Year End Statisical Report

In the year 2007 we, being Deanna and Charles, did the following:

Ate 60 lbs of cheese (we LOVE cheese!)

Watched 24 hrs of TV (mostly sports games, cooking shows, and devotionals)

Boarded 16 flights

Visited 11 states

Patronized Wal-Mart 30 times

Drove ~ 20,000 miles

Produced 76 gallons of milk (Deanna)

Started 13 books that we did not finish

Watched 29 movies

Changed 1,398 diapers

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Caught in the Act

Azure recently became fascinated with the unsanitary practice pictured above. We were fortunate enough to capture this precious and fleeting moment on camera for all to enjoy. As you can see, she demonstrates a great ability to contort her limber lower extremities comfortably to her mouth. I am impressed at this new development, owing to the fact that big-toe sucking comes to me with much less ease, despite repeated efforts.

Lesson learned as a parent-what I don't get to personally enjoy in my life I can vicariously enjoy through my children.

Nanners

Wonderful news: Azure has finally grasped the concept of swallowing food! She ate almost 1/4 of a banana last night. This means we can leave her with a sitter now :)Azure's first Christmas was a blast. We went to Charles' cousin's house where she got to play with her 2nd cousin John who had lots of toys she liked. She was entertained and stimulated all day! Azure has also been quite the social butterfly lately and has only slightly shown signs of stranger anxiety. (mostly when she's tired) This is our next door neighbor who's only 5 days her senior.

Already showing signs of boy craziness...

with her flirtatious moves

Southern States Roadtrip

After we rented our sweet Jeep we headed to Fernandina beach on the border of FL and GA and then ate some traditonal southern BBQ at Sonny's.

Later that night we arrived in Savannah where we spent the next 2 days. Charles did so well at his interview at South University on Friday that they emailed Monday to tell him he was accepted! That makes 2 acceptances now. After the interview we headed out to Tybee Island and ate at the infamous Crab Shack which apparently was featured on Rachel Ray's $40 a day. It was the BEST seafood we ever had. They didn't give us much but it was delicious, especially the clam chowder, shrimp and crab cakes. Even better they had alligators at the restuarant. What is it about the south and BBQ and alligators, anyone?

We were cautioned not to drop Azure over the railing into the alligator pit but I must say we weren't tempted to do so at all, she had been well-behaved all day.

You can tell that Azure is Charles' daughter in this pic for she has a classic Charles facial expression!

Here's Azure fascinated by the waves on Tybee Island

Then we strolled down River St. in downtown Savannah and passed by some historic homes which we only have video of, maybe we'll upload that...

The next day we left for North Carolina and drove through South Carolina. We stayed at the Hatch's in Durham, thank you Hatches! We got to hang out with Evelyn all weekend, what could be better? We LOVE that girl :) She showed us around Chapel Hill and we almost ate at the Azure Grille, but they were closed.

Though Charles' interview didn't go as well in NC as it did in GA we still had fun driving around the small towns south of Durham and exploring.

Ah-Boof!

Boof (or bouf) is Azure's first word, not mama or dada, but boof. She varies from ah-boof, to just plain old boof. She mostly says it when she's playing quitely by herself. If you are unsure of what this word means you are not alone. But rest assured that boof is the singular of bouves. That is all that we can say.

We just returned from our Southern States Roadtrip! It was fun to explore 4 different states but we are glad to be home and get Azure back on schedule. For the most part she did pretty well. Landing in Jacksonville, FL at 80 degrees was quite different from the 15 degrees we left in Provo that morning!

Destructive Behaviors

Azure is now becoming a destructive baby. She reaches and grabs at her swing mobile to try and pull off her jungle animal friends. She also has succeded in pulling off a dangling toy from her playgym mobile. In the mornings when I get her out of her crib she has almost succeded in untying the strings from the bumper. What does this mean? She is getting too big for the toys she currently has.

We just got back from our first trip to CA to see Aunt Tally graduate from Cal State San Bernadino. Congrats Aunt Tally!

We also got to see one of my good friends, Darla, from high school.

Flying alone with Azure wasn't very fun. I guess it could've been worse, we heard a little boy crying the whole trip on the plane. And luckily Azure didn't do that. I'm looking forward to our next plane ride on Thursday b/c Charles will be with me and we'll be able to take turns with Azure on our lap. It's not easy holding that little cub b/c she doesn't sit, she wiggles and arches her back and slides off your lap which makes holding very difficult. Another battle we've been having lately is sucking snot out of her nose w/ the bulb syringe. I think the worst thing about being a baby is not being able to blow your own nose. Luckily she hasn't had any other sick symptoms, just snot.

Charles heard back yesterday from LECOM, the first school he interviewed at in Florida and they have accepted him! So, we know that we will for sure be going to Pharmacy School next year. We have a feeling that he will be accepted to more than 1 school this year and we'll have to end up choosing between schools. We will go where ever the Lord wants us to be. Here's a pic from his travels at Bradenton Beach.Stay tuned for more fun pics from our southern states road trip!

Sleep in heavenly peace

This may very well be just a phase that won't last longer than it has, but I am excited about it so I'm posting it: Azure has been sleeping for 12 hr stretches for almost 2 wks now! Sometimes even up to 14 hrs. What is the reason for this you ask? Her thumb. I witnessed this great moment by watching her wake up, fuss a tiny bit and then jerk her little thumb into her mouth and suck until she drifted off to sleep again peacefully. Then after 12 hrs of sleep I again went in to check on her and she still was sucking on her thumb sound asleep. Beautiful! On to Christmas festivities... It snowed on Saturday and was a great way to start off the Christmas season. Even though I'm not a big fan of snow it was beautiful and I was grateful for it. We set up our little 4 foot pre-lit tree and are still in the process of decorating it with ornaments. We have been listening to Christmas music and Azure enjoys dancing around with me in the kitchen while I sing to her.
Other things we're doing to get ready for Christmas: We are taking family Christmas pictures this week, going to see A Christmas Carol with friends, participate in Angel Tree, sing and listen to the Hallelujah Chorus at our stake Christmas fireside, read scriptures about the Savior's birth "under" the Christmas tree, drive around the south, spend time with family and friends, and probably other stuff I can't remember right now.

As I've mentioned before, every night before bed Charles and I sing hymns to Azure. We've started singing Christmas hymns and the other night while singing Away in a manger my heart was touched at the humility of our Savior. As we sang the words "no crib for his bed" while looking at Azure in her cozy crib I was filled with gratitude for the worldly possessions we have.
"The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay", how great of the God of this universe to condescend below all things and sleep on hay. "Stay by my cradle till morning is nigh". And I love the 3rd verse: "Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me forever, and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there." How grateful we are this Christmas to have a beautiful daughter, truly a gift from God, who teaches us so much about the pure love of Christ.