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14 Months and obsessed ;)

2012-01-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Van is 14 months today! I have said this like a trillion times.. but WHERE DOES THE TIME GO??

Recently Vander has a new obsession. Actually I take that back- he has a whole list of obsessions... They are as follows....

-Chocolate Milk... a twist on his favorite (milk) has turned him into an obessed chocolate milkaholic

-Lucky Charms- He will have a full meltdown if he really wants some

-Fry Frys (as daddy calls them)- He LOVES french fries. I can't imagine where he gets that from.. He eats them by the handful... I also don't know where he gets THAT from ;)

-Sleeping in random places in his room- His new favorite place, behind his crib in the corner

-Playing in the toilet - Disgusting- but its true....

-Showers/Baths- this also goes along with running around the house naked before his baths. He giggles with joy as he runs freely all over the upstairs

-Books- this has been a favorite for many months- but the obsession continues

-Zebra Blankee- I cannot wash this blanket unless hes awake and when he sees me put it in the washer its devastating. He carries it with him all over the house- usually around his neck or over his head.

-Going outside- He walks to the front door and back door all the time going "eh eh eh" and pointing at the handle. All he wants is to run outside.

Beyond obsessions- This is what Van man is up to these days....

-He is VERY busy- LOVES making huge messes in a matter of minutes

-He loves his daddy and adores wrestling with him

-He loves the doggies- Mostly beating them with foreign objects- but its not rare to see him hugging Max or just laying on him

-Cartoons keep his attention for about 2 minutes- Hed rather watch animals or shows with real people

-He knows what he wants. He is strong headed and stubborn

-He is a jabber box. The kid NEVER stops jabbering. He will get close to your face and talk to you just so you know hes talking to you and that you're paying attention

-He loves to RUN and even more being chased

-He couldn't care less about play places. In fact, he usually runs OUT of the playplaces at the mall so we have to watch him carefully

-He is very independant and can keep himself busy during the day for hours

-He is terrified of toys that flash red or make loud crazy noises

-He is a cuddle bug and loves arm, back and leg scratches

-He makes us laugh over and over each day. Hes a silly boy!

-He is just TWO months away from being a big brother and has absolutely NO idea :) But he will be an amazing big brother!

-He is the BEST little buddy in the world and we adore him more than words can express!

Some of his most common and most recent nicknames...

-Boo

-Boozer

-Boozey

-Duder

-Van

A common sight in our house- Carrying around his mini blankee

Van and Grandma at daddy's softball games. He looks calm here... don't be fooled...

How my home office looks at the end of almost every day. Courtesy of Van.

His favorite sleeping spot- under and behind the bed

Shovelin those Fry Frys.... by the HANDFUL ;) Thats my boy!!

His FIRST coloring experience!

His first picture :)

Back to life...

2012-01-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

The insanely terrible, horrible, misrable illness that my son had for the past 4 daysturned out to be an Ear Infection. We finally broke down and took him to the Doctor and I was positive they were going to tell me that it was a cold and to just keep giving him Tylenol. Thank GOODNESS I went to the Doctor, because the Infection was discovered and antibiotics have brought my sweet baby back to life!

It is absolutely amazing how quickly he turned back into our little angel. So grateful for modern medicine!

Here's our little man- back in action!

His first time actually playing in the play place at Chandler mall. He loved it! Look how disgusting that glass is though... ew....

He LOVED going down the slide, backwards and on his tummy

He loves playing with his daddy. Joel is the funniest man alive- According to Vander :)

Eating his VERY favorite food- Pancakes. He eats 10 every morning, every one of them in one bite.

His other love... Milk.... its that serious...

Mmmmm- Happy Clam

The adorable look Joel and I get when we are working and Vander wants us to play. How can you resist that face?

While our change to a toddler bed has been a HUGE success- We still have days that we come in and he is in random locations in his room. We have learned that he likes to shove himself under things, such as his crib... his rocking chair..... Makes me feel terrible- but he obviously likes it!

Softball Nights

2012-01-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

Since Vander can now walk like a champ, keep himself entertained and climb up and down stairs, softball nights have become MUCH more enjoyable! I do however feel like I'm saying "No" every 5 seconds. "Don't put that in your mouth", "Don't run over there", "Don't climb on that".... AHHHH...

Ear infection and all, Vander had a blast at daddy's softball games this week. Now that Bop Bop (Grandpa Craig) is playing on the same team at Big League Dreams, I get to enjoy the night with my mom as well. LOVE IT!

Busy busy busy... Playing with the rocks

Very easily entertained by the drain

My future baseball player :)

What good would a softball post be without pictures of Joel playing? :)

Sweet n' Sour

2012-01-05T17:12:00.001-07:00

Our house has been an interesting place for the last 3 days. We have been taken for a complete loop as Vander has come down with SOME sort of sickness. He had a 101.5 degree fever that we have been fighting with Advil and Tylenol, but to no avail. A common statement around this house is becoming "Van you're giving me whiplash". This is due to his INSANE mood swings. He is the happiest little boy one minute, and the next minute he is throwing himself of the ground crying or just walking around crying for no reason. Anyone who knows Van knows he is one of the happiest, lowest maintainence little boys. This does NOT ring true this week..... We have never seen this side of him. I captured a few of his sweet and sour moments of the last few days....

Our happy little boy.....

Our newest addition :)...

Sporting his headband... Yes- My son LOVES to wear one of my headbands around... and yes I think its hilarious and cute :) Joel.... not so much...

Sporing the headband around his neck

This is right when we took his temp and it was 101.5. He looked like a poor sweet zombie :(

Drinking his sippy today. Aparently his hands don't work well, so this is easier.. ;)

Amid a very long sentence/conversation :)

"MO!" This is "No" in Vander language. Anything that we say "No" to, he will then try to do AGAIN and just say "MO" while doing it.

An everyday occurance turned horribly dramatic :)

Hoping this little man starts feeling better soon! We miss our happy healthy little guy!!

Bye Bye Ugly Gate...

2011-12-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

It is an an extremely exciting day in my house.... Anyone else may not agree- But this stupid ugly baby gate on our stairs has been my arch nemessis. It is very ugly, impossible to carry things through and just annoying. Until now Vander has refused to learn to go down the stairs correctly. I think this is because ALL of his fun toys were upstairs, and coming down the stairs was like pulling teeth to begin with.

However, this week, perhaps because he has new very fun toys from Christmas downstairs, he is actually willing to learn and has become quite the stair navigating champ!

It may be premature, but hes been doing it perfect for several days, so with no further ado, I'm removing the STUPID gate.

Watch out world....

He passed his final test..... so that means...

WA HOOOO

Movin on up!

2011-12-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

I am making a point to try to take more photos! I realized that I only took photos if something exciting was happening... Now with my new camera, I refuse to let even the mundane events of our days go uncaptured....

One exciting event that we did snap photos of was Vanders recent conversion to his Toddler Bed. Soon his crib will be passed on to his baby sister- When it is, he needs to be ready for his big boy bed! We thought we'd test the water with his Toddler bed. So far, we've actually had quite good success. This boy never seems to surprise us... He said bye bye to his binky about 2 weeks ago, has been a champ and barely put up any fuss! Now with this bed adjustment he again has impressed....

His first night was rough- but he has since gone down 5 times without a problem. He has only fallen off a few times, but has stayed asleep through the falls as he lands on a pile of soft comfy pillows.

We captured a few photos of his first night bed time... Things have since improved durastically! :) Also included are random photos of us just playin around the house!

Watching his first Disney Movie- The Lion King- This cute cuddly moment only lasted about 5 minutes

Getting his new toddler bed ready- equipped with precautionary pillows

No idea what hes in for- Happy as a clam

Reading his favorite books before bedtime

Annnnnnd.... Queue screaming....

The very upset little boy fell asleep after about 15 minutes of crying and a little bit of arm scratches. He only fell off twice and slept like a champ!

Playing in his new truck which he ADORES. And chewing on one of 30 billion "Little People" toys that he now has. You won't see this boy without a "Little People" Figure of some sort in his hand

I'm thinking hes getting sick of the new camera

Balancing on his train- His other love

Such a happy little boy!

Looking at pictures of himself on the computer

Christmas 2011 - The Best Christmas Yet!

2011-12-25T22:53:00.002-07:00

Let me start by saying- This was the BEST Christmas ever.

Not because of the gifts I received or gave... but because having a son and watching HIM enjoy the day was better than I could even imagine! Christmas is so much more special when you get to watch your little man get excited about things. We started off the day with 8:00am church which means no gifts until MUCH later. Immediately after church followed nap time, THEN gifts. It was wonderful to get to go to church on Christmas and hear Christmas Hymns to remind you what the day is truely about.

Vander passed out asleep in the middle of Sacrament meeting while Joel and I scratched his arms. (Exhausted I'm sure from Christmas Eve festivities the night before)

For Christmas from Joel I got an amazing SLR digital camera. Joel received... well.... a motorcycle- 2 months ago. Which counted as Christmas and Anniversary gifts. It made for a kind of sad giving day for me and a very sparce Christmas tree. But Joel was still very grateful today for the motorcycle he received a couple months ago!

Vander made out like a bandit... He received SO many toys from the family- He didn't even know what to play with first- Needless to say we have no shortage of toys in our house. I need to purge alot of old toys to make room!

We celebrated Christmas with the Ingram side of the family last week since they are in Utah... Joel took photos of that on his Iphone- but (shockingly) he has not uploaded the photos for me to access ;) Today we celebrated just with the Craig side. What an amazing and blessed day! I am so grateful for our wonderful family. Thank you to everyone who made this a Christmas to remember!!!

Warning.... Surplus of photos... I was a little trigger happy with my new camera ;)

Checkin out his new Castle

He was so excited!!

Bathtime after waffles... he again enjoyed using syrup as hair gel....

Getting ready for presents... Playing with his Christmas Present from Grammy Ingram

Showing off the goods from his stocking

His favorite part of his stocking- Reeses.. Of COURSE!

New farm puzzle

Notice his lack of excitement... He was so overwhelmed and had no idea what was happening..

Checkin out his new tool set

Quickly getting the hang of it. Our new handyman ;)

These became one of his favorite toys... For the time being...
(Joel in the background on the phone with mission brother Bo) :)

Reading "The Night Before Christmas" with Aunt Dojo

Soccer Ball from Great Grandma and Grandpa Craig

This picture is unfortunate and shows my growing BODY (I confess- I am aware that I am not only growing in my stomach) ;) But a family Christmas photo is a must!

Stoked to start opening Christmas presents.. Just kidding- I made him pose like that

Joel was SO MAD that every toy Vander got seemed to be IMPOSSIBLE to unpack. Why do they make these toys impossible to get out of the boxes??

Wandering the house during present opening

Checkin out his new sorting plane from Bop Bop and Grandma

The 3 kids then proceeded to fight over the sorting plane ;)

The grand finale- A new Little Tikes Truck from Bop Bop and Grandma

Heaven!!

Such a wonderful day! I cannot wait until next year and am very sad the Holidays are over :(

Merry Christmas everyone!!

13 Months! Whoa...

2011-12-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

First of all... I suck at doing blog posts now. The problem is that I hate my camera- Okay, hate is a strong word... I do not like it very much anymore and very rarely remember to take photos.
My new years resolution will be to take more photos!!
Anywho... My sweet angel child Vander is 13 months today. I seriously cannot believe how quickly time goes. He is growing up so stinking fast. He does new, more hilarious things each day. His personality is just beaming through and he keeps us extremely entertained. He wants to talk so badly and tries very hard- but everything just comes out jibberish :)

Here are a few updates on Vander-
-He points at EVERYTHING and jibbers about it. His favorite is going up to our Advent Calendar (adorned with Reeses) and pointing. He also will point to the cookie jar full of Teddy Grahams and jibber. If we say "No", he melts down. If we say "Okay" he lets out a scream of excitement
-He points to his book shelf full of books each night- We pull book after book and he keeps pointing, as soon as we get to the book he wants... he lets out his famous excited yell.
-He loves going outside. (Queue excited scream)
-Going up the stairs (Excited scream again...)
-He still has no idea how to go DOWN the stairs. We are working on this... He IS getting better
-He has learned what sound a cow makes and also sometimes can make a dog sound
-He loves being chased. If you say "I'm gunna get you" he takes off in a full sprint screaming and squeeling
-He loves taking baths and loves running around the house butt naked even more
-He finally learned how to drink out of a straw about a month ago (YAY!!!)
-His favorite foods are; Pancakes, Waffles, Chicken Nuggets, Teddy Grahams, Tacos and well, practically anything. He also LOVES milk just like his mommy and daddy!!
-He likes to go into the bathroom, grab the end of the toilet paper roll and pull the toilet paper about 30 feet throughout the house.... THEN shred it. He also loves to splash in the toilet water... Equally fun...
-After he eats anything he likes to run his hands through his hair and turn all excess food into hair gel.
-We are happy to announce that he is BINKY FREE. He has gone a full week and a half with no binky and put up little to no fight
-He loves to wrap cords, chains and anything else he can around his neck. This includes, phone cords, curling iron cords, necklaces, blow dryer cords, and ANYTHING else that resembles a cord.
-He sleeps from 7pm-8am every morning. Then naps 10-12ish and then 2-4ish. Sleeps like a CHAMP!!
-He loves to explore and get into absolutely everything. All cabinets in the house are rubber banded shut for that exact reason.
-He is still the happiest little guy ever. While the tantrums have definately begun, they are few and far between. He is SUCH a joy and we adore him more than anything in this world!!

Photos to come... I'm having "issues" with my iphone which is basically my camera. It won't upload my darn photos! :)

Vanders 1st Birthday Party

2011-11-22T10:11:00.002-07:00

This weekend we celebrated Vanders 1st Birthday! As I said before, I seriously cannot believe how quickly the past year went! It has been a GREAT year and we had a great little party to celebrate!

Vander had NO clue what was going on all day. He stared at me like I was a crazy person when I woke him up in the morning for his party and shouted "Happy BIRTHDAY buddy!!". Its funny how you put so much time into a 1st birthday party and they literally won't remember a moment of it. But he will see photos and know he is loved!

To Vander it was any other day, but to me it was a sad reminder that my baby is no longer a baby. He's a big boy now! Anywho... Here are some photos of his party :)

Adopt a Monster station- (Stuff and Build your own Monster)

Monster cake and cake pops! YUM!!! (Ps- I did NOT make the cake pops.. I wish)

Cereal Bar

Foooood

Happy Birthday boy- He carried around his cold medicine for the 1st 45 minutes of his party.

Vander and Bop Bop... and Vander with his drugs....

Van and Auntie Jess

Everyone busy building their Monsters

Maddux showing off his completed Monster :)

Vander and "Uncle" Jon :)

Vander and Daddy! Vander was long past nap time by this time...

Cake Time! He wasn't so sure about this...

Daddy had to smash his hand into the cake

He wasn't in the mood for cake- considering he had just had 9 mini pancakes for b-fast.

So many good gifts from great friends and family!

So excited about all of his books

Loving his new ride on train from Grandma and Bop Bop

Vanders First Year

2011-11-14T14:51:00.001-07:00

My sweet baby is turning 1 this week. I am a little in shock. Where did the time go??? I was looking through his photos over the past year and noticed just how quickly he grew up. He's not my baby anymore, hes a toddler! He has brought us more joy then I could have ever imagined. We are beyond grateful for everything he has brought to our life.
I made a quick little video of some pictures of him over the past year. Oh the memories! The video is below :) We LOVE our little boy. Thank you Vander for the best year of my life.
Heres a few things that Van is up to now a days

-Hes running around, no longer walking, running...
-He loves to talk- he wants us to understand SO bad
-If you talk to him, he will talk back like hes having a full conversation
-He LOVES going up the stairs, but refuses to learn how to go down
-Absolutely adores reading books. The second you walk into his room in the morning he points to his bookshelf
-He loves pancakes, and anything else with a ton of syrup
-He eats nearly anything put in front of him
-He also refuses to learn to hold his sippy himself or to suck out of a straw
-He loves chasing the doggies and trying to hit them with the golf clubs while they run (poor dogs)
-He gets so excited when you play peek a boo with him
-He adores his daddy
-He is very tender hearted. If you get mad at him he instantly does the cutest pouty face in the world and just wants to snuggle
-He loves bathtime and starts squeeling just at the sight of the bath water turning on
-He is very independant and will keep himself occupied for hours around the house while Joel and I get our work done
-He loves being outside
-He is an explorer, he gets into absolutely everything. But right now his personal favorite is the tupperware cabinet in the kitchen
-He has learned to clap, but hasn't quite figured out the perfect timing to when the clapping should happen :)
-He can now waive bye bye on cue- Hes actually been doing this for about a month now
-He has 3 teeth -Two top teeth, one on the bottom and another 3 on the way!
-He is the HAPPIEST baby in the world. CONSTANTLY smiling and giggling
-He loves life and family and brightens this home more everyday
-We LOVE our sweet baby and are so grateful for his sweet tender spirit

Free picture slideshow customized with Smilebox

Halloween

2011-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

This was the BEST Halloween of my entire life. Trick or Treating and dressing up as a kid is awesome. But taking your little kid trick or treating- that takes the cake. Vander had no clue what was going on the entire time, but he LOVED being in his costume. I thought as soon as we stuck his monster cap on that he would rip it right off. Instead he would smile and get excited. He LOVED running around in his costume. He would get excited and start walking super fast and fall, but it was so cute. The little waddle he had when he was in his costume also made it hilarious.
We let him walk up to every house on his own and he wasn't scared a bit. He was able to make it to about 15 houses before he was noticablly getting tired.
He was a HAPPY boy and that made it the best night ever. Hopefully he is JUST as good next year when he is two and we have his 7 month old baby sister in tow. :)
Here are some photos of our fun evening....

Grinning from ear to ear the second we put his costume on.

Happiest little Monster on the block

Hanging out with Auntie Jessica

Almost ready to go!!

Dad and his favorite little Monster

All the kiddos (minus Reese). Vander was so curious as to why all his cousins were in funny costumes- He would only stare at them and not the camera.

Grammy and Monster Vander

Here we go!!

His first trick or treating house.

Getting his candy- He wouldn't reach for it- He would just stare at it.

This holiday was very perplexing to him. He would just stare at everything

Having so much fun with Daddy.

The little mans loot. He did pretty well for only a few houses.

10 and 11 Months... A little delayed :)

2011-10-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

I have done a TERRIBLE job of updating our blog over the past month. So much has happened and yet its the one month that I struggled to take any pictures and post any updates. I will try to do a brief overfew of the past month and then post the few pictures that I have taken.

Vander turns 11 months this week, INSANE. I need to start planning his 1st birthday party which is just around the corner!

-Vander took his first real steps (more than 3 in a row) on October 6th when he was about 10.5 months.

-Now that he is just shy of 11 months he is using walking as his main form of transportation, but he still crawls here and there. He is getting to the point where he gets excited and starts to walk really fast and then EATS it.

-Vanders 1st 2 teeth (top 2) just broke through about 2 weeks ago. Now his bottom 2 are in the works

-He jibber jabbers constantly and looks at you as if you should know exactly what hes saying

-He LOVES water and just chugs it- He has also started on Whole Milk which he loves as well

-His favorite foods right now are anything with Syrup- Pancakes, Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, Waffles... etc but the kid will eat ANYTHING put in front of him (with the exception of MOST fruits)

-He points at EVERYTHING. He is constantly pointing at random things everywhere

-He loves his train table more than any toy in this entire house. He could spend hours in the loft on that thing.

-He is obsessed with his daddy. He follows Joel everywhere in the house.

-He loves to dance and starts dancing everytime he hears music

-He enjoys just sitting and watching other people. At the playplace he would sometimes rather sit and just watch the kids play then actually play

-As always, he is constantly smiling and laughing- truly one of the happiest babies I have ever seen

At the Pumpkin Patch and festival - Train ride with Daddy

He was SO excited. All smiles and wouldn't let go of the steering wheel

Just pointing... at.... corn

Loving life on Joels shoulders. Best Buddies.

Auntie Jess and Van Man

Pointing to the goats

He wasn't thrilled with being set on the hay... Couldn't get a smile to save our lives

He was VERY excited about his Pizza

Yes- He made this mess all by himself.. How he got pizza on his forehead I have not a clue

Struggling with our new 8am church time... Its nap time by the end of Sacrament Meeting

Calming his teething blues with a good ol Oreo!

One of many videos of his first steps. :)

Vanders first time on Daddy's new toy. His excitement is about equivalent to mine....

Week in Lake Powell

2011-09-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

This past week we had the chance to go to Lake Powell for an entire week on my parents houseboat. It was SO wonderful to be away from work and the everyday hussle and bussle of life.

Vander was a champ the entire time! Slept like a champ and happy as a clam. He had a blast playing with his cousins, swimming. playing in the sand and riding in the ski boat.

He was very spoiled by his grandma the entire trip and learned to come to your legs when he wants to be picked up (thanks A LOT grandma for teaching him this ;) ). Such an amazing trip. I can't wait til next year!

His first experience painting. It was an absolute mess, but he had a blast. Thank you Tarah!

We got more on his hands and the table than we did on the actual wind-catcher

Swimming with Daddy

This isn't actually at Lake Powell- Its a few days prior at Canyon Lake, but it seemed to fit nicely in this post :)

His first experience in a lake- This also is Canyon Lake

Night time bathtime in the sink.

Sleeping like a rock after a long day in the sun.

Just floating at Powell

Vander favorite place to play in the houseboat. By the ice maker. :)

Swimming in the clear water of beautiful Navajo Canyon

Most of the clan

Sporting daddy's $3 glasses from Walmart.

A constant theme- Nap on daddy on the way home from swimming somewhere.

Bop Bop let Vander drive the boat. All he wanted to do was push the buttons and play with the throttle.

Swimming as a family

9 Months....

2011-08-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

The past 9 months have just FLOWN by. I cannot believe I have a 9 month old! Over the past month Vander has grown up so much. He definately has his very own very strong personality. He started crawling just over a week ago and he is already getting quite fast. He is such a happy and sweet little boy and he makes our home such a happy place! We have never felt so incredibly blessed in our lives. Joel and I look at eachother daily and just say "He is the most AMAZING boy in the world". I can only hope that Vander knows how much we love an adore ever second we get with him.

With that said, in light of Vanders 9 month "birthday" tomorrow... heres what he's up to these days.....

-Crawling ALL over the place- Loves to explore EVERYTHING

-He can pull himself up on things- ANYthing

-He can stand by himself for a couple of minutes without falling with a toy in his hand

-He loves to jump in his crib for a few minutes before we go and get him

-He is sleeping like a CHAMP- Solid from 7:30pm to about 8am

-He adores his train table- although he doesn't play with the trains, he just destroys the set and sucks on all the pieces

-He loves watching the dogs wrestle and play with eachother

-He steals the dogs toys and loves when they try to get them back

-He loves pens, straws and spoons

-He loves to play on the piano- more accurately, pound on the piano

-He loves anything water related- swimming, baths, lake trips

-He has just begun giving a cute scowl/glare at random times to random people

-He is yet to refuse any kind of food- The kid will eat ANYTHING put in front of him

-He can say Dada, Mama and I think he can almost say "Dog". (As a cute note, he thinks Mama is Dada and Dada is Mama)

-He giggles and laughs at just about anything- He is practically always smiling

To watch him learn and grow has just made me the most proud mommy in the world. The littlest things he learns are just so exciting to me and Joel. Vander is so loved and we are SO grateful for every day we have with him.

On a quick side note- Vander just found out this past month that he is going to have a baby brother/sister come March 2012. For those without facebook, you may have missed the annoucement. We are SO excited to add another to our family and for Vander to have a sibling close in age. Stay tuned for a much anticipated gender announcement :)

Now here are some pictures of Vander taken over the past month. I've done a terrible job blogging and need to do better!!

This photo is curtesy of Auntie Jessica- I love this smile ;)

Doing his favorite thing in the world... destroying his train table

Eating his first Oreo cookie on the boat

The aftermath of his first Oreo Cookie :)

Enjoying the ride with Mama

Chillin with Dada

First tube ride with Broolyn and Daddy- He was a champ! Fearless!

Enjoying the breeze

Dave and Busters with Bop Bop

He loves holding himself up on his crib and jumping- He looks like hes in jail in this pic

Hanging out on his train table

My little stud muffin ;)

Hanging out on his ottoman of toys.

Vanders annoucement :)

His new big boy carseat! He was getting a WEE bit too big for his infant carseat

Standing

2011-07-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Lately Vander has been doing a really good job standing and keeping decent balance when you hold his hands. My sister Tarah let me borrow her little standing play center and it has been amazing to see how much better his balance is getting just over 2 days of use! He LOVES this thing and he is getting pretty darn good at holding himself up on it without falling over.
Will this child skip crawling all together? Guess we'll see!!! Heres my big boy in action!

Lunchtime Swimming

2011-07-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

Working at home is the biggest blessing. Even better, working at home across from Joel who also works at home is just beyond my wildest dream. We get to spend all day together and all day with our sweet baby Vander. Who could possibly ask for more? I want to enjoy every minute because lets face it, Joel won't work from home forever.
Yesterday Vander and I enjoyed a nice little swim in the backyard in his new Whale bath that Grandma Ronda gave us. It is SO hot outside, but the shade of the tail is perfect for Vander to sit under, and the water from the hose was nice and cool. It was like a giant bath outside and Vander loved every second.
Then, today it was Joel's turn, so Joel and Vander took another little swim in the backyard.
This is seriously the LIFE. I feel so blessed right now! :)

Odds and Ends

2011-07-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

I don't have a particular post or update, but I do have a bunch of random photos from July that haven't been posted. Thought while I was at it I could post a few updates about Vander.

- He now holds his own bottle everytime he eats
- When we go in his room after he wakes up to get him, he is always on his tummy or in some other odd position
- He loves bath time and loves to hear the echo of his squeal in the tub
- He has learned that he can throw food he doesn't want onto the ground
- He is practically impossible to dress and change because he is kicking and spinning all over the changing table
- He still loves to scratch everything to hear the sound it makes and feel the texture
- He loves to stand up- but still has to be assisted
- If you hold his hands when he stands he does a pretty darn good job walking
- He sits up on the ground for 2 seconds then falls over and rolls all over the place
- He can scoot backwards, sideways and in circles, but still not forward
- He laughs or grins when you tell him "No no" (uh oh.. we're in for it...)
- He pretty much always smiles
- New favorite food- Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Puffs
- Favorite toys- Booger Sucker, Pens and Spoons- Why do we even BUY toys?

And here are some random photos over the past month....

Here Van is rolling and flipping like he does daily.

Playing on my old junk college laptop. A perfect toy for the kid who always wants to pound on mommy's keyboard.

This little guy was wiggling so much more veggie got on his face then in his mouth

Happy as a clam

Joel and Van waiting for the fireworks to start on 4th of July

Me and my sweetie

Still waiting for fireworks..... Playing with his other favorite toy.. his bottle :)

Daddy and Vander just chillin

Van holding his bottle like a big boy!

Family trip to Costco! My Costco card kept him very entertained

Family Payson Camping Trip

2011-07-12T08:20:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we took our very first camping trip with Vander up to Payson. It was also the first trip (hopefully of many) with my sister Tarah and family and my Mom and Dad. It was definately a new experience camping with a 7 month old- but he was SO good the entire time, so I cannot complain. This was also my first time camping in my adult life at a campground (we usually go drive out into the mountains and find a good quiet spot) and it was definately a new experience.

The trip started with the camp ranger telling us to pick "whatever site we want" and to just let him know which one we picked. We found an amazing spot at the back of the site. We spent an hour setting everything up including- 2 tents, all chairs, tables, camping kitchen, pack and play, bedding and more- All while Vander sat very patiently watching us in his bumbo on the picnic table.... Went back to tell the ranger where we went and he says "oh, you can't go there, that spot is reserved". We then proceeded to take the entire camp down and scrambled to find a new site before the sun went down. Vander spent about 2 hours sitting like such a good boy in his bumbo just watching us set up.

Needless to say, we will be doing this again, and much more often!

Also, it is important to note- My camera died on day one after the first photo (forgot to charge it.....awesome...) So my loving sister Tarah took a few pictures and graciously shared them with me. Thank you Tarah for your assistance in documenting our trip!

After the first night there. Vander- Happy as a clam. Joel- Exhausted from a practically sleepless night. Between keeping the dogs from barking and the baby sleeping... It was a rough first night.

Vander was having a blast in the tent.

Chillin on his blanket at the site. Happy as long as he had a few toys.

Eatin' his first nilla waffer. MmMmmM

Vander...... king of the forest

After his 2nd night of luscious sleep. You can tell he slept very well cuz he has swollen Ingram sleepy eyes :)

Joel and Maddux sword fighting with sticks

The boys "talking spot"- very conveniently located near the sodas ;)

Family hike through the forest behind camp

Mom and Dad- Their first camping trip in about 20 years! YAY!

Joel and Vander at the fish hatchery

Vander loved looking at the massive amounts of fish.

7 Months of pure joy!

2011-06-27T14:15:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I never did a 7 month post for Vander!
I have been absolutely horrible at taking pictures lately so this is going to be a boring post with no pictures. I will post some updated pictures soon and make an effort to take some!
In the meantime, this is what Vander is up to these days.....
-Can barely scoot...Usually in circles but sometimes forwards
-Loves to move from sitting to stomach to back to stomach- He's a wiggle worm!
-Favorite toys are his squirting bath toys
-Has found his voice and loves to scream and jabber. Not because he's mad, just because he has discovered he can
-Waves his hand all the time, but I don't think he quite understands what it means
-Said his first word this past week. Of course... "DA-DA" much to my dismay ;)
-LOVES Mum-Mum Rice snacks and inhales them and all other food sooo fast. He eats as fast as his Daddy and Mommy :)
-He just started on finger foods this past month and it getting quite good at getting little things to eat in his mouth
-Favorite solid foods to date are Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash
-He's obsessed with his binky
-He loves to pet the doggies and laughs when they lick his face
-He loves to grip my hair and then pull on it
-He sits up on the bench at church and just plays with his toys
-He LOVES water and loves it even more when it is given to him through a straw
-He's a GOOD boy. Very very rarely whines or crys. Almost always has a smile on his face. The sweetest little boy in the world with the happiest spirit.

Most recent measurements as of 6/8/2011.....

Height- 28 inches   - 85 pecentile
Weight- 19 lbs       - 70 percentile
Head- 17.25 inch   - 45 percentile

New Favorite Hobby?

2011-06-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

I think this morning Vander found his new favorite hobby and I found very good way to keep Vander entertained while I'm working :) Who knows... maybe this will lead to some very beautiful piano playing in our home some day. ;)

And heck... why not toss a few pictures on here from the past few weeks while I'm at it!

He loves to TRY to feed himself. I give him his own spoon and let him make an attempt at getting some of the food in his mouth. It usually just makes a huge mess. But he sure does try hard!

This is his favorite way to be carried around by Joel right now. Screw the shoulders, he likes to sit on daddys left shoulder only.

Memorial Day and Bathtime

2011-06-02T21:32:00.002-07:00

This week is a week full of firsts! We had a great memorial day this year at my parents house. We played in the pool with Vander and got to experience his very first swim! The water was quite cold and he didn't even make a peep! What a trooper! He actually was mainly focused on the antennas on his bumble bee floaty and didn't pay much attention to anything else.

Then he went on a "Golfball hunt" which is basically a Craig Grandbaby right of passage with Bop Bop (my dad). Basically each time a grandbaby gets big enough to sit on my dads shoulders without wobbling TOO much he takes them out to the golf course behind their house and they search for stray golfballs together. Every time one of my nieces or nephews got big enough for their big golfball search I always thought how excited I would be for when my own baby would get to do it. And YAY, here it is!!! Vander would only hold onto the golfballs for a very short period before he dropped them on the ground. He'll learn soon enough :)

His first dunk.... we were waiting for a scream when he hit the cold water (He loves HOT water just like his mama)

He swam with Joel practically the entire time because I'm a wuss and the water was cold!

Ready for their big hunt to begin!

Vander was a little confused when they were literally crawling down INTO a bush to get a ball

His very first golfball- Of course... STRAIGHT to the mouth- Nice and clean too!

He looked so cute and tiny out on Bop Bops shoulders

Holding one of the balls they found. Only seconds before he dropped it :)

THEN... Tonight, Vander finally graduated from his little infant/baby bath to his mom and dads nice BIG tub. He LOVED it and was just jibber jabbering the entire time.

Look at that chunky little monkey! Measured him today and he weighed in at a whoppin 20 lbs!!! Thats the 85 percentile baby! :) This boy loves his food!

He loves his squirter bath toys! He played with one single animal the entire time. Very easily entertained :)

The Blue Whale is his very favorite

My favorite part of his bathtime is his adorable little cellulite bubble butt

6 Month Pics!

2011-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

I just got Vander's 6 month photos from Aubry! They turned out so cute! You can practically see into his soul :) He was teething during the shoot and was MUCH less smiley than usual, but it was nice to get some soft gentle pictures of him for once.

Fastest 6 months ever!

2011-05-27T12:11:00.001-07:00

I'm about a week late on this post because Vander was actually 6 months on the 19th, but I've been waiting to take a picture of him that is super cute where he looks nice. Well, when you work at home and YOU are in your PJ's all day, your kid is also... Call me a negligent mother.. but my son practically lives in his PJ's. Comfort is key in this household!
Anyways... He just had his 6 month pictures done and hopefully I'll be able to post those adorable pictures soon!
I cannot believe how fast the last 6 months have gone by. I feel like I was just in the hospital having Vander yesterday, but at the same time, I can't even remember what its like to be without him. He continues to bring an overwhelming amount of joy to our home. He is the HAPPIEST baby ever (until this past week when he started teething). We are so so blessed and Joel and I tell eachother literally daily how much we just adore him.
Heres a little about Vander in his 6th month....
-He can roll from back to front, front to back, spin around all over the place
-We can often here him flinging his hips up and banging and twisting up in his crib when we put him down
-For the past month he has been able to find his Binky and then put it in his mouth
-He sleeps in a sea of Binkys, when we wake up in the morning they are ALL behind his back
-He loves to scratch things to feel the texture and to hear the noise of the scratching
-He can sit on the floor for a long time and just play with toys without making a peep
-He has now had almost every solid food under the rainbow (Favorites include Pears, Carrots and Sweet Potatoes)
-He almost always is sucking on his pointer and middle finger and when he smiles or laughs he always shoves his hand in his mouth
-Although he has many toys, his favorite things to play with are Pens, Calculators and the remote. (Come to think of it, all things we throw at him when we're busying working or watching tv....sad)
-He has already had 4 haircuts at the wee age of 6 months
-He LOVES the dogs and laughs when they lick his face
-He just barely started scooting himself around on the floor, but he can only go a matter of inches
-He loves to spin and twist and practically crawl off of the changing table
-He has started teething and we expect a tooth to appear any day now!
-He giggles and laughs so hard when Joel kisses his face. Probably because of Joels furry facial hair.

Naptime with Daddy

On our way to softball!

Just chillin in the pj's

His first finger foodish thing :) Mum-Mum

Lunch Time Swimmin'

2011-05-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today Vander and I spent my lunch break taking a nice little "swim" in Vanders new pool he got from the Easter Bunny. This was his first "swim" and he was a little confused. Mostly because our psychotic dog Wymme was running around the tiny pool in circles whining trying to figure out how to dive in. Vander spent most of his time watching her run around the pool in circles. I'm sure this summer will consist of many lunch breaks of swimming and chillin in the sun- One of the many blessings of working from home.

In his beach bum outfit. Prepared for his big swim!

Take note of our stupid dog pouting on the side of the pool.

Warrior Dash 2011

2011-05-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

Joel and I ran the most amazing race today that I have ever run in my life.. and I've run a lot of races!!!
The race was called the warrior dash. It was a 3.4 mile run with 12 obsticals along the way.
Obsticals were as follows:
-Jumping over 6 half walls and under 6 strands of barbed wire
-Running up and down dirt hills
-Running through a river
-Climbing over a junk yard with cars and tires
-Climbing up a 20 foot stack of hay
-Climbing up and down a cargo net
-Climbing up and down 15 foot wall with a rope
-Running over a long balance beem plank
-Running through a maze of bunge cords
-Climbing over a horizonal cargo net
-Jumping over fire pits
-Climbing through a mud pit
It was a BLAST. The obsticals were my very favorite part and the running was just kinda thrown in there. Check it out at WarriorDash.com.
The last obstical was the mud pit and it was EXTREMELY messy. Joel dove in, so he was literally covered from head to toe in mud.
After the race, you walk about 1/8 mile over to some water trucks that spray you with fire hoses. Even after being sprayed with a fire hose we were STILL covered in mud.
It was so freaking fun. Needless to say, we are already mentally signed up for Warrior Dash 2012 :)

BEFORE: Nice and clean. We ran with a bunch of friends from work :)

The rocks at the bottom were shredding my knees. I had to try to crawl under the barbed wire without rubbing my knees

Joel literally JUMPED in

Joel JUMPING into the mud

Caked with mud :) It ended up drying and we could all barely move

AFTER: All extremely muddy

This is where you "rinse off".... In another pit of mud...

As you can see, although "rinsed", we were still a mess... And then we were absolutely freezing, wet and muddy...

Sittin

2011-04-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

Vander is getting to be such a BIG BOY. When you used to sit him up he would fold himself over and basically lay on his legs... Or hed just fall over. Just this past week he has gotten so stable and can now sit up on his own without falling over. He loves to sit and play with something in his lap. I love it!!

Newport Beach and Easter!

2011-04-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

We headed to Newport Beach to celebrate my moms big 5-0 bday! :) Included in that trip was also Joel's birthday and Easter Sunday! We had an absolute blast! We stayed for a week at a home just feet away from the beach. The weather was good and it was so nice to hang out with the entire family! While we were there we also went to Legoland (which we have learned is GREAT for when you have a 3-10 year old kid ;) 5 month old.... Well, not QUITE as exciting).

A HUGE thank you goes out to my parents who provided us with this extremely fun trip!!

Off to Legoland!

Joel and Vander panned for goal and crystal!

They found lots...

Not quite old enough to fully enjoy Legoland

Waiting for Maddux for an hour to do a car ride that lasts 2 minutes... The joys of theme parks :)

He LOVED staring up at the fish swimmin by

Sleepin on the beach

First time in the Ocean :) He freaked when the cold water touched his feet

His first Easter egg hunt. He was so excited! Even though we basically held him over eggs and had him pick them up.

Easter gift from Grandma and Bop Bop.

First Easter basket. Joel was quite upset that I got him a right handed baseball glove... As if they carry left handed mits for 5 month olds? Please note the Reese's eggs, which were bought solely for the purpose of me and Joel eating them :) MMMmMmM

Happy 2-6 Joel!

2011-04-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Joel turned 26 last week and we had a little get together with the Ingram clan in Arizona. Then we headed to Newport Beach with the whole fam to celebrate his and my moms birthdays.
I can't believe my husband is 26... Since we started dating when I was 16 and he was 17, we still feel 16 and 17.... Where does the time go???
Happy Belated Birthday Joel!!

Vander couldn't take his eyes of the candles the entire time we sang.

He helped blow out daddy's candles for him :)

Vander Lee... Almost 5 months!

2011-04-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I almost have a 5 month old. Seriously, where does the time go?

He is getting SO BIG and SO SMART. Joel and I love to sit back and just watch him soak things in. He is becoming so interactive and quite coordinated. It has been so nice to be home with him a few days a week!

Heres the latest with Van man.....

Nicknames : Boo, Boozers, Monkey, Van Man, Van

-He LOVES reading books. He jibbers the enter time we read and loves to turn the pages

-He loves to kick hit feet like crazy and he constantly curles his toes

-He just now is realizing that if he crys, we come.... Unfortunately for him we have figured this out... ;)

-He can hold his bottle all by himself

-He will grab anything within his reach and try to shove it in his mouth. His all time favorite is my hair which he grabs in two handfuls with his moist little hands. It hurts SO BAD.

-He now LOVES carrotts.... Not sure I can say the same for green beans

-He can roll from front to back like its nothin, he can ALMOST roll from back to front

-He loves to hear himself talk. He is an absolute jabber box

-Hes become extremely attached to his mommy. And while it is very endearing, it can be a little exhausting for me, and stressful for Joel

-He has slept without being swaddled for the past 2 nights and done pretty darn well

-He has started laughing, but not just giggles now, actual big laughs

-He loves his bumbo and he loves sitting in it while he sits next to Joel on the couch

Thats about it for now :) Now for the recent photos.....

Super snuggly after his 4 month shots.

He loves the xbox controller already...... ugh

Vander and Grandma Ronda

Chillin with Bop Bop. Notice that the tie had to be moved as it was WAY to fun for Vander to grab and stick in his mouth.

He LOVES sitting with Joel while Joel works from home. We love family home days :)

At the Easter Pagent at the Mesa Temple. There was way to much stimulous elsewhere for Vander to look at the camera.

He was swaddled SO tight, and somehow, we come in in the morning to this. How on EARTH did he get out?

Big smiles for his daddy

Pat Tillman Run

2011-04-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran the Pat Tillman run in Tempe. Its a 4.2 mile run to honor Pat Tillman that ends on the 42nd yardline of the ASU Stadium. When I registered 2 months ago, my goal was to finish in 38-40 minutes. But with my slight lack of training, the day of the race my hope was just to beat 42 minutes and average a 10 minute mile. Well I ended up finishing in 38:42, so I was STOKED.

The best part of all is that my parents ran it with us and they did AMAZING! For my mom who is the farthest thing from a runner to even do the race and finish with a pretty darn good time made me super proud! This is one of the amazing blessings of living in the same state with my sister and parents. Now if only we could get Amber here we'd be complete! :)

Anywho, here are some pictures from race day.

We really aren't all THAT excited that we just finished.. My dad threw water at us at the same time they snapped the photo.

These girls are crazy fast...

My fam came out to support me!

Van was super comfy in his stroller and passed out :)

Solids and Daggers

2011-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today Vander had his very first experience with solid foods. Carrotts were his very first!! He wasn't so sure about it at first, but he didn't spit it out. He just basically kept gagging the entire time and making hilarious faces.

THEN, after his first solid meal, we took a little trip to the Dr to get what my family affectionately calls "DAGGERS", aka, immunizations. This was his "4 month" check up, even though he is only a week and a half shy of 5 months. But here are his "4 month" stats!

Weight: 16 lbs, 6 oz (60th percentile)

Height: 26 inches (75th percentile)

Head: 16.5 inches (25th percentile)

I took photos to document his leg daggers. Poor little thing. And after his 2 month shots he was a WRECK for a week. I am really not looking forward to that again...... :) But he was a trooper!

Then... just a recent video of him at Joels softball game. In the past 4 days he has become a HUGE jabber box! He loves to hear his own voice.

Just another day in paradise :)

2011-04-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

I again apologize for my lack of photos/posts. Life has been a little crazy lately but its finally starting to level out and hopefully will be back to normal soon! I take my 2nd broker test this week and PRAY that I pass so that I can move on to the next 2 tests. Vander has stayed home a few days this past week with me while I work. Joel started his work from home job at Bank of America last week, but he won't start working at home until this week. Vander is SO excited to spend the whole day with his mommy and daddy :) He has been SUPER sleepy lately, so its practically like hes not even here during the day. The other day he took 7 hours of naps in a 10 hour span... And last night he went to bed at 8pm, has woken up twice to eat and has gone back to sleep... Its now almost 12pm and he is STILL sleeping. He must be a growing boy!

He has now started to really enjoy his rice cereal and we will get started on feeding him some of his first baby food here in the next week or so! I'm going to try to take on the task of making my own baby food and see how it goes ;)

Lately he has gone on rolling strike. He was rolling like crazy and all the sudden.. NO MORE :)

He can hold his own bottle now, almost the entire time he eats. He WANTS to feed himself cereal and loves to grab and hold the spoon as tight as he can. He loves to pull my hair and get it stuck in his death grip so I can't get it out of his hand. He's still an amazing little boy and continues to brighten our home with his infectious smile :)

Heres some recent pics! You may notice that he is sleeping in most of these pictures..... Thats because thats what hes doing 90% of the time.

Cuddling with daddy

Sleepin in Grammys arms :)

Please pay NO attention to my husbands absolutely disgusting mustache. In case you were wondering, it was "Mustache March" at work. Thank goodness that is over... But this picture is of Vanders very FIRST daddy shoulder ride :)

Chillin watchin TV with daddy

Joel set him down for a minute while he was wide awake. When he came back, out COLD on the couch with his arms to the side.

After this bath. His favorite time of the day :)

4 Months!!!

2011-03-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Vander is already 4 months old! I can't even believe how fast time has gone! And at the same time, I can't remember how life ever was without him! He has brought SO much joy and love into our house and Joel and I are so grateful for all the emptiness he has filled in our lives. We would have probably started having kids years ago if we only knew how much fulfillment it would bring! We absolutely adore you Vander!

Now, because hes 4 months... lets throw out some stats!

Weight : 15.5 lbs

Height : 24" (who knows how accurate that is, it was done by yours truely! :) )

And some fun facts about little Van Man..

Most Commonly called... Boo, Boozers, Van Man, Monkey, Boo Bear
Loves to touch, grab, exam and stick things in his mouth
Rolls over from front to back
LOVES to lay on the floor and kick like crazy
Has put his binky in his mouth a few times on his own
Trys extremely hard to hold his own bottle and can sometimes pull it off for about 10 secs
Sleeping through the night for about a month now (For the most part ;) )
Just started rice cereal this week (photos to follow)
Hes the happiest baby ever! Only crys when hes hungry or tired
He loves watching the doggies play and wrestle
Loves reading books! He would sit there and let you read to him all day
Smiles like crazy
Still loves being swaddled when he sleeps
Makes his mommy and daddy VERY happy :)

And now... pictures from his first rice cereal meal. BOY was it a freaking MESS. Afterwards, our dogs decided to eat his bib... awwwwwwwwwesome.......

First mouthful :)

He wasn't so sure about this....

Afterwards... Sittin fat and happy :)

Busy Busy Busy.....

2011-03-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my lack of photos within the past 2 weeks. I am starting a new job (Stay at home! WOOT WOOT) in a week and I have been in classes from 10am-10pm for the last two weeks. Needless to say, the only reason why you are not seeing pictures of Van man is because I haven't even gotten to see him!!!!
This is truely testing my sanity, but it will pay off here in a few weeks when I can stay home with him during the day! :) Here are just a few photos I snapped quickly today before I head off for school!!!

HAHAHAHA- I love this one! I couldn't help but post it :) Sorry Vander ;)

Milestones

2011-03-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

So in the last two days we have hit two of the most AMAZING milestones so far! The first being that Vander has slept through the night 2 nights in a row! After literally about 6 months without a single full night of sleep, this was VERY overdue! I forgot what an incredible feeling it is to sleep through the night. So for that, I thank you Vander :) Please keep it up!
Our second exciting milestone is that just yesterday Vander picked up his first toy and was playing with it. He also picked it up and put it in his mouth, another milestone in and of itself. He kept himself fully entertained with one stupid ring toy for over an hour! BLISS! What a fabulous 2 days it has been!
Here are some pics of his first real "play" times :)

First Haircut

2011-02-27T17:03:00.001-07:00

For those who have known Van from the beginning, you know that he has always had a mane of hair. And he has had his signature mohawk since he was about 2 days old. But, lately it is getting a little out of hand. With the recent onset of his strawberry blonde color, and his hair finally filling in where it had fallen out, he was well overdue for his first haircut! Even after the haircut his hair remains out of control, but at least it is slighly tamed... :)

And after.... :)

Back to the grind....

2011-02-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

A mostly uneventful week at the Ingram household... Joel and I both had to go back to work this week which has been extremely trying. But I am VERY happy to say that I have received a job offer for an at home job which I will be starting on March 7th :) What a huge blessing! There is nothing worse than leaving Vander every morning at 6am and missing his "Talk Time" in the mornings.
Heres a small recap of our now kinda boring life :)

Nap time after work with Joel. He moved himself to that position all my himself :)

The first of MANY of Daddy's softball games. It was SO cold.

Grandma was keeping him warm and bundled so he could watch the games :)

He visited me at work one day. One of my Co-workers put him right to work! He was a natural born Short Sale Negotiator :)

Recently he has taken a liking to the old traditional binkys. They are much cuter :)

Rollin' and other good stuff!

2011-02-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

This week marks a very exciting milestone for Vander! Vander can officially roll over!! We caught his 2nd attempt on video :) Then as always, other random photos to follow :)

Fresh and Clean right out of the bath! He LOVES bathtime!

Such a little stud in his new Tapout shirt Bop Bop got him!

Joel and Vander chillin in the back of the pathfinder :)

Almost ready for church, just chillin out in his Bumbo.

Valentines Day + Random Pictures

2011-02-16T17:40:00.001-07:00

We had an awesome Valentines Day this year! Joel surprised me and took me to ChuckECheese. Many may find this odd.. but something you may not know is that mine and Joels first date (roughly 8 years ago when we were both 16) was to ChuckECheese and our first Valentines Day was spent at ChuckECheese. So in celebration of our still young at heart marriage we took a little visit town memory lane. Only difference was, this time we had our beautiful and very fun little boy with us! Here is documentation of our fun and VERY romantic (hehehe) night at ChuckECheese. :)

This looks like hes holding his "booking" card. Like hes going to jail. Haha

So excited to play games with ALL his tokens!

Joel and Vander playing Vanders first arcade race game.

Daddy and Son having SO MUCH fun :)Vander was smiling so much that he ended up with spit all over his mouth and carrier. :)

So to take a trip down memory lane... below are photos from Vday 8 years ago back in Highschool :) Straight from the Ingram Archive....

ChuckECheese 8 years ago :)

ChuckECheese 2/14/2011

ChuckECheese 8 years ago :)

ChuckECheese 2/14/2011
I realize by showing those photos that I am also clearly documenting both of our weight gain over the years ;)

Happy Valentines day!!

Now.... RANDOM PICTURES!

Our studly mans church outfit

Just chillin on Daddy

Time with Bop Bop

Nap time :)

The bink may not need to be in his mouth... but some contact required while sleeping :)

Vander Update

2011-02-13T09:01:00.001-07:00

Nothing exciting to report in the Ingram household this week but I thought I'd at least post a few random pictures. Vander has been kicking like CRAZY, the kid cannot sit still so it's tough to catch a still photo :)

Vanders stats at his 2 mo appointment:
Height : 24 1/2 inches (85th percentile)
Weight : 12lbs 12oz (60th percentile)
Head: 15 3/4 cent (45th percentile)

He just barely started figuring out his exersaucer and loves to bounce on it and make it sing.

Just chillin in his car seat :)

This is the new face he makes in almost every picture because of the "preflash" on our camera. The light makes him open his eyes all wide and crazy like :)

A WILD Braves fan already ;)

Tummy Time!!

Big Boy Chair

2011-02-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Vander used his high chair for the first time yesterday. He was so content just chillin in it for about an hour. I snapped this cute photo and I could resist posting it :) I love him!!

Denver, Salt Lake and Misc :)

2011-02-03T10:41:00.001-07:00

This past two weeks we took a nice lonnnnnng road trip to Denver, and then Salt lake. We were a little nervous to drag our poor 2 month old on such a long road trip, but he ended up sleeping the ENTIRE drive (with 3 hour waking intervals to eat ;) ). He was SO good which made the trip extremely enjoyable! Only after we left Denver, and then left Salt Lake did we realize that we took a grand total of 6 pictures on our entire trip. We are seriously pathetic. So, needless to say the trip was very poorly documented. We did have a chance to see almost every family member between Denver and Salt Lake so it was a very successful trip!! Here are our few photos, followed by a few random photos taken over the past month :)

Vanders first hotel stay in Albuquerque.. It was a little rough without a crib. But we survived!

Sleepin with his favorite night time blanket.

The 4 generations of Ingrams. Grandpa Chester, Grandpa Bruce, Joel and Vander :)

Grandma and Grandpa Ingram. Grandmas a trooper for holding him only 1 day after getting home from the hospital!

Vander loves to sleep on his daddy's lap why daddy plays xbox :) Thats his favorite napping position.

Going to church!

My two men ;)

Grammy Ingram and Vander

Sammy and Vander

Vanders first time in his bumbo. He loves it!

Vanders first time in his Jumper Bumper. Hes a little two small so we have to shove a blanket around him. But he loves it also. :)

Happy 4 Year Anniversary!!

2011-01-05T11:40:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was mine and Joel's 4 year anniversary! We celebrated by having a nice Teppanyaki dinner at Ah-So and followed it up by going to see the movie "Little Fockers". Its amazing how much more important your anniversary seems when you have to arrange a babysitter. It makes it feel like a BIG NIGHT out on the town :)
In celebration of our anniversary.... here are a few funny facts that I adore about my husband
* When he loads the dishwasher he ALWAYS leaves at least one random item in the sink
* He will never drink the last bit out of the milk carton, he just opens a new carton
* His wallet and keys are always mysteriously missing
* He absolutely hates lists.. chore lists... to do lists...
* He doesn't like to return things to stores... Our time is more valuable than the value of the return :)
* He is full of useless knowledge and has a "memory like an elephant"
* The floor of the closet IS his shoe rack :)
* When he knows hes wrong he will rarely admit it, but his facial expressions say it all
* He "hates" my reality tv shows, but is instantly as glued to the tv as I am when I turn it on
* It takes him 45 minutes to fold a load of laundry because he gets distracted wrestling with the dogs
* He cannot stand the sound of someone brushing their teeth
* The smell of baby poop makes him gag
* He has a goofy dorky side that I adore and others rarely get to see

But most importantly of all..
* He has an amazing sense of humor
* Hes a great dad!
* His knowledge of the gospel is unsurpassed
* He has a very strong testimony
* He looks past my faults
* He is SO helpful with our new little man
* He makes me want to be a better person
* His laugh is infectious
* He will rub my feet or scratch my back at the drop of a hat
* He is SO comfy to cuddle with :)
* He is an incredible husband
and SO MUCH MORE!!!
I love you so much Joel! Happy Annivesary!!

Vanders Blessing

2011-01-03T17:20:00.004-07:00

Vander was blessed yesterday at church. Joel did an amazing job and successfully made me bawl my eyes out :) I was so proud of my two guys. Vander was wide awake and smiley for the entire sacrament meeting and didn't make a peep! He just started smiling for real, with purpose, and I LOVE IT! He looked like a stud in his white blessing suit. Only after the fact did I realize that we didn't take any GOOD pictures of it. Darn it! This is the best we've got! Thank you to Vander for what a wonderful blessing you have already been in your mommy and daddy's lives. We love you so much!!

Christmas Weekend :)

2010-12-27T18:18:00.013-07:00

Joel and Vander after a Christmas Eve Morning Hike up South Mountain :) Vanders very first hike! And he loved every second...

The whole fam Christmas morning... As you can imagine... we were all a little tired from waking up every 3 hours in the night ;)

Joel Ryan and Vander Christmas morning

I felt like I would be a neglectful mother if I didn't get Vander a stocking for his first Christmas.... So I got him a big stocking and tried to be super excited for him for every item I pulled out....

Vanders very first tie! He looks thrilled....

And Vanders presents that I wrapped... and then I unwrapped.....

Check out Vanders cute skull Christmas pj's! I love them!

A relaxing Christmas afternoon nap...

Christmas morning at the Craigs

His 2nd time going to church- But first time in his cute little church pants!

Smores on Sunday night at Bop Bop and Grandmas house :)

Annual Sweater Palooza

2010-12-18T17:44:00.010-07:00

Last night was the Annual Sweater Palooza (Ugly sweater Christmas party), hosted by my dear sister Tarah. I had a hard time sporting my NASTY sweater.. but my husband seemed right in his element... A special note... the mustache was a ONE NIGHT occurrence and was shaved immediately upon arriving home. It sure did complete the outfit though! :) We had a ton of fun! Thank you to Tarah for the invite!!

My extremely attractive husband ;)I could hardly look at him all night with that stupid mustache

Somehow Tarah actually managed to pull off the "Ugly Sweater" look quite nicely... I can't say the same for myself. The sweater made my newly acquired baby pooch more apparent than it already is.

Because it took a lot of effort to let the guys let us take a picture at all... I feel as though I must post it :)

The womens amazing pyramid.

Palm Desert Road Trip

2010-12-17T14:38:00.014-07:00

This week we took a brief 3 day trip to Palm Desert California to visit one of Joel's mission companions- Eric and his wife Ashton :) We had an amazing time, but the highlight was our 10 minute trip up a tram on Mount San Jacinto which took us from the 75 degree desert to a 38 degree mountain forest :) What a blast! Thank you Eric and Ashton for a great trip and a ton of fun!

We weren't quite expecting the 38 degree weather at the top... thus we resulted to shoving our child in daddys sweatshirt :)

This picture does not show how freezing we were! But look at the amazing view of the valley!

Me and Van, both as bundled as we prepared for... which, wasn't sufficient.

Standing on snow. The only picture that proves that it was cold :)

The clan

Bundled in his car seat. A lady in passing commented in horror "OMG, I'm sure hes so cold... I can't believe you didn't cover his face, I would have definitely covered his face"... I donno what would be worse, me SUFFOCATING my child, or his face being a little cold... Hmmmm.. toss up! ;)

This picture doesn't do this hill justice... We walked up a 1/4 mile hill that was extremely steep!! Our butts got an incredible workout!

A beautiful view of the Mountain Valley.

A view from the tram.

Headed home on the tram! What an awesome trip!

Vander Newborn Photos

2010-12-05T22:12:00.009-07:00

Here are Vander's new born pictures! My great friend Aubry Startin (www.StartinPhoto.com) did his new born pictures and she did an absolutely fabulous job! Our little guy was bright eyed and bushy tailed for the entire shoot :) He's a happy baby and we ADORE him. Thank you Aubry for the amazing pictures!!

Vander Lee Ingram

2010-11-28T12:58:00.008-07:00

Vander was born on 11/19/2010 weighing in at 7 lbs 10.5oz and 21 inches long! I was induced at about 10am on the 18th, and ended up having him at 4:42pm on the 19th... after 24 hours of active labor :)
He has been absolutely amazing!! Hes a wonderful and very happy baby. And, as most do, sleeps 99% of the time. For this reason I really only have pictures of him sleeping :) More photos to come soon!!!

Last photo of me while HUGE and preggo!! Getting ready to head out to be induced!

And last picture of Me and Joel pre-parenthood :) Taken during labor... Joel was the most amazing "coach" I could have asked for!!

Joels first time holding the little man. He was bright eyed and looking at everyone.

Meeting Vander for the first time :)

Only a few hours old.

Bundled up after his first bath :)

This is how Joel and Vander fall asleep every single night. It knocks Vander out in 2 seconds. :)

Sleepin in his bouncer

Van man sportin his faux-hawk

The most recent event in the Ingram household... projectile vomit ALL over Joel. Joel was thrilled :)

Brad Paisley - Anything Like Me (Lyrics)

2010-10-29T14:25:00.001-07:00

My mom found this song... It brought me and Joel both to tears the first time we heard it! I LOVE IT! Have a listen! :) My little boy is scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks or so and I hope hes just like his daddy :)

I remember sayin' I don't care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm okay
Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said, "You see that thing right there, well you know what that means"

I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he's anything like me

He'll probably climb a tree too tall and ride his bike too fast
End up every summer wearin' something in a cast
He's gonna throw a ball and break some glass in a window down the street

He's gonna get in trouble, oh he's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback if he's anything like me

I can see him right now, knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass tryin' to melt the Tonka truck
Won't he be a sight with his football helmet on?
That'll be his first love 'til his first love comes along

He'll get his heart broke by the time he's in his teens
And heaven help him if he's anything like me

He'll probably stay out too late and drive his car too fast
Get a speeding ticket, he'll pay for mowing grass
He's gonna get caught skippin' class and be grounded for a week

He's gonna get into trouble, we're gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback if he's anything like me

He's gonna love me and hate me along the way
Years are gonna fly by and I already dread the day

He's gonna hug his momma, he's gonna shake my hand
He's gonna act like he can't wait to leave
But as he drives out he'll cry his eyes out if he's anything like me
There's worst folks to be like, oh he'll be alright if he's anything like me

Baby Vander!

2010-08-19T17:12:00.008-07:00

Its a miracle! A blog post!!!! :) Between moving out of our old house, in with the parents, and then into our new house, life has been insane. But the very best part of it all (even though most probably already know by now) is that we are expecting our first baby (Vander Lee Ingram)- Due on November 13th. Its a boy!!!!
Anywho, pregnancy has been relatively easy thus far with a minor run in with morning sickness and a daily nap to get me through life :) I'm doing dandy and so far Baby Van is very healthy and quite strong!
We had a 3D/4D ultrasound today and below are just a few of the pictures! More photos to come post pregnancy :)

Surprise!!! Happy 3 Year Anniversary!

2010-01-09T17:38:00.017-07:00

January 4th was mine and Joel's 3rd year anniversary! We often take small trips on our anniversaries, but this time we "decided" to pass on that expense, and just have a nice romantic date after work- Or so Joel thought :)
On Monday morning Joel woke up to his alarm and was pleased when I told him that I had gotten work off for both of us. Then after we went to breakfast and relaxed around the house a bit, I told him we were going on a trip somewhere, but I didn't tell him where. He had to figure that out on his own as the day went on. Well once he found out that we were taking a flight, the flight was to San Diego, and our friends Heather and Jon were surprisingly sitting at the same gate at the airport, he put the pieces together and realized we were going on a cruise!!
We had an absolute blast kicking back and relaxing for an entire week with our great friends! I have had this trip booked for 6 months, and the fact that it still ended up being a complete surprise was a miracle!
I love my husband so much and I feel so blessed to have spent the last 3 years with such an incredible man! He makes me laugh more than I ever thought possible and makes me feel like a princess every day. I'm so grateful I married my best friend in the world. There is never a dull moment in our house and that alone makes for a great life!
Here are some pictures of our trip!

Our first night on the ship at Dinner. We're sporting the 3 Year Anniversary shirts I made especially for the cruise!

Here's a picture of the back of the shirt :)

Our cruise ship! The Carnival Elation :)

Sitting waiting for the (what ended up being TERRIBLE) dance show to start

Downtown Catalina Island- Somehow I look incredibly awkward sitting on the ledge, and Heather doesn't? Go Figure!

Downtown Catalina Shopping Center

The genius man who we asked to take our picture put his finger over the lens... Gotta love it!

We both look a little...strange in this photo? Ah well! Heres another night at the restaurant!

Tthe men continued to make fun of mine and Heathers "Quarter Pusher Game" which is a "Lame Money Pit".... I then proceeded to win $137 on that same "Lame, Money Pit" :) They haven't made fun of it since!

We visited 1 of the only 3 natural blow holes in the world in Ensenada Island. (If that fact is wrong, blame our tour guide)

Looking out over the ocean from the Flea Market in Ensenada

This was my main food source throughout our 4 days at sea. No wonder I gained EIGHT pounds!! Mmmmmm... Soft Serve Icecream

At the beautiful San Diego Temple! I've always wanted to see it in person!!

If you were wondering what it took for that amazing picture to be captured... :)

Back Surgery

2010-01-09T14:35:00.011-07:00

Yes.. Its a shocker, for the first time since May I am actually going to post something!!! J

Some of you may know that Joel has had terrible back problems since we've been married. He injured his back while on his mission in Florida. At the time he was helping members clear up damage and fallen trees from hurricane Ivan. In the process he managed to herniate two disks in his back which had him on bed rest for several weeks. He then injured it for a 2nd time on his mission while playing basketball. Once he got home his back was pretty severe, but he managed the pain through light medication. That is, until he re injured it playing with our 6 month old puppy. Then a year later it was injured for the 4th time while water skiing. With each injury his back has only gotten progressively worse to the point where his disks were then herniated and spilling over into his spinal column. Joel finally made the decision after speaking to several doctors that his best option was for him to have open back surgery to have excess disk completely shaved and removed from his spinal column.
On November 5th Joel had the surgery done on one of the two discs, (the other disc will be done sometime in the next few months). While the healing process has been long, and difficult, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel!
Here are some pre and post surgery photos :)

Rocky Point Mexico!

2009-06-08T19:39:00.010-07:00

Yes.... we did go to Mexico turning the peak of Swine Flu Season... Call us crazy :)
but we all made it out alive!!!
Last weekend we took a family trip to Rocky Point Mexico! (THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!)
My sisters posted the trip on their blogs the day they got back... I post mine a week and two days later :)
We had an amazing time and loved spending some time with the long lost Carlsons :)

This was some of the best guacamole we've ever had... And probably the cheapest too which made it taste even better!

Joel was boogie boarding almost the entire time and I refused. Then with only one day left there I finally let him teach me and I LOVED IT! We had a blast!

So much fun together!

This is the private villa we stayed in as a family! Great memories!

Sportin our boogie boards :)

The kitchen

Family Room

Overall it was a very relaxed weekend. A nice breath of fresh air! I wish I took more pictures but I didn't want to bring my camera to the beach and have it ruined by water and sand.

San Francisco California!

2009-06-08T19:20:00.011-07:00

A few weekends ago my Grandma and Grandpa Craig were awesome enough to fly me and Joel to their home in California to spend the weekend with them! Joel had a blast golfing his life away all weekend, and we had fun just relaxing and getting away from the hussle and bussle of our everyday life!
The only day we took pictures was the day we took a trip to San Francisco, it was INCREDIBLE!

We started our day at an aquarium on the pier. The aquarium was basically an underground tunnel with water and fish surrounding us. By far the coolest aquarium I've ever been to!

These are real jellyfish.... Insanely CREEPY jellyfish

We got to stand in the tunnel while we watched a giant school of fish swim around us.

We also got to touch a shark and a stink ray!

At this pearl shop you actually get to pick out an oyster and watch them open it. Then you get to keep the pearl!! I got a nice big one out of my oyster! (Thanks Aunt Debbie!!)

We got to ride through San Francisco on an OLD trolley car!!

Our adorable Grandma and Grandpa!! They spoiled us ROTTEN!!

Joel eating some AUTHENTIC chinese food in China Town... He was less than thrilled at the quality. Of course, the only thing he has to compare it to is PF Changs :) (Josh's face in the background sums it all up :) )

In China town standing in front of a butcher shop with Peking Ducks DANGLING in the window... Ew.

Happy VERY belated Easter!!!

2009-05-11T23:48:00.007-07:00

This is almost humorous since its so delayed, but I sold my printer with the built in memory card reader at our last garage sale (genius) and didn't have a way to post my pictures... Hence, the reason why I haven't posted anything in about a month!
Anywho, since we are yet to have a little babe of our own, Wymme the dog will have to make due! We decided to let her help us dye Easter eggs... She was very very curious!

My favorite thing about holidays is creating pancake shapes! Obviously I haven't quite mastered the art yet :) They always seem yummier when they are in shapes- Kinda like macaroni and cheese :)

Happy (very late) Easter everyone!!

P90X- Take Two!

2009-03-24T17:19:00.002-07:00

Back in November Joel and I decided we'd purchase P90X (The workout/diet system) for ourselves for Christmas. However, what we quickly found is that starting a VERY intense work out and diet regimen would be incredibly difficult right in the heart of the holidays. So we said we'd start after the holidays.... Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and here it is almost 5 months later and gosh darn it we're finally starting again!!!
So.... MONDAY MARCH 23rd= DAY ONE!

Bowlin with the PLOTTS!

2009-03-23T09:25:00.003-07:00

Joel's mission companion Eric Plott and his wife Ashton came to visit from Palm Desert this weekend. We had an absolute blast hanging out with them and wish they lived here :) After they left, I noticed we didn't take a single picture with them (Sad!), but dont worry, I did manage to capture this picture of my STELLER bowling score! 158 may not be a good score to most, but I think I've only broken 100 about 3 times in my life. Luckly we had wagered that the losing couple buys dessert! ;)
Until next time Plotts... :)

Colorado + a new nephew!

2009-03-23T09:09:00.007-07:00

My sister Tarah and I made the 14 hour drive up to Colorado to surprise my sister Amber who was being induced last Sunday. Luckily we managed to pull off the surprise and she was dumb-struck when she saw us standing on her front porch! Just a few long days later..(haha) she had my newest baby nephew, Taz Tyler Carlson!
He is just as sweet as the other two, and both Tarah and I are very sad that we will not be able to closely watch this one grow up before our eyes :( (Thank goodness for Blogs!)
Congrats to Amber and Tyler on their newest addition!!

(Take note of the GREEN in the photos.... Baby Taz was born on St. Patricks Day!!)

Me and My Sis Amber! She looks amazing for only having the baby an hour ago! :)

Me and my very newest nephew TAZ!

Brooklyn, Boston and Taz.... Their first encounter :)

Warming up to their new little brother :)

BAD NEWS BEAVERS- TOURNAMENT CHAMPS!

2009-03-03T23:15:00.002-07:00

I am the team "mama" or MANAGER for my husband and dads men's softball league... I am very proud to announce that tonight we won FIRST PLACE in the league tournament!!
I love supporting their softball team, its one of my favorite hobbies!!
I LOVE OUR TEAM!
GO BEAVERS!!

TAG! :)

2009-02-27T15:14:00.002-07:00

I was tagged on a very random post from Brittani.... and so I don't go down in history as the person that NEVER replies to tags... HERE IT IS!!
I was asked to post the 6th picture in the 6th picture folder on my computer. And here it is!! My very pride and joy! My sweet puppy when she was only 8 weeks old. We love her :)

And now I have to "Tag" 6 others... So I will tag...
Headie*Tarah*Amber*Moo*Lauren*and... MOM!

Happy Valentines Day!!

2009-02-14T10:57:00.005-07:00

I have the sweetest husband in the world :)
Yesterday I came home from work bummed out because the two other girls in my office that I work with got flowers delivered from their boyfriends. But, when I got home I noticed this lovely bouquet sitting on my counter. Joel had gone and handpicked me flowers on his lunch break and even tried to arrange them nicely.
It turned out to be WAY better than having flowers delivered at work! They were free, and there was a lot more effort and thought put into it.
I love my husband! :)

6 Years and Counting...

2009-02-10T13:02:00.004-07:00

6 Years ago today (February 10th, 2003) was the first day Joel and I officially became "boyfriend and girlfriend". The entire 4 years that we dated we celebrated a monthly "anniversary" on the 10th of every month. 6 years later we are still madly in love and are the happiest we've ever been in our lives!!

So Joel.... Happy 72 month anniversary! I love you so SO much!!!

This picture was taken 1 month after we started dating :) Oh the memories!!

Prom 2004 :)

Laundry or a Dog Bed?!

2009-02-01T13:03:00.006-07:00

While trying to tackle the mounds of laundry that I have somehow let get VERY piled up... I decided to take a quick break and look at some blogs.... While doing so I turned around to this....

It was too cute to resist taking a picture

Londons Run- 10k

2009-01-31T14:25:00.004-07:00

After running our half marathon, Joel expressed interest in running more races. Tarah asked us to run the Londons Run 10k and while Joel was stoked, I was less than thrilled to be running another race so soon. BUT my husband was all for it, so to keep him energized about running, I thought HECK I'll sign us up!!! $60 later... Joel was invited to go golfing with my Dad, Grandpa and Brother In-Law and couldn't turn it down, leaving me to run the race alone. (Tarah was there, but was NO where near, thus, I consider it running alone). It was fun anyways!!!
We all met our goals so it was a fabulous morning!!
GO US!

Driving Range Date night

2009-01-31T14:10:00.007-07:00

When Joel and I were dating, and after we first got married, we went to the driving range almost every weekend.... Times have changed and we have gotten lazy, but last night we went for our first time in a while! It was very depressing because I could barely hit the ball, and yet my husband was janking them out of site. Grrrr... Please pay no attention to my FABULOUS form! ;)

My club is moving so fast you can't even SEE it! Faster than.....sight!?

What an intense picture! I love it!

Cardinals Rally

2009-01-30T17:41:00.010-07:00

Today at work we had a Cardinals Rally!! We got to relax, eat tons of food and cheer for the Cardinals for 2 hours at work! What a fab day!The Office CHICAS!

Me Breena and Shawna decked out in our cute Cardinals shirts!Me and Shawna!Me and Dad! What could possibly be better than working with your Dad everyday!?

SCORPION ATTACK!

2009-01-30T17:35:00.004-07:00

So last night, I went to put my phone on the charger, and saw something out of the corner of my eye. Looked like a bug, but I didn't think much of it and walked away. Then... thought for a second that I may want to check because it was right next to my bed! Good thing I checked because it was a HUGE scorpion crawling up my nightstand!!
(Picture taken on Joels phone, so forgive the poor quality :) )
I HATE scorpions!! So, needless to say, Joel and I both slept on the couch last night. Actually, I slept on the couch cuz I was terrified, and because I have a sweet husband he slept with me for moral support :)

1/2 Marathon

2009-01-21T19:19:00.010-07:00

As many of you know (probably because you've been hearing me complain for two days straight).. Joel and I ran a 1/2 Marathon this past Sunday! It was Joels first race EVER and he kicked BUTT!!

We both called into work Monday because we could hardly walk. (due to our severe lack of training).
BUT HECK, WE FINISHED!!

This picture is from the Expo the day before the race!On the bus on the way to the race at 6:30, awaiting our demise. I look thrilled :)

At the starting line, telling each other "We can do this, I know we can do this!"

After the race!! "Holy Crap, we made it, next time lets train"
Twiggy ran with us! This picture is insanely disgusting, but its the only one I got with all 3 of us!
Until next year........

My Birthday!!

2009-01-21T19:11:00.005-07:00

Yay! Last week I turned the big 2-3! I feel so grown up!

I have put this down on the record as one of my best birthdays in a long time!!
Thank you to all my wonderful family and friends!!

Got my awesome new Pampered Chef Knife (Which I STRONGLY endorse!) and my amazing overnight bag from mi madre y mi padre :)
The best gift I can ask for... MONEY! From my awesome Grandma and Grandpa! Please also note the new Underarmour pants and Nike shirt that Ambo and Tye got me (My new favs)
And what you CAN'T see is the AMAZING NEW CAMERA which is taking these incredible photos! Thank you to my sexy husband and Tarah and Drew for this awesome gift!!!
Thank you to everyone for making my bday great!

Lets get this party started....

2008-12-10T16:35:00.003-07:00

So 3 days ago Joel and I started an INSANE fitness and nutrition program called P90X!
We took our "before" photos and I hope that in 90 days I will be able to post again with both our before and after pictures. I am DETERMINED to lose the weight that I have gained since getting married, and by posting this message I am hoping that everyone will hold me accountable! If you see me eating ANYTHING unhealthy, I give you permission to slap me.

So... COMING February 2009, Healthier, Sexier and HAPPIER Ingram's ;)

I will post updates at least monthly :) I know.. the anticipation will kill you :)

For the record... and so I can be embarassed enough to never give up....

I am 5'6", I weigh 147, wear a size 10 and my body fat percentage is 22% GAG!

WISH US LUCK!!!!

Stars by Ronda!

2008-12-08T17:01:00.002-07:00

My mom has started her own little company called Stars By Ronda.
These stars are ADORABLE, Photos do NOT do them justice!
The stars make for a PERFECT gift and are absolutely beautiful decorations!
Each star is Custom Designed and Handmade after your own personal style and most are made with special requests....
But, she also has a "showroom/garage" full of these beautiful stars and people are always welcome to come by to have a look!
Please visit her site at www.StarsByRonda.com
:)

This is getting rediculous...

2008-11-11T14:47:00.002-07:00

I'm almost embarrassed to post this.... I feel like I'm having deja vu....

After the OVERWHELMING excitement we felt with the fact that we were finally getting a new home, we regretfully had to AGAIN cancel our contract.

With the terrible economy, scary job security and the nagging feeling that a child should be our first priority we have made the sad decision to put off our home purchase for a year or two.

Please check back in 4 months when we decide to write another offer.... ;)

Help!

2008-11-10T11:11:00.004-07:00

As of Saturday we are now purchasing a new home!! :)
Now we have the task of trying to rent out our current home!
If you know anyone who would be interested renting our home please let me know! If someone finds me a good renter, I will pay you $350!

Here are the details...

Located within Ahwatukee
Lease Price: $1050
Bed: 2
Bath: 2

CLICK HERE for a VisualTour of this listing.

Thank you in advance to anyone who passes this along! :) We need to find someone by January!