Santa Claus is coming! Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!!

That's right boys and girls!! You better be good, cuz Santa Claus is coming! Of course, Ashton has been perfect, so Santa will definitely come visit him! :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgivig! I am truly blessed beyond measure and am sooo grateful for all I have been blessed with! Especially my amazing husband, our beautiful baby boy, and the opportunity we have to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I just couldn't be more happy!!

I thought I would start this post off with a funny picture. We don't let Ashton watch TV, but being the clever little boy he is, he figured out a way one morning...

Hahaha!! Isn't he funny?!!

He sure loves the Price is Right! :)

For some reason blogger is turning some pictures sideways, so just cock your head to the side to see this adorable smile!

We drove down to IDAHO for Thanksgiving! We had sooo much fun! The best part of the trip was meeting cousin Ava!! She is such a little beauty!

Nelson and I think Ashton is pretty little, until we put him next to Ava! He is twice as big as her!! They really enjoyed meeting each other and I can't wait until they can play together and be the best of friends!

Aww...Uncle Nelson!!

So petite and cute!

Ava with her favorite Aunt Katie! :)

Here we are ready for Thanksgiving dinner! Ashton just LOVES his daddy-o!

Nelson's cousin's kids all loved Ashton! Here is Tenlee holding him!

Ryker could not get enough of Ashton!

Ryker kept kissing and snuggling Ashton....sooo cute!

Ashton and daddy ready for the prayer! See how Ashton's hands are folded?! Cute!!


Uncle Rhett was in a play so we all went to it on Friday night. Ashton's very first play was...Seven Brides for Seven Brothers!! I just LOVE this play and it was especially fun to see Uncle Rhett! Ashton was very interested and looked up at the stage almost the entire play until he finally took a little nap at the end.

We came back to Bozeman early Saturday morning so we decided to set up our Christmas tree and "Christmafy" our home! Ashton LOVES to look at the tree. Every morning we come downstairs when it is still a little dark and I turn on the Christmas tree lights and Ashton's face just lights up!! It is adorable!! The holidays are so much fun with a little one!!

Ashton watching Daddy set up the tree!

All done!

I love this picture! Ashton is so amazed!

Staring at the pretty lights!

We all wore our Christmas pajamas for the occasion! :)


Ashton continues to bring sooo much joy and happiness into our home! No bad days allowed with our smiley boy! Sometimes he will be tired or hungry and whine at little bit, but as soon as we smile at him, he leans his cute head back and smiles back at us! As I type now, Ashton is taking a nap right next to me and is smiling in his sleep!
Ashton is totally into standing up, no more relaxing for this guy!! He loves to go to new places and look all around. He is also droooooooooling everywhere!! Holy cow! Somedays we think he might dehydrate himself from drooling so much!! :) He's not even teething yet, I can't wait to see him then! Nelson says he is our little drooling puppy! I just LOVE being Ashton's mommy!! I look forward to spending every moment of the day with my little guy! Motherhood is the best!

Ashton is such a happy baby, we are sooo blessed!

Laughing at Daddy!

Ashton standing like a big boy!

Love that cute face!

Sitting up all by himself with his boppy!

Ashton is finally big enough for his jumper! YAY!!

Well, hello Mr. Froggie!

There is too much to look at!!

Small smile.......

Medium smile........

BIG smile!! Oh how we love our little boy!!

This is Ashton's model face...could he be any cuter?!

Ashton and Daddy are pals! Ashton put his arm around Nelson's neck all by himself!


Nelson has been busy, busy, busy with all his architecture projects. He is such a hard worker, Ashton and I are soo blessed to have such a hardworking daddy and husband.

This is a community center Nelson designed for one of his classes.

Pretty cool huh! He is soo talented!

The holidays are coming....YEEEEEEE!!!! :)

Our very first niece and Ashton's very first cousin was born on Friday the 13th!! I am finally AUNT Katie!! Ava Arave Christensen was born to Nelson's sister Tara and her husband Jarom, weighing in at 5 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long! She is just BEAUTIFUL!! We are heading home to Idaho for Thanksgiving and can't wait to meet her!

Isn't Ava just adorable!?

Take a look at this snow!

This is what we woke up to....24 inches of snow in 24 hours!! Can you find Nelson's bike?? Needless to say, he walked to class this day!

Aren't holidays sooo fun?? I just love this time of year, and this year it is especially sweet because we have our adorable boy Ashton!! I am SO excited for his first Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Year, the list goes on! We took a trip up to Helena to celebrate an early Thanksgiving at my mom's house. It was really fun! My brother and his girlfriend drove all the way up from Provo, it was a real treat to see them!

Our little family!

The girls with Ashton! My mom, me and Laura!

Oh so tired! Look at that adorable face!

Ashton chilling out with Uncle Carl!

Nelson is staying SUPER busy with his architecture classes. We are both excited for a break this upcoming Thanksgiving week. Those archietecture professors make the program very challenging but I know it will be worth it when he is done. He has about 2 years left to get his Masters. I really need to update our blog more, but I have been busy with my medical transciptionist training. I have two transciptions left and I will be done...wooohooo!! I will take the final exam and hopefully get a job soon. I think it will be a big blessing to be able to work from home whenever I please. Right now I do my training whenever Ashton is asleep, so things like housework, showering and blogging get pushed back. :) Ashton will be 13 weeks old on Monday and we will celebrate his 3-month-old birthday on the 24th! He is just getting so big!! He is such a joy in our lives. He is constantly smiling and giggling and adds so much happiness to each day. We are so grateful he is part of our family~ what a blessing!!

Anyways, enjoy this another overload of pictures of our handsome boy! I really tried to condense it down, trust me! I just look at our pictures and think, "Oh! I just HAVE to put this one on! He looks so cute!" Pretty much every picture I take of Ashton is cute so I'm forced to post a billion pics! :)

Daddy is sharing his Kit Kat with Ashton! :)

Ashton loves flying high with daddy!

Isn't that a funny face? We just love our little guy!

What a handsome boy!

Ashton showing off his gun!! :)

Ashton and Nelson are two peas in a pod!

Ashton bathes in his big boy bathtub now!

I can't get over how big he looks in this outfit! He is growing too fast!!

Mommy and Ashton ready to go to the ward party!!

No more laying down for Ashton, this little guy likes to sit up!

Ohhh sweetie!! Daddy is such a tease and put his Gatorade lid on our little boy! Haha!!

My boys!! I love them both sooooo incredibly much!!!

We volunteer for an interfaith group here in town and Ashton is offically the youngest volunteer!! Start 'em early, right?? :) Here we are showing off our nametags!

Look how high Ashton can lift his head! He rolled over three times on Monday! Wahoooo!!! What a big boy!!

The CUTEST boy in the world!!

Ashton loves not having clothes on!

What a curious boy!

Ashton's first HALLOWEEN and Blessing Day!

Wow!! What an amazing weekend!! We took Ashton on his first trip to IDAHO!! Since Nelson and I both grew up in Idaho and love it, it was a big deal when we crossed the border with our baby!! I think Ashton really liked Idaho... :)

For Halloween, Nelson and I were football players and Ashton was our football!! We had a fun night!

Isn't Ashton the CUTEST football ever?!?

Our little family!

The football players (Katie and Nelson), the football (Ashton), and the hillbillies (Tara and Jarom)!!

I just love our adorable Ashton sooooo much!!

The four generation picture...Tom is just MIA in Russia! Ashton just loved being held by Great Grandpa Arave.

Ashton Jay Arave was blessed by his father, Nelson Jay Arave, on November 1, 2009. What a beautiful blessing!! Nelson did a wonderful job. He was so eloquent and calm and I could really feel the Spirit as he blessed our son. My heart was so full that entire day! I am just sooo grateful for the many blessings that our family has been given. I could not be more happy!!!! When I ponder upon all I have been given, I can't help but smile. I have the best husband in the entire world and a beautiful baby boy who I love more than words can express. I have been blessed with the gospel in my life and am so thankful for the knowledge I have of the restored church.

Becoming a mother has helped me appreciate the Atonement of our Savior even more. A couple of weeks ago we had a lesson in Relief Society on the talk Elder Holland gave two conferences ago about the Savior's Atonement and feeling alone. As I read this talk with new eyes as a mother, I understood more how our Heavenly Father must have felt when he allowed Jesus Christ to suffer. I can't imagine what powerful love our Father has for us. After all had forsaken the Savior, Heavenly Father had to withdraw his Spirit from Christ so that He might know how we feel when we sin that he may be able to succor us. Even when Ashton was getting his immunizations, my heart just ached for my son who I love so much. That must have been just a fraction of what our Heavenly Father felt when he allowed his perfect Son to suffer. My appreciation for the Atonement has grown significantly as I develop my role as a mother.

I am especially grateful for Nelson and his wonderful example for Ashton. As my very favorite teacher, Brother Crockett, always says, he is a spiritual MOOSE!! I am inspired to be a little better each day because of my amazing hubby. Nothing makes me happier then seeing Nelson play with Ashton. I'm so thankful that Nelson was able to give Ashton such a wonderful blessing full of promises that will bring him happiness.

Ashton had lots of fun meeting everyone on our trip home to Idaho! He especially loved Great Aunt Gay~ she is great with babies!

Garrett and Kylar with Ashton! Kylar wanted to show us his cute lil tummy for the picture! :)

Stephani with our little guy!

Great Aunt Sheila with Ashton!

Uncle Carl with Ashton!

Grandpa Brad, Mommy, Uncle Carl, and Ashton!

Ashton sleeping so sweetly in Aunt Shauna's arms!

Daddy and Ashton!

Mommy and Ashton!

The Arave Family!

Ashton modeling his blessing outfit! Could he be any cuter??

I just love that sweet smile!

Ashton looks like such a big boy!!

Ashton would like to wish you a happy October in his adorable pumpkin hat!

Ashton was SUCH a good boy when he got his shots! He was smiley right after!! See the little bandaids on his poor leggies? What a trooper!

If that smile doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will!

Ashton snuggling with Daddy after a bath!

Doesn't he look like he's playing the guitar with his brush? Haha!

Ashton just loves his Daddy sooo much!

Our adorable Ashton SMILING!!

Ashton is 8 weeks old today!! He is getting sooo big!! It really is bittersweet. It's so fun to see him grow, but I'm really sad about retiring some of his newborn clothes! Ashton is such a joy in our lives and makes us smile and laugh ALL day long (and sometimes into the night!) :)

Ashton is at such a fun age right now and we love interacting with him. He mimics our facial expressions. He will smile at us, open his mouth in a big O, and stick out his tongue...super cute! We sure love our little boy!

Here's a video I took today of Ashton showing off his cute smile! Enjoy!!

Who does Ashton look like??

I was looking at some baby pictures today...and I think our little Ashton looks JUST like his daddy!! What do you think?

This is me, Katie, when I was just a newbie! Holy chubby cheeks! :)

This is baby Nelson! What a cute boy!

And here's our lil Ash! I don't think he looks anything like me, but identical twin to baby Nelson! :) What a lucky little boy, I just know he'll grow up to be handsome just like his daddy!

My how the time flies!!!

Wowee!!! The title of this post really ages me doesn't it?? I mean, only old people say things like that right?! Ashton turned ONE MONTH OLD on September 24th!! YEEE!!!! Don't worry, we celebrated. Seriously, though, I can't believe our little boy is already a month old! I wish the months I was pregnant would've gone this fast! :)

Ashton is already starting to get a little personality. We just love him soooo incredibly much! What a blessing he is in our lives. Since he is awake more often during the day, he will do fun things like stand up on our legs for a couple of seconds and make eye contact. We have a picture of Christ above our couch and he LOVES to look up at that picture. Nelson always asks him, "Do you know him?"

Ashton is starting to smile at us, what a joy!! He usually will flash a couple of grins after a big meal. Sometimes those little smiles are tender mercies from Heavenly Father. For intance, at 3 am when I am soo tired Ashton will grin at me and my heart just swells up with an overwhelming love for him. I feel some relief from the exhaustion and it all becomes worth it. What an amazing feeling it is to be a mother. I love our little boy SOOOO much! He is just the cutest thing to hit planet Earth!

Ashton Jay Arave!

Ashton's grandparents day gift to his loving grandparents!

Doesn't he look like such a big boy?! He's already growing up too fast!

Ashton and mommy had a little photo session one afternoon!

Cute feet!

Our handsome boy!

This is the picture that I think he looks like his Grandpa Tom!! I have seen this expression on his face before!

Ahhh!! Big yawn!

Beautiful baby

Tummy time!

Love you Ashton!

Just relaxin'!

I just love him soooo much!

Sleeping so sweetly!

Taking a nap on daddy

LOVE this onesie: My Dad is RAD!!

Hi buddy!

Ashton's birthday shout-out to his Uncle Caleb who is on a mission in Guatemala!

Family photo!

Ashton's very first bottle feeding! He drank all 4 oz!!

Our little guy weighs 9 pounds now!!

Precious little smile!! Aren't those dimples adorable?!

Cuddling with daddy

Exploring!

More tummy time!

Ashton holding on tight to his rattle!!