Seven years and still in love

I started our blog after we got Dallin, so really the first six years of our life were skipped. Zane and I celebrated our 7th year anniversary on Saturday and so I wanted to post some pictures of the last six years before Dallin. Warning...there has been some weight gain from both of us since that memorable day when we met seven and a half years ago.

Zane and I met on June 8, 2001. We were both set up on a blind date but we weren't each other's date. The date took place in South Jordan with some of Zane's high school friends. My best friend from Houston married one of Zane's friends from high school, so through her, I was invited to this group date. Zane and I were both driving up from Provo, so our friends arranged for us to drive together to South Jordan. The first meeting was pretty awkward. Zane couldn't remember my name when he came to the door to pick me up. My very quiet, shy roommate answered the door and said nothing to Zane and he tried desperately to think of my name. I'm in my bedroom finishing getting ready and yell out something to him about being ready soon. I think his first impression of me was a loud, boisterous girl. On the drive up Zane told me he was thinking of being a seminary teacher, went to UVSC, and he went to Portland on his mission. I was not very humble at this stage in my life and I immediately wrote Zane off. I didn't like that he wanted to be a seminary teacher (doesn't every return missionary want to be that?), went state side on his mission, went to UVSC, and to top it off he will go bald one day. By the end of the night, I thought he was the funniest guy I had ever met. Both of us didn't hit if off with our real dates, but on the way back to Provo, we hit it off. We talked the whole time, stopped off at Village Inn and ate pie and continued talking till the wee hours of the morning. From that moment on we were together all the time, engaged 3 months later, and married three months after that.

This is Zane and I right before we got engaged at Lake Tahoe where Zane met my family at a Shurtliff family reunion.

One of our engagement pictures

Wedding day in front of the Houston Temple, December 27, 2001

Zane and I lived in Provo and Orem for the next three years. I finished up my degree at BYU and started teaching at South Jordan Middle School (ironically where Zane went to middle school) and taught there for 2 1/2 years. Zane graduated from UVSC in accounting (he did switch majors but not because of me) and looked for jobs in Utah and Houston. Obviously the job market is much better in Houston, and so to my excitement, we were moving back to my home. I left my teaching job in the middle of the year which was extremely hard to do, but it was time to start our new life in Houston.

We moved into our house in January of 2005 and we both started our new jobs.

For our 5th anniversary, we went on a cruise to the Caribbean. We had a wonderful time together. (November 2006)

Zane went to London on a business trip in November of 2007. Because he was gone two weeks, his company flew me out for the weekend to join him. I almost didn't go because I had to take off a couple days of work and I hated missing school (so silly). I'm so glad Zane convinced me to go. We had so much fun plus I got to see two musicals while we were there. This is us trying to take our own picture in front of Buckingham Palace.

Of course the six years before Dallin were filled up with a lot more fun times and even the sad times. Although I was a little prideful when I first met Zane, it didn't take me long to figure out I had the best catch in the world. We have had a wonderful seven years together and it just keeps getting better!

Mmmm Chocolate

I'm a little late in posting this, but the story needed to be told even without a picture. Two weeks ago I was putting something away in the freezer, talking on my cell phone, and holding a chocolate cookie in the other hand. (I'm a great multi-tasker). As soon as I opened the freezer, Dallin made a bee line to it to see how much destruction he could create before he was stopped. All of sudden I saw that he was pulling out a bag full of frozen ice packs. I immediately dropped everything (yes, even the cookie) and grabbed the bag before they landed on Dallin. I looked over at Dallin to make sure he is ok and I saw him crawling off in the other direction. I have never seen Dallin move this fast. He saw the dropped cookie, got a hold of it, and was stuffing his face like he was starving. There was no way I could even get it from him. It was gone that quickly. This of course is Dallin's first experience with chocolate and apparently he likes it!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas with my family is filled with tradition. Christmas Eve is our big night when my mom makes a turkey with all the fixings and we have a huge party. Ever since we moved to Houston and left our extended family behind in Utah, my parents have always invited friends or missionaries over to join us. This year my brother and sister invited two families so we had a lot of little kids. Kari organized all the kids to act out the Christmas story while Jared read from the scriptures. With so many kids, it wasn't really a spiritual reenactment, but it was fun to watch! Here are some of the highlights.

Kari trying to get all the kids in their place. The drama queen Valerie played Mary and Drew is Joseph.

Kari as the stable.

The wise men bring gifts to baby Jesus. What a great star!

Garret as a shepherd telling us were all done or maybe just saying hi.

Dallin and Caleb were sheep (in other words that got to crawl around the room and do what they want.) After it was over, Dallin started playing with the angel head piece and I couldn't resist displaying him as his true self...my little angel.

The night also included chime playing and present exchanges between siblings after our guests left. It was a wonderful night. My parents always make Christmas great. I love the spirit of Christmas as you try to find the perfect gift for someone and how kindness and charity are more prevalent then any other time of year. It is a wonderful time to celebrate our Savior's birth and life and to be with family.

What's better...wrapping paper or what's inside?

For Dallin on his first Christmas, the wrapping paper and bows were the best. He even liked the empty boxes after his new toy was pulled out. Pretty much, the actual present held his attention for a little then he was back to playing with the wrapping paper etc. Zane and I had fun though enjoying every minute.

Dallin and Caleb enjoying their new wagon. Grandma and Grandpa gave them both one and it was a hit. They spent most of Christmas day sitting in the wagon while we all took turns pulling them around the house.

Dallin with his presents. He now knows what a camera is. He will freeze and smile for the camera as soon as he sees the light. If I take two pictures in a row, then he will smile really big and squint his eyes because he is sick of the flash.

Playing with his new truck from Grandma and Grandpa Shurtliff. I got the squint in this picture.

Dallin playing with his new train from Grandma and Grandpa Turner (Zane's foster parents.) This was taken a few days after Christmas. Dallin has pink eye...again.

Santa Claus

Dallin saw Santa Claus for the first time. I think the most that can be said about the experience is that he didn't cry. Dallin just stared at Santa's white beard (as you can see this was a very fake beard. They didn't even try to make it look real.) All of us around him were jumping up and down and making fools of ourselves trying to make him smile. All Dallin did was look at us like we were crazy. He didn't even try to pull Santa's beard. We finally got a half smile at the end (picture shown above.) There was a lot of jumping and funny faces for that little half smile.

The fine print on Dallin's shirt says, "$5.00 for the first kiss, $2.00 for each additional kisses. Taxes may apply." With the economy as slow as it is, we appreciate Dallin pulling his own weight and bringing in some money!

Snow...Amazing

I started getting many phone calls in the late afternoon yesterday to go look out my window. Sure enough, it was snowing. I wasn't sure at first because it did kind of look like rain, but it was snow. By the time I was leaving that night, the snow was actually sticking to the ground on my flower beds. A couple of thoughts went through my mind. First, I should have covered my flowers. I usually only worry about covering the flowers at night if it is going to freeze, so I hadn't done that yet. By the time I got home it seemed a little pointless to cover my flowers because they were already covered by snow. Kind of a bummer since I spend so much time planting them.

The second thought was how amazing it was to see the snow piled up on the cars parked outside. I thought it was a good thing I still have my window scraper from when I lived in Utah, but then again, the windows weren't icing up and the snow wasn't that heavy, so a window scraper wasn't needed.

My third thought was I needed to be careful driving and it was a good thing I have my SUV now. Right after we bought our SUV, I noticed that there were a couple of functions that were used in relation to driving in snow. I thought then that maybe we didn't get the right car for Houston. Now I was glad I had them, but of course I don't know what those buttons do anyways. There was no need to worry though because the snow wasn't sticking to the street.

Although our Utah friends are going to laugh at our little snow storm, it was an amazing sight to see. I can only remember one other time seeing snow while living here. My mom says it happens more then I think, but I have never seen it stick to the ground like it did last night.

As you can see, it didn't stick very well because there is no snow on the bricks around our flower gardens. By morning it was gone, but don't worry the flowers did survive. Temperatures this weekend will be back in the 70's where honestly I like them to stay. (Sorry the pictures are so dark. We were taking them in the dark with only Christmas lights lighting the way. We knew with in a couple of hours all the evidence would disappear.)

Library Time

Every Tuesday, my sister and I take our boys to the library for story time and nursery rhymes. They love it. Dallin mostly watches other kids and the hand movements. He is starting to be a little more daring and crawl away from Mom to see what other kids are doing. It is also a great time for the women to be a little social!

Thanksgiving

I'm a little slow in writing my gratitude blog...better late than never. We spent Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's. My grandparents are in town from Utah and joined us. I love when they come visit because distance influences how often I see them. My house is full of my grandparents' talents...my grandpa's amazing artwork (he has done pencil sketches of Zane and I and now one of Dallin plus the paintings I have of his) and my grandma's knitting and crocheting projects are everywhere from kitchen washcloths, to coasters and doilies, and to the many afghans. My Christmas tree is covered with ornaments that she made me and the tree skirt that she knitted. She told me once that she learned her craft by sitting at her grandma's knees being taught by her. I then told her it was her fault that I didn't learn these crafts because she didn't force me to sit at her knees and listen. Really though, I wish I had taken more opportunities to learn from someone who is so talented. So I am grateful that I have both sets of grandparents still alive who have taught and still teach me wonderful things. I know I am very lucky.

Zane and I also went to the temple on Thanksgiving weekend. As I sat in the Celestial Room, my heart was so full of thanks for my wonderful little family. I have a wonderful, very supportive and loving husband who always tries to serve the Lord and serve his family. He is so busy with his work and church calling, but he never complains. He still comes home after a long day ready to help and play with us. He makes it possible for me to be a stay at home mom although I think he wished I worked so that he could stay home and play with Dallin all day. Who wouldn't??? There isn't much I can say about Dallin that hasn't already been said. He is the light of our lives brightening up everyday with his smiles and hugs. Life can't get any better than this.

Of course I have to add that I'm grateful for my Savior and dare I say, trials. I'm grateful for the miracles that have taken place in our lives and how we have drawn closer together as a couple with our Savior because of our trials. I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It blesses our lives everyday.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was great...great food, family, games etc. Zane's a little sore from playing in his football game, but he will survive.

This was Dallin after taking a bite of potatoes and turkey. We didn't catch the best looks on camera where he spits everything out or gags. Needless to say, he didn't like Thanksgiving dinner, but he loved the green beans. We were surprised because Dallin loves all foods and isn't picky, but mashed potatoes are not his favorite right now.

Camping in November

We went to Huntsville State Park last weekend on a camping trip with our friends Tahlia, Jeff, and Lily Butler and my sister Haley and her family. We just stayed over night Friday night, but we had a great time together and enjoyed some wonderful food. It actually got pretty chilly that night and didn't warm up very fast the next morning. We weren't as prepared as we should have been for the cold morning. It probably got down to the low 50's/high 40's that night, but that is cold to us Houstonians!

It got cold about halfway through the night, so we took Dallin out of the pack-and-play and let him sleep between us in our sleeping bag. He normally doesn't sleep well next to us, but we each took one hand to warm it up, and he slept all night holding our hands. When he woke up the next morning, he looked at me and then turned and looked at Zane and then smiled a huge grin. He was so excited to wake up between us!

Dallin's morning feed

I tried to feed him his bottle cold because that was how he had it during the hurricane, but he would have none of it. (I think the bottle was a little colder having been outside all night than it was during the hurricane on those hot, September days.) Zane had to hurry and start up the stove to get him some warm milk!

Our little family inside our tent

We went on a hike (nature walk really in Houston) and Dallin promptly fell asleep.

Well, he wasn't the only one. His cousin, Caleb, fell fast asleep too.

Dallin and Caleb playing in the "cage." Dallin couldn't stay in the cage long though because leaves would blow in and he would promptly put them in his mouth. Eating leaves leads to choking and throwing up with Dallin (thank goodness he has good reflexes), so he had to sit on some one's lap or in his stroller most of the time.

Snuggling up with dad

When we got home, I put Dallin on the ground with his toys. He was so excited to be able to move around freely, that he immediately popped up and started crawling. He now crawls all over the place. I'm really glad he waited until 9 months to crawl, because I enjoyed the sitting up and playing with toys stage a lot!

National Adoption Day

Saturday is National Adoption Day. It is a day to celebrate adoptions and bring awareness to adoptive and foster care children. One of the many talk radio shows that I listen to is broadcasting about adoptions today and wanted comments from people before the show to help him know what to talk about. I decided I wanted to share a little bit of our story with him in my concern for some political issues of our day. Here is part of what I wrote:

I heard that Obama would like government-funded abortions. If that were a law last year, then we would never have gotten our son. Our son's birth mom got pregnant, didn't know what to do, and so tried to get an abortion. Luckily she didn't have enough money. When she went to try again, she was too far along for an abortion. (The laws of the land protected our son. They of course need to go further in protecting the unborn.) Her mom then told her that she should give the baby up for adoption. She contacted LDS Family Services in Houston and picked us. This was a very hard decision for her because over the course of the pregnancy she grew to love her baby. We spent a month before he was due together getting to know each other. I went with her to a doctor's appointment and heard the heart beat. We were both thrilled. Texas laws require that a birth mom can not sign away her rights until after 48 hours of the birth. We watched our birth mom spend two days in the hospital loving, holding and cuddling her baby. She then signed the paper work and handed our son over to my husband and me. There was not a dry eye in the room as she gave up this little, precious baby to a couple who could give him more. We have an open adoption which is healthiest for all involved. She knows her son is healthy and is loved by us. Our son will grow up knowing he has so many people who love him in his life. He will understand that he has a birth mom who gave him the gift of life and parents who gave him everything else. We love all birth parents. They are our hero for making the harder, selfless decision and loving a baby so much to give him life. By the way, our birth mom is so grateful she didn't abort her baby. She is so proud of him and shows his picture to everyone she meets. She would never consider an abortion again if she ever got pregnant even though she knows how hard it was to give her son to us. But really, after you have held a sweet, precious, new born baby, who could ever think of killing one?

To our birth mom- We love you. Thank you for giving us Dallin.
To Dallin- We are so grateful we have the privilege of being your parents. We love you.
Our daily prayer to God-Thank you for bringing us all together. We have seen and still see miracles in our lives.

I'm a big boy!

Dallin turns 9 months old next Wednesday, the 19th. I took him in to his doctor's to get his flu shot last week and they decided to do his 9 month appointment at the same time. I'm so glad I took him in early because the doctor quickly informed me that Dallin would not be getting his flu shot since he had an ear ache and pink eye. I knew Dallin had a little stuffy nose, but he never had a fever. He was a little cranky, but last week we were also dealing with the time change which Dallin didn't like at all. I noticed his eye was a little pink that morning, but I wasn't concerned about it. We were lucky and caught everything fast, so his pink eye never spread to his other eye and really looked like it was gone after two days. I never got a picture of him looking sick because he never looked or acted sick. He is always a happy baby.

Dallin is 22 pounds 8 ounces (90%), his height is 29 inches (80%), and his head circumference is in the 92nd percentile. No wonder his shirts don't fit over his head! For Christmas he will be getting 18 month clothes and he is only 9 months old! It is a good thing he is so big though as he needs to hold his own with his cousins Caleb and Drew. The big question the doctor had was if Dallin was crawling. There were 6 babies born the same week as Dallin in my church (we had quads born that week.) Dallin is the oldest and he is the only one not crawling! He is so content to roll all over the place. He moves like crazy and rolling gets the job done. In the last week he has started pulling himself on all fours and moving his hands and feet twice. If the toy isn't in reach after that then he flops down and starts crying or rolls to a different toy. Sometimes if he is really determined he will get up again and try some more. I'm sure by next week he will be crawling all over the house. Zane is really glad that he waited to do this new development while he was home since the week before, when Dallin was sick, he was out of the country in Chile on business.

Dallin's latest pose. He loves to roll around and then rolls up on his side and smiles for the camera. His shirt says, "If you think I'm cool, you should see my dad." Dallin wanted to send this picture to Zane while he was in Chile.

Dallin crawling. He is wearing his very cool pj's made by me with help from Grandma. I decided to get really serious about learning to sew. My mom won't be around forever and so it is time to learn some better skills. My mom thinks it is about time!

Dallin's latest trick is to crawl/roll under the piano bench and play with pedals or any feet hanging down. This surprised one of my piano students when he did it for the first time. It is time to bring in the play pen (or the cage as it is called in my family) during piano lessons. Gone are the days when he sits quietly and plays with toys during a lesson.

This is his I know I'm not suppose to be under here look, but I'm too cute for anyone to care.

Halloween

First Halloween with a baby! Can I say that Halloween is so much more fun with kids. In the past, Zane and I would join one of our siblings' families and go out trick or treating with their kids. Thanks for always including us and sharing your kids with us!

This year we went to our church's trunk or treat party where I handed out candy and Zane walked around the parking lot with Dallin in the stroller showing him off. He did snag some candy for himself. Dallin, I think, was confused why he was wearing such a hot outfit. We had a nice, warm Halloween. Dallin's highlight was when Zane gave him a Butterfingers to play with. He sucked on the wrapper and finally those new teeth he has bit through it. He got a taste of chocolate and loved it! The worst part of Halloween for Dallin...having his dad take away that chocolate. Oh well. By 7:30 Dallin was done and wanted to go to bed. We had a great time socializing with friends and seeing all the cute costumes.

Halloween Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

A few weeks ago (I’m a little late updating the blog) our family joined up with Jared, Kari, Drew, and princess Sam at the pumpkin patch. We had a great time having tricycle races, riding a hay ride, seeing the pumpkins, and going fishing in a pond. Everything was fun except the fishing. Jared was determined to catch a fish, and by the time he did, the hook was stuck in the fish’s mouth and neither Jared nor Zane could get it out. Everyone who knows me knows how tender my heart is. It just can’t handle seeing anything tortured, which is why my sister and I never caged up our parakeet and let him fly free around our house, to my mom’s dismay. I digress though. After many attempts to try to get the hook out, I finally ran and found a worker to come help us. To Jared’s and Zane’s credit, it was hard for the worker to get the hook out too, but finally he did and the fish swam free. I think we can say there is no more catch and release fishing for Jared and Zane. Family picture with the pumpkins. Zane was the smart one to wear shorts. It felt nice and cool in the morning, but by afternoon we were sweating.

Looking like a stud on the rocking horse

Tricycle races or bumper cars??? With the boys you never know!

Dallin with one of his best friends Drew. Drew loves to hold Dallin but only for a little because Dallin is just too heavy! No matter how much sqeazing or poking Drew does, Dallin just laughs. Drew will have a little shadow one day. Dallin thinks he is the coolest.

Dallin, happy with the scarecrow

Can I suck on this too? Mmm yum

Too cute!

Did we evolve from monkeys?

Sometimes when you look at Dallin, you think monkey. He uses his feet as if they were hands. A lot of babies suck on their thumb. Not Dallin. He prefers his toes. He will pull them up himself or see them pulled up half way during a diaper change and think he might as well grab his toe and put it in his mouth. Mmm good.

He also uses both his feet and his hands to play with toys. If his hands are too far away from the toy, he will improvise and use his feet.

Did we really evolve from monkeys or was it a frog? Poor Dallin was destined to act like a frog from the moment he was brought into his nursery. Dallin's nursery is decked out in a frog prince theme. Somehow the word got out that this was our theme and so both baby showers included many gifts with frogs on them. I would say that 80% of Dallin's clothes between zero and 6 months had a frog on them. So of course he acts like a frog. Dallin loves to jump. His legs are always moving. If you hold him up in the air with his legs free, they wiggle and jump around. If he is standing up he will immediately start jumping. So guess what Dallin will be for Halloween...you guessed it, a frog!

Dallin in his crib with his favorite blanket.

Fun at the Zoo

While we were in Utah, Dallin went to the zoo for the first time with our friend Lori and her kids, Nikki and her family, and Gram. The highlight of the trip was the Merry Go Round and the elephant show (at least Zane and I enjoyed the elephant show.) I’ve never seen elephants do tricks and so we were amazed as we watched the elephant perform for her trainer. Here are the highlights. Lori's daughter Mandy, 3 years, loved to push Dallin in his stroller. He is even better then a baby doll because he laughs and moves so much although he is a lot heavier and harder to push.
Dallin's look of terror at the white alligator behind him.
Dallin was "all done pictures." He wanted to do something more exciting.

He loved the Merry Go Round.

Pretending to be gophers!

Family picture at the zoo.

All the kids together.