5 Months

It is crazy to think that my little baby is already 5 months old. You know that feeling you get when you see a little baby kitten or puppy and you just want to squeeze them and never let them go because they are so cute? Yeah, that is the feeling I get everyday with John. I never want to let him go! 

Month five has been so much fun! We have a pretty good routine down and he sleeps almost all night, much to my joy. He loves to smile! He doesn't laugh a lot but he will if you tickle him, make silly faces or hold him up in the air. He loves bath time and kicking the water. 

He rolled over for the first time this month! He can only roll from his stomach to his back. But he loves to roll side to side especially if mom is cleaning so he can keep an eye on her. He also has the most amazing hair! It sticks straight up. No matter what I do, it always sticks up. In fact, people at church identify us by his hair. Zac had someone come up and ask him if he was the dad of the baby with the fuzzy hair. Haha. 

I love having this cute blue eyed boy in my home. 

Life Update!

If  can't tell....I have been trying to catch up on the blogging. I feel like I am falling way behind! Life has been really busy and crazy for us the last couple of months. So here is a quick update on what we are doing.

Zac

Crazy busy at work! He actually had to go to Taiwan for a few days in January for some testing. He is the lead engineer on the new LA Rams football stadium. Which is pretty cool! Hopefully, by March things will slow down and we will get to see him more. :) 

Katelyn

I decided to take a part time job as an event coordinator with a non-profit engineering association. It is keeping me pretty busy because there is a state-wide conference the end of February which I am supposed to be planning. Yikes! But after that it should calm down. Then between trying to unpack and get John on a good routine, all the rest of my free time is gone. I also just got called to be in Activity Days and be the Relief Society pianist in our new ward. I am also looking forward to March and being able to spend more time with Zac and hopefully the weather will be warmer by then. :) 

John

John keeps me on my toes! We started sleep training about a month ago. It has had its ups and downs but we are making good progress. Last night he slept from 7pm-5am!!!!! He rolled over for the first time last week, but hasn't done it since. Haha. He is very aware and observant of his surroundings. He is also probably the most chill baby I have ever met. He recently has developed a love for snuggling after his naps. It melts my heart! I could snuggle him all day long! 

New Year, New House!

It is safe to say that 2016 was a pretty great year for us! Not only did we welcome Little John into our family but we bought our first house!!
We have been renter/apartment dwellers since we got married so we were pretty excited to finally get into a house.
We started looking at homes the beginning of November. There were several that we liked but were out of our price range. Over the Thanksgiving weekend a house came up that I knew we had to see. It was priced well and the pictures made it look great. So in between family stuff and Thanksgiving we went and looked at it. After looking at it I knew we had to put an offer on it right away. It had thirteen showings in two days! We got our offer in that same day and found out on Sunday night that ours had been accepted! We closed right before Christmas.
It was crazy fast, but we have now been in the house for almost a month and we love it! It is a three bed, two bath house. From what we gathered from the internet and neighbors, it was bought at auction last March then flipped. So it has all new flooring, new kitchen/appliances, new A/C, new roof and new water heater. It also comes with an unfinished basement so we have room to grow. The house is about a mile away from where we used to live so we get to stay in the same area which we love. In fact, the house is along my 5 mile running loop so I have run by this house many many times before. Haha. It is exciting to finally have a yard, no shared walls and space!

Christmas 2016

There is something magical about going home for Christmas! I don't know if that will ever get old. :) John was a really good traveler and made the drive down to St. Johns easy for us. Zac had almost a whole week off for Christmas so it was a lot of fun to just get to all be together for a week.
Unfortunately, poor John was going through a sleep regression which started a few weeks before Christmas so throw in a new place and he didn't sleep well at all while we were there. But because Zac was on vacation, he let me sleep in every morning which was wonderful!
Growing up, my family had so many fun Christmas traditions. I love going back home and doing those same traditions. I can't wait until John is old enough for us to introduce him some of them as well.
A couple of my favors are making gingerbread houses, eating sweet rolls for Christmas breakfast, making name tags for Santa Clause, and having a little Christmas program Christmas eve. We even had a few new ones this year! Marc set up the horseshoe pits and Spencer started a King's Court board game tournament.Christmas Eve, we had the missionaries and Uncle Bob and Aunt Susan over for dinner. Afterwards, we had our Christmas Program. Lindsey and I performed our bi-annual puppet show, which I think is now becoming our go-to talent. Haha. Michelle sang Silent Night, Spencer played us a Christmas song on the piano, Marc gave a great PowerPoint Christmas lesson, and Kristin and Mom played a duet. Afterwards, Dad played the piano while we sang Christmas songs. John was tired and a little grumpy so Zac and I stayed home while everyone else went and looked at Christmas lights. It was nice to have a few moments as a little family of three on Christmas Eve.
Christmas was on a Sunday this year. I remember as a kid I hated it when Christmas was on a Sunday because I had to get dressed up and couldn't just hang out in my PJs all day. But as an adult, I love it when Christmas is on Sunday. There is definitely a more Christ-centered feeling about Christmas when you get to go to Church on Christmas day. This Christmas felt different to me than in years past. John was only three months old. So all of those feeling of being a brand new mom were/are pretty fresh. I couldn't stop thinking about how this is how Mary must have felt. And as I thought about how much I love John, Mary loved Jesus just as much. It made the sacrifices that Christ and his mom made much more real than they ever have been. I hope I can keep that feeling with me a little longer than just around the Christmas season.

John loved the Christmas tree! 

First time sitting on Santa's lap

 Horseshoe Tournament

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Mason climbing on a wood pile. I am pretty sure that is a requirement of being a descendent of a LeFevre.

 Hanging out 

The Vidmar Gummy Bear Saloon. ;) 

John's Baby Blessing

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we blessed John in Sacrament meeting. We chose to do it that weekend because a lot of family would be in Utah already because of the Thanksgiving holiday and because of Porter's baptism. So it worked out really well to have it then. Almost of all of my family was there. We missed Kristin but she was there in spirit. :) Then Zac's parents and his brother's family all came down too! We also had a bunch of extended family come. It was really special to have so many people be there to show their love for little John.
It was definitely one of the those days that I had daydreamed about during those years of infertility. Zac gave such a sweet blessing. I remember Zac talking about how special he was and how wanted he was. As well as blessed to be kind and loving to others.  I recorded it on my phone and one day I hope to type it up and give it to John.
John was named after Zac's Grandpa John Vidmar as well as my grandpa John. Grandpa Vidmar through many different ways helped make it possible for us to even have baby John. So it was a really neat experience to have Grandma Vidmar at the blessing.
We are so grateful for this little boy. Even though it is hard sometimes, he makes me happier than I have ever been.

Photo Cred: http://www.lindseylefevre.com/