birthday shebang and visitors

October was stuffed to the brim with visitors and birthday celebrations (basically it was awesome. Top it off with Halloween and it's a pretty good contender for the best month of the year!) Also yes, I'm just now writing about October. oops.

It's midnight and I was doing some late night web surfing, then thought "what are you doing! You have at least five blog posts that need to be written! So I'm going to try and condense at least two of them into one here.

 My dad surprised my mom with a ticket out to visit us for her birthday! Of course with a sweet little babe she'd barely gotten to meet (between the NICU and short trip at his birth) there was nothing she wanted more. I'd heard really good things about The Coffee Shop and its right near the airport. So as soon as I picked her up we headed straight over! It may be one of my favorite places here so far. It's totally my kind of place - similar to Kneaders but more of a hipster/urban feel to it. Very coffee shop-esque. A coffee shop/bakery/grill. They serve gourmet sandwiches, wraps, and do breakfast too. Afterward we walked around the grounds - it's out in a cool farm area called Agritopia.

The following day was my moms birthday and we made sure to pack it full. We started it off with the firefighters breakfast and then came home for a bit, headed to Oregano's for lunch (and a free birthday pazookie of course!), then were off the Phoenix zoo!

This guy was a favorite

But after seeing him yawn, we quickly decided we wouldn't want to get on his bad side.

Right?!?!

Emmett got to have lots of time playing with Gramby in his playroom, and we made sure to hit up the hot tub a couple times. When it was time to say goodbye, we were all sad. We sure love Gramby and are so happy we got to spend her birthday with her!

The next weekend was MY birthday, and it just so happened it was the weekend of a cheap flight for my sister Kirsten! The coffee shop was such a success the first time, we (I) couldn't help making a pit stop on the way home again. Well actually The Coffee Shop is in the same place as Joe's Farm Grill (another delicious place that was on Food Network's Diners, Drive ins, and Dives). And Joes Farm Grill gives you a whole free meal on your birthday. So we went there first and split my birthday meal then walked over to the Coffee Shop for dessert.

This burger may look ordinary but it was topped with sauteed mushrooms and fresh blue cheese crumbles... it was delish.

Good thing we split our cupcake, cause when Jared come home from work he surprised me with this torte from Wildflower Bakery -which I'd never been to but am now a big fan!

Love this boy!!

Here's what the inside looked like... Yum. The bottom layer was like a soft homemade english toffee. And all that thick cream on top was heavenly. Almost cheesecake-ish

Oh and I forgot to mention that we went to Verizon the night before and picked out my birthday present!!

That's right, I joined the modern world and FINALLY got a smart phone!!! Ive been waiting for so long! And just like everyone says, I now don't know how I used to do without it! (Not sure that that's a good thing) Anyhow, I was beyond excited and love the cute buttercup yellow color!

That night we got MORE free food at Joe's Real BBQ (yes its the same Joe as Joe's Farm Grill. He does real well around these parts. And for good reason. His food is ahhhmazing). Gee on this post I'm realizing it seems like we just ate and ate and ate the entire day long... which I guess we did! 

Kris and I got up early on Saturday and headed out to Nordstrom Last Chance where we cleaned up with my birthday money! We then headed over to Scottsdale to Sprinkles Cupcakes which I've always wanted to try! 

I don't know if I can say it was without a doubt the best cupcake I've ever put in my mouth... but it was pretty darn good! You can tell its made with much finer ingredients than the average cupcake. 

That evening we went to my ward halloween party, but I'm saving that for the next post :)

I was so lucky to have family here on/around my birthday, cause really that was the best gift I could have asked for! I love them and miss them so much and had the best time partying it up and eating ourselves sick. haha what are birthdays for?! Emmett was beyond thrilled as well. Thanks to everyone who called, texted or left a facebook message for me - you all added to the wonderful day! 

milkaholics anonymous

Out of order but better late than never! I almost didn't want to blog about my baby shower cause I am so so swollen in all of the pictures, but then I realized "this is your FIRST and possibly ONLY baby shower, you better make record of it!"

I kept promising myself I WOULD make it to have a baby shower this time! I always kind of felt jipped of the experience and felt in part, I was holding out just to make it to this day! Ironically, I went into the hospital TWO days after (and it may have been sooner if it wasn't the weekend)! By tooth and nail, we had a shower!!

Kaity and Kirsten flew down from Utah and organized the party. It had a milkaholic theme, which is actually very fitting because if I've ever known a baby that IS a milkaholic - it's Tate!!

We played Celebrity baby names, Price is Right, and a game where you try to draw a baby on a plate on the top of your head (which proved to be pretty humorous)

The most seasoned Mom at the shower ended up winning the Price is Right game, and came within CENTS of the total for everything! Impressive!!

Katie and Whitney concentrating hard on their plate babies

Whitney won with this beaut!

Here'a group shot, but we didn't remember to take it until some people had already left :(

I had only lived here a little over two months when we had the shower so I'm grateful for all the friends and ward members who came and supported me!

Kaity's husband Rusty and Kirsten's boyfriend, Skyler, were even down for the weekend which was lots of fun. They went with Jared to entertain Emmett during the shower, and Emmett caught his very first fish at the lake right by our house!

It was everything I hoped it would be (minus of course all the family I wish was there) Thanks Kaity and Kirsten for making it happen! Love you guys! :)

the ending of a chapter

Writing those words are so sad! Life in little Provo, Utah has been such a happy, wonderful chapter in our life, and to say moving on from it was hard is an understatement. The past few months have been such a blur - A whirlwind of phone calls, doctor appointments, moving boxes, family get togethers, excitement and tears.

Here's a look our "final pages" in Provo, if you will.

 

When Uncle Jake came down for a visit, we spent a morning up at Bridal Veil Falls. Couldn't leave without saying goodbye to the beautiful canyon! 

*Also, somewhere up that mountain lies the remains of Jakes skinny corduroys, which he naively decided were great attire for climbing up the falls.

Before we knew it, our little house was all packed up, and everything we had to our name was shoved in the back of a truck.

It's so weird knowing your entire life can be contained in this:

Since Jared and his parents headed down a couple days ahead of Emmett and I, we said our final goodbyes to our home.

After a quick kiss and a "See you in Arizona", I cried watching Jared turn the corner in our Grand Prix for the very last time.

 

(yes, I documented it)

I am so grateful for all the friends, family, and members of our church who helped make this move possible. Between the quickness of the move and my pregnancy, we wouldn't have been able to do it without you!!

 

Emmett and I got to spend a couple days at Gramby's house before our flight, and Kaity and Rusty even came and stayed too so it was a grand ol' party.

We decided to go to Hogle Zoo on Saturday.

There's no shortage of pictures - last day remember??

 

 

There was a LEGO exhibit going on while we are there, and the top two pictures are a couple of their displays. They were pretty cool! The trick was convincing Emmett he couldn't ride that Polar Bear... he was pretty upset about that. He was also into the "Scuba Steve" outfit more than any of the animals... Go figure.

While we are/ have been excited for our new chapter, closing one is never easy. Thanks for a wonderful few years Provo!

we'll raise our colors high in the blue, we're the cougars of BYU...!!

So much has happened in the past little while, it's hard to know where to start! It all got set in motion a couple months ago (was it really only a couple months ago??) when Jared wrapped up his Masters in Engineering (Woohoo! Go Jared!)

I was able to attend seminar the day he presented and watch him do his thing! It was such an extensive project - he worked around the clock on it for nearly 2 years and spent a lot of time out on site He did a great job. Doesn't he look so official?

That night we went and celebrated his huge accomplishment at PF Changs with my sisters

About a month later it REALLY became official, when Jared walked and received his Degree.

It was neat because Kirsten and Rusty both graduated as well! So it was a big day in the Whittaker household!

I am so proud of all you guys for your hard work! I know how hard Jared worked for this moment, and am glad we were able to celebrate it with all our family.

 BYU has been such an important marker in our life - during our time here we've had our first child (well ALMOST two!), learned many life lessons, strengthened invaluable relationships with family, and created lifelong friendships with those in our neighborhood. I think Ziggy Ansah summed it up best when he said "I didn't just go through BYU - BYU went through me." We will miss you BYU and will forever carry you in our hearts <3 p="">

mele kalikimaka

It seems Christmas just keeps getting better and better each year. Part of it is that Emmett's getting older and makes everything more fun, and part if it that the list of things I have to be grateful for just keep growing and growing.

This post is going to be mostly pictures, so get ready for an overload!

We kicked off Christmas a week early with the Ericksons up in Idaho. The granchildren had so much fun baking sugar cookies with Grandma, and having their very own decorating stations. Unfortunately I think I consumed most of them (as usual). Emmett got his fun pegboard from Grandma and lots of Play-doh toys from his cousin Julia.

After returning to Utah, we did our annual tradition of going to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square (isn't it everybodys?)  I love seeing how majestic the grounds look, there's such a special spirit felt there. It was FREEZING, so it's a good thing we all had the scarves and headbands Grandma Whittaker knitted us!

Jared and I also took Emmett to see the Festival of Lights, which we told him was the "North Pole". He loved it!

Finally it was Christmas Sunday, so we dressed in our holiday best! (Jared did too, but someone had to take the photo)

We went and spent the night up at my parents on Christmas Eve with the rest of my family. As you can see I had lots of fun playing with the Christmas lights.

We played Christmas themed "minute to win it" games, which luckily weren't documented on my camera (they got pretty crazy!). We watched lots of Christmas shows, set out our cookies for Santa, and went to bed dreaming of sugar plums... 

Santa brought Emmett a bike and he was so excited!

(Almost as exited as when he saw his Captain American fan in his stocking)

And THEN he opened Gramby's present (a Mater power wheels!!) and all other presents were forgotten...haha. Rufio was a little bent up he only got one gift, so he sat and sulked most the morning.

As you can see I undergo an outfit change, thanks to my stylish new pajamas (which I'm in at this exact moment). I know, time to get dressed right?

Thanks to all our family for making our holiday so special and memorable! We love you all!!

all hallows eve

Halloween was especially fun this year because we got to celebrate it all day long. Provo is such a great city to live in and organizes so many fun family activities, especially around the holidays. I really appreciate everything they do to make our community such an enjoyable place to live.

Emmett started off first thing in the morning by dressing up and attending his preschool Halloween party.

We then spent the afternoon Trick or Treating along Center Street (one my favorite places here, hence our family picture locale- coming soon!) 

The Chinese restaurant even handed out fortune cookies :)

This cute picture was taken as part of a costume contest they did

That evening we headed over to the ward "Trunk or Treat", then headed up to my Moms for some MORE trick or treating!

From top left we've got Troy Polamalu 1 & 2, Cruella & Jasper, River Dancers 1 & 2, and Minnie Mouse (and of course my little golfer)

Until next year Halloween! We will miss you!