Dashing through the snow...

While we were in Utah my parents got at least 30 inches of snow at their house and we went crazy in the snow. Matthew even liked going down "Auger Lane" as my sister called it. My parents have a little hill in the backyard that is perfect for little ones and big ones a like.

Once Again

Wow, the months seem to be passing with a blink of an eye. This month we have done lots of fun things. The most fun was to go to Utah and visit for the holidays. We had a great time seeing everyone and spent a lot of time in the car(not our favorite part).

We celebrated Christmas a little early with Matthew here in Texas. He got the cutest stuffed giraffe and since he is really into anything soft and squishy, he loved it. It was the first thing he laid on when he got home from Utah. We had a couple of visits with Santa this year and I think Matthew really took well to Santa - don't you?

We even got to talk to my brother Tyson who is on his mission in the Czech Republic. We all miss him and are excited he will be home next year for Christmas!

Snow in Houston?

Yep that is right, we got snow here in Houston. Now I realize it isn't a lot to look at and it wasn't the 30 inches my parents got in Utah, but this just doesn't happen here. We were outside looking at it and one of the neighbor boys across the street came over with his very first snowball. He was so excited we couldn't help being excited too!

November Flew by

Wow, so November has gone by so fast. As always we have been very busy.

We started off the month with and Eric versus the Deer moment with the car. I am not really sure who won :), I guess maybe the car because we could fix that. The car took 15 days to fix and they think it was about a 400 pound deer that he hit because of the damage. I am very glad that Eric was okay and we have decided that we should stop going to church meetings because we all of our car incidents have happened while going to meetings. This one happened to be Young Mens. Needless to say he didn't make it to the activity.

This month Eric had a training in Phoenix for 2 weeks - yikes. The best part about it is that Matthew and I went for a weekend with him and stayed with Dave, Carly and Addison - some of our best friends. We love spending time with themand always have fun. This trip was no exception. We decided on a day trip to the Grand Canyon. It was totally worth the 6+ hours in the car with two kids. We had a picnic and went on a hike. It was beautiful. Matthew's favorite part of the trip was their big bear that he cuddled on all the time while we were at the house and playing with Addison. I think he went through withdrawals when we got home because he walked around the house with a sad look on his face looking for someone his size to play with. I guess we will just have to go back and visit. As for the rest of the two weeks without Eric - man am I glad that is over. It was a long long time.

The night Eric got home I was free and some of my friends down here were going to the midnight showing of "Twilight". So of course joined them. We had a good time and all enjoyed the movie. After the show I thought "hey I would do a midnight showing again - I feel just fine". However, I changed my tune the next morning when I had approximately 3 1/2 hours of sleep and a very awake Matthew. So we will have to see if I do a midnight show again...

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. Eric's brother Alan came to visit and we had dinner with a bunch of our friends down here (13 adults and 15 kids under 7). Everyone brought yummy food and thanks to the Jarvis family for hosting a wonderful thanksgiving feast. We sent the husbands and all the kids on a walk to the park while we cleaned up. We all had a great time!

When Alan comes to visit we always manage to cram as much as we can into his visit. This time we went to the Texas Renaissance Festival. We were all a little unsure of what we were getting into, but we had a good time. It is 300 acres with real buildings with shops, food, and stages for and skits and plays - it feels like you stepped back in time. They have people walking around in costumes and I was "stolen" by a band of pretty handsy knights. YIKES!!! We saw a jousting fight and all and all had a pretty good time. We recommend it to those of you who livehere in Texas although you will have to wait until next year as it is only open during October and November.

Today the boys went golfing so I went to the mall with my friend Katie to help her find a dress. I got the deal of the day with a really cute red trenchcoat for $10! I also went to a running store and purchased a pair of running shoes so that I can train with my friends for a 1/2 marathon in February.

Happy Halloween

This weekend we decided to throw a Halloween party with our friends. We had a great turnout and had lots of fun costumes and a pumpkin carving contest. We actually asked people to bring the pumpkins already carved and we got some great entries! Can you find Sarah Palin?

And in true Detton fashion, Eric had us all dressed up with a theme. Guess who we are? Matthew actually loves his costume I think because it is so soft but when he doesn't have it on, he rolls around on the floor with it.

For a girl who doesn't love Halloween, it has been a pretty good one so far and we haven't even given out candy yet(that is my favorite part)!

Old MacDonalds Farm

Okay so there really is a farm here in Texas names old Macdonalds farm and we went there today. It was a lot of fun and I think Matthew really liked it despitethe fact I didn't get himto really look at the camera very much. He looked at the animals and then just continued eating the strap on his stroller. Overall it was fun to get out of the house and enjoy a little crisp air here in Texas.

A good tag...

Recently my friends sent an email around with lots of questions and I usually don't do them,but I had so much fun reading them that when I got tagged by Katie I thought why not.. so here goes....

8 Things...
8 TV shows I like to watch...
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. One Tree Hill
3. Gilmore Girls
4. American Idol
5. Biggest Loser
6. Samantha Who?
7. Eli Stone
8. Friends - We have DVR and Eric and I love to watch an episode for a good laugh

8 Things that happened Yesterday....
1. Went to the Gym
2. Went on a walk with friends - now these two things may make you think I am really into exercise when in fact that is not the case, just coincidental. :)
3. Made lunch and dinner
4. Made 20 bean bags
5. cooked bacon fora salad I was making today
6. Listened to my very tired boy be very sad - he has forgotten hownice naps are :)
7. Ate pumpkin muffins and a fudge bar - see as I said before not so much a health nut and I needed the extra walking....
8. Showed Eric how to use my cricut to cut a bunch of circles for a game

8Favorite Places to Eat...
1. Pappasitos
2. pei Wei
3. Chick Fil A
4. Cafe Rio- so sad we don't have one here
5. Panera Bread
6. Chuys - they have the best jalapeno chip dip on the planet
7. PF Changs
8. My moms house

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to...
1. Going home for Christmas
2. Matthew sleeping through the night again
3. Matthew taking naps again
4. Getting somesleep tonight - can you tell I am sleep deprived
5. Hearing Matthew laugh at me tomorrow
6. Having a fun Halloween party with our friends this weekend
7. Going to Rome with Eric someday
8. I would love to go to Jerusalem, but it is just so scary.

8 Things on my Wish List...
1. For my kids to be happy, healthy, and successful. - Good one Katie
2. For Matthew to go on a mission.
3. Another baby or two or three...
4. For Eric and I to live a long life together
5. Going on a cruise
6. Some new clothes
7. Someone to clean my kitchen.....
8. To go to bed - this one I can do right now...


I am now supposed to tag others, some of who have been tagged already.
Jamie
Erin - if you read this, you will just have to email me
Carly
Emily
Jenny
Kristy

If I do say so myself

So today I helped throw a baby shower for my friend Emily. In planning the party, I found a cool new blog/website(now listed on my links on this page). The site had lots of good ideas but very pricy, so I created my own centerpiece/present. It was made of all baby stuff, Blankets, bibs, onesies, washcloths and some burp cloths. I think it turned out pretty cute, so I wanted to share.

Daddy/Son Park day

Last Saturday I had a scrapbook class at the house and so Eric was in charge of matthew. So off they went to the park to play. I think Matthew had a fun time. I know Eric enjoyed trying to stop Matthew from eating the bark and pretty much everything else he could get his hands on...he was so filthy when he got home.

Matthew has also started to put his hands up in the air when you ask him "How big is Matthew" That is what he is doing in the picture as well as trying to escape down the trail...

I think the funniest part for Eric was when Matthew tried to climb or get over some monkey bar type things. He got stuck and Eric couldn't resist taking a picture.

Truly a gift from Heavenly Father

Today marks the one year anniversary of the best news Eric and I have had in our little married lives. We were having a baby and we only had to wait just 24 hours! In reality October 3rd will always be a great day in my life. The day I met our son and got to hold him for the first time is one moment I will not forget. I fell in love with him before I even met him which sounds crazy and also brought out a little crazy in me:) I am thankful daily for the sacrifice and love that went into the decision for Jennifer, Matthew's birth mom, to placeher child in our arms and say goodbye. Words really can't express the wonderful spirit of overflowing love that wasin that room a year ago and that weexperienced together with this sweet little boy. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for the blessing it is to be a mother and a wife. We had waited such a long time for this sweet spirit in our home and can't believe how happy Matthew has made us. he truly has lived up to his name. Thanks for being such a gift to us little Matthew.

Escape to Utah

We always have so much fun with family in Utah. I love Utah especially in the Fall! The changing leaves and the beautiful mountains. We had such a good time. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to spend time with us while we are there!

We went to the park with cousins, played pool at the Dettons, celebrated birthdays, had a fancy tea party, went to the dinosaur museum, watched late night movies, went on a boat/tube ride and last but not least we made aprons.

Matthew's 1st B-day!

We got to celebrate Matthew's 1st birthday!
I just can't believe he has been in our family for one year. He has been such a blessing to us and we are so grateful for his happy spirit in our home. We have been so blessed this past year to watch and learn with this little guy.


We had lots of fun giving him two parties with both of our families and watching him eat cake! I couldn't resist and made hima little bear cake. It was a lot of work and didn't look quite like the picture, but I think overall it turned out pretty cute.

Matthew is learning so many new things.

-This month he has really taken to walking- It is so much fun to watch his cute little feet try to get all the places he wantsto go.
- He has no concept of height or stairs really. He would walk right off the top of stairs if I would let him and almost did a fewtimes- yikes!
- He loves balloons!
- He laughs at himself and thinks he is the funniest person around.

- He loves to swing on the swing.

- His first words are dad and dog. He is starting to mimic us and I am certain is saying a lot more but notvery clearly. He definitely has his own little language and tells us lots of stories.

- He loves to eat pretty much anything I give him. When he eats something cold, he pulls a really sour face. It is so cute.

- Oh and so many more things but mostly he is just the most adorable little boy and I love him so much! We are looking forward to many more happy moments with him!

Hurricane Ike.....

So we made it through the hurricane and man has it been an experience. We fared very well and have been very blessed. Hurricanes are crazy things in case anyone is wondering... :) The only damage our home had was that we lost a section of fence but it remained in our yard so my amazing husband was able to reattach it. Also our satellite dish was knocked of of our house and punctured a hole in the roof which was fixed today by Eric. YIPPEE! We had a trip planned to go to Utah for the Monday following the hurricane and amazingly we were ableto fly out. I felt very guilty leaving everyone.

Hurricane Ike got to our house early early Saturday morning September 13th. It was pretty crazy to watch the trees swaying in the wind and not snapping. It seemed like they were almost touching the ground at points during the storm. We lost power during the night. Matthew slept through it! Bonus! :) Eric has had quite the experience in seeing a lot of destruction and getting his hands and body completely soaked. Saturday morning he was on top of a roof in winds that i saidwere too scary to be messing with and tarping our home teachers home as he had a very large pesky tree in his roof. Very sad. They got that taken care of (meaning tarped and no more rain coming in) and went to check on the next family in our neighborhood and 15 minutes before they got there another pesky tree had fallen into their attic, so out went the work crew (Eric Ryan Jarvis, Evan Child, Brad Mitchell and lots of others) went to fix their roof and tarp it to stop the rain from getting in. He was busy busy for the nextweek until hisflight to Utah. In some ways it has been such a neat experience and bonding with neighbors and friends. We are very grateful that we were spared the worst of the storm at our house.

I have a friendwho has put together a slide show on her blog http://bradandkatiemitchell.blogspot.com/ of some damage in our area and houses worked on.

First Steps!

Okay so Saturday Eric and I were upstairs playing with Matthew in his room. We were playing with the blocks and just enjoying our time together when Matthew decided to take his first couple of steps. We were so excited one that he has started to walk a very little and also that we were both there to see it. Anyway, it was a lot of fun later that day we got a little video of him taking a few more steps and yes the "bribe" was the remote control again.

Knock on Wood

So last night as I was going to bed, I was telling Eric how grateful I was that Matthew was sleeping through the night and that our stint in the Bahamas hadn't really messed up his schedule. Eric said "knock on wood". Well I did, but apparently Matthew heard this discussion somewhere in his dreams and thought hey let's wake up tonight just so mom knows that I hear everything she says. Well okay I am not sure he necessarily thought that but at 1:53 my wonderful sleep was interrupted with a big cry from the upstairs bedroom. I jumped out of bed and didn't get back in bed until about 3:30 - Yikes. I guess I can't ever say I am grateful for Matthew sleeping through the night because it ruins it :)

Surprise!

Well, I think Eric has officially pulled off the best kept secret and surprise trip for me. For our anniversary he started giving me random "12 days of our Anniversary" gifts. I wasn't quite sure what to think of them and he said everything was a clue to a big surprise. The first was a word puzzle which of course I had no idea what it was. He was banking on this and laughed when it drove me crazy. He proceeded to give me slips of colored paper, a can of pineapple, travel size stuff, a tanning pass, a Barnes and Noble gift card and a few other random things. I was thoroughly confused until the last day he gave me a packing list. a picture of an apple and a list of things to do on Saturday because we were leaving early Sunday morning. Any guesses? Well, I knew that Jetblue went to the "big Apple" so I figured we were at least going there and then probably on to somewhere else. On sunday morning, we packed up and drove to the airport at 4:30 am- yikes!! We were off andlater that day I found out we were headed for the BAHAMAS!

What a fun trip we had. The first couple of days it was alittle overcast due to the Tropical Storm Faye, but amazingly the water was still warm and fun to play in. On Wednesday the beloved sun came out and like all the other crazy people we went outside with sunscreen and came back in that night with a little too much sun! Yes, despite our efforts, we were pretty red. Yikes. The next day we went on a speedboat trip out to some of the outer islands of the Bahamas where we and 40 other people had our own private beach, an area to feed sharks an islandwhere when we pulled up and honked the horn of the boat, Iguana's came out to be fed. It was amazing how they just appeared. We looked pretty silly with our long pants and t-shirts to cover our already sunburned bodies. The next day we had another excursion on a catamaran. This was the most bahamian - laid back and chill. We were still covered up and gotsome pretty funny looks from people but all in all we saved ourselves from a little more sun. We did some amazing snorkeling and even saw a shark while we were in the water. Yikes! good thing is was on the bottom of the ocean floor and "sleeping" while we were checking out the reef.

It was such a great trip to celebrate our 6 years of marriage. I can't believe we have been married that long. In some ways it seems like just yesterday! I am so grateful to Eric for the wonderful husband that he is and what a great father he is to Matthew. We have had lots of great times over our six years together and I am looking forward to many more.

What's for dinner?

So lately, our little munchkin has become quite the scavenger. He eats everything and anything that happens to be on the floor - including his recent bug incident(yes, it was a cockroach and thankfully Eric was here to fish it out while I was trying not to lose my stomach). I am constantly checking his mouth for things. He has also discovered how to "fake" chew. I am not sure how else to put it but he mimicks chewing and making sounds like he is eating. It is pretty cute. Matthew isn't as fond of eating the food he he is supposed to eat unless, it is off of our plates. So just as I was getting the baby foods down, I am now in search of things a 10 month old would like that he can eat. Any ideas would be welcome.

Other adventures: Matthew is getting quite good at is crawling with things in his mouth and moving up to a "big kid" carseat. I just can't believe how big he is getting.

To Grandma's house we go!

Matthew and I just got back from a fun filled trip to Utah and Idaho. We were able to go to a family reunion and Matthew had lots of fun watching his cousins play, "swimming" in the pool, okay well maybe just splashing, going on his first boat and tube ride and last but not least a four wheel ride with his cousin Boston. I know you are all thinking it doesn't look like Matthew had that much fun on the tube ride, but he really did enjoy it and started jumping up and down in it once the boat started going.

4th of July

With Eric home for an extra day and his brother Alan and his friend Glindy coming to visit, we played hard over the 4th of July weekend. We packed in a houston symphony concert featuring patriotic music, a golf trip for the boys, the traditional fireworks with friends, a visit to the Houston Zoo - a first for us and even a night on the town without our sweet little boy - also among a first for us! Here are some pictures- Enjoy!