My Best Frister! (friend sister)

Having a baby makes you forget things. This post was started before her birthday. And by started I mean I wrote the title and saved it. Then I forgot to finish it! But the good thing is that birthday's are best when they are spread out over several weeks... The concept of 'Birthday Month' is appropriate here. I love you lots Ang even though this is late!

It's another day of celebration!

My dear older sister was born on this lovely day! [July 25th]

(Pictures are not in chronological order)

Helping make their christmas tree

Greg had to work so the witch, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore hung out

At my baby shower

We must be related... None of us could get our eyes to stay open! I have about 4 other pictures like this one and none of them have all three of our eyes open!

She made a DELICIOUS reeses cake for dad's birthday

Guess who she is?

I have a weird obsession with taking pictures with animal statues...

Dear Angela,
I am so thankful that I am your sister! It is so wonderful to have someone in my life that I can always go to with any problems. I can't count the number of phone calls we have had over the years that start off sad, or anxious or stressful that end up happy and laughing.

No matter what the problem or issue is, we always know what to say to the other. And even if the problem isn't fixed, our heavy hearts are!

And when the phone call is just for fun, or to share good news, it is always so fun to share our adventures with each other, even if the adventure is just an awkward doctor visit or I cleaned my whole apartment today.

You are a constant support in my life. Our personalities allow us to balance each other out. To learn and teach each other things that we can't learn any other way. You have such a caring heart and sweet personality! I've looked up to you in a lot of ways over the years and am so glad that despite our differences, we have learned to be the best of friends!

Some people say about there friends that they are 'practically my sister anyway' but there is something so precious about actually being sisters. There is that wonderful connection that only sisters can have. That no matter what has happened in life, you have an obligation to that person. I am so glad that you are the one that I get to have that connection with. That it doesn't matter where we end up in life, I can reach out to you and know you will love me no matter what.

I am so blessed to call you my big sis and I love you so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Kayla

Baby Showers!

Dear Kacie,

(this post has been typed up for like 3 months and I totally forgot to 'publish' it!)

There are a lot of people in my life that were so excited to be a part of your life. Aunt Angela and Aubree threw me a baby shower in March and my sweet cousins threw me a baby shower in May. It was so wonderful to celebrate your birth with people I love and care for!

I was reminded again just how blessed I am. I love each one of my family and friends, those that were able to come to the showers and those that wanted to be there but couldn't. I hope that your father and I have taught you how to recognize all the blessing of friends and family in your life and to really appreciate their unique and sweet spirits.

Sam, my friend from Ready Auto Transport

Sis Low, Isabelle and Esther from my parents ward

Lara, Jordan, Aunt Aubree and Katie

Esther and Kristin, friends from high school

Your Great Aunt Shawna, I'm guessing you will already know her!

Kyler helping me open your presents.

He was so dissapointed each time we opened a present because it was never a toy that he could play with! It was adorable! He's holding your blessing shoes.

The blessing dress your grandma and grandpa Jarvis bought for you. I was so excited I cried a little!

Jordan did not want to take this picture!

Katie Hughes. Friend from my parents ward

Nicole and Kyler

Tiffany

Melissa and Kandyce, friends from my parents ward.

Jerah and Jennifer, grandma Sandra's friend and her daughter

Tjanna

Jan and Jill

Megann, friend from high school

Utah Shower:

The cutest gift card!

All the clothes from my Utah shower

We played "Pin the sperm on the egg"

I think the best part is the "Good, better, best" at the top!

Pregnant cousins!

We were so lucky to get basically everything that we needed for Kacie as gifts. Thank you to everyone that helped to support us as we start this new adventure! It was so wonderful to see friends and family and to share this special time with them.

We love you all!

5 Weeks, Strong Baby and Me!

Dear Kacie,

You are 5 weeks old today! I can hardly believe it's been that long!... which is not actually that long when you consider that I am 1,216 weeks old!


Dad's favorite thing that you do is looking up at him while laying on his chest. It is absolutely adorable! You are so good at holding your head up.

We can't wait for you to be able to sit up on your own! Grandma Tracey told us that your dad started walking at 8 months! I started walking at 11. I think it will be so fun for you to crawl and walk around but also, when I think of being the only one home and you getting in to everything it's a little overwhelming! But dad is really trying to get you to walk already so we will see...

You have sooooo much hair! You were born with a lot but it just keeps growing and it is not thinning out or anything. I hope you don't lose it! It's super curly too. After we bathe you it is the cutest!

I don't know how you think of me and your dad but I remember it took a long time for me to realize that my parents were once young! That they had hobbies and that they weren't always just focused on us kids.

As kids we grow up thinking our parents know everything and they can save us from anything but now that I am a parent, I realize that I don't know anything!

Anyway, I wanted to tell you a few things about me, a 23 year old mom, that you might not have thought I would feel!

1. I consider Arizona the place I grew up. AZ doesn't get a lot of thunderstorms there and if there is one, it's usually just thunder and not much rain. Or it will rain while the sun is shining. And if it's windy, it's called a dust storm because there is so much dust in AZ if there is wind, it blows EVERY where. The wind is so strong but those storms don't last for long. Anyway, since moving here to Utah, I have experienced some pretty windy days. I've discovered that I am scared of windy thunder storms. I swear that our apartment complex is going to blow down. I need Maria from The Sound of Music to come and sing to me about our favorite things!

2. Every time I go to the gas station to fill up my car, I am scared that the gas station will blow up. I don't know how it will happen but I'm scared that it will! I also don't know when this irrational fear developed or why it came to be but it is real.

3. My favorite place in the world is to be in the car. It is my escape. I haven't done it much since I've been married but in high school I spent a lot of time driving in my car with my music loud just singing along. I love being in the car. I can ignore my cell phone (because it's not safe to text/talk while driving!) and no one can bother me.

4. I have spent the past week watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch while nursing you. I don't know if you will fully appreciate that at the time you are reading this. Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a show that started playing when I was 9 years old. It went for 7 seasons and me and Aunt Angela loved it. It's pretty cheesy but it's super funny. I love it!

5. When I started shaving my legs I just used my moms razor (sorry mom!) and didn't ask how to do it. I shaved from my knees down and only on the front half of my leg. When I got out of the shower I asked Aunt Ang if that was how you were supposed to shave. She laughed at me... but in my defense, the backs of my legs weren't really hairy!

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few things about myself so that you can get a glimpse of my 23 year old personality and maybe help you realize that I actually do know what I am talking about sometimes cause I have been through it!

Love,
Mom and Dad

P.S. I'll make dad reveal some of his 'juicy' secrets soon too!

1 month

Dear Kacie,

You are 1 month old today!

It has been the best month of our life! We have loved every minute of it... even the minutes we didn't really love!

1) You are sooo squirmy! You move around a lot! We will put you in your swing or your bouncer and you just wiggle around until you have slid down as far as the safety restraints will let you go. I think your favorite place is on daddy's chest. You get so comfy curled up on your tummy on dad's tummy and you two will just nap  like that.

2) When you get hungry you make a snorting sound. It's daddy's favorite thing that you do. Your'e like a little pig! And when you are about to poop or burp you grunt. It's adorable because you seem sooo sad but the grunts are so quiet that it seems like you're faking your uncomfortableness! That sounds mean but I promise we try and fix the problem as soon as you start grunting... sometimes we just can't fix it right away!

3) You get this look in your eyes like you are seeing everything for the first time, which you basically are because your eyes are beginning to focus better and things aren't as blurry anymore (or so the experts say). But it's amazing to watch you discovering the world. It helps make us appreciate life a little bit more.

4) Dad has got baby talk down. We often ponder why we talk in a different voice to you but talking to you like we normally talk just feels weird! You really like dad's voice... well for the first hour after he gets home from work. You definitely respond to him talking after he's been gone all day. It's very precious!

5) You are starting to outgrow your newborn clothes. It's so sad cause my favorite pants of yours are getting too small, too fast... But I'm sure we will be able to find more adorable clothes for you and they will still be kind of little.

6) You sleep pretty well, except at night! Actually, you are a very good sleeper it just seems like you are a few hours off. You can sleep for 6-7 hours a night, you've done it before, but I think you must have forgotten how to do that. You just want to eat all the time!

You always arch your back when you are stretching

You sleep really good when we get you swaddled all cozy and it's pretty awesome for mom and dad!

You have the biggest yawns!

You smile a lot when you are sleeping

One month old!

7) I hate spit-up. Spit-up is the worst thing in the world! You projectile your spit-up so it often misses you completely and gets all over me and my Boppy pillow (which I love). You need a face diaper. But I'm sure that wouldn't be safe. So we will just continue to do tons of laundry to wash bibs and burp cloths and every outfit you or I wear.

It still doesn't feel real that you are here and that we are parents. We often find ourselves saying "We are parents! We have a baby!" We are so excited to see what the next month brings. Parenthood truly is a wonderful thing and brings us the greatest joy we have ever experienced!

8) You are getting really good at holding up your head. As if you weren't cute enough already, it's even more adorable when you hold your head up on your own! Daddy is teaching you to crawl and walk already. He puts a hand under your feet while you're on your tummy and you push against them in a crawling motion. You might learn early but I'm ok with waiting a while... Dad's not the one that has to be home with you all day!

The Thinker

This was taken in the hospital

Kacie, you are the most beautiful baby ever and your dad and I love you so much! It is such a blessing, even though it's not always easy, to have you in our lives!

Happy One Month Day!

Love,
Mom and Dad

P.S. Ya... we like to take pictures of you...