Cayden's First Birthday!

Last Sunday we had a small party for Cayden. We just had family over to join us in celebrating our little guy's first year. We had meatball subs for dinner and Cayden thoroughly enjoyed his.

Then we moved on to presents. Cayden caught on quickly to the fact that there was a toy inside the paper. He got pretty good at opening his presents.

Once we were done with presents we sang to him and ate some cake. I worked with him for a few weeks trying to teach him to blow. He got so close to blowing out his candle.

(Thanks kimmy and mom for helping me figure out how to do the cake and for coloring the frosting)

When Cayden first got his cake he, very nicely, picked off the frosting. Then I think he got bored with that and decided to just dig in.

My favorite part of the evening was after we opened and gave him the toy cars he got he ran to the kitchen to roll them on the kitchen floor. It was so much fun watching him explore and play with this new toys. I think he had a fun day. I just wish he could remember it. Oh, well.

Thanks to everyone who sent gifts, cards and wishes or called to say happy birthday. Even though Cayden didn't have a clue it meant a lot to us.

LOVE TO ALL!!!!

Happy Birthday Cayden!!!

Today our little boy turns 1 year old. We can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It is crazy to think that a year ago I was in the hospital waiting for him to "arrive" and now he is one.

We have so much fun with our little man. He is such a smart little guy too. A few weeks ago he was really fussy. So he went to the diaper bag and dug around a bit. He finally found what he was looking for. When he brought it to me and I looked to see what it was I was shocked. He had found his Tylenol and brought it to me to give to him.

He brings so much joy into our lives and we are so thankful that Heavenly Father sent him to us. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be parents and look forward to many more years of fun with our little "Mado".

We Love you Cayden, Happy Birthday!!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year for Thanksgiving everyone was in Denver. It was so great to have the whole family together. Mikey came straight from a job in NY. Beth and Matias flew in from Omaha. And Kimmy, Tyson. and Spencer came down from Loveland. This was Cayden's first Thanksgiving so we were pretty excited. On Thanksgiving day we got up early and went over to my parents house so Jared could play football with all of the boys. Tyson didn't go play because he was cooking this year to give my parents a break. The boys played hard and had fun. They all got a little bruised and were extremely sore the rest of the weekend but they had fun. After football Jared and I ran home to clean up and then went back to eat. I decided I'd make homemade rolls this year. (Thanks Jess for the recipe!!!) They turned out great. After we ate everyone hung out and we played games. It was a great day.

All of the boys (minus Tyson because he was cooking)Me and my rolls


Cayden with his first Thanksgiving feast.

We realized right before we were leaving we didn't take a picture of the 3 of us



What would a Crabb family gathering be without a "shake face" picture??? The key to taking a good "shake face" picture is to get your cheeks really loose and try not to smile in the shaking process.

Timmy is the best at doing the "shake face"

Black Friday rolled around and I convinced Jared to get up at 4:30am to go shopping with me. Mikey, Matt, and Timmy came with us. I didn't have to beg them to come though, they came on free will. We weren't very successful, because people are CRAZY, but we had a good time hanging out.

We always try our best to put our Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. This year we succeeded. I was very excited. We bought new decorations this year to change it up a bit. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Jared even let me put the star on top this year.

Cayden putting on the first ornament.

On Saturday we went to my parents house for breakfast. Jared was very excited to go for breakfast because Tyson was making biscuits and gravy. After breakfast we went outside, in the snow, and took pictures for our Christmas card. After finally getting a good one we let Cayden walk around in the snow on the deck. I think he liked the crunching under his feet. After everyone was ready Tyson transformed the living room into a photo studio so we could get a family picture. It was our first one with spouses and babies. It was quite the experience but we had fun doing it. I'll post those pictures when I get them.


Cayden playing in the snow

The "studio" (Jared was practicing being "FIERCE")


Later that evening, after everyone had more leftovers, we finally did an activity that Kimmy planned. She bought marshmallows and made frosting so we could do winter sculptures. We had one hour to make a "winter scene". We split up into teams and went to work. Jared and Mikey were on my team and we decided it was important to brainstorm. After a good brainstorming session we began our work of art.

Our winning team (pre sculpture)

After an hour of hard dedicated work this was the outcome...

Santa's sleigh and reindeer (artists:Mom, Dad, Chris)

A Nativity Scene (artists:Kimmy, Tyson, Timmy)

Jebediah and Streamer (artists:Me, Jared, Mikey)

We felt a little bad when we realized that the other teams did nice holiday sculptures. We saw marshmallows and thought snowman. Then we decided it would be funny to have a dog relieving himself on the snowman. We did like our sculpture though.

So that was our weekend. We had a great time and enjoyed being together and with family. I'm excited for everyone to return for Christmas!!!

Now just for fun. We took over a hundred pictures of Cayden for our Christmas card and these are 2 of the cute ones. Enjoy!!!

LOVE TO ALL!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

At this time of year I always think about the things I'm thankful for. At our dinner table on Thanksgiving we have to say one thing we are thankful for. However, there is not just one thing I'm thankful for. So this year I think I'll write a few things I'm thankful for in my blog and share it with all of you.

I am thankful for...

• A loving Heavenly Father who blesses me EVERYDAY
• the atonement of Jesus Christ
• the happiness of living the gospel
• the knowledge of the true church
• my temple marriage
• forever families
• fathers blessings
• LOVE
• a soccer ball that was kicked at my face over 3 years ago (I love you Jared)
• a special, wonderful, loving husband who honors his priesthood
• my husband who reminds me everyday that he thinks I'm beautiful
• a perfect little boy who brings so much joy into my home
• my mom and dad who raised me in a home full of love, fun, friendship, learning, and a little chaos
• my big sisters and our closeness, friendship, and differences
• big brothers that protected and took care of me as well as setting great examples
• little brothers who helped (or forced) me to learn to share
• late night talks and laughs with my sisters
• late night talks with my parents on their bed
• Grandparents who were as much a part of my life as my parents
• family trips to Disney World and Sebastian Cove
• my Granddaddy who never missed a soccer game
• my Grandmommy who gives so much love I can feel it just thinking about her
• the love of my nieces and nephews and the joy they bring to me
• all of the lessons I've learned from my parents, grandparents, siblings, and husband
• the mistakes I made and was able to learn from
• my friend Megan who has always been and will always be there if I need her
• food in my kitchen
• shoes on my feet
• clothes on my body
• a roof over my head
• my bed
• warm blankets on my bed

My list can go on and on. I am so thankful for so many things that it would take me forever to write them down. But I hope that I never forget the things I'm thankful for. Sometimes I think I take for granted all the wonderful things I have in my life. My challenge to everyone is to take time today to jot down a few of the things you are thankful for. You might surprise yourself with how long your list gets. HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!!!

~LOVE TO ALL~

The DAM

So I haven't had time to sit down and blog lately. Mainly because by the time I get home I don't feel like sitting on the computer for another 30min. or Jared is on the computer animating. But, today I don't have to work so I get to stay home and hang out with Cayden all day.


This morning was the perfect morning. I got to sleep in a little bit. Cayden woke up happy. But best of all we woke up to our first snowfall of the season. It is cold out but absolutely beautiful. I always forget how pretty it is right after it snows. It put me in a really good mood.

Ok, now for the DAM. On the first Saturday of every month the Denver Art Museum (DAM) is free for CO residents. I thought it would be fun to go this month since we hadn't been for quite a while. Jared and I always enjoy our time at the museum but this was our first time taking Cayden. He LOVED it. We took his stroller in with us but he just wanted to get out and walk around. It was fun to watch him explore. My favorite part was watching Jared walk around and share his love of art with Cayden. It was quite the fun Saturday. (The pictures are dark because I wasn't allowed to use the flash.)

Anyone hungry? Cayden wanted a snack after seeing this painting.

Jared showing Cayden some ancient artifacts.

Walking around trying to get into restricted areas.

This is Jared's favorite Monet in the museum.

Cayden at the "drive in"

I forgot to showcase this picture. For our Halloween Party we had some awesome food. In fact we went a little overboard and ended up with too much food. We had TONS of candy, I made a cake that was shaped like a pumpkin, cheese fondue, bone bread sticks, "magic wands", cookies, pumpkin shaped brownies, punch, hot chocolate with ghost peeps, and brains. Jared created the brains. We had two but were able to bring one home to enjoy later.

"Hello Clarice"

As far as life goes, we are doing well. Jared has applied to more animation positions and we are hoping to hear back soon. I keep praying it happens quickly so I can quit my job. Cayden is getting more teeth, which is always fun. He also loves to clap his hands, give kisses, and throw his hands in the air when he is done eating. If you ask him if he is all done up they go. Its so cute. One if his favorite songs is 'The Itsy Bisty Spider' when I say "out came the sun" he puts his arms up. It is so much watching him learn things. I just love being a mom. I can't believe he is almost a year old already. Time goes by SO fast.

Anyway, we hope all is well with everyone.

LOVE TO ALL!!!!

More Halloween Party Pictures!!!

Just got some pictures that my mom took so I wanted to put them up too! Enjoy!!!

The whole family(this was taken when the party was over just before we all went home.)

Matt as Indiana Jones

Tim as the "football coach"

Daddy and Cayden

Kimmy and Tyson as pirates and Spencer their parrot

Mom the cowgirl

Chris the recovering brain surgery patient and Daddy the doctor


We were very impressed with everyone's costumes. Thanks to everyone who came and partied with us!!!

Halloween Party!!!

So tonight we had our very first Halloween Party. It was so much fun!!! We had a great time. I was a little stressed getting everything prepared but the party came together quite nicely. We had a ton of food. I think we will have snacks for quite some time now. We played BINGO and Pictionary. There was a pumpkin carving contest as well as a costume contest. We had Twister and "Don't Eat Pete" available to play. We also rented out the movie theater so we could watch fun Halloween movies. And last but not least we had karaoke. We couldn't have a party without karaoke!!! We had a great turn out and can't wait to do it all over again next year!

Ok so I didn't get very many pictures, having to play hostess and all but here are some of the ones I did get.

Jared and his award winning pumpkin!

Cayden was content walking around with his bottle and a balloon tied to his wrist.

Props to my dad for having an AWESOME costume!!


We hope everyone had a fun Halloween!!!

Love to all!!!

HSM3

I went on Monday to see it with my big sister, Kim. We LOVED it!!! I thought it was a great end to the story!!! Jared was actually sad I went to see it without him so I'm going to have to go again with him. I can't wait!!

"My first baby"

I got this in an e-mail and thought it would be fun for the blog. ;)

Here you go Moms - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about you and your first baby.

1. Were you married at the time? OF COURSE!

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? I was very excited and couldn't wait to tell Jared. So I sent him a text message saying that we needed to find a recipe for fortune cookies.

3. How old were you? 22 when I got pregnant 23 when I delivered

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I missed my monthly visitor and a few days later I took a pregnancy test.

5. Who did you tell first? Jared and then his mom when we went to Utah for the weekend. Julie lucked out and found out then too b/c she was in the room when we told Leslie.

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Heck yeah! My family would have killed me if we didn't because Kimmy wasn't going to find out the sex of her baby.

7. Due date? December 2nd

8. Did you deliver early or late? 5 days late. We went in to the Dr. on the 3rd and he asked if he told me he'd induce and I told him yes. At my previous visit he told me he wanted me to go 42 weeks and then he'd induce. I wasn't having that!

9. Did you have morning sickness? Nope, the only time I thought I was going to throw up was at Julie's graduation. I hadn't eaten enough that morning so I grabbed some cake and punch. The punch was so sugary that I had to run to the bathroom. Luckily I was able to keep it down. I hate throwing up!

10. What did you crave? I only craved things once it was never a constant craving. So once it was corn dogs and toaster strudels. One time it was spaghetti and meatballs. Once it was cottage cheese and a pickle. Then one time I was so hungry and nothing sounded good so I sat down in front of my mom's pantry and cried. Jared ignored me, after offering many suggestions, and my dad and big brother walked around the kitchen for 20 mins trying to find something for me to eat. Each time they suggested something I'd say no and cry harder. Then my dad suggested tomato soup. That was it. He made it and I was happy.

11. Who irritated you the most? No one most of the time. A few people had their moments.
12. What was your first child's sex? Male

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? I gained a lot of weight. I want to say it was about 30-35 lbs. And I'm still trying to lose it!!!!!! If I don't then Cayden will be an only child. ;)

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Not really. A week before my due date the baby's heart beat was really sporadic, really fast, and jumping all over the place. So they hooked me up to a monitor for about an hour but then said there was nothing to worry about.

15. Where did you give birth? I don't remember the name of the hospital. ;) But it was in Wheatrige, Colorado.

16. How many hours were you in labor? From when the dr. broke my water until he was out was about 8 hours. Actual "labor" about 2 1/2. The dr. kept saying "just 2 more pushes and he'll be out". YEAH RIGHT!!!!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Jared. We went to a Maya (animation program) party and then dinner at the Cheesecake factory first. Then we got to the hospital at midnight.
18. Who watched? Jared stood by my side and was awesome. He couldn't have been better. My mom and dad sat off to the side of the room. It was great to have both my mom and dad there. I loved hearing my dad say "you're almost done" he's almost out" "you can do it sweetie". The doctor was great and my nurse was awesome!

19. Was it natural or c-section? Natural. I didn't think I could do it though.

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Heck yes!!! I got my epidural right after the dr. broke my water and was throwing up from the pain of the contractions. Poor Jared didn't know what to do for me. He said I was shaking from the pain. He was such a trooper.

21. How much did your child weigh? 7lbs 4 oz

22. Did your child have any complications? He stopped breathing for a minute but then was ok. I was freaking out though because he had 4 nurses working in him trying to get him to breathe.

23. What did you name him/her? Cayden Merle Linton. His middle name comes from his Grandpa Linton whom Cayden and I have never met. We decided that since Cayden was the first grandson with the Linton last name he needed to be named after Jared's dad.

24. How old is your first born today? Almost 11 months. I can't believe it. Time goes by so fast.

25. Who does your child look like? He is actually a good mix of both of us. Some days he looks more like his dad and others he looks more like me. It just depends on the day.

Cayden brings us so much joy and we love him so much. He is such a wonderful boy and brings such a wonderful spirit to our home. He is definitely all boy though. He climbs on everything, gets into everything, and gets mad when he can't have something. His new favorite thing is to "play" video games with his daddy. If Jared has a controller Cayden wants one too. He will even grab it on his own and "play" without Jared now too. He is so smart!

We took Cayden to the Pumpkin Patch on Friday. It was so much fun! They had a bounce house and a kiddie hay maze that we let Cayden play in. He LOVED it. Cayden just loved being able to walk around and do his own thing. We had a great time and got some great pumpkins! Cayden even picked out his own.

Can you see his top teeth in this picture?? They are pretty cute!!

Have a wonderful week!!! LOVE TO ALL!!!!

You can play with your food!!!

Last weekend we tried to go to the Denver Zoo. Every so often they have a free day. So we thought since it was going to be such a nice day that we'd go. Apparently everyone in the Denver metro area had the same idea. We tried to go in the afternoon thinking that it wouldn't be as crowded. We were wrong. We couldn't even pull into the parking lot. We decided to skip the Zoo because even the overflow parking was overflowing. I felt bad because mom and dad went to Loveland to bring down Kimmy and Spencer to join us. Then my dad had a great idea. He decided we should go the the mall and play on the playground there. Its pretty cute. It's made of giant rubber food.

This is a banana slice

bowl of cereal

He really does love strawberries!

Cayden is getting so big and getting into EVERYTHING. He knows that we keep the broom to the side of the refrigerator and he loves to grab it and "sweep". He knows how to open and turn on the dishwasher. He also likes to grab the tied up garbage and take it to the door. The other day he dragged it to the door and started knocking on the door. I wonder if he'll still want to help when he is 15???

This is for Grandmommy. Timmy's choir sang at their Homecoming game a few weeks ago. It was FREEZING out so we had to bundle Cayden up. He couldn't move his arms. But he was a trooper. Timmy's choir sounded AWESOME!!!

Last but not least....

My oldest brother Chris had his surgery Wednesday. The doctor said it couldn't have gone better. Chris is doing well. He was able to help move himself from the operating table. He was alert and coherent. Hopefully today he can move from the ICU into a normal room and then come home this weekend. I think he starts chemo sometime next week. Thank you to everyone who kept him in their prayers.

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!