Day One

Well today was the first day of my new healthier life. That's right, I'm going to start working out and eating healthy. Ever since Phil has been working in Arizona all week I have been eating terribly with a capital T. I don't want to cook just for myself so I have been living off the dollar menu and easy and definitely not nutritious food. The only good thing about that has been I have really started to enjoy cooking, a lot. Since I don't cook all week I really look forward to it on the weekends and I think I'm actually pretty good. Phil has been quite impressed. Well anyway, I have been using Kate as an excuse not to go to the gym. I really don't like leaving her at the daycare at the gym. But I figured she is a little older now and really enjoys playing with other kids so she will be fine. Boy, was I wrong. About 25 minutes into my workout, they page me. I get to the daycare and Kate is hysterically balling. I have never seen her crying so hard in my life. I felt SO bad. But I will not let this setback defeat me! I'll just have to do pilates at home or something. The main thing for me is to start eating healthier. I haven't eaten out all week and it's not as hard as I thought it would be. Phil got me a food saver for my birthday so I am really looking forward to making lots of meals and freezing them so they are quick, yet healthy. Although my day wasn't the greatest kickoff of my new lifestyle, I learned I don't weight as much as I thought. sweet! I would be fine with losing only 5 pounds but with lots and lots and lots of situps. So, wish me luck and keep me motivated because I know I am going to need it!

thanksgiving in cali

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to San Diego with Phil's family. Two of my sister in laws had soccer tournaments there over Thanksgiving so we went with them. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Kendra, my sister is law, even won the whole tournament for her age group. Go Kendra! We went to Sea-world. That was a lot of fun! Kate really loved it. For Thanksgiving, we went to my mother- in-law brother's house. Kate got sick while we were there and was pretty awful during Thanksgiving so we didn't fully get to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner but that is okay. She hadn't been getting better since we got home either so I took her to the doctor and it turns out she has bronchiolitis. On Thanksgiving night, Jessica and I went black friday shopping at midnight. That was lots of fun too. I even got to go see New Moon and loved it. 1000x better than Twilight. On the way out of town Phil, Kate and I stopped at Disneyland and had a blast. It was a really relaxing, fun Thanksgiving and we were reminded how blessed and lucky we are.

phoenix

About 2 weeks ago Phil and I went to Phoenix. Yes, you read that right JUST Phil and I. My mom was nice enough to watch Kate for 5 days while we went. It involved a lot of flying to make it happen but it was worth it. Phil had to go there for work and I thought I would tag along for fun. It was my first time being away for Kate more than 3 hours. We hardly ever get a babysitter so it was really hard for me to let her go but I totally trust my mom. While Phil worked I just went shopping, got my nails done and hung out with my friend Natalie who came down with her husband for work too. It turned out to be a really fun trip except for the part where I was sick for all of it. But to be honest, life is pretty boring without Kate. I learned I can't sleep in anymore and my days were pretty lonely. Thanks mom so much for doing that!

trunk or treat

On friday we went to our wards trunk or treat. Kate had a blast! I knew she would. The way she entertains herself all day long is carrying around a bucket of some sort and putting things into it and then coming and giving them to me. So when it came to trick or treating she was a pro! She was little red riding hood this year and was adorable. We didn't take her trick or treating but the candy she got is more than enough. We hardly had any trick or treaters come to our house this year so we still have way to much candy in our house. I should probably throw it away. It isn't going to help me any trying to lose 10 pounds. We had a great halloween and can't wait til next year when Kate really understands the concept. Happy Halloween!

Little Piggy

last night while Kate was eating dinner I gave her her first pigtails! She looked so cute! Kate has a major mullet and thought it was time to do something about it. Only problem is she won't let me put anything on her head. It is probably my fault because I never put headbands or flowers in her hair as baby and is now not used to it. So these only lasted in her hair for about 2 minutes but was able to get some cute pics. After I put them in her hair she kept laughing and thought it was the funniest thing ever. I love that girl.

most magical place on earth

Last week was the very first Wray family reunion! My dad's family has been having one every year for over 25 years and we thought it was a good time to start our own. Where else to kick off our reunion....DISNEYWORLD! Some how I got put in charge of planning it and so of course that is what I would choose. This year we switched it up though. Everytime my family has ever been to Disneyworld, we stay on property at this place called Coronado Springs. We love it. But we wanted to stay at a hotel that had a suite big enough so we could all fit in the same room, only problem is there are only a couple of hotels on property that have rooms big enough. We decided on staying at the new Bay Lake tower, right next to the contemporary and we were not disappointed!! It is steps away from magic kingdom and we could watch the fireworks from our room everynight! We also got to use the monorail which was great!

I was actually having an anxiety attack about going because I thought it would be a nightmare with Kate. A 5 hour plane ride a 15 month old don't go hand in hand. But once the plane ride was over all my worries were gone and glad to have Kate with us. We spent 5 awesome days playing and spending time together. We also ate and ate and ate. When you stay on property you can get the disney dining plan which gives you 2 meals a day and a snack but these meals are massive and you get entree, dessert and drink. We had some awesome food though. Unfortunately my sister, Angela, had to be a wheelchair the whole time but actually turned out in our favor as we could to skip most lines. It was great to get away and be together as a family. Here are some pictures from our trip (mostly stolen from my sister because my camera didn't work most of the time and she took 600 pictures. thanks sis)eating at one of our favorite dinner's, Ohana

Kate is obsessed with toy story and here she is picking out her toy, Woody

To "eternity" and beyond! that was the theme of the reunion

utah

Last week on a whim, I decided to go up to utah. Kate had been really really sick all last week so having been trapped in my house and hadn't really gotten any sleep for 5 days, I needed to get away so Phil got home on Friday at 5 and I said we're going to salt lake. Phil stayed til Sunday and flew home and I stayed til the following Friday. It was nice to spend a week with my in laws and hang out with my sister a little bit. I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera (which I figured out yesterday is broken, so if anyone has a good camera suggestion let me know) so I don't have any pictures. Besides Kate still being sick for the first part of the week and wouldn't let be put her down and let anymore touch her, it was a really fun week and got spoiled with a pedicure. We are now looking forward to our Disneyworld trip in 6 days!!!

very late

Here is my very very late post about Kate turning 12 months. She is now 13 1/2 months and just went to her 1 year check up this morning. She is doing great but she did have to get 5 shots. I was freaking out because that is way to many in my opinion. She screamed just for a minute and is now sleeping it off. She is 31.5 inches and 26 pounds 10 ounces, both in the 95th percentile. She is huge but I love it. She is wearing 24 month clothes. She has been walking for a month now and I really enjoy it. People always told me that I would regret her walking because she would be getting into everything but she already did that anyway and now she doesn't get as dirty crawling around. This is the age I have been waiting for and it is really fun. Here is her last bear picture. Now I am only going to take them every year until she hates me for it. We had it taken when we got our family pictures done. 

lights, camera, action!

So for Kate's birthday we decided as her big gift to get family pictures taken. I figured she won't remember some useless toy, but can have these pictures forever. I have never really liked many pictures of Kate because I think she is way more beautiful and cute in person and they don't do her justice but I LOVE these! My friend in the ward is a photographer and did them for us. Her website is www.allysonkayephotography.com She did an amazing job. Here are some of them. There are so many I love I don't know how I'm going to choose. 

to infinity and beyond

On June 28th we celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe what a lucky girl I am. We didn't do anything to exciting, but it was nice to go out to a nice dinner without Kate. We went to a brazilian steakhouse on the strip. It was super yummy. It had the best meat of any brazilian steakhouse I had ever been to but the lamest buffet. So overall it was delicious. The only downside was no grilled pineapple. After dinner we went to go see Transformers since that is Phil's favorite. It was a great night and a great reminder of how lucky I am to have an eternal marriage with the love of my life.

happy birthday!

Today Kate turns 1! I cannot believe it. I seriously cannot think how we got from July 15th last year to July 15th today. It went by SO fast. Being a mom has been quite the experience. I have struggled with the idea of being a mom since I got pregnant. I wasn't ready when I got pregnant and have had a love/hate relationship with it ever since. It is not what I would choose to be doing if I had the choice. I never got to really be married and my college education is now a meer thought. That being said I love Kate more than anything. I couldn't imagine my life without her now and although there are days I wish things were different I would never change it. She is the perfect child for me. Heavenly Father knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me Kate.  I have never written down Kate's birth story so I am just going to do this so I will always remember. I went in at 8am July 15th to be induced. I was really nervous about getting pitocin because I don't do well with pain at all but everything went really great. I started having contractions about an hour after they gave me pitocin and it really wasn't that bad.  It certainly wasn't comfortable but I didn't even need an epidural. I decided to get one anyway at 6 cm because I didn't want to feel while I was pushing. Right after that they broke my water and I stayed at 6 cm for about 4 hours. My doctor came in at about 7:30 pm and told me that the reason I wasn't progressing anymore is because my pelvis is too small and thought I should have a c-section. After a few tears I decided we should do that since that would be the safest thing to do. Literally the second after I said yes to the c section about 10 people swarmed into my room to prep me for surgery. I was into the operating room about 3 minutes later and at 7:53pm Kate was born. 

It sure has been a crazy year with many ups and downs. I love you SO much Kate. Happy birthday!!

california

This past week I went to California with my in-laws. My sister in law, Kendra, had a soccer tournament so the whole family was going and asked if I wanted to come since I am home alone all week now while Phil works in Arizona. I jumped at the chance! We had a packed week. On Tuesday we went to the Los Angeles zoo. That zoo is actually really nice and huge. We even saw Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz there with their baby. Kate didn't really seem to care much about the animals but we still had a good time. The next day we went to Kendra's game and hung out at the pool. That night we went to Santa Monica Pier. We had a fun time riding the rides and going to the beach. On Thursday, we decided to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Just Nicole, Connor and I went. That park is all roller coasters that are very scary! I was very brave that day and am proud of myself for going on most of the rides. Phil came up from Arizona on Friday and the next day we headed to Disneyland! We can't stop in California without going to Disneyland. We had a great time there. Kate loved the rides this time and was really fascinated and payed attention. She is growing up. It made me really excited for our trip to Disneyworld in October because I think Kate is going to love it. While we were there Kate turned 11 months and forgot to bring her bear to take her picture with and I still have forgotten to do it since I've been home. I better get on that. When we came home on Saturday night we were exhausted but excited that my sister decided to come to Vegas that morning with her boyfriend and so we got to hang out with them for a day and in half. It was such a fun trip!

Kate with Grandma and Nicole. Kate is eating her new favorite snack, an apple. She seriously sat there for a half hour just nibbling on her apple

Inside the very lame six flags museum. We only went inside because it was air conditioned

Kate riding on her dad's shoulders for the first time in line at the toy story ride. I think this picture perfectly describes Kate.

one silly girl

 Here are just a few of the funny things that Kate has done.

She has a humidifier in her room and she loves going up to it while it is on and sticking her face in it. She thinks it is hilarious and could do it for hours!

This is the time that she dumped her whole bowl of applesauce all over herself.

One time while I was doing the dishes I kept hearing this squeaking noise and couldn't figure out what it was until I looked at Kate and found that she was using a bottle nipple as a pacifier.

This is one of the 2 times that she feel asleep sitting up

10 months

Kate is now 10 months wow! (well 10 1/2 months now) and she is growing up so quick. She unfortunately got sick and was throwing up and everything. It was not a fun couple of days. She didn't get sick once til she was 7 months and now it seems she is sick all the time now. I guess that is what happens when you eat shoes and everything else on the floor when mom isn't watching. She can now stand up on her own for a long time and I think is starting to stop gaining weight. It is about time she slows down. She is so fun to be around. She loves being around other people and just cracks up when they are around. She has no signs of seperation anxiety yet which is good. This month while we were taking pictures next to her bear she didn't want cooperate and thought it was more fun to climb all over the chair rather than just sit there so sorry these ones aren't that good but she is always a cutie no matter what.

I found it!

So I found the cord to upload my photos! I actually found it a while ago, thanks to my friend Gloria who asked to stay at our house, which meant I actually had to clean the guest bedroom. While doing this I found it so in thanks, I owe it you Glo. So enjoy looking at all my insanely late pictures.

fun with the parents!

This past week, my dad had to work here in Vegas so my Mom tagged along for fun. My dad had to work until Thursday so Kate and I had fun with my mom for 2 days before we could meet up with my dad. My parents stayed at the Bellagio so on Thursday we went down there to hang out at the pool. My friend Rachel met us down there with her 2 kids and we had fun playing in the pool. Kate really liked it. It isn't really a family oriented pool but we still had a good time. I had to learn the hard way that swimming diapers are not effective at all. That night we met up with with my dad and Phil and went over to Caesars Palace and ate at a Bobby Flay restaurant called Mesa Grill. It was super yummy! After that we went to Serendipity. There is one that just opened right out front of Caesars Palace. It is just like the one in New York and we ordered frozen hot chocolate. It was a very fun day. The next day my parents were nice enough to stock Kate up with formula, diapers, wipes, clothes, baby food and snacks. It was a short trip but it was great to see them! Now I am excited to go home to Denver for a week on Thursday. 

frozen hot chocolate. so yummy!

playgroup

Last Wednesday, the playgroup in my ward went to a petting zoo. It is in this little old western themed town up red rock canyon. I usually don't go to playgroup because Kate is still to young to go play at the park and other activities, but somedays I just want to get out of the house and interact with people who actually talk. It was fun to get out and hang out with friends but this place was seriously disgusting. Thank goodness Kate was still young enough to not care because if she were old enough, I wouldn't have let her go anywhere near the animals. After the gross animals (I swear some of them were dead) we went to a western show. The show was a hanging. A real man pretended to get hung in front of all the little children. Yikes. Let's just say we won't be going there again anytime soon. 

On a side note, Kate has now been sick for over 2 weeks. I feel so bad for her. It has been a sleepless two weeks for the both of us. I finally took her to the doctor on Friday and they said she has fluid in her ears that is causing her runny nose and coughing that could turn into an ear infection. Let's hope not! Get better Kate.

9 months

Kate turned 9 months on Wednesday. Her 9 month check-up was on Tuesday. She weighs 23 pound, which is the 95% and is 28 3/4 inches long, which is the 75%. Luckily she didn't have to get any shots because they would not have been able to give them to her anyway because she is sick. On Monday and Tuesday she had fever and now she has a terrible cough and runny nose. I feel so bad for her, she is miserable. But besides her being sick, she is so fun to be around and she is a great workout. She can climb up the stairs now (scary!) and is starting to cruise around furniture. We took her 9 months pictures a little early on easter Sunday because we wanted to take them in her cute easter dress. I still can't find my cord (I think it is it time I order a new one.) I can't believe she is almost 1 already.

easter

We had a great easter this year! We just celebrated by ourselves but it was still really fun. Kate loved her easter basket. She got a baseball toy, a ball, and lots of clothes. Kate, unfortunately got a fever that day and still is not feeling 100%. For dinner we had a yummy ham, jello and asparagus. I'll upload the pictures of Kate with her basket when I find my cord. I love celebrating easter and am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ who died for us.  

kate's easter basket

go rockies!

I have been doing a terrible job at updating my blog but I have a (sort of) excuse. I can't find the cord to upload the pictures from my camera to the computer and I still can't find it so we are going pictureless. As soon as a find it I'll post the pictures. Anyway, a couple of weekends ago the Colorado Rockies were in town playing the Mariners. Since there are no professional sports here, they always get two teams each year to come and play at the minor's stadium. Phil loves the rockies, so we had to go! Unfortunately, it was FREEZING! We only stayed for 3 innings. But it was still fun to go to the game and have a date night to ourselves. 

8 months

Kate turned 8 months on sunday! She is getting so old! She also gets cuter everyday. She is really fast at crawling now. She has also decided this whole past week she doesn't want to sleep anymore. It is very frustrating. Ever since she has figured out how to pull herself up in her crib, that's all she wants to do in it. She has the biggest personality of any 8 month old I've ever seen. She is a very good baby but always has to doing something. She could not sit still if her life depended on it. We love her so much though and can't wait to see what else she is going to show us.

Date night

Over the weekend, Phil's mom and sister, Kendra, were in town for Kendra's soccer tournament. Phil's mom was nice enough to offer to babysit Kate on Friday so we could go on a date. We jumped at the chance! First, Phil went to go get his haircut (it was badly needed) and after we went to dinner at Roy's. It is a hawaiian fushion restaurant. It was SO yummy! Definitely one of my new favorite and I highly recommend going there. We told the waiter it was our date night and so they gave us a free dessert and wrote on the plate "happy date night." It was the perfect way to end our delicious meal and awesome date. It was weird going to a restaurant and not just try and hurry to finish as fast as possible before Kate looses her patience. We need to have date nights more often!

with our free dessert! so yummy!

disneyland

Over this past weekend, I went to Disneyland (again)! Phil didn't join me this time. It was just a ladies trip. I went with my visiting teacher, Rachel, her 2 kids, and another lady in the ward, Tiffani, with her 3 kids. We had a blast! Since I have an annual pass, I figured why not go! The first night we got there, we went to Huntington Beach and went to this really cool restaurant, Ruby's. It was way out on the water on a pier and is a really fun 50's diner. The next two days we spent having tons of fun at Disneyland. Kate loved all the rides this time. It wasn't crowded at all and we were so sad to leave. 

Kate with Rachel's daughter, Ella. Ella is 2 weeks older than Kate

Kate with her favorite man (besides her dad)

first tooth!

So this happened a week ago but life has been so crazy around here I haven't had time to blog about it, but Kate cut her first tooth! I keep trying to take a picture of it but it's a lot harder to get than you would think. She won't let me go anywhere near her mouth. She has been so good about it and still sleeps through the night (thankfully!) You can see the one next to it will be coming in any day. She is also starting to pull herself up on furniture. It won't be long til we have a walker!

1st time for everything

Well, it's official, Kate is sick for the first time. She just has a cold but it is still so sad. We took her to the doctor this morning and he gave us 2 prescriptions. She is definitely being more whinny but being a trooper for the most part. She has a runny nose, sneezing, and is all stuffed up. Feel better Kate!

Phil's Birthday

On Monday, it was Phil's 23rd golden birthday! (that's when you turn the age of what day you were born) so I decorated everything in gold. He woke up to a french toast breakfast. That night we went to a nice dinner at melting pot. It took so long though that we didn't even get to finish our meal because we had to get home to Kate but it was still really fun and just got a raincheck for the dessert. Phil got a subscription to gamefly, (it's like netflix for video games) new suits, and a book. It was so fun to celebrate Phil's birthday. We love you Phil.

new ride

No, we did not get a new car, but Kate did get a new car seat! I seriously cannot believe that she already too big for the one she has now. The new one can face rear and forward, so until she is 1 she will still be backwards. It goes up to 65 pounds, which is about 4 or 5 years old. I am happy and sad about this because we can't just carry her around in her seat anymore and just easily put her in and out of the car. We now have to take her out, which means always sitting in highchairs and shopping carts which is always a nightmare because she always gets into everything. But my arm is very happy about this because I don't have to lug her around in her seat anymore. It is SO heavy. My arm has popped blood vessels all over it. Kate, you are growing up to fast!

this was the 1st time Kate sat in her carseat which she is to big for now. this really shows just how big she is getting!

Kate's new car seat next to her old one

7 months

Kate turned 7 months on Sunday and boy, has she changed since last month. She is really starting to show us who she really is. Here are some fun facts about Kate:

-Sleeps through the night like a pro (well mostly)

-Now sleeps without being wrapped up

-Wears size 4 diapers

-Wears 18 months pants and shirts

-Crawls and scoots around everywhere

-Tried crackers for the 1st time yesterday

-Anytime you give her anything it goes straight in her month

-Over 20 pounds

-Over 28 inches

-Has to always being doing something or getting into everything

-Will not refuse any food you give her except juice (which I am totally fine with)

-Brings more joy to mom and dad each day