2:23 SNOW!

So it snowed. And when it snows here on the East coast, a lot of people freak out. It just so happened that 10 hours before snow hit the ground, the entire state of Virginia was in a state of emergency. This storm did however break records here as the biggest storm in Dec, EVER! The last time they had a storm comparable to this was in Jan of '66. so when we had to dig our car out of it's parking spot this morning, it was a big deal. the official for our neighborhood is 18". But the snow drifts made it almost 3 feet deep. like right behind the car.

I brushed the snow half off to prove there was indeed a car under there. We could have literally slid from the top of the car, over the trunk and onto the street without feeling any bumps.

As you see in yesterdays post, Xan experienced it and loved it!

2:22 It IS the most wonderful time of the year!

Yeah!!! It's Christmas time and it's snowing! Last winter we got hardly any snow (maybe 1 inch total) here in the greater D.C. area but today, it's only 10am and already we have 6 inches of snow. The forecasters say it won't let up till about 6am tomorrow morning. Here are a few pictures from Xan's first snow adventures this morning.

Also, my (Chanté) parent's came to visit for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun to have them here. Xan loved seeing his grandparents. There are a few pictures from that as well. Enjoy!

2:21 all Utah'd out.

So we've just had a blast being in Utah about every 2 weeks over the last two months. We've had good times and bad times... Who am I kidding? they we're all good times!! the only downer was sitting on a plane for 6 hours each time.

So some of you know why we were there, other's might have thought we were homesick... both be true, but we wanted to share a few pics from our excitement.

One of our first trips was for Charlene and Aaron's Temple Sealing. I'm so glad we were able to make it to this wonderful event. The Spirit was indeed strong during the ceremony and they were both beaming afterwords! and thats after 5 years of marriage already! congrats you two!

Next there was Bryant's wedding to Elisha. It too was a wonderful occasion! Even his little brother, Andrew's, best man speech was great! And I heard they had a Wicked honeymoon. I'm glad we have another sister on this side of the family! ;)

And of course the last time we journeyed to the land of temples was for the wedding of Chanté's sister: Kristy to Brett. We're so happy to have been there for their wedding.

The better side of the family!*

Stealth picture taking mode. Didn't see it coming 'till it was too late.

A whole bunch of misfits*, and a really cute red-head.

And now XANDER!!!

Attack mode. He's started Crawling and cruising, and would you believe he sprouted two more teeth?! The two front ones... before Christmas. Now we can't sing the song.

Mashed Sweet potatoes don't make good finger food.

At the Aquarium in Sandy, He was so excited that he is blurry in ALL the pictures.

Since Xan has been crawling he's quickly lost a roll or two in his thighs. He might just have his daddy's metabolism... or just that of an average baby who moves around all the time.

Yay!

*highly opinionated, but not dismissible as fact.

2:20 Random Pics

We haven't had a chance to blog recently so here's a few pictures from the last month or two to quench your Xan craving.

2:19 Strange on-goings on.

So The Strangest thing happened today. I woke up with a twitch in my left eye that feels like only half of the muscle is trying to blink, but it doesn't. So I asked a local Mom what she thought, and she gave me one of her remedies. The twitch gradually went away. I went home and ended up taking a long nap in the closet (it was just too bright everywhere else). about 9:00 this evening I woke up totally refreshed, so I got ready to go take a bike ride and walked by the mirror that hasn't been hung yet, And noticed I totally need a tan.

I'm just glad Chanté flies home at night. This global warming is making the sun brighter, and everything glares more. ick.

2:18 What I do when the wife is out of town.

So Chanté took a vacation with Xander and went to Utah to see the family and all. I got bored without her or Xan around so I did what I'm good at and caused some trouble.
The ugly chandelier that hung in the living room, now in my hand, felt ill and took a turn for the worst. Fortunately I'm a member of the local Freecycle group and someone offered a ceiling fan. So the chandelier got a funeral, and the fan was sustained (yes it's sunday, notice the white collard shirt) as the living room light source.

Two more things:

1) I meant to ask the apartment office if this was okay. But I forgot.

2) Chanté doesn't know either and I'm not telling her until she reads this blog or comes home.

2:17 - New Digs/Holy bat Batman!

We've Moved!!!  Most of you are not surprised. Just scribble off another page in your address book. I'm going to give you a tour. Boring for most but family really wants to see.

Which reminds me:

WARING: this next section exposes things that are not suitable for all! Especially those afraid of BATS!

We lovingly call him Bartholomew, or Bart the Bat. He was living on our deck when we moved in and really isn't all that scary. he doesn't have vampire fangs, or have a creepy laugh. He just sits there, not bothering anyone, and not wanting to be bothered.

I thought about Photoshopping these to add "realistic" blood stained fangs and soulless eyes. But for some, he's scary enough.

2:16 Eating Solids... eh, is mush solid.

And it came to pass, Xan wasn't getting completely full off of his milk, we and our Dr. decided it was time to start on solids. First, as all babies do, we start with Rice Cereal. Don't let the name fool you, it doesn't look like rice or cereal. I wouldn't have it for dinner or breakfast.

And then he decided that since big boys eat cereal, big boys also grow teeth!!

in the few days since we've taken this picture, both teeth have grown from nubs to razors. He's been very responsive when we react to his "biting" so he doesn't chomp as hard the next time around. hopefully it stays that way.

2:15 Fun, fun, fun.

First I think I should mention that we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, and we thought it was gorgeous!! Even though we only had a limited time to spend in each room (had to keep the line moving ya'know) the spirit was strong throughout. I thought the lady in the celestial room had the best job. Thats where I'd like to usher all day.

Then we went to Disney World!! Yay! it's really the happiest place on earth! Xan really enjoyed the colorful characters and fun music.

Look at Daddy Taking the picture!!

TTFN!

2:14 Swimmer Baby!

Okay, So it was a while ago but we got Xan into the pool for the first time. 

the water was a wee cold so his initial response was not great, but he endured it for a while.

The next time he got in a pool it was much warmer and in Florida.

If you can picture him skimming across the the surface of the water with a big ol' grin and kicking his legs like it's helping (even though it neither helps nor hinders). I wish we would have had the camera handy for that swim, as it was much more exciting. Next time we will.

2:13 Rollover

While we were in Utah back at the end of June Xander finally rolled over for all of us to see. It took him a few tries but he did it eventually.

It's been crazy to watch him grow so fast and develop so well. Our Dr. gave us a development chart, and we've been marking off the accomplishments well before he reaches the age bracket. I guess that means either: 1)East coast standards are really low,  or  2) We have an über smart baby!

Episode 2:12 Utah

So I know it's almost been a month since we've posted anything but life has been a little busy. As you know, we were in Utah for a couple weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed it. As a disclaimer, for anyone who we didn't get to see while we were there, which is a lot of people, we're really sorry. After a weekend of worrying my Mom and Grandma, I (Chanté) ended up in the ER and spent most of the time that we had for visiting people on the couch. Don't worry, I'm just fine now. Everything is almost completely healed and I'm doing great!  

Well, Jake's sister Diane and her fiancé Sam are now officially married. It was a great wedding. I will post more pictures later but here's one of the wedding cake that Jake made for them. I thought it turned out well. 

We were also able to bless Xan while we were there. I know, we waited a while to bless him but we wanted to have family there. It was a fun afternoon and Xan looked fabulous in his little tux that my mom bought for his blessing. Thanks mom!!!