Trunk or Treat :)

Tonight Tate and I went to the trunk or treat for our ward..he was all dressed up in his cute pirate costume and got lots of compliments..Despite being asleep when we pulled up to the church he was more than ready to run around and have some fun.! He went around to all the different trucks holding his bucket up for them to throw in the candy, each time he got something he was interested in he would set his bucket down and reach inside! If i wasn't holding one hand he would've plopped down and had the whole bucket gone before we could even got to all the cars! He never did eat any of it, that will probably happen tomorrow! I have a feeling he will just want the suckers! He loves lollipops and anytime he comes to Mene's he makes sure to check the candy drawer! Tate decided his night of trunk or treating was over when and of the ladies from our ward handed him a glowstick, Forget the candy...he was satisfied:)

Boys will be boys

I am excited as i look forward to the challenges that Will be brought by the changes coming my way. As Tate has gotten older I have realized how much harder being a parent can be..yet how extremely rewarding it is! I think being a mom has taught me to enjoy the little things in life!

I can't say that I don't have my worries...tonight I was very discouraged...it had been a ridiculously long day and Tate seemed to be testing my patience over and over. Usually my patience is good with him but he was continuously doing things that could end in him being seriously hurt so with that stressing me out I couldn't help but wonder what I'll do in days where Tate is like that along with.his Partner in crime lily brother.

Sure enough he did get hurt, luckily it ended up a lot better than it couldve been...he climbed onto the top of the piano today..the toilet...the desk in the office, the bar stools, on top of his lil tv, and from the couch onto the end tables. Seriously...that is no exaggeration, ALL IN ONE DAY. Yet he didn't get hurt doing those things it was the last place he climbed after he had gotten a little more daring! I saw him in the living room after he had climbed onto an ottoman that was near the coffee table, i wasn't surprised at all...I watched him start to bounce as I walked towards him and then all of the sudden he fell backwards hitting head first into the coffee table. I knew for sure from the sound it made that there would be blood and we would be in the ER just days before our insurance kicks in. Surprisingly his head was cut but not deep and it swelled but not enough to split his head. I still felt no relief...just more of a hopeless what the neck am I going to do kind of feeling! I have a lot of very paranoid years ahead of me..I guess that's life as a boy's mom! I love you Tate, my crazy lil boy..!

This past weekend we were able to take Tate to Schnepf farms for some fun! We had to take advantage because there's not a whole lot to do here! We went in the evening in hopes that we could stay for the fireworks, He loves everything like that! Unfortunately we left before they started but we were able to do a few things before we did. First we went to the pumpkin patch..He loved walking through saying "pumpkin,pumpkin, pumpkin" while trying to find the perfect one and getting soon dirty!! After finding one we liked Brandon mentioned how much of a pain it would be to carry one around...oh yea, good point! So we left hoping it would be there when we went to leave, it wasn't but oh well! After the pumpkin patch we went to the big tunnel slides, we sent Tate down on his own since that's what the other kids were doing. Within seconds you could hear screaming from inside, I looked up through the end of the slide and just saw Tate lying on his stomach with his hands pressed down firmly, he wasn't going anywhere! Brando was still at the top so he slid down to meet him and go the rest of the way together...poor kid thought that was torture! We wanted to go to the pig races so we decided we would for around eight...but of course we had found our way to the train depot and stood in line for probably 45 mins..I said it was like worse than Disneyland rides! The train was worth it though, because it was after dark it had become the spooky train taking us through an orchard that was "haunted", just like the haunted houses they have people running up to the train and getting in your face trying to scare you! Tate was just watching them like "what are these crazy people doing?!, but he never did get scared! It was worth the wait and im glad it didn't scare him, I was just crossing my fingers the entire time!
Next time I will definitely plan on us doing more but we did have a great time and i think Tate enjoyed it..It was something different for him. I can't believe how fast time is flying and that Halloween is in just one week! I am excited that Tate will understand a little better this year and I can't wait to dress him up and take him to a few fun things in our community..I think he will enjoy trick-or-treating..He is Mr.Personality and he can't help but try and talk to people EVERYWHERE we go..it's pretty cute!

Everything is going great as far as my pregnancy..I will be just Over 28 weeks at my next appt on the 1st of November which means I'll get to drink the yummy glucola for my diabetes testing! can't believe we are down to only 3 more months..I am excited and nervous for the changes we will experience but it is so much fun being a mom! I can't even imagine it being any better! I woke up with some heartburn last night which means i probably need to be more conscious of what I eat but I really have no complaints, i have been very lucky! This baby has been very active and lately i am being kicked in my ribs often..! The nurses said that usually that means they are more calm once they're born..I kinda hope so :) Tate is one busy kid...but i guess that is what makes it fun even if its not always easy.
He now knows has learned to say baby, Meme, spongebob,Spencer, two, three, popcorn, pumpkins, airplane..and he makes noises when he plays with cars......"VRooooom!". I love my boys!!:)

Fall..& Things to come...

I LOVE this time of year..& preparing for the holidays, seeing family and enjoying the weather!

This past weekend i was able to take Tate to the zoo for the first time, it was so fun and just a little bit exhausting for me. I don't think he made a sound the entire few hours we were there..he just loved seeing the animals! He has always been fascinated by birds and other animals but I would have to say that he loved the giraffes most, probably because we went to the giraffe encounter and he was able to feed one of them some lettuce! of course his favorite part of the whole zoo experience was the splash pad though..he was so mad when I made him get back in the stroller..!I definitely don't blame him the water looked very tempting...This October weather has not been treating us nicely..it was over 100 degrees..and we are now halfway through the month! I am looking forward to nice weather so we can enjoy more days at the zoo and just outside in general!

The next day (Saturday), our family went to lunch and then we took Tate to the splash pad at San Tan..He absolutely loved it. He chased all the kids around and sat there playing until the water would start to go back down, he would follow it until it completely quit splashing..trying to catch the last few drops!I was bummed to find out that it will be closed until next summer..I feel bad that i found something fun for him to do so late!

I am hoping that when Brandon is home this weekend we can take Tate to sChnepf farms for a day..he would love the petting zoo, the train and i want to pick out pumpkins to carve! He is so smart and at such a fun age because he is literally learning and teaching me everyday! Plus, i am wanting to soak up all this time we have before baby brother comes because i know Tate will lose a lot of the attention he is so used to. I hope I am overly aware of his needs even with the new addition because I know how hard it might be on him..I am really hoping it is a good thing from the beginning and that he realizes that baby will be his best friend for the rest of his life.

Im excited to see Tate with his lil bro and to add one more child for me to learn from and grow with. It is hard to believe that our lives will change again in just a little over 13 weeks. i am looking forward to it but of course i'm nervous, mostly for Tate. I know in the end everything will be perfect and I'm so grateful this pregnancy has gone so fast and been so pleasant! This lily guy is definitely more of a kicker than Tate was..I remember worrying all the time because most days Tate barely moved..Thankfully i never have much time to worry with this one. The second i do begin to worry i always feel a little squirm, I love feeling babies move it is such a comfort knowing they are okay and so fun to watch. There's is so much to look forward to. I love my boys.

There are days when I feel like life is too busy and then days that I feel like I'm never busy enough. I have felt so much more tired with this pregnancy yet I was so sick with Tate and working and going to school full-time. I think it's just more tiring when you are a mom...I feel so bad that I don't have the energy to do fun things with him everyday and I always think about how much I'll regret that someday..I keep making it a goal in my head but I haven't really been good about it. I am so grateful to know that kids will love you no matter how fun you are, or any of those things. Their love truly is unconditional!


I always say this but Tate has quite the little personality. He has grown so much in the short year that it has been. He has learned so many words I can't even begin to list them all and he is so dang smart.
Tate has been able to take a few short trips with me up North to do some pictures for my Cousin's Company and their many events they are involved in. Brandon was able to come along this time and we were so happy to get to walk 4 miles before our drive home!:) It's okay, we needed it. & Tate enjoyed himself while we were there.




He has learned to climb, and open doors and also to clean up his messes (sometimes:)). Though all of the good things have also come with some mood swings I have had so much fun watching him be his animated self! If he isn't blinking (he closes both eyes instead of one) at everyone in the stores he is blowing them kisses with a loud MUAHHHHH! Everyone loves him whether they know him or not and I just hope it is like that his entire life. THere is nothing better than the people who you can't be around without smiling and that is TATE for you.




I am looking forward to the cooler weather and the fun things that Fall brings. I hope to get Tate outside more and take him to a few of the fall events they have around town. We got a little bit of a tease with the cool weather we had for a few days and then I walked outside in jeans and a light sweater today to go right back in and change. The nice weather didnt stick around long, I hope it's back soon.

We are down to just over 14 weeks before Baby Brother is here! We still don't have a name for sure but I like Gradyn Kai, Brandon likes Teagan Cruz..Both are completely different from eachother..It has definitely been harder this time with Tate's name being chosen right on the spot when we found out he was a boy,but I am getting so excited about the idea of having two boys so close. I am looking forward to matching outfits and being kept overly busy by Baseball games. I always did want to have baseball players and I know I will always be their biggest fan!

Brandon is in the police academy until December 16th so I know that the rest of the year is going to fly by with everything we have going on these next few months..That is a good thing though. He has completely enjoyed the Academy and I'm sometimes irritated by the fact that he seems excited to leave us when he goes back each Sunday..I know I just need to be supportive and be glad that he is having fun. My Lil Cop :)& CAn you even believe this picture was taken a year ago?? He has grown so much in so many ways!



MY best friend Ashley will be here for a week next month and I am looking forward to having some things to do to keep me busy. I really miss having my best friend live here. Every now and then I'm upset by the fact that I can't just call her up to go to lunch or even just to talk face to face but we always try to make the best of when she does get to visit.





My sister, the person I have been closest to my whole life, Justyne, is getting married in February. They have the date set and have already made the arrangements for the temple..I have loved seeing her be excited about everything. I can't even begin to say how happy I am for both of them they are seriously two of the best people that I know and I am grateful my sister was able to find someone who deserves her. They seem so in love and I have really enjoyed seeing that and hearing her talk about how she can't wait to be married. They are starting out how they should and I can't wait to see what the future brings for them! I am so excited that my boys will be as close in age as my sister and I are. We are complete opposites in so many ways but we have always been there for eachother and have had a relationship that I hope my kids will have. Thinking about us both being married makes me realize just how fast time flew by! I am grateful for her for allowing me to share in the spotlight a lot of times..For letting me graduate with her and share in her prom nights, and for all those birthdays where we got gifts even though it wasn't our day..just because we were basically twins! Can't wait for the married/ family memories with you! You are the most beautiful person I know, and you deserve nothing more than to be so extremely happy forever!

I am glad that I have already been there and done that because I remember how stressful it was getting everything planned...Luckily I was too busy to have a whole lot of involvement and everyone else pretty much planned for me, mostly my mom, I think it turned out better with her making the plans. I can't believe that was 2 years ago




(We just celebrated two years with a delicious dinner and dessert atCheesecake Factory and Brandon was so sweet to take me out to buy a new outfit, he definitely knows me well and made me feel special. It was the best weekend we have had in a long time)..and I can't believe how much has changed since we were married. I never would have guessed that I would be ready to have a 2nd baby but I am so glad that Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. He knew that I needed TAte and apparently this baby too and I have truly never felt so blessed as I do being a mom. There is nothing BETTER!