Jared, Karen, & Daphne

SESAME STREET

2012-02-11T19:08:00.001-08:00

Whenever we need a relaxing few minutes, we turn one of these little beauties on.

CATCHING UP... DECEMBER

2012-02-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

December was so fun with this girl!!

This month, Daphne really started wanting to move. She starting really standing and stepping on December 8th, and started cruising December 16th. We also really noticed how much she listens to what we are saying, and if we ask her something like "where is your hair?" or "can you give your baby a kiss?" she knows! It's amazing to me how much of a smartie-pants she is.

In December, she also loved to:

~Pull herself up in her crib

~Sign "Cheerios/more." She signs whenever she hears those two words. It's one of my favorite things that she does.

~Finally loves yogurt! Vanilla. Still hates cheese.

~She's a little social butterfly and loves to wave to EVERYONE, but gets shy sometimes if they say "hi" to her first.

~Ticklish on her sides and under her arms

~Loves to throw balls and play 'soccer'

~Knows the body parts: hair, teeth, eyes, tongue

~Still loves to play with Chapstick

~LOVES to growl, will growl when you ask her what a lion says

~Squints so cute when she says "Dada"

~We're big hand-sanitizer people in our house, and one day I noticed that Daphne was waving her hands back and forth... I realized I had just put hand-sanitizer on, and that was how I dry my hands. I then realized I use way too much hand-sanitizer since my 10-month-old knew how to dry her hands after getting them clean. Sweet girl.

Also this month, we...

Hung a painting from college

Ate lots of Cheerios

Got ready for Christmas!

Tried to make another wreath

Made a Graham Cracker house that Daph wanted to destroy

Got a whole box of tissues for Christmas! She loved pulling them out one by one.

Went swimming!

Did some skiing

Saw the lights on Temple Square

& Daphne was cute as can be. This is one of my favorite pictures of her. Happy December!

CATCHING UP!! Starting With: NOVEMBER

2012-01-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am a blogging failure, but I can't stand to leave anything out!! So, here is our November.

Eating out... and watering the carpet with Cheerios

A little crafting...

First time we clipped a bow in her hair!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Nothing says "turkey dinner" like a pile of Cheerios and a wooden spoon.

Daphne's "sniffing" face

We were learning about the nativity for FHE, and her favorite thing was putting baby Jesus in her mouth for the lesson.

~Daphne's November Highlights~

~Daph seemed to really fill up with personality around her 9 month mark, more than we had ever seen, and she gets more and more fun everyday!

~She will show you her hair when you ask to see it

~Hates cheese and yogurt

~Learned how to take off her sunglasses

~Clicks her tongue

~Says "Mmm" with every bite she eats

~Feeds herself and turns pages in her books with her LEFT hand

~Ticklish little lady in her armpits and on her sides

~November 5th: Upgraded to "big girl" carseat

~Nov. 7th: Cut first top tooth, held my cell phone up to her ear, and started taking big girl baths (which she LOVES)

~Nov. 8th: Started making her sniffing face

~Nov. 10th: Cut her second top tooth

~Week of Nov. 10th: Started saying "DaDa" really well

~Nov. 15th: Started crawling backwards (which is rare and all the crawling this little girl does)

~Nov. 16th: Said "MaMa" for the first time

~Nov. 18th: Started playing Peek-a-Boo herself and laughed harder than I have ever heard her

TO ALL YOU MAMAS OUT THERE...

2011-12-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Our poor little Daphne has had a stomach bug that has resulted in horrible diarrhea for the last... 11 days! Not to be gross, but as all of you mothers know, you get up close and personal with your childrens' poop. When we were at the Doctor's office this week, our pediatrician recommended a homemade diaper rash cream that they always used when he worked with hospitalized babies. We are now huge fans! Thought I'd share the recipe (ew).

-1 tub of Aquaphor (you can find this in the moisturizer section of Wal Mart)

-Mylanta

-Empty half the tub or so of Aquaphor into a separate tupperware container.

-Add Mylanta slowly until you reach a creamy consistency (I would guess it was about 2 parts Aquaphor to 1 part Mylanta)

-Stir like crazy.

-Apply at every diaper change if your baby's tush is chapped, or just at bedtime otherwise.

I love that it is almost odorless, and it has really helped Daphne! Good luck to all you diaper-rash fighters out there.

LONG LOST 8 MONTH PICS

2011-12-02T22:36:00.001-08:00

Beautiful.

FAMILY PHOTOS ~ 2011

2011-11-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks a million to my amazing Natalie and her wicked camera skills.

9 MONTHS OLD!!

2011-11-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

Daph is 9 months old, and has become such a little lady! She is full of personality like we've never seen before, and she is absolutely hilarious. She is an angel, and we love every part of her!

9 months stats:

Height: 28" (60th percentile)

Weight: 19 pounds 6 ounces (55th percentile)

Head circumference: I can't remember the exact measurement, but she's off the charts!

Daph did great at her doctor's appointment, especially since there were no scheduled vaccinations! The nurse gave her a plastic hippo for her bravery. New favorite toy.

A little about Daphne:

~Still loves to read, and is incredibly interested in turning the pages. Sometimes way too fast.

~LOVES playing with her animals! She kisses them and always chooses them first to play with.

~She is really good at pointing. She especially points at everything she likes in her books.

~She is talking up a storm, and babbles using new syllables. Our favorite thing lately is that she says "oh" and "hi" with the cutest lilt in her voice. Cutest baby sounds we've ever heard.

~Daph says sounds that sound just like "hi," "hey," and "hello" when she talks to us or wants to get our attention, and when Jared walks through the door after work. The nurse at her appointment even thought she said "hello." Smart babes.

~Loves to feed herself, with her favorite foods being: grapes, pasta, yams, and mangoes.

~Leans in for kisses! My favorite.

~Loves to clap.

~Loves to play with hangers, pulls as many wipes out of her container as she can before I stop her, and loves anything forbidden such as tissues and paper.

~Likes her touch-and-feel animal books

~Loves watching me brush my teeth, put on make-up, and especially putting on chapstick.

~Loves to play with balls and her toy truck

~Fake laughs and mirrors what we do

~Is getting more friendly with people other than Jared and me

~Loves to play with spoons

~Holds EVERYTHING over the edge... no matter where she is, in her exersaucer or her high chair, she holds everything I give her to play with over the edge, and often drops it. She then looks at me and says an "ah-oh" sound.

~Her hair is getting so long you can tuck it behind her ears

~Loves looking out the window, watching birds, trucks, and cars

~Is getting closer to crawling... we're trying to convince her that it will be fun.

~Has the biggest smile for Jared when he gets home from work

~Her favorite songs lately: "Popcorn Popping" and "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam"

We LOVE our little baby and can't believe she is so grown up!! She's our sweetheart.

Since she is almost 20 pounds, she graduated to her big-girl carseat this weekend!

GIVING KISSES

2011-11-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Daph has been giving her books kisses for quite some time, she started leaning in for kisses from us a week or so ago, and now she is giving her animals kisses! Cute as can be.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2011-10-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Our cute little lamb!

We got "Booed" a week or two ago and forgot to put our sign on our door... tonight we got booed two more times. I guess that's the strategy for getting a lot of yummy Halloween treats! Oops.

LATELY...

2011-10-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Just playing...

Feeding ourselves better...

"Big" arms...

Pretty new dress...

& wrestling with Daddy!

TRIP TO THE ZOO!

2011-10-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

We took Daph to the zoo for the first time! All of the animals were out and active, and we even saw the new baby elephant. Daphne loved watching the giraffes and a ram eating the leaves off of a branch, and she also equally enjoyed watching some pigeons and the water features in the cages. We also loved the big gorilla, and he loved Daph; they had a staring match with each other, and Daphne won. It was a wonderful day!

CHAIR HEAVEN

2011-10-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Since July when we moved into our house, I have been nursing Daphne while sitting in this little number. INCREDIBLY squeaky. Also incredibly ghetto.

I am very excited to say that from now on I will be swiveling, reclining, rocking, and gliding my baby from this beautiful piece of heaven. Goodbye, folding chair prison. Hello, comfy bliss.

FUN AT HOME

2011-10-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

I was looking through the pictures on our camera, and was thinking about how precious our simple moments together at home are. Like...

New zebra pajamas

The pulls on our blinds are one of Daph's favorites!

Folding laundry

This picture makes it into the top 5 that we have of her! One of my FAVORITES!

Excuse the no make-up...

I wasn't going to post this one but I couldn't help it... Gross? Absolutely. Also funny? Yes. There's nothing like a picture of your baby mid spit-up.

Love.

8 MONTHS OLD!

2011-10-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Daphne is already 8 months old!! We are IN LOVE with her and she has become quite the little lady.

She loves...

~Playing with her animal toys, especially her cow

~Looking into mirrors

~Singing songs

~Playing with her big pink ball

~Talking! Especially at church. She has an adorable squeal and is using more sounds.

~Getting tickled while on her tummy (which is about the only activity she tolerates on her stomach)

~Looking at her hands! She loves putting her hands high in the air, watching them, putting her toys above her head, and...

~Waving! She started waving September 20th, and started clapping September 22nd

~Looking at, holding, and sucking on her feet

~Reading books! She loves turning the pages, leans in to look at the pages she likes (usually the pages with animals or children), doing all the flaps in Dear Zoo, and she even 'kisses' her books on the pages she likes. She also seems to really like anything red when we read her books.

~Feeding herself. She started feeding herself and using the pincer grasp on September 15th, and started cutting her first tooth September 2nd. She now has her two bottom teeth!

~Eating everything except for peas and peaches

~Sitting! She loves to sit, and when we try to do tummy time she rolls almost immediately onto her back. Needless to say, she doesn't have a big interest in crawling yet.

~Her sippy cup! Hallelujah, since she has been a bottle-hater since month 4.

~Getting her hair blown on

~Looking at/touching my earings, necklaces, our ears, and Jared's hair. Also, one of her favorite new toys is a stretchy pearl necklace.

~Chewing on her tongue

~Sitting on the front porch with Mama and getting the mail with Daddy

~Falling asleep in her carseat

~Stepping! She has started taking more steps instead of just jumping.

Also, I wanted to keep track of the colorful nicknames for Daphne that have taken shape; they include: Daph, Daffy, Daffy-Waffers, Daffy-Wafferton, Missy, Girlfriend, Baby Cakes, Miss Magoo, Little Missy, & Baby Girl. I'm not sure how some of these originated, but she gets called all of them. I'm not really sure how she knows her real name, but she does.

We love our sweet baby and don't know what we would do without her!

OUR YARD

2011-10-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our house, our yard needed A LOT of help... since July, we have been outside to weed it zero times. We decided to focus on getting everything organized inside, pretend we don't see our weeds, and start on our yard in the spring.

Last Friday, I got a knock on our door and was surprised to see two neighbor boys there with gardening gloves on. One of them said, "Can we weed your lawn? Cause it looks like you really need it." Absolutely they could... 20 minutes later, I went outside to see how everything was going and found 6 neighbor kids weeding my flower beds. With an 8-month-old I had no time to be embarrassed... I was just happy to have the help! Not only did they come on a Friday afternoon after school, but they stayed for 2 1/2 hours!! Bless their little hearts. They are my heroes.

SEPTEMBER

2011-10-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful month, and Daphne is getting to be such a grown-up girl!

Helping Daddy with laundry! Look at that sweet face.

On Labor Day, we walked around temple square together. It was so much fun!

First time down the slide at the park.

This is my amazing view from my kitchen sink!

Daph LOVES getting drinks of water, and now even loves her sippy.

Sweet baby! On our way home from a visit to Logan, we stopped at the Brigham City Tabernacle to see the progress on the temple. Beautiful!

Daph has started to wave!

DAPHNE READING

2011-09-16T07:29:00.001-07:00

Reading stories is one of our favorite activities to do together. Goodnight Moon is one of Daphne's favorites, and it shows. I learned in one of my child development classes that when babies chew on their books, they are developing their literacy. For this reason, I have allowed Daph to basically destroy a few of her favorites... I figure that literacy is worth ten bucks down the road to buy a new copy of Goodnight Moon. The poor old lady rabbit's head is missing... I guess she took one for the team.

Daphne started "reading" a few days ago, and also does this while we sing. Love her.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! ... 3 WEEKS AGO

2011-09-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to celebrate our 3 year anniversary yesterday and today! We saw Harry Potter, went to the Bountiful Temple, and ate lots and lots of shrimp. It was fabulous.

August 12, 2008. L-O-V-E.

7 MONTHS!

2011-08-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our baby is already 7 months old! Time has flown by lately!

Daph's 6 month stats:

Height: 25.75 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 16.8 pounds (60th percentile)

Head Circumference: 44.8 cm (95th percentile)

Her favorite hobbies:

~JUMPING! Whenever her feet hit a solid surface, she will start to jump.

~Sitting. She hates anything that feels like tummy time or rolling, but she is a professional sitter.

~Standing

~Playing in her exersaucer, especially with the animal buttons

~Listening to us singing and reading her books. Her favorites are "Wheels on the Bus" and Dear Zoo (Dear Zoo is pretty much destroyed. She sucks on every page.)

~Playing with the tags on her toys

~Growling

~Touching and holding (and trying to suck on) my phone and Jared's watch

~Tearing, crunching, and trying to eat paper

~Sucking on her toes

~TALKING! This girl can hold quite the baby conversation. Her favorite new sound is "ooh." She says "ooh" to everything she sees.

~Drinking water out of a cup. She officially HATES bottles, sippy cups, and binkies.

~Eating. She loves everything she has tried (except maybe peaches, we need to give those another shot). We even tried avocado the other day and it was a success.

~Cooking with mama. She helps by sitting in her Bumbo and playing with measuring cups/spoons and tupperware lids.

~Taking off my glasses. It's getting harder and harder for me to wear them, because she knows exactly how to take them off my face. Expensive toy.

~Slapping our hands. If you hold them out in front of her, she will usually start giving you baby high-5s.

Other happenings:

~She got her first cold, and I am VERY happy that it is all over, for both she and I. A baby who wants to be held all night = no sleep for mama. Poor thing, it's hard to watch your baby have a stuffy nose and cough.

~She has started giving hugs!!! She will put her arm around me and squeeze. Sometimes she hugs my arm... It's more her size, and it melts my heart.

~She has the funniest squinting face when we go outside. I'll have to try to get a picture of it soon.

~Daph also has a new fascination with our hair (mostly with Jared's). She touches it so gently and rarely pulls.

We must not have been very funny before, because Daph only recently started to belly laugh. Hopefully we can step it up in the funny department. (If you watch her right foot, this is one of my favorite little habits of hers: she continually rotates her foot in circles. She is going to have a very strong ankle.)

Every night she walks (jumps) to her bath.

Very very sleepy baby!! She is so sweet.

DAVIS COUNTY FAIR

2011-08-22T21:21:00.001-07:00

We loved seeing the zebra and the camel!

NEW CRIB!

2011-08-22T21:07:00.001-07:00

We are very excited for Daphne to have a real crib to sleep in! It seems so spacious after living in a pack 'n play for 6 months. Cute baby.

Her cute little body... she loves to stand on the couch and hold onto the back. Precious.

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

2011-08-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying every minute together in our house! I am especially glad that our kitchen is a step up from 1960's Aggie Village. Hurray for counter and cupboard space, plus a normal stove!

Daphne helps me cook dinner everyday by sucking on measuring cups and spoons.

Daphne loves playing in her Exersaucer (thanks Grandma Wilcock)! There is a mirror on it, and Daph looks at herself in it... really really closely, as you can see below. Silly girl.

Our backyard looks out onto a marsh, and Jared had the exciting job of mowing the very high weeds that had been growing there all summer. Our yard needs some TLC, and a few hours later, Jared was done mowing the "lawn."

OUR HOME!!!

2011-08-22T15:26:00.001-07:00

BABY MOZART, SOLIDS, & BIRTHDAY FUN

2011-08-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Daphne loves to play the piano. It's so fun to watch her!

Daph's first food after rice cereal was sweet potatoes (which she loved) and she has loved EVERYTHING every since. She always wants to sit at the table with us and be a big girl.

My 23rd birthday was in July and I got to celebrate by going on a sushi date with my sweet husband. Best birthday ever.

SWIMMING & BATH TIME

2011-08-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

This girl loves her time in the water! Even though the water was cold, she also loved her first time swimming.

NAT'S WEDDING

2011-08-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

One of my best friends got married in July and it was a gorgeous day! We sure do love her and her new hubby.

SUMMER FUN

2011-08-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Wonderful picnics,

Cutest baby ever,

Baby Shrek,

Very sleepy baby,
and a wonderful Wilcock reunion. Hiking,
and riding an awesome little train.

JULY 4TH

2011-08-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

We loved spending the Fourth of July as a family! Parade, North Ogden's Cherry Days, and a nap. Perfect holiday!

This summer we were on our stake's parade float committee. This is what we came up with:

DAPHNE'S 5 MONTH PICS

2011-08-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sweet girl! Since we have neglected our blog for the past two months, we will start our catch-up posts with this little angel.

MAMA NECKLACE

2011-06-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, Jared and Daph got me this charm and pearl necklace... I am in love with it!

THE LAST MONTH AND A HALF...

2011-06-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

We are blogging failures and continually have to play catch-up! However, we have loved spending time as a family the last couple of months and watching our Daphne grow. She is hilarious and precious, and I know we say it every time, but we couldn't be luckier to have her as our daughter.

Some new things about Daph:

~SHE SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT with bedtime at 8:30! It's crazy how much better you feel when you're not up every 2-3 hours during the night.

~She loves staring at her hands and our hands. She is just discovering her feet.

~First time she leaned toward me to hold her: May 6th

~She rolled over for the first time on May 15th!

~She loves to sit up and will no longer let me hold her like a baby. (so sad)

~She is starting to laugh more and often smiles with her mouth wide open.

~Daph holds on for dear life to the sides of her changing pad and bathtub

~Went from hating her carseat to liking it 50% of the time

~I love it when she sleeps on my lap after eating

~Her cute hair is growing in again on the top of her head, but she now has a stylish bald spot in back.

~We're just getting over the phase of staring at the camera instead of smiling

~She loves to hold and suck on the washcloth in her bath

~Daph runs her fingers through my hair and plays with my necklace while nursing

~She has a dimple in her right cheek when she smiles

~She puts up her right leg every time she takes a bath

~Daph still loves sucking on both of her fists

~She is so funny, social, and talkative!

~LOVES to blow bubbles

~Gets excited to suck on her books and helps turn the pages

~She loves to touch and suck on my cup every time I am drinking something

~Loves to stand up

~Puts everything in her mouth

~Her new favorite things: books, cups, and sitting up

~Most of all, she's the most precious baby in the world.

Her 4 month stats:

Height: 24.5 inches (60th percentile)

Weight: 13 pounds 12 ounces (50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 42 cm. (75th percentile)

Our world revolves around our sweet baby girl, so what does that mean? There are endless pictures of her (feel free to take a nap or eat a snack half way through).

Finding her body fat percentage

Holding her legs for a diaper change

Playing with Grandpa Wilcock

Story time with Auntie Alaina (please look at that sweet, happy face)

Sitting in the laundry pile

One of my favorites.

Daph's favorite new toy

THIS WEEK...

2011-04-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Sushi date night! Our favorite.

Daphne with one of her rattle buddies

Enjoying the good weather and our cute new stroller

Tummy Time... and we're even happy about it!

Telling lots of stories during one of our happy tummy time sessions

FINALLY CATCHING UP!

2011-04-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

We know we have neglected our blog this past month, but Daphne's cutie-pie pictures will make up for it! She is doing wonderfully, and we can see more of her sweet personality showing each day. She turned 3 months old on Thursday, and we feel like she has been a part of our lives forever. We are so happy to be a family.

A few things about Daphne that we've loved this past month:

~She loves to suck on her upper lip and both of her fists (especially her left one)

~Daph is starting to become more interested in her toys

~She is a HUGE talker!! She coos and talks up a storm. She is very social, and will tell you very long stories.

~She is not a big fan of tummy time, but we are practicing. It always ends in crying.

~After nursing for awhile, she usually looks at me, smiles, and starts talking instead of eating.

~She is sleeping well at night and we are trying to master bedtime/nap times

~She loves her bath and is learning how to splash

~She loves taking walks outside

~Daph doesn't like being in a reclined position anymore; she wants to sit or stand up instead

~She has mastered her pretty smile and is starting to laugh

~Her favorite thing to do is blow bubbles and drool

~She is very good at raising her right eyebrow

~She holds your arm while you change her diaper

~She has very pretty eyes and long eyelashes (both from Jared)

~She has a great attention span and will listen well when you talk to her
~She likes to "run" really fast... future track star in the making

~Daph is starting to touch her books during story time

~She has started to smack her lips really quietly like a little fish

~If you start smiling and talking to her while she is crying, she will stop crying, smile back, and then remember why she was crying and smile-cry for awhile

~When she wakes up, she welcomes you with the biggest smile in the world. That's my favorite part of the morning!

We sure are in love with our Daph!

I am also incredibly happy to announce that I wore my real pre-pregnancy jeans yesterday for the first time... they buttoned up and everything!

One of my favorite pics: Daddy-Daughter ESPN time

~Daphne Wilcock~

Blessed by her Daddy on April 10, 2011

My mom made Daphne's beautiful blessing dress!

Daphne's first walk

One of our first family outings: Mini Golfing

Happy Easter!!

Daphne's Blessing Day

Bath Time

Play Time

2 MONTHS OLD!!

2011-03-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Daphne is now 2 months old! We celebrated by going to get her immunization shots, poor girl. We are so thankful she is doing well and is a healthy baby! She weighed 10 pounds 12.5 ounces (50th percentile), was 21 inches long (40th percentile), and had a head circumference in the 55th percentile. She is a cute little well-proportioned baby!

Meanwhile, we have begun the adventure of establishing a bedtime routine and going to sleep at a decent bedtime. She sleeps well at night, but sometimes "night" starts at 2 am. I'm sure bedtime is one of the more difficult things to tackle, but in the meantime mama prays for energy and a good attitude. However, when Daphne is awake and smiles at me in the middle of the night, I completely forget how late it is! Baby smiles are a tender mercy from above.

Sleepy baby

Cuddling with Daddy after getting her shots

Our poor baby's battle leg wounds. Please take note of her cute double chin.

We have also made a new friend! Her name is Bumbo, and we didn't like her at first. Now I think we are going to be spending many happy moments with her.

Video of our sweet sleepy baby

Our first time in the Bumbo... not such a happy time

DAPH'S NEWEST HOBBY

2011-03-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Daphne's new favorite hobby: licking things. Blankets, her shirt, hands, anything by her mouth. She is a pro at it!

PRETTY SMILE

2011-03-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

The first smile we have caught on camera! Cute girl.

OUR DAPHNE

2011-03-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

We are convinced that Daphne is the cutest little girl in the world! She has become much more interactive, and we are so happy that she is ours!! Here are a few new things about her:

~She started smiling March 3rd!

~Daphne laughed for the first time March 8th! So cute.

~Her favorite new position to be held in is on her tummy against your chest

~She holds your arm when you help keep her binky in her mouth

~She has started sucking on her fists

~She hates it when we wash her hair

~She tucks her thumb in when she makes a fist

~She has the cutest big smiles when she is asleep

~She is getting better at sleeping at night

~When she is hungry, she doesn't like being tricked with her binky

~She calms down and falls asleep the best when being sung to

~She loves her vitamin D drops

~She is the best eater! No difficulties there.

~She rarely cries when her diaper is being changed; instead she stares at the Utah State sign by her changing pad. It just happened to be on the wall where we change her, and we think she loves it because of the contrast between the blue and white. It has become her buddy, and she now talks and coos at it. Her first intentional laugh was also directed towards her Aggie sign... so funny and cute!

Also, I took her in to get her bilirubin count checked when she was 5 weeks old, and they weighed her like they do at every appointment. How much did she weigh? A whopping 9 pounds 5.5 ounces! In three weeks, she gained over 2 pounds! She jumped from the 15th percentile for weight at her 2 week appointment to the 50th percentile at 5 weeks! She loves her meal times. Good girl.

We sure do love our Daph!!

Asleep on her Baby Bjorn

Look at all that hair!

Daphne's best buddy: her Aggie sign.

Headband malfunction... oops.

Sleepy baby, sleepy daddy.

Our four generation picture with my mom and Grandma Lola

Daphne with Grandma and Grandpa Wilcock

BINKY BABY

2011-02-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

We tried to avoid going the binky route, but we caved in. We now have an adorable binky baby.

CATCHING UP!

2011-02-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks have been very eventful for our little family! Daphne had her two week appointment, and she is doing great! Her Bilirubin count has gone down and she is gaining a healthy amount of weight. She has gotten the hang of eating now, and stays awake well during her feedings (for the most part). At her appointment she weighed 7 pounds 1.5 ounces and was 20 inches long! She is in the 40th percentile for head circumference, the 25th percentile for length, and the 15th percentile for weight. She is staying awake longer during the day, and we can see more of her personality showing.

Some of our favorite things about her:

~She is one of the noisiest sleepers we have ever heard! She grunts, cries, and moves without waking up.

~She loves to put her right hand up by her face when she sleeps.

~She breathes really fast and makes the cutest smacking sound with her lips right before she eats.

~She is getting more used to bath time, so it's becoming less traumatizing for her.

~She falls asleep well when her face is next to yours.

~She has found her voice, and we are now able to distinguish a real cry from her cute little yells.

~She's a strong girl and holds up her head successfully for a few seconds every once in awhile. She also won't let you move her arms and legs if she is in a position that she likes.

~She actually smiled and laughed in her sleep today! It was so adorable!

We are also starting to get into a routine, and it is so cute to see her smacking her lips right after we change her diaper because she knows it's time to eat. Daphne is growing and becoming more aware of everything going on around her! We are so thankful she is a part of our family!

Also, Jared started his new job last week as a Manufacturing Process Engineer and we are so proud of him! We miss him during the day but we are so thankful he is working so hard to support our family. We feel so blessed!

Daphne in one of my favorite of her little outfits

Daphne and Daddy

Sweet sleeping baby ~ 2 weeks old

Daphne's first real bath! Can't you tell how much she loves it?

A little more used to the water...

Cute little diapered baby

Happy Valentine's Day!

Daphne ~ 3 weeks old

DAPHNE'S FIRST WEEK!

2011-01-28T19:35:00.001-08:00

Our adorable baby girl is already a week old! She has been doing well despite having a case of Jaundice that we have been trying to take care of. She is also gaining back her birth weight, and is spending a little more time awake than she did initially. We just look at her and our hearts melt!

A few things about Daphne:

~She loves to move her arms and legs. No matter how tight we swaddle her, she still manages to get her arms out somehow.

~She is an excited eater, yet nursing makes her fall asleep. We have tried everything trying to keep our little sleeper awake to eat.

~She loves when daddy burps her; mommy doesn't seem to have the right touch yet.

~Stroking her eyebrows makes her go to sleep.

~She loves to put her hands up by her face no matter if she is asleep or awake.

~She loves to crinkle up her forehead and arch her eyebrows.

~She makes a grunting sound sometimes when she is sleeping and eating.

~Daphne is the cutest baby in the world!

Daphne sporting her fashionable Billi-Blanket to help get rid of her Jaundice

Our Billi-Blanket glow worm

Daphne wide-awake

Daphne and Mama on her one week birthday!

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!

2011-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

Our sweet baby girl is finally here! Daphne Wilcock entered the world on January 21st, 2011 at 4:16 am. She weighed 6 pounds 3.5 ounces and was 19 inches long. She is precious and beautiful and we are so blessed to be parents to this little girl! We can't believe that she is ours!!

We thought we would tell our labor and delivery story...

On Thursday, January 20th, we went to see the doctor for our 38 week appointment. I had been on bed rest trying to keep my very high blood pressure down, so we were thinking that Daphne would probably be coming a little early. However, nothing really prepared us for the doctor asking, "How do you feel about having a baby today? Have you packed your toothbrush?" We headed over to the hospital at 1:00 pm, and I was induced at 1:30 in the afternoon. Everything went well and quite smoothly; I was dilating well and the contractions were manageable. The doctor came to check on me at about 9:00 pm, broke my water, and two contractions after that I was incredibly ready for an epidural. It took the anesthesiologist two tries to get into my "very strong ligament" back, but I felt so much more comfortable afterwards. Between 1:30 am and 2:30 am, I dilated from a 5 to a 9, started pushing at 3:30 am, and our sweet Daphne was born at 4:16 am! She was amazing and healthy, despite swallowing a large amount of amniotic fluid as she was being born. We were shocked to see how much beautiful hair she has! It looks light brown, so we will be excited to see what her final hair color turns out to be. Her eyes are dark blue, and she has long, pretty fingers. She is such a doll!

We're ready to have our baby!

~Daphne Wilcock~

One of my favorite hospital pictures of us- look at all that hair!

Our first family picture

Daddy and Daphne

THE JOYS OF BED REST

2011-01-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

So I have officially been put on bed rest as of this past Monday! That darn high blood pressure... it's been creeping up for awhile this last trimester, so now my days consist of laying on my side. Jared has been a trooper and has taken such great care of me. Bed rest is definitely not glamorous; yesterday was the first time all week I had actually gotten ready. I had an appointment yesterday where the doctor told me to go straight over to Labor & Delivery to get monitored. After 3 fun-filled hours at the hospital, they let me go home with even more strict instructions to do nothing. Fortunately, the baby is still doing great despite my blood pressure spikes! She's a little over 6 pounds and growing more everyday! We sure are excited for her to come!

LAST LOGAN MOMENTS

2010-12-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

The biggest event that happened in our lives this past month: moving out of our beloved Aggie Village. It was so sad! We will miss our wonderful friends, the cinder-block walls, and microscopic oven. We are now on to new adventures!

To recap our month of December: we went to our last USU basketball game as students...

My cute brother went through the Logan Temple in preparation for his mission...

I made little tiny baby bracelets for our baby girl...

Us in our empty apartment on moving day....

I got swollen legs, ankles, and hands (I can no longer wear my wedding ring) for the first time during my pregnancy...

And I am getting huge! The baby is about five pounds this week, and continues to grow! We are so excited for her to join our family!

The most exciting thing by far is that Jared was a trooper and finished his Bachelor's Degree! He is amazing and I am so proud of him!

CATCHING UP...

2010-11-18T19:33:00.000-08:00

We thought that it was about time to catch up!! We are happily 29 weeks along, and our baby girl is growing and moving! She is about 2 and a half pounds and 15 inches long! It is so much fun to feel her move more now, and she usually gives us a little kick when Jared talks to her through my belly. Everything is going well with the pregnancy, despite not being able to see my toes anymore. Bending over has gotten quite a bit more difficult the last couple of weeks, so if something drops on the floor then I usually don't bother getting it unless I absolutely need it. Jared has also started helping me put on my shoes. Here's a picture of my ever-growing belly:

And this week, the baby is the size of a... butternut squash! How cute.
These next pictures sum up our last couple of weeks:

For my brother's birthday this year, we all went go-karting (I of course was only the support person who watched). Everyone got a stylish head shield to wear underneath the helmets, and we thought it was photo-worthy. Jared's at the bottom, then my little sister Michelle, my dad, and my brother Pete. They all raced like champs!

Jared and I have discovered a true pleasure in life: Lee's Marketplace French bread. Pregnancy lets you eat half a loaf at a time without thinking twice about it.

A few of my good friends from school and I were able to get together for lunch last week at Cafe Sabor. Good food, but better company. They are fabulous!

One of the absolute best days in the last couple of weeks was the beautiful baby shower given by the Wilcock side of the family. I am so blessed to have such wonderful in-laws who worked so hard to make this shower so fantastic. My mother-in-law even went to the trouble of making sushi!! I had about 8 California rolls and was in heaven. My sister-in-law also set up a scrumptious chocolate fountain. My dream come true. We are so grateful for everyone's generosity and love!

And just in case you want a comparison picture, this is me at 27 weeks.

THE GROWING CONTINUES!!

2010-10-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Baby Girl Wilcock is now a healthy one and a half pounds and 13 and a half inches long!! We are so thankful for the wonderful blessing of families. 15 weeks left until we meet our sweet baby girl!

My growing tummy

Although a very ugly vegetable, this rutabaga is about the size of our very cute baby

BYU HOMECOMING RACE

2010-10-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my very athletic in-laws competed in the 5K at BYU! They all did amazing and ran at the speed of light. I had the excuse this year of being pregnant, so I didn't have to run... however, my post-pregnancy goal is to run (and actually do well) in next year's race!

Jared and his fabulous sister, Alaina

Our nephew, Nathan, who is displaying his medal proudly!

BABY MOVEMENTS & BUS RIDES

2010-09-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

We have officially hit the 22 week mark, and this little girl is a mover! When we went in for our ultrasound, the technician said we would have to get her a pair of running shoes... let me tell you, I can feel her running and doing flips (mostly on my bladder, unfortunately) more and more every day! Although I have been able to feel her sweet little movements since week 15, she was still too tiny for Jared to feel her move. However, yesterday was the first time that Jared was able to feel her kick!! It was so exciting and was such a special day for our little growing family!!

Something miraculous also happened today... I now look pregnant enough for people to offer me their seat on the campus bus, bless their hearts. This reminded me of one of my favorite stories about my little sister, Michelle. When Michelle was 2 or 3 years old, my mom was telling us a story for family home evening about how important it is to think of other people. In the story, there was a crowded bus full of businessmen who had just gotten off of work. Because there were no more seats available, quite a few people had to stand... among these people who were standing was a lady who was 8 months pregnant and a very elderly lady. Although it was a long bus ride, no one offered either of these women a seat. When she was done with the story, my mom stressed the point that when we are in a situation like this, we need to be considerate and think of the needs of others. My sister had been listening intently to the whole story. When my mom was done, she asked, "Now, what did we learn from this?" Without skipping a beat, my little sister piped up and said, "When you get lost in the forest, never talk to strangers." Not quite the point my mom was trying to make, but close enough :)

By the way, the baby is now as long as a spaghetti squash! She is about 11 inches long and weighs about 1 pound!

IT'S A...

2010-09-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!

MY BROTHER'S MISSION CALL!

2010-09-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

My little brother Peter has received his mission call to the... Mexico Villahermosa Mission!! He is so excited and we are so proud of him! He will be an amazing missionary!

19 WEEKS!

2010-09-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

I felt the baby move for the first time at week 14, so we know he/she is moving and kicking in there! I can definitely see and feel my tummy growing pretty steadily these days!

The baby is the size of... an heirloom tomato!

FROM IOWA TO UTAH... PART II

2010-09-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

On our way home, we spent one of our days celebrating our 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! We spent the whole day in Colorado Springs, and it was so much fun just spending time together.

Our day started out touring the grounds of the Air Force Academy. Our brother-in-law graduated from there, so we had to check it out. It was a beautiful place, and I especially liked seeing the chapel.

We also explored the Garden of the Gods, and although it was rainy it was still beautiful!

Next we walked around the grounds of the Broadmoor Hotel. Our favorite site: a mama deer and two baby deer... after we watched them for awhile they crossed the street, and we figured they were pretty savvy deer because they used the crosswalk!

We finished up our day of fun with going to the Flying W Dude Ranch. The show was awesome and the food was scrumptious!

FROM IOWA TO UTAH... PART I

2010-09-23T15:52:00.001-07:00

We were incredibly excited to finally be coming back to Utah, the land of mountains and no humidity! Pregnancy and extremely long car rides don't mix very well, so we were happy to take our time on our trip home.

First, we visited Adam-ondi-Ahman; it was so beautiful and peaceful!

Next, we made our way to Far West and Liberty Jail. We felt so blessed to be able to see these beautiful church history sites. The Spirit was so strong, and it was special to be at each of these places. The temple site was in a quiet, remote area, and you could feel that it was special. Certain parts of the Liberty Jail, such as the dungeon floor, are still the originals; it was mind-blowing and humbling to realize the hardships that occurred there.

One of my best friends in the world is serving in the Missouri Independence Mission, so we were also able to see her!

HELLO, FROGGY!

2010-09-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Do you see that little tiny green frog in there? We discovered him wedged in the frame of our screen door right before we left Iowa... we weren't sure if he was dead or alive, so he is probably still there. The finale of our wildlife adventures in Cedar Rapids!

BIG NEWS!!!

2010-08-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!

We have successfully entered Week 13, leaving the first trimester behind! Our baby is due on February 2, 2011, and we are VERY excited! I have been fortunate in not being very sick, however I have spent the past 3 months sleeping about 12 hours per day!

Changes since I've been pregnant:

My sense of smell is impeccable!
The smell of clean laundry makes me sick
I can eat a LOT
Corndogs and pickles are my new favorite (unhealthy) snack
I never knew I would need so many bathroom breaks

Most of all, I'm just ecstatic about having a baby and we are so excited about becoming parents!

Quick story... During our last appointment, we were looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat; after the doctor tried to hear the heartbeat for 5 minutes with no result, he brought in an ultra-sound machine. I was in a bit of a panic, but the doctor soon calmed my fears and Jared and I were able to see the baby move! The doc said that everything looks great and the baby looks healthy, and we are so thankful to be expecting!

Currently, the baby is the size of a lime! How cute!

BEAUTIFUL NAUVOO

2010-08-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

We were so grateful to have the opportunity to visit Nauvoo while my mom and sister were here. It was such a spiritual and special weekend for each of us and helped our testimonies grow! We were able to visit many of the historic sites in Nauvoo, the Visitors' Center, the Nauvoo Temple, Joseph Smith's grave site, and Carthage Jail. We felt the Spirit so strongly and are so thankful for the sacrifices of the early saints.

My mom, Michelle, and I were able to go back to Nauvoo the next week to do Baptisms for the Dead at the Nauvoo Temple. This was such a wonderful and spiritual experience for all three of us, and it was such a special day. One blessing that we received while at the temple was that we were able to meet Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was visiting the temple that evening and came in to meet those doing Baptisms. It was such an amazing blessing!

CHICAGO

2010-08-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

My mom and sister were able to come visit us for 10 days this month! It was so great to see them and we were able to do so many fun things. I drove to Chicago to meet them and spend the first few days there (Jared had to stay home and work, bless his heart). We went sight-seeing, shopping, and enjoyed being with each other!

John Hancock Building

Our reflection in "The Bean"

Gehry Amphitheater

FARMERS' MARKET!

2010-08-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about Iowa is that there are amazing Farmers' Markets! We went to one that is considered to be one of the largest open-air markets in the mid-West. It was great fun and absolutely huge (12 city blocks with over 200 vendors). The video at the end is of a guy making pottery at the fair. We walked away with a yummy snow cone and a beautifully crocheted baby blanket!

Afterwards we went to our new favorite "Sushi House" restaurant, where I ordered a whole plate of sushi... Our server thought we were sharing it, and looked at me like I was crazy when I said it was just for me. Raw fish is out during pregnancy, but I can still enjoy cucumber avocado rolls!

THE BIG 22!

2010-08-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a birthday update from a few weeks ago - When Jared got home from work, I opened my wonderful cards and gifts... I was so excited to find Prenatal Yoga and Pilates DVDs along with new UGGs for this coming winter! I am in love with UGG boots, and I have worn out my current pair so badly that they have holes and tears up the back of them. They also used to be pink and now are the color of dirt. So, for the coming cold winter, my feet will be cuddled inside new boots! Jared then took me out to dinner at a place called "Sushi House," where I rekindled my love for sushi! It was amazing, and I'm sad that we can't just transport this restaurant to Logan. To finish off our night we rented Harry Potter (which about gave me nightmares) and ate cake from our favorite bakery up the street. It was a fabulous birthday!

THINGS TO DO IN IOWA...

2010-07-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

EAT ICEEs!

MEET ME IN ST LOUIS!

2010-07-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our 4th of July weekend, we headed south to St Louis, Missouri.

On Saturday, we arrived during the air show, which was part of the weekend festivities. The St Louis Cardinals baseball stadium is located right next to the interstate, which was also neat to see. We had planned to eat lunch at "Sweetie Pie's", which we had seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. However, upon arriving in the area of the "dive", all we could see were abandoned buildings, graffiti, numerous "homies" from "da hood." Needless to say, we braved the area and got out of our car...only to jump back in it less than a minute later.

Later that night, we went to Gateway Arch in downtown St Louis. There was a fair and John Legend also performed before the fireworks begun. The fireworks were great but our favorite part was the little girl sitting behind us. While the fireworks went off, she said things like, "I'm having so much fun!" and other funny sayings. You can hear her voice in the fireworks video. We enjoyed everything...except for all the smokers in the area. The traffic going home was horrendous, but we finally made it back to our hotel 90 minutes later.

Sunday, we attended a new ward in a very poor area of East St Louis. Testimony meeting was very touching and funny. First off, an older black woman stood up and rather than bearing a testimony, she announced that she loved everyone but had her "favorites" in the ward. She then proceeded to invite her "favorites" over for a BBQ lunch after church. Unfortunately, I dont think she understood that she probably made all of the "non-favorites" feel left out. Later, a young black man with a 6 month old baby stood up and bore a great testimony. He shared that he and his family had not been to church in a long time and their lives were getting worse. He then concluded that you can't blame God if you aren't doing your part. It was a humbling and spiritual meeting as we realized how much we actually have and how blessed we are. After church, we visited the beautiful St Louis temple, which is also located directly next to the interstate. It was a wonderful Sunday.

Monday morning, we visited the St Louis Zoo. It is FREE and was very impressive. Our favorite part was the penguin house, which allows guests to see penguins in their habitat just feet away from them. We also liked the leaping lemurs, which, as usual, provided hilarious entertainment!

We had a great time in St Louis!

WE LOVE OUR FAMILIES

2010-06-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

We are so grateful for wonderful families! After spending a memorable vacation with Karen's family, we were able to spend a great weekend with my parents! They came here Friday night and arrived after a full day of travel, bless their hearts! We watched the Cedar Rapids parade, went for walks, explored the mall, and played cards. But most of all, Karen and I enjoyed just being with them. Thank you for being so supportive and traveling one whole day each way to come and spend a few days with us! We love our families!

PHOTOS OF TOMMY(S) THE TURKEY

2010-06-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

We have officially caught 3 Tommies on camera! They are very large and very scary, but they look smaller without their feathers all fluffed up. On our walk tonight, we also saw a wild bunny and lots of fireflies! It was the first time I had ever seen a firefly, but Jared had seen many on his mission. We have very interesting wildlife here in Iowa!

THE HARTVIGSEN FAMILY CRUISE!

2010-06-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

One of the most amazing vacations we have been on is the Hartvigsen Family Cruise! Here is a short summary of each day:

San Juan, Puerto Rico - We were able to visit and learn about the Fort of San Juan. It kind of reminded me of the Alamo in San Antonio. Some of the fort dates back to the 1400s.

Day at Sea - Besides eating GREAT food at every possible moment, there were some other fun things that happened. At a comedy show, Karen's Dad was chosen to come up on stage with the comedian. The comedian writes for many TV shows including "Whose Line is it Anyway." He had Phil do sound effects as he told a story. Of course, it was hilarious and over 20 times during the course of the cruise, we would be walking on the ship or an island and people would shout, "Hey, It's Phil!" The best part is that Karen's Mom got it all on film. Phil will be in Hollywood in no time!

Bridgetown, Barbados - Our first stop on a Caribbean island! How beautiful and clear the water was! We had a introductory scuba dive and went snorkeling in an area known to have sea turtles. Sure enough, the sea turtles were out and about, but so were the tourists! There were so many snorklers in the water that you could barely move without bumping into others. However, the turtles would swim up for air and it was very fun to be so close to them.

Castries, St Lucia - We rented a car and drove on the left side of the road (wierd) for an adventurous drive through lush forested areas on narrow and windy roads before arriving at Treetop Adventures. There, we put on harnesses and ziplined from platform to platform in for dense forest. It was very fun! It was raining hard that day but the experience was so fun that we didn't even notice.

St. Johns, Antigua - Our activity on this day was very fun. After sea kayaking around a beautiful cove and learning about the sea life, we went to a beautiful Bird Island and saw many pelicans and other birds. Some of the pelicans were diving for fish from 50 feet above the water! Then, we snorkeled at a reef for about 30 minutes. The reef is beautiful! Jared managed to cut his foot on the shallow reef. After the snorkeling we rode motor boats back to where we started and got to hold some land turtles and a parrot.

Philipsburg, St Maarten - This island had a beautiful beach where we gladly spent many hours that day. The water was beautiful and there were great snorkeling reefs right off shore. The Caribbean islands are so beautiful and have such picturesque beaches.

St Croix - We rented a car here (the steering wheel was on the left but you also drive on the left???) and drove around the island getting lost and exploring. We soon arrived at a beach that almost looked Hawaii-like. There were beautiful green mountains and a perfect sandy beach that had great waves. Somehow we ended up on the beach of a very nice beach front hotel resort. After a day full of boogey boarding, scuba diving, and snorkeling, we sadly drove back to the cruise ship to leave our final island :(

This vacation was absolutely amazing! The Caribbean islands are awesome! We had a great time with Karen's family. Unfortunately, like all good things, all good vacations must come to an end.

C-H-I-C-A-G-O!!

2010-06-17T16:59:00.001-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited Chicago for the first time. Peter (Karen's little brother) was able to fly out to meet us, and we had so much fun! Our weekend included: going to the Blue Man Group, eating authentic Chicago dogs and deep dish pizza, riding Segways (our favorite), visiting the Chicago temple grounds, and going to museums. Our most memorable experience was riding the Segways, due to the torrential downpour of rain that happened halfway through our tour. We returned very soaked but very happy. We also loved the food that we ate, and found a few yummy places on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Our favorites were Smoque BBQ and Glenn's Diner. It was such a fun weekend and we were so happy that Pete could come with us!

APOSTLES

2010-05-24T18:13:00.001-07:00

We came across this video during FHE. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

KAREN'S FIRST LASAGNA

2010-05-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Karen has completed her first lasagna here in Cedar Rapids! Doesn't it look scrumptious and delectable?!

WE ARE FINALLY HERE!

2010-05-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

After nearly 24 hours of driving, and 4 days later, we have finally arrived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa! Here is a summary of our first week:

Because winter does not last 8 months here (like in Logan), there are many bugs. We experienced this first-hand when we were trying to play tennis at sunset. I snorted a bug while breathing, and we both must have looked a little crazy waving our arms and racquets in the air without a ball in sight.
There are no mountains and approximately zero hills here. However, everything is very green and pretty.
Before we had a chance to go to the grocery store, we experienced a wonderful yet rare pleasure in life brought to us by Jules Bakery down the street. Although we could feel our arteries clogging as we ate their scrumptuous creations, we were in heaven.
The whole town revolves around Rockwell Collins... literally. The day before Jared started work, it took us about a half an hour to find the one building and entrance that he was supposed to start at the next day. There are about 50 buildings on the campus, and it takes up multiple city blocks.
Last but not least is our favorite. We have lovingly named him Tommy. Tommy the Turkey. Surrounding our apartment is a wooded area where wild turkeys live. We first saw Tommy the day after we moved in and we thought there was only one of him. However, we saw four or five turkeys in a group, so we really don't know how many there are. We have named them all Tommy. Tommy is absolutely huge, and we will try to get a picture of him eventually.

DRIVING THROUGH BEAUTIFUL NEBRASKA

2010-05-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever driven through Nebraska? Although it is beautiful, it is quite a boring trip. However, we were able to stop at the University of Nebraska football stadium for some pictures. It was the highlight of Jared's day! We also stopped in Winter Quarters, and it was such a neat experience! We walked through the visitor's center, around the temple grounds, and through the pioneer cemetery. It was all very beautiful and we felt a sweet spirit throughout the day.

DENVER: THE TOWN OF... RAIN!

2010-05-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

To begin our 23 hour Iowa trek, we started by spending a few days in Denver, Colorado. We were excited to go to a Rockies baseball game the night we arrived, but we were disappointed to find out that the game had been RAINED OUT! This wasn't just wimpy Utah rain; instead, it kept on coming down. We also used our free time that night to go to the coolest aquarium ever! The next morning, we woke up to a couple of inches of snow on our car and had to dig our snow brush out which was buried in our back seat. The perfect way to begin a summer vacation! We were able to go to a Rockies game the following afternoon, and we also had a great time at the outlets. It was so much fun!

LOCKS OF LOVE = SHORT HAIR

2010-05-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Long hair...short hair, just like that! Karen once again donated her hair to locks of love (she did it back in high school and junior high as well). She looks fabulous doesn't she!

GRADUATION DAY IS FINALLY HERE!

2010-05-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am now a proud college graduate of Utah State University! I don't think it's really sunk in that I don't have to register for anymore classes or lug my heavy backpack around campus ever again... It is bitter-sweet, but I'm glad to have a degree under my belt! I am so grateful to everyone who helped me complete college!

GRADUATION FLOWERS!

2010-05-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

For graduation, my mom and dad sent me these beautiful flowers! Definitely a motivation for Finals Week... Thanks mom and dad!

SUSHI CELEBRATION!

2010-05-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

In celebration of our last week of classes, we spoiled ourselves with all you can eat sushi. We don't understand how raw fish can be so scrumptious, but we sure love it!

PAINTING

2010-05-06T22:07:00.001-07:00

For my final project in my painting class, I had to make a wood panel and paint a picture that was as tall as me! Naturally, I went to my carpenter of a father for his wood and tool expertise. My panel ended up being 4 feet by 5 1/2 feet, so it was quite the project! This is a landscape of my family's farm in Idaho, which is a place that we love.

WINTER IN MAY?

2010-05-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today is May 6th, so naturally we had to have a blizzard... An inch and a half later, we are still happy to be Loganites. And by the way, it is currently a balmy 32 degrees outside. Long live winter!

2010-04-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

We went to the store today and found Jalapeños on sale so I decided to try homemade jalapeño poppers. They were very good but there will be some tweaking to the recipe to give them more flavor. You wouldn't believe though how long it takes to clean the insides of just 10 jalapeños!

Yesterday at church, one of the speakers recounted a funny story that Karen and I want to share. He was at his brother's house and it was approaching bedtime. His 3-year-old nephew was told that it was time to brush his teeth. His nephew replied, "My arms are too tired." To that, his Dad replied, "If your arms are too tired, how are you going to play the Wii?" The 3-year-old then said, "Jesus will give me the strength to do it."

FASHION SHOW!

2010-04-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

It's official: Jared has become a model superstar! This semester, I am taking a class called Dress and Humanity. For one of the projects, we were required to design an outfit out of cheap, recycled materials (such as paper, plastics, used fabrics) for a fashion show benefiting USU's food pantry. Out of the goodness of his heart, Jared agreed to be the model for our group. There was a whopping 800 PEOPLE that showed up to the fashion show, so Jared has become quite famous. Consisting of newspaper, Monopoly money, and velvet dresses we found at D.I., Jared was decked out in this one of a kind ensemble. The pictures and video are worth a thousand words!

MEMORIES OF OUR WEDDING

2010-04-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

~Karen's Story ~

After spending ONE WHOLE MONTH in Europe during our engagement, the day of our wedding finally arrived! I woke up bright and early that morning, ready to be sealed to Jared for time and all eternity. My mom and I made it to the Bountiful Temple a few minutes early, so we were able to let everything soak in. However, as the minutes ticked by, I became a little anxious... Jared (who is notorious for being early to everything) was 5 minutes late... 10 minutes late... 15 minutes late...! I finally called him to make sure everything was alright. He answered in a very monotone voice (and my automatic reaction was that I was being stood up on my wedding day!), and he broke the news that he had been throwing up since 5 a.m. Not what I wanted to hear on our wedding day, but at least he was coming!

Jared finally got to the temple (after throwing up in the parking lot), and it was finally time. The temple workers kept trying to calm Jared, telling him not to be nervous (thankfully he wasn't throwing up because he was nervous to marry me). The sealing was so beautiful, and we couldn't have asked for anything more! The most important event in our lives had gone wonderfully; truly a miracle from our Heavenly Father.

Once we stepped out of the temple, however, Jared's condition went downhill. We got a few pictures with his true smile, but after that he just had to fake it. The poor guy had to be wheeled around the temple grounds in a wheelchair, some lovely temple flowers got thrown up on, and he was practically incapacitated by the time the luncheon rolled around.

Jared spent our luncheon on a sofa sipping Coke, and I got to sit with an empty chair next to me as I ate. He still got to participate to some extent though, so it turned out well. We felt so loved by our family and friends, and although Jared was sick, we were so happy to be a married!

After the guests had all gone, my cousin (a R.N.) and her husband (an E.M.T) started to work on their patient. They gave him anti-vomiting medication as well as an I.V., which caused Jared to pass out cold. We were quite a sight; after 6 hours of marriage, I was holding up my unconscious, hunched-over husband in my wedding dress. We marched out of our luncheon with an I.V. stuck in Jared's arm and with me holding the I.V. bag. True love! After buckling him into our very decorated car, I drove us both into the sunset!

All jokes aside, our wedding day was amazing and loved every minute of it! Jared was a trooper and I am so very thankful that he is my husband!

-Jared's Story-

During our engagement, I often pondered if our wedding day would ever come with Karen gone to Europe for a month! I had my list of things to do for the wedding but it was so hard to be without Karen.

On August 11, the night before our wedding day, I spent the late hours of the day trying to pack my stuff for our honeymoon and afterward. Eleven become midnight and midnight became one. I wasn't making much progress since I was finding many childhood treasures distracting me while sorting through my stuff. I eventually made it to the couch (I was living in my family room at the time...complicated story) at 2 am. I would just wake up early the next morning and finish my packing, as I had done so many other times with homework in college. However, those plans would unexpectedly change.

I woke up feeling very ill and glanced at the clock. It was 5 am. Surely, this was just a nightmare. I desperately tried to wake myself up from the dream. Moments later, I realized my worst nightmare had come to life! I really was very sick on my wedding day! I tried to go back to sleep, hoping it would all just go away. However, when the sickness didn't leave, I called for help. My Father and my Brother-in-Law gave me a Priesthood blessing and immediately after, I knelt to pray. I prayed very fervently that I would at least be healed for our ceremony. Finally, I toughed out the pain, took a shower and readied myself to go to the temple. My dad finished packing my things and we jumped in the car to head to the temple.

The car ride was not helping, every bump causing more discomfort and pain. Karen called on the way and I mustered up the best voice I had to tell her I was sick. I probably worried her to death! Once at the temple, I paused for more...relief. As I walked into the temple late, I saw many family members and tried to look happy that they were there. Honestly, I was just glad I made it to the temple. The temple workers were as helpful as they could be, offering me a bag and asking Karen all the necessary questions.

When I entered the men's dressing room, I started feeling a little better. As Karen and I entered the Celestial room before our ceremony all dressed in white, I felt at peace in a way that is indescribable. Next to me was my beautiful spouse-to-be. We sat on the couch and tried to imagine what the experience of being sealed would be like. I wondered how long my sickness would stay away.

Our sealing went on without a hitch and the experience was amazing. I felt so peaceful and not sick! How grateful I was that a miracle had occurred. To my dismay, those sick feelings came back as we begun taking pictures and soon I was being wheeled around in a wheelchair and mustering up the strength to fake a smile just long enough for each pose. The beautiful day and the hot sun were taking their toll on me as well. I guess my faith wasn't strong enough to be healed completely, just for the ceremony as I had prayed for.

I remember my Father-in-Law helping me into the Wight House in Bountiful where I spent the Luncheon asleep on a couch, upstairs from the party. The next thing I knew, my old college roommates were helping me downstairs to the party. I was a mess and by then, my suit coat, bow tie, and vest were off. The owner of the Wight House gave me some pop to give me some fluids.

After the luncheon, Karen's cousin (a R.N.) offered to give me an IV and I thought it was probably in my best interests considering I hadn't eaten all day. However, my Vasovagal response (a medical condition that is manifested through fainting and fatigue) and the combination of a hot day with no nourishment put me under for the IV. I completely fainted after an exhausting day! However, Karen was so gracious to carry my IV bag as we left the Wight House to begin our honeymoon and eternity together. Can you believe that? Karen and I still marvel that all these events happened in one day and they happened to us!