Just pictures

Here are some pictures of cute little Denton he is getting so big and we are having so much fun watching him learn and grow.

So much to post, so little time.

2 months is a really long time not to update. I have attempted to post things but because my computer is so old it kept freezing when I tried to upload a video or picture.

There is a lot of stuff going on right now. We are packing up and getting ready to move back home to Utah which we are very excited about. We will miss the beautiful scenery around here that's for sure but it will be so great to be close to our families again.

Denton has been standing up with a ball in his hands just for a couple seconds then he starts laughing and gets down on his knees. He finally started taking some steps today so that is our new game, it's so cute and fun to see him learning and growing. I hope he doesn't perfect walking too quickly because he gets into enough trouble crawling!


We have had a fun summer, we went camping, we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary, we went back to Orlando and had a blast. This time we just missed the tropical storm, one came the day after we left. We have had fun swimming with Denton and watching him grow, he changes daily I think. Things will be crazy for the next few weeks with moving but I hope I will be able to update soon.

5 years down.... Eternity to go

I can't believe it's been 5 years since Darwin and I tied the knot. It has been quite the eventful journey. We have lived in 4 different places and 3 different states. Of course the best thing to come along in our marriage is Denton. We are so grateful to have our happy little boy! It's a bit weird being married 5 years because it seems like we've been together forever but at the same time it feels so short. Our marriage gets better and better each year. On our anniversary we always discuss the good and bad times that year and compare it to previous years. We decided this year has been the very best one so far. I am so greatful to have such a wonderful husband who is such a great Father to Denton.

Made In Oregon

I took this picture outside in the sun so you could see how beautiful and colorful our jam is. Left to right- Strawberry, raspberry-marionberry, raspberry, blueberry, marionberry-blueberry.

My mother in-law Annette came up and taught me how to make jam. We had such a good time together! We had blueberries raspberries and marionberries, the first day we mostly did mixtures of the berries, the next day we did double batches of each berry. The jam looked and tasted so good that I wanted some strawberry jam too so we went to Costco and got some strawberries and made a batch of strawberry jam the next day. Our jam is so delicious, I love it and it is pretty easy to make too. While we were making our jam Annette kept thinking of all the things she wanted to can, her favorites- salsa and bread n butter pickles, she has lots of plans for us to can some things next year.

Who Loves Gardening? I Do I Do!!

My beef steak tomatoes, yum I can't wait to eat a juicy tomato right off of MY plant!!! I just can't write it enough times, I LOVE GARDENING!!! Here are some Radishes that I grew, that is a penny in the middle, they were HUGE! They still had a lot of flavor, I thought they wouldn't be as strong because they were that big but I was wrong. The picture of me was taken on June 14th and I took the video on July 18, wow what a difference a month makes! We have been eating a lot of yellow squash and Zucchini. I just picked a couple cucumbers too, fresh veggies are so good! My tomatoes are getting really big, I can't wait until they turn red and my 2nd batch of peas is just about ready too. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY I WANT VEGGIES IN MY TUMMY! That was a song, just in case you don't know me well enough to know that I break out into song whenever I feel like it!

Denton's 2nd, 1st Birthday Party

We had a 2nd, 1st Birthday party for Denton in Utah with our family and friends. It turned out to be very windy, cold and rainy. I had checked the hour by hour weather forecast and it said 30% chance of rain and 7 mph winds, I thought, we will be under a pavilion so we will be just fine, well we got a lot of wind and rain. Everyone ate really fast and then Denton ate some of his cake and the rain just poured down! We got the cars loaded up with all the stuff to go to my sister Karen's to finish up the party. and something blew out of the pavilion, I was holding Denton and something blew out of the pavilion so I ran out into the pouring rain, he started laughing at the rain hitting him. It was so cute, I kept running in and out from under the pavilion and Denton just giggled, he liked his rainy party!

Denton's 1st, 1st Birthday Party

Dentons Birthday was a lot of fun. We invited a few of our friends in Oregon to celebrate with us and his Granddad was able to come also. The theme was sports/balls, Denton loves balls he will throw a ball, crawl to get it, throw it again, he can keep himself entertained for quite a while when he finds a ball. He also likes to roll the ball back and forth with someone. I decorated when he went to sleep on the eve of his Birthday so he could wake up and know something was special about that day, he loved looking at and playing with the decorations. I had fun making and decorating Denton's cakes. He was a bit shy eating his cake, he is not used to a lot of people watching him, he would put his fingers in the frosting and look at us and smile, it was really cute. It took him a lot longer to get into it then I thought it would, it didn't help that he was full from dinner. When most of the people stopped watching he really got his hands into it. Darwin helped him open presents, he was confused why we were taking the toys away that he had just opened. When everyone stopped watching him he played with his toys and had a lot of fun, he is just not used to putting on a show for people. It was a really GREAT day and I didn't even cry! We also had a Birthday party for him in Utah, those pictures will be on another post.

Sam's Club is the best place to shop!!

My friend tagged me to tell the story of how Darwin and I met.

Be prepared, this is really long!

Darwin and I met when I worked at Sam's Club in Salt Lake. He and his father were doing a vending business together and Darwin came to Sam's to get the product. My first memory of him is.... I was cashiering one morning and he came through my line, I thought he was so cute! We flirted a bit while I scanned his stuff and he went on his way. If you have been to Sam's you know they check your receipt at the door, well I totally messed up,I was so nervous because I thought he was so cute, and fun to flirt with, I had scanned some things twice and not scanned other things at all. I actually wasn't to disappointed that he had to come back to me so I could fix it. He continued to come in and shop but he never asked me out, I was in a relationship and later found out he was too. About a year later he came in and asked me my which U of U shirt I thought he should buy, of course I gave him my opinion. He asked me if I was married, I said "no". He then asked me what I was doing that Friday, I already had plans to go to the State Fair with a couple friends, I can't remember exactly how it happened but he took over the planning and we went on a triple date to the Fair. We had so much fun together, all the guys rode a mechanical bull, ya, they weren't walking very well after that. It was so funny! We went to dinner at the Red Iguana for dinner. YUMMY!! After dinner we went to his parents house to pick up a game to take back to his apartment. The whole way there he told me about his Chinese sister Heidi Wu, when we got to his house I met his Mom and this sister, who is not Chinese at all!!! She is the whitest white girl. (sorry Heidi) Darwin and I still like to play lots of jokes (lie) with each other. (It got so out of hand that now if the other person asks, "HONESTLY?", we then have to tell the truth.) The rest of the night was great, he asked me out again for the next Friday, when he asked I asked "what's the date?", like I had a busy schedule or something (I was always free at the time) I agreed to another date. That Tuesday he asked me to go to lunch with him, when I got back to work there were flowers waiting for me the card said " Just because it's Tuesday, Darwin" why would I ever stop dating such a romantic guy? While we were dating we wrote poems to each other. We are so lucky to have each other, I fall in love with Darwin more each day! (most days anyway!;))

Here are a few more fun facts about us:

Darwin thought I was Mexican when he first saw me. I tanned a lot and was in hair school and dyed my hair BLACK.

EVERY time Darwin asked me out I would ask him the date, I didn't realize I did it until finally he asked me why I always ask him what the date is.

When Darwin first said "I love you" I said, "I like you too"... he won't ever let me live that down! I told him I loved him just a few days later.

Darwin would go to Sam's and secretly watch me, another word for that is STALKER!!! I actually think it was pretty cute of him.

Darwin and I would talk on the phone while he was on his way home from my apartment at night and I would fall asleep. The next morning I always felt bad.

One night Darwin and I were at dinner, we were having some chips and salsa; he put his chip down and said "we need to talk" of course I thought the worst. We talked about something so minor that we don't remember what we talked about. When our conversation was over I told him how I was so nervous about the "talk" because he put his chip down and I thought that what he had to say was so serious that he couldn't even eat any more. He was just being his funny self and knew it would make me think the worst. Now if we need to have a serious talk we say, "the chip is down."

I could go on forever with our stories but I won't put you through any more. Thanks Michelle for taking me on a trip down Memory Lane.

If you read this consider yourself tagged, I want to hear your story!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I thought I would like gardening but I was wrong, I LOVE IT!!! Darwin and I ate the first fruits of my garden yesterday, we each got to eat a strawberry. It was small but yummy! It is so much fun to see my garden grow every day and know that it is because of me. My radishes are almost ready to eat, just a few more days. Denton likes to be outside but he doesn't like being trapped in his stroller while I garden. Most days he is fine because we just go down to water for 5 min., in the video we had been out for about an hour so he was WAY done.

Here are the things I have growing, just in case you care to know: Beets, Radishes, Carrots, Walla walla onions, 5 different tomato plants(Roma, beef steak, cherry, I cant remember the others), peas (sugar snap and regular), brussels sprouts, red peppers(2), green peppers, broccoli, yellow beans, swiss chard, spinach, pumpkins(baby ones), cucumbers, squash(yellow, green and winter), corn, watermelon, strawberries and flowers. Wow I didn't realize how many things I have growing, I haven't listed it out like that before. Yummy, I cant wait until I can eat it all up!

Let me just tell you again I LOVE GARDENING!

Un-Birthday-Birthday Photo shoot

I know I just posted but I got Denton's Birthday pictures done today and I absolutely love them. He was so happy and smiley, I was nervous because he didn't take a very good nap. We totally captured his cute personality today, every time I look at these pictures I just want to squeeze him and pinch his little chubby cheeks. I ordered a bunch of pictures and I got the CD this time so if you want any pictures just let me know and I can get them ordered for you.

I am bi-polar about his birthday, I am so excited and so sad. Today I am on the up side and so excited to see him dive into his cake.

Baby Sounds

I know Denton is almost a year old but he still makes some really cute baby sounds. I love it when he is tired and he makes those noises in the video. Sorry it takes him a while to make the sounds I don't know how to edit the video plus I thought you could see how he spins his bottle the whole time he is eating to keep himself entertained. I have been trying to come up with a way to record it for weeks because he usually makes these sounds when we put him in his bed and of course he won't do it when he can see the camera.

So Many New Things

Denton is learning and doing so many cute things all of the time, I could post almost everyday.
We have still been feeding him out of his Bumbo and sometimes his chubby little legs get stuck so I decided it was time for a real high chair. I looked on craigslist (love it!) and found this rain forest one and got it for $50 it was very very gently used, really all they did was put it together and their child ate in it a couple times and hated it, anyway it's like $100 in stores. Denton loves it and he eats really good in it, he loves the toys on it too. I was excited to get this one because we have almost all of the other rainforest stuff, so it matches everything.

Denton is starting to try to say different words he likes the "P" sound right now so we try to get him to say please, he just says pa, he actually has said a-pa (grandpa) quite a few times. He says hi but I am not convinced he knows what he is saying, he just knows we smile and cheer when he says it. He just stares at our mouths to try and figure out how to say what we are saying, it is so cute!

Memorial Day

We had a lot of fun on Memorial Day we went to the Rose Festival, it's a carnival type thing in Portland. We took Denton through a little petting zoo, which he really liked. We were feeding the animals little pellets of food and he wanted to eat them so he was a bit upset that I was feeding them to the animals. We had some good old carnival food and just enjoyed the sunshine as a family.



They had a kids play area where we got to sit and relax a bit and Denton got to get out of the stroller and play, he had a lot of fun!




Denton fell asleep on our way back to the car, he was very good the whole time we were there eventhough he skipped a nap.

Our Home and Garden

(Photo above)Our front door is just to the left, we have such beautiful and colorful flowers around, I LOVE IT!!! Our complex has a lot of beautiful flowering bushes.

Here are our peas that are on our porch, they are doing quite well. I will soon plant the strawberry, cucumber and tomato they will stay on our porch also.

Here is the garden I planted on Saturday, hopefully it will grow. Darwin kept Denton entertained while I planted which was very helpful. I often tell Darwin the story of the little red hen, really it can apply to many situations, now I get to use the real story! I was really excited when we moved into our complex last year and they told us they offered a gardening spot, they offer from a 5x5 to a 40x40 spot, I got a 10x10 because I didn't want to start too big. I have been waiting almost a year to plant my garden because we moved in a bit to late last year for me to plant. I am really excited for some yummy veggies, wish me luck!

Profile

I love Dentons profile, it's great when he holds still for long enough to get a good picture of it. When I had my first ultrasound done of Denton we got a great profile picture, somehow in my pregnant mind I didn't understand that he would come out with that same profile. When Denton was born I was amazed he looked like the ultrasound picture, DUH!!!!! Next time I get pregnant I won't be so surprised that my baby looks like it's ultrasound picture when it is born. I know, what a blonde!

So I am starting to have some anxiety about Denton turning ONE, I thought I was ok with it but the closer it gets the more emotional I get. I keep thinking about what a GREAT year this has been and how much fun I have had watching my baby learn and grow. (I'm crying about it while writing this by the way) Really I know it's not a big deal, it's not like he is moving out or getting married, he is just turning ONE, I just can't believe how fast time has flown by.

Dance Dance Dance!

When we got home from Utah Darwin was playing with Denton and noticed that he has started to dance when he hears music, I guess you call it dancing. We think it's pretty cute! He is crawling everywhere and getting into everything possible, we are childproofing as he finds more and more things he can reach and get into. He has started to try and pull up on things he gets on his knees and sometimes gets one foot on the ground but thankfully his legs aren't strong enough yet to push his body up.

Our Trip To Utah

Denton and I had a really fun time in Utah, we got to see a lot of our family and friends. Denton got to hunt for Easter eggs and meet a lot of animals. While on this trip I found out that Denton loves animals,we don't have any animals so I didn't know that about him. He got to see many animals when we visited Cabella's (he really liked watching the big fish swim) horses, dogs, cats, ducklings and chicks. We also had fun at the Tulip Festval, even in the rain. He also learned to crawl and clap while we were there. He is a really good traveler he slept well even when we moved to new sleeping quarters about every othe night. I got to do lots of hair, which I really liked because I don't get to do hair very often up here, plus it gives me a little one on one with each person. I can't believe in just over a month Denton will be 1, time really flies when you're having fun!

Why roll when I can crawl?

Denton finally decided to pick up his belly and crawl. He has been rocking on his knees for a few weeks but he just couldn't get his knees to move.

Got girl hair?

Dentons hair grows very fast, don't worry I gave him a haircut a couple days ago so he doesn't look like a girl anymore! What a good little boy, he lets us do whatever we want to him. Just for the record, Darwin does not approve of these pictures! He does NOT want his son to look like a girl for any reason, I on the other hand think these pictures are cute and funny!

Easter Bunny

Denton really liked the Easter bunny, he liked touching his fur. He was very happy and smiley for his pictures that day.

Easter

We had fun dying eggs with our friends Andy and Nikki. I even let Denton put his own egg in the dye, which was a small disaster. On Easter the Easter bunny hides our Easter baskets and we have to find them. Denton did a good job finding his. He likes playing with his basket and the plastic eggs with little treats in them. Holidays are much more fun with kids, even when they have no idea what is going on.

Planting Peas

Denton and I planted peas, he was happy to be outside and standing up holding on to the pot. I don't think he really cared about the planting. He probably would have loved to taste the dirt but I didn't let him. The complex we live in prepares a garden spot every year for the tenants to plant in, I am really excited to plant more veggies.

Denton was supervising my work