Merry Christmas and Happy 1st Birthday Gideon!

The holiday season always fills my heart with gratitude. We have so much to be grateful for!  It's a season to remember Jesus Christ, his birth, and his life. His selflessness and compassion for others. His generous heart and sacrifices for others. After Christmas we celebrated the gift of another life, as Gideon had his first birthday on the 28th. What a blessing it is to have him in our lives!  How fortunate we are that the Lord trusts us with the care of his little one. How glad we are that he is in good health and spirits. And then to round off the season with the New Year, the opportunity to look back on the year and see all the blessings we've been given and to reflect on the future and make goals. For me, the New Year is also a religious holiday, because it is only with the Atonement that we are given the opportunity to repent, change, and become better. It is one of the gifts we give our Lord to be the best we can be and the New Year encourages us to take advantage of that. May we all be a little better this next year than we were the last!

Gideon had a lot of fun with his birthday cupcake, although he wasn't sure about the candle. He has gotten very good at opening presents over the past week and was excited to rip open his presents. Even the card envelopes got opened like they were gift wrapped!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 We had some fun times this Thanksgiving Holiday. It was nice to have a break for Trevor since he's been working so hard. On the left there, they're spending some time reading together one morning. On the left you can see that it started to get chilly. We've wrapped Gideon up with layer upon layer to keep him warm.

 We had a lovely Thanksgiving at my mother's parents house. This particular picture is of Trevor helping Gideon sample the pumpkin pie, which is one of Trevor's favorite foods, especially during the holidays.

At the end of the night, we dabbled in the Black Friday (Black Thursday? Black Thanksgiving?) shopping and were able to get some much needed things for the house to put under our Christmas tree (which we probably won't put up until a week or two before Christmas since our little fellow is so curious about everything he shouldn't touch).
 We have so much to be grateful for. The Lord has been very generous with us in giving us lots of loving family and friends and each other. I hope you all had a great holiday season!

We have ourselves a Reader!

Gideon loves books. He loves flipping the pages while I read, he flipping the pages alone, he loves turning them over in his hands. He loves books we sing to, like "6 Little Ducks" and "the More We Get Together" and he loves the board books that are easier to turn pages. He also loves repetition. He can bring me one book and just keep reading it over and over until I can't stand to read it anymore. Ah, the joys of discovering the world of reading!

Happy Birthday, Cowboys!

                       

Today we had a surprise birthday party for Trevor and my younger brother, Matthew. I think Chelsea was the only one who remembered to take pictures, but we kidnapped the birthday boys and took them to Cabelas where we had them change into cowboy apparel and played a tag/mafia-ish game around the store using dart guns and rubber band guns. We also filled out a fun questionnaire about things we saw around  the storeThen we sampled their fudge and headed to my parents for a game of Steal the Flag with marshmallow guns, had some target practice (Matt was the winner of our tournament) and had BBQ sandwiches for lunch. Then we had cake and ice cream. Chelsea made this amazing peanut butter cup cake for Trevor!  She's pretty much an amazing baker.
               
                                         

Pictures, yeah!

 Ahh, pictures. I love pictures. They mean I don't have to write as much :)

We fed the ducks a couple of weeks ago. There were sooo many. They were fearless in coming right up to us if they knew we had food for them. Gideon was captivated by them. One of his favorite books is "6 little ducks". I don't think he connected the two, but it was cut nonetheless.

We Sharpied a pumpkin for Gideon's first jack-o-lantern. It's about all he had the patience for and made a fun FHE.

 Gideon is still a huge fan of being outside. Autumn leaves are one of his favorite things outside and grass is right behind leaves.

Below you can see our Halloween costumes. The thing on my head is the mailbox and I'm holding shovel and pail. Then Trevor is Steve and Gideon is Blue.  It was a blast.

Fall!

So, my camera still isn't working, so Trevor has most of our pics on his camera. He's kind of busy (when I say kind of, I mean enormously, monstrously busy) so I don't know when he'll be able to post pics of our Halloween costumes, etc. Anyway, this week he had an interview out in TX with Capital One. Then Thursday was Halloween and we dressed up like the Blue's Clues team: Gideon as Blue (cross-dressing, yikes!), Trevor was Steve, and I was the mailbox. We also carried a notebook, shovel, and pail as props. Ahh, the joys of Halloween. This weekend we're hoping to carve our pumpkin. We figure Gideon won't know that it was supposed to happen previous to the holiday, so we'll get away with festive faux pas while we can.

Gideon is in the full swing of teething. His top middle 4 teeth are all on their way, the outer two having already poked through. Poor kid is uncomfortable and its making him clingy and irritable. Good thing he's such a good natured kid most of the time.

Tooth #3

Tooth #3 is showing!  We (Trevor) actually noticed it on 10/8 the day of my last post, but I'd already edited in that tooth #2 was joining the party, so I thought I'd add it now.

The other day we were walking home from campus and there were a bunch of ducks in the stream beside the walking path. It was so fun to see them and hear them quacking (see Trevor's Google plus for photos, my camera isn't really working very well right now). It's been really beautiful weather recently and its nice to be able to enjoy it with Gideon. I guess when I was working I was too busy to take a look around or just go for a walk and now since I've been there I take special note when its nice. I also particularly enjoy Mondays and Fridays when my work was craziest and now I can just breathe and not have to worry about/dread them.

Gideon just had a doctor's appointment and he's 29 inches long and 19.8 lbs. According to BabyCenter, that puts him in the 50-75 percentile for height and the 25-50 percentile for weight. Doctor says he is really pleased how healthy Gideon is.

Gideon is a great eater and loves just about anything you give him, including mango, spinach artichoke dip, guacamole, wheat bread, etc. Trevor and I were just talking earlier today about how he eats much healthier than we do, probably because I'm more conscience of him. Bountiful Baskets (a basket full of random fruits/veggies every week) helps too because we get foods I don't usually buy and have to figure out what to do with them!

Trevor's Halloween Plots Foiled

Trevor's joked that if Gideon doesn't have any teeth by Halloween, we should have him be "Toothless," the dragon from "How to Train Your Dragon." Well, on Oct 1, Gideon foiled his plans. He now has one bottom tooth! As a result, he now sticks out his tongue a lot, feeling his way around his new acquisition. He no longer spit/sprays his food, but now he has a new gimmick. He holds his hands together and at random moments will bring them up over his head. Very cute until he has a full spoon of baby food right in front of his mouth. The result is a vertical line of baby food straight up his nose and sometimes into his hair. Or he has food in his hands when he does it and then that food is smeared all over his head. Ahhh, the joys of childhood. He has just learned how to wave, a nice addition to his handshake, high five, and clapping.

Trevor is busy as can be. He's flying out to Texas next week for a job interview and will miss 2 days of school. He's really excited for the interview, but missing school is hard when he's already so heavy laden. Gideon and I go on a walk pretty much every day now, and one of our favorites is walking to campus where we meet Trevor at the end of his day and walk him home. We also like to walk to the library, where we pick up books with lots of pictures because those are Gideon's favorites.

Afternoon update: I just noticed his second tooth just popped through, next to the first!

Living the Life

Gideon is having a great time exploring the world around him. At least some of the world. As we are still renting, we can't drill holes to childproof our kitchen traditionally, but with some minor changes, the effect is the same.

 He had a great time with berries the other day. After devouring them, he had the cutest berry beard.

 Playtime at the park was exciting and fun. He's a merry adventurer that loves to see and do new things. This September day was perfect, too, with a nice breeze through a warm, but not hot, day.  The leaves are just starting to fall, which gave him lots of things to look at on the grass.

The Great Outdoors

Gideon LOVES to be outside! Here he is in a glamour pose, jk. It's been very nice weather out, so we've been playing outside, and going on lots of walks, too. Gotta catch that fresh air before winter hits!

 Just for fun, I spiked his hair just like Trevor does. He is so adorable!

 Campus was paradise for this outside loving babe. He was just going, going, going on the grass. He wouldn't stay still long enough to take a pic, so I video'd  to catch the moment.



This little man doesn't let the rain get him down. He was so excited for the rain I let him play in it for a minute and he got soo wet!  He'd already had a bath this morning, but now he's had a shower too!

Out to Nebraska!

This past week we headed out to Nebraska to visit Grandma and Tata Duran before school started. It was hot and humid, but we had a great time indoors.  Gideon learned to start climbing up on things and had a ball with all of the attention. He's quite the well-traveled fellow now, having been to 9 states in 8 months!  He was great on the plane ride out and the long drive home was old-hat for such a seasoned traveler. He's getting so he loves being able to eat finger foods all by himself to the point he gets upset at the pureed baby food because he can't do it himself.

We got back from NE Monday night and Wednesday was Trevor's first day of classes. It's his last semester as a full-time student. Next semester he'll only have about 3 credits and by April...GRADUATION!!!  We're so excited to graduate, but I'm starting to feel like a small seed about to be thrown into the wind. Where will we be in 1 year? California, Utah, Texas, Washington, Virginia?  Only the Lord knows and it is in Him we put our trust.

Trevor has been elected the President of ITSA, Information Technology Student Association!  He also has landed a job working on-campus at the Harold B Lee Library doing web development and working with their databases. He's enjoying his work and its nice he works so close to all his classes.

As for me, I'm enjoying learning calligraphy, exploring the world of cooking, and trying to be a good mother. It keeps me busy!

Chamberlins in town!

This last week we had fun with the Chamberlins. It was great to hang out with them and see Gideon's cousins, Sydney and Crawford. We adventured through BYU, seeing the Cougareat, Bookstore, Eyring Science Center, and the fish in the bottom floor of the Widstoe (I think?). We ate at JDawgs, too!  Then we played at the Splash pad in Springville and Sydney and I made glitter bottles while Valerie and Charles celebrated their anniversary with a lunch at Tucanos (Crawford,, Gideon and Trevor had fun too just not with the craft :D).

Then Saturday, my side of the family celebrated my little brother, Daniel's, birthday. He's 18 now!  Crazy how time flies. Anyway, we played at the Seven Peaks water park in the morning. Gideon LOVES water!  He was splashing and having a great time. Eventually we had to pull him out to warm him back up because he was turning blue, but if it weren't for that I'm sure he could just live in the water forever. We then went to a park and played frisbee and bocce ball, ate piizza and finished out with some Bang! at our apartment. What a day!

Gideon is just starting to try to climb things and his favorite things to climb are people . He'll come up to my legs and just start trying to lift up so I'll pick him up. So cute!

Half Monkey

Gideon is getting very proficient at using his feet to grab with. It's incredible to watch. Sometimes when I'm changing his diaper he'll lock onto my arm and I have to wrestle it away from him. He'll also grab toys, blankets, you name it. He's still very flexible and enjoys playing with and eating his feet.

Keeping Busy

Two splash pads, camping, fireworks for Pioneer Day, mini golf, hanging with friends and family, and Trevor busy applying and interviewing for jobs has kept our household hopping. Gideon is excited to have a wider variety of toys, including a little walker he can motor around in. He's started the first stages of teething, which keeps us up all night. He is catching up on the doctor's appointments he missed while we were out of state and the doctor says he's in the 50th percentile for his weight and 75th for height for his age. He's thinning out quite a bit (before he was 90th percentile for weight) but still maintains his adorable chubby cheeks and thighs.

 Trevor's job hunt is going well. He spent the first week back applying for jobs, last week and this week interviewing and will hopefully be able to make a final decision soon. It's nice to be in a multiple offer situation!

I am enjoying cooking with a new zeal. It's soo nice to get the variety back in our lives of dishes we love. Honey lime enchiladas, manicotti, sweet and sour chicken, chicken cordon bleu casserole, spinach tortellini...it all feels gourmet now.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

We drove back to UT Saturday and Sunday, stopping to see family along the way. While we miss the 60-80 degree weather of Seattle, it's nice to be home.


List of things that now feel like luxuries that before I took for granted, in no particular order:

1. Oven mitts, pizza cutter, variety of spices, 9x13 pan, measuring spoons, variety of pots, full-size kitchen garbage can, cabinet space, full-size drain tray (complete with silverware holder and cup places on the side. I could actually write a whole blog post on the drain tray, having a sink with the divider in the middle, etc. Dishes, my least favorite chore, feels like a dream and for the first time in my life, I prefer to hand wash the dishes over the dishwasher. Side Note: I don't expect that to last long. I think its mostly because hand washing doesn't leave the residue and having lived without that dingy look to dishes now it is unappealing.)
2. Being able to buy things to have on hand, instead of just things we can use all of within a 12-week countdown
3. Sunshine. Wearing shorts and flip-flops because its a necessity, not just an emotional attachment 
4. Family nearby that's always excited to see us and babysit
5. Spacious, affordable housing, multiple closets, 2 bedrooms, etc.
6. Wide Utah roads and free parking with reasonable rush-hour traffic
7. Walmart and Winco nearby
8. Counter-space around my bathroom sink
9. Friendly Mormon neighbors
10. More than 2 chairs in the dining room
11. High-chair, walker, crib, changing table, kids books, variety of kids toys, etc. (this may have been at the top of the list if it was in order)
12. Free bags at stores
13. Camping
14. The luxury of familiarity in general.

Things I miss:

1. I can't believe I'm saying this but...recycling. I feel guilty now throwing away in the garbage all the mail I went through, plastic containers, etc that in Seattle would be easy to recycle. 
2. The wonderful weather, although I hear it was unusual it didn't rain on us more.
3. The excitement of everything being new
4. Parks...oh Seattle knows how to do parks.  
5. Public transportation, where Trevor could take the bus to work
6. Water. From the beach of Puget Sound to the many large lakes to the large rivers and waterfalls. Even our drive back we would pass lots of bodies of water until we got to Utah. 
7. Feeling like a missionary, especially at church. Where being willing to visit teach or able to play piano is a novelty and a surprise to whoever is asking. (P.S. I've been told to thank my parents for the piano bit.  Thanks Mom and Dad!)
8. Planning activities for every weekend and scouting out all the free things we could do. Living like we've only got so much time to take advantage of the opportunities around us.
9. The mom group and being in a ward where small children are abundant and play dates are frequent. 
10. People put their best foot forward bringing things to a potluck. Side Note: I will not miss humus being present whenever there is food involved.

I'm sure there's more to it than can be expressed in bullet points, but I'm thankful we had the experience. I've always wanted to live out of Utah for a bit and this was a nice taste of what it can be like. Now we're back and getting back into the swing of things. Trevor is hunting for a new job while I have been packing and cleaning. Tomorrow is Pioneer Day (Utah holiday involving fireworks) and then we're going camping this weekend. Thanks for everything, Seattle, but it's good to be home.

Last week in Seattle

We haven't done as many activities this last bit as we're getting ready to head home, so I apologize I've had a bit of a lapse in my blog.

Last Sunday was our last here in Seattle and we gave it our all. We were asked to speak in church as well as Trevor teaching Elder's Quorum and I playing piano in Relief Society. We've also been invited to dinner by several of our friends in the ward. The funny thing is that I've been trying to limit the food we buy to just what we need, but 2 weeks out I knew we had too much. Then since then we've eaten at friends 3 times!  I feel like we should say have said, "Yes, but can we leave you with a jar of spaghetti sauce?"  We'll try to bring home what we can, but I'm grateful the Lord has provided for us so well. We've made some great friendships and had a great time here.

We've also had the pleasure of having a house guest!  Chelsea, one of Trevor's younger sisters, has been visiting this week!  She's a lot of fun to have around and even watched Gideon so Trevor and I could go on a date!  Ah, dates.  Dates are the best, and so much better with a spouse than when you're single, in my opinion. We went to the movies and saw Monsters University. We loved it. We agree it wasn't as good as the first, but it is such a wonderful companion story with so many tie-ins we were charmed.

Gideon is quite the crawler now. "Like a wind-up toy" as Trevor put it. He does lots of push-ups, too. Although he is still toothless, I think they're on their way because he seems to be gnawing on things with more purpose accompanied by a flood of slobber. He gives hugs now and I must say they melt your heart. I'm not sure if they are an expression of love and affection so much as "don't put me down" but I'll take it either way.

4th of July, hike, and CRAWLING!!!

Happy 4th of July!!! We had a fun holiday visiting the Chittenden Locks, watching the salmon swim up the fish ladder, and having a picnic in a botanical garden while watching the Seattle Civic Band put on a patriotic concert. Later we went to a barbecue at one of Trevor's Amazon coworker's home. He was going to do some fireworks too, but by the time they were done with the little flower fireworks the cops came by and confiscated the fireworks. Apparently there's a ban on fireworks in Seattle and surrounding areas and somehow they still let the grocery stores sell fireworks but no one was allowed to light them. Go figure. So we went home and watched NYC's and Seattle's shows.

 
On Saturday we hiked Rattlesnake Ridge. Trevor has all the pics on that one, but it was a beautiful hike with a beautiful lake.

Yesterday Gideon started CRAWLING!!!! Half of me is really excited, and half of me is wishing I had more time that he's immobile (other than rolling).

He's also really loving solid foods, despite still being toothless. Everything from squash, peas, beans, carrots, bananas, avacado, berries, etc.

Temple, Aquarium, and Pike's Place Market!

This last weekend we got our first real date since we got here!  I'd traded babysitting with another sister in our ward, so Friday she watched Gideon while Trevor and I went to the Seattle Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

Then Saturday we spent at the Seattle Aquarium and Pike's Place Market. The Aquarium was a lot of fun. We saw a giant octupus, several seals, otters, and much more.