Tate is Wild

Tate looks so funny.This is a picture Whitney had that I accidentally deleted.

Tate is a wild child.  Well, he just like to be moving...all the time.  I actually love that Tate is like this.  It keeps things exciting and interesting.  I love that he likes to explore and play.  He must be learning so much every day.  Tate now consistently says "uh oh" when he drops things.  And today he had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  That sounds like such a big kid thing to do.  At church today he had a lot of energy.  He just wanted to be moving and talking.  That's another newish thing he does.  Talk.  He talks and talks and talks.  And he will come up to me and josh and say "ah da?"  Like he's asking us a question.  Sacrament meeting was a test of our ability to endure to the end.  It was ward conference, so all the ladies in the presidency now know that I am not capable of controlling my child.  Oh well.  I guess they were bound to find out some time.  Josh has been on Tate duty for the past two days.  We had a big stake event this weekend so Friday night I set up for it, Saturday morning (8-2ish) we did it, and then we played in a soccer tournament that night, and Josh had him all during church and before because it was ward conference.  So I'm grateful for Josh.

Here's a link to all the pictures I've sent to Whitney.  Some of these I had lost and totally forgotten about.  Plus, there are some really cute videos of Tate from the hospital that I love love love.

Tate Pictures

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Recap

It has been a long time since I posted anything.  I have had something to do during my down time, so blogging has taken a back seat.  I was planning a lesson for a ward conference all last week and this week I've been helping Josh do some stuff.  It's sad, because on of my resolutions was to blog everyday.

A lot has happened and I don't remember everything so here are a few highlights.

We went to our friend's, Danny, birthday party and there was a dog.  Tate loved the dog.  He followed it around and pet it.  The dog was great.  Tate got knocked down a few times, but he was okay.

We went to the park together.  Tate loves walking on the snow...and eating it.  He kind of liked the park.  We sent him down the slide a few times and he didn't really like that very much.  Once he saw there were leaves he could try to eat, he perked up a bit.

This is a normal activity.  We chase Tate and he runs away.  Like Josh said, it's the slowest chase ever.

I couldn't find Tate's hat, so I let him wear mine.  It was a little big.  Tate was oddly okay with it.

This was at the kid play area at the mall.  Tate was being hilarious.  I could not stop laughing.  There was another little boy there who was probably 3 or 4 and he was laying on a bench.  Tate went up to him and said "Aaah" really loud, to scare him.  And the boy was actually scared.  And whenever a knew child came, Tate would stand and just stare at them.  Awkward.

I babysat Gwen.  It was fun to see them interact.  Tate was so funny.  He wanted to sit on my lap the entire time.  We also went to the pool with Gwen.  Tate was way more hesitant to be in the water.  

I made this cake.  I was very proud of it (as you can tell by all the pictures).  We ended up throwing it away, but I was practicing for Tate's birthday.  It exceeded expectation.

Tate and I had a green bean battle.  I'm still not sure who won.

Tate doesn't need his eyes.

Creepy hand.  When Josh comes home I give myself some alone time (this time in the bathroom...awkward?) and Tate frequently tries to rescue me...or get me, I'm not sure which.

Tate is starting to do even more new things.  He covers his eyes and plays peek a boo now.  He says "doo" instead of "boo."  He is eating more and more "real" food.  We had mac n cheese for lunch the other day.  He is starting to throw things out of his crib, like his little blanket he sleeps with.  He walks around the apartment and talks and talks and talks.  I love it!

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My Poor Baby

A random picture of Tate from a while ago.  Talk about blue eyes.

My poor baby...I don't mean that sarcastically.  Really, poor Tate.  We were at Kristen's (Josh's aunt) house and Tate was really upset and would cry when people touched him or held him.  So I took off his shirt and he had a really bad rash under his arms and red bumps down his back and kind of on his front and he had a bad diaper rash.  So we called Josh's uncle who's a doctor and he told us what to do.  Tate had diarrhea, so I guess that just ate away at his skin and then some fungus caused the rash and it spread around his body.  It looked like it really hurt.  So we kept his shirt off and when we got home we put the creams (the free creams and lotions) on him.  It's crazy, because it happened so fast.  I didn't see anything last night and Josh didn't see it this morning.

The other day Tate was playing with a toy Heather (Josh's aunt) gave us.  It is a key chain that plays "Old McDonald."  Recently, Tate has really liked carrying it around and playing it again and again, which I actually don't mind very much.  He left it on the ground and a while later he sat down on it without knowing and the song started playing.  Well he didn't realize he was sitting on it, so he was looking to his left and right over and over again trying to find it.  Josh and I were laughing so hard!

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Cousins!

Is this not the CUTEST picture you have ever seen!  Tate is soo happy, Claire looks a little worried.  Tate was so cute.  He was holding his arms out to her and loved being able to hold her.

Here are more pictures, but they are blurry.  I was rushing Josh to take the photos before Tate stopped being adorable.

I had to put it this picture in twice.  Just tooo cute.

Tate's first time walking around in shoes.  Usually he cried when we put them on.

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Food Glorious Food

Today, I was holding Tate and I stepped on a plastic cup.  It made a loud noise and without me saying anything, Tate said "uh - oh."  It was so cute and amazing!!  He really is learning so much so fast.  He walks around the apartment and just talks and talks.  I think it is so cute.

Tonight, Josh and I went on a date.  We had a gift card to SmashBurger.  Neither of us had been there before, so we tried it out.  It was awesome!  We went there (and got a big burger) and decided we were still hungry, so we went to slab pizza.  We each got pizza, and they give you two huge pieces of pizza. I ate both of mine, Josh had more control and only ate one.  So we ate a TON!

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Another Day

These are the pajamas Tate wore to bed last night.  They totally do not match.  They almost match because they so badly do not match.

It is snowing today.  The snow kind of blows Tate's mind every time.  He looked out the window this morning with a confused look on his face.  As if he was thinking, "when I went to bed I saw green, and now I only see white."

Tate was making us laugh a lot last night.  I don't remember exactly what he did that was so funny.  We had dinner all together last night, usually we feed Tate his thing and then have dinner when he goes to bed.  It was way more chaotic, but I liked it.  And it's a good habit to start.

If Josh and I get on our hands and knees, or go out of Tate's view, he immediately thinks we are playing a game.  We were in our bedroom about to feed Tate before he went to bed, and I left to go get something.  He started laughing and getting excited, so I popped my head back in and he turned and started crawling away really fast.  So I jumped on the bed and got him, of course.  We did that a few more times.  Sometimes I think Tate is legitimately scared of me.

I am starting to think about Tate's birthday party.  I am actually really excited.  I know people who throw a big party for their babies get a bad rap, because the baby won't remember and there's no point, etc.  But I want to throw a big party!  This isn't just for Tate, it is for everyone who helped Tate make it through his first year on earth...especially our friends and family who helped Josh and me!  So we are going to have a really great celebration of life.  I am excited.  Plus, I want to learn how to make awesome cakes and this seems like a great time to start.

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Sick Day

No new pictures, but I think this one is so funny.

Yesterday I was sick.  I haven't been that sick in a long time.  I think I had the stomach flu or something.  I didn't throw up but I was nauseous and tired and achey.  I slept a lot!  Josh stayed home from work and took care of Tate.  I would sleep in our room and when it was time for Tate's nap I would move out to the couch and sleep, then go back when he woke up.  Josh saved the day.  I really didn't do anything all day.  By the late afternoon I was feeling better and so Tate and I went on a walk, so I could get outside and Josh could have a break.  That made me feel a lot better.  I feel much much better today.

Josh and I watched the National Championship game last night.  We both wanted Auburn to win, so we were bummed they didn't.

Tate has learned to get himself into a standing position without pulling himself up on something.  He just pushes off the ground.  He walks everywhere!  This morning I left my spoon and empty yogurt container on the ground next to me and he walked over and took the spoon, put it in the cup, and fed it to me.  It was so cute!!  It's another one of those things that he just picked up without us teaching him.  He is getting so old.  He can kind of say "uh-oh."  He makes a high pitched "ah" followed by a lower pitched "ah."  So it's close.

When I was sleeping and Josh and Tate came in the room for Tate's nap, Josh was crawling, chasing Tate, who was walking.  It was the slowest game of chase.  But it was also the cutest.  Tate would look back and see Josh and start laughing, and I think he was maybe trying to go faster, but Tate only really has one walking speed right now.  If he tries to pick up the pace, he biffs it.

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All Tate's Tricks

Look at those thighs!  Love it.  

We got a great video of Tate.  He did all of his tricks on command.  He is starting to hold things up to his ear and say "uh," like he is talking on the phone.  It is so cute!  And it is amazing, because we didn't purposely teach him that.  He just saw us do it enough and did it himself.  I think that's amazing, but it also makes me more aware of what I do in front of Tate.  We talked about this at Church today too.  I need to make sure I'm not doing things I wouldn't want Tate to do, like get upset easily, or say unkind things about people, or whatever.  I feel a lot of responsibility.  

Tate is growing up so fast...almost too fast.  He will be 11 months tomorrow.  11 months!  I can't really remember when he was really small and I was up all night and he cried all day and night (not that long, but it seemed like it).  I think that is Heavenly Father's gift, so we will keep having more children.  It is funny to think I thought I knew Tate back then, but I didn't know him at all!  I will probably look back at these times and think the same thing.  Who is Tate?  I'm excited to keep learning more about him and who he is.  He really is his own person.

Today I saw my new nephew Carter on Facetime.  He is so so so cute!!  Oh my gosh, he's great.  He is a month old.  He is Josh and Chelsea's third.  Chelsea is super mom.  She is amazing and I am so grateful I have her, I ask her all my questions and she knows the answers.  Claire and Emma are so big!  Claire is in sunbeams and is so darling and Emma can talk!  She said "baby Tate" and I couldn't believe it!

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Touchdown Tate

Tate learned some things today.  We started saying "touchdown!" every time he put his hands in the air, and now we can say "touchdown" and he'll put them up.  Here's a video...

He also said "mama" a few times today.  I swear he said mama a few months ago, but he stopped doing it.  And today he said it!  And Josh pointed to me and said "mama," himself and said "dada," and Tate and said "Tate."  So maybe Tate will understand mama and dada better.

Tate also bit me a few times today.  I don't know what it is, but he doesn't bite Josh.  One time it really hurt and the other times I pulled away before he bit down hard.  The hard thing is that he does it when he is giving me "kisses."  So he's not doing it to be mean, he just doesn't understand that biting people isn't okay.  I said "no biting" pretty sternly and put him down and walked away.  It's hard too, because he doesn't really understand what I'm saying.  So hopefully he gets it soon.  

But he made up for the bites at the end of the day and cuddled with me before he went to bed.  He hardly ever does that!  He crawled up to me and rested his head on me and made cute babbling noises.  My heart melted.  

Tate loves walking around and he is getting really good.  He had a pretty bad fall today.  He fell in the kitchen and didn't have time to catch himself and hit his face on the ground.  He cried pretty hard, but we gave him his abominable snowman and read some books and he was okay.  I said "go, go away, read some books."  Actually, I was worried, but he didn't have any cuts or bruises.  

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Funny Day

(Thursday)
Tate was so funny today.  He slept until 8 in the morning and when Josh brought him to me (I was too tired to wake up early and run), Tate was so happy!  He was so smiley and was laughing.  It was too cute!  And he was like that the whole day.  He has started doing this really funny smile where he shows his teeth and squints.  It makes me laugh.  One time, I was in another room and Tate came and found me and I started laughing and he started fake laughing and making that face.  Then I laughed more and he laughed (fake laugh) more.  He is just so funny!

I forgot to mention that Tate loves to dance.  These videos are from a few days ago.  It was a long day and Tate and I had to get out of the house.  So I took him to the BYU indoor track to walk around.  There was music playing in the annex and Tate started dancing.  It was funny, because the music was techno and kind of weird, but Tate seemed to like it.  I need to edit these videos to make them shorter, but I haven't yet...

(Friday)

Tate and I played a really funny game.  He was standing against the couch with his back to me and I would hide behind him.  He would try to look at me, but I would move so I was out of sight behind him.  Then he started turning his head really fast back and forth to see me.  That made me laugh so hard and he wasn't sure what I was doing, so he started fake laughing.  I need to get a video of it, because it is hilarious.  

Today Tate and I went to the library.  As we were walking in we past Stephanie Nielsen.  She wrote "Heaven is Here," Elder Holland spoke about her in his last General Conference talk.  She was severely burned in a plane crash.  Anyway, I saw her and I wanted to tell her thank you for writing her book so badly, but I didn't.  I still felt so happy I saw her.

I am reading a book called "Out of My Mind."  It is a fictional book about a girl with cerebral palsy, who also has a photographic memory.  So she is incredibly smart and knows a ton of stuff, but she can't talk.  I have liked it so far, but it makes me sad.  I wonder how many people live like this, with the world totally unaware of their abilities.  And she talks about how some kids at school are mean and some are nice.  It makes me want to be better at interacting with people in different situations that me.  

I got a new crock pot today!  We bought it with some gift cards at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I dropped our other one and it broke.  But now we have a new one, and I feel confident cooking again.  I seriously use our crock pot at least 3 times a week.  I love it!  

Tate saying bye bye.  I say something at the end, but it sounds creepy.

Here's Tate's squinty face

We've been trying to teach Tate to fold his arms when we pray.  He randomly started doing it when we were feeding him.  We barely caught him doing it at the very beginning of this video.  I am not sure why it's upside down

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Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!  Wow, I can't believe this year has gone by so fast!

This week my parents were in town.  It was fun to see them and of course (as always) I am sad they can't stay longer.  Tate misses them too, I am sure.  As we were driving away, Tate was in his carseat waving bye bye and blowing kisses to them.  So cute.

Since 2013 is over, I thought I'd review my top 13 moments of 2013...

13. I Officially Graduated?
I really finished school/my internship in December of 2012, but I went to all of my graduation banquets in April of 2013.  So here's to the official graduation in 2013!

12.  Intramural Champion...twice
This had to make the top 13 of the year, because intramurals is the only time I play soccer these days.  The first championship was on a co-ed team, but we were like half champions, because it was in the lower division.  The second was with an all-girls team this past season.

11.  Winning the Ward Halloween Costume Contest
I think this is a highlight because Tate was a surprisingly good Gollum.  He stole the show.  Plus I really liked making the Eye of Sauron.

10.  Trip to Seattle
This was such a fun trip we took with our friends (the Fab Four).  We had a blast!!  We drove around in a party van, stayed with Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Wayne, ate good food, saw awesome things in Seattle, and spent a few days with our best friends!  It doesn't get any better than that!

9.  Trips to Georgia
Yes, all of them!  We had a lot of trips to Georgia this year and they were all great!  We gained some experience flying with Tate.  I love going to Georgia, so these trips definitely make the top moments of the year.  One of the great highlights of our trips was going through the temple with Whitney and Cameron.

8.  Tate's First Christmas
It was so fun getting into the Christmas Spirit and trying to make it a magical experience for Tate.  Did he know what was going on?  No, but I loved it all the same.  We had a great time in Georgia right before Christmas and an awesome day at the Jacksons on Christmas Day.

7.  The End of Colic and Sleeping 8 Hours Straight
I debated making these the top moments of the year.  So wonderful.  I think the title explains it all.

6.  Another Niece and My First Nephew!
Little Claire and Carter were born pretty close together.  That makes them sound like twins or something.  They're not related, Claire is Nathan and Sarah's daughter and Carter is Josh and Chelsea's son.  Claire is my third niece and Carter gets the title of my first (and only) nephew.  They are both so cute!!

5.  Tate Crawling and Walking
I was so excited for these moments to come...and they did!!  I have loved watching Tate figure out life and how to get around.  I love that he can walk!  He is just so cute!

4.  Cameron Leaving on His Mission
This makes it sound like I was happy Cameron left.  Finally he's gone!  Just kidding.  I was happy he was going on a mission, but sad to have him leaving.  I love reading his emails and seeing his pictures.  He's happy and doing grrreat!

3.  Whitney and Warren Are Married!!
It was an amazing wedding for two amazing people!! I loved being there and getting to be a part of it.  Love is in the air!

2.  Our 3rd Anniversary
Josh and I had our 3rd Anniversary on Monday, December 30th.  I can't believe it has already been three years!  It has gone by so fast, and yet I can't imagine the time when I wasn't married to Josh.  I am so happy I am married to the love of my life!  He's the best husband and an amazing dad.  He has helped me through trials and supported me in school and soccer and work and motherhood.  We had a great anniversary.  We went out to dinner and then drove by the Mount Timpanogos temple (where we got married) and the reception center we went to.

1.  Tate's Birth
Can you believe it was just the beginning of 2013 when Tate was born?  It seems like we've always had him.  He brings me so much joy and I am so happy I get to be his mom.  I am so excited to see him grow up and see who he is.  He already has a great personality, so I'm sure our journey will be full of laughter!

We've had a great year!  And we are excited and ready for another one!!

 

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