{January} 2013

January school started back up again and craziness ensued! The weekend before we were able to head down to St George/Vegas and watch Miss Hayden's cheer competition. Braxten always has such a blast with this kiddos!! We also got to drive our new car! A 2012 Mazada 3... I am in love let me tell you this little car has been so so good to us.



Looking beautiful for cheer!

Watching the girls get ready

Jayme and B before

Making Woody watch the cute girls

I love these boys... and their faces in this picture :)

Happy Holidays 2012

I know I say this often but, I cannot believe this year is almost over! It has been a complete whirlwind and has gone by far too fast. But we made it through and we are in such a great place! It is unbelievable to me how much things can change in a year, how much a person can grow, and to realize how blessed I am.

My sweet little Braxten this year has grown leaps and bounds. As a mom I imagined all the "firsts" that would come along with his first year of life, but we continue to have so many firsts and can I just say I LOVE experiencing everything with him and through his eyes. He has gotten pretty excited this year for Christmas, he asked Santa for a "gickey bike" aka a Mickey Mouse bike! I think he will be very excited when he wakes up Christmas morning....

Brax got tubes put in his years the end of November and we have been working on his speech ever since. Everyone who is around him, myself included, cannot believe how much better he is talking. He went from saying a couple word phrases and lots of mumbo jumbo to talking in sentances! Because of this his imagination has grown even bigger, and I love watching him play. Just the other day he walked up to me and I could see he had wet hands, I asked him if he had been playing in the toliet? His reply was "Yup! I playin' pirate ships mom!" We don't even own a pirate ship so I found this quite comical, and have no idea where he came up with the idea.
He has also done great since Grandma started watching him, he loves his Gaga and Papa more then anyone (even me most days!) Besides talking better he is also getting better at playing with other kids, he especially loves babies. He is now sleeping in his big boy bed full time. Next up: Potty training and taking the binky away... wish us luck!

At the beginning of this year Braxten and I moved to the Ogden area so I could continue attending Weber State, where I got accepted into the Social Work program. It has been such a blessing to be down here and on our own. We absolutely love it and all the wonderful people we have had the chance to meet. Even though I have been extrememly busy I am so grateful for my amazing family who helps me with Braxten so much, and for a great job that is so flexible and works well with my schooling. I am so in love with my program and have never felt so good, or done so great in school before. Which leads me to some exciting news, and what is in store for us this next year...

-I am officially starting my senior year of college and will be starting my internship, I am over the moon excited about this part of my education!

-Braxten will also get to start pre-school this year and I am so excited for him to learn bunches of new things and make new friends

-I will be graduating with my bachelors degree in December of 2013 (yay only 1 year!)

-Because I am graduating I have been thinking a lot about what to do next, and where we will be after this point. One route I have considered is getting in a Masters of Social Work program. There are a few here in Utah but none of them are what I was looking for. After a lot of thinking, and talking, and researching I decided the program I was most interested in was WallaWalla Washingtons. It is a one year clincal program, and exactly what I want to further my education. I have been talking to the head of the program and as long as I maintain my GPA and graduate with my bachelors I will be able to start their program in Spring of 2014!!!
Yes, this means me and Braxten will be moving to Washington state.
Yes, this is going to be difficult and lots of hard work, harder then I even realize I am sure.
Yes, everyone asks me, my parents are sad but they are so supportiveand very excited for us.
Yes, we are over the moon ecstatic to begin this part of our lives!

We hope all of you are doing well, and hope that everyone has a great holiday season! We love you all so so much,
Candace and Braxten

Sweet Reminders

Since my mom has been watching Little B I have had to tote his pack n' play back and forth, which got very old very fast. One day i thought what the heck lets give this big boy bed another shot... He did awesome, and has been for a couple weeks, even during nap times. But tonight at 2am I wake up to him crawling in bed with me. Normally I wouldn't care but I have the day off and was so looking forward to sleeping in, plus his Christmas presents are in my room and I knew that would be an issue come morning!

Now here is a fact about me: I like my sleep and can be rather grumpy when woken up, I'm just not used to it since B has been such an amazing sleeper. So my first instinct was to throw him in bed and tell him if he got up again he would be in trouble (I know great parenting :/) But instead here is what I did...

I told him I loved him, I kissed him, and whispered in his cute little ear how thankful I am that he is my little boy. And here I am now... Awake in the middle of the night... Crying because that made all the difference. Reminding him that he is safe, and loved, and my whole world, made all the difference.

That little boy has my heart. He has given me everything, and taught me so much. I could give him the world and it wouldn't be enough to thank him for everything he has done. I can start with I love you. Not that i don't already kiss him a million times a day, hug him a million more, and tell him i love him constantly. But sometimes, when he is being a normal two year old boy, I forget. I forget to stop, breathe, and thank him for being my little boy and being the most wonderful part of my life! He is so amazing.

So right here, right now, I am vowing to slow down. I am vowing to not just tell him but show him how much I love him... Because I do. And I am so so thankful for our life together. And for these moments that remind me of that.