HAPPY HALLOWEEN! From the cutest pumpkin in the patch

Back to Life

We have returned from our 12 day West Coast whirlwind adventure! As I type this (the joys of jetlag) Dace is snoring in his crib which is currently in the dining room. His room flooded earlier this year before he was born and we had problems again before we left. The carpet and padding were supposed to be replaced while we were gone but alas, they are not. So I am a little PO'd and am ready to kick some butt...in the morning.
The trip went well. Dace is such a trooper of a traveler. He did great through all the flights and the 2000+ miles of drive time. Only on the last leg of the final flight today did he get cranky but he was just overtired. I think he might be getting a cold, he sounds a little congested but we will see.
In a nutshell, this is what the last 12 days have consisted of- flew into San Fran, spent Friday going through wine country, drove to Reno. Sleep. Sat drive to Provo for Menolli's wedding reception. Dace met all his Dean extended family. Stayed in Provo til Thursday but visited friends and family and there was not a minute of downtime. Thursday drive back to Reno. Sleep. In the morning went to the pumpkin patch, load up, drive back over to Sacramento for Jared's wedding dinner followed by wedding and reception the next day. Drive back to Reno. Sleep. Sunday drive back through to San Fran. Sleep. Explored Chinatown, golden gate. Sleep. Up at the buttcrack of dawn (actually,even earlier- 430) to catch flight through Cincinnati and then on to Jacksonville. See?! A whirlwind but so much fun and it was so good to see everyone, meet the new kids- Allie, Taylor and Ryker, and of course join in the wedding's celebrations. I will post pics tomorrow. Probably a slide show to the right. But for now it is my sleepytime tea and then an attempt to reset my internal clock.

first family photo

How un-Racicot of me to only have this as our first family photo with Dace at 4 and a half months old. I probably have close to a thousand pics of Dace, Dallin is in some of them and I am in maybe 2. I just haven't wanted to capture my health on film these last few months. But now that that is over with, I think I'll be using the self timer function a bit more often. We got all dressed up and went out to Carrabba's last night to celebrate our anniversary. There is nothing better to make one feel normal again than a good outfit, make up and actully doing my hair. I know that my hubby appreciated it and so did I!

Two Years Of Wedded Bliss

We have had some struggles but they have only brought us closer together and made us stronger in ourselves, in our marriage and in our testimonies of Jesus Christ. I am so glad that I can be with this amazing man for all of eternity. There is nothing better than being married to my best friend, my Buddy.

I love you , Dallin. Thank you for marrying me.

Two years down, forever and always to go!

Morning Walks

I've been walking Dace around 830 every morning before I have breakfast. It feels good to get out before it gets too hot (yes, it is still hot here! This morning was hot and muggy-we got pounded with rain last night) and Dace loves looking at everything, especially the amazing tree tops. This is him in his big boy stroller growing up way too fast. I almost cried last night when giving him his bedtime bottle. I noticed that his hair is growing in thicker and his little head is starting to look like a little boy and not a baby. Waaaaa! I think he is already working on his mission app. This is crazy! But at least he will have thick gorgeous hair like his papa. And now that his head is a bit bigger, I can put him in these cute little hats I have for him. In a couple more months, I'll be able to look down and see him in a touque (American translation: beanie). Can't wait!
My view of the stroller. A good shot of the bees knees, Gramma!

random

His Smith-to Racicot- to Dean Scottish ancestry shining through: socks to the knees. Now where's the kilt? I think I hear bagpipes...

GC@Home

Dace listening to the Prophet
Happy Boy!
Little toesies

I heart Cupcakes

I have a dream...that one day I will own my own cupcake bakery. I love making cupcakes! I had a taste testing on Friday because I am doing cupcakes for a wedding in May and thought I would take pics of my work. And then I thought I'd blog them and give them silly titles. Some are inside joke things and I apologize but everyone should understand at least 1 of them. Enjoy!

My artsy-fartsy picture of the collection (aka mistake on shutter speed)
Crave wannabe- Ode to Calgary
Just call me Martha
Battleford Fireworks
American Fireworks

Drunken Harvest

Mama thinks I look like Uncle Tighe

Okay- I just had to throw a couple of these up here because EVERYONE says how much Dace looks like his dad. I can see some of me in him, here and there- like his eyes, but mostly everyone just sees the Dean in him. These two pics clearly capture the Racicot gene. Tighe looked almost exactly like this, as I remember. I will dig around to see if I can find an old photo and compare Uncle with Dace.

Okay, first off- I mention in here that Dace is on formula. In case you don't know, I had to stop nursing for my surgery last week. If you don't know about the surgery, then you are really out of the loop and will have to email me if you want the whole story. ;) It was a sad day to stop nursing but had to be done...I digress. Anyhoo, here is our big boy. He did the unthinkable and got those toesies past his big buddha. I'll post pics tomorrow of him sucking on them. He seems to be quite proud of his flexibility. In the meantime, he is completely intrigued and for the most part enjoying the new additions to his diet. I think he might be starting the teething phase too. Stay tuned.....