Henry James joined our family today!
He arrived at 2:54 pm weighing 6 lbs 14 oz. He is 20 inches long.
We are thrilled to welcome him to our family!
Our first photo of our family of four!
More to come later.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Omaha Trip
At the end of February, William and I flew out to Omaha to visit Becky and her family. David didn't come this time because of school. But next time, Daddy will definitely have to join us. William did really well on all our flights to and from Nebraska thanks to Curious George, toy cars, stickers, and fruit snacks. Every flight we were on except for our last one was full, so he always had to be on my lap. Thankfully I still had a fairly nice-sized lap at that time. On our last flight we lucked out and had not only an extra seat next to us, but we also had extra leg room. But of course, William preferred my lap to the seat. Oh well! Anyway, here is a recap of our trip.
William and Becky bonded pretty quickly. She always does whatever she can to get her nieces and nephews to warm up to her quickly, even if it means squishing into a little tent with them.
William had lots of fun with his cousins. At first he was a little overwhelmed by them. During meals he would often just stare at the kids in awe. I think it was because the noise level while we eat at home is almost zero and the noise level at Becky's is ... well.... much louder. Each of Becky's 3 kids only really have 1 noise level - LOUD!!!! They are super cute and really quite funny. For some reason, I didn't pull out my camera until the last day to take pictures.
William and Becky bonded pretty quickly. She always does whatever she can to get her nieces and nephews to warm up to her quickly, even if it means squishing into a little tent with them.
William had lots of fun with his cousins. At first he was a little overwhelmed by them. During meals he would often just stare at the kids in awe. I think it was because the noise level while we eat at home is almost zero and the noise level at Becky's is ... well.... much louder. Each of Becky's 3 kids only really have 1 noise level - LOUD!!!! They are super cute and really quite funny. For some reason, I didn't pull out my camera until the last day to take pictures.
Cute Makayla. She actually let me put pigtails in her hair. She looked so adorable! Of course, they didn't last long though. Oh well. Makayla is about 3 1/2 months younger than William. They certainly gave each other a run for their money. William would get quite annoyed by her and pinch her cheeks. But she never gave up, she would always go right back to him. The best was the cheesy, devious smile she gave him one night as she crawled past him. She certainly has a lot of sass in her!
We spent most of the week at Becky's house talking and hanging out. We did go shopping a few times. And of course, we went to the zoo. And that's when the camera came out!
William was amazed by everything he saw. I love this picture of him. Even though he's washed out, I love how you can see his reflection and the excitement in his eyes.
This monkey quite liked me. We made faces at each other for a few minutes.
William LOVED the aquarium. There were so many amazing animals to see. He loved the penguins and he especially loved the tunnel.
Here's Anthony admiring something in the tunnel.
Josie and Anthony brought some bananas with them to the zoo. They had to show them off to EVERY monkey we saw. This orangutan was rather entranced by the banana. He tracked its movement for quite a while. It was hilarious! Eventually the kids ate the bananas so the rest of the monkeys were spared the teasing.
William had so much fun wandering around that he actually fell asleep for a while in the stroller. He slept through the orangutan house and most of the gorilla house.
However, as soon as his cousin Makayla saw her long lost cousins, the gorillas, there was little hope of his nap lasting. Makayla couldn't contain her excitement at seeing all her friends. Her shrieks of joy woke William up. It was all for the best, though, since William got to enjoy the gorillas with her.
We headed over to the dairy area/petting farm next. The petting farm was too muddy to go through, so the kids spent some time learning where milk comes from. Josie, Anthony, and William had a great time trying to milk the fake cow. I love their expressions in these pictures. Such funny kids.
We had a blast at the zoo! Thanks, Becky, for taking us!
We certainly enjoyed our time with Becky, Matt, Josie, Anthony, and Makayla. They are a great family. I always enjoy being with Becky. We have a splendid time talking, playing games, and beating up on each other. William loved being with her family, too. Although, I must say that the highlight of our trip to Nebraska for William was definitely Holly. He loved that dog. He was so gentle with her and she did really well with him (when she wasn't running or hiding from him!).
Thanks again, Becky!!! We love you and your family!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Valentine's Day
This year we enjoyed a quiet Valentine's Day at home.
We had a lovely candlelight dinner. It was so fun having William join us this year. Last year he watched from the living room floor!
We had a lovely candlelight dinner. It was so fun having William join us this year. Last year he watched from the living room floor!
I think that one of the perks of not having a lot of money is finding ways to be creative with a small budget. We decided to forgo gifts and instead make a very delicious ice cream cake. And of course we made homemade Valentine's cards, but I didn't take any pictures of those.
We all loved the cake. William especially.
He seemed to have a love/hate relationship with it though. He would eat a few bites, then cry, and then repeat the process. That was probably his first experience with a "brain freeze"! It was pretty funny.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Christmas and New Year's
We had a fantastic Christmas (almost 5 months ago, but who's counting). It's a wonderful time to share with family and friends. David and I actually made candies for Christmas and gave them out to family and friends. We made Oreo truffles... mmmm... they were yummy! We'll have to make it an annual tradition. Here is a look back at our Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Decorating the Tree
We bought our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I love picking out Christmas trees. Growing up, we would always go to a tree farm and cut down our own tree. I hope to share that tradition one day with my own children. For now, we just go to a tree lot. Not quite as nostalgic, but still wonderful. That night David got the tree set up in its stand. William thought the tree stand was a horse or something! He climbed right on like he was going to ride it. It was really cute and funny! We decorated the tree Sunday night with William. We then undecorated the bottom third of our tree because of William. It still turned out beautiful! Our tree lived longer during this Christmas than the tree we had the year before. But it still died and dried out with a week and a half to go. It's pretty sad when your Christmas countdown turns into a "getting rid of the tree" countdown. Oh well, better luck next year!
Gingerbread Houses
We decorated gingerbread houses again this year with David's family. We always have lots of fun and everyone always does a great job.
Christmas Eve
We went to the annual Neal Family Party on Christmas Eve. William looked so handsome in the Christmas outfit my mom bought him. We spent a great evening with my family, and then we headed back home. When we got home, it was time to open our Christmas eve presents. David and I decided the first year we were married to give ornaments on Christmas eve. Each child gets their own ornament that represents something from that year. The family also gets a new ornament, but it doesn't necessarily represent anything from that year. This year William received a dog ornament because of how much he loves dogs! After we hung our new ornaments on the tree it was time for bed!
Christmas Morning- Presents
Christmas morning was wonderful! David and I had found a Radio Flyer Car for William on KSL and we were SO excited to give it to him. We set it out in front of the tree so that would be the first thing he saw. He LOVED it! He climbed right on and wouldn't get off. We tried to coax him off with his other presents, but it didn't work. He ended up opening some of his other presents while sitting on his car. David and William spoiled me with really nice gifts. William and I enjoyed giving Daddy a few surprises too.
Christmas Morning - Stockings
I made everyone a stocking for Christmas. They all turned out great. Anyway, we all enjoyed going through our stockings. My favorite thing was the Sacrament book I made for William. He loves to go through it and look at all the pictures of Jesus and of the "protet" (his word for prophet).
Christmas Day
After a lovely morning, we headed up to spend the rest of the day with family. We had a great time with our families.
New Year's Eve
We spent New Year's Eve with my family participating in our favorite traditions - stuffing ourselves with WAY too much food, playing games, and watching movies.
On New Year's Day we had a Gowans family party with all my extended family. Afterward, David, William, and I headed to temple square. The year before we had gone on New Year's Day and the lights were still on. Well, not so this year. We walked around a dark Temple Square. A few lights were on by the Church Office Building, but when we pulled out our camera to take a picture by the lights, our batteries died. Moral of the story: visit temple square BEFORE Christmas. Oh well, we had a great laugh anyway!
Even though these holidays were a few months ago, we still hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season!
Decorating the Tree
We bought our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I love picking out Christmas trees. Growing up, we would always go to a tree farm and cut down our own tree. I hope to share that tradition one day with my own children. For now, we just go to a tree lot. Not quite as nostalgic, but still wonderful. That night David got the tree set up in its stand. William thought the tree stand was a horse or something! He climbed right on like he was going to ride it. It was really cute and funny! We decorated the tree Sunday night with William. We then undecorated the bottom third of our tree because of William. It still turned out beautiful! Our tree lived longer during this Christmas than the tree we had the year before. But it still died and dried out with a week and a half to go. It's pretty sad when your Christmas countdown turns into a "getting rid of the tree" countdown. Oh well, better luck next year!
Gingerbread Houses
We decorated gingerbread houses again this year with David's family. We always have lots of fun and everyone always does a great job.
Christmas Eve
We went to the annual Neal Family Party on Christmas Eve. William looked so handsome in the Christmas outfit my mom bought him. We spent a great evening with my family, and then we headed back home. When we got home, it was time to open our Christmas eve presents. David and I decided the first year we were married to give ornaments on Christmas eve. Each child gets their own ornament that represents something from that year. The family also gets a new ornament, but it doesn't necessarily represent anything from that year. This year William received a dog ornament because of how much he loves dogs! After we hung our new ornaments on the tree it was time for bed!
Christmas Morning- Presents
Christmas morning was wonderful! David and I had found a Radio Flyer Car for William on KSL and we were SO excited to give it to him. We set it out in front of the tree so that would be the first thing he saw. He LOVED it! He climbed right on and wouldn't get off. We tried to coax him off with his other presents, but it didn't work. He ended up opening some of his other presents while sitting on his car. David and William spoiled me with really nice gifts. William and I enjoyed giving Daddy a few surprises too.
Christmas Morning - Stockings
I made everyone a stocking for Christmas. They all turned out great. Anyway, we all enjoyed going through our stockings. My favorite thing was the Sacrament book I made for William. He loves to go through it and look at all the pictures of Jesus and of the "protet" (his word for prophet).
Christmas Day
After a lovely morning, we headed up to spend the rest of the day with family. We had a great time with our families.
New Year's Eve
We spent New Year's Eve with my family participating in our favorite traditions - stuffing ourselves with WAY too much food, playing games, and watching movies.
On New Year's Day we had a Gowans family party with all my extended family. Afterward, David, William, and I headed to temple square. The year before we had gone on New Year's Day and the lights were still on. Well, not so this year. We walked around a dark Temple Square. A few lights were on by the Church Office Building, but when we pulled out our camera to take a picture by the lights, our batteries died. Moral of the story: visit temple square BEFORE Christmas. Oh well, we had a great laugh anyway!
Even though these holidays were a few months ago, we still hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season!
December: William's First Haircut
On December 18th, I finally broke down and got William's haircut. It was quite obvious that he needed one, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I wasn't ready to admit that my baby isn't a baby anymore. But you can only receive so many mullet comments from family members (ahem, David's dad and brothers and other males; my grandma and other women thought he looked adorable with his longish hair and curls), so I finally gave in.
Before
Before
Before- notice the curl? So cute. Too bad it rarely looked like that. Once he laid down on it, it turned into a nest.
During. My friend, Sarah, cut his hair.
During. Despite all his wiggles, Sarah did a great job!
His haircut turned out so adorable!
For some reason I never took an official after picture. This picture is from a few days later.
This was a week or so later. I actually took this picture to show what happens when grandma and Daddy try to dress William - his shirt ends up backwards. Anyway, it also shows that his curls and wispy hairs are gone.
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