November Update

Here is how the last month has gone!

Adam: has continued to enjoy his job. He has also taken part in planning their department Christmas party. We’ve been especially grateful for the sick leave as well because all three of us got a super nasty stomach bug.

Ashley: My biggest news is that I’m pregnant!! It's been a longer journey than trying for Eli but we got there in the end. We found out at the beginning of October and since then I’ve been super nauseous every day. Luckily I haven’t thrown up, which I didn’t with Eli either, but I definitely feel like I’m more nauseous than I was with him and the things that helped with him aren’t helping now. Adam has been SO helpful and most days will come straight home from work and directly start making dinner since that’s usually my worst sick time which is very inconvenient. Gosh I miss cooking! Eli has also been pretty good and is very familiar with the phrases “mommy sick” or “mommy sleepy” haha. We’ve been watching a lot of Netflix and DVDs. I had to switch to maternity jeans a lot earlier than with Eli, partially because I’m already a bit overweight, so I am showing but there is a layer of fat and skin before the hard tummy part (thank you Eli for that haha). I’ve had a couple appointments with my OB as well. I was really worried that I wouldn’t find someone who would support my desire for an intervention-free hypnobirth but I did! She has been fantastic and super excited for me to use hypnobirthing again. So I am currently at 12 weeks and hopefully that means that the nausea will be gone soon.

Eli: is growing up so much!! He talks a ton and about 75% of it is understandable to people other than us haha. He is a very active little boy and has recently found a love of jumping and dancing. His memory is very good so I feel like he constantly surprises me with things that he knows. He seems to be excited about the baby as far as he can understand. He loves looking at the ultrasound pictures of baby. Although ever since putting out our little nativity, I am slightly worried he is confused. We told him which piece was "baby Jesus" but we've also talked a lot about the baby in mommy's tummy and recently he said baby Jesus was in "tummy" soooo...he might think I'm pregnant with Jesus hahaha. He is such a sweet boy and loves the gospel. He loves looking at pictures of Christ and he talks about how he loves Jesus. He also really likes pointing out temples either in pictures or in person when we've visited the visitor center at the Idaho Falls temple. Some of his favorite things to do is to video chat with people, play with daddy, and play with our little electronic keyboard (he usually will command us to dance to whatever he plays on it haha).

top left: Eli loving on Daddy whenever he's home, top right: Adam's oldest sister and some of her family came for a quick visit, bottom left: enjoying a ride on Daddy, bottom right: just being a cutey :)

Girls Weekend: Right before Thanksgiving, I got to take a quick trip down to Las Vegas to party mommy style with my best friend Kayla! And it was baby-free! We walked until our feet wanted to explode but it was so much fun. We got to see a lot of the strip and then in the evening we went to a show. You might have seen IMomSoHard on Facebook or YouTube but if you haven't, it's basically two moms that do hilarious videos about being moms. When we heard they were doing live shows, we knew we wanted to go together if one happened to be near one of us. So, we got tickets to their Vegas show! It was SOOO funny (if a bit less censored than their videos). It was a mixture of improv and standup and it was perfect. The next day we basically laid in bed all day watching netflix because we both (but mostly me) could barely walk haha. Then Monday was some quick shopping and then my flight home. I'm so glad we could get together and I am so grateful for Adam happily willing to hold the fort at home.

Thanksgiving: This year was a bit crazier than usual as my parents and Stephanie's family came to stay with us! But it was so wonderful having them here. Sadly my other sister wasn't able to make it but maybe another year. Eli was over the moon to have Grandma and Grandpa Tanner as well as his cousin Anders here. He still asks for them almost daily haha. My parents did a night drive and got here around midday so when Eli woke up from his nap, he got a surprise seeing my dad walk upstairs from the basement. I really should have videoed his reaction because it was priceless haha. For the holiday itself, my dad did his usual bbq turkey and we made all the fixings. Other than a mishap with the turkey timer malfunctioning, all went relatively smoothly! The kids didn't mind the wait a bit as they were quite content playing with each other and the grandparents. The next day we just quietly spent at home putting up Christmas decorations and then Stephanie and her family went back to Provo. My parents stayed until Sunday morning which Eli would have chosen them to stay forever. I am so grateful that we have the living space and means to host people for such a fun holiday and hope to do it again.

September and October Update

So I meant to do a blog post last month but it kept getting later and later until it seemed like this made more sense haha.

Adam and Ashley: We’ve been doing pretty good these last couple months. We have been trying to get back into a normal routine at home and with finances es but something always seems to come up like a car needing to be fixed or we get sick. But at least we’re trying! We are enjoying our ward (local LDS church congregation) and our callings in it. I have been doing cub scouts which is fun but can be stressful trying to contain a bunch of 8 year old boys haha. Adam got called as a Sunday school teacher for gospel doctrine and he’s been rocking at it! Not surprising as he’s a born teacher. Adam has continued loving his job and I’ve been finding things to keep me busy at home with the babywearing group I started, meeting new friends, and helping to babysit a friend’s little boy.

Eli: has exploded with language! He is so smart and constantly learns new words. He has also started combining words to form simple sentences. It has helped so much to have him better at communication. He’s also got a lot more obedient which I think has stemmed from better communication. Some of his favorite things to do are play with toys, run around the house with daddy, and clean up. He loves to try to help with chores and he’ll often pick up things that need to be thrown away and say “closet?” (The garbage can is in the pantry). He loves playing with other kids and is still obsessed with going outside. Also, he is officially bottle weaned!!!! This has been a long time coming. He would need a bottle of milk before nap and nighttime but now he will go to bed without it which is such a relief! Now the next big transition will be to a toddler bed which I’m not looking forward to.

Special things that happened!
- We visited Adam’s brother and his wife in Wyoming on Labor Day weekend to see their newborn daughter be blessed! It was nice seeing his side of the family and hold a sweet snuggly baby :)

snuggling that sweet niece

We went to a park in Cheyenne and Eli loved the giant train!

Cousins!

- I turned 26!

-Halloween! We just went trick or treating at the building adam works at on BYU-Idaho campus. Eli loved it once he realized he got candy. He started off by opening and eating the candy immediately after collection but eventually he realized he was going to get lots more. He thoroughly enjoyed it and now we are at the “hide all the candy and give it out one piece at a time” stage haha

August Update

This month has been SUPER busy!! So here it is!

Adam and Ashley: We mostly spent the month bouncing from one thing to the next. Earlier in the month, I took a spur of the moment trip to visit my friend Kayla in Las Vegas and Adam was a trooper at home taking care of Eli. After 6 days, I came back. We had a 4 day break and then my mom came in town! She was helping my grandpa drive back to Idaho so she decided to stay a bit longer to be here for Eli's birthday and the eclipse. Then, a few days later we had the eclipse, picked up Kayla from the airport (in insane post-eclipse traffic haha), and had a birthday part for Eli. My mom then left a few days later and then the day after that Kayla spent the weekend with us (her mom lives in the area but we were lucky to have her for a bit). Then Sunday night, a bathroom drawer fell and smashed my toe so I had to go to urgent care (not so fun but nothing broken). The rest of the week, we spent prepping for our trip to Wyoming for a baby blessing Labor Day weekend. It has been a whirlwind month but lots of fun :)

At the Bellagio with Kayla; party time for Eli's birthday; two very needy toddlers attached to Adam's hips haha

Eli: is officially 2 years old!!! He has become a little chatterbox and a mimic. He will repeat everything he hears haha. He has also discovered Thomas & Friends and Chuggington, so he's obsessed with trains. He has become super affectionate which has been fun and loves to give hugs and kisses. He is also very opinionated and throws tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants or if we can't understand him. He loves to go to the park and play outside. He loves food and we are attempting a third time to try to wean him from a bottle. We are trying to do it SUPER slowly, decreasing it ounce by ounce every week and so far it is working and we're down to only 5 oz at nap time and bed time. It is fun to see his little personality shine through and he learns more.

Eli loves to take silly selfies; I put his pants on his head and he thought it was hilarious haha; at our favorite Thai restaurant in Idaho Falls, Eli heavily flirts with the waitresses haha this one is particularly enamored and brought him ice cream for his birthday :) ;at his two year check up and growing like a weed!

July Update

New month, new update!

Adam and Ashley: I decided to combine ours because let's be honest, you really would rather hear about Eli ;) The biggest update we have is that we got a new car!!!! We've been looking for awhile knowing that we needed another one. Eli and I have been going stir crazy stuck at home haha. Adam had the day off on Pioneer Day because of him working for a church school so we decided to look. We happened to find a minivan online the day before that we really liked and was an awesome deal. So we took it for a test drive, prayed about it, and then signed the papers!! We all absolutely love our new (to us) 2015 Dodge Caravan :)

Eli: will be two in a couple weeks! He is getting so smart and maybe a bit too smart haha. He is learning words by the dozen and is getting better at copying what we say. He also figured out how to use door knobs and then figured out how to rip off the door knob covers we have (which were too small anyways but hey they lasted a month or so haha). He has also learned how to take off his pajamas and sometimes his diaper...so yah that's been fun to wake up to haha. He is getting a little too obsessed with the TV which has been hard to moderate since if we say no, he will attempt to climb up and turn it on himself. His obsessions are cars, trains, fish, and going outside. Seriously, he could talk about them all day haha. He also loves video chatting people especially Grandma and Grandpa (both sets), Lala (my best friend Kayla), and baby (Kayla's little boy). He will often point to my phone and ask for them by name. Such a social boy :)

My sister's wedding!!!
Read about it here!

My Sister's Wedding

Earlier in July, we got to take a trip to Washington!!
We decided to have Adam work a half day so we drove part of the way on Monday the 3rd, stayed overnight in La Grande.

Sleeping at the Fort

We drove the rest of the way on Tuesday the 4th. Eli did "relatively" well with the drive. We were able to get in early enough so that we went to lunch at Burgerville and then we went down to the Fort Vancouver fireworks show which has been something I grew up going to so I was excited to show Adam. Eli took a nap on daddy's back and enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa Tanner. We were a little worried about the fireworks because we had gone to a smaller thing with Adam's family and he didn't like it. But I think that was just because it was too close and too loud. He LOVED the big fireworks show and so did we :)
Then Wednesday, we got to see Jessica go through the temple for the first time! Its always so nice to go back to the Portland temple since that is where we were married and I went through the first time :)

Getting our nails did :D

Thursday, Adam sweetly took care of Eli for the majority of the day so that I could go with my sister, mom, and some of Brad's side of the family to go and get our nails done! They turned out really well and it was nice to pamper Jessica. Then, that evening we had a little bachelorette party at Beaches restaurant and then hanging out at her sister-in-law's parents' house. 

Hanging with Chelsea!

Friday, we had a family party with all of my mom's side to celebrate my grandpa's birthday and we had a little baby shower for my aunt. It was so fun to hang out with everyone and Eli enjoyed playing with his second cousin and his first cousins once removed (when your youngest aunt is only a few years older than your oldest sister, cousin lines get confusing haha).  

Cute ring bearer!

Beautiful day :)

Saturday of course was the big day!! We got to see my sister get married for time and all eternity to an amazing man in the same place that we got married as well as my sister Stephanie <3 I totally cried haha. It was a beautiful day and after pictures we went out to my favorite Thai place. Then that evening, we had the reception at Green Meadows club which was gorgeous! The catered appetizers and the cake were delicious and the decorations were super cute. I didn't get a ton of pictures because most of the time I was video chatting with Stephanie who is in Peru for her husband's internship. I am so grateful for modern technology which allowed her to see all of the big things at the reception like the ring ceremony, first dances, cake cutting, shoe game, speeches, etc. They exited in a decorated golf cart to get to their decorated car that was taking them to their honeymoon!

sleeping at the reception

Gorgeous cake!

Then Sunday, we made the long trek home! During the day while we were there was often spent visiting with old friends of mine and just driving around Vancouver (sometimes just so Eli could get a nap haha). So now all of Adam's siblings and all of mine are married!

Heading off!

June Update

Ahh life has been crazy but I've finally got around to a new blog post! There aren't as many personal updates but mostly stuff about what we've done this month. So here is how June went for us :)

Babywearing at Yellowstone

At the Idaho Falls zoo

Adam: is continuing to enjoy his job! Even with all that hard work, he still comes home ready to help out around the house and with Eli. I'm so lucky! He is mostly just redesigning already established courses but he is liking it. He has been able to get to know a few of his coworkers as well. He has been loving the extra free time in the evenings and weekends which have quickly filled up. But he's been able to read for enjoyment which he hasn't done for awhile!

Ashley: I have mostly been attempting to keep up with Eli (hello tantrums!) and keeping busy with all of our various activities. I have been working on getting a local babywearing group established here which has been fun. I've even been able to help a few people in person! I also got a bike which promptly broke after one ride to the park with Eli in our new trailer. We got the new part this week so hopefully we can get it back in working order again!

Post-nap temper tantrum over socks...

Sleeping at cub scout day camp (my new church calling)

Eli: is 22 months and LOVES to talk. And about 1/3 of it is understandable, but mostly the same few words haha. But he is learning more. His new favorite thing is counting which I've been trying to teach him #1-5. He enjoys counting goldfish crackers and his toes by going "1,2,1,2,5!!" or "1,2,5,2,5!!". "5" is always shouted out with glee haha. He also has gained an affinity to tantrums which hasn't been as fun. Full on rolling-on-the-floor-kicking-and-screaming tantrums. So if you have any advice on how help with tantrums for a mostly nonverbal nearly 2 year old, I am all ears. He LOVES to go outside to parks and this month we went to the local zoo here! He loved it and since it's small, it's the perfect size for him. We let him walk around using the leash we have (he's a runner) and he liked feeling independent. Adam is diligently trying to teach him how to say "I love you, mommy" which has also been adorable :)

We also went to Yellowstone (for the first time for me) with Adam's brother and his wife! Eli absolutely adored them and I thoroughly enjoyed all the cool sights! My favorite was West Thumb's paint pots. All the colors of the rainbow! It's amazing what natural processes can create. And Eli kept pointing at all the steaming, bubbling pools and saying "It's hot! It's hot!" over and over again haha. I can't wait to take family and friends that have never been!

May Update

 Our first month in Idaho!! Besides Adam and I getting a horrible stomach bug early on, the month has been good :)

Adam: started his new job as an Online Curriculum Designer at BYU-Idaho! He is loving it so far :) He has a nice office to himself (that I have yet to decorate haha). He enjoys his coworkers and could see him working in this job for awhile. He loves not being in school as well haha (as do I).

Ashley: I have spent this month mostly getting us settled into our home. We're nearly there but still have some stuff to unpack. All of the main areas are set up so we actually had family over for Memorial Day which was fun :) Recently I also have done a lot of family history which has been really fun! Now we need to find time/babysitters so that we can do all the temple work I've collected. I've also had fun connecting with some old friends who happen to live in the area as well as get together with my family quite a bit. It makes a new place a little less lonely. It is hard not having two cars but we are coping :)

Eli: is 21 months old and definitely getting towards the terrible twos. He is an emotional roller coaster sometimes. One moment he'll be playing quietly by himself, the next he'll be screaming at me to go outside and hitting me, and the next he'll be cute and silly playing with me haha. It can be a bit exhausting. He rode a horse for the first time thanks to a friend of a friend and he's enjoyed interactions with more animals in country life haha. He is learning more words every day and currently his favorite phrase is "thank you" which I don't mind ;) he says it after I give him a snack, change his diaper, and once after I vacuumed haha and that was without prompting! His fine motor skills have developed a lot as he can now do a puzzle super easily (even turning the pieces to fit) and stacking legos into a tall tower. He loves going outside and hates when we come back in. He likes to try to help with household chores like laundry, dishes, sweeping, and putting things away. Even though he can be difficult, it just makes the sweet times sweeter haha.

Cute smiley boy, enjoying his new slide, and being a cute whiner haha

April update

Cheering on Dada

Holy crap!!! This month has been NUTS so I'll try to keep this brief. So here it goes!

Adam: graduated!!!! Last week he finally finished school with a Master''s of Science degree in Instructional Psychology and Technology. It was a hard last leg to the finish line but he did it! He even got a better grade than he thought in his last class especially taking into account him finishing his project and job searching. I'm so proud of him :)

at the Great Cloth Diaper Change world record event :)

Ashley: I spent the month preparing for the move mostly so lots of setting up and canceling utilities, reserving a uhaul, changing banks, and packing. Oh and trying to take care of Eli :)

Eli: is 20 months old! He is learning lots of new words and some of them are distinguishable haha. He enjoys "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and gets so proud of himself when he gets it right. He has taken up high pitch screaming which has not been enjoyable but we're working on it. He has also started a slight fear of nursery which has been strange because he has always loved it but hopefully that is just a phase. He does enjoy praying and will fold his arms and bow his head (sometimes randomly). If we do family prayer, I'll peek and often he'll put a finger to his mouth and go "shh" hahaha. He still loves people and when anyone leaves, he gets very sad. He has 16 teeth broken through as well. He can be a little rascal sometimes but we love him :)

cousin Easter egg hunt; getting into trouble at church while Daddy does some clerking; playing with toys brought by grandparents; giving Brad some Uncle training haha

Graduation and Moving

These people... <3

So the week started off with my parents coming to visit starting on Sunday :) We were able to do lots of fun stuff with them as well as Stephanie and Eli loved the extra time with Anders. On Thursday, Adam's parents came and right off the bat helped us finish our packing. Often I would take Eli away and spend time with my family while they and Adam would pack. They were complete life-savers. Then Friday was graduation and we got to see my sister Jessica and her fiance, Brad! Afterwards, we went out shopping to look for bridesmaids dresses and then everyone went to dinner at Wallaby's (our favorite local place). We were a big group haha :) I'm so glad all of them were able to come celebrate Adam graduating! Next, Saturday came. My parents said a brief goodbye before heading off and we finished packing and loading the truck. After that, we said a very tear-filled goodbye to our best friends, Kayla and Steven, and then headed out of Provo. We made, in my opinion, one of the smartest decisions in hiring cleaners to come after we left. It was SOO nice not to stress about that! If we can afford it, I think we'll do that every time haha. On the way north, we stopped at Ikea to eat lunch and pick up our new sectional. Adam's brother Jared who had helped us all day Friday and Saturday morning met us up there to help us load that into the truck. The trip up to Idaho Falls went well, and thankfully Eli did great on the drive! Then when we got to the house, we were met by my aunts Amber and Linsy as well as their kids (and my cousin Calvin's kids), and some neighbors and church members. So much help from so many amazing people! Adam's parents stayed with us until this morning. I seriously CAN'T imagine what we would've done without them. They were AMAZING help :) We also got to go to the Idaho Falls temple open house (although it was built in the 40s, it just underwent extensive renovations so it will be rededicated).

On our own now!

All in all, we are so excited for this new adventure and can't wait until we're all settled into our new home. I will try to do a facebook live tour of it once that's done!

<3

March Update

This was a very VERY exciting month so I will attempt to be brief haha...

Adam: is completely and utterly done with his Master's project!!!!! I know I've said something like this before but then he was just finished writing it before submitting. This month he defended his thesis (which the committee said was probably the shortest defense ever haha), passed with revisions, and completed those revisions! Besides some PTSD with our desktop computer we have come out of this experience with minimal scarring and much relief haha. He also applied for more jobs and even got 4 interviews in one week! He skype interviewed for a position at Utah State University, did two phone interviews for two different positions at Oregon State University (one of which he actually was asked to do a final in person interview but that was after we had accepted another offer), and of course did a phone and in person interview for the job he accepted at Brigham Young University-Idaho!! We were both so excited about this because that was surprisingly the position we felt best about throughout the process even though we both wanted to move to the Northwest. So now with those things done, all Adam has to do is his one class and his current jobs!! He is quite a bit burnt out and especially now that the job offer is taken and everything, he is mostly focusing on just passing that class haha. I am so proud of all the hard work he has done this past month and I am so grateful for the blessings that have come from it.

Ashley: I also had quite a busy month with looking for jobs for Adam and then looking for houses in Idaho Falls! Even though such a big move is stressful, I am grateful that we know now where we will be going after graduation. I am a super planner with something I'm stressed about so I have lists upon lists and I am slowly knocking things off. Although there is only so early you can start packing ;) We got to go up to IF Eli-less (thanks to everyone that helped!) and look at some rental properties we had seen online. The online favorite turned out not to be as great so I am very glad we made the trip. There were a few houses that we really liked but didn't end up seeing. After some discussion and calls to the rental agency, we didn't have too many options left (a lot had just signed leases) but there was one we saw in person that we really liked and that was the one we got! Now we have that set up, we are SO beyond ready to finish the semester and move on to our next step in our life!

Eli: is 19 months old! He has developed so much especially with language! He has added the words poop (which he points to his diaper so I am not sure if he thinks diaper=poop haha), five (referring to high fives), "boom" (or fist bump), and shoe to his repertoire. His main growth is in how much he understands us. He can follow simple directions and his favorite new game is sitting on my lap with his First 100 Words book and I say "Where is the...?" and he points to the item. He actually understands way more than we thought! Now comes the stage of spelling out words that we don't want him to understand haha. He now has 12 teeth and two canines that just barely broke but he's still working on those :( hopefully that won't take too much longer. Eli loves to go outside, read, play with his puzzles, and lead us around the room holding our hand. Other than the introduction of toddler tantrums, this stage is fun :)

In keeping with our personal mantra...ONE MORE MONTH, ONE MORE MONTH!!!!!

Blessings in Disguise

Throughout our marriage, Adam and I have found so many blessings in times of anxiety and fear or directly coming from unfortunate times. I wanted to compile a list for my memory and for posterity as well as share about our most current blessing. These examples show how our Heavenly Father finds unlikely ways to bless us and how times of trial can turn around.

- After we got married in December 2011, Adam immediately found a TA job in January 2012
- In April 2012, I was prompted and followed through with quitting my job at Subway without another job opportunity. A week or so later, I got a job as a secretary in the Office of Digital Humanities.
- At that same time, Adam got his position as a TA for the new BYU Online pilot program which paid nearly double what he was making before.
- Skip ahead to fall of 2013, Adam applies to the Instructional Psychology and Technology graduate program at BYU directly because of his positive experience with BYU Online.
- February 2014, I get in a car accident.
- Adam gets into the IPT program.
- I get a full-time job in a group home that turned out to be a complete failure.
- Because of the secretary job I had, I had the idea that Adam could teach a new intro course in the Digital Humanities minor while a graduate student. After both Adam and I talking to the coordinator, Adam gets offered a position as an instructor.
- After graduation in April 2014, not knowing what to do after the previous experience, I get a part time job as a secretary at a mental health clinic.
- Because of the identity crisis from the above, I go to the temple to seek help. We get prompted to have a baby.
- December 2014, we get a substantial financial settlement from the car accident in February which was more than enough to pay for starting our family.
- A couple weeks after the above, I find out I'm pregnant.
- The part-time secretary job turned out wonderfully, allowing me to self-care while pregnant as well as make priceless friendships.
- August 2015, we have Eli right before a new semester for Adam.
- Adam's BYU Online position (which he continued through graduate school) allows him ample time to work from home while I struggled with postpartum depression.
- Skip ahead to fall of 2016, we decide that since Adam was finished with his coursework, he would try applying to full-time jobs.
- He gets zero interviews or job offers after already giving notice of leave for his current jobs.
- November 2016, we get prompted to stay here for another semester even without jobs.
- December 2016, Adam finds out they need him to teach DigHT 215 again.
- Also in December, Adam gets offered a position from a professor he worked with previously in BYU Online. This position would be to manage over a bunch of TAs as well as redesign a major GE course to incorporate blended aspects (mix of online and traditional class) using a learning management system most jobs are asking for experience in.
- Winter 2017, Adam applies to jobs again
- Last week, Adam had 4 job interviews.
- Yesterday, Adam gets offered a fantastic full-time position as an Online Curriculum Designer with BYU-Idaho for after graduation in April 2017. This position works with BYU-Idaho's program as well as the worldwide BYU Pathway online degree program. It also offers an amazing salary and stellar benefits.
- Today, he accepted the offer!!!!

So in conclusion, we will be moving to Idaho Falls, Idaho in about six weeks!! We feel so incredibly blessed and grateful for the guidance of Heavenly Father that led us to where we are today. It was a rough road at times but we have definitely felt His hand in our life.

February Update

Here is how our month has gone!

Rare park time with Daddy

Adam: finished his thesis project!!!! Well the write up at least. He still has his oral presentation and defense on the 10th but the 55 page long paper he needed to write is done!!! *insert hallelujah chorus* He has been killing himself this month working on it which meant a lot of late nights and not too much of a Valentine's day celebration. And with all of that, he still found time to apply to jobs! I'm so proud of him. At the end of the month, he got a preliminary phone interview with a job and then a few days later, they asked him to come for a final in person interview next week! They're even taking care of travel expenses which really shows this is a big boy job ;) We are super excited and really hope that he gets it. We have felt very good about this prospect so we think this is where God is leading us. Can you guess where in the world the Lloyds will go? ;)

Fun with snapchat

Ashley: I have spent most of the month trying to support Adam so he could finish his paper. So lots of taking care of the house (including some of the things he usually does) and of course taking care of Eli. I have also been helping by being the job searcher for him. I created a handy spreadsheet with info on postings I think he's qualified for and when the applications are due. I also undertook a big task to help with his project. He had an audio recording of an interview with the professor of the course he designed and he needed it transcribed. So that was my job and it was tedious. But I finished it and it felt really good to be able to help relieve some of his stress besides taking care of the home stuff. And honestly, I don't know how he would've found time to do it without me. He paid me handsomely for the assistance by letting me get a new wrap which I was very happy about ;)

Eli: is 18 months old! And boy is this kid growing!!! He is now a little over 22 pounds and is 32 inches tall, so still kind of small for his age but he seems huge to us. Adam declares he is hobbit sized haha. He broke yet another molar which gets us to 12 teeth! He still doesn't say a ton but he is starting to add words. He won't say anything when prompted but we have caught him saying "baby", banana or "nana", and cracker or "cack cack". Then there is this odd babbling thing he's been doing lately which we refer to as him speaking Alien. We're not quite sure what he means by it but he does it a lot when he wants us to give him something. He understands a lot more than he can say and we can definitely see him trying to copy words we say even if they don't come out quite right. We have also enjoyed a lot of nice weather this month so we frequented the park. Eli is super fearless (perhaps a little too much) and enjoys climbing up to the top and going down the slide by himself. He had a rough time with Adam being so busy because he loves his daddy so much. There were many days where Adam had to go straight back in our bedroom to the computer after being on campus and then after dinner as well. Eli would get so excited when he came home and would grab his hand and wanted up. Then, he would cry and bang at the door after Adam had to go back to work. I know Eli will be so happy when Daddy is done with school.

Those little lips <3; playing with Daddy at the park; eating a "cack cack"

Well hopefully next month we will have some big news to share of where we will be heading after graduation in April!

January Update

Here's how our month has been!

Adam: started a new semester and his LAST semester! He is taking one class on E-product development (programming for instructional design). He is also taking some internship credit for the work he is doing with Dr. Kramer. That is the new position where he is doing blended instructional design for the big in person IHum 202 course as well as managing the other TAs. He is kept very busy with all of that plus teaching DigHT 215 and finishing up his project. He's hoping to do his final project defense the end of February or beginning of March!

Ashley: started off the month sick which wasn't fun but the rest of the month was good :) just doing the usual mom stuff, babywearing, cooking, playing with Eli.

Eli: is 17 months old now! He got his first experience in nursery at church this month. Since Adam serves as ward clerk, it's usually just me taking care of Eli which has been really difficult lately because he gets into everything. So Bishop was nice enough to let him go to nursery a little early and he LOVES it. He ignores me after we go in haha. Eli has also learned a new word this month, "ball"! He broke two more molars which has not been fun and he got sick in the middle of the month. Thankfully that lasted less than a week. He is such a smart kid that it makes us both annoyed and impressed that he figured out how to push the coffee table to reach the TV haha. So our furniture is ever-arranging to fit his fresh attempts to get into trouble. He has gotten more clingy lately so he often follows me around the house and hugs my legs which is adorable but makes it difficult to do things like exercise or laundry haha. It is so fun to see him grow and develop right before our eyes :)

December Update

Here is how last month went for us:

Adam: finished off the semester and got a well deserved THREE WEEKS off from school! It has been glorious for all of us :) He got an A in his one class even with being sick right before finals week. So last update left us at staying in Utah for another semester and Adam teaching next semester. That would only take up 8-10 of his 25ish available hours to work. Adam checked with BYU Online to see if they had any available TA hours to spare but there were none. Then out of the blue, the Humanities professor he had worked with for the first three semesters of BYU Online emailed him with a job offer. The position would be as kind of an overseeing TA for the big on-campus Humanities GE course and would also include instructional design with making the course more blended (more online elements than just lectures) and converting the current Learning Management System (LMS) to Canvas. An LMS is the digital platform the course material is on. This is HUGE! Most of the job openings we had looked at asked for experience with LMS, particularly Canvas. All I can say is that Heavenly Father knows what he is doing. We didn't know what to do, he told me that we should stay, so we said ok, then jobs line up for Adam like THAT *virtually snaps fingers*! So beyond grateful :)

Ashley: I've spent most of the last month preparing for Christmas and being a mom to Eli. Within that I've also worked on some of my favorite hobbies. I've explored and tried new nail art, hosted traveling baby carriers, and cooked lots of new made up recipes. Actually this month has been pretty great :) I am glad that I do monthly updates even if no one but me reads them. After Christmas, I got in a bit of post-holiday doldrums and within that I looked back at each day with gray glasses. I sometimes feel that because I don't have tangible evidence of substantial things accomplished or progress towards a greater goal, that means I am doing nothing (a very common thought for stay-at-home moms). But Eli is growing and developing (maybe a little too fast for me to catch up haha), I get to spend time with my wonderful husband, dear friends, and my older sister who lives close by. I have a handful of hobbies that I enjoy continually expanding. And I have loads of evidence this month to help grow my testimony that God loves me and directs my little family. Life is good :)

Eli: is 16 months old! He cut his first molar this month which was difficult at times but surprisingly nowhere as bad as when his two front teeth came in. This brings his total to 9 teeth! The only words he says are "mama", "dada", "yah", and "tickle" haha but he does understand a lot and occasionally signs "more". Now when we say things like "go get the ball" or "do you want more water" or "its prayer time", he will respond correctly (except for "don't touch that" which we're still working on...) He has officially transitioned to one nap (mom is still adjusting to that). He experienced his first time playing in the snow as well as a Christmas that he could get semi-excited for. He has also learned that he can climb on more things than the couch, like the coffee table or the rocking chair. That sure has been an adventure haha. As for play time, he has enjoyed all his new presents and is deep within the organizing and sorting stage of toddlerhood. He loves blocks the most and putting things inside other things or putting things in piles. Our laps are usually filled with an assortment of toys as well as random magpie-like places around the house. We are so grateful for our smart, healthy, loving little boy :)

Christmas and our Anniversary

Enjoying a beautiful white Christmas

Christmas Eve we spent with my sister Stephanie and her family going into Salt Lake City. This year wasn't quite as fun because it started raining a ton. But we went back to Steph's house, ate dinner, and watched a The Snowman. Then, we came back home and excitedly put Eli to bed. Nothing brings back the magic of Christmas from your own childhood like creating the magic for your child. I was SO excited to see Eli come out Christmas morning and after being distracted by 3-4 random things, he finally noticed the tree. Then he promptly took off as many bows as he could haha. He showed joy with every gift that he opened, spending a bit of time playing with everything. One of his favorite new gifts however was not given by Adam or me. His fellow toddler cousin gave him a little remote control car that he is obsessed with and he can actually make it move! That I was surprised about haha. We got a fresh blanket of snow overnight and Eli did not want to stop playing in it. Then we had dinner with Steph's family that night. We also celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the 29th going to do sealings at the Provo City Center Temple and then going to eat at Station 22. We hope that maybe after Adam graduates we can do additional celebrating by going on a night away somewhere. New Year's Eve we spent playing all of our new games from Christmas with our friends the Shepherd's. We stayed up as late as we could now all of us are parents haha which is much earlier than past years.

Eli and his best bud, Elliot Shepherd, just chilling with their sippies on New Year's Eve

We can't wait to see what 2017 has to bring us :)

Some spiritual thoughts on parenting

Out of everything I've experienced in my life so far, parenting has taught me the most about our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Here's my most recent example.

Lately, Eli has been in a climbing phase. He will climb anything if he can get something high up. Today I found him on top of two big plastic bins that were stacked by the window sill (he climbed on the rocking chair and then on top of the bins). Needless to say, it freaked me out. He doesn't understand though. If I try to stop him or take him down, he gets upset. It has led me to wish that he would climb and then fall and hurt himself. Not badly, but enough so he would realize the danger he puts himself in.

When I first thought that, I felt like a horrible mom. How could I hope for my baby to get hurt? Then I realized that's exactly what Heavenly Father does. Just like Eli, we have our agency to listen or not to listen to directions. When He can't teach us the right way, maybe he waits for us to experience the danger directly by possibly getting hurt. Just because we experience something hard doesn't mean that He doesn't love us. Maybe we aren't listening. Maybe it is the only way for us to learn.

I'm so grateful for the spiritual things I learn from being a parent. It truly gives me a small glimpse into what Heavenly Father and Christ feel for us.

2016: Year in review

Here is what our year has been like!

- We traveled to Washington for my Grandma Crocker's funeral and my parents finally got to meet Eli.

- Adam started his fourth semester of grad school.
- I got a woven wrap which led me down the rabbit hole of babywearing haha.
- Eli learned to sit unassisted.

- Adam's parents came to go with us to the Provo City Center open house.

- We traveled to Seattle and had lots of adventures including sight-seeing, Adam presenting at an international education conference, and my family coming up to spend the day with us!

- Eli learned to crawl.
- We went to Fort Worth, Texas to visit Adam's two sisters (with a brief layover in Denver visiting Adam's parents)!

- Adam went crazy in the spring and did six different intramural sports.
- Eli learned to pull himself up and started the neverending joys of teething :-/
- I led the Climb Out of Darkness for postpartum depression in Provo.

- Adam's parents came to visit for his 27th birthday.
- Adam finished and defended his prospectus!
- I became a certified Volunteer Babywearing Educator!

- Eli learned to walk.
- Eli turned one and we had a birthday party! :)

- Adam started his fifth semester of grad school.
- I turned 25.
- My sister Jessica came to visit and Eli got his first trick-or-treating experience :)

- We decided to stay in Utah for Adam's last semester.
- We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in Utah.
- 5th wedding anniversary for us!

Its been a busy year and we can't wait to see what 2017 will bring! We know that the biggest thing will be Adam graduating from graduate school and then who knows where we'll end up :)