My Pumpkin with his pumpkin

The one and only pumpkin that grew in our square foot garden

(the plant sure took over though).

It looks pretty big in this picture, and much smaller in the next.

Crazy what perspective can do.

Happy Halloween!

This is about as Halloweeny as we get.

I had to alter the image a little on this one so you

could see Dallen in the picture. "Oooo!"

"Give the pumpkin kisses!"

Pregnancy and Baby Showers

This is me (and Rebecca) at 37 weeks. Not too much longer!

This is about half of the people that came to my baby shower today. We had a really fun time! Thanks for coming and for all the thoughtful gifts! And a BIG thanks to Celissa and Janine for throwing the shower!

These are all the "non-clothing" items I got at the shower.
The diaper "cake" was from Celissa (very cool),
and the yellow and red quilt is from my mother-in-law, Janine.
It has lady bugs on it (so cute!).


These are all the clothes that were given to us for Rebecca at the shower. Wow! I love girl clothes! This is so exciting!

These two quilts were made and given to me by my former co-leader over Activity Days, and the Activity Day girls. They learned how to tie the quilts, and prepared a mini-baby shower for me, for one of their activities. Some of them brought other gifts too. I wish I had gotten some pictures of that activity and the girls. The dog quilt was for Dallen and the pastel one was for Rebecca. Dallen said, "Da dog, da dog!" when he saw his quilt. The shower was a lot of fun!

Outdoors

Dallen loves his "new" slide! He climbs up and goes down

by himself now, which is very helpful to me.

The last watermelon from our garden.

Someone anonymously planted these flowers in our front yard

one morning. What a sweet and thoughtful gift!

Helping Daddy mow the lawn.

Dallen the TWO year old!

Happy Birthday Dallen!

Dallen had a blast playing "Ring Around the Rosies" with his cousins Aidan and Rowan! He sings, "ashes, ashes" over and over again and then says "down" at the end, as he sprawls out on the floor. So fun!

Daddy helping Dallen open presents.

Dallen never did quite figure out how to blow out his two candles, but since his birthday he now knows how to answer the question "How old are you" with a resounding, "TWO!" as he holds up 4 fingers. He also loves the "Happy Birthday" song.

Enjoying his birthday cake and ice cream!

Dallen got this toy from his Bryce grandparents, and it was the hit of the party with all the kids! Dallen played with it for quite some time after everyone left, and then when he woke up the next morning he went straight to it and didn't get up for about 4o minutes!

Gila Valley Temple

For several months we've been watching the construction of the Gila Valley Temple progress. It's about a 4 minute drive from my house, and we pass it every time we have to "go to town". Ren called me the other day and said, "They're putting the Angel Moroni on the Temple in about 10 minutes, if you want to go watch". So Dallen and I went, and I got to take some pictures. There were about 100 cars lined up along the highway. Now Dallen gets excited and points to the Temple everytime we pass it. We are so blessed to have this House of God being built so close to our home.

He's so fun!

My sweet boy sporting his Sunday best.

A couple of months ago we decide Dallen was ready to be out of his crib. The crib was not up to standard anyway, so I just sawed off the legs and took off the rail, and now it's Dallen's toddler bed. We have since added a side guard. He was SOOO excited about his big boy bed, as you can see in this picture.

Dallen likes to play dress up (my shirts are his favorite), while I fold laundry.

I hope Dallen doesn't decide that this is how Rebecca should sit in the bouncer, too.

Dallen, trying on the bloomers that are part of one of Rebecca's new outfits. I had them set out with some other clothes in the other room, and suddenly I realized Dallen was being very quiet. Then, he came in looking like this! Funny ... but, should I be worried?

He loves to climb on anything that will help him get into mischief. Now he can reach the deadbolt without a step stool.






Some pics from our day at the Phoenix Science Center.

Lego Dragon. Dallen pointing up at something fascinating.

Havin' a blast with Grandma.

Bibs

My sister-in-law lent me some cool homemade bibs, and this is my attempt at copying the pattern. You make them out of hand towels. They're pretty easy to make.

Watermelon

We got a lot more watermelons this year than last year. And they are TASTY!

"Things as They Really Are"

This is a talk by Elder David A. Bednar called "Things as They Really Are". Everyone should read it - it is so important! Or, you can watch it (for Family Home Evening) by going to ldsces.org. It was a CES fireside given in May 2009. Please, read/watch and share! http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,538-1-4830-1,00.html

Bryce Family Reunion - Camping

I'll never get tired of looking at that face! This picture makes me smile every time I see it.

Yo!

Me and my boy!

One of our rented cabins at Hannagan's Meadow.

The weather was absolutely beautiful for our vacation!

We even got some nice storms while we were there.

Our growing family (Ren, Dallen, Amber, and little Rebecca).

Dallen chillin' with his best buddy!

Dallen's first s'more.

Dallen with his Super Gigante marshmallow.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Dallen. Oh, my sweet boy!

Ren's family is awesome! We had so much fun!

Hiking the Catwalks

Fearless Dallen.

Dallen leading the way.

Dallen LOVED all the steps on this hike!

Avery and uncle Renny Baby.

Pals.

Fishing

Most of us caught fish at the stream.

Ren's catch.

I caught my first (and, quite possibly, last) fish. I was pretty anxious to let the little guy go just about the second I had caught him. Well ... it was an experience.

We didn't have so much luck catching anything at the lake, but we had fun!

Dallen practicing his cast.

Camping Fun

Dallen has discovered ... the flashlight - a new favorite toy.

Dallen and cousin Josiah in their booster seats. They were supposed to be eating, but there really wasn't much eating going on.

All the kids were having fun catching their cousins' and their own heads in the bug-catcher nets. I love this shirt that uncle Aaron and aunt Carrie gave Dallen. It says, "Dirt makes me cuter!"

Our little chipmunk friend came really close and stuck around for quite a while.

Everyone got to see some wildlife on this camping trip. Anyone who went spotlighting at night saw a lot more than this.

Dallen and Backyard Fun

Dallen after a fun day at Nursery.

"Reading" the Ensign. What a good boy!

Playing flag football with Daddy.

Hiding in one of his favorite little cubbies.

He loves to get up in the entertainment center and just sit by the TV.

A captive in cousin Zabrina's dog's pen.

Helping mow the lawn. What a good little helper!

He likes to help me water the garden and trees too (and whatever else he feels like watering).

My adorable boy in front of our corn and cucumbers.

The pumpkin is overtaking our square-foot garden. I guess that's okay, since everything else in it died.

Corn and cucumbers.

Watermelon and potatoes.

Some of our veggies. The corn was really tasty!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Here is Rebecca at 19 weeks. Yippee - I'm having a GIRL!! I have a short video clip of her hiccupping but it wouldn't download on here.

This is me at 16 weeks. I'm 19 1/2 weeks along now.

More fun with Dallen

Fun with the monkey!

Emailing!

Driving!

Watching for Daddy!

Chillin'!

Reading!

Making a mess at Grandma's!

Going to work!

Hangin' out in the file drawer!

Cousins

My cousin Shaundra came for a visit from Washington state. My other cousins Danny and Davy and I got together to have a fun time visiting and reminiscing with Shaundra.

My latest creation

Now that I have a sewing machine, I've got to use it for something (besides mending), right? So, I made this skirt. I really don't know much about sewing, so I had a lot of questions for my mother-in-law and my mom. This skirt sure was easier and went faster than my quilt!

Easter eggs

Dallen had a pretty good time this year coloring Easter eggs with his cousins. He did try to drink the dye and suck on the wet eggs a few times though.

Dallen colored most of these, but Ren and I helped with a few of them. One of the yellow ones has green fingerprints on it - Dallen's special touch.

Our "fancy" eggs. Ren made the tie-dye ones by spinning the eggs on the table while dropping the color drops on them. Pretty cool!

Spring

I never knew a nectarine tree could be so beautiful. These pictures were taken quite a while ago - the blossoms have since fallen and been replaced by leaves.

All Things Dallen

A little bit about our boy Dallen: He's 17 months old now. At his 15 month check-up he was just below average on height and weight, and of course still in the 99th percentile for his head. So far the only words he says are: Thank you (da doo), Amen (whatever sound comes out of his mouth after a prayer), Mama, Dada, and All done (ah don). He also loves to count: 8, 2, 8, 2, 8, 2. He does this when ever he counts his toys or when one of his toys counts to ten. He has said "I love you" (ah-lau) a few times too. He also says some words that I can't quite decipher, but I'm sure they mean something. He knows several signs as well. His favorites are Shoes and Car. When he hears a car drive by he points to the window and I say, "did you hear the car?" Then he'll sign "car" (like turning a steering wheel back and forth) and he looks like he's dancing. It makes me laugh every time. He also likes to roll his toy cars on his chest and make car noises. Some other signs he does frequently are: Music (whenever he hears music he starts waving his arms with the song), All done, and More. These last two are helpful for me at mealtime. There are a few others he's done a handful of times, but not on a regular basis. These include Please, Thank You, Milk, and Diaper Change. I can tell that there are many more words that he can understand (hungry, water, let's go, etc.) but just hasn't learned how to say or sign yet. It's fun to see him learning and growing. We are so proud of our little guy!



Dallen thinks it's pretty funny to put his lunch on top of his head. This was a common occurance a couple of months ago, though he seems to be growing out of it now.

If I pick up Dallen anywhere in the vicinity of the kitchen he has to play with the microwave. He opens and shuts the door and pushes all of the buttons (of course, he loves any and all buttons).

Dallen has loved playing with plastic Easter eggs since last Easter. Apparently they are very entertaining.

Dallen and his cousins love to play together in our backyard.

Dallen's favorite hobby is rock collecting. He finds rocks in our yard (or anywhere a rock is to be found) and brings them to me. We usually come up with quite a stash. Then we put them back for him to find again the next day.

He also puts leaves, grass, and rocks back in the yard if he finds them (out of place) on the sidewalk. In the house he brings me tiny pieces of trash that he finds on the floor so I can throw them away. He is a very tidy boy (well, except for with his toys).

He climbs up onto the couch and then switches on and off the light. If we allowed it, this could entertain him for hours.

Dallen loves to sweep.

Dallen still loves shoes. His shoes, daddy's work boots, mama's slippers ... it doesn't matter.

Family Pictures and Portraits

BONK!

This is just one example of Dallen's latest hobby. He likes to see how many times he can fall down and injure his face. That particular week he fell about 8 different times, some of them being some pretty serious BONKS. He's not clumsy, he's just a mischievous and curious little guy. And yes, I do watch him ... but he still manages these injuries.

SNOW

It started snowing here in Pima, Arizona on December 26th, but it wasn't sticking. When we woke up the next morning we had a thin layer of snow on the ground and on the trees. It stayed on the ground for a few hours. It was perfect - white and beautiful, but not enough to get messy and hazardous.

Family fun

Dallen looking handsome in his new Sunday outfit from Grandma.


Having fun at the Duck Ponds with family.

Christmas Time

I put our tree out of Dallen's reach this year.


My nieces and nephews doing a Nativity puppet show.


Of course, we had to put in the traditional gingerbread house. We kept it pretty simple ... though Ren's side of the roof did have a nice big smiley face on it :)

Christmas Morning

Ren's gifts ... the ASU slippers were on their way in the mail. We kept Christmas pretty simple this year since we recently bought a new TV, a car, and a house.

Dallen's gifts ... there's the finished quilt.

Amber's gifts ... my sewing machine and some handy sewing supplies.

We also got toys and clothes for Dallen, a massager, year supply items, a nice first-aid kit, bread pans, and a wheat grinder from other family members. Thank You!

Quilt for Dallen

This is one of the 15 quilt blocks it took to make this "Log Cabin" quilt. I sewed each of the 13 fabric strips together (7 different designs), and then I sewed the 15 blocks together. After that I put 3 borders on the quilt.

Then I hand-quilted it with the help of my mother-in-law and a friend. We sewed around some of the blocks and the borders. This is it just before I put the binding on it. I used my new sewing machine (an early Christmas present) for the borders and binding. This is my first quilt ... I think I should have started with a simpler one! I finished the quilt at 12:15am on Christmas morning (after months of working on it). You can see the finished product in the Christmas post.

Crazy Baby

This is one of my favorite pictures! Dallen has been climbing on everything lately. He climbed up on this ottoman, stuck his tongue out and started rocking. Oh, my adorable little frog.

Daddy's Shoes

Dallen loves shoes! He tries on just about any pair he sees. Here he is attempting to walk in daddy's shoes. He did pretty well.

I've been trying to teach Dallen a few words in sign language. He didn't seem to be catching on very well, but one day I did the sign for shoes (for the first time) and he did it back. It was his first sign, and still his favorite. Now, anytime I say the word "shoes", he does the sign and then brings me his shoes so we can go outside. Or, if I do the sign he'll go get his shoes. Since then he has also learned the signs for "more" and "music".