So Much to Tell

So far our holidays have been filled with all the usual, traveling, food, friends, family, food (did I already say that?), and a couple new things like weddings and baby-proofing. Since it has been so long since I have posted anything I am going to try to give a small update of all the items, so here it goes...

Crawling
When we got home my sister Rachel came to watch Tanner while we were at the temple for Stefani's (Brad's sister) wedding. I had told her that he was starting to be mobile and would take two or so crawls (is that what they are called) and then fall onto his tummy. Well, after the ceremony I called to see how Tanner had done and she said, "I am not sure what this whole kinda mobile thing is - he crawls," and sure enough he does. It is so cute and he is loving getting into everything. So, since we have been home which is about 3 days at this point I have been baby-proofing, and lets just say there is a lot that has to be put away because Tanner wants to climb on everything and ends up pulling things on himself. Who knew that there were so many things that babies could get into. Brad I I keep forgetting and will often find Tanner in new places. This morning Brad ran into the bedroom to get something and when he came back Tanner was gone. He had crawled through the couch and chair to get to the lap top that was on the floor and was sitting on it. I am not sure what his fascination is with the computer, but he absolutely loves it, it really is quite hilarious.


Tanner finding things to get into-it really seems like it is non stop. Congrats to all you mothers that have kids and a clean house, maybe once I get the hang of it I can be one too, but for right now it is the bottom of my list.


This was one of Tanners favorite toys (it has since been put away). He loved to pull on the plant and try to stand with the baskets. Another favorite was to find a cord and get into kneeling position and lean back (it looked like he was knee boarding), but all the cords have been attached to the wall. We are taking away all of his fun activities.


Stefani Smith & Guy Nolan
What a lovely day. The ceremony was absolutely wonderful and I was very much at ease knowing that Tanner was well taken care of (thank you Rach). The newlyweds make a beautiful couple and we feel very blessed to have Guy in our family. On days such as these I cannot help but think of my own wedding day and there is not one thing that I would ever change about it. The whole day was perfect and absolutely beautiful. It was so exciting to be sealed to such a wonderful person and to start our eternal family. Guy and Stef are so lucky to have taken the same step and we are so proud of them and their decisions that they have made to get to that point. I will say that the only part that is better being a guest rather than the bride is that you get to actually spend time with friends and family.

Stef and Guy and all the kids (with the exception of Anderson who we all missed-we missed his parents too :))

All the siblings that were able to make it to the sealing.

Brad's parents and the happy couple.

Us at the reception.

Christmas Eve
How do you sum up Christmas in a Blog? Although it did not feel too much like Christmas to me this year (since I wasn't ever home and didn't decorate) I still loved all the festivities. Christmas Eve was filled with last minute gifts, chimichangas, a visit from Santa, and a special production of Luke 2. During a nap Tanner was awaken by a clater in the kitchen that turned out to be Santa. He didn't cry, but his face let us know that Santa was not on Tanner's top 10 list. After settling the house down we all sat down for a traditional Christmas dinner of Chimichangas, homemade salsa and guacamole. You might not be thinking that this is not a traditional Christmas Eve dinner and I used to think that too and lets just say I am glad that it is to me now because it is delicious. For the Nativity production Tanner was Jesus and was more interested in crawling around than sitting with Mary and Joseph. Growing up we did not ever do the nativity and so I absolutely love doing it now with Brads family, it helps keep things in perspective and take some time to teach kids about the real Christmas. I guess after having a baby myself I feel a little closer to Mary and realize what an amazing person she is and I am so thankful for her and feel eternally grateful for her son and his sacrifice. After the nativity the annual (OK it was started last year) reindeer run took place. I stayed to listened for waking babies and wrapped a few items. Oh I almost forgot the wonderful Christmas Eve dessert: spiced cake with lemon icing and hot cider (or hot chocolate if you prefer) after which we all retired to our dorms, and for some the hallway.



Christmas Day
Christmas morning started earlier for some than others; Glade (Brad's dad) got up at 2 in the morning to put the turkey in the pit. For those of you who have not had a pit barbecued turkey you are missing out it is wonderful, but I will get to that later. For the rest of us when we woke up we were happy to find that Santa did not forget us even if we did forget him this year. Brad and I got a screen door and are wishing that it came with installation. Tanner got a train and loves to chase after it. He was not too interested in the presents- even thought I tried to make them as sparkely as possible to attract his attention and didn't even care too much about the paper tearing. However, he did love to chase his train around, it is very cute. The rest of the day we relaxed and then had a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixns.

Getting ready for his role as a sheep in next years nativity. Really it was a cute gift from my mom.
This is not really Christmas, but it is my handyman installing our Christmas present.


Once again not really Christmas.

Dathan
Dathan was another fun part of Christmas because Tanner thought that he was the funniest person ever. Tanner would follow Dathan around and just watch him and laugh for no reason. Dathan was very nice and didn't seem to mind the attention. At one point Tanner followed Dathan into the little play house and was cracking up for about 5 min straight-very cute.



Grandma Lunt
While we were at Brad's parents house his grandma Lunt was there also. It was really special to be with her at Christmastime and hear about her stories from her childhood. She is a very talented person and was knitting all sorts of different things while we were there.

Sweet Memories

We made it back from Utah-and of course we didn't have any snow until the Monday before we left (we drove on Wednesday). I wish we could have enjoyed the winter wonderland a little more verses cursing it the entire way home because of the horrible roads. Once again Tanner did so good and I am so proud of him. Although it is good to get home and un-pack I really was not ready to leave. There is just something special about being at Grandma's house. Tanner loved it as well and he was so funny about Grandma. When ever he got up in the morning or from a nap and I would take him upstairs he would see her and smile so big and then bury his face in my shoulder. He would then look back to make eye contact again and then he would reach out to her and touch her face. I wanted to take a picture of the two of them together and so I put Tanner on Grandma's lap (normally they sit together on the ground). Tanner was so excited to be on her lap he tucked his face into her and just kept looking at her smiling. I guess it is just natural to love such a sweet grandma.

Christmas Card Faux Pas

This is the first year I have done Christmas cards - since it was just Brad and I before (really, who cares to see us). So not thinking and feeling rushed to get them out, I made a big faux pas! Still getting used to the most common last name of Smith, I forget I need to be a little more specific - especially when I am sending out a picture of Tanner who is a baby some people haven't even seen yet. Now people are going to get a card from "the Smiths" with a picture of a random baby on it and no first names. So, for all of you who don't get one, just know it's because I was just too embarrassed. Some might say just write a letter that will accompany your card. However, still being in UT without a printer, etc. the letter idea is a little more work than I would like at the moment - and don't blogs take care of my year's events? So, quoting Elaine from Seinfield, "You want a Christmas card, here is your Christmas card!"

Love, the Smiths......

Yes Still Alive and Well in Utah…

We are still here in Utah and are loving our time visiting with friends and family here. It is amazing how fast the time has gone and we cannot believe that we are almost ready to head home. Since it has been awhile since our last post I am going to hit the highlights.

Grandma Anderson

I have come to the decision that peoples true self comes out when you are older and no longer care about what others think and I believe this to be true with my grandma. She is one of the kindest little ladies there is. Little kids love her and she is equally fond of them. She is always looking for wys that she can help you and I feel very blessed to have her as my grandma. She has always been very creative and has so many stories to tell. I have loved to hear about her life growing up and about my ancestors, it truly is amazing how much has changed in her lifetime. Listening to her has made me have a little more appreciation for the little things like running water, central heat, and plumbing. We are very lucky and blessed to have this time to spend with her and her cat (he really is the one who runs the house).

First Snow

Although it was not much of a snowstorm (however, we are supposed to get one starting this afternoon and ending on Tuesday) I still wanted Tanner to see the snowflakes. He didn’t have too much of a reaction (I am sure most 7 month old babies wouldn’t), I think he was just a little confused about why I put him on the grass and little things were falling on him.

Idaho

Last weekend we went to see my mom and her sister’s family in Southern Idaho. I had not been there in two years so it was very fun seeing everyone. We went antique shopping with my mother and spent time with other friends and family. One of my favorite things was seeing my mom’s cats and birds. Tanner was a little taken back by the birds- and they don’t care much for babies so most of them would not come out of their cages. The cats on the other hand loved Tanner-especially Parker, if I could pick one cat to have he would be it. He was rubbing up to Tanner the entire time and didn’t care if Tanner grabbed his tail, ears, or skin (they don’t have much fur). The only problem was that he was trying to run away with all of Tanner’s toys.

Another favorite from our trip was playing Guitar Hero with my cousin Zack (who actually won a competition with an electric guitar as the prize). Let’s just say we left with an appreciation for real musicians (and those who are really good at Guitar Hero).

Standing

Standing has become a new fun activity for Tanner since we have been here. When you set him up he thinks he is the coolest baby in the world (and of course I have to agree). He is still working on crawling and can go forward a little, but if he is close to what he wants he would rather just stretch out and roll around until he can reach it.