Ellie Jo's First Family Reunion

This was Ellie Jo's first camp out and family reunion. Sarah and I both thought that it was going to be a bit rough as far as sleeping went. We figure that Ellie Jo was going to be up all night. She actually slept better than she does at home which was kind of a relief Minus the fact that she doesn't sleep that good at home. But it was nice that she slept.
The unfortunate part about the weekend was that it rained for most of the time. It was ridiculous! But we had fun none the less. We got to get in some golfing and a scavenger hunt. It was awesome! We got to sit around and eat and talk and such. It was a lot of fun.

First Tooth!!!

Ellie Jo's first tooth is making itself known! It explains a lot of our recent sleep issues. It is her bottom front left tooth. Thought we should share that with you.

Grandpas birthday

It's Grandpa Oakeson's birthday today and for his present he wanted some pictures of his grandbaby. So here they are. Happy birthday Grandpa! We all hope that it's an awesome one!

My Thoughts on Web 2.0

This is an assignment for my CSIS Class. The assignment is to talk about my opinion about Web 2.0 and how it has effected society. I think it has affected us all in good ways and bad ways. The good ways are that we are progressing technologically. Facebook is an example of being able to talk to people thta you haven't seen for a long time and wish to catch up with and many various tasks. Unfortunately it has separated us from much personal interaction. That's how I feel about it.

Grandpa Oakeson's visit

We had an awesome day yesterday with grandpa Oakeson. We got to get out to the desert and walk and look around for a bit. It was out by three peaks out west of Cedar City. We weren't out there very long before we spotted a bald eagle just chillin in an old tree where it obviously treats itself to a snack based on the bird carcusses on the ground around the tree. We snuck up close to get this picture and then the eagle flew away about a mile out from where we were. We drove up the road to see if we could see it again and we watched it fly back to the tree that it was in before and we got a couple more shots. It was incredible. This is the first time that I have ever seen a bald eagle in person before. It was amazing to me to be able to get so close to one and be able to docement it this way.

We drove around some more right about the time that the sun was going down and the horizon was absolutley amazing. We had two cameras and and three different lenses between us. A regular lense, a 250, and an ultrawide angle. Needless to say if there was a picture to get we got it. I think that the biggest thing was being able to get out and just walk around outside away from town where the fresh air really is. I personally love how proactive Ivan is about getting out and just being out there sometimes. Thats something that I really need sometimes.

The best part was hving Ellie Jo out there. Unfortunately it was pretty cold so we weren't able to take her out of the car but we had some fun with her in the car. She loves looking out the window and seeing all the current happ'nin's. We thought it would be funny and 'educational' to get her started behind the wheel early. We were out in the desert right? Who would it hurt?! We really didn't have her drive. The car was off. But we got some cute pictures of her at the wheel. "Honest officer! I had no idea that you had to be 16 to drive!" Over all it was alot of fun and completely refreshing for all of us to get out and get some fresh air.

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. Sarah went back to work on the 8th. Luckily our schedules work out just right most of the time to where we don't have to hire anyone to be a baby sitter. I go to school from 8 am to 3 pm, sometimes 4. The I come home and Sarah goes to work from 3 to about 11. Classic married students with a baby life style I'd guess you'd call it. The rough part is that Sarah and I never get to see each other really. We are so fortunate that we get to spend as much time together as we do and that we get to be the ones that raise our daughter. So we're so blessed in that way.

One night that I was watching Ellie Jo I was asked to help a friend of mine move. So I needed her to watch the baby while I helped move her things. It was probably the worst whether that I have ever moved some one in. It was snowing so hard that there was about 3 inches or so and falling. When she asked if we could help her she said that all she needed us to move the big stuff. Couches, bookshelves, stuff like that and that she had the small done already. The funny thing was that she had ALOT of big stuff. At least a lot more than I thought she would have. It wasn't a big deal. Just more than I expected. The ironic thing was that I was carrying all sorts of stuff through the snow and didn't fall at all. But when we were done there wasn't enough room in my friends car for me and my baby and the other guys who came along so I put the baby in the car with them while they took her home and I walked. I got about 20 yards and slipped on my tookus. As soon as I got home I needed to shovel the walks at the apartment buildings I work at. Didn't slip. Right when I went to pick up Sarah from work after shoveling I was walking out to the car and fell flat on my back. It was so funny. Needless to say it wasn't the best day for my pride.

Our baby is the cutest thing ever! I went on a trip to Las Vegas with my family on Valentines day weekend, Ellie had been smiling so big for weeks and I was pretty sure she was close to laughing, well my dad came in and blew on her cheek and wouldn't you know it she started laughing! It was the sweetest sound I had ever heard up to this point. We got to Vegas I decided to give it a try and sure enough she laughed again, but after that we got nothing. We'd make total fools of ourselves and she wouldn't give up even a little laugh. Joe had some friends over and she laughed for them. Well last night she laughed for Joe because he said extra large in a really funny way I guess, then today she laughed again for me. It's the cutest thing ever. She is such a happy little girl, she tells all sorts of stories and is just the sweetest thing. We are truly blessed!

The Baby Blessings

What an eventful day the 7th of February was! Ellie Jo and her cousin Roxanna Sandy, who was born almost exactly one month after Ellie Jo on the 22nd of December, were blessed one right after the other in the Fillmore 1st ward at 12:30 p.m. followed directly by another baby blessing of a member of the ward that we aren't related too.

The Fillmore 1st ward is already fairly large and when there are 3 baby blessings in the same day the turn out ends up to be a little over whelming. For Ellie Jo and Roxanna's blessings there was a huge circle of men there to be a part of the event. Ellie Jo was so good while the blessing was taking place. No crying, no fussing. After wards Joe held her high in the air to show the congregation to show what a beautiful baby she is and Ellie Jo thought that that was a fun idea and gave the whole group the biggest grin in the world.

Grandma Tarbet spent so much time to make such a beautiful blessing dress for Ellie Jo. She was dressed like the angel that she is. The dress was so amazing and was so fitting for the event. We appreciate Grandma Tarbet so much for all the effort that she put into it.

Afterwords the whole clan went to the senior citizens center to eat and converse

one with another. It was a pot luck get together and there was an awesome spread of delicious indulgence options all for our beautiful baby blessings.

It might not be a day that Ellie Jo will remember but it will be a day that Joe and Sarah and their family will never forget.

We've had some suggestions and read some things about putting Ellie Jo on a sleep schedule so that she sleeps through the night better. The only draw back is that you have to put her in the place where she's supposed to sleep and let her cry for a bit until she goes to sleep on her own. Because, lets be honest, Ellie Jo doesn't go to sleep very well otherwise. So For the past few days we've been trying it out. So far She has been a lot happier during the day and last night she slept for a total of 5 hours straight starting at 11. Got up to eat at 4 and went back to sleep at 5 and didn't wake up again until 8 or so. So far the tactic is seeming to work pretty well. So all around it's making every one just a little bit happier because we aure all getting some sleep.

Ellie Jo's getting old enough to smile on purpose. It is so awesome! We love getting reaction to what we are doing. She's so stinkin cute. She's starting to show more personality. Another thing that she's just starting to do and we're crossing our fingers will last is sleeping more during the day. She's still awake at night time for the most part but before it seemed like she was awake all day and night. Now she's at least sleeping during the day so that Sarah can get some rest as well. The doctor said that Ellie Jo is healthy and good.

Sarah has to go back to work in February and isn't looking forward to it. She says that alot has changed and feels like she has to be trained again when she gets there. We hoping that the age old method will work so that we are the parents to our own daughter. So Joe will go to school while Sarah watches the baby and when Joe comes home from school he'll watch the baby while Sarah goes to work. Not sure how well it's going to work. But we're hoping it works with flying colors. Cross your fingers.

School is going alright for Joe. He's a junior now and isn't in a hurry to get done. don't get me wrong . He wants to be done right now but when he tries to go too fast his grades suffer. So he's taking his time. He has an interview to get into the education department next week so cross your fingers for that too.

Over all everything is pretty fabulous.