totally not fair!

My cute little sister, Ashley, is having a birthday today! She is getting to open the coolest present ever...my MOM FLIES INTO SLC today! She gets to hang out with my mom and what do I get?! I GET A ROOT CANAL! Maybe even two...we'll see. (I'm sure I'll be blogging my woes; but my new dentist is one awesome dude. I'm so excited he's taking care of me!)

Enough about me, here's 22 reasons why we all love you:


22) You're such a wonderful sister!
21) You're a fabulous aunt to my children, they adore you!

20) Whenever I hear Nsync or Backstreet Boys I think of you with a smile
19) You can take it, but you can also dish it out
18) You were always (mostly) a good sport when we pulled pranks on eachother...(I was just telling a friend of mine today about the salmon-skin-in-dishwasher prank, remember that one?!)

17) You were so cute when you were little! (you still are, but you lost your "english accent" when you got older and some of that wore off. ha)
16) You are so generous and giving
15) You work so hard at something that is difficult for you, until you get it.

14) You have a good perspective on life, you can see past tomorrow.
13) You have such a sweet spirit about you and uplift others around you.
12) You're a fun aunt (from Ryanna)

11) You're pretty (from Ryanna)
10) Dawson loves you. (I asked Dawson if he loves you and he said, "yup I do." (Sorry, little man of little words)

9) You were always one to make yourself to not live in any shadow, you made your own way in the world. You were certainly STUBBORN enough!
8) You're one tough cookie.
7) You remain positive when things are crumbling around you.
6) You spoke "Chinaman" when you were little. "Moota-moota-maata!"
5) When I read (or Ryanna reads) Berenstain Books to my kids, flashing back constantly to when we would read them together.

4) You are a spectacular friend to me.
3) You're a fabulous dancer, I wish I could cha-cha like you!
2) You are amazing and talented at whatever you put your mind to.

And the NUMBER ONE REASON WHY WE LOVE YOU IS...

1) You are an example of love, testimony and faith to my family and I'm honored to have a sister like you and show my children how they can be just like you!

rotney and harold

Ryanna has twin-brother imaginary friends, named Rotney and Harold. They come over and play video games, have sleep-overs and play legos. They like to eat bananas and peaches and pears. They like to sleep near Dawson when they spend the night. They have a sister, but she has high school every day and can't come over.

(this is straight out of Ryanna's mouth, telling me about her friends!)

eat, drink, and party at Bahnmiller's

Kami and Mike has us over for dinner tonight and it was so delicious. It was nice to be with them again, they're so fun. Kami and I actually hung out in grade school together! It's been a long time since those days. Now our KIDS are playing with eachother...weird.
They were so sweet, they decorated their apartment just for Carter!

Ryanna, Dawson, Joey and Emma playing Chutes and Ladders.
Carter enjoying a cracker before dinner.

Mike showing the kids his awesome glass chess set; which was met with great enthusiasm by Ryanna. She played one round with him, and she just loved it!
Mike actually ended up giving Ryanna this awesome chess set, she was so tickled she got it out and showed our Home Teachers later that night!
Delicious cake Kami made just for a special one-year-old!

He really enjoyed his cake, once he got past not liking the frosting squished inbetween his little fingers! Sure is a messy kid, he got frosting all over me, my arm, two chairs, the table, etc. Good thing First Birthday only comes along once!
He's had enough fun!

After a quick car-wash in the tub, he's all clean and ready for presents. Bahnmiller's gave him a pair of Tonka trucks that are baby-friendly and way cute. Ryanna and Dawson gave him a little Playschool CD player that plays little tunes.

But why play with fun toys if you have a cool empty box?!
Cute kids
Tired Carter played hard and had very special birthday, thanks to good friends!

year in pictures

Positive aspects about one-year-ago today:
-a beautiful 8 lb 6 oz boy was finally in my arms!
-wonderful supporting husband and dear friend also helping me while I was in labor
-having MY MOM drive like a maniac all the way from Boise, arriving in Moscow 15 minutes before Carter was born
-having this precious sweet baby boy enter my life and my heart
-knowing that my family is complete
-Gritman Medical Center was perfect for me, I felt like a friend, a sister and daughter the way I was cared for. I will always look back on the memory with fondness.


Negative aspects about one-year-ago-today:
-was in active labor for 24 1/2 hours
-was in very intense back-labor, that couldn't be relieved
-had a VERY tramautic epidural tap where I bled and bled out my back, thus resulting in blacking out (and back in, and then back out again) and having to have two shots of adrenaline just to keep my heart rate and baby's heartrate in a normal range
-NOT having the epidural work (after all that!) And to think, I still feel so bad about squishing Cassie's fingers together, hurting her during contractions.
-having several of my veins collaspe resulting in not being able to get blood drawn; had 3 different people try to stab my arms and finally getting it the 11th (or more?) time


My precious baby boy is one today! He has such a sweet little personality and brings joy to my heart. He is patient with me, he just adores his older brother and sister. He is truly a blessing from Heaven and I am so grateful he is in my life.












Newborn Carter
One-month-old
Two-months-old
Three-month-old Bronco
Four-months-old

Five-months-old (sweet story about his Tuxedo Outfit; it was actually worn 17 years ago by my little brother! I'm so sentimental that I wanted my boys to wear it too, and be just like his Uncle Aaron!) Where, oh, where is a six-month-old picture? I have no idea! Mom, have any? (We were in Boise for the entire month of December for Ash's wedding, I'm sure there's one out there)

Seven-months-old
Eight-months-old
Nine-months-old

Ten-months-old

Eleven-months-old
Twelve-months-old





My sweet Carter is trying his hardest to walk, is an avid climber and says "bye bye" and waves. He is a wonderful spirit and I'm so glad he's mine!Another fun fact? We filled the gas tank at....$2.12 a gallon. (Does that even look right?) I think we may have gotten a discount from Safeway, but nonetheless, that's what we filled up the tank for!