I love to see the temple...

On Sunday night we went to the Salt Lake temple to look at the lights. Our friends Jessica and Derrick joined us. We celebrated Jessica's birthday a little early while we were all together too.

The temple was beautiful. We got some good pictures and walked the grounds for a while. Then we headed to Murray to see Christmas Utah (featured on the travel channel!). On our way home we drove around a bit and caught some more totally decorated houses. All of the Christmas lights really brought me into the Christmas Spirit.

Momma and Jax:

Scotty and Derrick:

Jessica & I:

(Headband and Scarf from Patina)

Jessica and Derrick:

Scotty, Jax and I:

Daddy and Jax:

Christmas Utah:

A little of this, and a little of that...

As I said in my last post, my days have seemed to all run together. We have had many visitors over to the house, and we've been out running errands and such, but this last week I was able to venture out a bit more. Oh Wednesday Jaxon and I spent the day with Nicole. We went to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox. And yes Jaxon went to his first movie. We went to the matinee showing and we were the only ones in the theater. Jaxon was so good and slept through the entire thing. And I loved the movie. It was very cute!

After the movie we went to Ahh Sushi for lunch. It was delicious, especially since I haven't had sushi in months! It was wonderful to get out of the house, and not just to run to the store or to the doctors, but to just enjoy myself.

On Friday, Jaxon and I spent the day with Cheryl. We decided to do a matinee again as Jaxon did so well the first time. We went and saw Blind Side and I absolutely loved it! It, by far is one of my favorite movies. I liked it so much that Friday night when Scotty got off work, I took him to see it. So our little Jaxon is 3 movies down already. And matinee's are the best. There's no one there. Which is great because I don't want Jaxon around a bunch of people yet, and if he does ever get fussy it won't really matter if it's just us there. Plus the price is much better than an evening showing!
My days at home really consist of taking care of Jaxon and trying to sleep when he sleeps, but this last week I started to work from home. It's only a few hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I can do the work anytime during the day. It has gone well so far and I am so fortunate that my job has allowed me to do this. By putting in the few hours a week while on maternity leave I am able to keep all my insurance benefits at no cost to me. Plus the extra money is great, especially since I get nothing the entire time I'm on maternity leave. So we can use what we can get.

This last week I've also started cooking a bit more. I haven't really been in the cooking mode since I got home from the hospital and contantly holding Jax makes it hard to get anything around the house done. But Christmas time always gets me in the mood for baking. Scotty has a total sweet tooth, so he loves when I bake. I've made my signature 'Death by Sugar' twice now and I tried out a new recipe for some delicious brownies as well. Here's a couple pics of the process.

About to pop it in the oven:

And the final project: Complete with Mint M&M's. And they are delicious. It will be a recipe that gets repeated in this house!
This week I was also finally able to finish my book for Book Club, The Luxe by Anna Godberson. As a girl who loves any book/movie/tv show with tons of drama and scandal, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already started the second book in the series: Rumors. Our next book club meeting is January 11th at my place and I am getting excited to see what all the ladies thought about this book. I'm hoping to get Rumors done before then, but with Christmas, New Years, family coming to visit and Jaxon...I can't make any promises. Oh and I have to pick the book out for next month and I am stumped. Any ideas?

Saturday was a busy day of errands and driving. Jaxon and I drove down to Provo to spend the day. I needed to go to my bank (yes they are all in Utah County!) and I needed to go to BYU so we made a day out of it. Jaxon was able to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa VanDeWater which is always a good time. We also visited Jessica while she was at work at Nordstrom. I was going to do a little shopping but with the crowd just chatted with Jess and headed out. On the way home we stopped in Pleasant Grove to see our dear friends Justin and Nichole. They just opened an awesome craft market: Patina and so I was excited to check it out, and I am in love. It is the cutest thing. Nichole is by far one of the craftiest people around and always amazes me. Patina is a handmade market full of treasures from local artists. The artists and the merch change every two weeks, so there is always new stuff. Nichole and Justin have done such a good job on the place and I know that they will do great. I am a big believer in supporting local artists so please check them out. You won't be disappointed. I myself found way more than I could afford. I am already dying to go back, but know that I need to wait until after the holidays and maybe then I can afford to buy myself more presents :) Also, if you are here in Utah and are craftier than I submit your stuff to Nichole and get a spot in Patina. Its a great way to get some additional business. www.PatinaMarket.com

So all in all this last week has been a busy one. And with Christmas just a couple days away I don't see this week being any less busy. Till next time....

XO

Seriously? It's already been a month?!?!

I can't believe that little Jaxon is already a month old! It's still crazy to me that I am not pregnant anymore and he is actually here. Man I love that little guy.

Lately it seems like my days are ending before I even realize that they have begun. Jaxon is doing great and still is hardly ever fussy, but the waking to feed every 2 hours really seems to make the days go by fast. This last month has seemed like one long day rather than 30 days. I think it's in part to the fact that I haven't had a full nights sleep in over a month. It has been an adjustment for sure. But its actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I am loving being a mom. Jaxon is my little buddy and I love hanging out with him all day (and all night!) I hear horror stories of ladies that hate motherhood for the first few months and I am soooo grateful that I feel the complete opposite. I have always wanted to be a mother and already my life is so different. It's amazing how much love I have for Jaxon. It's true what they say, you never will understand the love your mother has for you until you have a child of your own. I was talking to my Grandma Roundy a couple days ago and she brought up that point. She said "Can you believe how much your mother loves you?" I got all emotional instantly as I thought about that. And man how I love my husband. In August I was at my step-sisters bridal shower and one of her cousins was chatting me up about being pregnant and having babies and whatnot. She went on to say "If you think that you love your husband now, just wait until you have your baby." At the time I remember thinking that I couldn't love Scotty any more than I already did. But I was wrong. Since Jaxon has joined our little family our relationship has grown and he is such an amazing father and husband. I truly am so grateful for my family. I am so blessed and I've never been happier.
Here are a couple pictures that our friend Brandon (check out his work at: http://www.brandonvincentphoto.com ) took when Jaxon was only 5 days old. He already seems so much bigger to me. And I will take some recent pics and post them soon.

Introducing Jaxon Danger Vandewater

Most of you that read this blog (if not all) have already heard but I need to make it official to the blogging community as well.

Scotty and I have never been so happy. On November 19, 2009 we welcomed

Jaxon Danger Vandewater

into our family. He was born at 3:41am and was 7lbs 5oz and 19.5 inches long. It was the absolute happiest moment of my life. Scotty turned the big 3-0 the same day and this was the best birthday present ever!

It's amazing how your entire life can change in a split second. All of your priorities, routine, habits and so many other things go out the window as you focus everything on this new little bundle of joy. I am loving my new 'job' as a mother and Jaxon has brought so much happiness to our home. He has been such a good baby so far. He's hardly ever fussy and if he is it's just because he is hungry or needs his diaper changed. All in all he is happy and alert and already suprising us. He is very healthy and growing everyday. He looks just like his Daddy and has a full head of blonde hair (which I am LOVING!)

I was induced on November 18th and was in labor for 14 hours. It still seems unreal to me all that happened. As soon as Jaxon was born I was overwhelmed with emotion. I couldn't stop crying. I was so happy and so filled with love.

My wonderful mother got into Utah on the 17th and was here for all the fun. I was so happy that I was getting induced, mainly so that my mommy could be here for everything.

We came home on the 20th and my mom stayed for another week. It was so helpful having her here. She did more for me than I can thank her for. She was constantly cleaning, doing laundry, grocery shopping and cooking. She even decorated our Christmas tree and got all our Christmas decorations up in the house. And that is all in addition to helping me with Jaxon. Jaxon loves his Grandma and was so happy to be held non stop. I was so sad to see her go. Thank you mom. Scotty, Jaxon and I love you and appreciate everything you did and continue to do for us. We can't wait for you and Barry to come back out at the end of this month!

The morning my mom left my brother Cameron flew out here. It was great having him here as well. I loved the company and the help with Jaxon. And he sure does love his Uncle Cammy.

Scotty has been home with me and Jax this week and it's been great. I wish he could stay home with us everyday. If only....

Jaxon has had many visitors. From Grandparents, to Aunts and Uncles, to cousins and to friends, he has been very loved. Thank you to those that have visited. And please keep coming. I can use all the company I can get especially once Scotty returns to work.

My Dad and Stacy are coming out with Maddie and Jayce at the end of the month for Jaxon's blessing. Cameron and Carson will be out as well along with my Mom and Barry. I am so excited for everyone to come out! I really miss my family, especially this time of year.

Jaxon with his Grandma Vandewater:

Jaxon and Grandpa Vandewater:

After his first bath at home:

He looks so little in his carseat:

Scotty and I are so happy. We love you Jax!

Another month goes by...

Alright...so I am horrible at posting. But whatever. We have been super busy this last month. With trying to get everything ready for Jaxon, work, having family time and having a social life, the blog seems to get put off alot. But here's a little update on the happenings with the VanDeWater fam...

We always love going to movies but over the past couple weeks we've been to a number of movie screenings. Best part is they are always free. You really can't beat a free movie, especially when they come with extra tickets for friends!

First we went and saw Zombieland. Chris and Dari came down and we made a double date out of it with dinner at the Counter. The movie was fantastic! Seriously. I laughed and laughed and will be buying it for sure. I also got tickets to The September Issue. This however Scott decided to skip (he would have hated it) but Nicole was my date and we had a grand ol time. (of course)

Last but not least we went to Couples Retreat with Brian and Jenny. Again, a pretty funny movie.

This past Saturday was Sheena & Cody's wedding. We had a great time and the place was beautiful! Congrats guys!

Alissa and I at the wedding

My Scotty and I

Blake and Scotty. All dolled up.

The VanDeWaters

Scotty in love with all the fish

I am totally loving this time of year. The weather is great. I have been so stinkin hot with this heater of a baby I carry around 24 hours a day, so I couldn't be happier that fall has arrived. I have always been a fan of jacket weather and I love being able to break out all my hoddies, jackets, boots, gloves and scarves! I love love love the rain and having Seattle weather in SLC. It can stay this way. I'm in no hurry for the rain to turn into snow!

And one of the best things about this time of year is Oktoberfest! We made our yearly trek to Snowbird for the festivities. While we were there, the snow began to fall in the canyon and by the time we left the roads were horrible. I was very glad to be in the Audi, and I must say that Pearl handled her first snow very well. I felt very safe :) (yay for new cars)

My sister Nicole and I

Oh...I love umbrellas!

Lovers.

Always being silly...

Let it snow...let it snow...okay now stop! I'm cold!

Inside the tent for all the festivities

I didn't get the memo to pull a mean face I guess...

Something else that is great about October...(well this year at least)...it means that it's just one month until Jaxon is here! I can't wait. It's crazy to think that so soon I will be a mother and will have him in my arms. We have been working on his room and I will post pictures soon (hopefully). I'm getting very very anxious for the little guy to arrive. This Saturday is my baby shower and I'll be honest...I'm stoked. And on the 20th the lovely ladies from work are throwing me one too. I feel like it's about time to celebrate Jaxon. I can't wait for the parties and being able to spend time with family and friends.

Till next time...

XO

Out on the Town...

Saturday night we all went out (minus Cammy who was pretty dang sick). We first went to Club Edge and then we went over to Lumpy's. The place was packed. It was a great time. I however didn't get my grove on. Being 7 months pregnant puts a hault to the dancing. But it was still a good time none the less.

Whitney, Carson, Jaimal and Goose: Goose, giving Jaxon a lil love:

Dallin...dancin on the tables...

Carson and Big Sis:

Goose...workin it

Goose makin moves on Whit...

She was tempted...

The preggo couple:

Love him:

Jaimal Dallin and Goose:

The gang:

Whit, Carson and Dallin:

I love me some Whitney!

I heart Saturdays in Provo...

Especially when they include my brothers and Whitney! I was sooooo excited that Cammy Carson and Goose came up for the weekend. We had a ton of fun. Man I miss them. And Whitney too. But soon me and Whit will be basically neighbors in Utah County...now we just have to work on Cameron and Carson...

BYU fans unite:Carson and Goose getting their faces painted at the Tailgate:

BYU marching band during the tailgate:

Me and my brothers: Goose, Carson, Cammy and Dallin

Yeah...they're all stoked for Jaxon Danger!
Me and Whitney:

Big Sis & Pistol Whit:

If only BYU would have won...(ugh) but whatever...