6 Months & Slowing Down

Our little boy is not so little anymore. He is 6 months old! It honestly feels like in someways he has always been a part of our family, but it also feels like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. I am sure you know what I mean. We had his 6 month check up yesterday and his stats are as follows: weight-19lbs 1 oz (75%....the kid has slowed down...but no worries he still has incredibly chubby cheeks) height-27 1/4 inches (75%). So pretty average. He is eating more fruits and vegetables and LOVING it, and I love making them for him...I seriously feel like wonder woman making his food. Here is a photo of a photo we had taken to mark being 6 months. I love having two kids!!!

Snowed In

Between yesterday and last night we have gotten over 8 inches of snow. Needless to say today we will not be leaving the house. They even canceled Ben's school which is extremely rare. I thought I would blog since it has been awhile. Isaac is 6 months as of Monday! My baby is growing up!!! We are working on sitting up and so far he has enjoyed sweet potatoes, green beans, and bananas. The green beans were store bought but I did the sweet potatoes and bananas at home. I don't know why I didn't do this with Natali but making your own baby food is so easy, I love it!

The other day I was sitting with Isaac and Natali walked over and kissed his head. She than said, "Oh Isaac...you my best friend..I love you." And then ran away and continued playing. It was one of those really precious mom moments. Thank goodness for those moments in between all the chaos, tantrums, dirty diapers, and tears.

DON"T FORGET!!!

This week this is a new give-away on the blog "I Love Give-A-Ways" Don't forget to go check it out and enter. (Seriously...there are no strings attached) And FYI next weeks give-a-way apparently will fall under the jewelry category...so keep checking in!!!

Baby Boy

I can't believe that Isaac is about 5 1/2 months old now! I am dreading his first birthday already. I just don't want my baby to grow up. But he is and hitting all those little baby milestones. Last week he rolled from his back to us tummy and we decided it was "saucer" time! He LOVES it, and so does Natali (shocker)! Just a couple of pictures to share. I thought he looked too sweet all bundled in white. (FYI...for those of you who are not currently in Iowa, the current temp. is a balmy 10 degrees with a wind chill factor of -8 degrees...ahh the Arctic)

Do You Like FREE Things?

Hey, you should really check this site out (listed below). It was started by a girl in my ward (church). Her site explains it all, but overall all you have to do is go there....look at the website/business she is sponsoring for that week, and then comment on her blog about something that you saw that you liked. Then she does a raffel at the end of the week and if you win you get a product from that company (that she will mail to you). You pay for NOTHING! Seriously...check it out! (you do NOT have to be in Iowa to do this).

http://www.ilovegiveaways.blogspot.com/

Trip Pic's

Here are some different pictures from our trip...cousins, grandmas, groups, and food!

Mary & Natali

Nattles & her Fat Boy

Grandma Fluhman

McKay & Isaac (2 months apart)

All the Girls

All the Boys!

It was the year of the BOYS! Look at those babies!

Drum Roll Please...

If you asked Natali what she wanted Santa to bring her she would say (very quickly and slurred) "Candyland Castle!" Guess what? Santa found her in Utah! She loves it.

Skating Party

It is a tradition that every Christmas Eve gma & gpa Hayes rent out a roller rink in Layton for a family party. And when I say family...I mean family...100 plus! Ben doesn't even know all their names....so I just walk around with this glued on pleasant smile and hope that no one tries to talk to me (cause I will have no idea who they are). Natali loved playing with her cousins (that she knew) and bouncing on all the inflatable toys.

Nattles & John John

More Fluhmans with Isaac

Natali & Savannah

Christmas in Iowa

Before we left for Utah we had our own Iowa Christmas. It was so much fun to watch Natali open her gifts. Thankfully she isn't old enough to really get it all...if you know what I mean...so we could get away with having 2 Christmas mornings. Isaac did a great job of just being a chubby little guy!

Santa Claus is Comin' To Town

Despite the ice storms, Santa did make it to Des Moines...and here's our proof! This Santa was awesome. Natali wasn't so sure of seeing Santa once it was actually our turn. Santa worked his charm and although I have no pictures of her all in smiles, I don't have any of her screaming and crying. Our purpose was accomplished when with some coaxing from mom she finally asked Santa for Kandyland Castle! He said he would put the order in. Thanks Santa!

Timid at first

Suckered in by a book...good work Santa!

Ice...Party...Rice

As a child I always thought ice skating was so cool! I even had a ice skating birthday party one year. Right now...I feel like I am living my childhood dream and living on a ice rink! Just kidding, not a dream at all...more like a NIGHTMARE! It seems like we have had ice storm after ice storm and that everywhere and everything is coated in a nice layer of ice. Thanks Midwest!!!

Back in my teacher days every December I would throw a Polar Express Party for my class. So this year I decided that Natali was old enough to get it and we had our own mini version. We had tickets to ride the train, we read the story, decorated cake trains, and even watched the movie...all while wearing our PJ's! Fun stuff. She loved it and still is asking me when we are having our Polar Express Party and I am trying to explain...that was the party!

Isaac has been given the okay for rice cereal. He has actually done really good with it. Most of it comes running out to corners of his mouth because he keeps grinning at me, but he seems to get some down as well. I love hitting these little milestones but I hate it too because it means he is getting bigger. Isaac...don't grow up!

Baby Isaac...4 months!

Yesterday we had Isaac's 4 month check up and are happy to report that our little guy is doing great. His current stats are:

Height: 25 1/2 inches (75%)
Weight: 17 lbs 8.5 oz (90%)
Head: 17 1/4 (75%)

He isn't rolling over yet...his big belly might be inhibiting that a little. But he is lifting his head well, grabbing his hands, and according to the doctor ready to try some rice cereal. We love our Isaac!

Do I Have To?

I have been delaying this but... it keeps happening. I've been "tagged". I haven't done it because I can't think of 6 interesting/unknown things about me. Here is my best try!

1. My husband was my first boyfriend and first kiss. It may sound lame...but I like it that way!

2. I can fit the bottom of a soda can completely in my mouth. A talent...I know.

3. I LOVE children's books! I guess it is the teacher in me, (taught 4th grade for 3 years), but I could spend hours in the children's section in bookstores. Someday I want a big library in my house just full of children's books.

4. I have been to a World Series baseball game, back in 99 (I think) when the Yankee's swept the Padres (bummer). I have four brothers and my mom picked me to go with her...yes they were jealous!

5. The pipes at my elementary school were broken (nobody told me) and the toilet back flushed/sprayed in my face. That means I had dirty toilet water ALL over me! Thankfully I lived 3 minutes away from school and immediately went home and changed.

6. The first time I was taken to my current in-laws (while were just dating) I shot diet V-8 out my nose onto their white table cloth from laughing too hard. Ben then continued by telling me it was his grandmothers and a antique. He was just teasing...but I wanted to die!

Thanks for the "tag" girls! I tag anyone who hasn't had this fabulous opportunity.

Hail to the Victors!

This Thanksgiving, we are truly grateful for the spirit that comes to our home when BYU beats the Utards!

Winter Wonderland

What was suppose to be a "trace" of snow turned into at least 4 inches of white fluffy stuff! Natali was completely enthralled. Last year it snowed but it was always to icy to play in. So we bundled up and headed out doors. It was AWESOME...Natali loved it. She made snow angels, snowballs, white washed herself, and even ate some. I was freezing and had to bribe her to come in with hot chocolate and marshmallows. She would have spent hours out there. Despite the fact that I hate the cold and especially driving in the snow, today I was grateful for it....fun memories with Natali!

Ready to Play

Playing on the Deck

Out in the Backyard

Thawing Out!

Grandma Time!

All I can say is YEAH for moms!!! We were lucky to have my mom come out and visit us this last week. Thank heavens for having babies/grandkids because I know she wasn't coming for Ben and I, or Iowa! We had a blast just being together. It's wonderful when your mom is also your best friend. We ran errands, played with the kids, and she helped me beautify our little house. Thanks to her we now have window treatments, the kids clothes have all been sorted and organized, and I have some new clothes and accessories. Again...yeah for moms! She had lost of snuggle time with Isaac and Natali loved playing with her. We weren't trying to leave Natali out of the picture below, she was just having a well timed two year old melt down in the other room and I didn't feel the need to document it! Isaac is 3 months old now and steadily growing.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween! We have really been celebrating Halloween this year. We have been to about 4 Halloween events and tonight is our ward Trunk-or-Treat. Hope everyone has a fabulous Halloween...just of few pictures of my little pumpkins this morning!

Pumpkin Carving

For FHE on Monday I decided I was ready to carve our pumpkin. I thought Natali would love to stick her hands in and get all messy. I was mentally prepared to have pumpkin guts everywhere and armed with an immediate bath. To our surprise, our little girl wanted nothing to do with sticking her hand inside and feeling the cold slimy pumpkin innards! Who can blame her. Instead she would stick a spoon in and try and scoop them out. It was a fun activity to do! And Natali loved the end product. Natali and I cleaned the inside of the pumpkin and Ben's job was to do the carving. Good job Dad!

Isaac helping the best way he knows how!

Not to shabby if I say so myself!!!

We Made It!!!

This past weekend was a crazy weekend ...I am glad it is over! Saturday morning I had our Primary Practice for our Primary Program. Then later that afternoon I threw a baby shower. Then Sunday we had our actual Primary Program (I am the music leader so I was in charge of all the singing stuff)! I am happy to report that all events were successful! The practice was fine (done in an hour...yes!). And the Program was great. Not because of me, but because the kids just shined and did fabulous jobs .

The shower went perfect as well. I made this diaper cake as a gift/center piece. It was fun and pretty easy to make. I got one when I had Natali and I copied the idea. I thought it turned out pretty good for my first time.Looks like Isaac had rough weekend too! He had a doctors appointment earlier this week and his latest weight total was...16.10 lbs! Oh I just love it!!! He is making those cute cooing noises as of late, and smiling at us more and more. Natali is still loving her little brother and is a good helper at getting me burp clothes and diapers. Poor Ben not only had a rough weekend (watching all these kids) but school is pretty intense right now to say the least. He has a test every Monday from now until Thanksgiving, plus some on Fridays. He keeps telling me that after Thanksgiving it should lighten up a little bit. I can't wait till Thanksgiving Break!

Home Sweet Home

We made our move into our "new" house in Valley Junction! It is small, but perfect for our needs. We have a downstairs room which is great for all of Natali's toys, Ben's books, and our office stuff. We are still settling in and finding the perfect spots for all our things, but all the boxes are unpacked, pictures hung, and it's starting to feel like home. Ben mowed the lawn yesterday...yes, we have a lawn! He was sooo excited! I hope that enthusiasm lasts. It is a great feeling to not be sharing any walls with a neighbor, or worrying if Natali is too loud. The only thing I think I want to change is the color of the shutters. The gray isn't horrible, but it would look better with a color that is more bold. We'll see if I feel ambitious enough anytime soon. After 4 years of marriage and two kids later, it is fun to say that we are finally in a house (even if we are still renters)!

Boys & Girls

ISAAC

Despite the fact that the Padres choked last night I felt it was time for Isaac to represent a little San Diego love. I know...he should have worn it yesterday...maybe it would have brought them some luck...but...oh well. So here is our cute little guy sporting his team attire! GO PADRES! Isaac is getting bigger each day, is becoming more interactive, and making more of those cute baby cooing sounds. Tomorrow he will be two months old. We have a doctors appointment so I am sure I will be posting his stats tomorrow! Yeah for chubby little baby boys!


NATALI

I found some of my old dress up jewelry and was letting Natali play with it. She had some play earrings of her own that she decided she wanted to wear. She loved it! She walked around the house shaking her head ever so slightly to make the earrings shake. Yeah for dress up and little girls!