Yay!

Today Andrew got his Praxis results back. This was the test he took back in November and basically says whether or not he can be a teacher. Well, he passed. Happy day! Now to only find a job...

The good the bad and the ugly

Well, the good part is that it did not snow last night which means I did not have to shovel for work (although Andrew did it for me once this week which was nice). The bad news is that it snowed this afternoon- not tons but enough to be super annoying- and it is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow, ugh. Here is the ugly. This was at 3:00 in the afternoon. You can't really tell, but if you look at the second picture the gray area is snow falling/blowing. It was seriously horizontal coming down and blowing around. SO COLD!

Let it Snow, Let it snow, Let it Snow

So Tuesday morning we woke up to a bunch of snow, but luckily yesterday helped to melt a lot of it. But then this morning we woke up to MORE!! It has snowed all day, seriously. Well, it has finally slowed down. But how depressing is this? So our neighbor/ friend Dylan shoveled snow at about 7:30, well when I went to work at 8:30 I could not tell that it had been shoveled so I shoveled it again. Then at 9:30 he was leaving and had to shovel more snow! You could not tell that I had shoveled. That is how much snow we have!! It is insane. Here are a couple of pictures of Jack and I outside. They aren't too great because we were trying to hurry and take them because it is cold cold. (Not invigorating as my dad would say). Let me also add that there was no snow on the side of the car yesterday. Andrew had shoveled it all away. Evidently we are supposed to be getting more snow this weekend. CRAZY! It makes doing my check a little more annoying than usual.

Student Teaching DONE!!!

Today was the first day of no student teaching for Andrew! It was so great to actually see him. For the past 4 months Andrew has been student teaching during the day- until about 2:30 and then leaving for work at 4 and not getting home until quarter to 1. Well, he is finally done and passed! YES! That means life will be a little more normal for us. He still works evenings which is a bummer. I would prefer to have him home during the evenings then the daytimes but Ill take what I can get. I worked in the morning today so he was able to watch Jackson during my shift. It was kind of nice to be able to finish things right as I got them. I really can't complain though. More often than not, Jackson will sleep while we are at work. After I got off work we were able to go run some errands. I bought new jeans- so exciting especially since they are a smaller size than what I was wearing before I got pregnant. I hope that the sizes havent gotten bigger and that I really am smaller. We also found some black shoes for me. I needed some for my sisters wedding and I was in need of a new pair so that was good.
So funny story. We went and bought milk today and put it in our trunk. Well, once we got home (about 3:15) it was snowing so I figured I should go do my check out in the facility (I have an area in the storage units that I have to make sure all is well with). Anyways, I go do my check come back feed jack and then decide to visit with Emily while shes at work. Well, I compltely forget about the milk in our trunk until I go home- at about 6:30. Yeah it was there the entire time. Luckily it is so cold outside (like 30 degrees or something) so it wasnt bad, but yeah I felt like an airhead!

All about Jack

So here are some pictures that I have taken of Jackson in the past week. The first pictures are of him in his bouncer which he absolutely loves. We were trying to get ready and he was ravenous so we propped a bottle up for him to drink from (I know bad parents haha). Anyways, we went about getting ready and came back to find him like this (as a side note we are talking maybe a minute or 2 of not having an eye on him)

I was folding laundry with Jack by my side. I got up to go get the next load and came back to find Jackson basically passed out. The whole time I was by him he was laughing and cooing and talking with me. I leave for like a minute and he is out!

So today Jack has been kind of fussy and I have no idea why. Actually, I have a theory that it has to do with the weather because everytime the sky is gray he is fussy. Anyways, we got home from working and he was still fussy. I changed his diaper (third time in an hour) and let him lay there while I started pumping and he was laughing and cooing, having a good ole time up there. He must have been sick of me because he was having a ball. Like 2o minutes later I dont hear any noises. I stand up and look and he is out cold!

Christmas is Here

So last Sunday we were finally able to put our Christmas tree up. We even had Jack help us out. Here are some pictures.

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper! I love wrapping presents it is like the best. Andrew makes fun of me because it was a big deal to pick out our wrapping paper. He kept saying, "Whatever. I dont care. Its whatever you want" I must say, we have adorable paper. It is all coordinating black red and white. Yes black! It sounds so weird but it is really pretty. Ill take a picture when all our presents are under the tree.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. We always had a real one growing up- my parents dont believe in fake trees. Neither did I, but then we got married and Andrew and I decided it wasnt worth spending $40 or whatever on a tree that we wont even get to enjoy on Christmas day. So we bought a $20 fake christmas tree at Walmart but on the stipulation that once we have a place that we will stay for Christmas we get a real one. Since I love the smell of Christmas trees, the past two years Andrew bought a wreath and hung it on the inside of our door so we could still get the Chrstimas tree smell.

3. When do you put up the tree? We dont have a specific time that we put the Christmas tree up. Its usually when we have time. Id like to have it up like the day after Christmas.

4. When do you take the tree down? When we have time. Usually at the new year.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes. Its funny because every year Im afraid I wont like it but then I drink some and remember how much I love it! It makes me think of my dad- he thinks that egg nog is a food group Im pretty sure.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I sure did love my Cabbage Patch doll who had red plastic shoes. I remember taking her outside and helping her "walk" on the brick in our backyard. But then again there was also the Barbie Van. SO COOL! Santa always got me cool presents but those are the ones I will always remember.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Andrew and his brothers and my brother. Everything I want to buy Andrew is like tons of money. His brothers are just plain hard as is my brother. Boys in general are hard, unless they are two months and you buy what you like (meaning Jackson is getting lots of clothes!)

8. Easiest person to buy for? My sisters and our moms. My sisters I can pretty much buy anything related to clothes, makeup, jewelry and it works out great! Our moms are easy too. I can always come up with present ideas for our moms. Sometimes its hard to settle on one idea.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. Is it set up? No. My parents bought us one last year or the year before, I dont have a place to put it. I need more space!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, but I havent sent any out this year. Im thinking Im going to try for New Years cards since Ive been such a slacker.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I dont know. I really cant think of one. I have always received really good presents, or my parents just taught me to be really grateful for whatever I get. I seriously have no memory of a bad Christmas present.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I have so many! Santa Clause, Elf, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story (my family watches this Christmas day as we open presents, I think its on TNT 24 hours). I have to second what Cynthia said about the Lifetime and ABC Family movies. I love them too! I havent watched any this year though how sad is that? And I even have those channels. I need to keep my eye out.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I find the perfect gift for someone. This could be as early as summer time. But if not then, then no later than the day after Thanksgiving. I have been going shopping day after Thanksgiving since I was like 10, 12- somewhere around there. Id always go with my grandma- good times!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Umm, not that I can remember.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? All the treats! Sugar cookies, Fudge, my dads bread pudding- wait all these things I like to eat year round. Cinnamon rolls- I used to make those every Christmas time for my family. Ham! MMM..Christmas is filled with good food- minus those fruitcakes!

16. Lights on the tree? Of course! White ones. Who doesn't have lights on their tree?

17. Favorite Christmas song? Umm, all of them. Actually my most favorite I think is Carol of the Bells or Oh Holy Night.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Growing up it was always stay at home, but now we always travel. Hopefully that will change next year.

19. Any holiday traditions? Yes, new pjs on Christmas Eve, decorating the tree together, at my parents house we open one present at a time- like only one person can be opening a present at a time and my mom stretches it out forever! Also at my parents they have an open house on Christmas eve and we have yummy sandwiches!! I love that tradition.

20. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Commit Cupid prancer, Vixen, and of Course Rudolph- I think thats them.

21. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present Christmas eve the rest in the morning (or Christmas evening as sometimes happens at my parents house)

23. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Hmm..grumpy people at the stores

24. Favorite ornament theme or color? Right now it is blue and silver- but I kinda want to change it to red and silver, we will see what happens next year. Andrew wants more ornaments instead of just bulbs.

25. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham, cornflake potatoes, salad, broccoli salad, spinach dip (its not Christmas without it) rolls, mmm..its making me hungry!

26. What do you want for Christmas this year? Hmm, materialistic I want slip on shoes- other things I want my husband to have a job during the day. It stinks not having him home at night.

I tag Bobbie, Brittany and Carrie.

How lucky am I?

So, yesterday I decided to try doing a more regular bedtime routine. I mean, I have always laid Jackson down for bed at about 9 every night, but yesterday I decided to give him a bath, then nurse him then put him to sleep. Well, it worked so well that he ended up sleeping a full 6 hours without waking up!! How great is that?! Once I finished nursing him I burped him and he fell into such a deep sleep that I was able to wrap him up in his blankets and he didnt even stir. He slept 6 hours but I only got 5 hours of straight sleep (I stayed up finishing a couple of things) but man that was great!

2 Month Check up

On Tuesday Jackson had his 2 month check up. He now weighs 12.36 pounds and is 23.5 inches long! He is getting so big I can hardly believe it. He also had his shots but he was quite the trooper. He only cried for about a minute after she gave them to him and then he was alright. Although he was pretty fussy throughout the day. Not my normal happy boy! His doctor said he is doing very well and is very aware and has good muscle tone (we had all kinda figured those out). We continue to give him iron for another two months- bummer- its kind of a hassle, I always forget until night!

Happy Thanksgiving (I know its like a week late)

Well, first I know this is late, but it has been a crazy busy week with Andrew having tons of homework due and getting back from our trip. Anyways, we decided to surprise my parents and brother by showing up for Thanksgiving (my sister Shannon knew..I had to tell someone!!). We left on Tuesday night and got there Wednesday afternoon. Jackson was so good on the drive. It is a 12 hour drive, but it took us 14 hours on the way there- we had to stop and sleep and such and on the way back we made it in 13 hours. My parents were completely shocked! It was so fun to surprise them. Ryan on the other hand did not seem so thrilled. When he opened the door he just said "Hey, come on in" and then walked off as my mom started screaming and jumping up and down. Then Ryan realized who had come and was a little more excited. Anyways, we had tons of fun in Oregon for Thanksgiving. Wednesday we were able to go support Shanny as she went for her drivers license. She totally passed! We must be good luck. Then Thursday we went up to my grandparents for Thanksgiving dinner, Friday we went shopping early in the morning- like 4:00. So fun! It was my parents, Shannon, Andrew and I. We had a blast. Ryan earns the best brother award (never mind that hes my only brother) because he babysat little Jack while we went shopping. He is the greatest babysitter. When I got home Ryan would tell me how much he fed him, how long ago it had been, and whether or not he slept. It was so great. (Dont worry Shan, I think youre a fabulous babysitter too!) Saturday we were able to go to teh temple with my family. My sister Nicole took her endowments out. Here are some fun pictures from the trip.

Andrew & Shannon

Me and my dad

Jackson and his great grandma Trapp

Grandpa Trapp, Ryan and Dad

Andrew, Jackson & I

Jackson

Jackson & Grandpa Trapp

Grandpa

Jackson & Grandma Trapp

Me, My mom and Jackson

Andrew, Jackson, Shannon

Shannon, Ryan, Me & Andrew

Ryan, Shannon, Me & Andrew

Ryan, Shannon, Me & Andrew

As you can probably tell my sister and brother and Andrew are total goofballs. Not me! We had so much fun while we were there!

Utah 48 BYU 24......Bummer

So today was the big game! It was almost great BYU didnt do very well in the first half but were staying right with them, then Utah took off. But we went up to visit Christina's Great Grandpa Clyde, and her Grandparents who were visiting for Clydes 90th birthday!. Well Christina's Grandpa is a huge Utah fan and so we decided to dress jackson up in all BYU to take some pics, here they are.

I had to post this picture of Jackson

Hey Everybody, Christina gave Jackson a bath and he came out smiling, and she was able to capture this awesome picture. It is so cute so we decided to post it.

What do you do when you go to the bathroom?

Okay, well Im pretty sure we all know what normal people do when they go to the bathroom but I have to tell you about this icky guy. So I am sitting here at work today and this man comes in to use our restroom. First let me tell you about him. He is probably about 50 and he keeps his nails long- like womanly wrong- I have issues when men have long fingernails. Anyways, he comes in to the use the restroom on a fairly frequent basis. I also need to tell you that the walls here are paper thin. Okay, so he goes in to the restroom (right by the office) and I hear his phone ring. Well I thought surely he isnt going to answer it. Oh no he does! He proceeds to have a 10 minute conversation with the person. I then hear the toilet flush and think, "thank goodness! He is leaving (hes one of those people who give me the heeby jeebies)." NO! He doesnt leave! He proceeds to MAKE a phone call!! What a weirdo. Who sits in an office bathroom making personal phone calls?! Can we say awkward? I hear the toilet flush again but no water running. He DIDNT WASH HIS HANDS! SICK! I figured he wouldnt because I have never heard him wash his hands. Anyways, I was very glad that people were in the office when he left that way he wouldnt stay and talk to Jackson and I. The last thing I wanted was for him to even look at Jackson. Of course it had to be the day that I forgot to put red on him! (Red keeps the evil eye away- thats what my mom told me). Although he is sitting in his bouncer and there is red on that, so we should be good. I will say that after he left I got the lysol spray and sprayed down the office and the bathroom. No icky man germs here!
*By the way, my rash is going away. Hallelujah! We still dont know what caused it but I am not so itchy anymore. Oh Happy Day! And, my sister and brother in law are going to go to a Star Trek convention some day- can we say nerdy Trekies? Lol (they really arent)

Happy Happy Birthday Bobbie and Dad Muffler

We want to wish Bobbie and Dad a Happy Birthday! Yes both of their birthdays are today. Makes it easier for me to remember. We love you both lots and wish we were celebrating with you. I won't even say how old you two are.

Itchy, Itchy, Itchy!

Well, for a week or two I have had this really red itchy rash. I thought that maybe it was due to my laundry detergent at first so I switch to washing all my clothes in dreft- like the most gentle detergent ever. Anyways, no luck! The rash has just progressively gotten worse. It started on my chest, spread to my stomach, then to my arms and now is even behind my ears! What the heck?! Well, I decided yesterday that I could not take the itching anymore. I went to see the doctor and he was completely baffled. He thought that it looked like a drug reaction. No not like illegal drugs, but like prescription drugs. But I haven't taken anything at all. Well Ibuprofen, but really? Anyways, he couldnt figure out what it is so he sent me home with a cream which will hopefully work to clear it up and stop the itching but if not I will need to go see a dermatologist. He also said I could have eaten something maybe that I was allergic to, but I havent eaten anything different at all! The mystery will continue. Hopefully this cream will just work and Ill be itch free once again.

I miss my Maria!

So my mom had decided to stay with us for the past week. We had so much fun! This time we were able to go do things. It was an absolute blast. Not to mention how much she does for us. She kept the house clean, laundry done and always made us a yummy dinner. Can I say chicken and dumplings, stew- yum! So delicious. Shes a wonderful cook! Plus, it was nice to have someone around all the time with me since poor Andrew is so busy (only 3 more weeks of student teaching, hallelujah!) Anyways, we love you tons mom and can't wait to see you again!! You're the bestest!

On Our Way to Church

We got Jackson ready for church today and he looked too cute so I had to take a few pictures before we went.

More Relaxin Jackson

I didnt want any of you to think we haven't been taking pictures anymore of Jackson. So here are a couple more...

Jacksons Blessing

On Sunday Novemeber 2 we had Jacksons baby blessing. We had Christina's parents and siblings, her Great Grandfather Clyde, Andrew's Parents, his brother Ben and his Grandpa and Nana Bev, and his Aunt Kathy. So there were a lot of people. Here are a couple of pictures while everybody was here.

Happy Halloween!

So here are pictures of Jackson in his cute little onesie for Halloween. We just hung out at home, ran to Walmart to get some groceries and then hung out with Emily Dylan and Nicole. It was super fantastic.