Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

Well, we had a fantastic Christmas. We were absolutely spoiled by eachother and all our parents/grandparents. However, the best part about it was that not only did we get to spend it together, we also got to share it with my mom and stepdad and younger brother. They came up on Christmas Eve (and beat the bad weather and road closures) and stayed until Saturday. We never get visitors and so we thoroughly enjoyed having them in our home and had such a good time with them! We played games (Farkle being our favorite), watched movies, went on rides, ate until we thought we'd pop and just visited and enjoyed one another. It was great!

Here we are all watching a movie and relaxing. My parents think it's funny that Cash's most famous sentences are "Let go of me" and "I want to watch a movie".

This is my younger brother, Josh. If you have any lovely available relatives, send them his way. He's still single (but only 23, we just give him a hard time:)).

It was fun to actually be able to see our family members open their gifts from us and even funner to have them be able to see Cash and Vanna (with Cash's help of course) open their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. We had most of the presents wrapped in advance but late Christmas Eve "Santa" set up and put out a few more for the kids. Cash was thrilled when he saw his new tent and nerf baseball and bat (and if you can believe it, Ty only had to throw him the ball three times before Cash picked up on it and could hit the ball with his bat). He was also excited to actually get to open all those presents sitting under the tree. Here's a little record of the things we got for Christmas this year:

Cash - "Cars" tent & sleeping bag, nerf baseball & bat, Winnie the Pooh potty training toilet (yeah!), more mini cars, puzzle, John Deere tractor, socks, clothes, electric toothbrush, gum (that he won't stay out of), Peter Pan DVD, Sword in the Stone DVD, a life jacket, books and toys, and a remote control car (that he just has to got to sleep with every night now)...

Vanna - Winnie the Pooh spinning toy, counting toy, p.j.s, onesies, hairbows, clothes, a swimming suit for next summer, Sleeping Beauty DVD, her first doll, and I think her favorite was simply her new sippy cup...

Ty & Erica - barstools for the house, a huge wall clock and large decorative shelf for family pictures from my mom and stepdad, an under the cupboard CD player for the kitchen and family wall hanging from Ty's parents, shoes, clothes, a large plastic folding table and chairs (for my scrapbooking), more DVDs and more (that I just can't put my finger on at the moment).

My stocking stuffers from my thoughtful husband - you'll see that he always gets me my favorite - "Almond Roca".

We didn't think we were doing that much for Christmas this year but our bundle always ends up being amazing when we receive so much from loving friends and family - we are so spoiled - we thank you and we love you. We hope your Christmas treated you well too!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

To: Your Family
From: The Bazils

We wish you a Merry Christmas,
we wish you a Merry Christmas,
we wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year!!!

First Snow & Christmas Presents

We got our first snow this past weekend which also meant we had a couple other "firsts". We bundled up and took Vanna out on a walk to see the grand spectacle. It was her first sight of snow.

We also had to shovel our driveway and sidewalk for the first time - not quite as exciting. I hope the snow stays for Christmas. It helps me get in the spirit of things. But after Christmas, it can go away - slick roads are not my favorite. Speaking of Christmas...Ty and I got our Christmas presents a little early this year. We decided to buy eachother one small gift and then purchase ourselves things for the house so this is what we came up with...

We had Ty's sister make us this wall hanging. It says Home...where the heart is. She did a great job. We have it on one of our entrance way walls.

We painted! I've waited so long to paint and it finally happened. This is the view from our front door and we painted just the one wall in the family room to bring out our fireplace and just bring some color into the room. We are so pleased. We also bought a new 9 ft. pre-lit Christmas tree. Our new ceilings are so tall that our old tree seemed too small - and we had to go with the pre-lit tree. It makes things so much easier.

Finally, we got some bar stools to help fill our bare kitchen. A couple of the bar stools came with cracks in the wood so we had to send them back (which was of course disappointing) but eventually, when we get the replacements, our bar will be filled. It will be so nice just to serve food at the bar rather than walk around it to the dining room table. Cash can also now sit by us on the bar stools rather than sit in his high chair alone in the tiled kitchen (he's back to a phase where he throws his food on the floor so we didn't want him sitting with us at the table to ruin our carpet in the dining room-probably cruel, I know).

The house is coming piece by piece, which we actually enjoy because then we get all excited about each and every little thing. It's becoming more and more like the way we want it and more and more cozy-like home.

Church

Cash loves to go to church. In fact, just a couple Sundays ago he cried because he couldn't go to church with Grandma and Grandpa Bazil (we had to leave for our trip home after our Thanksgiving getaway). Our church schedule is 11:30 to 2:30 however, which is right in the middle of lunch and nap time. As you can imagine, Cash is very tuckered out by the time we get home from church (especially after playing so hard in nursery). This was a snapshot of him a couple weeks ago.

Cash was even more tired than usual because we had tithing settlement after church. By the time we got home and got him in his chair to eat he took a couple bites and was out (and yes, Vanna's bibs were the only clean ones so he got to wear pink). Needless to say, he ate after he woke up from his late nap. We are looking forward to next year's schedule of 9:30 to 12:30. It will work out much better for the kids' routines.

Thanksgiving Trip

Well, we've completely lucked out this year because Ty had a four day weekend for Thanksgiving (and he also had the four day weekend for Christmas too!) so we were able to spend it with family. Just another thing to be grateful for!

We went to Rigby to spend the holiday with Ty's parents and got there just in time for dinner on Thursday. We were able to spend time with most all his siblings, Chase, Nick & Hailey, Zak and Marcy and their girls. Cash had so much fun playing with his cousins. Ty's Aunt Cindy and her family also joined us for dinner - which was scrumptous! There's nothing better than turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy. That night the girls had a "girls night out". Orillia (Ty's mom), Marcy (Ty's sister) and I went to the theater to see Twilight - can you believe it - I actually got to sit through an entire movie - in the theater - without any interruptions because my angel of a husband watched the kids! It was a pretty good movie and got me excited to read the last book of the series.

Friday, we went bowling and just had a relaxing day with Ty's family. Saturday was a full day because we drove from Rigby to McCammon to my nephew's baptism. I can't believe my nieces and nephews are that grown up. It was a very nice baptism and we enjoyed being there to support him and see so many of my family members. After dinner at my sister's house, we headed back to Rigby but not before stopping in Pocatello to get a couple Christmas gifts for my mom and Ty. When we got back to Rigby we went to see Great Grandma Bazil and spend more time down at the barn with all the cows (which Cash loves!). We took our time Sunday morning before packing up, saying our goodbyes and coming back home. We always hate to leave. All night and all day today Cash keeps saying Gama (he thinks we're going to see Grandma again today). We always wish we could spend more time with all our family but I guess it makes us more grateful for the time we DO get to spend with them.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

At a time when we often reflect upon what we are most thankful for, my mind immediately turns to the gospel and my family - which ultimately go hand in hand. My knowledge of the gospel gives me hope of a family that lives together in eternal bliss with all our loved ones, our Heavenly Father, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this knowledge, for a Savior who did what he did on my behalf, and for the gospel in its entirety and all the blessings I have within which it encompasses.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!!

Cash - Updated

Again, I thought I'd put together an update for Cash's book (because I print off my posts each month and save them in the kids' books - I guess you could call it my journal writing because I'm terrible at keeping a journal):

Cash will officially be two and a half in a couple weeks. He is such a tease, so animated and athletic and naturally, for a two year old, he has more energy than two of me combined. He never wants to stop playing and plays hard right up until it's time for his nap or for bed. He is a very good boy and attracts all kinds of attention - from elderly ladies in the store who think he's a charmer - to little girls that follow him around - to all the young boys and young men in our ward that beg to play with the little guy. He craves attention and loves to entertain.

Here we found a cute little pizza joint in Payette that had all kinds of arcade games and rides, etc. for kids to play on while they ate. So some friends of ours went with us and it was so nice to be able to actually carry on an adult conversation while the kids were entertained and close by.

Cash is all boy for sure. As I mentioned above, he is very athletic. He loves to throw balls (which he picked up on entirely on his own at a very young age - we always carefully threw him the ball underhand and he suddenly surprised us by launching the ball overhand), chase and be chased (he pats his bum and says "get it" when he wants us to chase him - don't ask me why), wrestle and rough house with anyone who will let him (he is magically good at the head lock and has managed to make 4 year olds cry when they decide to wrestle him) and he always says "watch this" as he tries new acrobats when jumping off the couch or chair or bed (like landing and doing a summersault and coming to his feet to twirl - all in one movement - it's crazy). Cash is also always messing around Ty's weight bench and weights while Ty works out and although Ty promises to be keeping a close eye, I just know that one day he's going to break an arm or something and I'll freak.

These pictures are classics. Cash insisted on wearing his Sunday shoes and belt over his pajamas to go play and work out in the garage with his dad. Cash is really picking up on what his dad does - Cash tries to do his own pull ups and when he "lifts" weights he exhales the way Ty does when he's lifting a lot of weight. It's hilarious to see all the things Cash imitates.

Cash also loves to take baths, chew gum, ride his bike (he even pedals all by himself for short distances) draw, color, play with play-doh, read books and watch his cartoons. He used to always say "mo-mo" which, translated, meant he wanted to watch a movie. However, he has just recently switched from the two syllables to, "I wanna watch a movie." perfectly. His other famous sentence is, "Let go of me." when we make him hold our hand through the parking lot. His words are really coming along. He says, "oh no, a mess" when Vanna spits up; he says, "Thank you much" instead of just thank you - it's hilarious; and he will even say, "shhhh, it's okay Vanna" - it's darling. Although, at the moment he has a lisp with his "s"s. We'll have to keep our eye on that one. His favorite foods are pizza, mac & cheese, steak - and any meat for that matter (he's our little carnivor), green salad, any pasta and he'll even eat his vegetables if you smother them with ranch or ketchup (which probably defeats their purpose I know).

More classic photos...he likes to tease me when he takes Vanna's bows off her head and puts them on himself and runs from me when I try to get them out of his sticky little fingers.

What a stud!!! Whenever we get in the car, Cash requests the sunglasses because he says the sun hurts his eyes.

Cash hates going to bed without me first laying by him for a few minutes after we've had family prayer (and his dad is no substitute, for some reason it has to be mommy). He hates getting his teeth brushed (he usually doesn't do a good enough job on his own so I have to finish it up for him and he fights me like crazy), and he hates being put in the corner for time out, of course (he always says "yep" to whatever it is I'm explaining to him he shouldn't have done to deserve time-out and then says sorry to try to get out of his punishment but he knows he has to stay in the corner - and he's good not to wander away from it - until he hears the timer go off or until I say he can come out).

Cash has completely spoiled us with how easy he is to care for. He has always naturally created a schedule that works for him that we try not to deter from. He wakes up about 8:30am and takes about a two or three hour long nap in the afternoon, just following lunch, so from about 1-4 and then goes to bed when we do - about 10:00pm. So, if you read Vanna's update, yes, I have about two hours each day (usually) when both kids are asleep which is magical.

I'm sure there's much I'm missing but I'll have to jot it down on my next update. All in all, we couldn't ask for a better kid. Cash is a complete joy and we love him to death.

Vanna - Updated

I decided it was time to put together an update on Vanna for her keepsake book so here it goes:

Vanna is 7 months old today - that 7 months has gone so so fast! She cut her first tooth yesterday so, as you can imagine, she has been a bit fussy. She is discovering her voice more and more all the time. She babbles and squeals all the time - you just have to differentiate between the happy squeals and the fussy squeals. She is very entertained by her brother (as is everyone) and loves being held, taking a bath, playing with her toes, chewing on anything, playing in her exercauser and on her activity mat, swinging in her swing, and playing pat-a cake and peek-a-boo. She actually likes to get her diaper changed and get ready for bed because she loves getting her clothes taken off and being naked.

Hmmm...isn't she beautiful?! We're always stopped by people who comment on how pretty she is and how big and beautiful her eyes are. (I know I have a biased opinion:))

You've got to love the drool hanging from her chin...

Vanna is typically a very happy, good natured little girl although, she has a very sensitive heart (she's all girl). She hates being left alone and gets very upset if I put her down and walk away from her (even if she can still see me in the next room). In my opinion, she figured this out at a very early age. Her feelings are also hurt if a toy is taken from her or, if after giving her your undivided attention, you have to mix things up a bit and actually get something done in the day rather than play with her 24/7. Vanna hates the hiccups and getting dressed (mainly just getting a shirt pulled over her head and getting her arms shoved through the sleeves), she fights her sleep and hates an empty bottle.

Vanna is a little chunker. She has "meaty" thighs, as her nurses call them, and often has her bottom lip pushed out because her cheeks are so kissably big. She is growing like crazy - she is over 15 lbs. and keeps on eating. We started her on cereal at 51/2 months to try to help with her spitting up (she had a bit of reflux and seemed to spit up everything she ate). Although the spitting up still persists a bit, the cereal helped a lot. She is now discovering the world of fruits and vegetables, etc. and loving it - as you can imagine. Vanna is getting stronger and stronger every day. She is better at standing on your lap, sitting up, rolling, and I've thought she has had wonderful hand/eye coordination for a long time.

Vanna has finally figured out her schedule and has made my days a little easier/smoother as a result. She is ready for bed by 8:30pm (and boy do you know she's ready - the only time she is unusually cranky is when she's tired - she also rubbs her eyes) and simply needs a blanket to be snuggled tight against and a bottle and she's out. She wakes up between 7 and 7:30am - hungry again - after waking up once in the night for another bottle. We are never awakened by her crying the morning but rather her squealing and babbling to herself - it's adorable. She's ready for a nap by 10:00am which usually is quite short. She's then ready for another one by 1:00pm which is, thankfully, quite long. She usually takes another cat-nap in the early evening too.

We are loving our little girl and everything that comes with her. We're making progress in her room in fact other than painting the walls (we're painting wide white stripes throughout the entire room - probably not until spring though) and doing a little vinyl lettering I think we have it done. I made some curtains with the help of my wonderful mom and good friend, Ann (because I don't really have the sewing talent), I've repainted Cash's old dresser and shelf to match Vanna's new bedding, hung pictures, and reupholstered my old little rocking chair (with the same material as the curtains) that I grew up with. Here are some pix:

My Quirks

I've been tagged a couple times with this one and thought I'd give it a try. Apparently I'm to tell you six quirks (is that all?:)) about myself so here it goes:

1) I can't stand it when my clothes are wrinkled. With every laundry day I have a basket full of clothes that I have to iron before I can put them away. I iron my kids' clothes and I have even ironed my pajama pants before. I know it's silly and obsessive but I have to iron all the time and what's even more wierd is that ironing is one of my least favorite chores to do around the house.

2) I can't stand a dirty house. Again, I may be obsessive about this too but I clean my entire house once a week (we're talking dusting the light fixtures, cleaning the baseboards, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms, vacumming, cleaning blinds, etc.) and then do touchups throughout the week because let's face it - no matter how much or often I clean - it always seems to get dirty again (I wonder why- Cash!:)).

3) I'm always told that I talk too quiet. When I worked outside the home, I was always teased for "whispering" and was always asked to speak up. I guess it's true too because when Cash was a baby he used to get scared and cry when someone nearby would raise their voice or cheer or anything.

4) My neck turns bright red whenever I have to speak in public or when I get embarrassed or sometimes when I'm just hot or rushed/stressed. It in itself is kind of embarrassing because there is no hiding it.

5) I always have my toe nails painted. I know that it's probably not necessary in the winter when I'm always wearing socks (regardless of what season it is I'm always cold - unless I'm pregnant - I guess that's another quirk) but for some reason they just have to be done - and now, so do Vanna's.

6) I was running out of ideas (at the moment but I know I have more than 6 quirks) so Iasked Ty for any suggestions and this is his input - I sometimes set unrealistic goals for myself. I have to agree to some degree for example - instead of starting out with a goal to work out 2 or 3 times a week, I usually set a goal to work out 5 or 6 times a week for an hour - if you know me, this is completely unrealistic.

These were the first quirks that came to mind. I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll think of a bunch more. It's kind of funny to see how odd you are when putting something like this together but I had fun doing it. Tag - You're it!

Fall

I love the change in seasons and I love the Fall season. It's cool but not terribly cold, it's warm but not terribly hot, it's just cozy. I love nothing more than cuddling up on the couch with the family in a warm blanket, or bundling up in a warm sweater, or drinking hot chocolate (with lots of marshmallows, of course) on a cool night.

These are all our leaves from the trees we have in our yard. I had to rake them all together to get this picture (and prop Cash) but Cash loved messing up my pile and playing in them.

Trick R Treat

We had a great Halloween! Vanna had a Dr. appt. (so I guess the shots weren't such a great part of the day - I hate when our babies get so sad when they get their shots) and she is growing like a weed. She is 15 lbs. 2 oz. and 25 in. long. When the nurse was preparing Vanna for her shots and saw her thighs she called them "meaty" and it's true - you gotta love em.

Ty had the day off so he went with us to the appointment and then we went out for lunch at this very adorable and kid-friendly pizza joint. They have a huge arcade area (but it's not terribly dark which is what I usually don't like about arcades) and the best part was that we didn't even lose any quarters to Cash's desire to play because at his agehe thinks the machines are already working because of their music/sounds and bright lights. After the kids had a great nap, we got the kids dressed up for their night out on the town.

Vanna was a ballerina and Cash was a ninja. We went down our street to all the neighbors (they're all old and like a bunch of Great Grandmas and Grandpas to the kids) and they took pictures of them and got a kick out of the kids. Then we went to the ward trunk or treat where we got to see a lot of our friends' kids and visit. It was fun. We actually had a lot of trick or treaters at our house when we got home too. I think Halloween is Cash's new favorite holiday. He was so excited to be getting candy at every door. he wouldn't put them in his back either - he wanted to hold onto his treasures. Cash finally took his dad's advice to put the candy in his bag when he couldn't stuff any more candy in his tiny little hands.

Sweetheart Tag

A)The rules are posted at the beginning.B) Each person answers questions about their sweethearts.C) At the end of the post, the person then tags 6 people and posts their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged.

What is your husbands name? Ty
How long have you guys been married? 4 1/2 years
How long did you date? We dated 11 months, engaged for 5 months
How old is he? Ty just turned 30 last month
Who is taller? Ty
Who can sing best? Me - Ty has a hard time finding the note but once he does he can sing great
Who is smarter? Ty by far - he's a pharmacist - no further explanation is necessary
Who does laundry? I do
Who pays the bills? I do
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Ty does - next to the clock
Who mows the lawn? Ty when I don't feel sorry for him and do it first
Who cooks dinner? I do
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Ty
Who kissed who first? Ty did and don't let him tell you otherwise. He tries to say that I did, but I was totally taken off gaurd when he layed one on me.
Who wears the pants? We both do.

I tag anyone who what's to tell us a bit more about themselves!

A Birthday and Pumpkins

Happy Birthday Ty!!! Ty turned the big 3-0 this weekend, although you'd never guess it. I don't think it's just my biased opinion but he doesn't look his age - he's hot as ever! Maybe these are part of the reason...

...Ty wanted the walking pads to go under his weights he just got so that was his birthday present, along with the new AC DC cd. We had a good celebration where we invited some friends over for his much desired DQ ice cream birthday cake and to play games on Fri. night.

Sat. - his actual birthday - we went on a hayride to a pumpkin patch where Ty helped us pick out the perfect pumpkins. Then we went out to eat for lunch. This weekend was also our Stake Conference so Sat. night and Sun. were full of church. We carved our pumpkins Sun. night - you'll never guess whose is whose:).

What a cute family!

Our FAMILY Vacation

About a week and a half ago, now, Ty took a couple days off work so that we could go back to Southeast Idaho to see family and hit a couple family events. Friday we got to see my brother Jason and that night we had one Grandpa's 75th birthday. We got to see every member of that side of the family there. Grandpa Bob had such a fun time and was so surprised to have a birthday party thrown for him. It was great!

Saturday we had my Grandma Marie Wheatley's (who Vanna is named after) 90th birthday party. She and my Grandpa had nine kids, who all had lots of kids themselves so there were so many cousins there (some I hadn't seen for 10 years or so). I also got to see all of my other brothers and sister and their adorable kids there. Oh how fun! The family had prepared a luncheon and program for the party that was great. My Mom had worked really hard on putting together my Grandma's life history and gave each of her brothers and sister one as well as each of us kids. It was a great tribute to my Grandma and turned out so well. I hope someday I can do the same for her - but she's so on the ball she'll probably already have it done for herself!

Our vacation also included a date! We hadn't had one of those for like 8 months. My parents watched the kids while Ty and I spent the night at the hot pools and eating ice cream. Wow - I had fogotten how nice it can be to just spend time with my handsome hubby!

Throughout the trip we also got to visit with some friends from Pocatello; we met up with Ty's parents at Sizzler to have lunch (as you can see Cash loved these get togethers); Ty went hunting and fishing; I sewed some curtains with my Mom for Vanna's room; and on our way home we took the long way through Richmond to see Ty's sister and her family and their new house.

Gosh it was just so nice to spend so much time together with our own little family, away from our regular routines and it was so nice to get to see our friends and family. What a good vacation!