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!!!!

Just for Bethy

But everyone else can enjoy too. Cayden is getting so big. He is walking ALL over the place. He doesn't really crawl a whole lot anymore (unless he is being lazy). He can even stand up all on his own. Sometimes he'll get to his hands and feet and then put his head on the floor and push up until he is standing. He is quite the character. We love him so much and enjoy watching him grow. I can't believe there was ever a time he wasn't with us. He brings us so much joy.

(sorry its a little dark and shaky, apparently I have tremors)

Fall Drive in the mountains

What a weekend! Jared and I have been planning for weeks to go for a drive in the mountains. Well, we finally took our drive on Saturday. I have never been in the mountains in the Fall so it was quite the experience for me. We had such a great time. Even though we missed watching conference I'm so glad we went. It was so nice just to hang out and spend the day together. Cayden was such a trooper too. We stopped and got out to walk around and he had so much fun. Then a ways down the road we stopped again and had a picnic lunch. We got back home just in time for my little brother's birthday party and for Jared to go to the Priesthood session of conference. It was a PERFECT day.

I know its a lot of pictures but it was hard to choose only a few.

Happy Belated birthday to my little brother Timmy. You are so special to us and we love you so much!!!!

We also want to wish a very Happy Birthday today to our brother-in law Sean. We hope you have an awesome birthday and that Jess spoils you as much as you did her. ; ) Have a wonderful day!!! We love you!!!

LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU ALL!!! Have a great week!!!!

Sometimes life is just hard....

As often as I try to blog it seems that something happens and I completely forget about my blog. I don't just forget to blog, I actually forget that it exists. But I do my best to keep it updated since we don't get everyone called as often as we would like.




So let me start by wishing my wonderful sister-in-law Jessica a very belated Happy Birthday. It sounds like you had an awesome birthday week! We are so glad that you did. We think the world of you and wish you the very best in the year to come.

We are doing well. Jared finished another animation project that he's been working on to add to his demo reel. So now that he finished that he's ready to send out his resume and start the official job hunt. He has already applied for a job with Insomniac Games that would, if he got the job, take us to North Carolina. I would LOVE to go back to the east coast. So I'm for sure keeping my fingers crossed for that one to come through.

Work for me is as crazy as ever. This first month back has been a complete nightmare. I try to stay positive though. Its hard having new people stepping in and throwing off the groove that we already have going. I still love my job but this year seems to be a little more challenging.

Cayden is doing FANTASTIC. He is walking all over the place. Its fun but hard too. His new found love is the computer keyboard. He will go over to the computer desk, reach up, and feel around until he feels the keyboard. The other day he actually pulled it down. I guess that means its time to move everything up another level. Oh, boy!!! He is also enjoying the freedom of feeding himself. About 2 weeks ago I was feeding him and he reached out, took the spoon, dipped it into the cup and began feeding himself. Needless to say it gets a little messy but its so cute. He is growing up so fast.

I also want to thank everyone who has kept my dad in their prayers. He is doing well. It seems that every time we get new news it seems to be positive. Its good that my dad is getting positive news because today we found out some not so good news about my oldest brother. This is where life just doesn't seem fair. Today Chris found out that the tumor in his brain that was removed almost 7 years ago is growing back. He has been doing so well and been so positive about everything that he has had to go through and now he has another hurdle to jump. I just don't understand why he has such difficult challenges to face while I sit with such a wonderful life. I wish that I could go through it for him so he doesn't have to do it again. I guess I just have to put my faith in the Lord and pray that everything will be ok. So, if anyone wants to add my brother to their prayers I would appreciate it.

We hope everyone is doing well. We love you all so much!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!