Look who's SOOOOOOO BIG!

This little one-year-old is SOOOOOOOO BIG!

Happy birthday, little man. We love you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

If you're here because you got our Christmas card, then welcome! I know you've been waiting for it all year and here it is: The Lusty family poem!

(our Christmas Card)

2010 came and went in the blink of an eye
I just wrote last year's lame poem! I think I’m gonna cry.
Time flies as we get out of shape and fat
If Evan would move I wouldn’t include him in that!

(The Thanksgiving Megacicle. I wish it would stay all winter.)

Evan is a joy and now 11 months old
He even understands some things he is told!
Patience is a virtue he has not yet learned how
When it is time to eat that kid wants it NOW!

(Evan LOVES the new Lusty puppy. What?! Don't worry, we'll post more later)

Then come the noises that Evan likes to make
He sounds like a Pterodactyl searching out a mate.
Momma is who he wants most of the time
But when he wants dad his voice growls as low as mine!

What a year it has been with Evan in our lives
It is so fun to watch him learn before our eyes.
Whoever said, “Your own kids' poop doesn’t stink”, LIED.
Breathe out your mouth or you’ll smell something that died!

(Couch potato cousins glued to their Baby Einstein)

This year for me has been stressful and busy
Putting together a mosquito convention is crazy!
Now I am President of the UMAA
You don’t know what that is? It’s on my resume!

For four years Ryan has been in Young Men
Looks like the ward plans on making it ten!
Kendra has had three separate callings this year
Just as she settles in they make her shift gear!

(Ryan hanging the lights. Yikes!)

Kendra has enjoyed this past fall living at home
At least she’s not sitting in a hospital bed all alone.
A Supermom she is while taking care of Evan
Working from home has been a blessing from Heaven. (Thanks Access!)

(Lusty House on the left. Woodbury house on the right. Thanks Woodburys!)

As we once again celebrate the birth of our Lord
Always remember what this season is for.
As you run around attempting to check items off your list
Remember the Savior who gave you the most precious gift.

(My new nativity set. Thanks for the great birthday suprise, Ryan!)

Merry Christmas to you all and until next time
I’m done writing this poem…again.

Love,
Ryan, Kendra & Evan Lusty

A New Video Starring (Suprise, Suprise) Evan

Evan is learning new skills and tricks every day. And while none of them seem geared toward forward motion (is he crawling yet? No, he's not. But he is... um.... well, you'll see) I find many of them amusing so here's a compilation video for your enjoyment. 

Now doesn't that just prove how smart my boy is? :)



Happy Halloween!

We started out the day carving pumpkins. Even Evan got one!

Here's Ryan's masterpeice:

Here's mine:

Here's Evan's:

And because I couldn't decide on Halloween costumes, Evan got two. Here he is as the Last Airbender (created from a Whinnie the Pooh costume.) I've included a picture of the real last airbender for those of you who haven't heard of his awesomeness yet. I think it turned out pretty well.

And he was also a cute little lion:

Evan got really into the Halloween spirit, adding a lion's roar to his costume.

Happy 9-Month-Year-Old Day!

Ryan's sister is so talented. She was so sweet to take Evan's 9-month picts this week. It was kind of cold and Evan was kind of tired. That means we got about 200 pictures of grimaces, blank stares and tense uncertainty... and a couple of really really cute ones :) Thanks Joni! You did a great job.

I love this first one because it shows just how happy he was to be there.

Here's some facts about Evan at 9 months. It's mostly for my own record so sorry if it's a long:

Evan has the tendency to learn something new and do it a lot for about a week... and then quit for an entire month before slowly picking it back up again. He did it with rolling over (both ways), sitting up, and with every new noise he learned. When he learns how to crawl, don't hold your breath. It will be a while before he really starts exploring the house. P.S. That's okay with me :)

Evan is lazy contented. He doesn't seem motivated to get moving on his own and is perfectly content to explore little things right around him instead of the things across the room. Again, that's okay with me. His contented nature means he doesn't cry much, he entertains himself well, and is easy to please. It also means it's hard to get him really excited about anything. He doesn't smile or giggle much and most of those he does give still go to dad.

Evan doesn't bash or beat or swing his toys, he examines them. He pulls one close to his face, looks at it from every angle, feels it, tastes it and maybe on ocassion will shake it a little. He's also really into faces right now. Noses, ears, mouths, teeth and tongues are fascinating and he'll examine them with the same intensity he does his toys.

Evan is also fascinated by the sound of his own voice. He still growls (which I love and also entertains the people around us to no end), gurgles, spits, jabbers and sings in a nice falsetto.

Evan sleeps so well... as long as we're home. He doesn't like to cuddle to sleep. In fact, if someone is there that he can see, he will do everything to stay awake. When I rock him for a minute before bed, he's looking around the room, reaching for toys and practically squirming out of my arms. But as soon as I lay him in his bed and give him his binky and blanket, he pulls the blankie up to his face, rolls on his side and relaxes right down. I walk out and don't hear another peep from him until it's time to wake up.

In the morning, we rarely find Evan in the same spot we left him in. He's turned 180 degrees, flipped on his belly, or shoved himself into a corner more often than not. Ryan was like that as a kid.

Bed time routine goes like this: (1) Getting tired  = crying (2) bath time = excitement (3) diaper back on = crying (4) lotion and massage = excitement (5) pajamas on = crying (6) bedtime snack = excitement (7) bedime snack over = crying (8) bedtime story and song = excitement (9) in bed with blanky and binky = can finally relax. Yes, bedtime is a very emotional time.

Evan has taken well to baby food. So far, he likes vegetables a lot more than he likes fruits. His favorite are carrots and squash (which was nice because I could make it from the squash in his grandma's garden = free. Yay!) So far the only ones he's flat-out refused are applesauce, potatoes and yogurt. Unfortunately, I've taught him too well not to reach for the food as I'm feeding him. I'm now trying to get him to pick up little bits of bread and practice feeding himself but he won't touch them.

We Have a Celebrity in the Family

You may have seen this handsome mug on channel 5 news last Saturday and in the Desseret news on Sunday. To hear him explain it, he "made a complete fool" of himself, but I think he sounded good. Plus he's hot. Just sayin...

As if that wasn't enough attention, he also hosted a convention for the Utah Mosquito Abatement Association over the weekend. He had a million things to do in preparation for all the events and could hardly do a single one because everyone wanted to chat with him. He was the star of the show! :) And as if that wasn't enough. Now he's officially the president of UMAA. That's my famous husband. Here's a super crappy picture of him introducing the keynote speaker, Cpt. Cope aka Stan. What? I was juggling a wiggly baby and a camera in 6 inch heels.

Cpt. Stan was cool. He regaled us with such appetizing topics as the horrors of yellow fevor after our banquets. Fomite houses. Yum. Ryan and I got to sit on the stand and try not to lose our meals in front of everyone.

Evan had his first sleepover with grandma that night so I could go with Ryan. He did great! I can't believe how easy this kid is. Easy to put to bed. Easy to entertain. Easy to feed. We're totally spoiled.

Go, My Favorite Sports Team! Go!

We’re starting Evan early to become the littlest super-fan to ever break a chandelier in the name of cheering for BYU.  Maybe they’ll actually score points next year so we can cheer :)

And when he’s not cheering for BYU, he’s hanging out in his frog suit.

Or trying to poo (poor kid)

Or chewing celery by the stalk to soothe his gums (again, poor kid)

Well, his parent will sure be happy when this week is over. It’ll mean no more convention planning (imagine coordinating 30 shifting schedules and 100+ hotel rooms) for Ryan and no more directory editing (imagine reading the phone book for 3 weeks straight) for me! Yes, we’re pooped. Thanks for asking.