Sending Smiles

I wanted to share a great new site called "Sending Smiles". This is a great way to find a way to help others and bring a smile to someone else. These great ladies are connected to the blogging community and do their best to try to let others know of ways that they can help out. It is awesome that we can all log onto the one site and do what we can to help those in need. Thanks to these great ladies for doing what they are and for all those who help!

Log on and check it out and see what you can do too!!!

SENDING SMILES

Starting to warm up

It is so nice that the weather has finally decided to warm up and let us go outside. It feels like we have been stuck inside forever. Blake loves to be outside and just look around and take in his new surroundings. We can't wait until it gets even warmer and we can spend the evenings outside and also expose him to the joys of the pool! Summer will bring lots of new things and it is just around the corner.

Crafting for a cause

A friend of mine Shaela (from Yellow Umbrella Designs) told me about a great cause and I totally wanted to help. She told me of a great opportunity to donate cards that was being hosted by Taylored Expressions.

I designed the cards and the rallied some of the ladies that attend card class at my mom's house and they helped me get all of the cards together. We worked and got the cards together and then sent them on their way. It was wonderful to share my creative juices and also know it was for a good cause. Thanks Shaela for sharing the event with me.  

so LUCKY...

Blake with his St. Patrick's Day bib thanks to Jen... So cute (looking so tired too!)

Blake in his St. Patrick's Day "Green"!

Blake getting kisses from mommy..

This year we had a ton of think that we had to remember how LUCKY we are. We are LUCKY to have Blake in our lives. We are LUCKY to have the Gospel in our lives. We are LUCKY to have such great family, who love us.... Things are great right now and we are just LUCKY that we get to sit back and remember that!!!

Blake 4 Months

We had so much fun trying to get Blake's 4 month picture I had to share some of the shots...

Blake at 4 months:
* Weighed in at 17.3lbs and was 25.5in long. Growing like a weed!
* Teething and biting on anything he can get ahold of...his hands, your hands, his toys...
* Loves to stand and play in his exersaucer.
* Loves to smile and laugh at mommy and daddy (and we love it too)
* Sleeps from about 8pm until about 6-6:30am
* Started eating solid foods and is eating 6oz of formula at a time
* Loves to ride in the stroller and be outside

We still can't believe how fast he is growing and all of the things that he is doing and learning each day. It is so amazing to be parents. Each day is a new challenge and a new experience but we are thankful for the chance that we have to learn and grow with him.

Cereal anyone???

Blake had been watching us eat for weeks now and was just ready to have something else besides just formula. We decided that we would give rice cereal a try and boy did he think that was a good idea. He took right to it and loved every last bite. We didn't quite have the right consistency yet but we are working on that but he loved it anyways and did great with the spoon.

After his appointment next week we will probably be heading for some more solids.

Zion or bust

After a long time of waiting... this trip was suppose to happen the weekend we were placed with Blake... Dan and his friend Brian finally headed out for a weekend camping trip. They were suppose to go to Death Valley but because they knew it was going to rain for sure, they decided to head to Zion. They didn't have much better weather there... it rained for about 5-6 hours straight on Saturday night... and it was really cold... but they got their trip in and had a great time hiking and taking pictures.

This was a well deserved trip for Dan... he was been working really hard, long hours and days so it was great for him to be able to get away, enjoy the outdoors and spend some time with his new hobby of photography!

Why so Sad???

We were just hanging out and playing... Hoping to make Blake laugh, but I guess we had the opposite affect.

Now... don't think we are horrible parents because we kept doing it! And don't listen to my voice on here... I hate myself on camera!

The dreaded day

So... the day finally came for me to go to Jury Duty... NO! I had been dreading this day for about a month since I got the summons in the paper. Is it just me or does everyone's stomach sink just a bit when they see that red, white and blue paper in their mailbox?

The biggest worry for me now was the idea of what I was going to do with Blake?! I got a summons for a Wednesday.... Hello?! Wednesday?! If it had been a Friday my dad could have watched him for him but not on Wednesday.

So Tuesday night I call in and they tell me I have to report... but not until noon. That was the only positive thing. So Wednesday I wake up, get ready and Blake is spending the day with mom (while she attempts to get some work done, hoping that I don't really have to be there until 5:00 like they say). I find my way downtown, park, walk what seems like 10 miles to the actual courthouse, sign-in and begin the waiting process...... and wait, and wait, and wait. They finally call a few people. They then say that they are not going to need EVERYONE (good news) and begin to release people... and they release a few more. We are left with a room of about 25 people, which I am sitting in and continue sitting in until 4:45pm!

Needless to say... it was a LONG, BORING day wherein I accomplished nothing. I LOVE JURY DUTY! But I am done for at least 18 months and I fulfilled by civic duty... just not quite with a smile.

A day full of LOVE

Of course this little guy is the reason there is SO much LOVE in our house right now and we spent the day celebrating him! He got all dressed up in his red vest (thanks cousin Preston) and went to church and then we came home and just played and laughed and cuddled together... what more could we have asked for!

It was a perfect day.... completely filled with LOVE!

On another note... I do want to say that I have the best Valentine ever... Dan is the best husband and dad that I could have ever hoped for. He works so hard for us and loves us both so much. He does so many things for us and I am a pretty luck girl!

Great.....Grandma and Grandpa

Blake (and us) had a chance to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Petersen for a little while as they were on their way down to spend some time in a little bit warmer climate. They live in Utah but were getting a little tired of all of the snow so decided they were going to go and visit their children (Dan's mom and dad) in Arizona for a bit!

This was a great chance for us to spend the evening with them and for them to have some time with Blake and finally get to meet him. It is always fun for him to meet new people but this one was even more special as he was filling the gap of generations....

Three Months Old

Feb. 6, 2010....15.6lbs (at home?)

Three months already... I can't believe how fast the time is going...even though everyone told me it would. We are halfway through the six months that we have to wait until everything is final with the adoption and that is exciting. We had your third visit with the social worker and all checked out...Yeah! You are growing bigger everyday it seems and just getting more and more cute. I can hardly stand it.

* You definitely have the sleeping through the night down and we thank you for that!

* You are eating 5oz every 3 hours...(healthy eater for sure)

* You are wearing 3mo or 3-6 months clothes... You have outgrown all of the newborn and 0-3 month stuff

* You are wearing size 1-2 diapers

* You love to smile and we love to try to make you smile (no laughing yet though!)

* You have had your first night in a hotel (Sedona) and saw your first snow (Williams, AZ)

* You love to "talk" all the time and have tons to say

We will see what the next month brings us..