The Remaining Bits of January

:: We got a grow light for Christmas and now we're dreaming of an indoor herb garden.  So far we have three little basil sprouts, mold in the rosemary container, and parsley is keeping us guessing

 :: Robb got called as Elder's Quorum President (it's one of the lay leadership positions in our church) for our ward's 2nd Quorum (only in Utah) and I'm still serving on the Additional Activities Committee.

:: I discovered why I keep finding two little holes in all my shirts
::We went to Red Lobster, the waiter asked if it was a special occasion.  Our reply, "we have a gift card."

::Colby is completely weaned, refuses to let us feed him anymore, and is slowly figuring out utensils (hands are still the favorite way to go)

 :: We had an epic Ebert/Rigby Waffle party and played Telestrations (you're given a word, your neighbor illustrates it, the next person guesses the word based on the drawing, etc) to top the night off.  This was my personal favorite:

:: I fell in love with this song:

:: Colby walks around if there's something to hold on to (he also started clapping this month)

and playing peek-a-boo is his new favorite game

:: Robb took me to see BYU's production of The Phantom of the Opera. Amazing.

 :: And all three of us were sick this last week.  We all have awful colds and Robb and Colby both came down with fevers.

How Robb describes the feeling of footie pajamas: "It's like being hugged by your grandma while sitting in front of a roaring fire in Winter."

12 on 12 in January

I got called off work today (which I'm grateful for because attempting to take 12 HIPPA approved pictures depicting my day would be difficult). 

01.  Sleeping in
02.  Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes
03.  Impromptu sword fight
04.  More teeth
05.  Getting rid of the TV
06.  DI treasures
07.  Lunch: Ham sandwiches
08.  Christmas card love
09.  BYU Basketball
10.  Figured out our humidifier
11.  Dinner: Shumai
12.  Called off work again

Christmas

I've been procrastinating this post partly because I know at least 290 of the 328 pictures on my phone are from this 2 week period and also because my prose never does justice to this time of year (especially when I'm behind, but that can't be changed at this point).  

:: The Friday before Christmas we went to see the lights on Temple Square...along with everyone else in the Salt Lake City area.  After 20 minutes of searching, we found a spot to park with my Grandma and Grandpa Nielson and spent a good half hour admiring the beauty around us before we decided to hustle ourselves back into the warm car.

:: The Eve of Christmas Eve: We reenacted the Nativity with our good friends, the Sorensens (Erin and I did this together every year growing up and it made me so happy to have her over).  Robb and I talked about how Christmas has changed for us, that we've lost the old feeling of wonder and excitement (to some extent, we both still love this time of year and I have faith that we will rediscover it, but it will be different), but having Erin over for the Nativity brought it back for me.  

:: Christmas Eve: I had to work Christmas this year (oh, the joys of being a nurse), so we moved Christmas day up a bit since Colby can't tell the difference anyway.  We loved playing Santa for our little man who actually enjoyed opening presents this time.  Robb got his Christmas snow and I got my candy cane bread (thanks to Erin) and we ended the day eating Christmas dinner with the Valentines, a new couple in our ward.

:: Christmas day (for me at least) consisted of this:

and a little of this (I only had to work half a shift this year):

We decided to move the furniture around (more fung shui) after taking down the tree.

:: Boxing day: We drove up to my Aunt Paula's for a quick nap and her generous shuttling services, but we left much later than planned.  We arrived at the airport after three quick stops (Paula wasn't feeling well) and a missed exit with 30 minutes before take-off.  I was feeling uneasy until I spotted the security line which snaked all the way through the maze to the back of the hallway and curled around...and then anxiety hit.  Luckily for us, Robb overheard an airport official mention to another panicked individual that the lines might be shorter in the other terminal.  We sprinted over, wheezed our way through the line and barely made our flight.  

We had this waiting for us though :)

I love my family.

:: One day of down time and then we piled into a car bound for Medford, Oregon

Colby met his great-great Grandma Campbell

Ammon Ebert married his sweetheart, Estefani 

Medford will always be a home to me

Colby met his second cousin, Mason (although due to three new teeth and a delayed bedtime, he wasn't particularly charming)

Driving home we stopped at my Aunt Trina and Uncle Dane's place where we enjoyed amazing food and their delightful company

:: New Year's Eve:  Games until 10:00pm at which point three of our number decided sleep sounded good

Mom, Jory, and Em toughed it out

:: We enjoyed hand-crafted sodas from a store specializing in root beer

:: Indulged in some quality snuggle time

:: Colby learned to climb stairs

:: We went on a Duck Tour (it's a WWII landing craft turned tour bus that allows you to experience both the surf and turf of Seattle).

:: We demolished small trees

:: And got pushed around by the little guy

:: Dad took us to see a store of the company he works for (and we bought a couple more gallons of their addicting apple juice)  

:: And then our week and a half was up and life demanded we return to the reality of school, work, and massive amounts of laundry

And yes, Colby spent the entire flight raising and lowering the blind

Reader's Digest Version of November-December

:: The first heavy snow storm of the year took a toll our tree in the front yard.  I'm deep in mourning because I doubt it will survive the winter and it's gorgeous in the spring.

:: Robb presented at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics conference in San Diego. Robb's thoughts on the experience: "It was like going to the most boring science/math class you've ever had, taught by that foreign guy you can't understand, in 10 minute increments, all day long, for 3 days straight, with some genuinely interesting/awe-inspiring presentations mixed throughout. Needless to say, I spent a modest amount of time ditching out on lectures and walking around San Diego. I got to tour the USS Midway and eat in Little Italy and at Kansas City BBQ (the place in Top Gun where Goose plays 'Great Balls of Fire' on the piano and Tom Cruise dances with that blond lady at the end of the movie). If you watch the scene with 'Great Balls of Fire', we sat and ate just outside the window in the background."

Colby and I both had our own ways of expressing how much we missed him:

:: Our little man turned a year old on November 19th.  He was spoiled by grandparents on both sides (although he didn't seem interested in investigating what lay beneath all the brightly colored papers and bows), politely consumed his birthday cake in crumb sized bites, loved his new books and toys, and didn't seem to mind that his birthday celebration was two days late so Robb could attend.  Best. year. ever.

:: We celebrated Thanksgiving in Morgan at my sister-in-law, Heather's, house.  All of Robb's immediate family were there and we had an amazing time.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the food because I was more interested in eating than documenting at that point.  We brought pumpkin pie, shrimp salad (a Hays' family favorite), and green bean casserole.  It all turned out great except for the green beans, for some reason they tasted like dirt.  I chose to blame the recipe rather than my culinary skills.

(This picture makes me happy.  I caught Natalie giving kisses to each of her brothers, she's such a sweet girl)

:: Robb's parents took us out to eat at Red Robin.  Colby used crayons for the first time and successfully drew for two minutes before trying to eat them.

:: I turned 25 on December 2nd.  I'm old now (I have two gray hairs and a one year old to prove it).  Robb took us to a little place called Station 22 for lunch (really good food) and that night we got our Christmas tree!

I'm so excited to watch Colby discover the magic and wonder of this season

Perfect birthday.

(Notice there aren't 25 candles, Robb forgot to buy more, so he wrote out 25 in Roman numerals: XXV...I love him so much)

:: I also celebrated a ten year anniversary with my faithful Ford Taurus.  We've been through a lot together.  There are tire marks in the side door from the summer my bike was crammed inside while I volunteered in Ecuador, a giant skid mark in the front from where I hit a basketball hoop, and a large dent in the fender from when we got hit by a bicyclist.  The windows won't always roll up and the windshield wipers don't always work, but she keeps rolling on and that's all I really need.

:: Colby tried spinach for the first time and loved it

:: And icy cold wind makes him giggle and stick out his tongue
:: 12/12/12

01.  French vanilla granola
02.  Learning to de-clutter the tree
03.  Facetime with Grandma Rigby
04.  Jillian Michaels is not my friend
05.  Planning the menu
06.  Leftovers
07.  De-cluttering my purse
08.  Baked potatoes and Chili
09.  Bath toys
10.  Not as snugly anymore
11.  Late night (but finals are done!)
12.  Radiant

:: Organized the junk drawer (it's kind of sad how happy this makes me)

:: French Baguette candles from Bath and Body Works legitimately smell like fresh baked bread

:: Made Peppermint White Hot Chocolate for the first time and it's probably the most amazing thing I ever tasted out of a cup.

And the world didn't end, so all is merry and bright.

12 on 12 in November

01.  An unfortunately brisk start to my morning
02.  Wardrobe
03.  Going down
04.  Lemon slices make everything better
05.  Snow day
06.  Black bean and corn quesadillas
07.  Loving the 20 minute power nap
08.  Dirty floors
09.  Awkward sleeping positions
10.  So glad when Daddy gets home
11.  Chicken orzo with red bell pepper and mushrooms
12.  A perfect ending