New!

So much that's new has happened for us during this past month; it feels both crazy to reflect on and great to know how truly happy and blessed our little family is.  I'll let the pictures do most of the telling:

                                    
Andrew's internship is over, and  is officially a new college grad!

                                              

We finally sold our Jetta and bought a new car.  We love our new '02 Volvo XC70!

                                   

Our student laptops gave up at about the same time.  Sad, but not entirely...we are proud to be the owners of a new iMac.  Thanks, BYU-Idaho and Uncle Sam! :)

Taylor had his first chocolate chip pancake.  His cousin Jake was so nice to share... (what a mess!)

         

                        

                             

It was a new kind of Easter for us--spent in Alabama for the first time, and our first time with Taylor.  Of course, the Easter Bunny visited, but we were there for something even better: to celebrate the arrival/blessing of Taylor's newest little cousin, Corinne Norris.

         

New babies!  As luck would have it, while we were there, Andrew's sister Cindy and her husband Cameron adopted their second little boy: Davis Hickman McEwen.  

         

Taylor's first pair of new sneakers!  Thank you, Grandmother Norris!

                             

Our new little driver discovered this car at his grandparents' in Alabama and fell in-love--I couldn't keep him away from it!  It was so cute.  Later in the month, we bought our little boy a new "big boy" car seat.  He's getting too big too quickly!

                                

Denver had a new snow storm in April, right after we came back from sunny Alabama.  We thought that we were finished with big storms!  Andrew built a snowman right outside our window while Taylor watched.  He loves his dad.

                                              

Taylor's new sign:  "all finished!"  I was so happy when he finally caught on to all that baby sign language I've been doing!

         

         

Photography--my new hobby!  I took my first photo class this week and now my thirst for another new: an SLR camera, has grown tons.  

                                

Taylor has new teeth!  Two to be exact.  Here's the one on the top of his mouth, and there's another one on the bottom center.  It's exciting to see, and also so painful to live through this experience with him.  I had no idea how difficult a baby's teething experience could make parenting!

Walking Buddies

When I was in Idaho, I regularly pushed Taylor in his stroller around the park and neighborhood with other young moms from my ward.  Taylor and I both looked forward to those fun breaks when we both could have a change of scenery and I could enjoy a little girl time.  I miss my walking girl friends now--Denver is a place where friends like that take a little more time to find--but in the meantime I've continued getting outside on my own, with my now not-so-little guy.  In so doing, it's become much more rewarding than I ever would've guessed before I moved!  I've discovered that I'm not just walking around with my baby anymore; I'm spending time with my little pal.

Taylor gets so excited for this daily routine:  When I put his ball cap and jacket on, he bounces his arms and legs around and makes lots of baby babble--he knows it's OUTSIDE time!  Then it's off to Falcon Park--just a few blocks down the street--and then up and down nearby green belts here in Highlands Ranch.  I'm sure to place favorite treats in his little stroller tray each time we go--usually chunks of string cheese and Cheerio's--which he practically inhales.  We also like to find other Taylor favorites as we go along--doggies, cars, kids, and wild rabbits (which by the way, are all over the place here).  And I have fun with my photography hobby by creatively recording memories of our little adventures as we go.  This has been a lot of fun. Here's a look at of our latest trips to the park:

We're outside!  Cars!

Eating cheese

Do you see the rabbit?

Home is the apartment complex you can vaguely see just above the silver car on the road.

Birthday Surprise!

Last weekend, Andrew's sister Cindy flew from Birmingham to Denver for buisiness (and for a short visit afterward!). That Friday, the 20th, Andrew called me when his work day was over to ask me if we could drive to the airport to claim a bag that Cindy had lost en-route here. I said that wasn't a problem, so Andrew came home to pick me up and we drove to DIA as a family. When we arrived at the airport, Andrew quickly ran into the Southwest terminal to get Cindy's bag. Minutes later when I saw him come out with a roll-on bag, I popped the hatch of the Jeep and prepared to be back on the road. When suddenly...

SUPRISE!!! My MOM AND DAD opened the car doors to greet me! Dad gave me a kiss on the cheek and Mom giggled and gave me a hugs. I was totally shocked. In fact, it took me a couple seconds to completely grasp what had just happened: they had flown from Salt Lake to spend my birthday weekend with me! (And, Andrew had totally lied to me about getting a bag for Cindy. :) ) I can't remember the last time that I was that suprised or that excited...to date, it was one of my life's greatest moments!

Here are some highlights from our fun-filled weekend:

On Friday night, we introduced Andrew and Taylor to a Denver tradition: Casa Bonita! It's Mexican restaurant with unique entertainment while you eat--almost like a Disney theme park, although not as perfectly created as Disney does. My family has had fun going to this place for years--Dad took Mom out to Casa Bonita while they were still dating! It's still one of our favorite things to do in Denver.
On my birthday, we toured the Molly Brown House Museum in downtown Denver.

We ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory--yum!

We window shopped the 16th street mall and Larimer Square downtown.

Then, family came over to our place for cake, ice cream, and games that evening!

Mom and Taylor

Cindy and I dangling our cameras to entice Taylor to crawl

Andrew, Dad, and I playing Taboo with family

My cousins Dillon, Paige, and Cade

Kid in the...?!

During the holiday season, we discovered that Taylor has fun playing in some unusual places:

The Kitchen sink
A Large Cooler



"Kid in the Sink" and "Kid in the Cooler" instantly became some of Taylor's favorite games (and ours, when we watch him play!), but now they're tied for first place with another great activity that we discovered since moving to Denver:

Kid in the Dryer!

Suprise Visitors

Last week, my sister in-law Jill suprised me with a phone call to tell me that she and little Kate would be in Denver for a few hours! The two of them came over and we visited until she had to leave town. It was so nice to spend time one-on-one with them; that's a rare treat for me!

Big Boy

Something happened so quickly...my tiny baby grew up! He's so big now! And, he's still little too. Our little Taylor is eight months old today. It's a delight to watch him grow up and Andrew and I are loving every minute of it. Here are some pictures and a short video that we've taken of him this week:

A "Get-to-Know-You" tag that Andrew wore to a BYU-I intern gathering this past weekend. Taylor didn't really know how to react to having it on his head.

Taylor had a memorably messy diaper yesterday night. He had been playing with toys in his bedroom when I heard him suddenly get upset. When I checked on him, I found this-- a visible protrusion from his little diaper! When I changed him, his diaper was perfectly clean, except for the golf ball sized gift that he left for me, right in the center.

Taylor still holds his little hands when he sleeps. So cute.

Our eight month-old little guy.

Changes!

For those of you who have been wondering what happened to our family since our last post in November, we are finally here report! It has been a jam-packed, crazy past three months. Here's a look at what we've been up to:

In November, we took Taylor on his first plane ride to Alabama--to celebrate Thanksgiving with family in Birmingham!

We really enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at Andrew's parents' home. Delicious!

Taylor and his cousins (minus baby Norris #13--in Aunt Mindi's tummy right now) dressed-up and celebrated Christmas while we were there, since we wouldn't be back to Alabama in time for the holidays.

Taylor played with his little cousin, Kate, who was born one month before him in May.

Andrew Graduated in December!

Andrew's parents made the painful journey up to Rexburg again for the sixth time in 2008 (is that dedication or what?!). They are so supportive. We loved having them with us to celebrate!

Tiff's parents and brothers also traveled from Utah for the occasion. We were spoiled!

We spent Christmas 2008 in Utah.

Our good friends, Mike and Stacie Tonks, had their first baby--Megan Charlotte--just days before we traveled to Orem for Christmas. It was so fun to see them and to hold a newborn again. She's a cutie!

Tiff's mom loves being a grandma...and Taylor knows it! He was one of her biggest fans while we were with family for the holidays.

We spent Christmas Eve at Tiffany's grandparents' home.

Taylor got to know Tiff's uncle's little girl, Courtney. Like cousin Kate, Courtney is just one month older than Taylor! He's really blessed to have two cousins--one on each side of his family--that are his age.

We took Taylor swimming in January, with Tiff's brothers Kyle and Devin.

And the biggest event for us since November (and really, since Taylor was born), is that we moved at the beginning of January!

Andrew got an internship offer for a construction company in Denver, Colorado called Haselden Construction! Especially during this time of economic struggle in our nation, we feel so grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

It was a whirlwind of a move, though: on Saturday, January 10th, Andrew was offered the internship, and on Thursday, January 15th, we moved--just in-time for Andrew to work the next day, on Friday. It was crazy, but our Heavenly Father blessed us and everything came together in four days. We both were able to quit our jobs, sell our housing contract...and Tiffany's mom and brother Larry both drove up from Utah to help pack and take care-of little Taylor. Their help was huge! Without them and the help of our student ward and other dear friends in Rexburg, we wouldn't have made the quick move work. We feel so touched by the immesurable amounts of service that were rendered in our behalf that week. We are so blessed.

Here are most of our belongings, piled into our family room on the afternoon of Tuesday the 13th.


This picture is for Tiffany's Dad--it's Mom playing with Taylor as we packed. We wondered: would he like this as much as he liked "baby in the sink?"


Here's Mom enjoying Taylor during our last night in Rexburg.

Our cold, but clear Thursday morning arrived. This is our last look at our Rexburg home! :(

It was beautiful traveling through Star Valley, Wyoming.

After just one day of searching, we found an apartment that would let us sign a contract and move-in on the same day, so we wouldn't have to store our belongings in a storage unit for a couple weeks. The blessings just keep coming! Here is a look at our new home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado (our door is on the ground floor--hidden by the stairs in this picture).