Dutson Family Reunion

Aaron, Loralye, and I spent this past weekend in St. George for a family reunion for my mom's side of the family and had so much fun! My parents took Loralye all day Friday and drove her to Utah that afternoon. Aaron and I drove up to meet them right after work. We spent Friday evening with my mom's sister Leanne and her hubby and kids. I love being with them. If I had the time and money I would be in St. George every other weekend at least. Saturday we went to Hidden Valley Park for a few hours in the afternoon, went to Cafe Rio for dinner, and went swimming (or attempted to go swimming in Loralye's case... she hated it!) at Shane and Nikki's hotel's pool that night. I was taught how to play Canasta (SO FLIPPIN FUN!) and got to catch up on a couple episodes of The Office that I've missed this year. We have been TV-less since New Year's Eve so we have now officially seen 2 of the 2010 episodes of The Office. On Sunday we had brunch at Scott and Leanne's and my cousin Niki taught us a bit about our family history. It is so interesting to me to learn about genealogy. Apparently I have a great-great grandfather who fought in the civil war! When Aaron and I were talking about that on our way back home on Sunday he told me that he had a great-great grandmother who was still alive when he was born! Anyways, on Sunday afternoon we went to the cemetery to visit my Gramma's grave and take some pictures since we weren't able to take many the day of her burial due to some intense weather. I do not have any of those pictures yet, but will post them once I get them. In the meantime, here are some of the pictures I snapped at the park on Saturday!

Uncle Philip playing a little soccer.

Aaron and Loralye napping in the shade.
Cousin Hannah and Loralye going on a walk.

She loved this ice cream sandwich until she got about half way done and had a brain freeze.

Playing on the playground with cousin Allie.

On the playground with Papa and Grammy.

She crawled back and forth in this little tunnel for a good 20 minutes!

There were 3 babies at the reunion: Loralye, my cousin Kami's little boy Henry, and my cousin Niki's little girl Greta. We attempted to get some pictures of all the babies together, but it did not work out too well.
First attempt with Henry and Loralye: the binkie was distracting them.

Second attempt with Henry and Loralye: the Blabla was distracting them.

Adding Greta to the mix: Henry tried to escape.

And Greta's still learning to sit up :) This is the only picture I got of the three of them looking anywhere near the camera at the same time!

From Sunday... We miss you Gramma!

We had a blast spending time with everyone and definitely missed seeing those that weren't able to come. I am looking forward to doing this again next year and plan on taking a couple days off of work so we can spend even more time together! Mark your calendar's Dutson clan!! May 2011 in St. George!

Friday Favorites

I have been trying to take pictures of Loralye everyday for the last week or so. In just 16 months I feel like I have already missed out on taking pictures of so much with her, so I'm trying to make up for missing the chance to capture those memories. These are some of my favorites from the last week!

Walking to the mail box.
Her walks almost always turn into nature walks.
Leaves, flowers, and bugs must be examined.

Hanging out under her high chair.
I think it's time to introduce this girl to building forts.

She walks around the office all day now and cools off by laying on the floor.

She knows where the baby goes!

Waiting for Grandpa just outside his office.

If this picture doesn't make you smile, then I don't know what will
She was covered in yogurt, but so proud that she had spoon fed herself the entire container!

Loralye is with my parents today. I dropped her off with them at the Venetian this morning. My subconscious can't seem to grasp the fact that she's not here with me at work today though. Every time I've done something loud I immediately think, "Shoot! I'm going to wake up Loralye." Whenever it's quiet in the office, it's because she's sleeping, so I just keep thinking that she's napping! I know she's going to have fun with them today and I'm excited to meet up with all three of them in St. George tonight.

Happy Friday Everyone!!

16 Months

We had such a fun weekend! After work on Friday we went to Subway for dinner and Loralye enjoyed her first kid's meal! Technically it wasn't a whole meal, just a mini sub, but she got a cute little bag anyways. Aaron got a service call just as we were leaving, so he went out to the north west to deliver some chemical to a little sushi place and Lorayle and I headed over to Barnes & Noble. Loralye LOVED it there! She was walking all around the kids area and "reading" book after book. We were there for an hour or so and we each to home two books: Wuthering Heights and The Book Thief for me and There's a Wocket in my Pocket and Night Night Little Pookie for Loralye. We will definitely be going back there every chance we get! Aaron finished up right about the same time as us and we met over at Cold Stone to finally use the gift card Cynthia and Jason gave us. We went home very happy and Loralye was wiped out. She went to bed quickly and Aaron and I stayed up enjoying our ice cream and watching a movie. It was a perfect evening. Saturday was pretty laid back. Aaron worked in the morning and we went to check out a rental townhouse unit out on Flamingo and Ft. Apache when he was done. We love them! We got put on the waiting list, so hopefully something opens up in August. They don't have openings too often, so keep your fingers crossed for us! Sunday was Loralye's 16 month "birthday" so before church we went outside to take some pictures. Church was amazing as always and Aaron made us some amazing salsa chicken tacos with whole wheat tortillas for dinner. They were spicy, but delicious. ANYWAYS. I know you didn't need to know every detail about our weekend, but I haven't had a weekend that wonderful in a while and wanted to brag a bit, I guess :) Here are some of the pictures we got of Loralye before church. A special thanks goes to Aaron for keeping the baby smiling for the pictures. She is not one to smile for someone hiding behind a camera too often.

Our silly 16 month old.

She cracks herself up when she claps sometimes.

This one reminds me of some of the pictures I've seen of Aaron as a kid.
Her sandals didn't last 5 minutes.

Taking off in the wrong direction.

Sweet baby watching some neighbors.

Walking with daddy.

"Yay!" ::clap clap clap::

She is getting the walking thing down pat!

These two are from a couple nights ago. Aaron was pretending to fall asleep and then startling Loralye when she'd lean in to check on him. She loves her daddy and his antics :)

Happy Monday!
xoxo

8 Favorite Lists

1) My 8 Favorite Books:
1. The Scriptures
2. Pride & Prejudice
3. The Giver (I know it's like a 6th graders book, but I LOVE reading it)
4. Sarah's Key
5. Gone with the Wind
6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
7. Most of the my high school mandatory reads... Lord of the Flies, Great Gatsby, The Pearl, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, etc.
8. Most of the series everyone loves... Twilight, Narnia, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.

2) My 8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Flemings
2. Japanese Kitchen
3. Famous Dave's
4. Olive Garden
5. BJ's (just for the Pazookies!)
6. Outback
7. Me-n-Eds
8. Red Robin

3) My 8 favorite things about summer:
1. Beach Trips
2. Flip Flops
3. Swimming
4. Driving with the windows down
5. BBQ Parties
6. Tanning (a little bit)
7. The Farmer's Market in Clovis
8. Popsicles

4) My 8 favorite places to travel to:
1. Hawaii (Napili, Maui in particular)
2. Disneyland
3. Pismo/Cayucos/Cambria/Morro Bay/etc.
4. New York City
5. Clovis
6. Los Angeles
7. Bay Area
8. In the future: Kenya, Caribbean, Australia, Brazil, Italy, England, the list goes on and on

5) My 8 favorite activities:
1. Playing games (board, card, dice, domino, word, whatever)
2. Bowling
3. Star Gazing
4. Riding jet skis
5. Riding my quad in the mountains or on the sand dunes in Pismo
6. Putting together puzzles
7. Getting pampered (massage, manicure, facial, the works)
8. Baking/Cooking (this is pretty new to this list)

6) My 8 favorite sounds:
1. Aaron's voice
2. "Mamamama!" -Loralye
3. Loralye's laugh
4. Waves crashing on a beach
5. Rain on the roof
6. A good men's choir
7. A wind chime and chirping birds (early in the morning with a good book and hot cocoa in my hands of course)
8. "We have now begun our final descent into ..."

7) My 8 favorite stores:
1. Target
2. Anthropologie
3. Antique Shops
4. Bookstores
5. Costco
6. Marshalls, TJMaxx, etc.
7. Toy Stores
8. Pet Stores (especially the one with the cute puppies in Pismo)

8) My 8 favorite future plans:
1. Daddy-Daughter date
2. Quitting my job (even though I couldn't ask for a better one!)
3. Seeing my parents in 6 days
4. Family Reunion in St. George
5. Moving to a new apartment
6. Giving Aaron his birthday present
7. Turning 25
8. Having another baby

Little Walker

Loralye has been kind of walking for a couple months now. Aaron and I took her on walks outside with her cozy coupe pusher countless times and coaxed her to walk back and forth between us at home every chance we got. She got tired of the game after a few minutes every time and never really wanted to do try to walk on her own. However, the last weekend in April she decided that it was her time and she stood up on her own at my in-laws house and started walking around. The last two weeks she's been getting more and more confident and at church this past Sunday she was walking all over the place! It was crazy to see how much she improved in just a couple hours at church. I have a walker at work that she is in for a couple hours every day, but that went home to be put in storage yesterday. She just walks around the office on her own (for the most part) now! Aaron brought the baby gate here for me so that she can't get into Grandpa's office whenever she wants and he also brought her cozy coupe. Life at work has officially gotten more difficult with her being able to get into everything, but hopefully she will learn to listen to me saying no without throwing herself on the ground in a tantrum. We shall see. Here are some pictures of our little walker :)

xoxo

Happy Mother's Day!

I love my mom. It wasn't until I became a mother myself though that I truly came to understand all that she has done and continues to do for me. She has always been whatever I needed... a friend, a teacher, a cheerleader, a taxi driver, a cook, a spiritual advisor, a nurse, a maid, a coach, a shoulder to cry on, an ATM, a shopping buddy, a good listener, a grandmother, and most importantly, a good example. I love you, mom! Thank you for being all that you are!

I need some advil... and a nap.

Loralye is 15 1/2 months old now. Where has the time gone? She had her 15 month check up back in April and she is still measuring in the 100th percentile for both weight (27lbs 10oz) and height (I can't remember what she measured at right now). Last weekend she decided to stand up without any assistance from people or furniture and has started walking lots more. She prefers to crawl most of the time, but loves to walk, especially if she can hold a hand or push something in front of her. She has become a royal pain to have at work. She wants to walk or crawl around and explore, but this office (and I'm sure most offices...) isn't baby proof and there is really no way in the world to make it safe. So for now until she's 3 or 4 or however old she'll be when Aaron finally makes enough money for me to stay home, she is stuck with being in the walker, the pack-n-play, or her high chair. I hate it. She hates it. But whatever. We have a million bills to pay every month and Aaron's paychecks don't cover them and with his on call duties a second job isn't possible for him. So work I must. ANYWAYS. On that happy note (yeah, I'm in a bit of bad mood today, can you tell?), here are some pictures of the little princess for ya'll. These were all taken on my Blackberry, so please excuse the crappy quality.

On the airplane headed home from Clovis and Jesse's farewell. Or maybe is was on the way to Clovis. I can't remember. Either way, she is an EASY baby to take on an airplane. Maybe that's where I need to get a job. Do they let flight attendants have 15 month old assistants?

On of her favorite hobbies: emptying out the kitchen cupboards.

The result.
Going for a walk outside. This has become a daily occurrence when it isn't windy out. The wind freaks her out a tad when she's trying to walk so we stay in the house on Vegas's blustery days.
Trying to grab the phone. She loves to play with it for a second and then throw it on the ground.
Good times!
Walking!! Please excuse her partial nudity. 16 teeth = lots of drool and soaked shirts.

My eyelid is twitching. My head is throbbing. I'm tired even though I got almost 8 hours of sleep last night. I got a late start on statements and wouldn't be able to finish by 4 even if I wasn't blogging. I now need to take them home and work once the baby's in bed. Anyone want to switch lives for a few years? Or maybe it's just time to take my own advice and start counting my blessings, huh? Ugh.