Bar J Wranglers

This last Friday night we went on a date (with Jordy) to good ol' BYU :) Ben works for BYU Events- and he was in charge of this event: 

Jordy was such a hit at the rodeo we went to this summer so we couldn't pass up an opportunity to dress him up in his cowboy gear again! (I am lucky Tyler is such a good sport and plays along with how excited I get for Western-themed things... :) It was actually a lot of fun- they sang some fun cowboy songs and told some jokes. Jordy LOVED the music- he was bouncing and clapping and head-bobbing! (Even during the sad cowboy songs- it was all just good music to his ears!) 

Jordy and Uncle Ben with the group! 

What a happy cowboy! :) 

Jordy and Haley!
All of Ben's coworkers have gotten to know Jordy well when he goes to work with Ben- so he was especially popular with them again tonight. Haley watched Jordy starting when he was just a couple weeks old when I was in class- so Jordy's always excited to see her! 

Ben's coworkers and the group... (I wanted to stick Jordy right in with them- but, I thought future BYU Event workers would wonder about that if they saw this picture...how a baby got employed by BYU :) 

Staying Warm in January :)

University Mall Treehouse

We were grateful that Tyler ended up getting a few more days off of work than we originally were anticipating over New Year's...so he got to come to Jordy's doctor's appointment. We had hoped to take Jordy to the University Mall treehouse on his birthday, but we ended up taking him after he got his 12-month shots (close enough, right?!) He seemed to enjoy crawling around!

We got to meet up with my best fiend, Rachel Bronson and her family the next weekend at Culver's and Cabelas (in Lehi). They moved back to Utah from Oregon and are now only an hour away!! We are so excited to get to see them more often! :)

Cute cute boys!! 

Even though ice-skating doesn't sound like it would be a "warm" activity...we actually got quite a workout! :) We weren't supposed to pick Jordy up on the ice- so he had to do a lot of work himself. But he seemed to have fun! (Well- he didn't have much choice...once we got half-way around, he had to make it the rest of the way before resting again! :)

Uncle Ben literally skated circles around us and past us! :) 

Ben got tired of Jordy stealing his waterbottle when he was watching him this last semester, so Ben got Jordy a waterbottle of his own! Awww :) 

AND...

I was really hoping to have a different post representing the Packers making it to the NFC Championship Game...but, well...let's not go there. We did all wear our Packers pajamas Saturday night hoping that if we dreamed winning dreams it would help...apparently not. Oh well. Maybe next year! :) 

12 months old =Ready for a new Year!

Which one sounds better... 1 whole year or 12 whole months?! :)
My "little" boy is not so little!
We took Jordy for his 12 month check-up today and he checked out BIG AND HEALTHY!

Head: 19.25 in (98th %tile)
Weight: 24.4 lbs (89th %tile)
Length: 30.5 in (75th %tile)

Look how much he's grown!

                                       1 week                                    1 month

6 months!

Some Jordy updates:
-He is standing on his own and walks along the furniture. He walks with his toys or holding our fingers, but the most he's done on his own is a step or two before immediately dropping down again. (He seems to know he gets other places so much faster by crawling!)
-He LOVES music and bounces to anything he hears
-Is SUPER ticklish (poor guy!)
-Definitely knows what he likes/wants and is quick to let us know when we didn't get it right
-Pushes the buttons on the remotes and DVD player (even aims the remote at the TV!)
-Can't see the iPad or car keys without throwing a fit if he doesn't get to play with them
-Is getting a little better acting interested in his toys- but it's still pretty much the rule that whatever we have looks more interesting to him than what he has
-Has the cutest little laugh
-"Talks" on the phone (he holds both his cell phone and dial phone up to his ear...so smart!)
-Sticks his tongue out (even at strangers in church)
-Still only has 2 teeth on the bottom
-He folds his arms (actually, he grabs his wrist with his other hand when we are praying)
-"Blows kisses" and plays peek-a-boo and claps on his own
-Playing hide-and-go-seek doesn't work with him-- he doesn't forget where we try hiding things from him!
-He gives the best hugs and gives open-mouthed kisses when we ask for them
-He can drink from a straw
-Does NOT like sitting still!
-Is fascinated with the microwave and coco-motion!
-Had his first little scoop of vanilla icecream on his birthday and is now drinking whole milk! His favorite foods are: mac and cheese, hotdogs, black beans, cinnamon bread, bananas, and jello.
- Has SO SO SO much energy, ALWAYS!

We took him to Target for his 1 year pictures:

The BEST PART about being a MOM: Having the chance to start and continue family traditions with MY family! I have so many fun memories of things we did growing up that my mom and dad helped continue and make possible from year to year. It was fun being part of a family to participate in all those things, and now, Tyler and I have OUR family to be thinking about what things we want to do! I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I have always found new energy and excitement around Christmas time. I love putting up lights and making and eating lots of delicious treats and watching Christmas movies, etc. But none of that "other" stuff is very fun when there isn't family around! (As I discovered during the 2 Christmases I was in Brasil). What I realized I really loved about Christmas-time was the chance to be together as a family, doing even silly things or not really doing much at all, but just being around each other. This Christmas was the first time that I think I really was more excited to be giving than receiving, I couldn't wait to see what Jordy would do while opening presents. I wanted him to feel the Christmas "magic" -- the joy and excitement and love that is felt while surrounded by those you care most about. I love the thought of being able to tell Jordy when he's older that we do certain things together every year because they are OUR FAMILY'S TRADITION! He really embodied the spirit of Christmas for me this year and I am so grateful for him!


We celebrated on New Year's Eve with fondue (we had quite the feast!) and the Men in Black movies!

2014 included a move, new job, several big tests, classes and clinic work, grad school applications, family reunions and a wedding and lots of late nights/busy days with Jordy! Even though it's been a little bumpy along the way- we still feel incredibly blessed for being in good health, having a job and lots of learning opportunities! We're not sure exactly what 2015 will bring for us but we're hoping to hear good news from some of the schools Tyler has applied to for his MBA program (to start in the fall). I have an internship starting on January 5th with Provo Early Intervention. I also have 1 class to take now, then have 2 more classes to take in the spring. Then I'm planning on going to WI for 8 or so weeks for another internship in the summer. By some miracle, if I can find a little thesis-elf and make some SIGNIFICANT progress on that- I could be finishing my program THIS YEAR! :) If I thought this last year was hard, it's only going to get harder. BUT- we have a friend of Eric's that has agreed to watch Jordy most of the time- so we're dipping into our "magic" funds and praying that our cars can make it through the year! But then again- we may be ready to start looking for a mini-van soon! :)

Happy New Year! We're hoping to make 2015 a great one!