Thankful For...

If you don't live in Utah click here to check out what happened in Utah last night.  Warren and I had travelled over to Spanish Fork to hang out with Gma. and Gpa. and the cousins.  We were going to stay till about 7:30 or so and then go pick up Kyle from campus.  My dear friend called and asked if we could watch her little boy and her sister's little boy around 6:15.  We said yes and as we got on the freeway the storm was just started to hit Utah County.  The roads were pretty slick from the storm the day before and this made for a slow commute home.  I was grateful that Warren had fallen asleep so he didn't get antsy.  We were almost home and turning left from 300 South onto 400 East when we slid off the road and landed in the gutter (mini ditches) and bumped a large tree and thankfully we weren't going fast.  A good samaritan passed by and asked if we needed help.  He gave me his jacket and looked at our options to get us out.  We decided to try it.  He pushed on the front end and got us partially out.  A neighbor came out of his apt. and offered his help too.  With both of them pushing we got out.  I was so grateful for these kind young men who helped us out and grateful that we were able to drive out of there with no scratches on us and just a little ding on the car.  I didn't end up watching my friend's little boys but we got home before the major damage happened on the roads.  Thank you again to our good helpers.

When's Dinner

My mom had a birthday dinner for my dad and I.  Look who's ready to eat.  The food was wonderful!  It was like a pre-Thanksgiving meal.

Thanks Mom and Dad.

Warren Stats

Our handsome little man is 19 mo. weighing in at 22 lbs. and almost a yard tall (he's 32 in.).  He loves Nursery.  He loves music, some of the songs he requests to sing are "Rock," (The Wise Man and the Foolish Man) "Happy,"(Happy and You Know It or H-A-P-P-Y) "Rollover,"(10 in the Bed) "Bubble,"(Tiny Tim: The Turtle Song) "Pop," (Popcorn) "Monkey," (Five Little Monkeys) and "Sisiy"(I'm not quite sure how he says it.. Eency Weency Spider).  We don't usually make it through one song after singing a line or two he'll request another song so I call all the songs he loves the Warren Medley.

Just like every little one he loves going places he shouldn't and enjoying new heights.

Coloring and playing with stickers.

Playing with balls throwing them or carrying them up the stairs...

and

 Fitting in small spaces.

Last night he woke up around 2 am (I didn't hear that one) 4 am (I did hear this one)...  At first I said to myself, "Why are you awake you should be sleeping..."  I ended up holding him and rocking him to sleep enjoying this peaceful moment with him and dreaming of a wonderful nap.  Love you Warren.

Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve night up at the Johnson's home.  I thought Warren would be a little more interested in opening presents this year.  He is not quite there yet.  Everyone had to open a gift before he  decided that this could be a pretty cool thing.  Gpa. J. sat behind Warren to be his helper.  Warren started to rip small pieces of the paper from the gift handing them to Grandpa and then saying, "Thank you."  He made it about a 1/3 of the way down and got distracted by this--------------------->

Yes, Nerf guns.  He loved sticking the little Nerf darts into the barrel.  Because of his disinterest in opening his presents I have his Valentine's Day gift (a book) for him already and a coloring book & puzzle for next year.

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed being together with both of our families.

Royal Oaks II Gingerbread Construction

December 19, 2010

We had a wonderful time making gingerbread houses with our neighbors. 

Warren had a great time sampling candy from not only our house (Kyle did a wonderful job!), but everyone else's house as well.  He was on the candy prowl, especially the M & M's.

The Lunts with their lovely home.

The Fitches with their winter wonderland house.

The Larsens with the bears peeking out the window to welcome their cousins.

and

The James with the chocolate chip roofing.

I had a fun time baking the homes before.  I loved the holiday smell the gingerbread houses brought to our apartment.  It was amazing. Kyle helped out by trimming the hot houses when they came out of the oven.  Warren helped out by taking long naps.  

Here is a fun video of several family members dancing to the Wii Just Dance game. Of course Warren is the primary star. ;) Enjoy.

Highlights

Sept.

Kyle's birthday

Oct.

Warren's first BYU football game

Ward Halloween Party: we were all frogs

Trip to Vegas: Hanging out with cousins and being great helpers to Uncle John and Grandpa while they put in the sprinklers.

Trunk or Treating with the cousins

Nov.

Went to Jordan River Temple, Memories of April 11, 2008

Took Kyle couponing... an awesome shopping trip

My birthday: awesome phone calls from family they are all so talented with their singing skills, visit from friends with special treats, birthday wishes at church (even passing a card around sneaking it by right under my nose), a birthday visit from another friend on Monday, and birthday wishes from fb buddies thank you for making it such a great day. My first video game (I never thought I'd ever get one, Warren and I dance every day)

Pictures of some events will come later;)

PS I almost forgot playing intramural women's and coed volleyball as well as coed bball

Peek a Boo, I'm Watching You

Today I caught Warren trying to attach the nozzle of the pump to the valve of the tire.  Earlier today he tried to comb his hair today too, so cute.  A while ago he discovered where the mop, broom and dust pan were and started to mop, sweep, and just carry the dust pan around the house. Mom and Dad throw stuff away in this white bucket why can't I, the sippy cup today, yesterday it was my visiting teachers white sandles, que verguenza, we had a good laugh at that one!  It is truly amazing how observant these little ones are. He has said a couple more things like blueberry (I pulled out some grapes in relief society and he called them blueberries too) he is working on light.  A swing is Weee or anything that rocks back and forth.  We love watching him and are grateful that he was sent to our home:)

An Update on Our little Man

Oh, we love our little screech who brings us a smile everyday:)  He keeps us on our toes and moving things to higher ground.  Warren took his first steps about a month ago after our trip to Vegas.  This week he has really taken off it has been fun to see his balance and confidence improve each day.(He still prefers crawling.)  I love it when he walks around flapping his arms or waving a toy/spoon(whatever he finds interesting at that moment).  He his learning all the different sounds his voice box can make and today rediscovered during sacrament meeting that the chapel has a great echo and was squealing with delight then Kyle quickly walked out the chapel doors.  He'll sit on Kyle's shoulders and flip backwards making your heart jump if you've never seen him do it before.  Put hats, lids, hair ties, etc. on his head and say, "Hat, hat." (He doesn't always say it.  When I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with him we had an "American Idol" type show and our special ed. team along with the principal and another teacher from the 2nd grade team performed a cute kids song  Got A Hat Hat,) The other day we went outside our apt.  he saw the hose and it sounded like he was saying water, water, water.  When he drops things on the floor he'll say "Uh, oh".  And sometimes it sounds like he is saying "What's that?" when he points to things.  Dogs and Cats make him giggle and if the birds would stay still long enough he would chase them too.  Best of all loves to cuddle and hates to let go when Kyle is leaving to teach in the morning.  We love him so much and are grateful for the lessons he teaches us each day.

The Rose

Rose gardens are so enchanting.  I love the delicious scent that whisks you off your feet as you walk by.  Growing up my grandma and grandpa had an elegant rose garden in front of their home.  Whenever we went there during the spring/summertime we would leave with a bouquet of roses from different hues of the rainbow.  I loved them.
In the house that I lived in had a rose bush with gorgeous fire and ice roses that were breathtaking.  They were the second best thing about the house the first were the good roommates that I had.  I loved coming home and seeing the roses in bloom.  Walking up the steps onto the porch was like walking into an enchanted garden.  A visual awareness of the awesome wonders of the earth created just for us.
In June I went rollerblading and was noticing all of the beautiful flowers especially the roses.  My grandma's and grandpa's birthday are during that month so I was thinking of them as well as trying to remember how to skate its been awhile.  One of our friends in our ward recently moved into a house.  As I rolled by I noticed a beautiful bush of yellow roses and yes I stopped to smell them.  They were delicious.  In my head I said I should go and ask them if I can have one to put in our home but I thought I better continue my ride before it gets to dark.  The next day our dear neighbor brought over two of the roses that I was admiring.  It was a little tender mercy.  I was so grateful that she brought me those roses it was so sweet and was a highlight from my week.  Thank you, Thank you.

Road Trip to Vegas

I have been wanting to get a picture with Warren and the temple for sometime now. As we drove down to Vegas we stopped at the temple for a little break.

While we were visiting Jessica and I took the kids to a water park it was quite fun to watch:)

We enjoyed being with Porter, John, Jessica, Grandpa and Grandma. We miss you we are glad to be back with Kyle and wished he could have come with us.

pictures to be posted later:)

haPpY 1st BiRtHdAy WarReN!

We love you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

A breakfast pancake in the shape of the number 1.

This is the only time that we were ever able to put this Happy Birthday hat on his head without him wanting to take it off immediately after.

 

Playing with a toy that he got for his birthday.

 

I want some more!

   

Boy how you have changed!

Boston (This was awhile ago March 23-28)

I went to Boston for the first time and loved it. It is a wonderful city. I was able to do a couple presentations, one on research in ESL writing conferences and the other on my MA project. Both were great experiences that helped  me get my feet wet in the professional development world. The convention was great but I wasn't able to go to many other sessions because I was sick and tired a lot. The morning I flew to Boston Warren had his hernia surgery and we woke up early. Consequently I didn't get much sleep. I also didn't get sleep on the plane ride or the first night in the hotel because of different  circumstances. I have had issues with mono a couple months ago and it felt like it had come back. So I spent most mornings sleeping in and getting rest and then going out later to the conference and listened to others' presentations. It didn't help that after the conference I tried to do as much as possible with colleagues around Boston and make the most of the trip. It was still amazing and beautiful around Boston. We were able to go to a Boston Celtics game, travel around the Freedom Trail, go to Harvard, and eat at a few different restaurants. The Boston cream pie is the best at the Omni Hotel. I was also able to bring home a Boston cream pie for Ila too! We traveled around using the subway system which was very easy to use and understand. This was my first trip were I was able to use a subway. It was fun watching and seeing so many different people. As if you can't tell I don't get out of Utah very often. I really loved it there. I would never drive there but I could live there and just use public transportation. Fortunately BYU paid for the most expensive parts of my trip because of the research and presentations. Thank you BYU! I can't wait to go back someday with Ila and Warren.

Happy Anniversary

Time to CELEBRATE

2 years

Easter Weekend

We enjoyed watching and listening to conference and the wonderful messages that were given. We are so grateful for the access that we have to the internet that we can listen/watch the talks again and again. BYU TV already allows us to watch and hear the wonderful messages as well as listen to them from LDS.ORG.

We had a fun time between the Sunday morning and afternoon session up at the Johnson's. We enjoyed an Easter brunch and watching the grandkids go on an Easter egg hunt. Aunt Natalie helped Warren find some eggs. This is Warren enjoying the fruits of their labors.

He loved shaking the eggs. At one point one of the eggs broke open and he got his quick little hands on a jelly bean that made it into his mouth. I quickly removed the jelly bean much to his dismay. He has a sweet tooth already but is still toothless. He also enjoyed climbing up the stairs.

We are grateful for the Easter Season and the great significance that it plays in each of our lives. We are grateful for our Savior and know that he lives. We enjoyed this message He Lives for family home evening tonight.

Deleitaos en las palabras de Cristo, Feast upon the words of Christ

Today we found Warren literally feasting upon the words of Christ. I walked into Warren's room and I saw him with a small piece of white paper in his mouth chomping away, you would have thought he was eating the most delicious physical food in the world. The corner of the title page of my Spanish Book of Mormon was in his hand slobbery and wet from him sucking on it. I removed the paper and the book quickly. This is the second book of Spanish scriptures that he has delighted in. I am glad that he was spiritually nourished today from hearing the scriptures earlier today as well as being able to touch and hold this amazing book in his hand. I am grateful that we have scotch tape again it is an amazing thing. More importantly the scriptures that we can feast upon.

Surgery Day

I woke up Warren at 3:00 am to give him his last feeding before surgery. I then gave him some clear liquids too. He was so cute and was so talkative. Little did he know what was going to happen that day. We went back to sleep and woke up about an hour later to head up to Primary Children's extension at the Riverton Hospital.

We checked in at 6:15 am and they did a mini baby well check on him. He is 18 lbs. now. I can't remember how tall they said he was. We then waited till it was time for the surgery to take place in the waiting room. It had a great selection of toys and a bubble machine which was great for distracting Warren from his hunger. After our 30 min. wait we talked with the surgeon, Dr. B, and then met Dr. L, the Anesthesiologist, who was so kind and gave us words of which were like music to my ears, "We'll treat him like he's our own," this is what I needed to hear. Warren went right to Dr. L. and disappeared down the hall to surgery. Warren looked really cute in his hospital attire, though I wish he didn't have to wear it that day, dressups yes, for real no. We were escorted to another waiting room and were given a complimentary breakfast of bagels or muffins and hot chocolate. While we waited Dale came and got Kyle to take him to the airport so he could go to the TESOL conference in Boston. Right as Kyle and Dale left the parking lot the nurse came and told us that the surgery was completed. It took about 20 min. for the surgery from when we saw Dr. L take him. Dawn and I then waited in the waiting room until he started to wake up from the anesthesia. When he started to wake up the nurse came back to the waiting room took me to the first recovery room, where I found Warren crying at the top of his lungs:( My little heart strings were sure being tugged on especially when the nurses gave him to me to hold and he continued to cry, flail his arms, flip back, and climb me. He didn't know what was going on and found out that this is a normal reaction for babies. They told me that I could nurse him to calm him down and that worked for 2 minutes. We tried a bottle of glucose water too. It was sad to see. The nurses then called the Dr. and asked if they could give him more morphine and this helped, as well as standing up to hold him holding his head against my shoulder. With a little whimper all the while he calmed down and nestled in. During this time I remembered the blessing that Kyle gave to Warren and I the night before which brought peace, as well as, the prayers that were being offered for him. Eventually, they then moved us into another recovery area where we waited about 3 hrs. to make sure his vitals were all good. It took a while for his recovery because his breathing wasn't where it needed to be. It got better when we readjusted the position that I was holding him and later changing the position of where the chord was from his foot to his finger. We are very grateful to Mom(Dawn) and Dad(Dale) for being with us at the hospital. We spent the afternoon at the Johnson's until 3:30, when Warren was more alert and able to support his head a little better.

He slept on the way home. When we got home you wouldn't have known that he had had surgery. He was finding the outlets (don't worry they're covered) pulling himself up on the couch, the dishwasher door, the chairs, the entertainment center, crawling after me in the house, and escaping from me when I was trying to change his diaper. Much different from the little lethargic boy we took home from the hospital today. I think he began to feel some of the effects of the anesthesia because he kept on losing his lunch (liquids).

He slept for about four hours and then I felt like I had just brought a newborn home. He woke up about every 2 hours and we even played a little bit around 4:30. I prayed for energy to be alert for him. I am grateful for the little nap that I got today and am looking forward to going to bed very shortly. We played a lot today, took 2 walks, and visited some ward members, as well as, had a visit from one of my visiting teachers. Our Heavenly Father, our immediate family and our ward family have been mindful of us and we are so grateful for each one of you.

This Morning

When Warren woke up this morning I just saw him looking into space and then he started talking  to himself so I decided to capture the moment. It was so funny he started to jump up and down and eventually fell over backwards.  It brought a smile to my face and I hope to yours too.   Enjoy!

Rub a Dub Dub Warren loves the Tub(Sink)

Bball

Since December I have been playing in a basketball league. It has been a lot of fun! Our season ended last week with a loss to a team with Southern Virginia Alumni on it too. It was a nail biter towards the end. We came back to gain the lead by one and then they hit a 2 pointer to go up by one with 1.7 sec left on the clock. We were hoping for that "one shining moment" where there was a miraculous shot for the highlight reel. It was not so:( I was sad to be done, but at the same time I was glad because of Warren being sick this same week too. I hope to play next year too and join some my new friends and old during the week for a pick up game. I love this game!

Ear Infection

Last week Warren had a fever that ranged from 99 - 103 for a few days. We took him into the Dr. on the 5th and he had a bilateral ear infection. No fun for him! It was not fun to have him sick but I sure did enjoy the time that I got to spend holding him and cuddling him.

While we were at the Dr. we asked him to check a hernia that he has. When the Dr. saw it he immediately encouraged us to get him in for surgery within the next 10 days. We went up to the Primary Children's of Riverton on the 8th. The surgeon we met with looked at his hernia and said that Warren should have surgery. If it pokes out we need to try and massage it back into place. We scheduled his surgery for the 23rd of this month his 10 month birthday, what a way to celebrate. The whole process should take about 2 hours from the time we check in till the time that he wakes up from the anesthesia. We'll be able to take him home that day too. We're not sure of the time yet.

Kyle will leave for Boston this day too. I am glad that Kyle's and my family are near by.

Warren Exploren

In honor of Read Across America and good ole' Dr. Suess

Would you like me over here

Or would you like me over there

I do like traveling so you see

Exploring is a job for me

Standing up is what I do

Lights are so fascinating too

If I find it on the floor

In my mouth it goes to explore

Pulling out laundry and paper out of boxes

Playing with all the white and dark soxes

Crawling for daddy is so much fun

Watch out world 'cause here I come

So you might find me here

Or there

Or you might find me everywhere

Soon to be walking all by myself

Without the aid of drawer, chair, or shelf

We love our little boy its true

And more and more when he sleeps the night through

We'll post pictures to this soon... finally got one we hope to get some others soon.

Hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Love, Kyle, Ila Anne and Warren

My Check Up Stats (I'm 7 3/4 months)

We had Warren's checkup today. We originally had it scheduled for yesterday morning but when we went to leave the car wouldn't start, the battery was dead. I called to let them know that we would be late. One of our home teachers, Jake, came over and helped to jump start the Jeep. By the time we got there we were about 30 min. late and they said that we would have to take a no show fee. We explained again what had happened and the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr. they usually give you one freebie.

We are grateful that we found out about the battery sooner than later because Kyle would have been late to his class. Thank you Jake for your help!

Warren had a great time at the Drs. he was very talkative and wiggly. He weighed in at 16 lb. 14 oz. and is 26 in. tall. He is getting pretty close to crawling. As of now he scoots backwards and turns in circles. He loves jumping and standing. We are loving him and grateful to have him in our home.

Some of My favorite places to find out how to save /spend money

Freebies 2 Deals

You should sign up and get emails to find out how to get things for free, build up your food storage, etc... Malea is great! She posts multiple times a day.

Savvy Shopper

This was my first introduction to couponing. Last year Amy "The Savvy Shopper" came and spoke to our ward to teach us about how to save money. It was awesome! Before getting the paper I would go and use the site to help me shop the sales. The sales are even better now with coupons. I am very grateful for her and what she taught us that night. Thank you AMY!!! Thank you Kyle for chasing down the Boys and Girls Club who started us on our subscription and to my Mom and Dad for the extra paper and to the Daily Herald who we subscribe from(awesome customer service too)

If you are interested Alicia another Savvy Shopper is coming to our church to present about Savvy Shopping it is the 27th of January at 7:00 if you are interested please contact me and let me know.

Pinching Your Pennies

and others too

then there are the couponing websites a plenty, but by using these other websites they have links to them and maybe do your own search too. Everyone wants you to be their stuff coupons are extra incentives to do so along with rebates etc.. find a good sale make money off the rebate it is great!

Deal of the my day... 2 of them $0.94 at Albertsons (5 boxes of cereal, 8 yo plus yogurts, 2 skippy pb, 4 starkist tuna) + $5.00 to use on my next shopping trip and $5.00 in box tops for Rees Elementary

Steal 2 staples 2 reams of paper and a binder which will end up costing $2 no coupons for this one though