Happy Anniversary to Us!

4 years ago today, on a beautiful spring day, Nat and I were married! I can't believe how fast 4 years have flown by! We have nothing special planned for today but tomorrow night we are going to dinner and then seeing the production of Miss Saigon at Pioneer Memorial Theatre. My wonderful Mother offered to babysit Adam overnight so we don't have to worry about picking him up late and then driving all the way home. It's a much-needed evening out by ourselves and I'm excited!

A very nice anniversary present was delivered today by way of a job offer for Nat! He applied and interviewed for the Senior Real Estate Representative position in Dallas about 6 weeks ago. Between then and now, 7-Eleven has decided to focus on building the market in Utah so they are opening up a Senior Real Estate Rep position here and offered it to Nat! We have known it was probably a done deal for a couple weeks now, but today he finally got the official offer! We're a little disappointed in the salary they are offering and were hoping for more, but 7-Eleven is having to pinch pennies because of the recession. But, it is still a nice raise and will allow us to finally get our remodeling underway (2 years after buying the house!) and begin saving for a bigger house with a yard in the future. We are also a little disappointed that we aren't moving to Dallas because it would've been a great opportunity (Dallas housing is cheap compared to Utah and they have an awesome relocation package) but we know our families are beyond thrilled we are staying put for a few more years and we are happy to be close to family also.

I am so proud of Nat for how hard he works and how dedicated he is in providing for us. I'm happy that he is excited for this new challenge and it makes me happy to have him find fulfillment in the job he goes to day after day. He's a wonderful man I'm so lucky to be married to him and have him the Father of my son! Happy Anniversary honey and Congratulations!

Nursery!!

Adam still has 3 weeks until he turns 18 months but I couldn't take church with trying to keep him quiet and still any longer so we went to nursery! He was in heaven! I stayed back and watched him for a bit and he played happily without giving me a second glance. It didn't even phase him when other kids screamed their heads off. It was evident that the leaders needed help so I spent time playing with other kids and my own child pretty much ignored me except for the occasional "Mama" and point. He wasn't too happy when it was time to clean up the toys and split into groups for singing and lesson time, but after a little herding along with the other kids, he did surprisingly well during the lesson and singing time. He loved listening to all the songs and even tried copying some of the actions on "Popcorn Popping". When it was time for snack, he looked so big sitting in his chair at the table. I'm hoping we don't have any problems when I try to leave him in a couple weeks. As for right now....nursery is such a blessing!

On a side note....I got these animal magnets a few weeks and ago and Adam loves them! He'll spend quite a lot of time putting them up on the fridge and taking them down and putting them back in the box and then back up again. He carries them around and can identify quite a few by making their noise and the sign if he knows it and loves running to us barking or baaaaing (I think the correct word is bleating right?) or making the sign. What a cutie.

Note to Parents

Please teach your children that it is not ok to throw sand in other children's faces. Thank you.

Adam was having a grand old time at the park today until some brat threw sand in his face! I didn't exactly see it happen because Adam had just walked into a little fort/hiding place but I saw sand flying out of the entrance he'd just gone in and a boy about 3 years old walk out the other side. Adam came walking out rubbing his eyes so I went over to him and he was covered in sand! Hair, face, clothes....everything. He didn't cry but I could see he had a bunch of sand in his eyes so I laid him across my lap and used my water to try and wipe his eyes a little. We packed up, went home, and I gave him a bath to wash away all the sand that was stuck to his sunscreened face and hair. I made the mistake of saying, "Let's get out of the bath and go have lunch" because he was not happy that I was lotioning him up and getting him dressed instead of feeding him. Because he was upset, he was crying....sand! At least he got it all out of his eyes!

I wouldn't mind so much if he got sand in his own eyes from throwing it around, but some bigger kid throwing it directly in his face? So not cool.

Missing Phone

My cell phone was missing for several days and since the battery was dead....I couldn't find it anywhere. Friday morning I came downstairs to find this note from my funny husband...

Apparently he had discovered the phone that morning while putting his shoes on. I wonder how it ended up there?

Picture Tag

Here are the rules:
1. Go to your documents/pictures
2. Go to your 6th file
3. Go to your 6th picture
4. Post it and blog about it (name it)
5. Tag 6 people to do the same

Soccer Chick

So I did this tag thinking I'd come up with a cute picture of baby Adam, but instead, my 6th file ended up being a file of some random photos of my family that my Mom sent me so I could put them on our Shurtleff family blog. I'm actually really glad this was picture number 6 because it shows my awesome sister Annie and her mad soccer skills! This girl is a total anomaly! She is prissy and into clothes, jewelry, and make-up, but she is also a huge sports nut! She actually watches such atrocities as basketball, football, and golf on TV. By herself! Aside from loving to watch sports, she LOVES playing soccer! She is on a competition team and her life revolves around practices, special one-on-one coaching with a soccer tutor (such things exist?), games, and competitions. I told Nat that she is his dream daughter. They argue and tease each other over what team won or lost or what favorite player is faking an injury. If he could have an Annie for a daughter, the man would be in heaven. Someone to watch sports with him and understand all those weird rules and technical vocabulary that I just don't get and don't really care to get. Anyway.....this is my baby sister Annie and I love her!!

I tag everyone!

Note to Self...

Wendy's Sweet & Sour Sauce stains!!

(well let's hope it's a stain and not an allergic reaction...that would be bad)

But it is sooooo tasty!

I look at the above picture and totally see my brother Heath....is that weird?

Swinging, Sliding, Coloring, and Puzzling

A couple weekends ago it was 75 degrees and glorious! We took advantage of it and took Adam to play on the playground at the park for the first time. He loved it! I was so surprised at how quickly he learned to go down the slide by himself. It only took a few times with us holding him up before he learned how to stay upright and he just thought it was the coolest thing!

Sadly, the very next day it snowed and we have returned to Winter weather. The good news is that the grass is starting to green-up and it's climbing into the 50's and 60's this week so hopefully Spring is finally here to stay!

While it was cold and snowy I was going stir crazy and decided to pull out a puzzle and crayons. Adam learned quickly how a puzzle works and there are a few shapes that he seems to always know where to place. I see him learning new things everyday and it makes me so excited to start teaching him all the wonderful things there are to know in the world!

Play Date with Lexie

My friend Katie and her 18 month old daughter Lexie came over for a quick play date yesterday. Lexie was a little unsure about Adam and being at our house, but it didn't take long for her to warm up. It's funny to watch them sort of play around each other instead of with each other but by the end we were able to get them to kiss! Adam is really into giving Eskimo Kisses with his nose lately so it was hilarious to see Lexie puckering up and Adam wiping his nose on her face!
Katie and Lexie live an hour and a half away and we wish they lived closer! We are planning on getting together several times this summer though and hopefully they'll learn to actually play together!

Spring is in the Air!

It has been warming up each day this week and Saturday it's supposed to be a whopping 70 degrees! Sadly, we are supposed to get snow on Monday. Snow. So I decided to take advantage of it and take Adam out in our "backyard" today. The great thing about living in a townhouse is all the community open space. Although I must admit it'd be wonderful to have a fenced backyward.

Anyway....here are some pictures from our walk. Adam absolutely loved being outside! He touched and investigated every little thing. He would stop dead in his tracks to listen to the birds chirping (and the occasional jet....the joys of living by an air force base). He loved swinging in the very pink swing that someone has apparently swapped out from the old one that was there. As we wound our way around the complex, he saw someone else's front door and began signing and saying "Dada". I have no idea why other than maybe he associates the front door with his Daddy coming home? It took me a good 5 minutes to get him away from their door! It was a great morning and I think I'll take advantage of the awesome weather this weekend and take him to the "Duck Park"!

This little guy is the Hydrangea I planted last Spring and timidly pruned last Fall. I'm so thrilled it's budding! I was so nervous to cut it back!

Dancing to the Music

We were at my parents' house for dinner a couple weeks ago and while the adults play games, Annie and Danielle love playing with Adam. This particular night Tommy was itching to play his drums in his room so although we had the noise of a card game, the Jazz game, and drums going, Adam had a blast! Every time Tommy would stop playing, Adam would run to his door and whine and point until Tommy started playing again. This is a video of Adam and Annie dancing and twirling to the "music"...if you can call drums music!