San Jose-Natural Bridges Beach

July 6 & 7

My dad has a business training in San Jose for a week. He flew in early on Sunday so that we could meet up with him and hang out for the day before he had his training on Monday. 

..Nixon was a little leery of Grandpa at first, but warmed up to him after awhile..

..Nixon had to sleep in the little hallway of the hotel room, so he couldn't see us and would take a much needed nap..

..Nixon hanging out with Grandpa at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz..

We just hung out at the beach for awhile. There were pelicans all over the rock bridge in the water.  Nixon was not sure about the cold water. Whenever we would go to have his feet touch the water, he would lift his feet up. He got tired after a bit, so we headed out. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant called Buca di Beppo for dinner and then headed back to the hotel to swim at the pool. 

On Monday, we met up with my dad for lunch at a local burger joint. Then we headed out for our three hour drive home. We stopped at the outlets in Gilbert on our way home. They have about a bazillion stores. We were so glad we were able to spend a little time with my dad while he was here in California.

Happy Independence Day 2014!

Travis had to work on the 4th of July for the third time in a row, which was a total bummer, but we had a great time with some of our friends that night. Becky and Tim had us over for an awesome BBQ. We had burgers with all the fixins, corn on the cob, fruit, green salad and topped it off with root beer floats during the fireworks. (We bought a gallon of A&W Root Beer straight from the tap so it was delicious)

We watched some of the Visalia Firework show and also saw many of the neighbors fireworks taht were huge and quite up close, and then we lit some of our own little fireworks. Nixon wasn't scared at all, which I was surprised. He really like watching the fireworks.

We are so grateful for wonderful friends here in Visalia!!

June Happenings

Nixon 10-11 Months

..He rolls the front of his tongue under and can also fold his tongue in half..

..He enjoys watching Baby Einstein and it is the only way I can get him to hold still enough to cute his hair.. (which grows like crazy)

..He loves to make his cheezer face taht you can see in the photo above..

..He is starting to climb up on things and pull himself up to the couch, dryer door, and activity table..

..He starting jabbering a lot more and says da da da a lot..

..He likes to yell loud in our house that is being built because he wants to hear it echo..

.. He notices shadows and can't figure out how to grab them..

..He know the sound of skype calls and facetime calls and gets really excited..

..When Travis calls home at lunch, he talks to Nixon and Nixon smiles..

..He got his first tooth, then second, then third.. (Upper front and the one next to it. One on the bottom middle..

Utah Fun

..Skyping with my brother on his LDS mission on Mother's Day..

..Family Dinner..

I was so glad that Travis was able to come for the first part of our trip.

..Nixon loved all the attention..

From: Grandma Tidwell, Grandpa Tidwell, Brooke, Amanda, Great G&G Ford, Shannon

..Nixon was playing and laughing all day long..

-Being fed by Grandma

-Chewing on the Puffs from Great G&G

-Early morning reading with mom

-Patty-cake with Grandpa

-Skyping daddy

 -Playing with his cousin Mckenna

-Sliding down in the high chair

-Playing peek-a-boo with his blanket

..Nixon got lots of love and attention from his cousins..

Nixon and I headed down to South Jordan to meet up with G&G Guymon, Uncle Mark, Aunt Ashlee, Aunt Jaime and the boys. They were all so excited to see Nixon and we were excited to see them. We had a wonderful time at lunch eating at Chili's. Then we headed back to Jaime's to chat and catch up. 

..Hogle Zoo..

Nixon usually loves being outside, but this zoo trip didn't work out as I would have predicted. I got him sunscreened up and I think he may have rubbed it in his eyes after a few minutes of walking. Maybe he was getting tired too. It was all crying from there.  He was not very happy and I mostly had to hold him the whole time around the zoo. It was quite the workout to say the least. Not the enjoyable stroll I was expecting, but still fun and we made it work.

..Smoot Park..

Nixon loved the slide and the swings. He also love playing on the blanket with Grandma and his water bottle.

Kathy Ford Wilson- I miss her.

I'm not sure that I am going to be able to recount all that happened or really like to remember it even. It's hard for me to even fathom that I am having to do a post about this. I still don't believe it. I'm posting this exactly 1 month after the greatest aunt a girl could ask for passed away. She was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in February 2013. She went through a lot of treatments, chemo, surgery and doctor visit after doctor visit. She was a trooper through it all and always had a positive attitude. Whenever I asked how she was going she would always brush off all of the horrible things she was enduring, tell me she was feeling blessed or doing well. She never was looking inward, always outward. 

Obituary-
Kathy Ford Wilson

9/10/1966 – 5/6/2014 

Kathy Ford Wilson, 47, passed away Tuesday, May 6, 2014.

She was born September 10, 1966 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Richard Smedley and Sharon Taylor Ford.  Kathy spent her elementary years living in Bountiful, Utah.  Her family moved to Centerville in 1977 where she spent her adolescent years, graduating from Viewmont High School.

She was employed by First Security Financial as a teller.  Kathy met her husband, Kevin P. Wilson in the Centerville Singles Ward.  They were sealed as husband and wife, for time and all eternity, on March 2, 1988 in the Salt Lake Temple.  They lived in Bountiful and Kaysville the first 10 years of marriage before settling in their present home in Syracuse, Utah.

Upon the birth of her first child, Kathy became a stay at home mother, instilling her values upon her children.  A year prior to her oldest son’s LDS mission, she went back to work as a bus driver for the Davis School District.  She selected a handicapped route where she had a soft spot for the children she served.  She loved to create memories by organizing parties and games for special occasions.  Then she would scrapbook those memories for her family.  She loved the outdoors and planned the family vacations. 

She was active in her faith, valiant in covenants.  She served in many church callings as ward and stake Young Women’s President.  She was often volunteering to teach classes with the Primary children.  She lived life by serving her family and friends.  Those that she met soon became a friend.

Surviving are her husband, sons, Tyler (Megan), Joshua, daughters, Brianna, Brooke, siblings, Robert (Ellen) Ford, Sheri (Reed) Tidwell, Brad (Anni) Ford and many nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by her grandparents.   

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 11 a.m. at the Syracuse Stake Center, 1350 S. 1800 W., Syracuse. Friends may visit family Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Road and Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church.  Interment, Syracuse City Cemetery. 

We would like to thank those friends and family that served Kathy to the end.  A special thanks to Dr. Harold Johnson and his nursing staff at Utah Hematology Oncology for their loving care and treatment during Kathy’s battle with colon cancer.

She was in the hospital and not doing well. Because I wasn't able to be there in person, I wrote her this letter below that my mom read to her.

Kathy,

I want you to know that I really wish that I could be there to say this to you in person. It’s been so hard living in California and not being able to help make meals for your family or to be able serve you in anyway. I do want you to know that I think about you all the time and you are in all my prayers. I really hope that the roses brought a smile to your face and heart.

I’m having a hard time putting what I feel into words. So I’ll start by quoting something that I wrote on my blog March 10, 2013 shortly after you were diagnosed.

“Kathy is my second mother. I lived next to her for the first 4 years of life and basically we were at her house or she was at our house all growing up. We have always done many things with the Wilson's. We have gone camping together on a yearly basis. We spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Birthdays, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day always celebrating together. She was ALWAYS doing scrapbooking with my mom. My mom and her do almost everything together, thus growing up I was around her all the time. She loves me like I was her own daughter and I love her like I love my mother. She has the most bubbly and funny personality. She always makes everyone laugh. I look up to her. I admire her.

I think for some people an aunt is someone they see at a few family gatherings, maybe weddings, or family reunions, but Kathy to me is much more than that. She is a big part of my life.”

You have always always always let me know that you care and that you are there for me. You have never once forgotten my birthday and I love the little special gifts you give me for Christmas. It might be a box of fruit roll ups or swiss miss hot chocolate, but you gave it just to let me know you care and that you are thinking of me. When we were visiting Utah for Christmas this year, my mom pulled out the wrapped gift from you to Nixon. It was the foam Sesame Street puzzle pieces. Once again I thought, “Kathy never forgets to show me she is thinking of me and my family.” Nixon is so lucky to have you as his great aunt.

I absolutely LOVE how hilarious and funny you are. You always liven up the party. I remember many times when I’d come home from school and you’d be scrapbooking with my mom. I would sit down at the table and we’d all chat. You would crack jokes throughout the conversation and we would just laugh and laugh. I can also remember when you would joke about your crazy hair. Especially up camping. You would always wear a hat to try to tame the curls. There were only two ways the conversation would go, either you were talking about how out of control your hair was, or how it was flat. Do you remember that? Ha ha Who could forget the morning of Labor Day when we were all greeted by the “Kathy rolling pin”. Even though we had been flattened out and woken up, we all ended up laughing together. I seriously think you have contributed to many of my face wrinkles and I’m ok with that because of all the smiles you put on my face.

Do you remember the wrapping paper time of year? When Tyler, me, Brianna, Amanda, and my friend Tara would hop in your potato bug van, (that is what I always thought of when I saw it parked outside our house) and deliver flyers to all of Centerville. We would get those flyers out in no time. I think you might have paid us some money, or bought us some lunch, but ultimately it was not work at all, it was a total blast!

Kathy, I really do love you like I love my own mother. You are the best aunt I could ask for. I’m not sure how I got so lucky to get you as my aunt.  I truly look up to you and admire the kind of women and mother that you are. You are so strong, faithful, positive, genuine, selfless, joyful, and charismatic. You brighten up everyone’s day. You are an influence for good in my life and a perfect role model for the kind of woman I only hope to one day become. I want you to know that if I was there right now, I would give you the biggest, tightest hug. You are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. Even though I can’t be there with you, I know that the Sprit can be there to give you comfort and peace.  You mean so much to me. I cherish the special relationship we share and I’m so grateful that Heavenly Father placed you in my life.

Love ya to pieces
Michelle

I was having a really hard time not being able to say goodbye. I was able to tell her goodbye over speaker phone. By that point, she wasn't able to talk, so I could hear her voice, but she had told me several time over the past year that she loved me and I knew she did. 


After she passed away, Travis and I were trying to figure out how we were going to make it to Utah in time. We ended up leaving late Thursday night and driving to South Point in Las Vegas and then we drove the rest of the way the next day and made it to the viewing. It was really nice to be able to give my mom a hug, I knew she needed it just as much as I did.

The next day was the funeral service. As part of the program, my mom gave a life sketch; Tyler spoke; Brooke and Josh both read poems that Brianna had written. It was nice to hear all about her life. We definitely had some good laughs, but I also realized how many lives she had touched and how much she loved to serve. A beautiful example she was to me. 

It is really hard to write this, tears are in my eyes. I look at these pictures at the burial, and we are smiling for the picture, but inside my heart was aching and there were many many tears. It's so hard to understand why she was taken this early in life; why she had to have cancer; why it couldn't have been caught sooner, but God obviously had a bigger calling for her in heaven. I'm excited to see her again one day and I'm so grateful for our knowledge of the plan of salvation, but in all honestly I still have a hole in my heart. I miss her.

LA-Beach Trip

May 2014

We took a mini trip to LA. Travis has been dying to go to the beach for about two years. We just seemed to not make it to the beach and I was pregnant last summer and not really wanting to go...which makes sense right? ha ha We drove down late Saturday night and got checked into our hotel.

 We spend Sunday afternoon at Will Rogers Beach. We were wondering if Nixon would like the water or not. He absolutely loved it! We mostly put his feet and legs in the water as the waves rolled in. He would smile and squeal with excitement. I thought for sure this would be a 30 min beach experience, but Nixon lasted a good two hours. It was impressive. On our short walk back to the car, he zonked out. Isn't he the cutest!! 

We also had a chance to drop by the Los Angeles LDS Temple on our way out of town. I'm sure glad we did. It wasn't open, but we went to the Visitor Center and some sister missionaries gave us a little tour. One was from New Zealand and the other was from Spain. We had a nice relaxing time. On our way back home, we found that their was a new Cafe Rio built in Santa Monica. We made sure to hit that up. I just can't get enough of their sweet pork salad. Delish!! Something I definitely miss.

April Pics

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

April 20, 2014-Nixon's First Easter

We started off Easter Sunday with church at 9 a.m. Our 4th ward that we were in got split last week. It was quite a surprise. We are in the boundaries of the new 8th ward that was created here in Visalia. I was the Laurel Advisor in our old ward, but with the split everyone got released. So I was awaiting what my calling would be. I am the Relief Society Secretary. I am really sad to not be with the Laurels anymore, but I will have a good time serving with the ladies in Relief Society. It will be quite a change though. I also taught a combined Young Women lesson on the Apostasy and Restoration. 

Once we got home, Nixon needed a nap and so I joined in the fun and took a nice Sunday afternoon nap. It was super great!!! When Nixon woke up, we did our little Easter celebration. He got an Easter basket with a book, rubber ball, toy bunny rattle, and bubbles. Travis played with him by blowing bubbles towards him. He liked it a lot and was pretty entertained. He would reach to try to pop the bubbles. It was really cute! Nixon is so so fun at this stage. I love how happy he is. He loves to squeal and smile. He loves to jump and he likes to slap his hands up and down on the kitchen floor, tile entry, and his highchair. Anything that makes a lot of noise.

I'm grateful for the Savior's sacrifice and resurrection that allows me to have an eternal family!!

Feb/March Pics and G. Tidwell comes to visit

..Nixon's Valentine's gift from G&G Tidwell..



..Ready for Church..

March 5-11, 2014

 

My mom came to visit us for a week. Nixon loved seeing her every morning and would always smile when he would see her for the first time in the morning. He loved all the extra attention and personal playtime. It was so great to go shopping, go for walks, and have lunch with my mom. I loved just being able to talk to her in person. We were so glad she was able to come and visit for a week!! We are already looking forward to next time.

Mouth Open Wide...for baby food

When we first introduced rice cereal to Nixon, he was not a fan. Now that we have mixed in veggies or fruits, he loves it!! His mouth is always opened wide waiting for his food. So far he has tried bananas, applesauce, pears, peaches, green beans, peas, squash, and sweet potatoes. He likes all of them. So I'm glad that so far so good as far as Nixon being a good eater :)

..Before..

..During..

..After..

We're going to the zoo..zoo..zoo

Monday, February 17-President's Day

Evan, Jessica, and their daughter Lily (20 months) were going to go to the zoo on President's Day and invited us to come along. We headed up to the Chaffee Zoo in Fresno. Trav and I had never been there. It was a really nice day with temps in the 60's. We had a great time strolling around, looking at the animals, and watching how much Lily loved all of it. Nixon didn't understand the concept of the zoo yet, but he loved being outside and had no complaints for the 2 hours we were there. Afterwards, we ate a Mexican Restaurant and it was delicious!!! We had a GREAT time.

..Spent some time at the petting zoo..

..Nixon..7 months..

..He eats really well now. He has tried applesauce, bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans. His favorite food is green beans thus far..

..He has learned that if he shakes something that rattles it will continue to rattle. He now knows where the noise is coming from.

..He is starting to scoot a little bit and can kind of turn himself in different directions. on his stomach and back..

..His favorite toy is Sophie the giraffe..

..He has become a thumb sucker. When he gets tired he suck his thumb. He falls asleep sucking his thumb.

..Sleeping has majorly improved. He goes to bed at 9:15pm wakes up at about 5 to eat and then sleeps til 8:00am..

..He goes down for naps so much easier now. I read him a couple stories, turn on the white noise, turn off the light, wrap him in a blanket, and walk out the door. He then rolls onto his side while sucking his thumb and goes to sleep. There is NO crying involved now. It is SOOOO nice!!..

 

We can't get enough of this sweet boy. His laugh and giggle are so fun! At this stage all he wants to do is grab anything and everything that is in front of him. Most things he wants to put in his mouth. He is getting really close to being able to sit for long periods of time by himself. That is what we are working on often. He still has no teeth.

We love him to pieces!!!

 

 

..Nixon..6 Months..

Nixon-6 months

Some of my favorite new things that Nixon is doing are as follows.

-He will reach for me to pick him up, especially out of his jumper.
-He puts his feet in his mouth and sucks on his toes.
-He likes to play peek-a-boo- with a blanket. I will cover up his face with a blanket and say, "Where's Nixon?", then pull it off (or Nixon will try to pull it off) and I'll say, "There he is." Nixon will smile real big and kick his legs with excitement.
-His does the wiggle. When laying on his back he will move his upper body and arms opposite his lower body and legs.
-He's ticklish now. You can tickle him under his arms and he will giggle the cutest giggle ever.

We tried to give Nixon rice cereal. The first few times I tried to feed him he kind of ate a little bit, but didn't seem too interested. After a few times, I had Trav give it a try. Nixon ate up the whole bowl full. Then I tried a few more times after that and he did not want it at all. At first he would taste a little bit, but then he started opening his mouth and kind of gagging and spitting it out with the funniest face. So we have now started on vegetables. We've tried green beans and he is starting to understand how to swallow the food.

Nixon's sleeping has improved!! YEAH! Getting excited about the small victories.

 

Nixon-5 months

Nixon turned 5 months old on 12/25/13, Christmas Day. I had been so good to take the pictures of him on the exact month mark up until this point. Christmas day was way to busy and then the week of New Year's Nixon was so sick (runny nose, cough, congestion, watery eyes) so these pics are a little closer to 5 1/2 months, but I'm just glad I got some.

This month happenings....

 

*Rolled over from back to tummy for the first time and started to roll from tummy to back a lot more often.

*Turns his head when he hears your voice. He gets really confused when I talk to Trav at work during lunch on speakerphone. He can't figure out where daddy is.

*He tries everything out using his month.

*He always kicks his legs and smiles when his feet hit something that makes an interesting noise. So he especially liked the crinkling sound of this changing pad.

*He loves to rub his feet together and touch things with this feet. He will sit in his crib and watch the mobile while moving his feet up and down the wood bars and be content for quite awhile.

*He found his toes and loves to grab them. He especially likes them when he is in his jammies and they have cute characters on the like dogs, penguins, raccoons, ect.

*I've caught him looking at arm when he is wearing his penguin jammies. He is intrigued by the penguins.

*He loves it when you are up close face to face with him and you talk with him or give him kisses.

 

We love our sweet boy!

 

 

Nixon's First Christmas

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Because we were going to be in Utah on Christmas Day and we were flying, we knew it would be impossible to take all of our gifts to Utah to open on Christmas Day. So we decided to have Christmas the Sunday before we left. At the request of Travis, it was held after Christmas Sunday at church so we could be in the Christmas mood. Needless to say, it felt a little different than having it on Christmas...not sure why that really is...but we enjoyed opening gifts together as a family.

..Santa filled our stockings with care..

..Nixon liked ripping the wrapping paper..

..What we got..

I think this is the only year we can get away with doing Christmas, not on Christmas Day. 

Merry  Christmas!!

Random December Pics

..Nixon's First Christmas Ornament..

 

Each year we get an ornament that is from a trip or something we did that year. This year our only trips were to Utah, but the big event for the year was having Nixon. This is the cutest little radio flyer wagon. It has a little give bow on the handle with a tag that says Nixon on one side and 2013 on the other. I really wish I would have got a better picture of it. We also got another ornament with a momma and dadda owl sitting on the moon with their baby owl. It says, "I'm over the moon for you". This is to represent us becoming new parents this year.  

..Added another stocking to the fireplace..

..Family photo that was on our Christmas Card..

..Bear hat specifically purchased for our Utah trip.. (It isn't cold enough in Visalia)

..Love these grey skinny jeans..

.

..One-on-one playtime with dad..

..Loving his new Snoopy stuffed animal from Auntie Joi..