Tonight...

Have I told you Preston loves dogs?

Well he does...SO MUCH. Did I also mention that im a mean mom and I dont know if I will EVER buy a dog? I dont mind visiting dogs but theres no way id want or would take care of one. Im glad I have time to think of a great way to say no when this poor little boy asks me for a puppy.

Well tonight we went and played some Wii with Danny and Alyssa...I have to say that me and alyssa pretty much rock at level 1! haha! It was fun...I love hanging out with them.

Is this my son? haha totally doesnt even look like him...funny what gravity will do. He insisted on being upside down and finding Aunt Alyssa!

Okay here is my son! Throwing a fit on the floor...haha given it was past his bedtime.

Wow I have a ton of things to do tomorrow. Family pictures at 8 am and a house to clean and food to cook and a park to decorate for Prestons bday party at 5pm. Thank goodness for my amazing sister who is spending the entire day with me to help me out!! I totally better get some sleep....good night!

A good day...

This morning my adorable little guy woke up and 6:15am. Elena decided since today was her birthday that she wanted to skip our 6:30 walk and sleep in. Well I thought that was a fabulous idea and wanted to do the same. So when preston woke up i gave him some milk, changed his diaper and layed him back down...we slept another 2 hours!!! YAY! And when he woke up he just stayed in his crib happily playing with his feet and swinging his arms around. When i opened the door to go and get him he jumped up as fast as he could with the BIGGEST grin on his face, laughing and jumping around. Boy was he SOO excited to get up! It was the cutest thing i have ever seen. I thought to myself...today is really going to be a GOOD DAY.

Notice Preston is in his big boy seat!! He absolutely LOVES it! I bought it a couple of days ago and i couldnt wait to switch his infant seat out. I thought id be a little sad cause my goodness this boy is growing up too fast but the look on his face when he realized he can now see mommy and see out the window was priceless. Not to mention i love it as well. I hate not seeing him and what hes doing...we bought a little mirror so we could see him but he was getting big enough to reach it and tear it down so it was useless.

Well this morning we drove out to saguaro lake to look around for good picture spots. We were supposed to take our family pics last saturday but it got switched to this saturday, so i had more time to drive out and take a look around. We drove with our windows down and wind blowing on our faces...preston had a huge smile :). We also drove by toys r us...i bought this car seat there and a the next day i found a 20 % off coupon so i took my reciept and the coupon and they refunded me some money! YAY! I ended up saving 25.00 on the seat...i was excited!

Okay so heres a picture of beautiful lake saguaro. I really wanted to take our pictures here because we are lake people...especially spencer...he would live on the lake and wakeboard everyday if he could. So i thought taking a picture at the lake would just fit our family. BUT we are taking our pictures on a saturday morning and i think the lake will be really busy with boaters and i dont want a bunch of boats in the backround. But arent those mountains to die for? Seriously so pretty.

Or I was thinking we could take them down the road from the lake a bit at the river. The trees there are green and big and i think they are really cool looking...we could get closer to the water so we could have that in our shots and the river is still pretty cold so i dont think alot of people will be there. I honestly think they would both turn out really good but i just cant decide which one...So if i could have your guys opinion on which one would help out a TON! So please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Getting the mail...

The other day I took Preston outside with me to go check our mail. We brought Mr.Lion outside so that he could walk himself. He loved every minute of it. One of our neighbors walked out side and as soon as Preston saw him he stopped what he was doing and started waving untill our neighbor waved back. Hes such a cute and funny boy! Once we made it down the driveway to our mailbox he still wanted to go further so we walked down the side walk past a couple of our nieghbors and waved to all the cars driving past us. Then we heard a dog bark and totally lost interest in walking and tried crawling to where the dog was...boy does he love dogs. ( and i dont ever want one....i dont know what well do ). Hes starting to want to copy dog barks...but they dont really sound right...more like a high pitched grunt haha.

We check the mail together now everyday...

P.S. - Prestons Birthday party is next Saturday at 5 pm, we are going to have it at the park down from our house or at our house if weather is bad ( but im sure it will be nice ). I wasnt too sure who to invite since hes so little and doesnt really have "friends" yet, so we invited mostly family but anyone else who would like to join us for some dinner and desert and good company is welcome to come! We would love for our friends to be there! So if youll be in town or already live here and have the day off then then come join us! Just let me know!

Meet Elena...

Me and Preston totally have a new buddy! Me and Elena are both in nursery together and decided to go on walks in the early mornings, at like 6:30 every morning. Its been SO fun. I have really missed being able to have a social life and talk to someone my own age haha. But weve actually been hanging out a couple of days during the week when she gets off from work. It really has been hard to find people to hang with, either they arent married or dont have kids and its hard to find common things to do with me bringing along a baby OR i have a few friends who have kiddos too but its so hard to get our schedules together because things get crazy!  ( Besides my sweet sister who has pretty much been my only friend that hangs out with me! I LOVE her so much! ) Well elena is single and no kiddos but LOVES my preston and loves kids in general. Its actually nice talking about her dating and single life since my life is consumed of diapers and cleaning supplies and what to make for dinner.

Not to mention that Preston really does love her too. He has her wrapped around his little finger and he loves it haha.

Yay for good friends! We love Elena!

Regrets...

Have you ever been so frusterated and had no one to talk to and its just eating at you? Well I do sometimes and guess what i do? I blog about it. Ive realized that its not the best idea or approach to fixing my problems. I just need to vent sometimes and honestly i look back and read what i wrote and it honestly just didnt need to be written for the whole world to see.

I read a quote and scripture today that says " A gracious woman retaineth honour." -proverbs 11:16 and " I feel to invite every woman everwhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass." -unknown.

I think that summerizes exactly what i need to work at and to become. A gracious woman who is constantly trying to be and do her best. So Im starting right now and apoligizing to anyone who might have become offended by what i have written. I honestly never wrote anything that was towards anyone else. I just let my frustrations out and i may have said things wrong. So im sorry and i will be careful on what and how i say things from now on. I love you all.

Weekend in Flagstaff...

Preston LOVES to walk. Though he wont walk on his own haha he just wants to push something to where he wants to go whether it be my kitchen chairs or his toys...but either way HE DOES get where he wants to go. And if he gets stuck or crashes boy does he get upset. He has a little bit of a temper this one does haha.

He also wants to move around in the bathtub and try and drink the water no matter how many times i tell him no and stop him. Im having the hardest time with "no" right now. Hell get in some kind of trouble and ill tell him no and hell look right up at me with the cutest biggest smile and i cant help but smile and laugh, doesnt matter how hard i try and do it, i always cave! And then he smile and laughs and it turns into a game...

Well Flagstaff wasnt all that we hoped it would be but we were able to go and visit my Aunt Merrie and Uncle Heath while we were there...we visited and played games. Their nephew and his wife Rhet and Nicole were there also and they are alot of fun! They have a little girl that is the same age as Heath and Merries and it was so fun to watch them play together...they would even talk to eachother in like a secret language! haha it was adorable! Oh how i wish Preston had someone his age to play with!

Well were home now and Ive been really busy. We have family pictures scheduled for saturday and Im SO excited! We need them badly! Oh and p.s. I found the cutest outfit for my pictures at Designer boutique on higley and queen creek, they have a sale right now for 30% off your entire purchase untill wednesday! I snagged a great deal!

This Face...

...never fails to make us laugh!

Prestons "new" thing to do is scrunch up his nose and breath really hard in and out super fast haha! Where he learned this I have no idea! It is super hilarious though...and i think its cute! Ill do it back to him and he gets super excited! Boy do I love this little guy!

( hence the sleveless shirts....its getting SO warm here! )

Stretch Marks...

One of my friends from highschool, Minette, sent me an email with this story in it this morning. Im not really sure where she got it but I fell in love with the story and thought it would be awesome to share. Heres a little backround on the women this story is about: She is the mother to an angel baby named Gavin. Gavin was here on earth for a short time before he was called back home. Being such a special and valiant spirit, Gavin never had to feel anything but love in this life. He didn't have to know what it felt like to be picked last on a team. He didn't have to know what it felt like to feel lonely. He never cried over a broken heart or felt the sorrows of the world. All he knew was love, he was surrounded by it!



To become a mother, our bodies must make a great deal of sacrifice in order to bring our children into this world. We get together in our circles and compare loosened skin (you know what I mean--right?), widened hips, and even stretch marks. This post gave me greater insight as to what it means to be a mother. Is it possible that even stretch marks are a blessing... I think so.



Christ carries us on the palms of his hands, and on his feet. These, are sacred scars. We just had Stake Confrence this week and the Stake President made a comparison that changed my way of thinking. He spoke of Christ and the scars that he carries, to remind each of us, of the sacrifice that HE made for us. Then he spoke of how in this day in age we are so concerned with how we look that some of the more important things go unnoticed. We want to change things that maybe we should actually be proud of. We want to erase things, sacred scars, that we could hold dear instead. He then compared Mothers and the sacred scars they carry on their belly's, to that of Christ. We carry these sweet children in out belly's and sometimes they sign thier names across our belly's with red lines that most of the world would consider ugly. But they are sacred. Stretch marks. They are the battle scars that our bodies waged as we grew the precious bodies that would hold these fabulous little spirits. Truly SACRED scars.



I hated my stretch marks right after I had Gavin. They were so ugly and red and obvious. But then when I gave my sweet Gavin back, they became something so different. They became evidence that he was real, that he lived, that he loved me, and that at one point we were so close, we were literally one. He in me. One. Those stretch marks became his everlasting letter to me. "Mom, I love you. Thank you for bringing me here. Together for Eternity. GAVIN". And when the Stake President made that comparison, I guess it confirmed what I already felt. These are sacred Scars. Scars that I treasure. Thank you Gavin, for leaving a little "love you" note behind.
 
 
When I finished reading that I got all teary eyed...i have felt so "ugly" and tried so hard to get rid of the marks i have from my precious Preston. I will literally never look at stretch marks the same way again. I know Spencer thinks Im beautiful and I know how much he and Preston love me. I know Ill always be beautiful in our Heavenly Fathers eyes and thats all that matters right? Thank you Minette for sending this my way, it really lifted my spirits and touched my heart!

Us...

These are pics taken last week when Preston went and got his 2nd dose of shots :(. Look at him playing with those cars...doesnt he look so big!? He did really good and only ran a slight fever that night. Hes getting to be my big boy...

So Ive totally been slacking on my blogging lately...weve been SO BUSY! But Im finally back into our normal schedule and I should be able to keep up with this thing again. :). This month has started out crazy and I dont know when its going to end...We have Family pics/prestons 1 year old pics scheduled for the 24th...im so excited about them but im still trying to figure out where i want them done and what i want us to wear...Prestons birthday party is May 1st and Ive been trying to figure out how im decorating and what we'll eat and what to even buy for the little guy! Everything we have going on this month and next is fun stuff so im really excited just really busy as well.

Some new stuff Preston has learned recently is to wave goodbye and clap his hands. He does them both SO CUTE! He doesnt understand that we wave hello and goodbye so hell only wave goodbye haha. He can stand up now without holding on to anything so Im guessing hes getting pretty close to walking...CRAZY! Hes still absolutely adorable and so very fun! We love him to pieces!

Well thats all for now I have bathrooms to scrub...carpet to be vaccuumed...and clothes to fold!

At the Pool...

This week has come and gone SO FAST.

Actually let me rephrase that...the last 3 weeks have come and gone SO FAST. I cant believe that my family already left this morning. Ive spent the last 3 weeks with them and i have enjoyed every bit of it. Im really going to miss them a TON. And I know Preston is going to be like " where is everybody"...he really had tons of fun hanging out with all of them.

We really had a lot of fun...of course i wasnt that great about taking pictures like i said i was going to be...dang it. But i did take my camera when we went to the pool. We went to my grandmas senior community pool ( cause its heated ) and it felt so nice to be out in the sun and work on a little tan...Preston got some great color ( not red at all ) and of course I got red...i think preston is going to take after the coons skin and will be able to get tan easily...I just hope he gets my complexsion. Well see!

I loved this picture of Preston and Court...They both look super cute! I cant tell you how much Ive enjoyed having my family around...they are so funny, so helpful, and we all just get along SO WELL. If i could have one wish right now it would be that we all lived closer. I couldnt tell you how happy that would make me.

Preston had tons of fun with grandma! I told myself that i would take some really cute pictures of the two of them and did i do it? Nope. Im pretty mad at myself for not doing it. But they just love eachother and I know Preston will be missing his Grandma Bigelow TONS.

We love you Dad, Mom, Tanner and Courtney...And we miss you SO MUCH already!

Visiting Brandi...

Raycer Jaxx Kakavas

I have been dying to go to the Maricopa Hospital to visit Brandi and Raycer! She was airvacked to the valley the day I flew out to Utah so I couldnt come and see them untill I got back. Luckily I was able to go on Monday and see that adorable little boy. And when I say little I mean tiny...brandi said he was only 4 lbs 1 oz. He is so perfect looking and is getting healthier every day. I am so very thankful things worked out and mommy and baby are doing so well. We just love the kakavas family!

Isnt Brandi just gorgeous!? Im just so jealous of how tiny and beautiful she looks after having her 3rd baby!

Holding that tiny baby made me a little baby hungry again...though Im sure I can wait a little longer. haha. The only way i could go and see her was to take my little brother Tanner with me so that he could watch Preston in the waiting room while I went in and saw them. I guess Preston wasnt that good haha and Tanner said it was a learning "experience". I felt pretty bad especially walking up to them and seeing all the bread Preston had thrown everywhere and Tanners face when he handed preston over haha! Tanner said there was an older lady sitting behind him and he could tell she was talking about him when she said " Kids are getting younger and younger having babys! " and then " I wonder where his wife is! " haha poor Tanner. He says hes definantly not ready for a baby....HAHA I think i need to let all teenagers watch Preston for an hour and scare them out of doing things they shouldnt! ( Not that Tanner is a bad kid...at all! ) Tanner really is sooo good with Preston and Im so thankful he was willing to watch him for me. He really is the best little uncle!

Happy Easter...

Isnt his reaction to his basket priceless? I love this picture...he was so very excited to wake up to a new toy sunday morning.

I dont know about other familys but my family always got candy plus a little something extra in our basket...some kind of toy when we were little or money when we got older. I of course stuck to my tradition and since preston doesnt really eat candy he just got some little toys and bunny ears in his basket this year. I did get Spencer a little something this year...weve never done it for eachother before but Ive been gone and just did it to show how ive missed him and how thankful i am he let us go. He just got a new shirt and some candy!

We watched the morning session of conference at our house and then right when it was over we ran to my grandparents and had easter lunch with them....steak and potatoes, salad and rolls...mmm mmm it was dang good. After lunch we watched the 2nd half of conference and then visited with my family untill about 430. Then we went to Spencers parents house for dinner and read the story of the reserection in Luke. It was really nice getting together with both familys...we had a great day!

Preston is almost walking! He can stand up by himself...as you can kinda tell in the picture above. He is just getting too big...hell be one is less than a month.. i really just cant believe it. We had him wear his bunny ears to both of our familys houses...he looked adorable but it wasnt really his favorite thing to wear haha. Spencer kept telling me to get those things off his little boy! haha

Hope you all had a Great Easter Sunday! Love...the Coons!

Were Back!!!

We are finally back home with Spencer! We arrived saturday around 4:30...we had an awesome trip but we sure did miss Spenc. With Easter on sunday and part of my family still here with me in arizona I havent had time to post untill now...Easter pics to come soon!

 It was so nice to get away from it all and have no worries, I seriously just had time to relax and laugh...I had a ton of helpers with preston... so it REALLY felt like a vacation haha. I was there for 12 days and I really didnt take very many pictures :(...Im usually pretty good and I did take some but I wish I would have taken more of my dad with Preston and even my mom with preston...my mom is still here with me though so ill make sure and do that. Well some of our highlights of our trip were:

1. Preston was SO spoiled...my parents got him a crip to stay at there house, toys, clothes and pretty much whatever else he wanted haha...he loved it!
2. Chloe ( my parents dog )...Preston loves her to death and just wanted to be her best friend the entire time. Im not much of a dog fan but I really do love her...she lets him hit her and take her toys...shes honestly the best dog i have ever seen with children.
3. Grandpa let preston eat ice cream, played with him, read to him, let him drive and would give him any bites of food that he wanted haha He loves his grandpa

4.   We saw cousin Aaron...Preston got a little beat up haha but they had fun and it was so nice to visit with the Jensen Family.

5.   It was the best to be able to suprise my mom...she had no idea and it was sooo fun! Preston loves grandma to peices and got TONS of hugs and kisses!

6.   We were able to go to Courtneys Volleyball tournament that saturday and it was a blast to watch her play. She is amazing at every sport she plays...im so jealous of how athletic she is. Her team won that tournament!

7.  Courtney was so good with Preston and had tons of fun making him laugh...I had a blast staying up late with her...having sister to sister talks, playing mario, and watching girly movies...oh how i love my sister, i miss her tons!

8.   We met up with my friend whitney! We played games at the arcade, she helped courtney with her batting swing ( Courtney had softball tryouts the next day and Whit plays softball for the BYU team ). She is so fun and so sweet. I love being able to catch up with her while im in utah!

9.   Tanner is hilarious...Im serious he made me laugh the entire time. Hes so fun to be around and is great with Preston ( as long as hes not crying haha ) He makes preston laugh all the time...He loves that crazy uncle so much!...and so do I!

10.   We spent alot of time at my parents since the weather was pretty chilly...it was actually really nice to sit by the fire and talk and play with Preston. One of his favorites was playing in the hamper with grandma and grandpa. It was his " boat " and hed drive back and forth...he had a blast!

11.   We went to a scrapbooking expo and it was soo cool. There were a ton of fun stuff to look at and great ideas. I found the cutest watch i have ever seen and me and my mom had to buy them! We have matching watches now and we love them!

12.   I got my hair done by my cousin Sydnee and it looks so super cute! She did an awesome job!

We did alot more but Ill just mention those...I love my family and Im so very grateful I got to spend all that time with them. I really wish I could spend my days with my mom like i did for that week, i would give anything to be closer but i guess that will do for now.