Big Guy

Well, he's really not a big guy, but sine he's growing up so much I call him Big Guy. Everyday he's doing things that I want to remember. I should pull out my journal and record them, but since that's way to much work I'll jot them down here for all of you to enjoy.

Some of my favorite things about West at 15 months:

*He is in LOVE with music videos. It all started when we watched the Issac Lamb proposal. West would whine and whine and whine when it was done and wouldn't stop still I started it again. After hearing it for the 500th time, Devon suggested we try another music video and it worked. He loves them all! We spend about an hour each day watching videos together.
*He loves it when I brush his teeth. As soon as I grab the toothbrush he opens his mouth right up. Maybe it's the taste of the toothpaste (I tasted and thinks it's rather nasty, but to each their own), whatever it is, I'm grateful.
*He loves praise. Whenever he does something we like we say, 'good job,' and he starts smiling and clapping.
*He's a little chatter box. He still hasn't figured out to say any words except for 'dada', but he's talking from the time he gets up until he goes to sleep.
*He's recently starting liking books. He'll grab one from his bookcase and bring it to us to read to him. The other day I was on my computer and he walked up to me, pushed the button to shut it down and then handed me a book to read.
*He's such an independent player. I was reading this article about toddlers and they said to try and get your child to play alone for at least five minutes a day. Wow, five minutes? West will play for well over an hour all alone, with his toys.
*His favorite toy is a little golf club set grandma got him. He especially loves to chase around Hamilton with the clubs.
*He loves to walk on our bed and throw himself down. This one is super cute, but makes me super nervous. He understands the concept of falling off the bed, but, while we haven't had an accident yet, I don't think he understands how close he gets to the edge.
*He loves to sweep and vacuum. He grabs the broom as soon as I am done and is always pushing around our little Shark vacuum.
*He knows how to go up and down stairs. He prefers for us to hold his hand so he can walk up and down, but most of the time we just make it crawl up and down.
*He loves water! We taken him to a few splash parks and he's in heaven. It takes him a minute to feel comfortable, but then he's playing with the big kids. He's also a fan of pools, he loves floating around in his swim ring.

And Done...

It’s finally here, the day I’ve dreamt about for the last two years, Devon graduated! I am super proud of Devon, it hasn’t been easy. People talked about the long hours their husbands spent at school studying, but no one warned me about the pressure to get an internship and a job. I just thought that you went to school, graduated then you started looking for a job. This was NOT the case. From day one, actually even before day one, Devon had to find a job. It was like his full time job was to find a job and he had to fit in school when he could. Despite the stress, it has been all worth it!!

The graduation started Thursday with BYU Commencement.

 

 Friday was the Marriot Business School Convocation.

I have mixed feeling about what’s next. I’m sad to leave family, friends and the life we’ve built her in Utah, but I’m also excited to start our new little life in Dallas. We have at least two months until we have to leave, so until then we have to get started on our 'Things to do before we leave Utah' list. Oh and of course, we have to fit in a trip to Disneyland!!!



Busy Boy

Weston's always been pretty busy and I've actually really learned to enjoy it. Before he started crawling, he wanted me to hold him nonstop, which was great until I had to get something done. Once he started crawling this whole new world opened up to him. We child-proofed all the drawers and cabinets he wasn't allowed in, but everything else was fair game. This meant I could get a lot done while he pulled out tupperware, bottles, toys, hairbrushes, etc. There was a lot of clutter, but the pick up time was well worth the time it kept him busy.  But this week his busyness has been taken to a whole new level! Here's just a couple of his recent antics:

*When our Verizon bill was $20 more then it should have been I made a, rather irrate, call to customer service, only to find out that someone (who's name starts with a West and ends with an on) has been downloading games, including Pac-Man, to my phone. I also notcied that one of my shortcut keys that used to pull up my calander, now pulls up my browser. I would lock my keypad, but he already broke that key months ago. I put my phone up high, but his reach is increasing day by day. Luckily Verizon has now blocked any downloads, but if I make a call to you and you just hear 'dadadada', you'll know why.

*We found out he could reach things on the dining room table, when he dumped his entire cerel bowl on himself.

*Devon's underware drawer (which is on the top of the dresser) was recently filled up with lotions and cat toys.

*He is obsessed with our Black Family picture! He will whine and whine and whine and whine until one of us lifts him up so he can see it. We have to name every person he points to.

*Now when I take him shopping he grunts and reaches for ANYHTING that catches his eye. He gets very fustrated when I don't give in and hand him what he wants.

*He's learned to chase Hamilton with his popper push toy.

*In just about one week's time he got a fat lip and a goose egg on his head.

*We've had a hard time childproofing the medicine drawer, so we just let him play in it, everything's child-proof, right? Well, not anymore. He learned how to open the pill holders that are backed with foil or paper. We found this out when Devon caught him putting an open cough drop in his mouth.

*We are constanly missing things and we find them in the darnest places around the house. He has a special infatuation with Devon's razor. He carries it all over the house!

He may keep me busy, but I figure it just means that he's a healthy, happy and curious boy. And besides who can get mad at someone this cute...



Happy Birthday, Weston!

My little guy turned one this week. I know it’s so cliché to say, but this year has gone by SO fast! I can’t believe in one year he’s gone from this…

To this….

We had a great time celebrating his birthday. My mom came to town. My friends Jen and David came up from St. George. Friends came in from Kaysville and Copperton. And of course all the family was in attendance (except for those that were sick or headed to the ER).

Some facts about my one-year old:

• He finally weighs over 20 lbs and is in the 20th percentile for weight. He’s still short only measuring 27.5 inches and he falls around the 2nd percentile.

• He’s walking and loving every minute of it!

• He’s very observant.  He studies EVERYTHING.

• His favorite toy is his push train. As I type this, he’s pushing it around the house.

• He loves rough housing. The greater the altitude of the drop, the higher the throw, the happier he is.

• He has a great feel for atmospheres. We’ve taken him to a lot of sporting events and he LOVES them. He gets so excited; it’s as if he can sense the excitement from everyone around him.

• He laughs so hard when dad jumps over the baby gate in the hall. He thinks it’s so funny; he can hardly catch his breath.

• He loves family hugs and when Devon & I kiss.

• He is finally sleeping through the night!!

• He's alway chattering. Whenever I ask him a question he does the cutest, ‘uh-uh.’

• Dad is already teaching him referee signals. He knows blow to the head and we’re working on 3-pointer.

• He is very busy, constantly doing or getting into something. He loves going through drawers and cabinets.

• He LOVES his kitty Hamilton!!! Unfortunately the feeling isn’t mutual.

Going to the Big D (Maybe)

With Devon graduating this spring, September began full-time job hunting season. The season started off a huge success. Devon was getting interview after interview and even some second round flybacks with a couple of our favorite companies, all the while we were thinking it was a huge possibility we could return to Denver to work for Western Union. Unfortunately, the momentum shifted. It was one rejection after another. It, also, became very clear that Western Union was not planning on extending any offers to last summer's interns. We were devastated! Then January 26th (exactly one year to the day, that Devon got his internship offer), AT&T called and offered Devon a job in Dallas. After all the rejections it was great to know that someone liked him! Not only did they like him, but out of the 11 people they flew out to Dallas to interview, he was the only one they were authorized to, at that time, extend an offer!

So, now we have a lot of thinking and praying to do. We have to accept or decline the offer by February 24th. Since Devon has the whole week of Presidents Day off, we decided to plan a trip to Dallas. Everyone insists I'll love it (and I'm sure I will), but I want to check things out before I fully commit myself. Devon's already sold, I mean it's pretty much the Mecca of College Football. The only problem he sees is choosing what team to cheer for ;).

On a separate, but related note, we put our house up for sale. Since moving to Dallas is a huge possibility, we wanted to get a head start in this housing market. We understand the market is tough right now and we might have to rent it out, but I'm really hanging on to the hope we'll be able to sell. I have a HUGE emotional attachment to this house. It's my house. I picked out the flooring, the wall colors and  the cabinets. I installed the sprinkler system and laid the sod. Devon & I had our first kiss in this house, he proposed to me here and we brought our first baby home to this house. I'd rather officially pass this house on to a new family, so they can start to make their memories here.

A lot of changes coming for the Blacks, but we're really looking forward to our next adventure!

Bowl Update

An update for all of you out there that are anxiously waiting to see if I won my bowl picks... I'll tell you it's not looking so good. The BCS Bowl Games are worth six points, where as the rest are worth just one point. Since Clemson decided to bend over for West Virgina (sorry for the phrase, but it's all I can think of to really convey my feelings), I have been shot down to 13th place. I was a little bitter and a little disappointed, but I figure it's all for the best. Devon and I have a little tradition of getting a Papa Murphy's Pizza and eating it while we watch the BCS Championship Game, if I was still in the running for first place I just wouldn't be able to enjoy tonight. I guess there is still a slight glimmer of hope that everyone ahead of me picked LSU and my pick, Alabama wins. It's a long shot, but just in case ROLL TIDE!!!!

College Bowl Season

This fall Devon introduced me to the Deseret News College Football Grid Picks, where you vote on which teams you think will win on a particular week and the person with the most corrects picks wins a prize. During the season my ranking fell between about 400th-1,100th place. Even though there was no hope of me winning I continued with my picks because having a team to cheer for helped me get more involved with College Football. When Devon told me they had Grid Picks for the bowl games, I was all over it.  A few weeks ago I sat down and made my picks. Much to my surprise, I've been incredibly accurate! Since the beginning I've been ranked first overall. It started out with about fifteen people ranked first, then it got knocked down to four people, then the other day it was down to just two of us and as of Saturday I am the only one in first place. I am enjoying this because I now have bragging rights as the College Football expert in the family and there's a $100 Amazon gift card on the line. But I'm beginning to think that the bad outweighs the good. I am developing an ulcer watching these games, I text continually to get updates, I even listen to the games on the radio in the car and worst of all, I yell at the TV (it's gotten so bad that even Devon thinks I'm out of control).  Luckily, I've only got six games and one week left. Maybe I'll come out of this thing $100 on Amazon richer or maybe I'll just coming out understanding my husband's obsession a little better. Either way I'm just ready for this to be done!