We did it! We survived Bennett's 1st year!

We did an owl themed birthday, thanks to my Pinterest research. Green and blue. 

Chris is the main cook in our house. He made a delicious homemade taco soup and chili.

Bennett got clothes, money, toys, a pillow pet light, and a lava lamp for his gifts. He loves watching the lava lamp and pillow pet light at night. He even pushes the button and turns it on himself. Most of his cousins were able to come. He had fun playing with (and showing off for) everyone.

Bennett didn't waste any time before digging into his cake!

He didn't eat much of it, but he LOVED playing in it!

It seems like Bennett jumped into todderhood. He's talking more, cruising along things, and all around more active since his birthday. Something clicked and he is no longer content just chillin'. I have the feeling the next year will be far from boring! I'm excited to see the adventures this little boy brings to our home. I love him!

11/11/11

Rylee's 1st birthday has come and gone. It was so fun! I had a blast decorating and preparing everything for her day. She refused to take her afternoon nap and got a little grumpy for her presents and cake, but only one temper tantrum, so not bad. Once everyone was gone she got a 2nd wind and stayed up till 10:00 playing, laughing, and having a great time! Maybe she was just overwhelmed by all the people.

Thanks to friends and family for making it such a fun day!

Chris turns 32!

Happy birthday to Chris! Of course he got his ice cream cake. And the NEW TaylorMade R11 3 Wood! My husband is truly loved. His brother, Danny, helped me get it and keep it a secret. Chris gets to take it out tomorrow, with Danny, and try it out in Heber. I'm sure they'll have fun.

Rylee continues to grow like weed. Her smile is contagious! And her laugh is our favorite thing. She always seems to laugh when we change her diaper. She thinks it's hilarious when her daddy calls her "stinky!" One of these days I'll have to get a video of it happening. Every time she does something cute, I run to grab the camcorder or camera...then she's distracted and it's all over.

She's very easily distracted. She eats so much better when it's completely silent, otherwise she's looking around to see what's going on. Maybe that's why she seems to eat so much better at night. I gotta tell ya, that needs to start changing though! I've looked into some sleep books, nothing seems to be the perfect answer. Her naps have gotten much better! But the night feedings? I don't have a problem with letting her cry it out...IF I thought that would work. She just works herself up even more, she makes herself sick. It's not worth it. I either lose an hour+ sleep listening to her scream (which is a rare occasion, and pretty much only at night when she's hungry) or I feed her and lose 15 minutes. We are lucky parents! She is a content, happy baby.

Rylee with Aunt Lori and Ryan at Natalie's 3rd Birthday Party.

Rylee in her beautiful dress from Mykin.

Rylee's 5 months!

Pictures of Rylee

Rylee's personal tanning bed. We hated having her in the bili bed, it was torture not being able to hold her.


A VERY proud daddy.

Our welcome home. Thanks family!

Leaving the hospital. Figuring out how to fit her in this BIG car seat was a chore all by itself!

1st picture with daddy. Immediate love!

Rylee Jolynn Francom

Baby Rylee Jolynn Francom was born Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 5:11 pm. She weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and was 18 inches long.

I thought my water broke during the night and woke Chris up at 3:45 am. We called the hospital to see if there was some way to know for sure. They suggested I come in and get checked out. We went in at 5:45 am. They checked me and said my water hadn't broken and I would probably be going home. I was sad! Then my doctor came in and asked if we wanted "spinach or ice cream". We asked for further clarification...he said I was dilated to a 4 and had an induction scheduled for 5 days out. He then asked if I wanted to keep the scheduled induction date or stay and be induced. We chose to stay.

I was started on Potocin at 8:00 am. Started having back labor. NOT fun! I ended up getting an epidural, which, ironically didn't help with the back pain. The doctor came to check me at about 12:45 pm and accidentally broke my water. By 2:00 pm I was dilated to a 7. At 3:00 pm I was dilated to a 9 1/2. The doctor decided to have me wait a while, fully dilated, to let the baby come down on it's own. I think that was a great idea! 4 sets of pushes and our baby girl was born at 5:11 pm. She had the cord wrapped around her neck twice and refused to breathe or cry. She was rushed to the corner to have 15 different nurses and doctors work on her. We were terrified. She finally took her 1st breath and was brought over to us. She has lots of blonde hair! We were very surprised, we expected our baby to be bald until the age of 3. I think she looks like her Daddy, she even has a dimple on each cheek.

She's been a great baby! She struggles with eating, but is starting to get the hang of it now. We're excited to have her home as part of our family!

Now if only we could get some sleep...

http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=111110rjf

30

Chris threw me a small birthday party for my 30th. It was fun. The best part about it...he got me a Magleby's Chocolate Cake! It was delicious!

He also took me to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. We had no idea there were so many beautiful flowers back there, a waterfall, some unique trees, and a pond. It's been a well kept secret, I guess. Next year we'll go when we have time to stay more than an hour. It's the perfect place to take a picnic. Lessons learned.

Chris is a great photographer. He had fun with the early showing moon and an artist painting the tulips. Too bad he was in shorts and we didn't have jackets, it started to get pretty chilly once the sun went down. We hit In-n-Out afterward, making it a perfect FHE!

Spring is in the air!

I love spring! Our flowers are starting to bloom, our grass is turning green again, and I'M SMILING!

April seems to be the month of birthdays for our family. Brad turned 32 on April Fool's Day, Kaylynn turned 5 on the 8th, my mom turned the ripe old age of 65 on the 12th, Natalie turns 2 on the 16th, Jessie will be 22 on the 18th, Chris will be 31 on the 20th, and I'm going to be **30** on the 22nd! It also includes other nieces and nephews birthdays - Rachel, Justin, Karmindy, Lynnea, Brett, Clay...the list goes on and on! I can't afford the month of April! This is a picture of Chris last year on his 30th. He LOVES ice cream cakes. I'm hoping he's getting me a chocolate cake from Magleby's for my birthday. I could eat one of their cakes all by myself, in one sitting. YUM!

Chris has purchased my birthday present. He says I'm not allowed to tell people what it is yet. But...I don't care what he says! HA! He's taking me to the U2 concert in Salt Lake City on June 3rd. It will be an anniversary date too. Our 3rd anniversary! How time has flown. It's been a great 3 years. I love being married to this man!

Lyla's 1st Birthday

Our niece, Lyla, turned 1 last week. I LOVE watching kids devour their cake!

She loved the icing. She had so much fun opening her presents and playing with them.

Jen, Curtis, and Landon all have birthdays this week. March and April seem to be the months for birthdays. My 30th is quickly approaching. AGH!

Chris is 30!

Chris celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday. We had a birthday party last Saturday with a few close friends and family. I got him 2 new wedges for his golf game. He played with them several days before his birthday. Such a cheater! He did amazing work with them though. I'm lucky to have such a talented, patient golf coach.

Looks like I'm back to the drawing board for my private practice. I'm hoping to have it fully functioning by the end of May. Beacon didn't work out quite like I had hoped. Oh well. I've already had the private practice plans in my head for a year now. Once I'm an LPC, on May 23, 2009, I'll get this thing up and running. Chris has been very supportive throughout this whole thing. Who wants to help their wife clean out her office on their 30th birthday? No one! But, my husband did it anyway. There are SO many reasons I love this man. I swear, I love him more everyday.

Here's my logo, in case you hadn't seen it a few months ago. I'm ordering business cards & I'm just waiting to go! I'm hoping to be able to continue seeing the clients I started seeing while at Beacon. My phone number for my future business is: 801-616-3097. People can call with questions now.

I've also been asked to speak to Chris's aunt's stake. I'm presenting on Pornography and the Specific Issues Related to Women, such as romance novels, soap operas, etc. I'll be presenting to them with one of the counselors in the General Relief Society Presidency, on May 9th. What an honor!

I was also invited to present classes to my ward enrichment on Destressing Your Marriage, specifically improving communication skills. This meeting will be held on June 10th. This is a great opportunity to share my ideas, regarding the book I'm planning on writing, with others.

I hope everything works out! I'll be fairly unemployed for the next month or so getting licensed and the foundational work to open this practice going. But, hopefully after that I'll be able to make a dent in this lovely student loan of mine. :)

Mediation is scheduled for May 1st for my auto accident! I can hardly wait to get all of this behind me. I'm excited to finally have closure and to be able to make sense of it all. I pray my insurance company will offer some financial support for my ongoing physical injuries. Time will tell...