just the three of us

Sweet is the Peace....

2012-01-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

So far this year has felt like a whirlwind ... of activity, decisions and a few little trials in there as well. Then a couple of days ago I found a reason to pause and step back a minute to reflect. And to think about how blessed we really are.

We were putting Landon to bed and we asked if he wanted to say the prayer that night. Up until then he has always said no (probably because he didn't know exactly what we were asking him) but that night he said yes. And as he repeated what Jeff said so sweetly that I just sat there holding him as tight as I could. In that moment all was right in the world. What more did we possibly need that we had right then?

Who is this little person I have been entrusted with? I never cease to be amazed by the things he teaches me. Every time we get in the car he starts asking if we can listen to "Sunbeam" or "Temple" on the Primary CD. I'll be honest, sometimes I just want to listen to the radio. But my testimony of good music has grown so much from those CDs ... they have made many a negative moment in the car a good one and have soothed feelings (all of ours) in ways I never could have on my own.

Last night Jeff and I were preparing my Primary lesson for this week. We are studying the story of Lehi's family and the Liahona. Can I just tell you - I hate not knowing the future? I struggle so much with just having the faith to move forward and trust that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. It's a control issue thing. One of the scriptures we are reading as part of the lesson is Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

I turned and looked at Jeff and said "this lesson is for me, not those kids" and again, I was grateful. It's in those little moments, when I am being challenged, or when my faith is being tested ... or when I am asked to just believe and not rely on my own understanding when my testimony grows and I am reminded of the sweetness of the gospel. Because He doesn't leave us to figure it out on our own. Even though I am being asked to test my faith a bit, he has given me something to remind me that I will not be left alone ... and to just trust a bit longer.

Little Friends

2012-01-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

Don't little friends just make your heart melt?
Today Landon was talking about his friends and naming them by name :)! So cute ... I love it!

A Busy 2012 ... Already!

2012-01-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

Well, if the first week is any judge of how eventful a year can be then 2012 is stacking up to be busy!

Last Saturday Jeff was in a car accident. He was headed up to the Klondike Camp Out and slid on black ice ... right into a chain-link fence and a city light pole. Fortunately there were no other cars involved and he wasn't driving any of the scouts with him. He wasn't hurt ...but the car didn't fare so well. It'll be in the shop for at least another week. But we feel really blessed that nothing happened to Jeff. These things are scary and the last call I ever want to get!
This, however, didn't stop Landon and I from getting out and adventurous. We've made a trip to the BYU Bean Museum (which he loves ... when else are you going to see an elephant so close and standing so still?!), and Landon participated in a toddler art class at BYU's Museum of Art.

Oh my heck it was SO cute! He loves to color at home so this just made his whole day. The teacher is just the sweetest lady. She made all the kids feel very important and special. He was a little shy walking around the museum and held tight to my hand, but he listened so attentively as they talked about hot, cold and wind and tried so hard to find pictures that represented each.

Then they got to make some art of their own. First he painted with paint ice cubes to represent cold. He thought that was fantastic. Then they painted suns to represent hot. They also had a third table with markers at it to color on while they waited for their pictures to dry. He took full advantage of this one too! (He couldn't look at the camera at all ... he was much too busy working on his pictures!)

Painting with ice

A Sun
Markers! Which he loved, but we won't
be owning for a while :)!

It is such a fun way to teach kids and let them explore their talents. Landon talked about it for the rest of the day - seriously! I just loved watching him and helping him learn. We are already signed up for February's class. If you want to check it out click here. It's for 2-3 year olds, but Landon isn't quite two and did great!

Add all this on top of our normally hectic schedule ... and we are speaking and teaching this Sunday and it's been a busy few days!

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's already 2012 ... it seems 2011 just flew by. We ended the year with a "Chinese New Year" and ate dinner at PF Chang's with my little sister Ale. (I promise she was there even though she isn't in the picture below ... the picture the waiter took of all of us turned out blurry. Landon was watching a movie and wasn't interested in smiling for the camera ... they were really slow with dinner!). Then the next day we got invited to a fun dinner party with friends.
Like most people we generally set some resolutions at the beginning of the year. Sometimes we do great all year ... sometimes not so much. This year we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do. We read this article in the Ensign and loved the concept. I've seen something similar on a friend's blog as well and really liked the idea.

We kept President Monson's basic ABC's and came up with a statement that helps focus it for us for the year.

Attitude: Recognize that our attitudes effect everything we do. Watch them, learn to change them when needed and help each other!

Believe in Yourself: We believe we are Children of God and will act accordingly. We believe we are good people with good intentions. We will believe in ourselves and remember we can do hard things.

Courage: We will have courage to go forward in faith, no matter what.

Then we came up with our goals for the year. In the past we've always made them very specific. We decided to be more general this year so we can shape them as the year progresses.

* Spend less and save more! Prepare for the future.
* Take care of ourselves - physically, spiritually and emotionally!
* Parenting - work on our parenting skills and techniques.
* Ask ourselves: How will this decision effect our future?

We're looking forward to a great year and wish you the best in 2012!

Christmas at the Terry's

2012-01-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas was wonderful this year! But let me rewind a bit. When Landon wrote to Santa he had dad help him draw a train as part of his letter. Luckily for him Santa was listening!! (But more on that a bit later)

We spent Christmas Eve assembling toys and cooking soup. My family came over for a big soup dinner and then we opened up our traditional jammies and read books around the Christmas tree. Landon got train jammies, which he loves, and a train coloring book. My mom even gets Jeff and I jammies still :)! (Which I love because I love pajamas!)
Then we hustled Landon up to bed and brought in his new train table to finish setting it up. Luckily my dad suggested he and Jeff do the hardest parts of assembly that morning ... it took forever! So I just got to help with the fun part - putting the track and buildings on. We set out the rest of the presents and called it a night.
The next morning we had church first thing. I loved it- shouldn't every Christmas have a church service on it to remind us why we are really celebrating? I think so. We covered Landon's head so he wouldn't realize what was going on ... so he had no idea what was waiting at home.

I love that Landon reacts to surprises like Jeff :)! When I brought him down stairs for our official "Christmas morning" he got a very intense and serious look on his face. Like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. To say he loves his train table is the understatement of the year.

He didn't open another present at our house for the rest of the day. Seriously.
He played trains until we bribed him to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to open presents there. They got him a chair to watch movies in and aunt Ale got him Finding Nemo. It's love. He was tickled pink to get to sit and watch it.
Landon got a quiet book from Grandma & Grandpa Terry. Landon loves his quiet book! He kept looking at it in church yesterday and saying "Sus" (Jesus) and "Bemple" (Temple) over and over again. Except when he saw the picture of Moroni ... which is when he shouted "Momi" out :)! That boy sure loves him some Moroni! I'm glad he loves it. Reverence is always a work in progress at our house :).

Over the next couple of days we convinced him to open the rest of his presents (mainly by telling him "there might be a fire truck in this one" to peak his interest). And we might have put a few away for his birthday in a couple of months. Who knew those trains would be such a hit that we wouldn't even need anything else?!!

It has been so, so much fun to watch him love something so much. He is always wanting us to play trains with him!
Jeff and I were really spoiled at Christmas as well ... Jeff had a ton of time off, which is always nice. We got dishes, money and some other really fun things from family.

Jeff spoiled me rotten with serving dishes (for parties), perfume (Lovestruck by Vera Wang ... amazing!), and TWO purses. Two beautiful, amazing purses! Oh, you just have to see them in person to believe how beautiful they are. I got Jeff a watch, golf accessories, headphones, clothes, etc. (nothing nearly as exciting as purses :)!)

Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas. We're so blessed to have the opportunity to celebrate the Savior's birth, have family close by and to spend so much quality time together!! We hope your holiday was just as magical.

A Visit to Santa

2011-12-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

Landon understands who Santa is now (on some level at least). So when our ward Christmas party came around we were excited to see Landon's reaction. We have a particularly awesome Santa in our ward. When it was almost our turn Landon looked at him in awe and said "Ah! Santa!" So we were feeling pretty good about it, until he got plopped on Santa's lap ...
Yep, not so much a fan. We asked him if he wanted to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. The conversation went something like "NO! MA! DA! NO! NO!" while reaching for us. We even tried telling him that Santa had candy for him ... this did make him turn around long enough to snatch the candy cane from Santa and jump into Jeff's arms. Afterwards he was very happy to look at him from a distance. When we saw this same gentleman in church the following Sunday, Landon looked at him and said "Santa" with a lot of reverence for an almost-2-year-old. But circumvented him with lots of room to spare... you know, just in case.

Last night we were at the mall and saw Santa again. We asked Landon if he wanted to go sit on his lap. He immediately started shaking his head and saying no. We decided that we'll listen to him so he doesn't get traumatized by the whole thing :)!

To: Dad From: Landon

2011-12-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Landon and I decided to wrap his present to Jeff. He loved every second of this very important job. He picked out everything - the wrapping paper first, and carefully applied the tape (wherever he thought it should go) and then picked out the Santa gift tag.

Then I told him we needed to go write To: Dad From: Landon on the tag. He colored the box vigorously. The wrapping paper wasn't colorful enough ... so he helped it along. It was so, so cute! He kept asking for certain colors while he worked on his masterpiece (that included two sides of the box).

It's hard to tell from this picture, but there
is a lot of coloring on the box!

Then when we put it under the tree he decided it needed just one more piece of tape. You know, just in case Dad decides to take a peek!
Now tonight Jeff and I are tackling our wrapping!! Nothing like presents under the tree to make you realize Christmas is just around the corner!

Christmas is Coming!!

2011-12-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Gosh it's been so busy I have been a blogging slacker lately! But you know what I think that means? CHRISTMAS IS COMING!! I'm a big subscriber to Christmas being the most wonderful time of the year!! It makes me so, so happy.

Around here we're getting ready in lots of ways. First off, by having some loved ones in town. My aunt and uncle came to town and met Landon for the first time ever. They were all smitten ... including Landon who thought they were awesome! He particularly loved my uncle Michael who was more than willing to play, play, play! We were so busy I totally forgot to take pictures.

Second, we did a little Christmas Light viewing:
Seven years ago Jeff took me on our first date to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square. Every year he takes me back for a fun date to walk down memory lane. Love that.

And a little holiday getting-together-with-friends:
This year we wanted to give back a bit so we all donated pajamas to the Women and Children in Crisis Shelter. Did you know they always need pajamas? That makes me so sad, because it means that because of circumstances created by others they had to leave home with nothing. It felt good to give where we could. If you get a hankering to donate something to them it can be dropped off at the United Way - just make sure you tell them what group it is for.

Otherwise we are busy shopping, baking and eating!! In fact, sometimes it just plain wears us out and this happens:
What are you doing to get ready for the holidays?

Angel's Landing

2011-12-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at Thanksgiving this year! We went down to St. George and spent the day with Jeff's whole family, stuffing ourselves silly. The next day we planned to hike Angel's Landing in Zion's National Park. When Jeff suggested that we see if some of his siblings wanted to go hiking I was really excited ... it seemed like such a fun, outdoorsy sort of bonding thing to do (very different from my typical Black Friday shopping).

Wow. Did I underestimate just how "outdoorsy" this was all going to be.

Several people mentioned that it was a hard hike and that there was a "small" (please note the "" there ... because MULTIPLE people used the word small ... it was a conspiracy I'm certain of it) part where you had hold on to a chain. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, especially since Jeff had hiked it before ... really he would tell me if it were that bad, right? Wrong. He knew I wouldn't do it if I knew the truth (and he also added some nonsense about how he knew I could, blah-blah-blah I stopped listening at a certain point in that conversation because I was trying to stay alive on a mountain).

Anyone who knows me should know that I like a good hike, but I couldn't really be considered a seriously or daring hiker. Or really interested in anything much past the two to three mile mark. So Angel's Landing was a bit of a stretch.

The view from the bottom
It all started out fun. We were hiking along. It was steep and there were a lot of switchbacks, but nothing terrible ... it was a picture perfect day and I was happy to be outside.

Just starting out
The whole gang on the way up
The switchbacks

Then we hit the chains. The chain part is actually not "small" at all. It is a HALF MILE LONG.

The longest "half mile" EVER.

And you need the chains for a reason. They weren't exactly there for decoration.

Please notice the grimace
Are we having fun yet?

I have never, ever, ever been so terrified in my entire life. I was crying most of the way up. While I'm not super outdoorsy I wouldn't say I'm a wuss either. Until I met Angel's Landing. I seemed to be the only one who thought it was so scary (with good reason ... several people have died in the last few years hiking it).

I was grateful Jeff and one of my brothers-in-law were super helpful getting me up (I was happy to stop at multiple different points, but like an idiot, kept going) and back down.

The view was pretty, but I'll be honest. I was still so scared (we were about 5200 feet up at this point) that I wasn't that impressed.

The last part you climb just before the summit
Finally the top!
And maybe a real smile?!

And you know how they say the way down is way easier. They lied. It isn't.

Heading back down. Don't be fooled,
I was only smiling because I was sitting down.
I was terrified.

But I did it! So did everyone else, but they weren't scared so it doesn't really count.

One lady we met on the really-narrow trail told Jeff she hopes I don't divorce him after it was all said and done. Clearly everyone could tell things were going really well.

Jeff took lots of pictures to prove I did it. Please notice my pained smile. Or lack thereof :)!

Thankful for Family

2011-11-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe November is almost over! I have tried to hit all of the really big things in our lives that we are thankful for. I was driving along the other day listing off a million other things in my head. It's such a blessing to be able to list so many things to be thankful for. I would feel remiss, though, if I didn't list in one grand finale the thing I am the most grateful for. Family. I have touched on this one in different ways, but can you really ever be grateful enough for these people?

I'm grateful for the family I came from and the family who accepted me as their own 6 years ago. I'm thankful to be our own little family. I'm incredibly grateful that not only are we put into these groups to love and support one another, but that I have the knowledge that families are forever.

This is the gang I came from. We're looking particularly snazzy here don't you think? (This was at our most recent family pics, which if you're wondering, Landon wasn't happy about:)!) I love these people. They gave and continue to give me the best they have on a daily basis. They have never given up on me, they let me be opinionated (and right!), and most of all they love me (and my little family) unconditionally. And they SHOWER Landon with love and attention.
And this is a small part of the gang I married into. Here we are the day after Thanksgiving braving the hike to Angel's Landing in Zion's National Park while Landon hung out with Grandma and Grandpa (and a few cousins, which he was SUPER excited about!!). That day will get it's own post ... but I picked this picture because it really proves to me that when these people claim you it is for life ... and no matter what (again, more explanation will come with that post!)!
I love them all so incredibly much. So, so much!

So today ... in our grand finale (just for now though, because I'm a firm believer we should never stop being thankful!) ... we are thankful for family.

Thankful for Little Friends

2011-11-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

In addition to our friends I am really thankful for Landon's little friends. He was born at a great time ... lots of really cute little boys and girls are around his same age. With fun moms (something I'm also thankful for!). They are all experiencing the growing pains of toddler-hood and all that comes with it. Fortunately they are all patient with everyone's inability to share sometimes and tendencies to do not-nice things every once-in-a-while because, you know ... being little is hard sometimes (again, thankful for those moms who help this process along and are patient too!)!

It is fun to watch them learn to share (which I am finding to be a really LONG process :)!), learn to get excited when they hear "play with friends," learn to say each others' names (I love the way Landon says his friends' names ... so cute!), and learn that there are other people out there that are just their size when the rest of the world must seem so big to them.

I also have to express gratitude for Landon's best friend - Bear. Bear has been with him from the very beginning. And boy does Landon love Bear. And clearly it's mutual considering all that Bear goes through :)! He is there to comfort when mom and dad can't be (or aren't doing the trick ... like during his shots when mom clearly was a conspirator), and is just so snuggly for Landon at night. He can calm any storm and instantly makes Landon light up with delight. Landon starts shouting "BEAR" at the top of his little lungs whenever he sees him, and often goes in search of Bear. I love when I walk in to check on him at night and he is sound asleep, Bear snugly in his arms ... it melts my heart.

For privacy's sake I won't post any pictures of Landon and his people-friends... but here he is with Bear.

Thankful for Date Night

2011-11-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last night Jeff took me on a date ... to Trafalga for a little mini-golf/arcade competition. And do you know what it reminded me of? Just what a fun guy I married ... and how much I cherish date night with him. We had quite the Saturday afternoon. It included a toddler who was perfecting his throwing-fits-in-public-because-I-can't-do-what-I-want fits and two very frustrated parents. Needless to say, it was much needed night out.

As a side note, can I also say that I am a pretty stellar mini-golfer (so is Jeff, but really, he should be - he actually plays golf). Also, one should not make statements like "babe, it's all about the defense" when playing air hockey unless they fully understand that statement will come back to haunt them approximately 2 minutes later. Not that I speak from experience or anything :)!

We've gone on some really fun dates over the years, but the ones that get us out and about and provide lots of time to talk (or tease for someone's not-so-stellar skills at some activity) are always our favorite.

And along the lines of date night ... I am thankful for really good sitters. These, I have discovered, are hard to find. But when you have both family and a favorite sitter in the neighborhood it is totally priceless. We can leave the house knowing Landon is in capable and loving hands.

Here's to a lot more great dates ... and being thankful to have someone to go on them with!

Thankful for Friends

2011-11-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

I'll be honest, a lot of people think their friends are wonderful. But mine? Mine are even MORE wonderful. Some examples...

I got a well-timed email from a dear friend who lives much too far away these days. It said just what I needed to hear with a promise to catch up on the phone soon.

I have friends who give me a shoulder to cry on (something that isn't easy for me), and a listening ear... and sometimes even little surprises to make my day go better.

I have learned so much about motherhood from them...

They are patient and loving with my sweet boy even when he's having a not-so-sweet toddler moment, or are willing to pitch in when I need a sitter.

They make me laugh ... these are a hilarious, fun, ferocious bunch of women. Trust me - their loyalty will tell you it isn't wise to mess with one of us...and it feels good to know you have someone else (or lots of someone else's in your corner).

Jeff and I are also blessed with very amazing couple-friends and neighbors. They have saved us more times than I can count ... from a cup of flour, a fixed car, or a meal brought in to much, much more. It's sometimes hard to believe we have so many wonderful people in our lives. It makes me (and us!) feel really blessed. So today I'm thankful for friends!

Thankful for Home

2011-11-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about home and what it means. Five years ago Jeff and I bought our little house and set about making it a home. It's been good to us. We've made wonderful memories here, and had so much fun making it ours (read: lots of hours on Jeff and my dad's part doing things I want done :)!).

Early this year we decided to put our house up for sale. With the economy and the market it hasn't sold. And as we decide what the best next step is for us, I'm so grateful it hasn't. Sure, on one hand we want to sell it. But on the other hand this is our home. And we love it (and no matter where we live after, I will always love it). And as the weather gets colder and with the economy not getting any better I am extra grateful to have a warm, safe place for our family.

I decided that what we needed was a little project around the house. Every once in a while I get that itch. I've been resisting it with a for-sale sign in the front yard ... but I couldn't resist any longer. We have a closet under our stairs ... we affectionately call the "Harry Potter closet." It's always been storage. Then as Landon had more toys it was toy storage and regular storage. I wanted it to be just for Landon's toys. He thinks it is a really fun area and it is just his size.

So we moved everything out and painted it so it wasn't so stark white. Then we added a new toy shelf and some vinyl lettering/decor ... and voila!

I present Landon's new toy room:

He LOVES it! When he first saw it with the circles he started yelling circle at the top of his lungs. He loves to point at them and name his colors (which may or may not be correct depending on the day :)!). Then he went right to playing with his toys! Nothing like putting a little love into the home that loves us so much!

Not only are we thankful for our home in the literal sense of where we live, but we are thankful for our little town and community. It means a lot to us to be a part of a great community and to have such wonderful neighbors and friends.

So tonight we are grateful for home.

Thankful for My Boys

2011-11-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

I could think of millions of big and small reasons I am thankful for these two:
But let me just summarize by saying they make my life brighter, happier and more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Ever.

Thankful for Maw-Maws and Papas

2011-11-07T12:37:00.001-08:00

Around our house we are really grateful for Maw-Maws and Papas (translation: grandmas and grandpas). Landon loves both sets of grandparents so, so much! What's funny to us is that he calls them the same thing, but there are very specific things about each that he knows are specific to them. For example:

Grandma and Grandpa Wuthrich: My dad is a BYU fanatic. He might have gotten teary eyed the first time Landon ever did the "rah-rah" part of the fight song he was so proud. Landon loves to watch football and Elmo with Grandpa. Grandma spoils him rotten. She watches him a couple of times each week and he loves to destroy their house dragging all the trucks around. She also loves to drink Diet Coke. Now, when Landon sees one he immediately starts pointing to it and screaming "maw-maw!" We're lucky they live so close!

Grandma and Grandpa Terry: The SECOND Landon saw them the last time they visited a couple of weeks ago he immediately started intimating a noise that Grandpa makes with his mouth (where you put your finger in and when you pull it out against your cheek it makes a popping noise). Every few days he says "papa" while trying to make the noise. Grandma recently bought him a book about farm animals ... and we read it approximately 90 times a day! He loves it so much!

We are so grateful to have them in our lives!!

Thankful for Reading

2011-11-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

I love November! It's a blustery month, but one that reminds us to step back a little from our crazy lives and appreciate all that we have. I can't think of a better way to prepare for Christmas and the New Year. The last little while has been a challenging and growing time for me. I have spent a lot of time reflecting a lot on how much we have to be thankful for. I'm excited to share some of those things with you.

We started November doing something that means a lot to me - reading! Books and reading are one thing I am always grateful for. Not only do they provide me an escape from day to day life and some me-time, but I'm a firm believer that reading and the ability to do so one of the greatest gifts you can ever receive. My mom loves to read and passed that along to me, for which I am so thankful! I have always hoped that my children would love to read as well - and so far Landon LOVES to!! I think it is our biggest shared "interest" so far :)!

Sometimes when kids get quiet it means trouble ... most of the time in our house a quiet Landon is one I find doing this:

Here he is reading with Dad ...
Our local library recently did a reading program for kids 1-5. We read different groups of books and did some different activities (finger plays, library programs, listened to a silly song CD, etc.) after each "group" he got a little prize. The end prize was a new book! He picked one about fire trucks - it is so cute!

I love that he loves to read and I hope that it continues to bring him joy throughout his life.

Up next: more things we are thankful for ... so stay tuned!!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T16:07:00.001-07:00

Landon LOVED Trick or Treating this year!! He also really liked his costume (a bear) - he thought the hood part was a football helmet. Needless to say, we let him believe it :)!
He was so happy walking all over the neighborhood. And was a pro at knocking on doors (he would knock until someone answered, or we told him no one was home) and saying his version of "trick or treat." He loved picking the candy out of the bowl and even got really good at saying "thank you" at the end. Who knew we could improve manners on Halloween ... nothing like a little motivational candy!We had so much fun taking him around the neighborhood!! The first thing he said the next morning when he saw his bucket was "candy!" Oh dear!!

It was so cute it was worth the Halloween-excitement-hangover the next day!!

My Little Cheeser

2011-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Lately Landon has decided to smile for the camera (when he can bother standing still long enough!) and it cracks me up ... his "camera" smile is so, so cheesy!

Helping to dig up our now-dead flowers out back!
Helping make dinner ... he loves these mini-pizzas and
LOVES to eat the ingredients while we're making them!

So cute! I just can't help but smile every time I see this adorably cheesy face!!

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins

2011-10-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

We just can't seem to get enough pre-Halloween festivities around here! Last Friday during fall break my little brother James and mom wanted to take Landon to the pumpkin patch. It was SO cute! They have a petting zoo ... Landon was in heaven. He seriously couldn't get enough. And they had a corn "sand" box too! (And bonus ... it was all free!) We petted the animals and played in the corn. James does a great job of getting down on Landon's level. He would hide his arm and when Landon started looking for it make it jump out and scare him. Little boy heaven I tell you!

Sunday night we carved pumpkins. Last year Landon LOVED it ... he couldn't get enough pumpkin goo on him. I thought this year would be even better. Wrong. He HATED it! Not only was he not interested in sitting there to help, but Jeff put some of the goo near him and on him and he got SO ticked. We washed him off and let him down where he had a much better time running around playing trucks with Grandpa.
Luckily he has a talented Daddy who carved his ghost pumpkin for him!
Tonight we headed back to the pumpkin patch with some friends for family home evening. Landon couldn't get enough of those animals and Jeff really wanted to get in on the action. They even had a free hayride. I'm telling you ... it will be a while before I want to pay for pumpkin activities again when this is free!
Halloween is still a week away ... I don't know how much more festive we can be. We'll keep you posted.

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jeff's parents came to town, and it was so much fun to have them visit. Landon was really excited to see them. I'm amazed at his little memory - as soon as they showed up he immediately remembered that Grandpa makes a funny noise with his mouth and tried to imitate it. Love it!

While they were up we went to a little pumpkin patch called Estrada Farms. It is in Lehi and is super cute. They are a nursery during the summer months and built a hay maze, corn "sand" box, and have a little ride and bounce house for the fall. It's perfect for the super-young crowd.

Landon was in heaven!! He especially loved the corn kernels that make up a type of "sand" box for the kids. Now if only his mom and dad were cool enough to get him one :)!We are totally getting ready for Halloween around here ... how about you?

Crossword

2011-10-13T12:50:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed that things seem to "trend" on Facebook? You know ... checking to see if people delete you (although why you should care is beyond me), protesting or supporting a recent political statement, posting what color of unmentionables you are wearing that day (something I find to be a bit too much information for the general public personally), etc. The last couple of days I have noticed a crossword. You are supposed to look at it and the first three words you find describe you. (Here it is so you can catch a visual of what I'm describing)
I decide to play along. The first word I found? Fat.

I stopped immediately. I decided these sorts of things were not good for my self-esteem or sanity. And really ... who makes these things anyways? If you're going to they should be filled with all sorts of happy words ... like funny, cute, fabulous ... there is enough negativity in this world!

After I clicked off of the offensive puzzle I went and ate some chocolate just for good measure :)! Take that crossword puzzle!

A Case of the Poopy Mondays

2011-10-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those days. Why, you ask? Let me tell you ... We took family pictures yesterday and it was pretty cold out by the time we finished. So I woke up sometime around 2 am with my throat on fire. Don't you hate that?! (Once upon a time I got mono ... and now any extreme weather condition seems to make my throat feel terrible ...)

All seemed to be going better by morning (you know, the actual time people wake up). I was feeling better, Landon was sleeping in for my mom and I was off to work. I picked Landon up from Grandma and Grandpa's ... where they headed once he woke up and he was having a delightful time playing/commanding all their attention ... and we headed home for lunch.

And that is where I should have just thrown in the towel and gone to bed until Tuesday.

When we got home we found out that Ellie somehow got poop all over her (she is a dog after all), and spread it everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

I was stuck. Landon needed lunch, so for a few moments I had focused my attention elsewhere (where he was thankfully strapped into his high chair). Then it was nap time.

So I got to work. Do you know how much work it is to clean up all that? Multiple loads of laundry. Dog bath. Kitchen floor mopped. And Jeff is about to start cleaning our living room carpet in approximately 10 minutes. (Thank goodness my parents own a carpet cleaner they are generous with!!)

It was that catastrophic. And please keep in mind my throat is starting to feel worse and worse. Luckily I finish everything up just before Landon wakes up from his nap.

I'm thinking, ah ... I did it. Now the day will go smooth.

Wrong again.

Normally Landon is a really happy go lucky kid. Sure, he has his moments, but as a general rule he's easy going. And then there was this afternoon. It was one long string of "moments." He has learned a couple of very important toddler things to know ... 1. How to say "no!" to everything 2. How to throw a fit and 3. To dislike sharing. And today he employed all that knowledge. All. Afternoon. Long.

We went to the playground to play with friends. Bad idea. When he wasn't sharing he was hollering about someone (okay, me) asking him to be nice. Scratch that idea.

Next up? A quick errand. I told him we were going "bye-bye" and he thought that meant a walk, and did not involve the car/car seat. Major fit.

On to K-Mart. He actually did pretty good there. Until he realized he had to get back in the car to go home. Fit again.

You get the idea ... it's pretty much how our day progressed. He even threw what I would consider a tantrum. It lasted longer than a fit, but when I didn't even acknowledge his flailing and screaming he quieted down pretty quick and started playing with his toys.

And then I decided to make dinner. Corn chowder - pretty easy right? Oh gosh. I should have just ordered pizza at this point. You have to understand, I'm not a great cook (I can bake though!!). And Jeff normally makes this soup. He just happens to get home at dinner time, which really prevents him from making dinner!

It was a disaster ... I almost scorched it. The bacon was shooting grease everywhere. I couldn't manage to multi-task enough to make the corn bread to go with it (we ended up with refrigerator biscuits), then I moved something off a burner, only to forget it was hot and set and entire bag of marshmallows on top of it (Landon handed them to me in a busy moment). Marshmallows melt quickly. Let's just leave it at that.

Luckily Jeff walked in about that time and saved the day. And wow, what a day it was! I'm hoping for a really boring Tuesday.

FHE Idea Share

2011-10-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of months Jeff and I have been feeling like we need to be consistently having FHE with Landon. We've tried before ... and it just seemed so difficult we always gave up after a week or two. But we both feel like it is really important ... so here goes!

To make it a little easier to focus we came up with a list of monthly "themes" so we at least have a starting point each month. Then he and I have just been brainstorming what we think will work and help Landon learn something about the gospel. Our lesson/activities last about 5-10 minutes tops, but so far Landon seems to be having fun with them. I thought I would share on here the themes we've picked out and a few of the things we have done in the past few weeks. We are SO brand new at this I would love to hear ideas about what has worked with your kids, where to get cute activity ideas/print offs, etc. The more ideas we share the more everyone benefits!!

September: Preparedness

In September we went to the store and bought food storage (separate from an actual grocery shopping so it was more obvious what we were doing) as a family and talked about it, we taught Landon how to turn on a flashlight in case of an emergency and talked about how light makes dark less scary, and then we packed our car with an emergency kit. That was my favorite activity because Landon has a little car that he can ride in and that is the car we had him help us pack. It was a good hands-on experience I think.

October: Temples

Monday night we took a picnic to the Provo temple and ate dinner and talked about the temple. He loves the temple and points them out as soon as he sees one, so I'm feeling good about this month's theme! Next week we are going to color "I love to see the temple" pictures and practice the primary song. Other things I have thought of are: talking about how we get ready to go to the temple someday (with some kind of hands on activity), and then talking about how Heavenly Father gave each of us our bodies, which is its own kind of temple then talk about how we take care of our bodies. That sounds much more complicated than it will actually turn out ... but you get the general direction I'm going.

The rest of the themes we came up with:

November: Thanksgiving/Gratitude
December: Christmas
January: Missionary Work
February: Love One Another
March: Families are Forever
April: Easter
May: Nature/The World
June: Country/Patriotism
July: Pioneers
August: Reverence (although I'll be honest ... he could really use this one now :)!)

Then we'll start back over with Preparedness or adjust our list. I'm sure there are books out there, but I usually feel like they cater to older kids. However if you know of any that are great for the toddler to preschool age, please let me know or if you have any thoughts, ideas or reference material you can pass along it will be appreciated!!

Fall Football!

2011-10-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

What's fall without a little football?! Landon talks about football constantly and is a pro at the "rah-rah" part of the Cougar fight song ... so on Friday night Jeff, my dad and I took Landon to his first BYU football game! He loved it! I'm not sure what he loved more - the actual football game, getting to sing the fight song with thousands of people, or getting to watch the jumbo-tron (a big thrill in and of itself).

My dad is as true-blue of a fan as you get,
so I'm glad they got to go together!

Jeff loves Landon's football obsession ...
I think it's because it gives him an excuse to watch more!

Go Cougars!!

He also took a walk around the stadium with dad. He found a whole bin of footballs ... and that was too awesome not to play with. He loves footballs but he wants the real thing not a baby-sized one.
It was so fun to take him to his first game and let him watch his favorite sport live. Go Cougars!!

Colorado

2011-09-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Colorado for a friend's wedding ... and just to have a little weekend getaway! We had such a great time. We have friends who live really close to where the wedding was taking place who decided to come along for the ride ... and they were sweet enough to volunteer to watch Landon during the wedding.

On Friday we went to downtown Ft. Collins. It is a beautiful town! They have a fun downtown area with restaurants, shops and a fountain. Landon was in heaven. We were with our friend Jacqueline's whole family ... and they lavished Landon with attention. Jacqueline's mom had a cat ... poor thing. She probably will never be the same again after all of Landon's attention and "affection." And Scott's parents had a water feature in their back yard. It is now full of rocks courtesy of Landon's incredible throwing skills. We were really lucky everyone was so patient and thought he is one cute kid, otherwise we might have had to find a hotel :)!
That night was the wedding. It was fun to see an old friend so happy! The wedding was very beautiful and unique. I think one of the biggest highlights for me was seeing my favorite teacher from high school there. We had a great time catching up. She is what all teachers should be made of - she is strong, inspiring and genuinely cares about her students. She immediately wanted to know everything I had been doing and remembered all kinds of things about me. Even now, all these years later, seeing her made me want to try a little harder and be just a little bit better.

Please excuse the weird lighting ... they had some really
beautiful decorations and lighting effects going on that didn't
quite translate in pictures!

The other highlight of the evening? Seeing Jeff dance. Seriously, folks, it's magical. Magical! I wish there were a way to capture the essence of it ... but I'm afraid there isn't so you're just going to have to imagine him fast-dancing instead. And pray we end up at an event where you get to see it live someday :)!

On Saturday we drove to Elizabeth - where I lived during high school. Jeff hasn't ever seen it, or really met many people who knew me growing up, so the entire weekend was really fun for him. I have always told him Elizabeth was small and quite a ways out in the country. It wasn't until Saturday that he really got that! It is still SO small! They have added a Wal-Mart and Sonic. And maybe a few little businesses here and there ... but otherwise it is still a three stoplight town. Yes, you read that correctly. Three (that is a total by the way).

I was in the last class that graduated from the original high school, which is now a middle school. There is a new, bigger high school across the street. A sign that they are now a thriving metropolis? Nope, when you see the pics below you'll understand why!

The football field I cheered at (above) and the
gymnasium where we had basketball games and
pep rallies (below)!

We also got to see my old house and neighborhood. That was so fun! We loved that house. When I was just tiny (around 3 maybe?) my dad built me the cutest playhouse. And then, being the very dedicated parents that they are, proceeded to haul it to Oklahoma and then Colorado for me. Unfortunately, it had made enough moves that Colorado was where it had to stay. But I got a picture of Landon and I in front of that too.
It was so fun to see Elizabeth. It was a great place to go to high school and it was full of a lot of really fun memories. I had a great time sharing that with Jeff and Landon.

That night we went to Pearl Street in Boulder. It's quite the place! They were having a fall festival and are known for their street performers. It was really fun - we all had a great time. Landon especially loved the band that was playing!! Random people kept getting up and dancing along. I think they define "free spirits" there!

Overall, it was a fun time. I'm so glad we went!

18 Months

2011-09-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Landon is 18 months old today! I feel like every time we hit a "milestone" like this I ask the same question ... where has the time gone? It just feels like it rushes right by. He has grown up so much since turning 1, I can't even believe it sometimes. I love spending time with him because he has so much personality!

A few fun things about Landon.

*LOVES trucks, tractors, trains and airplanes. And talks about them all the time!
*LOVES Elmo. He pronounces it "Melmo" and definitely thinks they are best buddies.
*Has decided he does like to walk now and is getting much braver. He lets go all the time and is very proud of his new accomplishment. Now that he is getting so independent I am really grateful he waited so long!!
*Can say more than 40 words and surprises us all the time with what he understands. We have some pretty funny conversations.
*Still a great sleeper (thank goodness!) ...
*LOVES to play in the dirt and on the playground.
*LOVES football. Seriously ... he and Jeff were throwing a big football (he doesn't like the tiny ones as much) yesterday and he was doing a great job catching and throwing. He loves to do the "rah-rah ... Go Cougars!" part of the fight song, and he will watch a game on TV. Jeff is so proud :)!
*LOVES to read. He will happily stay in his room reading books, or be playing with his toys and stop to read. I love this because it is something that we share. My favorite part of the day is right after we wake up we snuggle in his chair, covered in a blanket reading.
*His favorite foods are: grapes, strawberries, fruit snacks, yogurt, waffles, eggs, black beans, pizza and milk. And chocolate :)!

I don't want to forget a single minute of him ... he just makes our lives complete. My little sister loves photography (and is pretty darn talented!) and was nice enough to take Landon's 18 month pictures. We love all of them ... but here are a few of our faves.
We love you so much Landon!! Happy 18 Months!

Numb

2011-09-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

When Landon woke up from his nap he started digging through his nightstand drawer. Underneath the books he found his Oragel tooth gel. We haven't used it in a while but he remembered that it goes in his mouth. He acted like he wanted some so I put some on one side and put a bit more on my finger for the other side.

Well, after one side he remembered "oh yeah, I don't like that" and promptly refused the other part. I was stuck ... boy on lap, who is still digging for the perfect book, and no where to wipe the goo.

So what do I do? Yup. I smeared it on my own gums ... I figured I couldn't remember what it was like so why not?

Now, I feel as though I just finished at the dentist. I can't feel anything! I swear my tongue might be twice its normal size and I think the stuff is spreading through my mouth like a strangely mutating virus. And to top it all off I have suspicions that I might be drooling.

It was an interesting post-nap story time to say the least given my current situation. And all I kept thinking was "and they let babies use this stuff?!" (Although I should have probably been thinking "what was I thinking!!")

"PANE!"

2011-09-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Landon has entered the little boy phase of being obsessed with everything that moves ... particularly trains and planes (or "choo-choos" and "panes" as he calls them). It's pretty darn cute. I heard they were going to do an event at the Spanish Fork Airport, (I know, you didn't know it existed either...) so we had to check it out.

It was a huge hit! They did a pancake breakfast, helicopter rides and had a lot of planes on display. They also had people who fly remote controlled airplanes flying their planes. These people spend some serious time building these things ... it was impressive.

It was so much fun! Landon couldn't get enough (nor could he say pane and copter (for helicopter) enough.). I hope I never forget how he says panes in a sing-song-y voice and copter in a low manly voice. It cracks me up!

I was really impressed by how cool the little planes were (although I don't know who in their right mind would get in one) and what the remote controlled planes could do. If you like that kind of thing, I highly recommend you check it out next year!

Movie Date

2011-09-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon this guy and I went on a movie date to see Winnie the Pooh ...
Landon LOVED the movie theater experience :)! I told him we were going to see Tigger (his favorite character) and he kept talking about it the whole way there. He thought the lobby was fantastic (please keep in mind we were at the Spanish Fork theater ...) and the snacks just as cool. He loved the previews. Every time one finished he put his hands out like "where did it go?" and then he clapped when people on screen clapped. He lasted through about half the movie before he needed to get up and explore a bit (this was easy since we were the only 2 people in the theater).

We actually made it through the whole movie, even though I could tell he was getting antsy a few times. He was so excited to walk out to the lobby again and we had to keep walking around it so he could check everything out. I made the mistake of trying to leave too soon, only to be met with a protest and pointing back toward the creepy, under-the-sea mural on the wall. There were fished to be looked at and he was not going to leave without doing so.

A super cool bench in the lobby

It was so cute and really fun to take him. I love these types of adventures with my little man.

Embarrassing Confession

2011-09-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have an embarrassing confession for you all. Once upon a time when I was a young, innocent teenager I had the HUGEST crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (aka JTT for those of you who are about my age :)!). We're talking posters in the room, fan letters, obsessively watching his show/movies kind of crush. Basically, it was love. Or so I thought :)! Luckily I moved on ... but then today I saw this on people.com and had to share.
Apparently the cast of Home Improvement reunited ... he's the second from the left. Ah ... memories!

(PS ... keep reading if you haven't read about our Labor Day ... this was just a quick follow-up post!)

Labor Day Weekend Shenanigans

2011-09-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

We decided to play it low key this Labor Day weekend ... and had a great time doing it! Here's a little play-by-play since I'm sure you're just dying to see what we did :)!

We kicked off the weekend with a big pancake breakfast. Don't you love those? My newest obsession is chocolate chip pancakes. Oh. My. Gosh. Heaven. Try them ... you won't be disappointed, I promise. I mean, really, is there any better way to start your day than with chocolate. Didn't think so.

Landon on the other hand decided his needed peanut butter with his ... lots and lots of peanut butter.
We did a little BYU game watching. Landon repeats "football" over and over again - he gets so excited. He also insists on holding his own remote ... and if you ask him to sing the fight song he does the cheer part and ends with his arms in the air grinning. It kills me it's so cute! I'm seeing lots of football in my future ... or in Jeff and Landon's future while I shop :)!

Game day excitement ... he can't even contain himself!

It was pretty intense (in other words ... we were loosing!)

Saturday we also played in the park and then Jeff and I went out for our anniversary. Funny story: We went out for a "fancy" dinner in Hawaii, so we decided to go low-key. A few friends tried Spark in Provo a while back and raved about how good it is and the fun atmosphere. I thought it would be fun to try something different. Oh my gosh ... there was literally NO ONE else in the restaurant with us (with the exception of our waitresses' boyfriend ... which she kept kissing). It was so awkward. So, so awkward. And really not the fun atmosphere we were shooting for. So we got up and left. And went to PF Chang's instead. It was amazing :)! We didn't get a picture that night ... but here is one we snapped the next day (gotta remember to take these for future anniversary posts!)
We went to a cousin's baby blessing on Sunday. After the blessing and before the dinner we had some time so we drove up the canyon for a bit. Do you ever drive up Provo Canyon (or really any canyon around here) and realize how beautiful Utah really is? Sometimes it just takes my breath away. We're pretty lucky.

While we were up the canyon Landon decided to throw some rocks into the stream. I'm surprised there are rocks left on that particular little stretch of beach :)! He LOVED it and just kept throwing them as fast as we could pile them up for him. After every throw he cheered and clapped for himself. You know, if self esteem is based off of rock throwing I think he'll be a-okay in life :)! If only it were that simple right?Back at the dinner there was a really cool climbing toy. We looked over and saw this:
I was thinking, "oh cute, he thinks he can climb up that" ... only to look over and see this a couple of seconds later:
So he knew he could climb it apparently. Um, when did that happen?! (Not him climbing it in that moment, but just my little baby getting so big and fearless?!)

Then Jeff caught the triumphant crawl to the other side.
He takes his climbing very seriously apparently. Or maybe he is just sick of parents who take so many pictures. It could go either way, really.

We finished off the weekend with some Dutch Oven in the park with friends. He was so excited to climb and play with Jeff. I told him to say "cheese" and he did ... he just didn't look at me when he did :)!
Sometimes low-key weekends are the best. How did you spend yours?

6 Years ... in Pictures

2011-09-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

September 2, 2005
Salt Lake City, Utah
Fall 2006
Chicago, Illinois
(in the subway on our way
to our first Cubs game)
Fall 2007
Near our home

Spring 2008
Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Spring 2009
Ireland
Summer 2010
Midway, Utah
(our first night away since Landon's arrival!)
Summer 2011
Oahu, Hawaii

I love you babe! It's been a great journey so far ... here's to lots more love and adventures!!

Thoughts and Questions

2011-09-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

**I was chatting with Landon this morning. I told him I want to have his picture taken for his 18-month "birthday," then I proceeded to ask him what he thought he should wear. In all seriousness he looked at me and said "Melmo" (translation: Elmo). Ooookaaaayy... well, honey, thanks for weighing in. I think I'll decide, but I do appreciate your input.

**Speaking of clothes ... I bought a bright blue dress to wear to a friend's wedding. It's a beautiful, vibrant blue. What color of shoes should I wear? A lady at a shoe store told me to "absolutely not wear black" and suggested a few things instead (bronze, grey, etc.) I'm pretty open. BUT I own a pair of black high heels that I haven't ever had a reason to wear (I bought them when I was 9 months pregnant ... need I say more?). They are amazing. Seriously ... slingbacks, peep toes, studded ... that type of amazing. And I think they would look great. What do you think?

**Tomorrow we will have been married for 6 years! SIX! Makes me happy.

**A couple of weeks ago a friend bought me a book to say thank you for something. I think a book is one of the most charming gifts to get. On my nightstand I have a book from my mom (Jane Eyre ... one of the most beautiful books ever written), from my mother-in-law (Created for Greater Things by Jeffrey R. Holland, a fabulous book of quotes) and one from a dear friend (The Blue Day Book ... so cute). If you ever have a hankering to buy me a present a book is a great way to go :)!

**For some reason this year I am already thinking about Halloween costumes, Christmas gifts and all the prep that goes into the holidays. It's good to think ahead ... but really ... I need to just enjoy these last few days of summer!

**What kinds of things are you doing over the long weekend? Planned for this fall? Now that Landon is bigger we are always looking for fun things to do.

The Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is already the end of August! Where does the time go? And more specifically, why do summers pass so quickly? We've had so much fun these past few weeks ... just enjoying hot, lazy summer days.

Some of our favorite things lately:
* Swimming (both in Grandma's baby pool and the big pools) ... Landon LOVES going down the big slides
* Playing in the dirt ... a little boy's dream
* Playing Dump Trucks (it's a pretty sophisticated game, if you're nice we'll teach you how)
* Going on walks (or rides in his car in Landon's case)
* Playing on the playground ... Landon is a climbing, sliding machine
* Having friends over
* Eating snow cones!

I caught a couple of these in pictures so I must share ...

I can't even describe how much Landon loves dirt ... LOVES it!
We went to get snow cones the other night. Behind the "shack" they have fans that mist water on you. You guessed it ... Landon thought this was incredibly awesome :)! Here he is trying to catch the water ...
And taste the water ... And I finally got them to show off their blue tongues for me :)Playing at Grandma's pool ... I couldn't get these two to both look at the same time :)
(It kind of looks like she's checkin' him out don't you think?)This afternoon we were at Grandma's and I saw a HUGE caterpillar from across the driveway ... they have a pretty big driveway so that is saying something about this bug. I detest bugs, so I called my sister Ale over to pick it up so Landon could look at it (aren't I both an amazing mom and sister ... as demonstrated from the previous statement, ha ha). Here he is checking it out ...
Then he moved in closer ...
Overall he was still a little unsure about touching it (fortunately for that caterpillar I'm sure) ... but he did think it was pretty interesting :)!

How are you spending the "dog days of summer?"

Starting the Day Off

2011-08-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was getting ready to go to work. Landon and I were downstairs and I was making him some eggs for breakfast. He always eats right after I leave with his sitter, but usually he needs to help me with my breakfast too :). I looked over from the stove and saw this:
He was eating my Kashi cereal, drinking his milk and reading his "Baby Listens" book (one that my mom got as a gift for me before I was born). I thought it was so stinking cute!! What a way to start the day off right!

The Help: A Review

2011-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

I love to read. Okay, that's an understatement ... I love, love, LOVE to read. It's my zen time. Some people watch TV, listen to music, work out, etc. and I like those things too - they have their place - but when I'm reading I am really and truly happy.

About a year ago I read The Help for the first time. And I was absolutely blown away. For those of you who don't know what the book is about (and have clearly been living under a rock) here is a quick description. (I pulled it off of Goodreads, because I thought they could be more concise).

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

It's a powerful book that let's you see a challenging and powerful time in our nation's history from different points of view. It's the kind of book that makes you laugh and cry ... and can change the way you look at life. It challenges you to have the courage to do the right thing, even when its the hard thing to do. You miss the characters when you finish ... like you could have kept up your conversation for just a bit longer. Love that.

Last week the movie came out. Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of books that have been turned into movies. I generally don't think they do the book justice. But I had high hopes for this one ... and it did not disappoint.

It's hard to condense a book like The Help into a movie (albeit a long movie). But they did a beautiful job - they caught the most important aspects so you didn't feel like you were missing out, without making it cumbersome with detail. The actresses (the movie is pretty much all women) did an incredible job of becoming the people they play. You love and hate them (depending on the person!) and get attached to them. And it moved me (and everyone around me). Not an easy task.

If you're looking for a great read or movie to watch, I can't recommend either enough!

Going Home

2011-08-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today I RSVP'd for a friend's wedding. I went to High School with him ... so it's been a while since we've seen each other, and we're both really excited! It's interesting, because my parents moved not long after I moved to college at 18 ... so "home" has been a very fluid concept for me for the past 11 years (and if you're quick with math you now know 1. exactly how old I am and 2. what year I graduated from HS :)!). And once I broke up with my high school boyfriend I never went back ... that would be 10 years ago.

Ten years is a long time. I've actually always envied people who have a home town. A place where you grew up from kindergarten on and years later still know everyone. I love that we moved a lot and I got to meet a lot of new people - it really shaped who I am - which is priceless. But sometimes, when people talk about a hometown I have a longing for that as well.

Elizabeth, Colorado is where I went to high school and the last place I lived at home full time. That was the last place that was "home" before Jeff and I made our own home here in Utah. I didn't go "home" during college ... I went to my parent's house. Which was always wonderful ... I just didn't have any other connection to any of those places that always left me feeling a bit like I was floating somehow.

I didn't stay super connected with many people from high school past my first couple of years of college. I just didn't hold on. And in a lot of ways that makes me really sad ... I had some really great friends. And I've reconnected with a few over the last year, which has been really nice. Maybe in some way I feel like I need to go home and reconnect before I move into my 30s. (I'm not sure why, that just sounds sort of poetic doesn't it?!)

Jeff is really excited to see where I went to high school, where we lived, and meet a few people. I've contacted a couple of people, and to hear their excitement over getting to see one another has been so wonderful ... like I mattered to them the same way they mattered to me.

Every time I hear the Bon Jovi song "Who Says You Can't Go Home?" it reminds me of me ... like just because I didn't still have a physical house there I tried to distance myself, or maybe I just lost the connection.

I spent 20 years trying to get out of this place
I was looking for something I couldn't replace
I was running away from the only thing I've ever known
Like a blind dog without a bone
I was a gypsy lost in the twilight zone
I hijacked a rainbow and crashed into a pot of gold
I been there, done thatand I ain't lookin' back on the seeds I've sown,
Saving dimes, spending too much time on the telephone
Who says you can't go home

[Chorus]
Who says you can't go home
There's only one place they call me one of their own
Just a hometown boy, born a rolling stone, who says you can't go home
Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I want to go, who says you can't go home
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, its alright

I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face
There isn't one of these lines that I would erase
I lived a million miles of memories on that road
With every step I take I know that I'm not alone
You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home
These are my streets, the only life I've ever known,
who says you can't go home

[Chorus]

I been there, done thatand I ain't looking that
It's been a long long road
Feels like I never left, that's how the story goes

It doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where you go
If it's a million miles aways or just a mile up the road
Take it in, take it with you when you go,
who says you can't go home

[Chorus]

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, its alright
Who says you can't go home

Here's to going to one of my many "homes!"

(Lyrics from here.)

My Little Chef

2011-08-05T11:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had a hankering for cookies ... okay, cookie dough ... but you know what I mean :). Instead of making them after Landon went to bed like I usually do, I decided we could do it together. My friend Megan wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about making cookies with her little girl, and it looked like so much fun, I thought, why not? And I am so glad I did because we had a great time!

Here is the story of making Oatmeal, Craisin, White Chocolate Chip cookies ... in pictures!

First, we had to get out all the ingredients

Then we had to put all the ingredients together ...
Landon is a really good helper!

Then it was all mixed up! I love how proud
he is to get to help! So cute!!He watched me putting the dough onto the cookie sheet.
So he opened up the silverware drawer (which was right in front of him),
took out a spoon, and started imitating me :)!
Proof he snuck some cookie dough!!
Totally my son :)!
When I went to put the cookies in the oven and start
cleaning up, Landon decided to get back to that
silverware drawer. Which he unloaded/rearranged ...
this was his response when I caught him :)!

We waited to eat our cookies until Dad got home from scouts. Jeff and I thought they were really tasty ... Landon picked the Craisins out and just ate those with his glass of milk :)! We had so much fun doing this together. I need to find some other easy, fun things for us to make. I'm thinking play dough or something like that would be fun. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Also, if you get cookies from us ... consider yourself warned that Landon probably helped with them! He's a cooking machine now :)!

Aloha!

2011-08-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we're home! Isn't it amazing that 10 days away can feel like minutes? We had a really wonderful time ... and Hawaii is as beautiful as people say it is! Surprisingly enough we don't have tons of pictures (relatively speaking) and a lot of them are on my dad's camera. We spent much of our time with water and sand on our hands (bliss, I tell you) so a camera didn't seem like what we should be holding :)!

We had a 2 hour delay in the SLC airport - there was something wrong with the plane, which isn't my favorite thing to hear when we are flying predominately over the ocean. And then we found out they fixed it with super tape. Tape. Luckily we were still able to leave that afternoon.

The flight is a long one ... and ours was filled with kids! One flight attendant said she had never seen so many in her entire career on one flight to Hawaii. It was pretty chaotic, but that actually made it better because if Landon screamed it didn't really matter - someone else was also screaming so nobody could stare at us :)!

Our little traveler

Here is a picture of our first Hawaiian sunset. Please keep in mind we had been traveling all day and it was approximately midnight Utah time. And we were waiting to be seated for dinner. We were a bit tired and hungry to say the least!

We stayed at the North Shore for the first few days in a condo right on a golf course. Every morning we would wake up and go for a long walk and explore. Life's a bit slower up there without the hustle bustle of the city.

The first full day there we hit the beach! Landon LOVED it! The water overwhelmed him sometimes because he didn't know what to do about the waves ... but the sand was pure little-boy heaven for him. He couldn't get enough :)!

Jeff had the opportunity to go golfing and have a golf lesson with the pro at the resort where we stayed. He was in heaven! We also went to a beach known for their sea turtles and saw a turtle come up to sun herself. They are creatures of habit and always return to the same places, so she had a name and everything (there were preservationists there to protect them from tourists while they were sunning who told us her name, habits, etc.).

While we were there we also went to visit the temple - it is so beautiful. We also took in the visitor's center, BYU-Hawaii and a luau dinner at the Polynesian Cultural Center. (**After the temple we thought we lost our camera ... turns out we left it at the temple, so we are missing pictures of a day or so in there!)

Jeff and I had plans to go to the temple and my dad and James were going to go as well. However, the morning we were going to go I realized I left my recommend in my wallet back home. I usually only travel with my passport, license, debit card and credit card ... oops. How do you pack church clothes and not remember that?! Then it turns out the temple was closed for cleaning ... for the whole month. That made me feel a little better :)!

The most profound thing that happened on the North Shore, though? LANDON TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS! July 24, 2011 ... it was pretty exciting!!

After all that excitement we headed down to Waikiki beach. There is a lot to do there so we were constantly on the go. We spent time at the pool and the beach and did a lot of walking.

My mom, Ale and I went to the Iolani Palace. Hawaii is the only place in the US to have ever had a ruling Monarch - they were annexed in the late 1800s and became a state when my mom was a young girl. Isn't it weird to think Hawaii became a state such a short time ago? I remember singing "50 Nifty United States" as a kid. I had no idea there weren't 50 until the 1950s. It was so beautiful!! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside.

We also hit up Sea Life Park while we were there. It's like a very little version of Sea World. Landon LOVED it!! There were fish up close and personal (right where he could see them), a dolphin, sea lion and penguin show and lots of turtle. We even swam with the dolphins!!

Dad and Landon had to get front and center for the dolphin show!

We actually bought the DVD of our dolphin swim ... it was so cute (and because I am a sucker-mom who had to have the footage!)! Landon got to come with us (which is why we picked that program) and got to pet, kiss, and interact with the dolphins. It was so, so cute!!

We also spent some time at Pearl Harbor visiting the USS Arizona memorial. What a profound place. It was incredible to see the ship underwater, as well as all of the other relics, pictures and videos that they have. It's a very meaningful place for America in general, but particularly profound for us - both of our grandfather's served in World War II.

Here is part of the USS Arizona

The names of the brave men who lost their lives that day.

There was also a list of men who were part of that crew who did not lose their lives that day, but that have chosen to be buried with their comrades when they pass away. What an incredible display of patriotism and connection. It was really an awe inspiring place.

Jeff and I were lucky ... since we were with my whole family we got to go out on a romantic date while we were there. We celebrated our anniversary a bit early and ate at a fancy restaurant right on the beach ... and Jeff might have bought me a beautiful necklace and some earrings to go with it :)! Love him!

We finished up our vacation with a trip to Hanauma Bay. It is a nature preserve and one of the most beautiful places on the island! It has great snorkeling - so we did that and played in the sand. Then Jeff, my dad, James, Ale and I hiked up Diamond Head - the big volcano there. You actually hike up the crater and end up at the top rim looking out. It was beautiful!! I'm also proud to say the park ranger told us it would take 45 min. each way. We made it in 15 up and about the same going down.
What a fun, exciting trip! We were all sad to say good bye, but we'll have lots of fun memories forever.

T Minus 4 ...

2011-07-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

That's right folks ... we leave for Hawaii in FOUR days. Crazy!! My to-do list is also coming in at the number four. Four pages that is :)! Coincidence? Probably.

You know how they say you forget the bad parts about having a baby (you know, like how the baby actually got delivered)? I don't think it's true. I actually vividly remember labor and delivery. All. Of. It. But what sticks out so much more is the end result. Therefore, the rest was totally worth it.

(Stick with me here ... this is a metaphor not an announcement ...)

I hate to pack. HATE IT. I stress in ways no one should (and really probably no one else does) about what to pack, how to pack, are my bags overweight?, how long will it take me to get all this stuff unloaded and through security?, the list goes on and on. However, I LOVE to travel. Love it. Even though I vividly remember packing for our big vacation last year (with a baby in tow for the first time - and holy cow do they need a lot of stuff!), I remember even more how much fun we had. I have a few pictures from that very trip on my calendar for this month. Those memories are funny, wonderful, and priceless all wrapped up in one. Therefore ... I pack!

Today I went to Wal-Mart and came home with an immense amount of snacks, a floatie, more sunscreen (you can never have too much!), and some bathroom items. In travel size of course. I could spend hours in the travel-size aisle ... I was actually miffed that Wal-Mart's selection was getting picked over for the summer and I didn't have as much to pick from. Pathetic, I know.

We have spent approximately 1.5 million hours shopping, packing and organizing ... and making arrangements for Ellie, the fish, our plants, etc. And making list of what we are going to do!! I LOVE making lists ...

This week (other than packing and organizing) I'm checking my "appointments" off my list. There are an immense amount of beauty treatments involved when one is planning to spend 10 days on the beach. Take my word for it.

For 4 more days I will be a stress case. And then ...

We'll be in Hawaii!!! And nothing else will matter!!! YAY!!!!

Nursery!

2011-07-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today we took Landon to Nursery at church for the first time!! Technically he is only 16 months (tomorrow!) but since we teach a Primary class we can take him early. We were planning to wait until after Hawaii, but he was so busy during Sacrament meeting, we decided just to give it a shot today. He did great!! I was determined to be the kind of parent I liked when I was a nursery leader - we didn't linger or let him think that we will be a permanent part of the experience. Instead we kissed him goodbye and walked out. He didn't even cry ... he was so happy to see so many new toys! I, however, almost started crying (my saving grace was thinking of Sacrament meeting again ... it helped my resolve not to go scoop him right back up again!)! He just seemed so little in there ... and so grown up at the same time. How is my little baby already ready to be in Nursery?! (Just writing it I almost started crying again)

A little later, I thought I heard him crying, but apparently it was solved really fast because they didn't come get us at that point. He made it the whole first hour. Snack time made him a bit apprehensive (shocking, I know) so they brought him to me at that point.

I decided at the very end of church to take him back in to let him do bubbles with the other kids. I left him again so that when we went to pick him up it would be a big, exciting ordeal (just like for the other kids) so he could see and experience that. He loves bubbles so I knew he would be okay :)!

I'm so proud of him! He did great for his first time, especially since it is right during his normal nap time. Nursery may take a little bit longer for him to get used to the full two hours, but it is SO worth it ... for his interaction with friends ... and our sanity during the rest of church!! Yay for Nursery and Nursery leaders!!

Networking

2011-07-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a networking luncheon to attend for work. I actually helped plan and organize the whole thing, so for the first time since before Landon was born (16 months ago!) I was headed off to a work function. It was like stepping back in time and into a different life for a brief time.

Once upon a time I was as comfortable in dress clothes as I am in jeans. I could wake up in the morning and put on an outfit without having to think about it (which, is easy to do considering most of what I own is black, white and khaki :)!) But this morning I was a bit hesitant and unsure of myself ... it had been so long! I slipped into a silky purple blouse and black slacks. My favorite kind ... Banana Republic in black that are pleated and cuffed so perfectly ... and fit just right. Chandelier earrings and a loose bracelet. I was coiffed, made up and perfumed to be "understated and sophisticated." And in three inch slingback stilettos. I could write an entire post on how much I love slingback high heels. They rock my world.

The event was a huge success. Sometimes I forget I help make those things happen since I stay behind the scenes and don't travel anymore. It was nice to see it in person. I had forgotten how nice it is to see beginning, middle and end of a project. I had forgotten that it is nice to connect in person with people you regularly email with and speak with on the phone. I guess sometimes I just forget that what I do matters. And that I can still rock slacks and high heels in style. (Please don't misinterpret that I no longer wear heels. Oh the horror! Just not as regularly, or in this setting.)

I had also forgotten that slacks are hot in the summer ... and heels are too after a certain number of hours in them. I had also forgotten that "networking" means "meat market" to many men still. Ladies, we might work really, really hard to be seen as equals, but I fear that some men just might not ever get it. Thankfully some are enlightened, and for that we are lucky.

It was fun to step back into that role for a bit. I wouldn't trade my new one for the world, and I'm grateful for a company who values both my roles ... that's priceless to me.

Kind of like those slingbacks :)!

Mommy's Little Helper

2011-07-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Landon is very into imitating people lately ... he LOVES to mimic us. I think it is pretty funny most of the time. Who knew a 15 month old could watch me pull out a pack of gum and start "chewing" with his mouth because he knows that is what is coming? Adorable, I tell you.

Yesterday I cleaned our sliding glass door. While I was busy cleaning, Landon was busy watching. When I went outside to clean he was so kind as to put both his little hands (whose prints I had just cleaned off) and his tongue on the glass :)! I had to laugh... he was just so interested in what I was doing. I didn't think much of it and went back to making dinner.

But a few minutes later I found him doing this:

He got into the washrag/towel drawer and pulled a couple out, crawled over to the glass, stood up and started washing the windows. It was so cute I could hardly stand it!

The Grand Finale

2011-07-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

After Bloomfield we headed back to celebrate the Fourth of July in my parent's hometown - Osceola. Landon got more quality time with Grandma and got to meet Aunt Salowa and cousins Colton and KaDee. (My aunt is actually only 6 years older than me ... so Colton is my brother James' age and KaDee is 5.)

Pictures of the Fam:
Osceola knows how to celebrate the Fourth of July in style (minus the fact that the fireworks were the night before). They have a carnival that sets up in the middle of town. So many of my childhood memories surrounding the Fourth of July take place at that carnival because we used to go visit my grandparents every year at that time. It's funny to look back - I remember it being so much bigger and more glitzy ... interesting how time changes perspective.

(Even my mom got in on the action while my grandma (below) kept
Landon. See how stylish and sassy she still looks?! Told you.)

(Landon LOVED the carousel. He petted his horsey after and blew it kisses)

(With my cousin Kimmy and her son. Please note his shirt ...
it says corn fed. In Iowa they grow kids big ... and the joke is that
they are corn fed. I tried to find Landon the same t-shirt, for obvious reasons :)!)

This picture deserves a story. My brother and cousin are apparently both afraid of heights, yet desperately wanted to ride the Farris wheel. So they begged me to go with them. Naturally that meant that at the very top I had to bump into my brother and say "Don't fall" as loud as I could. They both screamed like girls. Priceless. I can't wait until they have girlfriends to share all these fantastic stories with.

Now for a little trip down memory lane ...

This is the first home my parents owned - the one they brought me home to. Then it was super cute ... you can't even imagine. My dad worked in construction and spent hours making it their little home. I haven't been in it since I was about 6 months old and obviously don't remember it for real, but I can picture the wood burning stove in the living room where my mom used to wheel my bassinet near so that I would stay nice and warm during my nap ... just from hearing the stories so many times. It's sad to see it get so run down.
And here is the house my dad grew up in. I LOVE this house and was so sad when it was time for my grandpa to sell it. My grandma made the upstairs so grandma-y. Themed rooms, nicknacks everywhere and a screened-in back porch. The basement was a wonderland to a little kid. There was a real bar where we could play restaurant (with an old fashioned telephone), a pool table and my grandma's ceramics studio. I painted many a Christmas ornament under her tutelage. Looking at them now I am certain that she helped fix them up a bit once I left them to dry. I assure you I couldn't paint something that turned out that well now, let alone then.
We didn't get a good picture of where my mom grew up. It was a farm, but no one lives there anymore and it was mainly just grass and plants. However, once upon a time my mom worked at this hotel ... now home to the Statue of Liberty (who knew?!). It was so fantastic I had to get a picture of it.
We all had so much fun! We were sad to say goodbye!

Bloomfield

2011-07-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Since my trip-blogging was so rudely interrupted by the battery problem, I'm going to take a step back a few days and catch you up. Friday morning we headed down to Bloomfield where my grandpa lives (my dad's dad). We had a fun time getting there...

First we stopped in this itty-bitty town called Humeston and ate at a little cafe. It is the best food we ate while there ... so delicious!! I think they thought it was so funny that we wanted our picture taken out front.
Then we stopped at a park for a while. James was pushing Landon in the swing and he thought it was SO much fun! (And I thought the pics were so cute!)
When we got to Bloomfield Landon met his great-grandpa Wuthrich for the first time. My grandpa has been married to Helen for a few years and we got to spend time with her too. She is very sweet and truly embraced our whole family.
Bloomfield is exactly what you picture when you think of a little farming community. It's tiny, quaint and everyone knows everyone else. We went to the farmer's market, ate at the local "nice" restaurant, got together with my dad's cousins and got to take a tractor ride! They didn't even have internet ... so we got to experience the quiet life for a couple of days :)!

(Landon meeting a cat at the Farmer's Market...they weren't so sure about each other)
(Playing with Great-Grandpa and his trains)

My dad has a cousin named Kenny. There probably isn't a nicer person on the planet. But when I was a young teenager he told me I looked like a Wuthrich - my dad's side of the family. I was SO offended. I thought he meant I looked like a guy. He still teases me about getting so mad that day :)!

(Hanging with Dad's cousins - this is Kenny)
(Finally a dog happy to meet Landon :)!)

Here we are riding tractors ... Landon and James even helped to plant some organic beans on my dad's cousin Kenny's farm.

When everyone was in bed I went to the basement and looked through old photo albums of my grandpa growing up and his married life to my grandma. My grandma had labeled everything. Even though she passed away when I was only 14, I still recognized her handwriting instantly.

We had so much fun, we were sad to say goodbye!!

A few Iowa-isms

2011-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

We went to Bloomfield where my grandpa lives for a couple of days and didn't have internet. And then when I got back with a camera full of great pictures my battery died. DIED! And naturally I didn't bring the charger. BAH! We switched to using my mom's camera, but we don't have any way to upload the pics. So you'll have to wait for all that. In the mean time a few fun Iowa-isms for you ...

*The other night at the local Mexican join (located in the old Hardee's ... very classy) our waiter looked and sounded just like Pedro from Napolean Dynamite. Fantastic!
* At that same classy establishment a girl had her baby with her. And then she proceeded to change it's diaper at their table. Seriously.
* They did their fireworks show the night before the Fourth of July. Why? We're not really sure. But we missed them because we didn't know. Sad, because I love fireworks!
* When we were up at the carnival I pulled James onto the carousel with Landon and I ... and didn't give them tickets for him. He's a teenager on a carousel ... we weren't going to pay for him. Luckily the guy didn't even care :)!
* Landon loves horses. After the parade they had one in a trailer to take him home. His owner told us we could go pet him as much as we wanted ... Landon loved that! And then after his carousel ride he petted his horsey and blew it kisses :)!
* Everyone we run into still calls my dad "Jimmy" when they ask about him. I don't think he has gone by Jimmy since he was a kid. But old habits die hard. Besides ... we know who they are referring to :)!
* They also seem to think that James (my little brother) goes by "little Jimmy." We haven't ever called James anything but James :)! It takes them a few tries, but eventually James figures out they are talking to him and responds to little Jimmy.
* I got to meet someone who threw my mom a baby shower when she was pregnant with me. She even remembered which quilt she sewed as my gift.
* At the ice cream shop (which has an AMAZING brownie sundae ... that I might have had multiple times during our trip) a lot of people just walk in the back. I'm not sure what they were doing ... getting their food? Telling the employees they need something added to their order? Who knows ... but apparently it's acceptable.

There is something so endearing about quirky small towns, I really love it.

A Midwestern Summer Day

2011-06-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a typical Midwestern summer day. We were invited to lunch by an old family friend. They go back so far they knew my parents before they were even married. It was fun to catch up with them. Then we went to the pool ... it was SO hot! Landon loved it ... they have a great shallow area where babies play and women sunbathe. He had a great time crawling up to them and flirting ... But then he realized I wasn't going to let him crawl his way to the really deep water (I'm a mean mom you know) ... so we finally decided to leave and have a nap.

After dinner we visited my grandma's grave (my dad's mom). I haven't been there in a long time. It was really nice to go. Landon really liked crawling around in the grass while my mom told us stories about their small town.
We finished the night off with some ice cream from a local creamery ... delicious! Landon loved it as you can see ...
After the ice cream was finished he created quite the masterpiece. We were both covered in chocolate ice cream by the end. But really, isn't that what summer is all about?
Iowa-ism:
* My mom used to babysit the guy who runs the pool. She potty-trained him and his twin brother when they were 2 ... and she only made $15 a week to do it! He let her in for $1 instead of $4.

Love at First Sight

2011-06-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today Landon and my grandma met each other for the very first time in person. It was love at first sight!! (Don't mind Landon's expression ... he was snacking and had very full cheeks :)!)
I have been really excited for this day for a long time. My grandma and I have always been close. She is an amazing lady and one of my biggest examples. Her life hasn't been easy. But no matter what has come her way she has prevailed. And on top of that she raised four wonderful daughters (no easy feat in and of itself!) most importantly my own mom who is so much like her!

When I was born my grandma was there to help my parents adjust to being brand new parents. She often took the night shift so they could get some sleep (I had my days and nights mixed up), and has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders.

When I got married she took the train all the way from Iowa to Utah (she doesn't fly). That is a LONG ride. But she said she wouldn't miss it for the world. Love that.

When Landon was born she sent him adorable outfits and called regularly to see how we were doing, and to find out all about him. Her condo is filled with his pictures. She has loved him for forever ... and now she has met him in person!

Here is a picture of Landon playing with uncle James ... it's very cute how they play together!
And for your enjoyment a couple of Iowa-isms:

*As an appetizer at dinner we ate deep fat fried balls of creamed corn. They were actually delicious.
* When I told the lady at the front desk that I needed a crib in our room she said "I hate our crib" and acted very put out by the whole thing. And I had to pay $10 per day for it. Seriously. Customer service isn't a strong point.
* A large tractor is what was moving the Fourth of July carnival booths/rides into place. In the middle of town.

Travel Day

2011-06-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I was the sophisticated traveler. You know the type ... cool, collected and completely put together. I wore pencil skirts or slacks and high heels.

That was then.

Yesterday I probably looked like something the cat drug in. We woke up really early and left for the airport by 6. Landon did great on the first flight! He was fascinated by the process ... especially looking out the window. But he did a lot of climbing over all of us the entire flight :)!

We had a four hour layover (yes, you read that right!) in Dallas. This was actually SUPER lucky. One of my best friends - Yissel - lives 15 min. from the Dallas airport. She came and picked us up, we grabbed lunch and played with her kids and chatted at her house. It was a much needed break!! If you aren't familiar with Texas weather, though, it is killer! It was hot and so, so humid! It made me miss the desert!

I could tell Landon was getting really tired at this point. I held him and insisted he try to sleep. Luckily he did ... and it was a very quiet flight!! A much needed time out for all of us.

By the time we got off the plane, though, we were really hot and sweaty. We looked awesome :)! But we made it! We checked out the rental car (it's approximately the size of a peanut) and got the car seat put in (worst car seat EVER ... I'm totally anxious about Landon sitting in it), and got checked into the hotel (very nice and air conditioned!). Success!!

We miss Jeff. A lot. But if I can't have him with us, then I'm so glad I have his mini-me version along. Even if I look and feel a bit crazy on the plane :)! Heels weren't really that comfortable to travel in anyways :)!

Iowa

2011-06-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning bright and early Landon and I are leaving to go to Iowa with my mom and little brother. For eight days. Eight. That is a long time away from Jeff. We've never done something like it before ... the eight days or the long plane ride it involves. I know lots of women have husbands who travel a lot ... or they go on vacations with the kids a lot. But we're not really those people ... we usually go most places together (I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to that). So wish us luck. Luckily my mom and little brother will be there too ... so I'll have extra hands!

I'm really excited for Landon to meet his great-grandparents for the first time ever! And for him to get to ride a real tractor and maybe even pet a pig (Iowa is famous for pigs and corn ... I can tell you are getting more jealous of us by the minute!). And for us to get to see one of my best friends on our Dallas layover tomorrow!

Lucky for you guys I will be sure to tell you amazing tales of life in Iowa. It's as exciting as you are imagining it to be, I promise.

Professions to Ponder

2011-06-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

Before I had Landon I would read articles where an actor/dancer/Olympic athlete's parent would say they just knew since they were a baby that they were going to turn into whatever they had become (always including a picture of them as a tot in the appropriate get-up). I ate it up ... especially when I was pregnant ... trying to picture who Landon would be and what I would be able to predict from his babyhood. Then I had him and I realized that babies have lot of interests and talents ... and as far as I can tell there really isn't a way to determine future profession. But if there were ... based on Landon's current skills here are some possibilities for his future (in no particular order).

*Olympic Swimmer - he has no fear of the water ... to the point where it is scary!
*Rescue Diver - please see above
*Dentist - he is obsessed with oral hygine. He already has an "electric" toothbrush because once he saw ours his normal one simply wasn't good enough.
*Doctor - he is very into labeling body parts. Thankfully it is mainly his eyes, ears, tummy and nose.
*Football player - He LOVES balls and I'm pretty sure he is built like a lineman. And as a bonus he already knows how to throw a football. So clearly we are on our way...
*Professional wrestler - just as his friend next door - she suffers through a lot of him practicing his moves.
*Movie Star - he loves to wave and blow kisses ... and he's pretty vain :)!
I am confident Landon can do anything he sets his mind to ... and I'll support him fully no matter what. However, if he becomes famous for one of these things, I plan to say I knew it from the time he was an infant.

Dear Daddy,

2011-06-19T20:24:00.001-07:00

I wanted to wish you a happy Father's Day. But since I can't type words yet (although I am really good at using the computer otherwise) mom is going to help me.

I love you because you teach me really, really cool stuff. Like how to go under water when swimming, how to throw a ball, and how to make cool noises - like the noises a snake and tiger make. I love it when we play in the park and when we go for rides in my car.
I love that you read stories with me and that you are always there to say good-night. You are the best daddy in the whole world and my best friend. I love you so much!

Love,

Landon

Diamonds vs. Clorox Wipes

2011-06-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

The famous quote is "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." And on many, many levels I agree. I love diamonds ... and they love me (I'm certain of it).

But ... on a day when they are showing our house, and I have a one-year-old who simply can't be put down no matter what exciting diversion mom has created so she can clean up the house ... I would argue that Clorox Wipes are a girl's best friend.

That was pretty much how I cleaned yesterday - Clorox wipes, a vacuum (which Landon this is the best. thing. EVER.) and air freshener. And it looks pretty darn good, I think!

So if you see my house looking very clean this week ... just know how it got there :)!

Summertime

2011-06-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Laura gave me a great suggestion for my "bloggers block" from a week or two ago. She suggested a list of what I am looking forward to. And since I feel like summer is actually here ... here is my list!

*Hawaii and everything that comes with it! Only 7 more weeks!!
*Summer picnics and Dutch Oven
*The rest of the Parade of Homes (it started Friday ... and we LOVE it!)
*Working out with my new jogging stroller (Jeff had it delivered as a surprise on Friday!!)
*Going to Iowa to introduce Landon to my grandparents for the first time. He's going to be a huge hit ... I just know it!
*Taking Landon swimming
*Mini-vacations with friends
*Soaking up the sunshine
*Cafe Rio opening up in 4 days across the street!
*Outdoor theater productions
*Celebrating Father's Day
*Going to the upcoming family reunion ... Landon will get to play with all his cousins!
*Taking Landon to baseball games
*Hanging out on the front lawn with the neighbors
*Summer dates with Jeff ... they are always so much fun!!
*Pedicures and the fun summer shoes that show them off!!
*An end-of-summer party ...

I could go on and on, but I think that is the gist of it! What are you looking forward to this summer?

Peanut Butter

2011-06-02T06:53:00.001-07:00

Landon loves peanut butter right from the jar.

Yep ... he's totally my kid :)!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun Memorial Day Weekend. Friday Jeff took off so we could extend the weekend even longer :)! We decided to take Landon to the zoo. It was really fun! The Huntsman Cancer Institute was there putting sunscreen in really bright colors on the kids. Landon's looked like blue war paint. Our computer broke this weekend, so I can't load the pictures, so you'll just have to picture it :)! He loved the big animals. I kind of don't think he could tell what we were looking at with the smaller ones. The gorilla was eating when we were there and he was right behind the glass. Landon had to walk along the glass to try to catch his attention ... he loved it! He also really liked the elephants and giraffes. They have a dinosaur exhibit right now which is pretty fun for the kids too.

Then we headed over to temple square to see the statue of Christ and walk around. Landon thought that was really cool. He even folded his arms when we told him it was time to be reverent! Then he realized the the room echoed ... and that became much cooler than sitting with his arms folded ... boys :)!

That night we got to watch Merrill, on of our nephews, play in a baseball game. They were up from Kanab. A few of his siblings thought it was getting really cold out, so they came home with us. I walked downstairs after putting Landon to bed to find them all piled up with Jeff eating popcorn, drinking hot chocolate and watching Despicable Me. It was pretty cute.

Saturday we went shopping (had to hit the sales!) and then did a Dutch Oven picnic with my family. It was so much fun, and Landon got some great grandpa time in. My dad travels a lot, so their time together is very special to them both. Landon was in heaven!!

Monday night Jeff and I went out on a date ... my mom and James were nice enough to watch Landon for us!! We tried the Blue Lemon restaurant in Highland. It was SO good!! We have been wanting to try it for a while - a friend of ours manages it - but we hadn't made it until this weekend. Delicious! They put a really unique spin on their dishes. And they have amazing dessert!! We definitely recommend it. Then we finished the date off with a stop at Barnes and Noble. I could probably live in a book store and be happy. Seriously.

It takes a Village/Ward/Community

2011-05-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

I have a fun post about Memorial Day weekend ... but since it isn't over yet I decided to share something that was on my mind lately, especially today. Do you remember when Hillary Clinton came out with the book titled "It takes a Village" several years ago? Honestly, I never read the book (nor do I generally agree with much Hillary has to say, but that is an entirely different matter), but I agree so much with the principle.

When we bought this house we really lucked out ... we didn't really know anything about the area. We just felt great vibes and decided it was for us. And boy were we right. We are surrounded by a neighborhood, ward and community who embraces one another fully. There are great people here. And great parks, programs, doctors, teachers, etc. And a ward who looks out for one another.

Since having Landon we have really understood on a whole new level why those things matter so much. It takes a village/ward (as was today's case) to raise a Landon.

It takes young men, worthy of a sweet little boy's admiration passing the sacrament each week as an example to him. Just today he was looking adoringly at them standing there waiting to be called back up to the front and one of them caught Landon's gaze and smiled at him. Landon glowed. And so did his mom who happened to catch the moment.

It takes Jeff's 11-year-old scouts trying so hard to include a 1 year old whenever they can. When we walk into singing time they fall all over themselves to hold him or talk to him. And the couple of times he has accompanied Jeff to a mid-week activity they go out of their way to make him feel part of what they are doing.

It takes patient older ward members who don't mind that Landon just threw his book under their seat (again), or is poking their back during the Sunday School lesson (those chairs with holes in the backs are much to tempting for a little boy to resist).

It takes friends and neighbors who also have kids to provide that extra distraction Landon (and we) need during the three hour block. We trade toys, snacks and sometimes even kiddos for a bit of a break from wrestling with our own.

It takes a friend to grab the sippy cup you left behind and let you know they'll drop it by later because they didn't want it to get lost and happened to know it was yours.

It takes a ward who is willing to drop everything to help someone in need by bringing in meals, no matter what the cause. When we had Landon people brought meals over a three week period. Three weeks. At the time we were between Compassionate Service Leaders ... they did it all on their own. Amazing. And I have seen it happen in many other situations as well.

It takes friends who watch out for our home, kiddo and us all the time. Many of them (but one in particular) who have provided advice or sanity at just the right moment. Or dessert. Either one works every time :)!

When we eventually do move, we'll ask a lot more questions about the schools, parks around the area and activities provided by the community for children. We might even visit the ward to check it out. But they will have lot to live up to. A lot. Because this village has done a bang up job of showing us how it's done. Thanks Village :)!

As a funny side note: At dinner I asked Landon if he learned anything new at church today. And he had an answer from me! He started doing the "rah-rah" from the BYU Cougar fight song. I'm not even kidding :)! Can you blame us for thinking he is adorable ... and brilliant :)!

Just the Two of Us

2011-05-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Kristen gave me suggestions for my blog (thanks!) ... one of which was to tell the story of how Jeff and I met. Before we (and this blog) was "just the three of us" we were "just the two of us."

We were both living in Provo. I had just graduated from BYU, working at my first "real" job and living with some close friends from college. Jeff had moved up here to live with a friend who was supposed to be getting married in December and needed someone to live with for a semester. Two of the friends we were both living with used to be an item ... and (thankfully for us!) had stayed close friends even though they had broken up.

It was November (just 1 month before Jeff was supposed to be moving back to southern Utah!) and we ended up at their house for dinner. It was a casual thing, and we weren't even really introduced past "this is so and so." We made them watch our favorite show at the time (One Tree Hill) and we ate. Jeff was so incredibly nice. He got me water and refilled my plate when I wanted some more. I didn't notice I was the only one he was doing those things for ... I just assumed he did it for everyone :)!

A couple of days later my roommate invited us over to watch the BYU vs. Utah game. That was the night we really met. We sat together and I cheered (uselessly) for BYU (they lost) and Jeff cheered for the Utes (I know ... blasphemy!). During half time we went to Cafe Rio for some dinner. Our roommates were deep in conversation, which left a lot of time for us to talk. Jeff hadn't really decided what he wanted to do with his life yet ... and I was more than happy to offer up some suggestions. And as he will tell you I am still offering that up all the time :)!

Back at their house we were talking more comfortably and joking around. The second the game ended Jeff suggested all watch Napoleon Dynamite (which had just come out). So we stayed... and somehow by the end of the evening we were snuggled up watching the movie. Hmmm...

We invited them over for dinner the next day. Which I think was a very good friend seeing the writing on the wall and trying her best to help things along. (Thank you!!)

On the way to ward council that next morning (they were supposed to be coming over for dinner that night ... just so you can keep this crucial timing straight) I might have told said friend that I thought he would be really fun to make out with. (Luckily I didn't have to wait long to find out :)!)

By the end of that dinner we were somehow holding hands (for a shy guy he was pretty smooth). And he kissed me a day or so later (and apparently a fast mover!).

Please keep in mind a few important facts at this point:
1. We have not been on a real date
2. But neither of us thought that kissing the other was too fast, or non-committal
3. The next day I was leaving for Thanksgiving with my family
4. He doesn't have my phone number at this point

The next day he called me (sneaky, sneaky ... he got that number without asking me!) and we grabbed dinner before I left town. And talked once while I was gone. And when I got back he asked me on a date. For real.

We went to temple square to see the newly-lit Christmas lights and then out to dinner. The whole time we didn't stop talking. We even decided that we both loved the name Landon for a boy (weird first date topic ... but it already felt like we had been dating for forever at this point in the night).

At first (meaning the first month or so) we just kept telling each other how much we liked each other ... and then we couldn't help but say "I love you." Both of us had secretly decided that we were getting married only a few weeks into our relationship.

And 10 months later we did :)! Almost six years later we are still so glad we met ... and that we now have that Landon we talked about so long ago!!

A lull...

2011-05-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in a blogging lull ... I have blogger's block. I can't think of anything exciting or remotely interesting to take up blogging space (except perhaps a rant about a recent Wal-Mart trip ... but I'll spare you). So I'm taking ideas or suggestions.

Let the inspiration roll in!

Happy

2011-05-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Things that are making me happy lately:

* Jeff and I read this article for FHE last night. If you are in our ward, you probably recognize it from a talk on Sunday. We liked it so much we wanted to study it some more. Good stuff.
* Landon's dancing. It has evolved to include his arms out to his sides while he rotates back and forth from the waist up. And he does it at every opportunity. Hilarious :)!
* I received a post card in the mail a couple of weeks ago informing me my aunt had purchased me a subscription to Redbook Magazine. I thought it might be one of those scams so I didn't think anything about it. Redbook arrived in the mail yesterday!!! And I love it! A thank you note is in order.
* Anything covered in chocolate. Particularly strawberries and pretzels. Yum.
* Girlfriends I can really dish with.
* Push ups. I actually don't like push ups at all. But I didn't used to be able to do more than 5 (seriously) and now I can do a lot. They are still the girl ones, but I consider the sheer number a major success.
* The homemade cards I "purchased" with my service points at our recent service auction. They have already come in handy. I love it when I get a good deal :)!
* Live plants ... I have two new ones in my house. They add so much ... and bonus they are both still living almost a week later!
* Possibility. Sometimes it seems like there is so much that could happen ... or that we could do ... and just the idea of all of it makes me happy and excited (and occasionally a little overwhelmed!) all at once.

Take me out to the ball game ...

2011-05-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (seriously, I am so behind!) we decided to take Landon to his first baseball game. It was BYU's last (or almost last, I'm not completely sure) home game, and J Dawgs was providing the food for the tailgate party before hand. And let me tell you ... Jeff doesn't ever turn down J Dawgs! Personally, I hate hot dogs and go to great lengths to avoid eating them. But everyone raves about J Dawgs ... so I was a good sport and tried on. For the record, I ate almost the whole thing. It wasn't too bad. I certainly won't go out of my way to eat one again. But I survived :)! The whole thing was really fun and as a huge bonus - Cosmo was there! Landon thought Cosmo was the coolest thing ever!

Us with Cosmo:

Playing baseball with dad at the tailgate party:
At the game:
We also bought Landon his first baseball hat (it is SO stinking cute!). He HATED it that day and spent the whole time yanking it off, or attempting to. Since then he has gotten a little better ... but not much :)! But with skin as white as his is (and let's be honest ... he comes by it naturally) he's going to have to learn to wear that hat!

Mother's Day

2011-05-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

It has been such a crazy few days that I haven't gotten to post about Mother's Day this year. Landon and Jeff went out of their way to make it really, really special for me! Saturday morning they made a big breakfast since we have early church on Sunday. And all day on Sunday I didn't have to do anything! I got to sleep in both mornings and got spoiled rotten with a delicious Mother's Day dinner.

But the cutest part of all? Jeff took Landon to pick out flowers for me. He lined up all the choices and let Landon choose which ones were from him. Landon picked beautiful hot pink Azaleas! I love them!! Jeff said he got so excited about them in the store, and when he brought them in to me he kept waving his arms around and pointing at them! It was SO stinking cute! Jeff helped him sign the card and they got me a new Flirty Apron.
I feel so blessed to be Landon's mommy (and Jeff's wife!). He makes life so special and makes me smile and laugh every single day. He has taught me so much more than I could ever teach him!! Thank you for making my Mother's Day so special!! I love you!!

A Surprise Package

2011-05-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when exciting things come in the mail ... in our house anything that isn't a bill or ad qualifies as exciting :)! The other day Landon and I went to get the mail. Interestingly enough there was a padded envelope addressed to Jeff. Ooh! Suspense ... we (okay I) wondered out loud what it could be (Landon tried chewing on it). I didn't open it though. It was addressed to Jeff, after all (not that that fact normally stops me) but this had the potential to be something really exciting and I didn't want to steal his thunder.

Then he got home and opened it ... and found this little delightful surprise:
Just in case you think your eyes deceive you ... it is a Pyrex hot pad.

Amazing huh? And just in case you *heart* Pyrex, but are unsure about how to use it ... this is the back:
Jeff had no idea why he got it, so we got a pretty good laugh out of the whole deal. And a free hot pad. And yes, we do *heart* Pyrex. Hopefully a t-shirt will come next time with the same saying on it. I would rock it proudly at the gym.

Friends

2011-05-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last week Megan asked if I could watch her little girl - we'll call her K. for privacy's sake - for her. We were SO excited! They moved a couple of hours away last year and we don't get to see them nearly enough. And K. and Landon get along SO well. Seriously. He is very much into parallel play still, but he and K. are the exception to that - they chattered, tried to share (the pic was blurry, but it was so cute to watch) and generally just had a really good time together. It was the one time I actually though "two is easier than one!" because they were so entertained by each other (and no, that does not mean we are considering giving Landon a permanent play mate yet).

It is, however, almost impossible to get a picture where two 1-year-olds are looking at the camera or smiling. Trust me, though ... they had a great time.

K. likes trains - Landon thought this was a
really great trait to find in a girl.

If Landon and K. decide to take their friendship to the next level, Jeff and I would totally approve. 1. She is super cute 2. She is fiesty (he's going to need that) and 3. Landon would end up with fabulous in-laws (as would K. I think!) and Megan and I would have more fun planning their wedding than they would :)!

Family Pictures and Easter Weekend

2011-04-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

I have been a blogging slacker lately! So forgive that this post will probably long. (I know, I know ... you have been waiting anxiously by your computer for this and would love nothing more than an eternally long post!)

A couple of weeks ago we had our family pictures taken and Landon's 1 Year Old pics. He's obviously a bit past one, but I wanted them outside. And really, how different are 12 and 13 months? My friend Rachelle at LaRee Photography did them (her link is on my side bar). Here are a few of our favorites:

Then this past weekend was Easter. Last year Landon was only a few weeks old, so thankfully Grandma took care of everything. This year though, we were all ready to fully participate! My parents have a very generous neighbor who puts on a huge Easter Egg Hunt every year. There were 1000 eggs for each age group! Landon had some help gathering a few eggs from us, but once he figured out that there was stuff in the eggs and that he was supposed to put the eggs in his basket he did a good job of taking them out and putting them back in ... then shaking them to try to determine what was in it (and to figure out why it wasn't in his mouth!).

Then on Easter he got a basket at our house and one at Grandma & Grandpa's before a huge and delicious dinner!

Clearly he & dad LOVE getting pictures taken :)!

Easter Table

2011-04-22T16:17:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law sent me the cutest table runner for Easter. As a general rule I usually only decorate our house for Christmas. I always mean to decorate for the other holidays, but I go so overboard at Christmas, I just never seem to get around to doing anything else. But when I opened the cute table runner I thought ... this deserves to have an Easter display on it!

Fast forward a couple of days. I was planning to head to Rod Works to see what I could come up with to buy when my mom called to tell me she bought me something for my table (from Rod Works!). Seriously ... it was like she read my mind! Enter one adorable bunny (which Landon is fascinated with!)...

I added a cute box with candy in it ... who can resist a little bit of Easter Candy? Or this adorable pink box for that matter?

Then Jeff brought me home the most beautiful Easter bouquet ... perfect!

It turned out a little something like this:
I think I could get into decorating for other holidays!

Inspiration

2011-04-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just need a little bit of inspiration? My mother-in-law bought me Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's new book for my birthday. Its a book of quotes called "Created for Greater Things." Jeff and I read through it together and we loved it! I could share every quote in there as inspiration ... but instead I will share just a couple (for now!).

"I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work ... Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones"

"If you are lonely, please know you can find comfort. If you are discouraged, please know you can find hope. If you are poor in spirit, please know you can be strengthened. If you feel you are broken, please know you can be mended."

"Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him."

"He has He reminds us, "graven thee upon the palms of my hands" (1 Nephi 21:16). Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to to turn His back on us now."

There are so many more! Perhaps I will have to share more later... but I love these and the feelings they give me!

Kiddo Spontenaity

2011-04-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

I was considering putting Landon up for sale this morning. He was being a grouch and all kinds of sassy ... I'm fairly certain the problem was lack of sleep with a heavy dose of teething. But then I just went to put him down for his nap and when I laid him down he pulled his thumb out of his mouth, smiled up at me and gave me a spontaneous kiss.

So, he's definitely not for sale anymore ... I'm keeping him and all his kisses just for me.

And that, my friends, is the kind of thing that just makes this mama's day.

Evidence

2011-04-11T12:17:00.001-07:00

This photo proves two very important facts:

1. The toilet is still super awesome...
2. Mom and Dad forgot to close the bathroom door again.

Aren't little boys the best?!

The Toilet

2011-04-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes when Landon wandered off in the direction of his toys in the living room. As I worked my way around the kitchen I thought to myself "he is being SO good, playing in there by himself!" and I continued what I was doing. About five minutes later I though "hmmm ... it is awfully quiet and I haven't heard any of his toys." (And since a vast majority of them play music/make noise, that's saying something.)

I went to investigate.

He was in the bathroom swishing his little hands around in the toilet bowl looking very pleased with himself. Gross. I have learned this lesson before, and was taught once again ... one should never underestimate the sheer awesomeness of the toilet to little boys. I mean really, it is just his height, which in this big-people world is super cool in and of itself, and as a HUGE bonus ... it is filled with water. Water, you must know is one of Landon's favorite things in the whole world, be it in the bath, a sippy cup or apparently the toilet.

When I told him "no" and explained for approximately the 300th time that we don't play in the toilet he just turned to look at me, gave me his most adorable little boy grin (with all of his three and a half teeth) and went right back to the toilet.

He was so pleased that he had gotten to play there for a while unnoticed that he didn't even protest when I picked him up to scrub his hands off (probably because washing his hands is one of his top five most favorite things to do since it also involves playing with water).

I wish I had my camera with me because it really was funny ... gross, but so, so funny :)!

(And clearly I need to remember to keep the down-stairs bathroom door closed!)

Inventions

2011-04-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Often, when I come across something really cool I think to myself "why didn't I think of that?" ... I would love to think of a unique idea and have it go crazy (and make me rich ... but that's another topic). And let's be honest, if you want to invent anything you want it to be for babies or kids. Your target market is ginormous and can you think of any other population other than parents who will buy anything if they think their baby needs it? Or it will make their kiddo happy? My point exactly.

I stumbled upon an article on MSN yesterday and it made me laugh really hard. It is a slide show called "Totally Bizarro Baby Products."

You should check it out! It's great for a laugh ... and not just for the products, but for their sarcastic commentary that goes along with it. I am personally torn on my favorite product ... but I think I have narrowed it down to Baby Bangs, or the Baby Bum Fan.

Enjoy!

Voice to Text

2011-03-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

My work phone (which I HATE) offered me a new feature. Let me just tell you, as a general rule I avoid all new features. Especially on my "smart" phone. I am the person who still has a flip phone (my personal cell) and I love it. I will keep it until it dies and I am forced to buy something else. But I digress ... my work phone kept asking if I wanted to try out voice to text. I did not intentionally say yes. But somehow it is now texting me my voicemails. Cool? Um, try comic relief. These texts have NOTHING to do with whatever is being said, but they are pretty funny ... Here are a few for your enjoyment.

"I just got your email sport touch base of 940 will come up on that port"

"Hey Eric ... I was just calling because I'm and the painting email ..."

"Certificate your range of some help with the fight scene for Navin if you'd she did to worked as a magic"

"So anyway Joplin doesn't know Jesus"

And on that last, very deep note, I will leave you to ponder why we call them smart phones.

Bag Love

2011-03-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'm in love ... with my new church bag. Allow me to explain ...

A few weeks ago I started telling Jeff how much I needed to find me a church bag. I kept using my baby bag - which is really heavy and things have a tendency to get lost - or my purse, which is much too small for three hour church excursions, especially when Primary is involved.

Then last weekend my sister and brother-in-law came in town (for a conference my brother-in-law was presenting at) ... and she makes adorable bags. That just so happen to be the perfect size for a church bag. Fate? I think so.

I was secretly dying to have it. So when she mentioned I could have one I practically jumped at the chance. And it's love.

The next day was Sunday. I fit the following items in my new AMAZING bag: Primary Binder, scriptures, my object lesson, three books for Landon's enjoyment, a sippy cup, snacks, a teddy bear, a blanket, my wallet, checkbook and two different kinds of lip gloss. It all fit comfortably and was super easy to find what I was looking for ... there are a couple of pockets and the material is stiff enough to stand up on its own. Awesome ... I'm telling you.

A photo:
She is actually starting to sell them on Etsy soon ... but if you want to preorder one, let me know ... I happen to know the designer.

Quirky

2011-03-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sat back and thought about your own quirks? You know ... all those delightful (or not so delightful?!) things that make you unique? For some reason my mind wandered that direction and I thought you might like to know some of mine ...

* I read all magazines back-to-front. Seriously. I couldn't tell you a time when I didn't.
* I LOVE People Magazine. So much it's ridiculous. I come by it organically. My mom is also an avid reader ... each week she buys the mag, reads it and passes it on. I actually can't bring myself to purchase it on my own, because that would break tradition.
* I HATE shopping at Wal-Mart. I do it because it is convenient. My hate of shopping at multiple stores is still stronger than my Wal-Mart hate.
* When I shop I go with a list in hand. I detest wandering around the grocery store. It's business, not pleasure. The mall on the other hand? I could wander for hours :)!
* I am a creature of habit. I do the same things every day to get ready, etc. ... and I quite literally do them EVERY day (am I starting to sound neurotic ... because I kind of feel like I am:)!)
* I am actually quite opinionated, I'm just not huge on making everyone listen to them. And I find people who think EVERYONE should agree with their point of view to be irritating.
* I am secretly quite defiant. Don't tell me I can't do something ... because then I will simply have to prove you wrong.
* I am a perfectionist ... it's actually a bad habit I am trying desperately to break. Life is messy and that is okay ... I can be messy too sometimes.
* I don't really like ice ... but I LOVE water ... like I love chocolate :). Just plain though ... no ice please!

So what makes you quirky? Or odd?

Celebration Time!

2011-03-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time celebrating Landon's birthday! We decided to make it a family day and were lucky enough to have Grandma Wuthrich, Ale, James and Grandma and Grandpa Terry in town to help us celebrate.

We started by going to the aquarium ... which Landon loves! It's is almost impossible to get a picture of him looking at the camera or smiling because he is so focused on the fish around him. I just love watching him point at things and ask "wassat?" which we are fairly certain means "what's that" and that is what it sounds like to him when we ask him, so that is how we are hearing it back.

Even before we got to the exhibits Landon was too busy to look at the camera!

We discovered he is just about the same size as a Gintu Penguin ... although he was a bit anxious that we were going to leave him standing there all by himself :)
Then we came back for dinner and cupcakes and ice cream. Landon had a really, really good time with his cupcake. These pictures can't even demonstrate what the wall and floor looked like when he was done! But I loved how much he just dug in and made the most of the experience. And really ... when else do you get to eat your birthday cake naked and be as messy as you want?

He LOVED getting sang to!
Not sure what to do yet ...
OH ... now I get it :)!
Landon got spoiled rotten with presents :)! He got a car for outside, puzzles, a fridge toy, books and clothes!
This first year with Landon went much too fast for my liking ... it seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital so in awe of this little bundle of sweetness ... and now he is so full of personality and fun! We feel really blessed to have him and still so in awe of him and how he has changed our lives and us for the better!

On Saturday Jeff and I headed to Park City for the day/night to celebrate my birthday while Landon stayed with G&G Terry. It was SO much fun!!! We shopped, ate at the Baja Cantina (our fave) and stayed at a really pretty hotel. It was really relaxing and such a fun birthday surprise. I'm lucky to have Jeff ... he makes me feel really special (and spoiled!)!

At the Baja Cantina:
Sunday morning we headed back home to spend the rest of the day with Landon and our families. It was a busy, fun birthday weekend!

1 Year Old!!

2011-03-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Landon,

One year ago today you were born and made us the happiest little family. It has been a year full of snuggles, kisses, laughter and adventure ... and we have loved every second. You are wonderful and we love you so much!! Happy Birthday buddy!

Brand new Landon:
Our little family ...
1 Year Later ... morning snuggles!

The birthday boy showing me his balloons ... they are SO exciting!
**More later on the exciting day we have planned!!

Chocolate Pudding

2011-03-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

Here's to chocolate pudding,
feeding it to yourself for the first time,

and life being so sweet and innocent ...

All Cut Up

2011-03-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Landon has been needing a hair cut for a little while now. Before he had his helmet he didn't have any hair ... apparently it incubated underneath it! I asked my good friend Irene to cut it for us. She met Landon for the first time when he was only a few hours old, so it seemed fitting. She did such an amazing job with cutting it and keeping Landon happy the whole time!

Before ... looking a bit scraggly (but check out that belly ... love it!)
Getting to touch the clippers
Who knew a sucker could keep one kid so still ... and his mom so sticky!
The finished product! Doesn't he look so handsome?

A Big Birthday Weekend

2011-03-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was really fun for all of us ... I love to celebrate Jeff.

On Saturday we took Jeff on a picnic! It was so nice out (okay ... considering our most recent weather), and we just loved being outside. Landon was tickled pink to get to eat outside - life just doesn't get much better than that! Then Jeff opened his presents (swim trunks and a golf putting practice thingy ... do those have an official name?) Then we took a walk. It was so fun!

Then later that night we went out to dinner at Tucanos with a couple of friends. Delicious food and charming company ... what more could you ask for? And the Riverwoods is so pretty now and so much fun to walk around. If you haven't been recently you should check it out!

Happy Birthday Jeff!!

2011-03-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

We hope you have the best birthday and a fantastic year! You are such an incredible person ... we are lucky to get to be a family! We love you more than you will ever know!!

Love,

Ari & Landon

AAh!

2011-03-03T11:14:00.001-08:00

Do you ever have a morning ... or day ... where you just want to scream and shout and demand everyone bring you chocolate?

Yup, me too.

Gratitude

2011-02-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

Today I am really, really grateful for my dad. Our water heater broke again (yep, it has only been 2 years since the "replaced" the original one ... I use "" because we think the guy was shady and just fixed it and didn't actually replace it ... but that is a rant for another time) and we had a toilet that was making that annoying running sound.

And he has spent a ton of his free time (which is very rare for a guy who works in Canada all week) helping Jeff and I fix things. And he spent all Saturday afternoon playing with Landon (they enjoy watching basketball games together :)!) and looking at houses with us.

What a guy! I think anyone who spends that much time and effort helping those he loves deserves some recognition.

Thanks Dad. I love you!

(And a big, fat HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week!)

12 Steps

2011-02-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

Is this post about the evils of alcohol? Or perhaps the 12 step road to recovery? Nope.

It is about the 12 steps leading up to my office. Every one of which made me want to cry this morning. Why you ask? Because I tried a new workout class last night at the gym.

And it kicked my butt!

It's called R.I.P.P.E.D. and it stands for all kinds of workout terms (like resistance, interval training, etc. ) as well as being another term for torture. The first exercise we started with I couldn't even DO! It got better (as in, I could perform what was being asked with what looked like a smidgen of competence) and I survived ... the whole hour ... by some miracle.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I can't walk very well. But I survived!

So if you are into torture ... or really want to try something challenging ... or are really interested in looking good for swimsuit season this year (hello, Hawaii!) then come join me!

And if you think it is easy do NOT tell me. Seriously. I would probably cry. And I already want to because now I have to walk to my car and just the thought makes me want to wince!

Love Day Five

2011-02-18T15:16:00.001-08:00

Today I want to give a special tribute to my girlfriends ... the ones who have supported me, loved me and made me a better person. I have a lot of wonderful, strong and powerful women in my life and I am grateful for each and every one of them. They each bring something different into my life - and I appreciate all those beautiful differences.

Thank you for making my life a brighter, more beautiful place to be!

Love Day Four

2011-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Today's spotlight is on someone Landon loves very much - his teddy bear! When I was in high school my mom came home with a teddy bear. I was a little confused (I was a bit out of the musical teddy bear phase of life) until she explained that it was for my first baby, and being a good mom she tucked it away in my hope chest for "some day."

When "some day" came this year I pulled that bear (she had lovingly wrapped up) out and put him in Landon's crib. A few months ago Landon discovered where his night time music was coming from and it was love. Now they are inseparable at nap time and bed time (and other times if bear gets out of bed).

Bear wears a little night time hat, and recently it had come off, so I had to sew it back on. It was a fight to the finish because Landon wasn't sure I had bear's best interests at heart so I sat on the couch trying to sew his hat on and Landon stood at my knees holding on to bear and watching me a bit warily ... you know ... just in case. The second I finished he took bear back and held him tight. So cute!

Clearly my mom was inspired all those years ago ... because no one compares to bear.

I couldn't decide which I liked more...

I love bear!

Don't even think about messing with him!

Love Day Three

2011-02-16T13:43:00.001-08:00

Today's love day spotlight is on my mom. She has sacrificed so much over the years for us and still does each and every day. She is the one who showed me how a mom is supposed to love.

As many of you know she comes over to play with Landon twice a week when I go to work. It is so nice to know they are spending time together and that he is well taken care of. Lately he has had an ear infection that is antibiotic resistant. Needless to say he has been pretty sad about it. And no matter what my mom has taken care of him, loved on him and given suggestions to help make him feel better. It has been wonderful.

I love this picture of her and Landon! It makes me smile every time I see it. We are all so lucky to have her so close!!
Love you mom!

Love Day Two

2011-02-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

Landon. Need I say more for my second Love-Day spotlight? To say that he has changed my entire perspective on love would be the understatement of the year! He has made me really and truly understand the word "unconditional" and I love him more and more each day.

He is cute, sweet, funny and makes me want to be a better person each and every day. He is my little sweetheart ... who knew so much love could come in such a small package?

Can you blame me?
Didn't think so :)!

Mama loves you Landon!

Happy Love Day!

2011-02-14T12:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! The idea of a whole day just to tell people you love them is kind of fun. But I feel like I have a LOT of people I really love. Who definitely deserve to be told. More than just today, or this week ... but since someone nicely set this time aside I will tell them (and you) about how much they mean to me.

But really, today gets dedicated just to Jeff.

I love him more than anything. He changed my world ... and I'm certain I didn't know what this kind of love was before meeting him. He's my better half , my rock and my sanity. And he makes me laugh (even when I am trying so hard not to :)!). I'm so happy he is in my life and couldn't ask for a better best friend, partner and husband. I feel lucky every day of the year ... but even more so on special days because I get to spend them with him.

Love you babe!

PS. Tune in later this week for other love-week spotlights :)!

A Week of Adventure

2011-02-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

As Landon has gotten a little older I have been trying to think of more creative, fun things to do with him during the day. Sometimes I worry I am kind of boring (if you saw the way he reacted to Jeff's playing you would agree mine isn't super exciting!). Then I saw my friend Tamsin did a "cabin fever" week on her blog and decided that is just what we needed!

I called it our "adventure week!"

Monday - It was so nice out we took a walk and fed the ducks. I forgot my camera, but it was pretty funny. Mainly because Landon gets really, really serious when he is trying to figure something out. And let me tell you ... waddle-y, quacking ducks really close to his stroller were a sight to behold to him!

Tuesday - This was a big adventure day for us ... so get ready. We went to story time at the library for the first time! It was so cute. Landon was pretty intensely watching the story time lady, and then when the singing started he was bouncing along with the best of them. Love it ...

Capturing this on camera was no small feat considering
he was sitting on my lap and bouncing :)

Before he realized this thing could MOVE on its own...
a moving baby and a moving puppy ... impossible to capture!

Then someone I work with brought in a brand new puppy ... and who can resist that?! So we headed up to take a look. We're pretty sure he thought the puppy was a stuffed animal at first, but then when it was put down and it started walking and wiggling ... you should have seen his face! He was thrilled! The puppy was more terrified of him than anything (and who wouldn't be if you were only 2 lbs and a very enthusiastic 24 lb creature came barreling at you?)

Then (can this day get any more adventurous?!) Jeff came home from work early (he had been at a career fair) and we took a walk as a family. Love those.

Wednesday - Today lacked a big adventure. After 24 hours (yes, hours) of being off an antibiotic for his ear infection we were back at the Dr. It was still raging and he is on yet another antibiotic that is even stronger still. Poor kid.

Thursday - I read in a parenting magazine about letting your kids "paint" their high chair tray with food. How fun is that?! Landon used strawberry yogurt and applesauce ... he was pretty focused and a little confused all at the same time before he decided this was fun! I don't know if he liked moving it around more or squishing it between his fingers. I think the biggest bonus was that it kept him busy and contained to one spot the whole time I made dinner!

Um, I'm not so sure about this mom...

An artist at work...

The masterpiece is finished! (Please note that
he tasted it several times for good measure...)

Friday - Landon got invited to a birthday party tomorrow. So today I had him make the card. A little young? Maybe, but with some help he did pretty good. And I think homemade cards are awfully cute :)!

Apparently card making also includes card tasting!

Ideas Please...

2011-02-08T08:53:00.001-08:00

Jeff and I try to do a date night every week. Sometimes we go out and sometimes we do things at home. But sometimes we run out of ideas ... please tell me we aren't alone here! So I am going to share a few ideas we have (we did a brainstorming night recently) and a few things we have done ... and then PLEASE leave a comment with more ideas. I figure we can all benefit this way :)!

At Home:
*Spa night - who doesn't love a massage, or pedicure/foot rub?!
*Fancy Dinner
*Movie night (Don't get me wrong... I love this one. But sometimes this one is too easy to do and then it ends up not feeling like a date to me...)
*The "would you rather" game (we homemade chocolate covered pretzels too!)
*Cookie bake-off (this one we did with another couple, but it could be fun either way)
*Game night (anything competitive works)

Out:
*Dinner
*Movie
*Art museum (Did you know we have a couple really close that are free? We really aren't art people per se ... but this is one we recently brainstormed so we can try something different. We really want to go see the Graffiti Art exhibit at the Woodbury Museum. But apparently it is mainly open during the day! BAH!)
*Local theater (Again, we have a lot close that is really inexpensive. We haven't done this in a while ... it somehow fell off our radar and we forgot about it! Starting in March there are some good plays starting up around here)
*Sporting event
*Hike
*Picnic

Okay ... now what do you like to do for date night?!

Addendum:

My friend Becca had an awesome idea! She asked me to post anyone who comment's ideas on the post too ... to make it easier for everyone to see. So here are her thoughts:

We like to play cooperative video games together :)

Here's my list of date ideas:
Go shopping and pick out and buy each other an article of clothing
Go to the symphony or opera or ballet
Ice skating
See who can hit the farthest at the driving range
Visit local historical sites
Date night at the observatory
Peruse house plans on the internet and pick out your favorite ones

Once when we were dating we checked out a couple Where's Waldo books from the library and went to the park and laid on blankets and tried to find Waldo.

Kristen said: If you go to http://pensievity.blogspot.com, she is doing a creative date with her husband each week for a year.

Cousin Maddie and the MTC

2011-02-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was both fun and special for our family. Carla, Kevin and Maddie came up to visit. But not just for any visit ... they were coming up so Maddie could enter the MTC today! She will be serving in the Knoxville, Tennessee mission for the next 18 months. We are really excited for her and proud of her decision to go.

Sunday night we had a family dinner for her, then we just hung out as a family (and celebrated James turning 13!) the rest of the time. This was their first time meeting Landon and they were so excited! It took him a little bit to warm up (he definitely in a stranger-danger phase) but then he was more than happy to play with them and let them snuggle with him.

They played with Landon on Monday morning when I was at work and I came home to find him happily playing ... and about 100 new pictures on my camera :)! So most of these are ones they took ... after some debacle with his bottle Landon ended up naked (well, in his diaper) for most of them. But doesn't he just look SO squeezable?!

Our new family missionary ... opening her presents after dinner. We got her that monster (that heats up to be a rice bag for sore muscles) courtesy of Stepper!
They brought Landon his birthday present early (can it really only be a few short weeks away?!)... and he immediately said I LOVE it! Now ... let me taste it!
Hanging with Aunt Carla
Apparently he had an important call to take ...
Love this face:
Uncle Kevin was fun to snuggle with ...
Just a boy and his dog ... off to find adventure in the kitchen.
Good luck Maddie! We love you!

Mr. Independent

2011-01-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Somehow Landon has developed quite the independent streak (no clue where he got that from :)!). He loves to explore all our cabinets and drawers and has recently decided he should probably get to feed himself with his spoon. He doesn't always insist, but when he does we get this:
He is so proud of himself it just kills me :)

In other recent happenings we decided to take him sledding. Please don't mind the mismatched snow clothes, we used a combination of our stuff and some borrowed stuff to keep him warm :)! So far there just hasn't been a reason to buy him a snowsuit this year thanks to our very nice neighbors!
He liked hanging with us in his snowclothes ... but the sledding? Not so much!

The other day I changed his diaper, left to go take it outside and came back to find this:
So creative! He was really pleased with his discovery of how many wipes one little baby can pull out in less than a minute's time. Maybe we should enter him into that Minute to Win It show ...

Monday Confession

2011-01-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I listen to the easy-listening station on the radio in my car. Sometimes you just need a good late-90s boy-band song to make the day right (or is that just me?). Who doesn't love a little N'Sync or Backstreet Boys every once in a while? Doesn't it transport you back to a different place and time in your life? For me it is freshman year at BYU ... the dances and cheesy boys in our ward trying WAY too hard to be funny by learning the dance moves from the music videos and performing them for us girls. Ah ... back in the day :)!

It just makes me want to host a dance party ... complete with cookies and punch, cheesy decorations and an awkward photographer.

Who's with me?

Excitement in the Terry House ...

2011-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week for us around here ... just a few exciting things in our lives:

*Landon is DONE with his helmet!! YAY! The Dr. said we could "fine tune" for 3 more weeks, but not much is going to change and he is technically done. So we decided to be done ... and I have spent the last 2 days kissing his helmet-free head! I really missed that soft hair of his!
*We put our house up for sale. Yup ... we did. We're excited to see what could happen! If you know of anyone in the market we're selling one cute townhouse!
*I went to the dentist and am cavity free. Which is pretty exciting in general ... but the best news is I FINALLY got Jeff that new toothbrush he has wanted for so long (and buying one just wasn't acceptable ... he really wanted the free one).

Well, that pretty much sums up our exciting lives for this week! Tune in for more soon ... I know you really can't wait!

10 Months....

2011-01-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to believe that Landon is 10 months old already! This first year is passing us by much too quickly. He is just so much fun and we still marvel at how much he has changed our lives.

He is developing quite the little personality, crawls like a little speed demon, is starting to pull himself up and loves to say "dada" all day long! He is also quite the flirt with older women. Whenever we are in a restaurant he will pick one and stare and smile at her until she will smile and wave at him. It's his surefire method ... it always works! And when it does he grins so big and waves back!

He still loves to read, play peek-a-boo (his chubby hands covering his little face is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen!), loves to look at fish and is just a happy and lovable guy in general.

He makes us laugh all the time now because we just don't know what to expect :)!

In the mornings after he has his bottle he loves to sit and play with his books. I snuck out and grabbed the camera and caught him playing ...
Then he caught me watching :)!
After naptime I went in and he was miffed because he was still in his crib (the NERVE!), but I thought his expression was priceless. Apparently I said something that made him laugh after because that is quite the change of heart!
And now today ... on his official 10 month b-day playing with his new Eeyore.
Annoyed with me for making him sit still ...
But I kept coaxing ...
We love you buddy!

Great Minds Think Alike

2011-01-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

Great minds think alike right?! Well, this morning I found some really cute shoes for Landon online. For a really good deal. I send the link to Jeff to see if he liked them as much as I do. We were both busy though so the subject just kind of got left off at that point. Or so we thought (can you feel the suspense building?!)

THEN ... I realized I had an additional coupon to the website! SCORE! That would make shoes that were already a really good deal a fabulous deal (with free shipping ... um, hello!). So I bought them right then and there!

So proud of my deal I called Jeff excitedly ... and he had just done the exact same thing and was about to call to tell me! We both laughed really hard.

He decided he would call and cancel his order (I really would have liked to hear that conversation ... they would have probably thought "wow, you two are real winners").

So I guess great minds really do think alike ... they should just chat a bit more before carrying out great ideas :)!

Here were the shoes purchased (twice!) ... now let's just hope they fit my favorite little chubby feet!

A boy and his dog

2011-01-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

You know how they say that a dog is man's best friend? I would suggest we change that to a dog is a little boy's best friend for two reasons: 1. Jeff and Ellie's relationship is tenuous at best and 2. Landon, on the other hand, thinks that Ellie is AMAZING.

Now that he is crawling a lot faster now he follows her around. His eyes light up when he realizes she (and that tail!) are right in front of him... and if he just reaches he can grab it! And her toys! Oh how he loves her toys (disgusting, I know ... it's a full time job just keeping them out of his little hands). Ellie (bless her doggy-heart) is very patient with him.

I have two excellent examples of just how much these two like to hang out (or how good Landon is at imitating her and following her around).

I was going to the bathroom the other day. I have taken to leaving the door open when I am home alone so as to create less time to rush out of it now that Landon is mobile ... you know just in case. Ellie walks up and proceed to lay down to WATCH me. Then I hear Landon's adorable crawl ... and he peeks his head around the door jam, sees Ellie watching and LAYS DOWN NEXT TO HER! I just burst out laughing and wished I had my camera. But alas ... it does NOT accompany me to the bathroom. Ever.

Then yesterday I was in the kitchen thinking "He is playing so well" which was immediately followed by "It is WAY too quiet." So I immediately went looking. Sure enough. Landon and Ellie are facing each other. With their tongues OUT. As I was walking towards them to move him I automatically said "You two quit licking each other!" And no, that is not the first nor the last time I have said that. Seriously. In fact, if he goes to give you a kiss ... it clearly resembles an Ellie kiss.

But it is so stinking cute ... other than stopping anything germy I can't help but let them play!

A Happy New Year

2011-01-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

As I look back on 2010 all I can think about is what an incredible year it was for our family! I started the year as a crazy (and I do mean crazy) pregnant woman ... terrified of the unknown before me.

And then ... a miracle happened ... I met him. And suddenly the world was the most perfect place to be. Jeff and I have talked so many times about the before and after. And the journey we would only want to be on together. And what a blessed journey it has been so far!

We had a busy, crazy, fun year learning to be a family of three. Don't get me wrong, there were certainly plenty of challenges along the way, but I can't emphasize how wonderful it really was (and is every day). So we wanted to begin 2011 doing something fun as a family.

Jeff and Landon both LOVE fish. I don't know how a kiddo that little can be so fascinated by something, but he sure is (and totally his father's child!). So we headed to the aquarium for the day! My dad, Ale and James came with us, which made it extra fun (my mom was in AZ with her sisters).

Landon was so fascinated he would hardly look at the camera, and when he did he was usually annoyed that he couldn't be looking at the fish :)!

So excited to leave that morning! I'm glad he humors us with smiling even though he has no idea where we are actually going :)!
He and Grandpa playing on the boat ...
Look guys!
Apparently he thought the upside down jelly fish were cool because he stayed in this position until we had to pull him away so someone else could have a turn.
And apparently he liked whatever was in this tank...
Cool fish ...
The boys ...
The girls ...
Just us ...
Here's to a great 2011!

A Very Merry Christmas!

2010-12-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Christmas this year! Landon was so stinking cute to watch - it made a wonderful holiday even more magical and amazing! Landon had so much fun and got really excited about everything - which made it so much fun for us! We feel so blessed to have gotten to share the day with both sides of our family!

Now for a picture overload ... it is really hard to get a picture of Landon when he isn't moving, but here are a few. I'm pretty sure he was getting annoyed with all the pictures because he really just wanted to play ... hence the look he is giving the camera in a couple :)!

Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa Wuthrich's ... new jammies and a new toy! (I don't think yellow has ever been so cute ...)
Reading the "Night Before Christmas" with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle James
Talking about baby Jesus with mom and dad before bed...
What Santa left on Christmas Eve...
Do not be fooled by the serious face (we interrupted play time!) this was definitely his favorite toy. I'm fairly certain he opened and shut the computer 100 times that day alone!
Some of his other favorite presents were books! This kid LOVES to read!!
Landon got a push along/ride on fire truck from Grandma & Grandpa ... and he is very proud of himself for sitting on it!
The three of us Christmas morning!
After these festivities we headed to St. George for Christmas dinner with the Terry side of the family!

After dinner the big boys decided to play a little basketball (we were at the church):
Landon doing some post-dinner bonding with Grandpa Terry
Landon was a bit confused about the whole cousin-gift-exchange ... but very excited about his new toy (and the tag that came with it :)!).

Here cousin Emily is helping him ...
And Marin is making sure he doesn't eat something he shouldn't! Such nice cousins!!Overall it was a really wonderful weekend! We hope you had a Merry Christmas as well!