The Rest of September

The rest of the month was spent hanging out side and going on lots of walks. We managed to squeeze in a quick camping trip too. This summer was really hot so it was nice when the weather finally changed. John loved to sit outside on the front lawn and wait for Dad to come home. I feel like John grew a lot in September. He went from only army crawling to crawling to standing and couch surfing. It is so fun to see his little personality develop. 

This was the first year that I had a real garden. If you count one bell pepper plant, one tomato plant, and one zucchini plant as a garden. Haha. My tomatoes did okay but my zucchini plant was on fire! I probably got 40 zucchini from that one plant! It was crazy! If the weather would have stayed warmer for a little bit longer I was due to get 5 more. I have never seen a zucchini plant go that crazy! I got really creative with it. We had a lot of zucchini bread, muffins, casseroles, etc. I froze a lot but ended up giving a lot of it away. 

First Hair Cut! 

Waiting for Daddy 

This little guy sure loves his Dad

Camping! 

We Have a Yard!

September was a busy month! After slaving away all summer trying to get our yard to look decent, we finally decided to hire a landscaper to come out and help. The sprinkler system was a mess and we needed a retaining wall in the back. We decided to focus on the backyard this summer and next summer (fingers crossed) we will work on the side yard. The landscaper put in the new sprinklers and built us a beautiful retaining wall and we put in the sod. Next year, we will plant some trees and bushes too. After a lot of time, money, and sweat we finally have a back yard!! I can't wait until next summer when we can actually use it. We still have a lot of yard work to do but it is nice to have one thing off of the list checked off.

We had many trips to Lowes and Home Depot. Also, landscapers make the best toddler entertainment. John LOVED to watch him build the retaining wall. 

Before

After the landscapers

Laying the sod 

After!!! 

John Turns One

This past year went by way too quickly. My boy is no longer my tiny little baby but a curious, crawling boy. The last year has had many ups and downs. There were a few months that were really hard when John wasn't sleeping well but for the most part it was been amazing.
Being a mom is way different than I imagined but in a good way. This little boy has my whole heart. I feel like each day he is learning, growing, and changing.
At each stage I want him to stay at that stage and am afraid that I will be sad when he grows out of it but it has been the opposite. Each stage is exciting and different.
John now weighs 22lb 14oz (51%), 29in long (33%), and his head is in the 94th percentile! He finally figured out crawling instead of army crawling a few days before is first birthday. He has eight teeth and loves to jabber away. He can say 'mama' and has his own little language.
His little cheeks are kissed constantly. My absolute favorite time is right before nap or bedtime. We spend a few minutes in the rocking chair. He puts his little hands around my neck and snuggles his head on my shoulder. It is pure heaven. Those moments are the moments that I dreamed about for years and sometimes it seems too good to be true. Those are the moments that I want life to freeze.
John's birthday was on a Sunday so we decided to do most of the celebrating in Saturday. We started off by running a 5K for Footsteps for Fertility which is a non-profit that funds local fertility grants. By running the race, we were put into a drawing for a fertility grant. We didn't win but it was an amazing experience to watch other couples win a grant to get a shot at growing their families.
That afternoon, we threw John a birthday party! So many wonderful friends and family came out to celebrate with us. One of the best parts was that two of my good friends from Seattle that now live in Utah were able to come. In Seattle, these two girls were my support. Their friendship was and is priceless. We didn't speak about our struggles with infertility that often but we all knew. We knew that we could hang out together and understand what it was like to be in each other's shoes. Fast forward, three years later and we all have our little miracle babies, all boys! It is a proof to me that miracles do happen. There wasn't a better time for us to be reunited than at John's birthday.

August!

~Highlights from August~

• Yard work and lots of trips to Home Depot 
• The Solar Eclipse 
• Vidmar cousins visiting and going to the dinosaur museum 

John wasn't too thrilled about the solar eclipse but he did think the viewing glasses were pretty cool. 

We love it when we get to see cousins! It was so fun to meet up with Rachel and the boys for an afternoon and explore the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. I am going to have to get a membership there when John is a little older. 

John loves it when Daddy comes home! 

Heap Reunion

This year, I made it a priority to go to the Heap Reunion and I am so glad I did! It was held the last week in July. It has been probably 10 years since I had need to a reunion with Mom's side of the family. The reunion is always up by Green's Peak in the White Mountains of Arizona. Everyone thinks Arizona is all desert and cactus but this area is one of the most beautiful places on earth (in my opinion).
It always rains and is green and lush and this year was no different. It was a welcomed change from the summer heat in Utah. I love the monsoon season with its rain and thunderstorms.
Lindsey, Marc, Mom, Dad, and Michelle also camped along with several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven't seen in years.
We started out by spending a few days in St. Johns, giving John his first snowcone, you know, teaching him the ways. Arizona has the most amazing sunsets too! I just love where I grew up.
This was also John's first camping trip! He did awesome! We camped for two nights and he ended up sleeping on the ground in between Zac and I. He loved being outside.
We had a horseshoe and cornhole tournament and sadly, Zac and I did not fare well in either one.
The last night we were there, my cousin, Ben, put together a little program where my Mom and her siblings answered questions about what it was like to grow up in St. John's and on my grandpa's ranch. It was so neat to hear all of their stories and perspectives. I also learned that the Heap family reunion had been going on for over 100 years up in those mountains. It is so cool to think that my ancestors once camped and played in the same area to for vacations and to get out of the summer heat.
Until next time......

~Pre-reunion in St. Johns~

~Heap Reunion~

Aunt Peggy, Mom, Aunt Susan, Uncle Steve, Uncle Brian

Cassie, Me, Melanie 

Michelle didn't want her picture taken because she was eating breakfast. :) 

All ready for his first camping experience! 

 

4th of July Trip

Zac ended up having five days off in a row around the 4th of July. We decided last minute to go to Spokane to visit Grandma and Grandpa Vidmar. It was a really quick trip but was so much fun! The Northwest is so beautiful in the summer.
We went to the golfing range one day. I confirmed, yet again, that I am a terrible golfer. haha. Give me a soccer or basketball and I do pretty well but golf?! That is a completely other story.
One of the coolest things that we did was go ziplining. A family friend created a zipline course nearby with 9 different ziplines. It was so much fun and the views were incredible! It is definitely a must if you are in the area.
Grandma and Grandpa volunteered to watch John for us one night so we could go on a date. We went to Lake Cour' D Alene. It is a beautiful lake with a boardwalk. The sun was setting which made for a beautiful night.
We actually drove back home on the 4th so we didn't really celebrate on the 4th but we celebrated the day before.
We sure love getting to visit and seeing the Vidmars. It is always a good, relaxing time.