Summer Lovin'

Let me start by saying that I LOVE my job! Teaching is so fun, and a different adventure every day! I'm at the best school, and I am thankful everyday! Plus 6 year olds are hilarious, and you never know what they will say!! With that being said... IT'S SUMMERTIME, and my time to be a 'stay at home mama'!! I have been waiting for this probably since I went back to work after Daner was born. The transition was rough, but I got through. :) My district is on a modified year round schedule, so our summers are short, and jam packed! I enrolled us in 'mommy and me' swim lessons. We have had a blast together in the pool together! My little fish loves the water! These little moments are so precious, and I am very grateful that I have a job that allows me to have the best of both worlds- mommy and workin' woman. :)

6 month Pictures!

Geez! I can't even believe this little boy is 7 months old already! Where has the time gone? Dane is amazing! He's scootin', teething, smiling, giggling, and making us happy each and every moment... even at 2:30, when he occasionly doesn't sleep through the night. :) I wanted to share our family 6 month pictures.... Bret wasn't too excited about the idea of taking our new leather chair into a grove of citrus trees, but I think they turned out great! Shout out to Erin Rudd for yet again, some great pictures!! We are lucky to have you around!

I don't know how I got this lucky! I'm thankful everyday for the life Bret and I have created for our perfect little boy!

Pat's Run

Pat's Run is a annual run here in Arizona (not sure if they have it in other cities too) to commemorate the late Pat Tillman- an American Hero. If you don't know, Pat was a Star football player on ASU's team, and then got drafted to play in the NFL for the AZ Cardinals. He played for a year on the Cardinals, and gave it all up to serve our country in the military. Sadly, he was killed in Afganistan. The legacy of Pat Tillman will never be forgotten, as we are reminded of his bravery and strength. This is our first time participating in Pat's Run, and will make it a family tradition. It was a (hot) Saturday morning, but there's no place I would have rather been! We made it a family event, bringing Dane along with us! We are sooo lucky that we have such a good baby that we can take places, and be out for long periods of time.

In all the crowd of 24,000 people, we managed to find and walk the event with my dad, brother Ryan, and his girlfriend Rachel.

Thanks to (Coach) Dyan for organizing our team and making us all get up early on a Saturday morning!

Yay! We made it!! All 4.2 miles. :) (I wasn't worried!)

Hey! I'm six months... Give me some Rice Cereal!

So... the time has come! Dane has officially turned 6 months. How did this happen?? It seems like only yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital. Time is going by waaay too fast!
I wanted to hold off on feeding him any rice cereal until he was six months. So, to celebrate his 6 month birthday, he got some rice cereal!! Lucky him, right?? Looks gross to me, but I guess babies like it!

I just can't believe that this 6 months has gone this fast! I literally got choked up feeding him- how silly is that?! This is just the first step of him growing up, and it makes me sad. I want him to be my baby forever! I love his baby giggle, his cuddle time and his smile with the two little 'toofers' growing in! Freeze this moment, and keep it forever. Oh wait!!... I am... that's why I am documenting on this blog!

Growing up is inevitable... I am enjoying every second, and making some amazing memories along the way! I am the luckiest mom and wife in the world to have the best boys in my life! xoxo!

Easter

We had an amazing Easter! We were (are) so fortunate to be able to host my family over for brunch. It was our first official family gathering in our new house! Plus it was extra special because of Dane. I am figuring out, that everything is now ultra special because of him. :)

We started a family tradition (not an original one) of taking him to the Easter bunny. We changed him into his 'fancy' clothes at the mall, and he wasn't too happy about it. Pretty sure, he's going to be a 'jeans and t-shirt type of guy'... loves those soft cotton onesies! :)
Hosting Easter was so fun! Everything turned out how we pictured... and more! Thank you everyone for coming over and celebrating with us. Look!! All 20 of us fit in one room!

Look at these handsome boys!! They are the love of my life!

Here's a couple pictures that just melt my heart... Dane and Nixon together. Nixon is my cousin Clinton's son, and is one month older than Daner. They will have a blast growing up together.

We are so blessed to have eachother. I truly thank God everyday for our little family. <3

Whew! What a day... hosting a party really wears me out!! (It's hard to be a baby!)

365 x 2 + leap day = 731 days of happiness

Wow! I can't believe today is our 2 year anniversary.

I know it's clique to say, but the day we got married, was truly a 'top 2' happiest day of my life. I can honestly say that I married my best friend.

Dear Bret-
Thank you for being you! I love everything about you. Marrying you, was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Thank you for always sticking by my side, and supporting me each day. I thank God for you daily, and I am so proud of the life that we have built together.
Thank you for being the best daddy to Dane. He is so lucky to have you!
Thank you for always doing what's right, and what's best for our family. I don't awknowledge your hard work enough!
You are my husband, and best friend.... the perfect combination. I look forward to many more laughs, memories, vacations, movies, and holidays with you.
Dane and I are so lucky to have you as a husband and daddy!
I love you, and happy 2 year anniversary!! Time really does fly when you are THIS happy!
With love,
Amber

... and they lived....

Crib Time!

Dane has been sleeping in our room in a bassinet since he was born. I liked him next to us, and really didn't see the rush into moving him into his own room. I think it's a bit strange that in our culture we have our babies in their own room. I mean, we watch them like hawks all day long, and then at night, when they are most vulerable, we put them by themselves in the dark.
So, I have been putting off moving him into his own room.

Well... the time has come, and I told myself that when I was on Spring Break from work I would move him into his room officially! I anticipated some sleepless nights, on both of our parts. :)

So, really I had nothing to worry about! He loves it, and has been sleeping atleast 9 hours straight each night! I hope it's not beginners luck! I really think that he likes the extra room to move, wiggle and adjust in the night!

Being a new mom is tough, you don't know what's the right thing to do! There's so many different opinions out there! I just have to do what I think is best for our little family and Dane.
So far, I don't think we're too bad! :)