Henry Poole is Here

I feel like I'm always so out of the loop whether it's movies, fashion, music, whatever, so I'm not sure if anyone is familiar this movie or if once again, I'm out of the loop on this one. A few months ago, Dustin watched half of this movie (Henry Poole is Here) on the plane during a business trip so we have been anxiously waiting for it to come out on video. This weekend we finally rented it and it did not disappoint! I remembered seeing a preview (once the movie got going) but always thought the movie looked odd from the previews. Although the beginning may appear that way, it is a beautiful movie about faith and hope. There is some great dialogue, especially one about believers (of faith) vs. non-believers as well as some incredible symbolism. It is a touching movie, but you will still find yourself laughing. I'd love to talk more about it, but don't want to give too much away because it really is very well done with great actors and character development. I highly recommend it!

The movie brought about some great conversation between Dustin and I after the movie that really just made me realize how thankful I am for my faith and my testimony. Let me preface this one thought with the fact that Dustin and I have very strong testimonies of our faith and a deep faith in God, but he brought up the question... what if when we die, we find out that what we believe wasn't true? We both agreed that we wouldn't want to live a different way. We could look back and be grateful to live a happy and fulfilling life with the standards we always strive to have, and a strong faith in God and the atonement and always a hope for a better tomorrow. I know that personally, I could not have gotten through the last few years without my belief system. And every time I look at Taylor, I'm reminded of the miracle that was given to us. There are just a few too many "coincidences" in that story to be anything but a miracle from God.

4 Months!

Last week Taylor Anne turned 4 months. I can't believe how fast it has flown by, yet there are times when I feel I have known her so much longer than 4 months. I remember those first few weeks and so many people telling me to enjoy every second because time will fly by. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure what there was to enjoy. Was I missing something? Knowing I had wanted Taylor Anne for so long and then not really enjoying those first few weeks made me feel all sorts of guilt. Maybe I am not a newborn mommy, maybe I just had to much change in my life in those first two months or maybe it was something else, but I do know that this last month has been my very favorite and I completely understand now what those people were trying to tell me. We left Taylor Anne for three days with my mom while we went to the Sugar Bowl and when I got home it seemed like she had gotten so much bigger and she had even picked up a new trick. I was only gone three days, actually 66 hours to be exact and I felt like I had already missed out.

Well Taylor went in for her 4 month check up and she is now 14 lbs and 23 inches long. She is now in the 60th percentile for weight which makes Dustin and I laugh hysterically since she was in the 4th percentile at her 2 week appointment. Ashley (my sister) calls her little "mish" because her legs look like she could be the Michelin baby. So here are just a few wonderful things about Taylor Anne:

• She is definitely a grunter, almost to the point of annoying. She is not really mad or upset when she does it, I think it's just her way of communicating, but she is constantly sounding like she's trying to push something out...
• She is sleeping through the night... hooray! Maybe that's why this has been my favorite month. Right before she turned 3 months, we moved her into the crib and she started sleeping through the night. There have only been 2 nights that she hasn't. This is my very favorite accomplishment! Way to go Tay Tay!
  
• She is smiling a ton. She is so happy when she wakes up in the morning (complete opposite of her mama). She has even had a couple of belly laughs. When my mom was here and we were sitting on the couch, I was rubbing her belly and she was laughing away.
  
• She is already a manipulator. She has been doing a bit of fake crying the last week or so. If I try to get stern with her she just starts smiling at me which in turn makes me melt and then I completely forget what I was even stern about.
• She is done with the binky, but her hands are always in her mouth.
• While I was in N'Awlins, she started blowing bubbles or sticking out her tongue and blowing, not quite sure what you call that.
  
• She loves music. My mom got a CD called the Lullabies of Jesus. It honestly puts her right to sleep which is very helpful since she totally fights falling asleep.
• She loves football and basketball. My mom and I were at lunch and she was getting fussy so I went to grab the diaper bag out of the car and my mom walked her over to a water feature to help soothe her. She calmed right down and my mom thought the mini waterfall was working. When she looked at Taylor Anne, her eyes were glued to the football game on TV. Every daddy's dream.
  
• She started Rice Cereal this week. I was so excited when our pediatrician told us to start her on it. I was at the grocery store and there was a woman and her daughter admiring Taylor. She was asking me all sort of the usual questions, and then I proceeded to tell her she was starting rice cereal that night. I sounded like a totally geeky mom! Here is Taylor's first attempt at it below (I didn't want to bore anyone with the video footage, so I just posted some pics, but mom and dad, I'll send you the video):

• 

Sweet as Sugar!!

Jamie and I just got back last night from a short, but unforgettable trip to the Big Easy to see our Utah Utes play in the All-State Sugar Bowl. It was our first trip together, away from Taylor, and thankfully we had Grandma Ann (Jamie's mom) in town, wanting to get some alone time with her only grand-daughter. We feel lucky that she was able to stay with Taylor.
And usually when such is the case, parents look forward to getting some sleep. But there's no sleeping in N'awlins. Now, first let me just say that getting another undefeated 'regular season' for the Utes was special enough. As a Utah fan, I'm used to not asking for much more than a win over the Y and an occasional conference championship and a bowl win to remember. But Urban Meyer spoiled us. You see, he came in and in just two years, made the Utah program believe that they could compete on a national level. We went to the Fiesta Bowl in 2005 (the 2004 season), but then Urban left, and many Utah fans, including myself, couldn't help but think that the extra 'mojo' left with him.

But I would have NEVER guessed that Utah could possibly be talked about across the country as a team who should be considered national champions, but dreams do come true :)(here's just one of many articles: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28477417/).

The trip was so much fun. My dad and my brother traveled down with us as well. My brother was the captain of the team last year, and so he hooked us up with player tickets (12th row) and we were able to meet with most of the players before and after the game.

New Orleans is a city that was created for bowl games. And it sounds like I think I'm some sort of expert on bowl games, but the truth is, I've now been to six straight bowl games - including two BCS games. And while the Fiesta Bowl was fun (mostly because there were so many Utah fans), the Phoenix area is just so big and spread out and it made it impersonal. I really liked the more personal settings of the other bowls better. But in the Big Easy, you get the best of both worlds. You know you're there for a major event, but also, everybody is concentrated in the French Quarter and everybody there is either wearing Utah or Alabama apparel. So you see so many people you know (we ran into cousins, Jamie ran into high school friends she hadn't seen since HS, we ran into neighbors, etc.). And you can't help but love the French Quarter - the french architecture, the jazz clubs, the food, the food, and the food! Jamie and I planned out on hitting a few restaurants to take in the full experience there - you've got to hit the Acme Oyster company for fresh seafood (their oysters are incredible, as is their gumbo), you've got to hit Petunia's for breakfast (their pain perdue french toast is amazing - as is their cajun sausage breakfast), and we hit Nola - one of Emeril (BAM!) Lagasse's restaurants, featuring more home-style Nola cooking. It was awesome!

It was a blast just to walk around in the French Quarter, listening to jazz or taking in a beignet, or going on a carriage tour. Or seeing celebrities - we walked right next to Jamal Anderson, and Chris Kemoautu, and even John Stamos (Uncle Jesse's taste in women has gone down since him and Rebecca split, I can tell you that much). The Alabama fans were really pretty nice. But I was so intrigued by the fact that it seemed that every male Alabama fan (at least between the ages of 16 and 35) had the same look - feathered hair with the bangs brushed over (even when wearing their hats, they wear them up to show the bangs), dress shirts tucked in, and boat shoes. They also usually sport a Northface jacket or fleece vest as well. But after sunset, and from what I understand, on game-day, you usually see them with blazers on. If nobody was wearing Utah or Alabama gear, you could easily tell which guys were going to yell out 'Roll Tide', just from their look. It was really interesting. I guess that look is pretty known. Here's a funny article about the 'Bama bangs' (http://www.sportsline.com/spin/story/9721273). I really envy Alabama's rich football tradition (they've been to the Sugar Bowl now 13 times, have been to 55 bowl games, and have 12 national championships) and their fans passion (you see them wearing Alabama slacks, Bear Bryant groundstooth scarves and hats, and everything in between) - and they yell out 'Roll Tide' every five minutes, usually every time they see an opposing fan. But I must say that 75% of the Bama fans we met were really classy - and very gracious in defeat (the other 25% were arrogant and/or ignorant - comments about religion, etc. - and every fan base, including Utah, has those types).

But as fun the Big Easy was, the game was that much more memorable. I knew Utah was good and that teams out west are underrated. But I never would have guessed that Utah would have spanked them the way they did. Alabama gave up just 27 points in 13 games in the first quarter - combined. Utah put up 21 points in the first quarter against them. Their fans were absolutely blown away. Alabama couldn't do anything - just 200 yards of offense - less than Utah State had put up against the Utes. And the crowd was into it. One Alabama lady, at the end of the game, said that she had been going to bowl games for 19 years, and Utah's fans were the most spirited she had ever seen. After the game, the police blocked off the streets from the SuperDome to the French Quarter - that's a path you would normally never walk at night. But with 10,000 fans hooting and hollering, it felt like we walked the 1.5 mile walk without our feet touching the ground.

A screen-shot of Jamie and I from footage from the game on Fox.

It was a trip we won't soon forget - and I have a feeling that Utah's success will go a long way to bringing credibility to this program, respect to the MWC, and if we're lucky, maybe even bring down the BCS. Hey, we can hope, can't we?

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.