BYU Homecoming 2015

On October 9 & 10 we celebrated BYU Homecoming. I had really wanted to go to the BYU Spectacular, which is dancing and music, this year they had David Archuleta as special guest, but I was nervous about taking Crew because his bedtime is between 8-8:30. Andrew got him some headphones for the football games so I figured that if he wore those and if he got really fussy we could walk around with him. Two days before the event I got on and got tickets. They had a disclaimer saying these seats were to the side of the stage so it would be hard to see but you could still see the big screen. That was perfect to me because I really just wanted to hear David and Vocal point (BYU's acapella group) sing.

Well night of the event we are going to our seats and yes they are on the side but it is the second row from the stage on the side. We kept thinking well maybe we are in the wrong seats, but sure enough they were the right ones! It was awesome! Since it was the side of the stage they also had no one sitting next to us so Crew had a little more room to wiggle around and even got to sit in his own chair. Crew did great the first half of the show. He loved watching all the dancing and the lights change colors. Then he started to get a little fussy because he was sleepy so I just walked up the steps to the top and stood in the dark door way and rocked him. Because he had his head phones on and the lights were dimmed he fell right to sleep. I was then able to just take a seat and rock him while watching the rest of the show! It was perfect! Those headphones were amazing because Crew can't fall asleep with any noise. He is really picky like that. If he hears anything he wakes right up. But even when the crowd went crazy for David and for Vocal Point he slept through it.

It was an amazing performance. As we were leaving I told Andrew that I want to come to this every year. We can do this show and the football game! A perfect combination for us. I loved when David and Vocal Point sang "Nearer my God to Thee." (here is a version of Vocal Point and BYU men's choir singing it. It is a really good version too) It was absolutely STUNNING! Ever since having Crew I have been a tad more sensitive and it made me tear up. It brought such an amazing spirit into the Marriott Center. It warmed me with an overwhelming sense of peace. I just love Davids voice and whenever he sings gospel songs it really makes me feel closer to God. I love it. I'm already looking forward to next year.. as long as we are in this state at least.

The next day, on Saturday, we went to the football game. It was the first game that was early enough for Crew to be able to come and not mess with his bed time too much. It started at 5:30 so I dropped Andrew off a little early to get seats and then Crew and I came right at kick off. Again the headphones were amazing!! The first quarter the sun was right in our faces so I stood behind the stands in the shade, which I actually enjoyed more too, and we watched the big screen. Second quarter we were able to watch the game then during half time I tried to find somewhere to feed him that was a little more private. I was SHOCKED to find that one of the bathrooms actually had a place for moms to go. They had a couple changing tables and chairs to feed in. It was perfect. There were a lot of moms in there feeding, comforting, and changing babies. Thank you BYU for being so considerate!

Afterwards I was able to walk around with Crew in the carrier and with the head phones on and he fell asleep. FOR THE REST OF THE GAME! I'm telling you it was awesome and I'm a major believer in those head phones. I'm so glad it went well. It was a great game. BYU won so it was perfect!! Overall it was just an awesome weekend and I thought I would finally blog about a specific event! Love stuff like this. We are so happy to be here in Provo and be able to attend so many awesome events. I love showing Crew all the wonderful things in this world!

love, alex&andrew

Hello Crew: 8 months old

Since we are 10 days away from celebrating Crew being 9 months old I decided I really needed to do a post on him being 8 months old. SO much is changing in the past few months. He is really growing up and it makes me so sad and so happy. This little boy is adorable, wonderful, and all sorts of fun. 

Age:

8 months old!! 

Stats: 

Since we haven't gone to the doctor I haven't been good at figuring out his stats... especially because one month I was off on his weight..Sooo I just figured it wasn't a big deal to know exacts. He is feeling heavier and looking longer. Hahaha so perfect!! 

Favorites: 

• Pulling up on anything and everything so that he can stand. He gets so excited once he is standing. It is adorable and scary all at the same time! He is very wobbly so we have to watch him like crazy. We have already had a few tumbles resulting in tears. It's so sad and I feel so bad for not catching him. 
• On October 1st we felt his first tooth poking through on the bottom. Then a few days later we felt the second tooth, right next to the first. I put this under favorites because I feel like when the teeth finally break through the little guy gets a little relief. At least thats what I hope. He now has some sharp daggers that you do not want to get your finger too close to. 
• Army crawling over to our pumpkins and chewing on the stems. haha he LOVES it. yes I have tried to stop him from fear that it will really hurt him but after a while I decided it wasn't hurting because he kept going back to it and wasn't crying. Pumpkin stems = awesome teething toys. 
• Loves being able to go wherever he wants, which means EVERYWHERE. He army crawls most of the time and then crawls for three feet and then goes back to army crawling. At this time army crawling is faster so he prefers it.
• Have I ever mentioned that he loves to shake his head back and forth? Like he is saying no. It is adorable and hilarious. He did it a lot when we was 4-5 months old and then didn't do it as much.. Well lately it has been coming back. It's hilarious when people ask him a question and he does that. It's like he really knows what they are saying and is responding. 
• Loves being outside. 
• Watching/looking/staring at people. He will stare you down and give you a very serious look the whole time. 

Least Favorites:

• Well we did the sleep training thing and it helped. A LOT! and then he got sick, was teething, and such and it started going back to bad again. It is ALWAYS a work in progress. He is just not the greatest sleeper. He is a SUPER light sleeper. If I just open the door to his bedroom it wakes him up. If I'm laying next to him and try to sneak away it usually wakes him up, I do get lucky sometimes. Naps are also still difficult. He still sleeps in my arms. Part of me loves it because I just sit and read or catch up on social media. Other times I don't like it as much because I know I could be getting so much more done while he sleeps. I figured once we figured out nighttime we would work on daytime but then nighttime went back to bad....soooo work in progress. always. 
• His carseat. He hates getting in. Gets so excited when we open the door to get him out. BUT he usually calms down once we get going and aren't messing with trying to get him in there. 
• He is starting to show some separation anxiety signs. It makes sense since he is with me 24/7 pretty much. 

Sleep:

Read above. haha. 

Eat:

Loves breastfeeding. I know it is so comforting to him when he is teething or isn't feeling well. I love that. I love that I am his comfort. He started not liking being fed real food as much so I have been trying to experiment with ways to feed him. He is still working on picking food up and successfully getting it in his mouth. He loves food but seems to hate it at times. Another work in progress I think. 

Play:

Always wanting to be on the go. Always going after Zoii's antlers (she chews on antlers instead of bones). He always tries to put them in his mouth and chew on them himself. EW. Always going after Zoii's water and food bowl. Always trying to pull himself up, on the coffee table, the TV stand, the couch, the chair, mom, dad, zoii, everything, then stand, and wack whatever is closest to him. He is so proud of himself when he does. SO ADORABLE!! 

   In month 8 Crew...

went to his first BYU football home game

Attended BYU Spectacular

picked pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

swung in a swing at the park for the first time

Every month just keeps getting better and better. Crew is the sweetest little boy and we just love spending time with him and watching him learn and grow. I love being his mom!

love, alex&andrew