Easton's 1st Christmas

I'm not going to lie I thought Christmas this year wouldn't be much different from other years because Easton was small enough he wouldn't know what was going on. But surprisingly just having a kid to celebrate Christmas with made it much more enjoyable and even Cade agreed.  So here is how Easton's first Christmas was celebrated.......

Christmas morning Cade had to wake up early and head over to work to get the cows fed. When he got home we opened up all our presents. For Christmas this year Cade got some binoculars and new camo from me and Easton. He got me some Juicy Couture perfume and lotion, a hoodie, and a new wallet. And Easton was spoiled with lots of different toys and books. He loves books and because of us and my parents his book collection tripled over Christmas (which wasn't hard because we didn't have many ha ha).

After we got presents opened we went to my grandparents house for our traditional Christmas breakfast of ebelskevers, bacon, sausage, and orange juice. We would have gone to church instead but Easton had come down with a cold and we didn't want him around a lot of people. So instead we got breakfast :)

We spend the rest of the day visiting family and not getting much relaxing time like we had hoped. But all in all it was a fun Christmas and I loved having a little family to celebrate with.

His first time on Santas lap (a.k.a. my Uncle Noel)

This was at the Venice Ward Christmas Party

Izzy's Christmas

His first Christmas present

My new wallet

Excited about his binos

More books from Grandpa and Grandma Cowley

My grandparents give each of their great grandkids a Care Bear for their first Christmas. Not sure exactly why but it is tradition so here is Easton with his Care Bear.

I have so many other cute photos but my computer is being slow to upload them so I'm being impatient and not going to post them. (I need to work on my patience but today is not going to be that day).

Catch Up...

It seems like every time I make a post I'm always playing catch up because I seem to only post once a month. Our lives have been pretty busy lately so that hasn't helped the situation. So I guess this post will once again be a catch up post on what's been happening in our lives.

Thanksgiving
This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Utley side. The food was great and it was fun spending time with family. We had our dinner at the Old School House that my parents own. So, after dinner the kids and part of the brothers spent time racing the plasma cars around the tables. It's always funny to watch them because they are all so competitive. After that we all headed over to Cade's parents house where the boy's played their annual football game. It looked like they had fun and nobody got injured too badly that I'm aware of. Like usual a few of them ended up throwing up their Thanksgiving dinner (Cade of course was one of them). I never understand why they feel they need to play so quickly after dinner. As soon as they finished playing they all decided it was time for pie. We spent the next hour or so eating pie and watching slide shows of Cade and his brothers and sister. It's always funny to see old pictures of Cade because his mom never printed many off. I only ended up taking one picture on all of Thanksgiving which upset me but it was of Easton in his Thanksgiving outfit. I thought it was so cute. It had a turkey on the butt of the pants but I never took a picture of it.

Easton is 4 months old.....
On December 6, Easton turned 4 months old which is still so crazy to me. I took him to the doctor that day for his check up and we got his new results in on how big he is. He weighed 16.5 lbs (81st percentile) and was 26.5 inches tall (94th percentile). He is such a chunk and I love it. His little chubby cheeks and his thighs have to be my favorite. Here are a few things about Easton now that he is four months old....

• He loves his baths even more now because I no longer sit him on the little chair I just place him directly in the bath. He kicks as hard as he can and just smiles. He is always upset when I make him get out.
• He is eating 6 to 7 oz. every 2.5 to 3 hours.
• We have now tried a few different baby foods. Some he loves and others he isn't too sure about.
• Rice cereal - He will eat it but its not his favorite. He will only take a few bites and then he is done with it.
• Sweet Potatoes - They are definitely one of his favorites. He gets pretty messy when he eats them. Apparently I can't feed him fast enough so he pulls his bib up to his mouth so he can suck off whatever is on there. It's pretty funny to watch.
• Green Beans - He hated them. He pulled funny faces and I had to somewhat force him to eat a few bites.
• Carrots - He has only had these once but seemed to like them quite a bit. We'll try them a few more times to make sure.
• He loves to watch Cade and Izzy play and smiles a lot especially if they are playing rough.
• He demands attention which is very frustrating. He absolutely hates to be left in a room by himself.
• He is very ticklish under his arms and on the sides of his stomach.
• He loves to watch TV and hates if you lay him down and he can't figure out how to move to see the screen.
• He loves to be read to. He usually quiets down if he is upset if you just sit down and read him a book.
• He seems to like his door way bouncer but only for about 5 minute because then he gets bored.
• He hates his stomach and screams bloody murder at you if you make him have tummy time. I'm not sure the kid will ever roll over.

Here are a few pictures of this last month of him..

I wanted to buy this cowboy hat for him so bad but I decided that he had to have cowboy clothing to wear with it so I will have to wait until he is walking so I can buy him boots and all.

So happy to be eating sweet potatoes.

Our New Adventure

For those who don't know Kincade and I made a huge decision to start a new adventure. Cade still isn't sure whether or not it was the right decision but I hope he doesn't regret it. My dad and brother approached Cade and I about running a separate feed yard that they were thinking about leasing. After a lot of thinking we decided that we would do it. So, Cade quit his job in November. His last day of work was the day before Thanksgiving. My dad and brother began leasing the new feed yard on December 1. Cade is managing the feed yard and I will be doing the books there. It is definitely a learning process for both of us. Probably more him than me but I hope he completely catches on and enjoys the job. We are doing a year lease to make sure we aren't losing money in the process and to make sure that we are happy with the situation at that point as well as the owner of the feed yard. I hope it all works out best for everyone in the end but it's definitely been a struggle for everyone so far it seems. Cade wasn't used to working 7 days a week but that's pretty much what he'll be doing from here on out. We just hope that in the long run we will get to spend more time together and that he will get to see Easton more. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Cougar and Coon Hunting

For those of you who don't know Cade is a big hunter and would probably do it on a daily basis if he had the money to and if I would let him. This past year he really got in to coon hunting which I've found is a very expensive hobby. He started with only one dog, Toby, who is a hound/lab mix (I think). It took him a while to get Toby interested in killing coons but as soon as he realized how much fun it was he loved it. Cade used to go out with a friend so they would take Toby and the friends 6 to 8 other dogs. That's when Cade became addicted to it and told me he needed some hounds so he could go on his own. Of course I told him we didn't need anymore dogs but that didn't seem to slow him down any. We now have 4 hound dogs and then Izzy so 5 dogs total. My brothers wife always calls us the crazy dog people now. We just laugh. I do love dogs but I'm not sure what to think about having 5 dogs. The worst part is that we don't even have a house yet so the 4 big dogs are down on some farm land of my dad's. We are in the process of searching for a home but we are being so picky we haven't found on yet. Hopefully soon so we can have all the dogs at our house.

Anyways, so two of the dogs are full grown (Toby and Crow) and we've had them for a while now. Then we have to hound pups (Doc and Buster). He hopes he can train the two pups to become good hunters like Toby and Crow. We'll see how it goes. But Cade has spent so much time coon hunting. He just loves it.

This year he drew out for the Cougar hunt and is hoping his dogs can help him get one. I really do hope he can kill one because he has been so excited about it. I guess I will just have to keep everyone posted on whether or not he gets one.

Toby and Crow after a night of coon hunting.

Doc

Buster

On a side note....Kincade has been so happy because his best friend is back from Iraq. Here is the two of them eating a Woohoo burger. I thought it was quite disgusting.



I do apologize for such a long post but so much has happened and I haven't had any time to post. :)

3 Months Old

I honestly can't believe that Easton is now 3 months old. Time has gone so quickly but I love watching him learn and grow. Here are a few new things about Easton....

• We weighed him at my mom's house so I'm not sure how accurate that is to the doctors scale but it said 15 lbs. So I'm sure he is somewhere in that range.
• He seems to be enjoying riding in the tractor more and more. He smiles or sleeps while he rides with me.
• He loves playing on his play mat. He has now figured out how to pull on the toys so they play music and he smiles a lot while he plays.
• He drools a ton already. He is constantly making spit bubbles which I don't enjoy. His shirt is constantly soaked.
• He is still eating 5 oz. every 2 to 3 hours.
• He likes to squeal a lot and if you mimic the noises he makes he gets more excited and squeals louder.
• He seems to enjoy having books read to him. He looks at the pages and watches you turn each page.
• He is always looking around taking in everything around him.
• He loves watching TV and gets mad if he is laying on the floor and the TV is on and he can't see it.
• He sleeps in his crib every night now. He has even slept through the night a few times. I can't wait until it's consistent.
• He loves bath time. He kicks his legs and smiles the entire time he is in there.
• He is constantly sticking his tongue out.

I absolutely love being a mother and I can't wait to continue to watch him grow.

Laying behind the seat in the tractor

Sitting on the drivers seat of the tractor.

All smiles while playing on his play mat

There is that tongue

Always smiling in the bath. He is such a chunky kid. I love it.

The Month of October......

I've been slacking quite a bit and haven't posted anything for a month. Life has been quite busy for us and it's been hard finding time to update this. So I decided that I would do a post on everything that has happened in the month of October since my last post.

Fish Lake
On one of the Saturdays Kincade and I decided that we wanted to go do something as a family. Of course Kincade came up with fishing because that is one thing he really enjoys doing. So we loaded up Izzy and Easton and headed up to Fish Lake to fish. It had been pretty good weather in Richfield when we left so we had hoped for the same thing at Fish Lake. Sadly when we got there it was really windy. Kincade and Izzy sat out and fished while Easton and I sat in the car and watched. It was way too cold and windy for him to be outside. We ended up not staying very long because both Izzy and Cade were freezing so it mainly turned into a ride up to Fish Lake and back which was fine. I always love going there because it is always so pretty. I definitely enjoyed the ride with the family and loved being able to spend time with Cade. Here are a few pictures from our short trip there.....

Easton enjoyed Fish Lake by laying on the front seat of the car.

Izzy kept wanting to get Cade's float when he would cast. 

Cade and Izzy spent a lot of time playing hide and seek. Cade would hide behind the rocks and Izzy would go try to find him.



Halloween

Every year my sister in law has a Halloween party. This year she did it the Monday before Halloween. Everyone is required to dress up for the party and you can't be the same thing twice. This year Cade and I really didn't want to buy a costume so we were lazy and dressed up as hunters. We did add in the hill billy teeth so we could say we were hill billy hunters. We only got one picture at the party because we were way late to the party. The picture is horrible too because my mom didn't realize she needed to turn on the flash. Oh well though. Easton and Izzy were both dressed up as lions. Izzy's mane wouldn't stay on so in the picture you can't tell what she was at all.

On Halloween the only reason I even put Easton in a costume was to get pictures with my brothers kids. Kennedy was dressed as a ghost, Jacey was some type of barbie mermaid (I don't remember exactly what it was even though she told me a billion times), and Luke was dressed as a dinosaur. They were all so cute. I can't wait to dress Easton up next year and actually go trick or treating. 

Halloween Party



Smiling at dad

Easton and my brothers kids 

Not sure what to think about the costume

He kept trying to suck on the mane. It was soaked by the time we got pictures and got the hood taken off.

I also had promised in my last post a better picture of him in his blessing outfit. This was the best I could get.

The back - I had to show off the jacket tail

The front - He looked so handsome in his tux and I am so thankful for my mom who sewed it for me. :)

Busy Weekend.....

We had such a busy weekend but it was great to be able to spend time with friends and family. On Thursday Easton turned 2 months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone. Here are a few facts about Easton at 2 months old.....

• He weighs 13.5 lbs (88 percentile) and is 24 inches (86 percentile)
• He eats 5 oz. every 2.5 to 3 hours
• He is very demanding on when he wants to eat. He screams if you don't get it to him right when he wants it.
• He loves to lay on his changing table. Every time we lay him down on it he starts smiling. Not sure what is so exciting about it.
• He absolutely hates to have a dirty diaper.
• He has started to squeal when he gets excited and throws his arms around as he squeals.
• So far when traveling long distances he does amazing. He usually just sleeps.
• He is a great tractor partner. I can put him in his car seat and he will sleep for hours while I work for my dad.

I really can't believe how much he has grown. He has gained 6 lbs and grown 4 inches taller since he was born. It's been so fun to watch him grow and I can't wait to continue watching him.

Our Anniversary
It was our anniversary on Sunday and I can't believe we've already been married for a year. It honestly has been the most amazing year of my life and I am so thankful for Kincade and all the things he does for me. He has honestly been a great blessing in my life.

We wanted to go and do something fun for our first anniversary so we decided that going to Lagoon would be a great idea. We dropped Easton and Izzy off at Kincade's parents house for Annette and Cheryl to watch. Then we headed on our way. It looked like the weather was going to be horrible and everyone told us we were crazy for going but we decided we would go and see what it was like. It ended up being perfect. It was about 60 degrees and it barely even rained on us. We had such a blast and I'm so happy we went. We rode most the rides more than once and went to 2 of the haunted houses. I am so happy I got to spend a day with Kincade.

Easton's Blessing
On Sunday which was also our anniversary we were able to bless our sweet baby boy. Kincade did such an amazing job and I'm so glad he holds the priesthood so he was able to give the blessing. My mom made Easton such a cute tux to wear for it. He looked so handsome. I'm so grateful for her and everything she does for us as well. It was such a great day though. We had so many friends and family there so support us. I was especially grateful for the Bassetts for being there and bringing Isaac. I loved being able to get both my boys together. Isaac was very shy with me but it was just great to be able to see their family. I love spending time with them.

This weekend definitely helped me appreciate friends and family even more. It also helped me better  appreciate the gospel and the priesthood. I still can't believe the changes I've made in my life but I couldn't be happier. I am so blessed to also have a husband who has made similar changes in his life and I can't wait to continue our journey together as a family. I love my little family so much and couldn't have had a better weekend celebrating so many great things.

Here are a few pictures of Easton's blessing day. I will try to get a better photo of him in his tux.....

Our little family

 Proud dad after giving the blessing.

Grandma Cowley sewed his tux for him. 

He was hungry so this is the only picture of him that I got. 

 My two boys Easton and Isaac :)

Easton's Cowley cousins

Newborn Photos

I had wanted to get newborn photos of Easton but wasn't exactly sure if I would or not. I ended up having Kristina Okerlund do them. We struggled getting him to stay asleep. The longest he slept was for maybe 10 minutes so it took us a long time to get any shots. She ended up having to come back a second time because there were some photos I had wanted that we just couldn't get because he wouldn't cooperate. I absolutely loved how they turned out even though he was being such a pill. I thought I would share a few of my favorites......

 His skunk hat which I had to have.



Kincade's Motorcycle Gear

First Road Trip & Our New Car

This past weekend we took Easton on his first road trip. We left Friday night and headed for Hurricane. I couldn't believe how well he traveled. I was quite worried that he would cry the entire way but he just slept. We stopped by Annette's house so she could see Easton because her and Travis were leaving for the weekend. After our stop there we headed over to Branden's and Chelsea's to spend the night.

We had huge plans for Saturday. We wanted to go to Sand Hollow and go cliff jumping but we had also wanted to take our car in and see what Stephen Wade would give us for trade on it. We really had no intentions of trading in our car that day (or at least I didn't for sure). But after spending hours at the dealership I finally agreed to get rid of my car. It was very hard on me but I knew that I couldn't drive it in the winter with Easton. So now I am driving a Ford Edge. I never ever thought I would say I drove a Ford because we are such a Chevrolet family but we got a good deal on it and Kincade and I liked the look. So here is our new car.......

Because we ended up spending such a long time at the dealership, we sadly didn't make it out to the lake. We were both pretty sad about that because we were excited to get out and do something fun together without Easton.

Sunday morning we headed off to Las Vegas for my cousin Taylor's mission farewell. I was once again worried about Easton and how well he would travel but he did amazing both ways. Shanelle sat in the back seat with him the entire way and he hardly made a peep both ways which was probably a good thing for all of us. I think we are so blessed to have such a good baby. I just hope he continues to be a good traveler (not that we even travel much).

Overall it was a good trip though. We were happy we could drive down and support Taylor. We were also so blessed that Cade's mom was in St. George at his sisters house because instead of crating Izzy all day while we were in Vegas, Cheryl got to puppy sit her. It sounds like they had their hands full with her. We are so grateful to have such amazing family around to help us out all the time. And it was a great weekend full of family time which is always nice.