Needed a change..

I get so incredibly bored with my hair. I really don't like anything about my hair so maybe that's why! I thought I'd get some bangs to change things up. Also to cover some weird baby hairs that started growing in the front after I had Noah.  I'm assuming I lost some hair during pregnancy and didn't notice, then they all started growing back. It's been a year and they are still looking really awkward. So my bangs will cover them up.

I went to a new salon, it was pretty good. And my hair-cut came with a neck and scalp massage. I think I scared the hair dresser when she asked me what kind of shampoo do I use and I told her I don't use shampoo... hahah. She never heard of no poo so I explained that I use baking soda and apple cider vinegar. She really did not understand what I was saying though, I could tell by the kind of questions she asked as I was explaining. Kind of funny.

I did let her use shampoo on my hair though because she used oils for the massage. So after 2 months of no shampoo, I broke the streak. It's okay, I don't think my hair will be too stripped from one time. I'll still continue on with my baking soda remedies :)

I like the bangs. Will I still like them in a month? Maybe not, but right now it's what I needed.

Here's another picture. We went to the zoo the next day. Love having the zoo pass! 

Over-Night Changes for Mr. Noah!

It's crazy but I swear the day Noah turned one, it was like a switch went on or something. He has so many new things already and it's only been a couple weeks! So I just had to blog about this stuff since I'm not doing monthly posts anymore.

The biggest change is that he is walking everywhere! I can't believe that he went from only taking 2 or 3 steps to walking around the house in just a few days. It's amazing! And he's so tiny, so it just looks so cute! He totally ditched crawling already.

The next biggest thing is that he's suddenly picking up new words every few days! He says:
banana = "nana"
hello = "hawaaoo" (on the phone)
bye-bye = "ba baa"
water = "wawa"
flower = "fala"
He also tries to say doggy (still comes out as dada), ball and truck (sounds like "cha") a lot. 

Not only communicating by words but he's signing milk ALL THE TIME. We use this sign when I'm going to nurse him. He finally started signing milk right before his birthday but now that he knows how to ask for milk he tries to use it to his advantage. Haha. If I'm bringing him into his room to play, he points to the rocking chair and signs milk. Or if I'm getting him ready for a nap he signs for milk even though he normally doesn't nurse before naps. What a little stinkbug.

He's also learning things so quickly and understanding SO MUCH! Just the other day I showed him where his belly button is and now he responds to you when you ask, "Noah, where is your belly button?". He lifts his shirt up and shows you. And he can show you where yours is too. And when you ask him what a doggy says, he makes barking sounds.

He's also just really copying what we're doing. We were playing outside and Derek had two sticks and tapped them together, Noah picked them up and started doing the same thing. Or I started dribbling one of his balls a little on the floor and he started copying me.

Just little things like that that just melt your heart! He's entering into a really fun stage and I know he's just going to continue to amaze us each day. It just makes you so proud when you watch your little one learn new things. We are crazy over that munchkin!

Easter Weekend

We had a pretty nice Easter. We just kept it very simple. No bunnies, no eggs, no chocolate. At least at our house. I felt like this year Noah was still young and I didn't want to get him any chocolate anyways. And I figured he'd get some treats from the family. Next year we'll do more festive stuff. But I do want to keep the main focus on our Savior of course.

Derek and I actually gave talks that Sunday at church. I spoke on President Uchtdorf's talk he gave this last General Conference, "Grateful in Any Circumstances". Derek's was on Elder Holland's. It was nice to speak on Easter but it only made me more emotional than I already am. Even though I don't look forward to speaking at church I know I need to in order to help me grow and conquer my fears. It wasn't so bad this time :)

After church we went to Derek's grandparents house to have lunch with everyone.  The kids had a little egg hunt and got some sweets. And Noah did get a few cute gifts. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

I know my Savior lives. He died for our sins and he is risen! He loves us and I love him. I know it's late but Happy Easter !

Tory & little Vivienne.  Loved her Easter outfit!

Sophia looked cute in her braids

Noah loves his Papa

We took a few pictures in our back yard after we got home.. aren't we cute?

The New Aquarium

The Living Planet Aquarium closed a little while ago and they have rebuilt a new one down in Draper. It looked HUGE from the outside and there was quite a lot of hype about it. It opened last month but we heard there were still some exhibits that were't completely finished. We also heard that if you went now then you could come back one more time for free before August 31st. So we thought it would be fun to take Noah.

We had a pretty good time. But I have to admit that it wasn't all that much different or cooler than the old aquarium. There were a few new things but I think we just had really high hopes. And who knows, maybe once everything is finished it will be much better and feel more complete. It was still worth it of course (especially since we can go back for free again this Summer).

We always enjoy taking Noah to new places. And he's really getting interested in animals. He liked the otters the most, I think. And the penguins. But it's hard for him to find a tiny seahorse in a little fish tank sized aquarium on the wall, and to understand that there is a different thing in each little aquarium on each wall.. know what I mean? I think he'll enjoy it more when he's older.

This was an indoor garden/jungle room kind of thing? I think they are going to put birds later on..

He did like the bigger tanks, easier for him to see what's going on. He kept trying to touch the fish through the glass when they came close to his face.

In the new shark tunnel. This part was pretty cool, but I found the water a bit muggy and dark, it was hard to see when the fish swam far away.

Monica & Bobby's Wedding

I'm getting behind on my blog! Spending too much time making homemade stuff! But anyway, Monica & Bobby tied the knot on April 4th! Monica is Derek's cousin. I'm so happy for them! They got sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. It was my first time witnessing a sealing besides my own, so that made it even more special. It was such a beautiful day that Friday and everything was just perfect. Congrats guys!

Here's a few pictures. Some taken with my phone, some with my camera...

Brooklyn & Kaden. What cuties!

Noah was still getting over the Roseola so he was still a bit grumpy that day

The Gailey Family. What a happy family

Beautiful Monica!

Those blue eyes

"Up Up and Away" Birthday Party

Note to self: Start planning earlier next year! When Noah was 9 months I started thinking, I need to start planning his birthday party. But then I thought, well it's still kind of early. So I wait.. and I wait. And then once I really start planning I'm like, oh my gosh I don't have enough time!

Then I was like, do I really need to do a theme? Noah doesn't watch TV and he's still a baby so he doesn't have favorite characters or anything like that. So I had to think, what does he really, really love? ...Balloons! He absolutely loves balloons, every time we go to the grocery store, he finds them, points to them and wants one really bad. The store employees usually notice and get one for him. So I looked on Pinterest of course and thought the idea of a Hot Air Balloon theme would be pretty cute, and not over-done.

There were a few things that I had planned out in my mind that I wanted to do that would make the theme more obvious but because of time & money I didn't get around to doing them. Also, we didn't know how we were going to have so many people in our house as the pavilion at the park had already been reserved. We have such a huge family. We ended up only inviting our closest family members and a few close friends. But it still ended up being around 40 people. Geez, it can be overwhelming trying to plan the perfect party! But it was all good, everything worked out. The party turned out great, the decor was really cute, the cake was cute (and the best tasting cake I've had), and we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather which led to us being able to have some tables outside on the front lawn.

Okay, so these first two pictures I took really quick the day of his photo shoot, after we got home. I was planning on printing them out and putting them on display at the party to set the theme. But his other pictures turned out so good I felt like I'd rather put those ones instead and didn't want to over do it.

I love that he is pointing up. My mom said it looks like he's saying "I'm ONE!" 

Okay, and here are pics from the party... :)

Dessert & drink table

Cloud cookies :)

Gotta have a giant mason jar water dispenser! 

Filled the frames with more birthday pictures

Of course we had to decorate his high-chair :)

Display table

The "paper" got smudged off, but aren't those neat chalk-paint labels? Target also had a chalk marker, which I thought was pretty dang cool. I thought this would be a cute idea so Noah can read these little letters when he is older :)

I saw this suitcase and had to get it, haha. I thought it was a cute prop for the theme

My mini-hot air balloon. I wanted to make a larger one but this worked fine. 

Noah's baby book. I have been filling it out all year and finished it the night before the party :) I really love this book. I hope Noah loves it when he is older (or at least his wife will!) It was Leila's but she never ended up using it, so thank you Leila! 

Just a little game & prize..

A photo album filled with Noah's one year pictures for the family members that don't have Facebook to see

I love how versatile this banner is since it's chalk paint! I'm so happy that I didn't make one instead

Derek's mom

Jess bragging about her muscles.. hehe :)

Derek's grandparents on his mom's side

Time to sing Happy Birthday

My friend Jenny & her cute pumpkin, Scarlett

Me & my sister in law, Vanessa

Me & my other sister in law, Leila

Aren't they cute!

Cake, cake, cake!

Derek's step sister, Tiffi & our niece, Vivienne

I'm so glad we have grass now so we can use our yard

These guys love this thing

My brother-in-law, John & Derek's mom, Connie

Derek's step brother, Tory & his fiancé, Vanessa

Opening gifts :)

What a cutie bum

That face, hah!

Happy Birthday little man

We love you!

The leftover cake that I devoured afterwards. I'm so bad. I hadn't had real cake in weeks. Maybe that's why it tasted so good. 

We're so grateful for our friends and family. We wish we could have invited ALL of them, but our house just isn't big enough. Thank you all for coming!