Top 11 of 2011

Our year in review, in no particular order....
1. I got a job at West Jordan High School Teaching dance and loved it!
2. Jon and I traveled to New York with Dance Co in March and had a great time.
3. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary!!! Woot! (And we're more in love than ever!)
4. We survived girls camp. :)
5. We got fun new callings and our stake split.
6. Torbin turned 1! And is full of life and adventure! We love that little man and the joy he brings in our lives!
7. We went to Kentucky for Tom and Laura's wedding and also went to Tennessee and Georgia.
8. We finished our basement!! Woot Woot!
9. We lost loved ones, but gained a stronger testimony.
10. We turned into grown-ups and bought a mini-van.
11. We are expecting another baby boy in May of 2012!! I'm sure 2012 will be an exciting year, just like the last few have been. It just keeps getting better. :)

Bring on the Winter

These are the two loves of my life. They both love the snow, and I love them!! My favorite thing is their smiles, and next to that their matching braids.

It snowed yesterday. The first big snow of the season. Last year Torbin was too little to play in the snow so this was his first attempt. He loved it... until he face planted. Then it was time to come in. We are excited to take him sledding for the first time next week at the Bay Family Christmas Party.

After playing in the snow we decided to have one of Anna's favorite winter time treats. Pumpkin Ice Cream and Oreos. Torbin thought it was pretty tasty.

The Traveling Trio

We are the traveling trio!!!! We got to travel to Kentucky for Tom and Laura's wedding in the middle of October so since we were in the area we figured we would visit a few other states as well. We went down to Tennessee to visit the Beckstrands and then on to Georgia to show Jon my mission. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but very fun. The computer doesn't like how I loaded the pictures so you get to see the trip in random order!

Torbin enjoying Sonny's BBQ. He loved the sweet sauce- I raised him well. :) For those who aren't familiar with Sonny's, I'm sorry. Travel to the south to try it... it's worth it.

Atlanta Temple!! I wish I could have gone inside since they remodeled it, but from what I could see from the front door it's beautiful.

A stop in North Georgia for fried apple pies! Yum! It's turned into a tradition to go here every few years... first in 2006, then 2008, then 2011. Will we be back in 2014?

Yay! A picture of all 3 of us.

Stone Mountain!!! We couldn't go to the top because of the weather, but at least we got to see the carving of the Confederate Heroes.

Getting ready to cross the Tennessee River with the Beckstrands! It was beautiful.

Running around the Louisville Temple. He looks way too grown up, but he's the cutest thing and sure loves to run!!

The happy couple- the reason for the trip. Yay for marriage! And congrats to Tom and Laura!

Our little trio in front of the Louisville Temple.

Crossing the Tennessee River.

The Big Uno: Part 2

Isn't that the CUTEST face you have ever seen?!? We had a fun time at our house for the party. Torbin loved the decorations and all the presents. Of course it was like any baby's birthday and he was more interested in the tv, or the wrapping paper than the gifts most of the time, but in the end he was excited about all of them! Thanks again family, you're the best!

Hey Ladies!! ;)

Torbin is our little monkey. He loves monkey, especially Curious George, so we had a monkey kind of party!! Here are the cakes, made by Anna.

Part of the decor.

Torbin got lots of books. He LOVES to read! He lounges right in and listens away. He really loves reading with his Daddy! He also got lots of socks, which he needed. Books and socks... yeah, we live exciting lives! :)

Of course, he also got a lot of clothes! This was his favorite outfit! He modeled it and posed for all the pics. He was so excited and wouldn't put it down for the longest time. We didn't get a pic of all the cute clothes because of the craziness of the night. But he will be the best dressed boy on the block that's for sure!

He was very proper as he started eating his cake. He took little bites and didn't put too much in his mouth at one time. He gradually warmed up to playing with the cake and enjoyed eating it too. But I'm pretty sure more cake was on the ground and in his high chair than in his stomach.

He wanted to share with Aunt Brittany too. She got a lovely chocolate mark on her arm. He just held her there for a few minutes. Yep, there he goes being sweet again!

Cleaning up the chocolate goatee. I guess he was trying to be cool like his uncles with facial hair.

Enjoying one of his new big boy toys! He can stand and push buttons! He'll have so much fun playing with his new toys! Mom and Dad may need earplugs... but Torbin will love it.


I read about this fun tradition in the Ensign, where the babies on their 1st birthday are to choose between a bottle, scriptures, money, and a toy. As they choose an object it will help forsee the kind of life the child will have. At first Torbin was all excited and we thought the decision would be easy, but he just stops and looks at them... with some help from Daddy he chooses one for a second and then sprawls out in front of all of them. :) We're still not sure what that will mean in his life, but it'll be fun to look back on. Yay for new traditions!

The Big Uno: part 1

Our little Torbin turned 1 today!!! We can hardly believe it. The past year has gone very fast!!! He is the sweetest boy and we love him SO much! Who knew we'd be so obsessed with such a little man?!? We had a fun weekend celebrating. We went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point with Kolby and Cami since they couldn't come down for his actual day. And then today had both sides of the family over for cake and ice cream. Here are a whole bunch of pictures of our adventures with Torbin for his big birthday! :) (Special shout out to the siblings out of town who give us motivation to be better bloggers. Loves. And a special THANKS for all the wonderful gifts!)

Looking at the chics and ducklings.
P.S. Thanks to the Beckstrands for the cute birthday outfit!

Torbin loved to feed the goats! He just giggled when they would lick his hands. SO cute!

On the wagon ride. Our cute little family,

Hair do from Aunt Cami

He LOVED the pony ride!! Half the time he looked like he was practicing to be a rodeo rider!

Ah, I just love these handsome boys!!!

Cute Kolby and Cami with their favorite nephew! ;)

Snugglin with Kolby at lunch! He's such a sweetheart!!!

.... stay tuned, there's more to come!

Busy Summer

It's my goal to blog at least once a month... so it's 10:15 on July 31... I'm that awesome. :) It has been a crazy busy summer in the Bay house that's for sure! But it's been fun. Here's a little of what we did...
* Attended with Ween-o-Rama and Torbin wore his Ween-o-Onesie!
* Celebrated Father's Day!! I made my boys matching ties and as you can see below, they are very handsome!
* Celebrated Brynn's and Papa Frank's birthdays
* Went to St. George over the 4th of July with my parents and grandparents.
* Jon and I celebrated 2 wonderful years of being married!! The best 2 years by far! I love my hubby!!!
* Planned and executed a successful girl's camp.
* Finished our basement.
* Had friends and family over for dinner.
* Met new friends/future family members. :)
* Attended a few Real Salt Lake games.
* Lost Grandma Blodgett, but loving the legacy she left behind.
* Shook the prophet's hand. And he played with Torbin for a min. So Cute!!
* Watched family move away... the Beckstrands to Tennessee and Tom and Laura to Arizona. We miss you already.
* Jon and I went to Youth Conference. It's still weird to be the leaders...
* Replaced a water heater, and our gas range.
* Had fun being busy and stressed, but it all worked out in the end.
Yeah, our life is a little crazy, but we love it because we get to live it together!!!

Still In the Arms of God

You never think things like this will happen to your family. You hear of it, and you fear it with your own children, but it's not something that seems real until it hits your family. And it hits hard. My brother and sister-in-law were expecting a baby girl in June. But the baby was stillborn on May 22. No one knows what happened, she was fine just a few days before as the doctors ran a bunch of tests, but she was too perfect to stay with us. They named their angel baby Makayla, which means "who is like God." A very fitting name.

Nothing can make this right, or bring Makayla back, but we have found comfort in the Plan of Salvation, knowing that she will be with her parents and brother forever. There have also been many people placed in our path that have been through the same thing, or that can offer the help we need. We know that Heavenly Father was taking care of her, and of us, there's no other explanation for the way things worked out.

I wish I could put my thoughts and feelings into better words, but nothing seems to fit right now, but at the same time I want to say something and share the picture and lyrics...

Jon's family has experienced loss as well, and when his cousin died after fighting cancer they had a picture of Christ hugging him drawn. It's a beautiful drawing and one of my first thoughts when we heard the sad news was that we needed something similar. Jon mentioned the thought at work to the right person who knew the right person who happened to be an artist. We sent him the pictures of Makayla that were taken by "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" at the hospital and he gave us the amazing drawing above.

While on my mission a friend sent me a CD with mission songs, and then a song about a stillborn baby was the last track. It's a beautiful song, but I never thought I would have such a connection to it. I included the lyrics because knowing that Makayla. is "still in the arms of God" is the only thing that really helps.

As I look at my own sleeping baby I'm overwhelmed with how blessed we are. We are so lucky to have him with us. Nothing I feel can compare to my brother and his family, but they have our love and support. And we have the plan that will make it ok.... eventually.

"Born Still in the Arms of God"
Written by Michael Hicks and Tammy Robins

Your daddy and I knew that you'd be a girl
You'd probably sing grow blond hair with curls
And twirl all around as the princess you are

But the day came too soon and in a hospital room
The word that I feared, was the word that I heard
I prayed and I mourned, for my princess still born

Now my heart has learned, the truth of that word
Born still, in the arms of God
Resting now, midst a royal applaud
You will dance, you will sing about heavenly things
Born still in the arms of God

Now the task is to place a name with the face
Now resting so perfectly
You have the prize won, through the life of the son
A name divine, Celestial is thine

Born still, in the arms of God
Resting now, midst a royal applaud
You will dance, you will sing, about heavenly things
Born still in the arms of God

Born still...

MAKAYLA is still in the arms of God

Here are the websites we have been directed to.
http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/
http://www.angelbabiesinfo.com/
http://pinwheelsfromheaven.blogspot.com/