Two down, INFINITY to go!

Happy Anniversary to US!

Christmas!

Look! Santa came!

We must have been good this year, cause he was good to us!

This year we stayed home and had our small family Christmas. It was great! We got to mesh our different family traditions together and create our own!

For example, Paul's family is used to getting up very early on Christmas, while I prefer to sleep in... I guess we haven't got this one completely figured out yet because this morning I had to stop Paul from waking Jenna up early! (trust me, if Jenna isn't up yet, it's EARLY!)And then he had to drag me out of bed...

Good morning!

Jenna didn't really know what was going on, but she had a great time ripping the paper off the presents!

Jenna got some musical toys and she danced to the music! This is right after opening them. She played with them all day, pushing buttons and laughing - it's so cute!

Sledding!

Jenna's first sledding experience...


was a HIT!


Just kidding! Obviously, she hated it. She had to hold on to her Chapstick the whole time, and once I started pulling the sled, she wiggled too much and did a face plant in the snow! At least Kaden had a little fun though!

Roll Bread!

The other day the electrical socket our fridge is plugged in to shorted out! Luckily, I noticed before too long and the refrigerated stuff was saved, but almost everything in the freezer had thawed. So, that night we had to cook all of our frozen pizzas. The really devastating part was that almost an entire bag of Rhodes Rolls was thawed and melted together! I was getting ready to throw them out, and Paul said "Why not make of loaf of bread?"
Genius! I squished the melted rolls into a loaf pan, let it rise a bit and stuck it in the oven. If you like Rhodes rolls, you'll LOVE Rhodes roll bread!

Let's Fatten 'er up!

You know how farmers spend the weeks before Christmas fattening up their pigs for a tasty holiday dinner? Well, that's what we have to do to Jenna... fatten her up for Christmas! And then sit down to a tasty Christmas feast! Don't worry, Jenna's NOT the main course.

You see, yesterday was Jenna's nine month appt. at the doctor, and she weighed in at 13.6 lbs. That's the 0th-percentile! (is zero-th a word?...)
So, we've got to supplement her nursing with formula (ugh... holy expensive) and pack as many calories in that tiny body as we can before Dec 26. - That's when she's got her next weigh-in at the doc's.
Until then, I'll be spending half my days cleaning bottles and the other half letting Jenna take her sweet time eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and a few snacks in-between.

We're gaining weight now, so send us your goodies!

O Christmas Tree! O Big Booty!

I love LOVE our Christmas Tree! I've never had a real tree before, but Paul grew up with them and NEEDED one to bring the Christmas spirit! And yes, that is popcorn strung on it!
It was so much fun picking out our cute little tree! If I had known what I've been missing, I'd have done this a long time ago. Paul said I got to pick our tree because it was my first one. We browsed through the little farm, naming the trees as we went so that we could remember the ones we liked. Finally, we saw Big Booty (so named because he has a rather large bottom on the right side) and knew he had to be ours! I'll miss him when he's gone (*sniffle*) but I'm really looking forward to bringing Jenna and our other little ones to pick out their first Christmas Trees!

Scary...

So, my friend Bradley read the last post and decided to give us a preview in case Jenna really did get all her teeth at once...









Wait for it...

Hahahahahaha!
Scary, huh?

Last ToothLESS Smiles :(

Covered in Apricots!

Big mess = Daddy fed me!

She's gone so long without teeth and we can feel so many little bumps in her mouth, that I'm scared I'll go to get her tomorrow morning and she'll have like 8 little teeth poking out!

crawling...!?!

We all thought that Jenna would be a permanent army-scooter like her dad (he went from scootin' to walkin', completely skipped crawling). She can scoot around faster than some babies crawl, so we figured she was content with her mode of transportation. Until yesterday! Out of the blue, Jenna plops up on her hands and knees and starts crawlin' around like she's been doin it for months!

In other Jenna news, she has been pointing her little finger at absolutely everything! I'm just waiting until she starts to talk and the inevitable "wha's dis? wha's dis? wha's dat?" begins! She's had a tough time sleeping these last couple weeks (and by tough, I mean extreme crankiness!) because we've been transitioning from 3 naps to 2. But, we've finally got a schedule that works and she is sleeping well now (for the most part :) ). The only veggies she'll eat are sweet potatoes and corn, but she'll eat most fruits and she LOVES bread, cheerios and puffs. Oh! And tomorrow Jenna turns 9 months old! Wow- she's now been alive for as long as I was preggers with her! I gotta say, these 9 months have been a ton more enjoyable :)

The Mother In Me

I just finished reading this wonderful book! It made me laugh, cry and appreciate and love being a mother so much more! Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

For me, the secret of enjoying motherhood is in the moments. To stop and hear the peals of laughter, to touch the tiny hands, to notice the organic smell of their sun-warmed bodies after they come in from playing outside on a hot day - and to be deliberate enough to enjoy it all. Who - when they've slowed down enough and have come outside of themselves enough - could not enjoy a child? This is the surest way I know of enjoying motherhood - ENJOYING my children. Taking the time and learning the skill of being present in the moment.
There is so much to see, to ask, to notice, to laugh at, to pause and enjoy, to delight in.
-Emily Halverson

I have no idea how to ensure that my children walk in truth, especially in a changeable world with unchangeable Truth. I don't know how to teach them modesty in the midst of nakedness, etiquette within rudeness, to be in the world but not of worldly thoughts and gesticulation. I am daily unsure how to show them a rod that is clearly marked, but sometimes dimly lit or hidden by glaring neon signs pointing toward great and spacious surroundings. But I do know who holds the answers, and I know how to ask the Teacher my questions, not with a raised hand, but with a bowed head.
-Heather Harris Bergevin

It occurs to me that Heavenly Father is a perfect parent. He does not take my imperfections upon Himself as a badge of bad parenting. He doesn't assume my flaws are due to some mistake on His part. Heavenly Father is creating me, shaping me, watching me struggle to get along, to meet others' needs. He's hoping, prodding, sending me to my room on occasion, trying to teach me to be more like Him. He's not hiding under the covers, wondering where He went wrong. He knows where I went wrong, but does not extend that reflection to himself. I, in turn, have my own set of hoping, prodding, and creating to do. Somehow, I've got to mourn my children's failures with them, not for them.
-Justine Clarice Dorton

However our children come to us, even those connected to us by covenant, we cannot claim them as "ours". We are stewards of God's children. We are all, in a sense, adoptive parents, caring for the children of divine parents. To receive with grace the children of Deity, to point them homeward toward glory, is the sacred task of parenthood.
-Lisa Meadows Garfield

Fried Turkey = Yum!

This was my very first Thanksgiving as an adult!
That is, there wasn't someone wiser cooking for us. We had to make our own feast rather than simply showing up and eating. So, we decided to fry ourselves a turkey! Hurray - it was sooo delicious! We officially have our new family tradition. The best part? Paul makes it! That is a HUGE part of the meal, so I can focus on more important things, like PIE!!! Okay, so I bought a pumpkin pie this year... but now that I know how much extra time I'll have I can go crazy next year!
Paul got to play in his annual turkey bowl, I unpacked our stuff (Yes, we finally got that second bedroom for Jenna!), and we ate with the Smiths. We all enjoyed our traditional favorites... well, all except for Paul. Pretty much the only thing he asked for was deviled eggs. But somehow... I forgot. Some wife, huh? To make up for it, I promised him deviled eggs all December long. Hold on, I don't even know what goes in them! Quick - I need a recipe!

Trees have feelings too!

Jenna has been waving for quite a long time now, but I've never been able to capture it on camera. =( I give up!
It all started on our walks: Jenna would smile and wave at the trees - not people, just trees. Maybe it's because she inherited my shyness and wanted to practice while getting the courage to wave to people, or perhaps she simply thinks that trees have feelings too! Either way, she continues to wave at inanimate objects with the occasional Good-bye wave to Daddy!

Ready for our walk!

giggle giggle!

Famous!

Paul and I are both immortalized in the highly read and respected (*snicker*) Daily Universe, BYU's student newspaper!

Kali's big debut

This is my very best "I'm pretending to be interested in what you're saying" face. Good, huh?

Paul's big debut (page 9)

Paul is hailed as the inventor of the delicious new 'brat-tail' at Cougar Stadium!

My cute nephew

This is my nephew, Marshall. Isn't he adorable?

And I've got two more on the way! Congrats Nick and Alissa! Can't wait to see them!

Halloween

Cheerleader and Roo

This was on Halloween day. For our ward's halloween party Andrea, Jenna and I dressed up as Vikettes (dance team from High School). Unfortunately, those pictures got lost. It was cute, though!

Little Masochist

See all those bruises on Jenna's forehead? Those are self-inflicted! After her naps or in the morning when she wants to get up, she will pull down her crib bumper so she can see out, and then proceeds to hit her head right on the crib's bars.
Any advice?

p.s. Jenna sticks her tongue out all the time now. It's so cute!

Best Buds

Reading buddies!

Busted!

Partners in crime...

Gotta love 'em!

Where's Jenna...?

Boo!

Hey, Mom, don't you think Jenna is making a Spec face here:

click to see bigger

Picture

I love Jenna's face while Paul's kissing her... classic!

Puffs

Oh! Is that what these are for? Yummy!

So strong!

Jenna pulled herself up all by herself yesterday! She's been climbing on Paul and me for some time, but I didn't count that because we were probably helping her a bit. Check out that smile - she's so proud of herself!


Look at those droopy-drawers! Why can't she do new things when she's dressed up cute?

Sorry Cougs :(

I feel I need to apologize for Paul. His bad luck last night caused the downfall of two most spectacular sport teams.

The only points that BYU was able to score were while I was able to distract Paul with a Sloppy-Joe. The Cougars lost the longest current winning streak in the NCAA and probably their spot in the top 10. Sorry, Cougars.

After the disappointing BYU loss, Paul commented, "Oh well, at least I still have the Rays!"
The Tampa Bay Rays were currently beating the Red Sox 7-0 in game 5 of the ALCS. They were only a few outs from a spot in the World Series. Well, Paul starts to watch the game, and the Red Sox pull off the 2nd biggest comeback in postseason history to win. Sorry, Rays.

Needless to say, I won't be letting Paul watch any more BYU away games or the rest of the ALCS.

It's about time!

After six long months of life, Jenna has FINALLY got a crib! Woohoo!
Of course, until now she has happily slept in a beautiful cradle that her grandpa Schertz made for her, but now that she is sitting up, she needed something bigger.

Jenna's "room" before:



And her "room" now:


I use the word "room" lightly, because that blue thing you see in the corner of the picture is our bed. We hope to be moving soon!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub!

Baby-proofing

Paul and I have found the secret to baby-proofing your house!
All babies invariably choose to play with household items over their own toys. For example, Jenna would rather play with the Wii or stick her hand in the VCR rather than play with her animals or build something with blocks. Now, we could go through our whole house and put everything we don't want Jenna touching out of her reach. But, we found an easier way:

The blocks are covering the VCR and the monkeys are guarding the Wii-motes. Guess what? It works! Jenna sees her toys and loses interest.

p.s. These blocks are fun to play with! At least someone is having fun with them...

Remember Jennazilla?

She strikes again!

My Cutie

Eventually, she got tired of the camera:

Squash!

Wouldn't you agree that the best part about giving a baby her first bite of vegetables is the disgusted look on their face? Well, here was Jenna's first bite of squash:

She liked it! The little wierdo loves squash! She ate the whole container, so I tried to give her some rice cereal in case she was still hungry, and THAT'S when she gave the disgusted face! I was so worried that she just didn't like food and would be impossible to ween, when it turns out she just hates rice. I can deal with that!

Jenna's first food mess

Jenna vs. Jenna

OK, they usually kick and yell and hit a lot more than this, but they won't ever do it while the camera is out! Here's a watered-down version of the rivalry:

A Prophet of God

I felt impressed to share my thoughts today:
As I was reading Pres. Monson's General Conference address in the Ensign, I received a strong witness from the Holy Spirit that he is a true prophet. Just like the prophets of old, Thomas Spencer Monson was called of God to guide His church in these latter days. He is very kind, humble and a great speaker / story-teller, but most importantly he is ordained of God and was given the authority to exercise all of the priesthood keys of authority.
I know that our Father in Heaven loves us "with a love we cannot fully comprehend". As a mother now, I think that I better understand that unconditional love. And I am so grateful for it!

Early growth spurt?

We went to the doctor yesterday, and was surprised to find that Jenna has only grown 1/2 inch and 1 1/2 pounds in 2 months! She's a normal sized 6-month old now, so I guess she was a BIG 4-month old! In any case, Jenna is right on track in development, healthy, and basically PERFECT! Here are her most recent stats:

26 inches - 14 lbs. 3 oz.
57th percentile for height - 14th percentile for weight!

Mozart...

Our little Jenna is so talented... and easily distracted!

She has learned to scoot all around the house now, so she is extremely curious and adventurous! It's so cute how she'll follow me wherever I go. I just melt when she looks up and gives me a big smile!

Half Birthday !!!

Half Birthday to you!
Half Birthday to you!
Half Birthday to JENNA !!!
Half Birthday to you!