Snow Day!

It has been snowing all day in Logan so after Ian woke up from his much needed 3 1/2 hour nap we headed outside. Ian loves playing in snow and did not mind sledding. After a few runs he noticed the playground and decided he wanted to go down the slide instead -so we did! It is still snowing so looks like we will be outside again tomorrow!

After playing in the snow we came inside got a snack and all (even the dog who's paw can be seen in the right corner) watched finding nemo from inside Ian's tent. Can you tell Ian was having a blast!

ReDo!

This was our office -I absolutely hated it. We have tons of books and projects that I have been working on plus Ian has his crayons and other craft things in here. It was just the room where everything goes. We have boxes and boxes of Tim's school things as well as mine. Not to mention just boxes -Tim has this thing with keeping empty boxes? Drives me crazy! Anyway, since we both had a break from work and school enough was enough...

We went and got a new desk that could hold plenty of books. Ian and Tim began putting it together.
After days of organizing we finally got it all put together.
Now there is a place for everything and anything. The bookshelf below the window is just for Ian. It has has his paints, playdo, crayons, games, and all of his file folder games. The bookshelf is full of books and fits perfectly. The closet is now functional and contains tons of paper and various crafts. Now I can walk into my office and feel at peace everything has a place and very functional!

Notice the gold framed picture from the before snapshot...
Not anymore...we painted the frame black and left a little gold edge. This picture came from my grandparents a while back. We don't really have any gold in our house but I have always loved this picture. So tada now it hangs in our bedroom. Which we also painted this weekend.

I am a little undecided. I have never been one to paint much of anything. I did not even pick out the paint in my own home (my neighbor Ruelinda gave me two colors without looking I gave it to the painter -love it). So we thought we would give this a try.

We painted an accent wall in a flat baby blue then painted clear glaze to make the vertical stripes. The blue is not quite the right color it is just slightly off but Tim said he would rather get a new bed set then paint the wall again. So for now it stays.
I like the stripes but we need something much bigger on that wall and I have no idea what to do -maybe next Christmas :)

Christmas -take three!

On Christmas morning Tim headed for work. Ian lately has been waking up around 6:30 am every morning but wouldn't you know Christmas morning he finally slept in. He woke up at 8:20 am and so did I!!! We were heading out to my parents that morning and luckily Hunter was very very patient with us because Ian just wanted to play with his kitchen set.

We got to my parents and had juicy rolls (monkey bread) which Ian loves! Then we opened presents.

Ian was very excited about his basketball hoop and loved trying to make a basket. When we told him to make a basket he would walk underneath it and throw the ball up -it was quite funny. By the end of the day he learned that you have to stand back and throw it. His favorite was to slam dunk it when Andrew or someone would hold him up.

Ian getting into Andrews candy -and eating his peez.

Pike sat on my lap most of the day. When Ian would notice he would come over and usually push the dog off or just sit on top of him.

Once Tim got off work we opened a few more presents and had a wonderful Ham dinner. Ian loves helping everyone. We even had Tim change back into his pajamas :)

Tim and Andrew (our medical people) got a couple life flight shirts.
While Ian thinks that you get to open presents everyday he has loved being with family. Christmas snapshot in our pj's (my mom was too nice and got Tim a more "mature" looking pair of pajamas).
The guys all in plaid.
Picture Info: Do you see my grandpa's face????? I am pretty sure that is about the funnest things I have ever seen!!!!! Andrew: he looks happier than I have ever seen him look. Is my mom trying to be a bird -caca caca? I think my grandma may possibly be high (maybe it is the ibuprofen hunter -lol). You have to love when family gets together :)
When we got home to head to bed Ian just wanted to play with his kitchen. When mentioning that it was bedtime he was not happy about that at all -you can see for yourself....

I still have not taken down the Christmas decorations I love Christmas time and would be happy with them up all year :) We had three day's of Christmas this year and I loved everyone. It is always great being with the ones you love!

Christmas -take two!

On our Christmas Eve (Dec 23rd) Hunter came over and stayed at our house. Ian loves Hunter and was very excited. The next morning he woke up and just wanted to see Hunter. He laid with Hunter on the floor grinning from ear to ear while watching Imagination Movers (one of his favorite shows). Tim had to work Christmas morning so we celebrated Christmas a day early. All of the family came over to our house even my Grandma and Grandpa Diamond were able to come down for the holidays. Ian went down for a nap around noon and when he woke up he had many fun and excited presents awaiting him under the tree.

Ian loves playing with toy food and helping me cook in the kitchen. While Erin and Ellie were away to California they let us borrow their play food -Ian played with it at least twice a day everyday. So for Christmas we got Ian a kitchen set I could hardly wait to give it to him because I knew how excited he would be.

I love the picture of him talking on the phone while cooking :)Ian is quite the helper as you can see so we even got him a toy vacuum -which he loves as well. Sometimes he uses it as a weapon against the dog (he knows the dog hates vacuums) but most of the time he just cleans along side me.

Tim's family has a tradition of new pajamas every Christmas eve so my mom continues that same tradition when we are in Utah for the holidays. Although if I remember right it seemed that Andrew and I also got pajamas as well. Needless to say Tim's pajamas were definitely the best!!!
After opening presents we had corn chowder soup in bread bowls and veggies. Then after lounging around the house we made sugar cookies and watch the movie Elf. Ian did not want to help make the cookies much he just wanted to eat the cookie dough and get flour everywhere.

Then he decided that he just wanted the frosting!
I have so many pictures that I loved so below are just random pictures from that day.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Lights -Dec 21st

On Monday we headed down to Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights. We ended going to Ikea and staying there for over 3 hours -Ian was loving every minute of it. His favorite part was playing with the toy kitchen they have on display. We even ate dinner at Ikea and it was great. We sat over in the kid section and Ian ate his Mac & Cheese and applesause while watching Toy Story and all the cars out the window.

We headed to see the lights much later than expected -and Ian was excited until we searched forever for a parking spot. It took forever -mostly because we only had a couple bucks on us and parking anywhere near there was at least 6 dollars. We ended up finding a parking spot a hillside just East of the Temple that was quite close and free. However by this point Ian could have cared less to see the lights he just wanted to stay in the car and keep watching Bolt. Which meant that getting all bundled up was the last thing he wanted to do and it was freezing! So here we are walking down the street with Ian screaming in his stroller refusing to wear his gloves and hat -still want to see the lights??? I didn't -but we did not drive all the way down there to turn around and drive home.

As soon as we made it to the lights that he finally decided to kept his gloves and hat on. As we were looking at the temple by the reflection pond taking pictures with tons of people everywhere I look up and there is one of my best friends?!?! What are the chances? Such a small world!

Ian loves Christmas lights and due to my error whenever we see Christmas light Ian replies, "ook, etty, etty (look, pretty,pretty)." Yes pretty, pretty!!! I am not sure how we will drive around at night anymore if there are no Christmas lights. His favorite thing to do was touch the lights and run along side the garland that lined the paths. I am sure he could have lasted quite a while but it was cold so we headed inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to warm up before walking back to the car.

All and all it was a great trip (once he decided to keep his gloves and hat on)!

LPN!

A couple weeks ago Tim graduated from the Bridgerland Applied Technology College's LPN program. It was a long journey to get here and definitely not where it ends. But ready or not here we come!

For journaling purposes feel free to skip: Tim graduated from Utah State University December of 2006 with a bachelors degree in psychology and a minor in marketing. Without going on to graduate school there are not many job opportunities in psychology. He contemplated going into school psychology or child psychology but was not sure and field seemed to be overcrowded. While going to a few job fairs and seeing what was out there he ran into Target. After a long process in June 2007 Target offered him a head manager position in Centerville, Utah. Not knowing how it would all play out Tim quit his job of three years as a psych tech at the Logan Regional Hospital and began commuting to Centerville while I worked in Logan. He was working at least 60 hours a week and that does not include the 3 hour round trip commute. With a little one soon on his way it was not hard to tell it was not working. Knowing how long the process took for him to become a manager and the training he decided to let them know a month in advance of his resignation from the company with an ending date the middle of May 2008 just before Ian was due. Well, Target turned around and let him go the middle of April and we were extremely frustrated. It is no wonder that the Lord's timing is perfect because just a few days later I was put on bed rest while pregnant with Ian. That next week Tim contacted his boss at the hospital and was immediately hired back on. It was here that he realized he loves the medical field but without moving forward to LPN, RN, etc there was no room for growth. So he applied and was accepted into BATC's LPN program starting February 2009. Now on January 2010 he will be enrolled at Weber State University's RN program.

Tim's graduating class!

He had two graduations that night. The first graduation was for all of those in a variety of fields graduating from BATC. It was long program and a lot of people which Ian wanted nothing to do with. We finally went inside towards the end when Tim was receiving his diploma and Ian loved clapping for everyone. Especially daddy!!!

Then it came time for the LPN graduation program- it was great!!! Thankfully everyone helped kept Ian entertained and Ian loved the candy grandma MacNair was letting him have.

Tim being pin -some type of nurse passing on thing :)

Tim was the class president and was "luckily" enough to be asked to speak at graduation. He did an amazing job. Really I am not just saying that because he is my husband it was incredible!!!

Now as of December 31st he will officially be an LPN. That is the day he takes his official NCLEX test which he has already taken twice and passed with flying colors (99th percentile -the highest in his class and I believe the highest you can receive). He has done amazing in school and worked so hard to get where he is. I am so proud of all the things he has accomplished and look forward to the accomplishments to come. Congratulations Babe! I love you!

P.S. Feel free to leave your comments considering he is a "murse" and is wearing a purple shirt. You know you are laughing :)

Christmas -take one!

This past week Tim's parents were able to fly in from New York for Tim's graduation (more to come later). However let's be honest they flew in to see Ian. While it was not an easy or fast journey (given all the snow) we were very excited they were able to make it. So was another little boy :) Since we are not going back to New York for Christmas we decided to celebrate Christmas here a little early -Tim's brother and wife were also able to come down from Salt Lake.

Ian loved opening presents. The first present he opened was a remote control car -he loves it!!! He was so excited that he could make it go. He holds the button down and then runs away from the car giggling. It is quite the event. For Christmas Tim even got a remote control car and Ian loves playing cars with daddy. He got tons of fun toys and some pajamas. I don't know what he is going to do come January I think he may think Christmas is a weekly thing. After opening his presents up stairs we we headed downstairs where Amy & Jimmer had set up the tent and tunnel they got for Ian. This was his face when he very first saw it. Do you think he was excited???

He loves playing in his tent and crawling super fast through the tunnel. Not a day goes by that he doesn't play in the tent. I am not sure quite how we got along without it anymore. He loves to play hide and go seek as well -something he learned from Ellie.

Ian loves to mimic what others do. Tim was playing a new Wii hunting game and Ian thought he would join in. He even went over and got his ball to sit on just like daddy.

We had a wonderful week and were sad to see everyone go. One morning Ian woke up did not wake us up as usual. Instead he head straight downstairs to play with Grandpa and Grandma MacNair. While they were here we made Gingerbread for a Gingerbread barn. However we did not get to actually put it together. Amy was kind enough to stay and help tend to Ian -and it proved to be quite the task.

On Monday Ian got food poisoning -how you ask? It was horrible -Well for lunch I wrote down that Ian could have M&C, bologna, pbj, anything. Tim came home for lunch and fixed Ian a bologne sandwich. Amy sent me a text around 2 to inform me that Ian had just thrown up a lot in his bed and is saying that his tummy hurts. After much thought and talking with Tim we later realized that while I had thought Tim bought new bologna at the grocery store, I did not realize the container in the frig was infact not new but old bologna. Tim thought it was fine because I had wrote that Ian could have it for lunch. For your information: Bologna goes bad after it has been opened in seven days. Well the rest of the night was spent with Amy and I cleaning up after Ian. Ian went through 5 outfits that night and I went through 5 as well. He would not lean over into the sink or bowl or anything he just want me to hold him and puke all down me. Finally that night he was able to eat some chicken noodle soup and keep it down. By morning he was fine. Like I said it was quite the task.

On to better things: Amy was able to stay and we all put together and decorated the gingerbread barn (animals are missing we got to tired).

We had a great time with all the family here and appreciate all of your help in taking care of Ian. Ian can say Amy perfectly -and it is quite impressive. Thanks so much!!!

Snow!

This morning everyone woke up extra early in a house that was 63 degrees! We were all freezing! Tim was heading down to Weber and said he would stop and pick up a new filter on the way home to see if it helped. Ian and I layered up and played and cleaned all morning. Tim came home put in the filter then headed to work (he was home for about 3 minutes). Well it did not work. Enough was enough I called JM Mechanical and they had quite the wait but said they could make it in a few hours. It was 3 o'clock and our house was freezing so we decided might as well go outside and enjoy the snow!

Ian loved playing in the snow -even with his sock for mittens (I could not find where he put his mittons and he was growing tired of me looking everywhere). He looked so cute all dressed up and was very warm in his new snow clothes! Tim's parents and grandma found this snow set at LL Bean can I just say totally worth it! It fits him absolutely perfect and he loves wearing it!

Anthony and Kaylie were outside too -although I am not sure they were ever inside. These two were outside shoveling, sledding, and playing hard all day long. As soon as we opened the door Kaylie was excited to play with Ian and Anthony was asking if he could help me shovel.Ian and Kaylie helped shovel too!
Oh the fun you can have in the snow!
It has been snowing all day and night -Winter here we come!

P.S. $164 dollars later the furnace is up and running and keeping us warm. The ignitor was broke again. Long story short: our builder put in the cheapest furnace money could buy, the last company that replaced the ignitor did a horrible job replacing it. I called JM Mechanical (new company since I was tired of seeing the other people) they were great! Yes I had to pay weekend hours and for the new ignitor (why is it that it always happens on the weekends) but he warrantied his work so we will have a warm winter!

P.S.S. Ian is still loving being in a "big bed" a.k.a. matress on the floor. He no longer has a binkie -they are not allowed in a big bed :) Plus he is doing great with potty training! All of the sudden my baby is so big :(

Big Bed!

Ian learned a new trick this week. Monday night after Ian was in bed I was going over my lesson for school when Ian walked in the room. My 18 month old just got out of his crib. The only thoughts running through my head were "oh crap." He could hardly breathe he was so stuffy so I gave him a little children's benadryl and 25 minutes later he was out cold. Problem solved: Benedryl. Don't worry I am not going to do that every night :) So Tuesday night Tim was home and we put Ian down to bed -2 minutes later he jumped out. We put him in again to see how he was getting out and he flips his legs over the side then jumps to the chair and slides to the floor. So what if we move the chair? No -he just jumps straight to the floor -dangerous!

So we made a quick decision and pull his mattress out of his crib put it on the floor got him a pillow and a new blanket as well and tada...
He loves it!!! Minus that he doesn't sleep in it like a bed but he sleeps nonetheless. We talked it up a lot with things like "wow, you get to sleep in a big boy bed isn't that exciting." He was very excited! That night we gave hugs and kisses said good night and two minutes later he was fast asleep. All day today he has been running in on his "bed" and saying "ni, ni." I guess for Christmas he will be getting a bed -to bad I already bought all of his other Christmas presents. Spoiled boy!

Thanksgiving

This year for thanksgiving we headed up to Idaho Fall's with all of my dad side of the family. When I was younger we used to reserve the church that day and spend all day there playing games, basketball, and of course eating tons of food. This year my grandparents called and said that they had reserved the church and wanted everyone to come. Hurray! So Wednesday morning we headed up. Then early Thursday morning we headed to the church to begin the cooking and mostly eating!Ian was of course loving all of the food! His absolute favorite was the stuffing!

Wondering what is on his face? Slight accident at home will building a fort with dad :(

Before, in-between, and after eating we played basketball. Ian thought he was just another one of the guys and was running everywhere (that is why the pictures are a little blurry he would stop for nothing).
Notice Tim's multitasking in the bottom left corner.
We even managed to find time to play games (I copied your picture steph hope you don't mind)... The girls all made pita bread and bookmarks (pita bread was delicious and super easy to make)
Ian loved helping clean up...he just wants to be a big kid.
The next day we did a little "Black Friday" shopping. ToysR'us was a mad house and I decided I would rather just pay full price for anything I found there. Although now I am mad I didn't just wait it out. Oh well! That night we all got together and ate at Fazolli's who doesn't love spagetti!
Ian and Hunter watching a show in the morning.
Riding in the car was great -as long as Ian had his "show" to watch. He would watch one show and then fall asleep (we did time each trip right during his naptime for that reason). It was a great weekend and I don't think anyone was ready for life to begin again on Monday.
Like Father like Son.