Back into the Blogging World!

So much has happened since I posted last. One of the main reasons for not posting sooner is that our computer has been down for over a week. I don't know about you, but I feel helpless without the internet! I would go over to my sister's every couple of days to check my email, but really didn't stay long enough to post or check up on all of your blogs. But I am back, thanks to my brother TJ, who is a computer genius! This last Thursday I felt like I completely fell off the face of the earth because I lost my cell phone. I have the worst luck with cell phones. I have gone through 4 phones in the past year alone. This last one fell out of my car at the gym, and we think it was ran over by a car. Rob went back twice and could only find the back plate. It didn't help that it was a blizzard that night. So, I am phoneless until tomorrow. And of course I don't have any numbers written down for backup, so if you don't hear from me in awhile, give me a call because it probably means I don't have your number. We have had a pretty eventful week besides being without a pc and cell phone. I have loved having Rob out of school for a couple of weeks. We have been able to spend more time as a family. Earlier on in the week we decided to go see the lights at temple square. Wes was being so cute when we first got there. He kept saying "pretty" and "wow." But, we made the mistake of taking him out of his stroller shortly after being there, and he did not want to go back in. He threw his first official public tantrum. I have never seen him cry so hysterically. Let's just say we only stayed for maybe twenty minutes at the most. I guess it will be fun to look back and laugh at. We also finished painting Wesley's new room (our old office). We moved his crib in there hoping to get him used to sleeping in there. He had a really hard time making the transition. Then Rob and I put together his big boy bed on Saturday, and decided to try and let him sleep in it. We were so nervous! We thought it was going to be a rough night. Boy, were we wrong! Wes was such a trooper! He went right down and only woke up and got out of bed once. All we did was take him back and he went right down again. We were completely shocked! We thought it was probably a fluke and that we would have a hard time putting him down for a nap today and to bed tonight. But, he surprised us again and went right down. I am so proud of him! He is growing up so fast. I can hardly believe it! I will have to post more pics of his cute new room when we get it all finished. We hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Survey

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy and change all the answers so that they apply to you. 'Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? I'm all about both. Some presents, especially kids toys come in awkward shaped boxes, so I prefer to stick them in a gift bag instead of trying to wrap it neatly. 2. Real tree or artificial? We have an artificial prelit tree, but I do love the smell of real ones.
3. When do you put up your tree? Sometime the weekend after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take down your tree? Sometime after New Years.
5. Do you like eggnog? I hate it, but I think Rob is a fan. But we never buy it. I'm more of a Sparkling Cider fan during the holidays.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Teddy Ruxspin!
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, we have two. One is made out of olive tree wood that Rob's grandparents bought for him in Jerusalem. And then the other one is the Willow Tree nativity. Rob and my parents gave it to me a couple of Christmas' ago.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My parents. They already have everything!
9. Easiest person to buy for? Rob, but he usually gives me some hints.
10. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? I can't think of one.
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? I love mail cards. Especially photo ones.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? I would have to say A Christmas Story and Elf
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually right after Thanksgiving, but this year I started and finished in November. I hate fighting the crowds!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Our family does pot luck, but I decided to make it a tradition to bring funeral potatoes! They are my fave!!!
16. White or colored lights? I like white for our tree, but colored outside on our house.
17. Favorite Christmas song? There are too many to chose from.
18. Traveling for Christmas or stay home? Staying home!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Doner, Blitzen, and RUDOLPH!
20. Angel or Star on top of tree? Star
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? We always open our Christmas PJs on Christmas Eve, but everything else on Christmas Morning!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Crowds at the stores.
23. Favorite Holiday Traditions? We have so many, but a couple of my favs are having Christmas PJs, and cooking a big Christmas Breakfast at my Parents on Christmas morning.
24. What I love most about Christmas? The lights, the smells, the tastes! I pretty much love it all!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! We have been given so much and have a lot to be grateful for. I love that we get to spend the whole day visiting with family and eating scrumptious food. Recently, I feel like people go right from Halloween to Christmas and skip over Thanksgiving completely. Most radio stations start playing Christmas music the week of Halloween. We have a rule in our house that we can't play Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. It's important to take the time to be grateful for what we have been given. We had such a great Thanksgiving holiday this year. We spent Thanksgiving day with my Mom's side of the family at her house. I hate to brag, but I think the Rigby's make the best Thanksgiving dinner ever! And my mom's pies are the best! It was so nice to relax and visit with family. Friday we spent most of the day hanging up our Christmas lights and putting up our decorations. That night we went to Rob's parents to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. Rob's brother Dave was in town from Seattle, and it was so great to see him. I am so grateful for our families. I am especially grateful for my wonderful husband and beautiful son! Rob works so hard for our family, and I appreciate all he does. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

What a crazy week!

This past week has been a little crazy. I got sick with the flu the day before I was supposed to get my flu shot. Now what are the chances of that? Only something like that would happen to me. Luckily, it didn't pass on to Rob or Wesley. Last Friday I participated in the Family Christmas Expo for Modbe. It was a lot of fun and I even got some great Christmas shopping done. I had never been before, but they had a lot of great booths with great gift ideas. Then this week I have been struggling with a hitting toddler. I don't know what else to do to teach Wesley not to hit. No matter what I do, the minute I tell him not to hit, he pulls back his hand for another swat. I think he thinks its hilarious to do the opposite of whatever I tell him to do. If any of you other moms have any suggestions, I will gladly take them! Wesley has definitely turned into Mr. Independent. He won't let me help him eat anymore. He has to do it all by himself.

And he makes the biggest mess while doing it!

Just like Daddy! I love this picture of Wes. He already loves to try and walk around in our shoes. It's hilarious to watch him stumble around in them. What a funny kid!

Discovery Gateway

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Maren and I decided to take Wesley and her little boy Rowan to Discovery Gateway. Wesley and I had never been, and it was just after Wes started walking. I decided to just let him rome free since he hated being in his stroller. He had a blast!!! For two hours, Wesley and Rowan played and played and played! There is so much to do there, but Wes' favorites were the ball and water exhibits. We had so much fun that day, that I talked Rob into letting us get a membership there. So, yesterday we invited my friend Jessica, her son Carter, and her niece Avery to come with us. They had such a great time together! I took my camera and got a ton of cute pics. If any of you have little ones, I highly suggest getting a membership. It is so worth the money and a great place to go now that it's cold outside.

Halloween

Halloween was such a blast this year! Wesley certainly had a lot more fun than last year. We tried to take him trick or treating but he wasn't too interested. Every time we handed him his little pumpkin, he would check it and his candy would go everywhere! After trick or treating to my sister's house, we headed to my mom's for her famous chili! It was so delicious! I was so full, I could barely move the rest of the night. After spending most of the night at my parents house, we headed to my grandparents house to show Wes off in his costume. We pretty much have the same traditions every year. My grandparents get a kick out of seeing all of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren all dressed up. We didn't get home until late, and Wes was certainly all tuckered out!

It's a Boy!!!

I had my ultrasound yesterday, and we found out that we are expecting another little boy!! Rob and I couldn't be more excited. We are so excited for Wes to have a little buddy, especially since they will be so close in age. Rob and I both had a feeling that we were having a girl, since my pregnancy this time around has been completely different than my first. Rob and I also had a feeling that Wesley was going to be a girl, so we decided to never believe our instincts when it comes to the sex of our babies. We always seem to be wrong! The baby appeared to be healthy, and we couldn't be more grateful. The only thing we have to worry about now is finding a boy's name that we both agree on. Of course we had a girl name all picked out. Oh well!

The first picture is kind of distorted, but it is a picture of his little boy parts. There is a little tiny arrow pointing to it. But, I love the last one. If you look closely, you can see his little foot resting up on the wall. His profile looks almost identical to Wesley's.

Below is a look-alike test that I did earlier today. I actually stole the idea from my cousin. She had it on her blog. Her and I have a similar problem, everyone says our boys look exactly like their dads. Everyone always comments that Wesley is a miniature Rob. Well, I beg to differ!!!! I think Wesley looks a lot like me when I was younger. I will admit that Wesley gets his gorgeous brown eyes from his Dad, but I think he has more of my looks than Rob's. This test says it all!

Look-alike Test

New Camera

We just got a new camera and I am so excited. For the past month or so we have been without a camera, and it has been crippling. Especially when grandparents expect you to take pictures of every waking moment. My sister Jenny was nice enough to let us borrow her camera so we could capture some fun pictures of Wesley. I am so glad to have our own camera to take pictures of our handsome son! I tested out the camera on Wes taking his truck out for a spin.

I can hardly wait...

So, for those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE the Cheesecake Factory!!! Every time I visit a city that has one, I always eat there at least once, but usually 2 or 3 times. The funny thing is, I don't even like the place for its cheesecake. I actually hate cheesecake! Rob and I both can't stand the taste of any kind of cheesecake. I love the restaurant for its delicious food! I have 5-6 things on the menu that I absolutely love. My all-time fav is the Chicken Pesto Pizza. So, when I found out a couple of months ago that the cheesecake factory was coming to Utah... I was so excited! I can hardly wait! The rumor is that it opens on November 1st, and I guarantee I am going to be there for the glorious occasion!

Thanksgiving Point

This past Friday, we went to Thanksgiving Point with our friends the Arbuckles. We went to the Cornbelly's Pumpkin Fest. It was so much fun! For $10 per adult, you could do every activity there except for the haunted activities. We took a hayride, rode the cow train, found our way through the corn maze, slid down the slides, and ate some yummy carnival food. I highly suggest going there for some Halloween fun. It was the perfect Friday night activity!

Finally...his first steps!

Wesley hit a huge milestone last week...he took his first real steps! We were so proud of him. Of course we didn't get video footage of his actual first steps, but pretty close. We thought he was going to be a crawler forever, but he proved us wrong. Yesterday, he also learned to go from sitting to standing all by himself! He is definitely turning into a toddler...

Family Photo Shoot Sneak Peek...

Last Sunday our family got together (for the first time in I don't know how long) to get our family pictures taken. We went up to the Temple Quarry in Little Cottonwood canyon. It is such a beautiful place. I was so surprised at how well Wesley held up for the 2 1/2 hours that we were there. If any of you are looking for great photographers, Angelique and Tim from Red Leaf Photography take amazing pictures! Here is a sneak peek...

My Favorite Time of Year!

I love fall! Besides Christmas, it is my most favorite time of the year! I love the weather, the changing leaves, and Halloween. I am not one that loves Utah's heat in the summer, so once fall hits, I try to be outdoors as much as I can. Wesley and I have been taking advantage of the nice weather the past couple of days. Yesterday, we went to Gardner to see the witches, feed the ducks, and enjoy a fresh caramel apple. Besides the fact that Wes was a grump, we had a great time. I even managed to take a couple of pictures of him with the fall scenery. Today we had lunch with my friend Jessica, her little boy Carter, and her niece Avery. We thought we were insane taking three toddlers out to lunch, but they were pretty well behaved. After lunch we headed to Veteran's Park in West Jordan. The kids had a great time! I wish I would have had my camera with me because there was the cutest puppy there and the owner actually let Wesley hold it. It was the cutest thing ever! Surprisingly Wesley didn't pull it's hair or hit it, which is a common occurrence with our dog. He was so soft and gentle and he kept giving her kisses. It was a lot of fun! I am so bummed that the rest of the weekend is supposed to be rainy and cold. Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday that Wesley was actually happy in...

Into the blogging world...

It's official! The Smiths have a blog. A couple of people have been bugging me to start a blog, so here it is! I have actually had the desire to start a blog for sometime. Mainly because I am an avid blog reader. I love reading my friends and family's blogs, along with complete strangers. Maybe because I think my life is kind of ordinary, and reading about other peoples' lives is exciting...I don't know. For some reason I love it! Plus, blogs are a great way to keep up with what's new in everyone's life. So, for all of you who read this...here are the daily glimpses into our lives!