F*L*A*S*H*B*A*C*K F*R*I*D*A*Y

Is Christmas really over? Where did it go? Where did 2006 go? This year has really flown by....I can't believe it is almost 2007! Remember when we were so worried about Y2K?? This picture of my parents was taken when they went to Times Square, NYC, to ring in the new millennium...my parents are crazy!!! This is a great picture though. Happy New Year!

On a different note, this morning while I was making Dan a turkey sandwich for lunch (that's actually pretty rare that I make him lunch since he is usually out of the house so early for seminary) I put some special Gouda cheese on his sandwich, but wanted a slice of cheddar cheese for myself to munch on. So, Dan opened up the brand new block of cheese and handed me a piece. Now, you have to understand that I am a little bit (or a lot bit) of a cheese snob. I will not, even if stranded on a desert island, eat moldy, or what smells like moldy cheese. I just think it's gross. So, I took the piece of cheese and almost had it in my mouth (i wasn't too worried since we had just opened the packaging) when I noticed a little dusting of white on the edge. "What is this?" I asked Dan. He told me I was way too picky and out of control and that it was "nothing"....he always picks on me for my cheese issues. So, I took a bite of the cheese and..."blah, this tastes like its going bad", I said. Dan really thought I was being silly and looked at the remaining cheese in the package and said that it looked fine. He ate the rest of my cheese. Then he decided to inspect the cheese block a little closer and.....YUCK, the whole side of the block was speckled with green fuzzy mold!!! "I told you!!", I said to Dan while getting a drink to wash out my moldy mouth. Now I should have some respect for being the Cheese Queen. I told him never to doubt my abilities to smell out some moldy cheese! I promise I'm not this picky about everything, it's really just the cheese thing. Wow, that was a really long story all about cheese...sorry.

On an even different-er note, Carson woke up 3 times last night within an hour. I don't know what it is with him, he is usually a very good sleeper. Maybe I jinxed myself after just telling a friend that his sleeping hasn't been disrupted after taking away his binky. I didn't think it had, but maybe I was wrong. I'm just worried b/c tonight we are chaperoning a youth dance and so we really want Carson to sleep and not wake up while the babysitter is here. If he wakes up and sees we're gone, that could be disaster! We'll see how it goes. Man, the things you worry about when you're a parent. Just when you think you are so blessed with such a good little sleeper, he switches things up on us. Which makes me think of how yesterday Dan took the day off of work b/c we wanted a day together (since I worked on Christmas) and Dan made the comment that "Carson will wake up early just b/c I'm staying home and want to sleep in". Well 99% of the time, Carson will wake up at 9am or later and so of course I get to sleep in whenever I want to. So, I don't know how Carson knew, but he knew Dan was home and wanting to sleep in and so he woke up at 7:30am!!! Now really, how or why did he do that? He NEVER wakes up that early, how did he know that Dan wanted to sleep in??? It really boggles my mind. Carson and I tried to make up for it by bringing daddy breakfast in bed, which I think he enjoyed. We had a nice day anyways. Really, how does he know?? Poor Dan will never get to sleep in!

Christmas 2006!

What a fun day we had! Carson woke up a little late and he was still pretty tired, so we snuggled with him in bed for a little while before we went down stairs to start our Christmas fun. Dan and I had previously set up his tent/tunnels stuff, so when we did eventually go downstairs, Carson was so excited to see the tunnels and start playing in the tent. We then started opening gifts. We got all sorts of fun stuff. Dan got some clothes, a few books, money, and lots more stuff. I got some shirts, games, a watch, quilting magazine subscription, blowdryer, hot glue gun, gift card to Joanns, and even more stuff too!! And Carson totally made out...he got stuffed animals, a musical pad thingie, a little alphabet stereo, an alphabet fridge toy, lots of books, clothes, and even more stuff!!! Carson did enjoy unwrapping the gifts, but everytime he saw what it was he wanted to play with it for a while and not open the next one. We were very, very appreciative of all the fun things people gave to us and how generous everyone was. I hope we didn't get too carried away in all the presents. Later in the afternoon we went to our friends house for lunch. It was so yummy, we had ham and turkey and all sorts of other things. I was soo full! I had to work at 5pm, but Dan and Carson came to visit and stayed for a while. It was a slow night and so it was fun to just talk with friends for a while. This was a very fun Christmas. Even with Carson puking a few times (did I forget to mention that part?). I hope that we don't forget the real meaning of Christmas and that I can teach Carson the real importance of this holiday. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas also! Merry Christmas!!!

Almost Christmas....

Tomorrow (well actually today, since it's already midnight) is Christmas! I'm so excited! We set up Carson's tunnel/tent/teepee set so he will see it when he goes down stairs in the morning. I can't wait to see his reaction....I think he'll love it! We got the cutest puppet set that have all the puppets that go along with the Nativity story. My sis-in-law, Crystal, made it and it is so cute. We did the story and wore the puppets with Carson and he loved them. It is our new Christmas Eve tradition. We also went to Dan's brothers house for Christmas Eve dinner. It was fun as usual and the kids love to play together. On saturday, we went to the Temple to see the lights. Carson loved the lights!!! The were especially beautiful this year and the weather was just the same. It was a fun family night. Here are a few fun pictures of the Temple...and of Carson of course. Merry Almost Christmas!!!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

My friend Debbie had the idea of doing a Flashback Friday post and I thought it was a great idea. So here is my first try at it. This photo is of my family sometime back in the 80's. Can you tell who everyone is? I don't think my dad is convinced that we should be wasting film on a "goofy" shot. Family photos were always a challenge in our home....ahh, the memories.

2006 Christmas Letter

December 2006


This year has proven to be yet another great year! We have been keeping plenty busy and have been enjoying our little family. We are enjoying life in Maryland and have lived in our house for almost 2 ½ years now. We love where we live with quick access to fun cities like Washington D.C. and Baltimore. We try to take advantage of these cities as much as possible. We saw the Broadway show “Wicked” when it came to D.C. this year and it was fabulous!
Dan is still working for the government learning Arabic. He is working really hard and seeing steady improvement in his language skills. Arabic is a very hard language and so Dan had the opportunity to go to the Middle East for Language Immersion Training. He was there for only 28 days, but it felt like forever. He learned a lot about the Arab culture as well as learning the language a little better. Dan is done being the Cubmaster for the cub scouts and now teaches early morning seminary at church. Yep, he wakes up at 4:30am every weekday to get to church by 5:30 to teach the youth at church. He enjoys teaching, but doesn’t enjoy the early mornings so much.

Lynette is still working at Patient First, a freestanding urgent care only 2 minutes from their home. She really enjoys her job and is very grateful for the flexibility. She works a couple times a week in the evenings or on weekends when Dan can stay home with Carson. Lynette also has a new calling at church. She is the Young Women’s President. She has only been doing this for a month or so, but is having a lot of fun with the teenage girls. Lynette also spends quite a bit of time (sometimes early in the morning) sewing. She and her friend Tami have even tried their hands at craft shows. They did two craft shows this holiday season and did quite well. They sell mostly fun baby items. They are hoping to continue their “business” and do more craft fairs in the near future. Needless to say, she keeps plenty busy with Carson, work, church, and having fun!

Carson is now 18 months old and is so fun! He loves to dance to music, look at books, and point to airplanes that fly by. He “talks” all the time, but we don’t quite understand him yet. He does love animals and knows a handful of animal sounds. Carson recently got a fish tank in his room and enjoys looking at his “ssshhhh”. Carson also loves books and will thumb through them and look at all the pictures. He is really getting smart and we’re amazed at the things he understands. He is a lot of fun and definitely adds a spark of excitement to our home.

We have been able to go on a few vacations this year too! Our summer was packed with adventure. In June we went on a little family vacation to visit Lynette’s sister in Wisconsin and her brother in Indiana. We were able to celebrate Carson’s first birthday while with family in Wisconsin, it was great! We drove to both places and were pleasantly surprised at how well Carson did in the car. It was great visiting family and seeing where they live.

For the month of July while Dan was on his emersion trip, Lynette went to Rochester for 3 weeks. She had a great time seeing family and friends and was so thankful to her parents for helping her with Carson while she was a “single mom” for a month.

In August, we were able to go to Utah to see Dan’s family and Lynette’s extended family. Dan’s youngest brother returned home from his mission and it was especially fun to have him back with the rest of the family. Of course, we went jeeping in Moab while we were in Utah as well. Dan loved every minute of it, as usual, but Lynette wasn’t too sure. Maybe the fact that her little boy was in the back seat while the jeep climbed over boulders and cliffs that made it look like you were going to roll the jeep or tumble over the edge had something to do with her nervousness. Lynette did drive for the first time this trip and thought that it was quite the experience. We made it safely back and Dan is already planning his next trip out there.

We have been very blessed with another wonderful year. We are so thankful for such wonderful family and friends. We hope we can all remember the real meaning of Christmas and enjoy this holiday season.

With love,

Dan, Lynette, and Carson Loveridge

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Go Carson!

I am pleased to announce that Carson is officially de-binked! He hasn't used his binkey at all for about a week now. He has done much better than we thought he would. He just cuddles a little before going down and then he goes down just fine. He now has grandma's blanket and a couple stuffed animals in his crib with him. I'm so happy he has done so well....go Carson! He also lasted the entire 2 hours of nursery on sunday. He cried on and off and wouldn't leave Cathy's arms (my friend and nursery worker) for over an hour, but towards the end he starting playing...yeah! He is also saying more words. He will try to repeat a lot of things and sometimes he actually says them. Today he said "bean" and "menamenamena" for m&m's, it's really cute. He is really a cute little kid and amazes me with the things he learns.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my sister and her family! They added a new little baby to their family. Now they have two girls! The new baby is named Claire and she is super cute. She was born on the 14th and weighed 8lbs 10oz. Congratulations!!!

My little man really is growing up. He is taking a nap with NO binky! This is the second time he's done it. This is a big deal because Carson loves his binky. He has been really good about leaving it in his crib for a few months now. So, he doesn't need it during the day, but I've been wanting to get rid of it during nap time and bedtime. So far he has gone two days and hasn't had it during nap time. I tried not giving it to him last night for bedtime but that didn't work. For nap times I told him that he is a big boy and that his "doggie" needs it more. Carson thinks it's really fun to give his binky to his stuffed dog. So, he gives it to his dog and his dog stays on the bed with it and Carson gets in his crib without it. I don't know if he really understands, but so far it's working. What a big boy!!

Little Man Goes to Nursery!

Today was Carson's first day in nursery...can you believe he's already 18 months!!! My little man is just growing up. Nursery didn't go exactly as planned, but it went better than I thought it would. Carson definitely has separation issues lately and so I have been really nervous about him going in to nursery (more for the poor nursery workers than him). So, we decided that we would just tell him "we'll see you in a little bit, go play" and let him tough it out without us hanging around. My friend Tami was in nursery and Carson knows her well, so she held him the whole time...thanks Tami! Once he was in there, I was glued to the little peephole they made in one of the windows. My little man was doing pretty good. He wasn't screaming or crying, but just playing with toys while one Tami's lap. Sometimes he would start crying, then stop, it was pretty sad. I didn't realize how emotional it would be and at one point when I saw him just start crying, i got a little teary-eyed myself. Then my friends Rebecca and Gwyn had to pull me away from the peep-hole so I didn't get sad watching him :) Shortly after that, Tami came out with Carson and he was crying and all wet. Tami said that she didn't have to or want to leave nursery but Carson was soaking. His diaper had leaked all over...aghhh! So, we messed up his first day of nursery with a leaky diaper. After we changed him, Dan went back in to nursery with him for the second hour. He did good then and played with toys and had snack time. Hopefully next week it will go a little better. I just can't believe he's already in nursery! What's next....college??

Taco Bell Crunchwrap!

Last night I really wanted a Taco Bell Crunchwrap. So, Dan and I decided to make one. I'm not the biggest Taco Bell fan, but I really do like their crunchwraps. So, we took a flour tortilla, warmed it up in the microwave, then smeared cheese whiz on it, then put taco meat, then put a round tostada shell, then some shredded cheese, some sour cream, lettuce, and Taco Bell sauces (from previous visits). Then we had to put a little piece of flour tortilla on top (b/c our tortillas weren't big enough to go all the way over the top) and started folding the flour tortilla up over the sides. Once it was folded, we put it on the George Foreman grill to cook. They turned out sooo good!!! All the stuff inside was warm and yummmy! This will go on my list of new favorite meals, along with my copy version of McDonald's Snack Wrap...yum!

Crazy Crafters AGAIN!

Santa kid apron

"Little man" tie onsies

A few of our handbags

some booties

Sleep Sacks

Craft fair display

Chimp demonstrating carseat blankets

booties all packaged up

On Saturday my friend Tami and I did our second craft fair. This one was even more successful than the first! We've had a lot of fun (and a little stress) getting ready for these craft fairs. But it really has been soooo much fun! Tami and I really love to sew and get stuff ready for it and we also enjoy just hanging out at the craft fairs and talking. We had most of the same things from last time with a few new ideas too. At both craft fairs we seemed to have unique items that people seemed to like. Doing this craft fair thing atleast gives me justification for buying so much fabric! We also need to thank our loving husbands who watched the kids ALL day long...thanks guys! We took them out to dinner later :) It was a fun and successful craft fair....when's the next one???

Here's just a fun picture my dad took over Thankgiving. I just wish you could

hear Carson laughing as we kissed his cheeks!

Ya gotta love boys!

Well, I don't have a girl, so I don't know how they are, but boys are crazy!!! Fun...but crazy! Carson was soo cute yesterday and so good while I dragged him straight out of his crib in the morning to visit people ALL morning. I was so happy that he was behaving so well. He's a good kid, but some days are definitely better than others. Yesterday he was fun and laughing all day...and getting into things. So, while I was on the phone with my sister, I noticed Carson out on the deck (we let him play out there when the weather's nice). I could just see his feet sticking out horizontal to the ground. So, I went out to see exactly what he was doing. I found him laying on this giant storage container that we have. The thing is, is that a few weeks ago when he was "dancing" on this same container, the lid crumbled right under his little body and so he fell through. It was pretty funny, b/c he was standing IN the container with the rest of the lid all around him. So, now he is laying on the container sticking his little hands down the old hole and playing with the 5 inches of rain water in the bottom. Well, I didn't want him doing this and making a mess, so I go to pick him up and right as I'm about too, the ENTIRE lid of the container crumbles and he falls belly/face first into the 5 inches of water....AAAHHHHH!!! I quickly scooped him out and he was just crying and looking at his completely soaked body. You just gotta love boys!

Then later that night, we were getting Carson ready for bed and we always feed his fish before bedtime. Ever since we got the fish, Carson loves to feed them himself. He is actually really good and takes a little pinch of the flakes and puts it in the tank, closes the lid, then puts the lid back on the food. It's really cute, a little messy, but really cute. Well, last night was a little different. I held out the can of fish food to him as usual, he grabbed a big pinch, and then he.....ATE IT!!!! I was totally grossed out! I hope fish flakes isn't deadly to toddlers! Carson brushed his teeth twice that night....oh, you gotta love boys!

And we're back!

This picture is of Carson with his cousin Brooke. Brooke had a little candy cane and we found both of them sitting on the couch "sharing" the candy cane. Brooke would take a lick, then let Carson lick it, then take it back. They kept going back and forth, it was really cute!

We are back from our fun-filled trip to Rochester, NY for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun to see family and we had a great Thanksgiving meal all together. One thing that continues to surprise me about Thanksgiving is my new love for yams! I think each year I like them even more. I use to hate them when I was younger and now I'm going back for seconds! I guess you gotta love something smothered in butter and brown sugar. My mom did a superb job fixing not only the yams, but all the other staple items...including a yummy turkey! Mike and Crystal (my brother and his wife) contributed some yummy pies and a cheese ball in the shape of a turkey! Dan and I made our traditional pumpkin roll and cranberry juice ice cubes. It was a great Thanksgiving!



Carson really liked our vacation too. He did great in the car on the way up and back. He loved playing with his cousins and grandparents. I wish we had more family around for him to play with. We did learn though, that he has not quite gotten over his separation anxiety. Dan and I went to the store after we put him down for a nap. When we got back he was screaming and crying and out of control! My mom said he had been looking around the house for us when he woke up from his nap and was just crying and crying. Even after we got back and we were holding him, he still was screaming and out of control. It took quite a long time to calm him down. I have never seen him like that before. It makes me nervous for him to go to nursery in 2 weeks. Hopefully he will see all the toys and kids and love it in there. He is a very social little guy, but we just can't leave him (at least that's what he thinks). Hopefully this stage will pass soon. Although, my mom said I was clingy to her till I was 4 or so....great!



Carson continues to get smarter and smarter. I love seeing him do new things or figure things out. He knows quite a few animal sounds and body parts. My favorite is when he blinks his little eyes when you ask him "Where are your eyes?". He doesn't say very many words, but he does say "Whoa" a lot, especially if he falls down. It's very cute. We also taught him to say "No Way", although it sounds like "No Wa" when he says it. He is a fun kid.



Our Thanksgiving vacation was great and I really wish it wasn't over already. We're already back in the thick of everything. Dan got up early for seminary and is now working. I need to clean the whole house and I work tonight too. Then we have various meetings and things practically every night this week....ahhhhh, life.

Let the holidays begin!

I'm off to a quick start on holiday shopping. I'm usually racking my brain for the best gift ever, but this year I'm taking the easy way out. Well, I'm still doing my regular Christmas shopping, but I've started much earlier this year. I wasn't planning on starting early, but I found a fun gift for Carson at Costco, so I had to get it. It's a play tent, TP, and two tunnels that he can crawl through. I think he's gonna love it. Dan and I plan on setting it up before he wakes up and see how he reacts when he sees it. I also bought a couple books that he likes and this fridge toy from LeapFrog. I had one of the books I bought him for Christmas out on the couch because I was going to wrap it and Carson saw it. He loved the book and wouldn't put it down. He brought it with us to Target (at least in the car), and cried when I told him we had to leave it in the car. He totally loved the book. Once he went down for his nap, I took the book back and wrapped it. Hopefully he will be just as excited when he sees it again in a month! I also have about 4 gifts for Dan already too. I won't mention what those are though :) So, the holidays are off and running. The stores already have their Christmas music playing and decorations up. And I already have a jump start on my shopping! I love this time of year!

Here's a picture of Carson that my Dad took about a month or so ago. It's so hard to get a one year old to pose for a picture! He looks like he has red hair in this picture....maybe he's taking after his Grandpa Loveridge after all!

What a weekend

Well, we're wrapping up another busy weekend. It seems like everytime we look forward to a relaxing weekend, a bunch of plans come up. A lot of the time the plans are things we choose to do, but other times they're not. Even with things we want to do, sometimes we would just rather sit at home and do "nothing". So, on friday we went to the temple visitor center to hear a BYU professor speak on "Arabs and the modern world". Obviously, this was more for Dan than for me, so Carson and I spent most of the time wandering around the visitor center and getting drinks from the drinking fountain. It was a fun night though and Dan thought the speaker was very interesting. On saturday, I spent most of the morning at our stake service project making quilts and blankets. They had a display of quilts that women had made and I especially enjoyed looking at those. Later that evening we went to a going away party for our friends, the Jensens. They are moving to VA, so we will still get to see them occasionally...thank goodness. Sunday is never the "day of rest" for us and today definately proved that right. After ward choir and 3 more hours of church, we came home to quickly eat and then I had to run off to the stake center for "Youth Standards Night". While I was gone learning about standards, Dan was off home teaching with Carson. Now, we're both home and I put Carson down for bed while Dan prepared his seminary lesson. So much for a relaxing weekend. Tomorrow starts another week of work, early morning seminary, mutual, and......Thanksgiving, YEAH! We are so excited to go on a little trip to Rochester to enjoy thanksgiving with my family. We are really looking forward to a break!

Waking up Early and CATS!

Neither of these two things have anything to do with each other (at least not for me), but they are just two things I'm thinking about this morning. I woke up at 5:30am this morning...on purpose! You may wonder why I woke up that early when I have a son that 99% of the time sleeps in past 9am. Well, I'm trying a new thing of waking up early b/c Dan wakes up at 4:30am to teach seminary and he is always so tired by bedtime, but I'm not! So, I'm trying to wake up early so I'll be sleepy and more motivated to go to bed early when he needs to. Aren't I a nice wife? I'm really just trying to help him get more sleep, the poor guy. It's actually really nice waking up early and having a good chunk of time to get things done...cleaning, exercise, sewing, etc. It makes me feel like I've accomplished at least something that day. So, I'll try to keep it up, the only problem is that sometimes I work late, so I'm not sure I'll wake up early after those nights.

Here is a picture of our cat, Louie. Okay, he's not OUR cat, we are just cat-sitting him for a week for a girl at work. Didn't you know that I am a cat person?? Well, actually, I'm not! I reconfirmed that I'm not a cat person after about 2 hours of having a cat. Don't get me wrong, I think cats are great, just not for me. This cat is super friendly and mild mannered. He just follows us around and snoozes on the couch. Carson LOVES the cat and was so excited to see it when he woke up yesterday. He trys to pet it, but the cat isn't so sure about him and runs away. Carson quickly learned how to feed the cat while he's in his highchair. Hopefully today he eats his food instead of throwing it all over the side for the cat. So, why am I not a cat person if this cat is so cute? Well, I think after having my own house and kid, I just don't want another thing to take care of. I now understand what my mom was thinking when we had all of our pets...sorry mom! I don't like when animals watch me eat, just waiting for food to fall to the floor. And I really don't like a cat at my feet all the time. And I swear I can smell the litter box all throughout the downstairs...yuck! And that's not to mention actually CHANGING the litter box...double yuck! I thought I wanted to be a vet when I was growing up, but now I think I'm glad I'm not. I'll stick with human poop and be a nurse instead :) I don't want you to think I hate animals, because I don't. I just think I've realized and reconfirmed that I don't want one for myself, at least not now in life. Dan wants a dog eventually, so we'll see about that.

Story-Time at the Library!

This morning Carson and I went to "babies in bloom" at our local library. It's basically storytime for children under 2, so they have fun things like stories, songs, dancing, bubbles, etc. The first time we went, I wasn't sure if Carson would like it or be entertained enough...but he loved it! Everytime we go, he sits in my lap and listens to the stories and songs. It's such a nice break from his usual crazy self. Today was extra fun because my friends Tami and Mary were there with their kids, it's always nice to have friends around. After storytime, Tami and I went to the quilt shop to pick up our monthly "buck a block". I love quilt shops, but Carson makes it awfully difficult to look at anything. He was all over the store, pulling down bolts of fabric, throwing fat quarters all over, etc. He was absolutely out of control! Yesterday was a pretty blah day b/c Carson was being so difficult to handle. I tell you, ever since he learned to walk, he has gotten quite the attitude and thinks he can do whatever he wants. If anyone knows any good disciplining techniques, I would love to hear them!!! This little one year old is driving me nuts! But, at the same time, he has never been cuter. He loves to say his animal sounds and wrestle with his dad. He even folds his arms when it's time to pray, it's really cute. So, I guess we'll keep him.

Crazy Crafters!

My friend Tami and I did our first craft show together this weekend and it was sooo much fun! We sold mostly baby items, but had some other things as well. Our big thing were the carseat blankets. They are really cool b/c you lay them in the carseat, then pull the buckle and straps through holes in the blanket, then you can strap the baby in and cover him all up. It's pretty neat. We also had some fun other things, like onsies with ties on them, handbags, booties, aprons, cowboy bibs...it was a blast! I must admit, i was a little scared that we wouldn't sell anything and so I kept telling myself that it would be okay if we didn't, but....we did!!! We actually sold over $100 of stuff and people seamed really impressed with our stuff. It sure makes you feel good about yourself! So, Tami and I want to try our luck at another craft fair...do you see a business evolving...hmmmm. Actually the name of our company is "LovePug Creations". It is both of our last names put together...LOVEridge and PUGmire, pretty cute huh (thanks to Tami). So, we had a great first craft fair together. It was a fun day and our sweet husbands were nice enough to watch the boys and come visit us at the craft fair...thanks guys! Watch out craft world...here we come!

My new blog!!!

I did it...I created a "blog". I think the word "blog" is really funny, but I like the idea of a place to write stories and thoughts and put pictures of my cute kid (if I do say so myself). So, I'm excited to use this "blog" as a sort of journal for me and my family. I hope I can keep up with it, wish me luck!