Jake's Birthday

Thursday was Jake's birthday. I had high ambitions for cleaning the house, baking a cake, finding a few last minute gifts, and decorating. I have found that I really just need to set my sights a little lower with Emma around. I tried to let her help me with the cake and she sure had fun sneaking frosting!

We visited him at work and then that night he chose to go out for pizza. He spent a lot of the evening on the phone with his family. The Watson cousins sang Happy Birthday cha cha cha and the Walker cousins sang Happy Birthday old man. Emma had a blast playing with the wrapping paper and ribbons. We also got a helium balloon for dad that she enjoyed playing with.

We were excited to get to share the news that he took the GMAT last Saturday and scored in the 97th percentile. We're looking at grad school in the next year or two.

We're grateful for Jake and hope he knows it and was able to feel it on his day.

The Zoo

Wednesday the zoo had a free day so I took Emma. My brother Steven joined us, which was awesome! Emma had fun playing in her car seat all the way up to the zoo and then while we were waiting for a parking space, she started to get fussy and didn't enjoy the zoo as much as I'd hoped. But we all had a great time.

The tigers were the hit of the day. The three babies from last year are all grown up and we couldn't tell which was the mom. One of the tigers played with balls both times we went by them and it was so cool!

So while I write this, Emma is over in book corner in her room reading away. This really is so fun to watch. I always think how I'd like to go get the video camera, but know as soon as I get up, she'll want to follow me. So someday I'll be able to share that joy. I stack the books up and she will either demolish the stack or take one off the top and look through it.

Emma Update

It's been a while since I've given an update on Emma. I just checked and the last official update was at 4 months. She's 10 and a half months now, so I guess it's about time. Emma is a smiling, happy, adorable girl. The day she turned 8 months, she started crawling and we noticed her first 2 teeth were coming in. She started sleeping through the night at 9 months. She started pulling herself up to a standing position and turning on the TV and pushing any buttons she could find around the same time. At 10 months she figured out how to put lids on things.

Her favorite things to do are put lids on things, make mom and dad laugh, be played with, read books, say hi to anyone who'll look her way, laugh, smile, take baths, brush her teeth, get her hair combed, play with dad, play with phones, and eat. She also still loves to push buttons. She makes a growling noise to make mom and dad laugh and it always works. She loves it when people are watching her play.

Some of her nicknames these days are MZ, Em, Little Babe, Flav-a-flav, Sweetie, or just Babe. I don't call her Flav-a-flav and I don't condone that nickname.

Her attention span is growing and she'll intently play with something for quite a while.

She loves to laugh! She also loves cameras and the video camera and usually comes straight for them, making it difficult to get any pictures of her.

Her hair is getting longer and I love the cute little curls at the bottom!

She is so smiley and happy and I am so in love with this little girl that I can't even express it!

She is also getting better at playing with others! She loved playing with her cousin, Porter, who is her same size, even though he is 3 months younger than her.

Turkey Adventures!

I've been brewing this desire since Christmas to attempt to cook a turkey. I discussed it with Jake and he pointed out the obvious flaws in my plan, like I have no idea how to cook a turkey and how would we ever manage to use it all. I was deterred, but not for good. I noted last week in my grocery shopping that I could pick up a small turkey for a great price and I did it. I got a 7 pound turkey for about $7.50. (Those better informed mothers out there may see that's not a great deal, but compared to the $3.50 we spend on a little package of deli turkey, it's a great deal for us.) I then set out on a typical internet search where I look to learn how to do something new. I was struck by the first page I read and decided to try this guy's method. It took him 56 years to learn, afterall. So if I could manage to master it on my first attempt, I'd be way ahead of the game.

I had to borrow a roasting pan from my mom and prepare mentally to touch such a big gross hunk of raw meat. I waited until Saturday and put it in so it would be ready for dinner.

Success!! I opened the roasting pan and it looked like a rotisserie chicken, yet it was still a turkey. And it smelled delicious! This guy's big promise of his method is you'll have moist white meat. Well, guess what, it was. Jake usually doesn't like turkey since it is so dry and he readily agreed it was delicious. So perhaps it was beginners luck, perhaps it was because I actually ended up with a half a turkey with all the usual goodies inside already removed, or perhaps I'll continue to have success when I find occasion to cook a turkey. Click on the word "page" if you haven't already found the link to the website I've spoken of. Just in case you ever find the desire to cook a turkey.

Happy Cooking!

Snowboarding with mom

Some people know just how cool my mom is, others don't. Well, in an attempt to demonstrate, I share our latest outing. My mom and I went snowboarding last Saturday while Jake stayed home to watch Emma (he's super cool too, huh!) Yep, my mom snowboards. She's good at pretty much anything she tries to do and boosts the confidence of those learning with her. I've enjoyed learning to snowboard and was excited to see that I didn't forget everything I'd learned prior to last winter when I was pregnant. I'm still learning though, let's be clear on that.

Here's a picture from the day.

Steven's Missionary Call

Finally, the call has come. Steven has been called to the San Antonio, Texas mission and will leave March 23rd to join his brother, Danny, to serve the Lord. I don't know if I ever posted that Danny is serving in the Anchorage, Alaska mission and is loving his time there. These are my awesome youngest brothers and I look forward to having another pen-pal. I know Steven will be a great missionary and I am super excited for him!

Christmas Letter

Sorry to those who read my blog and have yet to get our Christmas letter. We had a wonderful holiday spending Christmas down here with my family and New Years up with Jake's family. Both weekends were quite busy, but it's always nice to be spend time with everyone. Here's our Holiday Greeting.


Happy holidays, from Jake, Ashley, and Emma. Our lives have changed dramatically this year as we’ve made room in our hearts and home for our little girl. She has clearly stolen our hearts and taken over our home. We are amazed at the joy, wonder, and challenge of being parents. When Jake is not being dad, he is working for the Utah Association of Realtors. Ashley gets to be home with Emma.

Celebrating the birth of Christ takes on new meaning for us this year considering Mary’s role as mother of the Son of God. What was Christ like as an infant and toddler? We would love a glimpse into Mary’s memories of raising the Christ-child.

It is in this spirit of contemplation that we share a few memories of our baby.

October 2010
Emma is in her Bunny Halloween costume. Daddy is carrying her up on his head, to Emma’s delight. She laughs and laughs when mommy sees her up there.

November 2010
Emma is at the store in mom’s arms. She keeps looking at people hoping for them to see her so she can wave at them. When she catches someone’s eye, she smiles and waves enthusiastically. Another time, we’re at church, singing the closing song. Emma is standing between us on the bench. She sees the chorister up leading the music and waves back with a big smile.

November 2010
We’re at Emma’s Grandma and Grandpa Holland’s home. Grandma turns on a singing, dancing dog. Emma starts flailing her arms up and down to the music. When it’s over, she claps.

December 2010
Emma gets an early Christmas present – a toothbrush! She’s sporting two new teeth, and absolutely loves brushing them before bedtime. She had seen Mom and Dad brushing, and always thought it was so funny.

December 2010
Daddy gets down on the floor to play with Emma. She sees him and smiles and laughs as she crawls toward him. She knows its tickle-time!

December 2010
Just moments before a dinner party, with mom and dad preparing the house and food for arriving guests, Emma wanders unnoticed to the corner of the living room and pulls over the potted plant. She senses she’s done something to make Mommy upset, and she looks up with big worried eyes, wondering, “What did I do?” She thinks having dirt all over the carpet is a great way to entertain!

As you can see, we are enjoying our new titles of “Mom” and “Dad.” Emma brings a lot of joy and laughter into our home. We wish you all a Merry Christmas as you contemplate the images of Christmas and the grand, yet humble birth of the Savior of the world.

With Love,
Jake, Ashley, and Emma Jaggi