{ halloween happenings }

wow! what a busy month of october! fall is one of our favorite times of the year and what made it more special was having a newborn and adjusting to our new routine. ricky and i both have family leave so we had all the time in the world to be with each other and the kids. we took a trip to disneyland for a few days, visited 3 different pumpkin patches and got into the halloween spirit.

here's our adorable "tortoise and the hare" kiddos!

omi's pumpkin patch

hayden wanted to paint his pumpkin and make a potatoe head version

our pumpkins!

ricky's "hamburger" won the best pumpkin at l & c's party

ricky and i dressed up as the referees for the big race

all the cute cousins

victoria gardens

our silly little turtle

one cute little bunny

well, the hare didn't stand a chance, so it looks like the tortoise wins this one!

(there goes the moral of the story!)

bates nut farm

ricky hid in the cornstalks and hayden couldn't find him... BOO!

AHHHH! so appropriate for halloween!

our little pumpkin

hayden has gotten so great at writing his favorite letter, "H"

{ 3 weeks }

for those of you who know, i've had extreme vertigo the last 8 weeks since giving birth. this is something i've had my entire life, but never to this extent and this long. dizzy 24/7. i've seen multiple doctors and they believe i have "migraine associated vertigo." it's funny because i never get headaches and that's the key- it's a migraine without the headache pain that manifests itself into dizziness. weird i know. having your life upside down and spinning has been very debilitating, especially having a newborn and a 3-year-old to chase around. it's an invisible illness, i don't look sick but really my face should be green! if you've ever been motion sick, gotten off a boat and are still swaying, or dizzy on the teacups, you know what i'm talking about. i've been so thankful for my amazing husband and parents who have helped me so much- from driving me to doctor appointments to helping care for the kids. the good news is there are some medications that could help, the bad news is there are 40 to choose from so this will be a long journey of finding a possible treatment (there is no cure) but am grateful i even have a choice. i guess heavenly father might be trying to teach me something. i really have learned so much, but most importantly how amazing my family is, to slow down and enjoy life, and to be thankful for health.

i am trying my hardest to continue living and to not be stuck laying down in bed all-day. i do feel best being outdoors and walking. i appreciate all the prayers, fasts and thoughts. my neurologist started me on a new medication so hoping this works...

enough about me, let's get to our sweet daughter who we are absolutely smitten with! she is an absolute angel (she is 8 weeks today and still is!) and couldn't have asked for a better baby while going through this. forgive me for not posting more, it's hard to look up and down on the computer so am trying my best.

this is her at 3 weeks! heidi robbins took these gorgeous pictures for us.

ricky's cousins tyler and barbara wanted to test out some new camera equipment they'd just gotten and came over and took these precious pictures as well.

we love the wooden shoe!

{babymoon }

babymoon: a vacation people take as the last "hurrah" before their new baby arrives.

our babymoon? utah!

it was our 5th wedding anniversary and i was starting my new job in a few weeks, ricky wasn't in school, so we decided for the 3 of us to take a road trip.

first stop?

since we've passed this so many times before, we included it in our itineray this time to visit and so glad we did! it was breathtaking,

worth the walk

32 weeks pregnant!

ricky's "herkie" jump

we visited one of my best friends aimee and stayed in her beautiful home in tooele with her adorable family. we had fun at thanksgiving point!

our cute boys!

she also took us to a water park where hayden rode his first water slide! (this would not of happened in california!)

hayden and ava

"hi mom!"

"whee!"

they did it about 5 times in a row and hayden would have done it the rest of the day!

happy 5th wedding anniversary!

we actually were visiting with family and they surprised us with this cute cake for our special occasion. can't believe it's been 5 years! i love you!

my friend jess was actually visiting slc the same time as us and we met at one of our favorite shopping stops. her son grant is the same age as hayden and they had a blast hanging out.

love these hats!

kyle pulling hayden and londyn around having, oh so much fun! (at least for the kids! poor kyle was exhausted!)

my cousin allyx and i

hayden, logan and jaxon!

the gang at one of our fav places to eat- costa vida

we did a lot in the time we were there and had so much fun visiting friends and family. we also got to visit ricky's sister marla where she took us to the best place ever called "zupa's!" yummy! i wish they both were closer! thank you everyone for opening your homes to us!

i'm trying to stay caught up and will post pictures soon of our sweet baby girl who is growing so quickly!