catch-up #2: trip to arches.

my favorite arch.

Going to Arches has been on Kevin's bucket list forever and even though I grew up in Utah, I'd never been either.  So, though it made life all the more crazy before the move, we decided we should probably squeeze in a trip down there before we moved so far away. 
We left the Monday after graduation and Lee's birthday and drove the *long* 3 hours to get there from our house. (I can't believe we almost never made the trip.)

bathroom break (and goat ride) at the visitor center when we got to the park.

My mom's family did an Arches trip the beginning of April that we'd really thought about joining them on, but unfortunately it fell right in the few weeks before Kevin was presenting his Thesis and the end of the semester so we opted out.  We decided to go just after graduation since Scott and Jenna (our brother and sister) were going to have some free time then too. 
We decided against camping with four kids under five, two of which were barely one. Oh, and one very pregnant person...
We found a great deal on a big condo just outside of Moab and it turned out to be just the thing for our families; fully furnished with a kitchen and plenty of room and a pool so that we could have some non-hiking time for us and the kids.

The week before we left my doctor put me on "casual bed rest" because for both this and my first pregnancy too much physical activity causes contractions and since I delivered four weeks early with Lee, he told me to "avoid physical activity as much as possible".  Thankfully Arches is full of short and mellow hikes so I was still able to do almost everything. Literally the night before we left my Momma and brother David decided to come with us. (we had an extra bedroom at the condo) It was so fun to have them, we wish our whole family could have been there. 

Me and Jenna at Balanced Rock.

Lee and Dave.

would not stop eating the rocks.

 We had such a great time, it is amazing to me how different parts of the world can look. We couldn't get enough of the views.  Arches really is a great place to take young kids too, since most of the hikes are so manageable and short.  It was pretty hot while we were there but that wasn't as bad as I thought it could be either. 
*side note* Though I'm thrilled that we're having another baby soon, I'm not nearly as thrilled with all the photo documentation of the pregnancy. 

pool time. Lee loved it.

Scott and Jenna family.

our view of delicate arch, the only arch I couldn't hike all the way out to.

my favorite formation. so pretty.

Lee wasn't always chipper...

David (and Lee) slept the entire way home.

Kevin and sleeping Lee at Landscape Arch.

We had such a fun time.  It ended up being such a healthy little break in the midst of madness for us there at the end of our time in Utah.  Woot.

playing catch up: Lee's FIRST birthday.

Lee is 13 months today, so I guess I'm only a month late in documenting his "big" first birthday.  I'm honestly surprised that we managed to get a celebration in there at all.  Lee's birthday happened to fall in the middle of Kevin's graduation, family visits, family moves and packing for our own move. 

I did manage to get one picture of Lee on his birth-day even though we didn't actually celebrate until the next day. 

This picture is just as Lee woke up, his hair does the craziest things in his sleep.

It felt like Lee's birthday took us by surprise, life was so insanely hectic for the last little bit of our time in Utah.  Of course, I initially planned on throwing a themed, (probably over the top) cute and well planned party but it just really didn't work out that way.   Looking through the pictures I still feels some pangs of guilt for doing so little for Lee in general at that time, he had a LOT of "independent play" time those last few weeks with me packing every spare minute and Kevin always being on campus working on his thesis and then on thesis corrections that had to be done on campus before we moved.  I've been trying to make up for it with some good quality play time since we moved. (in between running out at the drop of a hat to look at houses)
It is crazy to think that he has already been with us for a year.  And of course at the same time, he has become such an integral part of our family and our lives.  We love our Lee boy. 

At one Lee is; sweet-tempered, content, detail-oriented, a people and situation observer, a music lover, a little dancer, a book lover, a picky eater (hates textures unless it's what mom and dad are eating right then), very cautious of what he touches, a fantastic independent player, a daddy's boy and a very slobbery kiss giver.
Lee just broke his first tooth within weeks of his first birthday and didn't start legitimately crawling until just after. 

For Lee's party we had a family BBQ, Kevin's parents were in town for graduation, my parents came and all of my married siblings and their families were there too.  Of course we missed Sister Tanner and the two youngest in my family were doing lifeguard certification.

Lee was completely uninterested in opening his presents, but no worries there, he had REALLY good helper cousins to do that for him.  He was genuinely excited for his presents for the most part. (one of which his cousin Emily has and has been his FAVORITE thing to play with every time we go over.)
PS: really glad that pregnant me is the backdrop for almost all Lee's birthday pictures, poor planning on my part.:)

(notice all the boxes in the corner)

Lee is a very cautious kid when it comes to tactile experiences so we weren't sure how'd he'd react to having cake.  Ha, as you can see, he was not thrilled with touching it at all. Though, he was DELIGHTED to be fed the sugary deliciousness.

Happy birthday to Lee.  I was glad that he got to have one "cousin birthday" before we moved since he probably won't have too many (if any) more of those now that we live a *little* far away. (Until his cousins' families join us down here in Houston of course..crossing our fingers) Not that he'll actually remember it but I do have photographic proof, so we're good. 

So, so grateful for our miracle baby Lee who has grown to be our miracle toddler Lee.  I think I love most having his personality become more and more pronounced we still can't believe what a blessing he is. Worth the wait is a complete understatement.

goodnight, time flies.

Four years ago...

Today:
Woke up to Lee crying (too) early this morning and as Kevin came back from calming him back down I mumbled, "happy anniversary Kevin." We have, to date, never actually "celebrated" an anniversary in the traditional sense. (unless a move, extended family events, house hunting, or a doctor's appointment count) Granted, we aren't great "celebrators" to begin with, but every year we say, "next year we are going to celebrate our anniversary." Maybe next year. :)

 
That said, as we were driving to meet my new (yes at 32 weeks) baby doctor this morning, we were amazed at how much has happened in the last four years and how much we/our lives have changed. (especially the last year; *almost* two babies, the end of Kevin's academic education, a cross-country move and the beginning of a "real" job.)

Looking through pictures of our wedding brought back strong memories of how I felt then, the kind of relationship we had and people we were.
Needless to say, we've changed, a lot and mostly for the best. Some of the things we've experienced I would have been so excited to anticipate and others probably would have kept me up at night with fear and worry.
It really is a blessing that life comes one day at a time and that, good and bad, I didn't know/don't know what was/is ahead for us.  I'm just really grateful that we get to face it all together and that whatever life brings will be exactly what we need.
Happy Anniversary Kevin.