Trip to Utah (August)

I can't believe it has been about 5 months since I have last updated. I am such a slacker. I don't know if anyone even reads my blog anymore! :)

I am going to start about where I left off! We went to Utah in August for Derek's 2 week vacation from school and also for Jeff's wedding! It was a great time!

Lucas right after his first haircut. He had to look sharp before we went home to Utah and saw the family! I think he likes it! hahaJeff's wedding was on Saturday August 14th in the afternoon so we left bright and early on Saturday morning to fly to Utah! We made it with plenty of time to spare and had time to go Grandma and Grandpa's before we had to head to the wedding. Lucas sure likes Harley! He loves dogs!

We went out to the barn and got to see and pet......the horses......the cows......and Lucas even got to ride in Grandpa's new Corvette!I think he will like to drive it one day!Then it was off to the wedding! Cali and Jeff! So cute. I wish that I had taken more pictures of the wedding but Lucas got a fever in the evening and I was a basket case! He had never been sick before. Good thing there are so many people taking pictures at weddings and I will be able to get copies of theirs.A couple of days later he was still not feeling well but he got to have is first 4-wheeler ride!Another ride with Mommy.And he even got to try riding the horse.A little small still!We rode the tram up to Snowbird one day.It was beautiful! I miss the mountains sometimes! Our little family!Daddy and Lucas at the top.Mommy and LucasWe got to go with our cousins, Garon, Isaac, Justin and Sabrina to the zoo! It was so much fun! Lucas loves his cousins. And they love him. Garon even bought him a souvenier from the zoo, how sweet is that?


Riding the Merri-go-round with Sabrina!

Mommy and Lucas...hold on tight!

Then it was up to Burley, Idaho to see Grandma Shari and go to the Cassia County Fair!We even ventured up a little further north to Boise to see Patti and Roman's new house! I am so proud to say that we were their first visitors!Lucas loved eating corn on the cob at Grandma's.
Back to Utah for a couple more days. Feeding the cows...


...they sure like bread!

We had a great time! Don't worry my next post will not be 5 months away! I need to get caught up. Stay tuned for Lucas's birthday and grandma and grandpa Goff's visit and Halloween!

Our Little Boy is Growing Up!!

I can't believe that Lucas is already 8 months old! Here are his 8 month old pictures taken just a day late! He is a busy boy these days crawling all over the house and getting into anything and everything! He is so playful and makes me laugh all day long. I love him so much. He gets so excited when Daddy comes home and always makes a bee line for him!8 months old. Little stinker!

Such a cutie! He is eating mommy's apple! And he loves it!

Happy Boy! Don't mind his messy hair in these pictures, I had put sunscreen on him and in his hair and it made it go all crazy!

Rough nap! The crazy bed-head in this picture is all him!

This past week he got to try some watermelon, and he was so upset when I went to throw the rind away so I gave it to him to play with...and he loved it too!
Thanks Mom!

Mischief!

Well this past week was Derek's last week of Ob/gyn and I am so happy to have that rotation over with. He loved delivering babies but did not love everything else. Derek had a big test on Friday so we have had him all weekend! It has been so nice. We went on Saturday morning to Raleigh to go to the temple. It was awesome. We had not been in a while and it was so great to be able to go. We have some awesome members of our ward who went and watched the kids while some of us were able to attend a session. What a wonderful service these people gave us. For those of you don't know Raleigh is about 2 hours away. So, there is no way I could have left Lucas for 6 hours to make the trip. 2 hours to get there, then 2 hours inside, then another 2 hours to get home. It was too long. But having our members meet us there and have activities for the kids to do at the church that is right next to the temple was perfect! This way we only had to leave our kids for 2 hours. I was so overcome with gratitude when I got there and dropped Lucas off. I couldn't imagine that they would drive all the way to Raleigh just to watch our kids. And they didn't even get to participate in the temple session. I am so grateful for their testimony of the temple and how important it is that they would go and sacrifice so someone else can go and have the experience. I really took for granted living in Utah and having the temples so close. AND actually having family to watch your kid while you are there. I am so thankful for such wonderful people that I get to go to church with and for all that they had to sacrifice so we could go!

Outside the temple! I wanted to take more pictures and get close but it was just so hot! I didn't want to walk back to the temple because I was already sweating! It was like 90 degrees and super humid.

I was at least smart enough to zoom in on Derek's picture so it looked like we were closer!

Well I am excited for the next 2 weeks. Derek has one week of anesthesiology, then a week of radiology which I hear is not as bad as ob/gyn. It will be nice to be able to see my husband more. Well until next time....

Reflections on Motherhood

With Mother's Day coming up this week, and it being my first Mother's day, I have been thinking a lot about being a mother, and how my life is different than what it was before I had Lucas. First of all I am so grateful for the wonderful mom that I have and all that she has taught me and for the wonderful love that she shows me. I am also so grateful to be a mom to the most wonderful little boy in the world.

I am the luckiest lady ever to be chosen to be his mom. I try to cherish everyday that I have with him because I know that he will only be small for such a short time. I am so blessed in my life and I am so happy because I am a mother. I have never been happier or feel more richly blessed then I do right now. We are dirt poor, and getting poorer by the day but I have never been happier or felt more "rich" in my life. Granted we have a lovely, lovely home. It is small but it is perfect. We have cars that work, although they may be 9 years old. I don't have the fanciest clothes or the expensive namebrand clothes, but in my heart I feel so blessed. I am so grateful for the experience of being a mother.

I have always considered myself a selfish person, I admit it. But being a mom has made me put someone else first... always. I would do anything for that little guy. I feel like he is an angel that was sent down to earth to teach me. He has helped me be less selfish, taught me to love more and he has taught me the real reason why we are here on this earth. It is not to have the nicest house, the best job, nice cars, or clothes, it is to be the very best we can be everyday and try our hardest and to teach our children right from wrong and to love them with all my heart. He has taught me so much in such a short amount of time and I am so grateful.

I am also grateful for the chance that I have to live in NC. It has been such a wonderful experience that has really helped me come out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I find myself still resorting to that comfort zone, then there are other times where I am even surprised at myself for going completely out of my comfort zone. And I feel that it is at those times that I grow and learn the most. As I have been thinking about motherhood, I have also been thinking about my attitude. It has been a crazy couple of weeks with Derek starting his 3rd year of medical school and all of the challenges that accompany it. He is up at 4 in the morning and doesn't come home until 6 or 7 or even 8 o'clock at night. Last week, I admit I had a bad attitude. I was feeling sorry for me. They had been long days for me too. I usually don't even get a text or a phone call through out the day, especailly when he is in surgeries all day or with the residents. I thought "this sucks". But this week I have had a change. Instead of feeling sorry for me that I have been home all day and I haven't heard from him and the only communication I had was with a 7 months old, and I have to change 4 poopy diapers... ect. I thought hello! I am not the one UP at 4 a.m. and I am not the one working as hard as I can, being in stressful situations, learning procedure after procedure, seeing patient after patient, doing paperwork, working long days, then coming home and having to study, make presentations for the women's shelter, and then have to review the surgeries for the next day ect. Gee, I have it easy! I just had to stop thinking about myself and start thinking about what other people are going through. I have now been feeling sorry for Derek! He has had so much going on and I was too selfish to even realize. Here I am getting to stay at home with the most enjoyable person and I have the opportunity to teach him and play with him. He makes me smile constantly. How many other people get to smile all day long? I am just so richly blessed and I am just so happy. What an amazing life I have!

I think that I have taken stuff for granted before and I want to change that. I want to be a more loving, kinder, friendlier, more giving person. I need to look at what I can do for someone else. There is a wonderful scripture that I keep thinking of, and I am no scriptorian so I am not sure where it is exacly and this isn't even the full verse but just part of it and it says..."for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." I love that. I feel like being a mother has taught me to be more mindful of our true purpose on this earth. I know that Lucas has taught me to have a better "heart", what truly matters. He is my little Angel that was sent here to help me be a better person. Although I am supposed to be his mother and teach him and raise him, I feel like he has taught me so much already! He has probably taught me more than I have taught him. He has made me become a better person, he has made me want to be a better person, and he has helped me have a better outlook on life and its purpose.

Motherhood has been the greatest blessing to me and I feel so privileged to be a mom. Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there and all the potential mother's out there! There is truly no greater job or blessing in the entire world!!

Time for an update!!

It's been a while since I have updated! We have had lots of fun things happen in the past couple of months. First of all Derek, as of last week, is officially a 3rd year medical student! I can't believe that we are officially half-way done now. Very exciting. He has already had to work a lot of hours last week. His first rotation is OB/GYN, nasty if you ask me. He has already been in quite a few surgeries last week, and in one more week, he will be delivery babies. Also, my parents came for Easter which was very fun to have them here for a week long visit. My parents are great. Also, I haven't put up pictures of Lucas since he was 5 months old, and he is now 7 months old. Time is flying by. He is such a good boy. He sleeps so good, almost 12 hours at night and then 2, two-hour naps during the day. I think that he sleeps more now then when he was a newborn. He has learned just this past week to army crawl. He also props up onto all fours and rocks forward and back. I think he will be crawling soon. Man, I love that little boy!

This is a picture of him at the Drs. office at 4 months, which I have put up before but I also took pictures of him at the Drs. office at 6 months in this same pose so I thought it would be fun to compare the 2 and see how he has changed in just 2 months!

Four Month Lucas....



...and 6 Month Lucas

Wow, he just seems so much bigger at 6 months than 4 months. He is still a big boy!! Almost 19 pounds at 6 months.


This is Lucas on his 6 month birthday!

Lucas received a package in the mail from his Grandma Shari for Easter. It was full of fun toys and a Bosie State outfit!

Easter morning after finding his easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa Goff.

And posing with all of his Easter clothes and toys. Church clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Goff, Boisie State clothes from Grandma Shari, and some nice play clothes from the Easter bunny! What a great Easter and so much stuff for such little guy!

On the Monday after Easter we took my parents to the Blue Ridge Parkway and went on a little hike to some beautiful water falls. Gorgeous!

It was very pretty and it was such beautiful weather while my parents were here. It also snowed 3 times in Utah while they were here visiting! Perfect timing on their part!


Just too cute not to post. This is on Derek's birthday!

And this is the little guy at 7 months!! He is still sucking on those 2 fingers! Almost every picture I have he has those fingers in his mouth. He is so funny! And he is always making that face in most pictures because of the flash that goes off right before the picture takes. Things are going very well here in beautiful NC. We have no more visitors planned to come and visit us this year...so if any one wants to come, we would love to have you!!!

I need your help!!!

Lucas USED to sleep great at night! I would usually put him down around 8:30pm, he would wake up sometime between 1:30am and 4am to eat, then he would go right back to sleep and wouldn't wake up until about 7am! It was wonderful. The middle of the night feeding would only last 15 minutes total before he was back to sleep and I was back in bed. Life was grand! Well...the past three nights have been bad with last night being terrible! I put the little man to sleep around 9:45pm (late because of Daylight savings and talking to the family on the webcam). I did what I usually do, rock for just minute until he gets dosy, and lay him his crib and he falls asleep on his own. Well about two and half hours later, he was up again. I went in to feed him because he didn't eat as much for dinner and I thought he must be hungry. I only feed him one side during the night because I am wanting to cut out that feeding anyway and I don't want him relying on the nighttime feeding for his calories. Anyway, I fed him and went back to bed. 20 minutes later, he was crying again. I let him cry for a minute, then thought that maybe he was still hungry. Fed him on the other side and it was back to bed, finally. About 2 hours later, he was up again. I let him cry again, and he would not stop. I went in his room and put my hand on his chest to soothe him etc. Didn't want to pick him up, but he would not stop. I picked him up and immediately he went back to sleep. I rocked him for a minute and put him back in bed. Not even 2 hours later, he was up again! I let him cry for over 20 minutes! Nothing. Did the same thing when I got to his room and he went back to sleep. 45 minutes later, crying again! I finally just turned my monitor off and shut my door and he was off and on crying for about the next hour until I finally just went in there and got him up and fed him for the morning. Is this normal? How can I get him back on his sleeping schedule? I need some help because I do not want another night like last night. He had also slept terrible during the day yesterday too with no real good long naps so I thougth that he would have slept great last night because he was so tired but that was not the case. He did have good naps on Friday and Saturday and still slept crappy those nights too so I don't know what is going on and now I have a headache! Momma needs her sleep! What is going on? Any advice? I did only feed him once during the night and when he was awake the other times he was not hungry but I don't know why he keeps on waking up and won't go back to sleep. Help!

5 Months Old!

I can't believe this little guy is 5 months old!

Here are some of the things that he enjoys doing at 5 months!

He loves to play with his toys.

And be in Johnny Jump Up.


He loves to smile and is a happy boy.


He loves to look good for his mommy. This is on Valentine's Day...so handsome!


He loves bath time, and cuddling in this towel after baths.

He loves these toes...

...and these two fingers.

On Valentine's Day he got to eat rice cereal for the first time..

He was so helpful feeding himself..

And he loved it too!

What a big boy! Eating is now a whole different experience!

He needs to slow down on growing! I love though to watch him learn and grow every day. He is also rolling around like crazy. He will roll over multiple times in a row. You will put him down on one end of the room and you look away for just a minute and he will have rolled to the other side of the room. He loves to roll to his right, I wonder if that means he will be right handed...? We just love him so much and are so glad to be his parents! Happy 5 months birthday Lucas!