Merry Christmas!

Things have been a bit crazy for the past couple of weeks! I will try not to bore you with too many details, but here are a few highlights from the last week or so. One of the many family traditions during Christmas time is to make my family's famous English Toffee and Caramels. In fact, I'm not quite sure how many generations, but I think the recipes go back to at least a great-great Grandmother. Since this can be a timely process, Taylor decided to cooperate and go down for some 2 hour naps which gave me the span of time needed to make a batch. It just makes me feel a little closer to my mom when I know that she's doing the same thing around the same time.

Then my mom and sister arrived on Saturday. Ashley hadn't met Taylor yet so it was a very special meeting. I decided to leave Taylor at home with Dustin so that I could park and help my mom and sister with all of their luggage since they're staying for two weeks (and I know how they travel). I have never seen them so disappointed to see me when they stepped off the plane. and they didn't see Taylor. I guess I know where I fall in the line of priorities.

On Sunday, Dustin's mom's side of the family had their Christmas party. We had the very special opportunity to be visited by Santa! Apparently our friend Mark is one of Santa's helpers and he graced us as Santa that evening. When Taylor sat on his lap he let us know that he can understand baby talk. According to Santa, Taylor wants her mom to forgo her Sugar Bowl Tickets so that her dad can bring one of his friends (interesting...) and she wanted her daddy to win the League Old School Fantasy Football Championship that weekend. Well Santa made one of those wishes come true, but the second one is definitely not happening! (Maybe next time Mark!)

Taylor on Santa's lap.

On Monday, we decided to do a Service Project. My aunt works at St. Joseph's Villa on the wing for the long care patients who will pretty much stay there until they die. Apparently, some of those people don't get too many visitors so we tied some fleece blankets and got some family and friends together and sang Christmas carols room to room. There were 11 kids and 2 babies and even a dog. I was so impressed with each one of the kids. So many of the people were touched telling us how special it was and for some the very best Christmas ever. One woman was blind and although she couldn't see the kids, she mouthed the words to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as the children sang. Everyone had a great time. I was one that refused to sing seeing as how no one would want to hear my voice, but I was brought to tears so many times, I couldn't help but join in and sing along too.

Taylor was joining in on the caroling and visiting fun.

Dinner at Lugano's on Tuesday with the Tate side of the family.

Bryson and Taylor and Tate and Allie. Taylor may not smile for the camera yet, but at least she is looking up!

Christmas Eve and Christmas were both just great days to spend time with family and eat spectacular food. (There's nothing like Prime Rib with horseradish and sauteed mushrooms, twice baked potatoes, salad and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce... yum!) Grandma spoiled Taylor this year so it will be very interesting once she actually understands what's going on around her.

It was a great past couple of days with family and friends. This is my absolute favorite holiday. I feel so blessed that I could share it with Dustin, Taylor, my mom and sister and Dustin's family as well. This has just been a great time to reflect not only on the birth of our Savior, but the amazing life that he led and the sacrifice that he made for each one of us. We have so much to be grateful for and so many blessings to rejoice in. Below are just two of my many!

Happy Birthday!!!

Of course this is late, but I had to wish my sweet husband a very Happy Birthday! Unfortunately he has been under the weather this weekend so it doesn't make for a very happy birthday, but he's hanging in there. It was a little uneventful, but after the year we've had, I think that uneventful is just great. I was telling Dustin the other day that six months ago, neither one of us would have dreamed that we would have been blessed with a baby before his 32nd birthday.

I just want to say that I love Dustin so much and there is no way that I could have endured the last year without him by my side. He has been so positive and so patient with me through all of the frustrastions and let downs. There is no one in this world that I would have rather made this journey with than him. And now we feel more blessed than we could have ever imagined! Who better to celebrate all of this joy than him!

In addition to the birthday cheers for my hubby, my husband and mother share the same birthday... I'm sure that there is some Freudian meaning behind that, but I'm not going there. I just want to tell my mom that she is the very best mom in the world. I think back to that first week with Taylor and I would have been up a creek if she wasn't there just knowing what to do and how to handle my out of control emotions and complete disorganization that week. She has sacrificed so much for me and for Ashley and she has been the best example for the mother that I want to be with my children.

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful family and I can hardly wait to celebrate this Christmas with some of my very favorite people in the world.

Another Niece

I'm a little behind (as always), but on Tuesday, December 2nd, our niece Allie came into the world around 3pm weighing 7 lbs 6 ounces and measuring at about 21 inches long. She has a head full of black hair, just like her mommy (Dustin's sister). Although when you look at her face there is a little bit of her daddy in there, she just has a lot of her mommy.

We were able to go to the hospital on Tuesday just about an hour or so after she was born and she is just beautiful! We love her so much! So now Taylor has two girl cousins... one that is 2 months older and one that is 3 months younger. Hopefully they all don't get into too much trouble as they get older. Congratulations Lindsay and Tim!!!!

Bryson holding his cousin as we wait for Lindsay to move in to the maternity section of the hospital...

Of course I didn't pull the camera out when we were with Allie because apparently I was just too excited to see her and hold her so we went back to the hospital on Friday night so I made sure to pull out the camera. When we got there, the lady at the hospital who does the newborn pictures was taking pictures of Allie. For any of you that know Lindsay, it was no surprise that she Allie had to do a few outfit changes for the newborn pictures. It made me think back to Taylor's first couple of days in the hospital, and t is so funny for me to think of how different my mindset was. Taylor's her birth mom got newborn pictures taken at the hospital, but to be honest I don't think I ever saw the pictures nor thought twice about them. I had to make sure just to get an outfit to take her home in so that she didn't have to go home in the hospital's white long-sleeved shirt and swaddled in a hospital blanket. :)

The second meeting of Allie and Taylor

Aunt Jamie holding her precious new niece

One of these days Taylor will ham it up for the camera, but apparently she still has no interest in doing so. What's crazy to me is that Allie is even bigger than what Taylor was when we brought her home. This was the very first time when I actually thought that Taylor looked big!

So on a totally unrelated note since I am actually on the computer, I wanted to make sure to capture Taylor at her very first Jazz Game. Unfortunately her good luck from the Utah football games wore off and the Jazz lost to Miami but she was an angel through the entire game. I think she really loves the lights and she's already become a people watcher at her early age!

Goooooo Jazz!

Happy Thanksgiving (a few days late)

I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short, but I just wanted to recap my Thanksgiving and just highlight a few of the many things that I am grateful for. This weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to go up to Dustin's Family Cabin in Fairview which is just 2 hours away. We went up Thursday morning and came back Saturday. Even though it was short, it was nice to get away and spend some time with family. I made up my Praline Sweet Potatoes and headed up. Although it's amazing how an almost 3 month baby triples the amount of things that you can't leave home without. This is a very new experience for both Dustin and I.

Taylor with her cousin Mia whom she finally got to meet. (Only two months apart, can you believe it?)

The cutest nephews in the whole world (Bo, Bryson and Tate) making their scary faces for Uncle Dustin.

On Friday night we went to a light parade near the temple in Manti... so cute and so fun! The kids got excited to Santa on top of the fire truck!

Quique was very mad that we went four wheeling without her so we had to be sure to take her on a ride of the souped up golf cart. She loves having the wind blow in her face, no matter how cold it is.

Dustin and I had some time to talk on the way home from the cabin and we are just amazed at what 2008 has brought us. It started out to be a really rough year, not only with the miscarriage, but other things we were going through at the time and despite it all, it ended up being the very best year and made us realize just how much we had been blessed with.

I am grateful for:

Dustin - I can't believe this is our 7th Thanksgiving as a married couple. The holiday season definitely brought us some stress the first couple of years, but I look at how much both of us have grown over these years and that I love him so much more every day (well almost everyday.. love you honey). He constantly makes me want to be a better person and I have seen such a sweet and sensitive side come out with Taylor in our lives.

Taylor - As I have said before, she is our gift from God. She is smiling all of the time and I love her so much. My life has made a 180 since she came to us three months ago and I wouldn't want it any other way. My mom always told me that the love for your children will be different than anything else and I am seeing that more and more every day! But I can't be grateful for Taylor without being grateful for her birth mom Jami. Without her, we wouldn't have been given the most amazing blessing in our life. She sacrificed so much and did one of the most Christ-like things that anyone on this earth can do. She is in our prayers every night and she deserves to blessed with all that she desires.

Quique - I know that she's a dog, but she is full of love and fun and I just love her like she is my child. She was my baby when I didn't have one and she cuddles with me and loves everybody, especially dogs and little kids. She has the cutest personality of any dog I have ever met and she fills my life in so many ways.

My family - My mom and sister are coming in a couple of weeks and I am like a giddy child waiting to open her gifts for Christmas. It's so hard that they don't live near me, but I love them so much. My mom is my greatest example of sacrifice and love. She is a role model for me as to the mother I can only hope to be. My sister is my very best friend. She is so much of what I am not. She is courageous and carefree, yet she has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. I'm sad that I only see my Dad maybe once a year or so, but I love hearing about all of the new recipes he has come up with. My dad can fix anything and he is one of the most creative people that I know. I always had the best when it came to my dad, whether it was a synchro stage or swim-suit or a graduation all nighter. He always got involved in all that I did. Thanksgiving just isn't the same when I don't have my family to share it with. But I am so grateful to them for all of the memories they have given me to treasure year after year.

My in laws - It's nice to have some of my family close and I am so grateful that they have just taken me in as their own and love me so much. I am so blessed to be so loved and to be given so much from my in laws. My life wouldn't be full if I didn't have my nephews and now my niece and soon to be nieces. I was laughing all weekend at everything that they were doing. I am sure it will come back to bite me one of these days, but sometimes I can't help but laugh!

My friends - They are my rocks. I could never have gotten through these past two years without them. I have been lacking in the friends department since I moved out to Utah, but I am grateful for my friends that have moved away from UT (Autumn) or that I have moved away from (my swimming and high school friends) and I am grateful for my neighbors who have become some of my very best friends.

My faith - The gospel has gotten me through so much in my life and it has given me the opportunity to work with some amazing people that have impacted my life forever. I am grateful for the teachings as to how to live my life and for all of the many ways that it blesses my life and gives me the faith and strength I need to constantly move forward and progress.

The list could go on and on, but these are the staples of my life. I am who I am because of the list above, well at least the good parts. I am fully responsible for the not so good parts...

We're Going Bowling (BCS Style)

Well Saturday was one of those truly amazing days. The Utah Utes went 12-0 for the second time in 4 years with 2 different coaches - HISTORIC! I remember getting bundled up early 4 years ago to go to College Game Day at the University of Utah with Dustin and his dad. It was a special day and in some ways even more special. We slaughtered everyone we played in 2004, but this year it was not at all expected at the beginning or even middle of the year for that matter. I will say that I was a little more confident going to a Bowl Game in '04. I was ready to go head to head with USC, Oklahoma or Auburn, but this year, my confidence isn't quite as strong. It looks like we may be going to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and assuming that Alabama beats Auburn and loses to Florida we'll be playing Alabama. How crazy is that? My hope is that we have a good showing and that we don't get creamed! :) It was an amazing season and I'm so glad that Taylor was able to take part by attending a couple of the games. We opted not to take her on Saturday, however we stayed surprisingly warm, so she probably could have gone. That was the only thing missing on Saturday night. It was such a fun game and the Utes put together an amazing game plan that gave them the W!

When it was a week or so before the TCU game and looking like a BCS bowl was a possibility, I asked my mom what she thought about us going to a bowl game for a couple of days since she is going to be visiting us at that time. The rest of the conversation went as follows:

Me: What do you think about us leaving you for a few days while you're visiting.

Mom: Would you leave Taylor with me?

Me: Yeah.

Mom: Well then I don't care what you guys do.

Apparently I am no longer the apple of my mom's eye. I guess the truth hurts sometimes. Anyway, it was an amazing day and an amazing season! Can't wait to find out for sure where we're going on 12/7!

Fiesta Bowl 2004 - before the new Stadium was built

Utah win over BYU (11/22/08) - 12-0 Baby!

Wedding Ring(s)

I think that I am somehow jinxed when it comes to wedding rings. Growing up, I was known to lose everything and Dustin knew this before marrying me so I think that he was already nervous about my ring. However, that doesn't seem to be my problem, there's actually another problem that I seem to have that has now become recurring.

Dustin and I got engaged in Cozumel, Mexico when he was working down there. We did a little ring shopping while I was visiting and I found a setting I really liked. It was just over three years after we had been married and I remember the day vividly because it was the day that I found out that my favorite job was relocating to Orlando, FL in six months and I was devastated. After an emotional day, I got into bed and was taking off my wedding ring when I noticed that one of my side bezeled diamonds had fallen out. I remember thinking my day couldn't get any worse (even though it always can but luckily it didn't). Things were pretty crazy the next year or so and since I'm a procrastinator, it took me about a year and a half to finally take in my ring. I found out the goldsmith on the ring was pretty poor and I pretty much needed to have the whole thing redone. I decided to change it up and do something a little different, but I was going to keep my same diamond and then take the 3 remaining bezeled diamonds and turn those into a small diamond necklace.

So that brings us to two days ago. I was cooking a ton and cleaning the house to get ready for pinochle club that I participate in with some of my extended family members and this month I was the host. So after a long day, it was around 10pm and I sat on the couch to talk with Dustin about the day and he gasped. I couldn't understand what he was gasping about. He said... "your ring". I looked down only to see that my main diamond was no longer in my ring. Let's say I pretty much freaked out. I spent the next two hours on my hands and knees with a flashlight scouring my entire house. Even though it was dark, I checked out in the car and on our front lawn. I couldn't sleep even though I was exhausted and I was sick to my stomach.

The next day, Dustin made a claim with our insurance and luckily because we had the ring appraised this time, we would be able to receive some money towards a new diamond, but it certainly wouldn't have been for the full amount. I was retracing all of my steps and called Dustin's parents and left a message because I had been there earlier that day, but didn't put much stock in it being there. I had also been to Costco. I can just imagine calling Costco and asking if they had found a loose diamond on their floor if they could give me a call. They probably would have thought I was insane and just laughed at me. A couple hours later I got a call from Dustin's brother, Steve. He said "I found your diamond". My jaw dropped to the floor and I was like "yeah right". He said "No, seriously, I found your diamond. It was behind the bookshelf in the entry way". April was with me when I got the call so she can testify to my utter amazement and disbelief. I don't have a big diamond in my ring so how he ever found it is beyond me. Apparently my mother in law had heard something drop when I was in talking with her and my sister in law so she thought that maybe it was in the vicinity. How amazing is that?

Honestly, I have already had my big miracle this year. My wedding ring certainly doesn't compare to Taylor, but I was heartbroken not only to have to pay for another diamond, but more so for the sentimental value that that diamond holds. I think that my miracles are all used up for the year, probably until the next baby comes, but I am so grateful to my mother in law, Steve and my father in law for going around the house on their hands and knees and finding my diamond.

So now the dilemma is, once I do get my ring fixed, I think that I may be a little too scared to ever wear it again!

What a Week!

It has certainly been one of the crazier weeks. Dustin was out of town for a few days, which always seems to make the days a little bit longer. But mainly it was volleyball, volleyball, volleyball this week. As I've mentioned before, I work with the Young Women in our church and they made it to a region tournament for volleyball which was great, but made it a really long week! Our sweet little Taylor was a spectator for close to 15 hours of volleyball in the span of 3 days and she was a champ! The girls played awesome and if we had had all of the girls for all of the games, we probably would have won the whole thing! But instead, we settled for 3rd place, which was so great!!! I am definitely getting old because this was exhausting for me and I didn't even play!

As for the latest Taylor updates, when I prop her up in the corner of the couch, this past week she has been pulling herself up past sitting position which usually ends up with a nose dive into the couch, so I decided to try her out in the Bumbo chair to see if I was getting way too ahead of myself and look what happened...

She was awesome! She was actually sitting up in her chair without her head bobbling all over the place. I was so excited that I took a picture of her on my phone and sent it off to her dad and grandma. Since I had to talk about it with someone, I walked over to Liz's house to make sure that this was okay and I wasn't torturing my poor child. We sat her up on Liz's counter and she just cooed and smiled at Liz... it was adorable! After that we came home to try out Baby Einstein. When I was out for a church activity on Wednesday, Dustin bathed, fed and showed Baby Einstein to Taylor, so I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. She was glued! I couldn't believe it. My two month old stared at the tv longer than I can hold her attention... it was hysterical!

Then on Saturday, after some chores, we watched a lot of college football. In fact, Taylor was so into the game, I couldn't even get her to look at me for more than a minute. A Ute and a football fan... as if she hadn't stolen her daddy's heart already!

2 Months Already!!!

I want to apologize in advance for my spelling errors. I promise I am smart, but sometimes when there is a screaming child in the background, I sometimes just push 'publish post' without proof reading what I have written. So please excuse any weird sentences or grammatical errors. I promise I'm a college graduate, but I'm still trying to multi-task with the mom thing.

Anyway... today Taylor is 2 months! A part of me can't believe it and the other part is like only two months? Whatever the case, Taylor truly is one of the loves of my life and it has just gotten better every day. So many people have been asking us how much she weighs or how tall she is and we had no idea. You would think we would have a scale at home, but we still don't. So we had the big drum roll and our Baby Buddha is 10 lbs and 21 inches long. Now compared to those of you with kids like my nephew Bo who popped out at 10 lbs and 22 inches long, that may seem like a peanut, but when she has gained 4 pounds and grown three inches since she was born and your pediatrician tells you that she couldn't be growing any better than she has... it is a huge sigh of relief!

So here are some new and wonderful things we've learned about and experienced with Taylor over the past month.

• Taylor is still sleeping in the cradle in our room. I honestly can't tell you why she hasn't made it to the crib... maybe it's subconscious????
  
• When I go to give Taylor kisses. she opens her mouth... it's hysterical!

• I've learned that you need to make sure to clean behind your baby's ears when giving them a bath... Thank you April!
  
• She has now been to two Utah football games (and watched heaven knows how many more games on TV) and she has been to at least 5 or so Volleyball Games. She's a sports girl already!
  
• She is smiling up a storm. Her first real smile was at her dad in our Sunday School class at church on 10/12 and I just remember my eyes welling up with tears and I will never forget how precious that moment was.
  
• She loves being held. It was in the evening during one of her cranky times and she was just screaming for a bottle. I made one up, picked her up and laid her on my lap getting ready to feed her. She immediately stopped crying and just looked up at me and smiled. Darn those babies learn manipulation at an early age!
  
• At our church, we call her the ward baby. I don't think that I've really had to hold her much. Between the young women and everyone else in the ward it's pretty much like I get 3 hours off at church. Sometimes she even sits in a different pew for a bit!
  
• Quique is still obsessed with Taylor's toys, but I love those early morning feedings when she is falling asleep in my arms and Quique is laying by my feet. There is nothing better than being surrounded by my two favorite girls.
  
• Thank heavens for the swing... it has been a life saver!
  
• The vacuum cleaner and loud continuous noises soothe her. Some times Dustin will just voice aaaaaaaaahhhhh in a loud voice until he runs out of air and it always seems to settle her down.
  
• She usually averages at least 1 span of 6-7 hours of sleep each night. How lucky am I?


• Her red hair catches all of the attention. Whenever we are out and about, we get stopped by at least one person.


• When she's upset, the Utah fight song still makes her smile (of course only when her dad sings it).


• I love listening to her coo. I wish she could tell me all that she knows, because I know she knows more than I do.


• I love it when she is smiling at something near me, but not me. I truly believe that she sees someone. I like to think it's my Grandma and Grandpa.


• She loves her weekly visits with her Grandma TT for a couple of hours and her webcam visits with her Grandma Ann. (Although Taylor and I have sometimes dropped the ball on some of those visits), but she will sit and coo when I put Grandma Ann on speaker phone and Taylor listens to her talk.

I'm sure that is way more information than you wanted or needed. Today was a really good day. Even though Taylor had to get some shots which made her cry, it was the best feeling for both Dustin and I as we were able to soothe her after her shots. I couldn't imagine not being in the room with her while getting her shots. Afterward I held and rocked her and Dustin sang her the Utah fight song. It was a beautiful moment. Since then she has wanted to be held up until now so I thought that I would quickly write down my thoughts. The only picture I could get of her today was while she was sleeping, but it's a beautiful sight that I could watch for hours and hours.

Our beautiful gift from God and Jami

Happy Halloween!!!

So today is the first Halloween with a child and it's only 3pm and I'm about ready to go to bed! Halloween has always been one of my favorite Halloweens. I think the dressing up, the candy and it kicks off the holiday season! The only bad thing about Halloween that I've discovered in the past 10 years is that it's that much closer to snowfall and by January, I can pretty much do without snow.

Anyway, we started off on Saturday with a trip to Boo with the Zoo with the Heath's and the Larsen's which was a ton of fun. There were about 3 random people who asked if they could take a picture of Taylor because they though she looked so darling. Nothing warms a mom's heart more than that!

Izzy and Dylan and cousins Tate and Bryson

Taylor and my cousin's daughter Emery

My sweet little chunk

The Fam

Today we met up with my mother in law who teaches at an Elementary School and Taylor met up with a few of her cousins and two of her aunts!Taylor loved the 2nd grade program. As they sang and recited Halloween poems she just smiled and cooed away.Bryson, Tate and Grandma Chris

Bryson is always making us laugh...

Next stop was for mom to run home and change into her Halloween costume so that we could head up to Dustin's work. They do a trick or treat through the building and then a big lunch for everyone which is always a lot of fun. Honestly, I always see some of the most amazing costumes when we go there. Dustin and I were a little behind on costumes this year so since Taylor was an elephant and it is election year, our little conservative family couldn't go wrong with this:

Sarah Palin, the Elephant and Joe the Plumber

Now I get to rest for a minute or two and then off to the Trunk or Treat and then tonight will be a relaxing night as we watch all of the neighborhood kids come around in their costumes and eat homemade clam chowder and caramel apples and snuggle up with our bundle of joy. I don't think it could be a better night!

#1 Question

So the number one question behind "how is Taylor doing" is "how is Quique handling everything?" It's been interesting. The first couple of weeks, she just ignored Taylor. I think it was the realization that "this thing" was staying, but also that it was messing with her life a bit. Especially since things were pretty crazy those first couple of weeks.

Since then, Quique has really come around. I still think that because Taylor is so small, she's not really sure exactly what she's doing yet, but Quique has acknowledged Taylor. When Taylor was just a couple of weeks old, Dustin took one of the late night feedings and while sitting on the couch (prior to the rocker) he was feeding Taylor. Quique jumped up on the couch, snuggled up next to Dustin and put her chin up on Taylor's legs. Quique always sleeps with her chin propped up either on Dustin or me or on one of her stuffed animals. Dustin said it was priceless.

With the visitors that have come by, Quique always thinks that everybody is there to see her so she wags her butt and licks people like crazy. I'm so glad she doesn't know otherwise...

Since then, she has discovered Taylor's toys. Not that she has a lot, but apparently she had more than I realized. Quique hit the jackpot when she found the bag with the few toys that she had. Quique has since inherited those toys which I know is not the way to handle it, but it was quite comical to see her squeaking one of Taylor's toys and a teething toy that no longer has the liquid inside.

But the most precious of all are the times when Taylor is in bed with us and Quique jumps up on the bed and snuggles up to Taylor and in between Dustin and I. Or the times when Taylor is screaming her head off because she's hungry. When I set her down in my lap and start feeding her the bottle, Quique will come right up and start licking her head to try and comfort her. I know that this has been a hard adjustment for Q, but once Taylor gets a little bit bigger, I know that they will be the best of friends.

I know that many see Quique as just a dog, but for Dustin and I, she has been and will continue to be so much more. She's only been a part of our family for the past 2 1/2 years, but she has been there for us through some dark times. Dustin and I truly believe that she has filled our lives in ways that no one or anything else could have. She has made us laugh so many times, she has comforted us in a way that only a dog can and she has filled our lives and our family in ways that so many couldn't even begin to understand. We love you Quique!

Daddy's two girls

A morning cuddle

Yes, that is Taylor's bottle in Quique's mouth.

And for a recent picture. She's hasn't quite found the camera yet... we're still working on that. But here she is after church on Sunday.

Cradle or Crib... or Cradle

I'll be perfectly honest, (I think I say that pretty often, but if you know me at all, I'm a pretty open book if you allow me to be) I am not one that does well when I'm sleep deprived. I love getting at least 8 hours of sleep. I know that is more than most anyone out there, but I do love my sleep which is almost comical seeing as how I come from a family of insomniacs. Anyway, before Taylor, I always thought that I would be one of those moms that would keep her baby in the cradle by her bed for 3 plus months. After week two of motherhood, I was ready for her to go in the other room! Surprisingly enough, Dustin wasn't, so I waited.


Now she's doing a lot better and pretty much wakes up between 2:30 and 3:30am and then again around 6:30 or 7am. Last week, I cleaned out some of the clothes and toys that had made their way into her crib so that I would be ready to start her in the crib. That was last week! I still haven't opened the baby monitor package as though it's an excuse that I haven't been able to put her in the crib yet. Honestly, when she starts to stir and fuss around 3am, I wait for a few minutes thinking that by some miracle she'll go back to sleep, knowing deep down that she won't. I get up to make her bottle and then when we sit in the glider (which my mom so graciously bought for us) in her room and I feed her and rock her back to sleep, it is some of the most precious moments of the day that we share together. I see now why my mom was so insistent on buying the rocker because the short time we have spent in that chair has already been very special. I love watching her suck on her bottle. She'll wiggle around, make noises while she eats and then close her eyes and raise her eyebrows while her eyes are closed. And then when I put her on my chest and rock her back to sleep, there is nothing more precious in the world than when she curls up into my chest and falls fast asleep. Then I place her back in her cradle which my grandfather made for my mom that both my sister and I slept in. Maybe it's the nostalgia of everything and I get to feel like my mom and grandparents are with me during this nightly routine, but I have finally begun to appreciate just how wonderful the nightly routine is even if it does deprive me of my precious sleep. So now, I'm kind of used to having the cradle right by my bed and I actually kind of like it! My selfish desires are slowing turning... who would have thought?

The cradle my grandpa made that both Ashley and I slept in...

Taylor always sleeps most comfortably with both arms above her head which is why the swaddling never worked too well for her unless her arms were out of it.

Also, we had a few visitors this week. Kristin, who I swam with growing up, lives in Salt Lake so she and her beautiful daughter Audrey came by to bring us dinner and catch up which was so awesome! Unfortunately my brain wasn't working and I completely forgot to take pictures. Kristin got a darling pic of Taylor and Audrey so I'll have to get a copy of it from her and post it. And her dinner was so good so if she ever offers to bring you dinner, definitely take her up on it!

I learned from Wednesday night's mistake and made sure to take a picture when my roommates (prior to being married) came by, Bobi and Keely! This is a picture of Bobi and Taylor since Keely refuses to be in any pictures... Bobi is now married to my cousin so I guess she's actually my cousin now! They got some cute gifts for Taylor and it was so fun to catch up and reminisce.

I'm so grateful for all of my many friends who have stopped by, brought dinner, called or emailed, sent gifts and been so supportive! I know I haven't always been the greatest friend in years past, but I am so grateful for the opportunities to catch up and reconnect with those I haven't seen for a while. Thanks to all of my friends out there who have been so great to me!!!! I promise to be better at returning the kind gestures!

A Week of Firsts

I'm probably not your typical first-time mom, in other words, I'm not a total germ-a-phobe and I can't stay locked up in a house for a couple months even with a tiny baby, so I dragged Taylor around with me this week. Dustin went out of town on Monday for a couple of days so this was my first experience without any daddy relief in the evenings. But I have to say, although we missed daddy a ton, we made it okay.

So this week I learned that Taylor loves noise. In fact, I think that it relaxes her. On Tuesday, I couldn't get anyone to watch her for a couple of hours so I took her to my work team outing and we went bowling. As loud and crazy as it was... she slept virtually the entire time. I was so proud of her. Here is a pic of her wearing what was required when you threw a gutter ball.

As if that wasn't enough for one day, our church youth group had a volleyball game that night. Since daddy wasn't around, Taylor came with. It was so loud and the girls were screaming and cheering because it came down to a tie-breaking game, but Taylor was as calm as could be and even slept through part of it.

This leads us to last night. Taylor attended her first college football game. I was sad to be so out of the loop this year, so since there was supposed to be nice weather, even though it was a 7pm game, and we were playing Oregon State who upset # 1 USC last week, I justified to myself and Dustin that she would be just fine. For any of you that follow Utah or Oregon State football, you will know that I couldn't have brought her to a more intense game. It was 2 minutes to go in the game and our offense had been playing like crap for most of the game. We were down by 8 and not only did it seem impossible to get a touchdown, but a 2 point conversion as well??? Apparently I'm a bad fan and underestimated our Utes. Not only did we get the touchdown and 2-point conversion (thanks to a PI call), our defense forced OSU a 3 and out and we got the ball back with a minute to go and were able to get ourselves in field goal range to clench the game. Here I am with a 1 month old baby, screaming my head off, the crowd is going nuts and I'm jumping up and down. I called my mom after the game so worried that I had scarred poor Taylor for life.

I was telling Dustin that who knows if I will eventually get pregnant or if we will adopt all of our kids, but one things for sure, together, with our genes, we could have never produced a baby as calm as Taylor. She didn't make a peep except for when she was hungry. She slept through the 1st half and totally let her mom and dad be wild and crazy fans without making a noise. Dustin and I could never be that calm. I think that she'll be our saving grace in the years to come.

Not our best picture, but our first family outing to a football game had to be captured...

Of course we had to make sure she was representing at the game. I don't think that people usually bring a baby as small as Taylor to the games, so even though these pajamas drowned her everyone thought she sure was cute! Here's our little Ute... maybe she'll be a gymnast for Utah. That would sure make her dad proud. :)

Here's to Taylor being 1 month today!!!! We couldn't be more blessed with such an amazing little girl!

Happy Anniversary!

Today's our sixth wedding anniversary. It's been six years. Wow, time flies. It seems like just a few months ago when we were celebrating that great (but very long) day. For memory's sake, I thought I'd include a picture from that day - as one of my young men so observantly pointed out the other day: when it looked like I had a lot more pounds and a lot more hair.

Now, nobody ever said that every anniversary has to be romantic, right? Because I don't think we've ever really had a romantic anniversary - at least not on the actual date. Our first two anniversaries, I was out of town for work. So we've gotten used to celebrating this day on our terms, when we want to and how we want to. So it was with today.

Don't get me wrong. We had a great weekend. Jamie's dad and his wife, Carrie, (picture of them with Taylor to the left) came into town to come spend some time with the new grand-daughter, and we had a great time with them. And we're doing a good job of acclimating Taylor to the fun things in life - like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Oktoberfest, and her first football game (coming this week).

But in celebration of this anniversary, I'd like to share a couple of our funnier moments that we've shared together during our ever-exciting marriage:

A couple of years ago, we celebrated our anniversary a few months late by taking a weekend trip to New York. We went to a couple of Broadway plays and went out to some nice dinners. But what I'll remember as much as anything was this classic moment. Jamie decided to go to the famous "Oidad" Salon (http://www.oidad.com/) - a salon that specializes in curly hair. She had used some of the product before and had always wanted to treat herself to an appointment to this exclusive salon.

After her appointment, she was looking and feeling like a million bucks (the appointment almost cost that much, I believe), and was definitely wanting to show off her beautiful locks as we walked around the city. Well, we walked about five minutes and I was taking her picture in front of Rockefeller Plaza, when all of a sudden, she had a look of panic on her face. I asked what was wrong. She told me to check her head. I didn't know what she was talking about . . . until I went over to her recently-styled hair and saw that a pigeon had taken a nice, huge poop on her head. After the initial second of shock, even she couldn't help but crack up. It was freaking hilarious.

And while that story was kind of at Jamie's expense, I've got an even better one at my expense:

During the week of our anniversary about four years ago, the owner of the company that I work for (who happens to live near us) invited the youth group that Jamie and I work with in our ward, to his house for a swimming party and barbeque. 'Captain Bob' had a newly remodeled pool and patio and wanted to treat our youth group to a fun activity. Obviously, I was just a bit nervous. I wanted to make a good impression with the owner of our company, with our Bishop (who I thought might have second thoughts about me leading these kids), and with the kids themselves. One thing to note - Captain Bob is one of the greatest people I know. He is such a believer in people, he's so generous and thoughtful and an incredible teacher. Needless to say, he's also very detail-oriented, and in the case of this party, he was very specific as to how he wanted everything organized and how he wanted it to run. So, when a few of the young women started trying to push me into the pool with my clothes on, I wasn't about to let it happen. I love messing around with the youth and being a goof - but I told them that I really didn't want to be pushed in on this particular night. I made them a deal that I'd even jump in the pool with my clothes on some other night - but not that night and not at Captain Bob's place. They respected that, and they quit trying.
Well, after dinner I was walking towards the pool getting ready to set up a game for the kids. All of a sudden, I felt somebody grab me and start pushing me towards the pool, and I knew I couldn't do anything about it. So, I just reached behind me and grabbed on to the person. I basically said, 'whoever is pushing me in is coming in with me.' Less than a second later, I was in the pool - but I kept my promise. I held on to whatever I was grabbing. As I came to the surface, I was still holding something in my hand. I looked at it - and it was a blouse. I looked up, and the Stake Young Women's President was bright red - and shirtless, covering herself up. She had pushed me in the pool, and I had yanked off her blouse in self-defense, and everybody saw it. Hey - don't mess with the bull or you get the horns, right? Actually, Jamie reminds me that I looked much more embarrassed than the shirtless woman.

We've shared some wonderful memories together, which I'm grateful for. Sure, there have been a few rough patches along the way. But that's made the good moments even better. I feel so lucky and so blessed to be married to such an amazing wife. And while we hope to have many, many more anniversaries to celebrate, our anniversary from 2008 will be remembered as the first anniversary as parents, and that's what made it our best one yet.

And for those who have told us that our posts aren't complete without a new picture of Taylor, here she is in her cow outfit:

Taylor's Newborn Pictures

As you can see, we're still on cloud 9 with the addition of Taylor to our family, and it still feels somewhat surreal.
So, I decided that we needed to get some photos of her. Jamie, of course, also wanted picturs. But I was the one pushing for them. Not a typical thing for me to do - but having a little girl has made me a softy. I love pink. I want bows and bracelets for her. She's my princess.
A friend of mine had some really cool pictures of his family, including their baby boy when he was just seven days old, and he recommended the photographer that they worked with - Jamie Thorpe (http://www.jamiethorpephotography.com/). She's really good - especially with newborns. As you can see, the newborn pics show her in her 'birthday suit' - and while the pictures turned out adorable, Jamie (my wife) thought it was pretty funny to see Taylor get dad 'messy' in every way that she could get me messy. I was a magnet for her bodily fluids. But again, I must have gone through some metamorphasis by becoming a dad, because I don't think I would have taken too well under normal circumstances, but dad's must have a slightly stronger tolerance to gross stuff, because I just laughed.

Some of our favorite pictures are on the slideshow (to the right).

Everyday Keeps Getting Better...

Taylor has been one of the greatest blessings in our life, but when you don't have the bare essentials when she arrives, let alone all of the other fun, frivolous things, life can be a tad bit busy. I will say that I have a whole new respect for mothers. I didn't even give birth to Taylor, she is such a good baby and I am still struggling with the sleep schedule and everything else. My hats off to all of you mothers out there!

I don't know if I can say anything that Dustin hasn't already said, but Taylor has been the most amazing blessing. Everything happened so fast that I didn't even have time to take in everything that was going on. I think that my expectations of this amazing bond I would have with my child when she was placed in my arms would be unlike anything I had ever felt, but to be perfectly honest, at first it felt like somebody else's baby. I felt so much guilt because how could I not be overwhelmed with emotion by this beautiful baby girl, the amazing love and Christ-like act of a birth mother and a truly miraculous story, but it was hard that my feelings weren't mirroring the expectations I had had. 6 days after taking home Taylor from the hospital, we took her birth mom and her boyfriend out to dinner so that they could see Taylor. As I watched Taylor's birth mom hold her, it finally hit me that she was holding my baby girl. It was like a breakthrough moment for me and I feel our bond getting stronger and stronger every day. Here are just a few of the things I have learned about Taylor in the last 15 days.

• She has the most beautiful red hair
• She twitches a lot like her dad
• She looks beautiful in pink (good thing because her dad is obsessed with it)
• She get the hiccups at least once a day
• She never sneezes just once. Her record is 5.
• She grunts a lot, just like her mom
• When she is held and awake, she likes you to hold her so that you can look at her
• She gets a second wind around 11 pm
• She loves baths and she is totally fine with getting water in her eyes. Yes we have another water baby on the way!
• She hates the car seat
• She always wants her hands touching her face
• She'll turn her head towards Dustin when she hears his voice
• She has been seen holding her bottle all by herself at just over a week old...
• She loves giving her Grandma Ann kisses (yes tongue and all)
• If she's ever fussy, her dad singing the University of Utah fight song always soothes her. think I can say it's her favorite lullaby
• She has brought out a whole new side of her daddy that I have never seen before. He is the proudest papa around with a new obsession of pink, bracelets and bows
• She is loved by so many people and had more visitors than I ever get
• I could watch her sleep for hours upon hours

I can't help but get emotional now when I think of these past two weeks. I am so grateful to my mom who hopped on a plane the day we could take Taylor home from the hospital. She helped me in so many ways and I pretty much had a meltdown when she got on the plane to go home. I had other family members throw a shower two days after we took Taylor home and my dearest friends and neighbors throw us a neighborhood shower a week after bringing Taylor home. I am so grateful to the amazing support network that I have.

I have always heard of these amazing adoption stories. I think of what Dustin and I have been through this past year. The baby I miscarried would have been due in just a couple of weeks. I remember the pain that Dustin and I felt when we couldn't see that heartbeat, but the joy that we have now far exceeds any pain that we endured. I look at all of the miracles that happened during this process. Some may call them coincidences, but I don't believe in coincidences. We turned in our papers about the same time that the birth mother chose to place Taylor for adoption. One of my friends at work said that she was just waiting for us to turn in our papers because we were supposed to be Taylor's mom and dad. Taylor is living proof that prayers are answered and miracles can happen. There were so many prayers made on our behalf and it is because of you that this miracle happened to us. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough.

Some of our many visitors...

My Aunt Vellie aka surrogate Grandma (Grandpa's sister and Grandma's best friend). She's helped fill in since my grandparents have both passed away.

See... she really can hold the bottle by herself

Daddy and Taylor time

One of my dearest friends Amy (who hosted one of my showers) and her precious daughter Eva

My cousin's daughter Emery, but she's pretty much like a niece

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Where do we begin? I always like to start with the end - so here's the news: Taylor Anne Tate was born September 3rd, 2008 at 1:00 pm - all 6.0 lbs. 18 inches of her.

So, now the rest of the story. As most of those who read this blog are aware, after our second unsuccessful attempt at IVF, we decided that adoption would be our best option for us to beign our family. Since making that decision, we decided that we needed to move forward 1,000 miles per hour and get approved and get an active profile as soon as possible because our child could come at any time.

Now - the process is not an easy one, and it's not easy to get through. By the time we had our first meeting with LDS Family Services (July 21st) until the date that we were final approved (August 25th) was just over four weeks. The average time, according to our case worker, is eight weeks. There is a ton of paperwork, reference letters, classes, conferences, etc. We got a phone call from our wonderful caseworker on the 25th, letting us know that we were approved. Needless to say, it all became more real, and we were thrilled. However, we realized that we were likely in for a long wait. The average wait is more than a year.

While all of this was happening, a beautiful and tiny yet big-hearted young lady named Jami (that's right, Jami) was eight months pregnant and had just changed her mind about keeping her baby - realizing that as a single mother without a good job nor family to help, it would be tough to give her little girl the life that she deserved. When Jami made the decision to place her girl for adoption, she looked first at some agencies out of state but found it hard to get in touch with anybody. She was then referred to our case worker at LDS Family Services on August 21st. Our case worker felt a strong prompting to show her our profile - even though we had not yet been approved. Unlike 99% of the other prospective birth mothers, Jami wasn't interested in reviewing profiles online. She took the hard copies of the profiles (our letter and photo collage) that we had turned in just a couple of days before and took them home to review and ponder. She came back on August 25th - the very day that we were approved - and told our case worker that she felt good about us and wanted to meet us.

I got a phone call on August 27th when our case worker told us that a young birth mother - who was due with a young girl on September 14th - wanted to meet us. What a miracle! We were so excited and so nervous. We fasted and said so many prayers that it would work out how it was supposed to. Well, yesterday we were supposed to meet at LDSFS at 1 pm. That morning, our case worker called and told me that we had to cancel. I was disappointed - until she told me that it was because Jami had just gone into labor!

Well, from yesterday until last night, we kept in touch with our case worker to see what would happen. We found out that the baby was born healthily and Jami still wanted to place, but wanted to meet with a few families to be sure that she felt good about her decision.
So, this morning we went to the hospital to meet Jami and hopefully help her to get to know us better. We brought a blanket that Jamie's mom had crocheted for our first-born, some flowers, a frame to track a baby each month in its first year, a book and CD from Michael McClain about adoption, and a card - and we also included a gift card from Olive Garden that we had. In our meeting, Jami felt a connection to us. Not just the fact that she shared first names with the prospective adoptive mother, but also her middle name is Anne (Jamie's mother's name is Ann). We also found out that her favorite food was spaghetti (she was so excited about the gift certificate to Olive Garden), her favorite city that she had visited is Venice (ours, too), she loves reading and, like my Jamie, she loved Edward from the Twilight Series. In that room full of different emotions - the birth mother feeling torn, knowing that she'd have to part with this newborn baby who is very much a part of her - and us, the adoptive couple who is overcome with hopes of dreams coming true - we still made a very special connection with each other.

Jamie and I had talked about names before, and we liked the name Taylor and we had planned on giving the middle name of Ann. But we never realized how much significance it would have until all of the pieces came together like it did. Our case worker's last name is Taylor and Jami felt strongly that the little girl carry the middle name of Anne.

There are so many things that happened before and after, but in the end, this is our story. We have no doubt that Taylor Anne was sent to us and things worked out exactly the way that they were supposed to. We may not have been completely ready (we were expecting months before getting her - and even after learning about Jami - we still thought we had a couple of weeks to get things prepared), but for your first child, you never really are, right?

We're so grateful for all of our friends and family who were behind us every step of the way. We had a long day today, with paperwork, waiting at the hospital, etc. But when we got home, we had so many voice mails and text messages waiting for us. Even more amazing, we came home to see first hand what amazing friends we have. Our home was decorated with pink balloons and countless gifts. My best friend even took the recently delivered crib and assembled it for us while we were out. There is no doubt that Taylor is going to be loved, and we have no doubt that this miracle happened because of the thoughts and prayers of our amazing friends and family. We can't wait to share in the joy that Taylor brings to us - and you can bet that we plan on blogging about her first crawl, her first words, her first day of school, etc. We're excited to share with her the story of her birth mother and let her know how much everybody prayed for her to come into our lives.

A few things to watch for this Labor Day Weekend

Ah, Labor Day. While it's hard for this holiday to compete with the likes of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I can't honestly say that there's a time of year where I feel more fulfilled than over Labor Day weekend. Living in Utah in the spring and fall make the snowy winters and hot summers worthwhile. Labor Day represents the beginning of fall, perfect grilling weather, trees changing colors, gorgeous sunsets, and most importantly, football!

If you're wondering about some things to do, here are some things I recommend to watch for this weekend:

1. Utah vs. Michigan. Saturday, August 29th, 1:30 MT. Shown on ABC nationally.
Everybody who knows me knows that I'm a die-hard Utah fan. We were more die-hard than usual the past three years while Steve starred for the Utes (last year, we traveled to Louisville, Oregon, San Diego, Las Vegas, Colorado, the Provo bubble), but we're still planning on going to most games. And it KILLS both Jamie and I that we're not going to the renowned BIG HOUSE this weekend. But we couldn't find airfare for less than $400 to Detroit - and we've just got too much going on right now.
But even if you're not a huge football fan nor a Utah fan (if you're not, you're missing out), this game will be a fun one to watch. Utah has one of their most talented teams. The coaches are saying it's the most talented team since the 2004 Fiesta Bowl year. I don't have a ton of faith in the coaching staff, so I'm a bit more cautious this year, but those expectations are good - because they either meet them or they look for big changes.
Meanwhile, Michigan is getting a lot of attention this year because they have a new coach who is bringing the famous spread offense to Michigan - who is typically one of the most traditional offenses in the country. What's ironic is that their coach, Rich Rodriguez, was the coach whom Urban Meyer learned the spread from - before bringing it to Utah in 2003.
Michigan is favored by 3.5. Look for my Utes to spoil Rich's first game in the Big House. My pick: Utah 24 Michigan 20


2. Deal or No Deal. Monday night, September 1st. 7 pm MT on NBC.
So, here I am talking about how great fall is in Utah, and I'm telling you to watch a game show on Labor Day? The truth is, I don't like game shows. I've only seen Howie Mandell's popular show once, and didn't really care for it (though I'll admit it can be pretty intense).
But you've GOT to watch it this Monday. Why? It turns out that I know the girl who is on there on Monday night. And it's not just that she's on there. Rumor has it, or you can say that NBC wants us to believe that she will make history on Monday night, winning the largest prize on a gameshow in U.S. history - a cool million!! Jessica is the wife of a friend of mine, from work. She's a very sweet girl and she's currently pregnant with their second child. I do need to make it known that nobody at our work knows whether or not she won, but you can see the preview on the website and make your own judgement. My friend hasn't talked about it at all and won't even answer any questions. He's as poker-face as you can get. But when they started airing the ads during the olympics, a few people from my work recognized her (you can even see some decent footage of him running on stage) and we confirmed it on the website (http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/video/clips/the-moment-has-arrived/524361/).