95th

Little girlie had her 2 month well checkup today.


Shots = Yuck.


Although she has still been her happy self.

I don't know if the side effects (affects?) wear (where?) in later...holy crap I have mommy brain!! Aka, the absence of brain cells due to the birthing process when they are donated to your child. Yes it's real, I saw it on Oprah.


Let's compare stats:

Birth -
8 lbs 2o.5 in.

2 months -
13.5 lbs 24 in.
This means she can wear 6 month size clothes in some brands!!

With the stats today she's in the 95th percentile in both weight and height.
Isn't 95 considered an A-? (remember I've been out of school for a little while...)

Good job Navi, you get an A. But really, I am glad she's healthy.

On another note...
I always get annoyed when parents take their child-naming authority to the extreme, throw basic phonics out the window, and go over board with the spelling of names. I can't think of any specific examples right now, but you know the kinds. Well lately I've been a bit ashamed to find out we might be some of those parents...

I've literally been asked, more than 5 times, within the past 5 days how to pronounce Navi's name. About 3 people at the Dr.'s office, one of Nate's friends, and one of my friends...don't be offended Baldwins, you're just one of my examples. :)

I guess I just took the pronunciation for granted because 99% of my friends from high school ended in the "E" sound (Kimi, Stacey, Traci, Bobbie, Kelli, Abby, Chelsea, Sharli...it goes on for ages) and they all ended in different variations... "i", "ie", "y", "ea". But I don't know if changing the normal "y" at the end of her name to an "i" throws people off or what, because everyone who asks thinks the "a" in her name is pronouced "au" or "o", as in naughty or octopus.

SO for anyone still wondering, I'm clearing it up now... it's nAvi, as in the color or Navy(Marines/Army). Just with an "i" at the end...like my name. :)

5 Life Theatening Situations I'd Rather Not Experience

1. Getting caught in a large earthquake.

2. Asking a woman when her baby is due, only to find out she is NOT pregnant. (maybe not exactly life threatening, but definitely life humiliating)

3. Getting trapped in the middle of a "Katrina" like hurricane.

4. Diving into very deep water with great white sharks.

5. Getting stranded at a mall:
A. while the roof gets smashed in by a tree branch
B. in a foreign state
C. with a two month old baby
D. not knowing where and if my husband is safe
All while a tornado touches down a mere 5 to 10 miles away.

OH WAIT. I did experience that!! Take if from me...not cool.

You see, we live in Grapevine, Texas. Grapevine is bordered by Flower Mound and Lewisville (for all the Cache Valley folk, think Logan, North Logan, and Hyde Park. Grapevine is the North Logan). Yesterday, both of those cities had tornado sitings.

It all started when my friend Traci, her 18 month old son Sawyer, Navi, and myself walked into a Payless Shoes store in the mall. Suddenly the metal roof above us sounded as if a high school was being dismissed on the last day of school. Huge thuds and bangs were followed by almost a groaning metal sound. I had no idea there was even a thunderstorm going on because when we arrived at the mall an hour or so prior, it was just hot and overcast. Therefore, I just kind of looked at Traci and laughed, thinking to myself..."there must be a lot of workers up on the roof fixing something." Oh how I wished it were workers...

The next thing we knew all the stores around Payless were shutting off their lights and pulling down the gates on their store fronts. Then, as the power flickered, one of the Payless employees told us the loud crash was in fact a large tree branch that had been thrown into the roof by a tornado touching down just miles away. We later would see the aftermath - broken ceiling tiles, leaves and sticks everywhere, and very large puddles of water collecting in the walkway of the mall.

We frantically called our husbands to see if they were ok (outside knocking doors) and also hoping they would be able to give us magic information to help us. (you know, click your heels together 3 times, close your eyes and twitch your nose...) We had heard there were 75 mph winds outside (true) and didn't exactly feel like making a run for our car with our two strollers in the almost flash flood rain.

As you can imagine, anxiety set in big time. The 2 Payless girls were very nice as they probably laughed internally after my ramblings...

Me: "So...whatdoyoudoinatornado? (hesitant laugh and breath) Wedon'tknowwhattodointornados.We'refromthemountains. (another hesitant laugh)"
All I could picture in my head was a brief school lesson in my elementary class were I was taught to find low ground or ditch and cover my head. Seeing as how there were no available ditches in the middle of the 6 ft high Payless shoe racks...I was beginning to panic.

Payless Girl 1 while smiling awkwardly: "Well, we have a bathroom in the back we can all go in if necessary."

Me thinking stupid thoughts: "My stroller alone won't fit in whatever bathroom you have."

Random lady on her cell phone while still trying on shoes: "I'm sorry honey....Is daddy not home yet?....Well if it gets worse, you know what they say, lay in the tub and put a mattress over you..."

Payless Girl 1 trying to calm the weird mountain girl (aka - me): "We're calling our manager right now, but if we have to close our store you two should go to the nearest hallway that leads to the bathroom, take your kids out of their strollers, and lay over them."

Long story short, I didn't have to lay Navi on the ground and put her car seat over her while laying on it like I had first imagined in my head. We waited out the worst of the storm and drove home an hour or so later. All the while avoiding tree limbs on the road and trying not to focus on the uplifted tree with exposed roots on one side of the road.

Nate was in a farther away city that only experienced severe thunderstorms, and was able to make it home safely and only hydro-planing once.

In my next tornado warning I'll be a pro and I'll be able to lackadaisically peruse the Payless isles and continue to try on shoes. Granted I may have done this in my most current experience to fake my panic, but I can't say for certain I was even trying on size 8s. Next time, the extremest of all extreme worst situations probably won't be replaying over and over in my head. Next time there is a tornado warning in Texas (or Virginia for that matter) I'll be at HOME in my MOUNTAINS.

Just a Little Chit Chat

Enjoy! (I know I do)

Deep in the Heart of Texas...In May.

Grandma Buttars has been in town the last 2 weeks and we stayed very busy! We spent time at the pool, shopped till we couldn't shop anymore (hard to believe, I know), and when Nate was available we were able to sight-see a bit. We visited the historic Ft. Worth Main Street and stockyards the other day. Supposedly they have an actual cattle drive every day right down main street. We didn't catch it, but did see some other rather cool stuff...
(just a few more weeks Bekka and you will be in heaven)


This goofy guy walks around with this longhorn steer on a halter letting any old yahoo jump on and take pictures. (yes, climb on)

Just call us a couple of yahoos.

We also stopped by Arlington where the Texas Rangers' field is and also where the snazzy new Cowboy Stadium resides.



We had so much fun with Grandma and are so glad you were able to come spend time with us. I believe Navi was really beginning to think that being so spoiled and held non stop is indeed how life is. :) We're grateful for all your help, and it was especially nice to have someone else to hang out with while Nate was gone all day. Thanks again, we love you!


And here are about 1 million and 42 pictures of Navi. Mostly it's for all the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and any other unmentioned family at home. However, if you are none of those and would still like to comment, feel free. ;)

We sent the Elder this picture in his birthday email. Happy 20th! (holy cow)

Yes Ash, another photo on the carpet with no blanket...don't judge me. :)

Hard day at the pool for Miss Navi

The ever-so-hard to catch on camera smile. But so worth it when I do!



So cute!



And last but not least... an attempt to capture some of her "talking". She turns out to be a bit camera shy because anytime I try and film the cute cooing, she suddenly stops. This has been the best video yet..which really isn't too much talking at all. Someday we'll catch it.

One Month!?!

I can't believe it's already been one month since Navi joined our family. She is such a good baby and is teaching us lots. :) Here are some recent pictures since we've been in Texas.

(She also wants to say hi to all the family members back home...sorry if you get sick of the text pictures we send. G&G Buttars - tell us when you get your new texting phones so we can send you some pictures) :)





I saw a cool idea in my blogging rounds the other day. A mom had taken a picture of her baby at different stages with the same stuffed animal. It was interesting to see how much the baby had grown, but for some reason sitting next to the same animal made the differences stand out even more. So I thought we'd give it a try...

Navi on her one month birthday:



And this picture better indicates how her one month birthday was spent. Unfortunately she wasn't to happy that day. I'm still not sure why, but I'm thinking it was a bad tummy ache. She is doing much better today.



(She is also already fitting into most of her 3 month clothes! Holy cow!)

Happy 1 month Navi! We love you!!

God Bless Texas

HOWDY YA'LL !!

My friend Dani asked if everything really is bigger in Texas...
So far I've only made it to Walmart, and wasn't too impressed, but I'll keep looking.

Anyways, we're finally here in the great state of Texas! What a whirlwind the last week has been. Here's a quick recap:

May 2 - Nate Graduated (!!)


May 3 -We blessed Navi

Nate gave a very special blessing and so many of our family and friends were there to support us. The day was definitely a good one.


May 4 - We left for TEXAS

The GPS told us the quickest route was through Wyoming, down to Colorado, half way through Kansas, and then cut down through Oklahoma.
But seeing as how the first year we left, we had a flat tire in Wyoming and last year the freeway was closed off due to a massive blizzard...we decided avoiding the boring place all together wouldn't be such a bad idea. SO, we opted to drive an extra couple hours down to Moab and over through Grand Junction, CO, then down through New Mexico. I was a little excited because I'd never been to New Mexico. (It would be something new) However, I was greatly disapointed and will just say there is a reason they call it New MEXICO.

I wasn't able to snap as many road trip photos as I would have liked (all the "welcome to" state signs) but that was partly due to my back seat location with Navi and mounds of baby stuff. Also because when I asked Nate to warn me when we were getting close to the Texas line, he replied with, "Uh, I'm pretty sure we already passed it." Gee thanks.

Navi was a super traveler. (No blow-outs and only 1 throwing up dilemma) She slept the majority of the trip; just waking to eat, change diaper, etc. Although, by the last 3 or 4 hours she really let us know she had had ENOUGH of her car seat. Who could blame her? I can't complain, this was my view the whole ride:


And lastly - I just wanted to throw in this stinking cute picture with cousin Brex. He wanted to hold Navi one last time before we left. I can't believe how big he getting! His 6th birthday is next week!! When I first started dating Nate, Brex was only 2 years old but carried on full conversations. (He was born a week after Nate had left for his mission so they didn't "meet" until Nate got home)


My favorite memory of Brexton is the very first time I went to his house with Nate. I don't think I had even officially met Nate's sister or brother-in-law, and much to my surprise Brex swings open the door to say, "What's up Nate? Where's Kristen?"
FYI - Kristen was Nate's girlfriend before and during the mission. I think Brex's mom was a little embarassed but I laughed so hard!

Too bad I'm a slacker and didn't get more pictures with all the other cousins and family members. Navi will have changed so much when we get back.

Nate's back in the selling mode and already has one so far. He had to use our car the past couple days so Navi and I have just been hanging out in the nice air conditioned apartment. (our car thermometer thing read 90 degrees the other day) Grandma Marianne is coming to visit in a week and we've already got the mall scoped out...

At the moment I can't think of a cheesy Texan salutation, but
ya'll come back real soon, ya hear?
HA. This might be a long summer...

LOVE THEM

So little Miss Navi had her own mini photo shoot the other day. Our friend Eileen took some awesome pictures for her birth announcements, but I can't wait until then to share. To quote Randy Jackson on tonight's American Idol - "I sound like a broken record, BUT..."

We think she's pretty cute!


PREPARE FOR PICTURE OVERLOAD - I'm allowed to do this...it's my first child.

One of my favorites for sure!







This was my blessing outfit - right down to the bow, socks, and shoes!




Nate's grandma made the white blanket she is laying on in all of these.


In other Buttars news:

- Nate graduates Saturday!! Hallelujah! And I'm OH SO PROUD of him. At least one of us has some academic aspiration. (if that even makes any sense)

- As you saw from the pictures, we're blessing Navi on Sunday. It might seem a little soon but it's because...

- We leave for good old Ft. Worth, Texas on Monday. Yep, another summer adventure is already staring us in the face. By this time each year I'm usually ready to skip town (besides missing family and friends) and spend the summer in a new state. Although this time around I'm a bit nervous to include a baby in all the chaos. I am happy, however, that I'll have a hangout buddy to spend some of the long summer days with while Nate is out selling.

This will be his last summer selling security systems for APX and when we get back this fall he'll start his "grown up" job with Beneficial Financial where he'll be selling Life Insurance and "doing" -for lack of a better word- some financial planning stuff. So if any of you feel the need to run out and get life insurance...hold off until September! :) Better yet, if you would like a steal of a deal on a security system and by steal I mean you just pay 40 bucks a month for the monitoring and you get the equipment for free. OR if you know anyone of the older generation who might feel more secure with a medical pendant (those necklaces they wear when the fall or need help) get ahold of us before the summer ends!
How's that for salesmen's wife?

We're going to be very busy this coming week but we also realize it's a good busy. We are very blessed to have so many positive things going on. I need to remember to step back and be grateful more often.