I'm crazily behind on blogging...

...so many exciting things have went on the past few weeks and it seems like I'm just now catching up with life! It's 10:54 pm and I just don't have the energy to write about getting sealed as a family (it was A-MAZ-ING) or 4th of July/Tj's family visiting. (It was so fun!!) I will get to those hopefully tomorrow when I can concentrate on the super important details!! As for now....I leave you with a view from behind my iPhone. I am a crazy picture taker. Mainly with my phone as I almost always have it within reach, BUT, I now have this amazing camera Tj surprised me with (I'll go into detail on the temple sealing post) so I'm hoping to get in the habit of snapping pictures with that more often so my pictures are better quality. Anyways-now I will ramble on about my perfect baby and how big she is getting!!!! :'(   :) it really is so bittersweet. She loves watching herself in mirrors and will have little conversations with herself. 

Her eyes are such an amazing blue color.

Pause the cuteness for a second- We got in from the ranch visiting grandpa late one evening and Bretton and Tj were following us....but hadn't shown up yet. Mom and I (the ones who always panic) figured if they weren't home within 15 minutes we would drive back out to see if they were ok. Within minutes they pulled up absolutely beaming with a giant bull snake. Boys will be boys I suppose. Seriously though the bond these two have is heart warming. They get on each others nerves every once in a while, just like brothers, but they really are good friends even considering the age difference. (Honestly I think Tj is just a big kid and Bretton is outrageously mature for his age so they go well together :) 

This little girl was sent straight from heaven. I know it in my heart. Her sweet spirit has undoubtably spent time with The Lord prior to coming here and moments like these testify that to me. She sleeps so soundly and often smiles and laughs in her sleep. I think she is having memories of her pre mortal existence and remembering how wonderful it was. Tonight I was reading to Tj a part out of a book called Guide me to Eternity. (A book written by an LDS woman who lost her husband) In the book she describes having a special privledge of visiting her husband in the spirit world and described it to be beautiful beyond words and so peaceful. While I was reading this part, Raelinn started laughing out loud! Smiling ear to ear and continued this wonderful laugh...over and over! I looked at her and said "you remember that sweet place don't you" I really believe babies have fond memories and often dream of it. I'm glad I caught a little glimpse of heaven on my beautiful babies face :) 

At three months old she is becoming less interested in her binky and more interested in her fingers. 

This was the first time we did FaceTime with Trisha and Tommy!! It was the first time they saw Raelinn (other than pictures). It was so neat to be able to interact with them even though they are half way across the country. 

Those fingers........

Raelinn sure loves Tj!! 

I'm not very fond of the saints hat....but she sure does look so sweet. 

Time is sweet...

Aunt Dixie flew to New York to spend time with her daughter Dayna and grand kids, so we all took turns taking dinners out to grandpas and visiting with him. He LOVED seeing Raelinn everyday. As soon as we would show up he'd say "where's my red headed baby at??!" (And of course there would be horse racing on the tv) He would talk to her, and was always concerned about her. (If the air conditioning was blowing on her, if she had a blanket to cover up with etc) Thats one thing I never want to forget about him, how much he loves babies and little kids. We got his garden all planted and blocked off to where the dogs couldn't get to it. It was only a few tomato plants, nothing close to the enormous gardens he used to grow when I was a kid living out at the ranch. There were rows among rows of corn, potatoes, peas, carrots, and tomatoes. He is a grouchy old man sometimes, but has such a gentle soul. He is the generation that actually worked for a living. He told me the hardest day of work he did was shoeing (shawing...whatever it's called) 39 mules in one day. I love to watch Tj trim or shoe horses and it is HARD work!! That must have been a LONG day as it takes around an hour to do one! A few days ago my uncle Dean confirmed the story by saying "one day I had to hold 39 mules for dad to shoe" I have wanted to interview him and get some family history from him, but his memory is fading and you can tell it frustrates him. Rather than family history, he told me stories of the racetrack, and mining turquoise. He has a true passion for mining and he has passed that same love on to my dad, uncles and now my brothers, big and little :) He sure loves my Aunt Dixie, especially her being his only daughter! He missed her when she was gone. He told me about how he ran a trap line every morning (on foot), came home and milked cows, then would walk to school. He's always been a hard worker. I admirer and love him so much. He's 87 now...and it breaks my heart knowing his time is coming to a close on this earth, but I know we have the opportunity to live as a forever family. I'm grateful for the time I got to visit with him, and I hope I have a few more opportunities like that before he passes on.

TJ was loving on Raelinn before heading out to trim some horses. The light was perfect from where I was sitting....they are my world.

How could I forget?!

Raelinn LAUGHED!! On Father's Day. Oh. My. Gosh. It was the cutest thing ever!!! She has started doing little laughs in her sleep, so I knew it was gonna happen soon, but she totally caught me off guard and it made me tear up. I was putting her John Deere outfit on to go out to the corral, pulled it over her head and said "there she is!" And that triggered it. The sweetest little laugh. I called TJ in to hear her...but she wouldn't do it when daddy was there! Being a mom is the greatest blessing. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity and responsibility of motherhood. Heavenly Father blessed me beyond words, and I am eternally grateful.

Father's Day

Raelinn is so lucky to have TJ as a dad. He is such a hard worker, hardly ever grumpy, and seriously so much fun!!! We went to church, ate at the church potluck and spent time at the corral. It's so fun to watch him with the horses, he is such a natural....and his wrangler butt is a plus ;)

I love to see the temple

Saturday June 15th TJ and I received our endowments in the Las Vegas temple. My parents, Tawni and Nick, and like 7 people from our ward. It was very neat! I'm honestly so proud of us! Not that we are perfect, or anywhere near it, but we are following our Heavenly Father's plan!! One step closer to being sealed! That will take place in the Sacramento temple on June 29th. And I cannot wait!! :) I'm so grateful for my amazing husband and the church.

Information overload

What's been going on lately?? Here we go....
-Raelinn finally met Aunt JaKell and Uncle Trenton. She smiled and talked to JaKell so much, it was adorable!
-Raelinn has mastered her smile. She smiles ALL the time. And will talk and talk and now sometimes she even screams! It's so funny because she will startle herself.
-Raelinn LOVES TJ. And he loves her. It's seriously adorable.
-I dug out my dead flowers, and planted more! And my cucumber plants are starting to pop up!!!! Yeah!!
-Raelinn finally fits in her 0-3 month clothes!! It's bittersweet. Isn't her hedgehog outfit adorable?! Aunt Jessica bought it for her. I am glad she got 2 1/2 months out of her newborn clothes. She is just so tiny. It's the best.
-I take so many pictures of her and edit them with an app on my phone. She is the perfect model.
-She LOVES bathtime!! And has started discovering its fun to kick the water.
-We spend so much time at my parents house. There isn't anywhere for Raelinn to sit besides her car seat (I need to take her bouncy seat over there) I made her a little bed in a laundry basket and she fell asleep. It was so cute.
-When she cries, I can hear the newborn-ness fading away. :( it's still a tiny baby cry....but not like when she was born. They seriously grow so fast.
-Raelinn stretches so dramatically when she wakes up or gets out of her car seat. It's hilarious.
-Bretton went on his first Boy Scout camp out. :)
-Raelinn spits up. So much! All the time. So I'm often changing her outfit and getting her jammie's on way early. I think she does it so she can have some diaper baby time. She loves being naked. And loves getting her diaper changed. Hopefully she doesn't join a nudist colony when she gets bigger ;) haha
-We love Friday mornings! Waking up with TJ is the best. I miss him soooooo much during the week when he is working. Weekends are my favorite. And Raelinn's too!
-My replanted flowers are growing wonderfully :)
-I'm still hanging clothes on the clothesline. And love it. There is just something about baby blankets blowing in the breeze :)