To Cut or Not to Cut

Brad has been on my case for a while now to get Johnny's hair cut. I think he's tired of random strangers telling us what a beautiful daughter we have. I love Johnny's curls but do agree something needs to be done. The only problem is Johnny doesn't fully understand the concept of sitting still, and I don't know how that'll work with getting a hair cut. I also don't want him to lose that innocent baby look, but I guess I need to realize that my little guy is growing up. Here are two pictures from the last couple of days to illustrate my dilemma. He looks so adorable, but his hair is a little out of control.

And Baby Makes Four. . .

After waiting through a hot and uncomfortable summer, our baby girl is finally here! She was born on Saturday, the 19th of September, weighing in at 7 lb 13 oz and is more adorable than we could have imagined. We decided to name our sweet baby Isabela Rae. Her big brother was a little unsure of her at first, but now she is the first thing he looks for when he wakes up. Things have gone great so far this first week, but now my mom has gone home so we'll see what happens. My sister gives me about a month before I call crying that I can't do it. I'm hoping I last at least a little longer than that before my first break down. We're so excited and appreciate all the well wishes we've received about our newest addition to the family.

We just love her so much!

Our first family photo. I don't even care that I am so swollen, I love how Johnny is just fascinated by Bela.

Because Brad was at the BYU football game and didn't come until a little before the baby was born, my mom took me to the hospital. This let her have the privilege of holding Isabela that first night.

These are the beautiful flowers my wonderful husband got for me

Her Dad picked out this cute outfit to wear coming home

Pretty much the only picture of her not screaming after we put her in her carseat

Johnny finally starting to realize this little baby is here to stay

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

So as you can see, it's been quite a while since I've posted. Johnny is now 16 months old and we just had our beautiful baby girl last week. Since I pretty much neglected posting anything about our summer, I thought I'd share a few brief highlights.

Johnny finally got a crib!! Our old apartment was only a one bedroom, and there was just enough room for Johnny to be in a pack and play. Now that we're in our new place, we were finally able to get the crib that Brad's parents have been wanting to buy us ever since he was born. Johnny says, "Thanks Grammy and Pa, I love my crib so much!" And he really does, he sleeps so well during his naps and at nighttime.

We were able to see Stacie and David and attend their engage- ment dinner in Salt Lake. It was so fun to be able visit with them and celebrate their upcoming wedding.

For Pioneer Day we headed up to Chester- field again to enjoy the festivities. We stayed with Brad's parents and it was so nice to spend time with them and Bryson and Jamie, and Daylen and Ashley. Johnny loved playing with his cousins and loved riding on the four-wheeler with his Dad.

We were also so excited when Cori and Chris came by for a quick visit with Cooper and Jasper. Bryson and Jamie also came down that weekend, and Maurie and Christy too. It was so much fun seeing all the cousins together and I'm really sad that for some reason I didn't take any pictures.

There were a few other exciting events also this summer including Brad buying us a beautiful new couch that we're not allowed to eat on, and my sister moving to Utah! It's fun having Melinda and her husband close by and Johnny loves playing with his cousin Henry. Our summer was great, and made even better by beginning our new adventure as a family of four.

Johnny's Special Day

I can't even believe this kid is a year old now! We celebrated Johnny's birthday last Friday with a little party here at our house. Johnny was so happy his Grandma and Grandpa Perkins were able to stop by and share in his special day as well, and says thanks for the great gifts. Later in the evening we had some friends come over for cake and ice cream. Johnny loved it when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to him, but got a little shy when it was time to dig into his cake. After everyone else was enjoying their own dessert, he started enjoying his a little more. Even though he loved all his presents, I do think his favorite is the bat and whiffle balls his dad picked out for him. Johnny is so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who already love and support him so much. Thanks to everyone who was able to share his special day with us, and to those who wish they could have been here!

Mother's Day

Even though I was pregnant with Johnny last year on Mother's Day, and he was born just a few days later, this year felt like the first real Mother's Day for me. Brad made it very special and was sure to take such great care of me so I could relax and enjoy the day. He even started a day early by getting me these beautiful roses on Saturday. Sunday morning he made us a delicious breakfast, and then after church came home and made a fantastic dinner. His parents also stopped by on their way up to Salt Lake and were able to enjoy their son's wonderful cooking.

Thanks Brad for the wonderful weekend, and for taking care of this little rascal so I could have a little time to myself.

Pictures

Just a few random pictures I'm finally getting around to posting. The first is of Johnny with his cousins that came to visit for conference:

He absolutely adored all of them, and they were so great with him. Even Camille, who endured some hair-pulling and excessive grabbing due to this little guy's excitement. But she was a tough girl and was all smiles in the pool:

And lastly, Uncle Stevie on his new bike. Johnny and his mom both hope he stays in one piece.

Brad's Big Day(s)

So many exciting things happened for us in April, and I'm only now getting around to blogging about a few of them in this post. We had family come visit us during conference weekend, my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. Then the last week of April my mom and two of my aunts came to Utah for women's conference. There are some cute pictures from both visits, but they're on my mom's camera so I'll have to wait to post those.

Brad's first big day in April was on the 15th, when he turned 24 years old!

His birthday happened to be the first reading day of finals, so he didn't have any classes, and decided to take the day off from work as well. We had a fun lazy day at home, and were sidelined with some of our birthday plans because of the large amounts of snow we had that day! Apparently someone forgot to tell April 15th that it was supposed to be a warm, sunny spring day. Johnny also gave his dad the present of taking his first step on his dad's birthday. To see a video of our wobbly walker, go to brad's blog to watch it. He's already improved so much since then and is walking all over our house now.

Oh, and by the way, Brad also GRADUATED in April. We're so proud of him and all of his hard work, graduating Magna Cum Laude with his degree in civil engineering. He already started working full-time and is enjoying not worrying about school and homework for the summer.

Brad's parents, and Daylen, Ashley, and Brooks all came up to watch Brad graduate. Johnny loved playing with Brooks. They looked so cute together. We were happy to have family there to celebrate Brad's graduation with us, we're all so proud and happy for you Brad!