SPENCERS 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!

Wow, I can't believe how fast this year has gone by! Our little baby Spence turned 1 yr on the 23rd! We had such a fun celebration for him... His Aunt Rachel came to visit with cousins Noah and Halle and also his Aunt Courtney (Levi's sister) came from Ohio as well! Spencer got spoiled by both of them. So thank you guys for the birthday gifts and the company, we really loved having you here and already miss you tons! I feel so blessed to have this little guy in my life! All I can say is it has been an incredible year!

I don't think he knew what to think as we were singing happy birthday to him. Hence the confused expression!

He sure loved that cake!

I loved watching him make a big mess!

Rachel, Halle, and Courtney with our little Family!

I sure love having Rachel so close! She is such a great sister!

This little girl melts my heart!

Spencer absolutely LOVES the water!

Aren't they all so cute!

Spencer just got a helmet on Wednesday which will help to round out his head. He hasn't been very happy about putting it on, but as you can see in the pictures below, he forgot about it real fast. He is such a happy baby!

Also Spence is finally rolling over on both sides. It has been so rewarding to watch him accomplish this, because he has been working so hard to do it. He is talking so much...he says ba, ca, da, la, ga, ah, ya, oh, no (unfortunatley) and his latest being ma FINALLY!

I had to put this picture on here. Spencer LOVES paper... he makes me laugh so hard!

I think he is so photogenic!

We had a girls night out on friday night... dinner and a movie. I have such wonderful friends! Love them!

Chelsea, Me, Kristin, Elizabeth, Lisa, Ti, and Conni

Spencer already for Church. Isn't he so handsome!

Spencer is so easily entertained! He loves Dorito bags or any other type of bag or wrapper more than most of his toys.

Spencer LOVES his Dad!




Here are some pictures of Spencer's Physical Therapist Maria working with him. She does so well with him, its amazing to see how far he has come with her help.

HAPPY EASTER!!!


Wow, I can't believe its April and I haven't updated my blog since Christmas... time goes by way too fast these days! Can I just say I love the month of April. I love General Conference when we get be taught the word of God through our beloved Prophet, the 12 Apostles and form all the other General Authorities who speak to us! This past conference was incredible as always, and since then I have found myself reflecting a lot on where I am in my life, and where I want to be.

One main theme I got from this conference was loving others and serving them. I remember in Pres. Eyrings talk he mentioned the song "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today", and the words to this song fill my mine on a daily basis... have I helped any one in need? Have I cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad? If not I have failed indeed. I so desire to live my life like this, doing something for someone who needs my help daily.

I know that the Lord uses his disciples as tools to be the answer to his children's prayers and if we are willing and ready, we can be there for a friend, neighbor, or even a stranger when they most need it. Then they may know and feel of the Saviors love for them. I am truly grateful for the many times that someone has been the answer to my prayers and helped brighten my day!

Another thing I love about April is that we celebrate Easter, yes we celebrate by having the Easter Bunny come with colored eggs and candy... which is so much fun! But more importantly we celebrate the birth, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. On fast Sunday a friend in my ward named Elizabeth Simmons whom I love dearly, bore her testimony, and she talked about spring time and the resurrection. I have to say that it seems like I've always known this, but it has never hit me like it did when she talked about it... but anyway she said its always amazing to her how the earth is a testimony of the resurrection. During winter everything dies, and then spring comes, the trees blossom, the grass turns green, and flowers and plants begin to bloom again. And as we watch the earth renew and come to life again... it's a beautiful reminder from our loving Heavenly Father that Jesus Christ was resurrected and that He lives today!

As for an update on us... Spencer continues to see a physical therapist( Maria Grady) once a week. We really like her, and I think Spencer is already attatched to her too. Since she has been coming to our home, we have seen so much improvement in his abilities. He was recently fitted for some braces that he will wear to help him stand, and we are so excited to get them and to start working with him on that. He is such and awesome and happy baby. We really couldn't be more blessed!

I wrote this back in February and forgot to post it...

Rachel Came to visit! I can't even tell you how much I loved having her here! The time went by too fast, and I miss her, Noah, and Halle terribly. Her and I were talking and have thought it would be so fun if we just took turns every other month visiting each other. I really like that idea. The new updates with us are, that we bought a van. We are excited about this, because it was a good purchase. We didn't spend too much money, but we now have a family car which will allow for growth.

Now for the more exciting news. Spencer had his first couple visits with his physical therapist Maria who will be coming to our house on a weekly basis! I can't even begin to explain the amount of improvement that has come in the last week, as we have been applying what we have learned to helping him progress! He is getting stronger, is more aware of his hands, rolling from his belly to his back, and with a little support rolling from his back to belly. Tummy time is a lot easier for him, which means less crying. Hooray! Well he never really cries that much anyway. The best thing is, she wants to get him standing as soon as possible, so we are going to get a prescription for braces on his legs from the orthopedic surgeon in March!

I have seen the hand of the Lord helping our little guy along the way! I feel so blessed to get to be a part of so many miracles, and to get to be the Mother to this amazing, sweet, and happy little boy! Spencer is so much fun, and he brings so much joy to our home!

Christmas in New York!

We had such a fun Christmas this year we got to go up to New York and spend it with my sister Rachel and her family! I felt spoiled cause Rachel cooked so many yummy dinners... She is such a great cook! It's too bad we couldn't have stayed longer, but I guess I can't complain because we did get to spend an extra day with them due to the blizzard that hit while we were there! I already miss them and can't wait for when Rach comes to visit us... hopefully at the beginning of February!:)

On the road headed to New York!

Rachel, Spencer, and Me at their friends house the (Owlzlies?) It was a fun night!

Spencer's first experience opening presents!

I think he liked the wrapping paper more than his toy!

I thought this picture was so darn cute! Halle and Noah were so into Dora the Explorer their eyes were glued to the screen!

We played the game Settlers of Catan, I think every night! I came to like it because I won twice!

Cute little cousins! Halle was so sweet with Spencer!

While we were playing a game of Phase Ten we looked up and saw that Halle, (who has been weaned off of binkies) had found Spencer's and stuck it in her mouth! It was quite funny!

The blizzard!

Noah was so cute with Spencer, he was able to get him to laugh more than any of us could! So cute!

Christmas time is here!

I just love the Christmas season! I love the music, the snow, the treats (a little too much) the gift giving, I love how everyone is so kind this time of year, and most of all I love spending it with family and friends! This year I don't get to go home to Utah :( but I do get to go to New York to be with my little sister Rachel, which I am really looking forward to!

I am also so grateful that I have such wonderful friends out here with whom I have been able to share some fun times this holiday season! Some of the fun things we have done, we had are ward christmas party where Levi, and I were asked to be Joseph and Mary with Spencer as Jesus. That was special! I went and made ginger bread houses at my friend Ty's house with a bunch of my friends, which was so much fun! I also went to a cookie exchange party at my friend Carolyn's house and loved it! I was a little bummed because I didn't make my moms amazing banana cookies when I knew I should have, cause they would have totally won the competition... maybe next year! (after all, I have to follow in her foot steps).

Kristin and I have a friend named Kathy who goes to a Greek Orthodox Church and she said they needed help with there choir for there christmas program, so Kristin told her that she could get a few people to help out...so Kristin, her husband Dean, Janelle, Levi and I all went and sang with them today! It was a great experience!

This is Janelle and Kristin they have been like sisters to me here! I just love them!

All of the girls from my ward family who came to the cookie exchange... so fun!

This is Danielle, and Suzanne also two of my good friends!