I am so beyond blessed for everything in my life.
This month has really helped me to realize all that I have and how much is taken for granted.
Brandon graduates from the academy Friday and officially becomes an officer for Gila River Police Dept., we are happy to have a "guaranteed" income so that we can budget our money a little better and not have the constant worry! Luckily we have been able to have everything that we need and then some evem when Brandon was working solely for comission. It will be nice to have more than 2 days a week to squeeze in family time!

Tate has grown up so much...i came across pictures.of his first birthday party and other things that have happened fairly recently and Im amazed at how much older he not only looks but seems!
He goes potty on the toilet everytime you ask if he needs to, he learned to blow his lil nose, he carries around a baby doll like the best of brothers out there, says bless you when he sneezes, flirts with EVERY girl in EVERY store no matter how old they are, he asks for most things that he needs, and knows so many different words! He cAn repeat aLmost anything you say...depending on his mood!!! He hasnt quite put any sentences together yet but he is ready to start talking our ears off with his new jibber jabber thing he's gotten into..he talks to anything and everything, I just have no idea what the conversations are about!!;) He is so polite he says thank you and please often! He even.says thank you when.im frustrated and give him a lil smack on the hand..its hard to be mad after that...

Thanksgiving

I am so grateful for so many things and feel as though I don't take enough time to think about and appreciate all that it is. This past year and a half has made me a mom, and taught me so,much about life and about myself..without a question I am most thankful for my family, most importantly my baby boy and his brother on the way. Before I had Tate I never really knew the meaning or feeling of unconditional love but I know now that there is nothing in the world that could make me love that kid any less! Even though sometimes being a mommy means life gets more challenging with each new day, I truly am grateful for every second I have with him..

Of course I am grateful for my savior, Jesus Christ, for helping me to have my family and making it possible to keep them by my side even into eternity..That is the greatest gift that could ever be given.
I often just think of things that I have been blessed with and I really am amazed I feel like I am so lucky to have all that I do..Church has been such a blessing in my life and has given me direction in all aspects of my life and been such a guide and inspiration in decisions, even small everyday ones.

I am thankful for this time of year and what it brings..it is a time of year to enjoy family and reflect on the past year of memories, as I have gotten older I have honestly realized that the best part of the entire
Holiday season is the.memories and time spent with family..although I do get extra excited to see Tate's reaction to lights hanging, decorated trees, Santa and gifts.I do hope to bring a lot of tradition into our home to help us to grow closer and to stay a close family!

I am grateful for a year of so much joy and not much to be sad about, this has been a good year so far with so many great things..many people can't say that!

I am thankful for friends and for the fact that you can go to them to talk to regardless of how far away they are.

I am grateful for this baby on the way, I must admit it wasnt the easiest idea to get used to but I already feel such a love for him and cant wait to meet my baby boy. I look forward to watching my boys be best friends and grow up together..

The list goes in and on...i hope to continue adding everyday:)

Baby Brother

{Who is still unnamed}
is due to arrive just 2 months from Tuesday..
Or about 9 weeks from now:)

I am hoping to have another ultrasound soon since we actually have insurance this time around because I'm curious to see how he is measuring and progressing!
As far as my measurements I am pretty much right where I'm supposed to be just measuring about a 1/2 a week small or so! I am getting anxious/excited but I am also pretty nervous, I love love love being a mom but I'm a little hesitant about the idea of raising 2 boys..I know it comes somewhat naturally but there are so many things I want and hope to give them and things that they need that I just hope I can do it all!! I also hope that Tate responds well to his little brother, there relationship matters more than anything to me! I really hope they are best friends.

{Beckham Kai/ Beckham Cruz or Gradyn Kai} What do you thinkk?!?!
I'll tell you one thing..He is one active little boy, he really likes to kick! Maybe it's only fitting that he somewhat be named after a soccer player? :)

Smartie Pants.

Okay so I have to say we have one funny kid on our hands.
Tate got a book for his birthday from his cousins Delilah & Jaylee called "Mickey's Roadtrip" and in the book Mickey and all of his friends go through all of these different places to get to the beach for a picnic..(none of that really matters) But anyway one of the places happens to be a farm. Tate's new thing is to make animal noises, he learned to bark back at dogs about a month ago but now you can ask him a few different animals and he totally knows what they say!

"Tate, what does a cow say?" ---"MOOOOOOOOOO"
"Tate, what does a pig say?" ---"Sniff, SNiff, Sniff"
"Tate, what does a dog say?" --- " Woooo, Wooo, Wooo"

He is so dang smart...and I think we might possibly have an early potty trainer?
I would love if he was potty trained before baby brother gets here but at the same time,I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. I know the holiday season would be a bad time to even try but I am working on just teaching him what the potty is for right now. I am definitely not in a rush. But when your 15 month old starts saying potty and then going into the bathroom, maybe he is ready?!!!

I put him on the potty one day just to see if he knew what to do, and just said "okay, go potty" and he really went!!!! I totally wasn't expecting it..but now he holds his potty until I take his diaper off and has started pottying while I change him, like he did when he was a newborn...except ON PURPOSE!!!!
I have put him on the toilet once or so everyday since and he goes everytime. So idk, he might just get a potty for Christmas..I guess we will see!

Pretty soon this kid is going to be teaching me things I don't even know. I definitely think he could teach us all some manners!lol...He says thank you after everything!!

I know I need to go back and add photos to about 2 months of posts but it just takes so long..I am planning to get videos of Tate saying all of these funny things he says but I just haven't gotten around to it yet!!! If I don't do it soon..someone please get on me about that!! I need a reminder every now and then:)

Our lil housewife

Tate is such a goof...we went out to run errands on Saturday and we got home that evening...the house was pretty clean but apparently Tate thought otherwise! He got into the broom closet and pulled out the mop and the bucket for water of course! He walked all around the house "mopping" the hallway and kitchen and even repeatedly dipped the mop in his imaginary water! I was laughing pretty hard.He always loves to clean up and helps me vacuum, sweep and mop each time I do, I'm not sure where he gets that from! He even puts his own toys away and cleans up messes if he spills or anything(with help of course..haha)..while he sings "clean up, clean up....". After he finished cleaning he pulled out every bowl and spoon in reach and decided to "bake" something..Im glad to know he has seen me do these things enough. It was just so funny to see that he already takes initiative to do that! I love watching him learn and I think he learns new things everyday! I don't know how he lesrns words so quickly but his brain must work much faster than mine! If he is in the right mood you can say the most random words and he will repeat them right back, I try to work withh him a lot on them.

He has learned to say Jesus, Meme, flower, kitty cat, Cow, Moo, pretty, brother, baby and a ton more things...a lot of which I've mentioned in previous posts! He teaches me everyday in so many different ways! You definitely lesrn to appreciate the little things when you have kids and I'm loving every minute of it.

I am so grateful for this time of year and looking forward to lots of time with family and friends.
My best friend will be here from cali in 4 days!
Thanksgiving is in 10 days..Brandon graduates in 1 month and 9 days after that is Christmas! Then exactly 4 weeks later (January 22 ) baby brother is due! Not to mention all the fun things in between!So much to be grateful for and to look forward to!

and Tate finally had his 1 yr check up! He is perfectly proportioned at the 90th percentile in height weight and his head! Yes he grew into it:) I am glad that the doctors agree that he is perfect:)
24lb 1 oz. ..32+ inches, 19 in head

I was doing really good and now I'm behind...again! It seems like There is always something to say.
Halloween was pretty successful, we were able to get out a few different days and do things as a family! We went to our ward trunk or treat where Tate had me running around like crazy as he held his bucket up to each person...whether they had candy or not:) Then we went to his Grandma and Grandpa Merkley's ward fall festival where they had games and got to get some candy! Halloween night we were able to go just one block, after one street Tate started restingg his head on my hand and I knew he was done for! Even as tired as he was he still managed to learn to say thank you when he got his candy! He is seriously so dang smart..idk what I would do without him! Hopefully he teaches lily brother well because I am not a good teacher! lol

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.