Early birthday!

So before I turn the big 3-0 tomorrow, we have some exciting news! Troy is finally joining the ranks of "big brother", YIPPEE! We're very excited for a new little bundle to join our family sometime around mid March, 15th or so. Yes that means I'm barely pregnant, but our lovely little addition has very kindly made itself known since before I could even think pregnant & loves to remind me ALL DAY LONG that he or she is in existence. Much different than with Troy, unfortunately!

I had big plans of announcing it with a cute shirt or something similarly fun, but due to how lovely I was feeling decided I didn't want to "pretend" to feel fine around family anymore & so Mark's idea of "ghetto- paper on the shirt announcement" won out & you have what you see before you. Gotta love the creativity right!

We're excited to be expanding our family & to share our news with all of you!!

Beach bum!

Running to the water, this was Troy the whole time. On his 1st real beach outing where he could enjoy it like a big boy, our little water lover was a blast to be with. Though we didn't get there until the afternoon when it starts to cool down sooner than you'd expect & with pretty good winds coming at you, he stayed tough & shivering came back for more!

Getting the feel of the water with daddy. He'd soon be running after the waves when the water receded.

Trying to hold on to him, he preferred at times to not be holding mom or dads hand . . . scary!

Playing in the sand was a favorite as well!

Oh the joys of being covered with sand everywhere & not caring one bit.

Loves from daddy! My sweet boys!

He's off again, water here he comes.

This is what you call a successful outing, within 5 minutes of being in the car he was OUT! He's not a very good car sleeper anymore, drove 5+ hours to St. George a few months back leaving at 5 am & he didn't sleep a wink. But exhaust him at the beach & a beautiful result occurs, even at 6:30 at night. What a sweetheart!

Summer loving!

My sweet little silly face enjoying his $2 hat, a little big you say . . . nah he loves it!

"Smile Troy" or stick out your huge tongue, whichever you prefer.

A recent attempt at all the Ulrich cousins, 6 & counting.

Waiting for Mr. Turtle's appearance! (Yes he does sleep in a dog house)

His first task every time he goes to grandma & grandpa Trasks house . . . feed the turtle. Sleeping, hiding, these minor set backs never deter Troy from his task at hand. Luckily grandpa loves their little routine & stops whatever he's doing to let little guy do his thing!

Petting his friend while he tries to eat & mom just glad she doesn't have to touch it!

Hmmm are you trying to tell me something son?

Troy's little cousin Austin came over to play for a day while his older brothers went to Sea World. Troy just couldn't get enough of him!

"Stay there Troy"

"Ok, just don't get any closer he's trying to sleep"

"Honey, leave the baby alone"

Needless to say the hardest part of the day was trying to have Troy give him some distance! Luckily his little cousin has an almost 3 & 16 month older brothers who give him lots of "love" too, so he's pretty used to it.

Vacuum advice!

Hello friends & fellow bloggers! So our vacuum officially hit the dust, not without many resuscitation efforts on my part. I've actually kept better care of this appliance than most others in our home, because when it comes right down to it I'd rather vacuum than basically any other chore. I'm not sure if it's the instant gratification of going from unclean to clean or what, but regardless I try not to analyze the few chores I don't mind doing as much. So I come to you for advice. What vacuum has worked best for you? Given you the least amount of trouble? Isn't as heavy as moving a car? Also doesn't cost $500, not exactly in the budget, though I'm sure the Dyson vacs work the best since they cost the most right?? ;) So . . . any advice to offer me as I begin the search, even if it's just what to avoid it would be helpful. I'm all about word of mouth especially when it means less time for me to "figure it out" & hope I like it! Thanks & happy Friday!

Air Troy

Slamming it home!

Ok maybe dad was helping a little.

The joy of success & cheers after the dunk!

The silly son playing with the rice cooker bowl, basically his favorite toy of late.

"Smile Troy" & this is what you get, I fear he may have the smile/eyes close syndrome of some on the Ulrich side . . . we'll have to work on it!

This picture was taken to forever remember the huge wide open mouth when he eats.  His mouth opens this big for every bite & always has . . . now that I've been spoiled, every sibling Troy has will need to do the same, he will get to help them if they need it! :)

Troy's new cousin!

Baby Austin arrived last Thursday at 9:15 am.  We're so excited for this new addition to the Ulrich side.  There are now 5 boys & only 1 girl, hopefully things will even out in the future.  In the meantime Troy's definitely got boys to get dirty with!

Sweet new infant!

Troy was a little more interested in the graham cracker.

Then he came around to give his cousin some loves!  We sure love this little one already!  Now maybe Troy won't be considered the "baby" anymore, mind you he's hasn't been the youngest he has a cousin about 2 months younger, but for some reason he still claimed the title baby the longest . . . he's not that small anymore! :)

Happy birthday Mark!

Just wanted to say Happy birthday & I love you!  Thanks for being an amazing dad, a wonderful husband & a valiant servant.  I'm so grateful that we have an eternity to be together!  Through life's ups & downs you are my rock, I couldn't ask for a better man, you were definitely worth the wait my love.  Enjoy your day!!

St. George

So Mark & I are not big travelers, that's just not the stage of life were in right now, so when we get a chance to jet away overnight we'll take it.  A few weekends ago St. George was that place.  Mark's cousin Mallory was getting married so it was up on Saturday & back on Sunday.  Troy did amazingly well for the amount of travel time, though he didn't sleep the whole way up even though woke him up when we left at 5 am . . . that is until we were actually in St. George, then he dozed off, silly boy!

The reception was in Mallory's parents backyard, which was amazing by the way.  Troy loved their toy area & this little house especially.

Troy & his cousin Jake being silly on the trampoline!

Gotta love the face shots, did I mention it was crazy hot, even though it was from 6-9 in the evening!!

Trampoline action with cousins Jake & Brooke, we miss seeing them frequently!!

Chilling by the trampoline, Hayres, Kevin & Mark with Troy enjoying the rocks.

The beautiful bride after she threw the bouquet, check out that view . . . amazing!  Or as my husband frequently refers to Utah landscape, "beautiful country"!

Troy's 2nd cousin William, don't you love his wedding attire, so cute & Troy was not thrilled with sharing daddy!

More fun on the trampoline, he couldn't get enough his cheeks were so red.

Visiting the horses further back on their land & Mark standing exactly like his father does . . . or should I say the Trasks do!

Petting the horse, it was very gentle & sweet.

Checking out the bird cage, yes it's big & yes there are tons of them in it, he was fascinated!

We had a great quick trip!  Troy got to basically play at a park & go to the zoo all in one backyard.  The reception was awesome, decorated so well with all the wedding colors, the food was the best (hopefully I'll be trying some of the recipes soon!!), & it was great to see the family!

He's back!

My "littlest" brother Chad returned home from serving his mission in New York this past Wednesday!  He has always been a great brother, so smart & kind, he excels in everything he does & his mission was no different.  We're grateful to have him home & know he'll always be an excellent example for our little Troy!

Troy meeting his Uncle Chad for the first time!  He came home to two new nephews & another one coming within the next month!

Carter giving his Uncle some love, he was only 10 months old when he left.

Congrats mom!

Wanted to recognize my mom & all she does!  She's currently a Viking Star (aka employee of the month at her school) & gets her name blazed to the new school sign for all to see.  Sadly she probably gets more consistent recognition at her job sometimes than from her many appreciative family members who get spoiled by her so often, myself definitely included.  So thanks for being a great mom, a hard worker in all aspects of your life, a great example of service, a loving grandma, an amazing friend,  a wonderful listener, & the ultimate role model of divine womanhood!!  Know you're loved, even when you don't get signs on the front of the house reminding you all the time!!    

16 months!

My little big man is growing up right before my eyes!  I can't believe how much fun I have being his mom & hanging out with this little love all day.  Don't get me wrong, my schedule is not my own, but it just takes a split second to think about what I was spending my time doing before he came to be so thankful he's my son & I get the privilege of being his mom! 

Capturing a smile on camera is rare, he is NOT a posing child.  Luckily he was in a laughing mood, mainly due to what we were doing below.

Now try not to focus in on both of our double chins (trust me it looks more mellow in b&w) & realize  we were trying to get a picture together & he actually thought it was funny . . . hence the smiles! 

So a few things I love about Troy & his personality at this stage!

- The rice cooker is his new favorite toy, not because moms using it mind you, just because it has a bowl-steamer-lid-& cooker that he can carry & mom won't tell him "no" when he plays with it.

- That he always runs to me . . . when he gets hurt or mad or just because, due to this fact I spend a lot more time on the floor just in case he wants to head my way, I love his hugs.  I also realize that I won't always get to have him run to me when he gets upset for very long & so I cherish these moments.

- He will grab a book, back up into your lap & plop down.  This doesn't vary even if you're in the middle of something, if he's ready to read obviously you must be too! :)

- His little waddle run . . . he's faster than he looks with those little legs!

- That his first consistent word is "cracker" sounds more like "cocker".  Yes he does say mama & dada & dad & other fun things, but not quite as regularly as cracker (babble sentences frequent his speech as well)!

- That you have to work for his smile.  He's a happy boy, but will look at you with a blank stare just a commonly as with a grin.  He'll listen to you talk & see your "funny" attempts, but the smile only comes when he's ready & "feeling it", hence you know it's genuine.  Luckily for me I can get him to laugh & enjoy it more often!  

His "murse" he found the other day (aka daddy's shoe-shine kit), Mark was just loving how he was carrying it around like mom does her purse.

Luckily he switched off & it soon became his scripture case!  

A common look when you want him to smile for the camera, at least he's fresh & clean & ready for bed!

A fun visit to the Chino Youth Museum with the little buddies!  Yes he is a policeman with a carrot it his hand, plastic "snacks" that  kept finding their way into his mouth . . . lovely! 

Oh how I love this little guy!!