We enjoyed being back in Utah and with family. Ross spent quite a lot of time with grandparents and aunts and uncles...I will get to what effect that had later. Just know that he ADORED his grandpas like crazy....crazy kid. He LOVED watching the builders that were working on a house in my grandma's backyard, and he adored visiting and looking for her black cat every moment he could get. They also brought out the infamous red car of his that Ross completely enjoyed dancing to all over again.
Through our 2 week trip Ross learned how to crawl up...and sort of down the stairs. He realized the point of clapping his hands when he had such a large audience doing it with him, and he came to love oranges and blueberries (though I'm having a suspicion he may be allergic to blueberries due to the last couple of days of them). A huge improvement was his walking - he started going farther distances with his footing - with one arm out leading the way - totally cute. He's getting so stinkin' big! Most of the trip, though, Ross had a miserable fever, runny nose, or cough. This is the 2nd time of the two times we've been to Utah that he's gotten sick. Not cool. We didn't see a lot of friends because of it unfortunately - that and a wedding is pretty busy along with visiting two families.
Dallas and Janae's wedding was quite beautiful. The weather was perfect and they both looked really happy. I got to be one of the bridesmaids. They had the wedding and reception at the White Willow which was a very elegant reception center. I think our favorite part was the - no setting or cleaning up after. I look back at our wedding and our poor families had a lot on their plates with that. It was a perfect day - but a lot of work for them. Anyway - I've been sold on reception centers and catering for sure. Dallas and Janae had dated for 2 1/2 years so Janae was already basically a family member - it seemed quite normal to me - only now calling her my sister-in-law is the only difference, and my brother's wife! It was totally worth the trip to go and support them. We just love them. :)
The rest of the week, after Steve came for a few days of wonderfulness, I went back to being a single mom...I have learned I am not meant to be a single mother. I am in awe of those who are. I have learned how much Steve really helps me with Ross - it's not as much fun being without him! My friend Maren and I caught up some more while playing with our babies. We even got to sneak out and see a movie together - Mirror Mirror. I have to say we were laughing SO hard - the people around us in the movie theater kept turning around and looking at us...I'm sure they just thought it was funny too - right? :) I TOTALLY recommend this movie - it's a cross between Enchanted and Shrek. Love it. I also introduced her to the classic movie Oscar with Sylvester Stallone. Always a good time. :)
I got to also go to my sister-in-law's graduation. Both Steve and my family have now crossed over to the "no kids in high school" phase of life...Ross will now be the next one to enter high school - scary! Meghan sure looked happy - she will have a ton of fun in college - she's such a good girl too - she'll go far. :)
A lot of time was spent with my Grandma and Grandpa Grenny as well. I've missed them and don't visit with them enough I've decided. They were in Utah for the wedding and also to do some house hunting since they will be moving there in the fall. They both have such amazing life stories and insights to things. They are wonderful.
We got home right in the middle of our moving into our new apartment. I high recommend NOT going on vacation and moving at the same time - not my favorite thing to do...ever. It actually went pretty smoothly, and I was completely relieved to finally not be managing two places once we checked out of our old apartment. We have such great memories of our Parkview Apartment - it was some time well spent. We only moved down the street to a three bedroom apartment which is more spacious (for those of you who want to come visit us!!) and has finally started to feel like home. Steve finished his internship and then also got his assignments for the next two which are both around here - also what we were hoping for. Our new place has an upstairs so Ross is repeatedly practicing his skills. He used to think he could just sit back whenever he wanted when he would crawl down the stairs - but I think he's finally realizing that doesn't work.
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| The daily kitty visit with Auntie Rachel |
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| Some Grandpa Time |
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| Still not much of a fan of grass |
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| Watching the builders |
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| Jumpin' on the tramp |
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| Stink faces! |
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| My mom's brownie pops for Janae's bridal shower - super cute! |
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| Enjoying some food. |
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| Our party game deciding if you think it was Dallas's or Janae's answer to questions. |
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| Presents! |
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| Some more Grandpa time. |
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| Meghan followed Ross everywhere trying to get him to do his stinky face...as you can see he didn't get what she wanted him to do. :) |
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| Hanging out with Grandma |
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| Some more trampoline |
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| Visiting Tank - the neighbor's dog. |
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| Thomas popped in and out since he was apparently always doing schoolwork. |
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| The Wedding dinner - Garrett and Grandma Staheli |
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| Dad and Rach |
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| The happy couple! |
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| We're just so happy! |
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| Ross wore his New York suit and a red bow tie - very sharp. The wedding was right in the middle of both of his naps...I was so glad to have Steve there. |
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| Garrett...my brother.. ;) |
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| Love this pic after they cut the cake and fed each other! |
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| Ross really was happy for Janae...he just really wanted a nap too. |
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| We got Ross's Hawaiian shirt when we were in Hawaii the year after Steve and I were married - it's super cute. :) Here he is practicing clapping. |
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| Enjoying some souvenirs from Grandpa and Grandma |
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| Testing out the grass again with Uncle Nate |
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| Uncle Nate and Auntie Becca |
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| Steve's stylin' socks with his suit he borrowed from his dad...he forgot to borrow some black socks too. Hee hee. |
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| Megs graduation! |
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| She was one happy girl! |
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| A BBQ before we left. |
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| Classic sisters face |
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| I LOVE that chubby finger! |
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| Some time with Uncle Dallas |
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| Discussing the coolness of the car together. |
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| And Ross slept half of the flight home!! Wahoo!! |
Since coming back from Utah...Ross is having to go through some detox for attention. As I've thought and though about it - I've come to the conclusion that Ross - being the only grandchild, AND living so far away from family - gets EVERYTHING he wants when we are in Utah. The main thing he became accustomed to was being picked up and taken wherever he wanted to go WHENEVER he wanted to do it. I have to say that grandpas are a big part to blame in this. Since being home, Ross has been utterly offended ANY and EVERY time we do not pick him up when he wants and take him where he wants to go. He has gotten into this phase of whining that has me seriously thinking of investing in some ear plugs. We're having more tantrums as well...I'm thinking the terrible 2's have made an early arrival. Don't get me wrong - Ross can still be as cute as a button, but he is truly realizing that he is an only child/grandchild/nephew and that the world should be revolving around him. The hard part is - it's true he needs some spoiling from the family when he visits - he just gets extra doses of it because we live so far away. We're going to have to fix that soon.
Anyway - as for other advancements of Ross - he now says "Mama" quite clearly, hammer - "hanner", dog - "og", "I want that" - we're working on "please" instead. He likes throwing wood chips (he's such a boy!) and he lives to destroy things - any block tower doesn't stand a chance. He loves pointing all the time and giving teeth kisses. We still love him to death and laugh all the time with him. We're finally settled down a bit more and making some fun plans for the summer. It's going to be good!
