I am Grateful for Freedom!!!

Please view this "Mormon Messages" video about freedom...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkTKQsYWBxc

After viewing this video, I felt inspired to think about the freedoms I am grateful for. I am grateful to be able to learn and study freely. I am thankful that I can teach my children truths, including gospel truths and all other truths that the world has to offer. I am grateful that I can serve equally with my husband in our home, but I am also grateful to know my roles as a mother and wife. I know know if I faithfully fulfill those roles Heavenly Father will continue to bless me and my family. Finally I am grateful to be able to chose each day what my attitude will be, and that I can, with the help of my Heavenly Father, make the most of my life.

first steps

Bowen is walking!! Well...sort of. He will only walk if we stand him up and have him walk to us. Otherwise, he's still crawling everywhere. He is so proud of himself, and so are we. Seth and I spent a half hour just having him walk back and forth between us. What a fun time!

Vampire teeth

Bowen's teeth look like vampire teeth because he only has his side teeth up top. He also has his two middle teeth on the bottom, but no middle teeth on the top. It's hilarious.

Look below for Birthday pictures!

Birthday Boy!

Bowen is officially spoiled! I have been able to keep his toys in a small basket under our TV up until now. I'm afraid our front room has turned into a toy room. We had a family party, which ended up being huge! It was a nice evening so everyone was outside the whole evening. Bowen loves people and attention, and he was smiling all night long. Thanks to everyone who brought gifts.

His birthday cake was balloons!

I never thought the first year would go by so fast! It's hard for me to imagine how small and dependent Bowen used to be. Now he can do so many things: color pictures, say "ball", "mom", "dad", wave, clap, push his firetruck everywhere, beg for food, drink from a straw, play peek-a-boo, go up and down stairs, open and close doors, and be funny as ever! Happy Birthday Bowen, we love you!

Dirt Mustache

Bowen played outside today while I worked in the garden. I lost track of him for a while and next thing I knew he was eating a rock that he found in the mud. He loved playing outside. I look forward to many more sunny days in the garden.

First Haircut

BEFORE (this is my cute brother Jake)

AFTER

I know it's supposed to be bad luck to cut your child's hair before their first birthday, but I had several people tell me that my son had a mullet. So my dad cut his hair with a number 8. I think he looks like Seth now!

Beach Baby!!

We went to Florida last weekend for Seth's cousin Cale's wedding. It was a much needed trip to the sun! Surprisingly it was only 40 degrees when we got there, but it warmed up to 70 by the end of our trip. We were sad to come home to a big snow storm, but at least now we feel like we can make it through the rest of the snowing Utah winter.

We let Bowen explore the sand a little bit. His first move was to pick up the closest shell and put it in his mouth. They he moved to rocks, too big to fit in his mouth. Then he proceeded to throw the rocks at his little second cousin Rex (pictures to come soon). Bowen's a really social kid, always trying to catch everyone's attention by smiling at them. Oh! and he learned to wave "hi" and "bye" this month. His Grandma Hobbs taught him, so she's pretty proud.