Happy Birthday Teagan!

Teagan had a wonderful birthday celebration! He had two parties! The first was a combined party celebrating Teagan's birthday, and a final get together for Nathan before he left for the MTC. The second party was with my family. He had a great time at both and especially loved diving into his cake. Today we took him to the Discovery Kids Museum in Salt Lake. He had a blast. He played with the other kids and loved exploring everything. His favorite was playing in the little tykes police car. He didn't want to get out! He would move around in it but only backwards. He wouldn't go forward. He also loved the police radio in it. He exhausted himself playing so much and crashed the second we buckled him into his carseat to go home. It was a lot of fun. He had a great birthday and got spoiled by everyone! He got so many fun new things.

Teagan's Snake Cake

(My first attempt at a cool birthday cake. I think it turned out pretty well.)

Teagan enjoying his cake and playing with Andrew. The snake tongue (fruit roll up) is stuck on his hand.

He enjoyed his bath in the sink even more than the cake! He loves splashing in water.

The police car at the museum. He didn't want to get out! We had to pry him away.

He loved being up on the horse. He especially liked holding on to the saddle horn. It was so cute.

All about Teagan

Teagan loves to run. He especially loves to run away from people walking toward him. I think this is mainly because when we walk toward him, it's usually to take away something he found that he isn't supposed to have.

He is so curious about the world and loves to explore. He wasn't satisfied with the main floor anymore and decided to climb up the stairs! He loves to play on the landing, much to my dismay. We are trying to teach him to go down the stairs now that he goes up them quite well. This has been a little difficult. He is only interested in climbing up things and then diving head first off of them. He still does this when he is on the couch or a bed despite our attempts at teaching him to turn around and slide off safely.

He loves people and especially other kids. He makes new friends wherever we go. He just walks up to other kids and tries to hold their hand. It's so cute. He loves to show off his little scrunchy face smile to everyone and it's so cute people can't resist him.

He is such a good natured little guy. I get told that by everyone! People in the grocery store, people in sacrament meeting, relatives, friends, and strangers all comment on how good natured he is. I can't tell you how many times I have heard "He is just the best baby! He is so pleasant and never gets upset." I can't argue with him being the best baby, but never getting upset? I guess he saves all his upset moments for me, but to be honest, it doesn't happen often. He really is a sweet boy.

He is a biter though. I can't imagine he learned it from anyone since he isn't around anyone who bites. He has been doing since before he had teeth. He would try and bite you if he got angry. It was funny when he didn't have teeth, but it's not quite so funny now. We figured we would discourage it from the very beginning so we would tell him no and put him down if he tried to bite, but he is a stubborn little boy and it's still his favorite line of defense.

Lately, he thinks it's hilarious if I tell him no. He tries to tear apart my mom's curtains (mainly pull out the curtain rod and wave it around like a sword) and I tell him no and move him away and he laughs so hard he can't even stand up. He is literally on the floor laughing histerically. I don't know why he thinks it's funny when I tell him no. I think he will be a tough one to discipline. He just laughs when I tell him not to get into the dog food, or pull things out of the cubbord. I guess it's a game to him. I need to figure something else out, but I think it's wrong to hit or spank kids that young, so I don't know what to do.

He is still a daddy's boy. One of his favorite things to do is wrestle with his dad. Darryl is so cute with him and the best at getting Teagan to smile. It's so cute. He likes me when he is hurt or upset. I guess I am the one who comforts him and Darryl is the one he likes to play with. It is so cute to see how excited Teagan gets when Darryls comes home.

I suppose I have rambled on about my boy long enough. He is the most wonderful thing to happen to Darryl and me. It has been such an adventure with him around. I love him so much! I can't believe he is going to be one year old tomorrow! That went too fast.

Things are supposed to slow down once the holidays are over!

January has been a busy month! After a hectic New Year's, we were home just a few days before we headed off on another trip. We drove to California to go to Nathan's (Darryl's brother) mission farewell. We left Friday and came back Monday. It was a long drive for such a short stay, but we love any excuse to visit Darryl's family and you can't beat California weather in January!

Teagan was such a trooper. I wouldn't be able to handle being strapped in a car seat for that long. He was so happy and cute on the trip. He cried a little here and there but overall, was able to entertain himself quite well. He sang, and talked and played with his books. It was fun.

We only had Saturday and Sunday in California so we had to make the most of it. Expenses being what they were in December, it didn't work out to go to Disneyland like we had wanted. We did however, take Teagan to the local mall that had a carousel. That was fun. He wasn't too sure about it and wouldn't smile for the pictures but would smile when he turned to look at me.

After the mall we headed to the beach. Darryl's cousin Lance is in Kindergarten and is learning words and LOVED when I wrote his name in the sand. He wanted me to write every one's name including my own and then came up with all sorts of other words for me to write. It was really cute.

Sunday, we went to the farewell and Nathan gave an excellent talk on missionary work. It was really fun to hear him speak. Afterward we went to a club house at Reita's friend's condo and had dinner. It was fun to see everyone. We left for home really early Monday morning so it was a very quick trip, but definitely worth it.

This is Teagan's scrunchy face smile. He has been doing it lots lately. It's totally fake and he only does it when he thinks you want him to smile. It's funny.

Huntington Beach

Darryl was the one who actually drew the heart. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Grandma made whipped cream and guess who got to lick the beaters?

Group shot of everyone at the farewell.

While waiting for Darryl to use the restroom, I let Teagan out of his carseat to stretch. He immediately climbed over to the steering wheel and was loving it.

Lava Lodge Pictures

Steph and Amanda chillin in the Lodge
Ryan, Marissa and Baby

Teagan trying to pull Ali away from her movie

Playing with Andrew

Busy Exploring

Sledding with Uncle Danny

Not too sure about the snow

Rock Band and Guitar Hero are always a must at a Young party

Enjoying the giant jetted tub at the lodge

Watching the Utes game with Grandpa

Me and Mom

New Year, New Adventures . . .

For New Year's my family went to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and stayed in a lodge with my Uncle Danny and his family. We had so much fun. We went sledding on the hill right outside the lodge, had snowball fights, and played lots of games. We of coarse visited the hot springs, which felt so nice! We really did have a great time.

Darryl had to work Friday morning so he drove home with Steph and Joe Thursday night. They were all going to come back up Friday evening to watch the Sugar Bowl with the family. Right before they left Teagan grabbed a soda can out of the trash and started running away from everyone. By the time we caught up with him, he had cut his finger. He didn't cry or anything until we made him hold still to bandage it. It was a small cut so we weren't too concerned. Darryl, Ste and Joe left and I was a little bummed about spending the night without him but busied myself with playing games with my family and of coarse watching Teagan.

Teagan was such a little busy-body. He was running everywhere and exploring everything. He also had no tolerance for the bandaid on his finger and ripped it off as often as he could. He would then re-open his cut and every time he did, it would split wider and deeper. It bled a lot and we were all pretty concerned. We managed to get him to keep the bandaids on throughout the entire night and seemed fine Friday morning for about an hour before he split it open again. We decided it would be best to take him in to the ER and see if he needed stitches. It started out as such a small cut that it didn't' seem necessary until later when that same small cut turned into a big gash in his poor little finger.

So Friday, with Darryl gone, we drove to Pocatello (sp?) to the nearest ER. By then he wasn't bleeding and luckily he slept during the 30 mile drive. The doctor said it was a deep cut but that he didn't want to put stitches in it because he would most likely try to rip them out since he is so young. He decided to use the glue on his finger and then put steristrips to hold it together and then bandaids on top of that and a wrap around the whole thing to keep him from messing with it. He was pretty good in the ER but the glue stung a bit and he didn't like having to hold still. He did smile at everyone and was very happy though.

We decided to stay in Pocatello for the evening since we found a great restaurant to watch the Ute's game. They reserved tables in a separate room for us to be able to stay for the whole game. We went to the tiny mall and I found Teagan some church shoes! I have been looking for months and haven't been able to find anything to fit his fat little foot until now!

Then came the bad news. There was a sizable storm Friday afternoon and Darryl wasn't able to come back up. I started out the New Year spending two nights without Darryl and taking my baby to the ER for the first time. Not exactly how I envisioned 2009, but what can you do? I am glad he (and Ste and Joe) were safe at home instead of stuck on the road somewhere. Teagan's first ER trip wasn't too bad either. Despite the fact that two days after the ER visit, he had ripped all the bandages off and sucked all the glue off, his finger is completely healed now. It was also a blessing that he had been on an antibiotic due to a slight ear infection. I think that helped a lot with him re-opening his wound and never getting an infection in it.

Overall, it the trip was crazy, but fun. I can't begin to explain how much the Ute's winning helped turn a miserable day into a good one. What an incredible season. They are the only undefeated team in the nation. The true national champs, despite what the BCS says, can only be the UTAH UTES! My dad was beside himself. We watched the game when it aired on Friday and then came home and watched it again Saturday. (My dad recorded it for that very purpose.) It was very exciting to see our team get some national recognition!

Teagan's 1st Christmas

We had a wonderful Holiday Season this year. It all started out with the Thurman Family Christmas Party/White Elephant Gift Exchange. This is something we look forward to all year. Darryl's mom is a Thurman and every year they get together.

The White Elephant is my favorite part. The Pearson's are known for coming up with some of the best gifts and this year was no exception. Darryl recently had his wisdom teeth removed and he asked the dentist if he could keep the teeth. He took the best looking one and tied a piece of yarn around it and made a necklace containing all his "wisdom." Needless to say, the person who received it (which was Darryl's Uncle Barry) wasn't as excited about receiving it as Darryl was giving it.

Curtis opened one of the best gifts. I am not sure who brought it but you can tell from the picture how excited he was to get it. Because we play Yankee Swap, the giant bra was stolen from Curtis and he ended up with a "Johnny Glow." It's glow-in-the-dark stickers you put on your toilet so you can tell if the seat is up at night in the dark to prevent from falling in. It also has a sticker to aim at for the guys. I don't know where people come up with this stuff.

We had lots of fun at the party and already have some good ideas for next years gifts! My family always hears about how much fun we have exchanging white elephant gifts that this year my brother begged me to organize one with my family. He decided he was going to make a hand modeling calendar. Devin, Amanda and I had fun coming up with poses for Garrett. Here is a little sample.

"They call me the working man."

Christmas morning was pretty exciting. My dad bought Teagan a teddy bear that's about the same size as him and he LOVED it. It was so fun to see him hug it and carry it around. The downside was that he wasn't as interested in opening any of his other presents. I opened them while coaxing him to do so but it didn't work. He did ditch the bear and come to see what the presents were and then I couldn't get them out of the plastic fast enough. It was fun that he liked what "Santa" brought him.

Teagan especially loved the sucker in his stocking.

After we opened presents at home, we braved the storm and drove to Alpine to see Darryl's family. Luckily we borrowed my parents car or we wouldn't have made it. We nearly got stuck in all the snow. It was so fun to see Darryl's family and get to do Christmas with them. We stayed there most of the day and joined them for Christmas dinner. We had prime rib and it was beyond delicious. After dinner we had to head back to South Jordan, but not before I got a group picture. My in-laws always humor my picture taking obsession. I wish my own family would do the same. :)

Once we got back to South Jordan we had a Christmas party with the Larsen side. (My mom's family.) It has been years since we have gotten together so it was fun to see everyone. (We were still missing several people but we will take what we can get.) That's when we did the White Elephant with my family. Since Darryl and I got back late, my siblings waited to do the white elephant until we got there. By then, most of my mom's family was there and we didn't want to exclude anyone. So, since Darryl and I had just finished our wonderful prime rib dinner, while everyone else was eating we were scrambling to find several more gifts. We had the most random things in that gift exchange and despite the fact that I knew what almost everything was, it was still lots of fun. My favorite gift of the night was a singing Elvis Christmas stocking. It was hilarious. (Nice one Amanda!) Teagan got to play with my cousin's daughter Jalen and he loved her. It was so cute to see them play.

And if that wasn't enough for one day, we made a brief stop and the Rowland Christmas party. Good thing they live close. It is always so fun to see my "other" family. They are nice enough to invite me to family parties and even on occasional family trips so I claim them as family. We had such a wonderful Christmas Season and as we were able to see so many loved ones it made me feel so grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. I am so thankful for my family and friends and especially for my Savior, Jesus Christ who is the reason for the season.