instagram mash up.

although some days it doesn't feel like it, i promise that we do leave the house every once & awhile. thanks to the trusty iphone for providing living proof that i {sometimes} get ready & that as a family we do in fact contribute to society.

bundled up to watch the nephews championship football game.

lunch date with daddy. passed out in the car running errands.

picking up mimi from the airport for a visit. my handsome little devil.

supporting a pal @ his first concert. family trip to the riverwoods mall to see the lights.

my littlest rascal. cuddle time on a sunday morning.

hottest buns around town. shopping for oh christmas tree.

a mover & a shaker.

to my tiniest boyfriend,

you turned eight months old in the middle of november & since then our lives have been a whirlwind.

daylight savings turned out to be a little miracle under our roof because you started going to bed @ 6:30pm & it works fantastically for you. i will even go one step further & say, i think you quite enjoy it. for a few weeks you slept from 6:30pm to 6:30am & would go back down after nursing until around 9am. but per usual, a good thing cannot last long.

you must have known that you were a month older & wiser because on that very day when i walked into your room to retrieve you from your nap, there you were kneeling on the side of your crib grinning with pleasure. i had been waiting for this moment; the moment when i would start to worry about you leaping from your crib. that same day, i had your dad lower your mattress. now, my little adventure seeker, you have learned to stand up in your crib & i think you are quite confused with this new power. on the one hand, your daddy & i cheer you on as soon as you pull yourself up on the ottoman in the living room & we encourage you as you attempt to climb the stairs in the kitchen. on the other hand, while alone with your accomplishment in your crib, you cry & scream as you hold on tightly to the side-rails, absolutely petrified to let go. this has proven to be quite a challenge, as my once fabulous napper has turned into a boy that will not lay down in his crib. as hard as it has been on both of us, i could not be more proud as you learn more & more each day.

you love reading books. & by 'reading', i mean turning the pages. you have an affinity for two books in particular & i am not sure what it is about 'go dog go' & 'goodnight moon', but i have them both memorized now. beyond turning the pages you love hitting the book we are reading like a drum & then you often follow the hitting with a slobbery kiss on the pages. i hope that this hunger for books stays with you always because your daddy & i are in no way, shape or form "readers".

we do everything together. while i do my hair, you sit in the hall & watch me until you cannot stand it any longer and lurch forward to clammer up my leg. i have mastered the art of brushing my teeth & applying my makeup with one hand because you love being in my arms taking equal time to look at yourself in the mirror. we go shopping together & you sit so proudly in the shopping cart these days. we eat out together & you look forward to any scraps that i send your way. just last week i had to renew my costco card & got a new picture . . . with you in it. i can kiss you all day & you have recently learned to give daddy & i hugs on command. you, my littlest friend, are the boyfriend i never knew i was missing.

you have turned into a fabulous eater & although you would prefer a banana & applesauce day in & day out, you are tolerant of many things & have never put up a huge fight against anything we have given you. you are great at feeding yourself & would prefer it that way. you have gotten so good at this art of feeding yourself that even when a tiny morsel of banana or broccoli falls to your lap your tiny fingers scramble to save the scrap & bring it quickly to your mouth. this has proven to be messy most of the time, but i would not have it any other way. you relish in these small accomplishments, as do i.

now that you are sitting up so well, bath time has become on of your favorite pass times. you love being naked & bask in my undivided attention so on top of being able to splash in the warm running water i will dare say, bath time is your favorite time. you love holding your little hand under the faucet & have recently started putting your open mouth under the faucet like a thirsty little bird. your bath toys dont give you as much amusement as does the water around you, but you still splash in the water with caution. after the water has run cold & your feet & hands are sufficiently pruney i wrap you in a huge towel & you happily snuggle with me. you love, love, love being enveloped in the big towel & i love having my arms tightly around you.

your daddy & i love you to the moon & back and are so very proud to call your ours.

<3 mommy

we are family.

i love saying "family". sure, aaron & i were a "family", but now with the nugget on board we really are a "family". thanks to the fabulous & talented nicole christensen, we have the below beautiful images of my sweet, sweet little family.

festive.

we enjoyed the halloween season, mainly because the weather was supreme & our friends hosted a gamut of social events for us to attend that allowed us to really get into the spirit. monroe still doesnt get it, but that didnt stop me from forcing him into costume a few times.

as you can clearly tell our son is a tad confused on how to feel about all of this. poor {darling} chap.

the mess.

i have previously mentioned that prior to the nuggets arrival i thought that i wanted to be one of those mothers that maintained a household where not a trace of baby could be found. obviously, those plans have not worked out as well as i planned. i would not have it any other way. i love that our babe permeates our very existence & that there is not a doubt that we have a baby due to the toys, diapers, crumbs, socks & mayhem that is the state of our abode.

this last picture, KILLS. ME. he is turning into mr. personality, let me tell you.

looking up.

roe & i have been soaking up this fantastic weather & spend our afternoons taking adventures crunching the leaves beneath our feet & looking up into the rapidly changing fall colors above us. we strolled to a park the other day & although each attempt to capture God's grandeur around us failed miserably i was able to catch my darling kiddo on camera. of course.

my life in a nutshell.

those lips.

well my little roe buddy - you have reached your seven month mark & both you & i are still alive, phew. i would be lying if i didn't say we have our rough days, but each & every day gets better & better. each day you learn a new trick, get into something different or agree to eat a new food & my life could not feel more complete.

you are talking more & more & every little happy sound you make makes daddy & i smile from ear to ear. you still babble out 'dadadada' however your current favorite phrase of choice is 'bababababa'. you prefer to speak unprovoked & have come to simply respond better when we talk to you like an adult. there are so many instances when i talk to you & i really think you understand what i am saying. in fact we ran into some friends at the mall the other day & when i asked you to say bye, you waved & said what sounded freakishly like 'bye-bye'. since then you have waved goodbye to many a stranger & shown off your new talent to daddy in the mirror just today.

your wide toothless grin may not be toothless for much longer. no pearly whites have physically appeared, but you did have a recent tantrum spell where you would wake up in the night screaming & refused to nurse. lucky for mommy & daddy, we got to stand with the freezer door open while we finger fed you ice chips, since that was the only means of soothing you at four in the morning. we have recovered since then, but i am nervous for those teeth to rear their ugly heads.

you are an ambitious little fella & determined as all get up. you have perfected the scoot & can easily make your way to anything on the living room floor. of course the cords under the TV & daddy's shoes by the front door are your toys of choice, but for the most part i am just elated that you are moving. mothers talk about how they miss the days when their child couldn't get into anything, but i could not be more excited that you are into everything. i watch as you learn that if you pull something down from too far above that it will inadvertently crash onto your face. i cheer as you reach with determination for the books on the shelf & beam with pride when you finally pull one down & hit its pages with joy. & although frustrating, your daddy & i laugh when you squirm & roll out of a diaper change & charge for the nearest interesting object.

i was nervous that we were never going to get you to eat anything since you defiantly rejected everything at first, but the recent days have proven otherwise. you favor applesauce & peas, but have been a great little eater, downing green beans, yams, bananas, avocado & rice crackers. you still just bang your own spoon of your highchair tray, but open your mouth wide when we feed you, bite after bite.

your personality is growing each day & your intensity for life makes us crazy happy. you giggle more & scream more. you cry more intensely & laugh more fervently. you love the outdoors & stare in awe at other babies & kids. you climb out of our arms easier, but also spend many sweet moments snuggled in our arms. you listen very intently while daddy plays radiohead for you & calm down as soon as i start singing itsy-bitsy spider. recently, when you get really excited or really frustrated, you clench your fists along with every muscle in your face & body. obviously your daddy & i find this more than amusing & laugh & laugh. when we laugh you laugh & your smile permeates my very soul.

you, my handsome boy, are the joy that i never knew i was missing. even after spending just a minute with you everyone comments on what a happy & beautiful baby you are. imagine what my life is like, being in your presence always? bliss, i tell you, absolute bliss.

my whole heart is yours - mommy

insta update.

last night aaron & i spent most of the night catering to a seemingly helpless teething babe, but this morning i am counting our ever so small victories & basking in their glory! first, we found another food that our sweet babe will enjoy - enter, yams.

my second, third, fourth & fifth victories? the bed is made, my car is clean of clutter, make-up is on my face, a brush has been through my hair & i am ready for the day. furthermore & most importantly roe is sleeping sweetly {hopefully making up for last night - poor guy}.

these victories allow me to update our blog with photos of our recent happenings. before all this crazy cold weather hit we took a family bike ride to station22 on provo center street - roe loved it & snuggled with us in the crisp fall evening air.

we spent a majority of our summer sitting on our front lawn & since those days are certainly numbered now, i have been soaking up each day of sunshine with our little outdoors boy.

thanks to instagram for keeping track of our life photo-style! here is to the small {yet enormous} victories!

follow me on instagram @kaytioldham

fallin'.

of course aaron & i have fallen head over heals in love with our little nugget. i joke about this with friends, but even though i giggle about it, i am being deadly straight serious when i say that even when roe is not giggling on the floor or snuggling in my arms i am thinking, talking or editing images of roe giggling on the floor or snuggling in my arms. he really is my entire world.

this sunday we handed the camera over to my fabulously talented SIL joanna oldham & shot a few {hundred} photos in the beautiful fall leaves. thanks again jo, it was so refreshing to not be the one behind the camera!

yeehaw.

monroe went on his first 4-wheeler ride yesterday in the cautious arms of his father. he spent most of the ride nestled into aaron shoulder & all in all loved the wind in his hair.

& so my needs are great.

this weekend was LDS General Conference weekend & in turn was a peaceful, uplifting weekend spent with incredible friends & a fantastic family. all i could think of the entire 8 hours of listening to our beloved prophet & apostles was how to apply their teachings in my life so as to become a better mother & wife. i knew my life would change dramatically when i had Monroe, but i had no idea how persistently he would be at the very forefront of my mind. i sing him 'i am a child of God' each time i lay him down to sleep, but i had no idea that even the simple words to that little primary song would take on a whole new meaning to me. i understand that i am quite literally raising a child of our Father in Heaven & that mantle upon my shoulders is one that i carry with pride, admiration, honor & love. in turn i could not be more grateful for the loving examples of mothers all around me. i look up to my girl friends for support & council & i turn to my sister-in-laws for advice & love. it really does take a village to raise a child & my village is full of absolutely incredible people.

we started our sunday with a few of the afore mentioned amazing friends & shared waffles & great conversation about the temple, going up just a few short blocks from our house, among children's laughter & babies coos {or, as in roe's case, cries}.

we finished up the afternoon up at my, also previously mentioned, fantastic in-laws home. where, despite his lack of naps, the onset of teething & obsessive attachment to mommy, roe spent a while in the arms of my sweet father-in-law.

i am so very grateful for the guidance we received this weekend from our church leaders & for the ongoing acute advice & loving support from our dear friends & family.

weekend.

we had a beautiful weekend, together, as a family. until i get the rest of these images edited the way i want them {just you wait for picture overload} here is a teaser shot from this afternoon up in covered bridge canyon.

did i mention fall is here? did i also mention the perfect weather & the days spent with friends picnicking & evenings spent with aaron & bebe strolling? let me repeat, i love my life.

back to reality.

amidst all the bebe business that consumes our every minute, aaron & i have found time to call our own. a few weekends back we called up a babysitter {ya RIGHT, did i just say i called a babysitter?! as if having your own child doesn't make you feel old enough, myyyy heavens chiiiild.} & hit the town with our besties the ross's. after dining at the classic college/high school hang out 'chilis' we made our way down to the provo beach resort at the riverwoods mall for some fanciful croquet.

none of us knew how to play nor did we find it necessary to read the rules, thus we made up our own rules - get through the course as fast as possible. the group playing ahead of us, however, were the 'play by the rules' type & we found ourselves on their heels the whole time. we made due of the wait time & as always shared a night of laughs.

i love our little nugget more than i ever felt i had the capacity to love, but it is so refreshing to spend time alone with my first love; the man that makes my life as a mother possible & complete.