BIGELOW FAMILY

Updates soon

2010-12-17T20:44:00.001-08:00

For those who are wondering....yes we are still alive. Life has been busy in the Bigelow household. As I was trying to do some updates my camera battery died...so updates will be coming soon!

Here's a list of what's to come:

Krista's new job
Uncle Kelly home from mission
Halloween
Newest member of the Bigelow family

HAPPY 4TH

2010-07-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a fun 4th. We had a great one that lasted all weekend long! The joy of having it fall on a Sunday, right.

(My cute patriotic boys modeling the adorable outfits their Grandma Bigelow got for them- Thanks Grandma!)

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and headed out to my parent's house for a new family tradition (we started last year & love it).

My parent's little town has an awesome parade, awesome becuase you get LOTS of candy! Brayden got a whole sack full. After the parade my mom makes the most yummy breakfast for everyone...crepes and breakfast casserole. (Is your mouth watering, mine is...my mom makes the best crepes!)

(My handsome guys patiently waiting for the parade to come to them... and the candy. (Notice they are wearing sweatshirts, it was surprisingly cool for the 4th)

We can't go to Grandma and Grandpa Moore's house without riding the four wheeler and lawn mower. (Don't worry the blades aren't going on the mower so we are being somewhat safe).

After the parade the town does a all day celebration with food, games and activities. We hit the free stuff for kids. They had a jump house (I think that is what it is called), a fishing pond (they fished for a prize), and a train ride. Brayden didn't really get the fish pond, he wanted to catch real fish but liked it after he got the toy. His favorite was the train ride. Parker is still too small to do much but he liked being able to wander a bit on the grass.

That night we had a small BBQ with my parents and brother and sister in-law (Matt and Jen). Then being the cool Aunt and Uncle Matt and Jen are they brought over some fireworks. After putting Parker to bed we got to be little pyros. Brayden loved the sparklers and setting up the fireworks before they were lit. After we had used up all of Matt and Jen's fireworks we went down the street to watch our neighbors show. They had TONS of fireworks and it was so nice of them to let us watch.

On Sunday after church we had another BBQ with some of Caleb's family. Then we went to close to the fairgrounds and watched the BIG firework show. Brayden now LOVES fireworks.

We had an awesome 4th of July! We would like to thank all of the men and women who have sacrificed so much on our behalf so that we can enjoy the freedom that we have! "Freedom isn't free" and I am so grateful for those brave people who are willing to fight for our Freedom. Thanks.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

With Father's Day fast approaching I thought I would take a few minutes to express how grateful I am to all of the different Fathers in my life.

First I would like to recognize the father of my children, the most wonderful man in the world...and I'm the lucky one who gets to spend eternity with him. Caleb is such an amazing father. Brayden looks up to him in everyway, and tries to be just like him. And Parker loves him so much too. He crawls around/walks on his knees (yep still not walking!) all day long muttering "dada, dada, dada..."

Brayden and daddy getting ready for a ride.
Parker and Daddy snuggling on the couch.

This picture pretty much sums up my boys. Trucks, tools, and eachother.

My three boys. I love them so very much!

Thanks Caleb for being such a wonderful father and husband. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. Love you lots!

The next dad I would like to recognize is Caleb's dad, Rick. Rick is a great dad and grandpa. He is very handy to have around. I swear the man knows how to fix everything! Thanks for being such a great example to Caleb, and raising an amazing son.
The last dad in my life, but definatly not the least is my own dad. I am so grateful that I got to have one of the most amazing men in the world as my dad. All my life I grew up knowing I could talk to him about anything and he is always willing to listen.

Brayden idealizes him, and is always asking where Grandpa is.

These last few months has been a bitter-sweet blessing becuase I have got to spend more time with my dad. It has been so fun going to McDonalds, Utah, and Costco with him and just hanging out.

Thanks dad for being you!

As you can see I am so blessed with three amazing fathers in my life.

Happy Father's Day Caleb, Dad and Rick!

Chicago trip

2010-06-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

This past May Caleb's work sent him to Chicago for some training. Lucky for me I got to tag along. We had such a good time. Sorry I had to post tons of pictures, because I loved them all and believe it or not I was being very selective so you wouldn't have to see all.

While Caleb was in conferance I wondered around what is known as the "Magnificant Mile." It's a mile of road packed full of shopping. Most of the stores were name brand, so I couldn't afford anything but it was still fun to look.
The first night we went down to the Navy Pier. There isn't really any Navy ships there that we saw. More tourist things.

Anyone who knows Caleb knows he loves McDonalds. Where else can you get a hamburger for those prices Right not to mention they're world wide :) Even on the Navy Pier in Chicago.

Posing in front of the skyline,

The view from the tip of the Pier. Lake Michigan is a huge lake- No wonder its called a Great Lake!

2010-06-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is Millenium Park. This bridge was made out of receycled titanium from old submarines. This is the ampatheater.

This piece of art is called "The Bean." It was so fun to play around with. It reflects back at you. We probably spent about an hour playing with this huge piece of titanium!

Caleb and I playing around.

More Chicago Trip...

2010-06-01T12:19:00.001-07:00

On Friday we switched hotels. Being the cheapo's we are we wanted to save some $$$$ when we had to pay for the hotel so we walked down the street to hotel that was about $100 cheaper a night. Money well saved. The nice lady at the front desk upgraded us to a corner suite on the 38th floor. We had a great view! What we saw out our window.

Of course what's a vacation without a little shopping? We went to the Hershey Chocolate Store. I think a gained 20 pounds from the smell of the store alone! It smelled sooo good.

Had to do a few poses. Unfortantely for us chocolate lovers, those bottles were empty...
but cute pictures anyways!

We loved just walking around the city. Chicago is a surprisingly clean city for how many people live there.

This is us by Lake Michagen. Enjoying the beautiful sunset.

Chicago Trip Continued...

2010-06-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

We ended our trip with a bang. On the last day we went all out and did some really awesome things. The highlight of the trip was the Segway tour. We signed up to do a tour around Chicago. We each got to ride our own segways. Oh what fun! Caleb wants to buy one now. I told him no problem whats a measly $5,000. We'll just sell the car and he can strap the kids to his back. :) We spent the first 1/2 hour of the tour getting used to driving the segway. Caleb was a natural. He jumped right on and took off. It took me a little longer to get used to it. They are relatively easy to drive; I think for me it was just nerves. I kept thinking I'm driving a $5000 machine, Don't crash. But unfortuntly for me, I hit a pothole, and did crash; lucky for me it was on grass and no damage was done, just me ego. I felt better when a tour guide from another company crashed on his right in front of me, but unfortuntly for him it was on the cement. Poor guy!
This is us in front of Buckingham Fountain. So beautiful.

After the Segway tour we went to the Willis Tower (formely known as the Sears Tower). This is the view from the southeast corner of the building. We were 103 floors high.

The tower now has a skydeck. Pretty much a pexy-glass box that juts out of the building you can walk out on. I must say that first step is kinda scary! It's a wierd feeling standing on it but kind of a rush (the biggest kind of rush I'm comfortable with).

That night we went and saw the Blue Man Group. They were SO FUN! We were laughing pretty much the whole time. Sorry no pictures were allowed in the theater, so I couldn't get any.

All in all we had a FANTASTIC time! It was so nice to get away just the two of us. Caleb learned A LOT at his conference, and I learned that though I do love to get away once in a while, I love being at home with my boys.

OOPS!

2010-05-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Recently I learned how to cut Caleb's hair. I was doing an awesome job (if I say so myself) when all of the sudden the gaurd fell off the razor! Oops!!! Unfortunetly I had to cut his hair shorter to try and hide the bald spot. Luckily Caleb's hair grows fast!

Sorry babe, better luck next time.

There will be a next time....Right?

HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!!

2010-05-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

This last April Caleb celebrated his 26th Birthday. We celebrated by spending the weekend as a family. On Saturday we went to Lava Hot Pools and swam, and on Sunday we celebrated the big day at Caleb's parents house. Brayden loved helping daddy open his presents.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!

Happy Easter!

2010-05-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter! On the Monday before Easter we dyed Easter eggs for FHE. Brayden took it very seriously and loved every minute!

After dying the eggs we ate dessert. The boys wore most of the frosting!The Easter bunny came Sunday morning. Parker loved shaking his eggs, but didn't really care for the yummy treats inside.

Brayden showing off what the Easter Bunny left him. He loves his wheelborrow, because now he can haul dirt in the yard with dad and some of his toys outside.

Just like dad

2010-05-21T12:38:00.001-07:00

To save some $ in our pockets, and being the handy man he is, Caleb has taken to changing the oil in our cars by himself. A few days after Caleb changed the oil in our Explorer, Brayden went outside to play in the garage. When I went to check on him this is what I found. He was trying to change the oil in his jeep just like daddy. Too cute!

Brayden idealizes his daddy.

Six Years

2010-03-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

On March 25th Caleb and I celebrated our Sixth Year Anniversary. I can't believe it's already been six years. Time has gone so fast. The time we have been together has been marvelous!

(I don't really know how to scan pictures, so I took a picture of a picture)

I had to work on Thursday night :( but when I got home Caleb had beautiful roses and a card waiting for me. Then on Friday we left the boys with my mother-in-law and went for a day to IF. We went to the temple, ate lunch at Olive Garden and did some shopping. It was a great day!

Thank you Caleb for being a wonderful husband and father. You are an amazing person, and I am so lucky to be able to spend all of eternity with you!

BrAyDeN' s BiRtHdAy

2010-03-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last week Brayden celebrated his 3rd Birthday! We had a little party for him.

Lately he has been into trains so I made him his own train cake. He loved it! For an amature I think it turned out pretty cute, and tasted
yummy too!Brayden got tons of fun presents from all of his Grandmas, Grandpas, Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and friends. Caleb and I gave him a bike. He is still learning how to ride it. If a peddles he forgets to steer, and if he steers he forgets to peddle. I guess he'll get it down eventually. He loves his helmet. He wanted to wear it everywhere until I told him it was just for riding his bike, and he could wear his baseball hat instead.

Of coarse he got tons of trucks, and car stuff (Brayden's passion in life, must be a Bigelow gene). Parker climbed into one of Brayden's new trucks while Brayden was "fixing" it and I just had to snap a picture. Aren't they three handsome guys!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDEN! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

PaRkEr'S 1st BiRtHdAy

2010-02-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that our little baby boy is now 1 year old. Parker was born on Febraury 12, 2009 at 11:58 p.m.

A smiling Birthday Boy Since we call Parker "Parker Bear" we decided to throw him a teddy bear birthday party.
My friend Amy taught me how to make a very professional birthday cake. It not only looked adorable, but also tasted yummy too!

What's a 1st birthday without your very own cake to destroy/eat? Parker wasn't too sure of it at first...
but after his first bite he was in heaven!

All of Parker's cousins, and friends that came to help celebrate.
Thanks for coming guys!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER "BEAR"

We love you

1st Haircut

2010-02-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Parker got his first haircut two weeks ago. He did awesome only whinning once.

It's hard to believe that my baby is growing up!

Christmas

2010-02-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

Since it's already Febraury (wow, where is this year going!) I thought that I better catch up and post some pictures of Christmas. We had a great Christmas! It was so fun to see the excitement in Brayden (Parker is still too little to care).

Brayden loved opening all of his presents, and everyone else's too.

While Brayden tore open the wrapping paper Parker played with the paper. Together they made a great team.

After Christmas at home, we went to my parent's house for brunch and more presents. Then it was off to Caleb's parent's house for even more presents, talking to Elder Kelly Bigelow (Caleb's little brother who is serving his mission in Braziel), and dinner. Needles to say we got a lot of presents, andstuffed our faces with food.

More to come....

2010-01-01T20:37:00.001-08:00

MORE CATCHING UP

2010-01-01T20:16:00.001-08:00

Brayden got tired of being cooped up in the house so we bundled up and ventured outside to play in the "snow men." Love this picture!

Parker dressed up in his Christmas outfit... Brayden wouldn't sit still long enough to get a picture

I also celebrated my 26th Birthday! Wow I'm so old!!!!!!!

Catching Up...

2010-01-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

This past Halloween was a blast. Brayden absolutley loved the idea of being able to get tons of candy by just saying "trick of treat."

Brayden got a lot of practice trick or treating, which means he got ALOT of candy. He first got to go to daddy's work to go trick or treating. Halloween is a big deal at ICCU. All the employees dress up and perform skits. Caleb's department dressed up as the swine flu and danced to "Another One bites the Dust." They won a pizza party (2nd time in 2 years).

Parker was a teddy bear (which fits because he is known as Parker Bear at home). Brayden was a "Moo Cow."

On Halloween we went to our ward Trunk or Treat and got more candy.

This past October I went to my Grandma Moore's to learn how to make her famous rolls. It went well at her house, but when I got home...
I added the flour too fast. Oops "Mommy made a mess!" But don't worry the rolls still turned out yummy. Thanks Grandma!

This past couple of months our two boys have grown up. Brayden is potty training, and is doing pretty well.
Parker is crawling and is EVERYWHERE! He is also starting to pull himself up.

BRAYDEN!!!!

2009-10-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

So this past week it seems that my adorable two year old, Brayden, is trying to see how he can push me until I admit myself to the lunny bin. On Monday we were shopping I turned around for one second and when I turned back Brayden was gone. Ditching my full shopping cart, grabbing Parker, and franticly calling/looking for Brayden. I looked for about 5 minutes (it seemed like forever) and still no Brayden. I was about to burst into tears when a lady suggested that I go up to the Service Desk and have the store employees join in the search. Gratefully the store called a Code Green (meaning a missing child) and all available employees aided in the search. By this time I was a mess. Finally after about ten minutes of no Brayden an employee found him in the toys section. When I saw him I wanted to be mad at him for running off but first I had to give him a huge hug. I have never been so scared in my whole life. It's amazing how fast kids can be.
What also makes me mad, not only did I lose my own child, and feel like a horrible mom is that when I was looking for Brayden there was a whole store full of people just looking at me like I was crazy. Not one person asked if I needed any help. What's happened to people helping people? If I saw a frantic mom looking for her child, you bet I would stop to help her find him.

Now on to Thursday. As I was getting Parker ready so we could leave Brayden decided to go get in the car while he was waiting. I thought that Brayden was being the perfect child sitting in his carseat patiently waiting for me to come buckle him in. To my surprise when I got out to the car I got to see Brayden's beautiful artwork all over my car's seats. Brayden had found a black pen and decided to practice his drawing skills. Lucky me!

Brayden is becoming such a busy boy. I don't know if I can keep up with him. I've decided I was the perfect parent until I became one myself!!!

Family Pictures

2009-10-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we decided it was time for updated family pictures. My friend Kira is a great photographer who agreed to snap some cute photos of our little family. She took us up a canyon outside of our town. She did a great job. I already posted my favorites but here are a few more.

Brayden didn't want to coperate too much. It has to be his idea to do anything, but she was still able to take a few cute photos of our adorable two year old.

Parker was our little model. He was great in every photo. No surprise here though, he is always so happy.

Catching Up- Random Pictures

2009-10-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Now that Parker is sitting up on his own I can do a double bath. This makes bath time so much faster, and the boys love playing together in the water. Parker must be hungry! Just joking. He loves to grab everything and anything that he can get his little hands on. He is so strong and busy.

Brayden ran into his bedroom and when he came out this is what he was modeling. I am also VERY excited to report that the binky is officially no longer Brayden's companion. He bit a hole into his binky so I told him that his teeth are too sharp for binkies so he gladly threw it away and reminds me at least once a day that his teeth are too sharp. Now I need to work on the potty training. If any one has any ideas PLEASE share. I am at a total loss.

I love this of my Parker. He is usually wearing that big smile all day long. He is such a happy baby.

Brayden got his first bee sting. He got it right in the lip. Poor kid. He cried a little and then was a tough little guy even though his lip swelled a little.

Provo weekend

2009-10-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

Labor Day weekend we took off to Provo to see Caleb's Grandpa Goodman. Jerri (my great mother-in-law) and I went to Swiss Days and shopped until we were exhausted. Then on Saturday Caleb and I took the boys to the Hoogle Zoo in Salt Lake. The boys waking up at Grandpa's house.

Us leaving the zoo. Maybe we should have got a family picture before we went in. Brayden was pretty tired in this picture.

Parker had fun hanging out in his stroller and checking out all their was to see. He is such a good baby and so handsome!

My three handsome guys. I love them soooooooo much!

Mommy and Brayden. I'm not sure which animal Brayden is looking at.

It was a fun weekend. It was great spending it as a family.

My July trip

2009-10-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

While Caleb was in Alaska I decided to take the boys and go on our own little trip. We went to my Grandma/pa Armstrong's house to hang out with them and see my cousing Lynsie. We had a great time. Brayden and Parker loved all the attention they got from everyone, and I got a little R & R. I even got to escape for a few hours and go shopping with my cous. and the Park City Outlets. We had a great time. Playing on Grandma and Grandpas great covered patio.

Caleb's Alaska Trip

2009-10-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

This past July Caleb got to go on a fishing trip to Alaska with his dad and two of his brothers, Matt and Tom. It was a great deal. All we had to pay for was airfare and spending money so he couldn't pass up the opportunity. I wanted him to publish the post but my man is a working man, and so is hardly ever home so I gave up and decided to do it myself so you could see some of his pictures.
He's so handsome.

I don't know if you can see all the fish. Caleb said that this was how thick the fish were. They went at the perfect time. The fish were running great.

Caleb posing with his bros. Matt and Tom.

Caleb had a blast.

Stay tuned...

2009-08-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

I have more to catch up on. It's been a crazy month. More to come...
Caleb's trip to Alaska
My trip to Utah
Random cute shots of my adorable boys

2009-08-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We spent the morning in Inkom and went to the Inkom/candy parade. Brayden got a ton of candy, and loved waving at all of the floats.Grandma, Brayden and Abby waiting for the parade to begin.

After the parade we went to the park where Inkom had some food and games. Brayden and Abby got to fish. Brayden caught a fish, which he lovingly named "That." It is still alive but Brayden has renamed him "Fishie." We have a very clever little boy :)

Parker snuggled up to Grandpa and feel right asleep.

Parker and Brayden modeling for the camera, sort of, trying to show off their 4th of July outfits that Grandma Bigelow got them. They looked so adorable, thanks Grandma.

After Inkom it was off to Grandma/pa Bigelow's house for a BBQ, and the firework show. I didn't snap any pictures there because I forgot my camera in Inkom but it was a lot fun.

We had a great Independance Day! I am so thankful for this country and the Independance that we do have. Thankyou to all the men and women that serve this country so that my family and I can enjoy our freedom every day.

The rains came down and the ground sank...

2009-08-02T16:17:00.001-07:00

About two weeks after we got our beautiful grass, the south side of Pocatello had a flash flood. At first I was cheering on the rain because it was watering my new grass. But after about one hour of pouring down rain I started to get worried.This is a picture out of my front door looking on to my street. It looks like a river, and at the end of the street was the lake.

After the rain stopped I went outside to check on our crawl space and this is what I found. Huge pot holes in our fresh new lawn.

We are so blessed that it was just our yard that was damaged and not our house. Many of our neighbors and friends had flooded basements, and one person in our ward had their entire foundation shift. The Lord was looking out for us.

Grass!!!

2009-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

We now have grass!!! In the first part of June the rains held off long enough for one day that we were able to get grass. Thanks to all of our family for their help- you guys are great! It didn't take long for us to lay it. It looks awesome!

Brayden was a real helper! He loves to help in the yard.

Brotherly Love

2009-05-29T21:13:00.001-07:00

I thought that this was too cute to miss. I had put Parker down real quick so I could go get something and when I came back Brayden had climbed off his chair to go sit with his brother. Brayden is such a good big brother. Whenever Parker is crying Brayden will come and find me to tell me that "Parker is sad." He wasn't too sure of him at first, but has now gotten used to the idea of having a little brother around, and I think that he likes it (most of the time).

PARKER'S BLESSING DAY

2009-05-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday Parker was blessed. It was a great day with a lot of family. Caleb gave Parker a beautiful blessing. I am so grateful for a husband who is worthy to bless our kids and me. Parker looked so adorable in his little blessing outfit.

Thanks to everyone who shared in Parker's special day!

Happy Birthday Caleb

2009-05-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Caleb celebrated his 25th Birthday on April 11. Though it was a crazy day I think he had a pretty good Birthday. He got fishing gear in preperation for his Alaska trip. All the kids trying to help him unwrap his preasents
Caleb blowing out his candles.

Happy Easter

2009-05-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter. Instead of subjecting Brayden to the craziness of city Easter egg hunts we thought that we would ease him into the idea by having a private egg hunt with his cousin Abby. It was a good thing too. He didn't really get the idea that he was supposed to pick up the eggs until one broke open and he saw the candy.

Brayden was so excited that the Easter Bunny came to visit him

cute random photos

2009-05-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

I was nursing Parker today and could hear Brayden getting into the fridge. When I went to go see what it was that he was into I was surprised to see what he had picked for his snack... He was downing a bottle of BBQ sauce. Nasty...It's funny that he wont eat his vegetables but he will drink a bottle of BBQ sauce. You got to love two year olds :)
This last weekend we were working on our yard. After working hard the guys sat down for a water break. At first Brayden didn't want too until Daddy and Grandpa sat down then he wanted to be like the boys. So cute

A love sleeping babies. They always look so peaceful. This was taken on Parker's 2 month birthday. It's amazing how much he has grown and changed.

My other sleeping baby. Brayden refuses to take naps, but sometimes he can't fight it any longer.

One night Caleb got Brayden to bed and we thought wow he was really easy to get to be tonight. It wasn't until we were going to bed that we realized Brayden had snuck out of his bed and passed out one ours. What is it about mom and dad's bed always being more comfortable?

ARIZONA TRIP

2009-05-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

This past spring break my parents went to Arizona to see my brother and his family so I decided to tag along with the kids. The boys did amazing during the long drive. Brayden had so much fun playing with his cousins and Parker was spoiled rotten by Grandpa holding him most of the time.Brayden loved playing with Kaden and Evan's cool toys and of coarse with his cousins.
One of Amy's friends had some lemon trees that had alot of lemons and so she let us come and pick a whole bunch. We picked them then went back to Amy's house and squeezed a whole bunch to make fresh lemonade. It was so fun. Those trees smelt soooo good and the lemonade tastes even better.

Brayden loved being able to play outside whenever he wanted in the warm weather.

Grandpa having a popcorn party with all the grandkids.

On one of the days we took the kids on the tran and went into Pheonix to visit the children's muesum. That muesum was way fun. We spent hours in there and the kids had a blast. My camera's battery ran out so I only got a picture of us waiting for the tran.

It was a fun trip. Thanks mom and dad for letting me tag along. Thanks Tyler and Amy for letting us crash at your house. And thanks Caleb for always working so hard so we can have fun.

Still Alive

2009-05-18T21:33:00.001-07:00

Yes, we're still alive and doing well. Life has been crazy, between trying to get our yard in, church callings, and raising two boys I don't seem to have any time left in the day to blog. My goal this week is to catch up. So stay tuned to see what has been going on in the Bigelow family for the last two months :)

Super Brayden

2009-04-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

The other day Brayden came out of his bedroom with a whole new outfit. I thought that he looked adorable so of coarse I had to snap a few pictures.

Happy Birthday Brayden

2009-03-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was Brayden's 2nd Birthday. I can't believe that my baby is already two! To celebrate we had a little birthday party with family.

Caleb and I made a truck birthday cake for Brayden, since he LOVES trucks. I think that it turned out pretty good considering this was our first 3D birthday cake.

Brayden didn't know what to think of everyone singing to him. But he soon decided that he liked it.

Brayden got spoiled with all of his presents. Thanks to everyone for all the really nice things.

Lounge Time

2009-03-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

With a new baby in our house we are all feeling the adjustment, and am a little more tired then usual. Because of this we have been lounging and sleeping a lot.

Brayden has been anti-nap lately (even though he really does need them). But I found a new trick. If I put in a movie and lay down on the couch then Brayden will lay down next to me and fall asleep. Even though I swore I would never use a movie to put my kids to sleep; times have changed and I am kind of exhausted and this works great. With this way we both get a nap!

Many people don't know this but Caleb loves to cuddle. After a long day of fishing Caleb came home and cuddled with Parker.

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Great

2009-03-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong came all the way up from Bountiful just to meet baby Parker. It was so fun to see them. We went to lunch and then came back to my house and just visited. It was so nice of them to take a day and drive all that way just to see Parker. We love them so much and appreciate all that they do for us!
I am especially grateful that both my boys will get to know most all of their Great Grandparents. I was very fortunate to be able to know and remember most of mine, and loved it. I got to hear many family stories and learn a lot from them. And I am glad that my boys will get that opportunity as well.

2 WEEKS OLD!!!

2009-02-26T16:52:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that my little baby is already two weeks old! It has been a very fast two weeks. It's hard to imagine what our family did without our sweet little Parker. He is a huge blessing and we love him SO much.
He is growing FAST. I had an appointment yesterday and he already weighs 7 lbs and is 21 inches. (When he left the hospital he was 6lbs5oz and 20 inches long). I think he is growing so fast because he LOVES to eat. I like to call him Porker Parker because it seems like I am constantly feeding him!

Brayden is the best big brother. He loves to give Parker kisses, and is always concerned when he doesn't have his binki. He also is a great helper to me (most of the time).

Parker at one week old

Parker at two weeks old.

I love his little feet. They are long and skinny (just like mine, it's good to know he got some of my genes in him since for the most part he is a mini Caleb)

Memorable Morning

2009-02-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

The other morning was a huge morning in our family with some firsts.

Brayden has been into sitting on the toilet for the past month or so and pretending that he went to the bathroom like a big boy. (He never really goes, just pretends he has). We entertain the idea because we hope that this will just prepare him for potty training. Honestly it can be kind of annoying, but hey if it will help him get out of diaper sooner, why not. Anyways on this morning we were just "entertaining" the idea again, and I decided to take a picture for fun. But when he got off the toilet we saw that this time he actually went! We were so excited, and Brayden got a treat. I think that it was just a fluke because he hasn't gone on the toilet since. But we're still proud.

I just thought that this was a cute shot of my two big boys.

Also this morning Parker got his first bath. He loved it! He didn't cry at all. He just layed there and soaked up the warm water!

Cuddling up next to Daddy!

Brayden is our big helper. He giggled the whole time Parker was in his bath. He thinks its pretty cool that Parker gets to bath with Winnie the Pooh.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-26T16:17:00.001-08:00

We brought Parker home from the hospital on Valentine's Day. So of course Caleb and I didn't have any huge romantic plans. My mom was nice enough to make us a delicious Valentine's steak dinner. And since my brother Tyler was in town from Arizona (without his wife) and my other brother Aaron's wife Amy was out of town we decided to all get together and have a nice non-romantic dinner with them and my parents.

My mom even made chocolate dipped strawberries! Thanks mom it was great!

The group

New Arrival

2009-02-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

Parker James Bigelow is here! He was born on Thursday February 12 at 11:57 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and is 20 inches long. He is so adorable and is the best baby.

He looks just like his daddy! Those Bigelow genes run deep.Brayden is the best big brother. So far he is adjusting really well to having a new baby brother. I had to pry Parker out of his arms to feed him. Brayden wanted to just sit and hold him. He is amazed that Parker has a mouth, nose, and fingers just like him.

Proud Uncles

Sleepy time

2009-01-23T16:10:00.001-08:00

Brayden has gotten into the habit of falling asleep at random times of the day, and anywhere. (WOW I didn't think I looked that fat and pregnant until I looked at this picture. Only 4 weeks to go and then the dieting starts;)
Brayden fell asleep about 2 seconds after climbing onto my lap.

Brayden was taking a nap in his big boy bed, but came out of his room and cuddled with Caleb. I guess sometimes daddy is more comfortable then his bed.

We don't complain when he comes up and cuddles with us. It's a rare occurance, and one that we love!

George and Brayden

2009-01-23T15:55:00.001-08:00

For those who are wondering who George is, he is the doll that Santa brought Brayden in hopes of preparing him for becoming a big brother.

We weren't sure how well it would work, or how much Brayden would really like playing with it but so far he really loves his new doll. I am trying to have him practice holding the doll and to be soft with it. It's going okay...

But not all the time. We will definatly have Brayden sit down when he wants to hold his baby brother :)
Brayden loves George. He hauls him around the house, and tries to have him do everything he does. Here they are riding Brayden's pony together. He also tries to feed him, and takes him for walks in his stroller.
He even tries to be a little daddy to George. Yesterday I went to check on him in his room and Brayden was trying to figure out how to put a diaper on George. I ran away before I could get a picture of him during the act, but here is George with the diaper.
A few days before this I found Brayden putting lotion all over George. Caleb says he doesn't know if he should be proud or scared that his little boy plays with a doll so well. But I think that it is cute and good. It means that Caleb is a good dad if Brayden can be so caring with a doll, and hopefully Brayden will be a good big brother. (Only 4 weeks left!)
For those who are scared about Brayden playing with a doll don't worry he still loves to push his trucks around the house.

Big Boy Brayden

2009-01-23T15:49:00.000-08:00

It seems like just this last month Brayden is getting to be so big. I can't believe how much he is doing and saying! He is defiantly my little toddler now, and no longer my baby. He loves to wear Caleb and my shoes around the house.

Here he is next to his big boy bed. He loves his new found freedom, and stays in bed pretty well. It just depends on the night.

SNOW DAYS

2009-01-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

I know that I have been slacking lately in the blogging department. (I think that I'm more busier now being a full time mom then when I worked). So here is my attempt to catch up. Many know that during the holidays we got tons of snow. Caleb had to go out and shovel the snow, and since I can't help (we don't want the baby to come too soon) Brayden decided that he could help dad. Here are some cute pictures of Daddy's little helper... Check out Brayden's eye. He wacked it on the side of the door only one day before. Luckily he didn't hit it too hard, so no stitches. But it still looked really sore.
Bundled up and ready to go outside, but willing to stop and pose for the picture.

Brayden helping dad...

Sort of.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe that 2008 is over. Last year went by so fast! Looking back over the year I can't help but be grateful for everything we were blessed with. The biggest thing that comes to my mind is that we were able to get into our first home. It is so wonderful to have our own home, and it is even more special knowing that Caleb and all our family put in a lot of hours so that our dream could be a reality.

Also looking back I can't believe how fast Brayden is growing up. He completed some huge accomplishments this last year. He learned how to crawl, walk and now run. He has learned a huge amount of words. Decided he was a big boy and didn't need his binky any more (a HUGE accomplishment, I thought he would still insist on having it until he was 20). He is now sleeping in a big boy bed, and loves the freedom of being able to crawl out of bed whenever he wants to. He loves going to nursery and playing with all of his friends. The list goes on and on...but I'll stop, I think that I've bragged enough. I just can't believe how fast he is growing up.

It is overwhelming at how much the Lord has blessed us and is continuing to bless us. I am so grateful for family, the gospel, and all that I have. I hope that you all had a great 2008! I can't wait to see what 2009 brings!

MeRrY ChRiStMaS

2009-01-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone...a few weeks late. We had a wonderful Christmas! Brayden was so much fun this year. Santa brought him a spring horse to ride. He wasn't so sure about it at first. He just kept staring at it and making his horse sound. But after a few minutes he decided that it was safe to ride, and after that he had to play on it for about five minutes until he could open the rest of his presents.

It only took him about two seconds to figure out how to open the wrapping paper off of his presents after that he was an opening machine.

After opening presents and spending some time at home we went up to Caleb's parents' house to spend time with his family. Elder Bigelow (Caleb's younger brother) called us from Brazil and we all got to talk to him for a bit. It was good to hear from him. He sounds like he is doing awesome. Still getting used to living in another country, the language and being away from family. He bore his testimony to us all in Porteguese. It was so fun to talk to him.

Later that afternoon we then went to my parents' house. After the snow plows came and dug out the streets in Inkom we all were able to make it out to the "country" (as my mom puts it). We then had a yummy ham dinner and opened some presents. We also got a fun surprise from Aaron and Amy- Brayden gets another little cousin---We are so excited.

As you can see we had a very wonderful Christmas. We are so blessed to have family close by. We are also so grateful for the Lord Jesus Christ. That he was willing to come to earth to make the ultimate sacrifice for us so that we may live with our Heavenly Father again.

Merry Christmas to all, and we love all of you guys.

Tagged

2008-12-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

So Kira tagged me and since I failed to do the last tag I thought that I better do this one so here it goes...

My 5 favorite restraunts:

*Olive Garden

*Texas Roadhouse

*Greecian Key

*Ming's Cafe

*Wingers

5 Things I did yesterday:

*Slept in (Thanks Brayden)

*Ate a yummy breakfast (Thanks Caleb)

*Picked up the house

*Went to Church

*Made yummy popcorn balls

5 Things I look forward too:

*Christmas morning (Brayden's going to be so much fun this year)

*Having our new baby

*Being a normal size again

*Paying off my student loans

*Warmer weather

5 things I love about fall:

*The crisp air

*The beautiful fall colors

*Wearing sweaters with no coat

*The sound of crunchy leaves beneath my feet

*The start of a new season

5 things on my wish list:

*A freezer

*A yard with grass and a fence

*A complete makeover

*New bedroom furniture

*A Swiffer Wet Jet

5 favorite things to do:

*Spending time with my wonderful hubby

*Being a mom

*Reading a good book

*Shopping

*Doing crafts

I tag:

Whoever wants to do this

Deck the House

2008-12-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we set out to get us a nice Christmas tree. We really lucked out because when we went to Lowes to check out some other things we found that all their Christmas things were 50% off, including artifical Christmas trees. We were able to get the last one.

Okay enough about our great deal. After we bought our beautiful tree we took it home and decorated it. Brayden was a big help (NOT), but what little boy is. But he had fun stickng ornaments on the tree. Notice the pile of pinecones on the tree.

Here is the finished product. After a few adjusments from Brayden. Brayden loves the tree. Every morning he runs out into the family room and yells "ut-oh" until I turn on the lights.

Model Material

2008-12-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Grandma bought Brayden a new pair of church shoes to go with his new church outfit. He was so excited to wear them that he couldn't wait until church. So he decided to sport them around the house all Sunday morning wearing nothing else but his diaper. I think that he might have a future in the modeling career :)

Thanksgiving and Arizona Trip

2008-12-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we took a little trip down south to Arizona to visit my brother Tyler and his family. All of my family was able to come down, except for Matt and Jen, who had to stay behind to work.

We had a blast and were able to do a lot of things. Sorry there are a lot of pictures...

Brayden and I posing in front of the Bass shop.

On Wednesday after a little trip to the doctor to get some medicine for Brayden, who had another ear affection, we were able to visit Kaden's preschool and watch his little Thanksgiving program. He did so good singing all his songs! I can't believe how big he is getting.

After Kaden got out of school we were off to the zoo. I think this was Bryaden's favorite part of the whole trip. He loved seeing all of the animals! Here is the group (minus my mom the photographer) poisng in front of a giraffe.

Brayden's most favorite part of the whole zoo was the monkeys. We got to go inside their habitat and watch as they climbed and played all around us. Brayden kept trying to talk to them, in monkey talk, and couldn't stop giggling the whole time.

Grandma posing with almost all the grandkids (Mesa was asleep in the stroller).

After visiting all the animals, Grandma and Grandpa gave all the kids a ride on the merry-go-round. Brayden loved his ride! He didn't want to get off. On Thanksgiving day the guys went golfing, while the girls prepared the big dinner.
Because we were in warm, sunny Arizona we had to take the opportunity to eat Thanksgiving dinner outside on the patio. Here are all the cousins digging into their turkey dinner while entertaining each other.

After dinner we went to a nearby park and feed the ducks their dinner of bread. This is the closest Brayden ever got to be to ducks.

On Black Friday the girls we able to escape being mommy and grandma for a few hours and go shopping in the morining. When we got back we were excited to see that they guys did a great job babysitting. Three of the four kids were asleep and they had even vacumed the house! We have some good men!
Later that night we visited the Mesa temple and watched the Christmas lights go on. It was a little croweded but fun. The Mesa temple is beautiful!

As you can see we had a fast, fun trip. Thanks Tyler and Amy for letting us take over your house, and for Kaden and Evan for letting us sleep in your beds.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2008-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

We hope that everyone had a spootacular Halloween! We had a great Halloween Day!

It started at 6:30. When Caleb and I got up extra early to put the finishing touches on his costume. At Idaho Central (Caleb's place of employment) Halloween is a HUGE holiday. Every department dresses up and puts on a skit for the whole company. This year Caleb's department dressed as Zombies and danced to Micheal Jackson's "Thriller." Everyone in the Credit Union said that they were the best. His department won the best skit. Here is a picture of my scary zombie.

If we get a copy of his skit then I'll post it on the blog. Stay tuned...

Of coarse, we can't forget our handsome scarecrow. Brayden was a scarecrow. He looked so adorable in his Halloween costume.

Brayden riding his Uncle's snowmobile and sucking on some Halloween candy (thus the dirty face).

Brayden got to go trick-or-treating at his daddy's work. He got tons of candy! It was so fun for Brayden to visit "dadadada"s work, and for daddy to show off his little scarecrow. After trick-or-treating we went to Grandma/pa Bigelow's to show off his costume and get some dinner. Then to Abby's house (sorry Amy and Aaron it's officially known as Abby's) to see Grandma/pa Moore, Abby, Aunt Amy, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt.
Cowgirl Abby and Scarecrow Brayden posing for the camera.

By the time the day was over Brayden could hardly walk straight.Needless to say we had a busy Halloween, but a fun one. We hope everyone had a great and safe day too!

Our Little Artist

2008-10-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

Brayden's new passion is coloring. He loves to color! I think he found his passion in Nursery. Now he has to color at least once a day. Since he loves to color we thought that we would see how he likes to paint. His babysitter gave us some little pumpkins from her garden. So for Family Home Evening last night we painted our tiny pumpkins...
Brayden had a blast. He was a real Van Gogh!
He concentrated on painting his pumpkin for almost a whole hour (that's a long time for a little boy).
After his pumpkin was covered in paint, as well as most of Brayden, we had to let him paint a picture until he finally decided he was finished. Caleb and I had a lot of fun watching Brayden enjoying himself. I swear we could just sit all day and watch him He is sooo fun!
Here is our finished products. They almost look professional :)

We had fun, and think we will make it a family tradition every year.

OH BOY, OH BOY...

2008-10-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

IT'S A BOY!!!

Yesterday we went for my ultra-sound. I was so excited to prove to Caleb that it was a girl, but I was definatly wrong. We are having another boy! I really didn't care too much what we had, as long as it was healthy. Well he looks to be healthy, and is very active. He was jumping around the whole time! Caleb says he hopes it doesn't reflect his personality because we were so lucky that Brayden was such a mellow baby.

Seeing him in my belly makes it so much more real. I don't feel old enough to have two kids! My due date is still February 26. It's coming up fast! And we have a lot to do to get ready for our new addition to the family. First thing we need to do is throw out all the girl names (I was convinced it was a girl because I am carrying him so different compared to Brayden) and find him a boy's name that both Caleb and I like. As many of you know it takes us a long time to decide on a name. But I guess we still have four more months :)

Brayden is still clue-less. We keep trying to tell him that there is a baby in mommy's tummy but all he does is look at my tummy then point to his. Poor kid doesn't understand he's going to have to share mom and dad soon. I just hope and pray that he will adjust well. As soon as he does adjust and his little brother is old enough I know that they are going to have a blast together.

We are so excited for the new addition to come to our family!

First Weekend Home Improvement Activity

2008-10-06T20:26:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we decided it was about time to clean out and organize our garage. A big job but it had to be done. So my handy man and his beautiful assistant got to work. Here is the before picture.

After picture
We built some very sturdy shelves. Got rid of some junk, and organized the rest of the stuff. When we were done we were able to park both cars in the garage (New Concept!). But we were unable to keep both cars in there for long because Caleb's brother Jon needed some place to store his new snowmobile for a couple of weeks. Talk about good timing on Jon's part :)

NURSERY WOUNDS

2008-10-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting this... Last Sunday Brayden had his first real owee. He was in nursery, with his nursery leaders (aka mom & dad) when another little boy came over and flipped his chair over. Brayden landed face down, and bit his lip. Daddy came to the rescue and took him out. We were worried that he would need stitches because there was so much blood, but luckily he didn't. Brayden was a real tropper. Once daddy comforted him and got the bleeding to stop he was ready to get down and play again.

Amy & Mesa in Town

2008-09-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Amy and Mesa came to Pocatello. Amy is starting a new business and so had to come to get trained. We didn't get to see much of them since Amy was busy being trained and we had to share them with Amy's family. But we did get to have a family dinner on Saturday night with Amy and Mesa as the guests of honor. It was so fun to see Amy and I was so excited to see Mesa, since this was our first time to meet. Mesa is such a beautiful baby!!!! Three of the cousins. Brayden, Abby and Mesa.... Sorry this is the best picture I could get with two todlers and a new born.

Uncle Matt holding little Ms. Mesa

Both sets of Grandparents came all the way from Utah just to see Amy and Mesa!
Great Grandma & Grandpa Armstrong with Mesa, Brayden and Abby

Great Grandpa & Grandma Moore with all the happy grandkids

Casanova

2008-09-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

This past Monday my friends Kira and Sarah came over to see the house. Brayden was so excited to see them. Mainly because Kira's way cute 3 month old daughter, Mikayla, came with them. Kira and I have arranged Brayden and Mikayla to be married (when they are about 30). We figured that if we have an arranged marriage then we can ensure that we like who they marry, our grandkids will be the cutest, and we would get along with their in-laws :)

Lucky for us Brayden and Mikayla seem to already like eachother...Here is a picture of Brayden giving Mikayla loves. He is already Mr. Casavona. Caleb and I better have a talk with him about not kissing girls, only mommy and grandmas, until he is at least 25 :)
Here is a sideways picture of Mikayla. (Sorry I couldn't figure out how to make it the right side up) Isn't she the cutest baby! I think that she is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. Lucky Brayden...
Brayden giving Mikayla hugs
I just thought that this picture was way too cute not to post! He is sooooo stinkin cute!!!!!
Brayden giving Grandma loves.
Brayden loves to give kisses.
He is constantly puckering up (which I have yet to catch on camera) or blowing kisses.

Lounging

2008-09-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was airing out the sleeping bag from our camping trip. Brayden pulled one down from the sofa and decided to lounge out. Of course I thought he looked so stinking cute I had to snap a picture.

VaCaTiOn

2008-09-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

This past week we took a family vacation to Washington. It was a blast! It is the first real vacation we took since we got married (by real vacation I mean that we actually went somewhere else besides Utah). We did a lot of things, and did a lot of driving.
On Saturday we went to my cousin Linsey's wedding in Utah. From Utah we went to Hagerman (a small town in between Twin Falls and Boise) where we spent the night at Caleb's brother's house and met up with Caleb's parents. We drove up to Washington with them. It was so nice because Brayden loved driving in Grandpa's big "BRRMBRRM"/ truck, and it saved us A LOT of money in gas. It was a long drive but Brayden did awesome. He loved sitting next to Grandma and watching his animal movie over and over. We got to Sara's house (Caleb's sister) late on Sunday night. The next day we got some supplies and went to Ross Lake camping for a few days. Ross Lake is a lake Caleb's family always camped at when Caleb was younger. It is beautiful, and Caleb has always wanted to take me there.

Here is a picture of Brayden sleeping on the way down to Utah. I thought that he looked so adorable holding his tonka truck, I just had to snap a picture.

At Ross Lake it was pretty chilly and raining off and on so we weren't able to play in the water. Except Caleb and Sara did get brave and jumped in to wash their hair and get a little clean. But they didn't stay in too long. BRRRRR! The weather didn't stop our fun though. We went for a hike, drove around in the boat, and played on the beach.

We also had a little adventure while driving around in the boat on our last day there. We were in the middle of the lake heading towards a a water fall when all of the sudden Sara and Caleb's mom could smell something hot. Caleb immediatly stopped the boat (in the middle of the lake) and we heard poping sounds coming from the engine. When he went to investigate we could see smoke coming from the engine. Not a good sign! The engine had seized up on us, and we were in the middle of this huge, remote lake with nobody else around. After a couple of minutes of Caleb and Sara trying to paddle us to shore and us not getting anywhere. We were all getting a little worried when Caleb's mom decided to say a prayer. Right after the prayer Caleb's dad had a great idea. He made a sail from an extra blanket we took in case it got cold and the oars. The sail worked great. It only took us an hour to get almost to our camp sight. When we were just about to camp, our neighbor, a really nice guy who was camping close by saw us and came out to pull us back into shore with his boat. And because you have to boat into your camp sight, he also spent the rest of the day pulling our boat with all of our gear and taking us to the launch sight so we could go home. It's kind of funny now but at the time I don't think I've been that scared in a long time. Here we were stuck in the middle of a huge lake, with no one around, and no extra supplies like food, and diapers. Thank goodness for the gift of prayer! Becuase of that prayer everything worked out, and we were just fine.

Here is a picture of Ross Lake from our camp sight. It is such a beautiful lake!

Caleb and Brayden are finding good rocks to throw into the water. Brayden loved camping! He got to be outside almost 24 hours straight. Definalty a little boy's dream come true.

I don't have anymore pictures because our camera was acting up. I have to get copies from Caleb's mom, but I can still tell about the rest of the trip...

On Friday we went crabbing. I think that this was my favorite part of the whole trip. It was sfun to be out on the ocean in Caleb's dad's fishing boat and getting to watch Dan (our brother-in-law) pull up the baskets full of crab. It was even fun after getting to eat our yummy catch!

Saturday we went shopping at a huge outlet mall! I told Caleb that it is a good thing that we don't live any where near a shopping center like that one or we would be in trouble. Then Alex (our nephew) got baptized on Saturday night. We were so happy that we were able to be their Alex's special day.

On Sunday we went to church with Sara and Dan, and got to see Alex recieve the Holy Ghost. It was kind of fun too because a lot of people knew Caleb from when he was a little boy, and Caleb was able to show off Brayden to some old family friends.
We came home Monday...

As you can see we had an amazing trip! It was so nice to get away and was fun to see Sara and her family.

New Favorite Thing

2008-09-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Brayden's new favorite lately is to watch his Baby Einstein movie, Neighborhood Animals. He loves this movie! I think that he likes it because it shows all of his favorite animals. It is so cute to watch him watch it because he giggles at certain parts and will say the animal names/sounds as he sees them. If we put any other movie in he gets mad! He only wants to watch his movie.

Here he is glued to the tv. It's kind of nice for me because now I have something to distract him while I shower in peace :)

I'm going behind bars

2008-08-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been nominated to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). They are coming to arrest me, and the money I raise will be my bail money. I need to raise about $1,300. A lot of money but if I could get a small donation from a lot of people then I know it can be done. The money will go to helping local kids attend camp, help MDA continue research for causes and cures of 43 neuromuscular diseases, provide wheelchairs and leg braces, fund clinic visits, and run support group sessions. As you can see it's for a good cause, and I am excited to help.
If you would like to help me post my "bail" please go to this website https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/18593/Default.aspx

Thanks and I love you all!

Catching Up

2008-08-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything lately because it has been kind of crazy around here. Nothing too exciting has been going on, Just busy. The most exciting thing that just happened today is that Kelly (Caleb's little brother) left for his mission to Brazil. He flew out today. We are so excited for him. He was so ready! We know that he will be a great missionary.
Some other news... I decided to quit my job at Sylvan. I wasn't getting the hours I needed. I am still not quite sure what I am going to do yet. I am thinking of either substitute teaching (not a fun job but good money), working at Convergyce from home (againg not a fun job but I get to stay home and pretty good money), babysitting (not the funnest idea but at least I get to be with Brayden), or working at the daycare center at Gold's Gym (not a lot of money but I get to be with Brayden). It is kind of frusterating becuase all I really want to do is be a full time mom to my adorable little boy, but hey somebody has to pay off my student loans. I'll keep you updated on what I decide to do.
Anyways that is about all that is going on around here...I'll post more later. Love ya' all and hope all is well.

SURPRISE!

2008-08-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

This past June I had not been feeling completely like myself. I was tired, and a little quesy. I also noticed that everything smelt a lot more stronger. So I decided to take a pregnancy test... Just in case. Well the first test that I took came out positive, and the second test... Yep, it was postive (The second line is really faint, but it was still there).

After the third test I finally came to the conclusion that I am pregnant. So surprise!

I am now about eleven weeks along. Yesterday I finally came to fully believe that I am pregnant after I went to the doctor and got to hear the heart beat. I knew all along that I was pregnant. I guess that I have just been in a state of shock because it was such a surprise for us. It took us so long to get Brayden that I just figured we would be in the same boat for the rest of our kids. But I guess the Lord thought that Brayden needed a little sibling before he gets any more spoiled. The baby is due sometime in February.

We all love icecream

2008-07-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday all the Bigelow clan went to Bamboo Garden for dinner. One of the best parts about Bamboo's is the ice cream after even when you are stuffed. Like my Grandma Moore used to say..."You always have room for icecream because it slithers down the cracks." Even though Brayden was stuffed from pork fried rice, and sweet and sour chicken he found room for icecream "in between the cracks", and throughly enjoyed sharing dad's ice cream.

Yummy Yummy

Got milk?!?!?

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

2008-07-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July! We had a great one. It started off with us going to the parade. Brayden didn't really understand what was going on at first, but he soon got into it. He had a blast! He especially loved seeing the horses, and now can say "neigh." After the parade we went home so Brayden could have his nap. Later that afternoon we went to Caleb's mom's house and had a BBQ with all of Caleb's brothers and sister. After eating way to much the kids played together until it was time to light a few fireworks. We then went down by the fairgrounds and watched the fireworks with Sara, Caleb's sister, and her family. Brayden loved the fireworks! He kept saying "Wow," "Ohhh," and "Heehee." All in all it was a great and fun filled day!

Us waiting for the parade to start. Dan, me, Caleb, Brooke, Sara, Brayden and Ashley.
Taking time out of watching the parade to pose for the camera.

Brayden lounging and trying to snatch his cousins hamburger during the BBQ at Grandma's. Let me just say that Jerri is the best cook. We were all stuffed!

Brayden with all of his cousins (except for baby Brynn who was out of town). Jerri bought them all matching 4th of July t-shirts. They all looked adorable! Thanks Grandma.

This isn't the best picture but you try to take a decent shot with seven squirmy kids :) If I had a video tape of us trying to get all of their attention I would have posted it becuase it was pretty entertaining.

Brayden watching the fireworks in the back of Uncle Dan's truck.

Caught Red Handed

2008-07-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Brayden has a favorite secret place in our new house. We have a space between the front window and the couch. Brayden loves to play with his toys back there. Today after church he got into the pantry, took the box of cereal, and disappeared. When I went to investigate I caught him in his secret place scarfing down a handful of frosted flakes.

Fun in our yard

2008-06-30T21:30:00.001-07:00

We really don't have a yard yet. I mean a yard with any plant life besides a few weeds. But that doesn't stop my boys from going outside and enjoying it... Brayden found this shovel next to my empty flower pots (I haven't got around to even planting flowers this year) and knew exactly what to do with it. He had so much fun playing in the dirt. After he was done I had to give him a bath and I think there was as much dirt in the bath tub as there was outside.
Caleb playing with his shovel... a really big shovel. He is actually in the process of trying to level out our back yard so we can give back Rick's machines. Brayden loves riding on Grandpa's tractor, and sat quietly on Caleb's lap for almost a half hour. That's a long time for a little boy, but he loved every minute of it.
Who needs grass when we have toys like that to play with ;)

Jackson coming over to play

2008-06-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday our friends from Paul came down a couple of Saturdays ago to look check out the house. Brayden was so excited to be able to play with Jackson. He had a blast. First they got to play with Brayden's toys.

Then they got to play at the park. They loved the slides and swinging on the swings. We decided that Jackson is a bit of a dare devil; he would go head first down any slide not waiting for anyone to catch him at the bottom. Hopefully Brayden wasn't taking any notes :)
Thanks for coming to see us Brooks, Robin, and Jackson! We all had a blast.

Moved in

2008-06-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated my blog for such a long time. It has been crazy these past few weeks. Crazy but awesome. We finally moved into our new home! Yepee!!! It is so nice to be able to say that we are officially home owners. We moved in about two weeks ago.

Before I show pictures of our beautiful home I first need to give a shout out to everyone who has helped us make this dream possible. So in no particular order let me give my shout out and thanks...First I have to thank Rick (my father in-law) for taking so much of his free time to help build the house. If it wasn't for him we never would have dreamed of building our own home, and we would probably be living in a shack :). Next to Caleb (my handy man and extremely handsome hubby) who worked from 8:30 am to about 9:00 pm everyday so that we could get into our house sooner, all the while being the best dad and husband. Thanks to Matt and Kelly for taking time out of their busy schedules to assisst in many ways; we would still be working on this house if it wasn't for their help. Thanks to my family for helping in any way they could (my family is blessed with other talents besides using a hammer) but that didn't stop them from coming over to help paint, lift heavy ply wood up onto the roof and helping us move in. If I forgot anyone else I'm sorry. There are so many of you that I can't name you all. Thanks for your support and time. We are so blessed to have wonderful families and friends who are willing to help us and support us. Thanks and we love you all!!!

Our beautiful home!

Here is a picture of our living room. We love this room. It is so big and comfortable.

Brayden and Mommy

2008-06-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

I had to post this picture because there are not too many pictures of Brayden and me. Usually I'm the one behind the camera.

Getting Ready to Move

2008-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

We figured that we will be in our house by this coming Saturday! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited and ready. We still have some work to do this week. We need to finish some plumbing, hang up the towel bars in the bathroom, install our water softner, and put in carpet. But other than that it is pretty much done. It is looking great. I will post some pictures of the finished product when I have cleaned it and everything is done.

While Matt, Rick, and Caleb are working at the house I have been begining to pack (I've actually started packing almost a month ago, I'm not excited or anything) This Friday was my day off so I thought I would pack a few more things. Brayden decided to help by entertaining himself. It was pretty cute so of course I had to snap a few pictures...

First Brayden decided to climb into the box. I told him not to worry we'll make sure to pack him up with extra bubble wrapping.

Then he decided to be like his daddy and build himself his own house. Here he is figuring out how to make a little tunnel for himself.

Then he had to try it out!

Cute butt shot!THE END

Almost There

2008-05-31T21:09:00.001-07:00

We are almost there. Only about 2 weeks left until we get to move into out beautiful new home. It is looking great. It is so exciting to see it all come together!

Here is a picture of our kitchen cabinents. Where the tape player is is where our stove will go. I love my cabinents! They are just what I wanted.

Here is a picture of our fireplace. The tv will go on top. I can't wait to cuddle with Caleb on the couch in front of a cozy fire. How romantic :)

This is a picture of our bathroom cabinents. Doesn't the tile look great! Caleb picked it out himself. He's not only a handy man but knows how to make the house he built with his own hands look good too.

Here is a picture of out closet. Doesn't it look good!

Update on my difficult decision

2008-05-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday my mom got the Family Consumer Science teaching position at Poky! It is officially her classroom. YEAH! Congradulations mom! She is a great teacher and all the kids are lucky to have her. She's excited too! The other good news about this is that my mom is free for all summer! She has agreed to watch Brayden for the summer while I work. This solves my dilemia for the summer, and hopefully we can make enough money to get a hard start on paying off our loans. Thanks mom and congradualtions!

A Day At the Park

2008-05-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

On Sunday after church it was such a beautiful day that Brayden wanted to play outside. Since Caleb is always busy working, at ICCU or on our house, we don't get to see him much except on Sunday's. So we even though it was the Sabath we decided to take Brayden to the park to spend some family time together. Brayden had a blast! And I have to admit Caleb and I did too!

He loved the slide but he also loved swinging!

Isn't he so CUTE!!!

Tag-Brayden's Turn

2008-05-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Jaxson tagged Brayden. Here are a few things about Brayden that Jaxson might not know...

1. Brayden is the craziest sleeper. He also snores and sometimes giggles in his sleep
2. Brayden loves to help me cook
3. Hates to have his face and hands washed
4. Wants to climb or sit on everything
5. Loves his binki and pork fried rice
6. Is going through a stage where he doesn't want to sleep-EVER
7. Likes to pretend to drive cars
8. Loves to be tickled
9. Very well loved
10. Words he can say: "mom," "dada," "gee gee" (which means grandma), "ruff" (like a dog), "nana" (bannana)
11. Loves to be around other kids and to be outside
12. Is the happiest boy.

Brayden tags Evan!

Happy Birthday Amy

2008-05-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!

Okay we know that you're not THAT old... Okay we know that you are younger than us... But we thought it was a funny picture. We hope that you are having a great birthday down thier in blazing Arizona. We love ya'!

Helping Mommy

2008-05-23T14:19:00.001-07:00

It was the cutest thing today. I had just finished sorting the laundry and had moved on to finally doing my hair and make up (since it was now 1:00 in the afternoon) when I noticed Brayden trying to help mommy. He was taking the clothes from one hamper and putting them into another. He was sorting the laundry! It is amazing how fast they pick up on things. He was so proud of himself that he was able to help mommy. I thought it was so cute that I had to run downstairs to get the camera before he saw me and snap a few photos of my little helper.

Highschool buddies

2008-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday was my best childhood friend's, Jenny, babyshower. So most of my girlfriends from highschool got to get together to celebrate. Wow, how we have changed from highschool! Some of us have extra editions (aka babies), and we all look a little bit older. It was so fun to see everyone again. The only one missing is Sheiree, who couldn't make it becuase her mom was in the hospital. But she is home now and doing better.

Graduation?!?!?!?!

2008-05-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Okay so I really didn't walk. I didn't want to have to sit in the hot holt arena for four long hours knowing that up in the stands my wonderful family was bored out of the minds waiting for me to walk across a stage to shake a few guys hands. I also already got to celebrate my graduation in December. So I cheated. I borrowed one of my friends cap and gown and my mom snapped a few photos of me. It was quick, painless, and I didn't even have to sit for four hours. PERFECT!

Brayden at Daycare

2008-05-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

This past year while I was finishing up my schooling and trying to get some students loans down to a manageble debt Brayden got to go to the best daycare. It was a small daycare at ISU, and it was the best care Brayden could get, next to Caleb and mine. It was so comforting to know that while I was trying to fullfill one of my dreams of earning a college degree my other little dream, having a beautiful baby boy, was being taken care of.

This is a picture of Brayden running around playing with the baby stroller.

They had the coolest playground for Brayden to play in. He absolutely LOVES to play outside!
I wanted to post pictures of him with all of his friends at daycare, but thought I better not just in case their parents didn't want their kids pictures posted on the web. Better safe then sorry.

Now that the semester is over Brayden's daycare is closed for the summer, and I am no longer considered an ISU student (just alumni :) ) so it would be way too expensive for Brayden to keep going to this daycare next year.
So now I have a huge decision to make. Now that I completed one dream of being a college graduate do I start my next dream of being a full time mom, having the oppurtunity to stay home and enjoy one of the most special gifts God has given me. Or do I work to clean up a lot of the debt I put Caleb and me in so I could fulfill my first dream. For many people it is very easy to make the decision but for me it is not so easy. Why? Well let me try to explain. I am torn. I love Brayden so much, in fact words can not describe how this little guy has changed my life and just how much I love him. My heart wants to stay home with Brayden and pray that our finances will work out; that the huge amount of school debt that I put us in will not eat us up alive. But my mind is telling me that I HATE DEBT, and in order to get out from under what I put us in I need to buck up and help Caleb take some of the financial burden. It isn't fair for Caleb to have to try and juggle two jobs and fatherhood just becuase I had to go to school to fullfill one of my dreams. It wasn't his dream that I have a college degree, it was mine. But at the same time it also isn't fair for Brayden to have to be raised by strangers so I can clean up the financial mess I put us in. Do you see while I am torn? What am I supposed to do? WAIT don't answer that... Caleb and I need to figure this out on our own. So I will be doing A LOT of praying, searching, pondering, crying, and a whole lot of other stuff to find out the answer.
WOW I just went off on a huge tangent! Sorry. I just started this blog so that you could see how cute Brayden is, and how much he loved going to ISU daycare. But I do have to admit that it felt really good to write out my thoughts, and to know that maybe now you all will understand my dilemia. I am trying to be the best mom I know how to be and at the same time a strong wife that can help, support, and love my wonderful husband. All the while trying to fullfill some of my life dreams.

Quick Trip

2008-05-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Kelly got to go through the temple for the very first time. He choose to go to the Manti temple for his special day. So we went down to Provo this past weekend. It was also Grandpa Goodman's Birthday, so after the temple we went to good old Chuck Arama to celebrate. It was fun to see all of Caleb's aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course Grandpa Goodman.

Caleb and Brayden playing with spoons.

Brayden with his Great Grandpa Goodman. We love Grandpa so much!

It was a whirlwind trip, with A LOT of driving. But it was worth it. We had a fun trip, and Brayden was a real trooper. In this picture he had pulled off his sock and was trying to suck on his toes. I tried to get a picture of it but our camera is too slow. But it's still a cute shot!

Congradulations Kelly

2008-05-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kelly went through the temple for the first time. He choose the Manti temple because that was where Rick and Jerri were married, and Jerri's grandparents used to work in the there. It was a long drive from Pocatello, but well worth it. It was a beautiful and special day. Here is Kelly standing proud in front of the temple.

Two brothers sharing a loving brotherly moment! Because of circumstances Caleb and I were the only siblings of Kelly's that were able to attend, but I know that the rest of his brothers and sisters were there in spirit and mind.

Caleb and I needed to get a quick snapshot of us in front too. The Manti temple is spectacular! After the session we were able to have a temple worker show us a few other neat things in the temple. We got to see a few sealing rooms, including the one where Caleb's eternal family started (where Jerri and Rick were sealed). Their sealing room was amazing. I have never seen such a beautiful sealing room! We also got to see a spiral staircase that went up 75 feet. We looked up and I couldn't believe how tall it went. Also the wood work was amazing. It is hard to believe that men were able to create such a beautiful building without modern day power tools. Also did you know that the roof of the temple is not made from your typical rafters. It is actually a hule of a boat that was turned upside down. Interesting huh! I always learn so much when I go to the temple, but with this trip I got to learn extra trivia.

Needless to say it was overall AWESOME experience!

Peek A Boo

2008-05-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

Brayden loves climbing in his dresser and playing peek-a-boo! It's so cute, but it kind of makes me nervous. I make sure everything is closed so that he can't play in it unless I am there making sure it wont fall on him. Safety first!

Bugged Eyed

Caleb's Birthday

2008-04-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

On Friday it was Caleb's 24th Birthday. We celebrated by going to dinner, eating a yummy ice cream cake (I made myself), and opening presents. He had a great birthday, and got everything he wanted/needed.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

2008-04-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

I saw this on Amy's blog and thought I would give it a try. I think that it is pretty accurate, I don't know. What do you think? I do have parents who have DONE A LOT for me!

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Getting Closer

2008-04-05T21:25:00.001-07:00

Our house is really coming along. Caleb and his dad are doing an awesome job! It is looking great. The more that gets done the more anxious I am to move in. We have lived in our apartment for four years now, and though it has been a nice place to live I am ready for a house of our own. I am mostly excited for the yard, garage, and laundry room. Three things that we have not had in our apartment. We are hoping to be in by June. There is still a lot to do but I think it can be done.

Here are some updated pictures ... Here is a picture with all of the siding on. It was getting kind of dark when I took it so it is hard to see the true color of the siding, but it still looks good.

This is a picture of the living room. They haven't sheet rocked it yet but you can kind of get an idea of what it looks like with the insulation .

Here is a picture of Brayden's bedroom. When I took this picture yesterday they were still working on sheet rocking the room, but they got his room completely done today.

Spring Break

2008-03-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

This week both Brayden and I had Spring Break. Although we just stayed home it was a fun week. I loved just staying home and being a full time mom. Funny thing is that I thought that I would be bored. Ha, ha, ha! I forgot how much work raising a busy boy who is now walking everywhere really is! He kept me busy all week long. But I had a blast. It is so fun being a mom! Here is a few things that we did at home this week.

Brayden loves to ride his bike that Grandma and Grandpa Bigelow gave him for his Birthday. It was too cold outside this week so he had to ride around in the house. Though we have cramped living space it didn't cramp his style. He rode his bike everywhere and is a pro at baking up.

I was paying some bills while Brayden was playing when all of a sudden it got quiet. When I looked up I saw Brayden laying down on the pillow with his blanket pulled up over him. He had pulled a pillow and blanket down from the couch and made himself a little bed. It was so cute.

Uncle Jon brought Jo's (his girlfriends) small dirt bike over. Brayden didn't mind just sitting on it, but as soon as Jon started it up Brayden was done. I think that he is still a little too young, sorry Uncle Jon.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-26T08:40:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter, a few days late! We had a great Easter. We woke up and found the Easter basket that the Easter Bunny had left for Brayden. We then had a yummy breakfast and went to church. After church we went to Grandma Bigelow's for a delicious ham dinner. It was fun to go up there this year becuase Uncle Tom was there from Pittsburg. Brayden has only got to meet Tom one other time so I wasn't sure how he would react to him, but he loved Uncle Tom! He went to him like saw him everyday of his life. It was so fun to have Uncle Tom there for Easter.

Brayden was so excited to see that the Easter Bunny had left him his own Easter basket.

The Easter Bunny figured that Brayden was so little that he didn't need too much this year. But he did leave Brayden some of his favorite treats and a new toy truck.
Brayden loved everything but he especially loved the jelly beans that were hidden in his Easter Eggs.

Brayden loves jelly beans, more specifically Starburst jelly beans.

.
I just thought that this was a cute picture.

Bag Tag

2008-03-17T21:46:00.001-07:00

A while ago Amy (Tyler's Amy) bag tagged me. Sorry it took me awhile but here is what I have in my bag. I have an extra diaper, wipes, a snack for Brayden, my wallet, checkbook, lip balm (Bigelow from Bath and Body, I love the name), two kind of lotions (one that smells good and the other just works good), two pens, a pick, my jump drive, a vitamin C drop, and a coupon book.

I think that I am supposed to now tag three new people, but I am just going to let anyone who reads this decide if they want to do it or not.

Little Baker

2008-03-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today I took the day off to get some things done and spend time with Brayden. Brayden and I were bored so we decided to bake some cookies. Brayden helped a lot. He helped measure the sugar and flour. As you can guess my kitchen was a disaster, but it was worth it. We both had a blast!

After the cookies were done baking Brayden got to taste his masterpiece. He loved it! I think he ate every last crumb.

Brayden loves to "help" load the dishwasher. He takes out the dishes as I put them in. Here he is "helping" me clean up the baking mess.

BRAYDEN'S 1ST BIRTHDAY

2008-03-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Brayden turned one and we had a BIG party to celebrate. All of Brayden's Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and some friends came to his party. He had a blast, though I don't think he knew exactly what was going on. Okay Caleb and I had a blast; probably more than Brayden.

I can't believe that my baby is already one! Where does the time go? Every one says how fast they grow up but it didn't really hit home until I had one of my own. The more Brayden gets older, the more his personality comes out, and the more I fall in love with him. He is the cutest little boy ever (I am not biased though)!

Brayden practicing his walking skills with Grandma Moore. Here is a perfect shot of his excited look though it is funnier in person. For those who don't know what Brayden's excited look looks like I'll try to describe it the best I can. His whole body tenses up and he makes this grunting noise and slirps air through his teeth. It's hilarious! Though I do have to say that the first time he did it Caleb and I thought he was having a seizure or something. But as soon as we knew he was okay then we started laughing.

Brayden getting ready to blow out his candle. How do you like the cake? I am very proud of it. In case you can't tell it's in the shape of one, and yes I did it myself. Brayden was more intrigued with the candle and everyone was singing to him then the cake.

But once he tasted that frosting he loved it!

Brayden got spoiled rotten. He wasn't too interested in opening his presents he just wanted to play with Grandma and Abby. But once he saw his new toys he got really excited!

As you can see from the pictures Brayden had an awesome first birthday. Thanks everyone!

2008-02-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

Caught in the Act- What a Healthy Breakfast

On Sunday Morning when Brayden woke up at 7:00 I didn't want to get up. So Caleb, being the wonderful loving husband he is, got up with Brayden. When I went downstairs I found the two of them lounged out on the coach eating a healthy breakfast of graham crackers.

2008-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

Brayden Playing With His Cousins

Madison loves carrying Brayden around. He's almost as big as her!
She put him in his bouncer, but he wasn't so sure about it.

2008-02-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

Coming Along

Our house is really coming along. On Saturday Caleb and Kelly started siding. YEAH! I was really nervous about the color it is so permanent but as soon as I saw it on the house I loved it. The color is called Mist. It kind of changes colors in different lights and angles. It has a brown/grey/green tint to it.

(Kelly up on the scaffolding)

This week we also (when I say we I really mean "the guys") also started pumbling. On Saturday we got both tubs in. Another YEAH!

Rick showing off his pumbling skills.

Bear working along-side the guys.

This is the only time a dog is allowed in my brand-new home. Once the carpets go in my house is a dog free zone. Sorry Bear! Caleb and Brayden are hoping for a dog...Maybe... as long as it stays outside!

2008-02-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Just Like Daddy

Brayden is so much like his daddy. There smiles are the most alike.

2008-01-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

Update on our House

Here are a few pictures of our house. Caleb and his Dad (as well as a few volunteers: Kelly, Bryan, Matt, my Dad and Aaron) have all worked hard in helping build our beautiful home. As you can see it's a work in progress. This is how far it is today...