Westward Ho!

Almost two weeks ago Topher and I headed west to be with the main body of the saints (aka our family :). We arrived in Salt Lake City just as the Mormon pioneers had over 150 years ago: hungry and tired. Fortunately, the comparison stops there and no rescue party was sent for. Actually, my baby brother went into the MTC and Toph and I flew out to support him. It was fabulous spending so much time with family (my mom even bought Bajio for me!! Woo hoo!!) and having people to talk to during the day. Here are some photos of things we did and people we love in Utah for your viewing pleasure (there's a ton, so good luck :):

Toph with two of my sisters, Katy and Abby

My youngest sister, LIbby

Jenny and Katy lookin' mighty fine. I'm pretty sure I told them NOT to play with the camera :)

Toph and his cousin playing nicely together (until grandma took her bow off :)

With Great-Grandma Averett...

...and Grandma Huff all in one day!

No explanation needed :)

Grandpa Huff and the "twins". They're only two weeks apart :)

Amy, Amy, Amy :)

Hannah and Abby concocting something yummy.

Toph and Grandpa Curtis. Due to the time change, Toph was fussy and ready for bed by the time my dad came home work. He loves you though, Padre!!

My oldest brother Jared with the Tophster. They got along great, and it was nice to see them spend time together :).

Toph and Awesome Aunt Linnea (Awesome is better than great :)

I need to start sporting jewellery like my Aunt Alison: Toph couldn't get enough of it. Oh, and he loved you too, Alison :)

Hot Chicks!!

Thank you Uncle Brent!!

Me and my Zachy-poo :)

Mike and Kari :)

Toph with my grandpa...

...and my grandma.

Toph loves the ladies...even if they're related :)

The whole gang minus Jake, Scott, Brenda, Matt, and Bryan. Ok, so only some of the gang. We missed the rest of you!!

This is how my sister Becca looked when I told her I got a picture of a hot guy for her...well that story was a lie. The opposite is true in fact. HAHAHAHAHA!!

Uncle Jarom teaching Toph how to be cool :)

Cousin time with Anika!!

On the way to and at the MTC...where we had an interesting experience. MTC missionary + baked potato in the microwave = fire alarm going off and us sitting outside while they cleared the building. Gotta love new missionaries!!

Thanks you guys for letting us come and play with you for a week. We love you all!!!

Summer days

Megan and Topher's absence has led me to wile away my days doctoring old photos to look like new interactions.

The weather sure has been nice lately.

I'm sure going to be happy when they are back.

Mr. Lonely

Megan's in Utah, and she took the camera and the baby with her. So, this is just a quick note to say you probably won't see any significant updates until next Thursday. Come back soon. Megan assures me she has some super-cute photos on the way. Sate yourself with this:

Ever seen anyone enjoy prunes this much?

Eccentric?

So, I forgot to mention the following story about when we went to the DMV to register our new car. As we sat, waiting for our turn, there was a mix up of numbers so a guy that was supposed to have his turn sat back down next to us. I had seen the guy earlier and made a few assumptions about him. He was younger (probably 18-20) and had a number of piercing/other body modifications. We struck up a conversation with him and he, naturally, asked what Topher's name was. Now, we typically tell strangers that we'll never meet again that Topher's name is Christopher, without mentioning "Topher" at all, as it just tends to cause unnecessary confusion. Assuming that this hip dude could probably handle it, however, I decided that I would just go with "Topher." Much to our shock, his response was "That's eccentric." This from the guy who can't walk through a metal detector without setting it off. Things went downhill from there when he, likely trying to gain a foothold, asked what Topher's middle name was. I'm pretty sure his mind exploded when we told him that it was just the letter "C", not standing for anything. The conversation pretty much died there and I think he was pretty happy to finally be able to get to the counter soon thereafter.

While I'm here, Megan wanted me to mention that she has now made her personal blog private, but not in an attempt to keep anyone out (unless you count creepy weirdo's). So, just post your email address or drop her a line and she'll be more than happy to add you to the list.

And because my momma taught me that you should never update your blog without posting a picture, here is a double shot of cuteness:

Eccentric

Odds and Ends

As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting lately. You may also know that we're nearing the end of the semester. It would not be a leap to assume that the two are connected.

Anyway, I wanted to get on and throw a couple things up. No theme here, just stuff I think is fun.

Topher has been working hard on his Bronco Mendenhall impersonation.

As you may or may not remember (Megan remembered when I slammed the brakes today and yelled "Noooooo" because I thought I was going to hit a squirrel), we were in a car crash recently. I'm happy to report that we were able to buy another car (thanks Craigslist!) and its registered and ready to go:

The only thing it needs now is an Apple logo in the back window and a Wienerschnitzel antenna topper.

Speaking of Apple, in case you thought from Megan's last post that I was indoctrinating Topher, here is my evidence that it is his choice:

I'm also happy to report that we recently won a digital picture frame (A CievaLife to be exact) from Engadget.com (my favorite tech blog).

It's pretty cool because we actually upload pictures to the internet and it automatically downloads them. And it was free. Rock on.

In other news, Topher's doing his best to start talking any moment. He's got the hustle:

And now he's getting the skills:

And one last note: Topher (like his father before him) totally loves Speed Racer.

6 Months Older and Fatter too...

My baby is 6 months old today!! I can't believe how big he is (literally...he was 19 1/2 lbs at his last checkup :) and how many things he can do now! Topher is no longer content to just lie on the floor, he has to be sitting or he's not happy. He also has developed some strong legs and can already stand by himself (for only a couple of seconds :) using the couch for help. He looks more and more like a little boy everyday rather than a baby, except at night when his little mouth is still moving :). I'm grateful for all the time I get to spend with him as he learns to develop and explore his surroundings.


For a while Topher would only go to Scott for small amounts of time. Now he loves his daddy quite a bit and even gets silly about it. When Scott comes home from school everyday Topher stares at him and it takes a lot of effort for me to get him to stop. It's kind of disconcerting to see Toph's blue eyes staring :). Scott loves the attention from his baby and has even been teaching Toph how to use a Mac:



It has been a stressful, chaotic, sleepless, wonderful, and incredible 6 months!!! I love my beautiful baby boy (and if you want to see more pics you can go to my blog :) and I can't imagine life without him!!

Conference and Swings :)

General Conference weekend is a much anticipated event at our house, however, we discovered that it too is different now that we have a baby. I was constantly on the go, changing diapers, rocking Toph to sleep and catching a few winks myself when I could. Topher prepared himself for enlightenment despite all of this, and he was a good example to us:

Topher put on his reading glasses in anticipation. (This is actually a
glimpse into Topher's future. 2 near-sighted parents = 1 blind Topher).

He also took notes. What a smart boy!!

Switching gears, the weather here has been crazy but I think we're officially in spring. The tree are starting to bud and the sun has been out much more. On the other hand, boy has the rain been pouring!! April showers bring...New England wind apparently. It's been windy and rainy, but so nice to feel that winter is behind us (I hope I don't eat my words :). Today was beautiful, it got up to 65 degrees, and so I took Topher to the park to swing for the first time in his life. He was...excited...sort of...

Topher hanging with a friend from our ward. :)

Toph's attitude became cheerier as the swinging went on though, and he finally gave me some smiles :). I'm excited to be able to put Toph in shorts and let him crawl all over the park. Here he is in all his swinging cuteness:

Topher and I had a great time today and it was made even better by a great lunch/dinner with Scott. I love spring!!