10 minutes

We have been married for 2 years, although it feels like 10 minutes... under water! That's our joke. It really has been the most wonderful two years. We were reminiscing of the last few years and wanted to record a few memories...  

How we met/ Our first date

I served my mission in Spain with Taylor's cousin Michael Karren. Little did I know that he was a matchmaker. Before I left for home Michael mentioned he has a cousin that had recently got home from his mission in Mongolia. I kind of laughed about it and did not think anything of it. Michael also wrote home and told Taylor about me. I got home in November 2008 and a couple months later I had a facebook friend request from a Taylor Fenton. We chatted online every now and again, but neither of us thought much of it. Several months passed and around June we both happened to be online one evening and began chatting; mostly about a silly boy I was seeing. He gave me some good advice and told me I had been patient enough with him. After this conversation we began talking more regularly. My mission president, President Farnsworth and his wife, who happened to be from Utah were coming home in July and I had planned to attend their homecoming. Taylor planned a date for us while I was in town. I was staying in Provo and he was up in Salt Lake. I drove up and met him in Salt Lake and then he drove us up to Paradise, where we had our first date. We went to his parents home, visited, and took the 4 wheelers out for a picnic. We didn't get very far before a hot oil began dripping on my leg. We stopped, got off and as soon as we did there was a loud noise and the back wheel caught fire. We ran back to the last house we had passed and the lady called the fire department. Taylor called his parents, who arrived with a fire extinguisher and put the fire out before the fire truck, ambulance and police car all showed up to the scene. It was one hot first date! We ended up having a picnic in the backyard. Later that evening we stopped for dinner at Cafe Sabor and then went back to his parents home in Salt Lake and watched Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. On my way back down to Provo I called my friend Katie who I was staying with and I told her, "I'm going to marry Taylor Fenton." She just laughed. Taylor and I had been picking dandelions which were ginormous and making wished. I actually made a wish that I would marry this man that I had known for a whole 3 hours. The next morning we went together to the Oquirrah Mountain Temple Open House. When I went to pick him up he had a oreo with peanut butter on it for me. Any doubt that he was my man vanished at that moment. He had work in the afternoon and I had a homecoming BBQ to attend. He called me that night and said he was coming down to Provo and wanted to see me. That night we both agreed that we were crazy, but that it was love at first sight. 

How He Proposed

2 months later we were engaged. I was going to school in Arizona at NAU, but a couple weeks after our first date I drove back out to visit him. He came out to Flagstaff a few weeks after that and had got me a plane ticket to go visit him again Labor Day weekend. The week before coming to visit he was complaining about pain and thought he was getting a kidney stone. He had had several and was also diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. I of course was worried. When he picked me up from the airport he had an ice pack on his lower back and was in a lot of pain. The next morning he woke me up early saying he had been up all night and needed to go to the hospital. He had a bag full of pain medication, but had forgot his water bottle. I stopped at 7-11 and quickly ran in and got him bottled water. I had to drive because he was hunched over in agony. He was directing me to the hospital and had me pull over because he thought he was going to throw up. He had me pull into this park. He got out and I sat in the car wondering what I should do.  He came back to the car and said he wanted to take some pain medicine and see if the pain subsided before going to the hospital. He asked me to come sit with him outside at the park. Before I knew it he was pulling a beautiful, sparkling ring out from one of the medicine bottles. He asked me if I would be his medicine and marry him. I was in such disbelief that I told him to shut up. We hugged and I eventually said yes and he put the ring on my finger. I then asked if we still needed to go to the hospital. I thought maybe he wanted to propose before going because he knew the evening would be spent at the hospital. He informed that it was all made up. He really has a history stones, but he was just fine. That night we went to dinner at The Roof. I am not easy to surprise. I almost always ruin surprises, but he sure can be sneaky... 

Our Christmas Card

Christmas 2011

Santa Spoiled Us

 I guess we have been good! Sage received a xylophone, 123 Favorite Kids Songs CD, a fun push toy, links, jammies, a dress, a storytime rhymes book that sings to her, a sippy cup, and Baby Sign Books.She was also spoiled with a piggy that sings when she puts the coins in, bath toys, a singing star stacker (everything sings), a shape sorter picnic basket and My Baby Can Read book/DVD/Flip card set. She also got a few really cute outfits sent to her from the Ruiz Family. From our families Taylor and I received the baby bullet for her which is going to be so useful in making her baby food. It came with the baby steamer, which is also a sterilizer , poaches eggs, and defrosts. It has a ton of storage containers as well. We are super excited about it. We have already made her a weeks worth of food- super easy, cheap and healthy. We also received the Magic Bullet which we are excited to try out. We got a Wii game and a 3 in 1 BYU puzzle. We also got the game Rummikub, Our families are way too generous. Taylor spoiled me with the Silhouette Cameo which I really wanted and was looking forward to for my birthday. If that wasn't enough he got me a book I have been wanting to read, the Andrea Bocelli Christmas CD, Zumba for the Wii, a mouse for my laptop and a sweet picture frame. Sage and I got him a blue ray player, the movie The Help (which he also got me), Scrabble Card Game, jammie bottoms and the Amazing documentary of BYU Basketball from last year with Jimmer. We got eachother the Wii Fit Plus with the Wii Balance Board. We really are so blessed with so much. There are so many things we take for granted. The fact that we have all of our temporal needs met and then some, we are so very blessed.

The True Spirit of Christmas

I think this has been my favorite Christmas. Not because of all the wonderful gifts, but because of all the time we have been able to spend as a family. We went to the Festival of Trees, went downtown to see the lights on Temple Square, decorated our home and have enjoyed the tree lights that have been on all day every day since the first of December, our home has smelled of sparkling pine and homemade cookie- we have made lots and lots of cookies, we have listened to lots of Christmas music (Michael Buble's Christmas Album has been our favorite this year),  watched several Christmas movies, drank lots of hot chocolate, Taylor and I went to the Christmas Devotional, had a fun FHE/ White Elephant Party with our neighbors, had a nice evening with Taylor's family where all the cousins got to play together, hear a story, get their Christmas jammies from Grandma and Grandpa. Although not perfect, we tried to read a scripture verse of Christ together every evening and we read a few Christmas books. It really has been the happiest time of the year! It has been nice to reflect on the birth and life of our Savior. 

How We Spent the Day

The morning of Christmas Eve Taylor's parents came over and we got to visit with them. We love them and are so grateful for them in our lives. They are so generous and are examples of Christ-like love. They are examples to us in so many ways. We enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them. Afterwards, the three of us packed up and headed to Paradise where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with Grandma and Papa. We are so grateful that they live so close now. We love spending the holidays with them and being able to see them in between now. Grandma was a good sport and played games with us and Papa even watched the movie The Help with us. Christmas morning we woke up early. Taylor woke before everyone excited to start the day. I soon learned why he was so excited when he had me go on a scavenger hunt to find my gifts. Sage did pretty good opening her gifts. Of course she was more interested in the paper, but she did pretty good for a 9 month old.  Right before church Sage woke up from her nap supper fussy. She would not stop crying, which is not like her. She threw up all over her Christmas dress. She felt much better afterwards and we quickly changed her and went to church. The rest of the day we lounged in our jammies, ate good food and enjoyed our time together. 

  

This is my highchair from when I was a baby. It also winds down and turns into a rocking chair. Her and Scruffy became best buds this past trip. 

Mommy, Daddy and Camera

Our little bug is getting more and more difficult to photograph. She does not like to sit still anymore and is all over the place, which of course is to be expected. I would like to think that I will vividly remember all of these moments, all of her sweet expressions, and fun personality but when my memory fails me I will have pictures to remind me. I try and take a lot. I had a friend joke and say Sage probably thinks she has a mommy, a daddy and a camera. We are getting super excited to have her open her gifts. 

Getting Big

This evening we moved Sage's crib down to the next level. She gets on her knees and tries to pull herself up to a standing position. We also retired her potato sack jammies. She is getting so big so fast! We love our little bug.

Game Night

The Averyts came over again last night and we played speed scrabble, phase 10, drank hot chocolate and ate popcorn. We played until after midnight. We were all getting delirious. The 4 of us could not stop laughing. Such good times.

Unsuccessful.

We tried again. We took Sage down to Trolley Square to Santa. As you can see the second time was just as successful as the first time around, which was not at all.  Sage has a lot to learn about this jolly old man. 

The latest with Sage

My days are spent eating cheerios, rolling/crawling all over the place and getting into mischief (I especially love to get into the DVDs, find my yogurt melts and pour them all out, rip all the bows off my presents...). I also cry and throw tantrums because mommy takes away her cell phone that I like to eat and she likes to leave on the ground where I can get it and I cry because I like to crawl under tables and then try and sit up and bunk my head...

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 Sage is always making us laugh. She is all over the place now although we realize sooner than later we will probably disagree with that statement as she will be running all around and really all over the place. We are enjoying this stage though. The other day while I was fixing dinner she was playing in the living room and the next thing I knew she was sitting in the kitchen and rolling under the open dishwasher. I looked down and all I could see were two little feet kicking all around. 

Christmas FHE & White Elephant Exchange

This past Monday we had a fun Christmas FHE and White Elephant Exchange with a few other couples. It was a lot of fun and nice to spend some time and get to know some of our neighbors a little better. The Russells, Jenkins and Willards came. Scott prepared a scripture to share and Alyssa shared a sweet story called A Christmas Dress for Ellen. The white elephant gifts were fun. We gave a box of truffles for one gift and for the other we gave a couple bags of popcorn,skittles and M&Ms. Not very funny, but good! We ended up with a 16x10 picture of an Indian that said, "It's better to have thunder in the mouth, than lightening in the hands". It's pretty funny. We also scored a giant candle and some funny glasses. The other gifts included a picnic kit thing, camping utensils, VHS videos... It was fun. We ate ice-cream balls that were rolled in toffee/chocolate/nuts and visited. It was such a nice night and definitely an evening will host again next year.

Tough cookie

After much debate and consideration we decided to get Sage the flu shot. I took her in to get it this morning. We were looking at the giant fish tank and the Christmas tree when they called her name. Sage immediately looked up. As we walked back she looked concerned. If her eyes could get any bigger than they already are they did. The nurse had everything all set up and ready to go. I pulled her cute pink/brown striped pants down, sat her on the table, held her little hands and looked away. I crinched and waited for the scream as my cue that it was over so that I could pick up my girl and cuddle her. After a few moments I heard the nurse tell Sage she was tough and that she was all done. She didn't even flinch. It didn't even phase her! She definitely did not get that from me. Hopefully this is a sign that she does not have my pain tolerance. She is one tough cookie!

Things we want to remember

Yesterday we noticed Sage has another tooth coming in on the top making a total of 6! She has also started pulling herself to a sitting position by herself this past week. It is the cutest thing to walk into her room in the morning or after a nap and see her sitting up and chatting to herself. Her legs are getting strong and she is beginning to walk with a lot of help. She usually just keeps her legs stiff. She is becoming increasingly mobile which we really are enjoying. I was making dinner tonight and she was in the living room playing and the next thing I knew she was sitting in the middle of the kitchen with me. She is just so much fun.

The Averyts

Last night the Averyts came over. We went to dinner at Cafe Rio, came back to our place and made some Lofthouse Sugar Cookies and frosting, played a game of Speed Scrabble, watched the movie Water for Elephants and decorated our cookies. It was such a nice evening. We hadn't seen Jeff and Ashley since the fourth of July. We are grateful for such good friends.

Merry Christmas!

I insisted Sage had her picture taken with Santa. It is her first Christmas after all and I believe every child needs there picture taken with the chubby, white haired, jolly man. We were going to take her to the mall which charges $25 for the cheapest package and that doesn't even include a digital copy, which is what I really want. We did a little research and found out that the Hinckly Dealership was doing free pictures with Santa, so that is where we went! Although, the Santa was not very authentic looking and Sage was hysterical and is probably traumatized to say the least, it was worth it. She held her breath and screamed the most piercing scream I have ever heard come out of her. As soon as Santa was out of sight she was fine. The jolly man comes during the middle of the night so the children can't see him for reason... Anyways, here you have it... the classic crying with Santa picture!

Family Pictures

Our friend Caitlin took some family pictures for us the other week. We are very happy with how they turned out. Check out her photography blog CaitlinNicolePhotography.blogspot.com.Thanks again Caitlin!

Our week

Monday evening we had a wonderful time visiting with family. Tony & Jeanne planned a nice evening full of good food and activities for the grand kids, which included a sticker nativity scene, Christmas matching game, and a story. The story Jeanne shared was "The Last Straw" which is a story of love and service. Every week leading up to Christmas a family would draw a name to secretly serve. With each kind act a piece of straw was placed in an empty manger. The family's goal was to make a soft bed for baby Jesus. It's a really sweet story. We each received a copy of it and Tony had built each family a manger out of wood. The kids all opened their Christmas jammies. It was such a nice evening.

Tuesday evening Taylor's parents, siblings and their spouses and Taylor and I went to see The Blue Man Group perform. We all pitched in and got tickets for Jeanne's birthday. Taylor was the only one who had ever seen them perform. I don't think any of us really knew what to expect, but it was so fun and very entertaining.

Wednesday Sage and I went and hung out with Jill, Lacie and Wyatt.We made a Christmas treat with mini candy cane's and melted chocolate. We also made a red velvet hot chocolate with cream cheese whipped cream that was simply delish. In the evening Taylor and I watched the movie Morning Glory, while I worked on a felt book I am making for my baby.

Today Sage and I are just hanging out and not being very productive other than going to Target and finishing her Christmas shopping and Taylor's too.We are done! I have wrapped all of her gifts and they have covered our tree skirt. Tonight I have a friend coming over to do a craft. We are making magnets. Super easy, but it is nice to get together and craft.

What a wonderful weekend!

We had the best weekend spent with friends, family, and full of Christmas celebration. I don't think it could have got any better.

• We had one of the best weekends. Friday evening we had the Peterson's over. Sage and Cole got to play for a little bit before we put them both to bed. The four of us then had dinner and played games-speed scrabble and racko. We had a really good time. 
• Saturday morning Taylor woke up early to do some Christmas shopping. He brought us back yummy peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks. 
• Grandma & Papa came down from Paradise to visit with us and bring our Christmas tree/decorations they had got us. 
• We all went to our wards Waffle Christmas Brunch and afterwards went to the Festival of Trees. 
• After Grandma & Papa left we put Sage down for a nap, put some Christmas music on and decorated our tree. We watched some of the movie The Christmas Carol. 
• Taylor & I read/sang Sage the 12 Days of Christmas Book.
• We went and picked up a few more Christmas decorations we had in storage and then went grocery shopping. I don't know why, but I love when we go together. It makes it so much fun. 
• After putting Sage to bed we made dinner and even used our Christmas china. Why wait for a special occasion? Every day is a special occasion, right?
• We finished decorating and cleaned up and watched more of The Christmas Carol.
• Sunday we went to church, came home and all napped, ate lunch and watched an uplifting Christmas movie called Mrs. Miracle (It's a Hallmark movie). 
• Taylor & I went to the Conference Center to watch the Christmas devotional. Lorrie & Kylie were so nice to watch Sage for us and Dan was so nice to drop us off and pick us up from the Conference Center, so we wouldn't have to battle parking.
• When we got home Sage went to bed and we watched Miracle on 34th Street.

Our little bug is 9 months!

Sage,

It feels like just yesterday that you joined our family. We love you and are so happy to be your parents. You are such a joy in our lives. If we had to choose 9 words to describe you they would be : healthy, beautiful, curious, smart, charming, happy, smiler, lover and oh so funny! This month you:

• had your 9 month well check. You have a new doctor up in Salt Lake named Dr. Cannon. We will miss Dr. Simmons in Orem, but we really like Dr. Cannon yesterday. He says you are just perfect and healthy! The nurses just swarmed and adored you. 
• are 16 lbs 1 oz (9th%) and 27 3/4 inches (59%)
• became a rolling queen.
• began army crawling/ freestyle swimming on land crawl. You prefer to roll, but we sometimes bribe you with treats (yogurt melts) to get you to crawl.
• you began eating puffs, cheerios and yogurt melts. You are getting better at using your two fingers to pick them up, but tend to stick your whole fist in your mouth to get your treat.
• still give us a hard time eating solids besides your treats (cheerios, puffs, yogurt melts). You rather play and spit/spray it out.
• you will not let us feed you a bottle. You push it away. We have to put you down and let you hold it yourself. 
• got sick for the first time. It was so sad to watch you throw up. 
• had another couple teeth come in. You have 3 on top and 2 on the bottom. 5 teeth!
• when you get excited you clench your fists, scrunch up your nose, smile a big, cheesy smile and screech "eeeeeeeeee"
• enjoy your baths, especially baths in Paradise in Grandma's kitchen sink
• like playing peek-a-boo.
• waved a couple times (of course you won't do it when we try to get you to)
• still have good sleeping habits. You sleep about 12 hours each night. You go to bed around 6 and wake up around 6. You wake up once in the night to eat and usually go right back to sleep. You nap twice a day between 1-2 hours.
• still cry when we put you in the car seat. You are fine once you are buckled. You just do not like being buckled down.
• took family pictures taken by your friend Cole's mommy.
• went to Paradise, to see lights on Temple Square, and to the Hogle Zoo.
• celebrated your first Thanksgiving.
• enjoyed a visit from Grandpa Davey.
• have started to outgrow your 6 month clothes and are starting to where 9 months.
• are still in size 2 diapers. 
• love watching other kids. You love your book baby class at the library and you and mommy are joining a "moms club" so you can both meet some new friends.
• still loved being tickled by your daddy. Daddy usually wakes up with you in the morning and you two have your time together. 
• are still the center of attention almost every where we go. Everyone always comments on your big, pretty eyes.

We love you little bug. 

Love, mommy & daddy

Mid week fun at Hogle Zoo

Yesterday Sage and I went and kidnapped Taylor from work for a little bit and we all went to the Hogle Zoo. It was really cold and they had several animals put away because of the storm that was supposed to me coming in, but it was still a lot of fun just to walk around and spend time together. Sage was more interested in the construction of the new exhibit and the people walking around then she was the animals. She did enjoy the watching the monkeys leap from the branches.