Catch Up Post

Well, no great excuses for neglecting the blog these last few weeks. Here's a sampling of what's been keeping us busy, most recent stuff first:

Leila's Blessing

This Sunday we blessed Leila. Most of our family was able to be there, and it was a wonderful day. I was happiest about the fact that she didn't cry at all during the blessing, even though she was wide awake. Yay!

Isn't she darling?

Sterling Singers Concert

The choir I'm part of opened the Christmas Concert series on Temple Square on Saturday, November 29. It was awesome to sing in the historic Tabernacle. My parents and Bryon were able to attend and hear the beautiful Christmas music we've been working on for months. For anyone interested, we have another concert (same music) on Sunday, December 21. You can get the details here: http://www.sterlingsingers.com/.
Outside the Tabernacle in between our two concerts

DarlieceGiving

This year we celebrated Darliecegiving for the first time. It was in honor of my little sis, Darliece, who has spent the last semester at dental school at the University of Nevada--Las Vegas. Since we weren't going to be together on Thanksgiving, I picked her up at the airport Wednesday night, and surprised her with "Darliecegiving," a very incongruous feast of all of her favorite foods. The menu consisted of: Cafe Rio salads (homemade, thank you very much), burritos, egg rolls, boneless barbecue ribs, homemade macaroni and cheese, lemonade, chocolate cheesecake, and pumpkin pie.

I have to include these photos of Darliece as payback for her being difficult while we were taking pictures. My little sister, Dawna (visiting from BYU-I) joined us for the feast.

I'm not sure I want to make Darliecegiving an annual tradition (it was a lot of work), but it was awesome getting to spend time with Darliece after too many months apart.

The Zoo in November

So, it turns out a nice day in November is the absolute best time to visit Hogle Zoo. I took Jacob and Leila to the zoo around the middle of November with my sister-in-law Trenda, and her kids Cade and Ambree, and my other sis-in-law, Bethany. We practically had the place to ourselves, which was awesome because it meant that when Jacob took off running (as he often did), I didn't have to freak out and chase him down, because I could keep him in sight until he got tired and came back. Plus, the animals were more active, and we could spend as long as we wanted looking at them.

Jacob "riding" the tigers. This was the most posed picture I was able to get. He kept jumping between the two tigers, because he couldn't decide which one he wanted to sit on most.

And the real deal. (We've been to the zoo probably five times this year, and this was the first time I actually saw the tiger, so I thought it warranted a picture.)

Jacob "measuring up" to the gorilla. I'm kind of grateful he's not the size of an ape. He already does enough damage to my house as it is!Jacob and Ambree in Cade's clutches. Trying to get three toddlers to stay still with their arms out to their sides is, predictably, impossible. So, this was the best we could do.

Mommy and Jacob getting in touch with our roots. Since I couldn't see Jacob's face, I didn't realize I was the only one of us doing the monkey face (and yes, I was totally making the "ooh! ooh!" noises, too).

And a Few for the Road

For anyone who's stuck around to the end of this post, congratulations! Add a comment with the details of your accomplishment (how much sleep were you required to forgo? How much havoc did your own toddler wreak in your absence?) and I will send you your very own, one-of-a-kind, gold-plated plaque commemorating your achievement. Okay, not really. Instead, how about a few bonus pictures, just for you?

Jacob figured out how to reach the cereal box and poured himself some more. Nice.

One of Leila's first smiles

Jacob and Daddy wearing matching outfits on Sunday

A get-together with old friends: Jared Crocker, Scott and Melinda Fredrickson, us, Richard and Karyn Esplin. I love this picture, because there are seven kids in it and not one of them is looking at the camera.

Some of Bryon's old roommates from BYU: Matt Tanner, Mark Tanner, Bryon, Scott Fredrickson

Well, thanks for sticking with it! We're looking forward to some good times with family and friends this month, as well, so hopefully I'll do a better job this month of posting regularly.

Bryon's Birthday

This year I turned 30 on November 15, and we celebrated as a family. Danielle brought in 30 balloons to wake me up, and each one had a nice note from a family member. (Thank you all who participated!) Jacob helped bring them to me for popping, and it was a very fun and heart-warming gift.

My sister Bethany was kind enough to come watch the kids so that Danielle and I could go the Temple. We got lunch and pastries on the way back home.

That night, my parents and siblings went with Danielle and me to an Indian restaurant in Sandy. The food was really tasty, and I think everyone enjoyed it even if they were trying something new. We went back to the house and had cake and ice cream and opened presents. Danielle had made a delicious chocolate layered cake at my request.

So it was a fine birthday, and I suspect that being 30 won't be much different than being 29.

Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween!

We had a very happy Halloween! Jacob was a horse, and Bryon and I accompanied him trick-or-treating as a cowgirl and cowboy (the hats came in handy when it rained on us). Leila was a squid, which doesn't really go along with the whole Western theme, but that's the costume we could find for her! Jacob got way more candy than any two-year-old should have (aw, darn. We'll just have to help him out with that one!), but he thought it was great.

We went to a Halloween party Saturday night with my high school friends, but unfortunately forgot the camera, so there's no photographic evidence. April and Jason Miller hosted it, though,

and it was a ton of fun.

Jacob the horse. He kind of looks like a chipmunk here. Hmm...

The cutest squid I've ever seen.

The aftermath of Halloween. Yep, that's chocolate. Ah, what good parents we are.

Danielle's Birthday

Happy birthday to me! On October 29, I turned the big 2-5. A quarter of a century. As Bryon said in my birthday card, wisdom may come with age, but it's the cake I look forward to each year.

We went out to dinner at Carino's with Bryon's family the night before my birthday (Thursday), then came back to our house for cake. I made myself a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. It was delicious.

My best birthday present came from my mother-in-law (no offense, Bryon!) who watched the kids for me on my birthday so that I could go shopping for some new clothes. I had a fun day at Tanger Outlets in Park City, and got a much-needed update to my wardrobe.

On Friday night we just stayed home with the kids, but Bryon took over household duties (another great present!) and made a fabulous pizza for dinner. It was a great birthday!

Pumpkin Fun

Halloween is my favorite holiday (I think it has to do with the candy), so normally I get really into it. But, with Leila and all we haven't given Halloween the homage it deserves.

In an attempt to rectify that, here are some pictures of Jacob doing the pumpkin thing.

We took Jacob to this pumpkin patch near our house to pick out his pumpkin. He didn't understand the purpose, but he was excited because he likes pumpkins.
Every pumpkin he saw was Jacob's favorite, so he ended up "choosing" the one Daddy handed to him.

Yes, of course that blue paint ended up on his shirt. But I was impressed by how long he went actually putting it on the pumpkin. And still, it was less messy than carving would have been.

Here we have the finished product. Jacob loves everything Cookie Monster, so this was our best attempt at a Cookie Monster pumpkin.


Yesterday we visited Engh Gardens in Midvale with Grandma Poulter, Jacob's cousins, Cade and Ambree, and his Aunts Bethany and Trenda. It was really sunny, so the pictures didn't turn out great, but Jacob is the ghost on the left, above.

A close-up of Jacob as a witch.

He has a ways to go before he's a 7-foot scarecrow.

Jacob was very entertained by the hay bale maze. I told him we could go through one last time before we left, so when he got to the end, he turned around and ran all the way back through to the beginning. Clever boy.

They had a big pirate ship that Jacob had fun running around and climbing on.

By far the favorite attraction was the train. Jacob watched it for probably 15 minutes, completely spellbound. He enjoyed predicting when it would come through the tunnel.

Leila's Namesake

Lila Banner Cheney

This is a picture of my grandmother, Lila Cheney. We named Leila after her. Yes, their names are different (my grandmother's name is pronounced LIE-lah and Leila's is LAY-lah), but there is a reason for this. I had heard this story before, but when Bryon and I were talking about what to name this baby, I appealed to my mom for clarification. She claims it is true, although it seems weird. Apparently, my grandma always disliked the name Lila. She didn't think it was a very pretty name, or maybe she just didn't think it fit her well, but whatever the reason, she hated it. This seems weird, since most people agree it is a lovely name. Maybe when I see her again I can ask her for details (she passed away in 2000, when I was 16). At any rate, my mom once proposed to my grandma the possibility of naming a daughter after her. Grandma got mad and said she didn't want any of her grandchildren (or, I guess, great-grandchildren) to have the name Lila, and if my mom or anyone else named a child after her, she'd come back and haunt them. Although, I do find that last threat amusing, Bryon and I figured that if you're trying to honor someone by passing on their name, it doesn't make much sense to go against their wishes on the matter. So, Lila was out.

We found the name Leila in a name book, and both liked it. It is only one letter off from Grandma's name, and the pronounciation is different enough that hopefully Grandma is not offended. So, that's why Leila is named after my grandma Lila, but doesn't actually have the same name.

Her middle name, Anne, is in honor of my mother, DeAnn (pictured below with Leila shortly after her birth). I thought the generational thing was nice.

Actually, it's pretty cool because Leila already shows some features of mine that came to me from my mom, and from her mother. Her lips are like mine and my mom's. And she has very long, thin fingers and toes, which I inherited from my mom, who inherited them from her mom. I think it's neat that Leila actually has physical characteristics of her namesake.

Anyway, I love and admire my grandma, which is why I wanted to pass on her name (sort of) to my daughter. Lila was an excellent writer, and wrote a very entertaining book of her memories in short story format for her children and grandchildren. I also admire her work ethic. Even when she was older (my mom was the youngest of seven children, so by the time I knew my grandma she was already in her 60s) she still worked hard all the time. I hope Leila follows that example. Most importantly, though, both my grandma and my mom are women of faith. Both have made sacrifices to live the gospel and to teach their children the truth. I love them for this and hope I can be the same kind of example for Leila.

Birth Announcement

We are sending out Leila's birth announcement this week to our non-blog-friendly relatives and friends, so we thought we'd post it here so that all of you could see it, too. Consider Leila's birth very officially announced!