Grand Adventures...

I have been a little bit of a slacker about posting so this post is long and FULL of pictures!

-

So we haven't really had any 'grand' adventures lately but with this dang cold weather doing much more than playing at home seems pretty 'grand' to Hadley and I! What can I say, I decided I am ready to get out of Utah :)

-

A couple of weeks ago Hadley and I left Steve at home and flew home to Colorado for a trip to visit. It definitely wasn't long enough, but I had to get home since I was in charge of a Blue & Gold Banquet for 100 people. We ate some GREAT food, shopped, visited with friends, played with cousins, spent a lot of time with my grandma and just soaked up all of Colorado that we could. Hadley's favorite part... definitely the dog Buffy :)

I went out with my good friend Jessie from highschool while grandma babysat. She came back with me for a visit and as you can see Hadley was a bit unsure...

This is the best we could get of Foxx, Fiona, and Hadley.
Foxx was trying to teach Hadley to snap... haha!

Foxx was trying to share- didn't go over so well!

The week we got home we were able to see Cami and Jane again- yay!! We went with them and Ily and Dex to a new place in Provo called the Provo Beach Resort. It has a fun little play area for toddlers and a carousel (which was so funny to watch all of them ride, 6 HUGE eyes). After we finished playing we went to dinner together. We love getting these little friends together!

Hadley wasn't quite as courageous as Jane and Dex, she liked to watch them be little dare devils!

But our adventures this last week or so have been pretty close to home- playing with cousins, highschool basketball games, shopping at the mall, eating out for dinner.

Last week Steve and I were putting away groceries and of course Hadley wanted to help. She ws digging around in the bags and I thought to myself, "If this will keep her occupied for more than a couple of minutes, I'll let her do it." We a minute or two later a looked over and she had ripped open a package of brown gravy mix and was eating it! She was quite enjoying it, she kept licking her lips over and over and over.

Sporting her black velour track suit from grandma...

She's also enjoying looking at books now instead of just eating them.

And still loves picture frames and can name either Steve or I in a picture if you say, "Who is that?"

And a new favorite game is playing slide with dads legs...

I was trying to get this bag from her to wrap Steve's birthday gift and she thought it was so funny to keep taking it from me. Little stinker...

Still loving the curly hair...

And the best adventure of all- playing in the dryer!! And yes, she climbed in there all by herself!!

Hope we have another week of great adventures!!

Interview

So I read on my friend Holly's blog that her and her husband did this fun little interview together for a date night at home. I thought it would be fun for Steve and I to do it one evening to change things up a little! We enjoyed some yummy homemade orange julius's and had fun learning a bit more about each other :)

-

If you could change one thing about your physical body, what would it be?

Steve: to get rid of my widow's peak

Mere: a smaller/skinnier nose

-

If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?

Steve: to be friendlier

Mere: to be less comparative

-

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Steve: people that drive slower than the speed limit

Mere: when people crack their knuckles or toes

-

When was the last time you cried?

Steve: when Mere and Steve got back from their trip to Colorado, I just realized how much I missed them

Mere: Saturday night while I was re-reading Eclipse (I know it's lame, I just really wanted her to pick Jacob!)

-

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

Steve: to fly

Mere: to read minds

-

If you could trade places with one person (famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional) who would it be?

Steve: Parley P. Pratt

Mere: Bella from the Twilight books

-

What three words would you use to best decribe yourself at this very second?

Steve: lazy, fun, loving

Mere: hungry, anxious, content

-

If you could have any one question answered, what would it be?

Steve: Did Atlantis really exist?

Mere: Did we really land on the moon? Background- I had a teacher in high school that thought the whole thing was a conspiracy theory

-

If you could meet any one person living or dead who would it be?

Steve: Bruce R. McConkie

Mere: George W. Bush

-

If you had another baby tomorrow, what would you name him or her?

Steve: girl- Taylor boy- Isaiah

Mere: girl- Harper boy- Giles

-

If you won the lottery how would you spend it?

Steve: invest, kids collee and mission funds, new car, move to place of my dreams

Mere: move to Salem, shopping spree, new car, save the rest

-

Do you consider yourself a morning or a night person?

Steve: night

Mere: both :)

-

What has been your favorite date night since Hadley was born?

Steve: Texas Roadhouse for Mere's birthday (it was actually a triple date with Becca & Jesse and Hillary & Kevin)

Mere: Saturday night- we went and watched my friend Kyle Gover from high school play in a hockey game in Provo and then went to Taco Bell (easy and simple!)

-

* Side Note *

I am not obsessed with Twilight or the characters from it but I have just been re-reading all the books so it's on my mind alot I guess :)

Where Did All this Curl Come From?

So the last little while I have noticed that Hadley's hair is turning quite curly!! I don't know where it comes (not from Steve's straight as a board hair or my pretty straight hair) from or if it will stay but for now I think it is so cute!!

Please excuse the small 'tail' that she is growing on the back- I keep telling Steve that he needs to help me cut it...

Monthly Update- 11 Months

I am a few days late posting about Hadley at 11 months but we just got back from Colorado! 11 months- ahhh- only one more month and she will be 1 and kind of like a little toddler. She is still the greatest part of our lives and is a joy to be with everyday!

-

I feel like this last month she has gotten so much less of a baby and more of a toddlerish girl! I guess it's a good thing and bad thing, I'm glad she's happy, healthy and developing quickly but she is no longer my little baby!

At 11 months Hadley:

- Has her own little language. The last two weeks she has become SO SO SO vocal and is just talking and babbling all the time. Steve and my favorite is when she is sitting and playing by herself and just sits and whispers in this little language to herself. Couldn't be any cuter!

-

- She now waves to everyone no matter who it is. On the plane home from Colorado we had an aisle seat and most of the flight she just leaned around the sit and flirted and waved with anyone that would even look her direction.

- If you say "Give me 5" she puts her hand in the air for a high five!

- Her favorite words are mama, dada, papa, num num, uh oh, and sometimes something that sounds like hi!

She sits in the sink to get her hair done everyday. Don't worry this was her own toothbrush :)

- She mimicks everything you do. And she can say that a birdie says "tweet, tweet, tweet" and we are close to "moooo."

- She walks all over with her toys that are also walkers but nothing on her own. I think she might walk a little late (like 13 months or so).

- She can shake her head no and will sometimes do yes. If she doesn't want something or to do something she just shakes no.

- We have worked really hard on Hadley not grabbing everything. So we do 'one finger.' When she reaches out to grab something (like decorations, clocks, tvs, anything she shouldn't) we say, "Hadley one finger" and she actually does it all the time now! It's so cute to watch her pull her whole hand back and just touch with one finger!! Love her!

-

- She doesn't fit in most of her 12-18 months clothes but its frustrating because most of the 18-24 months ones are too big, oh well!

- Her latest obsession is pictures in frames! She mostly likes to look at pictures of dad and cousin Max but she will get those picture frames no matter what- off shelves, off tables, anywhere!

-

- This little girl is super determined and really nothing will stop her from getting to what she wants!

-

- Just like her mom, she is Miss Independent. She basically feeds herself entirely all her food now. She is getting pretty good at her spoon and will sometimes let us help her if it's things she can eat with her hands.

-

I can't believe my next update about Hads she will be 1! Do I really have an almost 1 year old?

Over the River...

... and through the woods to grandmother's house we go!! And we are quite excited about it! But we will miss daddy :(

-

Winter = Ugh!!

Let's start the post this way... I HATE WINTER!!

-

My mom always told us that 'hate' was a strong word and we shouldn't use it but at the current moment (honestly, the last two week's worth of moments) I can think of no better word. I didn't used to mind winter when I was teaching and only had myself to worry about. The worst thing was inside recess and I could live with a few days of that. But since having a baby I have come to learn that I really dislike winter.

-

This hateful relationship started to grow when Hadley got that bad cold at the end of October. Then it was strengthened when she got croup right before Thanksgiving, and now again she was just sick... again!! The week after Christmas was a bad one for us. Monday (the 27th) Steve and I both got stomach flu- ugh, nothing worse! Tuesday we felt fine but Hadley was feeling awful, runny nose, cough, trouble breathing, crying all the time, sleeping all the time. At first I thought she had croup again but after no improvement I took her to the doctor on Wednesday only to find out she had Bronchiolitis. Basically a viral infection in her lungs that comes with a nasty nasty cold. And of course it was viral so really nothing to do for it but wait it out. So she is just now back to her normal happy self- after like 9 days! Then to add to it all, later that week Steve and I both got horrible sinus infections and we hold up in our beds for like 3-4 days!

-

I don't like the cold and all the sickness, I feel like I can't ever take Hadley anywhere without her getting sick! I don't know if I can survive until March! I told my mom that I needed to find somewhere to live that never got below 50 and never got above 85 or 90. Her response, "Good luck!" So for now we do our best to stay home and avoid anymore sickness :( We did venture a few times later this week!

Hadley wanted to help put the groceries away! Always the little 'helper'!

Max and Livi came to keep us company one day while Becca worked up at Luke's school.

And Friday night Hadley and I went to dinner with Ily & Dex and Susan from school. Always fun with them!

So wish us luck that we can last until March and that little Hadley can keep anymore sicknesses AWAY!!

Things that Come in 5's

5 years ago today I married my best friend- best decision ever!

Here are some other things using the number 5 that Steve and I have done in the past 5 years:

* 5 - 2: The number of places Steve and I have lived. Our first apartment in Provo (9 months), townhome here in Spanish Fork (10 months), house we live in now (3 1/2 years).

* 5 + 1 : The number of cars Steve and I have owned since we known each other.

* 5 - 2: The number of places Steve and I have been on vacation too not counting going home to Washington or Colorado. (Vegas & Caribbean Cruise) Yea, we need to work on this one!

* 5: The number of jobs between the two of us during our marriage (IM Home, Nebo School District, Heritage Web Solutions, Savantius, & Doba).

* 5 -1: The number of kids we want to have... but who knows what will end up happening :)

* 5 + 12: The number of shows that we own the complete season.

* 5: The number of bedrooms our house will have when we finish our basement.

* 5 + 7: The number of neices and nephews we have on both sides.

*5 - 1: The number of NBA teams that we consistently watch and follow all the time (Spurs, Celtics, Heat, Jazz).

*5: The number of books that we have both read since being married-the Percy Jackson series. We have very different taste in books!

Here's to 5 more great years... and many many more after that!!

I know this post is kind of lame but I couldn't think of a ton of things about us just using 5, so I had to get a little creative :)