The Jim's Journeys

New Blog

2010-04-03T21:57:00.004-05:00

The new blog is up!! Right now it's set as private so....

E-mail me (heatherjim@ymail.com), or comment here (leave your e-mail) and I'll add you to the list!!

Pictures...

2010-03-23T18:43:00.009-05:00

Some of y'all may have gotten a sneak peak of my new blog. (Thank you for your comments). The blog is kind of off-air for the next month-ish. I will eventually re-post my first post on that blog, after things are in the clear. Please know that I am doing just great, but feel that postponing the release of my new blog is for the best and I'm super excited for my new adventures! :)

And I promised pictures... The Top 5 Pictures from the past few months:

Changes.

2010-03-15T13:20:00.003-05:00

Big changes are in store for my life and my blog. So get ready!

P.S. Hopefully I'll get some more pictures up soon. Cause I know you're just starving for some!

2010-03-15T13:18:00.006-05:00

- Sings "Tinkle Tinkle it ih tah."

- Can finish the sentences in books (because she has a lot of them memorized)

- She's learning so many words it's hard to keep track! She says "big girl, good girl, poop... eww, ho ho ho (oh oh oh), bunny, table, pink, white, orange, green, yellow, blue, black, brown, red, star, tape, donkey, moon, pickle, pretzel (pet-cle), bubbles, cool, hot, Elmo, Zoe, cookie, TV, read, book, Einstein (for Baby Einstein movies/music), juice, milk, slide, swing,

- She said "Thank You Mommy" for the first time without being prompted. (I had given her lunch)

- owl

tick tock

20 month old cute, funny, crazy, loud little girl.

2010-03-08T09:14:00.004-06:00

- Wears size 5 diapers; size 5.5-6 shoes; size 24-2T clothes
- Can spell B-I-N-G-O (because she has a BINGO book)
- Says "Temple!" everytime we pass a temple or a church.
- Gets excited when she sees the temple and then cries when we pass it.
- Loves to climb, we've had to move the barstools to the garage because she used them for mischief
- Still doesn't understand the concept of colors. She says that almost everything is pink.
- LOVES magnets. I had to hide all the little ones because she liked to store them in her mouth, like a chipmunk
- Got a RadioFlyer tricycle (or bike) as she calls it. She can't pedal it yet. She's managed to go backwards a couple revolutions.
- Helps vacuum the floor by holding the vacuum handle while you vacuum.
- Cries when we don't go the direction she wants us to go in the car. She knows where the parks are, and if we're not going there, it's not a good day.
- Loves IKEA. We went to a store across from IKEA the other day and she screamed and screamed. Then I told her we were going to IKEA, she calmed right down.
- Is learning her letters. She has A, E, O, Y, B, I, and Z down.
- Helps read books. Instead of saying the word "baby" or "donkey" etc. Just point at the picture and she'll say the word for you.
- Says "ewww! ewww!" if Mia poops in the house. Then she goes to get a Kleenex so we can pick up the poop. She'd pick it up herself if we let her.
- Loves her kitty Dixie. When she sees her she says "Dit-see!" (in a REALLY high-pitched voice) and then proceeds to go "meow, meow, meow" etc. (in a REALLY high-pitched voice)
- Likes to lay down wherever Dixie is laying
- Will snore or growl to pretend that she's sleeping, her eyes are open though, so she's not fooling anyone.
- Pushes the dining chairs all around the house to get where she wants to go. Up on counters, on the table, on the desk, etc.
- Says "mommy, daddy, Addi!" when she sees a picture of all of us.
- Says "Temple!" everytime we pass a picture of a temple in our house
- Is GREAT at unloading the dishwasher. She knows where all of the rubbermaid goes, and will hand me the dishes so I can put them in the cupboard. She also helps me close the thing that holds the soap, close and lock the dishwasher and start the dishwasher.
- Will sit still to get her toenails painted. The other day she sat there while I did 2 coats! (She changed her mind as to what color she wanted. I had painted purple, but she wanted pink)
- Loves to wash her hands. The water, the soap, the towel, it's heaven.
- Loves to slide, loves to swing. She can swing on the big girl swings instead of the baby swings.
- Likes to go look at model homes and houses that are being built. She thinks that every house is open to the public.
- Gets excited everytime she sees the Target logo. If we don't go into the store when we drive by it, she gets sad.
- Loves the library. But she doesn't understand yet, that making animal noises really loud, especially screaming monkey noises, is not proper library etiquette.
- Likes to wear her nursery necklaces.
- Always has scraped and bruised knees and shins.
- Is currently standing on a chair next to the kitchen sink. Talking to Dixie who is on the counter and playing with the faucet and then swishing the spatula around in a bowl of water.

Random Thoughts on a Wintery-almost-Spring day.

2010-03-03T13:56:00.003-06:00

I'm so glad I have this blog.

I had put all of Addi's important stats and dates on iCal on my MacBookPro. Well, my MacBookPro is no more and the harddrive is unrecoverable.

All I have are the blogs that I've tried to write monthly with her little quirks and changes.

Let me just say that Addi is awesome. I've learned to love being a stay-at-home mom. Elliott is working hard for us by going to school full-time and working almost full-time. We still live with my mom, but hope to give her her freedom back either this summer or fall. We are blessed. We still struggle, but we do everything we can to make it work. We work hard to make it work. And on the days we don't work on our marriage, our marriage doesn't work. We have a temple down the street. Addi calls every church and temple "Teh-ple". It's amazing. We miss Texas and agree that someday we must move back. Utah's been rough, but at least winter is finally ending. Today Addi and I even got to play at the park, until it started raining and then sleeting. I may have a job at the Daybreak Community Center, teaching tennis and swimming. I love youth recreation, it's what I want to do for the rest of my life... and of course be a mommy and a wife. I've decided that I'm not really an animal person. The hair and the poop and the noise, yuck. Although I really miss holding Addi for her naps, I love that her naps are twice as long with her sleeping in her crib. I'm glad she's finally sleeping through the night again. I'm glad she's starting to try new foods again. But it is embarrassing when we're at the library and she see's a monkey book and starts screaming like a monkey. It's funny too. She's smart, too smart.

19 months

2010-02-10T15:31:00.003-06:00

It's her last month of being a teen-baby... next month she's in her twentys. I can't believe that she's closer to her second birthday than to her 1st!

Addi Mae...

- Knows the sounds that a pig, horse, elephant, bird, monkey, chicken, and chicks make

- Can say "Happy, Block, Texas, Bevo, Mia, Tickle, Circle, Honey, Apple, Sunbeam (Beam), Popcorn, Pickle, Pizza, Temple (Taco), Dixie (in a high-pitched voice), Sock, Bee, Butterfly (by), Pacifier (by), Ewww, Owie, cup, "

- Spells Texas, pointing at each letter and then says Texas. "E, A, O, E.... Tet-ehs!"

- Thinks she can spell every word and will start spelling whenever she sees one that stands out to her

- Holds up 1 finger when you ask her how old she is

- Does a cheesy grin when asked "where's that cute smile?"

- LOVES swimming

- LOVES the library, she gets excited every time she sees it and runs inside

- Getting better at coloring.

- Loves to dance by spinning and spinning and spinning until she's dizzy

- Likes to play the Rock Band drums

- Helps with the laundry

- Loves nursery

- Falls down on her stomach when we play "Ring Around the Rosie"

- Yells "BEAM!" When you sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sun...... 'BEAM!'"

- Must wear high heels if they're laying around

- Feeds her baby with a bottle and make gulping noises as her baby 'drinks'

- Loves the song "The Little Drummer Boy" and will sing "ba ba bum"

- Does most of the motions to "Popcorn Popping"

- Puts her arms over her head and spins around to "Once there was a Snowman"

- Knows the letters "Y, A, E and O" when she sees them

- Says "ewwww!" when she sees a bug (real or in a book) or when she sees Mia's poop

- Says "Owie!" when I open the dishwasher and there are knives

- Sits in a booster seat and not a high chair

- Already needs her bangs trimmed from her first haircut

- Loves her Baby Einstein animal DVD and she makes animal noises for each animal

- Knows that mascara goes on your eyes

- Can see anything in the sky no matter how small (birds, airplanes)

- LOVES to push shopping carts

- Points to the window when she hears a plane outside

- Collects game pieces from board games (characters, dice, chips, marbles, etc... so all the games we have are missing pieces)

- Can go up and down stairs on her feet without using her hands

- Says "No!" and throws things if she doesn't want to eat/do something

Successful Mothering: Lesson 2

2010-02-02T21:00:00.004-06:00

I'm Not a Perfect Mother and That's Okay

taught by: Lori Conger

Overview: Have you ever felt like you were failing as a mother? Have you ever watched another mother with her children and thought: She's such a good mother. Motherhood is not about perfection.

What I Learned:

- "There's no perfect mum out there. There's only a mum doing the best she can." - Jo Frost (Super Nanny)

- Motherhood should be enjoyed, not just endured

- Motherhood is not a solo performance; God will help us.

- Motherhood was not meant to be easy... we grow from our trials

- If Satan can stop me as a mother then he has stopped the entire family

- Satan's attack on the family starts with the mother

- Satan has a whole arsenal of weapons that he uses against mothers. Discouragement, Inadequacy, and Guilt. If one doesn't work he'll try other, or he'll use all three.

- A mother's day is like groundhog day so it's easy to feel invisible and undervalued.

- It's okay to say "I made a mistake and I'm sorry" to our children

- All mothers are on the same team.

- You were chosen to be the mother of your children because of your unique abilities.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this class because of the spiritual aspect of it. I was reminded of how hard Satan works to destroy women and especially mothers. Mothers are responsible for the nurturing and raising of her children. If a mother feels discouraged, inadequate and guilty she can not do a good job at nurturing her children. If Satan can make a mother feel like a failure, he can make the family fail. I have to focus on my successes and learn from my mistakes and move forward as a mother if I want my family to succeed in this life and the next.

Tomorrow: "Square Foot Gardening"

Successful Mothering: Lesson 1

2010-02-01T17:04:00.005-06:00

Teaching Abundance and Wealth Consciousness in the Home

taught by: Karey Williams

Overview: Everything is an energy vibration -- even our thoughts and words. Learn how to create the energy vibration you want in your home.

What I Learned:

- What you focus on will show up.

- Guilt should be a 3 second emotion, don't let it last for a long time. Feel it. Then correct your choice or make a better one next time.

- Instead of saying "I can't afford it", say "I choose to stick to my budget" or "I choose to put my money somewhere else" (Keep it positive)

- Teach your children to give 10% and save 10%. What you put out will come back to you.

- Do not judge other people's wants. Who am I to say what is right/wrong for someone to want?

- It's not up to me to fulfill my children's wants. I don't have to make it happen all of the time. If I fulfill all of my children's wants then I block outside things from happening.

- Women have problems receiving. But receiving honors the giving.

- Judging is the quickest way to shut down other's spirits.

- Speak about possibilities, not limitations.

- If we think that we lack, then we create an environment of lack

- What you focus on grows

Ideas:

- Family Vision Board - energetics of what you want to experience. Have each person create a poster on New Years and hang it in the hall.

- Watch What You Say Game - catch people saying things in a positive way

- Sunday Family Dinner Discussion - discuss the best and worst of the week or the highs and lows of the week. Discuss how the lows could have been made better.

Challenge:

***Close Your Eyes and Say "I have to..."***

(How does it make you feel? It physically makes a change in your body. I felt a sinking into my stomach).

***Now Close Your Eyes and Say "I choose to..."***

(How does it make you feel? It's amazing how changing ONE word makes all the difference).

*** Write down 10 Things You Want***

(Do not think it through, do not judge your wants, be candid, be honest)

Final Thoughts:

This class had some things I thought were great and some things I thought were totally kooky. I left the kooky things out of my notes :). I totally believe that the energy you put out there is the energy that you'll get back. We've all met people who put out a negative energy and it's just draining to be around them. We've also all met people who just have a positive energy and their positive energy is infectious. If I want my children to grow up to be positive people with a positive energy I need to model it for them. I need to be the example of how to act and how to be positive. Also, it was interesting that during some parts of this class I felt the spirit and I was able recognize some true teachings that I should take into my life. I didn't plan on feeling the spirit during this convention and was surprised that throughout the convention the spirit helped me understand what I needed to learn from each class.

Tomorrow: "I'm Not a Perfect Mother and That's OK!"

Successful Mothering Convention 2010

2010-01-31T21:32:00.010-06:00

On Saturday, I went to an all-day convention for mothers. http://www.successfulmothering.com/

Every hour from 10am to 6pm there were speakers (5 speakers to choose from each hour) that would share their wisdom on their selected topic. My day went as follows...

10am - Teaching Abundance and Wealth Consciousness in the Home

This class was on basically positive thinking. If you've heard of "The Secret" then this was kind of on the same line. I really learned a lot about adjusting my attitude and how much I limit myself to grow and attain by my negative thoughts.

11am - looked at booths and got pampered

I got a free massage and free eye brow waxing and won a free spa pedicure!

12pm - I'm Not a Perfect Mother and That's OK

The importance of mothers in the family. How Satan makes women feel discouraged, inadequate and guilty.

1pm - Square Foot Gardening

I took this class because in Daybreak we already have community gardens that must be done with square foot gardening. I'm so excited for this spring and summer!

2pm - Real Relationships, Real Results

Oh my goodness! Hilarious because everything he said was SO true! Elliott and I are signed up to go to a 'Date Night' this guy hosts, where they give you dinner and help the guys understand the girls and the girls understand the guys. Seriously, if you're in the area you should come with us!

3pm - Power-Up Your Relationships

After the previous relationship class, this one was only semi-interesting but I did win a free book and learned a couple good tips!

4pm - Peaceful Parenting Practices

The importance of quiet sleep for children. How children's brains develop. How to discipline your children with no spanking and no time-outs. At first I thought she was whack, but after she got into stuff I really started to learn things that I can use to be a better mother.

5pm - went home

It was a long day and my brain was full. I was so busy all day I didn't even have time for lunch. I seriously talked about this convention all last night and all this afternoon.

Saturday was a great day! I am so grateful that Elliott took the day off work so I could have a day for myself. My job right now is to be a mom and wife, and taking these classes will definitely help me improve at both jobs! This week I will write about one speaker's presentation each day because it was really just that awesome.

But next year, you should just come with me!

19 months

2010-01-21T09:44:00.002-06:00

She's closer to 2 than she is to 1.

- Knows the sounds that a pig, horse, elephant, and bird make
- Can say "Happy, Block, Texas, Bevo, Mia, Tickle, Circle, Honey, Apple, Sunbeam (Beam), Popcorn"
- Spells Texas, pointing at each letter and then says Texas. "E, A, O, E.... Tet-ehs!"
- Holds up 1 finger when you ask her how old she is
- Does a cheesy grin when asked "where's that cute smile?"
- LOVES swimming
- LOVES the library, she gets excited every time she sees it and runs inside
- Getting better at coloring.
- Loves to dance by spinning and spinning and spinning until she's dizzy
- Likes to play the Rock Band drums
- Helps with the laundry
- Loves nursery
- Falls down on her stomach when we play "Ring Around the Rosie"
- Yells "BEAM!" When you sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sun...... 'BEAM!'"
- Must wear high heels if they're laying around
- Feed her baby with a bottle and make gulping noises as her baby 'drinks'

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

2010-01-13T21:19:00.003-06:00

(The following is not meant to preach. It is not meant to start a battle. They're just thoughts that I felt strongly that I should share.)

I would be lying to say that my faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been unwavering throughout my life. There are times that I doubt. There are times that I wonder and I question and I don't understand.

But one chapter in "The Book of Mormon" always solidifies my belief in my religion. "The Book of Mormon" is a true account of the people of ancient America. I cannot deny it. Every time I read 2 Nephi 29 every doubt I may have had of my faith just disappears.

It all just makes too much sense. I have a logical mind. In all of my faith I have to have something logical as part of my foundation.

I believe in a just and merciful Heavenly Father. I also believe that He loves all of His children equally. The Bible is the record of the Jewish people and Heavenly Father and Christ's teachings to those people. At the same time that life was going on in the Middle East, there were people living in The America's. (These are the ancestors of the Native Americans).

IF, Heavenly Father loves us all equally, why would He teach the Jewish people, but not the people living in America? The answer is that He wouldn't. He wouldn't love and give revelation to some people and leave the other people in darkness to fend for themselves.

"The Book of Mormon" is an account of Heavenly Father's and Christ's teachings to the people living in ancient America. I also believe that people living in other parts of the world have ancient records of Heavenly Father's and Christ's teachings (like The Book of Mormon and Bible) that just haven't been recovered yet.

2 Nephi 29:7-9 (The scriptures that make it all make sense)

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?...

Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another...

And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever... And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever."

If "The Book of Mormon" is true, then Joseph Smith was a real prophet, and if he was a prophet, then The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's restored church on the earth today. That is my faith.

18 months old

2010-01-09T21:49:00.006-06:00

Miss Boo is 1.5 years old!

Addi:
- Starts nursery at church tomorrow
- Got her first hair cut.
- Calls mommy "bob"
- Can say "tickle, circle, dice, light, star, baby, Jesus, hi, bye"
- Knows the sound an elephant and pig makes
- Is a very picky eater.
- She's eaten her first booger and first crayon
- Grabs her shoes and sits by the door when we say we're going to go somewhere
- LOVES to swim. She's not scared at all when she goes under the water. She is GREAT at kicking
- Is great at playing the Guitar Hero drums
- Loves to draw with pens on paper
- Knows what most fruits/vegetables/foods are. If you ask her to bring her an "apple, corn, potato, pie, cookie, etc" she'll go to her kitchen set, find it, and bring it to you. She then expects you to pretend to eat it.
- If you ask her if she's "poopie" she grabs her diaper.
- Loves to be tickled.
- Is very "helpful" unloading the dishwasher, unpacking groceries, folding laundry, picking up, etc.
- Brings you the remote when she wants to watch "Blue's Clues"
- Says "The End" at the end of each book
- Likes to crawl into the dog crate and close the door
- Makes sure that if she goes through a baby gate that she leaves it so it's just touching, so she can go back through it if she wants to
- She reads to herself outloud
- Wanted mommy to paint her toenails, and sat there very still until every toe nail was painted
- Loves to take out board games and take out the dice, moving pieces, anything small (mommy is constantly cleaning up board games)
- Sniffs in and out really quickly when she smells something
- Is patient about getting her teeth brushed
- Knows that keys go to doors
- Climbs on everything. (up barstools onto the bar), (up chairs onto the table) (from her booster seat over the back of the couch onto the couch)
- Likes to dance. When she dances she spins around and around until she's dizzy and sits on the floor and swings her arms around
- Loves to "Kiss" Mia
- Eats dog food. She knows she's not supposed to eat it so she tries to be sneaky
- Likes the tickle games "bore a big hole" and "here comes a big bear"
- Will not take naps on mommy or grandma anymore, but if Elliott holds her for a nap she snuggles right in and doesn't make a fuss
- Has a nighttime routine that works great: Diaper change, Jammies, Brush Teeth, Prayer and Snuggle in the Rocking Chair, Music On, In Bed
- Says "Mmmmmmmaaaaaaa" whenever she sees sheep or cows
- LOVES her Little Tykes babies that go with her dollhouse
- Throws tantrums if she doesn't get what she wants and will keep screaming even after she forgets what she's mad about
- Wears size 5 diapers, size 5.5 shoes and 18-24 month clothes
- Collects things and puts them in her push stroller and pushes it around the house
- Stashes things in "secret" places. In cabinets, on shelves, etc. She'll stash toys, sippy cups, and other little treasures

Just Today:

2010-01-06T21:21:00.009-06:00

I was in the family room. Addi had just walked into the living room where my mom was working. "Addi's eating something and it looks like it's orange" she yelled. I looked to the floor and saw an oversized crayon, that has lost its pointy end. Addi came in to show me the orange-colored streaks coming from her mouth. I told her to say "ah", she did, and stuck in her teeth was beautiful orange waxy crayon remains. So festive for the Texas game tomorrow!

Addi would not take a nap on me today. (We've held her for every nap since she was born... yes. I know). So I decided to try to put her in her crib. We said prayers, I turned on her music, left her room and not 2 minutes later she was snoring. She didn't even shed a tear. What was I so afraid of???

After Addi fell asleep I came upstairs, and spotted something in her ball popper machine. A socket wrench. She was playing with it earlier and must've thought it would be amazing to see it fly out the machine, just like the balls. I don't think she had much luck.

Warning... This May Gross You Out:
I noticed Addi was chewing on something. So I told her to say "ah". She said hummed "mmm" instead. That's when I know she has something good. So I put my hand out and told her to give it to me. She spit it out and into my hand fell a chewed up booger. Yummy.

Resolutions 2010

2010-01-05T18:05:00.000-06:00

The first two resolutions are carrying on from last year. The rest are my new resolutions...

#1 - Build up our savings

#2 - Keep a cleaner house

#3 - Run a 10K - Sometime after the triathlon

#4 - Do a Sprint Triathlon - May 29, 2010 - Daybreak Triathlon

#5 - Improve My Piano Skills - Take piano lessons 2 times a month

#6 - Improve Photography Skills - Take community classes, and pick up clients

#7 - Read Scriptures and Pray Daily

#8 - Cook Healthy Meals for Family - Weekly/monthly meal planning

#9 - Have a Daily Routine (not so much random chaos)

#10 - Attend the Temple Once a Month - mark a date on the calendar

#11 - Become a Water Aerobics Instructor - Get AEA Certification, WSI Certification and renew CPR Certification

#12 - Feel like a super mom!

Stay tuned for my progress on each resolution. :)

2009 Recap: September - December

2010-01-02T21:19:00.030-06:00

(continued from the last two posts)

SEPTEMBER 2009

University of Utah football game. We got to see cousin Jon play in the band. GO UTES!

Cousins from California came to play for a little while.

Texas vs. Wyoming game in Laramie, WY.

Some crazy Wyo fans.

Cheering for Texas! Party for all of the games.

Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. Corn maze for kids (it was NOT easy).

Cornbelly's - Pumpkin maze for kids.

OCTOBER 2009

Family pictures.

Picking out pumpkins.

Carving pumpkins with cousins.

An episode of Blue's Clues almost everyday.

Playgroup at a pumpkin patch. Addi loved the tractors.

Addi won 1st place at the costume contest at the neighborhood Trunk-Or-Treat.

Quick trip to Wyoming to visit my aunt Bonnie and her family.

Our bearded snowman.

We adopted a dog. But had to return her a few days later because she shed a TON. She was an awesome dog. We miss you Mandy!

Halloween in Utah!

NOVEMBER 2009

My aunt Tammy's surprise birthday party.

Messiah Sing-Along with the cousins!

DECEMBER 2009

Picking out a Christmas tree

Playgroup at The Festival of Trees (oh ya, and I'm playgroup leader)

1st Presidency Christmas Devotional

Took 3 Generation Photos. Thanks Camille!

Picture with Santa

Christmas Day!

Christmas Day - with all of the loot.

Christmas Day - super cool chef.

2009 Recap: May - August

2010-01-02T09:33:00.034-06:00

(continued from the last post)

MAY 2009

My 1st Mother's Day!

Took my cousin, Jon's, senior baseball pictures.

My sister-in-law, Felicia, graduated from high school! Yay Felicia!

Visited Pueblo Ruins in Southeast Utah.

Took pictures of my cousin Jon's prom crew.

Celebrated Elliott's 23rd Birthday!

Spent a free night in Park City with my mom and Addi. We got to go swimming!!

Swung on swings at Daybreak (a lot).

Styx, REO Speedwagon, .38 Special Concert.

JUNE 2009

Addi loved playing in her toy box (she still does!)

Addi won 1st place in the baby costume contest for the Freedom Festival.

We went on a much-needed honeymoon cruise!

Addi's 1st ride on a carousel.

Elliott's 1st Father's Day!

Tutu photo shoot for 1st Birthday (with Mia).

1st swim in the pool!

JULY 2009

Finished painting my aunt Tammy's living room.

Addi's 1st Pigtails!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Addi's 1st Fourth of July!

Addison's 1st Birthday!

My mom and I went to a Kurt Bestor concert.

Riding on a pony at Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. Addi drank some sour milk on the car ride there, so she was not feeling well. Plus she was sick for the first 2 days of the Wyoming trip.

Trip to Wyoming: Addi got to meet her great-grandma and great-grandma's dogs.

County Fair in Wyoming.

Demolition Derby in Wyoming.

AUGUST 2009

We moved into the new house!

Addi cleaning up the moving-in mess.

1st Walk in Daybreak.

2009 Recap: January - April

2010-01-01T14:36:00.021-06:00

Here's my picture recap for the year. Here are the first 4 months.

We shall title 2009... "The year of Miss Boo Bear."

JANUARY 2009

We got a puppy!

We cheered for the Longhorns! Addi is 6 months old.

Addi got to play with her Christmas presents!

I got my diploma!

My 22nd Birthday Party! We had happy day gifts and everything! :)

Addi got the hang of "solid" food.

FEBRUARY 2009

Addi's 1st Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day: We stayed at a hotel and chilled in the hot tub.

Addi's 1st bath in a big girl tub.

MARCH 2009

We figured out where mom's house was going to be built.

The Jim crew came to visit.

Uncle Garrett, Uncle Derrick, Aunt Felicia and Addi.

APRIL 2009

Addison's 1st Easter!

Family pictures in Daybreak.

1st Family Jog in Provo Canyon.

Baby animal birthday party at Thanksgiving Point!

Elliott got his GED!!

Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T18:55:00.002-06:00

"Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful.

It is peace. It is the peace which comforts, which sustains, which blesses all who accept it.

It is faith. It is faith in God and His Eternal Son. It is faith in His wondrous ways and message. It is faith in Him as our Redeemer and our Lord."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Wah-lah

2009-12-23T21:58:00.003-06:00

I finally finished these from last year's Super Saturday... (or maybe it was 2 years ago). I dunno. But who cares??? Cause I'm done! Don't they look great! I just love when people share their creative ideas so that I can look super crafty and fabulous!

I'm SO totally doing this.

2009-12-23T21:51:00.006-06:00

This is quite possibly the best Advent Calendar idea EVER!

What a great family tradition.

Chocolate-Dipped Oreos

2009-12-23T11:29:00.013-06:00

Simple, Quick, Inexpensive... You can't mess this up!!

Perfect gift for the neighbors.

Make as many or as few as you want.

The following

directions are for mass production.

Adjust to your needs. (BTW, your needs = a lot of yummy chocolate-dipped oreos)

1. You'll need candy wafers (lots) - I used milk chocolate, dark mint and vanilla. All delicious.

2. You'll also need Oreos. A bag or two... or four should do the trick.

3. Put some candy wafers (I used dark mint this round) in a microwave safe bowl.

4. Microwave on 50% power or on the defrost setting. Stir every 30-45 seconds. These candy wafers are almost done. You'll know it's done when it's smooth yummy chocolate.

5. Dip half of the Oreo in the chocolate. At this point, if you wanted to, you could sprinkle sprinkles on the dipped part of the Oreo. Then stand the Oreo up on it's end on a sheet of wax paper.

6. Keep dipping Oreos until you have enough. It's fun. It's therapeutic. And it looks and tastes oh-so-yummy.

7. And for the finale.... your beautiful, delicious, chocolate-dipped Oreos can go in a treat bag and be tied-off with some left-over ribbon. Seriously, this is some good stuff!

Oh craigslist, you've been so good to me

2009-12-16T08:49:00.005-06:00

I've been SEARCHING for a dresser that I love and that I can afford. So I went searching on craigslist.

I found this:

(from another angle, to show off the curves of this baby)

And this:

A guy was selling the set for $150. Score! They will both need re-finished, but I'm willing to take it on! It will be my winter project; I'll post pictures with the final results.

If you have any tips/ideas for refinishing just let me know! I'm open to your wisdom and style.

Finding My Father (chapter 1, part 3)

2009-12-15T22:24:00.009-06:00

(Your assignment for today is: If you have not already read part 1 and part 2, to please do so now. Chapter 1, Part 3, is the latest and greatest in my Oprah-worthy story. Too bad her show will be done with by the time she discovers my unique, entertaining story. Oh well, this is for you bloggers in blog-land).

First of all, getting swabbed tickles... A LOT. And they have to do it four times. The swabs have different colored sticks for each person who is being swabbed. I think I was yellow. Anyways, I've always known that at some time, if I wanted to find out who my father was that I'd have to get swabbed. That day came on November 24, 2009.

Within the a week from that day, my DNA and my mother's DNA would meet up with the DNA of my probable grandparents (they combined make up my probable father's DNA). Then the DNA would be analyzed. The lab would determine which parts of my DNA came from my mother (by comparing her DNA with mine) and would then see if the remaining DNA matched up with those of my probable grandparents.

On a side note, I find all this completely interesting and think that one day I would like to become a DNA analyzer. Although, may just be a fantasy job like when I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. But that's another story.

Now, back to real life.

The DNA results came back about a week ago.

Aren't you just DYING to know??

As stated by the test results...

Conclusion:
The results of the above testing on the alleged paternal grandparents, NAME and NAME, indicate that they are not the biological grandparents of the child, MY NAME, as they lack genetic markers that must come from the biological grandparents. Assuming the alleged paternal grandparents are the biological parents of the alleged father, these results indicate that the alleged father is not the biological father of the child.

Probability of Paternity: 0.00%

Well, that throws a wrench into things, now, doesn't it?

My probable grandmother, who is now for certain not my grandmother, sent me a lovely note in the mail that I received today. She is a wonderful person. She wished me luck on my continued search and was sad that they were not a match. She did so much work and research to make this DNA happen and I will be forever grateful.

But now, I must move on and begin googling the name of my other probable father. Thus, leaving my not grandmother, not grandfather, not half-sister and not half-brother behind. Chapter One of "Finding My Father" is closed, now on the Chapter Two.

WON-DER-FUL

2009-12-15T21:05:00.008-06:00

Oh my, I have good things in store.

I've already begun brainstorming my New Year's Resolutions. Procrastination is a thing of the past. Here comes the over-achiever that I used to be. Can't wait!

Ah, I love Christmas. Happy things have happened today. Today was filled with a bunch of WON-DER-FUL.

*Chocolate Dipped Oreos*

*Antique Furniture from Craigslist*

*Big, Pink, Marshmallow Addi*

*Wonderful Uplifting Messages*

Lovely, lovely day.

That's why we're here.

2009-12-14T21:34:00.003-06:00

I just love how in life we're all here for each other.

We're here to serve each other, bless each other, smile with each other, cry with each other, love each other. We are here to be the Lord's hands, eyes, ears, and mouth.

We are here to be selfless.

We can strengthen each other, lift each other, bare each other's burdens.

That's really what Christmas is about.

It's not a race to the end, to see who can finish in first place. It's about helping as many people as we can to make it to the end. To help each other endure.

It's about charity. The pure love of Christ. That's why we're here.

Just remember.

2009-12-12T20:14:00.004-06:00

As I sit in the other room while he reads to our daughter, I get a glimpse of the future.

As my eyes fill up with tears. I get a peaceful feeling that this is necessary and that everything will be OK.

We will survive this. I will survive this. Addi will survive this.

My future is knocking at my door, and the present finally hits me and becomes overwhelming.

My tears spill over.

But it will all be OK. Just remember. You are never alone.

Finding My Father (part 2)

2009-12-11T18:02:00.006-06:00

Make sure to read Part 1 for everything to make sense.

I've written most of this after the fact. This goes back a few months ago and brings you up to 2 and a half weeks ago. So here's Part 2, continuing from Part 1.

Four years had passed since we first contacted my probable father. Randomly a few months ago, my mom decided to try again. When she googled my probably father's name she was surprised to find an obituary... for my probable father. Imagine the shock. Just try. But moving on.

In the obituary was listed the name of his daughter (my probable half-sister). I decided at this point it was time to take this father search into my own hands. I decided that myspace was the best place to start since my probable half-sister was 4 years younger then me. I didn't worry about contacting her because she was 18 years old and I had nothing to lose. To my surprise I found her on my first search. I wrote her and let her know that I thought that we might be half-sisters.

She was completely shocked/excited so we decided to talk on the phone. It was so crazy talking to someone who could be my half-sister. I've never had a sister. I've never talked to someone I thought could be my sister. It was surreal. She agreed to take a DNA test to determine if we were related or not.

After some research we realized that a grandparents test was much more accurate than a siblings test. She gave me the phone number of her grandparents (her dad's parents) and I gave them a call.

My probable grandmother is the nicest lady ever! She is so sweet and so accepting of the situation. After a few phone calls back and forth she filled out all of the paperwork for the DNA test and even said that she'd pay for herself and her husband's part of the test (of course I said no, because this wasn't her fault).

About a month ago, we mailed her a check to pay for the test and she mailed the check with the form to LabCorp (the place that would perform the DNA test). They had a testing center in the town she lived in, and they also had one in SLC so I could get tested.

DNA tests are pricey. They cost $210 per person. Not bad, except for the fact that they needed my DNA, my mom's DNA, and both probable grandparents DNA. Do the math and you'll find it isn't cheap!

Then 2.5 weeks ago, the day came to get swabbed.

Christmas Black Out!

2009-12-10T17:49:00.003-06:00

The stockings needed rearranging. Going from a laying-down position to a standing and reaching-hands-over-head position is not genius. Trying to rearrange the stockings, next thing I knew I woke up on the floor crying. Mom was sitting on the chair asking "what happened".

"I don't know! I don't know how I got here!" (crying, sobs... pathetic).

A few moments later... still laying on the floor... I spot them.. those stockings, all messed up.

"I was moving the stockings, next thing I knew I was here."

Then it was funny. Really funny. Way to go fluid in my head. That's just what I needed today. Totally awesome!

17 months

2009-12-08T21:12:00.009-06:00

Holy Moly Addison! You're 17 months old today!

As of today you:

- Know where your hair, nose, eyes, mouth, tummy, legs, feet and toes are

- Know where other people's hair, nose, eyes, mouth and feet are

- Know what it means to tickle somebody

- Love to empty your basket full of clean diapers so you can get in it

- Love to help with laundry, putting things away and unloading the dishwasher

- What does a sheep say? "mmmmaaa"

- What does a cow say? "mmmaaa"

- What does a bear say? "rawr" (in a growly voice)

- What does a baby say? "wah wah"

- Know how to sign more, please and milk

- Know how to say "bye (and wave at the same time), "

- Sleep from 8pm-6:30am

- Love when mom sings songs from your ABC book: "A is for Alice who met an alligator..."

- LOVE Mac N Cheese (it's what you eat at every restaurant)

- Are gentle with Christmas ornaments, touching them with one finger and clicking your tongue as you touch them

- Still love books (you cried at Toy's R Us when we took you away from the books, you didn't cry about any toys, however)

- Can go up and down stairs on your feet (holding onto something of course)

- Love to play with the baby gates

- Can climb into your high chair by yourself

- Love the Little Tikes dollhouse mommy just got out for you (you love collecting the babies, but get frustrated when they don't all fit in the stroller)

- Give a big cheesy grin (all teeth showing and eyes completely closed) when you're asked "where's that cute smile?"

- Run whenever a baby gate is opened or closed to see who's going where without you

- Throw tantrums when you don't get what you want

- Love looking at Christmas lights and point and say "ite".

- Have 16 Teeth: 8 on top and 8 on bottom.

- Are the cutest child ever!

My crossroad...

2009-11-28T17:51:00.000-06:00

"Starts With Goodbye" - Carrie Underwood

I was sitting on my doorstep,
I hung up the phone and it fell out of my hand,
But I knew I had to do it,
And he wouldn't understand,
So hard to see myself without him,
I felt a piece of my heart break,
But when you're standing at a crossroad,
There's a choice you gotta make.

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I've loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it's gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye.

I know there's a blue horizon,
Somewhere up ahead, just waiting for me,
Getting there means leaving things behind,
Sometimes life's so bitter sweet.

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I've loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it's gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye.

Time, time heals,
The wounds that you feel,
Somehow, right now.

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I've loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it's gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye.

Halloween Decorations

2009-11-23T21:02:00.010-06:00

First of all, decorating a house like my mom's new house is SUPER fun. It's white so everything POPS on it! Plus, she has tons of rooms so there's always somewhere new to put a special holiday touch. This year we put together the Halloween decorations we had and here is what we came up with. Some things I'm proud of, other things are kind of "eh", but here is our first attempt! Let me know what you like or if you have other ideas because I definitely want to change it up next year!

Everyone now knows us as the people with the white house and all of the great decorations! I found this orange mesh stuff at Tai Pan for $5 a roll that we wove in the railing above the front porch. For some fun creepiness we put two HUGE spiders crawling up the side of the house. Corn stalks are tied to each column and pumpkins line the steps. Stacked straw bales have crazy looking gourds on them and we placed some other gourds and pumpkins in a white basket.

A close up of the stairs. Check out my pumpkin with the HUGE stem. Sweet!

The table had fun placements (from Kohl's bought after Halloween last year... major discount) and ceramics that my grandma painted forever ago!

The table in the livingroom had stackable Trick-Or-Treat boxes, wooden pumpkins with metal leaves that I painted last year, cute "SPOOKY" blocks (which would be SUPER easy to make), and a table runner (once again from Kohl's after Halloween clearance last year).

The entryway table had pumpkins, gourds and corn (got to love Utah pumpkin patches!), a metal pumpkin, candles and of course... CANDY!

This is where I tried to decorate on a serious budget. These mice silhouettes were cheap (just black cardstock) and super fun. They were running all around the entryway!

For the kitchen I did more Halloween cutouts. Each cabinet had its own picture (all the templates are from Martha Stewart's site). A couple cabinets had "BOO" and "EEK" on them in orange and purple (found the font from THIS great blog). Fall garland is above the cabinets.

The CRAZY area with all the Halloween leftovers that didn't fit anywhere else. This was Addi's go-to spot if she wanted to play with Halloween decorations.

And for a final touch, spiders are climbing up the powder room's mirror!

For Thanksgiving we just took down all the Halloweeny decorations and just left up the fall decor (leaves, pumpkins, corn, candles, etc). Today we began the Thanksgiving to Christmas transition (because Elliott and I will be out of town for Thanksgiving)... and I'm beyond excited! I felt like putting up Christmas decorations with the first snow we got in October. Finally the time has come!!!

Oh ya!

2009-11-21T17:33:00.001-06:00

The basement is done and we're moving in!

I have great things in store for that basement!

Pictures coming soon!

Where's Your Nose??

2009-11-19T21:51:00.004-06:00

We've been trying for WEEKS to get Addi to know where her nose is. She knows where her hair, feet, mouth, legs and toes are, but her nose can not be found.

If we ask her where our nose is, she touches our nose.

If we ask her where her nose is she either points to her mouth or points to the side of her head with her thumb.

Today, I asked her where her nose was... and SUCCESS! She found it! She is a smarty. No doubt.

Book Reviews by a Substitute Teacher

2009-11-19T08:35:00.001-06:00

Since I've started substitute teaching I've had tons of time to read books. In the past month and a half I've read these six books. I've had these books in my library since elementary/middle school, but just never got the chance to read them. I'm trying to clean out my book collection by reading a lot of my books and then getting rid of the ones I really didn't enjoy.

Racing the Sun by Paul Pitts

About a Navajo boy who has been Americanized. His Navajo grandfather (very traditional) who is very sick comes to stay with the boy's family. The boy ends up having to share his room with his grandfather. It's a book about accepting your history and embracing your past. I'm keeping it because it has to do with the Navajo culture, and I think my children would enjoy reading it later.

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

About a boy who's father slaughters pigs. When the boy gets a pig for a pet he does everything with him. If you've read "Because of Winn Dixie", this is kind of like that but about a pig and a boy instead of a dog and a girl. The story can be crude at parts but it's an overall great story!

The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz

This is the true story of Pocahontas (to a degree). It discusses her relationship with her native people and with the white settlers. It's not the story of Pocahontas as Disney told it, but a truer account of her life. It was a quick read and very interesting!

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh

SUPER short book, that is based on a true story of a girl who travels west with her father to cook for him while he builds the new family home. When her father returns to get the rest of their family, he leaves his daughter to live with the indians. It's a story about her experiences and her courage. A cute, short story that I must have in my collection.

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

OK, most everybody has read this in elementary school at one time or another. I'm almost certain that I did as well, but when reading it again I didn't remember any of the story. But it's humorous about a naughty prince and a savvy whipping boy. I'm keeping this one because it's funny and I'm sure my children will have to read it someday.

Mr. Lincoln's Drummer by G. Clifton Wisler

I've had this book in my collection for a LONG time. It's a story about an 11 year old who is a drummer boy during the civil war. Although it's not a true story, it could very well be one because it was common for musicians during the civil war to be extremely young. It was a good portrait of civil war life, but written really simply for maybe 5th and 6th graders. So it's a keeper.

16 months plus a little

2009-11-18T07:58:00.008-06:00

Addi bear is 16 months and 10 days old today.

She is AWESOME.

She:

- Sleeps through the night 8am - 6:30 or 7am

- Blows kisses

- Gives "high fives"

- Snuggles with blankets

- When you ask her what a sheep says she says "maaa"

- When you ask her what a bear says she says "rawr"

- Says "cheese, dog, ma, da, duck, uh oh, on off, soft and star"

- After you ask her to say a word, and she says it, she smiles really big

- If you ask her to "close it" she will

- If you ask her to "put it back" she will

- To say "please" she does the sign language sign for "more"

- Loves the songs on "Blue's Clues" and will dance to them whenever we sing them or they come on the show

- Now knows what sweets are (cookies, candy, etc) and if she sees them she must have them

- Eats cereal and milk every morning

- Loves fruit and eats it all day

- Tries to mimic the sounds of songs

- Must go outside if there is snow on the ground

- Is confused about mittens

- Still loves to read

- Still loves to "collect" things

- Only uses a pacifier for naps and bedtime

- We still hold her for her naps (yes... i know)

- Usually enjoys being teased

- Is SO ready for nursery at church (mom and dad are too)

- Is a big helper

- Has the best sense of humor

- Loves all of her cousins

- Is awesome, like I said before

Trick-or-Treat!

2009-11-07T08:36:00.011-06:00

Addison's costume last year:

Addison's costume this year: (it was quite the battle on ebay to get this one!)

At the trunk-or-treat at the shopping center in Daybreak.

Addi won the costume contest that we didn't even know they were having!!

Her winnings from the costume contest.

Halloween morning, trick-or-treating at all of the model homes.

Halloween night after two hours of trick-or-treating.

We decided to go trick-or-treating at a denser area of our neighborhood. It was pretty much dark outside and all of the people had their houses decorated. There were kids everywhere! We took Addi out of the car and she said "Wow" (she says it in a whisper voice, like she's in total awe). She got really impatient at first, with the fact that I would not just open people's doors for her. She didn't understand why we had to wait for them to open their door. The first few houses she tried to walk into, but after that she got the idea. She would pick a candy and put it in her bucket. We'd tell her to say "bye", but she never did it until the people had closed their door and we were walking down the steps. Then she'd yell a loud "bye!". It was great fun and we promised that we would do our best to never let the holidays become stressful for us. We want to make them special for our children, and we want them to have great memories. Plus, we want to have fun too!

Family Update!

2009-11-02T21:05:00.001-06:00

We moved to a house in South Jordan with my mom at the end of August. Right now we live upstairs, but once the basement is finished we'll move down there! It has been really good living with my mom and has benefited both my mom and us. For the past few months we've played at the park or tennis courts almost everyday. It's so great to be able to walk right across the street and have some fun! My mom also bought a grill a couple of weeks ago, so lately many meals have come from grilling. Life is great for us and we love being able to spend so much time together, even though it means having almost no money. :)

Elliott is going to school at Salt Lake Community college. He is taking some general courses that he hopes to eventually transfer to the University of Utah in a year or two. He is still planning on eventually going to dental school. He works at Papa John's one or two nights a week. He stays at home with Addi three days a week while I work. He runs 5-7 miles everyday and has lost over 28 lbs since the beginning of September! Next year he is going to run a 1/2 marathon.

Heather, I, work as a substitute three days a week, and then stay at home 2 days a week. When I sub for elementary school I love it! When I sub for middle school I swear I'll never sub again. Since moving into the new house I have been working hard to figure out a cleaning schedule, cook meals more than once a month, and stay on top of laundry. Laundry has been so easy to do, because the washer and dryer are on the 2nd floor with the bedrooms! (I'm dreading doing laundry when we move to the basement). I volunteered to be the playgroup leader in our ward at church. I'm also figuring out who my father is and should have some answers in the next couple months.

Addison, is a rollercoaster of emotions. One second she'll be laughing and the next she'll be throwing a tantrum on the floor. She has more important things to do than get dressed or get her diaper changed, and she lets you know it. She is also teething like crazy (which is definitely contributing to her moodiness)She loves Blue's Clues, but more specifically the songs from Blue's Clues. She'll smile and dance anytime we sing a Blue's Clues song. She LOVES to be outside. Yesterday she went to the door to tell me that she just had to be outside in the snow. She has also begun saying words, which is super exciting! She says "cheese, dog, ma, da, dog, duck, uh oh, on, off, soft" and she's so proud of herself when she says a word you ask her to say. She brings us such joy and many laughs!

That's our lives right now, in case you wanted to know!

Finding My Father (part 1)

2009-10-24T22:01:00.010-05:00

The following is personal, and will be broken up into a few posts, and will be ongoing as I continue this journey. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I am more-than-willing to share my experiences with you. I am not mentioning names out of respect to those involved.

This is the chapter in my life about the journey to find my father. I post this because it is my life. I post this because this is my Oprah-worthy story. :)

On Monday evening I talked to the woman who may be my grandmother.

I've never met my father. My father never even knew that I existed, my mom never told him, so he never knew. I've never resented my father for not being in my life.

When I was younger I eventually wanted to find out who my father was. Not for a relationship, but just to know, to answer that question in my life.

When I was 18, my mom googled the name of my probable father. She found a web-site that he had set up. He had pictures and videos and contact information. From the pictures we learned that he had a daughter (my probable half-sister).

At that time he was sent an e-mail by my mother, in which he learned that he may have another daughter (me). He said he "had been through this rodeo before" and did not want anything to do with a paternity test. I was honestly not offended, it was not his fault that this was sprung upon him. My mom decided to send his parents my picture and a letter explaining the situation (so they would be aware of the possibility of having another granddaughter). After these brief events, there was no more contact from or to my father or his parents.

Over the next few years I got married, had a baby and graduated college. The thought of figuring out who my father was, was far from my mind. I don't wake up everyday and wonder who my father is. I don't feel like a piece of me is missing. I just don't have a father in my life. That's normal for me.

15 months.

2009-10-08T16:26:00.007-05:00

Yes, it's true! Miss boo is 15 months old today! I haven't written about her since her 1st birthday and she's changed a lot.

Bragging Rights:

- She can walk backward

- She can put stuff "in" things, not just take things "out"

- She knows the signs for "milk" and "more"

- She has 2 molars, for a total of 10 teeth

- She knows where her hair, mouth, feet, and toes are

- When she's told to "dance" she spins around and around

- She "collects" things (all the TV remotes, all the bottles of shampoo, all the contact lens cases, etc)

- She loves her tent

- Her favorite songs include: Mairzy Doats, It Ain't Gonna Rain No More, and Animal Fair

- She can go down slides by herself with us catching her at the bottom

- She can go up and down stairs on her feet and knees

- She LOVES wallets and taking out credit cards

- She is a big helper with sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, and pushing the cart at the store

- She does the sign for "milk" when you tell her to say "hi" or "bye bye"

- She still does not talk. She babbles, but doesn't say any words, except for dog.

- Her favorite show is Blue's Clues

- She knows what "close it" means (for cabinets, doors, the dishwasher, etc)

- She wears size 5 shoes, but her feet are super wide so we have to be careful picking out shoes

- She wears size 5 diapers

- She wears size 18-24 months clothes

- She got her very first tennis racquet this week

- She loves to run around

- Books are still her favorite "toys"

- She knows what a ton of things are. She has a book of 100 words and if you ask her where the "goat", "flower", "duckling", "tricycle", etc. are, she can point them out.

- She still naps on us

- She goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at 6:30am

- She takes one nap a day

- If she's at the park, she'll try to do everything the "big" kids are doing (climb up the slide, etc)

- She is a pretty picky eater. Mostly our fault for feeding her the same thing all of the time.

- She eats apples whole

- She is a tomboy, even though I encourage her otherwise :)

- She loves baths

- She can play alone for a long time

- She is the best girl ever... seriously ever.

Shop til You Drop

2009-10-06T22:17:00.005-05:00

This evening I got to go on a much needed shopping trip.

Honey watched Miss Boo so that I could shop without the stress that comes from having a toddler on a shopping trip. It's simply madness to clothing shop for yourself with a toddler.

My mom and I headed out for a few hours of shopping and I came home with one of these:

It took up half of my shopping budget.

It was WELL WORTH IT.

I can wear it to work, to church, to dinner, on dates with my honey, to the grocery store, to playgroup, while mowing the lawn (well, maybe not, but you get the idea).

A perfect coat is a necessity in Utah.

I can go around Utah with confidence in my dream coat. I'm all smiles.

Have You Forgotten - September 11th

2009-09-30T09:21:00.002-05:00

I substituted at a middle school on September 11th. I was pretty excited to spend the day at a school because there would certainly be a moment of silence, or an assembly, or something to remember the day.

Much to my surprise, September 11th was much forgotten at this middle school, and I'm sure in other middle schools throughout the nation.

The students didn't even say the pledge on September 11th. No pledge. No nothing. So I asked a couple of my classes about September 11th.

First I asked them how old they were when the planes hit the towers.

"What year did it happen again?" They would all ask.

"2001. You didn't know that?" I would reply. "How old were you?"

"4 or 5."

At this point my brain started spinning. These kids have NO idea about September 11th. Out of no fault of their own really. They were just too young for it to be a notable date in their lives. It's like they wanted to understand, but they just didn't. So I proceeded to tell them about where I was on September 11th and what it meant to me. They would ask questions. They wanted to know about it. It seemed like they were taught not to ask. Like asking questions about it was somehow rude or disrespectful. It's an untouchable event for them. If you don't ask... it's not real. If you ask, you make it real. You make it tangible. They asked. I answered.

They didn't know how it felt to be a Freshman in high school and wondering what was happening with all these planes crashing into things. Would you be next? Some students thought that it was the second coming. No joke. That's how terrifying this event was to them. Some of them wondered if they would get left behind. Many were crying.

I didn't even know what the world trade center was. But I understood that planes crashing into them were bad. Really bad.

I remember everyone thinking that some person accidentally ran their plane into the first tower. Then plane number 2 hit. That was the moment that people realized that planes hit the towers on purpose. We were shocked. This just does not happen in America. People don't do things like that on purpose. I remember when I realized how much some people HATE America. I never knew we were such a target for hate.

I remember watching the news for months after the planes first struck the towers. I felt guilty watching anything but the news. Until the smoke completely cleared out of New York City, I could not watch anything else. Clean up took forever. The smoke didn't clear for a long time. It was a reminder.

We will never forget. Bumper stickers. Signs. American flags. Firefighters. Proud to be an American. Tears. Patriotism. September 11th. Immediately after September 11th, every American was your family. You just loved everyone and they loved you. Just because... you were American.

Remember. Remember. Remember.

Those students made me remember. I had promised I would never forget. WE all promised we would never forget. WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

2 Years Together - August 15th

2009-09-29T09:18:00.001-05:00

Back on August 15th (so just about forever ago), Elliott and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary.

First we went to Chili's for their awesome 2 for $20 deal. We LOVE their white chocolate molten... delicious.

Then since the second anniversary is the cotten anniversary I bought Elliott some new sheets for our bed and he bought me a gorgeous quilt I've been wanting for our bed. We are totally re-doing our bedroom after spending TONS of money on bedding when we first got married. But it's my prerogative to change my mind. And our bedroom's looking great right about now.

We finished off the evening with a game of laser tag. We were the only people in the entire two-story arena. It was freakin' scary. Like playing cat and mouse. Elliott picked out Halo music for the background. And then we proceeded to shoot each other. It was pretty cheap couples counseling, and tons of fun! :) Elliott won by 3 points. Congratulations honey!

Cause I Never Showed You...

2009-09-13T21:51:00.006-05:00

To hold you over til I bloggity blog...

Addi on the way to church in South Jordan from Provo. (Aug 16th)

Addi in her birthday hat! (July 27th)

Coming soon to a blog near you!

2009-09-12T10:48:00.003-05:00

Life has been busy lately... but look for upcoming blogs on:

- Our 2 Year Anniversary (ya, it happened a month ago)
- Addison at 14 months
- Our new house
- September 11th
- Texas vs. Wyoming game (that's where I am now... in Wyoming to watch this game in freezing weather... be SO jealous!) :)

So mark your calendar... I know you're SO excited for all of my ramblings!

2 Years Together

2009-09-10T08:15:00.003-05:00

Back on August 15th, Elliott and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary.

First we went to Chili's for their awesome 2 for $20 deal. We LOVE their white chocolate molten... delicious.

We finished off the evening with a game of laser tag. We were the only people in the entire two-story arena. It was freakin' scary. Like playing cat and mouse. Elliott picked out Halo music for the background. And then we proceeded to shoot each other. It was pretty cheap couples counseling. :) Elliott won by 3 points. Congratulations honey!

Life is going...

2009-09-05T16:02:00.002-05:00

We're still here!

We're still alive!

We moved into the new house last Friday and we got internet yesterday.

Today is devoted to football watching and tennis playing.

Enjoy your college football!!

Got to go to WYO!

2009-08-19T22:11:00.019-05:00

At the end of July, we took a trip up to Wyoming to see family and go to the Big Horn County Fair. Elliott had to be at school, so I took the role of a single mom during this trip, with my mom giving me a nap here and there, and helping out with Addi-Melt-Downs. The trip was fun, stressful, long, but overall it was worth it! If you want to know more about the trip, besides my few captions with pictures here, check out my Mom's Blog.

At a rest stop in Wyoming. Addi was blissfully happy running around with the keys. In the car, however, it was another story.

At the dinosaur museum in Thermopolis, Wyoming. It was the first dinosaur museum that has ever graced with my presence. And let me tell ya... it was awesome!

This is a Supersaurus. It was found in Wyoming, near where I was born. It was HUGE, seriously HUGE. I still am in disbelief that dinosaurs ever existed. It's UNBELIEVEABLE... but so fantabulous!

Swimming in the hot springs in Thermopolis, WY. And I have been running almost everyday since we've been back. Don't judge my luscious body... :)

Addi's Great-Grandma Christopherson has three cocker spaniels. This one was Molly. Addi LOVED them all.

Addi meeting her first horse up close at the Big Horn County Fair.

Addi LOVED the kittens out at great uncle Dwain's house. This kitten kept its distance, but also kept following Addi around. DARLING.

At this parade everyone throws out candy and one group gave out ice cream bars! Got to love small town parades. Addi thought the ice cream was little cold, but she loved it.

Probably after Addi got stopped from running into the middle of the street. She thought the parade would be much better if she were in it.

Free watermelon slices!! Addi with a watermelon face, and after-pigtail hair.

Medicine Wheel. A spiritual site for Native Americans.

This is bear. He is a big dog. Addi didn't care, she loves dogs.

At the demolition derby. Even though it doesn't look like it, we had fun! My cousins did well and the cars were loud. It was perfect.

And what's a trip to Wyoming without a picture with a REAL cowboy. Seriously, this little boy is a real cowboy. Amazing huh?

Giggles...

2009-08-10T18:54:00.010-05:00

Sometimes Addi just starts laughing for no reason.

Then I start laughing.

Then she laughs some more because I laughed.

And I can't contain laughing again.

This goes back and forth...

Life is Good.

July 25, 2009 - Farm Country

2009-08-07T08:09:00.006-05:00

Addi's favorite things about going to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point:

The goats. She loved the goats and the goats loved her. This goat was pregnant...

The llama type things. They were big and had scraggly teeth.

Her shadow. Which seemed to follow her wherever she went.

The ponies. Addi got to ride on the ponies twice! She was a pro and could've stayed on by herself, but I still held her for good measure. :) Grandma took Addi on her second pony ride.

Yay for Farm Country!!

Is it done yet???

2009-07-27T22:09:00.007-05:00

We went to go check out the progress of the house on Friday and to our surprise the laminate floors were in and the cabinets were ready to be installed! Addi loved running back and forth on the floors! We CAN'T WAIT to move in!!! (Aug 20th is the tentative date).

July 9th 2009 - Birthday Present Outfit!

2009-07-27T22:03:00.005-05:00

Isn't this the cutest stinkin' outfit?!?! Complete with watermelon shorts, watermelon tank and matching bows! Addi got it for her birthday from Lars, Allysha, and baby to be (their baby will be dressed the cutest ever, no doubt). It was SO darn cute that Addi wore it the day after she got it.

Honesty Part 2

2009-07-27T21:40:00.005-05:00

First of all, thanks for not judging me for sharing such personal information. Also, thanks to all of you who have kept us in your prayers.

Things were going well after the separation for about a week and then things went downhill. To the point where I started filling out paperwork for a divorce. I could see no other option. Elliott and I both agreed that we had tried everything, and there was nothing left to do but stop the bleeding.

I went to the temple Friday night and had mixed feelings about the entire situation. While at the temple, the Lord pointed out to me that Elliott and I have not tried EVERYTHING. I was then inspired as to what we need to try. I was shocked to discover how closed our eyes were when Elliott and I agreed that we had tried everything. We don't even read our scriptures or pray together, so that is where we're going to start.

We've been so focused on counseling and the "rules of fighting fair" that we have forgotten the basics. We have forgotten, that it is through small and simple things that great things can happen.

Elliott is still living somewhere else right now. We still need room to grow separately and to work on our individual problems. At the same time, we talk to and see each other everyday with our main goal being to read the scriptures and pray together daily. For now, we will forget the rest and focus on these two basic things.

I do not know where we will end up, but I do know that if the worse comes to pass then it will only be after we have tried EVERYTHING.

July 7th, 2009 - The Many Moods of Addi

2009-07-22T11:26:00.012-05:00

Right before Addi's first birthday she started getting quite the colorful attitude. The following is just a taste of a few minutes in the life of Addi.

La la la.. walking down the hall.

10 seconds later. We'll never know what caused this.

30 seconds later. Crawling up the stairs.

2 minutes later. Out on the deck.

30 seconds later. Trying to escape and angry that she can't.

10 seconds later. La la la... walking through the kitchen.

July 5th, 2009 - Plums

2009-07-22T11:21:00.005-05:00

Addi absolutely loves eating plums, nectarines, etc. One day when we were grocery shopping Elliott gave Addi a nectarine to hold to keep her entertained, the next thing we knew she had eaten almost half of it. Now we can just give her almost any round fruit and she'll just dig in.

P.S. This plum was for breakfast, notice the major bedhead. :)

July 4th 2009 - Independence Day

2009-07-21T11:23:00.007-05:00

This fourth of July doesn't rank on my top ten favorites... in fact, next year I'm going to have to be better organized. We missed the parade, didn't do fireworks, kind of watched fireworks, had to eat inside because of all the wasps, Jon had swine flu, etc. All of this could have been avoided had I been better organized and had planned it out better. Live and learn. =)

Addi in her sailor outfit, pushing the stroller around the family room. She's ready to get going!

Daddy and Addi eating watermelon!

Great times... Mike making the hamburger patties, Tara doing something, and Jon had the swine flu... his only job was to wear his mask and not touch anyones food! :) I'm telling you, it was quite the day!

Elliott and Addi with all of the food. It was YUMMY!

July 3rd, 2009 - Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

2009-07-21T11:10:00.008-05:00

My mom, Addi and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. Such a beautiful temple! We had to bail part way through the tour though because Addi was done and it was SO hot inside. We're planning on going again to see the rest of the temple! BTW, the temple is in the neighborhood that we're moving to (so like less than a 3 minute drive from our house). If we were REALLY ambitious we could walk there!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple (Looking south)

Waiting in line outside of the temple. One of the easiest ways to carry Addi is on your shoulders. Hence the piggy-back ride!

Addi walking in the grass inside the temple gates. At first I thought it would be disrespectful to let her wander on the grass. Then I realized that this is the Lord's house and he would be more than fine with children playing on his grass, so I let her explore. She loved the fence the most and chose to walk on the cement beneath it most of the time.

Honesty

2009-07-15T22:58:00.007-05:00

I have always admired my friends and family who place everything on the line and blog about the realities of their lives. They tell of pain they are suffering, hardships they are going through, sadness they are facing. Through their honesty, I am able to feel as though I'm not alone, that I will be able to get through whatever life hands me.

Today, I will be one of those honest people. Not for pity, but so perhaps, you can know that you're not alone in your hardships and trials. There is something comforting in knowing that others have hard times too. It makes you feel like, if they can make it through their trial, you can make it through yours.

Right now, Elliott and I are living at different places. We are separated and do not know when we will live together again. This separation has been a long time coming. There have been times in our marriage where he has stayed elsewhere for a night or two, but this time his relocation is indefinite. We have been seeing a counselor to overcome the issues we face. In fact, we talked to the counselor tonight to discuss what has occurred recently in our relationship.

Marriage is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I might even venture to say that marriage has been THE hardest thing I've ever done. I so admire those who endure all of the trials that marriage brings.

The ultimate goal in this situation is to save the marriage. We are working on that goal. Right now we have to spend some time apart to work on that goal. I am grateful for any prayers you can throw our way. =)

July 3rd, 2009 - First Pigtails!

2009-07-13T22:28:00.012-05:00

Now that I've done pigtails on Addi I know your secret! You moms out there will do anything to get those cute little pigtails in your daughter's hair. Even if it means that she's struggling and hollering at you the entire time. But those pigtails are worth it. I have joined the shameless group of mothers who put pigtails in their daughter's hair... no matter what the cost. =)

She's totally thrilled with her pigtails, can't you tell?

Ooooooo, bright flash!

No comment...

Holy cow, is that MY daughter?

Now THAT'S my daughter! =)

The after-effects of pigtails. Sticky-out-hair.

July 1st, 2009 - Mohawks and Baby Birds

2009-07-13T22:19:00.006-05:00

Addi had another day of swimming in the pool. But this time, daddy played with us. Let's just say that the hairstyle is courtesy of Elliott.

Rockin' the Mohawk!

Right next to the deck where Addi's pool is, there is a tree with a nest in it. The nest has three baby birds and one momma bird.

The momma bird is staring me down while the baby bird rests its head on its mommas foot.

June 30th, 2009 - Water baby!

2009-07-13T22:13:00.007-05:00

This was actually back on June 30th, but life got in the way of posting it!

Grandma brought Addi's pool up to the deck. It's the PERFECT spot because we don't have to worry about her being in the sun for too long and I can just lounge on the couch while she plays.

Addi's first time "swimming"! She was kicking the water like crazy!

SOO happy!

Snuggling in the towel!

It's my first birthday, oh what fun! I'm so happy to be one!

2009-07-09T22:45:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was Addi's 1st birthday!! We had so much fun at her party! There were no other kids, but some pretty cool "adults" made the party super fun! Addi was WAY crabby (her naps that day were messed up), so she had to go home early. But besides that, we couldn't have asked for a better party.

Addi opened presents and ate cake and the rest of us ate burgers, and cupcakes and played tennis! It was a blast!

Happy birthday Addi! We can't believe that you are one already. Now that we know what one year with you feels like, it's hard to think that we only have seventeen more left! We love you so much. You are such a big girl and we can't imagine life without you!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Lasagna Rollatini - Olive Garden Copycat

2009-06-29T21:08:00.004-05:00

Here is the recipe I used for Elliott's Father's Day dinner. It's supposed to be very similar to Olive Garden's Lasagna Rollatini with Sausage (I never ate their's so I'll never know). The copycat recipe is delicious though, so try it out!

Olive Garden's Version:

My Version:

(Ya, not as pretty, but probably just as delicious!)

Note: Nowhere in this recipe does it say where to add the cream/half and half, I just added it after the wine (aka white grape juice). Also, I was VERY unsuccessful in keeping the lasagna noodles in one piece when I cooked them, so I only made a few lasagna rolls, and turned the rest of the lasagna noodles and filling into a messy lasagna (layering noodles and filling and topping with the sauce), which was equally delicious. Enjoy!

NIKKI'S LASAGNA ROLLATINI

1¼ hours | 40 min prep

SERVES 6 -8 , 16 Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna Rolls

1 lb lasagna noodle
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese (whole or reduced fat)
1 (10 ounce) box frozen spinach, defrosted, minus 3 tbs for sauce
1 1/2 cups parmesan four cheese blend (with Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, Romano)
2 eggs, whisked
1 tablespoon parsley, to taste
1 tablespoon oregano, to taste
salt and pepper

Sauce

1 head roasted garlic, large, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon flour
16 ounces heavy cream or half-and-half
1 cup dry white wine or white wine vinaigrette
1/2 cup parmesan four cheese blend (to taste)
1 roma tomato, diced
3 tablespoons spinach (set aside from pasta)
1 tablespoon parsley
salt and pepper

Rolls:.
Set oven to 350°F.
In a large pot, cook pasta according to package, just under fully cooked. They should be able to roll up without breaking.
Go ahead and roast your garlic. (Just cut the top off so all the cloves are showing, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in tin foil and pop in the oven for 30 minutes at 350°F).
In a large bowl, combine the rest of the lasagna roll ingredients until combined.
Lay out a noodle on a clean surface. Place a layer of cheese mixture down the noodle, making sure not to over stuff. Roll long wise. Place in a lightly sprayed 9x13 baking dish, seam down. Repeat with the rest.
Set to the side.
Sauce:.
In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add roasted garlic and let it cook for about 1 minute.
Add butter. Once melted, mix in flour, making a roux, cooking for about 1 minute.
Whisk in white wine, cooking for about 1-2 minutes, letting the alcohol cook out.
Then add the cheese, stirring until melted in, then add spinach, stirring until incorporated in sauce, and lastly the tomatoes.
Season with salt and pepper and add parsley. Let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Pour over lasagna rolls, cover and bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until pasta is fully cooked and heated throughout and sauce is bubbling.
Serve and enjoy!

http://www.recipezaar.com/nikkis-lasanga-rollatini-368132

Elliott's First Father's Day!

2009-06-28T17:03:00.009-05:00

We skipped the end of church to go to the park and have some fun!

Elliott took a turn on the swing. He likes to spin around.

Addi's first time in the sand. It got on her hands. She was very suspicious.

When Elliott tried to take Addi onto the grass, she turned right around so she could walk on the sand.

Addi gave daddy a Father's Day card. She apparently likes him best. =)

I made dinner with a copycat Olive Garden recipe. I'll post it soon cause it was delicious!!

HAPPY LATE FATHER'S DAY!!

White Things in a Box: By Addi

2009-06-26T17:36:00.007-05:00

La la la la la... this is so fun!!! I wonder how many are in there?

Uh oh... she caught me. I've got to think of something... FAST!

I know! I'll kill her with cuteness!!

- Addi

So sad...

2009-06-23T00:20:00.003-05:00

I am SO sad that Jon and Kate are getting a divorce.

They both made huge mistakes and neither one is solely to blame.

It breaks my heart that their marriage ended up like this.

It makes you realize how fragile marriage and love can be.

What the heck is going on??

2009-06-16T22:50:00.007-05:00

I totally just realized that if you are not around us you may have NO idea what we are up to. Here's a summary if you're interested...
We moved out of the big house in Orem at the end of February. Now we are living with my aunt, 2 of my cousins, my mom, 2 dogs and a cat, while my mom gets her house built in South Jordan. Once the house is finished we will be moving there. We're excited to have our own room again (we've been sharing a room with Addi). Living with so many people has had its ups and its downs, but overall I can't complain and feel truly blessed to have such a giving family. Our new house will have tennis courts, a basketball court and community gardens across the street. It's due to be finished the end of August. We can't wait!! We don't know how long we'll be living with my mom, but as for now we can't afford anything more and are grateful for all of the support.

Elliott has finally started college and is almost done with his first session of summer classes at UVU! It looks as though he will get A's in both of his classes.. (knock on wood). Right now he's trying to get some applications for native american scholarships finished up... cross your fingers he gets SOMETHING. Once we move to South Jordan he will start going to school at SLCC, and then hopefully transfer somewhere else in a year or so. Right now his goal is to become a dentist, so that's what he has in mind with everything he does. He still works at Papa John's, but he is now a driver, works in Orem and only works a couple days a week. His main interests right now are basketball, tennis and movies (some things never change).

Heather, I, stay-at-home the majority of the time. I finally really enjoy being a stay-at-home mom and can't picture myself being away from Addi all day, everyday at work. I do, however, have three jobs that I work randomly. I work for the city Parks and Recreation program officiating T-ball and Coach Pitch on Saturdays (the season just finished though, so this job is over). I also substitute for Jordan school district. I've only substituted twice, but I love it and hope to do it more in the fall. We're hoping to make Elliott's schedule so he has 2 or 3 days with no classes so I can sub on those days, and using subbing as our main source of income. I also work at Papa John's as a driver a couple days a week, on days that Elliott doesn't work. I really enjoy having so many different jobs so I don't get burned out doing one thing. I love that my schedule is flexible and that I'm able to contribute monetarily to our family.

Addison is a ball of energy. She has SUCH a personality and is constantly moving around.. doing this, touching that, banging this, talking to that, reading this, looking at that, screaming at this, laughing at that, etc, etc, etc. She loves to play with other little kids at church, but she isn't 100% sure how to be gentle. The other day we stood with her between the two sets of glass doors, and 2 toddlers on the other side kept banging on the glass and Addi would bang back and holler (because it echoed). She was quite amused with them, and they were amused with her. She was like a little monkey on display that the kids wanted to play with. That's TOTALLY Addi. In her free time she loves to be outside and read books.

There's an update, sorry if you've been in the dark. I'll update again as soon as a thousand things have changed.

Baby Contest!

2009-06-14T23:35:00.006-05:00

Addi was in the Freedom Festival Baby Contest and won first place for her age group in the costume division!

I must say she looked like the cutest little indian baby ever!

She got a medal and she'll get to ride on a float in the parade on the Fourth of July.

11 months... No WAY!

2009-06-12T13:22:00.010-05:00

Addi being a ham.

Addi turned 11 months old on Monday. We have less than a month til our baby is a year old! No way I am ever going to believe that!

Addi:

- Has a stuffed longhorn named "Bevo", if you ask her where "Bevo" is, she'll go and find it

- Knows who Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Dog and "Bevo" are

- Loves to read, 9 times out of 10 she'll choose a book over any toy

- Is walking like an expert, sometime she looks a little drunk, but for the most part she has it together

- If you chase after her while she's walking and say "I'm going to get you", she'll smile really big and then run as fast as she can to get away

- Loves eating bread and will beg for bread from anyone who is eating some

- Loves eating yogurt

- Loves to swing, and will SCREAM if you take her out

- Still has to be held when she takes a nap... I know... that will be changing next week

- Will only watch TV for a few minutes, she rather read a book

- Claps when you say "yay!"

- Waves when she sees someone new or you say "hi Addi!" and wave to her

- Loves wallets and the credit cards inside of wallets

- Likes to crawl into her toy box

Addi swinging. She doesn't even care that she's sitting sideways.

Addi after she crawled into her toy box for the first time. She must be on a treasure hunt or something.

Cruisin' Success!!

2009-06-10T13:39:00.017-05:00

We made on to our cruise with no problem! It was so much fun to spend some time together with nothing to worry about.

Before we got on the ship, we stopped at the San Diego Temple for a session.

Beautiful.

Here we go!

Perfect day in San Diego!

Out at sea!

Catalina, CA - we were supposed to stop in Ensenada, Mexico, but the swine flu kelp us in the United States.

Our boat couldn't dock on the island, so we had to take smaller boats to get there.

Since there were no Mexican goods to buy, we decided to rent a jet ski! It was not a warm day, but we didn't care because we might as well be having fun while we freeze. P.S. Just be sure not to race a 16 year old boy on a jet ski, cause you will have to go really fast to beat him... and if you are going really fast over a wake, you might just hit the water while going 40mph and bruise up your body and barely be able to swim back to your jet ski. Also, if it's cold and you fall in the water, you'll be even more cold when you get out and start jet skiing at 50mph again. But then again, it'll be totally worth it.

The crew we ate dinner with every night. One other couple was from Utah, and the other three were from California. Two of the couples were Mormon... what are the odds?

Formal night.

Towel animal!!

Last night on the cruise. We took a nap in the middle of the day AND went to bed early. What party animals!

On the way home we stopped at In-N-Out... yummy burgers, quick service... you gotta try it!

Cruise... Take 2!

2009-06-03T09:22:00.002-05:00

For Elliott's birthday (which was on May 23rd), I surprised him with a cruise. Well the time is finally here, and today we're driving to California and tomorrow we'll be getting on the ship. And YES, I do know where the birth certificates are at this very moment. I'm doing everything in my power to avoid our last cruise fiasco!

So wish us luck, and hopefully the next time I write, we will be back from our amazing cruise!

Would you like some fun with that?

2009-05-22T22:19:00.012-05:00

On Wednesday we went to Monticello, Utah to see my only sister-in-law graduate high school!

On Thursday we drove home, but first stopped at some Pueblo ruins! (The Lowry Ruins)

The 20th (Wednesday) was my mom's birthday. And today, Camille (probably the best niece ever) dropped buy with some cheesecake!

And Clifford protected all of his toys from any baby who may try to run away with them (aka Addi).

10.5 months

2009-05-20T10:52:00.009-05:00

It's that time again! Addi's another month older and another month wiser.

Loves:
- Reading books
- Banging metal measuring cups against everything
- Trying new foods
- Eating off mommy and daddy's plates
- Watching Dogs 101 on YouTube
- Queen (still)
- Playing on the deck
- Crawling up the stairs
- Bothering grandma when she is working
- Dogs
- Meeting new people
- Playing with other babies in the hallway at church
- Walking
- Big people spoons (the shiny silver ones)
- Throwing things on the ground for big people to pick up

Does not love:
- Bed time
- Nap time
- Being in her carseat for a long time
- When she is told "no"

(Picture when she was a few days old)

Accomplishments:
- Around 9.5 months she started walking and now walking is her main form of locomotion
- Points at things with her whole hand
- Knows who the "dog" is
- Knows who "grandma" is
- She will now try and eat most new foods. She's even eating green veggies again!
- She finally learned how to clap, but she doesn't do it very often.
- Calls any animal, and anything she likes a "dog"
- Says "mama" and "dada" (sometimes at the right time, sometimes not)
- Will hold up the book she's reading if she really likes a page (usually the kitten page) so that you can see the picture too
- Four teeth coming in on top, one tooth coming in on the bottom, and two teeth already in on the bottom

Tulip Festival

2009-05-02T11:23:00.009-05:00

You Gotta Try It!

2009-04-30T13:05:00.003-05:00

If you're living in Utah, you have to eat at this place!

THE SMOKING APPLE

It's in Lindon. (70 N State Street).

It's a tiny little restaurant with great prices and even better barbecue. The owner is from Texas, enough said.

Each plate comes with meat (or a meat sandwich), and three sides or fries.

My recommendation: Pork sandwich, corn, veggies, and smashed taters. (All for 6.79ish)

Elliott recommends: Brisket sandwich, smashed taters, baked beans and corn. (6.79ish)

Addi recommends: Anything on mom and dad's plate. (she's tried it all)

But order whatever you want! You can't go wrong!!

"Break Free" Music Video

2009-04-28T11:32:00.006-05:00

A music video my girlfriends and I made made November 2007, right after I found out I was pregnant with Addi. We made one before to a different song, and thought we'd try again. We shot this ourselves, I edited it, and it's pretty awesome... at least we think so! Oh ya, we call ourselves the "Grape Girls", kind of like Cheetah Girls, but not as cheesy. Or maybe we are. You decide. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Baby Animals!

2009-04-27T13:44:00.009-05:00

Saturday, we all went to Thanksgiving Point to go to the Baby Animal Birthday Party! All of the new baby animals were out and they were having a party with cake, games and everything! It ended up being a really rainy day, but Addi loved looking at all of the animals anyway.

The family with a calf. You can tell by Addi's face how much she loved it!

Addi pointing at and talking all about the awesome ponies.

Addi eating her first bite of cake. Yummy!

The goat that came out of its house and jumped up on the fence, just to see Addi.

Happy Birthday Baby Animals!!

Spring Tulips

2009-04-26T18:47:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday, we decided to start attending the ward we'll be moving into sometime in August. It was a lot of fun with lots of young couples and babies for Addi to play with! After church we stopped to take pictures with the beautiful tulips! It was such a nice spring day. Later that evening we drove back up to Daybreak to barbeque with some ward members. It was a long drive, but we got to hang out with some people our age, which is what we desperately need! =) Today, however, most of the tulips were dead and it started snowing during church. And I thought that TEXAS weather was bipolar!! I can't wait until Addi can wear her cute summer dresses for more than one day.

Pay It Forward!

2009-04-21T22:09:00.004-05:00

I was one of the first three commenters on THIS fun blog. Will you be one of the first three on mine??

Pay It Forward... THE RULES:

1. Be one of the first THREE to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?! Maybe one of the above?

2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift - anything! - for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send your THREE friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And remember, it's the spirit and the thought that counts!

4. When you receive your gift, feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Spring came and went...

2009-04-15T21:40:00.002-05:00

WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER BE ON A SPRING DAY IN APRIL?

(Texas)

(Outside my window today)

Piano Prodigy

2009-04-14T20:08:00.008-05:00

Addi loves the piano. She bangs on the keys and then turns some pages, then bangs, then turns, then bangs, then turns, etc. You get the picture!

Preparing for her first concert. Pacifier nearby for those stressful moments.

The little prodigy with mommy.

Easter!

2009-04-14T19:48:00.012-05:00

Addi checking out the goods the big bunny brought her. (She got one Easter basket from the Easter bunny and one from grandma).

Typical Addi photo moment. She always anticipates the flash if it's on. If I'm using the flash I'm bound to get tons of squinting pictures!

Clearly not loving the bunny ears.

Her new bunny in her doll stroller. She's never had anything inside of it to push so she was a little unsure of having a baby bunny to push around.

The family before Easter dinner. It was such a great yummy day!

Here, there, everywhere...

2009-04-12T19:42:00.004-05:00

Just thought I'd update everyone on our living situation.

We left beautiful Texas in December and moved to Utah. We moved to be closer to Elliott's family, to be closer to my cousins, and for four seasons. (The last one backfired, as of right now it's still winter... we're still waiting for spring). My mom also moved up to Utah the same time as us.

We shared a house with my mom in Orem from middle of December to the end of February. The fun Orem house:

From the beginning of March, to the present, we've been living with my aunt in Provo. Right now we have my aunt, my mom, Clifford (the dog), 2 of my cousins, Mia (the dog), Elliott, Addi and I all living in one house.

Right now my mom is getting a house built in South Jordan. We're all SOO excited! We're hoping the house will be done by August and my mom, Elliott, Addi, Mia (the dog), and I, will all move in there. Our future home:

Right now Elliott's working at Papa John's as an Assistant Manager. I am working as a referree for youth soccer. Elliott plans to start school this summer either at UVU or at SLCC. I'm hoping (fingers crossed) to find some sort of job at a school or with a city recreation program.

I am completely home sick for Texas and I miss every single person who crossed my path there. I miss the hospitality of Texans, and I miss the beautiful weather in the spring. Hopefully we'll be able to find our place here in Utah, as of now we're trying to bloom where we're planted, and transplanted, and transplanted.

9 month old

2009-04-07T23:15:00.006-05:00

Addi is 9 months old and is so expressive! She has a smile that is like a straight-line, if she does this, you know she's up to something. She has her toothy grin, which means she is loving whatever is going on. She sticks out her bottom lip as far as she can if she is getting really sad. She stiffens up her body and starts screaming anytime she is being set down and she wants to be held. To keep her happy in her highchair, she either has to be fed or have someone singing and dancing in front of her to keep her entertained. That is our Addi.

LIKES:
- "QUEEN". ("We Will Rock You" and "Another One Bites the Dust" are her favorites.)
- Gerber puff snacks.
- Opening and closing anything that opens and closes
- Her big girl carseat
- Drinking water out of a cup
- The ABC song
- Grandma's Purse
- Electronics (She has ruined grandma's mouse, phone, and mom's computer cord thanks to slobber damage)
- Grandma's ruined cell phone (which now belongs to Addi)
- Tennis Balls
- Crawling
- Standing
- Squating
- Dumping out Mia's food and water bowls
- Big people spoons
- Whatever daddy's eating
- The USB end of the mouse
- The vacuum cleaner
- Banging on everything with anything
- The doggie door
- Playing tug-of-war with Mia

DISLIKES:
- Gerber yogurt snacks
- "We are the Champions" by QUEEN (She cries when it comes on)
- Mommy trying to make her use a sippy cup
- Green Beans
- Peas
- Taking naps
- Sleeping through the night

Marathon Runner & Couch Potato

2009-04-05T00:25:00.007-05:00

Today I drove past runners in the Provo City 1/2 Marathon. Holy Cow! Who the heck could ever run 13 miles straight? It must be a bunch of really in-shape, sexy men and women =). But surprisingly, the people I drove past were quite a mix: young buff guys, older men and women, some young mom's in tutus, some bigger men and women, etc... I was SO surprised at how many people were able to push themselves through 13 miles of running/walking.

So this is it.. we're doing it. We're both going to complete a 1/2 marathon this year. After a few 5K's first of course =).

In other news... today we made the purchase that young men, bachelors, and husbands everywhere only dream about... 46 inches of pure LCD, 1080p beauty:

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

2009-03-15T09:39:00.014-05:00

So, Valentine's Day has come and gone, but this page is lacking from a blog about it.

Here's how our story goes.

On Valentine's Day, Holiday Inn was visited by a super cute couple. The couple stayed there because there was a pool and a hottub. The mature married couple whimped out on the pool (it was too cold), and only had a brief stay in the hottub (it was too hot).

Olive Garden was the next stop of the night, where the couple ate and ate and ate. Endless breadsticks and salad is a perfect combination for those who feel that if they eat enough salad, they can eat large quantities of breadsticks, because the salad counteracts it. This couple ate plenty of salad to counteract the breadsticks, so no worries there.

The next day, the couple went home to check up on their baby girl. She was wearing a cute Valentine's outfit and was having fun with her grandma.

The husband then disappeared for a while and came back with a wonderful gift.

The finale for Valentine's day was a movie at the dollar theater and some Bamboo Hut to go.

This couple has been worried about the economy, and they did more than their fair share over Valentine's Day to help boost it.

8 months... time where are you going?

2009-03-13T23:59:00.008-05:00

Addi turned eight months old on the 8th. She's at the age where sometimes she seems SO BIG and other times she's still just SO LITTLE.

She now sits in a "big girl" carseat (which makes her look little because she doesn't take up the whole thing yet).

She can pull herself to a stand. She did this before she crawled so we thought she would skip crawling all together, but alas, she is now a crawling machine.

She's happy happy happy!

She has mastered "ba ba ba" and "ma ma ma". Every once in a while she'll through a "da" or two out there.

She celebrated her first Valentine's Day!

She loves her baby food... everything but peas.

She has STOPPED sleeping through the night. She now wakes up at least 2 times a night. (If anyone has any insight or advice on this randomness let me know!)

She takes baths in the "big tub" now. She LOVES it!

Our little girl is getting so big. It's amazing how quickly the time has flown!!

In This Issue, We'll Be Saving Some Daylight!

2009-03-08T00:00:00.003-06:00

I HATE Daylight Saving Time.

I see no purpose in this whatsoever. Economy, environment, blah blah blah. Whatever.

Everytime I have to switch my clock I contemplate moving to Arizona.

I am choosing happiness, because that's what I want to experience in life.

2009-02-15T22:29:00.005-06:00

A talk I gave a couple of weeks ago in church. The topic was agency. I gave a talk on the agency we've been given to choose happiness. Enjoy....

"Throughout life I have generally been a pretty happy person.

Of course there have been angry arguments, but since I had no siblings to argue with, the arguments were between my mom and me. If you haven’t noticed, most times you are in an argument it’s about something absolutely silly and useless. As I got older and realized this, I usually couldn’t get in an argument without cracking a smile and laughing. In fact, during Elliott’s and my first argument, I just started laughing.

A little while after my “laughing during arguments” stage in my life, I went through depression.

During the part of my life when I was depressed I got mad at the littlest things, I stopped thinking fights were funny and I got mad at drivers if they looked at me wrong.

Moving back to Texas helped me get out of my depression low, but the habits had been formed. Even though I was no longer depressed, I still would argue during silly arguments and get mad at the silliest little things. I would become frustrated very quickly with my family.

You can imagine how that would play into a new marriage. =)

After we got married I realized that I no longer laughed during arguments, and I no longer had the patience that I had before. I wasn’t miserable, but I wasn’t as happy as I remembered being. When I finally realized that my happiness level had NOTHING to do with those around me, but EVERYTHING to with my attitude, I was able to start making some adjustments.

In 2 Nephi 2:27, it says: “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

Elder Robert D. Hales said: “Agency… allows light to dispel the darkness and enables us to live with joy and happiness in the present, look with faith to the future, even into the eternities, and not dwell on the things of the past. Our use of agency determines who we are and what we will be.”

Agency does not ONLY mean that we between good and bad. Agency is a gift that also allows us to choose happiness or misery. When we realize that it is our choice to happy, it gives us control over our lives again. When we let others make us mad, sad, frustrated or whatever, we are giving them power over us, and ultimately using our agency to feel that way.

Elder David A Bednar said: “Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.”

This is seriously a lesson I just learned over the past few weeks. Heavenly Father gave us agency to choose between good and bad and ALSO to choose between happiness and misery.

Are we using our agency to choose happiness? Or are we using our agency to choose to feel mad and offended.

Elder David A Bednar said:
“…it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.”

We commonly use agency in our lives to choose a good choice over a bad one. We must LEARN to use our agency to choose happiness.

Choosing happiness takes practice.

As I have been practicing choosing happiness I have been anything but perfect. I have been using my agency to choose to be frustrated or mad long enough for it to become a habit. I must now replace my bad habit with a good one and that involves changing the way I use my agency.

Choosing happiness takes making righteous decisions.

Psalm 119:165 “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

To be able to use our agency to choose happiness, we must be using our agency to choose righteousness.

“Wickedness never was happiness” therefore (If I learned anything from the SAT)
Wickedness (is to) unhappiness as: Righteousness (is to) happiness.

I just want to add something I feel is important. There WILL be times in our lives when we will feel extreme sadness and sorrow (losing a loved one for example). In these times, we must remember to rely on the Lord and the Atonement.

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind” (Alma 7:11)

When happiness is hard to choose we can remember that the Lord knows our pains and sorrows and he can lift our burdens.

We must remember that choosing happiness takes practice and takes making righteous decisions.

“I am choosing happiness, because that’s what I want to experience in life.”"

Ba Ma Da

2009-02-10T22:55:00.001-06:00

after mastering "ba ba ba ba"...

I am pleased to announce that Addison has now begun to add "ma ma ma" to her vocabulary...

coming soon... "da da da"

7 months.. and counting

2009-02-08T08:46:00.006-06:00

Another month has already flown by!! She just gets bigger and smarter everyday!! Addi has decided that she would rather stand up then learn to crawl... this has resulted in many bonks on the head and crying for help. She has her very own cell phone and has now mastered the skill of opening and closing it, over and over and over and over, while the phone continues to say "hello" with each opening and "bye bye" with each closing. Just imagine "hello" "bye bye" "hello" "bye bye" "hello" "bye bye" (repeated a few dozen times).

Addi loves her new puppy "Mia". Mia loves Addi's pacifiers and runs around the house like a nut whenever she gets ahold of one. Addi laughs at Mia whenever Mia is in her cage for a timeout. Addi laughs and laughs and squeals, mocking Mia and her misfortune. Mia is great with Addi and does not try to bite her anymore (thank goodness!) Addi will grab onto Mia as hard as she can, squeal with delight, and Mia just takes it like a warrior. But just for the record, Mia can be quite annoying, but Addi's happy to have a friend!

Poopy diaper alert... that's all for now!!

It's FINALLY here!!

2009-02-07T13:33:00.007-06:00

The Most Expensive Piece of Paper

2009-02-01T18:42:00.002-06:00

It finally came (my diploma)!!! I am now "officially" smarter than the average person when it comes to Kinesiology (exercise science). =)

22nd Birthday

2009-01-31T10:27:00.006-06:00

On January 18th, we celebrated my 22nd birthday. Complete with balloons, tacos, cheesecake and happy-day presents (gifts for the guests).

At the age of twenty-two I am married, have one baby and have graduated from college... What now!? The only thing left is to conquer the world... I'll put that on my "To Do" list.

Just in case you missed the party of the century, here are some pictures to make you feel more included.

Miss Balloon Face

Eating Tacos with Cousins

The Crew Plus Balloons (minus Camille and Mom)

Picture Recap January 10th-14th

2009-01-31T10:13:00.004-06:00

January 14th - Such a snuggle bug!

January 11th - This is the Christmas present her grandma got her. She LOVES the mirror, the lights and the music!

January 10th - The remote control is her FAVORITE "toy".

Cable and Internet Provider Reviews

2009-01-27T23:21:00.003-06:00

I <3 Uverse
If you are in a place that has ATT Uverse... GET IT! We had cable and internet for $84 a month. If I remember right there were no set up charges (maybe $25 but that was all). The cable included a DVR that could record 4 non-HD channels at a time. The internet always worked and I never had a problem with it being slow or anything. You can select shows that you want to record on TV from your personal Uverse web-page. That way, if you're at work and forgot to set a show to record, you can take care of business without stressing out. =) I know those of you in Texas probably get a ton of Uverse promotions in the mail. My advice is to GO FOR IT! We LOVED it and are missing it terribly. On that note....

I HATE Qwest
If you live in a place that has Qwest... AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE! We just got our bill and it was over $200, not to mention we've already paid $84 for set up fees, etc. When I first signed up for Qwest I was told our bill would be $95/month for cable, internet and phone. Our bill is DOUBLE that, and they seem to be able to explain every ridiculous charge on the hard-to-understand bill. STAY AWAY! Our cable is through DirectTV, so stay away from them too. They work with Qwest to rip you off.

That is all.. I just had to vent and warn you!

Q-Tips for Dummies

2009-01-26T21:45:00.008-06:00

I use a Q-Tip daily to clean out my ears. The pollution up here makes my allergies crazy and my ears itchy.

I was cleaning out my ears as I always do, and when I pulled the Q-Tip out, it felt like a piece of cotton was still in my ear.

Feeling pretty freaked out, I sought advice from the all-knowing Google. Here are two sites that came up:

How to remove a wad of cotton stuck in my ear?

How do you get something out of the ear?

People replied to these questions with these solutions:
- "Hydrogen peroxide to bubble out whatever was in there, but for cotton bud, that's probably not going to help much"
- "Go to a Dr. to get this removed. It is just to easy to do irreparable damage to the ear."
- "See a doctor to get it removed, if you leave it there it could collect matter around it and lead to infection."
- "You don't want to try and get it out yourself, as you may end up pushing it in futher and although it may not hurt now, it will if it goes anywhere near your ear drum!"
- "Get to a doctor, and remember in future - the smallest thing you should stick in your left ear is your left elbow."
- "If there's someone you trust, ask them to pull back gently on your pinna, and peer with a bright light into your ear canal. If they can see the cotton bud, and it's relatively near they may be able to remove it with tweezers."
- "Go ahead and go to Urgent Care! Saying, "I was cleaning my ear and the Q-tip got stuck!" now is a lot less embarassing than saying, "Well, I was cleaning my ear, and the Q-tip got stuck, so I tried flushing it out, and when that didn't work my buddy tried to get it with a tweezers, but then someone jostled his arm and...""
- "Take a small wooden stick (like a tooth-pick), bite off any point, and then chew the end until it looks like a brush. Insert that bush gradually into the ear canal while twirling it. The end stiff fibers from the stick should catch the fibers from the cotton wad and get tangled up. Once you have gotten the cotton sufficiently tangled with your stick you can pull it out."
- "My sister's friend went deaf because of this, he thought he had removed it all; but some remained, rotted and took his hearing with it."

After reading all of this I was pretty freaked out, I had NO idea that cotton in your ear could be such an ordeal! Most of the ideas were short of insane (hydrogen peroxide, a small wooden stick, tweezers). And the one's about seeing a doctor seemed pretty extreme for a little fuzz occupying my ear.

Surprisingly, here were the solutions that worked for the people that originally asked the questions:
- He managed to get it out by pinching his nose and popping his ears the way you do if you're on a flight. Somehow it worked its way back along with the pressure and out it came thank goodness.
- I started tilting my head on its side and shaking my head around and lo-and-behold! the darned piece of cotton fell out :D

Oh the simplicity of modern medicine! (Turns out there was no cotton in my ear anyway).

Resolution 2: Keep My House Cleaner

2009-01-23T00:32:00.002-06:00

First, an update about Resolution 1: Saving Money. I finally used FreeCycle and ended up getting a pump organ that is over 100 years old, for FREE! It works and is a great antique to have around and mess around with now and then.

Resolution 2: Keep My House Cleaner. So far, so good.

Somehow I magically stumbled upon FlyLady and her wisdom at the beginning of January. Some people hate her while others love her. I love her, and take what she teaches and mold it to fit my life.

Most of the time I go to bed with a sink that's shining.
I almost never put on shoes every morning. (Sorry)
I have adopted a "do-it-now" attitude.
I can do ANYTHING for 15 minutes... well, almost anything.

If you need some organization, or some way to get your life/home/family in order, then check out FlyLady.

Inauguration Day - Yes We Can!

2009-01-20T23:00:00.004-06:00

Miss. Boo - 6 months

2009-01-08T16:24:00.017-06:00

Addi hit 6 months old today. Tomorrow she will be closer to her first birthday than she will be to the day she was born. Here are some "ADDI FACTS".

She can sit up without support.

Get into a crawling position from sitting (but only rocks, and sometimes scoots herself backwards).

She has her first tooth on the the bottom left.

She loves her music toy she got from her grandma for Christmas. It's complete with a mirror, lights, singing/music, instruments and even a microphone/rattle! She is definitely on the road to becoming a superstar.

She got her first pet, a white mini schnauzer named "Mia". She thinks Mia is really funny, as long as she's not getting licked by her or barking.

She's mastering eating rice cereal, although she has not mastered how to push it out the other end.

She doesn't constantly scream whenever she's in her carseat anymore.

She loves her huge, plastic beads that link together.

She loves her stuffed longhorns (small, medium, large) all named "Bevo".

She still loves to watch football.

She loves looking at the pattern on her high chair.

She can ride in a shopping cart, without her car seat.

She loves how cold Utah is.

She still sleeps 11-12 hours a night.

She can put her pacifier in by herself.

She always sneezes more than one time.

She loves playing in her playpen.

She loves mommy's laptop and pushing the keys and eating the screen.

She loves when her clothes have fun patterns on them.

She loves menus at restaurants and loves kicking her feet while she's in the high chair.

She loves to bounce when she's sitting, sometimes she can move a couple feet, just by bouncing.

She rubs her eyes when she's tired.

She is a VERY loud sleeper and snores most of the time.

She wears anywhere from size 6-12 months clothes. (12 months for the bottoms, smaller for the tops).

She cracks up whenever you tickle her tummy.

She wears size 3 diapers and size 3 shoes.

We love our boo bear!