First Annual Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved pumpkins and baked pumpkin seeds for our Halloween Eve activity. Teya didn't care much for the carving part since it was for big people hands only. She loved getting the pumpkin seeds ready though. She helped pour on the butter and salt and special secret ingredient: Worcestershire sauce. In fact, she was so enthusiastic about the pouring that we ended up a little strong on the Worcestershire. The pumpkin seeds still rocked though and at the end of the night we had two lovely Jack-o-lanterns.

Squeak Squeak!

Our local Petland is really cool because they actually let you hold all the animals; birds, hamsters, kittens, puppies, you name it. I love taking Teya over there because A) it's free, and B) she gets such a kick out of it. Here's a little clip of her first time holding a little hamster-ish thing.

Trunk-or-Treat

Tonight was Teya's first real trunk-or-treat since last year she broke out in a fever and was too tiny anyway to really enjoy it. This year though was a raging success. She was dressed as a pretty pink princess and loved the whole idea of "trunk-or-treating". At first she didn't want to go to any other cars, she just wanted to eat the first candy that was dropped in her bucket. Once she figured out that all the cars were giving out candy though she took off running. Each time a candy was dropped in her bucket she'd move on to the next car shouting "I want mowa!" I think we've created a candy monster!

Pre-Halloween festivities!

Taber is out of town for a recruiting trip but luckily there have been lots of things to do with Halloween just around the corner. We've stayed busy going on hayrides, bouncing around in jolly jumps, eating lots of yummy treats, and meeting cool characters like Clifford at the local Halloween festivities.

Cheap Entertainment

Kiddie Pool: $8
Soft play balls: $10
Bonding time with Daddy: Priceless

Monkey on the bed

Today Teya woke up and went straight from her crib to her big girl bed for a good round of monkey jumping. She giggled her head off and shouted "jum, jum, jum!" as she jumped up and down. I played safety patrol and made sure she didn't "fall off and break her head" like the little monkeys in the nursery rhyme. Anyway, it was really cute to watch her have such a great time. Another bonus, no need to buy a trampoline anytime soon, the bed is doing just great for now! Here are some pics of her jumping on Papa Uda's bed when my parents were in town. She's just a happy little jumping bean!

Work out blues

So yesterday I worked out for the first time in a few weeks and WOW am I feeling it today! My legs are so sore I can barely walk! And sitting down kills my thighs and behind. It's amazing how quickly you can get out of shape! Anyway, I'm totally motivated to get back in the groove and I'm loving Debbie Siebers and her Slim in 6 routine. It really gives you a sweet workout in not much time at all, which is good because 30 minutes is about all Teya will give me, after that she's climbing on my legs, changing the channel on my workout video, and doing everything she can to sabotage my workout. It's a miracle anyone with kids ever stays in shape!

Hiking in the Smokies

On our last day in Gatlinburg we split up from my parents and sisters to do a little hike up in the Smoky mountains. Teya absolutely loves riding in her hiking backpack with Daddy so it was a special treat. As soon as we took out the backpack she said "pack pack! Daddy!" She had a great time with her hiking stick in hand (and sometimes mouth) exploring the area and enjoying the colors and smells of fall.

Hiking stick in mouth

Stuck in a tree

Weekend in Gatlinburg

To cap off a wonderful week with my parents and sisters, we all drove out to Gatlinburg TN to enjoy the beauty of fall in the Smoky mountains. We stayed in a sweet cabin up in the smokies and did lots of sight seeing along with a fun filled day at Dollywood amusement park. Teya loved her first trip to an amusement park. She went from ride to ride, crying her eyes out every time the rides got over until she realized that she could still ride them again. We were feeling kind of crazy so we stayed all day without going home for a nap. She crashed in the stroller around 3pm and slept through all the crazy sounds of an amusement park for almost an hour. It was such a fun trip! I'd turn around and do it again in a heartbeat!

pumpkin at Dollywood

Carousel with Daddy

Ducky ride for the 50th time

Little Miss Piggy

Uda's in town!

My parents and two little sisters, Sarah and Liz are out for the week to visit us here in Tennessee. So far it's be AWESOME having them in town! Teya loves all the attention she gets from everyone and especially enjoys having her own entertainment troupe in the backseat when we go on car rides, which we've done a lot! We've driven out to Nashville a couple of times to visit the Oprymills hotel and mall. We've also done some scenic drives around Beechgrove. I'm loving having company while Taber is at work, and having Grandpa here to babysit while the girls go out to get pedicures! Hooray for family!

Teya's backseat entertainers

Music with Mommie

Recently I took Teya to a Music with Mommie class because every time anything with a beat starts playing she starts bopping around. Anyway, she absolutely loved the class and even did a solo in the microphone (she sang "E-I-E-I-O") Here's a little clip of her shaking her maracas in the class.

Update!

So now that we live way too far away from all our family I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog. I don't really know where to start so I think I'll just give a quick update. Taber graduated from MBA school at BYU in April and we moved out to Murfreesboro Tennessee in May. We bought our first home and Taber started working for General Mills as an assistant HR manager. I'm loving being a stay at home mom and exploring Tennessee with Teya. She's almost 20 months now and starting to talk up a storm. Some people even think she has a Tennessee accent! We'll just have to wait and see!