12/15/18 - Eventful Day!

This morning I ran 8 miles with my friend Billie (Dytrt) Tingey. She and I ran in high school together. She's way faster than me! Brenda couldn't run today though so I asked Billie to go with me and she did. She's funny! She grew up in Lehi 2nd Ward, just a mile away from me.

This afternoon we went to downtown Gilbert for lunch and to donate through the Light the World Giving Vending Machine the church put there. It is such a cool idea! Local charities/groups participate and we can "buy" an item or service for people in need. We bought recusitation for an infant, a sewing machine, a cow, 1 month of food for a family, and 1 week of food for 2 seniors. We asked William which one he wanted to choose and he pointed to the 1 week of food for 2 seniors. It was super cute that he was very deliberate about his choice and didn't choose anything else. We joked that he was buying a week of food for his grandma and grandpa haha. He got all shy when we laughed about it. It was cute! I also bought $5 for water.

We went to the baptism for Ixtoc Garcia this afternoon. He was getting rebaptized. He had been excommunicated. It was very neat because his 16 year old son was able to baptize him. I'm sure 8 years ago he had baptized his son, and now his son was baptizing him. It was a special meeting. Ixtoc is such a nice guy!

William pooped in the bath tonight. It was so gross! It's the first time he's ever done it. There were lots of big logs of poo floating around. I got him out and Austin cleaned it all out. And William tried to make a run for it out the front door when he was naked while Austin took the poo out to the garbage bin. It was pretty funny. He thought it was a great game. He was laughing and squealing. He also danced in front of the mirror naked and he thought it was so funny.

William loves to dance. It's so cute! He also is very considerate and takes the rhyme seriously when it says, "Don't step on the crack or you'll break your mother's back!" Whenever he is walking and comes to a crack in the cement, he gets down and crawls over it and then gets back up to keep walking. It's so funny and cute! William currently loves eating scrambled eggs and rice Chex for breakfast. And he loves noodles and bananas and raspberries for lunch and snacks. It's so cute when he eats bananas.

Today William finally figured out how to drink from a straw! It was so cute! When he figured it out he smiled really big and kept drinking. He was so proud of himself.

12/9/18 - King Family Christmas Party

On Friday night we had our family Christmas party with all the siblings and grandkids. It was weird not having Mom and Dad there. They video chatted in for most of it. Any is finally pregnant (she's been trying for a while) either her 5th baby. She has 4 boys so she really wants a girl. She found out the gender early with a blood test and did a gender reveal at the party during the cousin gift exchange. Michelle was the only one who knew if it was a boy or a girl. Amy didn't even know. Well, it's a GIRL! Amy is SO excited! I'm really excited for her!!!

Holly and Jordan were in town for the weekend to be here for the party. It was fun to hang out with Holly and Lucy.

I'm finally getting back into running. I took two weeks off during Thanksgiving time. But I'm making my way back in. I went running 6.3 miles with Brenda on Saturday and it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be.

We're going to Pennsylvania for Christmas to spend it with Derek and Kori and their kids. I'm excited!

We plan to move to Utah at the end of January. I've been stressing about finding a place to live. My cousin Lizzy told me last night that my Aunt Sharon has an apartment in her basement in Orem and that my cousin Warren lived their with his wife and kids for 2 years. So I called Aunt Sharon this evening and she said she'd be happy to let us live there. She also said they have a fourplex of apartments and one is coming available. She doesn't know exactly when so she's going to have Ron (her husband) call the people to find out. That would be great too! It's just nice to know that if we can't find something, we can always live in Sharon's basement for a few months. It'd be better than Chelsea's basement because Johnny doesn't play well with William so it'd be stressful since their playroom is in the basement. And Grant's room is in the basement. So I have some stress relieved!

I need to start cleaning and sorting through things so that packing will be easier. It's going to be a busy month and a half!

William is growing up SO fast! He's starting to understand things a lot better and is starting to communicate a little better. I think it's helping him be a little less whiny. He is so funny and silly! I love and adore him! I love watching him learn and grow! He LOVES the vacuum and the broom. The other day he had a meltdown because I took the broom away from him so I could sweep. He wanted it all to himself!

12/1/18 - Birthday Party for William

William turns 1 tomorrow! How is my baby already a year old?! We had a birthday party for him today. In the morning we had our ward Christmas party and then his party was 12:30-2. We had lunch at the park and had presents and cake. We had family and friends come. It was a lot of fun! William loooved his presents from us and the others that brought gifts. It was cute watching him play. He loves parks! He loves playing in the sand and going down slides. Brenda and Danny came with their families. Our neighbors and some other friends came.

Austin is sick tonight. He got food poisoning or a stomach bug or something. He's pretty miserable. He just threw up though so hopefully that helps him feel better.

11/25/18 - Happy Thanksgiving and Birthday

The 22nd was Thanksgiving and yesterday was my birthday. We drove up to Utah the day before Thanksgiving. We're staying with Chelsea (Austin's sister) and her family. Thanksgiving was fun! A lot of people came! Austin's sister Alisha lives in Provo now so she was there. Austin's parents were there. Britton (Austin's brother) and his family were there. And Austin's uncle Arlin's family was there with some of their family friends. It was a lot of fun to see so much family.

Yesterday was my birthday. It was one of the best birthdays I've had. Austin spoiled me by letting me sleep in. He did whatever I wanted. We went to lunch. We went and bought some birthday and Christmas presents for William. He let me take a nap even though William didn't take his afternoon nap. And then we went to dinner and a movie. I got to choose all the restaurants and the movie. I feel like it's the most spoiled I've ever been on my birthday. Usually it's overshadowed by Thanksgiving/family activities/gatherings. But the day was all about me for the first time. I felt like a princess! Austin is so wonderful! He takes such good care of me and William! I don't know what I'd do without him! He helps me feel so special!

William has been sleeping terribly during our trip. We'll be here u til Wednesday or Thursday so I hope he starts doing better.

11/17/18 - Baby's First Haircut

William for his first haircut today! He was so big? I took him to a salon for kids and they had a little first haircut package. They have little cars as the salon chairs. He sat and "drove" the car while the lady cut his hair. I also have him a sucker and he liked that for a bit. But he spit it out after a bit. And toward the end he did not like the lady touching his head and holding him still. But overall he did well. And he looks so grown up now! He's a toddler instead of a baby!

11/8/18 - Healthy Happy Teething Baby

William is healthy again and he's a happy sweet boy! His middle top two teeth are about to poke out. I can see them about to cut through. It's so cute! He's so adorable! When's he's done eating, I tell him to please tell me he's done, and he claps his hands to tell me he's all done. It's so cute. And he gets all happy and proud of himself that he told me. It's stinking adorable!

My parents are doing well and enjoying their mission so far. They're staying very busy. The temple was dedicated a week and a half ago so they're busy training and trying to keep things running smoothly.

We still aren't sure what's happening when with Austin's business stuff. I shouldn't be stressed or worried, but I really just want to be able to settle down and know we'll be somewhere for more than a few months. I want to be able to feel stability. And I'm making so many friends in our ward now that it's just gonna get harder and harder to move if/when it happens. I know that if Austin wants to be successful with this, we'll have to end up in Utah. But it's just a matter of when we'll go up that makes me anxious. I just want to know what to plan on. It's a tricky situation. I'm so proud of him for all the work he's put into this! And I hope to see it thrive and be successful, but I also want to be able to settle down and get a house and be someplace I can depend on.

10/28/18 - Sick Baby

William has a fever today. It's the first time he's ever really been sick. It's so sad! Yesterday he was super happy and played happily on his own a lot. Today he's been so sad and clingy. Poor little guy. I feel so sad for him.

Last night we went to the ward neighborhood Halloween party. So William didn't go to bed until 8. He's gone to bed that late 3 times this week. He doesn't sleep in when he goes to bed late. Hopefully that's not what got him sick. I hope he gets better fast!

10/23/18 - Video Chats

We got to video chat with my parents a couple times today. The wonders of technology! And since they're a senior missionary couple, they don't have strict rules and they can communicate outside of the mission as much as they want. The Concepcion temple is being dedicated on Sunday by President Nelson! My parents get to attend the dedication inside the temple! They seem to be doing well!

William is growing up so fast! He is such a sweet and cute boy! He's so funny! He loves to play and tease with us. His laugh is the cutest thing ever! I absolutely adore everything about him!

10/20/18 - Ward Campout and Orange Ring

Yesterday we went on the ward campout. We stayed the night at the main camp of Camp Lo Mia. We got there early enough so we could get a room in the lodge. That way it was warmer and we could put William to sleep and have the baby monitor reach so we could hear him. I'm glad we did because he woke up a few times and had a really hard time going back to sleep. I had to rock him back to sleep. I haven't had to do that in a long time. It was nice to get away to the mountains for the weekend.

William is getting braver with walking!! He's so close! He kept walking back and forth between us while holding my keys on a lanyard. It was super cute! He was so proud of himself; I got him a little ring tower thing and he's so funny with it. He's gotten really good at putting the rings on. The second from the top is an orange ring. For some reason when he gets to that ring, he doesn't want to put it on. He tried hiding it behind Austin and he tried hiding it in the bathroom drawer. He tries to skip putting orange on and goes straight to the last one that's red. He kept doing it over and over. It was so funny!

10/17/18 - Amen!

William says amen at the end of prayers. He says "nehm" or "num" or something. But he does it every time now haha.

William and I went to the AZ Science Center today with Courtney & Everly Westbrook, Tori & Lucy Goodman, and Mallory & Brynn Brady (our neighbors/friends and their baby girls. It was fun! I'm so exhausted from it though. Last night Carlie had to put her dog, Dude down. It's so sad! William and I went and visited her this afternoon. I printed out some pictures of William with Dude to give her.

10/15/18 - Random Quote

Yesterday we had Spencer and Keeli and their boys over for dinner. Benson kept calling William, Lucy (Holly's baby's name). William was crawling and trying to keep up with Benson and Rooney and Benson said, "Lucy needs to grow up!" He was talking about William. Haha it was really funny how he said it!

10/8/18 - Elder and Sister King

My parents left for their mission this morning. We went to the airport to send them off. They go to Salt Lake City first to be trained in the temple there for a few days, and then they head off for Concepcion, Chile! It is slowly starting to sink in that they're gone. We helped Brenda and Cameron move their stuff into Mom and Dad's house. They're buying it from them so they officially moved in today. Mom and Dad are having a house built in the back side of their old house. It will be finished by the time they get home. It's gonna be weird with their house not being their house anymore. It's the house I've always known as home. But now it's Brenda's house. And Mom and Dad are gone for two years. It's gonna be a hard transition. Bitter sweet.

10/7/18 - Almost Walking!

William is almost walking! He's so close! He takes about up to 7-9 steps when we encourage him. He's so steady and careful. He's so cute and proud of himself! I am so proud of him! And it's adorable! My baby is growing up!!!

Mom and Dad are leaving for their mission tomorrow morning. I can't believe it! Tonight we had a final family dinner with them after general conference at Danny and Michelle's house.

10/6/18 - General Conference and Baby Steps

During general conference, they announced that church meetings will go from 3 hour blocks to 2 hour blocks. I'm so excited! They have a new home study program to go with it and I'm so excited!

William just took three steps all by himself and he was totally balanced and controlled! It was so unexpected! He did it several more times with us prompting him too

10/4/18 - Elder and Sister King

My parents got set apart as full time missionaries tonight. It's so exciting and crazy!

10/3/18 - Thoughts on Gospel Topics

Holly's in town because Mom and Dad are about to leave on their mission. I went out with Mom and Holly for ice cream tonight. I learned that not only did my Grandpa King have an affair (Mom told me that last year), but my Grandpa Benson also had an affair. Both of my grandmas stayed and didn't leave. They are saints and my heroes. They were strong women.

We also talked about religion. I don't think Holly is super active for various reasons. Anyway, she was saying that she believes that temples are man-made places to feel closer to God. When I got home, I started thinking about that more. Even if they are man-made made things (meaning not ordered by God), I believe they can still be sacred. And they can still be a place of sacred covenant making. Even if men created the covenants, that doesn't mean they can't be sacred or honored by God. Covenants are two way things. So whose to say God or man created them. Either way, I believe God will honor them if we honor them. I've made personal covenants with God that I pleaded for and He honored them. So why couldn't man have made a place to make covenants and become a covenant people. I'm not saying I agree with Holly, but I believe that even if her claim is accurate, everything in the temple is still sacred and of God.

9/27/18 - Almost Walking!

Yesterday was my mom's 62nd birthday. She and Dad leave in less than 2 weeks for their mission! It's gonna be so weird having them gone for two years! I'm excited for them though! They've been talking about serving a mission in Chile for years!!!

William is getting closer to walking. Yesterday he took one step on his own. Today he took three steps. But we have to coax him and he always falls forward out of excitement after. He has a little walker that we borrowed and he's so good at walking around with it! He's growing up so fast! He's a cutie! He's so silly!

9/19/18 - Rain or Shine

Rain or shine, William loves being outside!

We went to Utah last week. Austin worked on his business idea stuff and I hung out with friends and family. It was good.

9/4/18 - Staycation

This past weekend was Labor Day weekend. We did a staycation with my family. On Friday we volunteered at Feed My Starving Children to pack food for malnurished children in other countries. Then that evening we rented Shepherd Pool and had dinner and went swimming. On Saturday, Jordan blessed baby Lucy and we had a brunch. His dad, Fred, and Fred's fiance Trish came in town for it. Then on Monday we went down to Tucson and had lunch and swimming at Amy's house. It was a fun weekend! And exhausting.

Tonight I went to Josh Burley's house and played Bunco with his wife Fabi and some friends. It was fun to get together with friends!

William is crawling, pulling himself up on everything, and has two teeth. He's so big! He turned 9 months old two days ago. I can't believe he's already 9 months old!!! Tomorrow is his check up. He's a big boy! And he's so silly and fun

8/22/18 - Teeth and Babysitting

William got his first two teeth a week or two ago. They're the two middle bottom ones. They're so cute but so sharp!

The last two weeks and this week, I've been watching Ben and Jan's kids down in Tucson. I have been coming down and staying Monday-Thursday and watching them during the day. Ben works during the day and Jan is taking a 3 week real estate course to get her license. Jan gets home around 5 each day, so she takes over from there. But I stay the night so I don't have to commute every day. I go home on the weekends. I'll be finished in two days, on Friday! I'm pretty excited to be done. It's been a good experience. I've had fun spending time with Ben and his family, but it's also exhausting. I'm ready to go home and have my own routine again. And I'm ready to be able to to give William more attention and spend time with him while I can. He's growing up so fast. I feel like if I look away for too long, I'll miss something. He started crawling right before we came down here. And he got his teeth shortly after. And he's been pulling himself up on EVERYTHING lately. Which was a nightmare at night for a few weeks! He's getting better at not waking up as often to pull himself up on his crib. Thankfully!

Today was full of whining and crying from Ivie and Merrell. They were both SO tired, and Merrell threw up in his crib when he was supposed to be taking his nap. So he never got a nap. It was rough. Ivie kept melting into her whining and crying over so many small things. But once she starts whining or crying, she is impossible to understand to know what's wrong. So something will happen and she starts whining, but I don't know WHY she's whining. And she won't explain because she just starts crying. Sometimes I can figure it out but then she won't listen to me when I try to explain or reason with her to help her calm down. Finally at one point I just sent her into her room to cry. At one point I sent Merrell into his room to cry as well. I couldn't handle all of the whining and crying!!! Now I TOTALLY understand why my mom would always send us to our room if we would whine or cry. And she'd tell us we could come out when we were ready to stop crying. I totally did that twice today. And I completely understand WHY she did it now!! It's totally for sanity's sake! My mother was a saint! I don't know how she put up with all 8 of us!

William has been so patient and so happy! He is such a sweet boy, and I love and adore him so much! It's incredible how much I am capable of loving him. He is so sweet and innocent. I am SO grateful to be his mother! I don't know how I ever deserved this opportunity! Motherhood is beautiful and sacred! I hope to be able to become a wonderful mother to all of my children. I want to fill them with my love and allow them to have a safe place where they can learn and grow. I want them to be able to explore the world and discover their full potential in life.

8/4/18 - Crawling snd Teething

Sweet William is 8 months as of two days ago! And he started crawling this week! And he almost has his first tooth! It's SO close to popping through! He's just hitting so many milestones this past week! He pulls himself up on everything too. He's so busy ALL the time. He can never hold still! He's such a sweet and cute boy! Last night he was going crazy at dinner! He laughed nonstop SO hard for about five minutes straight. He was crying because he was laughing/cackling so hard. It was hilarious! I don't even know what started it all. I just looked at him and he busted up laughing and kept going! I was about to lose it over his cuteness!

One of my favorite things he does it every day when we sit down for dinner as a family, he's at the head of the table in his high chair, and Austin and I are on either side of him. After we say the blessing, he looks at me, looks, at Austin, back at me, back at Austin, and gets this really cute smile, like he's just so happy that we're all sitting down and eating together. He just goes back and forth with his cute little smile. It's ADORABLE!!! He is such a sweet boy! He is so tender! I just love and adore him!

Tomorrow evening we are gonna drive down to Tucson. We will babysit Ben's kids for three weeks, Monday-Thursday. So we will come home on the weekends. We'll see how it goes!

7/30/18 - Time Flies

I can't believe it's already almost August. We've been in Arizona for a year now (as of yesterday), and now we are going back to Utah soon. We have pretty much decided we are going back. We went to the temple on Thursday afternoon and we felt good about the decision to move back up there for Austin to be successful with his new business. He and Jeremiah have been working together a bit more now to get things rolling. Austin talked to 100 potential/past home buyers. Now he's working on talking to 20 real estate agents, finding a developer and designer to hire, and find investors. And then things will really get rolling.

Now we have to decide when we will move to Utah. My parents are leaving on their mission in early October. Don't remember if I mentioned that. They are serving in the new Chile Concepcion Temple (my dad served in that city). They give their farewell talk on September 16, their 40th wedding anniversary!!! What a big day to celebrate! And they report to SLC on October 7th I believe and then leave to Chile like a week after.

We hope to buy a house once we get to Utah. That's another thing we have to decide--when to buy. So many big decisions again! It's like last year all over again haha.

William is basically crawling. He's not full on crawling, but he can kind of crawl haha. And he can get where he wants to go with his kind of crawl mixed with rolling all over. He's growing up! He's too cute! I can't believe he's almost 8 months old! Where did my tiny baby go?! I love and adore him!

So I've had some stomach issues ever since William was a few months old. They have come and gone over several months. I'm finally gonna get me throat, esophagus, stomach, and small intestines scoped to try and figure out what's going on. Hopefully I can get some answers! That won't be until August 17th. I have to get put under. I'm kinda scared. I've been put under three times before for oral surgeries, but for some reason those times didn't scare me. And getting a C-section didn't scare me. But this does.

We are babysitting Ben's kids for three weeks in August while Jan takes a class to get her real estate license. It'll be Monday-Thursday, so we can come home for the weekends.

Lots to Catch Up On! - 7/3/18

William is sick for the first time. :( He has had a tiny cold the last few days, but last night he threw up. And then he threw up again this morning. He's still super happy though, even right after he threw up. I'm not sure what it is.

In June we went to Utah for almost two weeks. It was a lot of fun! It was also exhausting and we were ready to come home by the end. We saw lots of family and friends! We had a Been and June family reunion the first weekend up at Heber Valley Camp and then we had a Hans and Julie Hayden reunion at Britton's house the next week. We stayed all over the place before, between, and after each reunion. We stayed with Sydney and Dallas Bruce before. Between we stayed at Arlin and Cathy Hayden's house and up in Arbon at Austin's parents' house. And then after the last reunion, we stayed with Matt and Chelsie Morrell in Spanish Fork. I was able to hang out with Kamakea between the reunions too, which was really good! She and Nate and their kids are living at her parents' house. She's also pregnant with another boy!!!

I'm doing a swim class with William at Kino pool. He loves splashing in the water, but he doesn't love being held on his back in the water.

There is a chance we may have to move back to Utah. Austin is working on starting another company. He has found someone (Jeremiah Maughan, our old landlord) who may be a cofounder. Jeremiah has his own company in Utah so he wouldn't be able to move down here. So if they come to an agreement, we may have to move up there. I have mixed feelings about it. I LOVE being close to my family here in Mesa. And I've finally found some new friends and reconnected with some old friends to where I feel like I've found a place where I belong. Last summer I didn't feel that. But I also miss our friends and family in Utah. I did NOT miss Utah's winter one bit though. That is the biggest thing I'd have a hard time with if we do move back.

William is 7 months old as of yesterday. He's finally starting to kind of find an interest in crawling/moving around. He's making small steps of progress. I can't believe he's growing up so fast!!! He's so sweet and so fun! His personality comes out more and more every day. He LOVES to laugh and play!

6/10/18 - Baptism and Birthday

We went down to Tucson yesterday for Ezra's baptism. It was a special day! Anna and Eliza sang a song for it and it was so sweet and filled with the spirit.

Today is Austin's mom's 60th birthday. We called her tonight to wish her a happy birthday. It'll be fun to see her and most of the Hayden family this week! We leave for Utah on Wednesday. It'll be fun!

William is growing up so fast! At his 6 month appointment he weighed 19 lbs 2 oz, measured 28.5 inches, and his head is 45.5 cm. He's a big boy! He's so cute and so fun! He loves Jackie (the dog)! He loves watching her wherever she goes and pettting her. He also LOVES our electric toothbrushes. I brush my teeth with him whenever he's awake and let him hold Austin's while it vibrates. He laughs and squeals and smiles the whole time. It's adorable!

6/2/18 - 6 Months?!

William turned 6 months old today! How is my little baby already halfway to a year old?! Time is flying by! And he is as cute and sweet as ever! He is so fun and does the funniest things. I love him so much! He loves playing with red solo cups haha. And he loves to kiss people on the cheek! And he loves to eat my arm when I'm trying to change his diaper. He grabs my whole arm with both his hands and stuffs my arm into his mouth and naws on it. It's so funny and cute! He only does it to me. I don't know why haha but it's so cute. And he thinks it's so funny. Austin calls William the Cannababy every time William does it. He is so good at sitting up! He loves to sit up and watch the world around him and play with his toys. He loves squealing and laughing and screaming (out of joy). He's getting better at taking longer naps. He loves bath time. He loves splashing in the water. He loves going swimming and splashing. He loves his cousin Olivia who is two days younger than him. They love seeing each other! I love being a mother and seeing my sweet baby learn and grow each day. He changes so much and so fast!

5/21/18 - Where Has My Baby Gone?!

William is growing up so fast! This morning when I went to get him out of his crib, he seriously seemed like he was taller and thinned out, like he'd grown over night! Yesterday he was so grouchy because he can never nap well during church. But today he was SO happy all day long! He was so much fun! And then he didn't want to go to bed tonight because he was just so happy and playing haha. He's such a cute baby!

5/17/18 - Teething Baby

We are 95% sure that William is teething. One part of his gum has started to bulge and he's been fussing, drooling like crazy, and chewing on his hands all day. It's no fun for any of us. Today he screamed and got so mad every time I tried to get him ready for a nap. But he did take a long afternoon nap today, which was good. And he went down for the night without a problem.

On Monday we went out to Laveen and my cousin Stacy's husband Andrew Hoyt showed us some homes around there. They're way cheaper for big houses than in or around Mesa. I'd love to stay in Mesa, but we'll see. The houses were beautiful. The first one we went to was so nice! I wanted to just buy it and move in right away haha. I can't wait to finally have a house someday. We hope to have one within the year. We'll see. Austin has decided to start the business he's been working on. Once he starts it, we'll look more seriously into buying a house since Austin should have a salary. Hopefully all goes well with the business idea!

I've been going running 2-3 times a week with Cymany Skouson. She's in our ward and goes running every morning in the neighborhood behind our apartment. Her husband is in the stake presidency. She's super nice and her running pace is consistent and perfect! It's been a lot of fun to get to know her better and have someone to go running with!

I can't believe my baby is almost 6 months old! He's growing up SO fast! He's growing and learning more and more every day. He's so good at sitting up now! He can go so long with playing with his toys sitting up all by himself before he gets tired and falls over to play. He is so adorable and so fun! He's a lot of work, especially since he's teething right now. He demands a lot of attention and doesn't like it when he's left alone without us paying attention to him.

My parents submitted their mission papers! They should be getting their call very soon! They want to go serve in Chile and help open the Concepcion temple (where my dad served his mission). The temple opens in September or October I believe and they hope to leave in October. They want to go for a full two years. Brenda is going to buy their house. My parents are going to build a guest house on the side of the house where my dad used to keep his work trucks and wood. They'll move into that house and share the backyard with Brenda. It'll be interesting to have Brenda live in that house and to have my parents gone for two years. It'll be so weird but exciting for them! They've been talking about serving a mission for years! And it's finally becoming a reality! My dad is so giddy and excited about it!

The Mesa temple is closing on Saturday for two years for renovations. My mom has been a temple coordinator for the past two years on Thursdays and Fridays. Tomorrow is her last day! She's so excited to be done because it's been exhausting for her. And now they can go on their mission!

5/13/18 - Mother's Day

It was my first mother's day as a mom! It was a great day! Austin made me breakfast, did all the dishes, and he and my brothers and Dad made family dinner. And Austin took William during the third hour of church so I could pay attention to the relief society lesson. It was a good day! I'm grateful for my mother and I'm grateful for the miracle of being a mother! My sweet William is an angel!

5/8/18 - Busy Week

Austin found out he has arthritis in his knee. :( After going through the surgery for his ton meniscus and recovery, now he has to deal with his. I feel so bad fo him! But I'm glad he has answers and can hopefully get help. The doctor gave him a cortisone shot and ordered a special brace.

I went to the ward RS activity tonight. We went to the temple visitor center and watched a couple church movies. They were really good!

The Mesa temple is closing next week for two years for renovations. It'll be re-dedicated and everything once it's done. They're tearing down th visitors center. It's crazy! I love that temple! They're gonna make a lot of changes apparently.

They announced today that the church is going to stop participating in the Boy Scouts of America by the end of next year. Lots of changes in the church pograms. Good changes!!

4/29/2018 - Anniverdary!

Today is our two year ending anniversary! Our wedding day was such a special day! It was so perfect! I love Austin and I love the life we've created together! And I love our sweet baby!

Logan and Abi came up and visited this evening. I'm was fun!

4/28/2018 - California Take Two

We drive to California today. William did awesome on the road! He slept for about half the drive! For the last two thirds of the trip I was sitting in the back with him. He fell asleep at one point so I took a nap too. I put my jacket on a bag in the middle seat and leaned over and slept on it. When I woke up, I sat up and William was awake and silently staring at me. He'd been staring at me while I slept haha. He's such a cutie!!!

We visited Holly and Jordan and met baby Lucille! She's such a cute and sweet baby! Holly and Jordan are such good parents!

We are staying the night at the Kinneys house. They are some people Austin knows from when he and Giuseppe were starting VolleyMetrics. They super nice!

4/22/2018 - Behind on the Times

I need to catch up on things here, but not tonight! We went to San Diego last weekend to visit Abi and Logan.

4/10/18 - Lamb or God

We went to Rob Gardner's presentation of The Lamb of God. He wrote and directed it. It was so powerful and beautiful! I've heard the CD pobably hundreds of times, but it was so much more powerful live! Mom and Dad babysat William. He was asleep fo the night when we left so they just read and napped at our apartment haha.

We met with a real estate agent for lunch today. We meet with another one tomorrow. We want to find one who will be a good fit for us when we decide to buy a house. We hope to buy one within the next year.

4/8/18 - Farewell Pump

On Friday we went down to Tucson and stayed with Ben and his family. Austin and Ben talked about Austin's business idea because Ben is interested in investing in it. We hung out with then on Friday and Saturday and drove home Saturday night. We went to dinner with Amy Saturday evening. William did pretty well considering he couldn't take a nap in a crib because we were out and about during the day. 

So I decided that I'm gonna stop pumping. I decided that this morning. I have to pump a little to relieve painful pressure. Tonight I went to pump and my pump had stopped working! Crazy how it almost knew I was finished! I have another pump that isn't as good that I used instead. Thankfully I have the second one. Otherwise I'd have to use my hand pump which isn't as effective. I'll be sad to not be able to provide William with my own milk, but it was just becoming too much for me.

Mom and Dad submitted their mission papers to their bishop! They had their interview with him. So now the bishop will submit them on to their stake president. Exciting!!

3/31/18 - General Conference

President Russell M. Nelson was sustained as the new prophet and president of the church today in General Conference. We also got two new apostles. It was a historic moment because the first Asian (American Asian) and South American (Brazilian) apostles were called. Elder Gong and Elder Soares.

There was also a big change announced during the priesthood session. All Melchizedek priesthood holders will meet together in Elders Quorum. There will no longer be a High Priest Group in each ward. There will just be a High Priest Quorum in each stake, made up of priesthood holders currently to serving in bishoprics, stake presidency, high counsels, patriarch, etc. Once they're released, they'll return to being in the elders quorum. I think it'll be a good change.

I went to Mom's house with Brenda and Keeli and their kids during the priesthood session. We had pizza. It was fun and relaxing! Mom and Dad are planning to build a small house on the side of their house. Brenda will live in their big house while they're on their mission (they plan to leave this fall!) And then when they come home, they'll live in the small house. Brenda might buy their big house eventually.

3/25/18 - You Win Some, You Lose Some

William did so great in church today! He slept though half of sacrament meeting and was happy for the second half. He was happy during all of Sunday school and even let us put him on the floor to kick around for part of it. And he was good for Relief Society. He fussed a bit but I just had to stand in the back and help him fall asleep and then he was fine. He didn't scream or anything. We never had to take him out into the hall during any of the meetings!

William ended up getting small cat naps all day. Church always throws off his sleeping so bad. Tonight we had dinner at my parents with the family. I got him to go to bed at 7:30 but he only slept for 30 minutes and then wouldn't go back to sleep. So that was frustrating. Which means he ended up going to sleep at 10:30. Hopefully tonight doesn't put him off schedule. The past three nights he's done pretty well. We get him to bed at 7:30 but he'd wake up and we'd have to get him back to bed. He would usually take 30-90 minutes. Tonight was rough though. Sundays are so tough for babies.

We went on a short hike yesterday and William did great!

William lets me cuddle him more, and I love it!

3/22/18 - Time Flies

William is growing up so fast! He's growing into a little boy instead of being a baby! He's getting more and more personality every day! It's adorable! Tonight I was holding him while we ate dinner and he was just cuddling into me. I look d down at him and he smiled so big and started laughing. It was so stinking cute! I can't even put into words how much I love and adore him! He is so fun and sweet and smart and cute! His smile is so big and his laugh is the cutest! Too much cuteness in one tiny body!

We attempted sleep training last night. It didn't go too well. I'm not sure if William is quite old enough to figure it out. He can't calm himself down sometimes. He can't quite self sooth every time yet. We'll see if he can figure it out soon. We're trying to at least get him on some sort of routine or schedule. Today he took a couple good long naps, which was good!

William latched on to my breast for about 30 seconds tonight! It was amazing!! He initiated it. We'll see if this means he might start breastfeeding again. I sure hope so! It would make things so much easier!!!

We love our walks! William is the master "chiller"

His head is so big he has to rest during tummy time

3/18/18 - Another Cousin!

St. Patrick's Day at Fountain Hills

William loved watching the Easter Pageant!

Easter Pageant Dress Rehearsal

Holly had her baby yesterday morning! She had a 24 hour labor, unmedicated. I can't even imagine! It sounds so exhausting!!! She had a baby girl (they didn't find out ahead of time)! She has tons of blonde hair and is so adorable! They don't have a name picked out yet. I'm so excited to meet her! Mom and Dad flew out this morning to see her and Mom is staying for several days to help out. I'm sure Holly is absolutely exhausted!

William survived another three hours of church! He slept through the entire third hour. He's growing up so fast! He's too cute! He's so fun! His smile is just so adorable!!!!! He melts my heart every single day without fail!

We went out Fountain Hills yesterday with Brenda and her family. They made the fountain green, and they had all the pumps on so it shot up so high! It was super cool!

On Thursday night we went with Brenda's and Danny's families to the dress rehearsal of the Easter Pageant. William loved it! I was afraid he wouldn't do well, but he loved watching the colorful costumes dancing around the stage with all the music. It was so cute to see him watching. He eventually fell asleep though. He did great! He seems to get happier each day--except tonight he was so mad! I think his stomach hurt. And he was so tired!

Cutest baby ever!!! (Bow tie from Derek and Kori)

We were early to church! And William looked so handsome!

Can't get enough of these cuddles!

3/11/18 - Happy Sabbath

William made through all three hours of church for the fourth time today. One of those times as spent in the mother's lounge for 95% of the time haha. He's starting to do a lot better at church though. As long as we can get him to fall asleep while we hold him so he can get a nap in them he can survive without crying too much.

It's so fun to watch William grow and learn new things. He's super good at grabbing and holding onto things. He loves grabbing his toy giraffe and pulling it down so it rattles. And he loves grabbing his toy butterfly and flailing it all over. And he has two rattles he loves to hold onto and shake. He's growing up so fast! He can sit up if I hold his hands for him to balance himself a little.

Celebrated Dad's 62nd birthday

William's head is so much bigger than Olivia's haha

3/8/18 - Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's 62nd birthday. As goofy as he can be sometimes, he's one of the hardest working men I know. And he has a big heart and is always serving people and being a missionary!

William slept through the night twice in a row. The past three nights he woke up around 5/5:30 and pooped so he was wide awake haha. He's been a lot happier during the day. Today he took a two hour nap, which was amazing and out of the ordinary.

William and me at 3 months old

3/4/18 - Good Day!

It was a good day today. William slept through the night for the first time! It was glorious!

And he was good through all of church and made it all three hours! In the middle of th sacrament he let out a HUGE burp! It was so loud!!!

William laughs so hard with Austin!

William is starting to get interested in food

Lehi Days 2018!

My baby is growing up!

3/1/18 - March Already?!

I can't believe it's already March! William will be 3 months old tomorrow! He is grow up SO fast! Before I know it, he'll be eating solids, crawling, and then walking! Every day brings a new adventure with him. Some days are better than others. Sometimes he's a happy baby, and sometimes he's a very fussy and upset baby. But he is ALWAYS a very cute baby!

William was cold so I cuddled him in a warm blanket.

This afternoon I went on a walk with my neighbors Courtney Westbrook and Tori Goodman and their babies. Then I went to the temple and did initiatories after. It was the first time I'd gone to the temple since after having William.

William, Everly Westbrook, Lucy Goodman

2/26/18 - Park Day

I went with Lacey (Massey) Smith to Gene Autry Park with our babies. She has an 8 month old boy, Rockwell. He's super cute, and a really happy baby. They have a mom and baby swing where there is a seat for the mom facing the baby swing and so the mom swings with the baby. I put William in it and he really liked it! He'd smile for most of it but then he'd also start to have his sad face like he wasn't so sure about it. He didn't cry though. It was super cute! And then I even got him to take a nap on the blanket in the grass while we visited. He's growing up so fast, and he is so cute! Austin dressed him in an awesome gray jumpsuit haha. And William is so stinkin' adorable in his little hat!

2/25/18 - William Update

William is now taking Zantac for what the doctor thinks is acid reflux. I think it might be helping him. He's been less fussy the past few days.

He has a weird bump on his head that we went to a pediatric dermatologist for. She gave us a steroid cream for it. Hopefully it goes away soon!

William refuses to breastfeed completely now. So I'm pumping exclusively and feeding him with bottles. It's going alright for the most part. It's kind of a chore to pump, but William is happy and healthy, which is good!

2/15/18 - Tongue Tie, Lip Tie, Buccal Tie

William got his tongue tie, lip tie, and buccal tie all lasered today. I'd been putting it off hoping it wasn't issue, but finally I decided to go get him evaluated by a specialist. Turns out he had all three ties and they get tired when he breastfeeds, which is why he gets so frustrated and quits, wanting the bottle. It was so sad seeing him after the procedure because he was so sad. There were tears! He only has tears when he's super sad or mad--usually when he's in pain. It was like after his two month shots, but even worse. He wouldn't breastfeed after. I had to give him a bottle. He still hasn't breastfed after the procedure. I hope he doesn't associate breastfeeding with pain! I hope he can come back to breastfeeding soon! We have to do special exercises with his tongue and lip to make sure they don't heal back up and to strengthen his muscles that he hasn't been using these past 2 months since the ties prevented them from being used.

Figuring out this whole breastfeeding thing has been such a challenge, for both William and me. I still love him so much though! He is so sweet and so cute! He is growing up so fast! He weights 14 pounds and 6 ounces! He has started grabbing and holding onto things really well. Oh, and did I mention that he can roll over from his belly to his back? He is so good at it! And it is so cute because he is so proud of himself when he does it! We got a swing for him and he's starting to like it more and more each day. He doesn't go in it super often, but it's nice to change things up and to also have a place for him in the kitchen so he's not along in the living room while we eat or play games.

2/12/18 - Happy Birthday, Grandma King

Today would be my grandma King's 100th birthday! I got my middle name, Frances, from her. I was only 4 when she passed away, but I still have a few memories of her and her hous m I remember driving to he house every Sunday for ice cream. I have one memory of walking into the kitchen and she was scooping ice cream for us when we got there. I remember loving to play with her Russian dolls. And I remember taking the leaves of her but mulberry tree in he front yard and then climbing the tree and jumping down into the leaves. And I very vaguely remember the luncheon after her funeral. Those are the very few memories I have of her. I always wish I could've known her when I was older and had her as a grandma while growing up. All the older cousins have so many fun memories with her. I always envy people who still have grandparents alive. And I get upset when they complain about having to spend time with them. I wish I could spend time with my grandparents.

2/8/18 - Pumping

Well, it looks like I'm going to exclusively pump. William refuses to breastfeed. He'll decide he'll do it once in a while, but it's rare. I can't put up with the battle anymore. I want to keep giving him breastmilk though to give him the antibodies, so I'm going to pump for as long as my supply keeps up. So far it's still going strong!

Yesterday we bought William a baby swing. We always feel bad leaving him on the floor of the living room while we eat dinner or play games in the kitchen. So now we can out him in the swing by us in the kitchen. So far he likes it alright. He doesn't like it for a long time. I think the swinging upsets him after a while. But he's fine chilling in it without the swinging action.

2/5/18 - Baby Blessing

Austin blessed William in our sacrament meeting yesterday. It was such a sweet experience. He blessed William to be a good friend and future father/husband.

My friends Sydney Bruce and Heather Del Nero came in town from Utah for the weekend. It was super fun to hang out with them again! I hung out with them all summer before I moved down to AZ.

William has started to refuse breastfeeding and only take a bottle.  It is so hard! I want to be able to nurse him so badly! He was finally starting to get good at it and then suddenly started refusing! I hope he'll go back to doing it soon! I'm gonna do everything I can! In the meantime I'm pumping a lot to keep up my supply and feed him breastmilk to keep him healthy and hopefully prevent him from getting in sick.

1/29/18 - My Sweet Boy

William is my sweet little boy. He is so cute! He just melts my heart with his cute smiles and little coos. When he wakes up, I go in and get him and he's just lying in his bed smiling up at me. He's so cute!!! I don't know how moms can abuse their children. Little babies are so pure and innocent. They're so forgiving! I feel like I mess up so many times when trying to figure out what William wants or needs, but he is so patient and forgiving with me. He still smiles and loves me. He doesn't hold a grudge or get mad at me. He is perfect.

I had an eye appointment today. My eyes haven't changed, which is good news!

McKenna and Spencer Smith are moving to Seattle tomorrow. :( They came by tonight to say goodbye. McKenna and I are finally in the same state again and now they're moving! On day we'll live in the same state for more than six months haha.

1/28/18 - California

This weekend I flew to LA, California with Mom, Brenda and her baby Olivia, Carlie, Amy, Keeli, and Lizzy for Holly's baby shower. William came with me for his first flight and trip. I missed Austin a lot! It was a fun trip though. I've never been on a "girl's trip" with my mom and sisters before. We stayed at a hotel by Holly's house. The shower was at Fred's house (Jordan's dad). It was a fun party! It's the first grandbaby for the Bennetts. Jordan's sister passed away a few years ago so he's the only child. His dad is so excited for this baby! Holly and Jordan aren't finding out the gender of the baby.

William did really well on the plane and on the trip in general. He was so patient and slept really well considering we were always out and about. He's such a sweet baby! I didn't ever have to use formula. He nursed really well and I pumped to feed him with a bottle occasionally for convenience while in the car and stuff. He's such a good baby! I'm so lucky and so blessed to have him in my life! He and Austin mean everything to me!

1/23/18 - Progress

Things were much better today! William ate so much better, I had a much better milk supply, and William slept so much better! It was great. He had longer naps, which was nice. Instead of sleeping for just 30 minutes, he slept for over an hour each time. And he only needed a bottle to supplement at night before going to bed. The past several days he'd been needing a bottle at almost every feeding. Things are looking up I think! This is good! Especially since he and I are going to California for the weekend with my mom and sisters for Holly's baby shower. Hopefully he'll be better for the trip too!

I went with my mom to Joann's Fabrics to get fabric to make burp cloths for William and Holly's baby.

1/22/18 - Baby Rolled Over!!!

William rolled over today! Austin was doing tummy time with him and he just rolled over! I missed it so I went into the room to see if he'd do it again, and he did!

We went to Thai food with Spencer and Keeli and their friend Bryson. It was yummy!

When we came home, I went to see if William would roll over again, and he did! This time he rolled the other direction! He's getting so big and growing up so fast!!!

1/21/18 - Singing

When I was pregnant, Austin and I would sing to William every night before we went to sleep. We've been trying to sing to him still, but it's been hard since he doesn't have a set bed time and it's still kind of chaotic trying to take care of him. The other night we sang to him and he smiled the whole time! Today I was getting him ready for a nap and I sang to him and he smiled so big! He woke up during his nap from spitting up. I sang to him while he was still in bed to get him back to sleep, and he just looked up at me and smiled SO big the whole time. It was SO adorable and melted me of course! I love it when he smiles at me. It makes me feel like he is letting me know that I'm doing alright after all in raising him so far. And that he's happy and healthy. I love my sweet William boy!

I didn't go to church today because I have a cold and I didn't sleep much at all. It was a long night with the William baby.

Austin and I went on our first "take the baby for a car ride to fall asleep" tonight. I am exhausted! William won't take good naps during the day anymore and it's wearing me out! I don't know why he won't sleep well anymore. He used to be so good!