Utah trip

We went to Utah this past week and had such a fun time with family! 

We flew from Long Beach and love the airport because it's super small and you actually walk down some stairs outside to get off and on! Jack was loving all of the big planes! I don't think he realized we were actually on one!

The first day we went to the Farmington Station with my mom. They have the cutest little eating area where we sat and ate Zupas while Jack was just enthrawled  with the fountain. He can't ever sit still to eat a meal, so he ate some mango off my salad and then had dessert with Grammy. She spoils him. 

We had a fun little get together with our family for Jacks 2nd birthday! I can't believe he will be 2 in a week! We had all of his grandparents come and even some aunts, uncles and cousins! He calls most of them Grammy and papa but my dad loves to be called Papa Wheeler (pop a wheeler.... Motorcycle nut) and Melissa is called Gigi by her other grandkids so that's what Jack calls her too. He got lots of fun things! Books, a big goofy stuffed animal, a huge floor puzzle, church clothes, swim suits, and a cute little flute that slides to make silly sounds. He had such a fun time at his party! He woke up at 4:30 that morning and didn't sleep until a nap around 10. He skipped his afternoon nap and had 4 cupcakes that day. So he was a bit crazy!

The next day my dad and Connie got sealed in the Draper temple! I got to sit with my dad which was so special for me. Afterward we took picture outside the temple and my little explorer went to town! He kept saying "Mell the flowers!" (Sniff) "mm das good!" Haha he is such a sweet boy! 

On Sunday we were able to take the neighbors golf cart around the neighborhood and had so much fun! Jack loved riding around and kept saying "mommy crazy driver!" We went to my parents stake center down the street and drive all over the grassy field. They had a few bumps and we loved flying lover them! We were all laughing and having such a fun time! Brooklyn said "these are such fun memories!" 

We got shaved ice pretty much every day we were there. Jack is such a moocher when it comes to sugar. He kept saying "mommies!" "Bookies!" Haha he got his fill for sure! 

We went to my Dad's house the night before we left and Jack had so much fun playing in his yard! He has a front yard, then a back fenced in part where some chickens live. Jack played in there the entire time just following the chickens. Then they got out and he followed them into the front yard! There were also some wild ducks that flew in and just let Jack follow them around everywhere! The grossest part is Jack kept climbing the ladder to the dirty chicken coop. Sadly my phone memory was full so I didn't get a picture if all of this. 

On the last day we were there we went to a trampoline gym! I haven't had that much fun in a long time. We did backflips into the foam pit, we jumped on a huge bubble, and even slid down a big blowup slide 500 times. We had so much fun!

Sadly our trip had to come to an end. We had so much fun playing with our family! Jack hardly slept a wink and had a cold while we were there, but he was a party baby! He picked up "das mine!!" Which I was not thrilled about and he also started talking much quicker. He's growing up so fast and I can't believe how incredibly sweet he is. He kisses and loves everyone he sees. Such a sweet boy! We love our family so much and are sad to be back home. Hopefully we will see them again soon!

Catching up

Oh hey there! Remember me? Yeah I'm that girl that used to write to you constantly then one day just gave it all up. 

Well I'm back! For the time being... I just had to post about my sweet baby Jack. He's not so much a baby anymore and it's breaking my heart. I was looking back at old pictures of him around 6 months and sadly I forgot what he was like then! I can't believe I forgot but time has a funny way of erasing the little moments if we don't write them down! So I'm here to capture the wonderful little moments that are happening in our life right now.   

I'm sorry this is a jumbled mess, but I just have to get it all out before it's lost in my brain forever! So here we go...

Jack is so full of life and energy! Each morning I wake up just a little nervous for what the day has on store. He is such a busy body he can wear me out so quickly! His sweet little smile always brightens my day and I couldn't ever picture my life without him! 

He is talking up a storm now! He loves to say "Mom!" Then proceed to jibber jabber something I don't understand for a good minute or more! He loves talking even if I don't know what he is saying. So we have lots of conversations where I just mostly try to look really interested and smile and nod a bit. :) he can repeat any word we say and says it really well too! His favorite word is still no and says it way too much. He also started speaking in sentences! His first sentence was when we were in the backyard the other day and he turned to look at me. With a sniff into his hands he said "Mmm dis's good!" Haha he's just so hilarious and sweet! The way he gets excited about an airplane noise outside or the thought of going to color is just the cutest. He gets really big eyes and always makes an oo look with his lips. He has the sweetest spirit. Every time he gives me something he says "De-do mommy." (Thank you mommy) even when he doesn't need to say thanks he still does! He has started to say "hurt" and make me kiss any boo-boo an loves saying "ya you!" (love you) 

On a typical day with Jack you will usually find him saying "ca-cakes" (pancakes) first thing in the morning! He loves pancakes and waffles! ("Fa-fulls") he started this kick when we got the frozen boxes of Elmo and Cookie Monster kiddie pancakes and waffles! He loves milk and juice and begs for them constantly. After breakfast he finds the remote or iPad and says "shows! Shows" over and over again. He is too obsessed with the tv! I usually let him watch one while I get ready and it's either Mickey Mouse clubhouse or Jake and the never land pirates. ("Gake") after I'm all ready we usually color and color and color some more. He knows the names of all the colors, just not quite in the right order. Thanks to his aunties he know pink and white perfectly! He is also obsessed with stickers! He can unpeel a whole sheet in two minutes! His first spot to stick them is to his head! Haha we love going for walks outside and picking up "co-cones" (pine cones) he loves "sa-side" (outside) and we usually end up spending the majority of our day out there. The one thing in this world that Jack Fuller could never live without is his "butter mitch" (peanut butter sandwich) I think he asks for them probably 4 times a day. So usually for lunch that's on the menu! He loves all kinds of fruit, but only seems to like green veggies! He loooooves avocados and also likes cucumbers and broccoli. He loves Greek yogurt and cheese too! He could eat cookies all day err day! Haha after lunch time he takes a nap at 1:00 every day. He usually sleeps for 2-3 hours which is wonderful. I barely get the house and myself in order before it's back to coloring and playing all over again! He loves snacks and always is asking for some "sacks!" We usually eat crackers, cheese or fruit.  Our evenings are always different. Jack loves his daddy so much and even though he hasn't started work yet I have prepared him and whenever we are away from daddy he says "daddy, werk?" Haha they have so much fun playing together. I love watching their special bond! He is really starting to love Winston too! He always wants to give him his binki or pound it with him. Haha the best though is when Winston barks, we always get stern with Winston and say "no barking." Well now Jack takes the liberty of doing it himself. He will yell "Nin! A barking!" Haha I love that he calls him Nin. Jack also loves reading books! He can read the same book 10 times! He loves to have me read it to him a few times, then he read it to himself a few more times after that. At the end of the night we sing primary songs and pray together as a family. Jack is so cute when it comes to the prayer. He folds his arms immediately and says amen as well! He sleeps with his binki (still) and calls it his "beek" we are trying to phase that one out soon so we will see how it goes. He also sleeps with his special blanket he loves as well as big Elmo, little Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Mickey. Haha 

The one thing I want to remember most about this age is how excited he gets about things and also the amount of passion and wonder he has! When he stares longingly into my eyes my whole soul just melts into a puddle! I never want to forget that sweet face because I know too quickly he will grow up and forget all of that wonder he has within him. I am so grateful and incredibly blessed to be a mother to one of the most amazing boys. He has taught me so much about life! I feel like this is really living! I love seeing the world through his eyes!

I think that pretty much sums up our sweet, lovable, amazing little boy! He is growing up so much! It makes me so sad to see how time is flying by. But it's also so wonderful to see him growing as well! We love our precious little man! 

September Happenings

Our September was a fun one.

We did so many things!

- Jack had his first ever toddler melt down complete with light head banging on the floor at IKEA. haha

- Jack was pictured a lot while he was enthralled with his "Melmo" movie. I hate to have him watch TV but sometimes a mamma just needs a minute!

- We went to our great friend Braden's birthday party and had a blast!

- Jack was so in love with Ute football. Steve loved dressing him up in the attire too!

- We tried more sensory play, this time with "Moon Sand" but Jack just wanted to eat it. Yes we are still in the phase, its going on about 9 months now. Please let it end soon!

- Daddy is always the softie and buys him slurpies when we go to Target.

- Isn't he so cute cuddling his Elmo!?

- He is talking up a storm now! He says things like Airplane "bee" (yeah I know its a stretch but it's consistent when airplanes actually do fly by) Dog is always "wa wa wa" (barking) Bird "Buu" (haha ok I'm seeing a theme here) 

- He now learned how to kiss and it is the CUTEST THING! He puckers up full kissy face and says "mmmmmmAAAA" haha it's so cute. He also now has to kiss everything he sees. Mostly the animals in his books. 

- He now climbs on the couch! I was so freaked out the first few times he did it. But now he knows he could fall off and is more careful.

- He knows how to fold his arms for a prayer! Oh it just melts my heart. too stinkin cute. 

Steve went to LA for some interviews while Jack and I spent the entire day at The Irvine Spectrum. Which is like the coolest mall in existence. I didn't have the greatest time ever because it was deathly hot and its an outdoor mall. also Jack just wanted to walk everywhere and he didn't nap. But we had fun on all the cool rides and especially the splash pad!

We went on Labor Day weekend to Sea World and saw the Shamu Rocks show! It was one of the last shows of the summer and totally worth it!

My cousin Kaylee and her husband Gus along with one of their kids Beckham came to visit us! We had so much fun with them. I swear Kaylee and I are long lost sisters. The boys had a blast too! Jack thought Beckham was the coolest thing ever because he was an older kid. haha we loved going to the beach as the sun went down!

Speaking of the beach. There are so many amazing beaches here! We just love exploring new ones all the time! 

The coolest part of the month was watching my brother open up his mission call! It was so fun to face time and get to see it as if I was there. The craziest part of the whole thing is he is going to the California Redlands mission which is like 2 hours away from where we live in SD!!! Crazy how that works. We are so happy for him and can't wait to her all about his wonderful adventures here in Cali!

Our Summer

Yeah yeah I get it... I gave up on the blog.

 But I'm back! And hoping to catch up today!

I started doing Project Life scrapbooking and have been seriously preoccupied with that lately. I have done pretty much all of Jack's life up until now but I realized I love the blogging aspect of our life because I like to remember the things he did or said and the only way to remember is to write! 

So lets make this quick.

Our summer.

We pretty much spent our entire summer exploring! 

- The biggest news: Jack started WALKING!! He was officially off and running at 13 months.

- We went to the beach a ton! The summer started out with Jack eating the sand like non stop so I got frustrated and we didn't go back for like 2 months. But then he grew out of it and we started having a blast!

- We took swim lessons for two weeks strait every day. He kinda hates the water but never complained

- The title of our summer would be exploring. We spent the majority of our time outside just exploring the cute little grassy area right in front of our house

- We also spent some time indoors with cool toddler things like colored noodles

- We went to the Del Mar horse races and dressed up all fancy for it. It was hot, but we had a great time

- We of course participated in 7.11 Slurpee day! We went with friends Charlotte and Amelia

- We went to the Chargers family opening day thing (don't know what its actually called) Jack got his face painted and loved watching the team practice a game!

- Speaking of football... Jack is so obsessed! Steve taught him to say "Go Utes!" with a little fist pump and he says it every time any sort of sport comes on. He actually watches football too! (not my kid)

- He is obsessed with dairy and would giggle any time cheese or yogurt came out. haha

- He started saying so many words! He says things like Thanks "dis" Lion "roar" Monkey "oo oo- aa aa" or Snake "sss" haha

We had an awesome 4th of July spent down in St. George! We had homemade Popsicles and a homemade firework show! Winston had such a fun time with Barkley and Jack loved spending time at Grandma's house! 

He has become a little bit more than obsessed with Elmo. Steve started him on this craze when he introduced him to Elmo in Grouchland and boooooyyyy is this kid obsessed. We got him a stuffed Elmo and he loves that thing so much! He calls him "Melmo" :) haha We went to Sea World and there was a whole Sesame Street land complete with a life size Elmo. The picture explains his serious love for this furry red guy. haha

We had a little photo shoot of his exploring. I love how the simple things are so fascinating to him! He loved watching this colony of ants climb that wall outside our house all summer! Also you can kinda see our house in the bottom left pic.

As the summer continued we kept on enjoying that sweet San Diego sunshine!

- We decided to paint with water outside to see how well he would do with paint in the future. Yeah... this kid is never getting real paint. haha

- We got the cutest little pool from my mom and we loved filling it up and having a pool party! Of course our apartment complex has a pool and that one was actually more fun, but I forced Jack to like this mini pool. haha

- Steve went back home in August to hopefully gain some new contacts in the world of sports so we could move back home. We were so sad to see him go and so excited to see him come home! The top right was us waiting in the park and wait for his plane to land. 

- The bottom right pics crack me up. There is this tiny patch of dirt and of course he always finds it. I decided to let him try it out for once and his face says it all. He hasn't bothered it since then. 

- August was his first official skinned knee! I'm surprised we lasted that long for how much he loves being outside. 

- We finally had molars peeking through! Two top ones now and still no bottom ones yet. 

This summer was filled with some of the best memories we have ever had! I love being a mom to such an awesome little dude! We are just glad it still feels like summer in October because we have been outside pretty much every day since summer ended. We love you San Diego! Also isn't he such a little stud? Man he melts my heart P.S. those shoes he is wearing is some moccasins I made. I fell in love with some handmade ones that were $65 and decided to just make my own. haha (and yes he's holding a whisk. Silly kid.)

Jack is 12 Months

Well it's official...

We have a toddler on our hands.

I am not happy about my baby growing up this fast at all! But of course everyone always says that time really does fly. We have had the best first year as parents! Jack has taught us so much and we are so thankful to be his parents. I absolutely love being a mom and am so happy I get to stay home with this little bean and play all day!

I already did an entire birthday post, so this will be more about what else we did that month.

(Are you ready to spend 3 hours reading this post?....Sorry....)

This month brought us back to the homeland! haha We got to go back to Utah for 2 1/2 weeks and we loved every minute of it! We started off the trip with Steve because his dad got married and he wasn't about to miss it! 

Once our bags were packed we were on our way!

The wedding was a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Grand America. They had a great party and even better food! We had fun meeting all of Melissa's family! Pictured here is Jack with all of his cute cousins! (Or I should say ONLY cousins!)

We stayed at the Little America right across the street for that weekend and we made the most of our time with Steve before he went back to San Diego! We opened a few birthday presents, went to Jersey Boys for our FOURTH anniversary! (Wow really!?) And even had some friends come over to our hotel for a few hours. Jack had so much fun with Mary and loved showing her the Trax that would come by! haha His little strike a pose thing kills me...

Once daddy left we headed up to my mom's  house for the remainder of our two weeks and we did nothing but party the whole time! We visited Grandparents and some of my friends as well as party at my mom's house! Here you see Jack tearing apart grandma's house, at my little sisters' pool birthday party with some cute girlfriends, at my dad's house to see the chickens and to even pet one! (sick) and of course eating waay more sugar than he should be eating. (The ice cream was his official birthday so I justified that one. haha)

June is a crazy month in my family. We have my sister Brooklyn's birthday on the 8th. Our anniversary and my step dad's birthday on the 11th. Jack's birthday the 12th. And my sister Halle's birthday on the 23rd. So to celebrate both of my sisters birthday I took them out for actually all our first pedicure! (I know right... what planet do I live on!? Poor planet... haha)

From there on out I really didn't take that many pictures. (I know right? That doesn't sound a thing like me!) But I did manage to snap a few of us at Lagoon. My entire extended family (all 50 something of us) go to Lagoon for one day in the summer where we can all party and have a great time! I loved feeling like a kid again and that was the last day I got to see my cute cousin Dillon before his mission! (he officially leaves TOMORROW!!) Also I got one last picture of Jack with all my family on the day we left. I was glad I got them because I think they are all so cute!

Finally it was time to say our goodbyes. By this point we had been away from Steve for a full two weeks and were anxious to hear all about his Dominican trip! It was just me and this little peanut on the flight home and he actually wasn't all that bad. Thankfully we had a nice gentleman sitting next to us because he poked him like a million times with his pretzels trying to give him some! haha

Once we reunited with daddy we decided to once again celebrate Jack's birthday by going to Disneyland. We decided to take advantage of our dog free home while we could! (He was with Steve's mom during the trip.)

On the way up we noticed Jack was really quiet and I looked back to find him completely EATING his book!! He is a nut I tell ya.... He eats every book he ever comes in contact with. Usually I stop him before this madness happens though! We had fun doing all of the "off" things and Disneyland because it was way too crowded to do any of the cool things. We loved it nonetheless! 

We once again hit the road and went BACK to Utah! This time to pick up our pooch. We spent the 4th in St. George aka Death on a Stick Valley. It was so stinkin hot we basically just stayed indoors. The hottest temp while we were there was 117. Yeah you read it right... nuts. But we kept cool with homemade pops and splash pads! The dogs enjoyed their frosty paws and we enjoyed the free babysitting! We saw Thoroughly Modern Millie (which I adored) and also went out on a couple of movie dates. Like a true American, Jack rode around on his motorcycle while still trying to learn how to walk. 

We rounded out this month with our last trip to the beach we will ever take as long as we have kids. haha Jack would. not. stop. eating. the. sand. 

I couldn't do anything to stop him!! So like I say after every beach trip, this one will be our last one for a while. haha 

 But come on? Isn't this the most adorable sandy face you have every seen? 

Love my baby boy.

And yes he is still a baby in my eyes.

Jack's First Birthday

Jack is now 1! We celebrated way more than any baby ever should. But we had a blast doing it! I'll keep the wordage short, because the pictures do the talking!

My heart melts :) 

Oh he is just too stinkin cute!

We did a little celebrating before the big day with Daddy before we went to Utah and he went off to the Dominican Republic. (more on that later)

I love that he is feeding Steve some of his cake fingers!

And don't worry, he didn't eat that whole cake by himself! He mostly ate just what you see. 

I die!

His actual party was so much fun! We did a nautical theme and I had a blast planning it! I had a collage of his month by month pictures as well as some from his little one year photo shoot. We had great food and fun treats like "Oyster pearls" "Catch of the day" and "Saltwater Taffy" haha

This kid was a pro at eating all things sugar by this point so he enjoyed his very small cupcake/smash cake. He got so many fun presents and I loved watching him open them and get all excited!

So many wonderful people came to his party! He is sure one loved little boy! :) 

Here with Great Grandma Taylor, Grandparents: Shelly, Jared, and Connie. Aunties Brooklyn and Halle. Lauryn and my cousin Kaylee with her sweet twin girls who are just a month younger than Jack!

We had such a fun time celebrating! We were just sad Daddy wasn't there for some of it. Good thing he won't remember any of it anyway. :)

Jack is 11 Months

This month was full of adventure! We spent our time at the park, at the library story time, the beach, and hanging out with friends! Jack has such a spunky little personality and I love waking up every day wondering what kind of silly things this kid will get into!

Life in Instagrams.

I captured the moments where Jack was in his true element. He is so curious about the dog and I can't keep him away from his food! He also gets into lots of trouble. this month was all about baby proofing!

This month was my sweet man's birthday and we celebrated with a visit to Seaport Village. We ended the day with a man's dinner. We had bacon popcorn (cooked in bacon grease), cook your own hunk of meat on a grill, and an extra tall (extra gross) bacon chocolate cake! haha 

We also had a visit from Jack's only cousins! Steve's sister was in town and of course we went to Disneyland! I'm sad these are the only pictures I got... I like to think that I was just enjoying family instead of taking pictures ;) 

Look at Jack on the Merry-go-round! He just decided to throw those arms up and kept them there! haha He also had the most serious face while doing it. Funny kid.

We had some fun date nights and one of them included a trip to downtown San Diego to eat some killer Indian food and some amazing frozen treats from Ghiradelli ice cream shop :)

The highlight of this month was when Jack got his first haircut!! He was such a trooper and even got a cute little certificate afterward! He looks so grown up and I actually miss his sweet little locks.

This is all I have been witnessing lately. Jack loves his doggie and Winston loves his big brother! They get along great because Jack gives Winston all his food! haha They are so sweet together and I'm so thankful Jack will grow up with a dog!