learning lessons and EXCITING news

Tyler and I have been having fun just hanging out. I got a calling last week to help out with enrichment for our ward. I was originally excited to help out...then we had our first meeting. I am ashamed to admit, but walking into the meeting I felt SO OUT OF PLACE! I know that we are so blessed with everything that we do have...house, health, food, etc... but seeing these ladies all completely put-together, the home we were in was AMAZING...seriously out of a magazine amazing, and the lady just had a baby three weeks ago! Then we started discussing ideas. Holy cow. These ladies were unreal (in a good way). They know to do all these crafts, the technical terms for things, they just have apothecary jars laying around, fancy foo-foo things... oh man. I know it all doesn't matter at all- but I was very humbled (read, embarrassed)

So, here is my take-away from the encounter; Learn from these ladies. I would love to be like that some day, but for now my goal is to contribute what I can, not be embarrassed by what I do (or do not) have, and ask questions.

During the meeting Heather and the kids were playing at my place so Tyler could nap. It was so fun to have them all around for the entire day. Tyler was excited beyond words. We played around the house, had lunch, and played in the pool. We are so blessed with great family. Thanks to Heather and the kids for coming all the way to us.

Lastly, and completely out of order, I got some very, VERY, exciting news on Tuesday. My sister-in-law Sarah called me up and let me know that she is pregnant too!! Not only that- but we are due about 2 weeks apart. I am completely excited with the idea of cousins being so close in age- and I hope she is too. Sarah and Ryan have always been so good with Tyler when we get together. I can't wait for them to have their very own life-changing experience. Children are so amazing. If you read this Sarah...hope you still feel good and keep me posted!!

Birthday fun

Although we haven't blogged much lately, there has been quite a bit going on.

Monday was our great, fantastic, wonderful, charming, outgoing, beautiful, generous, patient, kind, friend's birthday. Happy Birthday to Jessica! She already wrote about her fun weekend on her blog BUT little did she know that Heather and I were trying to surprise her with a dinner on Monday. Heather got in touch with Jessica's husband the week before and we told him where we wanted to take her out and we'd get the kids taken care of.

Jess did have a great weekend, it just so happened that she chose to go to the place we wanted to take her to on Monday...and poor Reese tried to steer clear, but it was her birthday afterall. Then, come Monday, we found out that Jessica's mom was taking her our to lunch also. Heather and I were freaking out at this point and had to ruin the surprise and just tell Jess that we were going to take her out to dinner. Thank goodness we had because she suggested a fabulous idea- the Cheesecake Factory!! They do this great "bar menu" from 4-6pm where you can get a smaller version of the appetizers and share around. It turned out to be perfect. The three of us girls, and Jo-Jo, had some delicious food and shared a piece of yummy cheesecake to top it off.

I have known Jess for a little over a year now and I can't believe she's not part of the family. We joke that she is because we needed to adopt someone to be the black sheep ;) She has been such a good friend and so much fun to hang out with, learn from, walk with, and serve (on the rare occasion that she would let me). Jess makes three kids look so easy! It gives me hope with my second on the way.

Jess- this one is just for you! So glad you "joined the family"...willing or not. Now we just need to find a way to see more of you!!

15 Months (and a few days)

Can't believe I forgot to post...Tyler turned 15 months old when we were in California. Here are some of his fun stats from the doctors appointment this past Monday.

Big Boy, Tyler ... 22 lb. 6 oz. 31 1/2 in.

Those numbers put him in the 10-25% for his weight and 50-75 % for his height.

Some of his new tricks are...
-climbing on things, and occasionally falling off of them
-folding his arms for prayers at meals, usually multiple times during each meal
-big, goofy, intentional grins
-loving all dogs, even the big ones
-copying everything his daddy does
-going to the phone when it rings
-requesting a "bubble" and heading upstairs
-rocking so well on the rocking horse that it scoots across the carpet
-saying "shoes" and trying to put them on himself
-unloading the dishwasher with mom
-Tyler gives great squeezes and kisses when requested!

I'm sure there are more, fun things Tyler does but I get to see him all day, every day so they are just part of it all. I am loving my time with my little buddy. He is loving time with his daddy more and more. Tyler will run to the door when we hear the garage open and greet his daddy with open arms. We sure are loving how Tyler's personality is overflowing his tiny little body! Can't wait to see what happens next.

It's the Little Things

We have been home for a few days now and we are loving having daddy back around. We had a few more pictures from our vacation. Sunday morning Tyler helped Grandpa make us all eggs benedict...sooo yummy! It was so cute to see Tyler follow my dad around and become his little shadow. Tyler even woke up one day, walked out in the hall, realized we were at our house, and got sad :( I am glad that we live close enough to both sets of grandparents to get to see them fairly regularly.
I also loved seeing how Jordan and Tyler acted together. Tyler loved to bug Jordan in his room, get on his lap when he was on the computer, play hiding games, and just make silly faces at him. Jordan helped out a ton with Tyler the last few days. Tyler got to ride in style with Jordan to the Newport Temple. Jordan was also Tyler's chauffeur after his handsome haircut. So glad we got to have Jord around a little more this visit.

Monday afternoon Tyler went in the garage to help Ryan wash the car. I was cleaning up inside and Ryan came in to tell me I had to see what was going on. Tyler had jumped right in to help out. He was loving all the suds, and definitely enjoying absolutely soaking himself. It was so cute to see Tyler trying to copy what his daddy was doing. He had a blast.

This morning we had another little thing. We usually are out the door for our walk shortly after 7am. Today we were running a little late but we still went for our walk. As we were rounding our last corner we saw a pretty bad accident where a car had jumped the curb and taken out the light pole and some utility boxes. I don't know why I had been thinking about it, but earlier in the walk I was thinking how I should walk on the inside of the sidewalk in case anything were ever to happen...then coming upon this accident, it happened about the time that we would have been at that corner if we had made it out the door on time. Just another reminder that we are always watched after. Pretty amazing that even the little things are taken care of.

temple,2nd haircut, and new clothes

We have still been enjoying ourselves quite a bit here in California.

Friday I got to go to the Newport Beach Temple with my family. My cousin Emily is preparing for a mission to Guatemala. Tyler was a perfect boy and slept the entire time I was gone. Uncle Jordan saved the day and drove him down to meet up with us to go to dinner at Coco's with the big ol' group. We got to see lots of family and be a part of a special day for Emily.

Tyler has been enjoying story time with Grandpa at night. He will only sit still for a few minutes at a time- but we had to capture one of the cute moments!

This morning (sat.) Tyler got to get up with Grandpa (since I thought he fell back asleep because the monitor was so quiet) Tyler made me breakfast with Grandpa. We had eggs, sausage, and hash browns. So yummy! Tyler became Grandpa's shadow for the day. The two went grocery shopping together, did laundry, mowed the lawn, pulled some weeds, vacuumed, snacked, and even lounged in the backyard together. Tyler has been so cute following him around.

This afternoon Tyler and I got to go get our hair cut by our friend Claire. She did such a great job! Tyler's hair was done so quick and I got some tips to try it myself next time. He looks so handsome! My hair is awesome. I went a little shorter so that I can actually do it quickly in the morning and hope that it will just curl on its own. Tyler got to come home and go swimming with Grandpa while I got my hair cut. The little guy was pooped when I got home- but sure looked like he had a great time. Now Grandpa understands just how fearless the little guy is when it comes to water.

Grandma Anita (Great-Grandma) came over tonight along with the Jones' and Richey's for a BBQ, and, as grandmas do, she brought some clothes over for Tyler. We have been looking for a white shirt and tie for church- and now he's got em!!

We are sad to leave here tomorrow but excited to get home to daddy. I'm sure I'm forgetting some fun adventures but I'm going to get my little swimmer ready for bed!

California!!

Tyler and I made a little trip to California to visit friends and so I can attend the Newport Beach Temple with my cousin, Emily.

We have had a ton of success meeting up with people so far this trip. We have been able to see Auntie Morgan, Grandma Anita, Ally, Popa, and Michelle and Bradley...and it's only Thursday! We have some dates lined up with Cindy and Blaine as well as Claire.

Morgan was so kind to come over for dinner Tuesday night to see our cute little guy and hang out with the fam. She really is such an amazing friend. We are always able to pick up right where we left off. She has been part of the family since High School and I hope she really knows how impressed all of us are with what she has accomplished and what she is accomplishing... Wish we lived closer!!

We did lunch with Grandma Anita at Ruby's down at the mall. My mom was even able to meet up with us on her lunch break and watch Tyler take over Laguna Hills Mall. Tyler LOVES sweets and was hamming it up when we shared a shake. With every bite there was a loud, "mmm!" heard throughout the diner. He was quite the star by the end of our meal ;)

Later Wednesday afternoon we got to stop over and see another childhood friend of mine, Ally. We grew up just down the street from each other and our parents still live in the same houses...so we just boogied on down the street while Ally was visiting her parents. What was supposed to be a quick little visit turned into more like an hour and a half...again, because she is another amazing friend that we can just pick up wherever and catch up for hours! It was fun to see Ally, Mama Scott, Dad Scott, and even Pooka and Cooper (their dog and cat). Meeting Cooper was Tyler's first introduction to cats. We'll just say I think he's a dog guy...

Thursday we got to meet up with Popa for lunch at Lone Star. The food and the company were awesome but the service was a little less than awesome. Our lunch ended up taking about two hours!! Tyler was a champ and played with his toys, played with his food, and flirted with our neighboring diners. We loved getting to see Popa and Tyler is loving his new cars that Popa spoiled him with!!

This afternoon Michelle and Bradley stopped by for a play date too. Michelle and I are, yet again, expecting right around the same time. It has been a lot of fun for the boys to meet up every now and then- especially since they seem to be so much alike. Bradley is a sweet heart with a great smile. The boys played at the house, the front yard, and we even ventured over to the park for a bit.

We're missing daddy, who is working really hard right now doing about three people's jobs! Hope you are taking care of yourself...and not missing us too much ;)

After all this fun- we truly realize how blessed we are with good friends (even if they happen to live in another state). Moral of the story; Get people to visit Las Vegas!!!

what is your idea of the perfect date?

April 22, 2009. Not too chilly, not too hot. Just right for adding another little someone to the Crooks' family!!

Ryan and I decided that moving into our first home wasn't enough to handle so we thought we'd have another kid too. We just went to our first Dr. appointment this past Wednesday. We got to see the little peanut and hear it's heartbeat.

Tyler enjoyed the people in the office and the ultrasound but was bored to death with everything in between.

We told my parents while they were in town a few weekends ago. We made Tyler a little onesie that said "Big Bro"...don't worry, they didn't get it. Both read it out loud...and didn't think anything of it. Finally, at Heather's for dinner she saw it once she took a break from cooking and made a big commotion for everyone to figure it out.

We are excited to add to the family...and anxious for the next 33 weeks to pass by!

Disclaimer: If we haven't reached you yet it is most likely becuase A) you are impossible to reach or B) we have run out of cell phone minutes and it is too late to call you after 9pm our time. We love you all and plan on calling some more of you lovelies this weekend.