Tis the Season

...for all sorts of things like shoveling driveways, driving down the highway at a quater of the recommended speed, pulling out the lights and tinsel, setting up the nativity, repairing the legs of the lamb in the nativity after Nolan mysteriously hands them to you, frantically finishing projects for Christmas. realizing too late that you should have started these projects back in May if you were to have any hope of finishing them before the big day, and making and eating lots of yummy seasonal treats. We hope that everyone is enjoying the season as much as we are.

And now for a video clip. It's an example of what can happen if you let Nolan do as he pleases in the bathroom. Of all the rooms, closests, or cupboards to spend time in, he would, without a doubt, choose the bathroom, but in general, he is not allowed in the bathroom except for during adult-supervised baths. This was a special treat for him, especially the part where he gets to go to town with a roll of toilet paper.

Ultrasound

Today was the big day... finally. I'm 32 weeks so it's past time to know this baby's gender (that's the only reason people get ultrasounds, right?) Patrick had to work, so my mom came with me instead. I, however, turned my head when the lady was about show the "blue or pink" picture. I didn't want to find out before Patrick, so only my mom knew for about two hours. I was just going to wait until this evening when work was over to look at the printed pictures, but my mom couldn't stand being the only one holding a big huge secret, so she stopped at the credit union on the way home so I could run in and look at the pictures with Patrick. And the verdict is... Nolan will have a little brother in January. I hate to say "I knew it", but I really did. So did my sister, Elise. I think she said she thought it was a boy because she was truthfully hoping for a girl , but she was still right. When I learned that Nolan would be a boy, I was kind of nervous because all of my baby experience was with girls, but things have gone well so far and I really enjoy being the mom of a little boy. Now I'm all practiced up for a second one... as long as he is just like Nolan... We now have four glamorous shots of our little baby, but you can all use your imaginations with this one since most ultrasound pictures seem to be equally illegible and I'm never sure how anyone can look at them and say things like, "oh he looks just like his dad!" or "wow, what a cutie". It's hard enough to discern whether you're looking at a foot or the face.
The important thing is that this baby boy seems to be healthy and have all the necessary parts and they all work the way they should. His estimated weight is 4.5 lbs. Not bad. So maybe if I have him in say 6 weeks, I won't have to deal with an 8 lbs baby, if not, yikes! For the record, I was my mom's first baby and I was a whopping 8 lbs 10 oz when I was born -only to be beat two years later by my "little" brother, Jordan, who weighed in at 10 lbs. 9 oz. So now we can all understand why I might be a bit nervous about size. Anyway, I expect things to go fast now with the holidays and all that jazz.

Adventures in the Out of Doors

It's that time of year for goose travel and Nolan just loves it. Whenever he hears a flock honking as they pass by, he looks up and begins searching the sky and boy howdy does his face light up when he spots them. It's great. Many homes around my parents have ponds, but only one is known as the Canadian Goose pit stop. This particular pond is down the road from my parents and it is a huge understatement to say that it attracts hoards of geese. It is actually pretty remarkable to experience this pond during migration season. My parents have a pond and my mom told me that she used to be jealous of this other pond because it got all the geese, but she has since realized that lots of geese leave lots of unwanted presents. Anyhow, because Nolan enjoys them so much in the air, I thought one day that he might like to see them at the pond, so Patrick and I took him for a walk down the road (which is not quite the same as our sidewalk walking experiences in Provo, but that's a story on its own).






Here is Nolan's newest sweet ride which he was given for his birthday from Aunt Pat, Uncle Aaron & family. He really loves it and has mastered keeping his feet on the footrests so they don't drag. We're still working on the steering which is non existant so far. Today we had our first snow, so I think sweet ride is banished to the garage for the season. Come Spring, I'm expecting some awesome bmx type moves like a seatgrab, icepick grind, or a wallride. At the very least, I'm hoping his feet will reach the real pedals and he'll get a handle on steering.



Um... I'm a bit slow when it comes to blogging and haven't ever put video on, so here's a first. I think it should explain itself.

King of the Jungle

This was the first Halloween that Nolan was awake for and able to participate in. He dressed as a lion. He thought that was alright, but he was really in it for the candy. Yikes... what a sweet tooth he has. I'm not sure where he got it from. Halloween for us started on Saturday with a costume party. It was so late for Nolan that he only stared silently at everyone and everything until it was time to go. I had a good time at the party, but I generally feel bad when I keep him out past his bedtime, especially because he doesn't really complain, he just puts on quite the tired-looking show. Our Halloween festivities continued Tuesday afternoon when I took Nolan and my two sisters on an excursion to Wegmans for donuts, cider, and trick-or-treating in the store. In my opinion, that was the best kind of trick-or-treating because it was indoors and all the employees dressed up and I really really like donuts and cider. Finally, the actual Halloween day arrived. Nolan and I went with my parents and sisters to trick-or-treat in Trumansburg with about a thousand other little kids who were my sisters' friends. The End.

This is Nolan with Grandpa the Friendly Pirate. Just so you know, I thought my dad made an awful good pirate (though the friendly-like kind). Here he is...

So my sister Olivia was a butterfly. She had light up antennae which Nolan wanted to tear apart (and was successful at more than once).

Meanwhile, Elise, my youngest and pinkest sister, was a cowgirl... a very girly cowgirl. That's just her style and I think it's really great.

Here we have all of the little beggars.

3 items of business

1. There aren't many people who are privileged to attend their great uncle's wedding, but I happen to be one of the few. Uncle Charlie married the new Aunt Jane this past weekend. Patrick was the photographer, but the following photos aren't his. So that's what we've been up to recently... attending the marriages of senior citizens.

My Grandma

The Groom and Best Man, but I call him "Grandpa"

My dad and us. I should mention that Nolan was very well behaved during the ceremony. The reception was a little long for him, but he acted and looked the part of a little gentleman.


My Parents...

And the photographer doing his thing...

2. Patrick is now employed (which really should be the first item of business) so we've been celebrating. Also, for anyone's information we now live in Trumansburg half time.  The "move" is because Trumansburg is a lot closer to Ithaca where Patrick works.

3. Last but not least (I think I say that anytime I mention our cats, but maybe that says a sad something about where they stood) a word about Emma. Emma's sister, Charlie, disappeared in June while we were finishing up in Provo. We like to think a nice family down the road adopted her, but because of the characteristics of our neighborhood in Provo, I have a hard time totally buying into that. But no matter what really happened to Charlie, Emma took it pretty hard. They were actually the kind of sisters who were friends and cuddled together and licked one another's butts and kept one another warm before we employed a heating system during winter. So, Emma acted pretty lost and distraught after Charlie's disappearance. Frankly, she started to drive us nuts because she needed quite a bit more attention and when she didn't get it, she let us know by being really annoying. I hate to talk bad about her because of where this is going, but I have to tell the truth. In fact, I was considering finding a nice family who would want an attention-craving cat. I didn't end up having to do that though. That's where my last bit of news comes in. Emma left last week and hasn't returned yet. I feel bad because I kind of feel like I willed it to happen, but to excuse myself I must say that I only wanted the best for both her and my family. Unfortunately, I can't even try to tell myself that a nice family adopted her because our home in Romulus (where she stayed) is definitely not close to any sort of civilization (i.e. no people let alone nice families). I'll just leave it at that and let the audience draw its own conclusion. Emma was a good cat. Because she craved attention, any kind of attention was good attention and that included Nolan's kind of attention. That was the best part about her. Nolan thought she was great. I think Nolan was also getting the wrong idea about what cats are really like around little children. Anyhow, I'll miss our two cats, but perhaps we'll hold off on getting any more for a long time. That's easier said than done when you live rurally because cats just appear all sorts of places and multiply and it always seems so harmless to invite a kitten in.

Life in New York

We've been here for about a month now. We are living in the basement of my grandparents' house in Romulus, NY right on Cayuga Lake. Though we are getting frustrated with the job search, we are still loving it here. The leaves are beginning to change and I, at least, am so excited because it's been five years since I've been in New York for Autumn. It's so good to be back with family. Nolan's two cute aunts are really getting a kick out of playing with him almost every day. Last but not least, our cat Emma is in cat heaven living in the country. In fact, we really don't see much of her anymore because she's generally out and about catching anything and everything that moves.



My dad and Patrick took Nolan and my little sisters to the Trumansburg Fair where Nolan had his first experience on a carnival ride. He also had his first experience with farm animals which he reacted enthusiastically to.

Here they are at the fair....

Our little family


This is Nolan and me in our apartment at my grandparents' house.

Nolan got a couch that folds out into a bed. He prefers the fold out mode and has figured out how to fold it out, jump into the bed part of it, and get himself under the covers. It's really cute.

A campfire is a weekly (if not more) tradition at the Murray home and Patrick and I like to join in when we can. Here we are eating dinner one evening around the fire.

Here he is that same night, eating dinner around the campfire.

Oreo Man. Nolan tends to get restless in the car because we spend a lot of time in it, so I like to have something (like food) on hand to keep him quiet. Well, this was the first (and last) time that I gave him an Oreo.

Nolan's First Birthday

Nolan's birthday was great. We had a big party for him at Grandma and Grandpa Murray's house with lots of family and friends. Nolan's bedroom has a bug/outdoor critters theme, so we carried it further by decorating for his birthday with bugs. I made the cake, Aunt Olivia made spider brownies (using shoestring licorice for legs), the kids at the party got grilled cheese sandwiches shaped like butterflies, and shishkabobs were served for dinner ("caterpiller kabobs"). Here are some pictures from the big day.


The cake... before and after.




The idea of giving your one-year-old his own piece of cake for his birthday seems silly to me, so I really wasn't planning on a mess. As can be seen, things didn't work out as planned because as soon as the singing stopped, Nolan dug his little sweet fingers into the big sweet cake. I'm sure it wasn't nearly as messy as things would have been if he had his own piece.

August 18

The weekend after we arrived in New York, my friend, Ronelle Howard, got married in the Palmyra Temple. It was so nice to see her happily married and it was a beautiful day. So, here are a few pictures at the temple.

Spokane

We spent two weeks in Spokane with Patrick's family in August. We had a fun time spending time with family and participating in all sorts of activities including croquet, ping pong ball racing, movie watching, Uno and Quiddler playing, baby holding, and a trip to the Grand Coulee Dam. We also celebrated our third anniversary while we were there and had the opportunity to see Jordan and Ginanne's family sealed in the temple. It was wonderful to be in Spokane and were sad when it was time to leave. Here are some pictures from our trip....



This is everyone: Patrick's parents, Doug and Cheryl, their six children, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren.

Nolan and Grandma Mitchell.

Nolan and his dad looking out from the top of Mount Spokane.



The following images are from the ping pong ball event which took place in a beautiful arboretum in Spokane...

Grandpa Mitchell, a.k.a. Dad, a.k.a. Doug... the camera man striking a pose with his tripod at the ping pong ball racing event.

One of the event participants taking a break. (Ping pong ball racing can be quite physically demanding)

Little Bud at the event... he enjoyed it as a spectator, putting his feet in the water and rocks in his mouth.