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