Happy Birthday to the Best Dad!

Today marks a special day. It is my dad's ** (age omitted to avoid any repercussions!) birthday! So as my thoughts are turned to him today, I thought it was only fitting to pay him a special tribute.

It seems with each day, each month and each year that I realize more and more how very special I am to have such a great dad. My dad and I have a very special relationship. Growing up I enjoyed going and doing things with my dad that often made me feel like between my sister and I, I was more of the "tom-boy." (Don't get me wrong, I was also very girly). Case in point, I went hunting with my dad. (I've never gone again, but, I went!)

December 2004

My dad is so fun to be around. One summer, my dad and I decided we were going to find the best bagel shop in town. We loved going and getting breakfast together and trying out all the different bagel shops in town. It was really fun--definitely a lasting memory for me. However, since my "original" was always a plain bagel, warm, with butter...it's hard to think that there could really be that much variation between the different bagel shops. :-) We decided that Bruegger's Bagel's was the best, unfortunately they are no longer in business. :-( Til this day, my dad still asks me if I want to go to breakfast every time we see each other--I truly love this daddy-daughter time (but Isaac has since changed my desire to get up early to go...) :-)

Cancun 2004

My dad is someone I admire. He has taught me a lot in regards to spiritual growth. I am truly so grateful for his example in my life. I have several memories of my dad teaching me, whether it was at home in his study, at the dinner table, through an email, by his example, a phone conversation, or by seeing him teach in Church. My dad has been a large influence on the growth of my testimony because through his words and example, he has helped me discover and learn so much.

Cancun 2004

I love my dad. We have so much fun together. I love all of the family trips we have been able to go on. My dad is truly a selfless person. I can only imagine how our house got at times--three girls to one guy. But yet, through it all, my dad ALWAYS would sacrifice his needs and wants for his family. While I didn't always see it like that at the time, I have noticed and realized it so much more since I have gotten older, gotten married, and became a parent myself. As I realize this I am humbled and grateful for the love and sacrifice my dad continually shows his family. I just hope and pray that while I may not have always recognized or vocalized my gratitude and appreciation to him growing up, that I may always continue to do so now.

And yet, another Cancun 2004

I think something so great that my dad did was show his love for my mom in front of us. We knew that he loved my mom and we saw the sweet things he did for her. His example and actions have taught me several things about marriage; such as, love, respect, equality, teamwork, communication...to name a few. I remember when I was dating Taylor, I would call my dad several times to tell him how I was feeling about things and seek his advice and one thing he told me was when he and my mom were dating, a big indicator to him that he loved my mom was when he wasn't around my mom but even the thought of her would bring a smile to his face.

Debutante Ball 2004

A special memory of mine was when my dad and I were a part of the Debutante Ball in 2004. We got all dressed up and even learned to dance the Waltz. It was such a fun night and one that I will never forget. My dad again, was always willing to sacrifice to see his family happy.

Wedding December 2005

This is the only wedding picture I can get on this computer...I wish I had one from the daddy-daughter dance, but I don't, so this will have to do. My dad was a huge contributor to my desire and testimony to have an eternal family. I know that I was able to and had a desire to get married in the temple to a worthy priesthood holder because I was taught correct and true principles at home. My parents taught me so much and were such good examples to me. I am so grateful that I was able to share this special day, the right way, with my family. (Both families for that matter...)

My dad is such an awesome Papa. He loves Isaac so much. He can just hardly wait for Isaac to get big enough to go play with Papa. My dad's dream right now is for Isaac to be big enough to ride on his own John Deere tractor (has to be at least 3) and my dad to ride on his John Deere tractor and then they can both wear matching John Deere hats. :-) Doesn't get much better than that!

I love you, Dad! You are the best dad a girl could ask for. You are such an example and a respected person in both mine and Taylor's lives. I look up to you so much and treasure everything you do and say for me. I am so grateful to be your daughter. Happy Birthday, I LOVE YOU!

Our fun trip in Colorado

So, we went to Colorado last week for the long weekend. We had a great time even though it goes by way too fast! I was able to get work off early so we could drive down to SLC and catch a 6:30 flight--well, an on time flight would be optimal, but definitely not our luck. We were delayed about an hour and a half....delays are much different when you are traveling with kids. Luckily Isaac was in a GREAT mood and all smiles and laughs for the majority of time. Close to boarding he was tired and hungry and starting screaming at the top of his lungs--so I got up to walk with him while Taylor went and grabbed some food, and during this time some lady took Taylor's seat...nevermind the blanket we had on the floor and our stuff...but we were able to see one of Taylor's buddies before we boarded, so that was pretty fun. While we were standing in line waiting to board Isaac was so tired that he was falling asleep on me, it funny. Here's our "little gansta" before our drive down to SLC....sooo cute!

Once in Colorado, we had a blast. On Saturday the boys took off and did boy stuff while the girls did what we do best--went shopping. It was my sister, mom, Isaac and me. We went down to a children's store in Old Colorado City--it was really cute, but we didn't find much in the way of boys' clothes. So then we went into Briargate and did some shopping there. It was so much fun and the weather was beautiful. That night we went to dinner and went home and played some games. This picture is classic--notice the spit up on my arm?

So a BIG milestone was reached while we were there. Isaac had his first taste of rice cereal! He did great too!

He didn't spit any out but once it was in his mouth he didn't really know what to do with it. We were all so proud of him.

I love these pictures. Here is the laughing....
And the reason why he was laughing...Isaac had a death grip on Taylor's hair...

These are some of the many adorable pictures my sister took of Isaac on Sunday. I LOVE the black and white one, and the other ones of him smiling with dad are some of my favorite.

Then Monday came and it was time to go home...again, it was just our luck again to be delayed another hour. We went to lunch before our flight and Isaac had his first encounter with celery--thanks to Papa! :-) I love these....

My beautiful mom...


Isaac was soo tired when we got to the airport that I figured when we got to the gate I would get him to sleep. WRONG. There was so much going on with people walking around, the noises on the sound system, that Isaac was so enthralled with the movement that sleeping was out of the question. We even sat in the corner where there was no one walking by, but that didn't seem to help. Long story short...he reached the point of exhaustion and just started SCREAMING. (Much worse than our previous experience at the airport--in SLC he screamed maybe three or four times...this time it was a continuous scream). So I am walking around with him and walk out to the middle of the airport and he is just not having it--he is screaming sooooo hard. Finally, I go upstairs and he just crashes...hooray! He didn't sleep for long but he did great on the plane and then on our drive home.

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend and is always fun to go home. Thanks Nana and Papa for taking such good care of us--and Aunt Heather and Uncle Tyson, too! Love you guys!

Happy VALentine's Day!

Some might not believe what I did to Taylor on Valentine's day...other's may be in shock, others may laugh, and others may think it's cruel...but let me tell you--it was all worth it. I sent 10 high school girls to Taylor's "place of employment" to give him a singing Valentine! IYep, you better believe it, and it was priceless!!

Run down on how this all came about...one of our YW is in a choir group. She was telling me how they were going to go around all day doing "Singing Valentine's." Then she mentioned how they even get to travel for it....so I asked what that meant and she said a teacher ordered one for his wife, etc.

Enter: Light Bulb. So I asked if she would do it to Taylor. She said yes, and the great plan started. The plan was she and her group would go to the house and sing to Taylor in the afternoon.

I got to work this morning and told the gals I work with about how I ordered this for Taylor. (It's a big joke in our office ever since I sent balloons to Taylor at work to celebrate our 2 year proposal anniversary--he didn't handle the balloons too well (or perhaps he just didn't like the fact that I was celebrating the day we got engaged....) So, the gals joke about how sending a singing telegram would be hilarious. Anyway...I told them the choir group was going to the house and they all were like "You can't do that! That's like doing it halfway, you have to do it at work!" At first I kept saying, "No, he would kill me! He would be so embarrassed!" But then I thought about it some more and thought it really would be classic to do it at work...

So, I called the YW at school and left a message with the administration to have her call me. (It's always fun getting notes in school, right?) So she calls me right away and I ask her if she could do it before lunch. The new plan was launched. I called Taylor's boss and asked if it would be alright and made sure Taylor would stay long enough to enjoy this special gift...haha...

About 20 minutes before it was supposed to happen, I called the girl at the front desk to alert her and to have her tell the rest of the office that when the singing began to come out of their offices...

Well, the choir group was running late...about 45 minutes. They were supposed to be there at 11:20ish and didn't show up until noon or so. Well, Taylor was trying to leave work so he could get home and eat lunch before his 1:00 class. So, his boss was really trying to strain to make up some believable lie to keep him at work. She told Taylor that a client was going to come in around 11:20 and she wanted Taylor to wait for him. Well when 11:30 rolled around, Taylor wasn't going to mess around. He CALLED THE CLIENT. Taylor asked the guy if he was on his way, the client was like "Uh...no..." So Taylor goes back to boss to tell her he wasn't coming... and, at this point the front desk gal calls me at work to tell me that he is really trying to leave--even has his coat on, ready to go.

About 11:50 or so the YW calls me to tell me they are on their way. So I book it out of work to be there and on my way call the front desk girl to tell her we are coming. She responds with, "Ok, here is Taylor." (Taylor was standing right there!) So Taylor gets on the phone and asks if I am on my way home for lunch. I reply no and then think that he can probably see that I am calling on my cell phone--which I wouldn't do if I was at work. So I quickly correct by saying yes. He doesn't think much of it.

I pull up to his office as the 10 high school girls get there. OHH this was so funny. So they walk in first with me right behind them. Taylor was up front and sees these girls walking in and thinks "What is going on?" well, then he saw me and instantly thought "You have got to be kidding me!!" The high school girls are asked who they are there for and they reply, "Taylor." Taylor puts his head down as if to say, "She did NOT just do this..." I was laughing so hard. Oh and I should mention that the ENTIRE office was up front for this.

Here is the picture when he realized it was for him: (This was after he put his head down, I tried to get one of those, but my camera wouldn't take it!)
So the girls start singing "It's In His Kiss..." Oh it was so funny! And they did SO good!

It was the best idea ever! Taylor kept looking at me during the song with the look of, "You did not really just do this?!" And the best part was how all the stories and plans came out afterwards...turns out his ENTIRE office was in on this (Not just the boss and front desk girl). It was so so so so so so so classic!! And Taylor really did handle it well---he was laughing and smiling about it. He kept telling his boss and manager, "You're supposed to be on my side!" and "You're supposed to look out for me!" He was a GREAT sport about it.

As we were leaving the office Taylor tells me, "Alright it's on now..." He apparently didn't think I would ever do something like this...and I'm already thinking about how I could possibly top this next year! All I have to say is let the games begin!!!

And then I get back to work and this is delivered to me....12 beautiful roses!

So...it was a great day. Taylor was going to take me to a Jim Brickman (love him!) concert last night, but I couldn't with YW, and we would have liked to go out tonight, but he has class up in Idaho Falls. And we would go out this weekend, but we are going to Colorado. Initially, I was just going to make breakfast for Taylor and call it good because I never get up early to make a hot breakfast. But then when this singing valentine fell into my lap, I couldn't resist to do that too!

Well, I have to post these fun pictures of Isaac because they are way too cute to not post.

After a nice warm bath (which he enjoys much more now rather than when he was first born!)


I LOVE these next two pictures. All I have to say is "Like Mother Like Son."

In case you couldn't tell, that is a Diet Coke that he is trying to drink. He has entered the stage where if you hold something out in front of him he will reach for it and bring it close to him, and if it has any resemblance of a bottle he will open his mouth to drink it. I just couldn't believe how he was really going to drink it if I didn't take it away.

And, really? Can you fit any more fingers in your mouth?! :-)

Playing dress up again...

Why stop at just one new car...

When you could have TWO new cars....

This is my new car...Pontiac Grand Prix...at least for the next two to three weeks....because for those two to three weeks my REAL car is in the shop because I got in a car accident today!
There is no way we would be buying another new car for real--it is a rental that I have until the Camry is fixed.

Long story short....I went home for lunch just to make a quick sandwich and on my way back I got in the accident. Simply put, the other driver was trying to make a left hand turn from the right lane. (Now here is the detailed version) I was on Clark St which is a two-lane, one-way street. I was in the left lane and he tried to make a left hand turn from the right lane...I was talking to Taylor at the time and was watching this driver the whole time. I saw him and he was going extremely slow, so it looked like he had acknowledged me and was waiting for me to pass him so he could switch lanes. Well he never saw me and I just got closer and closer to him and before you know it he starts turning. I pretty much T-boned him when you looked at the damage on his car, as far as the damage on the Camry--it smashed the front right side pretty good.

I, needless to say, was in shock initially. Like I said earlier, I was talking to Taylor and all of a sudden I just scream and the call got dropped--poor Taylor, he later told me that that was the worst thing to hear. I called him right back and told him I got into an accident, luckily he was on his way to class, so he wasn't even 30 seconds behind me.

Everyone was ok, the other driver was in a Dodge Stratus and was about 28 years old. The police officer showed up and handled it really well--I say that meaning that he was really nice, which definitely helped the situation. The other guy got a ticket for turning from the wrong lane. The tow truck came and got my car, and while we waited we were on the phone to insurance. Our insurance covers for a rental if the other guy's doesn't, so the Grand Prix is my new ride for the next two to three weeks.

I called work right after it happened to tell them I wouldn't be in and they were so good. The manager called me right away to make sure I was ok as well as my supervisor. They are definitely great people to work with.

I don't know about you, but this was my first accident where I was driving, and there is nothing like feeling helpless when you know you are going to hit someone. Ugh, I hate that feeling--that was one of the worst things about the whole thing.

But all in all, it's almost weird to think that I was in a car accident today--which tells me that it was the best it could be given the situation. The police officer was really nice, as he was leaving after waiting for the tow company to show up, he told me that it wasn't my fault, and the insurance guy was super nice, all of which I appreciated, and I was so grateful to have Taylor there, and Isaac not in the car with me!

On a lighter side....guess who is now 4 months?! As per tradition....here is 3 months:

And now at 4 months....



Yeah, not much of a change to me either. Perhaps the even to odd months are going to be the trend for change because he changed a lot between two and three, but not so much between three and four.

He did good at the doctor today. He was so cute--he was sitting on my lap and the doctor was talking and Isaac would just start smiling at the doctor. The doctor would always stop what he was saying and talk to him, it was so funny, and something I want to remember. The doctor kept saying what a happy and smiling baby he was. But then the shots came...I think the 4 month shots were MUCH worse than the 2 month shots, in regards to how it was for me. For some reason it seemed like Isaac was much more aware, recognizes me more, and is just plain older. He's just laying on the table and I'm holding his hands and then they prick him and his face was just so unforgettable. It was so sad. He's done well since then, but I just can't forget that face... :-(

Some things he is doing that I don't want to forget....

-Sleeping on his side
-He is such a mover in his crib...it's always interesting where he is when we go to get him
-He got his first runny nose this week
-Eating his hands 24/7
-Laughing, cooing, smiling
-I LOVE how he smiles everytime he sees, hears or even thinks about Dad

We sure love our little boy!

Oh, I almost forgot...he is 15 lbs 14 oz (65th percentile) 25.5 inches long (50th percentile) and 44 cm for his head (90th percentile!) (He was in the 50th percentile for everything at 2 months).

Weekend in Utah

Our Internet hasn't been working for the past week, so I haven't been able to make any new posts, so I have to play catch-up. Last weekend we decided to go down to Utah. Originally, Taylor was going to go to a cabin with his brothers/sister, and I was going to stay with my sister-in-law. (Because I didn't think the cabin was the best idea to take Isaac to...anyway...) Last minute the cabin fell through, but we still wanted to go down and see the family.

Before I get into the weekend in Utah, here are two pretty funny things that happened....My mom got one of those Baby Einstein movies, and I've never really had an opinion about them, but we decided to stick one in and see if Isaac even cared. Well it was hilarious, I was making dinner and he was glued to the screen. It was so comical.

Well, he was so intent about watching it that it exhausted him. Taylor fed him and while he was burping him, he fell asleep. I always love it when babies fall asleep in the most random places/positions. This was one of those moments, but unfortunately, the picture doesn't capture the extent to how funny it was.

Alright...so our week in Utah...we stayed with Taylor's brother, Theran, and his wife, Kim and their two adorable kids--Alexa and Theran. We pulled in pretty late on Friday and it was so funny when Alexa comes up to me right away and says, "Can I tell you a secret?" So I get right down on my knees for her to whisper in my ear and she whispers, "What took you so long to get here?" It was so cute. Well, Saturday morning we had some plans to meet up with some WONDERFUL people in Provo. We got Isaac all dressed up and ready for his outing, he was so adorable....

He's "going through this stage" (That's at least what I am hoping) where as soon as I turn the camera on he will stop smiling and become more intrigued with the camera.

So those wonderful people mentioned, whom I love and cherish, were Stephanie and Lindsey (and Lindsey's boyfriend :-) )!!!! We met at Cafe Rio and sat for hours talking. I LOVED IT! And Isaac was of course spoiled with attention. (Again, camera shy little boy). Steph's husband couldn't come because he was sick (lame!) but we luckily got to see him right when we were leaving. This was the first time I've seen Steph since she GOT MARRIED! Ah, I was so ecstatic to see her! I love you Steph!

And Lindsey! She got back from her mission in September, so my opportunties to see her are limited, but when they come they are always great! I love you Linds!

The three of us plus Isaac...
And Linds with her boyfriend Josh....such a cute couple! And now the three of us minus Isaac....

I LOVE this picture of Isaac. It has so much personality, it's definitely one of my favorites! He just looks like such a little man I can hardly stand it.

And after lunch we went to Taylor's sister and enjoyed spending time with her adorable family. The girls put the adults' shoes on, it was cute.

And I thought this would be a classic picture--the oldest and youngest grandchild! Isaac is classic--haha.

It was a great weekend--a fast one, nonetheless--but good. The drive home was nasty. We left about 3 and we're glad we left early. The roads between Centerville and Ogden was not so great, but once we reached Tremonton we had an uneventful drive.

We were definitely grateful to Kim and Theran for hosting us and putting up with us! I felt so bad when Isaac would wake up at night and cry--even Alexa, who is 4 1/2 never once complained about hearing him, she was so good! Taylor asked her the next day if she heard him and she simply said "yes" but didn't seem to care or mind--what a big girl! And Kim and I were able to talk a lot and chat and vent and laugh and etc, etc, etc...:-) It was a great weekend! (Minus the fact that I never got to see Cam and Jen--that was definitely not fair! I miss you guys!)