Mothers Day

I am so grateful for my little boy - I love him so much, and I love being his mom! I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Here he is on the day I became a mama -


The first time I got to hold my son -


I am just so thrilled to be a mom, and so grateful for my mom. You don't realize how much your parents have done for you until you become a parent yourself.


I am so grateful for my mom! She is so amazing, and is one of my best friends ever. She is such a great mom, she would do anything for her kids. She is a great example to me, I hope I can be as good a mom to my kids as she is to us. Happy Mothers Day, Mama! I love you!


I am also so grateful for Jonathan's mom - I honestly could not have asked for a better mother-in-law. Not only am I grateful to her because she raised an amazing son (well, she raised eleven amazing kids!) but I have learned so much from her, and she is a wonderful example to me. I love her positive, happy attitude. Happy Mothers Day, Mom - I love you!

a Gibbons gathering

We had a really nice family gathering on Saturday with my Gibbons grandparents and all of their children and grandchildren (there were a few who couldn't be there, but most of us were there). A lot of family came in from out of town, and it was so fun to see everyone and to be together. On Saturday morning we all met (including all the great-grandchildren, too) and got a big family picture taken at a park downtown. Here is a cute picture of my immediate family :)


James decided to have a really messy diaper right before the picture, so we ended up changing him in the grass, poor kid! My cousin Lori got this picture and I think it's hilarious. The poor kid was naked in the grass, because we had left the blanket in the car.


After the picture, my family went with my aunt Shari, cousins Michelle, Lisa and Heidi, and Lisa's husband Jim, and had breakfast at Denny's. The food was way good! James kept trying to grab it. I guess that's a sign that he's ready for solid foods, eh?


Annie, Mama, and Pops


Josh, Liz and Abby


Me and my cute sister Abby


James was tired and hungry and was in quite the funny mood - here he is, squirming in his Grandpa's arms. That kid is so ready to start crawling and moving around!


I was holding James and he was just CRYING, he was so sad - so Daddy took him and was able to make him so happy! He was smiling and laughing and dancing (videos to come). Daddy is so good at cheering that boy up!


We went home for a little while, and then got ready to leave James with his first babysitter ever! His babysitter was this cute girl in our ward named Katie. I used to babysit Katie and her siblings all the time when I was a teenager, and I also taught them all piano lessons, so it was kind of fun that now she is babysitting my son! I was talking about it with Katie and two of her sisters a week or so ago, and they thought it was so cute that it has come full circle, now that she's tending my baby. I was a little worried, just because I didn't know how James would do with a stranger, but right when she came in he smiled at her so big, so that helped a ton! He was a really good boy and even took a bottle!

We then had a nice banquet up at the University of Utah with the Gibbons fam, including Grandma and Grandpa, their children and spouses, and all the grandchildren and spouses. We had a nice program with members of the family performing musical numbers and such, and my uncle put together a fun video of old family movies (my, was I a shy child!) My grandparents both said a few words and were so sweet, they are amazing people. They also announced a scholarship/mission fund that they will be setting up for their descendants when they "shoot over." I am so grateful for such amazing grandparents who are always encouraging us to do our best and to get as much education as we can, and who are always so supportive and generous. They really are great examples to me.

Here I am with my sweet Grandma - what an amazing lady she is!


Me and Grandpa - he is such a great man!


Mama with my cousin Emily and my Aunt Ruthie.


Some of the Stonemans - Allen, Molly Bay, Ben, Augie and Sam. Ben is impersonating his mother in an awesome photo that was included in a family recipe book we all got - funniest picture ever! Ben's wife, Melissa, just had a baby boy on Friday night - congrats!


Datty and Liz


All the girls - aren't we so cute? Left to right is Annie, Liz, me, Mama, and Abby.


The boys - Jonathan and Josh

flip flops

James tried on his first flip flops this week, and it was so cute I had to take a picture! Our friends Charles and Melissa gave these flip flops to us when James was born, when they came to visit us at the hospital. Since it is getting to be warmer weather, and his feet are getting to be the right size, I tried them on him and they were just adorable. Thanks, Charles and Melissa! I'm sure we'll get some good use out of these this summer :)


And, a random picture just for fun - James' latest is that he loves to hang upside down and look around at people. One second he'll be sitting on your lap, and then suddenly he leans back and is just hangin' out, looking at the world from a different perspective. What a cute boy!

We miss you, Daddy!

Jonathan had the opportunity to go to Idaho for work today, and it is so great because the job he had to do is only about a half hour away from his parents' house in Oregon, so he is staying with them tonight. We don't get to see them nearly as often as we would like, so he was so excited to be able to visit for a day!

James and I hung out with my family for a big portion of the day, though, and that was so much fun. Abby and I (and James) went shopping, and then we all had dinner and visited until just a little while ago. It is so fun to have my family so close!

It is kind of weird to have Jonathan gone, even for a short period of time - I think we have only been apart one weekend since we've been married! I left my parents' house and James and I got in the car and drove home (the VERY long drive of about one block :) hehe), and it was kind of weird to come home and not have Jonathan here too! I am so grateful to have such an amazing husband, and especially now that we have James I am incredibly grateful to be married to such a great guy, and that James has such a great Daddy. We miss you, Babe!

Here is a picture of James and I playing Mario Kart on the Wii with Grandpa - James, as you can imagine, was a BIG help during this race. We were playing with a bunch of people from around the world, and Dad and I were having a great time beating them (mostly...).


Here is my sleepy boy in his crib - he was so tired when we got home that he fell right asleep, with his puppy in his arms. What a cute kid. I'm so glad he's mine!

Fun with the Stoneman fam

On Sunday night we got to have a fun visit with my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Al and my cousin Augie. These guys are so great! They are so much fun to hang out with. James had lots of fun getting to know the Stonemans, and I think they had fun hanging out with him!

Here is a cute picture of James and Aug - what handsome guys!


James and Aunt Woosie have a little cuddle -


James was very fascinated with Allen's fun sound effects and facial expressions. It was very cute.


The sleepy, sleepy boy finally fell asleep in Grandma's arms. :)

father & son

James and his Daddy are great pals - they love to hang out together and play games, and James gets so happy when Daddy comes home from work to play with him!

Here are my boys, hanging out, playing a little Wii together. James' outfit used to be Uncle Josh's, and it is the comfiest outfit ever. He's very cuddly in it. :)

playing around

Here is our happy little boy having some fun tummy time. He totally wants to crawl and move all around, but doesn't get yet that he needs to push up with his arms and bring his knees under himself - so now he kind of just "swims" - it is so cute!


Last night James was standing on my tummy and we were playing, and then all of a sudden he just leaned his head down on me like this, it was so funny. I guess he thought it was comfortable...


And then all of a sudden, he kind of jumped up and kicked his legs in the air! It was hilarious. What an acrobatic little boy!


More kicking. He looks like a gymnast, or something...


All tuckered out and being cuddly.

called to serve...

Yesterday my sister Liz received her mission call! She came home from Provo to open it and our whole family was there, it was really neat. She is going to the Washington, Seattle Mission and will enter the MTC on August 6th. We are so proud of you, Liz! You will make an amazing missionary. We will sure miss you, but will send TONS of pictures of the boy. :)

Now we will have two family missionaries out - Liz in Washington, and Jonathan's brother Jared in New Zealand.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

my *sleepy* boys

I was up late last night chatting with one of my very best friends, Janina, online (love ya, Janina!) - it was so much fun! I sure miss her!! When I was done I went into the bedroom where my boys were sleeping, and I found this...


I had left a whole bunch of baby stuff on the bed, like James' car seat, a big box of diapers, etc. - and Jonathan was so sleepy he just kinda found a little corner to sleep on. Poor guy! It looked so funny though, I just had to take a picture. He is such a great guy, he is so patient with me, even when I am not the cleanest person ever (I am SO working on it!)

Then I went and checked on our little guy and he looked so darn cute, I had to take a picture of him, too. I think that watching babies sleep has got to be one of the best things ever, because they look so sweet and cute.


I love my boys!

James' first shoes