It's Almost Midnight--Final Words in 2008

My last words for the year 2008 are:

THANK YOU!!!

I feel that these two words encompass the way I feel as this year draws to a close! I am in deep gratitude for all the blessings in my life--a wonderful husband, an adorable son, family who loves me unconditionally and all the other people I meet everyday that make life fun and interesting. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Have a Happy 2009 and I will see you next year! :)

Who? Wha? When?

After some serious blog slacking, I have decided to make one post before the New Year.

I thought I would do a little reflecting on what this last year has brought. It started off with a semester at Salt Lake Community College. After the semester was over, a little baby boy came into Georgette's and my life. I've been working for the church now for a little over a year. It has been good, but a little overwhelming sometimes. Then a couple months after transitioning with Andrew, I went back to school again.

Some continuous things that have been going on is a real lesson in communication and learning different ways other people communicate. Mainly I'm talking about marriage. Patience is another wonderful lesson that I've been learning this year. Andrew had a really hard time for a while and all he would do is cry it seemed, unless he was asleep. It turned out to be acid reflux and we gave him some antacid medication for it. I felt so horrible as a parent because all he would do is cry all the time. It seemed so helpless and frustrating. With no communication of what was going on, we had to figure out what was causing the problem. When we did, and the relief came, OH WHAT A JOY THAT WAS! We really weren't bad parents!

This next year may prove to be even more challenging. With another baby on the way and Andrew crawling now, and army crawling at near the speed of light. I will be taking two online classes this semester. Trig and Conservative Biology.

And here I sit, falling asleep because of exhaustion. There is a cold kicking my tail end right now. It's 9:48pm and I feel really old going to bed this early. Yikes, I just nodded off again with some yellow haze 2009 sunglasses. Hmmm a song comes to mind about wearing some sunglasses after the sun goes down.

Anywho, Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Harrild Family Pictures

I love these pictures...

Seven Months Old!!!

This kid is growing so fast it's crazy. I can't believe another month has come and gone, but sure enough Andrew is seven months old. He has become quite mobile and is into what seems like EVERYTHING!!! I know, I know...I can hear all you mothers out there saying "just wait until he starts walking" I"m sure there are things left for him to explore once he reaches the 'walking/running' stage. Well here are some shots of our handsome little boy:

Happy Baby!!!

Stocking Stuffer???

Merry Christmas to All!!!

Happy Seven Month Birthday Andrew--We love you!

And the results are in!

After much deliberation and time spent stressing far too much. (Paying for an education adds stress I never thought I'd experience with grades.) The latest results in the tally for my college education are in! *drum roll*


A Elect. & Modern Living (ID)

A ENGL 2010 Intermediate Writing (EN)

B MATH 1050 College Algebra (QL)

P MATH 1055 College Algebra Workshop

A SOC 1010 Intro to Sociology (SS)

Semester GPA: 3.69 Current GPA: 3.65

Coming to a college campus near you next semester:
Trig, Intro to Conservative Biology, Intro to Photography, Elementary Physics, US Religious Diversity, and last but not least, BOWLING!!!!

Elf-ed

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Special Announcement!!!

I found this onesie on the internet the other day while I was surfing around and thought it would be really cute to buy for Andrew:

Because on Thanksgiving morning I took one of these:

And, as you can see, we will be having another one of these:

Sometime around the end of July or beginning of August of next year! And we are excited that by this time next year this:


Will be a little bit bigger!

Yes folks, that's right!!! We are expecting baby #2 at the end of next summer! Yahoo! We are very excited to see our little family grow! We have our first doctor appointment next month and will have an official due date at that time, until then it's just a guess!

Six Month Stats!!!

Andrew went to the doctor today for his six month check up and his six month stats were as follows:

Weight: 17 lbs 8 oz (60%)
Length: 27 inches (80%)
Head Circumference: 17.5 inches (80%)

I think the doctor was quite surprised by his huge weight gain, at four months he weighed 12 lbs 10 oz (10%) he has come a long way from that--he's shaping up to be a rather large kid!!!

One Lucky Fellow

I have been quite busy as of late. I am almost finished with another semester of school and wondering where all the time has gone. I guess that must mean I've been having quite a bit of fun.... *COUGH* Well there is some fun I've had recently.

I have spent a little more time with my family as of late and remember how much I love them. I love to see my beautiful smiling wife's face and to hear her laugh. I enjoy holding Andrew and pretending to eat his belly causing a fit of laughter. It was really nice to hold him while he took a nap while watching "The Forgotten Carols". I sat there and wondered how it all happened that put me there with him in my arms. I wondered if that was really real. I thought back to my childhood and all I experienced. I sometimes don't feel like I've grown up. I still feel like I'm a little kid in a large world. I've learned more than I knew when I was a child, but in some ways, I don't feel like I've grown up.

I am grateful to say that work and school will only last for a finite amount of time. I only have a little bit left to go.(At least that's what I tell myself to look at my goal as a short term thing) I sometimes wonder if we American's are so concerned about going and going and going that we lose something in the hustle and bustle. I feel a little more productive when I am working and going to school, but I also am not nearly as happy as I have been the past few days.

Georgette and I went to the temple for an endowment session and it's been some time since we've been. It really was good to go again and there really is an amazing peace that you can feel nowhere else. The closest is at home.

I am so amazed at how fast Andrew is growing up. He's now over 16 pounds and putting on rolls like there's no tomorrow. He is developing so fast. The other day, Georgette saw him on all fours. In his bed, hanging out and working on his crawl. He's starting to get the Army crawl down and can maneuver across the floor to get to an object in his fancy. I don't doubt he will be crawling on his own within a month. Then walking, and running. I think I need to invest in a way to keep him from running off, especially if he's anything like his father...

I would like to also thank my wife Georgette, for all her love and support. I don't know where I'd be without you. I hope and pray that I will be able to return and be able to hold my head up when I give an accounting of my life with you. That I have been the husband you deserve.

Six Months Old!!!

We can hardly believe that our "little" baby boy is six months old!!! It's crazy that we have been parents for half a year, time is flying so fast! Andrew's six month check up is on Monday so we will post his stats later. It's amazing how fast he is growing and developing-currently he is working on sitting independently (he tips over when he loses concentration or sees something he wants), just a couple of days ago when I left him in his crib for just a couple minutes I came back to find him on all fours (crawling position) and he's been doing that a lot! I fear that we don't have much time before our little munchkin is mobile-YIKES!!! Anyway, here are some pics of our adorable little angel on his six month birthday!

Andrew and Daddy

Looking Smart, don't you think???

Practicing his crawling moves

Just a cute, chubby, happy baby!!!

HAPPY SIX MONTH BIRTHDAY ANDREW--WE LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Birthday Murray!!!

Today is my most wonderful husband's birthday! I am truly blessed to be married to such an amazing man. He is...

...still as absolutely adorable as he is in this picture!

...a phenomenal husband and my best friend!

...an amazing father!!!

...and if that isn't enough he is also loving, compassionate, forgiving, spontaneous, fun, creative, spiritual, intelligent, and just all around INCREDIBLE! Who could ask for anything more than that? I am blessed to have him in my life and he blesses his family on a daily basis!

We Love You Murray!!!
Happy Birthday!!!

Halloween Pictures--Better Late than Never!!!

As promised in my previous post--here are some Halloween pictures (with minimal explanation). ENJOY!!!

Happy Halloween

Well, to me today is unofficially the last day of the year as it seems that from today through New Year's day is nothing but a blur! In less than four weeks it will be Thanksgiving, which of course will be followed by the beloved shopping day known as BLACK FRIDAY at which point all reason flies out the window and chaos ensues until Christmas Day, after which pretty much everything is returned to the store from which it was purchased. One short week after that, there is yet another party, one that goes until midnight (or maybe a little later) and before anyone realizes what has happened, a new year is upon us! Whew! Now please don't misunderstand me, I LOVE the Christmas season! I love the smells, the music, the food, the wonderful opportunity to spend lots of time with family and friends, and most of all I love to remember the reason for the season- that my beloved Brother, Savior, and Friend was born on this Earth to glorify God the Father and to teach me what true unconditional love and mercy are all about. There is something truly magical about a season where a larger percent of people take the time to think about what they are thankful for and spend a lot of extra time and energy giving to others, sometimes I wish the season lasted longer for these reasons only--definitely not for the frenzied shoppers syndrome! So with that I look to the upcoming season with anticipation but for today I will enjoy carving pumpkins, making Halloween cookies (thanks for the recipe Amy!), dressing my cute son in a costume and enjoy watching other children in their costumes as well. Ah...life is good! I will be posting some Halloween pictures soon here after--probably some time later this evening, enjoy!

More nostalgia!

I used to love watching this cartoon and listening to the music. It scared the carapace out of me!

Weekend Travels and Five Months Old (and another year older too!)

Well the title pretty much says it all! We got the awesome opportunity to go to Boise to visit Murray's sister Kirsten and her little family--it was so much fun! Also, Andrew is officially 5 months old and is growing like a weed. I can hardly believe that another month has come and gone! As for the "another year older" (or younger as the case may be :-) ) That would be me, I had a birthday yesterday. To celebrate Murray and I went and saw "The Ark" at the Grand Theater, it was different that I thought it would be but well worth it nonetheless. I have lots of pictures of our weekend and such, so here they are:

Peaches, Peaches Everywhere!

About a week ago Murray and I learned how to make peach jam from start to finish. Murray's mom came down from Idaho and taught us, or mostly me, how to can my own jam- here's the picture proof:

The peaches after they had been skinned
Murray stealing some peaches???
Mashing the peaches
Stirring the pot of soon to be jam.
Pouring the hot jam into the bottles
Ta-da!!! All done!

Picture Tag!!!

My friend Liz (former mission companion) tagged me in a game of picture tag. The rules were to take my sixth picture folder and post the sixth picture in that folder. So here it is:


Burrr!!!! A picture taken last December 1st showing all the beautiful (cough, cough!) snow that fell overnight one evening. Unfortunately with the recent weekend snowstorms, things might look like that again really soon! :-(

I tag anyone who reads this post and would like to play along!

Random Sampler

Here are some cute pics of our adorable little boy, Andrew (as well as some other people). No particular reason or occasion, just him in everyday life and happenings since our last post.


Andrew really enjoys a good bath as well as the quality time that he gets to spend with his daddy while taking it.

Daddy and Andrew taking a nap together

Andrew with his Grandpa Whitehead

Smiling for daddy again while getting ready to go out! (this one is unusual because he generally HATES being put in his carseat!)

Mmmmmm! Andrew has really taken to the taste of rice cereal mixed with anything but water! He likes to both eat and wear it as you can see :-)

Ice Cream Face

So, Murray and I have recently discovered that our son is a fiend of ice cream. A trait which obviously comes from his daddy's side, as mom can only eat it in small quantities. How have we discovered this? Murray and I went down to the local Macey's (our local grocery store) where they sell ice cream cones for a ridiculously low price. I get my usual small cone while Murray gets his usual "Kong" size cone. I am holding Andrew and decide to see how he likes the taste by giving him a very small sample and the next thing I know he has wrapped his hands (yes, both of them) around my ice cream cone and shoves the whole thing into his little face.

Quite nice wouldn't you agree??? However, he managed to mangle my cone beyond use or edibility and it was promptly thrown away. Upon seeing this Andrew threw what seemed like his first public tantrum because he was denied that which he wanted. I'm sure that won't be the last time that will happen!!! (sigh!)

Four months old!!!

Andrew is officially four months old (well, a little older as we are a bit late getting this post up!) The official stats are as follows:

Weight-12 lbs 10 oz (10%)
Length-25 in (75%)
Head Circumference-17 in (85%)

Still long and skinny but it might be getting close to time to do something about his weight (getting him to gain more of it, that is). Andrew really is a good baby unless it's time to either eat or sleep! He has started eating rice cereal and seems to like it alright, we usually mix it with some baby apple juice to give it some flavor. He is growing so fast we can hardly believe it, but more importantly he is growing healthy!

Here he is watching Grandma Whitehead while Dad is snapping pictures before church. This kid doesn't miss a thing!!! (That could certainly spell trouble later on!)

Oh the joys of learning a language!

So.... just a forewarning for those non-math lovers out there. If you are reading this, you can consider this post ending here. The rest of this is about the wonders of math 1050 or College Algebra.

My math teacher is a really interesting cat. He has a wave for a hair do and it is always in the same spot each day. I don't think he ever washes it. He might, but he just puts on a special cap to keep it in place.

He is very good at math and really seems to have a passion about it, but I think he is truly in love with calculus. It is all he talks about. I wonder, once in a while, if he has a poster of all the calculus formula's up in his room, right next to some of the mathematicians who extended the realm of math into calculus. If he has pajamas with anything math on them. Ok... so I am a little overboard on my imagination. It really comes from the fact that I feel like I don't know what I am doing in math now. I have a hard time understanding what concepts he's trying to teach and all it seems I hear is about calculus and later on when you get into calculus...

We recently finished with quadratic formula's and the lovely and beautifully sensuous(?) quadratic formula...

ax^2+bx+c (for those of you who are wondering, ^2 is x squared or x to the power of 2)
I wanted to use Microsoft Word but it won't copy and paste like I want to...

There are other different flavors of this formula that are just too much fun for one person to handle.

a(x-h)^2+k

Quadratic

To make a long story short, I don't see an end to this use of the mathematics for quite sometime. I even had a dream about it last night. Sheesh! I guess it's a good time to eat, sleep, breathe mathematics. There are so many rules and letters and concepts in math that just learning it is a little overwhelming.

And on a side note... I found a really cool site with information on Astronomy.
Astronomy Cast. It has a podcast that I've been listening to for the past week or two at work. It is very informative and not in an overwhelming scientific jargan way.

Thank you servicemen! 9/11

I don't quite know how to say it, but I would like to thank all those servicemen that give of their time and self to the defense of this country. I dislike thinking about the events that happened on 9-11-01. I remember sitting in my living room playing Sojourn on the computer. It was early in the morning and someone asked me if I had heard what was going on in the news. I said no, and turned it on immediately. It was about a minute before I saw the second plane crash into the Twin Towers. I don't have words to describe what I felt at that moment. Part of me wanted to vomit and another part wanted to scream out in rage at the loss of so many lives. I sat and watched and realized that soon those towers were going to fall. To make a long story short, it was an unfortunate day and I hope that we will never see another like it.

That being said, there were many men and women sent over to Afghanistan and later to Iraq to defend the freedoms and lives and liberties of this nation. I understand we are not a perfect nation and we have our problems. I do believe though, that when in righteousness, this nation is a country guided and directed by the hand of God. I may not agree with everything that is implemented by this government. I may not like how politicians work or what they say, but the fact that I can say what I think about someone says a lot for the freedoms here.

With a new family and the opportunity to go to school and increase my knowledge and education, I am grateful to live here in this day, and in this country in a wonderful family. I can go down to the grocery store and pick and choose what I want to eat for dinner, for a snack, for lunch, for whatever I have a hankering for.

I remember when Andrew came home. I was driving the car and felt like I wanted a presidential escort to clear the roads from all the crazy drivers that drive here in Utah. I wanted to protect him from any physical harm, and eventually protect him from some of the other dangers that are here in this world. Not by sheltering him, but from teaching him truth.

I am grateful for the men and women who have given of themselves to defend what I have today. For the picture below. It's of a father with two little girls at a field north of the Southtown Mall in Sandy. It was really quite a special thing. There were a ton of flags placed in rows upon rows in commemoration of 9/11. A father had his two girls running and playing and being little girls without much of a care in the world except for what food they detest, going to bed at a certain time and whether or not their parents spend time with them. You can see the girl on the right with a smile on her face as she runs laughing and not having a care in the world. I barely remember having such innocence and long for a day when there will be no innocence shattered.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to go camping with my wife and son, and future children at some point.
I would also like to say thank you to my elder brother. Without Him, none of this would be possible at all. I would not have this family, I would not be able to live with them in the eternities.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. (1 Nephi 21:16)
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent (D&C 19:16)
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isa. 1:18)

I am grateful for His atoning sacrifice to make it possible for me to receive eternal happiness and joy forever. I am grateful for the peace that the companionship of the Holy Ghost brings. What a marvelous gift that is to me.

Adorable moments

Some more recent moments that I have really enjoyed with Andrew. He loves to smile more and more each day.

I love putting him on the bed and bouncing him with my hands. It makes him laugh mucho!
I love just babbling nothing but baby talk to him.
I love talking to him and getting smiles.
He likes it when I lay down on my back and hold him up so he's standing and pretending that he is Godzilla or some large creature and make the appropriate noises that go along with it.
The best though is when he laughs and it almost sounds like a hiccup.

I feel like such a smile prostitute sometimes. I almost want to do anything to get him to laugh and smile.

The one thing that is really endearing to me is when he's tired and fussy. I take him and wrap him up and hold him in a rocking chair we found until he falls asleep. I don't quite get what it is that I enjoy, but it's great to watch him go through his falling asleep rigmarole. Andrew will fight and wiggle and squirm for a little while. "No! I'm not sleepy! I must stay awake! There is so much going on! I can't miss out on one precious moment!" Then his eyelids will slowly droop down for about a minute, then the squirm and fuss followed by a little bit longer on the rolling of the eyes and droop of the eyelids. I find it fairly humorous in his determination to stay awake, only to end up falling asleep in about 5 to 10 minutes.

Here is Andrew with his computer he's using for hacking. He mumbled something about taking over the world. We thought it was adorable and so we took some pictures.

Here is where he's mumbling something about getting Austin Powers, whoever that is.... Then he asked us if we'd seen Mr. Bigglesworth around somewhere. This kid sure has some imagination!

Show me love! Yes, that's it!

Andrew is growing up so fast. He's now fascinated with his toes and hands and anything else that makes noise. A wonderful game he likes to play is how much I can chomp on his hands. Georgette and I wonder if he's starting to teeth. I let him chomp on my hand once and that kid sure has some jaw strength!

Another thing Andrew seems to love is when you set him down on the bed and push down in rapid succession on the bed springing him up a little bit. It sure elicits some wonderful smiles and a couple baby giggles. The best thing is his smiles. They come more often and are more adorable! It really is a great blessing to have such a wonderful child to remind us of the simple things in life.

Here are some pictures o' Andrew.