BUSY!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY are our lives right now. Tate's finishing his Ed. Spec. degree, I am teaching at CWI and writing some curriculum for Melba. Sawyer is busy learning and discovering new things each day. We are all doing great and enjoying life! I might feel inclined to write more or perhaps post some pics if there was any indication that anyone actually reads this blog. Alas, there is not, so this post is what it is!!

Quick update!

I decided to take the day off today to enjoy some well-deserved relaxation so I actually have a little time to update the blog. I have been teaching at CWI for the past few weeks and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! It is so wonderful to teach for an hour with zero interruptions and zero attitude and disrespect from ungrateful students. I am so happy to finally be teaching college.

Tate is keeping extremely busy as well. He is enjoying his new job as principal but has quickly learned that there is a lot of work that goes into running a school. Hopefully he will be able to keep up with everything.

I took Sawyer in today for his 15 month check-up. He weighed 21 pounds (16th percentile) and was 33 inches (84th percentile). I can't believe how fast he is growing up. He is learning new things everday. Here are a couple pics from today. He is such a wonderful little guy that he even helps me clean the kitchen!

Everything Else (3 of 3)

In other news...I got a new job or I guess I should say another job. On Tuesday I am beginning to teach two adjunct math courses at CWI. I am super excited as teaching college has always been a goal of mine. It is not Harvard but it is a step closer, I think. Tate also got a promotion at work. He is now the principal of the new alternative school that Melba has started. We are so excited for our new jobs and enjoy all of the opportunities that life has brought us lately. In Sawyer news, he has become quite skilled with using a fork. We have also begun potting training him. The first few attempts were unsuccessful as he peed on the floor but he is now starting to enjoy sitting on his little potty. On another note, we got a new living room set and a new car. We have had a wonderful year this year and thank Heavenly Father for everything that we have been blessed with! Here are a few more random pictures for your enjoyment!!!

New Year's (2 of 3)

On New Year's Eve we had our annual Leavitt Cookie Cook-off. A contest that the contestants prepare for all year. This year I made chocolate chip sandwich cookies with a cream cheese filling, half dipped in chocolate. I must say, they were amazing! I was planning to take the title for the third time, but it seems as though some of the judges, despite the fact that my cookies were by far the best, decided to choose a cookie of a person who had not won the contest yet in order to keep morale up. That person was Nichole, who I must say, made a pretty nasty sugar cookie. Jealous you say...absolutely not!! Here are some pics from that event.

Christmas (1 of 3)

I am no longer apologizing for always being late and hardly ever posting. The few of you who actually read this blog, I'm sure, have come to the conclusion that I am always about three weeks behind with everything. Anyway, Christmas this year (or last year I guess) was awesome. Tate and I were really looking forward to it this year because we actually have a kid old enough to enjoy some of the festivities. On Christmas morning we opened presents at our house and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Leavitt's to open presents and eat delicious food. Here are some pics of wonderful holiday.










Do you think this little guy enjoyed Christmas? I think his face in this pic says it all!

Sawyer turns 1!!!

Last Tuesday Sawyer turned one. It was one of those bitter-sweet moments that life often brings. As cliche as it sounds, he is growing up way too fast. We had planned to have a party last Saturday but it got put on hold because Tate's wonderful grandma passed away. I promise to post some pictures as soon as we can reschedule the party. Here are some other pics and his one year stats for your pleasure!
Height: 31" (70th percentile)
Weight: 20 lbs. (10th percentile)
Says about fifty words
Walks like a pro
Refuses to eat baby food but still wants the bottle
Sleeps 9-11 hours a night
Loves playing outside
Is a total daddy's boy

Almost a year!

So I realize that I have not been very good at updating the blog and now that we are back in school it will probably get worse. However, I figured that I would give everyone a quick update on everything. We started teaching again about a month ago. I have really been enjoying this year as my classes are a lot smaller than they have been in the past. This year I am teaching Algebra and Spanish. I finished my masters this summer and have been enjoying not going to school although I am sure that eventually I will go back to work on a doctorate. Tate will finish his masters in bilingual education this fall and he is also working on his ed. spec. degree in administration. He is very busy but enjoys every minute of it. Sawyer is almost a year and we cannot believe how fast he is growing up. He has been walking for several weeks now which is both scary and exciting for Tate and me. Here are his 11 month stats and some pictures for your enjoyment.





11 Month Stats
Height: 30 inches (80th percentile)
Weight: 18 pounds (7th percentile)
Words that he says: mama, dada, nana, baba (bottle), uh oh, no, tickle, dog, duck, clap, din din (food)
Animal sounds that he makes: cat, dog, duck, pig, dinosaur, sheep, horse, cow
Walks all over the place
Has finally started sleeping through the night (thank goodnes!!)
Has eight teeth with two more on the way and likes to bite people
Loves reading books
Loves playing outside
Absolutely loves riding four wheelers

Six Months Already?!?!?!

Recently Sawyer turned six months old. We can't believe how quickly he is growing up. He is changing and definately getting cuter every day. Here are his stats and some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Height: 28 inches (84th percentile)
Weight: 16.5 pounds (16th percentile)
Rolls all over the place in both directions
Army crawls
Says dadadadada, nanananana, babababab, and mamamamama
Smiles and laughs all of the time
Eats everything
Bites (he has four teeth already)
Loves nanas, strawberries, peaches, corn, applesauce, carrots, raspberries and green beans
Is the cutest baby in the world!!!

Pictures!

Everything here is going well. We have just been busy, busy, busy as usual. I just finished another one of my classes for my Masters degree. I only have one left to take in the summer and then I am done. Tate is finishing up with his Masters in the fall as well.

Sawyer is doing great. He is five months this week and I can't believe how fast he is growing. He has grown almost five inches since his two month check up and he went from the 21st percentile in height to the 78th. He rolled over for the first time (front to back) at three months and just last week he started rolling from his back to his front. He has also started to scoot on his belly like a caterpillar. We are anticipating the day that he will start crawling. We started him on solid foods last week as well and he is really enjoying them. We love this little boy so much.

I know I promised these in my last post so here they are!!!

Quick Update!

So I realize that I have failed to post in a long time, but with the holidays, school and a new baby I have just been way too busy. I am sure you all know that little Sawyer arrived in October--the 26th to be exact at 8:04 pm after fourteen hours of labor. He was six pounds eight ounces and has been a joy from the start. He really is a good-natured baby. He has been laughing and smiling since he was about a month old and he started sleeping through the night a couple weeks ago. We love him so much and are thankful for the joy that he brings into our lives.

The holidays were great this year. It is always nice to have the family together. We opened presents Christmas morning and then had a delicious breakfast cooked by the men in the family. We also had our annual cookie cook-off. I was sure that I was going to win for the third year in a row with my delicious somoa cookies but I was beaten by a non-Leavitt--no hard feelings Danna!! That same night the girls also rocked the boys world in the traditional trivial pursuit match. It was also nice to be able to relax and catch up on sleep as all of the aunts were fighting over who got to hold Sawyer:) Over new year's weekend we also had Sawyer's baby blessing. It was beautiful and again nice to see all of our family.

I had to return to work last week after a ten week break. It was extremely hard--especially to leave my baby. But grandma Leavitt is watching him so that makes it easier. I also start school again in a week. I have three more classes to get my Masters so I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to be done and see where life takes us after that. Tate is busy also. He will finish his Masters in Bilingual Education this summer.

Well I had every intention of posting pictures when I started typing this post but now I am just too tired. Pictures to come soon I promise!!!

Baby and Anniversary

Well, we have two newsworthy items to report today. The first, and most exciting, is that we had another ultra sound today. The doctor checked everything and said that it all looks great. He also said that the placenta has attached to the very front of my belly and that my baby is trapped behind it for the time being. We didn't get very good ultrashound shots but here is a video for your enjoyment. I am 24 weeks along now and getting more and more excited with every passing day. I have stared working on the nursery, but am not getting as much done as I would like because I am still going to school for six hours a day. However, I will be done in three weeks and then I can completely focus on baby stuff--I can't wait.

We also celebrated our 5th anniversary this past week. I can't believe that it has been five years since we got married. Here are some of the major events in our lives over the past five years and some pictures of our wonderful wedding day!

• Two bachelor degrees
• Two trips to Mexico
• One trip to Florida
• Two master degrees (in progress)
• One baby boy (on the way)
• One bank job
• Two teaching jobs
• One house bought
• Another car purchased
• Hundreds of dates
• A couple of fights
• Multiple church callings

Boy or Girl?

You will have to see for yourselves. The ultrasound was one of the best experiences of our lives and the doctor said that everything looks great!

Big News!

Well, I guess since it was published in the school paper today that it is finally time for us to go public with our big news. The rumors are true, we are expecting our first child. I am currently about 16 weeks and due the end of October. The first three months were pure heck--I lost ten pounds from throwing up all the time. Things are getting better though and now the vomit attacks are few and far between. We don't know what we are having yet, but plan on finding out in a few weeks. I am sure that it is a girl, but Tate really wants a boy. I guess we will find out soon enough. We are very happy and excited for this new blessing and challenge. I am not big on prego pictures so this will probably be one of just a few. You can see my belly starting to poke out.

Other than that our lives are pretty much the same old stuff. We are still going to school. I finished up my Masters thesis and it is so nice to have it out of the way. Now I just have to go back and take a few summer classes. Tate will have his Masters in another year. We will see where life takes us after that!!

SURPRISE!!!

I found this on a friend's blog and thought that it sounded fun. I don't know that three people even read my blog, but here is to wishful thinking.

So here's how it works:The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch though...Post this same thing on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift!

Christmas, New Years and Everything Else!!

As always this post is a little late but better that than never I suppose. Anyway, we had a wonderful Christmas. Tate and I were both very spoiled this year and got much more than we deserved. I got some shoes, clothes, cd's, pajamas, movies, books, and some blankets. Of course I loved it all because I picked it out myself. We don't really get into the wrapping of the presents. We actually went shopping on black Friday and each picked out our own gifts. We spent Christmas morning with my family and opened presents and had a delicious breakfast cooked by Derek of all people. Actually he has turned into quite the chef.

The highllight of the holiday season was New Year's Eve. A tradition that we have in my family is a cookie baking contest. Last year I won the contest with some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. This year I decided to go with some thin mints. And guess what?!?! I won again. Never in the history of this contest has anybody won two years in a row. I guess I am just awesome. As you can see from the pictures, my delicious cookies made a few people jealous!!

Now the holidays are over and we are working and going to school again. I was a little sad to have to go back to work after such a wonderful holiday break, but then my lovely husband surprised me with some excellent news. He told me that we can start planning our next vacation. He said that I can choose anywhere to go for a couple weeks after school gets out. I am thinking Europe or Australia. What do you think?

A Little Late

I know Thanksgiving was last week, but between the slaughtering the men in volleyball and the pigging out on turkey I didn't get a chance to post the things that I am most thankful for. I thought that I would take some time now to list twenty things that I am very thankful for. So here goes.

1. My husband - He is the best and he treats me wonderfully.
2. My family - I seriously have the best family out there.
3. My job - I am grateful for the opportunity to work and hopefully touch the lives of others.
4. Education - I love learning new things.
5. The church/gospel - I would probably be lost without it.
6. Good music - I love singing.
7. My chevy impala - I couldn't go without mentioning this one.
8. Good books - I would choose reading over t.v. anyday.
9. My friends - I have some of the best, and yes Amber you are one of them. Especially since you are the only one that reads this blog.
10. My home - It is one of my most favorite places on earth.
11. The Lord - He blesses me with much more than I deserve.
12. Mascara - Since I have no eyelashes.
13. Sweats and comfy clothes - Comfort over style anyday.
14. Lasik Surgery - I see with 20/10 vision now!!
15. Olive Garden - The most delicious alfredo ever.
16. Chick Flicks - Sometimes you just need girl time.
17. Mathematics - It is just so darn interesting.
18. Furry Boots - I have become obsessed with them.
19. Blimpie - Best sandwiches known to man.
20. Sleep - Although I don't get near as much as I should.

And there you have it. Twenty things that I am thankful for.

Ready for the Holidays!

We always get really excited this time of year. I love the holiday season. There is nothing better than getting together with family to pig out, rock out all night to rock band and play some fierce games of volleyball. I really have been blessed with an amazing family. Don't tell them I said that though. Another great thing about the holiday season is all the days that we get off from work. As Tate and I are both teachers we get several days off this year--three for Thanksgiving and a little over two weeks for Christmas. We love our jobs and our students, but sometimes it is nice to relax and do things for ourselves. We have been so busy since school started that the holidays will give us the rest that we need. Well again I have no new pics to post so I guess I will post some more from our Mexico trip since it was probably the highlight of our year.