Thanksgiving Turkey Project

Hayden was sent home with a turkey to decorate for the hallway outside of his classroom. Caroline was over so we decided to tackle the project together! The kids had a good time being creative. Brynley spent most of the time eating the marshmallows!

The finished turkey

House Progress

We will officially be closing on our house (assuming all goes well...) one month from today, Christmas Eve. This will officially be my only Christmas present, along with the gorgeous plantation shutters, light fixtures, painter we're hiring, bar stools, big screen TV and the TV console we'll be purchasing... Not a bad haul... just that none of it fits under the tree! Don't know if we'll have one this year anyway so that's okay!

Aside from some issues with the doors that were installed today, things seem to be on their way. Hopefully the door situation will be resolved and I will get the doors that I expected, if not someone will be sorry!

Shelly's front door with my lovely kids (It was pajama day at school, and not sure what's up with Bryn)

Shelly's house partially painted
Our stair rail and part of our front door in the background. This was the only picture I took today that turned out, not sure what my problem was!

He continues to amaze us + School Picture

On Saturday I had to take Hayden to get his school pictures done. (We were out of town when they took them and he has a field trip the day of retakes.) I know school pictures aren't the greatest but it is something I will always do with my kids. I still have all of mine from Kindergarten on up, and it's kind of fun to see the changing hairstyles, etc.

As we were waiting for the photographer, Hayden picked up a magazine and started flipping through the pages. I asked him to stop on a page and try to read something for me. To my complete amazement, this is what Hayden read:

"No bow is too big, skirt too poufy, or color too bright for Taryn Cox, Hollywood's best kept secret."

Notice the word "poufy" I think it is supposed to be spelled "poofy" but he said it as if it were spelled correctly! The only word he stumbled on was "secret", he said "secert". How did he read the word "bright", I really don't think he has learned the "gh" rule yet! Aah Hayden, if only you would learn to clean up your toys as well as you are reading!

And the cute picture:

That is one handsome young man, if I do say so myself!

Houston, we have a tooth!

Yes, I think this little tooth could possibly be the reason that Zac was up ALL stinkin night on Sunday! I stuck my finger in his mouth last night and there it was, the distinct pokes of a brand new tooth! He just turned 7 months and I think this is the earliest that any of my kids have gotten a tooth. I'm not quite able to get a picture of it yet, still too early. Just wanted to document this little milestone!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Andy!

On Sunday, Andy celebrated the 1 year anniversary of his lapband surgery. I am so proud of him, his doctors tried to discourage him, saying that most people who have this surgery fail to lose weight because they find ways to "cheat" with the band. Andy has learned that there are many ways to cheat but it is so not worth it to ruin something that has been such a life-changing tool. I am so proud of the diligence and the restraint that Andy has had over this year to lose the weight that he has. He has officially lost 101 pounds since his surgery one year ago! I wish I could lose 101 pounds. I am going to post some comparison shots of Andy taken one year ago, look at the amazing change.

My hot husband, 1 year after surgery - seriously what a hotty (terrible picture of me, sorry)

1 Month following surgery, December 2007

Andy and Zac in Disneyland 2 weeks ago
Andy and Hayden at Pirates of the Caribbean 1 year agoAndy and Hayden at Pirates 2 weeks ago
Halloween 2007
Halloween 2008
Needless to say, Andy is loving life. This has been a huge life change for him and I think he wouldn't change it for anything. I have loved watching him shrink yet grow so much over the last year, the kids love their "new" dad!

Golden WHEEL Gala

We had our annual Golden WHEEL Snowball Gala last Saturday night. I was in charge of catering again this year, and I must say the food was divine! This year our theme was "Tropical Nights", it was quite a change from what we have done in the past and it was amazing! The decor was incredible (way to go Wendy!) and the whole night went off without a hitch (thanks Toni!). The Economy this year had us concerned that we would not fill our tables, and though we had less people than in past years, it was still an incredible night. We were still able to raise a good amount of money for the Children of the West Valley and everyone had a good time. The Polynesian dancers, Tahitian Pearl Raffle, Lei's made of Orchids, the fruit palm tree with the chocolate fountain, chocolate dipped pineapple favors, and the color scheme all fit with the theme very nicely! It's nice to have it all over with before the holidays, we can all actually relax and enjoy the holidays this year. Everyone did a great job and made this one of the best Gala's yet!

This year I was able to have some of my friends join us. I would have liked to have Meredith and Steve there but I really needed them to babysit!
One of the table set-ups

The other table set up
The whole ballroom

The chocolate fountain, yum!

I need to add, for all you Survivor fans, we had a bit of a celebrity at our event. Joel, the firefighter from a few season ago was in attendance, and Wendy and I got our picture taken with him. He filled us in on a lot of the behind the scenes secrets! As soon as I get the picture from Wendy, I will add it to this post. He is quite the looker!

6 Months Old!

That's right, our little man is 6 months old, but as I look at the date I realize he will be 7 months in just 4 days! It is hard to believe, time passes so quickly, it makes me want another one! Meredith and I were just talking today about how much we love to cuddle our little babies, who aren't so little anymore! I am constantly amazed at my little man, he is so content almost all the time. How did we get so lucky? Zac can roll both ways but really has no interest in sitting up or crawling for that matter (thank you!) he can just hang out as long as he wants, I'm not at all anxious for this little guy to be mobile. At his 6 month checkup, Zac was measuring pretty small, 14 pounds, 8 ounces which is only the 5th percentile. He only gained 6 ounces in two months. The doctor is concerned a little because he used to be in the 50th percentile for weight but he is thriving so I'm not concerned. I try to feed him a little extra each day if I think about it, but we're not stressed. I actually really like having a baby on the smaller side, Hayden and Bryn were both pretty giant at 6 months. Zac is still pretty tall and he has an average size head - another first for our babies, usually their heads are huge!

Zac and Kate (also 6 months) admiring something in the grass
Trying hard to get them to both look at the camera

We love our little Zachar (as we like to call him) we are so blessed to have him as a part of our family.