Tally Mark 23

-Still hates Nursery...with a passion.
-Loves to sing, "Once There Was a Snowman".
-Loves looking at Christmas lights.
-Likes to have my American Girl doll sleep on the floor, next to his crib.  It's his "baby".
-Just started saying his word for "truck" rather than referring to them as "Dada".
-Knows which exit we get off at for his Doctor.
-Weighed 29 lbs last Monday.
-Still has major separation anxiety.  We're waiting for him to grow out of this.
-Now says, "yeah" rather then making a grunting noise. 
-Stayed in Sacrament Meeting for the entire time today.  First time in who knows how long!
-Wants to be a football player when he grows up.
-Shows no signs of getting his 2 year molars.
-Has to wear one of Daddy's ties to church each week.
-Sticks his tongue out while doing different tasks.
-Knows that there's 2 Papas and 2 Omis.  But then again, every number is 2.
-Often escapes if we don't lock the very top lock on our front door.
-Is our sweet boy, forever.

Family Resemblance

It's amazing how strong some genes are...

Clearly we were bored and ended up having too much fun with Photobooth.

Deacon Dave's

I received a Chili's gift card at my work Christmas party last week and since we didn't feel like cooking tonight, we put it to good use.

The night was young when we finished so we decided to drive around and look at Christmas lights.

The Lime is really into lights this year, which makes it especially fun for us. We thought he'd get a kick out of Deacon Dave's and we were right.

Who knew Cholos had a soft spot in their heart for Christmas decorations?

Advent - Year 4 - Week 3

Another week where 1/2 of the group was gone due to illness. The Lime is in 1st place for being sick 2 out of the 3 weeks. We're hoping for a full recovery by next week, since it's our last.

I also failed to bring the candles, music, wreath and jingle bells. So we had to pick songs that we knew the words to. We found out my mom is the only one that knows the words to Frosty.

We did finish the night off with Ghiradelli square s'mores, roasted on the stove. Thankfully there's leftovers...they were delicious.

Last failure, I took 0 pictures. I'm a real winner.

Advent - Year 4 - Week 2

My parents hosted Advent this week and although we were in their new place, my mom had all of our familiar Christmas decorations up.  It was nice to feel a little bit of our old place there with us.

We also added the Utah Sathre Family into the mix this week, via Skype, and there were no baby announcements from anymore; here or there.  The Idaho Sathre Family will also be able to join us soon, via Skype.

We've now started shouting and clapping when we finish a song.  I don't think we're being as reverent as we should be or as my Mom initially planned us to be.  But we're having fun and making memories.

I can't wait to host this next week.  I have a cake recipe I've been dying to try!

He's Home!

Back in February, I was an emotional basket case for this reason...

SAN MATEO: Grieving Woman Joins National Guard, Prepares For...

Not that the woman's dad passed away but because my brother-in-law was deploying, too. We were expecting him to be gone a year. It stunk for many reasons but one of them being my niece was 10 months when he left and he'd miss a ton of changes.

When my sister surprised us with the news that he'd be home before his February date, we were all thrilled. When I got an e-mail the other day with the breakdown of events for his homecoming yesterday, I was even more excited. On my way to the Armory yesterday, the news had a brief clip about the soldiers coming home.  That's when the tears started flowing.  They were happy/grateful/relieved/proud tears and they've continued on into today.

As I turned onto the street of the Armory, I saw several neighbors standing in their front yards, trying to figure out what the commotion was all about.  It was the cheering and excitement of family members, welcoming the soldiers home.  I made it JUST.IN.TIME!

My sister was standing patiently, holding her sign she had made, when all of a sudden, her husband appeared behind her.  Everyone else could see him, except her.  The second she turned around and saw him, the tears started flowing again...for everyone.

We all ended up inside the Armory where the soldiers were welcomed home again.  I don't know who he was, but a gentleman, speaking to the families and friends, said, "We can do it for you, but we can't do it without you."  It brings tears to my eyes as I type it.

I was reading in Helaman 12 yesterday and it spoke about how people tend to believe and rely on God only when bad things happen.  I couldn't help but believe, rely, and thank Heavenly Father for the sweet homecoming.  My heart has been extremely full!

My sister deserves a medal.  When LaVor was gone for 2 weeks to Saudi Arabia, I had 10x more respect for her, being a single mom and having your husband halfway across the world, at war.  She's done an amazing job being all she can be (Army connection...ah ah ah) as a wife and mother.  I'm grateful he's home for her and for their daughter.

Christmas miracles do exist.

Smack In The Face

Last week, The Lime transformed into a devil child.  He's always wild but this time, he was completely out of control.  Yelling, hitting, whining, clinging, throwing, biting, refusing, kicking.  You name it, he was doing it.

LaVor and I tried to accept the fact that we were starting the terrible two's 2 months early and that we may only have 1 child.

After being home alone with him last Monday, I couldn't take it anymore and called LaVor at 4:45 and said, "Where are you?!"  Thankfully, he was only 10 minutes away and I wouldn't have to deal with the wrath on my own.

Magically, in the last couple days, the horns disappeared and our sweet little boy has returned.

I read something tonight that smacked me in the face.  It's what I needed.

Even when The Lime makes me want to crawl in the fetal position and beg him to stop, I need to remember that I love him, that he's healthy and gives me a run for my money.  I wouldn't trade him, or our craziness, for the world.