Life As My Phone Sees It - June

Here's a look at everything we've been up to lately:

6/4 - Tuesday - Charlie had mouthwatering chocolate buttermilk waffles (with chocolate chips!) for breakfast!! Yummmm!
6/6 - Thursday - Went to the pool with our neighbors, the Fergusons! It was our second attempt at the pool and was much better than the first time (which turned out to be extremely windy, making it way too cold). It was sunny and breezy and hot, so the water felt great! And there really is nothing better than sitting poolside with my cute little boy on a beautiful day!

6/7 - Friday - We traveled up to American Fork canyon near the Timpanogos cave trail and found a great little spot to build a campfire! We ate tin foil dinners (which was almost a fiasco after forgetting our plastic forks, but miraculously I found some old silverware I stashed in our "camping" bin!) and Charlie got to experience his first ever campfire s'mores! He was exceptionally pleased with the result!

6/9 - Sunday - My zucchini plant bloomed its first blooms! And shortly after this I had a couple of small (1.5 inch) zucchinis grow! Unfortunately, I think the pot I planted it in was too small and it reached max capacity because it has since started to brown and die. It still produces some small leaves and a few unfruitful blossoms, but I don't think we are actually going to get any zucchinis from it this year. I can't wait until next year when we make our real garden in our lawn!!
6/15 - Saturday - I spent most of that week re-doing our bedroom because I didn't like the original comforter set I bought for our bed (too hot and blah colors). So, I found the art in the right side of the picture at Hobby  Lobby and decided to use it as my inspiration piece for my bedroom. Bedding from Ikea and a few items later, I have the beginnings of a heavenly room!

6/16 - Sunday - Father's Day!! Charlie got Trev this awesome 20 page picture book from Shutterfly. Trev absolutely loved it and said it was a "much better gift than a grill". Haha! The grill will have to wait ;) It was a wonderful Father's Day for Trev and I taught my first Young Women's lesson in church after having been called a few weeks prior!
6/17 - Monday - Behold, my new iMac eye candy! For photography and website design! I'm in love <3

6/18 - Tuesday - Trev had to take my car to work, so Charlie and I were stuck at home all day. To try to have some fun, I decided to get us all ready to walk up the hill to the pool. We were both very excited to swim, but when we got there we realized the pool was closed! :( The sign on the door said it was closed for "sanitary" reasons for the rest of the day. Apparently a kid pooped in the pool and all our fun was ruined! It was too hot to play on the playground next to the pool (burning slides, ouch!), so we just walked back home and chilled on the driveway with snacks, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles. Although, in the second picture, you can see Charlie still wished he was at the pool! :/

6/20 - Thursday - Here's what I got after I told him to say "cheese": A big cheesy grin and, in his words, "Ssschhhheeeee"! Right after lunch we went to Provo to see my friend Victoria and her two little boys!
6/24 - Monday - I feel like you're getting the tour of our new house bit by bit, one room at a time. Here's a peek at Charlie's favorite room in the house: the playroom!!

6/27 - Thursday - Went to the park that morning (before it was too hot) after a quick grocery shopping trip. Charlie made a new friend and they had a blast playing in the toy car together!
6/28 - Friday - Had a family night out to Orem. We ate some delicious steak and chicken tenders at Outback and then made an impromptu stop at Hang Time, an awesome new trampoline place. It's more expensive than the other two I've tried out, and not quite as kid-friendly, but it was really fun and Charlie had a blast, even if his little wristband annoyed him at times. Haha :)

6/30 - Sunday - We had some Mama and Charlie cuddle time and a mini photo session after church! We love relaxing Sundays! <3

Umm... so did anyone else notice that Charlie is eating in over half of the photos of him? Haha! The kid LOVES to eat. That and he's easier to photograph while sitting still, and the only time he's still is when he's eating!

Life As My Phone Sees It 4/16/13 - 6/2/13

I've been a very, very BAD blogger lately! Maybe I'm just a little tired of blogging? Maybe I'm just having a lot of fun lately and haven't found time? Who knows the true reason for my lack of blogging... but when I remembered that my blog is effectively my journal, I realized I might need to keep up on it just a little bit more often than monthly! :)

Here's a catch-up of our lives over the last month and a half in pictures...

Thurs 4/18 - Charlie fell asleep watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Cutest boy ever!
Sun 4/21 - Charlie's first official day in nursery at church (they let him go a week early because I asked since Trev couldn't come to church that day!). He didn't even look back... and definitely didn't cry! He was so happy to go right in and play with the blocks. I was a very happy mom that day!!

Sun 4/21 - It's a miracle! All three of my zucchini seeds that I planted at a recent Relief Society activity gave sprouts! Considering the little container got knocked over so many times... I was pretty shocked :)
Mon 4/22 - We went to a fun place called Planet Play with Jana and her two boys! (It's kind of like Chuck-E-Cheese's). Charlie enjoyed riding around on the mini carousel they had in the little kid section... even though he looks petrified in the picture... he was having lots of fun!

Tues 4/23 - I actually took a picture of myself! *Gasp!* I was trying out a headband that day.
Thurs 4/25 - We stopped by the Lehi Expo and Charlie got to peek inside a real life firetruck!

Sat 4/27 - First time mowing our lawn!! I love catching Trev doing "manly" things like purchasing and assembling a new lawn mower. It makes me a very happy wife!
Mon 4/29 - Another selfie! I know... I'm on a roll! I was trying out a side braid with my hair and got that cute new shirt from J.Crew Factory for only $10!! Score!

Sat 5/4 - We've seen this picture before - it was the one Instagram I took over our anniversary weekend trip to Park City! Yummy burger and fries at the Main Street Deli.
Wed 5/8 - First picture taken with my brand new iPhone5! There was a radiant sunset over the west mountains as I was heading over to Heidi's house to do yoga that night :)

Thurs 5/9 - Say, Charlie, what are you doing in my suitcase!? This kid loves to climb in and out of my luggage!
Sun 5/12 - Mother's Day! It wasn't the best day ever... Trev woke up and made me pancakes for breakfast, but then after that he spent the whole day feeling sick and exhausted. We thought it may have been heat exhaustion from playing golf and getting sunburned the day before. So, I took Charlie to church by myself, did all my regular motherly duties while also taking care of a sick hubby, and I made my own pot roast dinner! Nothing says Mother's Day like doing motherly duties all day. ;)

Sun 5/12 - Mother's Day (again) - Regardless of having a less-than-perfect day, I still felt so blessed to be this sweet boy's Mama! <3
Sun 5/12 - Three weeks later and the zucchini plants were making great progress!

Mon 5/13 - Mmmm! Charlie at an ice cream cone from Thanksgiving Point all by himself! And he loved every second of it!
Sat 5/18 - Who took my baby away and left me with a toddler!?!? Can't believe how big he's getting. I snapped this gem with my Canon while trying to get a photo of him for the nursery leaders at church.

Tues 5/21 - I love having beautiful springtime flowers on my front porch! Planting flowers is one of the things I look forward to most when the weather finally gets warm!
Wed 5/22 - I was SO excited when they were able to deliver my new dining table only 3 weeks after ordering it!! Such a beautiful piece of furniture from Bassett. I spent a very long time deciding exactly what I wanted, and I think it adds so much beauty to my dining space! <3 <3 (Now I just need to get a rug and some curtains haha)

Thurs 5/23 - I flew into Long Beach airport in California for Chris Kyle's wedding! All that day I helped her set up for the reception, and then we got our nails done and enjoyed a yummy pre-wedding dinner with the groom's family and friends!
Fri 5/24 - Wedding Day!! Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Darren Peterson! They were married and sealed at the Newport Beach, CA temple.

Fri 5/24 - Me and the beautiful bride! <3 I'm so happy for her!
Sat 5/25 - Meanwhile, at home, Trev caught Charlie with his little nose in a comic book and sent me this picture. So cute! I have a feeling I'm raising a mini-Trevor! I was so grateful that my sweet husband was able to watch Charlie for the 2 1/2 days I was gone... and that everything went well! It was so nice to be able to get away and enjoy my weekend.

Mon 5/27 - Memorial Day! Trev didn't have work so we all went to Utah's Hogle Zoo! Despite the fact that 1/3 of the zoo was under construction, we had a lot of fun and saw plenty of (non-sleeping) animals. Haha. My favorite were the giraffes. Charlie particularly liked the meerkats; He giggled a lot when he saw them and even did the sign for "more"! Haha :)
Wed 5/29 - The entry way in my home is my current project! I love my new console table and decor (especially the teal mirror from Home Goods!)... now I just need to find something to put on that bottom shelf!

Sat 6/1 - I went out golfing with Trev! It was a gorgeous day. My golf game started out surprisingly well, but quickly went downhill by hole 3. We played with a couple of guys we'd never met (maybe that made me nervous?), but it was still a lot of fun! I also enjoyed wearing my new teal and hot pink Nikes. You gotta look cute when you golf, right? Also, I'm so grateful to my neighbor Melissa for watching Charlie for a couple hours so we could go play!
Sun 6/2 - Made a yummy dinner of salmon, green beans, and roasted yellow cauliflower! Mmmm!

Yesterday (Sunday 6/2) wasn't the best day ever. We realized halfway through Sacrament Meeting that Charlie wasn't feeling well and might be running a fever. So, we went home after the first hour and then Trev went back to teach the young men during the third hour. Charlie slept a lot and picked at his food all day, poor thing. I hate when he doesn't feel well. Right at bedtime, just after trying to finish his bottle, he threw up all over the blankets he was wrapped in and I rushed him to the bath tub. Sigh. I hope it was a one-time thing! He slept well last night, but is still running a bit of a fever today. We'll just lay low and take it easy and hope for a speedy recovery!

Park City 5th Anniversary Trip

We decided to celebrate the big #5 in style! We finally got it together and planned a trip away for a weekend to celebrate. We left Charlie at home with my in-laws for a couple days and ran away to Park City to focus on our relationship and to celebrate our marriage. It was absolutely wonderful and we couldn't believe how much-needed it was. Trev also kept asking why we didn't do stuff like this more often (especially before we had a child to look after!).

Anyway, it was great and now I'll tell you about all the fabulous things we did so you can be jealous! Haha :)
We left home Friday evening around 6pm and headed around the mountain to our destination. Along the way, we took a detour up Millcreek Canyon to eat at a nice mountain restaurant appropriately named Log Haven. We filled ourselves with savory steak, grilled veggies, and bread until we couldn't breathe; we talked, we laughed, and we just relaxed. I'm pretty sure that's what heaven will be like. Not to mention it was super-affordable thanks to the $100 gift cards our realtor sent to us as a thank-you gift for using him to buy our house! Sa-weet!

We rolled into Park City around 9:30pm and checked into our house. It was huge! I'm pretty sure we only used maybe 1/3 of the space. The house is a rental owned by a friend of my family back in Raleigh. For our wedding (5 years ago) their gift to us was for one free stay at their Park City cabin house whenever we wanted. Thank goodness we finally got around to using it. It was gorgeous and perfect for our weekend getaway.

You may notice there are no pictures yet. That's because we were seriously enjoying ourselves so much that I didn't even care to take time to snap photos. ;)

The next morning, we didn't sleep in. *Gasp!* I know... who doesn't sleep in on vacation? Okay, well, it was sleeping in for Trev but not for me. We got up to go play a round of golf at the Lake Course at Wasatch in Midway. Beforehand we enjoyed breakfast at a nice cafe in town, where I proceeded to spill an entire glass of ice water all over my pants. That definitely qualifies as one of those "graceful" Alex moments. <Sigh>

Anyway, we got to the course and played nine holes. I was freezing at first (due to the wind and wet pants), but quickly warmed up as I got playing, the sun came out, and my pants finally dried out too. Whew. Check out the gorgeous views (and my hunk of a husband):

And our scores for the day! Trev played a perfect round of bogey golf. I noticed I tend to play at an average of twice par (for example, if it's par 3, I'll probably shoot 6 hahahaha). But, despite some pretty bad golf, I did have a few victories! I hit my irons pretty well on a couple occasions, had a few good drives (including one that made it OVER a pond *woop woop!*), and generally just had a fabulous time and didn't get frustrated.

After golf, we drove back to the house and cleaned up for the rest of our day. Next stop: the Tanger Outlets. Trevor knew he was badly in need of a new wardrobe and was prepared to spend some money. We shopped for hours and got pretty much everything he will need! Can I just say how much FUN it is to go shopping with your husband? I had a blast playing the "mom" role in the dressing room... getting the clothes ready to put on, hanging them back up, and sorting into "yes", "no", and "maybe" piles. It's also pretty awesome to see your husband in nice, new clothes. Wait, what's that? What about me? Yep. I got a couple little gems also! You didn't actually think I'd go shopping at the outlets and buy nothing for myself did you? ;)

Our next stop was Main Street in Park City. We grabbed an early, quick dinner at a place called the Main Street Deli. Mmmm cheeseburger and fries. Vacations are for eating really GOOD (and bad-for-you) foods, right!?!

Our final stop for the day was a new adventure for both Trev and me! We got to create a painting! There's a new place in town called The Paint Mixer where you go and everyone paints the same picture with guidance from the instructor. There's also a bar there, so people can "let loose". We didn't participate, of course, but it was pretty entertaining to watch and listen to all the people around us in very high spirits. :)

Here's how our paintings started out... pretty boring huh?

But with a lot of fun, hard work and a little goofing off we made progress on our masterpieces!

Here are our finished, signed products! It was such a blast! Although I did feel a little rushed for time. That's probably the perfectionist in me coming out and wanting time to make everything look just right. :)

And here's the whole group. Fun to see all the different interpretations, huh? By the way, the instructor (in the red apron) and the guy with the crazy one with the heart on it (on the right) had both had quite a few drinks... if you couldn't tell ;)

I was really glad that we decided to go and do something new. I'd recommend it to anyone going to Park City, and the price isn't too bad either, especially because you get to take an original painting home with you!

That night, we were both SO exhausted. So much so that we didn't even have the energy to enjoy the hot tub at the house. Boo! Maybe next time! That's what you get for having an action-packed, fun day!

The next day, Sunday, we grabbed a quick breakfast and made our way to church with the Park City Ward at 9am. It was testimony meeting and one lady got up to speak and I thought she looked familiar. It turns out she is Mary N. Cook and was the former 1st counselor in the General Young Women's Presidency... so I've probably seen her speak in General Conference. Small world, huh?

After church, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon perusing Main Street again. We window shopped, looked at art, gift shops, and whatever else we could find. We finished up with a yummy lunch at a place called "The Eating Establishment" (yes... that's actually its name) with more burgers, fries, and a BLT. Once again feeling very stuffed and satisfied, we made our way back home.

By the time we got there, we were very ready to see this cute little face:

And who wouldn't be?

18 Month Old Charlie

The day has come! My little boy is officially 18 months old. I'm not sure why, but I feel like this is a huge milestone for kids. Maybe it's because I feel like it's the age they are officially not a "baby" anymore and have  entered into the realm of true "toddlerhood". Maybe it's because he can go to nursery, his first class at church, so I don't have to wrestle/entertain him for three straight hours on Sundays. Maybe it's because he's got the hang of walking and running and is on the cusp of talking! I'm not sure what it is, but I'm loving this can't-sit-still, babble-all-day, get-into-everything stage.

You can't tell much in this picture, but I feel like he has really been growing like a weed the last few months! More hair, bigger hands and feet, getting taller and stronger! And cuter. How does he possibly keep getting cuter? I am so blessed to be his mom!

Here are some fun things about Charlie at 18 months:

• Wears size 12-18 month (just about grown out of those), 18 month, and 18-24 month clothes. Size 4 or 5 shoes.
• Has 8 teeth (5 on top, 3 on bottom) and is currently working on cutting in one more on top, and we're expecting a bottom one soon-ish so he can be even. :) This includes 2 molars on top.
• Because of his great chompers, he can eat basically anything now and WILL eat just about anything if you let him. So glad he's not a picky boy, although recently he has been deciding that he doesn't like a few things and will use his tongue to push it back out of his mouth. It seems to be a texture thing, and on occasion he won't like the taste of something.
• Drinks whole milk twice a day still (one sippy cup full in mid-morning, and a comforting bottle at night!)
• Great sleeper still. Goes to bed around 8pm and wakes up around 7:30am or so. He LOVES to be in his crib. He'll sometimes fake being tired so we'll let him go "nigh nigh" and he'll just stay up and play and babble in his crib until he passes out. Haha.
• His favorite hobby is to gather, pick up, and sort a variety of toys and objects... basically whatever he can get his hands on. He likes to try to pick up as many different things in his hands as he can and will get mad if he can't grab something else because his hands are too full.
• He LOVES to read. We will ask him to go get a book and he'll disappear into the other room and come back with a book of his choice. And sometimes even without having to be ask, he grabs a book and brings it up to me and puts it on me and says "uhh?" and looks at me with those cute eyes, and let's be honest, I can't resist. Even if I'm really busy, I'll read him that book. Even if I've read that book a bajillion times, I'll read that book. He's just that sweet.
• Points to pictures in books. I'll ask him, "Charlie, where's the moon?" and he'll point to it, or "Where's Curious George?" and he'll point. He gets it right a lot, but often he just points to the biggest, most obvious object. So I try to make it hard and then when he gets it wrong, I get to teach him, which is one of my favorite things to do. He also likes to repetitively point at books like he's "counting" the things on the page. Silly little copycat.
• Knows two hand signs! "More" and "All done". These two signs have saved our lives. No more screaming at mealtime when he wants more. Now he knows to quietly sign it and he'll get more. Amazing. Also, whenever we're done with anything (food, TV, toys, etc) and I have to take it away from him, I just tell him "all done" and do the sign. He'll do it with me and then he just understands that we're all done now and it prevents him from getting mad or crying. Genius, I tell you. 
• Waves hello and goodbye
• Gives hugs and kisses freely
• Folds his arms when we tell him it's time to pray
• Claps his hands and stomps his feet when we sing the "Roll Your Hands" primary song. And then, of course, folds and rocks his arms back and forth. It's really really cute.
• Personality-wise, he's still just the sweetest boy. He doesn't throw or hit or spit. He's just so nice and gentle and happy. Like a typical boy, he loves to be outside and loves to play in dirt. He also is incapable of sitting still and doesn't really pay attention when I take him places like story time, but that's okay... we'll just get some practice with structured learning/play time. I just feel so happy and so lucky and so blessed to be his mother. 

Words Charlie knows:

• "Uck" or "Guck" for duck, stuck, truck, and car
• "Ba Ba" for bottle/milk
• "Uh oh" for uh oh ;)
• "Ma Ma" when asked to say it (I'm not sure if he knows that means Mommy yet)
• "Ahh uhh" (high to low pitch) for All Done
• "Aaayyyy" for hey/hi
• "Aa mmen" for amen (at the end of a prayer)
• "Bah" for ball, when asked to repeat it
• "Moon" for moon :)
• Makes animal noises when we ask him what the animal says: 
• "Mooooo" for cow
• "Bawh bah baw" (really high pitched and cute) for kitty and puppy dog - He loves to talk to all animals in this cute high-pitched voice, like he knows he's bigger than they are. 
• And he has been known to attempt a "cock a doodle doo" for a rooster
• And here's the list of words I know he understands but doesn't say:
• Charlie
• Book
• Blanket
• Prayer
• Daddy
• Mommy
• Let's go/Ready to go?
• Night night
• Bath
• Food/hungry/eat/snack/cracker
• Drink
• Toys/play

I am sure there are a thousand little things that he does that I'm forgetting because he's learning so much and changing every day. It's so rewarding to watch him learn and grow. Finally, here's a picture of my sweet 18 month old toddler posing and looking oh-so dapper:

We love you, Charlie!

Life As My Phone Sees It 3/25/13 - 4/15/13

Wed 3/27 - When Kimma and Bebop are in town, Kimma lets Charlie play in the dirt! And she'll even play with him. And then he found the mud and things got kinda messy ;) Kimma is much more fun that I am!!
Fri 3/29 - There was a gorgeous sunset off my back porch:

Sat 3/30 - Trev and I were able to make it to our niece Scarlett's first gymnastics competition. She totally killed it and got second place in her age group (best at her gym!) and got a gold medal to show for it! :)

Sat 4/6 - I seem to always wait until Saturday night to go grocery shopping, when the grocery store is so busy (even though it doesn't look like it in this pic). At least I have a pretty cute face to keep me company while I shop! :)
Tues 4/9 - Charlie and I went to visit our friends Tori and her sons Jack and Alex in Lehi. I knew Tori from our Wymount days and it was so much fun to catch up! We let our "three little monkeys" sit on the counter and eat snacks. Thankfully none fell off and bumped their head, haha!

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Tues 4/9 - Later that night, I went to my first Relief Society activity in my new ward. It was so much fun! We learned about meal planning, gardening, and cake decorating. Here's a picture of my (second) first attempt at an icing rose! I think it turned out pretty good, but I'm definitely going to need more practice.
Fri 4/19 - Trev had a colonoscopy on Friday at about midday and my wonderful friend Jana watched Charlie for us. He had such a blast with his friends Luke and Crew. Just another picture of "three little monkeys" eating snacks! I'm sensing a trend here... I have lots of friends who have 2 kids and all kids love to eat snacks! :D

Thurs 4/11 (a little out of order) - I have the cutest little helper in the world. You got to start 'em young and hopefully they'll be good little helpers for years to come!

Fri 4/12 (again) - Charlie thought it was preeeeetttty hilarious to walk around in my shoes. He was squealing, laughing, and then hiccuping because he was having so much fun. He has always picked up and played with my shoes, but never had the idea to put them on his feet until I showed him, and he just LOVED it, and would get really mad if one of the shoes fell off his foot. Haha
Mon 4/15 - Ahh!! Utah spring strikes again! I woke up to snow this morning! Please, warm spring, come back now!!