Christmas time is Here, Babies everywhere

Out here in Iowa, EVERYTHING comes sooner; caucuses, politics, snow, and even Christmas. This is the whole gang on "Christmas morning." It was so fun to have our own little celebration.

Paul for Hillary?

First we move to Iowa, and now we're supporting the democrats? Interesting how things change! Just kidding, I actually had a lot of fun visiting Hillary and of course I had to take a picture with all of her paraphernalia. I'm still a Mitt fan though.

Here's Hillary

You cannot be in Iowa during election season without getting into the action a little bit. Paul was exhausted of school after one of his final exams and decided to go see Hillary who was speaking just 5 minutes down the road. When he got to the venue, everything was packed and he stood in line outside in 12 degree temperatures until Hillary's staffers came up with a plan B--the Marriott Hotel. He was led across the street and and the staffers bought food (compliments of Hillary's donors) at the Marriott's restaurant until Hillary could come over and greet the overflow crowd. It was a lot of fun and Paul was actually more impressed than he thought he would be.

Ward Christmas Party

We had so much fun at the ward Christmas party. Paul sang his first solo and his family still loved him afterward.

Aubrey's First Visit With Santa

Aubrey had her very first chance to sit on Santa's lap and she did so well (i.e. she didn't scream).

Christmas Decorations

Here's just another shot at some of the Christmas decorations. Big thanks to dad for the decorations and mom for the tree. They look great!

Christmas Tree

We got all excited about Christmas and put up our Christmas tree. It was so fun and we already have presents under it.

Minnesota Temple

While in Minnesota, we went to the temple. I think it was the smallest temple we've ever seen. The sessions are every 2 hours and you have to schedule anything but endowment sessions. The temple was beautiful though and we had a good time.

Gingerbread Houses

Here is a closeup of the gingerbread houses we made. It was a lot of fun and we ate a lot of candy in the process.

Thanksgiving--gingerbread houses

We had a great time decorating gingerbread houses. Scott and Nicolina created a barn and silo while we created a nasty-looking candy house.

Powdered Sugar

Sunday Adventure

The afternoon started out with me deciding to make a pumpkin roll. It is a cake with cream cheese over the top and then you roll it so it looks like a log with filling inside. Mom used to make it when we were growing up. So, I make the cake and then wrapped it in a kitchen hand towel that was sprinkled with powdered sugar. I put it in the frig to cool, and then took it out to put the filling inside. Once the filling was inside I rolled it up and wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it back into the frig to cool. I folded up the hand towel that was now covered in powdered sugar and walnuts because I was going to rinse it out before using it again or washing it. I then proceeded to make dinner. I put Aubrey in her bouncy chair and as I was making dinner I saw her push. That can only mean one thing and I knew I would need to change her. But I was in the middle of making dinner and then Paul got a few emails, etc. and I completely forgot about the diaper. We ate dinner with Aubrey still in her bouncy chair and about the time we were finished she started to whine. She was getting hungry so I got up and made her a bottle. Paul started to pick Aubrey up in order to hold and feed her but stopped when I gasped and started laughing! She had poop oozing out of her diaper and it had gotten all over the bouncy chair. Paul proceeded to clean Aubrey up while I started to clean the bouncy chair. He needed my help because Aubrey kept putting her hands in her diaper. I came over and held her hands and it was apparent that she needed a bath. So off to the bathroom we went and I started to give Aubrey a bath while Paul cleaned out her clothes...and they were chunky and nasty! I finished giving Aubrey a bath and took her into the bedroom where I was putting a diaper on Aubrey and some clean clothes when I heard "Oh my word". For Paul, that is a pretty big expression. And you should have heard his tone. I asked him what was wrong and looked down the hall to see powdered sugar all over his suit pants and clothes! I could not contain my laughter! He started cleaning up the bouncy chair and himself. He went to wipe his hands off after washing them and used the hand towel that I had make the cake with! It was hilarious! So now we have a daughter who is hungry and a husband with powdered sugar all over him and poop everywhere!!! It was a pretty funny night! Enjoy the pictures!

Happy 50th Birthday Mom/Grandma!

We are so sorry we cannot be there for your very special 50th birthday, but luckily there are other ways to communicate these day. We hope you have a very youthful and exciting birthday this year. Congratulations!

Dad and Aubrey

Dad picked out his pumpkin and got the cutest one of all!

Mom and Aubrey

Here we are with our pumpkins

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday and found the cutest pumpkin of them all!

Aubrey and Grandpa

Aubrey took to Grandpa the moment he arrived and is still mourning over him leaving. She is so excited to see him again for Christmas!

Grandpa and Aubrey Laughing

We have never been able to make Aubrey laugh like Grandpa can! She thought their little joke was so hysterical! See for yourself!

Aubrey starts to walk

Last week she started to roll over and now she is already walking! We can barely keep up with her.

Aubrey rolling over

Aubrey just started rolling over last week and we are so proud of her.

One semester of Spanish love song

This is our favorite love song. Enjoy it for yourself.

Homework Helper

Aubrey decided to help her dad with his homework.

Twins

Aubrey looks so much like her daddy it is unreal!

Amish

We went to visit the Amish and were so enchanted by their mode of transportation that we decided to buy ourselves a horse and buggy.

Are my nails done yet?

Never one to waste time, Aubrey typically uses her naps as opportune time to dry her nails. You will notice the spread out position of each finger; that is so her nails don't touch each other. In addition to her nails, Aubrey has her hair done every other day using only the best Johnson and Johnson scrub for maximum volume.

Sweet Note

Aubrey wanted to create a note for daddy to find in his laptop at school, so she had mom help her with the props and camera. She is such a thoughtful girl.

Get me out of here!

Aubrey: Okay, so when I consented to come to this meeting, I did not expect it to drag on and on and on. Does somebody have the time? I think I need to eat. Note: Aubrey is still learning the art of having patience. This photo was taken to show her what not to do in concealing her boredom in the future.

Happy Girl

Aubrey is so cute when she smiles.

Law School--First Test

Here I am in front of the law school building after my first exam. It was a tough exam, but I survived! Later that day, we took a walk so Ashley and Aubrey could inspect the premises of this building I spend so much time at.

Angry

Watch out when Aubrey gets hungry; she gently reminds you with this lovely face that all is not well in her universe.

Smiley

Aubrey was so happy to have a little photo shoot. Her hairs is growing longer and she is just the cutest! She sure misses grandma, grandpa, and all her uncles and aunts.

Nauvoo the Beautiful--make that Gorgeous!

We visited the beautiful Nauvoo Temple to do our August session. If ever there was a reason to visit us, believe you me, this is it! The Nauvoo Temple is spectacular and it was so neat to be in there thinking about all the deceased Saints who must be thrilled that their Temple is back in their beloved Nauvoo. Doing Temple sessions with a six-week-old, however, is interesting. Ashley and I had to alternate tending Aubrey while attending our session. While Ashley was in the Temple, Aubrey and I got to see one of the many fun plays that are free to the public in Historic Nauvoo.

Mormon Handcart Park

So just off Mormon Trek Boulevard is Mormon Handcart Park. At the time, Iowa City was the end of the railroad and at this location, 3000 Saints built handcarts to trek it out to Utah. Ashley and I, in contrast, had a lovely time quietly wandering through the trails of this park.

Beautiful Kinnick Stadium

Now if you would please look to your left, you will see one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world! Feel free to grab a hankie if your eyes tear up.

Picture Perfect

Look at those fabulous pictures hanging above the crib. Even if they're not Picasso, they were something we concocted up and we like them. We finished painting and putting them together today.

Mom and Babe

Smile Miss Fuzzy Head; then it's off to bed. Ashley and babe pose before preparing to send Aubrey off to bed.

Quaint Kitchen

Here is our small, but nice kitchen. We love the fact that it has cupboards all around and a fan in the center.

More Living Room

This is the other side of our living room. See the air conditioner in the wall; that is called our life saver. Without it, I think we would melt!

Living Room

Welcome to our living room. We love the space that this room has and Ashley did such a good job at picking out the curtains.

Cute Apartment

Here is our cute little table and dining area. Those flowers greeted Ashley when she arrived to her new home. Anyway, it's great to have room for a table and chairs.

Iconic U of I

On a very hot, hazy, humid day I decided to ride my bike to the University's prize jewel located in Iowa City. This building was the first state capitol building for Iowa; the one that would have been in use when the Saints first left on the handcart trail from this city.

Gotham City

Here is Gothingham, Nebraska; not much to ride the Bat-mobile through. Anyway, Nebraska was green and grassy and wet. Okay, so it was more of a swamp than anything else. In fact, a nearby town flooded as we stayed in Nebraska; 5 inches of water in 12 hours!

Barren Wasteland

Here I am in the barren wasteland...aka Wyoming. Dad and I discovered that there's not much in Wyoming to write home about, except for maybe the guy we saw get arrested at the gas station.

Blessing Beauty

After a long day of being blessed and pampered, this little tyke needs to take a nap. But of course she strikes a pose just in case any cameras were around--and of course they were!

Full Body Cuteness

This is little miss fuzzy head's full body shot. She is such a sweetie in pink.

Googly Eyes

This is Aubrey's 1 Month old photo shoot. She has beautiful eyes--that are no longer crossed--that melt our hearts and make us want to kiss her little face off!