One Year Pictures

We had to visit our favorite photographer while we were in Phoenix. Aunt Amy sure puts up with a lot from us. This was the hardest shoot yet, but there were lots of things to play with so we still came out with some great shots.

I think this is my favorite--so artistic!

Serious face

The occasional smile

The blocks kept his attention for a minute

We are thankful to have such a patient and talented aunite that we can visit for photos. I will be very sad when I have to take the new baby to a studio out here; it has been so nice for both David and I to have a little extra TLC when we go for pictures. Check out amyleephotography.com for more of David.

Happy Birthday David!!

The present table was so cute...

We had David's first birthday at a park near my parents house. I've had it reserved for six months and I'm glad to say the weather cooperated. It was a gorgeous sunny day. We ate sloppy yummy sloppy joe's with chips, a veggie platter, and potato salad. I don't really do cakes so we had cupcakes instead. Brad and I had a lot of fun getting everything ready. It was nice to leave David with Grandma Noele while we did the shopping.

David enjoyed most of the festivities. His favorite activity (which of course I failed to photograph) was chasing around and getting wrapped up in the red and blue balloons. It was so sweet to see him chasing the balloons while we were getting things ready. He has loved balloons since he was old enough to look up. He liked opening presents too but got a little tired by the end of the party. We sent him home with Grandma Kathy to nap while we cleaned up.

So excited to turn one--you can't turn the next year older until you eat your cake!

What to say about the one year milestone? David is such an inquisitive little boy. He generally refuses to sit in one place. He prefers to walk around and look at (read: GET INTO) things around him. He likes to wave "bye, bye" pronounced buh buh and we swear that he also says "ma, ma" "da, da" and "David" but the jury is still out on that. He loves people watching and seems to prefer Dad, Grandpas, and most men over Mom, Grandmas, and most women. David has just recently started to enjoy books. We love reading to him before naps or bedtime while he turns the pages. David has hit what I like to call the cling on stage. He knows who Mom and Dad are and he know when we leave! He is a pain to get dressed or change. David wiggles, rolls over, whines, and runs away--sometimes all three; unfortunatley this trend is not getting better. :) We feel blessed to have such a sweet, happy, and healthy little boy.

Zoo Lights

Well we are sure lots more fun when we are on vacation as evident by all the blog posts and activities. Grandma Packer (Brad's grandma) gave the family a trip to the Phoenix Zoo Lights as a Christmas gift. We put David in the stroller, grandma in the wheel chair and set out to see what we could. Brad and I were just fine in a light jacket, the boys from BYU didn't seem cold either but I can't say the same about the Arizona family. We were pretty impressed with the lights and especially liked the short light show that we saw.

David kinda hides my belly.

The boys liked riding on shoulders when they could

And outing wouldn't be complete without a trip to Chino's.

Christmas Day

Brad and David on Christmas morning

We woke up and opened a few presents with Brad's parents & co while eating the usual breakfast in our stocking. Since we are parents now we thought this would be our grown up Christmas with very few things to open. We had already received gifts from both sets of parents before we left Boston...but they still had a few little things for us to open and enjoy. How thoughtful and fun.

Trying to figure the horse out

We went over to my parents house in our jammies. I'd say the highlight of the morning was David getting to open his present from Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma has been excited about this gift forever...it is a ride on pony that moves its head and tail and makes trotting and neighing sounds. (Ask about how it is getting home later--we don't know if it will--SAD.) David was fascinated by it. Danielle gave lots of gifts that she purchased in England and those things were really fun to see. We had waffles for lunch and said goodbye again. It was such a great morning we were a little sad to go!

Then it was back to the Cammack's for presents with everyone and a really yummy ham dinner. Kent and Noelene got a Blue Ray DVD player from all of the kids and that was plugged in and used immediatley. David needed a nap so he missed most of the presents but we had fun watching the nieces and nephews unwrap and unwrapping a few gifts from siblings ourselves!

Christmas Eve

Opening Christmas jammies at Grandma and Grandpa Cammacks

Christmas Eve finally arrived and we were glad that Brad made it to Phoenix and we could spend another year with family (and warm weather!)

The traditional Swedish dinner

Every year my parents make a dinner with flat bread and a big sausage and post roast in gravy. It is a meal my Mom's family has been doing on Christmas Eve since forever. Dessert is rice pudding (which I really like) with a hidden almond. Whoever gets the almond gets a special gift. My Mom always "rigs" the almond--she dishes up the pudding then hides it inside. Brad was the lucky recipient of the coveted treasure this time. But he decided to eat the almond before he claimed his prize! This is practically unforgivable. I told him something cheeky about not being allowed in my family anymore, you just don't eat the almond. Since Grandma Kathy is compassionate and knew who she wanted to get the prize she was kind enough to let Brad still have it.

Sisters

Brad and I (and baby William)

First Christmas Eve Book--Dad did a great job picking it out!

This is another tradition my Mom has always done. Everyone gets to unwrap a book on Christmas Eve. When Danielle and I were little we got lots of silly Christmas and fun Christmas books and as we got older more serious Christmas stories. Now we tend to get classics or whatever we are interested in at the time. While Brad was stuck in NYC he found David a book at Barnes and Noble that combined all of his favorite things--peekabo, touch and feel, and babies. We read a little bit of Luke 2 and said goodnight to one set of grandparents.

We drove back to the Cammack's and took a little detour in Moon Valley. Brad has fond memories of looking at Christmas lights in this neighborhood. Because we had our headlights off (I guess you are supposed to turn them off so everyone can enjoy the lights) another car almost ran into us. That was a little scary especially because we were in Dustin's car. We made our way back home and put David in bed. We opened Christmas jammies with Dustin, Devin, and Kent and Noelene. I was so excited to have a real pair of maternity PJ's. It was fun to be with my parents but then spend the night with Brad's. We've never done it that way before but I really enjoyed the night.

Leaky Apartment

My cell phone rang tonight; it was my sweet friend and neighbor Janelle calling. I knew it was pretty late in New England and the call was probably about something not good. Yep, I was right. Our apartment was leaking. Apparently there was so much snow in Boston that any poorly sealed places were letting water in from the roof. I guess there was too much snow on the housetops! (I'm thinking to myself is this a problem every winter? I don't get it...Doesn't it snow in Boston a lot? Why is this such a problem?) Thankfully Janelle's husband Ryan who also happens to be our home teacher found the problem and stayed there until it was fixed. As far as we know our things aren't damaged and the leaking has stopped. We really feel blessed because it could have been much worse; now I'm just a little paranoid that the carpet and ceiling might be compromised and of course that there could be MOLD when we return. Thanks to the Holt's for their love and service to us while we've been away.

Delays, New York, and First Class

This is Brad posting, (rare, i know).  Well, I was supposed to fly home on Saturday.  At the time we were getting a lot of snow in Boston.  About 6 inches had already fallen by the time I got to the airport.  My airline said that we would have a minor delay, about 20 minutes or so.  Two hours later we finally took off.  I ended getting to JFK right as my connecting flight was taking off, and missed it.  After waiting in line for about 4 hours to rebook my flight, I was told I couldn't leave until the next day. :(  However, on the up side the only seat left was business class.   So, with 24 hours to waste, I decided to go see NYC.

I went to Times Square and had a look around.  I also got to see the 2009 that will be lit up when the ball drops on New Years Eve.  They're a lot smaller than I thought they were.

Times Square also had a few interesting places I'd never seen before: a public bathroom and lounge sponsored by Charmin and Duracell and a place called M&M's world.  Pretty cool.

I finally went back to the airport and boarded my plane (it was on time) and flew home in a nice, comfy first class seat.  Gotta love free first class upgrades.

Danielle is Back!

Well Danielle finally made it back from her semester abroad in London. She arrived happy but exhausted and down one bag (that bag was sent to Orlando and took awhile to get home but luckily nothing important was broken)

David and I left Brad in Boston to study for finals. We flew to Phoenix the day before Danielle did. Minus one dramatic diaper change the trip was fairly uneventful and David really did a great job being on planes for six hours. Danielle said she had it worse with twice as much flying time but I don't know...traveling alone with a kid is hard work!

Freedom Trail and Santa

This is about all I have to say about touring the Freedom Trail again on Saturday. BURR. I think my Dad really enjoyed the tour but it was DANG COLD. It was fun to get out and do something in Boston but we have now been on the trail three times since July! David did really well too. He and I warmed up in the National Parks building while my Dad and Brad finished the guided part of the adventure.

It is David's first Christmas and we just couldn't miss out on the opportunity to see Santa at the ward Christmas party. We thought David would freak out and he didn't but he just wasn't too sure about the guy in the red suit...

Better luck next year I guess.

Two Days at Home

Playing horsie with Grandpa.

David really enjoyed all the attention he got from my Dad. They played hide and seek, horsie, and hats. David loved taking hats off of my Dad's head and putting them on his head.

Since David and I were getting ready to leave for a month I told my Dad this wouldn't be the most exciting vacation; he seemed just fine with that. I went to several Dr's appointments and did a lot of errands while my Dad stayed home and watched David for two whole days! It was raining the whole time anyway, but I still felt a little bad he didn't get out. It was amazing how much I was able to do when I did have my little guy tagging along. Thanks Dad.

Dental School Christmas Party

Brad really wanted to show David off at his dental school Christmas party so my Dad and I made the long drive into Boston to oblige. David is beginning to be a little weary of strangers but Brad still had fun make sure that David met almost everyone he knew. :)

There was a raffle and my Dad won a BU sweatshirt! This was funny for a number of reasons. First because my Dad isn't a student and second because he really loves to buy souvenir t-shirts and sweatshirts from wherever he goes. He even got to shake hands and pose for a picture with the dean. I missed photographing that...my Dad also made friends with one of Brad's professors. I don't think we'll ever forget the night my Dad won the raffle at BU.

Brad and David. I think this is a really good picture of Brad.

Grandpa Comes to Visit

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

My Dad came to visit us this week. Brad picked him up at the airport via public transportation then we all met for dinner at Bertucci's (a little Italian place near the T stop) David seemed to like all the attention he got from Grandpa there. Grandpa gave David a little gift when we got home and David looked at the mouse and kept saying "Oooo" I don't know how much he cared for the book; but I'm sure he'll love it when he gets a little older.

We Give Thanks

The turkey was the best I have ever tasted--no lie. We are still trying to figure out exactly what Brad did to it.

We decided to host Thanksgiving at our house this year. My friends from high school (Steve and Danielle) made the trip from Philadelphia and joined us. We had a total of four families over for dinner; neighbors/friends from church, dental school, and high school! The preparations were not too bad. Brad did all of the hard work and I tried to keep David out of the way. Everyone brought a side dish and a pie so all we had to worry about was the turkey, ham, and potatoes! It turned out great. We played a game of Cranium afterward. It was interspersed with snacking on the vegetable tray and eating pie. I think everyone enjoyed it. We didn't have a chance to miss our family until most of the guests were gone. I'd say our first east coast Thanksgiving was a success.

Steve having fun with the knife...

The table...it is a good idea to iron the table cloth before you put it on! This was the 'christening' of our china that has been sitting in storage for over three years. I'm glad we registered for it.

David spent Thanksgiving getting into things. He tumbled down the stairs and managed to get a sharp pie knife off of the table AND lick it. It scared us and made us feel like bad parents but he has no wounds from the mischief.

He is ELEVEN months old today! And he loved the stuffing...

Happy (Un) Birthday Grandma Duff

Danielle, Dad, and Grandma Duff
taken April 07

I couldn't let today go by without remembering Grandma Duffy. She always celebrated Grandpa's birthday even though he died before I was born. She always called and sang us happy birthday over the phone. I've been trying to mentally put together my memories of her. A lot of what I know about baking and cooking comes to mind. Egg Gravy at Easter, rolls for Sunday dinner, her helping me make Zucchini bread from the Lyon House cook book. She helped my sister and I decorate our bikes so we could ride them in the East Millcreek parade. Two fruits: RASPBERRIES and GRAPES. Her playing card games and board games with us. The endless hours of fun my sister, cousins and I had playing in her basement. I guess the biggest thing I can take from Grandma is remembering and trying to recreate the love and service she gave to her family. I know she is happy but I sure miss her!

Christmas Tree and Church

We put the tree up today--I'm sorry to all those who think this kind of thing should wait until after Thanksgiving. We are traveling this year and I wanted to enjoy the tree for a full month before we leave. David LOVED it. Our fears of him knocking it over have subsided. I just settle for replacing red bells, gold balls, and pine cones from the bottom branches several times each day. Brad actually did most of the work because my back was hurting, thanks honey. My Mom found this tree for us on 90% of clearance a few years ago. It is pre-lit and we love it. Thanks for the beautiful tree; it looks even better decorated!

We spoke in church today. The topic--"Be of Good Cheer." I think it was one of those gospel topics that Brad and I really needed to study. I felt like my talk went well although Brad only got to bare his testimony on the subject. I was worried I'd gone overtime but I didn't. The speaking part of the meeting just started late. The main thing I got from it--we'll all have trials, disappointments, and heartache (and annoyances but I didn't say that) in life but we are commanded to "Be of Good Cheer" anyway because the Lord will be with us and wants us to be happy.

I couldn't let this post go without an update about the primary program from last Sunday. I'm no accompaniast so I was nervous but I got through it without any major disasters. We have a wonderful chorister and good kids. Even though I sometimes like to whine about the fact that my calling has prevented me from meeting all the members of our ward I do enjoy it. I was espeically touched by two songs: "When Jesus Christ was Baptized" and "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." Nothing like primary songs to remind you about some of the most important parts of the gospel.

Walking and Things

Since we all know this is the David blog with just little details about Brad and Deidre we figured we'd better keep you updated on the latest. We had some friends over for breakfast and a short play ground outing; apparently it was too much for David. He feel asleep while eating his cantaloupe after they left on Saturday afternoon.

"The Captain of a Ship"
David's new thing is standing up in the cart. It freaked me out at first (especially when he gets up off his knees) but I've decided as long as I've got a cart with a really good tight buckle what can I do? He seems to think the things behind him are more interesting than the things in front. We ran into a nice Grandma who laughed at his antics and said he looked just like the captain of ship. I thought it was very appropriate.

He's been doing this a little but this weekend he figured out how to walk across the room and even turn around. It is so funny to see him walk into a room holding his hands out like Frankenstein. I suppose this means he'll be getting into more things now? Many people wonder why on earth I'd want him walking around so early but I'm glad. Come March I really don't want to be carrying two kids to the car if I can aviod it. Congratulations David!!

More Halloween Fun

We were pros at getting the costume on for the third time in a row!

Before you get sick of all the Halloween photos let me explain--the Trunk or Treat was first, then the party hosted by the apartment complex, and finally Halloween. And I think Brad and David are pretty photogenic too. What can you do? We went to the party for the free dinner of course! Who wouldn't want to eat good sandwiches made by someone else? The people that work in the office liked seeing David all dressed up. They've gotten to know him a little bit.

Notice me all bundled up. It is COLD. Colder than Utah even. A bone chilling wet sort of cold that apparently I have not even seen the worst of.

This is actual Halloween night.

Checking out the loot. Minus one tiny bite of chocolate we didn't let him eat it, he just played with it. Brad liked taking David around and meeting some of the neighbors. This is the first year we've gotten trick-or-treaters so that was fun too. Some older kids came around and told me how beautiful my front room was. I laughed and let them know it normally isn't as spotless as it looked.