4 Months

Corby had his 4 month birthday on Sunday and his 4 month appointment on Monday.

His stats:
Weight: 16 pounds, 4 ounces (80th percentile)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (95th percentile)

The Corb at 4 months:

*Plays in his jumper for hours every day
*Loves to look around and be distracted when he's supposed to be eating
*Sucks on everything and drools like crazy
*Discovered his feet and loves to suck on them
*Blows spit bubbles all day long
*Is quite the little talker - His doctor was very impressed by how vocal he is
*Scoots backward while on his back
*Still hates tummy time, sigh
*Has the best smile
*Brings joy to everyone he sees

This picture pretty much sums it up - CUTEST LITTLE BOY EVER!

Bakerella

Last Thursday I went to the book signing of Bakerella's Cake Pops book. I convinced Anna to come along with me and my SIL, McKae, met us there.



{Bakerella, Anna, me}

We had a great time!

Stay tuned for some cake pop projects coming up in the next few weeks!

Dear Corby,

One year ago today your dad and I found out we were going to be your parents. I didn't get much work done that day. I just sat at my desk and thought about you. I was so worried you wouldn't make it the whole 9 months, but you did. And now you are almost 4 months old! You are a bundle of happiness and I can't imagine my life without you! Thanks for being my baby! I love you!

Love,
Mom

TV

Shortly after we got married, Rex and Edda moved to California. When they got there, they discovered they couldn't use their TiVo, so they gave it to us. It was one of those TiVo Subscriptions they did at the very beginning of TiVo where you pay an upfront fee and then you can use it forever with no monthly cost. We got very used to watching TV via that wonderful TiVo.

When we moved to Spanish Fork, we decided to pay $10 a month for the most basic TV service because the TiVo doesn't work unless you are getting your TV from a cable. But after being here a few months, we realized we don't watch enough TV to justify paying for it. So we canceled our TV. Let me be clear that we didn't do it because we are anti-TV, we did it purely to save $10 a month. So now we get random channels that come through for free. And unfortunately we can't use TiVo.

Last fall when Glee came out we didn't immediately jump on the bandwagon. We already had enough shows we were watching and we missed the first few episodes, so we didn't watch it. But this summer we decided to watch the first season on Netflix. And we ended up absolutely loving it. So now we are Glee watchers. We happen to get Fox (or some version of it) for free, so we watch Glee on Tuesday nights at 7:00 with commercials and without the ability to pause. It's quite a different experience from what we are used to.

We also watch NCIS which happens to be on the exact same day and time as Glee. The only two shows we watch and they are on the same day and time. What are the odds?! So we watch NCIS on their website. And if we were to miss a Glee, we'd watch it on Hulu. Thank goodness for being able to watch TV on the internet!

If you've never watched Glee, you should give it a try. It's all about the music. They pick great songs! Here is my favorite from last night's episode.

How do you watch your TV?

BYU Homecoming Game

Yesterday afternoon was the BYU Homecoming Game against San Diego State. We brought the Corb in for the first quarter. He was pretty excited to be there.

But then nap time hit and he was out.

So we made sure we got a group shot and then I took him out for Grandma to watch. Of course he woke up the minute we were out of the stadium and it was quiet.

At halftime I got a sudden craving for a blue snow cone. Jared bought us one to share. He's the best little bro ever! It was delish!

After Utah State beat up on us last week, none of us had much hope for the game. But we totally WON! It was like watching a whole different team. Thank you Bronco for firing the Defensive Coordinator!

I'd rather be a cougar than anything else (even when we lose), but it sure did feel good to get a win!! GO COUGS!

Cougar Run

Yesterday was the big day... My first race since having a baby! After taking a few months off, I had a renewed determination to run and run FAST! My goal was to run it faster than I did last year when I was pregnant (28 minutes).

Before the race Rog told me to not let him slow me up. He had a cold and wasn't feeling his best. I was planning on running up the first hill with him, but when they said "GO," I was off and I didn't see him the rest of the race.



I felt good the whole race and even sprinted the last 1/4 of the track to the finish line. And my final time...



That's right, 25:07.5! It felt so good to accomplish my goal and be back in shape! I hated not being able to exercise.



My parents came and watched Corby while we ran. It was pretty cold, so we bundled him up. He fell asleep and practically missed the whole thing. But doesn't he look cute in his first hoodie?!



Thanks Cougar Run for another great race!

Frog Footies

Last night we decided it was finally cold enough to dress Corbyn in his footie pajamas. I've been waiting very impatiently for this day. So first thing this morning, I had to have a little photo shoot.



Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!

Dear Daddy,

I'm all ready for your softball game tonight! Thanks for being my daddy! I love you!

Love,
Corby

Conference Weekend

We had a great conference weekend full of family, good food, and uplifting talks!

Friday night we got to spend some time with Diana and Jason which doesn't happen very often with them all the way down in Texas. The reason for their visit wasn't the best (Jason's grandpa passed away), but it was fun to see them nonetheless. They flew in Friday and spent the day in Salt Lake before driving up to Twin Falls on Saturday. We had Cafe Rio, watched the unfortunate BYU vs. Utah State game, and just hung out. Here's Diana opening the BYU Onesie I made.



Saturday while the men were at Priesthood, Corby and I went with my mom to Kohl's and picked out some warm clothes for the little guy. I can't wait to bundle him up in this bear jacket!



Sunday morning we had our usual Ririe Waffle Breakfast which was delicious as always. Here is Corby with my youngest cousin, McKay.



Then we got to attend the Sunday Afternoon Session with some of Roger's family. Thank you to Jared and my grandparents for watching the Corb, so we could go!



{Tay, Martha, Phat Tony, KD, me, and Rog}

I can't wait to get the November Ensign, so I can really absorb the messages that were shared!

My Life Would Suck Without You

Last week Rog went on a business trip to a conference in Orlando, FL. He left early Sunday morning and got home Wednesday morning. This was by far the longest we have ever been apart our entire marriage and I was definitely not a fan of it. I know that's not even that long, but I've grown quite fond of my redhead and I missed having him around. I missed crawling into bed next to him and snuggling up after feeding our little guy in the middle of the night. I missed having a reason to have dinner ready at a certain time. I missed having a helper at night to give me a break from the Corb.

I know that lots of jobs require much more travel than an occasional conference. I'm sorry if your husband has one of those jobs. And I'm extremely grateful Rog has a job where he doesn't have to travel all the time. I knew this before, but it was just confirmed while he was gone. (Edda, I don't know how you do it!)

Anyway, here are some pictures from his trip taken on his iPhone.

Mickey Soap. He stayed at one of the Disney World Resorts, but he didn't get to go to any of the parks.



One day he found this little gecko when he was getting in the shower. How funny!



And here he is looking all professional helping do a survey for 3M.



Rog, my life would suck without you. Thanks for being mine!

September Decor

The "O" for September is an acorn. But September doesn't really seem like autumn yet to me. So I decided to save my acorn to decorate with in November when autumn is in full force and make my own "O" for September. Of course it took me half the month to get to the Wood Connection and then the rest of the month to get it painted, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! I also got some other BYU football stuff to paint and decorate with, but I didn't get them done in time. There's always next year.



And here are my September plates which really were the inspiration for my "O".



I love BYU football. Yes, even if we did lose to Utah State.

Crafts

I made this BYU Onesie for Corby, but I didn't take into account that he is a half giant baby. Even though it says it is 6-9 months (Gerber), it is too short for him. So I decided to give it to Diana and Jason because they just announced they are having a baby in May! We're so excited for them! Hopefully this will fit their baby at some point.



I made this changing pad way back in August before our trip to Canada, but I never got around to posting it. I really like how it turned out and it came in handy many times on our trip! Directions here.

Right now I'm working on my page for a Quiet Book Swap that Emily is coordinating. I also have my eye on this ABC Book for Corbyn.

So many crafts, but so little time... Sigh.

What's Cookin'?

The past few weeks I have been BUSY in the kitchen! Fall is my favorite time of the year for cooking and I'm a huge sucker for cake pops. So I did something I wouldn't normally do and bought this when I was at the grocery store.

The first recipe I tried was carrot cake... SO GOOD! And the recipe was totally easy other than the actual shredding of carrots - that was a lot of work, but totally worth it. I definitely didn't realize how many carrots actually go into carrot cake. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded carrots (5 medium)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat sugar, oil, and eggs with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Stir in carrots. Pour batter into pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely about 1 hour. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Store in refrigerator.

It called for a cup of chopped nuts, but we're not nut people, so I left those out. And I just frosted it with a can of Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting instead of making frosting from scratch.

I have a lot more recipes from my guilty indulgence I'm going to try, so stay tuned.

Everyone was posting about the strawberry jam they were making, so I decided to get in on the action. I told Rog I wanted to make some and he claimed to have never had homemade strawberry jam. What?!? So that gave me even more incentive to give it a try. It was a lot easier than I expected. Next year I'll be making a bigger batch for sure!



My grandma, mom, and I split a bushel of peaches 3 ways. I was determined to not let a single one of my peaches go to waste even though I couldn't can them. (We don't have the right stove for that anymore.) I made a few peach crisps for family events.

Then I made some peach muffins. I followed the recipe exactly and it made 24 even though it said it would only make 16. The first 12 that came out were burnt around the edges and I ended up throwing them out. So on the second 12 I turned down the heat to 375 and only cooked them for 20 minutes. It was a delicious recipe with those changes.

The majority of my peaches were used to make frozen fruit cocktail. The recipe is my grandma's and it is GREAT! I've been enjoying it for years, but this was the first time I have made it myself.

12 medium peaches
2 cups sugar
1 lb grapes
1 2/3 cups crushed pineapple
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cup orange juice

Peel and slice peaches into a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar over them and let sit while washing grapes. Mix together all items and put in freezer containers. Freeze until ready to use.

Serve with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and any other fruits you would like layered in a trifle dish.



Finally, I thought I would give a shout out for this recipe. I made it last night and it was so delicious! It will definitely be added to our list of regulars. Try it, you won't be disappointed!