It's Been Awhile...

WOW! So much has happened in the past month. Here a few highlights from the last few weeks. This will explain some of the pictures.

-- I returned to work. (This explains my lack of blogging lately!) I teach Junior High English, and I love working with such great kids. It was really fun seeing them again, but I definitely missed my little guy. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks trying to figure out how to be a working mom, and I have a whole new respect for my mom and for all the working moms out there. Greg and I have made a great team as we’ve worked together to take care of Garrett. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families who have really come through to help us get through these past few weeks. Thanks so much to everyone who has helped us! I’m glad to know we just have a few more days left of this. It’s a lot of work! I decided not to return to teaching next year. It’s definitely going to be an interesting financial adjustment for us to go from a double to a single income, but I’m looking forward to giving it a shot.

-- Garrett got his first ear infection. (In both ears!) YUCK! As luck would have it, Garrett came down with a nasty cough the Friday before I was returning to work. I had been home with him every day for two solid months, and he would have to get sick right as I was going to have to leave him to return to work! After a day of screaming his head off while Greg’s sister Mal was tending him, we took him into the doctor and sure enough, infection in both ears! Luckily, he loved the medicine and his grandparents took great care of him for us. The doctor said he was pretty young to be starting in with bad ears, so I have a feeling this might just be the beginning of something nasty!

-- Garrett’s champion sleep genes have really kicked in and he is sleeping like a little angel! (This would also help to explain my lack of blogging.) He usually goes to bed around 11 or 12 and sometimes sleeps as late as 10 or 11. This has been a great blessing for us, especially with me returning to work.

-- I had to include the pictures of Greg helping my dad pull out the shrubs in front of my parents' house. Only those of you who spent your summer evenings getting poked by those shrubs while playing nightgames will truly understand the devestation of this loss. I'm afraid "Kick the Can" may soon be added to the endangered species list along with the Polar Bear. If only kids these days knew how to play like we did...

-- We planted our garden! Garrett had a great time watching from his stroller and was such a good boy. We both absolutely love fresh fruits and veggies and are looking forward to harvest time. I might even get ambitious and make my first attempt at canning this year. I’ll keep you posted!

-- Perhaps the most wonderful event was meeting little Willa. My cousin Ashleigh lives in North Carolina and had a beautiful little girl just 11 days after I had Garrett. You will notice from the pictures that Garrett is significantly bigger than Willa, but Ash and I think they look alike and could even be twins! Willa is so precious and it was so fun to meet her. We enjoyed a great American Idol party together. Holding sweet Willa made it easier to cope with David Archuleta losing. =) (You will notice a great picture of Brooklyn in absolute awe as the Jonas Brothers begin singing. She was so overcome with joy she even collapsed to the floor. DRAMA QUEEN!) Little Guillermo (who is my favorite little guy next to Garrett) was sick and so we missed his smile and belly laugh.

-- Garrett visited the doctor for his 2 month check-up. He tipped the scales at 13 pounds, 9 ounces and is 24 inches long. He is in the upper 70th percentiles in both his weight and height. He’s a big boy! He got his shots, which I have to say was the saddest moment of my life as a mother up to this point. He was lying on the table just smiling and cooing, and then WAM! I felt like I had totally betrayed the poor little guy. I figure it’s better than the measles, though.

-- Garrett’s hair is growing like crazy! It just happened within the past week or two, but he has the cutest fuzzy hair you’ve ever seen. It pretty much just sticks straight up, but I’ve been having fun working on giving him a Mohawk. It seems like people are stopping me all the time to comment on his little red hair and tell me how cute he is. (As if I didn’t already know!) I could spend all day just rubbing and kissing his little head. His hair, combined with his smile and little noises, make it pretty much impossible for me to get anything done! I just want to hold him and kiss him all day long, so I do!

(To my Pay-it-Forward Winners…I have not forgotten you! I promise your prizes will be coming soon!)

Cute Kids

My sister and I had the not-so-brilliant idea to have our kids' pictures taken for "Mudders" Day. (That's how Brooklyn says it.) It was quite the fiasco and we both about had a nervous breakdown by the time we left. I went to the picture place yesterday to get some reprints and the girl said, "Oh....I remember you." Not such a good sign! I'm not sure we'll be doing this again anytime soon, but they did turn out surprisingly cute!

And YES...our little cowboy is tough enough to wear pink!

Man's Best Friend

Our dog Browning died yesterday. Greg got Browning when he was about 15 and has spent a lot of time training, playing, and hunting with Browning. Browning was such a great dog! He was an awesome hunting dog, but he was also gentle and fun to play with. We were looking forward to Garrett and Browning being buds. We did manage to get one video of Garrett and Browning, but I can't get it to upload. Hopefully I'll figure it out because it is really cute!

And the Winners Are...

With the help of my lovely assistant Brooklyn, I finally have the Pay it Forward winners! Sorry it's a few days late. I actually had a really cute video clip of us drawing the winners, but I can't get it to upload. Oh well. The winners are RACHEL, JILL, AND KASSEY! If you are a lucky winner, please email me your address to princessnat@yahoo.com (I was in about 7th grade when I created that email account). I will send you your prize ASAP and then you can Pay it Forward on your own blog.

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today is Greg's little brother Brian's birthday! His wife, Cathy, has a full day of fun and adventure planned for him and we so wish we were there to celebrate with him! Brian is currently working on his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at "The College" and we like to say he is "the coolest nerd we know." (Greg and I both have such smart siblings--sometimes we wonder what happened to us!) Brian is a great brother and uncle and we love him so much. We hope his big day is the best!

Congrats Brian, Adios Brett and Chelsea, and Marijka Rocks!

Congratulations to my big brother Brian! He graduated yesterday from the University of Utah with dual Master Degrees in Business Administration and Healthcare Administration. (Let's just say he got all the brains in the family and the rest of us just had to split what was left over!) We attended the ceremony and then celebrated with a party at "Brain" and Sher's house. It was so much fun and we are so proud of him!

My baby brother Brett and his wife Chelsea left today for Alaska. They are going to be spending the summer working in Juneau. Brett is going to be driving a tour bus and I so wish I could see it! Chelsea has promised us some video footage of our favorite bus driver and I am anxiously awaiting it! The kids love Brett and Chelsea and we are all going to miss them so much, but are so excited for them and their Alaskan Adventures! Good luck!!!

Tonight I had the great privilege of attending South Cache's production of "Into the Woods." My cousin Marijka ran the spotlight and did a spectacular job! Usually at plays the person running the spotlight messes up at least once and misses something or shines the spotlight in the wrong spot at the wrong time or something, but not Marijka! She was absolutely flawless and her Drama teacher even told her what a great job she had done! We are so proud of her!

Good Luck Eric!

Greg's little brother Eric moved to Provo this week and started school at "The College." (That's what my Grandma Ila called BYU.) We are so proud of him and hope he is successful in finding himself a wife ASAP! (Getting his degree would be an added bonus!)

Note: In fear of getting disowned from my father, I am leaving the Cougar Fight Song on my blog long enough for Eric to hear it and then it will be immediately removed!

I Was Tagged...All About Greg!

I was tagged FOREVER ago and am just finally getting around to it. (Yes, I should be sleeping while Garrett is, but this is much more fun!) This is all about my sweetheart…

What is his name? Gregory

How long have you been together? 6 GLORIOUS years!

How long did you date? We set a record and dated for 2 years while attending “The College” (BYU). We would watch our friends meet people, briefly date, get married, and have kids—all while we were still dating! I think our poor Bishop would pray every night for us to just get married!

How old is he? Almost 30!!!

Who eats more? HAH! Anybody who knows Greg knows the answer to this—definitely HIM! I’m usually just finishing my first bite as Greg is cleaning his plate and dishing up seconds! (He has 4 brothers—enough said!)

Who said "I love you first"? He did. We were sitting on an old crappy couch in the hall of our apartment building when he confessed his undying love for me with tears rolling down his cheeks. (The old crappy couch part is true!)

Who is taller? He is.

Who is smarter? He would say I am, but I disagree. I’m more “book”smart, but Greg is definitely more “street”smart. In addition to that, he can build or fix just about anything and I have never met a deeper thinker!

Who does the laundry? I do most of it now, but I am ashamed to say that Greg actually had to teach me how to do laundry. I am far from spoiled, but my mom did my laundry growing up and I would even bring it home on the weekends during college. (I cooked dinner, cleaned the bathrooms, and vacuumed, but my mom did the laundry!) Greg is the stain-remover king and can get a stain out of just about anything. He has taught me many great tricks!

Who does the dishes? I make dinner, Greg does the dishes. It’s a great system!

Who pays the bills? We both do.

Who mows the lawn? If only we had a lawn to mow! Sadly, we have been renters for as long as we’ve been married and have never had to worry about it.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me. Well, I used to love cooking dinner before a certain little redheaded sweetheart turned our lives upside down (in a good way)! I actually did cook a real dinner last night and am trying to get back into the swing of things!

Who drives when you are together? Mostly him- unless he’s tired.

Who is more stubborn? Probably him.

Who kissed who first? Depends on who you ask—Greg would tell you I was throwing myself at him, but I know the truth!

Who asked who out first? I guess it would be him. It was something like, “Hey, I’m going elk hunting tomorrow. Do you want to go with me?” (It actually turned out to be a WONDERFUL day!)

Who proposed? He did, but I had to prod him along. He tried to propose to me once and chickened out! (He was so nervous—it was cute!) I knew he had my ring and it was driving me crazy, so I finally just had to kindly tell him to get on with the show. =)

Who has more siblings? He has 5, I have 3.

Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on the issue and who has a stronger opinion. I can be surprisingly assertive, but I would say probably Greg.

I definitely hit the jackpot when I found Greg! He's the best!!!

Now I am tagging Erin, Mindy, Sandy Da and Paula. (I wish my mom had a blog so I could tag her!)

Garrett's Blessing

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Yesterday was Garrett's blessing. It was such a wonderful day for our little family! We knew it was going to be great when Garrett slept through the whole night and we actually had to wake him up in order to get him ready to go. Like all parents, we were worried he would fuss during the actual blessing, but he was absolutely perfect and didn't make a peep. The blessing was so sweet and truly something we will remember and cherish forever. Greg and I were so touched by all of our awesome family and friends who joined us for the blessing. We had a wonderful dinner after with lots of delicious food. (Thanks so much to everyone for all the hard work in helping us with the dinner!) It was a beautiful Spring day with lots of sunshine and we were even able to be outside. We had so much fun visiting and catching up with family and friends. Garrett was such a sweetheart and loved being held and passed around. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people who love us and our little boy. Thanks to everyone who helped make this day so special for us. We love you!

Happy Birthday Princess!

Yesterday was our niece Brooklyn's 4 year old birthday! We can't believe how much she has grown and that she is already four. Thanks for being such a good cousin to Garrett and for sharing your special day with him. We love you!

Pay it Forward

Pay it Forward
Here's how it works; you simply make a comment to this post in the next week and on Saturday, May 3, I will put your name in a drawing and the three people I draw out will get something free from me! I will send it to you in the mail. Winners will be posted no later than Sunday, May4. If you win, be prepared to pay it forward! Woo-Hoo!

(I won this contest on another blog and now am "Paying it Forward"--This is not my original idea! I'm not nearly creative enough to come up with something like this!)

Phillips Family Party

We had so much fun visiting Grandpa and Grandma Phillips this weekend. They even threw a big party for Garrett to meet his uncles, aunts, and cousins. Thanks for such a great time and to everyone who worked so hard to make us feel special.

We love you!

And the Saga Continues...

So you know my cousins I've been writing about--the ones with all the bad luck? Well, they woke up this morning and their house was freezing cold! You guessed it...their furnace was broken! On top of that, their washer started making a weird sound and they think it is also going out. I mean, honestly, what are the chances? I think my cousin Lisa said it best, "They need to catch a freakin break!"

On a happy note, this is what I found tonight when I got out of the shower...

Such Fun!

Today was a fun day! We started off by visiting the "sick and afflicted." Janalee is home from the hospital and doing okay. Not "sensational", but okay. Kami is healing and seems to be getting stronger, but she is definitely tired and beat up.

My cousin Tara came to visit from Boise and brought little Guillermo. He is the cutest little guy you've ever seen and has a laugh that just melts your heart.

So many babies! It's funny because it seems like this side of the family went FOREVER without having any kids, and now in the last few months it seems like there are more babies than people to hold them. They are all so much fun!

Uncle Chad came to visit us tonight and as you can see by the picture, Garrett was absolutely thrilled! I think I have a new favorite picture of my little man.

Roommate Reunion

I had the amazing opportunity of having a reunion with my roommates from BYU this week. I can't believe it's almost been eight years since we first met each other in 235 Whitney Hall! I have so many wonderful and crazy memories of these gals. Our college days were full of fun (and a lot of drama)! It was so great to get back together again. We are scattered all across the country these days, so we were lucky to get us together. We missed our "Party Hardy" and her cute kids, but are looking forward to another shindig when she visits this summer. I love you girls!

When It Rains...

Wow! It's been a crazy couple of weeks for my uncle, aunt, and cousins. First off, my darling cousin Janalee had been having neck pain and went in for an MRI. Her neck ended up being okay, but the doctors discovered a cancerous growth on her thyroid. She just had surgery yesterday to have the growth removed and is waiting for pathology reports to see what kind of treament she will have.

When Jan found this out, her family had already planned a trip to Mexico and were leaving just a week after her diagnosis. The doctor told her she should go ahead with her vacation and just have the surgery when she returned. So, the family left for Mexico. While they were gone, their son Tyler, who was unable to go on the trip because he had to work, discovered he has a hernia and will also need to have surgery. (He is on the waiting list for next Monday to have his surgery.)

So, Tyler contacted his family in Mexico and let them know about his hernia. We were all dying thinking about Jan and Tyler both having surgery in the same week and were trying to figure out what the point was of Tyler having a hernia the same time Jan was diagnosed with cancer. (It's kind of like my Grandma dying a few days before my brother Brian's wedding or me going into labor the same morning of Gracie's blessing.) Honestly! Little did we know what was to come...
Yep! As they were driving home from Mexico, they were involved in a terrible accident in which the truck pulling the camp trailer rolled THREE times! My uncle Ric and cousins Kami and Marijka were in the truck and all of them were pretty beat up, but miraculously, they all survived. (You can visit Sean and Em's blog for a better play-by-play of the accident.)

Despite all of the craziness, our family has been so blessed and have truly witnessed many miracles. Just to name a few...

1. Jan's cancer was discovered. She was experiencing virtually no symptoms of the cancer and it most likely would have spread even more if she hadn't had the MRI on her neck.

2. Everybody survived the accident. Kami just happened to have her seat reclined and was told she most likely wouldn't be with us today if she had been sitting up.

3. My brother Brett and his wife Chelsea were at Brianhead for a mission reunion and their car broke down. Ric, Paula and family just happened to be passing through, so they gave them a ride home. Brett and Chelsea were originally going to ride in the truck, but ended up riding in the van with Paula at the last minute. If they had been in the truck, they would have been in the back seat, which means Kami's seat most likely wouldn't have been reclined, and we can only imagine how different the outcome of the accident would have been.

4. Brett and Chelsea were with Paula's family and were able to provide much-needed support and assistance.

And finally, the biggest miracle of all....I stayed with Kami today while Paula was at the hospital with Jan and did two things I swore I would never do...First, I touched their blasted dog! (He was crawling all over Kami's hurt knees and I had to get him off.) Second, I cleaned up dog #$%^ off the carpet!

Seriously though, I could go on forever about the many blessings we've experienced over the past few days. We are so grateful everyone is going to be okay and our prayers are with Jan as she recovers from her surgery.

Happy Birthday Pops!

Happy "Burfday" to our wonderful dad and grandpa.

We love you!

Champion Smiler

I am sad to announce that Garrett's title as Champion Sleeper has been revoked. It was definitely a one-time deal! Despite the sleepless nights, we've decided to still keep him because he just started smiling and it is the sweetest thing we've ever seen. Here are some pictures of our little smiler. (The lighting isn't the best on some of them, but he's still pretty cute!)

And he's done smiling!

So Handsome!

Garrett had his first professional pictures taken today. In the words of Brooklyn, "It was not sensational!" Let's just say I got a glimpse of what it is going to be like to raise a stubborn little red-headed boy! Miraculously, we did manage to get a few cute pictures out of the whole experience.

P.S. We especially like the one where he's flipping the bird. This is classic because Greg is always trying to teach swear words to everybody else's kids!

This One's For You, Mayne's World!

My brother-in-law Sean was feeling highly "betrayed" because there wasn't a picture of him and Garrett in the latest slideshow. With the exception of Greg's brother Mike (who lives in Wisconsin), he was the only uncle who was left out. We sincerely apologize to Seandogg and hope this helps his "ruined feelings" recover! We love you!