Delta, Daniel and Vienna, Picnic at Park, and Scott's Week in ND

Scott left early Monday morning for North Dakota for a week of training, so I headed down to Delta after dropping him off at 7 a.m. at the GJ airport. As he flew over to Denver, Daniel and I started our mini vacation visiting Pappy and Maw-Maw (my parents) for three days to help the week pass a little quicker for Mommy without Daddy around... :o( It really was such a blessing being able to spend that time in Delta, because it really did make the week go by faster, which I was really able to tell when I got home Thursday afternoon... and it was good times with my parents and my niece, Vienna, Daniel's only cousin. :o) Vienna came down Tuesday through Thursday morning, when we left, because my sister was in Denver with her job. Daniel loves his cousin and they had a lot of fun entertaining each other - Vienna making him smile up a storm... :o) It was so cute!




Monday, Daniel and I just hung out with Mom doing random things with us trying to calm down a fussy baby most of the day. :o( Poor boy was not too happy, but together we conquered and he did have some times of calm. :o) I felt bad because we had to wake him up from his nap that morning to take Scott to the airport, so he was probably just overly tired all day. He usually takes a three hour nap after his morning feeding every day so without that time, he is not quite the same happy baby all day. Anyway, we ended the day hanging out with Mom and Dad dancing with Daniel to a country music concert they had recorded from TV. I will try to load one or two of those videos at some point on here or facebook (I just have to do it on Scott's computer, because mine doesn't read the videos for some reason...). Daniel was such a content baby as they danced with him, probably because he LOVES his Pappy and Maw-maw and he LOVES country music! :o) It was so cute to watch!

Tuesday Vienna came so Mom and I had the great task of entertaining a 2 month old (that was Daniel's two month b-day) and a 4 1/2 year old! Let's just say that boy, I still can't imagine having more than one kid at this point of time, especially when I hang out with both of them. Seriously... having a little one who wants to be constantly held (believe me, we tried to put him down over and over but that was not working - I am going to have to work on that more at home, I think) and then having a 4 year old who wants to play and do things is crazy! I have even more respect for moms of more than one child now! :o) Tuesday evening we watched Loosing It with Jillian and America's Got Talent before finally getting Daniel down after trying 4 different times! He actually slept really well even with it being in a new place... I was very happy about that, especially not having Scott there to help me with him!

Wednesday was such a fun day! After Daniel slept in until 10 ish we all got ready to head to Cedaredge to have a picnic at the park. We finally left around lunch time and Daniel, Vienna, Mom, and I headed to Taco Time to grab tacos and drinks and then drove up the mountain. They have an amazing park up there so even though Delta has some parks, we decided to go there because it's beautiful and they have lots of shade! We had to make it an amazing event as it was Daniel's FIRST time to have a picnic at a park! Oh, and by the way, we had a "REAL" picnic on a blanket on the ground! Vienna said we had to do that instead of at a picnic table, because that is not a "Real" picnic! Lol. Daniel slept in his car seat while we ate and then I fed him a bottle while talking to Mom and Vienna played on the park equipment nearby. It was such a beautiful day out and felt amazing in the shade! Daniel ate and then was in happy mood so I layed him down on the quilt and we had a great 'conversation' with him while he grinned up a storm! He was adorable! Vienna ran over from time to time to see him and us, get him to smile at her, and then ran back to play for a minute or two and then back to us, on and on and on. We hung out for a few hours and then tried to walk around a little while but then Daniel was not so happy so Mom carried him and we put him back in the car where he fell asleep super fast - he was exhausted from his exciting excursion! We stopped at an ice cream / candy shop in a very small town outside of Cedaredge on the way back which just made the time even more amazing (ice cream always seems to do that)!






That night I had an amazing conversation with Scott, which was so nice! We had been talking throughout the week, but always had to cut it short for various reasons either because he was doing something or Daniel was crying, etc. But Daniel was sleeping on me so I was able to talk to Scott for quite awhile all about his time up in ND, about the town of Dickinson (he had sent me lots of pics in an email that we talked about), and about his times with our friends, Caleb and Lindsey, and Tom who was up there on business. Even though he was fairly bored during the day, he had some amazing times of fellowship with all of them and I'm SO thankful he had that time!

Wednesday night, Daniel slept great which was incredible and helped him be much happier as we headed back to GJ Thursday morning in time for his 2 month appointment. That went great. His Dr. said he is doing awesome and developing just the way he is supposed to! He is up to 14 lbs. 6.5 oz. (95th percentile) and is now 25 1/2 in. long (99th percentile). His head is 16 1/4 in. which is the 85th percentile, I think. The main questions I had for his Dr. was about when I could start putting sun screen on him (so we could maybe take him hiking sometime). She said anytime is good now that he's 2 months but to make sure he has a hat, so that is the goal for later on today... we are buying him a hat to help shade his face! :o) He'll be SO cute! I also asked about tummy time which he hates now. He had rolled over that one time about a month ago, but never again since then because he HATES tummy time now! She said I still need to put him on his tummy, though, for at least 20 min. a day. :o( So sad especially when he cries, but oh well, I know it's good for him.

Thursday evening we hung out with my friend, Hannah, and had yummy Sonic shakes while we watched Glee. Daniel loves Hannah and smiled at her a ton which was fun to see! He was such a great little one over there! I think he loves Glee, too, even though Daddy would not admit to that. :o) But he was seriously watching the TV for quite awhile (I know it's probably just because of the change of colors all the time, but I think it's also because he loves the show). :o)

Yesterday I did everything I could to stay busy as I counted down the hours until 8:30 that evening when I was to pick Scott up. Daniel and I slept in until 10 (he slept amazing again) and then we went to a yard sale where we got him a little hat and one of those small strollers that fold up real small for when he is 1 or 2. It was $3 so I just couldn't pass it up and it was real cute!:o) We then went to the mall where I WAS going to shop for some things. I was able to make it through most of Target and got a few things while I was holding him and pushing the stroller because he was screaming. Tried to feed him but it got worse so I ended up leaving the mall with quite the screaming baby. :o( He was super tired because he fell asleep shortly after in the car so I was able to go get a decaf carmel frappe at Starbucks which was amazing! That afternoon we spent over at our friend Kacey's house with her and her new baby, Connor, who is a week and a half old! That was fun to talk baby stuff and just hang out. :o)

After getting home I heard from Scott that not only did he get kicked off his first flight because they were over maxed on their weight limit, but his next flight that he took was not able to land in Denver because of the wind so they ended up in Nebraska for awhile. He finally got to Denver just in time to miss his flight by 10 min. so he ended up renting a car and got home almost an hour and a half ago. It was SO good to see him! This was our first time to be apart for over a day since I think we were dating. I know that's a LONG time which we were definitely blessed to see each other so much for, but that just made this time even harder. :o( Having Daniel helped me a LOT because I know if I didn't have him it would have been amazingly hard to be away from him this long! It's so nice to have him home, though, and I'm already trying to plan a date night / day for us to have sometime if we can find us a babysitter before he leaves again for a week in Houstan in two weeks!

Okay, Daniel has been sleeping on me for awhile and now that I'm caught up with this I will try to post a few pics on here and then head back to bed while he naps... hopefully for his full three hours. :o)

Pics from Moab

Moab

It's been a long time since I updated on what we've been up to! But since that would take forever to update EVERYTHING, I'm just going to skip almost all the happenings except for last Friday, our day trip to Moab, Utah! Scott took the day off so we could spend the day together as a family, which was so nice! We left around nine from GJ, picking up donuts and coffee on the way out. Scott and I spent the time in the car talking about his job and little Daniel and future plans. I love talking with my hubby! Daniel was great the whole trip to Moab, and then ended up eating at the diner where we stopped for lunch in town. He was so cute at the diner. There were lots of people coming and going and he was looking all over watching them. Of course, they were all looking at him cuz they thought he was so cute! :o)




After lunch we walked around town, going in various shops, looking around them super fast as our always-keep-moving Danny would start crying almost the minute we stopped to look at something. I found a shop of the cutest clothes, but boy were they ever expensive! We went through the shops quickly and then drove to Arches National Park...

We had both been there before, but although Scott remembered a lot of it, I did not remember much at all. It was fun taking Daniel to his first National Park in his first other state. We stopped at Balanced Rock where we got out Danny's stroller and walked down the path to get pics closer to the amazing red rocks! Poor Daniel was very fussy, though, so he did not enjoy the very short walk at all. :o( Once we got to the end of the path, Scott took him out of his stroller for a few pics real quick so everyone could see he was actually there. He loved that until we had to cover him up to protect from the hot sun.

After that stop Daniel ate as we continued driving around the park. Even though we didn't get out again til the very end, we stopped at each arch viewpoint and took pics out the window. Gotta love national park touring with an 8-week-old! :o) It was still lots of fun, though! A beautiful day and Scott and I enjoyed planning out which hikes we would like to do one day once Danny is older... And driving through the cool campground they have there...

At the North and South Window Arches on the way back, we stopped and got out to take more pics of us. Daniel was in a much better mood. :o) Then we headed back into Moab to eat dinner at an amazing pizza place that Scott used to eat at with his family growing up. We ate out on their patio to enjoy more of the beautiful day and small town of Moab.

We drove back to GJ after dinner by the scenic route. It was so pretty along the river. I am loving this time of Daniel's life, but I am super excited when we can start camping with him more... doing family camping trips out in God's beautiful creation!

Scott - Daniel's Amazing Daddy

Scott has been an amazing daddy to our little boy! I love watching the two of them together already because they have such love for each other! Daniel's Daddy is his very favorite guy and whenever he hears Daddy's voice he seriously looks all over the place to find him. Watching his little face light up when Scott is around is so cute! They are definitely going to be forever best buds! :o) I know that everything Scott does for him has greatly strengthened their relationship... He does so much with and for Daniel every day! Danny already loves weekends so much because it's the most time he gets with Daddy!

Happy 1st Father's Day, Love! You're an amazing Daddy and I am so thankful that you are my hubby and the daddy to our son!

My Dad

My Dad... He is an amazing man who has shown me over the past 24 1/2 years what a Dad should be like. He has been there during my ups and downs and every day in between.

I love my dad because he always knows when to joke and make me laugh and when to just give me a hug and a shoulder to cry on.



I love that he is a funny guy and an emotional one at times. I know that having three daughters has definitely made him very understanding of others and he is someone I know I can always turn to.

I love that even though he has sacrificed much to have, raise, and spend time with my sisters and me, he did so and does not regret it!



I love how he treats my husband with love and respect, trusting him to care for me no matter what life brings our way.

I love how he is with Daniel... He is an amazing grandpa - much of what he learned from his dad, my grandpa, Pop. Daniel is definitely a lucky boy to have him as a grandfather!

I love that he plays softball with us young folk... He is a wonderful pitcher and everyone loves "Papa Herron"! :o)

I love that he still calls me up randomly to say hi or hear about my day.

I love how much he values family and does whatever it takes to keep us together and close!

I could go on and on, but these are just a few of the many things I love about my dad! Thanks so much for ALL you do!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Parenting is a wonderful thing!

I was greatly blessed Sunday morning by what Rob and Lyn (our pastor and his wife) had to say in the parenting class this week. I wish I had all the verses and everything right here, but I don't and I have a sleepy baby on me right now. So, I will just share what I remember. :o) We went over a lot of verses and talked as a group about the differences between how the world sees children and how God, and thus we, should see them. How the world sees children was definitely easy to talk about... much of the world sees having kids as a burden, the end of life as you know it, and that once you decide to have kids you better be okay with having your life end in many ways. And, then, on the other side, how God sees children as an amazing blessing and one of the main reasons for getting married! We talked about how some of the world sees children as a great thing but then when parents talk to other parents and non-parents most of what they talk about is their children doing this and that which usually ends in talking about how they are not getting enough sleep, not enjoying a trip, etc. We all thought about places in which we could be more careful in what we say, especially to non-parents who after hearing what we have to say might decide to never have kids! I have to say that I, personally, have tried to watch what I say because even though I definitely go through trying times as a mom, having Daniel is also such a blessing and I want to share that! But, along with that, I could also come up with several times when I have just about blown up when something happens that frustrates me and I let it all out on my friends! I feel so bad now, because I am seeing it in a totally different way. I see it a lot as I see how I should treat my husband. I have tried very hard in my marriage to never complain about Scott or bring him down in any way, especially around our friends / family. Why should that be any different with our kids? I want to be a mom who's children knows loves them immensely! I want to be a mom who's friends and family knows how much she loves and appreciates her kids, and hears more about how they are a blessing than the opposite. The other thing I really thought about after the class was how I need to change my attitude about having children from what the world thinks to what God tells us in his Word. It's so easy to think as the world does that having children especially this early in a marriage is going to make your marriage harder, end your times of vacation and dates with your hubby, and change other relationships with friends. I know I've only had Daniel for 8 weeks now, but already I can say that none of that is true! Our marriage takes just as much work now as it did before Daniel was born (marriage always takes work) and even though we aren't spending all the time together like we used to, I truly believe that the times Scott and I have together now just the two of us are so much better than before! Probably because we love each other so much more now! I am already getting very excited about vacations as a family and small trips we can take here and there! It might take longer to pack now, but this way there is just more love to go around! :o) AND, finally, a great fear of mine was that my relationships with friends would go away, especially with our friends who aren't parents. I have learned that if they are real relationships based on the love we have for each other, they do last even though hanging out might look a little different now that we bring Daniel with us! But everyone has been amazing and I seriously see my friends in a whole new light when they don't try to get us to leave or complain about a crying baby all evening! It's amazing! ANYWAY, sorry for going on and on, but these are just my thoughts and I'm really SO thankful to be a parent and to know that children are a blessing in every way!

Speaking of hanging out and having dates with my hubby... :o) We were able to go on an hour long drive out to the desert on Sunday evening after our 'family dinner'. We had a sleeping Daniel in the backseat, so I said we should go for a drive to keep him sleeping and be able to just talk! We were able to talk and talk about the parenting stuff (I shared all the above with him and more) and then just talked about our lives now with Daniel and our future plans and how things were going with work, etc. It was SO nice to be able to talk about everything with Scott! Like I said earlier, our times together are now so much better than ever before! We definitely take advantage of the time we have together to hang out / talk!

Last night (Tuesday) was our first 'date night' other than our anniversary in Lake City away from Daniel. My sister, Lelia, and her husband, Wayne, came over to watch him while we went to Olive Garden and to the movies to see Iron Man 2. Dinner was delicious! We had a new dish there... some type of crepes with lots of different cheeses with chicken, tomatoes, and mushrooms in a garlic sauce on top. AMAZING! I had a glass of wine with it, which was amazing, also! We talked more over dinner and yet again I am amazed by what an awesome husband I have! I love that I can trust him completely... with providing for Daniel and I, our future plans, etc. I'm so thankful for him!

Tonight I am going scrapbooking with some ladies from church for a few hours, which I'm very excited about! Scott is gone all next week up in North Dakota for training so this will be the last time I go somewhere by myself for awhile, so it will be nice. I'm hoping to get quite a few pages done, but we will see because sometimes my visiting definitely gets in the way... :o)

Busy Week

It has been quite the busy weekend and week since I last wrote! I've been actually waiting to post until Daniel is down napping so that I have two hands to use to type - it's amazing how much faster I go that way! But, each time he is down I am either sleeping, eating, cleaning, scrapbooking, or getting ready for the day! Sooo, here I am holding Daniel, waiting for him to go back to sleep. It's almost 6 a.m. I am pretty sure he is going through yet another growth spurt because instead of his normal 6 to 7 hour night sleep hours, the last few nights he has been waking up to eat every 3 hours. He has been quite the hungry boy! Hopefully it is a growth spurt so he will be back to sleeping more soon. :o)

Scott is up and getting ready for his day. He has really been enjoying his job still and I have been so thankful that we have had the chance lately to really talk about his job - what he does, what he likes, and all the specifics which I usually understand fully after hearing him explain stuff a few times... Oil field talk is definitely all new for me! But I LOVE knowing what he is up to all day, so I want to learn all that I can! :o)

Well, to catch up on the busy events since softball last Thurs... Friday evening Daniel and I hung out at my friend, Anna's, new house with lots of my girlfriends to make favors for her wedding coming up on July 3rd. It was tons of fun making them and just having girl time! Daniel was awesome the entire time, also, which meant the girls held him almost the whole time which was great, also! :o) We got the favors finished and also went through many music ideas... Can't believe she is getting married in just 2 1/2 weeks! SO exciting!

Saturday was a super busy day! I had coffee with my friend, Jessica, who is also getting married this summer. We hung out for awhile before I headed home to get ready for another friend's wedding that day. :o) I felt so bad because it was quite the stormy day (GJ seriously had thunderstorms!), but their wedding was still beautiful and a lot of fun!

... Ok. will finish this later... Just the life of a mother. :o)