The Milligans

Kindergarten....er....First Grade!!!

2011-11-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

After Davey was born we realized that we had a decision to make. He turned five last year in late August, just a couple of days before the deadline to enroll in Kindergarten. Dave and I decided to hold him back so he could be one of the oldest kids in his class rather than the youngest. This year rolled around and he started Kindergarten a couple of days before he turned six. About a month in, we realized that maybe holding him back hadn't been the best thing for him. He was so ready to be reading and be challenged, and kindergarten wasn't moving fast enough for him. He was getting super bored and thought a lot of the stuff they were doing in class was "dumb." So after discussing things with his teacher and principal, he decided he wanted to try first grade.

So he has been in first grade for about a month and a half now. He loves the things he is learning and doesn't seem to mind being there all day. I think he is making friends and hope that he is eating enough at lunch (he is SUCH as picky eater)! I do miss having him around all day, as does Charlie. I knew the day would come that he would be gone at school all day, I just wasn't prepared for it to come so soon. I sure am proud of my smart boy though!

Davey's Sixth Birthday

2011-11-15T21:42:00.001-07:00

Davey had a fun family party for his sixth birthday. We had everyone over for a barbecue and presents.

He requested a chocolate cake, which I was happy to accomodate!

Dave made sure he showed Davey how they celebrate birthdays in Bolivia...where they shove the birthday boy's face in the cake! Davey thought this was hilarious!

Then he decided that having cake all over his face was so fun that he might as well try to get it all over his entire body.

When we were living in Utah County we made sure that he was well aware of the fact that we are Aggie fans, and that we never cheered for BYU. Davey is now a HUGE Aggie fan and even went so far as to tell his primary teacher that "We don't like BYU." When I saw this BYU shirt at the store, I couldn't resist getting it for him.

I think the thumb says it all!!!

Some of Davey's favorite things at age six are:

-Charlie. He is always thinking of his little brother. Davey has a chart where he receives points for doing chores and other good things. He noticed the other day that he had a lot of points while Charlie only had a few. He came to me, visibly upset and said he wanted to erase some of his points and give them to Charlie. I tried to tell him I would give Charlie points without him having to erase points of his own, but he insisted. He is so kind to Charlie and loves him more than anything (except maybe his Dad).
-His Dad. It is a pretty tight race between his Dad and Charlie. Dave told Davey that Charlie is his best friend, but that means Davey is his mejor amigo (best friend in Spanish). Davey always chooses to sit by his Dad at dinner. He loves to cuddle with him every night before he goes to bed. Sometimes Dave goes and talks to him at night when he is tucking him in and they have discussions about all kinds of things. I love seeing the special bond they have.
-His favorite sport is baseball. He has tried playing all sports and has fun with all of them, but if you ask him which is his favorite, he will always say baseball. I think he enjoys it because he can be social and visit with his friends while playing.
-He likes cheeseburgers, playing Super Mario Sluggers on the Nintendo Wii (you should see how sweaty he gets from jumping up and down), drawing, science, and superheroes.
-My favorite of Davey's features is his smile. He has always been a smiley boy, even when he was really little. He hardly ever looks grumpy and his little grin is contagious. I can't help but smile every time I look at my smiley boy!

Bear Lake

2011-10-06T22:08:00.000-06:00

We went to Bear Lake a couple of times this summer. Both times we didn't really do anything exciting. We pretty much just let the boys play in the sand and they were more than satisfied with that, especially Charlie. He was content to sit on the sand and dig in.

The boys LOVED collecting rocks. Charlie especially was into it. If you know Charlie, you know he loves rocks. He stops and picks up rocks everywhere we go, including the landscaping rocks people use in their flower beds.

We had so much fun playing in the sand that we went back a week later and brought along our own sand toys!

We also brought along the cousins for some extra fun!

I was worried about Charlie going out in the water, so I put arm floaties on him. I didn't have to worry, he was so intent on playing in the sand, he didn't even notice the lake!

It was definitely a lot of fun!

Baseball Season

2011-10-06T21:43:00.000-06:00

If you ask Davey what his favorite sport is he will say baseball. It is actually kind of funny, because although Dave and I both like baseball, I wouldn't say it is either of our favorite sport. I think maybe Davey likes it because he likes the slower pace so he can look around and visit with his friends.

It is funny to watch them field the ball. Each time they send out two kids to field and it is a footrace to see you who can get the ball first. Davey learned quickly to put his mitt down on the ball right away or the other kid would take it.

He got really good at throwing as well.

He also enjoyed hanging out waiting to bat!

This last picture is my favorite. I love him and his cute smile!

Soccer season

2011-09-01T22:47:00.000-06:00

This spring Davey played soccer. It was an especially fun year for him because Dave was his coach. I don't know if it was particularly fun for Dave. Trying to get a bunch of 5 and 6 year-olds to follow directions is definitely a challenge. Half the time one kid would be laying on the ground, while another was hanging from the goalposts, while another was stealing the ball from his own teammate. All in all though, Davey really enjoyed himself, and had really improved by the end of the season.

Coach Dave in action. I think this is one of those rare instances in which they were actually listening to him!

I think he really enjoyed the social aspect of the game!

Poor Charlie, he had a really hard time sitting on the sidelines, especially with Davey playing and Daddy coaching. Most games we ended up making him sit in the car with a grandparent to make sure he stayed off the field!

Here he is starting to be a little more aggressive in going for the ball.

All the boys together at the end.

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

2011-08-20T15:16:00.001-06:00

In May, Dave and I decided it was time to leave the boys and go on a trip by ourselves. This is the first time we had left them since Charlie was born. Back when we got married, we had planned a trip to Playa Del Carmen for our honeymoon, but it didn't end up working out so we decided to finally go.

Playa del Carmen is about an hour south of Cancun. It is less of a party place than Cancun, and is more resorty and relaxed. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called the Riu Playacar. It was pretty nice, and we got all the food and drinks (including Tequila...JK) that we could eat.

Each day when we would come back to our room there were these awesome towel sculptures. There was something different every day. I had to take a picture of each of them because I knew our boys would love them!

Here are a few pics of our hotel. The pool area was super nice, although we hung out at the beach more than the pool.

Ha ha! This one is pretty funny. Playa del Carmen has actually been pretty popular with the Europeans for years, so they were all over the place. Most of the men wore speedos and honestly, there wasn't a single one that was worth looking at!

Pathway to the beach.

View looking down the beach. It was beautiful and the sand was really nice and soft!

We went to this giant sinkhole or "cenote" on our way to see the ruins. We were able to jump off the cliffs on the side into the water.

Here we are at Chichen Itza, one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. It was huge and amazing, but it was SUPER hot. It was also a pretty long trip to get there, about 3 hours on a bus each way, but it was worth it to say that we actually went and saw it.

The giant Mayan ball court. This was one of Dave's favorite parts of the tour.

The back side of the main huge pyramid. The actually took a lot of stones from one side of the pyramid to put on the other side so it would look perfect, that is why it looks like it is crumbling.

It was so crowded with vendors trying to get you to buy their souvenirs.

Another day we took the ferry over to Cozumel and went snorkeling. Then we rented a moped and drove around the island.

We also went swimming with dophins and shopping in downtown Playa Del Carmen. Plus we got couples massages a couple of times, which was heavenly of course. It was super nice to get away and enjoy a vacation by ourselves. Of course we missed the boys and were excited to get back to them, but every couple needs a few days to themselves every now and then. Thanks, hon, for such a fun trip.

Charlie's 2nd Birthday

2011-08-19T23:17:00.008-06:00

Okay, so I know I have slacked big time on this whole blogging thing, but I am going to attempt to get back into it now. I am just going to backtrack a few months and start with Charlie's birthday.

This little guy is so fun! A few things about him:

He is a ham and knows how to make people laugh by being silly and showing off.
He is noisy and loud and loves to talk.
Right his favorite thing to ask is "What you doing? He does this about 20 times a day, whether I am getting dressed, cleaning, making dinner, doing laundry, even going to the bathroom.
He loves cars and trains, much more than Davey did. Davey loved blocks, puzzles, and drawing.
He also loves rocks. Without fail, if we are walking somewhere, he has to stop and pick up any rocks he sees. He even loves small pebbles in parking lots. The he loves to clutch the pebbles in his little hands wherever he goes.
He is extremely stubborn.
He loves Diego. I try to get him to watch other kid shows, but he always wants Diego.
He loves to sing. He actually does a pretty good job of it too. He sings kid songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle," and "Bingo" but will also sing grown up songs like James Taylor's "Handyman." I think his favorite is "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz.
He loves to wash his hands, and then instead of drying them on a towel, he pretends to sneeze on you and yells "AAAACHOOO!" while spraying you with water. He learned this from his father.
We call him "Echo" because he repeats everything anybody says, especially his older brother.
Speaking of Davey, he loves his older brother more than anything. If he is hurt or sad, he goes to him for hugs.
I am sure I could go on and on, but one thing is for sure, we love our little Charlie and can't imagine life without him!

Here are some pictures I took of him helping to make his birthday cupcakes.

Mmmm......Yummy!! I love his long eyelashes!

And his big black eyes!!

His cousins came over for cupcakes!

He had fun playing with the doctor's kit he got for his birthday.

I hope I can do a better job of blogging for a little while at least. Dave keeps reminding me that this is the best way for us to remember all the little things we love about our boys.

Disneyland and back to blogging!!!

2010-01-11T21:04:00.011-07:00

Sooo, it has been six months since I last blogged. I don't really know why I haven't blogged. I think it is because I got behind and the idea of trying to catch up was too overwhelming. So, instead of trying to catch up, I am just going to start with what has been happening most recently and go from there. We just got back a couple of days ago from Disneyland, so that seems like a great place to start. I should warn you in advance, there are a ton of pictures, but isn't that what this blog is for? We were able to go with my parents and brother. My family LOVES Disneyland and I was excited to see Davey's reaction to it. We had been talking about it a lot, so he knew what it was, but when we first got there I think he was a little overwhelmed. This picture was taken about 5 minutes after we arrived. If you look closely at his smile, you can see that he isn't sure of what to do first!

The first ride we went on was the teacups...
Then we did "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride"

Later that day we went to watch the parade. Since it was the 2nd of January, the holiday festivities were still going on, hence it was a Christmas parade. Davey is sharing a Dole Whip with my mom. It is a yummy pineapple flavored ice cream. Of course, Davey is up for anything that involves ice cream!

Me, Davey, and Charlie hanging out before the parade.

The float with Donald and Daisy Duck. This was Davey's first chance to see most of the Characters. He is at the perfect age where he loves all the characters and meeting them was definitely a highlight of our trip !

Goofy's float...

In Mickey's Toon Town you can go on a tour of Mickey's house, and then the last room you go into you get to meet Mickey Mouse. You are all by yourselves in the room with him, so there aren't any other people waiting for you to leave so they can meet him too. Mickey was so nice. He even spent time trying to get Charlie to smile. Mickey would wiggle his nose at Charlie and Charlie would just stare. He didn't know what to think.

In California Adventure with Mater and Lightening McQueen.

He was super tired every night. He almost fell asleep in the stroller on the way back to the hotel.

One morning we had a character breakfast at Goofy's kitchen. Davey thought this was super fun!

Davey and Chip.

Chip and Charlie.

Here Davey is with Belle. He didn't really know what to think of her. He isn't really into princesses, and I don't think he has even seen Beauty and the Beast. I think he thought she was pretty though!

Dale and Davey .

Doing the Twist with Goofy.

Doing the Twist with Dave. Honestly, every time these two would hear a band they would break out dancing! Like father like son.

Waiting in line at Toy Story Midway Mania. This was a really fun ride. Charlie was so good the whole entire trip. He was pretty agreeable to being hauled here and there, and didn't mind most of the rides we took him on.

Waiting in line with Uncle Trevor to watch Bug's Life 3-D

Riding on a ride in Bug's Land with my Dad.

So here is the story with Davey's forehead. The third night we were there, Dave and I went back to the hotel with Charlie to let him rest before dinner. My mom, dad, and brother stayed behind to go on the Finding Nemo Submarine voyage. I guess they decided to ride the train to Tomorrowland where the ride was and as they were rushing up the stairs to catch the train my dad caught his foot and tripped. It just so happening that Davey was standing right in front of him and got knocked down and skinned his forehead. Of course he started bawling. My mom said several Disney cast members rushed to their aid. They decided to take him to the First Aid station where they cleaned his forehead and put on a band-aid. The nurse asked were they were going when Davey got hurt and they told her they were on their way to Finding Nemo. The nurse gave them a front of the line pass and they were able to get right on without waiting, which was great, since the wait was almost and hour! So the moral of the story is, if you don't want to wait in line at Disneyland, have your kid fall down so you can get a special pass! Of course I am kidding.

After we got back to the hotel room later after having dinner there were balloons and autographed pictures from Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Woody, and Buzz Lightyear. They were addressed to "Our Pal, Davey" and they told him to "Get better soon." Talk about the royal treatment. He felt pretty special!

This is him asleep later that night in bed. Poor kid was exhausted. He calls Woody and Bullseye his "friends." Dave and my brother won them for him at the Midway at California Adventure.

One night at dinner we ordered him this special pirate dessert. I am telling you, the kid is spoiled! That is okay by me though. He is a pretty good kid.

The next day inside the Nemo submarine with Dave.

Driving on the Autopia. He was a pretty good driver. We just pushed the gas and he steered the whole way himself.

Of course the boys had to get the traditional Mickey Mouse ears. Charlie looks thrilled.

Our family in front of the castle.

All of us with Minnie and Mickey on Main Street.

All in all, we had a terrific time. We were worn out and glad to come home (Charlie especially). However, we won't be gone long. We decided to upgrade to a season pass!! I know, crazy, but we will be going out to California again in May for a wedding, and my mom and dad want to take Davey on a grandparents trip later this year. Who knows, we may even do more than that. Thanks mom and dad for such a fun time. We hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did! Stay tuned, I have more pics to post of our trip to the beach!

Jumperoo!!!

2009-07-15T15:33:00.002-06:00

This Jumperoo was Davey's favorite toy for several months. He love to bounce and play. I have noticed that Charlie has been getting especially wiggly over the last few days, so I decided to break it out for some fun. I think he likes it!
This is a pic of Davey playing on the Jumperoo when he was about the same age. I think they look pretty different.

Of course no Jumperoo post would be complete without actual Jumperoo footage...

Swimming Lessons!

2009-06-27T11:26:00.002-06:00

Davey started swimming lessons this past week and has been having a ton of fun. The lessons are at our bishops house only four blocks away, so we try to walk when we can. Davey took some mommy and me lessons a couple of years ago, but hasn't done anything since. We just wanted to give him something to do as well as get him used to the water.

Here he is blowing bubbles. At first he was scared to put his face in, but now he likes to dunk his whole head!
Practicing his kicks on the noodle...

They call this making a starfish...

Getting ready to do a side dive into the pool...

He loves his teacher Kelci, bless her heart. She is due in 2 weeks! She has a lot of energy to be dealing with a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds.

Our terrific Daddy....

2009-06-21T22:46:00.003-06:00

We had a great Father's Day hanging out with Dave! He spent the whole day chilling out with Davey and Charlie, doing the things that they love to do.
Here they are in the backyard of my grandma's house looking at the shapes in the clouds. This is one of Davey's favorite pastimes.

Davey has had a pretty bad cold. He still has been playing well and having fun, buy yesterday afternoon he had about had enough. He sat down next to me at the table, laid his head on his arms and fell asleep. Considering that he doesn't take naps anymore, he must have been pretty exhausted.

Davey falling asleep made way for one of Dave's favorite things to do. Ever since Davey was a tiny baby, Dave has loved holding him while he sleeps in his arms. It doesn't happen very often anymore, but it was nice that it happened on Father's Day!

Here is our big boy! He is growing so fast! Here he is wearing his special Father's Day shirt.

Thanks Dave for being such a great Dad. From the moment he gets home he spends all his time playing with and entertaining a rambunctious 3 year old and holding an often fussy 3 month old. We appreciate all he does for us. We have the most fabulous Daddy in the world!

Fun things...

2009-06-15T23:00:00.000-06:00

We did lots of "fun things" as Davey calls them this weekend. It was Art City Days in Springville, so we decided to go to the carnival there. Davey first discovered amusement park rides last year at the Cache County Fair, and now he can't get enough. We splurged and bought him a wristband, so he was able to go as much as he wanted. I love the smile on his face here. You can tell he is having so much fun.

The Ferris Wheel is his favorite. It was the first thing he wanted to go on.

This pose cracks me up! Peace dude!

For him, the only thing better than going on the rides themselves was going on them with his Daddy...

At the end of the day, Dave caved in and shot a couple of baskets and won this tiger for Davey.

This ride was so crazy! It didn't look that bad from the ground, so we decided to try it. It was not as fun as it looks. Don't get me wrong, I love roller coasters and other things, but I don't really enjoy the rides where they take you to the top and drop you, which is what this ride did. You can't tell from the video, but Davey had this look on his face like, "Mommy, get me off of here!" He didn't admit that he didn't like it, but when we asked if he wanted to go again, it was a definite no.

Smiley Boy

2009-06-14T22:48:00.003-06:00

Charlie has been smiling for a few weeks now, but it is just so hard to get pictures of him smiling. I think he gets distracted by the flash. I finally have been able get a few fun photos of his little grin.

This is him chilling out in his carseat while Davey is riding the rides at Art City Days. He loves being out in noisy places where there is a lot going on.

He also loves watching Davey. He sat looking over the top of the couch at him for about 20 minutes today. I hope they will be good buddies.

Davey was singing and patting his hands. What a great big brother!

Ahh, I can't help loving the little guy, even though he keeps me up at night!

Yikes...

2009-06-14T19:20:00.002-06:00

The weather these last couple of weeks has been crazy!! We went to Orem Summerfest on Saturday and a monster of a storm moved in while we were there. Luckily we were prepared with jackets and a large golf umbrella. We could tell the storm was moving in, so we decided to sit inside the large pavilion that had a stage set up for performers. Despite that, the wind was blowing so hard that we still had to put our jackets on and put up the umbrella to protect ourselves from the rain that was blowing through. All the vendors were trying to hold onto their tents and there was tons of trash blowing all over the place. We could hear the thunder crashing right over our heads, and unfortunately the police came and made us evacuate the pavilion since it was only a temporary structure set up with metal poles. Not too safe I guess! Anyway, by the time we had to leave, the worst of the storm (the wind) had passed, so we put both kids on the stroller and put up the umbrella and made a run for the car!

Here we are huddled under the umbrella. Charlie of course was fast asleep in my arms. He didn't have a clue!

I am grateful for the rain, I know we need it, but I am looking forward to some warmer drier days. We have a season pass to Seven Peaks that we have only been able to use once!

Giant Baby

2009-06-08T14:21:00.003-06:00

We finally blessed Charlie this weekend. We probably would have done it a month ago, but had a hard time deciding if we wanted to do it in Spanish Fork or Cache Valley. We finally caved and did it in Dave's parents ward so people wouldn't have to travel so far.

Charlie has gotten so big I wasn't sure if he would fit into his blessing outfit. We actually had two of them. The first choice was the outfit Dave was blessed in. Davey actually used it when we blessed him. He was only a month and a half old then and it was amost too small for him. I pulled it out and tried it on Charlie and couldn't even button the last button on the back. It would have cut off his breathing! So we went with this other outfit. We were able to button all the buttons, but it was still a little small!!
Here are my two boys! I think I must have been standing at a strange angle, because Charlie looks HUGE in this picture.

Davey, Charlie, and their cousins....

Needless to say, it was a nice time and we appreciated all of our family who came to share the day with us.

Father/Son Campout

2009-06-02T09:39:00.007-06:00

(This is Dave blogging..) A few weeks back Davey and I went on our first camping trip. It was our ward's Father and Son outing. I had never been on an overnight camping trip with Davey and thought this would be a good oppurtunity to expose him to the joys of the outdoors. Other than Davey "pushing" his Dad into the stream the trip was uneventful and he seemed to enjoy himself.

Two of his favorite things to do were play with the beanbags and horshoes. He probably spent a couple of hours doing both.

Davey enjoyed his smores, although I think ended up wearing more of them than he actually ate. We ate a lot of "junk food" that his mom won't let him eat. After all, isn't that part of camping?

Here is Davey at the "boys" fire. There was a group of boys he was following around the whole evening. I talked to Davey about not going close to the stream and was pretty proud of him when I overheard him telling the rest of the boys that they shouldn't go close to it either. I didn't think he ever listened to me, but I guess he does :) He was a good boy throughout the whole trip and didn't cause any problems, he listened well and behaved himself.

At first we thought we would sleep in a tent but thought the nights had been a little to cold lately, so we decided the back of the Armada would be big enough for both of us and might keep us a little warmer. It was still a pretty cold night, Davey ended up with 2 blankets and a sleeping bag on him to keep warm... Maybe next time we might be more adventurous and try a tent (or a camper if Mom and Charlie come).

Growing Boy!!

2009-06-01T16:39:00.006-06:00

It's funny how babies change so quickly. Charlie is 2 1/2 months old now. On one hand it seems like he is growing so fast. On the other hand, it seems like forever since I had a good night's sleep!

He is really starting to play. We got him this bouncer and he loves batting at all the toys on it.
He also loves his little play gym. He can spend almost an hour playing under it until he gets tired. This was also Davey's favorite toy as a baby. As a matter of fact, every now and then Davey still likes to play under it. It is funny how fascinated he is with all the baby toys I have been pulling out. I guess he is just excited for something new!

We have also been getting lots of smiles, especially in the morning. It is hard to get pictures though. I think the flash distracts him and he stops smiling. It sure is fun watching him get all excited.

He is also getting a lot stronger. We took him to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and he is really big for his age in both height and weight. Davey was always really high on the chart as far as height, but he was and still is pretty skinny. Charlie is definitly chubbier than Davey was, although that shouldn't surprise me since he wants to eat all the time!

I can't believe how time goes by so quickly. I start to get impatient for him to get older and start sleeping through the night, but then I have to remind myself to enjoy the age. He is so cuddly and snuggly, I know it won't last forever!

Jam..

2009-06-01T16:17:00.006-06:00

My dad had a meeting down in Provo a couple of weekends ago, so he and my mom came to visit. While they were here my mom and I decided to make raspberry freezer jam. Of course Davey always wants to help in the kitchen.The thing about Davey and raspberry jam is that he LOVES it. Every morning he has waffles for breakfast with jam. And when he is done with the waffles he licks the plate clean!
When we were done filling the jars we let him lick the bowl!
It was fun making jam, but I am afraid we didn't make enough!! I think I will have to do another batch if we want it to last till next year!

Family Time

2009-06-01T15:46:00.004-06:00

I haven't really done a lot of blogging lately. I feel bad, I need to post more pictures of Charlie. He is changing so fast! Here are some pictures we took while visiting with Dave's family both in Cache Valley and down here in Spanish Fork.

Dave's parents and siblings stopped through for the evening on their way to St. George. Davey loved being able to play with his cousins.

Whenever we go to Dave's parents one of Davey's favorite things to do is paint with Grandpa.

Here are the boys hanging out with Grandpa in his art studio.

We miss being able to spend time with family as much as we used to. Luckily we are still only a couple of hours away and can get together at least once or twice a month!

There's always one...

2009-05-29T16:01:00.003-06:00

...kid who won't particpate in the school program, that is. This time that kid was mine. Davey had his end of year pre-school "graduation" yesterday. He refused to walk out with his class, stand with them, sing the songs they learned, or wear his hat. All he wanted to do was stand by his Daddy. I felt kind of bad, Dave took the whole day off of work to be there and everything!
Look at his face! He was not a happy camper. This is his terrific teacher Mrs. Hansen.

This is his other teacher Mrs. Barney. Davey loves her. She also lives in our ward.

Each of the kids had a balloon with what they wanted to be written on it. Davey's said he wanted to be a pirate. I am not quite sure where that idea came from. Some of the other kids had the funniest things on theirs. One little girl wanted to be a roller coaster driver, another wanted to be a chainsaw dancer a Lagoon, and one little boy just wanted to be "stronger" when he grows up. They were supposed to let the balloons go at the end. Davey did not do this either.

Finally this morning I was able to convince him to put on his graduation cap. Maybe the reason he didn't want to participate is because he knows he isn't really done with pre-school. He has to go again next year!

Charlie's Newborn Photos

2009-04-27T22:00:00.004-06:00

Our good friend Alisha Ekstrom came down shortly after Charlie was born and took some pictures of him. She has done all of our family photos since Davey turned 1. Charlie is already growing so fast that even looking at these makes me a little sad realizing that babies change so quickly. Of course I won't be sad when he grows enough to sleep through the night. Right now the idea of five hours of sleep in a row sounds like heaven!!

I love this one. When Davey is playing he likes to put his hand on his chin and go, "Hmmmm."

So cuddly and peaceful...

I really wanted a couple of pictures of the boys together. We did them at the very end and Charlie had about had enough!

Such a cool perspective...

This one is funny. She took it at the very beginning when she was testing out her camera. The thing is, he makes this face all the time. How can I resist a face like this?

Needless to say, I love them all. If any of you need a photographer, call Alisha at Oakstream Photography. I always have the hardest time choosing which one I like best.

My sweet little boy...

2009-04-23T14:27:00.002-06:00

...or maybe I should say, "big boy!!" This is Davey's preschool picture. He said the sweetest thing to me last night. We were cuddling on the couch while I was feeding Charlie and he said, "Mom, I gotta tell you a secret!" He then proceeded to whisper in my ear, "You're a great mom!" Then he said, "I gotta tell you another secret," and then whispers, "You're really pretty." This was all out of the blue, Dave wasn't here telling him what to say, he just came up with it on his own. Needless to say he made my heart melt. I am grateful to have such a kind-hearted little boy.

Thank goodness it's getting warmer!!

2009-04-23T14:10:00.003-06:00

It has been nice to get out and enjoy this nice spring weather. The other day we went and bought a kite and took Davey out to fly it.
He especially enjoyed holding the string himself.

We've also been able to get out his bike and ride it around a bit.

This has been safety week at his preschool and they have been talking about wearing a helmet while riding. He is always quick to point out that riding without a helmet is a "safety violation!"

Although the warm weather is supposed to leave us this weekend, we have been taking advantage of it while we can!!

What we've been up to...

2009-04-23T13:47:00.003-06:00

Cuddling together sfter bathtime...
Celebrating Dave's birthday!! Thanks for being such a great Daddy....

Holding ducklings at Baby Animal Days...

Riding horses there too...

Gathering eggs on Easter morning...

Having a musical parade at our friends', the Ekstroms...

Visiting my Grandma in Salt Lake...

Now that Charlie is a little older it has been nice to get out and enjoy spending time together as a family!!

Davey & Charlie...

2009-03-24T09:32:00.004-06:00

This is Davey's first visit with Charlie right after the delivery. He had a runny nose that day, and so we were a little concerned that he was coming down with a cold. I was so mad! He had been so healthy all winter long, no colds since November, and he decides to come down with it the day we went in to deliver. Oh well, I guess that is how it always happens. He was pretty excited to see his new brother, but really concerned about how wet the baby's eyes were. He said, "Uh-oh, baby brudder needs a tissue!"The next day at the hospital. He really wanted to hold Charlie's hand. He had also reconciled himself to the idea that the baby's name is Charlie, and not Daddy. Although, when Dave told him he needed to pick a name that didn't belong to anyone else in our family he said he wanted to name him "Jesus." I guess his reasoning was that he loves Jesus, and he isn't necessarily a member of our immediate family. I keep waiting to see what he comes us with next.
This was taken the afternoon we came home. We put Charlie in the bouncy chair and Davey just wanted to sit by him the whole time. He also sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to him.
The day after we cam home we had to take Charlie in to have his bilirubin tested and sure enough, he had jaundice. They sent over a home health care service to set up some bili-lights for him. This whole process isn't new to us. Davey had to do the same thing, so I didn't freak out like I did the last time. Now we have a tan little baby.

They also included these goggles with the bed, but said they weren't necessary if you used the curtain as shown in the photo above. We did try them on, and they were pretty funny, but hard to keep on, so we decided to skip them. We have been told that we can take him off the lights later this afternoon, so that is good news.

We let Davey hold Charlie for a minute between tanning sessions. Davey is so funny, while he was holding Charlie, the baby messed his diaper and Davey pulled out his hand and goes, "Baby brudder pooped in his undies!" He was done holding him after that.

All in all, things are going pretty well. Charlie has been a good baby so far and Davey loves him and thanks Heavenly Father for him in his prayers. Davey has been a little emotional and has had a hard time minding us which is pretty unusual for him. We are sure it will get better with time. As for myself I am feeling pretty good. Things have been a whole lot easier this time around. I think I am just less stressed having done this before. We will update with more news as it comes along!

Charlie...

2009-03-22T21:17:00.003-06:00

Charles Michael Milligan

Born March 18, 2009 9:25pm

8 lbs. 8 oz. 20 inches long

More pictures to come later!

Davey's favorite things...

2009-03-13T14:33:00.004-06:00

I thought I would post about a few of Davey's favorite things. Of course we have already established that he loves his "B." He even gets really stressed when I take it away so we can run it through the laundry. He will come and ask me every 5 minutes, "Mommy, is my B ready?"
He also loves "America's Funniest Home Videos." Every night when Dave gets home from work they sit down and watch "A Funny Show," as Davey calls it. We have 10 or so episodes DVR'd so we will never be without!
Davey's favorite toys are legos or his magformers. Of course everyone knows what legos are, but these magformers are really cool. You can build balls, towers, and other shapes. We take them everywhere with us, church, the doctors office, grandma's house. I occupies him for hours. He also loves looking at the owner's manual to try and copy the things in there. He always asks, "Mommy, where's my 'structions?"

Davey would eat mac'n'cheese all day every day if he could. I cannot tell you how many times he has woken up in the morning and said he wants macaroni and cheese for breakfast. And of course his most favorite thing is his Daddy. He cries on Sunday night when Dave tells him that he needs to go to work the next day. Usually Davey is asleep when Dave leaves, but on the occasional day when Dave doesn't have to go in until later he cries when he goes. We are grateful that we have such a great Daddy.

Still my baby...

2009-03-12T14:40:00.002-06:00

I have been getting some of our baby stuff out and Davey is totally obsessed with all of it. He thinks he should play with all of it, even though I tell him they are baby things. He is probably just excited to play with something new.

Here he is on one of those tummy time mats. What a goofball!!
He has also been saying the funniest things almost the whole time I have been pregnant. When we first told him I had a baby in my tummy he said he had a baby in his tummy too. Then I explained that only girls have babies in their tummies, so he quickly said he had a "puppy in his tummy." It eats what he eats and even says, "Woof, woof." The other funny thing he talks about is what he wants to name the baby. Any time anyone asks, he says he wants to name it "Daddy." Well, as far as he is concered it makes sense. Why not name the baby after his favorite person in the world?!

At last.....

2009-03-12T14:25:00.002-06:00

No, I am not posting this picture because I think my nursery is cute, I am posting it because I am happy to say that we FINALLY have our crib put together. Needless to say, we have had a bit of trauma getting this darn crib assembled. You see, it all started with our move, or should I say moves, since we moved not only once from Millville to Springville, but again a second time from Springville to Spanish Fork. Somewhere along the way we lost all the nuts and bolts to our crib. Okay, no big deal right? Well it wasn't too bad. I had to special order the fasteners and it took a bit of time, but we did get them. Then, when we went to assemble it, we found we were missing a stablizing bar. I tried calling the manufacturer and it was discontinued. I did not want to buy a new crib, they are like $200-$300! Besides, I really like the one we already have. Finally, I went to Babies R Us and they had a crib that was almost identical to ours. I got the model number, called the manufacturer again, they sent out the part, and Hallelujah, it worked. Thank goodness, I was starting to get stressed!

Of course, Davey had to be in the picture.

Visit to the Dentist

2009-02-23T19:54:00.003-07:00

Davey had his first visit to the dentist today. We found a pediatric dentist here in Spanish Fork and he had a really fun office. There was a Thomas the Train table in the lobby and video games to play. They also had TV screens in the ceiling so Davey watched "Surf's Up" while he had his teeth cleaned. He picked cookie dough flavored toothpaste and didn't have any cavities. I was pretty proud of him, he wasn't even scared and did everything they asked him to do.

Here he is with his headphones in his ears so he could hear the movie.
Afterwards they gave him a bag full of prizes (toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, etc.). He also got a token to ride on this horse just outside the door. He thought that was pretty cool.

All in all, the visit went well. The only bad part was when the dentist said he should stop sucking his thumb!! Oh no!! I'm not quite sure what we will do about that but we'll have to figure something out.

Jazz game

2009-02-22T19:34:00.006-07:00

The other night we had the opportunity to attend a Jazz game. One of Dave's friends from work gave us the tickets and they ended up being fantastics seats, for which we are very appreciative. Anyways, the Jazz played the Memphis Grizzlies, and it was a fun game, sort of close through 3 quarters, but they finally pulled away in the 4th. Davey was lucky enough to meet Thurl "Big T" Bailey during halftime, and I tried to take a picture, but it didn't turn out. :-(... Oh well.

Davey loves ice cream, probably even more than watching the game. He definitely thought his Daddy should have been sharing more with him.

Here he is finally getting a bite. At last....

Here are my boys in their jerseys. I have one too, but it isn't very cute over my big belly!!

We were also sad to hear about the passing of Larry H. Miller, the owner of the Jazz. Dave has loved the Jazz since he was a little boy and we definitely cannot imagine living in Utah without them. Even though we don't go to games often we always watch them on TV. They are definitely one the great things about living here!

Quite the helper

2009-02-22T19:27:00.003-07:00

Davey is such a good helper. He thinks he is pretty big and should be able to do all the same things we do. The other day we had company over and he cleaned up his mess in the family room. As a reward he got a dollar. Davey loves putting money in his piggy bank. He loves it when he finds coins so he can save them.
Here he is helping Dave put together a new dresser for the baby's room. He would much rather help us than play with his toys.

I just hope that he is as willing to help when he is older as he is now!

Davey's "B"

2009-02-12T09:44:00.003-07:00

This is Davey's "B." He has had it since he was about 6 months old. I made it for him because he liked to suck his thumb and rub the tag on the back of his shirt. He loves it more than anything. We have even asked which one he loves more, his B or mommy and depending on the day he will say his B. It is definitely his most treasured possession, and if he is having a bad day or he is tired he starts to cry for it.
This red tag is his favorite. If you look really closely you can see that it is extremely worn. There are three red tags on the B, and he loves all of them equally. If he really likes you a lot he will cuddle with you and let you hold one of the red tags while he holds one of the other red ones.

Maybe he is a little to attached to his B, but it comforts him and keeps him small just a little bit longer. He is growing up way too fast for my taste!

What a mess!!!

2009-02-12T09:43:00.003-07:00

Today Davey had a Valentine Party at his preschool. They told us to have the kids bring a Valentine box with their name on it so the other kids could put their cards and candy in it. I wrapped a cereal box in paper and had him sit down to color it with markers this morning. I left him while I went to get ready in my bedroom, and when I came back, this is what I found!
We have had a few problems with Davey and markers at our house. Most of the time he is only allowed to use colored pencils, but now I think the markers might be permanently retired. Needless to say, we had to put him in a quick bath and scrub his face in order to make him presentable for school.

A Sunbeam....

2009-01-08T14:40:00.002-07:00

Davey went to Primary with the big kids this last Sunday. I cannot believe he is old enough to be a Sunbeam. Dave and I walked him into the classroom and introduced him to his teacher. He has never really been one to be clingy, so he just sat in his seat and watched us leave. I think he was in awe of all the other big kids in the other classes. When we went to pick him up, all of his classmates were clamoring to get out the door, but he was still sitting reverently in his seat with his arms folded waiting for us. We were so proud that he was waiting reverently, but I am sure that won't last as time goes on. He was also excited to show us the CTR ring his teacher gave him and to tell us about the new song he learned about a "Child of God." He is growing up WAY too fast if you ask me!

A Very Happy New Year.....

2009-01-05T21:56:00.003-07:00

The last few years we have spent New Year's Eve in Salt Lake with my mom's side of the family. It is alot of fun, my Aunt Jean and her family come in from Oregon, and I have a bunch of other cousins/aunts/uncles that live in the Salt Lake area as well. We order a bunch of sushi and make some finger foods to munch on and just hang out. It is fun for me because I love visiting with my family, and it is fun for Davey because there are always lots of little kids to play with. As for Dave, I am not sure it is really all that fun for him, but he is a good sport about it and I try to make some of the treats he loves so he can enjoy that.

Davey LOVES playing with his cousin Natalie. Even though she is almost 7 years old she is always patient with him and up for a good time.I tried to get Davey to go to bed on New Year's Eve, but he was having none of it since there was obviously exciting stuff going on. Dave didn't even stay up till midnight, since he had been awake since 3:30 am. I finally gave in and stopped trying to get Davey to settle down. I think he finally started feeling tired at about 11:55pm and settled down to rest on the living room floor. He just wanted to be involved in the party. We let him have a glass of sparkling cider and he thought it was great fun to say "Cheers!" and "Happy New Year!" I was also glad to have someone there to give me a New Year's kiss since my dear hubby was fast asleep in bed!!

Fun Holiday Memories

2009-01-05T21:31:00.004-07:00

Ahhhhh, so I guess I am finally getting around to talking about our Christmas. We had a nice, though somewhat uneventful holiday visiting with our families in good old Cache Valley. Santa found Davey and brought him the building blocks he requested. I think we mainly had fun relaxing, hanging out, and not having to get up early for work, right Dave?

Of course Grandpa had to get Davey this fire truck. It snowed a ton on Christmas Day, so the next morning Davey got all bundled up and went out to help his Daddy clear the driveway. He is always trying to be so helpful.

However, he soon discovered it was more fun to play in the snow than to shovel it. I really enjoyed getting buried in this snowbank.Finally, he ended up wanting to sled. Unfortunately, there wasn't a sled around. But never fear, we made do with a lid to a plastic container instead. I guess when you are three years old your little rear end will fit on just about anything!!

I thought Christmas was so much fun this year. Davey loved Santa, and loved getting presents. He finally understood the whole holiday. However, he is still young enough that he isn't greedy about Christmas either. The first thing he did when we opened his blocks was pass pieces around to each of us because he wanted to share. I just wish he will stay this sweet and kind forever!!!

Pre-school Christmas Program

2008-12-24T22:48:00.003-07:00

Last week Davey had his pre-school Christmas program. He had been practicing the songs all week, and we sang them together every time we were in the car. I wasn't sure how it was all going to go. He is a pretty outgoing kid, but does get a little shy around strangers.

Here he is, waiting with his Daddy for things to get started.
He is lined up here with a bunch of kids in the class. There was a piece of tape on the floor with their names where they were supposed to stand. This is a pretty big feat for a class full of three year olds!
The told the story of "T'was the Night Before Christmas." Davey was a reindeer.
Here he is at the end standing with Santa.
Each kid had a solo during "Frosty the Snowman." His was, "He was made of snow, but the children know how he came to life one day." He actually did pretty well.
At the end, Santa stopped by for a quick visit.
He had so much fun and was pretty proud of himself. We had lots of fun watching him of course!
He also sang, "Jingle Bells", "Up on the Housetop", and "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." The last one was his favorite, he had the whole thing pretty much memorized. All in all, it was a pretty good program. Well, at least it was good as far as pre-school programs are concerned. His teachers, Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Barney did a great job putting it all together. We are so glad that Davey can go to their pre-school.

Nibley Nativity

2008-12-14T09:42:00.004-07:00

Last night we went with Dave's mom to the Old Barn in Nibley where they were doing a live Nativity. I really wanted to take Davey, since most of what he has seen so far this year has focused on Santa and the commercial side of the holidays. Don't get me wrong, we love Santa, but Davey is old enough to understand at least a little about the REAL reason we celebrate.

Anyways, the Nativity was really neat, even though it was really cold. There were all live animals, and volunteers from the community playing, Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, and Wise Men. There was some really nice music playing in the background and a voice reading the Christmas story from the New Testament. They definitely did a great job setting the right spirit for the occasion.

They did have a couple of sheep you could pet, and of course Davey didn't want to miss out on this!One of the neater things was this camel that was there. I have no idea where they found it, but it was pretty cool.
This picture cracks me up. Davey did not want to go near that camel. He liked it from far away, but this was the closest he would let Dave take him.
And of course here is the Nativity scene. Davey just stood there forever and stared. We asked him if he was ready to leave and he kept saying no. Later in the car he told me he wished he could have held Baby Jesus. It was so sweet! I promised him that when his new brother is born he can hold him as much as he wants.
Thanks Grandma for taking us to the Nativity and letting Davey see Baby Jesus. He definitely enjoyed it and I hope he remembers it at least a little over the next couple of weeks.

Children's Christmas Party

2008-12-13T14:52:00.005-07:00

Today we went with my parents to the Children's Christmas Party they have every year at the Logan Country Club. It is a lot of fun because it isn't too crowed and they have fun games for the kids to play. To make it even better we had our first real snowfall of the year, so it was beautiful outside.
One of the nice things about Davey is that he isn't scared of Santa at all. This year he is asking for building blocks. Although, yesterday, when I asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas he said, "Not anything, I already have toys." Then I asked him if he would be sad not to have presents to open for Christmas and he said, "No." I just wish all this unselfishness will last as he gets older, but I am sure it won't!
Here he is at the putting green. He loves golf already and was hugging another putter later that afternoon in the pro-shop. I guess he takes after his Daddy.This is the fishing pond. I love his cheesy little smile. Also, notice the tattoo of a gingerbread man on his hand. He definitely loved that.
Here he is at the beanbag toss. I was impressed with his arm this time around!
Here he is patiently waiting for a balloon animal. This was definitely one of the busier stations!
Finally, he made it to the front and asked the clown for a puppy. She promptly made him a weiner dog....which I popped on the way out to the car. Whoops, I was just trying to fix it!!
All in all, we had a great time. Davey even said in the car on the way home he wanted to go back to the country club later to a party and see Santa again. I told him that although this party was over, there would be more Christmas parties later. Thanks again Mom and Dad for taking us to the party!!

The Mall Santa...

2008-12-03T09:28:00.003-07:00

I am usually not a fan of mall Santas. Every time we go to see Santa at the mall, he looks like he has had better days. It is usually some college kid with a really bad beard who is sick and tired of bratty kids sitting on his lap all day. For this reason, I was not going to let Davey see Santa until we went to the Children's Christmas party at the Country Club with my parents in a few weeks. However, last night we were at the Provo Towne Center and we walked by the Santa display and I was impressed by the genuine looking Santa that was there. As you can see, he not only had a real beard, but his suit was pretty nice as well. Better, yet, since it was a Tuesday night and not crowed at all, he took the time to chat with Davey about the gifts he wants and reminded him that he needs to go to bed when we tell him to. We are milking the whole, "Be a good boy, and Santa will bring you presents" line for all it is worth. I think it is working though, because the other night Davey started crying because he knew he had been naughty and was scared Santa wasn't going to come.

Baby it's COLD outside!!

2008-11-07T09:59:00.003-07:00

Two days ago we had our first snowstorm of the season here in Utah County. First thing that morning at 8 am I opened the door to show Davey the snow outside. He got so excited and started jumping up and down. He begged to go out and play that second. However, it was barely 8 o'clock, and I am not about to go outside that early. I managed to push it off till 10 o'clock and then we headed out. Brrrrr! I was freezing!! Not to mention the fact that I couldn't find his gloves or his boots. I lasted for about 20 minutes and then I made him come in. He would have stayed out all day.
This is the little playground set we have in our tiny backyard.
I guess all that playing wore him out. I put him in his bed for a nap and when I went to check on him 10 minutes later this is where he wound up. Oh well, I guess kids will sleep anywhere!

We're having a......

2008-11-04T12:27:00.004-07:00

Yep, that's right it's another boy. For those of you who aren't aware, we are expecting our second baby on about March 20th!! We are all very excited. It is kind of funny, because before we had found out the gender, Davey said he wanted a girl. He said this every time you asked him. So, silly me, I thought he might be aware of something I wasn't. I have to admit, my three year old had me convinced it was a girl!! Needless to say, we are still excited and happy that Davey will have a new little buddy in about 4 1/2 months. As for names, we are open to suggestions....

Happy Anniversary to my Hubby!!

2008-11-03T13:20:00.004-07:00

Ahh...it has been six wonderful years since Dave and I got hitched. We celebrated our anniversary yesterday. Thanks Dave for being such a great husband. I know our life isn't always blissful, but it sure is a lot of fun. You do a great job of taking care of us and you are the world's best Dad. Of course I would do it all over again!!
In honor of my terrific husband I found this Hubby tag on one of my friend's blogs. I hope she doesn't mind if I steat it, even though she didn't tag me. Thanks Monika!!

1-where did you meet? At Willow Park on the 24th of July 2000. We were both there watching the fireworks. Cheesy, huh?

2-how long did you date before you got married? 2 years. Forever by Mormon standards.

3-how long have you been married? 6 years as of yesterday.

4-what is your favorite feature of his? His smile.

5-what is your favorite quality of his? The way he gets along with people. He is a total people person, and almost everybody likes him.

6-does he have a nickname for you? Gorda. For those of you who speak Spanish, it means "fat girl." I don't know why this is my nickname, he claims I wouldn't answer one day when he was calling my name and finally he yelled Gorda and I did, so it stuck.

7-what is his favorite food? Anything beef.

8-what is his favorite sport? To watch-basketball, specifically, the Jazz. To play-golf.

9-when and where was your first kiss? Only a few days after we met at my apartment. I had just told my roommates earlier that day that good girls didn't kiss right after the first date but he was too irresistable. I guess you can call me a hypocrite.

10-what is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Go golfing, attend sporting events, and anything fun with Davey.

11-do you have kids? Yep, one Davey who is three and stay tuned for more on this question...

12-does he have a hidden talent? Ummm, not sure, he likes to make up impromptu songs while driving.

13-how old is he? 30.

14-who said "I love you" first? Not sure, probably me.

15-what is his favorite type of music? Most rock. He loves Metallica, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson. He mostly just hates country, except for old country, like Johnny Cash.

16-what do you admire the most about him? He hardly ever gets angry, and if he does, he never holds a grudge. I myself can have a temper.

17-do you think he will read this? Eventually.

Superman...again....

2008-11-03T12:18:00.011-07:00

Davey decided he wanted to be Superman this year. For those of you who know us, this should not come as a surprise. He has been Superman four years in a row. That is every Halloween since he has been born. It all started when we found a cute Superman costume for him when he was just a couple of months old. That year Dave said he was going to be Superman every year until he could decide himself. Here is a short history of Davey as Superman...

At two months old:
One year old: Two years old:And finally, this year, three years old (notice he has grown some muscles): Now take note, I tried to give him a choice this year. I asked him what he wanted to be. I even suggested some other options, such as a fireman, golfer or Thomas the Tank Engine. I figured he is old enough to decide, and decide he did. He still wanted to be Superman!! I love it though!

Here he is on Halloween night with his cousin Jacquie. This is just before we headed out.

We went to a Trunk or Treat in our old neighborhood in Millville. Anyways, after the trunk or treat we went to Janet Alder's house, aka "The Doughnut Lady." After a couple of houses Davey really caught on. He was running up to each door and all over Millville. I find this amusing because we will be in a department store and after walking 10 feet he will be sitting on the floor complaining that he is tired. Well, I think he walked/ran, about 7 or 8 blocks, and after each door he would turn around and ask, "Mom, where is the doughnut lady?"Here is his right before we left with our old friends and neighbors the Ekstroms. It is so much more fun when you can go trick or treating with your friends.

Finally, after long and fruitful night, one last shot with the cousins. FYI, Joie is a horse...not a giraffe, cow, or dinosaur.....

More Halloween Fun...

2008-11-03T11:31:00.003-07:00

I have been going to the Pumpkin Walk in North Logan for years. I remember when they held in the middle of a farm, rather than at Elkridge Park with the paved walkways. I am always so amazed by how creative people are. I am honestly one of the most uncreative people you could ever meet. I guess I am just too practical!!

This Noah's Ark display was my favorite. It was especially fun to take Davey this year because he is at the age where he notices EVERYTHING! He could have spent hours identifying every animal there.

At the end of the walk are the cutouts. As I have mentioned before, Davey loves these things!

A couple of days later Davey had his Halloween party at pre-school. They did a little parade up and down the street. He was having a blast.

Afterwards they all posed for a picture in front of the school. They were all so cute!!

American West Heritage Center

2008-11-03T11:29:00.003-07:00

We thought it might be fun to take the kids out to the American West Heritage Center for their corn maze and other activities. Some of the Halloween masks, decorations, and creepy sounds scare Davey, so I did some research and decided that the activities here looked pretty kid friendly.

Here are Davey and Jacquie outside of the corn maze. They actually did pretty well in it. We went at night and parts of it were pretty dark, but they didn't seem scared. They did get a little tired though. Davey had to ride on Dave's shoulder through the last third of the maze.

There was a "witch" telling stories, and of course these two loved that!!
Stay tuned for more Halloween fun!!

Fire Station

2008-11-03T11:24:00.004-07:00

Davey's Grandpa used to be a fireman. Now he is a consultant and goes all over the country to teach classes to firemen. Well, lucky for us he was in Provo last week teaching, so one night we met up with him at the fire station and he arranged for a Davey to take a tour of the place. Of course the neatest thing there for a three year old boy to see is the fire trucks! The firemen let him sit inside and they even turned on lights. It was almost 9pm though, so we decided it would be best not to turn on the siren or honk the horn though. We definitely had a good time.

Field trip to the Big Red Barn

2008-10-01T09:48:00.003-06:00

Davey went on his first pre-school field trip yesterday. We went to the Big Red Barn in Santaquin. I volunteered to help chaperone. The Big Red Barn is at a huge farm with fruit orchards and pumpkin patches. The also gave us some yummy doughnuts and took us for a ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor.

Davey always loves posing in cut outs like these. He knows exactly what to do.
Here he is in the pumpkin patch. It was kind of fun to run out an find a pumpkin. We always have gone to the grocery store. Either that or Gerald Knights house in Nibley.
He absolutely loves going to pre-school and playing with all of his friends. I honestly don't think I have met a more social kid.
He loved riding behind the tractor. It was definitely fun and bumpy.
Here is the final choice. The man at the farm told him that he could wash the dirt off the pumpkin while he was taking a bath. I tried to convince Davey that we should wash it in the sink, but he is pretty insistent that we should do it in the tub. We shall see.

At the golf course...

2008-10-01T09:30:00.003-06:00

Okay, so anyone who knows us, knows that our family loves to golf. Davey has always played around the yard with toy clubs, but we hadn't taken him to the golf course itself. Last Friday evening we decided to head out on one of the last tee times and see how he did. We talked to him about trying to be quiet and following directions. He did okay at first, but whispering for 2-3 hours is pretty tough for a 3 year old!!!

His favorite thing was actually riding in the cart. I think it is the whole idea of riding in a moving vehicle while unrestrained.
It was actually kind of nice to be out on a nice fall evening, just the three of us...
Dave is trying to get him to focus and actually putt the ball.
Every time the ball goes in the hole he jumps up and down and cheers for himself. Then he looks at me and says, "Mommy, take a picture!!"

First day of Pre-school.

2008-09-30T13:16:00.003-06:00

We weren't going to put Davey in pre-school until next year. He is so young, he barely turned 3 on August 31st, so I thought maybe he could stand to wait one more year. But, then we moved, and I realized that since we don't really know many people down here, I need to get him into a situation so he could socialize. The wife of one of Dave's co-workers runs a pre-school in Spanish Fork called Creative Care. I took Davey there one day before school started to check things out and I practically had to drag him out of there.

Here he is at our front door right before we left on the first day. I don't know why he looks like this, he is usually pretty excited to do anything. I think he might have been mad at me for rushing him so we could be on time.

Davey loves wearing his backpack and showing it off. Even if it is totally empty he always remembers to take it with him.

Here he is sitting on the bench outside after I picked him up on the first day. He was a lot happier than earlier in the morning.

Happy Birthday Davey!!

2008-09-30T13:06:00.003-06:00

Davey turned 3 on August 31st. Of course we went up to Cache Valley to celebrate with family and friends. Being Labor Day weekend most of our friends were out of town, but a few were able to stop by. We kept things pretty low key and played on the giant water slide and broke open a pinata. Anyways, I can't believe he has gotten to be such a big boy!! Where did my baby go?

Davey, Delaynie Justesen, and Jacquie at the top of the slide. I think they were debating who was going to first.

Davey and Jacquie playing with the party favors. These two can be trouble!

Davey loves his cousin Joie. He is always asking to hold her or pulling faces and showing off to make her laugh.

And of course everyone loves Uncle Matt.....

Whoa....I'm back!!!

2008-09-30T12:47:00.003-06:00

Can you say, SLACKER? That is what I have been when it comes to this blog. I has been two months since I have written. I have even missed Davey's birthday. I must be a horrible mother!! Oh well, I guess I will have to try and catch up. I will start with a few random pics that really don't deserve an entry of their own.

We have been trying to make the most of our season pass to Hogle Zoo. Here we are with my Mom in front the bears.

Here they are on the carousel. Ever since he saw Kung Fu Panda, Davey loves Pandas!

Davey has been working hard on going potty for the last month. He finally earned this Thomas the Tank Engine Water Tower set from Grandma. As you can see both he and Jacquie are pretty excited about it.

The Ringling Brothers circus was in town this last weekend and of course we had to go. Davey said his favorite things were the tigers and elephants. We had a great time.

Last night we went to the Mascot Bowl at Lehi High School. It was basically a charity fundraiser with all the mascots from UofU, BYU, Weber State, UVU, the Jazz Bear, Orem Owlz, even Denver Broncos and Phoenix Suns. Of course our favorite was Big Blue. We may live in Utah County now, but we know which team wears True Blue.

Michael Phelps!!

2008-08-14T12:29:00.003-06:00

Of course much of this last week has been spent watching the Olympics. It is always fun to get excited every four years. Davey has especially enjoyed the swimming. His new favorite thing to say is "Michael Phelps." Whenever we turn the Olympics on he says, "Mommy, I wanna see Michael Phelps!" Even when the women are swimming, he asks which one is Michael Phelps. Needless to say, it is pretty funny. Anyways, I wonder who he will like when we start watching track and field?

The County Fair

2008-08-13T10:56:00.009-06:00

Last weekend was the Cache County Fair, so of course we went. Davey was really excited to go and see all of the animals. We went with Dave's whole family, including his cousin Jacquie, who is three months older than him. Yes, he really is almost whole head taller though!! When these two get together they can be crazy.

He is so cheesy when he is getting his picture taken. Grandpa is daring them to touch the pigs tail. Davey wasn't totally sure, but he did it!They were dancing around to the music and being silly.
Dave's sister Jeanne was in town from Las Vegas. Of course they love Aunt Jeanne!!
The first ride we went on was the Ferris wheel. Here he is a the top with Dave.
I was totally shocked when he said he wanted to ride the rides by himself!! This is the kid who got freaked out and wouldn't ride the carousel at Hogle Zoo. I think he decided to do it, since Jacquie went with him. Nothing like a little peer pressure!!

I think he is trying to look like he is having fun.

By the end of the night he didn't want to leave.

So Davey cried when we had to go home. Luckily, the Utah County Fair is this week, so we might head to that one night. I am excited that he had fun though, maybe in a year he will be ready for Disneyland!!!!

Moving on......

2008-08-11T14:33:00.004-06:00

This post makes me so sad, even though what I am writing about happened over a week ago. So the time has finally come for the Milligan Family to move on. In May of this year Dave got an awesome job opportunity to become a Human Resource Supervisor for a company named Arch Coal. The big catch is that the new position would require us to pick up and move. We felt that career-wise it would be the best thing for us to do. Personally, I would be a big fat liar if I didn't say that it was really hard for me. We had a great home, in a great neighborhood that was extremely close to both of our families. We have especially realized the importance of our families over the past few years since we had a child. I also especially loved our neighborhood and the dear friends we made there.

However, looking on the positive side, Dave has moved on to a better postion which he is thoroughly enjoying. We have also had a lot of financial stress alleviated with the career change. We have now moved to Utah County (who'd have thought!!), which isn't that bad of a place to live at all. Although in my opinion, nothing quite compares to the beauty of Cache Valley. Our biggest hope is that this move helps to bring us closer together as a family. And who knows, maybe in a few years time we will end up back in Logan. Either that or we will love it here even more and never want to leave. Here are just a few pics of our old home and friends. I hope we can still keep in touch even though we have moved away.

I know, it isn't really that exciting, but we built it ourselves and it is where we raised Davey the first few years. I have to say I have formed an attachment.

Our neighbor Jim Ekstrom and his grandson Colin. They were always so nice to take Davey on 4-wheeler rides around the block. I also got to be close friends with his wife, Kelly.

Family Reunion in Colorado

2008-07-24T17:59:00.009-06:00

This last week our family went on a vacation to Estes Park, Colorado to the "Tang Family Reunion." We went with my Mom, Dad, and brother, Trevor. We stayed at this place called the YMCA of the Rockies. It is basically this huge place that is a summer camp. I guess it is a huge destination for family reunions. There are also a lot of kids there that have been sent to summer camp by their parents. We had a lot of fun. It was Davey's second plane ride. He flew on a plane when he was less than a year old, so he doesn't remember it. He was so good the whole time. He loved looking out the window and looking at the clouds and the mountains. He wasn't scared at all, even during the turbulence.

Davey and Daddy getting ready for take-off!! Notice he is reading the emergency instructions located in the seat pocket in front of him!! The first full day there I went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park with my Mom, Dad, and Trevor. Dave and Davey stayed back at camp. This is a pretty little lake called Nymph Lake. It was covered with lily pads.
My cousin Andrew has two little boys. Anson here in this picture is almost 5 years old. Yes, I know Davey is almost the same size and he is not even three. Anyways, the two of them had a great time together. I don't think Anson even knows my name. He just kept calling me "Davey's Mom." Oh well, I guess that works okay for me!!!
Anson and Davey hanging out on the porch of the administration building.

We decided to take the boys for a pony ride. They were pretty excited!!

Davey's horse was named Strawberry Shortcake. He still remembers that whenever you ask him which horse he rode. He had so much fun. He wasn't scared at all. I can't figure it out, he isn't scared to ride a live pony, but he is scared of his Hokey Pokey Elmo.I led the pony around on a short trail.

Mah-jong is a game that my family loves to play. It is kind of a Chinese version of Gin. My Grandma Tang still plays at least a couple of times a week, and when she does, it is for several hours. They taught Dave how to play and he loved it. They said he was actually pretty good and understanding the strategy. He is excited to go visit my Grandma now so that he can play with her. She will get a kick out of him, but I am sure after playing a few games with him she will get irritated because he doesn't play fast enough for her. She takes her Mah-jong pretty seriously.Here are Ayden, Anson, and Davey with my cousin Elsie. How do you like that Elsie, you made it into my blog!!!

My cousin Jasmine and Davey.

My cousin Pam was so nice to Davey. She even bought him this little stuffed dog he loves to play with.
We tried to teach Davey all the hand motions to the YMCA. He actually did a pretty good job.

It was fun to go away and have a real family vacation. We look forward to doing it again soon. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us to the YMCA of the Rockies.!!

Dress up time...

2008-07-17T11:01:00.002-06:00

So when we were in Salt Lake, Natalie helped Davey find these silly old Halloween costumes in the closet. He thought it was hilarious.

Check out that look on his face!!
Later Josh decide to join in the fun. There were only two costumes, but Brigham still didn't want to be left out of the picture.

Fun in the water!

2008-07-17T10:55:00.004-06:00

Last week we went to SLC and played with all of our cousins. Here are all of the grandkids and great-grandkids. My mother-in-law let us borrow her slide and it was a definite hit. Thanks Grandma!!
Davey and Natalie loved to play with the water gun.
Kristen, the twins Josh and Brigham, and Davey. It sure looks like they are enjoying themselves.

I know this isn't necessarily playing on the waterslide. But, the other day Davey, Josh and Brigham decided to take a bath together. Thank goodness they are being modest!!!

Time with family...

2008-07-17T10:49:00.003-06:00

During the summer we usually spend a lot of time with family who comes to visit.

Davey really likes to be just like everyone else. He also loves to help. One of his favorite things to do is help my mom water the flowers. I think he just likes to play with the water.Here is he is with my Grandma Tang. He just loves her and she loves him. He is always giving her hugs and following her around. This is outside of her house. She walks around outside every day for exercise and he was walking with her.
Here he is coloring with his cousin Natalie. She is pretty good with him and lets him do everything she does.

A goin' fishin'

2008-07-16T17:54:00.007-06:00

Today Davey and I went fishing in North Ogden at the Cold Springs Trout Farm. We went there with my mom and my Aunt Jean, who is visiting from Oregon with her two girls Madeleine and Natalie (or as Davey calls her, "Matalie"). This is the trout farm that my Grandpa Tang liked to take the grandkids fishing before he passed away. Anyways, it is pretty simple. They have fishing poles there and we brought our own can of corn to use as bait. There are so many fish, if it takes you longer than five minutes to catch one something is going wrong. Anyways, Davey was super excited to try out fishing. When I first told him we were going to catch fish he clapped his hands together in a catching motion. I guess he thought we were going to just reach in a grab them.

He was okay holding the pole, but when he caught his first fish he did not like watching it wiggle all over. Natalie is not scared of the fish at all. She was showing him how to hold the fish in her hands and as you can see, he wanted to run away.

He figured his Ho Ho will protect him.

I was able to get him to slowly warm up to the idea of the fish. Here he was finally willing to at least stand next to me while I held the fish. I even convinced him to touch it with one finger.

Here he is taking a break with his cousin Madeleine.

On the last fish he was finally willing to hold the fish (well, sort of) and drop it into the bucket.

It was a great day and even though it was really hot we were able to bring several fish home for a tasty dinner. Yummmmm!!!

Fun filled Fourth...

2008-07-05T16:32:00.010-06:00

The Fourth of July is always a fun time for us. Dave's family especially likes to do a lot of different things. The day before the fourth we had the girls I babysat this summer, the Justesens, along with some of the other neighborhood kids over to play on this waterslide Dave's mom bought for the grandkids. Needless to say our front yard looked like a carnival, but everyone had a blast.

Delaynie and Courtnee were being so silly. They both thought they needed to wear goggles for a while.

On the fourth itself Davey and I decided to go watch the parade in Hyrum with the Justesen girls. Dave's Grandpa Bob always drives several of his old cars in the parade, but I figured Davey is too little to appreciate riding in the un-air conditioned cars on such a hot day, so we decided to watch and collect candy ourselves.

Here is Davey and his good friend Delaynie waiting for the parade to start. He had no clue what a parade is. I told him he would get candy, so he was happy to come along.

He was so funny the entire parade. He had this expression on his face pretty much the whole time. I thought he might catch on to the, "run and grab as much candy as you can" idea when he saw Breanna and Courtnee doing it, but all he did is stand there and watch. I had to point out the pieces of candy on the ground right at his feet. Oh well, I guess there are worse qualities than not being greedy that my kid can have in life!

A new "do"

2008-07-05T16:09:00.003-06:00

I have always loved Davey's hair. I like it a little longer and shaggy, mainly because it looks different from all the other little boys his age. However, it can get really messy looking, especially after his naptime. Some days, if I don't do anything with it, he looks like he has a chronic case of bedhead. We also have to blow dry it after his bath since it can take a long time to dry.

It has started getting really hot this summer and finally Dave told me I have to do something about Davey's hair. He sometimes wakes up from his naps and his head is soaking wet from the sweat. So we went to Great Clips and got a faux-hawk. Davey thinks it is fun, but he does sometimes get irritated when I want to put gel in it. I do have to admit that I like the look a lot. He looks so much more like Dave now, which is pretty cute. I think we will let it grow long again in the winter though!!!

The budding artist....

2008-07-05T15:58:00.006-06:00

Davey has decided that he really loves to paint. Ever since Dave's Dad (aka Grandpa Bug) let him paint with him in his studio he wants to paint all the time. We took him to the Children's Art Yard at Summerfest two days in a row. Even still, every time we drive by the Tabernacle in Logan he points and yells "Davey paint at Tabernacle!!!" Sheesh, the kid has an excellent memory!!

Since he enjoyed himself so much painting at Summerfest I decided to take him to this place in SLC that lets him paint his own ceramics. He painted his very own dinosaur.

As you can see, he is very intent on his work.

Hogle Zoo-Part 2

2008-07-05T15:44:00.004-06:00

So, since we bought a membership to the zoo, and because we love going there so much we decided to go back with Daddy. Everything is so much more fun when ever Daddy is there. Davey is still a little nervous around the elephant that sprays water and makes strange noises, but he was willing to have his picture taken as long as he got to sit on Daddy's shoulders!!

Here he is with his favorite white alligator. Or you could call it a crocodile. It just depends on the day

Davey and Daddy even got to ride the train together. So much fun!!

We love you Daddy!!!

2008-06-15T17:30:00.005-06:00

We just wanted to take the opportunity on this Father's Day to tell Dave, or Daddy, how much we love an appreciate him. He always does fun things with us and teaches us how to tease. He works so hard taking care of us so that Mommy can stay home and take care of Davey. He is the best Dad in the whole world. We especially appreciate many of the recent sacrifices that he has made on our behalf. Happy Father's Day Daddy. You are the best!!!

What a zoo!!!

2008-06-10T17:33:00.009-06:00

This last weekend Davey and I went to Hogle Zoo with my Aunt LaVerne and cousin Will. Davey is at such a fun age right now. He is finally at the age where he gets super excited about things like the zoo. He knows most of the animals and their sounds. He really liked everything there except for is big metal elephant just outside the elephant exhibit. It made elephant sounds, and then it would spray water out the front of its trunk just when you were least expecting it!! Davey was right in front of the trunk when it sprayed and it freaked him out so bad. He wouldn't even go within 20 feet of the thing, although he later enjoyed recounting that it "spway Davey face" to Daddy. Needless to say we had a good time and bought a year membership so we will have to go back and see the "scary elephant."

My girls...

2008-06-03T15:52:00.005-06:00

This past school year I had the chance to babysit these adorable girls all year. Their mom is a school teacher at Millville elementary, and when she first called me I wasn't so sure I wanted the extra work of 3 more kids. However they turned out to be the cutest, most well behaved little girls I have ever known. The main reason I initially agreed to do it was because I thought the experience would be good for Davey. Although it was a difficult learning process for him, he eventually learned to share, be nice, and to play well with others. I hope he won't regress now that they are gone, but I am sure we will get together with Breanna, Courtnee, and Delaynie soon. Or as Davey calls them, Nanna, Corpee, and NeeNee. He still remembers them often in his nightly prayers.

Courtnee on her kindergarten graduation day. What a big girl!!! Off to first grade!!

Their last day here. I was so sad to see them go. Angela, you have raised a terrific group of girls.

A day out with Thomas

2008-06-03T15:43:00.005-06:00

Last year we really wanted to go see Thomas the Tank Engine when we came to the Heber Creeper over Memorial Day weekend. We weren't able to make it then, but we made a point of planning on it this year. Honestly when it started getting closer I contemplated whether or not we really needed to go. But then Davey started seeing commercials for it on TV, and would say he wanted to go, so how could I resist? Anyways, it was a fun activity, as well as a little bit of a zoo with all the little kids running around. The ride itself was a bit anti-climatic. You basically get on the train and travel about 15 mph for about one mile, and then you back up. Dave said he is willing to skip next year, but Davey sure had a good time. He is still talking about it.

And of course we weren't able to resist the souvenir tent. He came away with a t-shirt and sunglasses. I think the smile says it all.

Second Honeymoon (actually our first)...

2008-06-03T15:02:00.009-06:00

I guess some people might think this is sad, but Dave and I never went on a real honeymoon. He was between jobs when we got married a little over five years ago and we just couldn't afford it. We did go to Little America in SLC, but it was far from exotic, especially considering it was the middle of November and freezing cold. So a few months ago we decided now that Davey is older it was time for us to go on a little vacation by ourselves. We actually decided to go on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. For anyone who is wondering, a cruise is definitely the most relaxing way to vacation. I think Dave was happy to be going to Mexico, simply because he could try using some of his Spanish. Anyways, the boat was fun, as well as the shore excursions, here are a few pics.

Me on the sun deck...

Dave with some fruit sculptures. We took this picture because we figured Davey would find it amusing.

One of the pulmonias in Mazatlan. This was actually our favorite city. We liked it because of its old town feel. We even ate lunch and a roadside stand in Old Town. I had some shrimp that had probably been caught just that morning. It was delicious. A little risky maybe if you are scared of food poisoning, but this is the real way to get to know the locals.

David and I on a water taxi in Cabo San Lucas.

We did a couple of really fun excursions. Here is a quick video clip of me ziplining in Puerto Vallarta.

We also went parasailing in Cabo San Lucas. This clip is of me taking off of the back of the boat. Contrary to my expectations, parasailing is not scary at all. It is really easy, pretty much all you do is sit in the harness and enjoy the ride. It is actually very peaceful riding above the boat taking in the sights.

Just one last FYI, I know you are probably thinking I am a bit full of myself since almost all of these videos are of me, but Dave was our designated photographer. The parasailing was actually so peaceful he took the camera with him, since you don't really even need to hold on with both hands!!

Baby Animals.....

2008-06-03T14:44:00.007-06:00

Okay, so I had the greatest of intentions when I started this blog. However, I keep finding myself sidetracked whenever I think about making a post. So here are a few pics of us at Baby Animal Days. I know, I know, it was almost 2 months ago, but Davey really loved it. When he woke up that morning I asked if he wanted to go see baby animals and you wouldn't have believed how quickly he ran to get his shoes and his clothes. Usually I have to chase him around the house all morning in order to get him dressed.

Here he is riding a horse. He still says he wants to ride a horse every few days or so.

Feeding a calf from a bottle....

Holding a bunny...I love his cheesy smile, he always does that.

Riding in a wagon with my Dad....

All in all, it was a pretty fun day. We just love going on outings like this because it is fun to see him getting so excited. I have some more pictures of other things we have done recently, but I will post them separately.

Davey J....

2008-04-04T16:06:00.009-06:00

Little David Jack is 2 1/2 years old. However, he will inform you that his name is "Just Davey." Not Davey J, not Davey Milligan, "Just Davey." Anyways, he is a bundle of energy and a very independent two year old. If you were to look at him you would wonder if he is really mine and Dave's child, since he has bright blue eyes and blondish hair. However, if you spend any time around him you will be able to tell he is his father's son. He acts just like his dad, he loves to laugh, tease, and play. He wants to golf, play soccer, basketball, and baseball. I guess he is a pretty typical little boy. He is almost always in a good mood and is never really shy, and if he is, it doesn't last for long. Here are a few fun photos that we have taken of him recently.

He loves stickers and he especially loves to play with Daddy.

Davey also loves to help with the dishes. I just hope he is as willing when he is twelve years old!!

Look at the cool new trick he can do!!

One last thing, Davey loves to have his picture taken. When you hold up the camera and say "cheese" he just hams it up big time. Here he is wearing a Chinese outfit my mom got him for Chinese New Year.

Introducing.....us..

2008-04-04T15:53:00.000-06:00

So...I have decided to start blogging because I need keep track of Davey's growing up!!! I don't scrapbook. They are cute but they take too much time and money. I don't keep a journal, I don't know why...maybe I am lazy. I do love to take pictures and I need to keep track of all the fun memories we have while I can still remember them. Davey is growing up so fast, and every day he does the funniest things, so I thought this would be a fun way to remember them. Anyways, I will leave this first post at that and find some more fun pictures to post along with a little more info about our family.