MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sorry this is a bit late but we just wanted to tell everyone MERRY CHRISTMAS! We love you all and hope that your day was as fantastic as ours! Here are some pictures of the day...Andrew really enjoyed all the attention and presents! :-)

Just for some laughs....

So…we haven’t had much to post about for the last couple weeks. Everything has been “business as usual” really—nothing out of the ordinary or exceptionally exciting to report. But this morning as I was doing the dishes I let my mind wander (as usual) and I remembered something pretty funny so I thought I would blog about it.

For the record, the reason I thought of this was due to some of our good friends, Amos and Julie. Last week they took us out to dinner at Outback Stake House (thanks, you guys, again…it was great!!!!) but it got me to thinking… I had only ever been to this particular restaurant one other time before and it was definitely something I would never forget. Just thinking about it made me get those bad-memory-body-chills and grunt a little in agony. I am sure many of you have had experiences similar to this…you know remembering “that one” incident which stretches your social politeness to its outer limits and makes every minute that goes by like a tiny hammer beating against your temples. OR the boredom and awkwardness can’t seem to get any worse and then out of the blue, your date does something that miraculously takes it to the tenth power. Maybe you know what I am alluding to, but if you haven’t figured it out, I’m referring to my worst date ever! I have honestly been pretty lucky in the dating arena but this one was a huge exception. The story goes like this:

It was the summer before my senior year of high school. A guy I had met a few times at large social gatherings (we’ll call him Bob) got my number and asked me out for the next day. I said yes. From what I knew of him he seemed like a pretty cool guy…it might be fun. Well, the next day came and I was ready to go by 5:30 (as he requested) even though it did seem a little early. BUT this made it interesting, surely with a time set so early in the "date hours" there would be a great plan in place! I was anxious to see what it was. Well…here came the first (although minor) red flag. After he picked me up and we got in his car, he turned to face me in his seat and asked, “So…what you wanna’ do tonight?”

(Quick note: these words are not verbatim—my memory isn’t that good—but it is pretty close)

Me: “Oh…I get to decide, huh?! Well, I don’t really mind, why don’t you tell me what you were thinking
Bob: “I wasn’t really thinking actually.

Awkward silence…

Finally, after what felt like at least a minute I replied uncomfortably, “OK…ummm…let’s think…” (In my head I’m saying…WHAT? It’s 5:30 and you don’t have anything planned? Are we just going to sit and stare at each other all night?)
Bob then proceeded to sit the drivers seat, without turning the key to start the engine, while creepily eyeing me and not saying a word.

By now we had been in my parent’s driveway for about 5 minutes. I swear I saw my mom peek through the window with a confused expression

Finally, I responded by saying, "Well, I guess…if it’s okay with you, we can go get some dinner or something?” I was hungry—again, with the time being what it was—but I hated having to suggest it. I felt bad, but I figured we are all nervous on first dates, it’s alright. I though that surely it would get better.

Well, he agreed dinner seemed like a good plan so he suggested we go to Outback Stake House. I said it sounded great…I had never been there, so we began driving to Provo. He turned on some Coldplay, which I love, and I thought that maybe this isn’t so bad after all…just an awkward start. Not a big deal. As we were driving I started the conversation by asking him what he was planning to do in school. (He was a year older than me and would be going to BYU in the fall). That part went like this:

Me: "So, what are you planning to study at BYU?”
Bob looked at me and smiled. Didn’t say anything and then looked back to the road. Thinking that he didn’t hear me right, I asked him again.

SMILE

Alright…I guess he doesn’t like to talk, or …something. After about 10 minutes, still in silence, we finally made it to a stop light. Once the car was stationary Bob suddenly flung his hands off the steering wheel with his digits outstretched in true “spirit finger” form and waved them wildly around his head.

WHOAH! My gosh...what the...

Looking pleased with himself, Bob then said, “A neurosurgeon, that’s what I want to be.” I was so confused…what the heck just happened?! Then Bob says, as he puts the car back in gear because the light turned green, “See what I just did with my hands?”

Me: Yep (HOLY COW!!)

Bob: “It’s so amazing that all I had to do was tell my hands to do that, and in one instant they respond. It’s so cool…that’s why I want to be a neurosurgeon.”

Me: Cool (Good gracious…)

Bob then proceeded to tell me about brain waves and electrical impulses…I was desperate to get to Outback Stake House and was so relieved to be out in public once we got there. The dinner part wasn’t terrible considering all that had happened in the car. The conversation went all right, mostly him talking about his mom and his plans for BYU. He occasionally performed the “finger trick” (which is what I now call it) and laughed like it was an inside joke between the two of us. At one point he did it as our waitress brought some drinks. She asked him if he had seen a bug or something.

After dinner he asked what I would like to do. It was only about 7:00 or so…I wanted to go home…clearly we didn’t have much in common. But I didn’t want to be rude so I just shrugged my shoulders. He decided to play mini-golf at Trafalga and I obliged. Nothing too outrageous happened here. It was just awkward…limited conversation. It was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about things other than neurosurgery. Well, on the last whole of mini-golf you can win a free game if you putt the ball into the correct hole. As luck would have it, Bob won a game! He said it was a sign that we were meant to go out again. Out loud I just snickered, but I'm pretty sure I tasted vomit in my mouth. When we were done it was about 8:30 and I felt that the date was at its end and I was elated to be going home.

Bob had other plans.

He asked what I would like to do after mini-golf and I told him I needed to get home soon...I told him I had an early morning the next day or something. He seemed disappointed but agreed. However, he asked if we could stop at his mom’s office before we left Provo. Why not…so off we went.

When we got there, his mom was sitting in a tiny office with a desk that took up ¾ of the room. There was one chair sitting right next to her and book shelves taking up the remainder of the space. As soon as he saw his mom, Bob immediately plopped himself down on the chair and gave his mom a greeting (which, to me, was the most disturbing and shocking thing that had been imprinted on my mind up to that point in my life.) He literally gave her a kiss on the mouth that, I swear, lasted for at least 3 seconds. Count it out: ONE-ONE THOUSAND…TWO-ONE THOUSAND…THREE-ONE THOUSAND.

It’s just not...natural.

He and his mom then proceeded to go into a tirade about his good-for-nothing father and how she needed to speed up the divorce somehow. It lasted about 15 minutes, during which time I wondered the hall of the building, all the while thinking about the different medieval torture methods that didn't have jack squat compared to this. I eventually found a vending machine and bought myself a root beer for something to do. After that I went back to the office and as Bob was getting ready to leave, he finally acknowledged my existence and introduced me to his mom. We waved cordially to each other and then Bob and I were off again. This time the conversation in the car was mostly about his dad. I uncomfortably sipped my root beer.

As we were nearing American Fork he decided it might be fun to show me his new car “toy”. It was one of those police scanner thingies but his could actually make siren sounds.

Bob: “Want to see what happens when I turn it on?”
Me: “Not really”

Bob decided I didn’t really know how to have fun so he turned it on anyway and started surpassing the speed limit by about 20 miles. The sudden jolt made me spill the root beer down the front of my white shirt. Bob continued to giggle freakishly at his game. Well, thanks heavens that only lasted for about 5 minutes and, although I was scared for my life, it did help us reach American fork sooner. As we neared my home I got increasingly more animated at the thought of being safe within the confines of my room but he interpreted this as enjoyment and decided to stop at McDonalds. For dessert, so I thought…

Bob: “Mind if we go in and see some people I work with?”
Me: “Oh! You work here? No, that’s okay, I’ll stay here.”
Bob: “It’ll be just a minute.”
Me: “I have root beer down the front of my shirt.”
Bob: “I’ll get you some napkins.”
Me: Ugghhhhhh

We walked in and he then proceeded to tell his co-workers to gather round. Once they did, he introduced me as his date and asked what they thought. At this point I started looking around for the cameras, surely this couldn’t be real. I HAD to be on some local hidden camera show. No such luck…instead his co-workers just stood there as awkwardly as me. I could see the pity in their eyes.

Well, I don’t know exactly how but eventually I got him to take me home and during the doorstep scene he asked if he could ask me out again. I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea. He smiled and said he’d give me a call in a few days and...he did. I, at that point, had gathered enough gumption to tell him in no uncertain terms that, although I appreciated his efforts, we would not be going out again…ever.

So, that was my worst date ever! It is definitely fun to walk down memory lane sometimes. It sure makes me so grateful I am done with that scene. It also makes me love my dear husband so much more...I am eternally grateful to you for saving me from horrid date nightmares and unpleasant courtship rituals! Hope some of you enjoyed that and maybe it brought some not-so-fond, but somewhat humorous memories of your own. I’d love to hear them if you have them.

Mike is learning

As i have my name attached to this blog i decided that it needed to be more man friendly. For all you men out there that have a hard time with looking at pretty things like flowers or butterflies. Here is one of the best British footballers and he is also very ugly.

Cute or...creepy?!

Andrew is learning and growing and getting more and more coordinated each day. For example, when he gets up on his hands and knees he can now rock back and forth with such gusto that his legs scoot forward. (I don't think crawling is too far away, hurray!) He can also reach for different people and throw tantrums when I take away a toy his likes. (Yep...that one's my "favorite"....ughhgh) Anyway, that being said...Andrew has also started doing a new "thing" which I believe involves superior motor function and cognition. Why? Because with this particular new talent, I believe that he either has to cleverly calculate it out in his little mischievous mind or else...I'm afraid he just might be a little...umm... creepy.

To explain what I'm talking about, I have to first tell you how this came about. Last week, Mike and I put Andrew down for bed at his usual time around 7:30. At about 9 Mike and I started getting ready for bed and, as usual, before we tucked ourselves in we went to check on Andrew. (I'm sure those of you with little kids can attest to the pure satisfaction and joy that comes when you look at your little sleeping baby at the end of a long day.) Anyway, Mike went in to the dark room first, with me at his heels, but instead of the usual sweet scene of little sleeping Andrew all snuggled in and "out like a light" we were met with a surprise. At first I heard Mike say, "What the... Em, look at him!" and I looked around his shoulders and saw it too.

Andrew wasn't asleep and without a peep, I saw that his chubby little hands were lifting the side bumper pad above his head as he peered at us through the little slats of the crib! Now, this may not seem like a big deal to some, I know, but it caught Mike and I off guard for a couple reasons. One was because, usually, if Andrew is awake...Andrew makes noise but as I mentioned, he was completely silent. Secondly, this act was entirely new...those bumper pads were tied down tight, I mean...tight, but he had somehow unraveled one end and was consciously moving it out of his way so that it would no longer obstruct his line of vision. Our first reaction was to get out of the the room as quickly as possible so as not to wake him up...but as soon as we were out, the "duh" factor kicked in and we remembered he was already awake. So we slowly looked back in and saw that Andrew had put the bumper pad back down. We decided to look a little closer and as soon as the door opened wider, allowing more light to enter, all of a sudden, Bop, up goes the bumper and our little "peeping tom" began to stare us down.

Well, we laughed and laughed because it was pretty funny...and pretty cute. However, at the same time, it was also slightly reminiscent of a creepy movie scene where the main character is in some dark, silent place and then, all of sudden, an unexpected horror pops out of nowhere and scares the tarnations out of you. Know what I'm talking about? Anyway, it's now been about a week and he does it all the time. The creepiness has worn off and I really do think it's cute...like a little "Hello, Mom!"

But I won't forget the first sighting...here are some pictures. You decide, cute or creepy?

Normal

Da, da, dumm..... (imagine scary violin music)

Quote of the Week

So, I decided to start posting a new quote on the blog every week. I subscribe to the "Daily Gems" from the LDS website and there are always some great pieces of motivation and inspiration so I thought it might be nice to add some of them to the blog. So, for the rest of this week and next week, I chose a quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin because he expresses the importance of having a grateful heart. Very appropriate for this time of year. :-)

Eating is an Event

Andrew is doing great with baby foods and has even started eating rice cereal and jars of mashed whatever about two times a day! To be honest, I don't really know if his current feeding habits are considered what is "best" but I do know that he sure loves his food and it seems to really fill him up too! Anyway, a couple of days ago I was feeding him and he was being so funny I took some pictures. The following is fairly typical of his daily feedings:

This is ALL his food laid out and ready to go. I found that it is extremely important to be ready and prepared when you have a hungry Andrew on hand because if you are too slow in between shovel fulls then you just might anger the little fella.

This is Andrew all strapped in and ready to go. This is the best picture I could get because there was no way he was going to smile with an empty tummy! (NOTE: Special thanks to Merel Stock for the bib...I find it quite hilarious!)

On the menu...We have for the starter, rice cereal. Here we see that Andrew has thoroughly enjoyed it but he is not yet satisfied so on the the main course...

... peas. Ahhh, this is getting better, see the happy face? He is definitely on his way to being happy and full...the way an Andrew should be.

For dessert we clean him up and give him a few strawberry and banana rice puffs. You can't really see them in this picture but they are there! (probably in Andrew's mouth)

Here is the display after the feeding is done! Lot's to clean up, but notice how Andrew is eager to help out!

After that I make him a bottle (about 4 ounces) and then he is one happy camper! Here is Andrew all fed and ready for bed!

DONE! Andrew is a good eater and he has been from day 1. We are lucky and we sure love him!

Oh foul demons of the infernal pit…

I just wanted to take a moment to vent about my utter loathing towards some of the little creatures I find in our basement. Now that winter weather is upon us I have found a small variety of little beasties lurking in the crevices of our humble abode. Now…the good, and bad, news is that these little visitors aren’t in the clearly obvious places. Good because I don’t really know they are there most of the time and bad because…I don’t really know that they are there most of the time. For example, yesterday I was doing my bi-weekly vacuum and I decided to be a bit more thorough and took the hose to several inconspicuous nooks and crannies and found some not-so-lovely and oh-so-gruesome little crawlies. Although I am no household pest expert I believe we are slowly being invaded by a small variety of earwigs, pill bugs and firebrats. What’s a firebrat you ask? Well, I found out because after I discovered a particularly gross looking fella, I asked a question to a helpful on-line pest man who replied by saying, “Dear Emily - It sounds like you might have silverfish or firebrats, wingless primitive insects in the order Thysanura that sometimes can be household pests.” My response: umm…gross!! Immediately upon reading such a descriptive word I began to conger up a horrific image of some rotten mignon born of the fiery flame who has decided to live under my bed and wait for the perfect moment to leap out and make me feel a little violated. Seriously, I don’t want it under my bed!

Anyway, in all seriousness, the word “invaded” is probably too strong but none the less, the beasties are still NOT welcome AND, although I have been speaking of the other little gross creatures I found, I have still not mentioned the most horrifying of them all…the spider. The spider (in any variety) is my Superman’s Lex Luther, Sampon’s Delilah or John McCains Barak Obama. I hate them, the spider is my arch nemesis and here are a few reasons why:

1. They are creepy. Seriously, multiple eyes…multiple legs, they can jump or crawl really, really fast…towards you!!! C’mon, that is creepy.
2. Their diet consists of bugs. That’s all they eat, not leaves or grass or other variety of plant. No, instead they eat each other or other hard working members of their society. Cannibals!
3. They are sneaky. Yep, they can hide in very inconspicuous places such as your drawer, your bed sheets, your shoes…all the while waiting for you to stumble upon them AND when you do…they attack.
4. I think they smell fear. Yep, there have been not one, not two, but SEVERAL occasions where I found one lurking in some dark corner and I (typically) stand frozen with fear. When this happens, what does it do? It stares back, trying to break me down and then it begins to hastily scuttle towards me. TOWARDS me? I mean, if they really are “more frightened of me” like everyone says, don’t you think it would run AWAY? Just a thought
5. They have fangs. Let’s take a moment and think about what else have fangs: snakes, piranhas, leopards, vampires, chiwawas…not exactly the kinds of things you want to snuggle up to.
6. They use their fangs to poison things. Yeah…as if biting wasn’t enough, they have to inject flesh eating poison too.
7. They stink. Alright…I have never actually sniffed one, but I’m convinced that I would not be met with pleasant smells if I were ever to take a little whiff.
8. They make webs. Ingenious…maybe I will give them that, but it still makes me feel gross because it clutters the place, and it catches bugs.
9. They way they move. Depending on the kind, they can jump (sometimes up to ten times their own height), scuttle, scurry, jerk, fling their body through the air, swing, crawl, stalk or crouch but you never use words like saunter or stroll when describing how a spider moves.
10. They are ugly. I mean…sorry but when it come to the best looking bugs out there, the spider is by far on the lower end of the tottempole.

Well, there you have it…I don’t like bugs in general, but I HATE spiders. Need any more reasons? Check this out...see what I mean? Only a face that a mother could love, right? Maybe if your mom was some kind of beast from the flaming pit of eternal doom...that's what I think.

I Would Die For That

A very touching video

This is a music video that my friend, Stacey, showed me the other day. I was deeply touched by the message and couldn't stop from crying (yeah, I know, I'm a bit emotional). Anyway, it just really made me think about how blessed I am to have a family and how I truly believe it is the most important and fundamental unit that I could ever be a part of. At the same time, I also recognize, and mourn with those, who may not be able to have children on their own. I could never imagine how truly heartbreaking that must be but I am also very hopeful! Years ago I took a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in Ecuador for several months to take care of orphaned children. I loved them as much as I love my own son now. I mention that because I know how much children everywhere need loving homes and that it is a most precious blessing for us to provide these innocent souls with that ever important vital relationship. (Whether it is through adoption or through having them on our own.)

Also, with all the controversy and politics lately about what exactly a family is, I really do feel like I want to state loud and clear how I know that children will be greatly influenced by a loving mother and father and that this is how God intended it. I believe that family is a most essential part of this lives and, without a doubt, it brings more happiness than anything else on this earth. So…thanks to all my families! To my mom, dad, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents, to Paul, Roz, Matt and Liz and to Mike and Andrew, I love you all so very much! Thank you for the gift that it is to be a part of your lives.

WARNING: You may need tissues while watching this video.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL! Love, The West family

Do you feel the burn? Ughhhh....I feel it!

So, I have been trying my best to be a happy, healthy and loving wife and mother but unfortunately over the last 6 months the healthy part has been rapidly running downhill (exactly the opposite of what I have been doing). For example, before we welcomed our little Andrew into the world I would go running AT LEAST 3 times a week or play energizing games with my hubby (such as, soccer, racquet ball or horse shoes--what?! Horseshoes? oh, if you don't think horse shoes is very "energizing" then you have never played it with Michael West). Anyway, I am proud to say that even when I was 8 months pregnant--yes, 8 MONTHS which meant I lived in a body that was squished, squeezed, lopsided and significantly rotundas--I would go for brisk walks and even jog a little! (I don't even want to think about how silly I looked) However after Andrew came, the exercising just kind of stopped. Now, keep in mind there are excellent reasons why this occurred. Some of which include: no time (every minute of my day was now being better spent taking care of my beautiful little baby), no energy (please, when I wake up 4-5 times a night and am part of some horrific phenomenon that won't let me take naps, then there was NO WAY I was going to have energy to exercise), and lack of desire (hey, I just gave birth--you tell me what else will occupy your mind after you have a baby!)

However, now that 6 months have passed all these reasons have significantly diminished. Andrew now takes great naps and sleeps through the night, which means I have a lot more time and energy. Therefore I soon found that slowly but surely my fortitude for fitness has returned once again. The only obstacle in my way was now trying to figure out what I wanted to do for exercise. Jogging seemed too dreary, plus Andrew doesn't like long stroller rides (he prefers to be out and and free of restraint). And then I remembered my sweet friend, Frances, had given me some exercise videos a while ago called, "turbo jam". I decided to pull them out and use them once again. At first when the hip-hop music and bubbly aerobics instructor filled my living room I thought, "Hey, this doesn't seem too hard. It's going to be easy and fun!" I maintained this sunny disposition for the first 5 minutes of the routine.

And then...I hit minute 6.

Apparently all the sitting and remaining stationary for the last 6 months had taken it's toll because my side started to get a stitch. "No big deal, I thought, I can push through it!" So I kept going and then I began to feel my legs buckle and my heart race. Again, no big deal because this was all part of the exercise and it sure is worth it in the end, right? Well, I went at this pace for about 20 minutes into the routine and then bubbly miss aerobics instructor starts the "Turbo" part of the work out. Before I knew it, she was telling me that I had to kick forward, backward and side to side as I was punching and pretending to attack an imaginary foe (right, if I ever I got attacked I doubt my kicking or punching would hinder my attacker. I figure my best bet is to try and tickle them away.) Then I would jump rope for a measly 10 seconds and perpetually repeat the process all the while listening to her screech out orders to keep my bum tucked in, my shoulders straight and my abs clenched! "Ummmm...der, a whhhat?!" Oh well...I can be very determined and I wasn't going let this lick me so I ineptly stumbled on. As "little miss sunshine" fluently kicked and punched and smiled and glowed I goofed and grunted and wobbled and stunk. I realized then that I am a masochist.

Well, I really don't know how I did it, but I somehow made it through and finished the 45 minute routine!!!! Can I get a whoop-whoop?!? It felt great that I had accomplished it but even better that I could now sit and conform back to my mold on the couch without feeling guilty! Ahhhhh!!! That night I honestly felt healthier and I even experienced the best sleep I've had for months. And then...I woke up. The next morning every muscle in my body seemed to groan in agony as I pulled myself out of bed. I wanted to howl. I looked at my husband and pathetically whimpered something like, "Hmmbbllppphhhfff." He, being more of the optimist in our relationship, smiled and gently patted my back and said, "Guess it's working" and then cheerfully sprung out of bed. Hah! Working?!? If you call massively stinging glutes, sickeningly tender abs and so much aching that Hulk Hogan might even shed a tear, then I guess it's "working"! And then I realized, I have been known to be a bit of a drama queen when it comes to sore muscles, and the stiffness really was indicating that my poor physique was getting some well-needed exercise. So, before I could stop myself I heaved my lump out of bed, put on the work-out shoes and heard bubbly blond say, "Are you ready to have fun? If you do this right, you can really feel the burn!" My response: "Honey, do I ever!"

It has now been a week and a half and I have done the routine every day (except Sunday) and have the sincerest intention to continue on for good. I am also ecstatic to say that I feel great and happy and I have more energy than before! So, for all you fellow pessimistic exercise drama queens I say, the burn really is worth it! :-)


P.S. Special thanks to Frances, I really do LOVE these videos. Thanks so much!

6 Months Young

Yesterday Andrew turned 6 months old. I can't believe how fast the time seems to go. He is growing, growing, growing and is learning more exciting things every day. I wanted to take a minute and just write a little tribute to him.

Andrew, your mom and dad love you so much! You bring so much happiness to everyone around you. You have such a fun personality. You don't cry unless there is a very good reason. You sleep well at night and you love to eat! One of your favorite things to do is to suck on your toes and play hands games like patty-cake. You love listening to music and your new favorite song is "hot potato" by the Wiggles ( I can tell because whenever it comes on you start smiling and flapping your arms almost like a bird ready to take off!) . You get very excited when you see dad at the end of the day and you love to play with him and eat his glasses. You love to go for walks and to be outside and you love it when you get to visit Grandma Moody at her house. You are very strong and can sit up and stay on you hands on knees for long periods of time. You don't like to lay flat on your tummy or to be one your back for too long. There is just too much to see and you don't want to miss it! You can now make noises that are starting to sound more like words and you don't mind screaming them out so that everyone can hear. You are also very cheeky and make funny little chipmunk laughs when you get excited. You are a very precious boy and we are so grateful you are a part of our family.

Happy 6 month birthday!

Finally, here is a new post!! Thanks for being patient!

So, I know…I keep saying I’m going update and then I don’t. I am 100% guilty as charged. Although I will say that I have had enough hands-tied-crying-baby-no-internet-too-engrossed-in- the-stupid-twilight-series excuses to make for valid and credible reasons as to why I’ve been blogging MIA, but let’s be honest…we don’t usually care about the excuses, right? At least, I know I generally don’t (hope that doesn’t make me rank a little lower on the kindness scale) however, I DO k now that what we (we, meaning all of us stay-in-touch, chillin’ at home or work, blogging junkies) really care about are the posts…the actual facts of our existence, not the dull excuses as to why no update has been inserted. So with that said, Mike, Andrew and I are back and should be for awhile now. We FINALLY have the internet in our little basement (got it yesterday after about of month of rubbish from all the different companies we talked to—but that’s a long story for another day) and Andrew is now on a good, predictable, solid nap schedule so I also have “some time to kill”! So, without further ado here is an update as to what’s been going on over the last 3 months!

AUGUST

In August we were sooo lucky to have Mike’s family come for a visit—not a short or easy trip to make, so it was wonderful that they could come!! Mike’s brother, Matt, flew in first and stayed with us in my grandpa’s basement for a week before his parents flew in. We did a lot of fun things together. We went to movies, played Frisbee golf, went shopping, visited old friends and basically got re-acquainted OR newly acquainted as it was Andrew’s first introduction to uncle Matt. Then a week later, when Mike’s parents flew in, we had some even more fun when we all went mini-golfing, shopping at the preparedness store and rode the Heber Creeper. However, the highlight was having the family meet Andrew for the first time and to have everyone together for his baby blessing. The fam was here for almost a month and during their stay they were able to go on a church history tour of Nauvoo for about a week. I think they really enjoyed it and it was a great opportunity for them! We also got family pictures taken (unfortunately I can’t post these on the blog because I don’t know how to scan them in) but it was a lot of fun and I love seeing the pictures hang on our walls. Well, there was a lot more that happened while they were here and we all had a great time! Andrew really took to his gran and granddad West and I know he loves them as much as we do! We can’t wait for the next time we get to see them again!

OH! One other thing I remembered around this time was that Andrew and I both got hair cuts! I copped mine off and Andrew, well, some of you may remember his oh-so-hideous baby mullet! Well, we chopped that off too! He is much more handsome!

Matt & Mike playing some frisbee golf

Matt & Mike went to a Real Salt Lake Game

Andrew and his uncle Matt

Pictures of us at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We showed them a real American gem, Cabella's,
and gran West proved she is a natural cowgirl!

This is a nice picture of Andrew and Grandad
West as we rode the Heber Creeper

Ewwww, gross the baby mullet! See
what I mean, he really needed a haircut!

Cut it off! Hurry!

At Andrew's blessing:From Left to right--Alan ,
Megan, My dad, My mom, Heather, Jeanette, Stephen
Mike, Andrew, Me, Liz, Matt and Mike's Mom and Dad

This picture also uncludes our good
friends : Morgan ,and Dave & Hejdi Swan
Thanks for coming!

Saying goodbye! We went and had breakfast
with Mike's parents and Liz the morning they
flew home!

SEPTEMBER

September was pretty much a month of getting into a routine and back to everyday life. Mike started school again. This semester he is taking a few classes at UVU so he can fit in the pre-reqs he needs for grad school (he would have had to take more time if he stayed at BYU this semester). He really likes it there so far with smaller classes, etc but I know he will also be glad to get back to BYU next semester too. Mike also got a new job at the MTC as an athletic trainer and he works literally all day on Saturday (15 hours). Classes and work definitely keep him busy and Andrew and I are lucky when we get to see him at the end of the day. He works so hard for us and we love him sooo much for all he does!

My friend Chelsea also had a baby shower during this month and it was a lot of fun to see her and all our friends. There were a lot of people from the old BYU ward who came and it was so good to see them all. So many people now have babies, I sure wished we lived closer to everyone!

OCTOBER

This month has been going great so far! Mike has had a few breaks and the weather has been fantastic so it’s been really fun to go to parks or take walks in the canyon. Andrew has finally established a good nap time schedule which makes my days run a bit smoother. He is growing like crazy too! He can now sit up on his own (although, he has been able to do that since he was about 4 months old) and he LOVES to eat new foods. He can eat rice cereal and all the stage 1 baby foods. His favorites seems to be bananas, apple sauce and sweet potatoes. In fact, there is only one thing he won’t eat and that is prunes—I sure can’t blame him though! He can now get up on his hands and needs but he just kind of stays there and looks worried. He hasn’t figured out how to move yet but I think he’s getting close. The last new thing is that he can now suck on his toes, and he loves it! He will happily spent his days laying down with his toes in his mouth!

I still work a few hours a week teaching smoking cessation classes at the Utah County Health Department and it’s a lot of fun—I have been teaching there now for over 2 years! Time flies but I still love it, and I really do love all my little “delinquent” teens!

Pictures at the park:
Andrew and Mike going down the slide!

Andrew loves mouse, which was a gift from Grandad West

Andrew was helping me cook--he was holding the vanilla for me!

He loves sitting in big people chairs!

These are just a couple of pictures where he is being especially cute and fun!

We took these last pictures on conference Sunday between sessions.
We decided to go up to the canyon and look at the leaves. It was beautiful!!!

Well…I guess that is a pretty good update but I can honestly say, and promise, that I will be updating our blog A LOT more now so please come and check us out! We always love to hear from you!

Some pictures

Hi everyone! A lot has been going on over the last month or so and I haven't really had a chance to post anything about it yet. In fact, I am still a little pressed for time so I plan on writing about all our little adventures in the next few days but until then I wanted to post a few pictures because Andrew is growing so much! Enjoy!

UPDATE...sorry it's been so long

Well, life sure keeps us busy sometimes. It's funny too, I mean I thought I would be so bored in my new role as stay-at-home mom because I wouldn't have much to do, but I never realized how much time is actually involved in keeping little Andrew alive. Now...if I'm being honest, that's not to say that it doesn't ever get boring, because it can, but I still love it!! Anyway, it's been a long time since we posted anything so I thought I'd give a quick update for anyone who may be interested. Since the last post Andrew has turned 2 months old!! WOW! Time is already flying by, it seems like I just got back from the hospital. We have also moved to live with my Grandpa in American Fork. We will be here for the next year while Mike finishes his undergraduate work and then it's off to grad school! It's been great living so close to family but we definitely miss all our friends in Provo (that's a shout out to the Provo clan...WORD!)

Andrew is growing, growing, growing! He can now smile and I gotta say it is the cutest thing in the world! He is still an amazingly well-behaved little guy but he did give me a couple rough weeks where he would cry non-stop for 3-4 hours in the evening. I thought maybe it had become colicky but he is back to his normal easy going self and I think maybe it was just a growth spurt or something. I'm sure there are more weeks to come but it really is nice to have the calm Andrew back for the meantime.

Currenlty we are gearing up for Mike's parents and brother, Matt, to come. They will be here sometime in the end of July (I can't remember the exact dates at the moment) and we are SOOO excited to see them. They haven't actually met Andrew yet so it will be very exciting!

The last thing that has kept our little family entertained is the TV series LOST. We don't have cable so we invested and bought season 1 on the word that it was a great show. We had no expectations and were just excited to have the means of vegging out for a little after a long day. Well...we put in that first DVD and literally from the first minute we were hooked. I know, I know...many of you are probably thinking, what took these guys so long to figure it out, but it is great! It has just the right blend of humor, mystery and drama. In fact we actually just finished season 1 and I find my mind wondering during the day trying to come up with ideas about what can possibly be in the hatch?!?! Anyway, now that we are hooked we have to buy season 2 which will then lead to season 3, etc. Grrr....that cycle of addiction is upon us but even so I will say to anyone out there looking for a nice way to entertain for 42 minutes at the end of your day, LOST as a good choice.

Well...that's about it for the moment. I will hopefully be updating more soon. In the meantime here are some fun pictures of the fam. Enjoy!



He looks cute in his plaid pants!


Yep...he is wearing a wig, SMILING and wearing a wig!

He's got big shoes to fill...he feels the pressure.

Gross...I need a tan, but Andrew...he is CUTE!!!!

Aren't they both so handsome!

I've been tagged...

One of my cool friends, Andrea, tagged me (my first time being tagged...oh my, how exciting) so I am excited to fill out the questions. Here goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
10 years ago... that would make me 15...15! Holy cow all of a sudden the realization that I am 25 just hit...25 is not old, it's NOT! Anyway, at 15...I would like to say that at 15 I was active in community projects, a good member of society, popular in my class and an all around go-getter BUT in reality when I was 15 I was just over the "greasy years" and starting to appreciate the value in good hygiene and deodorant (I know...sick, I was a late bloomer). Also, my time was most likely occupied by my desire to look cool, figure out more about myself (I learned through experimentation with my friends that I can do a great Scary Spice impersonation) and figure out how to get boys attention (even though I would have denied that till the end). Oh...what horrific and hilarious memories!

5 years ago?
That would make me 20. 20 was a good year for me...by this time I figured out what I wanted (really wanted) in life and my showering habits were (and are) well established. Also, when I was 20 I finished my first and last year at BYU-Idaho (where I met my future hubby, although I didn't know it at the time) and I lived in Quito, Ecuador for about 3 months to take care of orphans! That was one of the most learning and growing times of my life....I loved year 20!

5 months ago?
Christmas time...was that really only 5 months ago? Well, at Christmas time I was about 6 months pregnant and Mike and I went to England to see his parents. What a great adventure that was and OH how I love, love, love England! The landscape, the shoppes, the history, the accents, the "football", the food and, most importantly, the family there! I also enjoyed the fact that I still got paid while I was gone....I love vacation time...LOVE IT!!!

5 things on my to-do list today:
1-Take a shower....please, I need to take a shower...BAH!
2-Feed baby, change baby, dress baby, play with baby. Repeat cycle multiple times throughout the day. (Folks, this will be the BULK of my day by far)
3-I would LOVE to read a little from Inkheart (the current book I'm reading).
4-Pack up some stuff and start cleaning the apartment (we are moving in a week).
5-Sit down and eat a meal...not just sporadically shove food in my mouth while the baby is content.

5 Snacks I enjoy:
-Junior Mints (I'm right here with you on this one, Andrea)
-Popcorn, not just any kind though...it needs to be movie theater popcorn with extra butter, that's right, lard!!!
-Crackers and cheese (good, stinky cheese like feta or brie)
-Fruit snacks. Any will do but I most often like the cheap, Kroger brand the best.
-Mandarin oranges from a can or a good vegetable cup with ranch dressing


5 things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire:
1-Tithing and savings/invest for future (I know, sounds sorta boring but really, that's what comes to my mind first)
2- Pay off school and any debt for ourselves and family
3-Buy a home...a nice home. Not too fancy but preferably one that is set on some land with a little pond and enough room to have horses.
4-Travel with the family. Go to crazy-cool places like Ethiopia, Figi, Jerusalem, Tonga, Istanbul...you know, SEE the world!
5-I would love to set up some sort of organization that helps distribute money and teach skills to people in need (both within and without the U.S.), sort of like a mix between micro credit programs and the perpetual education fund. I'm not sure exactly how that would work but that is one of my ambitions!

5 of my bad habits:
1-I bite my fingernails and crack my knuckles
2-I have a hard time returning calls (I'm really trying to get better at this, but I often get busy and forget about it till a couple days later....it's a HORRIBLE habit)
3-I'm not very good at writing my little brother who is on a mission (yeah, he doesn't write back but it's still no excuse)
4-This is a recent one but I like to peel off the little dry, flaky skin on my baby. I just want him to look clean and well-groomed, OK?!
5-I pick my lips, yeah...sounds weird but any time I'm nervous or I'm concentrating on something, I tend to pick at my lips and make them bleed a little. (I'm a bit embarrassed by this one)

5 Places I've lived:
1- Michigan (I was born here, I count it)
2- American Fork, UT
3-Rexburg, Idaho
4-Quito, Ecuador (I totally count this)
5-Provo, UT

5 Jobs I've had:
I've had a lot of jobs so I'll just pick my top 5
1-Public Health Educator (helping people quit smoking, excellent job!)
2-Front Desk Assistant at Independent Study (this job kept me on my toes and I was ALWAYS busy, I liked that fast-paced atmosphere...most of the time)
3-Secretary for the Health & Human Performance Advisement center at BYU...best student job in the world...the WORLD.
4-Medical Assistant (the doctor I worked for was nutty and I eventually quit but it was a great learning experience and weird as it may be, I really enjoyed giving shots and drawing blood)
5-Concession worker at Water Gardens Cinema 6. Remember how I said I LOVE movie theater popcorn and junior mints? Well, these items were in abundance AND they were free at this job...need I say more?

5 things people don't know about me:
1-Although I wish I was, I am NOT crafty in any way, shape or form. I try...but I'm not very good at all.
2-I love corny Latin music...the cheesy kind with horns and a maracas that you often hear blaring at construction sites.
3-I don't have my ears pierced. Just decided not to.
4-I know how to cut boys hair...I learned on my brothers and I still do it for my husband. I'm no professional but I'm not horrible either!
5-I hate, hate, hate spiders...abhor them! I honestly think that it's so bad it could be classed as a phobia, but I literally cry and curl up in a ball if I know one is in the apartment and my husband isn't here to get it...stupid, yes! I know it's irrational but I am petrified of them!!!

Well...that was fun! Now I am going to tag Morgan, Kristi, Laura, Chelsea, Meredith, Angie and anyone else who wants to do it. It's fun!! :-)

Just a quick one...

Hello all! So, I FINALLY got a couple minutes where the lil' tyke is sleeping and I'm not too exhausted so I decided to make a quick post. Life is good...no life is great!!!!! I absolutley love being a mom, especially to such a cute and wonderfully fun little boy! Mike is still being an amazing dad...we works so hard in school and at his jobs, yet he still makes time for us and he is a natural at the whole father thing! :-) Oh...well, now the wee lil' babe is starting to cry (again) so I will leave some fun pictures and try to write more a little later.




We caught him at a cute moment. It looks like he is deep in thought!

Andrew and his DAD!

This is how he likes to be burped...sorry but I think he looks so funny. I love it!!!


Poor kid...I probably tease him too much. This is a picture of him trying to suck on my nose. (Heh, heh, heh)