~Nicc's Pics~

Happy First Little Buddy.

2012-01-19T18:56:00.003-07:00

What a difference a year made for this little guy! We are so blessed that he is doing so well. We are thankful every day that he was sent to us.

You are so happy, so sweet, so lovable, so cute, so much fun, such a boy and just what we needed in our family! We love you "little G". Happy First Birthday!

Taya's funny letter to her dad...

2012-01-14T15:54:00.003-07:00

Taya read this letter she "wrote" to Jared the other night. She always comes up with the funniest things and keeps us laughing!

Dear Dad,

You are crazy. Not crazy ha ha but crazy weird.

Love,

Taya

Oh how she loves to tease her dad.

Once there was a snowman...

2012-01-09T00:03:00.002-07:00

What a great day to build a snowman! We had just a few inches of snow and it wasn't so cold that you couldn't stand to be out. After telling us her snowsuit was "a little swollen" Taya marched right out and started making snowballs and just playing in it. This is the first year she has been able to walk in the snow by herself, so she was very excited to tromp around. It was perfect packing snow, so I joined her and we made this little snowman to her specifications.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T21:27:00.008-06:00

This year I should have been dressed up as a zoo keeper to wrangle our "chunky monkey" and "cute little stinker" (skunk)!

We had fun trick-or-treating at Grandma and Grandpa Morgans with all the cousins and around our neighborhood. We even had a special Halloween guest come trick-or-treating at our house! Boy was I surprised to open the door and find this barnstormer pilot on my porch! I was expecting Grandpa Braithwaite but I had to do a double take just to make sure it was really him.
Taya really got in to the pumpkin carving this year and couldn't wait to get her hands in the "guts". She wanted her pumpkin to be happy, and picked the happiest face we could find for hers. Jared carved a cute little foot for Garrett. I opted for the dollar store plastic stick in face for mine. Jared created another masterpiece American themed pumpkin.

What a great Halloween!

A little pre-halloween fun!

2011-10-29T16:22:00.004-06:00

Taya's pre-school put on a very cute little Halloween program where they got to model their costumes and sing some halloween songs. It was fun and Taya was super excited and super cute.

Waiting for the program to start. She was so excited all day for it!

Posing for a pic with her best friend Izzy.

She stopped people watching and participated in at least a couple of songs!

I had to post this picture for the Braithwaite side of the family who are all singers. You can almost hear her carrying the last note on the word fall in this picture! She was so funny, she held the last note extra long and extra loud(I think maybe even on key)! Faaaaaalllllllll......

I LOVE her pre-school teacher and more importantly so does Taya! What a fun thing for her to let the kids do!

Open Mouth, Insert Foot....

2011-10-08T17:49:00.005-06:00

No, literally!!! This little guy can't get enough of his foot, fingers, hand, blankie or any combination of them in his mouth! Love this funny. I might be a little prejudice but I think he is so stinkin' cute!

Checked off one project...

2011-08-24T08:55:00.005-06:00

So I may have stayed up a little too late last night, but I finally got Taya's 3 year old photo book finished!! Yippee and phew.... It's been hanging over me since her birthday so when Shutterfly sent me a free book coupon, I just had to hurry and get it done. If you would like to check it out, here is the link. I can't wait to get this one.

http://tqbooks.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Maybe now that I'm feelin' the vibe I can finish Garrett's NICU book! (Jare, I promise not at 1:00 a.m.)

What a difference four years makes!

2011-08-12T11:06:00.002-06:00

Six Months!

2011-08-01T13:03:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that Garrett is already six months old! Where did the time go?!?!? While we were camping in Ophir this weekend we took a little time to take some pics of him. He is getting so big so fast. He still has just the sweetest little personality. We love him so much and can't imagine life without him!

I just had to post the picture with his tongue out because Jared has a picture of him just like that when he was little!

March for Babies

2011-05-02T14:46:00.006-06:00

It's coming! I posted a while back about the March for Babies and asked you all to save the date! Well, I'm a little late on starting the fundraising because I was waiting to see if the weather was going to be warm enough for the kids to be out, and make sure Garrett was doing well enough. I think both of those things are good to go! The March for Babies is on Saturday May, 14 at This is the Place State Park. I would love for all of our family members to come join us for this fun day to raise money and celebrate the lives of our preemies! You can donate to our team, join our team and raise money yourself, or just join our team and walk with us!

http://www.marchforbabies.org/niccoleb

Please help support our family team by donating to the cause. It will help with research for babies and comforting parents in the NICU.

We are so thankful for our two miracles and want to help others who might be going through what we have went through.

Egg heads

2011-04-28T14:11:00.003-06:00

Taya had so much fun coloring and deocrating easter eggs with funny faces. I couldn't help but share this funny picture Jared took when she was finished.

Hope you all had a very happy Easter!

Not much fun, but cute!

2011-03-30T17:36:00.004-06:00

Showing up at 6:45 a.m. to send your baby off to surgery was not exactly great, but when the nurse pulled out the very cute little hospital gown and blue socks it somehow got a little better.

Seriously, how cute is that little gown?!?! Obviously it didn't make Garrett feel any better about being there!

Everything went really well and the surgeon was able to fix both sides with the hernias. We had to stay just one night for oxygen level observation but thankfully there were no breathing problems! Garrett is a little sore but doing well and getting back to his sweet, happy little self.

Girls night out.

2011-03-21T13:20:00.005-06:00

Thanks to a friend, Taya and I scored some awesome free tickets to Disney on Ice last week. I was so excited to take her out for the evening. With all that has been going on the past few months I knew she could use something special just for her. Jared stayed home with Garrett while Taya and I had a night on the town! It was so much fun. Taya was in awe the whole time. She was waving and laughing and answering Mickeys questions, which is pretty good for this shy little girl in a public place! She even talked to the Grandpa sitting next to us and let him lift her over the seat for me. She loved all of the dancing and singing, and was thrilled when Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear came skating out. She talks about the show every day and keeps asking me if we can get more tickets to go again.

The show was spectacular and our seats were great! It is now on my list of things to do every year when it comes to town. We had a great night together! Thanks Lisa, Jared and Mom for making this fun night out possible!

Sweet pics

2011-03-12T13:20:00.004-07:00

It was time for us to play photo shoot with Garrett. Here are the shots we came up with. Yes, those are his little feet as the "V".

While we were testing the light for pictures Taya was holding Mickey for practice shots instead of Garrett. I LOVE this picture of her! It captures her persoanlity so well. I just wish it was Garrett in the picture with her. Needless to say it was nap time and she never posed with Garrett, I guess it will wait for another day!

A Whole Family!

2011-03-03T15:13:00.003-07:00

We are so glad to have Garrett home with us! He is so sweet and his big sister has been very cute and soft with him. She put it best when she told us we were a whole family now because there are four of us with Garrett home. We are so blessed and so thankful to be a "whole family"!

Behind on updates!

2011-02-24T10:33:00.006-07:00

Here are some pictures to show what Garrett has been doing the last week or so. Lots of eating, growing, being cute, getting to know his Grandma's and Grandpa's and breathing on his own!

Lots of firsts this week.

2011-02-08T10:12:00.004-07:00

Jared got to hold Garrett for the first time last Wednesday. It was comforting to me to see him and his daddy get to bond. I love to watch them together!

We snuck a quick picture with the three of us before we put him back in the isolette.

After a few days of needing more help with his oxygen and not waking up much, he was quarantined because they thought he might be sick. Thankfully the tests all came back negative and they decided he was just tired from growing and eating and needed a little rest. He is back down on his oxygen needs now.

During the quarantine he started weaning himself out of the isolette. He was getting too warm so they had to turn it down and open the ends of it up. They dressed him in these cute little onesies while they had the isolette on room air temp to see if he could handle it.

Yesterday he came out of the isolette and into an open crib! He looks like such a big boy now that he is out, but so tiny in that crib. He is gaining weight fast and we are starting to notice that his legs, belly and cheeks are starting to fill out. As of last night he weighed 3 lbs 13 ozs. A few more to go and we will hit the 4 lb mark!

We are so grateful for how fast he is growing and how well he is doing. We are so thankful for all the blessings we have been given and are feeling like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Holding Garrett for the first time

2011-01-30T09:26:00.006-07:00

Last Tuesday I got to hold Garrett up for the nurse while she changed his bedding. He settled right into my hands and got comfy so I got to hold him for a little bit. It was great, but not as good as when I got to really hold him the next day! Wednesday I was able to hold him for an entire hour! They call it kangaroo care and they have the mom hold the baby skin to skin just like they would have when he was born if he would have been full term. It was so nice to have that bonding time with my little guy. He is so sweet and calm, we both just relaxed and held each other close!

They also took out his pick line last week, so he doesn't have any IV's at all. They moved his feeding tube into his nose with his oxygen, so that is the only place we are hooked up. I love that we get to see his cute little face so well already! (with just a little tape distortion)

Last night his weight was up again so he now weighs 3 lbs 5 ozs. They are fortifying his feedings with a pretty high calorie of fat, so he should start to gain rapidly and get some chub soon!

Getting Bigger!

2011-01-24T20:46:00.003-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures we took yesterday before we left the hospital. Garrett opened his eyes and was active for a while we were saying our goodbyes for the day. It was like he was trying to tell us "don't worry mom and dad, look how big I am!" He has such a cute little personality already!

I am so glad to be home and back to doing the normal things with Taya. I am feeling good and just looking forward to starting the count down until we can all be together at home as a family! I am just going to leave the pregnancy ticker up on the blog because we hope to bring Garrett home around the same time he was due, so we'll just use it as a coming home count down!

Garrett Jon Braithwaite

2011-01-22T10:54:00.005-07:00

Here are some pics of our cute little addition! We feel so blessed that he is doing so well. He is a very content little guy and so far causes little comotion in the NICU.

He was born 1-19-2011 at 6:07 a.m. weighing in at 3 lbs. 3 ozs. and 16.25 inches long. He seems big to us because he is double Taya's birth weight. We love him so much and are so happy he is doing so well.

We finally decided on the name with help from Taya. Jared and I had a hard time deciding and went back and forth a lot. This morning Taya voiced her opinion VERY strongly that she wanted the name to be Garrett. We have liked it all along and we were happy to have her help!

March for Babies...Save the Date!!

2011-01-14T08:37:00.002-07:00

Okay family and friends, it's time to put a little note on your calendar for 2011. May 14th to be exact! I just had the first meeting for the March for Babies committee that I am volunteering for this year. Those of us that walked last year had a great time and this year I hope we can double the fun with more family members! It's such a great way to honor those babies who returned to Heaven, celebrate the ones who got to stay with us and keep research going so that more can be done to help preemies! Let's walk to celebrate Logan and Lane and Taya! Oh, and this baby boy that will be born much closer to full term!

The walk is going to be at "This is the Place" again. The walk will be in the morning and then if you want to stay and do the little tours or activities with your family you can spend as much time there as you want. Here's a pic from last year to remember the fun we had. Hope you can all join us this year! I hear that they are working on getting Creamies to be a sponsor again, mmm...it was one of the best parts last year. Who doesn't love free ice cream on a warm day?

It's snow fun!

2010-11-30T08:57:00.004-07:00

Taya had been begging for the last two days to go play in the snow. So I finally rounded her up some snow boots and bundled us all up to go out. She loved it right up until she fell face first into the snow before I could catch her! We brushed it off, along with a few scared tears, and then it was back to building a snow castle and a snowman! The snow was too cold and dry to pack so our snowman was actually just a snow lump with two black eyes and a carrot nose! Good thing Jared got home just in time to take a few pictures before we were too cold and headed back in the house!

Remembering Grandma

2010-11-23T15:18:00.006-07:00

Just wanted to share a few pictures and memories of my Grandma Shriber. I am thankful I was able to be there as she passed away peacefully last Sunday, and even more thankful for the knowledge that I have that she is happy and no longer in pain.

I can't help but think of all the funny things she has said in the past few years as she has gotten older and could get away with saying what she was thinking! She rarely missed a birthday or a Christmas present, even if she just sent a card. I know that I get my collecting of knick-knacks and porcelain from her. I will never be able to read as many books in my life as she read in hers, especially not three at a time. I have never and never will be able to see or hear something about Elvis without thinking of how much she loved his music and him! I'll think of her anytime I see a palm tree or a beach or a beautiful flower.

'Till we meet again Grandma. Love you!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-11-13T10:35:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you and are so thankful for all that you do for us. We hope you have a great day! Thanks for being such an awesome gram! :)

Thankful for family Veterans

2010-11-11T07:54:00.006-07:00

I'm so thankful for all who are currently serving or who have served our country to protect the freedoms we enjoy every day!

We are proud to have Veterans in our family and I just wanted to give a little tribute to them today! We love you and are thankful for your service.

My Grandpa: Donald Jay Morgan

Jared's Grandpa: Ted H. Carlson

These two men both served in WWII and we are fortunate enough to have a typed diary that Jared's grandpa kept while he was serving. We think, from stories my grandpa told and stories in the diary, that these two may have been serving in the same place at the same time. We have read bits and pieces of it over that past few months and it always makes me feel a great sense of respect and gratitude for what they went through.

P.S. Sorry Dad, I didn't have a picture of you from when you were in the National Guard. I will have to fix that and run up and grab one to post a little later! Just wanted to say thanks for serving, love you!

5 years... wow!

2010-11-04T20:46:00.004-06:00

Happy Anniversary Jared! I'm so glad that 5 years ago I "dragged" you to the alter ;) and stood here looking rather impatient waiting to see if you were REALLY going to sign that paper!!

Love you!

Halloween

2010-11-03T11:13:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween from the skunk who sat on the stump and thought the stump stunk; all the while the stump thought the skunk stunk!

Pumpkin fun

2010-10-26T08:44:00.003-06:00

It was so fun for us to watch our garden grow this year and give us some yummy food and some great pumpkins! Here are some pictures of what we created with our pumpkins last night.

Taya 3 yr. old pics, new family pics and member!

2010-10-08T09:09:00.006-06:00

I have been trying to post these new pictures all week and either my computer won't cooperate or something comes up. So sorry to those of you who asked to see the new pictures and then had to wait so long.

We took our new family pictures and Taya's 3 year old pictures at the same time last weekend. Thanks mom and dad for helping and thanks Jared for being so talented! I am really happy with the way they turned out.

Oh, and did I mention that we are going to have a new addition to our family pictures next year? Yes, the secret is out. We are expecting!!! I am 16 weeks along right now and due in March. We are so excited and can't wait to find out in a couple of weeks what we are having.

Long time no post...

2010-09-24T08:58:00.005-06:00

Wow, so I haven't blogged much this summer. I just loaded all the pictures from my camera and realized I let a lot of fun times go by without sharing! Here are a bunch of pictures to catch you up on some of the summertime fun we had.

A trip to the zoo with Aunt Mindy and her kids! Thanks for letting us tag along, it was fun!

Swimming at Deseret Peak pool!

A trip to Ophir camping in a tent for the first time! She was so excited she wanted to go to bed before dinner!

We got to attend Princess Maya's birthday party in our very best princess attire! Thanks Shir, it was really fun!

Another ride in the mountains with me and her Papa. We took a little longer ride than her first trip to the mountains. We even stopped and got off for a little snack!

Taya's first ride in the corvette (or her dads "race car" as she likes to call it!) I love that even in her booster seat you can still barely see her in there!

Happy Birthday Jare!

2010-09-01T09:21:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Dude! Thanks for always being there for your girls. We love you!!

Happy Birthday Cowgirl!

2010-08-12T08:58:00.004-06:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to the rootinest tootinest cowgirl around! We love you!!

First ride in the mountains!

2010-07-17T12:30:00.003-06:00

I got to take Taya on her first official ride in the mountains last night! I'm not sure who was more excited, me or Taya?!?! We both loved every minute of it!

Taya giggled almost the whole time. Everything Dalton said she thought was funny, every time a tree branch touched her she would crack up and every time Sun would trot on a hill she thought it was hilarious. When she wasn't laughing she was giving commentary or checking on everyone. My favorite was when she yelled behind her "how ya doin' back there Dalt?" like she needed to check on him. She also called the shots when "Uncle Dan just went zoomin' by us like a race horse mom" or "what's shakin' Grandpa cowgirl?" when he rode up next to us. We had to straighten her out about cow "boys" and "girls".

It was so much fun! I am so glad that we got to share this fun experience with her Papa, Uncle Dan and Dalton! They work so hard to take care of the horses all the time and Taya and I really appreciate it! Thanks for the ride, we love you guys!!!

Super Taya

2010-06-25T16:08:00.003-06:00

Dun-da-da-da Super Taya!

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-21T09:18:00.005-06:00

A day late, but better than never. Happy Fathers Day to the dads in my life! I'm so thankful for you guys and the great men that you are!! Thanks for taking care of me and Taya. She has the best Grandpa's and the best Dad!

Magic tricks...

2010-05-21T08:26:00.003-06:00

These probably don't really qualify as magic tricks, but to watch our 26 weeker with cerebral palsy do this we think she is magic! Not to mention the fact that she pulls them out of her hat at 9:30 at night and after a pretty long session of physical therapy yesterday!

She kept asking us if we wanted to see "another magic trick", she must have went up and down the slide (frontwards and backwards) twenty times or so. So glad she thinks this is so much fun and doesn't realize what good stretching this is for her legs! A couple of times she did get tired and needed her daddy to throw her his "pretend red rope out of his backpack" to help pull her up. She has quite an active imagination!

To see her do this just about brings us to tears. We are so thankful she is doing so well, I just can't help but share!

March for Babies

2010-05-17T08:44:00.007-06:00

Saturday was the perfect spring day!! We spent all day outside enjoying the awesome weather.

First we headed up to This is the Place State Park for the March of Dimes March for Babies. It was really fun this year. We enjoyed free-b's and breakfast while we listened to a band, had extra visiting time because I got us up there an hour early :) (sorry again), then got to start the walk. The route was pretty easy and they even had free creamies waiting for you at the top of the hill! We stayed around the park for a little while after the walk and enjoyed the day, bought some old fashioned candy and watched a little bit of the entertainment.

It was great to have Taya surrounded by family members as we walked for this cause that played such a big role in having the technology to keep her here with us the first few months of her little life. Thank You to everyone who participated, either by walking with us or by donating money to our walk!! It was a great day and we can't wait for next year!

We spent the rest of the day outside in the yard helping with the garden and pulling weeds and such in the flower beds. Here is a picture of the patio and the garden at it's current stage. I wish I had taken a before picture of the backyard. Oh well... I can just say it looks much better. Next on the "to do list" for the backyard is to stain those ugly stairs.

Diggin' in the dirt

2010-05-12T09:01:00.003-06:00

We spent a couple of Saturdays getting our backyard ready for a garden to be planted and making a little patio. Taya of course wanted to join in the fun, which surprised me because in the past she hasn't wanted to get her hands dirty. What kid can resist a little shovel, a bucket to put it in and a big area full of dirt? It wasn't Taya this time. She dug right in and by the time she was done she was covered in dirt and had just about buried herself up to her ankles. After I put these pictures on the computer I decided I can see why people say Taya looks just like me. I can remember a picture of me with a hat on that looks A LOT like this!

We were offered a great opportunity by a guy in our ward to get a garden going in the backyard. Jared and I don't even like to weed our way to big flower beds that run the whole length of the front yard, down the side of the house and around the back! Thus, the backyard dirt has been sitting there until we can afford to cover it up with concrete and a big deck! But we were approached and asked if we weren't going to use the dirt if he could garden on it. We couldn't turn down the chance to learn a little bit about gardening and have a pro to help us out. If anything we will learn a lot, get to share some yummy fresh vegetables and the backyard already looks better with just the patio and the little bit of tilling that has been done!

Cute Cousins!

2010-04-29T15:14:00.004-06:00

Taya loves all of her cousins, but she especially loved spending time with Maya this week! These two girls were so funny and cute together! I took a ton of pictures to help us remember how much fun they had together at this age! They played and played together, with dolls and the kitchen set, read books, went to the park, fed the ducks at the pond, did the swings, and of course watched Mickey and Dora together!

Thanks for all the fun Maya. We loved having you here!!!

They were dressed the same by complete coincidence, but I thought it was so cute!!

So much like her mom!

2010-04-23T14:00:00.005-06:00

This post is mainly for the benefit of Jared and my mom! When I went in to get Taya up this morning this was the result! They can both tell you this is me through and through. I am not a morning person, and we are learning neither is Taya!

Me: Open the door and say "good morning sweetie"
Taya: Rolls over in her bed and faces the wall with a grunt
Me: Walk over and sit on the edge of her bed and say "did you sleep good"
Taya: "NO" and covers her head with the blanket angrily!

I just chuckled to myself and wondered how many mornings went like this when I was a child (hmm... probably as an adult too!) I went and got the camera, she stayed like this for about 5 mins. until she decided I wasn't going away.

Sorry Jare that you have to put up with two girls who hate the morning! And mom, I'm sure you're thinking that I deserve it and I probably do!

Spring Swinging in Utah!

2010-04-16T08:59:00.002-06:00

Okay so I promised I would update my blog and I finally sat down to load all the pictures from the last two months onto the computer. (Man, I hope Jared fixes our computer soon it is driving me crazy!)

Anyway, I am just going to start at the beginning of the pictures and blog until I'm current! So here it goes.

The sun peeked out just enough to stand to be outside and Taya couldn't stand one more day without her swing set, so we bundled up and went out to play. She loved every icy cold minute of it and didn't come inside until her face was so pink and cold that I insisted.

We are so glad that it is finally warming up around here!

Cupcake makin'

2010-03-04T09:26:00.005-07:00

Now that it is almost St. Patricks day, I think I'll get around to posting our Valentines pictures. Taya helped me make cupcakes for valentines day and then I let her help me decorate them. Aside from the several times sweeping to get up all the sprinkles that ended up on the floor, we had fun and I was surprised how much she could do all by herself. Maybe we have a future baker!

More digital pages...

2010-02-24T08:51:00.004-07:00

I think these are my favorite pages I have made so far. Maybe I'm just sentimental because my baby is no longer a baby!

You know it's 2010...

2010-02-19T13:52:00.004-07:00

When your two year old walks around listening to an i-pod.

Pushes her shopping cart around with one hand while carrying her cell phone in the other and tells you, "I'm texting Aunt Shar."

Gets more playing time on the Wii than the rest of us, and can do pretty good if it's not the race car game!

She also asked me today while I was pushing some buttons, "is it credit or debit mom"?!?!

What a techno age we are in and Taya is starting to fit right in.

It's a good thing she can still enjoy a little bit of good ol' cheap kid entertainment when her daddy builds her a fort she can hide in!

Finally...

2010-02-16T14:58:00.005-07:00

So our computer has been having issues with me loading new pictures onto it. I haven't updated my blog in so long and really wanted to get rid of the winter background and move on from Christmas pictures!

I had decided in January that I was going to become a digital scrapbooker to get caught up on Taya's book and to keep current. I'm not sure it will work, but I am going to give it a try. Since the computer won't let me put new pictures on, you will just have to see pictures from the past.

So far I have a few winter pages and most of the holidays finished. Here are a couple of them. I can't believe these are a year old already! Here are the pages for Valentines day 2009 and a her Easter dress pictures.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T16:13:00.006-07:00

Thought I would finally get around to posting some pictures from Christmas. Taya loved Christmas this year and was excited that she got exactly what she wanted!

Look at my pretty Christmas dress! (I hated every minute of it and asked everyone in church to take it off of me! The things moms make you do on holidays!) It only took about 40 pictures of Taya running away to finally get one good one in her cute dress, and only because I promised to take off her dress if she would stand there for one picture.

Can't slow down for a Christmas Eve picture in my new Mickey PJ's and slippers, I have a grandpa to play with!

Peek-a-boo! (who bought this kid presents for Christmas? All she needed was a big empty box and a grandpa to pull her around the house in it!)

Christmas morning she was so excited to see her play food, play plates & utensils and a stroller for her to push her dolls around in! She carried those ice cream cones around with her all day telling us they were strawberry and vanilla (or coconut depending on her mood) and slurping at them!

I think she has made as many laps around the coffee table with the stroller as the drivers do in the Indianapolis 500!

Another funny conversation...

2009-12-19T20:56:00.004-07:00

Here is another funny conversation with Taya.

Taya crawls over and says in a very sad voice: My tummy aches

I say: It does? I'm sorry, what does it need?

Taya with a sly smile responds: A candy cane!

I laugh

Taya: It will make you feel better.

Oh the funny things she is doing lately! We love her little personality so much.

A little religion fairy tale...

2009-12-11T11:59:00.003-07:00

Taya has been so funny lately. She is picking up on EVERYTHING that goes on around her and her vocabulary just amazes us each day. I had to post this funny story from last Sunday. She was reading books with Jared and she read him this story.

"Once upon a time there was a temple,

Once upon a time there was a soccer ball,

These little boys were running, Amen".

They talked about the temple and eternal families in the nursery that day. She was remembering and mixing it in with her story. I thought it was too cute and so funny, I just had to share it. I'm glad she is hearing and remembering gospel principles already!

Another funny... Last night we were wrapping presents as a family. Taya was on clean up patrol and would get any little piece of paper or ribbon and take it to the garbage(you had to be quick if you wanted to use a scrap of paper!) I was pointing out a piece of ribbon on the floor to distract her from taking the one I was using and I accidentally knocked her over. I told her I was so sorry and I didn't mean to knock her right down. She went to the garbage and threw the ribbon away and then on her way back she said with her big smile, "It's okay, I forgive you". Jared and I both cracked up laughing. She is just so funny and it amazes us how smart she is. She seems to remember every word she hears and can use it in the right context.

Little Fuzzies

2009-11-18T13:46:00.004-07:00

What does a two year old do with little fuzzy craft pom-poms? Stick them in her ears of course! What an imagination.

Cute kids...

2009-11-07T16:12:00.003-07:00

I found these pictures of our nieces and nephews while I was going through our wedding pictures to blog an anniversary message to Jared. I just had to post them because I think I have the cutest nieces and nephews on the planet! They were all so cute at our wedding, and so little! I can't believe how fast time goes and how big they are now! Jared and I decided not to have brides maids and grooms men for our wedding, just nieces and nephews since there was no way we were choosing just one for a flower girl or ring bearer. We decided to dress them all up and have them as our line. They were so adorable and it made it so fun for us! Aren't they cute?

4 years and counting...

2009-11-05T08:17:00.012-07:00

Happy Anniversary Jare! It's been four years since we tied the knot. Wow how things have changed in that four years. I can't imagine our life together any happier than it is right now. Thanks for all that you do for me and for Taya. Love you!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T20:10:00.003-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year! We started off with a trip to Grandma and Grandpa Braithwaites on Friday night. Taya couldn't wait to show off her costume to them and the puppies, Buddy and Daisy. She made out with a ton of candy and a very cute

little prize.

Saturday night I dressed up with Taya, she walked around saying "mommy is a witch-e-poo". She loved her costume and had a blast trick-or-treating with her cousins on both sides of the family. We got to spend the sunny warm afternoon with the Morgan side doing a little trick-or-treating in my parents neighborhood. It was fun to take Taya to see the people I spent years getting candy from growing up. The kids had a lot of fun being together and Grandpa Morgan even came along (against doctors and Grandma's orders)!

Then we spent a little time in our neighborhood. The Duffins came a long to do a little trick-or-treating with us. The kids had fun, even though it was a little chilly by the time we were finished. What a great night with the family.

Taya really liked all the candy. Next year we will monitor the candy intake a little more. When the sugar rush kicked in, Taya decided 11p.m. was a good bed time! It's a good thing we had an extra hour before church!

70th Birthday Fun!

2009-10-29T08:32:00.007-06:00

Sorry that I'm just barely getting around to blogging the pictures! Better late than never, right?

We all got together for Jared's dads 70th birthday over the weekend. It was so much fun to be together. We did a little service for him by helping him get some concrete and fill dirt laid in his garage. All the grandchildren got to help and were super excited and very helpful! We managed to get about half of the garage done and with no incidents or injuries (except maybe a few sore muscles the next day!)

After we worked for a couple of hours we had lunch and got to party with cake and a pinata! Although it wasn't a surprise we decorated and pretended it was, complete with hiding under the table and yelling surprise when Jon came in!

It was a really fun day and what a good reason to party!

Happy 70th Jon, we love you!

Jon in front of his 1930's airplane

A few of the grand kids waiting in the corner for Uncle Jared to dump a load of dirt.

The rest of the worker bees!

Jared driving the bobcat they rented. Taya thought it was so cool.

Kelly helping pile in the concrete.

Yummy cake! Happy 70th!!

Each grandchild gave him a role of blue shop towels! That's a lot of shop towels! I think he has a year supply now!

This is the awesome picture of the Idaho Falls Temple that Shanda painted for him. Amazing huh?

A little creepy with the misplaced eyes, but it was still fun and gave us lots of candy!

Nacho, Nacho Man....

2009-10-22T15:11:00.003-06:00

I am usually half way through my plate of nachos by the time Jared finishes his masterpiece and joins us at the table. The result, his look like something that could be on the cover of nacho magazine! Mine, well lets just say they are more like a chili-cheese and sour cream train wreck. Mmmm....

I had to blog this picture because I must say he has a talent for creating some very yummy looking nachos.

Jare, if there is such thing as Nacho Magazine I'm sure they'll be calling us soon to get this on the cover! :) Maybe I should start working on my article entitled "Coping with a spouse that has nacho regret at 2 a.m. "

Baby Tucker

2009-10-09T15:28:00.002-06:00

I finally got to take Taya to meet her new baby cousin Tucker. He was born on September 30th, but Taya was sick over the weekend so she didn't get to see him until today. She was very soft with him and fascinated by his every move. She kept telling me "oh, he's so cute" and he is!!! What a beautiful baby boy! Congrats Mindy, thanks for letting us come and visit. We can't wait to play with you and baby Tucker some more!

New Family Pics

2009-10-07T21:48:00.005-06:00

We have an awesome friend who took new family pictures for us. The weather was a little chilly and Taya was grumpy because she had been up most of the night before with a fever, but we managed to pull it together for a few family pictures. We packed up and headed to her land in Kamas and were surprised to find snow on the roof tops of the houses as we drove up Parleys. Brrr.... Once we got up Parleys the drive was beautiful with all the fall colors. It was so worth it to get these shots of us. Thanks Marie! She even fed us after we were done with pictures, what more could you ask for?

See, I CAN do it!

2009-09-28T10:48:00.006-06:00

Okay, I just had to post this picture for those of you who know my french bread making story from a few weeks ago.

For those of you who don't I will sum it up. Four tries, yes four, to make yummy french bread to teach the young women how to do it. A sister and sister-in-law who both told me "it's so easy you can't screw it up!" A trip to get more yeast, what? another batch failed, oh well...time to go to yw's, leave a HUGE mess on the counter for Jared to clean up, bake brownies with the yw instead.

But, with the correct recipe :) and a little extra flour... French Bread!

Self Discipline?!?!

2009-09-24T10:48:00.004-06:00

Last night Taya was at the dinner table starting to eat her dinner while Jared and I made our plates. She threw her plate on the floor and said loudly "Taya, NO that's naughty!" and slammed her hand down on the table. I'm not sure if she just likes to be naughty or if she is not really understanding the concept of naughty???

As you all know it's so hard not to laugh at cute stuff like this. She just looks so dang cute sitting in her little booster seat at the table like a big girl. I guess we are still pretty lucky, the only naughty thing our 2 year old does right now is throw food on the floor.

Happy Grandparents Day

2009-09-13T20:59:00.005-06:00

Happy Grandparents Day to the greatest grandparents!!!

Thanks for all that you do for Taya. She is such a lucky little girl to have such special grandparents who love her so much and do fun things with her!

Stylin'

2009-09-12T14:12:00.005-06:00

Check out all of Taya's new gear!

She was so happy to have a new little purse with stuff in it that she can play with. She must have taken the stuff out and put it back in 100 times! I'm not sure if her favorite thing in it is the little cell phone that makes noise, or the little hand mirror she can look at herself in!

She also got new camo shoes to go over her new leg braces. We must have tried on every shoe at 5 different stores trying to find some girl shoes that were wide enough to fit over the braces, all to no avail. It's okay because I love these little camo shoes and think they are so adorable on her.

Taya seems to like them too because Thursday when I finally found some white and pink ones that would probably work, she threw her first two year old fit!!! And I mean fit! She did not want them and wouldn't even let me carry the box. She has never thrown a tantrum in a store until that day. She was screaming and kicking the box the whole way through the store. I finally decided we were putting them back and going home without shoes. As soon as I put the box back on the shelf, she stopped crying and kicking and looked at me and said "oh, look at all this stuff mom." What a stinker huh? I guess everyone in the ward is just going to have to get used to seeing Taya in cute little dresses with camo sneakers on!

The new braces Taya wears are designed to help keep her off of her toes and give her stability until her leg muscles get stronger. We have seen a big improvement in the last week of her wearing them. She has been standing up better without holding on to something to steady herself and she has been walking a lot more. She can't crawl with them on very easily, so she has to spend more time on her feet! See, if you don't snap a picture quick she'll walk off and you won't get one!

Just a swingin'

2009-09-02T21:01:00.002-06:00

Taya loves to go out and swing on her new swing set she got for her birthday. In fact it is the only thing that she wants to do all hours of the day (and night). She will spend hours out there and is constantly saying "wee" and "push me higha mama"! Thanks Grandma and Papa for the fun swing!!!

Totally a Braithwaite!

2009-08-29T14:31:00.003-06:00

If you're part of the Braithwaite family, all you have to do is look at the picture to know what I'm talking about! If you are not part of the family I'll let you in on a little secret, they are all addicted to Mentholatum.

Taya loves to hang out with her dad and sniff the bottle. Last night they must have spent a half an hour laying on the bed going back and forth sniffing it. Yuck! I'm just glad she hasn't started putting it up her nose (yet!) :)

Just so sweet!

2009-08-21T12:58:00.007-06:00

Most of you have probably seen this picture before on my Facebook page, but I just love it. It captures Taya's little personality right now. She loves to have fun and play but is so sweet and cute lately. I hope she keeps it up and doesn't find her terrible two's (wishful thinking, I know). Some of the sweet things she says/does lately are:

Yes, mama

Thank you mommy

Please mom

Sure mom

Oh, I love you!

Big sigh while hugging you and pat or rub your back

Crawl over and put her head on your lap, shoulder or tummy and say "Hi, mom/dad"

She loves everything and loves to kiss things. She told us the other night as she crawled over and kissed the couch "I love couches"! She has also informed us lately that she loves chairs, cups, puppies, pillows, her mickey train, her shoes, and her swing set. She loves to kiss her blankie and tell it and her Baby Sarah doll every day that she loves them.

Oh, if she could only stay this way forever!!

Here are the pics

2009-08-17T14:12:00.003-06:00

Sorry that the slide show never got posted! Our computer locked up and then Taya woke up from her nap, so I decided to bag it and do it later that night. Well, later that night never happened! :) Here are some pics from the birthday party!

Mouseka Birthday!

2009-08-14T13:21:00.002-06:00

Taya had a great Mickey and Friends birthday party. She LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and everything associated with it, so it stands to reason that we chose that for her party theme. She had a blast playing with her cousins and all her new toys. I've been pretty surprised the last two days, she has been giving each toy equal play time. She will just make rounds going around the living room playing with each thing for a while and then move on to the next thing. (In between "watch Mickey Clubhouse mommy")

Here is a slideshow of the pics from her party. Thanks to all our family for making her 2nd birthday so special by being here to celebrate with us! And hooking her up with all the great toys!

Funny conversation

2009-08-13T13:58:00.002-06:00

I have some friends who blog the funny things their kids say and I love reading them. I have been trying hard to write down the funny things Taya has been saying and doing every day. I overheard this conversation last night and couldn't help but laugh and run to get a paper to write it down.

Taya to Jared: Mommy
Jared: I'm Daddy
Taya: I'm Taya
(Jared laughs, so then Taya does too)
Jared: Hi Taya
Taya: Hi Daddy
Jared: I love you
Taya: Ya

Happy Birthday Baby!

2009-08-12T16:09:00.005-06:00

Wow! It's so hard to believe that Taya is already 2!! It seems like the time has just flown by. Looking back at some of the pictures it's hard to remember how tiny she really was. She is such a big girl now and so fun to have around. She is such a good kid, always happy and smiling. She will dare you to look at her and just try not to smile. It is impossible, even if you are an older gentlemen sitting a few rows back in sacrament meeting trying hard to pay attention to the talk!! She is such a joy and a gift. We love her so much and are thankful for her!

Happy Birthday our little Tiny-B. We love you!

Never too early to start.

2009-07-23T12:39:00.005-06:00

Helping with the dishes and wearing moms shoes that is!

Finally mobile!

2009-07-08T20:17:00.005-06:00

After 7 weeks of physical therapy, Taya is mobile!!! We went to the neo-natal follow up at the end of May and were concerned that Taya still wasn't mobile on her own. She would couch cruise and walk if you were holding on to her hand, but wouldn't walk on her own or stay on her tummy/hands and knees. The doctor did some testing and watching her and told us that for some reason her Hamstrings were really tight. They were so tight it was hurting her when she tried to sit, stand or crawl. They were also causing her to be off balance because they were pulling her whole body down, so she wouldn't walk because she didn't feel balanced. The physical therapist worked with her a couple of times and gave me some things to do at home. We feel so blessed and are grateful that the stretches he gave us to do with Taya are working. She has learned to do so much in just 7 weeks. She started by sitting herself up after just a week. Then it was pulling herself up, standing, then walking back and forth between things and just Sunday she started crawling all over the place. She is so much happier(and so am I) that she can get where she wants to go! She is less frustrated because she can now do the things her mind wants to do that her body wouldn't do before.

The doctors also did testing and told us that she is beyond a 2 year old level with her cognitive and speech. She is talking up a storm, counting, singing, saying shapes and starting to learn colors. She is so much fun and every day we are so amazed by her. We love her so much and couldn't imagine life without her! We are so very blessed.

She weighs 21 lbs. 5 oz. as of yesterday (she got her last shots until kindergarten, yippie!!!).

Here is a little video clip of her walking last week and crawling this week.

Breathtaking view

2009-06-29T14:47:00.004-06:00

The pictures do not do this sunset justice. We were driving home Saturday night right as the sun was setting and we got to take in one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen out here in a long time. The colors were just like a rainbow across the whole sky. We usually get a lot of pink or orange sunsets out here, but this one had every color of the rainbow and they were so vivid. It was so cool because it literally stretched across the whole skyline. By the time we got home and I made Jared run in to get the camera this was all that was left of it. It was such a wonderful drive with this view infront of us the whole way home and Taya singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in the backseat!

Ready, set, close eyes, go....

2009-06-06T08:42:00.003-06:00

Thank goodness for having family around who have lots of toys for Taya to play with!! Taya loved this little slide that made the trip from California with the Duffins! She was so funny. She would get sat down and then scoot forward just enough to know she was going to go down, but then hurry and close her eyes really tight and giggle. I think the anticipation was as good as the ride down for her. We are so glad summer is here and we are all healthy and well to play, play, play!!! Thanks again Duffins!

Oh, and thanks Madison for running to get your camera so we could capture this moment!! We really need to get a little camera of our own to carry in the diaper bag, huh? :)

Too funny not to share...

2009-05-17T15:44:00.003-06:00

The pictures say it all about where we are in life right now with Taya. She is so cute and funny that she keeps us entertained all of the time! Sorry about the dirty glass doors Aunt Sharla!!

Feeling thankful...

2009-05-06T14:38:00.003-06:00

I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine about a fundraiser she is participating in for her son who has Cystic Fibrosis. She sent a link of a very cute video of him to go with it. I just sat watching it with tears streaming down my face because I feel so blessed to have Taya and know that so far we have no long term problems. I can't imagine knowing your child was only going to live into their 30's. Knowing how hard it was to watch Taya struggle when she was so little, my heart goes out to this family who watches their little boy struggle every day.

Just thought I would pass along the link if anyone wants to learn more about donating.
http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/JuliePrice

Here is the video for those of you who know Julie and Bryan from high school.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=89e14861679681bb4fb72a&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email

Easter dress

2009-04-09T17:58:00.006-06:00

I have been wanting to get Taya's pictures taken for about a month. She is 19 months now and has changed so much since her 1 year old pictures. I decided that her Easter dress was too cute and needed to be the "picture outfit". I took her to Little Grins today and here is what they came up with. (I love that place, they do such an awesome job!!)

I had to put this one on my blog. This is the attitude I talk about all the time. Taya was DONE taking pictures and she DID NOT want to put her sunglasses on for one!! Oh, Mom pleeasee....

Mouse-ka-fun

2009-04-02T13:16:00.003-06:00

As promised here are some highlights from our day at Disneyland!! It was so much fun, thanks Grandma and Papa for being such good sports and spending a crazy day at "The happiest place on earth"!!!
Taya loved every minute of the playhouse Disney "Live on Stage". She just about wore out her legs and her dads arms by jumping up and down so much! She loved seeing Mickey and friends sing and dance right in front of her. She was right there with them using their Mouse-ka-tools to wish Minnie a happy birthday!

Taya was so excited when we finally got to see Mickey!!! She giggled when Mickey leaned over and kissed her after we took our picture! Thanks to grandpa, who wouldn't take no for an answer, we were the last group who got to take a picture before Mickey went back inside to rest! Thanks again Dad.

Taya loved the BIG Mickey Mouse balloon her Papa had waiting for her when we came outside from getting a drink. Even though it was bigger than her, she loved to hold onto it and give it kisses. Mickey even got to ride home in the back of the van, bobbing up and down all the way to Utah!

California Fun!!

2009-03-30T15:05:00.003-06:00

We had a great time on vacation in California. The weather was beautiful, it was really hard to come back to 30 degrees and snow! Taya was so good the whole trip and loved spending so much time with her Grandma and Papa. It was fun to see her experience so much stuff for the first time. Here are a few pictures of our trip. The Disneyland trip will have to be a blog post all to itself!!!

Taya loved to watch the big fish swimming around.

Cheesy little girl! Look how cool she is with Grandma and Papa.

Big girls get to have their toenails painted to wear flip flops at the beach!

Matching toenails!!!

We got to watch a beautiful sunset over the ocean the night before we left.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T11:38:00.002-06:00

Gift update!

2009-03-09T15:37:00.006-06:00

Thanks Shirlee!!!! I think this is an awesome picture.

This was my gift from posting the "gift for you" post on my blog. My sister-in-law Shirlee must have taken this picture when Jared and I were sealed in the Rexburg temple, then Shirlee'd it up a bit. I can't wait to see how it looks framed. I am debating on switching it with the photo Jared took of the temple that day that is hanging in our living room. I know that the post said "no guarantees you'll like what you get" but I knew I would! Thanks again, it's great.

Sorry that no one posted and kept the gift thing going (with the exception of Shar, something yummy will be on it's way soon!) I have decided that since no one posted I am going to make a few 8 x 8 pre-made scrapbooks and donate them to the NICU for parents who are not as lucky as we were. That way the NICU can give them to parents who have lost their preemies and they will have something quick and easy to do with the pictures of their little ones.

Look out Hollywood...

2009-03-03T16:08:00.005-07:00

Isn't it funny that a pair of dollar store sun glasses can entertain not only a toddler, but also her parents for hours!! Autograph anyone?

A Gift for you made by me!

2009-02-23T20:23:00.003-07:00

My sister-in-law had this posted on her blog and I wanted something made by her and thought this was a way cute idea so I decided I would do it.

Here's the info-
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done by the end of March.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may scrapbook something. I may bake you something or make you a craft project. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did it will then win a fabulous homemade gift made by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Thanks Shir, can't wait to see what you have for me!

Spring is that you knockin'?

2009-02-20T15:53:00.003-07:00

I think spring time might actually be knocking at our door here in Utah! I know this is the spring tease we get every year right before it dumps a ton of snow on us, but I'll take it! I even heard some birds chirping outside the window this morning.

Taya and I bundled up and went out to enjoy the sunshine today. There was some warm in the sunshine but the tiny little breeze made our nose and fingers to chilled to stay out for very long. Oh well... it was nice to be out even if we were bundled up!

Valentine Cutie

2009-02-17T11:36:00.003-07:00

We had such a fun valentines day this year. We went out to dinner as a family Friday night at the cracker barrel and scored a way cute Easter dress for Taya. I can't wait to show you all, so it will probably be posted before Easter ever gets here!

Taya loved her Valentines Day presents! She loves to hug her stuffed animals, so when I found this cute little valentine giraffe I couldn't pass it up. The name on his tag is Kisser and boy does he get a lot of kisses and hugs from Taya.

I think her very favorite present was the mini M&M's that her daddy found for her. She loves them!!!! I have to pace her and keep them hidden, if she spies them on the counter whether it's 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. there is nothing I can do to keep her from them. I will have to post a picture of her after she has had a few of them. The green/blue/yellow/chocolate slobber smile is pretty funny!

Hope you all had a great valentines day with the ones you love!

4-4-4 and 8-8-8

2009-02-16T21:43:00.003-07:00

Okay, so I haven't been keeping up on my end of the "tags" I have a few out there so I am going to try to knock them out all at once. (Lori, I didn't see yours until just a few days ago...)

4-4-4

A) Four places I go to over and over:
1. Walmart (Yuck!)
2. The Duffin house :)
3. The doctors office
4. Young women's (they just can't get rid of me!)

B) Four people who email me regularly:
1. Mindy
2. Baylie
3. Michelle
4. My dad

C) Four of my favorite places to eat:
1. Texas Road House
2. Cancun Cafe'
3. Sun Loc Yuen (It's a Tooele thing)
4. Cracker Barrel

D) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Sleeping
2. Sleeping
3. In the mountains on my horse
4. Sleeping

E) Four TV shows I watch:
1. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (EVERY morning at 8:30 and 10:00!)
2. Bones
3. The Ghost Whisperer
4. Anything on the game show network!

I tag: Anyone who wants to do this! :)

Okay Lori, here it goes!

8 THINGS ABOUT ME
Here are the rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six 8 item questions
3) Let each person know leaving them a comment
PS these are not in order

8 FAVORITE TV SHOWS
1 Bones
2 House
3 Tru Calling (miss that show)
4 Family Feud
5 Criminal minds
6 The big bang theory
7 Numbers
8 The ghost whisperer

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY
1 Baked cookies
2 Frosted cookies
3 Did dishes
4 Played with Taya
5 Read books with Taya
6 Visited the happening Duffin house!
7 Played a card game
8 LOST the card game! :)

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1 Summer
2 Taking Taya on horse rides with her Grandpa
3 Teaching Taya to play softball
4 Taya having all of her teeth
5 The night Taya decides to sleep all night again
6 Going on family vacation
7 Going on vacation just Jared and I
8 The fun times ahead

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1. Texas Road House
2. Cancun Cafe'
3. Sun Loc Yuen (It's a Tooele thing)
4. Cracker Barrel
5. Zupas
6. Cold Stone
7.Good wood barbeque
8.Kneaders

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
1 That Taya will have a sibling to play with, fight with, laugh with and one day realize how much she loves having a brother/sister
2 Never having to do laundary again
3 Having a new truck and horse trailer
4 Having nice muscles and a nice body
5 That I had a nice singing voice
6 That my scrapbooks would put themselves together
7 That my house would always stay clean
8 Lots and Lots of fun times with my family

8 PEOPLE I TAG: Again, anyone who wants to do this!

18 months ago...

2009-02-12T14:28:00.003-07:00

I can't believe it has been 18 months today since Taya came into our lives! The time has flown by, and I'm already starting to panic that I am going to be saying "where did the last 18 years go" way too quickly! I can't imagine our lives without Taya. She is such a HUGE blessing to us and we love her so much!! I cherish every moment I get to spend with her!

Here are the latest little pictures I snapped of her cuddled in our bed watching cartoons while we were getting ready for church! She would have preferred to stay cuddled up there all day long. (can't say I blame her)

Bowling fun!

2009-01-27T17:45:00.002-07:00

Some good friends of ours invited us to go bowling yesterday afternoon. It was so much fun and we all had a blast, including Taya. Taya is a much better bowler than I am, she got a strike and a couple of spares! She loved pushing the bowling ball off of the ramp and would smile and clap and say "yeah" until the ball was half way down the alley, then she would look at it with sad eyes and wave her hand for it to come back. She was too funny.

She also liked the hard bowling alley floor, she took her first few steps without holding on to anything!! She would let go of my lap and walk a few steps to the scoring table and then back. Can you believe it was in the bowling alley of all places!?!?! (Of course, with no video camera around. Camera phone pictures just don't cut it!) Despite my efforts she won't do it again today at home. I guess we'll have to make a trip back to the bowling alley!! Are you up for it Cooks?

Happy Birthdays!

2009-01-15T16:35:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday to Shelly and Makenna!!!! Hope you guys have a great day!

What a hairdo!!!

2009-01-06T14:51:00.004-07:00

I just had to share these funny pics of the many hairdo's of Taya.

I went in to get her after her nap yesterday and couldn't help but take a picture of her wild hair. She had piggy-tails before the nap, but we have entered the age where I have to take them out before I lay her down if I don't want her to wake up and very quietly snack on them before she makes any sound to alert me she's awake. (yes, I am speaking from experience here!)

Taya has a stuffed pig her cousin Madison made for her in her sewing class at school. It has velcro parts so you can take it apart and put it back together again. It has become her favorite stuffed animal and it gets carried around a lot, especially the tail. You can bet if you see Taya somewhere playing that the pig's tail isn't too far away. This particular time she decided to keep the tail very close. She thought it was cool to have three piggy-tails not just two! When the velcro would finally lose hold and fall off she would pick it back up and stick it back on. Too funny!! (Madison, we might have to have you make a back up spare tail for if this one gets lost!)

Snowy fun!

2008-12-31T10:40:00.003-07:00

I decided during the last big snow storm that it was time for Taya to play in the snow for the first time. I got her all bundled up just as Jared finished snow blowing. We took her outside to see the snow and snapped a few pictures. I know all kids go through this stage where they are so bundled up they can't move, but I thought it was too cute not to share!

Christmas morning...

2008-12-29T09:37:00.004-07:00

We had such a great Christmas this year. It was so fun to watch Taya take it all in. We were so blessed to be surrounded by both of our families. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with Jared's family. We had a great time playing games, visiting and of course eating treats! Taya loved every minute of the festivities, especially all the attention she got. She was never alone, not even for one second. She had plenty of cousins, aunts, grandpas and grandmas who wanted to play and hold. Thanks to all of them for letting me have a little break from trying to entertain our little busy body!

Taya was so happy on Christmas morning. We walked out to the living room where daddy was waiting with the camera and before she even saw the presents she had a big smile on her face! She loved unwrapping gifts and even gave a courtesy smile and pretend excitement when she opened the package of socks we gave her! She got lots of books and toys from cousins and grandparents. She loves them all and spends the day making the rounds to play with all her toys and read all of her new books. When we pick out books to read from her book shelf, she picks the new ones she got for Christmas. It's amazing how she can tell the difference just from looking at the spine of the book.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well.

Happy Birthday Aunt Net Net!

2008-12-13T09:04:00.003-07:00

Happy birthday Annette!!! Sorry this is a day late, we didn't get home until pretty late last night. We thought about you all day yesterday and wanted to blog a happy birthday wish to you! I decided it would be better late than never, right?!! Hope you had a great day!!! Thanks for all you do for Taya and us.

Love,

Niccole, Jared and Baby Taya

2 funny little boys and a can of olives!

2008-12-10T14:49:00.002-07:00

This is what you get when you have two funny little boys, a can of olives and a day together with their Aunt! I had a blast spending the day with my nephews Braden and Cole. They were so cute together and were each sure that Taya liked them the best!!

First Santa Experience

2008-12-08T11:41:00.006-07:00

Saturday was the Tooele Santa parade and my mom was in charge so we took Taya to see Santa and his helper "Grandma Elf"! The parade was fun and the weather was really pretty nice for December. Taya was more than happy to get a picture with Grandma but wasn't so sure about that Santa guy. To our surprise she didn't cry but wasn't about to smile or let mommy get too far away. She was so cute and we were so proud of her for not crying! Her favorite part was the cool book she got for free after she was done sitting on Santa's lap. Books are her favorite toy, she can "read" them for hours. Thanks Grandma Elf for making Taya's first Santa experience a great one!

Santa Baby...

2008-12-03T12:51:00.004-07:00

It looks like Taya is ready for Christmas!!

Thanks to Aunt Sharla who not only let us crash their family home evening to use their washer while ours was at home smelling of burnt wires and smoke, but also had her camera ready to get this cute shot of Taya in a Santa hat. We also got treated to some warm gooey Cinnamon rolls that Madison had just taken out of the oven. Bad timing for the washer to go out right before Christmas, but good timing to be borrowing a washer while there were yummy treats!!!

Wow, how time flies!!

2008-11-14T11:29:00.003-07:00

First picture

(not an optical illusion, her daddy's hand was really as big as her)

Bundled up to come home! Finally home!!!

One year later and oh so cheesy!

It will be a year tomorrow since we brought our little miracle home with us!Her actual due date was November 14th, so even though she has been 1 since August she should actually be 1 this week!!

For those of you who don't know our story, Taya was born 3 months early when I was in my 26th week of pregnancy. She weighed a whopping 1 pound 6 ounces and was 12 1/4 inches long. It was truly amazing to see such a tiny little baby fight so hard to stay in this world with us! We are so glad she was so stubborn and strong willed!! We remind ourselves of that often because as she grows so does her attitude!

We are grateful for the modern medical technology we have and the wonderful nurses and doctors at LDS/IMC for taking such great care of Taya. You are awesome!!! (especially Amy and Natasha, Taya's primary nurses)

We were thankful to bring her home so close to her due date, and after 96 days in the hospital we were so ready for her to be home with us. I am amazed every day at how well she is doing. She is truly a blessing from our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful that I have been home with her this past year to see her learn and grow. Thanks Jared for working hard so that I can stay home and be with Taya, I know you wouldn't have it any other way and neither would I. Taya is the light of our lives and we are so blessed to have her!!! We love our little stink-bug!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

2008-11-13T13:28:00.007-07:00

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday Mom!! Hope you have a great day. Thanks for all that you do for me and my family.

Taya is so lucky to have such a special Grandma! We love you!!

Thankful for Veterans

2008-11-11T12:50:00.003-07:00

Today being Veteran's Day makes me think of all the men and women who have sacrificed to serve our country, but especially makes me think of my Grandpa. He was proud to have served his country and he wasn't afraid to tell you about it. He volunteered to serve in WWII and was proud of the fact that he ended up serving on both sides of the ocean(Germany, France and Japan). He passed away earlier this year. I miss him alot but I am thakful for the memories and the stories he shared with us.

I am so thankful to have my freedom and enjoy raising my daughter in a place where we do not live in constant fear for our lives. I am also thankful for being blessed to live in such a wonderful area where the gospel is so prevalent and where we are free to express our beliefs.

Thank you to all who have served and those who currently serve our country! Thank you to the families of those serving, you have to make the greatest sacrifice of all.

Together Forever!

2008-11-07T16:00:00.003-07:00

I'm so thankful for the blessing of eternal families! I was so anxious to be sealed to such a great husband and an amazing daughter for eternity. What an emotional and amazing event in our lives.

We had a wonderful day at the temple surrounded by family. We are so thankful for such great families who support us and were willing to drive 4 hours to be with us in Rexburg. It made the day so special to have them all there with us. Thanks!!!!

Halloween Fun!!!

2008-11-01T10:17:00.004-06:00

Taya's 2008 Halloween

Dalton "Manning", Butterfly Georgette, Whitney the Witch, Transformer Logan!

Jaycie the Skeleton Bride, Taya the sucker muncher!

Halloween was so much fun this year! Taya was so cute in her giraffe costume. Her favorite part of the day was holding onto her pumpkin pail. She preferred to have it empty so it was light enough for her to hold and lift. She carried it around all night and I had to bribe her with something else to put it down! She is still playing with it this morning.

She was a good sport and didn't really seem to mind the hat on the costume or the brown eyeliner on her nose. We got to visit with all of her cousins, Grandma and Grandpa Morgan, and Tanner. She scored some candy and a cute Halloween picture book from her Aunt Net Net and her cousins. Thanks Annette, Dan, Dalt, Georgie and Whit!! She even got to eat a sucker at Grandma's house. She sure enjoyed it and wasn't about to share when Grandpa leaned over to ask if he could have some. When I put her in the bath tub after the night was over I was still finding sticky spots in her hair and on her ears... How does sucker manage to get there????

We hope you all had as much fun this Halloween as we did. We look forward to seeing pics of all your little spooks too!

Splish, Splash, Takin' a Bath!

2008-10-29T15:26:00.003-06:00

Taya loves to take a bath! These are some pics from the other night . She was splashing so much in the tub that I yelled to Jared to bring his camera in to take some pictures. Taya would splash really hard over and over. I think she was trying to get catch the water in her mouth because every time she would splash her mouth would pop open really wide and her tongue would come out! I couldn't keep the water off of her face, or my clothes!

More Huntin' Fun Pics

2008-10-24T19:35:00.004-06:00

Weeeee!!!
My first time on the swing with Grandpa!

Snugglin' with Grandma to keep warm.
Hanging out with Grandpa after a day on the hill.
Mom can't wait until I can go with them!!!

I look like a jack-o-lantern in this orange hat.

Okay, picture time is over. Get this off of me!

The hunt was so much fun this year. It was great for me to have Taya there with us. Grandpa did more playing with the grand kids than hunting. He is such a good sport to play with them and he spends countless hours pushing them on the tree swing. We can only go a few minutes without hearing a grand kid say "Grandpa, will you please push me?" or "Give me an underdoggie Grandpa!!" Grandma and Grandpa have such a nice place in Ophir for us to all get together. It's nice to be able to spend time as a family and let the kids play. We are so blessed to have such a great family!