Loving Fall!

Last weekend Nate's parents came in town to watch his sister Emily run a marathon. 

It was a great weekend cheering for Emily, going out to eat and visiting with family! 

 We woke up early on Saturday morning to go stake out a few places to cheer for Emily.
Scotty loves his Grandparents!

 Waiting for Aunt Em. She did so great and ran the whole way! 

 She even had enough energy to take this awesome shot around mile 18!

 Proud parents!

  Yay for Emily! We are so proud too!

While Nate's parents were here they took us to Costco to get some groceries. Spoiled? I think so! 
They are so generous. 

We also went swimming at their hotel and watched the debates with them.

It was so fun to have them in town! We are excited to see everyone again at Christmas time.

Last week we also took Scotty to pumpkinland! He loved it. I love fall-like things like pumpkin patches.
October really is the best month!

We went with some of my friends and their kids. 

Scott is often to busy to stop and take pictures these days. So I will take what I can get!

He loves farm animals. He kept saying "HI!!" to them like he fully expected a response. 

Bunnies!

Chickens!

Exploring! Scott kept saying "wow!" to everything he saw.

On another note, we recently discovered that I can bring my own gluten-free Udi's bun to places like 5 guys and then we can all eat there! I'm sure this was good news to the boy LOVES french fries. 

 We also went to the fall farmer's market a couple of times at the Riverwoods.
Last time we went we bought Scotty this soft alpaca sweater. I think it is the cutest.

 This weekend we went to the Hale Center Theater to see South Pacific.
The show was fabulous as always!
Nate's brother Mike babysat and Scott didn't even care that we left. 

Scott thinks his Uncle Mike is the coolest, because he thinks of fun things like building towers out of paper towels. So fun right?

 Yesterday we went over and took some pictures in an apple orchard. I wanted to get some pictures before winter comes and all the leaves are gone. Here are some of my favorite shots! 

We are so excited for Halloween! A few days ago I made my favorite caramel corn to get in the spirit. This week we have a playgroup party and treat-or-treating with Scott on the itinerary. I also have raiding Scott's post-trick-or-treating candy collection on my itinerary.
Oh the joys of parenthood!

Happy Halloween everyone!

All About Scott at 20 Months

Scott is almost 20 months old now... Say what?!

I can't believe he is getting so big! I wish I could bottle him up and keep him this age forever. 

He has turned into such a funny, SILLY and sweet little boy.

Everyday he surprises me with the things he remembers and says. Like the other day he saw a cat at a park we hardly go to, and when we went back this weekend he couldn't stop asking about the "kitty". He is also really into telling me what color things are. My favorite color he says is "GEEN" for green, because he always says it like it's the biggest surprise of his life. He definitely understands so much these days. When he does something he knows he isn't supposed to be doing, like typing on Daddy's computer, he says "no-no, no-no" to himself the whole time (so funny to me...) Here are a few more random tidbits about Scott at this age. 

The shoe phase has not come to an end... He is still obsessed. Particularly with Nate's shoes.

 He thinks he is funny when he opens his mouth. He also thinks that is what you're supposed to do when someone says "Say Cheese!"

Some of my friends and I have a play group once a week with 7 little boys. It is more of an excuse for us Moms to hang out but is absolutely nuts! I'm sure you can picture a scene with 7 little boys under the age of 3...

He likes to stack and roll cans from the pantry. I know, cheap thrills!

He gets so silly in the tub and at bedtime. Every night after his bath before he puts on his pajamas, he does a streaking lap around the house like he is SO happy to be free and naked! Luckily we have never had "an accident" during this nightly event.

He still loves his books and is getting more particular about which ones he wants to read at night.
He really likes books with a plot he can follow now, like "Put Me in the Zoo", which is fun!

He can play at the playground all by himself now! Meaning he can go up all the stairs and down the slide without me hovering. I'm sure he could have done this months ago but I was always worried he would walk off the edge or something. In my defense, he is the kind of person who thinks he is generally invincible and who would do that. It's funny because I thought this phase would mean I could sit on the bench and he would run off and play. But if I ever sit on the bench he comes over and sits right next to me, like "oh this is what we're doing now!" So I stand and watch him most of the time at the park now.

He would much rather sit at the table with us that in his high chair. We recently put a little booster seat on a chair so he can eat at the table with us. 

He has started freaking out when we drop him off at nursery at church. It doesn't make sense to me because I go to the gym and drop him off at the gym kid care all the time during the week and he loves it! Last Sunday he let go of my hand and ran as fast as he could down the hall to get away from the nursery room. He calms down after about 5 minutes of being there and then loves it after that. When I go to pick him up he is usually all smiles. He loves playing with other kids!

He is such a sweet boy! When he hugs his stuffed animals he says "Oh Nice..." and does nice things like pretend to feed them popcorn. He also always comes up behind me and hugs my legs and says Mama! Melts my heart every time... 

He thinks taking pictures on my phone where he can see himself is the funniest thing ever!  

I am so excited for Halloween and all the upcoming holidays with him this year. Seeing your child experience everything for the first time really is the greatest!  We love this silly little boy and are so grateful for him everyday!

A Trip to Virginia

A few weeks ago I went back to Virginia to visit my parents. A month after my little brother Wade left for BYU, they moved on to their next adventure in Charlottesville, VA. Charlottesville is about 2 1/2 hours south of where I grew up in northern Virginia and it is BEAUTIFUL! It is a college town (UVA), but surrounded by gorgeous Virginia farms, countryside, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Even though my parents moved from the house I grew up in, going back to visit them felt like going home. The new house has the same smell, feeling, and stuff as the house that I grew up. Scott calls my Mom "Gahh" and my Dad "Ba-Ba". He loves playing with them! Every morning he would run into my Dad's office saying "Ba-Ba?" And if my Mom wasn't in the room he would hold up his hands and say "Gahh? Go?"(meaning where did she go?). 

Here are a few pictures from our trip...

My Dad was out of town a few of the days we were there so my Mom and I did plenty of girl things! One of the days we went down to the J Crew headquarters in Lynchburg, VA were they have a warehouse store. $15 J Crew sweaters? Yes please! We also watched Downton Abbey at night because my Mom has never seen it and I was more than happy to rewatch it. 

Scott had fun doing everyday things with "Gahh" like grocery shopping, "helping" clean floors, and making gluten-free cupcakes :) 

We took Scott to do a few fall Virginia things like apple picking and to a petting zoo with kids activites.  

Scott loved seeing the animals!

I have to say I will always think Virginia is the most beautiful place in the world. I think I took for granted how pretty it is growing up there because I thought it was normal. But after living in southern California and Utah for the past 6 years I can't help but swoon over all the trees and natural green when I go back there.

I miss my parents very much and am always sad to leave them. I wish I could live within 30 minutes of ALL my favorite people!

Until next time Virginia!

Scott Going Down the Slide

... all by himself! He is very proud!

So Much to Say

Scott has a lot to say these days. Everyday he surprises me with the new words he learns and remembers. When we are driving he tells me about buses, trucks, cars, churches, etc. When we sit down to eat dinner a lot of times he says "mac chesse?" When anyone comes into the room he has to announce who they are. Even if Nate just goes out to take the trash and comes back up, Scott makes sure I know Dada is back. He likes to remind people that they have noses and eyes and loves to make his stuffed animals give kisses. In addition to saying a lot of "real" words now, he still talks in his own language. I think he really is convinced he is part of the conversation. I know he will outgrow speaking in his own funny language soon! So here is a video I sneakily got of him talking while I was in the car with my Mom.

Scott Talking in the Tub

Celiac Disease

If you've been reading our blog this summer you know that we've had a lot of fun the past few months. But the thing about blogs is you never get the whole story on someone's life. We have had a great summer! It has been filled with visits from family and trips to see friends -  weddings, bike rides in the canyon, frozen yogurt and we are very blessed. I try to keep the things I share on my blog light and upbeat. Because I really do believe I have a wonderful life. But nobody is free of trials in this life and unfortunately the past few months have been a lot like this time in my life 2 years ago. Sometimes I think it is important to share things we have been going through. Not only for support, but to help others in similar situations (in my case with health problems) to not feel they are alone. I have again been struggling with annoying and undiagnosed health problems. But I finally have an answer about why I've been feeling so horrible this summer.

I will spare you all the medical details but after 2 months of headaches, tingling and numbness in my hands and feet, getting sick to my stomach a lot, a bad itchy rash that wouldn't go away on my knees and elbows, MRIs, bloods tests, being told I might have MS, being told it was just allergies, being told I had psoriasis, and getting a skin biopsy, I finally have the answer of what is wrong with my body. My skin biopsy came back positive for dermatitis herpetiformis. Meaning that I have gluten-intolerance, and therefore celiac disease. Celiac disease was NOT on my radar at all, and while it is much better than having MS, it is still not a fun diagnosis. Celiac disease is not just a food allergy. It can hit any time in life and is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks itself when trigged by gluten. I just found out that's what I have last week. I am so happy to know why I have been feeling so awful. There are many things, like being deathly sick to my stomach for hours after I ran the half marathon in June (and the other long training runs) and the peripheral neuropathy (tingling in my hands and feet), that make sense now that I know I have celiac disease. I am relieved to know that if I go on a gluten-free diet, I can feel 100% better again in a few months.

At the same time I was rightfully devastated to find out I am gluten-intolerant. I was operating under the assumption that I had a skin irritation from something like a laundry detergent and just felt tingling in my left hand from carrying Scott around all the time. I also thought I just had a more sensitive than normal stomach. In a way I am extremely grateful I had the skin biopsy done so I know what I have. Celiac disease is hugely undiagnosed. The most scary thing would be being pregnant (which I'm not...) and not knowing I had celiac disease. With the disease your small intestines get really damaged and can't absorb vitamins properly. Even if you take vitamins, your body can't absorb them and therefore the baby can't get the nutrients it needs. It will take at least 6 months on a gluten-free diet for my body to heal and absorb nutrients properly again. Undiagnosed celiac disease can cause all kinds of other problems and cancers as well - so I keep reminding myself that I am extremely lucky to know I have it, so I can take care of it. Like I said, on a gluten-free diet I can be a perfectly normal person with a long, healthy life.

If you know me at all you know I LOVE food and cooking. It is going to be so hard to give up bread, pasta, and baked goods. Being told in an instant that you can't eat most of your favorite foods EVER again totally out of the blue is not an easy thing. I keep pumping myself up like "I can do this! I am going to be so healthy!" but then getting crushed by thoughts of not being able to have Costco samples, ice cream cones, In and Out burgers (the "protein style" they offer sounds so gross to me), Pizzeria 712, etc.  Luckily now is a time where being gluten-free is trendy and there are a ton of options out there. I have already ordered a bunch of gluten-free things from King Arthur Flour - I love that site! And I keep reminding myself that there are still so many things I CAN eat. I can have all dairy, meats, vegetables, fruits, corn, soy, gluten-free oats, etc. I think there are many blessings in disguise. The fact that I love to cook means I can apply that love to making delicious gluten-free food.  Also the fact that I have to closely watch what I eat now means that I will "watch" what I eat health-wise even more. I have a huge susceptibility for getting diabetes because of my genes, so maybe being even more healthy and gluten-free will prevent me from getting worse things in the future.

I know Heavenly Father loves us. We are given "mountains to climb" for a reason; to help polish us and to give us experience for our own good. I know that everyone around us has to go through hard things. No life is exempt from this! These things my not be as easily defined as celiac disease and a lot of times are far more serious. Going through hard things allows us to have more compassion for others going through rough times. I know that "behind every heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see". It is so important to remember to love rather than judge. Because you never know what someone is going through.

I am a very blessed woman and I know I will figure out these new lifestyle changes. I have a husband who loves and supports me no matter what. And I have a beautiful son who brings me deep joy daily. I have loving support from extended family and friends. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and is there for us every step of the way. Trials may make our physical bodies weaker and our hearts broken, but they can make our spirits stronger. I am grateful to have that knowledge.


And I am happy to know that soon, hopefully, I will have normal feeling again my left hand! So bring on the rice cakes...