Christmas

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone. This month has just flown by! Jaci made out like a bandit this year with so much great stuff! She got a little motorized quad, a tricycle, a swing, a little table and chairs, a kitchen, and so much more smaller stuff. She was so overwhelmed! In fact, she was so overwhelmed she was really cranky. She had to have 2 naps, instead of her usual one.

Bill and I made out well too. My parents gave us a big huge flatscreen TV! I also got a cordless vacuum and some cute decorations and stuff. Bill got tons of LSU stuff, including: a leather jacket, blankets, sunglasses, etc.

It was a really good day! Bill's parents got in town this week and spent the Holiday with us! My parents and Ryan and Kelcie get in town TONIGHT! Bill's parents are staying with some of their other family while my family is here. We have had a great time with them so far!

Although there was snow here not too long ago, Christmas was almost 80 degrees. Crazy! Also, last weekend we were able to go to the temple and seal Melanie (Bill's mom) to her parents and sister. It was a wonderful experience!

Fun in the Valley of the Sun

Well, Jaci and I have been in Arizona for almost 2 weeks. We only have one week left and it feels like we just got here. We've had a lot of fun though. Thanksgiving was so yummy, I'm really craving some more stuffing and rolls! The day after Thanksgiving, we all drove out to the sand dunes in California by the Mexican border. We had a really good time and Jaci loved playing in the sand all day! We had no major injuries, so it was a good day!




Also, I got to go out with some of my oldest friends! It was so good to see them...we had so much fun together back in the day! We went to one of our favorite places, Bahama Bucks! Yummy! It was fun getting together with our kids...I just wish we could have hung out a little longer. Oh well...next time!


Other than that, we haven't really done anything huge. We've just been relaxing and having fun with family! I reread all the "Twilight" series after I saw the movie the first time (loved it!), so that took up most of the first two weeks here.I also tried to do a photo shoot with her for our Christmas card, but that didn't work. She is the most uncooperative child when it comes to getting her picture taken, plus the camera was on a wierd setting so all the pictures came out blurry...it was my dad's high tech camera, so I couldn't figure it out. Oh, Jaci went to nursery today for the first time with her cousin Berkley. She screamed most of the time when they made her stop playing with the play kitchen...until snack time. Hopefully, she'll get used to it!

Just Hangin' Around

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of Jaci since people have been bugging me to update the blog. Jaci's favorite thing to do is sit in her toybox and watch tv. She also loves her "ooh ooh ahh ahh" (Curious George stuffed animal) that Nana sent her. Her current favorite words are: "up, up, uppy". Right now, Jaci and I are in Arizona visiting my family for Thanksgiving! Bill decided that with finals coming next week, he couldn't take the time off for a break, so he's staying there and going up to Mississippi for Thanksgiving. We have some fun plans for while we're down in Arizona and we're so excited! We'll keep it updated now with pictures of our activities. We are planning on going 4 wheeling at the Dunes with our quads and new RHINO! Hope everyone has a great Holiday!

Halloween

Happy Halloween! Jaci dressed up as Tinker Bell and she was adorable. My mom came a few days ago and gets to spend a little over a week with us. We're having a great time relaxing and shopping and reading, etc. Our Halloween was pretty much over by the time the 31st rolled around. We went to 2 church Halloween parties and that was enough candy for Jaci. She didn't care at all about going around trick or treating. She's not patient enough to walk from house to house, or even car to car for the trunk or treats. She justs wants to run around, so we didn't do any trick or treating on the actual holliday. We're going to dress her up one more time to show my mom though. Today we're headed down to New Orleans to show my mom around a little. She's never been here, so we're going to do a little sight seeing and she really wants to try some Beignets. In fact, we better get going!

Baton Rouge

Well, we've been down South here in Baton Rouge in our new house for a few weeks now. It's getting close to being done and when it is (and clean) I'll take a few pictures. I've got to get it done really quickly since my mom is coming to visit on Wednesday! Yay! We want to be able to go do fun stuff and not unpack while she's here, so I've got to get the majority of it done in the next few days. Especially the guest room...that room's gotten a little neglected so far.

Jaci is finally settling in a little bit. She's getting more comfortable, although she does get a little bored. We stay home most of the time, but we do go to Target or Wal-Mart about once a day (those are the only placed I can finally get to without the GPS). That's about all we get out of the house though. We don't really know anyone yet to do anything with.

Jaci is growing up so fast. Her hair is getting longer and she loves watching "My Friends: Tigger and Pooh" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". Whenever they count anything she says "six, eight, eight, eight".

Bill is up to his ears in law school. He's at school from 8-5 every day and even goes to school some Saturdays. He seems to be enjoying most of it, although he says Criminal Law is pretty depressing. Right now we're a little stressed with our carpet. The washing machine was not put in correctly and it flooded. We ended up having to rip up most of the carpet and dry the padding underneath, which was SOAKED. We're finally almost back to normal.

That's about all I can think of to update. We're doing okay, and I'm starting to get used to it, although I still don't love it here. I'm told Baton Rouge grows on you!

Ice Cream, you scream!

I don't have pics of the place yet because it is a mess, but here are a couple of Jaci.
We were moving boxes from Bill's uncle's house and Jaci was helping.


This was Jaci's first ice cream cone all by herself. She did pretty good and only made a small mess, which was suprising. I think the terrible twos have started. Yesterday she dumped a glass of water into a bin and then onto the floor. Then she dumped out a bag of m&ms. Then she dumped her cup of fruit punch onto the floor of my car. Agh! It's not easy to unpack and try to get things cleaned up with a little monster on the loose!

Moving in

Okay, I haven't updated in a while because we don't have internet. In fact, right now I'm mooching off our neighbors wireless signal. I just figured out I could do this last night. Anyway, we are in Baton Rouge, Louisiana trying our best to get moved in to our new place as fast as we can. We found a house that's about a mile and a half from the Temple in a private neighborhood. I'll post some pictures when I get a minute to take some. It's a disaster here though so I don't know if I'll put any on here until we're moved in and it looks decent. We'll see.

Jaci's new favorite show is "My Friends, Tigger and Pooh" on playhouse Disney. I bought a couple movies of it and she watches them constantly. She carries around her stuffed Pooh and Tigger dolls all the time. She laughs at the movies at the right times and copies some of what they say like "Think, think, think", "tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She's getting so big it's crazy. Oh, I really want to decorate her bathroom in Winnie the Pooh, but I can't find any Pooh bath stuff. If anyone can help me out or knows of somewhere to get stuff, PLEASE let me know!

My only complaint so far down here is the traffic. Most of the roads are 2 lane roads and so traffic is always backed up and it takes FOREVER to get anywhere. Hopefully I'll get used to it. I haven't had time with all the unpacking to decide if I like it here or not. I really miss being in Arizona or Utah with my family. The only outside contact Jaci and I get is with cashiers at the stores.

Well, I better get back to packing. I'll put some pictures of something up soon.

Cabin Fever

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Jaci and I are still having a great time in Arizona, but we're heading down to Louisiana very soon. While we've been here, we have gone to our cabin in Pine, Arizona with Nana and Bopy twice. Jaci loves being there and especially going on quad rides with Bopy. They went on at least 4 a day. When they were finished with the ride she always had to carry both helmets into the house! On Labor Day, Bopy, my uncle Todd and I went on a hike down from the rim in Pine and had a great time. They day was absolutely perfect; it was cloudy and cool and...perfect! We love going to the cabin, it is so relaxing and much cooler than Gilbert.

Jaci is getting so big. She just jabbers and jabbers (we think it's Chinese) and every once in a while she actually says a word we can understand. She has started mimicking some words that I say. She now says "Mommy, baby" or "Mommy, me me me" when she wants me to pick her up and hold her. She also says "bye, ball, kick, 'Pops', 'Bopy', and someitmes she says some phrases that have to do with something we are talking about. She is just so smart and understands everything anyone says, which makes it really frustrating when she ignores me.

As far as Bill is concerned...he is still alive. He survived his first hurricane with no more damage than a power outage. He got the whole week off school and took time to visit some of his family down there.

She has absolutely loved being here with so much family so close. She is going to go crazy when we're down south and she's stuck with just me all day. We are so grateful to my parents for letting us crash with them for so long! Now we just hope we can find a place to live down there!

Arizona "Visit"

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Hello again. Well, so far, Bill has survived his first week of law school. He is down in Louisiana living at his uncle's house until we find a place to live. I'm just procrastinating the time when we have to move to Louisiana. In the meantime, Jaci and I are staying in Arizona at my parent's house. They love having her here. They said she was absolutely perfect when she was down here without me, but since I've shown up, she's become a little more...moody. She still loves it here though. We went up to the cabin with Nana and Bopy a couple weekends ago and she was Bopy's girl. He took her on quad rides and wagon rides. She could have ridden the quad forever, she never wanted to get off. We're just biding our time and I'm trying to do a lot of research on the internet to try to find a place to rent in Baton Rouge. It's getting frustrating. Anyway, Jaci is still growing like crazy and she doesn't miss a thing. We were at church yesterday and she saw the chorister leading the hymn and Jaci started waving her arm like she did. She is so smart. She loves being here with "mommy, Ketsie (Kelcie), Pop papa, Boppa, Noni, Nana, and Kakey (Berkley)". She and Berkley decided they want to play Wii Fit like everyone else and they both want to learn to play the piano. Most of the time they get along pretty good now. We miss Utah and I still keep thinking of it as home and that we're going back, but...no. A whole new adventure awaits us in the South.

LSU, Here we come!

Okay, first off, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything about our amazing cruise through Europe, but things have been a little hectic. If you want to read about it, visit Rusty and Caryn's website here

Now for the news...it's official...we're moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Bill was accepted to LSU law school and he's ecstatic! He's always dreamed of going to LSU and now he finally gets the chance. So, this week I'm extremely busy trying to get everything packed because we leave on Saturday. It shouldn't be too hard since I sent Jaci down to Arizona with my aunt Steph (thanks again!) to spend time with my family down there so I could pack in peace. It's a little difficult when she wants to "help" me pack. She puts random things in drawers and boxes and takes other things out. For instance, we've been packing for over a week and thanks to her I can't find my camera (still) and one shoe. I miss her though, I keep thinking I hear her everywhere. Anyway, we've got a big few weeks ahead of us. We have no idea where we're going to live and school starts in about a week and a half. If I can ever find my camera, I'll get a few pictures on here, but for now this will have to do! We've had a great time living in Utah and we're going to miss everyone, especially Bill's parents. You guys are great and thanks for all your help with everything!

Lake Powell

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I know I'm a little behind since we got home from Lake Powell over a week ago, but I was a slacker and didn't take any pictures so I had to get them from Kelcie and Caryn. Thanks guys! Anyway, we had so much fun up there. We always have a great time just relaxing and playing on the water. Jaci loved getting to go swimming and she liked getting to ride in the boat. She and I even got to go jet skiing together and she fell asleep!!! We went and stayed on my dad's houseboat with my parents, Kelcie, Ryan, Rusty's family, and Bill's parents. Jaci is a smart little firecracker and figured out how to undo the latches on the little gates on the boat. She even tried to teach Berkley and so we had to tie latches up so they couldn't do that. We couldn't find anything to do it with, so Caryn used straws. Pretty crafty! We had a great time tubing, wakeboarding and relaxing. As always, my favorite parts are the sunset cruises. Thanks Daddy! No place has sunsets like Lake Powell. Jaci and I drove home with my parents to Arizona so Jaci could go to the doctor before our big cruise through Europe. Bill comes to join us in a couple of days and then off to Venice! We are so excited! However, Jaci and Berkley are getting to act too much like siblings. Last night we put them together in the pack and play and they wresled. Well, Berkley wrestled and Jaci just kept trying to give him kisses. She doesn't take much crap from him anymore though. If he pushes her, she just pushes him right back! We have so much fun down here around family!

Jaci can walk!

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It finally happened! She finally got up the courage to take the steps on her own. She was doing one or two at a time for weeks, but this past week my mom was here and she up and started walking. She now walks all the time. She can't stand up by herself yet, but if she pulls herself up against something and is already standing up, she just goes off walking. I can't believe how big my baby is getting. It is so crazy. She is good at letting you know what she wants too. She has gotten good at pointing at things and she is a DRAMA QUEEN. If she doesn't get her way or what she wants she'll throw a fit. It's actually really funny to watch. She'll lay down and roll around and kick her legs. She's a nut! Well, we're getting excited for our trips this summer. We head to Lake Powell next weekend and then only a couple weeks after that we go to Europe! I'm getting so excited. Of course, that means I have to get packing! I have to get the house packed and get Jaci and I packed for the trips. Bill is really excited that as of today there are only 3 more days of school and then he's finally graduated!!! Yay!

Little Red Wagon

Jaci got all dressed up for her birthday party on Friday. We had a lot of fun with friends and family up here in Utah. Jaci got a lot of fun presents from everyone, including: Eeyore & Pooh stuffed animals, a dolly dressed like a lady bug, a coin collection, lots of cute clothes, a precious moments figurine, a hawaiian girl swimming suit, a blow up pool, chocolate, a book, and her favorite of all...a wagon! I put all the presents people brought to her party in the wagon and when it was time for presents I rolled the whole thing out. She got so excited when she saw the wagon. She started pulling the presents out of it and trying to climb in. She got to sit in it and open the rest of her presents. All she wants to do is sit in it and go for rides. She will almost sleep in it even! We walked Bill to school the other day with it and she turned over and curled up like she was going to sleep. It was so cute! Thanks everyone for making it a great 1st birthday!

Happy Birthday Jaci!

I can't believe that Jaci is a year old today. It doesn't seem possible that it has been a year since our precious little girl was born. She is the light of my life and makes every day worth it, even the hard ones when she's cranky. All she has to do is smile at me or randomly come give me a hug to brighten my day. I can't put in to words how much she means to me. This past year has definitely had its difficult moments, but it has had its amazing moments also. Here are just a few of the many reasons I love her!

1. Her smiles!
2. Her hugs and when she just comes and cuddles up on my lap!
3. The way she says "mum mum" or "mmmm" when she takes a bite of macaroni and cheese.
4. The way she always wants to be with mommy and wants to just sit on my lap to watch Baby Einstein.
5. The way she follows me around like a baby duck!
6. Her laugh!
7. The way she sleeps all night!
8. How she likes to "help" me cook!
9. How much she loves shakes!
10. How dang cute she is!

I just love her so much! I never could have imagined that I could love anyone as much as I love her! Her daddy wants me to not forget that he loves her too especially when she gets really excited when she sees him after he comes home from school or work. She is so happy most of the time and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!

Riding the Train

Saturday Jaci got to ride her first train. Bill's mom, Melanie, works for UTA (Utah Transit Authority) and they are opening up a train that goes from Salt Lake to Ogden, and eventually down to Provo. Last weekend was the family and friends weekend to ride for free, so we all decided to go. It is a very nice train and we had a good time. Jaci tried to get everyone's attention by screaming her high pitched ear shattering scream and trying to crawl down the stairs...it is a double decker train. We got off in Ogden and went to a couple museums while we waited for the return train. We visited an antique car museum with cars from the early 1900s. It was really cool. And then we visited the Browning gun museum, which all the guys loved.


In other news, two new teeth have broken through in Jaci's mouth. The top right canine and a top left molar. I'm checking every day for more. It's getting more dangerous to stick my finger in there to feel though. Jaci has gotten a lot more lovey too. She gives me big hugs and kisses all the time, and most of the time she doesn't even try to bite me when she kisses me anymore! She has loved getting to play outside on the days when it's warm in between the days that it snows (still). We actually got to have a picnic outside for dinner last week. She still hasn't started walking and will only take a couple steps when she's on the grass. Silly girl. She's getting tall too. She can reach things on shelves that I thought would be safe, but no, I'm going to have to do a little more baby proofing I guess. She has gotten a little more finicky about what she'll eat now too. She mostly sticks with waffles, fishy crackers, and mac and cheese. Needless to say, she loves CHEESE. I wonder who she takes after!!!

April showers

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Hello everyone! Well, this has been a crazy week here in Utah. Yesterday it was a beautiful 80 degrees outside and today it is SNOWING. I can't believe it. I was so excited yesterday. So was Jaci. We got to play in the yard and Jaci even felt brave enough out there to take a couple of steps on her own!!! She's still hasn't worked up her courage in the house though to try and start walking alone. She has however, gotten into the habit of screaming a high pitched ear shattering scream. It's usually a happy scream and very random. Needless to say, I get lots of headaches. As for the video...when we were in Arizona a couple weeks ago, Nana, Jaci and I sewed together and when we got back Jaci wanted to keep sewing. I had some fabric in her closet and she went in there by herself and found it. When I found her she was sitting in her closet sorting through the fabric. It was so cute. Later that night she realized she could get into the drawers in her room if she stands on her tippy toes. She has also started laughing if she hears anyone else laugh. I'll laugh at something and she'll laugh with me, it's so funny. She has a stuffed animal that laughs if you press it's foot and she goes crazy with that. She is getting so big so fast!!! We have so much fun with her, even though we've had to finally put gates up in the house. She is a very curious little girl and wanders all over the house...which the landlord just sold. We are praying that we won't be kicked out before Bill is finished with school and we are able to leave. Speaking of school, Bill has finals this week and then one "term" left. He will be done the end of June, just in time for our cruise!!! No word from any law schools yet, but we'll keep everyone posted.

Happy 24th Birthday!

We're Back!!!

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Okay, I know, I know...everyone has been asking me when I'm going to update my blog again. We go through this EVERY time. I'm horrible. I need to set an alarm on my phone to tell me to update this at least once a week. Quite a few things have happened in the month and a half since I wrote last. Jaci is now a full blown crawler and is so close to walking she can taste it. We just got back yesterday from a vacation in sunny Arizona. It was a wonderful vacation. Jaci loved having so many people around to play with all day. She and Berkley tried to play together, but they were both so jealous of each other, neither one would be happy if the other had a toy or a person they wanted. Berkley would push her head away if she got to close to Noni (my mom). We put Jaci on this little green quad that Berkers got for Christmas and at first I pushed the little button to make it go, then I let go and she found the button and kept going! She's so stinkin' smart. We had such a great time down there and could have stayed forever. But we're now back up here in not quite so sunny Utah. Jaci's not happy about having to wear long sleeves, socks and coats again, but hopefully it's not for too much longer!!!

Valentines Day!

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Happy Valentines Day!!! I can't believe Jaci is almost 9 months old. Time goes by so fast! She is learning new things and growing every day. A few days ago I went to get her up from her nap and she was standing up holding on to the railing of her crib. I had to get it on video. She is standing up a lot and really wants to be able to walk by herself. Didn't she look adorable for Valentine's Day!!!

Noni and Nana came to visit

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In the past couple of weeks Jaci has been doing some new things. First of all, all she wants to do is walk. She can't do it by herself, so she searches for your fingers, pulls herself to a stand and off she goes. If she's sitting on your lap she will grab your fingers and scoot herself down onto the floor and then start walking. She started playing pat-a-cake with Noni and Nana when they were up here visiting this past week too. She's always liked Peek-a-boo, when Mommy would hide, but this week she started doing it herself with Noni.

Jaci and I both had a lot of fun with Noni and Nana visiting. The time flew by way too fast though. We miss them already, even though they just left this morning. Jaci has been a bit cranky since we dropped Noni off at Aunt Steph's last night. She hardly slept last night and was super cranky and wouldn't take a nap this morning. She needs her Noni back!!! Jaci loved playing with Noni and gave her big hugs and kisses with a just a few little nips!

I love Bubbles!!!

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Jaci's new favorite past time is blowing spit bubbles. Isn't she cute!!! Not much is going on up here in COLD Utah. It's just snowing and blowing! If it's not snowing, it's so cold because it is really windy. I really miss Arizona. Jaci has been a little stinker. She finally had gotten into the habit of taking good two hour naps in her bed, but this week she's reverted back to only wanting to sleep when mommy or daddy is holding her for naps. Therefore, I have practically no free time again! However, I did manage to find time to finally start making some bows and paci clips! Now that she is sitting up on her own, she will sit on the ground and play with toys so I can at least do something for a little while. Yay! I am so proud of this bow I had to post a picture!

So Many Teeth!

Well, Christmas has come and gone. We actually had two Christmases. One nice "warmer" one down in Arizona and one freezing cold one up here in Utah. The temperature varies from 8 to 20 degrees during the days now. Brrr! It makes me shiver just thinking about it. Anyway, Jaci loved getting new toys and playing with Berkley's new toys while we were down there. Her favorite "new" toys are actually hand-me-downs from Braden and Berkley. (Thanks Caryn!)

Since Christmas, Jaci has had her first ear infection, her first fever, and now has EIGHT (yes, I said 8) teeth; 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. She likes to randomly and very sneakily chomp down on her mommy's arm or face. She seems like she's going to give me kisses and then decides to BITE! I have quite a few bruises. I still know she loves me though because she has become even more attached to Mommy than she was before. She'll go to others and give them a quick hug and then wants to come right back. At least she has started taking naps in her bed! That has been a huge blessing! Now I've got at least a couple hours of free time in the day. Now I just need to start sewing or scrapbooking again since I have the time!