Words!

Ashton has learned to say a few words! And this time I count them for real, because he definitely knows what they mean--no question about it. The first one I think we'll count as "baba" (bottle), because it's the first one he actually voluntarily said, asking for the baba, not just repeating it because we told him to. Here are a few videos of him saying his words, but they're not super fantastic. That's partly because they're from a little while ago, and he says words much clearer now. It's also partly because every time I get my phone out to video him, he gets all weird and camera shy, so he isn't really saying them as loud and clear as usual. But here's take number one:

In case you didn't notice, he would not say "Dada." He said it just fine for a couple of weeks, but then all of a sudden he decided he would not say it, and instead he wanted to call Daddy "Caca." I don't know why. He usually says caca for cracker, or when we read his book that says what the ducks say ("caca" = "quack quack"). It's totally hilarious, even though Tyler is slightly annoyed that it's caca. :)

Another word he knows is "poop." I know, gross and elementary, but he's gonna have to learn to say it some day! It's cute when he says it, though, because he almost whispers it, like he's afraid he's saying something bad. :)

And finally, the last word he's learned (so far) is "Gaga." We asked him to say Grandma one day, and that's what he said--"Gaga." He thought of it all on his own. Haha. So here's the video I sent to my mom to show her.

Hearing his little voice is like music to my mommy ears--especially when he's talking to me! So fun!

Bouncing Baby Boy--Literally

I got a little trampoline for Christmas, and Ashton has always loved to climb all over it. But now he's discovered the joy of bouncing.

Fun, fun, fun!

Anniversary, Part 3 - The Date

After we were done at the zoo, we went back to Lehi, got our car, and left Ashton with Grandma so that we could go on an anniversary date. First stop--fancy dinner at P.F. Chang's! We had never been there before, and oh boy was it good. I really liked the lettuce wraps and whatever kind of chicken I got...don't remember right now but it was really yummy! It wasn't exactly authentic Chinese food, but I don't know if it was really trying to be. Just very fancy and very yummy.

Next stop--Trafalga! Yeah, that doesn't seem like the most romantic thing to do on your anniversary, but we had a reason. When we got married, we were in the middle of the run of The Secret Garden in Provo, so we had to stay local--no honeymoon right away. So, one of the things we did that weekend in our mini, local honeymoon was go to Trafalga. It was fun then, and it was fun this time, too! We played some arcade games and we went mini-golfing in an indoor, black-light course. It was so cool! We even got to go on two 4-D rides. It's like a 3-D movie, where you wear the glasses and everything, but the movie is of some sort of roller coaster. So as you watch the 3-D movie, it's like you're zooming along this roller coaster. And then the 4th D comes in because your seat rumbles and tilts and jerks around, and there's wind and heat and sound effects...it is seriously like the coolest thing ever! It's almost like being on a roller coaster! I seriously screamed in parts, it was just so awesome. You could never imagine how awesome--you just have to try it. Then we ended the night with some lovely Dippin' Dots for dessert, and went back to pick up Ashton.

Good date right? Well, it was even better because when we got back to Ashton, Tyler had a big bouquet of flowers waiting for me! They were so beautiful, and it's been so long since I've done anything with flowers and I LOVED them! (How could I not? Tyler's aunt, Tami, is pretty much the best ever!)

All my favorite flowers! Tulips and roses and freesia...

...and hydrangeas and cherry blossoms tucked underneath...

...and orchids, and those purple poppy-looking things that I can't remember the name of... :)

What a crazy, fun anniversary! Happy 3 years to us!!!

Anniversary, Part 2 - The Zoo

So, like I mentioned in the last post, everyone took the day off, and we all went to the zoo! I know Ashton probably didn't grasp the whole concept of the zoo, but he sure loved to be outside in the stroller for so long! And of course, we had to bring along his very important monkey friend, Buddy. How appropriate.

Carter enjoyed his stroller as well.

Preston preferred to walk.

The first place we headed off to was the primate building, where we saw all kinds of monkeys!

Then there were the llamas, antelope, and camel.

And a beautiful peacock.

And a big gorilla!

I wonder if Ashton realized it was the real-life version of Buddy.

Preston thought it was neat that he was almost as big as a mommy gorilla.

Trying to see the gorillas playing in their tree house.

We teased Bryant that this was his gorilla twin...it sat there the whole time with a blanket on his head! :)

On our way to see the elephants.

There was a mommy elephant and a cute little baby!

Ashton, having fun!

And then there were a couple of sunbathing rinos.

Alycia, probably getting a much nicer picture, while Preston climbed up to "see better." :)

He was very excited when we found a rinosaurus he could actually ride on with Grandma!

We had to be careful...anywhere there was a bench, Grandpa would stop and fall asleep!

On to see the birds! Preston loved the penguins.

They even had Pumba and Timone!

After a while, the boys decided it was time for a snack.

But Preston didn't want to stop. He was having too much fun!

Here's Uncle Tyler, helping Preston see the giraffes.

Preston checking on Ashton...

...who decided it was time for a nap!

Here's the whole crew (minus me, of course). I have since read about how direct sunlight can sometimes make auto-focusing not really work...wish I had known that before! :(

Preston, trying to find those lazy, sleeping tigers in their hut.

What was my favorite animal of the day? Definitely the sloth that was hanging on a tree right above our heads! I could have jumped up and almost touched it! Very cool looking animal.

My first experiments with sunflair...not too great, but still cool to me!

Turtles, turtles, and more turtles! I loved the one that was swimming around.

And what is this strange animal? Looks like some kind of cross between a rabbit and a mini kangaroo...

It's a...

Hahaha, I found that most excellent. :)

On to the reptiles!

Fathers and sons.

Other miscellaneous animals.

Sharing a laugh with Daddy.

What a fun day it was!