wax

so being sick now has a completely different perspective:

gone are the days when i could stay in bed all day and sleep off the cold or flu or miscellaneous ailment. gone are the days of soaking in a HOT bath for an hour to relieve the chills or congested lungs. gone are the days when i could think about hopping in the car and making the 2 hour drive so mom could take care of me. gone are the days of doing whatever i needed to get better.

enter baby.

now, not only am i sick, but i still have to take care of kate. she doesn't really care that i have a pounding headache and 3 more hours of sleep would do my noggin some good. she doesn't really understand that i don't want to play all afternoon or bounce her on my lap (although it lifted my spirits today).

but she is so stinking cute it almost makes me forget my throat feels like it has the circumference of a pea.

i guess that even though gone are those more "selfish" days of "i'm sick - take care of me (husband, mother, anyone close by)," i am starting to "not be able to imagine" life without kate and that makes the last few days okay.

[it has always been a pet peeve of mine when people say they can't even remember what life was like before having their first child . . . really? memory's that bad?]

anyway, i think (i hope) this cold, or whatever it is, is turning a corner. although, being up at 12:54 am can't be good for my body. off to bed!