our new secret talent

Take a look at these pics. They tell a good story...

We were on a family walk Monday morning and came across some "treasures" out for trash day, a set of 6, matching, solid wood, chairs. SWEET. Ryan ran back with the truck and picked them up. The closer we looked at them, the more disgusting they looked. Sooo we thought we'd try our hand at re-upholstering them. We made a little evening rendezvous Thursday at the local JoAnn's store, picked up some foam and sweet material and by 10pm we have three of six chairs done. We might be going pro shortly. Inquire for prices of our services ;)

BEFORE

AFTER

Happy 10 Months Tyler!

I'm a little late on this one, but just last Sunday our little guy made the 10 month mark. I don't know which boggles my mind more; the fact that I have been a mom for 10 months already, or the fact that my little boy is no longer little. It has been so much fun to watch him learn and grow so far. Here are just a few things that have been fun this past month.

- Ty has developed a "courtesy laugh"

- finding even more cupboards to play in

- and trash cans

-and drawers ;)

- pulling up and walking behind the walker more and more...and loving it

-more professional pics finally!

-airplane trip #2 to Granny's

-first wedding YAY for Kathleen & Drew

-visits with Grandma & Grandpa Denos, and Uncle Ben & Uncle Jordan

-waking up happy

-getting closer to sleeping through the night, almost always now!

-being more cuddly! I know I'm lucky

-He loves cardboard books, and any book for that matter

- saying "dada" and finally "mama"

- still growing like a weed!

We sure do love this little guy. He is FANTASTIC. He is bringing more and more joy to our lives. We are so blessed to have him. And now it's time for the fun to begin, we're going to attempt to plan a Birthday party for June :)

(Not the best picture, but it's one of the only ones we took on his actual 10 month mark. We're driving home from California in this one. I think he was already board with the drive)

Another Beginning to Forever

We had so much fun in California this past weekend for Kathleen and Drew's wedding. Their day was fabulous...and we'll get to it!

We made it to town around 9 Thursday night and got all settled in to watch the NEW episode of THE OFFICE. It was nice to sit and watch a show that we both like and laugh a bit.

Friday our plans included getting our alarm fixed, the beach and some yummy Ruby's on the pier...but Tyler had other plans. After playing all morning with grandma and grandpa Denos Tyler went down for a 2 1/2 hour nap!! Ryan took the car to the dealer and they fixed the alarm...but not really. We ended up getting a whole new alarm- thank goodness that is all over with. We tried to meet up at the beach with Ryan's mom and popa but little Ty kept right on sleeping through our plans ;)

Mom Crooks and Popa came to see us at my parent's house and the oogle over their cute little grandson/great-grandson. We went to the park and played in the sand, went on the swings, and enjoyed all the beautiful colors and weather.

Ryan, Tyler, and I hopped in the spa which my dad had heated a little so Tyler could enjoy it. He was laughing so much. We are lucky to have a little fish on our hands here. He didn't even freak out when he'd get water in his face. What a good boy!!
Friday night we went to a family dinner at the Yorba Linda Dunn's. We loved getting to see the Bride and Groom and all the out of town visitors. Tyler got to meet little Daisy Dog and loved all the kisses. He enjoyed being bigger than someone (or something) finally. Dinner was delicious, family was fantastic, and we were all getting so excited for the upcoming day's events!

Saturday was the day. The ceremony at Newport Beach Temple was perfect, the bride and groom, perfect, the reception-perfect! It was a little warm for April 12 in Cali, but beautiful none the less. Tyler came and joined us at the Temple and we got to take some fun family pictures with the amazing photographer. The reception was in a beautiful backyard and every detail was beautiful. We loved being reminded of how sweet it is to begin Forever with the person you have found to love. Kathleen and Drew are going to be so fantastic there aren't words to describe. They are perfect compliments to each other.

We are so glad we could be there for all the weekend entailed. We got to see grandma and grandpa to finally share some happy Tyler time with them- he was sick last week. We got to see Granny Jenny and Popa to share some quality time and quick visit. We also got to see a ton of extended family. Of course, the wedding topped off everything so nicely.

So Cal...So Sweet

T minus 75 minutes and counting... We will be picking Daddy up from work and hitting the good ol' 15 freeway heading for Mission Viejo.
Not only is it fantastic to be going to Orange County, but we are going for our cousin, Kathleen's wedding!! We are so excited to see her start this stage of her life. Marriage definitely has it's ups and downs- but it is a BLAST.
We also get to spend the weekend at my parent's house. I get to see their most recent upgrades to the home and try to make up for the time that we all spent sick when they were out here visiting last week.
Hopefully we'll get to post some beautiful pictures in the very near future...from the real happiest place on earth ;)

Tagged

A- Attached or single: attached
B- Best Friend: Ryan, Heather
C- Cake or Pie: Pie...a la mode
D- Day of Choice: Saturday
E- Essential Item: diaper bag
F- Favorite Color: Blue
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Chocolate covered cinnamon bears from BYU...yum.
H- Hometown: Mission Viejo, CA
I -Indulgence(s): Graham Crackers and milk as of late...so preschool huh?
J- January or July: July- in California NOT Nevada!
K-Kids: Tyler Ryan, almost 10 months old!
L-Life is incomplete without: Children (hopefully it will be plural ;) )
M- Marriage Date: February 26, 2005
N- Number of Siblings: 3, Heather, Benjamin, Jordan
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples because I don't have to peel them
P- Phobias or Fears: new places, the dark
Q- Quote(s): "When you know who you really are you'll be sorry you didn't try harder"- Elder Eyring 2001
R- Reason To Smile: Ryan, Tyler, getting to stay home with my baby
S- Season: Summer
T- Tag Five: Kally, Meredith, and whoever else wants a good excuse to do this ;)
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I have been struck by lightning
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Call me an omnivore...trying to eat more veggies
W- Worst Habit: wasting time...doing blogs ;)
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds are usually for happy reasons therefore I like those better.
Y- Your Favorite Food: italian and mexican
Z-Zodiac: Aries

On a more happy note...

Well, here we go- the fun stuff.

Despite the illness that has been in our house, we still have a good time. We made it out to the park on my bday even with Tyler not feeling well...and proving it at the park...twice ;). He has come across this new bear crawl. It is so funny to see. I don't know if his knees are tired of hitting the floor or if he wants to be halfway closer to walking. Either way- it's cute to see. Even though he felt gross all day, it was so cute when he'd find his blanket wherever it was and cuddle up to it. He really is a sweet boy.

Ya- it's me. Ryan decided that he needed to take at least one really bad birthday picture of me at the end of a long day of dealing with puke and other stuff. You know, just for "posterity" We have yet to celebrate with just Ryan and I...here's a subtle hint for you babe...just in case you forgot ;)

Tyler has been fun to watch grow up- we love documenting his every moment, as evidenced by this blog. He has had several nick-names so far during his time with us. The first was probably Houdini- because he could get out of any swaddle we put him in. Seriously- anything, even those fancy Velcro blanket ones. He was so tricky. His next nick name was Stinky...for obvious reasons. This poor boy has had the loudest gas come out of a tiny body! They usually came at very quiet moments too...like at church. His most recent name is Mr. Bear given to him by his dad. Tyler not only bear crawls now, but he also likes to growl...a lot. I think those are the top three so far.

Last for now- my family has been in town this weekend. My dad works a convention every year for GE here in Las Vegas so he came out on business, Mom and Jordan came up from Cali...for her birthday and brother Ben came down from Provo because he loves us all. It has been kinda crazy and we really haven't spent any time with them between kids' nap schedules and Ryan and I being sick. So, kinda bitter sweet. I got some kind birthday cards from my Mom & Dad and brothers- but we really didn't get to celebrate much...there's always next year. We miss being altogether somewhere that the kids can all sleep so we can watch movies and play games. So, if you read this mom and dad...sorry we didn't get to see you much. We really do like you ;) Thanks for making the long haul to visit anyway.

Okay, not really last because this is really last. We'll end with a little health update. I, by the grace of God, and I'm pretty certain it's because I'm a mom (we don't even get sick days), got miraculously better after spending only 15 hours or so emptying all contents of my body. Ryan took about 2 days so far. He finally ate food again tonight and is doing okay. He still needs a lot of rest. Sweet Tyler is working on it too. He is having trouble keeping food down again but he's perky most of the day.

Not so happy birthday!

I am officially one year older (as of Apr.2) but there is a very good reason that I haven't been able to post. Puking- and lots of it.
My bday started off with my sweet son, Tyler, giving me my first gift, a shirt full of puke. Ironically, he had just been bathed the night before, but that boy really likes his baths so I think he might have just been working his magic. So, before 6:30am I was already completely grossed out. The rest of the day involved about 5-6 more episodes. Poor boy couldn't keep anything in.
Even with the icky tummy we made it out to the park for a few hours with the cousins. It felt good to be in the sun. We also got a lot of cuddle time, so I guess that part wasn't too bad. I made shredded pork tacos for dinner and had Heather and the kids over. Heather brought some yummy brownies and strawberries with chocolate to dip them in. That was sooo yummy.
Ryan made an extra effort to get home from work on time for the day. That was so nice to have him around.
We thought the fun was over as we went to bed on Wednesday, but Thursday felt a bit off too. Ryan and I have been seriously sick. Didn't sleep a wink, had the bathroom occupied all night, fevered, nasty, food poisoning...gross. Thankfully I'm feeling pretty good today and Ryan is still struggling, but called in sick. I hope this nasty stuff passes quickly so we can get back to more happy posts!
We'll end this one with a big Happy Birthday to my momma...she's getting a sweet gift from my dad...but I won't say what it is just yet in case she happens to see this before she gets it. Big points to daddy-o for being so thoughtful.