CANCUN!

Let me just start by saying that VIVINT is an amazing company.  It just seems like nothing even compares to it, and the opportunity for growth is never ending. I am so proud of my husband for deciding to go back, although managing for an Insulation company was great, lets just say he is in A LOT better company with this new job. The caliber of leadership is incomparable, and Skyler seems much happier here. He is doing really well too! :)

This past March and into early April we were able to go on a trip to Cancun with all of the VIVINT "core" sales reps along with their wives. It was an awesome vacation, and let me tell ya, MUCH needed. I felt really bad leaving Cayman with my sister, even had a little melt down. Once we got there though, I realized that I was thankful I did. I think it is much needed, and HEALTHY to take a step back from your rolls as a parent, and take the time to appreciate being married. It was like we were dating again, or on our honeymoon, so in love and just enjoying each others company. We HELD HANDS, which seems to never happen anymore because one of us is always pushing a stroller or holding Cayman. It was romantic and fun, and I am so thankful for my husband for doing so well, so that we could go! Thank you hubby, I am so in love with you! 

We visited Chichen-itza, SO cool!

        Dinner at Ruths Chris, yummmm 

     

Just hanging out by the pool! :)

       Dinner at the Chocolate Factory                                                     

 This was an under ground fresh water sink hold we got to swim in, it was gorgeous!

 Lunch with the Hills' at Señor Frogs

  Gorgeous Cancun, those cabanas were the absolute BEST way to lay out. So relaxing

Easter!

Easter is probably one of my absolute favorite holidays, besides Christmas. These past few Easter sundays have been just perfect. The weather has always been nice, the smell of spring is in the air, and I'm just happier in general. I don't know why, Easter just brings out the best in everyone. Its really no surprise really, who wouldn't be happy and thankful to celebrate the resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ!?

Even though Cayman was still pretty young, we wanted him to enjoy this Easter just as much as any other kid. We went to our wards Easter breakfast the Saturday before, and Cayman was able to go on his first Easter eggs hunt! He was so excited. Seeing all the other kids get so excited about finding the eggs, made him excited. All the kids were so sweet too. They'd help him find them, and give him some of their own when they saw he didn't have as many. Worked out well for Skyler and I since Cayman could have half the candy in the eggs. haha Heres some pictures from the Ward Easter Breakfast. :)

As you can see, he was REALLY excited to find his first egg!

After the Ward Breakfast, we headed straight to Utah to visit Easter with my family. If the beginning of the day wasn't fun enough for our family, Skyler surprised us by taking us to the new City Creek Mall and to the Cheesecake Factory. Wow, that mall is so awesome. Cayman loved it because he also got to see his uncle Khyle who he hadn't seen since he first got home from the NICU! :)

Easter Morning was perfect. Let me just start by saying my mom is amazing, her favorite holidays are also Easter and Christmas so she spares no expense. She put together the cutest Easter baskets for all of us, even made sure it went according to our personalities. Dinner was also phenomenal as usual. She knows us too well. :) The Easter bunny SPOILED Cayman, he got TWO Easter baskets!

 Here's Cayman going through his very first Easter basket!

 Mine (Left) Skyler (Middle) and Cayman's two Easter baskets (right)

:) The Easter bunny did GOOD!

After we all went through our baskets, we got ready for church. It was fun being able to go to my moms ward and sit with our entire family. Cayman loved it too because aunt Becky was able to snuggle him. :)

After Church we had another Easter Egg Hunt, this time with my family. Cayman went first so the older boys wouldn't take all of the eggs, it was SO CUTE watching him find them. Gah I am obsessed with this little boy!

We hid some in the trees for him, so the older kids wouldn't get them

Sleppy baby... :)

As you can see, the Dyer family LOVES Easter. I am so grateful for our savior and truly believe that he lives and was resurrected. The spirit that I feel on this day every year is breathtaking.  I watched this YouTube video on Easter about 5 times and it made me cry every time. I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ, and know that he died for our sins, and was resurrected. He lives. 

Cayman's First Year

Welp. I figured since I updated about Cayman's Birthday I should probably update about his progress in his first year. The doctors said that because he was born so early, he might be a little slow when it comes to learning to crawl, learning to walk etc. Well, Cayman has defied the odds once again and has been right on time if not earlier than where he should be. He is WALKING now, starting to talk a little, claps his hands, waves HI, says "no no no mama" when I tell him its time for bed, blows kisses, and even knows a couple signs in sign language like, "milk" and "more." Here are a few of his favorite things right now.

1. His blanket. Im not joking you he gets SO excited when he see's it. I was washing clothes yesterday and he spotted it as I was throwing it in the dryer. He reached in, pushed all the other clothes off of it, and picked up the heavy soaking wet blanket and buried his face in it. He loves it even when its wet! haha

2. Tenley. Honestly, he loves every kid he plays with, but lately his best friend is a little girl named Tenley. They hold hands in the car, make each other laugh, they even had their first kiss together. Although, she's older than him and twice his size. haha

3. Walking. He loves walking, its so new and exciting for him that every time he takes a few steps, he stops to laugh and clap for himself. He is so proud! :)

4. Playing with Daddy. They always say that a Dad is a sons first superhero, and I believe that in every way possible! I can make Cayman laugh, but not like Skyler can. Skyler is such an amazing dad and I can't wait to see him with out future children. Im sure our little girls will have him wrapped around their fingers,  and the boys will light up when he walks through the door.


5. Pulling on mommys legs. For some reason EVERY TIME I am in the kitchen, Cayman crawls or walks up to me and pulls on my legs trying to get me to pick him up. If I don't, he just hangs on to them and walks behind me wherever I go and just laughs. He thinks its hilarious, me? Not so much. haha its hard cooking with a one year old strapped to both your legs.

6. Bath time. If it were up to him, he'd be in the bath tub all day, every day. He loves to splash and play in the water.

7. The pool. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a WATER BABY! He absolutely loves going to the pool. His face lights up when he's see's it. We took him to a water park yesterday and he had a blast letting me hold his hand as he walked around and played with all of the water fountains.

8. Girls. Cayman is a FLIRT! Whenever I take him somewhere he will always lean over and smile at any girls he sees. At the pool the other day, he walked right up to a group of girls talking (while he was in his floaty in the shallow end) and started smiling and waving to them. Its SO cute now, but worries me a little for when he's older.

9. Mickie Mouse Clubhouse. We are not big on always having Cayman watch TV. Right now he's really not too interested in it, but when Mickey Mouse clubhouse is on, everyone better be quiet or he will throw a fit. Its his absolute favorite show. He won't takes his eyes off the TV until it is over!

10. FOOD. Holy cow, I'm not joking you, Cayman may look small but his appetite is BIG! The kid can eat and eat and eat and never get full. He must take after his dad because they both have amazing metabolism or something. If he sees that I'm eating something he simply must have it or he will scream, and no matter how much I feed him he acts like its the first time ive fed him in days, food in both hands smooching it in his mouth until its completely full! His favorite food now is the organic Mac N Cheese, I swear he eats more than me! Haha

Here are a few of his year pictures I had taken, and some that Skyler and I took. Its crazy how much he has already grown and changed even since then!

Cayman's 1st Birthday!!

On March 18th Cayman turned ONE YEAR OLD! I can't believe how fast it went either. It seems like just yesterday he was born and I was waiting by his incubator every day watching him grow, crying a lot, and hoping he would live and thrive. I wanted his birthday to be absolutely perfect, because he very well could have never had one. He is my little miracle. His birthday theme was a "vintage carnival." I spent weeks making all of the decorations, with some help of Modern Moments Designs (They designed the Water bottle labels) and ShopLuLu's who helped design a few of the decorations, which I added on to and personalized just for Cayman. Besides that, I pretty much found a software program similar to the ones people use for party decoration designs on Etsy, and designed and made everything myself. It was hard work, but I'm sure he'll be impressed when I brag about what an awesome mom I am when he's older and how I made everything myself for his first birthday. haha Yes, Yes... I will be one of "those" moms. If you've ever seen the show, "Good Luck Charlie" on Disney channel, my husband says he thinks ill be just like the mom on that show! Yes, we watch Disney Channel with Cayman, and yes, Skyler watches Phineas and Ferb more than Cayman does! lol don't judge us. Here are a few pictures from his birthday!

His Birthday Invites! :) I was pretty proud of myself. 

The Birthday Boy!! :)

Opening presents!!

  Cayman's face as we sang him Happy Birthday! :)

 Eating Cake! 

He did pretty good for such a little guy! It was his very first time tasting sugar and he went NUTS!!

 Friends

I got teary eyed when we sang him Happy Birthday. It was a million different emotions, and now that I look back I know why. It didn't hit me until that moment that he was already a year old. Even though I had been planning that day for so long, it was still hard to comprehend. He spent three months in the NICU fending for his life, and during that time I had nurses telling when I could and could not hold him. When I was "aloud" to feed him, and how I should take care of him. I never TRULY felt like his mom until the day we were able to take him home. I would hold him whenever I wanted, id feed him when I felt he was hungry, and I soaked up every moment I could. Every middle of the night snuggle meant that much more to me because it finally felt like he was mine. I think the reason I cried is because I missed out on those first few months of his life, even if I was by his side 24/7. I wasn't ready for him to be a year old yet, because it seemed like just yesterday we brought him home. Ive realized now though that it doesn't matter. Every day is special with Cayman, he is our entire world and we love him so much. I am so excited to watch him continue to grow up and see what he accomplishes. I know the Lord has great things in store for him, and I can only imagine the impact he will make on others lives. He is a reminder to me every day of our saviors loves, and that miracles can happen. I love you Cayman Lance Dyer, I hope you had an amazing Birthday!!

   

Valentines Day

Valentines Day was awesome this year. Skyler spoiled me rotten and my wonderful amazing sister Becky watched Cayman so we could have a little romantic getaway! We stayed at the Grand America, went to a romantic dinner, and then saw "The Vow" at the Gateway theater. It was very relaxing night and I am so grateful for my sweet husband and all he does for me. I really am so lucky. :)

We also went on a little mini vacation to St George for a surprise visit to Skylers Grandma Lucille. We're not sure how much longer she will be around, so it was nice to visit her and let her meet Cayman (he was about 11 months then, he's 15 months now). Skyler got teary eyed when he saw her, because he had never seen her so excited and so happy!

 While we were there we did a lot of swimming, ate lots of frozen yogurt, visited a lot of Skylers side of the family, and went shopping. Cayman had a great time and absolutely adored his great Grandma Lucille.

This was Cayman's FIRST TIME eating frozen yogurt, it was a love hate relationship! :)

SORRY!!

Alright, alright. So I've been horrible at blogging lately. Honestly I've just got bored of anything having to do with the online social network. I deleted my Facebook for a long time, stopped blogging, and just focused on enjoying every moment with my husband and little boy.

A few months ago, Skyler and I were told that our chances of ever getting pregnant again were slim to none. Less than 10%! Even though we were NOT trying, it was still really devastating. The only reason I found out was because of complications I was having due to my ectopic pregnancy tube removal. It was not something I told a lot of people, because to be honest I was embarrassed. I thought people might think it made me less of a woman to be going into "Pre menopause" at such  young age, even though that is 100% NOT true. When I got home from my doctors appointment, I looked at Cayman and was overwhelmed with a feeling of love and comfort. I knew that if I was only allowed one child in this lifetime, I sure was blessed with one amazingly sweet little boy.  He is my miracle and he makes life so much better. Every kiss, every smile, and every giggle made everything seem ok. I am BLESSED, and that is all that matters right now. Anyway, instead of wasting time online I spent every second I could holding my sweet baby boy and soaking up every moment of him as a baby. For all I knew, it could be my only chance to remember what its like to have one. The down side to that, he has become a complete and total MOMMAS BOY!! I love it, but hate it when I'm trying to do dishes or make dinner, and I have a baby hanging on my legs, crying for me to hold him! haha

So, even though I'm kind of against spending too much time online lately, I figured he might enjoy reading about our lives as he grew up. I know I wish my mom would have done something like this. Its perfect timing too, because right now he is sick with a cold and taking a LONG nap. I should be packing, but I'm afraid to wake him so blogging it is! A lot has changed in the last few months, and now you know why I haven't updated in so long and I hope you can forgive me. Stay tuned for A LOT of blog updates, its been a busy few months. :)

Spanking Children!? Ok or Not Ok?

http://www.drmomma.org/2010/09/why-spanking-is-never-okay.html

It's easy to look at your 10 month old baby; so sweet and innocent, and think that he or she will never be bad or get into any kind of trouble. I read this article today that really made me think about my future as a mother. Growing up I was always spanked when I was bad. Granted, it was not a daily occurrence and rarely ever happened...but I was spanked. I don't think it had any negative impacts on my life or relationships, but I can see how in some cases it can.

I know this is a really retarded comparison but reading this article also made me think about this. I have a dog named Rookie. If you've met him you'll know what I'm talking about when I say that he's a little "fireball." He LOVES to play and run around, barks when the doorbell rings, begs when food is around, and jumps on you when he wants attention. He is the typical hyper puppy. There are days; like yesterday, that I want to kill him. Here I am dealing with a sick baby screaming in the middle of the night, and my dog goes in his room, grabs a poopy diaper from the trash, and shreds it to pieces! I was FURIOUS! So, out of anger I picked him up, put him in the bath and spanked his bum hard! I felt horrible after. I know dogs are nothing like an actual child, but if I can't control my anger around my crazy dog then how will I control it when I'm dealing with my kids in the future? Also, if Cayman watches me do this, what is that teaching him? So, I figure if I can change the way I take care of our dog, I can definitely teach myself not to spank my children in the future.

After talking to Skyler, we've decided on a "no spanking policy!" Cayman has been through a lot and we want to make sure we are the best parents we can possibly be. I don't want him to have even one second where he doesn't feel loved, and I certainly do not want him to learn pain from us. Same goes for our dog. He can be a little turd sometimes, but we love him regardless. Last night while I stayed up with Cayman, he stayed up with me and didn't leave my side. Now he's walking around like a zombie with his ears down; because like me, he is exhausted! haha So today marks our first day of no spanking. I have a feeling ill get a better dog out of it, and a better future for our family. :)

What is your stance on spanking? Im interested to know what other peoples opinions are. :)