Birthday Par-tay!

I decided to do a monkey theme for Corby's birthday party because he is our little monkey.

Jared helped me make the invitation. It was my first creation in Photoshop and I think it turned out pretty cute. Unfortunately when I had it printed out at Costco, some of the colors turned out a little dark. So if you got an invitation, this is how it was supposed to look!

I ordered balloons from Zurchers and had Rog pick them up on his way home from work on Friday. He took the afternoon off to help me get ready for the party.

One of the balloons sprung a leak on his way home. We patched it with tape, but it was smaller than the others and had lost the helium. Corby carried it around and played with it all afternoon. He loved it!

For dinner we had sweet and sour pork ribs, rice, and a fruit salad. I realized too late that I probably should have done another side or two... But we had leftovers of everything, so if people didn't get full, they should have taken more! I couldn't think of any foods for dinner that fit my monkey theme, so I just picked something easy that I knew Corby would eat.

Corby was totally spoiled as far as presents go!

He got balls...

Books...

Swim stuff...

Clothes, pajamas, movies, and much much more.

I made this monkey cake for the adults. Thank you Wilton! It was so easy with their monkey pan.

And I adapted a design from Hello, Cupcake! for Corby's little cake.

He didn't totally dive into his cake, but he seemed to like what he ate. I think his favorite part was the oreos I used for the ears.

He didn't particularly like being covered in frosting.

I also made monkey cake pops to send home with everyone.

I think his first birthday party was a success. Thanks to everyone who came and made our Corbaby feel so loved!

1 Year

Can you believe that our little Corby is 1 year old?! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in the hospital with my whopping 10 pound baby! Now he is my busy 1 year old that walks all over the place!

His stats:

Weight: 21 pounds, 6 ounces (30th percentile)

Height: 30 inches (60th percentile)

The Corb at 1 year:

*Is walking like a pro! Lots of people have asked me how long he has been walking and when I tell them about 4 weeks, they are very impressed because he is already so steady and confident.

*Doesn't like to sit still for anything. I don't think we're going to get very much out of church for the next 6 months. We just take turns following him around in the halls.

*Has 3 teeth - his two bottom middle and one random tooth on his top right. I didn't know if he would let me brush his teeth, but he actually likes it a lot.

*Gets frustrated when he can't do something or when something gets stuck.

*Says "nanana" for banana when I get out a banana. But recently he won't eat them anymore. That is so sad to us because Corby has always loved bananas. He babbles all the time, but doesn't say much else. This really worries me, but his doctor said he isn't behind yet and he isn't worried.

*Loves to carry around something in each hand - spatulas, wii remotes, drum sticks, etc...

*Loves playing in the pillows on our bed.

*Loves balls and throws them with pretty good form. It's only a matter of time before he breaks something!

*Is finally starting to turn around to get off things. He still goes face first if it's not very high, but he turns around to get off our bed and couches.

*Is becoming more confident on the stairs. He has gone all the way up a few times without screaming his head off.

*Loves being around other kids.

We tried to take pictures on his birthday, but we didn't have much luck. So these are from the day after his birthday.

The Funeral

My grandpa's funeral was last Tuesday. It was a beautiful tribute to a great man. My dad gave a biographical sketch along with sharing some of our memories of him. My Uncle Chris read a fable he had written about my grandpa and grandma. And some of his good friends also spoke.

My grandma saying her last goodbye.

The whole Ririe clan. The timing worked out well so Diana and Jason got to say goodbye before he died and then be at the funeral during their visit.

His obituary ran on Sunday and then again on Tuesday because they accidentally had the wrong photo the first time. We all looked at it and said, "That's not my grandpa!" A little bit of humor during a hard time.

Busy Busy Busy

This last week was busy busy busy and with my grandpa's funeral tomorrow, Corby's birthday on Friday, and Father's Day on Sunday, things aren't going to slow down anytime soon!

Late Tuesday night, Diana and Jason flew into Salt Lake, so on Wednesday Corby and I went up to see them. We also got to meet Blake for the first time. And we were able to say goodbye to my grandpa.

Grandma and her two grandsons.

Corby had to check out Blake. I have a feeling these two will be trouble in a few years!

On Thursday we went to our Cafe Rio for the first time. That's right, Spanish Fork has hit the big time!

Corby was a huge fan of the pork barbacoa. How could he not be? We are very excited to have a Cafe Rio literally 1 mile away from our house.

On Friday my grandpa passed away as you already know from this post...

Saturday morning Rog and I ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon. Rog did awesome. He finished in 2:07:22. I didn't do so well. My IT band has been acting up, so I knew I wouldn't be able to run the whole thing. I was able to run 4 miles and then I had to walk the last 9 miles. I walked as fast as I could and finished in 2:45:08. Obviously that wasn't how I wanted it to go, but I was just happy I was able to finish.

My mom stayed the night and watched Corbyn for us in the morning. We were so grateful for her help especially since she had just lost her dad the day before.

Corby thought our medals were pretty cool when we got home.

I made some Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars for a BBQ we had that night with my cooking group. We let Corbyn lick one of the beaters. I'd say he enjoyed it.

At the BBQ Corbyn was able to overcome his fear of grass and he also had his first ride down a slide. Woot!

On Sunday Jared gave his farewell talk and Jason and Diana blessed Blake in the ward my mom grew up in. (Jared's official farewell will be in St. George in a couple of weeks, but he did this one in Salt Lake for our friends and family up north.) We had a luncheon after at the Ford's house.

Jared and Blake - the stars of the show!

The Hobbs family.

Sisters and our boys.

My grandma had my dad get out this bench just for Corby. Yeah, he's pretty cute.

After the luncheon we hung out for the rest of the day. I thought this picture was just too funny! Jared playing with his camera, me holding Blake, and Diana working on her blog. It doesn't get more candid than this.

Phew! What a week!

Goodbye Grandpa

I had a few posts I was going to do today about some stuff we've been doing this week, but it didn't seem appropriate that I do those at this time.

Last night my Grandpa Ford passed away in his sleep. His long fight with cancer has finally come to an end. I really feel like it was his time to go and I'm glad he doesn't have to suffer anymore, but it is still hard.

He was such a great man - so hardworking, kind, and loving. He was always thinking about others and putting their comfort above his own. He loved his family and did everything for us.

Today I am grateful for the blessing of eternity. So, goodbye Grandpa, until we meet again. I love you!

{My grandpa, Diana, me, and my dad}

Here comes the sun

The sun has finally started to make an appearance around here. It seems we have skipped spring and we're headed straight for summer, but I'm not going to complain. Bring on the sun!

On Friday after Rog got off work we went up to Sandy for a much-needed Pugh hangout.

Corby and I drove up to meet Rog at his work and then we drove up to Sandy from there. We stopped at Krispy Kreme for National Donut day on our way to pick up Rog. I didn't think they would, but they gave Corby a free donut too. Corby was nice enough to share his donut with his dad.

We had dinner at Hires and then went to Wheeler Farm. Corby loved looking at all the animals and walking around.

He found the perfect stick and he was good to go!

They had everything you would find at a farm including some authentic farm equipment.

We gave Corby a bath and then played a quick game of For Sale before we had to head back home. It was a quick visit, but it was sure good to see the Pughs!

On Saturday Rog gave our cars the deluxe treatment. They both got oil changes, their tires rotated, car washes, and vacuumed out! Corby helped a little, but mostly I had to keep him out of the way which wasn't fun because he just wanted to be out in the garage with dad!

We wanted to go on a hike to enjoy the nice weather. We decided to do a short, easy hike to Grotto Falls in Payson Canyon. Because of all the rain and snow we got in May, the stream was a lot more like a river.

We took 2 pictures at the falls. This one where Corby doesn't really look all that happy and another one where Corby looks happy, but Rog's eyes are closed. {I really need to learn how to use Photoshop, so I can fix things like that. Does anyone have any tips for learning Photoshop on your own? I have the program. I just don't know what to do with it!}

So here's some proof that Corby did in fact have a good time.

When we got home we grilled up some delicious Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers. Next time I'm going to make some extra teriyaki sauce to serve on the rice and Rog says we have to cook them in the oven because they made a huge mess on his grill. But they really were spectacular.

We had a little picnic out in our front yard.

We were supposed to have Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie for dessert, but it did not turn out at all. We're talking epic failure here people. I was so looking forward to it because Rachel has said it is so good on multiple occasions. I don't know what happened because I used real butter and everything, but it was a huge, gooey, didn't-set-up-at-all mess! So if you're reading this and you think everything I make in the kitchen is a success... here's your proof that I'm definitely human!

We had a great weekend enjoying some warm sunny weather for a change! Now it just needs to warm up a little bit more, so we can go enjoy our Pass of all Passes at Seven Peaks!

Memorial Day Weekend

Corby's Grandma and Grandpa Phillips came into town for Memorial Day weekend. They won't be able to make it for Corby's actual birthday, so we got to start his 1st birthday celebration a little early.

On Saturday they took him to Toys R Us to pick out a couple toys. This clip shows what we ended up with.

He's been having a lot of fun playing with them this week. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Phillips!

We had dinner at Zupas. It was pretty much the only time I remembered to get out my camera and snap a few pictures.

Corby with his grandma.

Some family school rivalry with his Aunt KD.

On Sunday afternoon we had a BBQ with both sides of our family. Well, everyone that was close enough to come anyway.

We had hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled corn on the cob, watermelon, coleslaw, baked beans, chips, and colorburst cupcakes.

We didn't let Corby dive into a cupcake just yet. He has to wait until his actual birthday for that. But he did manage to get a wrapper from the garbage can. I think it's safe to say he will enjoy his cake in a few weeks. What do you think?