MOMS ARE SO CUTE!

I don't know about your mom, but my mom is always doing the cutest little things for her kids and grandkids. Case in point, when we were there this last week visiting, she had found an old quote that she loved, typed it out, and framed it for me (they were just temporary though, because she wanted me to pick out something that I liked). She said that reading was important to her and knew that it would be important to me as well, so she wanted me to have this great quote to put somewhere in my home. So together we picked out a frame and super cute paper to print it on. And now, Mom, it's lovingly placed on the top of CJ's dresser where we can both see it everyday. Thank you!

In case you can't read the quote, it says, "You may have tangible wealth untold, caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be, I had a mother who read to me."

SPRING BREAK 2008 - TRIP TO UTAH

We spent Bryce's Spring Break in Utah this year, which happened to be during my birthday, so it was a nice little birthday bonus to be home. We didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here's a rundown of what we did:

- Sat. Mar 8: flew into Utah

- Sun. Mar 9: went to church, hung out, and went to Springville to see Bryce's Aunt LuAnn and Uncle Bart and his cousins

- Mon. Mar 10: Paige got her hair done (her roots touched up), Bryce and Paige went to lunch with Bret and Jan Allen at Costa Vida, Paige went to dinner with her high school girl friends while Bryce went to his cousin Tyson's house to hang out with his fam

- Tues. Mar 11: Paige got her hair cut, and Paige, Bryce, and CJ went to see Grandma and Grandpa Mackay (Bryce's grandparents) in Taylorsville

- Wed. Mar 12: went on a run, went to breakfast at Magleby's Fresh with Bryce's cousin, Tyson, and his friend, Kevin, shopped with Paige's mom for outfits to wear for their family pictures, went to dinner with Paige's family at Mimi's (an early b-day celebration for Paige)

- Thurs. Mar 13: Paige's b-day, so Bryce made her waffles for breakfast, she went on a run, they had their first family pics done by Haley Warner, Bryce took Paige to the Chef's Table (a special restaurant - they had their wedding dinner there) and gave her a crossword book and the new iPod nano, and they shopped for a bit before going home for the night

- Fri. Mar 14: Paige spent the morning shopping with her mom, then running errands with Bryce, Bryce went to his cousin Will's swim meet, Paige went to her nephew Abram's second birthday, then they all went to dinner at Brick Oven with Bryce's brother, Tyler, his old mission companion, Garrett, and his wife, Kaylie, and one of their converts, Michelle, and one of Bryce's converts, Maria, and her boyfriend/fiance, Aaron

- Sat. Mar 15: Mom made everyone breakfast, we packed up our stuff, and flew back to Spokane :(

PAIGE'S HAIRCUT

In every girl's life there comes a time for a change. And my time has come! So after waiting 3 long months to see Shep (at Shep Salon in Provo), and wanting a change for over a year (but I didn't want to do what everyone does when they get married or have a baby...cut my hair), I did it - I chopped off my hair! This is the shortest I have ever had it, and I love, love, LOVE it!! Next time, I may even go a little shorter. You can't really tell in the pic, but Shep actually did an asymmetrical cut, so it's actually a little longer in the front on the right side. I like it because it gives it a little edge. But I think next time I want something even edgier! So keep tuned and come the end of May/beginning of June, we'll see what my crazy hair obsession has done to me this time...

Before...

After...

CJ's NOT VERY CULTURED YET

It was a Friday night, Bryce and I were starving, and we were leaving for Utah the next day and so I didn't really feel like cooking and messing up the kitchen I had just cleaned, so we decided to grab something to eat. Originally, the plan was to leave at 5 PM, so we thought for sure we'd beat the Friday night rush at the restaurants. Of course, we didn't actually leave until 5:45, and by the time we got downtown, it was after 6 - what were we thinking?! Oh well, we were already there, so we stuck it out. After putting our name down at two restaurants, we went with PF Changs (yummy!). We ended up sitting outside on a heated patio, and while we munched on our Chinese food (okay, totally Americanized Chinese, but none the less :), CJ munched on something much more appealing to him...his teddy!

CAN'T WAIT FOR EASTER

It's CJ's first Easter, which means his first Easter outfit! I wanted to get him something Springy, but everything I was looking at was so dark (navy, gray, etc). But, I had to be careful not to get anything too Springy - there were a lot of pink and gray combos out there which, I usually don't mind pink on guys, but they were just a little too preppy for me. And, I had to keep in mind that it's still quite chilly, yet I did not want to do a sweater vest - I swear, every boy wears a sweater vest on Easter (not that there's anything wrong with that - CJ owns a couple himself :). So anyway, today I found some adorable separates that make a great outfit and ordered them so that they should all be here when we get back from Utah next week...just in time for Easter! Now we just need to get him some shoes...

The striped sweater is from The Children's Place and the oxford shirt and chinos are from Old Navy

HE'S GETTIN' IT

CJ's been rolling over for months, and sometimes he gets himself in precarious positions. What's great about watching him grow older is watching him learn and figure things out on his own. For example:

When your arm is out like this...

...you end up trying to roll over like this.
But don't worry...he figured it out :)

I SHOULD GET PAID FOR SAYING THIS

A bunch of our friends made New Year's resolutions to lose weight, like most of us do. But they were trying something different...The Daily Plate. I absolutely loathe counting calories and measuring food, and in the past, I've been able to lose weight by just watching more of what I eat and exercising a little more. But for the last 3 months, I had been stuck at the 10 pound mark; I just could not lose that last 10 lbs of baby weight and it was really frustrating. Tired of being uncomfortable and unhappy with my body, I thought I'd give the daily plate a try. Within days, I was hooked! And after the first week, I had lost 3 pounds! I hadn't lost any weight for over 2 months, and now, in just one week, I had lost 3 pounds! Needless to say, I was addicted...and the next week I lost 2 more pounds (ask me again in 3 days and I'll tell you how much I lost this week :).

The best thing about it is that it's not really a diet. I still eat what I want to eat. But now, just being aware of what I'm eating and how many calories it has, makes me make better choices in what I eat and how much of it I eat as well. It's been great!

So then, after seeing my progress, and a lot of prodding from me (I did the whole first day for him), Bryce got started. It's crazy how easy it is to get hooked so fast! Bryce started on Saturday, and by Monday, he was totally sucked in. He was even telling me yesterday how it's crazy, but when you feel good physically and you're taking care of yourself, it spills into other parts of your life, you know. Like you feel like you want to be more productive with your time and be doing and thinking good things. It really does have a holistic effect. And today was the one week mark for Bryce and guess what - he lost 3 pounds! I'm telling you, it really works!

Check it out at http://www.thedailyplate.com/ if you're interested

SPLURRRRGE!

So Bryce and I have been working hard to get our beach bods back (baby weight and sympathy weight did us in :), and after a long week of calorie counting, portion control, eating healthy, and exercising, we decided to go all out tonight and get the classic artery-clogging meal: a burger and fries! And nobody does a burger and fries like Red Robin (the Whiskey River BBQ Burger is our favorite). But don't worry, all is not lost. We didn't order the usual raspberry shake that we get, which believe me, took a lot of self control. And we didn't order any refills on those delicious bottomless steak fries. And on top of it all, we actually stayed within our caloric allotment for today. Yes! Eating so bad never felt so good!!

WARNING: The following images contain graphic scarfing

NERVE-RACKING

On Wednesday Bryce applied for a legal internship here in Spokane, and today he heard back from them; they're interested and would like to interview him on Thursday. Congratulations, Bryce!!

The way he looks at it, it's win-win no matter what. If he gets the job and we're supposed to stay here in Spokane, than that's wonderful. If he doesn't get the job, than at least he got some much needed experience interviewing (isn't he so positive? :).

Yea - Bryce's first interview for an internship! Scary - Bryce's first interview for an internship! Keep him in your prayers

10 REASONS WHY I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO UTAH NEXT WEEK:

(in no particular order)

#1: I'll get to spend all day, everyday with Bryce and CJ for a whole WEEK!

#2: Babysitters everywhere! :)

#3: Costa Vida has been calling my name for the last 7 months. And yes, Bryce and I like Costa Vida more than Cafe Rio - sorry.

#4: Everything is so close: the mall, including Nordstrom and Forever Young shoes, is 2 minutes away; Park City outlets, 40 minutes away; Cozy, Downeast, and What's Hot, 10 minutes away; okay, so mainly the shopping is close :) No, the movies - including the dollar movies - family, friends, and even the temple are within minutes.

#5: We'll get to catch up with people that we didn't really get a chance to over Christmas because it was so crazy

#6: It's my birthday and so I'm happy that I'll get to spend it with my family (so maybe next year will be my first birthday away from home :)

#7: I'm getting my hair cut! I'm so excited!! I just need a change, and I didn't want to do it right after I had the baby because everyone does that, and I didn't want to do it in Spokane because I saw Haley Warner's hair and Lindsey Mackay's hair over Christmas and they looked SO great that I had to have the same person cut my hair (not in the same way - but he did such a great job on their's that I trust he'll do something amazing with mine), and there was a two month waiting list. I'm definitely ready for something new.

#8: We're finally getting our first family picture done. I wanted to wait until CJ was smiling, and until I had lost all the baby weight, and until we could get Haley Warner to do our photos. She did my bridals, our engagements, our wedding, and CJ's announcements, and she is INCREDIBLE! Check her out at www.haleyannwarner.com

#9: Hopefully Bryce will be able to meet with some people about an internship this summer

#10: I get to see my friends, especially my friend Jodie, who has been trying so hard for so long to get pregnant, and now she is - yea! And more importantly, I get to see my family, whom I've missed so much!

SITTING UP

CJ loves to sit up and play now...especially on his playmat! Probably because he gets a better view of his friends (that's what we call all his stuffed animals, even the ones that hang from his playmat or on his mobile).

WHAT WAS LOST HAS BEEN FOUND

For any of you who read my blog, you know about CJ's shoe that we lost a month or so ago in all the snow. Well guess what I found? That's right, the snow melted enough to uncover CJ's shoe - yea! I had just finished running stairs and was out on the balcony stretching, when I looked down and there it was. It was smashed and had ice frozen all over it, but it was definitely CJ's shoe. So now CJ has two pairs of blue sneakers - but one pair are slip-ons and the other are lace-ups, so he's good to go!

The view from our balcony, and the circle is where I spotted CJ's shoe

It's the miracle shoe...that's why it's glowing!!

Mom is the Best

I just wanted to give a shout-out to my mom, Sheila, whose as incredible as they come. She has not only been one of our/my greatest supporters, but has been an incredible grandma to CJ and is always one who puts a smile on my face. I love you Mom more than anything, and I just wanted you, and everyone, to know how great you are.
Love,
Bryce

P.S. Paige thinks you're pretty great too :) Undoubtedly the best mother-in-law in the WORLD and a fantastic grandma - we're all so blessed that you're a part of our lives!!

CJ's FIRST REAL BATH

Now that CJ is sitting up so well, we thought it was time to start giving him baths in the bathtub...so today was his very first real bath. He didn't quite know what to think of it, hence no smiles in any of the pictures, but at least he didn't cry. He'll get used to it, I'm sure, and hopefully learn to love bathtime. Now we just need to get him some bath toys...

NEW CLOTHES (like every 6 months)

So I'm loving, loving, loving shopping for CJ now!! While I was pregnant, and even after CJ was born, I'd find myself wandering over into the little girls' department and stewing about the fact that there is so much more to choose from and such cuter clothes. But now that CJ is older, the clothes they make are so much less baby-ish (you know what I mean, with little fuzzy animals on them or really neutral colors) and it's like shopping for a little teenager. A few weeks ago, we packed up all of CJ's 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes, and he was in need of some 6-12 month clothes, so I went on a spree (and it's fun because it's totally justified :). A bunch of clothes that I ordered on-line finally came yesterday, and so today, CJ tested some of them out. First, I met some friends at the Spokane Valley Mall and the kids played in the play area while we chatted and then got lunch. And then, he got to wear some of his new, big-boy jammies to bed tonight. I know most of you don't care, and probably get sick of seeing so many pics of CJ, but you have to admit, he looks so freakin' cute!! P.S. I used Picasa2 for the cool effects on the pics