Christmas Tag!

Well, I've been tagged, by Aunt Doni, so here it is:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags for Christmas presents? mostly wrapping paper
2. Real tree or artificial? artificial, predecorated from Festival of Trees! Thank you Grandma JoAnn! We love it!
3. When do you put up the tree? We put it up a couple days before Thanksgiving this year since we were going out of town.
4. When do you take the tree down? Last year it was March...hopefully we'll be sooner this year now that we have a set place to store it!
5. Do you like egg nog? Yes, but it has to be diluted and only a little bit.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Dad made me a play kitchen one year with a sink, cupboards, even a phone. I still love it. Mom, please don't throw it away!
7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have three. I'm most excited about the plastic one that Gavin can play with. He really likes it too.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My sweetie :) I know he likes the electronics, but I know nothing about them and I don't want to get him something that's less than what he's already decided he likes.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Gavin...it's a little too easy, I have to control myself!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? We're lucky if our cards get made before Christmas.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Even if I could think of one, I probably wouldn't list it.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas, I think
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yes
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Dad's gingersnaps and Lindt truffles...mmmm!
15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? definitely like the clear
16. Favorite Christmas song? Sleigh Ride by the Osmonds, it's better with Garrett home to dance around fifties style with me.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home for the morning, then go to either Craig's mom's or mine.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolf
19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one on Christmas eve, the rest on Christmas morning
20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? traffic
21. Favorite ornament theme or color? Anything Aunt Blenda puts together!
22. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? We just eat junk all day
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? for Gavin to sleep in so we can, oooh, and Santa knows how I want Scrapbook Factory :)
24. Who is most likely to respond to this? Maybe Natalie
25. Who is least likely to respond to this? Mom, unless she actually starts a blog!

And they are the ones I tag...Mom and Natalie

Merry Christmas, it's the best holiday ever!!!!

I'll Always Be My Daddy's Girl, Even Though I've Already Made Him a Grandpa!

Today is my dad's 49th birthday! I still don't believe he's turning 49, but that's what both Mom and Dad told me so I guess it must be true. It is hard to keep track, though, seeing how he's looked the same way for the past 5 years. I swear he hasn't aged. On the other hand, a lot has happened to help mature me in the last few years, and I'm finally beginning to truly realize just how blessed I am to have the parents I do. I blame it on the hormones, but yesterday this song on the radio had me in tears pulling into Smith's parking lot. I'm choked up now just thinking about it. Today I dedicate it to my dad who never HAD to be as great as he always was and still is, but who did it anyway. I pray that I can carry his legacy on as I try to be a Christlike parent with my children. Thank you, Dad, from the very bottom of my heart! I love you tons!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVFmHHxXCVg

Family Calendar

Yea!!! This year we weren't the dilinquents who kept calendar printing on hold because our page wasn't yet started, let alone finished. Whew! What a relief that this is done, and, in my totally non-biased opinion, pretty cute. Craig's family puts together a calendar each year with pictures of the last year's events. Our year was full of fun and DISCOVERY :) I loved all these pics of Gavin learning the mysteries of the world - like how dirt tastes, how far a plastic wrapped mega candy cane can fit in a little mouth, how long a roll of toilet paper really is, and how driving a four-wheeler isn't as easy as Daddy makes it look (he could've just asked me on that one!). It's been a great year - the best I've ever had. I'm so grateful for all the memories, for Craig, our growing family, and whoever invented cute scrapbook templates for the creatively challenged!

Another Boy!

So we went in on Monday for our ultrasound to find out the baby's gender and check measurements, and although I was almost positive it would be a girl, it is a BOY! We are so excited for Gavin to have a little brother that's so close in age - they will only be 20 months apart. I know they will be buddies. Like I said, I've been thinking it's a girl all along, but as soon as this ultrasound was actually scheduled I started having all sorts of funny, bizarre pregnancy dreams that it would be a boy, so I really wasn't totally surprised when she confirmed the wacky dreams. Here I am before leaving to drop Gavin off at Aunt Chelsea's (thank you so much, Chelsea, for watching him, I'm positive he wouldn't have appreciated being there :), then it was on to the hospital. This is my halfway-through-being-pregnant belly, and I think it's smaller than it was at this point with Gavin.
His little profile. I love profile ultrasound shots! Gavin's looked very similar to this with his matching button nose and cute little lips! I can't wait to see what he looks like.

The little guy had his arms up next to his face with his hands clasped like he was praying. So cute! He's measuring right on schedule and all his organs look healthy! Even though we've already been through this, it's still such a miracle. I'm so grateful to be a mom!

Haircuts...Finally!

The finished product! Can you get any more handsome than this?

My boys were in dire need of haircuts. We finally got them done this past Sunday. Nothing like a Sabbath day of rest to get us looking our best! Craig's the only one I got a pre-cut shot of, but his do says enough for the both of them, wouldn't you say? Wow-zah! "Mommy, look what Daddy did to me!" Sometimes Craig's idea of fun is not the same as Gavin's, but this time Gavin actually thought Daddy's gimmick was rockin'. It definitely gave him a rhythm to his walk!

This face is Gavin's prepare for picture face. For a while he actually smiled after the 0ne-two-three. Now he's in must-protect-eyes! mode when he hears the countdown.

Yea for haircuts!!!

Dress Shopping!!!

Last Friday I went up with my mom, Taylor's fiancee Sara and her mom to Logan to look at wedding dresses. I love dress shopping! It's kind of sad that we only get to do it once for ourselves...but then again, maybe it would just be too depressing to try to stick a post-having-a-baby body in one of those beautiful dresses. I don't think it would have the same effect...

Here is one of the many dresses she tried on. She made all of them look stunning!!! I love her face in this picture, so I had to include it in my post. Check out those gorgeous, naturally colored lips and cheeks! Just a cute shot overall, I think.And......THE dress!!!!! Everyone but Taylor should be falling out of their chairs with how beautiful this is - and Taylor will too, soon enough.
I'm so happy that Taylor found someone so sweet and kind to spend eternity with. I can't wait 'til they get married...not only because Craig and I will no longer be the only ones pestered to have more babies, but because I know they will be awesome together. Thanks, Sara, for making my bro so happy!

Harvest Party

A couple of Saturdays ago, Aunt Blenda hosted a Harvest party at her house. It was a ton of fun! Really what a "Harvest party" ends up being on my mom's side of the family is a Halloween party with costumes, but we don't really like Halloween because it is such a spooky holiday, so we call it something else!

Here is cute little Kaylee in her ladybug costume. Craig worked his buddy magic with her and we actually got a smile!
Here's another of the Kay-ster with another of her buddies Uncle Darrin. These are the kinds of faces I manage to pull out of Kaylee, but at least she's not crying...

My sweetie and me - how cute! We should have taken this picture before 11:00, I think we look tired

Formerly costume-less Ash-dog with my mom-dog genie-dog

Thanks to costume-less Aubrey, costume-less Ashtey got a makeover that not only changed the way he felt about himself, but prompted a more festive attitude (refer to above photo).

The G-man with Grandpa Bret. Where he usually is, whenever we get together.

Our favorite neighbors! Sarah and Brenna in their cute, adorable, creative costumes!

Thanks Aunt Beenda and everyone who went for all the fun, the great food and the even greater party! We can't wait for the next one!

Holloween

So I'm finally posting halloween pictures...Gavin was a little China man - the cutest one at that! I realized that I don't have any pictures of Craig and me in our costumes because the one time we wore them, I couldn't find the camera (happens often). Craig was one hottie of a Zorro and I did the Chinese motif with the G-man.

Here's Gavin with two of his loves...the phone and Grandpa!

Here's a shot of his braid of honor - the best shot, but still hard to see.
My little electronic-loving China man!

Craig's Holloween breakfast

The Cleverness of Me!

I am SOOOOO proud of myself right now! I actually figured out how to set up this blog and make it pretty cute! I signed up for the blog site a couple of weeks ago, more as a wishful gesture than anything else. I was dreaming that I had a blog like everyone else and wasn't inept with computers, and... my wish came true! I put both my boys down at 8:00 (Gavin because that's his real bedtime and Craig because he did a number on his ankle this morning at stake flag football and it is now the size of a large grapefruit - poor guy). I was way too wound up to just go to bed, so in my down time I immersed myself in the blog world and came out on top!!! Sometimes I just amaze myself...