Carter had such a fun time ripping the paper and eating the bows. It was such a great Christmas. And don't worry, even though my mom and dad weren't home for Christmas, Santa still brought them stockings filled with goodies!! Carter's stocking was full of candy too.... Santa must have forgotten how old he is, or maybe he remembered how much his parents love candy.
We had several visitors during the holiday season. My parents came to see Carter's first Christmas. It was so good to see them!
Our niece Myia and nephew Dakota also came to stay with us for a few nights. We had a lot of fun with them even though Myia was sick:(
For my birthday, I usually love to go see the lights at Temple Square. But, since we're 12 hours away we decided to go to the zoo instead. Photographed above is an animal stack. I don't know, it's 5 animals all standing on the bigger one's back.... anyways, they had some beautiful lights and we got to take a train ride around the whole zoo. It was really fun and a little cold. It was a wonderful birthday.
What he really loves in the bath is a washcloth. He gets really mad at me when I take it to wash him with and then he sucks on his toes instead.
This gigundo spider just hangs out in the stairwell below ours. Yes, I did almost cry the first time I saw it. I tried to get Dennison to put his face up by the web so you could get a perspective on just how huge it is but..... he wouldn't. And I did have a dream about spiders that night and when I woke up I had to search the bed because I thought I felt something crawling on my foot. Yuck. I hate spiders.
Carter gets sooo excited when he hears the bath water turn on. Not the best video but I love when he squeals with excitement.
We have a Christmas tree! Last year we were in the process of moving during Christmas time so no tree, but this year is a different story. We also decorated stockings and put lights up around our living room. Gotta make Carter's first Christmas a good one, even though we all know he doesn't really care.
The top picture is before... very long on top. The next two are after... blonde hair!!
It was a spur of the moment decision 
to cut his hair. He just had one patch left of really long hair , the rest of it had already fallen out. So, we gave it a little trim and he looks kinda bald now cause the hair underneath is so light. 
But don't worry, he's still cute as ever.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was great. We went up to Seattle area to have Thanksgiving dinner at Dennison's sister Heather's house. We got to see Grandpa Harris, Aunt April, cousins Mya and Dakota, and Lindsay and Brian Storrs came up with us as well. Dinner was of course delicious and it was so much fun spending time with family and friends. The next day we spent time in Seattle with Lindsay and Brian. I couldn't believe it but we had to wait in line to go down the escalator in the mall!! I've never heard of such a thing! Biggest shopping day of the year... I guess it makes sense. 
1. Where did you first meet your husband?
Our first meeting was at church. I had just moved into his singles ward and his friend was dating my best friend. A couple days later he came over to my house with his friend and that's when we first really talked to each other.
2. What Was The First Thing You Said To Your Husband?
probably something like, "hi, nice to meet you"
3. Where Was Your First Date?
The first time we hung out just the two of us was to.... read Harry Potter together, I know we're dorks. I was so addicted and Dennison knew that would be an easy 'in' for him. But our official first date was at this little italian restaurant in Provo that's closed down now and then we went and bought some ice cream.
4. Where Was Your First Kiss?
In my house. We had just finished reading a little bit of hp together and he kissed me as he was leaving.
5. Did You Have A Long Or Short Engagement/Courtship?
We had been dating for about 7 months before we were engaged and then another 3 until we got married
6. Where Did You Get Engaged?
Cafe Del Sol in Provo. He had his musician buddie do a private (I didn't know it was private until I looked around the room and noticed that I knew everyone there..... including cousin Kimmie who was randomly there on a date and neither of them had any idea about what was going on) concert and he proposed onstage in the middle of our song. Well he got off stage and down on one knee to say "will you marry me?" but everything else he said was into the microphone.
7. Where Were You Married?
Salt Lake Temple
8. Where Did You Go On Your Honeymoon?
HAWAII!! We stayed in a little cottage right on the beach for a week.
9. Where Was Your First Place Together?
Springville, Ut. Just a stones throw from the train tracks
10. How Long Have You Been Married?
it will be two years in March
The rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
1. If you know me at all, the most obvious fact about myself is how much I love my two Dennisons. I'm happiest when I'm spending time with them. Big Dennison, my husband, is my best friend and an incredible man. He loves his family and will do whatever it takes to take care of us. He's a great friend and gives excellent advice. I admire his strength and unwaivering faith. He's always been a good example to his friends and family and now to our son. Which brings me to little Dennison Carter. What a joy it is to be a mom. Everyday he learns or notices something new. He makes me feel so important and needed and loved. When he smiles and laughs with me, my world feels complete.
2. We have moved out of Utah! This is the first time I've lived more than 20 minutes away from my Mom and Dad. It's only been a couple weeks but I miss them already. Luckily, we have the phone and internet to keep in good contact. It's fun though, not knowing anyone here except my family. It's a new adventure everyday.
3. As you have noticed, I now love the blogging world. It's such a fun easy way to keep up with everyone. I also enjoy sharing the latest photos of Carter and telling the stories of our day to day journey.
4. I am deathly afraid of spiders. My little brother can attest to this. When we still lived with mom and dad, I would yell for him whenever I spotted a spider. He always came to my rescue with a big wad of toilet paper in his hand, ready to squoosh. Now, living in Washington, the heart of their existence, there's new spidey webs across our door frame every morning. I just try to remain calm so that Dennison doesn't mistake me for an insane person. So needless to say, I'm finally facing my fears.
5. confession: I still haven't finished my wedding scrapbook..... in fact, I have less than 10 pages done... out of who knows how many!
6. I am so grateful for all the wonderful examples I've had throughout my life so far. Also the many experiences I've had, both good and bad, have helped me to be understanding and able to relate to people very well. Going through something really hard gives you that experience and knowledge that will always be with you to use and draw from and maybe even make future hardships more bearable. Seeing the examples of those I respect and look up to has been so great and helpful to me so thank you!! Especially to my mom who has always been the rock solid mom that everyone wants.
wow. sorry that was soooo long
I would like to now TAG everyone who reads this. EVERYONE!! I know who you are and your blog addresses which I will be checking
We took a trip to Oceanside, OR a couple days ago. The water was FREEEEEZING but it was so gorgeous, as you can see. It was Carter's first visit to the ocean and he loved it. We wanted to get a picture of all three of us so we walked over to some people who were playing with their dogs and taking pictures and asked if they wouldn't mind taking one of us with our camera. They agreed and then showed us the pictures on THEIR camera that they had already taken of us from a distance. It was a little weird but they were professional photographers and they said we were "just such a cute little family" that they couldn't resist. kinda funny
Carter's new thing is sticking out his tongue. It's ALWAYS out and he licks everything. 
Everyone absolutely loves Carter here. I guess babies just aren't as common around these parts as they are in Utah. I've never had so many strangers come talk to me and tell me what a cute baby I have. I mean I know he's cute but gees!! I don't mind though, I love hearing it.
Uncle Jerry is officially our first visitor from Utah at our new home! He was in town for business and was kind enough to take us out to dinner and come see our new apt. He wanted this picture taken to make my mom jealous..... it probably worked.
It was so sad to say good-bye to our kitties. We left them with my sister in Idaho :( I miss them already. You can tell from these pictures how cool they are. Oliver uses a pillow and Leroy wears a cape!! You all had your chance to adopt them.
On Tuesday, the day of the move, my mom came over and took care of Carter while we loaded up our trailer. It was hard to say good-bye to her.
A final farewell to our house. It was pretty sad to see our first home empty. 
We hit the road as it started to rain... very poetic.
We spent Tuesday night in Boise with Dennison's Uncle Joe. We unhooked our trailer and left it in their driveway. Wednesday morning we headed up to McCall to see my brother and sister. My sister's little kids LOVE Dennison, as you can see.
Carter and his cousin Briar at my Brother Scott's house. Aren't they so cute with their blankets and binkys?
This was at a motel in good ol La Grand, Oregon on Thursday night. We had planned on spending the night in Pendelton so we made a non-refundable reservation at a hotel there. Well, we didn't quite make it that far. Nearing the top of a pretty big hill, our little trooper gave out. All the oil had leaked out of the engine and left us high and dry. A nice policeman stopped and called a tow truck for us. The worst part: we had to pay for two hotel rooms but only used one.
The next morning, we were told it would take at least a week to fix our poor car. We really didn't want to stay in La Grand for that long so we had to walk across town with our overnight bags and our Carter to get a HUGE moving truck (it was the only one they had). We then transfered all our stuff from our uhaul trailer to the moving truck and then rented a trailer to pull our broken down car behind us.
And we were finally on our way! Again! Carter loved it because he got to sit right in between us instead of in the boring back seat. And we finally made it to our destination. We found an apartment the next day, thanks to Lindsay and April for driving us around. Then got a rental car so we're on our way!!
This is cousin Bob. This picture will probably be hilarious for those of you who have seen arrested development and maybe just weird for the rest of you.
Carter the cow with his cousins Ani the scarecrow, Liam the indian, and Kieran the skeleton on Halloween in McCall, Idaho
Here's Carter at the family Halloween party
Well, we have some news. To some it's good news, and to others it's not so good. Dennison, Carter and I will be moving to Vancouver, WA in just over 1 week from now. We've had our house up for sale for about a month now and we just got an offer last week. It will be so sad to leave all our family and friends. We have enjoyed living in Utah a lot, especially our move to Pleasant Grove. It's been quite an adventure remodeling our house and it will be hard to leave it. But we are so excited for what Washington has in store for us! It will be good to move to a new place and start all sorts of new adventures. We're especially excited to live close to my bf Lindsay Storrs and also to Dennison's Dad and two sisters. They will all be between 1 and 3 hours away from us. We are so excited and a little nervous... wish us luck!!!
p.s. does anyone want two fun, adorable, cute, cats??
Most of the time Carter likes when we sing to him. But the other night, he was a little bit grumpy so Dennison started singing to him. Everything was going great until he hit a super high note... here's what happened.
As long as Dennison balances him just right, he can stand up on his hand!!
If you don't quite believe it, here's a little video of him in action... I don't know how to turn it so it's right side up, so sorry about the crick in your neck.
