2nd Cousins

We did it. 1 Mommy, 1 Toddler, 4 hour drive to Memphis - Success! I am in shock. Caleb did not sleep a wink on the way there or the way back. He did not watch any videos. He did not listen to any sing-along cd's. How did we do it? Well, I put every single item of Caleb's favorite food in the seat next to me. Then, on the floor below Caleb, where I can easily reach, I put a bunch of Caleb's favorite toys that he can easily hold in his lap and play with, plus a ton of books. About an hour into the trip on the way there, and an hour into the trip on the way back, we both almost lost it. He was screaming, I was freaking out, but we got through it. The drive was actually peaceful after those break-throughs! We only had to stop once both ways! I am so extremely proud of Caleb. He has learned so much patience!!!
We went to Memphis to visit my cousin Valorie, her family, and my Aunt and Grandparents. Caleb was very excited to see his 2nd cousins Claire and Annie, and especially excited to see his Grandpa and Grandma Hiatt.
Claire and Caleb got along especially well. Claire even rode in the car with Caleb for one of the days. She loved giving him his sippy cup and treating him so good like the little mommy she is!
So, the first day, we got there around noon. We then ate lunch and hit this awesome Sprinkler Park!!! Oh boy was that fun for all three of the little kids, and nice for me and Valorie because the water cooled us down. That night, Valorie and I went to the gym together and stayed up forever talking, just like old times.

The next day, Claire and Caleb and I hung out at my Aunt Miriam's house, then at my Grandpa and Grandma Hiatt's house. We at lunch over there. Caleb got a nap, and we played tons. Then, that night Valorie and I got the honor of doing initiatories while my Grandma Hiatt was one of the temple workers. It was very special and a wonderful time. Then Val and I ate at an awesome hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant. It was DELICIOUS! And a blast to get out just us girls.

The next morning, Caleb and I drove out at the break of dawn when he woke up. What an awesome trip!!! Thank you Val for your hospitality and a FUN FUN TIME! Can't wait to do it again!

Gaga and Gi-gi

Caleb constantly talks about his grandma and grandpa. "Gaga gi-gi gaga gi-gi!" Seriously, he has named my dad "Ga-ga" and my mom "gi-gi" or "gee-gee." I mean he's obsessed with them and talks about them all day. And when they come over he gets overly excited, but when they leave he acts like his world is shattering. He LOVES them. And it should be that way! It's hard being demoted from favorite... to 3rd-favorite. Just recently this has happened. ha ha

I am so grateful Caleb has 4 wonderful grandparents who love him DEARLY.

Yeah Caleb! Stinky bum in the face!

Grandma tug of war!

I like Cakes

So I got to do my first princess cake for Emily's (my friend Vicki's little girl) 4th Birthday party! Yaaay! Cassy helped me decorate it. I made my first batch of marshmallow fondant (which was difficult to figure out) and it turned out okay!!! I'm not going to say it was perfect, because it wasnt, but man it looks cool. And man is it pink. And so are my hands. Pink and cool.

First I baked 3 cakes. One in a gigantic stainless steel bowl, and two regular 9 inch cakes. The gigantic bowl took 2 cake mixes and THREE HOURS to bake!!!! I dont think it will taste very good, but it looks good (shape-wise), and next time I know what to do better - bake it in a GLASS bowl!!!!

Then, I frosted all 3 cakes and stacked them on each other with a pudding filling between layers. I frosted them with PINK buttercream frosting.

Finally, I used my rough batch of fondant, made it pink, rolled it out a few times due to sticking to the counter, then three of us transferred it to the cake, where it broke in two places. But it looks cool now, because Cassy used water to smoothe it out! Cassy shoved the doll in and we went to town.

It looks awesome all decorated. I copied the design on the plate, somewhat, to make it a cute Bratz theme. I think Emily is going to LOVE it!

Colton and Caleb

One of my very best friends in my life, Nath, had a baby boy, Colton, 6 months before I had Caleb. Caleb and Colton have become best friends. They love each other and can now say each other's names.

Today, Nath and I witnessed the miracle of these two boys getting along so well. They played together for 3 entire hours!!! They'd both end up doing the same things like sitting in the two small chairs...
And eating goldfish out of their matching snack cups while sitting in the small chairs...

And driving their first vehicles... There were a few "disagreements" over these two toys, but they figured out that sharing is fun!

Caleb is going to miss Colton when he moves to Nebraska so that his daddy can get really smart and teach people. :) Ok ok I'M going to miss my NATH! It's been such a blessing, as I learn this toddler mommy life, to have Nath around to learn from and be with. We've gone to the zoo, the park many times, plan to hit the pool someday, and just get together whenever possible. We could hang out ALL THE TIME... trust me, we know this... when we roomed together at BYU we were inseparable and rarely included many other people in our daily plans. It was too much fun, and never got old. Love you Nath! Always!

Where are my friends?

So, we just spent 2 lovely weeks in Utah. We had an awesome time, surrounded by family and friends. We stayed in the house with 7 other adults and 7 other children. We went to the zoo, the park, out to eat multiple times a week, family dinners nightly, play dates with friends, breakfast dates with friends... Then, we get back to Tennessee, and the next morning woke up to a house with just us 3 in it... Blake goes to work... me and Caleb left alone.

Any advice, my people?

My Golden Birthday

Today is my Golden Birthday, meaning I turned 25 on the 25th. It was an awesome day!!!!!!!! Blake made us hashbrowns and muffins for breakfast (yum). Then, we went on a 5-mile run (Blake hates running). While Caleb took his nap, I made my birthday cake. he he. It was fun. And I got to talk on the phone to some of my favorite people. Then, we went to the Zoo. Finally, Blake and my parents surprised me with a gigantic dance party at Wildhorse Saloon! Woo! So many of my favorite people came and I LOVED it. Of course - food and dancing - doesn't get better than that. Nope.
Thank you for an awesome Golden Birthday, Blakey, mom and dad, and all my friends, family, and loved ones!!!!!!!!! Halfway to Fifty!!!!!!!

Cake Class #1

I signed up for a Wilton cake class at Joann's, and loved every second of it! Kelsi Simpson and I went together. It was a blast and we learned so much!

My very first cake after the first day:

My second cake that I made for Blake's parents and Thomas when they came to visit My cupcakes for practice: And my final cake in class. I really like polka dots!

And then I did this cake for a women's meeting in our neighborhood! Yay for cake decorating!

Terrible-movie-for-your-kids-alert

Ok so the movie Transformers was well done artistically, and the actors were all very good. However, I want to bring to light the underlying message of this movie, and its sequel that is coming out soon. The movie, aside from all the robots, is about a teenage boy who has dirty magazine pictures all over his walls. He likes a girl who, by the way, looks like she belongs in a dirty magazine, how she dresses with her greasy hair and red lipstick. She is everything but modest and sweet. The moral of the movie is said to be, "There can be no victory without sacrifice," which is roughly translated as, "Even if you have dirty magazines and all you think about all day is 'trash', you are still really cool and can get that slutty-looking girl to lie on top of you on the hood of a car at the end of the day." Yes, people, this is what these movies, directed toward OUR young boys, are deceptively portraying. My advice? Don't support it. There are plenty of other movies to see. I am disgusted. Sure, there are bad movies out there, but this one is TRANSFORMERS, a little boy's movie.

Our 4th Anniversary (a.k.a. "Fifth Honeymoon")

We went to Destin, Florida for our anniversary trip!! It was amazing. It was also one of the smartest things we ever did, taking a trip without the baby (who we missed incredibly). My parents were kind and giving enough to watch Caleb for us. He had a blast, ate lots of twinkies, pizza, and popcorn, and still talks about Ga-ga and Nina nonstop.

We stayed at our friends' condo down there, they were sooo nice to let us!! We made our own breakfast and lunch every day and ate out every night!

We got miserably, miserably sunburned the very first day. Every day we went to the ocean (which was right outside our window) and boogie boarded for hours! The waves were huge and beautiful! It was so much fun. We also went on an easy bike ride every day.

And, I beat Blake in mini-golf twice. :)

Another adventure was that I stepped on a crab in the ocean and it pinched my heel! I have a scar to prove it! Luckily that was our last day in the ocean, so I didnt have to get back in there. Next time, I'll find a way to wear shoes in the ocean. IIIIICK! Crabs are like big, hard-shelled spiders!!

It was SO FUN and we are so grateful! Yay for our honeymoons!

Being The Mom

Playgrounds...

"Yaaay Caleb! Good job!"
He can do a front somersault now! The Zoo!

I have been reading the sweetest book, "Being the Mom." It is so funny and so inspiring. Happy Mother's Day to every woman first of all. And second of all, I just want to say how grateful I am to be a mother. The greatest blessings come from the greatest trials. Motherhood has its challenges, but they ALWAYS com with rewards! Like getting showered with kisses and I do mean SHOWERED with kisses... or feeling two tiny hands on your elbow at the end of Relief Society, and hearing "Da-dee," and looking down to see his sweet huge smile... (he calls me momma and daddy... we're working on that one, since everyone calls me "Dani," it makes it confusing for the little man)... or picking him up in the middle of the night and having him cuddle up on my shoulder with his blankie ("Bay-ee") and fall right back to sleep... or having him walk up to me in the morning with a package of muffin mix, asking "MO! MO!?" (more)...

My heart is warmed from the sweetest moments of my life as a mother. I am baffled by the concept that Heavenly Father has allowed me this huge blessing in my life. Caleb is so amazing, and I am so excited to watch him grow and learn and succeed. I am so grateful for everything he has taught me. Wow! It's been a LOT!