What a Party!

Justus had such a fun first birthday! When it came time to party- there was no stopping the boy! He got mountains of presents- it was Christmas morning all over again. The picture with him taking a bit of his cupcake, that was the only second I got him to stop, and it was his only bite of birthday cake- he had way too many other things to do! We had a beach monkey theme going on and my fabulous sister, Natalie, helped with the most important part- the cake (monkey with a surfboard, of course!). It turned out sooo cute. Thanks, Nat! The four wheeler was from Dustin and I (of course) and the helmet is for when we actually get to go ride the "big" ones. Justus fits right in this family, since 7:30 this morning all he's wanted to do is ride that four wheeler! He figured it out pretty quick and is riding like a pro now. It's so funny to watch him- I'll post a video later. We are lucky to have lots of family live close by, so the party was well attended... THANKS EVERYONE!!! We love you all and appreciate everything you do for us and for Justus.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Justus,
It's been 365 days- 52 weeks, 8,789 hours and 1 minute that you have been in our lives. And they have been the very best moments of mine. I expected a lot of things out of parenthood... sleepless nights, grumpy, whiny, crying children, messes, and frustrations. Those things did come, but to my surprise, they really haven't bothered me. Things I did not expect (and I don't really know why, but I didn't) are how completely and entirely my heart would melt every time I looked at those handsome blue eyes or hear that contagious laugh, or how your sweet little voice always makes me smile... things I didn't expect, but probably should have. But now I know. I know that I could never ask for any greater blessing than to have you in my life. I know that being a parent will be my life's greatest adventure. I know that there will be countless obstacles, but I am so grateful that I will be there to go through them with you. Most importantly, I know God loves me- he sent me you.
Love,
Mom

Vegas Baby!

So March 13th marks the date of my first race in 11 years... whoa! It was only a 5k, but hey, it was so great! And, as you can see, we took it pretty seriously! It was at Hoover Dam and I ran with my sistas- Nicole and Jessica, my dad, and Jessica's husband, Jake. Nicole's husband and his brother ran the half marathon (go them!). If you check out our tanks... we got the "sistas" sign going , just so everyone would know those 3 amazing runners are in fact family- awesomeness just runs in our genes! :) We spent some time in Vegas, taking in the sites and eating yummy food at PF Changs and Margaritaville (neither of which are located anywhere near good ol' Cache Valley). Dustin and Justus were not able to join me, so I missed them a lot. Not quite sure if either of them even noticed I was gone??? Nice work everyone! It was fabulous, we definitely need to do it again!

11 months and counting...

You know those really annoying parents who think they have the cutest, smartest kid???... I'm definitely one of them! I can't get over how stinkin' cute my baby is! That little smile melts me to the core and I just have to think that they don't come any sweeter than my little boy. He's such a charmer, he's got both of his parents wrapped around that tiny little finger! This month he's been showing us just how smart he really is. He is saying all sorts of words, a couple of my favorites are "Justus," "turtle," and animal sounds, such as "moo," and "meow." He's fascinated with faces and loves to point out "eyes," and "nose." He points out the mouth, too, but hasn't learned how to say it, yet.

Did someone say, "Aggie Basketball???" We've had so much fun this season with Justus there to help us cheer them on. We're feeling kind of sad that the regular season is coming to a close, but then, we can't wait for next year! Our little Aggie will singing the fight song with the best of them by then!

A Little Summertime Winter Fun

On Martin Luther King, Jr Day, both Dustin and I had the day off so my mom invited us over for a little fun at the pool. This was the first time we had actually taken Justus swimming. As you can tell, he didn't mind the freezing cold water (the heater was out). He just chilled and slurped his toys. Brian, Copelin, Peyton and Jackson all joined in on the party. It was Copelin's first time swimming, too. What fun!

40?!

So my big sister turns the BIG 40 tomorrow and her sweet husband decided to throw her a surprise party. Big time fun, especially since I got to do the fun stuff- decorate! Jess (my little sis) was my co-conspirator and we had the best time... mostly because, if I do say so myself, it turned out FABULOUS! :) It was at Hamilton's Steakhouse and we had about 45 of her close friends and family there.

Little Walker Man

So what was Justus's biggest accomplishment this past month?

He is loving it, too!