Five and Counting: June 2013

Jude at 11 Months

Baby J is getting so big. These past 11 months have flown by and I cannot believe how big he has gotten. Everyday he does something new and is just such a funny little boy. He is so different than Elliot was at this age but I have loved seeing him grow.
At 11 months old Jude is---
-Taking a few steps on his own
-Standing up in the middle of the room by himself
-A huge flirt
-Loves playing with his brother
-Eats everything
-Still loves to nurse(me not so much)
-His first word was Da-da and now he says Ma-ma
-Loves to be tickled
-Has 4 teeth
-Learned to give kisses

Jude is such a funny baby and loves to flirt with women any where we go. He will flash them a big grin and when they smile back he will shrug into himself like "oh gosh". He is such a fun baby to have. We like to call him the destroyer because he makes a mess wherever he can. He searches for empty water bottles or anything he can knock over and dump every where. He is also the friendliest he loves people and just wants to socialize all the time. He definitely prefers daddy over me--he just lights up every day. We are so blessed to have him :)

Jude taking a picture of himself

Smiles with mommy

11 months old

Swimming

Elliot started swim lessons this week and it has been so much fun! I can still remember being a teenager and going with my sister as her kids went to swim lessons at the Aquatic center. Now here I am watching my baby boy learn to swim and I was having some proud mama moments.
So far this week Elliot has stuck his face in the water, picked up rings in the water, kicking, jumping, and started going pretty deep in the water all by himself. Elliot loves the water as much as I did as a kid. He just naturally the water but he has learn to cheat when getting the rings from the deeper side of the pool. What he does is he uses his foot to grab the ring and then reaches down to grab it, haha, he is so smart. Either way he is loving going to lessons every day.
Jude also loves to be in the pool. We put him at the very front where you enter into the pool and he just crawled back and forth. He loved it so much and especially when Elliot would come and play with him. They are so cute together.
As a family we try to go swimming a few times a week. We all have a lot of fun and it is good to practice with Elliot when he is struggles in some areas. Jason who isn't really a fan of water has been awesome with not letting it get to him so the boys enjoy the water. When Elliot starts getting nervous Jason encourages him and it has been so nice. Elliot's favorite thing to do in the water is jump into one of our arms. I forgot how much I love swimming!

Elliot at swim lessons(2nd to the left)

Elliot in his Flash towel and goggles

Elliot kicking his feet at lessons

The boys and I in the pool

Kids just playing in the pool

Utah Adventures

Oh man Utah I love you. There is so much to do in Utah and I love the fact that we are able to take advantage of it all right now. Utah has basically been a vacation for us. Jason is working and yes we are both going to school full time but we are able to go out and do stuff all the time. Everyday we try and do something as a family and truly I feel so blessed.
Before moving to Utah Jason really bad stomach problems. They were so bad these past three years that he had not gained weight and was sick every week. Living in Utah has cured that. He hasn't had stomach problems since we got here and has actually gained weight. This is huge and Jason is so much happier since we have started living here. Our whole family has benefited and I am so grateful for our time here. Elliot gets to spend more time with the boys, we get to be together more as a couple, and we very rarely fight. Utah has blessed our lives so much but all great things must come to an end.
We are moving to Vancouver in July. Vancouver Washington not BC. Jason received a letter the day we left Washington from WSU Financial Aid Department and when we added up the amount of money we were getting from them it was hard to walk away. My thoughts turned to--do you do what is best for your family or do you do what is best for your education? I really struggled with this thought for a little over a month. We are so happy here and my biggest fear was that we would go back to how things were before. After a lot of prayer my heart was warmed to the thoughts of moving to Vancouver.
We took a little trip to Washington and we had so much fun. The boys had so much fun visiting with grandma and papa. I was able to go and visit with my sister Kimberly and also the Leavitt's. I was so happy to see them. It was such a fast visit with family but it felt so right being around family again. After the visit with family we headed up to Vancouver so Jason could meet with his school advisor and set up his classes. We were also planning to look at some places to live while we were there. When we arrived in Vancouver we drove around and looked at homes that were for rent. We debated about which one we wanted to live in and then headed to the school. WSU Vancouver is brand new and so beautiful. The buildings are gorgeous and when we got there Jason was really excited.
The last morning in Vancouver we drove around looking at places and found some apartments that we fell in love. We got a tour of them and they were beautiful and had lots of space. It was so nice to wander a place and look at what it was offering. The area is a gated community that locks up after 8, has two heated pools and jacuzzis, a great gym, and our building is non-smoking. We placed our applications for the apartments and the one we are getting is a two bedroom on the top floor with vaulted ceilings. We are so excited about the change in area and being so close to the beach. The apartments are a mile from the school and right next to grocery stores etc. It is a huge community of 400 apartments so we are happy to still be in a big area.
Here are some pictures from our time in Utah and our trip to Washington.