Wagon Ride

Tonight Braden went on his very first wagon ride with his two cousins. We started out with all three of them stacked together in the wagon, but then Brynlee wanted to help pull so she got out. Mya and Braden were the perfect size for the back of the wagon! It was so cute to see the two of them sitting so close to each other in the back of the wagon. It was a quick ride around the street and then bed time for all of them!

Family Time

Yesterday we came up to Sandy for a family dinner. The weather was absolutely perfect so we spent most of the night outside on the lawn. Laura is still in town from New Hampshire with her girls, so we had fun playing with them too. I love that Braden gets to spend some time with his cousins before they have to go back home.

Braden | seven months

Braden turned seven months old yesterday. This last month has been so much fun! I absolutely love being a mom to this sweet boy of mine. Here is this month's update:

- He got his helmet off on Monday and has been especially snuggly all week. 

- He eats baby food mixed with rice cereal three times a day. So far he has tried carrots, sweet potatoes, mixed veggies, and peas. He likes them all!

- He smiles and laughs ALL the time. He is also extremely ticklish on his stomach, underarms, and sides.

- He is very clingy and will usually cry when I leave the room. We're working on this one. 

- He sits up on his own now for long periods of time and plays with his toys.

- He loves to read books and can turn the pages. 

- He has been a good sport when Devin and I have softball games. 

- He is always on his best behavior when we have people over. He has become quite the charmer!

- He has a finger puppet from IKEA that's a bunny. He likes to put the ears in his mouth, chomp down, and then start playing with other toys while it's still in his mouth. 

- He loves to play the piano.

- He always gets compliments on his big blue eyes.

- He likes to drink water out of a cup even though most of it dribbles down his chin and onto his shirt.

Hats

I don't know what it is, but I absolutely LOVE to put different kinds of hats on Braden's head. Maybe I just like seeing anything other than his helmet on his head! Here are a few pictures of Braden sporting a variety of scarf hats. I think the black and white turban is my favorite!

Testimony

Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting in our ward. I have been wanting to share my testimony for the last few weeks, but wasn’t able to because most of the meeting was spent reorganizing part of our bishopric and then I was holding a sleeping baby for the rest. Because I didn’t get the chance at church, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts here. Two weeks ago, I was called to be a ward missionary along with Devin who was called to be the ward mission leader. We were called the same day as the special missionary broadcast, which helped us immediately immerse ourselves in our callings. There were many things about the broadcast that stuck out to me, but one of the impressions that I’ve thought a lot about since was the importance of having love as our motive. Just about every returned missionary you talk to talks about how much they learned to love the people they taught and served. I thought about how I was doing at having love for those I serve and those I could be serving. Was my motive to serve them always love? I was reminded of one of my favorite talks of all time given at a BYU devotional a few years ago. President Osguthorpe talked about having love as our motive for everything we do. One of my favorite quotes from that talk was about the Savior’s example of this principle.

“The Savior’s earthly ministry was a time of teaching, a time of miracles. He established His Church on the earth. He called the Twelve to become leaders in the Church. He taught everyone who would listen. He healed the sick and raised the dead. And why did He do all these things? He had only one motive—love. His message to us is that we need to be good and do good, but we need to do it for the right reason. This is precisely why the two greatest commandments are the greatest: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39). The motive means everything.”

If we choose to follow the Savior’s example and become motivated by love, not only will we find more opportunities to serve, but the service we render will do more good. This week I’ve been doing my best to start working towards that goal. I’ve started by having more heartfelt prayers in behalf of those I visit teach and my family. I’m starting small, but hope to progress to the point where I can feel love for everyone around me. Even by just making a few simple changes to my prayers, I have already felt a huge difference. I know Heavenly Father is so willing to bless us when we show Him our desire to be better. I have a testimony of the importance of missionary work. We are needed as missionaries and examples today. There are people around us that are being prepared by the Lord to hear the message of the gospel, but are waiting for us to share it to them. I hope that I can have the courage and faith to help move the gospel forward.

Father's Day

After going to church and spending some time in Provo, we drove up to see my dad for dinner on Father's Day. I am so grateful to have such amazing fathers in my life. My dad, my father-in-law, and my husband have all influenced my life in one way or another. I am grateful for the way they all honor the priesthood they hold and how they lead and guide their families in righteousness. I have to say, Father's Day has become much more meaningful now that I have a child and have seen what an amazing father Devin is for Braden. He has always been so involved in everything and has made it very clear to me that our family is his top priority. I loved how often he would check up on me while he was on volleyball trips to ask about Braden. He cared about all the little details about Braden's life. I love that! With all he had on his mind on those trips, it meant so much to know that he still cared enough to ask about how Braden was doing. I am so grateful for Devin and for what an amazing father he is!

Braden is sporting his new pirate summer jammies from Grandma. He loves them!

My beautiful parents

These two are buddies. Braden just lights up when he's around Grandpa!

I had to include this one because it looks like Braden is getting a talking to from Devin :)

We were missing the other siblings! Can't wait for the family reunion in July!

I know it wasn't Mother's Day, but I had to throw this one in also. Isn't she stunning??

Discovery

The weather has been absolutely perfect in Provo the last week or so! There's nothing better than spending some time out on the grass in the front yard in the evenings when our giant pine tree covers the lawn with shade. Braden doesn't like the feel of grass under his feet, but hopefully he'll get used to it soon. 

Braden | six months

I can't believe he is already six months old! These have definitely been the best six months of my life. Braden makes us smile everyday and is just a great buddy to have around when Devin is gone at work. Here's what we love about Braden:

- He has two little teeth that have come through on the bottom, which make his smile about one hundred times cuter. 

- He snuggles now (as much as he can with a helmet) and wraps his arms around my neck when I hold him

- He is almost able to sit up on his own. He can do it for about 10 seconds and then he tips over. 

- He is rolling a lot more now. He doesn't get stuck on his stomach anymore and is getting better at holding his head up. 

- He loves to sit outside our house and watch the cars. That is one benefit of living on a busy street. He is mesmerized by them! His little head will turn as his eyes follow each car until it's out of sight.

- He loves to listen to singing. We can almost always calm him down by singing to him.

- He started eating rice cereal and now has it two times a day. I absolutely love watching his little mouth  chomp away at the spoon.

- His head is looking so much better! I can't even see a flat spot anymore! We are so grateful that we decided to get a helmet because the results have been amazing. We're hoping to only have it for another month.

- He loves toys that make sounds. If the toy doesn't make sounds, he'll bang it against something so it does.

- He has recently learned how to make the "B" sound and still does a lot of little yells and screams.

We could not love him more!

SpringHouse Farms

We went to dinner at SpringHouse Farms one night and had a great time. Dinner was an assortment of home cooked entrees, sides, and desserts that you could choose from. I had the chicken and gravy with potatoes and macaroni and cheese. It was really good! 

After dinner, we took some pictures in the wood cutouts, went down the slides a few times, became friends with the baby cows, and enjoyed the PERFECT weather. It was a really fun evening!

Braden wasn't too thrilled to be portrayed as a dancing pig. His expression says it all!

 Nate's face here is classic!

 Braden didn't change expressions the entire time down the slide. He is one calm child!

Even Mom got in on the action! 

His buddy, Uncle Nate 

The drive home was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I learned that the farmers in Pennsylvania have to farm in strips because there is very little flat land.