Christmas Joy

This Christmas was a new adventure for us.  For the first time since we’ve been married we had a third and welcomed member in our family.  I have to say that Christmas is much more exciting when you have your own kids.  Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is always a fun time of year, but the excitement topped the charts with Stetzen around.  I am one of those people who love shopping for gifts for other people, and much to Zach’s dismay I splurged a little.  (Ok, probably a LOT when it came to Ted!) 

That morning we all got ready for church and enjoyed a wonderful program filled with musical numbers and the importance of the Christmas season, Christ!  I was asked to play the piano, so I played “The First Noel.”  It’s one of my favorite Christmas arrangements and touches my heart every time!  We only had sacrament meeting that day, so afterwards, we went home and ransacked the gifts Santa and others gave us.   

Zach

This year Zach wasn’t surprised by much that Santa, Stetzen, or I gave him.  Mostly because it was all purchased very early in the year and because I’m not sneaky enough to hide it all.  The most exciting things he received were a Ranch Hand gun (that he begged and pleaded for!!) and a dvd by Ken McNabb that teaches you how to get your horse to lie down.  He also got some clothes, bullets, an ice fishing pole, and the John Deere Farming game.

Stetzen

As I mentioned before, Stetzen got a whole slew of things from his parents, grandparents, and aunts/uncles.  Poor kid will know the meaning of being spoiled if this keeps up, lol!  While Christmas was an excitement for me, I think he was confused about the whole thing.  He wasn't sure what to think about it all.  He didn't grasp the unwrapping part, but loved the torn paper.  (Note to self, next year just stuff boxes full of paper and he'll love it!)  Of the many things he received, I do think his favorites are his "Beans", nighttime music projector, books, and walker.  He's used these countless times and I'm glad he has them, especially his projector.  He can't sleep without it now!  It makes life easy when he goes to bed at home, but when we're gone, it sure is hard to get him to fall asleep. 

Chillin in his new walker!

Oh my!  There's just too much!!

 Not digging the unwrapping part.

Grandma Bessire gave him this!  I thought it was a wonderful idea!

Grandma Bessire gave us all nitted beanies, but his was a tad bit small!

We called his beanie his yamica!

I also thought he looked especially cute in this winter hat!

The musical ball Skylie gave Ted.

The first of a large collection of John Deere Tractors I'm sure he'll have!

From Grandma Young

He really did not want anymore clothes, especially stuffy church ones, lol!

Enjoying Dad read his new book to him :)

Me

I think I got spoiled this Christmas too!  Zach surprised me with lots of fun stuff for my camera he got me last year...an external flash, tripod, and remote.  They will all come in handy for the future photographer I hope to become!  I also got a pair of pjs, book, robe, and cookbook.

After all the present opening, we went to Nancy's house to eat dinner.  Afterwards, we played games and made ice cream.  To end the evening, we had FHE and watched the new nativity movie and read the Christmas story in Luke.  Overall, it was a wonderful day, both for the spiritual aspects and for the time together as family!

A Night with Santa

This year’s Ward Christmas Party was a blast.  Not really, but it was better than last year.  Why may you ask?  (1) I wasn’t there by myself.  Nancy, Brands, Rachel and her kids, Jennifer and her kids were there.  (2) I didn’t have to participate in the program, which means no practicing! (3) Baby Teddy got to see Santa for the first time and loved it!  I also happened to show up 30 minutes late and forgot they were having dinner. 

Explanation:  Zach was working graves that night, so as usual I made him dinner and had it ready by 4:00 pm.  I ate with him, not thinking about the ward party dinner until we got there.  As for being late, the invitation said it started at 6:30.  I was planning on being there about 10 minutes early to get a good seat and have time to relax, but I ran a little late and got there at 6:35.  Well, I guess the Bishop announced that Sunday that the party was at 6:00 and apparently I wasn’t paying any attention to the change.  Oops!  So I missed out on a good dinner with potatoes and gravy and most of all dessert, but I was there for the program.  Yippee!!

 But, in the end we had a fun time and Skylar got his picture with Ted on Santa’s lap, so all was well! 

Christmas Lights!!

Again, I'm playing the game of catch up...(sigh!).  Since it snowed yesterday, why not talk about Christmas?  Genius idea, I know!

If I remember right, the week before Christmas we went down to Salt Lake to get some shopping done.  Sad to say, I don't think we bought one thing!  I was looking for a walker for Stetzen and a train to go under the tree.  I was surprised I couldn't find either of them, especially a train set.  I couldn't even find a place that sold them, Toys R Us included. 

While we were there, we caught up with Ben & Lacy and Rachel & Russ.  We went out to dinner at the Gateway and then headed down to Temple Square to check out the lights.  It was freezing, so we didn't stay long, but we were there long enough to get some pictures and nab a cup of hot chocolate! 

When we went to the parking garage to go home, I think we spent half an hour looking for our car!  I thought we looked like a bunch of senile fogies searching for our cars.  But alas, we found our cars and made it out of that crazy town in one piece.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Proud papa with his tree!

This year our search for a Christmas tree seemed a little treachorous.    A couple days before we went up, it snowed about 2 feet and we were expecting another 6-12 inches over the next couple of days, so if we were going to get a tree, this would be our one and only chance to get one.  We normally get one from the Ashley National Forest, but  the road was too steep for the amount of snow we had.  So, we went up to the Hoopes Lake area in the Uintas to find the perfect tree for our little trailer.  Since, Zach's dad was working that weekend, his mom and Brands came with us. 

Brands doing all the work while Zach "supervises".

Sticking the tongue out helps with strength

With all the snow, the drive was sketchy at best, so I insisted that Baby Teddy and I sit in the back so we wouldn't have to see how bad it was.  Half-way up there, Nancy was wishing she sat in the back because we nearly died a dozen times busting through snow covered roads.  She was ready to just cut a bush off the side of the road and go home, but Zach and Brands would not have it. 

Feeling Tuff

When we finally made it up to the forest boundry, the long awaited searching commenced.   This year, Zach was bound and determined to get a Blue Spruce for our tree.  After what seemed like hours, Zach finally found the "perfect" tree, so Baby Teddy and I went out to see what he picked out for us.  It wasn't too shabby, but he had to get the one at the bottom of the hill we were on.  I wondered if they'd even get it out of there.  But, after a few minutes and lots of excitement from all parties, they drug it up the hill and onto the road.

Happy Tree Hunters

Frozen and ready to get back to the truck.

It was pretty cold, so Ted, Nancy, and I all went back to the truck to warm up while Brands and Zach picked out another tree for Nancy.  I've been told that Nancy is a tree Nazi and only the best, most perfect tree will do.  But, I came to find out that Brands is much more of a Nazi because it took them FOREVER to find the right tree.  When they finally cut it down and drug it to the truck, they realized they cut it too short and Brands was angrified!  He told Zach they should add another foot to the height of it, but Zach thought it would be plenty tall.  He was wrong!  But, by the time they put it up, it didn't look bad.  In fact, it was one of the better trees they've had over the years.

Hauling the Beast to the truck!

Baby Teddy's First Christmas Tree

The Youngs' Tree (Nancy, Allen, & Brands)

In all, it was an adventure and a fun story to tell about Baby Teddy's first tree.  By the time we got home that night, it was dark so we set the tree outside over night and then brought it in and decorated it the next day.  Word to the wise, if you ever get a blue spruce for a Christmas tree, be prepared to be poked, stabbed, and brutalized by its needles!  They are unforgiving, and Zach refused to help decorate it because I'm too much of a perfectionist.  What a Scrooge!  I would have taken any kind of help with this tree.  But, after it was all decorated, it looked splendid, and I enjoyed the smell it brought into our home all month!

The finished product!

Winter Wonderland!!

Hello Wyoming Winter!

The first few days in December we got about as much snow as I've ever seen!  If I remember right, it was the first substantial snow we got this winter.  Mother nature sure didn't disappoint!  By the time it was all said and done, we had a little over 2 feet of snow in one day!  CRAZY!!  The pictures I took were in the mid-morning and it snowed all day, so you can imagine how much more we ended up with. 

A look out the front door...

Sliding kitchen door view...

3 Months...Hurray!

Sadly, we did not get any fun pictures during Thanksgiving, but here's to Teddy turning 3 months! 

This year we spent Thanksgiving with both sides of the family.  Zach had to work Thursday night on graves, so we had a quick meal at his mom's house around 2, and then he left for work.  After lunch, Stetzen and I played games with his family until late that night.  We contemplated going Black Friday shopping with Grandma Young, but decided against it.  Why you might ask?  For one reason alone, SLEEP!!  I thought it was a good compromise. 

When Zach got off graves, we went down with his family to Idaho to see my family and Zach's Grandmother Joy.  Stetzen and I went shopping with Grandma and Katelyn, while Zach went and tore down a silo he bought on KSL.  We got a lot of our Christmas shopping done, and spent a great post-Turkey Day with the fam.

On Sunday, we went down to Murray to bless, Caige, Zach's sister Rachel's baby.  She had a lunch afterwards at her house and then we headed home.  Needless to say, it was a busy weekend, but fun all the same.

Blessing

Somehow in my frantic pursuit of catching up my blog, I forgot to post about blessing Stetzen! How awful of me!

So, here goes a short recap of the day.  We blessed Stetzen on November 6, here in McKinnon.  My family was able to come up as well as Jennifer’s, Rachel’s, and of course Zach’s parents and Brands.  My dad, Jacob, Zach’s dad, James, and Bishop Rowdy all stood in the circle to bless him.  Skylar and Grandma Joy were supposed to come, but were not able to make it up that weekend.  Skylar was very disappointed because he wanted to participate. 

Lacy and Ben Thomas also blessed their baby Kelston that Sunday, so Zach and his parents went into Green River after blessing Stetzen.  I wanted to take pictures of everyone after sacrament, but they were gone, and then Jennifer’s family had to leave too, so it never happened.  So, when Zach got back, we took some pictures of him and my family and went to Nancy’s house for the after party.  I planned on getting pictures of his side, but I never got a chance. 

 Chillin with his cousins at Grandma Young's.

It was a wonderful day, and we’re so blessed to have Stetzen here and healthy!

Halloween!!

Once again, I've been slacking in keeping up my blog.  The amount of posts I need to put up seems so daunting, I put it off even more.  But, here's to being proactive and putting off the procrastinator in me.

This Halloween Baby Teddy got to go to two parties, one in Idaho and one here in McKinnon.  The first one we went to was my mom's ward party the Saturday before Halloween.  It was fun to see some of my Idaho pals and catch up with the family.

Katelyn & Baby Teddy at Grandma's Halloween Party

I had a hard time finding a costume for Ted that was his size, so I ended up making his M&M costume.  It's not the best looking outfit, but was perfect for what we made it for.  I loved it, but Ted wasn't the biggest fan.  I think it was because he got too warm in it.

Grandma, Grandpa, & Baby Teddy

Then, on Halloween night, we went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat party.  We decorated the trunk like a cemetary and had a chili dinner inside. 

By the end of the night, Zach wanted some candy so he went trunk-or-treating to a few cars for Baby Teddy.  I'm sure they all knew who it was really for, lol.

Zach was a bum and didn't want to dress up...

I dressed up as a nurse, gloves and all. :)

Overall, it was a fun couple of nights, and we can't wait until next year!

2 Months

Stetzen had his two month check-up and shots on Halloween.  He weighed 10 lbs 12 oz and was 22 inches long.  He endured his first shots pretty well.  He only cried for a couple of minutes and was over the whole ordeal.  For his two month picture, I decided to take one of him in his Halloween Costume!

Picture Shy

I thought this was a cute pic.  After all the pictures that I take of poor Teddy, he'd finally had it.  He hid from us for all but two of his ultrasound pictures and now this one, lol.

First Horse Ride

This past weekend, we took Stetzen and his uncle Brands up hunting.  It was his first hunting trip and he quite enjoyed it.  On the last day up there, Zach insisited that we get a picture of the two of them on Fred.  I was not a fan of the idea, but relented and let him have his picture.  Sadly, this is the only one I got of the whole trip, but it's a good one.

Dad, Stetzen, and Fred at Horsecreek

I don't know if you can see him, but we saw a cute little badger while we were driving around the fields on Monday.  He's right in the middle.

Boppie

To the makers of Boppie...

All I have to say is THANK YOU!!  I would give millions to the creator(s) of Boppie!!  It's a life saver, and Stetzen's favorite place to chill and relax while I try to get something done around the house.  Last night we were chilling in the living room before bed, and he fell asleep in it and slept from 9:00pm -3:00am.  If you don't want to do the math, that's 6 hours of sleep, the most he's ever slept at night.  Sadly, the moment I woke up and took him to his bed, he woke up and only slept for a few hours at a time, like he ususally does, but the 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep was appreciated and much needed!  So again, thank you Boppie for making life a little easier!

 chillin with the Boppie

1 Month Old

I've been a slacker on keeping my blog up-to-date!!  Life has gotten busier and the blog has suffered.

On September 30, Stetzen turned 1 month old.  He's growing so fast, I can't seem to keep up with all the changes.  It's sad to see him get so big so fast, but at the same time it's a lot of fun.  This month he started smiling at us!!  It makes me melt every time. 

We weighed and measured him at the end of the month, and we was 8 lbs, and 21 inches long.  I also took a cute picture of him to commemorate the big event!