three years ago today

Three years ago today, I went out with my sweet husband for the first time! It's amazing how fast time seems to go by. It's also amazing how one day your life is one way, and then the next day it can completely change, just like that. Before the date, I had no interest in Jonathan at all. I just knew him as a nice guy in the ward, and I had never even considered the fact that he was cute.

I was excited for the date, but not overly-excited. It was a time in my life when I was going on dates quite a bit (quite a bit for ME, at least!) and having a lot of fun - but I was never interested in any of the guys I went out with.

I remember when he called me during the week to ask me out - I said yes, and he told me what time he'd pick me up, and then said, "and if I see you between now and then, I'll probably pretend like I don't know you." I'm thinking - ok, sounds good - what a funny guy. I hung up the phone and told my roommates that Jonathan Boster had just asked me out. From the other room, my roommate Mindy yelled "WHAT??!" in complete surprise (ironically, Jonathan had seriously dated a girl who was pretty close friends with some of my roommates, and the girl was on a mission at the time).

I saw Jonathan on Friday afternoon, the day of our date, in the HFAC (Harris Fine Arts Center - aka MY HOME) at BYU, and because of what he had said, I pretended like I didn't know him! I introduced myself and shook his hand and we chatted for a minute - looking back on it, he probably thought I was flirting with him - but I really wasn't that interested. Funny how these things work out!

I practiced the piano all afternoon, and then went home to get ready for the date. Our next-door neighbor was over at our apartment visiting, and she was getting all into it and asking me what I was going to wear for the date. I think my exact words were, "I dunno . . . it's just Jonathan!" (Sorry Babe!)

It was when he walked in the door to pick me up that I looked at him and thought "hmmm . . . he's kinda cute!" He had piqued my interest, and my life has never been the same since! We had a great time on our date - we doubled with his good friend Jay and a cute girl he was dating. It was nothing fancy but we got along really well and joked around a LOT - I thought he was just hilarious! I think I was laughing the whole night. We got pizza from Little Caesar's and then went to a park and ate, and then played frisbee golf. It was totally unlike any other "first date" I had ever been on. It wasn't even until halfway through the date that he finally said, "so, where are you from?" - up until that point we had just been talking about things and joking around. We just really hit it off. It was so much fun, it was a beautiful spring evening, and now whenever it starts to get warm after winter, I just think about the time we started to date - it brings back such great memories!

We then went to a BYU folk dance concert at Provo High and he just continued to make me laugh, and I had such a great time! We went back to his apartment and ended up watching The Incredibles on his roommate's HUGE tv. And this was a first in awhile - I had been on many-a-date in those recent months where the guy would try to get a little too close during a movie, so I would end up folding my arms the entire time - but this time I didn't feel the same way at all, it was so weird - I was the one who sat really close to him. He was just, all of a sudden, a really cute guy!

The next day I told my best friend Janina that it was the first date in a LOOONG time where I actually WANTED a 2nd date with the guy. Janina and I stayed at my parents' house that weekend, but I got back on Sunday night and Jonathan and I talked for hours. We were together every single day after that, and the rest is history!

I am so grateful for my amazing husband! He's my best friend and I just love him so much! He is always so positive and has the greatest sense of humor. He's the greatest guy. I love you, Babe!

Just for fun, here are a few pictures from our dating days!

This is one of the very first pictures of us together - it was taken just a couple of days after our first date.

James' first jeans...

Our big boy has been growing out of all of his clothes lately!! Just in the past few days, I have gotten out all of the "bigger" clothes and gone through them, and he can actually fit into a lot of them! He is wearing a lot of things that are size 6 months. What a big boy! Well he wore his first jeans the other day - they are still a little big, but I'm sure he will grow into them very quickly! Too bad that soon after this picture was taken he had a very explosive accident, and his entire outfit (including the socks) had to go in the wash. Oh well, he had another new outfit to wear!

James and his Grandpa Gibbons. This is another first, he is wearing his very first shorts in this picture!

I LOVE the cuddling!!

Sweet little sleepy boy


Holding on tight

A True Statement

Mom and I were at a baby store a couple of weeks ago, and we saw this cute sign hanging up above a crib. The statement on it is SO true, and it is so cute I had to share! It says, "Baby makes...days shorter, nights longer, home happier & love stronger!" Jonathan and I love our baby so much, life has changed so much since he was born, but it has changed in such a good way!

Spontaneous Photo Shoot on Mama's Chair!

So my Mom just got an awesome new gliding rocking chair for her "Mama's Room" - she figured that since she is now a Grandma, she needs to own a comfy rocking chair! So she and I (and James, of course, in his stroller) went to USA Baby and sat in every single chair (and there were a lot!), and picked out the most comfortable one! It is so comfortable, I could sleep in it! Well a bunch of us were all home for Sunday dinner this week, and Abby started taking some pictures, and we ended up having a "photo shoot" because we realized that the background was very nice and neutral, and Annie and I were both wearing black. It was some great times. I also have been trying my hand at a little photo editing - nothing too exciting, but I lightened up some of the pictures that were too dark and tried to do some fun things on others. Hope you enjoy!

Me and my darling son...in a picture frame.

And here I am getting creative. I ought to have Jonathan post some of the pictures he edited with the picture frame - they are kind of fun!

I love this kid!

This is when we realized, "Hey, we're both wearing black shirts and jeans - let's take a bunch of pictures!!"

Me and my cute sister Annie! Love ya Annie!

Me and my awesome siblings (minus Liz, who was in Provo - but she is still an awesome sibling! Love ya!) I know, I know - my eye looks freaky - I tried to fix the red eye and something weird happened, and I didn't have the energy to go back and fix it.

Playing around with the coloring...

My handsome bro, Josh. He just got his drivers license! Wahoo!

Abby and I being silly.

My cute sister Abby!

Abby's good friend Rob, and his twin brother Ricky came over and were forced to join in the fun! They were even forced to take many of the pictures. Thanks guys!

This is when I got a charlie horse in my foot.

Charlie horse! Ahhh!

Me and my big sis, Annie!

Two of my cute sisters and I

Good times!

Painting

Yesterday we went and helped Jonathan's brother Daniel and his wife Bethany sand and paint some rooms in their new house! We had a lot of fun, and we also got to see his brother Andrew and his wife Sierra, who live in Rexburg. Here are some pictures from the day...

Cute Sierra in her lovely goggles! (She will probably hate that I posted this on here...sorry!)

Sanding the walls

Jonathan and Andrew hard at work ...

Boster boys

James and his cousin Joshua

Bethany and I sort of took turns watching the boys. At one point, James was lying on the floor happily playing with a toy, and Joshua was crying. So, I picked up Joshua and was rocking him and trying to get him to sleep. James was just looking at me, and all of a sudden he just FROWNED, he looked so sad! He then frowned again, and then burst into tears! It was almost like he was saying, "that's MY mommy!!" It was pretty sweet, it pretty much broke my heart. James is so cute, it is so fun to be a mommy and have somebody love you like that!

Some recent James pictures

Here is James holding onto his blankie, which is one of his new favorite things to do! (as mentioned in the previous post...)


James and his Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons at his Uncle Josh's basketball game - go Uncle Josh!


James attended his first basketball game this week, and was quite enthralled with it all. Here he is at the game - all of the sounds and sights were VERY interesting! His toy he is holding is his favorite - it's "Mr. Crab" and he loves it!

Our Sweet Boy

We love our little boy so much - more and more every day! I just can't imagine loving anyone more! He is so adorable. Wednesday was his three-month birthday! I can't believe he is growing up so fast. It seems like every day he is doing something new. Some of his latest new things:

• Talking and squealing, especially while lying on his back
• Discovering his tongue! He likes to stick it out the side of his mouth and curl it - it is the cutest thing ever!
• Sleeping through the night!! The other night he went ten hours between feedings - meaning I didn't have to wake up at all during the night to feed him! It was the most sleep I have gotten in over three months, and was quite heavenly :) He also has been napping really well - that same day, he took two two-hour naps during the day.
• Holding onto the edge of his blankies, or his burp cloth or clothes. Basically, it is pretty nice to be able to hold onto something - it makes you feel more secure and is very nice. The cutest is when I tuck him into bed and I wrap a blanket tight around him, and he still grabs onto the top with both hands.
• Sucking his thumb! It is really cute, because he hasn't quite figured out yet that he can just put his hand in a little fist and stick out his thumb to suck on - he kind of grabs onto his face with the rest of his fingers while he puts his thumb in his mouth. Here is a video of it:

Walks with Our Boy

We have been loving the nice weather that we had earlier this week - we finally were able to take James out in the stroller and go for some walks! He slept through a couple of them, but I think he had fun! We have discovered that he falls asleep very easily in his stroller. We like to walk to Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons' house, which is just down the street. Here is our sweet boy in his stroller, all ready to go! The toy hanging from his car seat is one of his new favorites - we call it his "Crinkly Bug!" It plays music and lights up, and the wings make a crinkly sound when he plays with it. What more could a boy want?

James loves holding onto things - usually the edge of a blanket or his pants or shirt. I think it makes him feel secure. It's really cute!

He is so excited to be going on a walk!!

Here is our cute boy having some tummy time!

Our happy little guy

James and his mommy hanging out on Sunday afternoon.

I love this little boy so much!

Aunt Liz

Tonight we went to my parents' house for dinner, and all of my sisters also came from Provo. It was a lot of fun, and as always, James was the most popular person there! He was a little sleepy though, and so was not the happiest little guy. Good thing he's got such nice aunts to help make him happy!

Sad day

Our little cuddly boy

Tummy Time

Here is James trying to roll over. He has done it a few times before, but he doesn't quite do it on a regular basis yet. His mommy and aunts cheer him on. Tummy time is hard work!