Happy Birthday Jake!

Jake's 22! I am SO lucky to have Jake. He's the absolute most loving husband in every way. I have never met a more selfless and hard working man. He's the best daddy and is so so patient with Ryan (and me). ;) 

Ryan gifted him with a turd in the tub.

 

Sure love you, babe! Here's to another amazing year!

Lately

We've been a little quiet over here! Not much has been going on. 

Yesterday we went to David's house for dinner with the siblings and Rob. Rob bought his 3 boys unicycles for their birthdays. Funniest. Present. Ever. We had some good laughs watching them try to ride them. Those things are harder than they look! 

 

 

 

 Needless to say, I don't think they'll be prepared in time for the parade. :)

We've been enjoying the ever so slightly cooler temps

 

 

We're going to see the house today, so hopefully there is some progress to report!! 

Six Month Update

Six months. Half a year. HOWWWW did that happen!? Ryan •is a sitter! He knocks himself over if he wiggles too much but is pretty dang stable •loves any and all food •falls asleep in the car (that's a miracle) and is finally taking naps without being held •is wild and crazy and hilarious, he wiggles and jumps and rolls and scoots. We're in for the long haul when this kid becomes mobile! I miss my squishy little newborn, but each stage is more fun than the last! 

 

 

 

 

 

We sure love you, Ryan Thomas!

Day to Day

It's hard to remember the details of every day, so I kind of have to go back and look at the pictures I've taken to remind myself that I'm not 100% boring and have actually made some memories! 

He has officially found his feet. He's convinced there is nothing yummier than toes. 

 

 

Jake and I went on a date by ourselves! It's usually more stressful to leave Ryan than it is to bring him (he still doesn't consistently take a bottle), but we decided to ditch him with grandma this time and take a night off. One very poor quality picture later... 

We seriously rednecked it this time. Naked dinner for baby in the stroller while dad washed the truck, and a tub on the driveway. I wonder what the neighbors think. Whatever keeps the kid happy! 

  
 

And last but not least...

No picture proof at the moment, but I accidentally gave Jake a buzz cut!!! He got new clippers for me to cut his hair, and the settings are NOT standard apparently. Their 5 was actually a 1. So yeah...he handed me the clippers thinking I was going to do a longish cut to start out with, and I freakin practically shaved it. We both had a moment of panic, but it's growing on us. It's been said he looks like Michael Scofield from Prison Break. Heck, I'll take it. ;)  

Foundation

We drove down to see the house progress! We now have a full foundation, and are waiting for rough plumbing and for the slab to be poured. (We opted out of a basement because of bed rock. It would have cost someone a loooot of money to chip that away to dig down deep enough!) After those 2 things are accomplished...it's framing time, baby! Then the EXTRA fun part begins. I'm starting to feel the pressure of finding light fixtures/paint/exterior colors etc. Good pressure. :) 

 

 

We've met several of our neighbors who have wandered out to say hi, and so far we feel like we hit the jackpot. Everyone has been super friendly and personable. Super easy people to get along with (so it seems).

I am so home sick for Eagle Mountain!! Can't wait to be back.  

Laundry Hacks

First, I have to share an AWESOME homemade laundry detergent I found! It's cheap, one batch lasts a whole year, and it smells super yummy. Triple win. 

 

Here's the recipe! 

*one 4lb 12oz box of Borax 

*three bars of grated Fels-Naptha bar soap (don't ask me to pronounce that one) 

*one 4lb box of arm and hammer baking soda 

*one box of arm and hammer super washing soda 

*4lbs of Oxy Clean (I used the one with the green lid)

*2 containers of laundry softener crystals. I used Downy Unstoppables.

Mix it all up! I lined a 5 gallon bucket with a garbage bag, dumped all the ingredients in, put the lid on and shook it around. 

Each load only uses 2 tablespoons of detergent, so the whole batch is supposed to last around a year. So far we love it! It smells good and our clothes feel nice and clean. 

Note: if you're using a HE washer, put the detergent in with the clothes. Don't put it where you would normally put liquid detergent. 

Original recipe here.

 

Laundry hack #2... Baking soda.

Jake works hard and gets sweaty in his clothes, and his jeans all had that funky musky/mildew smell after you wash them that builds up over time. 

We put them in buckets (1 pair per bucket), dumped about a cup of baking soda in each, filled it up with water, and let those babies soak. Hours later we took them out and voila. The water was NASTY looking. Like a detox for pants. I'll spare you the pictures. Let's just say, we basically want to soak everything now to see what the fabric is holding onto. The best part....they smell brand new and have for a couple of washes. Winning!

Little Baby Park

I went to Paige and baby Park's fiesta themed shower over the weekend. It was a fun afternoon with yummy food and good company! 

 

Apparently I didn't take any pictures of the preggo lady, but she's pretty freakin cute. Here's one +hubby stolen from her Facebook. Please notice the mustache on her belly. 

We played a game where everyone put on a mustache and we were only allowed to speak Spanish. If you spoke in English, you had to take your stache off. Last man standing wins. It lasted about .3 seconds. 

 

I couldn't help myself and got her a practical gift of nursing pads, butt cream, nursing cover, and nipple cream. All the joys of postpartum. ;) 

Happy Baby Paige!!