Outside

The weather has been so nice outside that we've been itching to do some fun things outside! Recently, we took Roman on his first trip to the zoo. He loved it!

We also went for a little hike up in the San Tans. Roman loved feeling like he was a part of the action!

Only a real man can wear a baby :)

Little Romer was asleep about 2 minutes into the hike! Apparently the thought of physical activity wears him out.

We found an old abandoned mine on our hike. So cool! I love hiking up in this park because there are so many different trails to check out- you can find something new every time.

Family picture

Can you spot the camouflage shoes?

Resolutions

First of all, Happy New Year! I was thinking about what to resolve to do better this year, and while there are many things I could choose to try and do better at (like, hmmm, blogging?), I seem to get distracted every time I start to think about it by... life!

So, I think I'll go watch Eat Pray Love while folding the massive pile of laundry on my couch, and let you know if anything good comes to mind! If not, know I'll love spending the new year with my favorite people in this picture (minus the moustache!)

Project- Cabinets!

Why I chose the hectic week of Christmas to redo my kitchen cabinets I'll never know, but I'm sure glad I did- I just love how they turned out!! I've always wated dark kitchen cabinets, and have been tossing around the idea of staining my cabinets darker for a while. But, all the staining, sanding, blah... sounded way too overwhelming!! Then, my mother-in-law gave us an awesome black hutch with a distressed paint job, and inspiration struck! I would do the cabinets to match. Here are the cabinets before:

A little painting, sanding, staining, and some varnish later... ta da!

Christmas!

Christmas was great this year!! We were so glad that Tommy got to spend Christmas Day at home this year (he worked the past 2 years). We started out the festivities by spending Christmas Eve at Grandma DeeDee's, where we learned that Roman's favorite present would be the box :)

On Roman's very first Christmas morning, Santa spoiled him with a lot of presents!

We enjoyed spending the rest of the day with family. And, no Christmas season would be complete without a trip to the temple lights! We spent Christmas evening at the temple, remembering the reason for the season. It was a little past Roman's bedtime, and you can see him snuggled up inside my coat. He was so cuddly- he slept the whole time!

Merry Christmas!!

FALLING INTO FALL

VETERAN'S DAY

Yay, fall is finally here! This week we have finally busted out the long sleeves, the thick blankets, and turned the heater on in the car in the morning. We have loved the nice weather, and celebrated Veteran's Day outdoors, fishing at the lake. (I should say Tommy fished, and I fished for some good pictures!) You can see what we both caught below :)

Waiting for those fish to bite...

Woo-hoo! A stinky catfish.

Yuck.

Ticklish

I think Roman had had enough of being my photography target!

My cute boys

He has found his feet! They are better than any toy, and I love it because they can't be dropped!

HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween!

Roman and Gunner, the furry forest friends
We went to a Halloween carnival in Brie and Jason's neighborhood the night before Halloween. They had a lot of fun stuff for the kids, including a petting zoo. The kids loved it... and so did Tommy! I think he was the only adult in there, because he had decided he needed to catch that shy little potbelly pig and make it be a little friendlier. After chasing it for a few minutes, we all hear a high-pitched squeal- mission accomplished. Poor little pig!

PUMPKIN PATCH

Picking out our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

My boys

CABIN TRIP

Rome's first trip to the cabin! Of course we had to take him to the swing

"Is it just me, or does this ravine look deeper every time?"

SCRUFFY THE CLOWN

Tommy's fire department put on a community night, and it was a lot of fun! In case you don't recognize the guy in the picture, it is the famous Scruffy the Clown. I was always a little creeped out by clowns, but the kids there loved him! There were a few that came up and asked to get their picture taken with him. Too funny! (and yes, he did the make-up himself, pretty impressive!)

Roman and Scruffy

Nice height!

Roman and Aunt Maggie

THUMB-SUCKER?

Oh my, did I mention my little sweetheart has turned into a hair-twirling, thumb-sucking baby? So cute, but I'm not looking forward to breaking that habit!

Some new things from this past month:

#1: New Hat

#2: Super Saucer fun! Thanks Shani- he loves this toy!




#3: Rolling over. Just kidding, not quite there yet! He kind rolls onto his side though ;)

#4: Eating yummy food- I think this is squash. Go Rome Go!

#5: We like to send Tommy pictures when he is at work. This one is Roman saying 'I miss you!'

#6: Wrestling matches with Gunn.

#7: Tommy is already starting to train him for baseball. He's hoping to start 'the dream' at a very young age. Here is the 'sleep osmosis' technique!

#8 This month I started back to work. I got a little teary-eyed leaving the first morning, but it makes me treasure every moment I have with my baby at home even more. Love you Romey!

And, really? Snuggie for dogs?? Worst part is that I totally wanted to buy one.

First Haircut

The time had come... my cute little baby boy had started looking less like an Elvis look-alike, and more like a wild hippie child from the 60's:

So, we got out the scissors and started chopping. Those sideburns were the first to go!

And the finished result. He looks more like his dad than ever!