Happy Birthday Dad!

Whoops I forgot to post this yesterday! Dad celebrated another year! We love you and hope you will have many more with us!

Yeah the rumors are true...

If you haven't heard already we bought a house. Hooray! Kind of...It is a fixer upper and we are trying to fix it up in time to move in at the end of Feb. So far the going is s-l-o-w. Did I mention that a turtle and a snail have lapped us? LOL My job, since I can't do much work on it( because of Gabi) is to try to keep everyone, especially Jack, sane. Wish us luck! I would post pics but I want you all to get the full ooh ahh effect so I will post some right as we move in and then some more as I decorate later. :)

Learning the melody...

Gabi's favorite song is the primary song Reverently, Quietly. She hears this song before she goes down for a nap or to bed and it also calms her down when she is feeling upset or extra whiny. (Well this song or Enya's Flora's Secret).

Today while eating breakfast she said "Ma!" and proceeded to sing the first few notes of the song to me and then smiled looking extra pleased with herself. I was surprised so I sang it back to her with the words (usually we just hum the tune) Then she tried to do the next part, so I sang that melody back to her and she smiled and did the first part again.

SO cute!

Onions

Today Gabi kept pointing to our hanging baskets that usually contain fruits and vegetables. All that were in there were onions and garlic...I still had to go shopping for the week! Oops! She kept pointing and whining for them...I think she thought the onions were apples and I told her that they were not apples up there just onions.

Well she persisted and so I indulged her curiosity and sliced her some onion. Yes raw onion. She smelled it and said "Yum" and took a lick and bit it.....no weird faces she just said yum again and ate some more.

I realize the advantages of eating foods as close to their natural form as possible but I don't think I am ready to go raw just yet! Obviously Gabi is being wise beyond her years! LOL

Resolutions

If you are wondering why I haven't posted about resolutions it's because I don't believe in them. I am all for changing and bettering yourself but I prefer to call them lifestyle changes. I know if I just call them resolutions that's all they will be, resolutions to change not really any action behind them.

That being said, I don't really have any lifestyle changes, or perhaps I am unwilling to voice them because I am afraid I will fail. I think I used up all my good luck or gumption when I was born or else I wouldn't be here. But having tried and failed so many times, you can only get yourself up and start all over again so many times....but I keep trying.

I have decided Gabi's resolutions will be to stop throwing tantrums. Yes she is so mature for her age, not even two and throwing full fledged tantrums. I ignore her and she stops soon after but that doesn't stop her from throwing another soon after. We are attempting to catch video of them. :)

One of my favorite things Gabi does is what we call the "look". Some also know it as the stink eye. I figure she must have gotten this from me...either way we think it is hilarious!

She loves to go bye bye and so we will try to get out and go bye bye more often!

more...

Continued

Family Pictures

Here are some choices for our family Christmas photos. A big thanks to our friend and photographer Whitney Dibble! Thanks again!

Happy December....

So I am one of those people who has a love/hate relationship with Christmas. I love it for all the family togetherness, decorating, music, buying presents, etc. .Okay, I love just about all of it...except for one thing....it seems to come earlier and earlier every year. :P As much as I love Christmas, I hate that it is "forced" on us. I think KEZ 99.9 starts playing Christmas music the day after Halloween...okay maybe not that early but it seems like it.

I refuse to listen to Christmas music or decorate untill after Thanksgiving. I reserve only once exception, my stake's production of Handel's Messiah in whicht my brother and I play. We have been doing it for a while and although we are not the New York Phil., London Symphony, or the Vienna Philharmonic, the concert helps get you into the holiday spirit. Thankfully it's just selected works!

So, if you wanna go it is at the Tempe South Stake Center on 1111 E Knox Rd, Tempe, AZ 85281 Sunday December 14 at 7:00PM. It's a sing-along on the choruses, but you can just come and listen too. :)

As for the non-Handel's Christmas music, I waited until to days to start listening to it. Twenty-Five Beloved Carols of Christmas by Michael Dowdle. If you don't have this album, then I highly recommended it-- just a little plug for a family friend. He has a newer one out this year too. I am hoping to get O Holy Night by Jenny Oaks Baker to enhance my collection this year. :) I mostly like instrumental music, because IMHO it is best for background music...which is the main reasons I play music at home.


I also got out my meager Christmas decorations today. We don't even have a tree! Wahhh! I decided that after Christmas this year, I will get some decorations in order to fully prepare for next year when we will be in town for Christmas (and I can decorate my new house. Hooray!) I did, however, put up some lovely mistletoe so that we can, at the very least, have the romance part of Christmas covered LOL. Don't worry, it's not right at the front door. MUAH*

Happy Thanksgiving!

So this year Thanksgiving was especially fun... we had a visitor staying with us. Nick's GF Lindsey. :) We also made tamales!

More info and pics to come....