Our Christmas Tree!

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas time has always been going to pick out the best tree! Up in Duluth we would drive way out in the country and pick trees at a farm that were already cut down. I loved this, I don't know if it was more about the tree or the long drive to the tree farm with my family!

Since Brett and I have been married we have modified the tradition a little for our family. Now we drive to Kris Kringle and cut down our own tree!! I love walking around trying to find the 'perfect' tree. I don't know if you will ever find a perfect real tree but I love looking :) Once you cut it down you throw it on the back of a small tractor and they take it and get it ready for you. While they are doing that we get to go back to the cabin and get some warm apple cider and cookies and sit by the bondfire and even take pictures with Santa.

We did not get a tree last year because the time got away from us so this was the first year we did this with Ayden. He had so much fun running around (without a shoe..we left it at home) and watching/helping Brett cut it down. But, I think his favorite part was watching the tractors drive around!

Ayden helped me decorate the christmas tree and he loved looking at all his ornaments! His ornament from his first christmas had animals on it and a baby picture of himself. All his favorite things! He would make all the sounds and constantly say Baby! He also loved the balls on the tree! He was convinced they should be thrown to Jacoby instead of be on the tree. Needless to say the ornaments and balls quickly were moved to the top of the tree! I am still finding them all around his room as well!




On our way to get our tree! Look at Ayden's feet :)



Watching Daddy!




Look at the TRACTOR!!!




Ayden is not so sure about all the fuss with Santa...

Its Official!

Its a GIRL!!! Bring on the pink!!

We had a great day today! It started with a late start so I got to spend some extra time with Ayden then only had to go to school for 1 1/2 hours and only have one group. When school was over I came home and had a quite lunch. Normally I pick up Ayden right after work but Brett's parents kept him all afternoon so we could go to our appointment without him. It was nice to come home to a quite house! Then we were off to our appointment!

When we got there we went right in to the ultrasound and it was so fun! I think the second time around was even better! I didn't know what to expect when we had Ayden's ultrasound I knew what we were looking at a little more and it was just neat to see her for the first time! I also feel like we got a few better 3D shots of her face. Then we had our appointment! Quick and easy and everything looked good! Still no idea what we were having :)

When I picked up Ayden we went to Kohl's to buy the boy and girl outfit! I couldn't decided on take home outfits so we went with the little brother/little sister onesies. Then we came home and wrapped both gifts. When Brett got home we bundled up and headed out for a family dinner. And it was time to open the envelope :) I got to do it this time because Brett did it last time. Then Brett opened the present to find a onesie that said "Little Sister"! We are all very excited!!!

I really love the way we find out! I really feel like I was able to enjoy the ultrasound and focus on seeing the baby and watching them make sure she was healthy. Then I felt like we were able to celebrate that our baby was a girl and now in May we will be able to celebrate her when she is born!!! I have always said once I have one of each maybe I would not find out ...we will see...

Boy or Girl?!?!

Will Ayden have a little Brother or Sister?!?!

We have our ultrasound tomorrow!!! I am so excited to see our baby for the first time and to find out if it will be another boy or if we get to venture into the world of PINK!

We did this a little different with Ayden and we will continue the tradition! We will go to the ultrasound but not have them show us...instead we will have them write it down and we will wait till dinner! Then we are going to go out as a family and find out together.

If you would like I have a poll on the right side of my blog...make your prediction and we will let you know if you are correct tomorrow night!! :)

Indoor Park

Today, I had a doctors appointment so I had to take the morning off. My appointment went very quickly so I had a chance to take Ayden to the Indoor Park at the Rec! Wow! This was so fun!!! I can't believe how much fun he had! The 'park' is set up in the gym and has lots of slides, climbing toys, Little Tikes Playhouse and castle and a blow up jumping castle. The other side has tons of riding toys!!! Its a toddlers dream place in the winter!!! We went with Emily, Madison and Eliott and our friend Ashleigh was there with Denver! They all had so much fun playing together!

The best part was this blow up castle! Ayden and Madi LOVE jumping in their cribs and singing 'No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". They played this for at least 20 mins. Then they found out there was a slide attached and then did the slide for at least another 10 minutes! At one point Madi would find a toy that she was having fun with and yell "Ayden"! I just felt like they were big kids playing together! I can't believe how big my little boy is getting and I love every minute of it!

I wish I had every Tuesday and Thursday morning off so I could take Ayden! After being sick for 2 weeks it was so much fun to be out with friends and watching Ayden play so hard and have so much fun!!!

So, if you have not checked out the Indoor Park at the Rec you NEED to! Its $2.50(for babies 9 month and up) a time and it is every Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to 2pm. What a FUN morning!!!!

Shutterfly

Have you ever used Shutterfly? I love their site especially this time of year! I always use their site to make our Christmas Cards!

The more and more I use the site I love it even more. I just recently started making a photo book for Ayden's first year and it was so easy to get my pictures because you can get pictures from your Facebook account! I know I always put my best pictures up on facebook! Doesn't get any easier than that!!! I am also looking forward to making my first family calendar from our last year!

My plan for this afternoon is to make my Christmas Card and I love that I can pick it up at a local store in no time!!

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas Cards they have this year!!!

Pretty Poinsettia

To See Pretty Poinsettia Click Here

Family Wall Red

To see Family Wall Red Click Here

Peppermint Gift Wrap

To see Peppermint Gift Wrap Click Here

You might have read this on other blogs already, but in case not: Shutterfly is giving bloggers 50 FREE Christmas Cards from Shutterfly-learn more here...click here.

I hope you are enjoying this Christmas Season!!

Update on Ayden

Ayden is getting so big and his personality comes out more and more each day! He brings us so much joy and laughter every day! Just yesterday after his bath he played in the bathroom in front of the mirror for 1/2 an hour. He was 'singing' and dancing and trying to jump! I just sat back and laughed!!!

Ayden has really started talking up a storm! Some of the words you hear often are
"nack" for snack
"dr" for drink
"ea" for eat along with the sign language
"elp" for help with sign language
ball
"fball" for football
"baball" for basketball
"Tadown" for touchdown with actions
Boo
"Hi" for Hide
"Bobo" for Elmo
"Wa er" for water
What
What's that!
Mom
"Dada" or "Dadee" for Dad
"Bebe" for Binky and once he has his binky it also means blanket
Baby and either points to my tummy or his
"Ti Ti" for tickle

Ayden also is very active! He can run rather quickly now. We went to the Tiger Basketball game on Friday night and during half time I thought I would let him run around well there was a basketball under the hoop and he quickly said ball and was off...by the time I got him he was right under the hoop and it was shoot around for the team... He also loves to climb on the couch. We got him a step stool so he would stop climbing on his toys. This has given him just enough height to get on the couch. We just moved the couch in front of the bay window (I thought he would like to watch the school bus and garbage truck) I didn't think he would like to climb over the couch and make the bay window a stage where he could dance :) He learned this while I was at work while Brett was home getting lunch. I am trying to teach him we don't do that but sometimes its just to funny to say no :)

He loves to play hide and seek. If you run into another room he will run after you to find you. He loves to yell boo! Its so fun for to watch him play hide and seek with his friends! I would say this is his first really game he plays!

He now can eat with a spoon with quite a bit of accuracy and is starting to understand how to use a fork. But when he is done he still picks up either his bowl or plate to slurp the rest. :) Oh he makes me laugh! He also has learned how to follow directions. I sometimes give him a snack in the living room and when he is almost done he will dump out his bowl. I ask him to pick it up and put it in the bowl and he will. It might take 5 minutes but he is following directions he is just not the quickest. I try to make him do it rather than pick it up quickly for him so he will learn. He also has to pick up his plate and cup after dinner if he throws it on the floor.

We all just had a round of the flu. This was the first time he threw up. I had been rather sick and poor Brett was taking care of me and all of a sudden at 11 Ayden wakes up and was screaming then Brett heard a funny noise and more crying. Yep he had what I had. But after he was so hyper Brett had to put him in my room so I could keep an eye on him while I was laying down so Brett could clean the floor. I wish it could go through adults as quickly as it did Ayden. Although he was over the throwing up he was sick for about 2 weeks off and on. I think he is finally feeling better and gets to have some friends over tonight and we are all excited to play with friends again!!

Well I think that is some of Ayden's newest things! He amazes me with what he knows everyday! He is like a sponge and will show me so many new things all the time! I just love watching him learn!!! We are so proud of our little boy!!

Now on for the baby! We are 19 weeks today! I have my ultrasound next Monday! We are very excited to find out what we are having! What do you think? Boy or Girl? Also, today I was at my desk at work and felt the baby moving. I felt my stomach and I could actually feel it from the outside! I don't remember this happening so early with Ayden. I forgot how cool that feeling is!!! I just wish Brett could have felt it. I remember how excited he was when he felt Ayden for the first time!

Just Like Daddy!

A few weeks ago Ayden and I were outside playing while Brett was taking care of all the leaves. After a little while of playing with his toys Ayden went over and found this plastic rod that goes to a yard game and started walking around running one end through all the leaves... He loves to walk around with anything that looks like a stick or bat so didn't think anything of it until he was right next to Brett doing this. Brett uses a leaf vac to suck up all the leaves and holds it under his arm just like Ayden was holding this rod thing... I stopped Brett and was like do you think he is trying to do what you are doing? While we were talking he continued to walk from leaf pile to leaf pile.

It was so cute seeing him act like his dad! I was surprised to see it come out so early but it shows he is watching what we are doing! So cute and I wish I would have gotten a picture of my two boys cleaning up the yard!

"Bobo"

Ayden has really started talking a lot more these days. One of his latest words is "Bobo" (Elmo). He learned this word on our way to Chicago in the beginning of Oct. We borrowed our friends DVD player to help with Ayden on the long car ride and he LOVES to watch Elmo. For a while after our trip every time we got into the van he would say "bobo"

We recently have been hearing bobo a lot again! I have been using target brand diapers for awhile now but I felt they were getting a little tight but not quite small enough for the bigger size... So I bought a box of pampers diapers to see if they would fit better while we were between sizes. While, Ayden does not like to get his diaper changed so we started showing him that Elmo was on his diapers...NOW we are back to target diapers and every time we go to change his diaper he yells "bobo" "bobo"!! I should have saved just one diaper for him to look at while I change him with the other ones! :) Is it worth the extra 5 cents a diaper so Ayden will sit quitely and find Elmo while I change him? It is pretty cute to watch him lift his belly so he can find Elmo on his diaper!!! :)

Ayden's Pumpkin!

We are very excited to announce Ayden is going to be a Big Brother sometime around May 2nd!!!

A Prayer Request

I am posting this for my cousin Julia's Family! She has always been someone I look up to as a woman, wife, mother, teacher and Christ follower. Every doll I owned was name Julie after her! I believe I became a teacher because Julia was a teacher. I was in her wedding and her oldest daughter was our flower girl. With all that said, she is now in a time of need and I am here in Iowa and she lives in North Carolina. It has been very hard to be so far away from her and I keep racking my brain on what I can do for her. All I can think of is PRAY! And, what is better than one person praying...Lots of people praying! So I am asking you to pray for her family. Here is what has been going on...

On September 1st she was blessed with her 3rd child, Zachary. He was born healthy and everything went great! On October 1st in the middle of the night they took him to the hospital because he was having a hard time breathing. When they got there his heart was racing and they admitted him to the PICU. He has been there ever since. They have run every test and have not been able to figure out what is wrong. They are treating him for infection. Here is what Julia posted yesterday morning.

"Zachary is still in critical but stable condition in picu. Heart, liver, spinal tests but nothing conclusive yet to explain his system shut down. Treating for infection. Our precious baby is a gift from God and we are praying for healing so we can keep our little boy. Please continue to pray_ we are so grateful for your prayers and offers to help. Expect to be here a long time so will reach out when we can"

We ask for prayers for healing of Zachary, Peace and Strength for Julia, Brian and their daughters Ava and Hannah. And wisdom for the doctors.

THANK YOU!

Just Blame the Dog :)

Tonight I went into the other room to get different clothes for Ayden to change into. Before I left the room I looked around to make sure there wasn't anything he could get into since I usually don't leave him in the kitchen/porch alone very often. While, it looked like everything would be fine until I came back... When I came back Ayden was standing on the futon on the porch and was looking out the window jumping. I said "Hey how did you get up there?!" He quickly turned around and pointed at Jacoby! HAHA!!

Tiger Football

Tonight was Ayden's first experience at the Dome for a Cedar Falls Football game. We went a few times last year but he was still pretty little. I was a little nervous taking him and was prepared to only stay for 15 minutes since he is usually ALL over the place!

I WAS SO WRONG!!! We ended up staying for the whole sophomore game! (my hubby loves Tiger football and goes to the soph and varsity game every week!) Ayden was so cute! I wish I had my camera! As soon as we walked in the dome he started clapping! He LOVES watching sports. He would just stand between Brett and I and yell "go, go, go!" and clap! Every once in a while he will yell "T Down" (touch down).

It was so fun to see Ayden enjoying something that Brett enjoys so much! Maybe I will go back to having my Friday nights free and the boys at the football game again. :) Well we might be a few years away from that I am excited to go to another tiger football game with Ayden and Brett!

Disc Golf

For Father's Day this past June Ayden and I got Brett some disc's for disc golf. Brett likes to go out and play with high school kids and once you have the disc's it is free to play! Brett has really started to enjoy playing this summer!

Ayden and I have been able to go with him a few times this summer. It is a fun date night and Ayden loves to just ride a long! We went a few weeks ago and I got some pretty cute pictures of Ayden! He loves to hold on to the disc's for us and ride in his wagon. This time we went out he was a little restless by the end of the 9 holes so we let him walk with us! I love nights like this when we can hang out as a family!!!

13 months

Ayden is 13 months today! My baby is no longer just 1 but we are already a month past his birthday! Wow its amazing what that month brings!

Ayden has started to climb on everything! He climbs on toys to get to the ottoman to the bay window. He climbs up on rubbermaid tubs and tries to climb on the couch but has not got that yet. I no longer can leave him in a room for very long by himself. He also enjoys splashing in the toilet. I know its gross but I want to remember this and more important have it in writing so he will know its not just a story I am making up when I tell him about it in lets say 10 years! Today we had two experience in the bathroom that were rather funny! Earlier this afternoon I heard him in there and by the time I got to the bathroom her had taken his binky out and was splashing it in the toilet. Then while I was making dinner I heard cups banging so I thought he was in the living room banging his measure up cups but when I came around the corner I realized he was in the bathroom. I found him in there with a drinking cup and he was pouring the water out of the toilet. I am very ready for this phase to pass!!! This story leads into the next new thing...crying to get what he wants. This is quickly turning into tantrums. When I took him out of the bathroom the second time today he went limp and sat at the door crying! Lets hope this passes quickly and does not get any worse than a few tears for a few seconds. Usually if I walk away he stops and finds something else to play with.

This past month Ayden has found a new friend, our dog Jacoby! He loves him!!!! He loves to pet him on walks, throw balls and sticks to him and loves to talk to him. Ayden has also learned how to throw his toys over the gate to Jacoby. Luckly Jacoby has not ruined any of these toys...yet... When we are outside his new favorite toy is the popper. Its the toy that has been around forever and the balls pop when you push it. I found one at a garage sale for $0.75 and it was the best $0.75 I have ever spent!!! He spends all his time outside with that thing! The best part is it makes noise so I always know where he is at. He also has learned what the words "stop" and "turn around" mean. Living on a corner these words are very important if we want to be outside. He loves to walk towards the street and almost always when I tell him to stop, and turn around he does it. That has made me a little more at ease while we are playing.

Ayden is starting to talk a lot more! Most of the time we don't know what he is saying but he does have a lot to say! The words we do hear a lot are Daddy, Mom, Ball, Dog, and he has been saying what sounds like 'What'! He also tries to repeat what we say often but those are the only words he uses on his own.

The last new thing for Ayden this week is getting used to me going back to work part time. He has done great! The first few days he was clingy when I would get home and now I don't even think he knows I am gone. When I get home he is excited to see me but I think he has really enjoyed his one on one time with his grandparents, his dad and with Natalie and Cadia! I feel so blessed to be able to have Ayden spend his days with Brett's parents and Natalie! It makes it easy to go to work everyday when I know who he is with and how great of a morning he will have!

Ayden, you bring us joy and laughter each day that we could not experience with out you! We love you and love learning more about your personality each day!

Mr. Mom!

I have the best hubby!! This week was my first week back to school. Brett has been helping out so much this week and it has really made it go by much easier!

I just felt like I needed to blog today about all he has done for Ayden and I this week! He has gotten up with him every morning because I am usually getting ready. We both share that time together and I really enjoy mornings now! Then usually while Ayden is still eating breakfast I have to leave. So Brett will get him dressed and this week he either got him where he needed to be or stayed home with him.

Today Brett had the whole morning with Ayden so before I left for school he had made us all french toast then cleaned up the kitchen and took Ayden for a walk. He also found time to vacuum and when I got home I had lunch waiting for me on the table!

He has been so great this week! I hope I can get into the swing of things quickly so I can stay awake longer than 9 pm!

Our Vacation to Duluth!

This year we decided to take our vacation to my hometown, Duluth! The summer after I met Brett my parents moved to Iowa and I was not able to make it back to Duluth as often as I would like. So, this year was exciting for me to be able to take our vacation to the place I grew up and take Ayden and Brett to the places I loved to be when I was little!

We started our vacation at 5:45 am on Saturday and headed to Armstrong Iowa to Brett's family reunion on his Mom's side. Ayden did not sleep the whole 3 hours! I was glad we had the DVD player and Elmo! :)



After the reunion we headed to the cities. So 2.5 more hours in the car! Luckily Ayden did nap during that drive! After we checked into our hotel and Brett found an indoor park close by. We really wanted to find a place where Ayden could play. This was sooo cool! They had a really cool area for big kids to play. Brett wishes he was young enough to play :) There was also a part for kids 3 and under. This was PERFECT for Ayden! For the most part Brett and I were able to sit and watch him as he played. Everything was made for his age! It was great!!!



On Sunday, we woke up found a church to go to and headed north!





When we got to Duluth we checked into our hotel and again wanted a place to let Ayden play. I suggested that we go to a park that was built when I was young. It is called Play Front Park! I remembered a HUGE wooden play ground with lots of places to run and play. The picture above is what we found. They rebuilt Play Front in the past year. Ayden still enjoyed the park. After playing we went out to eat with two of my friends from high school. It was great to see Ali and Tammy again and I was so excited for Tammy to meet Ayden!



On Monday, we went to the zoo! I used to love the Duluth Zoo! Its not a huge Zoo but it does have some fun animals to see. We also were able to go with my friend Tammy, her mom and her niece Elsa! Elsa is about 7 months older than Ayden and it was fun for him to have a friend! We did pick the hottest day so we all were wore out after!

That night we had dinner with the family I used to babysit for. I started babysitting for them just before Josh's first birthday and now the boys are 17, almost 15 and 10. It was really fun to see them again and for them to get to see Ayden again! It was really funny. Ayden was sitting on the youngest boy, Tate's lap and Ayden farted and Tate jumped up as fast as he could and ran across the room! :)



On Tuesday morning we went down to the canal and hung out. We walked on the lake walk. We threw rocks and walked on the lighthouse. Ayden loved throwing rocks (he loves throwing anything) but fell asleep as soon as he got to the stroller. Then we went out to lunch with one of my brothers, Uncle Tom!



After lunch, we headed back to the cities. We decided to stay in the cities to break up the trip for Ayden. When we got back to the cities we went over to my oldest brother, Uncle Bobby and Aunt Jen's house. Ayden then was able to play with his cousin Jacob who just turned 2! The next day we stopped on the way out of town at a really cool city park. Brett was able to play disc golf and Ayden and I went for a walk, played at the playground and hung out at the beach!

This was a great vacation! There was LOTS of great family time and some time where I was able to see family and some old friends! Brett was so sweet and let me go out both night to see friends after Ayden was in bed. The first night Tammy and I just walked on the lake walk. One of our favorite things to do! It was so great to catch up!!! I love that we can catch up right where we left off! The next night I just went over to a friends house and about 6 of us got together and just chatted. It would have been even better if Brett could have joined us but maybe next time I will find one of the kids I used to baby sit and see if they will come watch Ayden :)

Monkeys Jumping On The Bed!

A few weeks ago Madi was over playing while Emily was out for a little bit. We were playing in Ayden's room and Madi kept wanting to get in his crib. So we put her and Ayden in the crib and this is what they did!!!

Packing For Duluth!

Today, I am getting ready for our mini vacation to Duluth! Duluth is where I grew up! The year Brett and I started dating my parents moved from Duluth to Roland, Iowa. Soooo we don't find much time to get up to Duluth any more. Brett and I used to go up every Christmas to snowboard but have not been able to do that the past few years. But this year we decided it would be a great way to end the summer!

I am so excited to show Brett and Ayden my hometown in the summer! Brett has been up to Duluth in the winter a few times and he came on the junior high trip a while ago! I think I was in High School at the time...and he was a leader! Did any one know we were 5 years apart :) So I want to show them the town I grew up in and show them all the places I remember going when I was young and the places I would take the kids I babysat!

Here is one of our engagement pictures that my friend Ashley took. Right after we got engaged we drove up for one day to get our pictures taken. It was a way for me to have Duluth be part of the wedding since we got married in Cedar Falls. I can't wait to come up over the hill again and see the bridge and the lake! Its amazing how I took these little things for granted when I live there!

To say I am excited for our trip is an understatement! I can't wait to blog about our trip when we get back!!!! But until then here is a picture of what we will be seeing in the next few days to come!! :)

Water Park!!!

This summer we have really enjoyed going to the water park here in town! I was so excited to bring Ayden to the pool and so ready to get our passes! On one of the first nice days we went and got our pass and headed to the water park! Well...Ayden was not a fan! He clung to me so tight I couldn't put him down. I was really bummed and was not excited that I just spend that much money for a family pass. After a few more trips and Brett making him get used to the water he started to enjoy it a little. NOW when we drive in the parking lot he starts to wave his hands like he is splashing! He loves to run around and walk as far as he can into the water! His other favorite parts of the water park is the fountains that come up from the cement, the hippos, the lazy river and just this week we explored the thing in the middle that holds to bucket! He loved it!!! It is so much more fun now that he enjoys himself and I don't have to try to make him like it!

Here are some pictures of Ayden and his buddy Kyler at the water park! They both had a blast and Kyler did great with this being the first time he came to the water park!



Yay!!!



The Boys!



Splash, Splash!!

Back to being Mrs. Williams :)

I have been thinking about writing this post since May. As some of you may know I accepted a part time job at Edison Elementary in Waterloo for this coming school year. I will be a part time Title 1 Math Teacher. If I had to work this would be my 'dream job'!

I have always been excited about working with kids on math. I love math and I love helping student feel more confident in their abilities to do math. So many people hate math and its because at one point in their education a teacher who probably didn't like math herself gave them a negative feeling to math. My goal is to give students the skills and strategies they need to help them better understand what is being asked of them in a way that makes sense to them. My favorite thing about math is that there is always only one answer but many different ways to come to the answer!

As you can probably tell I love math and I love kids! I have been praying for this position since I graduated from UNI. A lot of my friends from the math department went to Des Moines and were hired in this position, so that was when I first heard of it. At the time I was not ready to move away from CF because my boyfriend was here and was teaching. And now I am soooo happy I stayed!!! I was hired in Waterloo and right after the school year started Brett and I got engaged! Once I was pregnant I talked with my principal about the opportunity to go part time and there just wasn't a position available. We talked about the title 1 option (still not any of these positions in elementary in Waterloo). She was very interested in having a title 1 math but was not able to do it at the time. So I took a year leave and kept praying. Then when jobs started to be posted Brett and I talked about me getting a part time position and we felt that would be the best for our family. At that time there were 2 part time reading positions open. One at my old school and one at Edison with a principal I worked with my first year. I emailed both and they both were interested if I went back to school this summer. I went to an interview at Edison and when we sat down Melissa said "I haven't talked to either of you about this but what if we change it to a math position".(meaning I wouldn't have to go back to school) Well I was very excited and pretty sure you could read that all over my face :). I was not sure if I wanted to go back to school but went to the interview to see how I felt, well by the end of the interview I had accepted the job. Luckily Brett and I had talked a lot about me going back part time as a math teacher! After I had accepted the job my old school called and offered me the reading position. I truely feel that God opened this door for me and my family!

Now, being 2 weeks away from starting a new school year how am I feeling? Well, this summer has flown by but I am starting to get excited! I will be working from 8:15-11:45 every morning and while I am working Ayden will be with Brett's parents one day, our neighbor Natalie who is in college will have Ayden and our another neighbor Cadia two days a week and Brett will be with him two days a week. I love that Ayden will be home for most of it and will also be able to play with another child his age. We have really missed having Jordann here everyday so that will give him his time with a buddy to play with! I also love that I will be home by noon everyday! I will have the rest of the day with only Ayden. At that time I can play with him getting groceries and other things done around the house and anything else we need or want to do! I am a little sad to not to be at home full time. You hear a lot of people say I would love to do that but I just couldn't for any number or reasons. Well, I could! I loved staying home! I do feel that this is a okay balance and like I said before this is my dream job! So after a year I can re evaluate what works for our family. I just will continue to pray that the Lord will help me to balance part time work and full time mom and wife. So I will let you know how it all is going! :)

Ayden's First Year in Pictures!!

One year ago today we welcomed Ayden into our lives!!! It was such an amazing day for both Brett and I. I can't believe that it was a year ago but I also feel like Ayden has always been a part of our lives. We have loved watching him grow and see his personality develop! He has taught us a lot about becoming parents as well as how to be a family! He brings so much joy, love and laughter to our lives! I couldn't imagine our life without him! Here are some of my favorite pictures from our last year at the Williams house!!!

Ayden's First Birthday Party!

Saturday we celebrated Ayden's First Birthday! We had great weather and the party went awesome!!! We did it at 11 because he usually wakes up from his morning nap then and I knew it would be a good time for him. Also, Brett left on Caravan Saturday night so we needed to do it early enough that he would have time to get himself ready to go after the party! We will miss Brett on Ayden's actual birthday but we had a great time celebrating yesterday and we know how important Caravan is for the kids going on it!



We started the day out just play. Brett and I got Ayden a water table for his birthday. I put it together earlier in the week and it was sitting in our garage...the first few times Ayden saw it he would get a big smile on his face and try to get down to play with it. We never let him play until his party. He loved it until he used one of the cups to pour it on his own head. He did this twice and both times he screamed! It was so funny!!! He warmed back up to the water table at the end of the party.

Then we ate. Ayden loves to eat but Brett was getting nervous that Ayden wouldn't be hungry for his cake if we let him eat everything on his plate so he took his fruit away so he would save some room. I don't think we will be making that a habit!

After lunch we open presents. He did better at opening presents yesterday than he did at Christmas but still didn't get to excited. He would have been happy with one present. On our way to drop Brett off we were talking and I asked Ayden if he wanted daddy to bring home a present for him and Ayden put his arms up and signed 'Hurray!' So maybe now he knows what the word present means! :)



Once we opened all the presents we did cake! I really wanted to make a fun cake for his birthday so after I found the invitations that said '1st Birthday All Star' I decided to do a baseball theme since we have been to watch Daddy coach baseball so much this summer! I found the recipe on the Kraft website and went with it. I was very impressed with myself when I finished it! I decided I will hopefully be able to make fun cakes each year for Ayden's birthday! So by Brett request Ayden got to eat the glove and everyone else got a baseball cupcake! Ayden wasn't to sure about what to do with a big cake in front of him but with a little help from Daddy he figured out that he could eat it and it was pretty good and messy!!!






What a great first birthday! I hope Ayden had a great day! I know we did as parents (they say the first birthday is more for the parents than the kids so if that is the case I would say it was a success!!) This past year has really been a learning year for Brett and I as parents but also we have learned a lot more about each other as well! Ayden has brought us so much joy this past year and I cant wait to see what else we have in store in the years to come :)

Bye Bye Bottle

Today I packed up all Ayden's bottles. He has really been ready to be done with bottles since he was about 10 months old. I never knew some baby's would stop liking their bottles that early. But we have a boy that does not like to stop moving long enough to drink his bottle so sippy cups have been the way to go. We kept the morning bottle and the evening bottle and now that we are offically done with formula I decided that it was a good time to put the bottles away! I will not miss washing bottles everyday but I will miss that little time that I get to hold my baby!! I think this will be a bigger thing for me to get used to than for Ayden... I guess I will just have to start reading lots of books before bedtime so I can get my cuddle time :)

My baby is growing up and I am not completely ready for it....

Daddy is So Fun!

Here is a video of Brett's newest trick with Ayden. It made me nervous the first few times he did it. But Ayden gets so excited when Brett picks him up and starts counting! Ayden also loves watching it on the computer! He keeps signing 'please' when it is over!

Big Splash!

This is Ayden in the bath the other night! He was cracking me up! The bathroom was wet everywhere when we were done! He loves the bath and loves to splash!! When you ask him if he wants to take a bath he gets a big smile on his face and starts to wave his hands like he is splashing! (ignore my voice :))

Ayden's First Steps

Just yesterday Ayden started to take steps on his own around the house. His record is 5 steps. I decided to try to get it on video this morning. Brett is at baseball so I was on my own so they are not the best.

11 Months Old!!!

One year ago I looked like this...


It is so amazing how much difference a year can make!!!


This past month has been a fun one! In the past month we had to adjust to not having two great girls over everyday! Cedar Falls school got out in early June so we had to say good bye to our friends Ellie and Jordann who spent every day with us. I miss how Ayden would get so excited when we would hear them at our door! He would light up and crawl quickly to the door! We really miss our friends!

We were able to take a mini vacation with our friends the Hoffert's to Omaha! I would recommend this trip to anyone with small kids! Emily and I took the kiddos to the Children's Museum and it was amazing! The boys went to the College World Series. The kids had sooo much fun! I have never been in such a cool place and even Ayden, who was only crawling, could enjoy!! The next day, which was fathers day, we went to the Omaha Zoo! What a great day to spend with Brett!!! It lightly rained the whole day but this zoo was great! Most of their exhibits were inside and outside so we were able to see all the animals we were hoping to see! Ayden's favorite were the loud monkeys and the sharks and fish. Again, this was an amazing trip that I would do again any day!!!

Ayden has been working on his balance this month. Last week at Brett's softball game he kept letting go of the fence or bleachers and would clap for the longest time. It was so cute and I was so impressed by his balance! He is getting so close to walking! I am not sure if I am ready for a walker but I think he is pretty close! His record is 5 steps by himself!

This month he also stopped taking his daytime bottles. He will drink his morning bottle and his bedtime bottle but will not take one during the day. We have been trying to put his formula in his sippy cup but that is hit or miss. Any advice on this one mamas?

Lastly, this month he has really loved when we sing to him! His favorite songs are "If Your Happy and You Know It" and "Baby Bumblebee". We sing these while we change his diaper and it has really helped him lay still and not roll over! He likes these two songs because he loves to clap and sign hurray! He has also learned how to sign 'all done', 'more' and, 'please! I would recommend baby sign language to any one! It has really cut down on the yells while he is in his high chair! He loves to yell when he wants more and now when he does that we just ask him 'What would you like Ayden' and usually he can tell us.

Boys Play with Make Up Too!

This morning Brett let me sleep in a little but when Brett brought Ayden in to see me he had purple eye shadow all around his mouth! Yesterday he dumped out my make up bag while I was unpacking and I guess I didn't get it all picked up. Oh what fun it is to have a little boy who gets into everything! I will be cleaning up the purple spots on our carpet during his nap :)

Sorry no pictures Brett washed him up before I thought of it!

9 month pictures!

Ayden got his 9 month pictures taken a few weeks ago. He was actually 10 months old but we had to wait till all his spots were gone :)

Again Emily took these pictures! She is so great and they were so fun! Ayden is at such a fun stage where he is very smiley and can't walk (or run) away. :)







If you like these pictures click on Emily link on the right side of the page! Photography by Emily! She is so fun and easy to work with! She does such a great job capturing Ayden in all his pictures!