I'm dreaming of a vacation with warm sandy beaches where we can frolic in the sun and bask in it's warmth all day.
Instead, this has been my reality for the past couple of months. Our temperature got as high as 30 degrees today, and would you believe today has been by far the warmest it has been in weeks? We have been having highs in the single digits and lows dip all the way down to the NEGATIVE teens. That kind of bitter cold physically hurts. This has been going on since the beginning of January. I'm done with looking at this out my window. You can't even see my beloved mountains! Don't get me wrong, I really do love where I live. I wouldn't move for anything. But these Utah winters can seem to go on forever.
I took this crappy picture of my backyard right before we hydroseeded for grass last summer, but it gives you kind of an idea of what my normal view is out my back door.
Please send warm wishes my way. Or a plane ticket to somewhere warm. Either works :)
You know when you fight with your siblings when you are a kid and your Mom scolds, "Someday when you are adults, you guys might be all each other's got, so get along!" Well, I don't know if your Mom said that, but mine definitely did.
I was blessed with 3 sisters that I love very much and have a unique relationship with each of them. Was it great when we were teenagers and sharing a bathroom or stealing each other's clothes? No. Is it absolutely awesome that I have built-in best friends that know me inside and out and I can share everything with? That would be a resounding yes!
One of the things I share with my sister Rebecca is a love for all things artsy and crafty.
She has such a good eye for things so I am always asking for her opinion. Whether it be clothes, makeup, or anything else. She started her own kids boutique last year called Chubby Cheek Boutique and she has been super successful. But one of her many talents is also photography, and she has been very passionate about it for a long time. She has been taking most of our family's pictures for years, so she has a lot of practice. Her pictures have feeling and heart and don't look forced which I think is difficult to do.
She has finally decided that this is a good time in her life to take her photography to the next level and turn it also in to a business, so she is running a great deal right now to expand her portfolio.
If you live in the Cache Valley, Utah area and are thinking of getting your pictures taken, now is a great time to get a great deal that won't last long!
The best gifts in my opinion are home made. The ones made from the heart so every time you look at that thing, it reminds you of the person who took the time to make it for you.
A couple Christmas' ago I was seeing little kid's kitchens made out of assortments of old furniture all over the internet. I wanted to make one very bad for Kalista. I talked to my Grandpa about it and he thought it would be a great gift and wanted to help. My Grandpa is the handiest man ever so I was so grateful to get him on board!
One of my sisters gave up an old nightstand she had for the bones of this project. Right away my Grandpa got to work and retreated to his basement workshop. To my surprise, he worked tirelessly for three weeks on this sweet little kitchen for his Great-Granddaughter until it was finished.
I don't have the actual before picture of it being a nightstand because I didn't get the chance before he got to working on it. But here it is before and after. Oh, and please don't mind the crappy cell phone before pictures!
I love all of the little details he put into this, like the custom hutch on top with curly cue sides, the real turning knobs for the stove and faucet, the hand painted burners, and the fact that he made it into two separate pieces so it would be easier to move. You would not believe how heavy this thing is!
It has a very vintage quality to it that I haven't seen in any other kid's kitchens I have seen built. Which I love! It's probably due to the fact that my 80+ year old Grandpa built it using odds and ends he had collected over the years. It makes it just that much more unique.
Kalista was ecstatic to see this beautiful gift Christmas morning and loved hearing her Grandpa tell her the story about going up to the North Pole and helping Santa's elves build her little kitchen.
This is why gifts made with love are the best. Every time Kalista plays with her kitchen, she can see the love her Grandpa has for her by the time he took to make something so special for her.
Things have been pretty slow for me here in the blog world. That seems to happen when life is being pretty crazy. We had a wonderful Christmas!
I'm super happy that December is coming to a close though. While holidays are nice, they sure bring on the stress. So it is like breathing a sigh of relief when that last present is unwrapped.
Now, I have to throw a birthday party together quick for my little "New Year's Baby". She is not so little anymore though. I cannot believe she will be seven years old. Seriously. Crazy. I know they always say, "it happens so fast!" They meaning everyone. But time still does seem to sneak up on you.
Speaking of, Kason turned six months old this month and with that, he has had many new and fun milestones. Also, that pesky rash has pretty much cleared up! Unfortunately, his biopsy came back inconclusive. What seemed to help was keeping his skin hydrated with a ultra sensitive skin lotion prescribed by the dermatologist, using a free and clear detergent, and a prescription ointment for dermatitis. I have got to be very careful with him because any irritation on his skin will flare up into a rash. I really appreciated all of the feedback on my last post. I tried most of the suggestions including changing my diet, and the coconut oil was also a great moisturizer!
I love this little giggler so much. He is such a cuddly sweet baby. We slowly started him on food mostly because I wanted to make sure of any allergies he might have since his skin has been so sensitive. We are having really good luck so far and he really loves sweet potatoes as you can tell with this picture.
Kason is much further ahead than my other two kids in the crawling department. This little stinker started sitting a 4 months, "army crawling" at only five months which turned into full fledged crawling less then a month later. Now as we are coming to a close on his sixth month he is pulling himself to stand! Crazy kid. You probably don't believe me huh! Good thing I made video proof.
I think I just died of cuteness.
I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and I promise to get back to more fun projects once the new year starts!
So, things have been a bit crazy now that the holidays are in full swing. I'm sure they are for everyone else too. But I will just give a quick recap of what's been going on around here for the last month! I apologize in advance for some of these pictures being poor quality! My phone camera has been way too convenient lately. Oh ya, none of this is in any order. I'm kind of all over the place today!
Kalista got the opportunity to participate in a mini cheer camp with the high school cheerleaders. Boy did she love it. She is such a girly girl so she was super excited to be able to try something like this. I just wish I would have sat on the right side so I could have seen her better!
Kalista's hair is soooo long. I'm told I am not to cut it until it is to her feet.... she loves Rapunzel. Go figure. ;)
The nice thing about having such a girly girl for a daughter is being able to try out new hairstyles on her without complaints. Dress up is her favorite! Would anyone like a tutorial on this particular style? It was super easy and turned out way cute.
Speaking of hair, I finally got my hair highlighted! I was very indecisive on what to do which is why it took me so long to finally pull the trigger. But my fake ombre hair was getting uglier by the day so I decided to play it safe with some highlights. I'm loving them!
Here was Kalista for Halloween. She was Snow White if you can't tell lol. Such a little princess.
Do you see our awesome Angry Birds and vampire teeth pumpkins? Keegan's costume absolutely cracked me up. He was Dracula, but that crazy widow's peak gave him an uncanny resemblence to Paul Ryan. Ha!
My Kason was the cutest little spider-man baby :)
We went to the annual Pumpkin Walk and had a blast! The kids were absolutely amazed at all of the different themed pumpkin scenes.
I had Kalista try to give Kason his first bottle of pumped milk this past month. Ummm... he thought it was just something fun to chew on. I guess I'm not leaving him anytime soon! That's ok, I kind of like having a monopoly on him.
This is what happened when I tried making my very first cheesecake. After all my hard work I went to pull my masterpiece out of the oven and the pie tin folded over in itself dumping cheesecakie goodness all over the bottom of the oven. I may or may not have cried. Don't judge.
On a more serious note, about a week before Halloween Kason had a mysterious rash appear on his face. This is really hard for me to write about because it has been emotionally draining.
I took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with eczema and given a hydrocortizone cream. The rash continued to spread across his face and inner thigh and diaper area and became very raw. I took him back to the doctor and was then told it looked like yeast so was given medication for that. It wasn't getting better and spreading more so a few days I later took him back into the doctor. My pediatrician was dumbfounded so he brought in a couple other doctors to see if they knew what it was. All of them had never seen a rash like this with a few other random symptoms with no relief with the medications. So he was put on four different medications including an antibiotic to see if all of them combined would get rid of the rash. Finally after three weeks of this nightmare some relief! It was actually clearing up!
Unfortunately it was short lived because right before Thanksgiving he got a bad cold that turned his nose into a faucet. This was taken on Thanksgiving and he was absolutely miserable.
That cold somehow agitated the rash and it reared its ugly head all over again. I was finally referred to a dermatologist. We went to the dermatologist today and he also had not seen a rash like this and so he scraped it. Kason didn't like it. He looked at it under a microscope and still wasn't sure exactly as to what it was. So the next step was to biopsy. He got the biopsy on a spot in his inner thigh, then he stitched him up. It was physically painful for me to see this happen to my sweet baby. Luckily he said it doesn't look dangerous but the symptoms are just very atypical so he was hoping to get a better idea on a diagnosis and treatment. In the meantime he is on a antifungal cream because it showed some characteristics of something fungal. Here is saying some prayers and crossing some fingers!
On a happier note, Kason has really grown and learned so many new things this last month despite him being miserable a lot of the time.
(This was taken right before the rash started.)
Kason weighs over 17 pounds now and learned how to roll over. He has turned into a tummy sleeper! He has also been sitting up unassisted for a month now. The craziest thing of all is that he is trying to crawl! I couldn't believe it! He is only 5 months old! What the heck?! I looked in my other kids' baby books and they were 7 and 8 months before they started crawling. Looks like I'm going to have to baby proof early! When he started to get up on his hands and knees I grabbed my phone and shot this video. Sorry it's sideways, I can't figure out how to change it!
Sorry this post was so long! I really should post more often. Has anyone else experienced a crazy illness in your kid that not even the doctors know what is going on? It is so scary. On a lighter note, have you ever had an experience like my cheesecake disaster? That was a total bummer.
I love candid pictures. You know, the ones that show you real life. Not staged what-so-ever. Like this one.
Big sister lifting up baby brother while pulling up his shirt and no pants, on an un-made bed next to a messy nightstand with little brother asleep in the background. :)
Yep, this is real life. My life specifically. Even though things aren't perfect all the time, I'm so grateful for all of my blessings. Most days I can't believe I have THREE kids. It is kind of mind blowing thinking about having the opportunity to bring these beautiful little spirits into the world. The miracle of life is just that. Miraculous!
When I was a little girl and dreamt about what life was going to be like when I grew up I had this picturesque view of the perfect husband, perfect kids, and perfect house. I wanted that more than anything. I came from a broken home and poverty. Moved so many times I can't remember (12 schools in 12 years). Then at 17, got pregnant by my high school boyfriend. That could in most cases be the recipe for a disastrous unstable life. But I have the firm belief that life is full of choices that take you on whichever path YOU choose. Although there are definitely unforeseen detours and road blocks that are completely out of your control, life is mostly what you make of it. Luckily, my high school boyfriend turned out to be my husband, soul mate, eternal companion, other half, my true love. Eveyday I'm grateful for that. It has allowed me to have the family I dreamed of having. My version of the perfect family. Struggles, highs, and lows we are in this together. With enough hard work, dedication, and good attitude you can turn a bad situation into a good one.
What I dreamed of having when I grew up was a staged picture of perfection. What I have come to find out is that real life is so much better. Flaws and all. What I have also learned is that the trials that I went through growing up has shaped me in to the person that I am today. I can recognize and be grateful for everything I have in my life because I know what it is like to not have it.
I got home from school shopping today to find one of my peaches on the ground below the miniature tree. I was more excited than I should be for peaches, but this was one of the reasons I was so excited to have a home of my own- to be able to grow some of my own food! The peach tree was all that got planted this year but I have bigger plans for next year. I'm excited to put the "Garrden" in the Garr. den. of. love. blog! haha I never said comedy was one of my strong suits. ;)
The tree only yielded 4 peaches, but I was glad it produced anything at all this year since we just planted it only 3 months ago. I've already eaten one and it was DELICIOUS. Nothing like a sun-ripened homegrown peach!
That wasn't all that ripened and fell off... errr out lately.
Kalista lost her first tooth! And if you can't tell, she was crying right before this picture was taken. Having Mom yank your tooth out hurts! But as soon as it was out, she was soooo excited to show everyone! It is kind of a bittersweet moment for me. I remember getting so excited 6 years ago seeing that little tooth break through her gums. How time flies. I guess my baby is growing up!
This video is so cute... the kids picked out their own outfits (or in Keegan's case lack of shirt because it makes him look "cool") and everything and insisted on making a dance video to put on youtube. My camara had a hard time focusing in some spots, but the video makes me smile nevertheless. I hope you enjoy! :)
This is a little late, but bear with me... I'm going to deem the month of June as birthday month in my house. Seriously! There is a birthday 3 out of the 4 weeks in the month.
June 5th- Kason
June 12th- Rhett
June 18th- Keegan
Yes, Keegan got two birthday cakes. One on his actual birthday, and the other at his birthday party the following Saturday.
Plus this year during the month of June we had to build our fence, put up our gates, and rake our yard of rocks to get ready for grass seed. Because if we didn't, Neighborhood Non-profit wouldn't allow us to get our A/C. And it was HOT. Like 86 degrees inside the house hot. So I was out helping Rhett build our fence all the way up until the last couple of days I was pregnant. Then the first day home from the hospital I held Kason in one arm, and steadied fence posts with the other while Rhett poured concrete into the holes. After that we installed our gates. Then, the next couple of days after that being done we raked, and raked, and raked, and raked some more to get our backyard nice and smoothed out. I'm telling you, we live in a gravel pit! I did all of that within a week postpartum on top of the constant diaper changes and feedings about every 2 hours even through the night. I would go out and rake a couple of hours, then come in and feed, change, and snuggle. Then repeat until it was done. But poor Rhett really never got a break from it. He worked so hard trying to get everything done so we could have a nice cool house. We still had to wait a week after all of our work was done for the A/C guy to make it up here from Roy (about a 45 minute drive).
I swear I could hear angels singing when I saw his truck pull up to our house.
After a couple of hours of work, this beauty was installed and cooled off the house about 15 degrees.
Which was AWESOME. I was so sick and tired of stripping my newborn baby down to a diaper and have a fan blowing on us all the time so he wouldn't over heat. It was crazy! With my other babies I was always so worried about them getting cold and keeping their body temperature up. But it was so hot in the house it was the opposite with Kason.
Oh yeah, and on top of all of the birthdays in the month of June, it is also Father's Day. We just had a BBQ with some of Rhett's family.
Overall, it was a crazy, busy, but awesome month. As if we weren't busy enough though, Rhett started helping his old boss out when he is not at his full-time job last month. He is a very busy guy. I'm so grateful for all his hard work.
Almost forgot, but we squeezed in some time to paint Kalista's room pink last month too. I will share pictures soon!
Thought I would share how cute my little Kason is. I'm just loving all of the little smiles he is giving me lately!
He is growing like crazy, and I'm enjoying him so much. He is such a sweetheart! He is starting to coo when you talk to him, and I'm getting greeted with smiles constantly. It is so much fun to have a baby again and have all of these new milestones all the time.
Speaking of milestones, this last week both of the kids learned how to ride their bikes with no training wheels! They are so excited to ride their bikes now. Kalista taught herself in the garage while her dad was at work with no help. Keegan took a little more coaxing and prodding. But they both have it down now and want to ride their bikes all day!
Kalista being silly showing off her new skills.
Of course, Keegan follows suit. :)
Rhett has had the week off, so we have enjoyed having him home. It has been nice being able to get started on some projects we have been wanting to get to. I will post them once they are completed. In the meantime, look at my peaches that are growing! I'm so excited to eat them! hahaha
Also, my flowers are starting to get nice and full along the walkway up to my porch! They were seriously almost dead after being neglected for a few weeks after I had Kason. I'm so glad some of them came back!
June 5, 2012 we welcomed Kason Richard Garr into our family.
He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Labor went well and it was so exciting to finally meet the sweet baby who was inside me for so long. Kason is such a good baby and loves to eat All. The. Time. Which is ok, just tiring. His big sister and brother were so excited to see him. They were able to come into the room right after he was born.
Adjusting to life at home with a newborn hasn't been too bad. Now I can appreciate the four year age gap between Keegan and Kason, and Kalista being six years older has been so helpful. I don't know what I would do without my little helpers! We are all just so happy to all be together in our new home with our new baby.
We are officially in our home and I am so happy! I feel like all the the sacrifices and hard work has finally paid off. Our Open House day was on May 5th, so a week from tomorrow it will have been a month since we moved in. It has been so wonderful to feel the joy of being in our own home that I can now fully appreciate all of the hard work we have put into it.
Speaking of hard work, take a look at how many hours Rhett and I have put into the program that assisted us to help build our home. If you can't read the small print, it says 1822 hours! And I'm telling you I feel the sacrifice of every one of those hours. Blood, sweat, and tears literally went into this home, so to see the reward at the end is an amazing feeling. It took us 9 FULL months. Exactly 40 weeks of building. We averaged 45.55 hours of building per week. Gave up EVERY weekend and most week nights to achieve this dream. Including such precious family time. That was the hardest part. Well that and the fact that....
I was pregnant 35 out of the 40 weeks that we were building! That's right, I got pregnant with our third child 5 weeks in to this enormous commitment. I definitely wasn't able to "take it easy" with this pregnancy, but am so fortunate to have had such healthy pregnancies that all of the physical and emotional stress of this project didn't present complications.
First trimester framing, second trimester throwing shingles for roofing and rocking exteriors, third trimester trim, caulking, flooring, landscaping. Those were the BIG jobs. With ten thousand little and medium jobs in between. But the knowledge I gained through this process is invaluable. The confidence I have in myself and my abilities are so much more.
As I sit back and look at every detail of my home and know that my husband and I along with the help of some great neighbors did this, I beam with pride. Although, I can't do much sitting back and relaxing quite yet.
I am 38 weeks, 2 days pregnant.
With a lot of unpacking and preparing for a newborn to do, my nesting instinct has kicked into full gear! You see, I had my baby shower that my sweet sister Rebecca threw for me last week. I got my crib, car seat, and bassinet just last week as well as digging out what I had left of newborn clothes from Keegan from one of my many storage bins. So there has been a lot of washing, organizing, and putting away baby things. All while trying to unpack and organizing the rest of the house. I swear I'm not complaining! My sweet Kalista has been so helpful too. The patience my good kids have had with me I am so grateful for, and I can't wait to welcome my sweet baby boy in just a short time.
