Grandma's Christmas Party

Every year on the Saturday before Christmas, my cute grandma has a big family Christmas party. We eat lunch and hang out, but her favorite part of the party is the program. Each family shows off their talents (things like favorite instruments, or songs). My brother usually takes care of it for our family because he has 3 kids, but because they're gone for Christmas this year, Amy and I had to think of something. Our kids can't do much, Cyrus crawls well and Jaron just kinda sits there, so we thought we'd try a reindeer pulling a sled. Santa was a little too heavy for the reindeer, but it was cute anyway. They were the stars of the show, and Cyrus loved all the attention.

Cyrus also got to open his first present, a Raggedy Andy my grandma made for him. He wasn't quite sure what to think of it. :)

Meeting Santa

As you can see by the picture, Cyrus thought Santa Clause was very interesting. Santa is the first person he's ever met with so much hair! One of the guys who works at the hospital with Jolene dressed up as Santa for the kids, and we decided every kid should meet Santa for their first Christmas, so we stopped in for a visit. My sister brought Jaron to visit. He and Cyrus are becoming good friends as Jaron gets older. He finds Cyrus fascinating, and Cyrus likes to play with him for a bit although his attention span is pretty short. :)
Tom and Jami also came to visit Santa, and it was fun to take pictures with all the kids and Santa.

Busy for the Holidays

Well... this is it! The Christmas season is upon us, which means lots of parties, shopping, wrapping presents, and of course a bunch of extra treats (my favorite part!). But overall it mostly means being extra busy, not leaving much time for blogging. So here are a few pics of some things we've been busy doing.


For Thanksgiving we got to have 2 dinners, one for lunch and one for dinner. Lunch with my family is always fun. We played volleyball and had a lot of pie. Our dinner with Trav's family was a lot better than last year too. We hadn't ever tried a Thanksgiving dinner before, and our first was pretty much a disaster. This year we were better prepared, and it was the best thanksgiving dinner I've ever had. We even let Cyrus in on the food. He got to have turkey and sweet potato baby food. Mmmm. Not my favorite, but he loved it. What ended up in his mouth, that is.




We bundled Cyrus up til you could only see his little eyes and red nose, and headed out one Friday night to Salt Lake to see the lights and have a nice dinner with Travis' family. We had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, which was really fun. We got there late enough that there weren't a ton of people, so the kids could be as loud as they wanted. Cyrus and Bryker even got balloons from the balloon man. Bryker got a sword (maybe not the best choice for a 3-year-old. Travis taught him how to sneak up on people, and the waitresses got a couple of good scares :) and Cyrus got an elephant which he loved. Maybe not as much as Travis though...

Then just a little update on Cyrus... He's loving crawling up on things...

and usually falling,

although he is getting more graceful. He's almost standing without help (he's still a little chicken to let go for long.) If you say "no no" to him, he shakes his head, and if you say "bye bye" now he'll wave back to you. He learned to click his tongue on Thanksgiving, and its an awesome way for me to get his attention because he likes to do it back to you. He and Travis have their own little "clicking" conversations in the car whenever we go anywhere. He loves cheerios and hates mac and cheese. He jabbers like crazy, and even though I have no idea what he's saying, he knows exactly. Every day he's getting bigger and getting his own little personality!

It's Official...

The day has come! I am an official stay at home momma. Today was my last day of work, and I have to say I'm feeling a little torn. I really loved my job. I have to say working in design and helping guide people to achieve that little picture they have in their head (only better!) is my little niche. I also liked that there was a nice balance between design and intellect so I didn't get burned out and was left wanting more of one or the other like I have in past jobs. I really enjoyed most of the people I worked with. There will definitely be a couple of guys I wouldn't mind never seeing again but I think you have to expect that when you try to put a group of people together. Some personalities just don't go well together. :)

I am glad that I was able to work somewhere I enjoyed so much for so long. I made some lasting friendships (right Lauren?!), not even just at work, but was able to become closer to Spencer and Miranda's family because she was such an awesome babysitter that we just couldn't stay away! She's like Cyrus' second mom, and I appreciate so much the time he's been able to be a part of their family. He absolutely adores her girls, and I learned so much from her. Being a first time mom is hard, it's nice to be surrounded by a little experience. And I am so excited for their family to grow from their 4-family to a 6-family!

Anyway, enough rambling. The truth is I'm happy to be home with my sweet little boy. I miss him when I'm away at work! He's learning and growing so quickly, that I don't want to miss even a second of it! It was a hard decision, but I know our little 3-family will be blessed. :)

Photo Shoot

Cyrus had a photo shoot a couple of days ago, and his awesome photographer has a few pics up if you'd like a preview! I'm really excited to see them all. :)

http://slurpee4bys1grl.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-just-had-to-share-couple-more-of-this_19.html

Also, just a little update, Cyrus has decided rather than crawling around ALL the time, he likes to pull himself up on EVERYTHING! Good for him, although I'll be happy when his balance is a little better so standing doesn't always mean falling. Luckily we had pics taken before all the bumps and bruises started to happen!

He's getting so big!

First Tooth!

YAAAAAAYYYY!! Cyrus first tooth finally broke through! Hopefully that means a little more peace for all of us. One down, a mouthful to go!

Ooo Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our little turtle! He had a fun night and even enjoyed being a turtle. He was really cute crawling in his costume, and moved almost as slow as a real turtle. He also liked taking treats out of people's bowls while trunk-or-treating, and Travis and I will enjoy eating them for him. :)
Here are some pics from our night...

He Just Gets Cuter Every Day!

Cyrus has almost officially turned in his army crawl for the real thing! It's the cutest thing ever, he picks his arms up so much that he looks like a windmill. You'd think he'd try little steps, but he likes to be dramatic, and this way he gets that much more attention right? I tried to get it on video, but every time I got it out and tried to get him to crawl to me he crawled and cried, which made me smile, but is definitely not as cute as when he crawls and laughs. :) He followed me around the house all day, but didn't venture far into the kitchen. He likes to knock on the floor, but its too slippery for him to really get anywhere. He is also teething. He has a big bump on his bottom gum he hates to have touched, is drooling like a fountain, and it sounds like we've got awhile before it breaks. So, we're heading out to the store tonight to pick up some baby orajel, and we'll hope to have a few less nights of him waking up screaming. Poor kid, getting teeth must be super painful. And just think, this is only the first one. We still have an entire mouth to fill!

Trav's First Deer Hunt

Apparently hunting season is upon us! At least that's what our fridge and freezer would tell you if you took a peek inside. That may be more exciting to some than the apple juice and leftovers that were in there before, but this is still new to us. Travis officially went on his first deer hunt on opening day for rifles, and came home with his very first deer. Here's his story (in my words):

Travis met up with Brian (my bro-in-law) early Saturday morning to get a good early start hiking up the mountain. They had gotten sole permission from the landowners where brian's parents used to live to hunt, and were so excited because scouting out earlier they had seen deer up the mountain there. At noon Trav called to say after running up the mountain all morning they had eaten all their snacks and were starving and tired. Their solution? Travis called his uncle to see if any of his corn fields were uncut. Lucky for them, there was one left. So after coming in for lunch and to check on their babies, they headed out to the cornfield. A few hours later Travis had gotten a 3 x 4 cornfed buck and Brian got a deer of his own as well. It sounds a little like cheating to me, but they got to hunt the lazy way. Find a deer in a field, shoot it, throw it in the truck, and string it up on the tractor to gut it. But either way, he was VERY excited about getting his first deer, and was proud of the size.
Even though Cyrus is too small for his first hunt (and hopefully will be for awhile!) he did get outfitted for it. :)

Husband quirks? Where do I begin?

Rules: link the person that tagged you, mention these rules on your blog, tell 6 quirks of your siginficant other, and tag 6 fellow bloggers! Got it, lets go!

I was tagged by Rylee.

1. Travis is an extremely deep sleeper. I'm jealous because EVERYTHING wakes me up. Funny story... Our first year we were married we went to Yellowstone on vacation and around 3:00 there was a big bang, and he had rolled off the bed between the 2 queen beds in our room. I almost died laughing as he was sprawling around trying to get up. I helped him back up into bed and he went right to sleep. The next morning he commented, "I had the weirdest dream that I fell out of bed!" He sleeps like a log.
2. He loves cartoons. Old classics (Transformers, TMNT), asian drawn (I don't know the names of these) , adult (South Park, Family Guy, Aquateen, King of the Hill). For some reason animation just draws him right in. (Ha ha, that pun happened on its own)
3. He is extremely good with his hands, not a surprise that he's an electrician. He can do absolutely anything he puts his mind to. He got it from his dad. When he was younger, his dad built a semi-truck from the ground up. I don't know anyone who would even try that.
4. He wears about ten pairs of socks in the winter. I don't know how they even fit in his shoes.
5. He loves to read, but almost refuses to do it because when he starts a book he can't stop. He only starts books on vacations.
6. His head is full of random information, but he's a little random so I shouldn't be surprised. If you ever have a weird question, he is definitely the person to ask.

I love you, kid!

I tag: Lauren, Melissa, Kristen, and anyone else who would like to play. This was more fun than quirks about me! Nice thinking Rylee!

Who are you?

You are intelligent, outgoing & stylish. A true girly girl, you love shopping & makeovers. Although you are a generous friend, you can be coy, tricky & very persuasive in order to get your way. You are known to zone out occasionally during conversations, but your friends forgive you because you are understanding, supportive & know how to throw one heck of a party!

I don't know, does this sound like me? There's definitely some truth in it, although I hate to admit to zoning out during conversations! :)

A Free Purse?!?

There is website that is giving away a free purse every hour on October 15th. There's some cute ones...Check it out! http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Jaron's Blessing

My new nephew's baby blessing and a week's break from Primary! What a fun day. Does the suit look familiar? Amy loved Cyrus' suit so much that I made for his blessing, that we made one close to the same for Baby Jaron. We made him a bow tie and he borrowed Cyrus' shiny black shoes, and he looked adorable. He even waited to spit up on it until later in the day. :) It's always fun to go to church with the family. Cyrus especially loves it because he has so many people to play with, he just gets passed up and down the row, and each person has a different treat and fun new toys. It also makes it fun for me because I get to listen to the speakers and Travis likes it because he gets to sleep. Brian and Amy bore their testimonies, which were really sweet. I laughed when Brian said he loved this time of year because he was able to enjoy nature and seeing all of God's creations, then said he also loved that it was hunting season. Oxymoron? I thought so, but not being a hunter, I guess my opinion doesn't count as much. Afterward, we went to the park for lunch and were able to sit and chat and hang out with everyone. It was a fun weekend!

For those of you who don't know... this is my sister Amy, her husband Brian, and their little Jaron.

First and Last Visit to Bear Lake

Life has been a little crazy trying to get through the insurance mess and looking for a new car, so I didn't have time to upload these cute pics. Our very last road trip in my car while it was still in one piece was to Bear Lake. It was a warm enough day, so we thought we'd take advantage of Cyrus' swimsuit he hadn't been able to wear and head up to Bear Lake. The water was pretty cold, cold enough that I didn't even want to change into a swimsuit, so we just did a little wading. Cyrus wasn't quite sure about the water. He's still learning to like his baths, although now that he's figured out how to splash, it's getting a little better. The pictures should describe the story pretty well. He ended up liking the water until we let him sit down in it. Even then he wasn't bad until a wave hit rolled up his lap. Talk about a meltdown. But overall, we all had a good time. We weren't there long, and Cyrus mostly slept in the car, so Travis and I got to relax and have a nice long drive. It's fun to be able to be there with Cyrus while he tries out new things!

Another New Baby!?!

Our family just keeps growing...Haizlee is here! Tom and Jami had their little girl. She was a couple of weeks early, born on Wednesday night at 9:11 and she was 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 inches long. She's really cute, she reminds me a lot of Bryker. She does look more like Jami than Tom, but you can definitely tell they're brother and sister. :) It will be so different to have a little girl at Grandma Hobbs to hang out with the 2 little boys, but fun. It was an interesting week for me and Cyrus. We took turns with Jolene to watch Bryker, and really ended up having a good time. I was a little stressed out because we didn't have a chance to get the house as clean as I wanted before we had a soon-to-be-3 year old staying with us, but he was really good. We went for a lot of walks, and played outside a lot to get some extra energy out when the baby toys got boring, so Cyrus liked that. He loves to be outside. We went to lunch with Travis, and dinner with Jolene. Then on Saturday we went to the dinosaur park with my brother and his 3 kids. They all just ran around like the crazy kids they are, growling back at the dinosaurs, and having a ball. Bryker and Cyrus got along really well. I think he'll be an awesome big brother, he was so good with Cyrus, always trying to give him toys if he cried, and trying to play and laugh with him. (I should also mention, all he wanted to do while he was at our house was mop the floor. Ha ha, funny kid!) I especially liked it at night when we were winding the kids down by reading stories and saying prayers. Even though it was a little draining, it made me excited for when we get to a point where we might want another little baby. But for the next few years, so I can keep my sanity that much longer, I LOVE just having my baby Cyrus!

Time flies!

Cyrus just turned 6 months, so we've been trying out a few different foods. We tried to feed him the baby food "mac and cheese" (mostly because its not colored so it won't turn the carpet orange or green when he spits it back up!) and he was not impressed. He's a little picky for the age he is. You'd think if you were used to formula, rice, and apple juice, that you'd love to try something different, but Cyrus seems to like his comfort foods.

At his 6 month appointment, Dr. Allred gave Cyrus an A++. These are his stats:
Weight: 16 lbs 9 oz, 50th percentile
Height: 27" 75th percentile
So he's tall for his age, and even though he looks like he would be in the 90th in weight, he's pretty average. Maybe it's the big cheeks...

Also, for any of you who have babies, this is AWESOME! Cyrus has always been a little ball of energy. Since he was first born he liked being awake and checking out the world around him. He's very smart, which is a good and a bad thing. Good because you want your kids to be smart, bad because he gets bored with things very quickly. We have tried EVERYTHING to try to keep him occupied so I can get things done. He has gotten better now that he has a little army crawl so he can get to what he wants, but he loves this little jumpy. It has a harness-type thing that straps around them, so they have more freedom to move, and the bungy cord allows him to jump harder and higher. If any of you have the same issue, try it out. Its not much more than the cheaper johnny jumps, and he'll play contentedly in this long enough to let me get the house picked up without him trying to help me. :)

A little bit about me...

The Rules- Link the person/people who tagged you, Mention rules on your blog, Tell about 6 facts/Quirks of yours, Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.

I was tagged by Lauren.

1. I like to be prepared. I guess because of that I would make a good boy scout. I hate being place late, or having to do something in front of people and just wing it. Having a baby has made some of that better because they are so unpredictable, but I still like having my life scheduled and planned. Good example: When Travis and I were asked to speak in church, I spent a couple of weeks getting my talk ready, and when I asked him if he needed help, he said he was just going to get up there and talk. My talk ended up being 5 minutes too long, but his was less than 5 minutes total. I wouldn't have even been able to stand up without a typed talk. :)

2. I really dislike sales people. I won't go into a lot of detail on this one, but I work with a couple of them, and sales personalities do not jive well with mine. (Lauren, you especially know what I mean!) Just the thought of car shopping...

3. I am a worrier. I stress and worry about everything from what Cyrus is going to wear for the day, to the amount of spiders in my house, to how my family and friends are, to how much money is in our account. And not only do we have this life to worry about, but we also have to worry about how our actions in this life affect the next. Just writing that makes my heart beat a little faster.

4. I really enjoy a good book. I get it from my mom. Maybe it is because of #3, but it's nice to take a break from life sometimes and immerse yourself in a good book. I read them all: Fiction, non-fiction, classics, biographies, church books, you name it. One of my lifetime goals is to read the top 100 classics. If anyone has any good suggestions....?

5. I love Cyrus' giggle. Cyrus is getting big enough now that in the right mood, he thinks everything is hilarious. My favorite time of day is right before he goes to bed. He has a full belly, new diaper, cozy pajamas, and is so tired that he cannot stop laughing. He laughs at his bedtime stories, he giggles at his toys, and the best part is that he thinks mommy and daddy are the funniest people ever. Its nice to get to the point that all the hard baby work is starting to pay off.

6. I love my religion. I'm sure most of you would agree. I really enjoy teaching our primary class. I'm glad to have boundaries. I don't know how I would have turned out without something to help keep me in line. I'm so grateful to have someone watching over me and those I love. I love my family so much, that its satisfying to know that I can be with them forever, and thankfully forever might just be long enough for me. :)

Thank you Lauren, I had a good time evaluating myself a little bit on this one!

I am tagging: Ashly, Linda, Kim, Miranda, Gina, and Melissa.

Time For a New Car?

Oh my poor car! The first car I ever bought for myself was totalled. I was so sad, it's funny that you can become so attached to an inanimate object! Almost 2 weeks ago, Cyrus and I were visiting a friend just down the street from our house, and as we started to go through the green light, a blue honda T-boned us. Even though we were only going about 15 mph she was going close to 50, so it was a pretty hard hit. We spun around a bit and hit the curb where we stopped. I remember the diaper bag contents and groceries flew everywhere, Cyrus was screaming, and I was trying to get out of the car so I could get to him. Luckily she hit the front of the car, so neither Cyrus or I were seriously hurt. 911 was called, and Nicole came running over with a phone, and to take care of Cyrus. I was so thankful she was there for us. It was the first accident I've really been in, and I was amazed at how I handled it. When the car stopped, I did have enough sense to immediately turn off the car, but when I couldn't get it into park it took me a minute to think about pulling the Ebreak so I could take my foot of the break and get to Cyrus. The lady who smashed into us apologized after explaining that she didn't know if it was her fault or not becasuse she had been thinking about going to take her pee test and getting some lunch. She didn't even see the red light, or us. It sounds like she's a bit flakey and not necessarily fit for driving.

After about an hour, we cleaned out the car and it was towed away. My first car. Sad.

I was mostly thankful that we were in the car and not walking. Just a couple of days ago a boy we know was hit there on his bike, and even though he was ok, it made me realize once again that things could have definitely been worse. We did have someone watching over us. A couple more feet or mph and she would have hit me, not just the car. In primary we've been singing "If the Savior stood beside us", and the last verse says "He is always near us, though we do not see him there. And because he loves us dearly we are in his watchful care." I always liked that song, but never paid as much attention to the words as I did to how well the kids were singing and behaving. Now every time they sing it, I sit back and listen, and tear up as I remember that He does love ALL of us and he does watch over us. I'm so thankful for that, I don't know what I would do without my babies. (I have to include Travis when I say babies!)

I also found out another friend was in an accident that same weekend while taking dinner to a relative. I'll just say I'm also grateful we didn't end up covered in spaghetti sauce. :)

That night we took Cyrus and went camping just outside of Brigham at Dock Flatts. We had a really good time, and even though it was pretty cold that night, Cyrus slept pretty well. It was the first time we'd been able to go this year, and it really got us excited for camping next year. In the morning Travis got up and went fishing, and Cyrus and I went to the Peach Days parade. He didn't love all the noise at first, but after he got used to it I think he really enjoyed it. My entire extended family was there, and everyone just loved him. We always have a really good time at Peach Days.

Another baby in the Kunzler Family

My sister had her baby! He was 7 lbs and they named him Jaron. It's funny, I used to think all babies look alike, but since having Cyrus I've started noticing baby features a little more than before. I say that because Jaron looks just like his daddy Brian. He's adorable. He's so tiny compared to Cyrus. We took a picture of them next to each other, and the minute we put them together Cyrus reached over and grabbed his hand. It was cute. At least until he started pulling his shirt off. :) I think they'll be really good friends.

I also wanted to post these pictures. Cyrus makes me laugh every day. He loves sitting in his cadillac high chair his grandma Hobbs bought for him and playing with his toys. He's still learning to reach out and grab things, so he mostly pushes his toys away, then when they're too far for him to reach and he has nothing to play, he tries to eat the tray. I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw him do it. My little puppy just loves to chew things!

Summer is over?!

I cannot believe summer is over! August was so busy, we're hoping for a little break to catch our breath! Travis has been working all day at his regular job, and then almost every single night on his side jobs or our cleaning job, which has been so good for me because it makes it possible for me to be home with Cyrus more, but really hard on him. So, every spare minute we had we were out somewhere. We tried to turn every work meeting and electrical bid into something fun. One evening we went to Liberty Park with Jolene and Bryker and rode the merry-go-round and fed the geese. Bryker and Cyrus both had fun, except Bryker wasn't so excited about feeding the geese (they were a little scary), and Cyrus just wanted to eat the bread.

We also took Cyrus to the Hogle Zoo. The last time we took him he was only 2 months old and had just had his shots the day before. Lets just say he could care less about the animals, he was still sleeping off the medicine. This time was a lot more fun. We went after the gates closed so it was not busy at all, and we could take our time showing Cyrus the animals. He loved the giraffes, and little monkeys. He also loved being carried around because... oops... we forgot the stroller.

Travis has been working on a big (not very attractive) church in South Ogden. Those of you who have driven down behind the Albertsons in South Ogden know which one I'm talking about. It's huge, and I think the pastor had someone design it for free. But, the point is, he's made a lot of friends down there and one day one of the guys brought down some tickets to the Raptors game for Travis, so we invited Tom and Jami and Bryker and Travis' mom and went to the game. We had a lot of fun. Bryker was a little rambunctious and he went on a lot of walks with Jolene, and Cyrus hadn't taken much of a nap so he was a little grumpy toward the end, but it was fun to have a relaxing night out with our family.

Cancer Walk

This was our third year being involved in the Cancer Walk in Brigham City. Jolene is part of the team for the hospital, and we just go tag along and walk with her when its her turn. Things were a little more laid back this year, so we had more time to just hang out. Bryker and Cyrus were definitely the hit of the party, everyone Jolene knew (which is a lot of people!) got to be introduced to her two cute grandsons. Her friend Jill from the hospital was there too with her 3 cute girls, and those are the girls in the pictures. They just love the boys. We weren't able to stay all night, Cyrus got grumpy and was ready to go home and go to bed at about 12:30, but we were there long enough to have some dinner and fun. The ceremony was really nice, and every year before they light the bags, we do a little switching around so Brad and Jolene can be next to each other when they're lit. Jolene made sure to put pictures of "beep beep" on there for Bryker. He was very excited when we showed him they were there. We also bought some glow sticks for the kids. They loved them, and it was perfect for us so we could keep track of where they were. All except Cyrus, this year he was pretty easy to keep track of. I'm sure next year will be different. It's nice to be able to do something for cancer since it's been such a big thing in Travis' family. I hope the money raised will be enough to help other people who have to go through it as well. Here are some of the pictures from the evening.