Edwards Haps and Mishaps

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! Ours was fun! We went up to Shaun’s parents and they have a traditional Swedish dinner on Christmas eve and that consists of hard bread, different cheeses, and canned/jarred fish. The cod paste was something new that I had never seen nor tried, and sadly I wasn’t brave enough to try it this year! We had many other, less traditional items too that were delicious and I was definitely stuffed to the brim after that meal!! Everything was great! Preston liked Christmas morning…not that he really knew what was going on but…He got some cute books and blocks which he loved to play with. Grandma got to watch him practice getting up onto his knees and sitting up…she also got to see his belly laugh! He is actually getting pretty good at sitting up but he notices his feet and goes for them. He ends up folded in half with wet feet.

Snow was falling Christmas eve so we woke up to a white Christmas! Shaun and I tried to make a snowman but the snow was so powdery and dry that it wouldn’t pack so we ended up making a snow castle with a dinky snowman on top…it looked pretty weird. The snow would have been perfect for snowboarding, too bad you weren’t here dad!

Our house is almost completely packed, and a total disaster! Boxes are stacked everywhere, there is nowhere to walk, and not a whole lot of food is left in the cupboards. I have been getting creative trying to use up what we’ve got left. My dad is coming out tomorrow and renting a moving van so we’ll be all packed up, hopefully, by tomorrow night! Then I can start cleaning…hooray. That’ll be fun.

We hope you all had a great Christmas and have a happy new year! LOVE YOU!

Woo Hoo! Preston just learned a new trick today! There are also some new pictures and a couple other videos in “Our Photos” if anyone is bored and wants to kill some time. There are only a few though so don’t get your hopes up!

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It’s official. Shaun just finished his last final at BYU and he is now a college graduate!!!! This moment seemed so far away when we first got married but now it is here and it feels great! I feel like I am graduating with him (wouldn’t that be nice…I think I still have 3 or 4 semesters!) I am so excited for my husband; I know he has worked really hard for this. A huge thanks to all who have helped us throughout the years, our families have been huge contributers! We love you all!

Tonight is one of those rare nights that putting the baby to bed turned out to be a lovely experience. Most nights it ends up that I feed him until he falls asleep and then I put him down and he either stays asleep or he wakes up and I just let him cry for a little bit then he eventually falls asleep. That’s pretty hard to do, let the poor kid cry! You just want to rush in and scoop him up, but I know if I do that he will be awake until the wee hours and he won’t sleep well and that means I won’t either and we both need our sleep! So tonight he fell asleep while I was feeding him and then woke up before I even had a chance to get off the couch. He was happy as a clam and all smiley; that’s the hardest time to put him to bed, when he’s being cute! I decided to just set him down in the crib and see what would happen. He whimpered for a minute then started jabbering to himself and eventually fell asleep! No crying or screaming!! HOORAY!

Shaun had his very last class at BYU on Thursday, we tried to take one of those proud student pictures with his backpack on like you take in elementary school but our camera battery was dead so no pictures of that! Oh well. It seems so surreal. He is actually going to be done (for a little while!) He’ll soon be able to say that he has a degree from BYU! It’s really exciting! He is going to take his last final on Tuesday and he wants to dump out the contents of his backpack and burn it outside the testing center when he is done :) Anyway, I know he’ll do great…he’s a really good student although I know he doesn’t think so…he never gives himself enough credit!

It’s just about my bed time…I better hit the sack. I’m tired. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

We have one fussy baby tonight. Preston just received his first set of immunizations today and he has been pretty crabby. We were a little bit leery to get his shots after hearing a lot about autism and adverse effects so we did our research and finally came to the conclusion that the benefits outweigh the risks…but, poor guy! He’s a trooper! Yesterday he went to the doctor and he seems healthy and happy! He now weighs 14 lb 8 oz and is 26 inches tall. This kid is just growing like a weed…he’s growing up too fast!! I am sure to my parents it seemed like just yesterday that I was getting into my mom’s purse and putting lip stick all over my face or sulking because I thought kids would make fun the pig tails mom put in my hair and now I am raising kids of my own.

Well, here is a picture of Preston helping me with the laundry. We recently had to re-wash ALL of his clothes, blankets, sheets, and everything he really touches because I think he was having an allergic reaction to the detergent we were using. A horrible rash covered his back and was spreading to his stomach and limbs. These poor kids have such sensitive skin!

One last thing before I sign off…A big thank you to my fantastic husband who is at Macey’s Grocery store right now (it’s almost 1 am…and don’t ask why I’m up…I really don’t know!) scrounging up some boxes for our move. Thanks lover, you are wonderful!!

This evening Preston fell asleep in my arms and I decided that I wanted to take a nap so I brought him into our room and laid him in bed with me. No sooner did I set him down then his eyes opened and he was awake. Darn. Well, I thought, “I’ll just close my eyes and see if he’ll go to sleep too…” So I closed my eyes part way and watched him. He would lift up his head and look at me for a few seconds then lay it down. Lift it up, look, lay it down. Then he would inch closer and closer to me and finally his head was right next to mine and he reached around and found my finger and grabbed on then he closed his eyes and fell asleep. It was seriously the most precious thing. Don’t you wish you could have Tivo for life? Then we could experience moments like that all the time if we want. I guess that’s what our memories are for. Gosh, I love being a mom :)

Thank you Jami for the tag…I’ve never heard of that before but I’d be happy to tell our story!
Where did you meet your husband?
Well, we were both attending the LDS Business College and one day I was walking into my art History class and he was walking out and we “bumped” into each other. He lived down in the Provo area and so did I so he volunteered to give me a ride up there with his friend Michael Papworth.
What was the first thing you said?
I am pretty sure he used this line that he thought was so clever because it didn’t sound like a pick up line, but started a conversation. Come to find out later, that was his line that semester that he used for all the girls. How sweet. He said, “Hey, where are you going?” I probably said, “uhh…to art history…”
Where was your first date?
Honestly…I have no idea…We dated for a month or so in 2004, but I wouldn’t really say we went on “dates.” Second time around (about a year later) was definitely more of a relationship and I think that first date we drove up Provo Canyon to this girl scout camp and went to Chevy’s with my mom!
Where was your first kiss?
We drove up to Rock Canyon and hiked along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (I think that is what it’s called) and boom. It happened right there above the city lights. How romantic.
Did you have a long or short courtship/engagement?
I’m not really sure…we dated for about a month then broke things off for a year or so and the rekindled the flame the next year and were married 6 months later.
Where did you get engaged?
There is this gazebo on top of a mountain above Provo and I could never figure out how to get there. He found out the way and so we took a small hike and when we got there he had some friends set out roses and a wedding announcement that he had made and it had our names and our picture. He got down on one knee, pulled out a ring pop, and asked if I would marry him! I thought he was joking, but when I realized it was real I said, “YES.” Our friends were in the bushes taking pictures of the whole thing.
Where did you get married?
Oakland California Temple
How did the reception go?
It was absolutely fantastic!! The house we had it at was adorable and it was the perfect fall wedding! I wouldn’t change a thing!
The Honeymoon?
We drove up through northern California and then up the Oregon coast and ended in Portland for a second reception with Shaun’s friends and family.
Whose turn is next?
How about Alisha Whitman!

So as I was writing my post I noticed that Preston had moved off of his blanket and was shoved up into the corner by the entertainment center and the DVD’s…ummm how did he get there? Well, as I watched him I saw him muscle himself up into a push up position and move himself over then plop back down! What? This kids is already figuring out how to get around? Crazy kid, he just gets stronger every day!

When Shaun and I were first married I was always excited to cook for him before he came home from school and work. I would try out new recipes and it seemed like there were a variety of different dishes. Now I am scrounging to scrape together something before I have to pick him up and most of the time I can’t think of anything quick so I end up waiting until he gets home and by then he is starving and just snacks on Cheez-its or chips until dinner is ready…by then he usually isn’t that hungry! Also, I have slipped into this habit of cooking the same few dishes over and over again!! It’s getting old. My mom said when we are living with them I can cook dinner for everyone so there will be food in the house and we can all eat together…so there won’t be as much room for experimenting because more people are going to be eating what I cook and if any of you know my dad he is the master chef in our house so my dishes need to pass his approval. Pressure’s on. I was wondering if any of you had some quick meal ideas that taste good too. Shaun’s mom and mine have given some great ideas over the past couple years…chicken rolls, tortilla soup, cheesy goodness (if any of you are interested, I can get you some of my regulars) Let me know what some of your regulars are!

As for our family and what we are doing…I wasn’t going to dig the Christmas decorations out of the storage unit since we are moving right after the holiday, but it just wasn’t feeling like Christmas so I finally gave in and put everything up yesterday! It definitely feels more festive and it is fun pulling out all of our ornaments and remembering the ones from childhood and also seeing all of the ones that we have acquired since being married. They all have stories behind them so it is fun remembering each one as we put them on the tree. I am excited to start our Edwards family traditions with Preston…it’ll be a little bit more exciting once he actually knows what is going on though! I hope you all enjoy this holiday season!

I just need to give a shout out to my mom! Today is her birthday and I wish I were there in California to share it with her! She has been one of my best friends all of my life and has sacrificed so much for us kids. Just a few examples: she woke up just about every day that we were in school to make us lunches, even after we could drive ourselves and she didn’t need to wake up. She let me wake her up way after midnight many times to talk about whatever drama had happened in my life that night. She basically planned my entire California wedding reception and made it absolutely amazing! Last Christmas when I had some extreme morning sickness she dropped everything to come out and take care of me (and thanks to ALL who babysat me.)  Overall she has always done all that she could to make her kids happy. I could go on and on. She is awesome and I am so glad that she is still here with us, that her heart is healthy, and she can now enjoy watching her grandkids grow and learn! LOVE YOU MOM!!!