DAN & DIANA HULME

Wedding Ring: Mrs. Thomson

2012-02-12T18:00:00.000-05:00

Dan and I met through a mutual friend at BYU a few months after I had broken off a previous engagement. I was not very interested in men at the moment. He bided his time and the next school year, we hung out with our mutual friend and he called me later that week to go out on our first date. He waited maybe 24 hours before calling me again and we went grocery shopping together. We were mostly inseparable after that.

The following school year found us both moving to the East coast. I started a one-year graduate program and Dan was living at home while commuting to the city to teach and attend graduate school at night. I had been talking up marriage for months, but Dan needed some time to get used to the idea. The school year started and kept hoping he’d be ready.

Over Columbus Day weekend, we were hanging out at his parent’s home in CT as usual. Saturday came and went with nothing exciting. I had been hoping he’d pop the question that weekend and I was starting to get discouraged. Monday morning came and I was being quite snippy with Dan trying to keep my hopes down even though I really wanted it to be The Day. We had planned to go on a hike in the mountains so I could witness my first New England fall and all of the gorgeous leaves. We hiked up to the outlook and began to eat our lunch. We were finishing up and I looked over and saw Dan’s heart pounding through his shirt. I put my arm around him and smiled. He then got up the courage to get down on that knee and ask me to marry him. It was perfect.

Nine months later we got married in Fresno, CA. It’s been almost three years and I’m always amazed at how love is never stagnant. I’m always learning more about him and falling even more in love with him.

~Maddie

Wedding Ring: Mrs. Glynn

2012-02-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

I fell in love the moment I stepped into the sophomore welcome assembly at Capital High School. As I sat down I saw the man of my dreams announcing the first speaker. 6'1'', 140lbs, long golden (highlighted) locks, a perfectly manicured specimen. I leaned over to my friend sitting next to me and asked with googly eyes "who is that?" She replied "oh, that is Zach Glynn... I'm going to marry him some day." Luck had it that I was actually going to marry him some day.

I left thinking how can I get him to notice me. I guess all it took was my 98lb boy-ish figure, a full mouth of braces, and a necklace made out of safety pins... who knew that high school boys totally dug girls like that!? My older brother strongly encouraged Zach to ask me to the first dance of the year. Rather, he told Zach that he was the only guy he would allow me to go with. Turns out that Zach took a liking to me and our rocky love journey began.

We dated throughout most of my high school years. I frequently attended church with him where I was introduced to the weird world of "Mormons". We eventually broke up Zach's senior year of high school due to my desire to "live a little". To my surprise I didn't find greener grass on the other side. Instead I found my path leading through thorns and disappointment. Zach and I continued to stay in contact. He was madly in love with me and "knew" that we were supposed to be together. Unfortunately, I just couldn't see it yet.

Zach decided to serve a full time mission for The LDS Church and I started my first year of college. Mid-semester I met 2 men boys that changed my life forever. They were on campus with a recently baptized student that lived in the dorms. When I saw their suits and badges something felt so familiar to me. As I listened and learned about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I felt like I had known them my whole life. Soon I was baptized. I wrote Zach telling him all about my "new life". He was thrilled and his letters soon started pouring in. Long story short... I fell madly in love with him all over again each time I received a hand written letter from my missionary in Mongolia.

He returned home and it was like he had never left... except for the fact that I finally "knew" that we were supposed to be together. Within a few months we started talking about marriage. I think he gave me some speil like "maybe I should work a while and get some money so I can take care of you. Blah. Blah. Blah." I threatened him of course, like every good woman does to their soon to be husband.

Zach's a sharp guy and knows what's good for him so he proposed one month later. Our first date in high school was to a movie with a bunch of friends. We frequented that same movie theater often over the years. One seemingly boring evening as I scrambled to finish an essay for my English class the next day, Zach talked me into going to a movie. Not really sure what I was thinking, but I often did not so bright things in the name of love! Dragging my feet, we entered the same theater where we had our first date. As I walked in the empty theater a video started to play. The video started with pictures from our childhoods up until we met. Next were pictures of all the time we spent together in high school. Then the video split into his time in Mongolia on his mission and pictures of what I was doing during those 2 years. I lost it at that point and don't remember much expect for a shinny ring and Zach down on one knee. At least I think that is how it went. Now, 5 years later we have two beautiful sons and so many wonderful years to come; a life that I could not have imagined that first day of high school.

~Jordann

Wedding Ring: Mrs. Hess

2012-02-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Con and I had been dating almost a year when he proposed on September 29, 2010. I knew the proposal was coming because a week before we had a conversation over dinner and had talked about getting married in between fall and winter semester. I told him if he wanted to get married in December we had to get engaged soon because a wedding takes more than a month to plan. So that very week we started looking at rings. Four stores later I finally found some I loved. I picked out three or four (I wanted the final choice to be a surprise) and let him make the final decision.

But before he could propose, he had to make the official phone call to my dad. They had only met once in person, and so Con was super nervous. I went over to his apartment after he made the phone call (my poor father was completely caught off guard--perhaps I should have given him a heads up?), and found the funniest paper on Connell's desk. Before he called my dad he had written out everything he planned to say (like the way you did in junior high before you called a boy but didn't want there to be a lull in the conversation so you wrote yourself notes) but the notes were in code. So, for example, "B, CH HAYD" meant, "Broc, this is Connell Hess, how are you doing?" Or there was "DYHA minute CT? CB?" which meant, "Do you have a minute that you can talk or should I call back?" After I saw the paper with all the random letters and asked him to translate the meaning of everything, I just had to laugh because I thought it was the cutest thing ever that he was so nervous and prepared. What a sweetheart.

Once he had been given the clear by my dad and I had already chosen the rings, I started getting super anxious. I wanted to be engaged already! Now that we had talked about it and I had seen my ring, I couldn't wait! But Con wouldn't give any hints about whether he had the ring, how he was going to propose, or when it was going to happen. And because it was football season during all of this (he plays for BYU), I started thinking it would be weeks before he even had time to propose. But then one day when we were together I asked him if he could do something for me (I can't remember what the favor was), and he said he would have time after Wednesday of that week. I knew he didn't have any tests or anything else on Wednesday, so I safely assumed Wednesday would be the proposal day and went on got my nails done the day before so they would look beautiful with my new ring :)

Sure enough, the next day Connell called me and told me he had to get something on his boat trailer fixed and so he would probably need my help around dinner time to possibly pick him up. He called me after his football practice and said the people fixing his trailer needed to keep it longer and asked if I could come pick him up. I drove over to the lake and lo and behold his boat was already on the lake and his roommates were there. We hopped out of the car and walked down the dock and his roommates took my car. There was dinner on the boat and candles set up in all the cup holders. We drove out to the lake and it was so pretty. We were there right at sunset so it was just beautiful. We ate our dinner, and afterwards he proposed! I can't even remember what he said leading up to the proposal because I was just too excited. But he said something along the lines of how ever since he met me he has been happier, and he loved the last year that we dated. I have no idea what other sweet things he said because I was just too overwhelmed with happiness and was so excited to finally have my ring. Out of the few choices I had given him he chose my very favorite which made the proposal all the better. It was a night I will always remember, and a year and a half later I am more grateful than ever that he asked me to be his wife. I sure do love him, and this past year of marriage has been the best!

Wedding Ring: Mrs. Staples

2012-02-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

8th grade I walked into a new school, in a new state and I was terrified. My first period teacher introduced me as “the new girl from California” and sat me next to a tall, goofy looking kid. That’s when it all started… well not the romance part… but the friendship. We had an instant connection and were best friends from then on. Robert was the best friend that I could tell anything to. We laughed at things that nobody else thought was funny. Through the years he became the person I would call after every date to debrief. He dated my roommates…. I dated his. Get the picture…. We were BFF!

A year after I graduated from undergrad and a few years after Robert’s mission we were hanging out…. (I think we were watching Braveheart, our favorite movie) Robert turns to me and says, “I think we should date!” It wasn’t like the thought had never crossed my mind but the thought of potentially messing with our perfect friendship scared me. He left that night with agreement that we weren’t going to be friends anymore… dramatic I know!

Well it was noon the next day and I was moping around the house, still in my PJ’s. My dad knew something was wrong and called me into his office. I told him what had happened. My dad picked up a small basketball from the floor and said, “If I make this shot, you have to go tell Robert how you feel and give the relationship a try. If I don’t make it then you move on.” I was desperate so I agreed. Well, I credit my entire future to my dad making that shot!

I showed up at Robert’s sister’s wedding that night, we danced the night away and everything after that night is kind of a blur. Dating was pretty flawless and fast. A few months later we were on a hike. Robert is horrible at surprises so I knew it was coming. Mid hike he got down on one knee with two ring boxes. I opened the first one and there was a letter (that I still can’t read without crying). The other box had the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.

Along with being horrible at surprises he doesn’t have the best style… I find it endearing! That being said I still can’t believe that he picked out a ring that in my mind is PERFECT! Five years later and I still get giddy when I look at it!

Engagement Ring: the soon-to-be Mrs. Thompson

2012-02-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Greg and I met in Switzerland while we were both working at the UN and spent the first year running around Europe, skiing in the alps, and going on dates in Venice, Paris, London & St-Tropez. Once back in the states, we were on opposite sides of the country and racked up lots of frequent flyer miles visiting each other back and forth. Finally last fall I moved to D.C. and we were in the same place again. We were still living about 30 miles away from each other and in D.C. traffic that can be really far, so we mostly get to see each other on the weekends. One week in October at the last minute I found out we wouldn't be able to get together on Friday night because he had something else going on (feeding the homeless.. seriously.. who can argue with that?). I was even more bummed when on Saturday morning he told me he had too many errands to run and wasn't going to come up until later that night. He could tell I felt bad, so he offered to take me out to dinner somewhere fun that night. After an eventful day that involved my neighbor almost giving birth in her living room, Greg picked me up and we headed up to the historic old town in Frederick, Maryland, to the most romantic dinner I've ever had. The food was delicious, the ambiance was perfect, and the whole thing was quite an evening. Three hours and five delicious courses later, we headed back towards D.C. to take a moonlit stroll around the national monuments all lit up at night. I'd been wanting to do this for months, and the whole evening was so beautiful that I wondered if maybe he might propose (I'd been secretly hoping he would for quite some time and this wasn't the first time I'd wondered, but I'm a true romantic so we'd never gone ring shopping or anything like that). I mentioned to him that that weekend was the two year anniversary since our first date in Geneva. He couldn't believe two years had flown by so quickly. Eventually we made our way back to the car when it was nearing midnight and we decided to call it a night. Or so I thought...

He surprised me with an apartment filled with flowers and candles and lots of presents. At this point I was pretty sure what was going to happen that night, but to keep the fun going I exclaimed "Oh, you tricked me! You did remember the anniversary!" First he sat me at the table and served me all of my favorite desserts. The first present I unwrapped was a photo book (85 pages!) of photos from when we had first met until now. On the last page was a love note and a tiny envelope. I opened the envelope and pulled out a silver charm necklace that had my initials monogrammed into it.. only instead of an "E" for my last name Evans, there was the initial T for his last name Thompson. While I was busy admiring the necklace and trying to put it on, he said "you can only keep that if you accept this" and had the ring in his hand. He got down on his knee, and said all the stuff a girl dreams of hearing, and then I was his fiancée.

Without even planning it, he asked me to marry him exactly two years to the day from when he'd first asked me out. So glad he had the nerve to ask me out that first time!

Wedding Ring: Ms. McGovert

2012-02-09T09:00:00.003-05:00

I knew that Morgan and I were going to become engaged soon. We had been talking about it for quite a while. I told him that to surprise me, he was going to have to wake me up in the middle of the night because otherwise I’d know what was going on...so that’s just what he did. He stole the key off of my keychain and snuck in to my parent’s house one night and woke me up at about 3 am. He had made the cutest poster of pictures of things that we had done together and had a big bouquet of roses with rose petals spread all over my bed. Needless to say, I was very surprised (and a little confused because I was so sleepy). Of course, I said yes, and we went to ihop to celebrate!

~Kristen

Oliver: 9 months

2012-02-08T17:00:00.001-05:00

Oliver, at 9 months, you...

Are my best little bud, and I think zillions of times during the day how lucky I am to be your mother. We go on lots of adventures around the city together and you love to be out and about. You are very good in the stroller but your favorite spot is to be held or in the carrier.

He loves the stroller wheels...yuk!

Sticks out his tongue and smacks his lips. When he's hungry and getting in the high chair to eat he does a specific smacking sound.

Still loves to bite and chew on everything (we had to get crib rail covers).

Gets so excited when Grandpa or Grandma call on the phone and we do speaker phone - he loves it. Same thing for Skype - he loves that too! We do Skype video calls with my parents probably at least every other day.

Trying to tear paper, but just pulls with all his might straight so it doesn't always rip. Sometimes he gets it and goes crazy.

He loves straps...webbing. Loves to bite it and suck on it.

Finally realized he can pull off hats.

Claps his hand against whatever he's holding. Loves to pound a ball.

Loves to talk into water bottles (more like yell) and hear the echo sound. Also likes real echos, especially in the hallway at Bard Hall.

Started whispering to himself, little jabberings, especially in the morning in his crib with his thumb in his mouth.

Maybe left handed? I have always thought that he prefers his left hand, since he was about 2 1/2 months - he often reaches first with his left hand, or eats with it, but then he does it with his right hand too so I'm not sure.

Grabs foods and gets to mouth. Really wants to feed himself, I can tell. Has done puffs, bananas, rice, mozzarella cheese.

Size 6-12 months, or 9 months, size 3 diapers, 16 ish pounds

1/20 He started clapping for the first time! So cute. His hands are kind of in fists still but doing the motion.

When he's in the tiny umbrella stroller, he arches his back trying to get out.

After he gets a puff in his mouth, he goes, "Ba ba ba ba ba" while chewing

I love his sweet smile and happy attitude all the time (although there are definitely not so happy days...but few & far between)

How he works so hard...opening and closing books, lifting up edges of rugs and blankets, pulling out his toys, testing everything in his mouth, discovering, working, playing...

Sometimes when he is mad or frustrated he starts crying and squeezes his eyes closed for a second...so cute. Also does the eye thing when he sees someone new, turns in to me and does it.

When nursing, after finished on each side, he brings his hand up to his mouth and goes back and forth to make bubbles sound

Still does everything with his whole body flexed.

Loves to get undressed for bathtime.

Has a renewed interest in gasping in excitement! Has been doing it all the time.

Plays well independently. Loves to open and close things, pull off, turn around, and figure out things. Works hard! Has started to clap two things together.

Standing up and holding on to furniture

Makes a kind of sucking in phlegm sound...Heeeee heeeee with lots of drool. Have to wear bibs again.

Getting good at picking up food! Mostly always gets it to his mouth, often in a funny way!

Gets low to the ground to look under stuff.

Goes under the tablecloth - lifts high above his head.

Loves the vacuum! and the blow dryer.

Likes to let go of things - hold out and then just all of a sudden, drop it.

Does this cute cheesy grin where he lays his head back and squints his eyes

Goes, ah ooooh! Like a howling wolf

When he's sitting, he rocks his body & head back hard against his crib, the couch, me, whatever...and bounces - he loves it.

LOVES when Daddy gets home - he goes crazy. His favorite person to play with.

For most of the month, Oliver's schedule was:
7:30-8am, wake up & breastfeed. 9:00, solid food breakfast. 9:30, go down for nap #1. 10:30-11ish, wake up & breastfeed. 12:00ish, solid food lunch. 12:30-1:00ish, go down for nap #2. 1:45-2:30ish, wake up & breastfeed. 3-4ish, solid food snack (sometimes). 4ish, go down for nap #3. 5:00ish, wake up & solid food dinner. 7:00, breastfeed & bedtime. (wakes up to breastfeed at 12am & 5am still).
But toward the end of the month, he started not napping quite as much - usually just under an hour for the first two, and 45 minutes for the last. But, he has done a few nights of only waking up once around 1am...yay!

Wedding Ring: Mrs. Stevenson

2012-02-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

In January 2008, we started talking about getting married. By the time it got to March, I was getting impatient waiting for Scott to propose. Every night I was convinced that it was going to be the night. I would try to be sneaky and feel his pocket to see if he had a ring box in it. Each night we parted ways without the proposal I was disappointed and getting impatient.

One night after we said goodbye, Scott texted me. He said something like, “We are going to do something special tomorrow.” My immediate thought was, “He is going to propose to me tomorrow night - I better buy a new outfit!” So that morning I went shopping to pick out what I was going to wear.

I think Scott realized that I had caught on so the was trying to play it down before our date. He was saying things like “We don’t have to go,” but I said “No, we can go.” Then he mentioned that we were going to go on a hike... I was very disappointed. My first thought was, “I got these cute shoes and I now I can’t wear them!” Also those that know me very well know that I’m not an outdoorsy person at all, and a hike never sounds very exciting to me.

We pulled up to where we were going to hike and we had to walk in snow and slush and it started to rain. We started walking on the path and I was whining the whole way suggesting that we turn back. Scott said he really wanted to see the waterfall because someone in his class said it was really cool. I decided to be a good sport. We got to bridal veil falls in Provo canyon which is where we went on our first date. The waterfall had frozen and it was really pretty.

Next, Scott told me that there two times that he had lied to me. The first was when he told me that he hadn’t talked to my parents yet, because he had. The second was when he said he brought me there because someone in his class said the waterfall looked cool. This was the point where Scott got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. As he was slipping the ring on my finger I started laughing because he was putting it on my right hand. So I said, Wrong hand!” and he put it on the other. It was funny, I could tell he was really nervous and it was cute. I said yes of course and it was a perfect moment. We were married on July 31st.

When we talked about engagement rings I told Scott that my only request was that it was silver colored. I didn’t know what else I wanted because I never wore jewelry so I didn’t have any specific preferences. We never went ring shopping because Scott told me he wanted to pick it out. I thought it was cool that he was going to pick it out for me, because it was a gift from him. When he proposed and pulled out the ring it was the first time I had ever seen it. I wouldn’t have done it any other way, I love my ring!

~Ashley

upcoming...more wedding rings

2012-02-08T08:50:00.001-05:00

So, I have a surprise...to celebrate Valentine's Day next week, I will be posting some more wedding ring pictures & engagement stories from some friends and family! There's nothing like reading a real-life love story to get you in the lovey-dovey mood, right?

In case you feel like digging into the archives to read more, here are the ones that have already been posted:

Mrs. Bellisario
Mrs. Brown
Mrs. Buchanan
Mrs. Corotan

Mrs. Couch
Mrs. Crane
Mrs. Eliason
Mrs. Ellsworth
Mrs. Fairbanks
Mrs. Green
Mrs. Griffeth
Mrs. Haynie

Mrs. Hess
Mrs. Hulme
Mrs. Hulme
Mrs. Hulme
Mrs. Hulme
Mrs. Jergensen
Mrs. Jones
Mrs. Keefe
Mrs. Larsen

Mrs. Lowry
Mrs. Manwaring

Mrs. Maxfield
Mrs. Newman
Mrs. Paredes
Mrs. Peterson
Mrs. Porter
Mrs. Sadler
Mrs. Smith

Mrs. Sorenson
Mrs. Stevens
Mrs. Tueller
Mrs. Tueller
Mrs. Tueller

Mrs. Webb
Mrs. Young

Mrs. Zeedik

Mrs. Anonymous

alice's tea cup

2012-02-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, Oliver and I met my friend Mary Martha at Alice's Tea Cup on 73rd Street. It was the cutest little spot - thanks to Mary Martha for a great location! :) We hadn't seen each other since BYU and it was so great to catch up.

Mary Martha is 34 (about 35 now) weeks pregnant with twin boys! We are excited for some buddies to play with! They will be here any day now...and Mary Martha is so cute pregnant. I wish I got more pictures of her because she looked so great - stylish & beautiful as ever!

Oliver had just grabbed a handful of whipped cream from off the top of my hot chocolate and stuffed it into his mouth in this picture. That is one fast and sneaky little boy, ladies & gentlemen.

Our hot cocoa // Oliver's order - of which he wanted nothing to do with, just tried with all of his might for more whipped cream.

The scones were fabulous - yum!!!

Mary Martha has the cutest necklace - two baby bottle charms for her little guys on the way! I loved it.

And her wedding ring placeholder was so stunning - an aquamarie & sapphire ring of her grandmother's, a gift from her parents (am I right, M.M.?). Again, I wish I had more pictures of her along with her fabulous jewelry!

It was so fun to see Mary Martha and eat some delicious scones. I think next time we see each other there will be two more little babes in tow!

video updates

2012-02-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of our favorite latest videos.

Ollie loves to hear his echo:

loving Baby Einstein (thanks, Grandpa & Grandma Tueller!)

The subway, on the way to Norma's:

And, a little recap of our trip to Utah for Thanksgiving.

norma's

2012-02-06T09:32:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, Dan had the morning off so all three of us went to Norma's for brunch. We had a great Google Offer for $20 for $40 worth of food. We brought the camera along to document. :) (Thanks to Great Grandpa & Grandma Tueller for the cute outfit - he finally fits in it!)

It's been not too bad, weather wise, here...we were expecting far worse for our first winter in Manhattan. Fine by us! :)

We were worried that Oliver's ears might be getting a little chilly, so we snapped on some of our ear warmers...they were a little big, though, and by the time we got in to the restaurant, they had worked their way down from his ears all the way to his cheeks! Neither Dan or I noticed, and the host said, "Oh, I don't think that's how those are supposed to work!" and we looked down and laughed so hard, and quickly pulled them off. It was so funny - should have snapped a picture.

Le Parker Meridian

Norma's

Oh, this little guy loved the complimentary fruit smoothies we got...the waiter even brought him a second one after he polished off his first.

We had a little hiccup when Dan was served his cobb salad which turned out to be a wasabi ahi tuna salad that was nothing like the traditional cobb he expected...after a few bites of that wasabi dressing he felt sick so the waiter kindly brought out a cheeseburger that was much better received. Hehe! Poor Dan always has the worst luck with weird foods at restaurants. It was a wonderful afternoon and so fun to be able to go on a little adventure with Dan!

the little red lighthouse

2012-02-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

There's a little red lighthouse underneath the George Washington Bridge, on the Manhattan side. It is no longer in use but is a historical landmark, and there's a cute little book all about it that we got. We can see it from our apartment windows, and have been wanting to go visit it for a long time! Last weekend Dan, Oliver and I went down and it was so fun. As you can tell, it's not too far from us but there are a few major roads and railroad tracks in between us, so it's quite the hike with lots of different paths - it would be too hard to explain how to get there, you've got to be shown. We took a shortcut through the psychiatric center at Columbia (yikes) using the pathways over the road:

My two babes // our apartment tower, looking up

Railroad tracks - we hear trains go by ever so often

first glimpse of Riverside Park // going over the railroad tracks

patient traveler // there are a couple of staircases, so luckily I had Dan to help carry the stroller down.

Riverside Park, with a view of west downtown Manhattan

There's the little red lighthouse, under the great gray bridge!

yikes - can you imagine climbing up these? (makes me think of the Bachelor, anyone else? hehe)

Oliver had a great time! It was a nice day for January in Manhattan.

I love the juxtaposition:

Our towers in the background.

It was such a fun little excursion, and I am looking forward to going a lot more in the spring/summer when it's nice out!

2012-02-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

footprints

2012-02-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

took these at 6 months in Utah with my mom's help...footprints of a 6 month old are hard!

and we didn't even get any useable handprints, hehe.
note for next time: try for prints at an earlier age. :)

doughnut plant

2012-01-31T11:30:00.001-05:00

Oliver and I went down to23rd Street between 7th & 8th to try out Doughnut Plant...we had heard rave reviews. They were good. But, I have to admit, I would prefer a basic buttermilk glazed doughnut from our favorite Bob's Donuts in SF. I guess I'm not a gourmet doughnut person!

children's museum of manhattan

2012-01-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

We met Cara & Olivia down at 83rd and Amsterdam at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. It was so fun and the perfect activity for a cold, snowy day. Oliver is free until 1 year, so I just had to pay the $11 admission...not bad for an afternoon of wild exploration & complete joy for my little guy. :)

They have different floors for different ages, and we spent most of our time on the baby floor. Lots of balls, toys, new places to explore, etc...I just had to throw my hands up about the germs.

He was so worn out he zonked out the whole way home (with silky, on the right).

museum of natural history

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

Next up: the Museum of Natural History with Mary Jane & Emily.

Mary Jane reminded me that this is the museum from Night at the Museum. Fun! :) I want to re-watch it.

wafels & dinges cart

2012-01-31T09:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have a bunch of little fun NYC things we've done to post about - I only have lame phone pictures cause who wants to carry around a baby, stroller, backpack, coat AND big camera? :) But that's ok!

First off, Oliver and I jumped on the A one afternoon to Columbus Circle to get a waffle from the Wafels & Dinges cart...we'd seen them around and I had a major sweet tooth!

I got the liege wafel with nutella and spekuloos - yum! I would recommend sharing one, though - it was a lot of sweet for one person. Question: what do I want to gobble up more?

Olivia's first birthday party!

2012-01-30T08:30:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday we ventured over to the upper east side for Olivia's first birthday party! Cara decided to do a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, and it was so cute. I helped her with some of the paper goods - here's the invitation:

To get to their apartment, we have to take the subway & the bus, so it's quite a pain with a stroller. Luckily this time I had a strong man with me to carry Oliver! :)

Bundled up babe.

It was cold out!

Waiting for the bus. (Lots of serious faces for Dan but I promise he was having fun!)

Oliver took a little snooze all cuddled up with Dad.

When we got to the party, Oliver tried to say happy birthday to Olivia but was a little groggy still.

Olivia looked so beautiful all dressed up and with her special pearls!

Admiring the Newman's new travel wall gallery...

Yum! Lots of food items (from the book!)

I didn't get a great picture but Cara did tissue paper pom poms in the form of a caterpillar! So cute.

I made some food tags.

Cara made DELICIOUS cupcakes, I'm serious they were so good.

Ryan

Favors

Oliver tried watermelon for the first time (and wasn't so sure!)

Here comes the cake for the birthday girl...

She devoured it!

cute.

Every last bit.

We met the brother & sister in law of some of our great friends from San Francisco (the Sorensons)! Small world.

Happy Birthday, Olivia! We love you.

grateful for // part 14

2012-01-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a while...I am so grateful for...

1. Dan. This picture is from the airport on our way back from Santa Barbara, but he helps out every single day...offering to play with Ollie so I can make dinner or vice versa, making the bed in the morning, giving me a nice shoulder rub when his own back is hurting, taking me out on the weekends, etc.

2. How easily entertained Oliver is - give him a cardboard box and you're good to go for 10 minutes.

3. My beautiful new 2012 calendar...finally got to put it up!

4. Funny things - who doesn't love to laugh? Had a good one seeing this woman on the subway reading with a giant magnifying glass.

5. Our new umbrella stroller - and the cute boy in it!

(for the record, I still LOVE our City Mini stroller, but if I ever have to take the bus or go to a subway stop that doesn't have an elevator, I'm likely to grab this bare bones tiny stroller to save my back.)

6. Watching this silly boy go to sleep - here's the latest of his funny/cute positions. Note the images on the right - one night he pulled his red pajama pants and socks all the way off! Hehe. (I snuck in twice to cover him with a blanket but he kept wriggling out from under it - I put them back on when he woke up for his first feeding at 11).

new play table

2012-01-28T08:22:00.001-05:00

Oliver is now the proud owner of a Leapfrog Learn n' Groove Musical Table. He loves it. Specifically, turning the page back and forth and opening and closing the little blue compartment. Also, periodically tasting the parts.

These are all such classic Ollie faces, I couldn't narrow it down.

He has a good wide stance.

which sometimes gets wider & wider and wider! hehe!

And some more from last Sunday, my two handsome guys...

photo storage & backup

2012-01-27T13:38:00.001-05:00

Photo organization. I have finally got it to a point where I'm happy! Here's what I do, I know everyone probably likes it differently, but this works for me. I upload my photos whenever the mood strikes me (probably every week or two) into folders for each month, entitled, "2012-01 (Jan)", "2012-02 (Feb)", etc. Then those all go into a "2012" folder. And of course, there are some miscellaneous files, like phone pictures, family photo shoots, etc. I keep about 6 months worth of photos on my computer, sometimes more. To store everything, I burn the photos onto DVDs (usually just a month or two fits on one DVD for my amount of photos). Around the beginning of every month, I burn the DVD for the previous month. I get a little nervous about losing stuff so I don't usually get behind. I make two DVD copies and keep one at my desk and the others I store at my parents' house, just to be extra safe. Then in addition, I use an external hard drive to store everything...all the way from 2004-present. I use this a lot if I'm looking for an old picture because it's easy to plug in and browse. I used to have an aversion to hard drives because a couple of years ago, I got one that required software and would take forever to turn on, and finally just corrupted or something and it was never trustworthy. But, a lot of the tiny hard drives now are just like a big USB drive, you just plug them in and can drag & drop stuff, which is perfectly what I love. We have a Hitachi 750GB drive and a Toshiba 320 GB and both are great (I like to keep my eyes open for great sales at Office Depot or Costco). I do, however, like that I have two methods of storage just in case something goes wrong with either. (To be really safe, I am contemplating making another copy on another external hard drive).

Side note: I also include documents, scans, fonts, etc. on the DVDs & hard drive.

boat

2012-01-25T16:00:00.002-05:00

(if you're reading in google reader, click over to check out my new simplified, organized blog layout! ah, feels good to be aligned. :) hope you like it. xoxo.)

new crib ties

2012-01-24T09:00:00.011-05:00

Ah...I've been wanting to fix Oliver's crib ties for so long. There were just about 3 scraggly ties and Oliver always pulled that bumper pad down all over him (you can see the before here). So, my sweet friend Ashley loaned me her AMAZING sewing machine this week and I hemmed 5 pairs of pants and sewed some white grosgrain ribbon onto the bumper pad. That Bernina is so great, I have GOT to get one someday. :) It makes sewing fun, seriously! Thank you so much, Ashley!

Now this little sneaky boy can't pull down his bumper pad! :)

lately: snow, bathtime, boxes, etc.

2012-01-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

I bet that water is freeeezing.

new favorite bathtime toy - wooden honey dipper

Pushing this box...walking forward with it. Too cute!

I love these cute headbands - my friend Marie makes them in her shop. I got these two for Olivia's first birthday!

NYC apartment: Oliver's room

2012-01-21T20:00:00.001-05:00

So, I had dreams of taking pictures of our decorated, spic & span apartment (like our last one), but it's been 3 months since we've been here and it's neither finished being decorated or spic & span. Ha! So goes life with a baby. :) But, we are making progress slowly but surely and as I type, Dan is on his 5th hour of assembling our new TV cabinet.

Anyway, I decided I should get around to posting some pictures of our place so that at least the grandparents can see where we're at! It's ok that everything isn't perfectly polished to perfection. Starting with Oliver's room. The living room is actually divided in half to make his room (so the living room is tiny!). Here it is:

He has beautiful bay windows that let in lots of light.

I wanted something softer than the hardwood for him to play on, so I found this beautiful wool rug on Overstock.com - and I love how it looks (there has been a LOT of shedding, which I guess is normal with wool rugs, but it is so annoying that every time Oliver crawls on it he is covered in tiny wool hairs. I vacuum every couple of days and the vacuum is FULL each time. It's crazy! Hopefully it gets better soon.)

We bought a mini crib when we were in our first apartment, with only one bedroom. We totally have more space now for a full size crib, but oh well.

I was excited to hang up my constellation embroidery.

Pictures of Oliver with Grandpa Tueller, Daddy, and Grandpa Hulme

Pretty view of NYC skyline - better pictures here

And the other direction - even more breathtaking! :)

There isn't an overhead light in his room, and I am hesitant to put a lamp in there because Oliver loves to eat cords and I'd hate for him to pull it down on top of him. So, still working on a lighting solution. For now, I have some white Christmas lights on the windowsill which makes for a pretty soft glow at night.

I love this shot.

new jammies

2012-01-18T17:17:00.000-05:00

Sad news...our favorite blue jammies of Oliver's are getting a little small - short in the arms & legs. So, we've moved on to the next size up in red!

They're a little large, but they're nice & toasty warm!

Dad, these are for you - can you believe Oliver's expression & stance?! Ah, we love this little guy!!!

little buddy

2012-01-18T13:40:00.000-05:00

Can you imagine getting to see this face anytime you say "Hey, Oliver!" ?

I'm the luckiest mom in the world. :)

We were about to go outside and I just had to put him back down for a minute and take some pictures with that hat. :)

Look who is pulling himself up to stand!

And he is realizing he can take off his hats...boo! :)

Get this thing off me, mom!!

Hulme family photos

2012-01-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

Christine Olson took our Hulme family photos over Christmas break - it was our gift to Rich and Toni from all the family. They turned out beautiful! We went to Alice Keck Park and it was such a great background. It was hard to narrow down our favorites but here they are. (see our Tueller family shoot from November here)

Chris, Jen & Kylie // Alyssa, Randy & Ellie

Two tiny girls on the way!

I LOVE this one.

last of Santa Barbara

2012-01-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

We were shopping and Dan was in charge of Oliver while I tried some clothes on. He set Oliver down for a minute to look at some socks and when he looked back down, Oliver was gone! He saw two little feet poking out and realized he'd gone under the belts! How did he get in there? :)

Just woke up - love the nap hair.

Oliver loves to be in the carrier - he usually finds the little straps that connect up to the top when the baby is facing inward and holds them in his little fists - we love it!

holding on

Trying out the swings at the elementary school

He loved it!

Bath time in Grandpa & Grandma Hulme's sink

Grandpa Hulme's famous sourdough pancakes - amazing!!!

And finally...when we got home last week, there was a big package waiting from Grandpa & Grandma Tueller! Thanks, guys!!!

catch up

2012-01-13T11:40:00.002-05:00

These pictures are from back on October 10, when Cara and I went to Chelsea Market and walked along the High Line. Thanks for the pictures, Cara! That was so fun...I want to go back again soon.

I think Olivia was napping during these shots.

And these are from later in October, when we got a visit from a very cute Halloween cousin.

We were downstairs in the study area for students, and there happened to be a skeleton hanging out right next to us - perfect for Halloween! Olivia noticed the opportunity and seized a hand.

Hahaha! It must have been already broken off because it came right off in her hands.

california oranges

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

video updates.

2012-01-10T19:52:00.002-05:00

Here are some videos of Oliver from the past couple of weeks.

Giggling with Daddy in the car:

A new trick:

Gasping - this is totally his "thing"

And the best for last, walking with Grandpa Hulme. He takes such big high steps, we love it!

shared room solution!

2012-01-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

We had to share a room with Oliver while we were in Santa Barbara for the first week.

I was really worried about it, because I thought I would wake Oliver up or he would wake me up - and the pack n play sides are see through mesh so if he did wake up he could see us. I tried to think of something to drape up, or construct around the pack n play, but my mother in law Toni came up with the most brilliant idea. We picked up a wardrobe box from UHaul and just opened it along the seam - it was the perfect room divider! We left the top and bottom unfolded so it was really tall, and we had no issues being in the same room. We just turned on the sound machine and it was like he had his own room! Thought I'd pass on the idea.

I think if you had to divide a hotel room this would work great too - just stop along the way at a UHaul! :)

sunset at the wilcox property

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

One night we walked out to the wilcox property to see the sunset. It was beautiful! We met Chris & Jen & Kylie and their friends visiting from Russia.

We weren't the only ones with the idea!

Jen, Kylie & Chris

Toni & Rich

love Oliver's expression.

german chocolate cake

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

happy new year!

2012-01-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks for the onesie, Grandma Tueller! :)

Classic...the stiff arm to my neck. This happens about 20 times daily.

Oliver's first time at the beach!

2012-01-04T08:00:00.019-05:00

We took Oliver to Goleta Beach last week for his first ocean experience!

Chris, Jen & Kylie came with us, and Jenna too!

To be honest, Oliver's favorite part of the whole experience was this green bouncy ball. He LOVED it.

We had delicious sandwiches Jen picked up at South Coast deli - so good. Goleta Beach is great because you park, go right to the grass/park area, and then it fades right to the beach. So close!

Oliver's first time in his swim trunks, too!

A little wary...

Not sure what he thinks about this sand stuff...

One of our favorite things about Ollie is the high steps he takes! Hehe!

He charged to the ocean...

I love these.

On tip toes, as always!

Ok, and dipping in to the FREEZING cold water...

Haha, poor guy! I felt the same way - it was cold!

Much better when not IN the ocean. :)

Playing some croquet

And back with his favorite ball...

Santa Barbara, part 4

2012-01-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more phone pictures.

Everyone went to see Mission Impossible 4 (except the mamas & babies who had to stay home for bedtimes)

We went downtown and shopped a little bit, plus took the 25 cent trolley down State Street. It was really fun! (Oliver took a little nap on me).

Kylie & Grandpa - too cute!

I take it as a good thing to have matching shoes with my father in law. :) I love mine, they're the most comfortable ever!

Church

One of our daily walks - Toni, me, Dan & Ollie (Rich came too!)

Santa Barbara, part 3

2012-01-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

This is such a fun trip. Here are some more pictures from the past week:

Lunch at Sambo's downtown

Kylie found Oliver's ear

Lunch at Padaro Beach Grill - seriously so good...we want to go back soon!

They have this great outdoor eating area with benches and sandboxes and beautiful ocean waves in the background - there's a little hedge separating it from the beach so you can take a stroll along the beach also if you want! It was perfect for kids. Oliver loved it, as you can tell!

Oliver, Dan, Chris, Kylie

Little Ollie bundled up with Grandpa! Love this picture.

Aunt Jenna is so sweet to Ollie - she took him on a long walk

Jen & Chris, Randy, Alyssa, Toni

Rich & Toni

The food was great! I had the prime burger with sweet potato fries...just drooling imagining it.

Back at home, enjoying the shorts weather!

2012-01-02T14:52:00.000-05:00

All I can say is that Oliver won't be surprised at much after growing up in NYC! :)

Oliver: 8 months

2012-01-02T08:58:00.000-05:00

Oliver, in your eighth month, you:

Are a complete joy! So much fun to be around. His little personality is emerging and it's fun to play together and watch him learn things so fast. He is truly my little buddy!

Loves to bite things and hold them in his mouth with no hands (like silky)

Crawls so fast and is all over the place. Figured it out on hardwood and has no problem.

Responds to his name well.

Likes to blow bubbles in the bath or drinking from a cup.

A great eater - tried peas & green beans again and he loved them. :) He eats lots of foods, adding new ones frequently. Still, favorites are applesauce and pears.

Clasps his hands together and turns his wrists (almost like wringing his hands), it's so cute.

Is SO much fun! He really is the cutest little guy and I love being with him all day! He giggles and plays and is becoming such a big boy.

Has taken 8 flights in 8 months! He was awarded his first wings pin last time. Hehe!

LOVES Daddy. Goes wild when he gets home.

In the middle of December, Oliver had his first cold - congestion & runny nose. He was up at night for a few nights, but during the day he was still happy though!

At the beginning of the month, weighed 16 pounds, 3 ounces. Probably around 17 pounds at 8 months.

Starting to pull himself up on things.

Wakes at 7, nap at 8:30 to 9:30, nap at 11:30 to 1:00 (or 12:30), nap at 3:30 to 4:30, bed at 6. Still gets up to eat twice at night.

Loves to walk...we hold his arms and he takes really high steps, sometimes running! So funny.

Likes to be held by mom the most still...but Daddy is turning out to be the most fun to play with! :) He loves to be in the carrier, too.

Loves to knock things down.

Nursing had become a wrestling match - he gets distracted so easily. Also diaper changing and clothing...he cries and squirms so much! Absolutely hates it. We have an old cell phone on the changing table that helps a lot! :)

So grateful to have this boy in our lives. He truly is a ray of sunshine and makes people smile wherever we go! I love being with him and cherish every day.

grateful for // part 14

2011-12-31T23:00:00.001-05:00

On the last day of 2011, I am grateful for:

1. My two handsome guys
2. Finally getting my ribbon organized...feels so good!
3. How Oliver loves when light comes through onto the floor or wall
4. My sweet husband for getting things I drop behind the stove

5. Being with family (Uncle Robbie was so fun to play with!)
6. The beautiful weather here! Walks every day.
7. That Dan gets to go surfing - he is in heaven.
8. Oliver's development - he's pulling himself up on things lately

9. A little buddy who is becoming more & more fun each day. :)

10. The rare nap in the carseat. I love to peek in!
11. Baby Einstein clips...lifesaver sometimes. :)
12. Shorts weather!
13. My favorite shoes.

14. Having new toys & a big house for Oliver to play around in! I love our mornings together - it's just me and him usually at 6:30am.

Christmas at the Hulme's

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Hulmes! :) Oliver and I started off the day early (he's waking up at 6:30am here) and everyone else joined us after a while! :) We went to church at 10. Oliver wore his new polar bear outfit!

Elliana looked so pretty in her Christmas outfit!

After church we got into comfy clothes and had a delicious breakfast of french toast (we each took a turn making a meal for the group over the weekend and this was Chris' meal). Yum!

Dan & Robbie

Chris, Rich, Randy

King's Hawaiian sweet bread makes the best french toast.

Love this one...notice Ellie's crossed fingers!

Have you tried this mango drink? Delish. We've gone through about 5 containers so fast. Also, Simply Apple and Simply Orange. The best!

Yay! I caught a smile.

Kylie! And meh-mow (Elmo)

After brunch and the babies' naps, we went in to open presents! Oliver was excited!

His tiny stocking!

His favorite stocking stuffer - mints (just sucking on the closed container and shaking it)

Oh!

Did I mention Oliver eats everything and anything?! Hehe!

We got some great gifts...Santa did good!

Love those curls.

Robbie / Jenna

Kylie, Jen & Chris

Dan & Ollie

Ollie's new hat from Chris, Jen & Kylie!

Rich & Toni

"Mom, I can't look up right now I'm still working on these mints."

This stuff is good!

Hehe!

Kylie's new chair & ottoman! Just her size!

After more naps, we tried to take some pictures of the three cousins as Mary (Kylie), Joseph (Oliver) and baby Jesus (Ellie).

Oliver was ok with the idea ... (and looked so cute!) ...

But poor Kylie thought it was torture! She was not having it!!! :)

So much for our mini nativity! Ha! Oliver got a little worried when he saw Kylie too.

But Ellie played her part perfectly!

We had a delicious Christmas dinner of prime rib and rolls, salad, green beans and potatoes.

Oh, that prime rib was so good. If you want great food, go to the Hulme's!!

Nice straw, Chris!

Daddy & Kylie time!

Randy, Alyssa & Ellie

Cute Christmas girls.

It was a wonderful Christmas and we were so glad to be with everyone in Santa Barbara! Great gifts (thank you!), great food, great relationships. Especially fun with the three new cousins this year.

ryan + cara's wedding

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today is my cousin Cara's 8th wedding anniversary!

Congratulations, Ryan & Cara! Time sure flies. When we were in Utah in November, Grandma Tueller brought out a photo album from Ryan & Cara's wedding and it was so fun to look through the photos! I scanned a few and just had to post them here - I know the Tueller family will enjoy them. :)

They were married in the Washington D.C. temple and a few of us were able to travel out east for the wedding. Here are Cara's bridesmaids - her sister in law Natalie, cousin Laura, (Cara), sister Jenna, and me! It was so fun and I was honored to be a part of that group. (I was 17 at the time, a senior in high school).

Stunning! (P.S. I did Cara's hair & all the bridesmaids for the wedding - thanks for letting me, Cara!)

It was freezing cold that day, and Cara braved it in her short sleeve dress. But she also had this gorgeous white cape - so pretty!

Here's getting ready for the reception - doing Jenna's hair.

The luncheon was at a beautiful hotel - there was this floating gazebo thing where we ate...I've always wondered if I imagined how cool it was so I was glad to see that I remembered correctly!

The reception was at their church cultural hall, and it was by far the best I've ever seen one decorated. Can you even believe it's a church gym?? It was transformed with low lighting and so many delicate layers of white fabric that hung from the ceiling. This was eight years ago, before the wedding scene kind of exploded with decor ideas...it really was amazing. :)

Delicious food & desserts

me and Mark!

Laura & Aunt Janine

Aunt Carolyn, Mark & Aunt Janine // Ryan & me // Grandpa & Cara (I think this picture was actually from their Utah reception)

bridesmaids - me, Laura, Jenna, Cara & Natalie. Cara had custom jewelry made for each of us - I wish I had a closeup, it was so pretty.

(Sheesh, it totally makes me want to do hair again! I loved doing those updos! Anyone in NYC need to go to Prom or anything? Hehe.)

Their beautiful wedding cake (made by someone famous)

Ok, did I mention we were younger? Clearly crazier too! :)

Cara & Uncle Mark

Cara & Grandma Tueller

The Tueller family that were able to come out for the wedding:

Aunt Carolyn, Grandma Tueller, Laura, Mark, me, Margaret (my mom), Uncle Kirk & Jenna, Aunt Janine. What a fun trip & wonderful memories in New Jersey & D.C., as well as a quick trip to NYC I think...I'll have to dig up those pictures. :)

Congrats again, Cara & Ryan! We love you!

Christmas Eve jammies

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

Oliver's first Christmas Eve jammies!

They have polar bears, igloos, etc. :) Snug fitting - my favorite!

We topped it off with a warm fuzzy sleep sack - a new one in the next size up!

(I think we still love the green the best but the blue is cute too!)

So fun to start new traditions for this first Christmas...we love this babe!

Santa Barbara, part 2

2011-12-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

Every day I've been going on little walks with Oliver or with everyone...I can't help not taking advantage of the beautiful weather! It's been high 60s, low 70s. Above is the walk down the Hulme's street.
This was from a walk on Christmas Eve with Randy, Alyssa, Ellie, Rich, Oliver and me.

This palm tree had clovers growing on it!

Meeting the guys coming in from surfing on the way back.

Check out this giant Hershey's bar! 5 pounds! :)

It is super thick too.

Relaxing.

Kylie & Chris

Jenna & Rich

The beautiful tree!

Randy

Baby Ellie (Dan's brother Randy & wife Alyssa's 3 month baby girl)

Ollie not having a cousins picture.

Santa Barbara, part 1

2011-12-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oliver and I arrived in Santa Barbara on Tuesday, Dec 21. The flight from JFK to Phoenix was long & awful...Oliver's ears must have been bothering him or something because he was not happy. Gah...I don't want to think about it. Let's just say I burst into tears multiple times (and I was going on just a couple hours of sleep so it didn't take much). But we arrived safe & sound! Dan was supposed to get in on Wednesday night but his first flight was delayed and he had to spend the night in Phoenix. We finally picked him up on Thursday morning. We've had such a wonderful time so far...going on walks, enjoying the sunshine, Oliver has loved having so much space to crawl around and so many new people to make friends with, delicious food, etc...

He didn't lose any time finding the cords in the house. :)

And Daddy's old toys to play with!

We have visited Chris & Jen and Kylie a few times! Oliver just stares at Kylie in amazement. :)

Jen & Kylie (and two baby girls on the way!)

Rich & Toni made bread...yum!

Jenna

Robbie

Rich & Dan

Kylie! in my shoes.

More time at Chris & Jen's...

playing some music together...

taking turns pushing each other in the wagon...

and getting to know Aunt Jenna!!!

santa barbara flowers

2011-12-26T22:37:00.001-05:00

We are on vacation still in Santa Barbara and are LOVING the warm weather! Went on a walk today in shorts & tshirts. So great. I took these outside the house yesterday morning...just beautiful flowers.

our little elf

2011-12-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

(thanks for the outfit, alyssa!)

2011-12-25T19:00:00.000-05:00

Look what we found under the tree!

2011-12-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

Oliver & his cousin Ellie!

me + Oliver + Ellie + Alyssa

it's these Hulme babies' first Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We love you!

The Nutcracker

2011-12-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

Cara and I went to see the Nutcracker on Saturday, December 17. It was such a fun night - Dan and Ryan watched the babies and it was just us girls. We realized we need to do that more often! :) We started out at Jacques Torres for some Wicked hot chocolate. YUM! It was the perfect treat for a freezing cold night.

(Ah, pictures never turn out when you hand over your camera)

We finished our chocolate as we headed over to the Lincoln Center.

I only took a few pictures before an usher told me it wasn't allowed, but the theater was beautiful. We were up high, but on the very lowest row of seats in our section so we had no heads in front of us - nice! Good view. This was looking down and to the right from our spot.

This beautiful fixture was in the middle of the ceiling

Since I couldn't take pictures, I pulled this one from here of one of my favorite scenes. The whole performance was so great...the scenery outstanding, amazing ballet performances, and just gorgeous music.

The city is so beautiful now!

Walked past the temple on our way back.

And this little guy did great while I was gone! (Slept the whole time). Thank you, Ollie!
(this is a new funny thing he does - sticks his silky into his mouth with no hands. Ha! We love him!)

olivia & oliver time

2011-12-23T19:04:00.000-05:00

We got to play with Cara & Olivia last week! As usual, we attempted to snap some photos, but it's getting harder & harder to keep them both in one place and looking at the camera! :) Most of my pictures look like this:

Love those brown eyes!

Oliver was completely occupied with this little maraca the whole time I was taking pictures of Cara & Olivia. It was Olivia's, but she "accidentally" left it behind (I think Oliver snuck it into his toy basket) and it is one of his favorites now. We brought it on the plane to Santa Barbara and it kept me from breaking into hysterical tears 3 times (I only did it twice). Thank you, Cara!!!

marie's wedding dress

2011-12-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

My beautiful cousin Marie is getting married today! When we were in Utah in November, we happened to visit Grandpa & Grandma Tueller at the very same time Marie & her mom Janine came by to get ready for her bridal photos. So lucky! Also lucky, I just so happened to have my camera with me. :)

I love her dress...isn't the soft tulle detailing at the neckline beautiful?

Gorgeous earrings...just right, not too over the top. I love it.

Ahhh...all that tulle! Dreamy.

Aren't moms the best? I love this picture. :)

Such beautiful details.

And her hair! I love it.

Marie, I hope your wedding day is fabulous! Devin is one lucky guy!!!

lately

2011-12-15T17:00:00.000-05:00

Tueller family photo shoot

2011-12-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

In November, we had a family photo shoot by Christine Olson. We love how the pictures turned out!

It's much harder to get pictures with a baby, that's for sure. :) You should have seen the theatrics going on behind the camera by anyone not in the photo to get smiles!

I just cherish these pictures with Oliver!

If you need great photos, go to Christine - she's wonderful! :)

Her website

Her blog

norma's

2011-12-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

Last week Oliver and I met up with Cara and Olivia for brunch at Norma's. Remember when Cara took me last October, when Dan & I were here for his interview at Columbia and we were both pregnant? She treated me again, and it was so delicious! It was a tad less relaxing with two little buddies along, but we had a great time. :)

Oliver's first time in a high chair! Also, they brought out mini glasses of fresh made juice (with no sweeteners added) for each of us, including babies!, and I could not get it away from Ollie! He loved it! Here he is trying to get his whole mouth around the glass (successfully).

YUM...our food. Delish as always!

Afterwards we stopped by the Christmas market at Columbus circle.

We stopped at the Silly Puppets booth and picked out some puppets for Oliver & Olivia for Christmas. They are so cute and it was such a tough choice - I wanted to buy them all! Ha.

Oliver loves his Aunt Cara!

tiny

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

working on a project, and i came across these photos from oliver's birth. love.

advent calendar

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Our trip to Utah was so great...I got so many little projects done. And some big ones! :) I decided I wanted an advent calendar that we could use every year, and after looking around online, I decided the ones I liked were really expensive and not exactly what I wanted anyway. So, I made this one on my own! I used canvas for the background and sewed little pockets for each day with different red & green fabrics, and then cut out felt numbers and fabric glued them on. I was kind of picky about the pockets and made them double sided with neat edges, so it took a little longer, but I really like how they turned out.

I had a neighbor cut a dowel to size to hang it with.

Don't look too closely at the stitching! Hehe...beauty in the imperfection right?

Oliver's not old enough this year but I'm excited for next! I plan to stick little treats & surprises in each pocket to be opened every day leading up to Christmas. And maybe one year I could do little activities written on paper, etc.

santa!

2011-12-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

We went to see Santa at my dad's work party at BYU. It was a long line (and we were the very last!)

but it was worth it for this face!

I was totally expecting crying but he hammed it up and then peered up at Santa like,

"What in the world is all that white stuff on your face??" Hehe!

P.S. Poor Santa looks worn out after a long morning of children huh. Ha!

Afterwards we went to watch my dad play in Tuba Christmas (a tradition for many years!) It was great! (He's in the Santa hat in the middle)

grateful for // part 12

2011-12-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

I am grateful for:

1. The funny things Oliver does! For the past few weeks, he's been crawling, and he sometimes just straightens his legs and puts his little bottom in the air - makes a little triangle! Too silly!

2. That Ollie can sit in grocery carts! Yay! But now I just need one of those cart covers.

3. Ah! That little grin.

4. That I got to check out the photo exhibits at the BYU Harris Fine Arts building - so cool! :)

5. Pedicure - thanks, Dad!

6. That Oliver did so well on our flight home

7. Baby Mozart clips on youtube - lifesaver sometimes!

8. My little buddy during the day

9. The Christmas cards we've been getting! Yay! :)

10. Our stroller - I use it for everything!

11. My sweet mom who made a custom bedskirt for Ollie's tiny crib

12. My new coat - it's been getting cold!

13. Long hallways at church

14. We finally got a high chair!!! Woo hoo for not sitting on the ground anymore to feed Oliver!