'Twas the Night Before (Jared's First) Christmas...

Wow! Christmas Eve had finally arrived. Jared asked Mom & Dad to stop making cookies long enough for him to hang up his stocking. All the pretty lights, fun smells and pretty colored boxes were so fun to look at but Dad convinced Jared that the faster he fell asleep, the sooner morning would come.

Merry Christmas! The sun woke up and we were ready to see what Santa had brought. Here Dad and Jared are enjoying their stockings. Jare found some red plastic wrap that made the most wonderful sounds.

Oooh! Mom, the present tastes as good as it looks.

Good morning Mom & Jared!

After stockings and breakfast, we headed out to deliver Christmas cookies to a few families. Jared took a nap in the car and was ready to open his other gifts when we returned.

Actually, he was happy to just have the gift un-opened! This one had an especially interesting green bow.

Dad had an especially thoughtful gift for Jared.
Rice cereal was getting pretty routine so Mom decided to Jazz meal time up a bit with a vegetable. And the winner was... Squash!

Yummy!

He was quite the trooper, humoring Mom & Dad with those wonderful veggies. After getting cleaned up, Jared let Mom & Dad know that he needed a break from all the excitement.

And a new outfit. Does it taste good too?

Well, all in all, Christmas was pretty fun. Some many new things to taste and see, lots of hugs and kisses, Jared had a busy day. Merry Christmas everyone!

A time of Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving meal, and Jared

was happy to be full after the feast.

Jared was overcome with joy, to have his favorite meal for Thanksgiving...

Rice cereal, yummm.

We were always taught not to play with our food, but it's

so much more fun to eat when you get to play too. Margaux

is playing tug-of-war with Jared and instead of using a rope,

they are playing with Jared's spoon.

It's a long standing tradition, that on Thanksgiving day, you don't

eat any breakfast or lunch. Jared was accused of snitching,

and in an effort to prove his innocence, can be seen as thus,

displaying the contents...or lack thereof...of his mouth.

Jared was SO glad when Aunt Katie came. Not

only did Aunt Katie tell him how absolutely

adorable he is, and take him on a trip to Nauvoo

but she also let him play the video games with her.

After being defeated on a particularly difficult level

Jared mourns the loss by eating the controller.

This is our living version of a Picasso...sort of. Okay maybe it is just a

picture of Jared, and Michael was tired of the flash going off in his face,

but the Picasso idea could work. You just have to have an abstract mind :)

One of the reasons Thanksgiving was so great was because Michael took a couple of (much needed) days off work. Margaux was grateful because for a few days, father and son could play during the daytime...instead of playing right before Jared's bed-time.

Suspicious September

The months are flying by, and everyone in the house is learning new things. M & M have been learning to adjust to Jared's schedule, which is now fairly consistent (thankfully).

Jared has a special"thinking chair" that we put him in when we need to use both arms for other activities. He then has about 5 minutes to come up with the right answer...and he sure is smart.
Don't believe me?? See for yourself :)

Before taking this picture, we asked Jared, "Which one is bigger, a whale or a guppie?"

Not bad for someone who doesn't even know what a whale is, and has probably never seen a real fish, huh?

Jared really likes to play games. One night we decided to play charades ( you know, the game where one person acts like a mime, and everyone tries to guess what they are trying to mimic). Margaux and I had a hard time figuring this one out at first, but Jared gave us the hint of "something you do in 7th grade Biology".

What do you think he looks like?

He sure is a creative thinker, this boy is.

This month, Jared really entered the "grabbing" phase. Anything that is within his reach will be had...and more than likely either stuck in his mouth or up his nose. I was surprised when I went to review some of the pictures we had taken, and found this one. It seems, Jared may have got his sticky fingers on my camera and decided to take his own picture...as if we don't already have enough pictures of him. I will admit however, that it's not a bad picture...for a novice.

Just a little more evidence. Jared was caught red-handed, sticking something in his mouth and he knows it. Doesn't he just look guilty?

A day with Jared

Good morning!
Now that I'm awake, mom gets me all snuggled up in my bear onesie. I ride in the stroller while we go on a walk. Looks like I needed a little extra comfort this morning...



Later on, when mom needs to grab a snack, I play
in my bouncer.


-this picture makes him look a little bit like a monk of some sort-

On this day (which happened to be Mom's birthday & Mexico's Independence day), Dad was a busy guy working with the drain snake.

After that was done, we went to the local Art Museum and saw so many different types of art from around the world. We visited Outback for a Bloomin' Onion- Mom's favorite appetizer!

Me working on tummy time- you can still see the star mark on my head.

Hooray! Playing is my favorite thing to do. This is the camouflage game. Can you see me on the blanket?

Three months

I found my thumb!
Now I'm ready for a nap.










Just returning from church- Mommy & me















"Whoa! Look what I can see now!"
Jared held his head up -kinda- long enoughfor me to snap a quick picture. I was so excited, I emailed Michael at work to let him know.

Two Months now...

Hooray! They were finally here! Grandpa & Grandma Carter came to visit for a few days...

The weather was typical of August- so sticky and hot! Thankfully, the weather is everchanging and cooled off later.

While they were here, they helped us host a lunch for friends after Jared's blessing, supported Michael in some home fix-up projects, visited our temple & the Arch & the Farmer's Market.




Grandpa takes a break with Jared and they work on his first word, "Grandpa". Hmm, maybe we'll have to wait a few more months.

All dressed up in his blessing outfit! Too warm for pants though...

The outfit was Dad's so that makes it extra special :)

Grandpa, Dad & Jared- at least two of them are smiling. Jared was tired of pictures that day.