This was Landen and cousin Linkoln's first Halloween! They are exactly two months apart in age. Landen was a dragon (my dad thought he was a flying alligator- haha) and Linkoln was a ballpark frank! Happy Halloween 2009!

We went and spent the first part of Halloween with my family.  We baked and decorated halloween cookies with my sisters and cousins....

..... and then went to visit Kenny's family and got pictures with the two little whippersnapper grandbabies in their cute costumes.

The proud parents of our lil dragon! Happy FIRST Halloween Lan-man!

PuMpKiN PaTcH!

Several weeks ago we drove down to Little Bear Bottoms Pumpkin Patch to pick out pumpkins!

Here's the corn maze we had to drive through to get to the pumpkin patch.....  

   

 ..... and Landen snoozing on the way there.

      


Dad picked this pumpkin.....     

.... Mom chose this one...

                                           ..... and Landen liked this one.

  

See you next year Little Bear Bottoms!

Landen turned 5 months old yesterday!  I cannot believe how fast these 5 months have flown by!  So, I decided to do a post on some of Landen's "firsts" and some of his "milestones."


Landen's first official bath!

Landen's first Prowler (off road vehicle) ride. This is probably not the best idea, but Kenny was very careful and drove very slow so don't report us to CPS! Landen loved it!  He stared at the trees and then fell asleep for the rest of the ride.

Landen's first camping trip to Stanley Lake, Idaho.  A family vacation tradition for over 20 years!












Landen's first game of Rummi with great Grandma Della & Grandpa Vince

Landen's first tractor ride with Daddy and Mommy in the Tremonton Fair Parade

Landen's first and last day on the job (you can clearly see why this was his last day on the job- he just couldn't handle the workload =)

Landen's first experience with solid food (rice cereal).  Look at those eyes begging for more!

Landen's first pair of glasses- just a bit too big.  Thanks Aunt B!

Landen's first girlfriend- Emma Liette Walker- compliments of Brett & Lizzy Walker! 

 Some Landen Milestones:

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  May 29, 2009, 4:01 p.m.- Landen Kenneth Buttars is born!
  
• 
  
  June 24, 2009- Landen's first smile
  
• 
  
  July 12, 2009- Landen's first coo
  
• 
  
  August 13, 2009- Landen's first giggle
  
• 
  
  August 19, 2009- Landen sleeps through the entire night
  
• 
  
  October 2, 2009- Landen discovers his feet
  
• 
  
  October 25, 2009- Landen finds his toes
  
  
  

Some sweet chariot hairdos during bathtime! Poor kid.

I haven't blogged for awhile so here's a recap of pictures of the last few months of Landen. As you can see, he has developed quite the personality. One word to describe Landen? Dramatic!

Back when I about 32 weeks pregnant, I heard a Brad Paisley song that had me in tears everytime I listened to it. I loved it because it talked about how life gets better and better with ever step and milestone (I was overly emotional with being just weeks away from having Landen) . I thought about how good life has been with Kenny- from dating, to almost 3 years of marriage, to the day when we would have our first baby. Just when you think life is as good as it can get, it gets even better! I had my sister, Brooke, listen to the song and she called me the other day and told Kenny and I to come over to watch a slideshow she made us. She made this awesome slideshow to that Brad Paisley song for us! This is the best gift anyone could give! Thank you Brookie for always being so thoughtful. I love you! For anyone who wants to watch the slideshow, be sure to pause the music that plays (on the playlist to the right) when you visit our blog so you can hear the music on the slideshow.

Here are just a few of our family photos taken by Kenny's cousin, Sheena.

Kenny's cousin, Sheena, came over one day and took these pictures of Landen when he was two weeks old. She did such a great job! Here are just a few of our favorites of Landen. You can see more of her work on her blog: memories-by-sheena.blogspot.com. Thanks again Sheena!

There's nothing to describe the feeling of seeing and holding your baby for the very first time. There was so much going on all around us but it felt like it was just the three of us (Dad, Mom, and Son) in that room for those first few moments of our baby's life.

Mommy and Landen

Our first family picture

Kenny and I both had a feeling our baby would be born the last weekend in May, and sure enough he was! 15 hours after arriving to the hospital, Landen Kenneth Buttars was born at 4:01 p.m. on Friday, May 29, 2009. He was 7lbs. 8oz. and 19 1/2 in.

I had been having contractions pretty strong and regular for a couple weeks prior to having our baby. My contractions really started picking up Thursday night and we ended up going to the hospital around 1:00 am Friday morning, May 29. Here we are several hours after arriving to the hospital. I had the option of eating ice or popsicles, so ofcourse I picked the popsicles. As you can see, Kenny was enjoying one as he was watching my contractions being monitored.

Anyone who knows Kenny and I knows that we can fall asleep anywhere at any given time. I think we both may have a slight case of narcolepsy. It looks like our little boy takes after both his parents. Kenny got creative one day and made this fun collage.

LANDEN KENNETH BUTTARS

MAY 29, 2009 4:01 PM

7 LBS. 8 OZ. 19 1/2 IN.

For Kenny

The past 8 months have been a rollercoaster ride of emotions! I never really had any idea of what pregnancy would be like or what kinds of emotional extremes I'd be experiencing, but I think my husband has quite possibly dealt with the craziest pregnant woman ever and has taken it in stride!
I just have to tell my husband thank you for being so patient with me and so loving and attentive. It hasn't been just through this pregnancy- he has always been that way with me. He has been more than I could have ever asked for in a husband and I know he will be the same as a father. He's so excited to be a dad and I can't wait to watch him as he helps raise our firstborn baby boy. Love you Kenny!

Our Wedding Day

May 18th will mark 2 1/2 years since we were married

Hello Friends and Family!
As we all know, I'm new at this blogging thing. I need help understanding how to follow other peoples' blogs. I've noticed some friends who have made comments on my posts but I don't know how to respond to them or even find their blogs. Can someone help me understand this blogging world?

Week 25
I flew home to California earlier this month to surprise my mom for her birthday. We hadn't seen each other since we found out I was pregnant. She's so excited to be a Grandma!

Week 22

I've been horrible of taking pictures while I've been pregnant. I didn't really start getting a belly until this picture.

January 16, 2009:

Today was the big appointment where they take a bunch of ultrasound pictures and check to make sure the baby's developing properly. Today was also the day we found out the gender of our little baby. They accidently scheduled us on a day that the ultrasound specialist wasn't there, so they had another doctor come in and do the ultrasounds. The doc had a difficult time figuring out its gender because our baby wouldn't sit still. After about 20 minutes or so, he finally caught the baby in a position where he could tell that we were to have a baby BOY! We were so excited! I wasn't surprised- I had a feeling from the beginning it was a boy. This is the clearest ultrasound we got of him. I'm not sure what the picture on the left is, but the picture on the right is of him holding both his little arms up. I just love it!

December 2, 2008: First ultrasound! Holy smokes- this baby is a wild one! Our baby was dancing around like a little mexican jumping bean! We also got to hear the heartbeat! We both cried- it was exciting to see our baby and hear its heartbeat for the first time.

This will be my first official real post on our blog. I thought I'd start off with the fact that we're expecting our first baby in June!! I really want to keep an interactive record of this journey so far. I realize that I only have a few months left but I just barely figured out this blogging thing- so I have a lot to catch up on.

I found some pregnancy journaling questions that I thought would be good for me to summarize my pregnancy so far. Sorry if it's lengthy and boring but I need to record every detail so I have something to look back on- the pregnancy has gone by so fast! So here they are:


1) Where were you when you first suspected you were pregnant?

Well, I never once suspected I was pregnant. My husband suspected it before I gave any thought to the possibility of me being pregnant. I had the stomach flu for all I knew.



2) What were the symptoms/signs that you felt before you found out you were pregnant?

I started despising certain foods and smells and felt sick throughout the day. For example:

• Conference weekend- I made a hearty breakfast and decided after the meal that I hated eggs.
• Trip home to California (went home to see my sis, Brooke, home from her mission)- on this trip I started noticing that all the food I normally enjoyed eating didn't taste the same and nothing sounded appetizing at all. I couldn't enjoy my stepdad's homemade salsa, or even an In-n-Out burger. I started feeling sick to my stomach throughout the day but didn't put any of these symptoms together.
  

3) When did you discover you were pregnant?

October 21, 2008- I got back home from my trip to California and by this point, I felt sicker than a dog. It was everything I could do to pull myself out of bed. I felt woozy and nauseous and had aches and pains all over. Kenny told me to leave work early and go home and rest. He suggested that I might be pregnant and told me to grab a pregnancy test on the way home. I never even thought for a minute that I could possibly be pregnant. I grabbed a pregnancy test and went home and took it. Sure enough, the test came out positive! I couldn't believe it! I felt a flood of emotions all at once: excitement, happiness, worry- it was surreal. These tests never worked before (well they worked, they just always came out negative so I just decided they didn't work). I really didn't believe it. I called Kenny and he was so happy but couldn't believe it either. I started to get nervous because I didn't know what to do next so I called my mom and told her. She was so excited and guided me through everything I needed to do. I told her I was scared that maybe the test was innaccurate so she told me to take another one the next morning. I did and it came out positive again!! Kenny and I could let ourselves be truly excited by this point because we knew this was real now. We had our first baby on the way!!

4) List some of the cravings you've had along the way:

• Olive Garden salad
• chili flavored ramen noodles
• low mein/chinese food
• soup broth
• pickles
• salt and vinegar chips
• macaroni and cheese
• chex mix
• chocolate cinnamon bears
• Sweetarts
• homemade tacos
• seafood/fish
• fruit
• King Vitamin cereal
• oatmeal/Cream of Wheat

5) Any food dislikes?

• onions and garlic (used to love them)
• cream of chicken enchiladas and lasagna (used to make both of these for dinner- can't stand the sight of them now- can't even stand the sight of the recipes)
• grilled chicken
• salsa
• eggs
• Cafe Rio sweet pork burritos (used to be a treat for us for lunch- not anymore)

6) Smells that have become bothersome?

• scentsy candles
• onions/garlic
• beef/roast/french dip sandwiches
• Bath & Body Works hand soaps/lotions
• my husband's body wash and face lotion
• Subway sandwiches baking in the local Walmart

* on the brighter side, there have been smells that have been particularly favorable during my pregnancy:

• citrus smells: grapefruit, lemons, oranges
• mint
• cinnamon
• Jergens Cherry Almond lotion

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!
I'm a beginner so this might be a slow blog in progress. In the meantime stay tuned for more updates (like I said, I'm a beginner=)