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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Tate's Facts of Life

Is this not the funniest/cutest picture?  

 This morning I remembered I should probably write some of the good/not-so-good facts of our life right now.  Tate is almost 11 months and here's what he's up to:

Good:

-Tate can officially walk!  I wish I could remember the exact day this happened, but I can't.  He walks more than he crawls.  He can walk from room to room (the carpet-to-tile transition is getting better).  He likes to walk to a toy and try to play with it standing up.

-He can throw things.  Tate likes to throw things and he can play catch with us.  

-Tate has his "tricks."  He can wave bye-bye, put his arms above his head, cover and uncover his mouth with his hand to make noise (like a native american?), and fake laugh.  He loves to fake laugh when other people are actually laughing.

-He has 6 teet, 4 on top, 2 on the bottom.

-He takes 2 naps and is a little clingy after each one, so we snuggle and read books together when he wakes up.

-He likes to Factime

-He squints when he gets his picture taken

-He loves his abominable snowman and a big snowman at Doug and Sharon's house.  He gives them kisses

-He can crawl up stairs...still working on the going down

-He is a pro at eating cheerios and is pretty open to trying new foods.  

-He loves savory foods

Not-So-Good:

-Tate is starting to miss Josh and I more and more.  He wakes up earlier in the morning, and we think he just needs to see us before he can go back to sleep.

-He is starting to bang his face into the floor when he is upset.  He has only done it a few times, so hopefully he'll learn it's not a good idea.  

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Merry Christmas!!

It has been an exciting 2 weeks since I last wrote!  Really two big events stand out...Whitney's wedding and Christmas!  Both were awesome and so much fun!

Whitney got married on the 20th in Georgia, so Josh, Tate, and I flew out on Wed (18th).  We took the frontrunner up to the airport and it was great!  The only problem was that I really had to go to the bathroom and the bathroom was on a different part of the train that I couldn't get to.  Josh was helping me breathe and I made it, which being 23 years old shouldn't have been as big of a deal as it was.  The flight was good and bad.  Due to my previous terrors I have had with Tate while flying, as soon as Tate starting crying on our flight I shut down.  Luckily I had Josh this time, because if I was alone, I would've just let Tate crawl around while I slept.  Josh saved the day and got Tate to go to sleep for the second half of the flight.  We met my grandparents at the airport (they also flew from utah and had gotten there before us).  We rented a car and started on our way home.  We got sucked into some pretty bad traffic.  Well, normal Georgia traffic, but horrific Utah traffic.  It took us well over 30 minutes to turn left at a light.  BUT, we made it home and all was well.

The next day we spent at home, while everyone else spent all day setting up for the reception.  The Hoskings (a family we grew up with in CA) were staying at our house too.  Everyone survived the stress of preparation and accepted the inevitable crises (like flooding the office below the reception area).  Josh, Tate, and I dodged every form of stress and turmoil that day, while we held down the fort at home...which meant we watched some stuff on netflix and went to the park.  Noble work.

Finally the day of the wedding came!  The sealing was at 12, so we had enough time to get ready without things being hectic in the morning.  Someone from our ward watched Tate at the temple (luckily he was asleep at the beginning) during the sealing.  It was great and wonderful!  A lot of our friends from our ward in Georgia were there, along with Warren's family, and W&W's friends from the singles ward.  Josh and I went to save Tate (or the people watching him?) after the sealing was over.  He was doing okay, a little confused at where he was and who he was with.  But as soon as he saw us, the meltdown began.  He hadn't slept really well and he was really hungry.  Tate hasn't had an "episode" like that in a long time.  But he ate and we hurried to go take pictures.  We missed W&W coming out of the temple together, but we've seen the pictures and it looked lovely.  Tate was pretty good for all the pictures.  He was sporting his serious face that day, but he wasn't crying, so I was happy.  There was another baby there, Warren's nephew, and Tate really liked him.  He would smile at him and try to touch his face.

After pictures we went to someone's house for the luncheon.  Josh and I thought we were following my dad, until we realized it was someone else.  It took us an hour to get there going the back way.  But it was good, because Tate fell asleep.  When we got there, we put Tate in their pantry and let him sleep.  The food was awesome.  Then they had a little program.  Whitney sang and played the ukulele and Warren sang and played the violin (not at the same time).  They are both extremely musically inclined.  Then Warren's sister and my brother Josh gave a little roast.  It was funny.  And the dads said a few things.  It was really nice.

We went home and had an hour or so to relax and then we took off for the reception.  At this point Tate was really tired.  It was a day of sensory overload.  Lots of people wanted to hold him (I can't blame them), but it was getting a little overwhelming for him.  The reception was AMAZING!  It was so beautiful and elegant!  Tate was able to walk around.  But after a hour he was losing it.  We left early and as we were getting Tate all loaded up Tate was slapping himself in the head.  He had reached an all-time low.  He was extremely tired.  As soon as we started driving away he fell asleep.  Josh and I missed out on all the cleanup fun-oh well!

It was a great day!!  I am so happy for W&W.  They are perfect for each other!

The next day on of my friends from high school got baptized!  So we went to that.  It was an amazing baptismal service.  The Spirit was so strong.  I am so happy James got baptized!

Sunday we went to Church with my parents.  It was the ward Christmas program.  It was lovely.  Tate loved all the music, he danced to all the songs.

Sunday night, after everyone had left for their flights and it was just my parents and Josh, Tate, and me we played and Tate was wild!!  He was so funny.  My mom would hide and then scare Tate and he would laugh and laugh.  One time she scared him and he was actually scared and he yelled so loud.  It wasn't a scream, it was a yell, like "aaaaah!"  I have never heard him make that noise and it was hilarious!  Tate got so good at walking while we were in Georgia.  It is so funny to see him walk, because he is so small!

Josh and I made it home.  We got to the airport around 12:30 am and thankfully Doug drove our car and parked it for us.  Seriously, it was awesome.  We got home around 2 am and were excited to sleep!

Christmas was so fun!  We went to Grandma and Grandpa Clark's house for a Christmas Eve dinner.  Well, first we stopped by nonnie and pa's house for a little open house.  That was great!  Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Clarks.  We had a great dinner and then we acted out the Nativity.  Tate was a lamb and he was so cute!  Nathan and Sarah were Joseph and Mary and Claire was baby Jesus.  I was an angel with Carlie and Josh was a shepherd with Rachel and Kenzie.  The Pedersen boys were the wise men.  It was a great production!  They have a tradition of hitting a pinata on Christmas Eve, so we did that.  I love that tradition!

Isn't he the cutest lamb you've seen.  *I wore that same costume last halloween when I was pregnant with Tate.

 Christmas morning came and we got everything all ready and headed over to the Jacksons.  We waited upstairs for everything and everyone to be ready.  Luckily we had Tate to entertain us.  We took a picture at the stairs.  Tate consistently does this really funny thing where he squints his eyes when someone is taking a picture of him.  It is so funny.  In a lot of his pictures he looks really funny looking.  So we made our way to the front room.  We opened presents and ate and then the Pedersons came and we opened more presents.  Tate got an awesome tent and tube thing and this cute toy that lights up and little animals pop up out of eggs when you hit a button.  We got so many things and they are all so amazing!  Doug and Sharon got us these books that Josh used to read when he was little.  I am so excited to read them to Tate!  It was a really really awesome day!!!  It's fun to see what people do on Christmas.  Josh was saying his family has traditions, but not very many (or something like that) and I told him I think they have a ton of traditions!  They have their family over, which I love and they have their own system of opening presents and when and what they eat and things like that.  My family has those things too.  So it is fun to see different traditions and start thinking about what Josh and I will do.

Tate learned how to put his hands above his head

We played "would you rather..." later that day.  I love that game!  It was funny too, because Josh and I were just talking about that game with the Hoskings in Georgia and then we played it a few days later!  All the questions led to a lot of good conversations.  One of my favorite questions was "would you rather ride an old fashion plastic tricycle (with the big wheel in front) from FL to Maine, or bounce on one of those exercise balls with the handle across FL?"  I thought I'd rather bike, but most everyone else said bounce.

So it has been 2 amazing weeks!!  And the fun keeps going.  Josh and I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary on Monday, my parents are coming to town on Sunday, and New Years is Wednesday!  December is a great month!

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Tate, Tate, Tate!

Today Tate and I went to a playgroup with some girls in our ward at the Provo Towne Center Mall.  They have a little kids area.  It was really fun and Tate had a good time.  He is so funny, because he loves to follow around bigger kids.  A few older boys were in this tunnel just sitting next to each other, and I looked in and there was Tate, sitting next to them.  Then they all left and Tate was still in there, sitting.  I let Tate crawl around and I just kept an eye on him.  Tate went up to this couple and sat a stared at them.  I was wondering what he was doing and I went over and he had tears in his eyes.  I think he forgot where I was or something.  He wanted to be held for a few minutes and then he was good.  We came home and I was feeding Tate and I just had this really good, happy feeling come over me.  I am so happy I'm Tate's mom and I am having a blast!  Seriously, I've felt that way all day.  Tate is so awesome and he's so fun and makes me laugh.  I love being a mom.

A few days ago, I wasn't as peppy.  I got in a really bad mood, because I had to mail this dress back that I ordered, which required me to go to the post office.  I got Tate all ready and we went out to the car and there was a lot of ice on the windows.  The ice scraper was not working, because it's broken and so I used my credit card to scrape off the ice.  My fingers were so frozen!  So incredibly frozen.  It hurt so bad and I was so mad at the snow I started crying...I know, it's embarrassing.  Then I yelled out really loud, "I hate the snow!!"  I got the ice off and the tips of my pinky fingers hurt so badly.  When I got the post office I had to squat down, because I thought I was going to throw up it hurt so much.  My left pinky still hurts.  Then, later on in the day Tate was giving me a kiss and he bit me and didn't let go.  It hurt!  I wasn't sure how to get him off, so I just pulled him off.  Then I started crying...again.  haha.  I think it caught me off guard and kind of hurt my feelings (even though I know he didn't mean to).  So I cried twice in the same day about things I haven't cried about for probably 20 years.  Good day.

Yesterday I took Tate to the rec center indoor playground.  We were walking around and then Tate started staring at this guy who was talking on his phone.  He stared at him for a long time, like minutes! The guy was kind of waving at Tate, but Tate had no emotion and was just staring.  It started to get kind of awkward, so I turned Tate around and he turned back and kept staring.  I think maybe he looked similar to Josh, because he had dark hair, but I don't know.

Tate is cruising around and walking a lot.  He usually just walks to me or Josh, but he is starting to walk to his toys or to his books.  So that's fun.  It's so funny to see him walk, because he is so small.

Last night I became an intramural champion!  I am playing on an all girls team with some of my former teammates and their roommates.  We played a team with older former BYU players.  They were good.  It was a good game.  I was so tired at the end, but it was lots of fun!

Josh taught Tate how to play "catch."  Josh would throw/roll it to Tate and Tate would pick it up and try to throw it back.  I missed seeing them do it when Tate was really excited about it, but I did see them "throw" it back and forth a  few times.

Tate is doing a much better job eating solids.  He eats cheerios and yogurt bites like a champ, and he is starting to eat other things like bread, apple pieces, and rice.  I am very encouraged.

Some girls in my ward started a book club and last night we had our first book discussion and it was so fun!  We read "The Happiness Project" and I loved it!  Sarah recommended it to me a while ago, but I never got around to reading it.  So I suggested it for book club.  I am inspired and I want to do my own happiness project in 2014!

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Let It Snow!

A new family member!

The other day I was thinking about how it is hard for me to remember the good and bad things about when Tate was younger.  So I decided I will periodically write what is good and what is hard.  So as of right now, with Tate being 10 months old, here is a non-comprehensive list of the good/hard things.

Good:

Tate smiles and laughs.  He's starting to walk.  He is starting to eat cheerios, cheese, bananas, apples.  He can wave bye bye.  He points his index finger- not at anything in particular.  He loves watching me brush my teeth and Josh use his electric razor.  He loves the bathtub-he kicks and splashes.  He loves the fridge-he crawls really fast whenever we open it.  He takes all of his socks out of his drawer.  He loves to read.  He loves facetiming.  He has a little stuffed animal (the abominable snowman from rudolph the red nose reindeer) and he loves it.  He gives kenzie kisses, always.  He frequently only has one sock on.  He is starting to dance- he flaps his arms and bounces.  He is ticklish.  He likes to drink water.  He likes playing with bigger kids.  He can crawl up stairs.  He loves playing on the couch.  He loves to see the baby in the mirror with Sharon.  He pretty much sleeps through the night (sleep at 7, eat at 11, awake at 7).  He plays peek-a-boo.  He likes the door stopper.  He loves the bathroom (we have to keep the door shut).  He has a drawer of things he can play with in the kitchen.  He loves being outside (if we go outside for a second and then come back in, he will cry).

Hard:

Teething.  Tate doesn't like being in his carseat.  Getting him dressed and putting on his coat.  Diaper rashes.  Learning how to be "soft."  Cranky days.  Sitting still in Church (not hard, impossible).  Eating (he is getting WAY better though).  

Like I said, not a comprehensive list.  But now I will remember the exciting things about 10 month old Tate. 

It has been snowing a lot the past few days.  On thursday or friday it wasn't snowing (but it had the day before) I was driving and I was in the left turn lane thinking I could maybe make the light.  It turned red  red, so I started to brake and all of a sudden I was turning.  I turned 180 degrees in my lane and was facing the wrong way.  Luckily there were no cars near me.  Someone who was going to turn right onto the street I was on let me go in front of her.  I was yelling "oh my gosh!"  It turns out the girl was in my ward and she texted me later making sure I was okay.  I was so shaken up, because it wasn't even very icy.  I must've hit a bad spot.  Luckily we were safe.  

Today at Church I had to leave to go to a different ward for their ward conference, so Josh had Tate in Elder's Quorum.  I guess Tate was playing with Gwen and he stood up and she pushed him down.  He fell on his back and started to pout a little.  Then a different baby who is Tate's age was sitting with a pacifier in his mouth playing with a watch.  Tate crawled over to him really fast and grabbed his pacifier from his mouth and put it in his.  

During the ward conference the fire alarm went off, so we all evacuated the building.  They eventually cancelled church because they didn't know how long it would take to get everything settled.  I've never had that happen before.  Crazy.  

My brother Josh and his wife Chelsea had their baby!!  Carter Jefferson!  He's their third and their first boy.  He is sooo cute!  Josh and I had a little bet going about the stats, like when he would be born, the middle name, height, and weight. If I lost I would have to change every diaper for a week.  And if Josh lost he would have to go running 30 min every day for a week.  And (drumroll) I WON!  Have fun Josh!

I don't have many pictures, because I already have so many on my phone that I can't take any more.  So Josh and I are looking to get an external hard drive.  I know, it's ridiculous.  

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Wow!

Today it snowed.  A whole lot.  I think it snowed all day long.  I am not the biggest fan of snow.  I love to look at it from inside our apartment, but other than that I don't really love it.  I think it's because I love doing outdoor summer things, like running, soccer, hiking, swimming, boating, going to the park, going for walk, etc.  And it's hard to do a lot of those things in the snow.  And, mostly, I really don't like driving in the snow or walking and slipping in the snow.  And it's cold.  So now that I've said all the things I don't like about it, I am going to try to be happy about the snow for the rest of winter.  Because it will be warm again in a few months.

I was excited to see Tate's reaction to the snow, which was similar to his reaction to animals...no emotion.  He just stared out the window with no emotion.  And we went to Smiths today, so we went outside and he experienced snow up close and personal.  I had him in so many clothes to stay warm.  A long sleeve shirt, sweat pants, two sweat shirts, snow overalls, a big puffy coat, and a hat.  He was not happy.  It was so hard to get the snow overalls on, and I was laughing so hard because he looked so funny.  We walked to Smiths and he was so hard to carry.  I tried the stroller, but the wheels wouldn't turn because of all the snow.  So I was holding the umbrella in one hand and Tate in the other.  He seriously felt 10 lbs heavier with all his clothes on, and he was so puffy, he couldn't really hold on.  It was like holding a slick, puffy, oversized brick that cries and tries to wiggle away.  I don't think he really liked being outside, but it could've been because he was wearing all of his winter clothes at once.

Today I had an amazing experience.  So Friday Josh, Tate, and I went swimming at the rec center.  I brought my wallet to get in and put it in my backpack.  Well, I couldn't find it the next day, but I checked our bank accounts and nothing was missing, so I wasn't really worried.  But I had a few nagging thoughts that I should probably find it soon.  Josh and I were talking about it tonight, and I said our money wasn't gone, so it probably wasn't stolen.  Then I realized I have hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards in my wallet (which probably isn't smart I know).  That got me really worried and I started searching everywhere.  After searching all over the house, in both cars, the snow, and all my jackets, I couldn't find it.  I was pretty frustrated.  I thought I should pray, but then I would think I'm not in the right mood to pray.  I decided I would go to the rec center and check the locker we used.  Josh asked if I had prayed.  I said no, and figured I should pray before I walked to the rec center.  I knelt down by the couch and prayed.  I really tried to be sincere and ask the right things, like to be guided to find it and to be able to hear promptings.  Sometimes I just say quick, not very meaningful prayers in these types of situations, but I felt like I really needed help.  As soon as I ended my prayer I had this thought come to my mind that I should check the couch before I left.  I lifted the couch cushion and there was my wallet!  It was an immediate answer to prayer.  I felt so grateful and so humbled that Heavenly Father would answer my prayer.  It was an amazing feeling!  And the thought was definitely not my own.  And Josh told me he kept feeling like he should tell me I should pray.  I have never been so grateful to lose anything, because it gave me this amazing experience.  Prayer is real!  Heavenly Father hears us and he cares about the little things (which are big things to me) in our lives, because He loves us.

I love this hat, but Tate doesn't like having it on his head.  He looks like a train conductor/boy from the Newsies.  

 

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