Summer Lovin l

 It is a blast to see Rio starting to make faces. I try to have my phone on hand as much as possible but sometimes I am not fast enough or he moves, so the pics are blurry. Enjoy!

 "But beneath the cloths, we find a man. And beneath a man, we find his nucleus".

-Nacho Libre

 With one of his soccer Aunties at training.

 Spoon. Notice the size of his hands.. I did not realize Rio had man hands until a mom put his hands up to her two year old and they were way bigger! Can you say basketball baby!!

 Part of our morning routine is to take the dog's on a walk when Rio is due for his first nap. Not the best thing to do according to baby center but at this point, whatever works!

 Starting to climb onto EVERYTHING.

 Mama's eyes.. And our sweet Bella Baby in the background. She has been so great with Rio. She follows him everywhere and just wants to be a part of the action. 

 Rio was sick for the first time and it was so sad. I felt helpless. Gabe was out of town and I thought Rio was going to die. I let my mind wander and think of the worst case scenarios. Rio's pediatrician told me I did not need to bring him in, that I should let his body fight it and watch his temperature. I was so paranoid and worried, that I took him in anyway to a local clinic. They checked him and said he would be just fine. I realized the best thing I could do was to make him as comfortable as possible. Taking him in was definitely worth the peace of mind for me. When we got home, I held and sang to him for the rest of the night. I also put a cold rag on his neck and head which he seemed to like. He slept a ton for 48 hours straight. Our bodies are so amazing and really know how to heal themselves. I feel like it is important to truly listen to what our bodies are telling us, rather then just pumping it with pills that yes, may make us feel better for the time being, but are really only masking what our body is trying to tell us.  I breastfed him a ton, gave him baby massages, let him sleep as much as he wanted, and his body took care of the rest. 

 Occasionally he would wake up and just moan while he rested on my lap.

 Feeling a bit better.

Feeling MUCH better!

Vegas Baby

 Wait.. We are going to Vegas as a family?

 Really?

 Yahoo!

 Time to get some treats for the trip.

 Don't forget the jogging stroller.

 Ladies, here I come.

 Rio's first time in a pool. He did amazing!

 Rio found it astonishing to slap his hands against the water and then have the water splash in his face. He did this the entire time.

 We are sooo happy Rio is a water baby.

 We stopped off in St. George on the way home to take a little walk and we found this beautiful creek.

 We are already starting to see Rio's adventurous personality. He enjoys new experiences and loves to get his feet wet. It is important to us to expose him to nature as much as possible. 

 "It is not half so important to know as to feel when introducing a young child to the natural world."

-Rachel Carson

We love being able to go to Vegas for soccer. It is always nice weather and it is a gorgeous drive. Rio was spectacular on the flight there and the drive home. I feel so lucky for our entire family to be able to go on trips together for work. The girls on our teams are amazing to Rio and so are the parents. Every trip we go on will be an adventure for him. As long as there is a pool in the hotel and his mommies by his side, he is a happy boy. As a kid, I remember so many of our little road trips to Gma & Gpa Dickerson's house and to VA beach. All I want for Rio is to have a magical and beautiful childhood filled with exploration, imagination, fun, and wonder. As stressed out as I may sometimes get before a trip, I need to always remember this trip-no matter how long or short- will be a reflection that Rio will store in his chest of childhood memories.

Court's Spring Visit

 Rio with his cousins Hinckley, Benben, and Miss Leah at the Hogle Zoo.

 The best part of seeing the gorilla's was when Ben said "Mommy can I snuggle him?"

 Family of turtles. The Mom and Dad where just chilling while the baby was exploring all over the place. It was really fun to watch the little guy get around.

 Rio was out after 30 minutes of walking.

 Rio was soo happy he was able to see his cousins again.

 Handsome, handsome boys

 The Crew

 Erin was able to come over to visit while Court was here. It was so nice to see her and catch up.

 Love being an Aunt to these monkeys.

 Big boy sitting up :)

 This never happens! Lolita was being so sweet to Hinckley and Leah.. or rather tolerant I should say. Look at those eyes! I think it is because they are amazing with Dodge and Lolita can feel their 'sweetness to dogs' energy :)

Benben loved all the dogs. He was even interested in Bella and kept following them around. What a brave kid!

Courtney, Jefferson, and the kiddies all came out for a wedding (I think :)) Because I am playing catch up, I am trying to remember as best I can! It was great having them over to hang out and see our new house. It made me feel so good at how complimentary Court was of our home. She has a way of making those around her always feel good. We were all able to take the kids to the zoo, which they loved. A great thing about the Hogle zoo is it is small and it only takes about an hour to see everything. However, because it is so small, the animals do not have a lot of room to dwell. It is sad to see but it appears they are being taken care of. With Rio in the picture now, I am willing to take a step back and look through a different lense when it comes to my views on animal captivity.

Spring Fever

 Cannot get enough of these chubby cheeks

 I am cute and I know it face

 All my babies on our routine afternoon walk

 Rio loves his Auntie Ash.. She is one of a select few who Rio will allow to hold him

 Rio and his buddy RJ

 Love my Aunties!

 Went to grab some water and I return to find this sleeping beauty. 

 Two of my sleeping beauties.. Rio is always able to fall asleep on Gabe's chest. MomG has the magic touch.

 Bummed this came out a bit blurry but there are not enough pics of Rio in his manly man hat.

 Rio adores Parker. Whenever Parker comes over to play, Rio just watches him and gets a permanent smile on his face. Parker is so sweet to Rio. He talks to him, plays with him, and sings him the songs he learns in school. Brothers for life.

 Rio has really been teething lately and has been a champ about it. At the end of the day he will be a bit grumpy and voices his hurt cry. It is so sad! I am able to start differentiating his cries.. As of right now I  can tell when he is tired, hungry, grumpy, sad or mad.  

 We get this face a lot. 

Tubby time! Rio still loves taking baths. So funny to watch his froggy stance in the tub.

Spring is going by incredibly fast. Gabe and I have been training our teams outside which has been really nice. We can only go outside so much with Rio, so getting outdoors for soccer has been a breath of fresh air for the both of us. We have amazing parents on both of our teams who have been so supportive and are always willing to watch Rio while we train. They will walk him around the park in his stroller or play with him on a blanket while we train. It works out so well because while we work we can still see where he is and what he is doing.