Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!! We had a nice Christmas this year. Damon ran out and saw all the presents and just kept saying, "wow". He loves to open presents and did a pretty good job not going too crazy. He loved the new table and chairs we gave him. Grandma Janet gave him Curious George, which became his buddy of the day. George had to do everything Damon did--so cute. We enjoyed lunch with some friends and napped the rest of the afternoon. We also got to talk to Barrett's missionary brother in Minnesota. It was a pretty good day eventhough there's still no baby.

Pictures from our slide show include Christmas, plus a few others from December. Barrett and I were Joseph and Mary for our ward's Christmas party program. Damon didn't last long in his costume, but had a fun time playing with the other kids. My friend passes on all her boys' clothes to me and I found a little suit. Eventhough I didn't have any shoes that would match, I just HAD to put Damon in it for Christmas Sunday. He looked like a little missionary! Such a cutie.

Songs and Books

Barrett and I have found a great appreciation in Children's Books lately. Well, let's be honest, I have always loved children's books (I was an elementary teacher afterall), but Barrett has recently grown into loving some as well. It all started with a few books I had purchased from the Scholastic Book Clubs when I taught school. They were books created from songs: The Ants go Marching, and America the Beautiful. Now, the first one was no big deal, but America the Beautiful has made more sense to us as we look at the pictures and sing it to Damon. Plus, Damon loves it. Then, my mom bought us this sweet little board book of God Bless America. Wow, doesn't that song make a lot more sense too when you read/sing it page by page. We sing that one a lot and I often hear Damon singing it to himself sometimes. How precious...and quite patriotic, I might add:) I got a little book one day at the library of Over the River and Through the Woods. Some phrases finally made sense to me in that one! The best one yet, is our current find: The Little Drummer Boy. I just happened upon it at the library last weekend. I have to say, I've never really liked the song too much and thought it was super funny how Angela, from The Office, was a big fan of the song. I just didn't get it. Well, both Barrett and I have really come to love this song. It must be a mix of the beautiful illustrations, actually reading the words, and singing it softly to Damon. Whatever the cause, the beauty of the message of this sweet little song has made it one of my favorites this year. I try to imagine if I was that little boy going to see the newborn king with no tangible gift, but one of given talent. What a special time of year to reflect on the birth and life of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his example and love for all of us, and for giving each of us gifts and talents to share with others---like the authors and illustrators of these books and the songwriters who were inspired to share their talents.

Happy Birthday

This last week was Damon's 2nd Birthday! Grandma Ro and Grandpa Barry were here for the weekend, so they were able to celebrate with us. Damon was so excited to have a birthday balloon, presents, and blow out candles. He got tons of fun toys from grandma and grandpa. We saved my parents gifts until his actual birthday and he thouroughly enjoyed opening presents all over again and blowing out candles again on a piece of my birthday dessert. He's looking so much like a little boy now, we just can't believe it.

I made a baseball cake, but realized too late that it is hard to make pure red frosting. So, poor kid had a pretty pink baseball cake.






This isn't a birthday photo. Damon won't transfer to his toddler bed and still sleeps in his little pack n play. I had to wake him up from his nap to go somewhere one day and this is what I found...little boy, sleeping on a pile of his friends, in the smallest space. So cute:)

Thanksgiving

We had my sister, Kim, come for Thanksgiving as well as Barrett's college roommate/childhood friend, Nathan. It was so fun doing....nothing:) We had a wonderful feast and enjoyed the process. We cooked a whole turkey this year, not just a turkey breast. We ate all weekend and watched lots of ABC Family, Falalala Lifetime, and Hallmark Christmas movies (one of my favorite things to do this time of year). It was sad to have our friends leave, but hopefully they'll come again soon:) I did pull out my Christmas decorations Saturday night--Damon has loved looking at "Mishmahtree" and "no-men" and "jin-na beahos".

Four Years

Today marks our Fourth Anniversary! With the baby due to come in 5 weeks, I haven't been thinking too much about the significance of our anniversary. I decided to pull out our CDs of pictures from the beginning of our life together. I love how exciting new relationships are. You can just see it in the couple's faces. It was fun to reminisce this afternoon and remember why I fell in love with Barrett. Here's some of my favorite pictures of us just starting out.
Pioneer Trek...we had our first kiss that night leaning against the hand cart underneath the stars...so romantic:)
Right after Barrett proposed. At the time, I couldn't remember ever being so happy in my life.
Our engagement photo.
Just married/sealed in the Oakland Temple. I loved my hair that day...it was a hair piece and since I've struggled with straggly hair my whole life, it made me feel so beautiful (how silly, I know).
Barrett's cousin took this shot and it is one of my favorites. We have it framed in our house.

I'm glad I have Barrett in my life. He's my best friend. In similar words as my cousin said, four years down, eternity to go!

Happy Halloween!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pause the playlist on the right before playing.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity-Jog

My mom has been trying to "de-clutter" the house, so she flew Damon and I home to go through my boxes. Becca joined in the fun too! I was incredibly nervous to fly with a 22 month old, as a "lap" child, across the country while being about 7 months pregnant. I stocked up on all kind of gimmicks: new matchbox cars wrapped individually, various little candies, lots of stickers, snacks, books, a new coloring book, and a new DVD player! My mom said if it gave me 20 minutes, it was well worth the money...she was right! Damon wasn't sure about the headphones, but maybe with time:)

So we made the flight and Damon did ok. Mom and Becca picked us up and we headed for home. It was so good to be home in lots of space and wonderful helpers. Damon loved dragging people by the hand to wherever it was he wanted them to go. I was always last on his list. Everyone soon learned that unless your hands were folded, or just plain out of sight, they'd be snatched up in a death grip to be a little friend to Diggy boy. He loved "bah-bah dhom" and "mah-mah jahya" and of course "beck-buh". I loved being around them too:)





Becca and I were able to get everything done on our lists plus more: go through boxes, make toffee, get recipes from mom, get eyes checked from dad plus new glasses, talk about baby names, read, enjoy, have CMK (Thrifty's Chocolate Malted Krunch ice cream), burgers and fries from In N Out Burgers, watch Jane Austen movies, learn to make mom's apple pie, shop for maternity clothes, and hang out. It was probably the most relaxing yet productive time home I've ever had. Dad had stake conference, so he was a little busy writing and worrying about talks, but he did a great job. It was fun to be back in my old stake and listen to many speakers that I grew up knowing. Dad invited the Mission President and his wife over for dinner, so the girls ran back home to prepare. Becca and I requested roast since neither one of us feels like we can spend the money to do so on our own (mom and dad talked me out of this way of thinking). Damon loved all the attention from Grandma and Grandpa. They even let him pick all the little pumpkins from the garden. It was really hard to leave, but Damon did really well on the flights home.

It was a good thing Barrett decided not to get up early for the train Friday, because Diggs and I slept in until 9 or so. We went to the Apple Orchard for some apple cider donuts, cider, apples, and to see the pumpkins and animals. Damon loved it all! Saturday we went to the temple, then met up with my old roommate Carie who was visiting a friend in DC. It was good to catch up even if it was a short amount of time. We sure jumped right into busy-ness the moment I got back from California and I was super overwhelmed--which seems to be happening a lot more these days--but by the end of Sunday, things were good again. It may have had something to do with the apple pie I made:)

Wonderful Weekend

What a wonderful weekend. It had potential for being awful...Thursday night was horrible as Damon decided to wake up at one in the morning! He stayed awake until about 4. Friday was awful and we just tried to get through it...barely! We have a little babysitting group with some other couples where we switch off babysitting every couple weeks. So, we barely made it, but dropped Damon off to play with his friends and we went out to dinner. It was a nice little refresher for us and made us all a little more happy:)

Saturday morning I went in to get some blood work done while the boys stayed at home and played. Damon went right down for a nap (as well he should!) and Barrett and I were able to watch General Conference on cable at home. We loved and devoured every talk and word spoken. We especially enjoyed the announcement of the Philadelphia Temple to be built!! There has been lots of hope from the members here, but Barrett and I thought it would still be awhile (Washington DC is never really too crowded). We were so grateful to hear the news for many reasons. Lots of thoughts rushed through our minds: 1.Philadelphia is one of the most populated cities in the US and it doesn't have a temple...there should be one to be a "light on a hill" for visitors and residents to see. 2. My dear Grandpa Weed and his family were very dedicated Saints out here for many years and helped the church progress...one year after his passing another temple is announced in the East when their whole lives spent here, the closest was in Salt Lake City. 3.(selfishly) When we move south, we will most likely be closer than a 2 hour drive to the temple! 4. Hooray, another beautiful temple on the earth!
Damon took a wonderful 3+ hour nap! For the second session, he was remarkably good for a not quite 2 year old. We pulled out crayons, butcher paper, coloring books, and opened up a big diaper box to color on. He had us tracing everything...hands, Elmo, Diggy:) It was great. Diggs absolutely LOVED the children's choir. Every time they sang, he was mesmerized and stared at the children singing. I wish I would have recorded those few numbers so I could replay them for him. Having a children's choir reminded me of a story my sister told me about my nephew. He was watching General Conference on tv a few years ago and saw a Primary Children's Choir singing...he turned to his mom and said with a panic,"am I supposed to be there?" Gotta love children:)
Damon loved saying "oot (pause) doorph" for President Uchtdorf. We smile every time he says it. Barrett thinks it's really funny that he picked up on that word since most everyone has a really hard time pronouncing it right and Damon pretty much has it down:)
We made dinner, spent a little time together and sent Barrett off to the Priesthood session. I enjoyed eating ice cream and flipping channels.

Sunday was wonderful too. Damon slept in!! We made Pumpkin Waffles thanks to my sister-in-law's recipe. They were delicious and we enjoyed having a yummy breakfast on a Sunday morning. We played and enjoyed the morning, then put Diggs down for a nap. Barrett and I were able to enjoy the morning (noon) session without any interruptions. I got a short little nap afterwards until Damon woke up. We made brownies and chicken pockets. We watched the final session of conference and pulled out the crayons and coloring books again, but this time had to add more...the blocks had to come out, and the entire toy basket as well. We were still able to hear and enjoy conference even with a few distractions.

We loved our weekend together as a family. It was a nice break from the cares of the world. I love conference time when we can enjoy each session and feel buoyed up from the words of the prophets and apostles. We are truly blessed to have such truth on the earth today.

*We recorded Damon saying a few of his latest words. Pause the playlist on the right.

Weekend Visitors

On Thursday night, Barrett's parents and Brother and sister-in-law came in for a weekend visit. Friday we ditched Damon with the grandparents and headed into Washington DC. We were worried about the rain, but pretty much avoided it. We pretty much avoided all possible catastrophes that are possible when driving in, through, and out of DC. We were able to do things Barrett and I never really did in DC before. We took a tour of the Capitol Building, saw the Supreme Court Building, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. We headed over to the Mall to see what was still open--Caitlin and I oohed and ahhed at the beautiful diamonds, and other fancy gems while the boys were trying to move the car. Kim caught up with us after work and we visited for a few minutes before she had to catch the metro home. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen, then drove home. The next day we had a delicious breakfast thanks to my father-in-law, then decided to head into Philly for "the norm". We were so worn out on the way home and I tried to take a nap, but it didn't quite work out. We had yummy Rita's that night and everyone caught up on the football games from the day (I could care less). Sunday was busy with church things, then we had a feast of hawaiian haystacks before everyone had to leave. Damon LOVED all the attention and had so much fun. We're trying to get back to our normal routine--Damon has been talking and clapping in his bed for the last 45 minutes instead of sleeping. It was a quick weekend, but we're glad we were able to see family.

Fallin' for Fall

I love the FALL!! I love Harvest decorations, the smell of the air, the little night chill, the leaves changing, the beautiful colors outside that seem to appear out of nowhere, pumpkins everywhere you turn, candy corns, cornstalks, apple orchards with fresh apple ciders and yummy donuts, and lots more!
I have been dying to pull out my Harvest decorations, but told myself I'd have to wait until this coming weekend when we'd have visitors. Saturday, I just couldn't take it anymore!! Barrett was on a campout with the scouts, so Damon and I got down box after box of our beloved decorations:) I ended up putting all my pumpkins in one spot and decided to name it "Diggy's Pumpkin Patch"--which then meant I had to make a sign. The whole time we were putting things out, I kept saying, "Diggy's...pumpkin..." and Damon would say, "Patch!!" It was fun to see how excited he was too. I have been surprised that he hasn't picked up any of my pumpkins to start his own pumpkin chuckin contest, even though most are soft. He must value his master piece. Fall, I'm glad you're here:)


Yesterday, Damon woke up early from his nap, so Barrett said we should put him on our bed and take naps too. I couldn't sleep, so was busy doing other things. I just HAD to capture this cute moment. At one point, they were both snoring too:)

Finger Painting

Saturday was our monthly trip to the temple. Damon loved being on the temple grounds which he calls "pull" and "manya" for Angel Moroni at the top:) The last two times we've had the luxury of having Kim babysit. We sure missed her this time as we had to switch off babysitting and doing a session (while in the temple, things were wonderful). We barely survived the long excursion and a few tears were shed by more than one of us by the time we got home. As worn out as we were, we picked up dinner on the way home and let all the rules/regulations go. Barrett made Damon a quesadilla to dip in sour cream (a newfound favorite of his). We didn't mind the fact that he discovered how to paint with this new medium. He's never really been one to play with his food--usually he just throws it--so I figured it was alright just this once:)


*By the way, he usually wears a bib, but they were all dirty and so was his shirt and I planned on doing wash that night anyway.

A Beach!

We were offered a "beach house" for the weekend, so we headed down to Rehoboth on Friday afternoon. Damon slept the whole way there---hallelujah!! Being a few days after Labor Day and school starting back up and the fact that it was a Friday, we almost had the entire beach to ourselves. Damon was soooo excited to go to "a beach!" (as he calls it). He loved walking, running, doing somersaults, and playing in the sand. He got too brave by the end of the afternoon and could've been swept out to sea--good thing his Dad was there to protect him. He loved running to the water, holding his hand out, telling it to "stop" so he could bend down and scoop up a shovel full of sand.
He enjoyed chasing a poor little fast bird in circles and trying to get Dad to chase him. We bought some Curious George fruit snacks at the store that morning and Damon loved eating "doorje" snacks.
I had a little sip (or so I thought) of grape soda left and let Damon test it out. He didn't mind the dribbling down his chin, shirt, and chest. We had a great time! There was a hurricane storm warning, but we weren't affected too much--just rain. We expected to wake up to lots of rain in the morning, but had none--just humidity and cloudy skies. We decided to head to Lewes to see the sights. We saw some boats and old cannons and saw the oldest building in Delaware! It started to rain, so we drove on home in a horrible down pour. It rained all that day and of course was super gorgeous on Sunday...when we were back at home and couldn't go to the beach. Did I mention that Delaware has nice warm water and is usually sunny, not cloudy like the beach trips we took back home in California--awesome!

"Diddy"

Damon has really loved talking on the phone lately. My cell phone has a different ring when Barrett calls. One afternoon he called and Damon immediately yelled, "Daddy!" He wouldn't let me talk or even hold the phone for him. He had to be holding it to his ear--so I put it on speaker so I could hear too. Barrett told me what he needed to tell me, then hung up. Damon was so upset that he wasn't talking anymore, so we called Grandma Ro.
She sang him songs and he jabbered away. He still wouldn't let me touch the phone. It was pretty cute:)
Barrett was working on the computer and I can't remember what I was doing, but here is what we finally discovered! Damon has been calling himself "Diddy" which means "Diggy" (his nickname). He just stood on the exercise bike saying "Diddy" over and over again. I've found him trying to get up there again, and he just can't quite do it. Silly boy.