Temple Square

We did Temple Square backwards this year.  We just didn't have the time to go before Christmas, and luckily, they keep the lights on until New Years, cause we went to see the lights a few days after Christmas with both of my sisters and their husbands and kids.  I don't really think it was any less crowded, in fact, it may have been more crowded.  We made the mistake of going to City Creek and trying to eat at the food court, along with what seemed the rest of Salt Lake City.  So we finally got some food, and a table and ate.  Then we went to see the lights.  They did not disappoint.  They did a beautiful job as always.   Gwen liked it for a little while, but then she started getting cold and tired and just wanted us to carry her around, even though she would have stayed much warmer in her stroller.  It was still a fun night, and the Salt Lake Temple always takes my breath away.  It's so beautiful, and the lights only add more beauty.

In Memory of Grandpa Schofield

Grandpa Schofield was a good man.  He will be missed dearly.  The night before Jake and Olivia's wedding, he got up to go to the bathroom and on his way back to bed suffered a heart attack or stroke and died soon after.  The family was pretty shook up.  He was supposed to be sealing Jake and Olivia in the morning, and the following day was bittersweet.  We were so happy that Jake and Olivia were getting married, but so sad the grandpa Schofield wasn't there with us.

During World War II, Grandpa served as an engineer and earned the Legion of Merit for desiging and developing the Lead Gyro checker for the central station fire control system for the B-29 aircraft, which saved countless hours of it needing to recondition.  After the war, he lived in Los Almos, NM where he worked as an electrical engineer working on atomic weapons research and peacetime atomic research.  For a school project a couple years ago, Dan interviewed him about his time in the war, and it was fascinating to hear about his story and the things he did.  He was always tinkering around in the garage working on some project in his navy blue jump suit every time we went to visit.  He like to be busy, and was always doing or learning something.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to spend some time with him and have him perform our sealing when we got married.  I am glad he didn't have to suffer and that he is home again.

The American Legion came to the funeral and played the bagpipes and trumpets for grandpa.  There was a flag on his casket, and Dan's uncle Sam who is also in the Military was able to present the flag to grandma.  It was a touching service and I learned a lot about grandpa from the stories that were told and remembered.  We'll miss him, but know that he is in a better place. 

3 Days of Christmas

 We kind of had 3 days of Christmas this year.  We usually have Dan's family Christmas party a week or so before Christmas, but because of the wedding, we had it on the 23rd.  And, we usually do Christmas Eve with my family, but this year my sister had to work so we did it on the 23rd in the early afternoon.  My mom got G some adorable jammies, and the boys these cool air compressors, and the girls some yummy brownie, roll, and cookie dough mixes.

Gwen was very festive with her ruffle bum, Christmas Tree shirt, and red and green leg warmers  She is simply adorable.  And Halle girl absolutely adores her, and Gwen returns the feelings.  Halle walked her all around and Gwen was in Heaven.

And what's Christmas without the Nativity?  Gwen was the Angel, Leo was baby Jesus, Halle was Mary, Blake, Jack and Josh were all either shepherds or wise men, or maybe both. :)  It was so cute to watch them!!

Then it was off to the Schofield family party.  Almost everyone was there, so we had a big crowd.  We started off by doing a little program where all the kids who wanted shared their talents.  Then Tony & Becky had a little spiritual thought.  Then we ate.  There was a lot of really delicious food.  So we ate a lot.  After the eating, we cleared the room and participated in or watched the annual feats of strength.  This always consists of each boy running and jumping to see who can touch the fan blades, or the light of the fan.  The ceiling is vaulted so it is actually up pretty high, and not everyone can do it, but it sure is fun watching them try! After that we watched as the boys all tried to do a pushup with their heaviest brother on their back.  No one could do it, but I am proud to say, Dan was the closest.  And before presents, we did the annual "Airing of Grievances" No one is serious, and it usually dates way back to childhood, but it's pretty entertaining.
This year, Easton had Gwen and he got her this ADORABLE owl beanie.  It is simply to die for.  Nice job!!  Gwen had Will, and she got him a really cool (according to Dan) build it yourself robot.  Hopefully he likes it as much as Dan did.

And here are just a couple pics of her in her Christmas dress by the tree.  She is our little angel and we have loved having her be a part of our family this year!

Now, onto Christmas Eve.  We hung out at our house for the morning and afternoon, and then went to my mom and dad's for dinner.  After dinner my mom and I busted out the piano duets (a favorite Christmas pastime) and later, we watched A Christmas Story, tradition, though I'm not really sure why, since about half the family doesn't like it.  Then, we bailed on the usual annual sibling sleepover because now we have Gwen and she's not really into stuff like that. ;)  So we headed home.

And finally, CHRISTMAS DAY!  Santa was good to us.  He brought G a little play table, which she loves.  She can stand up to it and move around and play with all the different buttons and such.  Plus it has like 6 balls, and Gwen loves balls.  So she is in heaven.  Then, Dan and I got her a build a bear, which she also loves.  Every time she sees it, she points at it and smiles and laughs.  Then she tries to hold it and play with it, but it is a little big for her.  And we also got her a little VTech laptop that sings and teaches cool stuff.  So she was spoiled.  Dan totally spoiled me too.  He got me a lot of fun/cute stuff and I loved it.  It was the first year since the first year we were married that we have got each other gifts, and it was fun.

Later that day we hit up both the parents for a visit.  It was fun to be with so much family so often through the holidays.  My mom surprised Gwen with another present, an awesome rocking horse that neighs and makes a galloping sound.  She's not quite big enough to do it on her own yet, but she loves it when we help her.  She sure was a spoiled girl this year!

 

Though we were very blessed this Christmas, we did try to focus on our Savior, and his birth.  We want to make sure we teach Gwen that it's not about the presents, but it's about His presence.  We had a great season and I am so grateful to my Savior for the most wonderful gifts of all, which aren't toys or things, but the gospel and my family.

Jake & Olivia's Wedding

Danny's brother Jake got married on December 21st.  It was a really fun day.  He was the last of Dan's 7 siblings to get married, and all of his siblings and parents were able to be in the temple together to witness the sealing.  Dan's grandpa is a sealer and has sealed most if not all of Dan's other siblings and we planning on sealing Jake and Oliva, but the night before the wedding, he got up to go to the bathroom and on his way back to bed he just kind of slumped over.  He had a massive heart attack and died that night.  Needless to say what was already an emotional day became even more emotional.  The sealer was amazing though and we all felt the spirit & grandpa's presence in the temple.  It was a beautiful ceremony and a fun day.  We will miss grandpa, but know that he is in a better place and didn't have to suffer.

Meeting Santa

 So we wanted to take G to see Santa, but we couldn't find anywhere up in Draper where Santa would be.  So we trekked all the way down to Provo to the Riverwoods to see him.  It was worth it.  The lights were beautiful, the line wasn't long at all, and it was snowing a little bit.  It was fun.  I was sure that Gwen would freak out once she was sitting on his lap, but she didn't.  She just looked at him and at us like, "why are you giving me to this strange bearded man?" But she didn't scream.  

HOHOHO! Merry Christmas!

10 Months

What!?! Ten months?? When did this happen?  How did she get so big so fast?

This month I feel like she's just exploded in everything.  

*She is cutting 2 more teeth, her two middle top ones, and right now, the left one is about half way out, and the right one hasn't popped through yet, so she looks like a little jack-o-lantern smiler.  

*She has perfected her wave, which she does by moving her fingers open and closed towards her instead of outwards, so it looks like she's saying "come here" instead of "hi" It's practically the cutest thing.

*She can stick out her tongue on command when asked "where's your tongue?"

*She knows who she is, so when we say, "Where's Gwen?" she pats herself on her tummy.

*She can click her tongue.  I think this is the trick she's most proud of.  Whenever she does it she gets so excited and happy.

*She said her first words. MAMA!!!!  She looked up at me and did her hold me hands and said "Mama?"  It melted my heart.

*She can say "More" kind of.  She says "MAH" when she's eating and wants more food...which is usually all of the time.

*She still refuses to crawl, but grabs our hands and pulls herself up so she can walk around instead.

*She is finally starting to outgrow her 3 month clothes and fit into 6 month.  Yes.  My 10 month old wears 3 month clothes...still.

*She can clap her hands

She is so sweet, and sassy and funny.  She has such a funny personality and she loves to tease her dad. It's awesome.

Christmas Festivities

We've been doing a few fun things this Christmas season.  We started the season off right by going to a Live Nativity sponsored by our stake.  Every year they put together this amazing nativity with live animals, and they even had a camel. They had it all made out to look like the city of bethlehem. It was very cool.  We had a really awesome time.  Gwen loved the animals and it really set the mood for the season.

A few days later we went to the annual lighting of Draper Park.  There were carolers, live music, Santa,  hot chocolate, cookies, and more.  It was really fun to see the lights turn on and they did an awesome job on the trees.  It was beautiful.  Gwen loved looking at the lights and, of course, eating the cookies. :)

'Tis the season!!

Oh Christmas Tree...

The day after Thanksgiving we went with our friends Von & Ashlie to cut down our Christmas tree.  This has never been a tradition of ours before, but I have ALWAYS wanted it to be, and Danny promised me that once we had kids, we could make it a tradition.  Well, he is a man of his word, and we went down past Spanish Fork and cut down our very first Christmas tree.  It was so much fun!  Dan insisted on cutting it down while holding Gwen...and she was brave and didn't even cry when all the branches were in her face.  I am so excited to start traditions with our own family, and for this to be the first one.

And here is the finished product.  I love when it gets dark being able to plug in the lights and see the tree.  It makes it feel so cozy and Christmasy in our house.

 Bring on the holidays!  Yay!

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we ate with Dan's family.  He has a huge family, and even with 2 of his brothers & their kids gone, there were 30 of there around the tables. It was fun to be with family, we ate lots of food, and lots of pie.  Gwen was in heaven.  She loved the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, green bean casserole, rolls, and of course, pie.  I think she probably ate as much as I did.  She is our tiny little piggy.

 We have so much to be thankful for, and I'm so glad we had a day to celebrate it.  I am so grateful for our baby girl and the love and joy that she brings into our home.  I am so grateful to have a home, to have a husband who takes care of us and loves us unconditionally.  I am so grateful for the gospel and for forever families.  I am thankful for health and love.  We are so blessed.

Family Pics

We got our family pictures done in October, but just got them back.  I am really happy with them!  Gwen was kind of being a stinker that day, of course she wasn't being her happy smiley self, but she was still pretty good.  

Yeah, we're pretty cute.  Ok, Ok, it's mostly Gwen.  She's definitely pretty cute.

9 Month Old Baby

Well, she's been out as long as she was in, and I can say one thing for sure, the out side is SO much better!

She has been so much fun lately!  She's started doing some fun things.

She can sort of wave

She is getting really ticklish especially on her back

She is pretty attached to me

She LOVES looking at herself in the mirror

She loves to stand up and walk while holding onto my fingers

She's finally rolling around to get her toys

She refuses to crawl

She LOVES eating everything except mashed peas.  I think she'd probably like the whole ones...I've never tired.

She is so happy and loves to jabber all the time.

She has started practicing her "S" sounds.  She sounds like a little snake

She loves to play with her blocks.  

She still loves her exersaucer as long as she can see me.  

She loves soft things and often holds them to her face and rubs her face with it.

She loves to stand up next to the bath while it's filling and watch the bubbles and water go in.  Chloe likes that too. :) 

She is tiny.  She weighs 14 pounds and is in the 1st %ile for weight.  She's 27 inches long (9th %ile) and her head is like 47 inches in circumfrance, which is the 86th %ile.  Her head makes up for the tiny-ness of her body.

She is the sweetest, happiest girl.  I love it!

Here are a few cute pics of her recently...

We went to Duchesne to see my cousin bless her baby boy.  It was so fun to see them and spend some long overdue time with them!  

 Gwen loves story time.  This is usually how it starts out.  She's very interested in the story and loves looking at the pictures and touching the book.  Then she starts getting distracted and starts leaning over and playing with the ties on the rocking chair.  Then she wiggles her way to her side, and then flips to her belly and ends up throwing the book on the floor.  She thinks its the best game ever.  It's a wrestling match, but really, it's pretty cute.

She sure is getting to be a handful! She is so curious about everything she sees or hears.  She has to check everything out and if she can reach it, you better believe she will grab it.  She is so wiggly and hard to control.  She won't sit still.  I don't think she could if her life depended on it.  She is so fun and we are loving all the new things she's learning.  She sure is growing up too fast.

Cutest pumpkin in the whole world

I’ve been wanting to take some pictures of Gwen in a pumpkin for quite a while.  We got one big enough when we went to the pumpkin patch at the beginning of October, so Dan carved it up for me and I took Gwen and the pumpkin to my friend Lindsey’s backyard, which was covered in leaves.  Linds helped me get Gwen’s attention, and made her smile, and I LOVE how the pictures turned out.  She is just so precious.  We are 200% in love with this cute little pumpkin.

Halloween!

Well, the day finally arrived!  Gwen was a little chick for Halloween, and her costume turned out adorable.  Of course, Dan made her costume.  Is there anything he can’t do?  We made it by sewing 2 onsies together, and then stuffing them with a bunch of cotton.  The feathers are just a boa rapped around her and stitched every so often.  And, he also made her little orange tights to keep her legs warm, and also to make her more like a chicken.  It was pretty hard to get her into her costume, and she was not happy with us.  She screamed for a good 10 minutes, but I can’t really blame her.  It was rough stuff.
Dan had the day off because of Hurricane Sandy.  The SLC Goldman’s servers are linked to the NY ones, so they were down, and he got to stay home.  Well, technically work from home, but he got all his stuff done pretty fast and was able to spend most of the day with us.  We headed over to the grandparents and let them ooh and aah over little G, and her cousins came over to visit as well.  Spider man and Jack-o-lantern were so cute!  After we saw the g-parents, we went over to Michelle’s to go “trick or treating” with a couple other friends.  Of course G didn’t really trick or treat, but we walked around with the others.  It was such a nice evening.  I didn’t even need a jacket!
It was a really fun night, but G was ready to get out of that hot, fluffy costume.  I think it added about 5 pounds to her.  Dan did a really good job of stuffing it. It was a great first Halloween, and her costume was definitely a success…and thanks to Dan, only cost about 10 dollars. Yahoo!!

Big Girl

This baby is getting big too fast.  She finally outgrew her baby tub and transitioned to the big tub.  We got her some foam letters, and she was in heaven.  She can scoot around and chew on the letters and splash to her hearts content. 
She is just getting so big and so fun.  She loves to sit up in the shopping cart, and just like her momma, she loves shoes.  Just look at the pure delight on her face. 

Halloween Fun

The week before Halloween, Dan and I babysat his brother’s 4 kids. It was a crazy week, but the kids were pretty good for the most part.  While we were there, we took the kids to Thanksgiving Point.  They were doing a Barnyard Boo.  When we got there, we found out they were also doing a scavenger hunt, so we scavenged away.  It was pretty fun, and Gwen was loving being outside with all the animals.  We took her for her first pony ride, and she was LOVING it!  She was squealing, and laughing the whole time she was on it, and it was so funny to watch. 
After we were all farmed out, we headed over to the dinosaur museum, where they too were doing a Halloween themed scavenger hunt.  Gwen was pretty tired, so she just crashed in the stroller, and it was pretty adorable.  It was a fun day!
A few days later, we were out in the back yard raking up leaves and got some pretty cute pics of Gwen.  We’ve had such nice weather lately, and it’s so fun to be able to enjoy Fall!

Annual Halloween Party

We hosted our annual Halloween Party on October 20th.  It was a blast, and perhaps one of the most fun parties we’ve had.  Dan is usually in charge, cause, well, let’s face it, he’s better at it.  He planned some really fun “Minute to Win It” games, and we had a blast watching everyone try and accomplish the task.  I was laughing the whole night. We did the games in the back yard, and the weather was perfect.  Dan and I dressed up as Hippies, and in true hippie fashion, I didn’t wear shoes.  That’s how nice the weather was.  We had a fire going in our fire pit, and it was so much fun.  Dan and I spent the week prior preparing by making all the treats, which included cake pops, bones, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, witches brooms, and more.  We are so glad that everyone could make it!  This is one of our favorite Halloween traditions, and we look forward to it all year round.  After the party was over, Dan said to me, “So, what should we do next year?” Ha!  He is a funny boy.  We can’t wait for next year.

Birthday Boy

My love turned 28 on October 19th.  He took the day off work, so we got to spend the whole day together.  It was so fun to just have some extra time together.  My sister-in-law Darby watched Gwen for us so we could go on a little lunch date, and it was wonderful.  Dan chose Wingers, and we had all you can eat wings & fries.  And since it was his birthday, they threw in some asphalt pie for free.  I think we waddled out of there cause we were so full.  After lunch, to aid in some digestion, we went to the new Sheels store to see what the hype is all about.  It was huge, and pretty cool, but I don’t know why it’s SO crowded all the time.  Gwen loved helping Dan open his presents and thought the boxes and tissue paper were pretty cool toys.

Later that night, we had some family and friends over for cake and ice cream.  Dan isn’t really a cake fan, in the traditional sense, so every year when I make him a cake, I feel guilty, because I know he doesn’t really like it and it’s more for everyone else, when it should just be for him.  So this year I branched out.  I bought a bundt cake pan and made him a pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese icing.  I won’t lie, I was pretty proud of myself.  I am not a great baker.  My cookies always turn out flat, and slightly crunchy, my cakes aren’t that impressive, even from a box, but this time, everything turned out perfect and I was so happy!!  It was a fun day, and I am so glad that we got to celebrate the most wonderful man in the world together.