The House

I've been putting off posting pictures of our new place because of all the finishing touches I have in mind. But I've come to the conclusion that there's always going to be one more thing I want to get done. So... here it is.

The view when you walk in. (the door to the upstairs people)

Our adorable little drop-leaf table that is just the right size.

The kitchen.

The living room.

I especially love my temple picture that I made at a party thing Tyson's cousin hosted.

Our bedroom/Callan's bedroom

The corner nook/Bathroom (yes, that is a wooden toilet seat)

And last, but not least, Easton's room. You might remember that Easton's furniture has been an ongoing process for a few months. I had the idea of refinishing Tyson's old bedroom set that we used when we got married. I wanted to sand it all down and paint it black. Tyson ended up doing almost all of the sanding because I got too impatient (not to mention huge) for the job. And our brother in law, Thomas, jumped in and took over from there with his cabinet-making expertise. He sprayed and lacquered the bed, dresser, desk, and book shelf for us. We owe him big time!

These are the pillows I made Easton for his birthday with the extra fabric from his crib bedding that I made 2 years ago.

It's hard to take pictures of the furniture because the room is so small, but we just love the way it all turned out.

The original skirt and quilt from his crib bedding. I cut up the skirt to make it fit.

Arlene found these darling handles at Hobby Lobby and they are perfect for his room!

I'm starting to feel like it's all coming together. I've had a few more encounters with spiders and earwigs than I would like, but it's starting to feel like home.

In other news...

Yesterday Tyson was invited to interview at the University of Southern Nevada for the pharmacy program. Yahoo! He was starting to lose hope as the months went by since he applied. Getting an interview was really important for him because he has average grades, but he has an incredible amount of experience that he wouldn't be able to share any other way. He is currently filling in as an OR (operating room) pharmacy technician while someone is on maternity leave and has had some great opportunities to learn and progress. He prepares the IV's needed for the surgeries and checks the anesthesia kits, etc...

On Sunday my mother-in-law arranged for my sister-in-law and I to go get 3D ultrasounds of our babies at the hospital. Amanda got some great pictures of her little guy, but Callan was being stubborn! He is positioned with his head on my right side and feet on my left and is facing in to my spine. There was no chance of getting a picture of that little guy and I'm starting to worry that he's not going to turn in time because he is ALWAYS sitting that way.

Easton is doing well in his big boy bed and is just as funny as ever. I was nervous for the transition because he had been sleeping with us for a few weeks, but he did great the first night! He slept all through the night which he's only done once or twice in his entire life so far. He woke up right after Tyson left for work at about 5:30 and I heard him out in the hall saying, "Ohhhh I lost my mom. I can't find her." It about broke my heart! He has continued to wake up really early, but I figure he'll adjust over time. Last night after we put him to bed we heard his door handle jiggling and he came running out saying there were ghosts in his room. Whoever taught him about ghosts better fess up and tell him they're NOT REAL! He continues to talk about the ghosts in our house whenever he hears the people upstairs walking around. He feels the need to emphasize certain words by repeating them three times in the sentence.

For example:

"Mom! There's ghosts in my room!"

"No, there aren't. Ghost's aren't real, they're pretend. It's the people upstairs walking around."

"No! There's ghosts! It's not and not and not the people upstairs!"

Or

"I'm not going to get dressed! I want to be naked and naked and naked!"

Last week he played a hunting game at Amanda and Thomas's on the Wii. Since then he has been constantly talking about how when his brother Callan is born they are going to shoot a bear and he's going to pull the trigger. He has been very loving to his baby brother lately also. When he jumps right on top of my stomach (which happens frequently) he immediately kisses it and says, "Sorry Callan, it's ok Callan." He's always telling me about the fun things he and Callan are going to do when Callan is born and gets "big like Easton."

As usual, I had a long list of funny Easton lines that I wanted to record, but they've slipped my mind. Maybe they'll come to me for the next post.

January Thus Far

I can't believe January is half-way gone. We moved into our new basement apartment in Sandy on New Year's Eve. We had an apartment in Midvale lined up that was a brand new, beautiful, and, unfortunately, government subsidized. That meant there were income restrictions (meaning you had to make under a certain amount of money.) We didn't think we had any problem meeting that requirement, but Tyson is still listed as an employee at Timpanogos Hospital because he fills in there about once a month. When the apartment place called Timpanogos HR, they reported that he works 12 hours per week (which he doesn't) because that is the maximum he could work at his current employee status. Long story short, the apartment complex was really rude, thought we were being fraudulent, wasn't willing to work with us, told us we couldn't live there, left us with less than two weeks to find a new place.

We found this basement apartment on KSL and it has definitely been a blessing that the first apartment didn't work out. The couple that lived here before had paid through December and wanted to move out on the first of January, but we told them we really needed to move in on Dec. 31st because that's when our lease ended. Tyson mentioned that we would be willing to clean the apartment if it meant getting in on the day we needed... We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into with that offer:)

We are so grateful for all the help we received from our families! We had an $800 deposit at our previous apartment which our ward members warned us we will probably never see again, but we cleaned that place like you wouldn't believe because we want our money back, dang it! After we cleaned there and loaded the truck, we headed up to Sandy. The other residents were still here! We waited for them to pack a few last things and leave. When I walked in to our new house I almost cried. They had a black lab living here in a kennel in the bedroom and the entire house reeked of wet dog! It was terrible. When Arlene filled the kitchen sink with bleach I started to feel better right away. The moms scrubbed and scrubbed until there was hardly anything left for me to do! The smell lingered for a few days, but I think we have it under control now. We burn a lot of candles anyway. Overall, it is turning out really cute and I'm liking the arrangement more and more. We are picking up the last piece of Easton's furniture tonight and getting it all set up. After that I'll take some pictures.

We celebrated Tyson's 26th Birthday on January 5th. I can't believe he is so old! We weren't really going to celebrate, but I felt like I wanted to do something for him because he has worked so hard getting us moved! He has a Reese's Peanut Butter cup obsession so I threw together a quick Peanut Butter Fudge cake (not my favorite) and got some balloons. My mom and Collette stopped by for the quick party. From Easton and I he got some hair clippers so he can cut his own hair like he's been wanting to and clothes. My family got him a zero degree sleeping bag, and he hasn't decided yet what he wants to buy with the birthday money from his family.

We spent the end of December and all of January so far with this stupid cold. (The sickness kind, not the weather-although that has also been stupid and cold.) Tyson had the worst cough I've ever heard and was up all night every night for a long long time. We just couldn't get over it! I finally got an antibiotic from my OB and we're pretty much better with the exception of some coughing now and then. We went to our new ward last Sunday and were amazed at how nice and welcoming everyone was. People stayed after sacrament to meet us and introduce themselves and it seems like a really great ward. We left after sacrament meeting because of our constant coughing and Easton was so sad he didn't get to go to nursery. Hopefully this week!

I'm still working in Spanish Fork two days a week, and I'm surprised it only takes me 40 minutes to get there. The drive is not bad at all. Yesterday I did NOT want to go to work and I said that to Easton. He started begging me not to go to work and to stay home with him. I HATE that. I told him, "I have to go to work because that's how I get money to buy you new toys." Without missing a beat he responded with, "I have enough toys in my room mom! Stay home with me!" Tear jerker, I know.

All in all, 2011 has brought us lots of blessings so far! Hopefully the next post will be a little more exciting and picture-ful.

Christmas 2010

Sorry about the delay... I finally have some time to do some updates!

We were able to go to my family's for the annual Christmas Eve traditions. We had a yummy dinner and put on the nativity play. Easton was the angel. He did a great job repeating his lines and just had to hold the baby Jesus while he was onstage.

After the nativity we headed home to put out our stockings and the milk and cookies for Santa. Christmas morning was so much fun with Easton! I was shocked that at 6:30, Easton and I were still asleep and Tyson was waking us up to open presents! Easton was so excited to see what Santa brought him and didn't waste any time before devouring the Hershey's kisses in his stocking! He and Tyson got matching PJ's and looked so cute!

Tyson got tons of socks, tons of Cokes, and some electric massagers from Santa.

I got some new boots, sweats, and make up from Santa.

Santa brought Easton just what he had been asking for, a gun. He spent hours "bamming" people that day. I kind of think this is the cutest picture ever. He was pretty proud of his loot.

After the Santa presents we opened presents from each other. Tyson got a photography backdrop and light kit and I got some really nice MAC make up and under armor sweat pants. Easton got a whole bunch of board games.

We headed to Sandy after we finished our presents at home to see what the aunties got from Santa. We had a delicious breakfast that the boys prepared. I got to have my own personal appetizer of eggs from my dad since I was STARVING by this point:) After breakfast we opened all the presents under the Cook tree. We came home with a new Singer sewing machine and food storage! Easton also got lots of fun things like clothes and extra Mr. Potato Head pieces.

From there we headed to Payson for MORE! We got a perfect little table for our new place. I got a Chi straightener since mine recently broke and Tyson got some...warm coverall things? I don't know what to call them, but they have been very useful throughout the move. Grandma Page got herself a new kids 4-Wheeler for all her grandsons to play with at her house. Easton had a lot of fun driving it up and down the sidewalk! He doesn't really have the hang of steering. Or stopping.

We got so many presents I can't remember them all at the moment so I hope I haven't forgotten anything major. We are so blessed to have such great families and everything we need in life!