Thank goodness for good waiting rooms

Emmett had his first trip to the Dentist today. He did really good through his x-rays and the Dentist looking in his mouth (no tears!) Wahoo!
We had to wait quite a while, so I was incredibly grateful for the myriad of child entertainment that was provided through the waiting room! Emmett is such a little busybody, he just wandered all over exploring every nook, cranny, toy, and person. I had to grab him a few times when he ran down the hall to the patient areas (when he had finished exploring the wait room to his satisfaction).

Here's a little storyboard of what was probably the best hour of Emmett's day. haha

                                                    Had fun in the little playhouse with friend #1

                             Observing and contemplating if this little girl is worthy of becoming friend #2

                                                        Testing out the "Emmett size" chair

Exploring the Lego Table

About this time he decided the aforementioned "Emmett size" chair needed to

 take a trip (or two, or three...) around the perimeter of the waiting area

He made a pit stop to check out the big aquarium

Next it was off to the video game area

where once he started...

he wouldn't stop! In fact my arms got too tired from holding him up

so eventually I just pushed up this little bench and let him have at it

And lastly, here is friend #3 (there were many others I didn't photograph), but he was Emmett's favorite. He followed him like a shadow all through the room. And I don't blame him the kid was pretty P-I-M-P if I say so myself. Check out that Volcom getup and hat, and he may or may not be wearing a chain around his neck... To top it off, the kids name was Justice. Legit right?

So that is where our adventure at the Dentist ends... at least for the next 6 months. But I'm sure Emmett will be counting the days.

The Help

I just finished the book The Help this morning. Very touching and thought provoking book, almost brought me to tears a couple times. I had a hard time holding it back during the last 15 pages!

 Anyway, my friend Anna posted the trailer on facebook tonight. (Check it out!) I had no idea a movie was even being made of it! Needless to say I can't wait for August! However, I am little skeptical about their casting choice for the main character, Skeeter. They've chosen Emma Stone (and I guess it's hard for me to picture her outside her previous roles in Superbad and Easy A). She just doesn't seem to fit the role to me - physically or personality-wise. Her attitude is much sassier and sarcastic than I perceived Skeeter to be. For those of you who have read it, what do you think? I am not making any judgments yet, I am interested to watch the film and see if wins me over. Definitely an interesting choice though!

If you haven't read the book, I'd highly recommend it!

The "I'm 1 Year Old!" Pictures

Here are some of the photos from Emmett's 1 year photoshoot. I haven't got the disc yet with the rest of the

images so I may be posting more later! He was so cute and smily that night (which made me so happy). I was scared he was going to be tired or grumpy and we wouldn't get a smile out of him. Nope!

 Enjoy!

A Very Merry UNBirthday

I'm a little late on this post. I kept waiting to get additional pictures from my mom's camera, but I still haven't and I don't want anymore time to go by, so these will do for now! In honor of Emmett's first birthday (and his special circumstances) we threw him a very merry UNbirthday party! We had a great turn out with all of Jared and I's immediate family, and some of my best friends.

We had the party about a month ago, on April 10th. While sitting at church earlier that day, I started to tear up a little bit. I thought back to where we were a year ago, and all of the fear and uncertainty that lie ahead. I realized how far we've all come in the past year, learning so much, becoming emotionally (and in Emmett's case) physically stronger, taking it day by day.. and somehow getting ourselves here. It was such a big day to celebrate. My heart was so completely full of joy the entire day to be celebrating my happy, healthy baby boy with all the people I love most.

Here is our little family in front of Em's birthday spread.

Here are some close ups of the things on the table that I want to remember.

(

(From left to right)
1.) Emmett's smash cake
2.) THE Birthday cake. One of my finest accomplishments. I spent weeks brainstorming and reading tutorials and was pretty proud of myself it turned out this well!
3.) What is the month of April without Cadbury mini eggs? In this case, they were the "wonder eggs", you know like the ones Alice would eat to grow bigger and smaller?
4.) Strawberries and Emmett's 6 month picture
5.) "Memories Down the Rabbit Hole" Mementos from the NICU that I framed because I never want to forget.To put it in perspective, he was swimming in that TINY diaper when he was born, and it had to be folded down in order to fit. The outfit in the frame he finally fit in when he was about 2 months old (theyre preemie size).



 

Here are some shots of the family and friends that shared our special day. Thank you everyone who made the effort to be there, it really meant so much to us!

Enjoying the festivities

Even though Emmett didn't know exactly what was going on, he could tell there was an excitement about HIM going on. It was so cute. He knew everyone was giving him attention for some reason and he was loving it. Gifts of note from the grandparents were his toy rocking horse that bounces/rocks and plays music (Whittakers) and the toy vacuum (Ericksons). Thank you guys, he LOVES them!

He knew EXACTLY what to do with his cake. Dug right in and plopped it straight in the mouth. Even went back for a few bites. Eventually he got pretty upset that his hands were so caked with frosting. haha. That stopped the event.

We are so proud of all he's overcome and accomplished. It was the Merriest UnBirthday I think there's ever been. We love you Emmett!

In Honor of Mothers Day

For all you Moms out there that sometimes feel discouraged, inferior, or even ashamed because you're not out there in the working world, gaining status and "success", or being a wonder woman juggling kids and a full-time job (which I often feel, it's hard not to feel that pressure), this is for you:

"For Satan has declared war on motherhood and on the family. He does everything he can to dishonor and devalue both womanhood and motherhood. This fact is more apparent with every passing day. He well knows that those who rock the cradle are perhaps in the best possible position to rock his diabolical earthly empire. He knows that none of us could progess without receiving bodies and experiencing our second estate. He understands that without mothers who are willing to bear children, our Father's plan would be completely frustrated. He knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the rising generation, the kingdom of god will fail." - Sheri Dew "Are We Not All Mothers?"

Without US the plan of salvation will fail. The most important thing, the reason we are here on this earth, is basically entrusted to us. Our purpose is to come to this earth, receive a physical body, have our faith and integrity tested, and return to our Heavenly parents. None of this would be possible without a strong, faithful woman - willing to endure childbirth to allow a sweet young spirit to come down to this earth, and then to rear them with love, nurturing, and spiritual strength.

This is another quote from her talk that just brings a warmth of confirmation to my heart.

"As Mothers in Israel, we are the Lord's secret weapon.Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn't stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won't tell you that, but the Spirit will." - Sheri Dew

I hope that the spirit testifies to all you Mothers reading this and lets you know what a great and noble role you play on the earth. Your calling is more important than any worldly occupation could ever be. I am  so grateful for my mother, the opportunity I have to be a mother on this earth, and all other women, whether they have the chance to physically bear a child or not- for we are all doing the Lord's work.

Happy Mother's Day :-)

Dear Fringe (Season 2)

Please go somewhere. And don't end up like LOST with a million unanswered questions. I know how you work J.J Abrams, and your shows are simultaneously enthralling and entirely frustrating at the same time. WHY do you insist on creating a plot, and then making the next FIVE episodes have nothing to do with it? Why do you create these huge, fascinating mysteries and never solve them? I wish I could quit you. But for now I will continue to watch.

Your undecidedly faithful viewer,
Cassie

PS- Right now some Asian people on a boat were given "seasickness medication" which caused disgusting snake like parasites to incubate inside them, kill them, and then come out their mouth. I just threw up in my mouth like 3 times and I cant bring myself to look back at the TV. HORRIBLE episode!! What were you thinking?!

Pause Button

You know those moments where you just sit and reflect on life, love, memories, family, and feel so blessed and content that you just want to hit the pause button and stop time? That's how I'm feeling right now.

We've been looking for an internship for Jared this summer, and since internships often lead to job opportunities, we've been thinking hard about where we would want to end up. As exciting as it is to think about finally leaving the world of college students and entering "the real world", I will be sad to leave this part of our life behind. The time where we still have the world at our feet.  I know we will always look back at our college years with fond memories, and I try to make the most of them.

Since getting married, I have come to appreciate and love my family even more. Apart from the realization you get of how each person in your family shaped you and made you who you are, you just flat out miss (and need) them. When I was a single college student, my role in life was school (and let's be honest - fun), and in the back of my mind I always knew I'd go be going home for Christmas, or summer, or whatever the next break was, and I kind of took it for granted. When we first got married, it was kind of a struggle for me. Since Jared happened to be from the town I just finished college in, I graduated but never left - and although my family was far away, his was just a few blocks over. It was a great blessing for us to be so near his family, but sometimes it was hard to feel like I had started a new, married life; I just felt like I had joined his. And I missed mine. I missed my home, I missed my family, I missed our traditions and holidays, I missed the warm weather, I missed the city. Somedays I just felt so out of place.

Now that we're down at BYU (and my family ended up moving about a half hour away), I can really appreciate having the people I love so close. I know we're at a stage of life that won't last forever, and I am just cherishing it while it lasts. Jared is getting close to graduating, and we don't know where his first job offer will be. My sisters in college are not married yet, but it will be interesting to see where their futures take them. Kendall only has one year of high school left and then will go to college. It's nights like tonight where we can get together with my sisters and go bowling on a whim that make me want to just hit pause. In a few years we could all be spread out going about our seperate lives, but for the moment I love being connected to each other.

So here's to cherishing the ones we love most, and appreciating each moment and stage of life we're in. Every stage of our life is so unique, and I don't ever want to feel like I let any of it pass by.