Lazy days in the sun...

Dallie is soaking up the last warm days of fall in St George. She loves sun as much or more than me.

Visiting the Parowan Gap...

We went for a ride last Saturday to the Parowan Gap. I had never heard of it before now so it was a new adventure for me. There are tons of petroglyphs on the rocks through a cut in the mountain.

Halloween...

Kayson had 2 costumes to wear this year, so he dressed up 2 days in a row. The first day he was a monster...I think it looks like a character from the movie Monster Inc. I especially love the bink in the pic too. So cute.

And on the actual day of Halloween, he dressed up like a cow. The costume was so squishy on him. He loved it, but he was so tired most of the day. I was only able to capture a pic while he was napping.

New play mat...

Every time we have been to Costco for the past month, Guy has wanted to buy this really cute play mat for Kayson. I didn't think he was ready for it just yet until last week...we finally bought it. And as you can see from this first pic, my dogs immediately thought it was a new toy for them. They loved it...

Then Kayson finally got his turn after the dogs...and he loved it. His favorite part is the mirror...he tries talking to the other baby in the mirror. I layed down next to him in the play mat, and he could see me in the mirror...he thought that was way cool.

He reaches up and hits the toys. It is mostly out of control flailing of his arms and legs, but he thinks that it is fun.

Nap time...

I layed Kayson down for a nap while I was doing some laundry. This is what I found...

Swimming with Samantha...

My sister Samantha came and stayed with me for a few days. We had fun hanging out and she was a good helper with taking care of Kayson. It was still warm enough to go swimming, so we took advantage of that. Kayson wanted to stick his feet in the water so that was fun for him.

Staheli Farm Fun...

We went with friends to the staheli farm in St. George. There are a lot of things to do for kids and the friends we went with had kids just the right age. Guy thought this sign was for him to stop and pose for a picture. Nice pose Guy...we always want to see your tongue in pictures.

There was an animal petting area. Kayson got to ride his first horse there...don't tell his horses at the farm...they will be jealous. He can't wait to grow up a little bit more so that he can ride a horse with a saddle with his mom.

After being in the stroller for a while, Kayson realized that he was missing out on all the fun. So I carried him around the rest of the time. He was so curious looking around at all of the stuff. We stopped to pose at the board that you stick your heads through. We tried to stick our heads as far in as we could but it was a bit difficult. Next year he can put his head in the pumpkin at the bottom and me and Guy can be the taller ones.

And finally, we rode the wagon to the pumpkin patch. That is what I really wanted to take Kayson to and get a picture of him in the pumpkins. Most of the pumpkins are much bigger than him, but he enjoyed it anyway.

Dogs and snakes...

Last weekend, Guy took us for a drive out of town in a place called the Arizona Strip. It is nothing but sand, sagebrush, and lots of dirt roads. It had rained the previous week, so Guy was dying to get out there and get some mud on his truck. We were only going to be a few hours, so I packed a cooler and the diaper bag. We headed out and drove through lots of mud and muck and the truck was looking pretty awesome with mud. We were just about to turn around and head home when Guy found a road that he had never been on. He doesn't have an Arizona map, so we just started driving on it not knowing where it was headed or how long it was. I wasn't worried because that is usually what Guy does. We drove, and drove, and drove some more. Finally Kayson was starving, so I fed him while Guy and the dogs went exploring around. They spotted an old cow corral that they wanted to drive to, so I strapped Kayson back into his seat and away we went to see the corral. We got out and were walking around when Guy stopped in his tracks and said that he could hear a rattlesnake. I ran to the truck as fast as I could because I didn't want to be near a rattler if it really was near us. As I ran to the truck, I hollered for the dogs to get in the truck with me. They followed and I helped them in, and grabbed for Guy's gun and the camera. Guy found the snake, and sure enough, it was a rattlesnake. He has been wanting to find one so that he could have the rattles. While he was shooting the snake and getting the rattles, I was putting Kayson's bink back in his mouth back at the truck. I noticed that dallie had some blood around her eye and that it was swollen up. I realized that she had been bitten by the snake. I was in immediate panic mode. Guy called the vet to see what we should do...he said get her to the emergency vet clinic as fast as we could. Well...that fastest we could ended up being 2 hours. The road was rough, it was slow going, and I had dallie wrapped up in my jacket on my lap. It seemed like forever and I really thought she wasn't going to make it. We got to the clinic and the vet was waitng for us there. He checked her over and after all was said and done, he said that she was the luckiest dog to be alive. The snake has just barely grazed her eyelid with its one fang. Her body had fought off the venom really good. She was sent home with some antibiotics.
The picture is that night when we brought her home. We wrapped her up in her fav blanket and she stayed there for a few days of resting. The swelling went away the next day and she is doing so good. I can't believe that she was bitten by a rattlesnake and lived to tell the story.

Kayson's first day of church...

I think that church is a germ fest, so I have held off taking Kayson to church yet. Yesterday he turned 6 weeks old, so I decided that it was time to take him. I had a hard time deciding what babies wear to church. I know that I have seen plenty of babies at church, but I guess that I have never paid much attention to what they are wearing. I found a very cute white long sleeve onsie and some tan shorts. He looked so handsome. We tried to snap a family pic too, but babies just don't pose that well when you want them too. He was so good at church too. He loved the music...it put him to sleep. Thank you Kayson for not crying...I have this fear of a crying baby in public. I'm sure that I will get past that, but right now I leave the store the second I think that he is going to start fussing. I know...laugh. It is kind of a funny fear.

Roasting hot dogs...

We loaded up the fam and headed out of town to build a fire and roast some hot dogs. Guy is always taking us somewhere new on a dirt road, and this was no exception. We drove a ways out of town and built a fire. The sun went down and it got a little chilly, so me and Kayson put on our jackets. His is a little big for him, but very cozy. We didn't get to stay too long because some weird people were being annoying, so we put out the fire and left. No hot dog roasting for us, so we stopped and McDonalds on the way home. Guy calls it camping Great Gpa Coates style. You are probably wondering what the heck that means, so here is the back story...My gpa coates goes camping, but it only takes a few hours. He has my gma cook up some hamburgers and wrap them up in tinfoil, take some drinks and a bag of chips too. Drive up on the mountain, eat the food, and drive back home. He calls that camping.

Dad's weekend project...

Guy has a very long list of things that he wants to do to his truck. So this weekend, he crossed one thing of that list. He painted the inside of his grill red...but not just any old red...farmall m red. That is the same color that he painted his tractor last year. He is obsessed with that color and has big plans to put a flat bed on his truck and get pin stripes of red to match. When he gets the other stuff done, I will post more pics of the finished product.

Helping mom plant flowers...

Mom has had flowers on the back porch waiting to be planted for about a week now. She finally had some time to plant them, so I hung out with the weiner dogs on ground. They shared my blanket with me. I just layed there watching mom play in the dirt and make the back porch pretty with flowers. I love being outside.

Spike kept wanting to play with his toys. I can't wait to get bigger so I can throw his toys and pull his ears and chase him around the yard. He doesn't know it yet, but we are going to be best friends and have so much fun together.

Some of the flowers that mom planted and notice Spikes toys in the background.

More pretty flowers...

I think I have had enough pictures for one day. Will someone just hold me amd love me???

1 month old...

Kayson is now a month old, and we have learned alot in that time. But looking back, it has gone by pretty fast. My mom gave him this halloween outfit and he couldn't wait til halloween to wear it, so we at least waited til October.

Strong neck...

Kayson loves to hang out with dad on the couch, and dad's way of holding him is like this...

He is getting such a strong neck. He is facing the big sliding glass window and loves to look outside. He can see his dogs playing out there and can't wait til he can play out there with them.

BBQing...

We love when Guy cooks, because he is so creative and it tastes great too...and I don't have to cook, just help. We made steaks, veggie kabobs, and pineapple shrimp kabobs. It was too much food, but it was delicious and fun.

Here is the cook himself...
Dallie was hanging out in the kitchen in hopes of a morsel of food hitting the floor. She looks a little disappointed.

And and angry baby in his swing while mom and dad were cooking. I swear that he knows when we are about to sit down and eat. He can be content and having a good time and then he starts crying, but its not just crying, it is screaming. So then he sucks on his binki very madly. Its kind of funny.

First Day Trip with Kayson...

Guy was getting stir crazy and wanted to go out for a drive on a dirt road. The day was nice and we packed up Kayson, the dogs, and a picnic basket of food. We left the house early in the morning and were gone all day. It was nice to get out, but definately a learning experience with a baby.
We found this really cool rock and decided that we needed to take a family pic by it. I held Kayson while Guy set the timer on the camera and ran into the pic. It didn't work out how we thought, but it is a funny picture. If you look at Kayson's head, you will see Guy's hand trying to turn it toward the camera. What a good memory...this was when Kayson was only 2 weeks old. And he loves riding in dad's truck because he drives fast.

Hanging out...

Spike decided that he needs to protect "his" baby. He goes everywhere that Kayson goes, sleeps everywhere that Kayson sleeps, and follows me around when I am holding him. Spike doesn't get much sleep cause he has to keep at least one eye on him at all times. One thing that Spike can't figure out is that we won't let him have any of Kayson's toys.

Kayson loves Nascar too, but his favorite thing is napping through it...just like mom and dad do. And as you can see, Spike is here keeping an eye on him too.

Kayson Guy Whalen...

Kayson Guy Whalen was born on Sunday September 4. He is 8 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches long. We are so happy that is he finally here, and he is so cute. He is a happy baby and we have had lots of family and visitors to pass him around to. He loves to be held and especially loves mom to hold him because she has the food. We feel very blessed.

No baby yet...

So Monday, August 29th came and went with no baby still. After 40 weeks, you would think that this baby would be ready to come out and play, but no. We decided that he must be too comfy in there and not want to come out. I had my last dr. appointment yesterday and nothing had changed from the week before. I am still dilated to a 2 and only having a few contractions, nothing that is going to make this baby come out. So the dr. scheduled me to be induced on September 6th. On the instructions, it says that they will call early in the morning to have us come in, but then it also says that it could be later if they are busy. So I don't know much more than that, but at least I can have my bag packed. And my dr. left to go out of town today and won't be back for 10 days, so his nurse midwife will be the one to deliver my baby. I am a little disappointed that my dr. will be out of town, but the midwife is very nice and so I guess that is just how it will have to be.

Tarantula

Last night I was laying in bed and had a thought to run out to the garage and get some jam out of the freezer for breakfast. I was in bare feet and didn't think twice about it and went into the garage. I caught a glimpse of a huge spider on the ground about 2 feet from the door. That was all I needed to see...I slammed the door and ran all the way back into the bedroom and jumped into bed. Guy said, "Wow...I have never seen a pregnant woman move so fast in my life." Spiders freak me out, and especially tarantula's that are this big. Guy wanted to catch it in tupperware and take it to work to put on someone's desk so that is why it is in this container. The dogs were pretty scared of it and were hunting for more around the yard. I hope that I don't see anymore in our garage, but I think we probably will since we live in the desert. I just really hope that I don't see and scorpions. I hate creepy crawly things like this...

I almost forgot...

Well, I almost forgot that I haven't posted about this yet...we are expecting our first baby any day now. My official due date is August 29, so only a few days left. It is a boy and we couldn't be more excited. We found out in December, so sorry about the delay but I obviously haven't kept up with the whole blogging scene. And we still haven't officially decided on a name...I know its crazy to be this close and not still have a name, but we will get it figured out.
I had these big plans to do a belly pic every week or at least every couple of weeks, but that didn't really happen either. I only have a few pics of my prego belly, but they are on the computer that isn't unpacked yet, so you have another post to look forward to of belly pics.

Moved to STG

After Guy graduated from USU, we started throwing around the idea of moving back to STG. We couldn't decide what to do so I started watching the job board through my job to see if any jobs came available at the Dixie Hospital. In April, my exact job was posted at Dixie, so I applied for a transfer. It only took a couple of days and an interview over the phone to finalize our decision to move to STG. Guy started looking around for him a job and found one shortly after me, so we were set. All we had to do was pack up our house and find a place in STG to live. Easier said than done...we moved to Guy's parents house at the beginning of June to just stay for a week or two til we could find us a place. We just couldn't find the right place for us, so we ended up staying with them for 2 months instead of a couple of weeks. It was very nice of them to let us stay, but we were glad to finally find our own place too. So we just moved into our house about 3 weeks ago, and I am still working on unpacking boxes and getting us settled in. It is nice to be back home in STG, but we are still getting used to the heat after being in Logan.

Guys Graduation

In May, Guy Graduated from Utah State University. I am so proud of him for going to college. He finished with a degree in Agriculutre Mechanics with an emphasis in dealership management.

His parents and brother were able to make the trip up from STG to spend graduation day with us. Thank you so much for coming...it meant the world to Guy.