Christmas Spirit!

We got moved into our apartment...mostly, if you can call a dozen or so boxes left to unpack moved in! We got moved in and promptly packed our bags and caught a flight to Utah. We left 6 inches of snow in Detroit and were greeted by more snow here in Utah.

Last night we went to a little program called A Night in Bethlehem. It was pretty cool, but very crowded and cold. They had all these little shops and then they act out the Nativity. Megan enjoyed the live chickens, sheep, and goats.

Meg is enjoying our trip to Utah and getting to play with Opa, Grandma, Aunt Anna, and Aunt Marja. Can't wait til Christmas!

The end of Hotel living....?

Pete and I filled out an application for an apartment last week, and will be moving in on Thursday....yeah to an apartment!!! It is a nice two bedroom with two bathrooms, two walk in closets in the master, washer, dryer, cathedral ceilings, etc. And the best part is we got a fantastic deal on the price. So our hotel and suitcase living is coming to an end. This is not the end of one of those chapters in life that makes one sentimental. I am so ready to have my own comfortable bed, my own space and honestly for Meg to finally not be in the same room as us!

We move in the day before Meg turns one. Now this makes me sentimental. I am not sure I am ready for my little baby to be a toddler. Even though some days I swear she is turning 2 with all her little tantrums and our attempt at poopy training, I can't believe we've been together for almost a year. I was thinking the other day how miserable I was this time last year...Pregnancy and I don't mesh well, and I can't believe out of all that suffering and swelling came our little darling Megan. On so many levels she is a little miracle and I am so grateful for her.

We went to the Detroit Zoo on Saturday. It was 30 degrees outside, but we had a good time. Meg seemed to really like the butterflys and the seals. Unfortunately it was too cold for some of the animals to be on exhibit and I don't know where they send them all for the winter, but I'd love to be some place a little warmer myself. Pete is going to Gaum in January and we could go, but I's a 17 hour flight from Houston straight to Gaum and I am not sure we could do it. I guess we will see!

Success....

Megan did her business on the potty chair this morning for the first time. I was totally excited. 1 diaper saved!! She didn't seem very impressed by all the cheering and clapping I made, if anything she just looked at me like...duh, mom, I can do this and anything else I want. Hopefully we will continue to have this kind of luck!!!

Why do little monkeys throw poo?

We have been contemplating poop training Megan for the last month and a half, notice I said poop training and not potty training. Megan 95% of the time will not poop in a wet diaper. She will only poop in a clean daiper, so by 8:15 this morning I have already changed 1 wet diaper and two poopy diapers, the first was made with in three minutes of putting on the first clean dry diaper of the morning. The way I figure this means we are using atleast 30% more diapers than the average person with an almost 1 year old. And there is nothing more frustrating than to change her, and then three minutes later Sniff her and discover she has left you a present. The other factor contributing to my desire to poop train her is that she now thinks it is fascinating to play in her poopy diaper while you are changing her. This isn't such an issue when Peter is here to help, but that's not the norm so there has to be a better way. This morning Meg had to take a bath because she was finger painting in Pooh. Since Meg is obviously aware of her bowels I think I am going to go buy a Poopy chair today and let her sit on it after each wet diaper of the day. I don't plan on making it a pressure thing, but we will just try it and see if she will do it. And see if this will help our little monkey not to play with her pooh any more, save the world's landfills a few more diapers, and our wallets 16-32 cents every day.

A Few pictures...more to come

Our trip to the ALPS...otherwise titled I wish I spoke French

We returned Sunday night from our trip to Europe. It was a blast. Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Our hotel was up in Champoussin which is one of the hottest ski spots in Europe, and its almost embarrassing to say we went there and never skied. We did go see several castles, some cathedrals, went to the place where cheese was invented, ate delicious food and lots of pastry, thought we were going to freeze to death the first night, listened to the Primary Program in French, and had a terrific time. Megan was a big hit. Europeans don't seem to have many children so every where we went people were very excited to see her. She was a very good girl and took her first real steps while there. We also spent a little time in Germany and France and made it to the border of Italy. We met so many nice people. My only regret was that I don't speak any French and that woud have been very helpful.

I can honestly say that it was the best Thanksgiving we ever had and we didn't even really celebrate it. Our friends Miro and Joanna came up from Italy and spent a few days with us and they were kind of shocked that we were skipping it. But hey, we were thankful, just not eating turkey and pie, instead we ate lunch in a bar in France and had the most delicious potatos ever, the beef tasted a little too much like wine for my tastes, and the cheese was a little strong, but the experience was terrific.

I have to say that before this trip I just assumed that since America is the land of of Promise, everything is better here. I was wrong. While we do somethings very well, we could learn a lot from our European neighbors. It was a good relization for me. I am proud and happy to be an American, but we need to be opend minded and not above using some of the ideas of other countries, to fix some of our problems. I was very interested in the Swiss Healthcare system and No, its not really socialized, it similar to Mitt Romneys plan for Massachusets. Insurance is mandatory. Anyway, Pete and I would consider moving to Switzerland for a time if the opportunity was there. Then I could work on my French...and German too!

Fall pictures

Back to the wonderful world of Hotel living

We left Utah on Monday and so we are back to living in a hotel (in Detroit). Granted this time it is a really nice one, the best yet, but a hotel none the less. Sigh! Oh well, we are grateful to just be together and that Pete has a job he enjoys and pays the bills and lets me stay home with little Megan. We should get an apartment sometime around new years...

We are also excited for our upcomoing trip to Europe this weekend. I am a little concerned about how Megan will do on the flights, but otherwise we are just excited. We are headed to Geramany, Switzerland, and Italy. I will try to take lots of pictures.

Here are some Pictures of Megan enjoying fall.

Our trip to Utah

Meg and I are in Utah staying with Peter's family. I can't begin to tell you all how excited I am for him to finally arrive tomorrow. We haven't seen each other since conference weekend. Unless you have been seperated from your spouse for a month or more...(three months is our record) you can't understand how in your head you start to wonder if you made them up, if you ever really got married, and how much you miss this almost imaginary person. Course when I look at Meg, I'm pretty sure Pete is real and that makes me miss him more. Thankfully Pete has been able to call almost every day with the exception of a stretch of 5 days he couldn't. His survival training went well, or atleast that is all he is willing to tell me at this point.

Halloween was a little dissapointing. Meg was at the tail end of a cold so we didn't go trick or treating as planned, WE did take her over to her Great Grandma Olsens in her costume. I also bought her the most adorable costume in the after halloween sales that I'll post pictures of soon. Anyway counting down the hours until Pete's plane arrives!!! I'll write more later!!

To the future as a soccer mom....

Last night, my brothers, Brett (15) and Adam (17 ) had a soccer game. Meg and I went to cheer them on. While standing on the bleachers yelling encouragement, I realized I'm going to make a horrible soccer mom. If I don't change, I will be the overly competitive, sideline yelling, cooler flingin' , child embarassing, referee threatenin', treat bringing soccer mom that all the other parents roll their eyes at when they approach. Sigh! Thankfully there is still time to change. Megan on the other hand, sat and intently watched the ball go up and down the field, giggling and chattering, occassionally flirting with the other bystanders. Maybe she'll prefer swimming to soccer. I wonder what swim team moms are like....?

Thankful for the weekend

My mom keeps saying, Megan looks more and more like Peter. This picture certainly highlights their similarities...HA!

Peter was able to fly in for the weekend. It was so wonderful to be able to spend some time (that we didn't think we would have) together. We watched conference, went to my little brothers soccer game, and celebrated my mom's birthday. We had a wonderful time. I was sad to drive him to the airport on Monday. But I just feel so grateful for every extra minute we had.

I love October!!!

October is one of my favorite months. I love Fall. The crisp cool ( but not cold) air. I love the colors of reds, oranges, yellows and even browns. I love the smells of fall. It is also the month of my birth, which was a big deal when I was younger, but now, who wants to get older? It is also the time of year that I start planning for Christmas. Happy to say that I am currently working on three gifts for family members and have most of them already planned...with the exception of Peter who is always difficult to buy for. With any luck I hope to be done by the first week of November. If anyone has any great husband gift ideas, i am all ears!!

oh yeah...Meg and I are staying in missouri with my parents for the month of October. Pete is currently in Michigan, but will be in Washington state for half the month. We miss him tons!

We are moving...today

As I write I am surrounded by the chaos of moving. I just wanted to post and say, since we are moving I may not be able to post for a while. Peter passed his checkride and so we get to leave Altus, OK. Unfortunately we don't have orders yet, which are crucial in the military, so we are heading to my parents house until they tell us what and where. Isn't it fabulous that we are so... adjustable...HA! Anyway we hope you are all doing terrific!!!

Our trip to the ZOO!!!

Friday evening we went down to Dallas. We spent the night at a hotel and woke up early to take Megan to the Dallas Zoo. Megan loved it. She tried to crawling over the fences and into the cages with all the animals. We enjoyed several hours at the Zoo and then went to Joe and Melissa Wilson's Home for lunch. Pete and JOe went to high school together in Germany and have been friends ever since. Bart and Janice Gatrell also joined us for lunch. We had so much fun. And then hit Costco on our way home. What a terrific weekend!!!

Here are some pics from the zoo!

Helping Mom with Laundry and Swimming with Dad

Today was a busy day for Megan. She helped Mom do the laundry, she even sat in the rolling cart with all the clean clothes. Then she went swimming for the last time this year with Dad. The water was pretty chilly(too cold for Mom). But Megan had a good time.

Some recent pictures

Lets face it, Most of you only get on here to see pictures of Megan and then you feel obligated to read the mindless drivel I feel obligated to write. So today i am just going to post a few recent pictures of Meg with brief captions and save your eyes and keep you from falling asleep sitiing up at your computers...You can thank me later!

Baby in a box. I wish they gave babies away in front of Walmart like they do puppies. We would stock up on a few more! "Tower, this is Texan 209'er request diaper change, a bottle and a nap on runway 3001."

When se gets excited she scrunches up her face and breathes fast and loudly through her nose. It is too funny and the best part is she came up with it on her own. We never taught her this trick.

megan is 9 months old today

Our little Monkey is 9 months old. Here she is in her Monkey Suit...again. We are so happy to have her.

It looks like we will be leaving here a little earlier than expected. As for where and when....the future is not clear. We will let you know when we know! We do have a bunch of leave we hope to use in the next few months! I'm hoping our trip to Italy still happens.

New Hair Cut

Today I went to get my hair cut. Megan went with me and loudly complained as my hair fell in large clumps to the floor. It is not as short as I wanted, but it's a nice change and a lot lighter. And perhaps best of all, there is less of it for Meg to pull.

Maybe she was just complaining because she wanted a hair cut too. I think it might be a while til Meg gets her first hair cut. Maybe a long while...

Children...what a blessing!

As a parent you have to contend with a whole host of issues you never even considered could even exist as possible issues when you were childless...like sleeping at night or suddenly having a BLOWOUT and you never worried that someone might just suddenly decide to bite you.

And while this may sound fraught with negatives to the childless let me just say that while there are several unpleasant situations that seem to accompany parenthood there are so many positives....like we are never bored or hungry at church now, we never sleep too long, we are trying harder to live the boyscout motto by "Always being prepared" for blowouts, meals on the go, wardrobe malfunctions, naps ..etc. Each month seems to bring more and more excitement to our lives.

Megan is now into everything. We are learning that even the most benin looking objects can be
dangerous in the hands of the impetous eight month old. Her method of crawling is slightly unorthodox but doesn't seem to slow her down.

My last trip to the Dentist...I HOPE!

Today I went to the dentist and had the last of my dental work done. However, my teeth right now are sooooo sore, that I hope I won't have to go back. Pete was able to stay home with Meg who was due for a nap when I left to go to the dentist. She was not very good for him today and wouldn't go to sleep till mom got home. Normally she loves time with daddy! I think she is getting sick...runny nose, cough, general fussiness...Oh well. I guess we will see what happens!

The ten plagues of Egypt...or Oklahoma

These Oklahomians must be naughty, because we have an infestation of crickets like that of the days of Moses and the children of Egypt. It's not all bad, Megan finds the crickets fascinating and nutritious. I have caught here snacking on their carcasses on a few occasions. Eeeewww!!! They are seriously everywhere. I don't usually mind bugs....but these crickets are quickly starting to annoy me!

Inspite of the bug infestation we have had a good week. Peter had Friday off and as a surprise he took us up to Quartz Mountain for lunch. Quartz Mountain sits right on Lake Altus. We let Megan play in the sand and the lake a little after lunch. It was a fun day!!!

Megan gets cuter and funnier everyday! She also gives the best hugs and now has 2 bottom teeth. We are looking forward to heading back to Grammy and Grandpa Sherwood's on Wednesday to see cousins Keyan, Brenna, and Tracen...oh yeah and Aunt Alissa, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Ashlie, Uncle Nick, Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Uncle Brett!!

some pics from our trip

The stars at night....

We went to Dallas this weekend. Saturday morning we got up and drove 4 hours( I drove) to Dallas. We went to see our friends, Joe & Melissa Wilson ( and kids) and they watched Megan so we could go to the Temple. It was so nice. We didn't have a lot of time and so we just did sealings, but it was so cool to be back and I saw a few people I knew from my mission. Then we went to dinner with the Wilsons and Brad, Kathryn, and Logan Garber.

We spent the night with the Garber's and went to the Plano 4th Ward. We stayed an extra night at the Garbers because we just kept visiting. They are so fun and we had such a nice time. Logan is a smarty. He is already reading simple words and books and he just turned 2!!!

We left today and went to Costco, and Target, both things that aren't available near us and then went out to lunch for SUSHI!!! It was so good and we sat at the sushi bar. The waiter and the sushi chef took such good care of us, including getting animal crackers and a little plate of rice for Meg.

We got back to Altus at 6:30 and then Pete took Meg swimming. She sure loves the water. She also was just playing on the floor and when I looked over she had a dead cricket in her mouth. GROSS! We really do feed her! Well I need to put her in her PJ's and put her to bed!

A Trip to the Dentist

Yesterday I took a little trip to the dentist. It had been a while...2 1/2 years ...since my last cleaning and exam. I now have 1 cavity, 1 broken cusp on a molar, one leaking filling, and a partridge and a pear tree. So next Tuesday the dental work will begin.... yea!!!!

Megan is getting bigger, louder, and sillier everyday. Unfortunately she is not sleeping any better and is still working on that second tooth. It comes up and goes back down. I can't wait for it to surface for good.

Peter is preparing for his first checkride (test) in the KC-135. It should be on Friday and if all goes well we will leave for Dallas for a weekend out Saturday morning. Cross your fingers!!!

Sigh...

Well we spoke in church today and boy are we relieved to be done!!! What a relief. Megan did well sitting on the stamd with us, until 1/2 through Pete's talk and then I had to take her and feed her. She is getting that second tooth I think and has been a little unpleasant!!!

Harry Potter Continued

I finisheed Harry potter this morning at 3 am. It was awesome!!! Meg and I are off to go shopping!!!

Harry Potter...

So guess who got their copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows in the mail a day early....I DID!!!! And despite the pleas of Nicholas I have started it. However Meggie is kind of cranky today sooooo I am not getting very far, very fast!!!! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Oh well the sacrifices we make for our offspriing!

motherhood has ruined me....

Motherhood has been a wonderful experience, but it has also ruined me. Maybe not in the ways you are thinking. If your first thought was to my post partum, probably never be the same body, yes that's true, but that is not my main concern.

Motherhood has turned me into a watering pot. A cry baby. Flash flood warnings may happen at almost any moment. Last night Pete was gone (work) and Meg and I were watching TLC. And there was a story about a little boy from Africa that had a rare disorder that causes his skull to grow in a cone shape, and made him appear deformed. Well they took him to Dallas and did surgery and now he looks much better. I cried through the whole thing and then I cried for 30 minutes after it was over. Hello what has happened to me!!!

On a happier note, Megan and I went to the pool yesterday. She is such a water baby. She just loves it! Pete usually takes her a few times a week while I clean house, or run errands or something. It was so much fun we will probably go back today! She looks so funny, but cute in her swim suit!!!

I suck at this blogging thing

I just wrote a whole entry that somehow I erased! Yeah I am so cool!!!

Blogging, the new procrastination tool

(The following is the blog entry I thought I had lost, but my techno-savy friend Amy (Burt) Binns told me how to retrieve it. Wow! She is so smart even if she spells her name the wrong way.) So here it is in all it's glory!!!

Hmmm...This blogging thing is great...Pete and I are speaking in church this coming Sunday and so while the baby is down for 20 minutes or so I should be starting my talk...instead I am avoiding it and blogging instead. Yeah for my advanced skills of procrastination. Maybe I'll just wing it? How hard can it be to speak on Joseph B. Wirthlin's conference talk, "The Unspeakable Gift."....Wait if it's unspeakable how am I suppossed to speak on it.


Actually the sad events of the last month have given me a lot of food for thought on what a precious gift the companionship of the Holy Ghost really is, and how knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan is essential to true happiness in this mortal life. I guess I should just end this by saying, while I don't understand much of why things happen, I do know that Heavenly Father loves his children. And maybe that's enough.

Megan is on the Move

Megan is getting bigger and more mobile everyday. She is pushing up on her knees and trying very hard to get where she wants to go before we can stop her. She will figure out the crawling thing anyday... She is also very interested in REAL food, not just baby food, but whatever we are eating. And so yesterday we started the weaning process...yea! Independance Day for MOM!!!

And so we begin...

Last night we walked in the Relay for Life with some friends. We were helping to raise money for cancer research. It was fun, especially since our team started the evening off by grilling some hamburgers. Doesn't food make every event a little better.

We put Megan to bed a little later than usual, because of the festivities with the hope that she would sleep a little better. Alas, it didn't seem to make a difference...oh well.