Tess Talking

Just a lazy Sunday afternoon with Tess performing some animals sounds and saying a few words.

Tess turns 2

On Saturday March 21 Tess turned 2. Most of Nat's family was able to attend and Tess' aunt CC (Lisa) uncle Giff (Grif) and cousins Rhett, Lauren and Morgan made the trip from Syracuse to be at Tess' birthday party. Chris and Mindy Deets also came and were instrumental in helping Nat make homemade fries and onion rings for the guests.


Tess with Morgan's and Lauren's Build-a-Bears

Guy Love

Had to get a pic, this rarely happens...sigh

Grandpa Jerry captivating his audience

Some of Tess' favorite things, likes and dislikes include:

• Loves anything that flies in the air: mainly helium balloons, kites, hot air balloons, planes and of course flies
• Favorite TV shows: Curious George, Barney and Elmo's World from Sesame Street
• Favorite foods: apple juice, suckers, waffles, eggs, doughnuts, milk, cottage cheese, and any cheese
• Hates getting her diaper changed and her hair done
• Favorite toys: lambie, books, balloons, kites, and our next door neighbors trampoline
  
• Loves chap stick
• Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle although Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree is becoming a close second, thanks to her aunt Lisa
• Knows numbers 1 through 10 but doesn't always get them in the right order
• Knows her colors including Hot Pink, struggles with yellow and white
  
• Favorite animal sounds: elephant, monkey and cow
• Favorite thing to do with Daddy: swing, get the mail, and get tickled
  
• Favorite thing to do with Mommy: avoid kisses and sit on mom's stomach or punch it
• Favorite phrases/words: come ear (come here), scoot (scoot), Barney room (want to watch Barney in Mom and Dad's room), difent one (different one), kite boken (kite broken), boons (balloons), daddy home, and fly
• Very interested in flies and sometimes deathly afraid of them
• Current weight: I think 30 lbs but will get back with accurate figure later
• Current height: will measure her soon
  

Recent T-Bear Pics

Tess has been so sick this week

Sunday Morning (Thanks for the cute hair thing Natty!)

Looks like I curled her hair, rather just the result of pigtails in buns all day

Da Da so funny!

Random Things

1. Would the "Man in the Yellow Hat" be as patient with George if he were a real child and not a monkey?

2. TEAM CRAMER all the the way!! Jon Stewart, have you ever even watched CNBC?!!!! I do and I find the reporters/anchors the most competent unbiased I've seen, and believe me I'm extremely critical of how the news is presented!

3. Why is juice good for you and bad for you at the same time?

4. Demetri Martin is a comedic genius, but I have this feeling that he is also an academic genius.

5. Oh Cascade dishwasher detergent why do you taunt me so? You're dangers are clearly labeled in large print yet I can't resist your toxic smell. I just want to crunch your chalky powdery texture between my teeth.

6. I met the most interesting woman the other day. She was bald and wearing a bandanna on her head and a shirt that read "Trigger Therapy." When asked about her shirt she proceeded with great enthusiasm to tell me how therapeutic it is to shoot milk jugs filled with colored water with her 22 riffle and pistol.

The woman's name was Buddy, a very fitting name indeed. Somehow we got on the topic of her baldness. She said she had been pulling her hair out since she was 11 years old (now in her 40's). During her happier years she would let it grow a little bit but would always return to pulling it out completely.

This lady was a sheer delight to be around. I had to fight back a tear or two while in her presence. I'm not sure why I became emotional (besides the pregnancy factor), but I think it might be because it was so refreshing to meet such an interesting person. Maybe I realized that there are so many good and interesting people in this world and for some odd reason Vernal houses a lot of them.

7. I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't born in Sudan. (currently reading "What is the What" by Eggers)

8. Does anyone else get annoyed at Kyle Kover brushing his bangs aside after every shot? Get a clip or head band or something!

9. Tess I love you so. Every little facial expression you make melts my heart, yes even the pouty lower lip mad expressions.

Happy 60th MOM!

My Mother is the best mom in the world. I wish I could make that last sentence sound original and new but I lack the words necessary to describe how amazing she is. She graduated from BYU with her Bachelors in Nursing and has worked the bedpans for 30 plus years. She is a single mom and started completely over at 46 when she divorced my father. She had only a couple thousand dollars to her name and now has her home completely paid for. She is an inspiration not only to her children but to countless others.

This past December 26th my Mother turned 60. Six months prior to her birthday my sister mentioned doing something special for her 60th. Of course I was on board and we started the planning process. Sonora Grill in Ogden was the venue. WOW what amazing food they have. I can't get over their green salsa and amazing carne asada tacos!

My sister did the sweet invitations shown above. We thought a lot of people wouldn't be able to make it since it was the day after Christmas so we sent out more invites then we had room for in the restaurants banquet room. To our complete surprise EVERYONE rsvp'd! Steve Ballard, Owner/Manager graciously made the extra people work. There were a few people that didn't get to come last minute because of the weather but most everyone was able to make it. Looking back I should have realized how freaking cool my Mom is and that everyone would want to come.

On to the big surprise...we never thought we were actually going to be able to pull the surprise element off, I mean we have some pretty big mouths in the fam ;) me being the biggest one. I almost slipped so many times, but, WE DID IT! Mare-Mare was totally surprised and that was the best part for my sis, bro and I. The middle pic above captures her surprise quite well I think.

There are so many more things I want to say about my Mom but I'm extra emotional when I'm prego so I have to remember to reign myself in or else I regret how mushy I can write.

Snow Blows!

These pics were taken a few hours ago. Nat was a total baby and quit trying to shovel after 5 mins, okay more like 3 minutes. Will and his crew came to the rescue. I didn't get everyone in one picture but there were 6 guys and two snow blowers. I think it took them all of 15 minutes to finish.

Sledding

Sledding on the road in front of our house the first week in January. You would never have thought Tess was enjoying it until we tried to take her off the sled.