Uh-Oh

Well, I thought I ought to get in one more blog post before the end of the year. I haven't been a very good blogger lately. It may be because I'm in one of those life modes where I've been figuratively holding my breath and waiting to do much of anything until some kind of sense of order makes its way back into my life. And it is slowly returning. Being back home for good helps a lot. Being through the holidays helps a lot. Knowing that I'm starting school on Monday and that, at least for now, I have a way to get myself there helps a lot too.

Anyway, there is so much I haven't blogged about, so here goes!

"Uh-oh" is Joseph's first word. John is mainly the one who taught it to him. Whenever he'd be holding Joseph and he was holding something and then would throw it, John would say, "uh-oh!" And Joseph would repeat him, but only as far as the "uh." Then one night while I was gone they were playing with a small ball together and Joseph threw it high and far and it landed behind the computer desk (where it will stay.) Then before John could even react much, Joseph said loud and clear: "uh-oh!" And the rest is history. He says it ALL the time now whenever he drops something.

riding in the tractor with John

As far as words he's spoken, he also says "doggie," when looking at pictures of them in a book, but only sometimes. And he has said "mama" and "daddy" although not directly towards one of us or without us prompting him, so I'm not fully counting those yet. And I swear he copied John saying "thank you" once, but I'm not counting that either.

Now signing is a different story. I've been doing baby signing with him since he was 4 months old and he's now to the point where my consistency with it is paying off and it is SOOOO much fun to see him signing! His first sign he did was "fan" because he LOVES them, and that was a while ago. He's added to that the following signs: milk, more, cereal, all done/gone, and dog. My absolute favorite to watch him sign is "more." Oh my heck it is so stinkin' cute.

Other signs that he recognizes are: eat, cracker, drink, juice, water, cat, mom, dad, & socks. He's also waving goodbye when people leave. The first time he did it he was happy with himself and while looking at his hand waving goodbye, it reminded him of his sign for fan so suddenly he got really excited, started signing fan and looking up at the fan and laughing.

Joseph has got his two bottom teeth, FOUR now on the top and is working on more. He's had this thing where he will only sleep through the night if he is sleeping between John and I. I don't mind him sleeping in the middle, but what is annoying is that more often than not, we'll get him to sleep and then lay him down, but he'll wake back up and then stay up with us until we go to bed because he doesn't stay asleep unless he's sleeping with us. And I don't go to bed as early as I'd like him to be going to bed. Although I definitely should start going to bed earlier.

where I WISH Joseph would sleep every night

When he sees pictures (or the real thing), Joseph makes sounds like monkeys and dogs. (If you haven't picked it up on it yet, Joseph really really likes dogs!) He also loves to growl. The funniest is when me or John is doing something and we grrrr in frustration, wherever Joseph is, he'll copy us. His favorite toys are balls, books, and anything with music.

This cracks me up. Whenever a movie is on, he doesn't really pay much attention to it. But when the credits start going? He starts watching the screen and dancing the whole way through them! Another thing that he always does is clap along if someone is clapping or cheering on tv. He also will "brush" his hair with whatever he is holding when we tell him to. He does it without being told if he is actually holding a brush or comb. And he loves to brush his teeth too. He holds his toothbrush in his mouth and shakes his head back and forth.

And I guess the biggest news with Joseph that I missed was that he celebrated his first whole year being here!!! It was the day before Thanksgiving and we had traveled up north to be with family. We got to celebrate his birthday with his Grandpa & Grandma Ball.

Grandpa showing Joseph how the lighter works

We gave him a birthday cupcake and the first thing he did was reach out and touch the flame out.

the HAPPY birthday boy

So we lit it again, sang happy birthday and then Grandma helped him blow out the candle. He was totally unsure about the whole eating the cupcake thing for a while until Grandma helped him dig in.

In other family news: John had the opportunity to ordain my brother Russell to the office of Elder. I am so proud of Russ and I love him so much! He is such a great example to me of living by faith in the Lord.

Russell & his wife, Rachel

We went up north again the weekend before Christmas for my sister's baptism.

Congratulations on your baptism, Saydi!!

We took the opportunity to get a family picture of us all together. So now I've got an updated family picture of my family on both my mom & dad's side! yahoo!

Top: Rachel & Russell, Judy & my dad
Bottom: John, Joseph & me, Elaine & Kristen

I had to do some major gimping on the VanDyke family picture and I am so pleased with the results. I think it's a great family picture!

what I started with


The finished product!
Top: me & John, Rachel & Russell, Elaine & Kristen
Bottom: Saydi, Chandler, Greg & my mom, Joseph, McKay

And speaking of family pictures, we got ours taken too! My good friend Jenny took them for us. And I absolutely love them. (see more of her work) Here are my favorites:

John is still looking for some full time work. He had a promising encounter yesterday with a cabinet shop that is like a block away from our house. He'll find out for sure about that job after the holiday.

I'm starting school on Monday! aaaaah! I'm going to SUU, which will be about a 40 minute commute from my house. I'm taking two sociology classes back to back: global issues in sociology and sociology of popular culture. I am looking forward to doing this. It's my first step on a road map towards a goal that will take at least 8 years to accomplish!

Joseph with his Aunt Elaine

Christmas was a lot of fun. We had our own little family Christmas morning together for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. We slept in until 8 am, made breakfast and then got Joseph up and opened our gifts.

notice Joseph is only interested in his new toys

what an adorable face looking at all the things under the tree

this horse sings: "I'm a little pony, clippity clop, clippity clop, such a pretty pony, clippity clop, clippity clop" and John and I get it stuck in our head like nothing else!

I'm so grateful for my husband and my son. They totally complete me. And I'm so grateful for our wonderful family members also who show so much love and care towards us. We are so blessed!

Joseph playing with his awesome birthday gift from Grandma & Grandpa Ball

I had a birthday on the 26th. Celebrated the end of my 28th year! I can't believe it. John and I went to see The Princess and the Frog. Not really sure what I was expecting, but I was looking forward to see it and I was not impressed. I don't recommend it and I don't really care to watch it again.

Anyway... there you have it. Somewhat of an update, interspersed with random pictures from the past few months. :) And some little videos for whoever cares to watch them. Probably only grandmothers. :)

Joseph signing "fan"


Playing mom's new pots on Christmas morning

Joseph's 1st Birthday - in case you weren't there and wished you were

Check!

I have a wonderful talent of starting HUMONGOUS projects that can seem quite impossible to ever finish. I've got a whole list of projects that I've started and have not finished. And I have yet another list of projects waiting in the wings. To some, this may seem depressing, but it is not to me! I absolutely love it! I like daydreaming of what it will be like when these amazing projects are completed. I don't dream about them all at once, but just will sit and think about one every once in a while. And for sure, I will never ever use the excuse that "I'm bored" or "I have nothing to do" because I ALWAYS have some awesome project sitting on that back burner waiting to be stirred up. I really enjoy working on them, just a little bit at a time. That's how things get done! And I do work on them just a little chunk here and a little chunk there. And on occasion I actually have completed a project in the works and that has got to be one of the best feelings of accomplishment ever! I love it!

So today I get to check off (well, I guess half a check) a project on my list. I LOVE cross stitching and there has been a pattern sitting in my bucket of cross stitch stuff for a couple of years. It was one of those "waiting in the wings" projects and about 10 months ago I decided to pick it up and start it. And today I completed it! The reason I say "half a check" is because I still need to frame it and hang it on my wall. Then it will be truly completed. I really have been so excited to show off this finished stitching the second it was done though, so I can't wait until it's framed!

It's a Mirabilia design titled the Queen of Peace. And it was SOOO fun to do because I got to use beads, metallic thread and little crystal jewels too! I stitched it on linen, which means each stitch is over two threads of material. This is the third piece that I've stitched on linen and I love it! It looks so pretty. The final stitched area is 10 1/2" x 20".

As I stitched, I thought a lot about the beauty of the piece and realized that it reminds me of some things very close to my heart. I love the way the woman is poised. She truly is queenly in her stature and that reminds me of my own divinity and destiny to be a queen with my husband for eternity. I love all the jewels in her dress, her necklace and in her hair. The beauty of her adornments symbolizes to me the beauty of virtuous traits that I am striving to cultivate. And last of all, I love that she is holding a dove in her hands. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit and it reminds me to always take the Spirit as my personal guide. So while I initially bought the pattern because I would be able to stitch with beads and jewels and the design was beautiful, as I stitched it became even more beautiful and treasured to me because of the things that it reminds me of. I am so excited to have it framed and displayed in my home!

I'm Blogging...

to the tune of my two snoring boys sleeping on the couch!!

Just wanted to make a quick post to announce that: I'm returning to the realm of higher education!!!

For those of you who know me well, you'll know that's quite an accomplishment to even get that far! I felt many whispered inspirations over the summer to "qualify" myself to be able to be a resource that people can turn to for advice, guidance and direction... a.k.a. counseling. So I decided to heed those whisperings and applied as a junior at SUU to major in sociology. I don't feel a sense of urgency to get a degree, just that it is important for me to do *someday*. So I figured I might as well start working on it a little chunk at a time. I'll be taking two classes each semester and the plan is to graduate in Spring of 2014 with my BA in sociology and then apply for the 3 year, part-time Master's of Social Work program through the University of Utah extension at SUU.

Funny story. I applied, was admitted, filled out my applications for financial aid and was awarded some aid and a loan, and registered for my classes at SUU all before it occured to me that I have no idea how I'm even going to get to the university that is 40 miles away from my home. Yeah. It didn't even occur to me. We currently only have one car and not a whole lot of wiggle room in our budget. True story. The end is still yet to be written.

Enterprise Escapades

Well, we've spent the last three weeks in Enterprise at the inlaws home. John's been working on the farm with his dad to earn some income since there hasn't been any new jobs in at the cabinet shop where he usually works. They are working hard to bring in some jobs, so we are hopeful he'll be able to return to work there soon. He's up there for a fourth week this week, while I am catching a ride with a friend up to Salt Lake for the week. Along with that update, this post is a conglomeration of some pictures of what we've been doing... mostly of Joseph, since I've had some requests for more. :) Enjoy!

These are Joseph's ten month old pictures... he'll be 11 months old next week!

I absolutely love the high energy in this picture!

The first week in Enterprise we spent a lot of time with apples. Picking them, boxing them, selling them, drying them, making apple pies, and canning applesauce and apple juice. Oh the pies were heavenly! Joseph learned to love sucking the juice from apples.





Joseph did it! On October 2nd he finally began crawling! This sequence was taken that very day. He is all over the place now and greatly enjoying his newfound freedom!






We had a family playdate at the park one day where Joseph got to swing and go down a slide for the first time.







A fun place to lounge:


Enjoying the swing (and the outside weather) in Enterprise


The second week John worked on the farm they harvested potatoes. Check out the size of this one Grandpa brought home!



And the third week in Enterprise we visited an uncle's house to see his various animals. Joseph got to sit on a goat... (and sorry, I didn't realize my shadow was covering the goat)

and a horse!

As you can see, he liked the feel of the horse.


And then he hung out with John's cousin and the cat while Mom got to do something she's never done before...

ride a horse! Yes, my first time. The horse was a pretty small one, but I was okay with that. John's uncle walked me up and down the street and I was okay with that too! My feet didn't reach the stirrups, so I was worried about sliding off the saddle and the horse's back if we went any faster than we did. It would be quite the experience to have a REAL horseback riding adventure with my feet in the stirrups and my hands on the reins! That's something I'd still like to do someday, although I might have a heart attack if the horse went galloping off!

Joseph got a chance to ride a horse with me too!


And even Dad took a turn.

Joseph enjoyed crawling all over the lawn while John was riding.

And, although this picture doesn't show it, the cat kept following Joseph whenever he took off crawling. It was really cute.


And then today, back home (for a day), here's my boys taking a Sunday nap together. I love napping pictures!


Look for next... our time in Salt Lake, and two new teeth! Both of Joseph's top teeth are ready to pop out of his gums any second!