Sweet boy!

A few recent pics that I love!  In all the holiday hustle & bustle it hasn't been much of a priority to post lately, so hopefully this will tide everyone over until the 1st b-day & holidays!  Merry Christmas!!

11 months & counting!

Before the haircutting begins, my cousin Dylan & me!During my 1st real hair cut.  I was sitting in a chair like a big boy, but I got over it!

After the cut me & my cousin with our new short do's!

My favorite thing to organize in the house.  Truly I go straight to my "fun zone" after every nap & make sure the DVD's are just how I like 'em.  If my mom ever tries to put them away, I hurry over to "reorganize" them on the floor again for her . . . I'm such a big help!  Thanks dad for introducing me to this super "fun zone" when mom wasn't home!!

Being a silly cowboy, I must take after my uncles on the Ulrich side!!

Now what do I do with this hat?!?

Here's a half smile for ya ma!

Well Troy is growing & growing, though it may not seem like it as he's still our little short stack.  Actually he's just in the very average range which makes him seem smaller compared to other little ones his age or younger who pass him up.  He is a walking boy now, all over, down the hall, turning, stopping to get his balance . . . yes it has begun!  He has been taking steps for a few weeks now, but crawling was still faster for him.  Now he's gotten the hang of walking & seems to prefer it most of the time.  We love seeing him go, he just seems too little to be doing it already!  He also got a tooth on top last month (not a middle tooth but the one next to it . . . random) & now has another one to join it, the middle one next to it luckily!  I was worried he would get his next tooth on the other side next to where the middle one would be & look like a vampire! :)  We can't believe he is almost a big one year old.  He sleeps like a dream & still takes his 2 naps a day.  He is also still a hearty eater who gets praised regularly by other moms for his wide open mouth when you feed him.  He leaves plenty of room for the spoon & a mound of food to fit in his mouth, he's a crack up!  We sure love our handsome boy & can't picture a happier life than we have now!!

1st Disneyland Trip!

We got a call on Tuesday morning from some friends in the ward, the Duncan's, to see if we wanted to go to Disneyland with them.  They had a family member that could sign in 3 people to go for free & they only needed 1 person to get in, so they called us!  We were very excited to take our little man there for the first time, since we were planning on waiting until he was older to remember & enjoy it more if our $$ was spent.  But free??  Sign us up, we were there!  He did really good, with no "break down" moments (which was amazing considering the lack of quality napping for the day) & only one little scare on a ride.  

He loved the merry-go-round as do most kids!

Look at that sweet face!  Mark only took about 30 pictures on this ride alone, don't worry I've spared you the minute by minute!

He did need a little rest against the bar by the end, we were cracking up!

Father & son in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, though you can't see the decor in the background & it was daytime outside still.

After taking use of the baby care center to feed him dinner in a high chair he was pooped.  Yes we'd only been there about 3 hours or so & it was only 6:15!!  The 5 rides we went on really wore him out! :)  

So this was the "before" picture when I was trying to get a picture of him & he wasn't having it, as you can tell.  At which point daddy promptly told him if he didn't stop crying we weren't going to Disneyland anymore!  Gotta love the "parent" language kicking in already . . . even if he's only 10 1/2 months it's never too soon to start right?

P.S. One thing that kind of surprised us going to Disneyland through a child's eyes & not the normal adult view like in the past, was how scary & dark some of the little kids rides were!!  I'll just give one example, where you end up at the end of Mr. Toads Wild Ride after the judge pronounces you "Guilty".  (Let's just say it's very HOT there)  The "happiest place on earth" huh?!?  

Halloween & 10 months a little late!

Our little Nemo at the ward Harvest Festival!

His sweet face trying to crawl in all of that costume, notice one regular fin & one "little" fin!

Halloween night, how he really felt about his Nemo costume.  Not so fond of the fish head!!

Can you blame him?Our 10 month old!  Not a "staged" photo, but I thought very cute showing his basket of toys & what he chooses to play with first basically every time, his books!  Gotta love a reader!  We continue to love seeing our little guy growing into a little boy more & more each day.  He is taking lots of steps as he gets braver & more steady on his little feet.  The most in a row is probably 6-8, not exactly sure but he will take multiple steps in a row all day long, though crawling is still quicker & easier for him.  He is still a good sleeper who goes down very easily, even spoiling mom by sleeping in until 8 or 9 in the morning for a few weeks (thanks to the time change not so much any more).  He still has a healthy appetite & has little to no foods he absolutely won't eat, just some he prefers much more than others.  He makes lots of sounds including "da da", "ma ma", & "na na" to name a few.  We can't imagine a happier life than we have with our handsome, healthy, loving son!  We are a very blessed family, loving life!

Murder Mystery Dinner!

We had our annual (except for last year) murder mystery dinner with the gang.  I've been a part of 5 of these events since college & Mark has been privileged to come to the last 2 (he LOVES them)!  This night's theme was at an archaeological site in the Tigris-Euphrates valley in 1895.  We had a lot of fun & good food as always!

Mark- An American "six-shooting" railroad tycoon.

Jennette- A English country woman who inherited the family estates & is headed on a world tour.

Cree- A well-educated aristocrat from London, who is the right-hand man to our host at the Archaeological site.

Tiffany- The host's daughter, active in the social scene & designer of fashionable "underclothes".  (also our real host & party planner all these years . . . thanks Tiff)

Stephen- A Major General who has had much success with his British troops.

Desirae- An Oxford scholar who is participating in the archaeological dig.

Adam- A Shakespearean actor who is very popular in the theatre.

Nora- A world traveller who is the heiress to her families fortune.

Too fast!

Ok, so I can't deny it anymore, my little baby boy is taking steps . . . standing steadier & steadier . . . more often . . . not just falling to mom & dad when they hold out their arms . . . where did the time go??  I know it's not that early for this kind of thing, he's almost 10 months, but still where did my baby boy go?  Don't get me wrong I am grateful he can play & explore & get to where he wants to be (most of the time depending on the destination) , it's a fun stage of his little life, but I still can't believe he's not a baby anymore!  He's our little man now!  Soon he'll be graduating high school & leaving on a mission (which of course I will have to accompany him on to make sure he's ok ;>) I know good thing I have a few years to get over that one!  So these are my thoughts for the time, Troy, growing right before my eyes, too fast at times, but oh so lovable always!!

Fun, busy life!

Handsome boy for church, standing steady like a big boy!

Enjoying his "after meal biscuit"

Playing with my cousin Jake when we visited them for conference weekend, we're only 4 months apart.

We like to share!  Thanks for letting me play with your toys!!

Visiting with my sister Jessica who's a BYU student now (ahhh the memories of Freshman year)!!

Being a good traveling boy for my first loooong trip in the car to Utah!

My first BYU shirt, but definitely not the last!

Found these pictures on my camera as a surprise!  Playing with my Auntie Julie while she babysits me with Grandma, so mom can go be "crafty for a day" at her Super Saturday activity.

More fun!

All in the matter of a minute . . . if that!

The many faces of Troy!

9 MONTHS!

Little squirt!
Squinting my nose!
LOVE to stand by one of my "fav" spots . . . the trash can!
Helping mom unpack!
Who couldn't love this mug?

Troy is now a big 9 month old boy!  He crawls like a pro, pulls himself to stand on everything of course, likes to stand steady without touching anything/one, & loves to walk with his car/walker toy.  Still going strong with 2 teeth, mom has been trying to give him new things to taste since usually when he's done eating he also likes to share part of mom or dads meal with them.  You'd think he be bigger for all the food he actually eats, but he seems to be going strong as an average sized boy (which mom is so thankful of now that we live upstairs).  He's found many new toys to play with around the house, whether they are toys that were normally in the garage or other fun things around the "less organized than before we moved" house.  He has recently started "dancing/rocking" to music, which we love of course!  He makes all kinds of interesting sounds as he talks to us, from higher pitch noises to grunting low babbles.  While we do try to leave him to be watched by others a little bit now, we can't wait to see him again, even if it's just been a short while away.  We love our little man, he brings so much joy to our home!

We've moved!

We finally gave Mark's parents their house back officially.  We didn't move far, those in the ward we are in the "Lakes" #19.  Just wanted to give everyone the update.  If you want our new address just send me an email & we'll have a new home phone # tomorrow.  Things are mostly settled, thankfully & we're enjoying our new place!

8 MONTHS (a little late)

I love this picture of my guys before church this past Sunday!
The family.Starting to smile for the camera when asked to!
Another precious smile!
Looking like a chunky cheek's boy, although also "smiling" for the camera.
Getting so big, he loves to stand now!

Well the 22nd came & went, my little boy is 8 months old now.  His most significant accomplishment this past month is crawling . . . all over the place . . . the floors aren't as clean as they should be . . . oops.  Ironically his first official crawling steps were taken when both mom & dad weren't around, it was one of the few times he's been babysat (I know- 1st child what can I say) & he showed off for his Auntie's Jessica & Julianne.  Luckily they caught it on video on a camera, so I did get to see it after.  This is the thanks I get for trying to be a good mom, "firsts" being done the minute I leave, no respect :)  Well along with crawling he now pulls himself up to stand on everything he can get to as well.  If he has mom help him stand, once he's a little balanced he lets go, not that he can go anywhere, but apparently already trying to stake his independence.  He's so cute!  He makes lots of noises of all variety, tries to carry on conversations, & sometimes when he remembers he has a voice & people are talking around him- tries to be louder than them.  He notices when people leave & often crawls after them, occasionally whining or sad to see them go.  He much prefers having mom, dad, grandma & grandpa Trask ALL around instead of just mom, more attention = more content.  He's going to be adjusting a bit after we move in a few days.  We still can't get enough of his smiles & laughter, he is still a very happy boy.  He has his two bottom teeth growing away & gets uncomfortable occasionally with his teeth growing pains.  He has been very blessed to be sooo healthy.  Every once in awhile I think about how he really hasn't been sick, sure a few minor colds that just consist of a runny nose, but those were barely anything.  I hope that continues!!  He also is a tough little guy, along with moving more comes falling & bumping his head.  He is tough & hardly ever cries about it thankfully, even when it's those times where it's quite a loud thump, no tears!  We are still so grateful to be blessed with this amazing boy in our lives, what a wonderful privilege to be his parents!