End of Semester One!

December has been crazy... like it is for everyone I'm sure. But Chris just got through his finals, and now he has a whole month off!! It is so nice to have him home. We've already spent a lot of time as a family so far, and Carter is so excited to wake up in the morning and his dad is here! We finished all our Christmas shopping (phew), and now we're gearing up for a two week trip to St. George. Yahoo fer vacation time!

Phoenix is beautiful in the winter! It has been about 75 degrees during the day, so you don't even need a jacket alot of the time. We were driving around doing our shopping and turned on the A/C. Chris and I keep reminding ourselves that we could still be in Provo right now shoveling snow... and it makes us even happier to be here :)

THE BOTTLE BATTLE!

Welp, Carter is officially a formula baby now.... BUT let me just say that it was a war! We tried for a long time to get him to drink out of a bottle, so that Chris could feed him every now and then (like at church when I was teaching primary). We put juice in it and everything, but he would just chew on the bottle or cry. It was very frustrating, but we dealt with it. Then, circumstances changed all of a sudden to where we had no choice, and he was going to HAVE to drink out of a bottle. So one day we battled it out with him until he gave in. I had to leave the house, and Chris had to try to get him to eat. Carter is one stubborn little guy, and he knows what he wants! But after 6 hours of refusing to eat it, he finally gave in. Every meal after that, he would still fight and cry for a few minutes (especially if it was me trying to give it to him), but after a few days he got used to it. Now he is doing great, and is perfectly happy with the idea. I wish we didn't have to feed him formula all the time, but whatcha gonna do? That's just how things turned out.

FIRST SEMESTER ALMOST DONE!

Chris only has about a week of classes left for this semester, and then he has his finals! He works so hard to get good grades and to be happy with the papers he writes. He is an incredibly dedicated student, and always gets his work done on time or early. Its kinda funny because he'll worry that he is not doing so great, and then he'll talk to another student and it usually ends up that he is way ahead. I love how he manages his time too. He treats his studying like a job, so that he goes to school at the same time every morning and comes home every night at about 6:30. Then we get to eat dinner and spend time as a family.

I have been asked to design and paint some decorations/signs for our ward Christmas party on Dec. 5th. Sounds simple enough, but its looking like its actually going to be a pretty big project for me to take on! Our ward doesn't just plop up some Christmas trees and call it good like other wards. This ward spares no expense, and goes all out with a theme and everything. I'm wondering when the heck I'm going to be able to get this done. Or I should say HOW I'm going to get this done with little Carter attached to my hip all day. Oh well, hopefully it'll work out. And its probably good for me to start painting again. (Dang you Provo for killing my will to draw) :)

We are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas so we can go to St. George and visit our families! YAY!!

CARTER PASSES HIS DRIVER'S TEST

Halloween

We had a lot of fun for Carter's first Halloween! We dressed him up as a little giraffe, and Chris and I were zombies. I was worried he might be weirded out by our scary makeup, but it didn't even phase him. And he was nice and comfy in his costume.

On Friday night we went to our ward "Trunk or Treat". We had some yummy Chili for dinner, and then all the kids went trick or treating in the church parking lot. We decorated our trunk with spiders and webs. (It was pretty boring compared to some of the other cars. People went all out-- there was even one guy who brought a live snake! Our primary is pretty small compared to ones in Utah. The kids went around to all the cars 2 or 3 times, and we still had a ton of candy left.

Then on Saturday we were invited to a neighborhood block party. They had all sorts of food, a sound system blasting, and little fire pits to sit by (not that it was really cold, but it was still fun). We stuffed ourselves and then took Carter down a block and back for a little trick or treating. He loved it all (except the music was a little loud and scary to him at times). Carter is so happy when he is outside and around lots of people.

Carter is very talkative. He'll choose one thing for the day and say it over and over (like "da da" or "ba ba") And he is finally starting to roll on his belly again for short amounts of time-- usually to reach for a toy. He loves to eat. He has never spit out any vegetable that we've given him. He's like "cool, more food--bring it on!" And he has mastered walking in his stand-up toy! He knows how to back up, turn around, and practically runs at times! We're still wondering if he is going to skip crawling (its looking that way). I'm getting a little taste of what it'll be like when he's completely mobile, cause he has figured out how to walk in the kitchen, open the drawers, and pull stuff out.

Fall Break

Last week was Chris's fall break, so he had no classes to go to all week! I was excited because I thought that meant he would be home all day with me and the wee one. That wasn't the case, but it was still a great week. Chris went to the library everyday and read and did outlines, but he went a bit later than usual and came home earlier. He made some goals of work he wanted to get done during the week, and got all of it done by Friday afternoon. Then Saturday and Sunday we got to be lazy and had tons of time to spend together as a family.

All week we took turns sleeping in. Hizzah!! One of us would take care of Carter and the other would stay in bed for a bit. That was awesome for me! We also took a picnic to the park that is just down the street from us a of couple times. It was really nice in the shade, and Carter loved watching the kids play and the cars drive by. Oh, and we took him for some walks in his stroller a few times just before it got dark. That's when the weather is the nicest.

Carter Speaks Sheep

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa Lyman

My parents were able to come and stay with us for general conference weekend. But luck would have it, our cable went out for 3 days. So on Saturday we had to watch conference on our little lap top. It was fun to have them here! I was worried that Carter was not going to let them hold him, but he was just fine. I think he is finally over his phase of only letting me and Chris hold him. Yay! Chris and I even got to go out for a bit while my parents watched him. That was great, and I really appreciated them helping us get a little break away. My dad asked me if I miss work at all. I told him that I don't miss working one bit. I just feel like I need a break every now and then or a conversation with an adult.

On Friday night we all went to the Cheesecake Factory! MMMMM yeah! We had some good food, and of course, some yummy cheesecake! And just like whenever we attempt to go out to eat (which is a rare treat now) we all took turns taking little Carter outside during the meal. I'm pretty sure he already has A.D.D. :)

It has cooled off quite a bit here the last couple days. We're down in the 80's now, and it feels so nice outside! Carter loves being outside, so I'm going to start taking him to the park instead of swimming now. I think that'll be good for both of us.

THE VIDEO CAMERA DISTURBS HIS MEAL

As soon as the camera was put away, he happily ate his cereal.

Carter's new tricks caught on tape :)

I finally figured out how to put videos on here! Yahoo! Our camera is really crappy, but it works. Carter just learned that he can make his stand up toy move around the house. He's walking (with training wheels)! He is loving that toy even more now. Also, he is starting to sit by himself for short periods of time. . . He needs a safety net sometimes though. He is officially 5 months old today.

Last week Carter and I went swimming with Heather Esplin Bigler and her two little girls and Emily Adams Blais and her little boy. We had a lot of fun! And Chris has been teasing that we are "2nd generation club", because our moms are friends and have been in a club together for years in St. George.

Watch out, he bites!

Carter has been especially cranky the last week or two, and Chris figured out the reason . . . Two little teeth have just popped through the front/bottom of his gums, and another one is making its way down on the top! I didn't expect teeth at 4 months old I guess. He's also going through a phase (hopefully its a phase) where he won't let anyone else hold him besides his mom or dad. He needs our constant attention at all times, or else the tears start coming.




He never falls asleep without being wrapped up in his blanket and being rocked or bounced . . . but one day he was particularly tired I guess. He fell asleep while playing in his stand up toy, and then again later while playing on the floor!

I was pretty excited when he slept 8 hours in a row. He's only slept through the night like that a couple of times though. He still usually gets up once or twice in the night. But a full night sleep every now and then is better than never! I'll take it :)

Fun with Family

Chris's family came and stayed with us over Labor day weekend. It was funny because we planned to swim and spend Saturday in the sunshine, and of course it rained almost all day. (What are the odds of that happening in Phoenix?) We couldn't figure out anything to do besides watch movies and eat candy, so as soon as the rain stopped we went swimming anyway. It wasn't too bad--its kinda hard to make it cold here even after a storm.

Chris's parents brought me birthday presents, and I got exactly what I wanted: toys for Carter. He got a Johnny Jump up, and an Elmo stand up toy. He always wants to stand, so its awesome to have toys that he can play in standing up. He hasn't figured out how to jump yet, but he likes to move around in the jump up, and its fun to watch him. Now he just needs to learn that its ok to play in them by himself! :) If you're not right next to him or watching, he cries like the world is going to end.

Chris is really enjoying law school so far. He says its not as bad as people said it would be. He heard all sorts of horror stories about the first year being crazy hard. I'm glad he is happy (I don't think I could read as much as he does and remember it all!) And I'm just trying to keep Carter busy and happy at home. Oh, and I am now teaching primary (yep, I called it). I have eight little five year olds in my class, and I'm trying to figure out how the heck this calling is going to work if they don't call Chris or somebody else to help me. Carter usually eats right in the middle of church ... sooo yeah. And we try constantly, but I don't think he'll ever drink out of a bottle. I guess it'll work out somehow.

Carter: 18 weeks

Welp, I am so happy we tried putting Carter down in the basement! I got over my silly fears, and now he is sleeping a lot better! It helps him sleep longer in the morning because its pitch black in his room no matter what time of day it is. Also, we decided to try making the cereal we were feeding him before bed a lot thicker. That did the trick! A full belly, and now he sleeps 8-9 hours in a row!! Heck yeah!




Carter needs constant attention. He wants to be held all the time now, and cries even if you are standing five feet away. My only hope of getting anything done while he's awake is sometimes he gets locked on to watching the tv. He loves cartoons or Star Wars! So random that he loves Star Wars! And he loves playing with Chris after being stuck with his mom all day. Oh, and he likes the band Muse, so I play that really loud sometimes while I'm doing the dishes.

Carter: 17 weeks

This week we had Carter try some baby cereal. He won't drink out of a bottle, so we tried feeding him with a spoon. It was very messy, but he liked it, and it was fun for us to watch! We were hoping that it would help him sleep longer if we gave it to him right before bed . . . So far he is still waking up once or twice during the night. We'll keep trying though!

Carter also has a few new tricks. He can roll over (both from his back to his tummy, and from his tummy to his back). He hates to sit or lay down too long. He always wants to be standing up. I keep telling him that he needs to learn to crawl first, but he wants to skip that part. Oh, and two days ago he started sucking his thumb. Its freakin cute.

Our new home in Arizona

We've made it to our new home in Phoenix, AZ! So far we really like it here. To me, it feels like a mix between St. George and California. All the tall palm trees remind me of San Diego, but then the desert heat reminds me of our home in St. George. (Try as I might I can't get this stupid picture to go the right way)

The first week we were here, we unpacked all our things and put our house together. Then we couldn't resist the pool. We went swimming 3 days in a row. It was nice for Carter because the temperature of the water was a little warm, but it still felt good. He loves being in the water, especially the bathtub. Then Carter got sick. That really sucked. He had a fever and a sad little cough. It took about a week for him to get better. We bought a humidifier and waited it out, because apparently babies can't take any cough or cold medicine. Poor little guy. It was not fun!

Chris's partents drove with us all the way from Provo to Phoenix. They helped us pack, clean, and haul all our crap to our new place. They also gave us a really nice crib (which Carter has only slept in during the daytime . . . Yeeeeah, I'm scared of the basement at night, and that's where his room is.) Carter still wakes up two or three times a night, so I've kept him in our room. I've sworn off those stupid scary movies that have screwed me up for so long!

We like our new ward so far. Everyone seems really nice, and we've had a lot of people come over to welcome us. Oh, and of course we have already been asked to speak at the end of August. And my guess is they will put us in the primary soon. That's the calling we have had since we got married. We shall see!

Chris made it through his first week of law school. So far so good! And besides the air conditioning going out in one car and needing two new tires on the other, everything is great! Carter is happy (especially when Chris comes home). Chris can always make him laugh so hard!

Chris graduates and baby Carter comes!

Chris and I have been living in Provo, UT for the last two years. The end of April (2009) was kinda crazy for us. Chris graduated from BYU with his Bachelor's degree, majoring in history, and five days later our little Carter was born! Not only that, but Chris was making a decision on what law school he should attend in the fall.

Chris was offered a scholarship to ASU, which is in Tempe, AZ. After a lot of thought and prayer, we decided that was where we were supposed to go. Chris had the opportunity to visit the campus, and he was very impressed and excited about attending their law school. Tempe is farther away from our families, but we are both looking forward to living in that area, and never having to shovel snow again! Yahoo! And with help from my parents we were able to find a place to live that is an amazing deal and really close to the campus.

We love our baby Carter! He is 10 weeks old now, and gets to be more cute and more fun everyday. He smiles a lot, and two days ago Chris got him laughing for the first time. He turned on some music and made him dance, kicking his little legs really fast. He loved it! Now we do it all the time because we love to hear his cute laugh!