Time Flies

Look at this kid. Isn't he precious?!

Wow, has it been two months since my last post? These fall months just seem to fly by. If I was really cool I would make up a little jig to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas about the last couple of months. I'm not though, so I will just tell you with pictures and words.

Well, there was Halloween. We did the Halloween thing. Then there was Thanksgiving. Grandma and Grandpa Teed came to visit with Uncle Danny or "Dan" as he goes by now apparently. (Nice try Danny, we'll probably always call you Danny!) There's a picture of Mabel reading her magazine with Grandpa as he reads the paper at the table. It was way fun to see family, but even more fun to play nonstop games as our children screamed in the background for the lack of attention.

So now it's Christmas and we are doing the Christmas thing I guess. We went to a hockey game which was fun. There is a picture of Mabel sitting by herself holding her bear. She did not want to leave because her bear was sleeping there. Then we had our first snow! It was fun to see snow after being in Texas for a winter. Mabel loved it! Charlie thought it was an interesting but strange substance not suitable for eating. That is a big deal because Charlie eats EVERYTHING!!! That's right, all caps and 3 exclamations everything. We also had a tree fall and take down the power lines for our small neighborhood. Whooops! Randy was so excited, he got to use his Christmas present, a chainsaw, to cut up the tree. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I hold you responsible for the future doctor bills of missing fingers, toes, or limbs (arm and leg limbs, not tree limbs). My parents bought the chainsaw for Randy, by the way.

Here's an update for me. I have been called as the primary president in our ward. I want you to know that being president will not change who I am. So for my close friends and family, nothing formal, just call me pres. Hey, that's just who I am, right? After primary today, I am beyond thrilled to go on our vacation next Sunday and get a break, even though I just started...hmmm...

We are heading to Mexico on a cruise next week. This is our family vacation for this year. It's my cushy president salary. We are going at the last possible time because of my pregnancy.

KEEP READING! Almost done. For the official announcement, we are having a...GIRL!!! She is due on April 9th. Anything else?! Oh yeah, I got a solo for the Christmas program in our ward choir. I'm so proud! I'm also exhausted. So I will try and keep up with our lives now. I should definitely post pictures of our vacation. Keep checking in, you won't be disappointed.

Mabel wearing our Christmas stockings.

Just like Grandpa.

Randy using his killer boyscout skills to build a fort for the kids.

Mabel through the Ages

Before I start, I'd like to thank Charlie for reminding me why blogging is a bad idea for moms with young children. Charlie, the angel, screamed the entire time I tried to post today. It has taken me about 2 hours to bring you this amazing post. And just so you know, I was trying to appease him, but nothing has worked, so if you have any ideas on why an 8 month old would scream for 2 hours, let me know. Okay, I'm sure everyone is thinking, he just wants my attention. Well if he would just let me post quickly, I'd give it to him. All right, I really just needed to vent, so thanks for reading.


Mabel had a birthday on Saturday. She turned the big 3.0! Happy birthday to our princess. She requested a princess castle cake and I did my best. We had some friends over to help eat cake and break in the new toys. Here are some pictures of Mabel through the ages. The pictures start with her birthday and then they are in no particular order since I am computer and blogging challenged. Make sure to watch the second video, it's my fave! Time flies.

Adapting

I think we might fit in with these southerners just fine. Last night Randy was talking to me and what word slipped out of his mouth that caused Randy to stop talking and turn a slight shade of pink as my mouth dropped open in shock and horror? You might have to shield sensitive eyes as you read. Randy said the F word, I kid you not. FIXIN'!!! FIXIN'!!! It was mostly shocking. He tried to defend himself, but I don't know if I can ever forgive him. What has the world come to when a nice boy from a dirty river town in Iowa starts dropping F bombs in casual conversation? We just may have to talk with our bishop, and seeing as the bishop is from Utah, I know he will understand the seriousness of the situation.

On a side note, I visited the dentist last week and had a tooth pulled. I think we are adapting nicely to our new environment. So far, no one from Tennessee reads this blog. Just know that we tease because we love. At least, that's why my mom told me my brothers teased me. Hmmmmm......

Growing Boy

Charlie had a doctor appointment on Friday. He has not been to the doctor since he was 3 months old because when Randy changed jobs we had to wait for new insurance to kick in. He is now 7 months old. Charlie is off the charts in height measuring 29 1/2 inches tall. He is 19 lbs. 11oz. and in the 75 percentile for weight. My poor baby had to get 4 shots to make up for lost times. So he did not enjoy the Hola Festival we went to Saturday as he had a fever and his legs were pretty sore.

Hola Festival

Saturday we went to the Hola Festival in downtown Knoxville. I thought it would be pretty small because it was in Market Square which is not a very big area. It was HUGE!!! It was a big celebration of Hispanic countries and cultures. I LOOOOOVE Hispanic cuture!!! It was way fun. They had booths set up from maybe 15 different countries and you could get a pretend passport and go to the different booths and have it stamped. They had booths with displays and information about the country and then they had separate booths that were selling foods from the country. Mmmmmmmm, especially being pregnant, it was actually tons of delicious smelling food. Mexican food is my favorite so I was definitely in heaven.

The kids area was especially amazing. After spending (cough) a little more money than we hoped at the fair, this festival was great. We paid $1 for Mabel to get a bracelet and then she could do anything she wanted in the kids area. She made a bug house, Mexican paper flowers, a guitar, painted a maraca, and got to ride a little merry-go-round. She had a blast. So did Randy and I. Randy was disappointed in the Paraguay booth, it was run by a high school student. He is planning to volunteer next year to do it. I think it would be really fun for him. A lot of the booths were run by families from the country. Did I mention how delicious the food was?!

Here is Randy helping Mabel make her bug house. Home Depot sponsored the festival in case you were wondering what a bug house has to do with Hispanic culture!

Tennessee Valley Fair

We finally went out and did some fun things this week. Way to go us! On Thursday we went to the fair. Not as impressive as the Texas or Iowa state fairs, but just as fun for us. We pet some animals, played at the science center, did the ride thing and of course the food thing. I was very impressed with Mabel this year. She is so timid in public but this year she was willing to pet all the animals, no fear there. She also rode some pretty impressive rides. For a girl who was too scared to wear a ladybug costume for Halloween last year, she seems to have come a long way.

Randy refused even the tiniest bite of my delicious elephant ear.

Charlie having fun with the goats.

Mabel introduced all the animals to her bear, Bella.

Mabel's Announcement

This is how I originally planned to make our announcement, but I let it slip last time. So here it is.