RJ, Teila and Mylee

Better late than never... Right?

2010-02-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Luke called yesterday and said I was a slacker. He was looking at my last post from November... so... Here I am catching up again. =) I'm not much good at this whole blogging thing am I? =) It has been a very busy few months. RJ is finishing his last semester. Yay! Which also means that this is (knock on wood) my last semester too. We are really excited for the changes that are coming up. RJ has a really great offer at a firm here in Cheyenne, so we'll probably stick around this area. Anyway, needless to say, RJ is busy studying and fighting senioritis, and I am busier than ever with Mylee, teaching and the culinary team.

Oh, first here are some pics from Christmas. We got to go to Utah and see everyone! Sometimes I really miss being so far away from everyone. My nieces and nephews are growing up without me! Christmas was great though. Everyone was there, even Nick's family from Ohio!

Here is Mylee coming up the stairs on Christmas morning.She got a new slide...And opened her presents...Grandma got this dinosaur tent from Santa Claus, and Mylee had a blast crawling in it.
Then, when everyone got there, Grandpa took the kids for a ride on the sled and 4-wheeler
Mylee stayed out until her cheeks and nose were red and her hands were frozen. She grinned the whole time! Shalissa made her the pink and green hat she is wearing. It was soooo cute on her!
Mylee loves babies! Here she is giving her cousin Dallas a kiss. =)
And she had fun playing pool with Eli.
Later, we went to visit Uncle Ryan and his family. Ryan said this picture was typical... The girl taking care of babies while the guy just lounges around. It made me laugh. He sure has some cute kids!
By the end of the day, Mylee was so tired! I found the idea for this teddy bear rug at a local toy store. I loved it so much that I spent Christmas Eve making it for Mylee. I'm glad she likes it! =)

Mylee is growing so fast it makes me sick! Where did my baby go? She is growing into such a tease. This morning she grabbed a diaper and said "bummie bum!" and then got a huge smile on her face, stuck her foot in the diaper and said "sock!" She has so much of her dad in her! She's getting to be very independent too. Yesterday RJ bought her some new jammies. Her response was perfect! She grabbed them from him and said "Jammies! Tank oo!" and then tried to put them on. Anytime I tried to help her or even touched the jammies, she screamed "a-SELF!" at me. One time she had one leg in and was trying to get the other in, and I just straightened the leg to make it easier for her. She yelled at me, stood up, took the other leg out and started all over again. She cracks me up.

When Mylee is upset, Sidekick howls and it makes her laugh. It's pretty funny actually to see her laugh so hard with tears streaming down her cheeks. And then she remembers that she's supposed to be upset so she'll start crying again. It's a pretty hilarious cycle. Next time I'll have to get a picture of Mylee... =)

This is where we put her for time out... J/K! She climbed in there herself and screamed when I tried to take her out! She spends a lot of her time pretending to be a dog...

As far as teaching goes it has been a busy few months. We are getting ready for our annual "Thundershack." It's a business run by the Culinary I kids. They use the skills they learned throughout the year to make and sell food. The money they earn pays for our competitive teams and things our department needs but our limited budget can't cover. It's my favorite time of year because it is fun and I don't have to write lesson plans =). There is a lot of shopping involved, but I much prefer shopping to writing lesson plans!

As far as the competitive teams go... the teacher that was advising the Hospitality Management team resigned from activities, so I found myself advising that team too. It was busy advising both teams, but rewarding in a lot of ways. I have some great students this year,and both teams did great at State. The management team didn't place, but they were told they had some great ideas, and they amazed me with how well they answered some pretty tough questions. The Culinary Team took a very close 2nd at State. They were only about 2.5 points behind the first place team. I was happy with their excellent work, and was congratulating myself on being done with all of the practices and work (I was looking forward to a relaxing last two months of work...) when I got a call from the state director saying the first place team had dropped out. So now we are going to Nationals!!! It is going to be a lot of fun. I have a really great team this year. They are hard workers and they keep me laughing. I have never had a team that has got along so well and worked so well together. AND, I have two AMAZING mentors... They have both given us a ton of time and help.

Here's Mylee after practice while the kids are cleaning up. She loves tasting the food. =) She came with me to a lot of the practices and had fun with the kids. RJ and I took Mylee out to eat one day and she saw someone that looked a lot like one of my students and she said "Hi! Ben!" It made me laugh.
These are the girls on my management team. I'm so proud of them!
Here is our culinary team and one of our mentors.
Our starter was a baby green salad in a fresh parmesan wrap with homemade French truffle dressing.
Our entree was crab stuffed veal with asiago mashed potatoes and romanesco and baby cauliflower; drizzled with a mushroom demi-glace.
This picture doesn't do our dessert justice! But it is a lemon sabayon in a graham cracker crust garnished with a chocolate butterfly and strawberry rose. The kids and their 2nd place medals. Yay us! =)

RJ had Spring Break last week and got to spend a lot of time with Mylee. I'm glad they got to have so much fun going to parks and playing... They even met up with Stephanie and her kids at the mall in Fort Collins. Mylee had so much fun she couldn't stop talking about it. She still occasionally will bring it up. She says "water... bubbles" in reference to her new favorite fountain. And she will say "Rissa! tiggle tiggle tiggle" as she tickles her face because that's what Carissa did to her. She talks about how Katie held her hand and Justin kept bopping her on the head. It's cute cause she'll say " 'tin" and then smack her head, grunt and then just crack up. I love that she loves her cousins!

Well, that's about it! See ya in maybe another four months =)

I'm a slacker...

2009-11-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

I guess I shouldn't procrastinate the updating of our blog any longer... so here goes...

At some point this past summer, I don't remember exactly when, we went to the Denver zoo. Emily and Eli were able to come with us, and we had great fun! Mylee loved seeing her cousin and all of the animals.

She LOVED this statue of the bears. She screamed and screamed when we made her get off...

I think the polar bears and the penquins were her favorite. (Probably because they happened to be the most active...)

By the end of our trip, she was pretty tired. She fell asleep as soon as we put her in her car seat.

We got to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Rowley in Utah one more time before school started. Of course, Mylee got super spoiled and even got to ride Grandpa's motorcycle.

And then we got to ride the 4-wheeler!

Mylee also got to meet her new cousin Dallas... She LOVES babies! She kept trying to share her toys with him, but he wasn't interested. =) She has a doll that she carries around and gives lots of hugs to. I'm jealous because that doll gets way more hugs than I do! Mylee is getting lots more cuddly though, which has been fun. She'll even sit still for more than a few seconds now. It's great!

While we were in Utah, Mylee and I went to RJ's Hyde Family Reunion in Vernal. RJ couldn't make it because he had to work ;( but we had lots of fun without him. =) We went boating, and I really enjoyed watching Mylee splash around in the water.

She got to touch her first fish. She even tried to kiss it. Gross!

And she was really hamming it up for the camera!

Uncle Bart took us for a ride in his airplane. Thanks Uncle Bart!

After we got back from Utah, we went on another campout. Dale and Eli came with us. RJ picked a piece of wheat and had it in his mouth. Of course, Eli had to copy him...

Our hike ended up being kind of a long one, but Eli was a trooper. He's such a happy, cute kid! On our way back to camp, Rogue found a cow and decided to chase it. There was no stopping her, and when she came back, she looked awfully happy with herself. I wish I had gotten a video of it because it was pretty entertaining...
Back at camp Eli plays with the puppies...

Don't worry Grandma Rowley! It was just candy! =) We bought the candy specifically so we could take the picture to get a rise out of you =) he he he...
RJ loves giving Mylee new flavors to see her reaction. I think its funny because she likes pretty much everything (even lemon salt, salsa and her favorite... cinnamon bears and hot tomales) and I think RJ gets a little disappointed when she doesn't give more of a reaction. Occasionally though, we find something he has a lot of fun giving to her. This time it was cotton candy. She grabbed some in both fists and was stuffing it into her mouth. Another favorite we recently discovered was the Marshmellow flavored pop corn. She had both hands going and ate almost a whole bag by herself! It's amazing she is so tiny because she eats so much!

Just some cute pics of Mylee... She loves purses and anything with a handle that she can carry like a purse. =) She also loves shoes. What a girly girl! She will randomly bring shoes to me and ask me to put them on her, even if she's already wearing some!

She also happens to love these dress up high heels that Grandma Walker found while cleaning some stuff out. She walks all over the house in them. I was lucky enough to catch her on video tape dancing in them. =)

This was our first snow storm of the season. We've had a lot of snow this year. They've already had a snow day and the Homecoming dance was rescheduled due to a snow storm. It worries me a little since RJ is driving back and forth to Laramie, but so far so good =) It has been a lot of fun to get out and play in the snow with Mylee, although she doesn't do much with it except eat it =)

And then last but not least.... Halloween! It also happens to be RJ's birthday, but I had so much fun dressing up Mylee that I didn't get any pictures of RJ. I feel bad about it now, but at least I made him a cake right? =) Mylee was Pebbles for Halloween. I thought about making Fred and Wilma costumes too, but in the end laziness won...

This picture is kind of appropriate because if you look closely Mylee is signing "candy." We took her to the Mall, but the lines for trick or treating there were so long it was ridiculous! We ended up hanging out with the fam at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was fun to see all the different costumes. One guy at the mall air-brushed his whole body to look like the incredible hulk!

Anyway, as you can probably tell, our summer was a busy one. I had hoped it would be a good time to catch up on things that needed to get done around the house, but there never seemed to be any time. The time flew by too fast! Mylee is learning and growing so fast! She says new things every day! Today her new word was "shoes". Yesterday it was "baby" and "home" It is so fun because you never know what is going to pop out of her mouth next. We took a video of her sitting by me at the piano. I was playing and she was singing. As we listened and watched I realized some of the things she was singing were real words! It was totally random, but fun all the same.

Mylee also loves playing in the water. If you say "bath" she immediately starts taking her clothes off. So RJ reverted to code and started saying "b-a-t-h" it apparently doesn't take long for kids to learn how to spell because it only took a couple times before she realized what those letters meant. The other day she found a razor and started trying to shave her legs with it. I guess that means she watches me shave more than she watches her dad =).

As for me, I'm busy with school again. It's always kinda fun when school starts because you get to meet your new students and get out and do new things, but it's also sad because I miss that time with Mylee. I'm so thankful that Grandma Walker is willing to watch her. It helps knowing that even though she isn't with me, she is with family who love her. In fact, I almost think that Mylee loves Grandma and Uncle CJ more than she loves me and RJ! =) Culinary Team has started up again, and I have a great team this year, including two AWESOME Chef Mentors! I can't wait to see what they cook up =)!

RJ is busy with school again too. He had a fabulous time with his internship over the summer and told me several times that it was way more fun than school =). Thankfully though, this is his last year. Now he is just studying and doing the whole job searching thing, and we are just praying that the right opportunity will come our way. And that's about it, we're pretty boring around here =)

Summer Fun

2009-07-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a crazy, busy, fun summer! So many things going on, there are TONS of pictures on this post.
First off... Mylee turned 1 about a month and a half ago. I don't think I have ever seen a more spoiled baby. The gift pile was higher than her head. Thank you everyone! She loves her toys!

I made a cake for her. She seemed to enjoy it, although she was a little more dainty with it than I expected.
Just after her birthday I headed down to Utah for a week and a half of fun and relaxation and a marathon. It was my first, and it was fun! A super special thanks to Emily for running it with me. She had me laughing the whole time. I don't know how I would have done it without her!
I won't make you look at the ugly after pictures... Here's a crazy before pic instead. =)
While in Utah, I got to visit with Grandma Rowley AND Grandpa Francom. It was so fun! Sometimes it seems like forever in between visits. I love you guys!
We also got to go see the ?Oquirrh? (I can't remember how to spell it) Temple and go through the Open House with Mom and Dad and Grandpa Francom. What a beautiful temple! I love temples so much! Mylee was in awe of the chandeliers, and I can't blame her... I think they were one of my favorite things, they were so pretty and shiny! =)
Oh darn, I misplaced the pictures, and it's getting really late, so oh well... but here are some before shots when we were getting ready to leave. I think Mylee looks really pretty. Even if she is showing her little attitude...
Afterwards, Mom and Dad treated us to Olive Garden, and of course, Mylee got spoiled by her Grandpa...Mylee still loves Dad's dog, Sly, and she really enjoyed the nice weather so she could play outside with Grandma. I was surprised by how much she loved the trampoline.

Mylee really missed her dad since we were gone for a week and a half. I caught her and Side kick looking out the front door for him to get home from work. Those to are such good buds. I'll have to get a video of her teasing him with his toys. She is such a tease and laughs so hard.
Mylee's new favorite thing is climbing, and she doesn't give much thought to how she will get down.
I guess I'm not feeding her enough, cause she couldn't wait for me to peel the banana...
In the midst of all the summer fun, my new car got totalled. We had only had it for 4 months. The car was parked outside our house, and a couple of other cars collided in the intersection. One of them ended up crashed against our tree, the other crashed into our car. The insurance (surprise) gave us a good deal though, so it worked out well, and we now have a new, new car. =) A Nissan Pathfinder this time. We like it.Luckily, Justin's (my cute nephew) birthday party was that day, so I had something to take my mind off the accident. We went to a bounce house, and the kids had a blast. Mylee sure loves her cousins, aunts, and uncles. I feel very blessed to be living so close to family.
Here is Mylee enjoying the bouncing.
Her uncle CJ took her down a slide. It might not look like she enjoyed it, but she kept making us take her down the slide over and over.Mylee's cousin Katie also enjoyed the slide. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday boy sliding. Grandma Walker also got her turn on the slide with Mylee and Karissa. Thanks for giving me a break and taking Mylee!
And Thank You Steph for the batteries! Otherwise, I wouldn't have all these cute pictures of Mylee!There was a little bounce house for toddlers where Mylee spent most of her time. Her favorite was the dog. She kept biting his tongue. =)
And Mylee LOVES her cousin Karissa!
And of course, all that fun wore her out. But not for long =)
A few weeks ago, we took Mylee on her first campout. Her uncle CJ came with us, and it was a TON of fun. During one of his business trips, Grandpa Walker got Mylee some cute camo overalls, and they were perfect (and cute! =)) Mylee followed RJ and CJ around everywhere.

I guess she really just wanted to help out.
Mylee and I chillin' while the boys did all the work =) She has this cheesy face she makes now where whe juts her chin out and tries not to smile. It's really cute.In the morning, we went for a nice long hike. There wasn't anyone around for miles, so we just let the dogs run. We were all surprised at Side Kick. When we arrived at the camp, he was a prissy pup walking delicately around the weeds. During the hike, he let loose and took off bouncing through tall grasses and splashing through mud holes. You can see how dirty he is in our family picture. It was fun to see the dogs have so much fun. RJ gave Mylee a long piece of grass while we were walking. Something kept tickling my arm, and I thought it was a bug, I kept swatting at it. I finally realized it was Mylee tickling me. I swear she was doing it on purpose too cause when I caught her she gave me a huge grin and started giggling. RJ's rubbing off on her! What am I going to do?

Tiffany has been an awesome aunt, and takes really good care of Mylee. Mylee loves swimming with her.

She also loves Tiffany's playhouse...
And playing peek-a-boo with our French doors...
There's that cheesy grin again...
Mylee's favorite birthday present (this is so random!) was a toy shark her uncle Josh and Aunt Maca gave her. She chewed on it and played with it for forever. You can kind of see her picking it up here in this picture...
Due to her fascination with her toy shark, I was really excited when Steph invited us to go to the Denver aquarium with her and her kids. Mylee had a blast despite her lack of naps during the day. There was too much going on to sleep!

She got to pet the sting rays. I have cool videos of Tiffany feeding them, as well as some other fun videos, but it is getting late, so they will have to wait for a later post.
Mylee walks away, just as a big shark swims past.
Mylee and her cousin Katie waiting to watch them feed the sharks.

Mylee got to touch a star fish too! She seemed more interested in licking the salt water off her fingers though. Gross!

They had these cool bubbles under the tanks where you could climb under and get "in" the tank. Fun, You can see the fin of a big fish by my head!
Mylee watching another shark swim past...
My favorite... the sea horses. They are so cute and little!
Eating in the restaurant. It was awesome! The whole wall behind the table (you can't see it in this picture) was a giant fish tank, so you could watch all the fish swimming by while you ate.
Last week was frontier days here in Cheyenne and we had tons of fun with that too. I didn't take any pictures cause I got a little lazy with the camera, but it was fun nonetheless. I got to go to the rodeo with Stephanie and her husband Kasey and their friend Mike. We went to Water World. And swimming at the Rec center in Longmont. RJ and I got to go see Rodney Atkins perform, and I for my birthday Steph got me a ticket to the Taylor Swift concert. I got to go with Tiffany and her friend Mariah and Steph's niece Callista. It was AWESOME! =) And we took Mylee to a parade. Her favorite thing was the horses, which was cool since there were tons of horses in the parade. A fun video of her excitement coming soon... but not tonight... =) Finally, this long post is over. If you read it all you are awesome!!!! Mostly I just want to make sure I can remember all the fun we had this summer.

She's walking!!!

2009-05-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know where the time has gone. It doesn't seem like very long ago that I was hugely pregnant and I couldn't wait for the baby to come. Now she is walking! And almost a year old! Life just needs to slow down! It has been so fun though!

Grandma Rowley (my momy) came up for a couple of weeks. I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures while she was here! It sure was fun to have her here though. I thought we would have a ton of time to hang out and get things done, but between going to Denver twice and me having to work, we really didn't. It always makes me homesick when she leaves. Now I am counting the days until I can go to Utah. Only 4 weeks to go! =)

We had a blast in Denver though. On one of the days Em and I went to the cannery while Mom babysat for us. Then we went down again for the weekend and got to play with Dale and Em and Eli. Once again, I am kicking myself for not getting pictures!!! We got to go to the temple and watch some movies, and Emily and I got to go running. It was really nice having someone to run with for a change.

Last Saturday RJ and I took Mylee and Tiffany (RJ's lil sis) to the circus. (Once again, no pictures- I know, I'm a slacker...) Of all the animals and exciting things to see, Mylee loved the dogs the best. They had poodles the color of pink and blue cotton candy. As soon as Mylee saw them she started pointing and panting excitedly. It isn't very often that she will just sit and watch, but she did during the circus. It was fun to watch her watching everything. She really is a curious little thing, and is starting to be a lot more interactive. She knows where her nose and eyes are and she shakes her head vehemently when she doesn't want something. Today I told her no when she tried to touch the candle warmer. She just looked at me for a long time and then pointed to it and shook her head. Adorable! She knows all of our dogs by name, and she loves them! This morning, she cuddled with Elektra and every now and then Elektra would lick Mylee, which really made her giggle. Whenever Rogue howls, Mylee says "Ro-ro-ro-roooo" or if you ask her what Rogue says, she says "Ro-ro-ro-roooo" but only when she wants to. She doesn't do anything on demand! Anyway, enough talk... here are the things I have taken pictures of...

The other day Mylee found an apple on the coffee table. It kept her happy, and me entertained, for a good half hour.

It was RJ and my anniversary on the 30th of April. (4 years now!) We couldn't do much since it was right in the middle of RJ's finals, but when I got home he surprised me with bright cheery spring flowers and chocolate and a couple of really cute cards. He was waiting for me on the porch and was holding Mylee who was holding a flower and my card. As I got closer Mylee got this huge smile on her face and held the card out to me. She wouldn't let it go when I tried to take it from her, but it was cute all the same... =)

This is Becca (a friend of mine who helps out watching Mylee from time to time) holding Mylee. In a lot of Mylee's pictures, she looks like a tomboy, but in this one, she just looks so feminine to me. I love it! I'm excited that her hair is getting longer and longer...

RJ's sister Nicole left on a mission to New York, New York North (Spanish speaking). We are really going to miss her! But I'm glad she gets to go, and I hope she has a great experience. This is her with Mylee the day she left. As you can see, Mylee was sad to see her go... She loves her Auntie Nicole!!!

Last but not least... Mylee is walking! She still prefers crawling, and is still quite unsteady, but it's cute to see her take a few steps. =)

Gramps' Journal

2009-04-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you guys knew or not, but RJ created a blog where we could post entries from Gramps' Journal (Robert John Walker Sr.) if you want to read it... http://www.grampsjournal.blogspot.com/

I was only going to do one entry a day or every few days, (whenever I found time really) but I quickly found that it is like a novel with no chapters, and once I got started, I was enthralled and found that I wanted to just keep going and going... Unfortunately, Mylee woke up from her nap and I had to stop. I am really looking forward to some more free time so I can continue... Just FYI if you decide to read it... I tried to break it up into small chunks, so make sure you start with the oldest post to get the full story.

Gramps was really quite a good writer. I can see now where RJ and his dad and siblings get it from. And I was captivated when I started reading about when he met Grammies. Anybody that knew Gramps has heard his story about how he met her, but hearing the written version made my heart hurt. He clearly absolutely adored Grammies. From his story, it sounds like there was nothing in life more important to him than Grammies, and the way he describes her... How romantic! Oh that we can all live and love as deeply and fully as he did!

Now that Mylee is awake, I only have a few moments before the whole house is destroyed... but I wanted to catch up a little and post a couple of pictures. It was funny because this weekend we had a crazy storm and there were these huge snowdrifts, and then the next day it was like 65 degrees outside. Only in Wyoming! But now that the weather is getting warmer, we get to take Mylee outside more, and she loves it! She especially loves getting to play with the puppies outside. I still think its funny that she isn't the least bit intimidated by Rogue.

On Sunday Nikki had her farewell. She is going to the New York North Spanish speaking mission. She did a great job on her talk. Afterwards, we had an open house at our place. I wish I had pictures, but I don't... sorry! I am going to miss her when she goes!

Yesterday, RJ competed in a "moot court" ("a mock court for the conduct of hypothetical legal cases, as for students of law" as per Webster's diccionary - yes, I had to look it up =)) competition. He was up late, and then up early early finishing preparations for it. I am so proud of him! He puts so much work into school and studying and then working at Office Max, but he ALWAYS makes time for me and Mylee. It reminds me a lot of Gramps in that it is very clear what his priorities are, and it makes me feel very very loved! Anyway, I'm sure he did GREAT, but won't find out until later in the week.

Since RJ was gone all day yesterday for his competition, I got Mylee to myself! =) She is a little Daddy's girl, and much prefers him over me, although I contest that it is because she sees him less, so he's a novelty-not because she loves him more! ;) We had a lot of fun and even had a laughing contest. It started out with me making funny noises, which made her laugh, which made me laugh, which made her laugh even harder... it ended up with me laughing in funny ways and her trying to copy me. It was oober cute! Today she is helping me clean the house by pulling out whatever I put away. In fact she's quicker than I am, so I think the house is actually messier than when I started... Sidekick doesn't help either.I took her upstairs to give her a bath after a particularly messy and sticky lunch, and she had a pretty messy diaper that I took off her and left sitting there so I could wash her up. When I came down he had ripped the diaper into a million pieces and had gotten into a bag of jerky and eaten it all. I should have known better than to leave him unsupervised. Anyway, Mylee has been pretty patient with me, but I better go find her some din din. She's like me and gets grumpy when not fed =) Oh, and here are the pics...

I Love Vacations!!!

2009-04-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to update. It has pretty much been just a lot of the same old... I am getting very excited for the warm weather, so we can get out of the house a little more. A few weeks ago, I was feeling a little homesick, and RJ had Spring Break, so we decided to take a trip to Utah. My dad got a new puppy (named Sly), and I couldn't wait to see him. =) He was adorable, and completely captured Mylee's attention. Next time I need a baby sitter, I think I'll just borrow Dad's dog. ;) Since the pup isn't potty trained yet, they had a small board banning the puppy from the carpet. Mylee spent ALL of her time by that board, and didn't even seem to mind the puppy nibbling on her fingers. Since our dogs are big, I think she liked the fact that she was bigger than itty bitty little Sly.
I just about died laughing when he got ahold of her sleeve. She amost did a flip over the board.

I thought it was really cute when Mylee got her first taste of a fudgecicle (spelling?)

It doesn't look like it in the picture, but she loved it !
This is my bro Luke and his son Todd giving Mylee a big kiss...
Does that make them kissing cousins? Mylee already is boy crazy. I don't know what I'm going to do when she is a teenager. I took her to see the new Hannah Montana movie (Yes, I love Hannah Montana! So sue me! =) And NO, Mylee is not named after Miley Cyrus.) with Nicole and Tiffany (my beautiful sisters in law) and I had to take her out in the middle of the movie because she kept making googly eyes and giggling loudly at the boys behind us.
Mylee is a cute sleeper. One time, RJ went up to check on her, and she was on her tummy with her arms spread-eagle, her knees tucked under, and her bum in the air. I think her favorite though is to scoot so far into the corner of her crib that she can't possibly have any room to breath. And it is impossible to keep a blanket on her.
A friend of ours gave us this adorable tricycle, and while it's still a bit big for her, Mylee loves it!
Mylee also loves the piano. This is a common occurence in our house. She even sings along sometimes. I hope that means she will be really excited about piano lessons and actually practice =)

Grampa Walker said he was playing the piano with her one day and she was pounding and singing along. When he started singing too, she threw a huge tantrum! As soon as he stopped singing, she was happy and continued singing... Wondering if it was a coincidence, he started singing again, only to have her throw another tantrum. Apparently she was singing a solo and didn't appreciate him singing along!
Wondering what a day in the life of me looks like? This is pretty much it...

Except sometimes, she's crying... =)

We had a fantastic Easter. Mylee ate a bunch of peeps, so she was happy... And we got to hang out with the fam. It is really nice having family close by, especially during holidays... Here's Mylee heartily enjoying a peeps, and Sidekick in his customary position, hoping she'll drop some for him. They are best buds now that he has realized she's a food source...

We put Mylee's hair up, and she looked adorable...

Until her hair tyes fell out, and everyone said she looked like a devil baby...

But she will always be my little angel... =)

Ok, Ok, So She Takes After Me Too!

2009-03-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, this is my official apology. Apparently RJ thinks I'm a tad stubborn as well, so I shouldn't blame it all on him. And I have to admit, I can be pretty hard headed, so I guess Mylee didn't have a chance. When I think about it though, I am very grateful that Mylee knows what she wants and is stubborn. I taught Early Childhood last year, and in the parenting unit, I showed a video by Barbara Coloroso. I remember her saying that parents of strong willed children should actually be grateful because while the kids aren't easily controlled by their parents, they likewise aren't easily controlled by their peers. So while it may be frustrating to me that I can't just tell her what to do, hopefully she won't be easily influenced by her peers as well...

Here I am making her sound like a stubborn little brat. That is sooo not the case! Mylee is actually a very sweet little girl. She laughs a lot, smiles a lot, and is generally just a very happy and curious baby. I feel so very very blessed to be her mom.

She gets it from RJ!

2009-03-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

It has been interesting being a mom of late. Mylee is developing quite the stubborn, or as her Grandpa Walker called it, tenacious personality. She knows what she wants and nothing can deter her from getting it. She has been known to crawl over, under, around, through anything and everything that might be in her way. And if that doesn't work, she will scream her head off while continuing to try to crawl over, under around or through... In one particular instance, we had tried to baricade her in the living room by placing a wall of pillows between the couch and the wall. Mylee screamed for five minutes all the while trying to push/climb her way through the pillows until she finally emerged triumphant on the other side. Then what did she do with her newfound freedom? Turn around and push her way back. RJ and I just watched and laughed the whole time. We used to use her saucer thingy as a barrier, but as you can see, that no longer works either...

This time, she noticed the box of goldfish crackers against the wall. She loves to eat! She gets a little perturbed when all her effort doesn't amount to what she had hoped. Thankfully, she's still young enough to be destracted relatively easily. I cringe to think of the day when she can talk back.

I've decided that for now I'm just going to move everything out of reach that I don't want her touching and just let her explore. I love that she is curious, and I don't want to discourage her exploration. Besides, she is so darn cute when she gets her way. =)
She has been fascinated lately with the doors that separate the living room from the dining room. I don't know what she was thinking here, but it was extra adorable to see her smashing her face against the glass. RJ doesn't like this picture, but I think it's funny. =)
This one is a little more lady like...

Her hair is finally getting long enough that I have been able to put it up... a little... They look more like bug antennas than pig tails, but I think they make her look a little more feminine.

Sidekick has his special spot on top of our loveseat where he always perches. Occasionally he will take a toy with him. Mylee was playing with his rope toy, and the minute she turned her head, he snatched it from her and jumped out of her reach onto his "spot". Mylee, of course, did everything in her power to get it back. Unfortunately she's just not quite tall enough yet... But watching her strain on tip toe sure made me chuckle.
Mylee's favorite game is to pull everything off her shelf and wait until I put it all back so she can pull it all off again. She could really care less about her toys. I think she just likes to make more work for me.
We've got a diva in the making...
And just when I think I can't take any more, these smiles make it all worth it!

Swimming

2009-03-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute pics from our visit to Dale and Em's house. We had a great time playing in the water. =) Mylee loved it, and it made me wish that we had a rec center in Cheyenne with a heated kiddie pool and lazy river. Eli was sure cute too. I can't believe how big he is getting!

Slowly Catching Up

2009-02-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

I've been putting off updating the blog until things slow down, but I've since realized that things aren't going to slow down. It seems that as soon as one thing ends, another obligation starts up, so I'm stealing some time while Mylee is asleep to stop procrastinating and catch up. Sad, I know, but my last post was in November, and a lot has happened since then... Enjoy the pictures =)...
Mylee and I had a great time in Utah for Thanksgiving. RJ wasn't able to make it cause he had to work (stupid work!) but I think secretly he enjoyed it because he could watch as much football as he wanted. =)

We spent Christmas here in Cheyenne, and had a grand time. Mylee especially loved the wrapping paper. She's got this insane addiction to paper. Later on you will get to see her rip up a phone book.

Aunt Priscilla gave us this adorable Christmas dress. We got a million compliments on how adorable Mylee looked in it. And Mylee loved chewing on the white puff balls. =) So THANK YOU Aunt Priscilla!
Thanks to the generousity of many people, we haven't yet had to buy clothes for Mylee. I find myself very greatful for the support of friends and family, without which, the past 8 months would have been much much more difficult. This particularly adorable ensemble came from Brielle.

I can't believe Mylee is 8 months old already. It has gone by so fast! I used to say that I was excited for her to start crawling, but I had no idea what a tornado she would create! She is going to be one independant little girl, and she never stops going. She's gets into everything, (unless she's allowed to get into it - then she doesn't want it =) ) She had ZERO teeth until about 3 weeks ago. Now she has 5 and I'm pretty sure another is coming in. She has been super cranky, but I'm glad it happened all at once instead of being a long drawn out process of crankiness. She also got sick for the first time last week, which has been no fun, but again, I can't help but be thankful that she hasn't been sick more often. She's usually such a happy baby.

We made the mistake of leaving a phone book on the floor...

She went crazy using both hands to rip the pages out and toss them aside, only to rip out some more. It was quite the mess, but she had fun doing it, and I had fun watching her, so it was worth it! And of course, the day wasn't complete until she ate it...

Whenever our para in the infant room is gone, I have to sub for her, and the school gets a sub for my classroom. But on those days, I get to bring Mylee with me to work, and she loves it!
I am convinced though, that whoever designed the cribs knew nothing about children, because they have mirrors in them. Whenever I go to lay her down, she sees herself in the mirror and starts playing. I finally had to cover it with a blanket so she would sleep. It was cute though to see her play with her reflection.

We had some friends over, and Mylee had fun stealing food from her new friend David... He looks pretty happy though, so I don't think he minded too much. =)

Grammies gave Mylee some bubbles, and she loved them! Sidekick did too, although he seemed a little confused as to why they would disappear when he tried to eat them. I thought this picture was adorable.

The last few months I have been consumed with preparations for the culinary competition. The kids worked really hard. We had practices on Thursdays and Saturdays for the past couple months, and despite some difficulties with team members dropping out just weeks before, the kids did fabulously. We took 2nd place, and won the award for the best starter. Here is a picture of our team just before they competed. Special thanks to our mentor Chef Justin Picot. Without him, we never would have done so well! =)

Goofing off before they competed to release the nervous jitters... We had a fun team this year. And two of them should be coming back next year, so we should have a fantabulous team!

The students had 1 hour to prepare 2 identical 3 course meals with only 2 butane burners and no electrical equipment. They were commended by the judges on their teamwork and organization as well as their appearance and sanitation. This was towards the end as they were plating the food.

It is a little bit hard to see, but here was the result. The starter was a cowboy cobb salad with barbeque chicken and a spicy ranch dressing drizzled with black truffle oil. The entree was a buffalo tenderloin complemented with a cranberry relish, loaded blue cheese red potatoes and steamed asparagus. The dessert was sauteed phyllo pastry with a white chocolate cream sauce and fresh berries. RJ spent the last week at a conference in Boston with the J Reuben Clark Association, (I think that's what it is called =)) He had a blast and has lots of fun pictures that I really wanted to share, but as I was going through them, I didn't know which ones he would want to share, and he knows more about what went on anyway, so I'm going to make him post it himself. =) Here is one though of him and his law school buddies. I was a little jealous that he got to go without me, but he promptly reminded me that I got to go to San Diego last year without him. I couldn't argue with that =)

After this semester, RJ only has a year left! I am counting down!!! =)
Oh and here is a video of RJ making Mylee dance that I thought was cute. The things we do to our kids...

Long Awaited Halloween Pics!

2008-11-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

Every month I tell myself I'm going to post pics more often, and then every month the time just flies. Sorry! But here is what has been going on this past month... RJ's brother Matthew left on his mission to Puerto Rico! So before he left we went and got some family pictures taken. I think they turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself =) It was quite the adventure getting everyone to look and smile at the same time, especially with the babies! We've gotten some letters, and Bubba is doing really well, but we miss him a lot. RJ's birthday was on Halloween, so we had the family over for dinner. I think I had more fun dressing Mylee up than I ever did dressing up myself. RJ is still busy with school and work. He seems to really enjoy it for the most part. He's always telling me about some case that he just read, and it's fun to hear about what he is learning. My work is going well too. The culinary team has decided on their meal, and I think the appetizer is a real winner, but I guess we will see =) I like teaching part time, it's a lot less stressful than teaching full time, although I do wish that I could just stay home and play with my baby all day. Speaking of which, Mylee is growing at an astonishing rate! I can't believe how fast she is growing up, and I love watching her learn new things. She recently learned how to sit up by herself. She has also found her thumb. I think it's cute because instead of sucking on it, she chews on it. And now for my favorite part! PICTURES!!

I love Mylee's smile in this one...

But this is the one we picked... and her smile is still cute! =)

RJ's dad went to a gun auction and came home with this super cool 500 Smith & Wesson Mag. Mylee quite enjoyed it too ;)

Mylee biting her thumb

Mylee just being her cute self. Oh and she found her feet too!

Abominable Snowbaby!

I think she is adorable when she is sleeping. And she loves cuddling with soft blankets. It's so cute!

Halloween!

2008-10-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sidekick was making Mylee giggle tonight. It was pretty cute! I'm glad they get along so well.

She's funny because she's not photogenic at all! Notice when she sees the camera she stops smiling and just stares. It's so hard to get cute pictures!

2008-10-13T12:10:00.001-07:00

For those of you who care, here are the pics of my new kitchen at school. I love it oh so much! Here are our gas ranges. I've only had one fire so far. It was a grease fire that the kids tried to BLOW out. Smart ones... Undoubtedly there will be many more, but we also have a mondo humongous fire extinguisher that I made sure all the kids know how to use. It should be an interesting and fun year!

Complete with stainless steel prep tables and

a SMART board even!

The 3 compartment sink for dishwashing as well as our brand spanking new ice machine that is quiet enough I don't have to yell over it. Crazy the things you get excited about huh?

Also, here are pics of the infant/toddler room. This was before it was completely set up, but it gives a general idea...

The ceiling is really cute, although a bit much in my opinion. I was told it cost $40,000.

2008-10-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

It has been so busy that I haven't had time to update the blog. I'm basically just going to update the pictures because I don't really have time to elaborate... In a nutshell... we've finally got the infant/toddler room up and running at school. We spent a lot of time getting that ready. We also had culinary team tryouts last week, and I think I've got a killer team this year. We'll see how it goes at our first practice on Thursday. Our chef mentor and some of the kids have some great ideas, but I can't divulge them yet just incase the rivals read my blog =). Mylee is getting big! She turned 4 months on Friday, and she is getting so fun! She is such a flirt and will smile at anyone who will pay her attention. She is so happy and content all the time. I can't imagine life without her. RJ has been super helpful too. I was so sick yesterday and he took fabulous care of me and Mylee. My stomach hurt so bad I couldn't stand up straight, and Mylee was in one of those moods where she just wanted to be held. I honestly don't know what I would have done without him. I feel very blessed to have such a great husband, as well as such a wonderful father for Mylee. Mylee loves her daddy too. She just lights up whenever she sees him. Anyway, I know you all really just want to see cute pictures and could care less about what I have to say, so here they are! =) ENJOY!

Sidekick loves Mylee too. He frequently will curl up next to her or give her kisses =) He doesn't even seem to mind it (too much =)) when she grabs for his hair.

Josh's (RJ's brother) wife Maca holding My Sue. She likes to grab the bottle but doesn't have enough control yet to really hold it on her own. Still, I think it's really cute.

Mylee loves her toys... Her fovorite thing to eat though are fingers. It doesn't even matter whose...

Brielle bought Mylee some Halloween clothes, and she looks so adorable I just have to show her off =)

cute cute!

2008-08-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

I neglected to add a couple of my favorite pics yesterday, so here they are!

I'm really looking forward to this week. I don't have to work until Wednesday. I'm thinking I'll take Mylee and the puppies to the park. And maybe even feed the ducks. Yay!

2008-08-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

K Brielle, this one's for you! =)

Since it has been a month since I last posted, I have a TON of pictures to share. It has been a busy but fun month. This summer went by all to fast, and now school has started again. RJ's classes started on Monday, and between that and his job at Office Max, he is pretty busy. I miss having him around all the time. Even though it is a lot of work, I think he enjoys the intellectual stimulation of his classes. My classes are going well too. I have some great kids, and I think it will be a good year. This year I am teaching Culinary Arts I and a teen parenting class. Our classrooms just got remodeled, so we have brand new state of the art equipment. We even got gas stoves! I'm really excited about it. I'll have to get pictures and post them. We've also got SMART boards in each of the rooms, which will be really nice as well. Also new this year, we are starting an infant/toddler center. It is for the kids of the teen parents. It is supposed to lower then number of teen parents who drop out because they can't afford day care for their kids. So there are lots of new things going on, which should make this year busy but interesting. I'm happy because I'm only working part time, so I only have to be there every other day. It will be nice to be able to spend every other day at home with Mylee. I feel extra blessed too because RJ's mom has offered to watch Mylee for us on the days that I do work. I'm grateful to have such wonderful in-laws who are so loving and supportive.

Ok, now for the fun part. PICTURES!!! =) I even have some cute videos of Mylee...

Mylee's blessing day. Her dress was the dress I wore when I was blessed. Mom and Dad, Dale and Em, and all of RJ's family came. It was a nice blessing, and it was fun to have everyone here.

The next day, I drove down to Utah with my mom for our family campout. While I was in Utah, Jana had her baby, Kalai. Great timing Jana! =) And I got to hold my newest nephew.

While we were there, Russell took me 4-wheelin. What a maniac! =) It was a blast. He also let Eli drive his motorcycle. ;) I thought this was a very cute pic of the two of them...

Also while we were in Utah, Dale, Emily, Mom and I went to visit Grandpa Francom and got a cool 4 generation photo. It was sure fun to see Eli and Mylee fall in love with Grandpa.

And then just some cute pics of Mylee... she is getting so big! Almost 3 months, and she's already 11 lbs!

Mylee sleeping with her cute bum in the air...

And she always kicks her covers off...

Mylee in her adorable Sunday dress. Thanks Mrs. P!!!!

And last but not least, my favorite video of Mylee singing. =)

2008-07-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ok Mom. Here are those new pictures of Mylee, so you can stop harrassing me now! =)

I love her pouty lip. It is so cute!

This is one of my favorites.

Every time we try to catch her smiling, we are just a little too late. Here are a couple that kind of show off her cute dimples though.

This was Mylee's cute Fronteir Days outfit. RJ's dad got it for Mylee in Cody, and I can't get over how adorable she is in it. We get lots of compliments on her cute shoes too. Thanks for the shoes Aunt Colleen!

Mylee finally fits in her cloth diapers. As you can see, they are a little more bulky than disposable, but I think her little bubble booty is sweet! I thought mom would like this picture =) Actually, the cloth diapers have been a lot easier to use than I thought too. Although, they do get stinky if you let them sit too long. So usually I throw them in the washer right after I change her, and then start the load when I run out. Not that anyone cares =)

Her bum is so cute! Look at it! =)

Stephanie (RJ's sister) and her kids came up from Longmont to visit. Katie asked me to hold her, and then asked if she could hold Mylee. So this is me holding Katie holding Mylee. It was fun. Katie and Justin both really love their new little cousin.

I'm running out of time, cause we are going to the rodeo... Yeehaw! So here are the rest of the pics really quickly... They are from the Hyde family reunion in Estes Park. Mylee went swimming for the first time, and we got to see the Stanley Hotel where The Shining was filmed...And then some pictures from the parade... They had TONS of horses. These were my favorite. They come up from Texas every year for this parade. Aren't they pretty? I told RJ I wanted one, but he said no ;)Well, we're off to the rodeo. I hope you liked the pictures Mom, cause I did this post just for you! =) Love you!

2008-06-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since Mylee was born. She is growing so fast, it's unbelievable. She had her first doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and she has already gained a pound. It makes me glad that I have the whole summer to do nothing but enjoy her and watch her grow. I can't help but sit and hold her all day and stare at her. And of course RJ is a proud daddy. I have to fight him for a chance to hold her. He has been so helpful and supportive, and it has made things so much easier for me. He actually gets mad at me if I don't wake him up at night and give him an opportunity to help out. I feel incredibly blessed both because he is so awesome and because Mylee is such a content baby.

Mylee is finally starting to sleep better at night. She will sleep 3 hours before waking me up, which has been a nice change from her previous 1 hour stints. As a result, I feel a lot more alert and willing to get stuff done during the day. Mylee sure is cute when she sleeps too! She loves having her hands up by her face. My favorite though is when she stretches. It's pretty adorable.

Her little feet and hands are my favorite too! =) They are already getting bigger. She's growing up too fast!

Yesterday we went down to Longmont to celebrate Justin's 5th birthday. It was fun to get out of the house and see everybody, and Katie made me smile because she kept asking if she could hold "Mylee Sue". She did a really good job too. Mylee was a little fussy, but quieted right down when Katie was holding her. I feel very blessed to have family close by for Mylee to grow up with. They sure spoil her with lots of love and attention. Now all I need to do is convince my parents and all my siblings to move closer =).

Gramps was fun to watch with Mylee too. He kept telling us that if we decided we didn't want her he'd take her home with him. I like her too much to give her up, but I am willing to share. =) So anyone is welcome to come over anytime!

Mylee's Here!!!!

2008-06-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

The Walker home was richly blessed with our sweet little babe on June 10th at 5:19 pm. She was born 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. We named her Mylee Sue Walker (not after any pop stars of any kind). Her coming into the world is nothing short of the greatest event in our little family's history. The eloquence required to properly describe the emotions and feelings associated with this special occasion, I'm afraid, lies beyond my capabilities. It is interesting how such a small and frail little person can work her way into one's heart and mark herself as master. We love her very very much.

The whole process began Tuesday morning at 7:00 am. After hours of labor, the doctors decided that little Mylee just wasn't going to come out on her own. During that time I was very proud of Teila and the strength she showed. I have always admired her powerful character and desire to do what is right! Teila then made the decision to move into surgery for a c-section. While it wasn't an emergency, Mylee's vitals showed that she wasn't going to drop any more and that a c-section would eventually be necessary. As luck would have it, the doctors couldn't find a spot in her spine that would completely numb out her lower half so she had a general anesthetic. As such I had to wait outside while the doctors delivered the babe. The worst few minutes of the whole process for me were waiting outside those doors but only hearing bits and pieces of what was going on. I now firmly believe that doctors should ONLY use the word "clear" in dire circumstances.

Mylee's first cry was such a special little sound. It was almost surreal to think how her precious voice, prior to that moment, only graced the ears of heaven. However, only half my worries were pacified until the doctors came out to tell me that Teila was also okay. The baby was quickly brought out and I was able to follow her to the nursery. Mylee only needed a little extra oxygen for the first few minutes of life and then has been in perfect health since.

We came home Friday morning to introduce Mylee to her home. It wasn't until we got here that everything really started to sink in. She has become such an important little part of our home. Every day that goes by makes us appreciate her all the more. We quickly grew to love the way she stretches out her little arms above her head and her little facial expressions. She's perfect!

Sidekick has been a very curious little puppy since we brought home the baby. I think he sees her as a smelly little noise machine. Anytime he hears her make a noise, he runs to the room where she is to see what is going on. I see him as being very protective of his new little best friend. Elektra I don't think could care less about the new little addition. I don't think her attitude will really change a whole lot until Mylee is old enough to get her food. Elektra kinda has a one track mind. Rogue. . . is yet to be introduced. It is going to be a while. Rogue is what we like to call a "free spirit."

Teila's mom has been especially helpful this last week. She came down Thursday to help us with the adjustment. There hasn't been a time when she was not willing to make dinner, change a diaper or volunteer as the night watchman. Her service has touched us deeply. It could not be more appropriate that Mylee gets to carry her grandma's middle name. Mylee comes from a strong line of powerful and wonderful women on both the Rowley and Walker side. She will have quite a legacy to live up to.

All the other support and love we have received is likewise noted. My family has been available to offer a helping hand wherever they can. Our testimonies have been strengthened in that family is really the matter of eternities. All the services rendered have touched us greatly. . . from Stephanie bringing us the cutest cake ever to Dale and Emily sacrificing a day to visit. Everyone has been great! Thank you!

So as Mylee grows over the next few weeks and months we will do our best to bring you along for the journey. We are certain she will grow quickly and are excited for the future! Thanks again to everyone and we love you all!

What's New?

2008-03-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

So... Dale talked RJ and I into creating this blog so we could keep everyone updated on what is happening. I am acutely aware that people are way more interested in hearing about the upcoming baby than they are in hearing about RJ and I, so I finally caved... However, if you want the juicy baby details, then you'll have to suffer through some of the more mundane parts of our life! =) Sorry! I'll try to keep it short though and include lots of pictures. So here's the latest in a nutshell....

I'm pregnant, it's a girl, and I'm due in June. We got a new puppy, and she's way cute. The culinary team that I coach won first at state so we are going to nationals in San Diego in April. RJ is still studying like crazy and enjoying law school. He's almost done with his first year, so we are excited! Now for the pictures... They are kinda in random order because I don't want to take the time right now to figure out how to rearrange them... =) But enjoy anyway!

Some of my culinary team being their goofy selves. They keep me laughing.

A couple of my students threw me an awesome baby shower. It was a lot of fun, and it was very sweet of them. I got all sorts of cute stuff...

My sweet new puppy. Not only is she gorgimous, but she's really smart and a lot of fun. I know everyone thinks we are crazy for getting another dog, but how can you say no to that face? We stuck with the super hero theme and named her Elektra.

This is the latest family picture that we have... We'll update it when the baby comes along...

This was the winning menu at state competition. A quail egg crostini with a balsamic side salad, sauteed pheasant with cous cous and broccolini, and a dark chocolate mascarpone cheesecake.

These are the girls on my team. They are awesome!

The culinary team and the knowledge management team with our winning trophies. It was the first time in Wyoming history that the same school took first in both events.

I named this picture "me and my big fat belly", and it's only going to get bigger... Lucky for me, I have an excuse! =) My due date is June 12th, and RJ and I are both super excited for this new addition to our family. We are going to name her Mylee Sue Walker.

And that's about it... We'll keep you updated =)