Fa la la la la...la la...la...la

12/5

We've done a lot of playing this week...just hanging around the house. The other morning I was in the bathroom getting ready and Darren was in the tub. I was working on my hair when I didn't hear Darren splashing anymore...!!! I looked over and he had figured out how to roll from his back to tummy in the tub! Crazy child! I can't leave him alone for one second without him trying to do something crazy!JD started his new rotation for the month, he is at Children's Mercy here in Kansas City. He has 2 interviews this month...one here and the other in Billings, Montana. I love this time of year...I love all the cocoa, candy canes, bell ringers, hats and scarfs, egg nog ...I know, they are silly things...but I still love it all!

Oh...by the way...if any of you know my brother Spenser...he turned 20 this week!!! Happy birthday Tumpta Gubba!

Darren just loves his bath!

Check out his new trick! Up on his toes!

He can hold this pose longer than anyone...you wanna challenge?

Thats right Frosty! Take that! Darren loves to tackle him!

Check it! Ya, I am cute!

Some Christmas photos if you didn't get the card....

November 28...

Yep, Thanksgiving has come and gone...and now Christmas season is in full swing around here!Thanksgiving was soooo yummy! I got a little sick because I ate tooooooo much! Oh but it was so good! Funny story...we were all sitting at the table eating away and someone asked, "Where's the cranberry sauce?" OOOOPS! So, just then I realized not only did I forget to make the cranberry sauce...but I also forgot to make the yams and my cheese dip! Where was my brain? I have no idea what happened, everything I was supposed to make, I forgot about! After dinner Tina, Lindsay, Amanda and I got the news papers out and started scoping out the sales! We decided to be a little daring this year and went to Walmart at midnight!!! Let me tell you....I LOVED IT! I got some pretty sweet deals! A waffle maker-that flips-$10, a 40 piece Tupperware set for $10, and some toys for Darren. Then we came home and slept some and then went to a few stores and got more sweet deals! I love sales!Tina and I got all the Christmas decorating done around the house this week. We have had fun with Amanda being here. We'll miss her!

My nephew Braden went hunting for the first time...he helped dad shoot a deer, bird and coon!

Darren whiped out from watching mom and Grandma put up Christmas decorations!

Me, Tina, Amanda and Lindsay all ready for our Black Friday Midnight run to Walmart!

Darren all looking good for church!

He is such a handsome guy!

6 months old!!!

11/21/10
So...we've been out of town...yes, AGAIN!This time we went to Pocatello, Idaho and Ogden, Utah. Why? Well, these were JD's first 2 interviews for residency! Ahhh! And you ask why did I go along? Well, the spouse gets to come and see the programs, and can also go to the interviews! It was a ton of fun seeing the areas, getting to know the residents, and learning about the programs. I can't believe we are finally to this point! Ahh!We also snuck up and saw Great Grandma and Grandpa Dayton, Aunt Jacki, Uncle Andy and Uncle Spenser! It was so good to have a little time to see family on our busy trip!Since we've been back, Tina has had the house re-carpeted. Which means lots of moving things and lots of chaos! JD got a huge deer hunting this week! Make sure you "ooh" and "ahh" over it! It's his biggest one yet!I need another vacation! Ahh!

Darren's fake sad face....oh he hates airports!

But...he loves the big beds in the hotels!!!

The house got re-carpeted while we were gone! It turned out great!

Look at Darren sitting up! That's right, he's sitting up without anything behind him now!

JD, John and his friend Kyle. Check out his 10 point buck!

Grandpa Dayton and Darren!

Grandma Dayton and Darren!

Auntie Jaki and Darren!

Darren loves his Johnny Jump Up!

See that little bit of dark hair, aka "mullet"....that is all that is left of his baby hair!

11/7/10
Brr! It is getting cold out here! We decided to go shopping and get Darren a winter coat and hat. To my dismay...no where do they sell coats for under 6 months. They sell those one-piece suits (which we have a couple that we are borrowing). So, we bought a coat that is 6-12 months...poor little Darren, hopefully he'll grow into it!We got to go see my Aunt Wendy's musical this week. She is the theater director for Kearney High School. Each year they do amazing shows! You forget they are high schoolers! This year was Bye-Bye Birdie. Our cousin Colton was in it, which is so fun to watch! Bronson, his brother does the background stuff...it was so good to see them!We also celebrated Darci (JD's sister)'s birthday! We went out for Chinese...YUM! So much fun!Poor Darren has a horrible cold/cough. :( Not fun. He is happy even though he isn't always feeling good....such a good baby!He also started being not so interested in strangers. Usually he smiles at everyone and will let just about anyone hold him, lately he has begun to get more clingy! Ahh!Well, that is all for this week!Happy Birthday to Great Grandpa Dayton and to Darci!

Aunt Wendy, Uncle Tom, Grandma Fish, Grandpa Fish, JD, Darren and me!

The Kansas City Temple!!! 1 year left!

Darren's new favorite trick...spitting...

Darren and his big winter coat!

Oct 18th

10/18
Hopefully the pictures explain themselves this week. :)We did get to go see my cousins Alan and Josh this week...both who have never met Darren! Good times!Darren is down for his morning nap...so I'm off to get ready for my day! Woo hoo! Sorry so short, maybe more next week! Enjoy the pictures! Hope they make you smile as much as they do me!

Oct 12

10/12

Every week I get on here and think...what did we do this week? Then I look at all the pictures and realize we had some fun adventures!So...fall is here! Leaves are changing colors! We've had a few nights in the low 40's! Burr! But the days have been beautiful! We've been trying to spend as much time outside as possible! This week we went to visit National Beef! Which is always a good time, but we didn't have too much time to spend there. We were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch...which we did...but when we got there Darren was sound asleep! Poor guy! And then I realized I didn't even bring the stroller. So we decided to go this next week. So, there will be pictures to come!We also went to a couple parks, one with our play group and one with the family. It has been so much fun! Darren has learned to do some new weird sounds with his mouth. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of the strange face he makes when doing it! He has also learned how to roll front to back....so now he just keeps rolling back and forth. Last night he rolled across the room from Dad to Me! Sooo cute! It is crazy how fast he is growing and changing!This week I have started a part-part-time job! :) Soooo excited! I miss work soooo much! I will be showing rental properties. Not too busy. The guy needed a stay-at-home mom to be able to jump and go show when possible! So, this will be fun and interesting. I am being trained this week...which means Darren has to be babysat!!! Ahhh! He stayed with Aunt Lindsay last week! He just loves her! She said he did a good job! Then he stayed with a lady from church. I think he had a little harder time with her...but he survived! Better yet...I survived! It was soooo hard leaving him! I thought it would be a lot easier...but no! :) JD is busy busy...of course! Thank goodness for weekends! He does manage to get in some family time with us, and work on his hunting skills!My mom had her birthday this past week! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! :) I can't believe she is a grandma! So weird! hee hee!Well, that seems to be it for now!Back to life...Back to reality...oh I just love that song!

Darren loves to eat...and loves the bumbo!

JD trying out his bow!

Look how cute my boys are! Out enjoying a day at the park!

The rest of October....

10/31

Happy Halloween everyone!We are finally back home! Pennsylvania was amazing! I think it was the most beautiful place I have ever been! The leaves were all different colors, and the weather was wonderful! We had so much fun spending time with our friends, the Grahams! We sure miss them! Thanks Brit for EVERYTHING!I can't wait to get back there and see some of the historical stuff! Can you believe October is over? That means...Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner! Some radio stations start playing Christmas music tomorrow...how crazy is that???I can't wait to see all the tirck-or-treaters tonight! I just love Halloween!Oh, JD has gotten requests for interviews for all of the locations he applied to! So, now he is going to pick his top 6 or so, and go to interview at them. Woo hoo!I am down 40lbs since Darren was born! Yippy! Darren is getting more and more active everyday! He still wants to crawl so bad! He is sitting up pretty good too. Hope you all have a great night!

10/24

We've had one fun week!We started out by celebrating Grandma Fish's birthday! We got to goto Red Robin...YUM! hee hee! Happy Birthday Grandma!Then Darren and I flew to Pennsylvania to visit with he Grahams! Theyare our friends from NKC, also in Medical School. They are a yearahead of us and are doing their residency in a small town in PA!Well, JD had to come out here for a test, so I thougth it would be theperfect time to catch up with our friends! We also were able to meetup and spend some time with our friend Lindsay, who's husband is alsoin Medical School! Ahh! I just love all my friends! Even after wehaven't seen them in so long, it's like they never left!So, back to business...Darren and I are out here, and JD comes out next week for the test!Britney and her kids, Drew and Hailey took us to Hershey! It is theactual town where Hershey the chocolate company was started. Ifyou've never been...it's a pretty big deal! They even have anamusement park! Crazy! Well, we had a ton of fun going to chocolateworld... a place where they sell pretty much any of their candies andchocolates...a woman's dream! We got to go on a ride that showed ushow they make the chocolate! Yum! We also did a quick drive throughthe town and played at the park! It was a gorgeous day!Well...we are goign to get started on dinner...so we'll have more next week!

Darren 4 Months.

9/26/10

Ahh! I can't believe it! He is growing so fast! All you moms know how it feels! Even though he is getting older...he isn't getting much bigger. :) He is still a little guy! But he has finally graduated the newborn clothes and is in 3-6 months! Woo hoo! His personality is getting a lot bigger too! He can't sit still! He looks like dad...but acts like mom! He always wants to be looking and seeing what is going on. If I am holding him and talking to someone, he wants to see who. He wants to watch tv soooo bad if its on. He just does not want to miss a thing! This week we started him on rice cereal. He LOVES it! I was so sad to start him on it! He just isn't old enough, right? Oh but he just started slurping it off the spoon and couldn't get enough! He is having a lot more fun with dad. I think he's found a new buddy!

9/19/10

We are home...FINALLY! The vacations are over! Darren is one experienced traveler now! Whew, are we both pooped! We had a lot of fun! We flew out to Utah and stayed a few days in Amanda's (JD's sis) house and hung out around Provo. We went mini golfing, went to Thanksgiving Point, went shopping, and ate at all our favorite restaurants. Darren and I even got to go see his Great Aunts and Uncle...and cousins! After a few days we drove up to Idaho. We stayed with Tina's parents-Great Grandma and Grandpa Dayton. We got to go do some more shopping, Tina and Lindsay went to the temple, we road the 4 wheeler, rode the motorcycle, saw the Campus, visited with Uncle Andy and Spenser, got to see Kristopher and Katie and enjoyed time outdoors. We took a day and went to Yellowstone...so much fun! I wish we could have spent more time. We also took a day and went to Jackson Hole and saw the Grand Tetons! The weather was amazing the entire time we were on vacation! It was sooooo nice! JD is happy we are home finally! He is glad we are back to normal life and can get back on a routine!

Darren 3 months.

9/9/10

Well, since we have been back we have had so much to do! We haven't been able to get Darren on a schedule which has been rough. Instead of sleeping for his usual 6-7 hours at a time at night, he's going every 4. :( We have been busy with family! Andy and Spenser were out here visiting...so we spent a few days hanging out with them. We got to go up and see family at Grandma and Grandpa Fish's house. Darren experienced his first sporting event...we went to a Royal's game! Darren was totally loving it...checking everything out! He was such a good boy! Aunt Lindsay is letting us borrow a Bumbo...which is the best invention ever! It is so awesome because he gets to sit up and watch whats going on! He loves it! A few new things Darren has discovered... He LOVES to stand up and sit up! He HATES laying down on his belly or back! How to grab onto everything and stick it in his mouth! Laughing Sticking out his tongue for fun The TV How to cry until mommy he is in mom's arms That he does not like the car seat or car! The Wheels on the Bus is his favorite song It is so fun watching him discover new things and grow! CRAZY! JD has a study month for September so he is able to be home and help out with Darren a lot more! I think we all kind of like it! Well, I will be gone for the next 2 weeks...Utah and Idaho! So don't be surprised if I don't get a message out until we get back!

8/9/10
Darren and I are in California! We are having so much fun! We only wish JD could be here too! He's busy back home doing a surgery rotation while we are out playing. :( This week has been a busy one! Darren has got to hang out with Grandma Amy. He has also got to meet....Grandpa Hawk, Uncle Tanner, Uncle Justin, and his Aunt Emma. Aunt Emma just got back from EFY and starts school this Wednesday! So we are trying to get as much time with her as possible! Sunday we went over to the Staley's for dinner and everyone got to love on Darren there too! Darren got to meet his first cousins once removed??? We have been pretty busy. One day we went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk....and I had a blast because I got to ride the roller coasters with Tanner and Bryan as Mom helped out with Darren. Darren got to see the beach for the first time! Check out the cute hat Uncle Tanner bought for Darren! I forgot to bring one, so he got him a Santa Cruz one! Emma and I have been busy re-doing her room...I forgot to take before pictures but we will have after ones soon! :) We went shopping around Monterey! I bought my first pair of non-maternity pants! woo hoo! They are a much bigger size than I was hoping...but who cares! They are real pants!!! I have realized how hard it really is living away from my mom and siblings...It really stinks that we have to live so far. It stinks that they will have to watch Darren grow up in pictures. :(