Walking

Joseph is now pretty much walking around. He still opts to crawl some of the time, especially if he thinks speed is a requirement (because he's still pretty slow walking around). Here are some cute pictures I took of him walking around. They were taken yesterday, March 12th.
I also did a video of him walking. It's a little shaky because I'm luring him on with m&m's (a leftover treat from my party last week that Joseph discovered on his own, unfortunatly).

My Boys' Cute Haircuts

Earlier this month, Joseph and William got their hair cut by Sam, Joseph's uncle/William's brother. I then went crazy with the camera. Here are a few pictures.

Here are my two boys, looking mighty fine.After haircuts, I took some pictures of Joseph that I really liked. He seemed especially photogenic that day. His eyes are my favorite when I take pictures...or maybe it's his hair that is my favorite. I guess I can't really pick any "favorite" part of my son...all of him is great!

Tagged?

I have been "tagged" before but since it was Liz who tagged me, I guess I'll participate. (I'm really not one for playing childhood games, you know)

10 Years Ago:

• attending BYU, majoring in history teaching
• working at BYU Audio Visual services...crushing on Kimber Pitt Lovell's former admirer/stalker, Eric...please don't tell her that!
• Living at home? or maybe already living in Spanish Fork in a small two-bedroom apartment with Meagan Schultz Skidmore
• Hanging out with girls half my age (a definite exaggeration, except when referring to years in school -- senior v. sophomore or even freshman) ... Amanda Hall was good enough friends with me to invite me up to Oregon to stay with her family for a week. (Now I am feeling the urge to contact her.) Emily, from Chicago, a girl whose last name I can't remember, was good enough friends with me to rope me into selling Mary Kay for a week or so.

5 Things to Do Today

• Send a check to Lindsay for the Deseret Peaks (or is it Desert?) Rodeo. I'm doing a booth there in June. I hope they don't bump me because I haven't sent in that check!
• Pick up after Joseph has thrown all the books from the bookshelf
• Clean up my post-bunco party mess
• Type up a letter for parents informing them I will not be working next week on Tuesday or Friday...Hooray!
• Take a nap at the same time as Joseph?

If I was A Billionaire I would:

• Travel...back East for a church history tour and back to London but also to new places like the Carribean, Asia, and other places I've only read about.
• Build my dream house somewhere here in Utah...maybe up in the Park City area.
• Buy Joseph everything out there under the sun that I want to and not think about the price.
• Redo my teeth...I hate my teeth. They are dingey (dingey or dingy? whichever word means dirty and not just stupid, though they are that!) Plus put out the money needed for any work on my teeth to be done with full anethesia because I also hate the dentist...maybe there is a moral of the story in those two hatreds.

Bad Habits:

• Biting my nails
• Procrastination
• So many more that I really can't think of them right now

Places I've Lived:

• Woodland Hills, UT
• Provo, UT
• Spanish Fork, UT
• Ontario, CA (California...not Canada!)
• San Bernardino, CA
• Herriman, UT
• That's it. But I've visited London and Jerusalem on Study Abroad, staying there for two months at a time...reaping the benefits but not the downfalls of actually living there: not having to pay taxes or rent or anything else that real adults have to do.

Jobs I've Had

• Filer of charts at my dad's medical clinic (doesn't even have a name, sorry)
• Cracker Barrel waitress
• BYU AV girl
• MTC cafeteria slave
• Sears repair line phone call receiver (more of a description rather than an actual name)
• Substitute teacher
• Full-time teacher
• Stinkin' day care provider (the job I have now and do not want)

You don't know that I:

• Read romance novels sometimes...I go through times in my life where I just pick them up and read tons of them at a time. I'm on an off phase right now, though.
• Have a really messy car...or maybe you do know that. It's not really a secret.
• Have attempted oil painting recently...some of my work is finished and looks pretty good. Some of it is halfway done and may never get finished.

That is Tracey in a not-so-small nutshell.

First Words

I don't really remember the exact day I decided Joseph said his first word...he certainly says "mama" and "dada" but I'm not sure if the words are actually about us or just sounds he makes. I do have some other words that he has been saying lately that I know are associated with actually objects. He says ball when playing with a ball (imagine that!) When he watches his little reading video, he tries to say kick before it even comes on the screeen (I think he has the video memorized...at least the first couple words.) He also tries to say point. All of his words are said only after prompting or after seeing/hearing the word...but I'm excited nontheless.

Thank you, God, for nice people...

I just have to send out a post to whomever returned my wallet to me. Thank you! (not that I imagine that they would ever read this, but I think it's important to say thank you...especially considering what I would have needed to do to replace everything in my wallet.)

On Saturday, I went to Smith's to buy things for Joseph's birthday party. I was then going to head over quickly to my cousin's baby shower in Riverton. Everything went awry when I got to the check out line in Smith's and realized my wallet was gone. I had placed it in my front pocket and should have known better because it has fallen out before...luckily I had noticed when it did. But this time, I had no suck luck...my wallet was gone. I was pressed for time to begin with but ran frantically around the store looking for it, and even went outside to see if it had fallen to the ground. William's advice was to say a prayer and search again. I said a prayer but still had no luck. The lady at customer service reassured me that there were many times when people surpised her and turned in wallets, cash, keys, cell phones, etc. So I still had some hope.

But back to my dilema in Smith's. I needed the things I had gathered in the store but had no way to purchase them. This is where another thank you is required. I am really blessed to have my family live so close. Marci left her son Cash sleeping (Molly listened for him on his monitor) and drove down with her two nieces in the car so that she could give me a blank check to pay for my things...what would I have done without her? So, thank you Marci...I really appreciated it and I love you so much for it.

After spending the weekend without my wallet and calling Smith's twice a day or so, I still had this thought in the back of my mind that maybe someone would simply bring it to my house. I had checked online for any activity on my cards and there was none...thank goodness. I checked my mailbox on Saturday, too. I guess I didn't check on Sunday or Monday because there was not mail those days. (which, now that I think back on the weekend, I should have done anyway because a good Samaritan can still do good deeds on Sundays and holidays, right?) So, how great it was to gather the mail tonight and find my wallet pushed all the way to the back...I bet it was even there earlier and I just didn't check!

So, again, thanks to all those wonderful people out there who are willing to do the right thing and make someone's day better. Even more, I really do know that God had a hand in this, too. (I guess even He knew that a trip to the DMV to replace my driver's licence would have been too much for me to bear.)

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

Saturday was Joseph's first birthday. It was so much fun! It is hard to believe that he has only been with us for one year. It seems like forever ago that I was in the delivery room yet when I think about teaching school or living in California, those times don't seem so far back...it was just like yesterday sometimes.



For his birthday, we had both sides of the family over for presents and cake. I played a cheesy little game reminicent of a baby shower...shame on me! (But I thought it was fun and cute...hopefully everyone else did too.) I had a page of all of Joseph's first accomplishments like crawling, eating solids, smiling, laughing, etc., and everyone had to guess when they happened. William did really well (surprise, surprise!) and so did Molly. My dad got only one right...the exact time that Joseph first was born (seeing as he was the doctor that delivered him, that was a given I would think.)



Joseph got to open some presents, too. (Another birthday must) He got so many cute things from everyone. He got a lot of fun toys, books, some cute clothes, and even a diaper genie (from us...I must say that present took a long time coming and has become overly necessary as his diapers get stinkier and stinkier.)

He also got a front-facing car seat (again, an automatic first birthday gift, right?)


After presents, we broke out the birthday cake. He was really hesitant at first, sticking in just one finger and kind of poking at it. Really funny! As soon as he figured out that the whole thing was his for the taking, he dove right in and made a massive mess. I also put his video on here so you could see the whole thing.

Go, Baby Go!

Ashlyn decided to climb the stairs at my house today. This is her first time climbing the stairs...Joseph seemed to be a good motivator.

Check These Out

I added a new section to my blog called "Check These Out." I've been surfing through lots of different blogs and have found some really fun ones.

Baby Blog Addict has tons all about babies.

Creative Baby Food Recipes was heaven sent while trying to make my own baby food for Joseph throughout his first year. Browsing through their own baby food blogs is kind of fun as well because this website is based in England. There are a few "blogs" from really fun places like India, Japan, Nepal, etc. It really is interesting hearing about what is normal for other countries to feed their babies.

My Maine Baby is this way cute blog started by an aunt living in, you guessed it, Maine. The cutest part about it is that the blog is written by the baby (well, not really but we can pretend, right?). So cute!

Finally, I put up my own website in a shameless attempt to promote my books. It can't hurt, right? And I must say, they are really great books that I love so why not share that love, huh?

Well, like I said, check these out...maybe you'll end up spending/wasting just as much time as I do looking at other people's really cool websites.

Pull those pants up, son!

I swear, kids now days...low-riding their pants. Sheesh! Not so long ago, my son was so cute and innocent and now he is walking around with his pants around his knees. But don't worry too much about him. I've discovered this fashion weakness about him early and so I should be able to correct it. If not, I will be contacting all of his closest friends and family for an intervention...I'll keep you updated.

The World is Now A Little Brighter

Yes, guys...the world is brighter today because there is a new baby that has been sent down to our family. Well, not to William and me but to his sister Laurie and her husband Chris. The new baby's name is Boyd Christopher. He arrived at 8:36 this morning and weighed 7 lbs 4 oz. He was an amazing 22 inches long! I didn't even know they made 'em that long...let me know if your's were longer. I would be interested in hearing about it. But enough talking...here are the pictures, which is what makes this whole internet blog worthwhile. Here is a picture of the proud papa and mama.

He is so tiny next to Joseph... obviously!

And with the next two pictures, you would think this was our own child since we are holding him so close...but no, just our newest nephew.

Finally, here is a video of the auspicious occasion. Don't mind the sideways view...it only lasts a few seconds. I thought I was taking a picture of Susan and her new grandson but instead began a video. Rather than stop it, I just thought I would continue so that Laurie could have a video of her son's birthday.

Happy 31st, My Love

This post is about my best friend, my lover (not as often on that one as he would like, I know), my confidant (who may even tune me out sometimes considering how much I talk), or in other words, my husband.

His birthday was yesterday (Wow, has 30 really come and gone for him? My 31st is right around the corner as well.) and we went out to the Gateway to the Clark Planetarium. I guess our experience just demonstrates how old we really are because, despite how wonderful the show was (about extreme planets), it really made both of us very dizzy and slightly sick to our stomachs as the screen flew us across the galaxy looking at newly discovered planets. All those wishes in the back of my head to go back to 6 Flags, Knott's Berry Farm, or another extreme amusement park really should be shelved for good considering I got sick sitting in a domed movie theater looking up at a simple projection!

For his official party, we got together on Sunday, the 27th for dinner, presents, and cake.

The picture above is supposed to be of a 31 on his cake. Definitely looks different from my angle versus Mark's angle (Mark took the pictures and is about 1 foot 4 inches taller than I am.)

Water Parks in January...Who Knew?

Yesterday, Joseph and I met up with my good friend Shannon and went to the Legacy Center in Lehi and played in the water. It was so fun! This place is really amazing. There is a lap pool for those who really want to work out and swim but then there is also a humongous play area. The toddler pool/play area had these great seats (picture a johnny jump-up in the water) where your not-quite-walking children could play in the water safely. Here are a few pictures and a fun video. Notice in the video how Joseph is running in circles.

I thought it was kind of silly to be taking Joseph out to the water park in the middle of winter time considering how cold it has been but I couldn't believe how nice it was to be in the water. I could imagine in my head that it was really spring or even summer. I will obviously have to go more often.

Joseph Thomas...but you can call him Mozart

Joseph sat for a solid five minutes (which is a lifetime for an almost-one-year-old) at Grandma's piano tonight. He has such great focus sometimes...I wonder if there's a pattern to this focus and if I could tap into it when he's eating or when I want him to listen to me. Probably not any time soon!

Baby Steps

Joseph took his first (official...which is to mean all on his own without any help or even encouragement from me) steps today! I am so excited. I was just at my sister's house and was chasing him all over, keeping him out of trouble, when I set him on his feet and he stayed there and then proceeded to take a few steps. I almost missed it because it was so unexpected.

In honor of this, I'm going to put up one of our videos which I took when Joseph first stood up on his own. This video was taken on November 17, 2007.

Crawling Antics

Joseph is really great at crawling around. Here is a movie highlighting his ability to crawl with his head in a bowl...I think he likes watching himself as he crawls. Pretty funny stuff!

11 Months Old

Joseph is now 11 months old and will be one year on February 16th. Time flies so quickly. Just today he stood on his own for at least 30 seconds. When everyone clapped for him, he felt the need to clap for himself. This is a great accomplishment for him because he seems to want to spend his days crawling around...while I'm excited for him to start walking. I know I need to enjoy each moment but I can't seem to help myself but look forward to all of the new things he will be doing. So for now, Joseph will crawl around and eventually walk.