18 months, 3 months too late

Bentley Jess turned 18 months old back in April and just this past week, we went to his 18 month well child checkup. We were a little late to getting to it, 3 months late to be exact. Bentley's now 21 months and I can't believe he'll be 2 in October!

Bentley hates going to appointments, it doesn't matter if it's for him or someone else, he just hates it. I think he just doesn't like sitting still, because he's always trying to escape the room! Anyways, his doctor is pleased with the way he's growing and always says how cute he is, which I would have to agree, he is a pretty dang cute boy!

Here are his "18 month" (21 month) stats:

-He weighs a whopping 38 lbs and is off the charts for weight

-He's exactly 36 inches tall, 3 ft tall to be exact and is in the 80th percentile for height

-He's in size 4T clothes.

-He is in size 9.5 for shoes, they're a bit big, but he'll grow into them just fine. All of his other shoes are too small now!

-He is obsessed with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, it's the only show he will sit down and watch.

-Grease Live! is his favorite musical to watch when mom is tired of Daniel Tiger.

-Dad is his favorite person, and mom doesn't exist whenever dad is home.

It's crazy how fast he's growing up and I wish he'd stay little forever. Trevor and I love Bentley more than anything in this world, and no matter how old he gets, he will always be our baby boy.

Until next time,

Xoxo
Emi

Routines & Schedules

Do you have a routine or a schedule for your every day life? 

When I was a child/teenager, still living at my parents house I had the normal routine of a kid. Wake up, go to school, come home, do homework, eat dinner, play for a bit, and then went to bed. I would do that five days out of the week. Then on Saturdays I'd do family stuff, and Sundays were church days. After I graduated high school and went to college, I had the typical college student life. Went to school, did homework, hangout with friends, did family stuff and went to church on Sundays. When I finally moved out of my parents house for good and got a job, I had the routine of going to work, hanging out with friends, I got a boyfriend (aka Trevor) so we hangout everyday, and Sundays were for church. 

Now that I have my own little family, my routine/schedule is different than what I'm use to. I love having a routine/schedule though, because it helps me see what my week is going to be like and I like having everything planned out in advance.

My routine/schedule looks like this:

7:00 am- Wake up, get Bentley up

7:30 to 9:00 am- Breakfast, change, get ready for the day

 9:00 am to 9:30 am- We go out and grab the mail and go to the grocery store

9:30 am to 11:30 am- Inside playtime and TV time

11:30 am to 12:00 pm- Lunch time

12:00 pm to 12:30 pm- Get ready for nap

12:30 pm to 3:00/3:30 pm- Nap time

(during Bentley's nap time, I usually do my workout, or do laundry, or clean the house up a bit, or update the blog, or watch TV, or take a nap with him)

3:30 pm to 4:00 pm- Let Bentley wake up all the way, a little bit of TV time

4:00 pm to 5:30/6:00 pm- Outside play time

6:00 pm to 7:00 pm- Dinner time

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm- Playtime with dad, bath if he needs one

8:30 pm to 9:00 pm- Night time snack, last TV time

9:00 pm to 9:30 pm- Get ready for bed, and than it's bedtime

That's literally my schedule every day and I love it! Some times things get changed around or shortened, because we might have appointments or a play date scheduled. 

Do you use a planner? I never used a planner, until I had Bentley. It's so useful and helps me keep track of appointments, date nights, Trevor's work schedule, family vacations, reunions, playdates, etc.  A planner helps me stay on my schedule/routine.

The past couple of years I've had a Mormon Mom Planner from in the leafy treetops, but it was just too much for me. I wasn't using all the extra pages that came in the planner and felt bad for wasting paper, so I decided to get a different one. But the mormon mom planners are still awesome planners and are such a good price! I would still recommend this planner to anyone. If you're interested, you can find the mormon mom planner at: intheleafytreetops.com

After weeks of waiting for it to come in the mail, I now have an Erin Condren lifeplanner! I got to customize the whole planner to the way that I wanted it to be. So I got the everyday lifestyle planner, with the hourly layout, I chose neutral colors, 18 month option, and I got to choose what cover I wanted. This planner doesn't come with all the extra pages, it's just a very simple planner. But it does come with cute quotes pages before every month.

This is the cute box that my planner came in and it also came with some surprise extras inside!

I opened the box and found these on top! This is my very first order, and these cute extra things were a little welcome gift to the Erin Condren planner family. Extras were: gift tags, a post card, and a sticker.

I opened up the pink tissue paper to my planner! I chose a floral cover and it came with a free coil clip ruler/bookmark.

I took my planner out of the box and opened it up and found another surprise of extras!

I got a clear "plan for it" pouch, with a 6 in. coil clip connector, pay it forward cards, a sample sticker book and compliment cards. The coil clip connector if for attaching larger, heavy duty items to the planner. The pay it forward cards are 20% off your next purchase that I can share with a friend or keep to myself! The sample sticker book is a book of signature stickers, color-code sticker and do-it-all dot stickers, along with motivational sayings and metallic accents. Compliment cards are cards that I can give away to help brightens someone day. 

This is what the inside of the planner looks! Like I said before, I chose the hourly layout. For me it's just easier to go by the hour. The two other options you can choose from are weekly and monthly. It's all very simple and I can't wait to use it! It'll help me keep my schedule and routine going. Especially when I start school, I can keep up with not only my schedule, but Trevor's schedule as well. Even though I just got the planner, I would definitely recommend this planner as well! It is a bit pricey, but it's worth it. I have friends who have this planner too and they all recommended it to me. You can find the Erin Condren planners at: erincondren.com

Even though I have the same schedule/routine everyday, I wouldn't change it for the world, because I get to be at home with my baby boy. I know some times my schedule/routine will change, and that's ok, I'll just have to embrace it!

Until next time,

Xoxo

Emi

compliments

Today is just one of those Mondays where I wish it was the weekend already. Bentley and I both had appointments this morning and they both took a lot longer than they normally do. Bentley got 5 shots today at his appointment and I had to get some blood drawn after and all he wanted me to do was hold him. I couldn't hold him while getting my blood drawn and I kept trying to soothe him by talking to him and singing songs to him. The phlebotomist looked at me and said, "You are such an amazing mother, most mom's are going crazy when they have their kids in here with them. But you're doing awesome and I can tell you're an amazing mom and your little boy loves you."

That's literally one of the best compliments I have ever received from a stranger. It seriously made my long morning, into a good rest of my day. That compliment will have an impact on my life forever and I really mean it. We don't know what's going on in other peoples lives. They could be going through a rough time, they could be sad or depressed, or just had a bad day. Sometimes saying hi, giving a compliment, or even just smiling at them can make their day.

So to the phlebotomist at the Columbia Basin Health Clinic in Connell, thank you for making my day. I try my very best to be the best mom I can be to my baby boy. 

Here's to making other peoples day a little bit better!

Until next time!

Xoxo

Emi

rollercoaster

Do you think of amusement parks when you hear the word rollercoaster? I know I do and I absolutely love going to amusement parks and riding all the crazy, fun rides. But have you ever thought that your life is like a rollercoaster, or you feel like it's a rollercoaster? All the ups and downs, the highs the lows, all the good things and the bad things. My whole life, I have felt like I've been on a rollercoaster, and I don't know whether to enjoy the ride or scream. 

Coming from a big family, there was always something going on. Kids running everywhere, homework needs to be done, house needs to get cleaned, and kids need to be watched. After I graduated high school and moved down to my dads, life was still busy. I had school, homework, helped my dad around the house, time with friends, and church stuff. I moved back and forth between my mom and dads houses and was all over the place. 

Until I met Trevor. Life was so great! We were so far in love that we were in our own little world. We were inseparable, and reality didn't exist in our minds. Then we got married, and reality slapped us in the face. We were back on the rollercoaster that people call life. We had no idea how married life was suppose to be, we were living in BYU married student housing, and barely making ends meet with money. 

Fast forward to October 2014 life got a bit crazier with Bentley! But having him on this ride with us, just makes it more special. Trevor and I didn't know how to be parents and we learned as time went by. From changing diapers, to Bentley constantly needing to be fed, growth spurts, baths, play time, nap time and bed time. 

Today life is still crazy and busy. Trevor finally started his new job last week at the dam, I'm getting ready for school in September while juggling being a mom and a wife, and Bentleys enjoying being a toddler, running around and playing all day.

Even though I'm always on the go 24/7, and as much as I would love for life to slow down, so I can take a breather, but I decided that I'm going to enjoy this ride on the rollercoaster that I call life. Are you going to enjoy the ride with me?

Until next time,

XoXo
Emi

Why I Blog

Have you heard about the big, basically famous bloggers around the US? They earn money by collaborating and doing work with businesses all over the US, and they also work hard to run their blog. Well, I'm not one of them, even though I wish I was. I have some good friends who do that as their job and I'm proud of them, and love seeing them succeed. But for me, that's not why I started my blog or why I blog.

I started my blog back in 2013, after Trevor and I got married. I always wanted to have a blog, but before I got married I never really had a reason to have one.  I started my blog to keep my friends and family updated about my life and what's going on with me. Now that I have my own little family, and I've been keeping my blog updated, I have gained some new followers and readers and it's awesome! I love it, but I have noticed that some of my posts don't get much attention, which I know shouldn't bother me, but it does. Some posts are updates about my little family and I, what's going on in our life, exciting things that are happening for us, or just some thoughts about a certain topic, or whatever I want to talk about. I would love to be one of those bloggers who earns an income from doing it, and maybe one day I'll get there.

So my followers and readers, please tell me what you want to see on the blog! I would love some input. I'm not doing this blog just for myself, but for you guys as well!

Until next time,

Xoxo
Emi

HOME

What is home to you? Is it your family? Your actual house? Your parents house? The city you grew up in? The apartment you share with your roommates? What does home mean to you?

My brother Colton is in St. George, Utah visiting my mom and younger siblings. I FaceTimed with them this morning and it was so good to see them, even if it wasn't in person. My brother Savion, who is 18, and has autism, got on the phone with me and had the biggest smile on his face! He said, "Emi, when are you coming home?" He kept asking me that question and I told him, "Savion, I don't live there anymore. That's not my home. I will just have to come down and visit you, huh?" He said, "Yes, come home Emi." My heart sank and made me miss being at my moms house with her and my twenty younger siblings. 

After my brother asked me that question, it really got me thinking, what does home mean to me. The word home can mean so many different things to everyone. It could mean your actual house, or the people you want to be with, your parents house, even the city you grew up in.

Growing up, my family moved a couple of different times. We went from being in one city we were use to, and moved to a completely new city that we didn't even know existed. It was hard, especially leaving my friends behind and going to a brand new school where I knew no one. The last move we made was to a town called Bluffdale, Utah. Now, if you don't know where that is, it's at the point of the mountain, across the freeway from the city Draper. If that doesn't help, it's where the state prison is! Haha! Anyways, my family lived in Bluffdale for, I believe twelve years. I finished growing up in Bluffdale and miss it a lot, that was home to me. Not just the city, but my house, my friends, my family and all the memories I have from living there. It was always home to me and will always be a big part of my life. 

Now that I'm married and have a little family of my own, home is wherever my husband and son are. No matter where life takes us, I know I can always come home to them, no matter where home is. Even if home is at my mother in laws house, who has been such a trooper for letting us move in with her so many times over the past two and a half years. 

I miss my family, I miss them all the time. After I graduated high school and moved out the many different times that I did, I didn't realize how much I would miss being at home with them. I'm getting older and so are all of my siblings, but whenever we all get together, or when I go visit my mom and younger siblings, it's like I never even left in the first place.

So even though home means something different to me now, I know no matter where my life takes me, I will always have a place to go, with the people that I love most, and call home.

Until next time,

Xoxo

Emi

Nostalgia

Do you ever feel nostalgic? Lately I've become nostalgic, and it's because I've come across a ton of pictures that I thought I lost. 

I love having pictures to look at to remember all of the good memories I've experienced. I would love to go back and relive some of those experiences: like my senior year in high school, high school dances, dates, hanging it with my group of best friends, EFY, graduation, getting my first real job, meeting Trevor, getting engaged, getting married and having a baby! I would even go back and change some of the things that I've done.

These two pictures are from three years ago. These were the first two pictures we took together when we first started dating. Look how tan we were and I was skinny! Tomorrow, July 8th, will be three years since Trevor and I met. Three years doesn't seem like a long time, but it is! We've done so much together these past three years it's crazy. I'm so glad I swiped right on Tinder, because if I hadn't, we wouldn't be where we are today. 

It's also been almost 3 years since Trevor and I got engaged. Getting engaged to Trevor was one of the happiest days of my life. When I pulled into the 7-11 parking lot to meet him for the first time, I knew I was going to marry him. I had this strong, overwhelming feeling that the big man upstairs saved him just for me. I love going through our engagement pictures and seeing us so happy and in love! 

In September it'll be three years since we got married. We had two amazing receptions and looking back at our wedding pictures, makes me so happy to see all of the support we got from our families and friends.

Bentley will be two in October. Like really?! It's been almost two years since I've had him. My baby is a toddler and not a baby anymore. Good thing I take a lot of pictures of him and us as a family, so we can look back on them one day. 

My sister posted this picture the other day on Facebook. Holy cow, I look so much younger! This was back in June 2011, right after I graduated high school and my brother Colton was going to the MTC for his mission. I can't believe it's been five years.

Here's a lot of pictures for you to enjoy from my past:

This is why we have pictures and memories, so we can look at them and remember who we use to be and remember those good times and even the bad times. 

So as much as I would love to go back and relive some experiences and change some things, I know it won't compare to what's going to come for me in my future.

Until next time,

Xoxo

Emi