Christmas is coming!

Yes Christmas is practically here! I've got all of my presents and now I just need to wrap them! oh and yes IT IS SNOWING ON MY BLOG :)
This December seems to just have flown by! I can't believe Christmas is only days away! Ben and I have been so blessed this year. Things just have fallen into place for us, and I really believe that it is the Lord watching over us and blessing us. We strive so hard to keep the commandments and better ourselves. Isn't the Gospel just so great? Heavenly Father wants to bless us, we just need to strive to do our best to follow the example of our savior Jesus Christ.
I have been little miss crafty this year. I made Trey this really cute blanket. At the request of my husband, it's a camouflage blanket. I had some material left over so I made Ben and Trey stockings. They turned out REALLY cute. The only thing I would do different is to use a pattern instead of free-handing one myself. But Ben loves them, so that's the only thing that matters. I think now I want to make a stocking for each of my children. It was so easy and really turned out cute.
Oh and I made a gift for my mother that I am REALLY REALLY REALLY EXCITED about! I keep telling her that I'm excited about it and she gets all upset because I'm taunting her. :) ha ha
Ben and I have recently started taking a real interest in some financial investments/education thing. My dad is going to help us learn more about the stock market and investing there. It is such good knowledge to have and even though we just started learning, I've already seen a big difference in Ben. I think he is really positive about the opportunities we may have in the future.
So excited for Trey's first Christmas! He won't remember it but it's going to be fun!
Merry Christmas Everyone!

My growing baby

Well Trey is learning so many new things! He is SO SO SO CLOSE to rolling over! And he just loves to spit and blow bubbles. It's like he finally found his lips and he loves playing with them! ha ha it is so cute! He also loves to chew/suck on his fist and his burp cloth if it's near his face. I thought maybe he was teething, but I don't think he is anymore because I think he would be WAY more fussy than he is. We got him a bumbo for Christmas and I'm really excited about it. Of course Trey isn't getting too many things for Christmas this year, but I don't think he'll mind. We did buy him this really cute Santa hat that says, "My first Christmas" I'll have to put up a picture of it. It is so cute!
Have you ever had a Christmas present or known of someone who got their present before Christmas? Did it ever make you upset that they got their present before Christmas? Well this year, Ben and I got ourselves a camcorder. And I'm kinda having mixed feelings about it. Of course I want to use it Christmas morning but Ben and I (mostly Ben) have been using it already. Part of me wants to just put it away until Christmas but then Trey is so cute, I could just take video of him all the time! So I think we're just going to end up using it sparingly.
If you didn't hear the news, I'm going to start teaching piano lessons in January. The youngest age that I'm accepting is 7 years old or at least half-way through 1st grade. The reason being that they need to be able to read just a little bit so that they will be able to practice on their own. If we start any younger, it's a HUGE time commitment to the parent. If they can't read, the parent will have to sit down and practice with them. And if the parent puts that off, then it really is a waste of your money and my time as a teacher. It's just better that way if you know what I mean. So if you know of anyone that is looking for a piano teacher, please give them my name.
I hope that you are all have a great Christmas season! Remember that Christ is the real reason we celebrate Christmas. He is the greatest gift!

3 months

Wow, I can't believe that my little baby is three months old! I know that it is just going to keep going to go by faster. He is still such a good baby and sometimes I wish that Trey would have been a "more difficult" baby so that when we have our next one, I won't be expecting that little baby to be as good as Trey has been.
He is starting to laugh. It is so cute! It will kinda be like this little squeak. I laid him in his crib today and he was just staring up at the elephant on the mobile and just laughed and laughed. It was so cute!
For awhile I was kinda worried about him gaining weight but I'm not too worried anymore. He just has his dad's tall and skinny genes. He is growing out of most of his clothes but the next size up fits him length wise but not weight wise. ya know?
I love him so much. Christmas is coming up and I'm excited to make Trey a really cute blanket, it'll be nice and warm for the winter and a plus......it's going to be camo :) ha ha
Still don't know what I'm going to get Ben for Christmas. He's so hard to shop for. but I'll figure it out.
I'll leave you with the 3 month picture: and sorry it looks like his foot is cut off. That's the sheet. He really does have a foot :) haha

Thankful

And with Thanksgiving comes the Turkey Bowl! Ben is really loves it. A couple of weeks ago he was telling me that he needed to get back in shape because the Turkey bowl was coming up. And in my mind I'm thinking, "It's just a game." He's thinking, "This is the 'STATE CHAMPIONSHIP' but now it's Married vs Single"
He's silly but Trey and I supported him :)
Trey is getting so big and I'm so excited for him to meet some of the relatives that he hasn't had a chance to meet yet. Also some good news is that I dug in and we're not using the nipple shield anymore! We are "Au natural" breastfeeding. I'm really excited about it and I think Trey is finally gaining some weight. He eats faster and his suck is way more productive.
I'm just going to take this moment to say what I'm thankful for:
-My wonderful husband: He is so unselfish and has really helped me love who I am by just loving me. I'm so thankful for the support that he is to me. I love that he makes me laugh; we're best friends and I feel just as much (actually more) in love with him than I ever have! I'm so blessed to have my best friend sealed to me forever! I LOVE YOU BEN!
-My Beautiful Trey: he is the joy of my life! sometime I think that I could just spend all my days looking at him and seeing how beautiful he is. I love his smiles. He is such a good baby and I love him lots and lots.
-My family: They are such great examples to me and I love that we live so close to them! Both my family and my in-laws. I'm so glad that we can be together FOREVER!
-The Gospel: I KNOW the church is true! It brings so much happiness in my life. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who can hear my prayers and answers them and pours out such blessings upon us.
-My Savior Jesus Christ: He died for me. He suffered for MY sins. He makes it possible for me to be able to return to my Heavenly Father. He is my older brother and my King.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

beautiful blessings and little regrets

Well we blessed Trey on Sunday and it was beautiful (one little regret is that I didn't get a picture with everyone who was in the circle-darn) but that wasn't the regret that I meant in the title so moving on. We'll have more pictures of the blessing later when I get them from my mom but here is one of my little guy :)

Next- Trey had his two month appointment. He has grown so much and I just love that he knows me and smiles at me. The doctor said everything was basically fine except that he's in the 3% for weight.......More on that later. And then Trey needed to get his shots. That was THE  HARDEST thing for me so far as a mom. I was on the verge of tears. Next time I think I'll make Ben take him, I just can't handle it.

Ben and I wanted to do something kinda unique with monthly pictures so we decided that we would take a picture with the same object every month to compare Trey's growth throughout the year. I know lots of people do that but we decided to be unique and use a rugby ball. (Ben really likes this idea) So here is month one and two :)

Now onto the regret part of the post. This is a little........um.......tmi maybe but here we go: when Trey was first born I had a REALLY hard time breastfeeding because I had flat nipples. So they had me use a nipple shield to help draw them out and they told me that I could eventually wean him from the nipple shield. Well I wish they would have told me that using the nipple shield could take a toll on my milk production and therefore on Trey's weight gain. But they didn't tell me that so I figured I could eventually wean Trey from it and it wasn't really a big deal on how soon because the most important thing is that he's getting milk.
Now........sad thing is that I'm kinda attached to it. It is just so easy to get Trey to latch on. So not only is Trey addicted but so am I. Now I did some research on helping Trey gain some weight and that's when I read about nipple shields effecting milk production. So now I'm really really motivated to wean him. And I guess the old ones that were made of latex you could just trim it down bit by bit but the new silicone ones have sharp edges when you cut them so I'm kinda sad I can't just do that.
But I just want all you breastfeeding moms (or soon to be moms) to know that if you are given a nipple shield, yes they do work to draw out the nipples but get rid of them ASAP :)
Just my little piece of advice :) and that's my only regret from the hospital and I know that as soon as I wean him from the shield he'll start gaining the weight that he needs. But I sure do love my little guy.

Fun with Friends

Technically it's fun with nephews but when they're my age and I grew up with them as friends it's basically friends.
Kyle has really gotten into playing racquetball lately and it's been really fun for Ben because he loves racquetball and blames our marriage as the reason he hasn't played. Until recently he hadn't played since before we got married. He bought me my own racquet for Christmas last year and I had yet to use it until a couple of weeks ago. So my dad explained the game rules to me and when Kyle invited Ben to come play with him and Tyler I decided that I should finally try my hand at the game. I have now played 2 games total (someone has to watch Trey) and I must say that I have some of my dad's talent :) I picked up on the game really quick.
Ben has had so much fun playing with these guys and my friend from high school Ryan (who is friends with Tyler and Kyle too) comes along as well.
A couple nights ago it was kind of a date night. Kinda. We met Kyle and Tyler and Ryan there and then some girls showed up. We played racquetball and then went for some basketball and then after we went to Applebee's and got some food and had good conversation. It was so fun and Ben and I decided that we definitely need to do it more often. As Trey gets bigger it will be easier to leave him home with Grandma and I'll be able to play more :) So here are some pictures:
The first couple are of Trey watching Daddy play and taking notes for future reference ha ha. :)

Getting So Big

Trey is getting so big and he's only 2 months (well he'll be 2 months on Sunday). He can already hold his head up by himself. And He has really good control over his hands and he smiles and reacts when you talk to him. :) I love it when Ben tries to get him to smile it's kinda funny to just watch Ben try to get him to smile. He is such a good baby and really only cries when he needs to eat and then he gets kinda fussy if he's sleepy. But still, an AMAZING little boy.
One little instant made me have quite a special mommy moment. Trey's grandma was holding him (my mom) and when I went over to him, I was talking to him and he started to get fussy and kinda reach for me with his arms. He knows who I am and it made me feel special. I love him so much. He is the cutest baby that I have ever seen and my love for him just continues to grow everyday.
Ben thinks he is such a cutie and calls him: my little dude-man. Ben and Trey will have a really good relationship I think as he grows up. (who doesn't have a good relationship with Ben? he is such a nice guy)
Halloween was pretty uneventful. Ben, who really didn't get trick-or-treaters at his house growing up was pretty excited about handing out candy and even dressed up as a referee. We got a grand total of 6 kids. whoopee. poor ben. he was all excited and then it wasn't too eventful. Trey and I didn't even dress up. but maybe next year we will :)
Ben got this crazy idea this year (instilled by his nephew Tyler) that he wasn't going to shave until after the hunt. Well Ben did a lot of hunting this year it seems. but he did finally get a deer and when he shaved he wanted to shave them into "chops" but I made him shave them after a day because we had family pictures. I'm glad that I made him.
So I'll just leave you with some pictures

Life with the babe :)

Trey turned 6 weeks old this past week :) and I haven't really told much about my cute little boy yet. Just pictures so far. So now you can get to know my little boy a little more:
Trey Jack Stout:
He is such a good baby! right from the get-go he was such a good baby. The first week was tough with our sleep schedule because we had Trey in our bedroom right next to our bed. So all of his little grunts and groans would wake me up. (Ben wasn't bothered by it at all, he still sleeps through Trey's crying most of the time). So one day I was just so tired and desperately needing some "me" time. I cried and cried and had my mom come over so I could sleep. That night we moved Trey outside our bedroom but just outside of it. and I slept AMAZING! So ever since then that's how we do it now and it really works.
Trey's hair color is interesting. We don't know if it's going blonde but it definitely has a red tint to it.  and I really  hope he doesn't loose any of his hair but it's probably inevitable.
He actually really loves baths. but it's the part after that he doesn't like so much. especially when I put lotion on him. For some reason he doesn't like it.
He has started to react when we talk to him with smiles :) and he is just so cute! and Ben is so cute with him. He'll just sit and talk with him and it's so cute.
and it really would take me a long time to tell you all the wonderful things about our baby boy but I'll just give you some more pictures :)



This is the first time Trey saw Grandma and Grandpa Stout. So it was shortly after he was born.

 Trey is going to have big hands just like his Grandpa. And I'm sure he feels safe in those hands.

 With Grandpa Beatty. He's just looking up at him.

 With Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Beatty

 His very first bath. :)

 Great Grandma and Great Grandpa McCoy (maybe he gets his red tint from his Irish side)

 Great-great grandma Johnson

 great-great grandpa Johnson. (we're going to get a five generation picture REALLY soon)

 "Aunt" Mandy (My best friend)

 Uncle Josh and Aunt Ashli :) I'm so happy they could come down and see him before their next trip at Thanksgiving :)

 Going kinda gansta with Uncle Josh's hat :)

 Nap time with Daddy

My happy boy with a little Mohawk 

 This is Trey with his cousin Gracie who is just a month younger than him.

 I love this picture of Trey and his daddy. This is them at the volleyball game.

Close up of this cute boy :)

I love his little boy and I just LOVE being a mom! He is just the joy of my life and has brought some of the most amazing love into our home :)

My little cutie Pie!

Yes these are the same picture but one is in color and one is zoomed in. Isn't he just the cutest?! Oh I love him!

"Labor" Day

So here is the story of the birth of our son.....
Labor day: I was really hoping to go into labor that day because I was just about done being pregnant. So Monday morning I went to Volleyball practice to help and I actually picked up a lot of balls thinking that maybe the walking around and bending over would help me get going. around 12 I just chilled at home because my hubby was at work and my mom was up on the mountain getting wood. (She told me I couldn't go into labor until she got back so I was a good girl and I waited) then Ben got off work early and we went over to St. George. I can't remember what we did while we were over there so obviously it wasn't too important. We came back and rented a Red Box (Battle L.A- I didn't think it was that great) and I made home-made pizza pockets. After the movie we watched a bunch of births from a video my mom had lent us. Which is funny because we had the movie at our house for over a week and just barely got around to watching it that night.
After watching those we decided to go down to the track and walk around. Before we left I used the restroom and as I was walking back out to leave I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom again. (I think that was because my water was leaking but didn't break) So we went to the track around 8:45 and walked a mile and a half. We got home around 9:30 and I got in the shower and that's when the contractions started. They were pretty strong right from the get-go but not strong enough that I needed to sit down. I was keeping track of how far apart they were but I didn't let Ben know for awhile because I didn't want him to get excited and then have the labor go away.
After my shower, I took a bath :) ha ha and then around 10:20 I had to get out and I went and laid on the bed. That's when the contractions got really strong. Ben did a really good job just supporting me and helping me relax. Around 11:30 or 12 Ben called my mom and she came over. When she got there that's when I started throwing up during contractions. let me tell you, that is like the worst thing ever!
We stayed at home until 1:30 that morning. I didn't want to rush to the hospital because I was afriad they would tell me I wasn't far enought along and to go back home. But when we got the hospital I made quite an entrance.....I threw up in the hallway haha. But by that time I had been in labor for about 5 or 6 hours and when they checked me, I was dilated to an 8. (I was so proud of myself) so they checked me in and got me into a room and checked me again and I had dilated to a 9. they told me that if I got an epidural that it would just be chasing the pain and the baby would be here before it kicked in all the way. But I opted for it anyway. While they were giving me fluids through an IV, I had a contraction that was about 4 minutes long. But after that, my contractions started to slow down so I was able to get an epidural. Then we labored for another 4 hours, but I didn't feel a thing so I don't mind.
around 8:00 the doctor came in and said, "Lets have this baby" We pushed for a little while and his head came out and the cord was wrapped around his neck. So while the doctor cut the cord, Ben got some gloves on and actually got to catch the baby.
He was beautiful and so wide awake right after birth. It was like no other experience I've ever had. We hadn't decided on a name yet. We had talked about Tristan and Tyrell but I told Ben that I wanted to hold him and see him first and then let the naming inspiration hit me. So as we were holding him Ben said, "So what's his name?" and I said, "Trey" and Ben said, "That's what I was thinking too" so that's how he got his name :)
We love him so much and he is constantly changing! He is such a good baby and there seriously can't be a cuter baby!
He sleeps so good at night and we're basically on a schedule already. I know about the times that he'll wake up and want to eat. And he is eating so well. We had a little bit of trouble with breastfeeding in the hospital at first but now all I have to deal with is the little bit of pain at the beginning. but I do it because I love him!
Ben is AN AMAZING DAD! He seriously can't get enough time with Trey. He loves to hold him and talk to him. He'll tell Trey all the awesome things that they're going to do when he gets bigger.
I love my little Family!

Trey Jack Stout

Born on September 6th at 8:44 AM
Weighing 7 lbs 10 oz
and measuring 20.5 inches long
is our little boy............Trey Jack Stout

We'll post more about it later :)

Remodeling and other stuff :)

I have been meaning to blog for such a long time now! We have been so busy that I told myself that I had to do a quick blog update today so......
We've done quite a change to our little house. Here are some before pictures:
Sorry if they're blurry, some are from Ben's phone

These pictures are from when we first moved in. They had just put this new carpet down (which we got to pick out!) and I wasn't too crazy about the wood paneling stuff. So I showed Ben my idea to change it and he liked it so we went ahead and started the remodel.

This is the finished product. I'm so happy with the way it turned out. And we're eventually going to paint the top a different color but that can wait. We just wanted to get this one part done before the baby got here :) Oh and we still need to put floor trim down but that can wait. :)

I really like the way it turned out :) We also redid the baby's room! I don't have before pictures but it was basically the same colors and wood-stuff as the living room was. And this is how it turned out:

And I have to brag a little bit for myself. I painted all of those animals BY HAND! (well except the tiger, Ben did that) But I'm definitely not an artist so I was SO proud of how cute they turned out!

Other than that We've just been getting ready and waiting (impatiently) for the baby. My sister in law Susie took maternity pictures and I just LOVE THEM! They turned out SO cute! Here is the link to the pictures: Susie's Photography site.
Well, I've been staying pretty busy. I've been able to volunteer with the local volleyball team and that has been such fun! It makes me want to play SO bad! But I get to live vicariously through the girls and watch my little sister too :) They're doing great! That's about all that's going on for us! Hopefully the baby will be here soon and I'll overload this blog with pictures of his cute face! :)

Practicing :)

First off, Good news!
Ben got a job here in town! He went in for an interview and they asked him to start the next day! If all turns out well, this job will be a good "starter" job for him so that he can prepare to take his ASE tests and move up the ladder :)
Secondly, I had a baby shower with my sisters-in-law. It was so much fun! Shelly planned out some great, fun games and they all offered me some great advice. It's a really great blessing to have so many sisters :)
So with all of the stuff that we got for the baby, Ben and I decided to practice. haha
We had a pretty deep discussion about changing diapers (In my opinion he did it ALL wrong! haha) So I showed him what I like to do and now he knows that I expect perfection! (like that's really going to happen) but then we got out some of my old bears that were in my keepsake box and dressed them up! It was really fun!

We had a really good time and are so excited to bring this little boy into our home! only 6 weeks til the due date!!!

Projects, and lost rings

So, I'm getting REALLY excited for our baby to get here! I recently bought some material and I wanted to make a car seat canopy, a diaper holder, and a baby blanket. (I'm really excited for the baby blanket, the material is really cute!)
So on the day that I bought the material I made the car seat canopy. It's reversible and I just love it. I can't wait until there is a little baby under there!

So now for the story:
Ben lost his wedding ring. He usually doesn't wear it on weekdays because he's working with motors and I'd rather that he have all his fingers than wear his ring everyday. haha
So on a Saturday he went to go check on a car that he had been working on the previous day, just to make sure it was working good and everything before his cousin drove it home (4 hours away.) Well later that day he couldn't remember where he put it. He knew that he had it while he donated plasma but couldn't remember after that. Well.............. after a couple days he called his cousin and asked him to check underneath the car hood above the right tire (or something like that) and there it was! His ring was still there after a 4 hour car ride!! Unbelievable! I was telling him that he was so lucky that it was still there! So yeah we're still married haha cuz he has his wedding ring back now.
But things are going so great! Ben is working a little bit at a small engine repair shop and looking for full time work. I know that it'll all work out in the end. But can you believe that there are only 50 days left till my due date?!?! I think that is so crazy! Sometimes I think I'm not mentally prepared to be a mother full time 24-7. I've helped with my younger siblings before but I've never had another human depend on me for food and comfort and all their needs ALL THE TIME! (I'm kinda freakin' out about it)
But mostly I'm excited to see what our baby is going to look like. I hope he looks a lot like his daddy. :)