April Showers Brings May Flowers

April 2, 2009: Today was my friend Dana Haymore’s baby shower. She is having her first girl and so several ladies in her ward threw her a shower. I convinced Aaron to go all the way down to Payson with me so that we could hang out together. On the way down, Jade exploded in her diaper and there was poo all over her clothes. I didn’t bring any spares so we had to stop off at Wal-Mart and pick her up an outfit. The only thing that didn’t cost a gazillion dollars was this bright Kelly green jump suit. Luckily Jade is cute enough that she made the outfit cute. Any other person would have looked like a giant cucumber. We got to the party but only stayed for a little while because I was due back at in West Jordan for a play practice. (I was asked by the Relief Society to be a part of the Ten Virgins play on the 16th of April. I have a speaking and singing part.) The drive to Payson from West Jordan takes almost 2 hours. So we didn’t have much time to stay at the party.
On our way back home we decided to stop off at a little drive through fast food joint, Dairy King in Payson, that sold fish and chips. We pulled up to the window and the girl took our order. It became apparent very early on that she was new because she kept asking us stupid questions. One in particular was if we wanted French fries or English chips with our fish. Aaron asked her what the difference was and she replied, “duh, French fries are this long and come from France and English chips are this big and come from England.” Aaron looked over at me and I just burst out laughing. We got English chips and when the girl returned with our credit card payment she told us she had to charge an additional 50 cents to the bill because the chips were extra. Aaron leans over to the girl and asked, “Is that because there’s an import tax with the English chips” The girl looked at him confused and just shrugged her shoulders and said, “I guess.” I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. Seriously, with this economic depression, how does a girl that stupid get a job?

April 4-5th,2009: This weekend is General Conference weekend. After the Saturday sessions, all the girls on the Gunn side were invited to Beth Mason’s baby shower. She is having twins in June. We went over and had a great time. On Sunday, we celebrated Paige and Cierra’s 17th birthday. We had dinner and gave them their presents. Jade is also 11 months old today. She isn’t quite walking yet but sure is close. Aaron also left for New Jersey this afternoon. Jade and I ended up spending the night over Grandpa and Grandma Gunn’s house.

April 6th, 2009: Cierra and Paige’s 17th birthday! We took the girls out shopping for their birthdays and then went to Italian Village for dinner. We stopped off at Leatherbee’s and had ice cream and then after went back to my place. Dad helped us by installing our new sound system we got for our entertainment center. Afterwards everyone stayed and we watched a movie. It was a nice time and I think the girls enjoyed their birthday.

April 7th, 2009: Today is a red letter day! Jade took her first real steps today! Jade and I went over to Grandma Gunn’s house to hang out while Aaron is still in New Jersey. While mom was getting ready for the day, Jade and I were sitting in her room playing with a hairbrush when suddenly mom came over and grabbed the hairbrush and Jade walked after it. She took several steps and then fell down but she kept doing it over and over. I was able to get her taking some steps on video and I sent them to Aaron. He felt awful that he missed it.


This is video of Jade walking to Austin and Hudson on Easter. Unfortunately I can't find the original footage of her walking with Grandma Gunn and I.

April 9th, 2009: I have the cutest picture of Jade sitting in front of our new entertainment center watching her Little Einstein’s video. She is fascinated by the tv. I don’t want to get her in the habit of being a couch potato but it sure is nice to put her in front of the tv for a few minutes and get some stuff done.


April 11th, 2009: We had an Easter egg hunt over at the Sorensen’s house. Grandma Sorensen went above and beyond and created a wonderful egg hunt with character eggs and toys hidden all around the house. Jade didn’t get the concept at first but it only took her a couple of times until she understood that if she found an egg there was candy inside. Afterwards we went outside because the weather was so nice and Jade discovered that Grandma Sorensen has a swing set in the backyard. We put her in the infant swing and she loved it. She didn’t even mind being pushed really high. The higher the better for that girl! We let her swing for a good 20 minutes before we were tired of pushing her and still she cried when we tried to take her out. That night we got together with Jen and Jeremy and their family at our house and we played Guitar Hero and had pizza. Jade and Boston play together really well. Boston seems to adore Jade and so he just follows her around where ever she goes. It’s really cute.





April 12th, 2009: This Easter I ended up being in charge due to mom and dad being out of town. They took the girls to California for Easter break. So Aaron, Jade and I headed down to Orem and I cooked Easter dinner for the boys and Grandma Bills. We even had our own little Easter egg hunt. I have the cutest picture of Jade stuffing an entire Reeses Peanut Butter cup into her mouth, wrapper and all. That night jade started running a fever. I hope she’s not getting sick. I sent her to bed with some Tylenol and am praying for the best.






April 13th, 2009: Jade woke up with horrible diarrhea. She’s still running a slight fever but now the diarrhea is so bad she is getting a horrible diaper rash. Poor girl! However, she still is a happy girl. She has started doing this thing with her head where she cocks it to one side and gives the cheesiest smile. It is so cute. I sure do love that kid and all of her corkiness.

April 16th, 2009: Today was my Relief Society presentation of the Ten Virgins. It went well. I was really nervous because I haven’t sung a solo in front of a crowd in a very long time. I was afraid I would forget the words or be so nervous that my voice would shake uncontrollably. But it didn’t and I remembered all my words. Afterwards people asked me if I had been in drama or other plays before. It went well and Aaron captured it all on video. Yeah!

April 24th, 2009: I called Aaron at work today due to extreme boredom and convinced him to meet Jade and I for lunch. We went out for JCW Burgers and ice cream and then I was able to convince Aaron to take a couple of hours off for lunch and we went up the canyon to play. It was a beautiful day and so we walked around Tibble Fork Canyon. Jade played at the edge of the water throwing rocks while Aaron and I just enjoyed the warm weather. It was a fun day.









April 26th, 2009: It was Great Grandpa Bill's birthday so we went to his grave and decorated it with flowers.




April 27th, 2009: Today was our first Co-ed softball game for the season. We are once again the Ro’s Rangers. Aaron is in NYC so he missed the first game. I did alright out in right field. Luckily I didn’t have any pop flies out my way. My batting skills need some significant improvement though. Roanne watches Jade for me while I play ball. There is a small playground at the ball field and Jade loves to play on it. With some help, she can climb up and go down the slide. She loves it. I swear that girl has no fear. It’s amazing to watch her climb and explore new things. She is very adventurous and very courageous for her age. I love that about her.

April 30th, 2009: Aaron and I took Jade to the post office to turn in her pass port information and get her photo taken. She looked like a complete rag-a-muffin but it’s funny to see my little girl with a passport. We need the passport because we are going on an Eastern Carribean cruise with the Sorensen family in October.

March-Green and Almost Spring

At ten months old, Jade is certainly becoming her own person. If she drops something, for instance, Grandpa Gunn’s keys, she will grab his fingers and slide of his lap, pick up the keys and then raise her hands to be picked back up again.
Jade is eating really well. She loves to eat big kid foods. Her favorite meal is a piece of chicken, bread and baby food of some kind. However, we are having problems with her eating green veggies. She will have nothing to do with them. Every time I give it to her she gags and spits it out. Something that she absolutely loves and can’t get enough of is ice cream. She would eat ice cream until she exploded if I let her.
She also has her favorite people that she likes. Austin is definitely her number one favorite. Whenever he walks into a room her face just lights up and she throws herself into his arms.

Austin and Jade sharing a Lifesaver mint.

Cierra is a close second. Cierra will chase her around Grandma’s house until she is exhausted. She will also get down on the floor and play toys with her for hours. She’s really good with her. Hudson comes in third. He doesn’t have to do anything she is just naturally attracted to him. It drives Grandpa Gunn crazy, especially because he comes in dead last on her favorite list. He would buy her anything under the sun if she would just give him the time of day, but alas she doesn’t. She’ll learn quickly though, if she’s smart. 
Jade is really good at waving hello and goodbye. She loves to pat her hands together in an attempt to clap. She is also really good at mimicking any facial movements someone makes, like sticking out her tongue when someone else does. Her favorite is to mimic Grandma Gunn when she coughs. She’ll stick out her tongue and make a fake coughing sound as she covers her mouth. It is so funny to watch. She doesn’t say words yet, but she is trying. She likes to say “Uh-Oh” and tries to say “Kitty” whenever she sees Huey.

Jade at the movie premier of Monsters vs. Aliens.

She is walking really well now, with some help though. Grandpa and Grandma Gunn gave Jade a yellow train for Christmas that she can push and walk behind. She uses it to help her with her balance. I think it is really helping her with her walking skills. She walks so much that she wears holes in the toes of her shoes. She walks on her toes a lot with her feet outwards like a penguin.

Jade is becoming a great little traveler especially this month with all of the traveling we have done. Our biggest excursion was to Dallas, Texas from the 10th-15th of March. Aaron had work there to do and we decided to drive down and stay a few days while he worked. We left on the 10th around 8am and stopped off at Grandpa and Grandma Gunn’s house to pick up some last minute stuff. We stayed for quite a while because Jade was so obsessed playing with Sammy (the cat). She kept giving him squeezes.

Jade being squeezie with Sammy
After leaving we decided to make our next stop Arches National Park and have lunch there. It was super cold but that didn’t stop us from having a picnic outside. We took Jade’s yellow train so she could walk around while holding onto it. Although she is a pretty good walker, the train just helped her be able to walk long distances.


After lunch we got back in the car and pretty much stayed there for the next 16 hours as we drove to Amarillo, Texas. I thought that driving that long would be too hard for Jade to endure but she did really well. We would time it so that our stops coincided with her schedule. We would get out every four hours and let her walk around with her train. We would walk for about thirty minutes while she wore herself out. We would get back in the car and she would play with her toys or watch one of her Little Einstein videos. She would eat a snack and drink her bottle and then be ready for a nap. She would take an hour long nap, wake up and be ready to get out for another walk. It actually worked out perfectly. We never really had any problems with her the entire way down.

We would have made it to Dallas had we not have been so tired. It got to be 4am and both Aaron and I couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. I don’t drive very well in the dark so Aaron did most of the driving after 7pm. Instead my job was keeping him a wake but that is so difficult especially when Aaron doesn’t like to talk when he gets really tired. So instead we both sit there in silence and I end up falling asleep.
The next day, Wednesday the 11th, we spent all day driving from Amarillo to Dallas. We made a stop for lunch in some podunk town in Texas and Jade was the star of the town. We stopped off at some little diner for ice cream and all the old patrons there just ogled over Jade. She would flash them a smile back and give them a little wave. We had several people stop us and tell us how adorable Jade was and so lunch took us longer than normal. We didn’t get to Dallas until around dinner time though, with all of our stops and the rain that just poured the entire way. However, we made it right on time because as we were checking in, Aaron’s coworker Brad came down to the lobby. He had just arrived and said the owner of this plant they were auditing was coming to pick us all up and take us to dinner. Unlucky for us we looked like rag-a-muffins. So I took Jade and our luggage and ran upstairs to get ready. The only thing we had were jeans to wear. I was just praying that they wouldn’t be taking us to some fancy restaurant. But of course they did a five star restaurant in fact. We had four different courses with exotic cheeses, seafood and great steak. It was amazing.

On the way home we let Jade ride the luggage cart up to our room. She thought it was really fun. She would sit on the front and point to different things and squeal. It was fun to watch her.
On Thursday, Aaron went to work while Jade and I hung out together. We swam in the pool in the morning, napped, ate some lunch and then drove downtown to the 6th floor Museum were we saw JFK memorabilia. It was cold and rainy all day but Jade did really well.




We met up with Aaron for dinner at a great steak house and then went home to bed early.


On Friday, we packed up and drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the morning we stopped off at Fort Worth to see a cattle drive. It rained the entire time so we spent most of the drive in the car but Jade really enjoyed seeing the cow and horses.



We didn’t arrive in Albuquerque until late that night. We did stop off at the temple there. Aaron was able to help with the building of the temple while he was on his mission. He did it as part of his service hours.

We had the hardest time finding our hotel that night. The GPS system that we were using kept giving us the wrong directions. We drove all over downtown Albuquerque during the middle of the night trying to find the place. When we finally found it we didn’t care that it was in the heart of ghettosville. All we cared about was that there was a bed.
The next morning, Saturday, we woke up and visited Peggy, one of Aaron’s converts. She is one of the only ones that has stayed close to the church. She has held several church callings and been to the temple to receive her endowments. She was really nice and loved to see Jade. Jade didn’t seem afraid of her at all. She just sat next to her and played with her toys.


We then got back in the car and drove to Window Rock, Aaron’s first area and visited with all the people he taught there. It was fun to meet all the people he has talked about for years. It was also very interesting to talk to many of them, especially those who were very traditional in their Navaho beliefs. They had great stories to tell about their traditions and lifestyles.






On Sunday, we got up and went to church at Window Rock. Aaron was asked to come up and bear his testimony. He told me later that he wished he would have spruced up on his Navaho because he would have loved to have given his testimony in their language. After visiting several other families we headed off towards home. We had a long drive ahead of us and we needed to get home before Monday so Aaron could get back to work. We ended up in Green River around dinner time.

We let Jade walk around for about an hour. She was tired of sitting in the car and traveling. I don’t blame her. We drove for 5 days and traveled almost 2600 miles. I think all in all she did a really great job. We ended up at my parent’s house and stayed the night.
We took another trip just 3 days later down to St. George with the whole Gunn Clan. We went down to watch Cierra and Paige play softball in the Dixie Tournament. We didn’t get there until really late but that was okay because that meant Jade slept the whole way down. However when we got to our condo she didn’t want to go to sleep anymore so we spent several hours up with her until she finally would go to sleep.
The next morning, Friday the 20th, we woke up to sun and 80 degree weather. It was so nice to see the sun because we have been in rain and snow for the last two weeks. We put Jade in cute little capries and sandals for the first time. She wasn’t quite sure she liked the sandals and all she’s ever known is socks and shoes so it was hard for her to get used to the feel of bare feet. In fact, she wouldn’t step on the cold tile with bare feet. She would get up on her tiptoes and cry. We also found out she doesn’t like grass either. We tried putting her on it and she totally freaked out.
Paige and Cierra played a little during the tournament. It’s usually just for the Varsity players but they had several opportunities to play near the end of the games. Timpanogos didn’t do very well but they still had a good time. While we were at the ball field Jade skinned her knee for the first time. She was wearing shorts and fell while holding Aaron’s finger. She was so mad at Aaron for letting her trip and fall that she wouldn’t even look at him when he picked her up. She kept turning her head and getting angry. What a little attitude!
On Sunday, we all went to church together but Jade sure was cranky. I think she was so tired from being outside playing on Saturday that she just couldn’t cope. Grandpa Gunn and all of his patience took Jade out and rocked her until she finally fell asleep. She actually napped for 4 hours straight. Poor thing was just exhausted. The Draper Temple Dedication was also that day after church and so we all went. Grandpa Gunn stayed back at the condo with Jade and cleaned up while we were at the dedication. Dad said she took a couple of steps by herself while he was cleaning. He said she was pushing her train around the room and just let go, balancing on her feet and then took a couple of steps towards the train again. She’s getting so good that she can actually push the train with just one hand. I think she will be walking here in just a couple of weeks. It won’t be long, whenever it is.

February 2009

February 1, Aaron was called to be the First Counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. Wheew! At least it's not Bishop or Elder's Quorum President. I think Aaron is both sad and exicted for the new calling. He's sad because he was just starting to get comfortable in the Young Men's Presidency and he really likes the boys. He was perfect for that calling and the boys seemed to really like him. However, I think he's excited because it's a new challenge and it gives him an opportunity to get to know the men of the ward. He'll be good at it though. He does well with anything he puts his mind to. The Super Bowl was tonight. We went to Mom Gunn's house and had a great spread of Super Bowlgreatness. The Steelers won. It was a pretty tame game and we spent more time watching Jade than really the game.

February 2, Ground Hog's Day. Jade had her first taste of chocolate cake tonight for FHE at Mom Gunn's house. She loved it. Aaron is in Kentucky for another couple of days so we are spending the day the with grandparents. Mom Gunn thinks I'm starting a bad habit and that she will be a sugar-aholic if I'm not careful.



February 5, Jade is officially 9 months old. Today I gave Jade her little yellow train that she got from Grandparents Gunn for Christmas. She stood right up while holding onto the train and started walking behind it. All by herself! She can't turn the corners very well so that means you have to follow behind her so you can turn her around but other than that she loves it.

February 6, Jade did a real wave today. I have been practicing with her since her 9 month check up with the pediatrican. She said that by 9 months Jade should be waving. So to make sure she's not behind, I've been practicing with her everyday. She finally waved all by herself. It's more of her fingers going up and down rather than a side to side wave.

February 8, Today was our Stake Conference and Jade was a PILL. She didn't want to sit in her car seat, she wanted to see everyone around her and then she didn't want to sit on our laps. Everytime we let her down she would try to escape holding onto the chairs, then when we would pick her up she would just scream. I was so tempted to strangle her. Luckily there was a cute boy sitting behind us and he started making oogly eyes at her and that kept her attention for awhile. I am starting to hate church, especially if she starts being a pill in church.


We got out of the car to go to Grandma Sorensen's and found Jade this way. She didn't even cry.

January 12, Jade can WHISTLE! How funny! I make this breathing sound through pursed lips and it makes a whistling sound. Jade can mimick it and she has actually got to the point where she makes a whistling sound when doing it.



January 13, Jade is wearing her first pair of shoes. Mom Gunn found her a pair of white high tops and we can actually fit her fat feet in them. Before, with any other pair of shoes we haven't been able to get the tops of her feet to fit in the shoe, especially if they are Mary Jane styled. It creates a muffin top over the strap and it looks super uncomfortable. Poor child inherited fat, wide feet from her loving, adorable father. :)

February 14,

Jade's first Valentines Day. Cupid came to the door and left her a cute red stuffed bear to play with. It was fun to pass on the tradition of cupid at the door just like my parents did with us kids. I know she doesn't get it but it was fun for me to do. It was also Kylee's and Roanne's birthdays today. We went over and hung out with the family and met Cade's new girlfriend Lisa. She's super cute and Jade seemed to really like her. She played with her and sat on her lap all evening long.

February 16, I tried Jade with a soft nipple sippy cup for the first time. She seemed to get the hang of it really fast and seemed to like it. I only use it for meals though because I don't want it dripping all over the carpet.

February 18, We decided that Jade was getting too big for her infant carseat. So we bought a big kid carseat that sits forward from KSL. She seems to really like it because now she can see what is going on all around it. It's like its opened a whole new world for her to investigate.



She has also started sticking out her tongue like a lizard when you ask her to. You say, "Jade, what does a lizard say," and she will stick out her tongue. It's super funny to watch. Tonight Aaron watched Jade while I took Mom Gunn to Madame Butterfly for an early birthday present. We went to dinner and then the show. It was a great play and I think mom enjoyed herself. I enjoyed it because I was able to get mom a gift that was super unexpected, that she never would have bought herself, but that she enjoyed seeing. Point for me!

February 19, We went down to St. George with Aaron's family to hang out for the weekend. Originally it was just going to be Clair, Roanne, Jen and Jeremy because they wanted to go to the Parade of Homes but it ended up being everyone. We all seemed to be able to get work off and go. Jade did really well. We just put her pack-n-play in the laundry room and she slept really well. She loves hanging out with her cousins because there's so much going on and it keeps her entertained for hours on end. We have the cutest video of Jade "dancing" while at the Parade of Homes. We were out on a patio and she grabbed hold of the railing bars and started stamping her feet up and down, laughing and yelling at the people below. It is the cutest thing ever!



February 23

This is a picture of Dad and Jade sitting in the play pen together. Dad will do anything to win over Jade's love and affection.

February 24, It was the Draper Temple Open House tonight. We took Jade with us and she did really well. Occasionally she was a little irreverant but we took her pacifier and that seemed to help. At the end of the tour we found ourselves in front of Cierra and Paige. We took them home with us and went out to eat at the Porcupine


After the open house, Jade was super tired. She feel asleep drinking her bottle.

February 25, I've been trying to go to the gym 2-3 times a week. I have the Gold pass that allows me to use their daycare for free. I just have to call a day in advance and schedule an appointment. However that is a good thing for me because it keeps me motivated to go. Jade seems to really like it as well. It gives her an hour away from me where she can interact with other kids and toys. She never cries and all the daycare workers always comment that she is super easy to watch because she does her own thing, is never needy and never cries. I think this is a really good thing for both of us. We need that hour of alone time, away from each other because it keeps me sane and it keeps Jade from getting mother dependant. Win-Win!

February 26,

Happy 52nd Birthday to Mom Gunn! Mom and I scrapbooked all morning and afternoon long. We are scrapbooking queens lately. We both have catching up to do, some more than others, (that would be me. I think I am only 6 years behind now.) but we both want to get it done so that come summer we can swim. To celebrate mom's bday we went out to Italian Village. So tasty!