Paigey peach pie.

Yesterday was my beautiful mama's birthday. I have always looked up to her, she is soooo talented and loving and kind. She has had a lot of hardships in her life and yet she still has so much love in her heart for everyone around her. I honestly love doing everything with her, even if it is just sitting all day and talking.

Growing up, she always made things special for me and my siblings. Every UEA weekend she would take the three of us up to the Marriott hotel in Salt Lake and we would order room service and watch movies in our room all night. She would take us to the movies in our pajamas. She would let us skip school on our birthdays and spend the whole day with her doing what we wanted! She worked her little bum off to make sure that I got the exact prom dress I wanted.

She is SO amazing at floral design, she creates such beautiful things out of thin air! She is so creative, I love that she can just see a picture of something and totally recreate it! She is so smart. She is always up to a challenge. I literally cannot say enough good things about her. Anyone who has met her always tells me how amazing she is.

Mom, I don't know how I would ever live without you. I am so lucky to have you for a mom. You have taught me how to love unconditionally and you have taught me the importance of family along with a thousand other things. I hope you know that you are so important and I hope you had a wonderful birthday, because you most definitely deserve it. 

Averie Grace Adams

Ohmygosh, worst mom ever. I haven't introduced baby Ave! This sweet little doll was born on March 31,2014. She was 8 pounds 14 ounces. She was born with SO much hair. Literally I can't even handle it, its so cute. She is now almost 7 months and she is the most adorable, sweet, smiley baby I have ever met. She babbles all day long, can sit up on her own, and is completely infatuated with her brother. I love every second I get to spend with her.

The transition from one baby to two was pretty hard for me. It was really difficult balancing time between them. Averie was a really terrible sleeper those first few months and I felt so exhausted all the time. I felt like I wasn't able to give Mason 100% of myself because I was so tired! It made me feel guilty because he was already going through a big change of having another baby in the house and the fact that I hardly had energy to play with him made me want to cry (and I did, many a times.) Mason did NOT like Averie for a long time. Mostly he ignored her, but if she interfered with our play time, it really made him mad. He told me multiple times to, "Put baby in swing!" ha ha.

Luckily as the months have gone by, the two of them have grown so close. Averie cannot get enough of her brother. She can be in the worst mood and if she sees Mason she will immediately start laughing. Mason loves to tease her, he always gets really close to her face and tickles her. It makes me so happy to know that they have each other. I have always been so close to my siblings and I hope that my children have that same amazing relationship with each other!

Mason's gingerbread train

Festival of Trees

Has anyone ever tried taking an almost 2 year old the the Festival of Trees? Well, don't. Just, don't.

I had been waiting for weeks for the Festival of Trees, I love going every year and seeing all of the amazing trees, gingerbread houses, and wreaths. For some crazy reason Scott and I thought it would be a good idea to take Mason. Sadly, by the time we parked and were walking into the building the tantrums started. Luckily we had my sister there with us to help tag team with Mason, but we did not get to stay for very long. Next year, no babies will be invited. The tree's that we did see however, were SOOO COOL....

Thanksgiving and 24th birthday.

Thanksgiving was a lot more exciting this year for us. On top of eating an amazing meal our family prepared, we finally revealed the gender of our baby (GIRL!) and it was my 24th birthday. We spent the majority of the morning finishing up the cooking and then we headed over to my grandparents home to eat. The minute we got there we decided to do the gender reveal because we were so excited and wanted to tell everyone. Most of the people in our families were already expecting a girl because this pregnancy has been so different from the last, but my dad and grandma were sure it was a boy. So we did our gender box and it was so fun to see everyone's reactions! We are so thrilled to be having a little girl!! Later that day we celebrated my birthday with some presents and what not, then we relaxed and played for the rest of the day.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I don't have anything in particular to blog about, but there have been so many changes in our lives lately and I just want to update our blog.

First of all, my pregnancy! I can't believe I am already 5 months along, this pregnancy has been so different from last one, time has flown by. I have been so busy with Mason that I hardly noticed the months passing. Scott and I found out the gender yesterday, but are keeping it a secret until Thanksgiving so we can tell our families together. I have also been sooo exhausted this time around (probably because I have an almost 2 year old keeping me very busy.) And I was definitely more sick too, thankfully that passed a couple months ago. I am beyond excited for Mason to have a sibling, I know it will be a big adjustment for all of us but Scotty and I are SO blessed to be able to be parents to 2 babies!

Next up, Mason at 22 months:

• He is obsessed with trains, from the minute he wakes up until bedtime he is playing with them. He has about 7 or 8 small Thomas trains and we have to take all of them EVERYWHERE. We pack them up to go to my parents house, the grocery store or the park. He cannot be without them. 
• He is a really picky eater. Right now he will only eat raspberries, Muscle Milk, and frozen blueberries.
• He calls me "Mom" and everyone else "Ma."

A couple weeks ago he started to fall into the "terrible two's." He was throwing fits over everything and just being very naughty in general. Luckily for us, that phase didn't last long and he has been so sweet and good for us lately! I love him so much, I could never see my life without him in it. He really makes every day one million times better.

And lastly, our new home!

Ok, technically its not new. We have been here for almost 9 months now, but it still seems brand new to me. Not to mention it is still pretty empty (moving from a town home to a two-story house will do that to you.) I absolutely love our new house and especially our neighborhood that we live in. There are 12 little kids in our cul-de-sac all under the age of 10. And our ward is really amazing, Scott and I were called to teach the 13-14 year olds and it has been so fun! 

We have had so many changes in our lives the past year and we have been so blessed for them all. I am also grateful for our awesome families and friends, we love you! 

Also, I cannot even tell you how excited I am for all of the upcoming holidays! And snow of course, there better be some damn snow. 

Halloween

Gah! I'm making myself blog about this NOW or I never will.

Halloween!!
This year for Halloween Mason was Max from Where the Wild Things Are, I was an angel and Scott was a party pooper who wouldn't dress up. Like last year, we went to my family's neighborhood Trunk or Treat. However, it was sooo much better this time around because Mason could actually participate in trick or treat-ing and he LOVED it. He was in heaven and didn't understand why so many people were giving him candy! My only problem is I now have a baby who is a total candy addict. Literally every morning when he wakes up he says, "ANNIEE?" sooooo... I had to resort to hiding his trick or treating bag its terrible, I'm a mean mom I know.

Mason's first birthday.

This little dude turned one last month!

Okay so MAYBE I cried the night before his birthday when I realized that my baby was turning one... it's a little bitter sweet knowing that he is getting so old! On one hand I absolutely love watching him learn and explore more every day. He has become so independent, and he understands SO much. However, sometimes I miss the days when he would cuddle his mama and had no choice because he wasn't strong enough to move around yet! Before I go on about his party, I wanted to share some things about him at age uno.

• Mason is already a picky eater. Sometimes he wont even try what I set on his high chair! Little stinker. He just shakes his head "no" and throws the food to Olive on the ground. His favorite food lately is string cheese. He also loves sandwich meat, bread, yogurt and bananas. 
• He is terrified of my sister. He used to love her when he was younger, but now he whines and cries even if she talks to him from across the room.
• His vocabulary now consists of OOYIVE for Olive, uh-oh, all done, ODEE for my brother Cody, buh-bye and of course mama and dada.
• He is not really into watching any movies yet. He also doesn't like his bouncer anymore.
• He is absolutely obsessed with his grandma. He seriously acts like they are attached at the hip when he is around her. 
• He still isn't walking yet.. which I am a little grateful for because he keeps me busy enough as it is.

So, for Mason's birthday we spent the day at the Living Planet Aquarium in Draper. We got to see jelly fish, seahorses (my favorite!), otter's, penguin's, and tons more. Mason LOVED the aquarium, it was so fun to watch him see all of those things for the first time!

Later that night, we had his birthday party in a room we rented out at Noah's. The party was a circus theme so obviously we had candy, popcorn and Dumbo playing on the theatre screen. I had so much help preparing and setting up for the party from tons of my family and friends so thank you, thank you to everyone who helped! We spent the rest of the night eating, playing and celebrating our sweet baby boy with those we love the most. 

 Thank you to everyone who came to Mason's party!

Mason's first Christmas

Christmas this year definitely did not go how I thought it would. I was SO excited for Mason to try all the delicious foods at our Christmas Eve dinner, snuggle up as we read our Christmas books, play around in his Christmas Eve pajamas, and of course get excited over all of the Christmas presents he got! But sadly, he got the stomach flu on Christmas Eve and it all went downhill after that. At first everyone thought he was too tired and that we had kept him up too late and that was why he was acting so grumpy. But, by Christmas night he had started vomiting and so we figured that was the real reason for all the fussing.

Even though Mason was sick, we still had a wonderful time with our family. Scotty's sister Allie was in town and stayed with us for a few days and it was really fun to have her experience Mason's first Christmas with us. Mason was totally spoiled and got so much that I have NO ROOM to put it anywhere in our house!

Even though we are still dealing with a sick baby I am already planning for the next big day, Mason's first birthday! Until then... here are a few photo's from Christmas!

ThanksLIVING

A couple years ago, during church one afternoon, we listened to a talk given on "ThanksLIVING." 

The speaker explained to our congregation that each day we should actively be looking for things that we are thankful for. God has blessed each of us with SO much and is it sufficient to only express our gratitude one month or one day out of the year? Do we do any more than say a thanksgiving prayer over the traditional Thanksgiving feast? 

She explained to us that over the past 10 or so years, she had started writing in a journal each day that was solely dedicated to things she was thankful for. It was so sweet to hear the beautiful, little things she recognized each day that our Heavenly Father blessed her with. I was so touched by this talk that I decided to start a journal like this of my own. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving I will share a few of the things that I am so grateful for...


I am so grateful for baby boy Mace. He truly makes every part of my life more beautiful. He is the most precious, amazing gift from God I have ever received. I love him so much.

I am grateful for a husband who is able to give me blessings when I need comfort. Who understands when I just need a minute to cool down, or when I just need a hug. 

I am grateful for a mother who works SO HARD for our family.

I am grateful for our home. We are so lucky to live just 5 minutes away from my parents and grandparents! I love how I feel when I am at home, I feel safe and at peace.

I am grateful for Andrea. Her presence alone is so beautiful and humbling. I love her letters and her heavenly insight. 

I am grateful for my best friend Michal. She is always there for me when I need help or if I just need a laugh.

I am grateful for my husband's job! I am so lucky to not have to work and get to stay home to raise our children and I am grateful that it is something he loves. 

Obviously there is so much more, so many more people and things that make my life so amazing. However, the most important thing I am thankful for is my Heavenly Father. Without him, I would not have my family, my home, or even my life! I hope that everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving this year with family and loved ones and I hope that we can all remember that there is something to be grateful for everyday.