Christmas 2010

 

 

I did a poor job of documenting Christmas morning.  I was torn between taking video, taking photos, and soaking in the experience with the girls.  The latter won, thus the limited number of quite terrible photos.  But, it was a fantastic, albeit tiring, day.

Rowan and Harper scored a sweet kitchen, plus play dishes and food.  They are loving it.

Harper was quite content playing with her stocking toys--couldn't have cared less about opening anything else.

With every present she opened, Rowan exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" or "Look at this _______ Mama! It's so beautiful!"  It was quite funny, and Justin and I had to hold in our laughs.  There is nothing like a kid on Christmas, really, there isn't.

And for those of you who did not get our card:

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

cousin buddies

These two.  They're fun to watch, and they love each other.  I love having cousins close to us, it makes having kids that much more fun.

MJ the Missionary

My baby brother went into the MTC on Wednesday.  I would've posted this that day, but since some strange June flu bug hit us this week, this is my first day back at 100%.

Good luck MJ!  We'll miss you, but you'll be great.

Easter 2010: Decorating the Eggs

I thought it would be fun for Rowan to decorate eggs this year.  We got an egg dyeing kit {ahem, a *princess* egg dyeing kit} and got to work for FHE on Monday.  We may or may not have gotten brown eggs.....but, I actually liked how the colors turned out, even though they didn't really match the princess theme.  They look pretty cool, right?  Don't tell me if you don't think so...I like them.

So, Rowan didn't help very much with the dyeing process.  She just wanted to stick her hands in the dye.  But, she did help with putting the princess stickers on.  Which, might I add, is one of her favorite things to do.  (Put stickers on things, I mean.  And not just on just eggs.)

{Don't mind the not done hair and comfy clothes.  If you recall, someone has been having a hard time changing out of jammies these days.}

She also tried a hard-boiled egg for the first time {after throwing an egg on the floor, forcing me to peel it} and she DID NOT like it.  "It's yucky" were here exact words, paired with spitting out the tiny bite she'd taken.

The final product.  Remind me why I bought a princess kit?  Couldn't I have gotten something prettier? {Don't tell Rowan I said that.}

And just because she's so cute and squishy:

She didn't help with the egg dyeing/decorating....she must've been too tired from sleeping and being held and cuddled all day long.  Oh, and the coldsores are healing!! Almost gone!!

Christmas 2009

{the girls with Santa on one of our last-minute shopping days}

I didn't do a great job of documenting Christmas this year. Oops. I also didn't get Christmas cards sent out, neighbor gifts out, and I'm sure I missed a hundred other things. I'm using the 3 week old baby as an excuse for my lack of accomplishment this December. Next year, I will be better.

Despite all that, we had a great Christmas, though it came and went way too quickly. My mom and brother drove out from New Jersey to join us and my other 2 brothers living out here. It's been fun having a full house, no matter how chaotic it has seemed at times. We shopped for 4 days straight, including on Christmas Eve (yes, this year was horrible as far as procrastination goes).

{the girls in their Christmas pj's}

Christmas morning was spent at home, where we opened gifts, ate a yummy breakfast, and talked to my sister Jessica who is on a mission in Argentina. Then in the afternoon we headed over to Justin's brother's house for the Tate side get together, which included dinner, gifts for the kids, and just hanging out. It was a nice day.

{the loot}

{rowan playing in one of her many baby doll toys. she got hooked up this year}

{rowan in her Christmas dress.}

I had to throw this last photo in even though it wasn't actually taken on Christmas day . When I first put this dress on her, she started twirling and dancing all over. Cutest thing ever. And when I told her to stand by the tree so I could get a picture of her, she would lean on it in all of these different poses. She kills me.

first ocean encounter

Rowan and I went out to New Jersey in September to visit family. It was a spur of the moment trip, but I'm really glad we were able to go and spend some time with my Mom and see my Aunt Diane. While we were there, we decided to take a quick trip down to the New Jersey shore so I could get my fix of Mack & Manco's pizza and other such treats that are non-existent in Utah.

Unfortunately, Rowan doesn't share my love of the ocean (yet). She didn't like the sensation of the sand moving beneath her feet when the waves came in. My brother Rob tried to take her into the water, but she wasn't having it.

She did, however, really enjoy the boardwalk. Especially the cotton candy and other treats that we got there. I love how the humidity made her normally wavy hair so curly.

She also enjoyed the sand. I, on the other hand, could've lived without her sticky hands picking up handfuls of the stuff. But, what would a trip to the beach be without it?

Kanab

Went down to Kanab, Utah a couple weekends ago with the whole clan. We stayed at the gorgeous Victorian {gigantic} vacation home of Justin's sister's husband's sister. It was so very hot, but nice to get away and relax for a few days.

brothers.

post pool pic.

we went to the pool in Kanab, and Rowan finally decided to enjoy herself in the water. since the trip we've been to a local pool, and she still liked it. hooray!!! i'm thinking swimming lessons are a must next year.

{apologies for the lack of pictures. i just grabbed a few and threw them up, without really sorting through.}

NJ Trip- Missionaries

We went to New Jersey at the beginning of January to welcome my brother, Tim, home from his mission, and to celebrate Christmas (a week late) with my family. It was fun, and so good to see my family.

Doesn't everyone looked so enthused and excited to be welcoming Tim home? We were all tired, and his flight was delayed, so we had to hang out in the airport for an hour or so. Yes, my baby brother has a fro. Don't get me started on it.

Welcome home brother (I mean elder!)
Tim served in the California San Jose Mission. From what we hear, he was an excellent missionary. We're so very proud of him, but glad to have him back!

Proud Mama.

Here's a shot of Rowan and Tim meeting for the first time. She looks kinda scared....

Um, who was that, and why was he touching my face? What's going on????
Don't worry, they warmed up to each other throughout the week.

While we were in NJ, my little sister Jessica got her mission call. Weird that it all happened in the same week. Here are a few highlights of her opening her call...

Reading....

And reacting...are we happy about this? Excited? Doesn't look like it...

But, actually she really is happy about it. She's going to Argentina. Resistencia, to be more specific. We're excited for her. But I'm scared to death. I don't think I could've ever done the whole mission thing. More power to ya, Jess.

Oh, let's not forget to show Jess telling each person in her entourage.

So there you have it. You should be proud of yourself Mom. You raised some good kids.

More to come on the NJ trip...

We're Back

We're back from New Jersey. The week went by way too quickly, but it was so nice to have my whole family together. My brother Tim got home from his mission, and then my sister got her mission call. And my youngest brother will leave on his mission before Jessica comes home from hers....so it was the last time we'd all be together for a few years.

I have about a gazillion photos to go through from Christmas through our trip. When time finally permits (hopefully this week!) I will get them up. Of course by that time I'm sure we'll have celebrated Rowan's birthday (1 already?!?!) and I'll have a new bunch of photos to go through. It's a vicious cycle.

Christmas 2008-Tate side

We had a nice little Christmas here in Utah with the Tate family. Jessica was in town too, and Santa brought her a stocking full of goodies in addition to Rowan's presents and mine & Justin's stockings. Santa sure is nice!

Rowan didn't really get the whole opening presents thing. We had to help her. She got her very own laptop, and a whole bunch of books.

She also got her very first doll, a vintage C*bbge P*tch. She adores it. She gives her baby "huggies" all the time. It's very cute.

Notice the fat lip. Justin and I were in the mall on Christmas Eve (what? yes, I know we're crazy) and I was walking with Rowan in a store--she had her arms up, holding on to my fingers and she slipped and fell face first into the floor. Poor thing cried for a good 10 minutes straight.

Her hair is this crazy every morning. She's an all-over-the-place kind of sleeper.

After we opened presents at home, we had a nice breakfast with Justin's mom and brother & sister-in-law. Then we headed to Danielle & Dave's to do the big family thing.

Justin had fun trying out James' new toy. He couldn't get it down. Not that I would've been able to either. In fact, I didn't even try because I knew I'd fall flat on my face.

The girlies got matching jackets from Auntie Kristen. Rowan also got a super cute jacket....

(thanks again, Kristen & Keri, we love it!)

I think I took about a million photos of all the Tate cousins in this pose. It would probably take me a century to find one in which all seven of them were looking at the same camera, smiling. You get the idea, though, right? They're all still so cute, and I love 'em all.

After we ate a super-delish, non-traditional Christmas dinner (which, by the way, I loved....thanks Danielle) we headed over to a local hill for a little bit of sledding. It was very cold, and rainy/snowy, but the big kids (aka uncles/husbands) and little kids (aka little kids) had fun.

It was a very nice day, and it's always great when Justin and I have a day off together! Merry Christmas!!

what we've been up to...

this is the only photo i have gotten around to editing, therefore it's the only one i have to accompany this post. doesn't she look older with those teeth? my pictures are deceiving though...she's still incredibly small. so small that it almost looks funny when she tries to walk. one of my managers at work has a 4 month old who is the same height as rowan. either that baby is really big, or rowan is really small. or both babies are abnormal :)

thanksgiving was good. justin's family was all here, and it was so nice to see everyone. all in all it was a pretty laid back weekend. we really just hung out and talked for most of the time.

we have been really busy with life lately....rowan and work take up most of our time. in fact, we haven't even gotten around to taking a christmas photo for our cards yet. i'm considering just taking a picture of rowan (as if you haven't seen one of those, right? :)) and using it on our cards. we'll see how this week goes.

we're looking forward to a low-key christmas here in utah, and then at the beginning of january we are heading out to new jersey for my brother tim's mission homecoming. we are excited for that trip...10 days off!

that's about all the update i've got in me. we're busy, but boring.

ps. the weather has been pleasantly mild...no snowstorms yet. it makes me feel like it's not the holiday season. any of you other utahns feel that way?

goofy-tooth laugh

she is so much fun right now, i love this stage. it's so easy to get her to smile & laugh (if she's not tired or hungry). and with her teeth growing in, she looks so goofy (cute-goofy). i love her.

she loves to try to walk, even though she can't. and she also loves to talk. tonight when i was at work, justin gave her a cabbage patch doll to play with--he said she was just talking away to it (babble-talk of course). she talks to herself a lot too. i can only imagine what it's going to be like when she can learn to actually talk.

my mom was in town this past week, and it was so nice to have her here. she is such a good grandma, and walked around a TON with rowan, even though her knees were killing her.

thanks mom, it was great to have you. and rowan really enjoyed all the attention :) we love you!

halloween

rowan, our little piglet

we had a fun halloween. first, we went to lisa's cute party for all the kids. you can see pictures of that here. then we went up to justin's work so we could show off rowan to everyone. i loved her little piggy costume. after the sandy olive garden, we stopped at the provo olive garden to see some friends. when we got home, rowan would not go down for a nap. it was so frustrating. so by the time we got up to my brother & sister-in-law's house for dinner and trick-or-treating, she was a complete mess. so we didn't go out with the rest of the kids to collect candy. we didn't need it anyway. but, it was fun to get dressed up and go see everyone.

most of the cousins (we missed you james & windsor!) all dressed up.