Hunter, Hunter, Hunter

Here are a few pictures of what Hunter has been up to lately....

Chilling in...I mean, UNDER the excersaucer


Helping Daddy babyproof the house

And of course, keeping clean!

Christmas!

Christmas was awesome! Hunter had no idea what was going on but we got some adorable pictures of him in his Christmas pjs from Grandma Dolores (Thanks Grandma)!! Observe:

Some of Jeremy's loot included 2 Xbox games, a foldable carpenter's square, The Dark Knight, Iron Man and some socks. My loot included new Pampered Chef cookware/gadgets, a digital piano (from the siblings in-law), the simplified hymns book (so I can learn), some jewelry, and the entire "Liken" series from my mom. We also got our Kitchenaid mixer from Jeremy's parents. Hunter got lots of books and some noisy toys. We got to cook for our Christmas dinner and had ham, potatoes (sweet and mashed), green beans, rolls (that refused to rise...) and PIE (of course). Cherry-cranberry and a pear pie from the Sampsons. It was a great day here in Vegas-hope yours was just as great!

Christmas Adam

So this is for my dear friend Kate L. who introduced me to Christmas Adam..I think it is hilarious. We have Christmas Eve (the 24th) so shouldn't we be fair and include Adam (as in Adam and Eve) in the Christmas days as well... anyway I goodsearched (NOT GOOGLED) christmas adam and found this website...a whole place devoted to buying christmas adam memorabilia! Heeheehee!

http://www.cafepress.com/funnycrazytees.208140134

It's Beginning...

...to look a lot like Christmas!

Forgive me for not updating lately..things have gotten busier and crazier than ever. I am in a choir that had our Christmas Concert yesterday...no biggie-except that we have 3 rehearsals the week preceding the concert: Tues, Thurs. from 7-10 and Sat (dress rehearsal) for 4 hours. Normally this isn't a huge deal because Jeremy watches Hunter...except for this last week when Jeremy was in Yuma for work...I was a single parent! How people do it is amazing to me! I was completely exhausted everyday and wasn't sleeping well at night (Hunter is sick, teething and wasn't sleeping through the night),

*This is how we relax when Hunter isn't feeling so hot..notice the tiny teeth*

and I didn't even have to go to work the next day! Thank goodness!
Anyway, on to more entertaining items :). We have now decorated for Christmas-

our tree is up,
presents are on the couch(too many temptations for Baby if they are under the tree),

our Nativity is out,

our Christmas village is set up and lights will be installed shortly on our patio. Hunter even helped decorate the tree.

We are still missing one box that must be in storage---it has my stocking in it. Our ornaments look pretty sparse as well so the rest are in said box.
Hunter is crawling around and getting into everything-of course. He is constantly pulling himself up by our couch, dining chairs, walls, etc. I am just waiting for him to try to use the Christmas tree...sigh. He has 2 teeth on the bottom that are super sharp! He is also sick this week and has a crusty nose-not to be confused Rudolph's shiny one... although his is just as red, I am sure. He has gotten to meet the big guy in red (SANTA!?!! I know him!!!) and didn't even cry...this year.

I don't know his current weight, etc. until he is 9 months old...that's our next scheduled vaccination. He is drooling an insane amount and you can see the top two teeth forming in his gums. It's a little strange looking.
We are staying put this year for Christmas and are very excited...there are even rumors of snow but in the past 4 years we have lived here, we have NEVER had a white Christmas. We shall see.

7 things

Lauren tagged me so here we go....
Seven things about me that are new to you. Let's see how well I can do!

1. I didn't change my major when I was in college-I probably should have (at least once).
2. I have been to 27 of the 50 states.
3. I have been to 2 other countries.
4. I have lived in 2 Las Vegas-es :)
5. I share my birthday with Martin Luther King, Jr.
6. I want to be a singing voice for Disney.
7. I hate soggy bread items (bread pudding, stuffing, etc.)

Sheesh

So, these videos became obsolete the day after i took them....this was Friday (last week) and then on Saturday, he decided to start CRAWLING instead of just scooting...notice the laundry baskets and trash can (it's clean) that are now a better barricade than the wall of pillows...we stopped at 3 high and started looking for a sturdier solution...although, he loves to pull the laundry baskets over and pull the folded laundry out...

I'm so popular!

I feel so loved when I am tagged...even though I don't continue it on...

8 things I am obsessed with right now:
1. sewing
2. making dvd containers
3. cleaning my house (once again!)
4. getting Christmas gifts for family by Thanksgiving
5. Hunter
6. my hubby
7. figuring out Vista...(btw--its on our Mac...how cool!!!)
8. getting paid for chocolate

8 words or phrases that I often use:
1. Seriously?!?!?
2. Mmmk...
3. Excuse me
4. I'm tired
5. No
6. What are you doing? (Used often when I am driving)
7. Hi baby!
8. Whatever

8 shows that I love to watch right now:
1. The Big Bang Theory (nerds at their best!)
2. The Office
3. The Unit
4. Jon & Kate Plus 8
5. 7th Heaven (it is sucking me in...)
6. The Cosby Show
7.Criminal Minds
8. Bones

8 things I did yesterday:
1. church
2. ate pizza
3. baked a cherry pie
4. ate cherry pie
5. went to choir practice
6. took a nap
7. watched TV
8. played with Hunter

8 Favorite places to eat:
1. Claim Jumper
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Olive Garden
4. Taco Bell
5. Arby's
6. Mimi's Cafe
7. friends' houses
8. P.F. Chang's

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas
3. selling our condo
4. moving somewhere new
5. finishing organizing my house
6. Lauren's baby being born
7. Getting more familiar with Vista/Mac
8. Hunter walking...mixed feelings

8 things that are on my wish list:
1. make money from condo
2. move sometime soon
3. buy a house
4. have an organized home
5. become a better homemaker
6. not be so critical
7. develop my talents more
8. stay better in touch with people

8 people I tag:
You're off the hook

Why we love him

This is more for the grandparents than anyone but enjoy! He didn't have anything in his mouth...he is just pulling faces a lot nowadays....silly boy!

7 months and still alive!

Hunter is now 7 months old and Jeremy and I are both in awe of the little critter! He is on the brink of actually crawling-legs are up under and he is wiggling his bum in the air, even using one leg or the other to move a little. He has been scooting for a few months now, using his toes to edge himself closer to the DVDs..oh how he loves those. He can army crawl over the pillow blockades we make for him-so we now make them 2 pillows high, instead of just one. He knows which ones are easier to crawl over and sure is persistent! I know it will only get worse but I am amazed at his processing skills, even at this age!He has added many new things to his diet (and boy have they taken their toll-yuck!) including: peas-which he has mastered, rice cereal, oatmeal, formula of course, apple juice (keeps him regular), some applesauce, and we will be starting green beans and fruits soon. We have been slow to introduce him to new foods because he had surgery a little over a week ago and it was recommended we don't start anything new to his tummy- so we could pinpoint what his crankiness was in relation to (surgery only, instead of new foods, vaccines, etc.).He is sitting up on his own and refuses to lay still for a diaper change now. Thank goodness for toys that make noise (for now). He loves baths and is particularly interested in dear old Gidget. He loves to pull on her skin and she just lays there and takes it! Good dog! Hunter is also "talking" a lot and loves to wave at himself in the mirror. He is able to pull himself up to standing and will stand for minutes at a time! He seems to prefer standing to sitting right now.
We are truly blessed for having an easy going baby-Heavenly Father knew I needed an easy one the first time around! Let's hope he continues to bless me with them!

Call for Help

For those who don't know, I am in a choir that is part of the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society. It is a non-profit choir and is constantly needing donations, fundraisers, etc. Anyway, this is a plea before you all start your crazed Christmas shopping. If you go to goodshop.com, you can enter the name of your charity that you want to help out (Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society) and then do your online shopping from the links off of that page. They have tons of different stores and a percentage (I don't know how much) goes to your charity. There is also a search engine called goodsearch.com and if you go there to search for things (instead of Google, etc.) then the charity gets a penny per search. So if you could all spread the word for my poor choir that needs money! I would truly appreciate it. Especially since if you are shopping online ANYWAY, then shouldnt they donate some money to us? :) Thanks!!!

Happy Halloween

Here is a picture of our little hunter...Hunter the Lion. (I am so punny!). Our ward had a tri-ward trunk of treat and so we decided to go hand out candy to all the young and old whipper-snappers who were in costumes and not (lazy teenagers). We were going to be: the cowardly lion, scarecrow and Dorothy from Wizard of Oz but alas, no CHEAP Dorothy's costume existed...and I wasn't about to pay $40 for something I would only wear once. Oh well. Maybe next year. Hope you all had a fabulous Halloween and everyone was safe. :)

4 more days!

Only 4 more days until the new leader of the country is chosen. Jeremy and I voted last night so we are set! I was watching Oprah this morning and she voted yesterday as well (I always knew we were close). Apparently, this was the first time she ever voted electronically...anyone else not voted electronically either? Vegas must be ahead of the times then...that's the only way I ever have voted.
Anyway, on our way home we checked our mail and had a STACK of fliers all on why we shouldn't vote for Dina Titus, or John McCain, Obama, Jon Porter, etc...and that's when it hit me...after Nov. 4th we will no longer have to listen to all the smear campaigns for everyone, no longer get annoying calls from the Democratic or Republican parties wanting to tell us how excited they are over in their offices and why we should come down and have a looksy, have Michelle Obama call on behalf of husband or Sarah Palin call to make sure we enjoyed our chat with a volunteer on their side... No longer will shows be canceled because of a 30 minute commercial all about the wonders that are Barack Obama, and maybe (just maybe) we can watch news that will be slightly more informative on other things that have been happening in the world instead of our own popularity contest. Although I have enjoyed watching SNL on Thursdays...good ol' skits about all the candidates.
Sorry for the tirade. But after Nov. 4th it will all be over...for another 2 years...didn't you know that was the trend now? Announcing your candidacy 2 years before the current presidency is up! Oh how I loathe politics. Happy voting!

Wooo hooo!

It has been a long time in coming but we have FINALLY! gotten our house to a clean level. Things are put away, kitchen sink is empty, couch is cleared off (mostly), laundry is almost done, bathrooms are clean (for now), beds are made, TVs are dusted, dining table is cleared off and looks marvelous! There are still a few areas which need to be reorganized and decluttered, but for the most part, our house looks good! :) Yay! I would post pics but can't find our camera. :)

Craft: Checkbook Holder.....Check!

Tada!! This one is a new craft that I saw over the weekend and did in under an hour! Wooo hooo!

St.Bernard....I Mean Camelback Mtn.

Jeremy will probably not speak to me when he reads this but I was going through our pictures today and weeding out things. (LOVE iPhoto) Anyway, I came across a picture of Camel Rock in NM and it made me remember when Jeremy, my mom and I were in AZ a few years ago visiting Mags. We were looking out the window and Jeremy was telling us all about Camelback Mountain...Mom and I were so confused and couldn't see what he was pointing at. This is what he was pointing at:

But we were looking for something that looked like this:
We decided that our camel rock looked more like a camel than his mountain so now (fondly) Camelback Moutain has been renamed St. Bernard Mountain...it looks just like a St. Bernard-don't you think?? :) Love you Jeremy!

Splashing!

Here's Hunter enjoying a bath...so is Mom! 

Scooting

Hunter is going and going!!! This little clip doesn't truly capture him but it's a good start!

Free handbag anyone?

Check it out..even though I don't get to carry a purse as often anymore, I still wanted to sign up. This link is giving away a free handbag every hour for the first 24 hours...FOR FREE!!! Check it out! :) 

www.handbagplanet.com

Crazy 8s Tag

I was tagged by Andrea....here ya go.

8 Favorite Shows:

1. The Office

2. Chuck

3. Big Bang Theory

4. Burn Notice

5. Monk

6. Jon & Kate Plus 8

7. What Not To Wear

8. Heroes

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Claim Jumper

2. Cheesecake Factory

3. Olive Garden

4. Baja Fresh

5. Cold Stone (not a restaurant but still)

6. PF Changs

7. Red Robin

8. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

1. Made cookies w/ Candice

2. Fed Hunter

3. Changed diapers

4. Talked to my mom

5. Dropped Jeremy @ the airport

6. Dropped Uncle Greg @ his truck

7. Got Hunter's birth certificate

8. Had dinner w/ Brian & Candice

8 Things Looking Forward To:

1. Selling our condo and breaking even (at least)

2. Buying a house

3. Getting organized

4. Seeing family for Thanksgiving/ Christmas

5. Moving out of Vegas

6. One day owning a bedroom set

7. Getting more crafty

8. Not going back to work (we hope)

8 Things I Love About Fall:

1. Colors

2. Cooler weather

3. Fun clothes (the best colors for fashion are in the fall)

4. Halloween

5. Thanksgiving

6. Smells of fall

7. Fun recipes

8. Spud harvest (in Idaho)

8 Wishlist Items:

1.  Moving out of Vegas

2. Buying a house (w/ a yard and garage!)

3. Being organized

4. Go on another cruise

5. Lose baby weight

6. More motivation to exercise

7. Travel to Greece

8. Go back to NYC (to get those pics we missed)

8 People to Tag:

I dont believe in tagging. :)

And it starts...

I cant' believe I am posting this on here (don't you judge me all you perfect mothers!) but it has dawned on Jeremy and I that are little one is getting more mobile...like I mentioned in the 6 month post..Hunter is rolling and rolling and swirling in circles. 

Well, a few days ago I was working on the computer and Hunter fell asleep on our bed. No biggie. My grandma called and while I stepped into the bathroom to grab a tissue (stupid cold), I hear some grumblings. Hunter normally grumbles when he starts to wake up so I peeked around the corner of the door to check on him...Hunter is NO WHERE on the bed. Then I heard a LOUD scream/cry and rush to the other side of the bed. Lo and behold-there is my little red faced, screaming child ON THE FLOOR!!! My grandma hears him and says I can call her back (Thanks Grandma D). I did a few once overs and he is fine but I am still a little confused with how he pushed himself off the bed (in the middle of his nap, even)!  Hunter really is fine and from everyone I have told- it apparently happens to everyone. Sigh. It still doesn't help me feel better. :S

6 months today!

Today Hunter is 6 months old! I can't believe is so old already!! He is scooting around in circles and rolling all over!! He is sitting up on laps for minutes at a time (until he gets excited and throws himself back). Sitting on the floor is still a lil tricky for long periods of time (he slumps a tad to the right...). I dont know his current weight, etc. because we haven't had his 6 month checkup....stay tuned. :) 

Peas anyone?

Here is a video of Hunter and his first introduction to peas...enjoy!

Burp Cloths.....Check!

Here are pictures of burp cloths I made. The camo ones are for Hunter but mainly for Jeremy because he loves camo. The others are ones I made for Rachey & Lincoln. Not bad for a novice sew-er! :) Hehehe. Domestication, here I come!!

How to: (Really easy!!)

2 yards of fabric (I used fannel)

Cut up the fabric so the pieces are equal (I got 8 burp cloths out of 2 yards)

Sew the edges up!

Wash

TaDa!

Tufa Anyone?

tufa: a soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in lime. 

That's right folks-we were at Mono Lake-saltier than the sea.

 All those things sticking up out of 

the water behind Jeremy have been created from underground springs. This lake has had a lot of crazy things happen to it and you can click here for the entire story if you feel so inclined... 

There are no fish in the lake because it is too salty. You would think that there are no living things in it then...well you would be wrong..There are brine shrimp in the lake and FLIES that sit on the bank. 

Yeah all those black things that look like sand---NOPE they are flies! It is soooooo gross! You walk towards the lake and it sounds like waves crashing on the shore...but it's all the flies! So disgusting! 

The lake overall was pretty interesting but we had no desire to swim-even though the flier said that swimmers have a "uniquely delightful time" trying to stay in the water and not floating out of it. 

We did have fun and traveled back through Tonopah, Beatty and Indian Springs to get back to good ol' Vegas. Let me also add that those three locations are places I hope I never have to move to...

Yosemite

We got to Yosemite after driving out to see Steve and Erin one more time. Steve is a firefighter and we didnt get to see him in Oroville so we headed out to their ranch before the camping (again, sorry no pictures).  

We got a campsite and then headed down to see the Village. I

 really wanted to check out the Ansel Adams museum but we didnt have time. Next time. :) We took all the typical pictures of Half Dome, El Capitan, etc. It is a beautiful place

 and Hunter seemed to enjoy it, even though he wont remember it. :) 

We even hiked (yes, I hiked! but we dont want to talk about it) down 1 mile to a grove of Sequoia trees. I really wanted to see

 some and Yosemite has a few groves spread around the park. These trees are incredible!! SOOO tall and live about 2,000 years. Impressive huh? 

We drove around to the other side of the park and were able to get pictures of Half Dome on the other side...I honestly can say that I have NO desire to hike Half Dome...I will however, give Jeremy a hug and a kiss when he returns. :) Hehehe. Next stop-Mono Lake (pronounced moe-no). 

Greetings all!

Well everyone! September has been a crazy month but we are now home (for a few days anyway) and I will post most of our adventures! Jeremy had to go to Sacramento for a few days for work- I decided to go along since I can now! :) Woo hoo! We left early to go and visit Jeremy's grandpa and aunt in Chico (pictures to come). Then we drove down to Oroville and hung out with Bob, Linda, Brandon and Erin (uncle, aunt, and cousins). No pictures from there but it was a blast! :) On to Sacramento on Monday because Jeremy had to work. I hung out with our friends Brian and Katie and their little one Tyler, while Jeremy slaved away at the office! :) We went to the zoo (more for me than Hunter) and when Jeremy was off work we did the tourist thing and checked out downtown Sac (as the locals call it).  We checked out the capitol, 

and some of the awesome houses that are down in that area. 

Jeremy's boss even let us come check out his house (AWESOME!!!!!). We also got to see our friend Amanda (Ryan was in AZ) before she moved and got to see Jeremy's other uncle Charlie! :) We traveled all around the Sac area and got to see a lot for such a little amount of time! 

Jeremy found out he had to work the day we were supposed to be leaving so we decided to extend the trip and head to Yosemite! I have never been and even though all the waterfalls were dry, we still had fun "car camping" and sleeping in the back of our car (that's about 5 inches too short for us). We had an impromptu camping trip and spent 2 days in Yosemite. Read on to next post...sorry these wont be in order since I am going backwards in giving details. :) 

Dear Friends

Now I know that everyone seems to be getting more into the private blogs for security reasons, etc. and that is fine...except that if you dont have my email then I  dont get added as a friend/approved member to read about your happenings.......sigh.

 Oh how I want to be accepted! :) So forgive me for calling you out but Alia, Ryan, Patrik-thats it so far I think....can you please email me or Jeremy and add us as approved readers...it's so sad, I dont get to see your blogs anymore. :( sniff sniff. 

Not Forgotten

As I was sitting at home yesterday and trying to get some things taken care of, I would occasionally channel surf and look for news coverage of memorial services of 9/11. I was sure that the basic channels would cover such a news topic that affected so many people (at least I would HOPE so), but as I kept scanning the only channels to show memorial services were FOX news and CNN...NBC, CBS, and ABC all had their morning news shows on and not one had coverage of or any mention of 9/11. Now, they may have made a mention of it when their shows started (at 5 or 6-I wasnt up then), or at least I would hope that the mainstream media would have mentioned something about how many people lost their lives that day, or how some family members of victims were doing, etc.  Discovery channel, History channel and even MSNBC had  a whole day of information on the pentagon, the WTC and airline safety. It was a day of remembrance for some and I guess that it shouldn't bother me that much-since those that lost loved ones that day did have a memorial-even 7 years later they haven't forgotten.

    I know there is still controversy over the whole attack, even today, but that doesn't mean that we can't be sympathetic to the fact that people were killed and should be remembered. Why? Because we should LEARN from and remember history.

    I still remember where I was that day: getting ready for class when Doch came in and told us that planes had hit the WTC and the Pentagon. I remember calling my parents and talking with them briefly before going to class and discussing the events even more with our professor. Prayers were offered (I went to Ricks-we always start class with prayer!) for those who were trapped, injured and killed in the attacks and that their families would have peace. 

   Somewhere between then and now we have become more hardened to the fact that innocent people were killed by the thousands. We seemed more united then, not willing to let that happen again and trying to prevent it from happening to others. 

Sigh

My house is total chaos and yet here I sit updating my blog instead of cleaning the kitchen, starting laundry, folding laundry (my nemesis),cleaning bathrooms, dusting (which always comes back---how do I make dust disappear for longer than a day?) which I even vacuum because I hate it! Sigh...there is paper everywhere (stupid mail!) and I cannot seem to get organized enough to have a place for everything so everything can be in its place! Sigh! And yet, I continue to type! Hahaha. I am amused! Anyway- here are some GREAT pics of Hunter!! Enjoy all!

This is how I found Hunter one morning----who knows how long he was like that but he was still sleeping..:) Funny baby!

DROOL MONSTER!!!

Cute BOY!!