We got an Ice Cream Maker!!!

Well, okay, Ashlea bought it and is keeping it at our house, but I am sooo excited to try all the delicious Ice Cream recipes out there and all the ideas I have for the most amazing ice cream flavors!! This summer is so on!
Since Ashlea is vegan, the first ice cream recipe attempted was Chocolate Coconut with Oreos. The base to it was coconut milk and if you didn't know, Oreos are vegan! Sadly, it didn't turn out. We think the problem was that we didnt freeze the bowl long enough, but it did make a delicious milkshake! Oh well, we have plenty more hot summer days to perfect it!
Enough about ice cream (for now) and moving on to our boy!!! Kaiden turns 10 months in just 2 days, but this 9 month stage has been soo exciting. I love watching him try to walk! Even today ,on his own, he attempted to walk back and forth from the couch to the coffee table, maybe 2 feet apart. He would hold on to the couch and try to tak a step toward the coffee table with his hands held out, sadly his 4 attempts failed, he just fell to his knees. :( However I believe this is a step in the right direction! I predict he will be walking on his own next month! I still can't believe how fast he has grown and it never ceases to amaze me how smart he is.
Also today I had my interview at Babies R Us and was hired on the spot! I will be working 15-20 hours a week! Hooray for discounts and extra playing money!
Well its been an exciting day! TTFN!!!!!

Hannah and Cavitites

Yesterday Kaiden and I played at Hannah's. It was lots of fun, we ordered a movie on the TV (When In Rome- a cute romantic comedy!) and we ate candy (by the way, you should really try then new Coconut M&M's!) and ate yummy pizza! Oh and I almost forgot, Kaiden took another step on his own yesterday! Im so happy I cant wait until he starts walking/ running all over the place!
Today I'm going to the dentist to get 1 of 7 cavitites filled! Yup my sweet tooth has bit me in the bum! However 7 cavities are still cheaper than 1 root canal. I'm just thankful we caught them all now. After that Kaiden and I are going to run a bunch of errands and then hopefully go swimming at Hannah's place!

And Another One Bites the Dust!

It might be too small to see, but it's there! HIS top left.

Ta da!!!! Kaiden has cut his 4th tooth! Its the top lefty one. Geez these teeth just keep coming. Poor guy, he is such a trooper. He's hardly been fussy this past week!
Today Ash went to church with us! Schwoop!!! Im really glad Relief Society is first because I've pretty much decided its my favorite part of church. It also helps that all of these girls are super cute and way nice!! Today was an especially good lesson, I have this theory that they are all probably really good lessons, but when I have Kaiden my attention is divided as 90% Kaiden, 10% lesson. He is just a handful at church. He wants to be independent and be able to crawl around of his own free accord, however at church I make him sit on my lap which he hates. So today I had Darren take him to Priesthood, and Relief Society was so great! I think I might just have Kaiden thrown into Nursey as soon as he can walk. Haha! (I already take him there when he is acting rowdy because watching other kids calms him down, but I dont leave him there alone. lol)
At the moment Im making chewy chocolate cookies! Yummm! And our Bishop is coming over at any moment to introduce himself, since we are new to the ward. So I better go and finish these cookies!
TTFN!

Provo! Again?

So Darren was playing "Handy Man" all day today and it was just such a beautiful day I didn't want to waste it! So I decided that Kaiden and I would play in Provo with Laura and Ashlea! It was lots of fun! We went to Chili's for lunch and went shopping then out for sno cones and finally we stopped at The Sweet Tooth Fairy for chocolate dipped cake bites. It was such a fun day! Ashlea is staying the night again because she really wants to go to church with us! Hooray!
Last night I decided to apply to Babies R Us as a part time associate so that we could have more playing money. I applied online at like 10 pm and I got a call today for an interview on Wednesday! I have been so blessed to be so lucky with jobs my whole life. Now Darren and I need to have the talk about whether me being away from Kaiden a few hours a day would be worth it. I guess we'll just have to see what happens. =)

Early Birthday Presents!

So my birthday is in exactly 2 weeks from today! Yahooooo! I love Birthdays more than anything, I think it's because my mom loves birthdays too and always made sure to make them extra special for us kids! Anyways we picked up Ash from the airport last night and she brought with her my birthday present from my parents. Well, it was just sitting there and for those of you who really know me, you would know that I have no self control! Haha! And so I opened it! All sorts of things were in there, lotions, nail polishes, hair products, a Birthday Cake scented candle and the doozy a Bed Bath and Beyond Gift Card! I just love that place! I'm going to use it to update our bedroom! Thanks Mom and Dad, BIG shout out! =)

Airport and Ice Cream

Today the "plan" looks like we are taking Skyler to the airport at 4 and we will be picking Ashlea up at 7:30. See what I mean? An Airport Day! Its a good thing that we only live 15 mins away! I really don't mind it though since I love being busy and having plans that keep me busy! =)
Now for a funny story: I went to get Kaiden after he woke up from his first nap, and he had completley removed his diaper! We have got to watch out for this one! I wasn't expecting this nonsense until he was at least 12 months. lol. I'm just thankful the diaper was clean! Like I said yesterday, he gets smarter everyday! Oh and did I mention how much he loves opening and closing doors!? Not cabinet drawers I'm talking about the big doors! Whats really funny is when he closes the door all the way shut, and he is on the other side and cant re- open it on his own. He just sits behind the door crying for me, but I cant open the door because he's behind it! I'm sure watching this situation would be pretty funny but to Kaiden its not. Haha.
Later, Kaiden and I went to the store for ice cream! We love ice cream in this house! Anyways, Kaiden learned to wave like 2 weeks ago but he has been shy about waving even at me. So we're in Target getting our ice cream and he deicdes to wave at this girl. Well she gets excited and starts waving and smiling back. It was at that moment Kaiden decided he LOVES attention from strangers! So he turns around and starts waving at the girls behind me. Same thing! Haha. What a flirt!
We are so blessed to have such a happy baby!

We've Got a Genius On Our Hands!

This afternoon, Skyler flew in to the SLC he is attending a friend's wedding tomorrow. Its been fun having him, Darren especially loves having a buddy to play XBOX with. I mean these boys played "Call of Duty" for 3 hours tonight! And since Kaiden went to bed at 7 I was bored outta my mind. I finally convinced the fellas to wach a movie, thank goodness. =)
Lately Kaiden has been working on getting his top teeth through. A few days ago one of them finally did come though, but he has been really fussy lately so I bet the 2nd one is working its way down. On the plus side, he gets noticeably smarter everyday! Its soo funny to watch him see something he wants and work to get it. What he usually does is move objects to stand on top of so that he can reach an item he wants thats too high for him. He has been doing this since 7 months! But everytime he does it, it still amazes me!! We have a genius on our hands which Im assuming means even more trouble! Haha!


Kaiden just turned 9 months here!

Kaiden Took A Step!

This morning was pretty boring, I cleaned and Kaiden whined to go outside. lol. So I had to think of something quick to keep him busy and happy. So I swept and cleaned up our porch and layed out a picnic blanket and set a few of his toys out there! He was soooo excited and it kept him busy until I was through cleaning, which is always a good thing. Man, I sure miss those days when he would just jump around in his jumperoo. This being "mobile" stuff is hard work for a mom! Haha!

Kaiden playing on our patio! He just LOVES the outside!

Soooo to jump to the exciting point.... Kaiden took his first step! All by himself! It was just one little step but I am so proud of him! Kaiden was holding onto the couch and let go and took 1 step towards me. I was close enough to him that if he wanted to he could have reached out for me first, but he didnt. He let go of the couch and took 1 step towards me! Hooray!

Today Kaiden and I went shopping! Baby shopping, which is the best I've decided! We bought him his first forks and his first toothbrush and toothpaste! How exciting! He loves watching me and Darren brush our teeth so it will be fun to brush his teeth for the first time, which is gonna be tonight by the way!

`We also got Kaiden some sunglasses! To protect his little eyes! Of course they were out of blue, so we went with a daring and bright color.... orange! It doesn't matter what color they are, he can make anything look good! Our little handsome man! Speaking of, I almost forgot to mention, that while we were baby shopping at Babies R Us, a girl that worked at Kiddie Kandids (there is one right in the store!) stopped us and asked if she could take pics of Kaiden because he was sooo handsome. So Kaiden got to do a little photoshoot at no cost to us and they even gave us a free collage for our time! lol. It was lots of fun and the girl really liked Kaiden. He was just laughing and smiling at everything she did. Plus his smile is the absolute BEST and the girl couldnt stop talking about his eyes, I can't blame her, cause neither can I!

This is the pic! (Sorry about the glare in the middle.)

P.S. We know the girl spelled "Bum" wrong, but hey it was FREE!

When we got home we were going to go swimming with Hannah, but she had some unexpected plans come up so Kaiden and I just played outside in the grass. Which is probably Kaiden's 2nd favorite thing to do!


Kaiden Sporting His New Eyewear Mommy & Baby

Darren's 1st Father's Day!

The Daddy & His Boy!

Today is Darren's very 1st Father's Day! I let him sleep in this morning since we dont have church until 11 am! He is so lucky, and definitley deserves the extra sleep whenever he can get it. =) While he was sleeping, I decorated his cake (which reminds me I really need to work on my "piping" skills. My frosting lettering is awful!) and Kaiden ate his cereal and watched Veggie Tales. Its his sunday ritual! ;) And then the mommy and the daddy have the Veggie Tales theme song stuck in their heads the rest of the day! lol.
Tonight Im going to make Chicken Cordon Bleu, by Darren's request, with a side of funeral potatoes. However, the highlight will be the dessert! I made Darren's Daddy's Day, special chocolate truffle cake and it has been on our minds since it popped its delicious self outta that oven last night! It is quite scrumptious!
The rest of the evening will be up to Darren but we are going to try to swing by the Gateway (an outdoor mall) because friday was the Annual Chalk Art Festival! A bunch of artists have drawn really intricate artwork using side walk chalk! I think it would be really fun!! I'll update later if we go!

****UPDATED****

We ended up going to the Chalk Art Festival and it was SOOO awesome! We had alot of fun looking at art, our lil family was overdue for getting a lil "culture" in our lives. lol. It is amazing, the skill that some people have to make such wonderful art just from simple sidewalk chalk!

While at the Gateway we stopped by the water "fountains." I dont know what they're really called, but its the water that shoots up from the ground and kids looove to run around and play in it! They also do the fountains to music which is really really cool! Anyways I decided Kaiden and I were hot and needed a little water to cool us down. Needless to say, Kaiden LOVED it! Of course he did, lol, he is our little water baby! Darren didnt want to get wet but I made him go in with Kaiden anyways. Turns out he liked it! =)

When we came home, we put Kaiden to sleep and finished season 3 of Heroes. Pretty much we are addicted to this show!
While Darren was brushing his teeth/ getting ready for bed, I hid his present under the covers on his side of the bed! Sneaky Sneaky! He says he hates getting presents, but the look on his face most definitely said otherwise! lol. What a fun way to end the day! Darren said it was the best Father's Day he's ever had! I said, "well thats good, cause it is your first and I'm glad it wasn't your worst!" Haha!

Happy Father's Day to ALL the Proud Papas out there!

TTFN!

The Yummy Cake!

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Today has been a very fast day! Darren is working as a personal handy man for Hannah's boss, Gloria. She recently bought a beautiful old Victorian home that needs random repairs. Darren loves working over there and the extra money is such a blessing! The Lord really does know what we need!
Kaiden and I stayed at home today and played. Nothing too exciting and nothing new.
Tonight Im going to make Darren's Father's Day cake. Its called Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake. And it is as amazing as it sounds! You have to make it the night before and refrigerator it overnight. So delicious! Darren actually hates regular cake because "it's too fluffy" so I found this truffle cake online. And we both really like it! Its super rich so I make whip cream with it too! Im sooo excited to eat it tomorrow!
Well, I've got a cake to make so TTFN!



Here is the link to make this scrumptious dessert! P.S. don't try to skimp and use Nestle/ Hershey choco chips, its not as good! The recipe is not as intimidating as it looks! Good Luck!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ghirardelli-Triple-Chocolate-Truffle-Cake/Detail.aspx

It's Friday!!!

Yup, its that time of the week again...... it's Friday!!! And that means its Pizza Night! The thought alone will keep me going through the day. lol. This also means that tomorrow morning I get the second best (#1 is leftover birthday cake and ice cream) breakfast ever, leftover pizza!!! YUMM!
So last night we tried the Cry It Out Method on Kaiden-roo, and surprisingly it went really well! It only took 15 minutes! And he slept like a log until 4:30, when he needed rocked back to sleep. And he woke up at 7:30, a respectable wake up time! Im nervous/ excited to do it again tonight. Im hoping it goes by just as fast!
On a good note, Kaiden got another tooth in, his top right "toofer" just broke free! He now has 3 teeth! Kaiden also said "Da Da"! He has been able to babble dada for awhile but this is the first time he was referring to Darren. Needless to say, Darren is one proud Papa!
Well the weather is beautful outside so if you're looking for us, we'll probably be at the pool! Kaiden loves the pool for 2 reasons. 1.) he LOVES LOVES LOVES being in the water and 2.) he is fascinated at watching other kids. In fact watching other kids is like his ADD medicine. lol. He will just sit there like a statue and watch the kids run around, jump in the pool, and splash up a storm! Since Kaiden is always on the go, pool trips are always super relaxing for me! Plus I get to work on a tan! ; )
Tonight instead of ordering pizza in, we went to the pizza! The Pi Pizza! Yummm! Have I mentioned how much I love being close to everything!?
Kaiden went down extremley well again tonight! No crying at all! What a relief! Happy bedtime= a happy baby!
Goodnight! TTFN!

Super Mom!

I deep cleaned this apartment today! Go me! I really HATE cleaning, so whenever I clean its mostly for Darren! lol. And I REALLY cleaned! We're talking cleaning the fish bowl, bathing Jozlyn, loading dishes, putting away laundry, and thats just the BIG stuff! haha. I also made Darren a super delicious lunch (I make them the night before.). I know it was super delicious because he called me on his lunch break to tell me so! lol.
Kaiden has been a beast to put to sleep these past few nights, so I've decided I need to be Super Mom and let him Cry It Out. Its way sad to hear him cry for me but we need to do whats best for him. I'm really wishing we had done this a long time ago, before he learned to say "mama". :'( Darren kept trying to get me to do it, but I just HATE to hear him cry. That little boy has me wrapped around his little finger!
So I guess we're in for a late night. Im just hoping he catches on fast to this new sleeping thing so I won't have to go through this much longer... I hope everyone else gets a good nights sleep! TTFN!

2 Year Anniversary!!!!!!

Kaiden Making Farting Noises


Thats right! Today marks our 2 year anniversary! We have had sooo much fun together! We love each other SOO much and its so incredible to see that love grow everyday! I cant wait for more crazy exciting years to come!!!
Today my sister is driving up to our place so that I can take her to the airport!. She gets to go home to see our folks in Pennsylvania for a week, the lucky girl!
*Updating Later*****
"Get my sister to the airport by 1 pm" Sounds easy enough, until her car battery dies 20 minutes south and by the way, its 12:15! So I rush down to be the Big Sis that saves the day! We left the car in Sandy, I figured Darren could tool around with it later, and got Ash to the airport at 12:55. Go Me!!
The rest of the afternoon DRAGGED on forever! I was so excited to see Darren today that time nearly stopped. And it didn't help that he was 2 hours late due to having to stay late at work and all the crazy road construction. But he did bring home dinner! :~) During dinner he busted out my surprise, two beautiful heart shaped Diamond Earrings!!! I fell in love with them instantly! I asked him if I could sleep in them and he said "yes". Hooray!!
After dinner I broke the news about Ashlea's car. And as soon as we finished dinner, we got ourselves packed up to drive down and save her car. Darren had convenietly ran out to the car before me and placed a big box of See's chocolates on my seat! lol. My absolute "favoritist" chocolate in the whole wide world! I just love this guy! So we jumped Ashlea's car and drove it back to our place. Darren's going to put a new battery in it tomorrow.
For Darren's present, I got him a new web cam. Ours broke awhile back and he loves Skyping with his fam! Also I feel like I can get away with buying him useful/ practical presents. haha. Sneaky Sneaky!
As soon as Darren is done putting the babe to bed, Im predicting the rest of this evening will be devoted to cuddling, smooching, telling each other how much we love each other and watching the Lost Season 6 Finale on Hulu!
Happy Anniversary to Us! <3

Toy Story & Monopoly

Tonight was so much fun! We had my Laura over! She has only been my best friend since we were 13! We even lived in Provo together! The time we left Provo (I got married and she was moving home) until now has been the absolute longest time we've been apart since we met! Good thing we kept in touch all that time by talking for hours every day! lol. Its been way fun to be able to see her so often. And the way she plays with Kaiden is so cute!
Anyways we had her over for dinner and then Darren had to play Monopoly for his online Accounting class. If you knew Darren, you would know how hilarious this is! He HATES Monopoly! I even owned a WAY NICE version of the game when we first got married and he tossed it because he said he would NEVER play it! lol. Oh Karma! We had to go out and buy it again. We also got Toy Story! I reasoned, we have a boy we have to own Toy Story! lol. Before we started the game, Laura and I made delicious No Bake Cookies! One of Darren's favorite cookies! So there the 3 of us were, playing Monopoly, eating our cookies and watching Toy Story. Darren was quoting the movie the whole time! haha.
It has also been an interesting week for the Roo-ster. He has his 2 bottom teeth and is now getting his top ones in! And for the past week has been going to bed between 6-7! Awesome! Except now he wakes up between 6 30- 7 30, not so awesome. But Darren and I love the extra alone time we get! <3
Today Kaiden stood all by himself for seriously 30 seconds! I kept thinking he would grab the furniture or (wishful thinking) take a step at any moment! But he just kept standing there! It was one of those moments that seemed way longer than it was, haha like hours longer! Oh well, I guess that will be another post!
Well, we gotta go to bed because tomorrow is a very important day! <3

Lazy Days

Kaiden in his jammies. He was the only one "ready" for a picture!

Yesterday we had a Pajama Day! Okay, so it wasnt that exciting but it has been a great Romriell Family Weekend!! Kaiden is still teething so he has been a little cranky and sick (I feel bad for whoever has to take out this weeks Diaper Genie! lol). Boy, this teething stuff must be hard on him! He hasn't slept through the night since we moved here, about 6 weeks ago. Which is sad because I had gotten use to his good sleeping habits, he had been sleeping through the night from 3.5 weeks up until 7.5 months!

On top of teething Kaiden is starting to stand by himself! He will be holding on to furniture, then he will just let go! He can balance himself for at least 5 seconds before he grabs back onto the furniture! He has been doing this for about 2 weeks, but I always hold my breath thinking he will be taking his first step! lol.

Kaiden has also mastered opening cabinets and drawers. Hes been doing this for about 3 weeks now. His new thing is not to pull things out (he still does this sometimes), but now he just opens the cabinets, looks at me to make sure I saw him, and then he gives me a big grin and crawls away. lol. Goofy Boy!

He makes my heart melt! >

P-Town Baby!

Spent the day in P-Town (Provo). The weather was kinda poopy but the rain stayed at bay long enough for Laura to take our family photos! We haven't had "good" family photos since Christmas, and Kaiden has changed ALOT since then. We planned the trip so that Kaiden would be taking his nap on the 35 minute drive down to Provo. Our goal was to have him he be "fresh" for the afternoon, but also by doing so he, was a little groggy which made him look upset and bored in the photos. The sun also didn't help his eyes from squinting. lol.

We took our pictures just outside the Provo Temple grounds where there was an open grassy area and a bunch of beautiful rose bushes. After our "Photo Shoot" we went to my favorite Provo restaurant, The Brick Oven. I was just cravin Lovin from the Oven! We met Ashlea there too! Then we went to The Sweet Tooth Fairy for dessert. The BEST red velvet cake I've ever had! And then we played around the Provo mall. I was hoping to see some old friends I worked with at American Eagle but all of them had either quit or just werent working tonight. :( So we went to Laura's to hang out. She has such a cute apartment and has done a fabulous job decorating it! And we may or may not have grabbed a dozen FRESH and HOT Krispy Kremes on our way out of town. lol. And that was our super- fantastic Saturday! The End!

Signing off, TTFN!

Our First Family Blog!!!

June 11, 2010

Well from much encouragment from our family and friends, we have decided to join the blogging community! Go us!
Darren and I have been happily married for 2 years and we have a beautiful and WiLd little boy named Kaiden West (nicknamed Kaiden-roo!).
As many of you know, we are currently living in Cottonwood Heights, UT! It is an amazing, magical little/ big town just south of Salt Lake City. We live in apartments that are 2 minutes away from Target, Babies R Us and Chili's and is about 6 minutes away from Fashion Place Mall, The Cheesecake Factory and See's Candies. We are LOVIN it! I love the shopping and fine dining and Darren loves that he is close to work (well his current job site anyways. lol).
Darren is enrolled in an 8 month internship which ends in mid December (then its back to boring old Rexburg). He is going to school at BYU-Idaho and hopes to graduate in Construction Management by December 2011. His internship, here in Utah, is through a company called Unlimited Designs. He is enjoying taking time off from school to work!
I stay at home with the kiddo and enjoy every minute of it! Kaiden and I are usually playing chase around the house, playing Peek-a-boo, lounging at the pool, taking nature walks, visiting the duck pond, baking up storms in the kitchen and spending Daddy's money! I am also attempting to teach Kaiden-roo sign language, which Im hoping to be very successfull!
Kaiden-roo is a wild and crazy, smart little boy. His favorite foods are ice-cream and pizza and whatever else his parents are eating! He loves crawling at the speed of light, making messes, pulling things out of cabinets and drawers, walking (with help from his walker), playing with his best bud Jozlyn, and taking baths and playing in the pool. He is absolutley the HAPPIEST baby out there and his smile can brighten up your day! (And Im not just talking about me and Darrens! A lady came up to me at the grocery store with tears in her eyes, obviously having a bad day, and said "You're little boy has been smiling at me the past few minutes and he just made my day alot better!" Awww!)Yes he is a dream boat and a huge flirt with the ladies! We are so grateful our Heavenly father blessed us with him!
Well, I've been having alot of fun today designing our family's page and I'm really excited to try this blogging thing out! TTFN everyone!