new teeth

 

 

Des didn't start to get any teeth until he was about ten months old.

 

He got his upper and lower front teeth, but then has stayed with just four teeth for almost a year.



 

Until now...

now he has six teeth coming in at once,  two of them being molars.

 For all of that he hasn't been too cranky.

I am thankful for that.

 

 



30 weeks

 

Yeah, typical story of first pregnancy vs. later ones...

but you've probably noticed I haven't been as good at keeping everyone updated on this one.

 

Here I am last Saturday, 30 weeks.

About two months to go.

 

 

 



Great Trek 2012: part V, Phoenix

 

 After the Utah festivities Curt headed back to Michigan to do less fun things like work and I headed down to Arizona with mom and Shane to visit the grandparents.

Des did surprisingly well on the 11 hour drive down.

The portable DVD player was definitely my friend.

 

Phoenix was exactly how it should be to fit into childhood memories: hot, pool-time, fabulous food, lots of family, monsoon storms.

 

 

Des loved the pool.  Awesome, but not awesome in that I had to watch him like a hawk as he had no fear.

 

Melynda and her family had headed down through the night Sunday night, so were there when we got there.  They went early because they had to leave a little early.

 

 

Food.  Aw, the food.

Delicious.

 

And the getting to see cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents.

That's the stuff that makes life great.

 

 

The kids were practicing their lizard catching skills furiously.

They did catch two little babies, only one of which made it through the week to be released.

 

 

Grandpa charming the baby.  She calmed right down in his arms.

Kind of surprises me because his voice is kind of naturally loud.

And because we were all afraid of him when we were little. There's definitely that.

Trent said it best: he's getting to be a big softy  :)

 

 

Definitely a well enjoyed visit.

The only drawbacks were related to Des being away from home for so long...he was just done.

Sleeping was off, there was crankiness.

The only things that would calm him down sometimes were walks and being outside and pining after the neighbors basketball hoops.

I tell you, the kid is obsessed.

 

 

I ended the Great Trek of 2012 on Saturday morning, flying to Michigan.

I would be lying if I didn't say I was absolutely dreading that flight.  I just knew it would involve the whole passenger list dying to get off of the plane and away from the screaming child.

But I was pleasantly surprised.

One of the best flights ever.

And then we were home to recuperate.

 

 



Great Trek 2012: part IV, Utah again

 

After Yellowstone we all headed back down to Salt Lake for a special weekend.
Little Londynn was getting blessed and Shane turned 12 and was ordained a deacon.

First though, an update on the home that is being built for mom in Saratoga Springs.
While I was in Utah they dug the hole...
(The hole doesn't look like a hole because she has a walk out basement)
 

 

...but as of Friday the house looks like this...

...yeah I'm shocked at the speed they're building too..

 

She has awesome views like this...

(um, this is the view from the basement...*shaking of head in amazement*)

 

...it's a pretty good incline, so even when the lot behind her is built up the view of the lake will be there.

 

She closed on the West Jordan house a little bit after I left, so she and all of her stuff are at Melynda's until this one is done.

 

 

At any rate, back to the summary of the last shin dig at the house I spent my teenage years in...

 

Since everyone was dressed up I tried to get pictures

(with varying success, some people were just a bit fast at changing out of their nice duds)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kinsey is the major reason I have any pictures of me from all of this trip...Thanks Kins.

 



 

 

 

The little ginger baby...so adorable.

 

 

As I mentioned, it was a special day for Shaners, turning 12 and receiving the priesthood.

 

 

 

 

He had requested homemade ice cream instead of a cake, but we still needed candle blowing...so I improvised with some cookies.

...but then we brought out a surprise cake for mom.

She doesn't turn the big 5-0 until September 30th, but I won't be in Utah then and wanted to be there for something.  A cake will have to do. 



 

 

Just one more leg of this big long trip of mine to go...

 

 





Great Trek 2012: part III, Yellowstone

 

I guess since we're all getting old it was time to start family reunions with just our clan.

That's a weird transition...I have a kid...who has cousins.

Since I was already in Utah, I hitched a ride to Yellowstone with Mom and Shane.

Curt drove the Explorer from Michigan and met us there.

 

I had never been up to Yellowstone and I really enjoyed it.

Besides a little rain just as we got there, the weather was clear and the temperatures were beautiful.

 

I took literally over 1,000 pictures...and I whittled them down the best I could...but be aware that there are still a lot that I want to share.

 



 

 

We carried Des a lot in the backpack carrier that Mom carried us in when we were little.

 

One of the best parts of camping is the camp fire.  Natural gathering place.

 

 

 

Daddy

 

 

 

We took a family trek out to Old Faithful.  It was neat, but it was probably my least favorite "attraction" of the park because of the wait and the crowds.

 

 

 

 

Hang out time with family was the best.

 

 

Des was happy as long as he had "balls" (rocks) to throw.  Luckily he was usually OK at not throwing at people or things.  Nevertheless, camping with a toddler is kind of exhausting, we needed a leash.

 

Glad Grandma Losee was able to come up.

 

 

 

Our campsite was surrounded by this dropoff down to the lake, which made for some pretty views.

 

 

Poor Des took a hard face plant and split his chin.  Luckily Jann had brought some steri-strips...he was not going to leave band-aids in place.

 

The discovery of juice boxes happened on this trip, they are loved.

 

 

A big group of us headed down to the lake for an afternoon excursion.

 

The water was very chilly.

 

 

But the beach was made up of some really neat rocks.

 

 

Jann continued the Losee tradition of having the kids "fish" for prizes. 

 

Most pitched in a bit, but Mom kept the whole thing running smoothly by working really hard.

 

 

 

 

What's camping without getting a little dirty, right?

 

Great success.

And now we definitely need to plan more get togethers like it.