Christmas was quiet this year. It was just Brig, Whitney and me. My parents came a few days before Christmas for a nice visit. We played games and made caramel popcorn. We enjoyed their visit even though it was short (thanks Ben and Connie for letting us steal them for a couple days). Last night we went out to eat at a Japanese restaurant. Whitney loved the Miso Soup.
This morning Whitney slept in late til 8am! We had Whitney open her gifts after a pancake breakfast. She didn't quite get the point of opening presents, but she sure loved what she got. We got her some blocks, a few books, plastic links, hair rubber bands and her aunt Connie made her some cute, cute, cute hair flower clips. My family did a homemade Christmas again this year, and once again I was very happy with what we got from my brother Jesse and his wife Joyce. They are super neat silhouette pictures. During Whitney's nap Brig and I opened our gifts. Later that afternoon we sat down to a Christmas Dinner that I made all by myself. I spent hours on it. I now appreciate all the hard work that my mom went through for Christmas dinners. I was happy that it all turned out okay. Our friend Andy came over to eat dinner with us. We spent the rest of the night watching a TV and playing with Whitney til she went to bed.
I got our Christmas cards out a little late this year. If you get yours late, you can enjoy this one while you wait. I had fun making the cards and even took the picture myself. The lady at the photo lab thought they were taken professionally and had me sign something saying that I took them myself. She was probably just trying to flatter me...and it worked! I wasn't about to spend a ridiculous amount of money for professional a shot with Santa. I do want Whitney to have a picture with Santa, so I guess we'll have to crash some other ward's Christmas party (we missed ours) and hope he's there.
This time of year always makes me happy. I think my favorite part of the season is the smell of a real Christmas tree perfuming the air. Our house smells sooo good!! We shopped around a little bit to get a good deal on a tree. Some lots here are trying to rip people off charging $75 bucks (or more) for a descent tree. Now I am starting to see why people get a fake tree, because of the one time cost. We finally found good prices at Home Depot. Anyway, we decorated it today. Whitney wanted to get to the tree so bad that she actually tried to scoot herself to it (she doesn't usually want something bad enough to get to it herself). She did pretty good reaching and stretching her body til she got a handful pine needles. As much as I want her to finally start crawling, I kinda hope that she won't until after Christmas and the tree is gone. If the tree is motivation for her to start crawling then I guess I can't keep her from it. I just hope she doesn't get hurt with so much non-baby proof stuff around the house for the holidays.
I had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at Ben and Connie's last weekend, and today Brig and I went to his Grandma's. A lot of the Dunn Family was there to celebrate. Brig's brother Jared made some fantastic pies, I brought veggies and dip. I have found a new love for sweet potatoes, especially when they are made with a brown sugar topping...Yum! Whitney even tasted some mashed potatoes, jello, bread and some pumpkin pie. There were so many different kinds of food there that we didn't have room to try them all, but what we did eat was delicious. We left stuffed and happy.
I went down to Cedar City, UT to see the movie Twilight with my sister-in-law Connie. She introduced me to the book two summers ago. Since then, I have read Twilight to myself and then a second time to Whitney when she used to take a half hour to nurse. I know it's written for 15 year old girls, but I couldn't help it. Anyway, I loved the movie and want to go see it again before it leaves the theaters!!
We woke up Wednesday morning to our first snow of the season. Later that morning I bundled Whitney up and took her outside to make a snowman and take a picture. Our snowman actually turned out to be a snowbaby because he was so small. I was hard enough to roll a little ball of snow with one hand, while the other held Whitney. We didn't get all fancy on the lil' guy by giving him a carrot nose or a top-hat(he was just too small) so I hope you can tell it was a snowbaby. At first Whitney was hesitant about touching the snow, but after she did, she looked at me me with a big smile.
This is my niece Cindy and her snowbaby that she made a few years ago. She kept it in the freezer so it would last longer. We didn't have room in our freezer, so sadly...our snowbaby has melted.
For Whitney's first Halloween we dressed her as our little Honey Bunny. We’ve called her Honey Bunny since she was really little, so we thought it would be a good Halloween costume. She was so cute with her ears and the lipstick on her nose to make it pink! I tried drawing whiskers, but Whitney wouldn’t hold still. Since I made her costume Friday afternoon, I didn’t have time to make myself anything, so I was a cat…again. We went to the ward trunk or treat so Whitney could experience getting candy. At first she didn’t know what to do, but by the end she was a pro. Since the costume was made in such a hurry, by the end of the night it was falling apart :(. Oh well, it looked cute on her anyway.
Whitney loves her Johnny Jump-up. Before we took the video she was jumping up and down, waving and squealing. We thought it was so funny. After we got the camera to take a video, Whitney wasn't as excited. Luckily, she waved again at the camera and jumped a little bit.
Yesterday we went up the canyon to go fishing, again. We were there for about two hours and didn't catch anything. It was worth the trip though because the weather was beautiful. It was nice until the sun went down, then it started to get cold. I heard that this was supposed to be the last weekend of the season with warm weather. We went with some friends who brought their dogs. The dogs kept getting caught in the fishing line, so me, Whitney, the dogs and the other girl went on a walk along the shore while the guys fished.
I got a great picture of a hard-core fisherman. His outfit was pretty funny looking. To take the picture, I acted like I was taking it of the other girl, and actually got the guy over her shoulder.
This weekend it got cold enough to actually use our fireplace. We have central heat in the house, but we wanted to try to stick out the cold and see how cold it would really get without the heater on. I didn't think we'd need it for at least a few more weeks. Well, it's pretty cold! Luckily, the fire heats the house good enough. There's a blower hooked to it that blows the heat out into the room. We did get a space heater for Whitney's room to make sure that she is warm enough all winter. It's almost impossible to keep her covered with blankets at night because she moves so much in her sleep lately.
A few weeks ago I started the process of getting our Acura registered in Utah. In Utah an emissions test is required to register the vehicle, and when I went into get it done I had no idea that it wouldn't pass! To make a long story short... the "check engine light" was not coming on when the car was started, so it didn't pass. So, I took apart the dashboard to see if the bulb was burned out...and I found that there was no bulb at all. I stole a bulb from another light slot and it worked. But, it worked so well that it stayed on :(. I had AutoZone do a test on it and there was something wrong with the fuel line. I took it into a mechanic that the AutoZone guy suggested (I think it was his brother because they looked a lot alike)to fix the problem. Half an hour after I dropped it off, he called and said my gas cap was leaking, so I needed a new one($11). Labor and all, the gas cap ended up costing about 50 bucks. If only I would have thought of it! So the Acura passed the retest and I am now a proud owner of Utah plates. Yeah, not really, but now I have an excuse when I cut people off, or go slow in the fast lane, or speed, or slow down for an accident on the other side of the freeway, etc. People will just notice my plates and say "ahh a Utah driver" instead of saying "stupid women driver!" There are however, a select few "Utah Drivers" who are good drivers and so, if you are reading this please do not take offence! Of course every state has their bad drivers, right?!
Last Wednesday my Mom and I went to visit my sister, Melodie, in Ohio. Mel is 6 months pregnant and we wanted to help her get her baby room fixed up and ready for the baby. She's having another boy, so it was all about blues and greens. We took the crib bedding and used it as the theme that inspired the paint colors and the accent wall. The colors we picked looked really cute together. We were really happy with the results. While we weren't painting we watched Gene(Mel's 20 month old) and Whitney play together. Whitney has started to sit up on her own, at least for a little bit before falling over. Gene would make her laugh so hard that it was hard for her to keep her balance. Gene is going to be a great big brother.
We went fishing up Provo Canyon, or some canyon right next to it. It was kind of a double date with Brig's friend Andy and his date, her brother and us. The drive was beautiful! The mountains are so colorful this time of year. When we left that afternoon it was still pretty warm outside. But when we got to the canyon lake it had gotten really cold. Luckily, I had left a few blankets in the back of the car and so we were able to use those to keep warm. We were there for at least an hour, but didn't catch anything. Other people around us caught lots of fish, so I don't know what was wrong with us. I was skeptical about the trip at first, but it turned out to be fun, besides the fact that Whitney cried almost the entire hour ride home. Poor baby, she was so tired!
For the last few days Whitney has been buzzing her lips together, spitting and making bubbles. It's really cute. We don't know why she does it because she has started to do it all the time...when she's happy, mad, sleepy, bored etc. I heard that when babies and kids learn something new they do it over and over again. I guess it's true with adults too. Here's a short video of our Bubble Baby.
Did the cart boy call in sick or what? The other night I was at Wal*Mart and this is what I saw as I tried to maneuver through the carts to a parking spot. I was so amazed at the number of carts that I had to take a picture with my phone because I thought it was pretty funny!
Whitney is having so much fun with her exersaucer. She plays for at least 15 minutes at a time in it. That precious 15 minutes is used cleaning up or doing my make-up. Lately it's been hard to get anything done, Whitney's been cranky with teething and always wants to be held(which explains why I am up so late blogging)!! Our landlord gave it to us because her grandkids have outgrown it. Ronda, our Landlord, is a really nice lady. She just loves Whitney and so we're counting on lots of gifts, maybe even reduced rent!! J/K
Well we're finally here, overworked, sleep deprived and ready for some R&R. Also a full body massage would be nice. The move was pretty hard on everyone. It's like we moved twice because the first truck wasn't big enough! We need to have a garage sale!
Whitney and I drove the car and Brigham and Adam(Brigham's Brother) drove the big moving truck. The first night we drove all night and got to my parents' in Las Cruces NM at around 10 am. We slept while mom babysat. We ate dinner with the family and then went to bed to get up the next morning to drive the rest of the way. Whitney, Mom and I drove to Cedar City so I could drop Mom off to help out with Connie and Ben's new Baby Kate(Born 08-08-08 @ 08:08!) Then I drove to Provo area the next morning. Whitney did pretty good in the car. It's sad cause now she fusses when I strap her into her seat:( Brig and Adam drove straight to Provo and got there in about 17 hours. The moving truck only went about 30mph up the hills and mountain roads. We stayed with Jared(another one of Brig's brothers) for a few days till we found a place to live.
To the left is a picture of me on Jared's computer searching the web. We started house hunting right away. We found a cute little house in Springville(few miles south of Provo) and started to move in Thursday. We wanted to be moved in and get settled much earlier, but we had to find a house and then wait for them to finish some things. We wanted to get a house instead of an apartment or town home because we didn't want to live where a bunch of college kids were. Our neighborhood has been great so far. Great location too (i.e. Wal*Mart about 5 minutes away)!
A video tour of the whole house is coming soon. We are still getting things moved in and put away. It's still a little messy, but you can get the general idea!
Today we finally blessed our sweet baby Whitney. She just turned 6 months so we thought it was about time. Just Kidding, We've planned to do it several different times, but it just hasn't worked out. I made her blessing dress months ago, I'm happy it still fit her. Brig said that when they were holding her for the blessing she kept slipping because the dress is made out of slippery satin. At least they DIDN'T let her slip out of thier hands and drop her!!
This weekend the Dunn Family had two weddings. Brigs little brother Taylor married Lauren on Friday, and his little sister Hannah married Preston on Saturday. Everyone was really busy, so we were, and still are very tired. I was super busy getting things ready for both weddings.
For Taylor and Lauren's wedding I made the wedding cake. It was my first time using fondant for icing, so it was really hard and frustrating til I learned how to do it. It turned out Beautiful!! I'm glad that the bride and groom liked it too.
I made bride's maid dresses for Hannah and Preston's wedding. They were easy dresses, but they still took a while to cut out, iron and sew together. I procrastinated til the last minute...I finished the last one by 3 am Saturday morning for the wedding at 10am. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep this whole week because I had to wait til Whitney was asleep to really focus on my projects. Anyway, I'm glad the weekend is over and everything turned out wonderfully.
I'll post a better picture of the dresses as soon as I get one. This is a picture of the ring ceremony held on behalf of Preston's family and friends.
Here's a better picture of the Bride's made dresses..sorry it took so long.
These last couple weeks have gone by so fast. I have been very busy with the 4th and being out of town on vacation.
4th of July: First of all, every year the Dunn's have a 4th of July party at their house. They invite the wards in Friendswood to enjoy a pot-luck dinner, snow cones, a water slide and more. Whitney had her 4th of July outfit on (thank you Savannah) and I couldn't pass up a photo shoot with her cousin Carson (7wks old).
Lake Powell: Saturday the 5th, Brig, Whitney and I, along with Penny and Adam started the long journey to Lake Powell for a vacation with Dale (oldest brother) and his girlfriend and her family. We got to Snyder, Tx at about 10pm to meet up with Dale. Then we left right away on our long trek, cross country to northern AZ and Southern UT to where Lake Powell is located. The entire trip took us about 32 hours. Whitney handled it great. She hardly cried and slept alot of the time. Brig and I where cramped in the back seat for most of the trip. Sleeping was hard, and so when we finally got there, we, along with everyone else, I'm sure, were exhausted. We made a few stops before we actually got to the Lake. We stopped at Meteor Crater and toured around the site. I'd never been there before, so it was really neat to see. We stopped at the Grand Canyon to check it out. It was really cold and windy. We met up with Dale's girlsfriend's family to camp and then got to Lake Powell and the house boat the next day. The house boat was really cool. There were four double beds and a living room/ kitchen area. There were three decks, one off the back, one off the front and one on top. During the day we skied and tubed. The rocks and cliffs that make up the lake were beautiful. I mostly enjoyed sitting out on the deck as someone drove the houseboat along the narrow lake passages and taking in the views!
New Mexico: On our way back from the lake, Whitney and I got dropped off in Albuquerque where my Mom just happened to be. She was up there with my Grandmother visiting Cliff Dwellings with My Aunt Tracy and Cousin Jana. We stayed the night in a hotel. Saturday we drove to Las Cruces. While I was there we went to the lake near Las Cruces where my parents own a small house. They have a speed boat and jet-skis there too. I tried to ride the Sky Ski and got up a couple of times, but only for a few seconds. You would think that I would be laked-out, but I had fun being with family, so it was worth it. The rest of my time was spent having dinners and just hanging out with my parents, brothers and their family.
This evening Brig and I were playing with Whitney on the Trampoline and Brig noticed that the pony was out of the fence. It's not the Dunn's Pony, they're letting some friends keep it in the back pasture. Anyway, somehow it got out and was on it's way to trouble. Since Brig had Whitney, I ran inside to get help and back outside to see what I could do. The only thing I've heard about this pony is that he's mean! I didn't really know what to do and nobody else really seemed to either. Luckily, I found a rope by the side of the house, thinking I could use it to lead him back to the pasture. I walked up to the pony really slowly, holding out my hand. He sniffed my hand and then turned around and started heading back toward his corral. He then stopped, looked back at me and just stood there while I walked up to him and put the rope around his neck. It was almost like he was waiting for me...how cute! I was wearing sandals so I was a little scared he would step on my toes, but he didn't. Rachel opened the gate and we put him back inside the fence. We walked around looking for a place that he may have gotten out, but didn't find any part of the fence broken. So, I don't know how he got out. I hope he's still there in the morning!
Last Friday we went to the Astros game. The NY Yankees came to play here for the first time and we didn't want to miss it. My brother Sam also came into town so we wanted to do something fun with him. Sam sold us his car and we couldn't be happier with it. At the Astros game we could only get tickets to sit at the top so it was hot and the view wasn't that great. There were several flights of stairs to climb, so by the time we got up to our seats we were all already sweating and the heat at the top didn't help. Believe me, I didn't have this smile on my face the entire time climbing the stairs!
Anyway, most of us ended up moving down to some empty seats in an obstructed view area, but it was a lot cooler so I didn't really care. By the end of the game everyone was together and we watched a Guitar Hero competition and the Friday Night Fireworks.
It was fun having you here Sam, thanks again for driving the car all the way here for me!
Whitney got her four-month shots and handled it like a champ. She cryed of course but wasn't too cranky afterwards and didn't run a fever either. She got measured and she's just about average. She's 25 inches long (64th percentile) she weighs 13lbs 13.5 oz. (41st percentile) and her head is 16 1/4 inches (47th percentile).
The dr. said that I could start her on solids (rice cereal only). She's not the best at getting food down, but she's getting better the more we do it.
I never thought the day would come that I would turn 28! I feel like 28 is so old, yet I know more then a few of you would love to be 28 again, so I shouldn't be too depressed ;0) To celebrate, we(my mother and father-in-law, Rachel, Adam, Taylor, Brig, Whitney and me) went to my favorite restaurant Red Robin. I signed up for their birthday program and got a free burger and a sundae. Red Robin is a burger place that I discovered in Provo and have loved ever since. Since I didn't get any pictures of this time, I'll share a couple videos Courtney(my byu roommate) took of me during one of the many times we went to Red Robin in Provo. You may not be able to understand what I'm saying, but you can see how much I'm enjoying eating the burger and fries!
The Red Robin Burger and the bottomless basket of Red Robin fries!
After we ate, some of us went to a movie and then came home. Tomorrow all the family that lives around here are getting together for cake and ice cream! Thanks to everyone who called, sent gifts and cards. You helped make my Birthday very special.
For the last week I've been in Mew Mexico visiting my parents and other family. I know it seems like I was just there, which I was, but I wanted to go back just for fun! Thanks to DING! on Southwest I got my ticket for super cheap so I figured why not! While I was home I tried to help out with my Dad's campaign(he's running for US Congress) but it was harder then I thought trying to help and also keep Whitney entertained. She loves being in her sling, so if I wanted to get anything done, I put her in the sling and she was happy and I could work.
I hung out with Cody (my sister-in-law) a few times. I went with her to the library for a song a story time with other moms and babies. Whitney had fun for a few minutes and then she got tired and fussy. Wyatt (Cody and Abe's son) also wasn't really into playing with the other kids this time. Since the kids weren't really involved we left and went to Applebees for lunch. We also went to the Mall together and the kids let us shop around for at least an hour. We bought matching under tanks.
My mom's sister Tracy came down to visit. It was nice to get to see her and have her meet Whitney. On Saturday night my mom, grandmother , aunt Tracy and I played scrabble. I won by at least 50 points. A few of the nights I was there my mom and I watched House Hunters and Hidden Potential on HGTV at night after Whitney was in bed.
Sunday night Sam got out his mini-motorcycle and everyone took a turn riding it. I got myself on video riding it. Once I got going it wasn't hard at all! Enjoy the video:
Brig and I live in New Mexico. We have been married for over 7 years. We love being a little family. We have two beautiful girls and a handsome little boy!!
Christmas was quiet this year. It was just Brig, Whitney and me. My parents came a few days before Christmas for a nice visit. We played games and made caramel popcorn. We enjoyed their visit even though it was short (thanks Ben and Connie for letting us steal them for a couple days). Last night we went out to eat at a Japanese restaurant. Whitney loved the Miso Soup.
This morning Whitney slept in late til 8am! We had Whitney open her gifts after a pancake breakfast. She didn't quite get the point of opening presents, but she sure loved what she got. We got her some blocks, a few books, plastic links, hair rubber bands and her aunt Connie made her some cute, cute, cute hair flower clips. My family did a homemade Christmas again this year, and once again I was very happy with what we got from my brother Jesse and his wife Joyce. They are super neat silhouette pictures. During Whitney's nap Brig and I opened our gifts. Later that afternoon we sat down to a Christmas Dinner that I made all by myself. I spent hours on it. I now appreciate all the
hard work that my mom went through for Christmas dinners. I was happy that it all turned out okay. Our friend Andy came over to eat dinner with us. We spent the rest of the night watching a TV and playing with Whitney til she went to bed.
I'll post a better picture of the dresses as soon as I get one. This is a picture of the ring ceremony held on behalf of Preston's family and friends. 
