Santa Came

This year we spent Christmas with Colin's family. I usually like Christmas Eve better than Christmas day (minus the presents) because that is when my family has a big dinner and spends the whole day together. To me Christmas day was usually pretty boring after opening presents and eating a big breakfast. This year was different. Colin's family doesn't do too much on Christmas Eve, they do most of the celebrating on Christmas day. We woke up late, thanks to Hayden sleeping in until almost 8:00 (she is usually up by 6:00). I guess that was her gift to us, what a nice girl!!! Then we went upstairs and she got to open her presents first.

The whole present thing was a little bitter sweet for her. She loved each gift she got and just wanted to stop and play with it. We being the impatient parents that we are, would take away the toy and make her open the next present. She would whine and cry until the she saw what it was and then would want to play with that and then the whole process would start over again.
She got a lot of fun stuff: PJs, books, church bag & file folder games (that I made, thank you very much), the cutest tea set you've ever seen and a trike from her grandma and grandpa Gibbons.

Colin was very spoiled this year. He got a TON of tools, some new Vans, The Dark Knight & Batman Begins, new snowboarding boots and money to go snowboarding (all my hard work at the voting polls paid off :) I was also treated very well. I got a sewing machine which I am very excited about, a crock pot cookbook, a gift card to Target and Bath & Body Works whichI have already spent and my favorite gift was Season One of Prison Break!!!!
After opening presents we had a big Crepe breakfast, then we went and saw Valkeryie. It is a great movie and I really enjoyed it, but I must say it was a little depressing to watch on Christmas day. After the movie we came back and had a very delicious ham & turkey dinner and then we played a White Elephant game that we revamped, it was a lot of fun!!

Yet again Christmas was wonderful. Of course I love getting and giving gifts, but I really just love the closeness that this time of year brings. It really just makes people happy. I have loved going out shopping and being around people. I loved spending so much time with both my family and Colins family. I am sad it is going to be over, but we still have New Years to look forward to, so I wont be too sad yet!!
The loot!!
One of her faves... a $1 stroller I got at a yard sale.
Her first bike...so cute!!
Walking in to see what Santa brought.
She is such a poser. Right before this was taken she was whining and crying, when I held up the camera she immediately stopped and did this!!

Notice in two of the pictures she has her tongue out. She does that when she is concentrating, I think that is a Lyman thing.

Fun in the Snow

Like everyone else we have had a very busy last couple of weeks. We went to a fun Lyman family Christmas party at my Aunt and Uncles house in Woodland Hills (sorry no pictures, I am getting lazy when it comes to picture taking.) We ate delicious food, the kids got to perform the nativity(Hayden was an angel) and they got to beat Winnie the Pooh to a pulp (he was a pinatta.) The main event was Jolly Old Saint Nick himself and he came bearing gifts. Hayden got a book and stuffed monkey. She hated the gift because she was terrified of Santa and wanted nothing to do with him.
We also got to go up to see the Zoo lights at Hogle Zoo. It was fun, but FREEZING!!!!!!!!!! It was so cold, but we managed to see a lot of animals and a lot of pretty lights.
You can tell by the redness in my nose how cold it is!!Yesterday it snowed quite a bit here so the kids were able to play in the snow. Colin built a little hill for them to go sledding on. They had a lot of fun.
Oh, I love being out in the snow!! :)

Opinion Tees

My brother just started an online business called Opiniontees.com. Here's how it works...

If you like the idea of getting an awesome T-shirt delivered to you door step every month and you want a fun and social way of getting involved with the current issues. Then this is your chance to make a statement, and create a dialogue with people around you about important topics and issues.

You and thousands of others like you have the chance to send a united message every month. The third Saturday of every month, every OpinionTees member will wear their shirt. This is an easy way of organizing and sending a united message. This will get people talking all over the country about the most important subjects of our day. Whether our message is about the economy, politics or the environment, there is strength in numbers.

This is a great way to make an impact; nothing is more simple or visible than a tee-shirt. Let people know what you think, even if they don't agree with you hopefully you can expose them to a new point of view and inspire them to think about what they really believe.

So go to Opiniontees.com and check it out!!!

All About Baby

All About Baby

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant? At our apartment in Orem
2- Who was with you? Colin
3- How did you find out that you were pregnant? $3 home pregnancy test from Walmart. The cheap ones are just as good as the pricey ones.
4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant? Very excited! Like everyone else I didn't believe it. It took me going to the doctors to have a "real" test done to finally believe that I had gotten pregnant in about a week!!
5- Who was the first person you told? Colin
6-Did you plan to get pregnant? Yup!! After three whole months, the excitement of marriage wore off so we decided a baby would make things interesting :)
7- Did you tell everyone else right away? No, we didn't tell anyone until I was about 10 weeks.
8-Was everybody happy for you? Of course!
9- Did you go out and celebrate? I don't think so
10- Did you want to find out the sex? Yeah, those 20 weeks were very long.
11- What was the sex? Girl and I was so happy about that.
12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower? Yes
13- If yes, who? My two very thoughtful friends, Charami and Janice
14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby? I will say no
15- How much weight did you gain? 27. Less than I though I would
16- Did you lose all of the weight that you gained? Yes, I hope the next time will be as easy, but I doubt it
17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks? Yes, I thought I was going to make it through without getting any on my stomach, but those last four weeks did me in!!
18- What did you crave the most? Not really. When I was sick and the thought of food made me ill, there was a time that any type of potatoes were the only thing that sounded good to me. One night we went to Golden Corral and I had about ten plates of mashed potatoes and gravy and thats all!!
19- Did you crave anything crazy?No
20- Who or what got on your nerves the most? I was way calmer and happier when I was pregnant. It had the opposite affect on me...Colin's ready for another baby!!
21- Were you married at the time? Yes
22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? No, I had a great pregnancy. It was the labor that was bad, but it could have been a lot worse.
23- Where were you when you went into labor? In my bed in Phoenix at four in the morning.
24- Did your water break? I like to say a little of my water squirted! ha ha
25- Who drove you to the hospital? Colin
26- Did you go early or late? One week early. Halleluja!!!!
27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth? Colin and my Mom. My mom left Blanding about five hours after I went into labor, drove to Phoenix(7 hours a way) and still waited about 20 hours before Hayden was born.
28- How long were you in labor for? You can do the math from the previous answer...34 hours!!
29- Did you have any drugs for the pain? Yes, the most wonderful invention ever made. The epidural saved my life!! Girls if the nurses ever tell you its a good idea to turn down the epidural when you get ready to push tell them NO!!!!
30-Did you go Natural or have a c-section? Just regular, but I secretly wanted a c-section! Every appointment I had I wanted the doctor to say the baby was breach, but it never happened.
31- What was your first reaction after giving birth? Its funny because before I had her I would watch TLC's A Baby Story and bawl my eyes out when the baby finally came out and the mother saw her sweet little bundle of joy. I would then picture what it would be like to see my baby and cry even harder. So I expected my experience to be wonderful and emotional. Not the case, after 34 hours, INTENSE pain and A LOT of drugs later the first thing that came out of my mouth "I don't ever want to do that again."
32- How big was the baby(s)? 7 lbs. 11 oz.
33- Did your Husband cry? No, but if he did I wouldn't have known it.
34- What did you name the baby(s)? Hayden Gibbons
35- Does her name have any significant meaning? Nope, we first liked it as a boys name and then I read in the newspaper about Hayden Panettiere (girl from Heros) and loved it as a girls name.
36- Did you have any visitors? Just my mom because we lived in Phoenix, but to be honest I was a mess I was very happy nobody visited.
37- Did the baby(s) have any complications?
38- How old is your baby today? 13 months.
39- When is the next one(s) coming? Who knows???
40-If you could, would you do it all over again? Yes, but I think I would be happy with just Hayden!!
41- Tag: Haley A., Tiffany W., Shannon B., Melissa L, Nicole R

New Pics

We got Hayden's one year pictures and a few family pics done a little while ago. She was such a good sport getting them done and they turned out so cute!!




She really liked to show off her front teeth, she did this in about ten pictures!

Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year. It was so fun dressing Hayden up and taking her trick or treating. I am not a huge fan of dressing up, but I love dressing her up(I already have her costume for next year and it is adorable!!) The week before Halloween we went to two costume parties. One for Hayden's cousin Gavin and one at some friends of ours. They were both a lot of fun and there were a lot of cute and creative costumes!! Halloween night we took Hayden around the neighborhood and got some candy. The only thing she was too worried about was getting her wig off. We had to keep distracting her with candy to keep it on. We were so happy it was such nice weather, usually you have to cover up the cute costumes with coats. It was a great holiday and we are looking forward to the next two holidays coming up!!!!!Raggedy Ann ready to roll!
She is still even without the wig on!
Hayden and her Dad Trick or Treating.
Her we are for the costume parties. If you can't tell we are Zelma and Freddie from Scooby Doo. Don't we look just like them!! Ha ha!

Colin has just started a new business. It is called "Game It Up." Its a mobile video game trailer that can be rented out for birthday parties, bachelors parties, business events, ect... It is a 20 ft. long enclosed trailer with four big screen tv's, four XBOX 360s and three Nintendo WIIs with all of the most popular games including Halo, Rock band, Mario Cart(my favorite) and tons of others. There can be up to 16 people playing at a time. He just finished working on the trailer and is now marketing and trying to get the word out. He is working on a website right now. The address is gameituptruck.com. So tell all your friends and help us spread the word!!

Game It Up

I Want Money!!

Ok, everyone in Utah Valley who reads my blog, I need help.  I am looking to make a few extra bucks, but I need a job that won't take too much of my time...I'm talking like 4-6 hours a week.  I am not too picky, so if you any of you know of anything out there, please let me know!!  

My Sweet Girl Turned One!!

Saturday October 18th was Hayden's 1st birthday and my 26th birthday. I have been so excited for her birthday and have been preparing for a long time!! We decided to do a Care Bear theme and it turned out so cute (if I do say so myself!) Hayden is such a sweet baby and I am so grateful to have her.
This is her present from us and my parents. She LOVES it!!!! She could ride in that thing all day!When we sang Happy Birthday to her she had the biggest smile and was so proud of herself. She loved being the center of attention.
Some of the decorations and Gavin!!
She got a lot of cute presents.
Her Dora chair from Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons.She got this cute little cat from her uncle Dean. As soon as she got it and immediately started hugging it. It was so cute!!
The cake before.
The cake after!!
It took a while to for her to dig in, she was using the two care bears as utensils. As soon as we took them a way she really dug her hands into it.
Of course the balloons were the favorite.

This is the Place

A few weeks ago Colin and I wanted to go on vacation, but since that wasn't very feasible we just went up to Salt Lake for the day. We decided to go to This is the Place Heritage Park. If you don't know what it is, it is where Brigham Young decided to stop after coming across the plains and settled Salt Lake. It has a little village of old houses and shops. Some of the buildings are originals and some are replicas. We were a little disappointed because during the fall not all of the buildings are open, so we only got to see a few. So if you ever want to go I suggest going during the summer.

Our little pioneer baby.

Blogging Hiatus

I think this is the longest I have gone without blogging since I started. I always thought people were crazy when they would say they had been too busy to post anything, well I now know what they are talking about. These past few weeks have been so busy, I really haven't had a spare moment.

Two weeks ago we went to Oregon to visit the Williams family. I love going up there to visit, we always have a great time!! I will tell more about that trip with the pictures below.

After we left Portland we came to Orem where we have been hanging out with all the friends and family we have missed this last year. We have been going on walks up the canyon, biking, swimming, going to moveis and getting snow cones!!! Colin has defiantly been taking advantage of being back. Last weekend he went on a 290 mile four wheeling trip with my family in Southern Utah and this weekend he is back down there camping and hiking with friends.

We were both a little nervous to move back under the circumstances we did, but it has already been worth it and is only going to get better when my parents move up here. If you haven't already heard my Mom just got a job in Provo. She will be moving up here next week and my Dad will follow as soon as their house sells in Blanding, so if any of you Blanding folk are looking for a great house call Mike and Joni Lyman.

Hayden had a lot of fun with her cousins. Heidi and Nicole were great babysitters.
Hayden was teething most of the trip so she wasn't her normal happy self.

We went to the Oregon State Fair and saw a lot animals, looked at some really cool cakes, rode some fun rides and ate some yummy ice cream (don't tell Nicole :)
Hayden couldn't quite make it through the whole day at the fair.
So Cute!!!


Saturday we went to the coast. It was such a nice day, not too cold and not too hot. Hayden loved playing in the sand. This picture was taken right when we got there, she defiantly didn't look like this when we left.

Big News!

Many of you may or may not know. But as of tomorrow I am no longer a resident of Phoenix AZ. Hayden and I will be flying to Portland, OR to visit my sister and her family. We will stay there for about a week and will then fly into the Salt Lake airport! After that we will drive to our new home (Lee & Leah Gibbons) which we will be staying at until Colin has secured a job and starts bringing home the bacon so we can afford a house of our own!! We are very excited to be back in Utah and can't wait for winter! :)

Here are some recent pictures that have nothing to do with this post, but they are cute.
Hayden's first ponytail. I have mixed feeling about her growing hair. I like that is can been fixed cute, but now I have no excuse to not fix it!
Gavin and Hayden dressing up like Gansters/Pirates.
Hayden fell asleep while I was feeding her. (Right when I took the picture she opened her eyes.)

Blanding, Blanding, Blanding

Last week we went to Blanding AGAIN!! It had only been three weeks since the last Blanding visit, but we like it there so much we just can't stay away. Colin was able to spend the weekend with us and when he went back to work Hayden and I stayed the rest of the week. Saturday we went up on the mountain, rode four wheelers, hung out at the cabin and played horseshoes and yes, I went undefeated!! The rest of the week we took advantage of the nice weather and went on a lot of walks and just played outside as much as we could. It was a great visit.
One of Grandpa and Hayden's many wagon rides.
She loved the pool!
Hayden fell asleep twice while riding. It was amazing because she wasn't even that tired. Four wheelers must have some magical way of putting babies to sleep, I wish I had that power!