Merry Christmas to All!

Well, this Christmas we spent in Cedar City with our tiny family and skyped and factimed out to those around us. 
On Christmas Eve, we made peanut butter fudge (Michael's family recipe), Put together gingerbread houses, went shopping for last minute gifts, and watched The Polar Express.  Elai loved all the hustle and bustle and he really enjoyed when we laid him down for bed and Opa read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to him via a recorded book.  He thought it was so cool and kept turning the pages after the book was finished.  He loved hearing his voice and pointed to the pictures.  :)
This morning, when Elai came out and saw the tree lit up with all the presents (thank you to everyone--he loved all his new toys and has been playing non-stop), he got super excited and picked up the one non-wrapped present and laughed and tried to shake it open.  :)  Fun!  While we opened the presents, Elai didn't care about anything until the wrapping and that was off, then it was play time!
Michael and I went and saw Les Miserables after the morning rush.  It was really good.  There were a few parts, towards the end of Fantine's life and when we meet the Thernardiers that were kinda ew, but other than that we thought it was well done and definitely got the tears going, especially at the end.
Soon after we got home, Leanna skyped from Canada and it was great!  We got to hear convos from the Thompsons in Spanish Fork (they talked to her in canada, then we heard it here in cedar--crazy!).  She gets home soon and we are excited to see her.
We still have lots of calls and festivities to enjoy and Elai, thankfully, is taking a nap today so he can enjoy the night (us, too).
We love you all! 
Merry Christmas!

New Phone!

So, when we signed up for internet, we also got a land line to help with communication if our cell phones lose service (it happens).
We got this amazing phone from amazon.com.  It is the VTech DS6321 Digital phone.  It is sleek and fun, but the best part is that it connects through bluetooth to our cell phones!  So, when we get home, the bluetooth connects.  When we get a phone call on our cell, it rings on the home phone.  Now, we can have both of us on a headset instead of crowding around the phone when we both want to talk.  Also, Elai isn't constantly grabbing at the phone when we both want to talk, too!  It is brilliant. 
It also connects to our phone directories, so any number in our cell is in the phone.  We don't pay for caller id on the home phone, but it still comes up with "Jimmy Johns" or whomever is calling. 
All in All, we love having the land line.  :) 

Bought at amazon.com

Here We Are!

To all those who say we never post on our blog anymore, Bah!  I just checked the blogosphere and I am lacking in updates from you, too! :D

But, the great thing is that we now have internet!!!  So, while Elai naps, we can update you on our oh-so-boring lives.

Events of the past few weeks:
1. The semester is over-ish.  We took on too much this semester and now have a few more assignments to turn in to our very generous professors.  We have a plan for this next semester and hopefully it works.

2.  We joined Gold's Gym for our Christmas present.  It includes child care while we work out and like always, Michael is seeing great results while I see nothing.  I have started logging my food intake on caloriecount.com and it is actually a really great system.  You get a letter grade for your day and for each food, you can put in your recipes, and you can add workouts.  I am a fan.  Hopefully it helps me to track the food I eat along with my exercise and I can see some results.

3. Elai is growing up!  He got a present for Christmas from his Oma and Opa--a toddler bed!  Michael put it together last night and Elai just loves it!  He cuddles up on it and climbs up and down.  It is a bit of an adjustment for us because he hasn't been napping quite so well (the toys are too easy to come by), but we love that he has such a great place to sleep.  Thanks, Opa & Oma!

4. Michael got an internship!  He recently focused his career path towards becoming an archivist, so when a local internship came to his attention for assisting a museum curator, he jumped at it and they picked him!  It is a similar field and he is so excited.  It will start in January and he can do as few or as many hours as he wants.  Hopefully we can work it out easily enough.  I am so proud of him.

5.  Along with #4, we have been looking at Grad schools for Michael to get a Masters in Library Science.  The top school is at UNC Chapel Hill.  I am not too happy about going further from San Diego, but I love that we will be closer to loved family and friends!  Also, less snow.  Always a plus in my book.

6. Christmas is almost here and we are so grateful for family and friends and we love you all.

He is too cute.  We seriously made an adorable offspring.

Nap time!

Oh yeah, Elai learned how to draw. . .

Elai is really good with the tree.  He gets angry at the pinecone, loves to ring the bell, and is very good and being gentle when he touches the other ornaments.

At the Ward Christmas party, Santa showed up and Elai had a blast.  :)

He freaks out when he sees this cookie tin.  He cries until we give him some.  Not the ideal breakfast, but hey, once in a blue moon I am just a pushover.

Cuddling up for bed!

Sound asleep in the big bed!

Many much more tidings to come! ;)

Quick Update

Just wanted to post a quick update. Julie and I are finishing our fall semester this next week. This last week Elai had his 15 month appointment. He is doing well. He loves to run and chats up a storm. We are starting to make out what we think are actual words he is saying. According to his latest doctors appointment, he has officially out grown his rear-facing car seat. Yeah! Also, I received an internship at a local state park! Other than that, life is moving along as usual. We will post more and catch up on the past few months once the semester is over.

One small step for Elai, wait why are you scared?

So, as you probably already guessed, Elai took his first step! It was last Tuesday. (Yes, I know we are behind in getting it posted.) He was very nervous at first, but then once he realized we were excited, he started doing it more often. The best part was that his Oma and Opa were able to be there for it. In all, he probably took five steps on Tuesday, and a few on Thursday. Then on Friday, Julie and I tried to get him to take more steps, but he just kept bending his knees. He also seemed a little scared to try it again. All I could think was, "Wait, why are you scared? You were doing it just fine yesterday. Mommy and Daddy are right here and won't let you fall, just like yesterday. So why won't you take a step?" It was kind of annoying, but he is too cute to be annoyed with. He does randomly stand on his own, holding onto nothing, but if we start cheering, he immediately grabs on to things. Oh well, at least he has taken the plunge. So we all will be on to bigger and better adventures!

Jimmy Johns, Meet Elai. Elai. . .wait! Stop! Oh, bacon. . .

So, the other night Michael and I decided it would be nice to go out to Jimmy Johns for dinner.  We were both craving sandwiches and well, we're lazy.
We grabbed the bubbs, dressed him up all cute, and took off. 
We got our food while Elai made faces with the employees behind the counter.  He tried to eat the stack of gift cards, but luckily we got them before they got slobbered on.
Elai is now eating a lot more of the food we eat, so he thinks anything we eat is his to eat, too.  Uh, no.  I am still too possessive over my food. 
Anyways, we got some bread so he could eat the mini pieces.  This wouldn't do for him, so he lunged across the table and grabbed the giant hunk o bread and stuffed it in his mouth.  If you haven't seen a lil one try and stuff his cheeks with half a loaf of bread, it is hilarious.  He was really good about just scraping the soggy parts into his mouth, so we let him at it.
Further into the meal, I took the bacon off my sandwich (too salty for me sometimes).  Oh, what does the cute boy do?  he grabs both pieces (one for each hand) and proceeds to slap my face with them.  Yes, I was baconated.  (it's a word, I promise. . .) All over my face and neck, then to the window and back to my face.  What does Hubby do?  Laughs.  I'll admit, I was laughing, too, but hey!  I just got bacon rubbed all over my face.  Not so hott.
The adventure continues as I realize Elai has lost a shoe.  Where is this missing shoe?  By the register.  Oops!  And by the time I find it his sock is missing too!  Seriously, kid?  Hahaha. 
Elai, meanwhile, is still stuffing his face with that bread at every conceivable opportunity.  He coughed a little and so we decided to give him some water from a water bottle.  I drank about half so he wouldn't spill.  WRONG.  The cuteness got DRENCHED!  He grabbed it and squeezed.  About half of what was left went all over his face and shirt.  He had this stunned look, then handed the bottle back to me.  I guess that's what I get for going for the cheap bottles!  hahaha
By the time we left, there were prints covering the window, crumbs everywhere, a water puddle on the floor, one exhausted mama, and a very happy little boy who probably thought he had the coolest parents ever to let him play with everything like that. 
*sigh*  Eating out with an 11-month old is difficult!  :D

Poo Face

Note to self: NEVER leave my child unattended with just a diaper on. . .AGAIN. . .


Oops.  Daddy forgot mommy's lesson.  Luckily he brought home chocolate and flowers.  :)

I am now not so terrified of him eating random pieces of lint off the floor--he's eaten poo, so how much worse could it get?

Michael's Bday!

Michael recently had a birthday, and it was a blast!  He got an xbox 360 with kinect, plus games.  Thanks to all those who pitched in!  Denny's for breakfast for the free slam, and Ninja for dinner and a show.  After, we got some shaved ice at the Tiki Shack and headed out to Parowan Gap to watch the sun set, which it does down the middle of the gap on his birthday.  Overall, a great day!

Pictures, Mostly Elai.

Elai got into our trash, and when we found him, he was eating puffs he found inside. 

Drunken Bottle photo.  LOL.  he is so cute!

Learning to stand.  He can walk along the bed/couches, tables, etc.

One of his funny faces when we go to take a picture of him nowadays.  The puff stuck to his face is just too good.

Same day as above, just as funny.  I forget what freaked him out so much, but I think it was some form of food.

Weekend in St. George.  Elai had a cold, which is so sad!  I hate when he is stuffy and puffy.

Elai was watching Curious George while I got some homework done, and it got really quiet.  I went in to check on him and found this.  Cute!

Swimming Pool of Awesomeness!!!!

Julie, Elai, and I went and checked out the Cedar City Aquatic Center this evening. All we can say is WOW! It is AMAZING! First off, it has three pools. A leisure pool, a lap pool, and an outdoor pool. The leisure and lap pools are both inside. Next, the south side of the building has big bay doors that open out onto a big patio next to the outdoor pool. So, you get a beautiful view of Cedar Mountain while you swim both inside and outside. Here is a description of each pool:

Lap pool- This is a typical competition lap pool. It is not Olympic size, but is a standard competition pool.

Outdoor pool- This is a seasonal pool, and the only one with diving boards (2 to be exact). But it does have a shallower section with fountains.

Leisure pool- This is the pool pictured above. This is the coolest pool! It has a lazy river, a standard pool section, a kiddie pool, a hot tub, and the awesome water jungle gym you can see in the picture above. There is also a dark, closed tube water slide that is a huge adrenaline rush.

The aquatic center also has an exercise room, a concession counter, a party room, is pirate themed, and offers different types of classes both in and out of the water. The center sits on a complex that includes four baseball fields, a couple outdoor basketball courts, and a small lake for fishing and boating and beach lounging. You can also rent canoes and kayaks from the center for use on the lake.

Elai had a blast! He loved splashing in the water, and didn't mind water being splashed in his face. He is so much fun and cute to watch in the pool. We might have a swimmer in the family! Julie and I also enjoyed the pool. It was great because there was something for each of us to do. It is a lot of fun with Elai, but Julie and I can't wait to go on a date to the center so we can enjoy it together. Also, I can't wait to go kayaking on the lake! We can't wait to go again!

Our Second Harvest!!!!

Here is a picture of our second harvest from our garden. Sorry I didn't get one of the first harvest, but this harvest was a lot better. So far we have only harvested Spinach and Lettuce, but soon we will have others.

Elai got yet another haircut.  He wouldn't sit still , so we had to just clip it all off.  So, he looks like a baldy with a slight mullet since he kept wanting to see/eat the clippers and so I couldn't get his neck very well.  Eh, he is still cute!

 We are trying to eat better, and in the strawberries we just purchased, this was the elephant man berry.
Also, the pizza is made with a cauliflower crust.  Genius.  Not too bad, but a little too eggy for me.  But, less than 600 calories for the whole thing, which was about 12 x 6 inches!

The poor garden after our weeks away

The herbs did great, though!

So did the lettuces and onions

Evan and Elai

Father-son TV time.  lol.  I think they were watching tom & jerry

The ONLY good pics of Elai and I have his hand in awkward places (face, nose, shirt).  But I liked this one, so it is being shared.

Oh!  And we took Elai swimming for the first time with Michael's dad up in Park City.  Elai was a riot!  He loved it once he realized how to splash the water.  Now we can't stop him when he takes baths!

He has teeth!
This means:
-my babe is growing up!
-he chews everything with a vengeance
-when he chews on fingers, it really hurts
-I just want to tickle him all the time to make him laugh and see how big they've gotten.

Yay for teeth!

Adventures in the NC

Sorry these are really skee-wampous, but blogger is being ridiculous and I have no patience.

We put socks on his hands so they wouldn't freeze.  He loved them.

He was hungry, too

:D Love

Erin was pretty excited. :)

Never leave your bags unattended.

The next Mia Hamm

So fun to watch the girls play soccer!

The girls looked after Elai and he LOVED it!  They are so great with him!

Reed Gold Mine

It was really cold at the entrance, but you got used to it after a while

There was a better sign, but I missed it.  It said "St. George" instead of Orangeburg.  Hahaha

Michael raved about this place.  It smells like grease when you walk in and I barely ate anything.  It was so gross.

Temple time!

Piggly Wiggly?  Oh, yes.

Clayton and Elai.  Kim and Clayton put us up for a night and let us play for a day with them and their new lil one, Hunter.  There is a pic of Kim and I, but, well, we look like death, so it will not be shared. :)

Future T-Bird!

Super Cool Bridge

He can crawl!

A frog Katie found

We panned for gold.  They showed us how.

Erin and Michael actually found some!!!  Too bad someone got thirsty the next morning. . .hahaha

North Carolina!