The Gibb Family

My Project 365

2010-06-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am sure that some of you have heard of Project 365.
You (attempt to) take one picture every day for a whole year.
I've decided to jump on board and give it a try.
I know that the year is already half over - but better now than never.
It's going to be a fun project! I think that it will help me
become a better photographer. And it will be a neat way for our family
to remember the year.

So....if you want to take a peek - click HERE.

Maybe you'll even decide to join in the fun!

Mr. Aiden

2010-05-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Oh Aiden.....you are such a funny kid!
You always have a way of putting a smile on my face
and you make me laugh a LOT!!
Love ya Buddy!!

2010-05-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

So, the big decision is final. We are moving to..........

MEDICINE HAT!!

I know that's probably not a huge surprise - but it's still very exciting! Matt has a really good job lined up and I get to live close to my family again. We are moving at the end of June - so pretty soon - and we definitely have LOTS to do!! Let the fun begin!!

And since no post is complete without a picture, here's a few of Dexter.
He's such a cute and sweet little boy!!

My Life Right Now

2010-04-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

For quite a while we thought that we were staying here in Airdrie. We were led to believe that was the case. So, we found a beautiful house here, fell in love with it and pretty much bought it. The next day we were told that Matt wouldn't be able to keep his job here. It was a pretty huge shock and we were very disappointed. We had finally reached a point in our life where we were settled. We had (or were going to have) our first home, Matt had a great job, we were starting to make good friends, etc. etc. etc. And now we were back to having our lives up in the air. So, we've spent the past few months looking for a new job. It's been stressful! But I think we've finally found something - at least I hope so. I'm excited about it. It will mean another big move, but I think it will be great for our family. We should know by next week what the deal is - then I'll let you know where we are headed.

This weekend my cousin got married and I got to be their photographer. It made me realize how much I've been missing taking pictures. I really do love it and I feel really happy when I'm doing it. I snapped this picture of the temple while I was there. I wanted one to hang in my home - and I just love the way it turned out. I'm excited to make it really big!! And the wedding pictures turned out great too - you can peek here if you want.
And if you know anyone that needs a photographer - feel free to send them my way. haha!

I've really been hating the way I look lately. I know that I just had a baby - but I'm sick of being squishy and mushy. I finally decided it was time to do something, so I got a gym membership. I LOVE it!! I've been going 5 days a week and doing lots of different classes (my favorite is ZUMBA - you have to try it). It's amazing how a good workout makes you feel so much better! I'm super out of shape - but I feel good knowing that I'm changing that. And it's nice to get out of the house too!

Aiden and Dexter are doing good. I'm still adjusting a little bit to having 2 kids - but it's fun. Aiden is at such a funny age right now - he always says the funniest things. And Dexter is getting so big and cute. He's just starting to smile, which I LOVE!!! I'll be sure to put up some new pictures of them soon!

And now, I'm off to bed. Better sleep while I can!

Boys Boys Boys

2010-04-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

When I found out that baby #2 was going to be a boy - I was pretty disappointed.
I really wanted a little girl - they are so much fun! But now that
Dexter is here, I couldn't imagine not having him.

It is so much fun having two little boys!!

I look forward to them growing up together. They will be best friends!
They will play cars together, catch bugs together, play on sports teams
together, all sorts of fun 'boy' things - at least that's what I see in my mind!
But my favorite thing about my boys is that little boys love their moms
And I definitely love them too!!

Look at them....how could you not?!?

My Boys

2010-03-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

When Aiden was a baby I took hundreds of pictures of him.
My favorite pictures of him are ones that I took when he was just 2 weeks old.
I love them so much that I had to take some similar ones with Dexter.
So, here are our boys at 2 weeks old - kindof funny!!

Dexter Riese Gibb

2010-03-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Our new little man is finally here!!
Dexter Riese Gibb
arrived on March 9 @3:21pm.
He weighed 7lbs 14oz - and he was 21 inches long.

We are so excited to have him as part of our family!

Update on Old Toby

2010-03-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor today for another visit and everything is still looking pretty good.
She did all of her checking and stuff and I learned that things haven't
really started moving along yet. So, she gave me two options:
1. Come back next week and check again, or
2. Schedule an induction
Of course I chose option 2 - seems much better to me! So the date is set. I am getting induced next Tuesday morning (and I mean morning - we have to be there at 6:15 - yikes!)
Anyways, I'm excited that the end is in sight, and the countdown will now be on. I'm also excited that this little guy is coming 2 weeks earlier than Aiden did - and I'm hoping that means he will be much smaller - at least a bit smaller.
I think that everything is ready. I have tons of freezer meals made, I've made quilts for Aiden and the new baby, the room is all set up, we have all of the supplies, the bags are mostly packed. All that's left is to figure out a name. We have a very short list, so I'm hoping that once we see his little face there will be a name that just seems right. That's how it was with Aiden, so we'll see I guess.

Anyways, 7 more days!! WooHoo!!

WHAT?!?!

2010-02-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

Look at these shoes! Can you imagine seeing someone walking down the street wearing them.........or sitting next to you in church?! Yikes!
I guess they would be really warm for winter - maybe it's time for me to invest!

The Trouble With Teeth!

2010-02-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Both times that I have been pregnant, I have definitely had my fair share of problems with my teeth. When I was pregnant with Aiden I got 9 - YES 9 - cavities! One of them was so bad it needed a root canal treatment too. So, that was fun. This time around I have managed to make it with only 4 cavities. At least only 4 that we need to fix, and 3 that we are just going to keep an eye on. Thank goodness I am married to a dentist - and a very excellent one at that!

And I think that I probably won't be having too many babies -
or I might end up looking like this!!
YIKES!!! How would you like kissing that mouth?!?

He's Coming!

2010-02-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

Baby Gibb #2 - more lovingly Old Toby - is coming soon! It's crazy to think that I'm only 5 weeks away from my due date. This pregnancy has been another pretty good one. It's mostly felt like it's gone by pretty fast and I've felt mostly good. My back and hips have been more sore this time around so I've been using the heating pad a lot. That seems to help quite a bit. I've also been sleeping pretty crappy for quite a long time. I wake up tons every night to go to the bathroom and to reposition myself. Luckily Aiden lets me sleep in most days.

Matt thinks I'm looking smaller this time than last time. Hopefully I am and hopefully that means I get to have a smaller baby. Aiden was 8'10" - plenty big.....I don't need any bigger. My doctor is still considering inducing me a week early and I really hope she sticks with that plan! Maybe I'll cry a lot and see what that does.
Anyways, as fun as being pregnant is, I'm getting real excited to meet my little guy! I can't wait to see how similar, but at the same time how different, he is from Aiden. His looks, his personality, everything. So hurry up Old Toby!! haha!!

Merry Christmas??

2010-01-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Life is slowly returning back to normal after the Christmas holidays. We had a very interesting holiday this year filled with all kinds of fun things:

-Trip to emergency with Aiden: ear infections in both ears and that horrible wheezing/not breathing good thing going on.

-Second trip to emergency with Aiden just 2 days later: fell on the hardwood floor and split his chin open. Aiden was not real happy to be back there, poor kid. Luckily he didn't need stitches. Unfortunately we had to wait there for about 3 hours to find that out.

-Got some lovely smelling lotion from bath and body works. I lathered it on thick everywhere since my skin is so dry lately - apparently I'm allergic to that kind and I ended up with a giant, red itchy rash everywhere.

-Matt's last day of work was supposed to be a super fun Christmas Extravaganza: he ends up having probably his worst day of work ever, and ends up with something to stress about for his holiday.

-Leave for Fernie: horrible driving conditions. Takes an hour and a half to get through Calgary alone! It was a very scary/stressful drive, but we finally make it. Unfortunately my brother goes into the ditch in his brand new car driving from Edmonton to our house.

-Sledding at Fernie: not a fantastic idea in the pitch black. Matt's sister crashed and bruised her hip really bad and broke 4 ribs. Not fun!

-Christmas Eve: My semi-bad cold got super bad. I slept for approximately 1 hour that night. Boy was I a joy to be around for the next few days! Sick, tired and pregnant do not mix well!

-Matt goes home to sort out some work stuff, on his way home he gets a giant speeding ticket.

-Matt attends a funeral for a long-time family friend. We also had one other to attend, but we weren't able to.

-My cousins were driving down to the MTC and crashed their car. Luckily they were both fine - the car was not so lucky.

-Finally come home to find that our car battery is toast, and the car is parked in the garage. So now we have to park outside. The router for our computer also decided it was time to break, so we need a new one of those as well.

-I've sliced my finger today and have I also have some wierd red rash thing going on under my eye. And that brings us up to date. haha!!

We are hoping that all of our bad luck ends soon! But even with it all, we did have a fantastic Christmas. And the bad things always make you extra grateful for the good things - which we have lots of!

...All I Want For Christmas....

2009-12-14T09:50:00.001-08:00

To Our Sunbeams Class:
"What is one thing you want Santa to bring you this year."
Responses:
"A reindeer that is big enough to ride around. Or a car big enough to ride in."
"Santa isn't real....He died a long time ago."
and my personal favorite
"A scarecrow that is Jesus. Standing with his feet together and his arms out."
(hmmmm...not sure a crucifix is the way to go....haha)
Kids are funny!

A Visit with Santa...

2009-12-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

Last year we took Aiden to see Santa. He was not overly impressed.
This is the picture we got.

This year we decided to try again. We've really been talking about Santa
and Aiden is always excited to see anything Santa. We got to the mall and
Aiden waved and waved to Santa - he was all smiles.
Then came time to sit on Santa's lap.
Here's what we got.
Sorry Santa!! I think next year our picture will be really
funny with 2 little boys doing this!

It's ready!

2009-11-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

Fantastic News!! My new website is finally up and running. Matt did such a good job on it - especially since he has never made a website before.
Thank you Matt, you are my hero!!
Anyways, please check it out and tell me what you think!

Kari Gibb Photography

Happy Birthday Aiden!!

2009-11-02T15:57:00.001-08:00

Yikes...It's Official! Aiden is 2!!

(as he is so wonderfully showing)

I can't believe that my little boy is two years old already. The time has just flown by! Wow!
Aiden has been such a blessing to have in our home. He is such a funny kid. I know that's what I always say about him, but it is true! He has such a big personality and he is always making everyone laugh. And he knows he's funny too - so he likes to ham it up as often as he can. I love that he has a fun personality and a sense of humor already!Aiden is a very strong-willed boy! He knows what he wants, and when he wants it. And he will definitely let you know! It's not great all of the time, but sometimes it's nice to know what he wants and how to make him happy.
Aiden is also a very smart kid. He talks a LOT! He loves to read books and sing songs - and he remembers things really well! He can count to 10 by himself (if someone helps him, he can't), and he can recognize what most numbers are. He knows all of his colors - the basics anyways. He knows what lots of different animals are - his favorites right now are monkeys, rhinos, and bison. He also knows all different kinds of vehicles - bus, plane, van, car, truck, tractor, train, etc. etc. etc. And he ALWAYS points them out to you. He loves learning new things and exploring new places - I love his zest for life!

Aiden is a very loving little boy! He loves me! :) We are best friends and he always wants to be where I am. Sometimes I get a bit annoyed - but I just have to remind myself how lucky I am to have someone love me and trust me so much. Aiden loves his dad. He loves playing games with him and tickling him and climbing all over him. They have so much fun together.
Aiden also loves his aunts and uncles and all of his cousins. He especially loves his "gamama" and "gapapa" (all of them). He gets so excited whenever we get to visit family!

Aiden is stinkin' cute!! It's true!! I don't know how we managed to come up with him (hopefully our next kid is just as lucky!!) I love his big hair, his giant cheeks, his funny teeth, and his gorgeous blue eyes (thank you for those Matt). I love his chubby tummy and his funny little bum, his little boy fingers and toes, everything! Even the funny scar right in the middle of his forehead! He is perfect!
There is so much more that I could say about Aiden, but I'll stop the essay!
I'm so grateful for my little boy - and I love him so much!
Happy Birthday Aiden - here's to another fun year!!

2009-11-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

Aiden is talking a LOT lately. He says some really funny things already.
One of his most common phrases is "Excuse Me - Sorry", which he pronounces as "Smooze me - sorry". He says it to everyone.....when we walk past someone in the store, when he's standing in the way, when he's not in the way, to other cars on the road while we are driving, he says it all the time.
Last night Matt was getting out of his chair and Aiden was by his feet - so Matt looked at him and said "Smooze me Aiden". Aiden's repsonse, "NO - SMOOKS ME." Guess he has decided to change how that word is said. It was super funny! Probably only to me and Matt, but we were laughing so hard!! What a funny Kid!

It's A.............

2009-10-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

OK.....So I think most of you saw this on facebook already, but I thought I'd put it here too.
I just had another ultrasound - and we found out that we are having..........

A BABY BOY!

I will admit that when the tech told me, I was a little bit sad. (I really want a little girl!) So, I left the ultrasound not feeling overly excited....happy that everything looked ok......but not jumping up and down excited. Later I was talking with my best friend Lianne - she was super excited for me and said "I can totally picture you with two little boys!" I don't know why something so simple made such a big difference - but it did. A soon as she said that I started thinking about how much fun it will be to have two little boys in our home. Aiden is so much fun, and I can only imagine what it will be like with two. So, I have warmed up to the idea! It's going to be great!

We went shopping last night to get a few things for Aiden. We talked ourselves into buying a few things that we normally wouldn't have, just because we now know that we can use them for two different boys. It will be nice that they can share clothes (because Aiden has TONS) and toys (which he also has TONS of). And hopefully the two of them will grow up being best buds!

Anyways, here is a picture of our little guy. There wasn't too many good shots from the ultrasound - but I really like how his little legs look. Very cute!

In other news, I have had quite the adventure with doctor stuff. Since I was 'fired' from my last office - I have been desperately trying to find a new doctor. I called every office in Airdrie - no one is taking patients. I went and got a list of doctors accepting new patients (it was the newest version - from August), called those numbers, they are all full now too. I finally called the maternity clinic at the Peter Lougheed - where you go if you can't find a doctor. They said I just needed a referral to go there. I went to my old doctor to see if they would give me one, they said not until I paid my fee. So I left there. Went to another place, but they couldn't give me one either. I started bawling and I felt really stupid, but they were super nice and gave me some numbers to call. Did that and still no one would see me.
Finally I phoned my mom! Mom's always have the answer! There is a doctor in her ward that agreed to send a referral for me, and she booked another ultrasound for me. So, I got in touch with the clinic at the Peter Lougheed - they are so busy that the earliest they could see me was in December sometime (I will be 26 weeks by the time it's December). I haven't had any check-ups, no one has listened to a heartbeat, nothing. Matt was pretty mad that I could be so far along in my pregnancy without really having any medical care at all. It does seem a bit crazy! But that was that.
Then today Matt's receptionist from work phoned. She is pregnant - having twins, very fun! And she heard from Matt about what's been going on. She was pretty upset about it and talked to her ob/gyn about me. And they agreed to take me!! So, I finally have a doctor again! I am so excited/relieved/happy/thankful/etc! This new doctor has already looked at my ultrasound stuff, she's very on the ball. She's sending me for one more ultrasound because they couldn't see the right ventricle - so I will go for that next week and make sure everything is ok. And then we will go from there I guess.

Now we just have to settle on a name.............hmmm............

Happy Halloween Everyone!! from Aiden

2009-10-20T10:16:00.001-07:00

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Kids Say the Darndest Things

2009-10-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

Me and Matt teach the Sunbeams class in our ward. It is a very interesting calling. We get to see some very funny things and hear a lot of interesting and funny things:
-We had a visitor in our class today - he told us that when he was a baby he fell out of the window of his new house. And when he was older he fell off of a tractor - that's why his head hurts sometimes.
-Today during our bathroom break I was informed by a girl in our class that she had very fancy panties - she got them at the store. She then proceeded to tell me all about them.
-at the same trip I was also told that if you want to wipe your bum, you need to fold your toilet paper. I guess it's a valid tip.
Kids are real funny!

Friends Off

2009-10-16T13:10:00.001-07:00

Dear Aiden,

We were going to have a fun day today. I took you to the library, we went to see dad at work, and then we went to the mall to find you a new backpack like your cousin Max has. At lunch time you started freaking out in the food court because I needed you back in the stroller. You are very hard to get in the stroller when you are flailing and screaming....but I was successful. You wouldn't stop screaming - everyone was staring at us - I decided to take you home. We went outside and you screamed even harder.....we got all kinds of good looks. You agreed to be good if we went inside again to get some food, and you were. Then we went to play with the trains. We played with them for a LONG time, and then it was time to go home. You did NOT want to do that!! You were freaking out so bad that I couldn't get you back in the stroller, so I had to carry you - and push the stroller - all the way through the mall and out to the car. You aren't a little boy anymore.....it wasn't that fun or easy. And you screamed and bawled the ENTIRE way. I wanted to scream and bawl back at you.....you are probably lucky that I didn't. (But I do wonder what our audience would have thought about that. hmmmmm)
Now you are in your bed screaming and bawling..........I'm going to leave you there for quite a bit longer. You need a nap and I need a break. Hopefully both of those things happen and then we can be friends again.

Love,
your mom

So Thankful!

2009-10-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful for.......

.......Matthew. A fantastic husband, a wonderful father and my best friend........
.......Aiden. A funny little boy who makes me happy every day...........
.......my family - life would be lonely without you........
.......my friends - you are all so much fun.......
........the gospel.........
.......having a hobby that keeps me busy and learning........
.......my things - I LOVE having a nice home, a nice car, clothes, all of the comforts.........
..............etc. etc. etc.............

I hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving!

Stupid Dr. Megaman!

2009-09-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've been in Medicine Hat for the past few days spending time with the family and with my pal Lianne. I was going to go home today since I had a doctors appointment to go to tomorrow. I phoned the office to verify what time my appointment was at - and they told me it was actually last Thursday. Then they proceeded to tell me that I have to pay them $75.oo for missing an appointment before they will see me again for anything. I mentioned that I must have been a bit confused about the dates, and that they hadn't called to confirm, and that I thought it would be a good idea if they just gave me a warning. They didn't think any of that mattered.
So.....guess I'm finding a new doctor!! haha! I don't really feel like paying a bunch of money to a place where I don't even like going. Plus I'm mad at them (even though it was my fault)
So wish me luck in the doctor hunt!!

2009-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

So - the big news in our family..................baby #2 is on it's way!
I went for an early ultrasound to verify my dates - and they moved me up 2 weeks!
So, I'm going to go by that. Which means that the little gibblet should
be here sometime around March 13.
It also means that I'm 17 weeks already - nearly half done! WooHoo!
I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl - it was still too early to tell
but I'm hoping that I can find out at my next ultrasound.
Here's some pics of the little bean!

Something New??

2009-09-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Gibb Family has been looking for a new vehicle.
The civic is still good....but we'd like something a bit bigger
and I think Aiden would appreciate not having his head bashed
every time he gets put in his car seat!
This is the car we've been looking at......Isn't it pretty?!?!
We'll see what happens I guess..........

Welcome Baby Beckett!

2009-08-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

This is my newest little nephew
William Beckett
isn't he so super cute!!
Congrats Hardings - he is a beautiful baby!

.

2009-08-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

I LOVE my little guy!!

The rest of the trip

2009-08-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

It has taken me FOREVER to get all of these pictures up. I have so many and I just haven't felt like doing it. But I am now. So here's the last ones of the trip.......at least we all hope so!

Central Park - very nice!

And of course you have to go jogging in central park like Phoebe from Friends!

A visit to the Met. For some reason I really wanted to go - but I always forget that I get bored of museums VERY fast! I can do the whole thing in about an hour - Matt, not so much.
We'll have to work that out sometime I guess.

The Plaza! We really wanted to go - and we really had to go to the bathroom. We figured the plaza would be the perfect place. We were wrong. Pretty sure they don't have public restrooms there............unless we weren't looking hard enough. Not sure.

The Lady Liberty - I quite liked her!

Checked out some sweet stuff at FAO Schwarz - that place is amazing!
I could have spent a lot of money on Aiden. I managed to spend nothing!

They had so many Ugly Dolls there - Aiden's favorite!
So this picture is for him!We drove by the temple really fast on a bus tour. It was very different than the ones here.
Neat to see!

The Top of The Rock Observation Tower. Very high up.........and amazing views!!

The Whole Gang - way up high!

Checking out the goods at the NBC store........

Why did I not buy this shirt?!?! I carried it around with me - and then changed
my mind at the last minute. Big mistake!

The man with the giant ball

This was a really neat, huge, old church that we went in. Everyone was looking around taking pictures. So I did too. Until this really old woman (who was praying) stopped and swore at me because I apparently flashed her in the eyes with my camera flash. Whoops!

New York was a fantastic place to go! And it's great that you can probably go a bunch of times and have a completely different vacation every time. Me and Matt have already decided that our next visit there will be way more shopping and shows - not so much touristy stuff.
We went to two shows when we were there. Avenue Q - very funny!!
and Wicked - which was AMAZING!!! If you can ever see it - DO!! You will LOVE it!!
Anyways, fun times!

some more New York

2009-07-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our second day of New York starting with a Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour. (For anyone going to New York for the first time - I highly recommend it!) It's a great way to see a lot of things in not a lot of time. These pictures are from the Downtown Tour. Mostly buildings. But the buildings there are really neat! I wish buildings here would look more like they do there! I don't know what most of my pictures are of - but thought I'd share some anyways.

This next picture was taken at Ground Zero. They are doing TONS of
construction there- and the whole site is surrounded by a fence a big tarps.
So you pretty much can't see anything. Darn! It is wierd though to
have so many buildings packed together - and then a big
empty space with nothing in it.There was a little spot where you could peek through the fence - this is what was inside.

We were in New York on July 4th - so me and Matt thought we would check out the fireworks. To get a really good view - you needed to go down by the river, and apparently you had to be there by 4 to get a seat - the fireworks didn't start until 9:30. We weren't that interested in doing that all day - so we just decided to walk as far as we could. It was crazy!! It was jam packed with people! I don't think I have ever been so crowded in my life! We only had our tiny camera with us, so the pictures are kinda bad - but you can kindof get the idea.

They launched the fireworks from the river. They had 6 barges that launched 6 identical fireworks shows. And apparently, the whole thing was about a mile long. I think it would have been spectacular - had we been down at the river. We weren't though. So we only got to see the fireworks that were launched from one and a half boats.

Anyways, it was interesting. Nothing too amazing though. If I were in New York again on July 4th - I would definitely pick going to a broadway show over watching the fireworks. But I guess it's fun to say you did it.

New York - Day One!

2009-07-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well - I have been doing pretty bad at this blogging thing lately. Oh well.
Anyways, Matt had a few weeks off of work, so we decided to go on a little trip to
NEW YORK CITY!!

My parents agreed to watch Aiden - so off we went for a much needed (or at least much wanted) vacation. We had never been away without Aiden before for more than a night or two. It was so awesome to be childless again for a few days! (even though we did miss Aiden a whole bunch)

Back to the trip. We went for 6 days, and Matt's parents and his younger sister came with us. We had such a fun time together - I LOVED pretty much everything.

This is what I looked like for most of the trip -which is why
I will probably be posting pics not all at once. I took so many pictures - crazy!

Day One - we arrived in New York in the early evening. So we had a few hours to walk around and see a few of the sights. Our hotel was just 2 blocks from Times Square - perfect location. Definitely not the Plaza - but it worked for what we needed.

So, here's Times Square. The pictures don't do it justice! This place is CRAZY busy!
So many people and taxis and billboards and so much NOISE!! Very Fun!

After walking around for a bit, we went for a delicious supper at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Yummy!

And then off to Matt's heaven - the M&M Factory! Look how happy he is!

So many M&M's. There were huge tubes like this all over the store -
with every kind of flavor imaginable.

Then we did a bit of shopping at the Hershey's store. We got these sweet Factory Worker hats.
We looked like nerds - Oh well!

And what better way to end your first night then to see the Naked Cowgirl!! Super SICKO!!
I would have preferred the Naked Cowboy I think.

Lots more to come - but not now. I'm too sleepy!

Happy Happy Birthday!

2009-06-28T19:46:00.001-07:00

Well, I am officially an old woman - eeeek!! This weekend I turned the big 2-5

and boy was it a birthday to remember!! Matt is AMAZING!

The celebrations started Friday night when my very best friend and her family arrived Friday night. Matt had secretly arranged for them to come and spend the weekend with us. I was SO happy to see them! Me and Lianne used to hang out almost every day when we still lived in Edmonton. It's been lonely here without her! She is fantastic!
(We look super sicko in this picture - but every time we are together we still take one like this - not sure why)

The little boys were also SUPER excited to see eachother! They were screaming -happily- and laughing and played great together all weekend. They would always sneak off together and we could always hear them laughing and laughing. Very cute!! I love them!

Anyways, back to the birthday celebrations! Saturday morning I woke up to a DELICIOUS breakfast that Matt made - waffles with whip cream, strawberries, blueberries, some other kind of berries, bacon, eggs, the whole works. Delicious! Then we decided to spend the day at Calaway Park. It had been a super long time since any of us had been there - and we thought the boys would really like it. So, off we went!

Matt and Aiden on the Dinosaur Egg ride - not Aiden's favorite.

Aiden and Cameron on the Tot Yachts - definately Aiden's favorite ride ever!
He could have stayed on it all day!

OK - I look like a giant nerd in this picture - but you had to see Aiden.
This is how he looked after getting off of the Tot-Yacht ride. And that look pretty much
stayed with him all day unless he was on it. awesome!

Aiden waiting in line for the ride. This was pretty much the only time he had to
wait in line where he wasn't screaming his head off.

Riding the horses. This used to be my favorite ride - Aiden, not so much.

Ben and Lianne

and Me and Matt - such a sweet romantic picture!

After Calaway Park we went home where Matt cooked up another
delicious meal. BBQ Steak, garlic shrimp, baked potatoes, salad - yummy!!
And then it was time for.........
The birthday cupcake!! SUPER YUMMY!
(Matt got them here - you should go there!)

I got spoiled me rotten this year with all of the presents.
Lianne and family got me this really sweet set of picture frames that you use to make a photo collage thing on your wall. I am so excited to set it all up - and I'll be sure to show you once I do!

Matt really outdid himself this year. He got me..............
this super girly movie

this remote for my camera.....this light for my camera....

and this brand new beautiful camera.......the Nikon D90!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!

Before my birthday, Matt asked me what my best birthday ever was. I have had some pretty sweet birthdays growing up - but I am pretty sure that this one wins the prize! Way to go Matt!! You are amazing! I LOVE YOU!!

A few more...

2009-06-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that Matt's years of school are over and done with.
It was a LONG 8 years! Lots of tough times, but I think more fun times!
It was a very happy and exciting day for everyone - but also a really sad day for Matt
and his classmates, or more appropriately - his friends.
They've all become so close - and it will be hard
for them to not see each other every day!
Hopefully there will be a few reunions for years to come!

Anyways, here's a few more pics from the Big Day!

the happy grad!

Me and Matt - I look super shrimpy!
But we did match really good!

Matt & his Parents
they raised such a good boy!The whole bunch!

Matt's class - a very sharp looking bunch!

Haha! I LOVE this picture of Matt! He looks so funny!

All Done!! Yippee!!

The guys in Matt's class - didn't get a picture of the girls.
After the ceremonies and picture taking - we had a really yummy luncheon,
and then a fantastic banquet that night. Matt had a brand new fancy
suit - he looked really good! And I had a brand new fancy dress - I
maybe looked good! haha!
And for some stupid reason - I didn't take a single picture.
Still smacking myself over that one. Oh well.
Maybe one will turn up sometime.

Hip Hip Hooray!

2009-06-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

It's official!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Matty.....or should I say.....................
DR. GIBB!!

Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo, You can go too too too!

2009-06-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the Calgary Zoo - and I LOVE that we live so close to it now! Matt has had the past few weeks off (he finished school, but can't legally work until June 8th) so we've been having some fun days together. It's been really nice! Anyways, we went to the Zoo a few days ago - bought some Zoo passes - very exciting! It will be fun for me and Aiden to go, and now if we only make it for an hour or two, we aren't wasting money! It's fun to go with Aiden now. He knows most of his animal sounds and he really likes to share them. It's funny!!
Here's a few pics from our time there!

The hippos! Thinking about getting out of the water..........

making a move...................

and finally out!
I have a TON more pictures of the hippo getting out of the water.
It took them FOREVER!! They are so slow - crazy!

Super cute giraffe!

This was Aiden's top pick of the day - a little monkey.
It was really cute and funny - and Aiden was laughing his head off!
And the people around us were really laughing at Aiden!

They have a Koala at the zoo for a few months. I used to be obsessed with koala's.
I think I wrote a report on them in school every single time that I got to choose
what my report was about. I'm a nerd!

I love how this gorilla posed for the camera!

I don't know what this is - but it's funny!
And it had an even funnier baby!

And finally the Tiger. Very nice.

If you are ever in town and want to join me and Aiden at the zoo - we have an annual guest pass.
So we can get anyone in for free - you just have to go with us! Might be fun though!! :)

Our Big Vacation

2009-06-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

Just before we moved, we decided to go on a little family vacation. It was a bit of a reward for Matt for finishing school - and we wanted to go somewhere fun with Aiden - since we hadn't really yet. We decided to go to Vancouver/Seattle - and crazy enough, our best friends, the McMullins were going there at the same time. FUN!! So we got to hang out a bunch!

One of our first stops was at the Vancouver Aquarium.
It was really nice - and the little boys really liked it!
They are at such a fun age (most of the time!)

After a day or two in Vancouver, we drove out to Seattle.
It was really fun there!
And Matt is now addicted - he only wants to go back! haha!
Anyways, it's a beautiful city!
We "RODE THE DUCK" in Seatlle!
A super fun tour to go on - I HIGHLY recommend it to
anyone going there! You will LOVE it!
This was our captain - Captain Chaos!After the duck tour - we went to Pike Place Market.
Fun and crazy!

And Aiden RODE THE PIG!! He's making his piggy face here.

We went and ate supper at a fantastic place on the pier -
really yummy and really pretty!!

And no trip is complete without seeing the space needle.
We didn't actually go up it - just looked up at it!

When we came home we spent a bit of time at Whiterock beach
our friend Ben is from there. It was the first time that Aiden has been
to a beach - he LOVED it! As long as he didn't have to touch the sand with
his hands. We'll see if more exposure to sand changes that!

Our little buddies - so cute!Cameron - what a funny kid!

This is perhaps my favorite picture from the trip
I love everything about it!

Aiden digging on the beach - he grabbed a shovel
and walked far away from everyone else so that he could dig in private.

On our last day we went to Stanley Park - really nice!
And I'm glad we brought the shark boots -
they got used a lot!

Anyways, a super fun trip! The only crappy part was right before we left (we were at Matt's parents place) our neighbor phoned to say our house had been robbed. They didn't take too much, and they didn't vandalise stuff real bad. But I mostly didn't like the fact that someone had been in my house and had snooped around in my things. That is the reason that our move to Airdrie happened VERY quickly! I just wanted to get out of there! And I'm so glad that we did!
I LOVE it here! Matt does too - and I think Aiden is happy too! More about that later I guess!

We Are Here!

2009-06-02T09:16:00.001-07:00

I have been really neglecting this blog lately - and I might neglect it for a few more days!
Just thought I'd let people know what's going on real quick. We have moved to Airdrie! The move went really good - we had lots of help on both ends - and I don't think anything got broken or wrecked! Our new place is AWESOME - and our new ward seems really good so far too!
Matt's grad ceremonies are this weekend - and then he starts his new job on Monday. Very exciting! Anyways, more details to come soon!! See ya

Congrats Kristy!!

2009-05-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Kristy's grad (Matt's 'little' sister)
I am so glad that we were able to make it down for the grad ceremonies.

She was the Valedictorian for her class and her speech was fantastic.

Kristy and her escort Ben - looks like they had fun together!

Kristy looking lovely in her dress!

I love this picture - so cute!!

Kristy and the parents - don't they look great!

Congratulations Kristy!
We are so proud of you and know that you will be
able to face whatever life throws at you!
We love you!!

I'm still alive!

2009-04-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
It has been a super long time since I did anything here - whoops! Thanks to those of you who signed up for my little treat thing. I haven't forgotten about you - but don't expect anything for the next little bit. Sorry!!

What's new here.......well, our biggest news is that Matt is done school!! Well almost - his last exam is tomorrow morning and then school is over - hopefully for forever! He heard back about his National Board Exam and he passed that. Now he just has to participate in his official grad ceremony and he will be a real dentist. I'm super proud of him - It's been a VERY long journey and he's done really well. Way to go Matty!

So, you might be asking yourselves where we are going now that school is done. The big answer.........who knows!!! haha! Yes, we still aren't certain about our future. Right now we are waiting to hear back about an office in Airdrie. If that doesn't work out, it's looking like we might end up in Brooks for a teeny while. (so, keep your fingers crossed for Airdrie I guess) Hopefully we know in the next few days - would be nice!

Other than that, not much is new. Aiden is almost 18 months old - crazy!! I LOVE this age. He is becoming more and more funny every day - and a bit more wierd too, but I kindof expected that. He's starting to talk more now - his newest words are water, please, cheese and truck. Kinda fun. He's also getting good at copying us - and he always copies the most random things. For example, he can turn on the tap in the tub now, so he always turns it on, sticks his hand in to test the water temperature, and then reaches behind him to dry his fingers off on the towel. haha! It's super funny to me. Anyways, he's a super fun, goofy kid. I love him!

I've been SUPER busy lately with my photography stuff. It's been really nice and I've been learning a lot in a very short period of time. I'm a bit sad that I'm just starting to build up my business, and now I'm going to move and lose it all. Oh well. That's life.

Anyways, no post is complete without a picture - here's my new favorite of Aiden. I LOVE it!

Pay It Forward.........With Treats

2009-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to do sign up for this on my friend Heidi's blog and I got a super cute little cookbook in the mail the other day from her. It's super fun! And it reminded me that I need to do my job.
SO
Pay It Forward …..Here’s how it works:
the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive,
at some point in the near future, a little treat from me.
What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!
The catch is that you must participate as well.
You could write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going
(or copy and paste like I did), or if you're not really a blogging person,
maybe just pass along the fun by giving a treat to a neighbor
or someone you think would enjoy a little lift.
Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! Have fun!
(now, I only need to think of something to give...hmmmm......)

Happy St. Patty's Day (a long time ago)

2009-03-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

OK - it's been a little while since I've put anything new up here.
So, here's some pics from our St. Patrick's Day supper.
Green waffles, with green whipcream and green scrambled eggs.
Couldn't figure out how to get green strawberries or sausages.
Maybe next year!

Darrin enjoying the food....I think. Nice expression bud!

Matt told me that this was by far the sickest meal I had ever made

And Aiden will eat pretty much anything - Yum!

Another Family Photo

2009-03-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

I saw a picture similar to this on another photographer's site.
I thought it was so funny and cute - I just had to try it!!
It didn't turn out as good as hers - but I still think it's pretty fun!

The Horses!

2009-03-16T12:41:00.001-07:00

We had a really fun weekend together this past weekend. Me and Matt met up at our friend's parents place down South. And the next day, we all went snowboarding for the day in Fernie. Aiden and Carter - our friends littly guy - stayed and played at the house.
We were so happy and grateful that someone was able and willing to watch Aiden for us so that we could go and have some fun together! It was a fantastic day!

The next day we spent a bit of time outside exploring and playing with the horses. I'm SOOO glad that it is warming up a bit so that we can go outside with Aiden. He LOVES it - mostly!

Here's some cute pics from the trip:

Dad & Aiden

Me & Aiden playing on the pond

Aiden - not too sure of the horses! That is not a smile on his face - he's bawling!

Aiden did get on the horse though......

.....but he wasn't too sure about it!

He did manage one teeny smile! haha!

These last pictures are of Carter with his Nana and Papa - super cute!
(Carter was a LOT braver with the horses!)

Tomorrow - Tomorrow - I Love Ya - Tomorrow!

2009-03-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

So, It has been a fairly uneventful week here - so I thought I'd share some
stuff that I am looking forward to!

- Matt finishing his test this weekend. He has been home quite a bit lately, but I hardly
ever see him. He's been studying really hard! It will be nice to have him back!
It will also be good for the test to be done with - one more step closer to the end!

-I am going home next week. My little brother is going on a 3 month exchange to Germany
and he leaves right away - so we are going to spend some time with him.
Should be a really great visit!

-After my week at home, I am meeting Matt in Calgary - and then we are going to
go snowboarding in Fernie with some friends of ours. I am super excited!
And even more excited that their parents are even willing to watch
Aiden for us so that we can go. So nice!!

-And finally, us and a few friends (hopefully) are going to go away somewhere
fun and hot at the beginning of May. Not 100% sure yet where we are going,
but I'm looking forward to it. It will be a way to celebrate a long time of school!

I think that's about it - or at least that's about all that I will bore you with for now.

Oh yeah,
A week or so ago I got to take pictures of this beautiful baby girl!
She is such a cutie! And she has a great set of cheeks on her!
I LOVE her pictures - just thought I'd share one here too.
(you can see more here if you want)

2009-02-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a fantastic week here - and I am sad that it's over. Matt had
this whole week off from school and it was so nice to have him home.
We got to spend a lot of time together as a family and we did a lot of fun stuff.
We went 'sledding' one day together on the big hill behind our house.
Aiden LOVES sledding. Well, we think he does. He doesn't really show any expression,
but he does get sad when he comes off the sled. Here's some pics of our little guy.

In other news, our future is still up in the air a little bit. We just heard back that our
dream job has been filled. So, we are left with our two, original choices. The not so
perfect job in the better place, or the perfect job in the not great place. I know where
I'm hoping we end up - but it's not just up to me. It will be really nice once we know.
I'm starting to get antsy here. I'm excited to find a house and move and have a change. Hopefully we figure out fairly soon.

Matt's schooling is still going well. He has his big National Board Exam on March 7 & 8.
Yes - two very long days of testing. Yikes! Matt has been doing some studying and
he says he's not nervous. Hopefully he doesn't have any reason to be. It will be nice
when that's over with. And then he only has about 8 weeks of school left. That seems crazy!!
I'm so excited for him to be done - no more school!! Plus we are going to go on a
trip to celebrate! I can't wait!!

Anyways, that's us right now. Not real exciting. But kindof. :)

Yummy Yummy!

2009-02-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

I made some delicious cupcakes for Valentines Day
Aiden only likes the icing - he just sucks it all off
and leaves the little cupcake alone.
I had to snap a few shots of him

25 Things

2009-01-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

My friend Heidi 'tagged' me to do this. So, since Aiden is having a really good nap,
I'm going to waste my free time doing this! Haha! So, here it is.

25 Things About Me

1. I am turning 25 this year - it makes me a bit nervous!

2. When I first met Matt, I thought he was pretty wierd and a bit creepy!
I still think that sometimes! :) But he is the love of my life!

3. It took me a few days to discover how much I loved Aiden.
I always wonder if it would have been different if he would have been a girl.
And I always wonder if this is bad of me to think?

4. Every night before I go to bed, I have to go into Aiden's room
at least 2 times and rub his hair. I'm not sure why - but I can't sleep good
unless I do it. It's just so soft and fluffy!

5. I like to sit and watch people. It's entertaining!

6. I am a picker! I always need to be picking something and keeping my fingers busy

7. One of my favorite shows is "What Not To Wear". I often pretend to be
Stacey London - and I find people who I would nominate for that show.
And I always want to be nominated - so fun!

8. Before I went to dental assisting school - I took two years of "Education".
I was going to be a grade 1 teacher - well, I wanted to be one anyways.

9. I am super anal about writing/printing. If I am writing on a piece of paper
and I make a mistake - I have to re-write the entire thing.

10. My favorite way to eat a piece of bread is to pull off the crusts
and then mash the rest of the bread into a teeny, hard ball.
That sounds sick - it's delicious though!

11. I am really shy sometimes - I think some people think I'm stand-off-ish instead.
Plus, I have a jerk face - my natural look is a mean one.

12. I LOVE taking pictures - I wish I had started sooner!

13. I played the flute in junior high/high school band. I always wanted to play
the trumpet instead. I tried it once - it made my lips feel wierd!

14. I sang in a choir from the age of 5 (I think) until I finished high school.
I really miss it!

15. In high school I played basketball and rugby. I was super good too! :)

16. I went on a two-month exchange to Japan when I was in grade 12. My exchange
partner never came back to my house - she was too afraid to fly after Sept.11

17. Aiden has an extra tooth - named Fang. I LOVE it! It suits him! (Sorry Matt!)

18. I would go on a tropical vacation any day! I LOVE them!

19. I love the smell of Aiden's hair when it's a bit dirty. Normally dirty hair smell is wierd
but I like it on Aiden.

20. I LOVE plain things. Vanilla milkshakes, plain rice, plain noodles, etc.
I always try to end off my meal with something plain.

21. I am too often a sayer - and not a doer

22. I think that I can smell 'COLD'. Matt think I'm wierd, but when he comes in
from the cold outdoors, he smells cold.

23. I am sometimes jealous of Matt going to school. But I am
extremely proud of him for what he has accomplished.

24. My neck is crazy. It gets all red and splotchy when I'm nervous.
Or if I touch it. I can write my name in it - it's wierd!

25. I LOVE watching Matt and Aiden play! I also LOVE it when Aiden makes Matt
laugh super hard! It always makes me smile!

Anyways, if you have made it this far - feel free to do it too!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

2009-01-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

So, as most of you know - Matt finishes school at the end of April.
That means that we get to leave Edmonton (yippee!!) and move to a new place.
The problem is choosing that place.
Right now Matt has two options:
One is in the city that we want to live in, but the job is just medium.
The other is a pretty much perfect job, but in a city that we don't really love.
So, what do you choose?!?!? Neither option is bad - but which is better?
It's been a bit stressful for us. It's a HUGE decision! And we want to make the right one.
HMMMMMM...................

The Big Cut!

2009-01-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

Aiden went for his first professional haircut the other day.
It was at a really fun kids salon, called Beaners.
He got to play in the ball pit for a little while before his cut
(he was not too happy about being pulled out of there)
and then he got to sit in a really fun race-car during his hair cut.
His hair was super long - it needed a cut pretty badly!
See for yourself!

He was pretty good for almost the whole thing
until they started with the buzzers.
That freaked him out a teeny bit - and
he was ready to be done!
As you can see below!! haha
You look cute bud!

2009-01-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

I am just realizing that I didn't write an official "Welcome 2009" post. So, here it is! Welcome 2009!! Last year was a really great year for us, and I hope that this year will be just as good, and maybe even a teeny bit better!

It's going to be a big year for our family. The biggest thing is that Matt finishes school at the end of April. Yippee!! I am so so so excited for him to be done. That means we get to leave Edmonton - which is a bit sad, but mostly not - and start a new phase of our lives. I can't wait! We still don't know where we are going to end up - but I'm pretty sure it will be somewhere in southern alberta. Right now it's looking like Medicine Hat or Brooks - but nothing is certain yet. Hopefully soon though. It will be a busy time in the next little while - finding a job, a place to live, moving, starting a job, all of that fun stuff. So, busy - but a good busy!!

Since it is a New Year - it is also time to make those fantastic New Year's Resolutions. Something I always make but never seem to get committed to. I've made a few for this year - and I hope that I can do a lot better at them!

1. get back into the habit of reading my scriptures. I've done pretty sucky lately!!

2. have Family Home Evening. This is something that Matt and I have never been good at. I'm not sure why, but we haven't. And it's something that we need to be good at - especially now that we have Aiden. He's at an age where he doesn't really sit still for any period of time - it will be fun and interesting!

3. do better at being a mother/homemaker. I really need to learn how to cook more. It's not that I don't know how - more that I don't really like to. But that shouldn't matter - I need to. Especially since I am the one at home all day. I also really need to make a way bigger effort on keeping my house clean. I always say to myself - once I have more room and my own house, I will keep it so clean. Why not start now though?! Seems a bit silly to me not to. I also need to do a better job of spending quality time with Aiden and teaching him more!

4. be more active. it's always so hard in the winter - but i need to find something to keep me moving. (maybe some zumba or turbo jam!!) I would really like to get into better shape so that I can feel better about myself. Since having Aiden - I've had a super negative attitude about the way I look and it affects a lot of aspects in my life. I need to get it figured out!

5. learn more about photography! It's such a fun hobby, but one that there is always something to learn. I don't want to just settle where I am - I want to keep improving. Hopefully I can!

Phew! That's about all of the resolutions I can handle for now. Anyways, now that I've shared them with you - please remind me about them! and make sure I am following through!

Happy New Year Everyone!

A Bunch of Stuff

2009-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

OK - So I have made the decision that my personal blog is being too overrun by my pictures. I have started another blog - until I can get an actual website - for my photography business. It's here if you ever want to have a peek (please do!!)

Now that that is done - I can get this place back to being about my own family again. Which is good - especially since it is the only form of a journal I've got going on right now.
So, brief family update. Nothing too interesting happened this past week. Matt had the entire week off of school. It's been so nice having him home! I hate that he has to go back to school tomorrow. It's going to be lonely here!

We have been trying to wean Aiden off of his bottle. It hasn't been real easy. He LOVES his bottle. I know it's bad - but he's always been put to bed with a bottle. So now, he relies on that. The past few nights we've had about 2 hours of screaming once he goes to bed - then I either rock him to sleep - which is bad, because that's teaching him to rely on something else - or we give him a bottle of water. Also bad, because it's still a bottle, but better since it's just water. I hope he figures it out soon - and if anyone has any tips, feel free to send them my way!!

Other than that, not much is new. I tired to take a few pictures of Aiden today in my favorite outfit of his. He wasn't being overly cooperative, but they still turned out pretty cute!

He would only sit still when we fed him jelly bellies
His lips look super funny!

My favorite Aiden smile! What a goof!

2009-01-02T19:13:00.001-08:00

I finally got my studio lights!! YIPPEE!! I am so so so excited!! I've been wanting to get them for so long and I finally did. Funny story (well, not super funny, more crazy) I was going to go and pick up my lights a few days before Christmas. There were a few things that wouldn't fit in my car, so I borrowed my friend Lianne's van - her week old, super nice van. To make a long story short, I slid on the ice and rear-ended someone. Lianne's van did not take the hit too well. It was so bad! (I bawled for a super long time - my eyelids were so swollen the next day - and my head hurt so bad from crying.) Luckily my brother Darrin was working close to where it happened and he was able to come and 'rescue' me. I am so grateful that he was able to come and help me out and make me feel a bit better. Needless to say, I did not get my lights that day. I didn't think I'd be able to get them - since I have to pay for a broken van. But after talking to Matt about it, we decided that me taking pictures for people would definitely help to pay for the damage. So, I got my stuff! And if anyone is looking to have pictures done........ :)
Anyways, I did a few practice shots on Matt and Aiden. I don't fully know what I'm doing - but it's been fun learning! Here's a few!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T19:37:00.001-08:00

Wow! We had a very busy, but a very fantastic Christmas!
We started off Christmas at our place with my family.
We had it a few days early, since my parents are going
on a hot holiday and it was the only time we could all get together.
It was great seeing everyone and spending time together!

Our Christmas Tree

Yes, Aiden is a teeny bit drooly lately!

Aiden got a new Pound Puppy (it's on the floor beside him)
He LOVES it!

After Christmas with my family, we headed out to the Big House
in Fernie for Christmas with Matt's family. His two sisters
and their families weren't there - and we missed having them around.
But I guess it did make for some extra room!

We were lucky enough to go snowboarding for one day - we wanted to go for more
but the snow wasn't that fantastic. Darn! It was still a lot of fun though!
And I am so grateful that people actually wanted to watch Aiden for a day! Thank you!

Me and Kristy (Matt's Sister)
Me and Matt didn't get any pictures together - the camera died :(

Christmas Eve was spent playing a few games
and doing the traditional Christmas Eve Stuff. Very nice!

And we had a bit of playing outside too! Aiden only wanted to be outside
He LOVED it!

And Christmas Morning!
Our Family - ignore the tired, sick looking us!

I also finally finished making stockings. They were super annoying to make
but I'm real happy with them! I think they look great!

Now Christmas is over, and we are just hanging out at home
until Matt goes back to school. It's kindof nice to just relax together!
Hope everyone else had a great holiday!

2008-12-25T21:35:00.000-08:00

The Cookie!

2008-12-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

The other day me and Aiden were at Safeway buying groceries. We got in line to pay and an older guy got in line behind us. Aiden stared at him for a really long time, it was funny! Aiden wouldn't smile, wave, move, nothing. Anyways, this guy was buying a big tub of cookies. He asked if Aiden could have one - and I said "Why Not". So, he gave Aiden this cookie. Aiden took it and held it and continued to stare at the guy. He wouldn't bite his cookie, wouldn't let me put it in his mouth and definitely wouldn't let me take itaway. It was really funny!

I let Aiden hold his cookie all the way home, and once we got home, he still wouldn't let me take it

away. I put him in his high-chair with his cookie
and he played with it for about half an hour.
And he only ever ate the teeniest tiniest
bite - What a nerd!!

And I know that picture of Aiden is not very flattering - but he wasn't into the camera that day!

2008-11-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy few weeks here for the past little while. Just a quick update for you. Matt was in McLennan for the past 2 weeks working at a clinic that the school has up there. It's really great because it gives the students a chance to do more 'real-life' dentistry. Matt really really liked it! He especially liked being able to make his own decisions about things and not having to wait for an instructor to check every single thing that he does. Not surprisingly, he is even more sick of school now! Oh well. Only 5 more months left. I'm really excited to be done with school and to be moving on to bigger and better things!

While Matt was gone me and Aiden were pretty busy. The first week I was doing a lot of running around trying to get everything ready for our Super Saturday. What a bunch of craziness!! Anyways, Super Saturday is over and done with and I couldn't be happier!! It's probably bad of me - but I am extremely happy that I will not be living here when the next one comes around!!

This last week me and Aiden went down to Medicine Hat for the week. It was a lot of fun to see my parents and Connor. Aiden really liked having people play with him - and I think my parents liked to play too! We took him to the YMCA one day - they set up mats, tunnels, balls, and have a giant bouncy house thing. Aiden really liked it I think. He also got to go swimming with Grandpa - which he LOVED!! I have never heard him laugh so hard in his life. It was so funny! On the way home we also had a real quick stop in Rosemary. It would have been nice to stay a bit longer - oh well.

Now we are all back at home - which is nice! I missed Matt a lot!! And I think he missed us too! The only other new thing is that Aiden has been walking a whole bunch lately - which has been fun. Every day he gets a little bit better! I'm looking forward to not having to carry him around as much - and to his pants not wearing out so quick! What a turkey!

Oh, it snowed quite a bit here a few weeks ago so I decided that we should probably build a snowman. I got Aiden all dressed up in his new snow-suit and took him outside. It lasted about 3 minutes - we were back in before Matt even made it outside. haha! Aiden still has a long way to go before he enjoys the snow!

2008-11-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were in Rosemary with Matt's family. His sister Kim and her family just moved to New Zealand - so we all wanted to see them one last time before they left. We had family pictures done at the old farm and they turned out great! (no, I didn't take them)

The Gibb Family

The Hill Family

The Nielson Family

The Poulin Family

The Harding Family

Our Family

Kristy

The Original Gibb Family

The Two that Started it All

One Last Shot

While we were out at the farm - I had to sneak in a few pics of my own.
It was such a beautiful day and the farm is such a great place for pictures!

Yummy Birthday Cake

2008-11-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

Aiden had a pirate ship cake for his birthday.
I don't have a picture of the cake (they all turned out a bit blurry - weird)
but it was only medium cute.
I am definitely not a pro-star cake decorator...
but I think Aiden still enjoyed his treat!

Aiden is One!!

2008-10-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Aiden is one already! This past year has just flown by!! Wow!!
I am so thankful to have Aiden here with us - he is such a blessing. We love him so much!!

I've been looking at all of our pictures of Aiden and it is amazing to see how much he has changed - and kindof sad to see how fast he is growing up! But I'm so happy that he is growing well. He is such a smart and funny kid! He has such a funny, and weird personality - I LOVE it! He makes me laugh so much every day!! Here are a few pictures of our little man!

Just a few days old - such a little guy!

1 month old
This picture is from his blessing day.
His hair used to be so dark!

2 months old
His hair has always stood straight up - I LOVE it!!

3 months old
Big eyes- Big Cheeks - Big Drool!!

4 months old
His first white shirt and tie! So cute!

5 months old
After Aiden discovered his feet, he had them in his
hands and mouth for about 2 months straight.
We used to go through at least 3 pairs
of socks every day!

6 months old
Aiden looking quite serious...
not a huge fan of the grass!

7 months old
This picture was taken on Father's Day - Aiden
is wearing his super studly blazer!
His hair looks so long and
wispy here! It's funny to me!

8 months old
Aiden LOVES the water!
He did a LOT of naked swimming this summer!

9 months old
I love this picture!

10 months old
Aiden is crazy!! He has the funniest hair and
the best teeth here! What a goof!

11 months old
Sitting in the leaves - he HATES touching them with his hands!

One Year Old!
Our Family
Aiden is doing one of his signature cheesy grins!

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

This Halloween is Aiden's first...and we celebrated by doing nothing!
Our ward had a party for the kids tonight , but it started right
when Aiden goes to bed - and based on his grumpiness,
the party would not have been a good idea.

Tomorrow night we are heading to Rosemary (Matt's sister and her
family are packing up and heading off to New Zealand for
at least 2 years - so we are going to have
one last hurrah before they leave).

That means no trick-or-treating for little Aiden. I am a bit
sad about it - i know it's silly - he's little, he can't walk, he can't eat candy...but it
still would be fun! Oh well. There is always
next year, and the year after, and the year after that...

Anyways, we did have a few chances to dress Aiden up in his costume.
I know I've put some pics up already, but might as well add a few more!
Happy Halloween Everyone!

Aiden&Me

Aiden & his best bud Cameron

Sneak Peek at Baby Tyrell!

2008-10-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to take these pictures

of my friend's baby - Tyrell.
He is only 4 days old.
It's crazy to see how small he is!
I have never taken pictures of
a teeny tiny baby before
but I think they turned out pretty good!
Here are some of my favorites
Congratulations John & Nikki!!

I also made up Tyrell's birth announcements.

Here's what they look like.

Halloween Costumes!

2008-10-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

This past week our mother's group
had a Halloween party.
All of the kids came dressed up in
their costumes
and I took pictures.
Here's a few of my faves!

And of course, my favorite scary skeleton.. Aiden!

Picture Tag

2008-10-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Janae did this on her blog, and she tagged me. I'm assuming that means I'm supposed to do it now. So I will.

You have to stop what you are doing and take the following pictures NOW. No excuses! If you don't have time to blog just take the pictures NOW and blog when you can!! No cleaning or re-arranging, just have fun taking the pictures!

1. Kitchen Sink
2. Favorite room
3. Fridge
4. Closet
5. Laundry room
6. Self Portrait
7. What you or your family are doing
8. Dream Vacation
9. Favorite Shoes
10. Bathroom

This is my Kitchen Sink
I just finished washing dishes

one of my least favorite jobs!!

My Favorite Room
Aiden's room
mostly because he is in it right now!!

My Fridge
it's pretty full
some things are yummy
others are likely very ready for the trash!!

My Closet
everything is kindof jammed in
I can't wait for a bigger one!
(the other side belongs to Matt)

The Laundry Room
it's in the creepy basement
with all of the spiders
I don't like it
but it gets the job done

Self Portrait
I have short arms
I couldn't get my whole face in
I finally gave up

What am I Doing?
Working on Super Saturday projects
Onesies with Ties
Super Cute!!

My Dream Vacation
Atlantis - in the Bahamas
It looks AMAZING!!
Maybe one day...

My Favorite Shoes
They are Pointy
They are Pink
They are Hot!! :P
(and surprisingly comfy)

My Guest Bathroom
it's tiny and little
everyone thinks it's a closet

Hope you enjoyed that! And since I got tagged to do this, I am going to tag some people - we'll see what happens! So "TAG" to Alana, Jodi, Vinnie and Heidi. Have Fun!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. We were able to go to Rosemary, where Matt's family lives. We had an amazing dinner on Sunday, and luckily my family was able to come to Rosemary for that. It was so great to see everyone and to have fun together! We got to see the brand new homes that Matt's two sisters just moved into - they are so beautiful and it was hard not to feel a teeny bit jealous! But I'm happy and excited for them! We also went out to the farm to take a few pictures of Max and Aiden in their costumes - they are both skunks and they look so cute!!

Since it is Thanksgiving, I have been thinking of a few things that I am thankful for:
-my little family!
I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband and such a fun little boy! I love them both so much! I am so happy that I get to stay home with Aiden every day, and that I have a husband who supports me as a mother.
-my big family!
We have such a big family and I LOVE it! It is awesome to have so many people who care about you and love you!
-Matt's eduction!
I am so excited for Matt to be done school (7 months left!!), but it has been such a wonderful thing for our family. All of these years of school have blessed Matt with amazing experiences and they have helped us to learn a thing or two!
-my religion!
It brings direction and purpose to my life - I would be lost without it!
-my little cozy home!
It's nothing fancy or grand, but it's still home - and we are so lucky to be here!
-the opportunity to learn new things!
I LOVE that I am learning more about photography! I LOVE doing it and it has gotten me out of a bit of a rut!

Anyways, the list could go on and on and on, but I'll stop there. Here's a few pics from this weekend!

The Kutanzi Family

2008-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

I took some family photos of our neighbors Jarrett, Alana and their little boy Landon. It was real fun trying to get Landon to look my way - he was definitely a lot more interested in the leaves than in me! Oh the joys of taking pictures of one and a half year olds! But I think our efforts paid off and we did manage to get a few good ones!

Falling in Love with Fall!

2008-10-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

I love fall! It is such a gorgeous time of year. And Edmonton is such a beautiful city in the fall. There are so many places here that are absolutely breathtaking! I love when all of the leaves are so colorful. I love walking through the leaves and hearing the sound that they make - and I LOVE the way that they smell. It always brings back so many great memories of going to the park with my family and jumping in gigantic piles of leaves!
The other thing I love about the leaves is how Aiden reacts to them. He is so funny! Normally, he is crawling all over the place and won't sit still. But put him down on some leaves and he is glued to the ground. He's not quite sure about them, but every once in a while he gets brave and grabs one or two. I love watching him hold them. He examines them so closely and is so delicate with them - another unusal thing.
The best thing about fall is that you can always take an amazing picture or two. Here's a few from one of our walks.

Better Luck Next Time!

2008-09-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Last week me and Lianne went out to take some cute pictures of the boys in their Halloween costumes. We found a great place, the weather was awesome, the costumes were adorable - everything was perfect! Except for the boys!! They were not as excited about picture taking as we were. I don't have a single picture of either boy smiling. But, I did manage to get this shot - which I think is SUPER funny!! And hopefully we'll have better luck next time.

Mr. Aiden

2008-09-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how big Aiden is getting! It is so fun to watch him
learn and grow everyday. I am so lucky to be able
to stay at home with him! He is getting to be such a fun little guy -
he has such a funny personality.
I love having him in our family!

Aleah

2008-09-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today I was babysitting for our neighbors Joel and Tristah.
Their little girl Aleah is so a cute and sweet!
I had to take a few pictures of her.
It was lots of fun - especially since I don't ever
get to take real girly pictures!!

The McMullin Family

2008-09-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Lianne has been wanting me to take family pictures for her for a while now.

I was really nervous about doing it - mainly because I didn't want them to turn out
really awful. But, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I didn't really know what I was
doing, but Ben, Lianne and even Cameron were all super helpful and cooperative
and patient with me! Thanks guys for putting up with my learning!!
Hopefully there's a few that you like!!

Calgary Zoo

2008-09-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went on a little overnight trip to Calgary. We spent the night in a super classy hotel (ha ha!) My brother Darrin saw a deal on the internet for Super 8. For a few days, at 8:00 they had 800 rooms available for $8.88/night. Not too shabby! We were lucky enough to get one at that rate for us and for my parents. So, it wasn't the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in - but you definately can't beat the price!

The next day we had a quick breakfast with my Grandma Pat and Uncle Jay. We haven't seen either of them for a super long time and it was really nice . Then all of the big boys went to the Labor Day Classic and the girls and the little boys spent the day at the Calgary Zoo. I LOVE the Calgary Zoo - it's soo nice! Everyone should go! It was a pretty chilly day - but still a lot of fun! We got to see a lot of really cute animals - including the new baby elephant, the baby gorilla, and the baby giraffe. Super cute!!

Mama and Baby Giraffe

Mama and Baby Gorilla

Baby Elephant - I LOVE her hair!

Me and Aiden

Grandma and Aiden

I LOVED watching Aiden's expressions while
he was watching the animals. So cute!!

Aiden all comfy and cozy in his stroller

They had this super cute little bench by the baby elephant!
I think it makes a sweet picure!

Anniversary Follow Up

2008-09-03T07:59:00.001-07:00

So we had a very fun and memorable anniversary. The day started off with Matt going for an hour long massage. He always has a really sore back and neck from school/work and I can never massage hard enough - it hurts my fingers too much! So I sent him to the pros. He LOVED it! The lady told him that he should find a massage therapist and get a massage twice a month because his back is all knotted and stuff. Would be nice for Matt, but bad for the wallet maybe. We'll see what happens I guess.

Matt came home with a huge bunch of beautiful roses from Costco. I LOVE Costco flowers. They are always so nice and they last a long time. Plus they are cheap too!

After that we hung out at home for while and played with Aiden. I had gotten tickets to the dinner theatre for 6:00 and Lianne was going to babysit for us. At 3:00 I noticed that Aiden had little red spots all over his back and tummy. Chicken Pox?? We took him to the medi-centre, but it was going to be at least a 2 hour wait, and we didn't really have time for that because we had to go on our date. So, bad irresponsible parents that we are, we left. We had to frantically find a new babysitter so that Aiden wouldn't share his spots with Cameron. Luckily our neighbours, Jarrett and Alana, were able to do it. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Anyways, we left Aiden and went out for a lovely evening. The dinner theatre was at the Mayfield - and the show was...

Before the show starts, there is a HUGE buffet. Breads, salads, veggies, sushi, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes (I know those are veggies, but it's a bit different) and every kind of meat. And then there are the desserts - yum. We loaded up our plates for during the show - a trick we learned from our last visit. We ate soo much food - it's a bit disgusting to think about. Oh well. The show was awesome! It was really funny and all of the actors/actresses were super. And there was even a dentist in it - perfect!

It was an awesome day! Oh, and we both got new watches - how fun! Mine is a Fossil watch. I always love Fossil watches. They are so nice and they come with that super cute box. I save every one - I'm not sure why, but I do. maybe one day they will come in handy. Anyways, here is my new watch. Super fancy!

And Matt's new watch is a Nixon. It's super nice! It's a bit classy, but still cool and fun. Just like him (awwwww)! It has a little diamond on the bottom, which at first Matt wasn't sure if he could pull off - but now he seems to really like it. Check it out...
We also got some cash dollars from my parents - which is AWESOME! And we also got a big, beautiful Kitchen Aid Mixer from Matt's parents. I LOVE it! It is so fast and easy and fun to mix things now. The only bad thing is that we only have about two feet of counter space in our home, and now with the mixer, we have maybe one. Matt said that we should not have the mixer on the counter because it takes up too much room. But if you have a big fancy mixer, you have to show it off a little. Right?! Anyways, it is super sweet!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-08-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

5 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

2 cities, 5 apartments
2 cars - 1 old, 1 new
5 years of School - and 1 more to go!
1 Trip to Disneyland
4 Tropical Vacations
4 Snowboarding Trips
1 Beautiful Baby Boy
Lots of laughing - A few tears
an "I LOVE YOU" every day
Lots of Hugs and Kisses
Millions of Memories
1 Truly Blessed Life Together

Happy Anniversary Matt!! I love you tons!!

Another Trip Down South

2008-08-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

This past week we were down south again. Matt went to an office in Brooks and one in Medicine Hat. Things went really well at both places and now we have a little bit to think about. Matt wants to go to a few more places and see a few more offices. We'll see what happens with that. It's crazy that we will have to be making such a HUGE decision so soon.
In other news, my younger brother Connor is participating in a German exchange. His partner came here this week. His name is Ubald - he's a real cute and fun kid. We had a lot of fun getting to know him.
On Saturday, my whole family, minus Darrin (we missed you Darno!) had a really fun day at Drumheller. We started off at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. It is an amazing museum - everyone should go there at least once.

Ubald and Connor

Matt is the Garden - he kindof blends in a little bit.

Stegasaurous

Triceratops - my favorite dinosaur!

A sabre-toothed tiger attacking a mammoth. Scary!

Yikes!! The dinosaurs were really scary!

Aiden enjoying the museum

Some other kind of dinosaur

The most scary dinosaur of all - T-REX!!

A wall of bubbles - Aiden thought it was super fun!

Me and Mom in the gift shop

Connor, Jason and Me on the suspension bridge. Scary!

Katey, Ben, Jason and Brigham - what a great looking bunch!

After the museum, we went to the splash park for a little while. Aiden took a while
to warm up to it - but he eventually had a good time.

Ben getting sprayed

Aiden doing some crawling

Aiden and Grandpa

Aiden looking extremely cute!

Playing in the fountains

The best picture we could get of our family. Thank you Matt.

Victoria

2008-08-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to Victoria with my mom and my little brother Connor. I was really excited about going - but a little bit nervous about it as well. Mostly because I decided to leave Aiden at home with Matt. It was the first time that I had left Aiden for more than a few hours - and the first time that Matt had watched him for more than a few hours. But, everything turned out great. Matt and Aiden had a lot of fun at home together and I don't think that either one missed me that much. And even though I missed both of them, I really enjoyed my time away! It was so nice to be able to sleep in a little bit and to be able to go wherever you want whenever you want, and to not have to worry about dragging a baby along!

The first day I was there, me and my mom went to Butchart Gardens. It is beautiful there! I can't believe how many different kinds of plants and flowers there are. It really made me wish that I could have a garden, but probably if I tried to grow anything, it would be dead within a week! haha! Anyways, here are a few pictures from the gardens.

The next day we went to the ocean for a little bit. It was really chilly and windy out - and we weren't too anxious to go - but I think it's a rule that you have to go to the ocean when you are so close to it. So, we did. Even though it was really cold out - it was still really pretty. But also SUPER smelly! And it's not really an inviting ocean, like in Hawaii or Mexico or someplace like that.

After our pit stop at the ocean - we went to the Parliament building. It is such a grand looking building. Really neat! We were going to go on a tour - but we ended up not having enough time. Oh well. Maybe it would have been boring anyways.

After the parliament adventure - we went and picked up my brother Connor and went for a delicious lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. We had real fish and chips and some delicious crab legs. Yummy! I look really creepy in this picture. I was trying to show off the crab claw - but I just look like a nerd. Oh well.

The main reason that we went to Victoria was because Connor was in a big week-long vocal camp "Viva Voice" or something like that. It was about 40 kids from Alberta and BC, aged 14-18. They were all hand-picked by the lady that ran the camp, so they were all INCREDIBLE singers! They put on a big concert on the last night of the camp - it went for like, 4 hours or something crazy like that. But it was super good. Everyone sang a solo, and they had a choir number, some creative dancing (super funny! Connor laughed during the entire thing. Needless to say, the instructor wasn't overly impressed) and then a big number at the end that was a bunch of songs from different musicals. That was my favorite part! I always want to be in something like that, with singing and dancing and a lot of people - it would be super fun! Anyways, Connor was really good. He is so talented - and I was really glad that I got to go and watch him! Here he is doing his solo!

We had one full day together when Connor's camp was finished. We had originally planned on going whale watching - but it was WAY to cold. So, we did some shopping and went to the museum.

Then we took a water taxi back to our hotel - which was right on the ocean. Super nice!

All in all - a really great trip! Thanks Mama!

More Stuff Down South

2008-07-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

After the big family reunion, we stayed down south for a few more days. Matt had decided to go and and meet with a dentist in Cardston and then one in Lethbridge - mostly to do some "networking" as he calls it. He had a really good time with the dentists and I think he is starting to get a better idea about the kind of office he would like to work in. He's going to go to a few more this summer and we'll see if that leads to anything.

Since we were so close, we decided to go to Waterton for the day. It is so pretty there - but also SUPER windy! It was like a hurricane! It would have been nice to escape indoors, but there are only about 10 stores and probably half of them don't allow strollers inside. Kindof retarded. But it was still a really great family day!

Matt and Aiden ready to roll!

A mountain - I don't know which one

Here is the really nice and old hotel on the hill. I think it would be fun
to stay there -but really creepy too!

We saw soo many deer - and they are so used to people that they are NOT
afraid of them. It was crazy how close you could get to them.

Aiden enjoying the freezing cold water and the yummy rocks

Me and Aiden - notice the sweet hair! It's not quite that sexy wind-blown look that I was going for. Plus I feel bad that I have a sweater on and he's in a little t-shirt. Whoops!

Cameron Falls - super pretty!

Matt and Aiden at the waterfall

The Gibb Family - so cute!

Me again

Aiden trying his first ice cream cone

He really liked it - but I don't think Matt liked having to share.

After spending our time in Cardston, we went down to Lethbridge. We didn't have a hotel reservation, so we just stopped at the Ramada. They only had a jacuzzi suite left and Matt decided to splurge and get it. It was super nice! It had a seperate living room and bedroom, so Aiden had his own room to sleep in. It was so nice to watch TV at a normal volume!
The hotel also had an awesome pool. There were 2 waterslides, a wave pool, a hot tub and a kids play pool. Aiden LOVED it! He just wasn't too sure of this guy!

We went and drove around in a new area in Lethbride. The houses were all so big and grand and beautiful! This one was my favorite. I'm sure our first house will look pretty similar! haha!

Gibb Family Reunion

2008-07-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

We had a big Gibb Family Reunion just outside of Cardston where Matt's aunt and uncle live. It was a lot of fun - and it was great meeting some of Matt's relatives. The Gibb Reunion is going to be a yearly event. Next year it's going to be in Rosemary. Hopefully we can come up with some fun stuff to do.

Playing on the tire swing. I really wanted to sit in it - unfortunately I'm a bit too largeish.

Learning the art of roping! I never quite got it, but I came really close.
And I got some good cowgirl blisters on my hands.

Playing a super funny game. You had to tie a nylon with a ball inside it around your waist - and then swing it to roll a ball along the ground. Super funny! We named it 'Nylon Schlong'.

Aiden waking up from a teeny tiny nap.

Aiden and Max riding a horse. Aiden was NOT a fan at all. Oh well. We tried.

He did like to pet it a bit - but only with the help of Dad.

Going for a carriage ride.

The view at the end of the ride. Chief Mountain - so beautiful!

Aiden loves to play with people's lips. It is mostly fun - unless his
nails are a bit sharp. Then it's real hurty!

Anyways, a super fun reunion! Way to go Gibbs!

Rosemary and The Hat

2008-07-13T20:13:00.001-07:00

Matt had to go home on Canada Day and finish up another week and a half of school. I made a last minute decision to stay down south for another week and a half. I spent some time in Rosemary with Matt's family first. It was so great! I love going there. It is so relaxing and calm and quiet. And Matt's family is awesome! They are so much fun and I am so lucky that I get to be a part of it.

Aiden did a lot of playing with his cousins and Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents. He had a lot of fun and it was nice to have so many helping hands and so many people to keep him entertained! We had beautiful weather when we were there, so we did some good tanning (Matt's family) and burning (me) and some real good swimming. Aiden LOVES the pool! So do I. It keeps him really happy and really tires him out!

After we went to Rosemary, me and Aiden went to Medicine Hat for a few days to see my family. It was really great to be there too - it's always lots of fun to see my parents and my little brother Connor! We had a lot of fun, and Aiden managed to get some more swimming done!

He even got to go skinny dipping a few times!

Happy Canada Day!

2008-07-13T19:48:00.001-07:00

We spent Canada Day in Rosemary as well. Rosemary is a tiny little village of about 300 people, but they always have a HUGE Canada Day celebration. Lots of food, a parade, food, games for kids, cotton candy, food, fireworks, and the most red-neck event ever - the mud bog.
I managed to spend a little too much time in the sun and I'm pretty sure that I got a bit of heat stroke. I had a giant headache and I felt super nauseous. Finally I managed to puke up a whole thing of Mr. Noodles in the bathroom sink - sorry! But I felt a billion times better after that. And I missed the fireworks because I went to bed instead. Oh well, it was still a fun day.

Here's some pictures - I bet you wish you were there!

Me and Matt's sister Jaime got our little boys some sweet cowboy boots
from Lammle's. I love them - they are super cute and funny!

This is Aiden and his cousin Max (Max is almost 6 months older than Aiden).
We wanted to get a good picture of them in their boots - this is the best we could come up with.

Max being done with pictures - and Aiden begging him not to leave!

Aiden having his best Canada Day Spirit!
Happy Canada Day!

The last bit of June!

2008-07-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

WOW - it's been a little while, woops. So, let's catch you all up on what's been going on.

June 27 was my birthday - I turned 24. Yikes! I was so sure that I was turning 23, so to find out I was actually 24 was a bit of a shocker! Anyways, I'm getting up there in age I guess. The day before my birthday, a few of us went out for supper at our favorite dicey restaurant, the Golden Bird. I LOVE it there. It's so yummy and scary and funny. I highly recommend it.
Matt is also super good at spoiling me on my birthday, and he always seems to know just what I want - even if I don't. I LOVE it!! This year he got me a super fancy tripod and a new light for my camera. I'm excited to learn how to use everything.

That Friday we also left for Rosemary for the weekend. It was a big 50th anniversary of the chapel being built in Rosemary, so there was a big celebration going on. I didn't get to go to much - thank you Aiden. But it sounded like it was a funnish time.

The Life of Aiden

2008-06-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Aiden is 7 and 1/2 months old. Time is flying by. He is changing so much every day. I thought I would let you know what he is up to lately.

-Aiden has 3 tall teeth - all on the bottom. They look really funny, but they suit him. You don't get to see them a lot because he seems to enjoy making a straight smile lately.
-He had the funniest sticking up hair - we cut it today. I'm a bit sad about that, but he looks pretty cute.
- He has the biggest, chubbiest most kissable cheeks!
-He is still working on the crawling. Before, he would use only legs and go forwards, then he used only arms and went backwards. Now he is going forward again, but still with his arms only. Someday he will figure it out.
-He can go from lying down to sitting up all by himself.
-He has learned to shake his head NO - and he thinks it's super funny!
-He really likes to growl when he gets excited.
-He is super ticklish and has the funniest laugh.
Anyways, I could go on and on - but here are some pictures - enjoy!

Aiden's New Hair! It made him bawl a LOT!!

Having fun in the tub - with his funny pokey hair!

Enjoying his cookie - and showing his straight smile!

In his new church outfit - so cute!!

Looking out the window - a favorite activity!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Father's Day. I am grateful that we have a special day set aside to thank the father's that we have in our lives. I am so grateful for my own dad. I am the only girl in my family and because of this, me and my dad have always had a special relationship. I have so many awesome memories of fun times that we have had together.

Now that Matt is a father, yesterday was also the first Father's Day that we have really celebrated in our home. Matt is such a great dad. He is always so willing to help out with everything - and he is good at it all too! I love watching Matt with Aiden. I love how he can always make Aiden laugh and smile. I love watching them sing songs and read books together. I love the little games that only Matt can play with Aiden . I also love how happy Aiden makes Matt - there isn't a day that goes by where Matt doesn't say to me - "Wanna know who I love? Aiden!" I love how they already have such a special bond with each other and I know that they will always have that. Aiden is such a lucky boy to have such an incredible man for his father.

Matt and Aiden's first picture together! What a goof-ball!

Happy Birthday Matty!

2008-06-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

On June 1, Matt celebrated his 27th Birthday. He calls it his early late 20's - and he is feeling a little bit old now. I can't really argue with him, he kindof is! We had a bit of a birthday celebration for Matt. A bunch of our friends came over for a BBQ, some cake and some RockBand. It was a lot of fun! Matt got a little bit spoiled as well. I got some new shorts, a new belt and some fancy new sunglasses. He got some lovely plants and lots of treats from his family, and Dan and Shalene provided movie passes and more treats! Aiden also got him some pretty nice gifts. He got some icecube trays that are shaped like dentures, some bacon mints (super sick) and this banana guard - which is super funny looking! Thank you everyone for making Matt's Birthday such a fun time! Happy Birthday Matt - we love you!

2008-05-24T14:42:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures that I took of Aiden.
He is turning out to be quite the little model!

Another Week Has Come and Gone

2008-05-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

I guess it's time for my weekly update. This weekend my mom and my brother Connor came up to visit. We didn't do anything really exciting - we spent a few hours at West Edmonton Mall and then just hung out. My other brothers, Darrin and Jason, my sister-in-law Katey, and my two nephews, Ben and Brigham, came over one night for a family dinner. Luckily it was really nice outside because our home isn't that big. Plus it was great to let the kids play outside and tire themselves out! I love that we get to see our family so often. We have a lot of fun with them and I am so excited for when we live a little bit closer!
Matt is back at school working hard. I was lucky enough to go and pay him a visit the other day. He did two fillings for me. It was really fun for me to see him working. He has such a fun personality and is so good with both his patients and the people that he works with. Plus he did great work - it was the most gentle experience I have ever had at the dentist. I am so proud of him! Matt is also starting to feel really confident about what he is doing and he is excited to get this school stuff over and done with. This summer he is planning to visit a few offices in southern Alberta. We'll see if that helps us figure out any better where we are going to end up.
Aiden is starting to get quite mobile. Every day he is up on his hands and knees more than the day before. He will stay up for quite a while now and just rock back and forth. I have started moving stuff off of the bottom shelves but there is still a lot that needs to be done in probably not a long time. He's also tossing and turning so much in his bed. He is in a different place each morning - sideways, on his tummy, head jammed in the corner. He also sleeps with a stuffed pig that he keeps mashed into his face. What a funny kid!