Abran likes to get into Brandt's car seat. It has been hard keeping him out of the bouncy seat and the baby swing as well. He's gonna break something being 33 lbs.

Guy Time

Today was so fun for Abran. Uncle Dave came up and he and Uncle Sam took Abran hiking up to a cave in the mouth of Logan Canyon. They needed some quality "guy time". Abran hiked most of the way and did awesome. He ran all the way through the cave and his uncles said that he didn't trip once over the rocky terrain. Thanks Uncle Sam and Uncle Dave! In the meantime mom and dad got some good packing done.

Welcome Home Brandt!

So here he is! Brandt Raul Soto was 8 lbs 7 oz and 20.5" long. He was born March 28th at 9:31 am via C Section. He is perfectly healthy and we're so relieved (especially me)to have him here now. These are a few of the pics I took in the hospital with my phone. We'll be posting more obviously. Hopefully soon. Abran is so excited to have a little brother and loves him to death. He always wants to hold him and give him kisses. The surgery itself went terrific and recovery is going well also. I feel like I've been bouncing back a lot quicker. Margarita has been kind enough to help us out and after having her here for a week and a half...I don't know what we're going to do without her now. Its been so nice to have that extra set of hands. We are also in the process of moving. We will officially be out in 2 1/2 weeks. Its a whirl wind around here...but all is good stuff. We feel really blessed.

The morning of D-day....

Happy Birthday Abran

Thanks Sam!

Sam took Abran to the park and they wore each other out. Abran is standing on top of their snowman....he loves his uncle Sammy

Once there was a Snow Man

Today was a great day... Jonathan came home early and he and Abran went outside to play. They built a cute little snow man. Abran and I built one yesterday but daddy's was so much better.

Painting...once again

Abran and Jonathan are having a bonding moment while painting the bathroom walls...again. We are in the process of selling our home and we have been getting it touched up and looking good for the gal buying the place. We were going to repaint the bathroom anyway so we thought we'd ask her what color she wanted it. Abran and Jonathan have many other common interests: tools and fixing things, playing Madden Football, watching football, shoveling, basically everything that they can do together. Abran is curious about how things work. He discovered the water pipes and disposal under the kitchen sink....and you'd think it was Christmas. Everyday he wants to explain to me how the pipes work.

We're back to blogging....

So its been a few months since I have written anything....obviously. Below are a few pics of Abran in the snow,eating snow,and what not. We have had a busy couple of months with Jonathan finishing up school this semester, putting our house up for sale, finding a new house to move into, baby on the way and all the rest of the little day to day things. Above is a picture of my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Laura with Abran. We were so excited when they surprised us with visit one Friday. Abran absolutely loves them.

Abran got his hair cut last Friday. We cut off 3 inches! He was so good to sit on his stool. He did very well until the clippers came out. It took everything in him to hold it together as he stared at me like "mom make it stop!". But then he was very proud of it and loved shocking his dad...who had no idea we were going to actually cut it...

IT"S A BOY!

We just found out today that we're having another little boy and we are so incredibly happy about that. Everything looked good and intact and healthy. He is a mover that's for sure. He would not hold still. Luckily we got some good shots to know what he was, but every time we got a good head shot he threw his hands in front of his face or buried his head. It was fascinating to see him moving his little legs around and his arms and hands. It is a complete miracle to us that everything in the body works together at the same time to make something so amazing.

Nemo Blanket

So I am finally posting a picure of the Nemo blanket I made for Abran. It is flannel on the front and fleece on the back. Luckily it was a big hit. He made me feel like the craftiest woman on earth when I gave it to him. There was no way I was going to be able to keep this from him until Christmas.

There is a pumpkin patch out in Nibley where people love to get their kid's pictures taken. I tried with my neighbor Emily to go out there. This is one of the better pics I got of Abran with Lexi. He was just interested mostly in laying in the dirt and pooring dirt over the pumpkins.

Halloween Pics

Halloween was probably the most fun for me this year than ever in my life before. And all we did was go half way up our street and around the block and we didn't even hit every house. But Abran did fantastic...and tried to eat his candy as he went along. He sat in the stroller as we pushed him around. He'd get out and hold his own bucket...(wouldn't let me touch it)and try to knock. He even did pretty good at saying thank you. Jonathan and I just laughed as we took him around. On Friday we had some neighbor kids come down to play with Abran. Lucky for us, he was so happy to see them when he got up from his nap that he put his costume on without a fight. So I left him in it for the rest of the day. The older girls also raked my leaves into a big pile for the boys to play in and then gutted my pumpkins for me....Thank you Traicen and Atlanta! They really helped me out. We went out to dinner that night and then home to hand out candy. Trick or Treating felt brand new all over again for Jonathan and I as we experienced it through Abran's eyes. Kind of like anything we introduce him to. It is so much fun. We also put the pumpkins out and lit them up. Abran just sat there saying WHOA! WHOA! I am seriously craft challenged and he made me feel brilliant. He'd run out to the sidewalk and yell WHOA and then run up close and yell WHOA.

From left to right, we have Lexi, Tayli, Danika, and Abran. They had all been jumping on my bed and were squealing and giggling. I snapped this fuzzy picture before I cleaned all the finger prints off the lens. Abran has learned to smile into the camera and say 'cheese' from these girls.

Birthday at Grandma's

Happy Birthday September People

So we got together to celebrate all the birthdays in September. Grandma made her famouse chocolate and whipcream cake with grated chocolate on top...mmm...so good. Cathy and Marty came by that day and so did Julie and Jay! It was great! So much fun. Abe and Max, of course, were more interested in playing than in cake....until Abe saw the cake and got his own spoon. It was great to catch up and laugh and talk. If I'd known there were going to be so many great pics, I would've come with my hair at least done. But that is a feat for me these days. Pony tails and braids is as far as it gets most of the time. We were all so happy to see Cathy and Marty now that they are back from living in San Diego. We wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday Mom and Dad. We love you both so much.

Above, the first pics are of Calli, Payton, and Abran and the Soto's over the 24th of July weekend. They had a great time all playing together, that is, when either of the boys weren't asleep. They are great cousins. I also wanted you to see the new flooring throughout the house. Jonathan did a great job in the entry way and kitchen. I wanted you to see it in case we're in a different house by the time you get home. We'll see. I'm still planning on painting the cabinets in my kitchen and bathrooms. Probably a white color. I like the contrast. Abran is also using utensils now and that is always exciting. He holds the fork or spoon by the very tip of the handle making it hard to get into his mouth. I've been working with him to hold it lower so he has more control and a better grip. But he really likes the tip of the stupid handle. I was busy one afternoon and he was complaining and I new he probably needed a snack. So instead of slicing and peeling an apple, I took a couple of bites out of it so he could see how to eat it and handed it to him. He sat on the rug by the back sliding doors just munching away, stem and all. Although he didn't finish it all. It reminded me of when Sam was younger and would eat the stem, core, and seeds. Hmmmm I wonder if he'll do the same when he gets older. We also went to this awesome Children's Museum in the Gateway Mall and he thoroughly enjoyed that. We'll have to take you there when you get home. You'll be fascinated.

Playing Catch up now

So I am playing a bit of catch up as far as photos go, mom and dad. I am so sorry its taken so long. These are pics from the 4th of July weekend. He held his first sparkler and got the hang of twirling it around. Only later did I hear that is the most dangerous thing you can hand your toddler. He did good though. Also the first ones are at the bird show. He had a blast watching the birds swoop 3 inches over our heads. We had the perfect seats, 3rd row up and center. The last 3 are my favorite. Abran and Lexi were sitting on the bench in front of our house eating popsicles. We had just come back from the park and they were a mess. I had my camera and then said Abran give Lexi a kiss! Well, the rest is history and I got some really cute pics.

So here we go again. I apologize for not posting anything in the last month. Every chance I've gotten I've been sleeping. This one has put me through the ringer that way. The fatigue and nausea have been insane. But we are so happy and so relieved. We went to our 2nd appointment this past Wednesday and Doc said everything looked fantastic. The fetus is growing fast, it has a strong heartbeat and all other indicators are pointing to good and healthy and fine. We were a bit surprised that it happened again and much sooner than we anticipated. However we are so grateful. I tell Abran I have a baby in my belly, not expecting him to understand, but he gets a funny look on his face and came over to lift up my shirt and then he rubbed my tummy. He still amazes me with what he seems to understand.
I will be doing some catch up as soon as I can get my pics uploaded to the computer. We've got pics from the 4th of July to share and here it is almost September.

Mowing the lawn

Jonathan mows the lawn on Saturday mornings and Abran loves to help him. Abran has to be involved in every detail that Dad does. This goes for anything Jonathan is working on. So he pushes the lawn mower, gets the trowel and digs in the dirt, has to have a screw driver of his own and something to use it on, he loves the hammer, etc. You get the picture. I thought this photo was precious. He's a little man already and I can't slow it down. Don't you wish you could. Thankfully, pictures help a little.

Swimming at Gma Brewer's

We went swimming at GGma Brewer's and really, the pictures speak for themselves. She fixed a wonderful lunch and we had so much fun with bubbles and water and all the toys she has. It was great.

Abran and Lexi

Lexi lives two doors down from us and she is one of Abran's favorite people. All we have to say is "Lexi, popsicles?" and he beelines for the door. He wanders down by himself and will pound his little fist on their front door and if they don't open it and their garage door is open, he'll go to the door in the garage and pound on it. If no one comes still, he'll go and pull out her little yellow and orange car to play in. They are always so excited to see eachother. Lexi is 2 and is showing him the ropes. They love to go to the park and swing and climb around. They LOVE to eat popsicles together. Its what we've been doing all summer to cool down. Otterpops have been the best b/c they're the least messy.

Fun moments in April

Its been a long hard day.....

Okay, so its been a tough week. We lost this one but it is A-OK. We guess it isn't time for the next little roughian to come along. But when its time, it will be time. So until then we'll keep this thing updated. It is still a very busy time and Abran keeps us continually laughing. He actually picked up on the word 'down' this past week. I got after Mia because she was trying to lick his mouth and it makes me nuts when she does. So I had pointed my finger and said probably louder than I thought, "down". Right after that Abran said it just the same way except it came out with more of a "dowwwww". Then he started laughing. Now he'll just randomly say it. I'll be posting more pics soon.

A few words about.........

December must be a lucky month this year. We are so excited to say that we are expecting our 2nd child. I am 2 months along right now. I put up 12 pink and blue balloons with a sign that said 'Arriving Dec.12th' and left it, along with the two pregnancy tests in the dining room for Jonathan to find when he got home from work. This was a few weeks ago. We found out pretty early. He walked in the door, washed his hands, picked up Abran to play with him and hugged me before he even noticed the sign. He squinted his eyes to read it, THEN he noticed the balloons....pause....he then says "what?.....WHAT?" I told him to go look at the tests. He was very excited and happy and needless to say I was over the moon. However....how do you not notice 12 balloons in your dining room in plain view right away? So funny.
I am so excited that Ben and Carli are pregnant again too. She is due 8 days before me. Mom and Dad will have their hands full with a couple of toddlers and 7 month olds when they get home.

So Abran and I have been so sick this past two weeks. I am exhausted everyday and have to nap when he does. Our head colds were complicated with allergies. He got breathing treatments and doc prescribed me an allergy pill.
One cool thing I found out about today, is this meebo deal to my right. Now friends and family will know if I am on my blog at the same time they are looking at it and can drop me a note. How fun. So please use it. You can just start typing...no signing in or anything.
I have planted my tulips and am waiting for weather to warm up so I can plant a few more in my bed and then I will post a pic so you can see how it looks this year. I am not a gardner, so I am proud of us for getting these flowers in.

Pizza Party

Thanks Gma Brewer

We had such a fun time at Gma Brewer's house on Saturday the 5th. The Brewer kids all showed up for a pizza party. We got pizza and drank soda and had cookies and ice cream. The little ones loved it and she has all sorts of fun toys to play with. Abran ate pizza and stawberry flavored applesauce. We don't have stairs in our house so Abran thought that was a lot of fun and spent some good times on the stairs. He is still figuring out how to go down so you can't leave him for a second. Thanks Grandma for having us over and taking good care of us.

First Hair Cut

So Abran got his first hair cut tonight. Sorry mom and dad. It was out of control. It was in his ears and he was constantly flicking his hair. We're trying to even it out and start again. We both think I did okay for my first time ever cutting boy hair. However it needs to be fixed. We gave him a sucker and set him up in front of Extreme Home Makeover in hopes that he'd sit still. He was a little bewildered as to what the heck we were doing.

Happy Birthday to Abran!

WoW! Abran's Birthday was Tuesday March 18th. He celebrated his first birthday this past week on the 15th with a few of his family members. Ben, Max, Carli, Dave, and Grandma and Grandpa Soto came to celebrate with him. We ate burgers, opened some presents, ate birthday cake (which got the most video time), and played Rock Band (which Jonathan fell in love with). David brought his RockBand up for all of us to play. We had a good time. Abran ate almost all his cake and some of Max's too. He also got a water/sand table. We filled the one side with a little water and Max was absolutely hooked.
Abran had his 1 year Doc appt. today. He weighs 24 lbs. 10oz. He was in the 90% for height and 85% for weight. The doc was so happy with his progress and how healthy he is. We are also so thankful and happy with his health and well being. He is the joy of our lives. He had four shots today as well. He was really mad at first, cried for a minute, then whimpered while I put his clothes on. The nurse then gave him a cream soda dum dum and it was like nothing ever happened. It was his very first sucker and he didn't take it out of his mouth until it was all gone.
I can't believe it has been one year since we met this little guy. He makes us laugh everyday and has made out lives so much richer. I guess every parent feels that way though right?

February Moments