Brogan's Accomplishments

This week, Brogan is 2 months old! I can't believe it! When I think of my life since he has been born, the one word that keeps coming to mind in JOY! Brogan brings so much joy in our life. I wake up every morning and feel so blessed and lucky to be able to spend all my time with such an amazing little boy. Brogan has such a sweet, special spirit that just radiates from him. My favorite time with Brogan is in the mornings....he always smiles so big when he wakes up in the morning. Seeing him smile makes my whole insides smile! We are totally in love with him!

These past two months, Brogan has been growing like crazy. He isn't really chubby, but he is definatly growing. I am going to the Dr. this week so I will finally know how much he weighs now. So far, here is a list of Brogan's accomplishments:
1. Fist airplane ride (see previous post)
2. Moved from newborn diapers to size 1
3. He fianlly fits in some of his 0-3 clothes!
4. Smile while looking at us
5. Rolling over from his tummy onto his back

I don't know at what age babies usually roll over, but I still can't believe Brogan does it already. He actually rolled over for the first time when he was five weeks old. We started putting him on his tummy for a couple of minutes for tummy time. As soon as we would put him on his stomach, he would get so mad.....then he would kick his little legs, and to our amazement, roll over. Now he is pro, he flips over as soon as we put him down. His dad is so proud of him that he has him roll over several times everyday when he gets home from work. Say so long to tummy time....!

Just hanging out in the new swing his daddy bought him!

4th of July weekend

I have been feeling really guilty that I haven't posted about our vacation yet. So although it is really late,here we go.....better late than never.

For 4th of July, my parents were kind enough to give us some of their frequent flyer miles, so we flew home to Idaho! I was kind of nervous flying with a six week old baby, but he did fantastic! (As I got on the airplane holding Brogan, I could see the other passengers looking nervous thinking that they will have to hear a baby cry the whole flight......but, he didn't make a peep the whole way. We showed them!)

When we arrived into Boise Jason's cute sisters Janae and Julie were there to greet us. We drove to Twin Falls to spend the rest of the day with Jason's family. We spent the day talking and playing games at the park. The day ended with watching fireworks at the CSI. It was really fun showing off our cute Brogan to everyone! I love celebrating our countries Independence, and I am so happy that we could do it with our families.

The next day, Jason went fishing with his dad, and then we went to Banberries (an outdoor swimming pool) and met my family there. My mom stayed on the sidelines with Brogan so that Jason and I could soak in the cool water! It was so much fun swimming with my whole family...everyone minus Nater was there for the weekend. MY parents had 18 grandchildren in their house that weekend....18 grandchildren in one house = CRAZINESS!! Good thing my parents have a big house so the sound was not concentrated in a small space...plus there is a lot of sagebrush outside that keep all my nephews very entertained!

Us at the airport ready to fly home!




On Sunday, Jason blessed our little Brogan in Gooding. It was such a special experience to be there in the ward that I grew up in, and have my husband bless our son. I love showing off my cute family to everyone in Gooding. It was so good to have all our family there to share that experience with, (Jason's family was there also)! After the beautiful blessing that Jason gave we all went back to my parents house for yummy lunch.

Monday morning my dad drove Jason to the airport, and I stayed behind with Brogan to spend a few more days with my mom and dad! I missed Jason like crazy, but it was so good to spend some quality time with my parents, and allow them the time to get to know their new grandson without any other interruptions. Jason was so sweet to let me stay....he probably starved the whole week, but he survived without us!

I wish I had more pictures of our fun week in Idaho...I really need to be better at taking more pictures, but here are a few.

Understanding Fatherhood

For all of you older fathers who already "know" everything about fatherhood I want you to know that in this post I do not claim to know everything about being a father. The intent of this post is simply to explain some of the things that I have observed the past week concerning my new role as a father.

The first thing is regarding money, and my son. I think before I was a father I thought that it might bother me, all of the money this son would cost me. I thought at least I might be more aware of the new expenditures he caused. The reality of the matter is that neither does it bother me nor am I completely aware of the money I spend. I think it is best stated by saying that when I am hungry, or when I want a new toy, or have any supposed need, I go get it for myself. In the case of Brogan, my subconscious mind interprets his needs as my own in a completely altruistic manner. I therefore strive to fulfill his needs without any forethought of the fact that his needs in truth, are not mine. I first discovered this Fatherly aspect yesterday when I bought a swing for him. It was only $20 but we have been diligently trying to cut down spending so $20 is a lot for us right now. I am grateful for this ability I have for this certain ignorance.

The second thing I noticed today when Brogan rolled over. Whenever we set him down in the living room I always have to lay next to him and block him from the air conditioner. As I lay next to him, intently I watch as he struggles to roll himself over. Today as he was verging on getting from his stomach onto his back, the urge for me to help him "go the distance," (I just watched "Rocky" this week), was incredible. The difficulty I had in watching him struggle could never have been anticipated. As he lay crying and struggling to get on his back I feel as though I am being a good father, letting him do it on his own. Having an active role (or in this case, an inactive role), with helping my children do things for themselves is something I have looked forward to, and awaited some time. My hope is that I have the strength to stand back and watch them struggle, all the while encouraging, and advising the best I can; Of course, should they fail or fall, I will always be near to catch them and help them back on their feet.
--Jason

One Month Old

Wow! I can't believe that our sweet Brogan has been in our family for a month now. Time sure does fly, especially when you are getting used to a new schedule with a newborn. I find myself sleeping a lot during the day with him just to keep my sanity so I can be a happy wife when Jason comes home. I wouldn't change a thing though, Brogan is such a wonderful addition to our family. He is seriously the sweetest baby. When he is awake he is so attentive, and just looks around with his beautiful big blue eyes. It is so much fun to watch him grow and learn about his personality. He is so easy going and just a happy boy. We love him so much!

Hope you enjoy our slide show! Jason worked really hard on it and is really proud of it.

Viva La Vida

We are currently featuring a coldplay widget to the right. Click on the media player and listen to some tracks from Coldplay's latest release "Viva La Vida."

Happy Father's Day

What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it.....Dad

Author Unknown

Our Sweet Brogan

Our two matching boys. We just got this outfit for Brogan yesterday, Jason likes it, its preppy.Isn't this outfit so cute.He does this a lot, putting his hands under his head when he sleeps...he thinks he is so big.