Sad and Pathetic Computer =(

So I have been very frustrated with my computer for the last 3 weeks now. It's over 7 years old and it has just decided to not turn on and cooperate for me. If I get lucky some days it will turn on but more days then not it's just lame. With this lameness it causes me not to be able to edit my photos or upload them with out it freezing on me. I really want to update our blog and face book with pictures of my mom's trip out here and our fun trip to Manhattan, New York with Todd's parents. And in the midst of packing up our stuff so we can be ready for our move out west in 7 weeks I feel like the time is going too fast. I want it to slow down because we will be leaving our fun condo, our sweet friends, our ward, and all the memories we have made while living here for the last 3 1/2 years.

There have been many highlights for us while we have lived here.To name a few, Todd has enjoyed his Optometry Education at Ohio State and has made some great friends from his class. He is so happy he chose this profession and so am I. I want him to be happy in the profession he has worked so hard for. It's weird to think he has been going to school since we first dated and through the 7 1/2 years of our marriage. It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that in June of 2012 he will be graduated!!!! I am extremely proud of all his hard work and for the wonderful scholarship he got through the Air Force. It's been such a blessing for us to have his last two years of tuition paid for and to be able to live on a stipend they give to us monthly. Another huge highlight for us here in Ohio was finally getting pregnant with our sweet baby Tatum after trying for 3 years. She was worth the wait and we have felt so blessed to have her in our family. She is one of a kind and we know she is very special. From the day she was born she has always had a sweet disposition about her. She has brought both Todd and I so much joy and we both realize that she was suppose to be in our family. We learn so much from her everyday and we can't imagine our lives with out her. I have just loved being able to be a stay at home mom to help raise her and watch her grow.

I know that life can throw sticks at us at times and we may trip and fall but we have to get back up and keep on going. All our experiences while living here in Ohio, the good times and the bad, have been for our own good. Todd and I have become more dependent on each other and we have had to learn together how to make things work out for us as a family. Too many times can we all look at others lives and envy or wish we had this or that but when you take a step back you have to realize that we are all in different situations and we all have our own stories. We have felt so blessed to have both of our amazing families support from back home and can't wait to spend some quality time with them again even if it's only for a short time.

We know we have an adventure a head of us and we don't know where we will end up yet but that is what we have to look forward to. It's the next chapter of our lives and we feel excited and nervous all at the same time. But with this new chapter in our lives I know we will be just fine because we will have each other. As long as we have each other we can do anything.

If you happened to stick around to read this post I am sorry if I was on a soapbox. It's just been a long time since I have really written my thoughts of gratitude on our blog.

And I am grateful for my happy life!!!!

Grandma C comes to visit

We were spoiled to have Todd's mom out for a visit this weekend. We had so much fun and can't believe how fast those 3 days went. Tatum was so happy to have her Grandma here. Love you!

I am bias since this is my own daughter but I think she is SO dang cute!!!

Family shot at Schmidt's restaurant

Enjoyed taking some fun pictures while walking around German Village.

Being a kid is always fun!

So if you didn't already know, our daughter just LOVES water in any form. She can't get enough of it and would be in it if she could 24 -7. One evening a few weeks ago we had one of our famous rain storms here in Ohio and we went out on our front porch to watch it come down together as a family. We stuck our hands out into the rain and that is all it took for Tatum. She was grunting at us and pointing at the rain. She wanted us to take her out into what was the biggest shower possible and let her play in it. So that is what we did. We ran out and played in the rain as a family and had SO much fun. Tatum was laughing and smiling so hard it was priceless. We found all the puddles we could to splash in and even let her sit down and have at it. She was in heaven. The hardest part was bringing her back in. She cried and begged with her big blue eyes to let her stay out and play. It was a fun memory that I will always remember. We are now forever doomed because since that night whenever it's rained she wants to go out and play it in. If we don't take her out she whines and cries. It's sad and cute all at the same time.

14 Months old Today

We can't believe that sweet Tatum is growing up so fast on us.
Today she is 14 months old and has been quite the busy girl.

At this point:
~She is walking on her own with a few falls here and there.
~She is testing mommy and daddy to see if she can do certain things and see our response.
~She loves to shake her head no and understands at times what we mean when we say it.
~She has been trying out different foods and really likes most of them. Some of her favorites are: string cheese, gold fish crackers, blueberries, strawberries, pancakes, ice cream, just to name a few.
~She loves going to the pool everyday with mommy and can't get enough of any water in general.
~She has to always be socializing or doing what mommy or daddy is doing. She has a great wave and loves to wave at anyone she can.
~`She also has a cute fake laugh she does when she is in big groups and wants to be involved. It's so funny.

We have loved seeing her develop and grow. We can't believe our little girl is growing up on us so fast. She is such a joy to us. Love you sweet Tatum.

Love this Cutie!!

Tatum and I go to the pool everyday and have so much fun together!!

We got her a floaty and she has really enjoyed it.

She found daddy's tie and wanted to put it on all by herself, not bad if you ask me.

She is a a good sport considering I put the camera in her face a little too much.

Can you see why we love this little cutie?? She is such a joy in our lives.....

4th of July Fun!!

Our 4th of July was nice and relaxing. We spent the day taking naps, eating lots of yummy food
and hanging out with some of our good friends.

Tatum can't get enough of being in water just like her daddy. All the kids were playing in water and she kept whining to play too, so we striped her down to just her diaper and she had SO much fun.

I got her this cute headband in the dollar section at Target but she didn't like wearing it so I at least got a picture of her in it for the memories.

Tatum also LOVES to swing and could go for hours if we would push her.

She looks so grown up to me in so many of these pictures.
We let her have fun playing in our laundry hamper.

Just playing around with my camera.

Bath time is her favorite!!!

Even played a little patty cake for us.

The yummy cupcakes I made for the 4th of July party we went to.

Did different colored layers even, it was fun and were tasty too!!

Our little Ms. America

Tatum's 1 year photoshoot

My amazing and talented friend Aly took Tatum's 1 year photos for us.

We loved the way they turned out. What do you think??? So many fun ones to pick from.