I need some help

No, not THAT kind of help. Our ward is having a contest to chose the picture for the front of the bishopric's Christmas Card. Last night we went up to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights and I decided to take a few and see how they came out with a bit of editing. Well, now I have several pretty good ones (at least Charles says so) and I need some help deciding. So, leave me a comment as to which one of these pictures you think is the best.

**oh, and I have to decide by Sunday night, so no rush.**

Choice 1)

Choice 2)

Choice 3)

Choice 4)

Choice 5)

First Dentist Trip

So, Sydney had her first trip to the dentist on Tuesday. She has a new tooth coming in that wasn't looking right, so we wanted to make sure it was okay. Turns out, she must have chipped it and it has started to decay. So, she gets to have it pulled when it comes out more. It was quite the trip. She loved the office...right up until they tried to touch her teeth. Then she screamed and screamed until they gave her a pink balloon.

Thanksgiving Eve

Well, the rolls are ready to rise overnight, and the turkey is defrosted and Charles is more than ready to play football with his new flag football gear. Now it's time to go to bed and rest before tomorrow.

27 years old.

It was Charles' birthday today. I think his favorite gift was our family lunch date to Tucanos...he even called me just after he got back to work to thank me again for taking him. The best part was that his meal and Sydney's meal were free. Anyway, I'll post pictures tomorrow. Right now, I'm tired and I still have one big meal/party left this week.

Silly girl

I should have taken a picture, but Sydney was trying to put her pants on by herself tonight. She would pull them open, then try to put her right leg in...usually missing. The one time she got her leg in, she couldn't pull the waistband open enough to get her left leg in. She would growl at me when I tried to help her, and when I finally just put her pants on her with out letting her help, she threw a tantrum until we told her to go to bed. Then she got up and walked into her bedroom and we put her to bed.

Glad it's over.

So, you should all be very glad that we are alive and safe. Our tickets for the BYU v. Utah game was in the middle of the Ute fan section. Seriously, we are glad we brought Sydney with us, because we're pretty sure that they left us alone because of her. And, while we're sad BYU lost, it was probably a good thing for us, since we were both appalled at the behavior of the Ute fans. And, due to that, we have decide to never attend a BYU v. Utah game at Rice Eccles Stadium again...unless we are in the BYU fan section.

My Favorite People

Just a quick picture, since I have to go back to cleaning and getting things ready for Trevor's party and the game tomorrow.

Friday Fill-in

1. The last band I saw live was the BYU Marching Band.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is cranberry sauce and egg nog.
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is waiting until after Thanksgiving to start.
4. Thoughts of party plans fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear some of my pre-pregnancy shirts again.
6. Bagpipes remind me of geneology.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cleaning and getting ready for Saturday, tomorrow my plans include Trevor's birthday party and attending the BYU v. U of U game in person and Sunday, I want to relax!

Best Wife Ever!

So Valerie is totally awesome!

About a month ago we went to a BYU football game and the cheerleaders and Cosmo shot t-shirts out of a cannon. The t-shirts were wrapped in fake million dollar bills for an advertising stunt called "The Hunt for a Million Dollars". Anyhow, each coupon won some different prize. Most of them were vouchers for $20. Well, the "The Hunt for a Million Dollars" guy emailed this week stating that if we had vouchers we could go to a store last night and enter to win a pair of tickets for the BYU vs. Utah game. Well long story short....

Tomarrow afternoon we will be in section 27 row 26 seats 9 and 10!!!

Valerie rocks! As near as we can figure from KSL.com advertisements and ebay, the tickets are probably worth somewhere between $500 to $1000 a piece. I'm just glad we will be there to see the Cougars win for the third time in a row. Go Cougars!!!

Cheering

I forgot that I had uploaded this a week or so ago, but here is Sydney doing the end of the fight song. We were getting her ready for bed at the time, hence the nudity.

Off Night

Not much to say tonight. I went to a baby shower, Sydney freaked out when I left and then again when Charles went to his meeting, and Charles had a bit of excitement at work. Oh, and we're watching his Grandma's favorite TV show.

Shadow

Sydney and I went on a walk today, with both of us walking. It was really cute to watch her, just talking to herself and watching her shadow move when she did. I have some pictures of our walk, but Charles wants to watch Get Smart, so I have to go.

*Here are the pictures*

Words, Words, Words

Sydney has been amazing us lately with her attempts at speaking and learning new words. She can say "happy", "baby", "daddy/dad", "mommy/mom", "bean"(well, it's either bee or me, it's hard to tell.) and several other one syllable words. She can do the motions for the end of the BYU fight song and does them anytime she hears the words "touchdown" or "Cougars" or even sees a football. She also does motions for Pat-a-Cake and Popcorn Popping as well as the songs the library uses for story time. Now, if we could just get her to realize that not all animals bark or growl.

Big Girl

We substituted in Primary today. It was fun, a lot of fun. And one of the best parts was how Sydney wanted to be just like the two girls in the class. She wanted to sit in her own chair and color her own picture and join in the conversation they were having. It was reassuring to know that she will be very prepared for Nursery here in two months, although, I will be sad if she doesn't even notice us leave her there.

Normal

*sigh* I'm tired and it's getting late and Charles wants to finish Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. So, we'll be up for another couple of hours and then have to be up early for his meetings. Oh well, it's just another Saturday night in our house.

Friday Fill-in

1. Please feel free to give me suggestions for our new chair.
2. When I cook with almond extract, I can't help sniffing it occasionally.
3. My favorite thing to cook is DESSERT!!
4. Sydney is something I can't get enough of.
5. That's the thing I love most about being a stay at home mom.
6. The children screaming upstairs always makes me think to myself, what the heck?
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to BYU basketball game, tomorrow my plans include BYU vs Air Force football and the Ward Harvest Dinner and Sunday, I want to relax and live through subbing in Primary!

Poor Charles

So, if you've been to our apartment, you have more than likely seen Charles' recliner. That big, ugly, blue thing. Well, it died tonight and Charles is in mourning. He sat down in it tonight and leaned back and it just completely broke. It was amazing! Here, see for yourself...

So, while I feel badly that he's lost his friend (Charles is protesting my sorrow...calls it false), it does mean that we can get a new one that looks nice and fits us both. Like a nice armchair from Ikea. Hmmm...I think I'll dream of that tonight.

Charles' reaction...he claims a red fern is going to grow in our living room now.

Ouch!

Charles and I received flu shots today and MAN, do they HURT! I could barely lift my left arm this afternoon. But it will all be worth it if we don't get the flu this winter. Besides, it was free...you can't beat that.

Blah.

Feeling cold and blah tonight. But, I did make these cookies, which we thought were pretty good. It must be the start of the holidays...I bought flour less than two weeks ago and I needed to buy more today. Usually, five pounds of flour lasts me about month. Anyway, good cookie recipe...the whole site actually has some pretty amazing recipes. Check it out.

Family Home Evening.

We had a fun evening tonight. We invited over the Pittas, a newer couple in our ward, to come play games and get to know them better. It went really well. Sydney LOVED them and even performed for them...something she won't even do for mommy and her camera. And then, when she went to bed, we got to enjoy a great game of Apples to Apples and these delicious blondies.

Perfect Day

Do you know what made tonight end just right? Having homemade steamed milk flavored with pumpkin pie spice Torani syrup. Mmm...delicious.

Date Night.

Charles and I went out on a date tonight, to go see High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Now, before you mock us, we have had movie ticket vouchers for a couple of months now that we have wanted to use and it was the first movie we actually wanted to see since we got them. And, you know what, we really enjoyed it. It was fun to watch, and fun to make fun of, and we both left the theater humming. For me, it was nice to watch a musical and just be out, getting a break and spending time with Charles. And it was twice as nice to pick Sydney up from the Phairs and see her all excited to see me.

Friday Fill-in

1. My blueprint for success includes spinach dip and fresh bread.
2. 100 Grand Bar was the last candy I ate.
3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is the stuff I use from Dove.
4. Retail therapy can be good therapy.
5. I'd like to tell you about how much I love staying at home and relaxing.
6. Ooo, baby is my strongest characteristic. *Charles words, not mine*
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to maybe a date with my husband, tomorrow my plans include the last BYU home game and Sunday, I want to play games and have people over!

Bullets

• Sydney got her first paper cut today, while we were at story time. It bled for a while, as I tried to put pressure on it but she was unfazed by it.
• Sydney has started doing parts of the Cougar Fight Song whenever she hears the word "touchdown." It's really cute, she says "rah, rah, rah" and rolls her hands and then waves them in the air for the "Go Cougars!" part. Too bad we were talking about Ute touchdowns.
• Charles and I tried pumpkin spice egg nog for the first time. It's a little more spicy, but still good.

Where's Sydney?

How Sydney entertained herself while I was out shopping with Olympus.

Pants!

Sydney's way of putting on her pants.

Funny Girl

Today, Sydney was just hilarious! She started off this morning when I let her watch Little Einsteins so I could do some cleaning and my hair. I came out to check on her and she was laying on the floor watching the show. I know it does not sound funny, but for our VERY active little girl to be laying on the floor with her tummy sticking out, it was pretty funny to see. And then tonight, she was on a roll. She walked around the house with my sunglasses hanging on the back of her onesie, she kept putting on a plastic lei and shaking her butt, and just being absolutely adorable. We sure love that girl!

Finger Painting

I let Sydney try finger painting this last week. It went over pretty well. She loves to get messy and do things with her hands. And, of course, tasting new things.

Not so tasty, eh?

Halloween

We took Sydney Trick or Treating for the first time this year. Our little ballerina was super cute and super tired, having only had one nap for the day. Charles and I were most excited about the candy she got, since it meant we got to keep the good candy I bought to give out to trick or treaters. We also had fun introducing our little girl to this fun tradition.