Christmas Fun!

Enz

It was a ton of fun to watch Enzo open gifts this year and enjoy his new presents. I love this last picture because he's sitting on his knees and for some reason I just think it's too adorable. He's growing up way too fast. Hope you all had a Great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Merry Chrismtas!

I think I'm finally in the Spirit of Christmas. It took me awhile this year, maybe because of Enzo's birthday, us being sick, etc. Decorating our tree definitely helped me to feel like the Season is actually amongst us as well. I think we the economic struggles in the World today, a lot of people are doing things different. I rarely send out Christmas cards anyway, but for sure won't be able to this time around. I want to wish all that come to my blog a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm so very grateful for each and every family member and friend that I have. I believe people come in to your life, some for a short time, some for a long time...but I cherish every one that I've encountered for I've learned from or been able teach many.

Let's not forget about the True Meaning of Christmas this year.

Love to all!

The Downhill Slope

Just when you think it will never end, things start looking better. Enzo has had a rough week, to say the least. The stomach flu/virus he caught was saddening and no fun for the both of us. To see a tiny one going through such a thing is heart breaking. On top of it, Enzo is cutting (3) new teeth at once. Not only have I had a rough week, but I can only imagine what he is feeling. The past few days though have been wonderful, he is finally feeling back to normal, so he acts. We've got back into our nighttime routine which I believe helps him in getting to sleep at night. We are back on track with one bath time before bed instead of 3 or so through out the day. I've started reading books to him before bed which I feel calms him and in turn will be a good learning experience.
I also wanted to tell you about a funny experience I've had with him recently. I remember chasing (crawling) babies around the house saying "I'm gonna get you" and seeing them crawl even faster while laughing. Being Enzo is a 'beginner' in his crawling stages I wasn't sure he would be even understand what I was trying to do, but I did it anyway. Oh boy did he catch on quick. So I start chasing after my boy, laughing and telling him I was going to get him. Enzo turned his head back, started laughing, looks forward, tries to crawl as fast as he can and *kirplunk* falls flat on his face, side, etc. It's too funny! It's a great time to watch him learn and grow.

P.S. He loves to sing!

Happy 1st Birthday Enzo!

Don't mistake this for Christmas Morning!

Because of the flu, Enzo's party that was for today had to be re-scheduled until next weekend. Jakey insisted that Enzo open his presents TODAY! And of course Grandma has a hard time holding off on her surprises as well. So all in all Enzo was able to celebrate a little bit of his birthday today and he'll have another big celebration next week. This is for you Jakey! Thanks for all the cool gifts, he loves them.

Enzo's 1st set of Hot Wheels

First Train Set, YEAH!

He was having a blast ripping the presents open, at times he was trying with all his might, too cute!

Enzo's First car, Jakey you did well! 3 Firsts!

Next time you buy a present, be sure I don't have to hire a mechanic to put it together! Luckily I rock and had it together in about 20 minutes. I was tempted to leave is unassembled.

My First Chair from Grandma, thanks love ya!

Enzo loves his car. The coolest part is the radio and blinkers, love it!

Check out that stud!

I think we'll be going on quite a few walks with this thing. It might actually be fun to walk to the mailbox now, for both of us.

Thank you Jakey and Grandma for the wonderful gifts.

I can't believe a year has already passed by since I had Enzo. I'll never forget a year ago today when I went in to the hospital to be induced. I was more scared than anything, not to feel the labor pain, but I had a strong fear (the entire pregnancy) of losing another child because of losing Danny. To top it off, I suffered a few complications during labor where his heart rate was dropping, mine was exceeding his by far, I had to be put on oxygen, etc. It turned out the cord was wrapped around his neck, it seems to happen a lot. I am so very grateful to have a Healthy and Happy Baby Boy that bring joy to my life and a smile to my heart. Mothering can have it's trials, but the blessings are truly greater than one can imagine. To many more years to come Enzo, mama loves you.

When will it ever end...

In all my years of mothering, never have I had to deal with such a sick child. Sometimes I wonder if I'm being challenged? Needless to say, I picked Enzo up from daycare yesterday evening to find him on the floor crying. The provider said he had been crying all day, but did take a good nap, so she wasn't sure what the deal was. I took him home, tried to feed him as I normally do, but he refused to eat. Enzo seemed overly tired, so I gave him his bottle and held him close to comfort him...and then, he threw up ALL over me! *HERE'S YOUR SIGN* In between the vomiting, the scrubbing of floors, the multiple loads of laundry, the changing of sheets, etc. I enjoyed and took advantage of the "cuddle time" that he gave me. I can only hope that his immune system is becoming more and more strong throughout all this.

I also wanted to share with you the above picture of Enzo in his new car seat, he absolutely loves it. It's so cute to look in my rear view mirror and watch him smile, dance and sing. Throughout all the ups and downs of mothering, the blessings are far greater.

The Day Has Finally Come

Enzo is...
CRAWLING
I don't have any pictures as proof, but trust my word!

As we all know...

Enzo is one of the more slow babies when it comes to being mobile. Although he is taking his time in that sense, the boy sure does talk up a storm and sometimes it seems as if he's actually repeating what you say. I just wanted to drop in and tell you what's been going on in our world.

1. It seems like Enzo is always sick, since birth we've had very few weeks that he has been with out a runny nose or some other sort of illness. Being he's in daycare, I am aware he is more apt to getting whatever is going around, which in turn he shall have a stronger immune system over the next years. For now it can be tough, but hopefully it will be for the better in the long run. Look at the positive right. I took him in to the doctors for goopey eyes and it turned out he had an ear infection as well. I'm just grateful I was able to take him in before things got any worse.

2. Speaking of doctors, he had his 2nd dose of the flu vaccine today. I'm glad that's over with. We're good on shots for another 2 weeks, then he's in for his 12 month check up and THREE shots.

This picture below is the day we found out about the ear infection. Enzo was still in great spirits as we waited for his RX to be filled. He was playing peek a boo with the pharmacist, who in turn got so carried away with my adorable child that he forgot to mix up the medication and he had to walk me through over the phone. NOTICE: Grandma walking up in the background, she was on her way to work and we just so happened to be there.


I saw this hat at Target and had to capture a photo. I think it's darling, but would feel like the mom on "A Christmas Story" if I made him wear it.


For the first time EVER, I VOTED! I'm proud to be an American and have the right. I have also decided that it's probably best to keep Political Views to a minimum when talking to certain people. I, myself can get worked up, just as well as they.


3. On another note, I went to get Enzo from his nap yesterday and found him sitting up in his bed. That was a HAPPY first for me. He finally went from a laying position to sitting up on his own. I'm so grateful for his daycare, they have took part in helping him out in these areas.

4. I finally found a new car seat. Enzo is about to be a year old and is still in the infant seat. Being he's only 18 lbs. it's not a big deal right now, but soon enough he will need it. He seems so bored lately and pretty much DONE with staring at the back seat, so I'll be switching it out soon. I'm excited that I got such a great deal on it as well. I found one on sale and rcvd my mom's discount on top of it.

5. Enzo is about to be a year and I'm overly excited for the day. I've been planning out his party on a budget and excited for what it's going to be like. Party ON! I got him some educational books, puzzles and a DVD and can't wait to take part in helping him learn.

I'm so grateful for my lil' man and look forward to much more time together learning and growing.

Thank You Megan!

First Hair Cut

Unfortunately the batteries in my camera were crap when I attempted to turn it on to capture some cute shots. Thank goodness we have cell phones with cameras, the pictures aren't perfect, but they will have to do. As you can see Enzo loved his first hair cut. The first picture is a before where you can see the length of it and the other two are during the process. He was in such a good mood and was given a sucker as a treat afterwards. Let me tell you, it was his first sucker and he had a great time with it.

Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year. I love Fall and all the beauty it brings. We had such a great time at the Pumpkin Patch. This first picture is when we took off on the hay ride. Enzo was so excited when the tractor took off, that's the true boy in him.

This is the first pumpkin we chose, the other Melanie chose for us. They had some huge and some interesting ones to choose from. On the ride back, we of course saw many more interesting ones. I can't wait to make pumpkin seeds, but the carving part isn't my favorite. I'm not that artistic so you'll be lucky to see the triangle nose and eyes with a crooked smile on my pumpkin.

Enzo was too into the dirt to look up and smile for the camera. Once again, there is my true boy! Sarah and Rachie had a great time as well. Too bad Ashlyn thinks she is too cool and old for this fun.

"Hay" Enzo!

On another note, it's been amazing these past, almost 11 months watching Enzo grow and discover new things. As most of you know, he STILL doesn't crawl or walk, which I'm ok with and feel that maybe it had something to do with the last daycare he was attending. When there, the provider always had him sitting in a bouncy chair rubbing the back of his head bald. With that said, the poor child was never able to explore the floor as he should. Since he started his new daycare the exploring has been fun and a learning experience for him. I love to watch him scoot around on the floor, now throw himself on his stomach (which he use to HATE) to play with toys, play inside his toy box and sit and watch cartoons while he dances. Enzo loves to stand, but hasn't been pulling himself up to stand on anything. I imagine if he was more mobile he would find things to grab onto and pull himself up, but when he's stuck in the middle of the room there isn't much to grasp onto. I did though discover that he knows how to pull himself up. Last night while he was taking a bath, he scooted his little bum over to the edge and pulled himself up to look over the edge. WOW! I let him do it so I could test his skills, but that's not really a cool place to be doing so being he can slip real easily. Needless to say, he was fine, but it's just been such great times watching him learn and grow. He's a talker, I wonder where he got that from?

I love trips to Idaho!

I absolutely love spending time with the Romer Family in Idaho. We always have a great time while there and I am entertained to the fullest. I adore the children and it makes me so happy to see their smiley faces as I walk through the door.

Mark was so excited to make "Round Table Pizza". I guess he went online or something and found tricks and recipes as to how to make the dough, which took 3 days. This picture below is him checking on his pizza. Let me tell you, that first bite screamed "ROUND TABLE" to me and Heidi told him many times how much she loved it. I think he was pretty proud and has since made the pizza again.
Heidi, before you get mad about this picture, know that I love and adore you! This would be after the great pizza and relaxing before bed. Mark is good with entertaining on the guitar, so after the kids went down, we watched a movie and then enjoyed the music played by Mark. I had a great time and always love to listen to him strum and sing. Thanks guys for a great night.




It was so much fun to finally be able to get the cousins together. I loved to watch Enzo and Brooks look at each other like "hey, I know you". They are both so adorable and fun to be around. Brooks is a lot more mobile than Enzo, although he is a few months younger. I think Enzo will skip all the la dee da crawling and go straight to walking. He shows "pride" all over his face when you let him stand. It was a nice idea to be able to hand down clothes to Brooks, but it's not working out so well, the lil' man is growing like a weed, a fertilized weed to say the least. One day he might be handing down clothes to Enzo, we'll see.

Black Mail

I caught Mark watching Saturday conference, or NOT watching it. I wasn't going to post this until he accused me of sharing it, now I must! I email Elder Supinger just about every week and we were speaking of conference when I mentioned Mark sleeping. I guess he turned around and emailed Mark giving him a hard time... Go Elder Sup! In turn, Mark sends me a text message accusing me of sharing this lovely photo. You accuse me, I share! ha ha ha... Funny thing is Annabelle was actually watching the conference, but faked her sleep for the pic.

Poor Lil' Trick or Treaters

Fight Breast Cancer At Every Meal

I thought this information could be helpful to many.

A healthy diet is as important for your breasts as it is for the rest of your body. These seven strategies may help ward off the disease.

PUMP UP YOUR PRODUCE

Fruits and vegetables contain powerful antioxidants that help protect against all forms of cancer. Plus, they’re low in calories, so loading up on them is an easy way to keep your weight in check. Studies have found that eating five servings of produce a day reduces the odds of a breast-cancer recurrence in women, especially when combined with daily exercise. Consuming more than that doesn’t seem to have any additional preventive effect, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Your best bet, says the American Cancer Society’s Marji McCullough, is to eat a wide variety of brightly colored produce. “That way you’re more likely to get all the phytochemicals that are important to cancer prevention.”

CUT THE FAT

Studies on dietary fat have been conflicting and inconclusive, but most experts say it’s still wise to steer clear of saturated fat as much as possible.

GET PLENTY OF CALCIUM AND VITAMIN D

This spring, a10-year Harvard study found that premenopausal women who got 1,366 milligrams of calcium and 548 IU of vitamin D daily slashed their breast-cancer risk by a third, and their odds of getting invasive breast cancer by up to 69 percent. “This is a promising area of research,” says McCullough, who recommends eating calcium-rich foods like lowfat dairy products,canned salmon, almonds, fortified orange juice, and leafy greens, or taking a 1,000- to 1,200-milligram calcium supplement. Although milk contains vitamin D, most yogurt and cheese do not. To get enough, you probably need a multi vitamin, or if you’re taking a calcium supplement, choose one that also contains 800 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D.

SPRINKLE FLAXSEED ON YOUR CEREAL

Flaxseed is a good source of lignans,compounds that may play a role in preventing estrogen dependent cancers by inhibiting the development of tumors or slowing their rate of growth,according to McCullough.“Other sources of lignans include sunflower seeds,peanuts, cashews, rye bread,and strawberries.”

KEEP COOKOUTS TO A MINIMUM

A recent study from the University of North Carolina found that postmenopausal women who had consumed a lot of barbecued and smoked red meat or chicken over their lifetimes had a greater risk of developing breast cancer than those who ate less. “When you grill meat, the amino acids form compounds called heterocyclic amines, which are carcinogenic. They’re especially concentrated in charred meat,”says Rachel Zinaman, R.D., a nutritionist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Evelyn Lauder Breast Center. “Plus, when the fat drips on the heat source,” she adds, “it forms polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, another cancer-causing compound that binds to the meat.” If the barbecue grill is beckoning, protect yourself by marinating the meat first or cutting it into smaller chunks. These cook faster than larger pieces, which reduces the likelihood that carcinogenic chemicals will form.

IMBIBE INTELLIGENTLY

That means stopping after that first mojito. “More than one daily drink increases your odds of developing breast cancer by 20 percent or more,” says Zinaman. In a recent Norwegian study, those who had two or more drinks a day during the previous five years had an 82 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer than those who didn’t drink at all. “Alcohol may raise estrogen levels and interfere with the body’s ability to use folic acid, a B vitamin that’s been linked to cancer prevention,” she says.

FILL UP ON FIBER

A diet that’s rich in fiber (30 or more grams a day) can halve the risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women, according to a new study from the University of Leeds in England. It makes sense, says Zinaman. “Fiber-rich foods contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that are thought to be protective.”

It's on...

I spent the weekend in Idaho and Heidi and I decided we're going to compete against each other and see who can lose 10 lbs. first. Let me tell you, I am excited and I hope she is as much as I. I'm ready to give this my all.

I started yesterday by returning to the dailyplate. The website is awesome and tracks what you eat as well as your exercise. I recommend it to any one that is on the verge of eating better or watching what they eat. You are able to create your goal within this site and it gives you the amount of calories recommended daily. I really enjoy it! I know I've blogged about it before, I hope to continue on it for a longer stretch this time around. I started this morning off right with a trip to the gym before work. Besides the fact that I have to shower with see through doors and no closed room to change, it was a great work out. I feel so good and ready to make this a habit. I am lucky to be able to go along with a girl from work who is dedicated and will push me.
Go ME! I really hope that, not only for a competition, I can also just make this a habit of mine because of health reasons and just feeling better about myself.

Lunch Of Champions!

I have no idea why, so don't even ask...but it's DANG GOOD!

I am Thankful for My MOM!

I am so very thankful for my mother! I came down with the HORRIBLE stomach flu on Sunday Morning and don't know what I would have done without her. I felt so ill, as if I just wanted to run to the hospital and be pumped with something in an IV to make it all go away, anything to get rid of the way I felt. I vomited 13+ times, I pretty much lost count. I have to say thank you to my mom for being there for me, getting me what I needed, taking care of me and most of all, taking care of my son. She was willing to drive to Salt Lake to meet up with Enzo's father and pick him up, and then take care of him for the evening. I'm not sure what I would have done if I didn't have her there with me. Thank you MOM! I LOVE YOU!