The Tangrens

It must be February because love is definitely in the air in our apartment. Hyrum must have been trying to eat one too many Valentine's Day advertisements because we came into the kitchen and Hyrum was hanging out around the portable dishwasher like this...


We carried him into the other room and he made a bee line for the kitchen again. What is he doing we asked each other. Why does he want to be in there so much? We watched him and started to laugh when we saw this...


He was literally kissing (or trying to suck on) the dishwasher! He has noticed the baby in the dishwasher and oven before as he's passed on his walks through the kitchen holding on tight to Mom or Dad's fingers. He'd stop and smile and maybe pat it but it looks like the relationship has progressed a bit. :) Although, he hasn't done it in the last few day's...they may have had a falling out. I'm just glad (and kind of surprised) that it wasn't the oven friend he chose to kiss. He seems to like danger.

Ever since I arrived at Omniture, people have been telling me that Halloween is a REALLY big deal there. I'd heard all the stories (like how the CEO flew in little people from Vegas to play Oompa Loompa's when he was Willie Wonka or how the whole place shuts down while everyone's families come down and all the kids go trick or treating throughout the building. However, nothing could have prepared me for the festive madness that is Halloween at Omniture.

It began a few weeks ago when the planning festivities began. In light of the recent signing of Disney as an Omniture client, our department decided we would go with a Disneyland theme with different groups taking different rides or aspects of Disneyland such as Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Alice in Wonderland, Star Tours, Pirates of the Carribean, etc. We were each given a small budget and then set loose to turn our areas into our respective themes. Our travel vertical team combined with two other teams and were assigned Star Tours and I couldn't resist dressing up in Star Wars garb with Hyrum dressing up as R2-D2, Sunny as Padme Amidala and me as Jango Fett. We were a little leary about investing in a Jango Fett costume, but as the families were showing up one little boy ran up and asked if he could get his picture taken with me. That made it all worth it!

The night before Halloween several of us stayed late to make final preparations such as hanging up the black lights, draping several pieces of heavy black tarp to block out the light, hanging up florescent painted asteroids and queuing the music from the Star Tours ride. As was expected, Halloween day was essentially a large party at work (we didn't get a whole lot done). The occasional client interaction also included an explanation of why there was Star Wars Cantina music in the background along with an incessant "Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine...." (You need to watch the video!)

All the departments went beyond anything we could have possibly expected. There was a carnival (with popcorn, cotton candy, and other treats) and the decorations made it hard to imagine that there was actually an office hidden behind there somewhere. All the executives were dressed up as different characters and they flew in 7 little people from Vegas to play the part of the Seven Dwarves. Hyrum LOVED them and they thought he was pretty adorable in his costume as well.



The CEO and his wife dressed up as Prince Charming and Cinderella, while the other co-founder dressed up as Sully from Monster's Inc. Also, Mickey and Minnie Mouse were there handing out Mouse Ears flown in from Disneyland!



Other areas included a pirate ship with functioning smoke ring cannons, Alice in Wonderland, Finding Nemo and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We've put together this 5 minute video to try and give everyone an idea of how crazy it was, but even the video doesn't completely do it justice. Enjoy!

Everyone seems to be posting adorable pictures of their little cherubs from Halloween today but we're having issues getting ours from one place to another. So while we wait I thought I'd indulge myself in posting a few of the cutest pictures from October. I swear we are going to have to delete half of the pictures we take of Hyrum so that our next children don't think we love them less.
I'm not sure if you can tell or not but his hair likes to go up in a little curly Gerber baby faux hawk. I put this apple core to his mouth and he grabbed my hands and didn't let me take the apple away. That's when I started to realize this kid might be ready for solids. :)

Sucking on his favorite purple elephant toy's trunk. I just love this picture.

I snapped some pictures of my bathing blue eyed boy. He's getting so big. Soon he will out grow the baby bath. He's trying to practice his new trick of blowing raspberries. He hasn't quite got it down yet.

Last Friday (Oct 19th) Derek's parents came down from Idaho for the day.. They've done these trips three or four times since Hyrum's birth. They leave Idaho in the morning and get down here around 10:30-11:00 am then stay until 2 and drive back. That is a seven hour car ride for a four hour visit. It always amazes me that they would drive so much for such a small visit. It makes me wonder how many times we could have gone up there on a weekend but haven't because it was such a long drive for such a short time to be there. How much time do I waste or opportunities do I not take because I don't think I have enough time to do it or simply don't get myself together enough to get out of the house? I need to be better.

Derek's mom of course came bearing gifts. She needs to be careful or he's going to come to expect that every time she comes. She brought him some spongy fabric covered blocks and a hammer that makes all kinds of noises and lights up when you hammer something. She put some of the blocks in his lap and left the rest in the package off to one side. Hyrum looked at the blocks then at her then at the clear plastic bag with the rest of the blocks then back at his Grandma with this look on his face that CLEARLY said "Grandma, why are you holding out on me? I know there are more blocks. Put them in my lap too." Neither she nor I could resist that face and dumped the rest of the blocks in his lap that he played with very happily. I wish we would have had some video footage of it because it was classic.



They were nervous about getting back over the pass before a rain storm came that was going to be turning to snow at 6,000 feet. They played and we went out to lunch and the left. Hyrum sure loves to see his grandpa and grandma.

It was a beautiful day last Friday low 70's and sunshine. We decided to soak up as much sunshine and warmth we could and spent hours outside in the courtyard watching cars and playing. When Derek got home he joined us. I wanted to get some pictures of Hyrum in the autumn sunshine. Here are some of my favorites.

Hyrum and a fun Fall leaf. We really need to find a pile of leaves to toss him in. He'd love it!


Do you notice the advanced finger sucking skills my son has? Yeah I've pretty much given up on trying to stop it. I'll worry about it when he's dating. I'm pretty sure it will stop before then. In the meantime I'll save for braces.

This was my attempt at an artsy picture. If only I had my sister Holly's picture altering skills and could make everything black and white except for the leaf. One of the reasons I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day is that there were rumors that snow may be coming the next day...

Time just flies so fast and things are always happening that I want to post about. But lately we have been posting a whole lot at once and then nothing for the rest of the month. So when Derek didn't put together a video clip yesterday I decided to back track and post some things I should have posted at the beginning of the month when our last bunch of posts were. I hope to have a post a day more or less until we're caught up so stay tuned.

Conference weekend was great. We just hung out as a family and soaked up all of the good information. On Saturday Derek and Hyrum were just being so cute together I just couldn't resist getting a ton of adorable pictures. I thought I'd share them with you.


Derek is soo good about getting on the floor and playing with Hyrum. Much better than I am. This is how the day began. On Daddy's old baby blanket chatting on tummy's.


Check out my handsome boys. Seriously! Is my man good lookin' or what?

I just love this picture of them. Hyrum just loves his daddy. He was just grinning at Derek so I snapped a picture from across the room to not interrupt their moment.

This is a thing Hyrum likes to do. He loves to touch our faces. ( Or just whack at our faces or grab our neck, hair or just suck on our cheeks ) Apparently he wanted daddy to just listen and not talk anymore.

I think every Dad plays this game with his kids. It's a dangerous game sometimes especially right after a meal or on a particularly drooly day. Fortunately this was neither of these times.

Hyrum has always loved to see what was going on around him. It's one of the major reasons he hated being on his tummy. I tried to help him get gain neck strength by doing tummy time in new locations so that he'd be curious to look around, thus getting his head up. It was warm in the apartment one day so we decided to go out side and I put him on his belly and all of a sudden he was keeping his head up for long periods of time. For a while I didn't understand what was drawing his attention. Then I realized he was watching the cars on the busy street we live on. Since that time we've tried to take some time every week if not every day out in the courtyard watching cars (depending if I can get myself together or if there were big boys playing in the courtyard) Lately it's been getting cold and our outings in the courtyard are getting shorter and shorter. Now he prefers to be seated while watching cars. He's still a bit tipsy but he can stay upright for a second or two from time to time. I wanted to document his favorite pastime before the snow flies so I finally brought a camera out with us. By the time I got him stable and behind him I couldn't catch cars in the picture but we'll always remember what he was doing.





Unfortunately he's acquired another pastime that isn't as acceptable. Watching television. We really try to not let him. We do everything we can to avoid him seeing it but this little boy finds away to catch a glimpse. Every time we catch him watching we also find him with a HUGE smile on his face. We put his bouncy chair facing away and he'll crane his neck as far as it can go to try to see it. He can be screaming bloody murder, completely inconsolable and all we have to do is turn on the T.V. and he stops screaming and starts to smile. I worry about what it's doing to his little forming brain. Worry that it's creating an attention span the length of an ant. For that reason I'm really trying to push reading time where he needs to focus on something that is not constantly changing. But despite my best efforts he finds the T.V. So exactly how bad is it?

And now you also know how messy my apartment is. I hang my head in shame.

Hyrum has always been a natural flirt. He just gets these faces when he smiles that just crack me up. His eyebrows raise and his eyes get wider. The boy's just got it. I was taking pictures of him in these cute pajamas and after I took this picture and saw it I just couldn't stop laughing. You tell me if he's not flirting.

I just found a fun new online slideshow tool (Animoto) that you can use to create little slideshows like this. You put in the pictures and the music music (or they have music you can select from) and it analyzes and puts pictures together with transitions into a slideshow. You can do as many as you want that are 30 seconds for free.

No real reason for this post other than to show off some adorable pictures of Hyrum. One day he was just sitting in Derek's lap and he looked so content so I had to get a picture. It was a Zen moment.

This one was a result of my efforts to get some pictures of Hyrum and a blanket that someone had made for him to send in the thank you card and I finally got a picture of one of my favorite faces that he makes.

Thanks for indulging me!

Hyrum has never liked pacifiers. He would take them in the beginning but it was only under extreme duress and most of the time only from his dad. But now he'll never take it. We've tried every shape and size but he just acts like we're trying to gag him. He prefers his fist to anything else. "Why won't he take a pacifier?" I worried. That is surely easier to take away. I was known, in my family, for taking away pacifiers that were not needed and I had planned on being the same way with my son. He would only be given a pacifier when he needed it but a fist could not be given or taken away.


Then I realized the fist may not be so bad. The fist worked and it was always there. Life was happy then. He'd even put himself back to sleep in the middle of the night sucking on his fist. And that was great. I can get used to this I thought, no big deal. Of course I worried what he might be sucking off his fist but thought he's a baby what can he get into? I washed in between his fingers regularly to get out the finger fuzz. Everything was going to be ok. I never really worried about him sucking his thumb because he kept his thumb safely tucked in between his pointer finger and middle finger. Then came the time when that pointer finger would work it's way into his mouth. But then he'd just gag and start sucking on his intact fist again. Happiness continued. A fist would never become a habit. You never saw a three year old sucking on his fist. Then one Sunday in the hurried preparations for church we set him on the couch. I came back a few minutes later and to my horror...


He was sucking his fingers! There was no gagging there was no disgust there was only happy contented sucking of his fingers. This looked habit forming. I thought of all the horror stories of the extreme measures taken by numerous haggard parents at the end of their ropes. I thought of the diseases he could get. But as the days past he didn't seem to suck on his fingers that often. And most recently has decided that sucking on me is even more fun.


If you look carefully on my left arm you'll see a rather dark hickey left by my son. At any given time I have 3 to 4 hickeys on me and currently I have a pretty large one at the base of my neck. Fabulous! This is better, right?

It was Hyrum's first BYU game day on Saturday. We didn't have tickets and we couldn't have gone if we did because Derek was conducting at the stake baptisms at 5:00 so we went down to Provo early. We dressed Hyrum in his jersey and went to look for a polo shirt that Derek could wear to work on game days. The bookstore was packed with people buying BLUE shirts to wear to the game. True Fans wear blue they say. We left empty handed but decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go down to the cougar to get some pictures.


Hyrum thought it was all great fun. Although he was a little warm.


We also took the chance to go into the new Gordon B Hinkley Alumni Center. It is really nice. We got a drink and rested a bit on the comfy chairs before heading back to the car to head home.

While we listened to the game. (We're to cheap to pay more than $15 for cable) I was trying to get Hyrum to sit on the edge of the couch and like normal he was keeping his body stiff so that he would end up on his feet ( he much prefers to stand). I stood him up against the couch and he just stood there without me holding him. I reached for my camera and took a picture with one hand ready to catch him but he didn't even sway.


I did finally get him to sit but he didn't like it as much and strangely seemed much sturdier on his feet than he was on his seat.

"Wow that little boy looks like his daddy." "Hello Derek junior" "Look it's a miniature Derek." I've heard it ever since Hyrum was born. I'd look at him and think "I have to be in there too" I'm pretty sure he's got my color eyes because Derek's are more blue green but didn't really see much more than that. Derek and Hyrum's one month pictures are very similar and the picture that was taken minutes after Derek was born could have been superimposed with Hyrum and no one would have known the difference. I just didn't have any pictures of myself when I was little so I had nothing to compare it to. Then one day a picture was posted on my family's website of me when I was 3 months old. You be the judge...












Derek At 3 months

















Hyrum at 3 months















Me at 3 months

Hyrum just started laughing outloud when he's awake. He's been chuckling in his sleep for a while now, but every once in a while we can get him to chuckle. Here's a video of his newest little trick.

Ahh... Michigan! The mere word brings lush landscapes, long sandy beaches, sparkling water of lazy dragonflyed rivers and crashing waves on the beach to mind. Michigan will always be home. It calls to me, beckons me and I long for it. But it is not only the land that I miss in this desert I've come to find myself, it's the faces that brighten to see me and and the arms that give me hugs. My family. I wish I could move back so that my children will have the childhood I loved. Family parties every month, growing up with your cousins as your best friends, knowing your aunts and uncles and grand aunts and uncles and second cousins etc. I know all of my family and most live nearby...in Michigan. But life has found me far from that, with no foreseeable change. Don't get me wrong I do love it here in Utah. I'd miss it too when I leave...if I ever do...but there is just something about Michigan.

I 'm always on the look out for opportunities to go home. But trying to save for a new house has strapped us pretty tight as we are cramped pretty tight in this apartment and the thought of having room to put an exersaucer in the living room without having to put it away in order to cross the room is inviting and motivating so I'd just looked at the pictures on my sister Holly's blog of the sights of Michigan through teary eyes.

Then came the call. A seed planted to go back to Michigan. There was a laundry list of reasons I wanted to go. It seemed the perfect time. I talked to Derek..."I think you should go" . We looked for tickets...Ouch! So expensive! I decided to not go. Then the next day we found tickets that were reasonable. I also found out that my cousin had had her baby. I bought the tickets and held my breath. Would this put us back months from buying a house? Then Derek told me he had been awarded "Employee of the Quarter" at work which came with a cash bonus just about what we'd need to pay for the ticket.

Then came the realization...I'd be flying with a two month old by myself. How would I do that? I researched on the internet and began to feel more confident. We kept my coming a surprise from my parents. So the day after the Super summer shindig off we went to Michigan.

Hyrum did beautifully! This is the way he took off on his first flight. Sucking on my pinky and holding on to my hand. He quickly fell asleep and slept then entire 3 hour flight. Then he woke up and charmed all of the passengers on the flight as we waited to exit the plane. Everyone was asking how his first flight was and complementing him. Everybody was so friendly and helpful. Thank heaven for nice people.

We took another flight (only about 45 min this time) and landed in Detroit where I hoped my aunt Linda or uncle Andre were waiting for us. He was and we started off for Grand Rapids where my Dad's retirement party was to shortly get underway. I was treated to the sights of beautiful Michigan on a side trip through the quaint towns of Westvallia and Saranac on our way. We got to the party as they were cleaning up. Hyrum was quickly whisked away and around the room as cousins and grandparents clamored to hold him. I got my very own personal showing of Ethan Jillie and Reagan's version of "Surfin' USA" and the reality that I was really in Michigan slowly began to sink in for everybody.

The next day found us at the beach. A place I hadn't been for 5 years. I saw my cousins, aunts and uncles. We caught up on lives and happenings promising that next time it won't have been as long between get togethers and ideas of fabulous future family reunions began brewing. It was Hyrum's first time to the beach so documenting was in order.

He wasn't real sure about the sand. I don't think liked the fact that his feet seemed to sink in this strange substance. He was much more happy with his feet on the wet sand of the shore.




















Until the waves came and water hit his feet. Then he wasn't so happy anymore.

There is just something about the beach that makes you feel like a kid again, relaxes you and makes you feel that everything is right in the world. The sound of the waves and children playing drowns out the sound of all your cares or helps you put things in perspective. And there is nothing like a sunset over Lake Michigan to make you miss your husband. Luckily we didn't see one this trip.

While I was in Michigan I noticed that I didn't often have Hyrum in my arms. It seemed there was always a surrogate mommy watching over him. It was so nice to know he was always in capable hands or in the arms of an adoring cousin. One of the MAJOR reasons for this trip was for Hy to get to know his family and he absolutely knows their touch now if not their faces. Here is a slide show of Hyrum's many mommy's.


The next day, Sunday, we were all in church together and then went back to my parents house for a family dinner. He met more Grand aunts and second cousins and his Great grandparents who were especially eager to meet their newest great grandson.















He was glad to meet them too!

The rest of the time there was somewhat of a blur of friends and family beaches and hamburgers. We went to the botanical garden where Derek and I had our reception. So many good memories. I was determined that Hyrum was going to get into the waters of Michigan and bought him a swim diaper. On Tuesday we were at the beach again and he had his first dip in the water swimsuit and all. He seemed to like it much better this time. I can only imagine what he would have thought of it after a week of going to the beach everyday.




















Then on Wednesday my last full day in Michigan my sisters and I woke up early in the morning after talking and looking at pictures until the wee hours of the morning and went blueberry picking. We left the kids sleeping at home (except for a Jaleigh tag along) and headed out to Hyatt Blueberry farms. We got there and were greeted by a sign saying something to the affect of "We're not here right now. Pick your blueberries and put your money in the coffee can. It's the honor system" Where else can you be assured that people will pay you using the honor system than in small town USA. There's still alot of that in Michigan. As we picked blueberries and talked memories of picking strawberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches and raspberries with members of my family flooded my mind. We always hated that we had to get up so early to get out to the farm before it got to hot but those memories are some of the sweetest I have of my childhood and I miss doing it. My grandmother talking to the strawberry farmer about his children because she knew the family ( or was it that she'd been to Krupps for so many years). My Grandma Nellie running beside the flat bed trailer "to get the blood pumping" on the way out to the cherry trees that we were going to pick from. Picking blueberries with my grandma Streeter and her Aunt Byrdie as I listened to them tell family stories. Picking fruit in the fields is not only much cheaper than buying them at the store ( the blueberries I picked were $1 a pound...yeah) but much more important things can be had there, memories with family, a stomach ache from eating too much fruit in the field, and an appreciation for nature and a connection to the earth. My sisters and I determined to have sister vacations together when we are not as much in demand at home. I can't wait!

Later that day I went to see my cousin Jeannie and her 2 week old daughter. She and I had emailed consistently during our pregnancies. We got pregnant with our first children within months of each other and we compared notes on our pregnancies and basically just shared the experience together. I was very excited to see her and her new baby. Now we have a brand new bunch of experiences to share. And advice to solicit.
The trip home wasn't as flawless as the way out. Grandpa Wadsworth got Hyrum a little Michigan outfit to remember his trip and it's a good thing because he had a blow out on the first flight and needed to use it. I only wish I'd gotten one for myself too. I changed his diaper on my lap in the scrunched plane bathroom. It was an experience. The second flight he wasn't making any friends and I ended up walking the aisle with him to calm him. We were both very glad to see Daddy. It was a perfect trip but good to be home!

This week was my work's summer party, the Super Summer Shindig (S³ 2007). They held it at Seven Peaks Water Park and it was a lot of fun!



They even had matching t-shirts for all of us (even a little matching onesie for Hy!) and we made authentic Hawaiian leis.



Hy even got to try out his new sunglasses before heading off to Michigan. We were afraid that he might try to eat his lei, but he didn't.



However, he wasn't to fond of going for a dip. He's got his sad face down pretty good these days. I think he's slowly starting to figure out that we will do whatever he wants if he makes that face. ;-)



Originally, I wasn't going to do any of the slides at the park. Then, I saw they had "The Boomerang." "The Boomerang" is the mother of all rides at Seven Peaks. It's a giant, 3-story-tall half-pipe perfect for an adrenaline rush (or if you haven't had a good cry for a while). Two of my friends from work and I decided to go down it all together and it was INSANE!!! When they first let you go over the edge and and you're heading down you catch some air and you start thinking thoughts like "How much life insurance do I have again?" With the three of us on there we shot up the other side fast enough that we though we were going to shoot off the other side...but we didn't. (WHEW!) If you are ever at Seven Peaks in Provo, I recommend you don't pass this one up.