Happy First Birthday, Marshall!

Last Saturday we had a party to celebrate this little boy turning ONE! We are so grateful to those that could join us! Here is a photo overload of the festivities. 

Here are just a few of our little friends that could make it. 

Sadly, we didn't get photos of everyone ... sorry to those not pictured! 

This little boy had a great time turning ONE!

He was thoroughly exhausted, and slept for almost 14 hours post-party! 

What a party!! 

We love you Marshall! <3

Rodeo!

Marshall's birthday evening was spent at the Greeley Stampede. It was an event through my work - so we went, not expecting a lot and not knowing what the stampede had to offer and we were pretty impressed! It actually reminded me of the Clark County Fair back in Washington. Marshall had a great time people watching (and animal watching). Neither of us had even ever been to Greeley, and it wasn't a bad drive. The actual Rodeo portion of the evening didn't start until 7pm - which happens to be Marshall's bedtime - so we watched a little bit of it then headed home. I have to say Will was pretty impressed by the guys who were able to pin these calfs to the ground in 4.3 seconds. It was crazy to watch.

I'm glad we were able to do something to help celebrate Marshall's first birthday. Hopefully next year he will be able to stay up a little later since he will be a bit older - and maybe we can see more of the rodeo. :)

The following photo is a bit blurry - but he wouldn't sit still for a photo. This is the best I could do with the arena in the background.

Marshall's birthday post still to come. Will wants to edit the photos from his party we had this afternoon.

What we've been upto this weekend

This weekend started off pretty crappy - and lets face it... Is still ending pretty crappy, but we've managed to have some fun in between!

Hand Foot & Mouth disease has hit our home. Friday Marshall was über sick. Like, he hasn't slept that much since the first month he was born-type sick. So we spent the day watching movies, which was actually awesome! Poor Marshall though - he had a fever and flu-like symptoms all day. We thought it was bad teething actually, since he was drooling so much - but I guess that is part of HFMD. BTW - we had two TERRIBLE nights sleep Friday/Saturday night (we are SOOOO hoping tonight goes better). Saturday his rash broke out (small little blisters all over his feet and hands, and a minor rash all over his body) and after googling we figured out it was HFMD (plus, we knew this has been going around). But he was getting better, more energy and no fever luckily. Sunday/Today, he was even better and has started drinking and eating again and is pretty much back to normal- but now Will is sick. :(

Saturday and Sunday were both 100 degrees so we hit up Wills parents townhouse pool for some time post afternoon naps. It was a blast and Marshall loves his new float toy! I didn't think he'd go for that, but he sure did!

Here are the photos of how our weekend went:

Will gave Marshall a blessing tonight, so hopefully tonight is better for all of us (I personally cannot take getting up another 10x in one night again). 

On another short note - I turned 26 on Wednesday! It was a great day. Will and I both had the day off from work, we went to the zoo with Marshall (we were supposed to go to Pirates Cove, but the weather didn't cooperate), and then Will and I went to Hacienda for dinner while his sister watched M. To top it off, we hit up Cheesecake Factory on the way home from dinner to get some delicious cheesecake to-go. It was a fabulous day! Here's to a fresh new year! :)

And .... in EVEN BIGGER NEWS! Marshall turns ONE this coming FRIDAY!! How is that possible?! A big ONE YEAR post to follow this week. 

Thank goodness that M and Will got sick this weekend and not next, right?! Phew!! :))))

Don't You Wish ....

That you were as cool as this?

Yeah, me too. :)

Eleven Months

We sure think our little boy is a cutie! And he is growing up so fast! He turned 11 months old yesterday. I can't believe that in less than 1 month we will have a ONE YEAR OLD! The countdown is on, or rather, I'd be fine if time stood still for just a little bit. :)

He is becoming so independent! The park is a lot more fun now that he can actually "play" on the structures. This little dude is OBSESSED with water. We can't walk by sprinklers in someone's yard without him wanting to touch it. He loves getting doused by our sprinklers and hose. He loves the bath, pool, sink! Who knew washing your hands was so fun?! This summer is going to be fun! And once he can walk, you better believe we will be at the splash pad every weekend! :)

Getting M to eat enough has been a pain lately (although not these past few days!) and I was super excited to see how much he was loving on whole wheat pasta with garden veggie tomato sauce! 

He will NOT sit still. Not church, not Target, not ANYWHERE. He is a wiggly one!

Our little trouble maker. Looks like my baking goods will need to be moved up higher. First it was the walnuts, and now my GIANT bag of christmas m&ms! He managed to eat a bunch of them before I could stop him. I had to pry the m&m's from his little pudgy hands! :)

And, on another occasion, I let M play around the corner from me the other day, and when I went to go get him I found this! After looking high and low .... i STILL don't know what he got into! And yes, I smelled it to make sure it was chocolate. That boy and his chocolate! ;)

Random M video:

iPhone Photo Purge

Here's a bunch of photos from wills phone from the last month or so. Most are from Easter.

Below: M loves his evening wagon rides. I try to take him out every night after I get home from work.

Below: Gearing up for summer!

Below: GroupLove concert from last night = epic

Someday Love Will Find You

Yeah, yeah. Its been a while. 

New goal: post on my one night of the week that I have to myself. That would be tonight. 

To the point now, things have been busy in our household. Like, extremely busy. Life has been going way too fast lately. 

Will: Passed his RMA test at work!! Is currently interviewing for Assistant Store Manager positions within the area (which will involve 50 hour work weeks). Has been spending a lot of time on our yard. Figured out how to get our really crappy, cheaply installed sprinklers working in the front yard (yay!). 

Peggy: Started a new position at work, which included a nice promotion. Spend most of my days in meetings now (boo). Trying to get back to the basics of life when not at work. Trying to unplug more (hence, haven't blogged much) and spend more time with my family. Been running a lot - and am in the process of giving up the treadmill for the summer. Still planning a half marathon in the near future.

Marshall: Where to start? He is ever evolving. He is definitely a feisty little guy and is definitely coming into his own personality. He is now 10 months old (!!!!!!). He has recently figured out he can be more mobile. He has learned to stand on his own and climb up on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. He loves playing and is definitely a very social guy. He still loves swimming (we try to go every Friday), and he loves wagon rides, swings, playing in the grass and being outside in general. He is generally demanding. He knows what he wants and will pitch a fit until he gets it. He is a super picky eater - but is guaranteed to eat yogurt, applesauce and goldfish crackers when he will not eat anything else. He is ACTIVE. Church is a total pain right now, since he just cannot sit still. I generally leave 20 minutes into sacrament meeting just because I can't handle him alone, and even when Will isn't working on Sundays, its still too difficult with the both of us there! Although he won't be held anymore while taking a nap (which adds to church being difficult), he is still a super cuddly kid, which I love. He is one of the most sensitive babies I have known - which has forced Will and I to address our feelings and attitudes at home. He thinks everything is funny. He has the best laugh. He loves bubbles and "riding" his car. He still loves bubble baths, and has luckily "graduated" to sitting up in the tub. He layed down for so long in the same tub he was in as a newborn - that I thought we'd eventually have a 2 year old laying in that dang tub. He LOVES books and story time. His favorite books are Barnyard Dance and Rattletrap Car - he laughs at the funny parts and likes to look intently and touch the colorful pictures. I love that little boy more than words can express. 

Will and I have butted heads lately on the prospect of me staying home as soon as is feasible. He wants me home full-time, and I want to work part-time, at least - but as Marshall grows I think I'm seeing the blessing that it would be to stay home full-time. He is changing so quickly, every day, and its getting harder and harder to see him as a baby. Tonight I had a very sweet bedtime experience with M. Nothing extravagant, but just a sweet memory that I will cherish. Lately, bedtime has been really difficult because he has learned to stand in his crib and yell - which makes it hard for him to calm down and decide sleep is better than play. But tonight, I decided to not fight him by having to go in and out of his room constantly and instead I just held him and we cuddled and rocked for a good, long while before bedtime. Like I said before, he didn't sleep - cause he can't fall asleep while being held - but it was so nice to just hold my growing boy and realize these days are so fleeting. 

Here is an iPhone photo purge from the last month or so. Will has a bunch more, but he is at work - so I'll have to purge his phone photos next. 

(below: my showers aren't exactly "relaxing, alone time" anymore.)

(Below: my nephew Dalton and M at the Denver zoo a couple weeks ago)

Oh, and my title has nothing to do with anything. It just sounded better than "Another Update".... oh, and I'm listening to Journey's "Separate Ways" so that tune is going through my head. :)