Joshua is 3!

Well, three years ago yesterday we welcomed little Joshua Logan Alleman to our family. He was 7 lbs, 14 oz, and 20 inches long. Now, three years later, he is more than five times that starting weight and over twice as tall--41 lbs and 41 inches tall, to be exact. No wonder my back starts hurting when he wants me to hold him for awhile. And what a bundle of energy he is! I don't know how he keeps it up!

We couldn't find our camera yesterday, so we relied on my sister Kirsti and her husband Rich's camera for pictures...and then we didn't upload them to our computer before they went home. So this will be a picture-less post, sadly. But we did have quite a full day of activities!

One of the highlights of the day that will live in infamy and probably be mentioned at every birthday party he ever has is this: Joshua made "pancakes" for Mommy and Daddy. How? By pouring water on the cake layers of his birthday cake, which were still in their pans, waiting to be frosted. Thank you, son, for requiring me to run to the local grocery store and buy your birthday cake. We did get an awesome Cookie Monster cake out of it, but still.

Uncle Rich and Aunt Kirsti came over and made enchiladas while we watched BYU kick the trash out of UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, and then the birthday boy opened his presents. What did he get? A new potty seat and underwear! Oh boy...heaven help us as we embark on this exciting adventure of potty training. He also received the complete works of Curious George, which will make for some good bedtime stories.

Then we drove up to SLC to look at the lights on Temple Square. It wasn't too cold, which was nice, but the main battle was trying to keep Joshua from running away. He's so fast and has absolutely no fear in running really far away from us. Kind of scares me! But Daddy and Uncle Rich got pretty good at chasing after him while pregnant Kirsti and I strolled along behind them. We topped off the night with a visit to Leatherby's Family Creamery, which most of you reading this blog will understand why =)

It really was a good day. I'm glad to be his mama--I can't believe he's 3 already. He'll be a Sunbeam in just two weeks, and he's already the size of a 4-year-old. Guess he takes after both Mommy and Daddy. We love you so much, Joshua Logan!

Carina's on a Journey...

Just wanted to announce that I (Carina) have started a blog to document a big change coming up in my life in the next couple of months. If you're interested, I'd love your support and comments over there. I started it a month or so ago, so start from the very first post if you want to know what's going on. I've also decided not to make it private, at least for now, so if you know of anyone else that would be interested, feel free to send them the link. Thanks, everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a very lovely Thanksgiving! I'd just like to state how thankful I am for this little guy...
He is one of my two main reasons for living, and I am so thankful and blessed to be his mommy!

The World According to Joshua

After Thanksgiving dinner today, Joshua grabbed the camera and proceeded to give us a little glimpse into how he sees things around him. Enjoy!

Can of chicken broth on the counter:
The tops to the sparkling cider we purchased:
Side of our desk. Wow, it looks old.
Aunt Brianne's legs and feet:
This duster is one of Joshua's favorite toys:
Aunt Brianne is silly...
Very silly.
Joshua loved "helping wash the dishes"...
Yes, this is the current contents of our kitchen trash.
Close-up of our carpet.
Daddy is not amused by Joshua's incessant photo taking...
Catalogs littering the floor...
You'd think we were preparing for Black Friday, but we really weren't.
His toy box!

Joshua says...

It's been a few weeks since I last posted...things have been so busy lately, and I apologize. I did want to post some of my current favorite Joshua sayings:

"Night night, Mommy! Go put your jamas on and go sleep with Daddy!"
"Do you want to race this, Mommy Daddy?" (he is OBSESSED with racing and will "race" almost anything)
"There's a other one tar (car)!"
"What are they are?" (no, that's not a typo...that's how he says it)
"No, I not!" (in response to comments about him looking tired)
"It's tickle time! Tickle me, Mommy!"
"Let's read this one."
"I want a big hug!"
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20!" (yes, he skips #13)
"That's a funny one!"
"I want a sawdish (sandwich) with peanut butter and jam."
"Please have some milk, please?" (that's him asking for milk)

That's just a sampling. I'm so grateful that his speech has improved so much over the past six months. Love that kid.

A few Halloweeny videos

Happy Halloween!

We had a lovely Halloween season this year. Main activities included our ward party and carving pumpkins. This was the first year we really had a pumpkin for Joshua, although of course he did not actually carve it himself. I'm really not sure what's up with his face in this picture...but anyway, here is "Josh-a's puntin." He was so proud of it!When we asked Joshua early in October what he wanted to be for Halloween, he quickly responded with "A tiger!" So, luckily, Old Navy had a cute tiger costume on sale and we bought some facial crayons to round out the outfit. Here's my attempt at tiger makeup:
And here's the tiger! He was so good at roaring at everyone :)Mommy and Joshua...Cody's and my 2-minute costume consisted of dark blue shirts, khaki pants, and white Ys painted on our faces. Yay.Sadly, we weren't able to take Joshua trick-or-treating because it was raining...there's always next year. We didn't really need all that candy around, anyway :P Hope everyone else had a great holiday!

Tagged!

My cousin-in-law (is that even the correct term? anyway, she's my cousin's wife) tagged me to do this survey, so I figured I might as well. Here goes!

1. Whats your favorite thing about your spouse or significant other?
Okay, picking a favorite thing is so hard to do...but I gotta say I love it when he hides under the sheets with only his eyes showing and gives me this cute little, "Hi." If we're talking big-picture type stuff, I would say my favorite thing is how he is so devoted to and protective of me and our son. I love it.

2. What is one of your proudest moments?
Several are worth mentioning: graduating from BYU and also being asked to sing at my college's convocation ceremony; walking out of the temple, hand-in-hand with my eternal companion; hearing Joshua call me "Mommy" for the first time...

3. Out of the jobs you've held, which one was your favorite? why?
Honestly, I'd probably say the one I have right now. I enjoy the people I work with and find satisfaction in a lot of my responsibilities. Plus, this one feeds, clothes, and shelters my family. What's not to love?

4. What's one of your "not so obvious" talents? How did you discover it?
That's an interesting questions...let me think. Maybe my typing skills? I think I can do around 100-110 wpm. It wasn't really discovered but more has always kind of been there, though I do remember having people in my computer class back in grade school who always wondered how I got through the assignments so quickly.

5. What is your earliest childhood memory?
I'm not sure if this is my earliest one, but I remember walking down the hospital hallway to peek in the window of the nursery and see my new baby sister. I was almost 4 at the time.

6. All time favorite book? why?
That's a loaded question. I'd have to say the Book of Mormon, because it changes lives and has changed mine. Religious books excluded, I'd probably go with Anne of Green Gables. Good memories of reading those books!

7. So far in life, what is the biggest lesson you've learned?
No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone. And there will always be someone out there who doesn't like you and you can't change that fact. But above all, know that that doesn't matter, because there is One who can make up the difference for you, and He loves you with a love beyond measure.

8. How did your spouse propose to you?
I was planning on getting a ride home from work when he called me and told me he wanted to pick me up. We were planning on leaving for CA the next day for my sister's H.S. graduation, and we had ordered the ring a couple of weeks ago, so I knew it was coming--just didn't know when. Anyway, when he picked me up, he said he wanted to go walk around the temple for a bit (this was a regular thing of ours, drive up to the temple to talk or walk around). While walking around the fountain, I asked about the ring and he said it still wasn't ready, which disappointed me because I had wanted to have it before we went to CA. After about half an hour, he said he needed to get back because he had some laundry in the dryer, but that before we left...and he dropped to one knee. I don't remember much of what he said, but it was an amazing moment. Too bad the ring didn't fit and we had to get it resized! :P

I don't even know if many people read my blog anymore, but if so, I tag Brianne, Jill, Ivy, Wendy, and Shara. Here are your questions:
1. What is the most ridiculous thing you have ever done in your life?
2. Describe your perfect vacation. Where, who with, what would you do, etc. Doesn't matter the cost!
3. If you could automatically become fluent in one language, which one would it be and why?
4. You are stranded on a desert island and only have five books to read for the rest of your life. What are they?
5. You have the day off work/school and have no pressing responsibilities. What do you do with yourself?
6. What is your dream job? Do you think it's realistic?
7. What is your favorite thing about yourself? Any particular reason?
8. When you log onto the computer, what is the first website that you go to (after email or Facebook)?

Ready...GO!!!

Powerful Beyond Measure

I've heard this quote many times before, but I came across it again today and it hit me very profoundly. I'm not sure who to attribute it to (various internet sources credit Nelson Mandela, Marianne Williamson, and others), but I wanted to share. I liked it so much that I printed up a nice little Word doc of it and put it on the wall in my office. I hope you enjoy.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Exploring our Great State

My parents were in Midway for a week at the end of September, and we spent a lot of time with them out there and had some good adventures. I think I said I would post pictures from that time, and now that we've been back for two weeks now, it's about time I did that. Fail. Anyway, prepare to be bombarded with Joshua adorableness and the beauty of the great state of Utah!
First up, we took the scenic lift up at Sundance and, while pretty scary (especially considering Joshua kept wiggling and we were really afraid he would just slip right out from under the safety guard), it was totally worth it. Here is on the way up:

We got off at the top of the lift and walked around for a bit (Grandma stayed at the bottom):



Cody decided to be adventurous and hike up a pretty steep hill at the top. He saw some awesome views up there.


This is the hill he hiked up. It doesn't look very steep in this picture, but trust me, it was.
On the way back down:

After we safely made it back down the mountain and joined Grandma, we drove the Alpine Loop. I had never done it before...it's gorgeous this time of year. We didn't take too many pictures, but here's one of my favorites:
Joshua found a flower and wouldn't let it go. Silly kid.
The next day, we drove to Dairy Keen in Heber City and Joshua had a great time playing on the train:

Beautiful fall colors at the park near the resort where we stayed:
Grandpa and Joshua had a fun time at the playground:
And Joshua and Daddy fed the ducks:

And walked around, jumping over little streams and just enjoying the scenery:

I think we'll probably take more trips up the canyon after this. It was great to be outside and just enjoy the fall weather and the beauty of God's creations. Thanks for visiting, Mom and Dad! Sorry I don't have more pictures of the two of you, but we took plenty in our hearts :)