First off, thanks for the tips on solutions to a grumpy, teething baby. I stuck to my guns of refusing to nurse at night and now we're back to a 7:30pm bedtime and a 6:30am wake time--nothing in between! All that sadness for this little half-a-tooth. Funny huh? (Yes our guy is a little slow in the tooth growing business, and in the crawling for that matter.) =)

We went and saw the lights at the Mesa Temple. It was such a mild night--probably 60 degrees. Sean is wearing shorts if you can't tell--that's Arizona for ya.

Not that Grant really needs it but I bought him a winter coat at the used kids store for $9.99. It looks almost brand new. I love getting a bargain. Here is proof that Grant can still fall asleep in his stroller on long walks. (I thought he had out-grown this forever but it happened again!) I just realized that lots of what I buy Grant is red, charcoal, and white. I guess I like those colors. Weird.

On another note, I landed what I think will be the perfect job for me! I'm excited about it. I am working in labor and delivery at Banner Baywood Hospital. I'll get through some hectic orientation stuff (36hrs/wk) and then I'll be able to pick my own schedule (no nights, weekends, or holidays)and I'll work only one 12-hour shift per week. Cool huh? It'll probably be tons different from what I'm used to--Provo the baby capital of the world--but I think it'll be good. I start on Monday. Wish me luck.

Family Pictures

Over Thanksgiving weekend we were blessed to have family pictures taken by are dear friends Matt and Sarah. We are so happy with the results. Thanks guys!!
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We sure love Arizona this time of year! The weather has been lovely enough to play outside while still bundling up and feeling "winterish". Thanksgiving was terrific and I'll post about that later, hopefully. =)

The last three weeks

We've certainly enjoyed the last few weeks of setting up our home, getting things organized, and playing together before Sean starts his job. With accounting busy season around the corner, Grant and I know our play dates with daddy will be few and far between. So we decided to live it up now...

We went to Schnep Farms and enjoyed the corn maze, hay ride, mini golf, rides, and fun.

We have been buying some yard tools and sprucing up our space. I swear we make a daily Lowe's run around here. Here is our backyard.

We loved playing with our family who came to visit from Ohio. Here is my sister and me.

More cousin fun at Mother Nature's farm.

Within the first week of being in our home we endured a crazy "microburst" in the middle of the afternoon. Within minutes it went from hot and sunny to cold and dark. It started blowing and raining. Then it turned to hail--big hail. We were pretty sure our windows were going to break it was so loud! Trees all over the neighborhood blew over. Tiles blew off the roof. Power lines and street signs went down. The road was a fast-flowing river. Wow it was wild.

We drove to our family cabin in the white mountains and enjoyed the amazingly cool weather.

We "watched" conference as a group. 8 adults, 5 kids, 1 small tv--not the best combination for "feasting" on the words of the prophets. =)

Saying Goodbye

Well we did it. We moved to Arizona. Our last few days in Utah were filled with goodbyes.

Goodbye to our favorite Provo apartment and the only place we've lived our entire marriage.
Goodbye to our junky swingset in the side yard of our apartment.

Goodbye to the great folks with whom Sean worked at Property Solutions.

Goodbye to grandma and grandpa.

Goodbye to Rachel and Mike

We enjoyed our years in Provo but we have started a new chapter of our lives now. We'll never forget the wonderful jobs, experiences, people, and fun we had up there.

Our last week in Utah

Here's what we've been up to during our last week in Utah.

1. I cleaned out the freezer and threw away all of this frozen breast milk. I felt wasteful doing that but there's nothing else to use it for and no reason to transport it to Arizona next week.

2. I dyed my hair blonde. It was a shock at first but I'm getting used to it and I really like it. Thanks Sarah.

3. I worked my last shift as a nurse in Labor and Delivery at UVRMC. It was bitter sweet for me. I will miss the wonderful people with whom I worked. I will also miss the amazing opportunity I hd every day to witness the miracle of life. I won't miss working nights and being so tired during the day as I try to take care of my baby who wants to play and interact with me. My boss ordered this cake on my last night shift so all the nurses could enjoy it. How kind!!

This is Emily and me. We have been together from the begining. We went to nursing school together, we did our capstone semester in L&D together, then we were hired on at the same time. I will miss her greatly.

4. Grant had his last doctor's appointment today with Dr. Anderson whom we have loved as our pediatrician. I am so grateful for genuine care and concern that health care providers offer me and my loved ones. It makes such a difference. Our little guy is sliming down. Here are his stats at 8 months and 16 days old.

Weight: 19 pounds 8 ounces (40%)

Height: 28.56 inches (71%)

Head: 18.5 inches (93%)

Well I gotta go pack more stuff. We head to Arizona on Thursday. I can't believe it's almost here.

Howdy Partner!!

We had a western themed ward party tonight so we all got dressed up. Grant was quite the little cowboy. The only thing missin' is a horse. Grant is going to be a cowboy for halloween too.

I had a fun labor day weekend. Mommy and daddy were both off work and uncle David came to visit us from Seattle.

Uncle Dave is good at feeding me bananas.

I wore by BYU blue on Saturday to support the cougar football team. Mom, dad, and uncle Dave went to the game while I stayed home with Aunt Rachel. Uncle Dave was cheering for the Washington Huskies but the cougars prevailed.

I got to spend time with my great grandma Ford. She's sweet to me.

Mommy was being crazy and decided to give me a mohawk. I didn't mind as long as I still got my yummy baby food.

One of my favorite times of day--the bath.

The Big Month

Ever since we decided to get married in August 2007 we knew August would always be our big month. My birthday, Sean's birthday, and our anniversary fall within a week of each other. To add to that, we bought a house this month and Grant got his first hair cut. =)

Here is the house we bought in Arizona. We feel so blessed to have good jobs that allowed us to purchase this home.
Here is the kitchen. (All the furniture and accesories are from a staging company--they aren't ours unfortunately. )

Here is the foyer.

Here is our cute baby that loves to stand but can't crawl yet. Is that backwards? =)

We decided to buy some donuts one Saturday morning and this is the one Sean picked. Grant was reaching for it and wanting it badly. Sorry buddy, maybe in a few months.

This is Grant's new trick. He loves to turn his binky around and bite on the back or the side.

We celebrated our third annniversary on August 18th. We got Subways and went to a park with Grant and had a picnic. The weather was lovely. Thanks Grant for being our third wheel on our date. =) We wouldn't have it any other way.

Here is Grant getting his first haircut (it was really more like a tiny trim). His front hair/bangs were going in his eyes. He didn't mind it at all. (Maybe that's because we did it outside and he's always happy outside.)

The "after" shot.

We sure enjoyed the visits of Rachel and Norine. We love seeing family.

On the 20th it was my birthday. Thanks to all for making it special. I got earrings, Beauty and the Beast the DVD, a headband, a dress, fresh flowers, and nailpolish. I feel so loved!

Sean's birthday is coming up in a couple days and I will definitely post about that later. It has been a fabulous month for sure!!