Picnics in the park

Fred has been studying for the MCAT alot and needed a break so I packed a lunch and we headed to the park to see the ducks. Tad love chewing on an apple while Fred and I ate our sandwiches. Now that he has more teeth he can actually get chunks off.

Tad also started taking a few steps between two people, Fred & I got him up to 4 steps (I think we're too chicken to move further apart than that)! And my pet bird's eggs hatched! Cute huh?

2 new teeth!

Tad was such a grumpy little guy for a few days. He never cried in pain, he was just ornery. Tuesday his top 2 teeth finally popped through and we could tell! He was his happy little self again. It was like night and day! I'm glad it didn't last long and I'm actually grateful he was grumpy so I could appreciate what an amazingly happy boy he is.





I'm also officially offended. :} Tad loves his Aunt Crystal and will do anything for her.... here's proof!

Fred and I tried earlier in the day to get a video of him making the Indian sound and he acted camera shy and would barely do it - Crystal comes over and he's more than willing to do it for her and the camera! Fred & I also have been trying to get Tad to walk from the couch to the lazy boy but he stands there and wimpers - Crystal got him to do it right away. That's okay, I'll use it to my advantage and have her help him learn to walk faster!

Spring inside & outside

We've had a busy week outside trimming our apple tree and planting our garden. Tad has been busy inside learning how to open the oven! I had almost pre-heated the oven then decided not to. Thank goodness, now we know not to have Tad even in the kitchen when it's on.

Outside we found this robin's nest in our backyard. It's actually by our camper that we're getting ready to sell, but now we'll wait until the eggs hatch.

Tad loves to be outside and jumps up and down if I carry him past the door, he thinks we're going outside everytime. While Fred tilled the garden Tad sat on a blanket and watched. It'll be fun to let him play out there and it might actually motivate me to keep our garden weeded.

These are Tad's 9 month pictures. I love this little flower garden by my parents' church and luckily it was sunny on the day we went. Tad has been grumpy lately as his top 2 teeth are coming in. He wasn't as cooperative as usual, but at least he's not crying. (He doesn't really cry, he flexes his hands and grunts.)

Aunt Crystal has been helping / forcing him to learn how to walk. He's getting close to being able to take a step without any hands. Hopefully I'll have a video to post soon.

He was super grumpy on Mother's day. Fred was great and took him with him to Priesthood. Next year if he wakes up that grumpy I'm shipping him off to grandma's - she almost made me put it in writing. :}

We really did have a nice day- Saturday we took my mom to breakfast as a family. Sunday we walked to my mom's for dinner and games. We missed Fred's mom while she was off enjoying New York.

Graduation - Part 2

We woke up extra early to get ready and get good seats since President Monson was the speaker. We got there before 7am and they didn't even have the doors open yet. After we got our seats, Crystal and I went out in the hall to take pictures of Fred. I was glad she was there to help entertain me. The Grandma's did well at sharing Tad and I was able to take pictures (enjoy the slide show at the end).
Tad did REALLY well. We woke him up a little before 6:30am and he didn't take a nap until about 12:30pm AND he wasn't fussy at all through any of it! I made his little shirt as a surprise for Fred. Back at Christmas my sister gave Fred an "Aggies" t-shirt for Tad to wear, I thought it was only fair that he have one for Weber.
Pres. Monson spoke about the ABC's: Attitude, Belief (in yourself), and Courage. I'm always amazed at how well versed the Prophet and Apostles are, they're very book smart, not just gospel smart. It was rainy outside which made the hallways packed. We barely made it over to the Student Center for Fred's department graduation on time. I was so glad that it was scheduled close to the main ceremony so we didn't have to spend the entire day sitting around. We finally had a chance to take some group pictures before heading to Famous Dave's BBQ for lunch. Fred said he thought he was going to starve to death during the 2nd ceremony. Tad fell asleep on the way to the restaurant but only slept part way through the meal. This kid is amazing.... when we got home from the restaurant we fed him a bottle and he played like normal for 2 more hours. While he played, we packed and when it was nap time again we put him in his carseat so he'd sleep on the drive.
I am so proud of Fred - I might have had to help him the first semester and he let me register him (I'm sure just so I felt like I was helping), but by the end he amazed me by all he was able to do. He studied a lot more than I ever did! He's incredibly smart and can tell you the most random facts - mostly about animals since his degree is Zoology. Now it's on to studying for the MCAT and starting Med School Applications!

Graduation - Part 3

No, you didn't miss Part 2 (the actual graduation), I haven't collected pictures from our parents yet. Tad has yet another cold (#4?)

For Fred's graduation present I searched for weeks trying to find the right thing. I looked at insect flag punches, canning stuff, everything on my continuous "wish list" I keep for Christmas ideas. I finally ended up with a Red Wings Hockey hat & 2 jump drives - since he not only filled his but stole mine to finish up the semester. I also decided that what he'd probably like the most was time away from everything.

After graduation celebrations were over we packed up and headed to Vernal. I know, it sounds questionable, but it made a great overnight trip! Tad didn't seem to mind the drive at all. We checked into the hotel, got some Mexican food, and then went swimming back at the hotel. Tad loved it! He really liked sitting on the edge kicking his feet in the water and splashing.

I thought he would have a rough night in a strange crib, but he slept through the night. We checked out and drove to McConkie Ranch. It's a private ranch, however, they give public access if you follow the signs. They have a trail marked for hiking to see the petroglyphs. The only time Tad cried during the whole trip was as we headed back to the car from our hike, it was 1 1/2 hours past nap time and he was done. He fell right to sleep as soon as we started to drive.

Since he was still asleep we drove to Jensen to check out the temporary Visitors Center for the Dinosaur Quarry. They have a shuttle that will take you to the construction site and a little hike.

We drove back to Vernal, got some burgers while Tad slept again. :} Such a cooperative little guy!

Our last stop was the Utah Field House to see the dinosaur exhibits.