Mattie & Laynee

6 months!

2010-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

My baby will be 6 months old tomorrow!! I can't believe it! This has been the most difficult, rewarding, loving 6 months of my life! When everyone told me how much was going to change after I became a mother I didn't think they were so right! I love being this beautiful baby's mommy and wouldn't change anything we have gone through! I can feel her special little spirit and the love Heavenly Father has for this sweet little angel and know I couldn't be more blessed. Every day is an adventure with this little one! This year has been full of all the firsts... first cry, first smile,first bump, first hospital visit, first laugh, first new food, first time she rolled over and so many more to come! I can't wait to see you grow and learn Laynee Rae! I love you so much! I am so proud of you already. I am so blessed to have you in my life and to be able to watch you grow! Here are some pictures of our first 6 months together!

Her very first picture:)

The first time I got to hold her!

Grandma Bonnie

Grandpa John

Her first bath:0

Her first pair of jeans:)

First smile

First zoo trip!

First Time on a horse:)

This Weekend!

2010-03-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was the last weekend of spring break so we all loaded up and headed for the valley! Laynee had her first trip to the zoo! It was a blast! She loved the sun, she wasn't quite sure about the animals but definitly loved being out and about! Here are a few pictures of our weekend:)

Me and Haylee:)

Giraffe!!!
Turtle!!

Aunt Tasha:)

Update

2010-03-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been a rather difficult one... to start off Laynee was in the hospital with RSV Sunday night. She still is not her normal self. We have a doctors appointment today to see if the meds have made any difference at all. Today I found out that a dear friend of mine past away earlier this morning. Steven Brown was an amazing man, he loved people, he loved making everyone smile and most of all he loved the gospel. He was a man that knew when you needed a hug or a friendly smile. He was very involved in his community, and will be dearly missed. We love you Steven, our lives will never be the same without you. Ok now with the update on what Laynee is up to these days, she is almost 5 months old!! Where has the time gone!? She is rolling over, eating some baby food, and laughing all the time! She is such a joy in my life! I look back at these last 5 months and realize how much I am going to miss this stage but cant wait for the next 5 months of her life!! Here are a few pictures!

Laynee's Pictures

2010-01-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

My cousin Julie did Laynee's pictures this last weekend. They turned out awesome! She gave me an amazing deal! I actually feel bad because I so owe her more than what she charged me! Here are just a few of my little angel baby!! Thank you so much Julie!! Your amazing!!!

Laynee's first Christmas!!

2009-12-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

Laynee and I had a great Christmas this year! We spent Christmas Eve day with daddy and his family and then Christmas Eve and Christmas morning just the two of us:) We read a Christmas story and sat by the fire in our new PJ's! I love this little girl so much! I don't know what I would have done without her this year. It has been a very tough year and I would not have made it through without her there to smile at me and remind me what life is truely about. She helped me to realize the true meaning of Christmas this year! I love you Laynee I cant wait to watch you grow this year!! Christmas Day we went to my dads and had dinner and opened gifts with everyone! It was a lot of fun! We also found out that we are going to welcome a new little BOY in April! Congratulations Clint and Heather!! We sure Love you!! Here are a few pictures I took of Laynee with my new camera!!

Me & my santa!!

Thinking really hard!!

Man I love this kid!!

So precious!!

Santa didn't give me what I wanted!!!

Laynee's Blessing

2009-12-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

We blessed our beautiful baby girl on Sunday. Everything was wonderful! Titan did an excellent job! He blessed her with everything she would need to get through this life! We love our special baby! We are so excited to watch her learn and grow in the gospel. She has such a special spirit! She is going to do great things in this life. She has already touched so many people. She has made my life such a joy to live. I dont know what we would do without her in our lives. Here are so pictures from her special day and from the weekend my brother came:)

Day old child

2009-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

Day-Old Child.

My day old child lay in my arms,
With my lips against her ear
I,whispered strongly,"How I wish--
I,wish that u could hear;

"I've a hundred wonderful things to say
(A tiny cough and a nod),
Hurry, hurry, hurry and grow
So I, can tell you about God"

My day-old baby's mouth was still
And my words only tickled her ear.
But a kind of a light passed through her eyes,
And I, saw this thought appear:

"How I, wish I, had a voice and words;
I've a hundred things to say.
Before I, forget I'd tell you of God--
I, left Him yesterday."

2009-12-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

Ok here are a few pictures from the past few weeks I don't have my camera with me right now so this isn't all of them! Laynee is growing like crazy and I am enjoying every minute of being a mommy! She is the best baby! She is so easy going and is so patient with me! I look into her eyes and just wish that she could tell me all the things that she knows! She is so smart! I am one lucky mom! I never dreamed I could love someone as much as I love her. I am so grateful to have her in my life and the special spirit that she has. She has changed my life so much. She has taught me so much patients and love. I never dreamed someone could change me as much as she has. I love her with all my heart!

Look at those curls!!

All ready for church!

First bath:)

Photo Shoot!

2009-11-08T10:59:00.001-08:00

My brother and sister in law came up this weekend and took pictures for me! They turned out great! Enjoy!

Laynee Rae Merrill

2009-11-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

She's finally here! Sunday morning at 8:15 Dr. T broke my water and 14 hours later she was here! She is so beautiful! She is very healthy and loves to sleep, which mom loves loves loves! She weighed 6lbs 15 ounces and was 20 inches long. She has both of her parents wrapped around her little finger! I have to say that my very first hospital stay was a pleasant one! My nurses were awesome! And I couldn't ask for a better docotor! As I started to be preped for delivery I looked at my dad with tears in my eyes and begged for a blessing, he of course jumped at my every request and my dad and my doctor gave me the sweetest blessing I have ever recieved. Having my doctor apart of it gave me the comfort to be able to put all of my trust in his hands because he truely had mine and my little girls lives in his hands. The spirit was so strong as I had my mom my sister and my sister in laws at my side coaching me every step of the way! After an hour and a half of pushing she was here! My doctor set her on my chest and it was instant love I was a mother from that moment on. It didn't take anytime to get use to. I never dreamed that it would be such an amazing experience! She is the greatest blessing I have ever recieved and she continues to bless my life everyday. I am so proud to be her mommy!

right before delivery

Bawling my eyes out!

Just minutes old

She loves her Daddy:)

Getting ready to go home

Nursery!!

2009-10-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

So the nursery is finally done!! It looks great!! The bumble bees was probably the best idea ever!! Plus check out the crib!! Thanks to everyone that helped!!

One of the bees on the crib:)

29 weeks!!

2009-08-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had another ultra sound to check and make sure everything was ok. My first ultra sound they had a few concerns but everything was good yesterday! It was a great day my mom my sister my sister in law and Titans mom were all able to be there:) Needless to say the room was a little crowded! This little girl has so many people that love her and cant wait for her to get here! Here is the picture of the day! Isn't she adorable!?!

Update!!

2009-08-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well after a long needed update here it goes!!! Titan and I were divorced on July 1st of this year. This has been one of the biggest struggles I have ever had. You go your whole life dreaming of that person that will be the one you spend the rest of your life with and then when things dont work out its very hard to understand. But all in all we have learned a lot from this mistake and have become friends. We are expecting a little girl in November! She is so beautiful already and already has her daddy wrapped around her finger! She will always know that both of her parents love her more then anything in this world and would do anything for her. We are so blessed to have this oppurtunity and cant wait to be parents! Everyday has its struggles, for both of us, but we have learned to except it and go on. We love the gospel and know that our Heavenly Father loves us, and truely thats all we need!!

First Appointment!

2009-03-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

Well I had my first appointment today!! The baby is doing great and so am I!! We are so excited we can't hardly stand it!! 9 months is not going to go by fast enough! Well my due date is November 8th. Everything is normal so far! I am feeling pretty good just a little nauseous and pretty tired! But other then that everything is going great!!

A Very Hard Week

2009-02-07T21:49:00.001-08:00

My mom was hospitalized this week. I felt like some of the experience I had this week with her were worth posting about! Well Monday morning I received a very frantic call from my mom, she wanted me to call my aunt who is a nurse to find out what to do. I hung up the phone with her, very worried of course. I called my aunt and of course it went to her answering machine, so I called my mom back and no answer, I called again and again no answer. Finally after about 5 calls my step dad finally answered the phone. Turns out he had been gone for 2 days as she laid there alone trying to regain her strength. So finally we got her to the ER and things progressed from there. They did a CT Scan and found out that she had, had a minor stroke and had a severe case of pneumonia. So we finally got her calmed down and comfortable in her room. The days went on and she didn't seem to be getting any better... So I had my husband and his cousin come down and give her a priesthood blessing. The Spirit in her room was stronger then I had ever felt. Titan finished the blessing with tears in his eyes, we all knew that the Spirit had given that blessing Titan was just the tool in the Lords hand. That night she slept pretty good for the first time since she arrived. The next day my mom finally started to act like herself again! She felt the Lord's hand in her life, just as the rest of us did. I finally realized how much our Heavenly Father really does love us and is always there in, even when we feel he's not. My mom is the strongest person I have ever met! I love her so much and am so proud to have her as my mother. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and is watching out for my family! All we have to do is turn to Him and He will always be there. I am so grateful for the time that I got to be with her and to be apart of the awesome Spirit that was there that night! I love you mom!! Thank you for being you!!