weekend of firsts.

this weekend was a weekend full of firsts.

first of all, emily and are celebrating our first second anniversary. it was amazing.

as you can see by these pretentious slippers, we stayed at the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria in Park City, thanks to a sweet military discount. seriously, one of the raddest hotels we've ever stayed in!

we left Will with my mom for two nights, his first overnighter without us.

which meant, we got to dine out late, sleep in later, hot tub in the snow, work out at the same time, listen to sales pitches about "investment opportunities," lounge around with nowhere to go and nowhere to be for the first time in a long time.

and since it was a perfect park city weekend, it wouldn't be complete without a little snow fest, which meant we got to try out our car for the first time in the snow to see how it would fare, i'd give it a B-, but we did make it back to pick up Will before my parents' church, just in time to witness Will hold his first grudge at his mom for leaving him for a couple of days.

he got over it soon enough. soon enough to enjoy his first snowy play day, his first inadvertent white wash as he biffed it in the snow, and of course his first snow man. even though, he's our little southern beau, he definitely loves Utah, it's snow, and all his new firsts...!

the holiday season has begun...

once halloween is over, something very special happens.

a certain something begins to appear.

a certain delicious yellow beverage makes its annual debut.

i'm just so glad that my son loves it as much as i do...

nothing makes me happier.

bottoms up: like father, like son.

ps. this is his 6th shot of Nog. he could probably do more, but we have to help him find his boundaries/limits, something i didn't learn about egg nog until my freshman year at college. that was an ugly time for me...

also. i made my first commercial tonight too for NIKE's new Lebron shoes: Lebron 8. NIKE wishes they could use my kid...

my little helper

will is such a good helper. he especially loves to help load and unload the dishwasher.

sometimes with halloween candy.

sometimes with his puffs.

and sometimes he likes to help with the silverware.

ensign peak

on saturday, we went on a little family outing and we ended up at Ensign Peak. neither peter nor i had ever hiked ensign peak before, so we decided to give it a try. with william in his stroller. at the beginning, it was no big deal. a nice little monument with a paved path.

things changed rather quickly. the paved path turned to dirt, rocks, and make-shift steps made of wood logs. still no big deal for someone walking. (or should i say someone over the age of 1, or anyone that has more than just one month's experience with walking.) but with such an amateur walker, peter insisted that we continue to push will in his stroller. i told peter that if he wanted to take the stroller, he could push the stroller. so he did. and it was pretty funny. and it took us a really long time to hike 1/2 mile.

we finally made it to the top. and we had a pretty fun time. the view was awesome and will got to stretch his legs. i just kept worrying that he was going to try and run down the face of the mountain. oh, and he kept trying to run up to a couple that was trying to enjoy a romantic afternoon together. sorry guys.

all in all a fun afternoon! and on the way home, we stopped for a treat at jamba juice. don't worry, will did in fact succeed in spilling his entire cup full of acai super anti-oxidant jamba all over his carseat. awesome. i know we were asking for it by letting him hold his cup, but it made him so happy and he looked so cute. now (even though i did my best to clean it out) i have nightmares that every time i put him in his seat he'll get a stained purple bum . . .

family spook evening

it's pumpkin time. and nobody does pumpkins like peter's sister, jill. she and her family had us over for dinner and FHE pumpkin-style last night. we had a great time. jill made pumpkin soup, a rice dish cooked in a pumpkin (it was sooooo good! i'm really sad we don't have a picture . . .), pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and pumpkin dessert! yum. seriously. it was so good and we were so full driving home last night.

after our pumpkin delights, we got a-carving. peter's pumpkin is very impressive. he carved out a perfectly anatomized set of chompers. it looks awesome.

the kids carved little pumpkins, which took some serious skill. here we all are showing off our spooky creations.

kate and jane were super good carvers themselves, but they also helped me scoop out the "cobwebs" from the inside of my pumpkin. thanks, girls! and thanks tews for such a fun night!

happy birthday william!!!!

today william is 1 year old! happy birthday, william! this last year has been the most wonderful year because we've had william with us. he is such a fun, happy, and active little boy! william started taking his first steps about a month ago, and now he is just cruising everywhere, thinking he is so big and awesome. which he is :)

to celebrate will's big day, we had a birthday party. a NINJA birthday party for our little ninja. will was decked out with his ninja throwing star, sword, and nun-chucks. peter and i were decked out similarly as back-up for our ninja warrior, in case any samurais came to crash the party. honestly though, will wouldn't have needed any back-up. he's pretty stealth, wobbling around on those two legs, with that serious face of his. he'd scare off any intruders.

to help us celebrate, we had lots of ninjas from neighboring clans come over. they were perfect guests and william had a blast. so did we :) we love being with our family and friends.

here are a few shots of our ninja decorations . . .

here are two of our best ninja warriors, waiting to defend william from any enemies. thanks, lucas and dad, for the extra protection.

will wasn't quite sure what to make of his birthday cake. he didn't really dig in, like a lot of kids do. instead he carefully checked it out first and was wary of the first bite, like a true ninja.

we also had fun chatting, catching up with everyone, and everyone gave will lots of hugs and cuddles. william sure is loved--thanks everyone for helping us celebrate! and happy birthday, again, will! we love you!!!!