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Saturday, February 26, 2011

We shoot it, we pass it, we dribble it to the basket!

We're Mendon 1st, we're Mendon first, we're Mendon first!!! That is right! It has been a crazy week for our young women basketball team at the region playoffs. We have played 5 games in the past 4 days. The girls play so well together and we are all so proud of them. Today they won their game at 11am and went on to the final playoff game for the championship at 3pm. I am thrilled to say that they won by shooting a foul shot missing one and making one. After the shot there was only 2 seconds on the clock for the other team to get a shot and of course they didn't so WE WON!!! We screamed and hugged for like 2 minutes after that. We were all so proud because they worked so hard to get there. Usually we have 14 girls come to the game to play. I am going to list the girls who have played this year.
Shalyn Theurer
Maddie Duersh
Kaeli Nieman
Cari Thorne
Kelcey Rushton
Kelsy Lott
Abby LeFevre
Brittney Molen
Lindsey Powell
Gabby Barret
Makaylee Hudson
Matilda (from Sweden)
Haley Driessen
Lindy Shroter
Molly Edlund
Alex McBride

It has been so rewarding and fun coaching these girls! I love them all so much!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

D-lightful Moments

Dayton is getting to be such a cheese. Maybe it is because he has a Mother who loves to take pictures of him. He even snuggled into a blanket and held still for me today. It is so fun to see him growing and being such a happy boy. I know I'm late I should have posted about him at 11 months but oh well. So here are some things about Dayton at 11 1/2 months...
He weighs a few ounces shy of 25 lbs as of last week at our doctor visit.
He loves to play with cars and the pink princess cash register that we have. Honestly he likes to push the buttons, they make noise.
He grins on purpose for the camera.
He is becoming more and more aware of things around him like pictures on the wall, the fish tank, and new people.
He gets a haircut about every other month while he is sleeping. I think is hair grows fast and it does have a little curl.
He loves running around naked, what little boy doesn't?
He enjoys playing with other kids even Liya who is 6 years old.
He still takes two 1.5 hour naps a day and he sleeps through the night.
He has 4 teeth, two middle bottom and one top front and one top side. The other front and side are really close to breaking through.
He loves seeing his Daddy at the end of the day and gets excited for Adam to hold him. He also head butts Adam all the time. Father and Son bonding I guess.
He still loves being outside.
When it is snowing he puts his hand out and waves it while giggling. I think he is trying to catch the snowflakes.
Recently he only eats fruit, yogurt, PBJ, and crackers. I can rarely get him to eat anything else. He will not be fed with a spoon if I give him anything I have to put it on my finger then stick my finger in his mouth. It think this is because he is teething.
He also has started purposely dropping food off his tray if he doesn't like it. I have to get after him and he acts all sad and does a fake cry for about 5 seconds. Little sneak sometimes still does it when I'm not watching.
He really says Grandma and Grandpa "Gaama and Gaapa." He also says "vrooom vroom." Still working on getting him to say baba for bottle, more, and milk.
He climbs stairs easily and quick. Although I have tried to show him how to go down backwards he doesn't get it, he thinks he can walk down stairs. Ya, that is a no go at our house. Good thing we have a door at the top of our stairs.
He knows when we are going to leave. He will get his jacket and go stand by the door. It is seriously so cute!
He threw his first temper tantrum this week for about 40 minutes. I just kept telling him when you stop screaming I will hold you and the instant he stopped I picked him up, hugged him, and praised him. Guess what it only took once and he has figured it out. No tantrums for 4 days. Kids are smart!
He loves books, especially the ones with holes so he can put his fingers in them.
He loves music and dancing. Especially in church however he does not love sitting still in church he wants to roam around everywhere. I can't wait until he can go to nursery.
The pictures below were all taken today. Dayton turns one is about two weeks and we will be getting some new family pictures so watch for those. Today these are just pictures I took of him all in black and white.

We love you Dayton!!!







Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Playmate

Since I have been home I have started to do a playgroup with 3 other ladies in the ward that have kids Dayton's age. We do it on Friday for about an hour. It is so fun for the kids and especially Dayton because he is the only kid in playgroup that does not have a brother or sister at home to keep him company. Anyway, today Teena Young who is Lydia's Mom, called me to see if Lydia could come play at our house while she volunteered at the school for an hour and a half. I gladly accepted and I am happy to say that Dayton is happily playing with her even though it is long past his morning nap time. They are getting along great. I'm glad Teena called it has been fun to have her over today. Oh, and Mom and Dad they both LOVE balls in the can.


It's real and TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

Oh the blessings that come when you have faith, quit your job to be home with your family, and trust in the Lord. Thank you Huggies!


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Looking forward to eating tomorrow

I think planning ahead gets me excited and keeps a plan in my head for the day. If I know what I'm going to eat that day instead of waiting til I get really hungry and then staring in the pantry and just grabbing whatever is easy and takes no prep time I do better. This is so EASY!!!

Breakfast: 2 raspberry pancakes w/ 1T. syrup on each= 7pts. 1C. milk= 3pts.
Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwhich= 9pts. grapes= 0pts.
Snack: banana= 0pts.
Dinner: 1 1/2 C. whole wheat pasta= 6 pts. 1 C. spaghetti sauce w/lean hamburger= 2pts.
Esparagus= 0pts. Strawberry and pineapple fruit salad= 0pts.
Treat: popsicle: 0 pts.

Total: 27 pts.

I like to leave a bit of wiggle room because I usually piece a bit like I pop a few goldfish in my mouth when Dayton has them or have a handful of Cherrios here and there.

Making a change...

to get in shape! As I have gotten older I have come to the realization that it really doesn't matter what size of jeans you wear, what size of bust you have, or if you have wide hips. What matters is how you feel. Lately I have not been feeling well. This can be due to some hormonal problems but I can't control that so I have decided to take up the 30 day shred. Today was the first day that I did the workout, which is perfect for me because it is only 20 minutes long, and it really worked me hard. This is very realistic for me to do each day, I can find 20 minutes easily.
















The other thing that I will be doing is weight watchers. I am not actually going to weigh in and go to the meetings but I will track all my points by using my Mom and a little weight watchers book I have at home. I am excited about this. I feel that I actually eat pretty well now but one thing I know I can do better with is less sweets and more fresh fruits and veggies. I always grew up having dessert after dinner every night so I am used to that. The great thing about WW is that I can still have dessert I just have to make smart choices during the day to earn it and not eat large portions of the sweet stuff. I have kept track of what I have eaten for two days now and I am going to share. If you don't care feel free to stop reading now. Just fyi I get 29 pts. a day.

Yesterday...
Breakfast: fruit smoothy with ice= 0pts. Cherrios w/1% milk= 5 pts.
Lunch: omlet w/ham and veggies eggs=4pts. ham=2 pts.
Snack: goldfish crackers=3 pts.
Dinner: fajitas chicken=2pts. peppers,onions=0pts. whole wheat tortilla=4 pts. fruit salad w/strawberries,grapes, and bananas=0pts.
Treat: vanilla icecream 1 C. 8pts.

TOTAL for the DAY: 28 pts.

Today...
Breakfast:wheat toast w/peanut butter= 4 pts. fresh pineapple=0pts
Lunch: salad w/baby carrots and tomatoes=0pts. ham=2pts. poppy seed dressing=4pts. 4 multigrain club crackers= 2pts.
Snack: 3C. butter popcorn=6pts.
Dinner: grilled chicken breast=3pts. topped with pineapple/mango salsa=0pts. brocolli=0pts. 1C milk= 3 pts.
Treat: 2 homemade peanut butter cookies= 4pts.

TOTAL for the DAY: 28 pts.

So far I am not feeling like I am on a diet at all. I don't even like to call it a diet because I think it is just eating smarter. I will keep updating about how much weight I am loosing. I hope I can loose about 2 lbs a week. My goal is to drop 15 pounds total. I am excited about this but even more important than just being excited I feel like this is a very realistic lifestyle change I can make. Plus it'll be good for me and my family too.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sad and Happy

The sad news is that I accidentally formatted my memory card in my camera, which deletes all my pictures. I just took some awesome ones this week and I hadn't had chance to order prints of them yet for the photo album and now they are gone. I am so sad about it and mad at myself!!!!

The happy news is that last night Adam and I hung up a bunch of new pictures on our big wall in our dining room. It is lovingly called "The Family Wall." I know real creative huh? I have had this idea for awhile and we just haven't had time to do it. We hung all the pictures while Dayton was sleeping and so when he woke up for breakfast this morning he stared at the wall and was pointing at the picture of Grandma and Grandpa Day. He was grinning ear to ear and just kept pointing at them. I noticed this so I picked Dayton up and had him point to every person on the wall as I said their names. He got especially excited when he pointed to Me, Adam and himself. It was so cute because he totally recognizes himself and others he see's often.

Here is a picture of the wall. My goal is to have it completely random so nothing is lined up. I also like the look of all different frame sizes and colors. I have yet to print the Chandler family picture and MOM WE REALLY NEED AN UPDATED FAMILY PICTURE, soon. So the empty frame will be filled soon and I will add another frame on the left side of our family picture for an updated Day family picture when we get it.



I like that it fills up the empty space. Oh and we also hung this beauty. This is the picture of Christ that I had stretched for Adam on Christmas it is from El Salvador.


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Creativity

I'm trying to practice taking some different pictures. Trying to be creative and get some good shots. What do you think?










Isn't he cute?

I know I always blog about my boy but he is pretty darn cute! These pictures have all been taken during the past three days. We have loved the sun and even went to the park. Dayton even got a little sunburned on his face, I didn't even think about sunscreen in February. We had fun though! Oh, and I forgot to mention that I just bought 135 articles of clothing for ages 18mts-2T off ksl for $50. All the clothes, minus the jacket, that he is wearing in these pictures are some of them. I am so pleased with this purchase because they are in great shape and studly clothes too.












Oh, and he colors now! 11 months old and he loves to color. Crazy!



P.S. Our young womens basketball team is tied for region. Tonight at 8pm is our playoff game to see who goes to region. Go Girls, you rock!!!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Day of Love

Dayton loved playing with this heart decoration and carrying it around. He also loved eating some of Daddies Grasshopper cookies. I love you Dayton! You are our whole world. Sorry these pictures are not great they were just taken on my phone.



I made this heart decoration for Adam and while he was showering on Valentine's morning I hung it up on his closet door and also left Grasshopper cookies with it. He was surprised!



Adam surprised me after work and brought me these beautiful spring flowers. They smell so pretty. I love them! Way to go on picking out tulips and iris sweetheart! He also brought home subway, which I love, so I didn't have to cook. Plus it was quick and we didn't have to wait for a table because you know how eating out on V-Day is, crazy!


Then we had Whitney Bennington babysit Dayton and we went to see Tangled which was great! After the movie we went to Casper's for icecream. It was so so fun to go on a actual date with Adam. Lately we have tried to do this at least once a month but it is hard to make a special effort to get out together when you have a kid. Anyway, I love you so much Adam. I am so grateful for you and that you take care of me and Dayton. You are more than I ever dreamed of! Love you!

Monday, February 14, 2011

I WON!!!

It's true, I won a year of free diapers from Huggies! I can't believe it! I entered the sweepstakes about a month ago. During the first 3 months of 2011 Huggies is gifting a person a day a year of free diapers. After I read this letter I got in the mail I screamed, I can't believe I won! Yeehaw! How does it work? Well I will get a package sent to my house that contains 48 coupons and each allows me to buy $12 worth of diapers for free. In other words I have enough coupons to buy a pack of diapers every week for the next year using my $12 coupons from Huggies! I LOVE YOU HUGGIES! Thank you!



Friday, February 11, 2011

50 books for 50 bucks

I am like a little girl on Christmas morning when I get new children books. When the UPS guy brought these to my door I was running to the door and rushing to open the box. Thank you scholastic for giving teachers such a SCREAMING deal! I got some excellent books and many of them I can use for preschool and of course for my kids too.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ouch!

I was pulling baked potatoes out of the oven last night when Dayton (who was originally in the other room) came running into the kitchen full speed. So my natural reaction was to hurry and close the oven door from being totally horizontal with the floor to a 45 degree angle so he didn't come stick his hand in the oven. Well, I wasn't careful enough and in moving the oven door I moved my arm up a bit and it touched the metal baking rack inside. :( Ouch!!! It really hurt last night for a couple of hours and I just kept ice on it. This is how it looked this morning.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

new & A BREATHE OF FRESH AIR

I love this new set up! It rocks! This next fall I will be teaching preschool at my house and this will be the preschool room. We will move the futon out and the wood bookcase you see with the toys. The only thing in the room will be a little kids bookshelf (Adam is building for me), two tables w/chairs (picture of chairs below), and the little colorful tub organizing bins you see below in the room. I bought little preschool chairs from ksl, thanks Mama Sue for picking them up for me and bringing them to Logan when you visited.



Also just yesterday (on ksl of course) I found this perfect colorful organizer for $15. Right now it works perfect for some toys but when preschool starts it'll be used for cubbies. I will put a little sticker on them with each kids name and the top 8 will be used for cubbies for their art work etc. and I will use the bottom for materials like crayons, paper, and such. Anyway, check out how great the room looks all organized. I did this last night while Dayton was sleeping. I moved the black bookshelf out of the preschool/toy room into the front room (see below).




This is the toy shelf I put in the front room. I moved the stereo to the living room because when I start preschool we will do our music and movement time in the front room. I love having the CD player here too because I put in music a lot more often for Dayton and I to listen to during the day. Sometimes it is soothing church music, other times it is Disney music like Tarzan, and other times it is country which he loves to dance to by the way.


Today was such a breathe of fresh air!
Adam and I have been pinching our pennies since I only have one kid I tend right now. I really need to get one full time kid but I just am not having luck finding one. Midst all the frustration, the worry about money, and daily duties with a sick baby, and night after night with Adam working late (tax season) I took TIME today. Time to sit down and rock Dayton for his nap. Today I turned on the song, "Where can I turn for peace" and right after that "How great thou art" played. I normally rock him to sleep every morning at 10am for his morning nap but today it was different. I usually rock him quickly and try to get him down so I can hurry and move onto something else or so I can be selfish and spend time blogging, cleaning, primping, or searching ksl. :) Well today I wasn't in a rush because I had picked up the house last night and vacuumed this morning I decided to just chill. Well Dayton snuggled right into me, drank his bottle, took his binki and then was calm. He isn't normally like this especially since he is sick. He normally wrestles, squirms, and fights me trying to get him to calm down. Today he just closed his eyes and fell asleep. It was the quiet of our home, the warmth of my arms, the soft peaceful music and the feeling of the spirit that soothed him. I know it was. My house is in order (most days it isn't)and I honestly believe that with an orderly home and by inviting the spirit into my home that it affected Dayton. He was able to be calmed and soothed. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for my precious boy that constantly reminds me amongst all the hussle and bussle to take TIME for the important things like sitting in quiet, listening to inspired music, and rocking my boy.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

LOVING my Nikon and Sunday's

I took my first photo class this Saturday and boy do I have a lot to learn. We focused on lighting and exposure so I tried to experiment with front,side, and back light. I'm excited to learn more and more because I think that I can take nice pictures now but hopefully with these classes it'll give me the knowledge to take beautiful pictures. I just had to post some of the pictures that I took this weekend after my class. I think that I ended up with some real AWESOME pictures. I especially love the naked picture of Dayton where he is reaching up to me (below). I think it has a real beautiful and peaceful feel to it. Oh, I forgot to explain that the picture of me and Dayton together are not good ones they were taken on a timer and are a bit blurry so don't judge those ones, I just had to document them. Please give your opinions about the pictures. Which is your favorite? Why?
































I sure enjoyed spending this weekend with Adam and Dayton and observing Dayton and his cute personality. :) We only watched the last 5 minutes of the Super Bowl and the Green Bay Packers won. I think it was a perfect choice to spend Sunday with my family at dinner and then with Adam and Dayton just enjoying each other and only catching the last few plays of the game so we were in the know.I do love Sunday's.