The Great Pumpkin Saga

The pumpkin that Katya rode in for Halloween was in fact real. We even grew it in our garden. I never knew that it was going to be that big, but it ended up just perfect. Even though I was excited for the pumpkin, I wasn't too excited about carving it into Katya's pumpkin carriage. I figured that it was going to be pretty hard to cut, clean, and decorate. It ended up being a lot easier than I thought. Here is the journey of Katya's pumpkin in pictures.

The pumpkin after cutting the hole for Katya.

This thing is pretty large. It probably had about 10 pounds of guts
and flesh cleaned out and still weighed about 30-40 pounds.

Almost finished.

All done and ready for trick-or-treating.

It was pretty fun to carve and decorate such a large pumpkin, even though it was a lot of work. It was worth it to have Katya enjoy it so much. We'll see what next year will bring with hopefully another big pumpkin.

Happy Halloween!

We took Katya trick-or-treating for the first time tonight. The best part of it all was the dressing up. I think she looked so cute as Cinderella at midnight. We had to do something with our giant pumpkin. She didn't last long out there though. By the time we finally got going, she was tired, hungry, and cold. She sure looked cute though.




Staci didn't put up a picture that shows her costume very well and it was cute, so I will put one up here:




Katya in her super cute Halloween pajamas from Grandma Jones. I just love them.

Is she too big for her crib?

With a picture like this, one might wonder if Katya is too big for her crib and needs to go to a toddler bed.


In all actuality, she is barely long enough to fit the width of her crib. I think she just likes airing out her feet.

Boo at the Zoo

Today we went to Boo at the Zoo. It was fun, but way crowded. We lucked out and got a good parking spot. We went with Rebekah and Nya, which was a lot of fun. There were so many people there. There were companies handing out candy, but we didn't want to wait in line for 10 minutes to get one piece of candy. We found a few lines that were really short so we got the candy there. It was fun to see the animals. The monkeys were really active and the baby orangutan was swinging around everywhere. I really like going to the zoo and seeing the animals, but Katya's favorite part is looking at all the people. She was so good and the only noise she made was laughter. I'm glad she is so easy to please.






Sometimes it's so hard to get a picture where they are both smiling and have cute faces. Too bad I can't pull them out of seperate pictures and create a new one.

HAPPY 26th BIRTHDAY JETHRO!!!

Today is Jethro's birthday. He is the big 26. It's been a wonderful 4 years since I met him. Every year that we are together, I find more and more things that I love about him. Here is a list of some of the things I love about him.

1. He has the cutest chin, even though he says it's pointy and hates it.
2. He has soft hands.
3. He didn't kiss me until I said it was okay- so I kissed him first.
4. He has really good taste in jewelry.

5. He sings beautifully in Russian (and in English, but I like to hear him sing Russian).

6. He has cool handwriting.
7. He is a really good teacher.
8. He works hard so I can stay home with our kids.
9. He surprises me even though I'm not easy to surprise.
10. He's really smart.
11. He's good at whatever he does.
12. He knows a lot about computers and technology.
13. He supports me in whatever I do.
14. He is always thinking.
15. He makes me very, very happy.
16. Katya absolutely loves and adores him and can't wait until he gets home.
He is such a good father.17. He takes care of Katya every Sunday so that I can have a break.
18. He listens to me and takes my comments and suggestions seriously.
19. He smells good.
20. He isn't afraid to be himself.
21. He loves to watch college football.
22. He isn't afraid to try something new.
23. Even though he hates shopping with me, he has really good taste in
clothing and always pick out something cute.
24. He always knows what will make me feel better.
25. He looks cute in everything.
26. He is the most wonderful man ever and I love him so much. He is the best and is so wonderful.

Happy Birthday Jethro!

She has finally grown into her clothes....

This is Katya on Sunday. My mom bought this dress for her and I absolutely love it. She finally looks like she is getting big.


This is her in her winter coat. I bought it last winter thinking that she would wear it. I am happy that she is finally growing into her clothes and that she can wear it because it looks sooo cute on her.

Katya is so Funny

Katya can't chew very well. She chokes frequently (or so it seems to us new and nervous parents). Well, the other day, she was eating dinner and started choking. She gagged three or four times and we usually give her an opportunity to try and clear it herself. She didn't that time, and when I stuck my finger down her throat she got really mad. The food finally dropped out of her mouth and she was MAD. She found the dislodged piece of food and shoved it back in her mouth with a defiant look at her mean daddy that stole her food. Tonight when she choked, I reached in to grab the food out of her throat, and she leaned back and clenched her mouth shut so I wouldn't take her food. She knew that when my finger went into her mouth, she would lose her food. It didn't matter that she couldn't breathe, and her face was turning closer to blue. I had to work hard to get my finger in those clinched jaws.

Also, Katya laughs all the time. She thinks she is so funny. When she laughs, she smiles really big with her mouth open and then laughter explodes like a dry ice bomb...or so I have heard...um...yeah... It is so funny because she makes the same face that she makes when she cries (only her eyes are open when she laughs) and then laughter shoots out. So cute. I will try to get some wicked good video up if I can catch her in one of those moods.

The Miracle Super-Wonderful Totally Amazing Cabbage Patch Kid Diet!

Before - Notice that I am very depressed, sullen, nobody likes me, I am allergic to enjoyment.

After - Notice that I am not only a little thinner, but also 100 percent happier, more fulfilled, I make more money, drive a nicer car.

Two weeks ago, I started a diet called the cabbage soup diet. Allegedly, it is a diet they give people who are about to go in for surgery. Luckily, I am not going to go in for any kind of surgery. Staci and I have been struggling to eat well the last few months. We figured this would be a great way to jumpstart us back into eating well and me losing weight. I lost 14 pounds in 14 days. It was pretty awful to eat cabbage soup for every meal for the entire two weeks. I survived, and I have a renewed determination to eat better. I did well during my class parties today and didn't eat a ton of junk food. I had a couple treats, and that was it.

Happy Anniversary

I have to admit, I am not a very romantic guy. I sometimes forget things. One thing I will never forget is my anniversary. I purposely got married right after Gideon's birthday so I would always remember. His birthday is a trigger that reminds me it is almost my anniversary. I am a very lucky man. Staci is the most wonderful wife I could ever imagine. She does so much for me and helps me in so many ways. I don't know what I would do without her. She gets up every morning and makes me lunch. She takes such great care of our beautiful daughter. I love her so much. She is always thinking of ways to serve and help others. She is a kind and considerate mother who goes out of her way to make the lives of those around her better. Sometimes I am rude and mean, and she forgives me without question. She has great faith and determination, and that helps me a lot. She makes delicious food that makes me gain weight, and then makes me go on a diet and still makes good food. She loves unconditionally and helps me love others more. She puts up with me being gone so long some days without complaint. She loves football. She really is amazing. I love her. It was a good thing to marry her.

Katya Loves zucchini

The great thing about blogging is that I can put stuff up that is so easy for my family and friends to see. These are things that my parents could only write letters about. The only delay is how long it takes us to record something. For instance, last night, Katya wanted some of my soup, so I gave her some, but I didn't realize how much she liked zucchini. All this time we have been feeding her food that tastes good, like fruits instead of vegetables (still good for her, don't worry, grandparents). We taught her that putting her fingers together and up to her mouth means more food, so she does that a lot. Please enjoy the video. By the way, the sounds she makes are amazing. We don't know how she does them, especially the really sharp breathing in sound.

Katya's Newest Crush

Katya found a new boy to be in love with. Even though she only had one 20 minute nap today, she was in a great mood. She loved this new toy. This was the at least the twentieth time Spiderman danced and sang and she loved it every time. About half way through, she looks off camera and doesn't seem interested in Spiderman. That was because she saw our friend Stephanie eating ice cream. Ice cream is much more important to her than anything else.

We also took Katya to Nursery for the first time today and she loved being around all the kids. She loves people her size. I put both videos even though they are the same to see which is better, Blogger or YouTube. I know Google owns YouTube, so I would assume they are probably pretty similar, but I am just curious. Indulge me. The Blogger video apparently is not working, so I guess YouTube is better.

New Stuff

I meant to blog about this a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to. Two weeks ago Katya had a major first. We took a snack for her to church. It was so cute. She is growing up so fast.

A Link to the Past

Despite the poor title (extreme, just to get you to read it) and sloppy writing, this article is actually quite good, and brings back great memories of one of my favorite families is Ulan Ude. You can tell they are happy because they look healthy. It is very exciting to see that.

Crib Happenings

We always catch Katya doing the cutest and funniest things. Here are the latest.

She went to bed with both pant legs on and I'm not quite sure
how she was able to get one leg out without the pants coming
all the way off.

When I tuck Katya in for naps now, she likes to snuggle with
her frog and always hugs it. It's pretty cute.

Can it get any cuter?

Yesterday Nya and Katya were wearing matching outfits so I just had to take pictures. They are just too cute together and you can tell they just love playing together. I'm glad that Nya lives close enough that they get to play often. Enough babbling, here are the pics.

Silly girl

Fun times

What a funny Nya

So cute!

These two are so stinkin' cute!

That's my girl!

Daddy's little girl!

I love this picture.

So cute!

Home Depot

Have you ever noticed that the recent Home Depot commercials show ethnic minorities planning to go to Home Depot, but then when they show employees interacting with customers, there are only white people at Home Depot. So, is Home Depot saying that minorities are all about intending to go to Home Depot, but never make it? Do they get lost along the way? Interesting... View two of the commercials below. The second one is pretty poor quality, but it is one of the best examples.

What has Katya been up to?

Katya is developing more of a personality every day and seems to be acting older and older. She is just so cute that I cannot help but take pictures of her cuteness. Here are some of the latest.



We went to Murray Park on Labor Day for a picnic. Katya sure loves the park and had so much fun. She also really likes to play with the grass and pick it and eat it. Silly girl.



Katya's new favorite food is cucumbers. She loves to get a nice slice and then chew on it until it breaks. She gets so mad at me when I take the broken pieces from her. She is happy again when she gets a fresh one though. Good thing we have a ton of cucumbers in the garden so she can eat till her hearts content.

Cougar Football

Saturday as the first game of the BYU football season and we were so excited! Even Katya was excited. We dressed up in Cougar blue and headed down to Provo. Despite the fact that it was way too hot, it was a great game. It helped that BYU beat Arizona. Here are some pics from our day.