Anniversary Celebration!

We had a fabulous anniversary day! We stayed at the Radisson downtown and went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill. The food was delicious and the hotel was pretty nice. We took Jackson swimming for the first time. We took him into the hot tub (because the pool was too cold and the hot tub wasn't too hot) and he loved it! At first he didn't know what to think, but then he kept smiling and squealing. It was too cute!


Mariah at dinner


Alex at dinner


All of us in the hotel


Jackson all ready to go swimming










Jackson all bundled up after swimming

A Very Merry Christmas!

We had a really great Christmas! We went to my grandparent's house on the 23rd. On Christmas Eve we had our annual family party. It is my favorite family event of the year! We played fun games, had a delicious dinner (especially Aunt Jody's fabulous rolls!), and a great program. The kids acted out the nativity, as is tradition. I was a little sad that my Grandpa didn't read the nativity this year, but Uncle Roger was a pretty good substitute! Kaitlin also made up a dance and she did so well! That night we stayed at my mom's. Kaitlin woke us all up at 5am Christmas morning and I was so tired! But, it was still great. I was SO spoiled! My mom got me a Cricut! I was so surprised and so excited! Alex also spoiled me with an iPod and the new Monopoly (with credit cards). I also got a sweater, a shirt, and a really cute wallet. Alex got a clay pigeon thrower from my mom and he is ready to go shooting! I got him a bunch of gun accessories like a gun cleaning kit, a sling, and a shotgun shell pouch. Jackson got a play center, some puma shoes, some quicksilver shoes, a piggy bank, a book, a new stocking, and some other toys. He slept through all of the present opening-next year will probably be more exciting for him!
After presents my mom made us a wonderful breakfast and then we played a game of monopoly. Alex killed everyone! The credit card version is really fun and makes the game go faster. The only down part of Christmas was that I didn't get to talk to my dad. He got the days mixed up and called a day late!
So, overall we had a great day and loved being with family.

Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy Anniversary!

If you have seen So I married an Axe Murderer, you will know the tune to sing the words of the post title to! Plus, there are five happy's for five happy years!

Anyway, today is mine and Alex's five year anniversary! I can't believe we have been married for five years. I feel so truly blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. So, here is a list of 26 things that I love about Alex (there is no way I could narrow it down to five things for five years, so I am doing 26 for the date!)
1) he loves me too! 2)wonderful daddy! 3) priesthood holder 4) makes me laugh 5) works hard 6) smart 7) rubs my feet 8) lets me hold the remote 9) laughs at my jokes 10) serves others 11) has a strong testimony 12) returned missionary 13) great friend 14) very good looking! 15) sings to me 16) plays the guitar 17) loves my family 18) works hard in school 19) he is proud of me when I accomplish things
20) tall 21) confident 22) lets me control the radio in the car 23) he can fix anything! 24) thinks I am beautiful (even when I am a huge nine months pregnant!) 25) good kisser 26) that he married me 5 years ago!

Christmas Decorations

So, these decorations have been up since the first week of December, but I keep forgetting to post them. I love decorating for Christmas! It is so depressing when it is over and I have to put everything away-my house seems so boring! Alex cut our tree down and it is such a pretty tree! It looked a lot better, but a few days after I decorated it (before I took pictures), it fell down! So, this is attempt two and it doesn't look quite as perfect as before!


Cute Candy Cane sign


Stockings


More decorations


My cute nativity


My Tree!


Close-up of the ornaments


My chairs with cute bows


My table centerpiece


And finally a picture of my cute baby boy!

Stylin' Jackson!

While I was pregnant, but before I knew it was a boy, I saw this suit at Old Navy. When I found out that Jackson was a boy, I had to have it! I went to several different stores to find a coat and pants the same size, but I finally found it in Ogden! It is so funny! I am sure when he is older he will think I was a crazy person to dress him in it, but I still think it is too cute! So, here are some pictures of my funny little guy!

Temple Lights

Last week I met my mom and sisters at the Gateway for dinner and then we headed to Temple Square to see the lights. It was the perfect night to go! It had snowed the day before so it seemed wintery, but it wasn't too cold. There weren't very many people at the temple so that was nice as well. We had a lot of fun and the temple grounds were beautiful as always. I was a little disappointed that my favorite red tree wasn't lit up this year, but it was still great!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'!

I just wanted to quickly post about my big boy! Jackson rolled over for the first time on Thursday! I was making him do tummy time (which is not his favorite part of the day!) and he just rolled right over. He has never even looked like he was close to rolling and out of nowhere, over he went! It was so cute! I keep trying to get it on camera, but he stops trying when I bring the camera out. Hopefully I will film it soon so I can show how big my baby is getting!

Christmas Party and Cute Cousins

Saturday night was our annual Christmas party with our friends. Justin and Alyssa hosted such a fun party! We had a soup bar, rolls, and salad for dinner and delicious cheesecake for dessert. We played a funny name game and had a gift exchange as well. It was so much fun to just be with a group of our favorite people! I forgot to take pictures of the party, but at the end I got a couple pics of Jackson with my cousin Brandon's baby Amelia. She is so adorable and loves the baby! It will be fun to watch these two grow up together.




This pic is way past due! I wanted to post it with my post about the Utah game, but for some reason I couldn't get the pic off of my camera. So, it is working today and here is my cute little Ute fan!

Two Months Old!

Current Stats:
Weight: 12.5 lbs (75th percentile)
Length: 24 inches(90th percentile)
Head: 50th percentile (I can't remember the measurement!)

Today Jackson had his two month appointment. It was fun to see how much he has grown since his last appointment. He is getting so big! It looks like he is tall and thin, just like his dad! But, the appointment was also awful because he had to get immunizations. He had to have three shots in his thighs. It was so terrible! He cried so hard and it broke my heart! Thank goodness he won't remember it! I gave him some tylenol and then he slept for a while and then did really well the rest of the day. Here are some things that Jackson is doing now:

*He smiles all the time
*He makes little sounds, especially when he is happy and smiling
*If I prop him up he can sit up for a few seconds
*He loves to be naked and is so happy during diaper changes!
*He likes to stand up while holding onto my fingers
*He squeals when he gets excited
*He is only getting up once a night now!
*He falls right to sleep at night after he eats
*He likes to suck on his fist

Those are just a few things I can think of right now. We feel so grateful to have such an adorable, happy, and healthy baby! It is so much fun being a mom and I love this baby so much!

Happy Turkey Day, Birthday, and Black Friday!

We had such a fun and eventful weekend! Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner at Alex's parents house. It was a nice dinner and fun to just hang out with his family.


Crazy Eric! Look how beautiful the table looks!


Sally, Chris, Jackson, and Macee


Our family on Thanksgiving

Thursday night we headed to Delta for the rest of the weekend. Friday was my birthday and the big shopping day! I went shopping with my mom, grandma, and Aunt JoRae. It was so much fun! We talked and laughed and shopped all day long! For lunch my cousin Jackee met us at Red Robin and then did some shopping with us after lunch. She was a very fun addition to the party! Jackson was such a good baby, too! Brandon and Carrie let me use their BabyBjorn and it was awesome, so thanks guys!

My mom bought me a hoodie, a couple of shirts and a cute purse for my birthday. It was fun to get to pick out some gifts for myself, while I was supposed to be christmas shopping for everyone else! Alex got me a glider for my birthday. It is so nice to be able to feed and rock Jackson in it. I absolutely love it!

While I was shopping Friday, Alex went chrismtas tree hunting. He got us a really nice tree so I will take pics once it is decorated!

Saturday we went to the Delta light parade. It was perfect because it was pretty warm and the parade was short! After we went to my grandma's for dinner and visiting with my cousins. We laughed all night. I went to bed way too late, but it was so much fun!


Us at the light parade. We probably should have faced the parade, not Jubilee!


Jackson with the girls at the parade

Twilight

A couple of weeks ago I got Twilight tickets for Kellsi, Samantha, and Me for Friday afternoon. We got into line about an hour and a half before the movie started. We were still pretty far back in line, but we still got great seats. We loved the movie! I have heard some people are disappointed, but I thought it was very entertaining. It was especially fun to see it with my sisters. They are so fun and we can't wait until New Moon comes out so we can see that together as well!


Finally in the theater in great anticipation!


Waiting in line

Starting him early. . .

So, Saturday at my mom's house Alex said, " I want to take Jackson on a four-wheeler ride," to which I said, "Not until he is at least 3 years old." Next thing I know Alex is riding around the yard on the four-wheeler with Jackson, 8 weeks old, on his lap. I guess I lost this one! But, it did provide some cute picture opportunities!

Utah Man Sir, Utah Man am I!

GO UTES!
For the Utah-BYU game we had a party at my mom's house. The party included my family, Uncle Richard, Aunt Maria, Patrick, and my Grandpa. It was so much fun especially since the Utes KILLED the Cougars! The BYU fans (Samantha and Grandpa) were heavily outnumbered. When the Utes scored there was very loud cheering and clapping. When BYU scored it was pretty quiet. It was funny to hear grandpa go "HA HA!" when BYU scored their first touchdown. He makes me laugh- I am happy he came even though he was mad about the outcome! Anyway, I am just happy that I don't have to listen to Cougar fans gloat for another year-it is now my turn!

Jackson's First Football Game!

Saturday, I took Jackson to his first football game! Juab was playing in the semi finals at Woods Cross High School, so I met my mom, Kellsi and Kaitlin for the game. Juab lost, but it was still a lot of fun. It was pretty cold, but luckily Annie gave Jackson an adorable snow suit that kept him toasty the whole time!
My cousin Christie, who has a baby five days younger that Jackson, came too. I hadn't seen her baby Gideon yet and he is so cute! I am mad because I forgot to take a picture of the two of them together. I will see her again at Thanksgiving so I will take one then! Anyway, he is a cute baby and it was fun to see him. Jackson is so big, though! He is so much bigger than Gideon. I knew Jackson was big, but I didn't realize how big until comparing him with Gideon!

Jackson and Mom at the game

Jackson and Kaitlin at the game

After the game we headed to the Gateway and had dinner with Kellie and Aunt Bobbie. Again, a lot of fun with a bunch of my favorite people!

Jackson bundled up at the Gateway

These next pictures are just random. My brother's girlfriend, Cindy, gave Jackson this outfit and it is so dang cute! I thought he looked so cute, so I had to take some pictures of it!

Rockin' the Vote and a Girls Night Out!

On Tuesday Jackson and I headed to Salt Lake. I forgot to register to vote in Layton, so I went to Salt Lake to vote. Then, that night I met up with one of my favorite people ever for dinner. Annie is one of the funniest people I know. Whenever we get together I know that I will laugh a lot! I haven't seen Annie in a long time and it was so much fun to catch up. Thanks for the fun night Annie, I look forward to our next girls night out!