Family Pictures

Trying to get a decent family picture with an EXTREMELY WIGGLY one year old can be pretty difficult.  We finally got a pretty good one that we'll be sending out in our Christmas cards this year.   

Blog? What blog???

It is so embarrassing that I haven't updated this thing in almost 2 months now. Here's a little of what we've been up to!

I bought a dresser several months ago off craigslist for dirt cheap and it's just been sitting in my garage waiting for me to make it pretty. Well I finally got around to it once it cooled off a bit.



This is the bedspread I bought online and I wanted to paint the dresser a gray/blue to go with the bedding.

So here's my before:

And after:

And a close up of the hardware, because I love it!

My Grandma gave me these nightstands when she wasn't using them anymore and we've been using them for years now but they needed an update so I painted them to match.

I'm not gonna lie, the whole thing was kind of a nightmare. I just happened to get some REALLY crappy paint from Ace Hardware so it made the whole process miserable and they didn't end up as great as I had hoped. I think the workers probably hate me because I literally returned cans of paint three separate times. So there are some flaws but I'm counting on the fact that no one will really see them that much since they're in our bedroom and I will forget about all the little flaws with time, I'm sure. Overall, I like the color and I'm happy to be that much closer to having a COMPLETELY finished bedroom!

ONE

It's hard to believe that our sweet little Tanner is already one year old! His birthday was a couple of weeks ago but I am just getting around to posting pictures. Here is a little poem I wrote in honor of the most precious gift I've ever been given.

What is it about this baby

That makes me love him so?

Is it big blue baby eyes
Or his tiny little toes?

Was it that very first sweet cry
Or that first big belly laugh?
Or could it be the way he always
Seems to fall asleep in my lap?

Could it be the rise and fall
Of his little tiny chest
As I saw in his room
When I snuck in to watch my baby rest?

Those ten little fingers
Those big baby cheeks.
The first time he walks
The first time he speaks.

All good reasons to love him so
but I really need just one
The best reason to love this child
is because he's my sweet son!

We tried to make Tanner's birthday so special but it was difficult considering he was sick! We had intended on having a few family members over and having a little intimate party but that didn't work out. But I think it ended up being MORE special because we were on our own.

I let Tanner make a mess with finger paints on a poster board and he LOVED that. And it is a great keepsake of his first birthday.

Then when daddy got home from work we went into the backyard to play bubbles! He liked the bubbles but didn't last long outside because he wasn't feeling too good. We took a video but I'm not going to show it because it ended with him throwing up. :(

Our dinner was made up of his favorite finger foods and of course after dinner came dessert! I had so much fun making this little fish & bubbles cake for Tanner.

Before:

During:

After:

We blew up lots of balloons and put up streamers and let him play and make a big mess and then we opened up his presents! I think his favorite was the blocks!

Okay, and maybe they were my favorite, too!

All in all it was a great day! It was our fifth anniversary, too, which we totally didn't celebrate because we were too wrapped up in making it special for Tanner. Oops! We'll have to work on that next year. Thanks for the cards and presents and birthday/anniversary wishes from family and friends! We love you guys!

Catch a wave and your sittin' on top of the world!

Now I understand why the Beach Boys have so many songs about surfing...because it is SO FUN!! We had a lot of fun on our trip to San Diego and at the reunion but this post is going to be part one of our vacation and devoted strictly to our surfing lesson. It seriously was one of the funnest experiences of my life. The instructor spent a half hour with us on the beach teaching us the pop-up and other important maneuvers and then we hit the water! He would push us into a wave and we would have to paddle, pop-up and then balance ourselves on the board. Nathan did REALLY good! I did ok, not great. But it was still a really good time. We're already scheming to figure out another time we can go. I can't really claim to be a surfer girl yet but at least I got a nice tan. :) Here are some of our pictures.

Our instructor saw some dolphins that he pointed out to me. I finally stood up.......only to fall again. :D Oh well.
It at first you don't succeed...pick up your board and head back into the water.
At least one of us was good at it! But he had his share of falls, too! :D Our instructor was awesome and really patient with how bad I was! But I did get up a few times.

Why I love being a stay at home mom...

These are just a few little videos that show my sweet boy and how much I love staying home with him! There's no place I'd rather be!!! I got some of his funny faces and greeting me as I come to get him out of his crib. He always follows me when I go in the bathroom, sticks his hands under the door, and waits for me to come out so I decided I would catch it on film. But this time he brought me a present! :D I also caught Tanner and his cousin being mischevious and getting into the snacks! I can tell already...Jaren + Tanner = TROUBLE! He also recently started saying mom so I have a few clips of that. Just little things but those are the things that make every day enjoyable. Hope you like it!

Vacacion de la Familia Coons

Take that Senor McBride! Now someone just needs to teach me how to type an N with the little squiggly over it and I'll be all set! :) So we went on vacation to Utah last week and it was lots of fun. We were very tired by the end but it was totally worth it. So here's a load of pictures for your viewing pleasure. Heeeeere we GO!

After a BBQ in the park with relatives Nate and Tanner enjoy a little relaxation in the grass.

We went to Temple Square and viewed the art on display at the Conference Center...beautiful!

A hike around Silver LakeAfter the hike we went back to Aunt Sharon's and enjoyed a little R & R on the lawn and ate some watermelon...well mostly Tanner ate and I got sticky.

He eventually took the whole thing from me and dug in! See...he's even got a little chunk on his eyelid. We call him our little piggy. If you wonder where he gets it from see the next picture.

We went out to eat at my cousin's restaurant (Utah Natives have most likely heard of it) One Man Band Restaurant. These were the BIGGEST pancakes I have EVER seen. The breakfast was so delicious!! Cedar BreaksFamily Hike around Alpine LakeThe Wildflowers were everywhere and so pretty!Tanner seemed to really enjoy it......for a little while. And then he crashed. Poor kid!

Utah is really gorgeous!

We saw a few plays while at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. Together we saw "As You Like It" (pretty good) and "Comedy of Errors" (hilarious!). Then I saw the musical "The Secret Garden", which I loved, with Nate's mom and he saw "Henry V" with his dad.

On the way home we stopped at the Grand Canyon because Nate had never seen it. His Dad was reading a book which talked about all the people who've died from climbing on rocks at the Grand Canyon. So what does Nathan just HAVE to do when we get there????? Ugh...boys!

All in all it was a great vacation...considering no one died. It was really nice of Nate's parents to stay in Cedar City longer to watch Tanner so we could go to the plays. Once we got home we were pretty exhausted so we took a couple of days to relax and catch up on our sleep, laundry, etc. Fun times! Now we just have to get ready to do it all again because in about 3 weeks we're going to San Diego! Woo hoo! Anyway, that's about all there is to say. Except, I of course have to give a little Tanner update. Here's his latest and greatest. Enjoy!

He has made his way into plenty of nooks and crannies...here's one I caught on camera. This is our computer desk.

I have no idea where this face came from or what it means but it sure is funny.

This boy LOVES music! Even when my cell phone rings he sits there and bobs his head to the beat. Well. one day I was cleaning and had some Michael Buble playing and Tanner just couldn't help himself...he had to sing and dance along. I grabbed the camera and played the song a couple more times to get a few good clips.

And we took Tanner to his first baseball game. Too bad the Diamondbacks were totally squashed by the other team. Oh well...it was fun anyway.