This, that, and the other...

My my how time flies. It's nearing the end of the semester and I am filled with mixed emotions. We've loved it here in Provo, but are ready for a new adventure in our lives.  We had such a wonderful Halloween.  Cameron dressed up as a sheriff from the 70's, Addison was THE CUTEST little ladybug that's ever existed and I was a cat. (meow) I though I'd really get into Halloween for the first time in my life. I've never enjoyed Halloween. I don't hate it, but it's just not something I get into very much. This year I decided to spice up dinner. Not literally though. I made spooky shepherds pie. I'ts pretty self explanatory from the pictures that are included at the end of my yabbering.
In other news, a week ago exactly our lives got a little less stressful.  Not a lot, but we had a big day November 6, 2012.  Cameron took his big MLC actuarial exam (MLC stands for Models for life contingencies).  He's worked super hard studying for this. Like we're talking months and months of studying. I can't even guess how many hours he spent studying.  He is so diligent when it comes to stuff like that. I really admire that characteristic in him.  I would have gone crazy and given up months ago.  He said that he would be surprised if he didn't pass so that's a good sign.  He doesn't find out for sure for another 7 or so weeks if he's passed or not. I sure am proud of him for working so hard.  He had a lot of financial incentives to pass.  At Milliman they'd start his salary off 2,000 more a year as well as giving him like a 1,500 bonus for passing.  He'll also get reimbursed the 300.00 he paid for the exam and he won't have to spend all that time studying for it again. I'm confident that he did because he's just that smart. I love my math smart husband. It's comforting to know my children have a chance at being good at math. : ) To celebrate this accomplishment we went out to eat at McDonalds which is Cam's favorite fast food place to eat. Then, we went shopping for new clothes. He picked out a very handsome sweater vest at Ross. He looks so good! Then, my favorite part of the day was that he finally got a haircut.  His hair was so long and shaggy before, but we made a deal that he'd cut it after the exam.  So, with a full belly, a nice outfit, and a handsome haircut he went to the Alpine Massage place where I had made an appointment for him to get a 30 min massage to relax his mind and body.  After that, we went as a family out to eat at Sizzler since we had a coupon.  Not much to say about that place. It wasn't bad, but we wont be going back probably ever.  After dinner, Cameron wanted to go diving to practice all the awesome things he'd learned in his diving class.  Addie and I went and watched which was so great.  Addie LOVED it! Her eyes were GLUED to the divers.  She seriously stared at the pool for about 15 min. It was cute to see her so interested in what was going on.  After that, we were all pretty tired from all the excitement of the day. Oh, that morning while Cam was taking his test I took Addie to get her 6 month old immunizations  That is never a fun experience.  I'd say she did medium this time.  She didn't scream and cry for 20 minutes like she did the first time nor did she only cry for 30 seconds like she did last time.  So, she did medium well. She sounds like a steak. :) All in all we had a great day.  I'm mostly excited that he gets to be home more often now.  He still has normal homework but he gets that done quickly and spends the rest of the time with us.  Addie and I love having him here. He's such a good daddy! Cameron and I were also celebrating our official 18 month anniversary. What a joy this past year and a half has been. I'm so smart to have married Cameron. He is the greatest man. He makes me laugh everyday and I love that about him. He's my kind of wonderful.
As for our darling daughter Addie, she's growing so quickly. She army crawls like a champ and is getting close to crawling. It's cute. She's recently started making these loud screams. She's not crying or cooing, it's full on screams for attention. It was funny at first, but oh man can she get real loud real quick.  She can sit up all by herself quite well.  Sometimes she needs a little support, but I'm comfortable enough to actually sit her down and let her play with her toys alone. She usually ends up on her belly pretty quick anyway.  One thing that I absolutely love is that she is into making this old grandma face.  She covers her gums and smiles. I'ts so funny! I'll have to try and get a picture.
One thing I've recently discovered is that she really doesn't like anything on her right foot. If I put a sock on her foot it's usually pulled off within 10 min. She loves her feet and is always kicking or eating her toes but her right foot is usually bare. She's quite unique. At her last doctor appointment she weighed about 15 pounds and was 26 inches long. My little munchkin is growing so fast.  We sure do love her even though she still hasn't quite got the hang of sleeping through the night.  I keep trying to adjust her diet to see if that will help but nothing has made a difference so far.  Can I be honest? Some nights I kind of enjoy having to get up with her.  I like it when it's quiet and dark and I get to hold my perfect little baby.  It's been a nice time for me to slow down and really think about life or about things I need to get done the next day.  I especially love when I'm going to put her back down to sleep in the pack-n-play that she sleeps in and the light is coming through the window and I can see our shadow on the wall.  It is so wonderful to see a shadow of my baby all snuggled into my neck.  Even though my hair is usually frizzy and out of control, it' is an image that is burned into my memory for good.
So here's a great story about something cute Addie did last week. Marv and Judy Tolman (former Elder and Sister Tolman) invited us over for dinner last Saturday. She made the most delicious hodge podge soup. (It's basically minestrone soup with a few more ingredients) I was eating mine while holding Addie. She was apparently jealous that I got to eat from a big normal spoon because she was wiggly and followed my spoons every move with an open mouth.  I put the spoon in her mouth, empty of course, but she must have thought she was getting something because when I'd pull it out of her mouth she'd say, "Mmmmmm" everytime! It was so cute. She wasn't physically getting anything off the spoon but whatever she imagined she was getting was obviously delicious. I thought it was cute.
Let's see what else. Oh, Cameron and I are almost full fledged adults.  We have a kid and insurance which makes us partial adults, but yesterday we expanded our adultness by buying our first car together.  Yes, our family just grew. We bought a 2000 daewoo leganza. It's been so fun all 14 hours we've owned it.  The best part is that we were under budget. (well hopefully we will be, we haven't registered or insured it yet) It's fun to drive and looks fancy because it has a built in navigation system.  We're high rollers now. I'll hopefully be able to take some pictures of it today to post later.
I think that's about it, we're getting excited for Thanksgiving and Cameron's birthday next week.  We have so much to be thankful for. We truly are blessed. 

Yes, even a happy baby can sometimes be a grumpy bum. 

I made her a tutu.

I was about finished with something I was working on when I turned to check on Addie because she was being quite and this is what she looked like. She was so confused at what was going on. 

Her little hat says, "My little pumpkin" This is what she'd look like when we'd go out for our walks in the month of October. Well, like this but with pants, a jacket, and a blanket.  

This is my dear friend Petrine.  We've been friends for a long time. She was my first college roommate  On October 10th she invited me to go with her to the Carrie Underwood concert in SLC. It was so fun to be out with an old friend.  The concert was good but it was more fun just being with her. She is so sweet and always makes me laugh.  

I have videos of Addie in the tub, but no pictures.  She LOVES the bath . I don't love it as much as I used to because now her favorite thing is to roll over in the tub. What she doesn't realize is that it's not carpet there like she's used to and when she puts her face down it's harder to breath because it's water.  

Cameron and I got to go on a real date! It was so fun and muchly needed.  Kayla, my sister-in-law was kind enough to watch Addie for us while Cam and I went out to dinner and a movie.  We went to the dollar theater to see the new spiderman movie.  After that we went out to dinner at Mimi's Cafe. It was so fun to be together and laugh and giggle.  We sure do love being together. 

This is our little miss Halloween.  Cameron took this picture one day when he surprised Addie and I when he came home for lunch one day.  I love it. 

This was taken at my mom's house in Idaho.  She was so kind and bought Cameron a BYU hat with ear flaps like he likes and Addie a hat since she didn't have any that fit her. I'm wearing Cameron's old hat. We're such a cute hat with ear flaps family. Aren't we? 

Halloween 2012

This is my spooky shepherds pie dinner. 

My cute little ladybug!

I love this picture for the fact that this was the first time that she's been able to sit up all alone for quite a while . And, she's darn cute. 

This was also at my mom's house. Cam had been playing outside with Addie and my niece Eliza with the horses when it was just too much to handle for little Addie.  

Addie Loves eating real food. I think this was avocado night. 

In case you didn't know, ugly sweater day was a few days ago.  To celebrate, Cameron wore this gem I made him a few years ago for his birthday.