Oops so much December fun I forgot to include it all ;)



I took Tater to IFA to get HoneyBun a new leash for when Connie picked her up (she gnawed through all the rest of them. How or why did she do this you might ask? Well, the pleasant little girl that she is, would hide under tables or in little hiding spots we couldn't get to & wouldn't come out. Not to pee, not for a treat, & most definitely not to go to her room for bed. Soooo...we had to keep her leash on her so we could pull her out. Silly I know. Funny that Dean told me how well I trained her ;) She can be a little stinker sometimes.... Anyways! Tate & I went & saw the bunnies that were there. It was SO fun! I love to see him get so excited & have fun. He has the sweetest little face :) The picture is blurry, once again due to my crappy camera phone ( & ever-moving target). You can see how much fun he was having though :)

 

Oh just some fun at the local walmart :)

Tate obsessed with our water bottle lid of course.

Lids & tupperware!!!! Forget toys!

 

 

 

Making our ornaments from the Sunday we missed at Grammy & Poppy's. I was really sick & we didn't make it that day. Man am I glad I've been feeling better!!

Of course my sweet mom brought us the stuff so we didn't have to miss out on the fun. Although we didn't have time to do it til Dec. 31st! There was enough clay that we made ornaments for us to decorate next year. A little gingerbread family!! How cute!

I like to make an ornament with the kids every year so we can giggle later about how they look. I mean, they all look amazing ;)

 

Tate of course started eating the clay, so he got put on coloring duty. My parents gave him these awesome bath crayons that are PERFECT for the high chair because they wipe off. LOVE IT!!

 

Our cute gingerbread family, complete with new baby :)

 

I had to include this pic for a memento. I had this purple couch forever. Me, Vincie, & Russie used it at our house in West Haven, me & Vince used it in our townhouse in Kaysville, & when I was in New York & bought my house, I came home & my family had moved it into my new home waiting for me. They are seriously the best! I listed it on ksl because it has been up in the loft & we rarely go up there. Until my mom suggested that I turn the loft into a playroom. Great idea! So I sold it & now the loft is the office/playroom with so many toys it's crazy :)

I sold it to the nicest family. I chit-chatted with the mom while they were there & she asked what I did & I told her Bobby & I were both respiratory therapists. Sadly she knew what that was. Most people don't unless they have personal experience with one & it's not usually good. They adopted a little down syndrome boy at 8 months & he was trached at 10 months. He is on a ventilator at night at home & they take care of him all by themselves with nursing care occasionally. What a neat family they sounded like! 5 kids & he was adopted. I think they said he is Asian & his parents lived in Panama & could not bring him there do to visa problems or something, so they had to give him up. How sad, but how fortunate that he went to such a loving home. He is now 10 years old & goes to school & seems to be doing great. I love how you end up meeting people & hearing their stories. Pretty cool. Goodbye purple couch :)

 

 

 

My HoneyBun

 

So about a month & a half ago I had to find a new home for HoneyBun. She nipped Tater while I was standing RIGHT there, & her dislike for him has been growing since he has learned to pull on her tail & face, & wants to make out with her all day. I decided with another baby on the way that it was probably best to find her a new home, where she would be happier as well. I had been having to separate her from the family constantly because I couldn't watch her like a hawk while making dinner, cleaning, etc. & I did NOT want the incident repeated. I felt that this was pretty unfair to her too, since she was an only child for so long. She adored Liv, but Liv is older & doesn't try to make out with her ;)

Well, I placed an ad on ksl & got several responses. I had been super super sick that weekend so I couldn't meet with anyone. I got a text a few days later from the kindest woman named Connie who wanted HoneyBun for her dad. He had just lost his wife about a month earlier & was lonely. Of course this pulled at my heart strings & I LOVED the idea of Buns going to a home that she would bring so much joy to. An older person who would spoil her, let her lounge on the couch all day, & feed her treats all the time was exactly what I was hoping for. Connie has texted me many times to tell me how well Bun is doing, how much her dad loves her, & thank you so much for bringing him so much joy. He started tearing up the night he got her & said this was exactly what he needed.

 I got a new phone & don't have the text messages, but I DID forward them to Bobby, so I will add them in when I can because they are SO sweet & heartfelt, & brought me much comfort that I want to remember them. Dean Cannon is her new daddy's name. He called me personally to thank me for her & tell me how much he adores her. I instantly liked this man from the moment I started talking to him. He was so sharp, spry, & kind...especially for 85 years old! He told me she is his little princess, that he started calling her "Pearl" because he got her on Pearl Harbor day, & he thought it was very fitting. He said she responds to it, but of course still does to HoneyBun as well.

He asked for my email so he could give me updates on her & send photos occasionally. Of course this thrilled me. His daughter Jodi (Livingston Cannon, in case I ever lose her phone # & info :)) also called & told me how much her dad has enjoyed her & she wanted to send me pictures & keep me updated. His granddaughter Shannon came to pick Bun up initially, she is Connie's daughter. She brought her friend along, who I happened to know. She is Tesha Hales Thomas's mom. They were both so sweet & took some photos of me & Bunny before they left. Of course I was crying & they were just so sweet to me. She said that she comes up to Ogden a lot (they are from Salt Lake/Murray area) & she would be glad to bring her by for a visit for a few hours. Dean also told me that he was okay with that :)

They have texted me many pictures, which I included at the end & will post more as I get them. I am so thrilled with my decision of where to place her. I couldn't have picked out a more perfect home & family for her to go to. I love my little Bunnygirl & hope she is very very happy. Dean says he wouldn't trade her for a national champion dog :)

Love you HoneyBun. You're still my first baby. Mommy loves you.

 

Here are some pics I had on my phone & wanted to put in here. Of course I have a million others, but they are on CD's in storage. 

 

 

My sweet mom brought me this modeling clay to make an ornament of Bun's paw print for a keepsake. She had done it with the grandkids this year. My mom is so thoughtful & sweet. Even though she is not a dog person, she knows how special Bun is to me & was so sweet & understanding about it all. Thanks Momma!

 

Snugglin with Mama. Pics are crappy because of my crappy new phone :(

 

Curled up by the fire looking so cute :)

This is right before she left. Of course I look a mess because I was crying & had been getting ready for work. My cute girl :)

 

 

 

 

These are pictures Jodi sent me of Bun getting her tummy tickles :)

 

 

This was the very first photo I got & was so thrilled to receive. I had asked Connie to send me a pic of her dad with HoneyBun to help comfort me a little, & so I could see how happy they were together. She was so kind to oblige, & has since updated me on them, how their Christmas was, etc. I love it!

What a sweet pic huh? And Buns looks so happy too :)

 

These are pics Shannon sent me today. HoneyBun is a "cheesehead" now ;)

Shannon sent the next pic, saying Buns has stayed true to what we taught her. They put Rams colors in her hair! Blue & gold hair things :) How sweet are they??

Thank you Cannon family!

Thank you for taking such good care of my baby girl, & for keeping me in her life! I appreciate you so much!!!

 

Mom & Dad's Annual Birthday breakfast

Happy birthday to the most wonderful parents in the world! Love you both so much! Maybe next year you can stop treating all of US to your birthday breakfast & let US pay!

Happy happy birthday.

Love you!

 

 

Watchin the birds out the window

A candid shot ;)

Christmas :)

Tater's pile after Santa stopped by ;)

Liv's pile o' presents

 Tater, when you're older & read this, don't be upset because sissy got more stuff than you. We love you both the same. You already have tons of stuff between Grammy & Poppy, & the Lythgoe/Morgan's! ;)

Tater & sissy opening their presents

Mommy & Tater

Daddy opening his minimal pile of presents because Jen followed the $ rules. I should have known! I suck & will be taking him to get a massage or pedicure soon

The damage

Tater 17 months

My little Tater Salad is 17 months. What a big boy!

He still changes so much by the day.

This is such a fun time of year (December) with him really enjoying things like the Christmas lights, the Christmas tree, the icicle house lights. I love Christmas, & I have enjoyed watching Liv the last few years with her presents & doing fun family things, but it is so much fun to watch a little little one enjoy these things. It all seems to amaze him like it's magical. We have done so many fun things this holiday season (mostly thanks to Grammy & Poppy!)

1. Tate will recognize a lot of things & say their names unprompted: "mow" for "meow" like a cat. He will do that when we look at a book or puzzle with a kitty on it. It is SO cool to see him really catch on & understand things I have gone over with him a million times, & see the results! I feel so proud :)

He says "EEee-eee" for monkey. That's probably one of my fave words he says. He says "sissy" a lot! He loves his sissy :)  He says "uh-oh" when he drops something or knocks something over. He will say "socks" or "shoes" when we put them on, "fishy" & point to it when we are in the kitchen & I walk past it to put him in his high chair, "light" & point to the lights, "doggie" in books or at HoneyBun's ornament on the tree. My mom made me a cute ornament when I was in NY that has a picture of Buns in a cute little painted doghouse. I love it & it's so special since I no longer have her   :(

Anyhow, Tate says many more things that I've listed before, these are just the ones where he recognizes the object when he says it. BUT......The most important one of all that I've been waiting SOOOOOO patiently for is MAMA!!!!! We were picking up Liv from cheer & were waiting out in the car for a little bit & I kept saying it & he repeated it like 6 times! Now he will say it & I get so excited & he smiles like he's proud. It melts my heart! He DID say mama before, but honestly now in hindsight, I think he was trying to say "more." It's official now though! :)

2. Tater can do a somersault. Daddy taught him that one. Mom's afraid he'll break his little neck. It is quite cute to watch though.

3. He can go down the stairs now. He more uses one foot to push & just slides down on the other one & his belly. It's pretty cute to watch. Dad taught him that one too. I guess I just don't want him to grow up too fast ;)

4. He still does his little "walk in circles" trick. It is hilarious because he moves his eyes & head towards the way he is turning & smiles. He is the most beautiful little thing I've ever seen.

5. He loves to piggyback ride on Daddy's back.

6. He is quite good at cleaning up. I sing the song & ask him to please put the toys away & he does it! Most of the time. He's just being stubborn when he won't. I KNOW he gets what I'm saying :)

7.Oh yes! 2 things he says that I forgot to mention, & he doesn't actually quite say them, but I know what he's saying are: "Mee-mee" & puts his cute chubby little fingers together for "more please." I think he kinda combined those two words; & we say "There he is!" when we play peek-a-boo (which he LOVES). He can't say it, but he jibber-jabber talks in the same tone we use. It sounds like "Theyeeyay." It is darling.

8. Favorite foods lately: peanut butter sandwiches (this is new), cheese (colby jack now instead of the string cheese), he does well with beans usually for his veggies. Veggies are def not his fave though. He loves his usual grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, & mandarin oranges. He loves the honey vanilla greek yogurt I bought him.  

   

 9. Favorite toys: still loves books. His fave was "Little Blue Truck" but lately he loves this shapes & colors book that my mom gave him. He still like "Goodnight Moon" & "Sleepy Baby" before bed, but not religiously like before. He loves his nail bench Bennett gave him. He loves to take them out & put them all in a bowl or whatever is handy. He loves to sort things in one pile or bowl, then dump them out, the do it all agiain...He loves to play with lids, putting them on & off. This is probably his favorite obsession.

10. He loves to brush his teeth. He doesn't love it when you do it for him, but he mostly just bites on the toothbrush. He will still try to spit like Bobby taught him. It's pretty cute.

11. Fits best in 2T clothes, a size 6 in shoes is most comfortable, & still size 4 diapers.



 

 

 

December Holiday Fun!!! And there was LOTS of it!

Our Christmas tree

Christmas Eve jammies from Gram & Pop. We missed the party because I was sick :(

 

Tate loved the tree, the lights, & the ornaments

Liv's lil special ornament we ordered her. It's a brunette cheerleader in a red & white uniform, just like Mound Fort's!

 

Close-up

Christmas Village

Love it! You can tell by the fake smiles that I am probably the ONLY one who loves it. Tate loved it too. It was sooo fun to watch him look at everything in amazement.

Me & my lil man

Gotta represent by the Ogden sign

Tater & Uncle Zach

Christmas Eve party at Grammy n Poppy's

Cute Kota enjoyin his yogurt

This is so blurry, but it was so cute. Houston was playing peek-a-boo with Tater & Tate just loved it. He is really loving his cousins these days.

 

Everyone with their "Rudolph" noses while Grammy read the story.

Of course she had carrots for the kids to leave the reindeer, "reindeer dust" for Santa & the reindeer to find our houses, & mint oreos for Santa.

Such a cute grammy.

 

 

I will have to get pictures of the kids opening their presents from my mom's camera. Bobby wasn't there so I was trying to corral Tater & watch him & Liv both take turns opening their gifts. Kinda crazy, but fun! Thanks Grammy & Poppy for everything! You spoiled these kids more than their parents!!!

 

 

Grammy n Poppy opening their yearly calendar present I've made for them the last few years. This one was really fun to do, but hard to squeeze in all the fun we've had!

My mom & dad took us to see the lights at Willard Bay. Tate LOVED it. I LOVED IT! It was SO fun to watch his face. It's like it was magical. We had the most wonderful time. We went to see Santa there & Tate got excited, would point at Santa....we had been talking about it all day, but as we got up to Santa's lap he went ballistic. I tried sitting with him, & he wanted nothing to do with it. He was trying to climb over me to get the heck out of there. It was kind of funny. The cute Santa was so sweet about it though.

Once again, I will have to get pictures from my mom of this. I'm sure they will be comical :) 

Tater & Poppy waiting to see Santa

Tater & Grammy watchin the lights

This is Tater kissing our nativity seen. I taught him to kiss Baby Jesus, so he would go through & kiss the entire Nativity party. It was the sweetest thing :)

Of course he would make the sweetest little kissy "Mmmm" sound he makes. It is darling :)

Tater loves his new "Little People" zoo set. It came with a zookeeper, a polar bear, a lion, & a gorilla. Whenever he sees the gorilla (or the box sitting in our gigantic recycling bin pile because we forgot to set it out-what a dumb time to forget it with all the Christmas gifts!!) he would say "EEe-eee" because of the monkey/gorilla. So cute :) 

This is one of my friend Christmas parties. It was at Cami Bell's. We had a lot of fun. She has a gorgeous home & was the bestest little hostess. Thanks girls!

More friend fun: Christmas in January with Annie, Ashley, & Tish; & Tate & I went to Rooster's in Layton with Heather to exchange gifts & visit. Love her :)  Although I did not get a pic. TATE really loved her, which he doesn't really LOVE anyone but our little fam. He was all smiles, waves, & blowin kisses to her. He let her hold him forever too. It was pretty funny, little flirt

Liv doing her 12 Days of Christmas.

I chose to do the symbols of Christmas this year to teach Liv more about why we celebrate Christmas, & a coordinating gift to go with each one. Most of them were special ornaments for Liv to have on our "Special Ornament" tree, since she doesn't have a lot. I've been replenishing her stock through the years though, & we usually make one every year too, so she has quite a few now :)

Tater & Lindsay at Gramma Marlilyn & Grampa Bert's annual Christmas Eve party. So fun to have Tater a lil older this year. He wanted nothing to do with anyone at the party besides me, my mom, & my dad. He loosened up a bit when Houston & Maelee got there. He did love his snoopy doll that Gramma gave him. He carries it around & kisses it all the time still! He still loves the Curious George doll that Gramma & Grampa gave him for his birthday. We kiss him & tuck George into bed every night with Tater :)

Poppy feeding Tater carmel corn, which he loved of course

Mae mae showin Tater how Elmo sings. The kids all loved the singing beaver, the singing puppy that wiggles his ears, the jumping & singing puppy, the talking Santa Claus, & all those toys most of us adults find obnoxious. It was fun & cute to watch them though :)

 

Brighton wasn't too sure about the toys ;)

 

 

Tater & Poppy watching the Santa Claus doll read a story

 

We went to Grammy & Poppy's to open our stockings after Gramma Mar's party. Liv was at her mom's & Bobby was at work. We weren't able to come on Christmas Day because Bobby worked Chrismas Eve & I worked Christmas Day Night.

Seriously?! What a cute bummy. He has two right butt cheeks. had to take a pic ;)

 

 

Thank you everyone for all the Christmas fun! It was wonderful!!

So grateful for wonderful family!

So grateful for Jesus & all he has done for us