What Does a Monkey Say?

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few weeks.  The Christmas elves have been working hard to prepare for Santa's trip around the world.

 

In the meantime, Lucas has been learning animal sounds (which is pretty awesome because he may be getting a See n Say from the big guy in red).  He can "mow" like a cat, "oof" like a dog, touch his underarm and say "oo oo" for a monkey, put his hand up to his nose and make an elephant sound, and finally he can growl for a bear, a dragon, and a dinosaur.  In the spirit of the season, he can also say "ho ho" for Santa.

 

We subscribe to Entertainment Weekly, and the below picture is the cover for last week's magazine.  Guess what sound Lucas did when he saw it?

 

GRRRRR!

Eat (Turkey), Drink (Milk), and Be Merry (Christmas)

Guess I need to get caught up on what happened the last few weeks!  Thanksgiving was a lot of fun - we went to Aunt Janeen's clubhouse for dinner and Uncle Andy was helping me to dance Gangnam Style (which I really have become great at - hopefully Mommy and Daddy will catch a picture of it). 

After dinner, Mommy and Daddy went and saw Skyfall and I played with Uncle Andy - just kicked back and watched some cartoons.  Turkey sure can make you sleepy, huh?

After the movie, we went to Grandma and Pompa's for turkey sandwiches and leftover pie.  But we couldn't stay long because Daddy was going to go "Psycho Shopping".  It's not right to say Black Friday shopping when the stores didn't open up on Friday, right?

Daddy met up with Aunt Nettie and Uncle Andy to go to Walmart.  It's a good thing they took Uncle Andy's car because they wouldn't have been able to fit the loot anywhere else - and they were barely able to fit that.  It's a good thing that Uncle Andy is so skinny so that he was able to drive squished in the backseat while Daddy drove his car (with the emergency brake on)!

Daddy did the majority of his "Black Friday" shopping online, and so he got everything that he wanted.  He figured that he got about $750 of products for only $250!

You might remember a picture of me last Christmas in this chair - Grandpa J fixed it up and gave it to me.  I love getting in it to watch TV and rock in it.  Here I am eating my breakfast of Lucky Charms and milk on Saturday morning!

On Saturday, we also set up my Christmas tree.  Normally Mommy and Daddy decorate a big tree in the family room, but since this is where I normally hang out, they decided the big tree wouldn't be good to put up this year, so they put up a small Christmas tree - just for me!  They got out some fun ornaments that I could help put on the tree.

Mommy helped me to decorate it!

Here is the finished product!  Needless to say, it didn't stay this way long...I decided that I wanted to keep decorating and undecorating it, and I kept pulling it over on top of me, so Mommy took off all the decorations.  It's still pretty though.

Mommy also decorated a tree for the Festival of Trees again this year with Grandma on Monday.

Then we went on Thursday night to see all of the trees - it was a lot of fun!

Today we went to see my Special Angel's grave and put up a wreath. 

It has been a lot of fun this past week, and we are excited to start a very merry Christmas season!

What November Means

I'm giving Luke another night off.  I absolutely love November - it means two things:  Thanksgiving and National Adoption Month.  As I was thinking about what to write on the blog this week, I started thinking how everybody is posting on Facebook things they are thankful for.  Since today is the 15th, the following are 15 things that I am thankful for (in no particular order).

1.  I am absolutely in love with Heather.  She is the best wife anybody could ever have, and she is my best friend.  Heather is also a great mommy - she has so much fun and cares so much for little Luke.  I am so glad that she is finally living her dream of being a mom.  I can't believe that we've known each other almost 10 years - don't we look so young in our engagement picture??!!

2.  I love every second of every day being a daddy.  Luke is the light of my life.  He has such a personality, and it is so fun to watch him learn new things every day.  Lately he is starting to learn that doggies say "oof", and kitties say "mow".

3.  I am so grateful for Amanda - she has given Heather and I the best present we could ever hope for.  We are also so excited to have an open relationship with her, and love to watch her excel in life.  She is definitely a superstar!

4.  I love my family - although this picture is extremely outdated.  I have such a great support system, and sisters who are always willing to help out with Lucas when Heather and I need a babysitter.  I am also grateful that I had such a loving, hard working mom.  She truly is an inspiration and I miss her A LOT!

5.  I also love Heather's family.  I love hanging out with them, and they make me feel like one of their own.

6.  I am grateful for our little Lilly.  We got her for our first anniversary, so she is now 7 1/2 years old.  She really is the sweetest thing to Heather and I - she loves to cuddle with us, and she loves to play tag with me.  She still is wary about Luke, but I think she'll come around.  He sure wants to play tag with her!

7.  I am grateful for temples where Heather and I were married and sealed for time and eternity, and then we were able to go with Lucas and have our family sealed together.
8.  I am grateful for faith in God, and for a church that helps me feel closer to Him.
9.  I am grateful for great friends.  I have been blessed with many over the years - at Hillcrest with many friends from the choir circle, to Utah State with roommates and institute friends, and to the many friends we have made in our wards.  Thanks so much for your friendship!
10.  I am grateful for the education I have received.  I have had many great teachers who helped me along the way - Mrs. Kofford, Mrs. Halloran, Mrs. Byerline, Mr. Spencer, and Mr. Bentley.  These teachers through elementary through high school were the ones who believed in me, and taught me who to be who I am today.  I am also grateful for the time I spent at Utah State - no other college would have been right for me.  And I'm grateful that I chose to continue my education to get my MBA from Western Governor's University.
11.  I am grateful for a job that challenges me daily, and has helped me grow in my career.  I almost feel as though I accomplished my college dream of becoming the CFO for a Fortune 500 international company.  Although the company is not in the Fortune 500, I am the Vice President of Finance and Operations for an international company.
12.  I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful home, in a great neighborhood.  I am also grateful for the first home that Heather and I lived in.
13.  I am grateful for my health and my family's health.  I can certainly do better with taking care of myself, but I hardly am ever sick (knock on wood).
14.  I am grateful for mine and Heather's talents.  I love that Heather is so creative - she does amazing work in crafts and interior design and I am so proud of her accomplishments.  I also love music, and I highly miss that I am no longer involved in choirs.  Choir was my life for 10 years (7th grade through all of college) - I truly am a choir geek, and miss it.  I wish I wasn't so scared of singing solos so I could audition for things like Hale Center Theater!
15.  Last of all, I am truly blessed to live in the United States of America.  This nation is truly the land of promise, and we have such great freedoms.  This country definitely has some issues that need to be fixed, and all we can do is pray that our elected leaders may feel guided by the God of this land to help us be a prosperous nation.

Thanks for indulging me on the things that I am thankful for.  As a hymn teaches that when we experience challenges or are discouraged, we simply need to count our blessings to realize that we truly are blessed.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING (next week)!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope that everyone had a very safe and happy Halloween!  This year, I dressed up as a one-eyed monster!

On Tuesday night, we went to Grandma and Pompa's house to eat some yummy soup and decorate pumpkins.

I think trick-or-treating was so much fun, especially when I was given the chance to pick my candy.  Let's just say I was indecisive and wanted to take as much as I could :)

After trick-or-treating, we went to Boondocks where Leatherby's was having an employee party.  I had fun playing Dance Dance Revolution.

But it was much more fun with my costume off, and dancing with Addison!

Mommy and Daddy didn't dress up for Halloween this year, but went as Laundry to the neighborhood Halloween party!

Family Pictures

We had some new family pictures taken a few weeks ago, and just got them back this weekend.  Comment and tell us which picture is your favorite!

 

The Bare Necessities

 

We went to see Dr. Z the other day for my 15-month check up.  We got to be in the Jungle Book room with Baloo and Mowgli!  And since I'm just in my diaper, I'm bare, and going to the doctor to get my immunizations is a necessity :)  I'm growing up fast, and Dr. Z thinks that I have great motor skills (i.e. I'm walking/running very well for my age).  So here are my stats:

 

Height - 30.25 inches (15% percentile)

Weight - 24 lbs (70% percentile)

Head - 18.2 inches (30% percentile)

The Case of the Cereal Killer

THERE WAS A MURDER AT OUR HOUSE TONIGHT!

It was just a pretend murder though - Mommy and Daddy did a murder mystery party.  It was the case of the cereal killer.  The victim was Mikey because somebody took his Life, and he didn't like it.  It was so fun to see all our family and friends come dressed up as cereal mascots.  Below are pictures of each of the characters:

TEAM QUAKER: 

 Brother Quaker Larry = Scott

 Aunt Jemima = Rosie

 

TEAM KELLOGG







 Mrs. Kellogg = Aunt Janeen

 Tony the Tiger = Uncle Chris

 Snap = Tyler

Crackle = Camille

 Pop = Megan

 Toucan Sam = Uncle Andy

 Cornelius (from Corn Flakes) = Christa

 

TEAM GENERAL MILLS:

 General Mills = Isaiah

 Lucky the Leprechaun = Pompa

 Trix Rabbit = Grandma

 Count Chocula = Conner (red eye left intentionally, since he is a vampire)

 Franken Berry = Ashley

 Boo Berry = Aunt Amy

 Buzz (from Honey Nut Cheerio's) = Aunt Karen

 Wendell (from Cinnamon Toast Crunch) = Deborah

 Officer Crumb (from Cookie Crisp) = Daddy

 Cookie Crook (from Cookie Crisp) = Mommy

 Chip the Dog (from Cookie Crisp) = ME!

 

Here we all are.

It sure was a lot of fun - I got to run around and play with so many people that I really didn't recognize!  We found out that it was Mrs. Kellogg who killed Mikey with a Spoon on the Farm!

Thanks to everyone who came and for dressing up!