Happy Happy Birthday Delaney Dear!

12.12.09
Our favorite Delaney Ryan turned 4 today! We were so sad we couldn't celebrate with her, but Derek, my youngest brother took the place of Treyman and enjoyed himself at her birthday party! (Abbey is always so thoughtful to think of Derek! WE love you Abbey!)





Happy Happy Birthday Delaney Dear,
Happy days will come to you all year,
If I had one wish then it would be,
A Happy Happy Birthday to You from Me!


Could a girl be any more loved?! I think NOT!
(pictures taken at the Reindeer Farm during Thanksgiving vacation! I have been given the "ok" to post the "secret" pictures since Abbey has all of her Christmas Cards mailed!)

15 months

( I have a love for "holiday" shirts, and this is no exception! It not only says, "Santa is my Homeboy" with Santa posed all cool-like, but the penguin on the side has a little "word bubble" above him that says, "Wurd." LOVE IT!)

12.15.09
Tian is 15 month, going on 15. This little guy is so self sufficient, it is almost a little too scary. When he is hungry, he will retrieve a bowl from a drawer, open the pantry door, point to what he wants, once we get what he wants, he will take his bowl to his highchair, and point to his highchair.

He also is a climber. He has climbed the ladder to get to the top of Trey's bunk bed. He has climbed on top of our coffee table/trunk. He has tried to climb over the gate in Trey's doorway, which is supposed to keep Tian out, but didn't quite make it.

He loves to play "ring-around-the-Rosy's," peek-a-boo/hide-and-go-seek," horsey, and cause and effect. (like in the picture above. He will fill a bucket up with balls, and then dump them on his head! He also loves to fill up buckets of water in the bathtub, and then dump them on his head.)

He is an amazing sleeper. He still takes 2 naps a day, and sleeps for 8-12 hours a night. If he is not taking naps well or does not sleep well at night, we know something is wrong with him.

He has had 3 ear infections, a case of Roseola and intusuception.

His voice is a bit on the husky, deep side. His laugh is rather high pitched.

His words are:
oh, oh
Dadda
Mama
Ball
BaBa (this stands for blanket, pacifier, or bottle)
Bye Bye
Hi
vroom

He loves music; especially The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Miley Cyrus. (can you tell we mostly listen to Radio Disney in the car?!) He loves to dance in the car by bobbing his head and kicking his feet to the beat.

He loves cars and balls. He will drive cars along the walls, up and down his body, and on the kitchen floor.

He still can't stand to have his diaper changed. I think it is because it takes too long and he doesn't have time for cleanliness.

He loves to take a bath; especially if Trey is taking one with him.

He still have 8 teeth, 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom, but I think that will soon change. I have a feeling one is coming in on the left side, bottom jaw.

We love you Tian James and have had a wonderful 15 months with you in our lives!

Pregnant

Pregnant, I am NOT! But, two of my greatest friends are pregnant, and one just gave me the "ok" to post it on my blog!

So, the first greatest friend to be pregnant is my friend Sommers!

She is already a great mother to Shaydon and will adjust just perfectly to baby #2 due at the end of May! I am hoping for May 20th, my 10 year wedding anniversary!!! I just saw Sommers two days ago and she was still fitting into her Buckle jeans and looking as hot as ever! She has been sicker then a dog, but still truckin' away, doing what moms do best AND still finds time to work as a massage therapist. Amazing!

The next friend of mine, who I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy to announce, it almost makes me want to cry for joy is.......

Chelsea Ann!

Not only is Chelsea Ann 16.5 weeks pregnant, she is pregnant with...... fraternal TWINS!!!!!!! Yes, Chelsea Ann will be blessed with twins around June 11th, give or take a few days! If anyone can raise twins, it is her and her sweet husband Shane. Plus, they have many friends as well as family members who have all raised twins that they can rely on for advice and help! (Chelsea has fraternal twin siblings, her sister is married to an identical twin, and Shane has twin nieces/nephews. They were bound and genetically inclined to have twins!) I just saw Chelsea Ann yesterday, and she too is still in her regular, oh so cute clothes. I swear, if I was pregnant with twins, the moment the pregnancy stick turned "positive," I would have to go dig out my maternity clothes. This friend of mine, not a chance.

I don't know what it is about these two girls and their pregnancies, but I have been over the moon with excitement for the two of them. I am sad to admit, but I think I am a bit more excited for them about THEIR upcoming arrivals then I was for my own. Maybe it is the fact that I am not overwhelmed with doctors appointments, finding new daycare, dealing with morning sickness and gradual weight gain. I can just sit back, watch them go through the excitements of pregnancy, and marvel at their strengths. They are two amazing friends, and going to be the greatest mothers to these three babies waiting to join them!

We invited Chelsea Ann and Sommers to Tian's 1st birthday party. Kind of ironic, they sat through the party chatting about the possibility of trying to get pregnant in the next few months. Little did sweet Sommers know, she was already pregnant! And, Chelsea Ann would follow in her footsteps two weeks later! Amazing! I would like to think it was because of Tian they both got pregnant. Wishful thinking I know!

Congratulations to two of my greatest friends! I can't wait to shower your babies with lots of loves and kisses! Until this coming Spring!

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes Home!"

12.15.09
One of the boys favorite things to do when Justin gets home from work is to wrestle! They have given up on wrestling with me; I give up way too easily, and I am not that challenging! I swear, Trey craves a little wrestling time every day!

Can you even make out Justin in these pictures?

Tian even gets into it! Trey is already in his pj's from nap time. I don't know what it is about nap time but he feels the need to change into pj's!

Boise Train Depot

12.15.09

I have been wanting to go to the Train Depot for about 7 years. Pathetic I know, it has taken us THAT long. I decided to go on one of the wettest, most coldest days EVER. I have been told that this is a photographers hangout; well, I didn't need to fight any photogs on this day! Trey and Tian were the biggest sports, braving the chilly weather just so I could complete a photography assignment.

What sports!!!!

1st Big Snow

12.13.09

We woke up to quite a few inches of snow with a continued snowfall all throughout church. Trey was so excited to go play, make a snow fort, and to sled.

Tian attempting the snowfort/slide Justin and Trey constructed!

Justin, the workhorse, pulling the boys through the streets of snow.

Trey
Tian

I know these next two pictures shouldn't make me laugh, so, call me heartless!

Here is Tian enjoying some mouthfuls of snow...

And here he is after taking a bite of who knows what....

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Priceless!

Annie the Musical

12.12.09
After Tian's first birthday party, Justin and I rushed off, a second night in a row, for a date! It was our last play of the year to attend and I was extra excited. It was the production of Annie, which was my all time FAVORITE play growing up. From the age of 3-7 I grew up in Utah and was very close to my grandparents. My grandpa, Grandpa G.Pa was heavily into plays, directing, singing and starring in them. (HE actually is still directing them!! Amazing, at the ripe old age of 82!) When I was growing up, he was Daddy Warbucks in a production. I went and saw him perform, I was taken backstage to meet Annie and Sandy, the dog, and for Christmas that year, I was given Annie memorabilia galore.

We had Shelbie babysit for the second time! Trey was very excited to have her; she must have made a great impression. Tian was still a bit wired from the birthday party he had just attended, so, he wasn't in bed when I arrived with Shelbie. This stressed me out just a bit, but thankfully, Tian goes down like a champ when it comes to bedtime and didn't give her any problems!

When Annie began, I was a bit confused. The Annie I had always pictured in my head looked like THIS:

And this is the Annie that was up on stage before my eyes:

A very different looking Annie. I soon got over my frustration and found myself singing along, in my head of course. PLUS, Annie's parents were sitting directly behind us, so, I am glad I didn't say anything I shouldn't have!

I still think my favorite song is: "You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile!"
Miss Hannigan was AWESOME! She was nasty, crude, larger then life (in more ways then one!), and a great drunk!!!

I am looking forward to next years productions! We signed up for our season tickets this past Summer, with the same seats, if not better! I can't wait for what is in store for us and the theater!

The productions this year were:
Seussical, the Musical (I took Trey to this one. We had a huge babysitter mishap, but it ended up being a perfect play for Trey to attend. He really liked it, although he was FREAKED out in the beginning.)

The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer (I was out of town in Bend for Easter and had forgotten about this play. Justin was pretty sad, he would have gone)

The King and I (the King was actually Daddy Warbucks and is pretty talented.)

Les Misérables (Totally forgot about this play. Don't even remember when it was scheduled for)

Sweet Charity (the strangest play we have seen. When I told my grandfather about it, he just rolled his eyes and basically said it was distasteful! I agree!)

Beauty and the Beast (We were unable to change the date of this play, we had a prior engagement we needed to attend, so, we gave our tickets to Shane and Chelsea Ann)

Annie

2010 Theater Schedule:
I Do, I Do (which is a Valentine's Dinner Theater Production! I can't wait!)

Sound of Music (one of my favorites!)

Willy Wonka (will make me want to eat chocolate!)

Into the Woods (don't know a thing about it!)

Jekyll and Hyde

Cinderella

The theater is something Justin's parents always did while living here in Nampa. I am so happy we have continued the tradition! AND, I am so grateful we have found not one but two babysitters we fully trust and love!

Tian's 1st Birthday Party Invite

12.12.09
Tian was invited to his first birthday party. I think our whole family was invited, but I thought it would be fun for Tian to do something by himself. Miss Michelle's niece Andrienne was turning 1 and she was having a huge party! It was so nice to spend time with Michelle and Stephanie's family. They are so welcoming and loving, it is like being with your own family! Tian was happy to see Miss Michelle, Taylor and Tanner, as was I!

Miss Michelle read and read to Tian while I snapped some pictures and she also took a picture of Tian and I. We don't have too many pictures with just the two of us!

Thank you so much for the invite Stephanie. You are an amazing mother with a very sweet little girl! By the way, her little black dress looked so cute today at church!
Thanks Michelle for the picture.
Taylor, one of the sweetest girls I know! Tian sure does love her, as do I!
Tian and the birthday girl. Not so good of Tian, but way cute of the birthday girl!
Miss Michelle is the baby whisperer. Tian sat and read with her for SO long! I just love her.

Happy Birthday pretty girl! You sure do have many people who love you!

Justin's Christmas Work Party

12.11.09
Justin's work Christmas Party has been held in many locations. The first location was at a restaurant and bar located on a lake. I was pregnant with Trey, the building was hot and smoky, and the food was cold. I wanted to barf. The second year it was held at the Basque Center. This was an eventful night, and it had NOTHING to do with the food OR the location. This was the year one of Justin's coworkers changed genders and came to the party in full woman attire, with a lady friend, who was also male. (a male coworker of Justin's ended up kissing the "lady friend" not knowing she was actually a man! Hilarious!) The next two years the party was held at Bogus Basin Outfitters which was an amazing experience. We all met at a "lodge," and were taken in groups on a covered wagon/tractor ride out to a tent where we ate dinner. It was beautiful but always cold. The food was always excellent. Last year we had just had Tian and I wasn't about to leave him with a babysitter. So, this year, we got Amanda to babysit and we went to the Owhyee Plaza. Justin picked me up from work and we went downtown together to the venue. It was a beautiful hotel, perfect place for a company party.

We sat next to Justin's coworker Dyna and her husband who Justin talked hunting with ALL NIGHT LONG. I wish I had sat next to Dyna because I think we had a lot in common!

There is always a raffle, which we NEVER win.

We got home a little after 10pm, just in time for Amanda to go out with her boyfriend! The boys were in bed by 8:30 without any hassle. Perfect, nearly stress free, date night!

Indoor Soccer

12.9.09
My friends, who just so happen to also be my Visiting Teachers, play on an Indoor Soccer team. My friend Sara has been wanting to blog about Indoor Soccer, but is never able to get a picture because A. She is playing and it would be VERY difficult to get a picture of herself on the field and B. She is the goalie, and darn good at it. The Goalie is pretty hard to replace! Anyhow, she thought I would like the experience with "Action/Sports" photography and asked if I would like to take some pictures of their team. "Of course" was my response! I was so excited and up for the challenge. The day before Sara called me I had just finished my lesson on Sports and Action, so, I felt the need to find a sporting event. It was perfect timing on Sara's part!

Before I left with "the team," I played around with my camera, changed the ISO number as well as the Shutter Speed, and once I got to the building, I double checked my numbers. I didn't use a flash and I had my 28-75mm f/2.8 lens. Now that I have a telephoto lens (thanks Justin for such a surprise Christmas gift. My 28-75mm was an early Christmas gift and I thought my BIG gift. I was shocked to find another lens under the tree!) I would love to come and take more pictures Sara and Alyce (hint hint!!!).

The reason I really NEEDED a telephoto lens! If you can make out this picture, Sara is on the ground, saving an amazing ball from going into the goal. After the game, I was talking to Sara and noticed she had a pretty good sized scratch on her face. The other team basically ran over her.
I was so excited to get THIS shot! I actually got about 4 of these shots! Alyce "yelling" at the ref. Or at least, that is what it looks like!
This is a girl named Spring on their team. They have a Spring and a Season on the team. Spring is pretty dang good!
My friends and visiting teachers: Sara, in white, and Alyce in red.
"The Trash Talkers!"
Alyce competing with her 16 year old opponent. I would FREAK if I was running up against a spry 16 year old.
Alyce and I both agreed this picture would be perfect for the ROT (Rule of Thirds.). The Soccer ball is just about in perfect position for the intersecting lines. I did NOT plan it whatsoever!
Alyce in deep concentration!

Team Reflection

To be honest, I felt very lazy and fat watching these ladies run their booties off! After watching them run around for the evening, I felt as if I had ran a marathon myself. Therefore, when I was dropped off, I poured myself a big fat bowl of sugary cereal and sat on the couch. I was pooped!