Some of my Recent Favorites

The last fews weeks have been so much fun with Christmas and having Sterling around more. Donovan has really loved the extra Daddy time too. I'm so thankful to have a husband who sincerely loves spending time with our son. It is so cute watching them now that Sterling can rough house with Donovan a bit. And of course Donovan loves wrestling with his Daddy.

Last week we made the 11 hour trip up to Utah. It was so wonderful getting to see some of our family. It was great getting to be in Utah again too. We had a great time playing games and eating good food with Sterling's parents and siblings. Here are some of my favorite photos from the last few weeks.

Donovan and Daddy pretending they are hooded super heroes


Donovan playing drums on a box of Christmas presents


Playing Password with Granny


Opening Christmas presents


Eating Christmas presents


Touching snow for the first time


Crying after touching the snow (I know it looks said but it was pretty funny too) I suppose he didn't realize it would be cold


Playing with his singing puppy dog stocking

40 Odd Things

This started out as a reply to an email that Sariah sent us. But we had so much fun writing it that I thought I'd post it. I suppose we were just in a silly mood. Some of it is serious and the rest is just us being goofy. (Sterling's response is first and mine is second)

40 Odd Things about you!

1. Do you like blue cheese? I like it on my waffles. There is a blue cheese factory in Nauvoo. / I just ate some on a salad. Mmm. Blue Cheese.
2- Have you ever smoked cigarettes? No. / Nopity nopity no.
3- Do you own a gun? AK47 Baby! / I hate guns! I hope we never have one in our house.
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? Whatever kind that cult drank to kill themselves in Jonestown. / Grapasaurus Rex
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only when I have to get a rectal exam, or a check for testicular cancer, or the gyno. Yikes! / Only if I'm afraid they're going to cut off my finger.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I think they are delicious! / I like sucking on a frozen hot dog until it thaws out. Mmmm.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Its a wonderful life / Ditto haha!
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Clam juice or mountain dew? Eugh! I'll have clam juice. / 75% OJ + 25% Water = Crazy Delicious
9. Can you do push ups? I like push ups. They're delicious. I could do a push up right now. / I like the orange ones.
10. Favorite hobby? Driving the cows across the plains or solving world hunger, if i'm too tired for the cows. / Graphic Design sucka!
11. Do you have A.D.D.? What? I wasn't paying attention. / I like math. ADDing is my favorite. Tee hee.
12. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I ain't no hater! / The gigantic hump on my back.
13. Middle name? Danger / Marie
14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired. / I'm tired. Why are we doing this email questionaire? I want to go to bed.
15. Name 3 drinks you regularly have. 1 bourbon 1 scotch and 1 beer j/k. Hahaha. / Is sleep a drink?
16. Current hate right now? Dumb emails / Not sleeping
17. Favorite place to be? With my family / In bed. Sleeping. or at Disneyland. That's pretty fun too.
18. How did you bring in the New Year? At the Baker's house / At the Baker's house.
19. a place would you like to go? Australia / Santa's Workshop
20. name three people who will complete this: dumb question. Next.
21. Do you have slippers? I hope Santa brings me some / Yes. but they're old and sterling thinks I should throw them out. I think they're comfy.
22. What shirt are you wearing? That's sexual harrassment and I don't have to take it / My muscle shirt.
23. Do you like sleeping on satin? I prefer my bed / I don't even know what satin feels like.
24. Can you whistle? Duh! / No. Not everyone can whistle.
25. Would you be a pirate? No. Pirates are so last week. / Only if it involves pillaging and plundering, and possibly owning a pet monkey.
26. What songs do you sing in the shower? "Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows" / Hymns
27. Favorite girl's name? Cori Anne is my favorite girl / Kiera, Madeline, or Audrey
28. What's in your pocket right now? Keys, a piece of lint, some string, this ink pen, this paddle ball, spare change, a rubber chicken / My debit card.
29. Last thing that made you laugh? This email / Sterling's kool aid response.
30. Favorite bed sheets as a child? We slept outside on the ground. If I was lucky, i got some newspaper / Flannel The Little Mermaid or Duck Tales
31. Worst injury ever? That time I was running with the bulls in Spain. My butt hurts just thinking about it. / Vampire attack, and I had to lie and say I tripped and fell out of a 3 story window.
32. Do you love where you live? Better than any house you could build / Yuppity yuppity yup.
33. How many TVs do you have in your house? TV?
34. Who is your loudest friend? Sariah / Sariah
35. How many dogs do you have? The Beccanator and her bark counts as two dogs.
36. Does someone have a crush on you? How did you know, 'cause I never told. You found out, I've got a crush on you, Cori / Sterling and Donovan, and that guy from that doctor show. McDreamy?
37. What is your least favorite book? CPA study books / Hooked on Fonics. It didn't work for me.
38. What is your least favorite candy? Necco Wafers / Juju Bees
39. What is your least favorite Sports Team? Provo Angels / The Nads
40. What song do you want played at your funeral I don't want to die / Everybody Wang Chung Tonight.

Donovan and Zoe

I've been wanting to post these cute photos for a while now. Donovan has a friend named Zoe. She is the daughter of our good friends the Forester's and is two months younger then him. They are super cute together. A few weeks ago Zoe and her Mommy stopped by and I took these cute photos of them.

I love this one!


He looks like he might kiss her here.


Hello up there!


They are going to have so much fun when they are older.

Disco Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Elfmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Vegas Wedding

On Halloween night Sterling, Donovan and I drove to Las Vegas to celebrate my Dad's wedding the following day. It was quite the drive. We thought since we were driving at night that Donovan would have slept right through it. However we were wrong. He wanted to be awake for the road trip fun too apparently.

When we got into Vegas around midnight everyone was dressed up in their costumes. My Dad and Kamie were pirates and my brother Scott was a prospector. It was great getting to see them! We had Donovan dressed up as a skeleton. And with the combination of my Dad's pirate hat he became a pirate skeleton.


We stayed at the Hilton and even got our room upgraded for free! Here's a picture of Donovan on our posh bed.


The next day we met up with my Grandma and Duane who drove out for the wedding too. We all took the monorail over to the Paris Hotel where we had brunch. Here's us riding the monorail.


After a nap...


and a wardrobe change...



we went to the chapel for the wedding. It was small but really nice and it was great to be there for the special occasion. I'm so happy for my Dad and Kamie. I know they really care about each other and I think they make a great couple. Here are some of the pictures we took after the wedding.





This is our four generations photo. Me, Dad, Grandma and Donovan.


I love this one of Sterling and Donovan!


At dinner after the wedding. We went to Benihana. It was delicious!



We even had the opportunity to see Jordan while we were there.

Our Seattle Trip

In October the DeVard family went to Seattle. It was really great because we got to spend time with my whole family. I really miss them being so far away all the time so it was great getting to make some memories. Donovan had his first plane ride! Not to mention first trip to Washington State. We stayed with my Mom and got to spend time with my Uncle, Brother, Dad, Stepmom and the entire Koler family. Yeah and did I mention Elisa drove up for the weekend! It was wonderful getting to see her too, especially around her birthday.

Here's Donovan after our flight being held my the flight attendant.


Picking out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. This one was just the right size for Donovan!


Grandma, me and Donovan at the Pumpkin Patch



Donovan riding my Mom's dog Stella


Donovan with his Grandpa and Grandma Kamie after we ate at the Spaghetti Factory


Donovan and Elisa at the delicious Mexican restaurant


My Uncle, Mom and Brother


And of course no trip to Seattle is complete without going to a Maserati show

Donovan Loves My Water Bottle

Just a few quick pictures of Donovan drinking out of my watch bottle. I thought they were adorable. He's always trying to go after it now. Even when he's getting his diaper changed(hence the naked baby photos). He'll roll over and crawl over to where the bottle is. He's such a silly little guy!

Something Fun

Alli tagged me (and Elisa) to do this.

5 TV Shows I Love to Watch: (I don't watch TV anymore (we have no cable). But when I did...)
1) The Road to Avonlea (old school disney channel)
2) Doug (one of my favorite cartoons when I was younger)
3) It's Me or the Dog (Becca needs this ladies help with her barking problem)
4) Ace of Cakes (fun show on the Food network, makes me want to be a cake decorator)
5) The Biggest Loser- Couples (this show made me cry just from watching the opening song)

5 Favorite Restaurants:
1) Cafe Rio! My favorite and I miss it so bad! I think I might drive to Vegas right now to get some.
2) Cheesecake Factory. Fun and I love their Lemon Chicken and Godiva Cheesecake
3) Tokyo Wacko. Pretty much everything! Eating filet mignon with their garlic dipping sauce, sushi and deep fried ice cream!
4) Lena's Cafe. In Shoreline. Reminds me of my Grandparents. Cobb Salad and Banana Cream Pie!
5) Pinkberry! Okay it's not really a restaurant but I love it and could eat it everyday!

5 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1) I went to an art show with Donovan (his first!). We got to see a bunch of friends, including Jane and her beautiful art work!
2) I drove to my doctor's appointment in Santa Monica.
3) I ate lasagna.
4) I bought delicious Martinelli Sparkling Cider.
5) I planned out our Thanksgiving day feast.

5 Things I Love About Fall:
1) The rain. We finally get some of that come fall in California.
2) Wearing coats, scarves an gloves.
3) Thanksgiving. Cooking, eating and being with family.
4) The colors. Not so much in the leaves here. But the beautiful colors I think of when it's fall.
5) Christmas is just around the corner.

5 Things On My Wishlist:
1) Sterling passes the CPA exam.
2) Donovan learns to change his own poopy diapers.
3) That we could go to Illinois for Christmas.
4) That I had time to make everyone a homemade Christmas present
5) For everyone to have a puppy!

5 People I Tag:
1) Leah
2) Tara
3) Amber
4) Jane
5) Mom

Almost Six months ago...

I can't believe it has almost been 6 months since Donovan was born. He will be starting solid food in two weeks and I still feel like he was born yesterday. I'm using Sterling's computer right now and found some photos from the day Donovan was born so I thought I would post them as I reminisced. It's amazing to me how small he once was and how much his face has changed since he was born. He is getting so much personality now and is so much fun to play with.
Donovan's first bath. The nurse washed him off in the sink minutes after he was born.


Looking cute in his newborn cap

He had so much hair then. Where did it all go?

Hanging out with his first visitor Uncle Jordan!

Wrapped up like a burrito

Proposition 8 is Personal

When I think about Proposition 8 I almost always think about our son Donovan. I think of a world where Prop 8 didn't pass and what it would be like. To be honest it scares me. I know Donovan is only 5 1/2 months old now but I fast forward in my mind to his first day of kindergarten. I see him playing in a big classroom with other kids. I see some kids coming up to him and the following conversation plays out in my mind...
Classmate: "Do you want to play house?"

Donovan: "Sure."

Classmate: "Okay, you can be the Daddy."

Donovan: "Who will be the Mommy?"

Classmate: "There isn't a Mommy. There are two Daddies."

Then the part that brings tears to my eyes. I see my sweet innocent little boy stopped in this tracks looking confused. I see him not knowing what to say or do. I imagine some of the other kids asking him what's wrong or maybe telling him how they have two Daddies. I hope he will think of his own mother and father who have the kind or marriage between a man and a woman that is ordained of God. Not just a cheap imitation of that. I hate to think of the belief of this type of marriage being "normal" infiltrating our children in school at grades as young as kindergarten. In Massachusetts public schools have started a new diversity curriculum where they read a book called "King and King." It is the story or two princes who meet and fall in love. They get married and together become "King and King" the book ends with a picture of the princes kissing. I hate to think of this book being read to Donovan or any young impressionable children. I know we can't shelter him from all the trials of life but there are some things that he just doesn't need to be exposed to. I have decided that if Prop 8 doesn't pass and we are still living in California when Donovan becomes school age that I will home school him. I really feel that it is the right decision and want to give him the kind of educational environment where he doesn't have to have additional confusing message being thrown his way.

Marriage is a most special a sacred union that God has created for the benefit of his children (us) on earth. Marriage allows our Father in heaven to send down his spirit children into the homes of a loving father and mother who will raise his children in righteousness. If we tamper with marriage with tamper with God's plan. There will be fewer homes for God to send his spirit children to and I hate to think of those spirits on the other side longing to experience earth life but having to wait longer than necessary.

In closing I just want to say that I know what our prophet has asked of us is right and inspired. The first presidency has said "We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman. Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage." As Sterling and I have worked on Prop 8 by going door-to-door, making calls or donating I have seen many blessing come into our lives. I feel it is a privilege for us to help out with this campaign and know that anyone who helps out with it, in any way, will be richly blessed.

Check out this video.

Tired of the intolerance and bigotry of religious people?

Cori Anne and I watched some great videos on PreservingMarriage.org. Our church put together this site to show our beliefs about Proposition 8. The opposition to Prop 8 use ads that show Prop 8 supporters as out of touch and not "cool". Their ads poke fun at traditional marriage and continually use the word "right" to describe same-sex marriage. They say that same sex marriage is a right and that Prop 8 is taking away that right. I disagree. What happened to give same-sex couples this "right" to begin with? At what cost was the "right" of same-sex marriage given? Four judges decided that they knew better than the majority of California voters and overturned Prop 22 which was passed in 2000. To me that seems to undermine the democratic process and our right to vote. I believe that marriage is first of all a rite. It is ordained of God and is His way of bringing people into the world. It is, as it has always been, a union of the sexes which provides the best atmosphere for raising children.

Vote YES on Proposition 8

Cori Anne and I have been volunteering for Proposition 8 (Prop 8) each Saturday now for the past 4 weeks or so. For those of you who don't already know what Prop 8 is, it is a Proposition to amend the California State Constitution so that only marriage between a man and a woman will be legally recognized in the state of California. In the year 2000, 61% of Californians passed Prop 22 which said "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California". That law was overturned recently by the CA Supreme Court by a 4-3 vote. Thanks to a lot of petitions, Prop 8 will be on the ballot November 4th. It has been great to go door to door in Arcadia with Cori and Donovan to talk to people about this important Proposition. We got a very positive response from the majority of people we talked to. However, some people either did not know much about Prop 8 or they felt that supporting Prop 8 might be unfair to their homosexual friends and family members. So, we wanted to blog about a few of the facts surrounding Prop 8 and a few of the reasons why we feel so strongly about it.

First, we feel so strongly about it because of our religious beliefs. We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and central to His plan for the happiness of His children. We also believe that mothers and fathers each have a unique and special role in the home and that both are important to happy family life.()

Also, we don't want the public schools in California to teach children that homosexual relationships are good and normal. In Massachusetts same-sex marriage is legal, and public schools teach to kids as early as kindergarten about same-sex marriage using a book called "King and King" where two princes marry each other and become King and King. Also, in Boston, MA Catholic adoption services were sued by a homosexual couple who were not allowed to adopt a child through the service because Catholics believe that same-sex marriage is wrong and that children deserve to have a mother and a father. They chose to close their doors rather than sacrifice their beliefs. Other lawsuits have happened involving same-sex couples not being allowed to hold their wedding or reception at a Catholic parish center. Any institution in CA, religious or otherwise, that teaches that marriage is a union only between a man and a woman may become labeled as intolerant or discriminatory.

It is important to note that same-sex couples can have a legal union in CA in which they have the same rights as a heterosexual married couple. So, no rights will be taken away from same-sex couples by voting YES on Prop 8. However, voting NO or simply doing nothing will threaten our rights to free speech and our rights to practicing our religion. To me, that isn't more tolerant, it is less.

Here is a great web site that talks more about proposition 8.
http://www.protectmarriage.com/

Donovan's New Skill

Donovan has taken a lot of interest in watching us eat lately. Not to mention grabbing our forks, bowls or cups while we are trying to eat. The other day was hilarious when he actually grabbed Sterling bowl and pulled it over to him so he could put it in his mouth and lick it. It was adorable.



Because of this recent interest we decided to buy him a sippy cup so that he could eat when we do. He was such a little champ the first day we tried it. After we showed him how to do it, he picked up the cup and drank from it like a pro. We were so proud of him!


Check out that arm action! He's got a solid hold.

I Can Do Many Things

I am now five months. I can do many different different things!

I can sit up on my own.


I can stand with Daddy's help.



And sometimes without. Maybe I can start walking soon.


I can hold myself up. Check out my muscles!


I can take the rings off my stacking toy.


I can ride in the big boy stroller.


I can hold my own toy in my mouth. I like to chomp things!


I can read the dictionary. Which I like to do to improve my vocabulary.