Poor Little Guy

I'm running on empty.

This poor little guy was up every hour on the hour last night, just wanting to be cuddled.

He hardly ate yesterday, no matter what I did, so thankfully at about 4:30am he was downing food at record speeds.

This cold wash cloth, wrapped around Dad's finger, seemed to be what worked the best.

That and Tylenol..

I see white areas on his gums, but no teeth just yet..

And so far this morning he is doing good..

Super sleepy, but doing good.

So I am just waiting for the freak attacks that we got yesterday because it cant really be over in just a day, could it?

It's terrible being a baby..

Got a hurting mouth and you cant instruct the two weirdos in the room on what will help you.

Hopefully we are doing something right.

Poor little guy.

Vans, Or No Vans

If my little man doesn't win the "best dressed" award ever...

Well then it certainly wasn't my fault.

 And he even has his first pair of vans.

Thankfully I took pictures before church because they were kicked off half way through sacrament and I just didn't feel like fighting him on it.

One day he will appreciate the knack for cool he has and those vans will be all he wants.

But for now, I will let him be the cute baby he is...

I couldn't tell if people were liking Ross or if they were liking the outfit..

Or if they were liking Ross in the outfit.

Either way we have a cutie on our hands..

Vans, or no vans.

I Just Started Clicking

We bought him this Teddy in Jackson Hole yesterday..

Its super soft and he was rubbing it on his face in the store so we thought it would be cute.

I honestly thought we would come home and he wouldn't look twice at the thing..

But the boy has discovered his Teddy.

And no, none of these pictures are posed..

I handed him his Teddy..

And I just started clicking.

It Was Just Fun To Get Outside

We decided to take an adventure today to Jackson Hole.

We got Steven to come with us and we just decided we would see what we found..

No plans.. Just drove.

Ross hasn't been in the car that long, and he hates his car seat with a passion, so we weren't sure how long he would last.

He was still happy when we drove through Sugar City, so we figured it would be ok.

It doesn't matter that Sugar City is only like 5 min. away from our house...

He usually cannot even last that long in his little "prison."

A little shout-out to my Grandma..

We brought along Mr. Elephant, hoping that would help him.

And he did... For a bit.

Then he started to get cranky so I had to work my blanket magic to put him to sleep.

And that seemed to hold him over.

We saw the most beautiful scenery..

And that's about the time we lost him..

And he screamed and screamed and screamed...

I am sure we probably killed the whole having kids anytime soon for Steven. 

You couldn't even talk over his little fit.

But he was such a good boy that we had to get him a treat.

We walked around the little town and went into some really neat shops..

But mostly, it was just really nice to get out of Rexburg.

We found a fantastic Burger place..

Literally a hole in the wall.

If you are ever in Jackson Hole, you have to go to Billy's Burgers. 

But you also have to ask a local in order to find the place..

Its that secretive.

Did a little more walking around and found this little beauty.

Guaranteed you will not find a fur jockstrap outside of Jackson Hole.

I wonder how many of these they sell in a year.

I know Rob and Steven were somewhat tempted.

But all in all, it was a really nice day and a fun family outing.

It was just fun to get outside.

I Really Did It

Today I took my last test of my college career and I feel really good about it.

It wont be for another week or so until I find out how I did.. so the suspense is certainly hovering.

But I have a good feeling.

As I was walking home from taking it, I felt super strange.

It is so weird that it is over.

And, I dont know, but the whole no cap and gown thing is really getting to me.

I certainly cannot say that I havent been spoiled though.

Rob got me the wonderful camera lens that has been attached to my hand ever since.

And as if my parents knew exactly when I would be home... 

This beauty was waiting for me.

The projects that will start coming out of me will be endless.. So just be prepared.

Then tonight I got treated to dinner and dessert..

So, seriously, I cannot say that this moment is going unnoticed.

I guess I just have a lot of pent up feelings from my past..

Baggage, if you will.

The whole "no cap and gown" thing stems from so many other decisions that happened in my life surrounding my education.

Obviously we all make our own decisions, but there are certain decisions that I wish I could've made again without the influence of others.

Just when I get discouraged though, I have to be proud of the fact that I have actually finished my degree.

I have never let anything stop me.. Sidesteps, maybe..

But nothing has stopped me.

And then there is the fact that my education allowed me to work for the first part of our marriage so that Rob could go to school full-time without that worry.

And my flexible schedule has also allowed me to take time off for this little slobber man.

So, no.. 

I cannot look back at life and wish I had done certain things differently because who knows what road those decisions might have taken me down.

That road might not have included Rob and the happiness that he brings into my life.

I laugh daily because of that man, even if I am mad at him which is what bugs me the most!

He knows just what to say to make me smile.

And then of course, no Robert would mean no Ross..

 And a life without this little man would certainly be terrible.

So, no..

I really shouldn't regret certain decisions in my life because the smallest change could've meant the biggest loss. 

So I will be proud of my accomplishments regardless.

I got done with school.

Some people in the world cannot say that.

And there were honestly moments I never thought it would happen..

Some people in the world might have given up had they been in my same situations.

So I am super glad I did it.

And honestly Elyse..

A cap and gown are not needed in order to get the recognition you deserve.

The cap and gown is not the actual paper.. 

So I will take a picture with the actual paper and I will be proud, and I will be excited, and I will cheer for myself.. 

Because I did it.

Regardless of what it took to get to this point..

I really did it.

I Love My Growing Boy

I asked Rob yesterday if he was happy that I was a mom, or something along those lines.

He thought my question was pretty stupid to be honest, because clearly I should know the answer...

But I guess I was just feeling him out, trying to make sure he thought I was doing a good job.

This Mom thing is such a roller-coaster that sometimes I really do need those pats on the back to let me know I am doin' alright.

I can't necessarily quote his response because my memory isn't all there these days, but I can tell you that it made me feel really good.

It made me feel like the best Mom in the world.. 

And I realized this morning that this is probably the only time in a woman's life when she is proud to have bags under her eyes.

I honestly think this will be the only time when I see bags under my eyes in the morning and feel like I am doing something right.

Any other time would mean the wrinkle cream is clearly not working.

I haven't pinpointed what is wrong with my little booger, but sleeping is not his favorite thing these days.

And sleep is certainly Mommy's favorite thing..

So you can see we have a problem.

And yet another of him in that Bumbo of his.

I swear he could live in that thing and every time I see him in it I have to take bunches of pictures because he looks like a little man sitting there.

And could he have any more blankets?

This is the only way he likes to sleep.

The hotter it gets, the more I realize we need a fan for his room...

Because I doubt he will want to give up his blankies.

And this is as good as I could get.

But I had to document the cutest toes alive.

I seriously am so in love with his little feet.

And he is so in love with the outdoors.

Yesterday we were having a crabby day and it was finally sunny outside so I decided to see if the outdoors would cheer him up.

We sat out in front of the gates leading to our apartment complex to watch the cars drive by and the boy was in heaven!

A big school bus drove by at one point and he started laughing out loud - it was the cutest thing.

And of course, after 40 mins. of sitting there, I took him inside and he proceeded to cry as if I had just pinched him or something.

So we went back out and waited for Daddy to get home and that seemed to appease him.

The guy cannot stay indoors.

And we have discovered books!

I didn't think he would get it just yet, but we have this bath time book and that seemed to get some giggles out of him.

I am in love with his giggles.

So if you have any book suggestions we are all ears!

I love my growing boy.

Stress Seriously Does Kill

For every 50 pictures I take, there is probably only one worth keeping.

When you think about it, there's actually a great life lesson hidden in that.

Just because I might not get the perfect shot on the first round, doesn't mean I should stop trying.

The same could be said for life.

It just might take 50 tries in order for something to turn out, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should have stopped at 10.

And though those results might not be perfect, there might be a different kind of beauty to be found, helping you appreciate the "perfect shot" that much more.

Our good friends, the Larsons moved to New Mexico last night.

I knew I would be sad because they were such great neighbors and dear dear friends, but I honestly didn't know I would be that sad.

I've been thinking about them a lot today, trying to figure out why it bothered me so much to see them leave...  I mean, after all, it's not like their move came out of nowhere..

We have known about it for months.

But it bothered me more because that meant we would be leaving soon.

I saw their empty apartment and it made me think of our apartment when we first arrived and how excited I was to have our first home as a married couple.

It will be so hard to leave this place.

There are so many memories here.

And I guess I just hate a certain element to change.

Don't get me wrong... I am excited for the next step.

I am excited to get on with our lives.. 

To see what there is in store for us. 

But there are so many unknowns about the next year of our lives that I would rather just stay in the comfort of this cozy place we now call home.

I take my last test of my college career on Friday.

After that I must revert my energy to the move we have coming up.

That's when I need to start packing, start collecting boxes from friends (thank you Orchid), and start seriously looking for a place to live.

My brain is so full of everything that comes with moving and all I keep seeing is our money disappearing.. 

And I am scared.

I am very scared.

And then when we move, we will just be turning around and moving again come December.. 

So I am just very scared.

Life is just too expensive sometimes.

So let's just look at this cute face and try and forget for awhile.

I need to just continually look at this cute face and know that we don't need much in life.

Yes, things are expensive and money doesn't replenish itself like it used to.. 

But we don't have many needs these days either.

So I will just keep looking at that face.

That should get me through the next year without a heart attack.

Or an ulcer.

One of these days I am sure to give myself an ulcer.

Stress seriously does kill.