Carl & Ashley

My little brother Carl and his fiancee Ashley are getting married in August! I am so excited for them to begin this part of their lives! They asked me to take their engagement pictures and of course I was thrilled to do so. Many have asked to see the pictures I took so here are just a few. Here is a sneak peek of my favorite shots!

I had so much fun taking these pictures! I am also excited at how well they turned out! Congratulations Carl & Ashley!

Growing Up

It is hard for me to think our children are growing up! Brayden turns six next month and it doesn't feel nearly six years ago he joined our family!

Brayden lost his very first tooth on Saturday! He was drinking chocolate milk and then it just came out! He was a bit upset because he didn't like the hole in his mouth but he has since gotten used to it. The excitement the next morning after the tooth fairy came was awesome and he carried his money with him all day. Any day now the second of his teeth will fall out. The one next to the one he already lost is very loose so he will have a large gap on the bottom row of teeth once it comes out!

We are so blessed to have him in our family. He is a tremendous help and he shows his love for us in the small everyday things he says and does! We love you Brayden!

Catch Up (Part 2)

This past weekend was our Annual Kite Festival. While Josh went to Twin Falls I took the kids to see all the kites. They got to make and fly their own as well! Brayden enjoyed it and was able to hold onto his kite fairly well while the wind was blowing like crazy but I had to chase Kaytlin's kite across the field several times because she wouldn't hold onto it for long! I think the kites intrigued her more than anything!

The weekend of April 10-11th we went to Utah for the blessing of my new nephew Mason. He was born in February to my brother Anthony and his wife Mandy!While we were down in Utah we visited Hogle Zoo! My brother Carl and his fiancee Ashley also went down with us if you start to wonder why Carl is in several pictures!

We could have gotten away with leaving Carl with the Apes because of how perfectly he fit in... he made some pretty good facial features to go along with it! I don't think Ashley would have liked it much if we left him though!

Inside the zoo there are a few attractions such as a Merry go Round and a train that the kids enjoyed.

The best part of the zoo for me was seeing the baby Elephant! I didn't get a very good shot besides this picture with their back sides but you get the drift!

We started our garden... INSIDE! I allowed the kids to help a little!

From left to right we planted Watermelon, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Tomato, and Cucumber! I am excited to see how much they have grown in only a few weeks. The pumpkin plants are so big I might have to plant them in a bigger container! I can't wait until we can go outside and get the garden spot ready for transplanting at the end of May!

The best news of all not mentioned above...

Carl and Ashley got engaged!

They will be getting married August 14th! I am so excited and happy to welcome her into our family! Be sure to check back for pictures later on!

Catch Up (Part 1) We had our family picture taken in March! I love having it done once a year so we can see the changes that have happened such as kids growing up and parents getting grey hair... at least we don't fall into the grey hair category YET!

The next addition to our family pictures next year will be our baby due in August! These ultrasound pictures were taken when i was 20 weeks along! That seems like ages ago! Like we said before we don't want to know what we are having so we didn't find out! I am now 25 weeks along and I am enjoying all the movement of this baby! I am sure whatever we have will be very active!

In March we had some beautiful weather and we took advantage of it! The sun was shining and it was warm BUT the mud was something else to deal with altogether as you can probably tell from Kaytlin's behind.

As promised from out December blog entries...my dad gave us wood for Christmas presents and we put them together in the living room and then took them outside! They were Adirondack chairs! I get to enjoy watching the kids play on the swing set while lounging away in our new chairs!

Part 2 will be following momentarily so be sure to check back!

Pregnancy

Well I am finally starting to feel and look pregnant! I am currently 19 weeks along which means... you guessed it my ultrasound is scheduled for later this month! Josh and I have decided we will not be finding out what we are having because we have things for both a girl and a boy! Take a minute and vote on the poll on the left hand side of our blog for whether you think we are going to have another boy or another girl! Either way I am super excited to add another little bundle of joy to our family! Brayden votes boy all the way and I don't think Kaytlin really has an idea about it yet!

I recently ordered some maternity pants because I was starting to feel the strain from my normal jeans! I absolutely love the maternity pants with the hidden belly! It sure makes things much more comfortable!

Within the next few weeks look for pictures posted to let you know how the ultrasound went and to see how big I have gotten for being half way through the pregnancy! Time sure flies!

So I was noticing it has been ages since I posted a blog entry and figured it was about time! So much to update everyone on!

Well the hustle from the Christmas season died down and then it was onto birthday Party Planning! Kaytlin turned 2!

The pans and cooking utensils were a huge hit! She plays with them continually and trys to help in the kitchen as often as she can!

Mmmm.... cake!

I love this picture of Brayden because of his big blue eyes!

Isn't she growing up! She isn't my baby girl any more!

Although some days she likes to think she is still a baby! I brought the carseat up from the basement to measure it for the Carseat Canopies I made!


Then at the end of January our new Nephew and Cousin Mason was born. We went down to Utah for Mandy's baby shower but instead of the shower got to hold new born baby Mason! It was certainly the high light of the trip! I took a few pictures while we were there to show Brayden and Kaytlin because they weren't allowed up at the hospital! Congrat's Anthony and Mandy!

Hope your January went well! Onto February updates!

December was Crazy!

At the beginning of December the kids set up our christmas tree! I must say they did a great job even if all the ornaments were on the bottom half of the tree.

On December 4th Kaytlin had ear surgery! Tubes were put in because she had a malfunctioning eustachian tube! I can't even imagine not being able to hear or hearing like you were wearing a hat and some ear muffs! We were at the hospital only about two hours and when all was said and done and we took her home she didn't even act like anything had happened! I have been amazed at the vocal changes that have been occuring just in this short amount of time! New words every day sure helps the frustration level around our home but she is still using a small amount of sign language which is just fine!

On December 14th we found out that we are expecting another Baby Dawson! I had expected so for a few weeks before the appointment was made but we officially found out on the 14th! I am due August 9th and I am hoping this baby doesn't get born on my birthday which is the 11th! I think it would be a great tribute to have it on the 18th but I am sure I will be miserable at that point and will wish it out at any time! The ultrasounds technician called it a blob which is very fitting from the pictures taken!

On December 16th Josh had sinus surgery! All of his sinus cavaties were cleaned out and any polyps that had formed from his last surgery were removed! This was a much more intense surgery than his previous two sinus surgeries. He seems to be doing fine and at his first follow up appointment the doctor took a whole bunch more crud out of his sinuses. I am glad I didn't go along to his appointment or i would have been grossed out!

The kids made sugar cookies for Santa Clause! Brayden wasn't to thrilled about the sticky mess it made on his hands but he did enjoy it! The best part for him was the frosting after they were cooked! Kaytlin just ate the dough and played with it. The majority of the dough we gave her was either put all over her clothes or in her mouth.

My dad made some awesome lawn chairs for us! We were assembling the chairs Christmas night before he took off the next morning so we knew how the others were to be assembled! They look so wonderful sitting in the lawn on all the snow but come summer I would suspect I will be using them alot! Anyone else interested in trying them out please feel free because they are so comfortable! I was telling Josh that he needs to put his swim suit on and go sit on them so I could take his picture and he thought I was nuts! Imagine that! The kids are thrilled to have Uncle Carl all moved in! I think he is a huge distraction for them but they are probably going to be for him as well. Next week he starts school at BYU Idaho so we probably won't see to much of him around here! The kids just enjoy having him here!Merry Christmas and Have a Happy New Year!