October Madness

October was a very exciting month! Some of the highlights:

-Natalie applying for graduation!!

-Reunion with our friends from the 138th ward

-Urgent care for Uvulitis

-Getting a new nephew--Tyler James Wilson! Congratulations Becky and Jon!

-Matt Gibbons' birthday!

-Going to the dentist and finding out that I really don't have cavities!

-Homecoming!

-BYU dancelab

-Throwing our first Halloween costume party!

Life really has been so good! Here is my new favorite picture of Joshua and mommy:

The reunion that we went to was for the BYU 138th ward and we got to meet up with so many of our good friends. Something that amused us was that there were probably 6 babies there and 2 or 3 on the way. Good old BYU wards!

This is our friend Mindy Vandergraff. She and her husband were married about a week or two before us and our sons were born about 1/2 hour apart. It was fun because Steve saw her Steve in the hospital when Joshua and Braden were both in the nursery.

Steve asked me out to Homecoming this year. By way of invitation, he created a backdrop for my computer that had a big 'Y' on it and said "Natalie, will you got with me to Homecoming?" Naturally, I said yes. We went to the formal dance with 4 other couples: Greg and his date, Elise and Mike, and two other couples that we don't know very well. Thank you Matt and Emily for babysitting so we could have such a great night!

Because Steve and I have been getting really into the books we have been reading, I immediately picked mine up after I was ready to go.

Two pictures that Emily took for us:

We met up with our group at Greg's (Steve's former roommate for those of you that don't know him) apartment and we all went up to Pleasant Grove where a family of one of the guys offered to have us up for homemade pizzas. They were so good and the family was so nice to have us up there!

The dance was in Spanish Fork. We had a blast doing lots of ballroom dance. Steve and I discovered that we don't really know how to dance if it isn't ballroom-related.

Elise and me:

My sweetie and me:

Elise and her sweetie:

BYU did a great job making everything feel like a formal dance including pictures in the gardens. Although this is not actually one of the pictures, we took it while we were waiting in line.

Neither couple had realized it, but Kevin and Kristen ended up at the same dance as us, even though there were 3 to choose from. We must have good taste or something...

(Please note that Steve and I picked the right colors...)

Halloween was so much fun for us! I had never thrown a real party (outside of bridal showers) and I was excited all month about this one!

On Friday, because we had two outfits for him, we dressed Joshua up as a frog. One of the guys from my classes was not thinking about the fact that it was almost Halloween, finally figured out that Josh was in a costume and said "Oh! I just thought you were being one of those weird moms that dresses their kids up, and when you look back at the pictures you say 'Mom, what were you making me wear?'" Thanks?

The Sunday before Halloween, we decided to create our Haunted House. We originally were going to make it all from scratch, but when we found a premade gingerbread house kit, we opted for that.

Joshua discovered pumkins as big as he is. It was fun to watch him try to get his mouth around the pumpkin. Luckily, we washed it really well first.

We were trying to be creative:

Here was our little setup. We made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and a really great pumpkin soup. We also had rolls and water. It was fun to have everyone just eat and chat.

Elise and Mike came as vampires. Mikes cape was really great and Elise actually drew bit marks onto her neck.

Holly Malmrose and Becca McPartland from my classes came as a beach bum and lady bug, respectively.

Alisha Walbrecht was a doll (she was especially convincing when we had her lay down on the couch), Greg Sorensen was a Death Eater, and Alisha's roommate came as Marie Antoinette.

We had some fun with the pictures. I'm voting the Death Eater will win.

Camille and Jason came as the queen bee and Prom King. Camille says Jason doesn't get much into Halloween, but we thought his costume was great.

Any guesses on what Kevin and Kristen came dressed as? Kev was very pleased when I guessed him right off.

(A: Aragorn and Arwen)

I was really quite proud of our outfits. We are all M&Ms. We bought Josh's costume in Las Vegas when we were down there in April and I was able to make the rest. We tracked down white gloves and the right colored shirts and I cut out the Ms and put them on. We had a lot of fun! Thank everyone who was able to come!

Newfound Mobility

On September 19, Joshua rolled over for the first time! The look on his face was something like "Oh!" It was darling. He didn't do it again until a week later when Steve got to see it, and then he decided to do it about 5 or 6 more times. Seeing as I didn't walk until I was 17 months old and I had no need to learn how to move (thanks to 3 wonderful older siblings who wanted to see me happy and would get everything for me!) I'm pretty sure this early mobility thing is NOT from me!

Goodbye Old, Hello New!

Goodbye beautiful, lazy summer: hello school work!

We had a wonderful summer, complete with a new baby, trips to Vegas and Washington, swimming, hikes and lots of needed rest! We have been looking forward to the school year where we can show our baby off and work hard while we get closer and closer to graduation. I have mostly been spending the weekends studying, but I don't really mind.

BYU football got going well with an exciting win against Oklahoma (ranked 3) and then we stomped Tulane a week later. Go Cougars!

Here is his much needed rest.
Gorgeous sunsets!

Goodbye taco-bed: hello new foam mattress!

About a month ago, I started waking up with pretty bad backaches due to our old mattress, so we decided that it was about time to invest in a new bed. Several trips to IKEA later, we were able to come home with the bed that we wanted.

This particular bed (our old one) was used by Steve when he was living with his sister Laura, and then when I was living with his sister Shauna, I slept on it. We were then able to share it as a couple. However, since it is a full size, we decided to upgrade as well.

Labor Day was the day that we were able to put together our new bed. Steve did the majority of the work while I fed him instructions and entertained Joshua.

It is so nice to get a good-night's rest without waking up in pain! Yay Queen-sized beds!

Also on Labor Day, we were able to go on a double date with Camille and Jason Millar. We met up at the Scera theatre for a live concert by Take Six. I had not previously heard of this group of 6 black men (SUCH good singers!) but I am determined to start getting their CDs! What a great show!

Camille entertained Joshua for part of the concert:

I wish I had thought of this! They looked super-comfortable!

Our family! Joshua didn't really appreciate the noise, but he did sleep through some of it!

Goodbye 2-month old baby, hello 3-month old baby!

Wow! Time sure does fly! This sweet little boy has been in our home for three months now! It is amazing how much we feel like he is a part of our family, and not just an infant! We love it! He is full of smiles, is already great at sleep-training, and just makes us happy!

I was entertained when Steve came out of our room dressed this way. I had gotten Joshua ready for the day without Steve seeing what he was wearing and he came out in the same outfit. They matched completely. My boys are so adorable!

We love being parents!

Maybe this is a little premature for Halloween, but when Joshua was born, he would curl up on our laps and he looked like a little frog. When we saw this outfit at Wal-Mart, we couldn't help but get it. He's our little frog-baby. He doesn't know whether or not he likes the hood, but we sure like dressing him up!

Hikes, Headaches, and Happily-Ever-Afters

On Aug 18th, 2009 one of my very best friends, Elise Rasmussen, was married in the new Draper Temple. As her matron of honor, I was responsible to seeing to her every need. My favorite task to carry out was when Steve and I sang "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" while we bounced around behind the photographer to keep the kids happy. It was entertaining. Elise was a beautiful bride and I am so happy that she picked Mike--he is such a great guy and absolutely perfect for her.

Because Elise and Mike are such terrific dancers, they had a big dance floor and for the last hour or so of the reception, they played ballroom music. Steve and I were able to do a lot of dancing and we had a great time.

The temple was just gorgeous when as the clouds changed colors. This was taken right about as they were leaving their reception.

After the reception ended, we booked it up to Pocatello, Idaho. Uncle Mark took us white water rafting the next day while Aunt Carolyn took care of Joshua at home. The trip was fun: we had Mom, Dad, Eric, Mindy, Janece and Anna along with a few Bakers and a few from Lee's family. It was a great trip!

Steve and I got our Back-to-School shopping done. We each got a few new outfits and our hair cut. It was fun to get ready for the new semester!

I LOVE Joshua's smile. It just lights up his whole face and he smiles with his eyes as well!

When Joshua was born, a researcher from the University of Utah asked if we would cooperate in her using our baby as control group for a project since he was born on his due date. We agreed--she took swabs of Josh and I had to provide a certain amount of spit and she set us a $50 check in the mail! Wahoo! I'll spit all you want if you give me money! :D

To spend that money, we decided to take a hike up to the Timpanogos Caves and go out to dinner. Since we were a little nervous about Joshua being in the sun, Steve carried him in a pack and had an umbrella over him the whole way up. I ended up being the packhorse with all of our jackets, a blanket, water and food for Josh. It was quite a hike!

Inside the caves:

Just outside the caves:

The guide asked if anyone was 5 1/2 feet tall, and since I am just an inch over that, she had everyone compare the largest stalagtite to me. Apparently I am the same height as this:

Josh was a great sport and slept the entire way down the mountain.

The only thing I would change about the hike was that I not get a migraine and throw up Outback Steakhouse. I was so sick that night, but in comparison, I felt on top of the world the next day! It was so nice to know that Josh was in good hands with Steve while I was sick. He really is a wonderful dad!

We hope everyone is enjoying their new school year!