Thursday, December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone!! We had a great Christmas this year. We spent it in Enterprise with Blake's family and loved catching up with everyone. It was fun to spend Christmas with Nathan this year (even though he had NO clue what was going on).

I think all of the holiday celebrations took a toll on this little Santa:

We sure love you all and are so grateful for such wonderful family and friends!

Friday, December 9, 2011

5 Months and A Move


Well hello from Enterprise everyone! That's right...we have made the move down south. This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Batt fam in Idaho Falls and then the next week we packed up our apartment in Chubbuck and moved to Enterprise, UT where we will be permanently residing now. We moved into the house that Blake grew up in. We are grateful to have a place to live and this house is full of a lot of wonderful memories. On December 1st Blake and I bought our very first home and we are very excited about it. We should be moving into it sometime next year.

The Batt grandkids on Thanksgiving (minus William and Emma)

During Thanksgiving break we got to see our dear friends Caitlin and Trent and their cute boy Ethan! We sure have missed them!

This week Nathan turned five months old. He is getting so big and learning so many new things (I'm pretty sure that's what I say each month but it's true).



Last week we thought we'd try introducing some rice cereal. Oh what a funny experience. I'm almost positive that he did not swallow anything but we had fun trying.

After the first bite:

At the end of the bowl:
(Notice the pool of food on his bib...we tried a couple other times and they all went this way...maybe we'll be brave again and try in a couple weeks)

We are getting really excited for Christmas this year. I'm excited for Nathan to experience Christmas even though he will have absolutely no clue what's really going on. We are spending Christmas in Enterprise this year and we're so grateful that so much family lives nearby for us to celebrate with. We hope you all have a very merry Christmas!!



Monday, November 14, 2011

Halloween and 4 months

I guess it is time for another update. We are still in Idaho. Blake has one more week at his internship. They offered him a job but we've decided that we will be moving to Enterprise so that Blake can work with his family. We're both getting excited. Here are a few pictures of the last month. 

Nathan ends up with toys on his face all of the time and it's pretty cute to see him try to wiggle them off.
The Batt family had a Halloween party a few weeks ago and it was a blast!!

Our skeleton veggie tray


Party favors


We froze spiders into the ice cubes.

This is sideways but we decorated cupcakes to look like monsters.

Born to farm...with Uncle Dave checking his breathing.

Blake took me to The Bridge in Pocatello for my birthday. Snake River Cattle sells Kobe beef to this restaurant and we had to try it before we move.  

Last weekend we went to Boise to visit Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rhea. It was so much fun to see them. They took us to the Williamson orchards and we bought yummy Honeycrisp apples and winter squash. (The sun was shining in our eyes....hence our squinting eyes and the back of Nathan's head). 

The three youngest Batt grandsons. Emmitt (almost 11 months), Mason (20 months) and Nathan (4 months).

The Batt grandkids minus William and Emma

Nathan lovin' Dad

Nathan turned 4 months last week. He is weighing in at 17 lbs 10 oz and he is 26 inches long.
He is so much fun to have around. He smiles and laughs all the time. He is starting to be a great little sleeper. He basically sleeps through the night and takes two good naps during the day. He just rolled over for the first time as I was writing this blog post so woohoo!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

3 months!



Hello everyone! Long time - no blog! These past few months have been busy ones. On July 31st we blessed Nathan in our Provo ward. We felt so grateful to have so much support from both sides of the family.

The Batt Clan
The Holt Clan (minus those who had to leave before we could gather everyone)
Our new little family
We sure love this little guy!

In August we went to both family reunions and had a blast!! We went to Enterprise with the Holts. It was so much fun to see everyone and catch up. On August 6th Dad Holt and Marge got married and we were grateful to be there for that special occasion. The next week Blake finished up his last finals at BYU and then we headed to Red Fish Lake in Stanley, Idaho for the Batt family trip. Red Fish is one of my favorite places. It is beautiful and so much fun. Just to give you an idea of the fun we had here is a picture of some of the brothers playing in the sand:

Blake, Mike, Dave and Roland dug a trench and had us bury them

After both family reunions we packed up and moved to Chubbuck, Idaho. Blake is doing an internship with Agribeef which is a part of Snake River Cattle in American Falls. We live about 45 minutes away from my family so it has been really nice to spend a lot of time with them. When we first moved to our apartment we had a bit of a hobo (the spider not the person) infestation. The first morning I killed 5 spiders and every time I'd go into a different room I'd see a brand new big spider. It was awful. I was nervous that Nathan would get a deadly hobo spider bite so I put his play mat on top of some of our unpacked boxes to keep him above ground level. Looking back now I see that I was probably a bit over paranoid but it seemed so logical at the time. Anyway, we had pest control spray our apartment and then I felt a lot better and he now can lay on a blanket on the ground like a normal child. 


After telling you that last story you can maybe understand why he does the following quite a bit:

"Oh brother!"


We went to the cabin for Nathan's first hunting trip. Blake insisted that we bring Nathan's camo. Erin and I stayed in the cabin with the kids while the men went hunting. We had pouring rain all Monday and Tuesday morning. It was beautiful  but quite muddy. We had an interesting trip home through the rain and mud. 

Last Saturday Nathan turned 3 months old. He is growing up so fast and learning so many new things. He smiles all the time and with a bit of work he will laugh and give a high pitched squeal of delight. We feel so blessed to have him and love him so much.

Monday, September 12, 2011

2 months!!

Our little guy turned 2 months old last week and he is getting so big. He had his 2 month check up today and he is doing great! He weighs 14 lbs 5 oz (94th percentile) and he is 24 3/4 inches long (95th percentile).

We are doing well here in Chubbuck, Idaho. Blake's enjoying his internship with Snake River Farms and I am loving staying home with Nathan. Our ward is really great and it has been fun to live so close to my family. I am working on a post with the happenings as of late and I will post it soon!!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Introducing...



NATHAN ADAMS HOLT

(Nathan's first day home from the hospital: 6 days old)

Nathan was born on Friday, July 8th at 1:07 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long. He has chubby cheeks and red hair and we just can't get enough of him. He got off to a slightly rough start and spent his first 6 days of life in the NICU with tubes and IVs everywhere. He is fine now at home with us but we just have to be super careful with germs so he can get plenty of rest and keep growing healthy and strong. Here are a few pictures of our first 10 days with our little angel (in no particular order).

(Nathan's home for the first week...look at all of those monitors...poor guy)


(Nathan had an IV in his head because he squirmed the IVs out of his hands and feet. He had to be weighed before and after every feeding to see how much he was getting)

(Grandma has been helping us so much and little Nathan loves her already. The nurses kept saying he knew Nathan was going to be spoiled)

(I was afraid the IV would pull out all of his beautiful hair...luckily it didn't)

(Nathan loves his daddy and looks so much like him already)

(This was before he had the IV in his head. Holding him was really tricky because he was connected to so many different machines)

(Nathan's first sponge bath...he wasn't too thrilled about it)

(He loved his hooded ducky towel)

(Keeping that binky in is just so tricky...getting it back in after it has fallen out is even trickier but he tries every time)

We love our little man and are so grateful that he is doing so well. We are so thankful for all of the love and support everyone has shown us this past week. We couldn't have survived without all of the prayers for our family.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Getting Ready!!


Baby Gear - check

Baby Clothes - check

Clean House - check (then uncheck and check again)

Car seat installed - check

Quit Work - check

Parents back in the country - check

BABY - NO CHECK... Apparently someone didn't get the memo that he was due to arrive 4 days ago!!

Just thought I'd let you all know he hasn't made his grand appearance yet so we are just patiently waiting for him to get here. Can't wait to update you when he actually decides to come!!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

CinnamonInk


Today I want to tell you about my INCREDIBLY talented friend Kate and her etsy shop: CinnamonInk. Kate and I graduated from the Social Work program at the same time and she is a doll. I absolutely love her. She creates the most adorable children's and home art and sells her work in her etsy shop. You MUST check her creations out. I promise you won't be sorry! In fact you'll probably spend your days deciding which piece you've got to have in your home!
I just bought her Explore print for our little guy's room (it is the only decoration I have for his room and I'm convinced it is enough)! Enough of my blabbing....click on the links below and see for yourself!


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Moments That Matter Most


Just wanted to share a little video with you. Hope you all have a wonderful week.



P.S. 5 days til our little guy is due to arrive!


Saturday, June 18, 2011

Cankles


cankle (ˈkæŋkəl)

n
informal a thickened area between the calf and ankle in an overweight [or pregnant] person, obscuring where one ends and the other begins
[C21: from c ( alf )² + ankle ] *this is just one of the many joys of being 2 weeks from your due date*



Just thought I'd give you an update of our life! The pregnancy is still going really well (other than my aforementioned cankles). This baby is enjoying being inside so I don't think he's in any hurry to get out. I'm 38 weeks and 1 day so we've got 13 days until our little guy is due to make his grand appearance. Blake just finished his finals for the spring term. He will start classes for the summer term next week and then in August he will be done....woohoo! I'm still working for the next little bit while they work on getting my replacement hired. So I guess everything is going well and probably the next time I post something it'll be to announce our new baby.






Saturday, May 21, 2011

Just for Fun!

Just thought I'd share our favorite commercial these days. Enjoy!





Tuesday, April 12, 2011

You know you're pregnant when.....


1. You are SO disappointed because that bowl of spaghetti you just ate did not taste like root beer.
2. You make deviled eggs at 10:00 at night (after you run to the store for needed ingredients) only to find out that you don't really like deviled eggs and the thought of eating the 12 you just made repulses you.
3. You can't wait to wash all those baby clothes and on top of that you are thrilled when the clothes are dry so you can FOLD them and put them away!
4. You call clients at work to remind them of their appointment and you get distracted by thinking about how their first name would sound with your last name (still no name yet).
5. You cry at the drop of a hat (this is an obvious one)...not at regular sad things but at ridiculous things such as little kids (some you know....some you've never seen before) bumping their heads in church.
6. Random people touch your stomach as if it is public property. Some even talk to your stomach. Family and friends...great but strangers....really?
7. You think about how you (and your spouse) behaved as children and shudder when you start to imagine what great attribute or behavior your child will have to pay you back and in so doing even out the universe.

This is just to name a few of the little quirks that come with being pregnant. So I haven't blogged in awhile because let's be honest....I just don't have all that much to say. Things are going well. Blake is starting finals this weekend and will be walking on April 22. He won't be done with school until August but will walk in April to avoid missing a few reunions in August. I am still working at Wasatch Mental Health and enjoying it there. We're just getting ready for our little guy to come in about 2 and 1/2 months but other than that life is pretty much the same for us these days. Hope you're all doing well!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Goodbyes


There comes a time in all of our lives when we are forced to say goodbye to the people we love the most. Well in the past three months Blake and I have said two different sad goodbyes.

The first goodbye came January 1st when Blake's dear mother was killed in a car accident.
JoAnn Twitchell Holt was a beautiful and strong woman. She lived such a Christlike life in every way. She was the mother of 14 wonderful children. She had unwavering faith and courage to do what is right. She took everyone under her wing and always supported the underdog. She was a selfless woman who sacrificed so much for her children and grandchildren. We love her so much and are so grateful for our understanding of the plan of salvation that allows us to see our dear mother again.

The second goodbye came March 7th when my 99 year old grandma died in Idaho Falls. She was 3 months short of her 100th birthday.
Beulah Memmott Clayson was a shining example to all who knew her. She was kind and loving and served others with all her heart. She was a wonderful grandma and will be missed so dearly. She served the perfect Thanksgiving and Easter dinners complete with her best china, crystal glasses and silverware (real silver). She always worked so hard and sacrificed everything for her children and grandchildren. She was the best story teller. She would tell us Christmas stories verbatim from memory. She was a delight to be with and I have so many wonderful memories of her and grandpa.
These two beautiful women will forever hold a special place in our hearts. They have taught us so many important lessons. As Blake and I have talked about our upcoming roles of being parents we feel so greatly blessed to have had such wonderful parents and grandparents to teach us how to sacrifice everything and give all you are for your children and grandchildren. Life will not be the same without both of these women but I know that both of them would want more than anything for us to move forward in faith.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Garden Cottage Bed and Breakfast

Last summer I had the wonderful opportunity to work at The Garden Cottage Bed and Breakfast in Cedar City, Utah. It is the loveliest Bed and Breakfast I have ever seen. The Garden Cottage is surrounded by the most beautiful gardens with every wonderful flower imaginable. I was so enchanted with every single room. The husband and wife who run The Garden Cottage are equally as enchanting. They are sweet and interesting to talk to. Each morning they make the most delicious breakfast you have ever seen. This is an experience you do not want to miss out on.


The Garden Cottage is the closest B&B to the Shakespeare Festival. Well, this summer is the 50th Anniversary of the Utah Shakespeare Festival!!!! Lots of fun activites and extra events going on in addition to the 6 fantastic plays in the summer and 3 more in the Fall. You can check it out online at http://www.bard.org/. You can also check out the lovely accommodations at The Garden Cottage Bed and Breakfast at http://www.thegardencottagebnb.com/. If you have not been to The Garden Cottage call and Gary and Diana can set up a tour so you can see it for yourself!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Announcing.....


Little Blake Jr.... That's right...we're having a boy.




I'm hoping he looks just like his dad did when he was little because he sure was (and is) a cutie!