The Mattox Family

Christmas in Virginia (Part 1)

2012-01-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

We had an AMAZING Christmas this year. We spent three, yes three, whole weeks visiting Nana and Poppy in Virginia--including a little over a week with Uncle Paul and Aunt Alexis . It was quite the treat. They only live a few metro stops from downtown D.C., so about every other day we packed up the whole crew and went sight-seeing. Here is a list of the things we saw:

*Mt. Vernon (George Washington's Homestead)
*Museum of American History
*Museum of Natural History
*National Gallery of Art
*National Zoo
*Library of Congress
*Folger Shakespeare Library
*National Air and Space Museum
*Museum of Modern Art
*Native American Museum
*Washington Monument
*Lincoln Memorial
*Jefferson Memorial
*Vietnam Veterans Memorial
*WWII Memorial
*Korean War Memorial
*Arlington Cemetery

Seeing so many wonderful things was magnificent, and the kids were so good the whole time. They even slept in the same room (which they've never done before) without any problems at all. We spent Christmas Eve eating yummy food, playing games, and reading/acting out the Nativity. It was a great night. Fortunately for us, the kids were so pooped from Christmas Eve that they slept in until about 8:30 on Christmas morning. We had a nice time opening presents and spending time together. We got to go to church and hear some beautiful Christmas music and then come home and eat lots of yummy leftovers. It was wonderful!

We can't believe how big Jack and Amelia are getting. Jack knows the story of Christ's birth very well, but this year was the first time he understood Santa Clause. As soon as he got up on Christmas morning, he expected Santa to be in the house, and when he went to the window he said "Where's the snow?". Too bad, we didn't get any snow while we were there. But, it was cold enough to feel like Christmas!

John in front of George Washington's tomb.

Camel at Mt. Vernon-apparently George Washington had one shipped over to him.

Us in front of Mt. Vernon.

There were big trees surrounding the house, this was one of them.

Jack made us cupcakes one night while we went out.

He also got to paint ornaments. He loved it!

Sister got to decorate ornaments too!

We went to the zoo one day and saw the Giant Panda they had there. So cute!

There was also an orangutan exhibit where they were able to climb on ropes high above our heads. Very cool!

Jack helping Uncle Paul make pizza rolls.

Sister enjoying all the fun!

Our Christmas Eve smorgasbord!

Pin the nose on the snowman!

Hooray for Christmas games!

Jack and Nana telling the Christmas story.

Christmas morning! Hooray!

Sissy is ready to open presents!

"Look what I got!"

Helping brother with his presents!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

I realize that we are well into 2012, but I could not post anything about Christmas until I posted about Thanksgiving. It is one of my MOST favorite holidays. This year we went to a pie party on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It was so fun! I made a Mississippi Mud Pie and a Key Lime Pie. Below are some pictures of them!

The Mississippi Mud pie was my favorite of the two, but let's face it, how can lime go up against chocolate? We spent Thanksgiving Day with some friends from our ward. They cooked the turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and a couple of pies and I made rolls, corn, broccoli casserole and mashed potatoes. It was quite the feast! We had tons of leftovers and ate on them all weekend.

On Friday we put up our Christmas tree. I got through all the lights and noticed it was uneven so I had to re-wrap the top half. Overall it turned out great, I think! The kids loved it and when we turned on the lights, sister said "OOoohh". It was very sweet!

And, here are some randoms of the kidlings. More to come on Christmas!

Big shoes to fill!

Family night treat.

Yes, she is eating a whole apple by herself.

Halloween

2011-11-11T12:36:00.001-08:00

Our Halloween was pretty calm this year. I took Jack and Amelia to an outdoor carnival where we live. They had booths set up with games and gave candy away at each of them. There was also a hayride, shows, and free cookies and punch. In fact, the whole thing was free. We've gone every year since we moved here and it is really fun! This year we went with some of our friends from church. Jack dressed up as Woody from Toy Story. Sister was a kitty, but would not keep her ears on! Silly baby! Later that night we handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. Jack loved that! We didn't take him trick-or-treating. He's still kind of little and he got a lot of fun stuff from the carnival. Maybe next year!

Playing at the playground

Waiting for the hayride with Cameron and Leia!

Almost got a smile here!

On the hayride!

Saying cheese, but not looking at me!

Sis-Boom and "Fall"

2011-10-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well Fall here has been relatively non-existent, and I'm pretty sure the leaves are falling off of the trees because they need water so badly not as an indicator of the change in seasons. It's been a blistering hot summer with record highs in the 90's and 100's. The Fall hasn't changed much either. We just barely got out of the 90s this past week, and are lucky to have a few days in the 70s. I want so badly to put on my snuggly clothes and light a fall-scented candle and drink hot chocolate. Instead though, we're still sporting shorts and t-shirts until the weather decides to change.

We've been busy with a multitude of things at church. I (along with another lady from church) was in charge of planning the ward Halloween carnival.We had visions of grandeur that fizzled only slightly in the end, but I think it all turned out great! We had a LOT of help from amazing ward members willing to serve! Jack had a great time and his claim to fame is that he "ate a donut off a string".

Now...on to Sis-Boom. We have given Amelia the nickname "Sis-Boom", sometimes modified to "Boomer" because she goes from all sweetness to full-blown fit in about 0.8 seconds. Boom! You never know when it's coming, but when it does, watch out! It's actually really funny. So most of the time, it's hard to take her seriously because it is SO dramatic. (Is this how all girls are!?) Jack thinks it is especially funny, and therefore tries hard to make the Boom go off.

By the way, I do not think I've ever mentioned Jacks nickname...Booge, which rhymes with "luge", the winter Olympic sport. He received this as a wee little thing and has kept it. Of course It started as something different and sometimes gets shortened to "boo", but you get the idea.

Here are some pictures of some random things we've been up to! Enjoy!

She has that look in her eye....Boomer!

He was so happy to do this! It really was adorable! Love this little guy!

"Uh oh"

This is how Jack "rides" his bike...someday when we have more room maybe!

Notice the Thomas shirt...Thank you to Grandma Smoot! He loves it!

I came downstairs to find this one day...I still don't know how she got up there by herself!

Takin' a ride!

Pullin' Sis-Boom along!

Someone got into my makeup...naughty boy!

Our Visitors

2011-10-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

We had some visitors at the beginning of this month! Maw-maw and Paw-paw came and spent almost 2 entire weeks here with us. It was so fun to see them and spend some quality time together. We did a lot of shopping and a lot of playing outside, and let's not forget riding in Maw-Maw and Paw-Paws car, which was Jack's favorite!

Mom and I

Dad and Sissy

My blue-eyed boy!

Digging in the dirt....always digging in the dirt!

again....

....and again.

Me and Sis-boom (see next post for explanation of this name)

LOVE this pic.

Paw-Paw and Buddy

Maw-Maw pushing sis in the swing.

His face says it all!

Sweet girl!

Paw-Paw and Boomer

We had such a great time with you both! Miss you tons!

Our Little Cheeser

2011-09-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little girl has the cheesiest little grin. I love it! First of all, she has a serious gap between her two front teeth, but then also she does this scrunchy nose thing that seals the deal for the ultimate cheese. She's getting so big so quickly. It makes us so sad. Here are some pictures of the cheeser...well almost her cheesiest.

Reading a book....she loves books!

Blue-eyed Girl!

Cheesing it up!

"Dat!"

Sucking her thumb...I love that she does this! It's so adorable!

Big beautiful bow girl!

Had to throw one in of the big cheese! I love this boy!

Yogurt!

"Cheese!" (How appropriate!)

"Dat!"

Crazy girl!!

(If you'll notice, almost all of these pictures are inside. That's mostly because it is STILL over 100 degrees here. We are praying for rain and cooler weather. Until then, we stay inside and play with trains and cars and build blocks all day.)

Amelia is such a funny girl. She knows when she's doing something naughty and turns to us and smiles her big cheesy smile like "oh look, I just pulled all the DVDs out of the cabinet and spread them all over the floor, isn't that funny?" I can't help but laugh at her. She knows three words: "Mama", "Dat", and "No, no, no, no, no". I'd like to think she learned "no" from Jack, but most likely it's from me saying it all day long TO Jack. Ah well. She's still kind of a skinny girl. At her 1 year check-up she weighed just under 21 lbs. (I was looking back, and Jack weighed 23 lbs at nine months. Whoa! Big boy!) This puts her in the 25th percentile for weight, but she's in the 90th percentile for height. She's just long and skinny. I have no idea where she gets that from! We are just so grateful to have this beautiful little girl in our home. She LOVES her daddy and always wants him to hold her whenever he's home. She loves fluff and blankets and cuddling! She embodies the expression "sweet as sugar."

Jack just went in for his 3 year check-up. He weighs 39 lbs and is 39 in. tall. That about describes him, a solid block. Hahaha! But no, he's just a big boy and always has been. It's in his DNA. He's a good boy and tries hard to please us, but has a very strong will. He keeps us on our toes but we are so thankful to have such a wonderfully strong and sweet spirit in our home. We love you Jack Jack!

The Beach

2011-09-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

While we were on one of our many adventures this summer, we got to go to the Gulf and take in some sun on the beach. We went to this place called Crystal Beach where you get to just drive right up on the beach! It's amazing! Everyone was telling us that the Gulf isn't really the "beach" and it's dirty and such, but we thought it was great. It reminded me a lot of the Atlantic...not clear and blue, but still sand and salt water! The kids had a blast and we found lots of shells and even hermit crabs! I got burnt to a crisp because I didn't put on sunscreen, but it was still fun!

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack!

2011-09-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

We can hardly believe that our little boy turned 3 this week. It has been the most wonderful and adventurous 3 years of my life and he has brought us so much joy. This year for his birthday, I decided to make him a train cake because he absolutely LOVES trains...so much so that he goes around the house all day whistling like a train (you have to see the video of him doing that below!). The cake took me 3 HOURS to make, and was my first time ever decorating a cake, ever, let alone with frosting tips and such. I think it turned out pretty good all things considered. We blew up balloons and I made him a party hat and Jack said "Mom, are you making me a party?". He loved it. He was in heaven. So easy to please at this age, I love it. Later when we were opening presents he said, clapping his hands "Oh Mom, this is called fun!". He cracks me up! Here are some things about Jack on his 3rd birthday:

* He loves chocolate milk...still!

* He sings ALL DAY LONG

* He LOVES trains, and especially Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

* He loves Amelia and they make each other laugh all the time

* He loves having stories told him, even the lamest ones that John and I come up with

* He loves being read to

* His favorite things to say are "I'm disappointed in you Mama", "Don't talk back to Sister", and after I say "be a good boy Jack" he says "You be a good Mama!"...hmm...I wonder where he hears these things!

* He's too smart for his own good

* He can say an entire blessing on the food without being helped

* Randomly he'll come up and hug me and say "I love you SO much"

We just love this boy to pieces. Below are some videos and photos for your viewing pleasure!

The Train Cake!

Excited to eat cake and sing "happy birthday"!

"I'm 3!"

His Thomas shirt from Grandma Smoot

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Blowing out the candles!

Ready to eat!

Amelia enjoying the show

Opening the first present! Don't you love his hat!? I think it's hilarious!

"New Thomas DVDs!"

Amelia's 1st Birthday

2011-08-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Amelia turned 1 a couple of weeks ago and we can hardly believe that it has been an entire year since she joined our family. She is such a joy to have in our lives and we couldn't be more grateful to have her! Amelia is SO funny and loves to pop off and laugh. She LOVES her big brother, except for when he is taking toys away from her. She also learned to craw just a couple of weeks before her birthday so we are so excited that she can move....she loves to be able to crawl after Jack. Also, Amelia waves hello and goodbye, she loves cereal and ice cream, and always wants a bite of whatever anyone has. She is a little stinker, throwing herself backwards when I take something away from her or move her. She loves to throw food off of her tray and wipe her messy food hands in her hair. She WILL NOT keep a bow in her hair or shoes on her feet. I'm beginning to think she's going to be a lot like me! But, alas, she is somewhat dainty. Below is a video of her eating her 1-year-old birthday cake. I think she only ate the icing!

Ready for cake!

Another classic Jack face! Waiting for his piece of cake.

Cake Destruction!

Mmmm.....

Pretty baby cake face!

We sure love our baby girl!

The Houston Zoo

2011-07-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Because we lived so close to the zoo and a membership was pretty cheap, we decided to just buy a zoo pass and go as often as possible. So we did! And Jack absoluetly loved it. His favorite parts were the aquarium (to see the clown fish, the jelly fish, and the sea turtle), the chimps, the carasoul, and the playground. He's probably going to have some serious withdrawals now that we're back in Austin. It was REALLY hot while we were there, but it didn't stop us. We just packed lots of water and sunscreen! Below are several pictures from a bunch of different trips to the zoo.

Looking at some birds!

The sea lions and Jack's classic picture face!

The carasoul! Riding the WOLF!!! He talked about that wolf for days!

They just had a baby giraffe born there in March!

There were two baby Asian elephants! So Cute!

This was Jack's other favorite. He could crawl through a tunnel and see the Pirhanas! It was crazy!

The lion at this zoo was awesome and always sat REALLY close to the viewing area. He also liked to roar a lot, so it was amazing to hear him!

Sister enjoying riding around! She has two top teeth and two bottom teeth now! Love those little chompers!

Snack time!

This is an Andean bear. He was taking a swim to cool off in the hot sun!

Boy he loved this bridge. He would run across it then go down the slide, then do it all over again.

Adventures in Houston

2011-07-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

Directly after we came home from Paul's wedding in Utah, we headed down to Houston so that John could start a 6-week internship with a firm there. It was crazy! We drove down on a Sunday and John started working the very next day.

We had a great time, though. We stayed at an apartment complex that was just a mile or so from the Houston Zoo and a giant park, so we got to go to the zoo about twice a week (more pictures to come). Also, Jack got to enjoy the disney channel since we had cable for the first time in two years. It was fun, but I don't want to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates for a VERY long time.

Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States, so I was afraid it would be extremely overwhelming, but I wasn't as intimidated as I thought I would be. It turns out that the actual downtown area isn't huge, but the Houston city limits are. It stretches out really far. We got to go to see most of the city and eat some really good food, so we were happy. If all goes well, we hope that this firm will offer John a job after law school is over. We're keeping a prayer in our hearts that all goes well and will hopefully hear something in August.

Below are some pics from some of our adventures.

Daddy with crazy sister girl!

Eating a popsicle on the porch. He was so cute I had to take a picture.

Eating Fish 'n' Chips! She loves 'em!

I LOVE this picture. They're strapped in the cart at Target, but I think it looks like they're going on a roller coaster!

Swinging at a park close to the Houston Temple! We got to visit there too!

First time on a swing! She LOVED it!

Scrunchy nose face! (This reminds me of my niece Livvy.)

We also got to see the worlds largest sprinkler while we were there! It was kind of disappointing, but at least we saw it!

Jack made a Choo-Choo train out of boxes and sister was the conducter!

Jack's booty got stuck in one of the boxes.

Riding the train at the park near the zoo. Jack is now OBSESSED with trains. It's all he talks about!

May Flowers, Showers, and a Wedding

2011-07-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

The beginning of May was pretty lame...John was finishing up finals and I was trying to keep myself busy with the children. But, the day after John's last final we threw it into high gear and flew to Utah to see his brother, Paul, get married. It was a whirlwind trip, but we had a blast and were so happy to see Paul and Alexis sealed for all time and eternity. The sealing was absolutely beautiful; I bawled my eyes out like a little baby, thinking that John and I had gotten married just 4 years before. Jack also had a great time, playing with cousins and seeing Nana and Poppy (and Max the beagle of course!). Below are some pictures of our trip. The first couple are of Jack in his Cowboy Woody costume that Nana got him. Isn't he a doll!? He would NOT take it off, and wavered between wearing this or the Buzz Lightyear costume she got him. Sometimes, he even wore them both at the same time. He sure is a crack up!

"There's a snake in my boot!"

"You're my favorite Deputy"

John and I at the Temple just after the sealing.

The lovely Bride and Groom! They were so adorable!

Beautiful Tulips! They were gorgeous! (And rightfully so, it rained the entire time, so they got lots to drink!)

The beautiful Bountiful Temple, which I finally got to see the inside of.

I had to add this picture because this is all of Alexis' brothers and sisters...all 14 of them!

Nana and Poppy waiting for the Bride and Groom to come out!

We've been gone...

2011-06-22T05:50:00.001-07:00

So, we've been out of town for a long time and I forgot my camera cord to load pictures onto the computer...wah wah wah. We'll be home soon though and I will have SEVERAL blog posts with lots of pictures of these cute kiddies.

Easter

2011-04-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Easter. It was VERY hot, but very pretty and clear outside. The weekend before I took the kids to a local Easter festival where there were all kinds of free things to do; petting zoo, train ride (pictured below), balloon animals, etc. They also hosted an easter egg hunt in heats by age group...we ended up not doing it because it was complete CHAOS!! But Jack didn't even know, we just stood in line to do the petting zoo instead and he LOVED it.

The Easter Bunny visited our house on Saturday and brought Jack lots of goodies...chocolate, jelly beans, bubble tape, starbursts, bubbles, a car, a mickey cup. That Easter Bunny rocks! Jack loved it and was very excited to see his basket.

On the train...don't mind my double chin

Trying to pick up a bunny

Excited for the Choo Choo

Jack and Amelia's Easter baskets

Mickey Mouse!

He dug right into the candy...imagine that!

PIGTAILS!!

I forgot to say that I finally put sister's hair in little pigtails. Isn't it cute!? She's such a sweety!

Visitors

2011-04-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

We had some AWESOME visitors at the beginning of the month. Maw-maw and Paw-paw, Aunt "Airplane", and ALL the "cougins" came to visit us. We had a blast and did some pretty awesome things, including a trip to a big park, some go-cart riding/bouncy house jumping/ticket winning, shopping, and let's not forget swimming at their hotel! Jack was in heaven with the constant entertainment and it was so nice to let Aunt "Airplane" and the "cougins" see where we live here in Texas. It was perfect weather and actually a nice spring break for everybody (except John, who already had his spring break and spent most of his time studying). We sure love all of these peeps!

Lizer...cutie!

Sister girl eating puffs and enjoying the sunshine

"Yibby" and Jack

Aunt "Airplane"

Maw-maw and Paw-paw and the sweetes girlies I know!

This little cutie turned 5 while she was here! What a doll!

Maw-maw and her boys! All the grandbabies LOVE their Maw-maw!

Can you say adorable!?

Chug-a-chug-a Choo Choo!

Here's the whole gang! This is the best shot we got and I took seriously like 15 of this!

Jack and the Paw-paw

We had such a fun time with our family from the Bluegrass State. We miss you guys terribly and look forward to our next adventure together! xoxo

Is it really March?!?

2011-03-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

So, hello, it's March already. Where does all the time go? Things around here have been pretty calm; well, as calm as it can be with a 2 1/2 year old and a 7 month old. Which brings me to my next point...sister girl is 7 months old already!!! We just can't believe it. She's getting so big and her little personality is starting to show. I'm pretty sure she just threw her first tantrum the other day when I took the lotion bottle away from her and she screamed until I gave it back. Boy, they learn early!

Jack is still keeping us laughing. He has an entourage of toys/stuffed animals that he brings everywhere with him. It consists of 1 or all of these at any given time: Buzz (of course), 2 Mickey Mouse dolls (yes, not 1, 2), Wonder Red (from Super Why!), and a Tyrannosaurus. It's so funny to see him come in my room in the morning with all of these things in his hands. You think he would give up trying to haul them all around but he doesn't. He also has moved on from watching Toy Story 2 to some episodes of Tom and Jerry that we have on DVD. It's pretty hilarious! He acts them out and laughs out loud at some of the parts. (He sometimes uses the Tyrannosaurus as Jerry and he pretends to be Tom). He pretends ALL the time and LOVES to sing. He sings with everything, even background music. He must be my child!

We are currently in the midst of figuring out what we're doing for the summer. Luckily, we have been blessed with a couple of internships, one of which is likely to hire after graduation. We are so thankful! It's been really tough this past year, not knowing where or even IF we would get an internship. There are so many law students who struggle to find work after school is out. It's a scary world out there. Which leads me to my next topic...

72-Hour Kits! John and I have felt really strongly lately about getting a 72-hour Kit ready for our family. After the quake in New Zealand and then the one this morning in Japan, we really feel compelled. This is something that the prophets have counseled us to do for a long time, and we have put it off simply because on the long list of things to be done, it seemed less important. But, wow, the calamities just in the past 4 years since we've been married are enough to scare anyone straight. I've found some AMAZING resources out there and am excited to put them together this weekend.

Meanwhile, we are looking forward to several fun things. John has spring break next week and then my parents, sister, and nieces/nephews are coming for a visit in April. THEN, in May we get to go to Utah for John's brother's wedding! (YAY Uncle Paul! We are so excited to have Alexis in our family!) There are a lot of things to look forward to and a lot of unknowns. I'm excited to see where we'll be in the future! But for now, here are some fun pictures of the kiddos, etc.

Tubby!

I have no idea what he's doing here, but don't worry, he's not strangling himself!

In the "spaceship"!

Daddy's little girl

A family photo!

Sitting up!

Drooler alert...I think she's getting a tooth!

LOVE this boy!

Isn't that the SWEETEST face!?

He loves when he gets to swing!

Momma's girl!

The Bigger the Bow, the BETTER!

Buzz Light Year, New Camera and John's Birthday

2011-02-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

There have been a few changes in the Mattox household since my last post. Jack has moved from sleeping in a crib to his "new bed", which he calls it. Nana and Poppy were so kind to get it for him and he loves it. Sleeping in it is another thing. The first week, he slept in it all night long and took naps in it, but wouldn't get out of bed unless I came to get him. Well, he soon learned that he could get out of his bed all by himself and we've spent the past couple of weeks teaching him that he needs to stay in his bed and fall back asleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night. One night he got out of his bed at least 15 times between the hours of 3am and 6am. That was fun...NOT. He seems to realize now that once I put him back in his bed, that it means he needs to fall back asleep, so he won't get up. Now he usually only wakes up because he can't find his binky or his Buzz Lightyear. Which brings me to exhibit B (exhibit A being the bed).

For Christmas, Nana and Poppy got Jack a Buzz Lightyear action figure that when you squeeze its legs, these little lights swirl around the top of its head. Well, let's just say that Jack has found his new best friend. He takes Buzz EVERYWHERE. Anytime we get in the car, Buzz is with him. He sleeps with him, and talks to him. One day he said "Want chocolate milk, Buzz" right after he asked me for some. It's pretty cute. He also got Toy Story 2 for Christmas, so he watches it with Buzz and acts out all the parts with his own Buzz lightyear while they're happening to the real toy Buzz on the movie. If Buzz jumps or flies, he throws his Buzz up in the air...which is why after two weeks of this, Buzz lost a leg. I tried to glue this little tiny plastic piece back in place so he could still work (meaning so his lights would still work) but it was to no avail. Thus, if you look very closely to one of the pictures below, you can see the "silver bermuda shorts" that Buzz wears now, i.e. the duct tape. It's pretty hilarious, and Jack doesn't seem to mind that he doesn't light up anymore, just as long as he has both of his legs.

Jack is quite the handful these days, but he keeps us laughing. He is constantly asking to drive the car, something I can only guess he learned he could do while at Maw-maw and Paw-paw's house when he got to "drive" the hotwheels Jeep that they have. He asks me every time we get in the car if he can drive it.

We also got a new camera. Which is why I posted so many pictures. Now we don't have to take them with our little video camera. I love it! It is very nice and takes some great pictures. I can't wait to take it outside and use it this spring when all the flowers pop up.

We also just celebrated John's birthday last Sunday. I made him Brazilian Stroganoff (soooo good!) and a German Chocolate Cake. It was my first time making both but they turned out really good. It seems that I may actually know my way around the kitchen these days. In fact, a few months ago John said "You're a really good cook now". I said, "What do you mean 'now'"? haha....I know what he means. Let's just say we ate a lot of spaghetti/brocolli/chicken when we were first married. In fact, I think we ate either chicken or spaghetti every day. I've gotten braver these past few years and learned that practice makes good food.

Sister girl is starting to try to sit up on her own. She also is starting solid foods and is very sweet about it. No funny faces or spitting, she just keeps it in her mouth and swallows like a good girl, even though I have a hard time getting her to open up. I have to make her laugh and then sneak it in. She loves her big brother (even if he tries to bang her with his head like every day). If he gets too close to her she starts to scream and swing her arms as if she is saying "get away!". It's really funny. She just recently had her 6 month well-baby check. (I can't believe it's been 6 months!!!). Here were her stats:

weight: 17.9 lbs
height: 27 inches

She's just the sweetest little (big!?) thing in the world. Always smiling and happy and such a good sleeper. And, she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. He wasn't sure what having a girl would be like, but she just melts him to the core when she smiles her little shy smile.

Learning to sit up

I went upstairs to put sister to bed and came down to find him in this....naughty boy.

Sitting in the high chair like a big girl

sweety!

He fell asleep during "quiet time" like this

German Chocolate cake...how recipe called for it to look

German Chocolate Cake with the choco icing on it!

hanging out together

"riding" his tractor with Buzz....can you see the duct tape shorts?

Christmas in Kentucky

2011-01-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Christmas this year with all of our family in Kentucky. Jack got to ride tractors, 4-wheelers, etc. He had a blast and we could hardly keep him inside. It was absolutely FREEZING when we got there. I think the highest it got in the first week was 29 degrees. We had such a good time and REALLY miss all of our family. Jack especially asks to go to "Jo Jo's house" or "ride on airplane and go to maw-maw and paw-paw's house". We had so much fun just being together...we didn't really go and do anything spectacular (although John and I were able to sneak away for a couple of hours with no children and see a movie...thanks Aunt "Airplane") but we had a fabulous time just being together and getting to spend time with each of the children. There were bouts of sickness which we were all exposed to (although luckily not EVERYONE got sick). We had fevers, strep throat, pink eye, etc. My, were we a sight, but nonetheless we overcame and had fun anyways! Thanks to Maw-maw and Paw-paw for the opportunity to be in the homeland again.

While we were in Kentucky, John had an interview with a law firm there. We were really excited about it, and it seemed that it would work out great, because the interview came about in such a miraculous way. We were still in Kentucky on the first Sunday in January, so I decided to make my fast to "get the job". As we were sitting in sacrament meeting, I had this overwhelming feeling of peace come over me....that everything was going to be okay. Not necessarily that he would get the job, but that no matter what, we would all be together and that was enough. So, because of that peaceful feeling, I was neither disappointed nor surprised when he did NOT get the job. Because of the peace I received from that fast, I really felt okay knowing that the Lord has it all under control. John and I (and all the fam in Kentucky) have agreed that no matter what, the Lord's plans for us are always better than the plans we make for ourselves. The natural man is so short-sighted, and that is why I am so grateful that the Lord is in control.

We are lucky enough to have an internship for the first half of the summer and feel so blessed by that, and we know that the Lord will provide a job for us after John graduates. No matter if it's here or somewhere else, we are eternally grateful for the gospel that binds us all together for eternity, despite where we end up living here on earth.

Below are some pictures of our adventures. We love the homeland.

Our run-away Shepherd

"GANNA!"

Livvy...poor thing was sick with strep throat

Jo-Jo and/or "Skinny Neck"

"Whattya guys want?"

Uncle "Bady" and the other Sister Girl "Yiza"

Handsome in his new suit from Maw-maw

"Gampa Mattox" and the children

"Gamma Mattox" and the children

The Red "tack-tu"

Payt and Jules as Joseph and Mary (oh, and Sister Girl as baby Jesus)

I didn't get any other pictures of my parents or my grandparents.... shame on me. But, to my defense we do only have a vidoe camera that takes still pictures, so it's not VERY convenient. We shall have to remedy that in the future.

To Infinity and Beyond

2010-12-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

The title of the post pays hommage to Jack's movie of choice at this moment...."Toy Story". Thanks Nana and Poppy; he adores this movie! We haven't been up to a lot lately. Sister got her 4 month check up this month. Here are her stats:

Height: 26" long

Weight: 14lbs 15 oz

She's in the 97th percentile for height and 67th percentile for weight. The doctor said that she should be gaining more weight than she is, so we have to go in for a weight check next month. The funny thing is, at her last checkup they said to be sure not to feed her too much, and now they want me to feed her more! The doctor said she should double her weight by 6 months...does she realize that means she'd be 18lbs!? Either way, sister is a dream baby. She sleeps 12 hours a night, can soothe herself by sucking her thumb and is generally always happy and smiley. Jack absolutely ADORES her and asks about her first thing in the morning when I get him out of bed.

Jack has entered the TERRIBLE part of the terrible twos. He is very determined and likes to have his way....we are working on it. His new phrases are "NO mama" and "Me try it". It makes us laugh when we talk about it after he's sleeping blissfully at night, but it is a struggle in the moment. Now I know why they call it the terrible twos. Most of the time, though, he is a sweet little bunny. He is starting to "say" prayer with us...meaning he repeats what we say while we're saying prayer at night. He is also starting to listen more during Family Home Evening. He's starting to sing along with us, and does a very good rendition of "One Day Out There" from Hunchback of Notre Dame. He still loves cars, trucks, tractors, and buses. He's a joy to be with and loves to RUN RUN RUN everywhere he goes.

We'll be heading to KY for Christmas and New Years and we are very excited. John is currently studying for his LAST final of 2010. He'll officially be half-way finished with law school tomorrow. We can't believe how quickly this past year and a half has gone by. We're still searching for ja job for next summer, but know that Heavenly Father is guiding us and taking care of us. We know that we will go wherever HE wants us to go, and that His plans are always much better than the ones we make for ourselves.

Below are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. We just adore these little ones that we've been blessed with.

We have a thumbsucker! I LOVE it! Sooo cute!

This is her VERY happy smile! Right after she wakes up!

Look how strong she is!

Merry Christmas!

Pretty in Purple!

I tried to get them to smile, but I only got the deer in the headlights look!

His "hat"

Pretty girl!

One day while fixing my hair, she fell asleep sucking her thumb in her bouncy seat! Sweet Baby!

Somewhere between church and home, this happened (her headband fell down). HAHA! Poor baby!

Daddy and Sister

Ready for Maw maw and Paw paw's house!

Love this crazy sooo much!

Pictures GALORE!

2010-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here's what we've been up to lately, in pictures...and a video at the end.

2-year-old + makeup= disaster face

He kind of looks like an Indian warrior

Sweet cheeks

I think she looks like me in this picture...finally!

Daddy and the chitlens.

Ready for Church!

Dressed in their Sunday best!

"CHEESE!"

Mama and babies!

My little sweetness!

Seriously, who can resist this face?

Fall Fun Fest

2010-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a super cute festival that is put on just for toddlers and preschoolers. It is a free event and kids get to play games, take home a bag of Halloween goodies, go on a hay ride, and see a fire truck. I was a little worried that Jack would be so excited that he would freak out, but he was SO good and he LOVED everything. His costume is Simba, from the Lion King. We played a couple of the games and then went on the hay ride (which he asked for the whole time because of the tractor). Then we went and saw the fire truck. He was such a good boy and really enjoyed it. The people who put this on have been doing it for a few years, so they really know how to make it fun and age-appropriate for toddlers and preschooler. We will definitely be going back next year. Below are some pics from the event.

Getting ready to leave for the festival!

The wind was blowing SO hard! As you can see by his mane!

Having some "cocat mulk" (chocolate milk) after the hay ride!

He was SO excited to see the fire truck!

Roar!

Isn't it cute that they're holding hands!?

Amelia's Blessing

2010-10-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, all of the grandparents came in town for Amelia's blessing. In our Church, infants are given a name and a blessing a few weeks after they are born. The blessing is pronounced upon them by one who holds the priesthood and has the authority to act in God's name. The blessing John gave Amelia was absolutely beautiful; we were all in tears. He blessed her to participate in all of the programs in the Church that will help her to be a strong woman: a good wife, mother, and disciple of God. The date she was blessed is very significant in our family. It was my sister's birthday and the day that I was baptized and confirmed into the Church. Below are some pictures of everybody after it was over.

With Nana and Poppy

With Maw-maw and Paw-paw

The whole gang (Amelia is exhausted!)

Mama and Baby Girl

Mama, Daddy, and Baby Girl

Just the Girls!

Lately

2010-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

My birthday was last week. I am now a quarter of a century old. Crazy! I can't believe it. I had a great day. Sister girl, however, did not. She had her 2 month check up and had to get three shots. Poor baby! She was a trooper though and fell right asleep when it was all over. Here are her stats:

Weight: 13lbs 13oz

Height: 24 1/4 inches

Basically, she's a giant. She's in the 97th percentile for height and weight. But, dang, she's cute!

I want to eat her cheeks!

Momma and buddy

This is the face he makes when we ask "what does a bunny do?"

Look at that smile!

I love this outfit! Thanks Auntie Amber!

Precious personified

My mom sent me this for my birthday! Isn't it cute!? Yes, those are stawberries dipped in chocolate!

Look how good she holds her head up!

Sweet Baby

My boys!

Smile!

2010-09-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures and a video of sister girl. I call her this frequently, and thus, so does Jack. So now he thinks her name is "sista gul". We just adore this little girl. Jack can't get enough of her, which I think is so cute. And she's already got John wrapped around her little finger. (Don't mind my tongue-clicking in the background of the video, it's one of the ways I can get her to smile.)

Isn't she huge!? I'm going to have to move her out of the bassinet soon.

I love this sweet smile! She has my downturned eyes!

This is her "embarrased" smile, where she gets all googly and turns her head.

Precious! Does anyone see red in her hair and eyebrows? It could be the light.

ahhh...sleep

2010-09-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Don't you wish you could sleep like this...

Thus far, Amelia has been sleeping from roughly 9pm to 5am (sometimes 7am). I can't believe it, considering Jack woke up every hour and a half for at least 6 months. Hopefully she continues. Here are a couple of cute pictures of her sleeping in her carseat (one of her favorite places to sleep).

Happy Birthday Jack!

2010-09-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 2 this week. I can't believe it's been two years since we went to the hospital with all the nervous excitement of new parents-to-be. He has been so much fun and keeps us laughing all the time. For his birthday, I made chocolate-iced cupcakes and blew up balloons for him to play with all day. During the day we went to Toys R Us and I let him pick out some toys with the gift card he got from Grandma Smoot. He picked out a fire truck (of course), a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse coloring pad, and a bucket of wooden blocks! He loves them all! (Thanks Grandma Smoot!) Then that night when John came home, we ate cupcakes and sang happy birthday and then let him open up his presents. Overall, I think he had a really good birthday.

Below is a video of him blowing out his birthday candles. I should mention his newest phrase. He says it in the video when John peels of the cupcake wrapper for him. You know, now that he's older I have to really watch what I say because he picks up on everything. Apparently I say "oh my gosh" too much, because he says it now too. Whoops! I've been trying to get him to say "oh wow", but it's not rubbing off very well. It's pretty funny. Oh, and he also calls the cupcake a muffin because he's been obsessed with muffins ever since Maw-maw was here and bought him some mini blueberry muffins.

Here are some pictures of Jack and Amelia from his birthday, and then some more of Amelia in a cute little outfit. She's getting so big already and is such a good baby. She's only been getting up once during the night (thank goodness!) and is already starting to smile. She's such a sweet baby and Jack adores her!

More Pictures

2010-08-12T19:05:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures of our little sweetheart and our big boy. Jack adores his baby sister and when anyone comes over to our house, he is quick to tell them her name is "mee-uh". He loves to kiss her and rub the top of her head. He is a very good big brother!

Milk goatee?

Baby Girl

Don't you just love that big pink bow!?

Bright eyes!

Practicing her beauty queen wave and smile.

This is Amelia, but boy does she look like Jack in this picture!

John just said "I thought that was Jack"

Things are beginning to settle down around here. We think we might be able to handle having two children! I'm a little nervous for John to go back to school, but I know it will be okay! We are trying to stay cool here, with the temp 100 and above most days. Bring on the fall! I think I'm ready for mums, apple cider, and pumpkins!

Pretty in Purple

2010-08-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures of sister with this adorable bow on her little head. I think it's hysterical/adorable.

"hello world"

I love the pursed lips.

She was trying to eat her hands.

This was a classic Jack face.

The Scoop

2010-08-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted about the actual birth day of Amelia, so I thought I'd share my experience and the joy that we feel having our little girl and a family of four.

On Tuesday, I had a scheduled induction at 7:00am. We arrived at the hospital, got all set up and they started me on the Petosin drip. I was going to stick out the contractions as long as I could and try to go without an epidural so that I could recover quicker. At about 11:00am, they checked me and said I was a 7, but then the doctor came an hour later and said "no, she's more like a 4 or 5". I was a little disappointed, but tried to keep going without the epidural. At around 1:oopm I couldn't handle the pain anymore. I wasn't progressing, so I got an epidural and they turned up the petosin dose to get me dialated more.

For an hour, I waited for the epidural to really kick in and only be able to feel the pressure sensation of the contractions and not the pain. It turns out my epidural didn't work as well as it should have and only really numbed my legs. Kudos to all those women out there who have had babies natural. I have never felt pain like that in my life.

At 2:45 I was ready to push. After 45 minutes of pushing, the doctor said that the baby's head was stuck under my pelvic bone, and because she was facing up (instead of down), she wasn't coming out at the right angle. She also noticed as I was pushing that the baby had a small abrasion on top of her head. So, she said the dreaded "C" word: cesarean. At this point, I was in so much pain that I didn't care, I just wanted her out and I wanted her to be safe.

They rushed me into the OR, and started prepping me for a C-section. I was really scared, but tried to be brave and not cry. I was worried the most about the epidural, knowing that the medicine they use to numb me would probably not do very well since they put it in the same tube as the epidural medicine. I was right. When they did the test incision, I could feel a little more than just pressure. It was really scary. But my doctor said, "Okay, I'm not going to torture you, we're going to put you under". About 30 seconds later, there was a mask on my face and I was out.

Amelia was born at 4:05pm , and I didn't wake up completely until about 6:00pm. My body was in shock so I was shivering uncontrollably for about an hour, as the nurses put blanket after blanket on me to try to help my body relax. I was still scared, and so exhausted, but luckily my wonderful, amazing husband was there to hold my hand. I remember the first thing he said. "Hi baby, are you alright?" He told me she was 9 lbs and 22 inches long and that she loked just like Jack Jack.

When they brought her into me, and told me she was as healthy as a horse and passed all of her little newborn tests, all of the fear passed away. As I look back now, I know that the Lord was there, watching over me. He comforted me at my time of need. And although I was scared, I was never hopeless, knowing that Heavenly Father loved me and would take care of me and my little girl no matter what.

Needless to say, my wishes for a speedy recovery were blown to pieces, but I can say one thing. The Lord has taken care of me from the very beginning. Luckily, John has about a month off before school starts, so he's able to be here with me and Jack and Amelia and help out. He is an angel sent to me from heaven: he takes Jack to the park almost every day, changes Amelia's diapers, and fawns over me. I feel so lucky to have him. We were wondering why John didn't get a second internship for the summer, meaning he would have a job or an internship right now. But the Lord knows what he's doing after all, and now we understand, and boy are we appreciative to Him for such a blessing.

Later, my doctor informed me that because Amelia was so big, she didn't doubt the decision to do a C-section. She said that her shoulders would have gotten stuck and then I would have been in even more trouble.

So after all of this, what do I have to say? Thank you: to my God, my husband, and my mom (who fearlessly tended Jack through this whole ordeal and gave up the entire month of July awaiting Amelia's birth). I'm grateful to all those who prayed for me and little sister. We are doing great!

Here are some pictures of our little cutie and her big brother.

"Mee-uh"

Yay for pink bows!

I have many more pictures, but lil' sis is ready to eat again. I'll post more soon.

Welcome Baby Amelia!

2010-07-28T06:48:00.001-07:00

9 lbs, 22inches long

and as cute as can be!

See the Resemblance?

2010-07-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Lately

2010-06-21T17:48:00.001-07:00

We haven't really been up to much lately, except getting ready for our little girl to arrive. Nana came back to get Max and we had a great time with her. She took the picture of all of us below before we went to church.

We also have been lucky enough to start getting things from our porch garden. We have tomatoes and squash and we had only a few sugar snap peas. The tomatoes are SOOOO delicious, even if they do give me heartburn. Our favorite meal is tomatoes and rice! Delicious! There are still several more on the vine that we are waiting on.

Jack has learned the word "no" and so we hear this word frequently in our house. It is frustrating sometimes, and other times it is really funny. We can't believe our little guy is so big now. He's truly not a baby anymore and it makes us sad. We are excited for him to meet his little sister... and John and I are even more excited!

I recently had a visit to the doctor's office where they did an ultrasound and told me that my baby is measuring two weeks ahead. So, at 34 weeks, my little girl is already 6 pounds...yikes! They said I will probably go early since she's already so big, and they also said they're not going to let me go past 39 weeks. Since then I've been working furiously to get everything together. I've washed all her clothes and the car seat cover, put up the awesome bassinet my sister sent me, and arranged the dresser with half her clothes and half Jack's. All I have to do is pack our bag and we'll be ready. We are so excited and I'm even more so because it's a lot harder caring for Jack with a gigantic belly.

Jack's Bus and Swimming Pool

2010-06-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, Jack LOVES buses. If we see one while we're out, I hear about it for the rest of the day. It's really funny. And much to Jack's delight, Nana and Poppy bought him a little wooden bus with people in it while they were in Germany. It is so stinkin' cute. Below is a video of him playing with the bus, which was an instant hit.

I also have posted a video of him "swimming" in his little pool outside. He likes to climb in and out of the water and run around the yard, so there's not a whole lot of swimming going on, but he loves it. Don't mind the conversation between me and Nana in the background, just enjoy the little munchkin.

The Bus

The Pool

Our Visitor

2010-05-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

We are dog-sitting Uncle Max (the beagle) for the next couple of weeks while Nana and Poppy are away. Jack LOVES the dog, and especially loves feeding him. Below is a video of our sweet buddy feeding the dog a treat.

The Deutchen Pfest

2010-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulously fun weekend. John finished his last final on Friday (YAY!) and when he got home, we ate pizza and watched "The Blind Side". (The relief from finals being over was great! Poor John has been working his tail off for 3 weeks getting ready for them, and now it's all over...phew!) Then on Saturday, we went to a local festival here called the Deutchen Pfest. It's supposed to be a celebration of the German heritage around here. It was fun! It reminded me of the good old fair back home and brought a few tears to my eyes as I reminisced about the bygone days of fair food and twirly rides. It started with a parade, which Jack loved because of all the trucks. After the parade, we walked around and looked at all of the booths and checked out all the FOOD. Did I say FOOD!?! Wow, there was everything you could imagine. We sampled lots...german sausage, pulled pork sandwich, potato twirls, gyro, funnel cake. It was a carb nightmare, but it was SO good!

Here's the funniest part of our whole experience. Jack has an OBSESSION with busses. There are 3 or 4 school busses that pass our house each day and he gets really excited when he sees them. Well, guess what!? He got to ride in one...a real yellow school bus. We parked at a local high school and then road the "shuttle" to the festival. It was free and was by far Jack's favorite part. We heard "bus" about 100 times on the way home and ALL night long.

So excited!

"Momma, Bus!"

Waiting for the Bus

Riding the Bus

Jack's other favorite part was this ADORABLE little petting zoo they had set up. It was full of BABY animals...ducklings, piglets, calves, bunnies, baby goats and sheep, and chickens. Jack loved it and got to do it twice! Below are some videos and pictures of his fun with the animals.

Petting the Goats

Feeding the Goats

Petting the Pig

Petting the Cow

All in all it was a great weekend and we had a great time together as a family...finally! We are so glad we took the time to go. And it was all worth it just to see Jack so happy to ride the bus.

For the Grandmas and Grandpas

2010-04-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is Jack saying his alphabet. He knows all of his letters and he can pick them out as you'll see in the video. Sorry you can't see his face, but you can still hear his answers. Enjoy!

The Exodus and Easter

2010-04-11T13:20:00.001-07:00

We had a very nice Easter this year. I was able to be a part of our Stake's production of "Savior of the World" wherein I played the part of Salome. It was so neat to be able to be a part of such a beautiful production. To act as if I was there when he died and was buried, and then again when He was ressurected, was a most uplifting experience. My testimony of the Savior and His divinity grew so much, and I had many tender moments backstage pondering what it would have been like to meet Him on the road as the risen Lord. How greatful I am that He died for my sins and that He shed His blood to set me free from the bonds of sin and death.

While I was at rehearsal one night, John and buddy decided to re-enact the Exodus from Egypt, in celebration of Passover. Below is buddy dressed as Moses alongside the "children of Israel." My personal favorites are the airplane and the Noah's ark in the back by the piano. But I must say Jack makes a very convincing Moses.

Also, as part of our Easter tradition, John made "hot cross buns", which are a very old English tradition. They are buns made with raisins inside and a delicious sugar glaze on top with pastry crosses. They were absolutely delicious...so much so that I ate 5 and couldn't breathe for an hour afterwards.

We also were able to just spend the weekend watching General Conference, which was such a great blessing. I felt renewed in my calling as a wife and a mother as so many of the talks given were about the responsibility parents have of teaching their children the gospel and instilling in them the truths that our Heavenly Father has given us. I came away with a great resolution to not only teach Jack his letters and colors, but most importantly, his being a child of God with a divine nature. Most of all, I felt the overwhelming desire to be a better example to him, and to parent him the way that our Heavenly Father parents us--with love, patience, and mercy. How grateful I am to have the truthfulness of the gospel in these latter days; to have a prophet and apostles on the earth once again to show us the way in these troubled times.

Maw Maw and Paw Paw and Cute Girl things

2010-04-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here are the promised pictures from my parents' visit. We had so much fun. We went to the Rodeo, where Jack poked a baby goat in the eye. We went to San Antonio, along with everyone else in Texas, as all of the schools there were on spring break. We also spent lots of time eating and having a good time. My dad took these great pictures of Jack with his camera (the one I spilled Sprite on when I was like 5 years old and will never live it down). We had such a great time and really enjoyed John's spring break with them. Thanks maw-maw and paw-paw. (By the way, my Dad turned 60 today...Happy Birthday Pops!)

Jack Jack at the Alamo

Cutest Face

Maw-maw and Jack

Jack and Paw-paw

And now for some pictures of the adorable baby girl clothes I have acquired over the past few weeks. First, my mom brought bows and then bought me a few outfits while she was here. Then, my best friend, Kenzie, sent me a box full of clothes that her little girl never wore! (thanks, Kenz, you're the best!) And then, a friend of mine from church MADE me a little outfit and a carseat cover. The outpouring of generosity is simply too much! Thanks to you all.

Maw-maw's Purchases... I love the dress and shoes!

A bathing suit from Kenz!! How sweet!

More shoes, from Kenzie and my Mom...see how SMALL they are!

About 1/6 of what I got from Kenz! (You're the best!)

The outfit my friend Kim made! Isn't that skirt to DIE for! She sells her things online! Look her up HERE.

In other news, my sister had her baby girl on April Fool's Day, which I am happy to report is the day I believed she would come all along. (Go Aunt Sommy!) She's absolutely precious and I can't wait to meet her!

It's a GIRL!

2010-03-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

The rumors are true! Last week, at my 20 week ultrasound, we found out we are having a little girl in July! We are so excited! Although I think it would be fun for Jack to have a brother to play with, I am so excited to be able to have a precious baby girl in our family. I know Jack will be the best big brother and watch over his sister. When I called John after the ultrasound to tell him what it was (he couldn't make it because he had class), I said "well, I hope you're ready for dresses and bows and pink tights" and he said "REALLY!?". He totally thought it was going to be a boy, and rightfully so. The Mattox line hasn't had a girl in it for 4 generations! We broke the curse! Ha! So, the doctor said she is looking great and I'm measuring right on time. She has a strong heartbeat and she moves CONSTANTLY! I cannot wait for her to get here. My parents were in town this past week for spring break, so we had to splurge on some super cute girl clothes. (My mom brought some bows for her all the way from KY.) I will post some pictures soon of the clothes and of our week with my parents! We had so much fun!

Invisible Children

2010-03-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

This morning I was listening to some music on my iPod and I heard a song that reminded me of "Invisible Children." I saw this documentary about 4 years ago at a professors house. It was the raw, un-cut footage of 3 college students who traveled to Uganda looking for a story to tell. What they found was probably worse than they could have ever imagined. Here's an explanation of the movie I got from Wikipedia because the Invisible Children website was so slow:

"Rebel armies, known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), have been abducting children and using them as troops while they wage war against the Ugandan government. This originally caused the children to night commute, or walk miles nightly to avoid these troops. It is estimated that 90% of the LRA is abducted children. The film tells their story."

At the time, I thought of my nephew, as some of the boys who are captured are as young as 5 or 6, and that's how old he was at the time. Today, I thought of my son. How greatful I am to live in a country where I feel safe. Where I have a roof over my head, food in my pantry, cars to drive myself everywhere, and luxuries that the poor people of Uganda will never have. The fears I have for my son are so insignificant in comparison with the Ugandan mother's who must surely feel sorrow every single day for their sons. I worry about Jack falling and bumping his head, ripping his books, or misbehaving in public. These women must worry every day that the sons they bore will be ripped from them and either end up dead or forever changed.

While I feel it is noble of these young men to have found and brought this story to the U.S. and started a charitable orginzation, I fear that the only thing that could ever change Uganda, or Africa for that matter, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only through Him that there can be peace, hope, and eternal life.

Bowtie

2010-02-28T17:57:00.001-08:00

Jack got a bowtie for Christmas from Nana. So, today we decided to let him wear it to church. This is the result...cuteness at it's best!

Precious!

"Get off of me, I want to run around!"

His GQ look.

Sunny and Other Things

2010-02-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Well, there's not much to report on here at our house. Jack gets bigger every day it seems like, and his vocabulary is growing right along with him. He says "mommy", "daddy", "cracker", "juice", "water", "uh-oh", "whoa", "oh man", and he knows what a duck, a doggy, and a cow say. Also, whenever we say prayer, he knows how to bow his head. It's soooo cute. He does it for like a milli-second. But he keeps doing it over and over throughout the prayer. (Sometimes I peek, I know, I should concentrate on the prayer!) Below I put some pictures of him up. There's also a video of him outside playing and he says all his words for me. You can't really hear him that well, but it's really cute!

It's been sunny here for the past week, off and on. The average here this time of year is in the mid-sixties, but today it's 75 degrees and sunny! AMAZING! I'm serious, I could really get used to this weather. We go to this park near our house at least once a week. It has a GIANT pond with about a gazillion ducks on it. And since it's so warm here, they're already having babies. I counted 15 babies to one mom last week. Jack loves going there and seeing the "quack quacks" as he calls them.

Oh, there's also a picture of our other little venture. We planted seeds about 3 or 4 weeks ago so that we'll have some nice tomato and pepper plants this summer. They're already about 3 or 4 inches tall. We're really excited that we have a side yard and patio in this house so that we can have a container garden. And here, it's so warm that they usually plant in mid-March. That means fresh tomatoes by July! YES! I crave tomatoes and salt CONSTANTLY while I'm pregnant and this baby is no different.

I should also mention that we get to find out what we're having in a couple of weeks. I'll be 18 weeks this wednesday. I can't believe how fast it is going. I'm finally getting over the nausea, but have since moved on to heartburn, thank you very much. But it's worth it.

Jack at the Park

2010-01-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

So, here in Texas the weather has been really warm. Yesterday, we took Jack to the park to play and he had a blast. He LOVES to slide down the slide and swing and just walk around. There are lots of nice parks around where we live, but this one is my particular favorite. It has lots of nice playground equipment and there are always plenty of squirrels to see. Below are a few videos I took of Jack while we were there. It was John's last day of winter vacation. He started classes today and Jack and I will really miss having him home most of the day.

He thought it was really funny when I pretended he ran into me with the swing. I look like such a frumpy mom in this video, but I was feeling kind of sick and my wardrobe evidently reflected that....yikes.

I love that he laughs at the slide...such a cutie!

He loves to walk around by himself now. If we tried to pick him up, he freaked out. If you listen, you can hear his new trick. He knows what a duck says.

July 28th

2010-01-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

We got a wonderful Christmas present early this year when we found out that we're going to have another baby on...you guessed it....July 28th! We are so excited to welcome another little precious baby into our home. I'm 12 weeks already and can't wait to get out of the first trimester so the nausea will go away. I've already been to the doctor twice and she says the baby's heart rate is right where it needs to be and all of my labs are great! So, here we go.

I know I haven't posted any pictures from Christmas yet, but they are on an external hard drive which John is kind of leary about me downloading from. Sooooo, we'll see if we get any photos up. But, we spent a wonderful 2 weeks in Albuquerque visiting John's parents and brother. We were very well taken care of, and had some AMAZING food while we were there...courtesy of Nana and Uncle Paul mostly. Too bad I was so nauseus that it was hard for me to enjoy eating anything. Hopefully that will be over soon!

Jack Jack had a great time with Max again, and really enjoyed running around Nana and Poppy's big house. It was hard to keep him contained, and he just LOVED pushing all the buttons on the TV. But Nana and Poppy took it all in stride and Jack had such a wonderful time. He slept like an angel, and hardly ever made a peep during the night. It was such a nice Christmas, filled with wonderful food, fun games (everyone out there has to play PIT once in there life), and most of all, great family!

Decorating the Tree

2009-12-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

We set up our tree the day after Thanksgiving, while John's family was still in town. We had such a good time. Jack loved being able to help, even though he just threw them on the tree and let them roll down to the bottom. From the pictures it looks like we were the only ones who decorated, but John and Paul did a lot too. I just thought Jack looked cuter in the pictures (sorry guys!!) I also included a picture of reindeer ears on Jack and Max (the mattox family beagle). Jack LOVES Max so much. He would get really excited and pull on his tail. We found the antlers at the dollar store and I'm so glad we got them, because they look hilarious on both Jack and Max. We are having such a good holiday season thus far. We will probably enjoy it much better once John is finished with his finals. He takes his last test next Tuesday. Boy is he stressed! I try to be a good wife and support him by telling him it will be alright, but I think I mostly think the same thing he does (when are these dumb tests going to be over?). Anyways, we're excited to be able to spend Christmas in Albuquerque this year with John's family. It's been two years since we've had a Christmas with uncle Paul. We can't wait!

The Bunny with Antlers

A boy and his dog with Antlers

Putting on the ornaments

Jack helping with the ornaments

We did red first, then green, then gold ornaments

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving was a very happy one. John's parents and brother came in town and we celebrated Thanksgiving right here in our house. It was absolutely wonderful. I actually cooked an entire 22lb turkey without ruining any part of it. I also succeeded in making my grandmother's famous Italian Cream Cake and it was also very edible and very like unto grandma's. (I'm not trying to sound proud, but I really can't believe that it all worked out without a hitch!) We spent our nights laughing and playing games and our days watching Jack walk around like a little crazy. He walks everywhere now, and I really think he is getting the hang of it and will soon be running everywhere. Nana made rolls and 7-layer salad. Paul made an apple pie for all of us. We had pumpkin cookies. We also had mashed potatoes, brocolli casserole, stuffing, gravy, and corn. Shoo wee, it was delicious. It seems that we will be having leftovers for at least a couple of weeks, and we're fine with that! Also, we put up our christmas decorations, and Nana was so kind and bought us several little decorations to put up around the house. It really feels like it's Christmas time now. We had such a great time with our family and are thankful for all that we have, especially our Savior, who has provided a way for us to return to our Heavenly Home. Below are some pictures of our holiday. More to come of Jack helping with the Christmas decorating...so cute.

Uncle Paul entertaining Jack before the feast

Mmm....Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving

The Turkey and my Italian Cream Cake (recipe Curtosy of Grandma Smoot)

He Walks!

2009-11-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

Jack took his very first baby steps on Halloween this year. So, we knew it wouldn't be long until he got the hang of it. We were a little worried, because he started to take steps and then lost interest...I think he just got nervous after he fell on his hiney a few times. But, since my sister and dad so graciously sent us a little baby push toy, he has grown increasingly brave and continues to make GREAT progress. Although crawling is still his method of choice when it comes to getting around, we feel confident that he will be walking...or even running...in no time at all. Below is a video of him walking across the room!

Halloween and Daylight Savings

2009-11-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

So, I was going to dress Jack up as a cowboy on halloween. I had the hat and the boots and everything. But, he was SOOOO crabby the whole weekend that I said "why put him and me through the misery of trying to keep a costume on him". (Does that make me a bad mom? I don't think so.) Instead, he wore his super cute light-up halloween shirt that Auntie Amber sent him. It was a much better option and I believe that he had a great time wearing it.

We went to our ward's halloween party and did the whole trunk-or-treat thing. It was very fun. We didn't collect any candy since Jack is still tiny, and frankly we don't need to eat any candy. But we had fun handing out candy to all of the little children in our ward. Below are some pictures of our Halloween Festivities.

Chillin' out on top of daddy's belly.

This is what we did on halloween. Love it!

Eating fish crackers

Delicious!

Trunk or Treat! Jack and his friend Julia, who was a pretty princess!

These next pictures are cute, but I put them up because of the story behind them. You see, Saturday night everyone was supposed to set their clocks back an hour and enjoy that extra hour of sleep before church the next morning. Silly us!! We forgot to and were all ready to be to church and walk out the door at 8:30 when I looked down at my phone and thought, "that's funny, my phone says 7:30!" Long story short, we had an extra hour to hang out before church because we forgot about Daylight Savings. Sooo...I thought I'd take some pictures of Jack and all of us before church.

Baby and Daddy

We all look creepy in this picture, but it's still cute!

Good Morning, Jumper

2009-10-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, this is what Jack does every morning when I go to get him out of his crib; he jumps up and down in excitement. In this video, though, I had just turned on the light so his eyes were a little squinty, then he saw that I had the camera so he didn't jump right away. But normally, as soon as I walk in the room, he jumps up and down because he's so excited to see his mama!

Aloha Shirts and Tricks

2009-10-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

So I just had to post this funny video of the trick I taught Jack. He's been doing it for a while now, but it still makes me laugh everytime I see it. I think he looks like a little turtle. Also, here's a picture of him with his hawaiin shirt on. Grandpa Geurts would be proud. John has one that matches, both are from Nana. Doesn't Jack look handsome?

His coy smile.

Pumpkin Fun

2009-10-11T17:53:00.001-07:00

So, this weekend we went with a bunch of friends to a local pumpkin patch/christmas tree farm. The weather was perfectly fall...cloudy and cold. It was kind of nice, considering it's been in the 90's up until now. We all put on our long pants and coats and headed off to the farm early so that we could enjoy all the activities before naptime! We got to see some cool farm animals, including a donkey and some goats, as well as a GINORMOUS spider that looked like it could eat the other animals. Sick! Our favorite activity was the "pumpkin hunt". The owners hide little tiny pumpkins in the evergreen trees and the kids get to go hunt for a couple of their own pumpkins. Jack wasn't TOO excited, so we found the pumpkins and then he got to hold them; which he liked. We had a good time and are enjoying the nice cool weather of fall for a a few days. But, it's supposed be back up in the 90's this week. Below are some pictures of us from the pumpkin patch, courtesy of Mel since our camera is broken. Thanks, Mel!

Waiting for a ride on the wagon!

On our way back from the pumpkin hunt!

Pics and other things

2009-10-03T18:12:00.001-07:00

My parents came in town last week to visit. We had such a great time and it was so fun to show them our place. They really like where we live, and so do we! They helped us spruce up the place with a few fall decorations and some new furniture pieces. Thanks so much mom and dad, we love the way all our new things look and run ;) I don't have any pictures because my dad is the one who takes all the pictures. So, suffice it to say that we had a great time, mom and dad spoiled us all, and Jack kept us all laughing with his funny tricks. I'll have to post a video of him soon.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of Jack that one of my friends here in Texas took. Thanks Jen! They're adorable and will look great framed in his room!

Our House

2009-09-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

So, my sister has been asking to see pictures of our house, so here they are. We really like it. It is in a perfect place, right near the park and ride, and it has plenty of space. We feel so blessed to have it and are so greatful to be here. I also posted some pictures of Jack. He's getting so big and starting to pull up. I find him standing everywhere, but it's especially cute when I go into his room and there he is standing in his crib.

Standing in His Crib

Spaghetti Night!

The Front Door, Stairs, and TV Stand

The Living Room

The Kitchen

The dining area

Our Bedroom

The Dresser and Closet Door

Jack's Room

The Office

Happy 1st Birthday Jack!

2009-09-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

This past monday we celebrated Jack's 1st birthday at home with just us. He's had lots of birthday celebrations (one in Albuquerque and one in Kentucky), so we kept it simple. I made him his favorite food (mac and cheese) and then we sang happy birthday and he got to eat a whole brownie by himself. It was nice. There's a video of it below. We just can't believe he's already a year old. He crawls around like a maniac, and is learning to pull up. He will probably be walking very soon.

I also included in this post a picture of him with yet another object in his mouth. He has a mickey and minnie and pluto figurine set and I frequently find him crawling around with pluto in his mouth. Silly baby! And, I couldn't help it, I had to put up this sad photo of him. I think it's hilarious how his face is all scrunched.

Other than the birthday celebration, we've just been hanging out and putting our house together. We still have to hang a few pictures and organize some things, but other than that we're almost done. We have a great ward here. The people are so nice and there are several other law students in our ward. Jack went to his first play group on tuesday and had a ball. He even got a cupcake. He had fun ripping up their books (yikes!) and screaming at the top of his lungs when he couldn't get a ball from another little boy. Thus, toddlerdom has begun.

Don't mind my freakishness in the beginning.

His "I want the camera" face.

Cows are for eating.

Baby's First Hair Cut

2009-08-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

So, although I loved Jack's little curls on the side of his head, I couldn't stand the length in the back. He was starting to look like one of those little redneck children whose hair grows out too long and curls just hang on the bottom. I must say, his new do is quite adorable. Below is the video progression of his lovely trimmed locks.

The Before

Mid-Cut

The After

I'm awaiting pictures from Maw-maw from our visit to Kentucky. I'll post some of the duo birthday party and general fun as soon as I get the photos!

Albuquerque, Austin, and Bullitsville

2009-08-20T18:42:00.001-07:00

It's been a wild ride these past few weeks. We went from California to New Mexico to Texas to Kentucky and are finally almost all setup in our new home. We had such a great time visiting our family and got to do some great things. Below are some pictures from our visit to Albuquerque. We finally got to see Uncle Paul! Jack loved the dog, Max. He also loved crawling all around their house. Nana and Poppy planned a nice birthday party for Jack, so below are some pictures of him digging into his little cake. We left there early in the morning on the Aug. 3rd and headed to our new home in Austin! It is soo great! It's also VERY hot. We're in the 60th day of over 100 degrees! The grass is a lovely shade of brown. But, other than that, we're absolutely loving it! I'll post some pictures of our new place soon AND of Jack's haircut! (It's soo cute!) More pictures soon.

Reading a book on the chair like a big boy

Mmmm...birthday cake.

Diggin' in

the before cake "Jack Jack Rocks!"

Crawling and other things

2009-07-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

We have had a very exciting week! Jack has finally learned how to crawl. It's like a light went off in his head and now he is everywhere and into everything! It's a blessing and a curse really. Also, he has this new fascination with putting toys in his mouth and leaving them in there while he crawls around. He especially loves to do this with some of the rubber duckies he has. It's sooo funny! He also makes these funny growling noises and I recently taught him how to do an angry kitty-kat "keh" noise. I also posted a video of him looking at a book. He LOVES books!

We went to the beach on Saturday and it was so much fun! The waves were huge and the weather was beautiful! Jack loved the sand, and he especially loved to eat it! Crazy bunny! He was an angel for the couple of hours we were there and enjoyed digging into the sand and splashing in the tide as it came in. We plan on going back to the beach a couple more times before we leave.

We also were able to talk to Uncle Paul on the phone several times and are so excited to see him in a couple weeks! Welcome home, Paul! Jack is especially excited because he has never met Uncle Paul, but he knows they will be best friends!

Below are some videos of our little crazy and some pictures as well.

Holding the duck in his mouth...

...and again.

Crawling!! You can also hear him growling a little bit, and me trying to get him to make his cat noise.

Holding the duck in his mouth

Our little reader

Independence Day

2009-07-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

We had a very relaxing day on July 4th. It was GREAT!!! We basically swam and ate all day. Jack loves to be in the water, whether it's the bath or the pool. When I hold him in the pool, he pushes away from me like he doesn't want me to hold onto him. He wants to swim by himself!! Little turkey! He loves to splash and kick. Below is a video of him with John kicking in the pool. It was close to nap time so he was getting a little tired, but he's still pretty happy just kickin' along.

Jack is also very close to crawling. He gets up on all fours and rocks and then pushes back into a sitting position. He's almost gone forward several times. It should be any day now, I think.

John's brother gets back tomorrow from serving a two-year mission for The Church in Albania. We're so excited! After we leave California, we go straight to meet up with Paul and John's parents in the Grand Canyon. It will be the first time Uncle Paul has ever met his nephew Jack.

Twins, Father's Day, and a new House

2009-06-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been VERY busy these past couple of weeks. John's uncle and aunt went out of town for 10 days and left us with their baby. She's only 11 days older than Jack, so it was like having twins. WHOA!!! Nana came up (over?) to help with the little babes, and thank goodness she did. It was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Both of them wanted me when they were tired so, naptime and bedtime was a struggle. However, the upside was that Nana cooked us lots of good food (Chicken a la King, Chicken and Rice soup, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Chocolate-Chocolate Chip cookies...) MMMM!!! Needless to say, I could have lost some weight running around after the little babies, but instead I think I gained some weight from all the good food! I'm pretty much exhausted.

While Nana was here, Father's day came and went. I gave John some new shoes and made him breakfast and went to church, then spent dinner with John's other Uncle and Aunt that live nearby. We had delicious ham and the biggest baked potatos I have ever seen in my life. And for dessert, CHEESECAKE! It was a fun day!

In other news, we got a place to live in Austin; it's an awesome townhouse style duplex. It is a little more expensive than our other place was, but it's closer and it comes with a washer/dryer! I'm really excited, because it also has a side yard that is fenced. This is a good thing because Jack is becoming more mobile. He'll probably be crawling and trying to walk by the time we get to Texas. Below are some pictures of him in the bathtub. I think I should send these pictures to Johnson and Johnson. New poster child? I think so.

So modest!

I just poured water over his head.

Smile, you're on Candid Camera!

Love the lashes!

The Boy

2009-06-02T15:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures of the boy. He's so stinkin' cute sometimes I can't take it. If you look closely you can see the curly-qs on the sides of his head. He has these two random curls right above his ears. They're so cute. I think his new nickname should be curly, after the curls on his head and because I do think he looks like a miniature Curly from the movie version of Oklahoma.

His new noise is jabbering with his finger in his mouth. Silly bunny!

I wish this picture wasn't blurry. I think it's darling.

All smiles!

We still haven't found a place to live yet. I'm in communication with an apartment realtor who's going to help us find the "perfect place". They're a free locating service who receive payment from apartment complexes for finding qualified tenants. It's kind of scary to not know where we're going to live. I've been a little anxious about moving to a new place. The only two places I've ever known have been two of the safest places in the world, and now I'm going to a new place where I don't know a soul. But, it has strengthened my faith as I turn to the Lord for support. We always have hope and peace in the Lord and in his plan. That is the greatest comfort of all.

San Diego Zoo and The Tank

2009-05-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the San Diego Zoo. Neither John nor I had been there before, so it was really exciting. It is the biggest zoo I have ever been to, and there were SO many animals to see. We got there at 9:30 in the morning and stayed until 3:30 in the afternoon. We were lucky because they opened this new elephant exhibit that day and we got to see them pretty up close and personal. Jack was excellent, of course! He never cried, fell asleep for an hour, and was basically just happy as a lark the whole time. I posted some pictures and videos from the zoo. I didn't take a lot of pictures because we were trying to see everything and I just didn't think about the camera. I will say that our favorite exhibits were the elephants and the koala bears. (They had about 20 koala bears in these little trees and they were ALL sleeping. Apparently koala bears sleep from 18-22 hours a day).

This past week, Jack went in for his 9-month Well Baby checkup. I took him in a little early because he also had Thrush...random. Anyways, the doctor confirmed that our baby is in fact a gigantisaurus. Here are his stats:

Length: 30 inches (97th percentile)

Weight: 22lbs 12oz (75th percentile)

Head: 45 inches (50th percentile)

Looking at him, you wouldn't suspect that his head is in fact average size, but man, I was not expecting him to be so long. When I tell people he's 9 months old, they look at me like I'm crazy. The nurse even said, "whoa!" Either way, he sure is 22 pounds of cuteness.

These pictures are from when we took the ferry to the Newport Pier. It was pretty fun, but really chilly.

I got him these adorable sungalsses at Target

He kept moving, which is why this picture is blurry. I need to take more pictures of him, but he hasn't been feeling well. Thrush, teeth, belly issues. It's rough being a little guy.

Other than those few things, we've just been hanging out in the California sunshine, enjoying our morning walks and looking for housing. I think we should probably secure a house in the next couple of weeks. We're looking for apartments now. We decided that an apartment would be better so that we didn't have to take care of a yard, and so we could have a swimming pool (since we'll be moving to Texas in the middle of the hottest part of the summer). It seems to be a bettter fit for us at this moment in time. It's been nice so far here in California, but we're definitely looking forward to getting everything set up in our new home (whatever it will be!).

Videos of the Bunny

2009-05-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent videos of Jack with Phil and Adriane's kids. He has a ball with them. Some of these are kind of long, but he's pretty dang cute. Enjoy!

John and Jack

Jack's version of playing ball

Mother's Day, Anniversary, and Lost House

2009-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Jack and some of the kids. We went to the beach last saturday, just to check it out. It was awesome! It was really windy and the water was ice cold, but the waves were amazing! It's going to be really fun when the weather gets hot. Jack had a good time, even though it was a little windy. He enjoyed putting his hands in the sand and clapping. He's soo cute. A couple of nights ago he was sooo tired that he fell asleep in his high chair while I was feeding him. But don't worry, he still opened his mouth to eat even though his eyes were closed. I didn't get a picture of it, but there is one of me holding him after I took him out of the chair. He's been sleeping so much better here. Maybe it's the humidity. I've lived in the desert so long that I forget how the humidity takes it out of you.

We had a fun Mother's Day. I got a card and breakfast, and an IOU for a sewing machine! YAY! It's a combined Mother's Day and Anniversary gift. Tuesday was our 2 year Anniversary. It's a amazing how time flies! We went out to dinner at the China Bistro here in Tustin. It was really good. We took Jack Jack with us and he had a good time, too. It was a fun weekend!

In other news, we lost the house that we got in Austin. So, we're back to hunting. The people renting it to us had some "job changes" and weren't going to be able to rent it. We had already signed a contract, but because of the economy, of course we told them it was fine as long as they reimbursed us the deposit, which they did. It was probably a blessing in disguise, because we're finding houses closer to the school in the area that we really like.

Here are some more pictures of Jack. He still doesn't have any teeth, so I'm waiting to see when those will come in. He has his 9 month well-baby checkup at the end of this month. I can't believe how fast the time has gone.

The stare

Courtney and Jack

He fell asleep in his high chair.

Beach boy

Cheesy Grin

John in the waves of the Pacific

He loves to clap now.

Our little set-up on the beach.

California Dreamin'

2009-05-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

So, we're all settled in California. Phil and Adriane's house is absolutely gorgeous and we are having such a wonderful time. I take a walk through their neighborhood every day, which is gated and has a guard at the front entrance, and then spend the day playing with Jack and the other children. Jack loves his 1st cousins, once removed. They're really cute and they all play together well. I'll have to post pictures of them later. We have our own room and bathroom, which is just about as big as our old apartment in Provo. We're so grateful to them for letting us stay with them this summer while John works for Phil. It is such a blessing, and we are excited to be here. We went and saw the beach one night this week, and it was awesome! I love the water, and Jack is going to also. Nana bought him a cute swimsuit that he's dying to wear (okay, I'm dying to put it on him), and I just know he'll love the beach. Below are some pictures of the house and such.

The front of the house

The back left of the house

The back right of the house

The pool

Our bed with me and baby sleeping in it

Our room

Our room with bathroom in view

I'll post pictures of the baby soon. He's getting cuter by the minute.

Goodbye Provo

2009-04-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. We're moved out of our little student apartment in Provo. Yesterday, as I drove out of town, I took the long way and caught a few of my favorite sites. I'm not going to lie, I shed a tear or two. (I didn't expect that!) Provo has been good to us, and we'll be sad to leave so many awesome friends behind. So, in honor of our sojourn in Provo, I created a list of my favorite things/events in Provo. Enjoy!

1. BYU Creamery Chocolate Milk; seriously, the best in the whole world.
2. All the fun parks; Nielson's Grove, Rock Canyon, and Kawanis
3. 7-11 runs with Caitlin; oh, harkening back to freshman year...
4. Acronyms: SWKT "swikit", HFAC "H-fac", MARB "marb", etc.
5. Walking to Church on Sundays (most of the time)
6. Macey's 50-cent ice cream cones
7. BYU/UTAH rival games
8. The botany pond ducks that chase people
9. "Flirty Aprons"...hehe, this one is a joke. Ask me about it.
10. All the memories!

Living in Provo and going to BYU was one of the best decisions I ever made. (And I think John would also agree.) We have had so many wonderful experiences, from being students, to married folk, and then parents. We'll miss it!

Graduation

2009-04-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's over, John is no longer an "undergraduate." Last week, John graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology/Business. We were able to spend time with both sets of our parents, and it was really fun. Jack had a blast squealing and smiling for Maw-Maw, Paw-Paw, Nana, and Poppy. We ended the week with a graduation dinner with all of John's family. It was delicious! Here are some pictures:

Our Little Family

Daddy and Baby

So, now that the ceremonies are over, we are packing up our apartment, preparing to leave for California on Friday. We're enjoying relaxing in between packing and such, but mostly we're just ready to be out of here. It will be sad to leave Provo, but exciting to start our new adventures. We'll keep you posted.

We Got the House!

2009-04-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

We were able to rent the house that we found in Austin! The owners let us have it for August, and will be holding it for us until we get there! We are so excited! It's 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, with a 2-car garage and a nice big backyard! What a blessing! It will be amazing to have so much space, especially since we live in a crackerjack box right now! See pictures below!

Yay! Look how cute!

The Living Room

Kitchen

Look how big the backyard is!

Hoppy Easter :)

2009-04-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

Easter was great! It was a beautiful, sunny day (finally!). Nana came down and went to church with us because I sang a solo in church. The song I sang was "There is a Green Hill Far Away." It went well. There were lots of musical numbers, and they all sounded great. The spirit was definitely there as we reflected on the atonement and resurrection through testimony and song. After church, we came home and fixed a few things to take up to Heart and Pa's house. I made broccoli casserole (yum!). Then we headed up to Murray to Heart and Pa's house for dinner. We had such a good time. The food was delicious and the family was entertaining. I've posted a few pictures of Jack....okay, a ton. There are some from the night before Easter where he was being so cute in his hat that I had to take a few. Also, there are some in his Easter outfit (that Nana got him) from yesterday morning. I couldn't get him to smile because he had just woken up so he was still kind of groggy. There are also some from us up at the Geurts' house with all the kids and dogs. Jack kept squealing at the dogs and reaching for their ears and fur. It was really cute. But, I still don't want a dog. :) It was a great Easter sunday.

Trying to fly again.

Love that smile!

This is a new favorite face of his.

Sweet baby!

Naughty; he wouldn't smile at all. Just the half lip.

I like this one because he's kind of smiling, and he's doing his shy shoulders.

Baby and Mama.

Jack and Rosco the dog. He kept trying to grab the dog.

The bubble face.

Our precious Easter bunny.

Big Boy

2009-04-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

Jack just turned 7 months old recently. I can't believe how big he's gotten. He can sit up on his own now, and loves to squeal (still...). He's our pride and joy that's for sure. He loves to play with things that make noise, like in the video below. He's such a good boy, too. He doesn't really cry, except when he's hungry. But that's okay, I do that too. :)

Sitting up like a big boy.

Exhausted after a long day.

Practicing to be Peter Pan..."Got to fight, got to fly."

The Hogle Zoo

2009-04-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Zoo with Nana and 5 of John's younger cousins. Jack Jack had a BLAST! He was squealing the whole time. I don't think he cared about the animals, but all the people were fascinating. Unfortunately, by the time I remembered that I had the camera, he had fallen asleep. He was an angel the whole time, though. He didn't shed a tear once, but he squealed with delight the whole time. Below are some pictures of the cousins and some of the animals we saw.

There were all kinds of peacocks. This one was showing off for everyone.

Here's my little cutie in his safari hat! He loved it!

Gobble.

The cousins with giraffes. Jack was snoozing.

Near the elephant exhbit. This sculpture made elephant sounds when you touched it.

In other news, we found a house that we want to rent in Austin. They're willing to let us hold it for August with a deposit. It's a really cute house. Right now they're just doing the background check and credit check and then we'll know. Wish us luck! I'll let you know if we get it and then I'll post pictures.

Jumpin' Jack

2009-03-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Jack in his "spaceship." He's learned now that he can jump in it! It's really funny. Ignore my stupid voice in the background.

Rub-a-dub-dub

2009-03-22T18:01:00.001-07:00

Jack LOVES the bath. He goes crazy and kicks his legs so hard that it splashes all over me and the ENTIRE bathroom. It's sooo funny! Sometimes, he'll get really still and turn his head to the side, just to see what happens. I just had to post a video of it because it's really funny. You might be able to see that he's doing this new thing where he sticks out his bottom lip really far like a big pouty face. He's not sad, he just does it.

Meanwhile, John is finished with his internship at the capitol and is just working 20 hours at the library until the end of the semester. He's REALLY excited to be done working there and to start working for Uncle Phil this summer. I'm fighting back anxiety about moving. I've never, ever moved an entire household of stuff before. Plus, throw a baby in the mix, and it's crazy. The good thing is that we have NO furniture except for baby crip and changing table, an electric piano, a mattress and box spring, a set of lamps, and a couple of flimsy bookshelves. So, we won't have to move a lot. But still, thinking about all the logistics behind getting from point A to point B makes me anxious. But, I've always been like that. I remember in college, I would think about all the tests I had to take and papers I had to write and feel like I would never get done. But, it always turned out fine. So, I'm going to start packing up early, like at the beginning of next month. (We don't use half of the stuff in our apartment anyway.)

We're also searching for places to live in Austin. If anyone has any good suggestions, do tell. Living in Texas is great because it's very inexpensive. We've found places that are double the size of our current apartment for the same price that we're paying now. We look forward to moving into a place with a little more space. Jack has more things than we do now, so he needs his own room just to put all of his stuff in.

That's pretty much it for now. We're looking forward to both sets of our parents coming out for graduation next month. It has been since Christmas since they've seen the baby (except Nana, who came up around John's birthday in February). It will be so fun! I posted some random pictures of Jack below for all of your viewing pleasure. He's a doll baby.

St. Patrick's Day : I love this hat.

At least he has my eyes.

A walk in the park on a sunny day.

Cute Baby!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

2009-03-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Jack watching his favorite show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's not just me, he really loves this show. It's the only one that he smiles at, like he really thinks they're talking to him. I think it's hysterical! Yesterday I bought him a DVD with 4 episodes on it so he can enjoy it whenever he wants! Love that kid.

Baby Food and the Capitol

2009-03-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

So we've just started feeding Jack solids. His first introduction to "real people" food was peas and this week I've also been feeding him sweet potatoes. He also likes little peaches mashed up, too. It's really cute to see him make faces when he tries something new. John and I can't believe how big he's gotten. John says all the time "I don't want him to get bigger!" I agree. But, there are so many fun things ahead of us.

Mmm....Peas

The final product...very messy!

We also went up to visit John at his internship at the Capitol building last week. It was really fun to see John in his element there. He's had a good time working for Representative Bigelow, but is also glad that it is over. The commute was a killer. Now he'll just work 20 hours a week until graduation (oh, and write 2 five-page papers before then, too), and spend the rest of the time with us. Of course, we'll also be packing up everything in our apartment before we move at the end of April. It will be an interesting month or two. Here are some pictures from the capitol building.

At Reprensentative Bigelow's Office

In front of a statue of Brigham Young

We weren't able to see them actually in session that day, because of course the day that we come up, they end early. But, we did get to see the House floor and the rest of the capitol, which is beautiful and newly-renovated. It was a fun day.